Letters to the editor

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My regrets at the U of M

I have recently come to the somewhat depressing conclusion that I have all but wasted my years at this university. I’m sure that many of you, whether you realize it or not, have done the same. I am coming to the end of my third year at this school and, though I have enjoyed the vast majority of my time here thus far, I now realize I will be ending another year having accomplished absolutely nothing.

I came into this institution as a wide-eyed innocent little first-year, fresh out of high school. I was, of course, expecting to breeze through university and come out of it with a high-paying, glorifying career, what that was exactly, was still up in the air.

However, the transition period from high school to university, coupled with a new girlfriend and the realization that I could now legally enter the bar, was unusually harsh for me, and I could only watch in horror as my GPA was thrown into the dirt, along with my hopes and dreams (I couldn’t resist adding a little melodrama, I apologize). Though I have persevered through that excruciating first year, my grades are nothing to brag about, floating in a sea of mediocrity. Each year, as the city begins to thaw, and the new exam schedules are out up, I realize that I have already given up on my present classes and I find myself making devout promises of change and hard work in the following year.

But amidst my resolutions and promises of studying harder, and completing my readings on time, I have been struck with a belated regret that has made me feel much lower than my crappy GPA. This is the realization that, no matter what my GPA is when I graduate, no matter what degree I receive, or what career path I ultimately end up following, I am going to regret my intense lack of involvement with this school. Three years I have been enrolled at this university, and in those three years I have done nothing. I’ve never been on a sports team; I’ve never joined a club or participated in an off-campus activity. I laughed at those who stood outside the legislative building in the middle of the coldest days of the year, but I still managed to be absent from school that day.

Three years of studying at this university and I don’t even own a lousy U of M T-shirt. I have taken pride these past three years telling people I am a U of M student, and I have even flaunted it in the face of a few U of W students, but what do I have to take pride in? Three years of contributing nothing to this institution and I am merely another face in the crowd. And now, in what will most likely be one of my final years in this school, I regret it. I regret my lack of participation, I regret my lacklustre academics, and I am sure, 10 years down the road, I will regret this blank period in my memory of which I can recollect nothing. And to be absolutely honest, amidst all of these overwhelming regrets, all I can say to reassure myself is maybe next year.

Jesse Beach
Third-year English major

Re: CD reviews (March 1)

I have to say I was disappointed in the review of the Onlyforward CD. It was written as though the author just scanned through the CD not really finding anything she liked. I’m not saying the album is earth-shattering by any means, but for a debut, this is impressive stuff. I am especially a fan of the Radiohead-esque “Promises, Promises.” The band has a unique sound and an eclectic ear and I think your reviewer might owe it one more listen.

Tim Wilcox
New Mexico

Still on CD reviews

Your review of the Arcade Fire album does nothing for me in all honesty. You didn’t analyze the album whatsoever, only to say that two songs, one of which was released months ago, are good. Did you actually listen through and through and write a thorough review of the album in terms of its musical content? You talked about the group, not the album, and that is why we have album reviews.

Liam Brennan

Let’s stand together and fight cash grab

As a student at the U of M, I am very concerned about any tuition increases, even if they are not occurring in my faculty. If this cash grab pushed by the engineering faculty actually goes through, what’s to stop other administrators from trying to increase fees right across the university? We need to stand together as students and demand that our governments and universities continue to reduce fees and fund education properly.

Janette Murawski

I want my $6 back!

Once again I opened my weekly Manitoban to try to find out what was going on around campus, and I see nothing but the garbage and poor journalism that Carson Jerema and his team like to spew. Hey Carson, we get that you’re juvenile and don’t like what our elected students’ union does — fighting for increased government funding, and standing up for students. Your anti-student sentiment is getting boring and annoying. It’s unfortunate for me to say, but I’m ashamed that my student fees go to pay for your salary to produce such a lacklustre paper, where journalistic integrity is placed on the back burner. How and where do I opt to get my Manitoban fees back?

Edwardo Famakin
Management