September 15, 2004 >> photo by Dana Schwehr Bryndis Ogmundson surveys one of the fruits of her labour, a guaranteed veg- itarian soup option. Bursaries to lessen mad cow's impact on students Alberta campus helps students affected financially by disease by Caitlin Crawshaw >> The Aiverta EDMONTON (CUP) — Recognizing mad cow disease has affected its students financially, a University of Alberta campus is distributing about $36,000 in bur- saries to lessen the impact. The university’s Augustana campus in Camrose is offering $250 to $750 bursaries to students who can demonstrate their finan- cial well-being has been compro- mised by bovine spongiform encephalopathy. “We realized that all of our stu- dents were affect- ed by BSE.” Many of the campus’s students come from farming families, explained Tim Hanson, Augustana’s assistant dean. Last spring, the former Lutheran college, which recently merged with the university, decided to use an emergency endowment to help these students. “We realized that all of our stu- dents were affected by BSE,” Hanson said. “As it turned out, most of the students we interviewed were quite seriously impacted.” Of the 48 who applied in early spring, all will receive some com- pensation. While there are varying cases of severity, a number of stu- dents were forced to sell cattle they had raised to pay their tuition, but couldn’t make a reasonable return on them due to the lower price of beef. Hanson noted unless the cam- pus can find more funding, the bursaries will be a one-time deal. At least, he said, the money will reduce the amount of loan money students need to pay their fall tuition. Matthew Hebert, an Augustana student leader, said BSE has not only affected those with farming roots. Eattle “prices have been depressed for most of the year, so there’s been a loss of income,” he said. “And it extends to people who come from towns that depend on farms and on agriculture to make a living. People who sell gas, auto- mobiles and groceries have all been affected. So, the spin-offs touch students all down the line. “I think it’s a recognition of the problem. I think it covers rent and it covers groceries for a month or _ two. It doesn’t by all means cover everything, but it is a good appre- ciation.” Many of the students might not accept larger sums anyway, Hebert added. P “The one thing about students that typically come from farms,” he said, “they‘re not big on receiv- ing anything that looks like chari- ty.” - News Page 6 Manitoba tops list in annual education report Student politicians remain skeptical about future by Robert Kotyk >> CUP Ceniral Bureau Ciuef WINNIPEG (CUP) — Manitoba came out on top in an annual study released late last month ranking each province’s commit- ment to education based on equity, quality and accessibility. The report, compiled for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, compares the provinces’ handling of their educa- tion systems. This year, Manitoba moved up from third to first place inthe country — edging out Québec, last year’s number one, which dropped to second. Overall, Manitoba placed first, with a top ranking for equity and quality. The province was ranked third in the country for accessibili- ty and fourth for accountability. According to Diane McGifford, Manitoba’s minister of advanced education, the report highlights the significant steps that the province’s NDP government has made since assuming power under Premier Gary Doer. The report “says very positive things about education in this province, and we're really pleased,” she said. “We're obvi- ously extremely pleased to see that we have scored very well on acces- sibility, as well as on quality.” Minister McGifford credited the Doer government's commitment to education for the rankings, cit- ing its decision to freeze tuition at 1999-2000 levels. The report is “an endorsement of our tuition policies . . . of our annual increases to universities,” she said. “We think that our tuition policies have encouraged accessi- bility, have allowed more students bM@iunvensitvor : NOMTNERN GRITISH Gotti to attend universities and colleges. We see that reflected in the report.” Since 1999, university enrolment in Manitoba has increased by 27.8 per cent and college enrolment by 30.5 per cent. Student politicians, however, remain skeptical about the future of the_tuition freeze. “We were obvi- ously pleased to see Manitoba at first (place). At the same time, we were disappoint- ed because it tells a sad tale for post-secondary education in the country” By allowing universities to raise tuition for international students, as well as for certain faculties, the province fs casting doubt upon its commitment to education, said Sarah Amyot, Canadian Federation of Students provincial representative and University of Winnipeg student union president. “The report’s good news for Manitoba,” she said. “The caution that I would approach the report with though is that, although Manitoba ranks number one over- all, it ranks third in accessibility. I don’t think that the tuition freeze is a true freeze in that tuition is increasing for specific demograph- ics.” Last spring, the University of Manitoba’s. board of governors approved an increase in the fees paid by international undergradu- ate students starting this month. In July, it voted to double fees for international graduate students beginning September 2005. The report warned that Manitoba's place in the ranking would be in jeopardy should the government lift the freeze. Amanda Aziz, president of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union, said though she is happy to see the recognition for education in Manitoba, she is worried about the state of other provinces. “We were obviously pleased to see Manitoba at first (place),” she said. “At the same time, we were disappointed because it tells a sad tale for post-secondary education in the country.” The report contained several warning signals.for provinces like Nova Scotia, which was ranked tenth for the second year in a row because of its high university tuition fees. British Columbia fell to sixth-place. overall, down from first just five year's ago. The report criticized the B.C. government's lifting of the tuition freeze and a lack of funding. Aziz concluded the report should set off some alarms for education policy-makers. around the country. “The fact that (Manitoba) ranked first just leads me to be quite worried about what's hap- pening in Canada,” she said. Setup Your Library Account and Win a Prize lf you haven’t set up your library account or Started researching your paper, here is some extra incentive to get it done early. Between Sept.13th and Sept. 24th the UNBC Library is sponsoring a raffle to encourage students to get in to the Library. Students will receive a raffle entry form when they renew or setup their library account at the Circulation Desk or visit the Reference Desk with a question. Prizes include UNBC bookstore gift certificates and free Interlibrary Loans.