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m. students“ Respond Ttwfiovernment

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PovegrtlyifCIaim: Pyrioritiesgnwes‘tioned

EDITORS NOTE: The following is the best of a statement made last Sunday night by Be- rnadette Landry, one of the organizers of the New Bruns— wick student aid occupation. The statementcame during im- promptu celebrations marking the 100th hour of the occup— ation, and in part deals wi— th the conditions being fac; ed by the students, and in part their response to the government's claim that it can't afford more for stud— ent aid.

The occupation has run smoothly since it started and morale continues to be good. Much of the time is spent reading and in study sessions, where student aid

n

7:7 “rnrv. at UL Jd.l.‘l -

and other issues are discus— sed. Musicians abound, and a song has even been written about the student aid stru— sale-

It begins: "Good morning Mr. Premier", then outlines each of their five demands,

and ends "We're going to stay!

and'fight."

The already existing gap, between the populace and the government is widening at an alarming rate. The present student aid problem is a pe— rfect example of such a sit- uation.

Two years have passed now and New Brunswick students still must undertake measures to improve the student aidv program. All diplomatic at-

:ar y Ionday morning polics in Fredricton came

in and forced the student protesters to leave. The Cadre does not haVe any ‘nformation at this time as to what the students' next move will be but it appears that meetings were held yesterday to decide what, if any action will be

taken. little res stance.

m 4”

Students jammed for a place to sit

Photo Courtesy The Brunswickan and Steve Patriquen

m m a“. *

into the Building Lobby, each looking

Io on was injured as the pelice move met with

M- M a”.

tempts at negotiations have failed. Students have reac- hed the point where they are occupying a provincial gove—

‘ rnment building in order to

get their point across. The student community is accept- ing the sacrifice of personal

‘ comfort for this cause by su-

sbmitting itself to these de— plorable living conditions. These students have now been sleeping on a cold terrazo floor for five days. They know not the dark for the li— ghts are left on 24 hours a day. They are continually being‘humiliated by provoca— tory measures such as the blowing of whistles and sl— amming of doors at all hours of the night. How much are we expected to take? Pati— ence does have its limits. During his 1974 election campaign Richard Hatfield st— éated; before U.N.B. students that if his government was elected student aid would co— nsist of a reduction of the 'loan and an increase in the bursary. Whatever happened to this promise? His answer for the last five days (dur- ing which the students have occupied the Centennial Bui— lding) has been: NO MONEY. Besides the 20 million dollars invested in the Bri— cklin venture, many more in— vestments are questionable. How to explain the following: l) 10 million dollars

have been invested in the Wi-'

_taker Textiles Company. This company went bankrupt but in- vestments keep being poured in. n

2) 1.5 million dollars

have supposedly been invested

in a project to set up tech- nical courses in Saint John

(where the unemployment level

is at a minimum in the provi— nce), but these courses have :never been given. ‘ 3) four million dollars ’in federal money allocated ‘for the bilingualism program have been transferred to ge- neral funds in the provincial budget. To what purpose was this money used?

4) The government found ’the means of leasing itself a new-1.5 million dollar ai— rplane while severe cutbacks have been imposed on minist— ries as important as Health, Education and Youth. At le— ast education would be a se— cure investment! -We can re— ‘member the impact of these restrictions: among others the cutbacks in the number of teachers last year. It is therefore the whole popula- tion of New Brunswick that

.The Cadre, February 10, 1976, page 7 -3uffers from the effects of

- I

such an administration.

In front of such flagrant injustices the government sh- ould begin to feel some guilt and admit to its own incomp- etence.

What are the priorities of the Hatfield government? Ev— eryone should have the right to an education; it is defi- nitely not a luxury. But looking at the present situ— ation of the loan and bursa- ry program, we see that in New Brunswick it is rather a luxury than a right. Let us remember that the lower level of education in a country, the more vulnerable it is to

Vexploitation.