LSU ballots lost & found Student union quietly posts vote recount after errors identified By PERRIN GRAUVER fter discovering —_ vote- counting errors following last month’s election, the Langara Students’ Union says it will develop new protocols for elec- toral oversight. The LSU Media Committee re- fused to speculate on why no an- nouncement about the recount was made by Jeannie Bates, LSU’s Chief Returning Officer, and were unable to say when new elections protocols would come into effect, or what form they might take. Bates did not respond to requests for comment. “They've promised to address [the problem]... But how are you going to know that they have?” — WENDY POOLE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES AT UBC The Media Committee said via email that Bates oversaw the stu- dent volunteers responsible for bal- lot counting, but only realized the original results were incorrect after they had been posted to the LSU’s website. “It was a human error and can happen to anyone,” the email said. “The error was caught within an hour of it being published. Unfor- tunately...the LSU could not make the changes on the website until the next week.” None of the bylaw documents from student societies at Kwantlen, UBC, UVic or SFU contain poli- cies for informing students about voting irregularities, but Erwin Kwok, vice president of university relations at Simon Fraser Student Society, said his organization's pol- icy is to inform their membership right when irregularities occur. “Yes there would be an an- nouncement made,” Kwok said. “There would be a notice. There would definitely be a notice.” Wendy Poole, associate professor, department of educational studies at UBC, said it’s good news when a union admits an error, but when making such errors public is not policy, it can leave important ques- tions unanswered. “They've promised to address [the problem],” Poole said. “But how are you going to know that they have? You have to wait until the next election? Are they going to report to people?” LSU did not respond to further requests for explanation of the na- ture of the error. Teacher: It is humiliating Part-time instructors talk about debt, rent and bankruptcy By JENNIFER WILSON ome non-regular faculty are struggling with debt and shame and one Langara College history instructor is speaking out. Niall Christie, who was a non- regular instructor for 11 years, represents Precarious Profs BC, a campaign which raises aware- ness of the difficulties in part-time post-secondary instruction. Full- time teaching staff in B.C. receive around $98,400 annually, according to Statistics Canada. But non-reg- ulars may live on $10,000 per se- mester, without benefits, according to Maclean's. In Ontario, commu- nity college teachers are currently on strike to, among other reasons, garner equal pay for non-regular faculty, as well as job security for part-time instructors. Many institutions are turning to non-regular faculty to cut costs, but this exhausts instructors and degrades the quality of teaching, Christie said. According to an ar- ticle published in Kamloops ‘This Week, about one-third of Thomp- son Rivers University's faculty are non-regulars, but perform the same work as tenured instructors. At Emily Carr University of Art and Design, part-time faculty make up the majority of instructors, accord- ing to The Social Justice Centre. “By protecting the non-regular faculty the permanent faculty are protecting themselves,” Christie said. “As the rights of non-regulars get chipped away the rights of per- manent faculty also get chipped away.” One instructor, who works at two institutions in Vancouver, wished to remain anonymous for fear of losing their position, but said the financial stress is pushing them to ee) | Leesa Dean, who now has a stable job at Selkirk College in B.C., had to supplement her sessional income by answering phones at a clinic when she was teaching at an institution in Toronto. courTESy OF LEESA DEAN burn out point. After seven years working at two institutions, for $20,000 per semes- ter plus employment insurance, the instructor has declared bankruptcy. “I spent 16 years training to ar- rive at a job that pays me $50,000 a year in Vancouver. That’s a raw deal,” they said. Leesa Dean, after moving to B.C. for a stable job at Selkirk College, because she'd had to supplement her non-regular teaching job in To- ronto, said she once signed a con- tract for four courses but a week later received a new contract, for only one. She said she felt drained by the system and this weariness fil- ters down to the classroom. “It’s not sustainable in the sense that it’s hard for students to get a good education when their teacher doesn’t even have an office and is just dragging around a cardboard box,” she said. Jason Brown recently finished his PhD and teaches part time in Van- couver. He delivers food to make rent. "It is humiliating,” after years of study. Average age of a full-time aca- demic teaching staff. The number of full-time academic teaching staff went up since 2011. Enrolments also rose by 7.5 per cent. SOURCE: WWW.STATCAN.GC.CA Hands-on Coding and robotics course uses Lego EV3 kits to build teamwork and practical skills By LINDSEY LLOYD esponding to a demand in R= tech industry, Langara College is now offering a program which combines class- room skills with hands-on and team experience. ‘The program, which is made of three half-semester courses was created by computer technology program coordinator, Raymond Chow and course instructor Jacob Tran to allow students to combine practical programming skills and Lego robotics to foster teamwork and create a non intimidating ap- proach to coding. Chow said technology employers find that graduates from computer technology programs have coding development theory and knowledge but lack teamwork skills, one of the main _— reasons he introduced Lego EV3 Ro- Jacob Tran botics kits to INTRODUCTIONTO the computer CODING COURSE technology de- INSTRUCTOR partment. * skills part of coding course Lego EV3 Robotics kits are used to foster teamwork in a computer technology course. i /nDSEY LioyD PHOTO “You collaborate as a team to make the robots work and con- verse,” he said. ‘The Lego robotics kits are at- tached to the computer so students can program their Lego robots to move and flash lights. “You get instant gratification, whereas with other programming courses you sit in front of a com- puter and code for hours and don’t see what the end result is,” Chow said. The courses are available to all and was created to introduce people who are not familiar with computer programming to coding in a non- threatening and fun environment. Paul Brassard, owner of the start- up BrickClick and technology con- sulting firm Volition Advisors, said he understands the emphasis on teamwork in the new course. “Team is a large part of it,” Bras- sard said about hiring developers. “I look for people who are motivated on their own and flexible in a team environment.” Business administration student, Behnam Mahdillou, said he “hit the jackpot” when he found out that the course was being offered. Mahdillou said his past experi- ence with computer technology programs didn't apply coding skills outside of computers. He said he is excited to continue the course and hopes to get a job in robotics after he graduates. ‘Ihe program began this Septem- ber and the last course will be of- fered next semester.