Election extravaganza
Intense in tentsTroubled times
Our democratic right
News
News
Arts
Arts
Sports
Sports
Feature
Feature
p. 4
p. 4
p. 9
p. 9
p. 17
p. 17
p. 14
p. 14
The
Fulcrum
presents all seven Ottawa-Vaniercandidates running in the Oct. 14 election.
p. 6–7
What are the federal political parties doing forstudents?
p. 8Jaclyn Lytle
takes you inside
The Encamp-ment.
p. 9Hisham Kelati
goes Gonzo.
p. 12Tessa Wallace
snitches on Quidditch.
p. 13
Football team loses second straight game.
p. 17Inari Vaissy Nagy
discovers the U of O’s ulti-mate competitive club.
p. 18
A look at youth’s decreasing political participa-tion.
p. 14–15
Dear Di goes cyber.
p. 26
Searching for equality
Re “In support of women’s rights“ (Letters, Oct. 2)
LIKE HE WOMEN’S Studies Stu-dents Association (WSSA), I too amin avour o women’s rights. I believeall women—and everyone—have theright to saety and security here oncampus. However, instituting wom-en-only gym time at Montpetit iscounterproductive to the struggle orwomen’s rights.Tis policy promotes segregationand isolation. I there is a confict o perspectives between two groups (ora small raction o members therein),it is not intelligible to quarantine thegroups. Tis will not solve the ongoingdilemma o “eeling uncomortable”aced by women in the gym. Men andwomen need to spend more, not less,time together to better understand eachothers’ belies and behaviors. By isolat-ing the two groups, we are just exacer-bating the problem.Tis policy is a reactive one o dis-crimination. Te WSSA belie thatwomen-only gym time is not discrimi-natory against men is baseless. Teirmessage is clear: some men make somewomen eel uncomortable, thereoreall men are orbidden rom enteringgym acilities at certain times. I proposethat those men who make remarks orare inappropriate in their gym behaviorbe suspended rom the premises. It isimportant to punish bad behavior to setan example or what is expected o bothmen and women on campus.Policy cannot be based on the oen-wanton subjectivity o emotions. People“eel” things every day and simply be-cause someone has a “eeling o be-ing watched and appraised that leaves[them] eeling uncomortable” does notnecessarily mean they are being watchedand appraised. Tere are nights walkinghome when I don’t eel sae, but am Iany less sae than I was the night beore?Likely not. It is the responsibility o theuniversity to provide an environmentwhere people are not uncomortable, butno institution can ensure that everyoneeels a certain way.Finally, equality is about treatingpeople the same in the long term. TeWSSA believes we need to “recognizedierences … in society and accountor it.” I agree, but the idea is to cometogether as one cohesive, comortablesociety that does not eel the need toragment itsel to solve problems. It willonly work to reinorce the divide be-tween men and women and will likely lead to a rise in more male-induced“uncomortableness” elsewhere.Individuals who nd themselves theobjects o discrimination in the gymshould be able to speak to the Mont-petit sta. Moreover, sta should havethe authority to suspend or ban indi- viduals or inappropriate behavior. Buti this is about “eelings”, as the WSSAhas argued it is, let us talk about theseeelings openly instead o coddlingthose who merely do not like the ideathat someone might be judging them.Tat is the only way to build a truly equal society.
yler urek, Master’s history student
Advertising Department
Deidre Butters, Advertising Representativephone: (613) 880-6494fax: (613) 562-5259e-mail: ads@thefulcrum.caCheck out our rate card online.Go to www.thefulcrum.ca andfollow the link for “Advertisers”.Multi-market advertisers:Campus Plus: (800) 265-5372Campus Plus offers one-stop shopping forover 90 Canadian studentnewspapers.The
Fulcrum
isa proud member of Canadian University Press:www.cup.ca
Business Department
The
Fulcrum
, the University of Ottawa’sindependent English-language studentnewpaper, is published by the FulcrumPublishing Society (FPS) Inc., a not-for-pro
fi
t corporation whose members consistof all University of Ottawa students. TheBoard of Directors (BOD) of the FPS gov-erns all administrative and business ac-tions of the
Fulcrum
and consists of thefollowing individuals: Ross Prusakowski(President), Andrea Khanjin (Vice-Presi-dent), Tyler Meredith (Chair), Peter Raay-makers, Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Toby Climie, Andrew Wing, and Scott Bedard.To contact the
Fulcrum
’s BOD,contact Ross Prusakowski at(613) 562-5261.
