6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 EDITOR JAMES McLAUGHLIN lewpoints All-ages venues fly below the radar By JAMES McLAUGHLIN ike a weed surfacing between cracks in the asphalt, Vancou- ver’s independent music scene is a testament to resilience. A venue gets shut down, another one opens. A venue gets shut down, another one opens. I can count at least a dozen off the top of my head. Spraying one weed means another will just pop up down the road, no matter how paved-over the cultural landscape ap- pears to be. Every other weekend in high school I would sit on public transit for an hour and a half to go to base- ment shows in East Vancouver. Often I would miss the last band because I had to leave early to catch the last train back home, an- other hour-and-a-half ride. I know kids from Langley who still do the same thing. I raise this point not to paint my- self as some artistic martyr, but to highlight something overlooked by city officials and the police who con- OPINION JAMES McLAUGHLIN as music fans looking for the next il- legal show: underground music fills a cultural void left behind by the likes of Live Nation. Much has been done recently to combat Vancouver’s “no fun city” moniker. Earlier this year council passed the Arts and Culture Indoor Event Pilot Program to try to bridge live music in “non-traditional” ven- ues to the city’s building code. The Safe Amplification Site Society, a lo- cal lobby group for all-ages perfor- mance spaces, has made strides se- curing a permanent space. And the provincial government has finally begun consulting with the public to modernize its liquor laws. For the most part these are steps in the right direction. A permanent all-ages, all-accessible venue that abides by the city’s building codes, such as the one SafeAmp has almost secured, is badly needed and would be a valuable asset to the city and younger generations. But creating a JAMES McLAUGHLIN illustration manicured weed-sanctuary will not contain the multiplicity of roots and seeds that comprise Vancouver’s in- dependent music scene, nor should it. DIY music is a romanticized ideal and a powerful social force that, by definition, flourishes beyond the con- trol of formalized authority. Con- forming to the parameters set by the city means less hassle from police and landlords. But the hassle is part of its biology. tinuously scour the internet posing Pepper spray empowers, unfortunately By VANESSA SZPURKO UBC student was sexually Paes while walking ome through campus around 2:45 a.m. on September 28. She was groped and dragged toward a garden, but managed to ward off her attacker by screaming and struggling. Struggling is an apt word in more than one way when it comes to sexual assault and rape culture. The existence of rape is undeniable and globally OPINION VANESSA SZPURKO rampant. Women take measures to protect them- selves because they must. They carry mace and rape whistles. Every woman knows the rules — don’t walk alone at night, watch your drink at the bar, don’t go to the place of a man you don’t know very well alone. Women taking the initiative to defend them- selves can be seen as a positive through a feminist lens. They are standing defiantly against a misogy- nistic norm. However, there is also the troubling feminist truth that focusing on self-defence and not prevention puts the responsibility on the victims, not the attackers. “Don’t get raped,” instead of “don’t rape.” More effort must go immediately into stopping rape at the source: in the minds of young men who are told by the world around them that women are sexual objects first and people second, that they’re entitled to sex because they’re men, that they must be the dominant gender. But until that effort is as pervasive as the rape it seeks to stop, women have no choice but to be on the defensive. It’s not a perfect solution, but we don’t live in a perfect world. I would love to be able to go where I want whenever I want, without calculating the po- tential for assault down that alley or behind that tree. I truly hope someday women can. But while I live in a society where college rape chants are con- sidered acceptable bonding activities to some, I'll keep my pepper spray with me. Ham anyone? By NADIM ROBERTS hen my mom first ar- Wi in Canada as an Iranian refugee in 1983, she had no idea why there was a holiday in October that is cel- ebrated by eating a 20-pound bird. Most holidays in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution were solemn affairs that com- memorated the grisly martyr- dom of an imam. When my OPINION NADIM ROBERTS Got any more of this grass? Rice & Lentils? Thanksgiving reflects who we are 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. NADIM ROBERTS illustration mother married my father, a Canadian of Welsh descent who was born and raised in East Van, she experienced her first Canadian Thanksgiving and couldn’t help but notice one thing: there was no rice on the table. There were mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls, ham, cranberry jelly and, of course, a massive turkey, but there was no rice. At the next family Thanksgiving dinner, my mom brought an aromatic plate of Adas Polo, a lentil and rice dish that is a favourite in Iran. My Welsh grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins all stared at it for a good while. It looked different. It smelled different. It probably definitely tasted different. One by one they tried it out of politeness. They ended up liking it so much that there hasn’t been a family Thanksgiving dinner without it in nearly three decades. In Canada, our Thanksgiving dinner tables are pretty much a reflection of us. They are the prod- uct of our ethnicities, our languages, our religions and the myriad countries we’ve come from. Waves of migration over the years have blended every- thing from our music to our literature and our cui- sine to our holidays. Let’s keep the turkey, but let’s also not be afraid to add something new now and again. It just might become tradition. Fil fay ce) 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 James McLaughlin PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Garin Fahlman PAGE 2 Kristen Harpula PAGE 3 Jana Minor PAGE 4 Brenna Brooks PAGE 5 Kelci Nicodemus PAGE 7 Patrick Colvin PAGE 8 Brian Horstead PHOTO EDITOR Niall Shannon COPY EDITORS Jesse Adamson Dana Bowen Ben Bulmer WEB EDITORS Marie-Andree Del Cid Puneet Dhami Angela Holubowich Kayla lsomura Warren Jane Deanne Cheng Jacqueline Langen REPORTERS Andrea Anthony Nick Eagland Tammy English Bill Everitt Gavin Fisher Tyler Hooper Amy Jones Jesse Lam Tricia Lo Jenny Peng Nadim Roberts Vanessa Szpurko Glen Truax Contact us: Online at langaravoice.com Twitter at @langaraVoice