Over The Edge Page 4 EDITORIA L September 21, 1999 Reflections on a field camp UNBC's first field camp. 2504 km of driving. Two remote camping sites. A grueling unrelenting itinerary. 25 stu- dents and two profs. It was like being a rock band on tour. A quick stop, nice chatty conver- sation with the locals then back into the bus for another long journey. We slept in different beds and didn't get use to one place to long. UNBC's first forestry field camp was held from August 22-Sept. 3. 25 forestry, wildlife and fishery students spent two weeks learning about forestry and its interactions with the environment, wildlife and fisheries. My MP People talk about Western. alien- ation, Northern alienation and rural alienation. | am going to be talking about these things, but in a very indi- rect way. In Prince George, many cit- izens have a sense that their views do not make any difference in Victoria, let alone Ottawa. What | found on the Prince George PIRG table here at UNBC strengthens the argument of those people. On the PG PIRG table this summer | found a bookmark that denounced the federal government for turning over student loans to banks. This, in and of itself, is a very good thing, because students need as much help as they can get when it comes to financing their education. Once out of the class room, the cook book forestry which permeates the class room was tossed out the win- dow in an attempt to meet all the vari- ables in the real forest. Hats off the Professor and TA. They did a great job of keep the crew on time and informed. Kudos also to the guest speakers who held court on the sides of active logging roads and in the serenity of the forest. They were well chosen and had something con- tribute. It was a team effort from UNBC pre-planning to students not running and hiding when guest speakers What | found offensive about the bookmark, however, was the fact that it told me to write to “My MP” and list- ed a number of British Columbian Members of Parliament. Not one MP was representing any of the ridings north of the Fraser Valley. This lead me to several conclusions and theo- ries about PG PIRG and how it feels about the opinion of people in Prince George: Possibility 1. PG PIRG has real- ized, what a number of people in Prince. George have known all along, to be taken seriously you must live south of Hope. By writing to MPs from the Lower Mainland we can pre- tend we live in the south and perhaps Jay Hill started lectures before morning cof- fee. After sleeping on the ground for a couple of days, the ritual of morning coffee becomes sacred. Bathing on the other hand is purely optional. (Unless you are really eager to chop through the ice on the lake for spine- tingling, mind-numbing swim.) All of us carry the memories of the first field camp but there needs to be something more. Some sort of badge that says to other students and other faculty that we went the distance and didn't screw it up for future studenis. Indeed that badge already exists. All guest speakers were rewarded with fool the federal government into tak- ing our opinions seriously. Possibility 2. PG PIRG does not read any of the material they put out for public consumption and therefore did not realize that the geographic majority of the Province was left out on this bookmark. Possibility 3. PG PIRG does read the material they put out for the public but didn’t realize either a)where they were or b) where the majority of UNBC students live. | honestly don’t know what the answer is. Perhaps next time PG PIRG will at least include a list of local MPs for us to write to along with their bookmarks and postcards. Listing Prince George Richard Harris limited edition ball camps embroi- dered with UNBC Field Camp 1999. | think that the students on the field camp should be extended the cour- tesy of a ball cap. If not simply to say thanks for being the guinea pigs in a grand experiment. An experiment that the we helped fund. If nothing else, it's good to advertising for next year's field camp. AARON MAHONEY MPs would have taken them about 5 minutes, because they are in the tele- phone book. | know this because | took the time to do it. If you would like to write to your local MP about stu- dent loans, millennium grants or west- ern, northern, or rural alienation you can. They are: Jay Hill, MP for Prince George-Peace River or Richard Harris, MP for Prince George-Bulkley Valley. NICOLE LARSON Prince George - Peace River 213 - 1811 Victoria Street 800-661-1183 Prince George - Bulkley Valley 214 - 1811 Victoria Street 564-7771 Prince George 800-668-4282 Other Areas LETTERS Thanks from ICRC In late April of this year, NUGSS made a donation of one thou- sand dollars to support the refugees and the war victims, suffering from the war in the Balkans. We are proud to tell you that we have received a letter from ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) thanking us all for this wonderful cause: Dear Members of the i. 20> Pte hie in Undergraduate Student Society, Thank you for your check of 1,000 US Dollars, which you made through our Website (www.helpi- crc.org) to support the humanitarian activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in favour of the victims from Kosovo. The ICRC is still pre- sent in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in Macedonia, in Montenegro and _ in Albania. Despite the late dramatic events our organization still pro- vides assistance and protection for the most vulnerable groups. Thousand of men, women and _ children, forced to flee, have left all their possessions behind and are living today in total fear and deep confusion. The ICRC delegates are working hard, in dif- ficult security condi- tions. They supply hos- ment! pitals and first aid posts with emergency medicaments, they try to evacuate civilians who are caught up in the fighting, to more secure regions, and they distribute relief — material. Your donation is par- ticularly important for us at the moment. It will be directly assigned to the most urgent needs. Thank you for your trust and your involve- Anton Burgener Head of Promotion and Private Fundraising On behalf of Student ay, | would like to thank you all again for making this possible. Mike Lau the NUGGS Over The Edge alcove all jaiats to the editor and attempts to print every submis- sion. Submissions may be withheld and print- ed at a later date due to spacial restrictions. Over The Edge reserves the right to edit for Beer, memes t content, oe ‘in i in ‘to the Editor.