Get involved at Douglas

Five ways to get connected on campus

By Jenn Markham

ew to Douglas? Been here a
Ne and looking to make
_ “use of some of that time
you should be studying? Although
it’s not a complete list, it’s a place
to start if you’re looking to get
involved.

Centre for Campus Life

Pictures of these guys and all the
fun they have are everywhere.
They hold intramural events, fitness
classes, leadership workshops, and
more. This is a unique group at
Douglas that’s created to help you
fit into the campus community.
Check out www.douglife.ca for
more information and sign up for
their newsletter to so that you never
miss an opportunity to get involved.

Student Ambassadors
Based out of the Office for New
Students, this is a diverse group

of students that help out with New
Student Orientation programs,
Campus Community Spirit events,
New Student Recruiting and
Community Events, Campus partner
events and committees, and Alumni
events. They’re best known around.
campus as being responsible for
wild and crazy happenings in the
atriums like Easter egg hunts and
Jell-O eating contests. Check out
qualifications and instructions on
how to apply at: www.douglas. .
bc.ca/new-students/office-new-
students/student-ambassador.html

Learning Centre

“The Learning Centre offers both
face-to-face and online tutoring,

as well as self-help materials, like
tutorials and handouts, to help you
improve academic skills.” Their
services are free for students. Also,
if you excel in a certain subject area
and like helping others, consider
becoming a paid tutor. Check out

 

qualifications and instructions on
how to apply at: www.douglas.
be.ca/services/learning-centre/
about/tutor.html

Douglas Student Union

With locations on both campuses,
the Douglas Student Union
holds pub nights, lunches and
other fun activities. There are
also student voted representative
positions through the DSU. They
invite students to drop by and
get involved, and you can also
check out their website, www.
douglasstudentsunion.ca

Volunteer Opportunities

If you’re just looking to help out

at a couple events here or there,
occasionally volunteer opportunities
are emailed through the school
email, but why wait? Check out
postings on Douglife at: www.
douglife.ca/category/volunteer-
opportunities

 

September Events Update

he start of a new semester means that
there’s a ton going on around campus.

Use the events calendar below to help

 

plan how you’ll spend your downtime at Douglas
in the weeks ahead. Have some fun, make new
friends, and get involved at Douglas College with
Douglife.

Can You Dig It? Beach Volleyball Tournament

- September 15, 2011 @ 4:30pm — 7:30pm

David Lam Campus (Outdoor Volleyball Courts)

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament
September 20, 2011 @ 2:30pm — 4:30pm
New Westminster Gymnasium

Campus Life Chase
September 21, 2011 @ 4:00pm — 7:00pm
David Lam Campus

Leadership Retreat 2011

September 29 — October 2

Application deadline September 21 @ 12:00pm
Free for accepted Douglas students

*see online for more information

For complete details, check out www.douglife.ca!

 

 

Keep your options open when it comes to textbooks

You’ll save your back and maybe even a buck or two

By Maria Asselin-Roy, Staff Reporter

arrying around four courses worth
of textbooks every semester can be a
/ huge hassle. They’re heavy, they’re

bulky, and you probably don’t even need
the full textbook for one particular course.
That is what many college students have
admitted on various online forums. Several
students say that they do not bring their
textbooks to class for the reason of them
being too cumbersome and tiring to carry
around.

For many courses, buying the full
textbook is necessary. Mathematics for
example usually requires the whole text
because each page contains problems and
solutions that you are required to solve.
The same goes for courses that use the
same textbook for both sections of the
course, such as Intro to Psychology. In this
case, buying the full text would be to your
benefit because it’s good for two semesters
and you know that your money will not
be going to waste. Much of the time you
can purchase used textbooks from other

4

students around campus or on websites like
craigslist. It is not recommended to buy the
full text if you are only taking one part of
a course. For example, if you need a lab
science requirement and you choose to take
Biology 1110; buying the two hundred (and
something) dollar textbook is probably not
a good idea if you hope to save your money
and have a lighter load on your back.
According to Cost Effective Solutions
for Student Success (available online at
www.solutionsforstudentsuccess.org) the
average student spends just under $1,000.00
per year on textbooks. However, there
are easier, and cheaper options out there
than what are available in the bookstore.
Digital textbooks are becoming more and
more popular as students are finding them
substantially more easy to use. Another plus
is that if you carry your laptop around with
you everywhere, then the textbook is always
with you. One of the best websites for this
is Www.coursesmart.com. They carry almost
all textbooks required by colleges and
universities. If you wish to buy the textbook
and have it forever stored on your computer,

it costs half the price of the printed version.
If you assume you are only going to need a
couple of chapters of a text, you can even
start a free trial and print out a few pages.
Coursesmart also has a “Study Online or
Offline” feature. With this feature, you can
access your purchased eTextbook without
an internet connection. Coursesmart also
allows students to rent eTextbooks for 180
days, and you can easily pay with PayPal.
Another option is to download a PDF of
your textbook. This can sometimes cost a
little money, or it can be free depending
on the website. Websites such as www.
bookboon.com and www.bookshare.org are
great in finding college textbooks in PDF
or eBook form. When searching to see if
your textbook is available as a PDF, be sure
that you have the correct and current edition
number.

If you have purchased a hard copy of
a textbook and no longer need it, buybacks
are available at both campuses at the end of
the semester. Here you can sell your books,
and receive at least 25% of the retail value.
If the book is being used in the current

semester, you can receive up to 50% back.
Check out www.douglas.bc.ca/services/
bookstore.html for store hours for David
Lam and New West campuses, your course
book list, and what is out of stock. This
semester there is also a “personalized book
list” which was created to assist students
with the specific courses they are enrolled