February 11, 1997

@° The Panther Prints

Hike to hit UPEI

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case, it will mean another $200,000 of expenditures. Henry said that the effect this would have on the budget pro- jections would be, “Disas- trous”. Students can only as- sume that this will add to the tuition hike that is coming. As for projections for the provincial budget, things look grim for UPEI. Henry believes the bulk of the cuts will come in the next two to three years. “They won’t wait until the end to deliver bad news.... 97-98 will be the

year”. As well, Henry be- lieves that post-secondary education will suffer the bulk of these cuts, due to the na- ture of provincial politics. “Voters and their kids are af- fected by health care, and by [primary] education. Many fewer voters are affected by post-secondary education.” Health care, welfare and education are provided for in the Canadian Health and Social Services Transfer Payment, or the CHST. Henry predicts that these will get smaller for PEI inthe future, and since this is the payment

where most of UPEI’s fund- ing comes from, the burden willalmost certainly be passed ontheuniversity. As well, Pro- vincial Transfer Payments are sure to shrink, due to the tax cutting policies ofthe Alberta and Ontario governments. By cutting taxes, they cut rev- enues, and in turn, cut transfer payments. This means less money for the provincial gov- ernment, andtherefore, UPEI.

A major concern among the Student Council was the quality of education that UPEI willbe able to pro- vide. Chris Gray, Acting Stu-

Pepsi Pulls Out

By IDELLASTURINO

(CUP)--After years of boy- cotts and consumer activist campaigns around the world, PepsiCo has bowed to pres- sure and announced its com- plete withdrawal from Burma.

The January 28 an- nouncement came almost a year after the company’s de- cision last April to sell its 40 per cent stake in its Burmese franchise bottler, Pepsi Cola Products Myanmar. But since then, PepsiCo has continued to supply the bottler with syrup for its soft drinks.

Now, PepsiCo has stated that it has severed its ties with the bottler, which will end production and distribu- tion of Pepsi products as of May 31, 1997.

The $30 billion bever- age and food giant’s decision came asa surprise to activists who have been working to pressurethe company to with- draw fromthecountry. Burma is ruled by amilitary dictator- ship that has repressed ethnic minorities and the pro-democ-

racy movement sinceit seized power in 1988.

PepsiCo explained its decision interms of wishing to comply with the “spirit” of American foreign policy, which has recently taken a hard line on the Burmese dic- tatorship.

Last week, U.S. Secre- tary of State Madeleine Albright condemned the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) for its re- pression of anti-government student movements and other opposition inthe country.

Students have played a largerolein the Pepsi boycott — often fighting the company when it tried to sign contracts withuniversity administrators. Suchbattles havetaken place

at several Canadian universi-

ties including McGill and Carleton, and more impor- tantly, students atlarge Ameri- can schools have joined the fight.

Last April, Harvard killed a $1 million deal with Pepsi over the company’s

Burma holdings. Stanford University blocked a Taco Bell — which is owned by PepsiCo — from opening a campus outlet after 2,000 stu- dents signed a petition de- nouncing the company.

But whether PepsiCo’s recent decision was abowto consumer pressure or U.S. foreign policyremains unclear.

John Sallenave, of the Quebec Public Interest Re- search Group, doubts the de- cision came simply in response to international student pres- sure. He speculatesthat U.S. politics were as much of an impetus for the decision as consumer activist movements.

But Sallenave also said that the pull-out represents an impressive victory, regardless ofthe motivation behind it. He added that, at least in part, it can be seen asthe result of the boycott and other consumer pressure.

“It’s an inspiration to human rights groupsand stu- dent movements that their ef- forts aren’t futile,” Sallenave

dent Union President, said, ‘While we see the need for a small tuition increase, as well as theneed to cut staffexpen- ditures, we would liketo see aminimal tuitionincrease and the quality of education stay the same”.

Various councillors ex- pressed concern about the early retirement program, be- lieving that the loss of older, more experienced staff could hurt programs. Henry said, in response to questions about professor quality, “While we are losing anumber of excel- lent professors, we are also gaining a number of excellent new professors. I’m sure... it’s better that a number of

them retire... Professors do their best work between ages 30 and 40”.

Other concerns were raised by the Student Council about the nature of the budget projection. The projections weremade without putting in a tuition raise that is almost certainly coming. Onthis sub- ject, UPEISU VP Finance Lindy MacKenzie said, “ While it is important that they try to keep tuition down... I am concerned that they may use tuition as balancing figure for their budget”.

of Burma

said.

Such feelings of victory were reiterated by other groups involved in pressure against the SLORC. The mes- sage on the Canadian Friends of Burma’s answering ma- chine last week asked callers to “please join usin rejoicing PepsiCo’s complete with- drawal.”

But for groups like the Canadian Friends of Burma, the work to support Burma’s democracy movement is far from over.

“What Pepsi’s with- drawal does is sharpen the energy to deal with those peo- ple still doing business in Burma,” said Penny Sanger of the Ottawa-based group. She points to Canadian-based companieslike Seagram’s and NovaGas, which have either direct or indirect connections to Burma, as the target of future awareness campaigns.

Larry Dohrs ofthe Free Burma Coalition in the U.S. also sees Pepsi’s withdrawal from Burma as a significant

sign ofan “unstoppable move- ment.” The Coalition, which has worked to raise aware- ness about businesses in- volved in Burma, has referred to the country as the “South Africa ofthe 90s.”

Nowthat Pepsihas with- drawn, Dohrs says, the Coa- lition will likely focus on oil companies such as Unocal and Total, whichare partners with the Burmese regime ina large-scale project to pipe natural gasinto Thailand.

Dohrs adds that he hopes PepsiCo’s decision will serve as a “red flag” to other companies still involved in Burma.

PepsiCo is the latest company to withdraw from Burmaamong a growing list, including Walt Disney, Heineken, Carlsburg, Liz Claiborne, Eddie Bauer, J. Crew and Apple Computer.