The Voice • March 17, 2022 • Volume 55 • Issue 6

SPORTS

B-ball bronze

The Falcons men’s team took third at the PACWEST championship. P4

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Student stress

New workshop helps teachers ease students’ pandemic fears.

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Financial hardship a stark reality

MARCH 17, 2022 • VOL. 55 NO. 6 • VANCOUVER, B.C.

Men’s emotions on centre stage P4

Bursaries no longer just a benefit; they are now a dire need  By JUAN RAMÍREZ

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s the cost of living increases and financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic persist, financial assistance from the Langara College Foundation has become a necessity for many students.

The pandemic caused a loss of jobs which were crucial to financing their education, but the foundation helped collect $1,162,609 for the 2020 yearly bursary funding.

For the 2021 yearly bursary funding, the foundation raised the $1.65 million, according to Heidy Rahnumah, the development officer, donor relations and annual giving of the Langara College Foundation.

The cost of food, rent, gasoline and phone plans have all increased over the past couple of years, affecting students’ wallets.

The Canadian Consumer Price Index, which measures the cost of goods, rose 5.1 per cent from January 2021 to 2022. This was the greatest year-to-year increase since the index was first recorded in 1999.

According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp., in October 2018, the average rent for a twobedroom apartment in Vancouver was $1,652. By 2021, it has risen to $1,830.

Most recently, gas prices have also been affected by the war in Ukraine.

Last years’ average gas price in Vancouver was $1.52 per litre. Today, the average price has risen to $2.00 per litre.

Jennifer Cheddie, a Langara staff member, said the support from the foundation helps not only students but often their families as well.

“Definitely, when it comes to special times in the year, they help students out in terms of doing hampers to further not only help the student, but the families as well,” said Cheddie, who works as a student conduct officer.

Taylor Lundie, a first-year general science student, said the foundation’s assistance can also help with tuition.

“If they want to take a class and they're worried about maybe having to afford the materials or affording the class, they can actually take it,” Lundie said.

Quinn Churchill and Ishan Sandhu, actors in Men Express Their Feelings, go head to head in a new play. PHOTO COURTESY OF ZEE ZEE THEATRE COMPANY.

LSU site: still no minutes

Despite a commitment in 2019, Langara Students’ Union hasn't delivered yet  By MARILYN REICHERT

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he Langara Students’ Union, a student-funded society whose official aim is “Advocating for Students’ Rights” has yet to come through on a 2019 commitment to become more transparent.

After the Societies Act was amended in 2016 to improve student union transparency, the LSU made some changes to keep in line with its obligations. The amendment allowed the request of records related to student unions.

That said, the LSU still requires students to jump through hoops to obtain information and documents that are posted publicly at other B.C. post-secondary institutions.

A news article in the Voice on Feb. 11, 2019 stated that an email from the LSU to the Voice asserted the societies’ financial records and meeting minutes would be posted “very soon’’ at the launch of their new website.

Currently the LSU meeting minutes and financial records are still not on their website. A search for “minutes” brings up a “coming

soon” message. websites.

Students who pay mandatory “The UVic Student Society membership dues must submit a regularly practice transparency request online or email media@lsu. by putting their meeting minutes bc.ca to obtain copies. Requests by on their website and have shown the Voice for meeting minutes and students how their student society financial statements were answered fee is broken down,” said Paarth within 24 hours.

Mittal, a former director of the UVic Cole Evans, president of the Student Society. “They made strides UBC Alma to improv e Mater Socitransparency, “This year ... we've also ety, said that like when the it’s important d i re c t o r o f started live streaming for student finance and unions to be operations our meetings.” transparent made a video — COLE EVANS , PRESIDENT OF and accountfor the annual UBC ALMA MATER SOCIETY able to their general meetmembers. ing explain“All of our meetings are public,” ing to UVic students how the SS Evans said. “This year … we’ve also finances work.” started live streaming our meetings.”

