GBTR Successful Aging Festival full of life

Afternoon naps and tea parties for senior citizens in Langley? Not likely.

Kwantlen’s Gerontology-based Therapeutic Recreation students put together a lively Successful Aging Festival on the Langley campus on Friday, Nov. 27.

The 20 students graduating from the program this year had to plan an event as part of their course requirements. Instructor Carol Hansen said she was extremely pleased with the outcome of event, which the students have been planning since September. The money raised from raffle tickets and donations will go toward community activities for seniors.

GBTR student Jenni Scott said students in the program had sent out posters and flyers to homes and throughout the community to promote the Successful Aging Festival.

The festival, which included over 30 kiosks that supported senior recreation, as well as a tarot-card reader and door prizes, lured many senior citizens from Langley and surrounding communities.

“It’s important to spread awareness to the community about senior-recreation,” said soon-to-be graduating student Aubrey Morrison. “Not a lot of people know that there are activity groups or outreach programs available.”

Robin Bandenieks from the Fort Langley Artists group was there to promote an active interest in the arts to the aging community.

“I’m here to hopefully talk someone into taking up painting as a hobby,” said Bandenieks. “[Painting] can improve cognitive skills in older people,” she said, also noting that it keeps the brain active and is a defense against the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, which is common among the elderly.

Volunteer Parish nurse and senior citizen Agnes Bauer from the Ladner United Church was also there to promote workshops and activities for the community. “We run a disabilities support group,” said Bauer, but wanted to inform that seniors need the same type of counseling that younger people do—including issues with sex and drugs.

“We just had a very successful HIV workshop,” she said. “Some seniors think AIDS and HIV is not an issue for them, but they’re mistaken if [they] think they’re getting out of this life without knowing someone with HIV or AIDS.” Bauer also made a point of speaking on the church’s addictions program, which ranges from addictions to shopping, sex, and, of course, drugs.

Langley Seniors Centre leaders Donna Benoit and Arlene Brown had a lot to offer the senior’s community, with an extensive outreach program for lonely or dependant seniors and an adult day centre to provide relief for caregivers. The centre has worked closely with Kwantlen, they said, and has helped inform people about their programs.

Brown emphasized that awareness about the programs have become increasingly important. “However old you are now,” she said, “you’re going to be a senior one day.”

The campus was free of paid-parking for the day of the event.

Students exchange culture and classrooms

If you have always wanted to study abroad but didn’t want to pay international student rates, then Kwantlen is for you this week.

On the heels of International Education Week, Kwantlen is hosting information sessions for students who wish to apply to spend a semester studying at selected schools around the world.

Journalism is one program that has been involved in student exchanges in the past.

“All the journalism students who have gone on our European exchanges have pretty much had life-changing experiences,” said Beverley Sinclair, journalism program coordinator at Kwantlen. “Apart from the journalism education they get abroad, they get the experience of living in a different culture, surrounded by the history and beauty of Europe.”

Kwantlen is currently accepting applications for exchanges during the 2010/11 academic year. Students who wish to apply must meet certain requirements to be considered for the exchange program. Applicants must have a minimum 2.67 GPA and have completed at least 30 university credits, 15 of which must have been done at Kwantlen. As well, once finished the exchange students must then return to Kwantlen and complete a minimum of nine more credits in the following semester.

Along with academic requuirements, students are also responsible to cover their own costs of travel and living while on exchange. The one major advantage is that students will only have to pay tuition to Kwantlen, at the same rates they would pay if attending school in the Lower Mainland, and not the much higher international student fees traditionally charged visiting students.

Students are often encouraged to do the exchange during the spring term, because European school semesters do not match up with Canadian ones. If a student went abroad in the fall semester of 2010, their European exchange wouldn’t end until four weeks into Kwantlen’s spring term. Also, if students spend the spring semester studying, it frees them up to travel around Europe for the summer before they have to return to Kwantlen for classes in the fall.

Students who would like more information but who were unable to attend or missed the information sessions this week, can do so by contacting international programs and exchanges through e-mail at Internationalprograms@kwantlen.ca or by phone at 604-599-2255.

Benefit raises funds, First Nation awareness

You read it, hear it and speak it every day if you’re a student here, but you might not know what Kwantlen means.

