The facts of a sexual assault case in territorial court last week were so disturbing, they could have been ripped from the script of a tragic made-for-TV movie.

An intoxicated 16-year-old girl was raped by a 17-year-old hockey player after he offered to walk her home one night last June.

The vicious attack was only made worse when the attacker's friends repeatedly harassed and taunted her after the incident - as if she was the instigator - ultimately forcing her to quit school.

How does that reflect on the society we live in?

Children are supposed to be a reflection of the morals and attitudes of their parents, siblings, friends and neighbours.

This case clearly indicates that kids today are getting the wrong message about what types of behaviour are acceptable or not.

Did the teenager realize that he was committing a crime, as surely as if he had broken into a house and brutally assaulted the owner? Would he have believed he could do such a thing?

We doubt it. It's more likely he thought he was in for a sexual adventure, one he could later brag about to his friends.

In 2004, the latest figures available, 69 sexual assaults and two aggravated sexual assault complaints were reported to Yellowknife RCMP.

The incidence of sexual assault in the NWT is 83 per cent higher than the rest of Canada. Parents, teachers and students are no doubt horrified about this most recent incident - and so they should be.

As responsible adults, we all need to be role models and ensure younger generations are educated about what is right and wrong. Do our children know that to act sexually toward anyone of any age could be a serious crime.

Do our young girls understand that in one way, to be touched sexually against their will is the same as a burglar breaking into their home and beating up their parents. Wouldn't they tell the police if that happened?

And the young boys, do they understand forcing anyone sexually is like being that same burglar. Would they hurt someone like that?

We all have the right to live, work and be educated in a safe environment free from harassment and violence.

With such horrifying statistics, each and every one of us should reflect on our own attitudes and morals to determine whether we are setting a bad example for our children. If there is any chance we are, then it's time to change.

We don't want our family, friends or neighbours to be next.

Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News

It's good see Canada Post take the first step in providing an Inuktitut-speaking employee in Rankin Inlet.

Canada Post is advertising for an on-call worker in Rankin who speaks both Inuktitut and English.

On-call workers are used when full-time employees are not available due to sickness, holidays or, on occasion, training.

Many of the past reasons given for not having an Inuktitut-speaking employee in Rankin were valid ones.

But that doesn't change the fact Inuktitut is the main language in Nunavut and the service should be provided.

It's not as good as a full-time job, but the person hired for the on-call position will gain valuable experience and, hopefully, will be able to step in when the day comes that there's staff turnover at the facility.

While there's little doubt media attention played a role in the new job being posted (Posting Its Defense, Kivalliq News, May 10, and Speaking Different Languages, Nunavut News/North, May 8), Canada Post still deserves full marks for proving it does listen to the voice of its customers.

It's not the permanent solution Rankin Mayor Lorne Kusugak has been fighting for the past few years, but it's a compromise and a step forward in relations between the two sides.

The Rankin post office is exactly the type of situation where media coverage benefits the people of a community, but those days may soon come to an end if Joe Public doesn't let his voice be heard.

More and more journalists in Canada and the United States are being pressured by law-enforcement agencies to reveal their sources in major stories.

The latest assault on the freedom of the press is a subpoena to San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams to give testimony before a grand jury on how they obtained leaked testimony from the grand jury in the Barry Bonds steroid scandal.

The string of stories were mainly responsible for the best-selling book, Game of Shadows.

Not exactly life-threatening stuff.

So why should the people of the Kivalliq region care about such things?

Simple. If law enforcement continues to harass journalists into revealing their sources, nobody will talk to reporters who are doing anything deeper than a feature on hamlet days.

There will be nobody left to inform the public of wrongdoing at any level.

Think of every person you know in a position of power, trust or high finance.

Would you have faith in each and every one of them to always do the right thing, should the day ever come they have no fear of being exposed?

The assault on the media is not just an attack on reporters.

It's an outrageous attack on the people's right to know.

This is not a battle the media

cannot win alone. It needs the public's help in sending a clear message to government that such action will not be tolerated.

Make no mistake about it, when it comes to information on wrongdoing, there is nothing golden about silence.

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum

After spending some time at our humble skatepark on Sunday afternoon, it became apparent to me that our youth have a dilemma.

Please bear with me as I try to get my point across to some of the older people in town who don't use the park.

See, I feel that the skatepark is like a flower. Years ago, the powers that be decided that the voices of Inuvik's youth could not be ignored any longer, and a few large ramps were built.

