ration . -- to the students of UW JUNE 17 1977

I this bulletin is published by the Federation of Students as an attempt by some sane individuals to eradicate a lingering problem that has baffled the minds of women and men across this campus for months.

Newspaper Speedy Commission called by Feds

As part of the overall solution to the chevron problem, the Fed- eration of Students is calling for the chevron staff to agree to a spe- cial commission whose role will be to determine long term perma- nent operating structures for the

. U. W. student newspaper. Although the paper will be re-

opened as the official publication of the Federation, pending accep- tance of the Federation’s offer by the free chevron, the formal re- lationship between the paper, the Federation, and the student body has to be put down on paper.

Student Newspapers throughout the country operate under a wide variety of structural andensti- tutional arrangements. The rela- tionship between the old chevron and the Federation left a lot to be desired and was in no small way responsible for the original con- flict last Fall.

To establish the new constitu- tional arrangements, this com- mission will be composed of rep- resentatives of both the Federa- tion of Students, the chevron staff and also the Ontario Federation, of Students (OF9 and the Canadian University Press (CUP ). Both of these groups (CUP & OFS) have considerable experience with stu- dent newspapers and student un- ions and similar problem> else- where in the country. I

The chevron’s two reps will bc chosen by the staff of the chevron Of the Federation’s two reps one will be chosen by the Board of Di

, rectors from among the Federa tion Executive and one will bt chosen by the Society presidents CUP and OFS will be called upor to nominate one member each The members of the Commissior shall choose the chairman fron amongst themselves.

This commission is a vital ele ment in achieving any sort of solu-

Our Final Offer The Federation of Students, University of Waterloo makes this

firm offer to the staff of the Free Chevron, by an act of its Board of Directors. J We sincerely believe that the offer is fair and reasonable, and ask

the students of the University to read this issue in total and embrace the offer as just.

1. We recognize the present staff of the Free Chevron as the legi- timate staff of the official student newspaper of the’ students ~of the University of Waterloo.

2. We invite the Chevron staff to present the Federation with the persons in the positions of editor, production manager, and ad man- ager V so that they may receive the normal salaries assigned to these positions of $160/week, beginning immediately. ’

3. We shall release the budget of the Chevron for use under the usual auspices of the Board of Publications, including the restora- tion of the position of Board of Publications Office Manager, with Sylvia Hannigan holding the job, if acceptable to the Chevron.

4. We shall instruct the University to restore the phone and mail services.

5. We shall drop all legal actions against the Free Chevron.

6. A binding commission shall be struck immediately to write a 1 new Bylaw, governing the Chevron to guarantee an autonomous and responsible press. Back debts and back pay are pending the comple- tion of the Commission, as described elsewhere. I

tion since everyone is aware that 4 the old structures were inadequate and that a new structure must grow out, of consultation and dia- logue between all parties con- cerned and not simply be imposed by any one faction. /

It is therefore vital that the commission begin its work as‘- soon as possible, and that the out- come be fair, just and acceptable to all’ parties involved. The Fed- eration has committed Jtself in advance to abide by the verdict of the commission because of confidence “that a commission with a composition so unquestion- ably just will come up with a good long term arrangement guarantee- ing a press that is both fair and free” according to President Doug Thompson.

The following is an excerpt >,f rom the Canadian University Press (CUP) abortive investiga- tion into the chevron affair some months ago. The author is Tom Walkom of CUP who spent some s time on’ campus attempting to investigate. Unfortunately be- cause of obstruction by the free chevron, the investigation was never formally completed.

The commission, which will provide the permanent and long term solution can begin its work on the day the chevron staff agrees to the reopening.

As a slogan, “reinstate - invest- igate” is effective. It is simple, catchy and p<ovides re-assuring touchstone for any staffer arguing’ the merits of the Free Chevron case.

However, because “re-instate - investigate” is a slogan, it has

resolution more urgent than ever

The leadership of the Federation of Students is now convinced that the chevrm conflict must be re- solved, at all costs. This does not however, include breaking the law or opposing the will of the students who ‘elected us or who have ex- pressed their views in council elec- tions or the chevron referendum.

We have recently returned from the Ontario Federation of Students (OFS) Annual General Meeting held in Hamilton. While there we were imbued with the urgency of the restoration of the legitimacy of the chevron. This was the re- sult of realization that if immedi- ate action is to be taken towards meeting student concerns then we require co-operation on campus. A student newspaper must there- fore work in close harmony with the student union.

Student cooperation and lead-. ership is required to address fully the multitudinous problems facing us. Immediate input must be made to the reorganization of the OSAP program now under way by the government. .

Further tuition fee increases must be blocked by rational argu- ment.

