Print Edition: June 17, 2015
Confessions of a “terrorist”
Thanks to the latest from the Senate of Canada, I will soon be considered guilty of hate crime according to the Harper Government. Because I take part in the BDS Campaign (boycotts, divestments, and sanctions) against Israel in order to place stress on the Israeli occupation of Palestine, according to the Harper government and Bill C-51 I am guilty of hate crime. This means I am vulnerable to having my digital privacy violated and even to being thrown in jail.
Of 72 senators, 44 voted in favour of Bill C-51. The bill has yet to be approved by the Governor General of Canada before it can be passed into law, though the Governor General is merely a puppet position that remains as another example of our archaic and corrupt system of government.
Bill C-51 is so ambiguous and vague that it defeats its original purpose of fighting terrorism and picks up and joins the ranks of terrorists everywhere by removing Canadian citizens’ rights to believe whatever they bloody want to. Welcome to 1983, because 1984 is just around the corner.
The SUB closes too early
I’m sure that every student can remember the times of our youth where we would come home late at night and try to sneak in, ever so quietly, without waking our parents. Usually, it wasn’t that hard. But every once in a while I would forget my house keys and have to ring the doorbell or call until they awoke and unlocked the door for me.
As I got older, late-night escapades became only a memory of youth and I was happy to be done with the days of being locked out at night — until the new Student Union Building opened. If you haven’t noticed, the SUB also locks its doors in the evening, but SUS isn’t giving us as late of a curfew as even the strictest of parents would. The SUB locks its doors at 5:00 every evening.
This means that the only way to get into the building after closing time is by calling campus security to come and unlock the door. And as the officers trudge across the campus lawn to open the SUB’s doors for waiting students, I can see the same look in their eyes as in my father’s every time he had to come and unlock the door for me at 2 a.m. It’s a hassle for everybody.
Music video, or a musical ad?
After taking media and communications courses at UFV, the inclusion of advertising in mass media has become more apparent. Music videos are not untouched by the phenomenon of product placement.
Recently, pop singer Hilary Duff released her music video for “Sparks.” While I highly enjoyed the song, the music video was essentially an advertisement for the Tinder app. Instead of a subtle product placement in the background, it took over the video. It became the main subject matter. It was not about making a video to sell records, but to sell an app.
Where is the line between a music video that contains product placements and a full-on commercial? Are commercial-oriented music videos the “new thing?” I hope not. Product placement in media needs to be at least somewhat subtle.
Registration needs a makeover
Registration for the fall has started up, and it’s time again to navigate UFV’s labyrinthine website.
Online registration should be convenient, but it can often take the good part of a day to sniff out all the information you need on different classes before making your decisions. Info like course descriptions, credit values, program requirements, and even class times are found on completely seperate pages. For newer students, not knowing which tabs to open on your browser beforehand can lead to a lot of hassle.
So why not have this kind of course information on the registration page itself? And why can’t myUFV keep a record of which of your program requirements you have met and which you have yet to meet? Keeping this information all in one spot instead of randomly across the website would not only make registration less confusing for students, but would reflect positively on UFV’s ability to keep up with technology and design their website for efficient use.
