March 24, 2004 | Am Not A Women By Anonymous Iam nota woman. I am not First Nations, Indo-Canadian or a per- secuted refugee. I am not Palestinian, Basque or East Timorese. I have never been persecuted for being a homosexual, for having breasts, being AIDS afflicted or being coloured. I am a white heterosexual male. I have no voice. Woe is me. In a town such as beautiful Prince George where such grand tolerance and understanding thrives, it is perhaps inadvisable to suggest that special interest groups are a form of discrimination, yet suggest I shall. It feels alien and perverse to speak out against do-gooders because, well - because they do good. I shan’t post a curriculum vitae to all nay Sayers and angst-riders to prove to you I have been exposed to all you complain about and understand the dilemma; you will have to trust me. I do not know what it feels like (I am a member of the privileged denomination -see above), but I imagine it is rotten. The problem I have is the self-deluding prophets of righteousness proposing to speak with the voice of millions simply cause their milk has turned sour. I will not point fingers, nor do I wish to single out any one group. The groups are fine. It is certain individuals who are assholes. I will say that if one is feeling that yearning for belonging and the need for a podium (or at least a soap box), analyze your rea- sons carefully. Mama always said you catch more flies with sugar than shit. I later learned that it was supposed to be vinegar. My mom swore unneces- sarily, but this does not detract from the message. I believe in your causes, I support your right to voice concerns and I agree - me and “mine” have had it way too easy for way too long. By all means, rise up. The sad fact is however that further alienating oneself through elitist attitudes, hatemongering, and fostering otherness does not pur- vey the image of strength and solidarity, but rather an image of petu- lant self-gratification. To heal, people need open discussion, education and most of all unconditional love. I see this! happening, but only among each com- munity and once outside the respective HQ, members look implor- ingly from face to face in the Agora and library for people who are “in the know” regarding the secret handshakes, rituals and common ene- mies of their people. I find it nauseatingly understandable, but nau- seating nonetheless. These are spiritually profound causes you defend, I beg you to treat them as such. E-mail Doesn’t Need to Be So Difficult By Dana Schwehr The number of e-mail viruses circulating the internet has been on the rise lately. These viruses would not be the source of fear that they are to many if people bothered to educate themselves about viruses and how they worked. The number of viruses circulating would also decrease if people exercised a little bit of caution when checking their e- mail. In recent weeks, an e-mail virus went through UNBC’s e- mail system. This virus appeared to come from the UNBC network administrators, and asked people to open the attached .zip file. Opening this file then caused the virus to spread. Because of this virus, UNBC now automatically deletes any Windows executable files that come through the e-mail system. This is a good solution if everyone who used the e-mail system was completely retarded. Unfortunately, it makes work dif- ficult for people who need exe- cutable files to be sent, such as those in the Computer Science department. It is not too hard to avoid infecting one’s computer with an e-mail virus. Don’t open attach- ments from people that you do not know, If you use Outlook to check your e-mail, make sure the preferences for Outlook are set so that-Outlook does not automati- cally open attachments for you. If an attachment looks like it comes from someone with authority on your network, and you are not entirely sure if it is safe or not, then e-mail the network adminis- trators and ask them before you open it. If it is a virus, you have just alerted the right people to ensure that the virus does not spread. If more people practiced simple common sense when it comes to their e-mail, e-mail viruses would not be the problem that they are today. photo by Marlon Francescini ‘ Woman's Day provided informational posters on many of the leading woman of our time. It was awesome, unlike the second act Cosmic Living room and Creed which both transcend time and dimension for not awesome. The highlights were Mother Theresa and Ang San Suu Kyiwho are both cooler then ten thousand tigers. Page 7 You Pass On UPASS Why it is not an appropriate pro- gram for all UNBC students. By Moe Hasham Let me first qualify my remarks by stating that I am the Speaker of the NUGSS Board and I have first hand knowledge of how this UPASS idea came to fruition. When I was Director of External Affairs in 2000-2001, the bus dri- vers went on strike. This strike was four months of agony for all those involved and it was not until the snow fell that it was finally resolved. It became plainly obvi- ous that transit issues were not going to go away after the resolu- tion of the strike therefore I estab- lished the Transportation Committee which has now evolved into NTIC - makers of the UPASS. During those agonizing four months the Transportation Committee members and I attempted to find solutions to the bus strike including renting a char- ter bus to provide transportation to students and purchasing 18 pas- senger vans which could have been used after the culmination of the strike. Needless to say NUGSS was unable to pursue either of these options as the costs were exorbitant (University has taught me something)! Regardless I am familiar with the problems associ- ated with Transit. I can also qualify the following insight into UPASS by stating that I took transit in my first two years at UNBC. The UPASS is a program that will cost no more than $55 dol- lars/semester for EVERYONE with NO OPT OUT. This is prob- lematic for the following reasons. Tuition is going to increase by at least 15%. What you are not always aware of is that those extra fees outside of tuition can increase too ie. Fitness centre fee which is currently $35 per semester. The problem then is let us take $110/ year out of your pocket so that you can ride the bus. What if you don’t want to ride the bus because you own a vehicle? The sheer implication that UPASS will ease congestion on the roads to UNBC and help clear more open spots for parking is outlandish. Some people may decide to not use there vehicles and ride the bus but ask yourself how many of your friends with cars are going to give it up for the bus. Furthermore the fact that there are parking prob- lems is something I have not expe- rienced very often. It’s not as though there is no parking at all and you are forced to park on Tyner Boulevard. Another problem with UPASS is that it does not incorporate those other post secondary students in Prince George - our counterparts from CNC. It is noteworthy because some NUGSS members stated that we are the only post secondary community in BC to not have a UPASS. Well, those com- munities that have UPASS ie. the lower mainland has included both UBC and SFU students and the plan calls for expanding the pro- gram to include colleges. This is a COMPREHENSIVE plan that allows for maximum usage. Also those people that have vehicles in Vancouver that drive to either uni- versity will probably access transit - on a few occasions ie. going down- town on Skytrain for fireworks, to the mall, to a Canucks game. Asa car driver there is no reason for me to ride the bus. Cost is another issue. A month pass will cost you $32.00 if you have no other means of transporta- tion. Most people will only ride the bus for 3.5 months not four (if you factor in that we do not have exams right through December). Therefore to ride the bus it will cost you approximately $120 maxi- mum per semester. I am all for equality but to give students who ride the bus a 50% discount while penalizing those that drive is not appropriate. The reason why UPASS works in the lower main- land is that transit infrastructure is in place ie. Skytrain, buses, Seabus. Furthermore when the GVRD is going to add $4 BILLION over the next 10 years, the system will no doubt improve. Our UPASS will NOT guarantee any increase in service including Sundays. The only upside to this program is that it includes free access to the swimming pool. Regardless, if you don’t swim and don’t ride the bus this program is ineffective. I believe that UPASS can work in Prince George buf only under the following circumstances. 1, Obtain a signed contract from the City guaranteeing an increase in service INCLUDING SUNDAYS 2. INCLUDE CNC students 3. Obtain a guarantee that the City will increase funding to Transit 4, PUBLICIZE THE PROGRAM MORE THAN TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE REFERENDUM. Vote NO on March 24 and 25th and review and rethink the pro- gram over the summer! Just my Thoughts.