Dear Daily,
Congratulations on your referendum win and I look forward to future issues. Regarding Davide Mastracci’s letter concerning the same, Mastracci should realize that Christopher Wang’s opinion and contribution are not worth any less because they appear in the pages of Leacock’s rather than The Daily. Likewise, mischaracterizing an episode at the Bull and Bear to unsubtly accuse its Executive Editor of racism and sexism does nothing to refute the observations he makes in that piece. I was surprised and dismayed that Mastracci felt the need to dismiss Leacock’s as vapid and incapable of meaningful analysis, the Bull and Bear as a haven of racism and misogyny, and the McGill Tribune as a lapdog for the McGill administration in order to celebrate The Daily’s referendum victory. Mastracci and his ilk regularly flood the commentary pages of The Daily with shallow but provocative pieces and interpret controversy as a sign of success in challenging “norms many do not realize they carry,” rather than a failure to start a constructive and necessary conversation on those topics. The patronizing, holier-than-thou tone found in those commentaries and mirrored in Mastracci’s letter make them more successful at drowning out the type of substantive investigative journalism, arts, and culture features that Mastracci might agree makes the paper valuable than actually moving campus discourse forward. There is no need to denigrate, disrespect, and dismiss other campus publications to appreciate The Daily’s unique contribution, and Mastracci would do well to learn this.
—Casey Adams
U3 History and Political Science