The racist differential fees for foreign students must be rolled back. ’

The problem of simultaneous cutbacks in education spending ’ with the increases of tuition and student enrolment is inexcusable.

Establishment of a regional universities tour group is neces- sary in order to block-book rock concerts at an affordable price.

We require united action as a student body. It is sincerely hoped that the chevron will accept our offer made with good faith, con- cern for the future of the student movement, and without pretense.

serious problems. First, it ,is couched -in either-or terms. You either support the slogan or you support the actions of the student federation in axing the paper. The slogan allows no other ground. It confuses principle (do you sup- port the right of a newspaper to be free from student council inter- ference? ) with strategy (do you support the strategy of re-instate - investigate? ). A negative answer to the second question is assum- ed to,be a negative answer to the first..

Second: because it is a slogan, it locks the staff into one strategy - out and out battle with the stu- dent council until the student coun- cil capitulates. Following the log- ic of the slogan, no one - neither CUP, nor the students at U of W,

nor in fact the staff of the Free terminous with an on-going pro- Chevron - can examine the situa- cess of investigation by the people tion and propose other strategies. who are doing the reinstating. Be- For to examine the situation is to cause we cannot say two words investigate before re-instatement at the same time, we might use - and therefore to oppose the the term “re-instate investigate” slogan and the Free Chevron. to describe such a process. But it

1 Third, the Free Chevron’s use is only meaningful as shorthand of the slogan confuses a necessary for the interplay between thought condition of language - that one word must follow another - with the way action occurs in the world. Action - that is re-instatement cannot take place without actors (be they the students of the U of W, the Federation of Students, The Free Chevron or CUP) conceptua- lizing such action.

But conceptualization demands investigation of the facts. In other words, if re-instatement is to take

,place at Waterloo, it must be co-

and action - investigation and re- instatement. To say that thought may take place only after action - that is, to deuy the possibility of any investigation before and dur- ing re-instatement, is to think mechanistically, linearly and un- diqlectically.

One Ii’ree Chevron staffer used the analogy of the trial to describe their situation. “We’ve been hang- I ed before tried,” he said, and

continued on page 4

. i

OFS tiddes Unexpected vitality emerged in

the - Ontario Federation of Stu- dents/Federation Des Etudiants De L’Ontario annual general meeting this time. This year’s event was held at Mcmaster Uni- versity in Hamilton from June 9 to 13. The delegates Waterloo sent were, Gord Swaters the OFS/ FE0 Liaison officer in the feder- ation and Ron .Hipfner vice-presi- dent for the feds. The fed dele- gates also brought the researcher- planner of the Board of Education, Diana Clarke. Making the drive down to Hamilton each day were Erin McGooey, Cathy Huxtable and Morris Ilyniak. ‘These federa-

education Fin ricing 4 tion employees came to provide comments and also to learn how to better orientate their particu- lar areas of work to current stu- dent demands and needs.

The conference attempted to come to terms with several areas of interest to the students. Includ- ed in the workshop topics were OSAP, OLANG and OFS policy, university financing, guaranteed Annual Income, discussion around the role of women within the stu- dent movement, unemployment and of the strategies around the battle against the increases in tuition fees and deterioration of the quality of education.

In the discussion surrounding OLANG and OSAP the workshop compared the two programs and noted the new proposal does have some positive features (ie OLANG would make it possible to qualify for a grant without having to ap- ply for a loan ). While admitting to the new features, it was point- ed out that this type of feature is outweighed by the very high par- ental contribution factor. This

-factor in OLANG is 25% of their net income per child for each child’s education. In other words 50% of the net income for 2 post- secondary students in a family. Clearly this is unacceptable.

The requirements for indepen- dent status are tightened up. Un- der OLANG the only way we stu- dents can be independent is to be out of school 3 years, married or a parent.

This would allow, for example, a 30 year old graduate student to be classified as still dependent on his/her parents.

A significant change occurred in an organizational way concern- ing women’s role in the. student movement. Following the National Union of Students in the creation of a women’s commission OFS creat- ed a commission that would be re-

Subsequent to the Board of Directors meeting Wednesday night Gord Swaters. Ron Hipfner Chris Wheatley

and Doug Thompson, (pictured here, left to right) meet to discuss the publication of Federation Bulletin.

REFERENDUM NOTICE FEDERATION OF STUDENTS REFERENDUM ON THE STUDENT ACTIVITYFEE July G/77,

A REFERENDUM WILL BE HELD ON JULY 6, ” AT THE USUAL POLLING STATIONS

THE BALLOT WILL READ AS FOLLOWS: 2 At the present time a Student Activity Fee (often called Federation fee) of $27.50 l per student per year is collected by the University of Waterloo and admjnistered by the Federation of Stu- dents. At its meeting April 3, 1977, Students’ Council voted to hold a referendum on the ques- tion of a refundable student activity fee.

