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Let the Whistler U debate begin
by G. D. Maxwell
Page 3 of 3
Ah, no.
WhistlerU envisions a campus housing, perhaps, 1,400-1,500 students and another 500 faculty and staff. In other words, another Cheakamus Crossing, sans the asphalt plant. Looked at another way, the student and staff population would be 20 per cent of Whistler's fulltime resident population.
Now dropping a development that size into, say, Kamloops (population 85,000) might not make too many ripples, let alone, as Doctor Doug likes to point to, Heidelberg, "...an excellent example of a tourist destination that is enriched by the presence of a University." But Heidelberg's population is 145,000 and the town's university was established in 1386.
The good news is, this ain't no pipeline, or any other kind of energy project the federal government is going to ramrod through. Despite the proponent's wishes, this proposal isn't going to move quickly and that's the way it should be. No small town should decide to take on this size project without due deliberation. If Whistler decides to move forward with WhistlerU, it needs to do so with the full recognition that it will fundamentally change the nature of this town... forever.
So let's get on with debating the merits and drawbacks. But let's not be rushed into anything.
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