Students gather to learn leadership skills

Some 120 people gathered to work on student development and work habits at the first Kwantlen Student Leadership Conference, held Saturday at the Surrey campus.

The day’s agenda included 15 workshops to help students stand out from the crowd, become professionals in the workplace and network with other students who are also on track to becoming leaders. 

“It’s been really good for personal growth,” said Scott Regamble, a 24-year-old Kwantlen business student. “I was really excited to hear Peter Legge speak, that’s what sold me.”

Keynote speakers were Kwantlen president David Atkinson, and motivational and business speaker Peter Legge.

“You can get anything you want, if you give other people what they want,” said Legge, during the closing speech of the day. 

Along with his speech, Legge delivered a copy of his novel The Runway of Life to everyone in the audience. The audience also received a free lunch, sponsored by the KSA, and a coffee mug.

“I am here to find opportunities within the school community,” said Melissa Gomez, a 23-year-old business student from Kwantlen. Gomez also said that she preferred the Kwantlen Leadership conference to last year’s SFU Conference, because she found it more “inviting.”

Kurt Penner, Student Life and Development coordinator and instructor, was pleased with the turnout and said the conference was really “a gift to the students.” Penner hopes to make the leadership conference an annual event.

Kwantlen alum Askarian makes her mark during fashion week

Kwantlen alumni Pouneh Askarian emerged from the just-concluded Vancouver Fashion Week as one of the stand-out designers.

After attending Kwantlen, Tehran-born Askarian moved to London and graduated from University of the Arts London in 2006. She presented her graduation collection, which was inspired by Persian art.

Her latest collection seemed more influenced by Greek goddess Athena, as the models floated down the wooden runway with barely-there makeup and headbands tied around loosely-curled hair.

Askarian used flowing silk and chiffon fabrics in solid, neutral colours to create clothes that, according to her, “value the delicacy of the feminine shape.”

Highlighting the set was a group of loose dresses tied at the waist.

Vancouver Fashion Week ran from Nov. 4-9, with the shows taking place at a woodwork shop on Dunlevy and East Codova, and after-parties scattered throughout the city, from Granville to Gastown.

In its 15th season, VFW attracted fashionistas from Vancouver and from such as cities as Toronto and Los Angeles.

   

Fashion student dresses staff for Parade of Lost Souls

    

Tens of thousands of Vancouverite’s dressed as ghouls and gremlins and ghosts paraded along Vancouver’s Commercial Drive in the spirit of Halloween for the annual Parade of Lost souls on Oct. 25, amid conga drummers, Hare Krishna chanters, Morris dancers, fire dancers and costumed wanderers.

“The parade of lost souls is one of Vancouver’s best entertaining parades,” said Stuart Ritchie, one of the Bowen Black Sheep Morris dancers. “It’s our third year in a row performing here and it’s is always full of music and costumes. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of bad stuff happening here, it seems to be actually an event that works well in Vancouver.”

The parade derives from the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead and is organized by the Public Dreams Society. Over the years it has become an event with all sorts of artistic expression, combining music, costumes, fire, dance, performers and art, creating a fantastic evening for people of all ages.

Not everything happens on the street, though.

At 1565 Commercial Dr., there’s a line-up outside the door of La Rocca Italian dining lounge. Inside, the customers aren’t the usual sorts: there’s a table full of skeletons, one full of clowns and another with witches and warlocks. All the diners are being served by characters from Baez Luhrmanns’s movie, Moulin Rouge, created by 24-year-old Rachel Zaharik, a fourth-year Fashion Design and Marketing student at Kwantlen.

She came up with the idea after recently watching Moulin Rouge. “It was easy to figure out costumes for, and I love the movie so I thought it would be perfect,” said Zaharik.

“I bought the patterns. I didn’t design these patterns as I usually would have, I was in a rush,” said Zaharik, as she explained how she created six women’s costumes, a bartender’s costume and the general manager’s costume, all as a favour to the restaurant, and al in a very short period of time between schoolwork and classes.

She used broad cloth and leftovers for most of the costumes, as well as sequined fabric for the bartender’s vest. The general manager’s costume consists of a black suit jacket with tails and a red vest underneath. Servers wore v-neck sleeveless tops in their choice of colour, with lace trimming, and black skirts with gathered fabric at the back, creating a burlesque look.

“Kwantlen’s fashion program is one of the best in Canada. It’s recognized within the fashion industry, but not so much within the general community, which is too bad,” said Zaharick. “Students come out of this program much more prepared than (those in) the shorter programs.”

All dressed up…

The Third Annual Halloween Costume Contest was a thriller. Students and faculty got creative with their costumes, dressing up as fonts, movie characters, princesses and the undead.

Three years ago the Halloween costume competition started in room 3090, with about a dozen people in attendance. The next year, it grew to about 30 people and the competitors and the audience could barely fit into the room.

“We just ran out of space because it became so popular,” said Linda Mossing, journalism program assistant. This year, the competition took place in the rotunda of the Richmond campus, where a Halloween cat-walk was set up, so people could watch from the winding staircase or from the main floor.

Thirty people entered the costume contest this year, among them 26-year-old, Ashley Letts, a public relations student, who dressed up as David Bowie in his role in the movie Labyrinth. “The past couple years have been really low-key for me on Halloween, so this year I decided to go for it,” said Letts. “I’ve been obsessed with Labyrinth since I was a little girl!”

Erin, Raimondo, 23, a PR student, found a dress at a vintage shop, and put together a porcelain doll outfit for the occasion.

The program assistants, who put on the costume competition, were the first ones to strut their stuff down the haunted, cob-web infested runway. They came as fonts this Halloween, from Old English to Century Gothic. Signs were taped to the front and back of their costumes, and when they lined up, the sign read “Happy Halloween!”

Awards were given out for Best Staff Pair, Best Staff Group, Most Creative, Best Consumer Costume, Scariest Costume, Best Student Group, Best Performance and Scariest Costume.

Naughty Nurse, Lucas Nightingale, 30, an interior design student, was uncertain about how to respond to his award for “Scariest Costume.” His friend, Sean Kirkby, 26, also an interior design student, responded for him. “Vinyl is always scary,” he said.

Once the show was over, a woman walked up to Nightingale in the crowd in the cafeteria and noticed his six-inch black high heels.

“I haven’t been able to feel my toes since about 10, so that’s probably not a good thing, but whatever,” he said. “It’s for the costume.”

Related story: Fashion student dresses staff for Parade of Lost Souls

Atrium tiles at Surrey campus a thank-you from potters

Ceramic tiles made by the Fraser Valley Potter’s Guild, Kwantlen staff, alumni and students are currently on display in the atrium at the Surrey campus, waiting to be mounted in the library.

David Lloyd, ceramics instructor and vice-president of Fraser Valley Potters’ Guild, was in charge of the project, which saw between 40 and 50 volunteers create 500 tiles.

According to Lloyd, the Fraser Valley Potters’ Guild, largely made up of Kwantlen students and alumni, donated clay and resources to Kwantlen Polytechnic University as a “thank-you” for allowing them to meet in the ceramics lab since the group was formed in the early ’70s.

Lloyd said it “took hundreds of hours of work,” from May until September, to complete the tiles. They kept going until they “used up all the clay and resources.”

Students and staff designed 30 tiles and made molds from the originals.

“Caring for molds is a whole piece of work in itself,” said Llyod. “So, we did most of the mold-making in May and April and started pressing the tiles through June into July. Then everything else became firing and glazing.”

The tiles are displayed temporarily on the floor of the atrium until they can be mounted in the library once renovations are complete.

KSA has answer to winter blues

As the crisp November air nips at your nose, you are reminded that winter is just around the corner, and with it, images of snow, family, friends and freedom from homework run through your head. With only six weeks of school left, the KSA wants to take students’ mind off of assignments, projects and exams by offering ski and snowboard trip packages during the holidays.

Three packages, courtesy of Destination Snow, are available from December to February, and all include two nights accommodation, two-day lift tickets (with night skiing at Big White Ski Resort), a round trip in a coach, discounted rentals, lessons, and daily mountain tours, among other things. Social activities will also be planned every evening at local pubs and nightclubs

Discounted prices are available only until tomorrow, when the $100 deposits are due. Full payments for the Dec. 5-7 Big White Ski Resort trip is due on Nov. 10, the Jan. 16-18 Big White trip is due Nov. 28 and the Feb 20-22 Sun Peaks Resort trip is due on Jan. 26. Early payment prices range from $265 to $335 for each package. Tickets can be purchased from any KSA office.

Pushing mental health for students

Six health services groups met in the downstairs rotunda at the Kwantlen Richmond campus on Thursday, Oct, 9, as part of the Mental Illness Awareness Week, Oct. 5-11.

