6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCT. 30, 2014

EDITOR ASHLEY LEGASSIC

lewpoints

Put a stop
to all of
the waste

ou know what’s gross?
Y Garbage.
I’m not kidding, it makes me
sick.

Here we are in a first world
nation, constantly surrounded by
more than our needs could ever
possibly consume, and what do we
do with what we don’t want?

We throw it out.

It’s sickening. We as a society
over-produce beyond even what our
most excessive desires could devour,
and everything we can’t use goes
right in the garbage. As a result,
literally tons of food is wasted each
day.

Where does everyone think it all
goes? It all has to go somewhere,
and if it’s in the trash it sure isn’t
going back into nature.

And that’s a problem, the food
chain where we supposedly reside at
the top, depends entirely upon
everything going back to the earth
at some point.

Yet all this food garbage is sent off
to landfills, where it will share space
with plastics, metals, discarded
medical tools, and vile chemicals.

It won’t go back into the carbon
cycle, it’s effectively stealing from
Mother Nature.

But that’s probably not enough to
get people off their bad waste habits.
So here’s another reason, food
prices are going up.

Worldwide. It’s been happening
for years now, and even though
youre well enough off to be going to
Langara consider- _
ing you’re reading y ie |
this, chances are | = ‘
it’s affected you
too.

The world has
some seven
billion people on
it, and it gets
harder to feed
them all every
day, thanks in
part to waste like
this.

If there are people that can get by
on just a single scrappy meal once
every three days, the least we here
in Canada can do is ensure our food
isn’t wasted.

Order less food, compost your
food waste and send the stuff you
know you won’t eat to the food bank.

Anything helps, and soon it’ll be
the law, Vancouver is going to make
it mandatory to recycle food, and
about darn time.

|

: wt +
bie
OPINION

JONATHAN
PARKIN

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Halloween take over

n 2012, I spent Halloween in a rural

Guatemalan town.

That night in the village square,

a documentary condemning the
evils of this North American holiday
was presented by one of the local
evangelical churches.

Photos (that appeared to be lifted
from Google images) of babies
dressed in devil costumes and young
women in pointed black hats were
projected onto a large screen.

A narrator spoke of satanic
rituals and unholy worshipping.

As a Canadian, I watched,
bemused.

How could a holiday in which
people, young and old, dress up in
silly costumes and eat candy or
party with friends be construed as
something that is so evil or menac-
ing?

However, now, looking back, I can
see why some people in certain

countries that don’t celebrate
Halloween might view the holiday as
a threat.

And not because of black magic or
ghostly superstitions.

Filipina writer Connie Veneracion
described the way that North
American-style Halloween is slowly
replacing the old rural Filipino
tradition of pangangaluluwa, in
which (similar to trick-or-treating)
children go door to door, singing
carols and asking for money or for
food.

“Tf we have to celebrate Hallow-
een, why not in our own way rather
than be copycats?” she asks.

As with fashion, pop music, and
consumer goods, there is less of a
cultural exchange taking place and
more of a cultural take-over.

Whether in the Philippines,
Guatemala, or any other place in
which Halloween is not part of their

ve
fo

local customs, the festivities of this
holiday as we know them represent
one more way in which western
culture is invading other countries
and slowly wiping out local custom
and international traditions.

So while I can’t accept that a
six-month-old
dressed in a red
onesie and plastic
horns represents
a society with
cultish
tendencies, I do
think the growing
presence of North
American
Halloween around
the globe may be
a sign of
something
equally sinister.

After all, the road to hell is paved
with good intentions.

OPINION

JAMES GOLDIE

ASHLEY LEGASSIC comic
Comic made with Bitstrips

Binge on something else

people within the college-age range

loading on face paint to perfect
their horror look, followed shortly by-
going to the nearest liquor store to pick
up a bottle of whisky.

But why?

We find it perfectly acceptable to
get drunk with our friends in
ridiculous-looking costumes and not
remember most of the events that
happened the previous night.

It’s all right though, because it’s
Halloween. I don’t know why this is
the one night of the year where I
don’t feel guilty about blowing what
little money I have at the bar and on
clothes and materials for my super
trendy DIY Pinterest costume.

Not only is there the issue with
money, but it’s not like you feel great
about yourself the next day either.

Staying in bed until 2 p.m. and get-
ting out of bed only to answer the
door for your pizza guy doesn’t
sound as appealing as actually

0: Halloween you could find most

getting stuff done.

The typical ‘reward’ for a
Halloween evening out is an empty
bank account, a massive headache
and having to ask everyone you
were with what you guys did and if
you had fun.

When it comes down to it, it’s just
not worth it.

I’m not preaching here, and I’m
not saying I’m innocent.

I'm also guilty of binge drinking
on Halloween, and I’m embarrassed
to say so because there is literally
nothing in it for me.

It’s easy enough to get caught up
in the exciting feeling that’s being
passed around through the night.

It’s almost the same feeling that
kids get when they go trick-or-
treating and they’re racing each
other to each house to see who can
get the most candy.

The energy that’s around on
Halloween is similar to that of New
Year’s Eve and going away parties.

It’s an exciting event and people
want to celebrate it.

That being said, wearing cat ears
and whiskers for
one night doesn’t
exactly give you
the right to slam
back shots like it’s
your day job.

There is a
difference
between having
some beers or
drinks with your
friends at a bar or
Halloween party,
and drinking for the sole purpose of
getting hammered, so why do we
find it so hard to define that line?

If you’re going out this Halloween
and you’re wanting to drink, do
yourself a favour.

Wear last year’s costume, have a
couple of drinks, and try to actually
have the ability to be productive the
next day.

Mii

awa
OPINION

ASHLEY LEGASSIC

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