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Concordia's Thursday Report is interested in your letters, opinions and comments. Letters to the Editor must be signed, include a phone number, and be delivered to the CTR office (BC-121/1463Bishop St.) in person, by fax (514-848-2814), by e-mail (barblak@alcor.concordia.ca) or mail by 9a.m. on the Friday prior to publication. If at all possible, please submit the text on computer diskette. Limit your letter to 500words. The Editor reserves the right to edit for space considerations, although the utmost care will be taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Letters disparaging the behaviour or decisions taken by an individual which are not of a public nature, letters quoting exchanges between two or more parties in private conversation or personal correspondence, and letters venting an opinion about the integrity of colleagues will not be published.
On whose terms?
This is to make a formal complaint concerning a full-page advertisement by Concordia University found on page A19 of the Montreal Gazette, on Saturday, February 20, 1999.
It reads: "Concordia. . . known for our flexibility ... and our friendly atmosphere. . . . But in the end it is your definition of success that matters. . . . You should know we will do our utmost to help you achieve success -- on your terms."
I believe that the health of an organism is measured in part by the vigour with which its immune system responds to nonsense. So it is with an organization and its constituent members.
Quote this extraordinary advertisement to one of the many students who fail their first year here. Their failure will be a "Real Education for the Real World." It is most certainly not a successful achievement, on their terms. The university sets its terms, not the students. To imagine otherwise is folly.
It is my view that this advertisement leaves Concordia (and The Gazette) open to charges of misrepresentation and other potential problems of a similar nature presented by a disgruntled student.
Whose views does this advertisement represent? I understand that the Director of Communications is responsible for its content. Enthusiasm for public relations is not sufficient reason to distort facts.
The Computer Science Department in April unanimously passed a motion deploring this advertisement. I believe the advertisement is incompatible with the views of the majority who teach at Concordia.
John McKay,
Mathematics/Computer Science
Executive Director of Communications Maria Paradiso replies:
The message of this ad is a welcoming one that fits perfectly with our academic mission and is supported by independent marketing research.
