Spare some change for the humanities?
Philosophy professor Paul Russell received $12 million from a Swedish research group to study questions of morality and ethics. While there is nothing particularly unusual about scientific or medical researchers receiving large sums of money for their work, it raises eyebrows to see a philosophy professor (or any Arts professor) receiving a grant of this size. Oh wait -- this is because this is Canada and not Sweden.
Looking at both federal and university budget trends for humanities research paints a grim picture; there is still some money to go around, of course, but the numbers are much smaller than they are for health, science and engineering research while these types of grants are usually the most likely to get cut.
This makes one thing crystal clear: neither the Canadian government nor Canadian academia prioritizes the humanities and this is, quite frankly, a crying shame. While we admit that medical and scientific research is often able to provide more tangible and easily calculated results and often requires more expensive equipment, this doesn’t mean that the humanities should always get the short end of the stick -- and then only if there is “some money left over.” By fostering and supporting the study of people, arts, culture, philosophy, morality, literature and languages, we are able to develop a more profound understanding of people and the world we live in that can go hand in hand with scientific discoveries.
Vote yes to more transit
“Do you support a one half percentage point (0.5 per cent) increase to the Provincial Sales Tax in Metro Vancouver, dedicated to the Mayors’ Transportation and Transit Plan, with independent audits and public reporting?”
That is the question on everyone’s mind this month. If you go to UBC, you’ve been bombarded by advertisements and approached by petitioners and promoters urging you to vote one way or another on the now-ongoing transit referendum (officially, “Metro Vancouver’s Transit and Transportation Referendum”). It may be the case that you’re not so much deciding whether to vote yes or no as deciding if you want to vote at all. Fundamental principles of democracy aside, it’s an understandable stance: maybe you don’t know enough to make an informed vote; or maybe you really just don’t care. We’re going to give you some reasons why you should care, and ultimately, reasons that you should vote ‘yes’.
If it passes and is ratified by the government, the ‘transit tax’ will bring in an estimated $250 million per year in additional funding for TransLink. The campaign promises range from light rail in Surrey, to more busses, to a Broadway subway line -- terminating at Arbutus, but still cutting down the student commute considerably. The breadth, scope and magnitude of these promises are enough to entice any frequent transit-user, though it is also in this that we (and many ‘no-side proponents’ see the biggest flaw: the proposals are, as Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan phrased it, a “wish list”. Maybe, with sufficient public support, funding and governmental assistance all of these things can be accomplished, but it seems a little bit too ambitious, to us. That said, in our view, regardless of how many of the projects actually come to fruition, more funding to transit is a good thing.
Estimates for the cost to the average student that a 0.5 per cent sales tax increase would bring range from $30-60 per year. That certainly isn’t chump change, but it’s also something that you probably wouldn’t even notice disappearing out of your wallet over the course of a year. If money is your main concern, though, consider the time that you’ll save with improved transit, either from having to wait less time for a bus or skytrain or by having fewer cars on the road causing traffic congestion if more people are taking transit -- time which could be spent working to earn back that $60.
Overall, though we do have some doubts regarding TransLink’s corporate efficiency (we’re looking at you, Compass Card and fare gates) and the ambitiousness of some of the plans of the mayor’s council is questionable, the relatively small amount of risk compared to the potential reward of a massively improved (and constantly improving) transit system makes our decision easy. Take 10 minutes out of your day to order and/or fill out a ballot, and vote yes.