6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOV. 19, 2015 EDITOR JOCELYN ASPA lewpoints Fighting for fun promotes dominance ecreational fighting is a Rovinitve activity that creates a culture of fear and harm. Since the dawn of human civiliza- tion, the more aggressive you were, the more you'd be able gather and secure resourc- es. This was done by fighting and taking others’ resourc- es, or fighting off the same threat, thereby achiev- ing dominance. It’s the same thing that pretty much every animal does to survive in the wild. More dominant people tended to live longer and had more offspring, making aggression advantageous from an evolutionary standpoint. In this way, we’re wired to think dominance is sexy. The desire to achieve dominance has been displayed throughout human history, especially through colonialism and other acts of warfare. But it’s harmful and unnecessary today. The parody app Rumblr, dubbed last week the “Tinder for fighting” by app-enthusiasts, shows us that this desire is still a large part of our culture. Competitions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which often receive over three million views per match, shows us that being aggres- sive isn’t just a biological drive to live longer and have more offspring. At its core, recreational fighting tells us that being aggressive is fun and should be celebrated, especially when it’s institutionalized through companies like the UFC with high viewership rates. But it shouldn’t be. While recreational fighting implies consent between parties, it still promotes the celebration of aggression, which paves the way for the acceptance of assault, which is rooted in this same quality. There are less harmful ways of scratching the evolutionary itch for dominance, which could help address residual problems. CLARIFICATION In the Oct. 29 edition of The Voice, we stated financial aid is limited to Canadian citizens. It should have said “Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or convention refugees with proof of status.” We apologize for the incomplete statement. OPINION VINCENT MATAK We want to hear from you Got a different point of view? Write to us. Problems with something we've said? Let us know. Think we got a fact wrong? Tellus. Journalisin instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email her at ebulman@langara.be.ca Swipe right on isolation download an app onto your smartphone as a means to ‘meet’ people and start building connec- tions. A lazy ‘swipe right’ on Tinder, indicates you find the person on the other side of the screen attractive, and getting out and meeting people in real life is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Staying at home on a Friday or a Saturday night snuggled up to your pet, glued to your phone and I: seems easier these days to OPINION JOCELYN ASPA endlessly swiping left or right until you find the match you’ve been looking for and striking up a conversation is a lot easier than going up to that person you’ve been eying all night at the bar. So, you both swipe right, and one of you sends the other a message, asking the stereotypical ‘how-to-get- to-know-someone’ questions. Every time your phone goes off, it’s an exciting guessing game, wondering where the conversation will go. It’s fulfilling for awhile, because that person may seem interested in getting to know you and you’re happy answering cookie-cutter questions generated by the online dating world. But then the messages go few and not much. what r u up to tonight? far between, and checking your phone causes more anxiety than not. Disappointment sets in if -- and most definitely when -- the other person hasn’t messaged back. Then they just stop responding entirely. And it may hurt for awhile. Because it sucks when someone ghosts you and disappears forever without saying anything more to you, especially when you feel like you’ve developed something real ~ as real as you can get on a dating app for your phone. But, whether you’re the one doing it, or having it done to you, rejection is a lot easier to handle when the person is on the other side of the screen, because you never have to see them face-to-face. SEAN LEE comic Relax, don't do it, take downtime e live in world where WY ccnstce is meant to make our lives easier and, yet, it seems we are constantly being bombard- ed by our environment. We need more downtime. The inability to unwind stems from many sources. One culprit is the increased use of the smartphone. According to a 2014 study by J.D. Power and Associates, 73 per cent of Canadians use OPINION NANCY PLECHATY smartphones. Even scarier, statistics show a large number of people sleeping next to their smartphones. Nomophobia, which Collins English Dictionary defines as “a state of stress caused by having no access to or being able to use one’s mobile phone,” affects approximately 65 per cent of Canadians, according to a Rogers Innovation Report. Are we supposed to be at the beck and call of these devices 24/7? Work and school eat up a lot of our time, too. Making ends meet tends to push us to the brink of exhaustion. And what about sleep? A recent report from the World Association of Sleep Medicine, said that over 60 per cent of Canadians are depriving themselves. Sleep is the time our body and mind repair and regener- ate to normal functioning levels. When we don’t rest, our bodies are susceptible to illness and injury, among other things. Stress and pressures can wreak havoc on our musculature. Our body tightens up when we don’t take the time to stretch and relax. So how can we be more mindful living in a world where the demands are high and we don’t seem to have the time to unwind? The answer is: to find balance and prioritize. No one can take care of you, but yourself. It is a choice. Start slowly and progress. Try five to 10 minutes a day. You learn. Just be. 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. They may be edited for brevity. 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.bc.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. V5Y 226 WEBSITE wwwiangaravoice.ca EDITORIAL STAFF MANAGING EDITOR Xiao Xu PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Kelvin Gawley PAGE 2 Dustin Godfrey PAGE 3 Anna Dimoff PAGE 4 Sara Rabey PAGE 5 Owen Munro PAGE 7 Bailey Nicholson PAGE 8 James Smith MANAGING WEB EDITOR Michael Lylyk WEB EDITORS Erin Boe Mona Butler Tanya Commisso Bryan Mc Govem Ethan Reyes Tony Su COPY/WEB EDITOR Alex Hoegler REPORTERS Ben Bengtson Jake Costello Scott Drake Rumana Dsouza Jason Hamilton Murray B. Hunt Sean Lee Vincent Matak Rosemary Newton Serena Pattar Nancy Plechaty Seyedmostafa Raziei Kate Richardson Anne-Sophie Rocet Mark Stuart Kevin Underhill Tessa Vikander Bridgette Watson Julia Wickham Kathryn Wu Contact us: Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter: @LangaraVoice