Letters


.
THE EDITOR'S VOICE \| LETTERS \| ASK THE EXPERT \| ASSOCIATION NEWS \| CLASS ACTS \| LAST WORD
LET THE GAMES BEGIN \| ALUMNI PROFILE . OPENING BEDROOM DOORS \| COLLECTOR'S ITEMS
SHARE THE MEMORIES \| HOMECOMING 2000
			HOME
			.



Stressing communications Many thanks to Patrick McDonagh for bringing to light the importance of communications and new opportunities being provided by the IIT and Concordia (“The Cyborg’s Lifeblood,” June 00). I’m a member of this fascinating industry, which is continuing to evolve. I am inclined to stress the term communications rather than telecommunications. Concepts such as “Electronic Business” and “Customer Relationship Management” have helped transform telcos into communications companies. BT (formerly British Telecom), for example, some time back changed its name and mission statement to reflect changes within the industry from being telephony focused to communications focused. BT is also transforming the way it conducts business to become an e-business. Murray Rahn, BCom 95 (int’l. bus.) Bracknell, Berkshire, England Fond memories The September 2000 issue carried news about two of my former instructors. It was nice to see Professor Chalk’s familiar face on the cover and to read about his work on genocide. In Memoriam carried the sad news about Rytsa Tobias. I first met Professor Tobias at Sir George when she was my faculty adviser. I was waiting in a reception area somewhere in the Hall Building and she came out of her office and introduced herself. This was in the early ’70s and I was still not used to the idea that women could occupy important positions. I blurted out, “Oh, I thought you were a man.” She half smiled and said, “Sorry.” We both laughed. A couple of years later, I was a student in Professor Tobias’s English Novel class. I will always remember that after she or a student had read a particularly brilliant piece of literature, she would say, “Good stuff.” Now, whenever I read anything I too like to say “good stuff.” I have many fond memories of that class but especially of Professor Tobias. Sandra Barnes, BA 77 Edmonton Holocaust reading Regarding the article on genocide studies (“Imagining the Unimaginable,” September 00), I am just finishing an outstanding book on the Holocaust, Hitler’s Willing Executioners, Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, by Daniel Goldhagen, associate professor of government and social studies at Harvard University. This book was expanded from his doctoral dissertation and has won international awards. Goldhagen argues that many ordinary Germans willingly participated in the Holocaust. I had thought the Holocaust was only the work of Hitler and the SS. I can now understand how and why it happened. Daniel Goldhagen changed my view of the world forever. Howard Koch, S BCom 68 North York, Ont. Ed’s note: Many scholars question the validity of Daniel Goldhagen’s book, but he continues to defend his conclusions. Unbalanced view The “Editor’s Voice” (September 00) had the misleading title of “Balancing Act.” Your disparaging the Alliance Party as “one sided, anachronistic . . . thank goodness” illustrates the typical eastern ignorance of western passion. There is a good reason why the “Lieberal” [i.e., lie-beral] Party does not show its colours west of Saskatchewan and probably never will. I will not waste my time discussing the essence of the platform of my Canadian Alliance Movement — it’s all about freedom and I’m sure that you wouldn’t understand anyway. Universities were created as a vehicle for the free flow of ideas and ultimately for the pursuit of truth. As a representative of Concordia you exemplify Lieberal elitism and political correctness. Do not use the adjective “university” in conjunction with Concordia. Free in the West, Rick Bujnowicz, BSc 76 Calgary Clarifications In the article “Imagining the Unimaginable,” September 00: • Frank Chalk’s former student is seeking to encourage democracy in all of Ukraine, not just Kiev • the Americans supported the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from 1978 (not 1975, as reported) to 1982 • in the Chalk Jonassohn typology, in referring to the Venus de Milo, Chalk in fact said, “This great symbol of ancient culture is actually a remnant of a civilization that perpetrated [not was destroyed by] one of the earliest genocides in recorded history”; in referring to the Holocaust, Chalk said, “Jews, Gypsies and Slavs [not sloughs] were regarded as the antitheses of the ideal Aryan”; and it was Stalin, not Stalin and Lenin, who “justified the killing of 5 million to 7 million Ukrainians by stereotyping them as unruly Kulaks.” In “Kudos,” Suzanne Belson’s degrees should have read BA 76, GrDip 86, MA 91.

