Union targets Slade & Stewart —

Wednesday, January 30, 1985

Newsstand Price 40° Vol. 48, No. 4

— page 12

Protest momentum

grows as students

Out campaigning in downtown Vancouver, Bruce Yorke stops to talk with Vancouver school students and
teachers Jan. 24 as the hectic byelection campaign moved into the home stretch. The last week has seen
the COPE—Unity campaign reach all across the city with a seven-day a week phone canvass and door-
knocking, a major advertising blitz and the participation of hundreds of volunteers. The unprecedented unity
among trade unionists, community activists, New Democrats and long time COPE members was capped

by a gala unity banquet where unionists, NDP MLAs and community leaders reaffirmed their support for
Yorke’s bid for re-election. But whatever the achievements so far, Yorke warned, everything depends on
turning out the vote on election day Feb. 2. Story, Rankin column page 2.

TRIBUNE PHOTO — DAN KEETON

set action program

The campaign against the Social Credit
government's cuts to school board budgets
gathered new momentum this week as stu-
dents from secondary schools all over Van-
couver mapped plans to hold a “black day
for education” sit-in Wednesday while par-
ents, trustees, teachers and support staff
from all school districts on Vancouver
Island met. in Nanaimo to demand that the
Socreds end education cuts and restore local
school board autonomy.

The two meetings coincided with the
release-in. Vancouver of.a survey showing
that 72.7 per cent.of parents of school age
children in the city oppose education cuts.
The study, commissioned last year by a then
right-wing-dominated school board was
carried out Nov. 28 before the campaign
against budget cuts got underway, suggest-
ing that opposition would be even more
massive today.

Throughout the week, there were a var-
iety of expressions of the mounting opposi-
tion to education restraint, the most
dramatic being walkouts by secondary
school students in Kitimat and in several
Vancouver schools.

In Vancouver, the walkouts began at
Point Grey Secondary on the city’s west side
and spread to other schools as students used
the tactic most readily available to voice
their anger against the increases in class size
and loss of programs that budget cuts
would inevitably bring.

Although on the second day, the walk-
outs were often more spontaneous than a
conscious form of protest — in many cases,
fire alarms were tripped to bring students
out — the actions nevertheless underscored
the frustration of students at the refusal of
the government to respond to the demand
throughout the community for more
money for school boards.

One student, speaking to an assembly at
Point Grey, voiced what has become a
common theme, telling students: ““They’re
putting money into Expo but there’s none
for our education.”

Still, concern that the walkouts would
alienate community support sparked action
by student councils at all 18 secondary
schools across Vancouver. They met last
Friday to reject further walkouts and to
devise alternative actions that would give
“‘more constructive outlets” to the students’
protest.

see ISLAND page 3

on’t ratify salmon treaty,’ gov’t told

— page 12