Campusnews President releases COVID-19 Statement Langara College's Lane Trotter, federal health official release state- ments on virus = By MAXIM FOSSEY angara president and CEO L Lane Trotter, released a state- ment on March 4 regard- ing recent global responses to the COVID-19 outbreak. Trotter said that the risk for spread of infections to residents in British Columbia is still considered to be low according to the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). “Our priority is to take reasonable precautions as recommended by the health authorities to maintain a healthy environment,” wrote Trotter. Dr. Trotter further mentioned in his statement that he is proud of the fact that Langara College is a vibrant international community with students and employees from around the world. “T ask our community not to make assumptions about the risk of students, faculty, or staff based on “Our priority is to take reasonable precaution.” —LANE TROTTER, PRESIDENT & CEO OF LANGARA COLLEGE their ethnicity or travel history.” BCCDC currently suggests that travelers returning from the Hubei province of China or from Iran should self-isolate for 14 days. Federal health officials provided an update on COVID-19 on March 4. Deputy prime minister Chrys- tia Freeland, said that Canada has seen an increase of cases over the last several days. “We are very aware that this situ- ation is evolving rapidly,” said Free- land. Chief public health officer Theresa Tam said that as of [March 4], there are 33 confirmed cases of COVID- 19 reported on a national level. “Twenty in Ontario, 12 in British Columbia and one in Quebec. All cases are related to or close contacts of travellers that visited China, Iran and Egypt,” said’Tam. Meanwhile, global responses differ as COVID-19 cases continue to climb. Reports say that Italy has shut down all of its universities and schools in response to its rising amount of cases and deaths. Correction In the Feb. 13 edition, The Voice misstated that the COVID-19 death toll was 2016 when in fact that was the number of cases world- wide. As of publication March 5, the current death toll is 3,198, according to the World Health Organization. Langara. es EDITOR MAXIM FOSSEY | THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 | THE VOICE 3 walk out An estimated 60 students, faculty and others walked out of class Wednesday afternoon to take part in a demonstration in support of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. The walkout began at about 2:30 p.m. outside the T Building and the group marched to Cambie Street and 49th Avenue where demonstrators blocked traffic. Langara was one of many schools across British Columbia and Canada where students marched out of class yesterday to draw attention to the Coastal GasLink pipeline being built through Indigenous lands. See Jangaravoice.ca for full story. Mental health not enrolled Researchers unsurprised by enrolment gap found in study = By MAX LECKIE new study suggests less than half of Canadians diagnosed swith mental health condi- tions will enroll in post-secondary education by the age of 22. Michele Bowers, head of coun- selling services at Langara College, isn’t surprised by the results, as post- secondary is already a difficult time for many people. “It’s like the perfect storm in post- secondary for mental health and if you want to add in a neurodevelop- mental issue. It just makes things more complicated in terms of navi- gating stress and being able to keep up with the demands of school.” The Statistics Canada study released in February found 77 per cent of people with no mental health conditions enrolled in post-second- ary by age 21 or 22. Enrolment rates drop to 60 per cent for those with neurodevelopmental conditions, 48 per cent for those with mental health conditions, and 36 per cent for those with a combination of both. There are a lot of factors that determine if someone will be able to attend post-secondary, be it income or their parents’ aspirations, but research on the subject has a gap in mental health’s effects said Rubab Axim, senior research analyst at Stats Canada and author of the study. “The findings really show that youth with diagnosed neurodevel- opmental or mental health condi- tions may face additional barriers to attending post secondary education that are really distinct from those challenging the general population of youth,” Arim said. More research needs to be done to understand the large gap in enroll- ment between those with no mental health conditions and those strug- gling with them, said Arim. Stuart Morris, a senior analyst at Stats Canada who worked on the Canadian Survey on Disabil- ity, 2017, said a lot of mental health disabilities coincide with other disabilities. Among those aged 15 to 24, the top three coinciding disability types were learning at 41 per cent, pain- related at 31 per cent, and memory at 22 per cent. Transfer program available to Indigenous students New Langara and SFU parternship helps Indigenous students = ByJESSICA A. FROUD ndigenous students at Langara will find it easier transferring to SFU due to a new partnership between the schools, according to college officials. The goal of the SFU-Langara Indigenous Transfer Pathway is to smooth the way for Indig- enous students to transfer to the university to complete their degrees. According to a 2011 Statis- tics Canada survey, adults over 25 years of age who identify as Indigenous, 9 per cent have a university degree, in compari- son to the 26.5 per cent of non- Indigenous people. Rick Ouellet, Langara’s director of Indigenous educa- tion and services, said he hopes that through this partnership, education opportunities will be increased for Indigenous people, especially the large proportion living in the school’s catchment area of East Vancouver. Ouellet said he’s been inter- ested in reaching an agreement with SFU since he witnessed the success of a similar program set up between UBC and Langara. “We train people really well and SFU recognizes that,” he said. “So it’s just another option for us to get Indigenous students into university.” The partnership agreement, signed by Langara and SFU on Feb. 6, will take effect in September, according to a press release sent by Langara College. Langara will help students through the transfer process by communicating information on available SFU courses, admis- sion requirements and entrance awards. Langara will also forward student names to SFU to flag in their admission process. Langara and SFU reach new partnership in Indigenous transfer program that Ouellet has been working with Marcia Guno, director of SFU’s Indigenous Student Centre, to create the transfer pathway. He said SFU and UBC each have unique standalone programs and adding the SFU transfer path- way gives Indigenous students a choice of institution. “We want to be known as the pathways college,” Ouellet said. “(We) in the Indigenous Gath- ering Space want to have path- ways for our students. It’s really important.” Mercutio Bosnjak, a Langara business management student, said he works with teens in the antl will benefit students. Jessica A. FROUD PHOTO Musqueam community, and likes how Langara participates in events like Musqueam days. “IT knew that Langara does a lot to recruit Indigenous students to Langara,” Bosnjak said. “It’s neat to hear they are continuing to provide services by creating the transfer program.” Holly Desjarlais, an Ojibwe student studying arts at Langara College, is hoping to attend SFU to finish her degree through the transfer program. “When you come to college you're always wondering, what is the next step? This program provides an opportunity.”