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An extravagant proposal

/m so over over-the-top
marriage proposals

By Natalie Serafini,
Opinions Editor

N: to be a party
pooper, but I’m
getting really sick of all
these great big, elaborate
marriage proposals that
are produced, performed,
and posted online. You
know, the videos that you
stumble across every once
in a while that advertise
“Best Marriage Proposal
Ever!” or “Barbershop
Quartet Proposal!” You
click on them out of morbid
curiosity and a faint hope
that she'll say ‘no’ just for
entertainment value. In
these videos, everyone
always cries, they say yes,
and they present what
seems to be the new thing
in marriage proposals:
extravagance.

lll grant that these

 

proposals aren’t as
objectionable as the
disturbing trend of faking
your own death before
proposing. One Russian
man set up a dramatic car
crash scene where he posed
dead before popping the
question to his hysterical
girlfriend. The man behind
the plan, Alexey Bykov,
stated that “I wanted her
to realize how empty her
life would be without me
and how life would have no
meaning without me.”
Obviously the
extravagant proposals are
preferable to the psychotic
ones, but does anyone
else think they’re equally
manipulative? Even if the
happy couple has discussed
their plans to get hitched,
it’s possible that one of
them could be pretending,
or unaware of their
feelings until the proposal
comes blaring down the
tracks. Then, if you say
no after your possible
fiancé-to-be has proposed

via barbershop quartet,
flashmob, or extreme-
choreographed-lip-sync,
you look like the biggest
bitch on the planet because
he obviously loves you and
you can’t put aside your
reservations for just one
lifetime and say yes.

Truly, you’re stuck.
Especially with all these
smiling, out-of-breath
friends, family, and
professional performers
staring at you expectantly.
Everyone will think this
elaborate performance is
somehow demonstrative of
love and affection. It seems
like proposals have gotten
to be a competition: who
can make their loved one
cry the soonest, who can
put together the biggest,

most bamboozling proposal.

After a certain point, it’s
not even a demonstration
of love. It’s not personal,
endearing, or heartfelt.

I recently watched a
video of this guy proposing,
and the whole thing felt

Is genetic modification necessary or appropriate?

By Joel MacKenzie,
Staff Writer

Ren a study was

released in the journal
Food and Chemical Toxicology
showing mice that had
developed massive tumours
as a result of being fed
genetically modified
corn. For two years, a
varying percentage of
the mice’s diets consisted
of corn modified to be
resistant to glyphosate,
a chemical marketed by
Monsanto under the name
Roundup. While the study’s
methodologies and motives
have been questioned, it did
raise important concerns
about the use of genetic
modification for the sake
of human beings. The Other
16

Press interviewed Douglas
College students to gather
opinions about this issue.
Many are against the
use of genetically modified
food and animals, seeing
the process as unnatural.
Jenna Miles would “rather
[food] not be genetically
modified... it could

66

introduce things into
your body that probably
shouldn't be in there in
the first place.” Kayla
Steinman doesn’t “agree
with experimentation on
animals. At all.” Animals,
she argues, “shouldn’t
be brought up for

experimentation... if the rest
of the body gets used, fine,
but not just for science.”
She sees other animals as
being too similar to humans
to justify raising them for
experimentation: “wWould
you want to be bred for
science?” Carly de Moissac
and Renée Naidel both

agree that it is unnatural.
Naidel added that foods
like the “prapple” (a cross
between a pear and an
apple) shouldn’t exist:

“aIf they were meant to be
together, they would be
together.” Rajvinder Mrock
argues that what goes into

so insincere. As if he

had studied other mega-
proposals to ensure that

his was the best one. I

know everyone plans the
proposal, but with him it
felt really contrived. I think
that feeling of artifice is
what puts me off of the
whole extravagant proposal
thing. You have to plan it all
out and get the right people
at the right place at the right
time and force everything
to go well. It becomes a
story about you—as in

the genetic modification
of plants and animals “in
the long run” goes into us,
making it unacceptable.
Some were indifferent
to the process, or saw it
as necessary for the sake
of scientific advancement.
Toby Zhang admits that
when it comes to modifying
food or animals for the
sake of the earth, “I don’t
really care.” In regards to
testing genetically modified
foods, he responded that
“someone has to test that.”
To me, genetic
modification is a prime
example of how humans
have asserted their power
over animals, and of the

..genetic modification is a prime example of how humans have
asserted their power over animals, and of the lengths we will go to
separate ourselves from the earth that we belong to and depend on.

lengths we will go to
separate ourselves from the
earth that we belong to and
depend on. It’s unnatural
because it’s changing what
has naturally evolved to
exist on the earth, and it’s
too dangerous to be used on
a large scale, as we have no

   

Photo courtesy of www.womanfirstnet

singular, you who planned
the proposal—rather than
a joint experience that led
to your joint life together.
God forbid any part of the
performance should go
wrong, lest the reviews be
less than stellar.

True, you decide that
you want to propose, and
you plan when and how
to do it, but after a certain
point the sincerity is lost
and all you’re left with is a
circus.

way of testing the long-term
effects.

When done to solve
environmental problems,
or for the sake of efficiency,
genetic modification is
simply too risky. It could
stop diseases and reduce
carbon emissions, which
would be amazing feats,
but . bBefore we resort to
changing genetics to clean
up these problems, we
should focus our efforts
on ways to reduce their
causes, which we are
directly related to. Similarly,
before resorting to genetic
modification for efficiency,
we should focus our
technology on advancing
the way food is produced.

I refuse to believe
that genetic modification
is the best solution to
the efficiency and the
environmental problems we
are facing in our society. We
need increased awareness
or consideration of the
long-term consequences
our actions are having on
the earth, lest we reach a
point at which we run out
of remedies.