Vive le bilinguisme! Battons l’hypocrésie bureaucratique par Samuel Lapalme-Remis A la récente conférence de la CUP, l’organisation canadienne des journaux universitaires, on a insisté sur le fait que la CUP veut devenir une organisation Flakes mais ils négligent la solution la plus simple: apprenez le frangais! De cette maniére, la boite sera toujours du bon bord pour que vous puissiez lire les ingrédients. bilingue. Bien que cette position est noble, il est évident qu’elle n’est pas J’entend fréquemment les gens ici se Si vous, les gens qui sont incapables de lire cet éditorial, voulez rendre les liens entre francophones et anglophones plus souvent appliquée dans la plaindre qu’ ils doivent endurer du étroits, il serait recommendable que vous vaste majorité des journaux ° x fassiez un effort et que vous appreniez un universitaires anglophones. francais sur leurs boites de Corn peu de frangais. Apprendre une seconde La __ personne-ressource Flakes... langue aure peut-étre peu d’utilité pratique, officielle de la Other Press, mais ce serait un ajout considérable a votre qui était présente a la conférence, m’a demandé de mettre la position officielle de la CUP en application en écrivant un court éditorial en frangais. Vous qui avez la capacité de lire cet éditorial, avez-vous noté qu’il n’y a presque pas d’anglophones canadiens qui maitrisent le francais? Pour un pays bilingue, le Cananada est trés unilingue dans huit de ses dix provinces. J’entend fréquemment les gens ici se plaindre qu’ils doivent endurer du frangais sur leurs boites de Corn culture personelle. En plus, vous pourrez impréssionner tous les québécois et les convaince, dans nétre langue, de rester ou de quitter. Et voila, c’est mon éditorial en francais. Malheusement, ceux qui ont le plus besoin de le lire seront incapables de le faire. Nous les adeptes du frangais pourrons donc rire d’eux dans cet espace. Si vous voulez contribuer 4 la politique officielle de la CUP, sentez- vous libre de venir nous voir. Ne vous attendez juste pas 4 pouvoir y parlez frangais... Are you opinionated? Get off the fence and speak your mind by Kevin Sallows Everyone is opinionated. We all have our own ideas about the way things are and the way things should be. Whether it’s a deep conviction about a contentious issue or a simple preference, having an opinion is one of the things that makes us human. So why is it that some people are labeled as being opinionated while others are not? Well, it has something to do with voice. “Opinionated” people are those who speak their mind, they’re the ones who let others know just how they feel or what they think. The quiet observer is often no less opinionated, he or she only gives the illusion of being so by withholding the opinion, by choosing not to share with others the way he or she feels. The only difference between the opinionated individual and the quiet fence-sitter is that the opinionated person gives voice to his or her thoughts. And giving voice to one’s thoughts isn’t something which is overly encouraged in our culture, particularly if you’re a woman, a child, a member of a marginalized minority. One only has to look at some of the stereotypes that we maintain to see the stigma attached to speaking up about something you believe in: the zealous street-preacher — loud and opinionated, probably crazy; the impassioned environmental activist — preachy, dope-smoking tree-hugger; the confident, outspoken woman — overbearing, man-hating femi-nazi, must be a dyke. We are quick to label and slow to understand. By slotting someone into a category — radical, Christian, lesbian, East Indian, liberal — we are able to dismiss what they are saying before even trying to listen, let alone understand. In an atmosphere such as this, it’s no surprise that people are hesitant to make their opinions known. Every time you voice your opinion, you risk standing out from the crowd. You risk being labeled and dismissed. You risk rejection. Let’s face it, people can be pretty damn cruel, especially when they’re running with the pack. But the fact is, if you want to be heard, you have to speak up. This newspaper is your place to be heard. Those of you who think that the Other Press is an exclusive club that shuns outsiders have got it wrong. The Other Press is a forum for you to say what’s on your mind. Once again, though, it’s up to you to raise your voice. I didn’t have to do anything particularly special to get this piece printed, other than care enough to write and submit it. If you’ve got something to say and you care enough about it, then speak up. Get off your fence and come down here. Write a letter, a poem, an opinion piece, a comic. If you’re feeling really ambitious, pick an issue that you feel strongly about and that’s relevant and write a feature on it. Sure, you might take some flack, some people might disagree with you, they might even go so far as to say, “You suck and I hate the way you think.” So what? Fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke. Life’s a lot more than a popularity contest. But then, that’s just my opinion. An Atheist’s View of Christmas by Boyd Pearson During the past holiday season, something kept popping up in my mind. How many people really know what Christmas is all about? Sadly, I believe very few people really do understand the true meaning of Christmas. Sure, many people blame this on the commercialization of the season — the BUY! BUY! BUY! mentally that is constantly drilled into our heads. The birth of Jesus Christ is the reason why we have Christmas, but it is not the reason why I celebrate it. What does Christmas mean to an Atheist? Lets face it, for the most part, Christmas is meant for kids, just like Trix. All of us can fondly remember finding that Transformer (Starscream) or Cabbage Patch Kid (Mary Lou) under the tree on Christmas morning. Maybe this has absolutely nothing to do with the birth of Christ, but it sure made me