@prefix edm: .
@prefix dcterms: .
@prefix dc: .
@prefix skos: .
edm:dataProvider "CONTENTdm"@en ;
dcterms:isReferencedBy "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1211252"@en ;
dcterms:isPartOf "University Publications"@en ;
dcterms:issued "2015-08-26"@en, "2013-01-24"@en ;
edm:aggregatedCHO "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/Ubysseynews/items/1.0126256/source.json"@en ;
dc:format "application/pdf"@en ;
skos:note """ DISENDORSED BY HACKS EVERYWHERE SINCE 1918
UBC'S OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER | JANUARY 24, 2013 | VOLUMEXCIV| ISSUEXXXV
ENDORSEMENTS
Still holding out on voting? Read our editorial board's official breakdown and rationale pio
SPILL
ACCIDENT IN
SOUTH CAMPUS
SENDS GALLONS
OF DIESEL INTO
STREAM P4
CAN
TAND
BAD
P6 »Page 2
What's on
lEK.MAYI
THEATRE»
Rhinoceros: 7:30 p.m. @ Telus Studio Theatre
Theatre at UBC's latest production follows French everyman Berenger,
who is horrified to find that everyone in his small village is transforming
into stampeding rhinoceroses. This absurdist exploration of conformity is
playing at the Telus until Feb. 9. Directed by MFA directing student Chelsea Haberlin, performed by BFA acting students. $10 for students.
ELECTIONS »
AMS Elections Results Party:
5 p.m. @ the Gallery
Ifyou haven't noticed that it is
election season, perhaps you
should pick up Monday's issue of
the paper. Make sure to come to
thiseventto meetyourfuturestu-
dent government and discover
the future of the U-Pass.
FOOD»
Dine Out Vancouver @
restaurants all over the city
Score cheap three-course meals
at fine dining establishments
that are way out of the average
student's price range. $18, $28
and $38 menus available; visit
dineoutvancouver.com.
UBC men's hockey vs. Mt.
Royal Cougars: 2:30-4:30
p.m. @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
Cheer on the Thunderbirds
men's hockey team as they duke
it out on the ice with the Mt. Royal
Cougars. $2 for students.
VERY IMPORTANT»
Data Privacy Day: All day @
The whole world!
Did you know that today is Data
Privacy Day? Use these 24 hours
as an opportunity to hack-proof
your passwords, PIN numbers
and personal documents.
Golly! Doesn't that feel better?
Priceless.
Got an event you'd like to see on this page? Send your event
and your best pitch to printeditor@ubyssey.ca.
Video content
Make sure to check latest Ubyssey
Weekly Show, airing now at
ubyssey.ca/videos/.
'JJthe ubyssey
JANUARY24.2013 | VOLUMEXCIV| ISSUEXXXV
Coordinating Editor
Jonny Wakefield
coordinating@u byssey.ca
Managing Editor, Print
Jeff Aschkinasi
minted ito r@u byssey.ca
Managing Editor,Web
Andrew Bates
webed itor@u byssey.ca
News Editors
Will McDonald*
Laura Rodgers
iews@ubyssey.ca
Senior News Writer
Ming Wong
Tiwong@ u byssey.ca
Culture Editor
Anna Zona
culture@ubyssey.ca
Senior Culture Writer
Rhys Edwards
•edwards@u byssey.ca
Sports + Rec Editor
CJ Pentland
sports@ubyssey.ca
Senior LifestyleWriter
Justin Fleming
jfleming@u byssey.ca
Features Editor
Amo Rosenfeld
featu res@u byssey.ca
Video Editor
David Marino
video@ubyssey.ca
Copy Editor
Karina Palmitesta
copy@ubyssey.ca
STAFF
3ryce Warnes, Josh Curran,
^eter Wojnar, Anthony
Poon,VeronikaBondarenko,
Yara Van Kessel.Lu Zhang,
Catherine Guan,Ginny
Monaco,Arno Rosenfeld.
