Cws

EDITOR LEV JACKSON

THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2012 2

Transit
passes
to change

TransLink’s installation of
turnstiles at Canada Line
stations will affect the way
we pay for transportation

By KATJA DE BOCK

starts its test phase in early 2013.
Turnstile faregates, designed to
prevent free rides on transit, have been
installed at several SkyTrain and Can-
ada Line stations, including the Langa-
ra station at 49th and Cambie.

When that happens, TransLink, the
company that operates the Canada
Line, will introduce a new fare card
called the Compass card, that will re-
place existing fare tickets, including
the U-Pass issued to Langara students
and an annual Employer Pass. Though
for a period of months the two systems
will work in tandem.

The Compass card is an electronic
fare card that will work everywhere on
transit in Metro Vancouver. The idea is
to preload your card, then tap it on a
“reader” when passing through a turn-
stile or boarding a bus or another tran-
sit vehicle. When riders leave, they will
be expected to tap it out.

For Langara students and_ staff
“nothing is going to change until at
least the end of spring semester,” said
Raymond Yeung, Langara transport
and U-Pass coordinator.

But what happens after that remains
to be seen. Yeung is currently awaiting
more details from TransLink, includ-
ing prices and a timeline for the issu-
ance of new cards. When he receives
those details, he will pass them on to
affected parties, he said.

It’s the tapping-out process that
could get tricky.

Langara psychology student Kaitlin
Ryan said “I don’t think it’s practical
for everyday travellers,” adding that
she can’t afford to miss her bus due to a
lineup at the faregates.

Biology student Jenn Barrett said
the system is not fool-proof. “It’s going
to be a lot of people who don’t realize
you have to tap off,” she said.

TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie
said the company is “indeed still work-
ing on it,” but he didn’t want to release
any more details to The Voice, other
than that the current three-zone sys-
tem will remain in place for the time
being.

“We are certainly not approaching
this like the Big Bang,” Hardie said.

It will take several months to phase
in the new system, he added. Initially
things might even slow down, especial-
ly during rush hour.

TransLink expects the data generat-
ed by the Compass cards will provide a
better idea of passenger flows — infor-
mation that can be used when future
service changes are due.

Tiss new faregate system

KATJA DE BOCK photo
The fate of the U-Pass is in flux
with the coming of Compass cards.

RICHARD HODGES photo
Nursing student Nicole Wood receives a shot in the arm from fellow student Ann Lee this week

to demonstrate the effectiveness of flu shots. Langara students can receive their annual vaccina-
tions during any one of four clinics scheduled for October 30 and 31 and November 6 and 7.

Langara nurses say
it's time to get shot

With flu season here, students, instructors and
support staff are being urged to get vaccinated

By RICHARD HODGES

lu season is approaching and a
preventive vaccination could be
the shot in the arm you need to
avoid getting sick this winter.

Starting next week, immunizations
will be made available to Langara stu-
dents, instructors and support staff by
term-seven nursing students in the
main foyer of Building A. The first clin-
ic is slated for October 30 from 10 a.m.
until 2 p.m., with subsequent clinics on
October 31 from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. and
November 6 and 7 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The vaccination will be available for
free to high-risk individuals, including
seniors and children, but Langara
nursing students Ann Lee and Nicole
Wood recommend that even young and
healthy students should stay safe and
get injected.

“Because influenza is a viral infec-
tion that can affect anybody, it is
important to prevent the flu by getting
vaccinated,” the students told The
Voice in an email. “The best time to get
your flu shot is late October or early
November to provide optimal protec-
tion.”

Tiffany Akins of the Vancouver
Coastal Health Authority says getting a
flu shot is also important to help pre-

vent the spread of the virus.

“Individuals can carry the influenza
virus and unknowingly infect other
people,” Akins said. “The best way to
protect yourself and your loved ones is
to get a flu shot every year.”

She added that the flu infects rough-
ly 20 per cent of the population each
year.

