Kwantlen Eagles lose to Columbia Bearcats on second away night

By a final score of 105-85, the Kwantlen Eagles lost to the Columbia Bible College Bearcats in Abbotsford Saturday.

The game started well, with the Eagles leading 26-22 at the end of the first quarter.  However, the Bearcats were ahead five points by the third quarter, and when the fourth quarter started, they had doubled that to 10.

The night before, the Bearcats also hosted the Eagles, who won 71-64.  The Eagles have had eight wins and seven losses this season.  Their next game is against the Langara Falcons on Friday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m.

KSA rolling papers a doob-ious affair

The Kwantlen Student Association maintains that selling Zig-Zags (paper used to roll tobacco cigarettes and joints) does not conflict with the university promoting anti-smoking products under the student health plan.

Though selling cigarette paper seems to contradict a recent on-campus anti-smoking event, the KSA said it has to provide items for both smokers and non-smokers.

“If people want to smoke medical marijuana, they can,” said Nathan Griffiths, KSA Director of Operations. “If they want to quit smoking tobacco, we’ve provided products to try and have them stop.”

Griffiths said he doesn’t feel the paper sales are hypocritical in light of the anti-smoking products.

“Currently, we also offer insulin on our health plan, but we still sell Coke, other junk food within the cafe, so I don’t see much of a difference,” said Griffiths.

The concerns of inconsistency on the subject came up during initial KSA talks about supplying Zig-Zag rolling papers.

“We discussed this when we started doing the rolling papers,” said John O’Brian of the Cloverdale KSA. “It was a plebiscite about the legalization of marijuana and it was sort of a close margin.”

O’Brian said he thought the school would never sell rolling papers, but student demand prompted the sale of Zig-Zags. In the October 2003 plebiscite, out of 784 students who voted, 470 supported the decriminalization of marijuana.

The papers were introduced to the Cloverdale campus in March of this year and then at other campuses.

The separation of Zig-Zag papers from anti-smoking products comes from the concept of not using the cigarette paper to roll cigarettes.

“We don’t intend for them to be used to smoke tobacco,” said O’Brian.

The KSA hasn’t taken a stance on the decriminalization of marijuana, but it does support medical marijuana. Those who smoke marijuana recreationally are not restricted from buying Zig-Zags.

Dr. Balbir Gurm of Kwantlen’s nursing program said she understands the KSA has to support services for smokers, but hopes it doesn’t send mixed messages.

“I think what they have to do is keep the message clear that yes, we want to support people who want to quit smoking, but we can’t turn our backs on those of our members to choose to smoke,” said Gurm.

The sales haven’t really caught on; to date, Cloverdale has sold 32 packs and Surrey has sold 25, with 100 papers to a pack. The Richmond campus hasn’t sold many Zig-Zags and sales at the Langley campus have been discontinued after none were sold.

Because sales have been slow, original plans to add the KSA logo to the papers have been scrapped.

“We were testing to see if they were going to be popular enough,” said O’Brian, who added that even if the papers sold well, a local printing company no longer puts logos on cigarette papers.

KSA may not need H1N1 vaccine in student health plan (updated)

The Kwantlen Student Association likely won’t have to cover the cost of the H1N1 vaccine for students under its health and dental plan.

The student association originally wanted to include the vaccine in the health plan and subsidize some or all of the cost, but the federal, provincial and territorial governments might pay for vaccinations for students.

“At this stage, it looks like they may be offered for free by the province,” said Desmond Rodenbour, general manger of the KSA. “However, if there is a charge, we’re going to make sure they’re covered under the health and dental plan.”

The Public Health Agency of Canada has said the federal government will cover 60 per cent of the cost, leaving provincial and territorial governments to cover the difference if they choose.

Although the university provides seasonal flu shots, they will not have H1N1 vaccines on campus, according to Janine Hadfield of the Kwantlen Wellness Centre.

