The Other Press - Feb 23, 2021

Comic by Janis McMath

Lettitor

The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We are a registered society under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus.

The Other Press is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during the summer. We receive our funding from a student levy collected through tuition fees every semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue. The Other Press is a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), a syndicate of student newspapers that includes papers from all across Canada.

The Other Press reserves the right to choose what we will publish, and we will not publish material that is hateful, obscene, or condones or promotes illegal activities.

Submissions may be edited for clarity and brevity if necessary. All images used are copyright to their respective owners.

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Janis McMath Editor-in-Chief  editor@theotherpress.ca

Jessica Berget Assistant Editor  assistant@theotherpress.ca

Athena Little Illustrator

Brandon Yip Senior Columnist

Morgan Hannah Life & Style Editor  lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor  arts@theotherpress.ca

Udeshi Seneviratne Illustrator

Richard Dick Senior Columnist

Position Open News Editor  news@theotherpress.ca

Matthew Fraser Opinions Editor  opinions@theotherpress.ca

CJ Sommerfeld Staff Writer

Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist

Position Open Entertainment Editor  humour@theotherpress.ca

Craig Allan Business Manager

Alexis Zygan Staff Writer

Luana Ross Contributor

Christine Weenk Layout Manager  layout@theotherpress.ca

Jacey Gibb Distribution Manager

Billy Bui Staff Photographer

Lauren Kelly Graphics Manager  graphics@theotherpress.ca

Joe Ayres Social Media Manager

Arnaldo Fragozo Staff Photographer

Nhi 'Jenny' Vo Production Assistant

Mo Hussain Sports Reporter

Jonathan Pabico Senior Columnist

Position Open Staff Reporter Cover layout by Lauren Kelly and Athena Little Feature layout by Athena Little and Christine Weenk

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News

news // no. 3 • Buyback program offered for gun owners, but details remain unclear • Coquitlam police ask people to stop spreading online abduction ‘rumours’ ...and more

Trudeau’s gun ban awaits Senate approval › Buyback program offered for gun owners, but details remain unclear Jessica Berget Assistant Editor n May 1, 2020, PM Justin Trudeau announced a municipal gun ban called Bill C-21 which covers over 1500 firearms following the shootings that occurred in Nova Scotia in April 2020. As of February 16, Trudeau has announced that the federal government will be introducing a gun buyback program for “assault style” firearms (which has no real definition in Canada). Current prohibited gun owners are exempt from this law until April 30, 2022 and can only transfer their firearms for certain reasons.

This legislation will allow municipalities to change bylaws surrounding firearm transport, storage, and possession which can be enforced with jailtime for violators. Bill C-21 also says it will also make stricter criminal punishments for firearm smugglers and traffickers (10 to 14 years in prison) and enhance border security to keep illegal firearms out of the country. Public Health Minister Bill Blair also says owners of prohibited firearms will no longer be able to “grandfather” or bequeath their guns and that those who don’t sell their guns back to the government will be held

Illustration by Jessica Berget

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responsible if they end up in the hands of criminals. Furthermore, the bill includes a “red flag” and “yellow flag” law which dictates that people can ask to have a gun owner’s guns removed from them or their licence reviewed if they feel there is a risk

of danger to themselves or the public.

Despite this, the details of the federal government’s gun buyback program remain to be seen. Bill Blair estimates that there are over 150,000 to 200,000 firearms in Canada, which can cost up to $300 to

400 million (if the average price for each firearm was $1300).

Despite the backlash from gun advocates, Trudeau says in a news conference that this law is not punishing law abiding gun owners. “We are not targeting law-abiding citizens who own guns to go hunting or for sport shooting.

The measures we’re proposing are concrete and practical. And they have one goal and one goal only—protecting you, your family, and your community. Because the victims are real. The pain of their families is real."

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole says in a news release that this new law will do nothing to curb gun violence. “I think Mr. Trudeau misleads people when he tries to suggest that buying things back from hunters and other Canadians who are law-abiding is somehow going to solve the problem of shooting and criminal gang activity in the big cities. It’s ignoring the real problem and it’s dividing Canadians.”

Both mayors of BC’s biggest cities, Vancouver and Surrey say they will adopt these new gun laws once legislation is passed. Bill C-21 currently remains in the House of Commons and awaits Senate approval before being made federal law.

DSU campaign aims to get rid of student loan interest

› ‘Knock out interest on student loans’ letter directed to PM Justin Trudeau Jessica Berget Assistant Editor

Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo

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ccording to the DSU, the average Canadian student accumulates about $5000 in student loan debt interest, and this is why many post-secondary institutions are asking the federal government to eliminate all student loan interest debts.

The “Knock Out Interest” campaign led by the British Columbia Federation of Students (BCFS) has been endorsed by over 40 student unions representing over 750,000 students, including our very own Douglas College Students’ Union.

The campaign claims that student loan in Canada has increased by 78 percent since 1999, reaching $35,000 for a fouryear bachelor’s degree, and that the total outstanding federal debt amounts to $18.5 billion (not including provincial student loans). The campaign has been putting pressure on PM Trudeau considering the recent pandemic making it harder for students to pay their debt interests.

In a February 8 news release, DSU Director of Student Relation, Caitlin

Spreeuw, says the pandemic is a great time to do this as many students are struggling.

“Students and young people have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic recovery will take several years; to support recent and future graduates, the federal government should permanently eliminate interest charged on student loans. Today, we are sending an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to kick off a Canada-wide Week of Action urging him to eliminate interest on Canada Student Loans.” Other Canadian provinces like Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia have all agreed to end student loan interest.

The DSU argues that student loan interests punish lower- and middle-class income families and that eliminating student loan interest would help boost the economy as people can spend their money on goods and services rather than their debts. A study by RBC suggests many graduates hold off on buying a home, getting married, having children, and say they don’t have enough money saved up for emergencies because of their debts.

news // no. 4

theotherpress.ca

BC Teachers’ Federation continues the fifteen-year fight against FSAs

Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo

› This year the controversial test has been delayed, but teachers want it shutdown

Luana Ross Contributor

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he BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) has advised parents to pull their children from the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests this year. The teacher’s union has been campaigning against the FSAs for 15 of the 20 years the test has existed. The BCTF claims that the test unfairly publicly ranks and shames schools; brings students unnecessary stress; takes class time away from other important subjects; is costly (at least half a million dollars is spent by the province); and has an agenda in ranking private schools higher than public schools.

The test is often criticized for being politicized. Maple Ridge Teachers’ Association President Trevor Takasaki emphasizes on the point of stress: “This year, COVID-19 has caused enormous anxiety for students and teachers alike, and taking significant time from an already chaotic year to write these tests just adds further anxiety.” Takasaki goes on to highlight that the test does not consider that public schools have many more ESL and special needs students which will modify the scoring.

Teri Mooring, BCTF President, disagrees that the FSAs have much value at all, explaining that they “are not a reliable

measurement of individual progress.” She explains that parents and caregivers often are against the push for increased test participation as well, and the pandemic invites a whole host of hardships that can skew the results of this year’s test. While the BC Ministry of Education does not treat the test as optional and expects most students to participate, the BCTF explains that caregivers have many options if they want to prevent their child from taking the test.

Usually the FSAs are taken in fall; this year, the test was initially postponed to January to ensure that schools had set up safe environments—but now the test will be taken between February 16 and March 12. The BC Ministry of Education also states that “students have always had the option of writing the FSA remotely if an appropriate invigilator for the assessment is approved by the local school principal.”

As mentioned by Mooring, these tests do not determine any funding or lead to intervention. As reported by the Abbotsford News, Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association President Winona Waldron stated that “[the union would] be willing to see some sort of standardized testing in a regular year, where the results weren’t published, and the results were tied to funding.” Additionally, these tests do not count toward a student’s official transcript grade. Test participation has hovered around 50 percent; in recent years the test has seen some small growth in numbers at

52 percent participation.

Teri Mooring states that the test is partly a bragging point for realtors when selling houses near private schools, but conservative Fraser Institute defends the test as a useful tool in determining the progress of students across BC and understanding what areas individual students may need a little help in. Former Director of School Performance Studies at the Fraser Institute Peter Cowley previously stated that the test allows “schools to compete for their betterment.”

The BC Government also highlights that the test is not used to rank schools and is “carefully developed and continuously evaluated based on evidence-based best practices as recommended by national and international assessment experts in the ‘Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing’ (published collaboratively by the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council of Measurement in Education).”

Some speculate that this is a power struggle between BCTF and the BC Ministry of Education. A 2011 article from NEWS 1130 outlines the intensity of the argument 10 years ago; the Vancouver School Board stated that they didn’t want to be in the middle of the heated dispute back then. It seems the same intensity exists today and will continue to in the future of BC education.

Coquitlam police ask people to stop spreading online abduction ‘rumours’ › RCMP clarifies statements after public backlash Jessica Berget Assistant Editor

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fter a slew of social media posts going around about a white van following women in the tri-cities area, Coquitlam RCMP have asked people to stop spreading these posts as they “should not be trusted.”

The posts describe a white van or another suspicious looking vehicle following a woman which can be misconstrued as an abduction attempt.

Corporal Michael McLaughlin of the Coquitlam RCMP says in a release that these posts are doing more harm than their intended good and are not based on any facts. “We have an open mind, but so far there is no evidence to support that any abduction attempt has actually happened.

If we see any real risk, we will let the public know. In the meantime, we are asking you to stop spreading unproven rumours.

Those rumours are scaring people.”

McLaughlin adds that these posts encourage women to carry weapons and that people are connecting dots between other missing persons cases of BC women that are not at all related.

“Please don’t carry weapons, and don’t try to draw conclusions about crimes based on very basic information.” The release also says that there are many reasons why someone would be driving slowly in a neighbourhood.

The RCMP has since clarified their release in another statement after public anger of the use of the work “rumours” made people feel their concerns were brushed off. In their clarified statement they say there is no evidence or information to support a spike in abduction attempts and ask everyone to report any suspicious behaviour to them and not to post them on social media. They say this is the best course of action as officers can gather evidence and diagnose the situation.

Their reports are also given to crime analysists, frontline and intelligence officers, crime reduction units, and foot patrol officers to combine the efforts in keeping communities safe and determining case facts. The BC RCMP also states that they receive over 20,000 missing person case reports every year, and many people are located within a week. In 2021, seven people have been reported missing in BC.

Rumours and misinformation being spread on social media and scaring people is nothing new, but it is concerning when it affects real world situations. A 2019 article from CNN describes the same reports about a white van circulating on

social media with some posts going as far back as 2016. One man working as a home improvement specialist reports he was harassed for driving a white van after the rumours went viral. There are many professions where people drive white vans.