Matt Meuse, Hogan Wong,
Rory Gattens, Brandon
Chow, Joseph Ssettuba. Tyler
McRobbie, Sarah Big am,
StephanieXu, Natalya Kautz
Business Manager
Fernie Pereira
fpereira@ubyssey.ca
Ad Sales
Ben Chen
3chen@ubyssey.ca
Accounts
Tom Tang
ttang@ubyssey.ca
Editorial Office: SUB 24
604.822.2301
Business Office: SUB 23
ADVERTISING 604.822.1654
nquiries 604.822.6681
Student Union Building
6138 SUB Boulevard
Vancouver, BCV6T1Z1
Online: ubyssey.ca
Twitter: @ubyssey
Art Director
Kai Jacobson
a rt@ ubyssey.ca
Graphics Assistant
Indiana Joel
joe l@ ubyssey.ca
Layout Artist
Colly n Chan
cchan@ ubyssey.ca
Videographer
Lu Zhang
zhang@ubyssey.ca
Webmaster
Riley Tomasek
webrnaster@u byssey.ca
Th fficial stu
dent newspaper of the University or bsrmsn Lolumbla.
t Is published every Monday
andThursday by The Ubyssey
Publications Sociely. We are ar
autonomous, democratically
•un student organization, anc
all students are encoi iraned to
oartlcipate.
Editorials are chosen and
written by the Ubyssey staff.
They are the expressed opln-
on of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views ofThe
Jbyssey Publications Sociely
or the University of British Co-
umbla. All editorial content
appearing In The Ubyssey Is
the property ofThe Ubyssey
Publications Society. Stories,
opinions, photographs andart-
work contained he
oe reproduced without the
expressed, written permission ofThe Ubyssey Publications Society.
The Ubyssey Is a founding
member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and adheres
to CUP's guiding principles.
Letters tothe editor must
oe under300 words. Please
nclude your phone number,
student number and signature (not for publication) as
well as your year and faculty
with all submissions. ID wll
oe checked when submissions are dropped off at the
adi tori al office ofThe Ubyssey;
otherwise verification will be
done by phone. The Ubyssey
•eserves the right to edit sub-
lisslons for length and clari-
'. All letters must be receivec
oy 12 noon the day before Intended publication. Letters received after this point will be
oublished In the following Issue unless there is an urgent
time restriction or other matter deemed relevant by the
Jbyssey staff.
It is agreed by all persons
olaclng display orclasslfiedad-
vertisingthatlftheUbysseyPub-
icatlons Sociely falls topublish
an advertise men tor if an error
n the ad occurs the liability of
theUPS wll notbe greater tnar
the price paid for the ad. The
J PS shall notbe responsl ble for
slight changes or typographl-
caFerrors that do not lessen the
value or the impact of the ad.
OUR CAMPUS
ONE ON ONE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UBC
KAI JACOBSON PHOJWHE UBYSSEY
AMS presidential candidate Jay Shah has been an active member of the Greek system since he came to UBC.
Jay Shah talks REC, rappers
Will McDonald
News Editor
AMS presidential candidate Jay
Shah has held numerous AMS
positions, but he's most at home
when he's with his fraternity,
Beta Theta Pi, or participating
in UBC REC activities.
"This is probably my biggest
accomplishment: I came in
fourth in the UBC REC campus-wide table tennis tournament," said Shah.
Shah said hockey is his
favourite sport to watch, but
he is also a fan of baseball
and football.
"I knew something in my
life was missing from October
to November this year and I
couldn't actually pinpoint it —
and I realized it was hockey,"
said Shah.
Shah is active in REC
sports, including ball hockey,
basketball, soccer and Storm
the Wall.
Shah has also played competitive hockey since he was in
the seventh grade. He mentioned that winning the UBC
REC ball hockey tournament
on his fraternity's team was
another milestone in his life.
"I never won an organized
ball hockey tournament until
this year, so that, I would have
to say, was one of my bigger
accomplishments," said Shah.
A Markham, Ontario native,
Shah is in his fifth year of a BA
in international relations and
English literature.
In his first year at UBC,
Shah lived far away from
campus and had no network of
friends or family in the area.
He said that's when he got
involved in Greek life.
"Obviously having that sort
of familial feeling was hugely,
hugely beneficial, initially,"
said Shah.
Shah is currently the executive coordinator of student services for the AMS and has held
numerous elected positions in
the Greek system, including
president of Beta Theta Pi.
"[Fraternies are] not necessarily for everyone, but
it's definitely something that
has provided me with a lot of
experience, with a lot of knowledge, with a lot of tolerance
that has allowed me to grow
as a person and help grow the
organization," said Shah. "It's
something that I think, overall,
is just a fantastic experience."
