The Voice, Nov 23, 2023 • Volume 57 • Issue 3

CAMPUS

Nursing prereqs

Students find competition tough to enter the Langara nursing program. P3

ONLINE SPECIAL

SPORTS

Turf grab

Field hockey community vies for new pitch in South Vancouver.

P8

PRODUCED BY LANGARA JOURNALISM STUDENTS | WWW.LANGARAVOICE.CA

Tent city

In South Vancouver, a new tent city is growing. langaravoice.ca

NOVEMBER 23, 2023 • VOL. 57 NO. 3 • VANCOUVER, B.C.

Pottery enthusiasts hit brick wall P7 Kate Metten holding a bowl she had been working on at her studio in Vancouver B.C. on Nov. 13, 2023. EDMUND HAYLEY PHOTO

A bad housing situation, worse Short-term regulations may limit future options for students, expert says  By SARAH AMY LEUNG

the situation of available housing.

Malamug lives in a house with 12 espite coming provin- other renters near King Edward and cial regulations meant Fraser. He shares a room with two to help those looking for other students. housing, many students Despite sharing a home with many still must make difficult trade-offs people, Malamug said the monthly when finding a place to live. $520 rent and proximity to ColumIn October, the provincial bia College are advantages. government introduced the Short“I feel like it is worth all those Term Rental sacrifices,” he Accommodasaid. tions Act that Fir st-year “A lot of people limits hosts to SFU psycholwould end up just more stringent ogy student rules in hopes Kenji Singh sacrificing the of offering said many more housing international flexibility just to try availability. students feel “We are in a pressured to to find a place.” housing crisis take whatever — KENJI SINGH, SFU STUDENT and we need is available in to make sure Va n c o u ve r ’s that homes are being used to house “fast” market. He said many, includpeople, not as an investment oppor- ing himself, have faced unpleasant tunity,” said Housing Minister Ravi experiences due to rushed decisions.

Kahlon to the Voice in an emailed “It’s so hard to just find a decent statement. place,” Singh said. “A lot of people The act will be fully implemented would end up just sacrificing the flexin 2024. For students in school now, ibility just to try to find a place.” the situation is still dire.

Singh lives in residence at SFU Those who manage to find rent- while studying psychology at Fraser als, like first-year Columbia College International College. Though student Leo Malamug, must consider Singh said his situation now is conve-

D

nient, he used to rent a room under a landlord that “broke the law” by intruding on his personal space.

He said she also threatened to evict him without reason.

Singh moved out before eviction because SFU offered him on-campus residency.

Singh said he didn’t know where he would have lived if SFU had not accepted him into residency.

“I don’t think I would have had many choices,” Singh said.

One housing expert has concerns with the short-term rental act and whether it will fit the unpredictable lifestyles of students.

Andrey Pavlov, a professor of finance who specializes in real estate at SFU’s Beedie School of Business, said the act’s inflexibility hinders students’ options.

“One thing about young people in general is that they’re still finding that longer-term career,” said Pavlov.

“They need to be flexible, they need to be able to move to a summer job or switch schools or even switch campuses in the same school.”

Pavlov referenced the impacts of B.C.’s speculation and vacancy tax on the housing market, predicting that house prices will fall, but so will unit sales and desirability.

Students at Langara, which lacks campus housing, are forced to dive into the rental market.

Chin Song, who will be starting Langara’s post-degree diploma in business administration in January, has searched for accommodations in Vancouver since September.

Song’s frugal mentality and income from her career as an educator in China means affordability is not her primary concern. She said

she is willing to pay up to $1,600 a month for a rental.

Song said she needs the ability to rent something short-term, she told the Voice over Zoom from her home in China. “But it seems that most landlords would love to rent for the longterm [only].”

Song said she is looking at Airbnb and short-term leases, the availability of which will be reduced by the upcoming regulations.

Living situations for students in Vancouver have some making drastic sacrifices. LEO MALAMUG SUBMITTED PHOTO

2

Atlarge

THE VOICE | THURSDAY, NOV. 23, 2023

E-bike sharing rolls on in North Van Supporters call for ‘complete, interconnected network’ that’s safe to use  By MATEO MUEGO

W

hile the city of North Vancouver’s e-bike program is considered a success, supporters say it needs to continue moving forward to make the community more bike-friendly.

