The Runner Vol 11, Issue 7

NOVEMBER 27, 2018 VOLUME 11, ISSUE 7 KPU’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

KSA Passes New Bylaws

CULTURE

Belly Dancing Class Helps Students De-Stress Through Fall Semester

Over 200 students voted to approve the revisions at a special general meeting on Nov. 14

FEATURE › 06

Continuous Intake Courses in Jeopardy as KPU Considers Dividing Faculty of ACA

› 10

OPINIONS

Make Your Volunteering Count This Holiday Season

› 13

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STAFF Editor in Chief

Aly Laube editor@runnermag.ca

Managing Editor

Connor Doyle managing@runnermag.ca

Staff Writer

Braden Klassen staff@runnermag.ca

Production Manager

Sarah Kraft production@runnermag.ca

Graphics Editor

Kristen Frier graphics@runnermag.ca

Web Manager

Alex Rodriguez web@runnermag.ca

04 06 10 13

NEWS

KPU Criminology Instructor Comments on Surrey’s Transition to Municipal Police Force

“With any other kind of major policy shift of this size, you’d expect to see a budget, a feasibility study—some of these kinds of documents showing exactly how this is going to work,” says Mike Larsen.

CULTURE

Belly Dancing Class Helps Students De-Stress Through Fall

Victoria Kalitowski, a full-time science student and a science and horticulture representative for the Kwantlen Student Association, has brought one of her passions to KPU in the form of a new belly dancing class being held on the Surrey campus.

FEATURES

Continuous Intake Courses in Jeopardy

Some of the university’s most vulnerable students could be at risk of losing their programming, according to members of the Faculty of Academic and Career Advancement.

OPINIONS

Make Your Volunteering Count This Holiday Season

The Metro Vancouver area has many unmet needs that students are able to fulfill by donating their time. Volunteering at a women’s relief shelter is one great option to consider.

HASHTAG KPU

Post on Twitter or Instagram about or around KPU and you could be featured!

Operations Manager Scott Boux office@runnermag.ca 778-565-3801

CONTRIBUTORS Thomas Buecking Amanda Grundle Lisa Hedmark Cristian Hobson-Dimas Kristine Hui Tristan Johnston Nic Laube Jessica Limoanco Nat Mussel Kayci Roy

COVER BY Kristen Frier

Arbutus 3710/3720 12666 72 Ave. Surrey, B.C, V3W 2M8 778-565-3801 www.runnermag.ca Vol. 11, Issue no. 7 November 27 // 2018 ISSN# 1916 8241

All submissions to The Runner are subject to editing for style, quality, length, and legality. The Runner will not publish material which the editors deem to be harmful or discriminatory. The views expressed within the publication are not necessarily those of The Runner staff or of the Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society.

The Runner is student-owned and operated by Kwantlen Polytechnic University students, published under the Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society. The Runner recognizes that our work, both in and out of the office, takes place on unceded Coast and Strait Salish territories, specifically the shared traditional territories of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Sto:lo and Tsawwassen First Nations. Our name is inspired by the hun’qumi’num meaning of Kwantlen, which is tireless hunters or tireless runners. Just as KPU is adaptable and changing, so is The Runner.

EDITORIAL

FROM THE EDITOR

Trans Day of Remembrance Reminds Canada to Look Back and Move Forward Aly Laube | Editor in Chief Warning: This article includes information about violent hate crimes committed against members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Each year, on the twentieth day of November, the world is asked to acknowledge the lives and struggles of transgender people, to learn about their community’s history, and to pay respect to those whose lives were taken from them as a result of systemically supported hatred and ignorance.

Although it was founded in 1999, Transgender Day of Remembrance is new in Canada, held for the first time in Vancouver in 2002. It debuted in Prince Edward Island for the first time ever this year, and is now celebrated in 29 countries around the globe.

The day was created by a transgender woman named Gwendolyn Ann Smith following the murder of Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman from Allston, Massachusetts.

Grieving the loss of Hester, Smith stepped forward with a plan to ensure that there would be a date for memorializing trans victims of hate crimes and for striving to prevent more lives from being taken.

Over the past 12 months, 369 trans and gender-diverse people—most of whom were migrants and sex workers—were killed globally, according to the Trans Day of Remembrance website. The two most well-known trans murder victims in Canada are Sisi Thibert and Alloura Wells, two women in sex work who last year were killed at the ages of 26 and 27, respectively.

Thibert was stabbed to death in her Montreal apartment on Sept. 18, 2017. Wells, who went missing in Toronto in July and wasn’t found until August, was a homeless woman of mixed race who was not reported missing by

the police until November. This incited outrage and controversy, culminating with calls for the Toronto police department to apologize and take action to prevent delays in cases like Wells’ from happening again.

These are the most publicized cases in Canada right now, but by no means are they the only ones. Canada does a very poor job of tracking statistics related to the lives and deaths of its transgender citizens. Statistics Canada does not keep information on the crimes committed against transgender folks, and the federal criminal code’s Human Rights Act only began to include trans people with the passing of Bill C-16 in 2016. The Canadian census will not use language which accommodates trans and gender-diverse people until 2021.

When our governments and police fail to listen to and help trans Canadians, the responsibility of doing so falls to the public.

That effort can be furthered by the work of self-critical and well-intentioned allies. To read a list of tips for how to be a good ally, you can visit the “Tips for Allies of Transgender People” page on the GLAAD website.

For inspiration, here are a few transgender Canadians who’ve helped change their country for the better.

British Columbia’s own Jenna Talackova became the first trans woman to compete in Miss Universe Canada after initially being disqualified for her gender identity in 2012. The first trans mayor in Canada was Julie Lemieux, who was also the first female mayor elected in her small town in Quebec during 2017. Kael McKenzie became Canada’s first transgender judge in 2015, and two-spirit politician Brielle Beardy-Linklater became the first trans woman to sit in the House of Commons last March.

Close to home for KPU students, trans scholar and sociology professor Aaron Devor is the chair of transgender studies at the

NOV. 27

As part of KPU’s ongoing science speaker series, Dr. Jay Hosking will be delivering an address entitled “The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living: Science, Skepticism and Evidence in the Age of 'Alternative Facts'”.

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm,

Science World, free.

Relations have been tense between the Kwantlen Student Association and the Canadian Federation of Students in recent years, primarily due to the KSA’s long-held intention to leave the federal advocacy group out of dissatisfaction with its services. While the KSA has in the past tried to defederate, it has ultimately failed, and is now one of only two member associations from British Columbia that remain in the CFS. This has led to the election of KSA President Caitlin McCutchen as the representative for British Columbian student-members of the CFS. As such, she is now a member of the national executive, leaving her in what she describes as a “weird” position.

“To have me on the national board is something that I never saw coming. I don’t even know how to navigate it,” she says. “I don’t think anyone else knows how to navigate it

NOV. 29

KARAOKE & OPEN MIC NIGHT

The Trans Day of Remembrance is celebrated on Nov. 20 each year.

University of Victoria—a program which he helped launch in 2016. Devor has been making incredible strides for trans students in B.C. for years, launching UVic’s Transgender Archives in 2011 to store literature documenting trans history from the past century and holding the first Moving Trans History Forward conference in 2016.

Here is one story that has always stood out to me, although it took place in the frigid, faraway province of Alberta. Colombian-born Canadian Estefania Cortes-Vargas, currently 27 years old, became one of three LGBTQ+ people to be elected to Alberta’s legislature in May 2015.

Then known publicly as a lesbian, it wasn’t until December that Cortes-Vargas came out as genderqueer—which they did in the middle of a debate in the legislature about trans inclusion in the provincial human rights code.

If that power move isn’t enough to inspire you to keep doing your own research on trans public figures, I don’t know what is.

As the campus will soon be closing for the winter break, this will be the last KSA open mic of the fall semester. Get your ya-yas out just once more before recharging your batteries in preparation for all the work you’ll do in spring.

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm,

Grassroots Cafe, free.

DEC. 3

PIANO STUDENT RECITAL

KPU’s Langley campus is home to the university’s music programs, and at the end of the year the sounds of recitals can often be heard rising from the auditorium. Check out these skillful musicians for yourself!

7:30 pm,

KPU Langley Auditorium, free.

DEC. 4

WINTER GET-TOGETHER

KPU International wants you to enjoy a warm lunch and hot chocolate with your friends! All KPU students, faculty, and staff are welcome to attend. Though the event is free, registration is required.

11:30 am - 2:00 pm,

KSA President and Indigenous Rep. Attend CFS National Meeting either, other than to be unbiased and to do my job where I have to do my job.”

Still, McCutchen is confident in her ability to succeed in both of her positions, as KSA President and CFS representative. In situations where she feels torn between her loyalty to either organization—such as when members of the KSA’s executive team raise the subject of leaving the federation—she often opts to recuse herself.

“There’s no time to [defederate from the CFS] this year quite frankly, and no money, and I don’t see it happening,” she says. “But I told them, if you guys are going to have these discussions can you just have them without me? Let me know what you’re going to do. I think that’s the only situation where I’ve had to be like, ‘I’m still your president and I’ll support what you’re trying to do, but I’m on the board you’re trying to leave.’”

