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School Wars: Episode II
Attack of the loans

Tales from beyond the deficit

By Jacey Gibb, Opinions Editor

A column that combines life’s most
important things: your education, Star
Wars, and bad wordplay

“He has more money than I have
debt!” I complained to a friend
while trying to find a secret Santa
present last month. I’d drawn

the name of someone who'd
already been teaching for several
years and was even starting his
master’s program. Meanwhile,
Vm still in my second year and
am living primarily off loans and
the money we get back from the
bottle depot every month. While
my friend and I got a chuckle out
of my exasperated declaration
about debt, I found myself quietly

collecting interest immediately
after you finish. Even if you get a
job right away, coming fresh out of
a program probably means you'll
be starting somewhere near the
bottom, both position and pay-
wise. For the first couple of years,
you'll likely be forced to cut down
on luxuries like holidays, new
gadgets, and non-discount produce
in order to accommodate the
payments. Hey, it’s almost like you
never stopped being a student!
I’m not trying to terrify you
to the point that you become
heavily invested in the lottery,
convinced it’s the only way you'll
be able to afford your education,
but it doesn’t hurt to be aware.
My parents were upfront with me
about my schooling and told me

“I'm not trying to terrify you to the point that you become heavily
invested in the lottery, convinced it’s the only way you'll be able to
afford your education, but it doesn’t hurt to be aware.’

calculating the exact number I had
accumulated thus far in loans. I
quickly deduced that that was
something for Future Jacey to
worry about—but perhaps this

is one of my generation’s main
problems.

According to a study
conducted in 2009 by The
Canadian Council on Learning,
the average university graduate
will accumulate $26,680 in loans
by the time they finish. While at
first glance this might not seem
like such a massive setback, you
have to take into account that even
though you have a shiny certificate
and a matching education to go
with it, that doesn’t guarantee you
ajob. I’m not going to bombard
you with the horror stories I’ve
been told about the job market
right now, but let’s just say that
it sucks. The age in which people
are forced to retire is constantly
changing to accommodate the baby
boomers, and our education system
is turning out more fine men and
women then ever before, meaning
there’s even more educated
competition. So finding a job when
you graduate won't exactly be a
cakewalk.

Also, in British Columbia,
you must begin repaying your
loans six months after you’ve left
your program. While this buffer
may seem like a grace period at
first, your loan actually begins

that I would have to take out loans,
but that’s the price you pay for a
good career. It’s never too late to
start applying for bursaries and
scholarships, two of the best ways
to help boost your bank account.

Or we can all fake our deaths
and flee the country, creating new
identities and dedicating our lives
to living on the road. I’ll be Jean-
Claude, a simple soap sculpture
carver from Nantucket who’s lucky
in cards but unlucky in love. Now
see, who says soul crushing debt
can’t be fun?

 

 

 

Opinions
Souls for sale: the
commercialization of

everything
When did we put a

.

    
 

 

ZOOKte.c

By Jacey Gibb, Opinions Editor

ne of the greatest lessons
I’ve learned from my time
at college can’t be found on

any of my so-far curriculums, but
is actually something that resulted
from a combination of education
and paranoia. I’m referring to my
recent shift towards being more
aware of my surroundings. While
some are content to just move
right along in life without asking
themselves any of the five Ws,
I’ve begun to be more suspicious
about motives and annoyed with
agendas. And the biggest offender
to my newfound consciousness is
undoubtedly advertising.

But hey, advertising isn’t
completely bad. Television networks
make a large part of their money
off of selling commercial spots
during whatever programs have
the highest ratings. If a website has
a higher amount of traffic (looking
at you, Facebook), then their value
increases thanks to web ads. Even
The Other Press has bills to pay, and
so we rent out precious space on
our pages to businesses looking
to reach the consumer base. What
I’ve become increasingly concerned
about is when does the need to
make money cross the line of
“selling out?”

While I’ve noticed an overall
increase in free, company-
sponsored events (the recent Grey
Cup concerts, last year’s Axe
Concert Series in Whistler) over
the years, my breaking point came
in December while taking in the
sights and sounds of the Santa
Claus Parade. Oh wait, I’m sorry!
The Roger’s Santa Claus parade.
Of course Christmas time is the
mac daddy of commercialization,
but it was disgusting to see that
every banner signalling out the
parade’s route touted the brand
name of my very own cellphone
company. At first, | argued with
myself over whether I’d rather
have a parade sponsored by a
major corporation or no parade at

price tag on society?

c J ere:

   

all. But after enduring an hour of
floats and free candy, I realized I
would much rather live in the sans-
parade world. Every float was a
shamelessly blatant advertisement,
whether it was a grand display

or just a guy wearing a Santa hat,
driving a company car. It was
nauseating at best, and I couldn’t
help but gawk at everyone around
me soaking up with the sales
pitches.

My mood had no time to
simmer, as | made my way home
on transit and noted how every
SkyTrain station and bus had
something to sell me via ads. Even
a large percentage of the other
vehicles on the road were trying to
inform me of their owner’s home
business and how | could get in
touch with them. I remember when
people having their business’
names plastered on their vehicles
was taboo, but now it seems to be
the norm.

While you might not find
ads on parade floats or motor
vehicles as infuriating as I do,
what about this: Godialing, a
mobile advertising company in
the States, is offering to take over
your monthly mortgage payments
for up to a year. In return, they
get to paint your house like one of
their billboards. That’s right! No
longer will you have to deal with
the First World problem of trying
to decide what colour to paint
your white picket fenced home.
When I mentioned this concept
to a friend, she was enthusiastic,
saying she would totally do it if
she had a mortgage. The problem
is that I probably would too, which
sickens me. A house is meant to be
a home—how can it be one when
it’s basically just another surface for
companies to sell stuff on.

I’m not just another consumer
with a hoard of cash, waiting for the
right moment to blow it on the next
frivolity that comes my way. I only
wish companies would start to see
me as something else too.

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