THEVOICE |

6

Donate
decent

et, damaged grey sweat-
pants with a logo that
says “Yum” across the

back have served their purpose and
wont help people who need cloth-
ing to keep them warm and dry
during winter.

Pll admit I’ve set a large bag of
clothes outside my house for a Big
Brothers truck to come by and take
without considering if I’m offering
someone my old
ripped and worn
out clothes.

If your clothes
are too shame-
ful to offer to a
friend, don't give
them to some-

one who's in

OPINION need of sensible
———.—— _ clothing.

NIKITHA Blanket BC

MARTINS Society has

started its an-
nual campaign at stations along
the Canada Line, collecting blan-
kets and other articles of clothing
that are donated to individuals liv-
ing on the street. The timing of the
campaign makes sense as it runs at
a time when the weather is cold,
nights are bitter and the differ-
ence between having a coat, hat and
gloves and not wearing these items
could mean life or death.

Many homeless people have ben-
efited from clothing donations. But
many of us lack self-awareness of
how we can help. Simply getting rid
of clothing we know is damaged or
torn doesn't help anyone.

It’s not that people who donate
clothing aren't doing it for the right
reasons. But the quality of the do-
nations doesn't always match good
intentions.

Based on numbers by the Recy-
cling Council of Ontario, Canadi-
ans, on average, throw out about 37
kilograms of textiles a year. The rise
of clothing consumption has led to
an increase of textile waste around
the world.

‘The waste and overconsumption
has taken a toll on water consump-
tion. It takes 6,800 litres of water to
produce one pair of jeans.

Yes, there is a need to donate
clothing but consider this: most
shelters will send unusable clothes
to the landfill.

Supporting homeless people
should be a long-term goal. Do-
nating to a charity to support its
work can help solve a deeper issue
by better funding for homelessness
services. More affordable housing is
the best way forward.

When it comes to getting rid of
clothes, there are other options like
clothing swaps or sending them to
retailers to re-sell.

As for the torn-up sweater in the
back of the closet, try to recycle it.
But if you can’t, make smarter deci-
sions when buying clothes.

THURSDAY, NOV. 22,2018 |

EDITOR NIKITHA MARTINS

Viewpoints

Rethink the clothing you give away to charities — if you wouldn't give it to a friend, you shouldn't give it to a stranger in need. RENA MEDOW ILLUSTRATION

Pro-rep is needed change

week ago, I didn’t know
anything about B.C.’s
electoral referendum.
Now I will attempt to
tell you why proportional repre-
sentation is the
way to vote.

A pro-rep
system could
encourage more
people to vote

because their wT,
ballot won’t be =.
seen as wasted.

In each pro-rep OPINION
system, there is “7
a strong corre- KIRSTEN
lation between CLARKE

the total num-

ber of votes and the total num-
ber of seats (as explained in the
rather convoluted guide provided
in the voting packages delivered
to each B.C. voter).

I’ve struggled with feeling my
vote doesn’t count, but pro-rep
can help alleviate some of these
concerns. I don’t want to be apa-
thetic when it comes to choos-
ing the government that will
influence how content I am with
where J live.

Since the referendum started
last month, only 18 per cent of
the ballots have been returned. If
youre like me, trying to under-
stand electoral systems probably
gives you a headache. I’ve spent
a few hours (and several cups of
coffee) researching to try to help
break this down for you.

We currently use first-past-
the-post, which has been in use
in Canada for about 150 years.
B.C. is split into individual rid-
ings which each elects one MLA.

FPTP typically produces ma-
jority governments. As there is
limited opposition, these govern-
ments tend to be stable. However,
parties can easily gain a majority
with less than 40 per cent of the
vote.

FPTP can often lead to Cana-
dians (including me) feeling that
their vote is wasted. It’s also a
system that, to alleviate that feel-
ing, encourages tactical voting,
which was employed in the 2015
federal election. Many Canadi-
ans chose to vote for any party
but the Conservatives regardless
of their own political leanings.

‘The pro-rep options on the ref-
erendum are, at best, confusing. I
still haven't completely wrapped

The

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[orem

nal represer
'ems do you prefer

Pual Member Proportional (DMP)
Mi
lixed Member Proportional (mp)

Rural-t
Ural-Urban Proportional (RUP)

a on
~My

p.m. c

voting packa

nation voting s;
Ai 19 system,

Qu
may choose to support one, two or all

eas

rd Choe

TUT ang

rriday, November SO

83.
ge? call us at 7-900-661-86

my head around them. But there’s
a system for everyone — if youre
fond of FPTP, you can vote for
dual member, which keeps the
current system in B.C.’s largest
ridings.

Dual member also seems to be
least difficult to implement.

Pro-rep systems tend to pro-
duce minority governments and
more parties represented in a
parliament or legislature. This
can lead to either a collaborative
or instable government as more
parties have a say.

No B.C. Pro Rep, leading the
campaign against electoral re-
form, calls the referendum “un-
necessary,” and proclaims that
the inauguration of pro-rep will

Make sure to send your ballot in by Nov. 30. casricitE PLONKA PHOTO

lead to a rise in back-room deals
among political (this sentiment
sounds conspiratorial to me).

‘There are also arguments that
pro-rep systems can benefit par-
ties who sit on the far edges of
the political spectrum — Austria
and Germany’s 2017 elections
saw right-wing parties gain a sig-
nificant number of seats — popu-
lism has seen a global surge over
the past few years (2016 being
particularly notable).

Although the voting system
may play a part in this rise, it’s
small when placed beside the so-
cial, economic and cultural (and
identity) issues that lead people
in search of alternatives to the
norm.

Regardless, pro-rep allows a
parliament to better reflect the
ideals and will of the people.

Change isn’t always a bad
thing, but indifference is. We
might not share the same values,
but I would argue that a fairer
voting system is beneficial to ev-
eryone.

Oh, and p.s. — even if pro-rep
wins, but you're unsure of your
choice, the province will be hold-
ing another referendum in two
years to see if we like the new
system.

We want to hear from you

Journalism instructor Barry Link
oversees The Voice.

Email:blink@langara.be.ca

The Voice is pub-
lished by Langara
College’s joumalism
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. They may
be edited for brevity.
Your letter must in-
clude your name and
phone number.

HOW TO DROP-IN
REACH US Room A226
Langara College
PHONE
604-323-5396 SNAIL MAIL
The Voice
E-MAIL 100 West 49th Ave.
thevoice@langara. Vancouver, B.C.
be.ca V5Y 226
WEBSITE MANAGING EDITOR
langaravoice.ca Nikitha Martins

PAGE EDITORS PAGE 7
PAGE 1 Lisa Steacy
Desirée Garcia PAGE 8
PAGE 2 Cloe Logan
Neil Amsler

PAGE 3

Amanda Poole MANAGING
PAGE 4&5 WEBSITE
Cameron Thomson EDITOR
PAGE 6 Gabrielle Plonka
Nikitha Martins

REPORTERS Nick Laba

Darren Amner Adam Levi

Joe Ayres Rena Medow
Kirsten Clarke Agazy Mengesha
Mathilda de Villiers Mandy Moon
Nathan Durec Patrick Penner
Roxanne Egar-Elliott Kathryn Tindale

Kelsea Franzke
Nathan Gan
Katelynn Gardiner
Taesa Hodel
Shabnam Jessa

CONTACT
US

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