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PANTHER PRINTS — November 28

The Hill, the Bench, and the Gazebo

by Marko Peric

Someone stole our hill. The grassy knoll outside Robertson Library has simply disappeared. No one knows where it went, but the hill is gone.

It was only a hill, a mound of dirt with grass growing on it, but it was a nice hill. It was our hill. It added an element of natural beauty to the campus, although, ironically, the hill was man-made. Even so, everybody liked the hill. It sheltered the Library doors from wind and it made a good snow block as well. It will be missed even more when the days grow bitterly cold and snow falls thick on our campus. With the new, improved, smoke-free Pit, smokers might want the hill back to shield them from the wind as they attempt to light up on blustery days.

The hill is gone. Men with heavy equipment came and took it away, leaving a noticeably naked patch of ground. Campus life just does not feel right with it gone. But the powers that be decided to

Remembering A Tragedy

Dear Editor,

In 1989, 14 women were murdered in cold blood for the simple reason that they were women. It seems that a majority of people on campus have forgotten this. Sure, December is a busy month. Students have just finished writing a dozen papers, no one has their Christmas shopping done, and exams are upon us. What if someone failed you on a paper with the reason that you were of the wrong sex? You would probably be angry. What if a store wouldn’t accept your money because of your sex? I think you would be shocked. What if someone walked into the class- room as you wrote your last exam, pulled out a gun and shot you because of your sex. You would be dead.

remove the knoll. Apparently it was ruining the quadrangle that was planned for that portion of the campus.

As the months pass, the hill might become nothing more than a distant memory, crowded out of mind by tests and term papers and a thousand other things. New sights may catch the eyes of those passing by. There will be the new Chemis- try building, half built even now. There are already more benches than meet the eye, scattered here and there -- especially in the other quadrangle. Perhaps with no hill, more students will start sitting on all those under-used benches.

On the subject of things that are not used, there is Willy’s Folly -- the wonder- ful new gazebo between the border road and the pond. This is former president Dr. Elliot’s legacy to the natural beauty of the campus. Rumour has it that the gazebo is to be a centrepiece for an on-campus park. Such a park would certainly beautify the

campus, but how necessary is it? We already have plenty of trees, and how will a park help our education? In these days of rising tuitions, UPEI does not need a gazebo.

Not only did the administration spend four thousand dollars on a gazebo, they also bought more benches, and someone had to be paid to cart away the hill. This was not money well spent. The knoll should have been left untouched, and perhaps we could use another hill or two. They would make excellent windbreaks, and a grassy knoll is far more natural than any number of benches or a gazebo. As well, hills are a low-maintenance improve- ment. The gazebo and the benches will continually need painting and repairs, and they are easily vandalized.

If the powers that be decide to bring back our hill, students would be able to claim that their tuition payed for dirt. At least it would be something tangible for all that money.

That is what did happen, one December day in Montreal, and fourteen young women ended up dead. They died for no reason other than the fact they were women. It almost is beyond my imagina- tion that such an act of violence and hate could happen in this society. Some people do not see this as a unique event. They can cite cases from throughout history about people being persecuted due to their beliefs or religions. I am sorry but I cannot agree. It is true, horrific things have happened to millions of people all over the world. But in Canada? In 1989? To engineering

students? Perhaps I am biased, I am a female science student, but I feel this is an event which is incomprehensible.

Let us not forget these young women who were brutally murdered. I know we lead busy lives and December is a full month, but this should be a priority. There is a memorial service on campus, on December 6. Go. Remember. Remember the shock. Remember the horror. Remem- ber the women who lost their lives. And never forget.

Colleen Easter

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