LANGARA STUDENT MAKES PACWEST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM. ...22:50

Denise Busayong studies human kinetics at the college and only takes one day off from practice a week i

LSU won't say how it will spend $42K

Union pockets $54,000 and 1s set to spend $12,000, refuses to elaborate on rest

By SAM REYNOLDS

committee of the Langara Stu-

dents’ Union had a budget sur-

plus of approximately $42,000

or the 2011-2012 school year,
and is refusing to provide meeting min-
utes from the year to The Voice.

The Students’ Issue Actions Com-
mittee — which has a mandate to “ad-
dress the barriers to accessible, afford-
able post-secondary education” by
lobbying the province and government
to reduce fees — received approximate-

ly $54,000 in student fees last academic
year and spent approximately $12,000.
The rest of the money is deposited into
a GIC (a savings bond offered by a fi-
nancial institution), which is available
for the entire LSU to use with SIAC
having priority according to LSU me-
dia liaison Sonja “Andy” Sandberg.

Sandberg said this year’s budget
may be larger.

“Because of the [provincial] election
it might be a bit more this year,” Sand-
berg said.

Sandberg explained last year’s SIAC

activities were focused on promoting
“student issues” in the civic election,
getting out the student vote (though
Sandberg claimed the LSU remains
non-partisan), and promoting urban
agriculture — a movement also pro-
moted by Vision Vancouver.

Sandberg also mentioned that the
SIAC is an active part of the “Where’s
the Funding” campaign, organized by
the University of Victoria’s left-leaning
FUSE slate. Sandberg said Langara
students were bussed to Victoria to
participate in a protest on the Legisla-

ture’s lawn.

When the meeting minutes for the
year were requested from the LSU, a
resource co-ordinator for the union
said minutes would be made available
48 hours after receipt of an email re-
quest. No minutes were ever sent. A
further 72 hours after the initial re-

66 of
the provin-
cial elec-
tion it (the
budget)
might be

a bit more

quest was made, an LSU staffer claimed

minutes would only be available from

this year”

the office in-person, but this same staff-

er refused to produce minutes when
presented with an in-person request.

FRUIT AND VEG
AMONGST THOSE
PRODUCTS IN HIGH
DEMAND THIS
THANKSGIVING

Customers queue for fruit and
vegetables at a farmers market on
Marine Drive ahead of Thanksgiv-
ing this weekend. Local produce is
in high demand as always and this
market helps to conquer the need
for food. Students will be happy due
to the holiday on Monday.For full
story see page 3.

JULES KNOX photo

ee setae,

ay

S7

31 staff members retire from college

NOJABLE
retirees

But still no money saved
for college as all vacted
positions to be filled

By JENNIFER THUNCHER

been attending more than their
share of retirement parties lately.
Over the past eight months, 31 senior
personnel have retired causing a cul-
ture shift at the highest levels.
According to Dawn Palmer, associ-
ate vice-president of human resources,
there is no cost savings for Langara as
a result of the turnover because all the
positions will be filled.
Palmer says many of the 31 had been
on campus since it opened in 1970.
“The work they did is one of the rea-
sons we are a top school today,” she

&

Ss: members at Langara have

said.

On the employment page of Langa-
ra’s website there are four administra-
tive, five faculty and 18 staff positions
listed as open or in the screening
process.

With so many Canadian baby boom-
ers retiring, many institutions are ex-
periencing the same transition.

Roger Mannell, director of the RBC
Retirement Research Centre at the
University of Waterloo, said that plan-
ning is key to surviving a boomer exo-
dus.

“The negative impact of losing tal-
ented people ... can be reduced by hav-
ing effective succession and leadership
development strategies,” Mannell said
by email.

According to Palmer, Langara’s in-
tensive transition plan began more
than 18 months ago.

She notes with the influx of new peo-

ple, everyone has to learn to work to-
gether in new and different ways.

Lynn Carter, president of the Langa-
ra Faculty Association, says the loss of
valuable people leads to a loss in expe-
rience and continuity.

Carter said she feels the loss of cer-
tain colleagues, such as former vice-
president academic and provost Martin
Gerson, because they had developed a
comfortable routine, but she believes
the impressive new hires offer opportu-
nities for all. “It is a time of renewal
and change,” she said.

Former instructor Ariadne Burse-
wicz, who retired last year, thinks with
Langara’s focus on classroom teaching,
students won’t notice a difference in
their education. She believes former
employees remain a resource.

“Retirees don’t just vanish,” Burse-
wicz said. She visits the campus to stay
in touch and advise if needed.

Deanna Douglas
{enrolment man-
agement)

Linda Arnold
{associate vp
academic)

Jay Strachan
(Director of facilities
and purchasing)

Anne Roberts
(Journalism depart-
ment chair)

Mel Fearman
(building services
manager)

SONJA
SANDBERG
LSU media liaison

LSU money:
no interest

Students fail to ask what
LSU fees go towards at last
week’s election forum

By JANA MINOR

ministers a budget of $2.2 million

yet not one student approached the
microphone at last week’s election fo-
rum to question how that money is
spent.

Over 9,000 Langara students pay ap-
proximately $70 each term in mandato-
ry dues to the LSU not including health
and dental plan fees.

But candidate’s knowledge of the
current LSU financial position range
from “no idea” to Andy Sandberg’s re-
sponse as LSU spokesperson that “a
huge draw on the budget is the mort-
gage, but we’re still in the black.”

Some candidates were shocked to
learn there is a mortgage on the Stu-
dents’ Union Building, or the SUB.

Last year, the LSU paid $194,000 in
mortgage principal and interest pay-
ments.

The 22-member LSU board of direc-
tors who get elected by the student
body decide how that money collected
by the LSU gets spent.

The campaigning for five of those va-
cant positions kicked off last week with
an All Candidates Forum in the SUB at
noon on Sept. 26, where candidates
gave short campaign speeches and of-
fered to answer questions.

Adam Giesbrecht, a psychology stu-
dent running for queer liaison, was dis-
pleased with the audience turnout. The
crowd was composed of roughly 25 stu-
dents seated in lounge chairs prior to
the event.

“IT don’t think anyone was here for
this, except one girl up front. Everyone
had their headphones in,” he said.

Low student electoral engagement
may not be surprising considering run-
ners are restricted from campaigning
online using Facebook or Twitter.

See Voting today, Friday, page 3

T: Langara Students’ Union ad-