Opinion pitches!

Hey everyone! Again so sorry for being so slow this week, elections have been crazy and we've been doing a ton of coverage. I'll be responding to/posting/editing anything that I haven't gotten to yet over the next couple days! If you're interested in picking up any of these stories, please just respond to this email! And never hesitate to send me a pitch of your own. This week, articles are due Friday at 11pm. 

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.If you're interested in applying, please let me know so we can meet up and talk about your ideas! I want to be as supportive as possible of anyone who is thinking about applying, so please do reach out. 

April magazine content

This is the last magazine that will be published during my time as opinion editor! Magazine content will be due Friday night, so please don't hesitate to pick something up! This is the last chance for you guys to be published in print this year, so take advantage of that!!! If you don't like any of my pitches, feel free to propose one of your own. There's no theme for April, so everything goes. Worth It/Not Worth It: (75-100 words)        - Graduating in only 4 years         - Taking a second language class (especially now that it isn't required under the new arts degree requirements)         - Standing in the endless Subway line        - The Commuter Study Hostel         - Still owning an iPod        - Anything else you want to write about!Point-Counterpoint: (200-300 words)        - Should there be restrictions on controversial speakers coming to campus?         - Should voting in student elections be mandatory?        - Should the province defund private schools?        - Take home essays vs final exams         - Should the province defund private schools?        - Anything else you want to write about!

"Hostile design" in Edmonton

I was reminded of the concept of hostile design by this article about Calgary. Hostile design is basically the idea that cities are intentionally built to alienate the homeless -- things like putting armrests in the middle of benches so that people can't sleep on them. What do you think of the concept of hostile design? Do you think Edmonton fits this description? 

Canadian universities are failing students on sexual assault

That's the headline of this hard-hitting investigation done by Maclean's magazine this month. The article provides some pretty startling statistics about assault on campuses, and some really disappointing results of how universities are handling it. Even if you don't plan on writing about it, I recommend reading the article anyway. 

Alberta justice system fails to report Indigenous incarceration rate

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute released a "justice system report card" and gave Alberta a B overall. However the report card also criticized the province heavily, citing the fact that Alberta hasn't released data about Indigenous incarceration rates since 2012. You can read more about that here. 

Dating app Bumble is banning profile pictures with guns in them 

Some are saying the policy discriminates against gun hobbyists who just want to show off their interests, others are saying this is an important step towards making the world a safer place. You can read what Bumble CEO has to say about the decision here. 

The guy who made Pepe the frog is suing InfoWars

The cartoonist, Matt Furie, is mad that his creation has morphed into a symbol for the alt-right, and says that he wants to rebrand Pepe as a symbol of love and peace. He is suing Alex Jones for copyright infringement after InfoWars sold a poster with the frog's image on it. You can read about that here. 

Florida billboard calls the NRA a terrorist organization

A political action committee in Florida paid for a billboard that just straight-up says "The NRA is a terrorist organization." You can read about it here. This is particularly interesting amongst the discussion in the US right now about the Parkland shooting, gun control legislation, and the NRA's influence in politics. What do you think of the billboard, or of the situation in general? 

Winter accessibility in the icy hellhole of Edmonton

Global News published this video looking at what it's like to live in Edmonton during the winter and use a wheelchair. Watching this definitely opened my eyes to something I don't think about very often. In general, do you think our city is accessible? What should we be doing to work on that?

Tiny homes in the city 

Kenton Zerbin teaches a class in Edmonton about building tiny homes which are super small, super efficient, and super environmentally sustainable. It's a pretty cool concept, and I'd love to hear what you guys think about tiny homes in general, or specifically how they would fit in to Edmonton. There's a cool documentary on Netflix called "Small is Beautiful" if you're interested in this subject! 

Copyright rules at universities 

This is a really great article in the Walrus about how copyright rules apply at universities, and how often they don't really apply at all. I won't do a good job of summarizing it here, but basically there are some really interesting loopholes for profs to just photocopy to their heart's extent, and I think that would be really cool to write about! 

Jason Kenney criticizes safe consumption sites and then gets criticized 

Kenney's exact words were "helping addicts inject poison into their bodies is not a solution to the problem of addiction," which he has received significant blowback for. You can read about that here. How do you feel about his comments, or the response to them? 

Spotify introduces a tool to tell you how many ladies you listen to 

You can get an extension called the "Smirnoff Equalizer" that gives you a gender breakdown of the artists you listen to on Spotify! You can read about that here. 

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).