DSU Looks for New Digs Brandon Ferguson, News Editor The College Student Union (DSU) is in the preliminary stages of planning for a new stu- dent union building (SUB), one that would become the envy of North American campuses and offer more amenities than you could shake a stick at. “We want the students to have a bigger and better student union building,” Finance and Services Coordinator Joey Hansen said from the bowels of the current building, “We hope to have the largest SUB in North America, one that offers a restaurant or pub, food court, more study and club space, offices for the DSU, and low-rent housing,” The current SUB is located at the back end of campus off of 7th Street—the sphincter of Douglas College, if you will. Though the DSU is still in discussions with architects and the city over zoning regulations and possible locations, any new building may need to be located off-campus towards the front end of the college. “It may be off the college, but it will be conve- niently located,” Hansen said. Douglas Convenient, as in: not climbing an Everest of stairs to get to it con- venient. With the recent addition of 1500 new seats to Douglas College, the shape and size of the New Westminster campus may be chang- ing. The College has purchased the land on the corner of 8th Street and Royal Avenue where the Fire Hall used to stand, and they may eventu- ally use it for another addition. Recently, 5th and 6th floors were added to the main campus, giving us those nice new-car smelling labs. Over the next few years DC could start looking like it’s on The Swan— creative architecture and separate structures may become staples of the face-lifted post-secondary facili- ty. So quit yer bitching if any new SUB is slightly off-campus. The plans are in the preliminary stages, but student involvement will become more necessary as the process progresses. The DSU will hold a referendum later this semes- ter so students can vote on any increase to student fees that the SUB plans may require. HH Funding for the initiation of this project is mostly covered through moneys that those squirrelly student representatives have stashed away through, surprisingly enough, good money management. The current SUB, which is owned by the DSU (though the land beneath it is not), may be sold and used for office or classroom space. Any new SUB would be a uniquely independent venture on the DSU’s part. “It'll be the only SUB in BC where the students own the land and the building,’ Hansen said. “This is not a plan that would work at most other campuses, but the neighbourhood is laid out in a way that offers us this opportunity.” The new SUB would remain true to DC’s architectural design with i" Hd strong brick facades and shaded windows—everything except the leaky concourse roof. A formal announcement will be made in coming weeks, and as plans progress student involvement will be more and more necessary. Because, after all, we as students are the real student union, right? Feel that power coursing through your veins? Me neither. But we could be getting a pub here people, and isn’t that what really matters? If you want to know more about these happenings, please go harass your student reps in the SUB, up the mountain of steps and down the labyrinth of stairways. And maybe visit a pub night or two while you’re at it. You know where I'll be. Lahatt's Workers Black and Blue Brandon Ferguson, News Editor One of the last trademark buildings of the Royal City has fallen to consumerism and capitalism, as the Labatt’s Brewery on Columbia Street will be closed on April 21, 2005. The real tragedy here is the loss of 180 jobs, but New Westminster is also losing a historical artifact: Labatt’s purchased the century-old brewery from Lucky Lager in 1958. “The decision to close the brewery was extremely difficult for all involved,” said presi- dent of Labatt Breweries of Canada, Stewart Gilliland. The decision was made in order to remain competitive nationally by reducing pro- duction locally. Labatt spokesperson, Neil Sweeney, told the New Westminster Record: “We have the ability to produce a lot more beer than tions redundant. in their mouths. we need to.” As if such a thing were possible. News of the closure devastated the employees i | OUNEPPPeSSs aa who learned of their fate at an early morning meeting. They will work through their contracts until the brew- ery is closed early next year, making their jobs a heart-breaking test of emotional endurance. A new line of canning in Creston and an expanded Budweiser line in Edmonton have made the New Westminster opera- This closure has done for 180 local workers what Labatt’s has consistently done to con- sumers for years: left a terribly bitter taste SEPwEMbeF §=ae/ao