Editorial

The opinion expressed in this column does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff of this paper, or the Student Union.

There’s an interesting continuing saga taking place on C.B.C. radio. Over the past week, C.B.C. reporter Pat Martel has interviewed Bobby Chapman, manager of the Panther Lounge, Leo Killorn of Addiction Services, and followed it up with a chat with President Eliot, concerning the practise of allowing beer companies to sponsor Student Union events at the Barn.

The report questioned how ethical it was for beer companies to subsidize pubs in exchange for the opportunity to push their product at these events.

This is accomplished by commercial gimmicks such as t-Shirts and posters, marking down the price of the sponsoring beer, and possibly having the privilege of being the "exclusive" beer sold on the second floor auxiliary bar.

Personally, I don’t see any problem with company-sponsored pubs. I fail to see the relationship betwcen these promotional stunts and increased drinking. Being a business student, of course I understand that the motives of these companies is not necessarily just friendly P.R. - these companies are hoping to increase sales. However, increased sales is not necessarily a result of increased drinking. Increased sales can also be stimulated by drawing customers away from competitors. I believe that is what these sponsoring companies are trying to achieve.

Staging a pub is an expensive business. It is very difficult to "break-even", never mind turn a profit.

I think Bobby Chapman’s doing a great job. In his interview, he mentioned that the Panther Lounge made a profit last year, and I’m sure it was partly due to the contributions of these beer companics. I expect any manager of the Panther Lounge to take every opportunity to reduce the costs of the pubs and pass the savings on to the students. I

believe one of the reasons why the manager of the Panther Lounge is a student, is so that the

‘interests of the student, not the beer companies,

are always maintained. That’s just my opinion. I’d love to hear yours.

a ys ‘ , Kristine Suzuki Interim Editor-In-Chief

Letter to the Editor

(More like "Response from the Editor")

I received a letter this week which unfortunately | am unable to reprint, because the writcr did not sign the letter. Please take note of our submissions policy; due to legal reasons we must have the author’s name in order to reprint any articles. (The name doesn’t necessarily have to be printed, but we must know who wrote what.) However | will still address this letter, as this person signed "A Concerned Student", and rightly deserves to be responded.

Thank-you "Concerned Student" for your input. It is very rewarding for us to know that there are students out there like you, who are very interested in our publication, and take the time out to Ict us know your opinions. You said the new name is "pathetic". Well, frankly, | personally am not too hot on it myself. As mentioned in last weck’s issue, we are more than happy to take any suggestions for names, and you are more than welcome to come up with suggestions.

As for the design, I ask you to please write again and be a bit more specific about exactly what

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September 13th, 1990