By: Diane Hypolite

The UNBC library was
Officially renamed the Weller
Library in honor of UNBC’s
first president, Geoffrey
Weller who has passed away.
He was remembered as a
compellingly student-oriented
teacher who taught from his
own life experiences rather
than from textbooks alone.
He charmed students and
teachers alike with his unfail-
ing positivity. He was a fierce
advocate of International
Studies and was responsible
for most of the library acquisi-
tion requests.

There was a panel of four

Photo By: Dana Schwehr
Halloween at UNBC. or is it Barney’s
illegitemite son Barry?

By: Zahra Jamal, The
Other Press

NEW WESTMINSTER,
B.C. (CUP) -- British
Columbia drivers worried that
private insurance will trans-
late into soaring premiums
are lobbying to keep the

] . province’s insurance compa-

ny public.

The Canadian
Federation of Students (CFS)
and lobby group Friends of
Public Auto Insurance (FPAI)
are enlisting the help of stu-
dents to launch a’ postcard
campaign to lobby the B.C.
Liberals not to privatize car
insurance.

The government has
been considering selling the
Insurance Corporation of
British Columbia (ICBC). A
report prepared for finance
minister Gary Collins states
that privatization would save
the province an annual pay-
out of "all medical costs that
are motor vehicle related."

CFS and FPAI say insur-
ance premiers for young dri-
vers could increase dramati-
cally under a private provider.

"Many new drivers
[already] can’t afford to own a
car," said Anita Zaenker, a
spokesperson for the two
groups.

"It's not going to get any
better" for young people
under a private insurance

B.C. car insurance could get
costly, young drivers fear

system.

A recent study conducted
by the Consumer’s
Association of Canada com-
pared insurance rates in
Vancouver, Calgary, Regina,
Winnipeg and Toronto and
concluded B.C.’s public auto

‘insurance currently provides

"competitively priced" and
"universally available" cover-
age.
In cities with a privatized
system, rates are based on
discriminatory categories
such as age and gender. In
Toronto, for example, a
young male with a perfect dri-
ving record pays approxi-
mately 50 per cent more than
what a female with a perfect
driving record pays for premi-
ums, and up to 100 per cent
more than a male would have
to pay in Vancouver under
the present system.

Not everyone is sympa-
thizing with young drivers.
Jason Clemens, director of
fiscal studies at the Fraser
Institute, says that right now
"there are way too many
young drivers." Under the
current system, Clemens
claims ICBC is “burdening"
other British Columbians with
the expenses of "youngsters"
who have a "much higher risk
of getting into accidents."

If B.C. does adopt a pri-
vate system, young people
are not the only ones who

Pioneer turns to Legend

speakers who all went up in
turn to give their remem-
brances of Dr. G. Weller.
UNBC’s current president,
Dr. Jago was first to open the
ceremony, followed by Jamie
Campbell (a former student),
Heather Meyers, and Jean
Weller, the wife of Dr. Weller.
The speeches focused on
Weller’s role in the begin-
nings of UNBC and his efforts
in building the foundations of
the university. A few anec-
dotes were told, describing
the bumps along the way to
building the school, like the
fact that there is a half an
inch between the back of the

library and the Agora building
that is not supposed to be
there. It was amusing to hear
of how he had to make acco-
madations in the blue prints
because of that fact.
Basically, Dr. Weller filled
the various roles of phenom-
enal teacher and _ school
administrator, beloved family
man, and = friend with
admirable capability and is
sorely missed. The unveiling
of the plaque dedicating the
library was done by
Mrs.Weller, Dr. Jago, and Dr.
G. Weller’s young grandson.

8

The Dedication of the Library Building to former UNBC pres-
ident and professor Dr. Geoffrey Weller. From left Mrs. Jean
Weller, Grandson, and UNBC current president, Dr. Jago.

could be negatively affected.

"Communities around the
province are going to suffer
from these cutbacks," said
Karen Rockwell, vice- presi-
dentof the Office and
Professional Employee’s
Union which represents ICBC
employees. She advises all
British Columbians to be
careful when making price
comparisons.

"We have to keep in mind
that it's apples and oranges
we're talking about," said
Rockwell.

She said that if someone
in B.C. was to lose control of
their car and have a "cata-
strophic injury" while driving
in dangerous weather condi-
tions, ICBC would cover up to
$150,000 of medical and
rehabilitation expenses pro-
vided the person has the right
insurance. In Alberta, under
the existing private insurance
system, she says the same
person would only get a max-
imum of $10,000 for these
expenses. .

ICBC last year paid out
$42.7 million in health care
costs, she said.

Photo: Diane Hypolite