Sports

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sports // no. 5 • Cuts by Bell Media leave a void in the Vancouver sports media market • Interview with the Douglas College Royals Women’s Basketball Team ...and more

An interview with Paul Chapman on the removal of TSN 1040 › Cuts by Bell Media leave a void in the Vancouver sports media market Brandon Yip Senior Columnist

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n the morning of February 9, regular listeners of TSN 1040 were listening to morning hosts Mike Halford and Jason Brough; it was just another ordinary day.

Suddenly, the third hour of the show was interrupted and replaced with US radio programming from ESPN. Perhaps there was a technical malfunction? —and the show would be resuming? Then TSN 1040’s Twitter account was deactivated. What the hell was going on?

Later at 9:30 am, listeners heard a pre-recorded message played about the station’s future that sounded like it was recorded inside a makeshift US bunker: “We have some news to share today about changes to our programming. As of today, CKST 1040 AM will no longer be a sports talk radio station. It was a difficult decision, but the realities of the quickly evolving broadcast media landscape in Canada have made this change unavoidable. We want to thank our on-air personalities, advertising partners, and sponsors, and everyone who has contributed to this station. But especially we want to thank you—our listeners. Our work here at TSN 1040 was driven by our passion to bring you the very best sports, news, and discussion.

We sincerely appreciate the time you have spent with us.”

Afterwards, a very questionable song choice was aired: “Good Riddance” by Green Day. A radio coup had just occurred as TSN 1040 was removed from the airwaves— taking listeners and station staff by surprise (TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and TSN 1150 in Hamilton also removed). It was the latest in a series of job cuts by Bell Canada to its media operations across the country.

The Province on February 10 obtained an internal email sent to staff by Bell Canada management. The email stated TSN 1040 would be replaced by an all-comedy station, Funny 1040 (premiered February 12). A conference call was later held with affected staff by Bell Canada’s western regional general manager, James Stuart Hewson. He claimed years of “major losses” as the result of ongoing high costs of producing sports radio content led to the decision to close the station. Staff was stunned as they were then told they had 30 minutes to gather personal items before corporate security began a “shutdown process.”

Paul Chapman, deputy editor with The Province, had a long-standing association with TSN 1040. He was perplexed with what transpired, posting on Twitter: “Who is the nameless, faceless ghoul they brought in to record this robotic bloodbath, hollow message. JFC Bell Let’s talk indeed…”

Chapman says he is saddened that the station is gone, telling the Other Press in an email interview: “I was stunned. In the key demographics and key time segments they were beating their competitor 10 to

It seemed like a station that was on top of its game was taken out for a corporate strategy when results and performance weren’t really considered in the decision.

- Paul Chapman, The Province

1 in the ratings. They had a solid lineup, lots of advertisers, it seemed like a station that was on top of its game was taken out for a corporate strategy when results and performance weren’t really considered in the decision.”

Sadly, it is the end of an era in Vancouver sports radio. TSN 1040, originally called TEAM 1040 (CKST), made its debut in May 2001. The station’s founders were Tom Mayenknecht, David Stadnyk, and the late Paul Carson. In 2014, TEAM 1040 was rebranded to TSN 1040—and was three months away from celebrating its 20th anniversary. A plethora of talented broadcasters would make their mark at the station: David Pratt, “Bro” Jake Edwards, Rick Ball, Barry Macdonald, Brook Ward, Scott Rintoul, Don Taylor, Bob “The Moj” Marjanovich, Mike Halford, Jason Brough, Rick Dhaliwal, Jeff Paterson, Matt Sekeres, Karen Surman, and Blake Price. In addition, there was Rob Fai, Shantelle Chand, and Aneesa Heatherington. Other key staff included Andy Cole, J.D. Burke, Andrew Wadden, Jay Kroeker, Iain McLetchie, Ryan Henderson, and Tom Mayenknecht.

With TSN 1040 gone, Sportsnet 650 remains the only sports radio station in

Vancouver. When news broke of TSN 1040 ceasing operations, many of Sportsnet 650’s on-air personalities like senior writer, Iain MacIntyre, expressed support for staff affected. During an appearance on The Scott Rintoul Show February 9, MacIntyre said it is sad when anyone loses their job— regardless of whether they are competitors: “I have never understood this lust that some have for others to lose their job, no matter what the field. […] Most people are just trying to (in whatever the field they’re in) earn a living, pay for a house or an apartment, feed their kids, look after their families [.…] So, there is no victory dance for anybody on a day like this. And if there is, there is something wrong with you.”

The Province reported February 9 that although TSN 1040 lost the Vancouver Canucks radio broadcast rights in 2017 to rival sports station Sportsnet 650, TSN 1040 continued to rank as the top-rated sports radio station in the Vancouver market. Interestingly, the BCE, the holding company that operates Bell Canada— released its latest earnings report the first week of February. The report contradicts the company’s claims of losses that led to the shutdown of TSN 1040. In the report, its overall net earnings (fourth quarter) had increased 28.9 percent over the same

period in 2019 to $932 million.

Lastly, the loss of TSN 1040 leaves a huge void in the Vancouver sports media market ending prematurely with its future bright—with strong ratings and a loyal listenership. It also leaves uncertainty as to what the future will be for the “all sports” radio format in Vancouver. Paul Chapman states that TSN 1040’s legacy should be as a groundbreaking and influential sports radio station that made an impact in the Vancouver market for 20 years. “It should be that it brought so many great personalities to the [forefront] and was one of the leading sources for sports,” Chapman said in the same Other Press email interview. “Along with The Province and Sports Page, it was a place where if you got wind that something big had happened, you needed to turn them on right away because you had to hear what they had to say about it. Sadly, that legacy should be continuing. When you look at the personalities they were bringing along, Shantelle Chand, Rob Fai, Aneesa Heatherington, J.D. Burke, Andrew Wadden, Jay Swing, there was a whole new generation ready to step up. Now you wonder where those platforms are going to exist. I am profoundly sad this happened and am still struggling to make sense of it.”

sports // no. 6

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Interview with the Douglas College Royals Women’s Basketball Team › College navigates playing sports though a pandemic

Craig Allan Business Manager

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he pandemic has been hard for a lot of Douglas students with routines being upended and campuses resembling a ghost town. However, there are still signs of normalcy. One of those comes in the form of athletics, where the teams are still playing despite the restrictions, albeit against no opponents. One of those teams is the Douglas College Women’s Basketball Team. To get an insight on what it is like to play sports during the pandemic, the Other Press interviewed members of the Royals women’s basketball team to ask them what it’s like to play in these pandemic times. In the first part of this interview, I talk with them about what the school is doing to tend to their needs as they practice under these unusual circumstances.

Collegiate sports operates under different rules than schooling does. In collegiate sports, you can play up to five seasons (known as eligibility seasons) before having to leave. Because of the pandemic, the Canadian College Athletics Association has decided that this season will not count towards a player’s eligibility.

The pandemic is not the only thing Kayla Ogilvie is struggling with, as she stretched ligaments in her ankle the day before this interview and is trying to balance on crutches for the first time. Ogilvie is studying Sports Science, and she explains that this is her first year on the team and at Douglas: “I’ve never had a year where it hasn’t been underneath the presence of COVID,” she said in an interview with the Other Press. She also got the opportunity to talk to the school board who wanted to know how the players are balancing work, school, and life in order to best tend to the needs of the students. This has been part of a network of services offered by the school to make sure that the students are safe.

One aspect of Douglas’ commitment to the health and safety of the students involves players being placed in phase groups. For example, Jessie Rempel, who is in her third year of the Bio Science program (third year of play) is currently in phase one. She explains the difference between the phases: “If we don’t feel particularly safe about being around a lot of people, we can choose to be in phase one where you’re not really sharing a ball or in contact with other teammates.” From there, players can advance to phase two, which is like three-on-three basketball, and phase

three, which is the full practice. Rempel likes how the school, and women’s coach Steve Beauchamp really care about how the players are feeling in terms of their well-being.

While paying attention to the health of players is important, the school does not want to ignore the mental health aspect of a player’s well being. Therefore, along with all the other services offered, the school also has a mental performance consultant named Shelbi Snodgrass. For first year Sports Science student Laini Glover, she appreciates the help that Snodgrass has provided her, “She has been really helpful with keeping us on track with our classes and giving us advice on the mental aspect of the game.”

These times are tough for any student to deal with, but it’s good to know that in these times, the school is standing behind the students, and allowing them to still play the game they love, while also allowing them to tend to their physical and mental health. For part two of my interview with the Douglas College Women’s Basketball team, I’ll talk with the players about what is has been like going through the pandemic for them, the bonding, the repetitive nature, and the development of their skills in this indefinite loop of playing through the pandemic.

I’ve never had a year where it hasn’t been underneath the presence of COVID - Kayla Ogilvie, Douglas College Women’s Basketball

sports // no. 7

issue 20// vol 47

Why I don’t resonate with soccer Mo Hussain Sports Reporter

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couple of weeks ago we covered why soccer is the most popular sport in the world. While many people around the world consider it the number one sport, that doesn’t seem to necessarily be the case for North Americans and myself.

One of the main reasons I personally don’t resonate with soccer as much as other sports is the fact that that matchups can possibly end in draws. That means that there is a possibility of the game ending without any scoring on either team. How can someone possibly invest over 90 minutes of their time into watching a sport that runs the risk of not having a decisive ending? Imagine being in a marquee European city, paying tons of money for tickets to watch their professional soccer team, only to see both teams draw. To the people that don’t mind it, I salute you. But to people that are used to sports that have

decisive endings, this can be a somewhat problematic.

An obvious counter to this is that it’s obviously not always the case that matchups can end in a draw. Tournaments like the FIFA World Cup and in the UEFA Champions league don’t end in draws, and I quite enjoy watching those when I get the chance. However, that is not the case for most major leagues in the regular season.

Another argument one could make is that that due to the game being played on such a large field, players can get tired, and it could take a long time to finish a game, which leads me to my next point.

Since soccer is played on such a large field, this could also contribute to why there is not enough scoring relative to other sports. If we compare soccer to a sport like basketball for instance (my favourite sport for full disclosure), one study found the most common score in a soccer game is 1 to 0 compared to NBA teams averaging about 40 field goals a game.

Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo

› It’s the main sport in every other continent

This, in addition to the fact that the sport isn’t as physical as some popular sports like hockey and American football (which is probably a good thing for the

player’s well being), puts it at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to entertainment value.

The difference between baseball and cricket › These sports may seem like twins but have essential differences Mo Hussain Sports Reporter

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couple of weeks back, we brought up how cricket was one of the most popular sports in the world. What came to my attention when drafting the story up was the shocking resemblance cricket has with baseball, and what the heck could be so different between each sport.

One of the primary differences between baseball and cricket is obviously who watches the sport. I think it’s safe to say that baseball is popular within North and South America in countries such as the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Canada. On the other hand,

cricket is popular on the eastern side of the globe in countries such as India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Another difference is that the sports play in very contrasted field types. In baseball, the field is in a diamond shape; in cricket, the field is shaped almost like an oval. One would assume the main reason for this is because the shapes of those fields play a big role in how a team can score.