In 2015, freedom of information Evans, a full-time student, journalist and researcher Stanley responded to the Voice within two Tromp stated in his oral presentation hours of being contacted and was to the B.C. Legislative FOIPP Act ready to speak to a student from in regard to FOI-exempt bodies, that another school despite overseeing “there is an overlooked but extremely 60,000 of his own students at UBC. serious problem: the secrecy of Many students’ unions, including student societies.” those at BCIT, UVic, Douglas and “In the worst example, the LangUBC, make their meeting minutes ara Students’ Union passed changes and financial records public on their to its constitution that could allow

LSU to bar students from attending student society board meetings, prevent in camera meetings, and prevent students from making copies of student union records,” Tromp said.

The Societies Act was then changed to allow students to request records related to student unions.

The LSU office is currently closed for renovations and emails from the Voice to the LSU president and vicepresident on Feb. 28 remain unanswered by the Voice deadline.

When the Voice emailed the LSU media team on March 2 requesting interviews, it received an answer within minutes, saying board members do not do “in-person, phone or video interviews.”

The LSU media committee said that to include online access, boards must revisit bylaws.

“This is currently not the case,” they wrote in an email. “The Langara Students’ Union continues to be transparent by hosting annual general meetings, responding to members’ requests, working with various community stakeholders to provide services to the LSU membership and Community.”

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Atlarge

THE VOICE | THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022 | EDITOR GRAHAM ABRAHAM

New West ID program takes off City service offers health cards, birth certificates to the unhoused  By ERIN CONNERS

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temporar y program by the City of New Westminster to help unhoused residents obtain ID may become a permanent service after it saw high demand in its first two months.

The program helps people acquire and store government-issued identification, such as birth certificates or health cards. Created in response to rising homelessness in the city, it’s intended to assist vulnerable residents who may not have necessary documents, an address or money for application fees.

The pilot is set to end on May 31, but Anur Mehdic, a City of New Westminster planning analyst, said that the city is now seeking longterm grants to keep it running beyond that date.

“It’s been really good uptake and supporting a lot of people in the community,” Mehdic said.

City council approved $10,000 for the ID clinic on July 12, 2021, along with a matching grant through the federal Reaching Home program.

In November, the city sought proposals and selected the Lower Mainland Purpose Society to operate the pilot.

Adriana Mitchell, a housing support worker at Purpose, manages the service. She said unhoused residents who don’t have identification

face extra barriers.

“They can’t secure housing without ID,” Mitchell said. “They can’t go to the [Greater Vancouver] Food Bank, they can’t even go into some restaurants with the pandemic restrictions.”

During a Feb. 17 city panel about homelessness, city staff said the estimated number of unsheltered residents is three to four times the pre-pandemic number.

The BC Non-Profit Housing Association’s count on March 3, 2020 found 123 homeless residents of New Westminster, 41 of whom were unsheltered.

Governments introduced various financial aid programs during COVID-19, but those programs also required ID. Mitchell said that lack of identification can complicate the ability to receive money at all.

“None of them can open a bank account because the closest bank that doesn’t take ID is Pigeon Park [in Vancouver], and most of them that I know don’t want to go to the Downtown Eastside,” she said.

Since launching in January, Mitchell said 32 people were referred to the program, and she has started the process with half of those.

Her biggest challenge has been 80 to 90 per cent of appointments resulting in a no-show. As the only ID worker, Mitchell said she tries to be flexible, but that reaching the most vulnerable requires more time than she has.

“We need people on the ground to meet them where they’re at."

Henry Walker, an unhoused New West resident, said he hasn’t used the ID clinic because he is worried the pilot will end part way through.

“I can’t take my cart on the bus, and walking the hill with it? Forget it,” Walker said. “Going downtown is a full-day trip for me, and it’s too much work if the city isn’t guaranteeing [the ID services] won’t disappear

before I ever see a birth certificate.”

