A6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 14, 1994 LETTERS College story wrong | Dear Sir: | I was appalled to see the con- tinuing inaccurate media coverage of the prank at the col- lege on Nov, 21, 1994, The original Nov. 30 Terrace Standard’s front page headline was “Incident Probed’’ followed by the story ‘*... Three men burst into...classrooms in military-type uniforms..fired off guns which shoot plastic bul- Icts’’.....‘ ‘pantomime’ ’.....‘*very disturbing...so close to Dec.6 an- niversary when ...14 women were shot and killed by Mare Lepine..”’ The Terrace Standard follow up Dec, 7, 1994 is the headline “‘Mock Shooters Come For- ward’? ... “undergo counsel- ing.” r Is this investigative reporting and is there a Jaw suit in here somewhere? Defamation is the loss of esteem among one's fellows. It is essential that the offensive allega- tion by published as in “Incidents Probed". The aggrieved party must show the defamer has made serious allegations about his character before damages are awarded. Of course, a complete defence is that the charges are truce. The incident reported in The Terrace Standard is neither true nor accurate. There were no guns, bullets, or military style uniforms involved, and it had absolutely nothing to do with Mare Lepine. A gun is defined in the diction- ary as ‘a weapon consisting of a metal tube with attach- ments...from which projectiles are shat by force of an explosion...” The Terrace Standard did not} - report that it was a plastic toy or even give the qualifying state- ment that it was a ‘toy’? gun. A bullet is defined as ‘‘.,.a small metal projectile for firing from small arms...’” These silly little suction cup plastic darts that were actually used can hardly be defined as bul- lets, To infer that these kids were pantomiming Marc Lepine or the Montreal massacre (something that happened when they were about 12 years old) is abhorrent without some basis in fact and damages them. These youths have been in- structed by the college to undergo counseling and become aware or face expulsion for disrupting a class by carrying their dorm games into the classroom wearing regular clothing. Their games consisted of a form of cowboys and Indians with the participants shooting plastic darts with suction cup ends at each other from brightly coloured plastic toys that do not resemble real guns, Counseling may be more ap- propriate for the paranoia thai seems {to prevail at NWCC. McCarthyism is back disguised with the battle cry of ‘‘stop violence against women’ which sees instead of a “commie in every closet’? ‘“‘pempetrators of violence against women every- where” and actually creating an atmosphere of fear, The reputations of these stu- dents have been badly tarnished. People base their opinions on what was reported in the news, In addition, this may follow them. They will also bear the burden of being, I assume, indoctrinated with someone's view of women’s issues which [ am not sure is balanced at the moment given this example. Disrupting a class is ie appropriate and should be proper- ly dealt with. These kids have to write a public apology letter, at- tend counseling, and give a semi- nar because they did not under- stand the political and soctal con- sequences of their actions. 1 believe the same justice should be meied out to the people who exaggcrated this Incident. I believe they did not understand the legal, social and political, ramifications of their actions. The Terrace Standard bears a serious responsibility for it s sloppy reporting and should cor- rect it with an accurale story, Any harm done to these kids should be corrected. They cannot be made scapegoats for a political cause. ~ John Pequiny Terrace, B.C. YOUR COLLEGE IN Writer appalled Dear Sir: As a recent new home owner I am appalled at the thought of paying my hard eamed money for something that will be of absolutely no use to me. Of course I’m talk- ing about the second sheet of ice project. ‘T have only used the old ice rink once and that was when I was six years old, Why should I have to pay my taxes for a new one? If the Second Sheet of Ice Society wants a new rink then they should have to raise their own moncy for it. The hospi- ta] did for the CAT scanner, and the library did for their expansion. Both of these projects I have gladly donated my money toward because these are the things that [ will Se using. Hopefully I won't ever need to visit the CAT scan but I’m sure that someone J] know will need to, If the society pledges for the resources and gets enough to star the project then more power to them, and if they don’t that tells me that there really isn't any need for a sec- ond sheet of ice at all. Dominick Pelletier, Terrace, B.C, YOUR COMMUNITY Sunday Brunch 10 am - 2 pm Every Sunday at the Terrace Inn on Grieg Ave. Frozen Shrimp Ring 340 gram ay Specials Fresh Hot Whole BBQ Chicken er is NO RAINCHECKS | Bulk Christmas Candy Assorted Varieties ~ Value Priced ice Cream . _ 4\Pail- Selected Varieties aed fake Limit 2 Chinese Mandarin Oranges 9 Lb Boxrscs sv ” a7 Gram - White or Brown Limit 1 Value Priced Sliced Bread oy 10 Popes as di CLe Whole Spare Ribs oy sa = Previously Frozen CK. Western Classic Sausage Sticks 500 Gram - Selected Varieties Daybreak Farms Medium Eggs Limit 4 with $25 Family Purchase Deposit $3.48/kg Each Fraser Valley Western Old Dutch Regular Butter Classic Pop Potato Chips 454 Grams 2 L- Selected Varieties 200 Grams - Selected Varieties Limit 4 Limit 4 Western Family Tomato Clam Cocktail 1.36 L - Regular or Extra Spicy cA Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner 225 Grams ea. - Case of 12 Limit 1 Value Priced Smoked Oysters 104 Gram Tin = ter?” | | pee : _ F in The Skeena Mall, Terrace We Honor All Competitors Coupons At Regular Re ie Ae K FOR! Phone 635-5950 REGULAR Mon. - Fri. 9 am-9pm HOURS Sat.& Sun. 9am-6pm