World University Services Committee Holds Variety Show
UPE'I’S World University Services Committee held its first variety show at Duffy
G. H. Bobb, an active mem- ber of this committee, says “it was pomp and pageantry ors, and was a show with a
was that we are trying not only to bring some much- needed life to this campus, but are trying to lift our-
The 490 admission fee and all other proceeds will go to- wards WUSC’s international
tion of international univer- sity solidarity and mutual services within and between
A ' 'th Wed, N . 19, ,- n ‘ - ‘ - program which has, as its universities on an interna- afgglmfmre 0V dliifiinfiiason fom, the Show fivéimgjgmlany by our main objective, the promo- . tional scale. AFTER ’ r m. >WHERE WlLL ‘ .- x f” DEMOCRACY VIETNAM . . . , STRIKE _ , NEXT? VOL. I, NO. 6. I UNIVERSITY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND NOVEMBER 21, 1969
You have been decelved. hey have mad promises
and failed to fulfill them. You want dignity; they give you money. You want a future with hope; they give you dispairl" You must fight for a future with dignity.
Students Suggest Dissolution of Senate Poverty Committee
The Senate Committee on Poverty should dissolve itself and put its funds into com- munity development, accord- ing to an unanticipated brief presented to the committee Thursday, Nov. 6, by a group of students from the Univer- sity of Prince Edward Island.
The one-page brief asked that the poor be given the chance to “voice opinions on their home grounds”, and said those attending th e
committee’s hearings we r e not the poor but the curious.
“The real experts on pov- erty are not here, but on the streets and in the poor com- munities,” it said.
The brief, loudly applaud- ed by an overflow crowd of students and other citizens in Confederation Centre, was not on the committee’s agen- da.
Committee chairman David
Croll finally agreed to let the students read the brief after they interjected questions in— to the committee’s hearings, but Croll adjourned the after- noon sessions when the ques- tioning became heated.
Croll remarked later that the students were just trying to “get some attention.” But a student said later, “We are sick of talk. Why aren’t they going out and meeting the people?”
Edward Island.
consulted. '
To all my friends in the poverty field, I am reques - ing that you stand up and be heard. I was informed, by many people, that I was biting the hand that feeds mexand, if I made any pub- lic appearances or wrote up a public letter to the people of P.EI.I., I would have the pins knocked from under me. I received a number of phone calls because I was involved with the S e na t e Committee h e a r i n g on Thursday, Nov. 4. I was told I would suffer the con- sequences if I stepped out of line. Well, I am not stepping out of line — I am stepping in line and I suggest that you do the same. By doing this, you will assist me and the students of U.P.E.I. to solve the problems of pov- erty in Prince Edward Is- land —— not Biafra, or China, but Prince Edward Island}.
If we do not have the op»- portunity to be heard and voice our opinions, then this is not a democracy. To have freedom of speech m e a n s just what it says, but if we have to sneak around and weigh each word before speaking then this is a die tatorship.
Several weeks ago, a group of citizens and senators gathered at Confederation Centre to examine briefs concerning poverty on Prince
It was much like other meetings of its type. On one hand were the senators — self-assured, well-paid, secure in their tenure. On the other hand submitting briefs were the poverty “experts”; the represen- tatives of the government and welfare organizations, the citiz‘en-s’ groups, the private welfare agencies — mi-ddleuclass, sophisticated, well-educated; the business and government elite who are used to being respected and
Everyone was well represented, it seemed, except the people for
whose benefit the meeting had been called; the day—by—day experts in ‘ poverty — P.E.I.’sr rural and urban poor; the “little people” who are
afraid to become involved because they feel they might lose the little
they have.
Some students and a few isolated individuals from P.E.I.’s poverty ghettos asked at the Senate Committee Meeting “Where are the poor '3”, and were politely ignored or rebuffed.
One of these poor contacted The Cadre. As a result we are able
to examine poverty as the poor see it. Let’s read what one of P.E.I.’s
poor have to say about:
POVERTY I "in Prince Edward Island
BY A MEMBER OF THE POVERTY COMMUNITY
. At a dinner, some mem- bers of the Government told the senators of their plan, whereby they would con- struct houses for the people
of P.E.I. for $10,000 and the'
people would pay “$50.00 per month for 30 years. The Government would hold the mortgage and at the end of 30 years the deed would be given to the tenant. Was the Government trying to impress the Committee? If not, they can start/building me a house under this agree' ment. Let us take a long look as; poverty and by doing so we can come to a conclu- sion without spending $100,- 000; the amount granted to imrestigate this program.
I attended the Commit- tee hearing at the Lecture rIlheatre on Thursday after- noon, and: Senator Croll, along with: the: other Sena- tors, knows who I am, and. have nothing to hide. I ask- ed the question: “Where are the Poor?, don’t blame the students of UPEXI.”
I also asked NewStart how many poor people they
I invited to these briefs. Why
did I ask these questions? Let me explain:
In the first place, when do the representatives of the people become poor people? I know what it is like to be poor. I know what it’s like to beg, and I mean beg, the Catholic Welfare for an order of groceries. .Do any of the representatives know what it is like to go hungry, or watch and listen to chil- dren cry for food or milk; or be unable to attend
Church because you haven’t '
the clothes to wear? And, if you attended Church with your old clothes, you would not be able to occupy a seat because the “Family Compac ” thought you were dirt under their feet and wouldn’t move over to let you hear the word of God through the parish priest.
Does the Committee rea- lize the cost of feeding and clothing seven members of a family for two years, when the husband received no al- lowances? Take our cost of living — I pay $85 per month rent, $40 per month for fuel, $10 for electricity per month, $6 per month for phone, Groceries: $30 to $35 per week for groceries. Add this up, and you will find that it amounts to $266
per month. Can anyone on an allowance of $150 meet these costs? This amount does not include d r u g s, clothes, repairs to the stove, washing machine, or broken windows. (the landlord does not replace broken windows)
Does the Committee know what it is like to eat beans and soup, a little hamburg, fish and weiners? (But this is only if you can afford these necessities.) I say the Committee does not. They instead understand T-Bone, Sirloin, round steak, and pork chops, not to mention turkeys, c h i c k e n s, and roasts. If the Committee had the opportunity to live in the slums and move about life like poverty- stricken people, boy! Oh Boy! would we get, action fast!
- It was heart warming to know that some of the senators did agree with my theory on poverty: Take a member or two from each stricken area who know s poverty better than the sen— ators themselves, and then train him to work with the so—called skilled, qualified person with the department. This is my intention and
goal. A member of the cler- gy stated at the reception that this was a vicious cir- cle, andl the only cure was another Great Flood. This was an easy way out and showed that the clergy were even turning their backs be— cause they didn’t want to be involved.
I understood, by one of the briefs, that the maxi- mum payment for welfare assistance was $325 per month for a family whose size is similar to my own. I checked this after the meeting and found it to be true. How many get this amount?
I challenge the Fire In— spector, the Mayor, the Pre— mier, and the clergyman who made the statement about the Great Flood to rent the Coliseum and invite the people to hear what is being done about poverty, and let our committee ask the questions. Let them bring the answers. But, 1 rrepeat, let myself and each member of the committee speak for ten minutes, max- imum, to express his or her opmion and give a solution to poverty.