6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 14 2013 EDITOR SAM REYNOLDS lewpoints Ethnic-gate is a complete non-issue m no sycophant of the B.C Liberals, but good god this ethnic-gate “scandal” is the non-issue of the decade. I won’t deny that the party is disintegrating: Ministers are quitting, riding presidents are resigning, and constituency groups are calling for the ousting of Premier Clark. All of which is disappointing; the party that took B.C from being the backwater socialist member of confederation to a national leader in economic growth is collapsing under its own hubris. But this straw that is trying to break the camel’s back is something that political parties on all levels have done for years and will continue to do for elections to come — over the last few decades political groups, left and right, have developed a love of minority issues. On Tuesday, B.C’s auditor general scolded the NDP for using publicly funded constituency money for partisan cultural outreach. During the 2011 federal election, it seemed like Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, hopped around ‘ul OPINION SAM REYNOLDS the country swapping ethnic headdresses and costumes as he shifted from his sat-sri-akal’s to ni-hao’s. Token gestures to ethnic groups even exist on the micro political level as well: walk into a student union meeting, and it is almost guaranteed to open with a request to proceed on “unseeded Coast Salish territory” or something of the like. Granted, some of these appeals to ethnic groups end up paying off. As the Globe’s John Ibbitson and pollster Darrell Bricker document in their new book “The Big Shift”, multicultural Canada tends to have centre-right views. The fastest growing ridings in the country — largely suburban and ethnic — can make or break elections, thus providing a lucrative prize for those vying for office. The real sin in this manufactured scandal is the apparent intent of the Liberals to use taxpayer’s funds for partisan purposes. For a party that was elected in 2001 promising accountability and an end to government waste, it is frustrating to watch them lie and cheat as they drift into the political wilderness. But considering that turnout in B.C’s elections goes down every year, and Langara students say they are generally disinterested in the democratic process, maybe this won't be the issue the media is making it out to be. Let's keep our health plan t’s unrealistic to say no to any rising prices. There will always be cutbacks for services, and prices need to be adjusted every year. The Langara Students’ Union health and dental plan was first established in 2005, and origi- nally cost stu- dents $218. In 2006, the price went down to $199.98 as some of the funds were diverted to finish the Student Union Building. The rise in prices indicates there are more people who use the health and dental plan, which means higher costs. Every economics student under- stands that price is a part of supply and demand. When demand for a good or service rises and the supply remains unchanged, a shortage occurs and prices usually rise. When demand decreases and supply remains constant, prices usually fall. It’s actually pretty surprising that the same price has been kept constant since 2005, considering that awareness of the plan and claims have both increased. Not letting the referendum pass means some of the benefits are going to be cut in order to be able to budget itself properly. What would be the point of paying for something cheap only to receive bare minimal health services? Even with the price increase, the LSU plan is still cheaper than other school’s insurance plans. In the end, putting in the extra dollars seems worth it. After all, the LSU has one of the lowest health lan fees in the entire province. OPINION MARIE DEL CID We want to hear from you Did we get a fact wrong? Tell us. Got a different point of view? Write to us. Shutting down Granville early is dumb Ithough the intentions of shutting down the Granville entertainment district (shortly after bars and clubs close) early on weekend nights are good, the results are people who bring their party atmosphere outside the bars and disturb people who often just want to go home. In many instances, police will focus their attention to gangs and thieves, which is great, but the ratio of patrons to officers causes priorities to be made that leave many public safety threats, like fights, unhandled until after the fact. VPD spokesman Brian Montague may say that closing down the street “prevents people from gathering on sidewalks and getting pushed in OPINION BRENNA BROOKS front of cars and buses,” but it doesn’t actually create as concen- trated of an area as they make it seem. The closed street causes partiers to move to other areas downtown when they are finished on Granville, putting businesses on Robson Street, like my former place of work Starbucks, and others at risk of being robbed or put into a position that forces their employees to deal with the drunk patrons. The staff at these establishments are likely to be overwhelmed by the intoxicated crowd. Likely these businesses will have to hire security guards, an extra expense for businesses operating in an already expensive place. It also creates a disturbance for people who live near the area and have to walk home through the crowds, who might be rowdy and still looking for a party. The escalated party environment mixed with copious amounts of alcohol creates lost inhibitions and a lesser sense of self-control, which is unfortunate for the people passing by who are harassed verbally, and sometimes physically. Don’t get me wrong, having the street open would cause similar problems, but it would eliminate the “tolerance” we have of these negative behaviours. That means erasing the idea that we, the people of Vancouver, are saying that we agree with letting people be intoxicated in public because they are somewhat super- vised by authorities. The Bar Watch program may create a safer area when it comes to tracking gangsters and other troublemakers, but it won’t help with the problem of intoxicated rowdy crowds roaming the streets after the street closes. With the focus of police fixed on gangs, the more common un-gang related conflicts are neglected, putting the public in more harm than if their focus was dispersed. h : Vo i 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 Sam Reynolds PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Katja De Bock PAGE 2 Kevin Hampson PAGE 3 Jules Knox PAGE 4 Steven Chua PAGE 5 Michael Letendre PAGE 7 Ryan Banagan PAGE 8 Bronwyn Scott WEB EDITORS Jennifer Thuncher Judy Chem REPORTERS Sera Akdogan Ben Bulmer Deanna Cheng Patrick Colvin Puneet Dhami Garin Fahlman Brian Horstead Kayla lsomura James McLauglin Niall Shannon Brenna Brooks Marie-Andree Del Cid Angela Holubowich Warren Jane Kristen Harpula Jessica Cunningham Jacqueline Langen Hailey McDonald Contact us: Online at langaravoice.com Twitter at @langaraVoice