.I *The fee is distributed as follows:

$25.00 to the Federation of Students $ 1.50 to the Ontario Federation of Students in Toronto $ 1 .OO to the National Union of Students in Ottawa

‘lease consider the ballot below, and indicate your preference between the appropriate brackets:

BALLOT

‘Do you support making the entire Federation of Students activity fees, as collected by the Uni- dersity of Waterloo on behalf of the Federation of Students, refundable upon demand? (These pefunds are to be returned within a three-week period at the start of each academic term as de- ‘ined by the- University of Waterloo calendar.)”

I Eupport the above motion. .

I do not support the above motion.

This announcement is made In accordance with the by-laws of the Federation of Students, Doug Thompson, President

sponsible for research and dissem- ination of information in such a way that would encourage greater involvement by women in the stu- dent movement.

The subject that got the most debate was the unemployment question. There was a broad var- iety of views and concepts argued as to the nature of the causes of unemployment and possible solu- tions arising to meet the crisis. One thing was resolved though: that OFS will not accept any policy that might reduce enrolment in a post-secondary institution for the sole purpose of ensuring jobs for graduates. In order that we as students understand the complex- i ties around the unemployment question in a more complete fash- ion, a commission was set up to investigate this area of concern. It was also resolved that OFS! FE0 should take the lead and plan a fall conference on the sub- ject. The conference it was felt should include a strong cross sec- tion of organization within our society to plan for a more com- plete strategy in our quest for a more just and equitable society.

In a less political frame of ref- erence, Waterloo as a result of discussions with other organiza- tions will be developing a con- ference on entertainment to be held at Guelph in a couple of weeks. It was decided by the Fed- eration of Students that what is necessary in Ontario at this time is the development of a concert circuit Twithin Ontario. The rea- soning is clear. Individual federa- tions cannot simply afford the pop- ular rock bands.

If we want large bands to play we can make it more profitable to play a series of concerts than any given one. Waterloo is com- mitted to this proposal and see this as an important area to ex- plore.

The conference ended with more commissions set up than any defi- nite plan of action. However, the ground work for the continuing effort needed to build a strong student movement in Ontario was started. Much more in the area of action will occur when these in- vestigations reveal the findings, of this we are confident.

Concerned about the AIA influknce on the Chevron? g 3

It would appear that a consid- erable portion of the concerns that we, the students, have had about the Chevron involved CPC (ML) and their organization, the AIA.

NaturalIy, this is an area which could be best described as touchy.

We all are aware of the ration- alization given by last year’s Fed- eration executive for the closing of the paper. That the AIA had an overpowering influence in staff by virtue of the fact they held some staff positions.

Sure, all students can agree that individuals from any organization should have the right both moral and legal to hold staff positions. To exclude’ membership on that basis is obviously un-democratic. The only criteria we must have is the quality of the final product, in this case, the Chevron.

I think the feeling we students are ha&g about a student news- paper is generally in agreement. What we want is a paper that is orientated to student concerns and needs, but not the exclusion of a broad variety of issues that other forms media generally do not address themselves to.

All of this brings us to the ques- tion of tactics involved in the re-

creation of this type of student press.

The Free Chevron currently oc- cupies the space the Federation has for the publication of the stu- dent press, subsequently the Fed- eration has no place to provide students this service of their own press.

With all these comments and promises before us and the un- natural opposition of student gov- ernment versus the Free Chevron of Waterloo, we must find a pro- , gram for the resolution of the chaos.

Any organization wiil find that they operate best in an atmo- sphere which is tense and at first glance, unworkable. When organ- ized one is best able to offer a way out, substantially regardless of the correction of that group’s program when dealing in chaotic circumstances.

So in a round about way, what we are saying is that the best meth- od of minimizing the influence of the AIA on the paper is to open it up and not continue. the already over-tense situation. Create an open forum for debate,’ the incen- tive for new people and new ideas.

GORD SWATERS OFS/FEO LIAISON

NUS/UNE LIAISON

So vou sav ‘nothing% be& d d

During the last nine months, the Federation has been continually criticised for its ineffectiveness in find- ing a solution to the Federa- tion/Chevron conf/ict. Few students, ho wevei, realise the complexity of the situa- tion. Several legal resolutions have been discussed or put into action only to be bogged down in a frustrating s/o w court process or stalling on the part of the Free Chevron.

of the executive and of the stu- dents’ council, it was decided that petty trespass charges would probably not be as good a remedy. In addition, it was feared that a judge may not order the defen- dants to vacate the premises if he did find them guilty but might merely fine them. It is not manda- tory for a judge to prder the de- fendant to leave the premises.

