| completed Lancaster will | contact ~ performed for - a secondary coordinator. The _ final step will be printing a list of nd September 21, 1994 Other Press Safewalk almost here by Ronnie Bains | The Safewalk program at Douglas College has been delayed until October due to lack of funding. The Douglas College Student Society originally thought the program to be adequately financed last year. After a second look they realized the money just wasn't there. Project coordinator Joe Spear is organizing the planning, hiring, and funding for this project. He is presently working with Sgt. Lancaster of the New Westminster Police department in setting up criminal record checks and training P programs for all applicants. Once these _ checks have been completed the program can be implementedf? ~ There is still a need for more volunteers, especially females since there is a shortage of female applicants. Spear _has stated that this is a program for all , Students, so they need to get involved to _ make it happen. If you wish to apply for Safewalk . you must first pick up a Douglas College _ Safewalk application and a criminal records check consent form. Complete and return them to the DCSS office, Rm. 2780. Spear will then review the applications while Lancaster will be looking after the criminal record checks. ; Once ve the checks are Spear with the ~ successful applicants. Next, an ~academic review will be security measures to ensure that all volunteers are either DC _ students, staff or faculty. Each applicant will then have a final interview with Spear and the successful volunteers, with their first and Jast names in the Other Press. The Other Press will then ask for any feedback you may have regarding selected volunteers. If anyone has any reservations about the selected volunteers they can then contact Spear. All complaints remain anonymous and are thoroughly investigated before reaching a final decision. Any legitimate complaints will result in the applicant being dropped from training. After this is completed all newly hired volunteers go into a short training program. re — 4 . o. DCSS logo courtesy of the DCSS The training program is not intense but there are some basic rules and regulations to be followed.These will be outlined, along with other responsibilities, in the policy handbook. The volunteers will be working in pairs, consisting of one male and one female escort who will walk you to your destination. Some of the volunteer benefits include: Meeting new people in the college. Learning and developing good public relations skills. Obtaining valuable resume material. Fulfilling some of the scholarship/ bursary requirements. Gaining personal satisfaction by contributing to a worthy service. Before training can begin, however, there are several equipment costs, such as radios, flashlights, and jackets that need to be provided for. The radios alone cost $1,000 each and at least 9 more are required. The Safewalk volunteers need to be sufficiently equipped before being able to safely walk students to their destination. At the present time, there is not a kiosk for Safewalk. Once funding is completed and official approval is given by theAdministration and the Board, one will be built. The tentative location is on the concourse level, next to the upper cafeteria. This will allow for storage of equipment and serve as a control booth for operations. The Student Society policy and insurance liability purposes do not allow for operation of the kiosk out of the DCSS office. Spear pointed out that while the Safewalk program does not guarantee safety, it does offer a safer solution. Safewalk volunteers will not be held accountable for the safety of the student, however they will be equipped and trained to get help when needed through the radio. They are permitted to: walk you to the parking lot, the skytrain station, or wherever your destination may be provided it is within a 3 - 4 block radius Commercialism ahoy! by Feargal Sharkey You may have seen the crowds milling around the reflecting pool on September 7. You may have even tossed a basketball at a hoop a few times, trying r Q ! Photo by Mike Dutton to snag a free Grizzlies shirt or hat. Or maybe, just maybe, you walked away with a whole shiteload of stuff. Any way you slice it, Z 95.3 FM and the Vancouver Grizzlies were here at >» Douglas on that day, and they were handing out tons of free poster-size calendars, compilation tapes, and various apparel. Of course, the whole thing smacked so much of advertising-slash-marketing- slash-commercialism that it was almost sickening. However, it was newsworthy in that one lucky student from one of these “Campus Crawl” location deals won over $2500 worth of stuff. Included in this “survival pack” was a cellular phone, a bike, a home stereo, and don’t forget the full scuba course and $1000 in gift certificates for clothes and food. That one student's name is Grace Gomes. She couldn't be reached for comment. And I must say that while I normally loathe the crass commercialism in such ventures, not to mention the slight condescension of the whole deal, I can’t say no to free stuff. i ls this absolutely necessary? | mean, really. Nothing against free stuff, mind you, but this reminded me of one of those high school Coca Cola Countdown Dance Parties. Of course, | have problems and should probably be sedated, but c'mon... of the campus. There will be 3 ways to arrange a Safewalk: 1. You can set it up in advance by phoning the Safewalk phoneline at 527- 5575. This number will be accessible 24 hours, but is currently just voicemail. Upon commencement of the operation, there will be a dispatcher available from 6:00 - 10:30 pm to answer calls, after these hours you will reach voicemail. 2. You can go to the Safewalk Patrol booth. 3. Or you can stop a Safewalk group that is not in use. Once the finances have been guaranteed, a final approval will be required by the College. Spear has stated that Director of Facilities Services Terry Leonard has been very supportive of this project and is willing to help in any way. He has assisted Spear in reviewing the policy regulations in the training program, as well as offering use of the college lawyers and architect. Administration has also been helpful by providing the funding for the radios, The College is also going to be paying for heat, lighting, radio licensing, a phoneline, and other operational costs. An audit has been done of the most unsafe areas around the college andas a result these areas will now be monitored by Safewalk. Spear has also done his share of research by contacting many different universities, including McGill and Carlton regarding their Safewalk programs and any problems they’ve experienced. If all goes well, hired volunteers will be going into training by the end of September and the Safewalk program should hopefully be running by the beginning of October. Any students or staff interested in volunteering, or finding out more about the program, please contact the project coordinator Joe Spear at 527-5575, or inquire at the Douglas College Student Society Office located at Rm. 2780 (on the main concourse level across from the security booth). AIDS Walk '94 DCSS helps worthy cause with |.D. by Jason Kurylo For the fourth year running, the Douglas College Student Society has donated the equipment and materials to process photo identification for AIDS Walk volunteers. This year, that will amount to almost 450 picture ID cards. The Walk takes place on September 25. AIDS Walk ‘94, or ‘the Walk, is the eighth annual walk, and is situated in Stanley Park. Traditionally held on the last Sunday in September, the Walk raises money and awareness - not for research- for patients and carriers of the disease. “Volunteers are the backbone of the event,” says Volunteer Security Team Captain Jan Faulkner. “All the team members hold safety and security in a position of great importance. “Duties of volunteers range from emotional support to technical set up and tear down to handling of cash [from donations and sponsorships ].” _ It is important to distinguish this cause from the typical AIDS research groups. Of course, those are important and should not be belittled or ignored. The Walk, however, concentrates on helping people - right now - in the throes of this affliction. Some areas your donations and sponsorships go to: $22 provides one bag of protein supplement for one person.. $50 provides one bag of food and one bag of dry goods for one person for a week. $100 provides a person with vitamin supplements or alternative health therapies for a month. $200 covers an emergency grant to an individual who is having trouble making rent, utility or grocery payments. $500 will buy a used wheelchair. There are four routes this year, all starting and finishing at Ceperly Park on Second Beach. For more information on the Walk, call the AIDS Walk office at 681-2122, extension 254. GET INVOLVED! A Fund Raising Walk in Support of the BC Persons With AIDS Society Sunday, September 25, 1994 Stanley Park Call 681-2122 to volunteer (ext. 247) or register (ext. 254).