This issue of the Other Press has been brought to you by these people (and others) · Don't you love them so? Table Cont 28 30 , Georwe s Malady· Now if :r: could just prowam t ·his VCR to tape "Friends." - I guess it had to happen. The deli tions of its members." This is not At worst, when foisting spurious O where I go for sandwiches has a to say that he did not cherish propaganda, mission statements ~ mission statement. Posted in billboard such beliefs, only that he was too are misleading. At best, they are +-' proportions behind the counter, where busy eradicating a disease to superfluous. One local retail outlet, the menu should be, is their corporate embroider the words on a doily in a "statement of core values" C manifesto, replete with such feel-good and have them framed. issued to its employees, imparts 0 sentiments as "We recognize and But we Jive in a time when the stunning revelation, "We respect the rights of others" and "We humility and quiet accomplish­ recognize that profitability is · acknowledge the diversity in our ment are seen as weaknesses, essential to our success." Well, U community." The poor harried em­ when enterprising executroids duh. Might as well include the part C ployee making my sandwich behind buy off-the-rack personalities about opening the doors. As for the counter was so busy respecting . from Tony Robbins and other the respect-the-rights-of-others 0 rights and acknowledging diversity such snake oil salesmen, when type of statements, these are •- that he forgot the mustard. what you say is more important nothing more than institutionalized Cl) Nowadays, you can't swing a PR than what you do. edicts to "play nice"- something Cl) flack without hitting a mission state- And considering the expense we all should have learned in • _ ment. Open a brochure, pick up a and effort that often goes into kindergarten . ...::::"' newsletter, enter an office, and there preparing a mission statement, There is nothing inherently tiiiii!IC- it is-a screed of self-congratulatory the lack of originality is appalling. wrong, of course, with an organiza­ piffle-empty, plastic words masquer­ The same sanctimonious tion striving to be virtuous and ading as noble declarations. bafflegab, cut from the same productive, or wanting to define its I may be wrong, but cookie cutter, appears across the goals for the benefit of its mem­ I don't Columbus had corporate spectrum-lifeless, bers and the public. The practice of a mission statement. stultifying balloon juice that entrenching these ideals in a He had a mission, to be sure, but I barely registers on the conscious­ mission statement becomes doubt he posted a statement in the ness. So many companies today insidious, however, when the words galley of the Santa Maria to the effect are eager to accept new chal­ supersede the action, as if just that "We are committed to exploring lenges that you'd be inclined to saying it were enough to make it uncharted territory" or "We recognize think we live in a nation of corpo­ so. Besides, as much as I enjoy the right of all crewmen to rape, rate daredevils. The truth, of being respected, recognized and plunder and pillage." course, is that challenges are acknowledged, sometimes I just Jonas Salk did not publish a state­ problems, and nobody likes want the mustard. ment declaring that his research team problems-least of all profit­ "respects and values the contribu- conscious corporations. 1------------------------- Opi~tiiiiiJ --------------------'----- 3 Editorial Yes, this is still your doesn't cost us any more over the summer, due to a student newspaper. Okay, than our Other Press fees. lack of students. Secondly we lie. It's really a maga­ Which you've paid already. is the lack of students. zine, but underneath, we're So you can come down here What's the point of scoop­ still the same friendly Other and get creative and talk ing a national story if the Pressers we've always been about your ideas (or lack next issue doesn't come out There's a reason for our thereof) and it's okay if you for three weeks, and only unprecedented metamor­ knock over a few chairs in 1000 or so students are phosis. You see, a student frustration while you're at around to read about it? newspaper does not only it. st don't throw them, and This issue marks a exist to pro~de_ you with we'll be happy. departure for the OP, as well reading material and infor­ Now is the perfect time as a test. It's tough being a mation. If it did, the Other to come down, too, be­ newspaper when you only Press would probably have cause there's a lot of stuff come out monthly. The been taken obver by some happening. Too much stuff. Georgia Strait has a shelf department of administra­ It's an annoying trend. Why life of a week, and the OP is tion by now. (Communica­ is it that all the truly inter­ published biweekly (as in tions and Marketing, per­ esting things at this school once every two weeks, not haps.) happen during the summer? twice weeky) over the fall But we haven't been, and Last year in amidst the and winter semester. But that's because the OP is government's revision of during the summer there staffed by people wo would their student loan policy (a isn't the demand for a never let thtat happen, story that the OP scooped biweekly paper (except because the real reason over every newspaper in BC, from certian members of why student press exists is if we may be so bold) and the DCSS who just can't go because it's a learning the resignation of Bill Day I for more than a month experience, and we're not hiring of Susan Hunter­ without their dose of Other­ about to let the administra­ Harvey-Hunter (never could ness.) A monthly newspaper tion, or anyone else for that remember her name), the doesn't make a lot of sense. matter, take away dur DCSS president resigned A monthly magazine learning experience. amidst an election scandal does. The format lends This particular issue we're and an entire chemistry itself to exploring issues to learning about how to do a class protested- their final a greater extent than a magazine. We didn't get it grades. newspaper. But does it perfect, but we're pretty This summer is already work, in your opinion? We're darn proud of it. off to a rousing start, looking for feedback here. A heck of a lot of inter­ seeing the resignation of What do you think of the viewing, writing, editing, Susan Harvey-Hunter­ recent changes to the OP? rewriting, photographing, Harvey and the beginnings Do you like the magazine developing and praying to of the DCSS student build­ format? Do you think we the deity that rules over ing, which has been in the should stick with it during computer networks goes planning stages for nearly a the summers? The Other into every issue we put out. decade. Press is your paper, and we We work harder and longer This trend is disturbing want to know your opinion. at this thing then we ever here at the OP for two If you're not oing to come do at our classes and we reasons. The first is that we down and help, it's the least get more out of it, and it only publish once a month you could do. 4 July 4, 1996 - Volume 20 Issue 17 The Other Press is Douglas College's autonomous student newspaper. We have been publishing since 1976. Being autonomous means neither tile Douglas College Student Society nor the College Administration nor the government can tell the Other res$ what to print. The paper is under the sole contrOl and utter domination of the students of Douglas CoUeg lease feel free to come on down to our basemeqt c ve and 'ixcetcise your power. By contributing to two out of threq consequetive issues in a semester, you too c beco~e a voting •~r member. The Other Press is 0111 as a rnl!Jeirarchical collective. Sort of. At any ra no ones in charge, so don't phone and ask for our residept ... we don't have CD -· one. CD a We receive our funding om a student levy collected every serncst at registrati n, and ftom local and a.• national advertising revenlle. The Othei Press is a mep1ber of tlie Canadian University Pre a cooperative of student newspapers cr from across Canada. We claim to adhere to CUP's Statement of Common Principles and Code of Ethics. The Other Press reserves the right to choose what to m publish, and what not to publish. If you have any quibbles with what we chOQse, maybe you should get n your lazy butt down !)ere and help. Letters to the Other Pres hould be a maximum of 500 words but if you can wri e something longer ~ withol't repeating y rtelf, we may print it. Letters ~uld be legible. lfthey're n disk, we will be very bappy. Each letter must include writer's name and phone number (how~ver, if so asked, the OP will publish letters phone numbers are never to edit for Dear Editor, So here we are in 1996, with four ... Women face resistance from more years to the year 2000!! I am those around them when trying to told we've come a long way, baby as leave abusive and controlling relation­ the Virginia Slim's slogan would have ships.