Dear Friend of the Canadian Boat to Gaza Project,

What if you could bring real tidings of comfort and joy to the people of Palestine? And what if you could do it with the click of a button?

The Alma Mater Society (AMS), the student body of the University of British Columbia (UBC), is up in arms over a progressive move made by two leaders of the council.

In 2009, AMS President Blake Frederick and Vice President External Tim Chu made an official complaint to the United Nations regarding rising tuition costs at the university. Such hikes, they argue, breach human rights by making UBC, supposedly a public institution, inaccessible for much of the population. Frederick and Chu claim that the British Columbian and federal governments must be held accountable for the breach.

The Alma Mater Society (AMS), or student council, of the University of British Columbia (UBC) is generally considered by students to be an inherently problematic institution in which a select few young, power-grabbing students are able to fulfill their power-trip fantasies. The actions of the council are usually met with little more than a flippant but indifferent "I hate the AMS" from frustrated students, who view the body contentiously but as essentially harmless.

Two weeks ago, however, the council voted down the proposed installation of a disability representative to the body, an action that has students reacting with more fervor than usual.

We are the ironic generation. Hipster or no, how many times have you laughed along with a racist, sexist, or homophobic joke, even guiltily, thinking to yourself: It's okay, I'm not really racist, sexist or a homophobe! It's ironic laughter!

But can we really joke about everything? Where do we draw the limits of humour in our supposedly post-feminist, post-colonial society?