campus: Students chastise president Stevenson over tuition
Stephen Hui, News Editor

The president of Simon Fraser University was harshly criticised by students concerned about tuition fees and access to education at a meeting on campus two weeks ago.

Students raised these issues at an open forum held by president and vice-chancellor Michael Stevenson on January 21 in the West Mall Complex. According to Stevenson, the purpose of the event was to offer the university community a chance to discuss the future of their institution.

The president started the meeting with a speech outlining his vision for and concerns about SFU in the current political climate, which he views as carrying both good and bad news for the university.

"The good news begins obviously with the fact that the 'New Era' [Liberal policy document] clearly recognises the fundamental importance of higher education to a strategy of economic renewal and recovery based on research and innovation," Stevenson said.

The bad news is that the current government is constrained by the circumstances it inherited from the previous administration, he continued.

Stevenson said the Liberals' freeze on advanced education funding, in addition to their commitment to new programs, would force the university to reduce costs or find alternative financial sources. He speculated that a worse case scenario could see the university facing a 10 per cent annual shortfall in funding.

"There will be a problem. Whether its 5 per cent or 10 per cent of the base budget gone, undoubtedly we will face pressures to find ways of coping within an inadequacy in government."

When Joel Warren, the Simon Fraser Student Society's university relations officer, asked the president if he would work with students to ensure tuition fees would not rise, Stevenson answered "no."

At 60 per cent of the national average, Stevenson believes that tuition fees in British Columbia are at an unsustainably low level. The University Presidents' Council of B.C., of which Stevenson is a member, has recommended to the provincial government that tuition fees be increased to match the national average over the next three years.

The president maintains that Ontario, which has experienced rapid increases in tuition, provides the best evidence that a tuition hike does not harm access to education.

Blair Dowell from the Canadian Federation of Students asked if B.C. university administrators had approached the government and requested a rescinding of the tax cut in order to put money back into health and education.

"We did not," said Stevenson, who went on to describe the tax cut as a "key pillar of this election campaign."

A member of the International Socialists interrupted him, calling out, "shame on you for calling us on thinking, shame on you, this is supposed to be a university." The crowd applauded when he said this was a perfect opportunity for the university to ask for more funding.

Craig Meadows, an SFU undergraduate, disputed arguments that increased tuition would encourage students to complete their degrees in less time, citing a report indicating that longer working hours necessitated by higher fees actually prolonged some students programs.

"We always have choices and we can always resist. We're choosing not too," he said.

"And to admit that this government dictates what we, as a university, as a public institution, do to educate students in all classes - this is offensive," Meadows concluded, to further applause.

Meadows and Stevenson proceeded to have a short verbal exchange over the choices available to the university administration. Subsequently, Meadows gathered up his belongings and stormed out of the room.

After some students pointed out that post-secondary education was under attack in B.C., one International Socialist remarked, "I think we need to organise as students and staff on this campus for more funding for the university."

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