Eagles’ Lodge seals victory over Falcons

The Kwantlen Eagles Men’s soccer team continued its undefeated streak into the second week of the season with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Langara Falcons Saturday.

The come-from-behind victory was capped with a spectacular breakaway goal by Justin Lodge, his second of the game.

“I’m proud that they won. I’m proud of the character that they showed in terms of never giving up, but playing hard and playing smart are two different things, and today I don’t think we played that smart and that’s why we got two goals against,“ said head coach Vincent Alvano.

After driving home a rebound for an early lead, the momentum was on Langara’s side, but the period drew to a close with both teams battling for control of the game.

Early in the second half, Lodge sprinted into the clear and tied the score 1-1, but minutes later Langara capitalized on some defensive confusion and regained the lead with a quick strike.

Later in the half Alvano was ejected, but the absence of their coach seemed to light an offensive fire under the Eagles, and not long after a deflected shot by Ryan Sidhu floated over Langara’s off-balance keeper for the tying goal.

With the game deadlocked, the Eagles continued to put the pressure on, and with minutes to go Lodge single-handedly waltzed through the Langara defense for the winner.

“The character of the team, for a young team like this, first year, I can’t be more proud of what they did. I just wish that they would have a more professional attitude towards the game. Their naivete and inexperience shows, but that’s my responsibility. A team’s behavior is a reflection of the coach’s attitude, and it’s my job to make them play like professionals.“ said Alvano.

The 2-1-0 Eagles continue their season on the road Sunday at Coquitlam Town Center against the fourth-ranked Douglas Royals.

Jazz group kicks off weekly free concert series

Kwantlen’s Langley campus-based music program kicked off Music at Midweek, a free concert series, on Wednesday, Sept. 10 with jazz from The Last Train Home: The Metheny Project.
 
The free concerts have been presented every Wednesday at noon since the music program began and are open to everyone who enjoys music.
 
“We have been working to get the word out,” said Gail Suderman, Director of Voice and Choral Studies.

Suderman, who is also in charge of booking nationally renowned musicians for Music at Midweek, said that the concerts include classical, jazz, Cuban, Asian and African music.

 “I don’t think people know too much about it,” said Program Assistant Nancy Hodgson, because Kwantlen students are “separated by so many campuses.”

In the first half of the semester students and music lovers will listen to the nationally renowned musicians; in the second half, Kwantlen music students will be the ones performing.
 
Music students definitely take advantage of the range of performances that are offered in the auditorium.
 
“It’s really fun,” said 19-year-old May Miyaoka. “There’s always a lot of variety.”

Even though 10 per cent of music students’ grades depend on attending at least 10 concerts, they don’t seem to mind showing up.
 
“To observe professionals for the first half of the semester gives them a real idea of what can be achieved,” said Suderman.
 
Joel Kroytko, a first-time attendee and Kwantlen music student, said that “hearing other musicians play can help me develop my own musical ideas through the musicians’ here.”
 
Darlene Bezalel and her husband, Ben, attend the concerts as often as they can. “We get enjoyment of seeing new things,” said Bezalel. “We like the mixture of the international flavour.”
 
Terry O’Brien, a writer and music student, said “listening to music helps my writing.”
 
Mark Goodwin, another student, agrees with O’Brien’s idea of finding inspiration in the music. “I take as much in as I can and try to relate it to my music,” he said.

The soothing jazz played Wednesday by The Last Train Home: The Metheny Project, a band that pays tribute to Pat Metheny, sent waves through the auditorium. The hour-long concert got everyone clapping.

The five-piece jazz band is made of “top-notch musicians,” said Suderman. “We are really happy to have them here.”
 
“It was tight and well rehearsed,” said Kroytko. “Well performed,” he added as he picked up his guitar and exited the auditorium.
 
Adam Rohrlick, the black-brimmed-hat-wearing guitar player for The Last Train Home, said, “I remember when I was the music student, so I hope it encourages other students to pursue their dreams.”

Information on coming Music at Midweek concerts is available online (PDF).

Want to work on the border?

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is out to recruit Student Border Service Officers. Students with at least two years of full-time accredited post-secondary and who have been full-time are eligible for the positions.

The CBSA will have information tables on campus at Kwantlen Tuesday, Sept. 16, at in the Richmond campus rotunda, and the following day on the second floor of Building B at Surrey, from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. both days.

More information about Student Border Services Officers is available from the CSBA website.

…and, we’re back

The opening weeks of the semester carry traditions, among them the sprouting of booths and activities that welcome back students. Tuesday, at Richmond, there was pizza, live music, information aplenty and even a political party on hand. Some images:

The Chronicle, redesigned

Welcome to the latest version of the Kwantlen Chronicle online. Over the next semester, we’ll be filling these pages with news of interest to Kwantlen Polytechnic University students. Archives of previously published articles are not yet online, but will be brought back.

