‘Langara researchers push past epfedéral regulations to study ~ marijuanna effects. P3 Gaelic Games Traditional Irish sports look to add members to their teams. P8 langaravoice.ca Counsellors discuss sexual Confronting Assault \" violence within relationships. PRODUCED BY LANGARA JOURNALISM STUDENTS | WWW.LANGARAVOICE.CA MARCH 22, 2018 * VOL. 49 NO. 14 > VANCOUVER, B.C. Buying essays for suckers Illegal writing services promising high grades dont deliver By CAMERON THOMSON legal third-party assignment writing services have been targeting Langara students with the promise of quick turn-around, high-quality essays and no effort involved. ‘Though some students might be tempted to use such services when they're burdened late in the semes- ter, according to Langara’s director of student conduct and judicial af- fairs, this is plagiarism and prohib- ited. Last year, there were nearly 500 reported cases of plagiarism at Langara, Maggie Ross said, adding she knows some students use these essay writing ser- vices. “Our policy clearly says you can't use a writing Dan Slessor LIBRARY service,” Ross told , “ communications L2¢ Voice. “Stu- CO-ORDINATOR dents can be sub- ject to charges of plagiarism if they do that.” On Feb. 6, two ads were posted on a student-run Textbook Buy and Sell Facebook page, advertising academic essay writing ser- vices to students. Reaching out to the email addresses provided, The Voice made inquiries about the ser- vices offered. The contact for the essay writing services — who iden- tified himself as Peter Ouma Luta and whose bank information was tracked to Kenya — said a 2,000- word general English class essay would cost $80. The Voice, which acquired a sam- ple of an English essay from Luta’s business, asked English instructor Joanne Horwood to mark the essay. Horwood gave it a failing grade, saying it lacked depth. “It’s very superficial, you've got seven paragraphs in less than two pages which suggests to me there is an idea but it is not fully devel- oped,” Horwood said. “The ideas are interesting but unsupported, there isn't a connection between text and the idea - at least a strong enough one. “There isnt a single quotation in the paper so “The writing style Maggie Ross, director of student conduct and judicial affairs, shows an graded English essay obtained from an essay writing service that advertised to Langara students on a student-run Facebook page. caMméRON THOMSON PHOTO literature, poetry, film, and _phi- losophy study guides such as Coles Notes or how can you do * * SparkNotes. an in-depth anal- 1S dramatically Ross said in ysis if you haven't different " some cases it’s quoted? In Eng- lish that is what we are expecting.” Horwood | said the essay included broad points that resembled those one might find in — MAGGIE ROSS, LANGARA COLLEGE'S DIRECTOR OF STUDENT CONDUCT AND JUDICIAL AFFAIRS very easy for instructors to see when stu- dents have pla- giarized. “The writing style is dramati- cally different,” she said. “Students submit one piece of work and then two weeks later they're submitting something that’s noticeably differ- ent in terms of quality or compe- tence or vocabulary or writing style. “We've even had situations where writers will contact us to report stu- dents who haven't paid their fees and reported them for cheating and plagiarism.” Langara College's plagiarism policy posted online says the first time students plagiarize, the pen- alty may be a zero for the assign- ment or exam, or outright failure of the course. Langara library communications co-ordinator Dan Slessor said there is support at the college for students who need help with essay writing. “Whether [students] want to come into the library or if they just want to connect with us online, there are lots of resources out there to help you not plagiarize,” he said. Driving out golf Activist: Course nonsensical amid housing crisis By NIKITHA MARTINS ancouver housing activists \ / and developers are urging the city to rezone the Lan- gara Golf Course for housing to accommodate South Vancouver’s growing population. Michael Geller, a developer and SFU lecturer, said the course is prime for housing development given its proximity to transit hubs. He said the city should balance housing and green space by only developing a portion of the area. “There's a unique opportunity for the city to generate some signifi- cant revenue to create some aftord- able housing,” Geller said. According to a Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation report, the golf course on Cambie Street is one of the most unplayable in the Low- er Mainland due to winter floods. Recently, Mayor Gregor Robert- son halted the park board’s plans to spend $3 mil- lion dollars on improving the course’s — drain- age system and suggested part of the course should be turned into a public park. Brendan Dawe of Abundant Housing Vancouver, a pro-housing group, said the area should be re- zoned for anything but golf. “Golf is a particularly exclusion- ary use of land,” said Dawe, adding that green space should be a public area enjoyed by everyone. Casey Crawford, Vancouver Park Board commissioner, said since the course is owned by the city it is ac- tually inexpensive and accessible. A golf game during regular hours at the Langara course costs $37. Private golf courses require mem- berships that can cost over $2,500. Crawford said other city land sites can be rezoned for high rises. “The Cambie corridor [has] about 35,000 people right now and within 25 years, it'll be 70,000 peo- ple,” he said. “The amount of green space that is available for people to enjoy is decreasing quickly.” Casey Crawford PARK BOARD COMMISSIONER