Over the Edge + February 1, 2006

News 3

UNBC Reacts to Conservative Government

ELIZABETH FYLES
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Men and women all over the country
turned out to vote at polling stations on
January 23, or pre-voted in the weeks
beforehand. The result; a Conservative
minority government. Stephen Harper
is taking over power in government as
our new Prime Minister. Paul Martin
has stepped down as party leader for
the Liberals which some suggest is to
try and take with him the less-than-
perfect reputation his government gat-
nered during 2005.

The two Prince George area ridings
elected two Conservatives: Dick Harris
and Jay Hill. The Prince George-Peace
River riding has elected Conservative,
Canadian Alliance, Tory or Progressive
Conservative candidates(i.e right-wing
governments) since the early 70's, so it
is not surprising that Mr, Hill pulled
through a victory. The Cariboo-Prince
George riding is a new riding put to-
gether in 2004 from equal parts of
the Prince George-Bulkley Valley and
Cariboo-Chilcotin, Mr. Harris was the
incumbent from 2004 and was expect-
ed to win again, which he did handily,

The general atmosphere at UNBC
shows little enthusiasm for the Con-
servative win. “Ihe Conservatives are
likely to strengthen ties with the US/’
says fourth-year Political Science ma-
jor Caleb Behn, “Given that the US is
the most egregious violator of human
rights in modern history, as well as
state sovereignty, I am inclined to think
global security and stability are on the
decline... think back to the bird flu of
1962 in Cuba, where the CIA hired
Canadians to infect the Cuban poultry
industry, specifically turkeys, with an

avian flu virus.’ Not all students are
quite as disturbed with the outcome as
Behn, but there is a serious feeling of
doubt and worry, especially concerning
Conservative plans to go more “Amer-
ican.’ “Oh my God, we're turning into
the States,’ was blurted out more than
once in the Wintergarden on election

night.

“Oh my God, were
turning the
States; was blurted
out more than once
in the Wintergarden
on election night.’

into

Environmental Engineering  stu-
dent Marie Manchester says, “I feel
disappointed, Like it doesn't matter
whether I voted at all.” There is hope
by some that the Conservatives will
try and push through some of their
extreme social agendas, like dissolving
gay marriages and taking away women's
right to choose abortion, and have it
backfire. Fourth-year English major
Earson Gibson states that “you have to
build them up before you can tear them
down.’

Not all students feel that the Con-
servative win in the election was a bad
thing. Fourth-year Psychology student
Barry Wolfenden says, “With a Con-
servative minority, the Liberals will be
forced into working with the NDP in
order to pass legislation, which will
hopefully result in socialist-flavoured,

UNBC Honourary Degree
Recipients Announced

CAMERON ORR
STAFF WRITER

One day, we'll have our degrees.
Wiped, dusted, and proudly hanging
over our mantle-pieces in our mil-
lion-dollar homes that we are all sure
to have, welll showcase our degree,
our proof that we have struggled and
sweated through many years of aca-
demic training to be productive and
rich members of society.

Of course, there are those people
for whom one degree is not enough.
UNBC has just announced this year’s
winners of UNBC’s honourary degree,
the highest award the institution gives
out,

Thomas Brzustowski heads the list:
however, I do mean so only in the man-
ner of alphabetization, as I would hate
to demote the importance of both re-
cipients. Brzustowski graduated from
the University of Toronto in 1958 with
a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, He
moved on to receiving a PhD from
Princeton in Aeronautical Engineering,
Brzustowski must really like getting
awards as, on top of this Honourary
Degree from UNBC, is also an Officer
of the Order of Canada and is a Fellow
of the Royal Society of Canada. Finally,
for icing on the cake, there is an entry
for this man on the Wikipedia online
encyclopedia which everyone should
check out for a quick biography on this
manis busy life.

Barry McKinnon is next on the list,

and he should get immediate praise for
representing the local community of
Prince George. McKinnon is a profes-
sor at the College of New Caledonia.
He is the author of no less than 15
books of poetry and has done excellent
work for the literary community in the
city, as the UNBC press release states,
where he has brought people such as
Margaret Atwood and Michael On-
daatje to local readings. He has received
the BC Book Award and has been
shortlisted for the Governor-General's
Award for Poetry.

‘These two people will be awarded at
this year’s convocation this May, along
with UNBC’s fresh batch of graduates.
‘The honourary degree should be a sym-
bol to all who are pursuing higher edu-
cation. It shows that education truly is
an ongoing process that continues long
after graduation. If that isn't enough, it
also symbolizes that our ongoing edu-
cation is being graded, Brzustowski
and McKinnon have passed the test
and their contributions, both to this
city and to the country at large, will not
be ignored.

“Wiped, dusted, and
proudly hanging over our
mantle-pieces in our mil-
lion-dollar homes ,.. we'll
showcase our degree ...’

140
120
100
80
60
40

20

CON

LIB NDP

Party seats from the 2006
federal Canadian election

BQ IND

ELIZABETH FYLES

With 124 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, the Conservatives will now form a minority government.

though not too left-leaning, legislation
being made; something I am very in
support of.’ Second-year International
Studies major Andrea Lee says “I’ve
never voted Conservative in my life, but
Ihad to read their entire party platform
for school. I feel that their platform isnt
bad, and if they stay more middle of the

University of Ottawa

toad, then a Conservative government
might not be bad.”

Another comment on the election
was that it was difficult to get to polling
stations way off the hill. UNBC student
Mark Stephens volunteeted at a polling
station for this election and suggests,
“[T ]hey should have polling stations at

the university. It would really improve
turnout numbers.’ In an impromptu
survey of UNBC, it was found that
69.8% of students, staff and faculty
voted. This is actually higher than the

national voter turnout of 65%.

Committed to graduate
studies and research!

The University of Ottawa is becoming one of Canada’s top

heavily in graduate studies.

research universities. In this perspective, it is investing

As of May 2006 it will offer one of the most competitive
graduate award and financial support programs in
the country:

+ Nearly 80 per cent of our PhD students (Canadians and

permanent residents) will receive at least $70,000 in

funding over four years.

* More than 50 per cent of our master’s students
(Canadians and permanent residents) will receive

at least $14,000.

« Both groups will benefit from additional initiatives
such as our popular travel grants, which allow them
to participate in conferences and present their

research findings.

Several academic programs will guarantee even more
than the amounts mentioned.

uOttawa

L’Université canadienne
Canada’s university

For more information, please consult the following
site frequently:
www.grad.uOttawa.ca