Dear Editor,
I have to write in support of the council's decision to modernize and alter their part of the May Day celebrations in New Westminster. While there are arguably some valuable historical lessons for children to take from the whole affair, on the whole I think that May Day as presently constituted is seriously flawed.
As I understand it, the practice of selecting members of the "royal suite" amounts to a popularity contest amongst the elementary students of the district. What right-thinking adults would want to associate themselves with that? Should a group of worthy citizens calling themselves "Royal Lancers" desire to keep the tradition alive and conduct their quadrille with a group of girls representing the May Day "royal suite," by all means they should be allowed to do so. They should form a non-profit society, solicit volunteers, decide on how their May Queen should be selected, and have their ball. All the parents who are keen that their children should take part should sign up.
May Day is a great display, and a grand tradition, but the time has come to scale it back to whomever wishes to participate. Many parents may not be aware of the great deal of time it takes from our children's school curriculum, and as a parent of two students who recently passed through elementary school in New West, I suggest it is too much. Let's have a little more emphasis on schooling during the school day.
It's time for the school district's relationship with May Day to get seriously scaled back as well. If May Day was a great egalitarian tradition, where honours were selected based on merit and which didn't celebrate outdated and frankly sexist notions of the place of girls in our society (much like beauty contests), then perhaps it would be easier to argue in its favour - but it isn't.
Michel Roy
