6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 EDITOR BRONWYN SCOTT New phones for campus safety are unnecessary angara is in the process of Eee all doors, setting up an outdoor loudspeaker and installing Code Blue phone kiosks around campus. I wonder if all these features are really necessary. While I can understand that re-keying the school is essential, especially considering the locks haven’t been changed for about 15 years, these other security features don’t seem worth the price tag. Langara is such a small campus, and with no reason for concern besides a few unsavoury individuals seen around the school recently, it doesn’t make sense why such an elaborate system would be installed. There will be 11 Code Blue phone kiosks put up around the campus, a security system that has been in place at UBC for about 17 years. The poles are equipped with a phone to use in the event of an emergency, a flashing light to alert those around it, a GPS system and a speaker that projects a voice message stating the type of emergency. Although this very elaborate security system has served UBC well over the years, it seems extravagant at a smaller college. When I first came to the Langara, I admit it was a little tricky to navigate, but it’s not big enough to get lost in and it doesn’t even compare to how large the UBC campus is. The larger number of students at UBC compared to Langara changes the amount of security needed. I understand that the Ministry of Education funds this project, and while I agree that security is important, I feel like the money could have been used to upgrade some of the facilities within the school. The Langara Students’ Union building is quite new and the library is only six years old, but the A building is older and some ameni- ties like the washrooms are dated. The main building also hasn’t undergone any seismic upgrades, which I think should be on the priority list after the recent earth- quakes on the coast. I can imagine that this new security system costs quite a bit and this unnecessary cost may be taking away from money that could be put into something more practical. ee CORRECTION A story in the Feb. 7 edition of The Voice implied that the selection of a new college president is the responsi- bility of the college administration. In fact, while the administration can and does help with the process, the selec- tion of a new president lies with the College Board. In fact, the President is the sole employee of the Board. The ar- ticle also mentioned a lack of student involvement in the process. The Com- mittee membership includes a student representative who didn’t attend the scheduled meeting. OPINION Kristen Harpula LBGT students should be free to express affection t shouldn’t be strange to see same-sex couples showing affection in Vancouver's college hallways and the fact that LGBT students still feel weird about it goes to show that there’s still a long way to go on the road to equality. We live in one of nine countries ~ of the world’s 196 — that does not officially discriminate against sexual orientation. Argentina, Belgium, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, South Africa and Spain are our partners in legal acceptance. As a country we’re a leader on the human rights front but in everyday, social places maybe we’re not. Some members of the LGBT community at Langara still don’t feel quite right about showing affection for their partners in public spaces, and that’s a problem. We certainly have come a long way from the days gone by when it was illegal to be gay. Martyrs have died for the cause of sexual equality and acceptance. After all, it wasn’t too long ago when the nineteenth- century Irish novelist and poet Oscar Wilde was famously incrimi- nated under the Labouchere Amendment that made gross indecency and sexual relations among men a crime. Lesbianism wasn’t even considered to exist in many parts of the world until much later, and where female sexual relations were known to exist homosexuality among women was thought to be a neurological disorder, a disease. We are fortunate to live in an age when gay rights movements are OPINION Bronwyn Scott ck oma Ukraine crplo ma a om) from ane | De. CHENG Got a different point We want to hear from you Did we get a fact wrong? Tell us. of view? Write to us. Problems with something we've said? Let us know. Journalism instructor Nicholas Read oversees The Voice. Email him at nread@langara.be.ca happening worldwide, in places like Cuba and India. Even Sudan, a country that has been crippled by civil war and violence in recent decades, has an underground gay rights movement bubbling beneath its otherwise hostile and unaccept- ing surface. So why, after the western world’s 70’s revolution of love and freedom, do LBGT public displays of affection seem so uncommon in our college corridors? Where has the passion of that revolution gone? It registered officially with the legality of same-sex marriages and adoption rights, which is an impor- tant testament to the fight for equality. But it’s time to revive that passion for freedom and love and really make our LGBT brothers and sisters feel that they can express them- selves without the fear of being judged. A need to re-focus I: a world where the value of success is judged by Facebook “likes” and YouTube views, one unfortunate public appearance can have a large impact on a celebrity’s career. The recent performance by the separated group Destiny’s Child at the Super Bow] left introverted singer Michelle Williams a target of ridicule on Twitter. For some reason her choice of a milder lifestyle compared to Beyonce and Kelly is something to be made fun of. Why do we care? Why do her career choices matter to anyone but herself? In a society where we idolize the rich and judge a person’s success on their monetary value, it should come as no surprise that Michelle received such a public flogging when her . : meager lifestyle wl JA became public : knowledge. OPI N ION It’s a strange coincidence that Angela ; Michelle has a Holubowich new reality show coming out soon. It seems ironic she would receive so much attention in the entertainment world right before its release. This situation is really no differ- ent than the infamous sex tape of Paris Hilton from years ago that “mysteriously” became public just before the debut of her reality T.V. show. It made her something to watch, until of course viewers realized itwas absolute rubbish. This method of bringing attention that may be considered negative is a pattern that is continually used by “B” rated celebrities to increase their popularity. The value placed on a person’s worth needs to be about their value as a human being. The longer we use money and social networking statistics to measure the value of a human, the longer we will see celebrities using scandalous news exploits to boost their career. 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. All letters must be signed. They may be edited for brevity. Names may be withheld in special cases, but 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.be.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. VSY 226 WEBSITE wwwilangaravoice.com EDITORIAL STAFF THIS ISSUE: MANAGING EDITOR/ PAGE 6 Bronwyn Scott PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Jules Knox PAGE 2 Ryan Banagan PAGE 3 Simone Pfeiffer PAGE 4 Annie Ellison PAGE 5 Richard Hodges PAGE 7 Sam Reynolds PAGE 8 Brandon Kostinuk WEB EDITORS Steven Chua Kevin Hampson REPORTERS Jesse Adamson Sera Akdogan Brenna Brooks Ben Bulmer Deanna Cheng Patrick Colvin Jesica Cunningham Marie-Andree Del Cid Puneet Dhami Garin Fahlman Kristen Harpula Angela Holubowich Brian Horstead Kayla lsomura Warren Jané Jacqueline Langen Hailey McDonald James McLauglin Kelci Nicodemus Niall Shannon Contact us: Online at langaravoice.com Twitter at @langaraVoice