Although both sports essentially require someone with a bat to hit the ball in a strategic way, the two sports also have different systems for scoring. After the person with the bat in baseball (the batter) hits the ball as best as they can, their objective is to run around the three “bases” on the field and make it back

to the original spot where they hit the ball before the other team catches it and brings it back themselves.

In cricket, the batsman (person who bats the ball in cricket) essentially has to hit the ball in a way that either passes the boundary line (similar to a home run) or hits it in a way where they would have enough

time to cross a line in front of them.

There are obviously more differences, but it is interesting to see some of the key differences the two sports have, because someone who isn’t familiar with either sport could potentially mix the two up.

sports // no. 8

theotherpress.ca

An interview with Dan Russell on Bobby Orr

› 50 years ago, Orr and the ‘Big Bad’ Bruins thrilled Vancouver hockey fans Brandon Yip Senior Columnist

his month marks 50 years from when Bobby Orr and the “Big Bad” Boston Bruins faced the Vancouver Canucks at the Pacific Coliseum. The date was February 16, 1971, W.A.C. Bennett was the Premier of BC, and Tom Campbell was the Mayor of Vancouver. The Montreal Alouettes were the defending Grey Cup champions. “Rose Garden” by Lynn Anderson was the number one song on the Canadian charts.

It was also the Canucks’ first season in the NHL (Buffalo Sabres had also entered the league). Tom Scallen was the first owner; Hal Laycoe was the first head coach, and Bud Poile the first general manager. Also, Orland Kurtenbach was the Canucks’ first captain.

Many consider Bobby Orr, the native of Parry Sound, Ontario to be the greatest hockey player to ever play the game. The argument as to who is the greatest hockey player is subjective and will always be debated amongst hockey fans and sports writers. But Orr should be considered as the greatest hockey player of all time since he revolutionized the game for a defenceman. Orr is the only NHL defenceman to win the scoring title twice (1970 and 1975). In addition, Orr was an all-round player. He could play great defence, deliver bodychecks, and fight when needed. And could he ever skate! Orr’s movements on the ice were graceful like Rudolf Nureyev. Orr was a magician when he carried the puck; his quick instincts to create scoring chances were breathtaking to watch. At times, opposing defencemen had difficulty trying to defend Orr—leaving them no other choice than to be a spectator.

Orr’s acceleration with the puck made him an offensive threat every time he entered the opponent’s zone—leading to a scoring chance for him and teammates.

When the Bruins arrived in Vancouver, they had won the Stanley Cup nine months earlier—defeating the St. Louis Blues in a four-game sweep on May 10, 1970.

Orr’s cup winning goal in overtime in game four has been immortalized in the famous photo capturing him leaping in the air after scoring on Blues goalie, Glenn Hall. Fifty years after that famous goal, Orr told The Guardian with a chuckle: “Every time I see Glenn, he says ‘is that the only goal you scored?’”

On the night of February 16, 1971, Orr and the Bruins played the Canucks for the fourth time that season at the Pacific Coliseum with 15,570 people in the stands (Bruins won all three games prior). The Canucks were leading by a score of 4 to 3 in the third period. Then Orr scored a power play goal at 16:10 to tie the game and silence the crowd. It was time to bite those nails! Then in the final minute, the Canucks’ Rosaire Paiement scored the game winner with 47 seconds left. The crowd at the Pacific Coliseum erupted in thunderous cheers, as the Canucks held on for a 5 to 4 victory—upsetting the Bruins. Paiement had an outstanding game with a five-point night (three goals and two assists).

Other Canuck players making an impact were André Boudrias who had a goal and two assists and Wayne Maki contributing with a goal and three assists. Orr had a threepoint night (one goal and two assists). As well, Bruins goalie, Gerry Cheevers, stopped 38 out of 43 shots, while Canucks goalie, Charlie Hodge, stopped 29 out of 33 shots.

For Dan Russell, former host of the highly popular and pioneering sports radio show, Sportstalk, from 1984 till 2014—has fond memories of that memorable game.

Russell was 10 years old and listening to the game on CKNW radio with the legendary Jim Robson doing the play-by-play. “I was listening to every game on the radio,” Russell said in an email interview with the Other Press.

“Given I was only 10 years old my bedtime was well before that, but I was one of those kids who hid my radio under my pillow listening to every word. I learned much later that my parents were well aware. But that night they were also listening, and we all yelled ‘yessss’ when [Rosaire] somehow scored the game winner in the final minute. Jim Robson’s description, as always, was incredible and on this night electric. Bobby Orr put on a great show that night,

Photo by Eric Kilby via Wikimedia Commons

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but was being booed during the game, as I recall it being quite physical. I believe the Bruins tied the game with a few minutes left, deflating the crowd. But when Paiement scored the PNE went crazy, as did our home, and I am sure most homes around BC.” Orr retired in November 1978 after numerous knee injuries and surgeries, which compromised his ability to play at the highest level. He won two Stanley Cups with the Bruins in 1970, and 1972. He is a nine-time All Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner (two times), Hart Trophy winner (three times), Calder Trophy winner (1967), Ted Lindsay Award winner (1975), Art Ross Trophy winner (two times), and Norris Trophy winner (eight consecutive times). Orr finished his 12-year NHL career with 657 games played with 915 points (270 goals and 645 assists). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979.

Dan Russell believes the Canucks victory over the defending cup champion Bruins was a significant win for the franchise in its early infancy: “But this was a huge deal and was a franchise highlight for several years. I would argue that it was the greatest moment until making the playoffs for the first time in their fifth season, and specifically the one win they managed to get in that first playoff series [versus] Montreal.” Notably, the audio clip of Rosaire Paiement scoring the winning goal had been played numerous times on Russell’s Sportstalk program.

Russell states the audio was preserved, not intentionally, but fortuitously: “By complete fluke we were able to play the audio of that memorable moment a few times on the show. I can assure you it was NOT because CKNW kept it, because their attention to archiving was terrible. Instead, it was Bill Woodgate, the father of my producer Scott Woodgate who happened that night to be recording the game […] and all those years later had saved the cassette.”

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Arts

arts // no. 9 • Music that encompasses midterm season • ‘Life in a Day 2020’ Review • The best early 2000s teen cinema ...and more

The best early 2000s teen cinema › Becoming a princess, famous, or a prom queen—the possibilities are endless Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor

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She’s All That To be fair, She’s All That came out in 1999, but some 2000s kids were in the womb, so that comes close enough. Besides, it deserves to be on the list.

This movie does everything right by sticking its middle finger in the face of stereotypical tropes exhausted by other films in this genre. For starters, the lead love interest, Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.), isn’t a complete good-for-nothing bad boy.

Instead, he’s a, well, good boy—sort of like a Golden Retriever, really. His pure heart and charming smile could get anyone; however, the real charm is in his top GPA and Dartmouth, Yale, and Harvard acceptance letters. Talk about a real catch!

Best of all, the secrets kept between the protagonists aren’t so big and bad. Zack has a bet with his friends to make Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) the school artist— AKA “loser” in these types of films—prom queen. Unexpectedly, Zack and his friends are actually nice to her, and she ends up in the prom queen running with him barely putting effort into changing her at all. We love to see it.

The Princess Diaries This 2001 iconic film features Anne Hathaway as Mia Thermopolis (the princess-to-be), and Julie Andrews as Queen Clarisse Renaldi, Mia’s grandmother. This movie marks the epitome of watching VHS tapes in the basement with your sisters in the early 2000s.

Mia is just a regular—albeit shy and nerdy—teenage girl who finds out she is the true heir to the kingdom of Genovia. The Princess Diaries may as well had created epic makeover transformations because the

Illustration by CJ Sommerfeld

arly 2000s cinema was peak for teenangst-ridden drama filled with nowsuperstars among one-hit wonders. Sadly, most of these films received pretty low and critical reviews, and even worse scores on Rotten Tomatoes. However, that doesn’t mean the reviews are correct. In this day, any media that can help someone escape for a while and put a smile on their face is a win.

In fact, there’s nothing like kicking back with some friends, a bottle of Pink Moscato, and a classic girl-versus-the-world movie to both make fun of and secretly wish to live out. Here are some timeless favourites (that aren’t Mean Girls, She’s the Man, or Clueless) which are sure to end off any safe social bubble slumber party on a high note.

change Mia goes through during princess training with her grandmother is for the history books. Luckily, she doesn’t lose sight of who she is and what she likes, which makes her an entertaining princess to watch blossom.

What a Girl Wants Starring Amanda Bynes (possibly the queen of 2000s teen films) What a Girl Wants is… a bit on the shallower side of fun teen romcoms. Though, that’s not a bad thing if you’re looking for a really easy watch. To be honest, it’s not extremely easy to watch as there are some unforgettably cringey moments as Bynes’ character, Daphne Reynolds, finds herself in messy situations while trying to reconcile with her long-lost famous politician father.

As an American teenager going off to stir up drama with the UK government, it’s inevitable that this movie is filled with humorous drama.

The movie is worth it to watch simply for the iconic wreck of a fashion show scene where Daphne finds herself on the runway wearing regular clothes yet completely killing the performance.

Wild Child Saving the best for last, Wild Child— starring Emma Roberts as Poppy Moore— is clearly the best early 2000s film there is. It has everything: a rebellious spoiled Malibu girl, an English boarding school, incredibly strange roommates, a bad boy love interest, a hateable antagonist, a huge house fire, an epic makeover, and even

competitive lacrosse. Not to mention the pranks, fights, and amazing dance scene where Poppy Moore truly gets down— California style.

The moral conflict throughout the film showcases similar dilemmas everyone faces on a daily basis: be like the people around you or be the authentic you.

There’s a special charm to early 2000s films starring female leads that you really can’t find anywhere else (besides maybe old Barbie.com websites). You can—without judgment—live out the internalized dream of becoming prom queen, famous, a princess, or even a star lacrosse player if that’s what you so desire, all whilst meeting the person of your dreams. What’s better than that?

As an American teenager going off to stir up drama with the UK government, it’s inevitable that this movie is filled with humorous drama.

arts // no. 10

theotherpress.ca

New Netflix docuseries provides platform for web sleuths to share their findings

Photo by Jim Winstead via Flickr

› Should this behaviour be encouraged?

CJ Sommerfeld Staff Writer

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elcome to the mass media generation: a time when nearly anyone can post anything for all to see.

This wide-spread encouragement of individual perspective has also enabled internet users to live out occupations that previously required a degree—such as investigative journalists. The uneducated online hobbyist version of an investigator is called a cyber sleuth. Netflix’s new four-part docuseries Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, showcased some of these internet detectives, giving them as much airtime as they did the actual investigators. Should they have?

