6 UPEI News

The Cadre + 6 October 1998

Administration commits to committing oral policies to writing

BY ERIN FAGAN

UPEI administration, in conjunction with the UPEI Stu- dent Unionand other campus groups, will be working this year to draft written policies concerning, among other is- sues, the presence of off-cam- pus organizations in the Breezeway and “the Pit” ac- cording to Interim UPE] Presi- dent Lawrence Heider.

These changes, accord- ing to Heider, comeasaresult of misunderstandings sur- rounding anumber of unwrit- ten policieson campus, which

he attributed to “a great oral tradition” at UPEI.

“This was fine when it wasasmalleruniversity, but it has grown more complex and we need to write these policies out,” Heider stated.

Some of the greater con- fusion surrounds one largely unenforced “oral” policy con- cerning commercial entities and political groups being pro- hibited from certain areas on campus. In spite of this gen- eral policy, solicitors such as the Imaginus poster company,

Island Tel, and credit cardcom- panies have been regularly sta- tioned inthat environment.

Recently, conflicts re- garding a Youth Reform Club and the visit of three Reform Members of Parliament have sparked examination of this policy.

“There is an unwritten policy that only campus/Stu- dent Union sponsored organi- zations could be inthe Breeze- way,” Heider said. “There is no question there oughtto bea written policy, and it is not

satisfactory that we do not have one.”

Heider stated that he believed that most who know him are aware that he believes strongly in the freedom of speech.

““We wantto supportthat kind of thing,” he said. “The university should bea place in the community to learn about new ideas and perspectives.”

Heider said that Neil Henry, UPEI Vice President Finance, was working with Matt Gray, UPEI SU presi-

dent, to draft a clear policy which can be accepted by all sides of the issue.

“We need a policy that everyone can understand. . . policies which are well thought out so that we can know what the situation is,” said Heider. “Tf itis the right policy. ..we’ll have to support it.”

Inaddition, other policies which will be drafted include those concerning faculty rights and responsibilities, with re- spect to consultation groups.

Defense and Sell-AWareness For Wom

Especially and exclusively for women this 5-week program covers: 1 simple, effective self-defense techniques 2 verbal confrontation training 3 practical safety guild lines 4 assault awareness and prevention

| Please pre-register to ensu

When October 13th until November 10th time Tuesdays, 7:00 - 9:00 where Upper lobby, UPEI sports centre

Instructor: Alan Heartz 4th degree black belt in karate

And

Constable Wendy Adams

=

re space to register

co-sponsored by: The UPEI Women’s Centre and UPEI Security Police

, or for more information, call 628-4332