Litestyies EOMORKAYLA SOMA
BBM keeps BlackBerry in competition

THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2018 5

The new app, useable on more phones, has attracted many but for how long?

By AMY JONES

e new BlackBerry Messenger
(BBM) application received 20
million downloads in its first
week but cellphone users doubt

it will help BlackBerry compete with
other wireless companies.

The messaging app, which now
works for BlackBerry, Android and
Apple smartphones, is free to down-
load. Although it has proved popular so
far, it remains unclear if it will help
solve the company’s financial woes.
BlackBerry reported a second-quarter
loss of US$965 million earlier this year,

largely due to poor sales of its new Z10
smartphones.

A plan to sell the company for US$4.7
billion to its biggest shareholder, Fair-
fax Financial Holdings Ltd., was aban-
doned earlier this week in favour of
plans to raise $1 billion in fresh financ-
ing. John Chen, who turned around
struggling enterprise technology com-
pany Sybase before its US$6-billion sale
in 2010, has been appointed the new
CEO of BlackBerry.

Business management student Car-
los Gonzalez is co-president of the Lan-
gara Business Association (LBA). He
doesn’t think the new popularity of

BBM will help BlackBerry survive
their financial troubles.

“The BBM app is going to be a fad,”
said Gonzalez. “People are going to
jump on it but it’s going to get compli-
cated.”

People will get lazy when they don’t
have each other’s BBM pin numbers, he
said.

Gonzalez explained the benefit of
having a BlackBerry phone was the in-
creased security of BBM messaging,
but having the app on iPhone now links
it to the Apple database which defeats
the original security advantages.

“BlackBerry is going to be sold to

another company,” said Gonzalez.
“That’s what I think.”

Emma Leigha Munro, design forma-
tion student, is co-president of the LBA
along with Gonzalez. She doesn’t see
the point in getting BBM because she
already uses WhatsApp Messenger
and iMessage to communicate with
people.

“It’s just a fad right now,” she said.
“Everyone’s getting it and screenshot-
ting their username on Facebook.”

Munro thinks it is possible for Black-
Berry to bounce back but that “they’re
definitely the underdog at the mo-
ment.”

66

The BBM
app is go-
ing to bea
fad. People
are going
to jump on
it but it’s
going to
get compli-
cated.
CARLOS GONZALEZ

Mask or jab
for nursing
students

Health-care professionals
aren’t the only ones who
need to worry about re-
cently enforced policy

By ANDREA ANTHONY

Health care workers who choose not
to get a flu shot this winter will now be
compelled to wear a mask when inter-
acting with patients during flu season.
This goes for Langara nursing students
too.

The new flu shot policy, created by
B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Perry
Kendall, came into effect Oct. 24.

“We have to protect... our patients,”
said Langara nursing student Christi-
na Kuang. “They’re all immunocom-
promised, so they’re more susceptible
to getting sick.”

Nursing students must comply with
the new policy because they practice in
clinical settings as part of their pro-
gram.

However, Val Avery, president of the
Health Sciences Association of BC, dis-
agrees with the new policy.

She says there are many reasons
health care workers may choose not to
get the flu shot and having to wear a
mask is an invasion of privacy, which
can identify them as not wanting to get
the shot.

“Some people have medical condi-
tions and can’t take the shot,” she said.

In 2012, the Health Sciences Associa-
tion, Hospital Em-
ployees’ Union and
BC Nurses’ Union
all filed grievances
against the policy
upon its creation.

In response to
the backlash, the
government chose
to delay enforce-
ment until this
year.

“The workplace
should be pre-
pared to allow for accommodations for
staff if they are unable to get a flu
shot,” said Sarah Chapple, a hospital
social worker in Vancouver.

“The policy does not take this into
account,” she said.

The BC Labour Relations Board has
now ruled the policy as reasonable,
making it an enforceable law. In the
past, however, less than 50 per cent of
health care workers have received flu
shots, according to the Immunize BC
website.

While other health services in Cana-
da have tried to implement this policy,
B.C. is the first and only province to do
so at this time.

VAL AVERY
Health Sciences
Association of BC

\4

Jeff De Leo (left) and Carlos Gonzalez learn how to iron a shirt at The Art of Suiting Up workshop on Nov. 5.

How to dress for success, to impress

Students cover the basics
on dressing appropriately
in business-type situations

By TRICIA LO

skirts and ample cleavage have no
place in the boardroom.

This was just one of many tips
passed along to Langara students at a
recent workshop on how to dress pro-
fessionally for the workplace.

“Tt can be misleading for people who
are gauging what’s appropriate by
what they see on TV,” said Nathan
Gilmore, organizer of the event. “That’s
about ratings.

“Youll see women wearing shoes
that aren’t appropriate, skirts that are
too short, and more cleavage than you

to popular media, short

should see.”

The Art of Suiting Up presentation
was hosted by the Langara Business
Association (LBA) on Nov. 5 and taught
students how to make the best impres-
sion at job interviews and in business
settings.

“Generally, you want to avoid ex-
tremes of colour or style,” said Gilm-
ore. He particularly emphasized inter-
views, where the objective is to
distinguish yourself by your answers,
not your fashion sense.

“Tt can actually be a bad sign if peo-
ple remember you more for what you
wore, than what you had to say,” he
said.

Gilmore said the event was the first
of its kind at Langara, offering practi-
cal tips on how to iron a shirt and pants,
tie a tie, suit up on a budget and prop-
erly use a steamer.

Each of the 16 participants had the

opportunity to practice ironing a shirt
using one of the six ironing boards pro-
vided at the event.
The workshop
also incorporated
two segments, one
for women and one
for men, which in-
tended to clarify
the meaning of
business casual.

The workshop NATHAN GILMORE

also offered a seg- Langara Busi-
ment on thrifty ness Association

styling led by Kyle
Lucas, a psycholo-
gy and creative writing student.

“One of the biggest concerns for stu-
dents is dressing up on a budget but it’s
not difficult to look good without
spending a lot of money,” he said.

His tip: “Always head straight for the
discount rack.”

TRICIA LO photo

SHOP

on a budget

Sears, department
store (locations

in Burnaby and
Richmond)

HE Winners, affordable
designer clothes
{locations through-
out Vancouver)

HE sThe Salvation Army,
thrift store (loca-
tions throughout
Vancouver)

HE Talize, “new and
nearly new”
discount store
{located in Delta)

Source: Kyle Lucas