6 Cant get no satis- faction angara needs to provide more information on the outcome of their strategic plan for 2020. The results for Langara’s strategic plan for 2020 are in, and it shows a seven percent drop in overall student satisfaction. The four year plan was started in 2016 and wrapped up at the end of 2019, and is meant to outline strat- egies and benchmarks for success and improved student expe- rience. The full report can be found on Langara’s website and gives statistics. The 95 per cent baseline is an aspirational “internal target” set by the college, according to Court- ney Fabri, Langara’s manager of institutional research. The problem is that the 2020 report doesn't provide any informa- tion on why there has been a dip in satisfaction year over year. And, from 2016 to 2019 although student satis- faction is relatively high, there has been a dip of seven per cent in satis- faction among Langara students. The survey outlines the satisfac- tion levels of recently graduated students approximately nine to 20 months after graduating. Fabri states that roughly 40-50 per cent of recently graduated students reply to the survey. This is a good THEVOICE | OPINION JACOB HOHEISEL “Financial strain is one ofthe main factors.” response rate and higher than what I would have expected. It’s unfortunate that more infor- mation is not included on Langara’s website about why there has been a decrease in satisfaction. Based on what I’ve heard amongst students, financial strain is one of the main factors. Langara is already one of the more affordable post-secondary schools in B.C., but the increase in cost of living in Vancouver and the addi- tion of student fees, like the student union fee, to tuition fees adds up fast for students. At the very least, a more compre- hensive representation of the data should be provided to us all in order to better understand and work together towards the 95-100 per cent target that Langara says they wish to achieve. THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2020 | EDITOR LINA CHUNG a Viewpoints Some stores across Metro Vancouver have seen shoppers bulk-buying bottled water, toilet paper, masks, hand sanitizer and various food products in response to the developing COVID-19 situation. crisTivA DOMMER ILLUSTRATION espite cases of COVID- 19 reaching double digits in British Colum- bia recently, panic buying is unjustified. While most believe that the bulk buying of everyday products like toilet paper is due to fears of an incoming lockdown in parts of China, like Wuhan, there are other considerations that people should think about. The B.C government is providing a strong, almost daily public update and action plan on the virus situa- tion from increasing the number of testing sites, businesses and other health facilities. So, the fear of a total lockdown of borders, lock- down of public transit or a scenario where the virus spreads out of control is defi- nitely unwar- ranted. However, many haven't considered a more likely and realistic fear which is that someone gets the virus and needs to quarantine themselves for two weeks. In such a situation, the lack of proper planning and resources OPINION RUI YANG XU would be a legitimately terrifying situation. Having two weeks-worth of necessities in advance would be a great idea. But instead of focusing on what might happen, the public should be focusing harder on preventing the potential of being infected in the first place. From constantly washing your hands or using hand sanitizer to resisting the desire to touch your face, making sure you practise good hygiene to prevent being potentially infected is important. Through good hygiene practises, the need for panic buying in bulk would become unnecessary. Then, Keep calm. Wash hands. those who are actually in need of resources, like masks, are able to purchase what they need. This also erases the fear of missing out from other buyers who are simply worried about not being able to buy what they need. At the end of the day, the public will need to work together to ensure our day-to-day lives are still normal. That means helping educate others on COVID-19 while avoiding false information from various social media like Wechat. Most importantly, people need to avoid the desire to panic buy in bulk and to simply practise better hygiene. Universal, free contraceptives needed in Canada Il provinces should provide free contraceptives to youth. The Canadian Paediat- ric Society esti- mates that in 2014, there were approximately 59,000 unin- tended pregnan- cies in Canada among those under the age of 25. OPINION Unwanted : LINA pregnancies can derail young CHUNG lives. Educational and career plans, financial plans, mental and emotional health, and families can all be affected by an unwanted preg- nancy. Advocates for universal free contraceptives argue that provid- ing free, confidential contraception, including condoms, decreases teen pregnancies. According to the Canadian Paedi- atric Society, youth are more likely to use condoms when they are free. In February, Vancouver city coun- cil passed a motion to request B.C. to cover the cost of prescription contra- ceptives under the Medical Services Plan (MSP). Their argument is a good one. Male contraceptive methods like condoms are low cost, but other methods for people with uteruses like birth control pills, hormone injections, and IUDs tend to be more costly. Although contraceptive pills are a popular method, it is not the preferred one for everybody. Allow- ing people options when choosing birth control to find one that works for them will help ensure that they will be used. Ontario had free coverage for a variety of prescription drugs, includ- ing birth control pills, for youth under the age of 25. Unfortunately, this was curtailed in the summer of 2018, by Doug Ford’s government. Youth were excluded from the free coverage if they had extended health care benefits through a parent’s private health care plan. Unfortu- nately, this change forces a young person to talk to their parent about contraception in order to access their parent’s plan. Because some youth may not feel comfortable doing this, they don’t seek out contraception. The Canadian Medical Asso- ciation estimates that free contra- ception coverage for all Canadians would cost $157 million per year, but it would be outweighed by $320 million per year saved in direct medi- cal costs related to unwanted preg- nancies. The savings are even greater when one thinks about the social support programs in Canada that would not have to be relied upon. The business case for free contra- ceptives for all Canadians, especially youth, is clear. The Voice is pub- lished by Langara government and administration. We College’s joumalism department. Editorial opinions are those of the staff and are independent of views of the student 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 E-MAIL The Voice thevoice@langara.ca 100 West 49th Ave. WEBSITE Vancouver, B.C. langaravoice.ca V5Y 226 INSTRUCTOR PAGE 6 Erica Bulman Lina Chung PAGE7 PAGE EDITORS Gina Rogers PAGE 1 PAGE 8 Kristen Holliday Anita Zhu PAGE 2 Soubhik Chakrabarti MANAGING PAGE 3 EDITOR Kristian Trevena Lina Chung PAGE 4&5 Lauren Gargiulo MANAGING WEB Ryan Ng EDITOR Safoura Rigi-Ladiz Steven Chang Rui Yang Xu REPORTERS Danauca Dory Jessica A. Froud Jacob Hoheisel Lucas Jomitz Max Leckie Christopher MacMillan WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU CONTACT Have a different point of view? Write us US Journalism instructor Online at Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email: ebulman @langara.ca langaravoice.ca Twitter @langaraVoice