With numerous trips to Siberia, Greg Poelzer's most recent one has allowed him the ability to perceive the various changes that have taken place. Surprisingly, much has been done to improve the SOBERING STATISTICS You probably remember being handed free beer in the Winter Gardens during the National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week; but then, there was nothing in it that might have impaired your memory. Students of UNBC and the Office of Student Services organized the information tables and distribution of the innocuous brew, the latter of which was offered as one of many alternatives to alcohol. The following statistics were made available to- promote alcohol consumption awareness, a perpetual campaign at universities across Canada: university. For instance, 40 billion rubles (or 18 million dollars) has been recently spent on the 530 Universities throughout Russia. Although this may not seem like a great amount in comparison to Canadian standards, for these people, it is an exceptional extravagance. _by Melissa Fegarido Which of these stats would you be responsible for? * 80% of students drink alcoholic beverages * 62.1% drink beer at least once a month. * 34.2% drink beer at least once aweek. _ * 2.2% drink beer daily * Over a two-month period, 5.9% of students decided to drink alcoholic beverages instead of attending class * Througout the course of an academic year, 11.4% of students skip classes because they’re too hung overt) On Yakutsk State alone, there has been an investment of 18 billion rubles. Six new buildings have been added to the facilities, novelty of paint. although we are accustomed to our many faculties, that of Economics has just been to Yakutsk State. Evidently, the universities in Russia have finally begun to long-needed added receive improvem However, the rural lands throughout the country have self- With the state being no longer responsible for each community, many recently sufficient. problems Electricity in these areas™is becoming non-existent, and the price of reindeer meat ‘(their source of subsistence) is now outrageously including the Also, the ents. become have arisen. expensive. One of the most striking things apparent to Carin Holroyd on her first trip to Siberia was that the area ‘lacked unsuitable running —- water, housing, and (Continued on page 8) CONTACTING OVER THE EDGE See something in “Over the Edge” that you would like io see again, want to offer suggestions on how we can make our paper better. Please contact us. Here are all the ways you can : ‘Our Editors and their E-mail addresses, waiting for your response. © x Copy Editor: Manpreet Sidhu- sidhu@ugrad.unbc.edu Production Editor: Tracy Gula- gula@ugrad.unbec.edu News Editor: Charles Hogg- hogg@ugrad.unbc.edu Sports Editor: D’Arcy Davis - davis@ugrad.unbe.edu Arts Editor:Damien Joly- joly@ugrad.unbe.edu x Our FAX number is 960-6330. You can also drop off letters at the student services office where we have a mail box (it is checked every day). You can also send general comments by E-mail to over-the- edge@ugrad.unbc.edu We also hold regular meetings at 11:30am on Wednesdays in the glass room across from the “bar”. Remember all letters to the editor must have your name, student number and phone number must be included if the letter is to be printed.