Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-12-19, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1989. k The International Scene A great athlete, but can he spell his name? BY RAYMOND CANON During the years that I attended universities in various countries, I ended up playing for university teams in no less than three different sports - soccer, hockey, basketball and have a couple of colours to show for it all. In addition, I once got a job because of my ability (I think that is what you call t) to pitch fastball. While we did get some form of financial rewards for all this, in the form of meal tickets, etc., I cannot ever remember that our grades came into the picture. If we failed, we were out; it was expected that we would keep our marks at a high enough level so that we would not be booted off the team. Letters to the editor Dollars on caesareans not wasted, father says and the the The editor, I would like to respond to J. Harris and Caroline Suffrin their Dec. 13, 1989 letter to editor, ‘Surgery Needless’. I speak from experience as father of three beautiful girls who have been delivered by caesarean sections. I am very thankful for such medical procedures, al­ though, like many other things in this world, I don’t completely understand all of the intricacies. 1 recognize that I am speaking mostly from the emotion of my heart rather than the logic of mental capacities. In our experi­ ence the medical staff were more than excellent in this matter, felt, at no time, pressured caesarean procedures. Thank Dr. Hanlon and Dr. Vilos. We into you In the case of our eldest child, the emergency action likely saved the life of both my wife and my child. I shall be ever grateful to God. Even after that, the medical counsel we received was encourag­ ing to attempt trial labour for our second child. Government abusing teacher pension fund The Editor, People in this community may know that teachers are furious with the Ontario Liberal Government, and we want to tell you why. The Government of Ontario plans to misuse the power of its majority position to deny the teachers of this province our right to an equal voice in the manage­ ment of our own pensions. The 121,000 - member Teachers’ Federation has “negotiations” with the Govern­ ment for over a year in an attempt to achieve an equal partnership in the management of the teachers’ pension plan. Negotiations were terminated by the Government sevearl times on the issue of a dispute resolution mechanism which we think is vital to any equal partnership. The Government has never hesi- Ontario been in It is because of all this that I read with a great deal of amusement about the efforts of the American universities to keep their athletes on the team. There is the story told about one star player who was doing a glorious job of failing his courses. In desperation the univer­ sities authorities went to him and told him that all he had to do to stay on at the university was to spell “coffee” and to get at least one letter right. Back came his instant reply. “K A W P H Y.” We are not told what happened to that student but we do know that the football and basketball players whom we see on the TV on the weekend are generally given their room and board and are able to get an education because of their skill that they might not be able to get otherwise. Those who are not skilled enough to make it to the professionals after college can at least come away with some skills that they can put to good use. The situation has, in fact, be­ come something of a big joke. In reflection, I think it was the pressure of our society that caused us to decide to attempt vaginal birth the second time round. For my wife the pressure was very real. You know, ‘What kind of woman are you if you can’t deliver naturally?’ The danger of that action with a weakened wall of the uterus from the first surgery, now seems a bit foolhardy. I wonder how long we should have remained in the labour room according to those who prefer the ‘Natural way’. It is a non-issue for me. The risks are too tremendous. For the peace of mind it brought, the third time round there was no question about the decision. With all the expense of modem medicine committed to terminating life before birth, being heroic in keeping the brain dead alive and doing cosmetic surgery, I find it difficult to understand the concern over a few million dollars spent to give parents who have experienced trauma in birthing some peace of mind. Doug Zehr Brussels. tated to use such a mechanism to bring a close to a dispute between teachers and their employers, the school board. Why, therefore, is the Government adamant that it cannot accept such a procedure in pension matters, in which they replace the school boards as em­ ployer? The teachers in Huron County believe that real partnership in the management of our pension funds is a basic right. The Government must negotiate with us now, before pension legislation is passed. Georgina Reynolds President, Huron Women Teachers’ Association John Gnay Huron OSSTF Phil Parsons OPSTF - Huron Colleen Murphy O.E.C.T.A. There is a mounting pile evidence that the students on of a university’s football and basketball teams who, for one reason or another, cannot keep their grades up, are staying on the teams by having these grades fixed. Educa­ tion, for such people, becomes decidedly secondary and, when their eligibility for the teams is over, they are forced to leave college with next to nothing to show for it. At this point it might be worth pointing out that, even with the proliferation of professional foot­ ball and basketball teams in the United States as well as the Canadian Football League, the chances of coming out of a college and playing professionally are real­ ly remote. This applies especially to the blacks who look at their athletic prowess as a ticket out of the ghetto. Since only considerably less than one per cent make it, it is all the more important that the other 99.9 per cent get an educa­ tion that will stand them in good stead. One of the most recent studies of the American college scene shows that 20 per cent or fewer of the players on football and basketball teams actually graduated. Another study which takes in a larger number of universities reveals that fewer than forty per cent of the football players made it to gradua­ tion day. There are two reform movements under way, one of which is being PROPERTY ASSESSMENT AND SCHOOL TAXES Notice to Business Partnerships and to Publicly Traded Corporations and their Subsidiaries Starting in 1990, the rules by which business partnerships and publicly traded corporations and their subsidiaries direct their school tax support will change. This will affect the way the property assess­ ment base is allocated among Public, Separate and French-language School Boards. Your cooperation will ensure the proper allocation of your school taxes to the School Boards in your area. Ministry of Revenue Ontario • Business partnerships will acquire the right to support a Separate School Board, or the French-language School Board in Ottawa- Carleton, up to the proportion that the partnership is held by Separate School supporters or French-language School supporters. Until now, all partners had to be Roman Catholic or Francophone and agree to do so. • The property assessment of publicly traded corporations and their subsidiaries will be shared between Public and Separate School Boards in the same area, and in Ottawa-Carleton by the Public, Separate and French-language School Boards, in proportion to each board’s residential and farm assessment. Until now, a corporation’s support for a Separate School Board, or the French-language School Board in Ottawa-Carleton, could not exceed the proportion of shares held by Roman Catholics or Francophones. In order to implement this initiative, the Ministry of Revenue must amend its records to identify those business partnerships that wish to split their school tax support, and to identify all publicly traded cor­ porations and their subsidiaries. Information about the new school support rules will be sent to you in the near future, along with a Notice of Property Valuation. Please review the new rules, and then check your Notice to verify that the Ministry of Revenue has correctly identified your school support. If it’s not right, please tell us. A reply form will be included with the Notice. pushed by Sen. Edward Kennedy, brother of the late John Kennedy would like all universities and colleges to make their student-ath­ lete graduation rates public so that high school boys and girls can make informed decisions when they get to the point of deciding where to play and study. There is another problem begg­ ing for a solution. A baseball player can move right from high school to the big leagues without having to go to college; there are no restric­ tions placed on him in his aspira­ tions for the big leagues; all he has to do is show the talent. Not so for BLESSINGS! May you and your loved ones enjoy the gifts of the season. Extended Discover W /'Maqic' basketball or football players. The universities have become the farm teams for the professional teams and by and large an athlete in either one of the latter two sports cannot play for the pros until his age group has graduated from university. In tennis it is not unusual to see 15 or 16 year olds playing for big bucks and even while they are still attempting to graduate from high school It all adds up to a situation where many of the players you see on your TV, who are playing for university teams, really do think that KAWPHY is the correct spelling. Christmas Hours All This Week