My name is Kristian Rodriguez, and I am a senior at Syracuse University and member of Students for a Democratic Society on campus. David Kaplan’s column today stood out to me in its sheer oblivion to the reality of the Olympics. I found it quite alarming when he stated, ‘The Olympics are the microcosm of the ideal world.’

The independent news program ‘Democracy Now!’ started coverage yesterday of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. If you tune into the broadcast you will see that a historic gathering of ‘indigenous groups, anti-poverty activists and civil liberties advocates’ occurred in protest of the illusion of the Olympics, an illusion which you are under. You will see that his statement, ‘When the Olympics take place there are no conflicts’ is simply false. The Olympics is a multi-billion dollar corporate event that not only perpetuates ‘the ubiquitous struggles that plague our newspapers and televisions every day’ but in fact, worsens the problems that effect local. The Olympics will cost locals an estimated $6 billion in taxes. According to polling, only 50 percent of Vancouver citizens support the Olympics. According to Vancouver community activist Am Johal, ‘In the area of housing, we’ve had a net loss of 1,300 single resident occupancy hotel units, where a number of low-income people have lived in the city.’

He also states, ‘And even though it’s explained to us that this is going to result in economic development – it certainly benefits the tourism industry, it certainly benefits the development industry, it certainly benefits the construction trades, but after that, the economic benefits are really quite questionable, particularly around the issue of opportunity costs. From the day that the Olympics were awarded to Vancouver to the day that the opening ceremonies took place, homelessness more than doubled in this region. And so, when we see the amount of money that was spent on the opening ceremonies or a billion dollars on security, and at the same time, these social indicators that – across the city and across this region, seeing this change happen, it’s difficult for people not to make that connection.’

As a broadcast journalism major, I encourage Kaplan to research a variety of news sources so that he can stay informed and also so that he is not misinforming the mass amount of students that may have read his column. Kaplan owes it to students who may not have enough time to stay informed to provide them with accurate information. It is obvious his column is not only an op-ed when he states, ‘The Olympics represent all the good that the world can be,’ but it is a misinformed one.

Kristian Rodriguez

Students for a Democratic Society