EDITOREVANHAGEDORN | THURSDAY, OCT. 26,2017 | THE VOICE 3 Campusnews Old labs receive new life Derelict labs being #langaradesignformation Asavethebirds ‘ ae ae ae a ee An employee at the Architectural Institute of British Columbia walks through the Birds in the 604 exhibit designed by Langara College's design formation pro- gram. SUBMITTED PHOTO Exhibit aims to help birds Langara students highlight dwindling native bird population = By LINDSEY LLOYD ith the native bird population in Van- couver reaching new lows, Langara College’s design formation pro- gram has flocked together to create awareness through their new exhi- bition at the Architectural Institute of British Columbia. Birds in the 604, a partnership exhibit between design forma- tion students and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, is designed to educate the public on how to create a more bird-friendly environment around them. According to the Vancouver Bird Strategy initiative report — which aims to increase awareness of na- tive birds — there has been a 35 per cent decline in native bird species in the Pacific Coast region of Can- ada since 1970, because of human impact and industry. ‘Ihe strategy combined with the exhibition creates conditions for birds to thrive in the city and re- duce the impact that urbanization has on birds. Rachel Li, who created a bird friendly backyard using plywood, coroplast, plexiglass and vinyl cut graphics, wants to teach Vancou- verites how to preserve dwindling bird populations. “We hope visitors could eas- ily learn how to do it in their own backyards,” Li said. Bev Ramey, Nature Vancouver board member and BC Nature Di- rector, said the exhibition can teach individuals on how to preserve Vancouver's native bird population. “Having a wildlife friendly gar- den, [with] different levels of trees and shrubs, bird friendly vegetation and bird feeders,” Ramey said. Peter Vysek,a design formation instructor said working with the city’s board of parks and recreation gives students opportunities to pre- pare for the real world. “The exhibition projects [that] Langara design formation [stu- dents] create live on, and keep giving to our local community by being an engaging learning experi- ence for visitors to enjoy, furthering our commitment to education,” Vy- sek said. “The work and its exposure become integral to the student’s portfolio and helps them secure work upon graduation.” The exhibition which is available to the public is free of charge and open until Nov. 3. Students unaware of bursaries Langara Colleges free money meés- sage not reach- ing students = By JENNIFER WILSON angara College's financial aid department offers a wide variety of bursaries cater- ing to registered students, however most students are unaware of them. Langara’s current minimum bur- sary baseline is $500,000 and ac- cording to the college’s Strategic Plan update they’re taking steps towards doubling that number. In 2016 they reported a 60 per cent increase in bursary funds and dis- tributed $643,000. Though the college has seen a rise in bursary funds in the last year, Some students are still uniformed about available bursaries. Carmen Woytas, an arts student said her friends had no idea about the bursaries. “I would usually tell my class- mates about the [bursaries] and no one had any idea,” Woytas said. Woytas said she has benefited greatly from bursary funds and thought more awareness would be an advantage. “Especially around the deadline, because it’s first come first served, they could give a general heads up to everyone,” Woytas said. There are 375 bursaries _ listed i on the financial 6 aid website. The eligibility require- ments exclude [37 most internation- al and continuing studies students Chris Gibson but, if eligible, FAMILY STUDIES STUDENTS these non-repay- able awards can make a big difference. Chris Gibson, a Family Studies student at Langara received $4,500 last semester after discovering the bursary program through disability services. “I'm a father, I was suffering from a car accident, I had physio and they definitely did help out,” Gibson said. “Teachers should be encouraging it." “A lot of introductory students don't have any sense of what they are doing, they come in here and start freaking out because they aren't working,” Gibson mentioned. Melia Fernandez, student ser- vices operations and administrative manager said Langara tried to pro- mote bursaries through instructors but this route has been largely un- successful. “I suspect that instructors are probably bombarded,” Fernan- dez said. “If they did all that they wouldn't have time left to teach.” Lucas Uzelac, a business manage- ment student said bursaries aren't well advertised and instructors could distribute a newsletter during syllabus week to raise awareness. Kina Cavicchioli, Langara Eng- lish department chair said instruc- tors at the college would happily promote the bursaries but have other responsibilities. “Our main function is to deliver curriculum and most of us have 130 to 150 students every semester,” Cavicchioli said, “We also have quite a heavy workload and we- would be happy to support publi- cizing bursaries and if we had fi- nancial aid [department] wanting us to help them promote them, we would be open to that but it can't be delegated to us." BURSARY FUNDS STATS AND FIGURES The College plans to increase bur- sary funds to $1 million by 2020. The College distributed $643,000 in bursaries to students in 2016. 60% In 2016, the Langara College Foun- dation saw a 60 per cent increase in funds raised over 2015. SOURCE: LANGARA STRATEGIC PLAN turned into working area for the arts = By DANICA WALKER ith Langara College being tight for space, unused science labs in Building A are being transformed and expanded into makerspace — a work area for student projects. Since the science departments relocated to the Science & Tech- nology Building, old labs on the second floor of Building A have been largely unoccupied, with only one being used by Makerspace. According to Wendy Lannard, senior facilities advisor, the college is investing $1.4 million to upgrade the old chemistry labs into new classrooms and to expand maker- space. Currently, makerspace is being used by various departments such as Studio 58, design formation, fine arts and photography. The space is also open to students who want to use the space for per- sonal projects. ‘The renovations will give more room for Stu- dio 58 produc- tion space and workshops for the fine arts de- partment says Philip Robbins, the coordinator of makerspace . Philip Robbins and instruc —_y44KERSPACE tor of fine arts. COORDINATOR Robbins said he believes extra classrooms will also be built for general use and various departments. Kathryn Shaw, artistic director at Studio 58, says the upgrades and expansions were needed because the theate program lacked proper space. “The production class that we got some years ago was a cubby hole, that had to service the office for four or five production facilities plus had to be a classroom for up to eight to 10 students," Shaw said. "It's nice that the college has finally recognized the need for this space and is facilitating our ability class to have a classroom of this nature which we've always needed." Workers have begun removing the old chemistry labs in order to make room for other departments. “Chemistry has moved out,” said Robbins, who also said there has been “polite, professional, adult conversation about who gets what space.” The construction site is closed to students and cannot be entered without safety equipment. According to Lannard, the con- struction of the unused labs is ex- pected to last until April 30, 2018. After which construction will be- gin on unused physics and biology labs. ‘The completion date for all con- struction on the unused science labs in Building A is Dec. 31, 2018. ‘The physics and biology renova- tions have yet to be designed or budgeted. Scott Stuart, supervisor of con- struction of the unused labs in Building A was not available to comment on the upgrades and ex- pansions.