Letters to Editors

I’d like to clarify a few points Holly Tousignant made in her Oct. 27 Journal editorial on procrastination. I meet many students like Holly every year.

About a year and a half ago, just before I started my third year at Queen’s, my life changed dramatically. The black cloud of major depressive disorder spread over my life, so slowly and insidiously that I was unaware of its arrival for months.

It’s ironic the author of “Right to education” supports a discriminatory and oppressive boycott of Israeli academics while enjoying the privilege of publishing opinions in the name of free speech at an institution that cherishes the “core value of academic freedom,” as stated by Karen Hitchcock.

Regarding divestment from the oil sands debate, a basic analysis of costs versus benefits to Queen’s students has been misplaced.
Queen’s University is in a very tenuous financial position.

The majority of live music that gets programmed in Kingston is attended by people who fit, in one way or another, into the majority. The majorities of people in Kingston are white, heterosexual and probably raised in monotheist religions.

On Oct. 24, International Day on Climate Action, thousands of people from across Canada, including me, rallied on Parliament Hill to show their support for real and immediate action on climate change.
Among the many notable speakers at the rally was Francis Zwiers, the Canadian representative to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

It must be fall on campus here at Queen’s, because students are getting restless. Thankfully, most of us expel this restlessness by getting rowdy at Stages, dumping our partners or taking up long distance running.
This letter is not directed at these people. I’m talking about Queen’s Alive, the people who have decided red armbands on their jackets with LIFE printed fringes on the behaviour of decent humans.

I have great concern over the possibility of the prison farms in the Kingston area closing. These farms are sustainable providing meat, milk and eggs to the Corrections Canada Institutions in the Kingston area.

On Oct. 6, Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament David Caplan decided not to wait to decide his political fate, as he stepped down as the Minister of Health prior to a jaw-dropping report by Ontario’s Auditor General.

Jacob Mantle, by all means, can hide behind the word “economy.” I could only be more comfortable at this point if he would throw the prefix ‘global’ in there just so we can all understand the scope of the panic.
An economic action plan is a great idea. We all like action, especially if it’s stemming from buzz words and catch-phrases.