Gauntlet - About: Mary Chan

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Normalizing the concept of war
2003-04-10 - Mary Chan, Gauntlet Columnist

Column - How strange is it that death by embolism is the most unusual item to emerge from a news day?

On Sun., April 7, American journalist David Bloom, who was embedded with U.S. infantry, died while covering the war in Iraq. He did not die because his military unit was bombed, or because he unexpectedly encountered Iraqi resistance fighters on the outskirts of Baghdad. Rather, he suffered a blood clot, collapsed and died of a pulmonary embolism. Lucky man, he had the privilege of living long enough to die of natural causes in a war zone.
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The future shouldn't be nine to five
As graduates search for their next step, many choose not to take the career route.
2003-04-03 - Mary Chan, Gauntlet Staff

Column - For several weeks now, university students have been searching for summer jobs, hoping to find something that will pay well enough to cover next year's tuition. Finding the money to finish a degree is a mere precursor to a dilemma many students face upon graduation: how to parlay said degree into a viable, long-term career.

Some students have an advantage over others, such as those in co-op programs who have already made connections in their field. While this might work for engineers, Science majors and even Communications students, this still leaves a large number of graduates in programs not necessarily conducive to work terms and internships (would someone please tell me, once and for all, what a co-op English student would do?). Additionally, co-op students might be in certain employment-friendly programs for the job opportunities, not because they are passionate about chemical bonding. They, too, face the daunting task of making a career out of something they love, and might in fact return to school to pursue studies in another discipline.
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Fiction better than reality of war
2003-03-27 - Mary Chan, Gauntlet Columnist

Column - Writing a column about fiction is difficult because the columnist must convey in prose the power of often-lyrical, brutal or transcendent writing. In other words, the authors I am about to discuss are much better writers than I am.

I have been thinking a lot about fiction in the past week, mostly because I have overindulged in blanket news media coverage of the war in Iraq. Switching from live, pixelated shots of the Iraqi desert and in depth analysis of Iraqi reconstruction does not provide what has been pointedly lacking in any war coverage: complex explorations of how conflict affects people at the deepest, most intimate, psychological and emotional level.
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You can't depend on the media--trust me
2003-03-20 - Mary Chan, Gauntlet Staff

Column - It is likely that the war in Iraq will begin before this paper hits the stands, and as such, we the viewers will be able to watch coverage from the front lines on TV. The journalists, however, will be "embedded" with American troops, meaning that they eat, sleep and travel with soldiers and therefore only record what the U.S. military allows them to see. While the military claims that they will not censor any coverage, the fact that they can control a reporter's mobility and access is enough to compromise journalistic integrity.

But it doesn't start there. Journalistic integrity in mainstream media is already compromised. Television news outlets such as CNN and MSNBC broadcast biased, conservative and patriotic coverage that ignores any possible anti-war dissention. The strongest invectives are reserved for the oxymoron that is FOX News. Unabashedly right-wing and pro-American, FOX News was hilariously spoofed in a recent Simpson's episode when Krusty ran for Congress. Sample news item: JFK alive, now Republican.
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The ever-expanding universe of Oprah.
What has she done now?
2003-03-06 - Mary Chan, Gauntlet Staff

Brace yourself. Oprah's Book Club is back, and this time she's targeting Literature with a capital "L."

Last week, Oprah Winfrey announced plans to restart her influential Book Club after cancelling it almost a year ago. Unlike her original book club, which only featured works from living authors, the new club will focus on classics. Tentatively titled "Travelling with the Classics," it will examine three to five books a year, and each show will originate from a relevant location, such as the author's birthplace or the book's setting.
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Inherent need for superiority fuels reality TV
2003-02-27 - Mary Chan

Column - Poor Reality TV. Sure, you're popular, but it seems like no one has anything good to say about you. When people confess to watching you, they use a hushed tone as if divulging a shameful secret. You have been accused of being stupid, dumb and cheesy, pandering to the lowest common denominator, and setting feminism back 30 years (I'm looking at you, The Bachelor).

Would somebody please cut Reality TV a break?
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Censoring poetic dissent in the US
2003-02-13 - Mary Chan, Gauntlet Columnist

Column - Does poetry have any place in the political arena?

Late last month, First Lady Laura Bush cancelled a Feb. 12 poetry symposium at the White House when some poets planned to turn it into an anti-war protest. Among the protesters are Washington-based poet and publisher Sam Hamill, who declined his invitation and encouraged the poets who did attend to read anti-war verses. He also e-mailed an open letter asking for anti-war poems, and has subsequently received over 5,000 submissions to date. While the original plan was to present an anthology of the verses at the symposium, Hamill has published them on a website, www.poetsagainstthewar.org, instead.
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Being Chinese Canadian often means feeling torn between two cultures--but that's not necessarily a bad thing
2003-01-30 - Mary Chan, Gauntlet Columnist

Column - Every Chinese New Year, I realize to what extent my identity is in a state of flux.

Last year, I watched Toronto residents celebrate the New Year on TV, explaining to reporters the symbolism of the food eaten, the lion dance, and so on and so on. To my dismay, many of the facts were previously unknown to me.
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Laughing about drinking and driving
2003-01-23 - Mary Chan, Gauntlet Columnist

Column - Thank you, Gordon Campbell, for driving this country to drink.

Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But ever since the British Columbian premier soundly failed a breathalyzer test after being pulled over in Hawaii almost two weeks ago, Canadians have had booze on the brain. Among other questions, they've pondered just how much alcohol could push a 200 pound man's blood alcohol level to 0.149, almost twice the legal limit of 0.08. Campbell maintains that he had three martinis before eating, and then two to three glasses of wine during a steak dinner. Would that be enough, or did Campbell drink more than he claimed?
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When citizens do good deeds
2003-01-16 - Mary Chan, Gauntlet Staff

Column - Sometimes it seems like the difference between taking responsibility for one's own actions and blaming someone else is a lawsuit.

On October 16, 2002, all seven members of the Dawson family of Baltimore were killed when their house was set on fire in retaliation for reporting drug dealers to the police. It was the second such incident for the Dawsons, as their house had been firebombed on Oct. 3. A local drug dealer has been arrested and charged for the deaths of two adults and their five school-aged children.
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