Ajax mine discussions heat up again on campus Pg. 5
The Omega Ω
Thompson Rivers University’s Independent Student Newspaper
News Pages 1, 2
Volume 23, Issue 3 September 18, 2013
Editorial & Opinion
Life & Community
Arts & Entertainment
Sports
Pages 5, 6, 8
Page 7
Page 11
Page 3
Eight outlets and five plugs Charging stations appear at TRU, but the cars haven’t followed on the road. In December 2012, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia reported having five fullyelectric vehicles in Kamloops. TRU’s decision was to be progressive and set an example for the rest of the city, Gudjonson said. “The numbers are quite low now, but I think within a year or two we will have dozens and dozens on the road around here,” he said. TRU does not have access to usage figures for the charging stations, which require a credit card to track usage but do not charge for it. As part of an added incentive to go electric, the university isn’t charging community members to use the station. Charging a standard fully-electric vehicle costs the university 28 cents per hour, he said. Lisa Lake, a TRU employee with the school of business and economics, and her husband Terry Lake, MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson, decided to invest in the electric technology last year. She wasn’t surprised to see TRU get on board. She said that her husband intends to use the charging stations on campus at least once a month. “It’s easy,” she said. “If you’re working on campus, you’ve got a charger here. I think it’s good to have them here so that as people start to buy into the technology, they know that there’s already some infrastructure in place, and that they’re not playing catch-up.” Gudjonson acknowledged the fact that the chargers are used infrequently but said the anticipated growth in popularity influenced the decision to go ahead with the project.
Jessica Klymchuk Ω News Editor
This sign says it all when it comes to the upgrades to Old Main.
(Sean Brady/ The Omega)
Same old story for Old Main’s third story Justine Cleghorn Ω Contributor TRU law students are still waiting for the Old Main renovations to be complete so they can move into their new home. A renovated third floor of Old Main was initially scheduled to open the first day of the fall 2013 semester, but the repairs weren’t completed on time and law students remain in the Brown House of Learning (HOL). Law students were initially disappointed in the delayed opening of Old Main, but it isn’t a big deal to most students right now, according to Patrick McIlhone, the president of the TRU Society of Law Students. “Nobody talks about the new building because [being in HOL is] just what we’re used to,” he said. “I mean, I think it’s going to be so good, but honestly it’s just the same as last year. We feel we’re taking space away from other programs.” Second-year law student Blake Tancock agrees. He said he feels like he’s in the way in HOL. “It’s not only about us getting a spot, it’s also about us getting the hell out of the way too,” Tancock said. “If you look around, most tables
are always law kids. You see people walking that are definitely undergrads, and you can just tell they have nowhere to go, like at all. “I’d imagine it’s more frustrating for other people than us.” With 100 new students joining the program this year, TRU’s law school has grown to over 250 students, according to Christopher Seguin, VP advancement at TRU.
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years. It makes more sense to keep it here than to move it off campus,” Pappas said. “Is it comfortable? No not really,” she said, adding, “I mean, if you walk down the faculty halls, you’ll see three and four people sharing an office. “Can we all survive for a little bit? Yes, I think so, as long as it’s just a little bit.”
We feel like we’re taking
TRU made “going green” easier when it installed eight electric vehicle charging stations on campus in April 2013. Four stations are near the Brown House of Learning bike shelter and another four are near the culinary arts building. “There’s a push from the provincial government to get electric vehicle infrastructure in place,” said James Gudjonson, interim director of environment and sustainability at TRU. The university received funding for a total of 10 stations, with two stations going to the Williams Lake campus. Another $40,000 was received from the Fraser Basin Council last fall, which covered the cost of the chargers, according to Gudjonson. The university contributed $25,000 for the installation, bringing the total estimated cost of the charging stations to $65,000. “The installation costs were fairly minimal because of some existing infrastructure we had,” he said. Conduits were going in near the culinary arts building for block heaters, and the ground near the bike shelter was dug up to accommodate new concrete and curbs, he added. “If the project costs $65,000 now (and it actually cost us $25,000), three years from now it would probably cost $100,000 if we had to dig everything up and redo all the concrete,” he said. “So it was basically a fraction of what it would have cost.” The push for the infrastructure is an effort to get more electric cars
space away from other programs.” —Patrick McIlhone,
TRU Society of Law Students President
Interim dean of law Anne Pappas said that the department explored moving classes outside HOL to accommodate the influx of new students, but decided to stay because everyone was already familiar with the building. “We’ve had the infrastructure in the House of Learning for two
Sharing the space is manageable right now, but McIlhone thinks that, come November, HOL won’t have enough space to house students studying for finals.
See RENO DELAYS Pg.
2
Four of TRU’s electric car charging stations are located near the bike shelter behind the Brown Family House of Learning.
( Justine Cleghorn/ The Omega)