OPINION // HAS THE UNBSU OVERSTEPPED ITS BOUNDARIES? >> PAgE 6 Volume 142 · Issue 17 • January 21, 2009
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Reds skate over Tommies
Bus pass possibility posed again Hilary Paige Smith The Brunswickan
Sandy Chase / The Brunswickan
The UNB Varsity Reds got off to a quick start and didn’t look back last Wednesday, defeating STU 8-0 at the Lord Beaverbrook Arena. UNB remains in first place in the AUS standings, with one point up on Saint Mary’s after going 2-1 in weekend play. For the full report, see page 17.
Students question effectiveness of police Some residents of College Hill concerned about the safety of the neighborhood Sarah Ratchford The Brunswickan
Some Graham Avenue residents are claiming that Fredericton police are not doing their duty to protect those who live on the student-populated street. Graham Avenue has a history as
a place of notorious partying and, in some cases, disruption to the non-student population. The area is sometimes more heavily patrolled by police in an effort to control such goings-on. One resident of Graham Avenue, who wishes not to be named, feels as though the police are devoting their efforts to the wrong cause, looking to persecute the residents of Graham instead of protecting them. He says there was recently an attempted break
and enter of his girlfriend’s house, as well as two other break and enters near his own home. The student feels that the neighborhood, while it is being patrolled, is not being properly protected, putting its safety into question. Additional criticisms of the Fredericton police have been brought forward to the Brunswickan by a nonresident visitor of Graham Avenue, who also wishes to not be named.
After attending a gathering at a friend’s house, the young man was walking home and was attacked near the top of Graham. His face required reconstructive surgery as a result. “It took me three weeks to hear who was assigned to my case,” he says. “It took another two weeks
SEE GRAHAM PAGE 4
This generation of UNB students, unlike some before them, are being given the opportunity to vote on their travelling option within Fredericton. The UNB Student Union passed a motion at last week’s council meeting for a referendum on bus passes the week of Mar. 22-27. Students will be able to vote for or against the option of a universal bus pass. The Student Union is also raising the idea of an opt-out plan, in which students who do not need or want the pass do not have to purchase it. UNBSU Vice President External Jon O’Kane explains that a similar vote took place three years ago on both Fredericton university campuses, with St. Thomas students voting in favour of the pass and UNB students refusing it by a 52 per cent vote. He also says that with an almost entirely new generation of UNB students currently attending the school, the time has come for them to make their own decision on the topic. “Only students in their fourth year and above – so, about less than a quarter of the UNB Student Union membership – has voted on whether or not they’d like a Student Union bus pass to the city,” says O’Kane. “So that’s why we are entering negotiations again with Fredericton Transit, to see if we can present something to students, to give them that choice. We just want to make sure people have the ability to choose and this wasn’t just an option chosen by a previous generation of students.” The universal bus pass would be an automatic addition to the fees of all students. An opt-out option would allow students who do not need the pass to opt out of spending the additional money for the pass. St. Thomas University currently
SEE BUS PASS PAGE 5