Cuban Five.....................3 Inside look The Cuban Consolate General is coming to Langara this Saturday to speak about the five Cuban men who have been imprisoned in the U.S. since 1998.
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Tech world...................................4 See what’s new in the world of electronics
Winning art..................................7 Langara grad won $25 thousand dollars in RBC Canadian Painting Competition
the oice
produced by langara journalism students
Arrest awaits suspected thief
Check us out online at langaravoice.com This week look for special features on the Occupy Vancouver meeting, top ten things about Fall, and what’s new in Fall fashion
october 13, 2011 • Vol. 44 no. 2 • vancouver, b.c.
Security apprehended Langara’s suspected thief and said if he is found on campus again, he will be arrested By Shawn Gill
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he man suspected by Langara security of a string of recent thefts is thought to be the same person they hold responsible for 10 to 15 campus thefts last March. Security will attempt to apprehend and hold him for arrest by Vancouver Police under the Trespass Act should he again be seen on campus. Security has compiled a file that catalogues the suspect’s on-campus activities dating back to last spring. “There may be enough evidence in some of those cases and some of those statements to proceed with theft under $5,000 charges,” said building manager Mel Fearman. “If we get continued activity from him next week, we’ll be posting his picture campus-wide.” Security chased the suspect off campus several times last week. Pictures taken by journalism student Jared Gnam, show the suspect to be a black man in his mid-twenties, wearing a Yankees cap and dark baggy clothing.
On that afternoon, journalism students and instructors had a close encounter with the suspect. While working in the newsroom, students saw him peering through the doorway. Journalism student Anne Watson recognized him from a photo security had shown her and her classmates earlier in the week, and whispered to her colleagues, “That’s the guy.” Gene Keith, journalism instructional assistant, called security to report the whereabouts of the suspect. The suspect quickly left the department and headed for the exit at the building’s northeast corner. Langara campus security apprehended him as he left. He resisted as security attempted to check his backpack. According to Fearman, security told the suspect that he is banned from campus and that if he returns he will be arrested under the Trespass Act. Security asks that students who see the suspect should not approach him or attempt to apprehend him, but call security at 4444.
JARED GNAM photo
Ray Kennedy from campus security (left) asks to check the backpack of a man whom security officials banned from campus during their ongoing investigation of a rash of thefts at Langara.
Say goodbye to plastic, LSU to implement a bottle ban in SUB The LSU wants to stop selling plastic water bottles in the student union building to help the environment By ALEXANDRA GRANT
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lastic water bottles may soon disappear from the Langara students’ union building if the first phase of a bottle ban is successful. The first step is to make LSU-funded events water bottle free. LSU board member at large Eli Zbar said that the union will gauge students’ reactions to the ban and adjust its development accordingly. By starting small we can foster a community that embraces environmental action,” said Zbar. “We’re just doing this to test the waters and get a feel for how students react.” If students’ reactions are positive, the union’s next step will be to stop selling water bottles in the SUB. Zbar said that the union would like Printed on recycled paper
ALEXANDRA GRANT photo
To be greener, the LSU is ridding the SUB of plastic water bottles to eventually develop a “two-pronged” approach, focusing on not only the SUB but also the college itself. Jay Strachan, the Director of Facili-
ties and Purchasing at Langara, said that this is unlikely to happen. Though the LSU has the power to ban plastic water bottles in the independently operated SUB, banning them throughout the college is out of its scope of control. It would also have adverse effects for students, according to Strachan. “All the tins and bottles that are collected in the college, the revenue from that goes towards student bursaries,” he said. “If we put a ban on bottles, we reduce student bursaries.” Dietetics student Debbie Penner is supportive of the environmental initiative, but has concerns about the dietary implications of the ban. “I’d be more worried about pop, especially diet pop, rather than bottled water,” said Penner. “It should be anything in that plastic container if they consider banning bottles.” Zbar said the LSU will not ban pop because of sponsorship deals with soft drink vendors. “We can’t just get pop and everything banned because a lot of the revenue we get [comes] from pop,” he said.
LSU ponders online voting for elections The votes are in, but voter apathy has the LSU looking for ways to engage students By PATRICK JOHNSTON
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he Langara Students’ Union elections committee is considering moving to an online voting system after another poor voter turnout for the LSU elections last week. Just two percent of eligible voters cast ballots. “We expect [online voting] would increase turnout but there is concern about paper trail and security,” said LSU elections committee member Rebecca Ha. Online voting allows for candidate profiles, positions and issues to be conveniently linked to the voting platform, UBC political science professor Fred Cutler said. Since so many students already spend so much time online, switching to such a system makes sense, he continued. “If they can inform themselves and vote in half an hour, then they are more
See ONLINE VOTE, page 2
ELECTION results
female Board of governor Anh Lu
Male board of governor Muneori Otaka
DISABILITY LIASON Ryan Hill
MALE EDUCATION COUNCIL REP Kai Kui Chen
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS COORDINATOR Candy Tran
NATIVE LIASON Ryan Erwin
QUEER LIASON Sonja Sandberg
WOMEN’S LIASON Gunkirat Randhawa
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