On the right road
Re: “Choosing the best road” (Editorial, Oct. 2)
LAS WEEK’S EDIORIAL denigrat-ing campus activism was uninormedand reckless. It ailed to truly under-stand the work and motivations re-quired o activist and successul mobi-lization campaigns.As a participant in the Ontario Cam-pus Activist Assembly and a director onthe Student Federation o the Univer-sity o Ottawa’s (SFUO) Board o Ad-ministration, I can say that the ActivistAssembly was a truly enriching experi-ence or new and experienced studentactivists alike. With sessions address-ing issues as well as skills, students re-ceived a holistic understanding o theins-and-outs o campaigns, mobilizing,and organizing or student causes. Tisweekend also brought together many new students eager to urther theircauses and, perhaps more importantly,the conerence oered an opportunity or regional dialogues, which saw theSFUO and Carleton University creat-ing several working groups to addressissues aced at both schools.Trough this experience we can bet-ter our union’s eectiveness at massstudent mobilization, something thatwe have arguably been airly eectiveat in recent years. o say that the Feb. 7Day o Action or Lower uition or theNo to the Code rally were isolated inci-dents is to entirely ignore their results,the months (or tireless weeks) o orga-nization, and continued momentum.Moreover, none o these or any cam-paigns have been conducted withoutcontinual lobbying eorts by the SFUO,an integral part o the executives’ duties.o allege otherwise is truly irresponsi-ble, although this is not as irresponsibleas giving blanket credibility to the stu-dents sitting around the table with theadministration. It is undeniably neces-sary to have student representation onbodies such as the Board o Governors,but when that single undergraduate rep-resentative ails to support or recognizeactions o the SFUO and various otherstudent causes, and when that repre-sentative does not believe in additionalstudent representation o the Board o Governors, it is air to say that this in-dividual is not a true representative o student interest and student voices.It is a shame that the
Fulcrum
ischoosing to undermine the studentmovement. Perhaps we do have a presi-dent at the U o O willing to take ourconcerns to heart and act them throughdiplomatic channels, however this isabsolutely not the same as what is hap-pening on the provincial level.Tus ar, the Drop Fees province-wide campaign has garnered 70,000 stu-dent signatures in petition or droppedees, the SFUO’s share o which is ap-proaching 9,000. We are a part o some-thing great. We are a part o the StudentMovement.
Amy KishekTird-year political science student
Welch replies
Re: “A second opinion for Palestine” (Letters, Oct. 2)
FIRS OF ALL, I do not deny the ex-istence o the Palestinian people, nordo I deny their right to sel-determi-nation. Tat said, I concede that my previous letter did make light o a se-rious subject, and or that I apologize.I appreciate the eorts o my ellowstudents to “educate me”. However, tosay that my acts were not straight, andto imply that newspapers should notpublish my opinions because they arelies is ridiculous. And as a matter o public record, I’d like to declare that Iam not a racist.Ms. Mourad, you are absolutely right in saying that Palestinians areghting against oppression. However,you are wrong in saying that Palestineis recognized as a state by internationallaw. Tat Israel is in violation o inter-national law does not make Palestinea state; Palestine does not ulll thequalications set out by the Monte- video Convention in 1933. It ails thelitmus test o statehood. Tere is areason the Palestinian Authority only merits observer status at the GeneralAssembly; only independent states canbe members. My previous letter com-pared Palestine to various separatistmovements because they also are notrecognized as states by internationallaw, even though their peoples may constitute nations. o have Palestineas the only fag representing a peoplewith a de acto state is or the Univer-sity o Ottawa itsel to don the mantleo a specic political cause.Likewise, it is not a alsehood to say that Palestine has never existed as astate. Even though I may be able to ndPalestine on a map (thank you or thesuggestion, Ms. Carpinone), it wouldbe ound under Roman, Ottoman, andBritish rule beore 1948. Te Romanscoined the name, Ms. Carpinone, be-cause they needed something to calltheir newly acquired vassal, not be-cause they needed a name to describean independent state. Aer 1948, theGaza strip was ruled by Egypt, and theWest Bank and East Jerusalem were al-lotted to Jordan. Tus my convictionthat Palestine has never existed as anindependent state is merely a act o historical record. But don’t take my word or it, Ms. Carpinone, put downyour maps and try a history book.Te opinion that my letter (“TePalestinian question”, Sept. 18) soughtto convey is that the U o O has nobusiness taking sides on political is-sues. Perhaps the fags should repre-sent identities, but they are supplied by the International House, so I’d imag-ine them to be more country-orientedthan identity-oriented. o mount thePalestinian fag amongst fags o theworld is to advocate a political convic-tion. It is a shame that the U o O asan institution reuses to be politically neutral. In the end, my argument haslittle to do with the Palestinian ques-tion (I have no issue with Palestine),but has much to do with the audacity o the U o O.
Matthew WelchFourth-year political science student
A “no” vote for SFUO ad
I OBJEC O the ull-page, student-unded, colour advertisement theStudent Federation o the University o Ottawa (SFUO) placed in the
Ful-crum
’s Oct. 2 issue, promoting the all-candidates debate.In this criticism, I will set asidethe inclusion o the “ree ood” bul-let, which suggests that at least somestudents will only attend to ll theirbellies in lieu o their brains.Te way the advertisement ran, theSFUO distorted the truth by suggest-ing that all the items on the picture o the ballot—tuition ees, health care,the environment, Aghanistan, moredoctors, transit, and education—areederally regulated and managed mat-ters. Indeed, not even hal o theseportolios are ederal ones.
LETTERS continued on p. 3
Got something to say?
Send your letters toeditor@thefulcrum.caLetters deadline: Sunday, 1 p.m.Letters must be under 400 words unlessdiscussed with the editor-in-chief.Drop off letters at 631 King Edward Ave. ore-maileditor@thefulcrum.ca.Letters must include your name, telephonenumber, year, and program of study. Pseud-onyms may be used after consultation withthe editor-in-chief. We correct spelling andgrammar to some extent. The
Fulcrum
willexercise discretion in printing letters that aredeemed racist, homophobic, or sexist.We will not even consider hate literature or libel-lous material. The editor-in-chief reserves theauthority on everything printed herein.
Oct. 9–15, 2008
Letters
Frank AppleyardEditor-in-Chief editor@thefulcrum.ca
2
Leave a Comment