news // no. 4

theotherpress.ca

New West campus gets another upgrade

» Newly renovated enrolment services is now a one-stop shop

Jessica Berget
Assistant Editor

 

hile the college remains relatively

empty with few students walking
its halls, many can look forward to seeing
the newly renovated New West campus
enrolment services when in-person classes

start up again.

The $10.5 million upgrade to the
college’s enrolment office which started
last fall will now be a hub for all students
including services from financial
aid, counseling, accessibility, career
services, and student recruitment. The
25,000-square-foot area will now include

a welcoming floorplan, new furniture (like
softer seats for those long study sessions),
custom millwork, and self-service kiosks.
There is also a testing centre where
students doing assessment testing can
write their exams in the newly dedicated
space. The test centre will be able to hold
up to 20 students and has individual exam

 

Photo by Billy Bui

writing stations and other aspects to help
maintain academic integrity, according to
the Douglas College website. Funding for
this project was due in part by the province
of British Columbia (who donated $2
million) and the college’s capital reserve
(consisting of $8.5 million).

This is the second major renovation of
the college; at the beginning of the year, the
college opened its doors to the four-million
dollar library renovation. The enrolment
services renovation follows the college's
goal of making accessible and responsive
learning environments for students, which
is part of their 2020 to 2025 strategic plan.
It was also designed to ensure there was
a convenient space for all the needed
resources to aid current and prospective
students in using these services. The
space was designed in mind of increasing
visibility and easier access to these services.

Douglas College President Kathy
Denton expands further on these
responsive and easily accessible learning
environments and how it helps students.
“The continuous enhancements being
made to our facilities enable Douglas
College to meet the needs of students now
and for years to come,” said Denton. “By
creating a learning environment that is
adaptive, responsive, and forward-looking,
we support our goal of graduating resilient
global citizens with the knowledge and
skills to adapt, innovate, and lead ina
changing world.”

Did Trump call all Mexicans ‘rapists’?

» Fact-checking a popular claim

Timothy Easling
Senior Columnist

 

t’s been commonly accepted in
mainstream media that Donald Trump
referred to all Mexicans as “rapists” during

his 2016 presidential bid. Joe Biden and
Kamala Harris have both made reference
to the quote in recent months and many
outlets continue to do so—regardless of
whether it is a neutral or anti-Trump piece.
The quote commonly referenced is this
section: “When Mexico sends its people,
they're not sending their best. They're not
sending you *pointing to the audience*.
They're not sending you *pointing again’.
They're sending people that have lots
of problems, and they're bringing those
problems to us. They’re bringing drugs.
They're bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

Unfortunately, this is generally where
most outlets stop. The very next line is:
“And some, I assume, are good people!”
However, the important context comes as
Trump continued: “It’s coming from more
than Mexico. It’s coming from all over
South and Latin America, and it’s coming
probably from the Middle East. But we
don't know. Because we have no protection
and we have no competence, we don’t know
what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and
it’s got to stop fast.”

As is obvious when more of the text

is revealed, Trump was referring to illegal
immigrants who commit crimes—not
Mexicans in general. Trump was not even
referring just to Mexico, but rather, all the
crime that was entering the country and
the USA's poor handling of the situation—
something he later clarified: “The United
States has become a dumping ground for
Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts

of the world. On the other hand, many
fabulous people come in from Mexico and
our country is better for it. But these people
are here legally, and are severely hurt by
those coming in illegally. Iam proud to say
that I know many hard working Mexicans—
many of them are working for and with me...
and, just like our country, my organization
is better for it.”

Asa note, the concern about incoming
crime is well-founded based on the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Fiscal Year 2019 Enforcement and Removal
Operations Report. Assault—number
four on the list of Criminal Charges and
Convictions for ERO Administrative
Arrests—accounted for 45,804 total
offences. There are 28 other criminal
categories listed by the report, including
sexual assault, weapon offences, larceny,
homicide, and kidnapping.

Have something you want fact-checked?
Send it in to us at news@theotherpress.ca!

 

Illustration by Anastasia Simonovich