News Shorts _ By Kristina Mameli Big Sisters information session

On Thursday, April 8, from 7-8 p.m. at the Big Sisters House (34 East 12" Avenue, Vancouver), women age 19 and over who are interested in becoming Big Sisters mentors are invited to attend an information session.

Big Sisters mentor their Little Sisters by listening, having fun, being supportive and being

. afriend.

“For any women who are considering making this contribution in your life, you’re already part way there. Embrace it, and I can assure you the experience will be fun, rewarding and possibly even life-changing. The results are momentous and important and are helping young girls (and women) become happier and more fulfilled every single day,” Big Sister Stephanie Hayes said in a press release. Hayes will host the session.

Registration is required for this event.

Please call 604.873.4525 ext. 300 or email info@

bigsisters.bc.ca to register.

Wind and rain plague Vancouver and the island

Strong gusts of wind between 60 and 80 kilometres an hour and sideways rain Friday certainly put a damper on the start of the Easter long weekend. This was some of the strongest wind to hit Vancouver and the surrounding area since similar storms in 2006, which notably wreaked havoc on trees in Stanley Park.

Lower Mainland residents were forced to deal with road closures, ferry cancellations and power outages. In fact, more than 100,000 people were left without power and Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge remained closed for hours as crews scrambled to clear the fallen trees.

BC Ferries was forced to cancel many of the 26 sailings added to meet the long weekend demand in response to the dangerous conditions.

Bus drivers suspended for using cell phones on the job It would seem that no one is immune to stringent laws forbidding the use of cell phones behind the wheel—especially bus drivers. According to TransLink authorities, at least 20 drivers are facing suspension pending an investigation into allegations of cell phone use while on the job. It’s interesting to note that these complaints come from passengers.

~The driver’s union has confirmed that five Metro Vancouver drivers have already been _ suspended and that as many as 15 more could soon face the same.

A memo has been issued to drivers reminding them of the cell phone laws implemented January 1 2010 and of TransLink’s policies. Day to day drivers could face fines of

up to $167 for cell phone usage under these laws,

TransLink drivers however, may be subject to

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_ toan iPods while driving.

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Student Research project reveals Douglas College student’s academic dishonesty tendencies

Tanya Colledge

ver 60 exhibitors came out last Tuesday to Douglas College’s New Westminster campus for the Second Annual Student Research

Day. Students from a variety

of faculties gathered in the gymnasium to present their exhibition posters and explain their research to fellow students, the college community and the community at large.

“We researched student behaviour and the perceptions of academic dishonesty, specifically at Douglas College,” said Robert Loxtercamp,

a Youth Justice diploma graduate and current general studies student. Along with

his research partner, David Guedes, a third-year psychology student, Loxtercamp “created

a survey with nine yes or no questions asking students about their behaviour in regards to

academic dishonesty and about their perceptions of what kind of issues exist at the college surrounding the subject,” he said.

The two students set up a booth in the concourse and offered free candy to anyone willing to participate and fill out their survey. “Our particular goal was to see if reading the Douglas College academic dishonesty

information that could perhaps reveal tendencies in age, year or area of study in regards to academic dishonesty.

“We wanted to ensure honest data, so we didn’t collect information about age, student number, race, year or area of study,” explained Guedes. “In some collectivist certain cultures, there isn’t a specific word for plagiarism. They are more favourable to use other people’s ideas because it shows you’re paying respect to other people.”

Robert Loxtercamp and David Guedes

Aside from keeping their data as honest and anonymous as possible, Loxtercamp and Guedes expressed that one of their biggest challenges with the project was fitting it in with all their other schoolwork.

“Research is really time-consuming,” said Loxtercamp, “it makes you respect the teachers that do research in their field on top of their teaching duties.

policy affected student It’s a huge amount of eae Fas acpi “In the end, reading the [academic dishonesty] geri sii they plagiarized,” said policy made a difference of 2.8 per cent, which is have-requited a lot Gesdes, “And what we quite minimal.” —David Guedes, whose research .. ,,, the aeuiente found is that it did, but team has found Douglas College’s academic value the data collected very minimally.” dishonesty policy generally ineffective throughout their research Their research as important information demonstrated that out of for Douglas College

117 participants, 51.3 per cent have read the college’s policy on academic dishonesty, and of those, 58.6 per cent still reported that they had plagiarized. Of those people who hadn’t read the policy, they found that 61.8 per cent of people had still plagiarized.

“In the end, reading the policy made a difference of 2.8 per cent, which is quite minimal,” Guedes said, explaining that the talk teachers give at the beginning of every semester on academic dishonesty doesn’t make much of a difference.

However, being such a sensitive subject, it was difficult for these students to collect specific

teachers and students.

“This is data and information that exists that people need to know. It’s information that affects students, teachers, and everyone who goes to Douglas College. Academic honesty relates to every part of the school and its process,” said Guedes. “It’s very real, very tangible, and relatable to everyone here.

It’s important for people to know not only what the numbers are but for future research, why they’re there, and what, as students and as a school, we can do to reduce that.”