T i f f M C G IL L T R IB U N E Volume 5, Number 16
Published by the Students' Society of McGill University
Tuesday 28 January , 1986
T em p ers Flare In T h e U n io n B u ild in g A n ti-D a ily
P r o te sto r s
by M ich èle D upuis Some M cG ill students are unhappy w ith the Daily. " I t is im possible to get any alternative views in the Daily," said H oward Gerson as he and co-ordinators David Rose, David Gibson and Steve Smith lead some 40 students to occupy the Daily office last W ednesday at noon. W hen trying to quiet dow n the row dy demonstrators during the sit-in, Senior News Editor Brendan Weston referred to the crow d as "a n im a ls ." Later, David Rose stated that he thought that this act on W eston's part was "n ea r contem pti b le ." The twenty-five m inute sit-in was follow ed by a tw o hour discussion group in the U nion Building. Weston was confronted by a group o f some 25 students w h o protested the editorial policies, content and the statement of principles of the Daily. But the confron tation turned out to be a face-off bet ween opponents over specific news stories and political issues. In an interview tw o days later, G ib son, ASUS president and m em ber o f the Board o f Directors o f the D aily Publica tions Society and Rose outlined the aspects o f the Daily to w h ich they took exception. As paying students, Gibson asked for changes to the Daily's co n stitution w hich allows for the editorial board o f the Daily to refuse articles that do not fall "w ith in the o p tic " of the constitution, it is w ritten in the section 2.2. o f the constitution. Further, Gibson contends that this editorial power provides the Daily editors w ith a "m o n o p o ly o f the content o f the paper." A ccording to Gibson, the Daily has not portrayed " a balanced view o f the facts" and that the facts it has used were "b ia sed ." The Daily could achieve a balanced view by "stating alternative view s" w ith ip their articles and by publishing different articles" stated David Rose. A n o th e r reason th a t th e g ro u p organized the demonstration was to "aw aken (the Daily staff) to the fact there is a large degree o f anim osity toward (the staff) on cam pus," Rose said. W eston's reaction to the occupation was that the "in tim id a tio n tactics by a small num ber o f rabid, reactionary peo p le " w o u ld not w o rk. W eston stated that the Daily has "n e v e r refused to
O c c u p y
O ffic e
students " c a n 't c o m p la in if (the students) d o n 't contribute anything ," but then noted that not all students had the tim e or the talent. W hen asked if he thought the dem onstration w o u ld be successful, Rose noted that "h istory takes tim e to u n fo ld ," but he d id not belief it w o u ld affect future Daily policies. A ccording to Gibson, the organizers w ill now focus on the lease negotiations between StudSoc and the Daily in order to pressure the Daily to change its con stitution. The group may also organize a Board o f Governors dem onstration in the future.
discuss the paper w hen (students) come dow n one at a tim e o r in small groups." W hen confronted w ith accusations that the w ritin g o f the Daily was biased in that it on ly represents one vie w p o in t o f an issue, M elinda W ittstock, Editorin-Chief o f the Daily, countered that "th e re are many sides to a story" and "o n e side is covered by the com m ercial m edia." W ittstock suggested that if M cG ill students tru ly wish to effect change on the Daily there were m any avenues. She suggested w ritin g articles fo r the Daily, o r failing that, to "ju s t call (the Daily) u p " and give an op in io n o r "ju st to go to a staff m eeting." She stated that
D a ily l u d ic ia l B o a r d C o n s titu tio n
C h a lle n g e d
by Adeeb Khalid The va lid ity of the C onstitution o f the D aily Publications Society (DPS) was challenged at a hearing o f the DPS ju d icia l C om m ittee last Tuesday night. " I f one pushes the m atter far eno ug h ,, the binding docum ent (for the Society) may be th e ir letters patent issued when they w ent autonom ous," said Steven Fraser, the in itia to r o f the petition. The Judicial Com m ittee was hearing three petitions relating to an attem pt last fall to run tw o university-wide referenda that w o u ld have directed the Board of Directors o f the DPS to make certain amendments in the Constitution. The amendments w ould have made the pro cedure fo r holding DPS referenda "m o re parliam entary" and entrenched the right of students to " o p t o u t" o f the DPS. The referenda could not be held in the fall referendum period because of a procedural wrangle: The Board of Directors appointed the Society's Chief Returning O fficer on ly on O ctober 30, just tw o days before the deadline for submission of referendum questions. The new CRO to o k till Novem ber 4 to pass the petitions and changed the w ording of the pream ble to the question in progress. This wrangle resulted in three peti tions. The Post Graduate Students' Society, the in itia to r o f the referendum petition, com plained that the "d elay
