The Panther Prints

March 26, 1996

Letiors te fee Bator CD

Editor: :

In a previous issue of the Prints, student comment was invited on the issue of the morality or lack thereof of the sexuality supplement recently published by the Prints, in particular the "Corruption Quiz" that graced the back page. If I may, I would like to publicly share my opinion on this matter.

First of all, I would like to say that I thought the supplement was generally tasteful, interesting, and informative. I congratulate the Panther Prints on the superior quality that the paper has exhibited in recent months. However, on two points within the sex supplement I felt the paper was either on questionable ground or directly in the wrong. I am referring, of course, to the corruption quiz, and the question asking students to rate professors on sexiness which was included in the sex survey . published in the same issue.

I thought that the corruption quiz was in poor taste. It was unin- formative, and not particularly funny. Crudity is not a substitute for wit. Except for the evaluations at the end, the quiz contained precious little wit to justify saying that it was humour. It was_ most unwise of the Prints to publish a feature that would be offensive to a broad cross-section of the community and which had so few redeeming quali- ties. It is true that the Panther Prints is a student publication, but this does not exempt it from having some modicum of consideration for the wider community of whom students are a part. It is a point well taken that the public should be able to expect some respect for its feelings from an institution it helps to support. Just because someting is done at the University of Victoria does not mean that it should be done here.

Personally, however, I see nothing to get worked up about in the Corruption Quiz. I found it excessively

_crude, but certainly not offensive (per- haps I'm just hardened). As for the

mother who threatened to keep her daughter out of UPEI because of the hedonism down at the Prints, I can only say that the daughter is very fortunate indeed to have such an opportunity to go to a mainland school and get out from under her mother's thumb.

Perhaps you are to be commended.

You are not to be :

commended, however, forthe question in the sex survey asking students to pick the sexiest profs on campus. This question was wildly inappropriate, as well as being very disrespectful and unkind. May I remind you, that ifa professor ventured to make a public comment about a student's sexiness, he or she would be drummed out of here so fast their head would spin, and students would cheer. The reason that this standard of conduct exists is so that the feelings of students are respected with regard to making them feel uncomfort- able, embarrassed, or pressured unfairly. I should think that the same standards of human decency should also be applied to students' public comments about profes- sors. You might argue that the circum- stances are different because professors are public figures. I say that if a particu- lar prof were a public figure in the sense of working on the side as a nightclub stripper, comments about his or her sexiness might very well be appropriate in public. In that case, you could have a point. Thankfully, however, the vast majority of UPEI professors do not make extra cash by going naked in public places. Professors may be public figures, but nowhere in their contracts does it imply that they are hired for their looks. I think, therefore, that it was crummy and insensitive of you to include this question in the survey. The Panther Prints owes an appology to every professor on campus.

Yours Respectfully, Stephen DeGrace

The recent sex supplement put together by the staff of the Panther Prints has received a lot of criticism and complaint over the past few weeks. Much of it has bordered on the ridicu- lous and proves, if anything, that this was something PEI sorely needed.

The student press is a forum for alternative view points and a place. where taboo issues can be discussed in an open, mature, and even light-hearted manner. This is what the sex supplement did and, while many people may find the material offensive, many more will find it entertaining and educational.

Now, some parents are saying that they will not send their children to UPEI because of the supplement. My advice to those parents is that they not bother to send their children to any post-secondary institute at all because they will un- doubtedly encounter frank discussions about sex and, if they are more liberal than their parents were at their age, they may even have sex.

This kind of topic is what univer- sity and the student press is for. The

supplement did not cross and slander-

On behalf of myself and those signed below, I am writing this letter in response to the photo that accom- panied the Exposed article in last week's paper.

First, I would like to comment: as the author of the article. I had no idea this picture was going to be used. I am very much offended by it. I want people to know that had I been consulted, the photo would not have run.

Secondly, on behalf of myself and others, I would like to say that we are all very much offended by the photo. We realize that it was a dramatization, but it made the whole report seem like a joke. Something as disturbing as this incident should not be treated as lightly as the photo ests. The two victims in this

Flasher Photo Offensive

ous, libellous, or hate laws and I would

like to think that in Canada freedom of speech is something we all hold very dear. I hope the sex supplement becomes an annual tradition for the Panther Prints as it may actually push the envelope far enough to allow the timid and repressed people who complain about such a thing become part of the 90s -- or at the very least the 20th century.

Congratulations to the Panther Prints for having the courage and conviction to write something and then stand by it. A difficult thing to do as young student journalists, but by far an admirable thing. Hopefully the parents of UPEI can realize the courage it took for them to print the supplement and then understand that their children discuss sex and have sex all the time.

The complainers can yell and scream all they want, but, in the end, the Panther Prints can be safe in knowing that they were right in what they did.

David Cochrane Atlantic Bureau Chief - Canadian University Press

case felt belittled by the photo, and through me demanded a written apology from the newspaper. We feel as well that an apology would be appropriate. We do not know why

_ this photo was included, but we hope ~ that something like this does not

happen again. Sincerely,

Yvonne MacKean Corrine Yuill Mary Campbell Ailsa Currie Cheryl MacKean

Editor’s note: The photo was included to attract attention to this important article. We apologize for the caption, which could be seen to

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