McCutchen and KSA Indigenous Rep. Sarah Strachan attended the most recent CFS

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS MONTH SCIENCE SPEAKER SERIES

NEWS BRIEF

Aly Laube | Editor in Chief

3

National meeting on the weekend of Nov. 16. In regards to the motions put forward at the meeting, she says that most were “issuebased” rather than directed at certain individuals and conflicts within the CFS itself, adding that she was impressed with the “diversity of motions” she saw at the federation’s national meeting. Some of these include updating their cannabis policy to reflect legalization, adopting a mental health policy, and getting rid of its constituency for student artists.

The most recent CFS national general meeting wasn’t the first for McCutchen, but it was for Sarah Strachan, the Indigenous Students Representative for the KSA. Unexpectedly, Strachan was also elected to a B.C. representative position in the CFS. Overall, McCutchen feels that “the vibe of the whole national meeting, not just the executives but the members, is totally different now that the BCFS is gone.” She describes the new atmosphere as “more inclusive and pleasant.”

KPU Surrey main atrium, free.

DEC. 13 END OF EXAMS

You’ve given it your all this semester and now you’ve conquered the hell scape of final projects and exams. The world is your oyster, and you are most definitely not allergic to shellfish. Go out there and enjoy life, ya wild animal.

All day,

all over, free as a bird.

DEC. 15 SNOW TUBING

Join Active KSA as they celebrate the end of exams by going for a fun afternoon of snow tubing on Cypress Mountain.

Make sure to wear comfortable attire with lots of layers, as it can be very cold on the mountain.

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm,

Cypress Mountain, $25 for students.

4

NEWS

KPU Criminology Instructor Comments on Surrey’s Transition to Municipal Police Force Mike Larsen says he is “skeptical” of some aspects of the city’s plan to replace the RCMP Braden Klassen | Staff Writer The Surrey City Council, led by newly elected mayor Doug McCallum and the Safe Surrey Coalition, has vowed to fulfil its election promise by ending the city’s contract with the RCMP in favour of a soon-to-be-created municipal police force.

The process of doing this, according to RCMP Governance & Accountability policy, should take two years after the city decides to opt out of the contract known as the Municipal Police Unit Agreement. The Safe Surrey Coalition’s election platform stated three reasons for pulling out of this agreement.

“Surrey is currently the largest city in Canada to still use the RCMP. It is time to move forward,” says the Coalition’s website.

The website asserts that police officers in a local force will have a better understanding of issues faced by the community, and will be able to “bring better solutions and a higher level of commitment.” This transition, according to the platform, will also give the city the ability to “ensure the staffing is the level that it needs to be to get results.”

KPU Criminology instructor Mike Larsen has questions about how all of this will be achieved.

“This is presented by the mayor and the city council as a means to an end, so we’re doing this to improve safety, but I haven’t really seen the exact explanation of how that is supposed to work,” he says. “If this is a means to an end,

what exactly is the end? What are the specific objectives or benefits for the City of Surrey that we’re expecting to see come out of this?”

The Surrey RCMP detachment was first designated in 1951, after city officials voted to replace the municipal force that had existed since 1909. Today, it is the largest detachment in the country, with over 1,000 officers patrolling a city of half a million people. As such, the city’s decision to return to using a municipal force is unprecedented in Canada.

The city has yet to release details of the projected costs of the transition, though it has acknowledged that costs are likely to increase.

This is because 10 per cent of the RCMP’s wages are funded by the federal government.

“With any other kind of major policy shift of this size, you’d expect to see a budget, a feasibility study—some of these kinds of documents showing exactly how this is going to work,” says Larsen. “If it’s going to cost more to have a municipal police force, where is the money going to come from?”

He adds that, although Surrey intends to increase the ratio of police per capita, there are no guarantees that doing this could improve public safety.

“There’s not an exact link between more policing and less crime. There are many factors that contribute towards crime and safety in a city,” says Larsen. “So in suggesting, on its own, that you can improve public safety and reduce crime simply by changing the

The transition to a municipal police force is projected to take two years, though some question if that deadline is attainable. (Braden Klassen) nature of policing—I’m skeptical of that in any jurisdiction.”

Current Surrey RCMP officers will likely be given the option to transition to the munici-

pal force, according to the city. Since Surrey owns much of the policing equipment and vehicles in use now, it will not be necessary to replace them.

Researchers Work with the Community to Address Causes of Youth Violence in Surrey Focusing on “at-risk” youth isn’t enough to solve the problem, citizens say Braden Klassen | Staff Writer Surrey residents have been vocal about their desire to end gang-related youth violence for years. In late October, two teens were stabbed a few blocks away from Guildford Park Secondary School. This attack followed a high-profile shooting in June that left two teenagers dead and led to a rally at city hall calling the government and members of the community to take action.

KPU Psychology instructor Gira Bhatt, along with her colleagues Dr. Roger Tweed and Steve Dooley, founded the Acting Together Community University Research Alliance, which facilitates collaboration between researchers and community partners who share the goal of stopping youth involvement in violent gang activity. The project examines factors in youth and gang violence and explore ways to prevent it.

“The trouble is that there are always newcomers, new recruits who are willing to step into the shoes of the people who are gone,” says Bhatt. “This is where, in our observation and research, we find that for these young people, we need to focus on their positive development.”

Surrey is home to several programs which strive to end youth involvement in gangs, such as the RCMP’s Wraparound Program, the Gang Exiting Program, Yo Bro/Yo Girl Youth

Initiative, and the City’s Youth Empowerment Mentoring Program.

“We have observed over the past eight to 10 years that so many resources and programs are targeting at-risk youth,” says Bhatt. “And these are very important valuable programs; we’re not discounting the importance of them, but if you look at the larger picture and look around our society, the question keeps surfacing: why are the gangs not going away?”

“Despite all the well-meaning efforts that we have been put in place it’s still going on,” she adds.

In 2017, Surrey created an initiative called the Mayor’s Task Force on Gang Violence Prevention, which released a report in July detailing strategies to curb gang activity among youth deemed “at-risk” due to exposure to criminal activities, violence, or difficult socioeconomic circumstances.

“We focus so much on the shining stars, those kids who do really well in school who receive medals and awards, so we celebrate them. We also focus too much on those who are really lagging behind and we call them the ‘at-risk’ kids, but it’s the middle zone that we seem to kind of ignore,” says Bhatt.

The South Asian Community Coalition Against Youth Violence, which Bhatt works with, has been advocating for the safety of Surrey youth since 2004. In a press release, the coalition noted that researchers found

KPU Psychology instructor Gira Bhatt is a researcher and advocate for the prevention of youth violence in Surrey. (Submitted) that fostering feelings of gratitude and forgiveness early in life reduces the chance that children will engage in “harmful antisocial activities.” Bhatt suggests that, as Surrey citizens, “we should celebrate kids who have these kinds of characteristics.”

The report also notes that, “whereas the police seem to excel in taking the criminals and gangsters off our streets and showing them the way to the prison, the sad reality is

that they are being replaced just as quickly by upward moving new gang members.”

Bhatt argues that having kids volunteer with community organizations is another method of encouraging positive socialization rather than criminalization.

“A very important research finding we have is that when kids have a very strong community connection, somehow a sense of belonging is created,” she says.

NEWS

5

Eliminating MSP Premiums Could Lead to B.C. Subsidizing International Students’ Health-Care

The province could join New Brunswick and Saskatchewan in paying for the health-care of international students Braden Klassen | Staff Writer

In February of this year, the BC NDP announced that it would be eliminating Medical Service Plan premiums entirely, after cutting them by 50 per cent in January. By 2020, British Columbians will no longer have to pay the premium, which the government says could save individuals $900 and families up to $1,800 per year.

An article in the Richmond News suggests that the elimination of MSP premiums could mean that the health-care of international students’ would be subsidized for up to $100 million annually.

KSA Surrey Campus Representative Gurpreet Sabharwal says that a reduction or elimination in MSP premiums would greatly benefit international students, who already face high costs for studying in Canada.

“International students are always very tight in their budgets,” he says. “We have [to pay for] our books and our studies, and we live here in basements so it’s very hard for us to pay our bills and everything else.”

Sabharwal is an international student, and though he has not needed to rely on medical care in Canada, he says he knows of other students who worry about their health coverage. He argues that “medical care is like food, shelter—the basic needs.”

In addition to the high costs of studying abroad, international students in B.C. are

restricted to working 20 hours per week, which can make covering the costs of living difficult.

“If the international students don’t have to pay for the MSP [premium] and they are covered as well, it’s nice,” he says. “From my point of view, safety is first, and if we have to pay we have to pay. But if they come up with something where citizens don’t have to pay and they include international students, that’s a very good thing.”