The name of the university is also the name of the Kwantlen First Nation, which was the largest first nation in the Fraser Valley in the mid-19th century, according to the Kwantlen First Nation website.

In the Halq’emeylem language, spoken by the Sto:lo people, the larger band council that it belongs to, Kwantlen means Tireless Runner. That’s also the title of a scholarship given to Kwantlen First Nations students who display financial need, but also contribute to their local First Nations communities.

On Friday, Nov. 13, Kwantlen’s First Nations co-ordinators office hosted a silent auction and dinner benefit to raise scholarship funds for the  award and celebrate First Nations culture. Reporter Justin Langille was there to talk to event organizers and watch attendees bid for a variety of literature, crafts and fine art donated by supporters.

Students, staff can turn luck – and money – into Olympic tickets

Kwantlen students and staff can win the chance to purchase tickets to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

As a community contributor partner with VANOC, one of the opportunities available to the university is the chance to purchase tickets for a variety of events at the 2010 Games. Kwantlen has decided to pass that perk along to students and employees by way of a random draw. The draw is open to anyone who is an employee or is attending Kwantlen as a student during the 2009-’10 academic year.

“We (Kwantlen) have made 176 of 178 tickets available for the draw,” said Peter Chevrier, director of marketing for the university. The two tickets not being made available, which are for a preliminary men’s ice hockey game, were donated to a raffle to support the United Way campaign.

Anyone interested in winning the chance to buy tickets can make their request through the Kwantlen 2010 Olympic Games ticket request website, which is now online.

All tickets will be sold at face value and are available at a wide range of prices for a wide range of events. Events include everything from $1,100 opening ceremony tickets to $50 men’s freestyle skiing aerials qualifying event tickets. Tickets are even up for grabs for the men’s ice hockey gold medal game, if you can afford the $775-a-ticket price.

The final draw and notification of those who have been chosen for tickets will be done on Monday, Dec, 14. According to Chevrier, the luckier you are the more tickets you will have the chance of buying as there is no limit on the number of events one person’s entry can be selected for.

Once notified, people will have seven days to decide whether they want to buy the tickets. Tickets that are not purchased will be made available to others through a re-drawing.

Magazine’s $40,000 will endow journalism program

Some Kwantlen journalism students will be provided financial assistance in the form of a $40,000 endowment from a local magazine.

Mehfil Magazine, a popular Indo-Canadian lifestyle publication, has established the endowment because its publisher feels it’s important to support good journalism since it plays an important role.

Rana Vig, Mahfil’s co-publisher, hopes that by being the first Indo-Canadian publication in B.C. to establish an endowment of this size he’ll convince others will follow suit and support a high level of professional journalism in the community. Vig feels the university has been a leader when it comes to engaging the communities it serves, including the Indo-Canadian community.

The magazine, which was established in 1993, focuses on events in the Indo-Canadian community in the Lower Mainland. It’s also a source for features on people, lifestyles and fashion, as well as commentary on issues related to today’s Indo-Canadian

“We are very grateful for Mehfil’s support of our students,” said Robert Adamoski, Kwantlen’s social science dean.

The Kwantlen journalism program, which recently left the faculty of design and communications for its new home in the faculty of social sciences, has existed for more than 25 years. It offers students both four-year Bachelor of Journalism degrees and two-year diplomas.

Adamoski feels the Kwantlen program provides journalism students a strong understanding of the industry and prepares them for careers in multimedia journalism on graduation.

The endowment will provide annual funds for journalism students, according to journalism coordinator Beverley Sinclair. Sinclair feels this money could go a long way towards easing the financial burden university tuition and books puts on students.

“It amazes me how few students actually apply for scholarships,” said Sinclair, who recalls a previous student who almost completely paid for her tuition by applying for and receiving scholarships that are available every year to students.

Kwantlen’s Genocide Film Series club aims to educate

Kwantlen’s Genocide Film Series club, an initiative of psychology professor Rajiv Jhangiani, hosts films on genocide twice a week in the Surrey Campus conference rooms.

The Oct. 28 showing of “The Killing Fields,” a Roland Joffe film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia from the mid-to-late ‘70s, drew only two students.