If the program is not extended, Mitchell said she would approach other service providers to help complete open applications.

The ID pilot spawned from the city’s at-risk and vulnerable populations task force, one of the groups council created in response to COVID. Nearly two dozen service providers regularly meet with city planners to identify and address needs in the community.

“I see the task force as a silver lining of the pandemic,” Mehdic said. “[It] highlighted a lot of dormant inequalities that we knew were in the community, but that weren’t getting the spotlight on a wider base.”

According to a Sept. 13 report to council, the task force has directed almost $1.25 million since March 2020 to programs addressing food security, homelessness, harm reduction and essential needs. Seventy per cent of that came through foundation grants and provincial and federal programs.

Mehdic said there is interest in the group continuing beyond the COVID response. “[The task force] actually makes our job a lot easier in many ways,” Mehdic said. “It makes our decisionmaking more powerful, more reflective of the community.”

Betina Wheeler, coordinator for the New Westminster Homelessness Coalition Society and a member of

the task force, said different service providers working together is essential to making big changes happen.

“The goal is that we approach things as a community and that we don’t compete for scarce resources,” Wheeler said.

She said that while responding to immediate needs brought everyone together, many of the pandemic supports, including food programs and the ID clinic, could also ease long-term community struggles.

“It’s a really challenging, but really exciting time,” Wheeler said. “How do we come out of COVID in a better place if possible, and what do we need to be doing now to strategize for when, all of the sudden, all the funding starts to dry up.”

PoCo tackles mass construction woes Business fees waived for lost parking due to city core revamp  By CHRISTOPHER  MACMILLAN

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ort Coquitlam is giving a financial break to downtown businesses dealing with ongoing road construction that has driven away customers.

The McAllister Avenue construction is part of a larger redevelopment plan, which started in the spring of last year, to transform the downtown core into a one-way street, including a multi-use path and a pedestrian concourse. But work on the major route has faced difficulties and delays, and was further delayed by

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bad weather last December. sion between city councillors, with an equity perspective and wanting to McAllister Avenue is located Coun. Laura Dupont expressing make sure that we’re, you know, fair in the heart of downtown Port concerns about the motion. with everyone who is affected.”

Coquitlam.

Dupont was concerned the move Mayor Brad West shared concerns City staff recommended waiving would set a precedent for similar about setting precedents, but said business licence fees for McAllis- construction projects in the future McAllister Avenue was an unusual ter businesses by 50 per cent. But and influence which business would problem and any precedent set Port Coquitlam council would be beneficial for the decided, after some debate city.

“I think it's important between councillors at a “I think it’s important Jan. 28 council meeting, to always be aware of the to always be aware to waive all licence fees for impacts of our decisions of the impacts of our the businesses. The waiver and setting precedents. But amounts to roughly $6,000 as I said to Coun. Dupont decisions.” per business. during that discussion, MAYOR BRAD WEST, “Those businesses [on what we’re dealing with PORT COQUITLAM McAllister] have had, you in this instance is a very know, a tough time, over unique set of circumCOURTESY PHOTO the last, you know, months stances that are unlikely to of this project that’s been going on, have their licence fees waived and replicate themselves in the future. it was supposed to have been finished which would not. For example, busi- But if they did, then I would have

by February but unfortunately, we nesses located on McAllister Avenue no issue also providing a waive busigot all this snow,” Coun. Steve but with an entrance off the street ness licence fees in that instance as Darling said. were included in the waiving of well,” West said.

The decision to waive the licence licences.

Despite her concerns, Dupont fees entirely came after some discusShe added she’s “coming at it from joined the rest of council in approv-

ing the waiver of all fees.

Businesses on McAllister have seen a drop in customers as construction dragged on.

Marya Ricker, a musical director with the Tri-City School of Music, says the construction caused extreme parking problems for their clients and affected business.

Ricker said she was frustrated in her attempts to get city council to address the parking issues last year.

