Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 16, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba Brian Cole 6977044 focus Winnipeg free press a 4 4 october n i i new student body aim Sjo Sharpen image of youth dont tar kids with same Brush a group of Winnipeg High school students has formed a citywide Stu Dent Union David Ros her and a few of his colleagues in the new organization explain by David Michael Mark Angle and Laura Ghat Eiam to the free press too often today when conversation turns to words such As gangs and crime come As can easily under stand Why these thoughts so easily come to every Day in the Halls of our schools we see the negative influences that these factors bring into our its drugs or maybe there is even a turf fight at the but rarely Are the positive actions of youth emphasized Over the we dont hear enough about the Dent who works three jobs and goes to school to make ends meet for the fam nor is there major coverage of things that teenagers Are involved in such As High school teenagers Are All seen As villains because of the random actions of a rogue the voice of the majority is nowhere to be the need for a student voice has never been this voice needs to create a positive image for youth and act As a spokesperson to the pub Lic to represent the views of the Stu dents to administration and the general with the cur rent trend of cuts and rollbacks that have been imposed on the education the time for students to address the government with Strong leadership has with these ideas in High school student councils from around Winnipeg have created the Winnipeg student Union there Are already Many examples of positive student contributions to it is not hard to recall the last time the students of Winnipeg came out to help the during the mood of High school students every where volunteered their time and their efforts to the this service to the Public helped save Many local businesses and communities from the raging at the Peak of the 300 out of 340 students at College Pierre Trudeau voluntarily came to school and made sandbags in one Sisler High school students made thousands of miniature souvenir sandbags and sold them As a fund Raiser for flood these were the actions of a majority that will con tribute to the Community for the rest of their we think these activities should be coordinated and publicized by a Central student coun the Winnipeg sub can organize great Community events for apart from assisting in emergencies like the floods every students can raise awareness on current issues like child labour in third world coun tries or raise funds for local Organ this we will be holding Many such for example we believe the right to education is a Essary component to every teenagers life and that is Why this literacy sub is planning a february Book we Are going to try and collect As Many relevant books As we can to Send to school libraries in the third apart from Charity work sub con Cerns itself with education in Mani As we Are opposed to the standardized provincial math exam imposed by the provincial govern we Are studying the Way the exams Are administered and the con Wayne free press David Rosner from Mark Rosner and Michael Moreau Are tent of the tests but it is already Clear the As they stand right Are unfair and Are not ductile to the education of we find no purpose in subjecting Stu dents to a test Worth up to 30 per cent of their Grade that is not written by their own teachers simply to track the proficiency of the education sys the test is especially unfair to students who Are applying to univer the test often brings the aver age of the students Down by As much As 10 per there is no Benefit to lowering a students average with this the sub will not Only work for Gen eral student but will also assist High school student councils to operate More smoothly with All their own fundraisers and Active every year student councils Start from scratch with a new president and a fairly inexperienced the Only continuity is a teacher adviser or principal who May help the the sub would eliminate the new Council members confusion by giving them the experience they would normally have to in we Are planning a Scholastic Trade show where Compa Nies that Cater to students can exhibit their products to the incoming councils and councils can make informed decisions on contracts to fighting for the sub is also planning to hold events such As youth dances that will be alcohol free and will keep kids off the Street at we believe it is important that teenagers Are Given constructive opportunities and places to spend their we want to help provide these so the next time you think of please dont think of the misguided actions of a Small Minori but instead the actions that the Stu dents of the Winnipeg student Union body Are taking students who Are attempting to improve their organize and improve themselves and society for the com ing 21st letters to the editor arts support is widespread Nick Ternetti makes two big mistakes in his 30 letter to the free press on City support for the what he has to say about there being tremendous hostility towards the arts in the general Public May be True in Chicago or but its not True in and that the biggest single Factor making Winnipeg the unique City that it in it was found that the number of performing arts tickets sold in Winnipeg equalled so per cent of the pop and that this participation rate was higher than that of any other City in North an astounding fact or perhaps Given Winnipeg Long standing tradition of involvement in the not so much support of or patronage of or attendance but involvement Winnipeg elite is not enough to produce figures like and the hard statistical evidence is that in involvement in the arts