Images provided by DSU SPOTLIGHT: Let it snow(board) > DSU Ski and Snowboard Club takes members to higher altitudes Aaron Guillen Staff Reporter ile rain flows abundantly in the Metro Vancouver area, the ambitions of winter athletes haven't washed away at Douglas. Michael Sam, the current President of the DSU Ski and Snowboard Club, wants fellow students to know that there is a place for snow-loving students like himself. “Living in an area of the world that has access to multiple mountains, why would there not be a club at Douglas where people can join and meet others who want to [enjoy the snow]?” Sam said. The snow-centric group prides itself for providing students a rare opportunity amongst fellow passionate individuals. Sam, alongside his leadership team of four, regularly plans trips up to nearby mountains, including Seymour Mountain, Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain, and Whistler Blackcomb Mountain. For a handful of years, the DSU Ski and Snowboard Club was inactive, but finally the club has seen leaders take position and a spiked interest during the current semester. Ashly Hill, founder and former president of the club saw that her initial passion for skiing and snowboarding created an avalanche of interest. “When I originally decided to begin the club [in 2011], it was primarily due to wanting to start something that was non-existent at Douglas College,” Hill said. “All the local universities such as SFU and UBC had existing ski and snowboard clubs and I knew it would become popular very fast. [Looking back], it was not as difficult to start as I had expected. The club was first established by myself and co-founder, Agatha Jiew.” During the months without snow, Sam plans to host club events to continue building the community of snow-lovers whether on a mountain or off. Hill, a continuing supporter of the club, noted that being part of such a club opens opportunities to a province-wide community. In addition, students are entitled to big savings with a student pass for several local mountains. Currently, the club doesn't have a set schedule for meetings, but intends to notify members of activities throughout the winter season through Facebook. On November 26, the club is expected to make their way to Seymour for their first trip of the season. Sam is confident that current and potential members’ skill levels will improve by the end of the day, and hopes that some new members will develop a passion for the snowy mountains. “Tam a part of the club because I have a passion for going up to the mountains [...] where there is beautiful scenery, which is exhilarating,” Sam said. “I continue to stay because I want to share my passion with others to experience them [as well]. This club has helped to develop my leadership experience. To someone thinking about joining the club, you'll learn about upcoming trips and events as well as meet new, friendly faces that you'll develop great connections with.” | —-———. eon n at mae so rake, 18 de Images provided by DSU DSU completes successful Week of Action > Campaign to pressure government pre-election Mercedes Deutscher News Editor or the last two weeks, the Douglas Student Union has been actively promoting the Squash the Squeeze Campaign, whether through tabling in the concourse or sending volunteers from classroom to classroom. Squash the Squeeze is a provincial campaign with four goals. The first is to increase core funding to post-secondary institutions, as funding has decreased in proportion to inflation since the late ’gos. The second goal is to freeze and reduce tuition fees, hopefully to the level it would be if it were not for inflation. When the BC Liberals took over the provincial government in 2001, they deregulated tuition fees. As a result, funding for institutions went down while tuition fees rose. Until a two per cent cap was placed on tuition fees, institutions had raised their tuition exponentially—some of which had even doubled their fees in the course of a year. The third goal is to bring back provincial grants for students. For the time being, grants are offered on the federal level, but not on a provincial level. The fourth goal is to remove interest on student loans. Tracy Ho, the college relations and membership outreach coordinator at the Douglas Students’ Union, explained that in order for the campaign to work, all of the goals need to be met to “bring the system of post- secondary education in BC back to a place where people can afford to go.” During the Week of Action, the DSU set a goal of getting 3,500 postcards signed—about 25 per cent of students on campus at any given time—and send them to the Minister of Advanced Education. In the first week, the DSU garnered 3,775 signatures for the campaign, surpassing their original goal. Organizers hope the arrival of these postcards will start to get BC politicians thinking about education reform in the province, especially leading up to the provincial election in May 2017. As well, DSU members will be meeting with local MLAs to further discuss the campaign. Come January and beyond, the DSU will be employing a similar campaign that they employed during the 2015 federal election, with the goal of getting more students registered to vote. Although it was originally only supposed to go for one week, Douglas instructors were so interested in the Week of Action that they invited DSU members to start more classroom discussions for an additional week. The DSU first became involved with the Squash the Squeeze campaign through its membership in the British Columbia Federation of Students. The Week of Action also served as a great volunteer opportunity for students who were looking to become more involved with the DSU, following a successful volunteer recruitment campaign back in mid-October.