THEVOICE |

THURSDAY, OCT. 26,2017 |

EDITOR SASHA ZEIDLER

Viewpoints

Gender-neutral bathroom stalls eliminate the awkwardness of periods for transgender and non-binary people on and off campus. PERRIN GRAUER ILLUSTRATIO

Equal stalls for all. Period.

f you're
menstru-
ating on

campus, I
feel bad for you
son—Langara has
95 bathrooms, but
for trans men, feels

OPINION like none.
—__ Non-binary
BECCA and transgender
CLARKSON mule students are

having to choose
between using a
washroom that best represents their
identity, or one that has sanitary dis-
posal units.
Why should they have to choose? As
a society, people eat and drink in the
same rooms, sit side by side on the same
transit, learn and work together and
sleep in the same beds.

The signs on all bathrooms on cam-
pus could easily be changed to ‘gender-
neutral bathroom with urinals’ and
‘gender-neutral bathroom with dispos-
al’ This change would be less expensive
than another reasonable solution—in-
stalling sanitary disposal units into each
of the men’s stalls.

In an article for The New Yorker,
Harvard Law School professor Jean-
nie Suk Gersen says public restrooms
are the only everyday social institution
that normalizes separation by gender
and people on the winning side of the
“war on gender” are especially hesitant
to undo that separation.

The Science and Technology Build-
ing is the only building on campus that
has exclusively gender-neutral wash-
rooms, and other buildings offer single
unisex stalls for students with physical
disabilities.

Despite there being no known cases
of men posing as transgender women
in order to assault cisgender females
in restrooms, —
many naysayers
of equal bath-
room rights cite
women’s safety
as a reason for
segregation.

In Texas, an
anti-Houston
Equal Rights
Ordinance cam-
paign promoted
gender-specific
washrooms
through a video
depicting a man posing as a transgen-
der woman following a little girl into a
bathroom stall.

While there’s no denying sexual as-

“If you're menstruating
on campus I feel bad
for you son —
Langara has 95
bathrooms, but for
trans men,
feels like none.”

sault is an issue on campuses, implying
that gender-neutral washrooms would
encourage such activity is assuming as-
— sault only occurs
in heteronorma-
tive pairings.
Transgender
males or people
who identify
as non-binary
shouldnt have
to choose be-
tween a wash-
room that suits

their needs
rather than their
rights.

_ Much like

the environmentally sustainable design
Langara boasts, the campus could be
equally proud of supporting equality
through design.

Halloween pet costumes are not the cat's pyjamas

ets, they’re just like us!
They like snacks, they want at-
tention and they love back rubs.
We have so much in common with our
pets, in fact, that we tend to forget that
maybe they don’t enjoy all the things we
do, like playing dress up.

There is something fascinating about
having a holiday where we can put on a
costume and for a few hours, pretend to
be something else. We can escape our
jobs and our responsibilities and for an
evening, play a game of make believe
where anything is possible.

Our pets have a pretty good life as is,
why should they have to escape too?

OPINION

SASHA
ZEIDLER

The line between
human and animal
is becoming a fine
one, where pet
owners seem to
put more thought
in the wellbeing of
their animals than
their own.

The best organic
food and state of
the art dog bowls
are all ways of hu-
manizing our pets.
Dressing them up is just another way of

doing this.

In 2014, the Consolidated Credit
Counseling Services of Canada found
that 11 per cent of Canadians will
spend up to $60

pet. But it is important to remember
they are animals.
Domestic animals have no way of

verbalizing if they

on Halloween au“ * have a desire to
costumes for their The line between be dressed as El-
pets. The same human and animal vis or a sushi roll
year, according to . . . for hours on end
the Retail Coun- 1S becoming a fine while being ogled
cil of Canada, our " by tipsy adults and
country turned one. candy-fueled chil-

Halloween into a ‘—

$1 billion industry, most of which was

spent on decorations and costumes.
There is nothing wrong with wanting

to share a holiday experience with your

— dren.

Maybe it’s time to realize that your
pet puts up with your costume because
it has no choice. Not because they enjoy
it.

Forget
coffee,
ferment

( ) ome exam time, stress can be
extremely high and sleep is at a
premium, neither of which are

favourable on exam day when alertness

is key. Can fermented foods be the an-
swer?

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is
gaining popularity in the ever-hip and
healthy Vancouver scene. DIY ferment-
ed foods are trending, with workshops
popping up at the University of British
Columbia, stores like Rooted Nutrition
and Homestead Junction in Vancouver.

Now, you may see this as a stereo-
type: a hip and “healthy” millennial
who enjoys sipping kombucha after a
long night out of heavy drinking? But,
it works. I love kombucha. As an avid
coftee drinker, I am often hesitant about
alternatives. But, never have I felt bet-
ter and more alert than on a day started
with kombucha.

There’s good
reason for _ this
increasing popu-
larity. Fermented
foods are could be
ideal for students
during exam time
because they help
promote a healthy

OPINION

gut and reduce
anxiety. ANA ROSE
According to a WALKEY

study in the Jour-

nal of Physiological Anthropology, a
team led by Dr. Eva M. Selhub discov-
ered that consuming fermented foods
such as yogurt can indeed increase your
mental health.

They suggested that fermented foods
almost always contain the probiotics
that are essential in soothing and regu-
lating a healthy gut.

This study also explained that inflam-
mation in the gut may be directly re-
lated to symptoms of anxiety.

However, fermented foods are ex-
pensive. I only find myself buying them
when the 1L bottles of Rise Kombucha
are on sale at Whole Foods.

An alternative is fermenting food at
home, a skill that can be learned by at-
tending some of the many fermentation
workshops in Vancouver.

There are risks, such as introducing
harmful bacteria into the mix, and there
are benefits, such as a healthier body
and a healthier pocketbook.

In the end, the pros outweigh the
cons and I know I will continue con-
suming fermented food and drinks. I
might even learn to start making them.

We want to hear from you

Have a different point of view?
Write to us.

Have a concern with
something we've said?
Let us know.

Think we got a fact wrong?
Tell us.

Journalism instructor Erica
Bulman oversees The Voice.
Email: ebulman@langara.ca

The Voice is
published by Langara
College’s joumalism

government and
administration. We
welcome letters to

department. Editorial the editor. They may
opinions are those be edited for brevity.
of the staff and Your letter must in-
are independent of clude your name and
views of the student phone number.

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