THE CADRE, TUES., FEB. 19‘, 1974' Page 8'.‘

two VADIS

Let me congratulate the ga- ggg on starting a debate on the future role of UPEI.

In P.E.I. two statements re- lgarding the university come up from time to time and must be faced. One is that it would be cheaper to send our students to a mainland university than having a university on the Island. ‘ The validity of this state- ment cannot be ascertained easily. It depends on an analysis of social costs and benefits which in turn depends largely on human_ values that cannot be expre- ssed quantitatively. For example, what kind of com— munity do we want in P.E.I° and would the quality of that community be enhanced by the university? —— One could equally state, and per- haps with greater justi— fication, that we do not ne- ed a provincial government: that it would be cheaper to be governed from Halifax or Fredericton. Again, it would be difficult to bolster this argument in quantitative terms only. Nevertheless, Prof. Nagarajan has shown the economic importance of the university, in its pre— sent form, in purely quanti— tative terms, i.e. how uni- versity associated spending filters through the Island community. A recent article in the Halifax Chronicle Her- ald points out the great ec- onomic importance of st. Fr- ancis Xavier University to Antigonish. -- At any rate, it seems that the argument for an Island university rests very much on the accr- ual of social benefits from the university to the Island.

If, for example, we do lit— tle more than prepare young people for export to other parts of Canada, somebody might argue convincingly that this could be sccompl— ished better elsewhere in Canada.

This brings us to another statement sometimes heard in connection with the uni— versity. It is indirectly connected with the first, and says that the universi— ty does not get sufficient- ly involved with the Is— land community. A couple of years ago the Faculty Ass- ociation was so concerned with this problem that fa— culty members were asked to list all kinds of actual & possible community involve- ment, including leadership of boy scout troops. I be— lieve that there is suff— icient informal involvement of faculty in the community. But I think more formal in— volvement is needed through extension work particularly in our primary industries.

Without a doubt, food and fibre, which includes not only farming and fishing

but also related supply & processing industries, are T the mainstay of the~P.E.I. economy. In this P.E.I. is. unique within the Atlantic region -- food and fiber, and particularly agriCultu— re, play a much smaller relative part in our sister Atlantic provinces. Inter-‘ esting career opportunities in the food and fiber sec- tion of our economy are bound t0“arise -~ the'aver- age age of our farmers is _ close to 60 years. Yet the- re is next to no interest among P.E.I° high school leavers in an agricultural career (as ascertained in

a study by Prof. Nagarajan). Not one of the many uni— versities in Atlantic Can- ada confers a degree in agriculture. The Truro Ag— ricultural College provides the first two years of a degree course. Demands for a full degree agricultural course in Atlantic Canada are heard from time to time. No doubt, some would like

to see Truro become another \

small university in this region. Perhaps the best we

Hand it Over

Although it's been said many times many ways -- (boycott G.J.'s) -- have we in actuality been doing th— is? From my own experience as an attender of this”very elite club", I would say that the place is dying and should have been dead long ago (as far as UPEI stu- dents are concerned). How— ever, this factor undoubt- edly, has an effect on the life of our student body here at UPEI. In the good ole' days, it was a way of life for most students either legally or illegally (when 21 year restriction applied) to socialize after classes, before hockey games, after football games, etc.,at the happy haven ca-

lled G.J.'s. This had its various effects such as la—

te sleepers, drunken girls, etc., etc. But one aspect of this flocking to Jim's had its good effect on the student body. This gather- ing of students did tend to unity. But who wants to at- tain a unity at the cost of 90¢ a beer ($5.00 a night). I/think if we are rational, we can see that we are los- ing our spirit. It is ob— biously shown by the supp— orters of the hockey team for example. If I remember correctly, there were buses rented for two or three a- way games last year. Yet this year, only one student signed up to travel to U. of Moncton. I am quite aware that the schedule is set up differently. But, hockey is not the question to be dealt with here. It is somewhat

could hope for,is to have Truro Agricultural College affiliate with UPEI. With the help of the Canada Ag- riculture Research Station, directly adjacentato our

campus, we might be able _to provide the last two years for degree students from Truro. This would not be an ideal arrangement, but it would at least put ’part of the action in At- lantic Canada agricultural.

eweducation Where it belongs,

namely in P.E.I. q

we would then have a fac- ulty of Agriculture (per— haps joined to science) & it would have to play an important part in agricul— tural extension. The lack of university involvement in agricultural extension in Atlantic Canada can be demonstrated with reference to CANEARM -- the Canadian Farm Management Data System with headquarters in Guelph Ontario. Each province from Quebec westward has a uni- versity cooperating with CANEARM -— but not one uni- versity is connected with

obvious, from my point of View, that there is a nece- ssity for alcohol in order for students to socialize. we are quite aware that the "spirits" are generally quite "high" at the regular Thursday night Pig 'N' Whi- stles. For most students the Pig is a regular event and it is obvious that most en- joy themselves or they wou- ldn't return week after we- ek. Is it not possible for a liquor liscense to be ob-

stained for more than once

a week? Why should we spend money at any club such as G.J.'s which is constantly ripping off their custom— ers by charging high pri— ces? The present law sta- ting that a liquor liscense is made available only once a week or on special occa- sions is somewhat in need of revisions, I would say. —— If this is our need? -- Why should a lisence not be made permanently or at least twice a week?

The voting age in the pro- vince of P.E.I. is present— ly 18 years. So this means that most students at UPEI have a vote. And is it not‘ correct that we will be having a provincial electi— on pretty soon (the spring)? Think about it! Why be rip: ped off? Why not but beer 2 or 3 nights a week from Earle and the boys at 60¢ instead of at a club. By doing this we would at lea- st be supporting our uni- versity financially and spiritually" instead of cr—

eatinq millionaires out of club managers and owners!!

-— Think it overll -— - Concerned r .