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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1978-09-21, Page 4Page 4 Citizens News, September 21, 1978 " Well John, this is one gull convention." S IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIl111i11111111111f111iuluninumumillmlHt111mHNlIumum11111111111111111111111111l111mIIIUIt1iINllltiillNlllliillllllllRumlivmilltllllll_ Illllininilllitllllilil imiliumilutinllllllll untll111llunni11witinnininiY1mniIIIIIIIII niniUIIIIIIInusinuiminu flllnllllllulllllltlliluttu11t1Ul1ll1ulumuniE Lint Go s As Premier Davis has shifted ministers from here and yon into and --out of the Colleges and Universities portfolio, one thing has become pain- fully obvious : the PC priorities have shifted drastically. In the 1960's, when Davis was Education Minister under John Robarts and Ontario really seemed to be a place to stand and grow, few ex- penses were spared in building new universities, expanding old ones, and bragging about this to one and all. "Ontario", it was said, "has or soon will have the highest education standards in the world". While it was nice to believe this, and pat ourselves on the back for electing such a progressive government, questions, nagging questions, remained. How soon would we reap all the benefits of this fine educational system? Was the sky the limit? What would happen when the baby boom's offspring were all graduates? And what students would fill these buildings until the grandchildren of the baby boom came along? It seems that government didn't think much about these eventualities, let alone talk about them. Now, as enrolments decline because of economic and social factors worsened by government inac- tion and political pandering to a public conditioned to promises and more promises, we suffer in silence. Education became such a large job in the late '60's that Davis saw it split into two ministries (i.e. the Ministry of Education for public and secondary schools and the Ministry of Colleges and Univer- sities) ; now, as the de -emphasis on education con- tinues with the appointment of Dr. Bette Stephen- son to both portfolios, Davis, it appears, is attemp- ting a return to the pre -expansion era. It would be nice if academics could be ter- minated at will and diverted to some other job like so many dollars in a ledger book; if buildings could he stree be sold, moved away, and replaced with green space; if people didn't matter and politicians were invaluable ... nice for governments that wished to play an electorate like the fools we sometimes look like. Because the values of higher education don't necessarily appear in dollars and cents and can't be shown as return on tax money spent, people sometimes lose perspective on the effect funding cuts have. Because the government realizes that they can make cuts in their unwieldy budget in this area with less outcry than in other areas, this is what they do. And because Davis, apparently strapped for good 'team players', doesn't want to waste top -grade personnel on a de-emphasized ministry, he gives us Parrotts and Stephensons. Dr. Bette Stephenson may be.a fine doctor of medicine and Harry Parrott may be a fine dentist, but neither have the qualifications necessary for understanding so complex an economic/social/political situation as that confron- ting Ontario right now. While Parrott has been dumped onto the environment, an area in the process of renewed neglect, Stephenson has come fresh from a series of faux pas as Minister of Labour. Parrott was an MPP for four years before appointment as Minister of Colleges and Univer- sities, Stephenson 18 days before becoming Labour Minister, and only three years before moving to the double Education/Colleges and Universities job. Yesterday our new minister carried on with a slightly off-key rendition of Parrott's old students - should -shut -up-and -go-out -and -sweep-streets refrain as she explained once again that univer- sities must become more trade -oriented. Yes, On- tario universities should become more trade - oriented, and the first trade should be for a better cabinet draft pick .. . The University of Western Ontario Gazette eNA Canadian FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS Published Each Wednesday By J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Member:. Weekly Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers News Editor - Tom Creech Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 Subscription Rates: $7.00 per year in advance in Canada $18.00 per year outside Canada Association Single copies 20c 111111111111IIII11111111111111111111111111111111111auun!:..' mull 111 1nn11111 i 1 1, Miscellaneous Rumblings By TOM CREECH Yeah, I got heros. "So that's what happens when two cousins marry." "The only difference between you and me is that I get paid." Friends, the above words were spoken by my hero. No he's not a sports figure, he isn't involved in politics and some people would consider the term "entertainer" to be applied in a loose fashion. My hero was born in Chicago, raised in Ohio, went to high school in Connecticut, attended art school in Rhode Island and Rome, went back to Rhode Island for a master's degree and settled in Boston. Finding life difficult in the "straight" world Hero then turned his talents towards a singing career with the big hit "A Girl Named Johnny Cash" establishing him as force to be reckoned with in the entertainment medium. Hero's next big break was one he was chosen to star in "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" followed by stints on Forever Fernwood, Fernwood Tonight and last but certainly least "America 2Night." Hero has had an affection for plastic in the form of LP records with his two latest releases being "I'm Everyone I ever Loved" and "Sex and Violins". Well, it's time to spill the beans. Garth Gimble, Barth Gimble, the person who sat to the right of Jerry Hubbard on the Fernwood and America shows, it's all the one and only, the original, the patent leather king of mid -western America, Martin Mull! To use a line from an acquaintance of mine; "And the fans go wild! " One may wonder what has caused this sudden out- burst of affection for a person who's never scored 500 goals, never been Prime Minister for 50 years or who has never read a book by Pierre Berton. It was one week ago tomorrow night that Martin Mull exposed himself to an unsuspecting audience at the University of Western Ontario's Alumni Hall. Mull is a word, was fantastic. It was an audience which had an appreciation for subtleties as witnessed by their outburst when Hero ever so carefully placed his wad of well chewed gum on the lampshade of his set. Who says that all Canadians are barbarians and do not have any appreciation for the finer things which life offers. This entertainer's success and his rapport with the crowd seems to be a result as the title in one of Mull's earlier albums indicates of appearing "nor - m.1". The white suit, thinning blond hair and a demeanor which immediately came across as being "cool" without being aloof, is a part of Hero's success. He's the type of guy who you wouldn't mind bum- ming a package of matches from. Hero worshipping is something which I never gave much thought to until I did an interview with Michael Beirne, a New York based actor who appeared at the Huron Country Playhouse this past summer. Beirne told me that from almost day one of his life he had had heros, primarily in theacting field and that he felt an obligation as an actor now, to set an exam- ple for today's youth. At the time I couldn't remember any public figures who I looked up to with any mad infatuation. Oh sure, like any other true blue Canadian youth of the day, I collected my rings from Beehive corn syrup and saved them for pictures of Tim Horton, Dave Keon, Bob Baun, Al Simmons and Johnny Bower but is this hero worshipping or merely another phase of a child's development? Delving into the deepest crevices of my cranial cavity, I can recall have the deepest admiration for Prime Minister Lester Pearson and President John F. Kennedy. It was 15 years ago in November that this writer was sitting in a grade three classroom at Ex- eter Public School when principal of the school Arthur Idle broke the silence of a morning class and an- nounced to the school that Kennedy had been shot a few minutes earlier while riding through the streets of Dallas. From this class of eight year olds there was first, a silence and then a commotion, an expression of grief over the loss of a public figure. Yeah, I guess I had heroes.