FIGHTING BACK. cecccccccceeceeceneeseucenneneeceneeneunennennencd The Vancouver Police Department come to Langara College and host a women’s self defence course Cw. z =e w i Slain student remembered Hundreds mourn the violent death of Langara’s Manraj Akalirati By BEN BULMER undreds of mourners crowded into the Riverside Funeral Home in Delta on Sunday to re- member the life of Langara criminology student Manraj Akalirai. Akalirai, who was known to police, was only 19 years old when a group of men slew him with a sword in East Vancouver on Jan. 28. Five men were held in custody by po- lice but released two days after. During the cold grey afternoon, mourners, many dressed in white — the traditional East Indian colour of grieving — walked silently through the drizzle into the funeral home. With the huge parking lot full, cars lined the streets leaving some attend- ees with over a five-minute walk just to get to the gates of the building. A candlelight vigil was held on Jan. 30 at Elgin Street, close to where Akali- rai was murdered. Over a hundred people poured onto the sidewalk and stood between parked cars whilst friends and relatives laid flowers and shared fond memories at the site — which has now become a me- morial. “T went to high school with him. I’d known him since we were kids, he’s just a kind guy — [a] quiet guy, never heard a single bad thing about him,” said Satveer Dhaliwal, a former classmate. “He was a really good guy, he never AAK|\ N JORCBRY 1 © iit |_I hurt or harmed anybody, he was always happy, he just didn’t deserve it,” said a man who described himself as “one of Akalirai’s best friends” but didn’t want to be identified. It can be a psychological burden to lose someone in a violent manner. Grief can be compounded when a per- son dies in a murder, according to Lan- gara counsellor Paula Obedkoff “There’s a lot of anger that goes along with [grief] especially in violent situations,” said Obedkoff. “There’s grief and there’s loss, but in a violent situation there’s an element of surprise and shock and an element of powerlessness,” she said. See CLOSURE page 3 66 Pd known him since we were kids, he’s just a kind guy — lal quiet guy. Satveer Dhaliwal, former classmate of Manraj Akalirai BEN BULMER photo 7 oe x i sz e Z e Vy is. A mourner tends to the memorial of slain Langara criminology student Manraj Akalirai on Elgin Street, near the site of his death. Aboriginal enrolment in Langara on the rise A letter from the advanced education ministry to the college suggests increasing native admissions By KELC] NICODEMUS native learners. As for keeping the aboriginal population at College is up, according to a letter ad- dressed to the school’s president from the Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology. In the letter, Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland, deputy minister of advanced education, con- gratulates Langara on the increase of the ab- original student population and is looking for- ward to the college’s effort to continue the upward trend. Larry Railton, manager of ser- vices for aboriginal students, confirmed the numbers have indeed increased by about 40 T:: aboriginal student count at Langara i) Railton said the reason numbers have risen at Langara as opposed to other schools like Douglas College and Vancouver Community College, could be because Langara is, essen- tially, a transfer school. “A lot of our aboriginal students are coming here, looking to transfer to university,” said Railton. Another attraction to the college, according to Railton, is Langara’s reputation for helping aboriginal learners. “Because we have that reputation out in the community, that increases aboriginal students coming here,” he said. Langara rising, Railton said the college is do- ing the same as any other post-secondary school. “Do what we can to keep the students here, service the students and support the stu- dents,” said Railton. Shianne Ewenin, an aboriginal studies stu- dent, said the school appeals to her because of the great teachers. Most instructors focus on an interactive as oppposed to a passive learn- ing approach, she said. “They’re so passionate about it that it just makes you want to come back and learn more,” Ewenin said. Queer liaison calls it quits Adam Giesbrecht resigns amidst administrative deadlock and mounting drama in the LSU By DEANNA CHENG queer and deputy media liaison of the Langara Students’ Union Jan- uary after holding the positions for only three months. Giesbrecht said he left because he couldn’t stop and didn’t want to be a part of “the drama going on with the [student union] board” anymore. “The LSU staff has been there for- ever and they keep passing on drama after drama and it just builds after ev- ery new entry,” said Giesbrecht. “It’s the same way with The Voice. The drama keeps building and build- ing and they just clash.” The former liai- son wanted to run workshops and programs to raise awareness and support Langara’s queer community. However, Giesbrecht said he didn’t get the opportunity to bring his plan to fruition because he couldn’t get it ap- proved at an official meeting. For an of- ficial meeting, a minimum of three committee members and one staff member needs to be present. Due to scheduling conflicts, he couldn’t get a meeting together. “If I were to rate [the experience] out of 10, I would probably say three,” said Giesbrecht. According to Giesbrecht, the new LSU bylaws will have a general posi- tion about “gender equality” that com- bines the queer position with the wom- en’s liaison position. However, the new bylaws ratified by the LSU in December fail to define the duties and responsibilities of each posi- tion, he said. Gurbax Leelh, the LSU media liai- son, said the board doesn’t know who will fill the queer liaison position and, at the moment, they are focused on their policy issues. Gerald Hornsby, LSU resource co- ordinator, said the elections will be held in September. Ae Giesbrecht resigned as the ADAM GIESBRECHT Former LSU queer liaison