North Vancouver council voted unanimously last month to extend by another year the original two-year contract with Lime, a bike-sharing company based in California. The program marked 156,000 trips completed so far using the bikes, with a third of users saying they rode the bikes instead of driving their personal vehicle.

The City of North Vancouver was the first municipality in B.C. to implement an all-electric bike sharing program. The policy was approved in 2020, and the first of 435 bikes in the service appeared on the street on July 26, 2021.

The District of North Vancouver followed shortly, joining the program to allow riders to bike across all of North Vancouver. Trips cost $1.15 to start with an additional 35 cents per minute until the ride ends.

City of North Vancouver Coun.

Tony Valente called the program “a total success.”

“We haven’t traditionally had a lot of [transportation] options on the North Shore and we need options that also are like kind of lower barrier,” he said.

Valente said an early problem developed when cyclists left the Lime bikes in yards and on private property after use. The city responded by adding dedicated parking stations, but there are still not enough parking locations for the bikes, according to riders.

“We say we prioritize active transportation, but when you look at it, we build a lot of space for cars,” said Valente, who is the former chair

A Lime e-bike stands ready to use for a North Shore rider courtesy of the City of North Vancouver’s e-bike sharing program. The city recently extended the original two-year program by an additional year. MATEO MUEGO PHOTO

for the HUB Cycling North Shore committee. He added that there needs to be more locations to park the bikes in the winter.

Valente said riders tell him they need safer infrastructure for both e-bike and e-scooter users.

“We need to really be providing that complete network,” said Valente. “Which we just don’t have right now.”

North Vancouver Coun. Jessica McIlroy agreed cyclists in the city need safer options.

“A large portion of city residents

are interested in riding a bike or using another mobility device but don’t feel it is safe to do so,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy said the city needs to continue building out its safe mobility network.

“Providing safe and comfortable space, in the manner of a complete, interconnected network will be important in increasing all active transportation use in the future,” she said.

She said the ability for people to have an easy option for shorter

cycling trips around North Vancouver is one of the e-bike program’s biggest successes.

Jeff Crook, an avid cyclist from North Vancouver, said the Lime bikes provide a faster alternative to cars when city traffic is heavy.

“I can get there on a bike in less than 10 minutes,” Crook said.

He said it sometimes can take 35 or 40 minutes to drive just over one kilometre during busy traffic times throughout the week.

Crook is happy with the biking infrastructure the city has been

developing the past several years.

However, he agreed with Valente that separated bike paths are the most pressing need for North Shore cyclists.

“The big one for cyclists is dedicated bike lanes, where you’re physically removed from car traffic,” Crook said.

He said that the city has been building “way more of that infrastructure.”

The city is still working towards completing its North Vancouver bicycle master plan from 2012.

Langley joins call to reform HandyDART Service for passengers with disabilities criticized for slow service and ‘chaotic’ schedules  By TY LIM

T

he City of Langley has become the first municipality to put its name on a petition calling for better HandyDART service from TransLink.

The petition, organized by Save Our HandyDART Coalition, asks the B.C. minister of transportation to intervene with the TransLink board to limit taxi trips required by HandyDart riders, keep the service affordable, conduct a survey on the service’s use of outsourcing and return HandyDART as an official TransLink service.

Langley City Coun. Paul Albrecht introduced the motion at council last month to sign the petition on behalf of the coalition.

“We had a number of conversations with them and their committee and I thought that it was something that was overdue and needed,” said Albrecht.

Albrecht says Langley has a large population of seniors, landed immigrants and people with low incomes, and that those demographic factors create a great need for accessibility services.

HandyDART is an on-call TransLink bus service for riders with physical or mental disabilities that make them unable to use other methods of public transit. The program started in 1980, training drivers with the necessary skills to care for their passengers. Since then, the service has been outsourced through private contractors multiple times.

Most recently, HandyDART was bought by Transdev, a French international transit company. Transdev completed the takeover in March 2022 from First Transit, which in 2017 took over the company from MVT Canadian Bus Inc. that had run HandyDART since 2009.

The system has been scrutinized throughout the last decade for what some call subpar service, and it’s a problem that continues to this day, according to Langley City’s accessibility committee member Ron Bergen.

“There’s a lot of people in the last five years that I’ve talked to in the city that will not use HandyDART

A HandyDART bus: the TransLink service has been run by numerous private contractors in recent years. TRANSLINK SUBMITTED PHOTO

-- period -- because it wasn’t working for them,” said Bergen, a HandyDART user. “It wasn’t user friendly, they weren’t getting the service they needed.”

Bergen says that getting a HandyDART appointment is difficult, as priority is reserved for those facing medical issues. But he says even

those with priority receive slow service.

“It takes too long to get a short distance. Some people, they physically can’t handle it,” Bergen said.

HandyDART driver Leo Yu shares many of the same concerns as Bergen. He is also a member of the Save Our HandyDART Coalition.

“The service continues to fail the people who rely on it,” Yu said. “And it’s really an issue of treating people with disabilities like second class citizens.”

Yu said the changes in management have caused stress for drivers.

“Every time we have a new employer it becomes very stressful to work in those conditions,” said Yu. “The schedules for our drivers and dispatchers are extremely chaotic.”

Yu says HandyDART has lost experienced drivers as a result, which in turn has caused the service to decline in quality.

Because of the driver shortage, Yu says that 17 per cent of HandyDART calls are outsourced to cabs.

That figure is 10 per cent higher than TransLink’s pledge to keep taxi trips down to seven per cent, he said.

“We heard dozens of examples of extremely unsafe situations with taxi drivers,” said Yu. Yu said HandyDART will continue to fail under Transdev.

“They’re a multinational corporation and so they literally are profiting from people with disabilities. That’s what they’re doing. It’s ridiculous,” said Yu. TransLink did not reply to questions from the Voice by deadline.

Campusnews

EDITOR THEA CATIPON | THURSDAY, NOV. 23, 2023 | THE VOICE

3

LSU committees believed to be inactive A lack of advertising, minutes and LSU response has students dubious  By MAIYA SUZUKI

Jashandeep Singh, a former LSU board member in 2019, was part of he Langara Students’ Union the special events committee, student financial documents show issues action committee, and the that tens of thousands of united people of colour committee at dollars are allocated to student the time. However, his involvement committees, yet some members with the LSU committees was cut believe many committees have been short when the pandemic hit and the defunct since the pandemic. committees stopped meeting.

Some students say they haven’t Singh said he applied to be part of been able to join since 2019 and the queer committee but, like Waiz, aren’t provided meeting minutes or he was never contacted about his agendas. Others are questioning why application status for the committee. the committees are not advertised.

“I was finding it hard that no one According to its website, the LSU could apply for it,” said Singh, who has 11 committees that students can graduated from the photography volunteer for, but it’s unclear who is program in 2022. currently in charge of these commitHe said most students are unaware tees. Students can also apply for of these committees or “how to work the electoral committee, which has with them.” limited space and a more involved In an email to the Voice, the LSU application process. said students wishing to join a In an email to the Voice, the LSU committee can fill in the form online. said the committees are represented “Based on their availability, we by its board members and college will contact them to help during the students and that “all committees event,” it said. are active in some form.”

Arman Thakur, a second-year The LSU computer said its “most science student “I have no idea what at Langara, current active” committees tarted an the students’ union sonline are special petition e v e n t s , on Nov. 9 for does except for the member relaan independent fact that they take a inquiry into the tions and international lack of chunk of my tuition LSU’s committee. It transparency. was unclear if His goal is to every term.” that meant the get 51 signa— TAVIA WAIZ, THIRD-YEAR NURSING other committures to presLANGARA STUDENT tees weren’t ent to the LSU fully active. board of directors to pass a special The LSU website does not list referendum. who runs the committees, provide The petition questions, among the names of any members, nor other things, why students are explain how to reach the commit- not provided meeting agendas or tees. The LSU did not answer the minutes for standing committees, Voice’s request for the names of the which are permanent committees committee representatives. that carry on from year to year. Most To volunteer for a committee, other student unions provide these students must fill out an online form. publicly and regularly. For example, Tavia Waiz, third-year nursing the Kwantlen Student Association student at Langara, was looking posts the agenda and minutes for to connect with a community her every committee meeting since 2014. first term back on-campus after the “I think the petition would defipandemic. She applied for the queer nitely bring the attention of other committee through the volunteer students that these committees application form on the LSU website actually exist,” Thakur said, adding in November 2021. that funds allocated to committees “A month went by and I heard “should be used for the students, nothing,” Waiz said, though she and especially when it comes to the acknowledged it could be because women's empowerment and the of the holiday break. united people of colour empowerSo she went in person to the LSU ment.” building but because of renovations In an email to the Voice, the LSU no one was there. She then emailed said the claims and allegations in the the union again, but still no response, petition were not accurate. so she went in person a second time.