is unusually there Arent enough Rich people in Winnipeg to make the fringe festival the third biggest of its kind in the but it the thou Sands of aboriginal people who attended the Mac production of pry lips Aughta move to Kapuskasing or pets production of fare Wei Are not Likely to describe themselves As monies and powerful virtually All Winnipeg schoolchild Ren share in the arts through visiting artists and More than half the celebrated 100 reasons to love Winnipeg generated by the general related to the More Ordi nary Winni Eggers go to arts events in the course of a year than attend professional sporting hard More tourists come to Winnipeg for the arts than come to the City for another hard these Are facts of which we should be and on which we should the second mistake Ternetti makes is to define the arts too Nar and to regard Money spent on this aspect of the cites life As an expenditure rather than As an invest the Folk Folk Orama and concerts at the Forks Are All examples of arts events with obvious widespread even those arts organizations that we might be tempted to Label High Art in like the the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Manitoba opera go to unusual lengths to be accessible to those from All walks of and Are unusually As a Quick Survey of the lobby at the Mac or the Centennial Conger Hall so ver Why Winnipeg want to invest in a sector that pays such hand some especially relative to How to reach us the free press welcomes letters from letters must be signed and should include a clearly printed address and Telephone names will be published but not All letters May be edited Tor style and Short letters Are less Likely to be please address letters to letters to the Winnipeg free 1355 Mountain Winnipeg r2x letters can be sent to our fax number letters May be submitted through the internet at . Letters sent via the internet obviously cannot be but must include Home address and Telephone other areas in which we risk much larger sums of the taxpayers Money with much smaller Reward Chris Johnson Winnipeg canadians have said no in addition to taxpayers funding Jean Chretien Crew of closet separatists to Scurry across the the same taxpayer will fund a task Force consisting of provincial Politi canadians said no to Meech and what part of no dont our governments understand Pierre Trudeau once when addressing the Media in new there is no Way two ethnic groups in one country can be made equal before the and to say its possible is to sow the seeds of Canada is one nation and canadians Are one any other declaration is a denial of by accepting Canadian an oath of to and allegiance is with great have promoted Canada As a multicultural federation that makes it impossible to single out one ethnic group for special its time mat politicians quit flogging a dead respect and tolerance dont flow from promoting diversity but from personal Freedom to be anything that is not specifically habited by la personal is an inherent right for everyone within the soem regardless of ethnic spell out the Legal terms of separation Ana allow the citizens of Quebec to make an informed Karen a Lynde Winnipeg fringe festival is one of Many Well supported arts Magazine be published to show All of the winners across Cana i also had written to the lotteries commission asking Why the province where winning tickets were purchased be indicated afterwards at lot Tery centres where tickets Are the answer i received was that sometimes winners dont live in the same province where they Pur Chase i think that is a pretty lame it Doest matter where the people Are just which province the ticket was purchased i believe it is time the lotteries com Mission improved their image a Little spread lottery prizes wider in a recent edition of the there was a letter from one of your readers in reference to the super 7 Tery and the last Winner of Mil i have to agree with the writer on dividing the Jackpot and making More people deliriously ten draws of separate sets of numbers would seem to make More As the Luck Magazine that is published monthly Doest indicate the winners from the East or British i dont understand Why one and provide better prize divisions and information to the multitude of people who invest a lot of Money in their lot after if it want for people buying tickets there be a lot Tery or people working in them Janet Miller Winnipeg using guards wrong method the recently announced decision to have health sciences Centre Security staff watch people brought to Hospital on mental health warrants is logical Only in a limited this new practice will save some Dol Lars of the police but it will do nothing to better meet the needs of people with mental health the real Issue is that people in acute distress Are regularly required to wait hours in emergency before they Are there Are ways to address this Issue that not Only better meet Peoples but also make bet Ter use of mental health jurisdictions in North America and Europe handle this situation by bypass ing the use of emergency rooms in hospitals As a Point of entry for individuals experiencing a mental health people Are seen by a Community if hospitalization is admission is authorized by the psychiatrist on this and the person in distress is admitted without any wait in As Here in different approaches have been for the Cope program at the Grace general Hospital has a registered psychiatric nurse in emergency who will do an assessment with people presenting a mental health and then make a recommendation to the attending these other models that would provide efficient and effective service need to be Sav ing police while does not address the real Martin executive director Manitoba division Canadian mental health doonesbury by Harry Trudeau ;