Vol. 4, No.7

Student Union Elections Oath, 1986

“| Just Want To Go To The Party’’

or | Wanna Be A Councillor

Yes, only one year ago, at Council’s first meeting of 1985-86, I proclaimed that the sole reason I had become a student councillor was to secure an invitation to the year-end Student Union party. This was not entirely true. Simple curiosity was one of the forces which pushed me to run for Science Rep, as was the desire to draw more from my four years at university than the knowledge of the mating habits of selected mollusks of the Atlantic Ocean. Regardless of whatever inspired you to run for a council position, you may now find yourself in the same situation as that in which I found myself one year ago. Basically, I was just not sure what I was supposed to do in order to be a productive student councillor. This paper is the result of an attempt to help those councillors who may be somewhat confused about their role; no doubt the paper will be an insult to the intelligence to those who already know what they are doing.

First, some basic background on the Student Union may be helpful. The Student Union of U-P.E.I. is an incorporated body. As such, we are responsible to no one but our members for the management of all which falls beneath the umbrella of the Student Union. Essentially all of the money which we have to run our organization comes from Student Union fees. Every student taking at least three courses per semester may pay $88 per year to the Student Union. Certainly not an insignificant investment. This ‘‘tax’’ will amount to about $160,000 from the students in 1986-87. With this, we operate the Barn, finance the newspaper and the radio station, pay our employees, and save a few thousand for the year-end party.

The Executive

(Who the Hell are These People Pushing Us Around?)

There are four elected executive members of the Student Union. Usually,

these people are power hungry, incompetent, elitest bastards. Exclusive of the incompetent part, this year’s executive is an exception to the rule. i) ’ The President: Commonly known as ‘‘The Big Enchilada’’, the prez always possesses a greatly inflated sense of worth, Humor me, I really believe I am somebody important. I also like to think that I have mastered the most important skill required of my position, that of incessant driveling (as in talking, not drooling). ii) The Vice President Academic: Usually a brilliant scholar with loads of enthusiasm and creative ideas, this year’s V.P.A. smashes this stereotype. Paul (Wooly Bear) Ledwell is directly responsible for both the newspaper and the yearbook,-and generally responsible for most items of an academic nature (thus, the title). Therefore, it is probably his fault that you will have to take calculus this year even though you’re a music major.

SOME OF THE EDITORIALS! | WHAT ABOUT THE REST YOU'VE WRITTEN THIS | OFT en WEREN'T

AT iTS BEST!

Ledwell discovers that he is in for a long year.

Continued on page 2

1 . ‘heorToR'

McMaster students can’t right?

HAMILTON (CUP) — Almost half of the students who took a new, mandatory writing competency test at McMaster University failed raising questions about the literacy of university- aged students.

Forty-two per cent of the first-year students who took the test in August failed, and 57 per cent of those who took it a second time failed again in September

“We are not talking about a high level of com- ~ petence to pass this test, let me assure you,” Betty Levy, chair of the committee overseeing the test told The Globe and Mail. “It’s really looking at a person’s writing skills, and saying of someone who fails that this is a person who really can’t write a paragraph very well.”

In most faculties, a student must pass the test before entering third year studies. In engineering, students must pass before entering their second year. The multiple choice quiztests skillsin gram- mar, vocabulary, clarity and organization

The comparative results for engineering and humanities students were also surprising. While 66 per cent of the engineers passed the first test only 65 per cent of their counterparts were suc cessful, according to student council president Mike Kukhta, an engineering student

Student Union Elections

STUDENT UNION ELECTIONS

There are vacancies on Council for the following positions: 1 Science Rep. 2 Senate Reps. 1 Board of Governors Rep. 1 Ombudsman Candidates must be full-time students to be eligible for nomination. Nominations open Thursday, October 16 at 9:00 am and close Wednesday, October 22 at 5:00 pm. NOmi- nation forms are available at the Student Union Office (the Barn) or at the S.U. Information Desk in the Library Lounge. Copies of the UPEI Student Union constitution and the Election By-law will also be made available. Elections will take place Wednesday, October 29 and Thursday, October 30 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The polling station will be located in the corridor between the Library and the Fishbowl. John Beazley Chief Returning Officer P.S. Anyone who does not want to go through the rigors of an election but still wants to get involved can volunteer to help out with the Election Committee. This would entail only 2 or 3 hours and would get you an invitation to the Student Union Christmas Party — a passage to drunkedness.