I see that as a seed being planted and I am sure everyone out there with a green thumb knows what that’s all about.

Those ramps were then supposed to blossom into a beautiful flower, a park, that would deter kids from thrashing decks outside the drug store and other downtown locales.

Just planting the seed is not enough, though. Water and care are also needed. Once a plant grows out of its pot, you need to move it into a bigger pot.

Since moving the skatepark is not an option, why not improve on it?

I talked to some skaters who were about to head over to the park. They had a bright green metal rail in tow, and said it was to “trick off of.”

Making their own rail was necessary because currently there is nothing adequate to grind on. They suggested that the town put in a simple concrete fun box, or pyramid, to allow them to pull some radical tricks. A concrete fun box wouldn't be too expensive or hard to install.

I responded to their idea with cynicism in my voice. I reminded them that a similar box had already been made out of wood.

They pointed at the deteriorating box, which was partially smashed and looked unstable. It was no wonder they made their own rail.

I understand what you might be thinking, about how the youth are going to vandalize anything good in this town. You may ask: "Why should we give them something else to break?"

Well, I think adding new and fun elements to the skatepark would increase its usage.

I see kids that are bored with the ramps we have now. I also see that we have some very unskilled kids in this town who consider themselves “taggers” - spraypainting their names and numbers all over the park in a dull red paint.

It's kids like those that need the wake-up call, not the future role models who are out there getting active and teaching younger kids new tricks.

But if you must, here are a few pointers to the kids who choose to paint their logos all over the park: Don't write your name. It makes you look bad, and your parents even worse; Learn how to spell. For the sake of those of us who have to live with your stupid tag, we should at least be able to read it; Get colour co-ordinated. If you need to paint your name and favourite number on the park ramp, do it multi-coloured. It will look a lot better; Use some style, and get a plan first. Paint like that is permanent until the art class paints over it.

I bet if your tag looked cool, they would keep it there.

Just use your head and if you see anyone painting the park, tell them to make sure it looks nice.

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum

Have you heard about too many proposed projects lately?

Are you having a hard time keeping facts and numbers straight in your head?

Do you find yourself dreading announcements stating that yet another group is coming into your community to give a presentation or an information session?

If you are exhibiting one of more of these symptoms, you may be coming down with a nasty case of consultation overload.

The concept of consultation overload, as the name suggests, is rather self- explanatory. It's used to describe the idea that people are being asked to consider and give input on too many projects and developments.

It's easy to see how people could catch the symptoms of overload.

Calendars quickly become full if you write down all the groups who are making presentations. Some weeks it reaches a point where a person could probably get a free, but not very nutritious supper, every weeknight because most groups provide snacks.

And the term consultation overload is not just a layman's concept. It was actually used by one of the presenters at the mineral exploration session held during the week in Fort Simpson. The session, oddly enough, was only attended by two people.

But is there a cure for consultation overload?

Maybe not and it's likely that more and more of the population will contract it over time.

Just imagine, if the future development boom that people keep alluding to actually occurs there may not be enough time for all the necessary consultations. Some day we may look back fondly and long for this time.

An interesting part of human behaviour was illustrated in Fort Providence during the visit of a young black bear.

Although accounts may be slightly exaggerated, allegedly everyone in the community came out to watch the bear that was in a field in town.

The renewable resources officer had to use her loud speaker to warn people to stay back from the animal. Similar situations have happened in the past in Fort Simpson where wandering bears have attracted too much human attention.

The attraction of joining a crowd that is watching a bear is probably closely linked to the same factors that make people slow down and gawk at accident scenes or come out to watch buildings on fire.

Almost everyone has been guilty of this behaviour at one point. You know it's probably not the right thing to do, but it's almost impossible to stop yourself. There is something about humans and their curiosity which draws them to accidents and things like bears that might actually prove to be dangerous.

If people stopped to think about it long enough, they might realize sometimes their curiosity puts them in a degree of danger.

Let's just hope that no one ever gets hurt or killed like the proverbial cat, from the human instinct to be curious.

We should try to remember to give professionals the room they need to do their jobs in these situations.

An error appeared in the front page TGIF column in last Friday's Yellowknifer. The Relay for Life finished Saturday morning not Sunday. We apologize for any embarrassment or confusion caused by the error. Also a clarification, in Friday's article "Yellowknifer appears before United Nations," June 2, the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation were also funding recipients from the Makivik Corporation and the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation.