Family Literacy Week attempts to set world record By Ashley Whillans Associate News Editor children across Canada busily practiced their reading and listening skills, in hopes of setting a world record for the most children reading (simultaneously) with an adult. It is estimated that over 180,000 children nationwide participated in the event which took place on Friday, January 23™ and Saturday, January 24". However, official numbers will remain unknown until collected and sent to Guinness World Record officials. This world-be record attempt was the first feature event of Family Literacy Week, an initiative started by ABC Canada Literacy Foundation to raise awareness about the literacy services available to B.C. families, and spotlight important issues motivating the development of innovative family literacy programs. For 30 minutes, all participants read the same material —in this case, Robert Munsch’s collection Munschworks 2 (which includes his popular stories Pigs; Mortimer; Purple, Green and Yellow; Murmel, Murmel, Murmel) and Something Good—and many schools, community centres, libraries, malls, and I: conjunction with Family Literacy Day, private homes took part in the events. While the total number of readers will remain unknown for many months, the current record—78,791 readers—was set in the U.S. Marni Ashdown of the Coquitlam Public Library told The Other Press that regardless of whether or not the world record was broken, the event was a huge success. The event attracted almost 50 enthusiastic children and their families to the Coquitlam Public Library, excited at the idea of participating in a possibly world record- breaking event. “The event was a great way to highlight literacy and the schools were really positive about it,” said Ashdown. “The kids were really excited about breaking the Guinness World Record and more importantly they were excited to read.” It also has had an impact on library circulation; after the event, copies of the Guinness Book of World Records were nowhere to be found! Many other events are scheduled for Family Literacy Week, including story time, puppet shows, and spelling bees. More information is available from www literacybc.ca. Munschwé The Second Munsc f ie CSRW clubs seek DSU funds By Matthew Steinbach, News Editor ver the last couple of weeks, readers of The Other Press have heard all about the new clubs the Centre for Sport, Recreation, and Wellness (CSRW) is attempting to create new clubs on campus. However, when asked if these clubs would officially register with the Douglas Students’ Union (DSU) to receive up to $500 match funding per semester, Paul Granat explained that they would like to, but first what needs to happen for these clubs is “little steps.” In other words, Granat would like to see the organizational side take off first, and he wants to see if there is enough student interest before he attempts to register with the Students’ Union. The next step for the YCSRW' (Dovidlam & New Westminster : Campuses} Community Programs Camps) Recreation & CSRW is to have a meeting with all those interested on February 4" at 4:30 p.m. in room 1811. Any new or interested students are also invited to attend. What is required for a club to get DSU funding? Any club that wants to become “official” in terms of funding has to comply with the DSU’s rules, which set out that there must be ten active members, three of which have been elected by those members to sit as president, vice-president, and treasurer. [he match funding is also only handed out based on deposits made during the semesters from the clubs to the DSU, and external accounts are not permitted. The money is also supposed to be raised through fundraising. Tragedies strike Comox Valley and New Westminster MLAs By Matthew Steinbach News Editor rovincial politics hit home in a personal way over the past few weeks as a pair of seats in the provincial legislature were left vacant by personal tragedies. Stan Hagen remembered for legacy in education Stan Hagen, Liberal MLA for Comox Valley, died of a heart attack on January 20", 2009, a tragedy that John Nuraney, MLA for Burnaby-Willingdon, described as “shocking.” However, Nuraney stated that Hagen left a legacy for all British Columbians— and not just in his constituency — especially in education, in which many of the programs he initiated still stand today. Hagen’s death was a personal loss for Nuraney; he described Hagen as a “mentor and a friend” who “really showed me the ropes.” Nuraney said Hagen was one of the first MLAs he befriended after being elected to the legislature. Stan Hagen was first elected in 1986 and served as a cabinet minister in various capacities for the last two B.C. Liberal governments. Cancer diagnosis forces resignation of Chuck Puchmayr Chuck Puchmayr, NDP MLA for New Westminster also had to bow out of public life recently to battle liver cancer. Diane Thorne, NDP MLA for the Coquitlam-Maillardville, called Puchmayr’s exit from provincial politics “devastating.” “T’m devastated; I lost my friend in the next riding,” she said. Thorne explained that this was a personal loss for her as they had been friends since the 1980s; both had been elected to their respective city councils in the same year, and even ran together provincially for the first time in 2005. She went on to say that he is missed within the NDP caucus, that he was “funny, smart, and committed,” but also that she was confident that her party will retain his seat and find many other qualified candidates to help carry on their work as a party. Thorne also stated that both Puchmayr’s and Hagen’s unfortunate circumstances display how tough of a job politicians have. She mentioned that when health problems do occur they are that much worse as they come on more like a “crash” than an average illness. She concluded that this “underlines how stressful and hard [of a] job” politicians have in front of them.