3 MArcH 10, 2004 Government Cancels BC Grants CFS: “It’s going to have a pretty devastating effect” The last rays of the winter sun soak the UNBC Agora. An abandoned ping-pong ball skitters across the winter garden and hits the photocopier. Again. And on this day, one solitary voice rings out, “I think that is ridiculously short sighted.” The speaker is Stephanie Wilson, a third year Political Science/ International Studies student at UNBC. She isn’t referring to the “For an average stu- dent this means that debt upon graduation will rise to as much as $40,000.” ping-pong ball, rather she is speaking of the recent cancellation of the BC Grants pro- gram. She wonders, “what happens when students can’t pay back their loans?” When this year’s budget was presented in the BC Legislature, it was announced that the BC grant program is going to be cut. The reason? The BC government plans to create more than 25,000 new post-secondary stu- dent spaces by the year 2010. They hope to begin this process next year by creating 3, 217 spaces. But in order to do this, some- thing must go. And this time it’s student grants. Dr. Jago, the president of UNBC, says that “It is my understanding that most of the money being cut from the student grants program will be restored in the fiscal year 06/07 in the form of enhanced loan forgive- ness.” To your average voter, this all sounds not so bad. There is some money lost, but it is likely to be returned, and we get more stu- dents in our schools. Common sense sug- gests, however, that there is more to the story than. For example, you must have seen the big yellow posters in the halls read- ing “BC GOVERNMENT ELIMINATES GRANTS”. The posters were placed by the CNC branch of the Canadian federation of students (CFS). They read “For an average student this means that debt upon gradua- tion will rise to as much as $40,000.” If the grant cancellation is not such a bad thing, why the great outcry? Summer McFadeyen, Spokesperson for the Canadian Federation of Students, says “it's going to have a pretty devastating effect.” Last year alone, 13% of BC’s 30,000 students were eligible for grants. The cancel- lation of the grants program means that any student who would have received a grant this year, will receive the equivalent amount of money in the next year in the form of a loan. McFadeyen believes that the BC Grant program “was a great program because it “The Presidents had two hours of the Premiers time to dis- cuss a range of post- secondary issues including tuition fees, student financial aid, pressures on university and college facilities.” was really targeted. It ensured that those people in the lowest income bracket would be able to access post-secondary education.” On February 19, 2004, Premier Gordon Campbell called a meeting for all BC post- secondary presidents, in order to discuss a variety of issues include the cancellation of Photos by: Marlon Francescini Last week, Dr. Jago held a public forum called “Ask Jago”. Students were invited to ask Dr..Jago questions regarding tuition increases, grant cancellation; and other post-sec- ondary issues. The event was accompanied by a free continental breakfast, and around 60 students came out to air their financial concerns and ask the university's highest level of governance questions about their education. the BC Grants program. According to a CFS . news release, “the purpose of the meeting was actually to berate them for not doing a better job of defending tuition increases.” However, Chris Batting, Political Science student at UNBC, wonders “why should president Jago be expected to present tuition increases in a positive light.” Dr. Jago dis- agreed with the content of the CFS release. “I attended the meeting. The CFS press release was very misleading. The Presidents had two hours of the Premier’s time to discuss a range of post-secondary issues including tuition fees, student financial aid, pressures on university and college facilities.” According to her office, Education Minister, Shifley Bond, was out of town, and therefore unavailable to comment on the grant cancellation at press time. However, a concerned student claims to have seen her at a local Tim Horton’s on March 2nd. If you have concerns about this issue, you can contact MLA Prince George North, Pat Bell, at 612-4191, or MLA Prince George Omineca, Paul Nettleton, at 964-5650. Also the number for Shirley Bond, Minister of Advanced Education, is 612-4181.