Tagged With: education

Solidarity with the Teachers

Watch Youtube video     Mass Rally at the Legislature to Support BC’s Teachers   Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 Time: 11:00 am gather at Centennial Square, Victoria BC 12:00 pm Rally at the BC Legislature More info Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics

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Ben’s Picks for School Trustee

As a parent, I am endorsing the following eight progressive candidates for Trustee for the School District 61 Board of Education. Each of these candidates brings distinct skills to the table and diverse points of view. However, they share a common concern for protecting and enhancing our system of public education, which provides an essential … Continue reading »

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School District 61 and the NDP

Published in Lower Island News (Victoria), January 2007 It is not pleasant to question the actions of fellow New Democrats in a public forum like this newspaper. But sometimes it is essential, particularly when NDP members hold positions of trust and public responsibility. We must question the decision of a majority of School District No. … Continue reading »

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Vote ‘Yes’ for CFS

Letter to the Editor published in The Brunswickan (Fredericton), 30 January 2006 Later this month, grad students will have the opportunity to join the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). I firmly believe it is in their best interests to vote a resounding ‘Yes.’ The CFS represents students at universities and colleges across Canada, both graduate and … Continue reading »

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Students, workers must stand together

Letter to the Editor of the Marlet (Victoria), 7 January 2004 Since 2001, tuition fees at UVic have been artificially inflated to serve the BC Liberal agenda of privatizing the costs of post-secondary education. How else do we explain an $18-million budget surplus? A government-funded model, accessible to low-income students, is being replaced with a … Continue reading »

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Reduce tuition fees

Opinion-editorial article published in The Brunswickan (Fredericton), 7 November 2003 Several years ago, I worked on a campaign that resulted in a five per cent reduction in tuition barriers to education at the University of Victoria. This was achieved through an increase in the annual grant from the government of British Columbia to the university. There … Continue reading »

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Sodexho makes me want to barf

Letter to the Editor published in The Brunswickan (Fredericton), 1 October 2003 As someone who is new to UNB, I find it strange that students and staff have little choice when it comes to healthy, affordable food. Why has this university handed over such an essential service to the private sector? It may be common to … Continue reading »

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Got tuition?

Letter to the Editor published in The Brunswickan (Fredericton), 18 September 2003 I couldn’t help but notice the ‘Got Tuition’ posters all over our campus. I applaud the student union for raising the profile of tuition barriers to education. But I’m not sure a 50-50 raffle is the solution. If we’re going to discuss a … Continue reading »

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Take sides

Opinion-editorial published in the Martlet (Victoria), 15 March 2003 It is comfortable to pretend we are a big, happy family. Father knows best… Current circumstances make such a stance impossible. Our country is sending battleships and troops to escalate the war against Iraq. The BC Liberals are levelling our social infrastructure to nineteenth-century conditions, pushing … Continue reading »

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High fees a step in the wrong direction

Editorial published in Martlet (Victoria), 25 January 2001 Deregulation of tuition fees used to be a distant issue, a phenomenon safely restricted to the other side of the Rockies. More than a few UVic students are here because they couldn’t afford to go to school back home. In Ontario, deep government cuts forced universities to … Continue reading »

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We’ll have our cake and eat it too: A call for tuition-free, corporate-free post-secondary education

Published in the Martlet (Victoria), 3 November 2000 An opinion piece appeared in last week’s paper supporting corporate involvement at UVic and suggesting free education is a pipe dream. “We pay about 20 per cent of our tuition costs,” the writer asserted. “Why is that not enough for some people?” I’ve got an answer, but … Continue reading »

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Keep the schools open, increase provincial funding

Letter to the Honourable Glen Clark, Premier of British Columbia, 13 July 1999 A report prepared for NDP Minister of Education Paul Ramsey and the Board of School Trustees of School District No. 61 (Greater Victoria) has called for $19.8 million dollars in spending cuts. These ‘savings’ are to be achieved through the routing of … Continue reading »

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