The displays focused on giving students a better understanding of mental illness and raising awareness in the community.

“We are here to expose the services we provide,” said Teresa Vozza, a registered clinical counsellor at Touchstone Family Association.

Most of the agencies and associations that were at the campus are Richmond-based, and provide counselling for individuals suffering from mental illnesses and support groups for families with mentally ill relatives.

“It’s been a very beneficial day for a lot of people,” said Jim Young, 54. “Our aim is to help as many people as possible, and I think we are reaching that goal.” Young is a part-time staffer at Vancouver Coastal Health.

Organizations involved include the Mood Disorders Association of British Columbia, the Chinese Mental Wellness Association of Canada (CMWAC), Vancouver Coastal Health, Chimo Crisis Services and Touchstone Family Association. Also available were a series of UBC research studies on mental health disorders, primarily focusing on bi-polar disorder.

Sports big draw to student lounge

Richmond Kwantlen Campus might not have the sports and recreational facilities most campuses around the country enjoy, but with the introduction of a new plasma TV and already existing pool table and other attractions, at least some students are making good use of the KSA student lounge.

Brandon Cobb, a specialist for member services at the KSA, said there are lot of students using the lounge this semester.

“Students are always asking me to put the television on a sports channel, so they can see their favorite teams play,” he said.

“I saw the Canucks whip Detroit last night. It was awesome,” said Sean Greenman, a philosophy major and a regular at the lounge. ”A bunch of us gathered here and it was pretty sweet.”

Nick Ho, a criminology major, is excited about the coming basketball season.

“I will watch most of the games here with my friends. It is kind of nice because you don’t have to run home to see the games, plus I get to watch with most of my friends,” he said.

According to Amanda Luong, the lounge is a great place to hang out with classmates, since the Richmond campus has no other recreational and entertainment facilities where students can gather.

“I watched the Canucks game the other night here. It was really great,” the 20-year-old undergraduate said.

40 attend first-ever Green Wednesday

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Langley campus held the first official Green Wednesday this week, drawing 40 people, most of them residents in Langley.

The environmental movie King Corn was shown. It tells the story of two young men, fresh out of college, who move to Iowa, the “corn capital of the world.” The movie shows that basically everything western civilization eats is made out of corn: corn is fed to the animals we eat, as well as made into corn syrup, which sweetens everything from pop to spaghetti sauce.

The event was co-hosted by the Green Ideas Network; Doreen Dewell, a biology teacher in Whatcom County; and Kwantlen’s Kent Mullinix from the Sustainable Horticulture institute. When picking films for the series, Dewell wanted to have “films on edge rather than only informational.”

Dewell and her sister Joyce Roston are among the founders of the Green Ideas Network, which is a non-profit organization. The network is designed to teach local people about sustainability and raise awareness about environmental issues.

Dewelll says that she basically runs the series like an educational class. “What I do in class, I do in public,” she said. The Green Ideas Network is a fairly young organization, which started about three years ago with environment displays at local fairs mostly in Burnaby, Langley and Surrey.

Wednesday, after the hour-and-a-half movie, door prizes were given out and those on hand were offered refreshments and coffee.

Green Wednesdays are being held at the Langley campus on the second Wednesday of each month. Details of next month’s event are not yet available.

Responsible gambling goal of campaign

A gambling addiction can ruin your life and destroy relationships, finances and any plans you have for the future, according to the Responsible Gambling Council. That’s why Know the Score (KTS), a gambling awareness campaign, will be talking with students at Kwantlen’s Richmond campus until Thursday.

The program, which targets students aged 18-24, was developed by the Ontario Responsible Gambling Council in 2001. Last year B.C. did a pilot of the program, and found that 86 per cent of students were likely to use the information they received if they needed it. Seventy-five per cent of students surveyed also said that the KTS program increased their awareness of warning signs and strategies to limit the risk of problem gambling.

Clarence Chan, a counsellor at Richmond Addiction Services, is part of the problem-gambling program in Richmond and leads the Know the Score campaign at Kwantlen. He said it’s important to dispel the myths of gambling at colleges and universities because young adults are at an increased risk to develop an addiction. “Nearly every student tells us that, oh yeah, they know someone that has a problem.”

For more information, visit knowthescore.ca or the Know the Score team on the Richmond campus between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. this week.

« Previous Page — Next Page »