Thus concludes the first semester.

Let us now pause for some reflections on various recent happenings:

On the Annual General Meeting of the Douglas Students Union: A
remarkably well-organized and efficient affair, despite some initial bumblings
(which you can read more about inside). The DSU managed to bull of an AGM
that was fairly fast-paced—as much as can be expected by things of this sort—
and the information presented by the auditor, receiver-manager, and DSU board
was frank, honest, and clear.

Events like this will hopefully continue to improve the DSU’s
reputation. It was interesting to observe how many students seemed to arrive
with minds full of cynicism and scepticism—and rightly so, given the DSU’s
history —only to find, by the meeting’s end, that there was really little to be
cynical or sceptical about. Even a journalistic gossip-monger like me had to
grudgingly admit to my muckraking friends that the DSU scandal well now
seems to have run dry.

That being said, I (along with countless others, I trust) do hope that the
DSU’s embarrassing receivership situation will be resolved sooner rather than
later. | was thus somewhat disappointed to hear at the AGM that the status may not
be as close to concluding as I have previously reported in these pages, though one
must still take comfort in the axiom that any progress is better than none.

There is also the matter of the Douglas athletics department “stacking”
the AGM with jocks, a controversy which our cover refers to. It was a fairly
dubious tactic, and I largely agree with Garth McLennan’s pessimistic analysis
of the situation, which you can read in full in this issue’s opinions page. It says
something about the democratic deficit in student unions when policy approvals
have to be steamrolled through in such an awkward manner. Whether the decision
was good or bad, and whether or not the DSU, or the College, or whoever else,
supported the move is irrelevant. The bigger question should be “has it come to
this?”

On the state of this newspaper: 1 ve heard complaints that I whine too
much about the OP on this page, but I likewise wish I had less to whine about. The
newspaper needs more people, frankly. We need more writers, more editors, and
more staff. We need more diversity, more voices, and more students. C’mon!

Being a part of the Other Press is really a great learning experience, and
it’s a lot of fun. Plus, you can make actual money working here! What’s not to
like! With the semester ending, now is probably not the best time for recruiting.
But come the new year, we’ll need your help more than ever, and I’m not gonna be
shy about asking for it.

On Christmas: \’ve said it before and J will say it again: anyone who
dislikes Christmas is a Communist. Yes, yes, I’m well aware that the celebration of
the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ has devolved into a trite, over-commercialized
pagan festival of plastic and chemicals, fuelled by a deadly cocktail of family-
induced stress and seasonal affection disorder that now has a greater statistical
likelihood of causing divorce and suicide than peace and goodwill, but still. It’s
Christmas! Just think of all the cookies and bright lights and extended holiday
shopping hours at Wal-Mart. Mmmn, it truly is a magical time.

On the snow: I do not care for it.

J.J. McCullough
Editor in Chief of the Other Press

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well then, perhaps you should

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