“We went to city council, as well, to help with one of the businesses down from our business with their issues with parking . . . and I sort of spoke on behalf of the building owner to help . . . with parking and they assured us that after the construction was completed the parking would improve.”

Despite those early difficulties, she said her business’s concerns were eventually addressed by the council’s decision to waive licence fees and that she was happy with the decision.

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Campusnews

EDITOR CLAIRE WILSON | THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022 | THE VOICE

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Langara students walk towards the T Building alongside the college's busy parking lot. MICHAEL SU PHOTO

Campus parking stalls drivers

Other post-secondaries cite car-sharing as helping to alleviate crowding  By MICHAEL SU

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ot finding a parking spot on time has become a common occurrence for some students and staff at Langara College, and they are hoping for an alternative solution like car-sharing.

Ruchi Chopra, a Langara IT worker who uses the college’s daycare centre, has to arrive early to secure a parking spot.

She said Monday mornings are especially difficult.

“So if I get here by nine, sometimes I don’t find a parking spot,” Chopra said.

Most of the time Chopra will look for parking off-campus, but whenever she has to drop her child off at the Langara daycare, the campus

parking lot is her only option. solve issues with transportation and vehicles are concentrated within “The worst experience I had was parking for the institute.

Vancouver city limits. to drive this around like three times, “The more choices you give Dave Wharf, senior business from here until the back,” Chopra to students residing in subur- operations manager for Evo, said said, “I just went to and the car-sharing company from and I wasted like half is an economical option “The worst experience for students who commute. an hour.”

Other schools like “Car ownership is I had was to drive BCIT have added a carextremely expensive,” said sharing program with Evo this around like three Wharf. “So it just adds to their campuses in order another option for people times ... I wasted like to get around.” to mitigate parking and commuting issues.

Schools like UBC, SFU, half an hour.”

Evo has participated in and Capilano University — RUCHI CHOPRA, past campus events and have agreements with Evo MICHAEL SU PHOTO LANGARA IT STAFF has reached out to Langto offer student discounts ara, though no formal partnership ban communities to use that type and reserve parking spots. But Evo talks have been held. of service to get to the Burnaby has not been able to secure a partnerCraig Sidjak, director of BCIT campus, that would be very posi- ship with Langara. campus development, said that the tive,” Sidjak said.

“What we’ve been able to do is Burnaby campus plan included carHowever, a downside to car-share work with those universities and to sharing as one of the strategies to services like Evo is that most of their say, hey, you know, we can help solve

some of your mobility and transportation issues,” Wharf said.

According to Mark Dawson, Langara’s manager of public affairs, there has been no negative feedback so far.

“We haven’t had any complaints about Evo, or lack of parking or rideshare opportunities,” Dawson said.

Students like Michuki Sauve have switched to public transportation because of the time it takes to find a parking spot.

“You’d be running late for class,” Sauve said. “You need extra time and also paying for parking here at Langara, unless you’re finding a spot out on the street, it’s going to be like seven dollars a day.”

Sauve has never used a car-share service like Evo before, but lately, it has become an appealing alternative.

Workshop tackles soaring student angst Trauma-informed teaching can be used in classrooms  By AISHWARYA SINGH

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new workshop at Langara College aims to help instructors re-evaluate their conduct in the classrooms and acknowledge stress amongst students due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alex Boston, philosophy department chair, was one of several instructors who attended the teaching workshop.

“I think I gained awareness and [learned] how widespread the causes of trauma are,” he said.

“You don’t spring into solving someone’s problem with your awesome advice, you’re there to listen to the other person.”

The teaching and curriculum development centre hosted the

trauma-informed workshop on March 8 for two hours on Zoom with all 24 spots filled.

It was designed to help instructors understand the issues students are facing as the pandemic continues to hamper their learning. The goal is to create a warm classroom environment for students where they can thrive.

Parisa Zitouni, educational developer at Langara, launched the workshop as a result of the pandemic related stress she noticed on campus.