Vancouver Coastal Health medical
health officer Dr. Meena Dawar says
B.C. will buy 1.1 million doses of vac-
cine this year, and that 40 per cent of
citizens 12 to 64 will receive a shot.

“Influenza vaccine is a very effective
and safe intervention,” Dawar said. “In
a good year, vaccine is 70- to 80-per-
cent effective in preventing influenza
illness.”

The biggest hurdle to getting shots?
Fear of needles. But the nursing stu-
dents can handle that.

“We can explain the procedures step
by step so that they know what will be
involved and to allow them to mentally
prepare themselves,” Lee and Wood
wrote.

“One thing we do is ask the patient if
they want to watch the procedure, and
talking with our patients while the pro-
cedure is happening helps the person
concentrate on something other than
the shot.”

FLU

facts

SYMPTOMS

Fever, headaches, muscle
pain, a runny nose,
extreme tiredness and a
cough

PREVENTION

Wash your hands; cover
your mouth when you
cough; and stay home if
you think you're ill

HOW IT SPREADS
Through coughing,
sneezing and face-to-face
contact

HOME TREATMENTS
Rest, drink extra fluids,
avoid smoking, and
breathe moist air such as
from a hot shower

Source: Vancouver Coastal
Health Authority

Enrolment of
international
students up

Langara’s high quality of
education and Vancouver’s
reputation as a liveable
city are cited as reasons

By KEVIN HAMPSON

popular destination for internation-
al students.

This fall, 101 more students from for-
eign countries are studying at Langara
compared to a year ago. According to
the college’s international education
department, 855 international students
are enrolled at Langara this fall. Last
year the figure was 754 students.

International education director
Ajay Patel says all post-secondary in-
stitutions have seen an increase in in-
ternational students in the past few
years, but he’s unable to cite any one
reason in particular.

“m not sure we can point to one
single factor, but one of the key factors
in speaking with students who choose
Langara is that Vancouver is a pre-
ferred education destination because
of our moderate climate, lifestyle and
multicultural society,’ he said in an
email. “Besides being one of the most
liveable cities, Vancouver is also seen
as a safe and secure place to study.

“With respect to ‘Why Langara?’,
students enjoy the quality of high edu-
cation they receive at Langara, which I
think is a reflection of the diverse pro-
gramming we offer and the passionate
instructors who deliver the programs.”

Most of the additional students come
from Asia, Patel said, particularly Chi-
na, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Singapore
and India. However he was unable to
break numbers down any further.

“At this time we do not have the com-
plete data of the jurisdictional make-up
of the international students. As soon
as we get that, it will be posted on the
college’s website....”

The increase fits with plans made
public last fall by British Columbia Pre-
mier Christy Clark to increase the
overall enrolment of international stu-
dents at B.C. colleges and universities
by 50 per cent — an estimated 47,000
students — within the next three years.

Speaking at Thompson River Univer-
sity in Kamloops in September 2011,
Clark said: “International students
who study in B.C. create thousands of
jobs and create millions of dollars into
local economies ... We are setting clear
targets to dramatically increase the
number of international students com-
ing to B.C.”

Patel said Langara would like to in-
crease its capacity further if possible.

“That would include domestic and
international [students],” he said.

To accomplish that, he suggested
that the college make more use of on-
line learning. He also suggested stu-
dents could be persuaded to sign up for
“off-hours classes.” The 10:30 a.m. spot
fills up right away but 6:30 p.m. classes
often have empty seats, he explained.

However, for that to happen, he add-
ed that the college would have to en-
sure it had adequate instructors and
support services to take on more stu-
dents.

Tuition for international students is
about $8,250 per term. By comparison,
domestic student tuition is about $1,299.

Critics of Clark’s policy have called it
a money grab.

“We can’t simply look at [interna-
tional students] as a revenue source,”
said Phillip Legg, spokesman for the
Federation of Postsecondary Educa-
tors of B.C.

“International students require
more services. They have to adjust to
language and cultural differences. That
is not understood in Clark’s plan.”

I angara is becoming an increasingly