Bikechain rides again
Hoping the second dime’s the charm, Bikechain-a U of T group providing free bike repair and support for student cyclists-is mounting its second levy campaign of the year, after a referendum in October failed to attract the 2,200 minimum number of votes needed to pass. Currently unsubsidized, Bikechain is seeking 25 cents per student to cover operating costs. The group timed the upcoming vote to coincide with SAC elections, expecting to draw more voters.
SAC acknowledges ‘rash decision’
Student politicians, including several associated with SAC, have admitted that their decision to pose as student journalists in order to gain entry to a media-only press conference was poorly thought-out.
“It was, in hindsight, not the best idea,” said SAC candidate Dave Scrivener, one of the student politicians who entered the event under false credentials. “It was a rash decision.”
After arriving at a March 5 conference held by Ontario minister of training, colleges and universities Chris Bentley, the student politicians were told that only members of the media would be admitted. Some of the student representatives chose to sign in to the event as journalists from their schools’ papers. They did not maintain the charade long, as they had come to the event to protest Bentley’s policies on tuition fees.
The imbroglio that arose when the undercover advocates shouted down the Liberal minister, causing Bentley to cancel his address, in what UBC’s newspaper the Ubyssey characterized as a “harebrained publicity stunt” (for a closer look at their coverage, see page 7).
SAC chairperson Jen Hassum, who signed in under her true credentials and was barred from the conference, threatened with trespassing charges if she tried to enter, has said the “media-only” restriction was unexpected, but that the phony-journalist ploy was regrettable.
-Andre Bovee-Begun
