over THE EDGE page b

Wednesday, Oct 11, 1995

EDITORIAL

Well, it’s publication time at:
the Over The Edge office and the usual
tension cuts the air. The paper If
late,(sorry...again), but we like to think -
that it has more to offer you. Jam
currently filling Manpreet’s
shoes,(technically she 1§ the editor), and .
Id like to talk a little about the oddities
of the University.

One of my first Life and
Death experiences occurred inthe =
Library elevator this week. While |
remained calm, the elevator began to |
shudder violently and the door opened = '
and closed somewhere between the 3rd |
and qth floors. | need not express my
relief when | arrived at the fourth floor
and was able to take the
stairs...forevermore.

| have a question. When the
elevator passes a floor, why does it beep
like a microwave oven?

| have another question.
What is that smell in the Laboratory
elevator?

But enough about elevators. .

| am a first-year, wimp/whine, confused,
little, immature student looking to write
the greatest novel of all time. Like
anybody reads this column, right? If you
are, send money or votes to make me

rich, | mean, important in this paper
about? Send us mail. No. Really. | mean
it. Send us mail. We LIKE mail. Maybe
We'll respond. Maybe we won't.
Probably we will. We'd like to hear your
gripe about whatever you have to gripe
about! Dr. Morningstar is looking for
letters, I'm sure Manpreet would love
LOTS of mail!!!

Hey! Send me mail! Send
mail to US!!! We WANT mail!!!

Oh, one thing, please don’t
phone us with your gripes. We can’t use
those! Why people phone in is not
readily apparent to most of Us, 0...

§o, what colour is the sky in
your world? No sky? Pity. Can’t see
birds then. Oh well.

Here’s a fun activity! Cut
the paper into small pieces and make
your own articles and send them to us!
That way we don't have to use this silly
computer anymore! Computers are
terribly silly, they don’t like us much.
Maybe they'll take over the world.

Well, must go. Hope you like
the paper and | hope to meet all of you
s00n.

"PS. Send mail.

UOTE O' THE
DAY

"LET THEM EAT CAKE...
WITH STRAWBERRIES AND
BLUEBERRIES AND
WHIPPED CREAM AND
SPRINKLES AND...HEY!!!
WHERE ARE YOU GUYS

UNBC Student Newspaper

Over The Edge

3333 University Way, Prince George, B.C., V2N 4Z9
Fax: 960-6330, E-mail over-the-edge @ugrad.unbc.edu

POISON PEN

So, the other day, | and
a friend were drinking in the park
and he lamented how unfair it was
that we had to watch out for the
Feds(RCMP) since the government
has issued an edict that no alcohol
shall be consumed in a public place.
My answer was quite predictable. |
swilled the foamy intoxicant
around in my mouth, swallowed,
and said “It’s just another way the
Canadian government oppresses
the masses by creating unjust laws
based on morals that are not
universally shared in this country.”
By the blank expressions on the
faces around me, | thought further
explanation may be needed. “The
Canadian people are forced by a
police force that is increasingly
used by our own government to
keep the population in check, to
submit to laws they don't believe
in and don't support,” | said. Still
the blank look on those faces
persisted. Finally, one bright face
said “We're not really oppressed...
. are we?”

Okay, | bet there are

‘some non-believers out there, so

let's see if | can’t turn you into a
defiant rebel yet. Most of the time
when | spout my anti-government,
revolutionary rhetoric | get one of
the two reactions. Either the
person denies Canadian citizen are
Oppressed or they smile and say
“that’s nice lan” (no doubt to rush
off and tell their friends just what
sort of a nut | am). Of course this
isn't Angola, Iran, Vietnam, or
Nazi Germany but | think | can
make a good case that as a
Canadian citizen my government
Oppresses me.

Oppress is defined in the
Webster's Dictionary as ‘oppress vb.
1: to crush by abuse of power or
authority 2: to weigh down:
BURDEN’. Keeping this definition
in mind, let's take a look at the
news cast aired on Thursday
September 28th. The lead story?
Some three to four thousand

~ by lan Lorenz

citizens are beaten back by
truncheon swinging police. Their
only crime was that they wanted
access to the parliament building.
A building that is by it’s very
existence, owned by the people. As
| have said this isn’t Angola etc. . .
. $o why do we need police to
strike our citizens with clubs?
Next story? More First Nations
people are arrested for defying a
government order to stay off land
they have lived on for centuries?
As | watched the police carry away
the limp body of a protester |
thought, ‘| wonder if he feels
oppressed.’

The most common
argument | hear now is “but those
people are criminals”. Criminals
by whose definition? I'll give you
one guess. The government of
Canada, maybe? Now, at this
point, any of you sharp Political
Science students are likely to say
“Yes, but the Canadian Govern-
ment is representative of a
majority of the people.” Bullshit.
Let us take for example a recent
government study that asserts
fully 7 in 3 Canadian adults smokes
marijuana (| think this number is
a bit low). A habit that poses no.
danger or discomfort to anyone.
Just in case you need me to remind
you smoking grass is illegal. This
makes fully (by the governments
Own statistics) one third of
Canadian citizens criminals. It also
means the government threatens
one third of Canadians with
imprisonment for something they
obviously believe in. If you are
under nineteen and have consumed
an alcoholic beverage you are a
criminal. If you have provided
alcohol for someone under
nineteen you are a criminal. Ask a
Quesnel gun owner if he feels the
government's plan to register all
firearms in the country is,
(remember our definition), an

- abuse of power and authority,

Now if | was having this
argument with you in person this ..
would be the point that | start to
talk about revolution and
overthrowing the powers that be.
you know things like blowing up
the Federal building in Oklahoma
Or hiding out ip the mountains
With a years supply of spam and an
AK-47. However, | am not talking
to you in person and to publish or
broadcast any material that
promotes the overthrow of the
Canadian Government is illegal.
Can you say censorship? In fact, it
is just another way the govern-
ment is oppressing the people.
Keeping you down in of law and
Controlling and manipulating you.
Power to the People!

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