October 13, 2004 Two Guys and Two Gu CFUR Fundraiser A Huge Success by Dana Schwehr >> Graphics Editor One could say that the fundrais- ing show hosted by CFUR at Artspace this past week was a smashing success. One could say that the show fea- tured some amazing local talent. One could even go so far as to say that, this show provided great entertainment for the audience. It would all be true. CFUR, the local community radio station at UNBC, recently held a show featuring Mark Browning of Ox fame, in order to raise some much needed funding for broadcasting equipment. The station’s developmental license is due to expire in a year, which gives the station opportunity to upgrade from its current five watt broad- casting system to something much more powerful. The fundraiser was successful, as CFUR made more than $150 from the event. The show itself was a showcase of mellow guitar music, accompa- nied by the talented vocals provid- ed by the two artists scheduled to perform. First up was CFUR’s own ryan h. wugalter, of jump rope for heart fame. He played a mix of old and new material, much to the delight of the audience. There is no doubt that the high- light of the evening was the folk talents of Mark Browning. Between the amazing songs he played to an attentive audience, he told amusing stories about life on the road. There was the tale of how the song “Road Food” came into existence while sitting in a Husky restaurant after a night of hard drinking, and the tale of the real unknown origins of “Truck Driving Country Music Promoter”. In all, it was an excel- lent evening of entertainment, worth every penny spent to sup- port university radio in Prince George. penrina , ES How Quality Music and Cheap Tickets Join Forces by Belinda Li >> Staif Writer Don’t let the unbelievably low price fool you. The $5 tickets to the Prince George Symphony Orchestra concerts will not leave you in the concert hall sitting behind a pillar in the corner of the last row. So how is it possible for students to get quality seats to a concert at a 70% discount? Just be grateful for generous local busi- nesses. “The arrangements are simple enough. | went to a number of businesses and suggested the idea til somebody said yes.” This special student deal has been going on since last year. Attendance at Symphony perfor- mances was pretty low, so tickets were offered to students for $5.00 to fill some seats and make at least a bit of money. However, the Symphony still had to absorb the loss on these tickets itself since regular-priced student tickets are $17.50 and they did not receive any subsidies. It wasn’t until this year that they received some financial help to cover these costs. ‘We are working at finding a number of businesses in town who will sponsor UNBC and CNC student tickets so that we can offer them at $5.00 on the Friday preceding each concert,’ said George Sipos, the PGSO Manager who came up with the idea of partnering up with local businesses. ‘The arrangements are simple enough. I went to a number of businesses and suggested the idea till some- body said yes. Stride & Glide is the first business to participate.’ Sipos hopes that more busi- nesses will be lined up for the upcoming concerts this year if his idea is shown to be successful. And indeed, these partnerships should continue to form since this is a collaboration that will benefit everybody. According to Sipos, ‘they (the students) get to go to the symphony cheap. We (the Symphony) fill seats and generate a little more money than if we absorbed the loss on $5.00 tickets ourselves. They (the businesses) can demonstrate their support for students and hopefully encour- age students to respond by patronizing their stores.’ Upcoming concert: Legends of the Fall Erika Raum, an internation- ally renowned Canadian vio- linist, will perform Prokofiev’s 2nd Violin Concerto. Also on ~~ the program: Morawetz Overture to a Fairy Tale, Weber Overture to Der Freischutz, Dvorak Legends and Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain. Date: Saturday October 30 Time: 8:00pm Location: Vanier Hall, 2901 Griffiths Avenue Tickets will be sold at CNC and UNBC the day. before the concert. Times TBA. For more information, visit www. pgso.com Mark Browning serves it up for CFUR. itars >> photo by Dana Schwehr Activism Abounds on the UNBC Campus by Helen Tremethik, PG PIRG Coordinator, and Jamie Flynn, PG PIAG Board of Directors Wondering about those people who seem to be carrying around coffee grounds and vegetable cores? Curious about the folks with the organic food bins? Have you been looking to do something fun that creates positive change in the community? The Prince George Public Interest Research Group (PG P!RG) is the local envi- ronmental and social justice group on campus. It is student/publicly driven and funded, and operates by the consensus of the PIRG Board of Directors and PG PIRG members. If you’ve paid your student fees, then you are a member. All mem- bers have access to PIRG resources, are eligible to vote at the Annual General Meeting, can vol- unteer for Action Groups and even start a new Action Group. What is PIRG? In the 1970s, American consumer advocate ‘Ralph Nader found a way to har- ness the energy of the university campus, while creating positive social change. The Public Interest Research Group was born. The trend caught on in Canada, and to date, there are over 20 PIRGs oper- ating out of university campuses in most major Canadian cities. Although acting mainly as autonomous organizations, all PIRGs have a similar mandate - to support action and research dedi- cated to positive social, environ- mental and community change. PG PIRG carries out its various activities through Action Groups and the provision of an alternate resource library. The resource library provides titles and topics otherwise not found in the univer- sity or public library systems. Some of our categories include: animal rights, corporations and banks, globalization, international politics, ecology, environmental change and policy, food security and conservation issues; the. list goes on. Whether you are a history ‘major, a biologist, or a political sci- ence student, the PG PIRG alterna- tive resource library can help with the next essay or leisure read. We are also always looking for sugges- tions about additions to the library. PIRG action groups are initiated and maintained by volunteers who are passionate about a variety of issues. This year, we have eight active action groups: Composting and Organic Garden Site Group, Recycling Action Committee, Organic Food Group, Transportation Action Group, Goat Watershed Conservation Group Media Board, Radio Group, ‘T Want a New World’ (Wednesdays at 5:00 on CFUR 88.7 FM) Tuition Action Group. PG PIRG and its Action Groups are always looking for new volun- teers. So, if you see something you're interested in or feel there is a need for something new, please drop by the office anytime. There are many PIRG-related .events on campus, including events like the Cosmic Living- room and an open mic event for people to showcase their:talents or just to rant. PG PIRG is located in the Agora of UNBC, Room 7-234. You can contact the office at 960-7474 or by e-mail at pgpirg@unbc.ca. PG P!RG is a service dedicated to cre- ating positive change in social and environmental issues in the UNBC and greater Prince George area. Computer Gaming Interest group On Monday October 25, the Computer Gaming interest group will be hold- ing a Gaming Interest Discussion Group. If you are curious about what it takes to write a computer game, come and listen to two speakers with experience. Short presenta- tion in room 5-175 from noon to 1:00 p.m. Bring a lunch! Parliamentary Guide Program Ever wanted to be a guide to Parliament in Ottawa? Applications to be a parliamentary guide are being accepted for summer of 2005. Applications can be found online at ww.parl.gc.ca, and must be submitted by Wednesday, November 10, 2004. Women’s Studies Program Hosts Lecture Series October is Women’s History month, and the Hamber Foundation is supporting a _ set of Thursday afternoon lec- tures through out October to celebrate the event. The next lecture will be held on October 14, at 4:00 p-m. in room 7-152. Mary- Ellen Kelm of the History 4. Program will be givin, lecture entitled “Cr Dressing, Dressing’ — Speaking Out: Wome Ride the Williams Lake | Stampede”. ee Does God Exist? As far as hot topics go they don’t get any hotter than this! Dr. T.V. Thomas will be giving a presenta- tion and hosting a Q&A period on this topic on Sunday, October 24 and Monday October 25, both days at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Weldwood Theatre. 8 Got an event coming up? Let Over the Edge know- about it at least two weeks before the event, and we‘ll publish it in our Coming. Events section. E-mail information to over-the- edge@unbc.ca, or stop by. our office, located next to. CFUR in the Agora.