6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013 EDITOR BEN BULMER lewpoints We don't need more bicycle lanes Ihe two- versus four-wheel debate has been raging for several years. As Vancouver officials are encouraging residents to ride their bikes to work instead of driving, bike lanes are causing more problems than solutions. From Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, residents are encouraged to bike to work during the annual Bike to Work Week. Elsewhere in the city, the Vancouver Park Board recently approved a controversial proposal to build a $2.2-million paved bike lane through Kitsilano Beach Park. It is nice to see the city encourag- ing Vancouver residents to live healthier, more active lifestyles, but the idea of creating more bike lanes is preposterous. Don’t get me wrong, cycling is a great way to reduce the city’s carbon footprint and keep people fit, but the problem arises when bike lanes disrupt business and lifestyles. For example, some local busi- nesses have claimed that the placement of bike lanes affects their bottom lines. According to News 1130, shops OPINION KENDRA WONG along W. 4th say they will lose business because bike lanes will cause congestion along the streets, forcing shoppers to go elsewhere. Some shops are even considering relocating. Businesses along Hornby and Dunsmuir said they lost an estimat- ed $2.4 million in 2011 after sepa- rated bike lanes were added in 2010. Businesses aren’t the only ones calling bike lanes into question. Lower Mainland resident Marga- ret Zibbin wrote to the Vancouver Park Board about benches in Hadden Park that will be removed to make room for the Kitsilano Beach Park bike lanes. One of the benches was dedicated to Zibbin’s late husband. Despite causing problems for some businesses, bike lanes do have some benefits. They offer more safety for cyclists, promote a healthy lifestyle and work toward achieving Vancou- ver’s Greenest City 2020 Action Plan. However, bike lanes should not interrupt people’s everyday activi- ties nor should the city sacrifice local businesses for the benefit and convenience of a minority who use bike lanes. So, does Vancouver really need more bike lanes? Not any more than it needs rain and yoga pants. Students need cheap food & beer le see yet again Langara Yiieens Union spending huge amounts of our money on their wages and other more confusing expenses. Exactly what a “professional management” expense is remains unanswered, as is why it increased from $1,500 to over $40,000 over the past year. The staff at the LSU just organized a salary increase for themselves, even now the lowest employee is making $31 an hour. It’s not the in-camera meetings or even the fact that each semester we are forced to pay over $300 to an organization which appears to have no respect for the democratic process. These things are annoying and, quite frankly a little odd, but it’s the lack of subsidized food and drink that I really find despicable. Unions the world over are suppose to provide services for their members. Not every member is going to use the bike-repair room, or use the homework diary, but what everybody would use is a subsidized canteen and bar. Everybody needs to eat and drink each day and a subsidized canteen would be a true asset to the students of Langara. The fact that the rest of the college had to sell its food and drink space off to Tim Hortons and Starbucks is a travesty. Surely the LSU could have fought off the vested interests of the capitalists and provided something very useful. Unions around the world are known as the epicentre of left-wing thought but this concept seems to have passed the LSU right by. I’ve spent many an afternoon in subsidized student union bars in the U.K. enjoying all the benefits of half-price beer and $4 meals. With the depressing reality of the financial status of most students, having a place for a cheap lunch and beers after class would feel like a luxury. The LSU can keep their petty bickering and disfuncyional ways. Just give us $3 pints and cheap food. OPINION BEN BULMER With GARIN FAHLMAN illustration Shot in the arm worth the prick temperatures ignites a debate on whether or not to get vaccinated for the flu season. The debate is divided between health officials and skeptical parents who wince at the idea of injecting their children with ‘unnatural’ substances that jolt the body’s immune system awake and prepare it for the real thing. Like many concerned parents and individuals, I can be skeptical at Western medicine’s seemingly quick and remedies. I confess, there are times when I overrule doctors’ well-meaning suggestions because nobody educated me on what the ingredients are. Besides, there are always side effects. But a quick search online reveals that flu shots are made up of harmless antigens: dead bacteria or molecules associated with the ea fall, the onset of cool disease. Having contracted a severe cold last winter, the symptoms were enough for me to take vaccination seriously. And for parents, the science of flu vaccination would say it simply isn’t fair to withhold children from being immu- nized. The symp- toms and risks associated with contracting the flu are far more dangerous than outcomes feared by naysayers. Back in 1999, immunization for measles, mumps and rubella dropped 76 per cent in Ireland due to the same fears linking autism in OPINION JENNY PENG children with the vaccine. Within a year, the rates of measles skyrock- eted from 148 cases to 1,200. Asa result, several children died. Sadly, examples like these are reminders why letting fear trump facts leads to unnecessary deaths. The fact that flu immunization is still colonizing newspaper columns and online forums is a sign that educating the public has been a slow process. According to a recent article published in the Globe and Mail, health experts are planning to plaster “easily digestible informa- tion” on social media and online forums. It takes a simply 10-minute online search to decide that flu vaccines save lives and there is no excuse to pass on the opportunity for immuni- zation this season. 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 Ben Bulmer PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Marie-Andree Del Cid PAGE 2 Kayla lsomura PAGE 3 Quinn Mell-Cobb PAGE 4 Jessie Adamson PAGE 5 Warren Jané PAGE 7 Jana Minor PAGE 8 James McLaughlin PHOTO EDITOR Dana Bowen COPY EDITORS Brenna Brooks Deanna Cheng Puneet Dhami WEB EDITORS Brian Horstead Kristen Harpula Patrick Colvin Angie Holubowich Jackie Langen Kelsi Nicodemus Niall Shanon Garin Fahlman REPORTERS Andrea Anthony Nick Eagland Tammy English Bill Everitt Garin Fisher Tyler Hooper Amy Jones Jesse Lam Tricia Lo Jenny Peng Nadim Roberts Vanessa Szpurko Glen Truax Kendra Wong Contact us: Online at langaravoice.com Twitter at @langaraVoice