issue 14 / volume 40

Nobody wants your backpack in their face

» And other public transit tips

Sophie Isbister
Life & Style Editor
fae Mlifeandstyle

acts @theotherpress.ca

  

xcuse me while I rant a

bit. I don’t usually devote
column inches to griping about
the behaviour of my fellow
students, but it seems each
semester our time away from
the daily grind causes us to
completely forget to ride public
transit like a respectful human
being—if we ever learned to
begin with. So far, throwing
shade at backpack-wearers and
aisle-blockers hasn’t been a
winning strategy in my crusade
for transit etiquette, so I’m
turning toa good old op-ed on
manners. Because somebody
has to.

First off, take your damn
backpack off. I know you may be
thinking, how much space can
my one little backpack take up?
Answer: a lot, when everyone
does it. Not to mention, the
people who actually do get a

: seat on a crowded morning bus
: definitely don’t want your filthy,
: germy book-holster thrusting

: itself into their freshly awoken

: faces. It’s not a good look.

Next, move to the back of

: the bus—or at least listen to the
: bus driver when he or she asks

: you to. The bus driver is not just
: playing some sick, pointless

: game when they repeatedly ask
: passengers to move on back.

: You know that awful feeling

: whena bus zips by you with a

: “Sorry, bus full” message? It’s

: even more awful when you can

: see seats and space enough for

: at least eight people in the back.
: I know you love your music in

: the morning, but when you're

: riding transit, please keep one

: ear open so you can hear the

: bus driver when they ask you to
: move to the back. Unless you

: can be trusted to figure it out for
: yourself.

Be alert when riding transit.

: Pay attention to who is around
: you—make sure you vacate a
: courtesy seat (those are the

: seats at the front of the bus or

: near the doors on the SkyTrain)
: if you see someone who needs

: it. Ifyou see someone struggling
: to get by you to move to the

: back, it might mean you need

: tomove back also. Listen to the
: bus driver and pay attention to
: the social cues of those around
: you. This way, we all get where

: we need to go and hold onto

: that last remaining shred of

: sanity.

Above all, participating in

: public life means recognizing

: that you are not the only person
: on the bus. This includes simple
: things such as watching the

: amount of perfume or cologne

: you wear, not eating smelly or

: messy food, keeping your music
: volume at a level only you can

: hear, and being aware of people

: around you. I know mornings

: are rough, and I also know that

: riding public transit on the daily
: might bea new thing for you—

: so keep these tips in mind and

: avoid being someone’s pet peeve
: of the day.

r J in fj

 

life & style // 11

 

 

 

By Ed Appleby

 

Peeling the banana of bathroom condom etiquette

» How public condoms symbolize society's over-sexualization

Christopher DeMarcus,
Contributor (The Cascade)

Wr is proper condom
etiquette?
No, not how to put it on.

I think I can understand the
instructions—though I’m sure

how-to videos.

I'm not talking about
how to protect a banana. I’m
talking about the bowls of
condoms that have been left in
bathrooms on my campus. Is

one? Am J allowed to double-
dip? What happens if we touch
hands when we both grab at it?
Is it okay if I use them to make
water balloons?

Investigative reporting
knows no bounds.

that it is not “take a condom,
leave a condom.” Apparently,
the bowls of rubbers were
not left for a free market of
contraception trade, but for
health reasons. Condoms aren’t
just for preventing babies,
they’re for preventing disease.
Okay, I admit. I knew that—we
know that.

But condoms go on the
penis. An organ which is

: regarded as highly private; the

: most offensive organ in our

: culture, even more grotesque

: when erect. On an aesthetic

: level, condom bowls don’t feel

: right in public places. A private
: bar or gas station bathroom is

: the native home of the condom
there are also plenty of YouTube : dispenser, not the public
: university.

Of course, we know

: condoms allow for a go per cent
: STD- and baby-free ride. All the
: fun with none of the trouble.

: They get sold to us any way

the rule, “take a condom, leave a : they can: for empowerment,

” po
condom?” Can I take more than : sanitation, pleasure, confidence
: and security. We get it.

: Condoms are good for us, like a

: sexual vitamin C.

But if we’re going to cross

: the line with making the private
: public, why are we stopping

‘ : with condoms? The bathrooms

The first thing I learned was : should have free pamphlets
: on how to hunt down and

: prevent breast and prostate

: cancer. Don’t worry about the

: cost; we'll pay for the messages
: with advertising revenue from
: social media networks. Think

: of the possibilities: the public

: washroom could become the

: new private bathroom.

Like it or not, how we get

down on each other has become :
: public. Whether it’s China’s :

: one-child policy or how Canada :
: gives foreign aid in the form

: of birth control, sexuality is

: regulated; the government says
: condoms are good.

We think of ideas like

: sexual commitment, natural

: planning, or vasectomy

: as silly—or even more

: blasphemous: as permanent.

: The condom doesn’t only

: protect us from health issues,

: italso prevents us from having
: to make a promise. Thanks

: to the condom we'll never get

: tied down by that pesky ex-

: human we dated. Condoms are
: freedom and flexibility. You

: can enjoy the sex buffet now,

: and try to make a baby later in
: life—when the time is right.

: Biomechanics be damned, we

: have the technology to drive us
: into a perfect future.

The concepts of sexuality

: “ : ”
: asa “form of expression” or

“empowerment” are old. Sex

: today is most often about

: lust and pleasure, nothing

: more. There is no love. There
: is no connection. There is no
: responsibility. We don’t need
: it. We have the technology to
: throw each other away when
: we're done.

Exactly 50 years ago from

the time of writing this article,
: Aldous Huxley died. Unlike

: JFK—who died the same day—
: Huxley slipped away quietly

: in his bed at the age of 69.

: Kennedy was filmed getting

: shot by a sniper at age 46.

: We tend to recall Kennedy’s

: Camelot over Huxley’s Brave :
: New World. We remember JFK’s :
: sex life more than Huxley’s

: vision of an over-sexualized

: future. In our modern world,
: condoms are caring. They are
: morality. They are the way we

keep healthy.

: They protect us from the
: unknown.

But health isn’t just the

: mechanics of biology and

: psychology. It is the social

: connections of our psyche, our
: human spirituality.

Perhaps it’s time we think

: more about committal attitudes
: and love. About deeper

: connections and the value of

: sexuality, instead of the cost

: of it. Maybe we'd get in less

: trouble if we kept our penises to
: ourselves until the time is right.
: Maybe it’s time to return to

: building trust instead of lust, or
: at the very least, learning that

: responsibility can't come from
: a bowl in the

: bathroom.

 

By www.intimatehealthhelp.net