Over The Edge Page 4 | OPINION March 10, 1998

Hot ‘n Heavy: Clearing the Air and Fogging Windows

by Paul Berard

| have to admit that there are
times when one feels like getting
close to someone else.

And by admitting that, | know
that | have confirmed that there
are other times when one does
not feel such an affinity with any-
one else.

Traveling is a great example of
this situation. Having the geo-
graphic advantage of living in
Prince George and being a rela-
tively large distance from any-
thing, one can study this phenom-
enon in great detail.

For instance, several people |!
know were quite willing to take a
exorbitantly long ride home with
somebody that they absolutely
despised. Others, like the people
from Over The Edge who attend-

ed the Western Regional
Canadian University Press
Conference (WRCUP) in

Kelowna, liked each other at the
beginning of the journey. By the
end of the 1500 kilometer trip, all
of the occupants of the van were
practically beating each other to
get out first.

This phenomenon has very little
to do with liking people. What
happens is everybody-has a set
of good stories to tell and so
things go well for the first couple
hundred kilometers. After that
there follows a series of silences
dotted flavorfully with semi-intelli-

gent conversation and second
rate stories. Much further than
this period, which lasts about one
to two hours, results in somebody
revealing much, much more than
the rest want to hear.

This, if somebody doesn't find a
way to stop it, can lead to canni-
balism, decisions made regarding

-running for a position on the

Canadian Nazi Party and/or the
need to sedate.

Either that, or the most undesir-
able orgy of bad stories ever col-
lected in one place:

And-so, one can gather vast
amounts of important blackmail-
ing information on their co-work-
ers and friends. (Right now there
are probably six people reading
this column, trying desperately to
remember what they said around
me during Reading Break...)

Another person | know, who also
left for Reading Break, now has
even less respect for their best
friends’ girlfriend. As a matter of
fact, | was amazed to hear that
his adventure did not result in a
tragic and messy death for the
occupants of the vehicle.

How can people avoid this
unnecessary angst? | don’t know.
| thought that music might be the
solution, but that just resulted in
people trying to speak, others not
being able to hear them, a fight
breaking out and the music get-

ting turned off until somebody
asked for music again. This cycle
was then repeated, throwing
around the occupants like socks
in a dryer. It also resulted in a
select group of people complain-
ing that they could not stand a
song titled “Kiss Me Where It
Smells Funny’.

Others simply read books,
ignored everybody else’s prob-
lems and survived the long and
torturous road. A couple others
brought their own music and little
yellow walkman, which eventually
opened a whole new can of
worms when they complained
that the music in the vehicle was
obliterating thei? Beeson sound
space.

So, to close, | maul like to open
a contest. Send us what you did
for your Reading Break, maxi-
mum 100 words and the winning
entry will be published in Over
The Edge to win from a great
selection of prizes like two tickets
to the Zuckerbaby and Soundbox
concert at the Munk, March 16th
or a $30.00 gift certificate for the
Tuning Point. There will be run-
ner-up prizes as well, they just
haven't been finalized at this
point. The deadline for entries will
be March 18, 1998 at 4:00 pm.

Sharpen those pens and pen-
cils!

Oh, and don’t forget the barf

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59 men

bags for your vehicle next time
you take a trip.

And now,

Read ing Break |

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© Tnsanity Lak

Misleading impressions

After reading Paul’s letter
“UNBC students are political-
ly apathetic” | felt compelled
to make an interesting ‘addi-
tion to it. What is pitiful? How
about having a protest where
your Member of Parliament,
Dick Harris (Reform), comes
to your demonstration and
actually states that he is in
favour of a major policy you
are fighting against! What is
really pitiful? NO ONE PICKS
UP ON IT. You had to be
there to see the stunned look
on the CNC student question-
ing Dick Harris when he said

he was FOR the Income

Contingent Loan Repayment
scheme! Of course Dick
Harris weaseled his way out
of it by questioning our under-
standing of what the Income
Contingent Loan Repayment
(JCLR) scheme really means.
(| wrote to him requesting his
interpretation of it—still wait-
ing for a reply) Then there’s
the laughable media cover-

age in the Prince George
Citizen—’Prince George-
Bulkley Valley MP Dick Harris
joined the protesters at the
court house to say the
Reform Party shared their
concerns.” Nauseous? Good
ol’ Southam Inc.

Want some humour? How
about the write up in our very
own Over The Edge, the
“Debt Protest March’.
Although Chris Last does a
great job explaining the ILCR,
| highly question “the dedi-
cated leadership of Matt
Macrae” especially with the
article stating that he said
“that it was good to come out
and be a part of a national
voice for students.” This com-
ing from someone who wants
no part of the Canadian
Federation of Students
(CFS)—THE NATIONAL
VOICE OF STUDENTS.
How hypocritical can you get
carrying a poster and read-
ing from a news flier supplied

by an organization you are

-against! There is absolutely

NO mention (in any article |
read) that UNBC is NOT affil-
iated with CFS, leaving read-
ers with the impression that
UNBC actually belongs to a
national organization that
fights for student rights. Out
of curiosity | wonder just how
many students are aware of
our membership to a BC
Union? What are they doing
with the fees WE paid?

At the end of Chris Last’s
write up is something
“brought into public attention
as well’. Word for word:
“Canada’s refusal to join the
Organization for Economic
Cooperation and
Development (OECD), which
is a union of more than 20
countries from all over the
world that do not charge their
students any tuition whatso-
ever.” Talk about ignorance.
Canada is a member of the
OECD and as far as | am

aware they do not have any
direct influence over tuition
fees. | am assuming that the
message concerning the
OECD has to do with the MAI
(an international investment
agreement that obligates citi-
zens and governments BUT
not corporate investors) cur-
rently being negotiated.

| want to make it clear that |
have nothing against Dick
Harris having his own inter-
pretation of anything or Matt
Macrae being anti-CFS. | do
have a problem with the
deceptive way they have
been presented in the
media—excluding informa-
tion is not lying but it only pro-
vides half the — story.
Returning to Paul’s letter
about student apathy, com-
pared to other universities
and colleges UNBC does not
fair too badly in regards to
voter turnout, but as an active
group fighting for student
concerns at provincial and

federal levels we are pathet-
ic. Joining CFS is a good idea
because we will have access
to the information we need to
organize against the attack
on post-secondary education.
A friend once said “there is
nothing more feeble than the
voice of one” and | agree.
Leanna Chatten

UNBC student