We freeze, you freeze: Students brave the cold for cash

Protesters call on government to support education, lower tuition

JENELLE PETRINCHUK STAFF

After months of planning, it was minus-37 degree weather, banners, hotdogs and hundreds of students that eventually composed the National Day of Action in Winnipeg on Feb. 7.

The goal of the day was to conv both the provincial and federal governments to hear student voices, while campaigning for lower tuition fees across the country. Students and students’ unions that are members of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) — like the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) — participated in the event all across Canada, hoping to raise awareness and bring down tuition for all students.

“I think the minus 30 temperature really had an affect on the turn-out,” said UMSU’s vice-president (external) Rachel Gotthilf at a recent UMSU council meeting. “It was really cold and we had to cut the rally short. We were actually concerned that people were going to get hurt and have to go to the hospital.”

In Winnipeg, students from the U of M, the University of Winnipeg and the Collège universitaire de Saint- Boniface bussed or marched to the Manitoba legislature, chanting and waving signs in support of lower tuition and more government funding.

“We freeze, you freeze” was the chant of choice for the majority of students at the event. Virtually unused, an entire list of chants was provided to students from U of M and practised on the buses. Included in the provided list were verses that called Stephen Harper both ugly and greedy.

Hundreds of students from the three schools in Winnipeg attended the event, including about 200 on four buses from the U of M, according to Gotthilf. Combined, the three schools have an enrolment of about 38,500 full- and part-time students, with 28,000 from the U of M alone.

Students at the U of M were also granted academic amnesty for the day, a motion that was approved in January by the university senate. It was resolved that although students were “expected to fulfill al their academic responsibilities, regardless of their participation on February 7th, 2007,” the senate recognized the day as a day of protest and were asked “not to set exams, assignments or other academic requirements used for grading purposes” on the Day of Action, when reasonable.

From U of M, international students made up the majority of those who braved the cold. Since March 2006, international students have been paying differential fees worth 180 per cent of tuition more than Canadian students attending the university. The deregulation of international student fees was implemented by the provincial government in 2003.

Manitoba’s minister of advanced education and literacy, Diane McGifford, addressed the crowd at the rally, assuring students that tuition and education are both important to the provincial government, and encouraging students to continue addressing the federal government in their campaigns.

“I thank you for putting postsecondary education on the agenda,” she said, adding that students have to speak loudly to the federal government and the public on the costs of postsecondary education.

“Too long, it’s been on the back burner. Health care’s been out there, and housing and environment, and we know these are important issues but let me tell you today . . . that postsecondary education is a priority for the Doer government.”

This statement was greeted with cheers from the crowd, but not without some students challenging McGifford to “prove it.”

McGifford also mentioned that each year the Doer government provides at least $60 million towards bursaries, scholarships and loans for students in need in Manitoba.

Although it was cold, the students who attended the rally were enthusiastic about the gathering and the minister’s speech.

“It’s worthwhile to show people that there is a student voice, and that we are concerned about the future of post-secondary education,” said Amanda Davis, a second-year politics student from the University of Winnipeg.

While U of M University 1 student Stephanie Dandeneau thought the event was important, she still wasn’t sure if it would have any effect on the eventual outcome of government funding for higher education in Canada. However, she said she does not want to give up the fight.

“Sometimes you just have to persist for the things you want, and if that doesn’t work, try something more radical,” she said.

Across the country, thousands of students rallied for the “right” to a cheaper education. Ian Boyko, government relations coordinator for CFS, said that the CFS has no specific number on how many students went out to rally or campaign, but that the day was a success all across the country.

“The student unions involved in the campaign should be very proud of what they accomplished,” he said. As for which part of Canada had the biggest turnouts, Boyko suggested Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto, with Toronto being the biggest of all.

Sran noted at the end of the rally that this day was only one of the platforms UMSU uses to try and bring tuition down, another one being writing letters to MLAs.

Although the final cost of the day cannot be determined yet due to shared costs between the U of M Graduate Students’ Association, the Arts Student Body Council and UMSU, Gotthilf stated the event shouldn’t end up costing UMSU more than $1,800 in total, with a good chance it will end up being less.

UMSU has been a member of CFS since 2005, the same year that the Day of Action was held outside the U of M administration building.