OVER THE EDGE NEWSPAPER. OCTOBER 27 , 2006 NUSC’s booth, displayed in the UNBC hallway NUSC Fee or Not NUSC Fee? ‘ , “cy ee eee at MITCH GRANT That is the Question Andrew Kurjata Editor-in-Chief From October 25th to 27th, UNBC students will once again-be heading to the voting booth over the Northern Uni- versity Student Centre (NUSC). The question this time is whether students would approve of a plan to increase the current building fee of $15 a semester to a price of $35 a semester. It is expected that the fee increase will be approved for a number of reasons. To start with, past referendums have indicated that most students are willing to pay for the increase-- in fact, a major- ity voted in favour of a previous propos- al to have students pay $50 a semester. This was defeated, however, because it failed to reach the 70 percent qualified majority required by the UNBC Act, which NUGSS was previously under. This time around, NUGSS is under the Society Act, which requires only 50 per- cent-plus-one approval, Aside from the more modest cost, NUGSS president Jillian Merrick thinks that students have even more reason to vote in favour of the fee in- crease than they have before. “[Previ- Ph: (250) 564-4267 1424 2nd Avenue ous NUGSS boards] didn’t really have -a plan,’ she says. “In the end they really had no idea how much [NUSC] would cost.’ This time around, NUGSS has hired a project manager that provided a detailed cost evaluation, right down to furniture and operating fees. This takes away the uncertainty that there was in the past, since it's not based on what NUGSS would like to have, but what it can afford, Though the resulting plan is more modest, it is also being viewed as more attainable. “All the core services are there,’ says Merrick. “The question this time [in voting] is whether students would approve of a plan to increase the current build- ing fee of $15 a semester to a price of $35 a smester.’ These services include a pub, a fair- trade coffee shop, meeting rooms and new space for organizations such as PGPIRG, the Women's Centre, CFUR, and Over the Edge. Essentially, it is be- - JAPATEDON TRAVEL & CRUISES wwwjapatedontravel.com Toil Free:1-888-867-2510 Prince George BC V2L 3B6 Emall: letsgo@telus.net Visit our website and save$$$ ing designed to replace the hang-out: |. area of the Wintergarden, which will be turned over to the University and likely used for administration, Merrick looks forward to the changes that will come with a student owned and operated building with more space for relaxation and socialization than UNBC currently provides. “Clubs wontt | have to go downtown to have pub nights anymore,’ she says, ‘they can just stay at the university.’ She also sees the poten- tial for the events area, which combined with the pub will be able to hold 450 people. “There can be bands and shows all the time.” Not everyone is happy with the new plans, though. There has been concern — expressed over the fact that the space be- ing given to some organizations is small- er than initially projected. In response, Merrick emphasizes the fact that the blueprints on display are just one of three “design concepts” being provided by architects, and are not set in stone. “(After the design schemes] are done we'll go over the details with all the or- ganizations., [and] a detailed design will be worked out from November 2006 to February 2007. After that, we'll put out bids for construction firms.” If the referendum passes, construction is pro- jected to begin in September 2007 and be completed in the spring. That way, “nobody will pay for the building who doesn't get to see it.’ Students are strongly encouraged to inform themselves on the plan, along with all its potential benefits and set- backs. The voting will take place in the Wintergarden. If you have any ques- tions or concerns for NUGSS, contact generalmanager@nugss.com. Homeless Week in Prince George TED MORRIS STAFF WRITER Greetings, I haven't had much to write about lately, but I can make up for it with quality writing, right? Well, let's hope so. I have been tied up tight as a coil of rope when it’s wet, so if I slip on my tongue, be patient with me. This past week, Octo- ber 16th to October 21st, was homeless week here in Prince George. There are a lot of things that went on concerning the homeless here in the city of Prince George. The problem of homelessness is not only a big-city problem such as Toronto or Vancouver, it's happening right here under very noses as we speak {or read). ~ Homelessness is a world-wide prob- lem we have looked at only in maga- _zines or on World Vision on television. People have been forced to live out on the streets as a result of the Liberal gov- ernment policy concerning welfare (or social assistance, as it is now known). What we see on World Vision and shows such as that is that there are people who live in temporary shelters such as tents and cardboard boxes, but the reality of homelessness right here in Prince George, Vancouver, and Toronto is really close to home. Social assistance clients no longer qualify for assistance from the public purse have no other means of income because they lack the necessaty skills to obtain and hold jobs as everyday working-class people do in order to sustain themselves. Landlords do not wish to be charitable to these people who dont have guaranteed in- come to pay rent and utilities, hence they have nowhere to go. The so-called shelters which were established to house these people are filled to capacity almost everyday, so we still have people who sleep outdoors in the elements; these people are most at risk of getting sick or are victims of crimes. The homeless come from many back- grounds and should not be looked at homogeneously as homeless people. For example, there are people who no long- er qualify for assistance and could no longer pay rent and are down on their luck, and there are people who travel from city to city just to stay in shelters which are provided. People who come from reserves are also out on the streets because their home communities could not house them with-government cut- ‘backs affecting all citizens regardless of origins. The majority of homeless people simply have nowhere else to turn in or- der to survive so they are left panhandle to —_ on the streets of our cities, although there are a lot of ad- dictions which drive —_ people into the streets, as well. Many cities feed their homeless people at soup lines, which provide the basic nour- ishment so they don't have to starve. Here in * Prince George we used to have only two places to feed the homeless: the Salvation Army and the Park Hotel. This day and age we have many more places for the men and women to go in order to have shelter over their heads at night. There are such agencies as AWAC for women, the youths have a place to sleep which is called “Intersect,” and there are halfway houses, and places such as the Ketso Yoh and ASAP. These are a few places people could go if they need a place to sleep out of the elements of nature, : The Saint Vincent De Paul offers breakfast at eight-thirty to eleven in the morning for the homeless or people down on their luck. They also serve lunch from 12:30 for the first sitting and 1:00 for the second, There is a.fire marshal’s order to keep the numbers down to 100 persons a sitting for safety reasons. From Monday to Friday there ate coffee and sandwiches available to the street people and others at 7:30 each evening, plus soup and sandwiches Wed- nesday evenings and Sunday afternoons, The AWAC Shelter offers the female clients breakfast in the mornings plus a place to sleep. The Ketso Yoh halfway house shelters people on parole, plus a shelter for people who have no place to go, but they have a to have referral from the Ministry of Social Services for bed and meals, The fire-pit meal offers a meal to its clients and general public from Tuesday to Thursday, sponsored by the Positive Living North. Peopple who would like a meal without having to go through the big lineups and Saint Vincent De Paul can go to the “Fire Pit” as an alternative. “The Prince George Native Friendship Centre offers coffee in their coffee-room, plus food hampers to families and single people from Monday to Thursday in the afternoon, and on Sunday nights there is a gospel group who hold services at St. Michael's and all Angels Church on Fifth Avenue who give the street people Gospel teachings and food near the end of their services. There are many places out there to help the homeless and downtrodden here in Prince George, so they really shouldn't be people in need, but there are a lot of people whom are addicted to various substances and do not seek help from any of these organiz- ations, and these are most of the people you see on the streets begging for change from the general public.