“It’s going to be totally regulated by Public Health,” said Hadfield. “The roll-out starts with [people with] chronic illness and pregnant women, then it goes to young under six and further down the road it’s for the everyday person.”

Hadfield noted that health regions in the Lower Mainland may distribute the vaccine differently.

Currently, the vaccine is only available to specific groups, such as pregnant women and adults under 65 with chronic illnesses. Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health is planning to make the H1N1 shot available to everyone in mid-November.

Thomas Ewing, 21, a business student at Kwantlen, is skeptical about the benefits of the H1N1 vaccine.

“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I’m kind of wondering why the vaccine’s being pushed out on everybody,” said Ewing. “The H1N1 [vaccine] is still too untested for my liking.”

Jared Busse, 19, also a business student, said he feels the dangers of H1N1 have been blown out of proportion.

“It’s just an overhyped cold just ‘cause it’s new and they don’t know how to deal with it,” he said.

Design students raising money for grad show

Fourth-year graphic design students have taken their first steps to raise the money they’ll need for their graduation show.

“Basically, we have to raise, as a class, between $15,000 and $20,000,” said Andrew Passas of the Graphic Design for Marketing (GDMA) program, who estimated that about $2,000 has been raised so far.

Design classmate Alexa Lupul added, “We’re collecting bottles and doing all that kind of stuff to help the program, so we’re still at the very beginning stages of our money findings.”

On Tuesday, students sold Halloween-themed t-shirts at the Richmond Campus for $20 each, though sales were slow.

“Some of us have printed t-shirts,” said Passas. “Others have baked cupcakes, and another group has done agendas, calendars and books.”

The graphic design program is planning fundraisers throughout the year, including pub nights and bake sales.

Artwork sales will focus on holidays such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter. The money will help meet the expenses of the year-end exhibition of graphic design work, scheduled for May or June.

For more information on the graphic design program’s fundraisers, visit the GDMA’s blog.

Students down milk for haunted house tickets

Three Kwantlen students from the Cloverdale campus got more than enough calcium Tuesday in the school’s third milk-drinking competition.

Bryan Barker, Jeremy Johnson and Mike Kloeble each drank a two-litre carton of skim milk, competing for two tickets to the Potter’s House of Horrors in Surrey.

A small crowd of students cheered them on outside the cafeteria as the contest took place during the lunch hour..

Kwantlen kicks its smoking habit for a day

Kwantlen students made the air a little cleaner on Thursday by putting out cigarettes at the second annual Campus Smoke-Out event.

Promoted by the Kwantlen Wellness Centre, the event was led by Nursing 4141 students at the Surrey and Richmond campuses as part of their practicum experience. Kwantlen was one of nine Lower Mainland post-secondary institutions participating.

“It’s part of our change project,” said fourth-year nursing student Kim Sahota. “We’re working on the smoke-free campus initiative for Kwantlen.”

Booths were lined with anti-smoking pamphlets and awareness information, as well as a demonstration of the difference between a healthy lung and a smoker’s lung.

Smokers were encouraged to keep from lighting up on school grounds for the day. Smoking is prohibited within 7.5 metres of entrances, so nursing students also drew chalk lines leading from buildings to properly illustrate the distance.

The students took donations and collected cigarettes in a jar. For every cigarette, a $1.50 donation went to the BC Lung Association.

“If we can get people to actually empty out their pockets and put their cigarettes in [the jar], that could be a good start to stop them from smoking,” said Dr. Balbir Gurm, a nursing teacher at Kwantlen for 18 years.

“For students, you’ve got up to $500 worth [of smoking cessation products] in your health care package. That’s a great incentive which people don’t know about.”

By midday, the students had collected about 30 cigarettes at Surrey, with a goal of 100. The students at Richmond had a jar filled to the top by the end of the event at 3 p.m.

“I don’t know if it’s because all our health programs are here,” said Gurm, “but [the Surrey campus] seems to be the campus that has the least smokers to start with.”

