THEVOICE | 6 U-Pass deal a steal T he U-Pass is a bargain, even for students who don’t use transit daily. It only takes two return transit trips a week to get your money’s worth. Even fewer if you're traveling in multiple zones. And clearly Langara students are aware of that fact: in last week's referen- dum, 97 per cent of Langara stu- dents voted to a -s> keep the $41 per month U-Pass. OPINION But if you're one of those stu- —————_ dents who isn’t LISA satisfied with STEACY how Vancouver post-secondary institutions give their students ac- cess to affordable transportation, having a look at how they do things in Toronto is guaranteed to change your mind. The Toronto Transit Commis- sion (TTC) offers a post-secondary Metropass for $116.75 per month. It’s $30 cheaper than a regular Metropass, and is only available to degree and diploma students, who must also pay an additional seven dollars for a TTC issued ID card. Students in certificate programs arent eligible at all. “97 per cent of Langara students voted to keep the $41 per month U-Pass.” The U-Pass works in Vancouver because students, government and TransLink figured out a way to of- fer daily commuters a substantially discounted transit pass while keep- ing it cheap enough that the man- datory monthly fee is palatable to other students. We're lucky to have it. It makes taking transit less miserable. But I doubt it offers much con- solation to Langara students who still have to wait in long lines while multiple buses — all packed to ca- pacity — pass them by on 49th Ave. It doesn’t compensate for the fact that the Canada Line was poorly planned—it’s tiny platforms and two-car trains wont be able to meet the demands of a growing and den- sifying South Vancouver popula- tion for much longer. And while these problems are real, they are the same problems that face any growing municipality. But for now, we can bask in the glow of a deeply discounted transit pass while we wait in the rain for the next bus. Or maybe the one af- ter that. THURSDAY, FEB. 8, 2018 | EDITORLISA TANH In the game of chess, the queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard. PERRIN GRAUER ILLUSTRATION Sexism still stings for chess players emales are underrepre- sented in the world of competitive chess not be- cause they lack interest or ability, but because they're excluded. On Mar. 25, the Vancouver Chess School will host its an- nual B.C. Active Championship, an annual chess tournament where the prov- ince’s ‘top’ adult and junior play- ers will compete. Last year, there were a total of 26 players and all of them were male. This year, there are a total of seven players and only two of them are female. The underrepre- sentation of females isn’t a coinci- dence — it’s a systematic flaw. Historically, chess has been known as a game that links an in- dividual’s performance with their cognitive capacity. Langara chess club players have said there is an underlying sexist belief that fe- OPINION LISA TANH males do not play because they are not as intelligent as men and can- not perform well. According to a 2017 Psychological Science study, females rise to the occasion when playing against males — who are ranked higher than them — and perform even better. So why are we seeing females un- derrepresented in chess in B.C.? While there are no studies fo- cused on the province, the answer may be found lurking on websites belonging to organizations like the Vancouver Chess School and the B.C. Chess Federation. The Van- couver Chess School’s website says their main goal is to provide high- quality professional chess educa- tion for “students of all age groups and chess levels.” This could refer to both sexes. But considering the situation, the school should make a special effort to welcome girls and women. The photos are a problem too. On the B.C. Active Championship 2017 and 2018 pages, there are only photos of male players. The B.C. Chess Federation’s web- site reveals that their executive team consists entirely of men. Dig a little deeper, and one discovers that all of their former presidents since 1947 have been men as well. It’s clear why the province is see- ing females underrepresented in chess — the people in charge aren't seeing them at all. STUDY FINDINGS PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 1. Male-dominated Chess players are heavily male- dominated. 2. Top players are male The stereotypical chess grand- master is undeniably a man. 3. Women exceed Female players outperform ex- pectations when playing against males. SOURCE: PSYARXIVCOM Viewpoints Lack of English an issue he strengths that diver- sity brings to an institu- tion need to be considered alongside its weaknesses in order for Langara College to responsibly approach inter- nationalization. And last week’s interna- tionalization forum at Lan- gara attempted to walk that narrow line by gathering feed- back on how the diverse needs of students from all over the world can be accommodated by a learning institution. Langara’s international student population has more than doubled in the past four years, to over 6,000 individuals. This population growth has provoked widely reported com- munity concerns that post-sec- ondary institutions have become over-reliant on tuition fees from international students, who some- times pay four times as much as domestic students. Meanwhile, a recent Vancou- ver Sun article reported that some professors feel international stu- dents cannot always be expected to understand what’s being taught in class, leading to increased work- loads for faculty members and few- er resources for other students. This points to a concern particu- lar to classrooms that attempt to accommodate both fluent English speakers and those still learning the English language: that class interruptions are nearly inevitable when ESL students require help explaining course material. And, if frequent enough, such interrup- tions could have an impact on other students’ education. If an international student with limited English-language abilities is admitted to a program designed for fluent English speakers, it’s the post-secondary institution that should be held accountable for the potential consequences. One solution could be taking a look at whether Langara’s English language requirement is stringent enough. ‘The better command each individual student has of the Eng- lish language, the better the overall quality of education would be for the entire classroom. Fewer mis- understandings means fewer inter- ruptions, and fewer interruptions means class resources can be spent advancing course material faster, and with greater nuance. If there are students at Lan- gara for whom a language barrier is impacting learning ability, that would need to be a central concern for Langara’s internationalization strategy. And while every student deserves an equal opportunity at a quality education, no one is served by putting students into classrooms before they’re ready to learn. OPINION WILLIAM CROSBY 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 Myra Dionne PAGE EDITORS Lisa Tanh PAGE 1 PAGE7 Nick Valka Danica Walker PAGE 2 PAGE 8 Myra Dionne Natalia Buendia PAGE 3 Calvillo Ana Rose Walkey PAGE 4 MANAGING Jennifer Wilson WEBSITE PAGE5 EDITOR Jennifer Wilson Lindsey Lloyd PAGE 6 WEB EDITORS Becca Clarkson Perrin Grauer Nathan Gan Nikitha Martins William Crosby REPORTERS Agazy Mengesha Amanda Poole Cameron Thomson Cloe Logan Desirée Garcia Gabrielle Plonka Lisa Steacy CONTACT US Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter @LangaraVoice