|Page 8 Over the Edge, March 24 - April 7 2010 Over the Edge Annual General Meeting results Shelby Petersen News Editor Over the Edge held its Annual General Meeting on March 18 in the Wintergarden. Students were treated to some free pizza while they got to participate and make changes to their student newspaper. Quorum was quite easily met with over 70 students in attendance. Some of the issues of for discuss had to do with the OTE Society Act and included hiring processes, ceasing to be a member, resignations, and members in good standing. None of the changes were that drastic, but more so to make the Soci- ety Act more sound. Major changes to the hiring process will make it easier for future OTE staffers to be hired to ensure that the paper continues to produce outstanding UNBC news cov- erage every second week. All proposed changed were passes unanimously save for on proposed change which would elim- inated the need for potential editors to have submitted two con- Sudoku secutive articles before they are eligible to apply. The motion was passed by a 2 to 6 ratio in favour of the proposed change. Business Manager Stephanie McCullough presented the 2009 Over the Edge Budget which outlined where money is being spent and coming from. The majority of Over the Edge’s money is spent on printing costs while the majority of revenue now comes from student fees as one of our biggest advertis- ers, Campus Plus, was drastically affected by the recent eco- nomic down turn. The AGM was also used as a platform to advertise that Over the Edge is currently hiring. Several editorial board mem- bers are greatly needed for the 2010/2011 year including Gen- eral Office Assistant, News Editor, Sports Editor, Arts Editor, Clubs Editor, and Features Editor. Over the Edge also needs a new Business Manager and Editor in Chief, but those posi- tions will be filled through an in-house process to ensure that the candidates have an intimate understanding of the Over the Edge procedures and practices. Finally, the AGM ended with a question period. While the majority of students remained silent during this time, there were a few thoughtful suggesting. Most notably, one student asked that the CFUR to 20 chart be published in the paper again as it has not been for several years. Also, another stu- dent asked that OTE publish a list of current events in and around Prince George so that students have a better idea of what the community has to offer. Editor’s note: With regards to the court case brought up during the AGM regarding a former Over the Edge busi- ness manager allegedly stealing money from the student paper via forged checks, at the moment we are not able to comment on the pending litigation. At the moment we are not able to comment on pending litigation. Be assured, trusted readers, that we will provide full details once the case has been finalized. Thank you for your continued pa- tronage to UNBC's best Student Newspaper ever! Soon, summer... Soon... 6 8 7 =< legal tuition: The real cost By: Anastasia Kirk The Runner VANCOUVER (CUP) — Kate is 21 years old. She’s a sec- ond-year Vancouver Community College student, and she’s part of a growing trend. Kate (names have been changed to protect privacy) re- cently posted an ad on Craigslist searching for another female to team up with her as a “partner in crime,” as she put it. She wrote that she was looking for another girl to participate in sex- ual acts with her, and potentially a multitude of other men, in hopes of making some quick and easy cash to help pay for some of life’s necessities. Her thinking was that two women would be safer and perhaps more profitable than one. Unconventional defrayment Despite the full swing of the recession, life waits for no one, and neither do life’s costs. Many people are finding it hard to get by in today’s world where unemployment and inflation dom- inate in solidarity. Kate is no exception. A self-sufficient student who attends full-time classes while juggling a part-time job, she is but another victim of the vicious economic downturn. Like many others her age, she has had to look beyond the con- ventional means of earning an income to find an alternative, so-be-it illegal, way to earn a decent living “The economic position of the world has made it hard for me and my boyfriend to make enough money to pay for the basic necessities of life, and pursue future career goals,” said Kate who added, “I am a very smart, intelligent person. | re- ceived honours and top-of-the-class (recognition) in many of my subjects, but times are tough, and this will allow me to make a lot of money without sacrificing a lot of precious time.” Kate said this is the first time she has ever done something like this. She said she’s never before solicited her body for any reason and admits that even given the circumstances, it is a very difficult decision to make. While she has yet to act on her ambitions, she said there is a 70 per cent chance she will go through with the deed. Kate is not alone. Currently there are dozens of