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Survivors of fatal accident sue Mi Joo Tour and Travel

Driver suspected to have exceeded weekly commercial driving limit

By Anne Marie Abraham, Contributor

| 4 young-Sen Kang, the guardian of two Tacoma-

based exchange students who survived a bus crash in Oregon on December 30, is looking to sue the Coquitlam-based Mi Joo Tour & Travel, deeming

the agency responsible for

the injuries sustained by

the teenage South Korean

boys living with him.

A Canadian couple that survived the crash and is suf- fering from injuries due to the accident is also filing a lawsuit against Mi Joo Tour and Travel Ltd. They allege that the driver did not get enough sleep and that the bus was mechanically defective with inadequate windshield wipers and head- lights and inappropriate tires for the weather conditions.

Requests for comment from Mi Joo were responded with referral to the agency’s lawyers.

Six international students studying at an ESL school in downtown Vancouver were also present on the bus. Two from the group of friends sustained terrible injuries. Despite the traumatic experience, they said that they want to continue

their studies. After experi- encing the bus crash through the guardrail at Interstate 84 and falling down a 200-foot embankment, the students were wary about taking another bus to return to Vancouver. When the manager at Legacy Ford Lincoln, Roger Barnes, heard of their predica- ment, he provided SUVs with experienced drivers to take the survivors back to Vancouver. “They know we had an accident so they drive safely,” Seokwon Kang, one of the international students, said. Nine passengers were killed and 38 were injured in the acci- dent. The surviving passengers alleged that the driver of the bus, Haeng Kyu Hwang, had driven over 92 hours in eight days. The Deputy Director of the BC Ministry’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement branch, Perry Dennis, said that drivers are not to exceed 70 hours of driving within a week. An audit showed that the company did not have reports of pre-trip inspections for their six buses and that there were no records of monitoring the hourly service of the drivers. The passengers also claimed that despite several signs warning of dangerous road conditions, Hwang continued to drive too fast on the icy roads. The lawyer representing the bus company, Mark Scheer, said that there is a history of accidents

Douglas enrollment on

Winter enrollment up five per cent from last year

By Dylan Hackett, News Editor

he enrollment levels for

the winter semester are up by five per cent from 2012, according to data released from the registrar’s office. This semester there are over 10,000 domestic students and between 1,100 to 1,200 international students studying at Douglas College. Although enrollment levels are down from the fall semester, Dave Taylor, Marketing and Communications Director assured that this is a usual trend.

“We usually see a very small drop from fall semester into winter semester because some programs end in the winter and also because a lot of people like starting their school year in September, and then you have a bit of attrition in the process,” explained Taylor. “Some people start their program and don’t

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finish it. They take a break or take one or two courses and go to work.”

There haven’t been major shifts in what programs and areas of study are most popular at Douglas, with the Bachelor of

Oregon police investigate what could have caused the fatal accident

in the area where the bus crashed. The strip of highway is known as Deadman Pass. “You exhibited a careless or reckless disregard for the safety of yourself, your passengers, and the general public,” the US Department of

Nursing program maintaining its very high application and enrollment level.

“All of our health sciences [programs] are very popular including animal health technology,” said Taylor. “We have a lot of people studying in humanities and social sciences. Psychology, sociology, and

criminology are very popular. A lot of our programs are full but we try to add extra seating for students because this is probably record enrollment for this time of year ever. We're still looking at continuing growth.”

Transportation said to Hwang. Mi Joo has been banned from driving in the US and is suspended from operating buses in Canada. The suspension will be lifted if the company can prove that they can meet the safety requirements outlined

a Steady incline

Douglas’ recent “Do” ad campaign featuring student stories, career paths, and area of studies have been conspicuous throughout SkyTrain cars and stations. The Marketing and Communications office feels that the ads of been successful, with lots of anecdotal feedback being positive.

We have a lot of people studying in humanities and social sciences. Psychology, sociology, and criminology are very popular.

“We've been working on [the ads] throughout the fall. We really wanted to focus on our own students and their successes, challenges, and what they’re working on,” explained Taylor. “That's been the focus.”

Photo courtesy of Oregon State Police/AP

in the Motor Vehicle Act.

“If we are satisfied that they have plans in place and they are safe to go back into operation, they will. And then we will continue to monitor them very closely,” Dennis reassured.

“We're finding more and more people are learning about Douglas College. We've been a sleeping giant in the community for a long time because we have a huge scope of courses people can take but we found through research that there was a disconnect,” said Taylor. “People didn’t realize that Douglas College had as many offerings as we do. That’s one of the things we've been trying to get out. We have a vast variety of opportunities for students and the quality of education is extremely high.”

Taylor also explained the benefits of a better-educated populace. Canada is the most educated country in the world with 50 per cent of the population having a post- secondary degree.