Don’t forget to scream: Our February 19, 1996 issue featured the cover story “Thousands rally against cuts,” which talked about the events of a protest on the lawns of the Parliament Building downtown. The rally was to speak up against government cuts to education—over 3,500 students were in attendance. Keep your eyes focused on what the government does with post-secondary education these days; it’s not all good news, and there’s still room on those lawns for 3,500 upset students should the need arise.
I don’t think this revolution was televised: The story “Letter reveals deliberate CCSS takeover,” written by Jody MacFarland, talked about how Derek Madson, who was at that time the new Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) speaker of council, admitted to plotting a conspiracy to seize control of the student society. According to the story, two days after appointment to the position, Madson sent out emails bragging about hijacking the previous CCSS meeting. “The revolution to overthrow the CFS/IS/NDP/ANARCHIST clique here at Camosun has been kicked off with a bang,” he allegedly wrote in the emails. Safe to say this revolution ended with a whimper, although Madson signing off his emails as “Madman Madson” was a memorable touch.
Truly interest-free: The story “CCSS places ban on Citibank” proved how students can have a say in what the Camosun campuses look like. At the time, the student society was considering banning credit card companies from advertising in person on campus. Concerned about companies advertising at students? Speak up!