On Being an Edito By Colleen Mahoney As is the tradition of the first Over the Edge editorial, we must write a hopeful starry- eyed piece when people are at their least cynical and when volunteer recruitment is still possible. I’m not here to destroy that tradition, as Over the Edge still requires volun- teers, but as an Alumnus | have very different perspec- tive. As | reflect on the last 4 years at UNBC and what sticks out of my memory are the people both in my faculty and out side. During my first year | was someone who thought that | had a pretty good grasp on life. Then | came to University and real- ized that | really don’t know much at all and haven’t much hope on understanding any- thing other than my own per- Bubble People By Stephanie Wilson This summer, | worked at Barkerville Historic Town and lived in Wells. Now, Wells is built on old mine tailings high up in the mountains in the mid- die of nowhere. It is an hours drive from civilization, so peo- ple like me (constantly work- ing) did not see it much. Wells also does not have newspa- pers. No Globe and Mail, no National Post, not even Cosmo... a news vacuum in the midst of an up-to-the- minute news feeding frenzy of our CNN-based Western soci- ety. Needless to say, it is somewhat of an understate- ment to say it was a shock to suddenly exist in a bubble in which very little news entered. | think | read The Globe and Mail five times this summer, and it took way too much effort spective. | learned this though classes, tutorials, and long nights in coffee houses. | dis- covered that University isn’t supposed to teach you how to do every thing that your ideal job requires; they teach you just enough to cope with the uncertainty of an ever chang- ing world and to allow you to say, “Well, at least | have a degree,” and as a bonus, it gives you the opportunity to meet people that may boost you to find that ideal job. Better yet, it could allow you to dis- cover that your original ideal career is not for you. Hopefully this discovery happens before you get a 30,000-dollar mark on your student loan. Ultimately, the only piece of wisdom that | can impart is that university is what you make it. Having the best pro- to follow the situation in Bosnia, and how the US vetoed a proposal to extend the mandate of the UN peace- keepers in Bosnia; they were worried their people in Bosnia could be charged with crimes against humanity by the newly-created International Criminal Court, thus, logically, Can you still be a pro- ductive member of soci- ety without knowing exactly what is happen- ing in, say, Lithuania? admitting their own guilty con- science, but | digress. Anyways, simply put, | had no idea what went on this sum- mer. This was not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it made me wonder, what would a totally Brad Irvine Sales Consultant Honda North 4 Saies: (250) 562-939! 105 Brunswick Street Parts & Service: (250) 562-4744 Prince George, B.C. Fax: (250) 562-5151 V2L 2B2 Email: info@hondanorth.ca fessors, the nicest computer, or going to the most expensive post-secondary __ institution won't do you a lick of good if you don’t go to class. The uni- versity experience is not much good if you don’t make the experience your own and pur- sue it with interest. My most memorable experiences have probably been derived from participating in the student newspaper in that | have met a highly eclectic bunch of peo- ple—both in the office, at events, and in interviews. I’ve learned a lot of facts as well, but 30 years from now, | won’t remember the Latin names of | mushroom fungi, but I'll still remember the people. Make it a good year. Cheers. news-less society be like? Can you still be a productive mem- ber of society without knowing exactly what is happening in, say, Lithuania? Granted, it would be impossible to be a member of the global commu- nity without being aware of global events, but think of how liberating it would be to spend an entire day totally ignorant to the perils of the world. Not a lifetime, just a day. One glori- ous day in which you would not even consider contemplat- ing the democratic transition in Russia or Blair's reaction to Bush’s campaign against Iraq or the drug cartels’ in Columbia. You could float through the day in oblivious bliss, the weight of the real world temporarily removed from your shoulders. It would be like those flavoured oxygen and meditation be-one-with- your-inner-self-bars-then- drink-Starbucks-while-read- ing-Nietzsche thing, except it would be free and it would actually be liberating! So... throw out your newspaper and ‘live in a bubble... but just for one day. Over The E 5 r McGill Turns down _ Donation to Study Right-wing Novelist By Rob Salerno and The McGill Daily, The McGill Daily (CUP) McGill University rejected a $1.5M alumni donation for the creation of a chair in the phi- losophy department for the study of Ayn Rand, a novelist who preached radical individu- alism and whose philosophy has influenced many right- wing politicians. Gilles Tremblay, who gradu- ated from McGill in the 1950’s had offered to bequeath the money to the university in his will, in exchange for the endowment of a permanent professorship to teach Rand’s philosophy. Tremblay describes Rand’s philosophy as “practical,” and having “some connection with the average guy on the street.” Carmen Miller, McGill's Dean of Arts, rejected the idea in January, claiming that such a position would be “too tem- poral and restrictive in scope.” Principal Bernard Shapiro agrees. “We can't just sell our souls for the sake of being richer,” said Shapiro. Tremblay had made the pro- posal in 1999, but the project was considered unlikely from the beginning. An_ internal assessment of the university’s philosophy department notes that Rand “has had little direct influence on academic political theorists.” Rand’s novels, including Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, have endorsed egoism, minimalist govern- ment and laissez-faire capital- ism, and have made her the heroine of extreme right-wing groups in the United States. Telus Student Services Street became a bit longer over the summer. The Bentley Centre and the new lab building will be officially opened on September 28, 2002.