6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012

EDITOR MARTIN WISSMATH

College must
not displace
Canadians

s enrolment numbers at Lan-
Ae: continue to rise, the col-

ege is looking to attract more
international students.

This should not restrict enrolment
for Canadian students.

Dr. Martin Gerson, college
vice-president academic and
provost, told The Voice the college
wants to increase the numbers of
foreign students in an effort to keep
costs lower for domestic students.

With international students
paying five times as much for tuition
as Canadians, they’re an attractive
way to increase funding for the
college in hard economic times, as
pointed out by an editorial in The
Voice last week.

Regardless, the college should not
increase the
proportion of
international
students by
displacing
domestic stu-
dents, especially
with “long
waitlists,” as
Gerson said. The
first priority for a
public education
institution is to
educate the public whose taxes help
pay for it.

Premier Christy Clark announced
last September that she plans to
increase the proportion of overseas
students in B.C. by 50 per cent. She
claimed this would create 9,000 jobs
and inject another $500 million into
the provincial economy.

Census data released last year
from post-secondary institutions in
2008 indicate the proportion of
international students in B.C. was
almost 11 per cent, three per cent
higher than the national average.
Increasing that by half would push
the proportion of overseas students
to more than 15 per cent.

With space at a premium in
colleges and universities, that
means less room for domestic
students.

The province could look at ways to
create jobs and reap the economic
benefits of foreign students by
encouraging more private universi-
ties. There are currently only three
private universities in B.C.

International students certainly
do enrich the education experience
of students at public colleges and
universities, but an increased
presence can also be achieved by
expanding student exchange
programs.

After Clark announced the
province’s international student
initiative in the Fall, the Vancouver
Sun published a letter by UBC
President Stephen Troope, in which
he wrote that domestic students
would not be displaced or negatively
impacted by the increase in interna-
tional students.

Hopefully Langara’s administra-
tion can fulfill the same promise.

OPINION

MARTIN WISSMATH

We want to hear from you
Did we get a fact wrong? Tell us. Got a
different point 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

Bill C-30 invades privacy

acrificing personal privacy by
allowing the government to
watch over us like Big Brother
will not stop criminal activity.

Bill C-30 proposes Internet service
providers and cell phone companies
provide authorities with people’s
names, adresses, phone numbers,
e-mail address and online identities.

Even more intrusive measures
have been adopted in the United
States, Australia, and several
European countries. But just
because other nations have opted to
invade personal privacy does not
mean we should allow it to happen
here in Canada. It goes against the
Charter of Rights.

NDP leadership hopeful Thomas
Mulecair said, “What they’re putting
into place simply doesn’t respect the
Charter of Rights, period, full stop.”

NDP MP John Rafferty said, “a
free and democratic government
should simply have no need to track
every move, purchase, friendship,
email, or thought of its citizens.”

Vic Toews told an opposition MP,

“TYou] can either stand with us or
with the child pornographers.”

Canadians who oppose the bill
cannot be blamed for supporting
child pornography; it just means
they value their privacy.

According to an Angus Reid poll
of 1,011 Canadian adults, 53 per cent
believe Bill C-30 is too intrusive, and
the government should not be able
to track Canadians without a
warrant.

The bill would require a new
surveillance infrastructure in the
whole Canadian Internet and
telecommunications system.

Taxpayers should not be troubled
with the costs of installing this new
system.

Rafferty said, “Bill C-30 would cost
taxpayers $80 million to help the
Internet providers collect this
information, and for the privilege of
being spied on by our own govern-
ment.”

The new surveillance infrastruc-
ture could open up a whole new
world of information that hackers

could exploit.
Micheal Vonn, policy director of
the B.C. Civil
Liberties Associa-
tion said, “Build-
ing in that
surveillance
architecture into
the entire
telecommunica-
tion system of

Canada reduces OPI T 10N

the security of the SASCHA PORTEOUS
system. Those

back doors can be
exploited.”

Toews said current privacy laws
in place block the police from
accessing personal information from
Internet service providers.

But there is already a wealth of
personal information available on
the Internet with websites like
Google and Facebook. These
companies already track your
Internet behavior; Canadians don’t
need more of an intrusion on
personal privacy.

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By MICHELE GAGE |

Unisex washrooms unnecessary

lence, conversing with oneself
and tending our self-image are
all fair game in the men’s washroom.

Unfortunately, gender segregated
washrooms are in limbo while
Langara Students’ Union queer
liaison Andy Sandberg pushes for
unisex washrooms to accommodate
transgender, intersex, androgynous
and other non-conforming persons.

Such an act would scramble the
norms and customs of washroom
behaviour and create some rather
awkward scenarios. Washrooms
should stay gender segregated.
They are the only areas on campus
where one can carry out unseen
activities in booths. Thanks to
gender segregation, males and
females can avoid each other’s
distasteful duties.

As disgusting as it may be,
perverts can easily exploit people’s
vulnerability while in unisex
washrooms. Todd the molester can
mingle with women in the wash-

Te rituals of releasing flatu-

room and take a gander at Sally Sue
in the adjacent booth. Although
security measures could be taken,
the benefits wouldn’t outweigh the
hassle of converting each restroom.

Unisex wash-
rooms have been
implemented in
restaurants,
offices and
schools for
reasons of
creativity,
anti-discrimina-
tion and faster
turnover. Most
recently, Glasgow
University
installed unisex toilets after
consulting with their student
council. Queer, bisexual and
transgender students were the
primary supporters.

Dressing as the opposite gender is
instinctual to some people, and if it
isn’t, it is anything but a spontane-
ous decision. It includes some

OPINION

BRANDON REID

consideration of the resulting
consequences.

A major issue is where someone
is accepted due to their new
appearance. It should be no surprise
that someone who looks like a man
will receive frightened glances upon
entering a women’s washroom.

It takes a strong will to withstand
the inevitable discrimination and
embarrassment. But society doesn’t
owe anyone favours and certainly
shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells
because someone didn’t think about
the consequences of dressing as the
opposite gender.

Washrooms work for the majority
of people and there’s little reason to
cater to the embarrassment felt by
the transgender minority.

This matter should be taken in
stride and tested, in the same way as
Glasgow University, by converting a
single washroom to unisex format. If
the student body is comfortable with
the test then more restrooms should
be converted.

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PAGE 6
Martin Wissmath

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