(The film, a drama depicting the horror of the genocide, followed the stories of real-life journalists Sydney Schanberg  of the New York Times and Cambodian Dith Pran. Pran wound up in the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and the film follows his experience through torture, oppression and slavery until his eventual escape from Cambodia.)

Robin Elson, a student of Jhangiani’s Psychology of Genocide class, Robin Elson was there to oversee the film.

“There are usually about 25 per cent more students here than this,” joked Elson.

A reason that not many people show up could be that students, other than the students in Psychology of Genocide, don’t know about it. “Other than that, I imagine that it’s a scheduling issue,” said Elson.

“Rajiv made the club for use of the facilities […] it’s for [the class] to give a historical context and knowledge of the events [of genocide].” They then discuss the films in class, though attending the films isn’t mandatory.

Though the club is aimed at students in Jhangiani’s class, anyone is welcome to attend, including non-Kwantlen students. There is a different film shown each week, on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for the rest of the fall semester. According to Elson, some films are helpful while others are not.

“Some of the movies are changed to be more palatable,” he said, explaining that the changes often show inaccuracies to. “World War Two [often] gets butchered.”

But Elson says showing the films is overall positive. “It’s with the aims of educating people,” he said “and to make [these events] stop.”

The following films will be shown at the Surrey campus, all beginning at 7 p.m.

• Defiance: Nov.3 (Rm. D328) and Nov. 4 (G1205C Conference Centre C)
• The Devil Came of Horseback: Nov. 10 (Rm. D328)
• The Reader: Nov. 17 and 18 (Rm. D328)
• Schindler’s List: Nov, 24 (G1205A Conference Centre A) and Nov. 25 (G1205C Conference Centre C)
• Ararat: Dec. 1 (Rm. D328) and Dec. 2 (G1205A Conference Centre A)
• Darfur Now: Dec. 8 and 9 (G1205A Conference Centre A)

Criminology department hosts anti-gang violence film Warrior Boyz

The Kwantlen Criminology department will host the award-winning film, Warrior Boyz, at the Surrey Campus on Nov. 3.

The film, which is about gang violence and is set in a Surrey high school, was one of 10 winners of a $1 million grant from the Social Sciences and Human Research Council – Community University Research Alliance. The prize money will go towards Acting Together, a project looking to prevent youth from getting involved in gangs.

Warrior Boyz was brought to Kwantlen’s attention by Joan Nesbitt, who’s been part of the Criminology department for 14 years.

Nesbitt originally wanted to show the film to her class, but when she contacted the director of the film, Beljit Sanghra, the simple showing snowballed into a larger, public screening that is meant to be seen as a community event.

“We’ve decided to really open it up to not only the Kwantlen community, but the larger community as well. I think that’s one of the defining features of this event, is we really want this to be seen as a community event and we really want to have a dialogue with the community about gang violence,” said Nesbitt.

She feels that gang violence is a community issue and that many Kwantlen students are involved, peripherally or not, with gangs and it’s not only a good idea to open up talk about gang violence to students, but the community of Surrey and even the Lower Mainland.

“The film is very provocative and I think everyone will be shocked and surprised about the depth. Hopefully, they will relate personally and start larger discussions,” she said. “I want everyone to take home a message, whatever it may be.”

Dr. Gira Bhatt, a psychology instructor at Kwantlen and Acting Together project director, feels just as strongly as Nesbitt does about the issue of youth involved with gang violence.

“The idea of this event is to create awareness and make everyone think about what we can do to help kids involved in the gang life and bring everyone together,” Bhatt said.

“I hope that everyone takes away the message that we need to be guardians, to keep an eye on what is going on with our cousins and other relatives and be aware.”

The Criminology department has no other current plans of getting involved with the prevention of youth in gang violence, but if this event goes well, Nesbitt said that might change.

Where have all the computers gone?

When Kwantlen journalism students came back to school in September, 26 four-year-old Apple computers had been replaced in their lab, as well as six in a production rooms reserved specifically for students in the program.

Students didn’t only want to know why the computers had been replaced, they wanted to know where the old computers went, and whether they could get their hands on them.

The answer is maybe.

