Shis issue:

{¥ Immigrating meals

(¥Y Why fluctuating income is alright

(Y Implications of religious freedom acts

And more!

Have your voice heard!

Contact: Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor

M opinions@theotherpress.ca

www.theotherpress.ca

 

Tips should be included in a server's wage

» Employers should make sure workers can afford a living

“h Fabian Mayer
The Gauntlet

Lo a 15 per cent tip at
a restaurant is the norm

in Canada. While tipping is
customary, we'd be better off
without it.

Servers are paid minimum
wage or less and rely on tips to
earn their living. In countries
like Japan and New Zealand,
servers are better paid and the
tip is included in the cost of
food.

This is a far better system.
The practice of tipping is
inconvenient, unfair, and
facilitates discrimination.

The otherwise pleasant
experience of eating at a
restaurant is punctuated by
the unsavoury moment where
you must evaluate your server’s
performance and figure out
how much to add to the bill.
Servers can legally make less
than the minimum wage.

This creates an unfortunate
situation where customers have
power over whether a server
can afford rent or tuition.

: tipping is inconvenient. The
: many apps designed to make
: calculating a tip easier attest to :
: this.

One common argument in

: favour of tipping is that servers :
: wouldn't have an incentive to

: provide good service without

: it. This isn’t the case. Servers

: would have the same incentive
: all employees have to do good
: work: keeping their job. In

: fact, the overly friendly and

: attentive service our system

: encourages can be annoying.

: The first bite of most meals at :
: arestaurant is accompanied by :
: the phrase “how is everything =:
: tasting so far?”

But there are deeper

: problems with tipping. Studies :
: from Cornell University show

: that tipping is largely affected
: by appearance, including

: race. Having a server's pay

: influenced by race is easily the
: most sinister part of tipping

: culture. In the United States,

: black servers receive around

: 10 per cent less in tips per

: interaction than their white

: counterparts.

Aside from being awkward, :

Given our cultural

 

: similarities, there’s little reason :
: to believe Canada is much
: different.

It’s uncomfortable to

: realize that a server’s salary
: is often linked to their

: appearance. Getting rid

: of tipping would ensure

that servers are paid the

: same regardless of their

: looks. Obviously, racial

: discrimination is a societal

: problem that can’t be solved by
getting rid of tipping. But we

: can take away one of the ways

: ethnic and racial minorities are :

Photo via thinkstock

: hurt by discrimination.

The restaurant experience

: would be better if we got rid of
tipping. And more importantly,
: one avenue of discrimination

: against people based on their

: looks or race would also be

eliminated.

 

No extended invitation for selfie sticks

» Music festivals deem photography tool narcissistic and unsafe

 
    
 

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
© opinions
@theotherpress.ca

o Coachella and

Lollapalooza, well done.
Way to take a stand against the
selfie stick—an abomination.
In a world where we are so self-
centred, snapping images of
our daily features, our meals,
and our mundane everyday
tasks, it’s about time we
sever the need to turn all the
attention on us.

Music events like Coachella
and Lollapalooza are the
settings for memories (at least,
you should try to limit your
alcohol consumption so you
can remember it). They're
grand spectacles, but they’re
also events you have to share
with thousands of other
people. The concerts are not

: just for you, even though you've :
: paid to attend and participate.

Perhaps selfie sticks have

: gotten a bad rap for being

: self-indulgent and the people

: using them are often seen as

: being inconsiderate. However,
: I believe the main problem

: with selfie sticks is the cultural
: acceptance of them. Many of:
: us have accepted the fact that if :
: you want to take a good picture :
: of yourself, an extending stick
: witha little gripattheendis
: the apt tool to do it. First of all, :
: you don’t need a good picture
: of yourself at a music festival

: or anything else. What good

: does a picture of your face and
: a blurry background do?

If you want to take

: pictures, capture candid
moments, not contrived

: compositions. If you want a

: group picture, invite someone
: to help you take it. Most people :
: are eager to help you capture

   

: a genuine moment between

: friends. More often than not

: it turns out better too. If you

: want a true memory of the

: event, you shouldn't be taking
: pictures of yourself, you should :
: be focussing the camera the

: other way, Capturing your

: surroundings and the people

: around you. Or better yet, put

: the camera away for a bit and
: just savour the moment.

Admit it, it’s already

bad enough that so many
: people are holding cameras

and smartphones above

: their heads to record concert

: performances. There is no way
: to stop that. We have already

: sunk too deep into that realm

 

Photo via thinkstock

: to reverse the habit. But there
: is still time to keep selfie sticks
: out of our cultural norm. We

: don't have to be slaves to our

: own narcissism. It’s time we

: use forward-facing products

: to enhance our experiences,

: not the kind that fish for

: compliments and are designed
: for bragging rights.