Cupcake sales support cancer charity

Kwantlen’s annual Cupcakes for Charity event has cooked up a fresh batch of donations for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

A table of sugary treats and origami roses was set up in the Richmond campus rotunda on Tuesday. Human Resources Management student Nicole Joe, who ran the bake sale, noted its success.

“Brownies sold out within an hour,” said Joe. “We didn’t expect them to be gone that fast.”

Joe said there is a history of breast cancer on her mother’s side of the family and also has an uncle battling lung cancer. Because her uncle doesn’t smoke and is generally healthy, she said she thinks that the cancer naturally occurred, which lends to her compassion on the issue.

Jessica Ford of Kwantlen’s START volunteer program was also selling treats.

“My aunt has breast cancer […] she’s in line for a new breast,” said Ford.

With Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the two women decided to contribute their personal experiences to the cause. They sold a variety of homemade goodies, including origami flowers, brownies and, of course, cupcakes Joe also had a portfolio of her paper plants, which she said sold better than expected.

For a minimum 50-cent donation for the cupcakes and $2 for the origami roses, supporters also received a pink breast cancer ribbon.

After only two hours, the table saw its fair share of support.

“Cupcakes are going really well—people buy trays of six, people buy more than one…,” said Joe.

Though the event took place on the Richmond campus, a charity sale may pop up on the Surrey campus as well.

Article by Kristi Jut and Jacob Zinn.

Belly dance class starts at Kwantlen

Kwantlen’s Surrey campus is getting a little exotic with the addition of a belly dance class.

Starting Oct. 15, the six-week course will teach participants moves such as wrist rolls, snake arms and hip shimmys, as well as the culture of belly dance.

The class is taught by Annyse Rayne, a belly dancer for six-and-a-half years. She got into belly dance when she saw it at a multicultural festival.

“The way they were dancing, the way that they were so confident, they were having so much fun,” said Rayne. “It was just so beautiful to watch the dance.”

After that first glimpse, she joined a local belly dance class and never stopped dancing. Now she is a performer and teacher in the Lower Mainland.

Kwantlen’s Department of Athletics and Recreation approached Rayne with the idea of starting a belly dance class suitable for beginners at the school. Over the next six weeks, she will lead the class to Middle Eastern music and give handouts detailing dance moves and historical information on belly dance.

The class is held every Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in the gymnasium and runs until Nov. 23. The cost to join the course is $63, though drop-ins are welcome for individual classes at $8 per class.

Rayne recommends the course to anyone who wants to try a new form of fitness, explore creative expression or improve their self-confidence.

Most interesting student contest promotes beer sales

The Kwantlen Student Association in Surrey is getting closer to finding the most interesting student on campus.

The KSA, in partnership with Dos Equis, Travel Cuts and Contiki Holidays, is giving away a trip to London, England to the most interesting student on campus.

The contest is a take on Dos Equis’ series of Most Interesting Man in the World ads, which feature a daring, sophisticated older gentleman with a taste for Dos Equis.

“The Dos Equis commercials have been very successful,” said KSA commercial services manager Catherine Wilkinson. The KSA is taking advantage of the ads’ popularity to promote not only student involvement, but also the sale of alcohol at the Grassroots Cafe at the Surrey campus.

Five finalists have been randomly selected from earlier contest entries. They have until the end of the month to campaign for votes and convince students that they are more interesting than their four competitors.

Students can vote for their favourite finalist by buying Dos Equis beer at the Grassroots Cafe and filling out a ballot that comes with their beverage. Whoever receives the most votes wins the trip, which includes two nights accommodation, a $400 voucher on flights with Air Transat, a bus sightseeing tour, tickets to a London theatre show and discount cards for attractions.

“In addition to all of that, people will get to know that the Grassroots Cafe is a place that you can actually buy alcohol,” said Wilkinson.

The contest is only held on the Surrey campus because it’s the only one that sells beer. Wilkinson said the KSA is working on more events with alcohol at other campuses.

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