Ready for Action

> Action slate shines in All-Candidate Forums

Mercedes Deutscher
News Editor

 

wo All-Candidate Forums

were held for the ongoing
DSU Student Representative
Comnmnittee election last week.
While the Other Press was unable
to cover the February 23 forum at
David Lam, which was attended
by six members of Action and
two members of NeXgen, the
New Westminster campus’
February 25 forum was covered.

A notable absence from the
forum was the entire NeXgen
party. Candidate participation
at these forums is optional, and
several members of NeXgen
opted to watch the forum
from the audience instead.
Meanwhile, 11 out of 12 of
the Action slate candidates
participated in the forum.

The forum began with each
of the participating candidates
introducing themselves. Most
of Action is made up of fresh
faces. Jerzy Mazurek, who is
running for Internal Services
Coordinator, is running for his
third term in the committee.

From there, Micheal
Cheevers, the DSU Chief
Electoral Officer, asked the
candidates some questions.

He first asked the candidates
what they planned to do
to better accommodate the
growing population—1s per
cent of the student body—of
international students on

campus. Action first pointed
out that they had a proportional
representation of international
students in their slate (3 of their
candidates). From there, they
discussed opening a fund for
international student clubs and
events, similar to the $100,000
fund open for arts students.
They discussed bridging the
gap between domestic and
international students by
bringing in open education,
better scholarships, and more
events. They recognized that
international students pay
more money to attend Douglas
College, so they wanted to

help make the overall college
experience better for them.

He next asked candidates
what their approach to Douglas
athletics would be. They
responded with improving
advertising for Royals games,
streaming away games in the
concourse, trying to offset the
costs that athletes pay for their
activities by providing Douglas
Royals fan gear, and encouraging
student attendance at games.

Campus clubs were the
next item on the agenda. Action
first pointed out that a few of
them were executives of clubs
themselves. They mentioned
the idea of hosting a Clubs Day
on both campuses, not just the
New Westminster one, as well
as involving David Lam more
by building a DSU building
at the Coquitlam campus and

 

providing stronger support

for David Lam clubs. Overall,
they mentioned expanding the
availability of these clubs to
better fit student schedules, more
advertising and social media,
creating a more comprehensive
club manual and a committee,
and offering more monetary
support for clubs to start up.

 

Photos by Mercedes Deutscher

After this point in the forum,
questions opened up to the
audience. One of these questions
involved how the student
union would interact with
municipal, provincial, and federal
governments. They responded
with organizing municipal talks
for students, keeping the U-Pass
program, and lobbying fora more

Ask, learn, and share at the Douglas Health Fair

> Students encouraged to make positive changes in campus life

Aaron Guillen
Staff Reporter

 

mong the flock of students

entering Douglas’ doors
every day, there are likely many
who place well-being and
healthy living among their top
priorities. These students and
faculty members alike thrive
on opportunities to educate
others to become supporters
and participate in activities
concerning health and the
environment. From 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. on March 2, student
groups, Douglas College
departments, and local health
organizations will collaborate
in an eye-catching event to
help create a healthier campus
full of informed students.

This year, the “Passport
to Health” will be the centre
of attention, as students are
challenged to participate by
learning something new, being
assessed, or taking part in
various activities. Each booth
visited earns stickers, with

multiples chances to win prizes.
At the Health Fair, a group
of Sport Science majors who
are eager to promote health
initiatives in school and
community settings will be
hosting a table titled “The Green
Bin Project.” The classmates
will be stocked with surveys,
brochures, and opportunities to
get involved with their initiative
while running an interactive and
educational game with prizes.
The Green Bin Project
aims to create awareness for
a sustainable and healthy
campus through better waste
management, foster social and
individual responsibility, and
ultimately, identify gaps and find
solutions for them. Their booth
is a small glimpse into their
semester-long project that aims
to fix the campus’ composting
and recycling systems. Currently,
the school runs cardboard and
bottle recycling programs,
but the need for composting
is at an all-time high.
“We noticed there is very

 

 

little organic composting.
Knowing this is what initially
sparked our idea to address this
issue,’ explains Lauren Keen, a
member of the Green Bin Project.
“After some networking
within our college [and the
DSU] we have gathered more
information. We learned that
there are several developments

Image via DouglasCollegeVideo on YouTube

that are currently underway and
in progress behind the scenes.
For example, the kitchen cafeteria
already composts their food waste
and Tim Hortons composts their
used coffee grounds. However,
students do not yet have access
to compost at Douglas.”

Keen and her classmates,
Duncan, Jasper, and Lindsey,

affordable college experience.

A question about hosting
a Remembrance Day event was
met with positive feedback from
Action, who praised the student
for suggesting more ideas. They
then talked about working
with municipalities to organize
such an event for students.

Action was then faced with
a question on what transparency
was, and how they would
foster it. They responded that
they wanted to create more
awareness of what the DSU
does on campus, encourage
more student attendance at
representative committee
meetings, inform students of
where their money is going, place
student trust as a top priority,
and increase DSU tabling in the
concourse and at David Lam.

The final question asked to
candidates was how they were
going to increase social nights at
the college. They mentioned pub
nights, but also pointed out that
pub nights can be exclusive, and
they wanted to include students
of all ages and interests. Ideas
of karaoke nights, arts nights,
athletic nights, open mic nights,
and Douglas College pep rallies
were offered by the candidates.

Voting takes place this week
at Douglas College, from 10 a.m
to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday,
and on Friday from 10 a.m. to
12 p.m. at both campuses.

wanting to amend the current
composting and recycling
systems, took to their feet and
talked with college officials about
their concerns and suggestions.
Apparently, “the college has
been working towards a four-
stream system for over a year,”
noted Keen. Expected to be
rolled-out in phases starting
in the Fall 2016 semester, the
system includes paper, compost,
garbage, and mixed recycling.
Looking toward the future,
the Sport Science classmates have
long-term measures planned to
exist after their project ends. In
the near future, students will
see fewer garbage bins from all
classrooms and office spaces
in order to reduce the amount
recyclable and compostable
waste that are being tossed in the
garbage cans out of convenience.
The ultimate goal is to reduce
waste down to 25 per cent,
with the remaining 75 per cent
diverted into paper recycling,
mixed recycling, and composting.