Campusnews LSU fees funding fight Former worker files a human rights complaint against LSU = By NIKITHA MARTINS M Students’ Union have been funding a fight against Harsimran Malhi, a former LSU board member who accused the union of discrimination, saying she was fired because of her mental illness. In November 2016, Malhi was fired because she broke a bylaw that states if a board member misses two meetings without reason, they are eligible for termination. Last month, she submitted a complaint against the LSU to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. The LSU attempted to dismiss this complaint, but their dismissal was denied. Malhi is unable to comment in this edition of The Voice due to le- gal implications. In past interviews with The Voice, Malhi said she provided a doctors note and received permission from former general manager Desmond Rodenbour to be excused from the meetings. In a previous interview she said, “They should have read their own bylaws. And secondly, it’s their due diligence that they should have contacted me if they couldn't con- tact Desmond.” The LSU requested only to speak to The Voice via email. An LSU media contact stated that the cost of the legal battle has been adding up and can cost the organization a good sum of money collected from students, who pay to be members of the union. “The claim in our opinion is not in good use of the LSU funds as we would rather use these funds to- wards providing services,” the me- dia contact said. The LSU said they were un- aware of Malhi’s mental illness and were not able to comment on their thoughts of the claim made against them. “Ms. Malhi was giving an oppor- tunity to dispute Councils decision of resignation, however chose not to. We are unaware why Ms. Malhi thinks the LSU was discrimina- tory due to her Mental Illness as the LSU was unaware and had no knowledge of such an illness,” the media contact said. The LSU has also claimed that Malhi was not an employee of theirs, according to a BC Human Rights Tribunal document. embers of the Langara LSU COMPLAINT TIMELINE ° 2016 Council votes to ac- cept the deemed resignation of Malhi depsite her counsellor requesting LSU consider the reasons for her absences. 2017 Malhi sends warning letter to LSU to undo her termi- nation, pay her lost wages, say- V ing her dismissal was illegal. 2018 tsus application to dismiss Malhi's claim denied by BC Human Rights Tribunal. SOURCE: BCHRT EDITORMYRA DIONNE | TUESDAY, MARCH 27,2018 | THE VOICE 3 a ~~ ~ ae... ™ a tw ‘es A photo from Wolf Island, a children's book by Langara instructor Nicholas Read and co-author lan McAllister that aims to teach children about a vulnerable and threatened species. IAN MCALLISTER PHOTO Kids learn from critters Langara instructor teaches children to care about animals = By AMANDA POOLE hildren’s books that focus on environmental aware- ness help young readers stay informed about threatened and vulnerable species in the Great Bear Rainforest. These were some of find- ings that Lan- Nicholas Read gara journalism AUTHOR AND LAN- instructor Nicho- GARA INSTRUCTOR las Read and co- author Ian McAllister discovered while working on their book Wolf Island. The children’s book focuses on the life of a lone wolf who swims to a smaller island searching for a mate. According to McAllister, these are rare wolves that have very little protection. “The books are not only to inspire people about how majestic these animals are but also about how vul- nerable and threatened they are,” McAllister said. “These are genetically distinct wolves that live on the island and make a living off the ocean.” The book has been nominated for the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize by BC Book Prizes. Read has been writing since 1986 and has done seven books in col- laboration with McAllister. He said that photographs are particularly important for young readers because it helps them un- derstand the context. in the real world. Dayle Sutherland, Orca Books marketer, said enviornmental is- sues are impotant to the publisher. “The chal- _ — Educating 1 t ‘ d many the | “These are genetically | jasanimpact rrr 20 the | distinct wolves that he scion w that child can see | liveontheislandand | ing with writers immediate y eo. who ave an what the make a living off the expertise in the photos - say, topic. Read said. ocean.” It’s their pas- According — IAN MCALLISTER, AUTHOR sion and we to a recent study published in the Frontiers of Psychology journal, picture books enable children to support their learning and apply the information really like that as a publishing | house,” Sutherland said. “The passion of a writer is what makes a book sell.” Design students raise Urg IMPRo New exhibit draws attention to citys rising sea levels = By AGAZY MENGESHA | angara students hope to raise urgency surrounding rising sea levels through a sustainably designed exhibition at the Vancouver Maritime Museum. Urgent Sea is a collaborative project between Langara design formation students, the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Park Board and the Stanley Park Ecol- ogy Society. Its aim is to demon- strate how locals can combat an en- vironmental issue that will greatly affect their city. When Angela Danyluk, a biolo- gist for the City of Vancouver, met Design Formation instructor Peter Vysek last year, she couldn't have guessed their collaboration would Joost Schokkenbroek with Vancouver Maritime Museum wants = exhibit to continue through the summer. 4GAzy MENGESHA PHOTO be exhibited in the Telus World of Science, the Museum of Vancouver and finally the VMM. “I pitched the idea to Peter be- cause it’s a difficult concept to com- municate and convey ideas about,” Danyluk said. “We've experience about four centimetres of sea level ent Sea rise over the last 30 years in Vac- nouver, and we're vulnerable to flooding due to big storms.” Selena Csizmadia is the project manager for Design Formation’s graduation show, and was part of a group piece for Urgent Sea on global mitigation actions. "I wasn't too into [the concept] but when we started I got into it and I recycle a lot now,” said Csiz- madia. While the exhibition ends on March 27, VMM'’s executive direc- tor Joost Schokkenbroek wants to bring it back in the summer, when the museum sees higher attendance levels. “We'll organize lecture series and presentations by academics, people involved in the environment—we'll have people from Greenpeace com- ing this way.” Schokkenbroek attributed a past leak in the museums basement to rising sea levels, but said that the apolitical nature of the maritime museum limits its possible respons- es to the issue.