Chronicle 16-17 Issue 01

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4 The Chronicle October 4 - 10, 2016 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca PUBLISHER: Greg Murphy EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Brian Legree AD MANAGER: Dawn Salter Editorial CONTACT US NEWSROOM: brian.legree@durhamcollege.ca ADVERTISING: dawn.salter@durhamcollege.ca Cartoon by Toby VanWeston Construction on Simcoe seems to be never-ending Buses are running late, and so are students. The construction along Simcoe Street is causing more problems than it is fixing. A project that was supposed to be done by the end of August is now set to be complete by the end of October. School starts at the same time every year so how could the Region of Durham not see this coming? The Region of Durham has failed staff, students, and the community in their attempt to finish the construction on Simcoe Street in time for school. According to Bill Reid, the head of capital construction projects for the Region of Durham, the delays in construction were caused by design challenges. Construction workers discovered gas mains, which resulted in a redesign of the project after construction had begun. Nonetheless, there are still many things the Region of Durham could be doing now to lessen the burden. First let’s go back. Construction should have been started in April and ended in August when most students are out of class. According to Reid, the construction was not absolutely necessary but will help improve traffic flow along Simcoe once finished. But it is not finished. Construction workers should at least be working at night, as opposed to the busiest hours of the day, so that construction is less disruptive and completed in a timely manner. For a project that is costing taxpayers 2-3 million dollars already, the Region of Durham should be working extra hard to accelerate the completion date of the construction. Don Lovisa, the president of Durham College, wants the construction to be finished just as much as the students. His normal five-minute commute has turned into a 20-minute drive. “I don’t understand how we can have a construction schedule that is 40 hours a week and not be able to accelerate it, especially when we’re behind,” says Lovisa. The added stress of a longer commute also has an impact on student success. Many students complain buses consistently run late. They can never be sure if they will make it on time for class. With midterms starting before the project is set to finish many more problems will start to arise. What is going to happen when students begin showing up to midterms late? Through poor planning and no attempt to accelerate the project, the construction is becoming increasingly irritating for staff, students, and the broader community. People affected by the construction must voice their concerns to the Region of Durham if they want to pressure this project to be accelerated in any way. The construction is not paving a road to success for students at UOIT and Durham College. It is creating a roadblock. Sam Odrowski EDITORS: Jenn Amaro, James Bauman, Rebecca Calzavara, Nathan Chow, Sharena Clendening, Dean Daley, Alexander Debets, Travis Fortnum, Tyler Hodgkinson, Barbara Howe, Noor Ibrahim, James Jackson, Christopher Jones, Frank Katradis, Daniel Koehler, Angela Lavallee, Chelsea Mc- Cormick, Tyler Mcmurter, Laura Metcalfe, Tommy Morais, Joshua Nelson, Nicole O'Brien, Samuel Odrowski, Devarsh Oza, Trusha Patel, Matthew Pellerin, Asim Pervez, Emily Saxby, Tyler Searle, Jessica Stoiku, Euvilla Thomas, Toby VanWeston, Kayano Waite, Brandi Washington, Michael Welsh, Jared Williams, Erin Williams. The Chronicle is published by the Durham College School of Media, Art and Design, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 7L7, 721- 2000 Ext. 3068, as a training vehicle for students enrolled in Journalism and Advertising courses and as a campus news medium. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the college administration or the board of governors. The Chronicle is a member of the Ontario Community Newspapers Association. MEDIA REPS: Brandon Agnew, Justin Bates, Zach Beauparlant, Kayla Cook, Nathalie Desrochers, Charlotte Edwards, Yannick Green, Madeline Grixti, Stephanie Hanna, Lijo Joseph, Sarah Judge, Shannon Lazo, Megan Mcdonald, Ashley Mcgregor, Josh Mcgurk, Katie Miskelly, Louisa Molloy, Jasmine Ohprecio, Alex Powdar, Olivia Randall-Norris, Kaela Richardson, Madeleine Riley, Alex Royer, Spencer Stevens, Rachel Thompson, Geroge Tsalavoutas, Alexandra Weekes, Cameron Westlake. PRODUCTION ARTISTS: Rachel Alexander, Angela Bahnesli, Sarah Bhatti, Anokhi Bhavsar, Steven Brundage, Chanel Castella, Brandon Clark, Scott Cowling, Leanne Howorth, Bryce Isaacs, Erin Jones, Natasha Kowo, Samantha Mallia, Alyssa Matthew, Alexandra Rich, Bethany Seaton, Kristian Seepersad, Georgina Tsoutsos, Marisa Turpin, Rachel Wendt, Travis Yule. Publisher: Greg Murphy Editor-In-Chief: Brian Legree Features editor: Teresa Goff Ad Manager: Dawn Salter Advertising Production Manager: Kevan F. Drinkwalter Photography Editor: Al Fournier Technical Production: Keir Broadfoot page_04.indd 1 2016-09-30 11:23 AM
chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 4 - 10, 2016 The Chronicle 5 Opinion Free the tampons at DC Photograph by Rebecca Calzavara Ruby Lapointe next to a tampon dispenser in a washroom on campus. Chris Jones Stand up for equality The Black Lives Matter movement has brought to the forefront the mistreatment of black men and women throughout the western world. They have done this by being confrontational and taking direct action against the police and other groups, which has been effective. However, it is no longer time for aggressive tactics, but time to open up a peaceful dialogue. It’s time to stop being Malcolm X and be Martin Luther King. In recent weeks, players in the National Football League (NFL) have been doing just that by symbolically protesting the American national anthem by not standing for it but taking a knee instead, or by raising their fists in solidarity. Their intent is to send a peaceful, but powerful, message to the world: NFL players will no longer tolerate the systemic racism and police brutality that has been plaguing the United States. In particular Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback on the San Francisco 49ers, who started the movement, has received harsh criticism via social media that is often racist and hateful. Kaepernick has said that he won’t stand and show pride to a country that not only oppresses black people and people of colour, but forces them to live in fear for their lives. The group of players protesting throughout the NFL has grown: from Kaepernick’s teammate Eric Reid, to Jeremy Lane of the Seattle Seahawks, to Brandon Marshall of the Denver Bronco’s. The trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Because of Kaepernick and players like him, a dialogue has started across the NFL, throughout its fanbase, and even those who don’t care for football. Kaepernick is the Martin Luther King of this movement. While players in the NFL have been protesting peacefully on a global stage, the same can’t be said about BLM. On occasion they may have gone a step too far in their protests, such as their actions during the Gay Pride Parade in Toronto this summer, where they blocked the parade. There’s been more than just protests by NFL players, however. Police and members of the Black Lives Matter movement in Wichita, Kansas held a cookout in July. Not only did they peacefully enjoy one another’s company, the cookout itself helped show people the value of dialogue and the value of understanding each other’s needs and wants. An open dialogue will always hold more value than aggressive behaviour. These peaceful moments have made more strides than any riot or aggressive tactic could ever hope to make. Kaepernick and other NFL players have brought their message of peace to a global stage, the peaceful protests across the U.S. have helped to gain the respect of the world, and the cookout in Kansas has shown that an open dialogue does not only lead to peace, but it leads to a sense of camaraderie that has long since been lost in the United States. An open dialogue creates a long-term solution. Anger only begets more anger. We’ve had enough of that. Rebecca Calzavara New York is the first American city to provide free tampons in school washrooms. What has become known as the menstrual equity movement is growing. For the last couple of years there has been a growing chorus of women demanding free tampons. Since Canada removed GST tax on tampons in 2015, nothing more has happened. Not paying tax is just a start of the menstrual movement. The issue here is the fact tampons are not a “luxury” item. They are a necessity. Each dispenser at Durham College has napkins and tampons sold for 25 cents. Durham College should not only have tampon dispensers in all women’s washrooms, tampons should be free. Toilet paper is free. Emergency items like tampons and pads should be too. Every school in NYC is working towards getting free tampons in all public washrooms. The tampon dispensers at Durham College are stocked with Tampax brand by house keeping services, who also collect the money. The money is then put towards helping offset the cost of the tampons. The washrooms each have a dispenser but despite the attempt at convenience, the dispensers are outside of the stall and you need to be carrying around change in your pocket if you are not prepared for it. It’s the 21 st century, no one carries around change. Durham College needs to provide tampons and pads. Brown University in NYC is the first school to supply free tampons and pads in public