"'Cause every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."
- Kenny Roger’s The Gambler, as sung by Rick McGhie and Dave Tompkins

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"When in charge, ponder. When in trouble, delegate. When in doubt, mumble."
- James H. Borden

Lights, Camera, Action!

Let’s examine that phrase as it applies to my November. There were some "light" moments, I spent some time in front of the television camera discussing the UWO’s In Camera policy, and the month was definitely "action packed".

USC vs. Gazette Football

Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a more exciting game. We came from behind to tie it up in the last dying minutes. After the Gazette refused our generous offer to settle with a tie, we went on to crush them. I was happy with my touchdown catch, but the three stars of the game were Kevin Mol, Tim Morris and Scott Sullivan. Way to go! Hey Ménard - don’t forget about our bet!

Board Retreat

What could be more exciting than a group of guys sitting in a hotel room with a flip chart? Why not give them several hours of Board minutes to read through? Better yet, give them some boxing gloves! It was a good mix of work, R&R, and a Denny’s.

UWO AGM

This was what I like to call a "Dog and Pony Show". Davenport & co. strutting around making themselves look good. The Q&A was good but was way too short. I was insulted that I wasn’t invited to speak at it, and my nametag had a typo on it. All in all, it was a big waste of University money.

The Big Book

For the first few months of my term, one of the more interesting OUSA topics was going to be what our campaign was going to look like. It started with some Brock initiatives, went on numerous tangents, and then ended up with "The Big Book". The concept was great - A giant book petition students could sign. The petition simply reminded the Harris Government to keep their campaign promises, and focused on three main points:

• No more cuts to education
• We need a better loan system
• Don’t hike up tuition

In many ways it turned out to be "The Big Headache" trying to coordinate with all the different schools, and scheduling mix-ups. I believe it was a success, but I wish we had more time with the book, and it may come back in January. We have to always remember that a big part of any project like this is educating students about the issues. A special thanks goes out to Eric Canale and the members of the External Affairs team that put in the hours on this project.

The Dave Show

The Dave show took up some time when it was very precious to me, but I think it was worth it. The guest I was the most excited about (Rick McGhie) turned out to be the worst - interviewing him was like pulling teeth. Murray Baker and Paul Shaffner were great! Next Episode - Feb. 6^th.

UWO Act

Hmm... where to begin? A Brief History:

• It’s an act of provincial legislature outlining Western’s existence, and determines the governance structure (Board & Senate).
• Enacted in ’82, it states that it has to be reviewed by the Board & Senate within 15 years.
• Originally, there was no review going to be conducted. This raised some eyebrows, and so a joint Senate/Board review committee was struck. 12 members - only one student.
• The committee received submissions and heard presentations from numerous on and off campus groups, including the USC’s submission asking for more accountability and increased student representation on the Board and Senate.
• After a long wait, the committee came back with their draft report. It included some basic recommendations, and the decision not to open up the Act or make any changes.
• I made a fairly bold presentation to the committee essentially calling them lazy, ineffective and chicken. My report "One Small Step... " (copies available at the office) put the presentation’s words to paper and made several recommendations to the committee.
• The committee made their final report, rebutted some of my comments, and added some text on improving the in camera policies.
• The final report was approved at the Senate and the Board, despite some valiant words from the students, UWOFA president Dr. Baer, and London’s Mayor Diane Haskett.

So where do we go from here? I have been seeking advice from numerous sources, and am still trying to put together a strategy. I’ve been waiting to meet with Diane Cunningham (our MPP) before I make my final decision. The iron is still fairly hot, and we’ve gained some good momentum with the press. Do we fight it? What exactly do we fight for? How do we fight? This still has to be decided.

John C. Snobelen

I really didn’t think that I was going to get the opportunity to speak to the Minister of Education and Training this year. Fortunately, the PC Club had a wine & cheese with him, and I was invited. I wasn’t going to bother him too much at such a social function, but the Free Press reporter took him aside and grilled him, so - what the heck? Gazette reporter Karena Walters and I tag-teamed him with questions in the side room for several minutes. We ended talking about various UWO Act issues. He was really interesting, insightful, and much more intelligent than I thought he was.

In Summary

The summary section is where you’re supposed to take a step back, reflect on everything, and come up with some insightful words that put everything in perspective. That’s the trouble with the world today. We’re all so busy we never take the time for a good summary.

In Brief ...

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