AMPUS NEWS _ oroeoxsvne THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCT. 15 2015 3 A new Langara club is making a space for LGBTQ students By NANCY PLECHATY angara College’s LGBTQ (Lesbi- an, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/ Questioning) Club is back with a new name and representa- tion. The club was renamed the Langa- ra Gender and Sexuality Collective by co-founders Madison Compagna and Kelsey Blair. The collective replaces the former LGBTQ Club -- which dissolved over two years ago, according to Madison Compagna, a first year general studies student. Now the group faces a new chal- lenge: reclaiming their old room in the Langara Students’ Union Building. “There was a resource centre for us, but it seems like they have been push- ing us out of there,” said Compagna, “We are looking at getting it reinstat- ed, making it a safe space again.” Blair, a first year => -é dietetics student, said it’s important to have a_ safe space because many of those indi- viduals that identi- fy under their um- brella feel alienated or alone, especially the younger ones. Blair was able to obtain some an- swers from a LSU staff member. “Two years ago there was a [LSU] bylaw passed that all the centres: the Langa- ra Queer Committee, Women’s Steer- Was i KELSEY BLAIR Club co-founder NANCY PLECHATY photo The Langara Gender and Sexuality Collective during a meeting, checking out the old resource room in the Students’ Union Building. Taking back their space ing Committee, the United People of Colour, would be referenced as re- source rooms and be used by all stu- dent bodies,” said Blair, due to the un- der-utilization of the rooms. This means the club cannot claim it as their own. There is still some confusion about the usage of the resource rooms. In the meantime, the Collective plans to use the room on a daily basis. Gurleen Minhas, a second year stu- dent running for the Sexuality and Gender Diversity Advisor position on the LSU student committee, saw a sign hanging from the ceiling of the LSU. Minhas said, “It still says Queer Cen- tre. I don’t know if they actually meant to change it?” 66 There was a resource centre for us, but it seems like they have been push- ing us out of there MADISON COM- PAGNA CLUB CO-FOUNDER Stood up by Safe Walk When calls to Safe Walk go unaswered, there is noth- ing in place to back you up By RUMANA DSOUZA lege provide a service called Safe Walk during the day, evenings and late nights which is available seven days a week, throughout the year. Students can call the Safe Walk if they think they’re being followed, threatened or feeling unsafe. A security officer is supposed to meet students at their current location to escort them to where they need to go on campus, but sometimes the calls go unanswered. “This is difficult because there are built-in redundancies and it appears all failed,” said David Aucoin, manager of security, safety and emergency man- agement at Langara about when calls go unanswered. According to Aucoin, sometimes the security office can be unmanned when officers are addressing issues around campus, but no officer on shift is al- lowed to leave the campus site. Currently, there are no procedures in place if a student’s call to the emer- gency number is unanswered or mis- handled. First year computer science student, Avneet Kaur said she would use the service if she felt threatened or unsafe. “Tf I call the Safe Walk line and no one answers my call, ’'d obviously panic. I would try calling the International Ed- ucation Office or 911,” she said. The Safe Walk service is utilized by staff and students approximately 20 times a year, according to Aucoin, al- though no official stats are maintained. “It is a security and safety provision for all. Even though it’s underutilized I have no plans to eliminate it,” Aucoin said. Seer personnel at Langara Col- ontroversy over container conversion After switching styrofoam for cardboard, the enviro- mental club is asking the sushi café to do more By SERENA PATTAR (LEC) is pushing the Langara Su- shi Café to practice more sustain- able methods by offering reusable plates and uten- sils, rather than the cardboard con- tainers that are presently provid- ed. Currently, the café only offers cardboard take-out containers. Al- though it has switched from sty- rofoam to cardboard because of stu- dent complaints, the LEC believes that the café could do more. Fourth-year marketing student, and Te Langara Environmental Club DANIEL CROUGH Langara Enviro- mental Club member of the LEC Daniel Crough, said it is important to switch to reus- able cutlery to cut down on waste. “Just that consumption and that waste, if you think about how they’re probably serving at least a 100 people a day, and that’s a 100 plus items of gar- bage,” Crough said. Claire Riback, a first-year general arts student, believes the lack of seat- ing in and around the café also adds to the waste. “There isn’t enough seating there for everyone who wants to be sitting there. So they have to give it to you in take away containers, because they’ll never know if you'll get a seat,” she said. Riback suggests a better system for those who wish to eat in, similar to how other restaurants allow patrons to show they want to eat in, as a means of cutting down on waste. First-year criminal justice student, Talya Cohen agreed. “If they make the waste containers less confusing to use and sort, more people would be able to use them properly,” she said. Lea Lee, Manager of the Langara Su- shi Café, said they have listened to stu- dents, and no longer use styrofoam. The café itself practices recycling and sorts all of their waste into paper, plas- tic and organics, but they “have no con- trol over how oth- r4 4 ers use the garbage when disposing of empty containers,” If they Lee said. make the Both the Langa- ra Sushi Café and waste CON- the LEC are cur- tainers less rently in discus- . sions to find a suit- conf using able way to reduce touse and — the amount of gar- sort, more bage and recycling. 3 people would be able to use them prop- erly TALYA COHEN a LEA LEE CRIMIRGML hee Langara Sushi TICE STUDENT «= “Fe manager SERENA PATTAR photo The Langara Sushi Café switched from styrofoam to card- board.