A FUNERAL procession and Irish wake will be held later today to mourn the potential passing of quality higher education in PEI. The wake and procession are part of the National Week of Ac- tion organized by the Cana- dian Federation of Students being held across Canada this week.

Lisa Murphy, one of the fifteen Student Union com-

mittee members who have been organizing this week’s events says. that this dra- matic day of mourning is be- ing held to emphasize the plight of university education in PEL.

“It’s to draw attention to the fact that the quality of our education has declined. We want the public to be made aware of the students’ discontent”, she says.

The protest will begin With a coffin being displayed in The Pit in Robertson li- brary at 11:00 today. Mur- phy says they plan to fill the T-foot black coffin with post ards students have been fill- Ing out all week to send to Ottawa. The coffin will re-

ain in the pit until 7:45,

when a procession of stu- dents to an Irish wake at The Barn will begin.

Murphy says this proces- sion will have all the touches.

“There will be six pall- bearers, a grim reaper, and one student will be a keener (to cry as heads to the barn)”, she says. “Marian Hall has prepared a chant and the Music society

the procession

is providing a tape of funeral music.”

Black armbands will also be handed out for students to wear and information sheets explaining why the protest is being held will be given out.

Once reaching The Barn around 8:00, a memorial ser- vice will be held. Debat- ing Society member Barry Linkletter will deliver an eu- logy for higher which Murphy describes as ‘full of fire and brimstone’. To top off the protest, an ‘Irish Wake’ pub is to be held in the Panther Lounge following the service. The pub will feature Irish song group ‘Shellelagh Anne’, a duo which has played at the Dublin Pub downtown.

Murphy says that they decided

education

to stage this dramatic day of mourning rather than just a straightforward protest be- cause of the serious nature of the events involved.

“We don’t want to offend anyone”, she says. ‘This is a very serious issue and to draw attention to serious is- sues sometimes you have to take an approach like this... students don’t want to watch our tuition costs rise and rise and not get anything back.”

The ‘National Week of Action’ is a week of events being held at universities Canada. The co- ordinator for the week is na- tional student organization The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), which the

across

J stutlents of UPEI joined in

1984.

The main issue Action Week is focusing on is fed- eral transfer to be

higher education.

used for CFS says the problem with the pay- ments is that they are inade-

provinces

payments to

quate to maintain the quality of universities and that the monies intended for higher education are not beig used by the provices entirely for that purpose.

Under an agreement be- tween the governments, the federal government provides each province with a transfer payment called Established Program Financing (EPF) to help maintain the level of health and higher education services.

The total amount each province gets differs and is calculated by the federal gov- ernment by alloting a certain Accord- ing to figures calculated by Murphy, the federal govern- ment allots 32.1% of the EPF for higher education. The provinces have a moral, but

for each program.

not legal, obligation to spend the funds as allotted and it appears only 28.8% is actu- ally. going towards universi- ties and colleges. National Action week

has been designed to bring

public attention to these and other issues. Murphy says that each university partici- pating in the week is stag- ing their own events— some are asking their students to boycott classes for the day of mourning while one other university is building a cross.

In addition to the mock funeral being held tonight, the Student Union has or- ganized events on Friday to round out the week. At 11:00 Premier Ghiz will address students in The Robertson Library Pit.

The committee organiz- Action Week UPEI students to participate in the funeral and wake and the other activites left in the week. The edu- cation coffin will be on dis- play in the pit today until

ing National urge all

7:45 when the procession is scheduled to begin. Students are encouraged to wear black and faculty and members of the public are welcome to join in. The Irish wake pub begins in the Barn at 9:00 =

No increase

by Michelle Lalonde

OTTAWA (CUP) - Jean Charest says students can thank a lower unemployment rate and a booming economy for the government’s zero per cent increase in funding to the summer job program, Challenge 88.

The federal minister of youth announced January 12 that funding for the job cre- ation program will remain frozen at the summer ’86 and °87 levels of $180 million.

Charest also announced that $4 million more of that money will go toward the high school drop-out compo- nent of the program.

“Those who have bene- fitted the most from the pro- gram are college, CEGEP and university students, so that’s why we are concerned

in summer jobs funding

about the secondary level students, especially poten- tial drop-outs,” said Charest adding that college and uni- versity graduates represent only six per cent of total un- employed in Canada.

But student leaders are angry and disappointed with the announcement.

“T can’t for the life of me see why we should be pleased. Funding for summer employment has been de- creasing since 1985 and this latest ’no increase’ erodes benefits students hoped to gain from a lower unem- ployment rate,” said Tony Macerollo, chair of the Cana- dian Federation of Students (CFS).

Last summer’s rate for returning students of 12.5 per cent was the low-

jobless |

Jean Cherest, Minister of State for Youth

est since 1981, down slightly °86 rate However,

from the summer of 13.3 per cent. rates were up substantially in Saskatchewan (from 12.7 per cent in ’86 to 15.6 in ’87), and in Quebec (from 14.8 to 15.8).

Charest said the Chal- lenge program reflects re- gional disparities, with more

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