Letteloas<

THE LETTERS PAGE is your forum of discussion. Please make your submissions legible to persons other than yourself. All letters are printed verbatim including spelling errors. Deadline is Monday before 5:00 pm. Let- ters may be left at the SU office in the Barn, The Gem office Rm.01 Utility Bldg., sent through campus mail, or

sent via VAX mail to account GEM.

ADMINISTRATION

Dear Editor:

University students that live in residence are oc- casionally faced with the temptation to commit small crimes, both on and off cam- pus. When these crimes do not involve the Univer- sity, does the Senate Com- mittee have the right to pun- ish the student because of the crime?

Recently, several stu- dents have been assigned to numerous hours’ of un- paid University labor, result- ing from a criminal offence (theft) which took place off- campus. They had already been caught by the RCMP and were informed that they will have a court date for the crime in the near fu- ture. Despite the handling of the case by city law enforce-

“How Come It Wasn’t In The Gem?”

ment agencies, the Senate Committee decided to have the students evicted from residence, placed on proba- tion, and given the aforemen- tioned ‘sentence’ of the la- bor. The first decision, evic- tion, has since been decided against, but the latter two remain.

In handing down the de- cision, the Senate Commit- tee has established a pseudo ‘kangaroo court’ and_ has found the students guilty of committing an offence which they, the Senate, have no jurisdiction over, and with- out the students being repre- sented or able to enter a plea. The provincial court date has not yet been reached, and so in the eyes of the law they are still innocent un-

JUDGES STUDENT

til proven guilty by a jury of their peers, or by .an ap- pointed official of the court— namely, the presiding judge. From where does the Senate acquire the right to pass any judgement in this case?

When the crime does in- volve the University commu- nity, such as with the crimes of trespassing or vandalism on campus, the Senate has every right to place a student on probation, or have that student evicted or expelled, depending on the serious- ness of the crime and the past record of the student involved. However, no sen- tence or decision should be given until city and provin- cial authorities have proven guilt in a court of law. If the Senate gives a ‘verdict’ of

guilt, and the student pleads |

innocence in court, the Sen- ate has already assumed guilt on the part of the student. If the student is found guilty,

’ the Senate pats itself on the Sj back for doing a fine job.

However, if the student is found innocent, the Senate,

i) and therefore the entire Uni-

versity, is placed in a bad

G@ positon. The student would

x . be fortunate to receive as f much as an apology.

The powers of the Sen- ate Committee should fall under greater scrutiny. We have seen the effects of mis- carriages of justice in the provincial court system (e.g. the Donald Marshall case), and we do not need un- trained University faculty trying to create their own ju- diciary system.

A Concerned Sophomore.

The Gem provides information each week about happenings on cam- pus and around the country which affect you, the student. However, we cannot be everywhere at once. Like any news organization, The Gem relies on tips and ideas from YOU. If there is something on campus you think should be covered in your student paper, call The Gem at 566- 0529 or leave a message at the SU office in the Barn or our office Rm 01

Utility Building.

“Get your facts first, and then you can

distort them as you please.” ; = — Samuel Clements :

Derrick Webber, Editor-in-Chief

Ian Mollison, Interim Production Editor Derrick Cameron, Advertising Manager Darrell Cole, Sports

Karen Cullen, Photographer -:

Jill Noonan, Typesetter

James Connolly, Systems Manager

STAFF MEMBERS:

Robert Bodrog, Dolly Bhatia, Dawne Chap- pelle, Kaberi Dasgupta, Cora-Lee Des Roches, Anne Irving, Bobbi Sue Keating, David MacK- innon, Ian Mollison, Lisa Murphy, Claire Mur-

ray, Sam Okello, Ellen Perry, Mark Walker and Chris Vessey.

This Week’s Contributors:

Bryan Grimmelt, Libby Kennedy, Malcolm Gorrill, the History Society, the Bios, the En- gineers, and many many more to numerous to print.

Deadline for submissions is Monday, 5:00pm

Please ensure your submissions are legible to persons other than yourself. We prefer typed and double spaced submissions and submissions on computer disk or through VAX mail. For ‘egal reasons, all submissions must include the author’s name and phone number. However, names will be withheld from publication on re- quest. .

_The GEM is published by the University of Prince Edward Island Student Union. Views ex- pressed are not necessarily those of the GEM

staff, the UPEI Student Union, or of anyone in particular.

We reserve the right to edit submissions due to limitations of space or taste.

If you are interested in learning more about your student newspaper, drop on down to our office anytime or come to our regular meetings Monday at 6:00pm.

Our office is buried in the UTILITY BUILD- ING, Rm.01. Just follow the charred heat pipes. Phone 566-0629 or 566-0530 or send VAX mail to account GEM.

The GEM is a member of the Canadian Uni- versity Press. é

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Thursday, November 19 1987

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