Not Islamophobia
Re: Hit and run shocks campus, March 20
So now we’re to believe that an altercation between vandalizing thugs and a road-raging psychopath is also proof of Muslims being marginalized on campus? I wonder how the Hart House victim feels about her attack being likened to the above incident.
Nav Purewal
Admin must stand up
Re: Hate attacks rock campus, March 13
• The Varsity might have heard that the U of T president talked to Muslims after our Friday prayers, shared his sympathies with us and congratulated us on our mature and unified response to recent events. I felt really honoured that he went out of his way to do this. I am sure other Muslims feel the same way.
Now the only thing the administration needs to do is send a message to the perpetrators of Islamophobic acts on campus that such acts will not be tolerated. Such a message would go a long way in discouraging what is becoming a very disconcerting trend.
Faraz Siddiqui
• I am appalled to hear about the anti-Islamic attacks that have happened on campus. I say appalled because of the reasons why these attacks are being committed, and because nothing is being done about them. The teachings of Islam promote peace and while Muslims are allegedly accused of being “terrorists,” I cannot help but notice the irony in this entire situation. Who really is the terrorist in this case?
Amal Yousaf
In bad taste
Re: A woman, in transit between bodies, March 20
It bothers me that The Varsity took a serious and delicate topic and chose to make it comical. My problem is not with the text or writing style of this article, but with the accompanying picture supposedly describing the affects of hormone replacement therapy on a male. Descriptions such as “less muscles more mood swings,” “penis and testicles: serious shrinkage,” and “sweat smells sweeter, less stinky,” make a joke out of the entire situation. They take away from the issues that were discussed in the article itself, making a farce of hormone replacement therapy and individuals who wish to undergo it.
Elaine Cairns
APUS must evolve too
Re: Part-time union evicted, March 16
I am writing concerning the space allocated to the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS). Unlike SAC and the GSU, which have centrally allocated space in which to operate, APUS occupies space provided within Woodsworth College and the Faculty of Arts & Science (in Sidney Smith Hall).
Through a very public academic planning process, Woodsworth College identified an important need for additional space in order to meet a rising demand for academic student services. In order to assist the college in meeting its priorities and commitment to part-time and full-time students, the administration advised APUS on February 27, 2006 that the organization will be required to vacate the space it occupies in Woodsworth no later than summer, 2006. The administration also committed to finding centrally allocated space for APUS in the coming months.
We have since written to the organization reiterating this commitment and requesting that APUS provide the university with the organization’s list of space needs. Once we have received this list, the administration will be in a better position to assess APUS’ requirements and assign appropriate space.
When Woodsworth College was founded in 1974, the College became the home of part-time undergraduate degree students. Today, there are part-time undergraduate students in many faculties and in all seven St. George campus colleges. Accordingly, the administration believes that APUS should be provided with centrally allocated space.
Prof. David Farrar,
Deputy Provost & Vice-Provost, Students