Shah is known for his speaking ability and communication
skills, which he developed
as the AMS ombudsperson.
Rumour has it that this affinity
for public speaking stems from
an obsession with rapper Jay-Z.
"I think that's actually been
a little bit overblown. There
were drinks flowing that night
and so I can't really corroborate the extent to which I'm a
huge Jay-Z fan," said Shah.
"I do have a lot of respect for
him, definitely. Coming from
where he came from and being
able to build up what he's been
able to is definitely hugely motivational, but do I have a huge
obsession? I wouldn't necessarily classify it as that. But I'm
definitely a fan of his music, for
sure." tJ
l. Send us your flash fiction & poetry
3. Win prizes
The Ubyssey's annual creative writing contest is open
for submissions! Have your work judged by published
authors and magazine editors. Winners in each category
are published in The Ubyssey and awarded $75 and a subscription to a literary magazine.
ul ™^5 • Email submissions by Feb. 1, 2013
|C1 1 U mUTmrn^ * 300-500 words for flash fiction
AlW MmMmmm • 1 page or less for poetry
Visit ubyssey.ca/literary/for full submission guidelines. tNewsl
INVENTIONS »
ORS WILL MCDONALD + LAURA RODGERS
BUSINESSES»
Isabel Chen holds up a watch equipped with the panic device.
^^r^ssf
c&v
,#os
««J*
Aoosecg
/'*''
*"<§*
^di*en
.&ocrt
peneW?
J /
V
-*
Kevi
"22H5*?
■bo">-fea
'"hearted
f own-up '
,a"7 tale "
VlJi Kline S,J*
m
y.t.
"Dfla/rp
/^w —«' San,
nPky
im by
'' 'iotta,,
} m
~ ^
Liu
^
■\\\\ K\\
(,»#
^-ai§^
=HOTOCOURTESYOFTHE ARTIST
One of these flicks could be your ticket out of a seasonal, rain-induced
funk. Opinions
AMS ELECTIONS ENDORSEMENTS
OUR THOUGHTS ON THIS YEARS AMS ELECTIONS CANDIDATES
Each year, The Ubyssey
endorses candidates in the
AMS elections. We do this
to give students a better
sense of what we look for in a candidate for public office.
The editorial board was able to
come to a consensus on the majority
of races. When we weren't able to
settle on one candidate/referendum
proposal, we brought the proposal
to a vote. Much like the Supreme
Court, we've written majority and
minority opinions. Unless otherwise
noted, however, the editorial board
was unanimous in its decisions.
Let's start from the top:
PRESIDENT
Endorsement:
Caroline
Wong
At the beginning of this
election season,
we were not
overly thrilled
with the
candidates for
president. Indeed, it was hard at
first to pick out where they differed
in any substantive way. On the face
of it, Jay Shah, Caroline Wong and
Ekateryna Baranovskaya come from
very similar backgrounds. They've
all come from somewhere deep
inside the AMS — from Student Services, Council orthe undergraduate
societies. They're all arts students,
and they're all involved in Greek
life. And they've all served on one
committee or another (a point every
candidate was all too happy to bring
up inthe debates). These candidates
come from a monoculture that is
interested in code, bylaws and Robert's Rules of Order.
Now, a week and a half into the
two-week campaign period, the
three hopefuls have yet to distinguish themselves. What these
candidates represent, ultimately, is
an AMS that has completely forgotten how to talk to actual students.
Ninety-eight per cent of students
don't care if a candidate has served
on such and such committee unless
it's clear as day why that matters.
The intricacies ofthe organization
only matter if they propel some
larger vision, a vision of what a
student society ought to be. These
candidates have no such vision. It's a
competition over who would be the
better manager, who better understands pragmatically what the AMS
can do over the next year. Steady as
she goes.
These are the criteria on which
we had to base our decision.
Baranovskaya offered a number
of ideas for improving student engagement with the AMS (a lofty goal
that has been trotted out by AMS
politicians since time immemorial).
She would do this by creating some
sort of forum, or providing better
support for undergraduate society
elections. But "engagement" with
the AMS isn't going to spring from a
forum; it will only come from offering some new service to students, or
from realigning existing services to
better reflect what students want.
Baranovskaya's platform point about
the upcoming provincial election
came across as equally unclear.
And while creating an executive
position to focus on student mental
health and social life is a good idea,
more or less every other candidate
believes this should happen. It is not
a new idea.