Does this encourage web sleuths to continue investigating and drawing uneducated conclusions on their own while simultaneously harming the case?

The new series follows the unravelling of the seemingly unexplainable disappearance of Vancouver’s own Elisa Lam. In 2013 she had travelled to California alone, but while staying at the infamous Cecil Hotel a few days into her trip, she mysteriously went missing. Lam disappeared without leaving any indication as to where she had gone, the most telling was an eerie elevator surveillance

video. Soon after the Vancouverite’s disappearance, the LAPD became stumped as to where she could be. In an anguished attempt of asking the public to help locate Lam, they made the video public. Immediately, many internet users jumped on the story, sharing uncanny coincidences, and creating conspiracy theories surrounding her death.

As the documentary unravels, most of these cyber sleuth theories are proved wrong. The viewer is pulled every which way, watching interviews with the different internet detectives and YouTube journalists explaining the synchronicities which have convinced them of their theories. At one point, one of these investigators finds a YouTube channel of Mexican death metal artist Morbid. On it, they find a video which he uploaded at the Cecil Hotel in 2012. The sleuths overlooked the fact that he had stayed at the hotel a year previous to Lam and continued scouting for clues that would link him to Lam’s disappearance.

Sure, his music presented gruesome themes; he had Ted Bundy propaganda in one of his videos and had visited the same hotel which Lam went missing, but do these few coincidences point to murder?

Unfortunately, they were proof enough to thousands of non-forensic pathologists— he killed Lam. An unfortunate movement

began where thousands of internet users accused him of murdering the young Vancouverite. In the documentary, he explains that the extermination of his YouTube account as well as constant hate messages that he was receiving pushed him to attempt take his own life—and luckily he was unsuccessful. Despite pressing on with life, he discontinued making music, an industry which he had been involved in for 15 years previous.

Lam’s body was found 19 days after it went missing and the toxicity results showed no foul play. The murder accusations stopped, and the sleuths dismissed Morbid without apology or acknowledgment of their massive mishap. Is it not platforms like this Netflix docuseries that are encouraging misinformed web detectives to continue with their “investigating”? Can we not draw parallels between the non-investigatorinvestigators who were drawing conclusions and creating conspiracy theories surrounding Lam’s death, with those who are doing the same with COVID present day?

Millennials have been labelled the “Participation Trophy” generation. This label criticizes what some perceive as a lack of hard work among this generation.

All you need to do is show up; no need to

put in the effort—that trophy is waiting for you at the end of the game regardless.

Some say that this aide-memoire reminds millennials that there is no need to work hard to receive what an individual who has put in the effort earned. Web sleuths are the perfect example of this reminder.

Ultimately, the documentary is about a young bipolar woman who accidentally drowns during a manic episode. Following her death, the toxicity results showed that she had been under-medicating.

This caused her mania to have played out to the extreme as it had, resulting in the hallucinations which ultimately lead to her death. Should the series not have spent more time exploring issues regarding mental health?

Am I not the only one who finds it demented that the series glamorized the cyber sleuths that obsessed over Lam’s death, regardless of their erroneous findings? I hope that the other viewers recognized that these web detectives did more harm than good within the case. I am not sure if they genuinely believed that they were doing Lam justice or were just scouting sinister content to gain YouTube views. Regardless, in having provided a platform to further share these detective’s thoughts on the case, does this docuseries not encourage this sort of behaviour?

arts // no. 11

issue 20// vol 47

Post-punk fun that crosses the line into political satire Jonathan Pabico Senior Columnist

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f there’s one thing that British post-punk band Mush proves with their recently released album Lines Redacted, it’s this— they have a lot of things to say about the environment, pandemic anxieties, and Donald Trump. Historically, the band is no stranger to employing their music to discuss the moral failings of politics and British society. Mush entertains fans nonetheless with their punk humour and fresh music for 2021.

What’s enjoyable about the album is that the band is bitingly unapologetic with their political satire. Their first track “Drink the Bleach”—an obvious allusion to Trump’s absurd claim made in jest of injecting bleach as a cure for COVID-19—uses drowsy drum beats and distorted guitar riffs paired with weird drawls and slurs from the vocals. These arrangements poke fun at Trump and convey how hilarious this event was during his presidency.

Even the titular song “Lines Redacted” mocks Trump’s release of redacted documents about the Russian probe.

The track uses groovy guitar riffs and easygoing drum set tempos with pseudodrunken vocals for lyrics like “Lines and lines of blacked-out print / Confusing last

testimony.” The soundscape conveys how ridiculously strange political realities can easily be for those in power.

However, Mush doesn’t stop with politics as they also talk about other social themes. A personal favorite, “B2BCDA” discusses the looming concerns for pollution and the environment. It further illustrates how crucial it is to open conversations about this subject through the track’s speedy and upbeat instrument compositions.

Moreover, the album explores the weird normalcies of the current pandemic with songs like “Hazmat Suits.” The guitar’s startling energy and the bouncy drum hits foreground lyrics like “Everyone’s shopping in their brand-new hazmat suits / Stop all the entertainment.” This synergy relays how face masks and other COVID-19 protocols continue making daily life an odd existence.

Lines Redacted even includes psychedelic songs. The track “Bots!” for instance, evokes our fears and anxieties about technology, cybercrimes, and misinformation. The slurred vocals are elevated by lingering, and sometimes off-kilter guitar melodies. They reflect how threatened we can be by our digital world’s unbridled dangers.

As for flaws, the album could’ve been more relatable if it had a few post-punk songs about friends, family, love, hope, and so forth. Doing so would have provided an

Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne

› Mush’s newest album ‘Lines Redacted’ offers everything you’d expect from its genre

optimism that’s much needed for listeners right now. The album could’ve pushed its light-hearted tone with not only humour but also more positive subjects.

Part satire, part punk rock, Lines Redacted is marvelously punchy yet socially relevant. Mush shows once again that

they’re a band that enjoys being funny towards our absurd world. They truly push the avant-garde envelope with weird political music about today’s turbulent times. Lines Redacted’s oddball beats and laughable comedy earn the album a place in your top ten playlist.

Before, After, and Beyond Life in a Day › ‘Life in a Day 2020’ Review

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n July 24, 2010, Academy Award winning director Ridley Scott and YouTube asked everyone to film themselves throughout the day and submit their footage to be involved in a revolutionary project. Thousands of people sent their

footage and it led to the creation of a cinematic documentation of a typical day during normal times. During that time, everyone was able to attend concerts, the golden age of YouTube was getting to its peak, and change was rolling in society.

Ten years later, a lot of progress has been made—and with the coronavirus pandemic unexpectedly affecting the entire world, it is good timing to document the historical year with Life in a Day 2020. I

Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo

Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist

watched the previous film before watching the sequel since some of the people in the first film give updates. The documentary is presented in a series of montages; we see the different aspects of life and have big questions answered—including what is in people’s pockets.

What makes the documentary interesting is that some of the footage that was sent in was so similar, and this allowed the film editors to create very smooth transitions between the segments—and, add music to that, it easily made life look epic. Audio from one footage mashed with other authentic footage of life makes the segment more impactful. Life in a Day shows that anyone can be a filmmaker and if you see something, turn on your camera and begin shooting an event that could be important later in history.

The sequel takes place on July 25, 2020 and includes 324,000 videos—and this is more submitted footage than previous film received. Many people recorded their lives, including myself. I recorded myself on my way to the supermarket that I work in, the surrounding areas during my break, and the sun setting at home, though it did not end up being in the final film. However, we do see a variety of stories which tackle the pandemic, how people are trying to enjoy themselves, who they love, what they fear, and how they are surviving.

Compared to in 2010, more people are using mobile devices and there is a lot of content on YouTube. After a decade with ups and downs that led to a lot of changes to society, life continues to progress and the end of the tunnel nears. We also find out that someone that was seen in the previous film passed away from the coronavirus and one person that only had a father in the first now has a stepmother.

Around the time the documentary was filmed, many people filmed their footage with a video camera or a cellphone camera which was okay quality. There were times throughout the film where black bars are seen in scenes that were not filmed in widescreen. Compared to 10 years later in Life in a Day 2020, we see less of that and the images are sharper because most of it was filmed in 4K. When it was released on February 6, a director’s cut version of the documentary was included which was available for YouTube Premium users one week before everyone else could watch it, and it also had two minutes of additional footage.

YouTube Premium users can also watch deleted and extended scenes which could have been added to the film with its running time of one hour and 27 minutes.

Life is worth it and epic to experience.

There will be another Life in a Day in nine years and hopefully the footage that I made will be archived for future generations.

arts // no. 12

theotherpress.ca

Music that encompasses midterm season › Everything sucks but you’ll ace those bad boys

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lright, I’ll say it: midterms are the worst. I’m sure some will agree that they’re even worse than finals. At least with finals it’s the end of the road and once you’re done you can breathe a sigh of relief that the semester is over. Midterms, however, are exhaustive. You’re already exhausted mid-semester craving a break and suddenly bam—you have exams and projects whose deadlines sneak up on you better than the best of robbers.

Worst of all is that once you’re done, you just keep going! Luckily in the winter semester there’s a reading break, but who’s really using that time to catch some air when you have fifteen projects due the first day back to school? If you’re feeling all alone crushed under the weight of your million responsibilities, there’s one thing you can look to that will always understand your troubled emotions: music.

Here are some songs that represent midterm season and all its woes: “This Feels Like the End” by Nothing But Thieves “Oh, look at this place, what a waste, it’s such a mess / We skim through the horror to find some happiness,” begins the first line in this politically-fueled track. When it comes to exams, it really does feel like the end (as Nothing But Thieves continues: “is this ever gonna end?”).

Overall, this song encompasses the dread-filled anger which consumes us

when we ruminate on the current situation of the world at whole. I would suggest this one to mosh to during your study break.

“Days Are Gone” by HAIM Sure, this song is about a relationship, but what’s a more toxic relationship than countless sleepless nights with textbooks and a fifth cup of coffee?

A verse begins with “Felt like I was walking on a tight rope / Those days are gone” and while a tight rope might be the perfect metaphor for how you feel, remember that the rope will end, and there’s always a net to catch you should you fall.

This is an upbeat, and honestly happy song that is sure to lift your spirits. Plus, there’s a nostalgia that seems to settle in when times are stressful that this song touches on, but the song still works more to remind you that everything will work out. What’s there to be missing? You’re chasing success and you’re going to kill these exams.

“I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)” by The 1975 “I bet you thought your life would change but you’re sat” in the class again, nibbling your pencil and internally screaming.

It’s not a secret that suicides in young people peak during exams. Information from a study done in the UK in 2016 by the Office for National Statistics, along with research by the University of Manchester’s National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness, finds that of the number of suicides

Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne

Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor

of people 35 and younger, around 29 percent of them were going through exams or waiting on exam results.

