6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOV. 20, 2014 EDITOR EDRICK DUDANG lewpoints Compliments heard as harassment By NICH JOHANSEN ihe issue of catcalling has Tecets been brought to the forefront of public discourse by way of viral video. The video, with over 36 million views, shows the depraved behaviour a woman walking around New York City has to deal with. Greetings. Sick, twisted greetings like, “Hello, good morn- ing” and “Have a good day.” Now a quick double check confirms that I am not a female and I don’t begin to know what it might be like to walk down a sidewalk as one. But condemning all stranger-to- stranger discourse as harassment is a step in the wrong direction. But let’s call a spade a spade here. The majority of the comments in the video are made because the speaker finds the woman attractive. Catcall- ing is, in most cases, a form of sexual advance. But since when are sexual advances a bad thing? Sex is one of the few things that is univer- sally agreed upon to be a pretty positive thing. Unwanted sexual advances on the other hand are no fun, and there is clearly a line that can be crossed. This line is hurdled across by some of the gentlemen in the video. Following a woman down the street for blocks after she has made it clear she is not interested is harassment. A simple, “Hi, how are you doing this morning” is not, and it’s disingenuous to claim otherwise. While there are obvious clear-cut extremes, appropriate behaviour is dependent on the setting and the person. What is offensive harass- ment to some may be a flattering conversation starter to others. Without drawing any hard lines on what is and what isn’t harass- ment, one can avoid being a creep quite simply. A person with any shred of social awareness can understand when your advance is wanted or not. Don’t take your bruised ego out on others. Vancouver is poisoned with a mind-your-own- business attitude. Eye contact is avoided on public transit for fear of engaging in conversation with a stranger. Putting yourself out there and engaging with someone might not be the worst thing. OPINION NICH JOHANSEN Hot dog: bad, but cheap By SANDY POWLIK want a smokin’ lunch deal, check out Mike and Manijeh Ghorbani’s food truck on 49 Avenue at Manitoba Street from 12 to 3 p.m. The selections include veggie dogs and smok- ies, and only cost $3 and $4. Nota lot of variety or super healthy, but you get a filling bite that’s easy on the wallet and literally just a few steps off campus. Are on-campus options and prices satisfactory? Let’s see, for the same price as a hot dog, you could have chow mein from the Langara Café, a double double and a sugary treat of your choice from Tim Horton’s, or opt for a healthy alternative from the cafeteria, say an apple, a banana and an orange (each piece of fruit is $1.05). We live in an increasingly health-conscious society, but we also need to be money-wise. The newer Lollipop Moment Café in the Students’ Union Building offers croissants and cappuccinos. The French flair is nice, but it’s not cheap. I contacted Langara food services asking for student feedback on this issue. I was told I had to contact the communications department and would “have to receive their authorization.” Does Langara offer students healthy, affordable food options? It seems to be an issue-in-progress. In the meantime, a food truck and Main Street is only a hop skip away. H:: dog! Langara students, if you OPINION SANDY POWLIK We want to hear from you Got a different point of view? Write to us. Did we get a fact wrong? Tell us. Problems with something we've said? Let us know. Journalism instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email her at ebulman@langara.be.ca I WOULD LOVE TO SAY HOW PRETTY SHE Is BUT SHE MIGHT CONSIDER IT AS HARASSMENT. By EDRICK DUDANG son’s race to win in the 2014 municipal election. I have resided in Vancouver for many years and I know that our current mayor is still popular in the city - however, I will admit that he did lose some popular- ity. But why did the pollsters sud- denly start showing up and saying that this race was going to be close? Yes, I understand that many people tend to be undecided before they go to the ballot box. I also know that polls base their information from around 1000 random residents. However, many people with a decent knowledge of Vancouver’s political arena know that Robertson always had a big lead against LaPointe. Robertson bested his main rival by around 10,000 votes, a significant number. Robertson has also steadily I: my mind, it was Gregor Robert- maintained his lead when polls were tallied. Vancouver wasn’t the only election who was hyped up by the pollsters. Surrey was predicted to be a really tight three-way race between Linda Hepner, Doug McCallum, and Barinder Rasode. However, when votes were tallied, Hepner won with an incredible margin and is now Surrey’s mayor. I think what frustrates me more is that pollsters have been making incorrect judgements throughout Canada in recent years. The most recent and local example was the 2013 provincial election. Polls predicted Clark was going to lose significantly, but what hap- pened was the total opposite. Clark OPINION. EDRICK DUDANG EDRICK DUDANG comic Stop trusting pollsters everyone actually gained more seats from the NDP and won a majority, stunning pollsters and raising questions about the legitimacy of polls. The same can be said in 2012 when Alberta had its provincial election. Polls predicted Danielle Smith and her Wildrose Party to gain a majority over Alison Redford and her party. Redford actually held her majority while leaving Smith with 16 seats. I’m not saying that polls are 100 per cent inaccurate. Polls were correct that John Tory was going to be Toronto’s mayor and they were right with other B.C. civic elections. Prolific American pollster Nate Silver accurately predicted two consecutive presidential elections to the decimal point. Maybe our multi-party electoral system is to blame for the pollsters’ inaccurate claims. Nevertheless, it’s time for everyone and the media to just stop listening to them. 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 Edrick Dudang PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Edmond Lu PAGE 2 Lukasz Jonca PAGE 3 Ashley Legassic PAGE 4 Ash Kelly PAGE 5 Lauren Collins PAGE 7 Alissa Crane PAGE 8 Madelyn Forsyth WEB EDITORS Karly Blats Renee Sutton Erin Boe COPY EDITORS Megan Bobetsis Christopher Slater Mike Hodder REPORTERS Lena Alsayegh Mary Beach Natasha Chang Vivian Chui Alice D'Eon Charlotte Drewett Melissa Edgar James Goldie Jessica Hovanes Nicholas Johansen Shannon Lynch Sableen Minhas Kera Skocylas Jonathan Parkin Orvis Noel Sandy Powlik Orvis Noel Contact us: Online at langaravoice.com Twitter at @langaraVoice