Juilien Phillips, Graphic Design and Marketing systems supervisor, who worked closely with the Journalism program, told The Chronicle that all of the university’s computers need to be upgraded to newer versions every four years. “[The older computers] would not be able to manage the software we put on them [this year],” he added.

Some computers get distributed throughout the university, where even older versions need upgrades, and the other are put into storage.

That’s where Scott Gowen,, Kwantlen’s Director of Supply and Business Service, comes in. When the computers are put into storage, Gowen is notified. He then liaises between Kwantlen’s IET Department and the B.C. Government’s Asset Investment Recovery (AIR).

Because Kwantlen has a policy that prevents sale of surplus equipment to faculty, staff and students, the unneeded computers have to go to B.C. AIR, or are donated to Afretech, Gowen said. Afretech is an organization based in Delta that was started by two Kwantlen instructors. Its purpose is to collect surplus supplies from places that no longer needed them,  including Kwantlen, and donate them to schools in rural Africa.

Gowen is letting students in on a little secret.

“This November ,another shipment of Mac computers will be sent to B.C. AIR where they will be available for purchase by any member of the public, including Kwantlen employees and students,” he wrote.

The company, which deals with a cash-and-carry program as well as online-auctioning, is offering a “special back-to-school deal on laptops and computers.” The surplus equipment is available at  B.C. AIR warehouses (located in Surrey, Victoria, and Prince George) or through their online auctions.

Information on cash and carry sales and auctions are available at the B.C. AIR website.

Kwantlen on B.C.’s Top 55 Employers list again

Kwantlen Polytechnic University has again been chosen one of British Columbia’s top 55 employers for 2010.

“This is a testament to all those who worked hard not only for the students, but also on behalf of their colleagues,” wrote David Atkinson, president and vice-vhancellor of Kwantlen, in an online announcement.

The annual competition is in its sixth year, and is organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This is the third time Kwantlen has been selected on the list.

The competition is open to employers of any size, as long as their head office or principle place of business is in BC. Employers in both the private and public sectors are eligible.

The competition looks at the same eight criteria used by its national counterpart:

• physical workplace
• work and social atmosphere
• health, financial and family benefits
• vacation and time off
• employee communications
• performance management
• training and skills development
• community involvement

Kwantlen, which is one of four universities on the 2010 list, was selected for its work in many areas. The university was recognized for new mothers maternity leave top-up benefits to 75 per cent of their salary for 52 weeks. Kwantlen also pays parental leave top-up benefits to 75 per cent for 37 weeks for new fathers or adoptive parents. Both exceed what employment insurance entitles workers to.

Another criteria that sets the university apart was vacation and time off. Kwantlen gives all new employees three weeks of paid vacation time during their first year on the job.

The university also helps employees balance work and personal lives through a variety of alternative work arrangements. Examples include telecommuting, which means employees enjoy flexibility in working location and work hours, and giving employees a 35-hour work week, with full pay and full company-paid health benefits.

Kwantlen student wins Jack Webster journalism award

Third-year Kwantlen journalism student Christopher Sun was one of the seven winners of Jack Webster Foundation Student Journalism Awards, presented at the foundation’s dinner Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Kwantlen’s journalism program was well-represented by 25 students, who attended the dinner held at the Westin Bayshore downtown.

Other student winners included Trevor Crawley and Leasa Hachey from Langara College, Jenny Fremlin from Thompson Rivers University, Leia Hutchings and Jacob Barker from BCIT and Cecilia Geryson from UBC.

The 25 students from Kwantlen were joined by almost 1,000 others who attended the dinner and saw some of B.C.’s best journalists given credit for their work.

The event, emceed by Global TV’s Chris Gailus, drew big names. CBC sportscaster Brian Williams was the keynote speaker; Bill Good of CTV and CKNW won the Bill Hutchinson Lifetime Achievement Award; and Les Leyne of the Victoria Times-Colonist won the City Mike Award for Commentator of the Year.

CBC was the big winner with five awards, including Best News Reporting of the Year – Television and Best News Reporting of the Year – Radio. The Vancouver Sun took home three awards and the Globe and Mail, CTV, Kamloops This Week and Fairchild TV each won one.

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