Over the Edge + September 14, 2005 VINCENT CHAN Steve Clarke (front) and Rebecca Carmichael (back) of the Environmental Engineering Student Association polish shoes to raise money for Shinerama on September 10. All proceeds went to support the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Rugby for Women at UNBC MICHELLE PASK CONTRIBUTOR The UNBC Womens Rugby Foot- ball dub was established in 1994 and is currently beginning it’s 10th season. We are now recruiting new members to - the club, regardless of experience. If you want to come out, play some Rugby and meet some great girls, then check out our practice. We are very active in the community, contributing to Pacific Sports Days for Kids and charity fundraising, as well as coaching of local high school Rugby clubs. This season promises to be an ex- citing one, with it being our 10th Anni- versary. UNBC Rugby is hosting a tour- nament in Prince George, October Ist and 2nd at Massey Place Stadium, and we will be traveling to many tournaments around BC this season. Keep watch for our Halloween and Luau fundraisers. Practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays at DP Todd High School Field from 6 ‘til 8 PM: Contact unbewrfc@hotmail.com for more info on our club, Crisis Centre Volunteer Callout! NATALIE THOMSON CONTRIBUTOR The 24 Hour Crisis Line and the Youth Support Line are currently accepting ap- plications for Phone Line Peer Support Volunteers. Interested individuals should pick up an application at 1306-7th Ave (the United Way building), download an application from our website (www. northernbccrisissuicide.ca) or call 564.5736 for more information. Our next volunteer training session has been scheduled to begin on Friday, Sep- tember 23, 2005. In total, initial training is 56 hours, with supplemental training provided throughout the volunteer’s time with the Centre, The Crisis Centre is a volunteer based service, therefore full training is essential to the work done on the lines, The recruitment of volunteers is vital to the survival of this much needed resource for people in crisis in northern BC, and appreciation for the time contributed by volunteers is always recognized and val- ued. Volunteering at the Crisis Centre is excellent experience for any individual who is looking to go into the social work, psychology or medical fields. It provides the volunteer with excellent support and listening skills to use in both their profes- sional and personal lives. The Crisis Centre is grateful for your continued support of our service and the individuals who access it. ‘ FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CRISIS CENTRE, PLEASE CONTACT: Natalie Thomson, BSW Volunteer Coordinator, Crisis Prevention, Intervention & Information Centre for Northern BC 564-5736 natalieatpgcrisiscentre@hotmail.com_ Sportsand Clubs — 5 PGPIRG 101 JAMIE FLYNN CONTRIBUTOR Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) bring students, staff, faculty and community groups together to organize around issues of public interest, concern- ing social justice and the environment. We promote and conduct research and action in these areas. PIRGs were initiated by American con- sumer activist Ralph Nader. They began organizing on American Campuses in the 1970's and later on campuses in Canada. Currently, there are PIRGs in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and British Colum- bia, as well as-in the United States and Australia. Weare student-funded, meaning that all students are automatically members; this ensures we ate not tied to the government, university or corporate funding. Students do have the option of requesting a fee re- fund and withdrawing their membership. We are non-partisan, meaning that we do not support political parties, PGPIRG uses a decision making pro- cess called Consensus, which we believe helps our organization make better deci- sions in a respectful and open manner, Everyone is welcome to drop by our office, drop us an email, and get involved! New Action Group on Campus: Scarlet Tide Brigade North The Scarlet Tide Brigade North is a col- lective that educates on issues of women's health and menstruation. People involved can provide information on the potential personal and environmental health haz- ards associated with feminine hygiene prodiacts. The group organizes pad mak- ing and birth control workshops, as well as organizing actions around campus. Among their interests are the lobbying of Health Canada to-create better labeling and the cultivation of awareness concern- ~ ing the effects of menstrual products. They also have re-useable menstrual cups (Dive