month. P4 Dance for Diwali The annual Hindu festival is celebrated across Vancouver this PRODUCED BY LAg® more time misconduct appeals. P3 Students need College extends deadline for a special ingredient. langaravoice.ca Nutritious crickets Students try a new protein bar with ! "GM STUDENTS | WWW.LANGARAVOICE.CA Falcons legacy keeps jersey No. 9 pages ADAM LEVI PHOTO Students pay for cutbacks Colleges 49th anniversary inspires socialist club to mobilize By KIRSTEN CLARKE ublic funding covered up to 90 per cent of the op- erating costs of colleges in the 1970s, but today only one-third of Langara’s costs are covered by provincial grants, with students footing the bill, said the head of Langara’s international so- cialists club. On Oct. 24, the club held a fo- rum to discuss the sharp decline in public funding for educational institutions. The club’s research into Langara’s revenue showed that tuition fees per course have tripled in cost for domestic students, said Bradley Hughes, head of the club and department chair for physics and astronomy. For international students, that cost is 20 times its 1970 equivalent. As public funding has decreased across the province, colleges such as Langara have had to recoup rev- enue from other sources, Hughes said. “It’s coming from tuition fees and overwhelmingly from inter- national students’ tuition fees,” Hughes said. International stu- dents make up about one-third of Langara’s student population but pay three-quarters of the total tu- ition fees collected by the college. ‘The high level of private fund- ing on campus is also a concern for club members. Private donors could begin to influence spend- ing on campus and within depart- ments, Hughes said. Provincial grants covered 90 per cent of Langara's costs in 1970, compared to 30 per cent in 2018. The club is working to draw at- tention to these issues now that Langara is celebrating its 49 an- niversary, which the club believes is being used primarily as a vehicle for fundraising from private do- nors. “It’s great to celebrate how much we've done, but it’s also really im- portant to call out the university when administrators are very com- placent in not fighting for more public funding,” said club member Kiren Aujla. Aujla believes that education Instructors wages have decreased three per cent in the last 49 years. should be more accessible for stu- dents, who should not be on the hook for the majority of the col- lege’s revenue. First year student Tony Alama believes that high domestic and in- ternational tuition costs affect stu- dents’ quality of life, leaving little money left over to pay for housing or basic necessities. He questions how students can become healthy, productive citizens in the future if they are currently stressed and forced to severely limit what they spend on essentials. A course at Langara in 1970 cost $20. The cost of books have increased 82 per cent in the last 49 years. NOV. 1, 2018 * VOL. 50 NO. 4* VANCOUVER, B.C. Culture hub will rebuild French institution in Vancouver rallies to rezone By KATHRYN TINDALE lliance Francaise, one of case, Vancouver's oldest non- profit organizations, is ad- vocating to rezone and rebuild their Cambie Street headquarters. Executive director Damien Hu- bert says it’s time for a new start to support the organization’s growth. With more students enrolling, they require larger classrooms and hope to incorporate a performance space and art gallery. The city of Vancouver is review- ing the proposal under the Cambie Corridor Plan, but a decision might be a year away. “We hope they get a sense of what we're doing, and what we bring to the community,” Hubert said. Hubert believes the Alliance’s mission of supporting French lan- guage and culture benefits more than Vancouver’s network of French speakers. “The people that come to Al- liance Francaise usually are non- French speakers, so it’s really having a point of exchange,” Hubert said. Marie-Odile Marceau, architect of the potential redesign, hopes the new building will connect lan- guage communities while making a unique architectural statement. She says they'll aim for spaces “as luminous and as feel good as pos- sible.” The Alliance has operated at their Cambie Street location for 60 years. The building needs earthquake- proofing and expansions that would compromise the current parking lot. According to Bruno Gervés, a director on the board, rezoning is more cost-efficient than improving the current building. “Do we spend millions to reno- vate what we have, which is too small, or do we rebuild?” Gervés asked at a rezoning open house. Alexandre McCloud, an archi- tect, describes the new building as a “cultural hub” for younger genera- tions. The proposal will expand the learning space, McCloud said, and will also make a statement on the growing needs and presence of the French community.