New year, new president

Kwantlen students are attending a university and welcoming a new president they begin the fall semester. Dr. David W. Atkinson replaced Skip Triplett, who had served as president for Kwantlen since 1999, in July.

He brings to Kwantlen Polytechnic University an abundance of experience in working with universities, as well as new ideas for the institution.

“One of our ambitions should be co-op education across the curriculum, so that if you’re an English major or a history major that you have a co-op placement. You actually go out in the work world and you see how it works and you take some of those skills and you see whether or not you can apply them. That is my concept,” Atkinson said during an interview last week.
 
[audio:http://www.kwantlenchronicle.ca/audio/atkinson.mp3]
In his own words: 3’48″ audio of David Atkinson

In the first edition of his newsletter, which will be released every two months, he focussed on program development, university governance, campus development and senior reorganization.

“At this stage in my career, am I ready to take an institution like this and forge it into a university, so when I leave in five or six years time it is established and it’s ready and nobody questions it. Am I really up to this?” he asked rhetorically during the interview.

He is. “The real challenge is controlling expectations, because you can’t do it all overnight.”

Atkinson is in the process of establishing a university senate, “which is the way in which a university does business.”

“There’s no senate here and people have no concept of what a senate is. It just baffles me,” he said.

Atkinson joined Kwantlen University College in July, with more than 30 years of experience in higher education. He studied at the University of Calgary, where he received his BA, MA and PhD in English Literature. Later, Atkinson found himself at the University of Lethbridge where he joined senior administration and stayed for 15 years.

He was later named Professor of English and Religious Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. He then went on to be both president and vice-chancellor of Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., where he is an honorary member of the Board of governors, then to Carleton University in Ottawa.

“The most important thing about Kwantlen, the most important thing about any university, is the quality of its programs. And so, to establish ourselves as a university, not only do we need to determine what kinds of programs we want here, which will distinguish us, because I think what we don’t want to be, is another wannabe.”

Atkinson’s newsletter, which outlines some of the changes taking place at Kwantlen, can be read at www.kwantlen.ca/president/newsletters/issue1.html.

Pubs nights first step toward Kwantlen campus pub

The fall semester brings Kwantlen students a new status as a university, a new president and along with that, approval for a pub night.

The Kwantlen Student Association approached the school’s new president, Dr. David W. Atkinson, about creating a pub on campus soon after he arrived last July, said Nathan Griffiths, Director of Operations for the KSA. Atkinson was on-board with the idea and suggested starting with a pub night, as opposed to a fully licensed pub. Although the KSA is interested in creating pub nights on all campuses, Surrey is the only campus that currently has space to do so, Griffiths said.

Pub nights will be held Fridays in the Grassroots Lounge on the Surrey campus. “There are still finer details to work out with administration,” said Griffiths, adding that the KSA plans to focus on this project after CramJam is finished.

Griffiths says that the KSA has a “gentleman’s agreement” with Atkinson to aim to have a fully-licensed pub in one year.

“Campus pubs are typically a hub of campus culture,” said Griffiths. “Now that we are a university, its important that we foster bringing students together, bringing students and professors together.”

Added Atkinson: “We’ll take another look at it at the end of the semester and I am absolutely convinced it will have been a success. We will look at doing more in the spring.”

Cram Jam fills day with music

 

Rockers Sloan, Daniel Wesley and Ten Second Epic will headline Cram Jam 3, the Kwantlen Student Association’s most ambitious entertainment event to date.

Cram Jam, which will run from 2-11 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26 at Clovedale’s Agriplex, is an all-ages music festival. Along with the headliners, bands from throughout the Lower Mainland will perform.

One of those, The Fury, gave Richmond students a taste Tuesday when they performed as part of Welcome Week activities. While fans gathered to watch, not-so-excited teachers cancelled classes, and some area residents filed noise complaints.

“They’re fabulous,” said Kwantlen student Minnie Huang. “I can’t wait to see them at Cram Jam!” The band is made up of local musicians who met through Craigslist last winter and is preparing to release its first album this fall.

Other local bands that will perform at Cram Jam include Exit 200, featuring two Kwantlen students, and Tenant, featuring two Kwantlen alumni.

Tickets for Cram Jam 3 are $15 if purchased before Sept. 12 and $20 after that date. For more information and to purchase tickets go to www.cramjam.ca.

Being a university

The Chronicle is getting set to take a deep look at what the change from Kwantlen University College to Kwantlen Polytechnic really means and how it affects students, staff and the university itself. On newsstands around the campus on Oct. 17.

Setting the table

The Canadian Chinese Table Tennis Federation is coming Kwantlen, hosting a tourney Sept. 20 and the invitation has gone out to students and employees to form a team and get in on the action. E-mail Xing Liu or Hasan Pasha for details.

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