would be. the best course of action, and negotiations continued with the defendants’ lawyer concern- ing the referendum. Mr. Fitzpat- rick was provided with a draft copy of the referendum and with a draft agreement which would have required the defendants to vacate the Chevron offices and to abide by the results of the referendum, Although the Free Chevron input was invited into the referendum, a reply was not received until De- cember 21. At this point, the exe- cutive had already prepared the referendum for circulation as they faced a deadline in mailing it to the off-campus students since the referendum was to be held on Jan- uary 13, 1977. A representative of the National Union of Students had been on campus during the week and although he had spoken to the Free Chevron, he had not received any input from them concerning the referendum. Ac- cordingly, the Free Chevron treat- ed the referendum as being inval- id, and refused to sign the agree- ment binding themselves to the result of the referendum.

We were then instructed to pro- ceed with the c,ivil action, and the writ of summons was issued on the 5th day of January, 1977. As some of the Free Chevron staff

us was the delay in bringing the

More time has been de- voted to the problem than most students realise.

The following is a letter from our lawyer, whom we have been working with in trying to resolve the con- flict:

Federation of Students Campus Centre University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario

Attention, Mr. Doug Thompson

Dear Sirs:

Re: The Free Chevron

At the request of the president of the Federation of Students, Doug Thompson, we are reporting

, to you on the progress of our legal services rendered to you in this matter from the date of our re- tainer to the present. We trust this lett& will be helpful in under- standing what has been involved from the legal viewpoint during this- long struggle with The Free Chevron.

Shane Roberts, then president of the Federation of Students, first consulted -with Mr., David Cooke, a partner in this law firm, and myself on November 4, 1976. At that time, Mr. Roberts outlined the problem to us, and asked us to advise him of the legal position of the Federation of Students in the Free Chevron issue. At that time, we discussed the possibili- ties of criniinal charges, and of a civil action. We believe that it is of importance to note that the Free Chevron issue first surfaced on September 24, 1976, which was approximately six weeks before we were first approached by Mr. Roberts.

After our first meeting, we examined the Charter and By- laws of the Federation of Students, the Ontario Corporations Act, and minutes of the meetings of the executive and of council to determine whether or not the Fed- eration had acted properly and legally. We also researched the law to &certain what remedies were available to the Federation. On November 11, at the request of the president, the writer at- tended a meeting of students’ council but the matter of the Free Chevron was never discussed at the meeting. It ~8s obviously the hope of Mr. Roberts that the matter might be resolved in stu- dents’ council with the assistance of legal advice, At this point, our advice to Mr. Robertswas that the best course of action would be to bring a civil action to regain pos- session of the premises. After a civil action was commenced, an application was immediately brought.;for qn injunction restrain- ing the defendants from entering on the premises of the Chevron offices until the case was final- ly heard. Because of the complex- ity of the issues, namely the in- terpretation of the Charter, the by-laws, the Corporations Act and the proceedings at the meetings

Almost daily, we were in com- munication with Mr. Roberts or other officers of -the Federation, and on November 19th, we first cbntacted Brian Iler, a lawyer

lawyers barter for position.

in Toronto who we were told might be acting for the Free Chevron. He stated that he was not, but on November 22nd, we were con- tacted by Mr. Lee Fitzpatrick, a local lawyer who informed us that he had been retained by at least two of the defendants. We immediately began negotiating to settle this matter, in that we met personally on November 22nd and we received a letter on November 24th setting out the d& fendants position. We immedi- ately replied in the hope that we could persuade Mr. Fitzpatrick that his clients did not have a right to remain in possession of the premises.

In the meantime, Shane Roberts was attempting to obtain some assistance from the University,- by having Security change the out- side locks to the Chevron offices. Obviously, this was not a success- ful move.

Mr. Fitzpatrick and I were try- ing to work out some way of hav- ing the matter resolved, and we were discussing the possibility of a general meeting, of an investi- gation by a corporate-legal expert, of an arbitration, and of a court motion. Obviously, Mr. Roberts was not in favour of a general - meeting of members of the Fed- eration, as it appeared that the issues were not such as could be decided upon at such a meeting. After’ each such conversation with Mr. Fitzpatrick, he would then consult with his clients, who would then apparently have to hold a meeting of all staff members be- fore they would respond to the matters discussed between Mr. Fitzpatrick and myself. We at- tempted to work out the terms upon which an arbitration could be held, and of course, dealt tiith the difficult issue of’ whether or not the members of the Free Chev- ron would vacate the space pending the outcome of the arbitration hearing. It appeared at this time that several members *of council were not in favour of an arbitra- tion and that the Free Chevron was holding out for its own terms.

