ssues & ideas EDITOR MEL EDGAR THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEB. 5, 2015 7 Dangerous intimacies cut deepest Getting close can be a go Stop bad sexual behaviour With misconduct at other universities in the news, Langara’s student code of conduct is examined By JAMES SMITH sie University, students at Langara College are questioning their col- lege’s policies regarding sexual mis- conduct. On Jan. 5, Dalhousie University an- nounced it was suspending 13 dentistry students because of violent sexual comments about female classmates made on a closed Facebook group. Since then, debate has raged about the response by universities and colleges to online threats and harassment. “How grievous does that attack "| have to be to have 8) some sort of punish- ment?” said Langara criminology student, Amelia Alejo. Formerly known as Melissa Malano, Alejo organized an online pledge at the school against sexu- al violence in 2014. Langrara’s student code of conduct was rewritten last year to include hu- man rights violations and sexual mis- conduct, and clearly defines what con- stitutes consent, said Maggie Ross, manager of student conduct and judi- cial affairs at Langara. “We have a human rights policy that makes a statement for the college that this sort of behaviour is not permitted,” Ross said. “The code of conduct allows us to be more prompt and more effec- tive in addressing situations that come up.” Ross said the code of conduct applies to any incidents involv- ing students on cam- pus or at college- |/ sanctioned events, |' plus outside — inci- dents that extend onto campus, includ- MAGGIE ROSS ing situations like Manager, student the Dalhousie scan- conduct and dal. judicial affairs “Tf there’s a nexus between the incident and the parties involved and the school, there’s an op- portunity to intervene,” Ross said. “We want to try and resolve difficul- ties rather than impose penalties,” she said. “Students need to be in a safe en- vironment and they need to feel com- fortable here.” A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health late last year, said longer term “school-based dating vio- lence interventions” are more success- ful than one-off campaigns and work- shops. Ross said Langara engages students through the faculty, “rather than big workshops that nobody comes to.” Sexual misconduct exists at Langara even if it’s not in the headlines, said Alejo, also a volunteer with Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter. Langara should do more, she said, because “most students don’t take this seriously.” I: the wake of the scandal at Dalhou- AMELIA ALEJO Langara crimi- nology student od thing, but sometimes being vulnerable can mean getting hurt a 7: a7 ANNA DIMOFF photo Many Langara College students seem to agree that trust and fidelity are important factors that keep relationships happy and healty Dirty, no good, stinking cheaters Langara students say, from touching hands to touching tongues, stepping out is definitely not OK By ANNA DIMOFF ome Langara College students say that infidelity is wrong, re- gardless of gender, because all people deserve respect. Hammy Sand- hu, a Langara biolo- 66 gy student, had a . poetic take on Even if she whether gender af- was ham- tectsa person’s reac- ? tion to infidelity. mered, Id “I think it’s equal still con- because everyone sider that has the same heart, . so if you betray a cheating guy or a girl it doesn’t matter, they are a heart,” Sandhu FINE ARTS said. STUDENT Langara students said betrayal is the most common feel- KRIS MONTEITH ing when cheating is uncovered in a relationship. Vikram Rana, a Langara photogra- phy student defined cheating as “when the trust is broken.” Infidelity can negatively affect the people around the conflict, Rana said. “Tt can become very awkward.” Students described actions varying from kissing or hand holding, to sexy dancing and ultimately sex that caused feelings of betrayal. Degrees of cheating are defined ac- cording to each individual rather than by gender, said Dana Medernach, a Langara fine arts student. “It’s more the emotional attachment.” Medernach said, “walking down the street on a Saturday afternoon, holding hands — that’s cheating even though dancing might be a lot more erotic.” A recent study published in Ar- chives of Sexual Behavior, says gender contributes to a person’s reaction to and definition of infidelity. Peter Williamson, a relationship counsellor, said culture has a lot to do with gender roles and reactions to infi- delity. “Cultures in the east are much more chauvinistic. Therefore, men can step out with relatively less conse- quence from their families and from their culture,” he said. “But their part- ners are subject to the same emotional consequences.” Langara film student Connor Rob- erts agreed. “I think it’s less dependent on gender and more on how you were raised,” he said. Roberts said “cultural stigmas” con- tribute to an individual’s inclination to be unfaithful. Kris Monteith, studying fine arts, was quick to point out that alcohol can influence a person’s decision to cheat. “Even if she was hammered, I’d still consider that cheating,” he said. Infamous cheaters ELIZABETH TAYLOR Married eight times, this Hollywood star left Michael Wilding (husband number two) for Richard Burton BILL CLINTON The United States’ 42nd president, famous for his high-profile shenanigans with an intern in the Oval Office HUGH GRANT The British actor's marriage fell apart when he was arrested for being caught with a prostitute Friends can forecast your funeral Your closest companions might know you well enough to predict when you will die By OWEN MUNRO well? It might be that they know just enough to pinpoint your death. A study recently published out of Washington University in St. Louis fol- lowed hundreds of participants over 75 years to see if personality characteris- tics predict mortality. Called Your Friends Know How Long You Will Live, the study found that your closest com- panions know you better than you do, and they have your number. “If someone has a type A personality, maybe you can predict exactly that they might die due to OCD,” said Jes- sica Lo, a Langara College nursing stu- dent. “They’re so stressed and they don’t know what to do with them- selves.” T= your best friend knows you Our egos could change how we see ourselves as opposed to how our friends see us, said Lo. “If [your friends are] really into proving their skills to others in terms of more extreme sports, you can die that way.” When it comes to death, Lo said that it’s natural to expect death anyway, but admitted she’s a little bit scared be- cause of what she terms “the fear of the unknown.” Paco Lee, a computer science stu- dent at Langara, says he thinks it’s ben- eficial for friends to have opinions of each other. Lee said that he personally sees his friend, Kimberley Po, in a more posi- tive light than he sees himself. “She’s more good than me,” said Lee. “She’s a good Christian girl, and I don’t go to church.” Shivani Sen, a Langara kinesiology student said she could see how having an upbeat friend could be of benefit. “If you're always around positive people who are happy all the time, it rubs off on you too,” she said. OWEN MUNRO photo Relaxed like this guy or totally stressed out, your per- sonality can help your friends guess when you'll die