>» Opening and reopenin

Tania Arora

g of offices downtown

    

¢ Douglas College counselling services

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¢ Prof. provides free menstrual products
e Parking hourly rate doubles

..and more

Canada and all over the world. It shall

Staff Writer

 

eems like some big tech companies

have decided to create a new hub on the
west coast of Canada. In the past few years,
Vancouver has seen a rise in both new and
well-established companies setting up their
headquarters or offices downtown. On
October 18 and 19, it was announced that
two other major tech companies—Slack
and Microsoft, respectively—are opening
new offices in downtown Vancouver.

Microsoft is all set to open 75,000 sq.

ft. of office space at 155 Water street. The
new space is roughly half the size of the
current office at the CF Pacific Centre at 111

West Georgia Street. Its two other offices
include the one above the Nordstrom
departmental store and other at 858 Beatty
Street, near BC Place Stadium.

Another company ready to set its
foot in Vancouver is Slack. Founded in
this city in 2009, the company relocated
its headquarters to San Francisco. It has
satellite offices running in Toronto, New
York City, Dublin, Denver, London, Tokyo,
Pune, Paris, Istanbul, and Melbourne. The
location of the office will be in the Bentall
5 office tower at 550 Burrard Street in
downtown.

Next up on the list is Amazon, who has
plans of coming up with its first purpose-
built office at 402 Dunsmuir Street. It will

be a workspace to nearly 1,000 employees.

These office buildings will cater to
the booming tech industry in Canada.
According to the statistics of Government
of Canada, “The Information and
Communications technologies (ICT)
sector makes a substantial contribution to
Canada’s GDP. In 2018, the sector’s GDP
was $86.6 billion (in 2012 constant dollars)
and accounted for 4.5 percent of the
national GDP.” It goes onto say that, “Since
2012, the ICT sector has posted a stronger
annual growth than the total economy. On
average, annual growth in this sector has
been 2.7 percent, compared to 2.2 percent
for the overall economy.’

The ICT industry is at its peak in

continue to hold that spot as the entire
world shifts towards technology.

To cater to the industry requirements,
Douglas College offers a wide range of
programs that complies with multiple
areas of the sector. They are a blend of
theoretical and practical application of the
skills essential to succeed. Option of co-op
is available with many diplomas which will
help students get hands on experience.

This week from October 28 to 30,
Douglas College campuses will also be
hosting “Tech Week”—a three-day event
that allows students to learn about the
technologies and services available at the
college.

Breaking the tampon taboo

» Douglas College professor provides free menstrual products

Ana Brito
Contributor

 

n February of this year, New

Westminster became the first
district in BC to provide free menstrual
products in schools. Selina Tribe,
Douglas College Professor and
parent boosted the decision that
requires schools to offer free hygienic
products for young women and girls in
restrooms.

Asa mother of a 13-year old girl
who was soon to have her first period,
Tribe felt that there was an inequity to
solve, so she did something about it.

Tribe explained that she realized
boys have everything they need in the
washrooms, but there's a discrepancy
with girls. Many have their first period
at school, and don't have what they
need to manage it. Because of this, they
are left with no other option but to ask
around for menstrual products, which
can be embarrassing.

Tribe explains that girls might
feel ashamed asking their instructors

for pads when in need. So, she came
up with a simple solution: installing
coin-free dispensers in the bathrooms
to facilitate the burden of awkwardly
looking for a sanitary pad.

Some product dispensers require
coins to operate, so girls need to go to
school with money. Some dispensers
charge between 25 to 50 cents per
product. A girl might have to change
her pad or tampon three or four times
per day—that’s a lot of money!

Another critical point for Tribe
is to normalize the period situation.
“Since I've openly started talking about
it, | realized that everyone has a story
about menstruation to share," Tribe
said.

For young girls, menstruation is
a taboo subject. Some find it hard to
blatantly ask for a pad or tampon—
or even feel a sense of shame when
asking for one. But the reality is
that menstruation is a healthy and
fundamental process. "There should
bea favorable outlook on the issue,
and no one should feel ashamed of
menstruating,” Tribe adds.

Schools usually talk about
menstruation as a biological process,
traditionally linked to hormones,
babies, pregnancy, or being a mother.
But women spend more time
menstruating than being pregnant—if
they become pregnant at all.

Tribe explains that many girls
are still being taught to "hide" their
periods. There's still stigma and myths
around monthly bleeding. She insists
that schools should be teaching girls
how to manage their periods, and that
leaks, cramps, and overflows are typical
and can be successfully managed.

“Girls and women shouldn't be
running around to get a pad!" said
Tribe.

The professor explains that
regulations dictate what restrooms
provide. There is paper, soap, and
garbage bins because there's a law that
indicates it. Tribe knows that there's
work to do, and she's determined
to change the period taboo. As
of September, there are coin-free
menstrual product dispensers installed
in every school in New Westminster.

 

Photo of Selina Tribe provided by Selina Tribe