Colin Mochrie................................................4 Studio 58’s Colin Mochrie received Langara College’s outstanding alumni award
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LSU files response to lawsuit
oice November 7, 2013 • Vol. 46 no. 6 • vancouver, b.c.
New president wants Langara to be top tier
Student stress takes heavy toll
Working toward a nationally recognized college
Thoughts of suicide not uncommon for students, Langara nurse says
Owners of Duke’s allege a breach of lease agreement
By NADIM ROBERTS
By TYLER HOOPER
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he Langara Students’ Union has filed a response to a lawsuit by the owners of Duke’s Gourmet Cookies & Cappuccino. The response, dated Oct. 17 and filed in B.C. Supreme Court, denied allegations made by Dae Kyu Kim and Myung Sook Kim suggesting that the LSU violated a lease agreement between the two parties. The Kims filed the suit in September claiming the LSU owes them compensation for the period it was out of business from January 2008 until August 2009, when the new Students’ Union Building was being built. They are also seeking relief because they claim the LSU “negligently misrepresented” the terms of the lease, suggesting that it would be renewed beyond Aug. 15, 2013. The response filed by the LSU said that the plaintiffs agreed to the interruption and accepted compensation in accordance with the terms of lease agreement. But Marcus Kim, former manager of Duke’s and son of the plaintiffs, said Duke’s did not receive any monetary compensation from the LSU during the building of the SUB. The LSU’s written response claims the agreement made between the two parties in January 2008 said the plaintiffs could occupy Duke’s from Aug. 1, 2009, until their tenancy expired on Aug. 15, 2013, but made no promise or guarantee that the lease would be renewed beyond that date. Ben Edelstein, LSU media representative, told The Voice he had no comment because the dispute is before the courts. The Kim family had owned and managed Duke’s since 2003. Lollipop Moment now operates out of the former Duke’s location.
TYLER HOOPER photo
LSU files response to alleged breach of lease agreement with owners of Duke’s Cookies & Cappuccino. Printed on recycled paper
SUBMITTED photo
Lane Trotter will begin his term as Langara’s new president and CEO on Jan. 20. By BILL EVERITT
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angara College’s new president Lane Trotter said he wants to build on Langara’s excellent reputation and see it recognized nationally as the best in Canada. “I look at an institution that has a great reputation in B.C. and western Canada, but I would like to see it have a national reputation,” he said. “I want to see it recognized as the best college in Canada.” Trotter, named president in an announcement last week, brings with him over 22 years of experience in higher education. He turns 50 on Sunday. Trotter will be Langara’s third president in 19 years and has served as dean at two other institutions including BCIT and most recently as senior vicepresident academic at Fanshawe College in London, Ont. This will be his first presidential position and he will begin his term Jan. 20. Trotter said he was attracted to Langara because of its reputation for strong academic programs and its op-
portunities for students and the community. “Students are the next generation of leaders in our community,” he said in an interview with The Voice. “They will be providing for a range of needs and we need to make sure they have great opportunities.” Anne Lippert, chair of the Langara board of governors that selected Trotter, said that the board was excited for him to begin his term. “We looked for someone with exceptional leadership skills and we looked for someone who was visionary,” she said. “We are very pleased to have him join us.” Trotter signed a contract for an indefinite term. “There is a lot of demand for high quality presidents for post-secondary institutions,” said Lippert. “What I would like to see is a five-year tenure.” Trotter said he couldn’t be happier to be coming home to B.C. “People keep telling me I’ve been smiling a lot,” he said. “My family is there, my spouse’s family is there. We are ready to be a little closer to home.”
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Students are the next generation of leaders in our community.... We need to make sure they have great opportunities Lane Trotter
ost students probably don’t need a nurse to tell them the collective blood pressure on campus is beginning to skyrocket. As final exams loom, students at Langara are feeling the increase of schoolrelated stress. Susan Kensett, a Langara health services nurse, said stress and anxiety are year-round issues for students, but they feel the tension now more than ever. “Its not uncommon for us to be addressing suicidal thoughts in our patients,” said Kensett. “Anyone who is dealing with any kind of stressful event, if they are also dealing with school, it just becomes compounded.” Kensett said that students should seek out the assistance available on campus as untreated stress can lead to more serious problems. A survey conducted by nursing students in 2011 revealed that the majority of students at Langara experienced some level of stress during their studies. Fifty-three per cent of those surveyed said school was the largest contributor to stress, followed by time constraints and financial difficulties. Patricia Chu, a second-year nursing student, said she notices a changed atmosphere on campus near exam time. “I’ve already had a few friends call me having breakdowns and I’ve had to calm them down,” said Chu. Christine Peterson, the assistant counselling department chairwoman, said she’s seen an increase in students dropping by for counselling. “Whenever students prepare for exams, stress levels go up,” she said. According to Peterson, some methods for dealing with school-related stress are spacing out one’s studying, maintaining a positive attitude and exercising. Library assistant Gary Kalmek said he sees a larger numbers of students in the library this time of year “taking out books, making copies and spending longer hours in the library.” Often, the first responders to stressor anxiety-related breakdowns on college and university campuses are security guards. Dan Krefting, the safety and security manager at Langara, said campus security is prepared to deal with these issues. “There have been incidents where students have been under significant stress and I believed there was some kind of risk,” said Krefting. “Campus security can recognize if someone is under stress and provide them with the community resources they need.”
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