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Philosophy Club hosts meme contest

Submissions not limited
to philosoraptor

By Dylan Hackett, News Editor

his year’s newly-charted

DSU Philosophy Club is
launching their multi-campus
group with a meme contest.
Deadline to submit an original
meme is Thursday, March 7,
and given the intellectually
stimulating future that Armin
Mirsanaye hopes the club will
have, prizes include Chapters
gift cards.

“I’ve been fascinated by
comical and creative memes that
have come out of the Internet
culture, like the philosoraptor
or wise Confucius,” Mirsanaye
said. “So we decided to make
a contest that would be as easy
as making a meme and helps
you use your brain at the same
time. Everyone likes winning
prizes, so we're giving away gift
cards—$25 at Chapters for the
best one and $15 of your choice
[of Starbucks or Tim Hortons]
for the second and third place.”

The club encourages
potential meme-makers to come
post their original meme to
their Facebook page or bring

them to the club’s twice-a-week
meetings. The current meeting
schedule accommodates both
Douglas campuses, with New
Westminster meetings taking
place on Mondays at 4:30 p.m.
in the DSU building, room 206,
and David Lam meetings on
Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in room
C1002.

“Most of the time, the
topics [we discuss] introduce
some political controversy or
social concern. Anyone with
any point of view is welcome
and encouraged to join or
lead topics,” said Mirsanaye.
“Itis a very friendly and chill
environment. We also play
some games we have designed
that really make discussions
interesting.”

Mirsanaye founded the club
after seeking out a discussion-
based, thought-provoking club
to join and finding that there
was a deficit of secular, apolitical
organizations—though a few
Douglas clubs host discussions
on Christianity. After council
from philosophy instructor
Michael Picard, Mirsanaye
thought it would work best to
start his own group.

The club is aimed at
attracting students who “love
talking about, thinking of, and
being around philosophy,”

Thoreau
eee petre eeeeter

oY

‘ah

‘ Bay:

Sey HooL eit y say niu

according to Mirsanaye.
“Perhaps you want to meet
peers who can challenge you.
Maybe you want to develop
some ideas for an assignment
or need help with philosophy,
and the most important thing
for many is to make friends and
build a network.”

While no guest speakers of

the club’s own are on the near
horizon, the club is actively
promoting the ShitHarperDid.
com Live! Comedy Tour, which
is making its rounds through
Canadian post-secondary
institutions. The event will take
place on the last Wednesday

of the month, March 25, in the
student lounge.

Douglas pledges action against bullying

Campaign encourages
students to DO’
something Rind

By Dylan Hackett, News Editor

L” Wednesday, students
and staff at both Douglas
campuses, garbed in rosy hues,
marked Pink Shirt Day by
pledging to carry out acts of
kindness in the college. Those
not already donning pink shirts
were given a commemorative
T-shirt and students who
tweeted “#BullyingStopsHere”
along with a pledge were
entered to win three limited-
edition pink Douglas hoodies,
granted to Jessica Taschner,
Cordi Tanguay, and the Douglas
Outdoors Club.

The letters “DO,”
coloured pink, stood in the
New Westminster concourse

4

and by the early afternoon,
were covered in dozens of
sticky notes that read positive
messages such as “Difference
is the joy in life,” “Stand up for
someone,” and “You rock. Don’t
ever change.”

“We wanted there to
be engagement,” said Chris
Raeside, student staffer with
Douglife. “At our video station,

random person a hug’—[having
students] actually do something

kind, or telling us about
something kind they do on
campus. To steal a line from the

Marketing and Communications

Office, ‘At Douglas College, we
DO kindness.”
Organizers took a less

didactic approach than practiced

by many other anti-bullying

simultaneously taking place

at David Lam and New
Westminster. Douglife, the
Office for New Students,
Employee Development, and
the Health and Safety office
collaborated on all aspects of the
organization—all in concert with
the engagement and barrier-
breaking themes that shaped the
event.

Organizers took a less didactic approach than practiced by many other
anti-bullying efforts, encouraging active kindness and mindfulness
instead of deriding negative behaviour and those who bully.

students would come up and
say, ‘I will promote kindness

at Douglas College by telling a
random person in the hallway
that they look great today!’ The
other [station] was that they
had to pull an action out of the
hat. They said ‘give a random
person a high-five’, ‘give a

efforts, encouraging active
kindness and mindfulness
instead of deriding negative
behaviour and those who bully.
Unlike most concourse
events, Pink Shirt Day was
put on in collaboration with
several college departments
that planned out the activities

“What we think was
great about the day was cross-
college involvement—we
had employees involved, we
had students involved, we
had support from the DSU in
what we were doing,” said
Nancy Constable, director
of safety, security, and risk

 

Photo courtesy of DSU Philosophy Club (Facebook)

“I would really like people
to join me in organizing the club.
It belongs to all Douglas College
students,” explained Mirsanaye.
“The Philosophy Club is for
anyone who has a passion for
intelligent conversation and
making friends.”

management at Douglas. “It was
so collaborative and there were
so many ideas coming from
students... it was a great chance
to come together and that was
the important message that we
really wanted to get out there
for the day.”

Near the close of the anti-
bullying event, Bryan Aquino of
the Douglas College Hip Hop
club led the concourse in some
steps, forcing participants to
practice movement—not just
kindness.

“Our goal [with the dance]
was to break down the barrier
and make people not feel
uncomfortable about getting up
because they know when they
get up there they’re not going to
be bullied,” explained Raeside.

Pink Shirt Day is recognized
across Canada and was started
by Nova Scotian high school
students in response to a fellow
student being bullied for
wearing a pink shirt to school.