I join in celebrating the Jamaica College victory in the boys’ under-19 athletics competition. Exactly 100 years ago in 1911, National Hero Norman Washington Manley was captain of the victorious JC team that year. While JC has won football and athletics many times, this is the first time in many decades that JC has won both the football and athletics competition in one academic year.

The JC athletics victory happened as one key athlete was disqualified by the principal for having less than acceptable academic results. JC was relying on this athlete to bring in 20 points. This means JC would have amassed 300 points instead of 280. Congratulations also to Holmwood for winning the girls’ under-19 athletics championship for the ninth year in a row.

The athletes of some schools were not allowed to take part in championships this year because their principals had not entered their registration forms. Some of the disqualified students have taken their schools to court. Whatever decision the court takes is not the issue here. I refer to the constitutional right of any citizen including students to seek redress, irrespective of ISSA’s rules.

How can anyone make rules and regulations that contravene the laws of the country? Did anyone advise the ISSA principals that in making a rule that stops the students from taking legal action they could be hauled before the courts for impeding their constitutional rights?

The boys’ and girls’ under-19 athletics championships remind me of the proposed new bill of rights charter that now needs ratification by the Senate. I hope that freedom from gender discrimination will not mean in law that it is impossible to have all-men or all-women associations.

I believe that men should have the right to have associations by themselves and also women should be able to do likewise. Gender equality should be in terms of equal rights and opportunities in education, occupation and right of redress before the law, not about taking away the right of either gender to form gender-specific associations.

Many Jamaicans fought for decades to get Parliament to strengthen the night noise law so that they could sleep well at night. But now we hear from National Security Minister Dwight Nelson that this law might be revisited “so that people can enjoy themselves”.

Is there a connection between a loss of popularity at the televised Manatt Commission of Enquiry and this latest move by the minister ? Or is Dwight Nelson simply “flying a kite” to see the reaction of the Jamaican voters?

I was of the view that the Manatt Commission was called early so that any

fallout in popularity for the present government could be countered by road work sponsored by foreign money in time for the elections due next year, 2012. But it appears that the Bruce Golding administration did not anticipate such a fall in popularity as a result of the Manatt Commission which might not be retrievable in time for the next election.

In the 1980s the then Minister of Public Utilities and Transport Pearnel Charles correctly saw to the enforcing of regulations to stop loud and lewd music on public transportation. But this law has been breached more often than observed since that time.

About three years ago, the present government brought more buses into the Jamaica Urban Transport Corporation (JUTC) system. Transport Minister Mike Henry spoke in glowing terms about the new buses because they would have radio systems that would be used for educational purposes.

I criticised the move because the bus radios would mean more loud and lewd music. About a month after the new JUTC buses were in operation, I was on a coaster bus where I called to the driver because of loud and lewd music. He shouted, “Guh tell dat to JUTC “.

But while JUTC drivers are generally not as bad as some of those who drive other buses and most JUTC bus drivers have abided by the laws governing radio and music in public transport vehicles, there is inappropriate music on JUTC buses sometimes – not often.

But it still goes to show that as a people we are still not yet mature enough to have access to a media system for public use and not abuse it. Many historians, sociologists and political analysts believe that most politicians will never allow mental transformation of our people. Too many of them want to keep our people in a state of mental slavery for election purposes.

So Everald Warmington won again. Many who responded online to the Jamaica Observer story seem not to know that Warmington’s win has to do with the power of party organisation, combined with the fact that the PNP did not field a candidate. The strategy of boycotting by-elections was also used by the JLP in the 1970s and 1990s.

ekrubm765@yahoo.com