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Also, many students frequent the shops in uptown Waterloo and downtown Kitchener. In addition, 1 believe that the public transportaâ€" tion _ system _ would _ suffer. Personally, 1 ride a packed city bus to and from school everyday. Both city buses which service Westvale (the route five, and the route four) are always packed to capacity‘ The The author of this article also stated that closing the school would not affect the core community, howâ€" ever 1 believe he is wrong. How many students make daily trips to Central Meat Market, Subway, Tim Hortons, McDonalds and other restaurants? Additionally, King Edward public school often uses our auditorium, and just last week a group of young girls came to KCI, I believe particiâ€" pating in a campâ€"like program. Many people have benefitted directâ€" ly from the school‘s charity, and it would be a shame to see such a great school closed. am a Grade 11 student currently Ienrolled at KCI and I am writing in response to the article on closâ€" ing my school. Obviously the author of this article has done little research. Although I live in Westvale and do believe that as the area is expanding rapidly, there is a need for another high school, however, to close KCI‘s doors would be a HUGE loss to not only the downtown comâ€" munity, but to the entire city. I would choose to go to no other school. KCI is the most open and diverse school which I have ever attended, and we also have some of the best and most dedicated staff in the county. Not only does our school offer an amazing atmosphere, devoid of school violence, but it is also the school that cares. We conâ€" tribute to the community in numerâ€" ous ways such as food drives, torch, an annual Christmas scavenger hunt, danceâ€"aâ€"thon for charity, 30â€" hour famine, fostering a child, and a hosting a Community Christmas dinner for the underprivileged in our surrounding area. Closing KCI is not the answer You said it QUESTION WHAT‘S YOUR FAVOURITE HOBBY? KCI is not underused, it is teemâ€" ing with the amazing staff and stuâ€" dents. Yet another problem with KCI is that there will only be a shift in the problem not a solution. What does the city propose to do with the peoâ€" ple from, for example, the Victoria Hills area? Are they going to be shipped out to Westvale? How does this solve a problem? Another probâ€" lem with building a school in the burbs is that you will not only lose Another poorly researched comâ€" ment was that my school was underused. Currently we have a wait list of students who wish to come to KE1, and over the summer have had to add four portables to our school. Though some of the surplus stuâ€" dents were niners from the Westvale area, KCI also services many other areas. Students wishing to come to KCI, and those wishing to return to the best school in the county have no guarantee as the wait list is so long. In addition, during the new teacher advisory program every room is occupied. As for students being bused to Elmira, 1 know four students in their final year who drive an hour each morning and each night to attend KCI am hearty sick of those councilâ€" Ilurs who moan about the amount of work they have to do. They chose to become councilors. The people who elected them believed that they would put the well being of the city/township as well as the citizens first, not pay. 1t was originally a volunteer position; how did we get from there to this position where once elected the author obviously had no idea how many students take the city buses, otherwise he would not have stated that it was costing the board too much to bus kids to KCI There are only two school buses servicing my school. L4 P~1 Councillors used to work on a volunteer basis "Reading at least a few hours a day. It helps me to increase my capacity for knowledge." "Going to the movies every other week or so. It really helps me take my mind of school." O THE C Clayton Bussie Akinniyi COMMENT Boucher In a final plea for my school, I would like to bring up what a monâ€" ument KCI is. This high school is one of the oldest that I know of, and is close to having its 105th anniverâ€" sary. Through all the changes of Kitchener, _ this _ school _ has stood,turning out some of the most wellâ€"adjusted teens in the commuâ€" nity. In addition, we have a truly amazing auditorium. On behalf of my school, l implore you, do not close this amazing building. You will not only be shutâ€" ting the doors of an educational institution, but on an atmosphere which will never be recreated. Cortine O‘Neill, Waterloo The only alternative is to have full time councillors. This will probâ€" ably involve party politics, which I, for one, would not like to see for many reasons, too many to go into a letter the unique diversity of an inner city school (and I am not talking about violence or gangs, as KCI does not have any!), but who wants 1,700â€" plus student walking around there neighbourhood aimlessly? What is to entertain students during their spares? Also, KCI is closer to my part of Westvale than any school which could be built. Not all of Westvale could possibly