"Don’t you give it up. Take it to the top. Don’t you ever stop. Cryin’ for more.
Don’t you give it up. Don’t you ever stop. Take it to the top. Like never before"
- Sonic Surfers (Track 8 on Chris Sheppard Pirate Radio Sessions - Volume 2 - Club Culture)

"Algorithms I trust. Boolean logic I trust. Beautiful Women... they just mystify me."
- Zame Zaminsky (Charlie Sheen) in The Arrival

"It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them."
- Alfred Adler

Nothing up my Sleeve

In many ways, March was a special month - a month of change and a month of action. But in general, a month of magic, and I'm not just referring to the slight of hand Quarter trick that continues to mystify our newly appointed promotions commissioner.

Everybody Wang Chung Tonight

To everyone who attended the "Incoming Outgoing - Volunteer Appreciation - End of Year Bash" following the AGM part II, I hope that you had a blast. Just for the record - yes - I made all the Jell-O shooters myself and - no - I do not have plans to start marketing Dave's Hard Grape-Aid.

Budget Bonanza

Thanks to Chris, Joan and Jim for working their magic on the budget. They did an Outstanding job during a very stressful time, and when resources were scarce.

Annual General Meeting

I can't believe the AGM has already come and gone, and I really can't believe that Sullivan's speech made me cry. I'd like to give a very extra-special adieu to all of the 96-97 councillors. Thanks for all of the time and effort that you have given to me, the council, and the students of Western. On a final note, congratulations to the new VP pleebs, lackeys, gophers, and the combinations thereof. Now Ryan has some new friends to play with.

SEFI

Sure, it may stand for the Societé Européenne pour la Formation des Ingénieur but it also stands for the Student Endowment Fund Initiative, and it will probably be one of the only things that I will be remembered for. It's really nothing more than a fancy shell game. The University removed a $50 fee that's been irking us, and we agreed to endow an extra 50 bucks per student towards student aid. We get government matching the first 3 years (a free 2.5 million bucks - thank you very much) and abracadabra - students are the winners with no increase in our fees. On March 27^th 1997 I signed an agreement that will last for 20 years, at which point our interest alone will be generating a million bucks a year. The beauty of this whole thing was the sub-plot. The administration originally didn't approve this initiative, but with the combination of the virtual sit-in and a kick-ass submission to the Campus and Community Affairs Committee (if I do so say so myself) they reversed their decision.

UCC

I've been receiving a lot of questions regarding the UCC negotiations. The space issues have almost been resolved, but there still needs to be progress in the Food Services area. In the annual report to the Campus & Community Affairs Committee I was fairly kind to the admin, but I made it very clear that we want this issue resolved before April 30^th.

Virtual Sit-In

The virtual Sit-In definitely made the month interesting. There's a lot to mention here, so I'll be brief. The government grant freeze and the 10% increase in tuition created a unique atmosphere across Ontario. Students at various institutions were occupying (or "sitting in") their university President's office. When it came time to tackling Western's approach, I wanted to make sure we handled the situation tactfully, and considered some other outstanding issues. We decided to stage a virtual sit-in on the Internet, where anyone can join the protest online and select the various issues they want to protest - tuition being the predominant focus. The sit-in was aimed at Dr. Davenport, and questioned his leadership and his ability to speak on behalf of students. The target of the sit-in was not only the admin, but to raise awareness with the students, public, and governing bodies. The story received good press, including the Globe & Mail and Maclean's. I staged a rally to help give the sit-in a boost, but it wasn't very effective, because of poor promotion and student apathy. The most powerful component of the protest has been the comments of people as they join, and not just from students - people from all walks of life. We plan on publishing and distributing a compilation of the really outstanding comments. Overall, it was a very interesting endeavor - and one that has shaped the year and our relationship with the admin. I consider it a partial success, but the full impact will be hard to gauge.

Student Services Committee

A considerable portion of March was spent dealing with the SSC. I finally finished the annual report, and it was a huge pain in the ass. I have a whole new appreciation for people who can churn out reports like that. The entire issue is way to big to be addressed properly here, so grab a copy of the report or read it online at: http://www.usc.uwo.ca/ssc most of the action on this report happens in April, so we'll see how it goes ...

In Summary

March is supposed to come in like a lion, and go out like a lamb. But I guess it was really more of a virtual lion with the sit-in. And I'm not talking about some wishy-washy virtual lion cub like Simba - I'm talking about a virtual lion with lots of roaring and ripping virtual zebras in half and virtual blood all over the place. And I'm not talking about any lamb. I'm talking about the Silence of the Lambs, with brilliant cannibalistic psychiatrists running around giving mysterious clues and flirting with CIA agents. Maybe I should just stop.

In Brief…

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