- aN Volume 23 e Issue 23 e April 7 1999 Room 1020-700 Royal Avenue New Westminster, BC V3L 5B2 submit@op.douglas.bc.ca fx//604.525.3505 — David Lam Campus Room a3107 Ph//604.527.5805 The Other Press is Douglas College’s autonomous student newspaper. We've been pub- lishing since 1976. The Other Press is run as a non-hierarchi- cal collective. Actually, nothing here is heirarchical. It’s all pretty flat. No bumps in the road, just independantly bumpy noggins. The OP is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters and monthly [as a magazine] during the summer. Our summer begins May 5. Which means our next copy deadline is April 26. Some sub- missions may be valued more than others. We receive our funding from a student levy collected every semester at registration, and from local and national adver- tising revenue. The Other Press is a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), a cooperative of student newspapers from across Canada. We adhere to CUP’s Statement of Common Principles and Code of Ethics. The Other Press reserves the right to choose what to pub- lish, and what not to publish, but usually we print every- thing, unless it is racist, sexist or homophobic. If you have any quibbles with what we choose, maybe you should get your lazy butt down here and help. Or not help. Whichever you're more comfortable with. Coordinators Athletics ~ Hamish Knox sports @op. douglas. bc.ca Athletics Coq. ~ Mike Quong Culture ~ Jen Swanston a&e@op.douglas.bc.ca Culture Coq. ~ Ryan Kuzek Coquitlam ~ Lorenzo Sia coq_coordinator@op. douglas. bc.ca CUP Liaison ~ Cathy Tan cup@op.douglas.bc.ca CUP Assist: Jennifer Swanston Distribution ~ Pierre Florendo Features ~ the Martin/Swanston connection features@op.douglas.bc.ca News ~ Annette Martin news@op.douglas.bc.ca OP/Ed ~ Tom Laws opinions@op. douglas. bc.ca OP/Ed Cog. ~ Michael Cox Photography ~ Dave Tam photo@op. douglas. bc.ca Photo Assistant: Kristina Holtz Production Assitance ~ Tom & Hame production_co@op.douglas. bc.ca Webslinger ~ Mark Smeets op_web@op. douglas. bc.ca Employees New West Advertising ~ Vacant ad@op.douglas.bc.ca Coquitlam Advertising ~ John Morash Bookkeeping ~ Zahra Jamal Production Resource ~ Joyce Robinson production@op.douglas.bc.ca Editorial Resource ~ Corene McKay cormc@vecn.bc.ca Contributors the people what helped out: Sarah Turvey, Jason Kurylo, Miguel McDonald, Sherri Thomas, Andrew Carrol, Sarah Glen, Dawn Ascbacher, Tara Legare, Darren Susin, Maya Fatmawati, Lori Robinson, K. Marty, Hooly, The Rev., Hame, Tania, Dan Carnrite, James C., Gweny Wong. K. Marty SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Friday March 26, 1999 was a significant day in the history of Douglas College. Not only did media from around the Lower Mainland converge on the New Westminster Campus for a spe- cial announcement by Glen Clark, Premier of British Columbia, but a government secret agenda was also revealed to college administrators and the executive of Douglas College Student Society (now known as DSU). “We couldn't say anything while the press was around,” whispered DSU president-elect Miranda Tireless, “But were just so proud that the premier of the province would take such a personal interest in our prob- lems.” Immediately following a media scrum, a PA announce- Letters I am writing in after ders of different peoples. OSE ment echoed across the campus, “Clarky has left the building. Clarky has left the building.” That was the cue to reveal the real purpose of his visit, and a small contingent of administrators, students, staff and faculty trooped quietly into the Student Building. Preferring to ignore the, “Leaky Condos Have Nothing On Us” and, “We Want Our Money Back” banners hanging promi- nently across the entrance, Clark—a little shaken but not stirred by his run-in with the media—marched straight up to the candy kiosk. Flashing his trademark toothsome grin, he purchased a five cent candy, a package of condoms, “Because you just never know,” and a Twinkie to munch on during the limousine ride home. Then it was time for the main area of business, and he moved into the old cafeteria where DSU reps and staff from Brooklyn Tap and Grill were waiting. “You deserve this,” he began, “You've worked hard for it, and we, your government, are here to see that you get it.” His announcement was met with loud cheers, and he had to pause before he could continue. “As you know, this govern- ment is committed to higher education, and doing every- thing we possibly can to make students’ lives easier.” More appreciative applause. “To this end, we are announcing today a $1 million dollar grant for a student pub at Douglas College, because a drunk student is a happy stu- dent, and we like happy stu- dents!” At this the crowd went wild, and stormed the lectern, lifting the premier onto the shoulders of several DC Reps and carrying him off to participate in an eed Real announcement after media scrum disperses unfinished general meeting. His anxious entourage followed, muttering, “Don’t drop that Twinkie.” Special OP correspondent, K. Marty, later learned—from an unnamed source—that the pre- mier’s announcement is an anti- dote for the government's tuition freeze. “If large numbers of students can be encouraged to drink [cheap] beer during class times, and miss scheduled classes,” said the informer, “the govern- ment will feel less guilty about not funding college courses affected by frozen tuition fees.” Now that this hidden agenda has been uncovered, it’s diffi- cult to say how students will react. When contacted before the newspaper deadline, DSU president-elect Miranda Tireless was unavailable for comment. “I think she’s gone for a beer,” said her assistant. Free stuff Page2 April71999 reading Andrew Carroll's “Kiss Ass” article. Yes, it can be difficult to admit to having faults, especially unacceptable faults as racism. I am glad that he has faced that part of himself though I do wonder at his comment “...being a prod- uct of a racist society has prevented me from from getting sexually intimate with my queer brothers of colour.” I don’t deny that sex is a large part of the human experience as it is necce- sary for humans to repro- duce but it should never be all-consuming. I get the impression from Andrew’s statement that sex is or may be almost all consuming. Am I wrong? For my part, I too have faced my faults and con- tinue to battle them. In all honesty, I may have had moments of stereo- typing other people but as early as elementary school I was friendly with people of other cultures. I admit that my lack of exposure to other cultures kept my eyes closed to the won- The Other Press It took coming to col- lege to truly open my eyes to the beauty (inner and outer) and wonder of all human beings. When I was younger, I had an image (rather inflexible) of my ideal mate and life partner. She had to be from my culture, be beau- tiful and have long hair (whether blonde, ebony, or brunette). Meeting people at col- lege, from different cul- tures with widely differ- ent characteristics changed my perspective immensely and there’s no going back! I count among my best friends a beautiful young woman by the name of Fong and other people (male and female) from different cultures. I go to a church with both an English and Mandarin fellowship and feel at home there. I know people who are far less open-minded than I am and I feel badly for them. It saddens me when I see racist graffiti in the col- lege or anywhere else. May the Lord help us all, Patrick Longworth The Other preSS is giving away copies of the Crash Test Dummies’ new CD Give yourself a hand, featuring the hit single ‘Keep a lid on things.’ We’re also giving away t-shirts. Again seek ye room 1020, ask for the “grver Bway of ee stuff.