AMPUS NEWS _ wroxawwrsm THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014 3 omedy iscussed at jam Sketch comedy group Assaulted Fish brought laughs and analysis to last week’s Philosophers’ Jam By GRAHAM MCFIE Fish spoke at Langara’s March 13 Philosophers’ Jam about using hu- mour to connect people from different walks of life. The Assaulted Fish members who performed were Kuan Foo, Nelson Wong, Lissa Neptuno and Marlene Dong, who is a Langara communica- tions officer. The group began the two- hour gathering with four sketches: a mock news broadcast, a movie pitch, Death’s monologue and the four mem- bers reacting to a newspaper article. After the performance, the members discussed their own approach to come- dy while the crowd was invited to vol- ley questions at the comedians. The group are diverse in gender, sexual orientation and experience. These differences provide the basis for many of their jokes. “No matter how diverse the crowd is or however various our backgrounds or upbringings are, the fact that we share that experience together, that’s special to me,” Wong said. Dong said their workshops also fo- cus on finding ways to connect people from different backgrounds. “When it’s [a joke] that we bring to the table and everyone finds it funny, I think we’ve hit on something.” Assaulted Fish said they don’t often get opportunities like the Philosophers’ Jam, which was attended by roughly 50 people. “Tt’s actually nice for us to have a fo- rum like this, to talk to other people about it,” Dong said. “We'll cover a good deal of discus- sion during the workshopping process. But no one is really privy to those con- versations.” The group is also concerned with providing context for their jokes, not censoring the jokes. “We are careful when we try and fig- ure out what the context is that people see and hear those jokes,” Wong said. “Funny, in and of itself, is not a value system,” Foo said, acknowledging that laughter at a bad joke does not give the joke merit. “We laugh at things all the time that we probably shouldn’t.” Assaulted Fish’s website www.as- saultedfish.com lists upcoming perfor- mances. Ss: comedy group Assaulted Clockwise from top: Langara professional photo-imaging students prac- tice shooting birds with experienced wildlife photographer John Gordon (front row, far left); students look at their results to see if they got the shot; students had the chance to photograph owls and other birds. Photogs test $100K of gear EDMOND LU photos Wileoun | |] E as] 2 Bi fi Photo-imaging students had the chance to practice with specialized camera equipment during a trip to Reifel Bird Sanctuary last week By EDMOND LU ore than $100,000 worth of photography equipment and 30 years of experience in bird photography were on loan to students of Langara’s professional pho- to-imaging department as they spent last Wednesday at the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Delta. Representatives from Canon, Nikon and Vancouver-based camera store Beau Photo lent the students special- ized equipment suited for bird photog- raphy. John Gordon, an experienced bird photographer and photojournalist, ac- companied the department on the trip, offering his expertise and helping the students and faculty find birds like the great-horned owl and red-tail hawk. “Take on everything you can,” said Gordon, kicking off the day with some advice to those in attendance. “Try new things in your photography.” Many of the faculty were also pres- ent, both instructing students and tak- ing the chance to learn from the experi- enced bird photographers themselves. “We must expose our students to as many different facets of the industry as we can in the two years they are with us,” said photography department chair Catharine O’Brien-Bell. Students wielded their heavy, can- non-like lenses worth thousands of dol- lars with enthusiasm, pointing them at everything in sight. The reputation of the photography program at Langara is partly why they were able to secure the equipment and experience to make this trip possible. “Langara is one of the top photogra- phy schools in the city right now, if not the top,” said Jason Kazuta, a repre- sentative from Beau Photo. The department organizes one of these trips each year, so students have the opportunity to attend twice in the course of their two-year program. “Having a second go at it is definitely way more fun,” said second-year stu- dent Gaelan Glenn. “I was looking at my stuff from before and some of it looked pretty bad.” The outing was a reprieve for all. “School is stressful, especially right now,” said O’Brien-Bell. “If nothing else, the day was good therapy for ev- eryone involved.” 66 Take on everything you can... try new things in your pho- tography JOHN GORDON, PHOTOGRAPHER Langara nursing program receives highest-level recognition College of Registered Nurses of BC gives Lan- gara nursing top review By ERIN BOE confident they’re receiving superi- or training after the latest review by the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia. A full review of Langara’s bachelor of science nursing program was con- ducted by the CRNBC’s education pro- gram review committee in December 2013. The committee regularly reviews the province’s nursing programs. “The review was so successful that | ae nursing students can be the program was awarded recognition for the next seven years — the longest period offered by the CRNBC, and a distinction reserved for exceptional programs,” said a Langara news re- lease. “Tt felt very, very good,” said Janine Lennox, chair of Langara’s School of Nursing. “This is the longest length of time that you can have a recognition process, so we felt that it really shows that we have a very good program and the CRNBC has confidence in our abil- ity to deliver that degree.” Elsa Nguyen, a student in the first term of the three-year program, said the review reflects well on the school. “T think that it’s incredible that they got that kind of review,” said Nguyen. “It means they’re doing something right here. So it’s actually quite a privi- lege to be part of a program that’s ac- knowledged in that way.” Nguyen, who hopes to be a prenatal nurse, was inspired by the skilled nurs- es she met when she gave birth to her own children. Dynne Gaborni is also a student in her first term. She didn’t know about the program’s recognition but said she was “proud to be in a program that got such a glowing review.” She hopes to be a pediatric nurse working in BC Children’s Hospital after she graduates from the program. The program has standing recogni- tion until at least Dec. 31, 2020, when the next CRNBC review will take place. ERIN BOE photo First year nursing student Dynne Gaborni practices measuring blood pressure on a Langara student.