beyond its control, because o f what ap pears like negligence in the appoint ment o f the CRO was very prejudicial to the petitioners." The remedy sought was to hold the referendum in February so that a second referendum required to ratify the amendments in the constitu tio n made by the first could be held in the same academic year. " N o t to hold the referendum because o f this procedural wrangle w o u ld be un fair to the in itia to r," said Fraser. The in itial strategy o f the petitioners was to hold the tw o referenda seeking am end ments to the Constitution in Novem ber and the ratification referendum in the March referendum period. If the tw o amendm ent referenda are held in March, the ratification referendum can not, under ordinary circumstances, be held till November. Fraser fears that by then, the movem ent m ight have lost its political mom entum. The Board o f Directors o f the DPS challenged the amendments made by the CRO in the questions as ex traconstitutional. The Board also claim ed that the questions themselves were "unconstitutional, uninterpretable, un fa ir and inappropriate and therefore unacceptable for submission to the mem bership of the society in a referen d u m ." The DPS constitution can o n ly be amended by and at the initiative o f the Board of Directors. The Board consists
An angry dem onstrator gesticulates at th e Daily. Photo - O w e n Egan o f three Daily staff representatives and four student members elected at large. However, Fraser showed the com m it tee a copy o f an advertisement that the Daily had published at the tim e o f the autonom y referendum in March 1981 w h ich he said promised th a t students w ill be allowed to determ ine DPS policy. "T h e o n ly w ay I co u ld see o f chang ing the Constitution was to initiate a university-wide referendum directing the Board o f Directors to amend the Constitution. W hat else can I do?" ask ed Fraser. " D o I go to the Students' Society Judicial Board and com plain
against the DPS fo r false advertising?" M ore specifically, the DPS claim ed that the " o p t o u t" provision w o u ld not m erely amend the constitution, but also effectively change the mem bership o f the Society. Said Ken M onteith, Chair of the Board o f Directors o f the DPS, "T h e question also does not address the ques tion o f access to services after o p t out. The Board should protect those w ho continue to pay." After the three-hour hearing, the Judicial C om m ittee decided to hand dow n a judgem ent w ith o u t reasoning in the near future. The reasoning w ill fo llo w later.
Board Passes M a te ria ls C harge
S tu d e n ts
F a il T o
by Sophie W ilson Last M onday Board of G overnors members voted in favour of a $100 materials charge, despite claims that the revenue w o u ld not and co u ld not possibly be used o n ly for materials. G overnors generally seemed to o pleased w ith the extra $1.5 m illio n in revenue that the charge w o u ld create for M cG ill to be concerned w ith the ac co untability o f such a charge. Since 1968, the university has been bound to a fee freeze by the provincial governm ent. The university reasons, however, that such a freeze is not b in ding for the cost of "m aterials w hich become the property o f the student." Legally, the materials charge can thus o n ly be used to defray the cost o f pro ducing "m a te ria ls:" a term w hich seems to apply on ly to paper hand-outs and photocopies. Vice-Principal John A rm our assured Board members that the m oney raised by the charge (to be levied at the rate of $3.33 per credit) w o u ld not be put towards paying o ff M cG ill's $9 m illio n debt. Said Arm our, "th e aim is to
D e fe a t C h a rg e
enable M cG ill's departm ents to im prove the quality o f education... The University is resisting th e tem ptation to use this to reduce the d e fic it." A ll fo u r students on the Board spoke against this charge. Recognizing that many governors had not been in school fo r "several years," Andrew Ainsw orth o f M acD onald Col lege offered a detailed breakdown to the cost o f materials he received last semester. He came up w ith a "h ig h " o f $2.30 for a course w ith 46 handouts, and a " lo w " o f 5 cents fo r a course w ith on ly one handout. Even taking this into consideration the cost o f wages fo r typ ing and photocopying, Ainsworth told BoG, " I d o n 't see where all the m o n e /s g o ing." Ainsw orth's m otion to postpone a vote on the charge until the administra tion "la id down w here it's going to be spent," was defeated. A lthough James Green, president of Students' Society, voted against the materials charge, he admitted that he had " a fair am ount o f sympathy for the fe e ."
Green recommended that the $100 charge be put in place, but any further increase be done on a faculty by faculty basis. Said Green, " I understand the university is caught between a rock and a hard place, but I'm concerned w ith the precedent such a charge creates." Am y Kaler also spoke to the issue of "th e dangerous precedent o f accepting new charges." " I f w e pass a $100 charge for fees this m onth, w ill w e be asked to accept a $30 charge for wear and tear o f buildings next month?" G racy M im ran, graduate represen tative to the Board, proposed a third amendment, to assure "th a t fees w ill be covered that are already in place." This am endm ent was also rejected. Donald McSween perhaps best sum med up BoG rationale at the M onday meeting: "A s long as it is somewhat reasonable — generally in the direction o f reason — I w o u ld th in k the thing should have our su p p ort." The on ly members to vote against the charge were the four student governors.
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