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CITY OF VANCOUVER photo

The proposed design for Langara’s campus includes expanding the A building and creating two new large buildings on the western side
of campus. The expanding student body means that more space is needed to fit all the students and meet space regulations.

New buildings need funding

Extensions and construction would help alleviate over-crowding

By RICHARD HODGES

angara’s next phase of expansion

includes a new five-storey science

and student services building and

la three-storey creative arts build-
ing.

The plan is set to pass the final hur-
dle from the city but still requires the
necessary funding from the provincial
government.

Both buildings are desperately need-
ed to combat Langara’s student popula-
tion crunch, said Wendy Lannard, di-
rector of facilities.

“We are short the equivalent of 1255
square metres of classroom space and
13,000 square metres of support space,”
Lannard said.

“Currently we are at 4.78 square me-
tres per [full-time student] which is
well below 6.27 square metres per [stu-
dent] as per Ministry of Advanced Edu-
cation guidelines.”

The City of Vancouver would not
comment except to say that the amend-
ments were well received by council.
The last step is a public hearing on Oct.
30.

A previous open house on the plans
drew an audience of over 200 people,
mostly Langara students and sur-
rounding property owners.

But building construction is never
free and the college is still looking for
funding from the province.

Lannard estimates the science and
students services building will cost $48
million while the creative arts building
will carry a price tag of $38 million.

The college is preparing business
plans for both as well as the building A
expansion for presentation to the min-
istry, but Lannard says she “doesn’t
know what funding will look like from
the province.”

Recent expansion at the University
of Victoria in a five-year plan netted $78

million from the ministry to offset the
total cost of $237 million.

Vancouver city council approved a
Langara College policy statement re-
garding necessary expansion plans to
accommodate the increased student
population in 2005.

However, the past seven years have
seen student growth spike past projec-
tions and necessitated amendments
that were approved by council in early
September.

Most Langara students are on board
with the expansion, as they’ve seen
first-hand the space crunch, especially
in the library.

“TIt’s] always crowded,” said crimi-
nology student Laura Bauer. “Especial-
ly on the second and third floors.”

Science student Rachel Lindsay
agrees: “You’re always fighting for
space in the library in the middle of the
day. I just go to the Students’ Union
Building, it’s a bit better.”

66

[It’s] al-
ways
crowded.
Especially
on the
second
and third

floors.

LAURA BAUER
Langara Student

Anonymous browsing a fallacy says Langara prof

A college By SAM REYNOLDS
instructor abriel Dhah-
is set to G:: a Langara

. instructor and
give a pre- IT consultant, is
sentation delivering a talk at

Langara on Oct. 26

on how to about the “myth” GABRIEL DHAHAN
think about of one preva —  Langara In-

. a my al 1S structor and IT
online . based in a com- Consultant
safety in a plete disconnect of

it the online world
dig ital age and the real world.
Determining someone’s internet

protocol, or IP, address is all that is
needed to pierce the veil of online ano-
nymity, warns Dhahan.

Dhahan explained that an IP ad-
dress is a digital footprint of that can
be used as a calling card by authorities,
or an investigating party, to trace a

user online to a physical person no
matter what attempts have been taken
to obfuscate one’s identity.

“To me, online privacy is a bit of an
oxymoron,” said Dhahan.

“Tn order to interact online you need
an IP address [which] is unique to the
individual and easily traceable via the
Internet service provider.”

Shaw and Telus both state corporate
policy and privacy law would prevent
them from revealing the user behind
an IP address without a court order.

Dhahan believes that the solution to
society’s online privacy problem isn’t
necessarily to add more steps to shield
one’s identity from being exposed, but
rather shifting the way that society
views online interaction.

“Tf all of our activities online were
exposed, the majority of us would be
slightly embarrassed.” said Dhahan.

“T think that as a society we should

recognize that we are more complex
than the standard mores that are out
there,” said Dhahan.

“We need to have less judgement
around it so that people can behave ina
more free world.”

“There needs to be a shift in our at-
titudes towards online activity. We’re
all doing things online [that may be
embarrassing] and some people get
outed and some people don’t.”

Until a shift in the way society views
online discourse occurs, Dhahan has
some simple advice: engage online as
though you were interacting in a public
place.

“You'll never get yourself into a situ-
ation that will compromise your integ-
rity,” he said.

Dhahan’s talk, “Dispelling the Myth
of Online Privacy”, takes place on Fri-
day October 26 at 6:30 p.m. in room
A122.

Education
council

poll opens
tomorrow

There are two open spots
on the council, which sets
grading rules and decides
on class content. Six stu-
dents are nominated and
running for the positions

By KEVIN HAMPSON

their peers to go to the polls to-

morrow to elect them as student
representatives in the education coun-
cil.

There are four student positions in
the 20-member council.

The candidates are vying for two va-
cancies.

The council determines policy on
grading, curriculum content, academic
standing, withdrawal, and awards for
excellence.

Second-year history major Tanya
Sanghera is running for female repre-
sentative.

She would like to see more gender
studies courses. “I think [gender stud-
ies] is something that brings a lot of
people to Langara because it’s such an
open, non-judgmental program,” she
said.

Peace and Conflict Studies student,
Carmen Chan,
pointed to her ex-
perience as a Lan-
gara Students’
Union board mem-
ber last year.

If she were
elected to the edu-
cation council, the
learning curve
wouldn’t be as SARASPILCHEN

steep for her, she Pemale represen-

‘ tative nominee
said.

Chan would like
to improve the availability of courses;
she finds that some courses she would
like to take aren’t offered in the cur-
rent semester.

Aboriginal studies student Sara
Spilchen believes in hands-on curricu-
lum and practicums for career-based
programs.

“T think there’s a lot you can learn
from doing, rather than reading about
other people doing,” said the 29-year-
old student and mother of three.

Langara’s curriculum is “amazing,”
Spilchen added.

However, lower-achieving students
from disadvantaged backgrounds
should be given more leeway when it
comes to grading if they’ve shown im-
provement, she added.

Spencer Latu, running for male rep,
decided to run because he wanted to be
more connected to the Langara com-
munity, said the first year general stud-
ies major.

The D2L online program is useful,
but “not enough teachers are using it,”
Latu said.

Max Yang sees the student rep’s role
as working to support the council. He
is involved in his community, the inter-
national student said.

Yang has volunteered with the inter-
national education volunteer program,
helping to orient new students.

Female candidate Rute Xu could not
be reached for comment.

Voting starts tomorrow at 9 a.m. and
ends Thursday, Nov. 1.

Log in to myLangara to see the nom-
inees’ platform statements and to vote.

S' Langara students are asking