Jay Shah has tried to distin
guish himself by arguing he is
not a "career student politician."
And while this is true (Shah has
not held an elected position in the
AMS), this argument doesn't go far
in recommending him for the job
of president. AMS services, which
Shah headed this year, will exist
no matter who's in charge. The department gets a dependable amount
of money from students and has a
large permanent staff. It will run
no matter who's in charge (though
that's not to say that there haven't
been any hiccups in recent years).
Shah has done little to rock the boat
or try new things. Services such as
Safewalk, tutoring and mini school
are no more visible this year than
they have been in the past. He may
have been a fine manager, but we're
not convinced that Shah would be a
particularly effective leader.
Caroline Wong is the only
candidate in this race with any past
executive experience, having served
as VP Administration under past
president Matt Parson. This puts
her in a better position than the
other two candidates, as she knows
the ins and outs ofthe new SUB
project. The new SUB opens in a
little over a year, and since the AMS
is betting the farm on the hope the
new building will increase business
revenues and student engagement,
the priority of this executive will
be making sure the transition goes
smoothly. They also have to make
sure that the new SUB is something
students are excited about. We think
Wong is in the best position to lead
this charge. While her term as VP
Admin was largely uneventful, we
believe she did a fine job keeping
up communications with clubs and
pushing the new SUB project. While
her background is in administration,
she knows what she has to do to step
into a leadership role.
While we give her our endorsement, it's lukewarm. Even after
almost two weeks of campaigning,
no candidate stands head and/or
shoulders above the rest.
Full disclosure: Colly n Chan, one of
The Ubyssey's paid graphic designers,
worked on Wong's campaign for VP
Administration, and served briefly
as Wong's assistant. Chan has not
participated in any AMS-related
coverage and was not present at our
endorsement meeting.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Endorsement: Matt Parson and
Tristan Miller
BoG is a tough race this year. Let's
start with who we don't endorse.
We can unequivocally do not
endorse Harsev Oshan. He has a list
of follies as the Arts Undergraduate
Society president that make us wary
of giving him our support. He has
basic responsibility issues, such as
signing dubious sponsorship deals
with Gold's Gym, leaving thousands
of dollars in a office that was broken
into and missing meetings. His
campaign has promised very little in
terms of what he will do for students
if elected to the bigtable.
We also have issues with sup
porting Conny Lin. She had a lacklustre performance at the debates
and her answers to our candidate
questions went off topic. There is
something to be said for having a
graduate student rep on the Board,
but she seems to lack basic knowledge of key issues like governance.
While incumbent BoG rep Mike
Silley didn't make any big mistakes
during his time in office, we don't
think he deserves another term. He
doesn't have any concrete platform
points this year, and some quotes
(like the Board has "won him over")
cause us to question if he has lost
touch with the student point of view.
We also have problems with him
taking credit for the lower bachelor
of international economics tuition
during his time in office. He didn't
take an active role pressing for it,
and citing it as an accomplishment
seems disingenuous.
We think Erin Rennie would be
an OK choice, but she isn't in our top
two. Her platform to fight the war
on fun is appealing, but it is unclear
if that can actually be addressed at
the board level. She was away from
UBC for years and might not be up
to date on the campus culture. She
also worked in a B.C. Liberal cabinet
minister's office. On aboard dominated by B.C. Liberals, her political
career could put her in a tough
position to disagree with her fellow
board members.
Which leaves our endorsements
for Matt Parson and Tristan Miller.
Parson has extensive political
experience and knows what's coming down the pipeline at the board.
He has experience working on
student housing, a valuable attribute
for a student rep. But we have our
concerns about his AMS presidency.
He backed down on a number of his
campaign promises and didn't wow
us with his PAR goals. But ultimately, he understands students and
understands how the board works.
We think he will be an effective
voice for students.
We think Tristan Miller would
be a good foil to Parson on the
board. He has the personality to be
an effective bad cop. While he can
come across as icy to the average
student, he has concrete plans for
housing affordability. We also think
he wouldn't be afraid to take a stand
against the board and will resist
becoming a lackey.