“The Langara Students’ Union “They basically said, ‘yeah, no, (LSU) conducted the General Elecit’s not running,’” Waiz said, adding tion of 2023 in full compliance with she was told the clubs had been shut our established regulations, ensuring down because of COVID-19 and transparency, fairness, and integrity renovations. throughout the electoral process,” Finally, on Jan. 8, 2022, she the email said. received an email saying the newly However, students have continelected board members would be in ued to complain to the Voice that contact with her after they met later the election's eligibility process that month. was manipulated, that they were But she was never contacted again. unfairly prevented from appealing “I have no idea what the students’ the process and the LSU has ignored union does except for the fact that their demands for an explanation. they take a chunk of my tuition every term,” Waiz said. ­— with files from Emily Best

T

Prospective nursing students are repeating classes to raise their GPA and beat the competition. LOUIS BERGERON PHOTO

Prereqs on repeat

Nursing student hopefuls aim for 3.7 GPA  By LOUIS BERGERON

S

tudents are repeating prerequisite classes for Langara’s nursing program to improve their grades to have a higher chance of acceptance amidst intense competition.

Howard Ha, a biology student at Langara, is retaking a biology class to increase his GPA. He is trying to get an A, hoping that his extra effort secures him a seat in the nursing program. His GPA currently sits at 3.2, and he wants to reach 3.5 when he finishes his classes.

Ha said he spent $1,000 this term retaking a biology class after having previously done the course.

Ha thought the nursing program would be a good fit for him, and he liked the prospect of being paid a decent wage.

“I heard the nursing program here is good. Plus, it’s accessible compared to other schools like BCIT,” said Ha. Wanda Pierson, division chair of the faculty of nursing, said the prerequisites are meant to prepare the students for the nursing program.

The prerequisites include two biology courses, two English courses and

their choice between a statistics or psychology class.

“It's so that when we accept students into the program, they have demonstrated some degree of academic capacity,” said Pierson.

While the admission requirement GPA is at 2.33, the academic level of students applying raises the competitive GPA. This fall, the intake among students was 3.7.

Some students choose to spread out their class requirements to reduce the overall difficulty they have in fulfilling their requirements.

First-year Langara nursing student RJ Gozum had a difficult experience with the prerequisites.

“My first semester I thought I could take just three prereqs at the same time. That did not work out. I dropped one of them,” Gozum said.

For students coming directly out of high school, the prerequisites can be even more of a step up than the normal transition to college.

“The first semester was kind of overwhelming because the bio course they put you in is a lot more difficult than high school is. It is a big jump,” Gozum said.

Janaina Brusco, biology instructor

NURSING PROGRAM ADMISSION

REQUIREMENTS AS OF FALL 2023

at Langara, said students fresh out of high school often end up withdrawing from the prerequisites.

If they do withdraw, she offers students the option to continue to attend her lectures and take notes to better prepare them for when they retake the course.

“If [you] withdraw you still come to lecture, get exposed to the material,” said Brusco.

It is this kind of preparation that Brusco says improves students’ chances of success in the prerequisite classes.

“If you want to get a super high grade, you should get one, max two courses at once, no more than that,” said Brusco.

Zeph Hipolito has given up pursuing nursing at Langara because “it’s too competitive, the GPA is really high compared to BCIT’s.”

He spread his five required classes over a period of four semesters to ensure he was not overloaded by the requirements.

“The moment I took the two bio courses I realized like, oh this is like at least like four months of class squished,” Hipolito said. “It’s like so many chapters fit into one semester.”

SOURCE: LANGARA.CA

2.33

5

3.7

Minimum GPA average for admission into the program.

Prereqs required: two biology courses, two English courses and either statistics or psychology.

Competitive average GPA for the fall 2023 admission.

4

THE VOICE | THURSDAY, NOV. 23, 2023 | EDITOR CALA ALI

GENERATIO

Pac-Man packs a pun 'It [Pac-Man] adds a very nice personal touch especially for the younger communities'

A

t Rise Up Marketplace, Gen Zers flock to the vintage Pac-Man machine to experience old school vibes and to build community.