In an email statement to The Runner, KPU International Director of Global Engagement Deborah Carmichael wrote that international students are reportedly paying $201.30 per semester through the 2018-2019 year for temporary medical insurance coverage. That amount is in addition to the Kwantlen Student Association’s fees of $87.55 per year for the extended health plan and $113.30 per year for the dental plan, both of which students can opt out of if they already have MSP coverage.

“KPU International has a team of advisors and student life coordinators that are often the first point of contact for our international students when they require support,” said Carmichael. “The team is well equipped to ensure they are directed to the appropriate resources.”

Despite the article in the Richmond News, Ministry of Health spokesperson Laura Heinze said in a statement to The Runner that the government has not “made any specific changes at this time regarding international students and MSP.”

International students are reportedly paying $201.30 per semester through the 2018-2019 year for temporary medical insurance coverage.

“The only change that we have made is the elimination of MSP premiums as a whole,” she said.

Revenue from the new Employer Health Tax is expected to cover the costs of eliminating MSP premiums, and cutting them is

expected to save roughly $50 million annually, according to the NDP. Whether or not the provincial government is going to subsidize international students’ health-care will remain unconfirmed until provincial budget details for 2020 are published.

University of Regina Begins Offering Fall Reading Break Though popular at U of R, there are no plans to introduce one at KPU Kayci Roy | Contributor Offered for the first time this November, students at the University of Regina enjoyed a week-long respite from classes as part of a fall reading break.

According to U of R Registrar Jim D’Arcy, a holiday from Nov. 7 to Nov. 13 was added to the fall semester as part of a mental health initiative at the university. The institution hopes that, by offering some time off in November to compliment the more traditional spring reading break, students will have time to relax and focus on their life outside of academia. Members of faculty will also be given the opportunity to catch up on research, marking, and other commitments.

“Primarily [the reading break] is for students, for their mental health,” says D’Arcy.

“It’s providing them an opportunity to catch up on their studies, review their course outlines, and see where they’re at in their courses, maybe focus on areas of weakness, especially after midterms they kind of have a general idea of where they need to focus their energy.”

D’Arcy says that the university’s student association approached him and his colleagues to “express concerns about student mental health,” and emphasize that they needed a break in the fall semester to catch up on their studies.

“We took those concerns seriously and

committed to doing a survey to see what the interest was,” he says.

The survey—which went out to students and staff—sought to determine if there would be support for the establishment of a break, and if so, which dates would be best for it.

According to D’Arcy, around 70 per cent of respondents agreed that the break should be offered. Students didn’t seem to be concerned about the compromises that would accompany the decision, including losing a study day before the beginning of exams.

At Kwantlen Polytechnic University, however, a fall reading break doesn’t seem as popular an idea with the student body. KPU’s Provost and Vice President Salvador Ferreras says that he’s never received a request from staff or faculty for a fall reading break. KPU alumni and a coordinator for the KSA Peer Support Program Jennifer Lingbaoan echoes this statement.

“I can’t say for sure that I would have been okay with it,” she says. “I feel like having a reading break in the middle of the fall semester might have given me a little bit of anxiety.”

KSA Vice President Student Life, David Piraquive, says he has mixed feelings about advocating for a fall reading break.

“As a student, I thought it was really awesome, having an extra week. But then we [KSA executives] talked amongst ourselves, and one of the drawbacks that we see is that a lot

(Jessica Limoanco) of the classes on Mondays have holidays,” he says. “Teachers have a lot of crunch time, and wouldn’t have enough days to do their lectures. As it already is, they don’t have enough days on Mondays.”

Though there may not be time for an additional break, the KSA still strongly values mental health initiatives for students. From

the peer support program to counselling and MyWellness, an online counselling program, the student association strives to facilitate conversations about developing plans to promote mental health. While students and faculty may not get a reading break this semester, there are plans to introduce many new events for people to look forward to in the future.

6

CULTURE

KPU International Hosts Second Annual Diwali Fest in Surrey Kristine Hui | Contributor In celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights important to several religions including Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, KPU International hosted their second annual Diwali Fest on Nov. 10.

The event sold out, accommodating 200 people—including staff and volunteers— who packed into the Surrey campus gymnasium from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Many attendees were dressed in bright, traditional outfits to celebrate the occasion, and the gym was decorated with colourful fabrics, lights, and ceramic displays.

The energy at the celebration stayed high throughout the evening thanks to several activities, including a live DJ set, a henna tattoo art station, and a dynamic bhangra dance performance.

Dinner, catered by the on-campus cafeteria Sodexo, consisted of traditional Indian fare including butter chicken, paneer curry, vegan curry, rice, naan, and gulab jamun, a milk-based dessert made of dough that is formed into small balls, deep fried, and soaked in syrup.

“We always love [having] the opportunity to bring students together,” says Waheed Taiwo, the KPU International student life coordinator. “If you’ve been at KPU long enough, you know that we don’t always have activities like this, so any opportunity to engage students, to give them the opportunity to enhance social life on campus, we always love that and Diwali has been able to do that tonight.”

For many, the bhangra dancers were the highlight of the event. Their performance united the attendees of the festival in delight and appreciation of their talent and brought a whole new level of excitement to Diwali Fest. Onlookers crowded around to watch the dancers, cheering enthusiastically while taking photos of their routine. Afterwards, they were invited to join the performers for an impromptu bhangra and proceeded to dance the night away.

For some of the international students in attendance, Diwali Fest alleviates—but doesn’t eliminate—a sense of homesickness.

“Diwali is my favourite festival,” says Manjot Sandhu, who came to Canada from India to study at KPU. “I missed celebrating the festival this year. It was not as fun as I am used to at home in India with my family and friends.”

While Diwali Fest offered students a rare chance to kick up their heels and enjoy a raucous party, it also bridged a gap between international and domestic students by providing a common cultural event that everyone could enjoy. This is fitting, as across all faiths that celebrate it, Diwali is seen as a way to commemorate the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil.

Muslim Student Association Promotes Inclusivity All students are welcome to join regardless of religion, ethnicity, or culture Cristian Hobson-Dimas The Muslim Student Association (MSA) not only provides representation for KPU’s students of Muslim faith, but also, it's a great opportunity to engage in meaningful student interaction. KPU students can earn volunteer hours through event planning and participation, as well as contribute to their community through MSA-hosted outreach programs.

“The MSA serves as a way for students to come together in a non-judgmental environment in which their thoughts and ideas can be expressed and appreciated,” says club president Duaa Ismail. “We are a friendly, fun, and interactive group of students that focus on creating on-campus events to improve student life and student engagement.”

The idea of a club to represent Muslim students at KPU was popular long before the MSA was created. Ismail explains that, three years ago, “a strong team of dedicated students came together to fulfill the demand, raise awareness about the club, and build the foundation of Kwantlen’s first Muslim Student Association.”

The MSA has just finished collecting donations for its most recent project, entitled Personal Pieces. This event is the MSA’s third annual item drive for clothing, toiletries, hygiene products, and many more essentials, all of which will be personally given to the Surrey Urban Mission.

“Though there are many people in need, we wanted to make sure these personal piece items

went to people who are homeless and living on the streets,” says Ismail. “Surrey Urban was the most cooperative in making sure the bags went to those who needed them most.”

The Personal Pieces project was a collaboration with KPU’s Christian Fellowship and Science in Action club, which help to dispel a common misconception about the MSA. “Many students think the MSA is only for Muslim students to be a part of,” says Ismail.

“However, all students are welcome to join regardless of religion, ethnicity, or culture.”

The MSA has also recently started planning for one of its biggest events of the year: Ramadan 2019. Ramadan is a special month in the Islamic faith during which Muslims fast, give to charity, and engage in self-reflection. The MSA uses the events planned throughout this month to engage with fellow KPU students, staff, and other members of the community .

Ismail adds that this outreach “is also a way our club promotes the inclusive environment of KPU while celebrating the diversity of its students.”

There are currently three executive positions on the MSA: president, vice president, and treasurer. In terms of volunteer opportunities, the MSA generally holds meetings on a monthly basis, though more meetings are held when its members are planning events.

While Ismail is grateful that “KPU has been accepting, encouraging, and supportive towards the MSA,” she would like to know more about the resources available for planning events, including funding opportunities

Muslim Student Association President Duaa Ismail. (Braden Klassen) and access to facilities.

“Had KPU not been so supportive, we would not be able to host such successful and interactive events,” she says. “[But] sometimes it is not as obvious that these tools are available, and so if KPU could be more informative about accessing these resources that would greatly benefit our club as well as other students.”

To get involved with the MSA, contact Ismail via email at msa.kpu@gmail.com.

New Belly Dancing Class Helps Students De-Stress Through Fall Semester The instructor, Victoria Kalitowski, says the classes offer a “free and relaxed” atmosphere Amanda Grundle Victoria Kalitowski, a full-time science student and a science and horticulture representative for the Kwantlen Student Association, has brought one of her passions to KPU in the form of a new belly dancing class being held on the Surrey campus.

The class, which takes place on Thursdays in Birch 250, offers a “free and relaxed” atmosphere for students, staff, and faculty to enjoy, according to Kalitowski.

