2 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011 EDITOR NATALIE CAMERON ews & features New app calls out for voters Vancouver Votes is ‘useful,’ ‘simple’ and easy to navigate, student By JEN ST. DENIS ith the civic election loom- ing this Saturday, the City of Vancouver is trying to reach young voters through their iPhones. In a bid to raise low voter turnout rates for municipal elections, the city has spent about $10,000 to develop an iPhone app called Vancouver Votes. The app is free to download and pro- vides information about the candi- dates, when and where to vote, and whether users are on the voter list. “Our communications people [said] hands down, iPhone,” said Janice Mackenzie, chief electoral officer for the City of Vancouver. “We need to get at [young people] through an iPhone application.” Research shows that voter turnout for people between the ages of 18 and 35 is consistently lower for all elec- tions. The overall voter turnout for Vancouver’s last civic election was 31 per cent, the lowest in 50 years, said Mackenzie. “It’s = amazing when you think of it because the mu- nicipal level of gov- ernment has the greatest impact on our daily lives,” said Mackenzie. STEPHEN PHILLIPS “It’s where the rub- Langara political ber hits the road.” — science teacher The hot-button issues of this elec- tion - affordable housing, bike lanes, and better transit - are also issues that affect young Vancouverites. But there are real consequences when young people don’t show up at the polls. “One thing that’s already been ob- served is that parties and governments pay less attention to youth issues,” said Stephen Phillips, a political science in- structor at Langara. “Because they’re not showing up at the polls, they have less of an impact on the parties.” Langara psychology student Ruby Bissett, 19, downloaded and tried out the Vancouver Votes app for The Voice. “T do think it’s useful. It’s simple, and it’s not super hard to understand or navigate,” said Bissett, who is planning to vote. But some students aren’t interested in politics period, no matter how many different options they have to get infor- mation about elections. Arts and science student Zaw Paing, 19, doesn’t think he’ll be voting this Sat- urday. “Probably not, I don’t think I have time for that,” said Paing. “I don’t know any of the people.” Municipal elections will be held across B.C. on Nov. 19. THE APP information Voter information Where to vote When to vote Candidate listings News updates After the polls are closed it will show the election results Source: iTunes App Store Clockwise from top: Students en- joy the couches outside the cafete- ria. Recent van- dalism to the couches could re- sult in them being removed. Becky Tse (centre) relax- es on the couches with two of her friends. CARLY WIGNES photos —— a a eee : nh Security raises patrols over couches After rips were found in two of the couches outside the By CARLY WIGNES threatened to take the couches out- side the cafeteria away in response to vandalism that first appeared two weeks ago. Wendy Lannard, the manager of fa- Lives facilities management has cafe eteria cilities, noticed six hand-length tears in Langara 4s two of the couches last week. . . The rips cut through the pillow cas- considering ings and are deep enough to suggest removing they were done with a knife, said Lan- them nard. “Unfortunately, we may have to re- move them now,” she said. “We'll have to consider our options.” The couches, which are only two months old, cost about $900 each. Lannard said facilities must now consider replacing the seats with the steel benches and hard plastic seats that used to line the breezeway - “something that cannot be abused eas- ily,” she said. But some students who enjoy the couches said that such measures are unnecessarily severe. “It’s just college students acting like teenagers,” said second-year arts and sciences student Becky Tse. “TThe couches] are a great place to hang out and to lounge around with friends,” she said. “They’re the only good place to sit and should be kept.” General arts and sciences student Kiran Grewal said she does not think they should be removed or replaced. She thinks the couches should be left to deteriorate gradually over the years. While Grewal said there is not much that can be done to figure out who caused the damage, Mel Fearman, the head of security, suggested otherwise. Security is going to increase patrols in the area where the vandalism is tak- ing place, Fearman said. If students see any activity of the sort, he asked that they contact securi- ty as quickly as possible. Fearman said there is a yellow emer- gency call button adjacent to the infor- mation booth. The button calls security directly. Students should try to get a detailed physical description of the suspect, he added. Both Lannard and Fearman said it is likely that the vandalism was caused by a single individual. Fearman urges students to make use of security. “We would like to catch that person,” Fearman said. Thermenex wins Gold The heating and cooling system at Langara moves towards sustainability By MORNA CASSIDY sponsible for installing the innova- tive Thermenex heating and cooling system in Langara’s Building C and Students’ Union Building received a Gold award from the Vancouver Re- gional Construction Association. The award, for “Sustainable Con- struction and Innovation,” recognizes chief engineer Jeff Weston’s ground- breaking system, which enables a building to heat and cool itself for the majority of the year. “Receiving gold recognition by the VRCA will help change the way build- ings are designed in the future,” Weston said. “Langara College in Van- couver, B.C., which installed the first Thermenex system in 2009, deserves recognition for its willingness to use an emerging innovation, which was un- proven at the time.” The award nods to Langara’s com- mitment to progressive development and sustainability that not only meets but often exceeds the widely praised Leadership in Energy and Environ- mental Design (LEED) standards, ac- cording to the Langara College sustain- ability plan. Langara installed the first ever operating Thermenex system in Building C in 2009. In the same year the library opened to meet LEED gold stan- dards and the new SUB was used as an industry benchmark for effective ther- mal energy exchange marking Langara among the more progressive campuses in B.C. Simple processes such as transfer- ring heat generated in computer labs to other areas of the school is one way the Thermenex system has been put to use at Langara. “Tm surprised more schools don’t do that and knowing that Langara has this system makes me proud to go here,” said Megan Chase, an arts and science student. A commitment to sustainability is an ongoing goal at Langara. “Langara has been working for years at becoming a truly sustainable campus, and we’re proud to be the first to pilot this innova- tive system,” said Jay Strachan, direc- tor of facilities and purchasing. Future sustainability initiatives at Langara include moving toward 100 per cent recycling of paper, plastics, and glass including the recycling of plastic containers and non-refundable glass products; reducing campus paper us- age; continuing to build new structures to meet LEED Gold Standards; encour- aging the use of alternative forms of transportation and minimizing the campus energy consumption. Shield due in 2012 Continued from page 1 Jo Mechanical, the company re- book has been retained. Those are the main elements.” A member of the Musqueam Band had also met with the committee to re- view a First Nations element on the coat of arms, Rajotte said. Langara is situated on traditional Musqueam land. “We thought it was important to pay homage to that tradition,” she said. Langara Students’ Union board member Eli Zbar said it’s important the college be granted a coat of arms. “The elements in a coat of arms re- ally explain all of the things that Lang- ara stands for,” he said. “It will really improve the quality of the brand and the overall appeal of the school.” Zbar said he had seen some prelimi- nary designs earlier this year. “It looked good,” he said.