Opinion pitches!

Hey everyone!Happy election week! I'll be a little slower on edits/replying to emails this week because there is quite a bit of chaos surrounding elections, but please don't hesitate to pick up a story anyway. There are a lot of interesting things happening in the world and I would love to hear your take on them! Just shoot me a response to this email if you want to pick up any of the following stories, or let me know if you have a pitch of your own. Articles are due Friday at 5pm. 

Gateway hiring is coming soon 

If you're interested in working at the Gateway next year, now's the time to start thinking about applying! I cannot recommend it enough. I'm super happy to talk to you in detail about the Opinion Editor position, or any of the other jobs at the Gateway, so feel free to reach out if you have any questions or want more information. Job postings for Online Editor and Managing Editor are already up, so you can check those out! 

April magazine content

Still looking for content for the last magazine that will be published during my time as Opinion Editor! Below are some of the pitches I have for each segment, but feel free to pitch me other ideas if you have them. Worth It/Not Worth It- Point-Counterpoint- 

The federal NDP added universal free tuition to their policy book 

It hasn't actually been adopted as a formal platform point, but free tuition as a policy is now a possibility for the federal NDP. There's been some interesting discourse between students and student advocates about whether this is actually a good thing, so there's a lot of good opinion material on this! You can see the Gateway's news coverage of it here, and I recommend checking out some of the comments on the Gateway's Facebook post sharing this article as well, people were pretty outspoken there. 

The Lister all-you-can-eat meal plan is somehow still a thing

A Board of Governors committee approved this meal plan today, which means that the full Board of Governors will vote on whether or not to implement it. The meal plan has received pretty much universal condemnation from residents (93% of students did not support it in the most recent survey) but the board has pretty consistently brought it forward over the last couple years. You can read more about this here. This is a super relevant issue to a lot of students, and it's very topical right now as it will be going to the Board of Governors on March 16th, so it would be great if someone picked this up! 

Deferred maintenance report is happening

The university has acknowledged that there is almost a billion dollars of deferred maintenance (maintenance that is basically beyond its due date) to be done, but there is no documentation of student priorities or student opinions on that maintenance. VP OpsFi Robyn Paches is working on compiling a report of those priorities, which you can read about here. What do you think our maintenance priorities should be?

5th Lister building is opening in September

Another Lister building will be available for first-years to move into for the next school year, and there has been varied feedback about the facilities. The tower also doesn't have an official name yet! You can read more about that here. What should they call it? What kind of services would you put in a residence building if you could? Is more Lister in the world a good thing? Write about it!

Gucci faces criticism over turbans included in their fashion line

As you can see above, Gucci has introduced these blue turbans that many are calling cultural appropriation. You can read about that here. 

Accused murderer in Tina Fontaine case goes free

There has been uproar after Raymond Cormier, accused of killing a fifteen-year-old Indigenous girl named Tina Fontaine, was found not guilty last week. You can read about the case and the verdict here. A rally was also held in Churchill Square over the weekend, with performers, speakers, and a very moving address from the sister of the late Colton Boushie. 

Trudeau faces backlash for speaking out about Boushie case

A poll shows that almost half of Canadians think that Trudeau's tweet in response to the trial was inappropriate, as it seemed to call into question the verdict itself. You can read more here. Was it irresponsible for Trudeau to tweet about it? Would it have been more irresponsible for him not to respond? 

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer wants to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel 

The announcement was made on the Conservative Party website, with an opportunity for readers to sign a pledge if they agree that Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of Israel. This is a pretty controversial statement, which many have said jeopardizes a future two-state solution. More info here. 

Gap shows woman breastfeeding in ad

A new Gap ad shows a woman breastfeeding, an image that has traditionally been frowned upon in public. There used to be a lot of debate about whether women should be allowed to breastfeed in public places, so this ad seems to indicate a big step forward in that debate. You can read more here. What do you think? 

Ivanka Trump says it's inappropriate to ask her about her father's alleged sexual assault

When asked whether or not she believes the women who have accused her father of sexual assault, Ivanka basically responded that the question was inappropriate and that she believes her father, who has denied the allegations. You can read more here. What do you think of her response? 

The Gateway Presents! 

As you may already know, every second Friday from 5:30-6:30pm, CJSR airs a segment of our radio show, The Gateway Presents. Each segment includes an Opinion piece where two people debate on a hot-button issue. Along with pitching Opinion stories for the website or the magazine, please also feel free to pitch me content for The Gateway Presents! Whether you know someone who'd be interested in debating on the show, you have a topic you'd like to see presented, or you'd like to produce a segment all by yourself, let me know and we'll make it happen. 

Shorter segments

Don't have time to write a whole 500-word article this week but still want to write something? Write one of these! They're about 200-300 words and a really good time. - Burlap Sack: Rant about something that bothers you! - Marble Pedestal: Rant about something you love! - Adulting 101: Either tell us how to do something adult (how to use an iron, how actually make food, etc.) or tell us about a time you failed to do something adult (like that time you put the red sock in with the whites and now everything is pink).