OVER THE EDGE Volume 11 Issue 12 Editor-in-Chief Carolynne Burkholder Managing Editor Stephanie Wilson News Editor Kathleen De Vere Arts Editor Maggie Gilbert Office Manager Travis Nielsen Photo Editor Travis Nielsen Production Coordinator Belinda Li Copy Editor Earson Gibson Ad Manager Russell VanderEnde Opinion Editor Jonas Gagnon Technical Advisor Eric Chlebek Staff Writers Eric Chlebek Tanya Alvarez Bryna Casey Adam Hussein Dana Schwehr Sean Dobbyn Colin VanderEnde Elizabeth Fyles Photographers Dana Schwehr Elliott Chalmers Salar Motahari Stephanie Wilson Rob van Adrichem Production Assistants Dana Schwehr Sean Dobbyn Contributors William Hull Becky Carmichael Jamie Flynn Stephanie McMillan Susanne Hare Jenn Schwehr Melissa Beedle Over the Edge is the official publish- ing media of students at the _ University of Northern British Columbia. As such, it is our menace to report on issues of interest to stu- dents in the Northern Region. We encourage all students, both on the main and regional campuses to sub- mit to Over the Edge. Over the Edge is part of the Canadian University Press network of papers, otherwise known as CUP. CUP is an organization that is entirely owned by member papers, and provides such services as a newswire and advertising to Over the Edge. OVER THE EDGE 3333 University Way Prince George, BC V2N 4A6 PHONE 960-5633 Fax 960-5407 EMAIL OVER-THE-EDGE@UNBC.CA i THE BIG BITCH ON CAMPUS SO Long and Thanks for all the Newspapers KATHLEEN DE VERE NEWS EDITOR A milestone in my life is passing. After three and half years at Over the Edge, I’m graduating, and moving on. At least I should be graduating... Jet’s cross our fingers, shall we. During my time at this paper I’ve done a lot of different jobs. A lot. I've learned to do layout, write news stories, copy edit, nag, annoy, harass a variety of people, both on our own staff, and on NUGSS, but most importantly, I’ve been thor- oughly obnoxious the entire time I’ve been here. Who doesn’t remember me running through the halls, screaming, yelling, or quite possibly rudely dancing about some event or another? Who hasn’t seen at least one of my comics and gone “Augh! Why is that filth allowed in our newspaper?” , Yes, I think I’ve made quite an impact here, Letters to the Editor and through my work, I’d say it’s safe to bet UNEC students know a lot more about rim-jobs and analingus now than they did three and half years ago. My comics have gone from bad to... not so bad in the years I’ve been here as well, and UNBC students have been privy to an evolution in my art style, although not in my taste, as the comic on the back page of the paper will show you. However, I can say without any doubt, what I've enjoyed most about working at Over the Edge is how wonderful it’s made my life. Sure, it’s incredibly stressful, and sometimes I don’t get along with everyone I work with, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t know some of my best friends in the world if it wasn’t for this paper. . Over the Edge has introduced me to, and made me friends with: Dana, Belinda, Stephanie, Carolynne, Colleen, Dave, Travis, Josh, Eric, Becky, Andrea, Travis (another one!), Marlon, Barry and Bryna. If we count people I’ve met at other papers because of Over the Edge, you have to include my boyfriend Graham, my good friends Trevor, Angela, Geoff, Dan, Matthew Bill, Amanda... the list is going on a little long here This isn’t supposed to be a yearbook though, it’sjust.a way for me to say how much Over the Edge has changed my life - most defi- antly for the better. What else can I say about this institution? As long as I've worked here, I’ve put in the effort and the sacrifice because I truly believe than an inde- pendent student press is the best way for students to know about events on campus and in the world that affect them. Pve tried my hardest to get Over the Edge to be the best written, best looking paper it can be, and I’ve been rewarded with seeing the paper do better than I ever thought it could, and go fully autonomous and weekly, a dream our staff has had for years, and we finally got to realize. I may be the big bitch on campus, but I do have a single soft spot in my cold, dead heart: an Over the Edge shaped spot. Goodbye. The Evolution of Over the Edge By WittiAM HULL CONTRIBUTOR As some of you are undoubtedly aware, Over The Edge has recently undergone some policy changes with regards to the election process of their editorial board: Instead of being elected by the student body, Over The Edge’s editorial board is now hired by a committee, thereby nudging the paper further in the realm of a ‘pro- fessional, independently-run paper.’ There has, however, been some ‘philosophical resistance’ to the transition. Despite the fact that this change has been openly debated and the elections have been advertised for three issues before they took place, plus the fact that the deci- sion was néarly unanimous, there seem to be sev- eral nay-sayers who have taken it upon them- selves to form a crusade against the staff mem- bers who voted for these changes to take place, raising questions and issues, some petty, some trivial, and some legitimate but taken slightly out of context. The most pressing of these concerns are as follows: “Does this not entrench the positions of cur- rent editors?” In a manner of speaking, yes, it does entrench the positions of current editors. One of the primary purposes of the hiring com- mittee is to ensure that the positions are held by responsible, qualified people who are both capa- ble of performing their duties, and willing to take the significant chunk of time out of each day to fulfill their duties. The committee would, there- fore, avoid the advent of both editors who are unwilling to perform their duties and editors who perform their jobs well but are voted out of place on merit of popularity rather than skill or dedi- cation. In this sense, yes, it entrenches the posi- tions of the current editors under the condition that they continue to fulfill the duties that their positions entail. “Over The Edge is covered by the same Societies Act as NUGSS. Is this not as much of a blatant disregard for the democratic process as.it would be if NUGSS were to refer their elections to a small committee?” NUGSS is a democratic representative body of the undergraduate popu- lation and by definition must be elected ‘from the people, by the people, and for the people;’ other- wise it would have to drop the “UGS” of its name and simply become “NS”, which is signifi- cantly more difficult to pronounce, and lose all of its credibility as student representatives. Over the Edge is a student paper and, as a paper, it is intended to be a unique voice, a tool through which individual students can be heard. A mega- phone and soapbox of the people, if you will. The editorial board is responsible for packaging this voice, not for providing it. Their positions are To the Editors: A Question of Ethics By FENN SCHWEHR CONTRIBUTOR I am aware that Over the Edge held a general meeting last week, in which the Over the Edge bylaws were changed. I have a few questions that I would like addressed regarding this. 1. Why was the advertising for this meeting only in the newspaper? And why was the reason for the meeting not stated? 2. Why was the change in room number not mentioned? 3. Why was there no sign outside the room say- “1 may not agree with what you have to say, but 1 will defend to the death your right to say.tt.” ing the meeting was in progress? And why was the door closed? 4. Doesn’t the previous set of actions classify the meeting as “private” and not “general”? 5. What happened’to the promise made dur- ing the campaign for Over the Edge’s autonomy, that the paper would be made more public? I got more info about meetings before the split from NUGSS. 6. What exactly are the changes were made during this meeting? 7. Why was the student body’s democratic purely functional. Their voices are in no way rep-_ resentative of the student body as a-whole, nor have they ever claimed to be. They are employ- ees in service of the paper and should, as such, be hired as employees rather than politicians by a committee of people who are familiar with the skills and dedication required for the demands of editorial positions rather than members of ‘John Q Public’ to whom a person’s fitness for the job could be overshadowed by a candidate’s charis- ma. Sensationalism has a tendency to stick to issues that, if expressed vaguely enough, can be easily misinterpreted as being ‘undemocratic,’ ‘unpatri- otic,’ or even ‘Naziesque.’ The recent amend- ment of the Over The Edge editorial hiring pol- icy, however, is not a step away from ‘good old- fashioned Canadian democracy,’ but, rather, a, step towards professionalism. Most other student papers already work under a similar editorial hir- ing process, as well as every single reputable com- pany in the field of professional journalism. The changes were clearly made for the benefit of the paper and the students who read it, not for the benefit of editors in fear for their jobs, as some would lead you to believe. When observing the changes with more than a passing glance, it’s dif- ficult to understand how petty concerns could be so zealously campaigned. power to decide the editorial positions taken away in a private meeting? How can you justify removing democratic power from a majority when the majority had no say? This is a democ- ratic society where the majority is supposed to be the ruling force, not some elitist oligarchy. 8. Even if all the other newspapers in CUP have their editorial board chosen by a hiring committee, who says that Over the Edge has to? If all the other people in CUP jumped off the Empire state building, would you follow? # - Voltaire The opinions expressed in the editorials or lettersto the editor that are submitted to Over the Edge are not the opinions of Over the Edge or UNBC. The views expressed in a letter are the views of the authors, and do not reflect the views of Over the Edge. Sirice this is the last issue Over the Edge of the school year, letters received over the spring semester will not be published until September. To submit a fetter, e-mail over-the-edge@unbe.ca