By Moe Hasham

In the past two years tuition has increased by
approximately 30% per year. It goes without
saying that tuition will inevitably increase for
the 2004/05 year. I am graduating in April so

“Yam from Vancouver but
have become a converted
Northerner and !| bleed the
green and gold of UNBC.”

I won't feel the effects, however, it is something
I care about deeply. If the government asked
your parents to pay an extra 30% in income
tax next year, they would squawk. If your
ICBC premiums increased by 30% there
would be outrage in the cities of BC. If your
provincial sales tax increased by 30% you
would carefully select what you chose to buy
from the disposable income you had. Oh wait,

the Liberals are already on the road to doing

this, they began with a 0.5% increase two years
ago. The bottom line is why are we as students
asked to pay so much? Remember that the
increase in tuition is only applicable to tuition.
What most people forget is that you pay for stu-
dent service fees on top of tuition and those
can increase too. Holding the University

“if the government asked
your parents.to.pay an extra
30% ia income tax next
year, they would squawk. If
your ICBC premiums
increased by 30% there
would be outrage in the
cities of BC. If your provin-
cial sales fax increased by
30% you would carefully
select what you chose to
buy from the disposable
income you had.”

Affairs position and the Director of External

Affairs portfolio on NUGSS over three years in’

office taught me that the UNBC administra-
tion is not solely responsible for the increases in
tuition. Rather it is the Provincial Government
who leaves UNBC with very little choice by
freezing and this year decreasing the provincial

cTutten| fy
See. \ Ve
ioe |’ 21

%

grant that UNBC receives. Here are the num-
bers:

UNBC will receive a grant of $32,631,436
from the Provincial Government this year. This
is a DECREASE from last year’s (2002/03)
grant of $33,019,630. The Liberal
Government froze post-secondary funding
when they came to power in 2001. If you have
taken economics you would know that general-
ly speaking, cost of inflation is 2% per year. In
reality the grant of $33 million in 2002/03 was
actually chalked up as a DECREASE because
the grant was frozen. What’s the point here?
The point is that UNBC will receive the shaft
from the Provincial Government for a few
more years and that ultimately it is up to you as
a student to be informed. Below is a list of
dates that you should keep in mind. UNBC
begins its budget schedule in November and
continues until April. This is an eight month
process and continues even when you are not in
school. '

My advice - oh wait I only offer my opinion
on issues - is that you question WHY the
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT is LEAV-
ING UNBC OUT IN THE “COLD?”

My feelings are that UNBC unnecessarily
receives the shaft from those cronies in Victoria
even though Gordon Campbell spoke about
that Heartland Hinterland strategy and even
though our very own Shirley Bond is the
Minister of Advanced Education. I don’t know
if she has “advanced education” at this univer-
sity! I am not attempting to be cheeky here, as
I met Shirley Bond when I represented UNBC
at the tuition consultation in 2001-2002. The
point is that UNBC does not-have the capacity
t@ compete iff terms of infrastructure and
alumni support with UBC, SFU, and UVIC.
We have: only 18% of the recreational space
required for a university of our size. This is the
lowest in BC. “We don’t have any gathering
space - or what is known as intellectual space -
on campus and any such areas are at-capacity.
Our alumni, who are currently paying off stu-
dent loans, do not have the capacity to support

UNBC in the same manner as the alumni of-

UBC, SFU, and UVIC (who are graduates
from what seems to be the beginning of time).
If UNBC does not have the capacity to accom-
modate new students how is it going to com-
pete with other institutions? I read an article in
the Prince George Citizen last week that stated
that a local proposal was presented to the
Liberal Government to reallocate money from
the sale of crown land for a casino back to
UNBC for the Northern Medical Program
Fund. The proposal was immediately. denied!
Even creative proposals such as this one -

MAYBE Tet JUST PAY

ON, SECON) THOUGHT,

bY CHEQUE...

MET ENouGK
CHEQUES IN.

which was requested by Minister Bond in a sec-
ond meeting I had with her in 2001-2002 - are
not good enough. Se, UBC can afford to buy
Robson Square in downtown Vancouver and

‘UNBC can’t even get money for its NMP fund.

How disappointing!

“My feelings are that UNBC
unnecessarily receives the
shaft from those cronies in
Victoria”

The Northern Sport Centre was “given
wings” by the fact that Vancouver received the
Olympic Games for 2010. This is great, how-
ever, it only further emphasizes the point that
UNBC is at the mercy of those cronies in the
south.

I am from Vancouver but have become a
converted Northerner and I bleed the green
and gold of UNBC. Of course this piece is
biased, however, UNBC must be separated
from UBC, SFU, and UVIC and placed in a
category on its own. UNBC’s provincial grant
must be increased every year, as we are a uni-
versity with unique needs. Write to the
Provincial Government and tell them how you
feel!

Just my thoughts - Moezine (Moe)
Hasham

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