Litestyies EDITOR JAKE COSTELLO THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011 5 By NICO HERNANDEZ dult-only mating events at the Vancouver Aquarium are prov- ing popular among millennials. After Hours is an evening event that lets people party in the aquarium, while learning about the mating habits of underwater animals. The theme of the March 10 event is Secret Sex Lives of Aquatic Animals, which teaches about the four different ways sharks reproduce, and features a special presentation from head veteri- narian Dr. Martin Haulena about ‘coral sex’ and otter love. “Tt’s not every day, or night, that you can drink a beer while watching the be- lugas glide by,” said event coordinator Amy Elvidge. She is the Vancouver Aquarium as- sistant marketing manager and is also a millennial. “These evenings provide people with an alternative to going out to dinner or a movie,” said Elvidge. The aquarium has held 16 After Hours event since it began in 2012, and Love is in the water Like salmon swimming to spawn, millennials lured to adult night at aquarium ‘BIG KID’ they will be hosting six more this year. Langara marketing instructor Jar- rett Brian Vaughan said that millenni- als like the event because it’s quirky and not something you’d expect some- where that’s normally a family friendly venue. Vaughan said the adults-only event is successful because it’s a social media playground that lets people party close to the animals. “Ultimately, people want to put something interesting on Instagram and Snapchat, or post on Facebook that will garner a lot of likes,” said Vaughan. “When millennials go to an event like this, they say: Hey, I’m going to have fun, this seems kind of interesting, I’ve never done this before.” Langara fine arts student Jonathan Pretty is intrigued, but not entirely convinced. “Animal reproduction is something that you don’t see every day, and it’s in- triguing,” said Pretty. He added that he would rather learn about animal reproduction in quieter setting. events SCIENCE WORLD AFTER DARK Every two months Science World opens its doors for an adults-only booze-fuelled science night EXIT HOLDINGS LTD. With four locations open in the Lower Mainland, Exit is a horror-themed escape room where patrons solve puzzles to escape Source: host websites Stunning photo opportunities are part of what draws millennials out to the aduits-only After Hours night at the Vancouver Aquarium. Jellyfishes sting = és [ieee 2 Mas] ALEXIS BROWN submitted photo Post grad options Path to career not cut and dry after graduation By JASON HAMILTON may entice potential students away from costly master’s programs, ac- cording to Stephanie Koonar, an assis- tant chair of the Langara School of Management. For students seeking practical work experience and unwilling to take on the debt that comes with a master’s de- gree, Langara has several post-degree options. Jaclyn MacKendrick, a_ recent Kwantlen Polytechnic University grad- uate, wants to be an international poli- cy advisor. Pursuing a master’s fol- lowed by a PhD is her only option. “T suspect it will cost me upwards of $80,000 by the time I’m finished my PhD,” she said. While Langara has cheapenalterna- tives, a post-degree diploma in market- ing. management will cost nearly $24,000%in tuition after*four terms, ac- cording to Koonar. She said the advan- tage of the program is that they offer a better student-teacher ratio and the in- structors have strong industry ties. I ower cost and smaller class sizes Going ‘gently into that good night’ Death Cafe hosts want people to feel open talking about dying | r E Death Cafe organizers Anneke Rees and Tom Esakin outside of the Vancouver Public Library. Lid By ROBERTO TEIXEIRA Vancouver and are forums that bring people, young and old, to- gether to talk about an experience all humans have in common, according to organizers and experts. Local organizers Anneke Rees and D:: Cafes are a growing trend in EI SS rr Tom Esakin say that while death might be a natural topic for the elderly, al- most a quarter of the people who came to the first Vancouver meeting were young. “For the younger people it was an op- portunity to put some thought into what that really means for them. When one embraces their mortality they ac- Pe so ~' Rh, ener ROBERTO TEIXEIRA photo tually learn to live life more fully,” said Esakin. Death Cafes are group-directed dis- cussions about death with no set agen- da or objectives. They began in London in 2011 and are gaining popularity in Vancouver. “A big part of the Death Cafe idea is that it helps you understand how im- portant it is to live every day as the last,” said Rees. They aim to create a safe place where people can gather in an informal way to eat cake, drink coffee and dis- cuss death. Death Cafe is a ‘social fran- chise’, meaning that people who follow the guidelines can use the name and create events around the world. For Rees and Esakin, death is a natu- ral thing and is not to be feared. Talking about death is important be- cause it’s an experience all will have, no matter our age, according to Simon Devereaux, history professor at the University of Victoria. “In the 20th century, death has be- come the all-but-exclusive preserve of the elderly,” said Devereaux, who teaches Death and the Afterlife in Eng- land, a history course at UVic. “The most obvious reason to talk about death is that it is the one and only thing that every single human be- ing is going to do,” he said. The next Death Cafe will take place at Banyen Books & Sound on March 15.