Cheering stats for students

With the unemployment rate for people in
the 20-24 age group sitting at over 24%
these days, it is no wonder that college
and university students are vastly
depressed about the job market and the
value of getting a post-secondary
education. However, although education is
by no means a guarantee of employment,
statistics show that unemployment rates
for university graduates are CONSIDERABLY
LOWER than unemployment rates for the
population as a whole. The University of
Victoria Report quoted 1982 statistics
recently to illustrate this point. For
instance, in October '82 the unemployment
rate for people with university degrees
was 6.1%, compared to an overall rate of
13.4%. In B.C. where the unemployment rate
was 9.9%, that for people with only a
grade 12 education was 15.2%. A survey of
1981 UVic grads a year after they left
university showed an unemployment rate of
8.3% compared to an unemployment rate for
the general population in the same age
group at 17.2%. In other wrods, post-
secondary educated people are about half
as unemployed as others. Of course this
study doesn't reveal exactly what sort of
jobs these grads have, but still...while
we realize that university education means
much more than is reflected in employment
statistics, it's comforting to know that

chances for getting a paycheque are better
if one hangs in there.

Writing Workshop: sign up now

The English department would like to
remind everyone that they are again
offering a Writing Clinic to assist
students experiencing difficulties in
writing. The workshop will go over any
completed, graded paper to explain errors,
Suggest ways to improve, reorganize or
streamline the paper, or will show the
student how research or documentation
should have been handled. The workshop is
not a proof-reading service—students
should not bring ungraded essays or work
in progress—nor is it a lecture—students
should not come simply to ''learn how to
write.'' Students should, however, come to
discover why their papers were not fully
successful, to learn how to avoid the
recurrence of similar grammatical or

syntactical errors, to explore how to
create better plans or to see how to

conform to bibliographic standard. Most
students, reports the English department,

have found a half-hour appointment very
helpful and the student comments in the
past few semesters have been highly
favourable. Often a personal examination
of the students' own writing can clarify
what a series of group lessons might fail
to elucidate. Further, an understanding
ear can help to allay the feeling that
writing is an unattainable skill.
Students may book appointments in the
Writing Workshop by signing a sheet on the
door of room H444. Times are arranged in
two alternative weekly formats and are
available as late as 5:30 pm. Special
appointments can also sometimes be
arranged for students whose timetables are
incompatible. For more information cal]
the English Dept. at local 495, 500, 502
or 487. And students—don't sit around and
think about it too long, because the

workshop is expected to be fully booked by
mid term.