6 THE DAILY VOICE, THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013 EDITOR MICHAEL LETENDRE lewpoints Cellphones the way to go, landlines ought to go t’s no longer good enough to tell a that you will call them once you get home, or when your sibling finally gets off the phone. Cellphones, texting and wireless access give us both instant and constant connections to the rest of the world. Mobile communications today are an acceptable, and in some cases, encour- aged, aide in the workforce and at school. If your personal and professional needs are being met by a cellphone, then a landline re- ally isn’t neces- sary. Being part of a ” family that uses a y bh cellphone almost every minute of ev- OPINION ery day, our land- line is barely even BRENNABROOKS = used at my house, yet we still contin- ue to pay for it. Why? There really is no reason why. It is just one of those useless household staples that we haven’t gotten rid of. Similar to my household, many still maintain both a landline and a cell- phone. For the most part though, hav- ing two different phones is too expen- sive for what it is worth. Cellphones do everything a landline does, but they are far more efficient and they have far more capabilities. Although cellphones are helpful, they do have their downfalls. For ex- ample, cellphones have a tendency to get lost easily, in places like purses, backpacks and couches, and their bat- teries wear out eventually. Having a landline is also a reliable fallback when your cellphone is not available. However, the major downside of landlines is that because they are sta- tionary, they are virtually useless when people are not actually home to use them. You're better off ditching the second- ary landline and buying yourself extra minutes or some additional services on your cellphone. WHAT'S YOUR VIEW? The Voice welcomes letters and e-mail. Please include your full name and phone number. Maxi- mum suggested length of letters os 150 words. Letters may be edited for brevity. E-MAIL: thevoice@langara.bc.ca DROP-OFF: Voice mailbox, A227 FAX: 604-323-5398 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 Nicholas Read oversees The Voice. Email him at nread@langara.be.ca State of the city address much ado about nothing sterday’s state of the city ad- dress by Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts had little substance save for a few head-turning remarks. Watts discussed transit, economic growth, education and crime, but noth- ing said was indicative of any new di- rection or change. The city knows much about the council’s struggle for increased transit, in particular its light rail dreams. In addition, economic development was another familiar talking point that again, sounds good, but action speaks louder. Earlier in the year, many south of the Fraser remember Surrey’s casi- no debacle that ended with Watts’ de- ciding vote, which put an end to an ex- haustive process. However, interesting points were made with regard to education and crime. Watts asked for additional space for graduating high school students. The issue: 75 per cent grade-point averages are not accepted at the city’s SFU cam- pus. While this gatekeeping is nothing novel, the call for additional space to accommodate low- er averages is. Does SFU agree with Watts’ logic? Lower standards currently in place to accommodate Surrey students just to fill seats seems backward. Pa OPINION Many before MICHAEL LETENDRE these lower stan- dards practice faced the same rigors and standards current students in secondary school face, and still managed to do well in post-secondary schools. With regard to crime, again, the onus seemed backwards with Watts throwing criticism at community ef- forts in relation to stopping the vio- lence in the streets. Family is important, structure and guidance play a pivotal role in shaping a youth’s life. But the crime and death - gangland slayings — occurring in Sur- rey is a matter that requires immediate attention. The 29-year-olds being murdered in the streets and the consequent retalia- tion endanger civilians now. There needs to be a plan or strategy to deal with the current situation. It’s clear: good parenting helps pre- vent immoral and unethical behaviour. But the current context is not of young teens playing cops and robbers, these are men dying in the streets and the city needs a plan, not praise through law enforcement. bitch Coc Don't be shy, embrace your kink Sex is more than physical and most people who are past the teen awakening rabbit stage know this. So why do we get skittish about kink? The fetish scene addresses some pretty deep psychological desires head on, and this freaks people out. It’s not the latex and the riding crops. Not to say that we all have Oedipus complexes, but there’s a reason that certain people are turned on by certain things and it has a lot to do with what we've experienced in the past. Shame and all of its dreary side ef- fects like low self-esteem and self worth is probably humanity’s worst, most debilitating trait. I think too many people think they know what kink is, and don’t like the image that comes to mind. So, they write it off as something D’: be a vanilla cone. Get weird. weird and icky. We don’t like to admit that our for- mative years — when we were young and inno- cent — are what shaped us into the people we are to- day. Even, I dare- say, the sexual be- ings we are today. If you’re a little freaked out, it probably means youre going to learn something. People are turned on when they’re being challenged, when there’s tension. Kink is subjective. It doesn’t neces- sarily conjure up the image of a whip- cracking, shit-kicking dominatrix for OPINION ANNE ELLISON everyone. And it can be scary. But for some people, scary is hot, even spiritual. People who partake in suspensions (inserting hooks into the flesh and lit- erally being suspended from the ceiling by said hooks) have described it to me as a totally euphoric, out-of-body spiri- tual experience. A kink relationship is a more con- sensual, trusting, well-run relationship than most day-to-day relationships. There are rules; the rules are followed; it works. Do I want to strap on a dog collar, bark and be paraded around by a snarl- ing dominatrix in red latex? No. But someone out there does, and that is to- tally cool — in fact it’s great. As long as you’re not negatively im- pacting anyone, go to town, and do it safely. 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 wwwlangara.bc.ca/voice EDITORIAL STAFF THIS ISSUE: MANAGING EDITOR/ PAGE 6 Michael Letendre PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Bronwyn Scott PAGE 2 Steven Chua PAGE 3 Kevin Hampson PAGE 4 Jennifer Thuncher PAGE 5 Judy Chem PAGE 7 Anne Ellison PAGE 8 Ryan Banagan WEB EDITORS Gillian Hames Brandon Kostinuk Katja De Bock REPORTERS Jesse Adamson Sera Akdogan Brenna Brooks Ben Bulmer Deanna Cheng Patrick Colvin Jesica Cunningham Marie-Andree Del Cid Puneet Dhami Garin Fahlman Kristen Harpula Angela Holubowich Brian Horstead Kayla lsomura Warren Jané Jacqueline Langen Hailey McDonald James McLaughlin Kelci Nicodemus Niaill Shannon Contact us: Our blog at www.langara- voice.com Twitter at @langaraVoice Youtube at VoiceLangara flicker at Langara Voice