March 26, 2001

Opinion

John Q. Robot: A question of morality

It is a common belief that all politicians are crooks. Canadians, like our American brethren, believe that our politicians should be immune from common human foibles such as greed and gluttony. We are m shocked when we hear of politicians abusing the powers that they have been entrusted with and we are saddened when we hear that these same politicians pad their expense accounts and overcharge for travel expens- es. Citizens, | hear your pain and your frustration; | under- stand your need for politi- cians with unassailable morality; | hear your calls for unimpeachable public repre- sentatives and | deliver to you

an idea so revoulutionary it may cause widespread panic in the rathouses we call par- liament.

| could explain this idea in one single word, but that word would not easily be able to explain all the various implications of this brave ven- ture. No, indeed a single word would never do the idea jus- tice, and that’s what this whole concept _ involves: Justice for all. Additionally, a one-syllable newspaper arti- cle would never give me the ink | believe | deserve.

So what is this concept? It came to me in a vision while | was driving my truck from Quesnel. My battery wasn’t working so | was left alone

with my thoughts for the dura- tion of the trip. As | drove, | pondered the quality and state of our government and intermittently cussed my wretched truck, but as | said before, the blinding light of ingenuity struck and | came up with the perfect idea.

“Dude” | began, “Dude, wouldn’t it be rad if we had like, killer-robots in parlia- ment!” Yes, indeed, with killer- robots in parliament we would never worry about the morality of our elected offi- cials. These robots could be programmed to meet their constituents’ needs, from the razor sharp throwing stars to num-chucks modified with death rays. As citizens we

Elections Policy and Candidate Actions

| am writing in response to the unethical and disgusting manner by which some of the of the candidates displayed themselves. | believe that the candidates running in the elections should exemplify characteristics that portray respect, fairness and maturi- ty. However, this was not the case. Two events occurred that need to be brought to your attention.

During the last week, candi- dates started to campaign, and as we already know, Over The Edge Newspaper had pictures and profiles of some of the candidates who were running, unofficially. At one point during the week, Ombusperson. Candidate, AJ Lal and Finance Candidate Bal Gill were at a table set up in the hallway outside of NUGSS office, for what rea- son, | do not know. What | saw though, was in very poor taste. As they campaigned and promoted themselves, they used a large stack of Over The Edge newspapers to show the candidates run- ning. The problem however was the fact that (a) all covers were removed from the papers, effectively eliminating

Moezine Hasham’s adver- tisement for Director of University affairs, and (b) they had crossed out with a pen the pictures of Moezine and Mohammed _ Habib (Director at Large candidate) while circling their own pic- tures and adding comments in support of Jose G. (Director of University Affairs candidate). | found this to be in poor taste, as character attacks like this one can not be tolerated especially by and “impartial” Ombudsperson.

The second incident occurred on Wednesday night, March 14th. A friend and myself walked into the NUGSS office to use the phone and per- haps get some Ping Pong paddles. Upon entering, we saw Jose and his friend using the computer and the room for homework. A conversation ensued, where Jose started to talk about his campaign. He also mentioned other can- didates whom he said “would make a great team, as long as Moe did not get in.” | believe this was uncalled for. He continued to disrespect Moezine as both a person and a candidate. If Jose had

something to say about his campaign, | feel the NUGSS office isn’t the right place to do it. Secondly, those who have access to it should not abuse the NUGSS office isn’t the right place to do it. Secondly, those who have access to is should not abuse the NUGSS Office with the purpose of doing homework, or checking emails on their computer. It is not a personal office. As well, personal attacks upon any candidates, regardless of who they are, should not be tolerated.

| hope that as voters, we real- ize that this type of activity cannot occur. | do not under- stand how people can respect and vote candidates like Jose, AJ and Bal, who portray such bad taste, immaturity and utter stupidity. Especially in the Position of University Affairs, one that represent the entire school, Ombudsperson one _ that should be fair and unbiased, and we all understand the importance of the Finance Director. | was disgusted by the acts, and | hope they do not occur again.

The Concerned Student

could be sure a room full of frenzied automatons was hearing our voices. Elections would be finished quickly as we watch the winner stand victorious over the lifeless corpse of the defeated killer- robot and we would cheer as the oil, the life blood as it were, oozes out of the metal- lic jugular vein of the loser.

This exciting venture is cer- tainly not without drawbacks. It is quite possible that our matallic saviours could turn on us and unleash an apoc- olypse not envisioned since Revelation. To solve this, | suggest a squad of extra- deadly _killer-robots who could kill the killer-robots meant to save us, but now out

to kill us. Does this seem cir- cular yet? It isn’t. | propose that the extra-deadly killer- robots be plugged in with a long extention cord, so if they decide to join forces with the nefarious transformed-from- good-to-menacingly-evil politician robots we can sim- ply unplug them.

So what was the one word solution? What was this one- syllable wonder? Simply this my friends, love. Yes love is all we need to make this world a better place. Love and a whole pile of killer- robot politicians.

Simon Goring

“Sorority Whore”

Last Thursday, March 8th, | walked around the UNBC halls and Wintergarden and was pleased to see various booths promoting women and women related issues. The Elizabeth Frye Society, a booth on midwifery, another on breast feeding, the UNBC Sorority, North Country Clayworks and the UNBC Women’s Centre were just some of the groups that par- ticipated in the event.

| left that day impressed with the school and the women and men who took their time to organize such an event. My warm and fuzzy feeling were so strong that 45 min- utes in line at Sgt’s could not dampen my spirits. That was soon over, later on in the evening | was in the pool table area and | spotted woman wearing a tight red tank top with the following words across her bosom: “SORORITY WHORE.” | asked my companions “What kind of woman would wear a shirt like that?” The various guesses were a woman with no sense of self worth or self- esteem. But after watching a couple of people “congratu- lating” her on her shirt | thought maybe it was for attention. | found the shirt insulting to women. | also

found it insulting to see other women “high-fiving” her and giving her the “thumbs-up”. As the night wore on, | decid- ed to give her a piece of my mind. Just as | was going to tell her the “WHORE” shirt was entirely inappropriate, another woman threw a drink in her face and then one of the “bouncers” yelled at her to leave the bar. | do not know if these reactions were because of her vulgar shirt or because of her behaviour during the course of the evening, nonetheless | felt satisfied.

Women everywhere have been fighting to shed the stereotypes that keep us labeled “whores”, “sluts” and “bitches”. When a woman wears a_ shirt labeled “WHORE?” we are not fighting with intelligence, self-respect or integrity. Maybe | am over- reacting , however, | did not find it funny; in fact, | found it immature and lacking in good taste.

To the woman who wore the “WHORE “ shirt and the women who “congratulated” the “WHORE” shirt woman: grow up. We have come a very long way as women and you are the type that pro- motes a Stone Age mentality. Joyce Roth