washrooms. The Undergraduate Council of Students provide the school with tampons and pads. Durham College’s Health and Wellness club would be a great way to spread the word around on how important this is to girls. There hasn’t been a whole lot of action on this issue because it’s not something most people like to talk about. It’s one of those touchy subjects because it’s not a pleasant one. Not a lot of guys would want to talk about a girl’s menstrual cycle but it is something girls struggle with every month. However, this is not just a taboo subject, it’s also costly. For everyone, in college there are a lot of expenses. Whether it be groceries or transit, it can get really stressful and overwhelming. It’s being recognized that tampons are not a luxury item. They are a necessity. Last year Canada got rid of tampon tax so women no longer pay GST on tampons. This is not enough. Tampons are not a “luxury” item, they are a necessity and it’s about time schools provided them, free of charge. Free the tampon at Durham College. iOS 10 now uses a water gun emoji instead of pistol Apple won’t be able to change the world’s gun problem Sticking to your guns is no longer an option with Apple’s new IOS update. Long gone are the days where Apple users could hypothetically pull a pistol. Now, if you’re trying to threaten your friends or foes, your best hope is their fear of squirt guns. Apple’s new emoji keyboard has replaced the revolver emoji with a lime green water gun. Although this transition was met with hundreds of social media protesters claiming it doesn’t help gun violence, this decision is Apple’s ingenious method of portraying its political stance against gun violence. In light of recent tragic events such as the Orlando nightclub shooting and the Dallas police gun-down, it is hard not to look at Apple’s new update from an angle that is hoping for change in gunlaws, whether big or small. Yet people have taken to social media to denounce Apple’s replacement of the gun, saying the move is useless, as it doesn’t improve gunlaws or affect gun-violence in any meaningful way. The squirt gun emoji will not prevent another tragedy. However, Noor Ibrahim the emoji was never meant to end gun-violence or improve the war against it in the first place. It was merely replaced as a political statement on a serious social issue. Let’s not pretend that Apple’s replacement of the pistol has affected American’s rights to own firearms. The emoji cannot, and never will, pioneer new laws for gun safety. Apple never claimed it would. If Apple really wanted to take the next step in promoting a war against gun-violence, they would have removed the gun emoji entirely. But instead, Apple chose to add a lime green alias to show the public where they stand. Apple never addressed this message directly either. When Apple released the new emojis earlier this year, the water gun was among the photos within the news release. However, the news release didn’t include anything about the water gun. Apple merely claimed their new emojis are “beautiful redesigns” that “bring more gender options to existing characters.” Apple came under the spotlight in July when an organization called NewYorkers against Gun Violence (NYAGV) launched a campaign called Disarm the iPhone. The campaign urges users to tweet Apple’s CEO Tim Cook requests to remove the pistol emoji. Therefore, people claimed that Apple replaced the emoji to merely avoid the humiliation and trouble that the campaign would cause. Let’s get one thing straight. Apple isn’t afraid of humiliation. They practically live in it by now. Remember the iPen? The oh-so-bendable iPhone 6 Plus? The HEAD- PHONE JACK? Apple has never once caved into public criticism and changed their designs. This time isn’t any different. The campaign was just another protester barking up Apple’s tree. If Apple really wanted to avoid trouble, they could have replaced all lethal weapons on their keyboard. But you don’t see a butter knife yet do you? Apple also refused to implement a rifle emoji earlier this year, which strengthens their political statement further. The fact that the gun emoji can still be used further proves that Apple wasn’t trying to eliminate the talk about guns. The water gun emoji still shows up as a pistol to any non-IOS device or any device with an IOS less than 10. Even though it may seem like Apple was trying to put a Band-Aid on a black hole by removing the gun emoji to end gun violence, Apple was only trying to convey a political stance of intolerance towards gun violence. It succeeded. Besides, everyone knows users will find a way around the emoji anyway. Users of the eggplant and peach emoji know exactly what I’m talking about. page_05.indd 1 2016-09-30 11:28 AM
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Chronicle 16-17 Issue 01

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