Opinion pitches!

Hey everyone! This email is really long because there's some info to share and I have lots of pitches this week! If you'd like to pick anything up but need a little more time to work on it while also studying for exams, just let me know. It's been such a pleasure working with you guys this semester. I'll keep sending out pitches over the winter break, so stay tuned for those, and I can't wait to see you again next semester!Just reply to this email if you want to pick up any of these pitches, or if you want any more information about these stories. And as always, if you have an idea for an article, feel free to send it my way.

Volunteer Holiday Party!

All Gateway volunteers are invited to the Gateway Holiday Party on Tuesday December 12th (next week!) at RATT. Come out and drink/eat away the sorrow of exams, meet volunteers from other sections, and take a break from all that studying. Hope to see lots of you there!

Meeting times for Winter semester

I want to make Opinion meetings as accessible as possible, so I'm very happy to change our meeting time for the upcoming semester if there is a time that works better for you guys! Please fill out the doodle poll here to indicate what your availability looks like next semester. The poll is listed as January 1st to 3rd, but please fill it out based on what your average Monday to Wednesday will look like next semester.

February magazine content

The February edition of the magazine is all about vices -- sex, drugs, eating McDonald's until you puke, etc. etc. I'm looking for people to pick up some Worth It/Not Worth It content for the magazine (55-75 word blurbs assessing whether or not the thing is worth it). Here are the pitches I have: - Sliding into someone's DMs - Sexting with emojis (I'm assuming the eggplant would feature heavily) - Taking a class with a hot prof (are they distracting or do they give you a reason to go to class?) - The 84 Cheetos you ate while high - Anything else you want to write about!I need magazine stuff in pretty soon so that all the layout can happen over the exam break, so please don't hesitate to pick one of these up!!!

Getaway content

Twice a year, the Gateway publishes a bunch of satirical articles that we fondly call "The Getaway." In the style of The Beaverton or The Onion, these posts use a similar format to standard Gateway articles (although they're usually shorter), but parodying something about student life or the U of A. Here is the compilation of last year's Getaway articles. There's lots of potential for quality Getaway content in the Opinion section! You can write a satirical Top 5 (such as Top 5 customer service jobs to work once you graduate with your meaningless degree, Top 5 reasons to join a pyramid scheme, or Top 5 reasons to drop out altogether), burlap sack, marble pedestal, or even point-counterpoint. Personally, I'd be stoked to see a super meta point-counterpoint where one side defends the word "point" and the other side defends the word "counterpoint." The Getaway is basically a place to be a little silly and ridiculous and have a good time with satirical content! Even if you're worried that your articles won't be funny, I guarantee you that you are funnier than I am, and I promise I will laugh at all your jokes. They're also published with fake names, so you don't have to worry that your cringy jokes will come back to haunt you! We've got you covered.

The Engineering Faculty Association is looking to increase student fees

I know I pitched this last week, but since then Students' Council has voted to allow the FAMF proposal to go to referendum.Faculty Associations have control over their FAMF costs - Faculty Association Membership Fees. The Engineering Faculty Association wants to raise their FAMF (paid by every undergrad engineering student) from $7 a semester to $20. If you're an engineering student, what do you think about this proposed change? What would you want this money to go towards? If you're not in engineering, do you think your faculty should put forward a similar proposal? Does anyone care about referendums, and will anyone vote?

December 6th is the Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

On the anniversary of The Montreal Massacre, the U of A, along with many other Canadian universities, is participating in a Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. In 1989, Marc Lepine gunned down 14 female engineering students, yelling "I hate feminism." Since then, the incident has been a rallying point for advocates of ending gender-based violence. I'd be really interested in hearing how you guys feel about this incident, 28 years later. Has feminism become mainstream enough that this could never happen in 2017? Does the rise of the alt-right indicate that the opposite is true? If you identify as female, do you feel safe on campus? If you're a gender minority in your faculty, does that impact your level of comfort?You could also write about what kinds of initiatives the University, or the broader community, should be taking to combat violence against women. You could even go to the University's ceremony tomorrow at noon and write about that.

City administration says it will cost a bunch of money to maintain the River Valley paths

The estimate proposed to City Council this week was between $1.5 million to $3.5 million per year, over the next four years. That's a pretty decent chunk of change, so I think it would be interesting to write about how the River Valley impacts the way you feel about Edmonton (is it a defining part of the city? is it dangerous and underused? is it irrelevant?) and whether or not it's worth investing in the area.

Group Commentary: Where should the Silver City dragon go?

If you (like me a few hours ago) have never heard of the Silver City dragon, it's a big-ass dragon that used to live in the movie theatre at WEM. It breathed real fire and was accompanied by a pretty killer light show with dramatic music and everything -- you can see it in action here. The dragon no longer resides in the movie theatre, so where in Edmonton would you like to see it? (Assuming you had the power to transport a giant mechanical dragon anywhere you wanted.) On top of the Butterdome? Hidden in the River Valley? Write a quick 50-100 word explanation of where you'd like the Silver City dragon to turn up next.

FAB security concerns

Arts students organized a forum last week to talk about a lot of the concerns students have about safety in FAB, including incidents of locker break-ins and trespassers in the washrooms. The University is responding by shortening the hours that the building is open (students can still access the building after-hours if they have an encoded OneCard), and installing more security cameras. Do you feel safe in FAB? How do you think the University should be reacting to this? What would you do in their position?

Province extends tuition freeze for 2018-2019 academic year

This means that domestic students will pay the same tuition rates that they pay currently, which is generally pretty good news! The province is also providing backfill funding, which aims to fill in gaps in university revenue that would otherwise be filled by tuition increases. You can read more about the tuition freeze here. The tuition freeze doesn't apply to international students, however. This means that it's still unclear whether international tuition will increase.

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. - Streeters: I'll match you up with a Photo volunteer and you'll hit the mean streets of campus, armed with a question and a camera, to survey some U of A students. Past questions have included: what should the university's logo be, what was your worst live music experience, and where do you poop on campus.- 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).