By Brian Linkletter

Last week in the Netted Gem’s Editorial and Opinion page, Roy Johnston and Terry Mitchel wrote about the presentation given to U.P.E.I. students by Mr. Bob Dixon, Public Affairs and In- formation Officer for the White- shell Nuclear Research Station in Manitoba, on nuclear waste disposal. The duo did a fine job of presenting their arguments and concerns about Mr. Dixon’s objectivity and their editorial was well written. The only thing one could possibly find wrong with their essay is that it missed the point of Mr. Dixon’s presentation completely.

Mr. Dixon came to U.P.E.I. at the invitation of U.P.E.l. Engi- neering Department to talk to students about waste disposal. The key word ‘here is DISPOSAL. Mr Dixon’s pre- sentation was in no way con- nected with the mining or uranium the proliferation of nuclear wea- pom: technology, the arms race, or the edibility of smoke detectors.

nuclear

Mr. Dixon instead gave an in- teresting speech on the technology involved in transporting and storing nuclear wastes and the plans for waste disposal in the future. As an aside, he talked about a natural nuclear reactor that had been active millions of years ago in Africa due to a freak combination of the elements ne~ cessary for a nuclear reaction to take place. All in all, it was an interesting talk.

Then came a question period. When Mr. Dixon asked for any questions relevant to his pre- sentation, he was asked about how run down nuclear plants are decommissioned, about the future job market in the area of nuclear waste disposal, and about alter- native methods of disposal that had been considered in his re- search. Then, Roy Johnston asked about the subject of uranium mining. Mr. Dixon‘s whole topic

was . concerned with putting nuclear waste back into the ground and not with 'taking

uranium out of the ground. Mr.

by Cowlick

It appears that a herd of cattle who recently toured the new Veterinary facilities were very upset with what they saw. Said one cow, Ms. Winnifred Jersey, “I was utterly disappointed.”

Mr. Angus Hoof, head or- ganizer of the delegation’s visit to the vet college, said that, “the space provided for our group is entirely too small. The area is poorly ventilated, and bathroom facilities are practically non- emstant. Hoof went on to say that

.

155'

I Ill I fit III in ‘\I‘.-‘\.. \I

i m m \ III I‘

l ‘ /

if conditions weren’t .improved once the cattle arrived at the complex that they would imme- diately “mooove”. '

The small structure of' the cattle facility has sparked concern over the social consequences of the move. “This will be a whole new society — a whole new environ- ment of us,” said Bull Crap, head of the COncerned Cattle Citizens

f, ‘\'\'\ \.

l we“. ‘ _

\

Group. “If cattle are forced to live

in such close quarters, the first’ thing you know young cattle will be snorting corn, and smoking

Dixon politely answered his question anyway and tried to get ' back to the topic. This was not to be. Mr. Johnston turned question period into a one on one con- frontation between himself and Mr. Dixon. Rarely did Mr. John- ston ask a question about. the disposal of nuclear waste. He in- stead concentrated on questions about the preparation of uranium for fuel and the use of plutonium in atomic bombs.

It was obvious that the serious students at the presentation were annoyed. They had questions of their own to ask that had more to do with the topic of the pre- sentation. Mr. Dixon politely tried to answer Mr. Johnston’s ques- tions while hinting that they were not what he was there to talk about but he found himself under pressure to keep up with Mr. Johnston’s rapid-fire questioning. Mr. Johnston treated Mr. Dixon like an accused criminal on the stand. Mr. Johnston should be— come a criminal lawyer so that’ his prosecution complex can be

grass, in order to create their own different world."

A concern was also expressed by Crap over the new relation- ships that will have to be formed in their new communist style living arrangements. “Initially things will probably be tense — horses naying, pigs grunting, and chickens clucking, and the cows will have to put up with it all.”

The Cattle Citizens Group is also concerned over the fact that there may be cattle from San Franscio shipped in to meet the Vet school’s needs. Vice-President of the group, Bessy Cowlick, stated bluntly, “The first thing you know, AIDS will be running rampant in the bullpen!”

- The company in charge of feed services for the cattle, BAILA said in a recent interview, that they will “only be serving top quality hay and clover, which will be com- petitive in. price with other com- mercial feed services in the area.

