6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEB. 25, 2016 EDITOR SEAN LEE New pub an off-campus alternative think it is important that students pes: a place to drink and relax out- side of class, but the off-campus op- tions currently available to Langara students are limited. The new Dublin Crossing Irish Pub at Marine Gateway is making it easier for Langara Students to get a drink near campus. Although it’s already open and run- ning, it will have its grand opening on Feb. 25. A combination of class, work, and life in general, can be very stressful for students. The current options for a drink on or near campus don’t suffice. One can always get a drink at the Langara Sushi Café, however, there have been difficulties for some __ interna- tional students when it comes to purchasing alco- hol there, and their business OPINION hours are limit- ed. JORDAN ; It important or busy an MACDONALD hardworking r4 4 students to kick back with their favourite class- The cur- mates and dis- cuss their lives rent op- over drinks tions for a — without the drink on presence of their campus looming or near in the back- campus ground. don’t This new pub on will offer a suffice healthy break from the monot- ony of school life. Before Dublin Crossing was even built, the closest pub to Langara was Elephant Walk Neighbourhood Pub, a hefty half hour commute via transit from Langara. Dublin Crossing is a much more rea- sonable one-stop ride to the Marine Drive station on the Canada Line. Both SFU and the UBC have pubs on- campus and it is understandable why Langara College does not. Campus pubs are expensive to sus- tain, and we do not have the same re- sources they do. The new pub at Marine Drive Station will provide a nice option for Langara students to at least have somewhere close to go have a drink. Now that we have this new option, I urge students to go and support your local businesses. But please, drink responsibly. We want to hear from you Got a different point of view? Write to us. Problems with something we've said? Let us know. Think we got a fact wrong? Tellus. Journalism instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email her at ebulman@langara.be.ca SEAN LEE comic ngara's Secret Union ere is an abundance of stories in The Voice about our student government, the Langara Stu- dents’ Union (or, LSU, as it is so amiably known in the newsroom). Despite the number of stories we run about the LSU, readers might notice a common theme throughout: they are essentially all about how the LSU lacks transparency. I’ve personally never concerned my- self with student politics until I came to Langara. During my undergrad, I rarely heard about the student association at my university. I only knew where the stu- dent union building was because that’s where the pub was. I didn’t realize how badly student unions could act towards the very peo- ple they represent, or that these stu- dent unions had so much to hide. Two examples stand out to me: the recent BCIT inci- dent, and when one of The Voice reporters was nearly suspended. Both are proof that these student asso- ciations might not necessarily look out for the best in- terests of the stu- dent body, but have their own private agendas. The student unions should look to larger gover- nance, such as federal politics, to mod- el their behaviour after. Everyone wants our federal government to be OPINION SEAN LEE transparent and support the citizens. We want them to be in office for the sake of the people, not themselves. Maybe the problem lies in the fact that we are entrusting fellow students, who may not have much experience with politics to take up such an impor- tant position that bears so much re- sponsibility. Maybe politics just gets to people’s heads. The students vote the student unions into office, because we, as the student body, are promised that we will be properly represented and supported. We vote you in, you work for us. We’re not even asking you to do a great job. The very least you can do for the students is to be transparent, so that the trust in the union can be main- tained. Sexual assault policy needed not need to be made more compli- cated by Langara’s lack of clear policy. Buried in Langara’s Student Code of Conduct is a line of text that prohibits sexual misconduct but there is yet to be a single policy that shows how the college would han- dle sexual assaults and what conse- quences abusers would face, wheth- er students or fac- Ss": assault is a crime that does OPINION or CHAHIRA y. MERARSI According to a Maclean’s article from October 2014, one in five women in Canada will be sexually assaulted as students. The Toronto Star reported in November 2014 that only nine of 102 Ca- nadian universities and colleges have policies designed to deal with sexual assault. If the crime were not one that pre- dominantly affected women, would there be such a void of action on cam- puses? If one in five men were violently assaulted during their academic ca- reers, would there be policies in place to prevent and penalize these crimes? Sexual assault often leaves survivors feeling ashamed and at fault. Langara’s web page discussing sexu- al assault does a good job of addressing the issue of victim shaming: “Sexual assault is not the survivor’s fault and is a violent crime. What clothes a person wore, where they were, who they were with, or whether they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of their assault does not make them responsible for any violence they may experience,” the website says. “The only person responsible for a sexual assault is the person who com- mits the crime.” If it’s understood that sexual assault is a violent crime, which abusers are responsible for, then the process for re- porting sexual assault should be made as easy as possible for survivors. Although Langara makes it clear survivors are not at fault, colleges and academic institutions across Canada need to clarify what actions they will take when sexual assault cases are re- ported. Sexual assault affects a large number of students across the country and to create a safe environment for all students, this unfortunate reality can- not be ignored. 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 E-MAIL thevoice@langara.bc.ca DROP-IN Room A226 Langara College There is a mailbox at the entrance to the journalism rooms. SNAIL MAIL The Voice 100 West 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 226 WEBSITE wwwiangaravoice.ca EDITORIAL STAFF MANAGING EDITOR Kate Richardson PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Bridgette Watson PAGE 2 Kathryn Wu PAGE 3 Tessa Vikander PAGE 4 Rumana Dsouza PAGE 5 Murray B. Hunt PAGE 6 Sean Lee PAGE 7 Vincent Matak PAGE 8 Kevin Underhill MANAGING WEB EDITOR Seyedmostafa Raziei WEB EDITORS Ben Bengtson Rosemary Newton Mark Stuart Jake Costello Serena Pattar Scott Drake COPY/WEB EDITOR Nancy Plechaty REPORTERS Daniel Dadi-Cantarino Chantelle Deacon Reuben Dongalen JR. Natalie Dunsmuir Scott Forbes Simran Gill Nico Hemandez Brian Kurokawa Alyd Llewellyn Jordan Macdonald Veronnica Mackillop Chahira Merarsi Luis Mina Linda Nguyen Alison Pudsey Ashley Singh Roberto Teixeira Anna Tilley Jenna Tytgat Chandler Walter Jake Wray Contact us: Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter: @LangaraVoice