On Saturday, December llth, at the request of Mr. Roberts, I attended at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Federa- tion called for the sole purpose of determining a course of action to resolve the Free Chevron mat- ter. We specifically discussed a referendum, arbitration proceed- ings, a civil action, petty tres- pass, and bringing a motion in court for interpretation of the by- laws. The consensus of the meet- ing was that the most expeditious matter resolving the dispute would be to bring a motion in court to interpret the by-laws. After this meeting we researched this mat- ter very carefully and came to the conclusion that ‘the rules of court would not allow us ta apply for a motion of interpretation. It was then ‘decided that a referendum

CHEVRON reneges on gentlemen’s agreement

_-

members had left and others had come after Christmas, it was necessary to amend the writ by adding additional names, and this was done with the consent of Mr. Fitzpatrick. The amended writ and statement of claim were served upon the defendants, and a motion for an injunction was heard in County Court in Kitchener on Friday, Febr_uary 4, 1977. It should be explained that it was agreed upon between Mr. Fitzpatrick, the solicitor for the defendants and myself that -we would bring the motion in County Court rather than in Supreme Court in Toronto to avoid the necessity of travel. In fact, on the return of the motion for an injunction, Mr. Fitzpatrick assisted me in persuading His Hon- our, Judge Mossop that the County Court did have jurisdiction to hear the motion for the injunction, and it was my opinion at that time and it is still my opinion that the County Court does have the juris- diction to hear the injunction. An interim injunction was obtained on Monday, February 7th, requir- ing the defendants to vacate the premises, and arrangements were made to have the order served

’ upon the defendants immediately. At the same time, we began pre- paring the necessary documents to have the defendants committed for contempt of court if they did not vacate the premises. However, before this could be done, we were served with a notice that the de- fendants would be appealing the order, and the appeal was heard in Toronto on Wednesday, February 9. On appeal, the interim injunc- tion was overturned on several grounds. We would like to note for the record that one of the grounds was that the County Court lacked jurisdiction. As noted be- fore, the defendants’ solicitor, Lee Fitzpatrick, had consented to the jurisdiction of the County Court judge and we do not r’eel that this argument should have been successful.

We were then consulted immedi; ately by Doug Thompsoh concern- ing the possibility of appealing the decision of Mr. Justice Craig. Our advice was that because one of the strongest arguriients against

motion for an injunction, it would not have been very advantageous to launch an appeal. Even if we had brought this motion the very first day that our firm was re- tained, we would have been met with the argument of delay, as six weeks had already passed from the date of the original in- cident.

Having failed to remove the defendants from the premises by way of interim injunction, this meant that if we were to continue with the civil action, no decision will be made until the trial which will be six months to a year away. Accordingly, we attempted to negotiate with the defendants for an investigation or arbitration of the incident. Immediately, Doug Thompson and I worked out a proposal for an investigation and gave it to the defendants for their reaction. By this time, the defen- dants were insisting on reinstate- ment before an investigation, and we came to an impasse. On one occasion Mr. Thompson and I met personally with two mem- bers of the Free Chevron staff in an attempt to work out a solution to the problem, but we were un- able to persuade the Free Chev- ron to agree to an investigation before reinstatement, and the Fed- eration of Students would not give in to reinstatement.

On February 28th, an assault trial was heard in Provincial Court in Waterloo concerning an inci- dent in November when Shane Roberts had attempted to remove a typewriter from the Chevron offices. The charges against Shane Roberts and Bruce Leavens were defended by me and I prosecuted the case against Messrs. Docherty, Hannant and Hess. Roberts and Leavens were acquitted of their charges and Docherty, Hannant and Hess were pla”ced on a peace bond in’the penal sum of $200. I had made submissions to the judge requesting that these per- sons be required to vacate the Chevron offices but the judge would not accede to this request. We then advised the defendants” lawyers immediately that we re- quired their statement of defence

CHEVRON lawyer stalls court action.

in order that we could get on with the civil action. We allowed their lawyer until the 21st of March, and instead of serving upon us a state- ment of defence, he served us with a notice of motion seeking to strike out certain paragraphs of our statement of claim. This was clearly a delaying tactic, and when we attended upon the motion be- fore His Honour Judge Costello, the defendants were unsuccessful in having any of the paragraphs stricken out from the statement of claim, but they were success- ful in gaining additional time to serve their statement of defence upon us. We arranged for an ap- pointment for the examinations for discovery at the earliest pos- sible date, which is June 20.

Doug Thompson again began inquiring about the possibility of petty trespass charges, and we were informed by the Crown At- torney that he would not pre’secute the charges. Our advice to Doug Thompson approximately two weeks ago was to contact the Jus- tice of the Peace concerning the laying of charges, and these charges have not yet been laid.

