Free Volume 19 Issue 03 October 10, 2012 ote-newspaper@unbc.ca ote.unbc.ca

Letters from CFUR & OTE

NEWS 4

Student Develops PG Transit App

NEWS 4

Prince George Transit

PHOTO SOURCE UNBC.CA

ARTivism Exibit

STUDENT LIFE 8

UNBC hammers Grande Prairie

SPORTS 6

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LEILA MAHEIDDINIBONAB STUDENT LIFE EDITOR

On Thursday October 4, carrying signs with slogans such as “2 years without contract” and “WTF: Where's the Funding?” the members of CUPE 3799 walked off the job at 1:00pm, picketing the entrance to the UNBC campus. The members of CUPE 3799 were protesting the upcoming $20 million in cuts to post- secondary education in BC. As part of these cuts, universities around the province are mandated to analyze procurement procedures to see if there can be any shared resources between universities, such as centralized call centres and accounting, in order to institute savings.

Caroline Sewell, president of CUPE 3799 talked about the reasons behind the strike. “We want to have stronger language about job security

()ver_ the Edge

UNBCs student newspaper since 1994

THIS 1S THE AUTUMN OF CUPE 3799'S DISCONTENT

and not contracting out, and a reasonable and fair increase in wages.”

Throughout the day the UNBC faculty president and executive directors were seen passing out donuts to strikers and showing their support. “We have a goodwill agreement with the management here at UNBC and the faculty. We are out protesting the provincial mandate and not the university,’added Sewell. As part of the goodwill agreement, essential services such as the power plant supervisors and security - who provide first aid services - stayed at work. The Northern Medical Program's employees also stayed at work out of consideration for the tightly restricted course timeline of the med program. What is considered “a fair increase” to the members of CUPE 3799? A wage increase

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akin to those granted to BCGEU — a three percent increase over approximately two years.

“I've been with the university for 14 years now; this is the third contract I’ve gone through. In the last 14 years, | think there's been maybe a 4% raise in the three contracts, inclusive,” said CUPE 3799 member Dawn Gonzalez, the international undergraduate admissions officer. “There is a document out there indicating that the government and the university are looking into privatizing post-secondary education in BC. So that would mean the elimination of a lot of jobs at UNBC and across the province. | strongly feel that a good economy supports the middle class and the middle class supports the economy.’ The stagnation of wages over the last three years has led to a decrease in the

OTO SOURCE SHELLEY TERMUENDE

spending power of each individual by 5.8% due to inflation.

These proposed cuts may not seem to affect the average student, but they do. With the outsourcing of jobs there is less opportunities for students to work at the university in the call offices or as interns in the Accounting and Payroll office. Every facet of the university (from security to the Corner Store and student jobs at the library and IT centre) has the potential to be cut to institute university savings. Services like the Registrar's Office, Cashier and Awards and Bursaries Office are all under CUPE 3799. It remains to be seen how these services will be affected by the proposed cuts.

A MURAL OF ENVIRONMENT AL ISSUES TRAVELS THE COUNTRY

HANNA PETERSEN NEWS EDITOR

On January 1st, 1992, carpenter Mario Houle and geography student Patrice Boyer embarked on a journey, planning to cross North, Central and South America in a self- initiated campaign called Green Light to Rio. Their goal was to raise awareness about environmental issues.

Patrice painted a giant wooden postcard on which thousands of signatures, slogans, petitions, poems and messages of hope were collected. This postcard was eventually delivered to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992. This conference (also known as Earth Summit) was unprecedented, as this was the first time

in history where political leaders committed to tackling global environmental problems by involving local communities.

The campaign and the postcard travelled to 34 Canadian universities, colleges, and organizations from coast to coast. Mario envisioned the journey from the Americas to Rio de Janeiro. With almost no funds, the team completed their journey and the giant postcard was displayed during the final days of the Global Forum as part of the Earth Summit. In its course the campaign, Green Light to Rio, evolved from an awareness and appreciation of nature into environmental activism at a grass roots level.

Twenty years later, in June 2012, the United

Nations hosted another conference on sustainable development aptly named Rio+20, and the postcard project resurfaces again. This time, however, a giant mural titled “We Are All One” was created by a group of independent and international visual artists. The plan was to address the United Nations as a group without any political or cooperate affiliations. “Our collaborative project aims to share our views on our own future with the UN, before, during and after the conference. We are inviting you to participate,” says the grassroots movement, now known as Unfolding Dreams. “We are inviting you to participate. We want to share our joint works of art, including your paintings, poems,

letters, and drawings, and deliver them as stamps on this symbolic postcard’ The mural will return from Brazil to Canada where it will travel coast to coast.

“Our question to you is: what is your dream for the the future of our earth? What do you value the most? What inspires you? Can you write it down? Draw it or paint it?”asks Mario Houle and the team from the Unfolding Dreams movement. “We ask you to please place your stamp on our common future, and make a positive impact.” Those interested in participating are asked to submit their work at www.unfoldingdreams.org. The 100 most impressive visual pieces of art will become stamps on the mural.