6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEB. 4, 2016 EDITOR SEYEDMOSTAFA RAZIEI Safety conflicts with history n less than two months, another eosearci school building is facing demolition because of earthquake safety and a lack of money for mainte- nance expenses. In the face of this reality, one obvious question appears: is our generation generous to the next when it comes to preserving heritage sites? This is a dilemma that Vancouver residents ponder about, but they don’t have a defini- tive answer. However, we need an answer today, because there will be no other time to try and keep city heritage sites for future generations. On the other side of the same dilemma is a movement to save the next generation itself in the face of a possible drastic earthquake. The movement is demanding old schools be rebuilt. There is no exaggeration on the dangers of a big earthquake. Logic firmly demands us to do what we can to rebuild our infrastructure and, first among all, should be schools. But does it mean that we must let go of our city’s great history? J. W. Sexsmith Elementary School is the battleground for both sides: how to best keep it for the genera- tions to come. They are concerned residents, and they are using social media to talk about their issues. One side wants to preserve buildings, the other wants to save people. In other words, we face a safety vs. history conflict. Finally, there is no definitive answers to this dilemma. We do what we have to do, and wish for a better future for generations to come. Of course, photo and video are compiled in the archives to show what used to be Vancouver. Are we going to forget historical heritage sites for the sake of preparing for an earthquake, because these heritage sites are expensive to maintain? The least we can do is save some bits and bytes of history for the future generations. That expense, we can afford for sure. OPINION SEYEDMOSTAFA RAZIEI 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 U-Pass risk was unclear Ihe way Langara Students’ Union (LSU) handled the U-Pass refer- endum in the past week was dis- appointing for me as a student, and I think they could have managed it better. Before election week, the pre- amble for the referendum was posted to the LSU website and it detailed the proposed price changes to the U-Pass. It was unclear that students would 1 lose the U-Pass _ program if they > vote “no” in the referendum. OPI N ION Referendums NICO HERNANDEZ should disclose all the informa- tion and not make it one-sided so students can make the right choice. However, the voting ballots during the election were one-sided, because they only show information for the agree option. LSU, as a student body, is respon- sible for preparing information for all the voters to make an informed decision. The preamble should disclose the consequences of agreeing, and it should be bold enough to disclose what happens if students disagree with the changes. Other student associations in the Lower Mainland have recently held the same U-Pass referendum, and were more responsible than the LSU in disclosing to their students the consequences of both sides of their referendum. Capilano Students’ Union held the same referendum with the same plan and the possible termination of their U-Pass was disclosed properly. The BCIT Student Association held their U-Pass referendum online a few weeks ago and their notice also disclosed both sides of the referen- dum. If the LSU was more clear with us, then we would have had a referen- dum with well-informed students participating in it. Instead, not only is the referen- dum one-sided, students were led into a referendum that could have been better handled. Being a part of a student body where the information appears unclear to the hundreds of students they’re supposed to represent is concerning. If the LSU is collecting dues, then the least they can do is give more information to the students that need it. Hmmm...yes...wait? | What should I vote...? TRANSIT REFERENDUM VOTE WAIT, NOOOOOOOCO! Yes.....or...No.... Langara. ] ° Sy : ’ / vote . \ a — aa “ & se LUIS MINA comic Liquor ID equality needed for all students ccording to one of the greatest Ppiiicsconers Homer... Simpson, alcohol is “the cause of and solu- tion to all of lifes problems,” to be en- joyed responsibly by all those of the le- gal age. After a nice hard day of sitting through lecture after lecture, what better way to forget everything you’ve learned than a quick four-hour trip to the Langara Sushi Café in the Students’ Union Building? There have been recent whispers about some students at Langara OPINION JASON HAMILTON who have been unable to enjoy a nice cold glass of the nectar of the gods: alcohol. Students are being told they must have Canadian ID or a passport, while foreign issued ID, even in English, may not be accepted. This journalist did his homework and they are doing nothing wrong. According to the B.C. Liquor Control and Liscensing Act, it is lawful to refuse someone service if identifica- tion contains text that the server cannot understand or that prevents them from adequately verifying its authenticity. In an age of technology where a smartphone can translate languages on the fly, can they not be used to check the validity of foreign IDs too? After all, a beautiful specimen of a man I met in a mirror once told me, “We live in an era of smart phones and stupid people.... Go figure” or maybe that was just a quote from Lebanese financier Ziad K. Abdel- nour I read online. Since Langara College is a hub for immigrants and international students, one would think they would be prepared to deal with some pieces of identification that may not be in English or French. I’m not against the refusal of underage and belligerent people being served alcohol. Iam, however, for a solution that opens doors to the international students to spend less money to enjoy a cold beer — or five. So you won’t be drinking with McLovin anytime soon unless of course he’s brought Canadian ID or his passport. 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 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 Scott Drake PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Rumana Dsouza PAGE 2 Kevin Underhill PAGE 3 Vincent Matak PAGE 4 Rosemary Newton PAGE 5 Nancy Plechaty PAGE 7 Kate Richardson PAGE 8 Serena Pattar MANAGING WEB EDITOR Ben Bengtson WEB EDITORS Jake Costello Murray B. Hunt Sean Lee Tessa Vikander Bridgette Watson Kathryn Wu COPY/WEB EDITOR Mark Stuart REPORTERS Daniel Dadi-Cantarino Chantelle Deacon JR Dongalen Natalie Dunsmuir Scott Forbes Simran Gill Nico Hemandez Jason Hamilton Brian Kurokawa Alyd Llewellyn Jordan Macdonald Veronnica Mackillop Chahira Merarsi Luis Mina Linda Nguyen Alison Pudsey Ashley Singh Roberto Teixeira Anna Tilley Jenna Tytgat Chandler Walter Contact us: Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter: @LangaraVoice