Letters: Ongoing presence of law enforcement officials in Regina faculties upsets

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I used to be shocked and dismayed when the Regina Public College Board defeated a movement to take away police from Regina public faculties. The movement, made by Trustee Ted Jaleta, was voted down six to 1.

In line with the report, the board commissioned to evaluate the varsity useful resource officer (SRO) program, many Indigenous college students, different minority college students of identifiable races, 2SLGBTQ+ college students and college students with a incapacity have been “uncomfortable” with uniformed law enforcement officials of their faculties.

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They mentioned it made them really feel “intimidated,” “focused,” “triggered” or “stereotyped”. In different phrases, it made them really feel unsafe. This could have been cause sufficient to discontinue the SRO program.

Police have been in Regina faculties for 43 years. The presence of police in faculties has change into normalized. However what’s regular about having uniformed police with weapons in our faculties?

Once I was a scholar within the Regina faculty system within the Forties and ’50s, there have been nurses in each faculty. I don’t need to idealize the varsity system of the previous. It was removed from excellent.

However certainly having nurses in faculties to deal with scholar well being and well-being is preferable to having gun-toting law enforcement officials in our faculties. Absolutely, nurses are a greater useful resource for faculties and college students than law enforcement officials.

Different Canadian cities have discontinued their SRO packages, together with Toronto and Edmonton. Regina ought to do likewise.

Florence Stratton, Regina

Israeli-Palestinian battle isn’t both/or

Reactions to the horrors being skilled by harmless Israelis and Palestinians illustrate a collective lack of ability to investigate complicated conditions primarily based on an ethical code. It’s easier to view life as a collection of binary decisions: Choose a facet in a battle after which present unequivocal assist.

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Moderately than common condemnation of deliberately concentrating on civilians as a part of a struggle technique, we hear rationalizations of atrocities enacted by whichever facet an individual has chosen. 

Selecting sides on this Center Japanese battle is simple for North American politicians; the West helps the democratic state of Israel versus the terrorism of Hamas.

Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne described it as a  ethical case for the West and we witnessed the solar-eclipse-like occasion of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Opposition Chief Pierre Poilievre seeming to agree on one thing.

Selecting a facet shouldn’t presuppose that one can not condemn subsequent acts. Exhortations to play good are futile when the norm within the area is that no atrocity is simply too horrible to think about.

Thomas Friedman quoted former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak as stating that Israel will play by the native guidelines and “you’ll not out-crazy us out of this neighbourhood.”

One of many extra considerate and balanced current commentaries was from an Israeli reservist returning to combat for his nation: “Our enemies are the lethal terrorist organizations. Palestinians aren’t the enemy … Israelis and Palestinians alike have been within the grip of a non secular minority for many years … The ideologies of each have fuelled this battle, resulting in the deaths of too many harmless civilians.”

David Steele, Regina

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