More Letters to the Editor

Student Union thrives on love of service of — members and student involvement

Dear Editor:

When I was elected last year to the Student Union, I walked in to the job knowing that I had forfeited my right té remain in the regular shuffle of student life, and because of the nature of the posi- tion, there will be those who do not support my beliefs or even like me as a person. This is quite fine with me.

I do this job with enthusi- asm because, though it may seem strange - I love this job. I am not bothered if I have to stay in my office till wee hours of the morn- ing. Call me naive, but I believe politics is an honourable profession - one of honest public service. But in the execution of my decisions, I am most certainly guaranteed to offend some people, and it seems I have.

In Thomas Lloyd's article in the September 29 issue of the

Cadre which covered the candidate speeches for our recent by-election, he spoke of an observer who com- mented that we, as a Student Union, do nothing for her. As pres- ident, but also as a student of UPEI, I responded to her directly. Sitting on the stage in the student centre courtyard, I listed some of the many things that we at the Student Union most certainly do. I later took the opportunity to deliver to the Cadre a response detailing what I thought about the uniformed comments I had just heard. I deliv- ered my response directly to all readers and intended that the mes- sage be applied in a broad manner to not one specific student but the increasingly apathetic student body as a whole. Some people have taken offence to those comments and a few have expressed concern about the direct nature of the lan- guage.

To those who were offend-

ed, I apologize. However, I stand by comments and the manner in which they were intended. We, the Student Council, are a team. An attack on the integrity of any mem- ber, or candidate vying for a posi- tion, which denounces their honest desire to give back to UPEI through volunteered service will be whole heartedly defended. I will be the first person to defend any of the councillors who have commit- ted themselves to their elected positions, whom have all sworn to represent their constituents to the best of their abilities. I respect their integrity, their goodwill, and their hope at collectively voicing our concerns. :

We do this job out of an honest desire to improve our cam- pus for all students. I do not infer that those who without elected seats act in contrary. Perhaps many on campus do not understand the great effort these dedicated individ-

uals undertake. Perhaps more has to be done remedy this problem, a challenge I personally take respon- sibility for.

Once again, I realize that in my position there will be those that agree with me and those that do not. I will accept that. I will also

continue to work my ass off to get

the job done. I will continue to address people who ask "what have you ever done for me?" My answer will remain the same. Look at the

- Councillors you have elected, look

at their love for public service. Our successes do not come with a request for recognition, rather the pleasure in knowing that tomor- row's UPEI will be bettered: by the time and effort we invest today.

Brandon MacKenzie

Student Union!!!! What Have They Ever Done For Me??

(may contain to much sarcasm for some readers)

I believe it's obvious that UPEI's student union is ultimately useless. I don't think they have done a sin- gle thing for me since I began UPEI four years ago. Sure they're responsible for student handbooks, The Cadre, and graduates getting free yearbooks, but don't you think stu- dents deserve a little more than that, I mean what's the deal yo yo, we are paying their salary. I want a student union who can look at the big picture and make some real changes. Take mad cow disease for instance, now why didn't our student union get involved with that issue, was it not important, or the Westnille virus was that not cru- cial. I mean beef is really good, and infectious mosquito

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bites hurt a lot, but still I see nothing being done. Sure they provide services for students such as medical cover- age, and fought for students on issues like student loans and new courses, but I just think were not getting all we can. I want a student union that will give me a rub down when I've had a long day, that will open a centre for stu- ‘dents that can't read good, and that will cure the light pat- tern dryness around my scalp. I want a student union that can remedy all my problems this second. I know they spend countless hours sitting on countless committees trying to ease my concerns, but I'm sure there's someone with a magic wand somewhere out there that can speed this process up. I mean am I the only one who sees this, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Yeah, our student union

meets with the minister of education four times a year, but I want them reporting back to me on current events like nuclear power and what bark is made out of, that's the important stuff. Seriously, consider our current stu- dent union, where on gods green goodness did we ever find a group so baseheaded. I mean who else would work over forty hours a week to get paid for only a quarter of that time, who else would spend more time on student issues in their offices, then personal time at home, and finally who else would listen to students like me go on, and continue to come back to work and put forth the same amount of effort.

K.J. Henn