What is it good for?: Issues of war were on students’ minds 25 years ago: our January 8, 1991 issue’s main cover story was “Students protest gulf presence,” which examined how protestors were feeling about Canada’s presence in the Persian Gulf. Generally speaking, they weren’t feeling good about it: “No one has established that the sovereignty of Kuwait is fundamental to US interests, let alone Canadian interests,” said protester Tim Walters. “This is not a defensive war. It is not fundamental to our economic interests.”
The ongoing struggle: In “Native issues become priority at Camosun,” it was made clear that changes needed to be made at postsecondary for First Nation students to succeed. In particular, here at the college, as the opening paragraph stated: “Camosun College acknowledges that it has not been particularly sensitive to the needs of native students.” Today, Camosun College continues to work in this regard; while there is always room for improvement, things have certainly gotten better since 1991.
This, however, is not getting better: The story “Women vow to continue gun law fight” was one of many in this issue discussing the year that had passed since a gunman killed 14 women in Montreal in 1990. This piece looked at the frustration of students who were concerned about gun-control issues. “How much longer do government officials want to drag this on for?” said Wendy Cukier of Canadians for Gun Control. Apparently, a very long time.