OPINIONSAND EDITORIALS CASCADE;AN INSIDER'S EXPOSE:

By Beth Kelleher

As I sit in the cluttered and chaotic Cu~cade office. contemplating my new role as Casutde editor, I realise that it has been over 2 months since my "Insider's F.xpose'' on Ii Fe at the Cascade nnd a lot has happened since tbenJ so I thought I'd write an updntcJ

Two months ugo. myself, und former editor, James Clurk, uncndcd u journalism confer-:ncc in Edmonton. Jumcs wrnte a conl\:rcm;i; n:view which l found seemingly endless unIusemcnt while editing as it deals mainly with drunkenness nnd pornography, (ii' you haven't reud it. come by our ortice one Jay and grab a copy. Though it's com· pletely non-representntive of what uctually look place at the conference or what was lcnrned. it's hilarious!)

Seven wi.:eks ago, in u brief lapse of sanity, I tagged along on a mini-road trip to Everett Washington. with James lark and his brother Andrew to pick up their snowboard• ing equipment which they had shipped to an American friend of mine. Despite the grat• ing mixture of Christina Aguilera and radio rambler. Art Bell for four hours. the convcrsntion wns actunlly quite interesting - par• ticulurly when the topic turned to God und religion: a subject which al three of us are known Ill thrive on d-:baIing for hours.

Just over a month ago, the Cascade bi;camc.: unoflic.:ially 'cdiLor•ICss.' Allhough the rest of the Cusca<lcstuff pulled together beautifully and we still managed to come out with out Christmas Issue (I also managc<l LO try somi; delicious Ethiopian food while I was in Burnaby waiting for the printers with another Cascade writer), it wu~ a week late and missing that antagonist edge that we've become known for (I offer my humblest apologies if you miss it as much as we don't though the angry letters were interesting Hi read)

Four weeks ago, Toquians, Kris Lind ;;ind Jeff Baillie paid our al-the-lime strangely quiet office a visit. Though they claim their visit was purely an objective effort to coordinate rrinting schedules, they JisproveJ their own story by coming out with their fifth issue the same week as our sixth. Therefore, I still have no idea whut inspired their two and a half hours of polite and oddly encouraging conversation ( I am told that when the opposition / competition is too nice - I should be concerned. )

Part Ii

L,1stFriday, I. as well as News and Features Editor, Noah Arney. and Photographer. Mary Glasgow, ,1ttended the bi-monthly SUS council meeting. Albeit the sifting through of wordiness such as ''I call the question. I move to table !he motion to further discus!: the motion in favour? .opposed? abstaining? noted," learned a lot about bure.1ucracy (particular· ly that if possible, l'd like to avoid becoming ensnared in it) At this meeting, Cascade Autonomy, the dispersing or the Ad-Sales Position, and the revival of an Arts and Entertainment Position were also discussed.

Last week I spent a total of S hours trying to nccess our cu1TenIly unaccessible Group Wise email address. I also had the distinct pleasure and privilege of placing over two d07:enculls to the institution's computer and technology help desk - of which, only fi;1e were rerurned and none that have proved bt:t1efii.;iulthus far.

Two and a half weeks ago, I ran into the illusive Mr.Clark in Langley who informed me in under I Oseconds that he "can't do it," lh.it obviously begs the question "Can't do WHAT, exactly?!" Of the many bizarre anJ remote as well as at-least-somewhat relevant conversations you'd had in the last two 111onth,that slutement could hnve 111e,111t anything from ''I can't do life without God." to ''J c,In 't maintain my insane schedule" tn ''I can't snowboard as well with being daily inspired by the Cascade mascot potato• heads" to whnt it actunlly was: ''I can·1 commit to the Cascade this semester."

/\ week and a half ago, I returned from a fantastic New Yenrs in Sylvan lake /\ll)erta with friends to the past-deadline disorgan• isi;d disarray that vaguely resembled a Cascadt.: Issue Six in progress. Miraculllusly enough, thanks lo a brillianl and dedicated staff as well as some very helpful and undersIanding people at our printers, and despite numerous technical difficulties, we actually managed to print our last issue on time (Go Cuscaders!)

