6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOV. 10,2016 EDITOR ALISON PUDSEY lewpoints Advertise our shoot- ing policy erched above a country with Pin: the strongest gun culture on the planet and a rate of school shootings that shocks the imagination, it can be easy for Canadians to look to our neighbours to the south, shrug our shoulders and claim we are doing pretty well in comparison. But comparisons are worth little when a random act of violence claims the lives of people we have spoken to, shared a _ laugh with and studied beside. These are real people, not statistics. The fatal stab- bing at Abbotsford Senior Secondary on Nov. 1 is a raw and emotional re- minder that these acts can and do in our communities and OPINION EMELIE PEACOCK happen schools. School shootings are extremely rare. Only 34 shooting deaths have oc- curred at schools across Canada in the past 41 years, with just four shootings at post-secondary institutions, accord- ing to a recent CBC article. These events are rare, but not non-existent. This week, The Voice reports that Langara does not adequately inform students of its policy on how to respond to a potential shooter on campus. Is this a negligent act on the part of Lan- gara? Most likely it’s because this has not yet been an issue at the college. While students shouldn’t panic as the likeli- hood of an attack C C is very low, Lan- gara is still the . most accessible Keeping campus in Van- couver, both by studen ts location and by safe is the primary goal ofa place of campus design. Members of the learning public can easily get to the cam- pus by public transit and enter any building on campus, unfet- tered. Keeping students safe is the primary goal of a place of learning. This in- cludes safety from all forms of vio- lence, however random and being in- formed of the measures to take in the case of such an eventuality. Your voice matters to us Got a story idea? Any issues you want us to cover? Write to thevoice@langara.be.ca Problems with something we've said? Let us know. Think we got a fact wrong? Tellus. Journalisin instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email her at ebulman@langara.be.ca Take Trump seriously n the dark hours following Donald Trump’s unfathomable — victory Tuesday night, I heard a dangerous sentiment repeated by many of my fellow progressive Canadians: “At least we don’t live in the States.” I generally respect optimistic reac- tions to bad news, but the circumstanc- es surrounding this disaster in America are so dire that it’s time for us to be unre- servedly upset. Optimism might serve to calm us - this is not the time OPINION to relax. On Wednesday morning, The JAKEWRAY Globe and Mail re- ported that Kellie Leitch, the Conservative leadership candidate pushing for codification and enforcement of “Canadian values,” sent an email earlier in the day to her supporters in which she _ praised Trump’s ideologies. “It’s an exciting message and one that we need delivered in Canada as well,” she wrote. Leitch is one of 14 candidates en- gaged in the Conservative Party of Canada’s leadership race. Remember when Trump was one of 17 candidates in the Republican pri- mary back in March? He was a joke, an afterthought — not a serious contender. Look at how quickly that fell apart. If Canadians take only one lesson away from Trump’s unpredictable as- cent to power, it’s that we need to pay a little more attention to right wing fringe politicians and their raucous fol- lowers. Trump’s win is only the latest exam- ple of a disturbing global trend toward dangerous right wing politics. The violent reign of Filipino presi- dent Rodrigo Duterte, the economical- ly reckless Brexit vote and the forceful impeachment of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff are all examples of damage wreaked by the extreme right. We cannot afford to underestimate Trump’s victory or the rumblings of fringe conservatives in Canada. That doesn’t mean we should demonize Trump’s — support- C C dian counterparts, either. cent of the popular for us to be vote went to Trump ers or their Cana- o ge Forty seven per It's time on Tuesday. That’s unreseru not a small group edly upset. of outliers whose Optimism concerns, no mat- . ter how vitriolic or Might offensive, can be serve to written off. Progressive Ca- calm us -- nadians need to study those con- cerns, so we can anticipate the course of our next federal election. Perhaps, by breaking bread with Cana- dians on the far right, we can steer our country away from a catastrophic fed- eral election in 2019. this is not the time to relax t used to be trendy to just have rips in your jeans, but a new trend known as “home- less fashion” has quickly changed , NGA rashionable to OPINION have rips just about anywhere in your clothes, and you can thank Kanye West for that. His new YEEZY Season 3 line has homeless inspired fashion, which includes sweaters tat- ALISON PUDSEY Sweet outfit! YEEZY Season 3? CHANDLER WALTER and VERONNICA MACKILLOP comic Kanye tears into fashion tered with holes, that look like they could fall apart at any minute. While I love a good pair of ripped jeans, I can’t say this is a trend I would be eager to explore. This grunge-in- spired look means having holes all over your clothes and my first concern is, how do the clothes even last? Being on a limited budget as a stu- dent, I want the clothes I buy to not just fall apart in a few weeks. When I go shopping, I usually look for fabric qual- ity that can endure my busy lifestyle. Buying items that are already shred- ded and covered in holes seems like a complete waste to me. Homelessness is a major issue in Vancouver and some believe this trend is somewhat poking fun at a vulnerable population. The title of “homeless fash- ion” makes me question the sensitivity towards these individuals. Some peo- ple, homeless or not, have no other choice but to wear clothing with holes, and these holes may have nothing to do with what is trendy. I would hate to wear any piece of clothing that appears to be mocking someone else, especially someone who is suffering. Everyone has the freedom to wear whatever they want and express them- selves through their clothing, but this is a trend I will definitely be passing on. Fil fay ce) The Voice is published by Langara College's journalism department. Editorial opinions are those of the staff and are independent of views of the student government and administration. We welcome letters to the editor. They may be edited for brevity. Your letter must include your name and phone number. HOW TO REACH US PHONE 604-323-5396 FAX 604-323-5398 E-MAIL thevoice@langara.bc.ca DROP-IN Room A226 Langara College SNAIL MAIL The Voice 100 West 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 226 WEBSITE wwwiangaravoice.ca EDITORIAL STAFF MANAGING EDITOR Brian Kurokawa PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Linda Nguyen PAGE 2 Ashley Singh PAGE 3 Veronnica Mackillop PAGE 4 Anna Tilley PAGE 5 Reuben Dongalen Ji. PAGE 7 Roberto Teixeira PAGE 8 Scott Forbes MANAGING WEB EDITOR Simran Gill WEB EDITORS Nico Hemandez Chancler Walter Chantelle Deacon Alyd Llewellyn Jake Wray Jenna Tytgat COPY/WEB EDITOR Chahira Merarsi REPORTERS Alyse Kotyk Bonnie Lee La Madeleine Bala Yogesh Cheryl Whiting Chelsea Powrie Clare Hennig Emelie Peacock Jessica Purver Kristyn Anthony Lauren Boothby Michele Paulse Melanie Green Sean Hitrec Stuart Neatby Tanner Bokor Contact us: Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter: @LangaraVoice