go to the same high school; there are just too many kids. Also at this point in time, the majorâ€" ity of kids in Westvale are young. The high school in Westvale would be underused. The area that most needs a new school would be the WCI area. Why not shut down WCI and build a bigger school in that area. councillors expect to be paid a full time salary and benefits, not a stipend or expenses? "Reading relaxes me, and it takes my mind off homework and studying." "Collecting Cocaâ€" Cola merchandise. They have some really neat stuff." Mary E. Connolly, Geetika Zutshi Nadia Cutajar When police came to investigate, he lied and told them that Tracy had been found dead in her bed that morning. After finalâ€" ly admitting what he had done, he then used every legal manoeuvre at his disposal to avoid responsibility for the killing for seven and a half years. Ten years in jail sounds about right to Let‘s remind ourselves of what Robert Latimer did. After considering and rejecting the idea of "shooting her in the head", he decided to put her into his pickup, run a hose from the exhaust pipe into the cab and asphyxiate her with carbon monoxide. Meanwhile, Laura Latimer, who testified that she was aware of Robert‘s plans to murder Tracy, took their other three children away so that he could carry them out (in almost any other case, she would have been charged as an accessory). What makes Robert Latimer and his supporters think that he is entitled to be judged under a different set of standards than anyone else who kills their child? Quite simply, the fact that Tracy Latimer did not have the full range of abilities that other 12 year olds have places more, not less, of a burden on her parâ€" ents to protect her from harm. It certainly does not mean that the state has a lesser duty to express society‘s disapproval of her killing. Parliament has established life imprisonment, with no parole for at least 10 years, as the minimum sentence for secâ€" ond degree murder. Judges have the authority to consider the circumstances of the crime and the record of the accused when deciding whether to impose MORE than the minimum senâ€" tence. They have not been given the authority to impose less than the minimum sentence, nor should they. If Parliament wants to change the laws regarding minimum sentences, they can do so. If the Supreme Court wants to rule that the very conâ€" cept of minimum sentences is unconstitutional, they can do so. Unless either body wants to change the rules for everyone, however, neither should even consider granting an exemption to one person. At a rally outside of the prison |. Seesseseaad where Robert Latimer is being held, SCOTT Laura Latimer told reporters that she PIATKOWSKI "can‘t imagine 10 weeks without my husband, forget about 10 years withâ€" out my husband, my mind can‘t comprehend it... We never thought it would come to this (prison}." First of all, neither Robert nor Laura Latimer ever mentions what life has been like without Tracy, only what life will be like without Robert. Tracy has been dead for nearly eight years now, meaning that her parâ€" ents have had nearly as long as Robert‘s sentence to compreâ€" hend the fact that Tracy is gone forever, not merely 10 years. Secondly, the notion that a person who deliberately kills his child would not go to prison is foreign to Canadian law. It‘s difâ€" ficult to understand how the Latimers thought it wouldn‘t "come to this". Robert Latimer has maintained he killed Tracy to end her suffering, but it appears from his testimony and comments to the media that he was really concerned with ending his own suffering {note that this was NOT an | mm assisted suicide, in which one person _ | t D clearly and repeatedly asks another for | | ANOTHER | help in ending their own life}. Since | VIEW I the verdict, every word out his mouth, ~ ‘ and that of his wife Laura, has been . [M@IRS Fg. | about him, not about Tracy. Neither | C ‘ has expressed any regret at Tracy‘s | }“%: death nor given any indication that |Rek Oe n } they miss her presence in their lives. i 8 A s This case is about Tracy Latimer, and | LW E4 | the Supreme Court recognized that, || fu n B | even if others do not. | $ or several weeks, I have read and listened with great conâ€" cern to the views of those who support pardoning Robert Latimer (a group which includes my Member of Parliament, Andrew Telegdi). On Jan. 18, the Supreme Court upheld the secondâ€"degree murder sentence given to Latimer for killing his daughter Tracy. Most news accounts, and virtualâ€" ly all public displays of sympathy for Mr. Latimer, have emphaâ€" sized the fact that Tracy was "severely disabled" â€" as if that makes killing one‘s child an acceptable or a forgivable act. Attention has been focussed on the 10 years that Robert Latimer will spend in prison and the 10 years that his family will be without his presence in their home. Scarcely anyone has placed their attention where it should be placed: on Tracy Latimer, who is dead because she was killed by her father, delibâ€" erately and with great forethought. Latimer‘s supporters miss the point K\’()'I‘}H,ZR | | VIEW J laa & IJ