“It’s a nice break to have time to kind of relax and dance a little bit and de-stress,” she says, adding that the stylistic fluidity of belly dancing allows for plenty of freedom of expression.

Kalitowski has admired belly dancing ever since she was in high school, when she saw a friend of hers perform a routine at a talent show.

As a representative with the KSA, she noticed a distinct lack of dance classes being offered at KPU, so she decided to start one of her own.

Despite years of practicing the art form, this is her first time leading a belly dancing class.

Kalitowski hopes that people who join in can gain confidence from learning how to belly dance just as she did.

“Everybody’s been getting better and better,” she says. “[Students in the class can] have some fun and take a break from studying, and

Students gain confidence and lose stress at the belly dancing class on Nov. 15.

(Amanda Grundle) kind of enjoy dance and feel empowered.”

Passers-by will likely take notice of the class due to its fun and engaging atmosphere.

Though there were only three participants at the Nov. 15 session, it was hard not to get swept away in joy and camaraderie as the students followed Kalitowski through each of the routines.

One of the dancers—Kat Su, who was attending for the first time—says she is glad that the class is taught by a fellow student.

“When its a peer, then its a lot more fun.

You can easily enjoy yourself and you feel way

less intimidated,” she says.

Su agrees that the class is a great way to de-stress and adds that, unlike ballet or other forms of dance, belly dancing is an easy-going and “great experience.”

Kalitowski says that, because the class has only been offered for a few weeks so far, very few students know about it. She hopes that word of mouth will spread quickly, and that anyone at KPU who is interested in getting involved will stop by to check out the belly dancing classes for themselves.

Student Snapshot Team 4 The Win came out victorious at Movember dodgeball on Nov. 16, hosted by KPU Sports and Rec. The team brought home assorted prizes such as Movember socks, water bottles, travel mugs and other items.

(Kristen Frier)

He squats down to pick up a ball. This is his moment.

(Kristen Frier)

Belly dancing classes take place on KPU Surrey campus on Thursdays.

Check it out!

(Amanda Grundle)

She puts the dodge in dodgeball.

(Kristen Frier)

Diwali Fest on the KPU Surrey campus featured food, henna, and Bhangra dancing. (Kristine Hui)

8

FEATURES

KSA Passes New Bylaws at Special General Meeting on Nov. 14 More than 200 students participated in the vote to adopt the revisions Braden Klassen | Staff Writer

The Kwantlen Student Association is set to implement a new set of bylaws after its members voted to approve them at a special general meeting held on Nov. 14.

KSA directors, staff, and START volunteers were present on both the Surrey and Richmond campuses to help register and count KPU students for the vote. Food was served and several prizes were given away, including a $2,000 tuition waiver.

Members of the KSA Executive Committee had been planning the meeting for months beforehand, emphasizing its importance to the continued operation of the association.

The SGM marked the KSA’s last chance to update its bylaws in accordance with the BC Societies Act before the Nov. 28 deadline. The Societies Act replaced the similarly named Society Act in November of 2016, and all notfor-profit organizations in the province were given two years to update their bylaws in compliance of the new Act. Prior to the meeting, the KSA bylaws had not been changed since 2011, despite multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach quorum at previous general meetings.

“I’m really thankful that students came out and recognized how important this was to us, and important to them,” says KSA President Caitlin McCutchen. “The bylaws are how we govern ourselves and how we operate, and that’s how we provide services and events for students. They’re changing the way we run things for them, which is great, and I think students recognize that.”

“I’m so happy that we reached quorum and were able to pass the bylaws,” adds VP Student Life David Piraquive. “I know we’ve been trying really hard in the past, and we finally did it. It’s been really, really difficult to reach [the quorum of] 200, and this time around we gave it everything.”

The Changes At the meeting, the KSA handed out summary packages which outlined the major proposed changes to the bylaws as well as several minor alterations, such as the removal of gen-

dered language throughout the documents.

Other notable changes include lowering the required quorum for changing the constitution or bylaws from 200 to 150, removing bylaws pertaining to the association’s ombudsperson position, and updating the titles of executives. The new bylaws have also eliminated faculty representative positions which do not have a program that lasts for at least 12 months. This includes the Trades and Technology Faculty Representative position.

VP University Affairs Murdoch de Mooy says that, because of the short length of the trades programs, councillors who are elected are not able to serve terms longer than six or eight months. Coupled with the time requirements of tech programs, this has led to a long-standing vacancy in the representative position.

“The day their classes are done, they are no longer members of the student association,” explains de Mooy. “The idea is that, if the program lasts a year, even if [representatives end their term] two months early, then at least they give a good set of representation for that faculty.”

Because this change was made before the new two-year Mechatronics program was created, there can still technically be a seat open on KSA Council for a Trades and Tech Representative. However, it will be limited to students in programs like mechatronics, which last for at least a year.

De Mooy adds that the removal of bylaws pertaining to an ombudsperson does not prevent a position from being created or filled in the future. It only stops the KSA from being compelled by law to do so.

“Honestly, I think it’s a really good idea,” says de Mooy, referencing SFU’s recent utilization of an ombudsperson. “It’s just something that’s not been happening here. Unfortunately, if it’s in the bylaws, we are forced, by law, to try and follow that—but if we can’t get it approved by the university, then we’re just shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Another bylaw change will allow the KSA to join external organizations while still allowing them to function “on our own terms,” which will help the society in nego-

tiations if membership contracts change over time, according to de Mooy.

The KSA also passed a motion ensuring that former youth in care will no longer have to pay fees to the association. Since September 2017, all post-secondary institutions in B.C. have been offering tuition waivers to young people who were in foster care, and this motion and an accompanying change in the bylaws ensures that they can be exempt from paying fees to the KSA as well.

Finally, in order to meet one of the new requirements of the BC Societies Act, the KSA incorporated the councillor honorariums from the society’s regulations into the bylaws themselves.

Honoraria and Stipends Also Discussed Topics raised by student speakers at the meeting were focused on making sure that the KSA remains accountable. Students expressed concerns that KSA representatives could alter the amounts of the stipends and honorariums they receive in compensation for attending meetings and working on their portfolio.

“There was some lively debate in there which was good. It’s great to have students ask questions,” says McCutchen. “People frequently talk about ensuring that the KSA is accountable, and about holding the executives to account, and that’s how you do it.”

Currently, the KSA’s regulations grant a $75 honorarium to councillors for attending regular-scheduled and special council meetings to a maximum of six meetings per semester, or $450. There are four regular-scheduled meetings per semester. Representatives who also serve on standing committees like the those for governance, student life, or environmental sustainability receive additional $50 honoraria for attendance to a maximum of five meetings per semester, or $250.

Representatives who act as the committee chairperson receive an attendance honorarium of $75 per meeting to a maximum of five per semester, or $375. In addition, representatives may apply to the VP Finance and

Operations for an extra $50 honorarium at the end of each month “for having completed all of the expectations of their role.”

Members of the KSA Executive Committee, however, are excluded from receiving all attendance-based honoraria, and are instead paid through bi-weekly stipends of $1,273.69, or $2547.38 per month.

The attendance-based honoraria regulations were originally implemented in 2013

by Director of External Affairs Arzo Ansary and Director of Finance Tony Chiao, and the amounts have not been amended since then.

“We’ve paid councillors the same for years,” explains VP Finance and Operations Joseph Thorpe. “It’s really hard to change that. You have to go to council and get a vote, and we have procedures in place as well to ensure that we aren’t overpaying people.”

At the KSA’s March 2018 council meeting, members carried a motion that tied the executives’ stipends to CPI inflation, though it stipulates that the amount must be reviewed every three years at a minimum. McCutchen, Thorpe, and Piraquive excused themselves from the vote to avoid a conflict of interest.

Thorpe says that the amounts listed in the updated bylaws can only be changed through student membership approval at future general meetings. He adds that he is investigating other payment models which compensate councillors more proportionately for the work they do for students, similar to those used by the Capilano Student Union.

Looking Forward The KSA executives say that they can now focus on planning events and preparing for the referendum to join the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations that they will be holding in the spring.

“I just want to really thank students for coming out. It really shows that they recognize that this was important to us,” says McCutchen. “This is the third meeting that I’ve been to as an executive, and I’ve never seen quorum met. It was emotional, and it was really cool to see.”

KSA President Caitlin McCutchen calls the vote to remove association fees for former youth in care. (Braden Klassen)

START volunteers worked throughout the meeting to encourage students to attend.

(Braden Klassen)

Students raise their hands to be counted for quorum during the SGM. (Kristen Frier)

A buffet was offered to students who attended. (Kristen Frier)

KSA VP Finance and Operations Joseph Thorpe embraces another student after the motion to update the bylaws passes. (Kristen Frier)

10 FEATURES

Continuous Intake Courses in Jeopardy as KPU Considers Dividing Faculty of ACA Students and instructors from the faculty of academic and career advancement share concerns about proposed changes to the program Aly Laube | Editor in Chief

Some of the university’s most vulnerable students could be at risk of losing their programming, according to members of the Faculty of Academic and Career Advancement (ACA).

