An Open Letter To The Student Body Joey Hansen, DSU Employee The last six months have been very difficult for me and for my family. My name is Joey Hansen and I am employed by the Douglas Students’ Union. I have been since July 2001. Before working here, I held leadership positions in local, provincial and national student organ- izations. I chose to volunteer and work in the student movement because I believe very strongly in its values and its effectiveness. I have seen the Douglas Students’ Union participate in successful campaigns to freeze and reduce tuition fees, to bring back grants for low income students, and to increase funding for BC colleges and universities. Those campaigns make a real difference in the lives of students — especially students at Douglas College. If tuition fees were what they are today when I finished high school, I could never have afforded to study at Simon Fraser University. Che auditor failed to interview key DSU Board members, including the individuals who served as The auditor failed to interview key DSU Board members, including the individuals who served as the DSU Treasurer and Board Chair during the time the auditor focused on the review. After the auditor issued his report, my lawyer contacted him and asked him to with- draw the report and issue a competently prepared replacement. Although, the auditor did admit to several significant errors, to-date he has refused to withdraw the report or issue a competent replacement. I am considering legal action against the audit« During the summer a series of articles repeating the inaccuracies an falsehoods contained in the auditors report were published by The Peak SFU’s student newspaper. My lawyer contacted The Peak and demonstr: ed some of the deficiencies with the audit. He asked the The Peak to iss a retraction and an apology. The Peak refused. I have now filed a lawsuii My commitment to the student movement and to its success makes the events of the last six months all the more difficult for me. You may recently have seen or heard about a series of Global TV news stories focused on the Douglas Students’ Union’s current “financial situation.” I believe that those broadcasts contained errors and false- hoods and were highly defamatory of me and of the Douglas Students’ Union. I feel so strongly that I have been wronged that I am suing Global TV for libel. The broadcast focused on a report prepared last spring by auditors retained by the Douglas Students’ Union and directed by only one person. The report contained significant errors and against The Peak. Although long-overdue, the Peak has not yet filed a defense against my lawsuit. The constraints of this article do not allow for me to demonstrate ¢ of the areas in which the auditor erred in preparing his report. It woulc time the auditor focused take two or three hours to demonstrate all of the inaccuracies and false : hoods. I will say that, despite what a former DSU Treasurer claimed on on the review 9 5 Global TV, all of the cheques she issued to me were accompanied by complete and adequate supporting documentation. I value my reputation highly and look forward to my day in court. I believe that a fair an impartial hearing will finally shed light on the many inaccuracies and falsehoods contained in the Blair Mackay Mynett’s report and clear my name. the DSU Treasurer and Board Chair during the falsehoods and did not reflect an adequate investigation of the Douglas Students’ Union's finances and decision making. Remembrance Day, Ed Ronald, OP Contributor On November 11, take a moment to think about the people that have been and are representing this country. Hell, you're getting a the day off; it must be important. Remembrance Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, is a statutory holiday (Nov. 13 in B.C.) to commemorate the anniversary of the official end of World War I, “the war to end all wars.” As we know, there have been a lot wars since then, and the focus of Remembrance Day is different for everyone. On the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, I will be standing outside of the New Westminster City Hall during the moment of silence to hon- our somebody special to me. My military career lasted a blink of the eye. When I was nineteen, I walked in to an induction office, sat down at the desk, lit up a smoke with my silver derringer replica lighter, and said, “Sign me up.” Across the desk from me sat an attractive female officer. We talked for a little while. After she learned about my history, she told me that I couldn’t join. I _ specifically remember her calling me an undesirable. Needless to say, coming from her it was a blow to my ego in more ways than one. While I was refused, one of my childhood friends wasn’t. Scotty Davidson was determined to get in. When he was told he’d have a long wait to get into the Canadian Forces, he joined the English army. After five years in the British Forces, he successfully transferred to the Canadian military. Scotty was the type of man that you’d be proud to have represent Canada. He was always smiling. I remember when we were 15 years old, back in Nova 6 THE OTHER PRESS NOVEMBER 9 2006 Take a Moment Scotia, playing hockey with my brother Wayne on the coldest day of the year. The radio announcer said exposed skin could get frostbite in 15 minutes, but we walked to the pond from my parents’ farmhouse anyways. As we walked, the wind whipped across South Mountain, but the frozen pond was in the woods, sheltering us from the wind. We put on our hand- me-down leather skates that Bobby Orr would’ve had a hard time standing in, and we took off our parkas. We wore hockey jerseys over t-shirts and knitted sweaters. When Scotty showed up, he pulled off all of his shirts, right down to the skin, and began skating around. Laughing, Wayne and I grabbed him and threw him in the snow bank. You didn’t skate around us without a shirt and not expect to be thrown in the snow, even on the coldest day of the year. That’s what I loved about Scotty, he was fun. Bombardier, Scott Davidson died while on tour in Lahr, W. Germany, July 15, 1992, his birthday. He was stabbed to death outside of a pub trying to help a Canadian couple who were in trouble. He was a good friend and dedicated soldier. Canadians have been respected peacekeepers around the world for many years now. From 1964-1993, our forces played a prominent role preventing deaths in Cyprus. With a mutual respect for the Canadian Forces, the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots agreed to permit. When the U.N backed Cyprus’ independence, Canadians were deployed. They stopped the escalating war. Scotty’s death as a peacekeeper came on the anniversary of Canada’s deployment to Cyprus, July 15, 1964.