EDITOR PATRICK PENNER | THURSDAY, FEB.7, 2018 | THE VOICE 3 Campusnews Tree vandal scandal More than 60 juvenile trees located at the Langara golf course were vandal- ized throughout the month of January said the Vancouver Park Board. The board said they believe the vandal- ism occurred over night as the golf course is open dawn till dusk. Built in 1926 the golf course is one of the three golf courses owned by the Vancouver Park Board. Files from Austin Everett and Liam Hill-Allan AUSTIN EVERETT PHOTO The fight for free tampons Womens rights activists put pressure on Langara for change = By MISSYJOHNSON angara is open to changing its coin machines to free dispensers as a menstrual equity movement gains momentum at schools and colleges across the country. Dwayne Doornbosch, Langara’s director of facilities, said Langara would consider offering free tampons if there was a way to ensure people don’t take more than they need. “Regarding free tampons and pads, the issue we have is that the machines just get emptied by people when they are free. By making people pay, this helps to reduce the issue,” he said in an email. “We would consider changing if [there] was a solution that was proposed that would work. At this point we haven't found one.” Centennial College in Toronto was among the first to install free dispensers in place of the regu- lar coin machines in April 2018. Colleges and universities in Halifax, Calgary and Montreal have joined the movement. In May, a survey was conducted by Plan International Canada, and found that one-third of women under the age of 25 in Canada have struggled to pay for menstrual prod- ucts. Experts are saying it’s important that women have access to these items. Nancy Pollak, coordinator of the women’s studies program at Langara college said it “does make a differ- ence in women’s ability to participate in their communities wholeheart- edly.” In the Lower Mainland, advocate Dr. Selina Tribe has been making her way across different school boards, hoping they pass legislation to require free dispensing units be installed in bathrooms. “This is a normal bodily func- tion that I think needs a little more support in the school system,” she said. ‘There is one place on campus indi- viduals can find sanitary products if they're able to show financial need. VOLT in The Hub makes and hands out care packages. “They express an enormous amount of gratitude for having those products available,” said Maggie Stewart, volunteer program coor- dinator. Centennial College’s next steps include making the dispensers avail- able in the men’s washrooms as well. When asked if Langara College should consider this, Pollak said it makes perfect sense as to not exclude trans and non-binary students. Financial VP weigh SFSS executive thinks Langara would gain from transparency = By LIAM HILL-ALLAN tudents at post-secondary institutions benefit when their unions publicly post their financial documents, said the financial executive at Simon Fraser University's student union. Matthew Chow, the SFU student union's vice-president of finance, said it is difficult for students to understand where their money is going if they can't access records. SFU’s student union posts its financial statements on a website. “The reason why you would want to strive to be transparent as a society is because you have an obligation to your membership,” Chow said. After reviewing LSU's financial documents, at the request of The Voice, Chow said he's surprised the statements were not available. Recent changes to the B.C. Soci- eties Act have increased the trans- parency demanded of non-profit ANGAR i L A student walks passed the Langara Students' Union. 1 /AMHiLi-AlLAN PHOTO societies. While B.C. student unions are not obliged to post financial documentation online, most in B.C. upload their [— records annu- ally. The LSU does not. Emilia Nad, a Lang- ara computer science student, thinks they should be posted online. “Tf it’s something useful, we should be okay with [what's in the docu- ments],” Nad said. But if students "You would want to strive to be transparent as a society is because you have an obligation to your membership.” — MATTHEW CHOW, SFSS VP OF FINANCE don't know what money is being spent on, “you're kind of suspicious as to what they are doing with it.” In an email exchange last fall, the LSU told The Voice it planned to make its finan- cial records available online “very soon.” On Feb. 4, The Voice requested an update from the LSU on when its finan- cial records would be online. No Ss inon LSU answer was provided by publica- tion time. Council and executive meet- ing minutes and the LSU’s gover- nance are not currently posted on the LSU website. The LSU is, however, posting regular event news. This is two years after the LSU approved $15,000 for a “new website,” according to LSU meeting minutes from Nov. 14, 2017 from documents The Voice aquired. For Curtis Whittla, director of finance and operations at the University of Victoria Students Society, publishing financial docu- mentation helps students under- stand how their fees are spent. “I would say that it’s just part of our philosophy,” Whittla said. Chow thinks some non-profit organizations that don’t publish financial documentation might be hiding something. That can sometimes be “an indi- cator that there’s some deceit or wrongdoing,” Chow said. Two weeks ago, two student union executives at Ryer- son University in Toronto were suspended after the student news- paper, The Eyeopener, reported hundreds of thousands of dollars of questionable spending by the society, including nightclub outings and alcohol. Collective bargaining kicks-off Negotiations between | angara College and the teachers’ union to begin soon = By KIMLAU ith the existing five-year collective bargaining agreement between the Langara Faculty Association and college set to expire in just seven weeks, instructors and administra- tors are now working towards defin- ing their priorities. Both sides were careful to not give away their negotiating position, but instructors have mentioned some of their top concerns include support for international students and temporary work contracts. “'There’s been increasing pressure on all of us,” LFA President Scott McLean said. CBAs are commonly signed between the LFA and the college in three-year terms. However, the last one was for five years and expires March 31, 2019. The longer term was negotiated through the Federa- tion of Post-Secondary Educators of BC and was a part of each indi- vidual CBA with member institu- tions. The head of the college’s nego- tiating team is Dawn Palmer, vice president of people’s services. She acknowledged wages and employ- ment conditions were not part of the LFA survey that was sent out to union members. “We are at the very beginning stage right now, but I think we are all doing our homework on both sides,” Palmer said. For Latin American studies instructor Jessie Smith, the main issue is international student enrol- ment, which has increased signifi- cantly since the previous agreement was enacted. Smith said while all teachers care for their students and want them to do well, some lack basic academic discourse and critical thinking skills. “We want them to learn and do well, but they lack basic academic discourse and critical thinking skills,” Smith said. Smith wants to see more support to prepare students before entering academic courses. McLean also stated that term contracts leave sessional instruc- tors without job security and make it difficult to do any long-term life planning. “It’s the issue of unpredictabil- ity for a lot of people to live their lives and to make a commitment to work and teach in college under this condition,” he said. Erfan Rezaie is one of the lucky instructors to have a regu- lar contract. But for three years, he taught as a sessional. He agreed that job security is important for him and his family. “T want to be more involved in the union to help others to fight for job stability and job permanence,” he said. BARGAINING FACTS » Dates Collective agreement expires on March 31. LFA bargaining survey was complete on Jan. 10. Up- coming contract is for three years » Faculty numbers There are 700 faculty members included under the agreement.