So, take it easy on yourself. Exams may feel like the end of the world, but truly, it is just school, and it is meant to contribute to your success not your downfall. Take a break if you need it and prioritize your

health over pressure from intangible expectations.

If you or anyone you know is in danger, please reach out to your local health authority or Canada’s National Suicide Prevention Service 833-456-4566.

Premiere of newest detective show ‘Clarice’ is an impressive character piece › The show further humanizes the plights and life story of its titular subject Jonathan Pabico Senior Columnist

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Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne

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f you’re looking for a new crime-drama series to settle into for the new year, then Clarice is definitely a viable option. This spin-off to the iconic psychological thriller, The Silence of the Lambs, is part of Global’s 2021 Winter Lineup and premiered February 11 on Thursday.

The story takes place a year after the events of the film. We find titular FBI agent Clarice Starling (Rebecca Breeds) in therapy. There, she unpacks her trauma from ending the crime spree of serial killer Buffalo Bill.

Starling is soon called into action to help solve another gruesome murder case.

The show’s premiere doesn’t waste any time with its direction and set-up. The script gives Breeds’ Starling enough background to see just how isolated and haunted she still feels from the horrors of Bill’s murders. The episode is nicely paced and has grounded world-building as we watch the series’ titular protagonist immediately thrown into the plot’s events unprepared.

The first entry is easy to get invested in because it has tons of True Detective vibes. The show has a bleak and ardent atmosphere—and the disturbing crime scenes and Starling’s tense dynamics with other agents highlights this. The use of slow aerial camera movements and sound design from natural settings convey a dreadful sense of timelessness for the grim visuals.

As for Breeds, she did a stellar job in the lead role. Her performance perfectly captures Starling’s struggles with her past, animosity with her agency, and her newfound celebrity from the media. The editing of tight camera shots with extreme close-ups of her working the case in each eerie location reflects how consumed she is by her trauma, and how that disconnects her from reality. She more than proves herself as a worthy follow-up to Jodie Foster’s portrayal of the character.

Breeds also has good chemistry with her supporting cast, especially with Lucca De Oliveira as agent Esquivel and The Walking Dead’s Michael Cudlitz as stoic agent Paul Krendler. Her scenes with female characters could’ve been explored more, for example with Jayne Atkinson as Ruth Martin. No spoilers, but they have a history that could’ve been developed a bit further, even if their bond is most likely to be unraveled in the future.

If you want more context for Starling’s history, you’ll need to watch the original movie. Otherwise, the story is still accessible enough to follow her latest descent into a serial killer case. Still, with so many gritty detective dramas out there already—like FBI and Criminal Minds—Clarice might feel generic to fans of the genre.

The show stands out considerably though with a premiere that sets up its titular hero with immersive direction and an excellent performance from Rebecca Breeds as agent Starling. Overall, Clarice has much promise as a new crime drama to tune into for 2021.

Have an idea for a story?  lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

• An analysis of the 2020 Super Bowl commercials • Simplifying the transition to a more sustainable lifestyle with one go-to ...and more

Illustration by Sonam Kaloti

Life & Style

life & style // no. 13

Good eats in Poco

› Reviews of take-out restaurants in the tri-cities area Brandon Yip Senior Columnist

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n my opinion, the best way to eat is to dine in a restaurant. The food is served hot, sizzling, and fresh. While many restaurants in the Lower Mainland are still open with safety precautions in place during the pandemic, some people are still worried that they might catch the virus and choose to eat at home.

There are take-out menus in most restaurants, but the problem is that depending on how you get home, the food could end up being cold and soggy or even damaged along the way. Only if you bring the food home as quickly as possible will you get almost the same great fresh meals that you can get in a restaurant.

It has almost been a year since I went to C-Lovers Fish and Chips when they still had their all-you-can-eat fish and chips menu. For their take-out, they pack up the fish and the chips the old fashion way in newspapers. I had haddock and it still has

the batter taste but may not be as crunchy as when you eat it in the dining room. If you still like all-you-can-eat fish and chips, C-Lovers Fish and Chips has a take-out special where you can get two pounds of fish, three orders of chips, a large coleslaw, and a 2L pop for $40.

Many chicken places in the area, including Swiss Chalet, Nando’s, and bb.q Chicken still offer their whole chickens, or whole chicken legs through curb-side pickup. Swiss Chalet’s chicken is put in special packaging in a paper bag, while Nando’s puts their chicken in compostable packaging and their bread is still soft by the time you get home.

In Port Coquitlam, there is a Chinese restaurant close to me called Happy Chinese Restaurant. They have a sweet and sour chicken that has a tempura batter and a tangy sauce that makes it crunchy, sweet, and melty in your mouth.

While Indian buffets have fewer choices right now because of limited seating, there is an Indian restaurant called Spice

Art where you choose your meat, sauce, and how spicy you want it to be. Even the medium spice is extremely spicy and the sauce is creamy while the meat is chewy.

For anyone that misses Triple-O burgers in the cafeteria, you can still get them at your local White Spot. When you receive the burger, you can immediately eat it in your car.

There is a roasted lamb that is tender and moist in a Greek restaurant in Maillardville called My Greek Restaurant which compliments a big Greek dinner.

The lamb is tender and even more delicious when you dip it in tzatziki as well as the pita bread and the calamari. Their Greek dishes also include rice and baked potato which fills you up quickly.

Right now, take-out is the closest that you are going to get to food in a restaurant.

If you bring the meals to your house as quickly as possible and somehow manage to not damage the food, it will be as if your house is a restaurant when you organize it on the plates.

GUNNED DOWN › Will Bill C-21 help reduce Canada’s gun-related crimes?

Matthew Fraser Opinions Editor

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t may come as a surprise to some to find out that Canada has had and maintained extensive and strict gun laws for nearly a century. It may be even more surprising to hear that assault rifles have been illegal in Canada since 1976 (assault rifles must have fully automatic capabilities by definition). Then why did PM Trudeau ban them last year? Well, he did not; using a clever twist of words he banned “assault style weapons,” a term which has no legal definition in Canada. But, in addition to his ban on those firearms, PM Trudeau has recently revealed that through Bill C-21 he will be working to allow municipalities to ban handguns.

A GUN’S HISTORY

DOES THE BILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM?

So how will this help us address illegal gun ownership? The answer: it won’t.

The RCMP is unable to track illegal guns simply because they are all unregistered. So, they can’t (as much as we wish they could) force illegal gun owners to give up their guns. However, they can certainly come knocking on the doors of law-abiding citizens while demanding they leave the area or relinquish their property.

Why can’t they simply sell their guns? Simply put, the only people gun owners could sell their firearms to are other restricted firearms licensees. If

One provision in the bill allows firearms to be seized—without warrant or prior notice to the defendants—based off testimonies given by any person who wishes to have guns removed from another individual for any reason. you currently have an RPAL you likely already own a handgun, therefore, are likely worried that you will have to sell your handguns as well. If you have an RPAL and no guns, you won’t be buying any now either.

Because any municipality can choose to ban handguns, it effectively makes it impractical to buy the firearms that will soon be offered. Add the fact that everyone will soon be flooding the market with these firearms; it will be nearly impossible for all the guns to be purchased by the few people in places without bans.

What about that gun buyback program, can’t they turn them in?

Unfortunately, that program only covers prohibited firearms. Since a municipal ban does not change the status of a firearm, even if the police were to take it, the original owner would go uncompensated as the gun is not technically prohibited.

If the federal government were to include a buy back program for these firearms, the cost of the current buyback program (likely underestimated already) would double.

Despite the federal government and its representatives claiming for years that the amount of guns being recovered with Canadian origins have increased, they have failed to provide the facts and information that they base this assumption on. In fact, a Globe and Mail article from 2019 details the run around, obfuscations, demands for money, and other hurdles they faced when they asked all levels and multiple police departments for this information. It just so happens to be that the federal government does not require police to ascertain the origins of crime firearms, and since lab technicians are quite expensive, they just don’t do it. Even when they have information about the origins of a firearm, the information is not aggregated into a database and instead exists with the firearm in connection to its original case. So, even if half the guns obtained by Illustration by Athena Little

For many firearms owners this is a worst-case scenario as they suddenly may be made into criminals in the very city they live in simply for going through the legal process to purchase a handgun. One provision in the bill allows firearms to be seized—without warrant or prior notice to the defendants— based off testimonies given by any person who wishes to have guns removed from another individual for any reason. As Ian Runkle, an Alberta-based firearms lawyer explains, this effectively permits swatting. Yet Trudeau has stated that he does not want to punish law-abiding citizens and instead wants to target illegal guns and gang violence. But is this method going to achieve that?

The first thing to understand when considering the efficacy of this bill is how handguns are regulated in this country.

Since 1934, all handguns in Canada have been subject to a mandatory registry, and because of this a gun can have its complete history traced. From where it was imported, manufactured, first legally sold, resold, all the way to the current owner— this is all tracked. In our modern system, all handguns are registered through its owners restricted firearms license (RPAL) and monitored by the RCMP. By default, the RCMP knows exactly who owns which handguns, how many of them they own, and where they reside. In turn, this means that when the municipal handgun bans are handed out, the RCMP will be able to hand local police an exact list of which licensees have pistols and where they live.

a department were originally from Canada, they would have to manually dig up each case to find out.

IS IT EASY TO STEAL A GUN?

The failures of the government to ascertain weapons does not stop there; according to research by Dennis Young, Canadian police and public agencies has had nearly a thousand firearms “lost or stolen” from them since 2005 to 2019. Given that the goal of these bans is to prevent legal guns from being stolen and used illegally, it seems contradictory that there is no push for laws to limit these specific cases as well.

Granted, guns being stolen is always a crime; firearms being stolen from law abiding citizens means that the gun owner was the victim of a crime and was not the criminal themselves. However, the way Canadian gun laws are written makes it quite difficult to steal firearms from citizens. The firearms act decrees that all restricted firearms (ergo all handguns) must be stored unloaded, disabled via cable or trigger lock, and locked inside of a durable case, safe, or vault. Add to that that there are few restricted firearms licensees (compared to non-restricted) in all of Canada means that the chances of breaking into a house and stealing a gun were exceptionally low to begin with.

An elderly Quebec couple dug a secret chamber behind their basement library where they hid more than 80 illegal guns destined for the black market.

WILL ILLEGAL GUN OWNERS STOP?

“Well, it must at least deter criminals, right?” Take this shortlist of illegal gun busts and apply that same question: Five are arrested in a northwest Edmonton house with three guns, body armor, 26 grams of methamphetamine, 34 outstanding warrants, and multiple theft-related offenses under $5,000. VPD recover $1.6 million in fentanyl, a kilo of cocaine, eight handguns, and several other drugs in a single bust. An elderly Quebec couple dug a secret chamber behind their basement library where they hid more than 80 guns destined for the black market. Police in Windsor, Ontario complete a “high-level drug trafficking” bust through a simultaneous three location raid, arresting seven people and recovering more than $1 million in “illicit materials,” plus multiple firearms. Finally, a single Toronto raid netted $18 million in drugs plus 65 guns.