Adding to the retro appeal of the game, it’s also free to play.

A report done by the City of Vancouver in 2020, said corner stores were once a central gathering place where community building took place. The city said over the years this has declined.

Britopian.com, an online data analysis website, said 37 per cent of Gen Zers prefer gaming in a social environment. A local corner store uses this as a way to draw in customers.

Owner of Rise Up Marketplace, Roger Collins installed the retro arcade game as a nostalgic element he remembers fondly from going to corner stores as a kid.

"I'm old enough to remember when arcade games actually became part of, you know, corner stores,” Collins said. “I remember when Pac-Man machines started coming in.”

Even as a kid in Toronto with limited means,

Collins said, he and his friends always m time to hit their neighbourhood corner “You'd walk all the way to the store ju play that game and get that little fix an that joy," Collins said.

He has seen a definite uptick in Gen hanging out in the store since addin arcade game, fostering a sense of com nity.

The warmth and friendliness aro the Pac-Man game at Rise Up Ma place makes Pierce O'Brien, 24, a re ing customer.

"The retro arcade game brings a sense of home almost," O'Brien said.

Sequoia Malley, 22, loves the game — the fact it’s free.

"I just played it the other day,” M said. “It's really fun because you don't need to pay for it. You just hit the button and go."

Collins said there is a common bon customers share between Pac-Man at Up Marketplace.

Whether it’s through outsiders wa ing as customers struggle through a s ful level of Pac-Man or if they are si having fun.

“And I just find that people kind of around that corner.” Collins said, “And of like even strangers will see each othe be like, ‘how are you doing?’”

Stories and photos by Jamie Mah

News&features 5

ON Z: CORNER STORE CRAZY

nch

made store. ust to nd get

n Zers ng the mmu-

ound arketeturn-

Hot hang out spots

Where nostalgia and community meet

C

orner store culture in Vancouver is enjoying a resurgence among Gen Z, who increasingly see them as a community gathering space as well, importantly, as a source of local and sustainable goods.

According to the City of Vancouver, currently there are some 88 active corner stores across the city. Of these, 40 per cent are neighbourhood grocery stores while 60 per cent operate as other types of businesses.

A 2023 study done by the non-profit research company Vividata.ca said 44 per cent of Canadian Gen Z consumers are willing to spend more money to shop sustainably and locally. Gen Z is the age group born between 1997 and 2012.

Colette Griffiths, owner of Mount Pleasant’s Federal Store, said the overall experience of shopping at a corner store is what draws in the Gen Z crowd.

Griffiths said Gen Z are drawn to corner stores as they have a higher appreciation for local goods.

Gen Z, she said, puts shopping locally at a higher priority than past generations.

She said social media plays a big role in this attraction.

But ultimately, Griffiths said it's Gen Z’s need to be part of a community that draws them into shopping at her store. “Like being able to sit outside, run into people, you know, like see and be seen in a way.”

Federal Store customer Jocelyn Kim, 25, said finding small artisan goods is what she enjoys most when she shops at corner stores.

“I find that I'm able to find like little miscellaneous things, last minute gifts and like handmade goods, so I like going to them,” Kim said.

She said it’s the local aspect of corner stores that draws her back.

“I really love it because they have local artists doing more local brands that are usually in these corner stores,” Kim said.

Griffiths said customers of all ages like shopping at her store. However, certain factors play a role into why Gen Z is one of her highest customer demographics.

“As much as we do get people of all ages and

demographics in here, you know, especially with seeing what's changing, or like, who's moving into Mount Pleasant. There's definitely more of that [Gen Z] now,” Griffiths said.

Trying to find a balance between “the new hot thing” and offering items that are “good and consistent” is something Griffiths does when ordering items to sell at Federal Store.

She said the balance is important.

Rosie Dindorp, 22, a customer inside Jackson’s General, a popular corner store on Kingsway in Vancouver, said it’s the convenience of corner stores that she enjoys the most.

“It's a lot smaller and easier to navigate,” Dindorp said. “And stores like this often have a lot more local stuff as well.”

Dindorp likes shopping at corner stores because they target her age demographic rather than older people.

According to the Government of British Columbia’s website “almost 30 per cent of British Columbians immigrated to B.C. from another country,” and “residents of B.C. trace their origins to more than 200 countries or regions.”

