Commentary

By Stephan Macleod

In these ‘most-podern’ times, sponsorship is a necessary evil, but how can such a thing real- ly be evil? Perhaps the invasion of logos and propaganda in our already cluttered landscape is what gives sponsorship a bad name. But I doubt most people even notice. Besides, a few random acts of van- dalism of posters for Casey’s Pub and cardboard cut-outs on the Coke machines, most students have grown too accustomed to advertis- ing to even notice the giant Roots banners at the Field House or the subtle references to Don Diego’s Tacos I slip in almost everything I write for The Cadre.

My position as advertising manager for this newspaper allows me to experience first hand the psychology of manipulating stu- dents in the name of commerce, and through my job I’ve learned that most mom and pop shops in Charlottetown are under the impression that an ad in a student newspaper will not increase. busi- ness. Dealing with these ‘crazy’ people can seriously deteriorate a person’s self-esteem. With so much rejection and the occasional insult from The Editor, I’ve come close to tears on many occasions.

Organizing a rock concert is perhaps the last thing someone as fragile as myself should under- take, but I accepted the task because nobody else would. If businesses think advertising in The Cadre is futile, imagine their response to being asked for money SO we can put on a concert. The fact that this concert happens to coincide with the East Coast Music Awards, which it seems have already drained Charlottetown’s

business community of sponsor- ship money, only adds to the amount of rejection I get on a daily basis.

What I’ve learned through trying to acquire sponsorship for the Alter-Cases, the unofficial showcases of ECMA weekend, is that businesses treat sponsorship more like a charity than an ad cam- paign. It helps relieve their corpo- rate conscience by giving them the chance to contribute to the commu- nity.

The motivation for spon- sors of the Alter-Cases is a bit more sincere than that. I’m happy to say that most of the sponsors who gra-

ciously donated to our show happen to be organizations on campus who want to help us put on an event for UPEI students. So the impression I’m getting of sponsorship is that it’s not particularly evil — it can actually be quite honourable. Maybe I’m just saying that because the money from sponsors allows us to keep ticket prices low, and get free beer for the bands, but

I wouldn’t knock sponsorship just |

because it takes attention away from the events being sponsored. Who actually notices the sponsors anyway?

e doctors can me, it: the ae

Is it anetity of each of us as an

ar on what constitutes ‘quality of e? If not, how can we determine omeone else’s quality of life or of timer’s case should be me more reason for Canadians to s on the question of quality of | life and who has the right to decide | how someone should live and / when and how someone should | die. This is not a new issue, nor one | that is going to go away. In 1993- | 94, many Canadians followed Sue | Rodriguez’s quest for a dignified | death. She didn’t have a choice that involved not dying, that was an inevitable consequence of her ill- ness. She only wanted power over the when and the how,

Tracy Latimer didn’t have a choice that included not dying, nor | did her father, the only choice he | had was in determining how long ‘he could stand seeing one of his children suffer daily before the inevitable happened.

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