Parting shots and snap judgements from The Ubyssey‘s editorial board.

In celebrating Vision, don’t forget about COPE

The re-election of Gregor Robertson and further entrenchment of Vision Vancouver as the dominant political party in Vancouver was celebrated by many UBC students last night, and that’s not surprising. Your typical politically-minded student is idealistic, socially progressive, fiscally conservative (but hates political labels), pro-environment, loves talking about how awesome Vancouver is and loves Twitter. For them, Vision is a perfect fit.

But yesterday’s results also wiped COPE off the map, which is unfortunate even if you don’t own a Che Guevara shirt. On development and affordability issues, Vision is essentially NPA-lite: while their commitment to stopping homelessness is to be commended, for those of us looking for homes to rent—and one day, maybe buy—the last three years haven’t been kind. A COPE councillor speaking up on the cost of living in Vancouver wouldn’t have changed the plans of Vision and NPA, but it at least would have made them stop and listen.

If students want to not only love Vancouver, but also be able to afford to live here post-graduation, Saturday’s results won’t help their chances.

Three more years for Harris as Electoral Area A director

While Saturday’s civic election made a good number of students excited that their favourite juiceman was given another term by the voters of Vancouver, there’s another politician that deserves congratulations: Maria Harris, re-elected to a second term as director of Electoral Area A.

In the race to be the only municipal representative of the UBC area, Harris ran a solid campaign, and the combination of her incumbency and the inexperience of her competitors led to an easy win.

Turnout increased from 743 in 2008 to 931 this year, which shows that while interest in our quasi-democratic systems is growing, the number of people who care are still vastly eclipsed by those who don’t.

But for those who do care how the lands west of Blanca are governed, Harris is your representative for another three years. She’s been elected by students and permanent residents to fight for us on the Metro Vancouver board. While we haven’t been thrilled with her lack of focus on student issues the last three years, we hope that will change this time around. We wish her well.

The Senate took too long to come to the right decision

After many months, UBC has finally come to the conclusion that all but the most pedantic guarders of academia minutia had already figured out: that Japanese-Canadian UBC students who were forced out of the university during World War II should be awarded honourary degrees.

The announcement should have been one of unequivocal celebration and remembrance. Instead, it came about after a prolonged in camera discussion by the Senate, which was preceded by months of awkward posturing by the university.

Indeed, UBC’s response to this, while well-meaning, was not exactly sure-footed. First, there was the rejection of the original wish for honourary degrees. Then, there were ham-fisted attempts to explain that honourary degrees had very set criteria around them. Finally, there was an acknowledgement that the university had to move to accommodate this unique request—but it would be done in secret, only to be announced after they had put a fancy bow on the proceedings.

The internment of Japanese-Canadians, one of the darkest moments in the history of this province, was one that this university was wholly complicit in. When the ceremony happens in May, it will provide closure to many and be an emotional and uplifting moment for all. For that, the university deserves credit. We just wish it hadn’t taken them so long.

All Board of Governors reps should play by the same rules

If Bill 18 passes in the BC legislature, the Board of Governors (BoG) at all universities in the province will be able to remove members elected by students and faculty if they can get a two-thirds majority vote. Provincial appointees will not be subject to this. Student politicians are outraged over this prospect, and we are too.

Anyone on the BoG should be entitled to serve their full term. But if we are going to allow people to be removed, it should only be done by those who got that person on the board in the first place. For elected members, only the electorate should be able to remove them. For appointed members, only the appointers should have removal power.

At the very least, all BoG members should be subject to the same rules. It is completely unfair, not to mention undemocratic, that student and faculty representatives could be voted out but not the provincial appointees. Bill 18 must not be allowed to pass in its current form.

The Grey Cup isn’t the only game in town this weekend

With the BC Lions’s victory over Edmonton today, we have the chance for a home team victory in the Grey Cup. Unfortunately the game has been sold out for weeks, so none of us will be able to go.

But don’t forget the Vanier Cup, which pits Laval against McMaster for the top prize in Canadian university football. It’s too bad the T-Birds weren’t able to make it past Calgary, but tickets are still available and quite cheap. This is a great chance to see high quality football in a beautiful new venue. And, you know, get really drunk with all your friends in public.

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