M is s in g M o n t r e a l e r s
Nilima Culrajani
B l a c k h is t o r y m o n t h
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M c G IL L
Jonathan C olford m
5
T R IB U N E O N L IN E
P u b lis h e d bv th e S t u d e n t s ’ S o c ie ty o f M c G ill U n iv e r s ity
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Emotional council debate for students' right to choose in the MSF referendum By Karen Kelly The debate over the M cG ill Student Fund peaked at last Thursday's Students' S o cie ty o f M c G ill U n iv ersity C o u n cil meeting. First presented to the SSM U council three weeks ago, the M SF was a proposed fee o f $70 per semester over a five year period. Backlash against parts o f the fee resulted in a reduction to $38 per semes ter over the same period. P r io r to th e m e e tin g , th e S S M U L egislative Council approved a referen dum question concerning the fee includ ing the understanding that i f the M S F were to com e into effect, “a full opt-out is possible.” The clause provoked unprece dented emotions from councillors. President Duncan Reid explained to council why he wanted to make the optout clause an option. “W e are doing right by all students, b e c a u s e e v e ry stu d e n t c a n c h o o s e whether to pay it or not pay it,” he stated. “I [feel] very happy that we are not bind ing any students.” B u t many co u n cillo rs fe lt that the spirit behind the fund was the notion o f community and that making the fund optoutable would challenge this idea. This prompted a proposal by Douglas Painter, senate rep to SSM U , that there be no optout clause at all. “I think that th e re ’ s a philosophy behind this motion. That philosophy is that we as students have got to have prop er resources, a proper student society and that we have to take care o f those who can't afford to be here but are here never theless because o f their marks," he said. "W ith the o p t-o u t we are sa y in g that we're giving a carte blanche. You come to the student society centre, you can see all the renovations, you can see every thing that some people who didn't opt-out paid for and you're enjoying it." A significant part o f the debate sur rounding whether or not to make the fund opt-outable also dealt with the idea that without it, the fund would be a hard sell to students. "W e're shirking our responsibilities i f we put a rule in fo rcin g students to pay," said Sam Johnston, V P University Affairs. "Y ou'll have to convince people that they're getting the things they want."
Education Rep Lisa Silver, however, disagreed. "It should be what people want," she said. "Then you wouldn't need an optout." The vote for the amendment passed with a significant margin. Although harsh words were exchanged between council lors and the vote was reconsidered, the removal o f the opt-out passed yet again. Reid had ch oice words fo r council members who voted against his clause. “ I am so a n g ry at w hat you are choosing to do to your constituents and p e o p le w ho w ill n e v e r b e y o u r c o n stituents,” he said. A fte r a b re a k , the q u e s tio n w as amended again to change the distribution o f money to the Shatner renovations and the A c c e ss bursary fund to $ 1 2 ea ch , keeping the total fee the same. R eid then m ade an announcem ent that quickly changed the direction o f con versation. "I g o t a c o m m itm e n t th a t the libraries will be matched 100 per cent by the u n iv e rs ity d o n o rs ," he h a p p ily informed council. "I further got a com mitment... from the V ice Principal... that money would be found to match all the bursary money. "Above and beyond that, we're also going to go and get donations from indi viduals and organizations," Reid contin ued. "I can promise you two dollars... for every single dollar that students put into this fund." Despite R eid ’s reluctance to accept no op t-ou t fo r the fund, a la st m inute change in attitude saw him vote for the question. “I will do this because it is still the right thing to do,” he stated. “It will still work, it will. I have no question about it. The value is there. The students know it is needed.”
Legality of question As an aside to 'th e argum ents con cernring the n e c c e ssity o f an op t-ou t, L aw S tu d e n ts ’ A s s o c ia tio n m e m b er F r a n ç o is T a n g u a y -R e n a u d in fo rm e d councillors that the referendum question was unconstitutional. Am ong the prob-
C o n tin u e d o n p a g e 4
High o n life — tra p ez e is fo r ev ery o n e.
Catherine Farquharson
Flying high in the sky Trapeze gym transforms circus art into an activity for everyone By Laura M ac N eil went on a flying trapeze the other day. I stood on a tiny little blue platform at least 80 feet in the air with both hands on the bar o f the swing until I pointed my feet into the void below me and swung. I lifted my legs up, hooked them over the bar and then hung upside down to co m p le te my fir s t tric k in fly in g trapeze: the knee-hang. I haven't had such an adrenaline rush in months. Hidden in the industrial wastelands o f eastend M ontreal, the Trapezium gym offers the flying trapeze as a recreational activity for any one with an interest in exciting, unusual hob bies. I walked into the Trapezium warehouse to
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find two men on ladders setting up the safety harness for that evening's two hour session. The set-up or "rig," as co-owner René Gasse called it, consists o f two swings suspended from the ceiling with a small blue wooden platform on one end and a thin ladder leading up to it. A safety net stretches under it all. Recreational flying trapeze is an individual activity; ju st you, the swing and a "trick," or manoeuvre on the swing, to accom plish. The tricks advance from the basic knee-hang to such fa n cy on es as the "b ird 's n e s t," "p la n ch e ," "whip," and "straddle cutaway." The co-owners G a s s e and Ja c k D e R o s a e m p h a siz e that Trapezium isn't a school but a recreational
C o n tin u e d o n p a g e 7 8
C o m e , E n jo y !
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S o m e o f th e b e s t e v e r lo n g td is ta n c e lo v e sto ries to ld by S t e p h e n
12,5pm >.nd floor
rran
B la k e
author of "Loving Your Long-DistanceRelationship"
e rfo rm e d
b y re n o w n e d
M o n tre a l
ro c
30 Di u O
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