Troubled by rhetoric of Jon Elmer speech
Dear Editors,
I recently attended the Jon Elmer talk about the Gaza disengagement and was deeply troubled by what I heard. Throughout the speech, Jon Elmer engaged in generalizations about Jews and Israelis, asserting that “all Jews and Israelis want an eternal and undivided Jerusalem.”
He advocated against the [current] peace process and preferred a bi-national state over a two-state resolution to the conflict. At the same time, Elmer legitimized Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization by Israel, the US, Canada, the EU and the UN. Elmer also equated the Israel Defense Forces with the militant wing of Hamas. Yet article seven of the covenant of Hamas, the new ruling party of the Palestinian authority, calls for Israel’s destruction, and Hamas continues to refuse to renounce terror or accept the peace process.
Like Canada, Israel s the peace process and the two-state solution. It is the current policy of the Israeli government to pursue final status talks with the Palestinian Authority, should the P.A. choose to negotiate. If not, Israel will withdraw to defensible borders in order to allow for a Palestinian state.
All key Israeli officials have openly ed the creation a Palestinian state. Israel’s Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently stated: “The existence of two nations, one Jewish and one Palestinian, is the full solution to all the national aspirations and problems of each of the peoples.”
It is especially unfortunate that Jon Elmer was not the first speaker of this kind brought to Queen’s by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR). Ali Abu Nimah and Uri Davis are also advocates of a bi-national state and are against the peace process. They do not previous peace proposals or peace agreements. In fact, on a poster recently put out by the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) and SPHR, they referred to all of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as “Palestine.” This belief is rejected by all countries ing a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including Jordan, Egypt, the UN and Canada. The belief of “greater Palestine” is mainly ed by extremists like Hamas and Iran who seek to “wipe Israel off the map.”
It is my personal belief that there is still hope for peace and progress in the Middle East. For the near future, an Israeli unilateral withdrawal to defensible borders in the West Bank seems to be the only realistic and workable short term option that can result in a viable Palestinian state and a secure Israel.
As the Gaza disengagement has shown, settlements can be dismantled, walls can be moved and homes can be rebuilt. Peace is possible, but it requires acceptance and change from all parties involved in the conflict.
Queen’s Israeli Peace Initiative’s (QIPI) goal is to promote understanding and cooperation and to encourage all peoples to keep alive the hope for peace.
In the words of Israeli singer Boaz Sharabi: “Oh how I wish that one nation will not raise a sword against another. Oh how I wish that we will not abandon the path of hope.”
Joey Fox
QIPI Vice-President
Anonymity saves students from embarrassment
Dear Editors,
Re: “An open letter to ‘Professor X’” (Journal, March 10, 2006).
In the real world, if you send e-mails to your boss or colleagues on the weekend and get huffy when they do not respond, chances are you will not remain an employee very long. Unfortunately, profs cannot fire students for asking stupid questions. Instead they tend to grit their teeth and answer them.
The anonymous professor quoted in the National Post was of course saying that students sometimes send stupid and bothersome e-mails, but rather than chastise the student, [the professor] politely answers. In this article the professor remains anonymous, likely to protect the bothersome students some embarrassment.
I would also assume [the professor] remains anonymous because [he or she] receives good e-mails as well, which would cease to be sent if students felt that their e-mail may be poorly received. Professor X remains anonymous in order to send out a polite message that maybe students should think before they send e-mails.
Jeez, no wonder you’re so annoyed, Ms. Schlanger. That was an actual adult way of handling a problem. Of course you responded by throwing the print version of a temper tantrum. You called attention to yourself by offering your name, e-mail address and a public challenge.
I hope you receive a few hundred e-mails a day for the next two months. I also hope this crowds your inbox and prevents you from answering e-mails that are actually important. Maybe this will show you why this particular professor prefers to remain anonymous, and also why this particular professor was trying to teach his/her students a valuable lesson about thinking before writing.
Chris Ball
ArtSci ’03
Attention to ice rink unwarranted
Dear Editors,
Re: “Slipping and sliding to a resignation” (Journal, March 3, 2006), “Ice rink indicative of slipping leadership” (Journal, March 10, 2006).
It is disappointing to see former Campus Activities Commissioner Louis Plamondon receive so much attention for something so unimportant as his quasi-involvement in the building of a useless ice rink on Leonard Field. During his time at Queen’s, Mr. Plamondon has had a tremendous track record of accomplishments.
He created his first event (QBUZZ) during his second year—an event that many Commerce students have now seen as wildly anticipated each year since it began. As ComSoc President in 2003-2004, he rewrote the Constitution by himself, started a vast array of successful committees such as BlingTV, and managed to know the names of many Commerce students at the time.
He also used his position on AMS Assembly to contribute towards solving student issues rather than criticize those [people] who seek to make things better. When Alfie’s was doing very poorly and ended up being shut down in 2003, he created Board Meetings on Friday afternoons to help the AMS in getting extra sources of revenue.
When insurance problems shook the AMS and the double cohort increased the amount of underage students, he invented and popularized Capture the Faculty and Catch Me If You Can, both of which proved how events without alcohol can be extremely successful. He was always kind to everyone around him and put more effort in his extra-curricular activities than anyone I have ever met.
I hope that many more [people] will look past the recent display of petty politics and the good will and talent that Mr. Plamondon has made students benefit from over his years at Queen’s.
Mark Sholdice
ArtSci ’07
CAC commissioner hired according to trend
Dear Editors,
I have learned a lot about the incoming AMS Executive in the past month, particularly during the process of applying for a position on Council. From my frequent encounters with Team MBT, I have learned that they have their own agenda which does not entirely fit with the needs of the student body as a whole, and I think it’s time that the student body realizes that.
I applied to be Campus Activities Commissioner, and was expected, by most of the current AMS, to be hired by James, Ian and Meghan. Instead, they opted to go with the “trend” of the past few years and hire an outgoing MCRC vice-president. The fact is, Dave Homuth was MCRC VP (Society Activities) and Louis Plamondon was MCRC VP (Residence Affairs) prior to being hired as CAC commissioners in successive years. With Hillary Smith, who is the current MCRC VP (Society Activities) being hired as CAC commissioner, I think it is safe to say that there is a very obvious and visible trend in the hiring process.
I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Hillary will do a good job as commissioner. I don’t want to sound bitter, but I feel this trend needs to be brought to light. I would also like to point out that I was on the campaign team for Team HML, who were MBT’s direct competition. I urge next year’s executive to break this trend and start hiring “outside of the box,” and take a step towards proving that the AMS is not a bubble. In closing, I wish everyone on MBT’s Council the best of luck next year—you will need it. To Hillary: take good care of the CAC; it needs a big dose of TLC.
Tim Kraumanis
CompSci ’08
Tuition increase will help maintain quality
Dear Editors,
I the increase in tuition fees proposed by the Ontario government, and I hope Queen’s deregulates its tuition. Although I believe that university in general must be accessible, must this university be accessible to everyone if the quality of education must suffer? Tuition means little to the brightest students, so why should we force those people to leave Ontario to get a world-class degree?
Sergio Gomes
Comm ’07
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.