2 Letters The Panther Prints January 30, 1996

Letters to the Editor

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THE PAPER. IF YOU HAVE COMPLAINTS WE'D LOVE TO HEAR THEM. WRITE TO US AND WE WILL PUBLISH YOUR OPINION. EMAIL CAN BE SENT TO: NEWSPAPER

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Dear Editor: |

Students are continually being accused of being apathetic and ignorant of the issues around us. Unfortunately, it seems to be true in the case of the recent CFS referendum. UPEI always seems to have a poor voter response to elections, and this referendum was no different.

It is appalling that just over 300 students can decide the fate of UPEI. What about the other 85% of students? Where are their votes? I acknowledge that this was a difficult decision for students to make, but they must have some opinions on the issue. Why aren’t UPEI students voting? Is it because of ineffective campaign- ing? Is the voting process inadequate’ I have often heard the excuse that because this is a primarily ‘‘commuter’’ university, students do not care what happens on campus. Most of us spend at least three or four years here, that should be long enough to make us care what happens.

If you look back to UPEI’s beginnings, students were infamous for their activism. As the SU President from that era stated, the Panther emblem came from the Black Panthers, and the student newspaper was under investigation for publish- ing the FLQ’s 1963 manifesto, in violation of federal laws. UPEI students were described by the RCMP as ‘‘independent or quasi-independent revolutionaries.”’

Where has that spirit gone? While I am not advocating that all students plot against the government, I think it is reasonable to expect university students to encourage debate on issues such as CFS and make their opinion known.

- D. Chisholm

Dear Editor:

You know what really pisses me off? Ail the social events after exams here at UPEI are wet. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I haven’t seen one wet/dry event advertised. Hello, freshmen who have not yet obtained the magical age of 19 still have exams,stress and pressures, and yes as funny as it may seem, we do celebrate Christmas and New Year’s. So, while all you in the majority are ridding yourselves of exam pressure during these Wet events, the rest of us freshman are developing ulcers at home. Thanks a bunch UPEI for making your freshman feel good after their first set of exams.

-- Anonymous

Response from Finley Martin, VP Operations: You are correct. There

were no Wet/Dry events after exams. Though I can sympathize with your feelings —f

(many students, including myself, have felt the same way at one time or another), I feel compelled to clear something up. The Barn is a bar. Most universities don’t even have Wet/Dry events. The Barn has this special privilege, which is used at our discretion. I don’t hear an uproar every time Myron’s opens its doors to the “*wet’’ crowd.

PS The majority of events at the Barn afe Wet/Dry.

. Fa

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