An open letter sent by the faculty, intended for other instructors and staff at the university, calls for support in confronting KPU President Alan Davis and Provost Salvador Ferreras about their supposed plans to stop offering continuous intake courses under academic and career advancement.

Among lesser requests, the letter demands that the administration adhere to appropriate university policy and process, undertake consultation, and provide evidence which supports its decision to divide the ACA’s departments into separate faculties.

Background Continuous intake (CI) is a teaching method meant to help students with atypical needs and schedules receive the math and English credits they need to further their education. Designed to provide flexible class times, one-on-one instructing, and a self-paced format, many students enrolled in CI are parents, immigrants, and students with learning disabilities.

Right now, continuous intake programming belongs to the Faculty of Academic and Career Advancement at KPU. Also under this faculty is the university’s access program for people with disabilities, adult upgrading framework, qualifying studies courses, and English language proficiency diploma. The faculty provides tuition-free classes for ESL and ABE students and maintains partnerships with external organizations such as WorkBC and the Phoenix Society, a Surrey not-forprofit which supports those hoping to escape the cycle of addiction and homelessness.

At the beginning of November, KPU Provost and Vice President Academic Sal Ferreras had a meeting with the ACA faculty to discuss his proposal for moving its English language training courses into the Faculty of Arts and its science and math preparatory training into the Faculty of Science and Horticulture. According to instructors present at this meeting, this proposal was prompted by concern over the financial unsustainability of the CI program.

The faculty responded largely with confusion and apprehension, and claim that many of their questions have about the transition have gone unanswered. Though the proposed changes to the faculty will be brought to the university’s senate on Nov. 26, consultation

between the instructors and the administration has yet to take place.

ACA Instructors Weigh In Two of the ACA’s instructors, Geoff Dean and Tanya Boboricken, feel that continuous intake is necessary in order to effectively serve their region—namely the tri-city area that surrounds Metro Vancouver. While they say they were told by Ferreras that their faculty will not suffer any job loss, they are unsure of how that will be possible.

“One rationale [Ferreras] gave was that it’s cost-saving, but at the same time he said there will be no job loss, so that’s not cost-saving, then,” says Boboricken, who is also the Department of Academic and Career Preparation’s co-chair for math and science.

“Getting rid of our CI program, you could see that as cost-saving.”

Ferreras has cited concerns about low student enrolment and completion rates for CI courses. According to David Connop-Price, the media and communications manager for KPU, “approximately 50 per cent of continuous intake students are not completing their courses, either because they have not continued to attend or have not been able to successfully achieve the passing grade for the given course.”

Despite the concerns, Dean and Boboricken attest that the demand is more than high enough to warrant the supply of these programs.

“It’s a bureaucratic issue because the university looks at what your enrolment is like two or three weeks before classes are set to start and decides whether to cancel that section of the course or let it continue, right?” says Dean. “Well, with continuous intake, people are coming into it at all sorts of times, and it’s likely that a class won’t get three quarters full into a week or so into September.”

Still, KPU isn’t the first to consider making such a change, Boboricken explains.

“Years ago, Douglas College took their upgrading program and switched it into the math department and English department and proceeded to lose about a third of the programming,” she says. “That kind of shows us would could happen to us I guess.”

She and Dean both worry that specialized resources provided by staff and instructors experienced with CI will cease to exist if the faculty is divided. For teaching basic math and literacy skills, they feel it is imperative for students to be able to access continuous intake programming.

According to Ferreras, the division of the ACA faculty could begin as early as spring 2019.

Student Reactions and Experiences with CI Some of the members of the ACA faculty who have spoken to their classes about the provost’s plans for continuous intake at KPU have received negative reactions.

Kate Gibbs, a single mother and mature student taking a CI math course, says that she is “a little bit disappointed in the administration for doing this oh-so-quietly and not consulting with the people whose lives are changed by the program.”

“I understand that they’re continuing on in the spring as normal, but I would like to know why there hasn’t been more information given out about this,” she says. “I’m happy I go to Kwantlen and I’m really grateful for the professors and the class sizes and that it’s created by community. This change, and such a quiet change, has really upset what I expect from Kwantlen.”

Gibbs worries that, by discontinuing CI programming, the administration will “create a fracture” that could potentially lead to the loss of the entire faculty. She will be gone before then, however, and is preparing to graduate with her Bachelor of Arts in General Studies this spring.

“It’s the first step in really dismantling the whole service, in my opinion,” she says.

“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of information for what the new vision has been for it.

If I could understand the new vision, perhaps I could support it, but all I know is that it’s changing and it’s going to be more limited, so that’s a concern for me.”

Ellaine Hambrook, who is currently taking math but still has six months to a year left in CI, is also a mother with a busy schedule. Her husband works, and without the flexibility of CI courses, she doubts she would be able to attend classes at all.

“It’s not going to work because of my kids. I’ve got to drop them off to school and I’ve got to come here, and at home I’ve got to take care of a lot of stuff,” she says. “There’s no way for me to go home and do homework. I do that sometimes, but it’s the middle of the night and then I don’t get sleep and still have class the next day.”

If she had to take fixed intake courses with semester-based deadlines and schedules, she predicts that she would “definitely end up failing.”

“I’ll end up doing it again and again,” she says. “With fixed intake, you’ve got to do it [according to your instructor’s schedule]. It’s not as self-paced.”

Emily Galbraith, another mother who is pursuing an education in nursing at KPU, echoes this sentiment. She emphasizes the importance of working with instructors and tutors one-on-one in order to fully understand what she’s learning.

“If this were a fixed intake course, and I had to work more at a professor’s pace, when I don’t understand something, then it’s up to me outside of school to get some extra help,” she says. “Being a full-time mother to two children who have complex needs, and spending most of my time outside of school at Children’s for my youngest who has medical complications, this gives me the opportunity so that I don’t have to stress so much at home.”

Kyle McMahon says he was “sad and upset” when he “started thinking about how different it would be” for him to be in school without continuous intake.

“I require lots of time to learn the concepts and master the various math skills,” he says. “I’ve been doing this for probably three years now.”

He’s nearly done with his upgrading and is ready to receive a general business certificate, but says that he “feels a little sorry for those others in the same boat” who are just entering into the courses he completed over the years.

Although she was a practicing nurse in her home country of India, Jasmeet Kaur is in health foundations at KPU and is currently working full-time at St. Paul’s Hospital. She finished her entire CI math course in less than three months, which was only possible for her because of the fluid nature of the program.

She adds that, for students who need to upgrade their courses before specific program application deadlines close, continuous intake provides the chance to finish far before the regular semester has let out.

“I am already graduated in my country. I am already a nurse in my country, but I have to do everything again,” she says. “I already know about math but I need a system or a class which encourages me to finish everything …. Since it has been seven years since I did my Math 11, there are still some points that are unclear, so I need a tutor.”

Matthew Rushton had already completed KPU’s Literacy Communities program— which is tailored to helping people with cognitive disabilities develop skills with reading

A student and tutor in a continuous intake math course work together to solve an equation. (Aly Laube) comprehension, socializing, finances, and computers—by the time he started taking his current CI math course. He was encouraged by his Literacy Communities instructor to pursue his dream of working as an automotive service technician, and plans to enrol in the program at KPU soon to achieve this goal.

Until then, taking a course in CI allows him to work at his own pace.

Response from the Provost As provost, Ferreras says that “there are some structural changes that have nothing to do with continuous intake that are taking place,” which influenced him to propose the restructuring of the ACA faculty.

Although he will “listen to reason” while considering whether continuous intake courses will be offered by KPU in the future, he notes that their high operation costs and low completion rates are among the reasons why he is “seriously considering” removing them.

“Students being served by this were not completing at any great rate. Some of them were just not finishing and some were not passing, and whenever that happens with any university delivery model, it has to be looked at,” says Ferreras.

He continues, “This is a very expensive program to maintain. [The tuition that comes in from the program] supports the educational delivery of having an instructor in the room.

The class size for continuous intake has, for years, been quite low relative to … the maximum level that has been set for those courses.”

Ferreras notes that the university is focusing on achieving the priorities set out in its recent Vision 2023 document, and that expensive courses—such as those offered as

part of continuous intake—are impeding its ability to do so.

He says that CI is “not an ideal model,” but clarifies that this has nothing to do with the instructors. Rather, it has to do with the “utilization of space” and the program’s low student completion rates.

“I don’t understand how we could go back to the government and say, ‘We need more money for ABE,’ when we’re not even filling up the classes right now,” he says. “It would be very difficult to make that case, so the model needs a look.”

In response to concerns about job security for continuous intake instructors, Ferreras says that “almost all, if not all, of them are capable of teaching in the fixed intake, so they will be absorbed into the other side of the delivery model.”

He also emphasizes that other, nearby institutions provide similar services as those currently being offered at KPU. These schools may be a “better place” for students currently taking or planning or take CI courses, according to Ferreras.

