Parape oF Lost Souts.......4 INSIDE LOOK

The annual Halloween festival helps lift the veil
between worlds on Oct. 29th and features local DJ
MY!GAY!HUSBAND!

BRAIN FOOD......00cct0 cette

Get an edge on exams by eating right

THE ROOM FROM THE FUTURE...........3

Technologically advanced “learning lab”
comes to Langara in January

B.C.

bloom

Full-time work
opportunities are
on the rise. How
will grads fare?

By ALANNA HARDINGE-ROONEY

hings are looking up for job seek-

ers, according to a recent Statis-

tics Canada report that has Lan-

gara students thinking about
their futures.

British Columbia led the country in
job growth in September, with the pro-
vincial unemployment rate tumbling to
6.7 per cent from 7.5 per cent.

“That number, sort of the baseline
figure, can change for all sorts of rea-
sons,” said Scott McLean, department
chair of economics at Langara. He cited
growth in the part-time sector, or
among certain sex and age groups, as
possible reasons for fluctuations in em-
ployment numbers.

According to the Statistics Canada
Labour Force survey, full-time employ-
ment gains accounted entirely for the
surge, which was concentrated heavily
in Metro Vancouver. Employment
among 15- to 24-year-olds also made
significant gains.

But should Langara students feel en-
couraged by this promising snapshot?

“It would be great if people were
finding very good jobs that were well
paying, that were a very productive use
of labour, and that they would stay in
those jobs for a long period of time ...
but I don’t think - my gut is telling me
—that that’s not the case here,” McLean
said.

Canada’s economy relies heavily on
the behaviour of other economies, and
markets worldwide remain volatile.

Economists have also questioned the
dramatic surge because a sharp spike
is unusual in sluggish economic condi-
tions.

Some experts have forecast a pull
back in coming months and a reversion
to a more modest upward trend.

Still, students at Langara remain
confident that they will find work fol-
lowing graduation.

Arts and sciences student Armin
Kanno has his sights set on a career in
business.

“Finance is one of the fastest grow-
ing sectors in Canada,” he said, adding
that he believes his education will give
him an edge when it comes to finding a
job.

See EMPLOYABILITY, page 2

7

i?

A nautical
sciences
student who
did not want
his name
printed poses
with a popular
energy drink at
a soccer game.

CARLY WIGNES
photo

CAFFEINE

by mgs per
can / bottle
Red Bull

Monster
160

Amp
160

NOS
260

Rockstar
160

Caffeine limits have some Langara
students seeing Red (Bull)

Government regulations are necessary, says health sciences instructor

NATASHA HESSEN
Nursing student

66

If you’re
going

to drink
[energy
drinks], do
itin a non-
abusive
way.

By CARLY WIGNES

may want to think twice before
guzzling an energy drink to perk
yourself up, warn experts at Langara.

Last November, a panel of experts
funded by Health Canada recommend-
ed that energy drinks like Monster and
Red Bull be renamed “stimulant drug
containing drinks” and be issued by
pharmacists rather than readily acces-
sible in vending machines like the ones
outside the cafeteria.

The federal government responded
earlier this month by capping the
amount of caffeine allowed in energy
drinks and requiring beverage compa-
nies to include nutritional information
on product labels.

Carlen Escarraga, a theatre student,
said it should be a personal decision
whether or not someone chooses to
consume the controversial products.

Escarraga said he will unhesitating-
ly try any kind of energy drink, and he
does so regularly. “I used to drink them
once every two days,” he said. “Now it’s
just once a week.”

General studies student Brody Greig
drinks them purely for enjoyment.
“One a day - easily,” he said, when
asked how often he indulged.

“They’re gross,” said Greig’s friend
Ivan Yaco, a criminal justice studies
student. “But,” he added, “I do drink
them with alcohol.

Tes: staying awake in class? You

Commerce student Reza Housh-
mand drinks Red Bull with vodka on a
weekly basis.

However, he said he was surprised to
hear that such a debate existed over
the health safety of the products.

While he favours Health Canada’s
decision to allow for freedom of choice
on the matter, the debate came as a sur-
prise.

“T didn’t think they were harmful at
all,” he said. “I’m definitely going to
look into it now.”

Nursing student Natasha Hessen
urges students to do just that. “If
you're going to drink it, do it in a non-
abusive way,” she said.

“Don’t abuse it. Drinking caffeine ex-
acerbates anxiety. It puts a lot of strain
on your heart and makes your liver and
kidneys work overtime.”

Like Hessen, the chair of the health
sciences department at Langara, Gary-
en Chong, said energy drinks should be
restricted to people under the legal
age.

“Government has to be a benevolent
dictator,” said Chong. He added that
when alcohol (a sedative) mixes with
caffeine (a stimulant), “one drug masks
the other” and often causes a person to
black out.

Hessen recommends FRS Healthy
Energy, a drink made from green tea
leaf extract, as a natural alternative to
energy drinks that are high in sugar
and caffeine.

TVs are
coming
to the caf

Sorry Spongebob fans,
main programming will be
news and special events

By EMMA CRAWFORD

ing flatscreen TVs around the new-

ly renovated cafeteria, offering stu-
dents the opportunity to stare at
something besides their lunches.

Mark Adams, director of ancillary
services, said that four 47” flat panel
TVs will be put in around the cafeteria
within a month. The funding for this
project is included in the budget for the
overall renovations. Adams said the
TVs are being set up based on feed-
back from students.

“The main reason is comfort for stu-
dents, along with the new cafeteria de-
sign and seating area,” Adams said.

“We wanted to make it a place where
students could come and relax and ac-
tually enjoy the area when they have
time.”

Many students are happy about the
upcoming installations.

“T think it’s useful,” said first-year
arts and science student José Puente.
“When you're eating alone it might be
entertaining to be able to watch some-
thing.”

Ivan Yaco, second-year criminal jus-
tice student, is also looking forward to
the TVs.

“That would be great,” said Yaco. “I
mean, more people are going to hang
out here and definitely get enter-
tained.”

Not all students think it is necessar-
ily a good idea. First-year arts and sci-
ence student Anna Charron has reser-
vations about the project.

“T personally think they should put
more money towards [the] seating area
and stuff for students,” Charron said.

“T find a lot of times when I need to
go and study, there’s no room in the li-
brary or the cafeteria, and I end up
studying at the mall, and that’s not
very useful.”

Eli Zbar, Langara Students’ Union
board member at large, said he feels
the TVs are a good idea as long as they
improve the student atmosphere in
some way and the programming is ap-
propriate

“Overall, I really like what they’ve
done with the rest of the cafeteria,”
said Zbar. “It looks really good.”

Jay Strachan, director, facilities and
purchasing, refused to comment on the
TVs, and the communications and
marketing department would not re-
turn phone calls or emails to respond
to questions on the matter.

The current plan is to have news
channels on the cafeteria TVs during
the day, as well as special events like
the playoffs or the Olympics.

L angara College will soon be install-