Somebody emailed me your very long, very impassioned July 26 [Opinion] piece on the pressing need for a transgender washroom in the new student centre. “Ultimately, Queen’s would be taking a giant step backwards without this initiative.” To whomever wrote it, I have this advice: get a job.

Someone once told me, “if all you get from Queen’s is a diploma then you will have wasted your time here.” When I first heard that statement, I thought it sounded extreme, but during my time at this university I have learned how accurate that declaration truly is. Queen’s is teeming with great courses and outstanding professors. However, it was by immersing myself in the vast array of extra-curricular opportunities available here that has challenged me to dig deeper, learn more about who I am, and create the memories I will cherish for a lifetime.

“The Queen’s Apprentice, an ambitious eight-week event that received little support from our student governments and fought an initial wave of general disbelief, wrapped up their act on March 23 at Clark Hall Pub. Surprise plot twists and character-driven contestants fought all the way until the very last one could finally hear the words “you’re hired.” Coming down to an intense final fight between an overly ambitious commerce student and a self-depreciating Mr. Nice Guy, the crowd at Clark was relentlessly going nuts.”

The issue of ethically produced, university-licensed apparel has long been overdue for public debate and exposure at Queen’s. Our compliments for your summary of the recent measures taken by the Dean of Student Affairs in response to the concerns of our group, Queen’s Students Against Sweatshops (QSAS), and others.

Although I commend Queen’s students for raising a significant amount of money ($23,500) towards cystic fibrosis, I have severe problems with the means by which this money was attained.
On Jan. 31, 2000, Ontario enacted the Safe Streets Act to prohibit squeegeeing and aggressive panhandling.

’m writing in regards to the article entitled “Hate graffiti found on West Campus” in the Sept. 17 edition of the Journal.
While this was an interesting and well-written article, I am at a loss to understand why a photograph of the offending hate speech was published along with the article. By including a photograph where the hate speech and swastika are clearly visible in a publication like the Journal with such a wide reader base, that offensive message was brought into a wider arena, where more people were able to see it than probably would have, regardless of the fact that it was not dealt with for six days.

Like it or not, Queen’s campus—both the physical structures as well as the institution itself—is an important and ingrained part of Kingston. Since the campus resides firmly within an important part of the city, and is surrounded by homes and businesses that belong to students and non-students alike, making the grounds accessible and enjoyable to the general community is imperative.

I may not have a Ph.D, but I recognize academic inanity and plain stupidity when I see it. In his letter to the editor, if one can call dozens of words spewed randomly on a paper a letter, Tim Birt suggests that I am being hypocritical because as far as he knows no conservative group has been charged under the elections gag law.

How fitting that the president of the Ontario Campus Conservatives would call for Michael Moore to be charged under the Canada Elections Act for having the nerve to suggest that Canadians not support Stephen Harper’s recent election campaign. As conservatives in Canada and the U.S. have lurched to the right in recent years their in-your-face hypocrisy has become all the more appalling.