				I
Magazine Information	Alumni Association	Back Issues	Change Of Address	Contact Us
				I
D e s i g n e d b y n e p t o k i . c o m


.
THE EDITOR'S VOICE \| LETTERS \| ASK THE EXPERT \| ASSOCIATION NEWS \| CLASS ACTS \| LAST WORD
LET THE GAMES BEGIN \| ALUMNI PROFILE . OPENING BEDROOM DOORS \| COLLECTOR'S ITEMS
SHARE THE MEMORIES \| HOMECOMING 2000
			HOME
			.



Stressing communications Many thanks to Patrick McDonagh for bringing to light the importance of communications and new opportunities being provided by the IIT and Concordia (“The Cyborg’s Lifeblood,” June 00). I’m a member of this fascinating industry, which is continuing to evolve. I am inclined to stress the term communications rather than telecommunications. Concepts such as “Electronic Business” and “Customer Relationship Management” have helped transform telcos into communications companies. BT (formerly British Telecom), for example, some time back changed its name and mission statement to reflect changes within the industry from being telephony focused to communications focused. BT is also transforming the way it conducts business to become an e-business. Murray Rahn, BCom 95 (int’l. bus.) Bracknell, Berkshire, England Fond memories The September 2000 issue carried news about two of my former instructors. It was nice to see Professor Chalk’s familiar face on the cover and to read about his work on genocide. In Memoriam carried the sad news about Rytsa Tobias. I first met Professor Tobias at Sir George when she was my faculty adviser. I was waiting in a reception area somewhere in the Hall Building and she came out of her office and introduced herself. This was in the early ’70s and I was still not used to the idea that women could occupy important positions. I blurted out, “Oh, I thought you were a man.” She half smiled and said, “Sorry.” We both laughed. A couple of years later, I was a student in Professor Tobias’s English Novel class. I will always remember that after she or a student had read a particularly brilliant piece of literature, she would say, “Good stuff.” Now, whenever I read anything I too like to say “good stuff.” I have many fond memories of that class but especially of Professor Tobias. Sandra Barnes, BA 77 Edmonton Holocaust reading Regarding the article on genocide studies (“Imagining the Unimaginable,” September 00), I am just finishing an outstanding book on the Holocaust, Hitler’s Willing Executioners, Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, by Daniel Goldhagen, associate professor of government and social studies at Harvard University. This book was expanded from his doctoral dissertation and has won international awards. Goldhagen argues that many ordinary Germans willingly participated in the Holocaust. I had thought the Holocaust was only the work of Hitler and the SS. I can now understand how and why it happened. Daniel Goldhagen changed my view of the world forever. Howard Koch, S BCom 68 North York, Ont. Ed’s note: Many scholars question the validity of Daniel Goldhagen’s book, but he continues to defend his conclusions. Unbalanced view The “Editor’s Voice” (September 00) had the misleading title of “Balancing Act.” Your disparaging the Alliance Party as “one sided, anachronistic . . . thank goodness” illustrates the typical eastern ignorance of western passion. There is a good reason why the “Lieberal” [i.e., lie-beral] Party does not show its colours west of Saskatchewan and probably never will. I will not waste my time discussing the essence of the platform of my Canadian Alliance Movement — it’s all about freedom and I’m sure that you wouldn’t understand anyway. Universities were created as a vehicle for the free flow of ideas and ultimately for the pursuit of truth. As a representative of Concordia you exemplify Lieberal elitism and political correctness. Do not use the adjective “university” in conjunction with Concordia. Free in the West, Rick Bujnowicz, BSc 76 Calgary Clarifications In the article “Imagining the Unimaginable,” September 00: • Frank Chalk’s former student is seeking to encourage democracy in all of Ukraine, not just Kiev • the Americans supported the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia from 1978 (not 1975, as reported) to 1982 • in the Chalk Jonassohn typology, in referring to the Venus de Milo, Chalk in fact said, “This great symbol of ancient culture is actually a remnant of a civilization that perpetrated [not was destroyed by] one of the earliest genocides in recorded history”; in referring to the Holocaust, Chalk said, “Jews, Gypsies and Slavs [not sloughs] were regarded as the antitheses of the ideal Aryan”; and it was Stalin, not Stalin and Lenin, who “justified the killing of 5 million to 7 million Ukrainians by stereotyping them as unruly Kulaks.” In “Kudos,” Suzanne Belson’s degrees should have read BA 76, GrDip 86, MA 91.