Typical Canuck milquetoasts
Re: U of T trains profs on cheat-ware, Oct. 25.
So McGill student Jesse Rosenfeld felt so strongly about Turnitin.com’s “assumption of guilt,” and its alleged violation of his copyright, that he refused to submit his work electronically!
What about shoe removal at airports? Does that offend Rosenfeld too?
The tragedy is what this illustrates anew about Canadian culture: how passionately equivocal we are; how no issue can be decided decisively; how no “principle” that is dear to anyone’s heart can be declared null and void and stupid; how we are unable to tell a colossal idiot that he is totally and utterly wrong. And thus the McGill administration compromised with Rosenfeld, allowing him to submit his work on paper (and presumably avoid vetting by turnitin.com).
Uriel Wittenberg
Sex work inherently humiliating
Re: The problem with prostitution, Oct. 25.
I fully agree with columnist Chris McKinnon that criminalizing prostitution is unnecessary and counterproductive. However, I strongly oppose his assertions that sex work is like any other occupation and that it should be treated as such by society.
Sex workers are overwhelmingly underprivileged, and the tendency to be a sex worker is undeniably correlated with drug abuse, suicide, and human misery.
This is because the nature of sex work is inherently exploitative and humiliating; this is proven by the basic absence of sex workers who begin work above the poverty line. Thus, the vast majority of individuals who become sex workers do so because they have no other choice.
Furthermore, I cannot accept McKinnon’s claim that construction work is equivalent to prostitution simply because both involve using a “body as an instrument to carry out a function.” In construction work (or in any comparable form of labour), the worker’s body is used to interact with an inanimate object which benefits the employer. In sex work, the worker’s body is the object used for gratification.
C. Somerville
Queer repeat levies are democratic
Re: “Queer ‘slush fund,'” Letters, Oct. 21.
Mr. Crawford claims in his letter that there has been a “repeated choice on” LGBTOUT’s levy. This is not quite accurate; there has been a repeated defeat after roughly 2000 or so cast their vote. That is hardly the general opinion of the greater student population.
Mr. Crawford accuses LGBTOUT of “sneaky referendum tactics”. For the most part it was “sneaky.” Were those against it sneaky? Far more so! When have we seen an open “no” campaign against LGBTOUT’s levies? They don’t even have to announce in The Varsity that there is a “no” campaign.
We recently got copies of part of the e-mail campaign against the levy. The language was far from being strictly about money. It was pure hate without reservation.
Mr. Crawford goes on to say, “Why don’t those concerned display some integrity and seek other sources of funding”. We do. Our main of fundraising is the Homohop. Otherwise, we get occasional funding from other campus organizations and very rarely from outside campus. But none of these are constant or secure.
Minorities have to try multiple times to get rights and opportunities. When a minority keeps on asking for the same thing, it isn’t a display of unreasonable demands, as it is often seen by the dominant majority. It’s a sign that the dominant majority hasn’t caught on yet to why the demand is being made. That is why more votes need to occur until one is successful.
Anonymous student
“Muddled” performance sold out
Re: Muddled Macbeth, Oct. 25.
As the stage manager for the Trinity College Dramatic Society’s October 2004 production of Macbeth, I could comment on some issues raised by Jordan Bimm’s review.
Instead, I would like to use this space to congratulate the fabulous cast and crew of Macbeth: you guys did an amazing job, and were a dream to work with. Thank you for your commitment and truly wonderful abilities both onstage and off. Further congratulations are in order for selling out your two final nights and for earning some repeat viewers throughout your performances.
I doubt many truly “muddled” productions accomplish that.
Elizabeth Wallace Reaney
