Over The Edge Page 4 January 26, 1998
Behind Closed Doors:

Skeletons from Multiple Closets

by Paul Berard

When one actually looks into
_the Recall Campaign against
Paul Ramsey, Education,
Skills and Training Minister, it
does seem as though one
might be sifting through the
laundry of those involved.

From the outset, the entire
movement against Ramsey
was portrayed as a group of
rebellous, rag-tag individuals
going door to door during the
coldest time of the year. The
movement for  anti-anti
Ramsey started up slowly,
making its first public appear-
ance with a unified front.

Neither group appeared to
be larger.

And so, the skeletons have
come tumbling out of the

closet on both sides. Each
side in the campaign have
dug their little trenches in our
newspapers, turning the
issue of Recall into a minia-
turized version of the U.S
President's lastest headache:
Who slept with whom?

Or much rather: Who’s no
longer willing to sleep with
whom?

The latest issue of the entire
Recall campaign has people
wanting out. Maybe it’s not
many. Maybe it’s a whole
bunch. The end result is peo-
ple are starting to finish the
homework they started on the
issue when it came out a few
months ago. | have assign-
ments for my courses that are

lf There’s Smoke at UNBC

Actually, because of the high
percentage of taxes on ciga-
rettes they are not a very
profitable item. And_ profit
from cigarettes was the dri-
ving factor behind the deci-
sion to discontinue the sale of
cigarettes. It seemed highly
hypocritical for a smoke free
university, such as UNBC, to
be profiting from the sale of
cigarettes to its. students.
“Can we -[UNBC] in a clear
conscience, with all of the
medical evidence telling us it
is harmful, still sell cigarettes

to our students,” returned

Hibbetts when asked about
the matter.

The only financial worry
associated with the stoppage
of cigarette sales is that stu-
dents who would normally
come into the Corner Store
for a package of cigarettes
and buy a chocolate bar or a
package of gum as well will
not come in just for the gum
or chocolate. This has not
been seen yet, and probably
will not be until the Cigarettes
are totally gone from the

Packages Start at

$29.9

Call 1-800°362°FLAT (ors. - ie ean

PER
MOM TH

due in a week. Must be nice
to have that kind of time. Of
course, for those who looked
solely at the current events
folder, one might speculate
that Mr. Ramsey has been
kissing a lot of babies and
making a lot of photo ops.

This said, it certainly has
pointed out a group of people
who feel upset by the repre-
sentation they are receiving
with their. government. And
those who felt pressured into
signing.

So, when Nichole Hebb stat-
ed that she wanted off the
Recall petition, the question
became: Why not?

After all, we live in a system
that targets those who waffle

and transgress the rights of
others. Ms.Hebb is simply
exemplifying this ratio. Our
justice system is designed to
say, “That’s okay. Would you
like to reform?” We are pleas-
ant, we are nice, and we are
Canadian. Gunslingers and
Drug Smugglers recognize
the Canadian Justice Code
on sight as a haven for their
operations.

And now? The system is
designer for the average Joe.
We want to change our opin-
ion and representation at the
drop of a hat? Sure, why not!
We can be just like govern-
ment, reading the polls and
papers as a public and being
the entire manner that we

operate. After all, people who
didn’t come out to vote for
Ramsey in the first place
should not have the right to
vote him out now. Maybe if
you care about who is repre-
senting you, you should get
up and take the time to vote
in the first place.

If the public really warited to
preserve’ the _ intelligent
Canadian mentality, we
would take the first step and
set the precedent for what the
American public will eventu-
ally be forced to do to their
ieaders, and cut off the tools,
like Recall, that allow us to
undermir our own intelli-
gence.

it would Pretty Much have to be a Fire.

Corner Store. —

The only issue that remains
is that of the smokers who
live in residence. They are
already forced to buy many
items off campus. Hibbetts,
who was once a smoker her-
self, can sympathize with the
plight of students who live in
residence and smoke
because she lived in resi-
dence for her first two months
in Prince George and knows
that “If you run out of milk you
have to get in the car and go
all the way to College

LLL

Heights.”

At least students were give
ample notice and cigarettes
were not just pulled from the
shelves. The President’s
Council did offer to turn over
the sale of cigarettes to the
Residence Council: but the
Residence Council declined
the offer. Students who live in
residence already have to
travel off campus for many
necessities, cigarettes are
going to be one more.

The University was not look-

ing to control the habits of |

4 Teer pF rs Ba ears

. Continued from Page 3 .

students when it made the
decision to quit Selling ciga-
rettes at the Corner Store, it
was looking for a way to end
its conflict of interest. Don’t
worry you can still drink and
have your fries and that
should continue into the
future and beyond.

Pat Hibbetts is still willing to
talk to any students who have
concerns about this matter.

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