As soon as the examinatiqns for discovery are held, on June 20th, if we are instructed to con- tinue with the civil action, we will bring a motion for a speedy trial so that the matter may be heard

.\

d one as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, other attempts have also been made to resolve this matter through the Univer- sity of Waterloo. We have com- municated with the University solicitor both by letter and by telephone conversation and we have communicated with Doug Thompson concerning these disr cussions.

We have been instructed by Doug Thompson to assist the Fed- eration in laying petty trespass charges against the Free Chev- ron members who are occupying the Chevron offices, and if this is done immediately, it may be pos- sible to have a trial by mid July, depending upon the availability of the court facilities and the tac- tics of the defendants’ lawyers. The argument will be raised that as we have already commenced a civil action. we are not entitled to lay criminal charges, but we be- lieve that there is case law in our favour stating that the fact that we have brought a civil action cannot preclude us from using our criminal remedies.

We realize that this whole ex- perience has been at the very least a very frustrating one for ev- eryone concerned. The m::mbers of the Free Chevron are adept at making use of any tactics which are available to them in the court process to their advantage to de- lay proceedings. A very good ana- lysis of the situation is found in the CUP HOUSE ORGAN, No. 7, Feb. 4, 1977 in an article by Tom Walk- om entitled “A Non-Report on a Non-Investigation”. In that arti- cle, Mr. Walkom discusses the Free Chevron slogan, “Re-instate - Investigate”’ ;Ind he discusses the three serious problems in which the slogan results. He then sums up the problem in words which I think are very apropos: “In short, % I -think the staff of the Free Chev- ron is getting itself boxed into a corner by its literal mechanistic use of the slogan ‘re-instate - in- vestigate’.‘”

Throughout the course of our representation of the Federation of Students in this action, most of the actual legal work was per- formed by the writer of this letter. However, at various points throughout the case, I consulted with Mr. David Cooke, with Mr. Richard Van Buskirk, a lawyer who is experienced in civil litiga- tion, and with Mr. David Whit- field, a partner in this firm, con- cerning -various aspects of the case. At other times, I sought out advice from the Crown Attorney’s office and from the office of the Justice of the Peace in Waterloo, and I discussed this matter with the University solicitor, Mr. Reg- inald Haney, QC If there are any questions arising out of this letter, I would be very willing to make myself available at a meeting of the student’s council or of the exe- cutive to answer any questions which you may have.

Yours very truly, ARTINDALE, COOKE &

WHITFIELD Per: Gary E. Flaxbard

This conflict has gone on for nine months and unless we come: about some rea- sonable and co-operative agreement, it will only con- sume more valuable time and energy in the areas of journalism and student gov- ernment operations, to the detriment of both.

We hope that the proposal will be considered without prejudice, suspicion or close- mindedness.

. Board of Directors .MinLHes J’

Minutes of a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Cor- poration held in Toronto June 15,1977.

Present: Martha Coutts, Eric Higgs, Ron Hipfner, Bruce Leav- ens, Doug Thompson. 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:12 p.m. in the Residence of Martha Coutts at 310 Bloor . St. West by the. chairman Ron Hipf- ner. 2. VACANCY ’ Hipfner explained the retirement of Brian Burke from the Board, due to failure to remain in good academic standing.

THOMPSON/HIPFNER move to\ appoint Eric Higgs to the Board of Directors. Discussion ensued on Higgs’ quali- fications, and the possibility of increasing the Board’s member- ship to include other candidates. Motion passed unanimous 3. COUNCIL ELECTIONS Thompson gave a report on the recent Students’ Council elections. HIPFNER/HIGGS move that the following persons acclaimed and elected recently be ratified in order that they may proceed to Students’ Council : Gerard Kimmons (acclaimed Science Co-op) ; Mark McGuire (acclaimed E.S.S. Co-op); Herb Malcolmson (acclaimed H.K.L.S. Co. op) ; Joe Crncick (acclaimed Engineering) ; Brian Stevens (ac- claimed Engineering) ; Doug Mc- Dougall (re-elected Math Coop). The Board wished its Unanimous displeasure with the number of acclamations noted for the re- cord. Original motion passed 3-O-2. ’ 4. BOARD OF EDUCATION COUTTS/HIPFNER move to rati- fy the President’s appointment of Doug McDougall as the Board of Education chairperson. Motion passed 4-O-l. 5. BOARD OF EXTERNAL

RELATIONS HIPFNER/THOMPSON move to appoint Gord Swaters the OFS/ NUS Liaison Officer under the Board of External Relations. It was noted for the Board that Swaters has been carrying out those duties in an exemplary man- ner of late. Motion passed unanimously. 6. REFERENDUM Contrary to numerous published reports,- the Bylaw iedef ining membership in the Federation of Students does not deny any voting privileges to full-time undergradu- ates of the University of Waterloo,

, in the Opinion of Federation law- yer Gary Flaxbard - reported Thompson.

