Kevin Gauthier Well,in case you ou don‘t know by ow, this is U.P.E.I.'s enth anniversary 5 an institution f higher learning, hich is something e all have to learn 0 celebrate. This, eloved little un— ~ versity of ours has ome a long way since was incorporated‘ ack in 1969 after I immense amount f discussion, arguing, .d some bitterness. :utythe optimism, -termination, and oresight of the -w vision prevailed o fashion this un— ersity, which we ll appreciate too ittle. In commemoration n U.P.E.I.'s tenth niversary U.P.E.I. 3y was held last Sun- :y. The day was ganized by a com— fttee chaired by Im Griffith, Dir- ctor of Student -rvices. The day~ -atured an open- 3 ‘ o Tiff/know”, Gentle ' * f" DisCo Monday - Student Night house‘on campus.‘ public was invitedto , visit the campus for 'an opportunity to walk through our buildings,‘talk.to faculty, staffaand student, and general— ‘ ly to take a good first—hand look at ' our hIsland university} .Highlights‘ of the ‘ day included an open—air concert by the Three Oak's High School Concert Band, and the pre_- sentation of com» ’ memoratiVe medals to ten Islanders who have contributed in superior fashion .to thetbetterment of education in this province.. The medals were designed by Prof.Adrienne Arsenault of the Fine Arts Dept., and featured an impressive ill- ustration of P.E.I. cradled in the waves of the Gulf, faCed by the U.P.E.I.. 10th anniversary symbol. The weather Baum Tue'quy -' Rock Night S g5fECIAL PRICES BOTH NIGHTS,» Saturday 4 to V7. Gong Show ACTS WELCOME - CASH PRIZES AWARDED HAPPY HOUR DAILY ll ; 8' ,. \ ST E4395, _,Ii9mU S E ' ‘ m .char-brollad ind } gK-MART PLAZA ' ‘ ' x 2-3073 'l ' 2-3075 ' The UPEI Sun, ThurSday, Sept. 20, 1979,3page‘3 Ir's’ am for the day was simply beautiful, enhancing the natural serenity and “greenhess” of our campus, and the visitors got a chance to view U.PE.I as it is (especially the Student Union Building which,thanks to the efforts of a few but— ter ~fingered indiv— iduals on Saturday night, featured a new floor covering that smelled vaguely like the inside of an old, rotting beer keg and attracted hoards of, flies that would otherwise have continued romp- ing blissfully in the less fragrant garbge bin out back. Oh well, no sense hiding the less glor— ious side of university life.) Mr. Griffith has . estimated that about 700 people visited campus on U.P.E.I. Day, a figure that stirs little excite— ment in my heart. Now, by no means am I critisizing the organizers of the day, who did a.good job. But where were the people? If UPEI is truly the “Island universityfi'where were the rest of the 120,000 Islanders who finance and sup-. posedly support this university? 700 people!!! Not very impressive at all. Despite the efforts of the organizing committee, and an adequate publicity campaign, less than 1 percent of the pop— ulation of Charlotte— town alone found the time to drag them— selves out here to see what we're all up to. “YouWelxxnlfinaiand re-hired. Fired due to government cutbacks, and ,flehfiedthanksto - job creation.” This illustrates a problem that has haunted UPEI since its inception, and appears likelyxto continue doing so for some time: that problem being that Islanders, for some reason, just cannot acceptrUPEI as a useful part of their livesfand UPEI cannot make itself ap— preciated or even remem— bered by the average Island citizen. Following the original furor sur- rounding its establish- ment UPEI fell into totaloblivion as far as many Islanders were conderned, and has re— mained there to this day. Witness 700 people. ‘How or why this happened is somewhat a mystery. The potential exists for UPEI to play a major role in improving the lives and imaginations of many Islanders. Likewise, Island cit- izens have the poten— tial to create from UPEI a true 'Island university'; serVIng the needs of P.E.I., educating Islanders as they wish to be educated,developing technology and pro— moting knowledge appro- priate to the local setting. Our sister institution, Holland College, has been much more sucsessful at this than us. Why? Perhaps we should take a closer look at this question. But the limits of space campell me to delay further exploration until ‘ the next issue. In the meantime, perhaps we shouldn‘t toss about our much—touted label of “Island university until we're sure we can properly lay claim to that.title~ NOTIFICATION There will be a Student Union Meeting Friday, September 21 on the second floor of the barm at 2:30 pm. The following week there will be another meeting on September 28 in Kelley 209, again at 2:30pm. ALL STUDENTS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND BOTH MEETINGS