"Bright lights city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire.
There’s a whole lotta money that's ready to burn, so get those stakes up high.
There's a thousand pretty women just-a waiting out there. They're all living - ‘the devil may care’.
And I'm just a devil with love to spare. Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas!"
- Dusty from ZZ Top, singing a tribute to Elvis

"You know, I'm a voter. Aren't you supposed to lie to me and kiss my butt?"
- Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman in (ironically enough) Ghostbusters II

"Use what talents you posses;
the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."
- Henry Van Dyke

Pucker-Up!

The next time you see Ryan Parks, give him a big congratulatory kiss on the cheek for winning the Presidential election. In fact, (if you haven’t done so already) give each of the elections committee members a big smooch, because they certainly deserve it. Special thanks to Justin Lalonde & Ben Thornton for taking on the oh-so-popular ‘Yes’ side of the Dental referendum. You can kiss them if you want, but only if they brush first.

Alumni Board of Directors

I was invited to a weekend restructuring session for the Alumni Board of Directors. It was very encouraging, and I think that there are some fantastic opportunities and partnerships coming our way. At the end of the session, I went on a mini-tirade about how alumni should use their voice more effectively and how they can be a very powerful lobby group. I think I shook them up a little - It was fun!

The Zombie

I was invited to be a ‘celebrity ghoul’ in the Player’s Guild production of The Zombie. It was the first time I had been on stage like that in years. Too bad there were only 11 people in the audience to see.

Tuition

On Wednesday, February 5^th the Government released the information on tuition for next year. They are allowing universities to raise tuition differentially, allowing an average of 10%, and a cap of 20%. At Western, the admin is proposing that all 1^st entry programs go up 9.4%, while most 2^nd entry programs will go up 20%. A small silver lining is that 30% of the tuition increase must go to student aid. Along with the tuition announcement came some figures on OSAP, and although they are increasing funding to OSAP, they are raising the forgiveness level from $6,000 to $7,000 (that’s bad).

The Dave Show

I want to thank everyone that helped make the second installment of The Dave Show a success. Guests on the show were CRO Jamie Deans, Paul Wallace, the head chef at The Wave, and the musical group Acoustic Snack. The real stars of the show were the multi-talented but sluggish presidential candidates, including newcomer Hugh Ginthelap. A Special thanks to Dave, Charmaine and Amy at TV Western. I’m not sure if there will be another episode - I’ll have to see how busy the month of March is.

Student Services

I received the budgets for the ancillary units. There still has to be a thorough review, and an in-depth report, but the highlights are: The Scholarship Office fee has been eliminated, there are minor reductions in Intercollegiate Athletics, Campus Rec. & Student Health Services, and there’s an increase in Foot Patrol.

Viva Las Vegas!

I haven’t taken a vacation for years, so I was really looking forward to this trip. Eight of us headed down to the city of sin for a little R&R. Little did I know that it would stand for Rye & Roulette. I have a whole new appreciation for the term all-you-can-eat, and I assure you, I had a great appreciation for the term before I went. I can now officially say that I have a ‘Gambling Problem’ - but on the lighter side, if I start sniffing glue then I’ll have a whole row on my dysfunctional Bingo card!

In Summary

When it comes right down to it, there isn’t a whole lotta’ stuff I can report on for February, which is extremely frustrating because it was such a busy month for me. Technically, it is the shortest month of the year, and it doesn’t make it any longer with slack week & the elections thrown in. Considering all of these factors, I feel that I can justify two Dilbert Comics this month - after all, they are the most popular section of my report. However, stay tuned for a March report jam-packed with stuff - same bat time, same bat channel.

In Brief…

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