Dance to heal Students dance to heal with the help of Vancouver-based African dance instructor. P7 Sew sven VAN OUVER VANQTES Sharp as a sword Sprina Fu teaches a rare form of tai chi at a South Vancouver Over prescribed B.C. sues pharmaceuticals for falsely advertised prescription community centre. P8 drugs. langaravoice.ca PRODUCED BY LANGARA JOURNALISM STUDENTS | WWW.LANGARAVOICE.CA OCTOBER 25, 2018 > VOL. .3* VANCOUVER, B.C. Soma Ali, a student in Langara's social service worker program, uses her white cane to navigate Langara's campus. ROXANNE EGAN-ELLIOTT PHOTO Voting structure leaves minorities out Major minority groups lack representation in civic politics By NATHAN DUREC he outcome of Vancou- vers election last week- end has been criticized for its overwhelmingly white council and has led to ques- tions of whether the current elec- toral system disenfranchises visible minorities. New mayor-elect Kennedy Stewart has advocated for propor- tional representation as a means to disrupt current power structures. “When I show it to other politi- cal scientists, they just laugh their heads off and say, wow, that’s the least fair system we've ever seen,” Stewart said when asked about Vancouver's current system. ‘The city’s mayor and council are currently elected by a first-past- the-post voting system. The in- dividual with the most votes for mayor wins the race. For coun- cillors, the top ten candidates by votes are elected. “With the current system right now, power is able to sustain itself without any accountability,” Indira Prahst, professor of sociology at Langara said. ‘This means that political parties do not receive council seats based on their percentage of the overall vote. And this affects how candidates run for office in Vancouver. “The South Asian community, the Filipino community and other visible minority communities feel that there’s a structure in place that automatically marginalizes them,” Prahst said. The proposals for proportional representation range from a ward system that uses single transferable votes to a mixed-member system that elects candidates from both wards and city-wide party lists. Prior to 1936, Vancouver had wards with each one electing a lo- cal representative. It was abolished because “the groups that were organizing thought it would be to their advan- tage to be able to pool their votes together from around the city in order to secure office,” Terri Evans, instructor of political science at Langara said. Evans also said that proportional representation could see more vis- ible minorities turning up to vote and even running for office. However, B.C. political pundit Martyn Brown disagrees. “It would likely aggravate racial divides, in my view, not the oppo- site,” he said. Instead, he sees FPTP with a ward system, such as other major Canadian cities with FPTP as be- ing better for local communities. municipal election Green 3 seats Vancouver city council after the 2018 COPE 1 seat Coalition Vancouver city council under proportional representation for an at-large election 1 seat y Vision 1 seat Green 2 seats SOURCE: VANCOUVER. CA A comparison of city council seats that shows how they are allocated under the current voting system and how that would change if the city switched to proportional representation. /k/THA MARTINS ILLUSTRATION Women train to fight for safety Self-defence classes wont prevent assaults but women are trying to get ahead By KELSEA FRANZKE eaching about consent and shaming _ perpetra- tors has been the focus of the #MeToo movement, but self- defence instructors say there’s also a need to empower people with training about personal safety. On Oct. 16, Langara College held a self-defence class taught by instructors James Chartier and Louisa Weizmann from Hit and Run Self Defense. Participants learned techniques for striking, breaking holds and weapon safety, as well as the importance of aware- ness. “No amount of training is go- ing to help if youre oblivious as to what’s around you,” Chartier said. Weizmann stressed that when someone is under attack they're at a disadvantage. ‘The person attack- ing has the element of surprise, so people need to be creative with their defence. “Anything around you can be used as an improvised weapon. Use those things instead of your body parts,” Weizmann said. Langara student, Maria Perujo, said she took the class to learn how to defend herself. She is from Mexico where street attacks are common, so she wants to be more prepared. “We learned to be fast. In a situ- ation like that you have to be fast and think fast. Always run out of a situation when you're done — do not fight,” Perujo said. According to Chartier, female- only classes would leave partici- pants at a disadvantage, because it's highly unlikely for an attacker to be a woman. They encourage co-ed intermingling, but are sensitive to female participants who only want to work with other women. ‘This is often the case if a partici- pant is coping with a past trauma and may not be ready to work with men. Weizmann hopes that partici- pants leave their class feeling edu- cated and confident. “I love empowering people, and I love empowering women. When I hear what goes on in the news it makes my blood boil. I want people to know that you dont have to be desperate, that there is a way to fight back, and that youre going to be okay.”