No right to space
Re: “Charity creams coffee,” Letters, Nov. 28
The assertion that a sorority should be given free reign over student space under the banner of “minority rights” is absurd, and an alarmist abuse of terminology. The issue is not one of championing diversity or fighting discrimination, but of a student group grossly inconveniencing a majority for an event of questionable significance to the community. And last I checked, no document on the subject guarantees any minority a “right” to hold a charity denim sale in a particular venue.
While I find it regrettable and uninspiring that The Varsity’s Mike Ghenu chose to quote someone denouncing capitalism as if this were an original or nuanced opinion, charitable causes tend to have an easier time gathering momentum when they don’t go out of their way to annoy. No one has any intrinsic “right” to the space (except the owners), but the JCR is one of an increasingly sparse set of designated student spaces. The charity denim sale could’ve easily been held in a lecture hall.
David Warde-Farley
Get used to it, kids
Re: Students used for ‘cheap labour’: TA union, Nov. 23
Amid the uproar regarding Professor Joordens’ marking scheme, I feel virtuous aspects of his program are being neglected. Peer-review evaluation helps illustrate the fundamental aspect of game theory, where one is judging and competing at the same time. This could either result in students collaborating among themselves and deciding to give everyone a high mark, or individually undermining their fellow students’ work based on competition. This is a good learning experience for them before they enter the real world, which operates exactly like that.
The best way to learn is to learn from other people’s mistakes. One is always more critical of work submitted by somebody else. On a positive note, if students come across an excellent paper, it may work as a learning tool by suggesting ways they could improve on their next assignment. It is also easier to understand somebody closer to your experience than to relate to how a TA marks, because of a bias against the TA’s expectations.
In the real world, peer-review critique is the first step towards any publication. The sooner students start accepting harsh remarks and logically using them to improve, the better they will perform when submitting real work for publishing.
Fatima Kakal
U of T Alumnus (Genetics), M.Sc.
Clicking to freedom
Re: ‘Psiphon’-ing for free bytes, Nov. 23
The U of T software, which allows Internet users to avoid the online censorship prevalent in many repressed societies throughout the world, represents progress in the field of human personal interaction on par with the invention of the wheel. The Munk Centre’s Citizen Lab project is as profound in its healing potential as was the discovery of insulin. Psiphon is a freedom-of-learning project, and it makes me proud to be a Canadian.
Brendan Caron
