Spring is in the air, or: “A kind stranger is hard to find”I am writing this letter as a belated thank you to a U of T student who gallantly came to my aid earlier this year, in Oct/Nov 2002 I had been travelling on the subway to work and fainted when I stepped off the subway at St. George Station. I was quickly assisted by a very kind stranger who completely went out of his way to help me and did a lot more than most people would have, even arranging a discount price with a cab driver so that I would get safely home. After briefly talking with him I later found out that his name is David and that he is an International Studies student at U of T. Hopefully he will read this and if he does I just wanted him to know that I will never forget his incredible act of kindness. If he would like to contact me he can [please contact The Varsity and we’ll put him in touch].Lisa WilliamsStudents really are that fucking stupidRe. “U of T prof blames ‘lazy, stupid’ animals for their own extinction” and “Why are students so fucking stupid?” [April 14]Why make a farce out of both The Varsity and the University of Toronto by printing the articles “Pandawatch” and “Why are students so fucking stupid?” I would expect this kind of narrow-minded crap from an undergraduate but definitely not a professor. In reference to the former article: it is precisely because of these type of people that a lot of animals are in such a precarious position. As for the prof in the second article, welcome the 21st century, where education is for everyone. Both these guys deserve a righteous slap.Author’s name omitted to protect him from the unending ridicule of his peersEd. Note: April 14 was the date of The Varsity’s joke issue. Since this seems not to have been immediately apparent, we would like to assure our readers that the U.S. has not deployed a cybernetically enhanced Janice Stein to the Persian Gulf, St. Mike’s College is not presently home to a team of Cuban sweatshop orphans, and so far as we know a sabre-wielding Chancellor Hal Jackman is not terrorizing Simcoe Hall. The Varsity apologizes for any confusion.Mike Wier for ambassadorNice work publishing Paul Tadich’s purile analysis of the war. Aside from the offensive nature of the metaphor employed, the analysis is absolutely incorrect, and ignores only about 70 years of history. I guess history either is not taught at this University, or, if it is, must be so heavily laden with guilt-infested political correctness that truth somehow manages to get obscured. As Tadich used sophomoric metaphor to make what passes for his point, allow me to correct him. He suggests that Canada (in the guise of Steve) refuses to assist Chad (the bad old US of A) in beating up geeky Bill (poor post-colonial exploited Iraq) to steal his girl (Melinda). Actually, folks, the more appropriate use of this metaphor would be Chad stepping in to save Melinda from being raped by Bill, while non-judgmental (bound by moral relativism: after all, maybe Bill is raping Melinda because Chad and others teased him too much) Steve stands and watches. Oh, and for good measure, after Chad succeeds in protecting Melinda, and gets stabbed in the process, Steve tells the police that he was “right behind Chad, his best friend” and tries to claim the good citizens award. THAT, is closer to the mark. Oh, and maybe Chad is a pompous, overbearing jock of a windbag….but he still saved Melinda. And Steve is a loser. Big time! But I’ll bet he’s a hero at all the graduate students’ parties with his big stories and tales of what a jerk Chad is! Meanwhile, thank goodness the world managed to see that (albeit in a sporting event, though one laced with tension), Canada still has citizens of character, determination and grit, who behave with class. Well done Mike Weir! Saul Fridman