Reinstate Investigate

continued from front

Pointed out the paper should be restofed to its previous condition and then tried, or as he put it, “re-instate - investigate”.

It is true perhaps that the paper was not given a fair trial but if the Free Chevron wants to get cut down from white old oak, the peo- ple doing the cutting are going to have to know why they should; bother ; they are going to have to investigate. What’s more, The Chevron can only stay strung up so long before it dies.

In short, I think the staff of the Free Chevron is getting itself box- ed into a corner by its literal mechanistic use of the slogan “reinstate - investigate”.

THOMPSON/HIPFNER move that the refundable fee referend- um designated for July 6, 1977 be conducted only for those on-cam- pus; and that the ballot boxes be sealed until after the second part of the referendum is conducted in the Fall among the remain- ing members of the Federation. It was noted that the split refer- endum will save several thousand dollars and avoid the problem of dis-enfranchising some 6500 odd members who cannot be located in time for July 6. Motion passed unanimously. 7. BOARD GF PUBLICATIONS LEAVENS/COUTTS move that the Board of Publications Bylaws be rescinded July 15, 1977 and that any reference to the Board of Pub- lications be deleted from any other Bylaw on that date. Motion passed unanimously. 8. FREE CHEVRON HIPFNER/THOMPSON move that the Board of Directors en- dorse the offer to the Free Chev- ron as below: a) We recognize the present staff of the Free Chevron as the legiti- mate staff of the official student newspaper of the students of the University of Waterloo. b) We invite the Chevron staff to present the Federation with the persons in the positions of editor, production manager, and ad man- ager - so that they may receive the normal salaries assigned to these positions of $16O/week, be- ginning immediately . c) We shall release the budget of’ the Chevron for use under the usual auspices of the Board of Publications , including the re- storation of the position of Board of Publications Office Manager with Sylvia Hannigan holding the job, if acceptable to the Chevron. d) We shall instruct the Univer- sity to restore the phone and mail services. e) We shall drop all legal actions

against the Free Chevron. _ f) A binding commission * shall be struck immediately to write a new Bylaw governing the Chev- ron to guarantee an autonomous and responsible press. Back debts and back pay will be awarded pending the successful completion of the Commission, and accept- ance of the results of the Can- mission by a referendum.

* two members appointed by the Chevron staff, one member ap- pointed by the Board of Directors, one member appointed by the Committee of Presidents; one member appointed by the Exe- cutive of the Ontario Federation of Students, one member appoint-

be instituted with the following guidelines : 1) it will provide support funding for a wide variety of student publi- cations. 2) it will allocate space to these publications. 3) disbursement of funds shall be under the jurisdiction of Media Waterloo which shall include rep- resentatives from the Societies and Federation Executive. I Motion passed unanimously.

10. LEAVENSCOUTTS move that Doug Thompson be granted , a leave of absence for an unspe- cified period not exceeding six weeks, at half pay to allow full attengon to pressing personal matters. He will be available by telephone no less than two days a week. Motion passed unanimously 11. HIPFNERCOUTTS move to adjourn. Adiournment came at 10: 16 n.m.

Publicati6ns Office ed by the Executive of the C nadian University Press.

Motion passed unanimously Manager’s position 9. CONTINGENCY MOTIONS a) LEAVENSIHIGGS Should the Free Chevron not ac- could- be continued cept unconditionally the offer by June 27, 1977 then the Board of Publications budget subsidy shall be reallocated to Media Water- loo (see motion below), excepting the necessary funds to hire a pro- fessional firm to clear and secure CC140 as the new Media Waterloo headquarters. Motion passed unanimously b) COUTTSHIPFNER: Should the Free Chevron accept the offer by June 27, 1977 then the Commission shall be struck im- mediately and all members nam- ed within two days of acceptance. The Commission is required -to complete its recommendations by July 31, 1977. These recommen- dations will be presented to the students in a referendum, includ- ing off-campus mailout to co-op students, on October 6,1977. Motion passed unanimously. c) HIGGS/THOMPSON : Should the Free Chevron not ac- cept unconditionally the offer by June 27, 1977 then a new organi- zation called Media Waterloo shall

Last week, the staff committee of the Federation of Students which consists of the President (Doug Thompson ) , the Vice-pres- ident (Ron Hipfner ), the Trea- surer (Martha Coutts) and the Business Manager (Peter Yates), released Sylvia Hannigan who is the present Board of Publications Office Manager, from the Feder- ation payroll, effective July 6.

Since September, when the free chevron occupation of the Board of Publications offices began, the particular job for which she was hired, ie. off ice manager, has been redundant, except for occa- sional work on the Real Chevron. Sylvia was transferred to the Fed- eration office by then president Shane Roberts. Since then, Sylvia has been a part of the Federation General office staff.

