September 17, 2008
2
A new schoolseason has sprung,which means getting
up early, staying up late… and sign-
ing up for the military?
Many schools across the country
have career fairs every year andsome form of the military usually has a table along with the othervendors.Some may recall a protest atthe University of Victoria last yearthat led to the UVic student society banning active Canadian Forces
recruiting at events in their building.
Recently, the ban was lifted.Many students didn’t wantrecruiters in their student unionbuilding bothering them, whileothers felt the military had every right to be there.So the question still remains,should military recruitment be al-lowed on school premises? At Camosun, the military canset up a table on campus, as longas they ll out the necessary formslike other vendors. If the event issuitable, the table isn’t disruptingstudents, and there’s security onduty, military recruiters are free todistribute information.
On one hand you have images of the evil military corporation stealing
young adults and throwing theminto war. On the other you havefreedom of speech. And it’s true military recruitersmay tell you more about incentivesof joining than the psychologicaleffects of combat. Full benefits,paid tuition, and a higher wage are
just some of the incentives, but they never go into the downfalls of being
involved with the military.Military commercials can bemisleading, but what commercialsaren’t? When it comes down to it,the military is a corporation andshould be allowed the same rightsas any other.Operation Objection waslaunched last year against military recruitment in schools. At the mo-
ment, 25 student unions and organ-
izations in Quebec have adoptedmandates against recruitment.
After a series of disruptions, re-cruiters cancelled their planned tour
of Quebec colleges in early 2008.Operation Objection now worksto oppose both recruitment andmilitary research on campuses.It’s impressive an organization
such as this has formed, but banning
any organization from campus, if they are operating in accordancewith Canadian law, and with uni-
versity policy, is an infringement on
the rights of students to make theirown decisions about their futures.Not to mention that little thing wecall freedom of speech. We trust Camosun studentsare smart enough to resist a sales
pitch from a military recruiter. And
for those who are interested, theinformation is still available.So think thrice before youprotest.
Next publication date: Oct. 1, 2008Deadline: noon Sept. 24, 2008
Address: 3100 Foul Bay Rd., Victoria, BC,V8P 5J2Location: Lansdowne Richmond House 201Phone: 250-370-3591Email: nexus@nexusnewspaper.comWebsite: www.nexusnewspaper.comPublisher: Nexus Publishing Society
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VIEWS
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pen Space
N e x u s E d i t o r i a l
Breanna Carey
ContriBUtinG Writer
It’s free to park your bike or
scooter downtown, so why is it that
cars get slammed with unreason-able parking tickets?
Big, bad parking attendants do
their best to make the pleasant ex-
perience of coming downtown just
the opposite. Whether you’re likeme and try to cheat the system by attempting to keep a watchful eye
on that expired meter, because you
really will just be a minute, or youdo in fact plug those silver knobs,the meter-maids are bound to getyou at least once.My sister lives downtown ina nice place, just outside the core.
The only parking near her building
is two-hour parking, unpaid. But
this means that on a day off drivershave to move their car every couple
of hours to avoid getting a ticket. Why are parking attendantstraipsing around our streets look-ing to shit on someone’s day? In
order to make it fair for people who
choose to drive, especially thosewho may not live on a frequent busroute, parking attendants shouldbe obliterated.
Enraged after getting her fourth
ticket of the day, my sister sug-gested to an attendant, “Get a real job.” The attendant took a pictureof her car and is probably keepingher on le.I’ve had the urge to give them
the one-nger salute, or maybe take
notice of the oversized guy on thedinky scooter and open my door. Itmight be different if the fellows onthose dinky scooters were a little
kinder, or only gave tickets to repeat
offenders. Do they have to meet acertain quota of pissed-off peoplein a day?If they’re going to make us pay for parking already, loosen up on
the parking tickets, or at least lower
the price.The city of Victoria promisedthat new meters would provide us
with a ve-minute leeway after they expire. They are still nowhere to be
found. Tickets used to be $15 andare now $20, and jump to double if not paid within two weeks.People are slowly going to stop
going downtown if shopping costs
them 40 bucks and they come outempty-handed. And, besides, if too many ticket-ers are roaming Victoria’s streets, it wouldn’t takemuch to bring them down.“Whoops, huh, I don’t recallthere being a speed bump therebefore...”
Let students decide own stance on military recruiters
On one hand you haveimages of the evilmilitary corporationstealing young adultsand throwing theminto war. On the otheryou have freedom of speech.
Welcome to the (parking) jungle, baby!
Why are parkingattendants traipsingaround our streetslooking to shit onsomeone’s day?
sheila porteous
ContriBUtinG Writer
Camosun College proudly states in its vision statement thatits “strengths are many and variedwith regards to serving diversecommunities.”
As a person with a disability who
has fought mental illness, imaginemy chagrin as I happened uponthe Obsessive-Compulsive Action
Figure prominently displayed in the
college bookstore.I have taken many courses atCamosun that teach students theskills to diffuse stereotypes whileeducating themselves and others.Compassion for people with dif-
ferences and disabilities, including
individuals living with a mentalillness, is repeatedly emphasizedin Camosun’s Health and HumanServices Programs.I spoke with three separate
employees at the college bookstorebefore a staff member begrudgingly
summoned a supervisor for me.Gillian Mann, the bookstore’smanager, addressed my concerns
in the middle of the busy store. Sheargued that there were other action
figures on display, such as Jesus,Freud, and Male Nurse. She alsostressed it would be impossibleto have stock that didn’t offendsomeone.Her statements sounded akin
to the action-gure manufacturer’s
rationale—“In a diverse and freesociety, it is only to be expectedthat some people may fail to seethe humour and positive side toour product.”
Mann mentioned the male nurse
action gure may be offensive to
some people as well. I took the time
to compare the two products.
The packaging on the obsessive-compulsive gure highlights someof the dysfunction of this particular
disorder with statements like, “Assoon as he nishes counting thoseceiling tiles, he can get started onalphabetizing the canned foods,”but the male nurse’s packaging
boasts, “These men are blazing thetrail as role models and mentors for
generations to come.”
I can only imagine how they are
promoting a plastic Jesus.Inaccurate and dehumanizingcomments and attitudes create anegative perception of mental ill-ness. These misconceptions result
in reluctance to seek mental health
care and contribute to discrimina-tory practices.Selling an action figure thatperpetuates stereotypes of a per-son with a disability in a collegebookstore is reprehensible. This
item, at best, belongs in a joke shop
with other tasteless and offensiveitems—at least I can choose not toshop there.Selling these derogatory prod-ucts on campus may indicate
Camosun has failed to embrace the
concept of “global citizenship.”
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Bookstore product mocks mental illness
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