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DSU Pub Night Another Hit

By Siavash Rokni

Fie Douglas Students’ Union
held their first pub night of the new
semester at the Student Union Building
on January 31. The theme of the night
was an official “welcome back’ to
Douglas Students after the winter break.

“The Douglas College Student
Unionprovidedasocial atmosphere where
it gave an opportunity to the members
of the society, as well as the students of
the College to get to know each other
better, and meet familiar and new faces,”
said Alysia McGrotty, the DSU external
relations officer in an interview at the Pub
Night. “It also was a great opportunity
to make new and exciting friends.”

The night began with pizza,
which was completely sold out by the
early hours in the night. There were
also beers and Smirnoff Ice sold for
$3 per bottle. Representatives from the
Canadian Federation of Students gave
away free T-Shirts and laundry bags at
the event and the First Nation’s Center
gave out two Douglas College sweaters
as prizes to the students at the event.

Robert Seguin, the pub
night’s DJ, rocked the house like a

 

 

‘star with amazing beats throughout

the evening. Studying music at the
Douglas College Music Program, he
is clearly a very talented individual
with a bright future in front of him.
The Douglas Students’ Union is
a non-for-profit organization. Therefore,
the union buys and sells everything in the
Pub Night. for its exact cost. “We. want
all the students, who all pay for the union
fees at the beginning of the semester, to
have the ability to utilize the benefits of
their membership and not get charged
more. We are here for the advocacy work
and the socialization,” said McGrotty.

 

Singh Supporters
“Sikh” Sanctuary

By Garth McLennan, News Editor

+ campaign to have Sikh temples be Singh came to Canada with
he supporters of illegal immigrant declared places of sanctuary, just like falsified documentation and suffered
Laibar Singh have begun a controversial Christian churches presently are. a stroke in 2003, which left him as a

quadriplegic. He has since been ordered
deported and has exhausted all of his
appeal opportunities.

Twicesince hisdeportation order
was issued, immigration authorities have
attempted to apprehend Singh and force
him to return to India. Singh has stated
that the Indian government has wrongly
accused him of terrorism and: that he
will be in mortal peril if he is forced to
vacate Canada. He has also claimed that
India does not have sufficient medical
facilities to deal with his condition.
Singh is currently residing in the Guru
Nanak Sikh temple, located in Surrey,
which also lacks medical facilities.

Sincetakingrefugeinthetemple,
immigration officials have repeatedly
tried to arrest him. However, such efforts
were met by hundreds of protesters who
denied the officials entry into the place
of worship. Now, the combined forces of
the temple leaders and the most adamant
of Singh’s supporters have started to
apply pressure on the government to
have all Sikh temples immune to further
government interference.

Despite their efforts, Public

 

Safety Minister Stockwell Day has
said that Singh’s deportation order will
remain in effect whether or not the
protests continue, and that Singh and
his backers are in violation of Canadian
laws.

“They are in defiance of the law
if they are not subjecting themselves to
that removal order. That is the state of
the situation,” Day said.

The sanctuary movement was
supported by a rally at the Guru Nanak
Temple, and was backed by similar
assemblies in 13 other Canadian cities.

“It is unconscionable that the
government continues to insist on the
deportation of a paralyzed man from
sanctuary, simply to look strong,” said
Denise Nadeau, a member of Simon
Fraser University’s interfaith summer
institute.

The debate as to whether or
not Singh should be permitted to. stay in
Canada has sparked an intense debate
since he was first ordered deported.
There are strong advocates on both sides
of the issue. The government has stated
they will continue in their attempts to
extradite Singh, but have said that they
have not set a firm date for their next
attempt to seize him.