‘Tis the bloody question
Re: To fight, or to be violent?, Feb. 15
I was disappointed at the feeble attempt to connect the tragic death of an Italian police officer with the NHL’s policy on fighting. Not only is there no comparison between the two, any attempt to do so merely sensationalizes the debate about “violence” in the NHL even further. The off-pitch violence in European football is coordinated terrorism often perpetrated by fringe groups associated with racist, ultra-nationalist politics. Their goal is to antagonize, to spread their doctrine of hate in brutal, cowardly acts in a way totally unrelated to the events on the football pitch. Violence in hockey occurs within the context of the game-you do not see flares being set off in the stands of the Air Canada Centre, nor do you see Montreal and Toronto fans engaging in brawls along Front St. following a game. Further, Mats Sundin or Sidney Crosby do not have 300-pound behemoths providing a protective wall for them (as does your example, Peyton Manning), and a hit from behind does carry a ten-minute misconduct penalty in the NHL. The point is, fighting ensures liberties are not taken by fringe players intent on taking out a star player and guarantees that superstars are given the peace of mind they need to entertain-just ask Wayne Gretzky.
Donald Gerard Campbell
Feature picks up some praise
Re: Caring is creepy, Feb. 12
I really enjoyed the pick-up artist feature. I can’t remember the last time I was entertained that much by a student newspaper. I look forward to more pieces of investigative journalism.
Adin Scannell
Back off, Osgoode
Re: Battle of fees hits T.O. streets, Feb. 8
I was an organizer of the tuition fee counter-protest on February 7, and I am writing this letter to correct a false statement made by a student quoted in your article on the protest. In the article, an unnamed Osgoode Hall student states that it was inappropriate for us to march in a counter-protest representing Trinity when everyone there did not agree with us. This statement is laughable. My first thought was to question how a student from a university on the other side of the city could possibly have an idea of student opinion at Trinity College. My second was that by his/her very same logic, CFS and SAC were also staging an inappropriate protest in that their cause did not enjoy the backing of consensus (as evidenced by the presence of the counter-protesters). Finally, I would like to make it clear that the counter-protesters made no claim to represent the students of either Trinity College or U of T. In fact, our group was an ad hoc coalition of students from across the province (including Ryerson and Trent students), not only Trinity students, as your article seemed to attest.
Gabe De Roche
Trinity College representative on the SAC Board of Directors
UnimPRESSed with the U of T Press
The University of Toronto Press is currently in negotiations with their part-time warehouse workers, who are members of CUPE Local 3261. The negotiations have come to a standstill as the U of T Press has made it quite clear that they will not give their part-time employees more than a two per cent wage increase each year. And the U of T Press wonders why they can’t retain their part-time employees.
The part-time workers are in a legal strike position as of midnight on Friday, March 2. They currently earn $9.36 hour, and have no benefits. Many of the employees need two or three part-time jobs to make ends meet. And this debate is coming on the heels of the government lobbying to raise the minimum wage to $10.00 an hour. This is a disgrace, since U of T is one of the richest (if not the richest) universities in Canada. Shame on the U of T Press.
Ron Hoinkes
President, CUPE 3261