This is something that plays a role in the marketing strategy at Rise Up Marketplace.

Roger Collins, owner of Rise Up Marketplace in Strathcona, said the cultural vibe of his Jamaican culture inspired corner store has proven to attract the Gen Z crowd.

Collins said the younger generation comes in to Rise Up Marketplace to enjoy the culture and the food. He said they especially like to stop by for Jamaican patties.

Diversity plays a big factor in what Rise Up Marketplace brings to the community, Collins said.

“It's different backgrounds of people as well, people from all over the world, different cultures coming in here and enjoying the space, which is kind of cool,” he said. “So, it's kind of like a melting pot for a lot of different people.”

On Sept. 7, the City of Vancouver launched a survey asking residents if they would like an expansion of corner stores in the city. The feedback from this survey will be used to make changes to corner store regulation in 2024.

a new

— and

Malley t even start

nd his t Rise

atchstressimply

rally d kind er and

Top left: A customer waits for their order at Federal Store, a corner store popular with Gen Z. Middle top: Roger Collins, owner of Rise Up Marketplace, poses with his Jamaican patties, a popular item amongst his Gen Z customers.

Middle insert: A sign at the front of Jackson's General a corner store in East Vancouver.

Bottom right: The exterior of Rise Up Marketplace, formerly Vernon Drive Grocery.

Bottom left: The Pac-Man game at Rise Up Marketplace where many gather to play the game and create community.

6

Photoessay

THE VOICE | THURSDAY, NOV. 23, 2023 | EDITOR EMMA SHULAR

CLOCKWISE FROM THE TOP: Angel Rivas, who rents a home in Surrey with multiple roommates, looking up at a ceiling light covered by a tapestry.

A stained glass decoration of Led Zeppelin that sits in the window of the living room.

The light fixture that hangs in the dining room of the house.

Rivas with a Michael Myers statue that stands at the top of the stairs in his home.

Rivas sitting in the eclectic main living room of his home.

A stack of VHS tapes and a small TV with a Bart Simpson figurine on top.

Maximizing maximalism C Photo essay by Emma Shular

luttercore, granny chic, thrifting design or grand millennium, whatever name you choose for it, maximalism interior design is growing in popularity, according to interior designers and design magazines.

Maria Espinosa, senior interior designer for Vancouver based PlaidFox Studio, said that maximalism is a design style that is “hard to describe.”

“It's about layering textures, it’s about layering colours,” she said.

“There is always some restraint. You always want to make sure that you're pairing back and you're laying the right things.”

Espinosa said PlaidFox Studio saw an increase in people wanting to change their design style following COVID-19.

“We had a lot of people contact us even if it was for something as simple Left: An odd little creature sculpture. Rivas said it was one of his favourite things in the house.

as painting their home a different colour or just decorating it,” she said.

“They wanted to change it and add colour and bring life into it and make it a little bit more upbeat.”

Angel Rivas styled the interior of his rental house in Surrey in a maximalist way. He said his design style shifted from minimalist to maximalist following the pandemic.

“When you're at your home and then can't really go anywhere else you rely more on having visual stimuli just from your living space,” he said.

Rivas said that a maximalist style makes the house he shares with roommates feel more comfortable, and that with maximalism you can “add a lot more of your personality.”

“It feels more like a home instead of just like a space that I’m in,” he said. “When you have lots of stuff you can like, add a lot of things that you like and that you think make you who you are.”

Arts&life

EDITOR MILICA ANIC | THURSDAY, NOV. 23, 2023 | THE VOICE

7

Kate Metten at her own studio with her co-worker creating with clay in Vancouver B.C. on Nov. 13, 2023. EDMUND HAYLEY PHOTO

Pottery, a fragile career path

Many hobbyists discover mastering the craft is tougher than it seems  By EDMUND HAYLEY

P

ottery might look like it’s easy, but it's not for the faint of heart.

Aspiring potters must come to grips with a slow learning curve, the physical nature of the art and the cost of equipment, material and proper studio space.

Kate Metten, the owner of Kate Metten Ceramics in Vancouver, has been throwing clay since she was seven. She said even advanced potters struggle with the time required to learn the technique.

“The hardest thing is the learning curve, and really just putting in the 5,000 hours so that you understand the material,” said Metten.

Throwing clay also demands exertion of the entire body.

