News

Matching Dollars

The provincial government’s
expenditure-reduction
program, while planned to
have minimal impact
education, has not left UNBC
entirely untouched. .The
reduction to the operating
budget for the current 96-97
financial year is to be $116,000
- certainly regrettable, but
nevertheless a reasonably
small percentage of the
university’s overall budget. far
more significant is the change
to the government’s matching
dollars program.

UNBC was to have received
$1.3 million in matching funds
in 96-97 for this year this

number has been reduced to -

$740,000. The reduction has
put the University immediately
into a difficult situation in
deciding which of the funds
received should now be
matched as contributions
received in the year, in excess
of $2,000,000, now far exceed
the matching capacity.

The future of the University
Matching Program is also now
in considerable doubt. While
final decisions have not been
made, there are indications that

matching funds will be
applicable only to
contributions earmarked for
bursaries.

The newsletter of Simon
Fraser University covered the
issue in a long editorial,
lamenting the effect it would
have on SFU. the effect on
UNBC, however, would be
proportionately larger. As a
new university, UNBC does
not have decades. of
fundraising, supported by
earlier matching dollar
programs, behind it.
Scholarships and bursaries
have all been raised recently
with the assistance of the
current program. Matching
dollars has been a key feature
in a to-date successful
fundraising program, allowing
receipt of funds that would
otherwise not have been
pledged.

A full explanation of the
importance of matching funds
to UNBC, and why the change
is particularly damaging to a
new university, has been
forwarded to Victoria by
President Jago.

—t ditoriae—
Announcement

Over The Edge would like
to officially announce the
arrival of the new, (and
first ever), News Editor.
Dionne Olsen will be
filing the position until
the September '97
elections. Those of us at
Over The Edge are excited
about this recent addition
and would like to take this
opportunity to invite all
individuals interested in
working as news staff to
drop by our office in the
Wintergarden on the
Prince George campus to
find out more!

The Annual General Meeting
of the Northern Undergraduate
Student Society (NUGSS) was
canceled on January 31st, the
day that it was scheduled for
due to the fact that quorum was
not met. As it stands, sixty-six
members of the Society need to
show up to the AGM in order
for any motions or amendments
to be passed. Only forty
people actually turned out to
cast their votes at the meetings
peak.

The chair of NUGSS, Brian
Cole, blames the lack of voter
turnout on the fact that the
Society would be unable to
make amendments to their
constitution at this meeting.
He also claims that if the
constitutional amendments had
been applicable to this
meeting, then the member

February 3, 1997 -- Over The Edge -- Page 3

Northern Undergraduate Societies

Annual General Meeting Canceled

turnout would have at least
been double quorum and the
meeting would have gone
ahead.

Constitutional amendments
were notable to be made at the
meeting last Friday because
according to the British
Columbia Society Act, all
members of the Society, in this
case almost the entire UNBC
undergraduate population,
must be notified of the meeting
at least three weeks beforehand
in order that all members are
aware that constitutional
amendments are going to be
made. The notification mailers
were sent out late for the
reason that the NUGSS
directors were late in their
request for the mailer labels
from the registrars office. As
it stands, the directors of

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NUGSS were aware of only
one major constitutional
motion that was going to be put
fourth anyway, this being a
motion to rearrange the
funding structure of the “Over
the Edge” student newspaper.
There are also unconfirmed
reports of changes to be made
in the funding structure of the
women’s centre.

If anyone is interested in

attending the Northern
Undergraduate Student
Societies AGM, there is

another one that is going to be
held on Feb. 7, 1997, if you are
looking for a second chance to
cast your vote on major
decisions of NUGSS. Another
AGM is. scheduled for

sometime in March at which
amendments to NUGSS’s
constitution will be voted
upon.