UPE‘I attends ch conference

By John Pendergast

Three UPEI students reCently attended a CFS conference n Ottawa, in the hope of becoming better aware of what

FS can do for students on this campus. , , .

The conference, which was held from November 7 to 94.

as attended by SU President and Central. Committee epreSentative for ~P.E.i. Jack» Keefe, Board of Directors epresentati‘ve for P.E.I. to CFS-SERVICES Howard Beattie, . nd UPEI delegate Margaret Archibald.

CFS discussed structural difficulties such as the election of a full-time chair, student aid, tunemployment,'and finally the touchy issues of amalgamation and cengruency. The ttawa conference also reserved one full day as a lobby ession with the respective Members of Parliament ,for each delegate. '

Other things were discussed at the conference, such as administration, liaisonship between students and the govern- ing bodies of a university, and various tactics one could use in dealing with a particular problem. There was a con-

The . jetted Gem

Volume 1 Number 4

,.

‘Twas the night before Policy, and all through the Barn . as Presentation Week begins. (Photo: Stanyer)

. Senior business majors feel the crunch

tinuous flow of information facilitated through the con— ference which filtered out to thedelegates.

Does UPEI gain anything from an organization such as CFS? It should be noted that UPEI is currently not a mem- YICI" of CFS, Students must vote on entry into CFS before it can become a member.

If the UPEI student body were to vote to become a mem- ber of CFS; students would benefit from sister organiza- tions such as CUTS (Canadian University Travel Service). CUTS representative Heather Crosby will be coming to UPEI on January 16, 1984 to discuss SWAP (Student Work Abroad Program). A variety of other programs are offered by CFS Services.

Few people in Canada have been aware of CFS because it is an organization that was formed in 1981 from two former organizations, NUS (National Union of Students) and the AOSC (Association ‘of Student Councils). The cur- rent structure of the organization includes a Central Com- mittee performing duties of the old NUS and a Board of Dirertr ‘s which carries out duties formerly supplied by AOSC.

if: ElVES a :‘>.E.i.

By Carolyn Ryan

The men in business suits and ties who had come early sat in comfortable chairs around a long rectangular table and cracked a couple of jokes about how long it takes for Senate to come to adecision.

As two o’clock approach- ed, the room filled and the student Senators settled themselves at the end of the table facing Chairman Mich- ael Hennessey.

A delegation of twenty students and professors from the Department of Sociology .and Anthropology filed in and sat quietly around the walls of the room. They seemed concerned, but sub- sequent events put an end to their fears.

During this eighth meeting of the Senate of the Univer- sity of Prince Edward Island for 1983-84, Senators voted to consider a proposal by new Dean of Arts Verner Smitheram to retain separ- ate majors in Sociology and Anthropology, while con- tinuing to offer a ioint maior in the two areas of study.

At present, students can ‘choose a traditional major in Sociology or Anthropology, or a joint major in Sociology -Anthropology which has

Thursday, November 24

Keefe meets with Campbell in Ottawa

1- I _ .' By Riith Edgett Student Union President Jack Keefe says one of his favorite» functions at the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) conference in Ottawa earlier this month was a meet- ' ing with Veterans Affairs Minister Bennett Campbell. Keefe and Campbell met on Lobby Day at the conference,, which was aday set aside for student representatives to

meet their members of Parliament and discuss their beefs. - ‘

Keefe told Sunday’s Student Union meeting he and Camp- bell, the Liberal MP for Cardigan, discussed student unem~ Ployment. the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Com- miSSion (MPHEC) and student loans. V _ /

ThetStudeiit Union President. said he impressed upon

ampbell theproblems P.E.I_. university students are facing

he“ 1116)’ try to find summer employment. He said he told the minister as many. .as'two of every five students Vere uilemployed last summer. He said the actual statistic : 5:9“: infiyeiibpt some :of those counted as employed worked ' i "rtgneriods’of time. 5; ‘ .‘ ‘ ' ‘

.,..

