March to protest against free trade got short shrift
    The Gazette
    November 2, 2002

    As a Concordia student who participated in the anti-FTAA march, I picked up Friday's paper, hoping for some in-depth coverage of the student strike. The story mentioned briefly that it was a peaceful demonstration and that thousands of people, mostly students, took part and briskly moved on to more sensational facts.

    I understand that the goal of the media is to convey vital information and to pique interest, but I can't imagine how one could turn a blind eye to the talented street performers who walked for the duration of the march with balloons tied to their wrists, as if puppets of the corporate hand above. Finally, I thought it was impossible to omit the scores of creative costumes, which ranged from a capitalist pig to a hungry shark. Interestingly, the reporters opted to describe the events that they deemed more important and expounded in length about isolated incidents, such as a broken foot and a cracked window.

    Instead of constantly focusing our energy on the negative aspects, why not draw attention to the solidarity of thousands of students from across the province who danced together to the beat of drums and chanted in unison to denounce the FTAA?

    Anna Sarkissian

    Town of Mount Royal


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