“They can share their learning philosophies to their students to, you know, bring a more humanised approach to their learning. They can incorporate compassion and enthusiasm and use positive language,” Zitouni said.

Boston said the workshop was a good reminder of what students are going through so instructors can learn to be more lenient and be more available to listen if a student wants to talk or share something.

A short video was shown that highlighted the power of sharing.

Boston said he was empathetic to the message.

“So that resonated with me,” he said. “I think that was a very valuable lesson.”

Magdalena Dachtera Wrobel, a Langara English-for-academicpurposes instructor who didn’t attend the workshop, said she tries to pay attention to her students’ wellbeing in the classroom.

“If students come to the class and they are under a lot of stress then it doesn’t have a good influence on their learning. It’s hard to be academically successful when they are not happy,” Wrobel said.

She believes that students are now stressed about different things than they were before the pandemic.

“The workshop would be beneficial because it would create awareness and give instructors some strategies,” she said.

“How to improve the classroom

environment, and make it safe for students to feel comfortable and share their concerns in a stress free environment.”

Melinda Worfolk, an instructor at College of New Caledonia in Prince George, presented an online workshop on trauma-informed teaching last year.

“We are not psychologists or counsellors but we want to help.”

She said trauma-informed teaching emphasizes the impact of trauma on a person’s behaviour and learning.

Worfolk said students tend not to share stress because they are afraid instructors will not understand them. As a result, their problems keep getting worse.

According to Zitouni, instructors want students to thrive in the classroom and when that doesn’t happen, it also affects the instructors.

“We are here to create a more accountable learning space where we can nurture more trust in the classroom,” she said.

PANDEMIC STRESSORS

PER 100,000 STUDENTS

63% "Very" or "extremely" concerned about COVID-19's effect on grades.

48% "Very" or "extremely" concerned about having to take on more student debt.

54% Temporarily laid off or lost job.

SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

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Arts&life

THE VOICE | THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022 | EDITOR NICOLETTE COLOSIMO

Play checks toxic masculinity Men Express Their Feelings examines what it means to be a man today  By KENNETH WONG

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n upcoming play starring a Langara College student uses a hockey locker room setting to challenge traditional notions of masculinity by exploring the hidden boundaries of men’s emotions.

Written by Sunny Drake and directed by Cameron Mackenzie, Men Express Their Feelings is about two fathers and their sons in a hockey dressing room having difficult discussions following a heated fight. The play tackles questions of gender, sexual identity and their cultural impacts.

The play, premiering in Vancouver at the Firehall Arts Centre on March 18, stars Studio 58 student Quinn Churchill.

Churchill said the play can help men understand what it means to be a man in the 21st century.

“This story speaks so specifically to what men go through,” Churchill said. “I feel like in our society, women have already worked out a lot of these things that these men are going through.”

Manisha Singh, a women’s studies instructor at Langara, thinks that the play will still resonate with female audience members.

“There’s so much empathy around the fact that guys are socialized from the time they were small boys, to having to suck it up and repress their emotions,” Singh said. “Women are in relationships with men, we’re their partners, we’re their sisters, we’re their mothers.”

Churchill said the play made him

Ishan Sandhu and Quinn Churchill, actors in Men Express Their Feelings, have locker room conversations about gender and sexuality. COURTESY OF ZEE ZEE THEATRE COMPANY.

more open to show what he’s struggling with regarding his own identity. His dad pressured him to be a professional hockey player at a time when he was trying to figure out his own masculinity.

“What’s amazing about this role is that my character is going through

all of that figuring out what exactly he wants to do with himself, who exactly he is,” Churchill said.

George Belliveau, a UBC theatre research professor, believes theatre has potential to be a place where open dialogue can happen.

“You get to play someone who’s

similar to you, but often you can also play someone who is different from you,” Belliveau said. “You might realize that maybe that character was not that different from you. So, you get to know a part of yourself that you maybe didn’t know was there.”