It bears mentioning that all of these occurred in the last year and most in the past three months. I suspect none of them would have been deterred by, nay, considerate of a municipal handgun ban.

Still, this wreckage of a bill should at least please the anti-gun lobby, right? Wrong. One prominent gun control activist called it a “huge win for the gun lobby,” while the editorial board of The Star wasted not a second to say that this bill does not go nearly far enough. How is it that a bill that absolutely decimates legal gun ownership still does not please the anti-gun movement?

This bill is so lackluster that it fails to address the previous criticisms leveled by the RCMP union at the preceding gun ban.

An opinion that has been kicked around is that PM Trudeau is paving the way for a spring election and greasing the wheels with a politically popular move; seeing as most Canadians have little to no knowledge of firearms or laws, this approach may well work. Plus, as Trudeau’s approval rating on the most salient issue of the day (coronavirus vaccines) is dropping, a popular distractor may help people forget about his previous misdeeds.

life & style // no. 16

theotherpress.ca

An analysis of the 2020 Super Bowl commercials › Many films referenced in this year’s collection

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espite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic is still happening, the Super Bowl this year was still exciting in another way and still had an audience mainly consisting of frontline workers in the pandemic hotspot of Florida. While the actual game was not exciting—the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 and the GOAT, Tom Brady, got his 7th Super Bowl win. Scarborough Ontario’s The Weeknd performed an exciting Super Bowl Halftime Show. I had thought that the Super Bowl commercials this year were going to reference the coronavirus pandemic, but instead they made it appear as if nothing had happened at all and is still funny. Here is my analysis of some of the commercials: Cheetos The cheesy snack has a new Crunch Pop Mix that is addictive and relevant to the Shaggy song “It Wasn’t Me” which I liked back in the ‘90s. In this Super Bowl commercial, two stars from That ’70s Show, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, reunite as Kunis gets caught eating Cheetos while Kutcher sings lines from “It Wasn’t Me.” This had me laughing a lot, as he sounded exactly like the song! Kunis responds with the same song and gets away with it, and this surprises Shaggy as it is was the first time his idea to simply deny the blame worked. Nostalgia helps sell the product which is the case in this Super Bowl commercial.

Rocket Mortgage Usually, Budweiser would have the best Super Bowl commercial. Rocket Mortgage’s series of Super Bowl commercials were the top two commercials this year, according to USA Today’s Ad Meter. Getting a mortgage is complex and it is better to be certain when getting one rather than just getting one apparently. Tracy Morgan explains various situations that often backfire, like getting across a bridge, handling bees, and battling Dave Bautista. After watching the commercial again, it was funny as Morgan did his thing. His bit reminded me of a segment in Weekend Update with the Secondhand News on Saturday Night Live.

Paramount+ BS All Access will be rebranded as Paramount+ on March 4. CBS, who aired the Super Bowl this year, also merged with Viacom again a bit over a year ago.

This means that the streaming service will now have content from Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV, and Paramount’s catalogue. In this series of Super Bowl commercials, Sir Patrick Stewart narrates a story about many personalities from the channels mentioned earlier going up the Paramount mountain, leading them to Stewart as a metaphor for the streaming service. It ends with the scene in SpongeBob SquarePants where the gang performs in the Super Bowl, and Stewart and Stephen Colbert are delighted by the music. There was a lot of comedy gold in these commercials and the streaming world got more interesting..

Still from Cheetos Superbowl commercial via 'The Spun'

Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist

GM GM is beginning to build more electric cars by 2030 and aims to build more than Norway. This fascinates Will Ferrell, and he invites a few of his comedy friends including Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson and Nora Lum (AKA Awkwafina) to go on a journey to be better than Norway— until they surprisingly end up in Sweden.

Interestingly, Ferrell was in a show called Welcome to Sweden. The commercial is informative and still has the comedy you would expect from Saturday Night Live.

Oatly The company that made the original oat milk made a low-budget commercial simply explaining the drink with the company’s CEO (which I thought was Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and it ended up being a Super Bowl commercial. The song is okay—at least it’s better than the local Super Bowl commercials. Oat milk does taste like oats.

Retro cinemas in Coquitlam and Burnaby › Long ago departed theatres once were a mainstay for moviegoers

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he movie-going experience has been altered because of the pandemic.

People have been relegated to watching movies streamed at home or viewing them on their cell phones, tablets, and laptops.

In Coquitlam, during the 1980s, 1990s, and parts of the 2000s, two theatres became prominent for local movie lovers: Coquitlam 4, and Eagle Ridge Cinema.

According to cinematreasures.org (who profiled both theatres), Coquitlam 4 opened in 1983 and was located at the corner of Anson Avenue and Pinetree Way—only five minutes away from the David Lam Campus. The theatre originally contained four screens, and it was later renovated in December 1988 to increase to six screens. Cineplex Odeon managed this 1603 seat theatre. The largest screening room seated 435, and the smallest room seated 200. In 1999, the theatre was renamed Pinetree 6 Cinemas. It later closed in 2004 and was demolished to build a Best Buy store north of the property —and today the location operates as a Gap Factory store.

Eagle Ridge Cinema, located at 2635 Barnet Highway, opened in 1984. It had six screens and seating was listed at 1,497. The

largest theatre seated 283, and the smallest theatre seated 234. In 2005, Cineplex Odeon took over operations and later closed the theatre in 2008. Today, the site is now Club16 Trevor Linden Fitness.

For Burnaby residents, the City of Lougheed Shopping Centre (previously Lougheed Mall) first opened in September 1969. According to cinematreasures.org, the mall once had a theatre with three screens (opening in December 1969).

Seating was listed at 1,526. The cinema closed in 1991 and was later reopened months later by a company called A

Theatre Near You. During parts of the ’90s, the theatre had midnight showings at discounted prices, but later closed in 2002.

The Dolphin Cinemas was another theatre for moviegoers for nearly 50 years. It first opened in December 1965 with two screens and 680 seats. The theatre closed in May 2014 and, according to Global News, was Burnaby’s last independent theatre.

Today, Coquitlam has only one theatre, Cineplex Cinemas Coquitlam and VIP—located at 170 Schoolhouse Street. Cinematreasures.org states that the theatre first opened in December 1998 and

Photo by Brandon Yip

Brandon Yip Senior Columnist

contained 20 screens. Seating is listed at 4,534 with the largest theatre seating 450, and the smallest theatre seating 150. Other amenities include one DBOX screen, one UltraAVX screen, nine (3D) screens, five VIP screens, two party rooms, stars and strollers section, and a licensed lounge.

At the time, it was the largest cinema screen-wise that Famous Players opened.

Particularly, one screen was the first to utilize digital projections in Canada. In 2005, Cineplex Odeon took over operations of the cinema.

Unfortunately, the theatre remains closed due to the pandemic, as their official website states: “In accordance with orders from the Provincial Government, your local theatre is temporarily closed and will reopen as soon as we are able. We have already begun processing ticket refunds back to your original method of payment.

We appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you back soon.”

Actor Simon Callow best describes why people love going to movie theatres—as it is a pleasurable place to escape temporarily from the normal stresses of life: “To enter a theatre for a performance is to be inducted into a magical space, to be ushered into the sacred arena of the imagination.”

life & style // no. 17

issue 20// vol 47

Interview with founders of Urban Zero, Kyla Matias, and Nina Allison › Simplifying the transition to a more sustainable lifestyle with one go-to Alexis Zygan Staff Writer

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Photo by Kyla Matias

he zero-waste movement originated to encourage industries towards a circular economy. Advocating for systemic change with laws that require a sustainable supply chain and restrict planned obsolescence.

Vancouver has set out a mission to be entirely zero waste by 2040, an ambitious goal for the municipality.

Urban Zero is an eCommerce store offering zero-waste swaps founded

by Kyla Matias and Nina Allison that launched on January 31, 2021. During quarantine, free time led to transforming their passion for eco-conscious living into a business. Allison had just moved to Squamish, where Matias currently resides. Their inspiration is zero waste storefronts such as Nada in Vancouver that offer products without packaging in bulk. For Allison, “[zero waste] is about being mindful about consumerism,” she said in an interview with the Other Press.

When people think of zero waste, a video of Lauren Singer may come to mind. An activist and entrepreneur who gained internet fame for showcasing four years of trash in one mason jar: symbolic of her dedication to the movement. Only purchasing groceries and household goods from bulk stores is pricier and restricts what you can buy. Not all of us can afford to pay $40.00 for a litre of laundry detergent, or are willing to say goodbye to our favourite brand of chips for the greater good of the planet.

Urban Zero aims to educate people about greenwashing and support them as they take steps towards progress. Change starts with deciding to bring reusable cotton mesh bags to avoid using single-use plastic bags for produce.

Matias says, “Realistically the world has come so far in terms of the waste produced that it won’t be that easy for many people. Our goal as a business is to get the zero-waste movement back on track.”

Matias and Allison aim for progress over perfection, recognizing that collecting trash in a mason jar is impractical for most households. Allison says, “No one is perfect; we are constantly adapting and learning how to do better.

Photo by Sombilon Studios

Matias and Allison aim for progress over perfection, recognizing that collecting trash in a mason jar is impractical for most households.

Our goal is to grow a following and use that to educate how to repurpose what you already have at home, so you don’t have to go to the store and replace it.”

Carrying out social media campaigns on Instagram and TikTok that share weekly tips on how to reuse, repurpose, and upcycle.

When sourcing products, they purchase only from Canadian artisans, some of which are based in British Columbia. Inquiring about fair trade certification, employee rights to guarantee sustainable manufacturing to their customers. As an online store, when customers order items online, that is one less trip into the city. Although Urban Zero does not offset carbon emissions from mail orders, they have considered doing this in the future. They also plan on donating a percentage of their profit to organizations (such as Nature Conservancy of Canada) funding initiatives that promote systemic change through research.

Currently, Urban Zero sells a variety of household products for ecofriendly swaps. Such as reusable cotton mesh bags, silicone sandwich bags, and beeswax wraps. They plan to expand into hygiene and beauty in the future, focusing on a line of products free of allergens. They are currently working on building their online presence. While also making zero-waste swaps as accessible as possible. Alison says, “We don’t go over the suggested retail price, noticing that other zero waste stores have a higher markup.”

Urban Zero would love to organize a popup shop at a local cafe or shop. Matias and Allison are excited for the future of their brand, now is just the beginning. Stay up to date with them on social @urbanzerolifestyle on Instagram.

