“A lot of white males in lab coats?” Are you serious, Amara Possian? If I had nothing better to do, I might be offended. Instead, I’m amused. The very motivation behind the gender parity resolution at the GA was to dismiss the asinine idea that gender has any discernable relevance to speaking privileges, and here, the gender and race of a few individuals are cited (incorrectly) to undermine the credibility of the resolution. Furthermore, it should go without saying that the Plumber’s Philharmonic Orchestra is comprised of people from a multitude of nationalities, ethnicities, genders, religions, and sexual orientations, each one as irrelevant as the next. Of course, these traits are pertinent to one’s identity, yet they are completely irrelevant to the validity of their opinions. A white, straight, Jewish, American man wearing a lab coat’s opinions carry the exact same weight as a brown, bisexual, Hindu, Danish woman wearing a beret’s opinions – no more, no less. Is this so difficult to comprehend?
So you’re upset that 0.04 per cent of the student body can make decisions regarding the rest of the university? Well, it works both ways. Here’s a news flash – nobody goes to the GA without an agenda. This is demonstrated well by the Gert’s bartenders’ leaving the moment the volume resolution had been voted upon. The same can be said for the Artsies who try condemning Israel, banning fish, or whatever their most recent cause for hysteria may be. If you have a problem with special interest groups taking over the GA, then maybe it’s time to abolish it. Unless you directly incite enough interest groups to achieve quorum, it will never be an effective measure of democracy.
So where were the interest groups eager to defend gender parity? Well…I guess too many people realized just how silly it actually was to care. Good riddance.
William Farrell
U3 Civil Engineering
Plumber’s Philharmonic Orchestra Co-Chief
EUS VP Internal 2009-2010
Author of Motion Re: Gender Parity and Motion Re: AUS Bake Sale