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TWO OF THE HEATING pipes involved in last October's servicetunnel fire showing the insulation that burned and filledcampus buildings with dangerous “umes, The pipes were removed last week aS.repairs to the tunnels are completed
Feds to announce better loan program
OTTAWA (CUP) Federal
announce this
The government could month a _ re-
Canada
progranr to
structuring of the Student Loans make it easier for students to use, according to the Cana- dian Federation of Students.
Chair said he hopes the changes
Tony Macerollo will include giving students more time to repay their loans, introducing grants and bursaries, and giving more assistance for disabled’ and part-time students.
The advisory of State David Crombie was set up last Oc-
Secretary tober “specifically designed to discuss student said Macerollo, one of the
loans,”
group’s members.
The group should make “immediate changes to Canada Student Loans for the 1988-89 school year,” he said,
The CFS information of- ficer, Catherine Louli, said “They’re looking at a com- plete overhaul of the student loan system.”
A change is needed in the way the government gives fi- nancial aid to post-secondary students, Macerollo said, be- cause the system is too rigid for students to repay their loans. : :
In statistics released by the Secretary of State, 37
group to.
gotiated a Canada Student Loan graduated with a debt of more than $5,000. The av- erage debt load was $4,796. “The Student Act has served us since 1964, but it’s clearly time to reorient our approach for the Crombie said when
Canada Loans well
future,”
he an- nounced the establishment of the advisory group. ‘
If the federal government provided better summer job programs with higher wages and the debts wouldn’t he so high, “It’s always
more positions, said Macerollo. been the position of the CFS that the best form of student aid is a summer job.” Macerollo said he’s dis- appointed with the stagnant funding of the Challenge 788 program given by youth min-
ister Jean Charest.
A Secretary of State of- ficial said Crombie “intends to bring about changes as soon as possible” to the CSL. Mary Meloshe, the head of the department’s Student Assistance Direc- torate, the must have “more flexible re-
said program payment terms and greater accountability” to students. The value of outstanding loans the government guar- antees for. students totals more than $2 billion across Canada, Meloshe said.
“That represents a sig- nificant amount of money and federal investment,” Me- loche said. “It’s a question of public money being well- spent.”
The ministry’s advisory group is made up of repre- sentatives from national stu- dent organizations.
“An exciting part of this whole committee is it’s the first time ever (that there has been) direct student input into Canada Student Loans,” said the CFS’ Louli.
The minister can make minor policy changes to CSL, said Macerollo. But an over- haul will require amending the Canada Student Loans
Act.
Meloshe said it could take a while for this kind of bill to pass in Parliament.
“Whenever you are talk- ing about legislation, have to look at the broader government timetable,” she said. The ministry’s group is also working with the Coun- cil of Ministers of Education, made up of the provinces’ education ministers, to dis- cuss what level of funding the provinces can contribute for
you
grants and bursaries.
HEATED DEBATE OVER SMOKINGIN THE PIT
Tuesday’s General Meet- ing for UPEI students began with a heated debate over whether or not to make the Robertson Library Lounge a non-smoking area.
The meeting was called as an opportunity for can- didates in the SU to give speeches. How- ever, SU President Steven Wynne opened the meeting with a debate. Wynne stated that the UPEI Senate, which is currently
election
implementing
a plan to make university buildings non-smoking areas, had decided to let the Stu- dent Council make the choice the Robertson Lounge (The’ Pit) should be
smoking or non-smoking.
If the
of whether
area was made non-smoking, Wynne said, an room outside The Pit,
probably where the UP! in- formation office is presently located, would he made
The
other alternative, Wynne ex-
into a smoking area.
plained, was to install a $40,000 ventilation system so non-smokers and smok-
ers could use the lounge to- gether. that the Student Union would not
Wynne said
have to pay for the ventila- tion system. When
were opened for comments,
the microphones
Lund she would like to
SU councillor Kirstin said see ref- students that just those present at the
the question go to a
erendum so more
meeting could be involved in the issue. Another stu- dent, a smoker, said that
non-smokers who didn’t like
INSIDE: Letters to the editor Sports
it in the pit could use the cafeteria in AVC, which is a no-smoking area.
Paul Peacock, a former SU councillor, made a mo- tion that the issue be voted on immediately. Because a quorum of the student pop- ulation was present at the meeting, the results of such a vote would be binding.
Several students brought up the fact that deciding an issue like this when there was such a small sample of the student body present was not fair. President Wynne sug- gested that the issue could be decided with a vote printed in The Gem for students could clip and hand in. After an informal show of hands, Peacock finally withdrew the motion to put it toa vote im- mediately in favour of the is- sue being decided at a refer- endum or some other vote in-
volving more students.
As a result, the Student Council will be deciding this Sunday at their regular coun- cil meeting if a referendum on the issue will be held. Tf it goes ahead, the referen- dum will be held during the Student the
of Vice-President Communi-
Union elections for newly created position cations to he held April 6th and 7th. Any UPEI student may attend the council meet- ing, which will be held in the Kelly Conference room, lo- cated in the hallway between the bookstore and the regis- trar’s office. Students may call the SU office in The Barn
for the time of the meeting.n
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