Irked with intramurals
How many students out there are satisfied with how intramurals are run? I certainly am not.
When I signed up my Ultimate team in September, I was told that everyone had to attend a meeting at the McKinnon Gym. The meeting started half an hour late and was generally a waste of time.
We were told that it was mandatory for everyone to register at a website called IMleagues. I invite anyone who has not gone to this website to register and just see how awful it is. And what for — so that some neanderjock (well paid to do about 10 minutes of work) can arrange six games each week?
During the season itself, teams were stacked with varsity squad members who had played together for years and competed on a national level. Instead of games between equally matched teams, the co-ordinator had an unerring knack for arranging ritual slaughters. I felt especially sorry for the singles team that was sucker punched week in and week out. And — oops-a-daisy — someone forgot to book the fields correctly, so that games that were supposed to start at 6:30 and run to 9:30 went from 7:30 to bedtime.
There need to be some major changes to intramurals. For a start, varsity players should not be allowed to participate in intramurals. And perhaps players who sign up as singles, instead of playing as a team of ready-made victims, should be divided up among the other teams.
Douglas Stewart
UVic student
Buying habits speak louder than words
Re: “Are we willing to sacrifice our morals for our phones?” (Nov. 22)
Eric LeBlanc’s article describes deplorable working conditions in overseas factories, specifically those manufacturing technology. Before demanding that the government legislate away the problem, he absolves himself from personal responsibility, blaming consumerism for new technology having become “a need rather than a desire.” I am sorry, Mr. LeBlanc, but cutting-edge technology is a luxury.
While governments and companies have a major role to play in improving the working conditions for tech manufacturing employees, we consumers must accept that since “it’s time we stopped exploiting the hardships of everyone else,” as LeBlanc concludes his piece, we have a responsibility to make good purchasing decisions. Simply buying a second-hand television or hanging on to that phone for a couple more years are constructive ways to vote with your dollars.
If Mr. LeBlanc and you, fellow Martlet readers, refuse to change your buying habits over this issue, you demonstrate that you do not, in fact, care.
Catherine Schwab
UVic student