Cups) for sale at $38.50 each. If you are interested, please ask staff in the PGPIRG office for details: contact Jess or Nessa at scarletnorth@peacemail.com Some of PG PIRGs ongoing actions include: Organic Food Group The Organic Food Group distributes bulk organic produce to its members on a weekly basis. Our main distributor, Pro- Organics, guarantees the organic certifi- cation of the produce, Any non-organic items are listed as such for the member's awareness. The Organic Food Group op- erates on a pre-pay basis, The food bins are $20 each and include approximately four types of fruits and six types of vegetables. A sample box may consist of: 5 apples, 5 pears, 5 oranges, 5 bananas, 1 lbs. carrots, 11b. mushrooms, head of lettuce, 2 lbs. po- tatoes, 4 tomatoes, and 2 green peppers. The Organic Food Group occasionally purchases additional food from local farms and distributors. These can consist of cer- tified Fair Trade coffee, local honey, and fresh bread. We are open to ordering ad- ditional organic products (i.e. dairy, meat, etc.), providing that there is a volunteer who would like to organize it. Members may sign up for food bins on a weekly, bi- monthly or trial basis, and may also order additional items at this time. Occasionally, the Organic Food Group will place a bulk order with Horizon Or- ganic Food Distributors. These boxes are _ varied in price and include dry goods such as rice, beans, sugar, and so forth. Mem- bers may also place individual ordets from the Horizon catalogue during this time, Maple syrup will be made available at the organic food table on Thursdays, until the end of the year, To sign up for a food bin or to volunteer with the action group, contact: organic@ unbe.ca Residence Recycling Action Committee The Recycling Action Committee col- lects recyclables every Saturday at the UNBC residences, Neyoh and Keyoh. A group of dedicated volunteers staff the mailroom of the residence while people drop off their recycling, The volun- teers then sort and take the recyclables to the recycling depot in town. Any money received from recycling is put into an ac- count for the sustainability of the group (i.e: photocopying costs, volunteer appre- ciation days, etc). Public Interest Research Group vol- unteers, with the help of the Recycling Action Committee, will be conducting a garbage audit at the residences, in order to inform students about household waste and to raise awareness about composting and recycling. Cheers to all volunteers! Organic Gardening The organic garden at the compost site contains herbs and plants ‘native to Prince George, as well as heritage vegetables, which are available to volunteers who con- tribute time and enetgy to the site. Food- stuff also often gets shipping down to St. Vincent DePaul Food Services to help people in need. The PG PIRG will be hir- ing a member to fulfill composting and gardening responsibilities throughout the summer. Please contact the P.I.R.G. office for more information, or e-mail pgpirg@ unbe.ca Tuition Action Group The Tuition Action Group was ortga- nized to discover and discuss possible solutions to the continuing increases in tuition fees. In 2001, the BC Liberal gov- ernment dissolved the post-secondary tuition freeze that had been in place since 1996. Since that time, students all over the province have been susceptible to tuition hikes, some finding it impossible to con- tinue their educational careers due to lack of affordability, - In 2002/2003, UNBC students received _ a tuition hike of 22%, followed by a second hike, in 2003/2004, of an additional 33%. The students are expecting a further in- crease for the school year of 2004/2005. The exact numbers have not yet been re- leased; however, the average UNBC stu- dent has already seen an increase of $945 per year, with little to no increase in stu- dent loans, The Tuition Action Group has contin- ued to liaise with the student association _ of the College of New Caledonia, Local 13 Canadian Federation of Students, and intends to continue informational forums and discussions around tuition solutions, via a coalition of teachers, staff and stu- dents within Prince George. This year, the Tuition Action Group focused on providing students with in- formation regarding the vote, pressuring B.C. political party representatives to take a stand on education issues. Together, CNC and UNBC registered. 700 students to vote. Actions will continue with an all- candidates and single transferable vote debate. Education is a right: The Tuition Action Group believes that students can have a positive effect on the BC Liberal govern- . ment policies.