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MARCH 25, 2021 • VOL. 54 NO. 06 • VANCOUVER, B.C.
Campus rezoning passed
25-year master plan features denser campus By ALAINA SAINT AMOUR
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Since last March, the majority of students have been learning from home. Some students are still coming to campus to study.
PHOTO HANNAH SNIDER
COVID-19: one year later Langara College looks back on the impacts of pandemic
By HANNAH SNIDER
I
t’s been one year since Langara College shifted to remote learning to prevent the spread of COVID-19. On March 12, 2020, the college had to halt in-person instruction after WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Without preparation, students and teachers had to adjust to online learning, and college administration had to provide technical support. The campus went online just three months after Kaitlin Lovering began her job as a Langara chemistry instructor. Lovering quickly noticed anxiety levels spiking among faculty and students. “You would be wandering the halls, and you know everyone is talking about it because ‘coronavirus’ sounds the same in everyone’s language,” said Lovering, who added that she had felt tired between the anxiety surrounding the pandemic, course preparation and classes moving online. Chris Arnold-Forster, director of the Emergency Operations Centre at Langara, was serving some 20,000 Langara community members during
the first phases of the pandemic. Carmen Larsen, Langara curricu- skills training, announced that The EOC had a team of 120 people lum consultant, taught workshops post-secondary institutions should in March 2020 to help source essen- for instructors to help them move prepare for a safe return to in-person tial supplies during a global shortage their courses online. learning in September. of sanitary products and technical “The instructors ... were just so Shauna Bevacqua, a first-year arts equipment required for online learn- motivated to help students in this student, has concerns about returning. crazy time and do the best that they ing to campus, but feels prepared. “The depth of challenges there could do,” she said. “As long as the vaccination schedwere quite high because there was a Larsen said she started many of her ule goes according to plan, I'll be global shortage of tech equipment sessions with instructors by remind- ready to go back in,” she said. “I am to go to online learning,” a bit nervous, especially Arnold-Forster said. since I didn't have the Carrie Jia, a student experience before. So it's “My first concern in the applied planning going to feel kind of like would be that when we post-degree diploma starting for the first time come back to campus program, said online again.” learning created a disconThe college, which on that we don't recognize March nect among instructors 12 flew the Canasome of the grief that and classmates. She added dian flag at half-mast to that she had to buy a new mark the anniversary of all of us will have.” computer for school. WHO declaring COVIDChris Arnold-Forster CHRIS ARNOLD“My laptop just wasn’t 19 a pandemic, has said it DIRECTOR OF LANGARA EOC FORSTER able to handle the applicawould adhere to the provtion we were using,” she said. ing them they were going through a ince’s mandate to open. After Langara cancelled the major- global crisis. Langara administration is still ity of in-person classes, instructors “We had all of two seconds to get working out all the logistical and had to learn to use new computer online, so let's be good to ourselves,” curriculum details. applications, such as Zoom, Kaltura she told the instructors. “Let’s be “My first concern would be that and Brightspace. The college also had good to our students. Let’s take care when we come back to campus that to negotiate with Adobe to extend of each other. Let’s be patient.” we don't recognize some of the grief software licences to student and On March 8, Anne Kang, minis- that all of us will have,” Arnoldinstructor personal computers. ter of advanced education and Forster said.
ancouver city council on March 11 unanimously passed a rezoning application that would increase density on the Langara College campus. The approval means the development plan for the college can move forward. The plan features five new buildings across the campus and is expected to be carried out over a 25-year period. The large-scale redevelopment is designed to meet an increasing number of students. “Langara College has recently experienced a period of rapid and unprecedented student growth that has put a strain on its existing physical resources,” said rezoning planner for the City of Vancouver Tiffany Rougeau at the public hearing. The master plan for Langara’s redevelopment will involve larger buildings with more capacity, including a maximum height of six storeys for three of the buildings. “[The plan] allows the flexibility for the college over the next 25 years as things change at the college to decide what their priorities are and what goes into certain buildings,” said Langara’s Wendy Lannard, lead consultant for the facilities master plan. Local resident Tony Ditmars, who lives close to the Ontario Street bike route, is worried that more traffic will be routed to residential areas with the redevelopment. He opposed the application during the public hearing. “I don't think that the plans to curb this traffic are firm enough,” Ditmars said at the public hearing, noting he has lived at his address for 35 years through a number of college expansions. “Every time there's an open house, the planners suggest that there will be efforts to curb the traffic out of this entrance. But nothing ever changes.” Rezoning sketches show where the buildings will go, but not what they will look like. Architects will work with planners to design the sites and then Langara will consult staff, students and residents on what they want to see. “Langara has not secured funding for this project yet and when it does, an architect will be hired and programming for the building will be done,” Lannard said in an email statement.