By Tanya Colledge, Staff Reporter

‘ omen gathered at Douglas Colleges’ New
\ \ / Westminster campus on Saturday, to attend the
Remember Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE) six-
hour filmathon. The event was a fundraiser to raise money

Six-hour filmathon empowers women to take a stand against violence

diplomacy.

“Tt’s about changing the mentality that women
aren’t supposed to fight back,” said Christine McDowell,
event organizer and co-filmmaker of Under One Sky, a
documentary profiling women at an all women’s martial
arts camp on the B.C. coast. “Because that’s not how you’re

Douglas College Wrap-Up
By Kristina Mameli

DSU Fright/Movie Night
On Friday October 29, the DSU building’s upper

in support of ROSE’s public event being planned for the 20"
anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on December 6, 2009,
also known as Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and
Action on Violence Against Women.

“The ROSE project has grown out of the importance to
dialogue, share information and connect with the community
about these important issues,” said Lianne Payne, project
member of ROSE. “We are here to work with women in the
community and create programs of action while supporting
artists working with our community. We hope to add the
fundraised money to the $5,000 grant donated by the B.C.
Arts Council, so that we can continue to pay such talented
artists and hold informative workshops like this one.”

Funds raised at the filmathon also aimed to raise
money to sustain the ROSE project’s website—a fountain
of knowledge that seeks to empower women by providing
information on violence prevention, encouraging community
involvement and promoting awareness to the public. The
website also serves as a community message board where
members can participate in discussions, volunteer and of
course, donate to the organization’s efforts.

The event showed six films on various topics such as
the passion of a mother’s love in Your Mother Should Know,
to the feature entitled /ron Ladies of Liberia, an inspirational
testimony to the political power of women’s leadership and

save your life when you’re in danger.”

Scene from Under One Sky

 

longue will play host to a Halloween-themed movie
night starting at 6 p.m. The evening will screen three
movies, a family friendly one at 6, a scary one at 8
and a full on horror movie at 10.

Popcorn and candy will be served to those in
attendance.

 

Fall registration numbers increase
This fall, Douglas College enrolment numbers rose
7.3 per cent to welcome a total of 9,500 students to
credit courses. Classes at both the New Westminster
and Coquitlam campuses are full, with a 12 per cent
increase in liberal arts students and a 10.5 per cent
increase in business/commerce students.

According to a press release on the College’s
website, there were also significant increases
in criminology, nursing, office administration,
classroom and community support, print futures and
professional writing and development studies.

 

 

Ken Beck Lee passionate about education, environment and internationalism

Liberal candidate inspired by family and experiences as an immigrant

By Kristina Mameli, News Editor “T wanted to become a professional engineer
and they didn’t allow me to write the exam.

So I talked to the Liberal MP at the time. He

ew Westminster-Coquitlam
Ni candidate Ken Beck Lee

immigrated to Canada in 1975
from Korea with virtually nothing and four
dependants. Armed with 40 years of real
life experience, Lee, a New Westminster
resident and professional engineer, has
thrived in Canada, as has his family.

Separated from his parents during the
Korean War, Lee lived with his grandmother
for 52 years; from his birth until her death.
“My grandma had a very strong influence
on me,” reflected Lee candidly. “Especially
on my work ethic. She always told me I
should work for somebody else and not be
selfish. That’s probably embedded in my
consciousness and that motivates me.”

Lee has taken a very grassroots
approach to his campaign, personally going
door to door introducing himself to potential
voters—not an easy move considering the
riding’s landscape. “I’ve been received
at the door quite positively,” said Lee.
“T’ve covered quite extensively and by
doing that I’ve lost 10 pounds! It’s the
best thing to do if you want to loose
weight!”

The soft-spoken and articulate
candidate sat down with The Other Press
at his campaign headquarters in Coquitlam
to discuss his background, his campaign
and the issues affecting the residents of the
riding.

Lee, like many immigrants, faced a
number of challenges when he first arrived
in Canada, giving him a deep understanding
of similar issues faced by many new
immigrants. In fact, it was one of these very
challenges that first connected him with the
Liberals. “My degree from Korea wasn’t
recognized although I had a masters and two
= of a PhD program finished,” said Lee.

 

wrote a letter for me saying that all I wanted
was to write the exam and if I pass I’m
qualified; if not, I’m not. I eventually got
the opportunity and passed the exam.”

Education is one of the issues that Lee
is passionate about. “Accepting foreign
credentials has improved quite a bit since
then,” he reflected. “To me it seems like
Canada is really benefiting from immigrants
that have a foreign education. You certainly
need due diligence [when inspecting
credentials], but we have to do it in a timely
manner and in a fair way.”

Lee is a successful small business
owner, volunteering whenever possible,
and donating as substantially as he can.

He owns four world-wide copyrights and
has worked extensively with a number of
community organizations. He has also had
the opportunity to serve as chair of the
Korean Cultural Heritage Society for the

Ken Beck Lee

 

introduced.”

In his voluntary role with the agency,
he has had the opportunity to travel to over
80 countries, opening his eyes to the world
and making him more globally minded. “I

“We're called the opposition party. So what’s the opposition supposed to do if ju,

something’s not going well? We have to oppose.” —Ken Beck Lee

last three years.

Since 2002, Lee has served as one
of 48 registered members of the UN
Climate Change Agency. He is one of
seven team leaders with the entity which
audits greenhouse gas emission reduction
projects all over the world. “The UN is
concerned with people creating a false
greenhouse emission reduction. Because
it’s hot air, it’s very difficult to know,” said
Lee of the agency. “So the UN created
auditing entities. My role is auditing
those companies. Auditing auditors.

This is another safety valve that the UN

me

love to travel, so going back and forth to
Ottawa is a piece of cake for me,” laughed
Lee, who hopes to one day work full-time
for the UN.

Lee believes that Canada’s government
can do better in the current economic crisis,
citing the slow start to enacting the stimulus
package as a major fault. “We missed the
construction season because it took so long
to decide which project would be funded,”
he said. “I’m sure there’s a much better way
of dealing with this situation.”

He also gave some perspective on his

party’s non-confidence motion. “People are
kind of misunderstanding our position,”
Lee reasoned. “We’re called the opposition
party. So what’s the opposition supposed to
do if something’s not going well? We have
to oppose.”
Speaking directly about the hot-
‘on issue that is the impending
HST, Lee admitted that he is greatly
opposed to it. “I own a small business
and we only charge GST and now we
have no choice. It’s going to make a huge
difference, especially in B.C.”

Confident that his 40 years of
experience speaks volumes about his
abilities, Lee said that he will be an
independent voice within the party. “I want
to just serve the people.”

The federal by-election for the New
Westminster-Coquitlam riding takes place
November 9. Keep reading The Other Press
for more candidate profiles