6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014 EDITOR KENDRA WONG lewpoints Degrees aren't all about the jobs e’ve all thought about it at We: point or another. For some of you, it sits quietly at the back of your brain as you try and cram for one of many three-hour finals. And for some, the thought wanders through your brain as you methodically fold clothes at a minimum-wage job. It’s something hundreds of people strive for and pour thousands of dollars into getting. It’s a degree. Having gone through years of all-nighters and powering through copious amounts of coffee during my undergrad at SFU, I was constantly struggling with the idea that degrees just might not be worth it anymore. It’s become a parental expecta- tion that kids must get degrees or they won’t find jobs without them. Now, a degree will hardly land you ajob in your respective field. And it’s all about getting the next better thing: a master’s degree. As T look back at the hours spent in the library or standing in the Tim Hortons line, getting a degree isn’t all about how much you learned about World War I or if you know who Noam Chomsky is. When I think back on my five years at university, my fondest mem- ories took place at school, but not in the classroom. I remember watching game seven of the Stanley Cup finals at the on-campus pub; I remember making the climb to the roof of the A Building to see the stars; I remem- ber enjoying beverages in the summertime on the patio. And I made life-long friends in the process. A degree shouldn’t be seen as a ridiculously overpriced piece of paper that sits on the mantle and collects dust, but as a collection of experiences that help shape you. So maybe a degree will help you land a job, maybe it won’t and perhaps it isn’t necessarily worth the hefty price tag — but the experiences just might be. OPINION KENDRA WONG 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 Ethan Baron oversees The Voice. Email him at ebaron@langara.be.ca Cell phone etiquette has gone out the window recently belonged to a long prestigious line of Nokia flip phone users. I finally upgraded to a Samsung GALAXY S4 last year and I have yet to download my first application. But the truth is, I lost that old faithful beauty and miss her dearly to this day. I mastered the art of texting without looking and my phone was just a phone. I didn’t feel the need to be wired into the Internet 24 hours a day. I’m not against technological advancement, I’m all for user-friend- ly technology. But what bothers me with the evolution of cellular technology is that etiquette has been thrown out the window. Somehow it’s become socially acceptable to pull these little devils out during any occasion without social repercussions. People crash into to you while they’re Googling and it’s reaching a level of absurdity. Everybody on the planet is walking around with these mini devices: They’re flashy, exciting and bright and all the knowledge and information you desire is at your fingertips in a moment’s notice. The worst part is that trivia and obtained knowledge are becoming obsolete. I wonder when we'll be able to download packets of critical-thinking skills from the all-mighty Google. I still prefer the name Omnius. Just Google it, don’t bother to learn about it through hours of painstaking reading. I have lived long enough to know there’s no such thing as a free lunch. You don’t get all this amazing information for nothing. Fifty dollars a month is a small price to pay for all the abilities our little genies and leprechauns grant us. Those creatures have a long history of being tricky and this may be the case with smartphones. What’s the trade-off I ask, where’s the pact? I still prefer to sign my deals in blood. I’m getting a headache from all the artificial light, and I miss my simple little Nokia. =) OPINION LUKASZ JONCA "Pid you Know that Andrew made out with Lauren even though he’s dating Jessica?" OMG, I have to reply right away! Post it on Twitter and REPPIT, and update my Facebook status, RIGHT NOW. into town like a drunk in an old Western film, bawdy and ready to fight. But the holidays have simply become an excuse to drink the mid-March blues away with very few people actually celebrating the holiday for what it’s really about. We all want a day off come mid-March. It’s cold, rainy and aside from the odd cherry blossom, it’s a grey month for Vancouverites. We've long forgotten our Christ- mas cheer and summer seems like a distant, unattainable daydream. The calendar seems rife with income taxes, end-of-term assignments and final exams for the foreseeable future. Once March 17 hits, it seems like everyone is long overdue for some fun. BE: year, St. Patrick’s Day blows And this year was no different. Throngs of people put on their green outfits as if they’re invincibil- ity cloaks. The guise of a holiday, a tradition, that must be treated with respect and celebrated dutifully, allows folks to pound back countless pints. And when March 18 rolls around, the bleary-eyed masses feel no shame despite the fact that they’re nursing a mind-bending hangover on a Tuesday morning. Most St. Patrick’s Day partygoers would be hard pressed to come up with the holiday’s origins or mean- ing. It’s a holiday from Ireland. The Irish like to drink, right? It’s a holiday about drinking! St. Patrick’s Day is less a holiday and more a get-out-of-jail-free card for anyone over 19. A walk down Granville Street the next day is more than enough evidence of what the Feast of Saint Patrick really means to us: drinking, drinking and more drink- ing. In the clamour of it all, people forget that just 0 Pl N 10 N because everyone HANNAH else is doing it, MYRBERG doesn’t mean you should too. Next year, take it easy on St. Paddy’s Day. If you need a day off, just wait for the weekend. Throw back a pint of Guinness, just one, and relax. And if you need a break from the stresses of the season, find a friend or a professional to hash things out with. Your liver will thank you in the long run. ene Voice 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. 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 Kendra Wong PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Nadim Roberts PAGE 2 Andrea Anthony PAGE 3 Gavin Fisher PAGE 4 Jenny Peng PAGE 5 Tricia Lo PAGE 7 Bill Everitt PAGE 8 Nick Eagland WEB EDITORS Jesse Lam Vanessa Szpurko COPY EDITORS Amy Jones Tyler Hooper REPORTERS Karly Blats Megan Bobetsis Erin Boe Lauren Collins Alissa Crane Edrick Dudang Madelyn Forsyth Lukasz Jonca Mike Hodder Leslie Kam Ash Kelly David LaRiviere Ashley Legassic Hannah Myrberg Christopher Slater Renee Sutton Ben Zutter Contact us: Online at langaravoice.com Twitter at @langaraVoice