There will be a special ‘calfeteria’ V

menu for the younger cattle. -

When confronting Mr. Hoof _about rumors that the cattle plan to organize in order to milk the system, he replied, “No, we’re only planning on skimming the surface to meet our social and economic needs.”

The cows are concerned that there are not adequate day care facilities to take care of young calves’ needs. Said Ms. Hefer Bell. “I have to work all day, and‘

Criticism of criticism

put to better use. Finally Mr.

Johnston was asked to save the

rest of his questions for later so that the students who had come to learn could ask some serious questions. Mr. Johnston politely complied and the question period went on to -a satisfactory con- clusion.

In their editorial, Mr. John- ston and Mr. Mitchel stated that we had heard from “the industry”

. and asked to hear from someone with a differing point of view. From‘ reading their essay it- was obvious that we just had. Their essay was very one-sided and it was clear that they were being no more objective than they claimed Mr. Dixon was, although they presented another point of view.

In talking about the nuclear fuel bundles used in nuclear r'eactors,Mr. Johnston and Mr. Mitchel questioned how Mr. Dixon could say that mining the uranium used was better than leaving it in the ground. Aside from the facts that this had no- thing to do with Mr. Dixon’s

Cattle tour new Veterinary College

can’t afford the costs of day care off campus. We need more money and staff in order to meet day care demands.

The biggest concern in Mr. Maul Holstein’s eyes, however, it is the rumor of segregating cattle into particular groups. A member of the Modsh cattle community, Mr. Holstein stated, “We can only hope this is nothing more than an ugly rumor. ”

presentation, they neglected to mention that if that uranium had been left in the ground, much of the world would be freezing in the ’ dark. The military would have mined uranium for its weapons potential whether civilian plants used it for power or not so the fact that uranium was used in bombs was no argument. Mr. Johnston and Mr. Mitchel were probably only expressing their personaland unobjective opinions on the matter. '

Then Mr. Johnston and Mr. Mitchel went‘far off the subject to talk about nuclear weapons, proliferation from Canadian Candu reactors. They should have been talking to government offi- cials in the Defense Department and not interrupting a serious lecture on nuclear waste disposal with, what I feel, was such an ’ irrelevant question.

Mr. Dixon was a guest of the university and their treatment of him,‘ I feel, was irresponsible d nc ll d fo

The cattle are however, quite comfortable with the thoughts of inexperienced young Vetsy’s taking care of them. “It will give us a broader perspective on what human’s feel about social, economic and political concerns, and we, in turn can incorporate 'the valuable information into our own community,” said Hoof. I feel the relationships formed with the Vetsy’s will be a good one.”

Music upsets Lounge

It was noontime, and many students gathered in the Robertson Library Lounge, as usual, to talk, eat, and study.

These activities were suddenly interrupted as a group of people carrying trumpets, trombones, etc., Set up chairs and. music stands on one of the tiered plat- forms, and began to play music classical music. Many of the stu- dents didn’t like the intrusion. Various comments from students regarding the performance were as follows: .

“I didn’t know why they were there. If they wanted to have been

appreciated, they shouldn’t have.

had it in the lounge. I like it though.” “Too loud. I came in to relax, talk, and study. It was nice for a change, but I wouldn’t want to see it all the time. “They could have played something a bit more lively, but they could have gotten a little more attention from (the

people in) the lounge.” “Too loud for that small place. That’s why I’m out here (in the lobby).” The music they heard was per- formed by the UPEI Brass En- semble, for National Universities Week. Mr. Jim Montgomery was in charge of theeeoncert, which was put on by UPEI music stu-‘ ' dents. Montgomery stated that there were “no audible. boos,” and that “they (the students) ' seemed to enjoy it.” . Well, I enjoyed it, and think that'the Music Department should give these mini-concerts on a weekly, or bi-weekly basis -— per- haps in the Library Lecture Theatre (RI, 111). Not only would this give students and faculty and enjoyable andlrelaxing lunch hour, but it would also serve to give music students feedback on their performance, experience

facing an audience, and greater . recognition around campus.

Viwember 7, 1985

rm: NETTED GEM

:: -';v- US»,