To the editor:

This comment is in reference to an article published in the September 9th issue of the McGill Reporter. In the article entitled "McGill and Coke set to ink deal," it was reported that SSMU president Andrew Tischler and Principal Bernard Shapiro were both pleased with the deal in question and that the issue of exclusivity "pales in comparison to the financial needs of the University."

I will try to remain brief, but I would like to address this and further clarify the PGSS's position on the issue. McGill's situation is not unique; like most universities in Canada it is a public institution, it is experiencing financial difficulties and a vast majority of its students are Canadian and of voting age.

It is the policy makers in the provincial and federal governments who have cut funding to post-secondary education and have created this debacle; these policy makers are accountable to the voting public. If we are dissatisfied with the current financial situation, students should be uniting politically against these short-sighted politicians and thus protect our right to an accessible education.

By accepting corporate sponsorship we are sending the wrong message to the government; it is a short-term solution and may prevent the possibility of any meaningful advances in the realm of public funding to education.

Aaron J. Windsor
Executive Chairperson,
The Post-Graduate Students' Society of McGill University