VOLUME 11, Issuz 12

NUSC Defeated in

Students say no to increase in building fees
and Northern University Student Centre

By KATHLEEN DE VERE
NEWs EDITOR

The student body has spoken, and
much to the disappointment of outgo-
ing Director of University Affairs,
Jeremy Belyea, what the students said
was no to the NUSC.

“T don’t swear very often, but I think
it fucking sucks,” said a visibly disap-
painted Belyea in an interview shortly
after the results were announced.
“That’s just my knee-jerk gut feeling.
It’s unfortunate, but it happens.”

The referendum to increase building
fees to $35 a semester in order to
finance the construction of the
Northern. University Student Centre
was defeated last week, 57 per cent for
the increase, 43 per cent opposed. The
referendum needed an absolute major-
ity of 66 per cent to pass.

However, while getting the go-ahead
to begin construction of the NUSC
was one of the top priorities for this
year’s NUGSS Board, not all members
of NUGSS were disappointed when
the referendum failed.

“No, absolutely not,” said outgoing
Fizst Nation’s Representative Caleb
Behn when Over the Edge asked if he

‘ was disappointed with the referendum
result. “In blatant contradiction of
NUGSS policy, I disagreed with the fee
increase, but more importantly, I dis-
agree with the way they’re trying to
accomplish their goal.”

Behn said there was nothing to sug~
gest the NUSC needed to be an $11.6
million building, something that would
take the student body more than 28
years to pay off.

According to Behn, the real issue
behind the construction of the NUSC
is that the student environment at
UNBC is lacking certain things, things
that a student building can provide.

“Doesn’t anybody question why wé
didn’t do. what CNC did?” he asked.
“They welded together two portables. I
acknowledge building restrictions and
codes may have prevented that but...
there was no viable discussion or short-
term alternatives to the NUSC to
address the issue now.”

“Tt’s a disservice to the students to
not look at short-term alternatives,”

said Behn. “It may not look that viable, .

but there was no discussion outside the
executive - the only time we had_-stu-
dents’ input was in the last three
weeks.”

When asked about the scope of the
project and if it would have been
viable to offer a smaller, two story
building, Belyea defended the current
plans, and rejected ideas that a smaller,
lower cost building would have suited
student needs better.

“J don’t want to offer a weaker prod-
uct for less cost,” said Belyea. “I think I
made the right decision. It doesn’t
make sense to make a smaller cheaper
building. I was looking down the line.”

According to Belyea, NUGSS made
the NUSC plans ambitious to avoid
future space problems and compromis-
ing what kind of services the NUSG
would offer to students.

“T would rather go down as the one
who failed the referendum rather than
the one that offered a two story prod-
uct.”

“I don’t know why people voted no,
but the cost is something everyone
brings up,” he ‘said. “The big thing I
tried to stress was costs are going up, so
it’s going to be hard to pass [later].
Cost is always a factor, but the reality of
the situation is that it’s always going to
cost. I just hope that we don’t get
caught in the same cycle where people
[who are in third or fourth year] don’t

Apri 6, 2005

vote for it now because they don’t get
to see it.”

Behn also took issue with the degree
of contro] that unelected, and in his

words, non-accountable, NUGSS staff

members had over the details of the
project. “The staff at NUGSS has a
great deal of oversight. To some this is
justified, and to some it’s not. This
bothers me as an undergrad who’s paid
four years worth of fees.”

Another issue Behn took exception
to was what he called “toeing the party
line.”

“The NUGSS Board was not
allowed to mount a ‘no’ campaign -
even if members of the NUGSS board
didn’t agree [with the plans] - we had

This Award is for the Birdie and Some UNBC Professors

Br FONAS GAGNON
OPINIONS EDITOR

Birds of the Raincoast: Habits and
Habitat, a book co-authored by
UNBC’s very own Kevin Hutchings
and Harvey-Thommasen, has been
short listed for the B.C. Booksellers
Choice Award.

The award, given out in honour of
Bill Duthie, a pioneer of the B.C:
bookstore industry, is presented to the
authors and publisher of a book that
excels in public appeal, initiative,
design, production, and content.

Birds of the Raincoast has four
authors in all; Harvey Thommasen,
R. Wayne Campbell, Mark Hume,
and of course, Kevin Hutchings.

While it may seem odd to some
alias aes known for his out-

De 7 you u get angry at your : Goanpltar Se
some tips on how to meee ror wri

technology.

Page 6

standing work in the university’
English department, should be writ-
ing a book about birds, for those who
know Hutchings, it’s not so strange
after all. Hutchings is an avid bird
watcher and, like the romantic poets
he studies, he admires nature.

Hutchings met Thommasen, | his
Birds of the Raincoast co-author,
when Thommasen became the Chair
of Community Health at UNBC.
_ Thommasen, wanting someone to
add some culture to the book, asked
Hutchings to write the book with him.
Thommasen already had a publishing
house signed on, so Hutchings
agreed,

Hutchings wrote the introductions

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

to toe the party line. We’re not politi-
cians. We should be student represen-
tatives,” said Behn.

“NUGSS has a policy that you go
along with the decisions made,” said
Belyea, when asked to comment on
Behn’s concerns. “You have the ability
to express concerns and speak out
when the decisions are being made, but
once the decisions have been made, for
better or for worse, you're expected to
go with the decision of the Board of
Directors,” said Belyea.

However, Behn disagreed, saying
that at the beginning of their terms,
“all the NUGSS members got told
what was going to happen,” suggesting
there was little debate over the project.

SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR MOST FABULOUS EDITORS SINCE 1994

Student Referendum

PuoTO BY TRAVIS NIELSEN
More than a quarter of the student body came out to vote in the NUSC referendum.

“I’m not denigrating the institution,
a lot of good things have come out of
NUGSS, [and] it’s easy to criticize
from afar, but some of the plans, in my
opinion, were questionable,” said
Behn. “57 per cent of us want a
NUSG, and I want one too - but do I
want it like this? I don’t know.”

When asked what his plans were for
the NUSC, incoming NUGSS
President Colin Philips responded by
saying the new board would look into
the issue, and would probably get more
feedback to see what kind of building
the students wanted.

“T just hope the building gets built,”
said Belyea. “It'll make the university a
better place.”

Possible Education Program Move

By ELIZABETH FYLES
STAFF WRITER

Rumors started flying in January,
when the students of UNBC’s

Education Program heard, unofficial-
ly, that they would be moved off cam-
pus to a high school in town.

The faculty and administration
quickly squashed these Rumors, but
once again in February the Rumors of
a move cropped up. Would the entire
program be moved to Lakewood
Junior High? No one knew anything
for sure, but everyone was talking:

Approximately 100 students are
enrolled in the Education Program at
UNBC. This program is split roughly
into four groups: two cohorts for each

of the Senior Years (SY) program and
the Early Years (EY) program.

When UNBC made an official
announcement that indicated there
might be a move after their practicum
ended, it was a source of dissension
and tension within the students of the
program.

“We were a really close class and

-this whole thing has created a lot of

dissension, not only within our cohort,
but with the Early Years classes too,”
said Denee Wells.

To deal with the Rumors and grow-
ing unrest, the SY04 cohort elected
seven representatives for their 23 stu-
dents including three “PR reps.”

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