_UPE‘I '_$UN.. VOLUME 11 
     
    
   
   
    
     WINTER CARNIVAL 
     
     ' a ROYALTY1980 g . 
     
    
   
   
    
     JOHN FITZPATRICK‘ 
     
     ' ; AND 
     
    
   
   
    
     DENISE MCGOWAN '“ 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Council of Maritime Premiers (CMP) has just 
     
     announced that it has accepted the reccnnemdation 
     
     of the Maritime Province's' Higher Education Cormission 
     
     regarding levels of university funding for the 
     
     .academic year 1980-81. Son of a gun eh! Now in 
     
     ‘case you haVen't been following the most recent 
     
     activities and brainstonnes Of that most venerable 
     
     body of reasonable, fair—minded, conservative' 
     
     middle-of—the road assorted academic and lay— 
     
     people, they recommended that the three maritime 
     
     governments increase financial assistance to 
     
     universities by 8.1%. Before anybody launches 
     
     into spasms of uncontrollable joy, allow me to 
     
     remind ya that the 8.1% increase in funds will only 
     
     partially Satisfy the financial needs of the university. 
     
     A tuition increase of nearly the same amount is * 
     
     assumed to be forthccudng to supplement the govern- 
     
     ment funds, and the MPHEC at the CMP are expecting' 
     
     universities to increase tuition fees accordingly. 
     
     wee is us. , ' v ' , 
     
    

    
     Now, where should one Ctnnemce placing the blame 
     
     for the increasing cost to the student of a university 
     
     education. Obviously, One good place to start would 
     
     be the MPHEC itself. The Commission, over the past 
     
     several years, has consistently maintained that _ 
     
     tuition fees should increase to reflect the increasing 
     
     eXpense of opérating a university, suggests that 
     
     students should continue to supply the same leVel of 
     
     support to the institutionsas they currently do. 
     
     To you and me, this means that, as long as inflation 
     
     Continues, tuition like everything else, will continue 
     
     to rise. Some people, of course, fail to see any— 
     
     thing wrong with this attitude, claiming that students 
     
     are getting a break by only paying as much tuition as 
     
     We do,and calling us a bunch of over educated spoiled 
     
     brats vtfl»ionf. know when we've got it good. But I 
     
     Can fine LWO a jectives to this attitude. Firstly, 
     
     I Canndt unde tand why we must pay for a university 
     
     education fn : first place. Recalling my years 
     
     in school preyious to UPEI , it occurs to me that the 
     
     Educatioan received in public school was terribly 
     
     inadequate, and yielded to me none of the benefits 
     
     Which I feel UPEI has. It seems that one really does 
     
     not begin to be educated until one_reaches university 
     
     and for this reason, I feel university, like the . 
     
     a SChools that one is forced to attend for 12 years, 
     
    
   
   
    
         
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     MONEY?‘ 
     
    
   
   
    
     ARCHIVES 
     
     U. P. E. l. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
        
     
        
     
    
   
   
    
     ,4. y r )6 PAGES 
     
    
   
   
    
     by: Kevin Gauthier 
     
    
   
   
    
     should be free. A university education is of un- 
     
     limited value to anyone who chooses to accept it, 
     
     and financial barriers like an $800 tuition bill 
     
    
   
   
    
     >should'not be allowed to stand in the way of anybody's 
     
    
   
   
    
     desire for an education. Our society believes that 
     
     education is a universal right, so why must we 
     
     insist that it end at grade 12? It makes little 
     
    
   
   
    
     _sense to me. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The second reason why tuition fees should not be 
     
     tied to the cost of living is simply that.our wages 
     
     are not. _It seems grossly unfair to expect us to pay 
     
     more for an education when the wages that put 
     
     us through university are shrinking relative to the 
     
     costs we face. But the Commission has overlooked that 
     
     point, deSpite concerted attempts by students to 
     
     bring this realization to them. 
     
    
   
   
    
     'Of course, one could also berate the CMP for this 
     
     undesirable trend which is evolving. Our premiers 
     
     should realize that these provinces, now and even 
     
     moreso in future, need well educated native sons 
     
     and daughters to improve our econcndc and social 
     
     conditions, especially within the next decade when 
     
     Canada will undergo massive changes in its fabric 
     
     and structure. Who will conceive original, 
     
     innovative dbsigns-for change if we ourselves are 
     
     not capable of doing so? Experience has shown that 
     
     "outsiders" simply cannOt make effective, acceptable 
     
    
   
   
    
     pplans for us. ‘We must do our own building, but we 
     
    
   
   
    
     cannot without the proper training and experience. 
     
     Our premiers soon must open their eyes and look 
     
    
   
   
    
     rdown,the road. When they do, they might 
     
    
   
   
    
     realize that we are unprepared, as a society, 
     
     for the pot—holes and ruts that lie ahead. 
     
     On a happier closing note, I would like to 
     
     encOurage the university administration to 
     
     continue their efforts at cutting expenses 
     
     and keeping tuition as low as possible. 
     
     Our President and his advisors did a 
     
     cxnmemdable job last year, and we should all 
     
     hope that their sympathetic consideration 
     
     of our problems continues. In the meantime, 
     
     start looking for a government job, and 
     
     save your pennies. 
     
    
   
   
    
     WHO SAID WE'VE GOT MONEY?