“I move over 800 pounds of clay a month,” Metten said. “And I feel that in my hips and shoulders.”

Pottery enthusiast Stephanie Purificacion suggested the physical challenges, including being able to remain in a hunched-over position at the wheel and being able to hold clay on the wheel, of making pottery can be exhausting. Purificacion exercises two to three times per week to strengthen specific muscle groups used when throwing clay.

“Trying to build that arm and those core muscles helped me to do pottery,” Purificacion said. People

The Voice is published by Langara College’s journalism department. Editorial opinions are those of the staff and are independent of views of the student

government and administration. We welcome letters to the editor. They may be edited for brevity.

Your letter must include your name and phone number.

who are building their career in space and the cost of equipment can ceramics find the cost of entry to be hinder novice potters. a barrier.

“Your start-up costs, I would Metten spends around $1,500 on guess, would be in the $15,000 clay every b a re m i n i three months. range,” “Trying to build that mum The high cost Draper said. of supplies Draper said arm and those core finding coupled with space renting space muscles helped me for a kiln is the for her storebiggest chaldo pottery.” front has motilenge people vated Metten face when — STEPHANIE PURIFICACION, POTTERY ENTHUSIAST to switch back they’re startto a private ing out. studio model.

“They require special electri“It’s more cost efficient for me to cal hookups, so it's not a practihave a lower overhead, lower studio cal thing for most people to have,” rent, and prioritize the wholesale,” Draper said. “So if that's the case she said. you're looking at either transportLangara College ceramics ing the work you make to a place student Clinton Draper said finding and renting kiln space which is quite expensive.”

Vancouver Ceramics Studio instructor Mika Abele said it is important for artists to have the proper space to create due to health and safety hazards.

Most people don’t realize just how difficult it is to learn pottery, she said.

“And they have a lot of expectations right off the bat, so sometimes I feel like part of my job, like as an instructor, is to actually just lower people’s expectations, and just have them just practice for the experience and not worry too much about the outcome,” Abele said.

HOW TO REACH US

DROP-IN Room A226

PHONE 604-323-5396 E-MAIL thevoice@langara.ca WEBSITE langaravoice.ca

SNAIL MAIL The Voice 100 West 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 2Z6

INSTRUCTOR Erica Bulman

MANAGING EDITOR Mateo Muego PAGE EDITORS PAGE 1 Ty Lim PAGE 3 Thea Catipon PAGE 4 & 5 Cala Ali

PAGE 6 Emma Shular PAGE 7 Milica Anic PAGE 8 Christopher Harcourt WEB EDITORS Erin Conners Melbah Grace Jacob Roy Fang

Langara fine arts student in the ceramics studio working on their project by cleaning it up with a sponge. MILICA ANIC PHOTO REPORTERS Sarah Amy Leung Maiya Suzuki Louis Bergeron Jamie Mah Edmund Hayley Emily Best

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU Have a different point of view? Write us Journalism instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice.

Email: ebulman @langara.ca

CONTACT US Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter @LangaraVoice

SportsNews

EDITOR CHRISTOPHER HARCOURT | THURSDAY, NOV. 23, 2023 | THE VOICE

8

Basketball refresher

A

Vancouver Hawks field hockey team (15+) returns to the pitch after halftime at Eric Hamber Field on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 in Vancouver, B.C. EMILY BEST PHOTO

Vancouver field hockey community seeks new turf A lack of competitive spaces for players limits the sport's potential in B.C.

 By EMILY BEST

P

resented with the possibility of an overhaul of its neighbourhood park, the Moberly community has rallied to support a proposal to turn the space into a field hockey pitch.

The City of Vancouver has been examining various options as it plans to upgrade the park.

Meanwhile, as field hockey in Canada continues to grow, the lack of accessible turf space for competitive games across Vancouver means local teams face inconsistent scheduling and often long travel times. So, the Vancouver field hockey community is campaigning for specialized turf at Moberly Park as the City of Vancouver seeks input from the community on what to do with the 3.6-hectare space.

The idea of a field hockey turf was floated and supported at the Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara when residents were discussing new amenities within the Sunset community.

Also, an online petition posted on change.org asking for a new South Vancouver field hockey turf has gathered 1,433 signatures since March 22, 2023.

Currently, there is only one field hockey turf apart of the city of Vancouver, at Eric Hamber Secondary School.

