Sustainable living in Sci ’44 co-op
Dear Editors,
RE: “Locally grown food an important issue” (Journal, Feb. 7, 2006).
In your Feb. 7 issue, a letter to the editor expressed the need for Queen’s to “buy local” food produce and in general to take a positive environmental stance. We would like to draw your attention to positive steps that many students have, and continue to make, in order to build a cleaner, more environmentally friendly and safer student living area. Science ’44 Student Housing Co-operative, a housing network with 18 houses spread throughout the Ghetto with well over 100 international, Queen’s and St. Lawrence students, has completed another project not only in order to boost the safe environment of its but also help the environment at large. We have undergone several housing improvements all [aimed] at improving our houses’ environmental efficiency from energuide testing, new doors, new water boilers—the list is endless. More recent projects include preliminary plans for an enlargement of our already-existing summer gardens and an extension of our efforts to buy local in our central kitchen in order to lower food transportation environmental costs.
In addition, large safety lights have been installed on each front porch. As these lights are quite bright, some have even joked that our new lighting must even foster the safety of the road in front of the houses as well. The Science ’44 Student Housing Co-operative continues to meet the challenges inherent in living in such a dynamic and energy-filled student housing area.
s Cation
Liaisons Director, Science ’44 Student Housing Co-operative
Lam deserving of Golden Cockroach
Dear Editors,
RE: “Golden Cockroach lowlights Ghetto living” (Journal, Feb. 10, 2006).
I’d like to mention how deserving Phil Lam is on winning the reputation as Kingston’s worst landlord. After encountering many of his illegal entries and poor maintenance standards [in my house], he has not only made clear the fact that he grossly breaks the law, but that students should avoid leasing from him as much as possible, unless one enjoys silverfish infestation, mould, six-inch slanted floors, cracked or deteriorating walls, poor insulation, and $300 heating bills in January.
Char Yun
ArtSci ’08
Depicting Prophet the real issue
Dear Editors,
Re: “Freedom of speech no justification for cartoons” (Journal, Feb, 10, 2006).
I read Mr. Kayssi’s editorial in last week’s Journal concerning the cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad with dismay. I keep hoping that an otherwise silent Islamic majority will make itself heard and not just denounce the protests, but defend the right of the cartoonists to depict the Prophet. Instead, Mr. Kayssi gives us a stock comparison of the cartoonists to Holocaust deniers (I’ll leave the utter ridiculousness of this comparison to someone else). First, let us be clear. A quick read of the [op-ed] might give the impression that the protestors are upset about the manner in which the cartoons depict the Prophet. This is not the case. Mr. Kayssi eventually gets around to the real issue, that “depicting the Prophet is an intolerable offence, regardless of the intent.” A loving portrait is as offensive as a base caricature. This is where the argument against these cartoons on the basis that they constitute some form of hate literature falls apart completely.
Since the Journal apparently doesn’t have the backbone to publish the cartoons, I would encourage everyone to find them and see for themselves. About half of them don’t even depict the Prophet and the ones that do are, for the most part, exceedingly bland (one is a simple stick figure with a turban). I would venture that none of them constitute “belittling of the Prophet,” except by their very existence. Freedom of the press is too precious to be held back for fear of treading on the sensitive toes of any number of conflicting belief systems. To quote [Mark Twain], “sacred cows make the best hamburger.”
Mr. Kayssi’s view that “the essence of multiculturalism is for different views to coexist in harmony and respect” sounds appealing, but the simple reality is that not all views can coexist in harmony. My respect for the views of others extends only to the point at which their beliefs begin to have an adverse effect on myself or on society as a whole. If someone asks me not to take their picture because it will steal their soul, I may privately label them an ignorant fool, but out of respect, I won’t take their picture. However, I will not allow that person to tell me I can’t take a picture of my wife. The latter is, in essence, what the protestors are attempting to do. The cartoonists are being denounced for breaking the laws of a religion to which they do not adhere. The irony of the story behind the genesis of these cartoons would be amusing if lives hadn’t already been lost—[it began with an] author of a children’s book about Islam [not being able to] get a cartoonist to depict the Prophet. What began as an exercise in promoting multiculturalism has devolved into the latest Satanic Verses. Multiculturalism is a two-way street. It cannot work unless the freedom to enjoy the customs and traditions of whatever culture is balanced with a respect for the inherently secular nature of (Western) society as a whole.
I challenge Mr. Kayssi to objectively compare the multicultural tolerance of the secular West with that of the regimes in Iran, Saudi Arabia and (until recently) Afghanistan. Of course, this might be impossible given that he answers his own question, “Muslims can’t expect their religion to be treated any differently than Christianity or any other belief system” with a resounding “Yes they can!”
Alan Brown
PhD candidate, biology
Freedom of speech not an absolute
Dear Editors,
RE: “AMS’s motion 14 censorship” (Journal, Feb. 10, 2006).