VP ACADEMIC
Endorsement: Kiran Mahal
Kiran Mahal has been an outstanding AMS executive this year and has
strong ideas for continuing her work
in a second
term. Mahal
has been active
as an advocate
for student
housing, taking
the lead on the
Acadia Park
issue after UBC
moved to evict
student families
from the buildings. She has also
drawn up a Student Housing Action
Plan and worked on restructuring
UBC's internal loan structure, the
easiest way to bring housing costs
down. It was Mahal who spearheaded the fight against the bachelor of international economics and
succeeded in forcing the Board of
Governors to reduce tuition, saving
students around $500,000.
Challengers Anne Kessler and
i\\
Montana Hunter have no business running for the VP Academic
position. Kessler's rants against
the university at debates and in her
stump speech appear juvenile when
she fails to couple them with any
compelling policy positions. Hunter
is running on a platform of "affordability," an issue already being
addressed by Mahal. He has not
presented any concrete or realistic
ways to reduce student costs.
To say Kessler and Hunter's
vanswers at the debates were boilerplate would be too kind. The Ubyssey
wholeheartedly endorses Kiran
Mahal for a second term as VP Academic and University Affairs.
VP EXTERNAL
Endorsement: Tanner Bokor
It's hard to get
excited about a
race with only
one candidate.
While we
endorse Tanner
Bokor for the
position of VP
External, we do
so with some
caveats.
Bokor has
made transit his sole focus as Associate VP External, and while it's safe
to say students want to see advocacy focused on improving transit
service to UBC, we worry that this
approach will come at the expense
of other areas ofthe portfolio. For
one, WTF (the provincial campaign
to improve access to education that
the AMS supports) is awful. Its
website hasn't been updated since
early September, and there's no indication that the AMS or other area
student unions are gearing up for
any kind of advocacy push during
this spring's provincial elections. If
Bokor focuses exclusively on transit
as VP External, his term will have
been a failure.
All that aside, Bokor has done fine
work inthe VP External's office this
year, and would be a good choice to
take the reins. He's certainly better
than the alternative: a "no" vote.
VP ADMINISTRATION
Endorsement: Derek Moore (7
for, 3 against)
This was a
tough choice.
Our editorial
board quickly
moved past Justin Fernandes,
who has gained
a reputation
in the Science
Undergraduate
Society as being
hard to work with. And while we're
not always keen to endorse someone
based solely on prior AMS experience, Olivia Yung would need some
more experience running an organization before we'd suggest handing
her the keys to the SUB/clubs.
Derek Moore ultimately gets
our endorsement. He's worked on
the new SUB project extensively,
and has an understanding ofthe
thousands of little things that need
to happen before the AMS can move
into the new building in 18 months.
That project is far from "done," as
other candidates have suggested.
Moore has worked hard over the
past year to make sure all clubs
and student organizations with a
designated space in the new SUB
were consulted.
Moore would be well suited to
some ofthe more mundane administrative work that the position's
title suggests. And while Moore has
proven himself to be a hard worker,
some on our editorial board were
concerned about his lack of ideas.
On that front, one candidate
stood out. We debated for some time
whether to endorse this race's wildcard candidate, Barnabas Caro. Caro
is well-known (as UBC students go).
He's been a residence advisor and
has served on the Student Administrative Commission, the AMS
group in charge of managing clubs.
He seems to have developed a good
rapport with club execs, organizing
a number of informal (and well-attended) beer nights. Much of his
platform revolves around advertising the often untouched funds the
AMS makes available for clubs. Of
course, these initiatives are not the
same as managing a multimillion
dollar building, and Caro has shown
in the past that he has some basic
responsibility issues.
Ultimately, Moore is the safe
choice. But part of us wants to
see what Caro would do with the
position.
VP FINANCE
Endorsement: Joaquin Acevedo
VP Finance is not a glamorous job.
It's mostly spreadsheet-crunching,
telling other
people they
can't have
things and
cheque-sign-
ing.ALOTof
cheque-signing.
It's important
the person who
takes the job has
a clear grasp ofthe job duties before
they start, because the time between
taking office in March and submitting the summer's first budget draft
will inevitably breeze by.
Mateusz Miadlikowski seems
like an eager chap, but he revealed
in debate that he really doesn't
know what he's talking about. His
only experience with the AMS
is slinging beers at the Pit. We
don't want to disparage that, but it
doesn't exactly prepare him to take
control ofthe society's oft-confusing financial side.
Joaquin has the requisite experience and knowledge of what the
VP Finance does. He's also a fairly
affable guy who communicates well,
which will make his role working
between AMS Council and the new
business board easier.
