s 8 Opinion October 26, 2005 + Over the Edge University Students Lack Support for Strike JUDITH ARNEY UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA CORRESPONDENT Well, UVic students havent done anything at all... in the shape of a rally or support of demonstration for the teachers, that is. The Student Society on campus today did stand behind a table advertising for a pub crawl. I believe many of the people in the pre- viously highly-political UVSS have graduated: the directors are all new. I went up to UVic on Monday to take pictures and check it out, though, be- fore the rally downtown. Firstly, that morning was very rainy. The sky showed absolutely no sign of remittance. At the campus entrance stood clusters of foreboding CUPE members, draped in bright raingear. Only vehicles were given passage to the university and most just shied away from the confrontation together. I stopped to speak with some CUPE members, who informed me that many CUPE members all over town, in mu- nicipal offices and other sectors, had not gone into work that morning, and many stood on picket lines with teach- ers preparing to rally that afternoon. As I went into campus, I noticed the ranks of academia were very much thinned out. Many professors and students had refused to cross picket lines. The computer labs were down and there CANADIAN UNIVERSITY PRESS Carol James, leader of the New Democratic Party of B.C., greets protestors at a rally in support of the striking teachers in Victoria, wasnt any convenient place to grab lunch, either, as all of these services are CUPE-run. I met a friend who claimed that he was all for labour rights until it started messing with his necessi- ties. His class had been cancelled and his computer access in the CUPE-run labs was down. He wasn't even among those dependent on city transit, nor is he a parent. My friend's disaffected at- titude led me toward considering the central division between some people and some working people. Yes, losing those essential services certainly does raise the ire of other- wise-apathetic sympathizers. Counter- productivity is an unfortunate outcome of any last resort, What frustrates both strikers and those impacted by strikers is the inability of many potentially-con- cerned parties to be structurally avail- able for large scale movements. While many parents strongly support the strike, they are left with little time and energy to spare. University students may have stayed off the lines in greater numbers if it wasn't midterm season. “What frustrates both strikers and those im- pacted by strikers is the inability of many potentially-concerned parties to be structur- ally available for large scale movements.” The way society occupies itself, any great rupture has ramifications: indi- viduals can be unwilling to see past their personal realm to rise up against ~ the infrastructure of their society. This maybe why the BC Ferries Union, the Hospital Employee's Union, BC Tran- sit, Forestry Workers Unions, CUPE BC, ‘Telecommunications Workers Union and BC Teachers Unions, all of whom have walked. out in the last four and a half years, did not coincide their job actions to really shut the province down, ns Problematically, as this strike dis- solves into the next, unions will con- tinue to lose their power to collectively bargain for higher standards, wages, and resources. While unions may not have made consistently noble requests over their years of comparative power, the workers of British Columbia will suffer in wages, securities, benefits, and safety without them, It was definitely time to get down to the grassy lawns of our Parliament Buildings. CBC estimated at least 10000 people in attendance and mur- murs in the crowd guessed at 40000 or more, The show of union mem- bers, young students, and parents was impressive. Representatives from the Carpenters Union, Longshore & Warehouse Union, BC Nurses Union, TWU, and Postal Workers Union ap- peared to support. Many others joined them. Teachers Unions across Canada stood with BC Teachers, reprimanding the Liberal government for Bill 12, a bill which seriously damages the power of unions in this province by demand- ing that essential service workers must return to work. The rally stoked up the crowd, with speakers pronouncing a message of solidarity and dignity in the face of the injustice of Campbell-led government. Defending against government accusa- tion, Government Service Employees Union representative George Hayman stated that BC Liberals have been in violation of no less than 9 UN treaties _ on labour laws and, of course, the well known point of Campbell's own per- sonal illegal behaviour was raised. The driving rain had moved from a torrent to a spatter by the time the assembled group dispersed late that afternoon. To write with total justice, the win- ners and losers of Campbell's regime would have to be brought to the stand one by one. Unions grow hierarchical while they ideologically-support social services and public investment. The BC Liberals have impressed many business owners and corporations by attract- ing investors to the province, yet these econotic opportunities exist at a steep cost to social support systems. From the Victoria citizen's standpoint, prox- imity to the Legislature does little to clarify the proceedings therein. The so- cial and legal structure the teachers are striking in and the controversy amongst the populace demonstrate the world of complexity in which we forever dwell. On the Digital Front Blu-Ray Faces vs HD-DVD JEREMY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER Some may know all too much about this, but for others, the thought of another generation of discs is a new concept — and a very unwelcome one at that. However, it is becoming very real. Yes, they are trying to replace your expensive DVD players with the next generation of compact discs. In fact, sources say that they will start ship- ping the Blu-Ray optical drives to the Middle East by the end of November. This might be because they will then integrate them into the next PC, Of course, with HD-DVD's competing with Blu-Ray, it'll most likely be, at least, biting at the heals of the Blu-Rays big debut date. Dont worry, though: it'll probably take a while before they make their way to North American shores, as it would take time to manufacture all the computers anyway. It is quite doubt- ful you'll be seeing them by Christmas time, but you may start seeing the TV ads for these high-tech gizmos some- time in 2006 (or 2007, depending on setbacks.) So, what does make these discs seem “oh so great” against the already-popu- lar DVD format? Well, the first thing there is to understand is the difference in the laser between the old and the new. The laser is what reads the micro- scopic holes on any optical disc. How- ever, they are now using a blue laser instead of a red laser. Why? The blue laser can read smaller holes then the red laser, because it is further down the spectrum of light (ROYGBIV), and thus has a higher frequency. Of course, this means that you can store more data on these discs now that the holes are smaller. Also, all discs are made of layers to store more data (an amount of data per layer). So, how do the specs look? Engadget released a report on these. HD-DVD will hold 15 GB per layer, storing a theoretical maximum of 60GB. Blu- Ray, on the other hand, will store 25 to 27 GB (depending on whether it is a RW disc or not: the RW will hold more.) The maximum theoretical limit is 200GB. How much space is that? 200GB is roughly 200,000MB. The average MP3 is about 3.5 to 6 MB in size (depending on length and quality). Doing the math will yield jaw-dropping storage numbers: at least, jaw-dropping by today’s standards. So, is Blu-Ray the winner? Not quite. There will also be restrictive measures on Blu-Ray discs, prevent- ing many things from being copied on them. DVD has some form of protec- tion, such as a DVD made for North America being unplayable on a Brit- ish DVD machine. Word has it that it wont be the same copy protection as DVD, but there will be a watermarking protection scheme in place. Big corporations are split on this. 20th Century Fox is backing the Blu- Ray, while Warner Bros. is siding with the HD-DVD. Some big companies are on the fence for the time being, What will happen for the future of these discs is anyone's guess. aI may nota KS with what you have to say, but I will de- eath your righ rig ight to say ite wee to the ~ Voltaire The opinions expressed in editorials or letters to 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 sub- mitted to Over the Edge are the views of the original authors, and therefore, do not reflect the views of Over the Edge, or its staff. Over the Edge welcomes your submissions to our opinion section. Due to the high volume of letters we receive, we would appreciate it if letters were kept at 500 words or less. 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