We lost a legacy By Jessica Hewitt avid Lam, former B.C. lieutenant-governor, died of prostate cancer on Sunday, November 21 at the age of 87. Lam was the first Asian- Canadian lieutenant governor and a humanitarian who financed many projects, including Coquitlam’s Douglas College David Lam campus. In 1996, Lam and his wife Dorothy attended the opening of the Coquitlam campus. They were also remembered as huge supporters of post-secondary joint-venture programs in China. Douglas College President Scott McAlpine released a statement on November 23 describing Lam as “a great Canadian who worked tirelessly to promote education, social services and improve the immigrant experience.” Flags at both Douglas College campuses were at half-mast in honour of Lam. A Hong Kong native, Lam moved to Vancouver with his wife and three children in the late 1960s to pursue a successful real estate development career. He became a Canadian citizen in 1972 and lieutenant-governor in 1988, a position he held for seven years. : Lam was known for encouraging positive relationships between immigrants and Canadians. He wanted Canadians to accept new immigrants and often lectured new Chinese migrants to immerse themselves in Canadian society. He worked hard to appease the minds of BC residents of the term “Hongcouver,” when a flood of Chinese immigrants to Vancouver inflated the housing market. He was also a much-loved philanthropist, who helped fund the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival. wT In a public statement, Governor General David Johnston said “Mr. Lam quietly made his influence felt in society, supporting higher education and many charitable endeavours.” A ceremony was held on November 27, at the Richmond Funeral Home. Lam is survived by his three children and seven grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the BC Cancer Foundation, Far East Broadcasting Canada or the Living Word Chinese Baptist Church in Vancouver. Macleans Editors apologize for ‘Too Asian’ controversy By Sharon Miki n November 25, editors at () iin magazine issued an online apology in response to public reaction to an article entitled “Too Asian?” This controversial article, which appeared in the annual University Rankings issue, sparked a flurry of reaction among Canadians. Since publication of the original article, many people have voiced concern about the article’s lack of named sources and apparent racism. The article has garnered nearly 2,000 comments online, has been covered in publications across Canada and led to a symposium on anti-Asian racism at the University of British Columbia, also on November 25. The original article is still available online at Macleans.ca. It suggests that, on a whole, “Asian students work harder” than white students and are “strivers, high achievers and single-minded in their approach to university.” The article’s stated purpose is to discuss the Canadian merit-based admissions process. But much of the article. focuses on what authors Stephanie Findlay and Nicholas Kohler describe as Asian characteristics and self-segregation in Canadian post- secondary institutions. The 285 word response published on the Macleans website acknowledges the controversy over the original article’s headline and content. It also admitted that the Macleans \eadership “expected that it would be provocative, but we did not intend to cause offence.” In defence of the lack of named student sources (the original article quotes several students by first name only), the response asserts that the authors interviews a variety of sources, including “students, professors and administrators.” The response focuses on the merit-based aspects of the article instead of the racial issues at the centre of the controversy, as indicated by the article’s title, “Merit: the best and only way to decide who gets into university.” In conjunction with the original article, the Macleans response highlights how issues of race, regardless of which side is taken, continue to exist in Canadian post- secondary institutions. . NAD eee f \ THEBEST SCHOOLS INC What happens if we get snow during exams? By Kennedy Kierans A “Snow Day” might be a great thing if you’re a student , a day off in the middle of the semester, no excuses needed, but what if you’re responsible for the safety of thousands of students and hundreds of staff? For Terry Leonard, Director of Facilities, bad weather means some very long days. He monitors every possible source of weather-related information: Environment Canada, the Weather Network, radio reports, the TV news, police, Public Works crews, and more, starting at 4 am every day. Leonard is looking for indications that conditions are bad, or going to get bad. He is also looking for information about what other schools are doing. And that information needs to be in his hands early — if the college is going to shut down for the day, the decision is typically made by 5 or 6 am. “Douglas is a commuter college. Our students and staff come from as far away as West Vancouver and Chilliwack,” he notes. “If we’re going to shut down, we need to let people know early so that they don’t travel long distances in lousy weather for classes that have been cancelled.” November 25 started with less-than-ideal conditions. Still, bad as they were, they were not bad enough to shut things down. That changed in mid-afternoon. “The information I was getting showed that there was snow build-up on the roads, and the temperature had dropped farther than we anticipated.” The combination of wet roads and below-freezing temperatures equalled a potentially dangerous situation, especially with both campuses in hilly locations. Leonard pulled the plug at 2:30 pm. Snow days are, not surprisingly, rare occurrences here on the west coast (what the rest of BC calls the “wet coast”). Two years ago, what Leonard describes as a “bad year,” the college closed three or four times. And what if weather conditions forced a closure in the midst of the exam period? “Well, it’s never happened in all the time I’ve been here. We would do everything in our power, within the bounds of safety, to keep the college open,” says Leonard. It’s one of the only few times that students might prefer to not have a snow day.