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Various articles in the

local press, and a recent

_ contributor to The Cadre, have suggested that U.P.E.I. faculty members are money grubbers, incited by an in- famous Faculty Association "completely overcome by mat- erialism and capitalistic desires", led by a topsy- turvy Robin Hood figure, who whose philosophy it is to "steal from the poor (and) give to the rich." The rich of course, are none other than the U.P.E.I. teaching staff.

I am very grateful that at last, after some six years of university teaching I have had my eyes opened by people really "in the know". They have shown me what I had not suspected until now, namely, that I am a rich man. I am ter- ribly glad to have been corrected, because for a dozen years or so I have been living a lie. You see, all along I had mistakenly thought that I was poor. In 1960, I had resigned an ex- ecutive position to resume my studies on a full-time basis, and since I had no mom of dad to fall back on, I had to sell my car, give up my nice apartment, move to a dumpwith a fellow student, work at all hours of the night, and borrow thousands of dollars to see me through. But there were ample compen- sations. (The rich are in- genious.) we dined royally on.frankfurters and beans and lots of bread. They are filling. I know. (This re— minds me of anothEr'contri- butor to The Cadre, who re- cently in genteel tones criticized the quality of the food in the U.P.E.I. cafeteria. How grateful my friend and I would have been to set such fare regularly). But to re- turn to the saga of a rich man. My fortunes suddenly a changed . while in graduate school, I met an out-and-out gold digger, who decided to marry me strictly for my inn money. For three veers she worked at the fnntastic sale ary nurses generally make, supporting me tight through graduate school, beliving shrewdly that after my Ph.D. there would be yachts, serve ants- the whole bit. But my first teaching Job paid 50% less than what I had earned in the business world. Now, for the first time in twelve .years, my salary begins to a approach what it had bash formerly. Of course, I have lost some six— seven years i in income, my luxurious diet as a student has impaired my health, I am deepely in debt which will take many years 3

to repay, and if I should die in the next few years , my wife and daughter would be left only with my U.P.E.I insurance money and unpaid debts.

If this is the meaning of

being rich- and my example ’ is typical rather than un- usual— then I shell with the

greatest generosity bestow my entiee assets unto all seeEErs of wealth: my un- paid educational debts; my bank paymentcoupons for my 1971 car (with SOmonthe to go); and all the frustratéLn ions of wondbring whether i? can provide an education for

my daughter and a reason- ably debt-free old age for myself and my wife.

By the way, I am firmly r opposed to an 11% salary in- crease for the faculty as being too high; but a negot- iating figure, whatever it may be, it is not an arroe'n gant demand to pay up, or else. Even a child should know that. Furthermore, I

_would not go back to the

business world for more money- although I had the opportunity- because I love teaching and my students. Finally, I would gladly con- tribute 10% of my preasent

'salary into a fund, to pro-

vide for those of my unfor- unate rich colleagues, who for no fault of their own, after sacrificing as I did, happen to be unemployed.

If all that I stand for makes me a rich money grubea bar, then I gladly accept the designation as a badge of honour.However, I do re- sent being insulted- and have my Association and its president insulted- by p-:;Z

’people who have not the

faintest idea what it means to become a professor. I would sincerely like to

meet the writer of the reds: cent letter to the editor of The Cadre - but not just yet. Let him first spend ten years or so maturing, suféw“ faring, sacrificing, trying to support a family, and learn how to think before

he talks.

Thomas Spire, Ph. D History Department

Member of the Canadian University Press. Founder and charter member of the Cadre Press Syndicate. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the 'authors and are the resona- ibility of the editorial board.-Published by the ~B.P.E.I.S.U.

Letter to to the editor,in reply to Nausiated.

Dear Nausiated:

In my opinion your letter to the editor, in the Cadre, Jan 15,1972, was an insipid little piece of letter writ- ing.

First of all your phraseo- logy leaves a lot to be de- siredgand your lack of pro- per signature makes me won- der how loudly you would on complain if others knew your identity. Are you afraid to be shot down?

As far as calling the caf- eteria a "den of iniquity", Isuggest that you turn to the Concise Oxford Dictionaa 251, for the definition of iniquity; page 626, bottom right hand corner.

You listed five different foods in particular that up— set your digeetion.They are; de-hydrated potatoes,canned vegetables, decaying cow,

' discolored salad, and serwig vice station.potatoes chips. I will admit that I too noticed that for part of the. first semester, the cafeteré

_1a was using potatoes that appeared to be de-hydrated, but I believe the reason

for this was due to the in- ferior quality of "old" p01 tatoes at that time and' ,that "New" ones were not yet available.But all this is in the past and now the potatoe as are par with those ydur mother would serve.

\ what is the matter with canned vegetables? Nutrition wise they are just as godd for’you as fresh vegetables, vand in many cases it is difr ficult, if not impossible, to obtain fresh vegetables out of season.

As far as the serving of- decaying cows goes, maybe that is the type of meat that you are servied at home and you do not realize that the meat served in the cafeteria is top grade meat.

I will also agree with you that on a couple of occasions the salad waeie bit discoloured. But salad ingredients are vary per— ishable and it is hard to keep them looking fresh. If you have any suggestions as

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Contributing staff for this issue:Eddie Gardner, Ron Kelly, Richard 0'Brien,Gerry Gallant, M.3.Vandenbroeck, Breda Foley, Geoff Crutchfield, Karen Loyd, Barb Graham,Ien King,Anne— Marie Driscoll, Anne-Marie MacDonald, Ann McQuaid David cairns, Ken Adams, Chris Barnes, Bob Gray, Phil (JC)Marnik,and sweet baby Jane. With much gratitude to Ron Crocker.