Blake Frederick, Platform Review:
Blake is critical of the high tuition prices in Canada and the disproportionate price international students have to pay. Canada should have enough resources to be able to pull off social and educational programs such as those available in Scandinavia and in Germany, where tuition is entirely subsidized, even for International students.
Blake has plans to take action for change through lobbying strategies. He shows that he has learned a lot by working through the UBC Senate and the AMS External office. Grants are very necessary for younger graduate scholars to get a chance of pursuing detailed and relevant research, and to participate in conferences, events and lectures. Accessibility is an issue that is very important for Blake, and he has made it clear on the debates that his greatest achievement in life is to have become a student at UBC, facing accessibility challenges such as disproportionately high and shamelessly non-subsidized tuition payments.
Blake has a deep grasp on the most concerning issues students are currently facing, especially when it comes to housing. Blake authored a report on student housing through his AMS position that is now being used by the administration to raise the number of student housing options available on campus. Blake does not support the administration’s devotion to market housing for profit, which is a main point of difference between Blake and Monegro, who supports market housing, but who has very little experience at the AMS compared to Blake.
Blake’s assertion that students should call a moratorium on market housing shows that his stance is similar to that of students who would like to see their elected Board of Governors reps with veto power. The latter would be a very fair, yet unpalatable option for the administration and the appointed corporate developers at the Board.
Blake also focuses on the lack of childcare on campus and the absurdity of the underground diesel bus loop. I think that if we were going in the right direction, we would see the creation of a Trek Park in central campus, and the creation of a no-car-zone in front of the bookstore parking lot that would be extended all the way to “Sustainability Street”.
The misguidance and irresponsibility of the underground diesel-bus-loop extends beyond just the fact that it will transform the landscape into an open hole with construction noise of another two years or so. The diesel-bus loop is irresponsible because it is for diesel buses and UBC apparently has a commitment to become ‘carbon-neutral’. The paradox between ecological responsibility and a hole from which diesel fumes will be expelled in the heart of campus is utterly bizarre.
If childcare were a priority at UBC, we would not be seeing the same kind of development coming up. Luxury market housing is justified as a marketing strategy to bring in an international and super rich clientele that is apparently coming with the Olympics. This would be conceived as a ‘positive’ Olympic impact in some circles. I believe that the level of community childcare available in a neighborhood reflects the degree of integration and intimacy that exists between inhabitants of the region.
The fact that we do not see many children around UBC is due to the fact that higher learning has been traditionally disconnected from the dynamic creation of curricular programs to improve childhood education and its development and evolution. There was nothing, in our eyes, preventing UBC from investing on facilities where children could play while their parents do research. To allow for children spaces and assistance near the working space is, in fact, a known corporate practice that is very attractive for parents and that result in more productivity and less stress and longing from part of the parent and the child.
Blake has a proven record of standing up for social justice and responsibility, and for working hard behind student initiatives and causes. My suggestion is, read Blake’s platform, and VOTE, and if you missed the online voting period, bring your student card on February 4th 2009 and cast your paper ballot.
UBC Student Media 