EDITOR ALEX HOEGLER THE VOICE, TUESDAY, NOV.24, 2015 5 Artists get crafty at Langara Students scrambling for Christmas shopping or other gift ideas have it all here at Langara College By RUMANA DSOUZA gearing up for another year at Lan- gara College. Beginning on Nov. 23 and going until this Thursday, local craft and gift ven- dors will be selling jewellery, clothing, houseplants, collectibles, and other knick-knacks at the fair, which has be- come something of a tradition at the college. Langara College rents out table space to the vendors and the proceeds go towards the Langara College United Way Campaign. The annual campaign, which takes place mainly in the fall se- mester each year, comprises of a vari- ety of events for students, staff and fac- ulty to help raise funds for the United Way of the Lower Mainland. The Craft & Gift Fair, Hot Dog Day and the Duck Race are some of the more popular events organized by the campaign com- mittee. Jackie Scheepbouwer, co-chair of Langara’s United Way Campaign com- mittee, said the campaign has raised $13,000 this semester. “We started the campaign almost 29 years ago, and it’s to raise money for the needy in the Lower Mainland.” Scheepbouwer said. “Fifty per cent of the proceeds from special events like hotdog sales and the craft fairs goes to- wards United Way, and the other 50 percent go to Langara students, in the form of bursaries and scholarships.” The United Way of the Lower Main- land is an autonomous non-profit orga- nization that funds over 150 agencies to address community issues such as pov- erty and homelessness, and help fami- lies or individuals in crisis. Mayumi Sugano, fondly known as the “Japanese herbal tea lady” by stu- dents, is one of the popular vendors at the fair. She said the event presents an opportunity for her to sell her original tea blends. “T just started making my tea blends three months ago, so it’s a great start for me to sell them here. I really love the atmosphere at this fair, and the stu- dents are so kind,” Sugano said. The fair provides early Christmas shopping opportunities for those who are scrambling for gift ideas. Jenna Loewen, a second year Latin American studies student, visited the fair to get a head start on shopping for the holidays. “Tm looking for Christmas presents for my family. I like the fair, but I really wish there was more variety in prod- ucts,” Loewen said. Te United Way Craft & Gift Fair is RUMANA DSOUZA photo Mayumi Sugano sells her original tea blends at the United Craft & Gift Fair at Langara College. ual TESSA VIKANDER photo Muskaan Chanana (left) and Rosi Hunter (right) do the famous “tree” yoga pose together. Langara Yoga Club Starts out strong While Ottawa University 1s under yoga contro- versy, Langara College aims at making it com- fortable for students who want to practise it By TESSA VIKANDER s the Student Federation of the Universtiy of Ottawa puts its free yoga class on hold citing concerns of cultural appropria- tion, two Langara students have start- ed a yoga club of their own. Langara Yoga Club founder Rosi Hunter said she takes concerns about cultural appropriation seriously. She also takes measures to ensure her classes acknowledge the origins of yoga. “IT try and draw peoples’ attention to the broader aspects of yoga,” she said. “TYoga] is about unifying your body, mind and soul, and you can’t do that just through [the yoga poses, called] asanas.” Hunter said she had one student confront her about cultural appropria- tion but she addressed the concern looking critically at how she teaches and promotes the club. On clubs day, over 150 people joined the club’s mailing list, said Hunter. She hopes the free on-campus class- es will benefit students who can’t af- ford to take yoga otherwise. Muskaan Chanana, a Langara busi- ness administration student and Hindu from Mumbai, practices yoga. Sbe also said people are drawn to Hindu practices, because the culture is so powerful and colourful. She thinks some Hindus fear west- ern yoga has lost its meaning. “It’s not aerobics where you jump around,” Chanana said. “The teacher needs to teach people to sit down with themselves every day and to let go of their [emotional] bag- gage.” Coordinator for Langara’s yoga teacher training program Naseem Gu- lamhusein said teachers need to be “broad enough so you can understand the principles of mindfulness and yoga” but also respect yoga’s roots in Hinduism and Veydic culture. The fundamental question, said Hunter, is whether someone can teach a practice that’s not from his or her cul- ture. “My opinion is yes,” Hunter said. “We need to find a way to work togeth- er ... in a respectful way.” CAMPUS yoga dates 1 Nov. 24, 9:00-10:00 AM Session with Rosi Hunter 2 Nov. 26, 1:00-2:00 PM Session with Shay Halverson 3 Dec. 1, 9:00-10:00 AM Session with Rosi Hunter 4 Dec. 15, 9:00-10:00 AM Session with Rosi Hunter 5 Dec. 17, 1:00-2:00 PM Session with Shay Halverson Source: Langara Yoga Club Facebook page New Punjabi course offers dance, music Students at Langara can learn culture of Punjabi dancing and music this upcoming January By ANNE-SOPHIE RODET Langara College will look in depth at Punjabi music, dance and culture. Starting in January, Langara will of- fer continuing studies programs for Punjabi performing arts. One program will be in dance, the other in music. Langara College instructor in per- forming arts, Brad Gibson, said he was interested in offering these programs because it gives the occasion to under- stand the depth of an art form. “By understanding the history, by understanding the specifics of any art form, that’s the basis of being able to break it open, take it forward into a modern contemporary form and not just do a pale imitation of what has been done in the past,” Gibson said. Hardeep Singh Sahota, director and instructor of the Royal Academy of Bhangra came to Gibson to propose the training. He initiated and set up the whole project because he wanted to make this art form more accessible, Gibson said. Sahota chose to run it with Langara because the college was already offer- ing courses in performing arts. He also relied on the longevity Langara can guarantee contrary to smaller institu- tions. “With Langara, we see the future,” said Sahota. The two programs are collabora- tions between the Royal Academy of Bhangra, Langara and the Punjabi Uni- versity of Patalia in India. The Indian university had already developed the content and the struc- ture. “They authorize us, Royal Academy of Bhangra, to run those programs in Canada,” said Sahota. With the involvement of Pammi Bai, famous Punjabi singer and dancer, from the Panjabi University of Patala, the program has heightened a level of prestige. It is also the only Punjabi perform- ing arts program accredited by the Ca- nadian Dance Teachers Association, according to Gibson. Langara will offer two different pro- grams. Each program will last two se- mesters. Asemester will include 80 hours, be- ing five to six hours per week, covering four Punjabi dances or four Punjabi folk instruments each and Sufi singing and vocals. The classes will take pace at the Royal Academy of Bhangra in Surrey. Ae performing arts program at SUBMITTED photo Langara College continuing studies students can now learn Punjabi dancing and music.