Tom Says: “UNBSJ Uncertainty is like virtual Texas Hold-em!”
If you’ve spent any time watching television for the past couple of years, you have to know what Texas Hold-em’ Poker is.
It’s the card game with two cards down and five cards up — and you can bet as much as you want.
Millions and millions of dollars are won and lost on Texas Hold-em’ games on many Internet sites which you can access from your very own home. I’m wondering if the current public debate on proposed recommended changes at UNB Saint John aren’t unlike our game of Texas Hold-em’.
In this game there are two players.
New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham gets two cards down and those who want things to remain pretty much as they are at UNBSJ also get two cards down.
They bet.
Then comes the flop. The flop is three cards at the same time turned up for all to see.
They bet again, and keep raising the stakes.
Then comes what’s called “fourth street” or the “turn.” It’s the forth card that comes face up for all to see.
They bet again, and raise the stakes even higher — but this is where we all find out that the deck is stacked against us.
It now becomes a hybrid of Texas Hold-em’. Under normal circumstances, the fifth card or the “River card” turns up and can be played in both hands — but not in this game.
The river card in this game is a wild card and can only be used in one of the two hands.
Guess which one?
The Premier has said, “The status quo is not good enough.”
He has also said his government, “Is prepared to pay the price in the second year of their mandate.”
If that doesn’t sound to you like the discussion is over — well, it sure does to me.
I’m Tom Young and that’s what I think.
September 19th, 2007 at 11:16 am
The premier has committed himself to a big business agenda for Saint John. He is not interested in changing the status quo of long-established university campuses in New Brunswick. No, he is interested in destroying a very young, very vibrant campus full of individuals with critical analytical skills who speak their minds.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Tom, this is the first time I have ever looked at your blog, I listen to your program as often as I can but have never written a letter to a radio station or the newspaper. Regarding the report on Post Secondary Education it’s a nice analogy and it does appear that the decision has been made. However is it the right decision?
I have a few problems with this decision. One, why is that Saint John continues to come out on the short end of the stick when it comes to political decisions. The Premier when first elected claimed he was in Saint John more then Fredericton. What has it really gotten us? What happened to the study on the trauma centre why hasn’t that been released? Is it because the decision favours the AHSC? That’s a different topic. But it does deserve some attention.
This strategy appears to be catering to one major employer, and one sector, you can easily guess what that is. Even the wealthy Province of Alberta is looking at other alternatives to balance their economic growth, seeking knowledge type industries to diversify their economy so all of their eggs aren’t in the oil/energy basket. Is the fact that the NBCC structures are on the verge of being condemned part of the reason for this decision?
Factors not in favour of this decision:
• Any metro area in Canada our size or larger they have a University located in it. Other polytechnics have evolved into full fledged Universities.
• The closure of UNBSJ and economic impact of moving away for an education will limit Saint Johner’s ability to get a University degree. But not just the economic impact, I believe there is also a psychological barrier that some people don’t want to leave home, even for an education. Why should they have to?
• UNBSJ has also experienced growth over the past several years while UNB and other institutions have experienced decline. Is that a reason to shut it down?
• In the report it states that students who leave their region are very likely not to return, how this benefit Saint John does.
• There are other arguments and I’m sure you have heard these.
On page 27 of the Advantage New Brunswick report it states, polytechnics will “offer first year of some university programs.” And “Can offer second year of some university programs where it is possible.” I think the key words here are can and some, the implications here are not good.
Does limiting a regions access to a post-secondary education sound like a growth strategy to you? Are local MLA’s elected to represent their region and local population or toe the party line? Should Saint John and area residents just give up and give in relocating to Fredericton? Why have our local leaders taken such a soft stand on this issue? What is Enterprise Saint John’s stance? City Hall should be fighting this like hell.
September 20th, 2007 at 9:06 am
It is very possible that the stauts quo is indeed not good enough. Sadly, there seems to be no other alternatives offered other than a downgrade of services provided at UNBSJ.
I’m from Saint John (SJ), do not live in SJ but return quite often. In recent years I have seen an influx of foreign students at UNBSJ. Apparently the school is good enough for these students to travel from all over the world to live in SJ. These students are contributing to the local economy and new businesses have been created to cater to these students. I’m quite certain these businesses would pay applicable taxes and those tax dollars would go into SJ city coffers.
It would appear, from an outside perspective, that there is growth at UNBSJ and as a direct result growth for the city of SJ. I find it somewhat hard to fathom that a city with the population base of SJ would be left without a University within its boundaries. The elected officials have not been able to deliver a credible reason as to why nor have they been able to sell the benefits of a Polytech campus. Something tells me one of the reasons might be cost of operation.
On the surface this appears to be a backward step for a city that has spent years fighting it’s stigma of taking one step forward and two steps back.
September 26th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
The problem with this unfolding scenario is this. UNBSJ has built up its reputation for it’s business programs that there are a large amount of International students coming here for this education. This is great for 3 reasons:
First it builds up Saint John on the global scale. We are on the map globally speaking.
Second with all the international students coming it allows us to grow culturally as well. Some of these students may stay and work or open there own businesses.
Thirdly and most importantly International investment is starting to happen right here in Saint John.
Without UNBSJ it all disappears, no more global recognition, lost investment dollars and lost immigration chances.
October 14th, 2007 at 7:09 am
From what I have read and heard it seem clear to me that there is another agenda on Shawn Graham’s mind. It is also clear that big business is dictating what Premier Graham thinks & does. Perhaps someone should do an audit on the Liberal donations.
I think it is a disgrace that we have 5 Ministers in the Saint John area and not one of them has had the courage or conviction to stand up for the city they are supposed to representing. They are mere puppets on a string.
Everyone sang the accolades of Dr. Doherty. But he has proven very quickly he is like any other politician. He says and does what he needs to in order to serve his own needs. Shame on him and every other Cabinet Minister from Saint John. I hope they continue to feel good about their decisions when their grandchildren are unable to obtain a university degree locally.
October 18th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
I have followed with interest the debate re: UNBSJ on your talk show. I would like to say that I support the efforts of the Saint John community in trying to maintain a full service university in the port city.
It is with interest I note however that on several occasions, I have heard supporters of UNBSJ on your program refer to Saint John as the largest “anglophone” city in New Brunswick. What exactly then is Moncton? The insinuation from Saint John would seem to be that Moncton is a “francophone” city. Moncton is the largest metropolitan centre in the province and the last time I checked, the population was about 70% anglophone.
It perhaps should be noted in the debate on the future of higher education in New Brunswick that there is no publically funded anglophone university in Moncton. The anglophone population of Greater Moncton is in the vicinity of 85,000. Unless I am mistaken, there is virtually no anglophone community of this size anywhere else in Canada that does not have access to a publically funded university. The consequences of this are predictable. Our youth have to leave the community to attain access to higher education and more often than not, they do not return. The lack of an anglophone university in Moncton is the largest single impediment to the continued growth and prosperity of our community. This situation should be addressed.
I am in no measure trying to take away from the efforts of the citizens of Saint John by making this point. UNB should be a province wide university system much as is the University of Maine system, with campuses throughout the province. There should be a vibrant UNB campus in Saint John, but there should also be a UNB campus in Moncton and perhaps a UNB campus in Bathurst to support the anglophone population in the north. The provincial university system should be there for all areas of the province and not just for Fredericton. Moncton and Saint John together are the economic engines of the province and should have home grown access to a high quality university education within their own communities.
Thank you