ampus hews EDITOR REUBEN DONGALEN JR. THE VOICE, THURSDAY, DEC. 1, 2016 3 * = REUBEN DONGALEN JR. photo According to various students across campus, different parts of Langara experience inconsistent Wi-Fi signals. Langara’s tough connection Wi-F1 is still an ongoing issue since The Voice reported on it in 2014 By STUART NEATBY espite widespread use of two dedicated networks across cam- pus, many Langara students are finding Wi-Fi access to be elu- sive. Langara students have access to the eduroam and the Langara networks, and the eduroam network is a dedicat- ed service offered across several post- secondary institutions including UBC and SFU. The Langara network is adminis- tered by the Langara IT Department, whose staff provided no comment. But, many students find that both networks can often be plagued with slow network speeds, as well as a ten- dency to drop signals. Nora Wirth-Farkesvolgyi, a student in the web and mobile app design and development department, finds that she is disconnected frequently from the eduroam network in Building A. “Normally I try not to move, because then I meet some problems,” she said. The Voice spoke to 12 students about their experienc- es with Langa- ra’s Wi-Fi. All had experi- enced being dropped from networks — while moving between buildings on campus. Others spoke of blind spots or slow coverage, especially in Building A or B. Most students often switched between the two net- works depending on their location, which is a solution that is often recom- mended by the IT Help Desk in the li- brary, but still experienced connection issues in some areas. Shahed Aljermashi, a second year general arts student, generally uses the eduroam network and she finds the connection drops quite frequently. “It’s mostly okay, but it loses a lot of connection sometimes for no reason. Especially in the B building, the underground — class- rooms,” she said. Langara is a member of BCNET, a not-for-profit IT collaboration between uni- versities and colleges in B.C. According to Tamara Klein, BCNET’s communica- tions manager, Langara has recently connected to BC- NET’s advanced network, which runs at a speed of 100 Gigabytes per second. “Tt is kind of a foundation for deliver- ing other services as well at your cam- pus,” she said. 66 Normally I try not to move, because then I meet some problems NORA WIRTH- FARKESVOLGYI WEB AND MOBILE APP DESIGN STUDENT Growing on the sustainable food trend Langara alum finds a new passion: educating others on Vancouver’s sustain- able food community By BONNIE LEE LA MADELEINE always been a focus for Langara alumnus Lisa Giroday, but she found her passion when she fell away from fashion and into farming. Giroday is a social entrepreneur and one of the founders of Victory Gardens, a company that helps people through- out Metro Vancouver grow food in the spaces available to them. “Climate change scares the hell out of me,” she said. Not only does growing her own food decrease her impact on the environ- ment, it also stabilizes local food sup- ply. She is not alone, as more people are looking for produce and meals that are locally sourced and generates less waste. Some decide to grow vegetables and herbs on patios and in containers. Robert Newell, a geographer at the Sines tee product design has University of Victoria, looks at sustain- able community development. He supports the direction being tak- en, but also warned of exaggerated claims from vendors and businesses hoping to make money via trends. “Greenwashing is the use of terms like organic, like-organic, or eco-friend- ly on products that may not necessarily align with the health or environmental goals of a shopper,” Newell said. Giroday agreed that greenwashing is a problem that can confuse general shoppers, and acknowledged that the health benefits of buying organic are unclear. Buying responsibly is more impor- tant then buying healthily, according to Giroday. “Health reasons are not the stron- gest argument for buying organic or local,” she said. “Sustainably, buying local and organic is the smartest choice to make.” There is also an economic argument for growing food at home; Giroday shared a comment that guerilla gar- dener Ron Findley, a guru in the local urban food movement, made at a re- cent TED Talk: “Growing your food now is like pick- ing your own money.” prreserus, VICTORYGARDENSVANCOUVER.CA BONNIE LEE LA MADELEINE photo Alumni Langara fashion student, Lisa Giroday, pres- ents Victory Gardens and sustainable food. “oide-hustle” Inspires new program A new business program becomes available for stu- dents in Feb. 2017 By MELANIE GREEN is being introduced at Langara College to teach millennials that they can only count on themselves for future job prospects. After researching the direction of markets and job security, Langara de- cided to opt for a grassroots practical application program that allows stu- dents to work with successful side-hus- tle industry professionals, partnered with other community organizations, as a solution. Program Coordinator for the Langa- ra Self Employment Program, David Schulte, who is coordinating the new 12-week program, said the jobs just aren’t there anymore for millenials. “It’s about people having a way out and not being cheated by life [...] The ball is being put into their court and the one thing they can do is have a side- hustle,” Schulte added. According to Schulte, it allows stu- dents to work with successful side-hus- tle industry professionals, partnered with other community organizations, providing them with a solution for the lack of jobs after school. “People are Va Va A: entrepreneur business program going to need to have something, a business that they are runnin on ‘ihe side i P cop le are provide security going to for them - op- tions - and obvi- need to ously some have some- meaning in life,” . said Schulte. thin g,a The program business is geared toward those starting a that they business he said, are run- quite different 4 from the diploma nung on transfer whichis the side textbook based to provide with a focus on . accreditation to Security enter the work- for them force. Langara Inter- national busi- DAVID SCHULTE ness student, Amit Monga ENTREPRENEUR agreed, interest- BUSINESS ed in the practi- PROGRAM cal approach and COORDINATOR industry profes- sionals. “Th classes what they do is read the books, we are there to learn but within a few days we forget,” Mon- ga said. “But if we hear personal stories they sit in your mind and you can relate.” Shivam Verma, a Langara business diploma transfer student, remembered a video on YouTube about someone who sued the education system be- cause it was disillusioning. “Everything is changing, but the ed- ucation system is the same since the 17th century,” Verma said, explaining students are only evaluated based on their GPA. “So if you’re going to follow the herd you won’t be successful because there’s so much competition,” he said. “The business of 21st century is about entrepreneurship. Traditional businesses and jobs [are] all gone.” The program expects an enrolment of eight when it rolls out in Feb. 2017 and the classes will run on Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.