| eaten SFU gondola and Douglas escalator both dumb ideas a STUPID Which idea is the stupidest? he idea of building a gondola | to Simon Fraser University is a silly idea by most standards. Sure we have to miss class every once in a while, but the fact is that when the snow hits the classes are usually already out. The first thought I had when I heard the idea was, “What on earth are these people smoking and where can I get some?” Of course, the gondola idea pales in comparison to the idea that has been floating around Douglas since the 1980s. What could be worse than a gondola you ask? An escalator. That’s right, an escalator from New Westminster Station to the New Westminster Campus. Supporters of the idea first sprouted in the late 1980s and have reappeared on and off since then. Usually coming from the student society, they have never decided if the escalator should run over ground up the hill or through the tunnel below. Most people are unaware that such a tunnel even exists. It was used to take prisoners from the old train station (the current Keg building) up to the courthouse in the early days of New Westminster. Regardless, such an idea is far more far-fetched and ridiculous than even the gondola idea. First off, to run the escalator over ground the the businesses that construction would affect would need to give permission. I can hardly see Bella Pizza or the Old Spaghetti taking that in stride. Second, even if it were underground, the construction, mess, and time that it would take would be disastrous to the community. The third and most important reason is this, who would pay for it? Who would pay for an escalator to run all of a block because of lazy, hurried, and frazzled college students? This brings me back to the hair-brained gondola scheme. Why would anyone pay for this? I wouldn’t be willing to put money on it! While supporters claim that it will only take a fraction of the time, what’s wrong with a bus like all the other schools? The other thing about it is the design. It’s based on the same design as the Peak-2-Peak gondola that collapsed not so long ago due to sheering caused by water particles freezing in cracks then expanding. If you feel that you absolutely must go through the idiotic and futile attempt of building a monstrosity of this proportion then why use the design of the gondola that collapsed instead of something a tad more reliable? Of course, I can only assume that each and every post-secondary institution goes through this phase. Hopefully however, Simon Fraser will outgrow this as the students of Douglas outgrew the foolish idea of an escalator. Otherwise, it will definitely live up to its moniker, Stupid Fucker’s University. 8 Taser use by cops has a place in society By Natalie Nathanson specially now while the Braidwood His is underway, a big question on many people’s minds are whether or not the use of tasers in the police force should be banned. If I were to vote on the matter, I would have to vote in favour of their use. Tasers provide an excellent and effective way to diffuse a seemingly dangerous, if used properly. It is true there have been fatalities following taser deployment, but the fatalities from being shot are much, much higher. People forget that tasers weren’t introduced to the world as a fatality-free option to non life- threatening situations, they were introduced as a “less-lethal” option, and that’s exactly what they are. If a person is in a kafuffle with police and being aggressive, can anyone seriously offer a better solution? A blow dart, perhaps, with a bit of tranquilizer solution at the end? There’s the possibility that the chemicals within tranquilizers could cause a fatality as well, so what then? A gunshot could definitely result in a death, if not definite hospitalization, loss of blood and of course massive scarring of tissue. This and a club over the head knocking them unconscious would be construed as “police brutality.” So what else is there? There have been over 245 deaths documented by Amnesty International as a result of taser use, which may seem like a high number, but again the death toll from gunfire use is much higher, and the long term effects are much greater. A study conducted by William Bozeman through the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center concluded that out of 1,000 persons subjected to the use of tasers, 99.7% had minor injuries or none at all, while only three needed to be hospitalized and two died. The autopsies of those who died revealed that neither person’s death was related to the taser. Taser use, although incredibly painful, is so relatively safe that many reporters and members of police departments have taken it upon themselves to have it done on themselves in police demonstrations. Though screams usually ensued and most of them needed a bit of help walking around afterwards, many walked away seemingly unscathed. Let’s forget about the Dziekanski incident, which is an exception of proper usage. Let’s look at why tasers are used. What do police have to use when they feel threatened? It’s easy for us, as a society, to point fingers and blame RCMP for using a taser without thinking, but people forget that police have seen more in their line of work than we ever have, and constantly put their lives at risk to protect people every day. They’re trained to make lightning-fast decisions in order to protect themselves and those around them. If they’ve been told there’s a suspect with a gun in a dark alley, they’re most likely going to shoot said suspect if he were to jump out and startle the officer. It’s just what happens. It’s human instinct and it’s why we’ve lasted so long as a species—it’s called survival. Cops have taken on this responsibility to protect and be accountable for their actions and that’s why they’re the cops and we’re the bystanders. We don’t want that kind of responsibility. Who is to say we wouldn’t have done the same thing? I really have no sympathy for those who get tasered during an altercation with police, and do not in the slightest think its police brutality. First of all, there’s clearly something wrong with you if you find yourself in this kind of situation. To have a taser used on you you’re either doing something illegal or acting suspicious enough to make the police think you’re doing something illegal, or are you come off as a threat to them or people nearby. You’re either being belligerent or running away from them. I think if you’re stupid enough to do any of these things or give sass to cops you deserve to get a little shock. If people were suddenly to stop committing crimes or pick fights there’d be no use for tasers, but we all know this will never happen. Would you rather hear that a troubled loved one was tasered or shot? If we continue to blast police for using tasers they may be less likely to pursue suspects, knowing they’d be placed under extreme scrutiny for any action that follows. What needs to be done is not the banning of taser use but place harsher punishment upon officers who misuse it (which hopefully will be the outcome of the Braidwood inquiry) and better training as to when to use it. In a situation where tasers are used there’s usually a little more time to think about it as opposed to when lethal force is needed, and officers need to be better trained (and only use one jolt as opposed to four). But we as society really can’t expect to be safe when there are officers out there planning out their every move in a situation simply because they might come under scrutiny for it. The case of Robert Dziekanski is tragic, and the deployment of the taser wasn’t the greatest idea at the time, even though there was a huge guy holding a (gasp!) stapler in his hand. But come on, the guy was throwing chairs around and scaring people, the officers should have gone in and tried to calm the guy down and found a translator, which obviously isn’t what happened. One jolt would have been enough, and under normal circumstances he wouldn’t have died, and it wouldn’t have been in the news; maybe just on YouTube. But it happened, and it’s being investigated.