6 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, JAN, 29, 2015 EDITOR JES HOVANES lewpoints Students’ union breeds contempt as a ‘mature’ student. The first time I went to university, Facebook was called a yearbook, I knew the locations of all the pay phones on campus, the internet was new and wondrous, the library was a place full of actual books — and the student elections were kind of a big deal. The Langara Students’ Union is holding elections this week and two board positions do not have anyone running for them. This change to the political culture of post-secondary education is far more concerning than the other differences noted above. Elections are not just popularity [- about to seriously out myself contests. Student government was created as a voice for students to come together and advocate for the things that are important in their actual lives. Student government works for things like health care, transit discounts, open access to quality education and overall fairness at a time in life when other institutions like government and labour would rather turn their backs. If students have actually given up on having a voice, then we have a lot more to worry about than a few empty seats on student council. Students used to get involved in school events, clubs and politics. The student government had a say in how the school ran and had the support of the student body. Or, at least that was the feeling. I don’t want this to be one of those ‘back in my day’ columns, but I find myself wondering about the changes that have taken place with student government since those glorious pre-internet days. Has the era of student govern- ment passed? Have we fallen into such a state of apathy that we don’t care who represents us, or if anyone represents us at all? There is no doubt that online culture and social media have opened up the world in a way that was never available in the past. 66 We have a lot more to worry about than a few empty seats on student council But I have to ask if we’re losing something important as we move so much of our social culture out of our physical sur- roundings and into the ether of the digital world. OPINION JES HOVANES Tuition woes omestic tuition will go up by two per cent next year and the year after for the wrong reasons. Domestic enrolment has decreased recently which has caused Langara College to raise tuition fees to compen- sate. This isa frustratingly backwards way to fix the problem of not enough OPINION MONA BUTLER students. Increasing the cost of tuition for domestic students won’t bring in more students. In fact, this solution is pushing potential students away. Two per cent doesn’t sound like much, but for those who need to rely on loans or summer jobs to help pay off their tuition, these fee hikes will make financial planning difficult. The B.C. government has restrict- ed tuition increasing to two per cent, but it still shouldn’t be so easy for fees to be raised without warning. Students who were planning to enrol for next September might have to rethink now that it will cost more for them to do so. Previously saved-up money might not cut it anymore. College is supposed to be the opportunity for furthering education but raising tuition without warning ruins these opportunities. Enrolment goes up and down every year but tuition always goes up. These decisions are closing doors to potential students. To whomever made this decision, making a profit is more important than those looking for an education. 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 Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email her at ebulman@langara.be.ca {SU CCESSI MICHAEL LYLYK and ANNA DIMOFF comic dventures in failing or, one month of New Year's resolutions hen the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, people vow to make changes: lose weight, eat better, quit smoking, spend less, save more. Out with the old and in with the new ~ this year those resolutions will be kept. As January ends, resolutions get put on the backburner. The idea that there is still plenty of time sets in. People make excuses to feel better about failing, but it’s the same every year. I’ve never been the New Year’s resolution type, but not because I don’t want to better myself. I just don’t need a date attached to making changes. Resolutions are meant to be broken and there are numbers to prove it. According to a survey conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Weight Watchers this month, 65 per cent of Canadians made resolutions for 2015. While that’s up from the roughly 51 per cent of Canadians who made resolutions in 2014, there’s a difference between making and keeping New Year’s resolutions. In 2014, according to Statistic Brain Research Institute, only 8 per cent of Americans who made resolutions kept them. You can see the trend in both Canada and the U.S., keeping resolutions for an entire year is a rare occurrence. But people can turn things around. Set goals, start small, and don’t tackle every- thing at once. Most of all don’t let the date on the calendar dictate when those changes will, or should, be made. OPINION JOCELYN ASPA 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 Jes Hovanes PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Sandy Powlik PAGE 2 Kera Piwowarski-Skocylas PAGE 3 Sableen Minhas PAGE 4 Shannon Lynch PAGE 5 Nich Johansen PAGE 7 James Goldie PAGE 8 Mel Edgar WEB EDITORS Lena Alsayegh Natasha Chang Mary Beach Charlotte Drewett Vivian Chui COPY EDITORS Alice D'Eon REPORTERS Jocelyn Aspa Mona Butler Tanya Gommisso Anna Dimoff Kelvin Gawley Dustin Godfrey Alexander Hoegler Michael Lylyk Bryan Mc Govem Owen Munro Bailey Nicholson Rebecca Phair Sara Rabey Ethan Reyes James Smith Tony Su Julia Wickham Xiao Xu Contact us: Online at langaravoice.com Twitter at @langaraVoice