Info sessions on studying abroad By Maria Asselin-Roy, Staff Reporter College is offering a variety of interesting places to explore and study as a part of your learning experience. This summer there are field schools in the following countries: Australia, Belize, China, Hungary, and Wales. Each country offers different courses, depending on what you are majoring in. For interested students, information sessions are being held in the next week. For each destination, students will earn nine credits in two months. (Half a semester) For Australia, there will be an info session in New West on January 26 at I: the summer of 2011, Douglas 4pm in room 4308 and David Lam on January 27 at 2:30pm in room C1017. This is ideal if you are majoring in marketing or economics. For Belize, info sessions will be held at New West on January 24 at 4pm in room 1620 and at David Lam the following day at 4:30pm in room A2070. Most students applying to this are anthropology, geography, or sociology majors. For the China field school, the information session has already passed. However, last minute students can contact Beth de Beer or other program directors by the Douglas College website. Hungary is viewed as an excellent choice for sports science majors. It is the least expensive out of the field schools and students get a great experience. Wales is ideal for English majors. Hungary and Wales have also already had their info sessions, however contact information for both of these programs can also be found via the college website. x Earthquake drill this Wednesday By Maria Asselin-Roy, Staff Reporter n Wednesday, January 26 there QO: be an earthquake drill at about 10:05am. This will be the largest earthquake drill in history. It’s actually called “The Great British Columbia Shake Out” and has been planned for quite some time. The purpose of the drill is the same as all earthquake and fire drills: to ensure that our college is aware of the procedures needed in the event of an earthquake, because we live in a major earthquake zone. At 10:05 am, you will hear an - announcement stating “Drop, cover, and hold on.” The drill will only be 60 seconds long, so not to worry, it will not disrupt your schedule by having you leave the college. The college wants to practice students’ reaction time when it comes to these drills. Thousands of institutions and workplaces will be participating in the drill. It is being held on this particular day because it is the anniversary of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off of the Cascadia subduction zone. After the drill, you can actually visit the concourse or the atrium from 12-3 to provide feedback to the staff and enter to win prizes. For more information on this drill, check out www. shakeoutbc.ca. Worst avalanche season in 30 years wreaks havoc in B.C. By Kate Hunt he Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC) issued a special avalanche warning Thursday for south and central B.C. after a string of incidents throughout January. So far three deaths have resulted from avalanches in the region, along with injuries, highway closures and widespread worry for backcountry enthusiasts. On January 15, two brothers from Calgary were killed by an avalanche in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, in Kananaskis Country. That same day, a young male skier was injured in a Fernie, B.C. slide that struck seven and carried four people over 300 metres. “They were all buried up to their necks,” says Fernie ski coach Mark Deneau. “Only their faces were visible.” The next day, the trend continued, as an Alberta man fell victim to an avalanche in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, just north of Nelson. The man was part of a group of 15 skiers from B.C. and Alberta. His companions were able to dig him out and perform CPR, but the head trauma caused by the slide was too severe. The CAC attributes the extreme avalanche conditions to weak layers of snow beneath the much denser snow pack, a configuration caused by extreme temperature fluctuations. The instability inherent in this structure is thought to be at the root of reportedly the worst avalanche season in 30 years. The avalanche conditions have necessitated many highway closures throughout B.C., including Highways 31, 31-A, 23 and 97, as well as portions of the Trans-Canada Highway. In one notable case, the only highway access to Field, B.C., was shut for five days, causing the town’s grocery store to run out of basic supplies. The highway reopened on January 18. In a move toward increased awareness of avalanche safety, new signage has been erected throughout the province reminding snowmobilers and other outdoors people to check avalanche conditions regularly online or by phone. Further, the CAC and other emergency workers are urging British Columbians to stay inbounds and be prepared with avalanche beacons and other such survival supplies. Ashley Hill, President of the Douglas College Ski and Snowboard Club, seconds these warnings. “I advise any riders to take extra precaution this season by staying away from the backcountry trails and...rid[ing] with a buddy,” Hill says. “I feel that it is my obligation to provide students with enough information to ensure they’re safe on the mountains.” As for her personal winter plans, she says the risks will not “deter [her] from hitting the slopes” — inbounds, of course. You can check up-to-date avalanche conditions at www.avalanche.ca. To learn more about the Douglas College Ski and Snowboard Club, visit their website at www.douglasskiandboard.com. Proposed smoking ban in private homes Is this the next step in making BC smoke free? By Jessica Hewitt he obvious dangers to inhaling [scan cigarette smoke can’t be denied. According to Rose Marie Borutski, representative of People United for Smoke-free Housing (PUSH) says “The evidence is clear, second-hand smoke kills.” Even more shocking, she says “our hair, saliva, blood, urine, even newborn babies born to non-smoking mothers, show nicotine.” For those of us living in a home or apartment complex, this means protecting non-smokers from the dangerous second-hand smoke from neighbours. There seems to be no safeguard against protecting oneself from the harms of second hand smoke in a home. PUSH members are working hard to begin the process of legislation in private homes because complaints about smoking against neighbours are not being heard. According to reports, 85% of BC residents are non-smokers and Borutski argues that there is no legislation to protect the majority of the population. More buildings are suddenly become smoke-free, including individual units, as enforced by the Strata. However, this raises issues for those people who are already living in the building. You cannot ask those who are smoking in the suites to move out or quit smoking. A change of this degree would have severe pushback from its residents, without the backing of the government through legislation. In 2008, The Greater Vancouver Housing Corporation designated certain units smoke-free at Heather Place, an 86 unit building near Vancouver General Hospital. New tenants were required to sign a tenancy agreement that prohibited smoking in the suite and on common property. Certain areas of the building were made smokeless and existing tenants remained in the building and were allowed to keep smoking in their private suites. Harsh criticism has erupted on blogs and comments on online forums are comparing the BC government to fascists. Further, people argue that allowing groups to determine what BC residents can do in their own home is being interpreted as the next step to the prohibition of tobacco. One article, appearing in the editorial section of The Province writes, “Former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau once famously declared that ‘there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.’ There’s also no place for the state in the ashtrays of our homes.”