6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEB, 26,2015 EDITOR MEL EDGAR lewpoints Let's flush out gender intolerance ile the idea of different washroom signage might not seem revolutionary, for students who don’t identify with the traditional male - female gender binary, it repre- sents a leap forward in the battle to stop discrimination, harassment and violence against the LGBTQ community. SFU staged a OPINION ANNA DIMOFF “shit-in” protest this month where people dropped their drawers in public to raise awareness on the topic of gender-neutral washrooms. Some colleges in B.C. are trying to accommodate the demand for these types of facilities. Langara College already has three single-stall gender-neutral washrooms— a good sign that the needs of our LGBTQ students are being recognized. There’s even a plan to include more in the future, igniting a spark of hope that we’re headed toward a more inclusive way of living. But not all students are receptive to the idea and some find the idea of multi-stall gender-neutral wash- rooms hard to accept. For those who have a phobia of flatulence in the presence of the opposite sex, there are still plenty of traditional facilities. The Vancouver School Board has taken a step in the right direction and is adopting a policy allowing transgender and cisgender students to choose which bathroom to use. Sadly, when it was originally proposed the policy met some opposition from school board trustees. In a city as diverse and open-minded as Vancouver it’s disappointing to see discrimination coming from the people in charge of these decisions. But, in a stand for inclusivity and equality, the two opposing trustee members were officially removed from the Non-Partisan Association. The concerns of these former NPA members, which centered around their perception about the policy’s possibly negative impact on prop- erty values and international student enrolment, shows just how distorted their priorities are. This was the right way to deal such intolerance. Acceptance of at-risk youth, and their safety, is what’s most important, not property values. Talking about Photoshop hotoshop is here to stay, but its overuse in magazines is a disturbing trend that imposes incredible pressures on young women to look like the models they see in magazines. Tn the 25 years since its release, Adobe Photoshop has revolution- ized how we define beauty. The fact that it’s used to fundamentally change how women look represents larger problems about how our society sees beauty and perfection as the same thing. Magazines edit cracked lips or pores, or alter hips and legs to incredibly unrealistic levels. The beautifying of models has become so prolific that the real models themselves can’t even compare to their altered images. The vicious cycle in which women have their insecurities preyed upon by magazines must stop. Some might argue that the use of photo editing software is only a reaction to consumer demand. They say that if magazines wouldn’t sell if they didn’t contain beautified images. This is not true. People are crying out to see real women in magazines and not modified caricatures of beauty — and it’s the consumer who has the power to bring about this change. Ultimately, Photoshop is only a program. If we are to relieve our young women of unrealistic beauty standards, the first step is redefin- ing our own understanding of beauty. Instead of asking women the impossible, let’s accept them as they are. Now that’s a beautiful thing. OPINION ETHAN REYES We want to hear from you Did we get a fact wrong? Tell us. Got a different point of view? Write to us. Problems with something we've said? Let us know. Journalism instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email her at ebulman@langara.be.ca 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. oh | Pr/T]] =m) i LE [TT] b MICHAEL LYLYK and ANNA DIMOFF comic Sustainable building, make It so angara’s new $50 million dollar I science and technology building which some have compared to a Borg cube — is on warp speed towards its 2016 completion date! It might seem to be taking forever, but environmen- tally sound buildings just take longer to build. Besides, resistance is futile! As a Star Trek fan myself I can’t help but get behind anything futuristic. Keeping with the Star Trek metaphor, this building will make our campus as beautifully futuristic as Starfleet Headquarters. Some people might complain that OPINION MEL EDGAR construction is an inconvenience, that it limits access to campus or makes it hard to find parking. But Starfleet wasn’t built in a day. Pretty much every new wave of architecture has met with some opposition. I’m sure the Enterprise- D, arguably the best of all the Star Trek ships, took just as long to build. With his full head of hair, presi- dent and CEO Lane Trotter is our on-campus version of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. And he has high standards for us. Remember when the Enterprise birthed its own intelligent life form? Colleges are meant to do the same thing, so this building is bound to be just as fantastic as the Enterprise. And besides didn’t Captain Picard and the Enterprise triumph over the Borg? There’s a lesson in that some- where. As a leading undergraduate institution, Langara College is duty bound to explore new worlds of advanced construction. Trotter, our fearless leader, is showing the same Picard-esque grit by taking our college into the future. Remember crying tears of joy with Data after he found his cat alive in the wreckage of the crashed Enterprise? When it’s finished, the science and technology building will make us feel that good. This ship, err building, will only enhance Langara’s essential humanity. People will always complain, but it’s a good thing that Langara wants our campus to be beautiful, inspiring and environmentally green. I want to get on board — set phasers to stunning and maximim warp to green construction! 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.com EDITORIAL STAFF THIS ISSUE: MANAGING EDITOR/ PAGE 6 Mel Edgar PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Lena Alsayegh PAGE 2 Mary Beach PAGE 3 Shannon Lynch PAGE 4 Natasha Chang PAGE 5 Vivian Chui PAGE 7 Charlotte Drewett PAGE 8 Sandy Powlik WEB EDITORS Alice D'Eon James Goldie Jes Hovanes Nich Johansen Sableen Minhas COPY EDITORS Kera Piwowarski-Skocylas 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.com Twitter at @langaraVoice