Opinion pitches!

Hey everyone! Here are the pitches for this week. 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. Articles should be 500-550 words long, and are due Friday at 5pm.

Photo Show April 6th!

Come to the annual Gateway photo show will be happening on April 6th at 7 PM in Dewey's!  Stop by for an evening of art appreciation, good company, and good drinks. Even better, appreciate the showcase of local art and photography made in the university community!  IF you're interested in submitting your own work, you can submit any design, art, or photography work you have done for The Gateway or for a personal project. There is no theme for the show, and submissions are open to anyone in the campus community.   Multiple submissions are welcome but please hand in separate forms for each submission, which can be found here.   Please hand in submissions by Wednesday April 4, 2018 at the Gateway office in SUB 3-04.  You are responsible for printing and framing your work. However we are kind of limited with our potential to hang huge frames in Dewey's, so if you have work that is just printed on photo paper that might be a little bit easier for us to display. You may also mount it on to some matte board or stiff paper.  If you have any questions, contact our photo editor, Rosty Soroka, at [email protected].

Gateway hiring is happening!

Information about the Opinion Editor position can be found here, and applications are due this Friday at 4pm. If you're interested in the position and haven't already spoken to me about it, please do! You'll be much better equipped for your interview if we have a chance to talk about the details of the job. If we've already touched base, feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have.

Provincial budget provides more money than expected for the University

The provincial budget was released on March 22nd, and things like an increase to the Campus Alberta grant and $17 million in backfill funding provide a pretty different financial picture from the one the University had budgeted for. You can read more about that here. Some are calling for the Board of Governors to reconvene and re-examine their budget in light of these changes. What do you think?

#NotPublicGood campaign

With the launch of this website, poster campaigns across campus, and the protest held after the campus forum yesterday, the #NotPublicGood campaign has gained some real traction in the past few days. They are standing opposed to the raise to international tuition, the increase in residence rent, the implementation of an all-you-can-eat meal plan, and the four per cent budget cuts being implemented across faculties. What do you think of the campaign? Has it been effective? Does it represent the views of students at large? Do you support it?

Would you report your own mom for fraud?

This lady busted her mom after discovering that she had set up a shell company that she was using to commit fraud. This was a super fascinating story for me. Do you feel the same sort of obligation to report your parent's crime to the police that you would in the case of a stranger? Would you do it?

Elizabeth May arrested protesting pipelines

After protesting Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline, May (who is the leader of the federal Green Party of Canada) was arrested, charged with civil contempt (which isn't actually a criminal offence), and released within half an hour. More information here. How do you feel about what May did? Should political leaders be willing to break the rules to stand up for what they believe in? Was this a smart move by May, or do you think it will hurt her political career?

Tickets for idling in Edmonton

Bylaw officers have started offering up $250 fines for idling, after receiving complaints from a neighbour. You can read about that here. Considering its impact on the environment and the community, should the city be harsher on people who idle? Or is it unreasonable to punish people for running their cars?

One in five Americans want the second amendment to be repealed

According to this Washington Post article, a national survey has shown that one in five Americans want the second amendment repealed entirely, as a step towards introducing stricter gun control laws in the States. What do you think of those results? Do you think it's even possible after this many years of history in a country so obsessed with its constitution? Do you think it's a good idea?

Auditors say Canada will not meet goals to prevent climate change

After analyzing the goals and emissions targets of both the federal government and the provinces, a team of auditors declared that it was very unlikely the targets would be met, due to a lack of "clarity and consistency" of objectives. You can read more about that here.

Advertisers can use Facebook tools to target their housing & employment postings to only white people

Facebook hasn't been doing too hot these days, with one data scandal emerging after another. One of the things I was surprised to read about was the advertising tools that Facebook provides, which allows advertisers to target their messaging based on specific demographic information. This is generally used pretty innocuously, like targeting ads for dog food to people who like lots of dog pages, but has also been documented to enable companies to show their ads only to white people — which has particularly been a problem when it comes to employment and housing opportunities. According to this article, Facebook promised to crack down on these cases, but hasn't.

France to make kids start school at age three

France is making a pretty dramatic change to get kids starting school earlier, but according to this article, most children already start nursery school at age three anyway. Even so, these changes give France one of the lowest compulsory school starting ages in Europe. Do you think kids should start school earlier? What are the benefits, or the drawbacks, to making school compulsory for younger children?

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).