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By Adam W. Morrison,

Royalty recently made a visit to the university in the form of Prince Edward.

Prince Edward, whose full title is His Royal Highness the Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, KG, KCVO, was presented with an honorary degree in a special con- vocation held Oct. 13 at the W.A Murphy Student Centre on the UPEI campus.

Addressing the audience, Prince Edward spoke of how he's devel- pped affection for the Island and even though he previously received an honorary degree from the University of Victoria, he admits this new degree does have A nice ring to it.

"Though, I'm not sure what the World needs is another lawyer." He also wanted to sympathize With the many students in atten- dance.

"It's bad enough to have school five days a week, and the last thing

“i war receiving honorary degree

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at the W.A.

to someone in a funny gown."

The students in attendance were part of the UPEI Student Leadership Symposium, seeing students from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and P.E.I. gathering to discuss ideas for change in the world. One example is changing the size of one's ecological foot- print, which measures human demand on nature.

This leadership symposium ties into Prince Edward's involvement with youth, personified most of the Duke of Edinburgh award.

Having come to Canada for over 30 years, the one consistent has been the Duke of Edinburgh award, said Prince Edward.

"It's offered in over 120 coun- tries, and six million have partici- pated over the course of 50 years. But why has the program been so successful?"

Prince Edward attributes this to the program being fun and no bet- ter way to learn.

"As a participant, you choose

Murphy Student Centre at Island, Prince Edward received an honorary degree. Pictured with Prince Edward is UPEI President Wade

MacLauchlan, left, and UPEI Chancellor William Andrew. - you want on a Saturday is to listen

praise upon

Prince Edward

e University o

what you want to do."

By getting involved, it sets chal- lenges for you, said Prince Edward.

"It's not easy, but by the end of the day, it's a fantastic experience and you'll know what it is like is to succeed."

The award was founded in the 1950s by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Edward's Father. There are three levels to the award; Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Participants must demon-

‘strate achievement at the appropri-

ate level in various activities in service, skills, physical recreation, and expeditions. Those looking for more information can visit http://www.dukeofed.org

Also addressing the audience, Prince Edward said he is proud of the University's progress and its name.

"Today, we confirm the associa- tion between you and this Island, with you receiving this degree and being the Colonel-in-Chief of the Prince Edward Island Regiment."

City transit system going strong: transit system manager

Two years after the system began, everyone from students to the environmentally aware. of scurrying onto the buses to take advantage of the services

By Jarrod Yeo

The wheels on the buses keep going round and round.

At least that’s the case for Charlottetown’s public transit sys- tem, which began operation in the capital back in Sept., 2005.

At the time, some questioned whether or not a city with Charlottetown’s population could support such a venture.

Now, two years later, the general manager of Charlottetown’s public transit system, Bobby Dunn, says the answer to that question is clear.

“Transit’s here and it’s here to stay.”

Last month, 12,500 riders used the system to get around town. That compares with 10,000 from a year ago and 5,000 in 2005.

Dunn said there is still room for growth and expects usage to increase in the coming years.

“They say it takes between five and ten years for a transit service to mature, and this is only our sec- ond. As people become more familiar and as we expand, we can only get bigger.”

For $2, the city’s six buses, which are modified to resemble trolleys, will take you throughout Charlottetown , enabling people to get to school, work, and commer- cial zones. In fact, students now represent a significant portion of its users, Dunn said.

“Students represent 52 per cent of our monthly passes. It’s not such a hassle anymore for a student living downtown to get to classes.”

_ And that’s not the only reason ‘that makes public transit a more

attractive alternative to owning a vehicle, Dunn says.

“Today the whole climate change issue is being taken seriously. I have some business people coming up to me saying they now only Own one car instead of two, and it’s because they’re using public transit.”

And there’s more good news. In July 2006, public transit users across Canada became eligible for a break. Canada’s government now provides a non-refundable tax credit on the cost of monthly pass- es.

Dunn said he will be petitioning the city for an extra two buses and for more shelters to be erected in the near future.