Shortly after the ahove mentioned meeting, (during which time, J was al least somewhat nervous after discovering that I was apply• ing for the position agninst a very t,1lented member of the Toque staff whom I deemed to be very real competition) I was officially given the job of Cnscade Editor in Chief. Upon hearing this news, untl nfter another visit from members of the Toque staff, J becnme several Cascade quests and crusades with rassionate enthusiasm. Of course these inevitably resulted in little sleep, and the need for much coffee (for those of you who are not aware, the Cascade t:1kes gre:It pride in the newest addition to our office cllllter: n beautiful and cheap shiny white Walmart coffee maker.I).

Yesterday evening, a Sunday. I collapsed into hed nt 2:30am. only slightly less than exuberantly anticipating waking up at 7:30 am this morning. to distribute issues to our advertisers, Now it's not that I don't love mornings, and it's not thnt an appreciate compliment from someone in the community doesn't make my day, it'~ just that how could time spont outside the office - even doing Cascade business - possibly compare to time spent inside the office? J

Today I spent four and a half hours at Sl:hool - at least three quarters of which I spent at the Cascade, accomplishing all sorts of official-type things such as confirming our email still does not work, placing my hourly call to the tech help desk, embarking on my daily (sometimes hourly) trek to the SUS office to re-discover that they sti II do not have or know what J wish they did, and writing this column (Doesn\t Cascade Life sound liken blast'!!)

So as l near the end of my second informa• rive, though moderately rambling exposition. J just want to thank you. the student body of UCFV, for supporting and reading your student newspaper. You may have little or no iden, tlwt in doing so, you are doing all of: supporting your school, embracing a lifestyle. and crusading for the right to have a voice so Thank-you!

Tf you have any <.;Otn111ems,<,;otnpluints, questions or suggestions (or if you were one of the people I've referenced in this piece, and must respond), please feel free to Jrop by our office (A-226) and we'll likely ask you to write whatever you muse say on paper (. , , who knows, it may gel published?!) Editors note. the Cascade publishes (almost) everything they c,in get their hands on, as evidenced in our Inst six issues.

Nome: f\~hley I !ill

/>mgro111:Bachelor of Scienci: /)r, J(JH bclie1·i- i11 lll'(//utio11 '!

Nn. the thought that pe~ipleorii;inuk:d rroir\ slime and single-celled organisms Joesn·t

111::ike::111ysense

Do you hdic·1'L' 1/w/ f)('(lf1/<' CWII<' f/'(}111 mnnk,•y.1·?

No, despite the foci that some people <,;c)llld make you think otherwise by the w11y tlil'y act.

Nm11e:Peter Bremner

Pmgra111:General Studji;s

Do you believe in E1•0/111io11'!

Don't know. Both common thr.:orics (cvolu• Iion and creation) don't work fur me

Do you beliCl'I! tha.t people ca111eJi'o111 11w11key.1·?

Not certain

By K. Sedore

In drm,Lic. defici1-reducing measures. the Liberal government has taken the axe ro a number of ministries, crown corporalions and social programs leaving civil ervice employees reeling from being declared ·redundam' with the distribt1tion of some 11,700 pink slips on Thurs<lay. January I71h, 2002, Apparently only Health and Education were spared from the financial guillotine for now, bu1 the tuition freeze that's been in place over the past six years is under review, and funding for health care is to remain at 200 I levels. All other ministries have been subjected to J 25% reduction in funding. with staffing lt:vels cut by as inuch as two thirds.

