THE DOUGLAS COLLEGE NEWSPAPER SINCE 1978 OtherPress.e Room 1020 – 700 Royal Ave. Douglas College New Westminster, BC V3L 5B2 “A person is, among all TELEPHONE: 604.525.3542 WEBSITE: www.theotherpress.ca EMAIL: [email protected] else, a material thing, easily torn and not Jacey Gibb Editor-in-chief [email protected] easily mended.” Natalie Serafini Assistant Editor –Ian McEwan [email protected] Angela Ho Business Manager [email protected] Chris Paik Distribution Manager hile most of you know me to be a playful, pun-fi lled roller coaster of a writer, I’d like to set aside my sarcasm and quips for a [email protected] moment and talk to you about something I feel is an important issue: the role of vulnerability in our society. WBehind my need to vocalize concern is my recent visit to the Vancouver Fringe Festival where I had the opportunity to see the Cody Klyne Human Body Project. For those of you unfamiliar with the Project, it was started by Tasha Diamant eight years ago as “a vehicle Layout Manager for change.” As a mother of two, Diamant saw the trajectory the world is on and decided that unless there’s a shift away from [email protected] selfi shness towards compassion, the future doesn’t look so bright. Diamant begins each Project session naked and spends the next hour leading the audience in an unscripted forum. Part performance art, part improvised group discussion, the idea of vulnerability Joel McCarthy takes centre stage as Diamant does her best to provide people with an environment where raw emotions can run rampant. Graphics Manager While my fi rst encounter with the Human Body Project came two years ago in Victoria, my second experience was still [email protected] positively jarring. Like fi nding a love note in your lunch box from your mom, the Project serves as a reminder to me: a reminder of how vulnerable we really are. Near the end of the Fringe session, a man who’d been silent the whole time raised his hand. He Ed Appleby started with how he didn’t want to seem confrontational, but he saw Diamant’s nudity as her way of holding power over the audience, despite her claims that she was projecting vulnerability. He compared the experience to whenever he played team sports Ilustrator and how embarrassed he felt whenever he let his teammates down—which somehow led to him revealing that yesterday had [email protected] marked the one-year anniversary of his wife’s death. The man went from confrontational to crying in under two minutes. Patrick Vailancourt It was impossible not to sympathize with him, though he was a complete stranger to most of us. His seemingly sudden News Editor breakage sent my consciousness rippling back to that time in Victoria, where I found myself unexplainably crying from hearing the [email protected] stories of other people’s pain. It’s an impossible feeling to describe, but that’s the Human Body Project for you. What I’m trying to say here is that there needs to be a shift from what vulnerability means in our society. At what point did the Elliot Chan words “vulnerable” and “weak” become synonymous, when they in fact mean the opposite? We’re all vulnerable in our own ways, Staff Reporter but there’s no hierarchy to their signifi cance. [email protected] While not directly, many of the articles you’ll fi nd in the issue you’re holding deal with the varying manifestations of vulnerability and how people manage them. The mass exodus of students’ unions from the Canadian Federation of Students comes NOW HIRING as a result of feeling like students don’t have a voice in the organization; Sophie Isbister looks at the comparisons between being an Arts Editor introvert and extrovert and how they’ve become a dichotomy instead of symbiotic; and Angela Espinoza tackles the FROSH rape [email protected] incident that recently shook UBC. Each story takes a look at vulnerability, but they’re also examples of empowerment and about taking back that sense of security. Sophie Isbister On a related note, this issue also marks the end of Espinoza’s tenure as Arts Editor for the Other Press. I’ve had the honour of Life & Style Editor working with Espinoza for the past three years and though we’ll undoubtedly stay in touch via our weekend antics, I admit that I [email protected] already miss her name from the masthead. Shine on, you crazy Espinoza. Shine on. NOW HIRING So it goes, Jacey Gibb Opinions Editor Editor-in-chief [email protected] Eric Wilkins Sports Editor he Other Press has been Douglas The Other Press is published that includes papers from all across [email protected] College’s student newspaper since weekly during the fall and winter Canada. 