Some advice for Facebook creepers

By Ashley Whillans

s if status, photo and hobbies/
Aerie creeping on

Facebook aren’t bad enough,
we have now come up with an even
more intimate way to learn about
people, without ever having to talk to
them. I’m talking about the “25 Things
Survey.”

If someone sat down beside you
and listed 25 random things about
themselves, would you think they
were smart or funny or attractive?

I seriously doubt it. So, then why

do we continue to fill out these
pointless questionnaires? Are we
hoping to inspire others with our
accomplishments? Reveal ourselves to
random strangers in hopes of learning
more about ourselves? Make a new
friend? Attract a new love? The list
goes on.

Okay, okay I have to admit I did
fill out one of these surveys, but I
still can’t stop wondering, what on
earth possessed me to waste so much
time filling out a pointlessly long

acebook

 

questionnaire about myself. Besides the
obvious attraction of doing anything
and everything except my homework,
what was the real motivation

behind rants, companionship and
understanding?

Let’s take into consideration the
following situation: a blind date. I
know when you are meeting someone
for the first time it can be scary,
especially if they are dating material.
Doing a bit of a background check can
make the conversation less awkward.
Hey, why not even check out their “25
Things Survey” to find out what they’re
all about? Seems promising, doesn’t
it? Yeah, I think not. After a blind date
dilemma last week, I am now a believer
of taking the time to get to know
someone in person.

Although my date and I knew of
each other through mutual friends, we
had never met face to face, and agreed
to meet at Starbucks, which is pretty
much the most inconspicuous place
ever. Before long it became apparent
this guy knew a lot about me, and
that we had a lot of the same interests
despite never having met. Sounds
great right? Wrong. It turns out he took
“note.”

Having common interests and
shared knowledge is one thing, but
quoting information off my Facebook
page, in particular my “25 Things”
note, and then asking me about it, like
some sort of job interview, is something
else entirely.

It is pathetic that people, such as
my date, have to resort to looking up

Bates

my interests on Facebook in hopes of
scoring some plus points by enjoying
the same music, hobbies and/or beliefs
as me.

Thanks to this guy not only do I
completely regret ever filling out that
damn survey, but I have come to the
conclusion, that maybe I should stop
looking for a point to the quiz, because
there isn’t one, and better yet, maybe
there shouldn’t be.

We have to start talking to those
cute people on the street before
researching them on Facebook, because
otherwise it’s just weird. Before I post
stupid surveys online again, which
will most likely happen when my
next assignment is due, I will have
to be more cautious about whom my
audience is, and make information
a little less truthful and a little more
outrageous.

But if you’re like me and simply
have to fill out the ridiculously
pointless, stupid and pathetic “25
Things Survey,” you might as well
make it interesting. Think of how fun
my blind date could have been then!

 

 

Will Stadium survive next year?

By Wendy A. Case

“Wn 2010 the world will descend upon
a NTn we nerve - ‘

VauCOUuVeL ana its suburbs for two
weeks in February. However, is our
transit system up to the task?

One of the main transit hubs for
the Olympics will be Stadium SkyTrain
Station. For the original SkyTrain
station this will be kind of like a
homecoming. Stadium Station debuted
at Expo °86, but will Stadium Station
be able to handle the massive influx of
transit riders for the Olympics?

Anyone who takes public transit
after a Canucks game knows that the
station is madness. At least eight transit
police officers are needed to conduct
fare checks and control the amount of
people who go up the stairs. It can be
a ten minute wait to get up the stairs
if you leave right away, and can be as
long as 20 minutes. From there, you
still have to catch a train. By the time
you usually get up to the platform the
trains going eastbound, away from the
downtown core, are full.

The Olympics will put far more
of a burden on the station. BC Place
is the bigger stadium that will seat
many more people. With the opening
and closing ceremonies taking place
there along with the medal presentation
ceremonies the burden on the station
will occur daily. Even worse, there will
also be a massive influx of workers to
the stadium to take care of concessions,
catering, setup, maintenance, and

stock. On top of the over 500 people
who currently work at BC Place it is
estimated that the amount of employees
will need to increase by 50-100 per
cent for the Olympics. If even half of
those workers take public transit the
wait for trains will be extended to a
couple hours after the events end as
the workers’ shifts have staggered end
times.

There are two other problems
with Stadium Station: the lack of both

 

an escalator and an elevator on the
stadium side of the station. The only
elevator leads to Tinseltown and the
escalator is also on the other side of

the station. For a city that’s hosting the
Paralympic Games that seems awfully
inaccessible. Anyone who cannot take
the stairs for whatever reason will have
to go the long way to the stadiums from
Tinseltown. Where are the people who
should be up in arms over this? Where
are the disability groups demanding

     

proper, equal access? For an Olympic
city that’s all about equality, our transit
system is obviously still quite lacking.
Stadium Station will probably
be the most used SkyTrain station for
the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
However, I find myself wondering what
sad state of disrepair it will be left in
afterwards if it doesn’t get fixed!

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