6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015 EDITOR NATASHA CHANG lewpoints Community police embrace diversity in South Van ancouver would not be the city Vi: is without its multicultural- ism and deep ethnic roots. Kerrisdale Oakridge Marpole Community Policing Centre present- ed that they’re translating letters to notify residents of crimes or public warnings into Chinese to the Vancouver Police Board on Feb. 20. The letters provide obvious safety benefits. Even if you’re not reaching a broad audience, the fact that the community police are actively alerting residents of possible dangers and issues hopefully reinforces a sense of security. Chinese residents, now, can feel more comfortable within their own homes because * they know their concerns are being looked after. The counter- point is that it is inefficient to produce letters in different languag- es. And, of course, to become a Canadian citizen you must pass an English proficiency test. But, we are free to communicate in whatever language we wish and that is protected by our linguistic rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is irrational to think people should communicate outside their preferred language. If he or she is more proficient in their mother tongue, it doesn’t bother me and I have a hard time believing it bothers anyone else, either. It’s relatively painless to put a letter through Google Translate. You can translate English into hundreds of languages, ranging from Chinese to Lithuanian, with a click of the button. It is so easy that there is no reason all community centres shouldn’t be doing it already. The KOM CPC should be com- mended for providing a service that upholds community safety. They should also be applauded for integrating with the extremely diverse neighbourhoods that Vancouver is so proud of. OPINION OWEN MUNRO 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? Tell us. Journalism instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email her at ebulman@langara.be.ca Scales will eat you up many young girls feel the pressure to be thin because I was one of them. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 40 per cent of nine-year-old girls have tried dieting to lose weight. When I was in fourth grade, I remember flipping through magazines and watching TV shows filled with women whose bodies looked so far from anything I could ever imagine myself becoming, let alone what I looked like at the time. It’s not at all shocking that nearly half of girls this age still can’t relate to what they see, and decide to change themselves as opposed to their outlook. Girls today also have a never- ending stream of social media images at their fingertips that I never did. It isn’t only models and celebrities who are the subject of our envy, but E: not surprised when I hear how now you can surf through numerous edited Instagram selfies and the selectively chosen Facebook photos of people you know, or don’t, and wish you looked like them too. Just because they’re images of ‘real’ people doesn’t mean the photos are an accurate repre- sentation of the » OPINION BAILEY NICHOLSON people in them. It is the act of constantly compar- ing yourself to others that does most of the damage. Focusing on the things you like about yourself is one of the best ways to ease the pressure. If you can try for a moment to separate yourself from what you eat, from what number shows up on the scale, from how other girls look in a bikini, you’re going to have an easier time looking in the mirror. Devoting time and energy to finding your flaws is a waste. We all have beautiful qualities that deserve our attention. Maybe if childhood-me had appreciated the fact that I was smart and kind and had adorable freckles, then I wouldn’t have equated my self-worth with waist size. It’s upsetting to see that young girls are constantly under the gun to look and feel skinny. But, too many of us hate ourselves to set a good example for them. Self-love shouldn’t have to come with age as it has for me. Kids should have positive support from their friends and family and self-love from the very beginning. They should be growing up believ- ing in themselves. ADIMOFE. I¢ ANNA DIMOFF and MICHAEL LYLYK comic Editors’ Photoshop story flop published a story about Photo- shop and the effect of post-pro- duction in photos, and we made a sweeping statement about the Langara photography department. What we had been aiming for with this story was to explore the practice of photoshopping in the celebrity world and to talk to our local photography experts about how they handle ethical dilemmas this widespread practice poses for them and their students. Since Langara’s photography department has a course that includes examining ethical practices, it seemed like a good fit. But the story took a wrong turn, which happens when reporters understand assignments imperfect- ly, stories pass through layers of editors who all think the other person checked the content, or we L= week, The Voice news team focus more on being clever than being right. A first-year diploma student reported and wrote the story, and our copy editors—responsible for fact checking—should have been more thorough and discerning. They were perhaps more focused on news lead structure and impact, than ensuring the lead and story were balanced and fair. Our principal Voice instructor usually corrects all front-page stories prior to publication. The Photoshop story was moved from another page on production day and she didn’t thoroughly read through the page. We acknowledge that this story was neither fair nor balanced, and for that we take responsibility. Our goal was never to present the photography department in a bad light and we apologize. After a thorough review and team discussions, we learned three big lessons from this. We generalized the teachings of the photography department based on the fashion photography industry and photos we often see in maga- zines—and our story lacked balance because of that. The sweeping statement was catchy, but our words had an impact and consequences we didn’t intend. And finally, credibility and integrity are a journalist’s most important assets, and ours were damaged with this story. It was a learning experience for us. It was a particularly painful learning experience because we admire our colleagues in photogra- phy, who work right next to us, and whose students produce beautiful work each term that is displayed on the walls and graces our lives here. Fil fay ce) 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.ca EDITORIAL STAFF THIS ISSUE: MANAGING EDITOR/ PAGE 6 Natasha Chang PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Jes Hovanes PAGE 2 Vivian Chui PAGE 3 Alice D'Eon PAGE 4 Lena Alsayegh PAGE 5 Sableen Minhas PAGE 7 Kera Piwowarski-Skocylas PAGE 8 Nich Johansen WEB EDITORS Mary Beach Shannon Lynch Sandy Powlik James Goldie Mel Edgar COPY EDITORS Charlotte Drewett REPORTERS Jocelyn Aspa Mona Butler Tanya Gommisso Anna Dimoff Kelvin Gawley Dustin Godfrey Alexander Hoegler Michael Lylyk Bryan Mc Govem Owen Munro Bailey Nicholson Rebecca Phair Sara Rabey Ethan Reyes James Smith Tony Su Julia Wickham Xiao Xu Contact us: Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter at @langaraVoice