12 minute read
Arts & Life
DARIEN FUNK/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
Three horible holiday movies that'll make you want to drown yourself in eggnog
I am not a fan of most Christmas movies, one might call me a Grinch. Perhaps it’s because I find them too cheerful, maybe it’s because they’re so ubiquitous, possibly it’s because I’m Jewish. Regardless, there are some Christmas movies that are so bad they should be buried in a deep dark pit where even the ghost of Christmas past couldn’t find them. Here are three of the worst offenders. If you still choose to watch them, don’t come crying to me.
AMICHAI ABRAHAM
ARTS EDITOR
Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002) Directed by Rod Daniel Starring: Mike Weinberg, French Stewart, Missi Pyle
The first Home Alone is one of my favorite Christmas movies and its sequel doesn’t fall far behind. Then there is Home Alone 3, which despite watching, I cannot recall a single detail of. Lastly, there’s Home Alone 4, which accomplishes the miraculous by making Home Alone boring. As a child, my favorite parts of the Home Alone movies were the traps. There were traps. There were always so many of them and they were always so creative, funny, and… well, violent. The traps are what made the movies fun in the first place, so one could imagine my dismay when in Home Alone 4 there appeared to be no more than... five traps? None of them were fun or interesting. Combine this with the fact that the actor playing Kevin was some inferior Macaulay Culkin and the actor playing Marv was not Daniel Stern. To add to the confusion, the character ‘Marv’ acted and dressed exactly like the other robber, Harry, despite there being no character named Harry in this film. I swear Home Alone 4 makes my head feel like somebody just chucked a brick at it. Jack and Jill (2011) Directed by Dennis Dugan Starring: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino
While I know it’s more of a holiday movie rather than a Christmas movie, that’s not going to stop me from talking about this piece of flaming hot garbage. The only thing worse than Adam Sandler acting in one of his comedies would be Adam Sandler acting in one of his comedies while he plays another separate character in drag. Drag is a celebrated tradition in cinema with many actors delivering memorable and/or empowering roles in the attire,
Most of the jokes revolve around poorly executed slapstick, bodily functions and ‘funny’ noises. Perhaps a better name for this film would be ‘the hour and a half long advertisement’ with all of the products that are constantly being promoted on screen. In one particular scene that may be the funniest in the film for all of the wrong reasons, the legendary Al Pacino does a commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts where he sings about the all-new “Dunkachino”. Thank God this article is almost over. Santa Jaws (2018) Directed by Misty Talley Starring: Reid Miller, Courtney Lauren Cummings, Hawn Tran
I’m not even going to share my thoughts on Santa Jaws, I’m just going to explain the plot.
Santa Jaws is PG-rated horror… fantasy? Anyways, it’s about a kid named Cody who has to miss a Christmas Eve party. Yada, yada, yada ... there's an evil shark with a Christmas hat and tree lights wrapped around it called Santa Jaws.
In an attempt to emulate Santa Jaws I will end this article as abruptly and unsatisfyingly as possible.
Editorial
OPINION EDITOR SAMUEL DUFFY opinion@thecord.ca
BC’s new approach to drug use is a step in the right direction
SAM DUFFY
OPINION EDITOR
The government of British Columbia has asked the federal government to make them exempt from certain provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. This exemption would decriminalize the possession of small quantities of drugs such as cocaine and heroin in an effort to battle drug use. While traditional methods of tackling drug use in society have been routinely dismissed as ineffective, support for this strategy is mixed.
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who believes that the “War on Drugs,” launched by the U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1971, worked. In the 50 years since his infamous announcement that drugs were “public enemy number one,” the United States alone has spent almost a trillion dollars attempting to tackle this problem. Despite this, the majority of citizens believe that the “War on Drugs” is being lost, and an increasing number believe that rehabilitation, not punishment, should be the primary vehicle to decrease drug use. It should not come as shocking information that the mass incarceration of people for non-violent offences does little to better society or the drug problem. It does not address the issue at heart. Rather, it identifies the problem at the endpoint, and then offers no path to rehabilitation and health. Having a conversation about drug use divorced from conversations about mental health and despair will only yield suboptimal results. The reason people often choose to venture into the world of dangerous narcotics is because of a lack of meaning in their lives.
It is not, as many people say, a free choice. People who have chosen this path do not do so because they enjoy the experience, and because they enjoy the physical and financial harm that comes along with it.
As is the case with suicide, the use of hard drugs is a case of people trapped in what they see as a losing struggle, looking for anything that resembles as escape from current conditions.
Society has then decided that the solution to people filled with despair who look to drugs as an escape is to punish them, usually with prison time. I’m no expert on human behavior, but I’d imagine that placing people in this state of mind in cages will not address the root issue. The criminalization of drugs also makes it more difficult for people who leave prison to find meaning. If you leave prison with a drug conviction, and have no job opportunities, it becomes more likely you will continue on the dangerous spiral of hard drug use.
Decriminalization offers an escape from this endless cycle of abuse. The abuse of the people by the state, that is. If you treat drug addiction as a health issue rather than a criminal matter, the solutions become apparent.
Stop treating non-violent drug addicts like criminals. Treat them like sick people. Treat them in hospitals and do not give them criminal charges. Have systems in place that can help secure employment after drug addiction has been addressed. Have a social safety net that will help people falling into despair. The “War on Drugs” has and will continue to fail, precisely because it is treated as a war. It’s not a war. Your people see no escape from despair, so they seek out drugs, and then you lock them in cages and act surprised when nothing changes.
The B.C. government is attempting to rehabilitate rather than punish. This is the correct way forward, and god willing the federal government will follow suit.