Opinions

Have an idea for a story?  opinions@theotherpress.ca

opinions // no. 18 • The manipulative marketing tactic of greenwashing • Streaming (and Bell) killed the media star • Is the value of ‘agreeing to disagree’ lost? ...and more

For Canadian media, the Bell tolls › Streaming (and Bell) killed the media star

Craig Allan Business Manager

Photo by Billy Bui

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When it comes to the dismantling of Canadian media, Bell has done notable harm to the channels it owns.

couple of years ago I went to a show hosted by former Much Music video jockey (VJ) and shock puppet extraordinaire Ed the Sock.

At the end of the show, his puppeteer Steven Joel Kerzner came out from underneath the stand to take questions. This allowed me to ask him a question I had been wanting to ask for some time: “What are your thoughts about Much Music and the Canadian television industry today?” He gave a simple response: “It sucks.”

He then proceeded to tell a story about the reason why he left the network, which involved him producing a show that became the highest rated show in the channel’s history. The show was eventually cancelled because the executives told him that this was not the kind of programming the audience was interested in, despite the proven ratings.

On February 9, I couldn’t help but think back to this story when the news came out that Bell Media (the same company that currently owns Much) announced that they were cutting the all-sports radio station TSN 1040 Vancouver. They decided to cut it despite the fact that it was soundly beating its competition, Sportsnet 650, along with two other all-sports stations in Winnipeg and Hamilton. The truth is cuts like this are going to keep happening and they are going to get worse if action is not taken. While this is an issue with every owner of Canadian media channels now, I will focus this on Bell owned properties, because while all telecom owned properties have been cutting people (like Rogers did with their Vancouver media holdings back in November) it is Bell that has been the biggest cost cutters and gutters of the industry.

When it comes to the dismantling of Canadian media, Bell has done notable harm to the channels it owns. Bell owns channels like Much Music, Discovery, CTV Comedy, and CTV Sci-Fi (more on those names later). These channels once had life, with Much Music having VJ’s, Sci-Fi (then Space) having talk shows about science fiction topics, and Discovery hosting a daily talk show about all kinds of knowledgeable topics. Now, the life has been sucked out of these channels with nothing but endless Simpsons reruns, movie reruns, and Canadian programming from years past—and they are likely only there to achieve the low bar of Canadian content that the networks must maintain. A couple of years ago, they even changed the names of four of their stations to generic names like CTV Drama and CTV Life to further take away from the identity that these channels possessed in the name of “synergy.”

This may be a television example, but it is the same for radio too as Bell looks to cut costs all while providing more money for the shareholders. They even took a $123 million subsidy from the Canadian government to ensure that their shareholders were monetarily supported in these tough times.

It is easy to look at this and say that the culprit for this demise is the internet. That it has taken away viewers of traditional media like television and radio, but this is a simplistic argument. If the internet has taken away viewers from television, then why hasn’t Bell tried to move the programs that once dominated these channels to the online audience? It’s simple: they do not care. If they don’t care, then why don’t they just sell these channels to someone who will do a better job? I think the answers to that is Bell knows that no one will buy them for the money that makes it worthwhile for them to sell, so they are fine with just letting the channels fade away.

For Bell, Rogers, and other telecom companies, their only interest is not with the content, but how the content is delivered to the user through WIFI and data connections. This is the future and they know it; they can let Canadian TV die, because it has no value to them anymore.

There are currently calls for the government to establish laws that will force streamers like Netflix and Disney+ to make Canadian programs. However, no one knows if the qualifications for that will involve Canadian content as content with a Canadian identity, or content that is merely filmed in Canada but stripped of its Canadian identity. These moves should be adopted fast, because Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is campaigning to defund the CBC—the country’s only real producer of Canadian content under the guise that “The Family Feud is not the Canadian story.”

The truth is that we need to see the Canadian identity in our media, because if we don’t tell our stories, no one else will.

opinions // no. 19

issue 20// vol 47

Cancel culture or performative activism? › An artist’s views are important to us, until the world turns against them CJ Sommerfeld Staff Writer ho is your favourite artist? Maybe they are a cartoonist, a director, or some musician. What are their political ideals? What sort of clothes do they wear?

What do they stand for?

I am sure everyone has someone who they have a cult-like obsession with.

Whatever it was that lured you in was probably just the beginning. Likely, it was related to something superficial like the aesthetic of their art or blatantly, the way they looked. Their belief systems were some things which you probably later adopted or accepted even if they veered from one that you held previously.

Artists are gods in some people’s eyes, as they assist us out of a hard time or encourage us to do better. Some of us gain a sort of artificial, one-way relationship with those we look up to, ingesting bits of information via interviews or articles, analyzing their lyrics or biases. Personally, I find myself more likely to adopt a new political ideal or even just a way of being if it was presented by or spoken about by someone whose art I enjoy. An example is what some could pejoratively label as the “white trash” lifestyle exhibited in Townes van Zandt’s documentary Be Here to Love Me. This lifestyle previously presented

by The Simpson’s Cletus (among other stereotyped characters), made me run from something that was quite close to my own upbringing. However, seeing it presented by someone whose music I admired made me do a double take. In his documentary,

Illustration by CJ Sommerfeld

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Zandt notes his music goals were not to make hits, but instead to create something raw and real; living a low-key life aided in him acquiring this. In the doc, he expressed that he never planned on making it to the Grand Ole Opery—a heaven of a performance venue for country singers, as it was not made for minor keys, like those which his songs were comprised of. (Minor keys produce more melancholic harmonies than that of a major key, invoking solemnity opposed to something exciting that you could two-step to.) He rebelled from a norm that would have provided him with more financial success than he ever wound up receiving. Instead, he stayed true

to his art. Zandt passed away in 1997, prior to the cancel culture movement. Would my obsession with him have ceased if his record label would have dropped him for propagating an image that went against their political views or something of the like?

Now, do not get me wrong, cancelling someone has many times been appropriate.

Anything related to sexual abuse or sexual coercion is demented—goodbye Harvey Weinstein and Woody Allen. I think saying racist slurs and divisive comments also justify this social mutiny—goodbye Cosmo Kramer and Don Cherry. Frankly, I think a lot of what people have been cancelled for

is a good reason. But what happens if an individual is cancelled due to something that had already been known about them; something that had not stopped individuals from interacting with their art previously?

Let us take Ariel Pink, for instance.

After what seemed like a slow grave digging, in January 2021 he was dropped by his music label Mexican Summer.

Attending the Capitol Hill protest (not storming the White House) was the cherryon-top which ultimately encouraged his label to drop him. This happened despite him having been overtly pro-Trump for a long while. If you continue to listen to his music, are you worse off a person than you were prior to him being cancelled? Or are you a better person if you jump on the bandwagon and similarly snub him, despite being aware of his right-wing extremist stance previously?

Marilyn Manson has also recently been repudiated after his ex-wife Evan Rachel Wood has accused him of abusing her. His record label Loma Vista as well as TV shows American Gods and Creepshow both dropped him following these allegations. In an interview following this, singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers criticizes all those who have cancelled him in saying that they were aware of the abuse previously; the move was simply performative activism.

At what point is boycotting performative activism? Where does the line blur between cancelling someone due to your own will, and doing so to be a part of some social movement?

Is the value of ‘agreeing to disagree’ lost? › The hurdles in achieving agreeability in the current political climate Janis McMath Editor-in-Chief

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he numerous protests, violent clashes, and calls to destroy biased media from both sides clearly speak to the political polarization of our generation. In a 2017 study of thousands of Americans, nonpartisan think tank Pew Research looked to answer the question of how polarized the public has become. Pew Research found that only 32 percent of people expressed a mostly equal number of liberal and conservative stances; in 2004, nearly 50 percent of people had a balance of liberal and conservative views.

The same study found that, previously, Republicans and Democrats experienced more of an ideological overlap. On their 10-question survey, Pew Research asked a range of questions to gage how conservative or liberal a person is (e.g., “Government regulation of business does more harm than good” is a Republican answer and “Government regulation of business is necessary to protect public interest” is a Liberal answer). Their 1994 study found that just 64 percent of identified Republicans were answering in a more conservative way than the average Democrat—and 70 percent vice versa.

Now, however, the average Republican is

97 percent more conservative than the Democrat; the average Democrat is 95 percent more liberal.

It seems Americans are becoming more politically predictable and in line with the stereotypical values of their two big parties—and Canadians are no different. A McGill University study found that Canadians did not make significant distinctions in their views of politicians from the opposite party and their followers; this is significant as it shows that “polarization does not just influence people’s opinions about the parties, but also how they view ordinary Canadians.”

This study also argues that the polarization witnessed stems from the rising trend of intense party loyalty.

Clearly the population has become estranged politically—and these feelings of resentment and distaste often go so far as to destroy family life and friendships.

Political arguments pop up in every sphere of life now—and seeing how we are more politically distant now, how can we get along? Obviously, it’s easy to hang out with people you’re aligned with—but that luxury cannot always be afforded. Additionally, it becomes too easy to stagnate in your echo chamber of those you’re aligned with,

and that is frankly terrible. School, work, volunteering, and social engagements usually force you to meet, work, and collaborate with people you disagree with.

And it is necessary for these places to allow different ideologies; for example, a workplace or a school cannot succeed without multiple perspectives and talents contributing to it.

This is where the concept of “agreeing to disagree” holds value; without a degree of agreeability, one cannot meaningfully navigate debates (and life at whole).

Agreeing to disagree is predicated on the belief that those who think differently likely have something valuable to contribute that you cannot contribute yourself. This optimistic belief is essential for success if we are all to live in this incomprehensibly diverse world. Of course, agreeing to disagree with someone with destructive values is not encouraged. Each individual needs to develop their own sense about how far to go with accepting different perspectives—but the obvious need for balance is looming. It has become too easy to “other” those that are misaligned with us, and that results in crap for all of us. Our shared struggles only grow if we don’t strive to be cordial in our debates and discussions for solutions.

opinions // no. 20

theotherpress.ca

Deceiving you for profit › The manipulative marketing tactic of greenwashing Alexis Zygan Staff Writer s a school-age child, I watched the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and Al Gore warned about the dangers of global warming. At that age, I disregarded the concepts as irrelevant and abstract.

However, my values changed as I matured and learned about the adverse impact of factory farming and how fast fashion contributes to a growing waste problem.

Documentaries such as Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret and The True Cost showcased tangible evidence. Climate anxiety became a prominent force that drove my understanding of how I can be an ethical consumer. I was not alone; 87 percent of millennials believe companies should address environmental issues. We are the largest adult generation, and our values shape how corporations advertise to us.

Greenwashing is a response to consumer values. A marketing strategy that implements public relations to appear environmentally friendly. Greenwashing manipulates consumers with buzzwords such as organic or natural. The term natural has no concrete definition in the marketing world, but earth tones for product packaging and making ethical claims help to avoid criticism from the public.

