EDITORIAL & OPINIONS
Letters
You down with NDP,
yeah you know me
Re: "Voter apathy," Nov. 20, 2003
To the Editor:
I couldn't resist responding to David Molenhuis' rant in The
Gazette this past Thursday. To begin with, it would be redundant
to lower the amount of seats in the provincial legislature
to a level comparable to other provinces. Ontario is the most
populous province in Canada and thus needs the current level
of 103 members of provincial parliament to represent its citizens.
As well, to adjust the Official Party Status rule out of convenience
for the New Democratic Party only mocks the reason for having
the rule in place. Perhaps if the NDP promoted and lobbied
for legislative reform, specifically for a mixed-member proportional
electoral system where every party in the election is represented
in the legislative assembly, then their current status might
not be repeated in future elections.
In regards to voter apathy on campus, the University Students'
Council has initiated the SmartVote campaign that informs students
about municipal, provincial and federal elections. If the initiative
has not made an impact on the student body, then a review of
its effectiveness should be undertaken.
Since Mr. Molenhuis enthusiastically concluded his letter
with a self-comparison to Brian from The Breakfast Club, I
would like to finish with a quote from Bender of the same cult
classic: "Hey, how come Andrew gets to get up? If he gets up,
we'll all get up, it'll be anarchy!" I'm just glad to see some
people are still fighting the good fight.
Rob Ford
Honors Political Science/French III
Smoke on
the water(ing hole)
Re: "Bars say smoking bylaw hurts," Nov.
19, 2003
To the Editor:
Let's be honest: are smokers simply going to stop visiting
the bar because they can't get a drag in between drinks?
Some restaurants and club owners might be unhappy with
the recent change, but studies of other cities that passed
similar anti-smoking by-laws show the initial decline in
the numbers of customers is only temporary.
Has anyone thought about all the people who are often turned
away from bars and nightclubs due to the smoke? Last time
I checked, having asthma or a smoke allergy wasn't a choice.
I have yet to hear of anyone I know complain and I believe
London has won a long-deserved victory. Even smokers I know
applaud this movement because they've been having trouble
quitting in the past. Smoking is an individual choice,
but who's to say it's not also our choice to decide whether
or not we want to breathe in second-hand smoke?
Carcinogens? Tar? For me? I prefer fresh air and long-term
good health.
Min Min Tong
Biology II
MIT gets pissy
Re: "'Skanky' Blackmore Shirt," Nov. 20,
2003
To the Editor:
Wait till you see our winter line! Thanks for the cross-promotion.
What synergy!
And Macfarlane, way to include the word FUCK in the school
paper at least once a week. Your mother must be proud.
Brad Newman
VP-External MITSC, USC Councillor
Thanks for the free publicity. Finally, some news coverage
- the exact thing your staffers are trained to avoid.
Mark Brown
MIT IV
Ed. note: All of our mothers are proud. Very fucking proud.
Fasting times at
Ramadan High
To the Editor:
More than three weeks have now past since the beginning of
the blessed Islamic month of Ramadan. During this month, one
in every six people across the globe unite to fulfill the second
fundamental pillar of Islam, fasting. All five pillars of Islam
are performed at exactly the same time by all Muslims everywhere.
This unity in performing the pillars of Islam instills a feeling
of motivation to invite others to this blessed way of life.
In today's capitalist societies, we tend to lose sight of our
own existence and the existence of our creator.
An engineer who creates a machine and knows it inside out
is the most qualified to diagnose and repair this machine if
it were to break down. Likewise, the One who created us knows
how we function and understands how to remedy our problems.
The difference that distinguishes us from machines is that
God places the choice to fix our lives in our own hands.
The choice of a Muslim to redeem him/herself is through coming
closer to his/her Creator through various forms of worship.
One of those forms of worship is fasting, to refrain from food,
drink and lustful desires from dawn till dusk. Fasting in Ramadan
is a 30-day training session of self-control whereby the physical
body, that is consistently given its pleasures, is deprived
of its desires, and the spiritual body that is consistently
starved, is fed. If, as human beings, we cannot control our
own physical desires, then we cannot expect to control other
people's innate desires, which may be intolerable in today's
society, such as theft, sexual harassment, dishonesty and so
on.
As Muslims, constantly attempting to control ourselves through
fasting, praying and giving charity provides us with a way
of life whereby we control our desires and not follow them
blindly. In addition, these acts of worship provide us with
an ever-increasing motivation to attain peace and comfort.
Ayman Oweida
VP-Muslim Students' Association
