Opinion pitches😰

Opinion pitches😰

August 09, 2022

Have no fear, Opinion pitches are here!

Hear ye, hear ye! Opinion pitches are here!

Hi, everybody!The summer is almost over, which means everybody will be back on campus soon! With only three weeks left (bleh), I hope everyone is doing some fun stuff before the fall semester starts. Personally, I drove almost ten hours yesterday to get to Kamloops - I don't know if you'd call that fun, but it's something!Here are this week's pitches! Just let me know which one you'd like and what your take on it will be. And, of course, if you have any pitches of your own, feel free to let me know!As always, you can reach me anytime at [email protected] or over Slack!xoxo, Katie 

Valley Line Southeast LRT delays cause frustration amongst transit users 

The LRT line, which would connect Downtown and Mill Woods, was originally supposed to open in 2020. Many transit users are frustrated, since many transit routes were cut down or removed entirely to eventually be replaced by the LRT line, which still isn’t open. With the fall semester quickly approaching, contractors swear that the Valley Line will open Summer 2022. Explore what these delays will mean for transit users and students trying to get to campus!

Edmonton’s integrity commissioner, Jamie Pytel, said that Michael Janz broke city council’s code of conduct by retweeting a post that referred to police officers as ‘pigs’.  Janz says he doesn’t think the code of conduct should be used to silence council members on social media. Should councillors and other politicians be allowed to post what they want on social media or should their posts be regulated by codes of conduct and ethics? What could this mean for the future of freedom of speech on social media, especially for politicians?

Students panic over changes made to full-time student grantAmong other changes, students will receive a maximum of $250 a month, as opposed to the $375 that was standard before, with middle-income students fully exempt from the grants. Discuss the changes made regarding eligibility for the grants, amounts students will receive, and how these changes will impact both low and middle income students. 

Edmonton taxpayers pay the photo radar tickets of city employeesSo far this year, Edmonton taxpayers have already paid $22,000 in photo radar tickets. Apparently, taxpayers have paid the tickets of buses, garbage trucks, snow plows, and even the photo radar vehicles themselves! Should taxpayers really be paying the tickets of City of Edmonton vehicles, or is it our responsibility to?

On top of her $363K salary, Dr. Deena Hinshaw received a $228K cash bonus, while other provinces’ chief medical officers, like BC’s Dr. Bonnie Henry, did not receive any. Does Dr. Hinshaw deserve a cash bonus of this size? Or, is it unfair to healthcare workers, who had to work in horrific conditions to keep the system from collapsing?