“I’m trying to realign departments. I’m trying to move all the English language training into the Faculty of Arts, all of the science and math preparatory training into the Faculty of Science and Horticulture, because then there are communities in place and people are with their peers,” he says.

Although he initially anticipated these changes being made in January, Ferreras says they’re now more likely to take place in April to allow time for consultation.

As laid out in the university’s policies and bylaws—specifically section GV9 regarding governance—there are certain procedures that the administration must adhere to when

Two instructors for continuous intake courses, Tanya Boboricken (left) and Geoff Dean (right), are concerned about the future of the faculty. (Aly Laube)

dissolving a faculty. However, according to Ferreras, his plan for CI does not qualify as faculty dissolution.

This is not only because he plans to transfer continuous intake to different faculties rather than eliminating it altogether, but also because one program will remain in the ACA faculty: the access program for people with disabilities.

“It’s just the reporting relationship that changes,” Ferreras explains. “Right now those departments report to the Dean of ACA—so the Dean of ACA position was terminated due to restructuring—and my proposal is that they would report to the Dean of Arts for English and the Dean of Science for Science and Math.”

He hopes to remind those affected by the changes to CI that he is “trying to make it better, not just less,” and notes that KPU is committed to accepting “students from all walks of life.”

The Termination of the ACA Dean Position Faculty members in the ACA say that they were surprised to hear the news that they no longer had a dean at the end of October.

Ferreras refutes suggestions that the termination of this position—and thus the loss of a job for then-dean Patrick Donahoe—is indicative that the university had already solidified its plans for CI before conducting any consultation with students and faculty. He reminds faculty that it is important to acknowledge that “there was nothing wrong with the dean” that led to the termination of his contract.

“I can not discuss the details of the termination of anybody,” he says. “But I had been in discussion with the dean for more than a year

about this, so it wasn’t a surprise. We had had a number of conversations about this, but the data that led me to the final decision about this was the examination and the analysis of the model, which is not good.”

Ferreras says he did not have a conversation with Donahoe about informing the faculty of the future of CI, but “assumed it was on their radar” during the time that they were meeting to discuss the reorganization of the ACA faculty.

“There are cost-saving measures across the university. This restructuring—and the restructuring of the dean position—is probably the only thing other than continuous intake that has to do with financial sustainability,” he explains. “It’s a financial matter.

Everything else is an academic matter.”

Eliminating the position of Dean of the Faculty of Academic and Career Advancement has the potential to be cost-saving if, as Ferreras anticipates, the Dean of Design steps into that role as well. This dean, “who has experience with community health services,” would be occupying both positions at once.

“This is what these consultations are going to be about over the next couple of months, so this could turn out completely different,” he says.

Ferreras also notes that other faculties outside of ACA may soon be facing restructuring as he assesses “quality of delivery across the university,” but can not divulge which faculties these may be as he “has to tell them first.”

Discussion of these issues will take place at a KPU Senate meeting on Nov. 26, with Ferreras organizing additional meetings with faculty both before and after that point. The Runner will continue to cover this story as it unfolds.

Sal Ferreras, the provost and vice-president academic of KPU, is spearheading the proposal to divide the ACA faculty. (Aly Laube)

12

OPINIONS

Provincial Diversity Contributes to Canada’s Strength in Education Unlike other countries, Canada does not have a federal education department, and that’s a good thing Braden Klassen | Staff Writer Year after year, Canada has been recognized as a world leader in education, with students performing better than their contemporaries in the U.S or the U.K in subjects like math, science, and reading.

When it comes to schooling, one of the main differences between Canada and these countries is that we don’t have a federal department in charge of education.

Our country is geographically huge compared to others, and its education systems need to reflect that. These systems also need to accommodate the economic diversity of 10 different provinces and three territories, many of which are larger than some European countries. One department being responsible for the education of millions of people who live in vastly different places would likely be a bureaucratic nightmare.

There are stark differences between the economies of provinces like B.C., Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland, and their unique educational requirements need to equip younger Canadians with the knowledge and ability to thrive in whichever industry they choose.

In a country where the natural resource sector dominates the national economy, post-secondary trades schools need to specialize in training for jobs in forestry, agriculture, mining, and energy. Each province’s government can and should decide which areas of education to invest in, as well as how to get institutions and stakeholders involved with offerings like co-ops or subsidized tuition.

For example, the creation of the Forestry

Program and Forest Sciences Centre at UBC was funded by both the provincial and federal governments. This isn’t the kind of initiative you would expect to see in Saskatchewan, Nunavut, or PEI, for example.

Saskatchewan has a province-wide elementary school program called Agriculture in the Classroom, which teaches children about agriculture through hands-on experiences like raising animals and growing food. At higher levels, the program teaches students about biotechnology and prepares them for careers in agribusiness. It is funded by the government of Saskatchewan, and its board has members from the Ministries of Education and Agriculture, as well as representatives from several Saskatchewan-based agriculture organizations and associations.

Nunavut’s Department of Education places special focus on mining and fishing for trades preparation, and on arts and tourism. Nunavut also has a mandate to promote bilingualism in its education curricula and gives precedence to teachers who are fluent in Inuktut. Unique legislation there allows the province to reimburse parents who homeschool children, which helps remote communities and eases the financial burden of parents who live in areas where accessing education can be difficult.

It’s a purpose-built educational policy designed to accommodate the size of the province, which spans over two million square kilometers, making Nunavut the largest territory in Canada.

Compare that to Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island, which covers about 5,660 kilometers, and you can see how dividing edu-

(Nat Mussel) cational responsibilities can be a good thing.

The educational arm of PEI’s provincial government is called the Department of Education, Early Learning and Culture. It condenses education, culture, and elements of early childcare into one overarching department. For a province of about 150,000 people, it makes sense to combine department portfolios to serve the public more efficiently. The Department of Education also works with the other social policy departments on a Poverty Reduction Strategy and Mental Health and Addictions Strategy.

In B.C., where the population is around 4.8

million people, the Ministries of Education, Children and Family Development and Tourism, Arts and Culture are all detached, and their responsibilities are separated. There’s even a dedicated Ministry of Social Development & Poverty Reduction.

The sheer expanse of this country is too overwhelming for a single organization to take charge of the schooling of its citizens. The enormity of Canada and its diversity of culture, socioeconomics, and general ways of living justified the formation of separate provinces in the first place, and the way we organize our education needs to fit into that model.

An On-Campus Mental Health Clinic Would Help KPU Students in Need Opening such a facility would assist those asking questions or in crisis Kayci Roy | Contributor There are currently 90 walk-in mental health clinics in B.C. Anyone suffering from high levels of stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health maladies can drop into these clinics without the hassle of having to make appointments or get a referral from a doctor.

Recently, the University of British Columbia opened a mental health clinic on its Okanagan campus. Students and staff there have the ability to visit the trial facility every Thursday between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm until Nov. 29.

“I want to see care for physical health and mental health viewed together as a necessity,” said Lesley Lutes, an associate professor in psychology at UBC, in a press release on the university’s website. “Mental health services should be just as accessible and a right that everyone has.”

Although many see physical injuries as more serious than mental illness, both your body and mind need to be taken care of in order for you to be healthy. Inevitably, ignoring the needs of one will negatively affect the other.

With a walk-in mental health clinic available on KPU campuses, students would be able to get the treatment they need much

faster. Family doctors commonly hear about mental health concerns from their patients, but few are trained to provide them with adequate treatment. By having both a mental health clinic and psychical health clinic on or near campuses, more people can be seen, reducing the line at family doctors’ offices.

As UBC likely will, KPU would benefit from introducing these walk-in clinics to its campuses. Students often struggle with high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Research has shown that people aged 15 to 24 are the most likely to battle with a diagnosable mental illness.

The Kwantlen Student Association held a stress relief week from Nov. 19 to 22 to try to alleviate such struggles. While this is a helpful initiative, it’s a fleeting one. Creating a place that students can access at any time for stress relief would help support those with mental health concerns. For the KSA, it could mark the next step in providing essential student resources on campus.

Romanticizing the idea of being a stressedout, sleep-deprived 20-something in university frames the idea of needing help as trendy.

This way of thinking has the potential to hurt students. Instead of making light of mental

(Thomas Buecking) health difficulties, people should seek help when they can, and for many, a walk-in clinic would be the perfect place to go.

KPU counsellors are often very busy, which sometimes leaves students in crisis stuck in long waiting lines. Those who are unable to get assistance during traumatic or significant points in their life can quickly become at-risk,

and having a walk-in clinic on campus could help stop this sort of spiral before it starts.

The day that KPU has a walk-in clinics on campus may or may not come. For the time being, suitable clinics exist in Richmond, Vancouver, Langley, and multiple areas around Surrey including Guildford and Cloverdale.

There’s always a place to get help near you.