Keefe said he and Campbell also talked about student loans and the difficulty Prince Edward Island students are ex— periencing. He told an earlier general SL‘ meeting that the provincial government is granting only $1,700 bursaries this year to students who have obtained the maximum amount from their Canada Student Loans; and he said Education Minister Leone Bagnall has explained the government is attempting to cut down itsvexpenditure on student bursaries. The meeting between the MP and the SU president also provided a chance to discuss the relevancy of the MPHEC,

said Keefe. 'He saidCampbell supported the agency, of which”

some Maritime Universities are critical. Keefe said that while some universities’co‘mplain the funding recommenda- tions of the Higher;Education Commission are never followed by provincial governments, the body at least gives publicity to the financial needs of universities. He said Campbell pointed out that if the MPHEC didn’t pub- licize its recommendations every year, the public would not be aware of the funding problems universities are exper- ‘iencing.

f.

CFS is a_young organization w1tn manv growing pains According to Jacs Keefe, time is pUlIllcal tignting Wllmit the organizatigi1 about whether CFS should take a stand on issues not directly related to students, such as the cur- rent peace movement. The Saskatoon conference in the spring of 1983 Was marred 'by backstabbing and political intrigue.

The Atlantic delegates had their share of bad feelings toward each other because of internal difficulties. for example, ,Newfoundland delegates wanted a field worker,

‘while Nova Scotia demanded a chairperson.

SU President Jack Keefe endorses UPEI membership in CFS and reminds students there will be a referendum held sometime in the near future. _

Margaret Archibald was impressed with the order at the November conference. She also promotes a CFS member— ship for UPEI but would urge students to educate them- selves about the organization before voting for entry.

Howard Beattie reflects his counterparts’ opinions and encourages students to learn about and take advantage of services offered by CFS. He supports CFS’s STUDENT- SAVER, which is a discount given to university students having ISIC cards, which can be purchased at the Barn for $5.00. Students must bring a black and white passport—type

photo with them when picking up ISIC cards.

been offered on a trial basis

‘ for the last two years.

This fall, however, the Academic Planning Commit- tee (APC) referred to Senate a recommendation made. in the Smith Report on Long- term Academic Planning re- leased in March of this year. If the recommendation were """ec‘ed. the University would cut separate majors in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, combin- ing them into one major with either concentration in one discipline or win] con— centration .n both.

Staff and students, includ- ing about sixty-five declared Sociology or Anthropology

majors, protested. A motibn '

made in Senate on October 21 to implement the APC’s recommendation was tabled rather than defeated. With no compromise in sight, the matter seemed likely to drag on for weeks.

However, soon after the November 18 meeting began, Siriitheram introduced a pro- posed solution which had been composed in collabora- tion with the faculty of Soc- iology/Anthropology.

As he presented it, pros- pective majors would take introductory level courses in either Sociology or Anthro— pology, core courses and electives in their desired dis- cipline, and a number of courses listed as Sociology/ Anthropology. In this re- spect, Smitheram hopes to increase the number of cross— listed courses'in the program.

The minimum requirement for a major in Sociology or Anthropology would remain the completion of fourteen three semester-hour courses in the department. The joint major requirement would in- crease to seventeen courses.

Smitheram emphasized that this proposal provides a flexible program involving three choices for students. Their retention of all three majors increases students' chances of being accepted for graduate studies in their pre—

Soc. / Anth. decision post-poned

ferred disciplines, and should not jeopardize enrollment in the two departments con- cerned.

The Dean of Arts went on to say that no increase in staff would be required. He admitted that the proposed program of studies will re- quire a high degree of col- laboration between the two disciplines, but felt this would not be a major prob~ lem.

After Smitheram’s prescii~ tation, Janice Keefe, a spokesperson for Sociology and Anthropology students, presented a petition on be- half of the students and gave a brief on their position. The brief supported the re— tention of three majors. stat- ing as reasons the current large enrollment in the De- partment, the lack of de— mand for the joint major, and the high standards of proficiency shown by the current program at UPEI. Keefe stressed the need for an “increased variety of sub- ject material to enable pre— paration for graduate and professional schools and the job market”.

Senate next voted to un- table the previous motion that the University offer one joint major in Sociology/ Anthropology with either two separate subject COHCeI‘l' trations or identical courses,

Popular belief, frigitiirimo" a Surprisingly g . €_ to come to a dc. 19:21:33.. This motion was ac.

In light of the new infor- mation received, Senate \ ~ ed to refer Smitheram‘s pro— posal back to the Academic Planning Committee. On Monday afternoon, the APC referred it to the Facub ty of Arts Curriculum Com-- mittee. From there it goes back to the APC, and then to Senate for final approvai probably at the Ii“‘lin_L’ on Decernberl