The McGill Tribune Vol. 17 Issue 25

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Published by the Students’ Society of McGill University

T R IB U N E L ife o n th e stro ll fo r M o n tr e a l s e x w o r k e r s Bv L eslie Stojsic

“No one ever hears about hooker burnout. The constant harassment, the drinking, the dangers on the job, the rela­ tionships you have with those around you, objects down your throat... it’ s all part of the package* And then we’re told we don’t have the right to feel burnt out because we don’t legally do work,” said an exhausted Jackie RĂȘve. RĂȘve is a transgender prostitute in Montreal. At 36, she has already outlived the average transgender sex worker by four years. When she came on to the scene in 1990, she was taught by the women on the stroll how to walk proper­ ly (“You’ve got to hike up your skirt, honey... show off those great le g s!”). Now, RĂȘve is actively involved in the sex worker community and empowering its members.

Stella offers safe haven “This is a dangerous job. W e’re made to feel like we don’t deserve public services and resources, let alone rights,” RĂȘve stated. “W e’re not even at the point of discussing political rights. W e’re still at the point of talking about whether we

have the right to feel good about ourseves. In this job, you have to feel bad to feel normal. People ask T can actually get support for my burnout?”’ The main resource for sex workers in Montreal is Stella, a publicly and pri­ vately funded centre run by and for female sex workers. Stella’s mandate is to empower those in the industry, pri­ marily through peer support and referral serv ic es. N amed after a leg en d ary Montreal prostitute of the postwar era, Stella is an organization for women only. “We are a safe drop-in centre, away from the main scene,” said Stella’ s co­ ordinator Karen Herland. Herland herself has had no experience as a sex worker, but has been involved with Stella since its opening in May 1995. Stella’s community outreach efforts include a newsletter C o n stella tio n and th eir B ad T rick L ist, w hich gives descriptions of clients who are abusive or who refuse to pay. As for changing the system, “Stella leans toward decrimi­ n alizatio n [o f p ro stitu tio n ],” said Herland. Prevailing attitudes about the sex trade are not the only hurdles that prostiC on tin u ed on page 13 A n i D ifr a n c o ro c k e d M e tro p o lis a n d p ro v e d she's o n e h e ll o f a rig h te o u s babe. See p g .

S tu d e n ts c a n e x p e c t f e e s to g o u p as M c G ill

Vice-Principal Administration and F in an ce P h y llis H eaphy announced at last w eek’ s Senate meeting that M cG ill w ill almost certainly face a $5 million deficit in th e ir o p era tio n a l b u d get in 1998-1999. M cGill w ill see their deficit rise primarily because of ongoing p ro v in cia l governm ent cuts to post-secondary education. Faced w ith an operational budget that w ill shrink by $8.5 million in the next academ ic year, M cG ill has had no ch o ice but to return to deficit-financing and belt-tighten­ ing measures to stay fin an cially afloat.

“In order to save quality of education...within the constraints of the p u rse...I saw no w ay of achieving a balanced budget for 1 9 9 8 -1 9 9 9 ,” said P rin cip al Shapiro in his report to Senate. Students are going to feel the pinch next y e a r as a sundry of m easu res that V ic e -P rin c ip a l H eaphy describ ed at Sen ate as “small, irritating inconveniences” are implemented to deal with the deficit. Starting in 1999, student asso­ ciations w ill be expected to pay for h e atin g th e ir b u ild in g s, a $450,000 cost that had previously been absorbed by the university. A cco rd in g to SSM U VP F in an ce and P re sid e n t-e le c t

q u estio n about a m a rg in al fee increase, maybe even for a stipu­ lated amount of time,” Pederzani stated. C urren t P resid en t T ara Newell strongly voiced her objec­ tions to the cutback at Senate and asked that it be withdrawn from co n sideratio n u n til it had been thoroughly discussed. She believes that the administration was wrong to presume that student associa­ tio n s should be self-fu n d ed b ecause they housed “b usiness activities.” “This embarks on new territo­ ry between the administration and stu d e n ts,” N e w ell stated . “It

Duncan Reid, SSM U ’ s share of th is to tal is ap p ro x im ately $350,000 and represents about 20 per cent of the so ciety’ s opera­ tional budget. “Cutting the budget of SSMU by 20 per cent in one year is more than an ‘ an n o yin g in c o n v e­ nience,” ’ he said in reference to Heaphy’s comments. “It is a clear abandonment on the part of the university to protect student life.” SSM U VP F in a n c e -e le c t Lorenzo Pederzani foresees a situ­ ation where SSMU may be forced to raise its fees in order to contin­ ue servicing students. “It’ s a big chunk of our opera­ tional budget. In the long run, we might want to hold a referendum

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a ttem p ts to b rin g d o w n its d e fic it By N ilim a G ulrajani

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Plumbers' Faucet: EUS pulls plug on publication in controversial move........................................ Pg.4 Features: read this before you go apartment hunting................ Pg. 11 Film: Showcasing McGill talent...................................... P g l 8 McGill Athletics: a look back on the year that was.............. Pgs. 22-3 What's On listings........... P g-26

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