T * H ♦ E
P u b lis h e d b y t h e S t u d e n t s ’ S o c ie t y o f M c G i l l U n iv e r s it y
M c G IL L T R I B U N E http://ssmiumegill.ca/trib
Volume 1 7 Issue 7
Dean finances fitness centre By W
es
N o u o t r y _______________
Dean of Students Rosalie Jukier surprised the Board of Athletics last Monday by donating $5,000 to cover the first month’s operational costs of the new fitness centre while a sub-committee of the Board is still scrambling to find funding options for the centre’ s operational costs without imposing student fees. Student athletics representa tives previously asked SSMU to endorse a fitness centre user fee proposal in its council meeting on September 25. But instead, council mandated SSMU President Tara Newell to oppose any proposal requiring student user-fees for the athletics facility. Newell represented SSMU to the Board of Athletics and proposed delaying any discussion of the fitness centre financing in order for the sub-committee to explore its options further. The fea sibility of encouraging corporate sponsorship and advertising in the fitness centre will be explored. “I felt the best compromise was to allow the sub-committee to find an option along its mandate,” said Newell. “Its mandate was to find a way to fund the centre’s operational costs without imposing user-fees — I wanted to postpone any discussions until the committee could dis cuss legitimate options.” Newell’s mandate from SSMU council received a hostile reaction from the Board of Athletics, and the document she distributed during the meeting voicing SSMU’s position on the user-fee proposals was labelled inflammatory by Board Chair Dick Pound. “[The board] made the issue personal,” said Newell. “I was told in that meeting that I was ‘out to lunch.’” Derek Prohar, student repre sentative on the Board of Athletics, stated that the Board’s main objec tive is just to get the fitness centre open.
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SSMU council falters on support of Plan G: day of action endorsed by other student groups B y La u r a M a c N eil
SSMU council has postponed its decision to endorse the broadbased protest movement, Plan G. The demonstration and non-vio j lent blockade is planned for Novem ber 3 in Q uebec C ity, ; which will leave SSMU little time to mobilize student support, even if it does decide to endorse Plan G. SSM U VP External Lisa j Phipps relayed council’s reserva tions about supporting Plan G’s general mandate against global ism, neo-liberalism and poverty. “Plan G ’s demands are not specific enough,” said Phipps. “As a student association , I wouldn’t feel comfortable com plaining without specific educa tional demands. We’d just end up as thousands o f w hining stu dents.” Phipps feels she speaks for the pervasive sentiment of coun c il, but SSM U President Tara Newell articulated her personal
B e p a rt of th e. a c t io n
support for Plan G’s efforts. “I support Plan G ,” said Newell before the O ctober 9 council meeting. “I will let coun cil debate the motion whether or not to endorse it, but I personally support the motion.” Plan G derives its name from the name of the government build ing that will be blockaded —Complex G at the provincial legis lature. Organized by a coalition of four independent groups including L e M ouvem ent p o u r le d ro it à l ’éducation, the two-part demon stration and blockade will contin ue in the same spirit as last fall’s student strikes protesting the inac cessibility of education. MDE protested against ongoing educa tion cuts by occupying the offices of Immigration Minister André Boisclair’s last week. The broad themes of Plan G will enable smaller affinity groups to create a list of their own specif ic demands they want promulgat ed at the November 3 demonstra tion. Erin Runions, Quebec chair
person of the Canadian Federation of Students, stated that SSMU should be more involved in creat ing educational demands. “It’s too bad that SSMU post poned their decision because now it won’t be as involved in setting its demands,” said Runions. “Plan G is a coalition effort. As far as I can see, this action is incredibly well organized and really well thought out. Within each of the umbrella demands are other affin ity groups, each with their specific demands. If there are more educa tional affinity groups present then there will be more educational demands made.” M cG ill’ s Post-Graduate Students’ Society council endorsed Plan G in early September and is actively orga nizing its members to participate in the Plan G action. PG SS President Matthew Bergbusch explained that student activism has to go beyond campus limits. “Although Plan G is broadbased, students are members of a
largér community and have duties
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Differential fees lawsuit: SSMU fails to mobilize student response..............................P g-4 Le Chorale de L'Acceuil: helping homeless feel good about them selves.....................................pg.9 Punk Rock: Twenty years later and the end is still nigh...................................... pg.1 2 Redmen Soccer: clinch playoff berth over weekend............. pg. 19
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