During his weekly radio address this Saturday, U.S. President George W. Bush surprised pundits by adding U of T to his list of scheduled stops on his upcoming tour of Canada.
Bush declared that it was “important to get in touch with the students studying for tomorrow, and as Canada’s premier institution for learning, the University [of Toronto] was our number-one choice.”
Connie Richfield, president of U of T’s Young Conservative club, was thrilled.
“I think it’s fantastic that a proven ally of the Harper government is coming to drum up support,” she gushed. All eight of U of T’s conservatives quickly built a papier-mache statue of Bush, which they set up in the Trinity College quad. But the group suffered a setback on Sunday when a group of anti-war protesters on their way to a demonstration toppled it.
Trinity students and staff did nothing to stop them, Richfield complained. “No one takes responsibility for anything anymore,” she ranted.
Now, she plans to rebuild the statue twice as big-in lustrous bronze.
“The shitty part was waiting for my banker in Switzerland to call back to release more funds to cover the cost of our splendid colossus,” Richfield bitched some more.
Some critics say the stop at U of T is merely a ploy by the Bush administration to play to a more left-wing crowd. Others are less pleased with timing of the visit, slated for Thursday, Dec. 15, in the middle of the exam period.
“They’re invading our campus at a very sensitive, volatile time,” said poli sci professor Dr. Waldo Littleman. “They’re shutting down Sidney Smith Hall, cancelling late-night study hours at Robarts, and stopping the Bloor [subway] line all afternoon. It’s unbelievable.”
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow shrugged off questions about the security measures, calling them “really little inconveniences no one really cares about.” Snow said the Bush team was confident students would welcome the visit as a “liberating experience during a stressful season.”
