The Excalibur opinions section welcomes typed, double-spaced letters (no longer than 300 words). All submissions must be accompanied by the writer’s name, major, year, and telephone number/email address. Submissions longer than 300 words will be sent back to be shortened. All submissions will be edited for clarity, spelling, and grammatical errors. All editing is up to the discretion of the editor.
Materials deemed libelous or discriminatory by Excalibur will not be printed. All opinions expressed in the opinions section are those of their authors and are not necessarily those of the Excalibur staff, editorial board, or Board of Publishers.
Send submissions to our office at 420 Student Centre, fax to 416-736-5841 or email to letters@excal.on.ca. Please embed submissions in the body of the email.
Re: York sanctions SAIA
I find the banning of SAIAas a student group completely unconstitutional and a blatant violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code; SAIA in no way violated the student code of conduct and were just practicing their civil liberties.
Isay this because Iattended the rally on March 27 and it was not as disruptive as they’d like us to believe. There was a heavy security presence and there were no major incidences that would be cause for sanctions. York’s administration has proved very prejudiced against anyone who dares speak out against injustice. Isuspect that this decision must have been pre-meditated; there must also have been influence from the university’s shareholders and affiliates to resort to this decision.
The March 27 rally is not a sufficient reason and has crossed the line into censorship. Furthermore threatening YUBSA, OPIRG, and other student groups is a desperate move. Iwould think that York University would be a great space to exercise our civil liberties, York being progressive and all, but now it no longer feels like the safer, inclusive space they promised us when we enrolled. Ifully agree with SAIAthat the decision to revoke their status is an attack on academic freedom.
Margaret Macharia
BA Economics Hon. 4th year
Re: Safety forums
Iam writing this in reply to a recent opinion article entitled “York administration plays it safe” in Volume 47, Issue 22 of the Excalibur. Iwas slightly disappointed when Iread this article that emphasized the “lack of interest” of the writer for safety initiatives that the university undertakes. Ican only hope that not too many students at the university have the same opinion and indifference towards this topic, but Ifear that Imight be wrong.
Ido not know if the intentions of the forums held over the past year were “part of a larger public relations strategy of the university,” but Ibelieve that they were not. Nonetheless, the forums held were an amazing opportunity for everyone in the community to come together and voice their concerns on a very important topic. If you want your voice to be heard, you should not take it elsewhere. WE, the students, ARE York University, and only we can make it better. While the administration might have the financial power or the fancy job titles, students can be leaders and agents of social change, if we so choose to be, by investing our passions accordingly. Imagine that there were no inspiring and passionate individuals in the world: what would happen if we were all to decide that we no longer cared?
Ioana Gheorghiu
BA Nursing, 1st year