girls post- ing similar ads on Craigslist and other free ad sites in Vancou- ver alone. After describing their smile, body type and breast size, most girls express that they are willing to perform a rain- bow of sexual acts in return for cash to help pay rent, tuition and general living costs. Kate herself confessed that it is out of pure need that she has ultimately turned to prostitution. — Astory published by the *London Times* in 2006 wrote that prostitution among female students went up 50 per cent from 2000 to 2006. One in ten students in the U.K. are likely to know someone who has performed sexual favours in return for tu- ition payments. The group that did the research said the re- sults were in accordance with what they expected given the growing financial difficulties students are facing. Dime bags Selling your body is not the only alternative. Illegal money comes fast and in abundance no matter what the source, and more and more youth are willing to risk a criminal record to get it in their pockets. Blair* has been selling weed in the Vancouver area for three years. Even before the economy began its decline, the 22-year-old found it difficult to live on his own and pay for basic needs on his paycheques alone. Blair, who works full-time at a model restoration company, said the money he makes off selling marijuana is enough to pay for all his basic living costs with money to spare for extras. He said his average $1500-a- month paycheck helps, but is not enough to support him on his own. “Rent alone is $840 a month,” said Blair. “And then I’ve got groceries, Muay Thai (boxing classes), gas, insurance. . .. My transmission blew up twice last year and that cost me $5,000, but | need a car for work.” Blair says he enjoys dealing drugs on the side but admits that he’s not proud of it. “If you can do it, it’s too easy and it’s good cash,” said Blair. who pointed out the similarities between selling weed and other illegal quick-cash schemes. “My house was broken into last month and | was robbed for everything. | was pissed, but then in the end I’m no better than the people who did that shit. It's bad, man. But you do what you’ve got to do. That's just life sometimes.” Blair’s a seasoned veteran at doing what he feels he’s got to do he can get by. Ever since he held a previous job at a gas station, he’s been in on a scam that allows gas station atten- dants to exchange full points cards with empty ones, stealing the full cards and returning the empty card to the patron who actually earned the points. The points are then redeemed for gift cards and sold at a discount to friends, who in turn redeem these gift cards for cheap gas. The employees profit from every stolen gift card that is sold. oe s-* e of ‘higher education’ Blair also admits to having scammed credit cards at one point. “When times were tough a little while ago, | learned how to scam money from credit cards. At first it helped pay the bills, but when | started pulling in more money | was actually able to save it. Actually, | got to Europe by scamming credit cards,” he said. When asked if he had ever contemplated asking his family for money when he falls on hard times, he said he would never consider asking anybody for a dime. “It’s just not in my nature. What’s the point of living on your own then? | don’t want to go home. That’s a step back for me.” Desperate times, desperate measures Similar tales include that of a 22-year-old man who admit- ted to stealing cash out of the register at a Tim Hortons be- cause his minimum wage paycheques and progressively fewer shifts were not enough to keep him afloat in the sinking econ- omy. “Anyone who would give me exact change, I’d just open the till without punching in an order and remember how much extra | put in. At the end of the night, sometimes I’d come out with an extra 40 or 50 bucks,” said the man. “It’s what you’ve got to do sometimes.” Another 18-year-old girl used Craigslist to advertise her “need of financial help, big time.” Her post boasts her “5 ft 3, 106 Ibs, very petite and sexy body, great ass, small but perky breasts, soft skin, full lips, great smile and awesome person- ality” to men all over the Vancouver area who are willing to help her out with her $500 rent bill. After a couple of emails back and forth, in which she wrote, “have | got a story for you,” the barely-legal teen stopped re- turning mail and backed out of an interview. Any of the above may be good, quick cash, but all inter- viewees openly expressed a sense of shame in participating in criminal activity to earn enough of an income to live a normal life. In the end, the economy is what it is and the choices these youth are making are still choices. There are many alternative yet law-abiding places to turn to in times of financial need, but perhaps none quite as lucrative as the business of crime. For many, though, the legality and morality of the issue has taken a spot on the back burner right now. After all, a man must eat before he has enough energy to worry about personal ethics.