VOLUME 11, IssuE 10

Graduate Students
Can Do Better
Elsewhere: Review

Br CHARLES THRIFT
STAFF WRITER

UNBC’s graduate History program
isn’t competitive, and isn’t likely to
improve.

This damning assessment of the
program comes from an external
review that was conducted in
November of 2004. The review states
that UNBC’s graduate program is
“not competitive,” and the situation is
“likely to become worse” and that
prospective students can “get much
more elsewhere.”

The review highlighted a number of
graduate student issues that the
Graduate Student Society (GSS) has
been trying to bring to the attention of
the UNBC administration in previous
years. f

Notably, the review mentioned the

“far from adequate” graduate student —

offices, the lack of financial assistance,
mixed graduate-undergraduate semi-
nars, and the lack of library resources.
The GSS has been lobbying the
administration for improvements in
graduate student offices for some time,
particularly improvements in areas the
external review highlighted.
Currently, the grad office in the
administration building is equipped
with only a third of the desks required,
and only a fraction of these desks have
computers. When there are comput-

ers, it is argued that they are often
non-functioning, as the computers
come from undergraduate student
labs when the computers are replaced.
There have been no computers added
to the grad offices_in the administra-
tion building in two years, and UNBC
does not provide computer servicing,
so non-functioning computers often
remain for years. The external review
described these offices as overcrowd-
ed, messy, and equipped with non-
functioning computers, and goes to
further state that the offices are “far
from adequate and, in a word, uninvit-
ing.” ‘

The external review recommended.
the university administration address
“UNBC’s failure to provide significant
graduate support in terms of Teaching
Assistantships or Scholarships” by cre-
ating more teaching assistantship posi-
tions and by providing “active support
from the development office for
fundraising for graduate scholar-
ships.”

According to the GSS, the group
has been lobbying the administration
for two years for an increase in the

_number of teaching assistantships and
for an adjustment in pay to make up
for ten years. of inflation and tuition
increases. Teaching assistants at

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Contraceptives, Antidepressants, Acne
Medications Top Campus Drug Plans

By JONATHAN WOODWARD
CUP British COLUMBIA BUREAU CHIEF

The most-prescribed drugs to stu-
dents at campuses across Canada are
overwhelmingly contraceptives, anti-
depressants, acne medication, and
herpes medication.

Topping the lists of drugs pre-
scribed most at McGill University, the
University of Saskatchewan, and the
University of British Columbia are
brands like Tri-Cyclen, Marvelon and
Alesse, while anti-asthma medications
and amoxicillin didn’t make the top
ten in many universities.

“Tt’s really interesting that oral con-
traceptives and antidepressants out-
rank antibiotics,” the class of drugs
more traditionally linked to “medi-
cine,” said Kristin Foster of student-
carenet/works, which runs student
health plans for 330,000 students at 33

schools in Canada.

“It’s typical of students across the
country,” she said.

At the University of Saskatchewan,
the top eight drugs, by number pre-
scribed, were oral contraceptives. In
ninth place was Effexor, an antidepres-
sant, and in tenth place was Nu-
Amoxi, an antibiotic.

At UBC, oral contraceptives were
ranked first to third, fifth to seventh
and ninth. In fourth place was Tylenol
with codeine, and in eighth and tenth
places were drugs typically used to
fight acne.

At McGill, the contraceptives
appeared in spots one to four, six,
seven and nine. Diane, an anti-acne
medication, was in the fifth spot, while
different prescriptions of Effexor
occupied spots eight and ten.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DE VERE

‘The mid-spring sunlight shines off the Administration Building on a warm afternoon. In February
and early March Prince George experienced unseasonably warm weather, with temperatures as
much as ten degrees above normal.

Br BELINDA Li” é
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

In late January of this year, the
UNBC Daycare received an unwel-
come visit from a Norwalk-like virus,
commonly known as the stomach flu.
The virus infected a small number of
caregivers and toddler aged children,
and caused the daycare to shut down
for two days.

In all, three staff members and
five children came down with. the

Norwalk-like virus, with symptoms
that included stomach pain, nausea,
diarrhea, and discomfort.

The Daycare was closed from
January 26 to the 28, which “gave
University cleaning staff opportunity
to disinfect everything as a precau-
tion, so the children’s health would
not be risked,” said Kelly Thirkettle,
UNBC Daycare Manager. Thirkettle
also added that all of the toys and
surfaces were disinfected as further

Daycare Shut Down by Norwalk-like Virus

measures, The daycare was also
closed for two days to give the chil-
dren a chance to get over their symp-
toms, as the patient must be symp-
tom free for 48 hours before the virus
is not contagious.

The daycare has stepped up
awareness to the families of children
to ensure that the young person is
not displaying any symptoms of the
virus. There are 81 families with chil-

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