RACES AT A GLANCE
Due to space limitations, we have
not included this year's Senate and
Student Legal Fund Society (SLFS)
endorsements in print. Find our
thoughts on these races and the
referenda at ubyssey.ca.
• Senate: Kiran Mahal, Philip
Edgecumbe, Yaniv Pereslavsky and
Natalie Marshall
• SLFS: Students for
Responsible Leadership
• Referenda: Question 1 (U-Pass):
YES. Question 2 (AGM quorum):
YES. Question 3 (substantive bylaw
changes): YES. Question 4: (housekeeping bylaw changes): YES. Question 5: ($l/student for Bike Co-op):
NO, 8 to 3). a THURSDAY, JANUARY24,2013 | OPINIONS | 11
LIFE»
ELECTIONS »
Kicking the "busyness" habit
i
REMEMBRANCE OF
THINGS PRESENT
by Kurtis Lockhart
We've all been in that frustrating
situation: you ask a friend if she
wants to go see a movie, or meet
you at the pub for a drink, or simply hang out. And then you get that
eye-roll-inducing response: "Oh,
I'm suuuper busy, but... I'll tryyyy
and make time. I'll let you know..."
All the while, you know she's
not as busy as she thinks she is,
and could definitely "make time."
This problem of "busyness" - or
rather, faux busyness — is not new.
Inthe 1920s, Franz Kafka wrote of
busyness in his masterpiece, The
Trial. In one scene, a character
laments that his case is taking up
all of his time: "Most of all, I don't
want to lose my trial,... [and if] you
want to do something about your
trial you don't have much time for
anything else."
This sentiment has never held
more currency than in today's universities. None of us wants to lose
or fail in our own trials, and so we
give everything — all of our time —
to winning, to attaining our goals,
to getting that A grade. Our trials
make us busy and distract us from
actually living.
The key piece of information
that gives The Trial its absurd and
surreal dimension is that Joseph
K., the novel's protagonist, doesn't
even know why he's been summoned to court in the first place.
He never finds out, yet he is still
forced, nonsensically, to try to
win his trial. This is the perfect
analogy to university life — and, I
guess, to adulthood in general.
We allow these frivolous trials
to overwhelm us, despite the fact
that they make us exhausted,
We may think we're busy, but be honest with
anxious and temperamental. Just
like Joseph K., we don't know how
they've come to take up all of our
time, or to what end.
I can think of two main reasons:
one more readily obvious to us students, and the other more subtle,
but no less potent.
The primary reason we allow
ourselves to succumb to busyness is so we can get into the best
schools or secure the best jobs. In
place of idleness and leisure, college admissions boards and hiring
committees require extracurricular activities and community
service; they demand busyness.
In contrast, the second reason goes largely unnoticed: we
take refuge in busyness because
we don't want to be idle. With
idleness comes either boredom
— unbearable in our entertain-
yourself: you could reschedule.
ment-crazed, one-click culture
— or worse, actual introspection.
That is, being alone with your
thoughts. This may be the most
frightening prospect of all.
We fear we might ask ourselves
questions of true consequence during those rare moments of silence
in an otherwise frenetically busy
existence: Am I happy? Do I know
what I want to do with my life? If so,
am I doing it for the right reasons?
Do I actually love my significant
other? Does he or she love me? And,
worst of all — who am I?
Just as Joseph K. didn't know
why he was summoned, we too don't
know — or don't want to know — the
answers to these questions. And this
lends the same absurdity and surrealism, the same lack of purpose, to
our lives as it does to Joseph K.'s.
To avoid answering these
ANDREWBATES PHOJWHE UBYSSEY
questions, to avoid silence and
introspection, we eschew idleness
and take shelter in busyness. Busyness, almost like drugs or alcohol,
becomes our escape.
One can't much scratch the surface of this subject in 600 words.
This is all to say that midterms are
just around the corner, and we are
all going to be busy. But that isn't
an excuse to stop living, because
after midterms are finals and
after finals is graduation and after
graduation is real life where you'll
have a real job and — spoiler alert
— you'll be busy.
Busyness is a convenient
fiction. And unlike Joseph K., we
shouldn't make the mistake of allowing our absurd trials to distract
us from things of real meaning and
consequence. tJ
PIC OF THE WEEK
Candidates for
prez don't offer
much to chew
on