The Muse, vol. 40, no. 17 (March 2 1990)

              March 2,1990
Memorial University
Volume 40, Number 17
White Paper plans ambitious;
outlines plans to streamline
education, build MUN central
Wade Brake, a CSU presidential candidate, harangues students during the presidential debates on Wednesday.
Photo by NORMAN BUNGAY
By HEIDI HARLEY
The provincial government
brought down an ambitious
White Paper on education Tuesday while educators in the
province were still reeling from
the reduction in federal transfer
payments. The Paper, precursor
to a forthcoming five-year plan
for education, proposes to rearrange the administration of post-
secondary institutions in the
province and reaffirms the
Elections get steamier with debate
By DAWN MITCHELL
The Council of the Students'
Union elections really heated up
on Feb. 28.
Wade Brake and Mike Walsh,
the two presidential candidates,
debated with about 150 students
and each other in the Thomson
Student Centre gym.
Walsh spoke first saying he
believed he could do more work
for students than the present CSU
has done.
"We have to inform the public
about what's happening here on
campus. Students don't have
enough money to survive," he
said.
Walsh also questioned the
roles of the Newfoundland
Federation of Students, and the
Canadian Federation of Students.
The candidate had a few ideas
about saving money within the
CSU operations and how to raise
money outside the university and
governments.
"We have to save and stretch
our money," he said. "The president [of the CSU] is using bonded
paper, and six members of the
council went to a CFS meeting in
B.C. last semester," he said.
Brake latter in the summation
speeches said that the CSU had to
give a professional impression
when dealing with the government and businesses. As for the
trip, he said two of the tickets
were paid by the travel pool and
would have cost the CSU the
same thing if they went to the
States.
Walsh ended with, "Are you
going to go with another
lightweight or a heavyweight?"
Brake, in his opening speech,
said the CSU has two purposes: to
provide services to the students
and lobby provincial and federal
governments on behalf of students.
"The federal slapped us in the
face time and again. I want to
continue our role of lobbying
with the government and retain
ourcreditability.""
Brake announced that the CFS
has organized a national student
march on federal buildings on
March 15.
The floor was then opened to
the students who grilled Walsh on
his attitudes towards the media
[namely CHMR-FM] and the
watchdog committee he wants to
set for clubs and societies and
residences to watch the CSU and
"make it do work for a change."
Brake was also grilled about
his lack of new ideas for finding
new funds for the university.
Brake answered, "We need to
continue educating the government about our concerns."
Brake was also asked about the
renovations to the Breezeway
which he is advocating and the
lack of accessibility to the CSU
complex.
At the end of the debate, Pat
Hickey, the chief returning officer, invited people to the Clubhouse for refreshments.
Last week Jean Chretien, potential Liberal leader was on
campus to sell the students on his version of federal politics.
Photo by NORMAN BUNGAY
government's commitment to a
MUN campus in central Newfoundland.
Anne Whelan, the chair of the
Newfoundland and Labrador
Federation of Students, said,
"They get high marks for effort.
There are a few minor problems
that can be dealt with, but the
major problem I see is that they're
undoubtedly compromising excellence. They go on about
equality, excellence and efficiency, I don't know how they
propose to fund this stuff when
MUN is already up to its neck in
debt."
The plan includes expanding
Sir Wilfred Grenfell to a degree-
granting institution, introducing a
common first year of study for all
diploma programs, increasing
emphasis on literacy and part-
time programs, creating a new
community college in St John's
(including the Cabot Institute and
three current Avalon Community
College campuses), affiliating the
Marine Institute with Memorial
University, moving the Corner
Brook community college campus to the Fisher Institute, which
will receive an eight million dollar extension, and bringing the
remaining Avalon community
college campuses under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Community
College.
Other reaction to the paper is
guarded but positive. Bill Shallow of the Avalon Community
Colleges said, "In general terms,
I see the changes as being very
positive. The mandates of the
separate colleges have been
somewhat confused in the past,
and [under the plan for grouping]
the mandates will now be clear."
"It's good for planning purposes. It looks effective on
paper," he said.
Whelan's main concern was
funding the proposed central
university campus. "They say
they'll end up moving 4000 students to the west, which will take
care of MUN's problems. The
thing is, they've got to have a
place to put them. They can't
plant them in the ground. Building the campus will take a few
dollars, which they just don't
have."
"Do you really think they're
going to get the staff?" she asked.
"Geographic accessibility isn't
the problem. Financial accessibility is."
Whelan also felt that the larger
administrative structure for the
community colleges might result
in the loss of some of the more
flexible programs. "The changes
are good from an administrative
perspective, but the human-
oriented programs, like the outreach program, might get lost in
the shuffle."
Outreach teaching involves
having the profs go to the students
rather than the students going to
the profs.
Shallow didn't think that was a
concern. "The emphasis on
literacy and outreach is clearly
stated in the Paper." He did feel it
could prove difficult to implement such a broad range of
programs - everything from high-
tech education to literacy
programs.
"However, it can be done, if the
provincial government and
Department of Education are
backing us. It'll take incredible
leadership," he said.
Whelan said the Marine Institute felt generally positive
about the affiliation with
Memorial, but there were concerns about the new first-year
program. "Under that, they'd be
doing the general science degree
courses - first year chemistry,
math and physics. Some told me
if they wanted to be doing that
stuff they'd be going to university."
She said, "Overall, they're
trying to streamline things, which
may turn up a few dollars, but not
really the big amounts they need."
This week in
the Muse
3 Budget cuts
5 Lotsa letters
9 CSU Notes
13 Recycling
14 GST
17 Rawlin's Cross
19 Stella Wm    M
20 Elections...
26 Cartoons
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