Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jun 23/00) - Feathers are being ruffled between two student advocacy groups.

Sandra Lockhart, president of the Yellowknife Aurora College Student Association, says the NWT Students' Coalition has done little to consult her or her colleagues over their efforts to make changes to the Student Financial Assistance Act since the group formed last year.

Lockhart says the last straw for her came about after the coalition organized a rally in front of the legislative assembly Tuesday, June 20, and did not invite her or members from her association.

"The first time I really took offence to the NWT Students' Coalition was when I read about them in May," Lockhart says.

She says that her association was never invited to a meeting held by the coalition May 22, and has been growing increasingly frustrated with the group ever since.

"We gathered all the MLAs last December just before the election," says Lockhart.

"We got them to commit to increasing student financial assistance for students. The coalition has, so far, totally disregarded our efforts.

"They should've had us at the rally today. The majority of the students at Northern colleges are aboriginal, so the question I have is, who do they really represent?

We should be an equal priority, but the coalition seems to be more for students going to schools down south, the majority caucasian."

Lockhart acknowledged that the student coalition has an aboriginal representative and that they had contacted the Dene Nation for support of the Monday rally.

"The only thing I heard them do was contact the Dene Nation, and possibly other head offices, however, those offices represent the chiefs and not the students," says Lockhart.

In a statement issued to Yellowknifer by the coalition the group expressed regret that the Lockhart felt excluded from the rally, but stated that efforts had been made to meet with students at Yellowknife Aurora College in the first week of June -- of which Lockhart had been aware -- and had to be postponed until students completed their exams.

The coalition also noted it had extended an open invitation to the public for the rally.