A Students stress as strike goes into full-swing » Pressure mounts as three-day bus shutdown threatens student’s final week Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief n November 20, Coast Mountain Bus Company announced that a three-day complete bus and SeaBus system shutdown will likely be occurring from November 27 to 2g—this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Douglas College has released an official statement and answered frequently asked questions for students concerned about the strike. Many students are worried about this shutdown because it will be happening during the most pivotal time of the semester—the final week of fall classes. During this time, fal assignments are due and final tests will be held. Students, staff, and faculty are still expected to show up to class and work, but those unable to make it to campus because of the bus strike are recommended to find alternative means of transportation. The college website says faculty are expected to show compassion for students arriving late as a result of the strike. According to the college website, as of right now no classes will be cancelled because of the strike, but the college will be checking in on the strike progress and reassess should further action need to be taken. The college recommends finding friends or other students who drive to school to carpool or search for other means of transportation, such as car-share services, or biking if you are close enough to the school. Douglas offers secured bike parking facilities, but students must sign-up in advance by filling out a user agreement and presenting it with student ID at the college bookstore. The college also encourages students to check the website or to follow their social media accounts for updates. Have an idea for a story? Mi news@theotherpress.ca Those who do end up using a car- sharing service to get to school are warned that the New Westminster campus does not have enough parking spots for everyone, should the strike action proceed. Students should try to fill their cars with other New West campus students. The union demands include better working conditions, more and longer bathroom and eating breaks, and more pay for bus drivers. Unifor is currently ¢ Health Canada experiencing a drug shortage ¢ Douglas warns against scammers ¢ Dogs with jobs ..and more asking for more than a 15 percent pay increase formed over four years for drivers and a nearly 17 percent increase over four years for maintenance workers. The Coast Mountain Bus Company has offered an almost 10 percent increase for drivers and 12 percent for maintenance workers, according to the Vancouver Sun. As per an article by the Daily Hive, as of February 2019 bus driver training wage (first 30 days) starts at $22.83 per hour and goes up to $32.61 per hour after one year of employment, or more than $67,000 annually. Bus drivers also receive pension plans, medical and dental benefits, and paid vacation. Ben Murphy, TransLink spokesperson, says this strike action is unnecessary and will have a “devastating impact on this region.” He goes onto say, “We condemn this action by the union, and we urge them to return to the bargaining table with more reasonable wage demands.” Trouble may be on the way for SkyTrain users as well. CUPE 7000, the union that represents 900 Expo and Millennium line SkyTrain workers, say that workers will be holding a strike vote this week with results expected this Thursday. Douglas warns against scammers » RCMP echoes warning for College students Atiba Nelson Staff Reporter I early November Douglas College, via their news and media notification page, warned students that Douglas does not accept Bitcoin. According to the paragraph summarizing the news release, Douglas states that telephone scams are on the rise and reminded students that the College would never request personal or financial information over the telephone. The news release links to a Coquitlam Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) news advisory where the RCMP further elucidate the increase in telephone scams in Coquitlam. “You might be surprised to learn that the most common victims [of scams] are college-age, new Canadians, and elderly people of all backgrounds. As a community, we need to inform and protect our most vulnerable,” said Corporal Michael McLaughlin with the Coquitlam RCMP via the website news advisory. The RCMP also documents that over a two-month period, 14 cases of telephone fraud have occurred—totaling over $66,000 dollars. Douglas is one of the largest public colleges in BC, and as such the College has one of the largest international student populations in the province. According to the Douglas College ‘Quick Facts At A Glance’ document, available on the College's website, approximately 17 percent (4,210) of Douglas’ 24,801 enrolled students were International students in the 2017 to 2018 academic year—the last year that enrollment statistics are available. As such, Douglas has a large percentage of individuals commonly victimized by scams: college students and new Canadians. The online security company, McAfee, reports that 33 percent of Canadians have lost more than $500 dollars in online scams in 2019, with scams expected to rise close to the upcoming holiday season. Currently, the Government of Canada’s Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre states that the newest telephone scam targeting Canadians is the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) scam where a caller (or recorded message) claims that the recipient owes the CRA money and will be arrested, sued, fined, or deported, if payment is not rendered. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) and the RCMP claim that the easiest way to avoid this scam and other Ss similar ones is to simply hang-up and report the incident to Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or through the CAFC website. Additionally, for individuals wanting to protect themselves against scams, the \ Competition Bureau of Canada produces The Little Black Book of Scams in several languages, detailing prospective scams in many domains including health, medicine, and subscriptions. Illustration by Athena Little