The Water, Land, and Air Protection Ministry (for111erlythe Ministry of the Environment) has lost some four hundred jobs and will 110longer respond lO 'low-risk' pills or problems, nor will they fund low-use can1pgrou11dsor recl'eation sites. The Forest Ministry suffered a loss of fourteen hundrcd jobs, approximately 35% of their stuffing, as well as twelve district fon:st offii.:es. Consequently, the management of our provincial forest. will be delcgu1ed 10 the industry much the same as letting the fox guarcJ the henhouse. Plans are afoot to either shut down or sell off the Mini1>try's ecd orchards and nurseries, as well as the eliminntion of funding for the maintenance of recreation and trai I sites.

The Ministry of Transportation has been reduccd,by a whopping 53% and is now ·exploring public private partner• ships' with which to maintain our prov jncc 's Lrnn portation infrastructure. Public highways, the ferries, as well as bridges, roadways, ,md-you-n.1me-it arc

Blackthursday

now considered by the minish:r fair g.ime for privatization.

On thc lighter side of things, the Liberals have opened up the rossibility of compctilil1n for LhcInsurance Corporntion of Brirish oluntbia (ICBC)

The most unpalal• able cuts were to the provincial social programs, with welfare rel'ipicnts seeing :1reduction in bcncfit!s for tho~c deemed employable: ~ingle parents with their youngest child over the ngc of three years and thqse people aged lifty-livc ro six1y-four will nnw be clnssiticd a~ such. as well ns the latter group having hnd their entitlement redut;cd to an estimated $525.00 per month. Those who arc considered employable will be required 10 provide some son of proof that they arc looking for work or will have their social assistnnce benefits terminated. Pcnsionern on social assistance will no longer be provided with bus passes. The qualification proce s to rcl'.eive we! fare will now be even niorc stringent (up until this wcek, the average application took approx imatcly five to eight business days to complete, depending on worker-case Iouds).

Emergency hardship assistance is no longer available if you quit your job or if you arc a refugee claimant.

Conversely, s oc i a I

YouAre Here (like the Cambell Governmentcares)

assistflnce rat.:-~l'o, the disabled huve gone up. There wus no mention of cuts to daycnre subsidies Ih:11so 11wny working and f.tUdcnt• parents .ire rclin111LH1.but iii~ expected that the chunges to the qualilication process for well'urc i~ bouncJ t(1 affect numerous UCFV st11dentsthis cu111i11gsum mcr. Thirty six welfare office~ will bc closed, and reports of anywhere from 2800 10 3500 social workers throughout the province arc lo be ''shifted'" co nn as yet unknown "regional authority"' offict.

Cul!> tl1 the prnvincbl legal system un: per• plcxing, with the closure of 1wc111y-four courthouses ( from a current bay-eight) and eight open• and medium- sccurity cmrcctionul facilities. It is expected thl11inmates at remaining facilities are to 'doubk-bunk' until some closed facilities cun be renovated and reopened. Five probation offices urc heing closed. Legal Aid suffered a 40% cm in av<1ilublefunding for family nnl.l poverty law, us well us the closure nf upproxinrn1cly twenly offices 1hroughou1 the province. There's no word yet 011 how the Fraser Valley has been affected. but the word ii,; thnl the news was not well-rc<:civcd at the Ahhotsford Legal Services Society.

Other facilitic~ !hill ulso face closures are five energy offices, rwo H:11ancyoffices, two coroner's offices and one me<Jicolservict: plan office. as well as the much p11blicilecl hospitnl closures like the Deli.1 e,ncrgency roo111.Regional authorities have been shouldered with additional responsibilitici> i,uch as the regulation of wnter quality and were subjected to a pep-talk .ibout fiscal r~sponsibil11y.Although the province has suffered sub tan1iul losses in its civil service industries. lt1c.illy we have thus far survived and been spared deep cuts. Community alcohol and drug abu e programs went on the block with other local cc,mmunity-based programs also facing terminal futures once the budgets ur..: handed down on Pebruury 12th. 2002. Predictions aside, this 111ut'h i~ known: Abbotsfortl will not be withllut its losses on what could bedubbed 'Blue TucsJay'.