WHO WE ARE The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student registration, and from local and national advertising newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an revenue. The Other Press is a member of the Canadian autonomous publication, independent of the student University Press (CUP), a syndicate of student union. We are a registered society under the Society newspapers that includes papers from all across ° Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person Canada. L tt th E d t ° board of directors appointed by and from our staff. The Other Press reserves the right to choose e er Yom e 1 OF: Our head office is located in the New Westminster what we will publish, and we will not publish campus. material that is hateful, obscene, or condones or e The Other Press is published weekly during promotes illegal activities. Submissions may be T th e the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during edited for clarity and brevity if necessary. All images 0 IS al the summer. We receive our funding from a student used are copyright to their respective owners. e levy collected through tutition fees every semester at e e ihe SUT RB eee ls er ress e student ae ae since 1978 Room 1020 - 700 Royal Ave. TELEPHONE: 604.525.3542 Douglas College WEBSITE: www-theotherpress.ca 2 New Westminster, BC V3L 5B2 EMAIL: editor@theotherpress.ca dWay @ EDITOR IN CHIEF ASSISTANT EDITOR BUSINESS MANAGER Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. I, like millions of others, was bullied as a kid. I mean, of course I was: I was a pudgy little girl, growing up with an ambiguous race in a predominately-white, middle- Sharon Miki Jacey Gibb Angela Ho class community. People made fun of my round face, my editor@theotherpress.ca assistant@theotherpress.ca accounting@theotherpress.ca spandexy style (hey, it may sound dumb now, but when you're 11 and rotund, it makes sense to swath yourself in SOCIAL MEDIA comfy lycra), and my bookwormy nerdiness. Sure, I was COORDINATOR DISTRIBUTION MANAGER NEWS EDITOR bullied, but I was lucky enough to move past it. Why? Well, ; I think I can look back at the pranks and name calling of my past without too much pain because I grew up in the ‘90s— in a pre-Internet age. I don’t think that kids today are as lucky. While bullying has always had terrible psychological Jonathan Roy Chris Paik Dylan Hackett consequences for its victims, kids nowadays are subjected socialmedia distribution news(@theotherpress.ca to mockery and torture that’s both all-pervasive and @theotherpress.ca @theotherpress.ca everlasting online. When I was little, I could go home after school and cry to my mom and read my books and escape. Once we grew up, most of my tormentors matured and moved on with their lives (I mean, they’re still jerks. But now they’re adult jerks and don’t yell at me out their car windows in front of their kids or anything). But now, kids go home and are followed by their bullies onto their Facebooks and other public spaces online. And, as anyone who’s ever made a sex tape likely knows, those Angela Espinoza Sophie Isbister Natalie Serafini words won't fade into nothing more than painful, distant arts@theotherpress.ca lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca opinions@theotherpress.ca memories—they will be somewhere online forever. ARTS EDITOR LIFE & STYLE EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR HUMOUR EDITOR STAFF WRITER The death of local teen Amanda Todd last fall really drove this point home in a dark and very real way. If Todd grew up ina different time, maybe she would have had a chance to grow up and move on—never forget, mind you, but move on. Unfortunately, she grew up now: in a time when bullying is as strong as ever, and where bullying could follow her beyond physical spaces and into her min—to the te = 4 point where she could no longer support herself. Josh Martin Livia Turnbull Eric Wilkins sports@theotherpress.ca humour@theotherpress.ca What this tells me is that the actions we're taking against bullying aren’t working. As Shane Koyczan’s spoken-word STAFF WRITER STAFF WRITER LAYOUT MANAGER poem, “To This Day,” attests, simply telling kids the old adage that sticks and stones will break bones but words won't hurt you is pointless. We need to find another way to raise our children in a culture where bullying isn’t cool; where kids find self esteem in ways other than hurting each other. We can’t keep pretending that bullying is innocuous, or kids who might otherwise have grown up as wonderful, productive people may never grow up. Keating Smith Elliot Chan Cody Klyne layout@theotherpress.ca The CKNW Ophans’ Fund annual Pink Shirt Day to combat GRAPHICS ILLUSTRATOR CONTRIBUTORS bullying is Wednesday, February 27. Steven Cayer, Grant Crossley Sharon Miki Avalon Doyle, Savis Irandoost Sonia Keshane, Aidan Mouellic, Monica Rolinski, Leslie Ste. Marie, Joel McCarthy Ed Appleby Bryce Tarling, Adam Tatelman graphics @theotherpress.ca illustrator @theotherpress.ca SS