Lately, however, the workload

for the office staff has been very low, and the staff committee has decided that as things presently stand, Sylvia’s job is redundant. There is just not enough work for her to do.

When questioned on the mat- ter of Sylvia’s future if the chev- ron returns to some semblance of normalcy. Federation Vice-pres- ident Ron Hipfner said “that Syl- via would obviously not be redun- dant in such a situation and would continue on the Federation pay- roll. ”

Hipfner also pointed out that all Federation employees in the class- ification ‘permanent’, such as Ms. Hannigan are really employees of the university and that even if the Federation didn’t need Sylvia, the chances were very good that the university would find her em- ployment with another depart- ment.

AmI if th,e chevron rejects?% The possibility of the free chev-

ron rejecting our offer is not a hap- paper. Unless a settlement is

py prospect. I will seek here to achieved soon it is quite likely that the Federation will cease to

explain why that is so and what such a move would imply.

exist for any one of several rea- sons.

The Federation is seeking hon- estly and fairly to resolve the chevron controversy which has drained so much energy from both the Federation and the news-

Achieving a settlement is there- fore most urgent.

This offer should, by all accounts of the free chevron position be acceptable to them because it in-

Masthead The Federation Bulletin has been brought to you by Doug

Thompson. Prez., Ron Hipfner, Vice, Gord Swaters, OFS/NUS Liaison, and Chris Wheatly, the only ‘Joe kicking around the Fed office with newsprint on his mind this week. This publication has been funded by the Federation of Students at a cost of some 337 dollars or about .1 per cent of the Federation Fee income.

The purpose of this one shot publication is to provide a vehicle for a proposal arising out of the OFS - (Ontario Federation of Students) conference in Hamilton last week.

The proposal was devised by delegates Ron Hipfner and Gord Swaters after lengthy discussion on the Chevron/Federation conflict. The interests, concern and contributions provided by those involved with those discussions were invaluable; despite what the results may be, we think that this offer is the only way out of this mess.

We hope that the students will be able to examine the condi- tions from which it arose, and relevant matters revolving around it as a result of this publication. Too many times in the past, the issues themselves have become obscured in an ensuing wave of confusion, rhetoric and insinuation.

We invite response to this proposal/publication from students, OFS, NUS, CUP’, yniversities and newspapers across the coun- tw .

Address any comments to: Hermphley Burmphley, Federation of Students, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. For better or for worse, thanx. .

eludes all of their demands as we understand them, tempered only by certain guarantees that the principles are lived up to by the newspaper. They have demanded back pay and back debts, and we are offering this contingent only upon the free chevron agreeing to participate in a multi-party com- mission (see story on the com- mission) which would set out new operating structures for the$paper. It is in effect a post-dated cheque, requiring only that they, the free chevron move sincerely towards a long term resolution - hardly an unreasonable demand on our part.

There has been the suggestion, however, that the free chevron leadership is not really interested in a solution to the problem, but would rather like to see it stretch out as long as possible. There qre reasons why some people believe this to be the case. Hopefully it is not - hopefully sane heads will prevail and the offer will be ac- cepted.

If the offer is accepted a speedy resolution to the problem will occur.

If the offer is not accepted, the, Federation of Students may not continue to exist for long. It is impossible to conceive of terms of settlement more reasonable to the free chevron which at the same time provide certain mini- mum guarantees to the student body at large that the agreement will signify a real long-term solu- tion, and not just a capitulation to the free chevron, which would be in no one’s interest and would accomplish nothing lasting.

If the free chevron refuses to accept reason and justice then it is obvious that their interests are very divergent from those of UW students generally. Such a rejec- tion will undoubtedly lead to the most dire of consequences. UW students want and need a healthy and strong central student organ- ization. There is no way that one can be built so long as the chev- ron controversy continues.

The Federation is soon to be fat- ’ ing a referendum on the question of refundable fees. There is cur- rently only one student union in Canada operating on refundable fees, that is in Lethbridge Alberta. In the words of Dan O’Connor of the National Union of Students

’ “It is not operating. It cannot even pay CUP and NUS fees.”

Closer to home, the students at Guelph had a union that attempted operating on refundable fees for 18 months - and then went into re- ceivership.

Refundable fees are the death kiss. That is the message.

The leadership of the free chev- ron know these facts.

It took’ years for a viable stu- dent union at Guelph to rise from the ashes. Should the free chev- ron reject our offer then those who ‘are of the belief that the free chevron has no interest in stu- dent unionism in any organized form will have been proven cor- rect, and lamentably so. A re- jection will vindicate those who believe that the free chevron is seeking chaos as a situation more amenable to its growth and influ- ence.