Freedom of speech is not so easily approached as Professor Mercier would have us believe. The freedom of speech, although it does have the capacity to incite debate for positive change, does also include the possibility of furthering a degradation of values. Securing our “right to offend” as concomitant to freedom of speech is troublesome for me. While I agree with Mercier’s objection to bureaucratic censorship of any material that “may” offend, we must not be so quick to allow “anything” under the guise of freedom of speech. For example, the publication of cartoons that portray blacks as watermelon-loving, infantile, wide-grinned (denoting a mindless stupor) and submissive (unfortunately a very common occurrence until the ’40s) merely for the purpose of freedom of speech is an example of a regressive and hateful portrayal of a race, culture or religion. This is the same approach we must take to censorship: what is the purpose of the information being presented? Is it to demote or insult to provoke thoughtful debate, or is [it] to demote in order to perpetuate stereotypes and narrow-mindedness? To me, in the times we live in today, this is a grey area a mile wide that must be navigated with more tact than the Danish paper showed. I agree with Adèle Mercier in thinking that we need to develop this tact for ourselves, rather than hide behind Motion 14. However, we must be aware of the embedded subtleties of hate and prejudice that may be attached to cultural critiques: not all expression has a positive effect.
Michael McCarthy
ArtSci ’05
Anti-Semitic cartoons in Arab media hypocritical
Dear Editors,
Re: “Freedom of speech no justification for cartoons” (Journal, Feb, 10, 2006).
Mr. Kayssi stated that “Today, these cartoons serve as a poignant reminder of the role that the media has played in promoting hatred and intolerance in the atrocities that marked the past century.” This statement, while correct, also serves to point out the glaring hypocrisy that is so prevalent here. The Muslims in the Middle East offended by the cartoons have every right to peacefully protest, but the protests would mean much more if they were equally vigilant about the lack of respect for other religions that has infused their own media. In Syria, where protests have taken place, the newspaper Al-Ahram on May 29, 2002 published a cartoon depicting an Orthodox Jew fuelling the global media with Zionist propaganda. This message harkens back to early-twentieth century Russia where the Czarist regime published a work entitled The Protocols of the Elders of Zion that illustrated a Jewish conspiracy to control the world. Not surprisingly, Syrian TV even broadcasted a program based on The Protocols. No public protests ensued in response.
This anti-Semitic message is not specific to the Syrian media. Among the Palestinian press, Jews have been illustrated in zoological . In 2001, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida published two cartoons depicting Jews as rats and spiders. This blatant lack of respect for another religion puts the calls for the respect of Islam by those who do not protest other such violations on a shaky moral foundation.
It is important for the Western media to respect all religions and to refrain from publishing the type of cartoons that can be seen in many Arab media outlets. I urge many to go seek out for themselves exactly what types of cartoons are being published in the Arab media.
David Zarnett
ArtSci ’06
All faiths should be respected by media
Dear Editors,
Re: “Freedom of speech no justification for cartoons” (Journal, Feb. 10, 2006).
With his typical perspicacity, Ahmed Kayssi brings some much needed clarity to the recent Muslim cartoon row. I am very thankful to Kayssi for pointing out that the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are an “intolerable offence” to practicing Muslims.
It is disconcerting that these drawings were published so blithely in the first place. If we took seriously our call to listen to each other and understand one another, such cartoons would quickly become a social taboo. Unfortunately, when it comes to religious issues, the current norm is against respectful dialogue. The media leads the way in insulting religious minorities. This was true in Europe the past few months and it is often true in Canada.
The Queen’s Journal is not immune from this disparaging and close-minded attitude either. I recall a cartoon that was published in my second year (Vol. 131, issue 36). Eerily similar to the Muhammad cartoon, this cartoon depicted Jesus blaspheming and using His own name in vain. The level of this insult to Christians is the same as that of the Muhammad cartoon is to Muslims. In that particular case no riots ensued, no embassies were burned, and the Queen’s Journal printed no apology. However, the cartoon was published in the first place and as such the greatest damage was done. Kayssi rightly points out “that every culture sets its own limits on where civilized debate ends and gratuitous insults begin.” Yet, when it comes to discussing Christianity or Islam, the limits on gratuitous insult are seemingly non-existent. It’s time that our free media started living up to its responsibility and stopped treating the faithful as though they are legitimate targets for derision and contempt.
Dennis Crawford
ArtSci ’06
Plamondon resignation unfair
Dear Editors,
RE: “Plamondon fifth AMS staffer to resign” (Journal, Feb. 10, 2006).
The student body witnessed a sad turn of events last week as MBT came out as victorious in the AMS elections but their campaign manager Louis Plamondon was asked to “resign” from his duties as campus activities commissioner. His leave of absence created many problems in his office, and instead of standing up to take over his several responsibilities over the two weeks he was gone, the AMS proceeded in doing absolutely nothing and just waiting for his return to point fingers at him. What Mr. Ethan Rabidoux doesn’t seem to get is how a leave of absence works, and that the deputies who replaced Mr. Plamondon are equally able for not solving the problems in his commission during the time they were in charge. Everyone took the easy way out instead, waiting for the man in charge to come back and put all the blame on his shoulders. I believe that RHM was not only unfair in their move of letting their commissioner resign, but they were also extremely lazy. It is clear that by acting the way they did, RHM proved to the student body that they are ready to totally disregard their hard-working staff to keep the impossible image of an AMS that never makes mistakes. While Mr. Rabidoux was proudly holding his Golden Cockroach in front of the media last Thursday, his fifth extended council member was leaving him behind. I would believe it is time for him to start thinking about what is wrong with his leadership style, and whether he personally deserves a golden award of his own for worst AMS President ever.
John Mennie
ArtSci ’07
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