January 27 2003

Friends,

On behalf of CFUR Radio |
will be submitting a bid for one
of the Pacificat ferries to be
auctioned in March. It is my
intention that this ferry, when
stripped of its running gear
and transported to Prince
George, will be mounted over
the existing Detention Pond,
facing out over the city. The
interior will be renovated to
house CFUR Radio and its
offices (in a choice spot on the
bridge), NUGSS, Over-the-
Edge, the Women’s Centre,
PG PIRG and other student
services and clubs. This will
also serve as the new student

Governing under the

By Dan Turner
On January 10th our
esteemed leader, Premier

Gordon Campbell, made a
“personal mistake.” He spent
the night having dinner and
drinks with friends at their win-
ter home in Maui. After that lit-
tle shindig, Gordon decided on
his own that he was OK to
drive and then got in his rent-
ed SUV and drove home.
After the story broke Friday,
people were led to believe by
Cabinet Ministers and later by
the Premier, that Campbell
only had a little to drink and it
was just a personal mistake he
made on his vacation; however
that was not the case.

During his tear-filled press
conference he tried to explain
his behavior with stories of pri-
vate time and family troubles.
While past experiences could
have been a factor, mentioning
that fact diverts attention away
from the problem that the
Premier broke the law. In fact,
a Maui police report released
by the Premiers Office states
that Campbell’s blood-alcohol
level was over double the legal
limit at 0.161 when he was
pulled over and the average
social drinker passes out at
0.160. While driving home the
Premier was reported to be
driving 40 km/h over the speed
limit and also apparently
swerved into an oncoming
lane, then back and into a bike
lane. This kind of erratic
behavior some how tipped off

Opinion

Over The Edge Page 5

Letter to the Editor:
Uncle Don’s Ark

union, thus enabling us to tap
the funds held for this purpose
by NUGSS. Space excess to
our needs will be allocated to
the University to use as offices
and for much-needed library
storage.

We anticipate that NUGSS
will help finance the purchase
while the Provincial govern-
ment will cover the transporta-
tion of the ferry sections to
Prince George. | assume that
Gordon Campbell (or his suc-
cessor) will be amenable to
this once he learns that we
intend to call the ship “Clark’s
Ark”. It. will then be up to the
University to pay for the reno-

the Maui police that perhaps
Mr. Campbell had been drink-
ing. The arresting officer noted
that Campbell had “an over-
whelming odour of alcohol” on
his breath. The Premier should
take all responsibility for what
he did and that means he
MUST resign.

He has broken what little trust

Columbia’s

British
Campbell, was charged with dri-
ving under the influence while on
vacation

premier,

the people of British Columbia
had in him and chances are he
will not be able to get it back.
How can we trust the judge-
ment of our Premier when he
personally decides to con-
sume over 13 alcoholic bever-
ages (13 was the amount he
was estimated to have pound-
ed down when his blood-alco-
hol level was first reported to
have been at 0.149), then per-
sonally decides to get behind
the wheel and personally put
himself and others at risk. He

vations, the foundation and the
connection of utilities. This will
be in their best interest
because of the space we will
free up in existing buildings
and storage space we will offer
them.

Clark’s Ark will be a fitting
symbol of our Northern
Capital, one of which we will
all be proud. | trust that you
are eagerly anticipating the
move from your current dun-
geon off the Winter Garden to
the light, airy quarters on this
fine, new ship.

Sincerely yours,
Uncle Don

influence

made the choice to drive while
intoxicated and now must face
the consequences!

After the story broke that
Gordon Campbell was
charged, the press, like a buz-
zard, circled his dying career.
BCTV News spent a full third
of the hour-long news broad-
cast covering the events. His
mugshot graced the front
pages of the Globe and Mail,
and was the top story for
CBC's The National and CTV
News. But the best part was
when the political satires took
up the story. From Air Farce’s
fake press conference intro-
ducing Gordon Campbell's
Gin, to This Hour Has 22
Minutes warning the Premier
that it is Hawaii 5-0 not Hawaii
.05.

“1991 saw the resignation of
Bill Vander Zalm. Mike
Harcourt resigns over scandal
in 1995. In 1999 Glen Clark
resigns in disgrace. Gordon
Campbell is charged with
drunk driving in 2003. BC vot-
ers electing quality candi-
dates. Another proud part of
our Canadian Heritage” -This
Hour Has 22 Minutes.

. pointment

A General

Critique of

Over The Edge

By Blair Tennessy

Putting the Litter back in
Literate since 1994

As a representative of the
student body, Over The Edge
is charged with informing the
UNBC student population of
current events in an unbiased
and professional manner.
Unfortunately, this paper
reflects none of the student
competence that is surely pre-
sent within our institution. | feel
it my duty to voice my disap-
ere. One should
expect a high quality paper in
both form and content; at the
very least it should hold par
with other newspapers pub-
lished in the city of Prince
George. It is not from lack of
means that this paper is badly
representing the student body.

Physical Layout

Throughout the course of
history man has refined him-
self through his gadgets, his
artifacts, his tools. We may
evaluate the worth of a man
based on the ingenuity he
expresses. The correct appli-
cation of a tool reflects the
extent of personal compe-
tence; no o functions without
a master. Over The Edge is
consistent in the misuse of
their relatively powerful pre-
sentation software. Unaligned
boxes, non-uniform spacing,
and confusing article layout

suggest a lack of aesthetic
comprehension on the part of
the production team. | suggest
choosing a different font for the
main text (one featuring ser-
ifs), sticking with a few simple
page templates (probably
included in/suggested by your
layout software), and laying off
the inverted text (white on
black/gray). Some rules may
help to delineate article
boundaries.

Content

While one can hardly object
to the overzealous gay activist
stance propounded in the last
issue (“Ambiguously Gay
Since 1994”), one does expect
a certain professionalism in
presenting the “news”.
Although not entirely devoid of
content (the comics are
funny), most of the articles are
either irrelevant (“Spot the
Gym Dandy”) or receive better
coverage in real newspapers
(“BC Premier Caught Driving
Impaired in Hawaii”). Perhaps
the reporters could determine,
say, the distribution of the $2
million dollars received for off-
shore gas and oil exploration,
or the members of the UNBC
faculty involved in this venture.
Finally, as a university student
| am offended by your “filthy
filthy pigs” call for submission.

Response to “A General

Critique”
By The Staff

We greatly appreciate the
criticism of our valued readers
and take great pains to
accommodate the views of
those who feel strongly
enough to submit suggestions
that will increase the quality of
our paper. We would also like
to thank this particular individ-
ual for hearing the call to sub-
mit. However, you will forgive
us if we find certain forms of
criticism an act of malicious
intellectual assault, and based
completely on unfounded pre-
sumptions.

You raise some interesting
points in your critique of this

newspaper. For example, you
say that “Over the Edge is
charged with informing the
UNBC student population of
current events in a profession-
al and unbiased manner.” The
purpose of Over the Edge is to
inform students about issues
and events that affect them,
provide them with material for
their education and entertain-
ment, and provide students
with an opportunity to learn
about all aspects of newspa-
per production. Over the Edge
does all of these things. As a
volunteer organization on this
continued on page 6