Flag-fest: whistling dixie
In the July 30, front page Varsity article it was implied that Sigma Nu tolerates and accepts racism. The reason for these implications was that Sigma Nu did not force a boarder/tenant to take down a Confederate type flag, a flag that was attached to the inside of a tenant’s door. Under the Residential Tenancies Act of Ontario, Sigma Nu does not have the power to force a tenant to dispose of his or her personal property (such as the flag in question). Moreover, had Sigma Nu attempted to force the tenant to remove the flag, it would have violated the tenant’s rights to privacy and security of tenure.
We would like to thank The Varsity for making us aware of the situation. Due to moral suasion by Sigma Nu, the tenant has removed the flag. We apologize to anyone whom may have been offended or inconvenienced by this matter. Sigma Nu is takin gsteps to ensure that a similar incident is not repeated in the future.
As for the allegations that Sigma Nu is a racist fraternity that is not true. Our chapter of Sigma Nu has never been, nor will it become a racist organization. Our fraternity was founded on the principles of Love, Truth, and Honour, none of which promote or tolerate racism. This can be seen by our diverse and multicultural membership.
In reference to similar unacceptable flags being sold on websites promoting racism, that is just a coincidence. Unfortunately such offensive flags were on sale this year in Chinatown and during the Caribana Festival on the Lakeshore.
Wojciech Pianka
President, Zeta Delta Chapter, Sigma Nu
Ryan Kennedy’s article and former SAC President Rocco Kusi-Achompang’s words raise some disturbing issues. What concerns me, though, is not the content of either but rather their subtext.
Reducing the American Civil War to a conflict solely over slavery is almost offensive in its simplicity, especially considering this is a publication for university students. Moreover, reading former SAC president Kusi-Achampong’s overblown “concerns,” you would think that General Lee would be marching his troops up St. George any day now.
Furthermore, I highly doubt that Kusi-Achampong’s ill-founded prejudice is representative of the black community at U of T. That he feels the student should be ordered to remove the flag smacks of hypocrisy. Even if the boarder is misinformed about the flag’s origin, he is displaying it as a celebration of his South Carolina heritage. That we should be forced to disavow our history because it is offensive to some based on contemporary standards is a ridiculous and offensive notion. To lose our history, regardless of how blemished it is, is to lose a part of ourselves.
The real mockery of what this university stands for is that its student newspaper, rather than sticking out its neck on a difficult issue which begs for illumination, chooses instead to point the finger of blame. Presenting its readers with the Encarta version of history and angry, uniformed opinions does not live up to the University’s ideals of education and enlightenment.
Andrew Nelson
I appreciate you printing the article about the Confederate flag and how disconcerting it is for people to see it, specifically people descended from African slaves. You accurately state the black perspective on this flag and symbol. It’s so good to see this concern as The Varsity’s concern. Usually media would circumscribe an issue like this as ‘special interest’ news, that does not concern white people. Thank you so much for showing this as a popular issue and not one that only concerns blacks.
Dexter Williams
Laser story burns reader
Hello, I like science and The Varsity is a favourite publication of mine.
That notwithstanding, the piece you had on lasers was wrong. I work with lasers all the time, and what you say about the diamond coated silicon tip is patent absurdity. Furthermore, what you say about the oldest planet caused an outcry of resentment due to its inaccuracy. Me personally, I found it an affront that you would publish such hasty and fallacious text. So absurd was this passage that I was light-headed after reading it, and I had to go lay down. When I awoke from a most remarkable dream (it contained elements from the power failure and a recent trip to the zoo) the facts from the article rushed into my mind again, and I felt woozy and nauseous. After consulting a physician, he said I had a case of “neurological dissonant fatigue” induced by an article that contained too much frace, fallacious reasoning, and patent absurdity.
I also think you should do a piece that examines the science behind shaving. Thank you.
Nick Nelson
Civil war wasn’t over slavery
Lots of emotion in the recent article on the boarder flying the southern cross.
Whether or not it should be flown–wait a minute, it’s not being flown it is being used as a curtain.
So whether or not it should be used as a curtain is one thing, but the historical inaccuracies in the article are significant.
To address the “cotton issue”: Mr. Kennedy, the world was never that simple.
The US Civil war was fought over states rights not slavery as such. Indeed, in the early stages the great emancipator himself, the greatest Republican of them all, Abraham Lincoln, is on record as saying he would sacrifice anything including the slavery issue to avoid the war between the states.
Kevin Doyle
Get off your high horse/b
Gee, it must be a slow summer – you’re rousing yourself to front-page mouth-frothing frenzy because some clown in a frat house has put a Confederate flag in the window? Wake me when it’s over.
Why don’t you ponder this? When I opened my email notification of your current issue, I saw an ad from the Us National Guard! You’ll excuse the hysterical laughter on my end. You signed up to make a deal with people who support US military policy in Iraq! They’re probably just as racist, sexist, patriarchal, phallocentric, intolerant, and capitalist as the whole of the Bush administration! So what’s your excuse, Comrades?
David A. Basskin