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WLUSP ADMINISTRATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHAIR
Brittany Kovacs
VICE-CHAIR
Jacob Rice
DIRECTOR
Rosalind Horne
DIRECTOR Emily Crump
DIRECTOR
Arshy Mann
PRESIDENT
Brittany Kovacs president@wlusp.com
FINANCE MANAGER
Randy Moore randy@rcmbrooks. com
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kurtis Rideout kurtis.rideout@wlusp. com
HR MANAGER
Aaron Waitson hr@wlusp.com EDITORIAL CARTOON
KASH PATEL/MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR Ho, ho, ho! Santa Claus is delivering brand new homes to all the young adults who have been good this year.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Finding your purpose when you feel like you have no direction
EMILY WAITSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
As a young adult in my mid-twenties, I find myself constantly questioning what direction my life is going in and whether or not I have a defined purpose. The anxiety I’ve developed as I’ve aged past 20 has grown each year, a cycle of thoughts that persistently tell me that I’m not doing enough. I know I’m not alone in these feelings and the pandemic certainly hasn’t helped alleviate these persistent worries. I’m also incredibly indecisive overall as a person, which leads me to changing my mind about what I want to do and who I want to be. The overarching fear that lurks over me is my life turning into Rory’s from Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
A static, purposeless person with wasted dreams and unful·filled potential. The constant pressure there is to do it all before you’re 30 — especially if you’re a woman — can feel suffocating. The number of times I’ve been asked when I’m going to get married, what my career path will look like, if I want kids and if I do, when will I have them, is unending. Social pressure aside, I’m starting to force myself to take a breath and relax. I’m in a happy, long-term relationship, currently working at a job that allows me to do what I love most. Instead of fixating on my longterm plans and a seemingly never-ending list of shit that I feel like I need to get done and accomplish before I turn a certain age, once in awhile I think it’s ok to enjoy life day-by-day. I’m not saying I’m going to be able to drop my anxiety and overthinking tendencies completely, but maybe not spend the majority of my existence hyperfocused on all of the things I should have done by now. The world is falling apart on a daily basis and we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, I think it’s acceptable to enjoy the little things.
Opinion
OPINION EDITOR SAMUEL DUFFY opinion@thecord.ca
Laurier needs to properly prioritize student satisfaction
WLU used to pride itself as being #1 in student satisfaction, but recent years have proven the opposite
AMY BLACKWELL
OPINION COLUMNIST
I remember when I got accepted into Laurier in 2019, and everywhere I looked whether it was online, in the viewbooks or emails, the heading “#1 in Student Satisfaction” was displayed everywhere.
Especially after the pandemic, Laurier’s satisfaction rating has declined. Students began expressing their opinions frequently through social media and notably on the Spotted at Laurier Twitter page.
One of the main complaints I have been finding is the fact that the administration is not organized or quick with responses.
The number of emails will be increased as the pandemic has caused the majority of communications to be online.
Students shared the fact that the response times have been ridiculously slow, and when they do receive a response, it directs them to a different person. This is causing the wait times to increase even more.
Another main complaint is the dining hall food. Recently, I saw a post on the Spotted at Laurier’s Twitter page that included photos of dining hall food that were not acceptable.
It included photos of raw eggs and chicken that appeared to be pink in the photo. A user even commented, “medium rare chicken in a dining hall special.”
How can Laurier expect students to pay for their dining hall meal plans when food like that ends up on someone’s plate?
Will Laurier ever get back up to number one in student satisfaction? It’s hard to tell. Right now, it seems to be not. I have not seen any changes made to fix these issues.
Some could say these complaints are a normal part of a large organization. Not everyone will be happy with Laurier.
But the numerous complaints heard in conversation and read online make me feel as though they really are doing something wrong.
Laurier experienced a massive decline, as in 2019 their ranking was #1 in the Maclean’s Magazine university rankings, and in 2021, it was brought down to #5.
The next question is – how will they increase their ranking and are they really listening to their student’s voices?
DARIEN FUNK/LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER
Will raising the minimum wage really help workers?
SAM DUFFY
OPINION EDITOR
Earlier this month, the Ontario government announced that it will increase the minimum wage from $14.35 per hour to $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2022. This increase will also affect those in the service industry, who are currently compensated at $12.55 per hour, as it will increase their wage to the same $15 an hour. As with any increase in the minimum wage, controversy has followed.
I am acutely aware that there is an economic school of thought that wishes to do away with the minimum wage entirely. People of this persuasion believe that any increase in the minimum wage will increase unemployment, as companies will be less willing to hire workers if the cost of labour increases.
The other side points out that the effects on unemployment are small if minimum wage increases are correctly implemented. All companies have to pay this new rate, so there is little impact on competition.
It is important to recognize that both sides in this argument are aiming to achieve the same goal. That is, more people should be employed at wages that allow them to live comfortably. The controversy comes from the means, not the ends.
On this issue, I find I cannot escape notions of fairness that are absent from a purely economic analysis. The U.S. federal minimum wage, for example, is $7.25. States may set the minimum wage higher, but a plethora of states, including Kentucky and Alabama, still go by the $7.25 federal standard.
I could not accept, in good conscience, a minimum wage this low.
The Ontario government cited tireless people who have continued to work during the pandemic as the motivation for the increase. This is not the correct way to characterize this decision. Because decisions to increase the minimum wage can seldom be defended on purely economic grounds, they must necessarily be defended on moral grounds.
There are many companies currently employing a slew of workers at the minimum wage who could afford to pay more. The argument is simply that companies with billions in profit have a moral obligation to pay a wage that allows workers to live a comfortable life.
I do not enjoy the rationalization that many people left-of-centre feel they must engage in on this issue. They make technical-economic points, rather than pointing to a moral position that most people agree on. The minimum wage should be increased because companies are able to pay higher wages while still making huge profits, and thus they have a moral responsibility to do so. Stating this another way is playing semantics.
