A few words from our readers about the SAC language ban:
Re: SAC bans foreign languages from campaign posters, Mar. 1

I think it is a great idea to ban the usage of foreign languages on posters. The use of languages other than English or French actually excludes many members of ethnic groups who cannot read the language of their heritage.

I did my undergraduate degree at another university, and there, all the advertisements by the Chinese Students’ Association were in Chinese and Chinese only. This left out a large population of Canadian-born Chinese who cannot read what the posters were saying.

What the Association at that school seemed to imply was that they did not want anyone who was not able to read the language. Organizations should allow anyone who is interested to have the opportunity to join, and the way to do it is to use a language that people can understand.

Cynthia Cheng

I think it was right of SAC to ban foreign language posters. It’s SAC’s job to make sure that things are fair and accessible to all students. How is a campaign that only some students understand fair? If anything, foreign language posters would promote segregation. It’s asking people who speak a certain language to vote for people who share their language and cultural background.

I think it’s pretty offensive and it targets those who aren’t comfortable with English. The words of SAC presidential candidate Justin Woong Kim. I’m sorry, but I thought we went to U of T, where speaking English was a requirement? Maybe a majority of U of T students speak Chinese, or Mandarin, or Cantonese, but the one thing we can be sure about is that they all speak English. If you’re not comfortable with English, then you should not be attending university here.

Justin Woong Kim said that the main principle of his campaign was to promote multiculturalism. I really believe that brings out a lot of harmony. Please tell me how printing posters in a language a great deal of students don’t speak brings out a lot of harmony. As a non-Chinese speaking student, to me a poster in Chinese simply excludes me. I don’t see how that exclusion is harmonizing.

Nikki Polivka

Mr. Justin Woong Kim thinks It’s pretty offensive and targets those who aren’t comfortable with English …to disallow languages other than Canada’s two official ones, English and French, on SAC campaign posters.

Well I think it is pretty offensive that students who would run for office or students who vote for officers might not be considered linguistically capable of comprehending English or French. What in the world are students doing at the world-renowned U of T if they cannot comprehend our official languages? As a mature but hard-working part-time U of T student and as an individual who has paid, for 30 plus years, myriad tax dollars to support our excellent university system, I believe the SAC elections committee deserves applause.

Promoting multiculturalism is a notable effort-I believe promoting languages other than English and French on election and other official university documents serves the cause of disharmony.

Congrats on the decision.

A. Robertson

As someone who greatly appreciates the richness provided by the multiculturalism of Toronto and U of T, I also fully support SAC’s ban on foreign language signs and I think this should extend to any type of advertisement plastered on the campus.

As a native Torontonian, I feel like a foreigner when I’m surrounded in class by people speaking different languages and encounter foreign language signs posted on campus. Foreign language signs are antithetical to the type of inclusive environment our campus should have and they only promote ghettoism and cliquishness.

Justin Woong Kim’s statement that this law is pretty offensive and it targets those who aren’t comfortable with English, is complete nonsense because English is the official language in our university and city and denying this fact only prolongs a foreigner’s sense of alienation and estrangement.

Aaron Winter

ASSU elections are lacking in accountablility

It has come to my attention that the ASSU (Arts and Science Students’ Union) elections, unlike other student elections, have not been publicized and few students (if any other than those already on the organization) are aware of their elections.

ASSU’s lack of publicity regarding their elections is problematic for students, especially for those who would like to run for office. The ASSU “is the official umbrella organization representing over 20,000 full-time undergraduate students registered in the Faculty if Arts and Science, St George campus.” However, their elections are not publicized, making it difficult for students to run in the election and thus severely limiting the number and variety of candidates.

Another major concern is regarding the eligibility of voting at ASSU elections. According to the nomination forms for the year 2004-05, “voting is restricted to members of ASSU Council as prescribed under the ASSU Constitution.” The ASSU represents 20,000 full-time undergraduate students, but according to the rules, the vast majority of these students are cast into the category of not being eligible to vote.

The problem with ASSU elections is that they are not executed under a representative or fair democratic system. What the ASSU currently embodies, as reflected in its election process, is false democracy.

The ASSU “represents” students, but the majority of students cannot run for elections because they are not aware of them, and cannot vote because they are not eligible to do so. The ASSU has the power to make major decisions regarding issues related to students, and it is unfair to students to have to be “represented” as such if they were not given a choice. The ASSU needs to revise their election process so as to be more accountable to students who they claim to “represent.”

Bonnie Huen