OPINIONS

Killer Fascination: How Serial Murderers Become Celebrity Icons Morbid fascination can develop into problematic glamorization Cristian Hobson-Dimas Sometime over the course of your life, morbid curiosity may have taken you down the rabbit hole that is learning about serial killers. Although it’s not often discussed openly, a casual interest in serial killers is fairly common among people; otherwise, the success of contemporary big-budget projects exploiting fascination with the subject, such as The House That Jack Built (2018), My Friend Dahmer (2017), Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer (2015) and Encounters with Evil (2016), wouldn’t be viable.

But sometimes, this casual interest can develop into full-fledged obsession. In his essay, “Ted Bundy Commodified: When a Serial Killer Becomes A Celebrity Villain”, The Runner Staff Writer Braden Klassen discusses a strange phenomenon that follows the sensationalism of high-profile serial killers.

The killers themselves acquire self-professed fanbases, admirers, and even romantic interests. The main example Klassen examines is the case of the notorious 1970s killer Ted Bundy, whose fan base would eventually refer to themselves as “Bundyphiles.”

So how do people end up admiring these abhorrent figures? When considering the prominence of celebrity obsession in western culture, it makes sense that similar infatuations could be extended towards serial killers.

After all, when removed from the context of their crimes, killers such as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, and Charles Manson

possess the type of household-name celebrity status that popular culture propagates.

A conversation with psychology student Shahina Hakik brought me to one possible reason for why these figures are admired. As Hakik explains it, “people are liable to gain a sense of power through affiliation.” We considered the many people who, struggling to find their own sense of identity, attempt to embody celebrities that society has placed on a pedestal— usually by dressing like them, mimicking their behaviour, and vocalizing their support for them.

However, the reality is that a wide range of people are going to identify with a wide range of celebrity personas. When people feel misunderstood, ostracized, and demonized, they are more likely to identify with an iconic figure who is portrayed in a similar way—serial killers, for instance. Despite their revolting actions, the sensationalism surrounding serial killers has given them a platform which cultivates their story, their fame, and even their humanity, and offers it for popular consumption.

Perhaps all of the research that goes into uncovering the psychological motivations of such deranged individuals helps us attribute logic and rationale to seemingly senseless tragedies. Maybe our collective fascination with serial killers is a subconscious method of coming to terms with the disturbing capabilities of humanity.

But, in my opinion, the problematic reality of identifying with (and especially idolizing) serial killer icons is that it perpetuates the

Obsessions with serial killers such as Ted Bundy can be dangerous. (Kristen Frier) idea that violence is an appropriate way of dealing with adversity, attaining psychological gratification, and even processing trauma.

Furthermore, glorifying serial killers, whether by "stanning" (or obsessively idealizing) Charles Manson’s music or being a self-proclaimed Bundyphile, effectively diminishes the true deplorability of these individuals.

If you ask me, anything beyond an emotionally-distant fascination with the subject is deeply concerning. Idolization of serial killers despite—or even worse, for—their horrific actions is not a quirky character trait. It’s cause for alarm and a re-evaluation of the persona you are trying to cultivate for yourself.

Invest your time in charities that function ethically in your area

The months leading up to Christmas tend to put many folks in a charitable mood. Many enjoy helping the less fortunate, whether by making contributions to toy and food banks or doing hands-on work in their community.

It feels good to give, and it can be a source of personal pride and fulfillment to volunteer.

However, it’s important to be cautious about which organizations you choose to spend your time volunteering for. One charity in particular, the WE Movement, has problematic values when it comes to how it does business.

According to Canadaland, “Craig Kielburger founded WE when he was 12 to fight child labour. Now, the WE brand is used to promote products made by children.” The article also cited a report by journalist Jaren Kerr, who conducted a four-month investigation of the organization.

For obvious reasons, it is best to avoid volunteering with WE Movement. Another problematic charity to look out for is The Salvation Army, which has campaigned openly against LGBTQ+ rights for years.

“Supporting the Salvation Army this season, whether by tossing your change in their red kettles or donating your used goods to their resale shops, means assisting an aggressively anti-gay church in furthering its goals

of discrimination,” writes Zinnia Jones, a contributor for Huffpost. “Doing the most good might mean supporting one of the many other effective and reputable charities that provide for the needy without engaging in anti-gay beliefs, policies, or political activities.”

The Metro Vancouver area has many unmet needs that students are able to fulfill by donating their time. Volunteering at a women’s relief shelter is one great option to consider.

It can be emotionally draining work, but local shelters welcome women who need assistance as soon as possible. The next training session for volunteers interested in volunteering at the transition house or crisis line for the Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Centre is Dec. 6 at 6:30 pm.

Be a Santa to a Senior is another wholesome cause. It provides seniors who might not otherwise receive presents this holiday season with gifts to open on Christmas morning. The organization is looking for volunteers to collect donations, wrap gifts, and deliver them to seniors across the lower mainland.

AIDS Vancouver is holding its annual grocery event, which helps more than 700 people with food security issues, on Dec. 13. The main event will be taking place from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in the Downtown Eastside. Volunteers can also contribute by helping to set up on Dec. 9 and 12.

How I Cured My Road Rage with Self Care

Lisa Hedmark | Contributor

Make Your Volunteering Count This Holiday Season Lisa Hedmark | Contributor

13

You can be as happy as this fellow if you volunteer with charities that function ethically. (Flickr/Kris Krüg) The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is looking for outgoing and energetic volunteers to sort food, handle cash, and so on. To get started, you can fill out the volunteer form, available on their website.

There are countless non-profits in the Vancouver area that could use your help this season. Don’t shy away from donating some of your time and energy to a good cause. Get into the holiday spirit and fill your heart with warm fuzzies. Just be aware of which organization you choose to support, and what those organizations choose to support in turn.

Road rage has been a huge part of my life since childhood. Watching my dad pull the car over to get into physical altercations with people, ultimately smashing their windows and fleeing the scene, ensured that some of his bad driving habits were passed onto me.

For years, I wouldn’t think twice about hopping out of my car and reaching into the trunk for a crowbar or giving the guy that cut me off a piece of my mind.

Exhibiting this type of aggressive behavior is not only dangerous to the drivers involved, but also to everyone else on the road. Back in August, a man was shot and killed due to a road rage incident in Vancouver, according to Global News. Incidents like these remind us how dangerous road rage can be, and that it’s every driver’s responsibility to control their own anger while behind the wheel.

With the winter season fast approaching, I knew it would be important for me to get my bad driving habits under control before I caused an accident in icy conditions.

One thing that really helps me control my temper is meditating. I take a few deep breaths when I’m angry or anxious in order to slow down the emotions that I’m experiencing, but unfortunately, meditating on the road is a little harder than it sounds. I was thinking about a solution to this problem when it hit me: What if I got a diffuser for my car?

Car fresheners have too strong of a fragrance for me, which gives me headaches, so an oil diffuser was a fitting alternative. Installing one was not only a way to get rid of the fast food smell in my car, but also, it helped me take a breather while driving. My anxiety is at its highest when I’m stuck in traffic and everyone is trying to shove into my lane to escape it.

Now I just turn on my AA battery-powered diffuser, turn up my favourite lo-fi chill hip hop playlist on Spotify, and let all my worries melt away.

As for dealing with road rage from other drivers, the best way to avoid an altercation or damage to either vehicles is to “keep your cool, try to get out of the way, and report the incident to police as soon as it is safe,” according to The Globe and Mail.

Another method of protecting yourself and the passengers in your vehicle is to record any road rage incident you witness with your cell phone. If any of them go to court, video footage that proves your innocence and cool-headedness will definitely help your case.

For more tips on staying safe on the roads during the coming winter conditions, visit the government of B.C.’s website.

14 COLUMNS

Going Global: The U.S. is Enabling Yemen's Civil War Tristan Johnston | Contributor Yemen is to Saudi Arabia and Iran as Vietnam was to the U.S. and U.S.S.R. in the Cold War. Although there are differences between these conflicts, both saw seemingly endless humanitarian crises with children as prominent victims—all in the name of politics.

Despite years of conflicts, not much has changed for Yemen in the last few years. The western region is still controlled mostly by the Houthis, believed to be supported by Iran and Russia, while the rest of the country is largely controlled by U.S.-supported Hadi forces.

Other areas are controlled by the likes of Daesh and al-Qaeda.

Yemen was only reunited in 1990, after existing as “North Yemen” and “South Yemen” for decades. The South was a self-described Marxist state supported

by Russia, while North Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire and was a monarchy until 1970. After reunification, there was a civil war in 1994 which lasted only a few months. The current conflict in Yemen has been going on for the past three years.

With the United States selling billions of dollars worth of weapons and providing military support to Saudi Arabia in the form of aircraft refuelling, strikes, and logistics, one needs to examine their role in the violence taking place in Yemen. The U.S. could likely contribute to a ceasefire by pulling its support, but this would also mean giving up a geopolitical ally in the Middle East, leaving holes to be filled

by Russia, a country that is even less ashamed of playing both sides.

