10 over THE EDGE - Wednesday, December 14 , 1994

In Defence of Prince George

by Laura Martin and
Aaron Cumming

There has been © some talk
around the UNBC campus to
the effect that Prince George is
a boring, grungy little town
with absolutely nothing to do
on a Friday night.

Point - \ have lived in this city
all my life and I feel compelled
to defend it. I have spent 950
Friday nights in Prince George
and have found quite a lot of
activities to keep my friends
and I entertained. We have 2
movie theatres, 5 screens in all,
and one drive in. That
number gives us a_ large
selection of shows to watch.
True, the drive in is only open
a few months a year, but when
it is, there are 2 different
movies every weekend. Also
the prices here are still
relatively low as compared to

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larger cities (ie Edmonton! ).

CounterPoint - Well
considering you've lived in
P.G. all you're life, I don't see
what you have to compare it
to. Personally, I’ve lived in
many different places, from
Canada's largest city
(Toronto), to one of Canada's
smallest towns (Gananoque,
pop. 8-or-so). In a large
metropolis, there are infinitely
more activities available. For
instance, Prince George does
have an art gallery, which
consists of two rooms. The
paintings (and sometimes
sculptures) are only up for a
few days due to the lack of
space. A bigger city has many
museums and galleries with
more static displays, so that
they can be more fully
appreciated.

P- How many teenagers want
to spend their weekends in an
Art Gallery? If this is what
you do on Friday night, count
me out. ['d rather go
bowling... you know, Prince
George does have two 5-pin
bowling alleys and a new ..10-
pin bowling alley, Strike
Zone. Strike Zone is so
popular that you have to phone
a night in advance to book a
lane for a Friday night. Prince
George also has many
nightclubs that I'm sure if I
were allowed in, would be
very entertaining.

C - Maybe you should take
that. busy bowling alley as a
clue: Prince doesn't have
enough entertainment facilities
to meet the demand. And sure
there are a few dirty little bars
(with the exception of the fine
establishments which
advertise in our paper), but
you can jump up and down to
loud music in any town.

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P  - You cannot, however,
jump up and down to loud
music played by local
musicians, and it is an indoor
activity. Outdoor activities are

just as exciting. Many
students have complained
about the weather. Some

students seem to feel that our
winter weather is somewhat of
a nuisance. I must say,
however, that the snow is not a
hindrance, and won't keep me
inside on weekends. Now that
we are adults, we can partake
in some clean, healthy winter
activities. There are a number
of skating rinks in the city, the.
biggest being the Oval, the
Speed-Skating rink at the
Exhibition Park. There is also
one at the Civic Centre. There
are quite a few ski-hills just
outside of town, and a number
of places that one can X-
country ski. Rainbow Park
and Carney Hill are great
places to go toboganning, and
everybody loves a_ snowball
fight. If we lived in a major
city, like Vancouver for
instance, I do not believe that
the opportunities for winter
escapades would be there.

C - They are there, they're just
harder to get to. Prince
George does not have the

advantages of a larger city, and
neither does it have the
advantages of a smaller town.
P.G. has the highest crime rate
per capita in BC. Breaking
and entering is especially a
problem. As well, air
pollution is a large problem.
How many days can you go
without seeing the constant
outpouring of smog from the
pulpmills in town?

P - Prince George may have
the highest crime rate in B.C.
and pollution from the pulp
mills, but the city is improving
rapidly. As more people move
in and see that there is a lot of
good aspects of Prince George,
they will also see _ that
something can be done about
the crime and the pollution.
The people who don't think
that Prince George is a good
place to live are obviously not
looking at the good qualities,
and are only focusing on the
bad.

C€ - Okay, okay. You win this
one, but I'll be back. Mark my
words! I'll be back. You may
have won the battle, byt the
war is hardly over. You have
been warned... X