AMPUS NEWS sores THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2011 3 Langara grad opens heart to Palestine PATRICK JOHNSTON photo Langara peace and conflict studies graduate Emma Swan is heading to Palestine this month in a volunteer effort with the Karama Organi- zation to help educate illiterate women and children. Emma Swan heads to Middle East to encourage literacy By PATRICK JOHNSTON Ihe recent appeal for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations may seem very far from the world of Langara, but recent graduate Emma Swan disagrees. Swan, a summer 2011 Langara peace and conflict studies graduate, is travel- ling to Palestine this month for three months to help improve literacy among Palestinian women and children. Swan, who has ESL teacher training, volunteers for the Karama Organiza- tion for Women and Children in the Deheishe Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, Palestine. Karama, which means “dig- nity” in Arabic, promotes literacy for women and children. In 2008, Swan volunteered at a school for former child soldiers in Sierra Le- one. It was through that work that Karama’s coordinator, Yasser E]-Haj, learned about her. E]-Haj explained to Swan that condi- tions in the West Bank make it difficult for Karama’s women graduates to re- main literate. So by helping Karama establish a library, Swan hopes to help reverse this trend. The immediate challenges are the trade restrictions maintained by Israel at the border with the West Bank. Ac- cording to Swan, even book importa- tion is limited by these policies. To fund these efforts, Swan hosted a silent auction at Bao Bei Brasserie in Chinatown on Oct. 2. Featuring work from 25 artists and designers, the auc- tion raised $6,500. Recalling her successful Sierra Le- one fundraising efforts, Swan said she KARAMA facts was confident people would be inter- ested in her newest project, but the re- sponse was better than she expected. “T approached painters and photog- raphers first and it grew from there,” Swan said. A friend, Sarah Morden, said Swan’s I Registered in 2003 efforts have inspired her to follow in her footsteps. Morden is going to Pales- tine in January. Another friend, April Shepherd, feels most people want to make a differ- ence and Swan simply shows them M DPffer primary and where to start. high school courses Swan credits her parents with instill- for underprivileged ing in her the confidence to help others. ain They worked with Doctors Without Borders and took the family along to) gg Karama means Vanuatu, Belize and St. Lucia. “T grew up in a family where we just ‘did it.” HM Established in 2002 by international and Palestinian individuals with the Palestinian Authority as a non-govermental organization (NGO) “dignity” in Arabic Source: Karama Organization Come study in Australia and the UK Grad students now offered a chance to take various programs across the globe By JENNIFER FONG study in the United Kingdom or Down Under, thanks to recent agreements with the University of Sus- sex and Australia’s Griffith University. Under a Memorandum of Under- standing, graduates from certain Lan- gara programs can now get transfer credits towards a degree at either uni- versity. The college has a similar agreement with Royal Roads University in Victo- ria. Students at the INSCOL Academy in India may come here, but Langara students are not eligible to go there. The partnership with the University of Sussex is only for students pursuing a degree in law. “Canadian law schools generally re- quire applicants to complete a four- year degree, which — when added to a three-year LLB degree — would mean a seven-year program of full-time study,” said John Belshaw, dean, facul- ty of social sciences and management. “Through our new partnership agreement with Sussex University, full- time Langara students can complete their law degree in as little as five years from the time they enter our doors. Students ... [are] in a position to join the legal profession that much sooner.” Griffith, which is in Queensland, has a total of five campuses and more than 43,000 students from 131 countries. “They have a lot of degree programs in areas that we have diploma pro- grams,” said Martin Gerson, Langara’s Vice President Academic and Provost. “A number of those are areas in which our diploma graduates can’t as easily transfer into degree programs in B.C. universities,” Gerson added. So far, only business, computer stud- ies, criminal justice, journalism, and social worker programs are included in the agreement, but Gerson said those were the initial cut, and other pro- grams would be added in the future. “Australia is a destination that I find young Canadians are interested in go- ing to,” Gerson said. “It’s a foreign country that offers a lot of things that you don’t find in Can- ada. It’s also a relatively easy place for English speaking Canadians to feel at home in.” Ls" students will now be able to hd Sanitizer pteave use It Hi-tech water fountains re a JARED GNAM photos Arts and science student Jeanie Furmanek takes advantage of the filtered water foun- tain located in the B building (left). A sensor located at the top of the new foun- tains keeps track of how many plastic wa- ter bottles get saved from being produced and deposited in landfills (above). on campus offer filtered water, cleaner planet Nearly 9,000 plastic water bottles have been saved so far on campus with the new fountains in place By MARTIN WISSMATH tains, currently being installed around Langara, are letting stu- dents know how many plastic bottles they’re saving from the landfill . The fountains, which cost $1,100 each, are designed for students to fill up their own reusable water bottles, in- stead of buying disposables. Each has an electronic meter installed that counts the number of plastic bottles saved and a filter that gets rid of lead and other impurities. N:: high-tech filtered water foun- Two have been installed already. They are in the B building across from the registrar’s office and in the north end of the library. Three more are ex- pected to be installed soon, said Langa- ra facilities director Jay Strachan. “Although the city of Vancouver wa- ter is claimed of being very good peo- ple are still not drinking it,” Strachan said. “Having additional filtration and chilling it, I think is making it more fa- vorable to the users.” The fountains are part of the col- lege’s ongoing project towards environ- mental sustainability, and will gradu- ally replace many of the older drinking taps around campus, says Scott Stuart, operations supervisor for facilities and purchasing. Installing the fountains was his idea. “T was with my son in an arena, and I saw one,” said Stuart. He suggested them to Strachan who agreed. “It was perfect for our program of sustainabil- 66 ity,” Stuart said. Althoug h “It’s much better than the old one,” — the city of said Hao Tseng, a Langara student who regularly fills up at the fountain in B Vancouver building. “It consumes way less water.” water is The fountains have rectangular, sil- ver basins, with a small water tap for drinking, and a bottle mount in the claimed of being very back, which senses whenever someone wants to fill up. Instructions are drawn 9 ood p co- clearly to clarify use. ple are still As of press time on Wednesday, the a B building fountain had saved more n ot drin k than 8,300 bottles from the landfill ing tt. while the library fountain had clocked more then 300. “Not enough people know about it,” added Tseng. “The one at UBC already has 15,000.” JAY STRACHAN Langara faculty director