ye ee
o

   

 

‘News Shorts

By Kristina Mameli, News Editor

Devastation in Haiti

Upwards of 200,000 people are
presumed dead by Haitian officials
following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake
early last week. The quake that struck
Port-au-Prince has left much of the
city without basic necessities as other
countries rush to offer aid. At the time
of this writing six Canadians are dead
as 800 Canadian troops are deployed to
the region to offer help.

Donations to aid in disaster relief
are pouring in as businesses, celebrities
and everyday people offer support.
Further donations can be sent to
organizations such as UNICEF, World
Vision and the Canadian Red Cross.

East Van cross illuminates
downtown eastside

A new art installation that holds
considerable nostalgia for many
Vancouverites can be found gracing our
skyline as of last week, illuminated at
night by white LED lights.

The East Van Cross is an insignia
first though to have been associated
with a 1950s gang. It has now evolved
into a common symbol of East Van that
often adorns everything from clothing
to the very skin of its citizens. The logo
itself has become somewhat iconic, and
the sign is expected to follow suit.

The cross stands at the corner
of East Sixth and Clark Drive near
the VCC-Clark SkyTrain station,
overlooking False Creek. The structure
was two years in the making after artist
Ken Lum won a $250,000 budget to
build it as part of Vancouver’s public
art initiatives. The 55-foot piece is _
made of steel and concrete, plastic
and aluminum. The piece is called
“Monument for East Vancouver.”

 

 

One Pass Now making headway in 2010

Group looks forward to further meetings with transportation minister

 

      

Kristina Mameli

news editor

t the start of the fall 2009 semester, the Douglas

Av Students’ Union joined forces with UBC’s
Ima Mater Society and the student unions of

Emily Carr and VCC to demand that Premier Gordon
Campbell make good on a campaign promise to deliver a
universal U-Pass for
over 100,000 Metro
Vancouver students.
The campaign used
social media such
as texting, email,
Facebook, YouTube
and Twitter to relay
their message to
students. The overall goal of the campaign was and still is a
$25 per month U-Pass for all post secondary students in the
city.

The campaign made significant headway in October
when over 700 students gathered in Victory Square to raise
awareness of the cause. As a result, October 21 was declared
U-Pass day in Vancouver by Vancouver City Councillor
Geoff Meggs on behalf of Mayor Gregor Robertson. This
was seen as an extremely positive step.

“The rally went really well,” Priscilla Bartleman,
external relations coordinator for the DSU and champion
of the campaign told The Other Press. “We did have a
meeting with the minister of transportation [Shirley Bond]
and we had an opportunity to give feedback of what out

vision is, and what our goals are coming from the student
perspective.”

Bartleman added that Bond is working to have an
answer by the end of the school year. “From that meeting,
we're going to have another meeting coming up shortly,”
said Bartleman. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

And as for that rigid $25 goal?

“Tn the minister’s words: they want to stay as close to
our $25 ask as possible,” said Bartleman. “You could take
that any way you want to.”

Bartleman doesn’t see the changes currently effecting
TransLink as Vancouver approaches the Olympics altering
that figure drastically. “I think that it could be perceived

to affect the
bottom line...I

“In the minister’s words: they want to stay as close to our $25 ™ean there
ask as possible. You could take that any way you want to.”
—Priscilla Bartleman, DSU external relations coordinator

are certain
economical
factors that
people could
say are
hindering the progress of us getting a U-Pass, but I think
that with the proper changes and adjustments and following
through with a promise it won’t be much further than it
should be.”

At least, as Bartleman said, that’s the goal for Douglas
students. “If we see it, I'll be happy; if we don’t, then we
tried.”

There are currently no more rallies planned as the
semester continues and the issue unfolds. “I think that our
main goal for the rest of the semester is keeping our contact
with the government and keeping the awareness up; just
trying to let students know that we don’t have this, and this
is what we’re doing to change it,” said Bartleman. “We’re
very fortunate as this rep committee to be able to be in a
position where we can take action.”