January 14, 2004 : | 5

Battle of the Bands
brings Mayhem to UNBC

Visits from the police and vandalism mar annual event.

Photo by Dana Schwehr
Vandals trashed ceiling tiles in the men’s bathroom during the
Battle of the Bands.

Once again, the Battle of the Bands
has brought the UNBC campus a little
more than its organizers had bargained
for - loud music, screaming fans, a
whole lot of vandalism, and a visit from
the police.

While the crowd, comprised mainly
of UNBC students and non UNBC
students from local high schools and
the College, appreciated the talents of
the competing bands, some people
were content to miss the show entirely,
by spending their evening smashing out
the ceiling tiles above the urinals n a
men’s bathroom.

The damage was discovered by cam-
pus security towards the end of the
evening, and resulted in the men’s bath-
room in the agora being closed off until
the event was over.

The ceiling tiles were found in bro-
ken pieces all over the floor and stuffed
into urinals, and appeared to have been

damaged by being punched through.

As the Battle of the Bands was a joint
production between NUGSS and
UNBG, facilities is investigating the
incident. NUGSS had no official com-
ment to give when asked by Over the
Edge.

While facilities’ investigation is still
ongoing, some university students feel
that the bathroom vandalism was
purpetrated by youth from in town.
One student who asked not to be iden-
tified said “at was probably one of those
drunk teenagers that were probably
completely unaware of what they were
doing, and probably won’t remember it
tomorrow.”

The police were also called to the
campus to deal with another incident
that occurred during the Battle of
Bands, however according to security,
the police were not called because of
the vandalism. Details of both facilities
and the police investigation were
unknown at press time.

Remembering murdered women

not enough: advocates
UN report criticized B.C. welfare cutbacks

By Amalia Colussi and Sarah
Petrescu, The Martlet

VICTORIA (CUP) =
Remembering the women who died
in the Montreal Massacre is not
enough, say women's advocates in
B.C.

As the 13th memorial approaches
for the women who died on
December 6, 1989, advocates say just
remembering the victims could be
considered hypocritical,

“Nobody wants to talk about the
real issues of why women are being

’ killed in this province right now,” said
Penny Bain from -the B.C. Institute
Against Family Violence.

Bain said the majority of violence
against women is within relationships.
51 per cent of -all Canadian women
have experienced sexual or physical
violence, according to a recent Stats
Can report. Close to 60 per cent of
these women survived more than one
violent incident.

Bain said cutbacks to social services
by the B.C. Liberal government put
women at a greater.risk of staying in
violent relationships by limiting their
financial and cmotional abilitics to
Ieave.

“The whole system has turned a
blind cye,” said Bain. “People don’t
want to face up to the fact that for
women it is often a lot less safe to be at
home.”

Each year since the 14 female stu-
dents at L’ccole Polytechnique
University in Montreal were mur-

)

dered by fellow student Marc Lepine
in 1989, Canadians have gathered in
various vigils and ceremonies to raise
awareness and pay tribute.

In commemoration of the mas-
sacre, December 6 was officially pro-
claimed by the provincial government
as “Day of Remembrance and Action
on Violence Against Women in.
British Columbia.”

Last year, Lynn Stevens, the
Minister of State for Women’s
Equality, issued a message declaring
that the deaths of the women in
Montreal became a catalyst for ongo-
ing work to overcome violence against
women. They moved us to stand up
and say that violence against
women—or anyone—is simply not
acceptable.

Cindy L’Hirondelle, coordinator of

the Victoria Status of Women Action
Group (SWAG), said Stevens and the
B.C, Liberal government are not
working to end violence against
women.

SWAG is boycotting the Dec. 6
events altogether. For the past two
years they have demonstrated against
the vigils. Last year, they laid out 60
pink socks on the B.C. Legislature
steps to symbolize the 60 women miss-
ing from Vancouver’s downtown cast-
side.

“There are 500 missing First
Nations women in Western Canada,”
said L:Hirondelle. “This is a constant
problem, especially in the North.”

Government cuts have also forced

some women into the sex trade, as
they look for ways to make ends meet,
she said. “What’s going to happen in
April?” she asked, referring to the
next round of welfare cuts.

Rose Henry, -from the Capital
Region Race Relations Association,
said violence against certain women is
often overlooked or ignored. Abuse of
First Nations women and women in
the sex trade, for example, doesn't get
talked about, she said.

Many First Nations women find

trusting a society or system that is not ~

always culturally sensitive to be an
obstacle, said Henry. The CRRRA
offers counselling, support groups,
workshops and other assistance to
those impacted by racism.

Henry herself has overcome, a vio-
lent relationship with an alcoholic and
abusive first husband.

“T asked my friends for help, but I
had to keep asking over a scrics of
years before I was willing to accept
that help and change my way of life,”
she said. “It took. having a baby to
realize I had to do something. Even
then, making a change was difficult. It
took a long time before I felt like tak-
ing the risk of being on my own. This
is the problem, what a lot of abused
women feel. They don’t want to be
alone,” said Henry.

Frontline advocates like Bains,
LHirondelle and Henry: are not the
only critics of the government's cur-
rent methods of addressing issucs of
violence against women. According to

a recent report by the United Nations
Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, B.C.
fails to mect their standards of oppos-
ing and preventing violence against
women.

“The Committee is concerned
about a number of recent changes in
British Columbia which have a dis-
proportionately negative impact on
women, in particular Aboriginal
women,” the report stated.

The report criticizes the cutbacks to
legal aid and welfare assistance, the
incorporation of the Ministry of
Women’s Equality under the Ministry
of Community, Aboriginal and
Women’s Services, the abolition of
the Human Rights Commission, the
closing of a number of courthouses
and the proposed changes to the pros-
ccution of domestic:violence, as well
as cuts to support programs for vic-
tims.

“Tt may be possible that B.C. is the
orily province ever singled out like
this,” said L’Hirondelle, who said the
government needs to commit to.devel-
oping solutions.

“People are giving up,” she said.
“They don't have the energy it takes
to stick up for themselves and many
women are staying in abusive situa-

tions.”

The Northern Medical
Program Trust has
named its new officers.
Marilyn Davies, a munic-
ipal councillor from
Terrace, is the first
president of the NMPT,
while Colin Kinsley
(Mayor of Prince
George) was named
vice-president, Rose
Colledge (Tumbler
Ridge councillor) was
named Secretary,
Sharon Cochran (Uh
VP-Administration an
Finance) was named
Treasurer. The NMPT is
a partnership whereby
communities pledge -
financial and political
support for the
Northern Medical
Program. So far, twenty
communities have made
this commitment.
UNBC’s commitments
to the Trust include

approaching corpora-
tions with operations in —
northern communities

for financial contribu-
tions. So far, the NMPT
has raise about $250
000. Its goal is to raise
$6 million over the next
five years.

GARBAGE MOUNTAIN
SEAGULL HEAVEN
On Garbage Mountain Seagull
Heaven
God has bulldozers for fingers
and shapes the landscape
in the image that lingers
of our glorious consumption.

Plastic bag tumbleweeds rustle
past ;

empty glass bottles poking

up from the ground,

humming dischords in the wind
like broken and abandoned
church organs

played by the forgotten
recycling ghosts.

And the sky is blue!

but the days arc loonngg,
where-the ozone is a lidless eye
gone blind from staring at the
sun,

and the only sound it the

' _ seagull throng

sqwaking and screeching their
panicked song

on the landfill

Garbage Mountain Seagull
Heaven.

Earson H. Gibson