In a world where the population is encouraged to spend whatever they earn, advertisements abound that attempt to influence where we shop, what we buy, and how we view the world. Most of the advertisements an average viewer will see, they will discard, either because the adverts do not apply to them or they are for a product that they are not interested in.
In a city the size of Lethbridge, it is estimated that the average citizen is exposed to over 1000 adverts per day through television, radio, and what …

Although the infamous penis art was on display a month ago now, I feel that the discussion happening about art and censorship is a complex, multi-layered issue. As an Art Major I have been intrigued by the discussion and I’ve been contemplating and trying to sort out my thoughts on the debate.
One thing I’ve thought about are the challenges posed to a university functioning as both an adult institution, as well as a place to host public events. Once you think about it, is this even possible? If we can’t …

I would like to respond to an editorial “Freedom of expression at the U of L” in last week (Feb3) edition of The Meliorist.  I feel the writer draws several unfair and false conclusion that I would like to bring to light, and hope to clarify.
The first is that the author seems to have deduced that persons who oppose censorship of art (including that under fire on L8 of our fine arts building) would also be in support of screening child pornography in our university.  This is a fallacy, and …

Recently there has been a great deal of discussion about explicit artwork that was on display in a public part of the university. As an art student myself, I’ve heard a lot of this discussion, both inside and outside of class. However, I’m also deeply religious and personally believe that the nature of the artwork on display was not appropriate for such a public setting. I’ve been troubled to find that my religious beliefs have been met with patronizing rhetoric, dismissal and sometimes hostility, from my fellow students. I understand …

Last week the interim leader of the fledgling Alberta Party, Sue Huff, spoke to the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs. Though her party is thoroughly in its infancy (as evidenced by her non-answers to several specific policy questions), it has come to represent some interesting notions about representation and how to improve the link between constituents, representatives, and the government.
Free votes in the legislature (on everything that isn’t a confidence motion or a campaign promise), consultations with Albertans on policy development (the much-vaunted “Big Listen”) and increasing transparency are …