happy. Which brings me to religion (Oh great, not one of those discussions! Watch out, it’s a touchy subject!). Should an Atheist celebrate Christmas? In my opinion, yes. But an atheist does not believe in Christ, right? Well, right, but so what? The spirit of Christmas is something which should touch everyone, especially every child. Whatever your own religious and spiritual beliefs are, I think you should embrace the spirit of Christmas, which is the spirit of giving. : This past Christmas, I was feeling a bit down and out, disillusioned by the whole hoiiday season. Watching /t’s A Wonderful Life, and Scrooged didn’t even change my spirits. I watched as my friends and relatives “celebrated” by getting pissed out of their skulls. Some of them were drinking eggnog (with rum of course), but I couldn’t see how this had anything to do with Christmas. My attitude soon changed after a few drinks, however, and I got pissed out of my skull along with them, quite happily, I might add. Being with friends and Telatives is one of the benefits of the season. It was on Christmas morning when my spirits really changed. I watched as my two year-old nephew awoke to find a train underneath the tree. He sat transfixed for half'an hour watching the train go around and around under the tree, tooting and whistling. Personally, this is what Christmas is all about (it smells like stinking cheese, but it’s true), making kids happy. Children need a sense of wonderment to spark their imaginations. They need to believe that there is a Santa Claus. With all of the depressing events that happen in the world everyday, children need to believe in something good, even if it’s just for a little while out of the year. Regardless of religious beliefs, Christmas should be celebrated by all. This doesn’t mean that you have to put up a tree and Christmas lights. Simply by going out of your way to make Christmas special for children is enough. “ALLOWING BILIGUALISM TO CONTINUE TO GROW IS VERY DANGEROUS,” NEWT GINGRICH STATED AFTER A TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS FORUM. “1 CAN TELL YOU THAT A STRONG AND UNITED CANADA HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL PARTNER FOR THE UNITED STATES,” WAS BILL CLINTON’S TAKE ON THE QUEBEC REFERENDUM. “1 LIKE THAT, THE UNITED STATES OF CANADA... HAS A CERTAIN RING TO IT. WE’LL MAKE ALL THOSE AMERICANS PARLER FRANCAIS,” QUOTH ONE OP MEMBER, AFTER ONE TOO MANY HOURS AT SCHOOL.... OKAY, SO SHE WAS DRUNK TOO. Battle of the Genders Jet Girl strives to be her outrageous self By Dia Richardson Women and men: we are so similar, yet so, so different. There are the obvious physical differences that immediately come to mind, but what I’m talking about is much deeper. It’s the way we perceive and act to the world about us. Women and men definitely have different operating styles. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, there always is, that’s what makes the human species so interesting and unique. There are many factors that determine the various traits attributed to each gender. Biology can have a major contributing factor, as well as the society that we are raised in. Men have for centuries been looked to as the provider and defender of his family and country/community. On the other hand, women have been the nurturers who have cared for their homes and children. In the twentieth century, women have worked hard at changing their role in society. We are now allowed to vote (unless we are in prison), and it seems to be more rare for a woman to be a Ostay at home mom0O than to be out in the work force. Although we as women have seemed to achieve many rights and advantages, we are often still expected to act like the women of old, caring and nursing are our men and children. There are many men that welcome the changing roles of women. They are happy to stay at home and have their partner support them, without taking it as a personal blow to their ego. Still, as much as we work for change , some things just don’t seem to. Take the way men and women react so differently to sexual harassment. It comes down to the way we think. What a woman considers Oover the line,O a man could consider a compliment. At the recent 58th National CUP (Canadian University Press) Conference, which was held in Sidney, B.C. over the holiday break, I decided to test my theory. A sexual harassment committee had been set up to deal with any offenders so I put my black leather mini skirt on and went out to offend. Now, I admit I have a serious fetish for men’s bums. I love to look and if the butt looks nice and firm | then I find it very hard to resist touching. I could not believe how many men at this party let me drool over and grope their bums. All I had to do was to state that I had a bum fetish, and most of the men would just turn around and display their merchandise proudly. Usually the proudest would also let me touch. I was in ecstasy. I would like to especially thank Athol from the Excaliber and Rob from the OK Phoenix for helping to make my evening most enjoyable. Needless to say, I was not charged with harassment by any of these men. I tried, I did my best but they seemed to enjoy the attention. Whereas a woman ina similar situation might have been very offended by having a man rate their tush. Was it right for me to sexually harass these men? Actually, it technically was not harassment if they invited the attention and offered it up for my perusal. I’ll admit, being raised as a nice girl, I did not feel that ‘nice’ that evening, but I sure had fun. Maybe that is the only way we can get away from being gender based, by just doing what feels right for us at that particular time. Regardless of whether it’s perceived as a Ofemale’ or ‘male’ role by our society. Women, men, I don’t know if I’ll ever completely figure out either gender. But isn’t that half of the fun? Is it really the battle of the sexes or are we just battling to be ourselves?