TORONTO (CUP) — York Uni- versity has become the second university in Canada to totally divest from companies with holdings in South Africa.

York’s All University Pension Committee, made up of repre- sentatives from campus unions, management, and administration, voted last Wednesday to withdraw within one year the estimated $8-9 million it had invested in companies dealing with South Africa.

Almost all York money linked to South Africa was contained in the one $180 million dollar. pension fund. Companies in which the pension fund had in- vested since 1984 including Alcan, Cominco, Chase Manbattan, DeBeers, Consolidated Mines,

University of Manitoba

—NEWS

York divests from Companies

Falconbridge, Hudson’s Bay Mining and Smelting, IBM, Sea- gram’s and Xerox are all linked to South Africa.

York joined McGill to become the second Canadian university to totally divest as a protest against the apartheid policies of South Africa. The University of Toronto decided in December 1985 to divest only from Canadian and U.S. companies that failed to adhere to the federal govern- ment’s code of conduct for operating in South Africa,

The York decision was made during a 45 minute close dis- cussion and must be approved by the pension fund board of trustees. A member of the pension com- mittee, faculty rep Robert Drum- mond, said, “my suspicion is that

has Ferraro speak

WINNIPEG (CUP) — Geraldine Ferraro is getting $22,000 to speak at the University of Manitoba — and not because the student coun- cil approves of her views.

The council is inviting the liberal democrat, the first woman ever on a U.S. presidential ballot, because President Ronald Reagan’s former secretary of state, com- munist-basher Alexander Haig, cost too much.

Some students think it’s a waste of money.

“For that kind of money you could have had 22 $1,000 bur- saries or grants,” said Patrick Yurkowski, computer science graduate student. ‘‘We could have gotten a lot more speakers for that kind of money.’””

Winter carnival coordinator Maurice Arpin said he invited Ferraro because he wanted some- ‘one of international stature to speak.

“We tried to get Alexander Haig, but he raised his fee by $7,000 to $28,000,” Arpin said. “Ferraro, as the first woman vice- presidential candidate in the U.S. is an important piece of history.’”

‘One student questioned Ferraro’s relevance to Canadian students.

January 30, 1986

“Alexander Haig might have been interesting, but what does Ferraro know about Canada-U.S. relations?”” said political science student Alf Goodall. “I think the council is bringing her in because she’s a nice, safe yuppie speaker. They don’t want any contro- versy.””

Yurkowski said the carnival should feature Canadian speakers

they'll probably go along with it.”” The vote count had been kept secret but Drummond said that a

“large majority” of the six or,

seven members present voted in favour of divestment. Dissenters, he said, argued divestment isn’t the most effective way of pres-

U of T Closes Architecture

tORONTO (CUP) — The presi- dent of Canada’s largest univer- sity told a large audience of architecture students Jan. 23 that he is planning to shut down their faculty as soon as they graduate.

The announcement by Univer- sity of Toronto president George Connell took the 200 students by

surprise. They had crowded into _

the hall expecting Connell to say ‘he had found a way to end a stu- dent boycott sparked by discon- tent over option courses and the quality of the faculty’s leadership.

“It’s really, really disappointing that the University of Toronto, which calls itself Harvard of the North, can close down one of its most important faculties,” said Ralph Giannone, the president of the architecture students union. “It (the announcement) was the biggest shock of my life.””

Students enrolled in the faculty. will be allowed to finish their degrees but no new students will be admitted and the school will gradually shrink until it dis- appears in 1989/90,

Connell refused to give the exact reasons for the closure but told reporters it is ‘‘not purely a

suring the South Africa govern- ment to change its racist policies.

The motion was brought to the committee by the York University Divestment Committee, a nine month old group made up of students, faculty and staff.

YUDC chair Dave Himbara

financial matter and not purely an academic matter.””

U of T’s projected deficit is $7.2 million for 1986-87 despite cuts it has already made to the faculty of architecture, among others.

However, the faculty has also had problems with internal bicker- ing and dissension. Students have complained of a curriculum that for ten years has emphasized either technical skills or design skills but rarely provided both. They have seen three deans in the last four years. Recently students have refused to sign up for third and fourth year studio courses which they must pass. before gra- duating, saying they are too technical this year, and have little design value.

Connell blamed government underfunding for the need'to close the faculty but wouldn’t say whether U of T would have to chop other programmes.

The 386-student faculty, which includes landscape architecture, provides one of only three ac- credited architecture programmes in Ontario. Although it doesn’t enjoy the biggest reputation

i

lauded the pension committee’s

decision and how it was made. “This has been the friendliest

and —_ smoothest divestment

mounted anywhere to my know- ledge,’’ Himbara told Excalibur, York’s student newspaper.

Faculty

among architecture schools its students say Toronto is recognized as the centre for architecture in Canada.

The last time the 50,000 student university pulled a programme was 1975 when it shut down its faculty of food science.

Shutting down the programme creates other problems. One is the possibility that faculty will seek jobs elsewhere before the closure forces them out. However, Con- nell says the administration does “not anticipate a serious dis- location of faculty’? and would try to keep them from leaving. He said he doesn’t know whether the. university. would. try to. find other teaching jobs for the professors.

Students are also worried that their degrees will be cheapened by the closure. “It’s hard to graduate from a school that’s lost its credibility,” said Reanda Doornink, a fourth-year student. Both the architecture students and the U of T student council say

they will oppose the closure when the matter is brought to governing council Feb. 20.

especially since another event will be a debate on the Strategic Defence Initiative (Star Wars) by American authors William Rushner and Andrew Cockburn.

Arpin said no Canadians of

Ferraro’s prominence _ were. available.

“Neither Prime —_—- Minister Mulroney or Joe Clark could make it,” Arpin said. ‘ierre

Trudeau and Jean Chretien were also unavailable. Ed Broadbent spoke at Celebration last’ year so we didn’t want to repeat that.’”

Arpin said booking Ferraro greatly boosted their fundraising efforts, Half of the carnival’s $90,000 budget came from outside sources and the rest from student council funds, he said. :

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