1976.T Since 1978 we have been an semesters, and monthly during the The Other Press reserves the autonomous publication, independent summer. We receive our funding right to choose what we will publish, Courtnie Martin of the student union. We are a from a student levy collected and we will not publish material Sports Reporter registered society under the Society through tutition fees every semester that is hateful, obscene, or condones [email protected] Act of British Columbia, governed at registration, and from local and or promotes illegal activities. by an eight-person board of directors national advertising revenue. The Submissions may be edited for clarity appointed by Wand from our staff . Other Press is a member of the and brevity if necessary. All images Livia Turnbull Our head offi ce is located in the New Canadian University Press (CUP), used are copyright to their respective Humour Editor Westminster campus. a syndicate of student newspapers owners. [email protected] Aidan Mouellic Staff Writer Our collective meets every Monday @ 6:00p.m. Anyone can join! Contributors Cazzy Lewchuk, Ruth Cho Jerrison Oracion, Sharon Miki Paolo Anzovin, Monica Rolinski Idrian Burgos, Steve Cayer www.theotherpress.ca NEWS. Utilizing Douglas College’s free peer tutoring service Improving your student in at least one credit course at Douglas, and a grades with a little B-average or better in 12 credits in Douglas College or equivalent help from a friend courses. “We have two weeks of training before you can By Elliot Chan, tutor,” said Salmon. “You have Staff Reporter readings, activities, and you sit in on other sessions to observe he Douglas College more experienced tutors. After TLearning Centre starts off that I speak with you and ask every semester by recruiting how you are feeling and see new peer tutors. The number if you need more training— fl uctuates between 20 and nobody ever says they need 35 peer tutors, which means more training. By the time they there is often a waiting list for are done they are ready to sit students who need assistance. with a student. Throughout the The Learning Centre hires term they get 2 and a half more accordingly, depending on the hours of training every week.” courses off ered at the college. Peer tutors receive benefi ts Biology 1000, Chemistry 1000, for their assistance, including and English 1130 tend to require $11.20/hour, health and welfare, extra-curricular help, and the and a College Reading and centre often seeks students with Learning Association certifi cate, expertise in those areas. which is a professional “My opinion of a quality certifi cate in three levels that peer tutor is one who is allows peer tutors to tutor very high achieving,” said independently or at other Holly Salmon, Learning institutions without extra Centre coordinator. “They training. are independent learners or Application forms and more someone who loves to learn. But information about becoming a Photo courtesy of Elliot Chan when I ask peer tutors who they peer tutor can be found online want as a part of their team, to sit down once a week to go come in when you hit a wall,” come in to apply and we ask at www.douglas.bc.ca/services/ they say they want someone over homework, assignments, said Salmon, “and you want them to provide names of two learning-centre/about/tutor. fun, has a lot of team spirit, and and lecture notes. These one- help.” faculty references,” said Salmon. html. Job postings can be found someone who is serious about hour meetings are limited, and Students who have high “I get emails from instructors a on the Douglas College job school.” sometimes require a waiting list. academic standards and want lot actually, ‘so and so came in board. The service is free for any The other option is a “Quick to share it with the community and talked to me and I support If you are seeking a students enrolled in a credit Question” 25-minute drop-in can also apply to be a peer them.’” peer tutor to help with you course at Douglas. Peer tutors session that off ers students the tutor before or after receiving The Learning Centre academic needs, please visit off er two types of sessions: opportunity to ask one key recommendations from an has certain requirements for www.douglas.bc.ca/services/ the weekly one-hour session question about their studies. instructor. students who want to be peer learning-centre/tutoring.html allows students and peer tutors “Our expectation is that you “We have students that tutors, such as being a registered for more information. Douglas College to host community engagement forums College seeks partnerships be it through practicums, existing relationships between Douglas College, will also attend a good job engaging with the internships, co-op placements, or community groups and Douglas and is scheduled to deliver a community, but we want to learn that will benefit students other volunteer and employment College.