It is vital as a consumer who wants to purchase products that align with their values to know which companies care about the environment versus which one markets themselves as caring for the environment because it benefits their pocket.

The subliminal messaging of greenwashing is everywhere, from hygiene products to fast fashion. For example, the brand Love Beauty Planet appears sustainable; loving the planet is in their name, so you assume they must. With further research, a consumer will discover that Unilever owns them. A corporation that owns 400 brands and packages their products in plastic; that is a lot of plastic waste created from one corporation.

Uniliver received scrutiny for disregarding human rights, animal testing, and releasing pollutants into the environment. Love Beauty Planet exemplifies the deceitful nature of greenwashing.

Another instance of greenwashing is H&M’s sustainable style clothing line. Fast fashion is environmentally irresponsible at its core due to factory production using toxic dyes that pollute the water supply, underpaying workers, and disregarding health standards. In 2013, a decrepit factory producing garments for H&M collapsed and killed 1,138 employees. Factory owners overlooked safety concerns that resulted in preventable deaths. These are only a few of the concerns regarding fast fashion. By creating a conscious clothing line H&M is avoiding addressing consumer concerns regarding the safety and wellbeing of their garment workers.

For consumers interested in buying more sustainably, here are some tips to avoid greenwashing; research is a crucial component of the process: see if a brand has a section on their website about sustainability. Now ensure that whatever they say is backed up with evidence. There

Photos by Alexis Zygan

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are also certifications you can look out for on packaging: Leaping Bunny crueltyfree, Fair Trade, and 1 percent for the planet. “Good For You” is an encyclopedia for sustainable brands that share environmental impact, labour conditions,

and animal welfare and gives a rating based on these factors.

Marketers purposely make identifying greenwashing tricky. Many consumers trust the brands they support. Also, sustainable products are often expensive

because they pay their workers a fair wage. Ethical products are not cheap, and unfortunately, not everyone can afford to make green choices even if they care about the environment.

Humour

Have an idea for a story?  humour@theotherpress.ca

humour // no. 21 • Woman hiding in forest found by wealthy hiker • Comic: Feeling safe • Comic: True crime goes too far ...and that's everything!

Woman hiding in forest found by wealthy hiker › Could it be the

missing Miss Snow?

Morgan Hannah Fairy Tale Reporter hillip Charming, local young hiker and heir to the fortune of his father— Charles Charming—came across an unusual sight during his usual hike through the Enchanted Forest trails yesterday. “I was wandering through Route 41, it was dark and twisty, and full of roots snaking across the trail’s surface. I had on my Timberland Men’s MT Maddsen Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots in dark brown, though, so I was making footprints on the trail in these rugged leather hikers.”

Displaying his customary levels of charm, Charming stooped down to showcase his “hikers,” then continued his interview with the Other Press. “I came across a clearing in the forest and there, right in the middle like a prize on a game show was a glass coffin—and inside it was a woman.

She looked to be dead but peaceful with shoulder length black hair, blood-red lips, and skin as white as snow.”

Several years ago, a young woman by the name of Snow White went missing.

Last seen at age seventeen, Miss White was known as the town’s fairest maiden with some issues at home. The running theory is that her mother, Queen Eva, was terribly jealous of Miss White’s beauty and the attention it got her, so she sent her daughter off into the Enchanted Forest and hired a huntsman to dispose of her.

The Other Press had the opportunity to interview that same huntsman, Jeremy Costner, who claimed to never find Miss White: “I’ve already told the Head of Magic and All Investigations, I didn’t kill Snow White! Yes, Eva hired me for the job, but I never found the girl and thought better of it once wandering through that foul forest.”

Following up with the Head of Magic and All Investigations, there was no actual evidence to support the theory, all accusations were dropped and Jeremy Costner was freed. Queen Eva, on the other hand, has since suspiciously holed up in her castle back in town. Reporters and paparazzi flooding the gates daily for just a glimpse or a quote from the new fairest of them all.

When asked if he recognized the woman in the glass coffin, Phillip

Illustration by Sonam Kaloti

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Last seen at age seventeen, Miss White was known as the town’s fairest maiden with some issues at home.

Charming reported “not until I opened up the coffin and saw that she looked exactly like the missing Snow White.” Charming went into great detail about his next set of actions, how he caressed the side of the Snow-White lookalike’s face and planted a juicy kiss on her cold lips. Charming was shocked when nothing happened as a result, “I couldn’t believe it! I’ve kissed plenty of young princesses and damsels in distress—there was the time when Princess

Aurora was cast into a never-ending sleep and after my kiss, she woke up! Or the time when Cinderella was so pleased that I had returned her glass slipper, she leapt right into my arms and, well, we kissed!”

It wasn’t until night had fallen that the Snow White lookalike arose from her own slumber. The Other Press tentatively approached for an interview. “I am Amdis Drusilla, Queen of the night and of the dead. I was sleeping as I do during the

day when a disgustingly rude mortal man laid his lips upon mine. I shall have his head for this!” Escaping quickly from the interview, it has been confirmed that the lookalike is simply just that, a lookalike. With no up to date news on the whereabouts of the missing Miss Snow, Queen Eva and Jeremy Costner are free forevermore. Phillip Charming, on the other hand, is being arrested for his admissions of assault and theft.

Comic by Craig Allan

Comics Feeling safe

Comics

Comic by Richard Dick

True crime goes too far

Creative Works Space Geographer Returns: Part 5 Morgan Hannah Life & Style Editor

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abbit is dead.

This wasn’t how everything was supposed to go. We were supposed to land smoothly, find my sister’s body—dead or alive, maybe even find some resources to make the mission more worthwhile for the Space Geographer way, and then return to the crew where I could allow myself some relief and maybe even the slightest amount of smug satisfaction. Instead, the away mission shuttle is half buried in sand, the hull squeezed up like a child wringing out a juice box for the last few drops, and Ensign Rabbit is pinned between her control console and a massive panel of hull that ripped free during our descent.

Right away it was clear there was no way to remove the broken ship from around her broken body without causing further damage, and by damage, I mean a fast flooding of blood. But that wasn’t even the worst part. Rabbit roused from unconscious and with a groan the likes of someone suffering from a bad headache, she spat up blood in an impossible series of Rorschach tests, as if she were a psychologist and I her crazy patient.

“It’s okay Ensign, I’ll figure out a way to get us out of this. Maybe I can get in touch with Jorbes…” My eyes frantically dance across her body, taking in the slow leak of blood, the pale skin, the terrified and angry eyes.

“Captain… I know that I’m done. There’s—uhh—there’s no way I’m walking out of here.” Shaking my head, I run to the emergency kit and take out a jet injector and the water supply.

“Let’s just start with 50cc’s of OTC pain medication and a damp rag against your skin.” I press the jet injector to Rabbit’s neck, the hiss of medication doesn’t provide the ease I stupidly anticipated and that’s when it really hits me: I’ve lost control. I’ve allowed myself to become so completely consumed by my obsession of finding my sister and this time it hasn’t just affected me. Malory’s most likely dead. It’s been a long time, too long of a time, since anyone’s last heard from her or seen her—I should’ve just listened to the many people who tried to tell me this, but I had to find out for myself what everyone, including myself already knew.

“I, I’m so sorry, Ensign—“ “I don’t. Need your apology, Captain…” Rabbit breathes out each word from between red-stained teeth, “I just. Wish you had. Listened. M— Malory, she’s… I hope you find what. You’re looking for.” Rabbits body collapses against the helm and it grows quiet in the remains of the ship.

Illustration by Morgan Hannah

Continuation of this exciting adventure next week!

rossword Creative Works The Crow CJ Sommerfeld Staff Writer Keyboard class is accompanied by the crow Edgar Allen No Mopped the floor two weeks back before hitting a mental plateau Now a canopy of dust, hair cyclones and crumbs aglow Circled streaks on the tabletop; compendious lave Alabaster candle wax drips half-shaved Off with a butter knife during a hangover from champagne A fogged brain again again again Drops of syrups, soups and thyme sprigs Browned and dried quick A Pollock under the table Depicts a society, mentally UnStAbLe Last week’s salmon package and stems of five figs On the countertop An ammonia cloud, fatal It gets murky at the bottom of the circle of fifths The ceiling paint parts, rifts Upstairs my keyboard harmonics vomits Steps on the old wooden floor tremble a mental abyss Creaks and squeaks

Illustration by CJ Sommerfeld

From outside the crow peers in Circled streaks Stain the windows and antiques Compendious lave The crow creeps

Creative Works pink slip Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor don’t want a dragged out apology I won’t pity you for hurting me can’t let this slide I wanted you for my whole life let your tears well up dust the dirt off your guilt trip I’ll drink out of your plastic cup and read over my pink slip knowing full well by the 2-week mark that I won’t dip

Illustration by Sonam Kaloti

don’t want a dragged out apology I won’t pity you for hurting me can’t let this slide I wanted you for my whole life

Crossword

Weekly Crossword

OnlineCrosswords.net

DOWN 1. Hammer is one 2. Jerry's pal 3. Blunder 4. Aerosmith frontman 5. Experience 6. Turner of film 7. Official language of Pakistan 8. Words on a jacket 9. Picture tone 10. Singing syllable 11. Court summons 12. City of Scotland or Maryland 13. Fixes the lawn 21. Dominion 22. Work unit 26. "Gladiator" Oscar winner 29. Make fun of 30. "Up and ___!"

31. Fix, as a pool cue 33. Washington sound 34. Prefix with nautical 35. River to the Caspian Sea 37. Academic types 38. Cosmonauts, e.g.

39. Head on the range 40. Ballroom dance 43. Brit. fliers 45. "Sweet Rosie ___" (Betty Grable film) 46. Gobs 47. Refined 49. Thingamabob (Var.) 50. Astronomer Hubble 52. High points 55. Some TV rooms 56. Take on cargo 57. Formerly, formerly 59. Permit

Previous solution

ACROSS 1. Use a hammock 5. Botches 10. "A Life for the ___" (Glinka opera) 14. Friend in a fray 15. Baseball Hall of Famer Combs 16. Bumpkin 17. It can hold its water 18. Culminate 19. Vigoda and Lincoln 20. "Carrie" actress 23. Post- opposite 24. Accustom to hardship 25. Supermarket reading 27. Bench press unit 28. Not quite shut 32. Money-hunger 33. Leveling-off point 36. Some binary digits 37. Large, sleek swimmer 40. Hooligan 41. Abu Dhabi, e.g.

42. More sagacious 44. Either of two extremes 45. The Buckeyes, briefly 48. Performing 51. Displaying enthusiasm 53. Be seen among moguls 54. Beach burrower 58. Shade of blue 60. Take an oath 61. Doll's cry 62. Fishing bird 63. Takes notice of 64. Churchill's successor 65. "Over here!"

66. Beginning 67. End of the year word

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