Open Space: Camosun too smokin’Camosun students who use Ewing 100 at the Lansdowne campus for classes and labs should get free gas masks upon registration. It’s the only way to survive the smoke that gets sucked in through the doors and windows. The levels of secondhand smoke around the designated smoking areas have impacted the routes I take to […] Continue Reading |
Open Space: Nothing smart about using devices in classLately, I’ve been feeling that the only way I will be able to finish my degree is online. Ironically, there I’d be free from the endless smartphone- and internet-related classroom distractions. It boggles my mind that students can be so cavalier about their access to their teachers. There are many who would gladly take a […] Continue Reading |
Open Space: In defence of Valentine’s DayValentine’s Day gets a bad rap. When February 14 arrives, people roll their eyes, furrow their brows, and poke fun at anything V-Day related. But I say Valentine’s is to be adored, not detested. Let’s face it, February sucks. It’s cold, grey, often rainy, and always unpleasant. What better time to celebrate a holiday dedicated […] Continue Reading |
Open Space: Composting program positive stepKudos to the Camosun Students for Environmental Awareness and Camosun College for installing compost bins at Lansdowne campus at the beginning of this term. Navigating college bureaucracy can be a lengthy and frustrating process, and it’s commendable that both sides stuck with it. 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted every year, according to the […] Continue Reading |
Open Space: SOPA threatens online freedomsFreedom is one of the single most important ideals of this or any generation. Wars have been fought countless times throughout human history over freedoms. Freedom of religion, freedom from slavery, freedom of speech, freedom from oppression… the list goes on and on. Even now, wars and movements are combating these same afflictions worldwide – […] Continue Reading |
Open Space: All-or-nothing approach to college doesn’t workBored, lethargic, forgetful, and unsure of one’s direction in life: these aren’t the things most people imagine when they sign up for college. Hollywood portrayals of sex, drugs, booze, and epic misadventures in college are totally misleading: the majority of student life comprises reading, writing, and studying, or the procrastination of all three. Most people […] Continue Reading |
Alberta Tar Sands are selling out our futureRight now, the largest industrial project in the history of humankind is taking place in Alberta. This project is generating incredible sums of money for the Harper government and the Canadian economy. And, it’s killing us. The Alberta Tar Sands (also known as the Alberta Oil Sands) is producing more and more greenhouse gases every […] Continue Reading |
Open Space: Need for men’s spaces questionableThe idea of safe space for men comes up on campus, especially in conversations about the campus women’s centres. Some students believe that if women have safe spaces on campus where they can hang out and drink tea for free, so should men. But should they, really? Of course men should be able to enjoy […] Continue Reading |
Open Space: Men need to embrace feminismIn 1984, Gloria Watkins (pen name: bell hooks), influential feminist author and activist, famously stated that “feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” In her book, Feminism Is for Everybody, published 16 years later, Watkins wrote, “I like this definition [of sexism feminism] because it did not imply that men were […] Continue Reading |
Open Space: Occupy movement lacks unityWhen Egyptians and Libyans began protesting to topple their corrupt governments, the world had yet to see what the singular focus of hundreds of thousands of people could accomplish. It was something new that the world hadn’t seen before: a nonviolent revolution. The growing Occupy movement currently seeks to use this new power of nonviolent […] Continue Reading |
