Trivializing rape culture with a skit[/ub_subhead
According to multiple administrators at the French immersion program Explore, a student skit depicting a man slipping a drug into two girls' drinks, then choosing to take the (unconscious) prettier one home with him, was in response to accusations of sexual assault.
There has been a lot of discussion on whether rape culture can be battled with humour, but we can all agree that this was completely inappropriate. The only way the play might seem like a logical choice is if it were a) self-aware, and b) part of a larger course of action and change in dialogue that involved actual policies protecting students and rigorous education on the culture of assault.
This is rape culture in its purest form; the woman who is deliberately presented as attractive and fun is the one who is raped, while her frumpy friend is not in any danger.
As much as the skit tries to say to men “don’t put drugs in women’s drinks” what it is more obviously saying is "don’t go to parties when you’re too pretty and popular for your own good."
Is Uber the answer to UBC's mobility woes?[/ub_subhead
UBC’s transit accessibility sucks, that’s just an unavoidable fact. The AMS campaigned hard for the “Yes” side in the referendum and since that failed pretty miserably, it’s good to see that they’re on the lookout for other solutions. However, we’re not convinced Uber is one of these solutions. What exactly would a partnership between our AMS and the rideshare company look like? An AMS bumper sticker on Uber cars, or something more tangible, like a discount on Uber services with your student ID? Not to mention that Uber is a company notoriously plagued with legal issues, ranging from burgeoning class-action lawsuits from its drivers to accusations of sexual assaults on its customers.
The company is currently being sued by San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorneys because of its misleading safety policies, specifically its notoriously loose background checks on drivers.
So although Uber is certainly a popular alternative to taxis and may be seen by some as the Gordonian Knot solution to the problem of transport to and from UBC, we’d hope the AMS would go into any kind of partnership with Uber with an awareness of the safety concerns and a clear plan to maximize tangible benefits to students.
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