Whether or not western nations should support Saudi Arabia has been a hotly debated topic for a while now. Germany has withdrawn all weapons sales to the country, but it was never a majority merchant. As for Canada, it looks good when Trudeau criticizes Saudi Arabia out loud for a variety of reasons, but in the end we still sold them a few billion dollars worth of hardware.

There is no shortage of evidence that U.S.-made munitions are being used in the war, and many of them are killing children. Innocent civilians are still in the crossfire, and many countries remain hesitant to accept refugees. The simple-minded will try to handwave the war in Yemen as an example of “conflict inherent to the Middle East” or “religion causing all wars,” but it’s more depressing than that.

War in Yemen is the symptom of complex socio-political relationships and deeply rooted historical conflicts, but overall, it’s caused by powerful people who don’t want the friend of their enemy as their neighbour.

Artist Spotlight: Total Ed

Three Vancouver tenants write on “the places where feelings and politics collide” Aly Laube | Editor in Chief Total Ed is a reflection of their city, staking their place in Vancouver as a band inspired by the environment they live in.

While most groups can claim to be a product of their hometown, this three-piece focuses their music on conversations about local culture and politics, taking their name from a nearby secondary school program (“total education”), and writing primarily about issues typical of the Metro Vancouver area.

The dispiriting state of the Downtown Eastside and the widespread struggle for many to make ends meet are among those issues. Reactionary policymaking and platform promises made by political figures are, too, a source of inspiration for the members of Total Ed. These contemplations, however, mostly come to light in their older and unreleased material. Their most recent collection, in the field, was released on Bandcamp in March and, at only four tracks long, nicely encapsulates the band’s self-described “baby prog” sound.

Sophisticated structures and chordal dissonance leave their otherwise melodic and easygoing style with one foot in art rock and the other in noisy indie. This makes the group reminiscent of Pavement and other projects by its prolific frontman, Stephen Malkmus.

As an EP, in the field is stimulating but not exhausting, offering listeners a chance to enjoy something that’s both eccentric and, thanks to its pre-2000s influences, familiar.

The members of Total Ed, singer and guitarist Andrei Mihailiuk, drummer Els Patterson, and bassist Daniel Thow, do share a love for Malkmus and his work—just as they do for power pop bands like Weezer, Sloan, and Teenage Fanclub—but that isn’t what first brought them together. Mihailiuk and Pat-

From left: bassist Daniel Thow, guitarist Andrei Mihailiuk, and drummer Els Patterson in Mihailiuk's Vancouver home. (Aly Laube) terson were introduced to each other over the counter at the former’s Main Street cafe job four years ago. Not long after, they made plans to jam and “hit it off musically,” forming Total Ed and dealing with a “revolving door of bassists” until they invited Thow to join last year.

On the subject of their tendency to write about life in Vancouver, Patterson brings up a song she composed for the band: “Kirby”, a ghostly, fuzzy track from 2015.

“I wrote a song about my landlord, so there’s a little theme of tenancy rock,” she laughs. “It was a song that was a good way of not feeling really upset about a really fucked up landlord.”

Although it’s not currently available online, Mihailiuk later wrote a song about Gregor Robertson that was “themed around him promising 100 per cent social housing at this one site in the downtown eastside and then falling back on it.” This conflict, colloquially deemed “the battle for 58”, is still unresolved.

“The song wasn’t originally about Gregor

Robertson and then it was like, ‘Oh, this is about Gregor Robertson,’” he says. “It was sort of a discovery that’s free-associative.”

Thow nods in agreement. “There is an aspect of uncovering when it comes to songwriting.

You feel like you’re building something from scratch when really it’s like you’re scratching the surface off of something,” he says.

Generally speaking, the three explore “the places where feelings and politics collide” through their songwriting, and both Thow and Patterson enjoy writing passionately and imaginatively to Mihailiuk’s “fun structures and melodies.”

Moving into 2020, Total Ed plans to write, polish, and potentially record fresh material.

They don’t have any shows planned for the near future, but will begin performing again once they feel confident in playing a brand new setlist. Mihailiuk adds that he hopes to incorporate a greater diversity of influences into their approach in the future.

Afterthought: Mayor’s Council All Aboard for SkyTrain Development Voting to drop LRT and start planning a SkyTrain line in Surrey is a good sign of what’s to come Braden Klassen | Staff Writer If you haven’t heard, Surrey is dropping its light rail transit project with the intention of replacing it with a new SkyTrain line. The plan is to extend the track from King George Station to Langley Centre along the Fraser Highway, though the amount of time this will take is so far unclear.

In 2017, at the request of the provincial government, TransLink created a preliminary outline of the cost of building the SkyTrain line and determined that it would run about $2.9 billion, or $1 billion more than the LRT project.

Despite the opposition citing the growing costs, and the fact that moving rapid transit away from King George and Guildford will stunt development along the arterial road, the Mayor’s Council voted to suspend LRT development this past week. Naturally, since the only suggested alternative to LRT has been the SkyTrain plan, it looks like TransLink is going to get to work making that happen as soon as possible.

Still, not everyone is happy. Earlier this year, a rumour was going around that one of the reasons the previous city council was advo-

cating for LRT was that it would keep the SkyTrain terminus in Surrey. Critics of the decision to extend the line worry that doing so will direct traffic through the city instead of into it, increasing the likelihood of Surrey becoming a “bedroom community”, where people own homes but work and play elsewhere.

Instead of addressing the reasons why people don’t want to spend time in Surrey—like the lack of an entertainment district or employment opportunities in certain industries—the idea was to funnel people into the LRT instead of letting them ride past the city on a SkyTrain.

There’s also the fact that money that has already gone into planning for the LRT. Millions of dollars have essentially been wasted, though arguing that this is a reason not to spend more on SkyTrain development sounds like an exercise in sunk cost fallacy. Linda Hepner’s council tried to ram through a huge project despite the protests of a large part of the population who didn’t want LRT, leaving it wide open for someone to turn it into a wedge issue right before the election. This is exactly what the new mayor, Doug McCallum, did.

Personally, my favourite objection to the SkyTrain construction is that it will have what

TransLink reports hilariously call a “negative visual impact” on the urban design.

I totally agree. Elevated rails are ugly, and there’s not much we can do about it.

It’s hard to believe that the construction cost for the SkyTrain can be covered by the existing budget for the LRT, as McCallum says. Though I find it hard to take politicians at their word, I am inclined to believe that he at least knows what he’s talking about here.

McCallum was Chair of the TransLink Board of Directors from 2002 to 2005, back when the Canada Line from Vancouver to Richmond was given final approval, and he was actually working with TransLink while they sought funding for the project in 2005. Oddly enough, McCallum is one of the few people involved in this debate who actually has specific experience in financing and developing a SkyTrain extension. Hopefully, that will help as TransLink navigates this process.

It’s inevitable that the people who support establishing LRT are at odds with the people who support building a SkyTrain expansion, but nobody wants to waste even more time and money, and that’s something we can all agree on.

PROCRASTINATION

15

HOROSCOPES

Sagittarius

Capricorn

Aquarius

There are currently three open beer bottles on the table next to you, and a man named “Pablo” with an unkempt moustache has been hovering by the only bathroom for over an hour. You should not have come to this party.

According to a preliminary reading of your astrological sign, you are a largely erudite concept invented by peruvian anarchists in the late 18th century to justify the continued existence of free-from jazzercise.

You will be blocked on Twitter by all major religions after news breaks about that editorial you wrote for your high school newspaper entitled, “God: The Ultimate DILF”.

Pisces

Aries

Taurus

You enjoy eating grilled cheese sandwiches, sure, but you can’t help but think you’d enjoy them more if they begged for their lives.

That hashtag wants you dead.

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Top ten emotions you will feel this week: 10) ambivalence, 9) a soul-crushing malaise that will envelop you and everyone you claim to love, 8) mild irritability. End of list.

Your dreams of being a great wuxia hero died tragically this week when you opted for a fourth consecutive serving of bacon-wrapped spring rolls.

Rotten, just rotten. You’re an utter washer. Shut your festering gob you vacuous, toffee-nosed, malodorous, pervert. You make me sick you weed.

Virgo

Libra

Scorpio

That growth on your back just continues to raise new and troubling questions.

It’s not that you keep a penguin in your dorm room. It’s not that you dress it in sequins and leather. It’s not even the fact that it sleeps in your bed at night. It’s the fact that you refer to the penguin as “Daddy” that I and all of your roomates have a problem with.

The greatest song never to receive the accolade it deserved—a little ditty called “You and I and George”—only ever sold two copies.

I bought one and George bought one. Where were you?

Nov. 23 - Dec 21

Dec. 22 - Jan 20

Feb 20 - Mar 20

You are one (1) day away from rising from the sea like the great Lovecraftian god that you are.

May 21 - Jun 20

Mar 21 - Apr 19

Jun 21 - Jul 23

Aug 24 - Sept 23

Sept 24 - Oct 23

SUDOKU

Look for the answers in the next issue of The Runner.

Jan 21 - Feb 19

Apr 20 - May 20

Jul 24 - Aug 23

Oct 24 - Nov 22