Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to an article which appeared in the March 6th, 2002 issue of The Cadre. I am responding to the article called “Fact and Opinion”; I found it offending that Mr. MacLeod made a comment about “Frenchmen”. He said, and I quote “we would be eating off the floor like a bunch of Frenchmen.”

I am French: I grew up in a French community, went to an ele- mentary and secondary all French school, and have French friends. And we do not eat off the floor.

I know that the article is an opinion article, and I also know that Mr. MacLeod has freedom of speech. But I do not find it necessary to make comments about different cultures.

There are many respectful French professors here at the University of Prince Edward Island that probably found that comment to be offending. I wonder what the French lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island, LA@once Bernard, would think about that comment?

Most jobs now a days require one to be bilingual: that is to able to speak and write both English and French. If Mr. MacLeod plans on being in the work-force any time soon, I think he should be rethinking his opinion about the French lan- guage. i When I graduated from sec- ondary school, our motto was “It’s what’s on the inside that counts”. I -

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think Mr. MacLeod should think

about this motto, and maybe not make

any comments about different types of people. A big amount of my gradu- ating class is here attending the University of Prince Edward Island, which means we are helping the econ- omy of the English province. We could of very well went off to the Université de Moncton, and helped out with the economy over there.

This is week (March 10th -. 16th ) is French Awareness Week; my community is putting on all sorts of activities to promote’ French Awareness. Because my community is very proud to be French; they would find it deeply offending to have read the comment made by Mr. MacLeod in his article.

In most of my classes we learned or talked about critical think- ing; one of the most important ele- ments of critical thinking is not to jump to hasty conclusions when you don’t have all the information. I think that Mr. MacLeod made a hasty con- clusion about French people because he obviously doesna’t have all the information concerning French peo- ple. Maybe Mr. MacLeod should explore other examples for his arti- cles; things that won’at offend the people of the University community.

It seems as if Mr. MacLeod is encouraging stereotyping, and pre- judging. It is these types of attitudes that will lead to wars and terrorism. Are we not at University to gain more knowledge and expand our intelli- gence? I dona’t think Mr. MacLeod should be holding prejudged views about a different group if he plans on succeeding here at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Sincerely, Jennifer F. Bernard

Thanks for writing in, Jennifer. Or should I say “mersi beau coupe, maddemoiselle Bernard. Je suis un souris blance.” I’m glad to hear that not all French people eat off

the floor, and I apologize for making such a bold generalization. I must have been misinformed. I agree with your comments on freedom of speech, critical thinking, and making hasty conclusions about people. In the future I will be using “Fact and Opinion” (or “Fait et Opinion” en Fransay) to discourage wars and ter- rorism. “Balancer keep on dans le monde libre.” -Stephan MacLeod

Letter to the Editor:

Remember when your mother said “if you have nothing positive to say—don’t say anything at all?” To those of you who read Thomas Lloyd’s article on the UPEI Health fair (“Health Fair Unfair” in the March 6, 2002 Cadre] may we, the nutrition students who were not men- tioned in the article, offer you a response.

The UPEI Health Fair was held February 27th in the Sports Center. It is an annual event put on by Foods and Nutrition and Nursing stu- dents and also includes booths from outside agencies (e.g. Cancer Society, Public Health Nursing, RCMP). The students are evaluated on their partic- ipation and the posters they present. The topics chosen are approved by a committee consisting of representa- tives from a variety of departments on campus (Family and Nutritional Science, Nursing, Psychology, Athletics, Student Services). This year, students were also actively involved in subcommittees which were responsible for the layout, setup, prizes, food, public relations and evaluation. This was a great experi- ence and likely contributed to the suc- cess of the Health Fair. Participation was up by 50% over last year and there was an overwhelming positive response to the fair by the partici- pants.

Two of the posters developed

by the nutrition students were

designed to offer suggestions on how to eat a healthy diet despite the barri- ers that many of us face - particularly limited budgets and limited time. The other poster was designed to create awareness of the effect that the media has on body image - particularly that of young females. Yes - we are aware that people “know” about these things and that people are not stupid. Unfortunately, we are also aware of the significant impact of the unhealthy choices that young people are making on a regular basis. And it is important to realize that it is all about choices - if you choose to spend your hard earned money on cigarettes and alcohol then obviously there will be less to spend on nutritious food. A comparison of a healthy lifestyle ver- sus an unhealth one would have been an excellent poster presentation - we’ll keep that in mind for next year Lloyd.

We are not offering any apologies for the UPEI Health Fair or its content - in fact, we are very proud of the event and the number of people (both from on and off campus) that it attracted. We would also welcome any constructive ideas for improve- ment - what information would be useful to you - the university student - to help you make healthier choices? As for all those condoms the public health nurses handed out...we hope they don’t expire Lloyd.

Signed: Foods and Nutrition Students

Another thoughtful letter to The Cadre. Where were you people all year? Incidentally, it wasn’t my moth- er who said “if you have nothing pos- itive to says don’t say anything at all.” I think it was Thumper in the movie Bambi. In any case, neither I nor The Cadre agree with aphorisms which support the total absence of critical thought, but the folks at the registrar’s office (www.upei.ca/life- quotes) might feel differently.