The Cadre -

15 September 1998

Opinion __17

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"The Cadre stresses that material printed inthe Opinions section represents the personal ideas and views of the writer and that this material not necessarily represent the opinions of the staff and volunteers.

Discuss:

In addition to the already painful lot of bills and debts that are being accrued by most students on campus, we find that the common textbook has risen to heights worthy of nosebleeds. These “Bundles Of Organized Knowledge” are becoming the bane of most students’ academic existence. Beyond the typical budgets that students are forced to balance (encom- passing tuition, lodging, transportation and beyond), now we must allot a more-than-sizeable portion of cashflow to the bookstore. The dollar may see its value hanging around its ankles, but the fact remains that the prices of texts are rising at rates not concurrent to the economy. Somewhere along the line, publishing rer oe and the government joined forces to put a giant “kick me” sign on the collective backs of students. The tax on texts alone is enough to force an extra month of the Mr.Noodles diet. It’s ridiculous to believe that students are capable to afford these necessities on top of tuition that is showing no signs of lowering its mighty figure.

The Cadre invites students to voice their opinions on the costs of stude d and other issues. Write letters to <newspaper@upei.ca>, or slip them into our mail slot ir Bldg, room 06. Letters must not exceed 400 words in length. Any letters in excess will be trunc rs a

slash ("\"). Letters must include the writer's true name, though a pse Also, the writer's telephone number, E-mail address, and

Truer Than Fiction

a formulaic tale

igstvenn Gf the bitin: che crotied by tdgiog to a dey’ dash, the hadnt surveyed ten sonm telly gnorant o c nudging into a stray the room ion oeateaatinebedes of row.

it was inning o ew Soe Sa , and the student was eager to make a

im ion on her intellectual yet amicable professor. eeneleed casnt henivos tere intimidate her. She had Mead Five Star First Gear school supplies, and the finest Pilot pens money could buy. Nothing could go wrong.

She had arrived early to find a good seat, and now busied herself with organizing the looseleaf in her clipboard. She doodled her initials on the upper right-hand corner of the sheet, then delicately scripted the course name and number. From her jaunty brief she removed the required textbooks for the class. They had set her back a substantial sum, but it was al “kha It was school, and the peripherals of the educational process made her giddy. She had told Mumsy and Papa that she wished Seen ecashe ikonamaciedietoeteoiad It was all too rich, she laughed. She felt dreadfully wicked for milking them ofall their superfluous funds, and laughed more. This student was there

to see and to be seen. Little else mattered.

O, the bustle of campus life! The horizons to investigate! The student was jolly with her choice of university. It was where all her closest fri had gone, and she just knew that they were bound to have adventure after adventure in her hot red Camaro, cruising down the A venue. University was the place for her, and she felt confident that she belonged there.

Slowly, more individuals entered the room. They didn’t seem like her type of person. They spoke of issues that affected them rather than the with the swankiest slacks and trendiest t-shirts. She turned away in disgust, and focused on running her manicured hands her freshly fixed coif, ree ee , or if she should call up Cubby on her cell phone.

“Maybe I’! just, like, page him,” she thought.

Soon, a pro looking woman entered. She passed about a syllabus, and dove into the subject. The student had a hard time paying attention. There was a weekend i ing, and although it was four days before Friday, a weekend was something fairly important. She had to consume as much fermentation as from then until , because her roommates would be trying to sleep. “Like, I "tknow why they work two jobs anyway, y’know,” she mused quite frankly, pursing

lips. “It’s not like there’s a sale at the Gap or anything. | mean, it’s tuition. No big . the tedious little things of that ilk that had danced into her mind to

og Grab your muzzle UPEI,

here comes the thought police

BY BRODY MORRISON

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you are not allowed to listen to the Reform Party on campus. Do you want to expand your mind and hear what they have to say? Sorry--go somewhere else. Do _ have a bone to pick with Reform policy? Keep it to yourself--you cannot de- bate it at a Reform campus event. When I first came to UPEL, I expected to hear dif- fering viewpoints that would expand my perspective of the world. So much for fostering

mindedness: the univer- sity recently decided that an alternative side to Canadian politics is not welcome. You will not be allowed to hear the Reform Party viewpoint on your campus. The UPEI ad- ministration must believe you cannot think for yourself, that as soon as Reformers their mouths, you will be brain- washed. For much of the sum- mer, youre PEI Reformers have organizing an At- lantic Canada university tour for three of the youngest Mem- bers of Parliament--all of whom are Official ition critics. But when the Reform- ers tried to book the “Breezway” and the “Pit” to have an information and re- cruitment table, were shut out. The MP’s will not be al- lowed to ‘solicit’ inthe Breeze- way or speak in the Pit (a public area), unless accompa- nied by another political party. UPEI is enacting a policy of “No solicitation on campus,” a lame excuse that will effec- tively ban a UPEI Youth Re- form club. The last time | checked, ‘solicitation’ was more than welcome at UPEI. I havea VISA mug to prove it.

I also have a cool poster that I rchased in the Breezway t fall. According to our act-

ing president, this past solicitation was done without his--or the administration’s--

ission. Yet my first year at UPEI, the entire Breezway was filled with 20" TV’s, Sony Playstations, free CD's, and various creditcard companies. They even made room outside the Breezway to accomodate the overflow. | would suggest to Dr. Lawrence Heider, our emepeeene ee office immediately send security to the Breezway: solicitors are attacking the minds and pocket books of your students. Dr. Heider, consider yourself in- formed. I will make sure you are informed of any further violations. No need to thank me. Inthe meantime, Reform Youth will not give up. The party’s main youth coordina- tor contacted the president a second time toask permission, or at least documented proof of this ‘anti-solicitation’ policy. What did our President say? “I do not owe you a letter, or any further explanation.” Why would he not back up his policy with paper? | invite our acting president to send this policy to our student newspaper; at the very least, he should explain to you, the students of UPEI, why this university is discriminating according to political affilia- tion. | wonder what policy he will enforce next? Perhaps a 5 a code? Perhaps he

Id refer to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The freedom of speech and asso- ciation is still there, ifhe would look. Tsk Tsk Tsk.

the beat of “Ghetto Superstar,” and let her big eyes glaze over. It was ber, and that meant that she Soceweniadlaen finding feed herself, own iyi 2 aeainneeaiatoe inconveniences o ing ways to , of paying for i i i trying to keep the roof over her head for the wintering months.

The student an ec filing out of the room. a ee She followed them out, hopi nobody inged her car so close to the buildin went home Ceteaniaaee Sar ue .

And she lived ignorantly ever after.

GIVE SOMEONE A SECOND CHANCE.

Discuss organ donation with your family.

THE KIDNEY FOUNDATION OF CANADA