BCTV (Not) TV For BC

By Paul Berard

One could only describe the
BCTV broadcast as one of
the more interesting events
on campus in awhile.

Or maybe just better attend-
ed.

The broadcast itself was
held in the Wintergarden
here at UNBC. For those
who came out to see it, it was
a lot of fun, and it also gave
the students from the lower
mainland a chance to see a
piece of home. The aftermath
of the whole deal gives a
slightly different impression,
however.

About an hour after the
broadcast, the first written
proof came in. A single post
to “unbc.flames” - a news-
group for UNBC students -
appeared asking what other
people thought of the BCTV
broadcast. Instantly the issue
began to heat up - with the
main contention over the rep-
resentation of people in
northern British Columbia.

Most pointed to the broad-
cast as being largely degrad-
ing to northerners through
the use of several clips of
rural Prince George and the
introduction of the UNBC
roping club. Others pointed
to the other news content of
the broadcast - a piece on
the Pacific Western Brewery,
the Paul Ramsey Recall
effort and the lack of times
for surgery at the Prince
George Regional Hospital
(PGRH) as poor news con-
tent. The piece on PGRH
neglected to mention that the
Hospital has a lack of sur-
geons - not just a lack of
surgery openings.

Indeed, it seems that the
actions of one bold individual
did more to get noticed on
the broadcast than BCTV
did. A laser pointer was
aimed at Tony Parsons for a
brief moment before dissa-
pearing.

The event did some things
for UNBC that were benefi-
cial. Students had _ the
oppourtunity to get together

and show off their school
spirit - and here | find myself
eating my words over editori-
als earlier this year regarding
student apathy - by painting
UNBC on their bodies and
hollering a lot. The turnout for
the event was staggering,
with many influential local
politicians and other admin-
strative individuals making it
out.

But the simple fact remains.
Prince George has grown a
great deal in the past few
years. The University of
Northern British Columbia
and College of New
Caledonia have been instru-
mental developments in the
addition of knowledgeable
people - for both the trades
and service industries.

This is no longer just anoth-
er city with a passion for beer
and loudmouths. This is
home for a whole bunch of
people. New developments -
such. as the multi-million
Parkwood Mall development
which just opened - are rep-
resentative of people looking
to the future and planning
ahead to be part of the mar-
ket. Growth is the major
issue here.

And with that growth comes
the necessary discussions of
how to deal with the down-
sides to that process.
Unemployment and criminal
activity have become issues
for most people in the north.

The BCTV broadcast was
unique in how it made a
group of people stand
together. For their part, peo-
ple in the north need to
ensure that when such a
forum is available, that they
are on board - not whining in
the dust.

Undoubtably, BCTV has to
serve the audience in their
immediate area. To that argu-
ment, it leaves the media

outlets’ hands tied. However, -

the effort did have little to
counter the feelings of those
left to live here.

“K2 is not the biggest mountain, but it’s harder to climb. No,
wait, correct that, more idiots try to climb it...and die.”

- Paul Berard, Editor in Chief on the subject of The Idiot
Death Rate for 1997.

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Over The Edge - Page 5

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of Course,

Top Ten Reasons
Why The APEC
Summit Is Not Being
Held At UNBC

by (guest columnist) Vince Yim

So when le wer
Star} acting?
r

Whe! +? 10: In Asia, they really like 4: Who wants to drink beer
hos acting! Coca Cola. with a human right violator?
> whet do you :

ey wean * inde 9: Too many people showed 3: A guy with a dark trench-
dant tal up when they were looking coat and a briefcase full of

for snipers to protect the $100 bills...ah, nevermind

Your oft hude world leaders. (for those new to UNBC, |
Sucks, beat that joke to death last

semester during my stay at
UNBC).

8: Golden opportunity for
the Greater Vancouver's
“Best Transit Of 1996” (Best

a Transit My ASS!) to encour- = 2: Horrible international rela-
pointer) age commuters to “Go tions disaster that ocurred
Green”. when an international UNBC

liaison said “D’ui ne lo mo”
(“Go —— Your Mother’) to a
Chinese diplomat, thinking it
meant the same thing as “Ni
hao ma?” (“How are you”) in
Mandarin. .

- 7: There isn’t enough traffic
to block off in Prince
George.

6: Students were in an
uproar when Randall
Brazonni proposed that all
the students give up their
rooms in residence to house
all of those world leaders.

1: Since a new break-
through in the study of the
E. Coli bacteria strain was
discovered at UBC, it
seemed like a really ideal
place to hold a luncheon.

5: It's easier to arrest Anti-
APEC protesters at UBC.