eT om Danii

otter To The Editor Residence Security

nther Prints: Where’s the Edge?

wish to express my disappoint- th the recently selected name of I student newspaper (both and the Panther Post were less: and more suggestive of sophis- }); more important still, I am very ed about the quality of the first of Panther Prints which is not an last year’s X-Press editions. er page is as heavy-handed as the iH is more suggestive of the cover the Auto Trader than of a student per. traditionally, student newspapers nyed pivotal roles in the intellec- i social landscape of Canadian ities. They have encouraged , debate, and have provided analysis of events on the campus. Vhere is the journalistic edge of I student newspaper? In the first the Panther Prints, there is only nificant item of campus news be: “AVC Expands Its Mandate’’; the article is given only one 1/6 3. Where is the real coverage? are the interviews with students, , and staff on how this change ect their roles? Where is the al edge? hen I hear students grumbling ome new change on campus, I to see that concern voiced in their nper. The sad fact is that I rarely here is the investigative reporting structive student criticism of the sity? Your paper appears to silence han voice it. he Panther Prints uses the first ) proclaim itself ‘‘the NEW and DVED student voice for UPEI.”’ I problematic, then, when I see the gender neutrality (e.g., ‘‘man- Tather than ‘‘humanity’’) in the ditor’s article on Canadian Sym- ere are the sensitivity and y of good editing? Here are some constructive sug- S: I see some impressive an- Fments and advertisements (with Hyouts), providing information on bmen’s Centre (pg. 6); the Student Plan (pg. 8); and a preview of T PEI’s forthcoming performances #). I look forward to seeing

follow-ups and investigative reporting on these and other promising campus topics.

Also, the informative article on AIDS (pg. 8) is a step in the right direc- tion in that it provides detailed informa- tion and shows depth in soliciting key views from the people involved and then connects the story with campus life. But again, this article needs good editing: it needs to incorporate quotations rather than paraphrase its sources; and it needs a better layout and structure to do justice to the many excellent points presented.

I look forward to seeing my letter published (unedited) in the next issue of your newspaper; I hope you will invite student response or debate about the issues I have raised and I look forward to an exchange on how to improve the Panther Prints.

J. Paul Boudreau, Psychology Editor’s Response:

Thank you for your constructive criticism. We welcome comments and suggestions from all of our readers. The name Panther Prints was chosen for two reasons: Panther in honour of our school mascot, and Prints for animal prints, and for the printed word.

It is true that the Panther Prints may not be as ‘‘professional’’ as other newspapers. We believe that everyone from the university community has a right to contribute to the paper, regard- less of their level of experience. This policy of accessability allows students to develop their abilities in such areas as editing, writing, production, and man- agement. Unlike other student publica- tions, we-do not have a journalism department at UPEI to draw from. My informal motto for the paper is:

“Tf you do not like what you see, give us something better.’’ Since you seem to have some good ideas to improve content, we look forward to recieving a news article from you in the near future.

Aldera Chisholm, Managing Editor

by Yvonne MacKean

Two weeks ago, on Friday September 29, there was an altercation in the resi- dences. Blain Jensen, Director of Student Services, was more than willing to help clarify the situation.

According to Jensen, a Marian Hall resident signed in a number of people, who were apparently friends or acquaintances. These visitors began to cause a disturbance involving pushing and shoving. The Resident Assistant and security attendant on duty became involved as the persons were removed from the building. The crowd was dispersed by UPEI security. One individual became agitated and kicked out a window in the security van. Shortly thereafter, some of the instigators assaulted a Marian Hall resident, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He received no serious inju- ries. The perpetrators were charged and removed from the area by city police.

Those charged < lso banned from the residences andt — proximities.

Jensen also said that problems of this nature are typically caused by those who are not residence students. These people do not

~ care about the buildings, like the resident

students do. An added dynamic is the larger numbers of students, including more first year students in the buildings, who have friends in the area. Security in the buildings thus became an issue early in the year. Adjustments have been made, specifically in Bernardine with respect to sign-in policies, to better secure the buildings. Residence students have to take responsibility for

themselves and their guests. In this case, there was also alcohol involved -- a factor which occurs in eighty to ninety percent of incidents in residence. The three persons charged were not UPEI students.

Prevention of such incidents is the future has primarily fallen on the students. The Marian Hall residents, especially, have banded together and have reached informal understandings with each other with regards to sign-ins and security. Bernardine Hall residents were also reminded as to how important common sense is and how individuals have to play a role in their own safety (i.e. not signing unknown people in).

Jensen was happy with the residence staff and security’s response to the situation. The important thing to note is that the persons involved were not residence stu- dents. The resident who signed them in was responsible for his guests, but Jensen does not believe he was culpable as he did nothing to encourage, but rather discouraged the people.

Jensen adds that Student Services and Security have been working together, especially with there being more residence students, to secure the buildings. The increased number of students is residence has affected security. The buildings are on 24 hour lock-up, and the current policies may be altered according to students’ input and visions for the future. Security is very important to Jensen, and he, with residence staff, will continue to monitor and remedy problems if they occur.

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