D-D-Day of A-A-Action

Is the freeze worth the cold?

KERRI WOLOSZYN STAFF

On a blisteringly cold day in February a bunch of students from the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg and Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface huddled together on the steps of the Manitoba legislature building to protest the “high” price of higher education.

Despite the fact that we have one of the lowest tuition rates in the country and a university that could probably use a few extra bucks, these people stood outside on a frigid minus-40-withthe- windchill day to protest something that they thought was important. And for that I applaud them. But I still wonder if it was worth the frostbite.

My assumption, from having never been to the event before, was that there would be a sample of students there who were truly passionate about the event and a smattering of those who got a “get out of class free card” and were fully enjoying their time away from school. And so, I travelled with these students on the bus where awkwardly phrased chants like “1-2-3-4, we’re dreading tuition fees are going to soar” were practised and then, thankfully, discarded.

However, when I arrived at the event I was proven wrong. There was a moment when, after asking a few people if they thought that braving the cold for this cause was worth it, when I realized everyone here had to be for the cause. People like Jacqui Kotyk who said, “Things like this can make a difference because they really shed light and bring a lot more public attention and focus to issues like post-secondary education which is a huge part of Manitoba.” No one would get special permission from their professors to get frostbite. No one would chant and shiver at the same time just because they could skip class with professor approval.

And so despite the fact that I am sure everything that was said on this Day of Action has been said before, I think that the sheer determination of the relatively small number of students who went out and protested should be considered seriously. Unfortunately, much of the campaigning and efforts may go unrewarded.

A poll conducted by Viewpoint, commissioned by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), showed that 82 per cent of Manitobans support the tuition fee freeze. While it is easy to disregard a report commissioned by an organization, which wants to hear that students want tuition reduced, the poll is telling. Unfortunately, people often do not know what is best for them. No one is going to say that they would rather pay more for anything if they could pay less for the same thing. And so, the freeze seems like something that is important to the majority of Manitobans. However, problems with the freeze are beginning to come out of the woodwork.

According to a recent article titled “Tuition freeze luring the rich,” in the Feb. 15 issue of the Winnipeg Free Press, the tuition fee freeze has not increased the numbers of low-income students in university. In fact, since the freeze was instituted, there has been an increase in students from wealthy neighbourhoods. Although the fee freeze coincided with an increase of 37 per cent in total enrolment, the increase saw more wealthy students enter university — the result of a larger grade 12 class, not increased accessibility. Therefore, the stigma of university as a place for only middle-income and upper-income students remains. So, if the freeze was meant to make university accessible to all people, it has not been completely successful.

Additionally, according to the University of Manitoba website, international students must pay a differential fee on top of tuition, adding a fee worth 180 per cent of tuition to the cost of education. This means on top of their living and travel expenses they have to pay more than double the amount of tuition that I do. The fees for international students were deregulated in 2002, which accounts for these increases. Are international students filling the money gaps that Canadian students make by paying so little? Are they carrying the burden? If this is in fact the case then perhaps future days of action should be more specific about who they are fighting for.

If the recent Day of Action was a success, it was only a success in that the right to protest was clearly and admirably demonstrated. Protesting to keep the freeze in freezing cold temperatures is admirable but it is also crucial to understand what, if any, difference is being made. The tuition fee freeze may have been a step in the right direction for some, and was clearly a case of politicians listening to what students were saying. The people who are truly passionate about this cause should continue to stand up and fight, but perhaps they have exhausted all that they can do with the freeze.

Kerri Woloszyn is the Manitoban’s roving reporter and has a degree in film studies.