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Immature Students

My roommates and I live on the ground floor of Blanchard Hall and were under the impression when we moved in that it was a building for mature students (we are) and families. Consequently, we did not think there would be much noise, especially at nights. This, however, is not the case. We now realize that the term ‘‘mature’’ has been used so loosely that it rattles.

In our section there are various sports teams. At the first of the year we heard that they were the basketball team but now they are called the hockey team. Whatever team they belong to, they can’t be very good because they don’t get much sleep -- at least not at night. They have parties and play loud music in the middle of many nights (any night, not just weekends), they bang their hockey sticks on the floors and sing at the tops of their collective lungs (not very well, I might add).

One weekend they had a party and threw all their furniture out the windows -- apparently they got a fine and had to pay for the broken window.

When we first arrived at Blanchard Hall a residence meeting was held and we were warned that quiet hours were after 11:00 pm on weeknights and after 1:00 pm on weekends. These rules were strictly enforced with fines and, apparently, expulsion from residence. This is not the case, especially for the sports teams. There seems to be special privileges for them. Whenever the noise gets so bad that we can’t stand it any longer, we will report it to the desk security guard or to one of the RAs. Sometimes.it will work for a while, but often they return to their partying or don’t stop at all. Apparently they receive fines sometimes, but one guard told me that the powers that be ‘‘don’t like to fine the sports teams.’’ One RA said that there was no use in telling them to be quiet because ‘‘they don’t listen to me anyway.”’

Why are the sports teams granted special privileges? Why are they not expelled from residence? Is it a question of ‘‘boys will be boys’’ or ‘‘the strong shall subdue the weak’’? Are sports teams so important to UPEI that rules do not apply to them? Why must the quiet suffer and be the ones to move? Whatever happened to the importance of academic excellence? The people who have to put up with the noise lose sleep and study time, which reflects not only in their own marks, but also on the school’s acheivement standards in general.

I submit, dear editor, that if this is actually a ‘‘learning centre’’ then the emphasis needs to be on learning and not on partying. Sports are supposed to teach participants teamwork, discipline, and how to achieve goals. This is not accomplished by partying, mayhem and making other people’s lives miserable. If sports teams are to win, the athletes need to be in peak physical condition. This is not accom- plished by drinking and lack of sleep.

Thank you for listening. We will not sign our names for fear of negative reprisals -- you never know with drunks.

-- F. Ed Up Posters and other pretty things

I am writing in response to the editorial which was published in the November 7th issue of the X-Press, sorry, the Panther Prints. In it, the paper’s Copy Editor, Marko Peric, raises several points about the life at UPEI. In the editorial, Peric addresses the issue of posters here on campus. As the Student Union’s Promotion Coordinator, I take offence to some of his comments.

It is my responsibility to spread the word about upcoming events on campus. The main way of doing this is by using posters. They are cheap to produce and serve to inform the campus population about what is coming up. Once an event is over, I take them down in the days that follow. In addition to the Students Union’s posters, I take down outdated posters for cultural event and advertisements for bars other than the Barn. All totalled, I take down lots of posters. Posters looking for roommates or selling used textbooks are not my concern. Perhaps Marko could take them down; he seems to have a lot of free time on his hands. So far, this advertising policy works, and as far as I know, it is not going to change.

Since the editor feels that it is appropriate to use the student newspaper for his pointless rambling, I would like to take this opportunity to voice a concern of my own. I have been attending UPEI for four years now and in this time span the paper has noticeably diminished in quality. There are still some excellent contributions which are published by a few hard working individuals but in areas like spelling, the paper leaves something to be desired. The October 31st issue, for example, contains

an article about The Pursuit of Happiness. In it, pursuit is spelled P-E-R-S-U-I-T. Excellent job Marko, keep up the good work. Maybe next year the Panther Prints budget will have room to purchase a spell- check.

To conclude, I would like to extend a thanks to the Ad manager of the paper, for she is responsible for the best part of the Panther Prints. Without the advertis- ing and Subway coupons, the paper would belong at the bottom of my bird cage. In the future, perhaps Marko could spend a little more time improving the paper and a little less time complaining.

Sincerely,

Geoff Smith

UPEI Student Union Promotions Coordinator

Panther Prints Wants YOU

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Not

your average dinner

The Ace Ventura Meal Deal is now appearing at Subway.

Editor’s Note: I am sorry if you took offence at last week's comments about posters. They were not intended as a personal attack on you. Usually organizations other than the Student Union tend to go overboard with the posters -- today I saw four identical posters (for a society which will remain nameless) on a single bulletin board.

On occassion I will take down outdated posters, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. Perhaps this could make our campus tidier.

Concerning the quality of the paper, numerous people have expressed their feelings that the Panther Prints has improved greatly since September. If you or anyone else should be displeased with the paper, feel free to contribute.

Panther Prints Wants YOU

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