Joshua Dodkin, a Vancouver

hockey player with the LGBT team Cutting Edges, said these types of performances create a space for men to have conversations.

“Locker room banter is just like guys ripping on each other,” Dodkin said. “Not always making the most accepting environment.”

Dodkin said that it is important to move away from the traditional gender binary and embrace a new progressive vision.

“Twenty years ago, if you were to talk about [mental illness or sexuality] as a man, you’d be deemed unmanly,” Dodkin said. “I think what [masculinity] should be about is caring about feminism, understanding that just being a man you’re given so much privilege, so you should be using that to make everyone equal.”

Directing the play helped Cameron Mackenzie see his own emotions from a new perspective.

“I’m being affected by what I’m hoping other people will be affected by, which is learn to express [my feelings], learn to open up, learn to move through something challenging, and not just like, bottle it down,” Mackenzie said.

Sunny Drake wrote the play to have a structure like a hockey game with three periods and characters stepping out and providing commentary on their thoughts and feelings.

“I really find that comedy is such a way to draw people into difficult content,” Drake said. “It’s a fun play, and allows us to sort of sit with some really difficult things while getting to have a laugh, and a fun night out.”

Sportsnews

Falcons take bronze at Pacwest playoffs Men's team finishes third; women return empty-handed

ships versus eventual PACWEST champions Okanagan Coyotes.

“We knew that they were going to come running and gunning, and we just wanted to slow it down,” coach Virginia Watson said. “Like really slow it down and take good highquality shots.”

The Falcons kept the game tied going into the half, but the Coyotes  By CORVIN VASKI proved to be too much and began to pull away on the scoreboard, winning fter a podium finish for 79-64, ending the Falcons season. the Langara Falcons men’s After her team sustained several basketball team and an early injuries, Watson said they will have end to the women’s season at the more stringent rules around weight PACWEST championships, coaches training to prevent injuries. and players are preparing to come With the season now finished for back stronger next season. both Falcons teams, the playThe Langara men’s ers and coaches get a short and women’s teams break and then the players “We knew that attended the champiwill be back to a training and they were going to onships March 3-5 at practice regimen.

Columbia Bible College “I just told the guys, right come running and in Abbotsford. It was the now you have to focus on gunning.” first provincial finals to be school because if they don’t held since the 2019-2020 get it done in the classroom, — VIRGINIA WATSON, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH season, capping off the they won’t be able to play return of basketball since next year,” Eberhardt said.

SUBMITTED PHOTO the pandemic began.

While the athletes are Going into the tournafinishing their classes, the ment the men’s team was beginning nice group to work with. I was really coaches are seeking recruits and planto catch their stride playing as a team pleased how we finished the end of ning what their teams will look like after struggles throughout the season. the year,” coach Paul Eberhardt said. next year.

“No one really knew how to play The Falcons women’s team played “The high school championwith each other,” Falcons guard Royce in the first game of the champion- ships are wrapping up. Most of our

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Sargeant said. “But we found out that we could play together in the end.”

The Falcons men’s team won their first game against the Douglas Royals and lost their second game to Vancouver Island University.

They finished the tournament winning against the Camosun Chargers in a wild double-overtime game that saw 18 lead changes and a buzzer beater three-pointer from Camosun at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime. The Falcons eventually won 113-107 to capture third place in the playoffs.

“Even though we had our struggles on the court at times and maybe underachieved a little bit, it’s been a

SOURCE: PACWEST B.C.

coaches will have been in attendance at some of the championships, watching student athletes they’ve recruited and then hopefully landing some of them,” said the Langara director of athletics and intramurals, Jake McCallum.

With both teams relatively young,

there will be many familiar faces on the teams next year that will bring experience to their teams.

“We are going to try to improve and come out stronger than this year,” said Falcons forward Stefany Martinez.

PACWEST basketball will resume play this October.