3 THEVOICE |

THURSDAY, OCT. 22,2020 |

EDITOR RYAN NG

Viewpoints

“It’s enough to make you feel

Students are experiencing more stress and financial pressures since the beginning of the pandemic. ix LECKE iLLUSTRAT.

absent

Student voting marked

he B.C. provincial govern-

ment could see a drop

in student voting, due

to the stress and anxiety
surrounding voting during a global
pandemic.

A snap election was called in the
middle of an academic semester, and
amid total uncertainty regarding the
COVID-19 pandemic.

For many students, this is the first
semester of online learning. The
stress of learning in a completely
new approach, as well as studying for
upcoming midterms could be deter-

rent enough for students to choose not
to vote.

Students are also experiencing
higher levels of
stress. A study
from Chegg.org
found that 58
percent of college
students surveyed
were “moder-
ately”, “very”
or “extremely”

OPINION

worried about JACOB
eir own mental WAN TUVEN
health.

The same study found that one in
five students are experiencing more
financial pressure since the start of the
pandemic. Financial barriers translate
into lower voter turnout, as the B.C.
government found that people with a
higher unemployment rate and a lower
median income are less likely to vote.

The percent of young people voting
has risen over the last two provincial
elections, but this trend could come to
an end due to the constraints of school
work anda provincial mandate asking
students to stay home. Mail-in ballot-
ing is increasing in popularity this elec-

tion but it is still unlikely to draw an
increased number of voters, strictly
due to the abruptness of this election.
Not all post secondary institutions
are providing the U-pass that many
students relied on to travel. Many of
whom will need to take an increas-
ingly risky transit system. Students
are going to have to leave their homes
and schoolwork and head to the polls
on Oct. 24, 2020. At the same time,
everyone is advised to remain in their
homes as much as possible due to the
COVID-19 restrictions, making going
out to vote a difficult proposition.

Issues&ideas

Seniors

need

food, solutions

Community steps
in after food bank
closures

m= By EMMA GREGORY

ince the start of a petition by the
S South Vancouver Neighbour-

hood House, local commu-
nity members and organizations have
stepped in after multiple Greater
Vancouver Food Bank locations have
closed due to the pandemic. Since
creating a petition, the South Vancou-
ver Neighbourhood House (SVNH)
has been discussing solutions for the
community.

This came after seniors and at-risk
community members were faced with
additional barriers in accessing afford-
able food in South Vancouver.

The petition started in Septem-
ber and is nearing their goal of 1,000
signatures. Since creating the petition,

SVNH said they have been in conver-
sation with The City of Vancouver,
discussing solutions for food support
in South Vancouver.

“We're working on creating a new
food hub, that’s where we're at right
now,” said Laura Gair, Seniors Hub
programmer at South Vancouver
Neighbourhood House.

Because of the Food Bank closure,
from the end of March, the SVNH
distributed meals and one hundred
hampers to young families every
week. Approximately 300 low-income
community members were accessing
emergency food every week.

“We need help,” said Gair

Location barriers and distribution
protocols were two of the main chal-
lenges facing community members
wanting to access low-income food.

“Before COVID, my place would fit
60-70-sometimes a hundred people.
Now with the new restrictions I can
only seat maximum 35.” said Reverend
Chien of Potter’s Place Mission.

Between Aug. 18 and October,

a ss

Kate Molloy organizes pre-packed grocery bags to be distributed to South

Vancouver residents at the St. Augustine Anglican Church in Marpole, Van-

couver. EMMA GREGORY PHOTO

SVNH redirected its clients to the
Marpole Food Drive and the City
Reach Care Society. Asa result of the
closure of the SVNH, the Marpole
Food Drive opened on Sept. 3.

“T overheard the coordinators talk-
ing, and I said I'll do it.” said Kate
Molloy, who works as the executive
director of the Kerrisdale-Oakridge-
Marpole Community Policing Center.

Youth
apathy for

COVID virus
creates risk

oung people have developed
y sentiments of overconfidence
against the pandemic.

COVID-19 has been the rise
amongst young people in developed
countries, and to avoid another major
lockdown in B.C. they need to be more
careful.

In August SFU
Health Sciences
professor Scott
Lear told Global
News: “I think the
message that we
hear is that you’re
young, you're not
going to die, so
you're not going

7Y

bh al
OPINION

ae; HENRI B.
to be at risk”.
Dr. Bonnie NGIMBIS
Henry, B.C.'s

health officer, said on Oct. 19 ina state-
ment, "It is possible that we could go
into one of those rapidly increasing
curves or waves," she said. "We are ina
tricky place right now.". Reports from
the BC Centre for Disease Control
confirm that during the second week
of July, the largest proportion of new
cases reported was amongst the 20-29
age group.

Since the start of COVID-19 when
it first emerged in Wuhan, China,
media and medical experts have
focused their messages on how the
virus mostly affects vulnerable people,
particularly the elderly or those with
chronic diseases.

With many of the jobs the youth
hold closing their doors the lack of
employment and other activities
during the lockdown is another key
factor that explains the rise of the
pandemic. Youths, few wearing masks,
spend their spare time at social gather-
ings with a high rate of propagating
the disease.

COVID-19 is a serious killer that
can damage the lives of all generations
of people. Health experts are vehe-
mently warning that the COVID-19
can generate long-term side effects
even if somebody recovers from it.

With the second wave in full swing,
young people in B.C. need to be
cautious about how they spend their
time. No one wants to tell anyone they
can't go out and enjoy their lives. With
the risk so high and the potential of
another lockdown so great, it’s best
if you stay inside. If you must go out,
wear a mask.

The Voice is pub-
lished by Langara

government and
administration. We

College’s joumalism
department. Editorial
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of the staff and

are independent of
views of the student

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PAGE EDITORS
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Ryan Ng

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