Letters to the Editors

Queen’s Centre cracks the clique

Dear Editors,

For those of us old enough to remember, former AMS president Ethan Rabadoux was elected on the now famous and often mocked slogan “Crack the Clique” in 2005-06. For anyone who has been involved with the AMS, they understand how important and elusive this idea is. For any non-AMS person having to enter the JDUC, the slogan needs no explanation at all. I was briefly in the “clique” myself and learned there are those who are part of the AMS and those who aren’t. This exclusive group had, until now, the perfect clubhouse—the JDUC.

Although claiming to be the student centre it was, for all intents and purposes, the AMS centre. The activities, drama and often-juvenile sagas of student government played out in front of, beside and around everyone else. For many people this made the JDUC the very last place many people wanted to go.

Enter the Queen’s Centre/ARC. This name is appropriate as it will take all students and our campus to a new place, cleansed and purified from an old and wicked JDUC that reached her limits far too young.

For those of us who have worked there we know that floods, plagues and struggles were a reality and that the landscape needed some reforming. May student government offices and the constant flow of overly ambitious politics types they attract never taint the Queen’s Centre. Instead, let’s enjoy our new space: a righteous space, our neutral ground and our semi-sacred ARC. This must be our covenant that we will never let our space be corrupt again. I think I can see a rainbow over Booster Juice.

Paul Tye,

ArtsSci ’09

Government should act on Gaza

Dear Editors, Members of the Gaza Freedom March who began their solidarity campaign in Egypt on Dec. 30 have reported severe forms of government repression against Egyptians and foreign nationals. Activists are in Cairo because they are being prevented by the Egyptian government from reaching Gaza.

Max Ajl, one of the marchers, stated “We do not wish to be here, Gaza has always been our final destination.”

 The Gaza Freedom March represents people from 43 countries with a diversity of backgrounds. They include peoples of all faiths, community leaders, peace activists, doctors, artists, students, politicians, authors and many others.

Despite the non-violent nature of this march, the police are confiscating cameras, refusing water, trapping protestors, and beatings have reportedly occurred. A French citizen has already died from injuries they have sustained at the hands of security forces during a demonstration in Cairo. Police, the reports indicate, are assaulting and arresting Egyptians, secret police are prevalent in the area, and women are being physically assaulted by the police. Marchers have been trapped near museum and refused water in hot sun, numerous injuries are being reported, and there are no food or toilet facilities. Canadian embassy officials are nowhere in sight. 

What’s the Canadian government doing to protest the violence being committed against its citizens? Why is the Egyptian government violently repressing a peaceful protest?

Andrew Stevens,

PhD Candidate

Department of Sociology

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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