Robyn Pendleton, a former Team Canada player who now plays recreationally in the Vancouver Women’s Field Hockey Association, said her team doesn’t have a home field. The Vancouver Hawks Field Hockey Club and the VRC Jokers Field Hockey Club are also amongst the groups vying for time at the field.

“I would say it’s difficult because our games are really all over [Metro] Vancouver,” said Pendleton. “We

have a roster of like, 27 people and we’re lucky if we can get 10 to a game.”

Pendleton attributes the issue to a lack of field access.

“Like we could be out in Coquitlam, we could be in Surrey,” she said. “The timing is all over the place so it’s hard for us to get consistent comm itment from people when we’re always fighting for field time.”

Field hockey cannot be played on a typical soccer field as the ball doesn’t roll smoothly in the longer grass, making competitive games unplayable. The sport requires a top layer of short and dense artificial grass, creating a flat surface suitable for a field hockey ball to roll smoothly.

Alex Bale, executive director and coach at Vancouver Hawks Field Hockey Club, hopes the city will consider synthetic turf that is accessible for field hockey.

“Field hockey requires a specific turf that’s slightly different to soccer,” Bale said. “It’s very inclusive because all other sports can play on field hockey turf, but field hockey can’t be played on most other turfs.”

Vancouver used to have three field hockey pitches. It lost two when the turf was replaced with longer artificial grass at Andy Livingstone Park in 2007. Since then, the field hockey community has been asking for a new field.

On July 26, Vancouver City Council approved funding for a new turf to be built at Moberly Park. The type of turf being built will be confirmednext year.

Ian MacKenzie, a field hockey representative with Vancouver Field Sports Federation, wants to get a specialized turf but added that geotechnical requirements of the land are another consideration. The soil type, hydrology and site condi-

lmost 5 weeks into the PACWEST basketball season and the Falcons men’s team sit at number 5 in the league standings, while the women are ranked number 7 in their league.

After a slow 0-4 start to the season, the Langara Falcons women’s basketball team has rallied to win two of its last three games.

This includes a 55-44 victory at home over Douglas College on Nov. 11 and a 68-48 win against Camosun College on the road on Nov.17, highlighted by a standout performance by Falcon forward Nadia Singh who scored a game high 14 points.

The Falcons men’s team currently sits at 4-4. The team had two commanding victories at home over Douglas on Nov. 10 (88-58) and Nov. 11 (98-73). Falcons guard Royce Sargeant played a big role in the Nov. 11 win, notching a game high 18 points. Two losses followed at Camosun College, including a triple overtime game on Nov. 17 (85-90).

Both the women and men’s teams have games at Okanagan College respectively on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25.

FALCONS MEN'S TALLY

CAMOSUN

Ranked: 1

VIU

Ranked: 2

CBC

W-L 8-0

W-L 7-1

W-L 6-4

Ranked: 3

CAPILANO

Ranked: 4

LANGARA

Ranked: 5

W-L 4-4

W-L 4-4

FALCONS WOMEN'S TALLY

VIU

Ranked: 1

CBC

Ranked: 2

CAPILANO

Ranked: 3

CAMOSUN

A field hockey player warms up at Eric Hamber field. EMILY BEST PHOTO

tions along with other factors, will impact the design of the base and the drainage system.

“You can’t just go stick [a turf] there right away,” said MacKenzie.

“You need to know what’s underneath before you do any sort of construction.”

Shawn Dhanda, who created the change.org petition, is a realtor in South Vancouver who took up field hockey in elementary school when his teacher created a team.

“That’s where I learned to play field hockey, at Moberly,” Dhanda said.

Vancouver Park Board Commis-

sioner, Jaspreet Virdi, who has played field hockey for Team Canada, is also an advocate for the turf.

“I think people don’t realize how fast and how big the sport is,” Virdi said.

There are approximately 18,000 field hockey players across Canada.

The turf at Moberly is estimated to cost $8 million.

UBC and Crofton House School have field hockey accessible turfs that are available for public booking. They are more difficult to book for clubs though as they are more expensive and are not a part of the Vancouver city jurisdiction.

W-L 8-0

W-L 6-4

W-L 5-3

W-L 4-4

Ranked: 4

DOUGLAS

Ranked: 5

LANGARA

Ranked: 7

W-L 4-8

W-L 2-6