ews & features sroesuoem THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011 2 Turkish Film Fest coming to Langara First ever festival held in Vancouver will showcase Turkish life and culture By RUMAN KANG Film Festival will be held at Langa- ra College on Sunday, Nov. 20. The festival taking place in the foyer of the A building will include 12 award- winning films, a Turkish coffee brew- ing workshop and Turkish market with handmade crafts and food. The festival was created to introduce and showcase Turkish language films and culture to a local audience. “There are so many award-winning Turkish films and they are being ac- knowledged around the world right now. So we thought why don’t we do a festival so that people in Vancouver have the chance to see them,” said Ey- lem Sonmez, Director of VTFF. Of the 12 films being shown at the festival there will be nine dramas and three documentaries. Among the dramas will be Three Monkeys, a Cannes film festival award winner for best director in 2008. There will also be two musical docu- mentaries, Lost Songs of Anatolia and Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Is- tanbul. According to Sonmez, the much-acclaimed documentaries cap- ture and represent the diversity of mu- sic in Turkey. “These two great documentaries represent the music and culture of Tur- key, Turkey has different areas and there are lots ethnic groups and they represent them all,” said Sonmez. The market at the festival will in- clude all sorts of handmade items from jewelry to traditional Turkish clothing. There is also expected to be a variety of Turkish foods including salads and baked goods. Although the event is still three weeks away, students seem to be excit- ed about the festival. “Trecently travelled through Turkey so personally I think it would be fun to go because I have spent some time there. Watching films is a way to travel if you don’t have the time and money to travel,” said Surya Carmichael, art and science transfer student. “By watching films from different countries its way to understand their culture.” For students interested in attending the festival the cost for tickets will be $5 per film or $12 for the entire day. The proceeds from the event will bene- fit the Turkish Canadian Society. T: first ever Vancouver Turkish JARED GNAM photo Nursing student Ian Li braces himself while getting a flu shot in the main foyer of Building A last Tuesday. Future clinics will be held next week and the week after. The B.C. Ministry of Health estimates that 10 to 20 per cent of the population suffers from the flu each year. Campus flu shot clinics open To get yours, drop by college health services on November 8, 9 or 15 By MORNA CASSIDY t’s that time of year again, flu season and with it comes the annual flu shot campaign. Langara health services began its annual flu shot clinic for students ear- lier this week. Future dates are Nov. 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nov. 9, noon to 4 p.m., and Nov. 15, noon to 4 p.m. “T would absolutely recommend all students getting the flu vaccine,” said Jenifer Timer, Nursing instructor at Langara College. “It’s not only impor- tant for protecting yourself, but those around you.” “Many people incorrectly believe that getting the flu shot gives you the flu, or a weakened version of it, and thus don’t get the shot for fear of actu- ally getting sick and missing class or work. This assumption is wrong,” Tim- er added. Last year in B.C. 1,080 people were hospitalized due to influenza, which re- sulted in 57 deaths. “Tt’s very important to note that peo- ple with compromised immune sys- tems, seniors, and children can get le- thally ill from the flu - they can die. So, if you’re not concerned about getting sick yourself, you should still get the shot to protect those around you and prevent passing the flu to them,” said Timer. The Ministry of Health estimates that 10 to 20 per cent of the population suffers from the flu every year. According to HealthLink BC “Influ- enza spreads easily from person to per- son through coughing, sneezing, or having face-to-face contact. The virus can also spread when a person touches tiny droplets from a cough or sneeze and then touches their eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.” Nursing instructor Shannon Red- mond said you can reduce the risk of getting or spreading influenza by washing your hands regularly, dispos- ing of used tissues in the waste basket or garbage, coughing and sneezing into your shirt sleeve rather than your hands, staying home when you are ill, and getting the influenza vaccine. Over the course of a season, one in 10 adults will get the flu and health offi- cials combat this by offering flu shots for the public. In B.C. there are over 1,800 doctors, pharmacists and nurses qualified to administer the flu vaccine. According to a report from the 2010 Canadian Community Health Survey, in 2010, 41 per cent of Canadians re- ported that they received the H1N1 vaccination. However, the same report revealed that only 36 per cent of British Columbians received the shot, well be- low the national average. Also, the re- port showed adults aged 20 to 44 were the age group least likely to get the vac- cine at only 32 per cent. Arts and science student Hanna Lit- tle said she has never received a flu shot but she is reconsidering. “T think I will this year based on ad- vice from my biology teacher and the fact that I am just getting over a really bad cold,” said Little who often attends classes even if she’s ill. “T try to stay home from class but if I’m sick for a while I tend to just tough it out and go to class in order to not fall behind.” THE FLU in Canada HM 3to7.5 million: Estimated number of Canadians who suffer from the influenza virus each year HE 4,000 to 8,000: The approximate number of Canadians who die each year due to inluenza HE 70 to 90 per cent: Percentage of inlu- enza vaccinations that success- fully produce the antibodies to fight off the flu in health adults Source: Health Canada We're driving less, says study JEN ST. DENIS photo Aman pedals past the traffic on West 49th Avenue. More Canadians are driving less according to a study released last month by an Australian researcher. And some of those Canadians work and study at Langara. Not by much — only 1.7 per cent per capita — but it’s a trend that’s catching on, even here at Langara By JEN ST. DENIS at 49th Avenue during rush hour, but people in North American cit- ies are driving less. Driving in Canada’s five biggest cit- ies declined 1.7 per cent per capita from 1995 to 2006, Australian researcher Jeff Kenworthy has found. The numbers are part of a worldwide trend that in- cludes the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The Voice canvassed students and faculty at Langara to see how the phe- nomenon is playing out on campus. Fulton Tom, an economics instruc- Y= wouldn’t know it from looking tor, used to drive or carpool to Langara from New Westminster. About 12 years ago, he ditched his car for a bike be- cause he wanted to get more exercise. His two sons, 17 and 19, have fol- lowed his lead and get around without a car. They don’t even have driver’s li- cences yet. “It’s just not a priority for them,” says Tom. “One of my biggest fears as a parent was when my sons might start driving, because it’s not particularly safe on the roads.” Like Tom’s sons, Adam Shambrook, a 24-year-old computer science stu- dent, has also never bothered to get a driver’s licence. He has gotten around exclusively by bike since he was 18, and said family and friends have never pressured him to become a driver. “My mom was thrilled,” he said. “She admires what I’m doing.” Design formation instructor Kevin Smith has been a non-licensed, non- driver for all of his 48 years and isn’t shy about it. He gets around by taxi, transit and on foot, and uses couriers to transport large items for his free- lance design work. “It’s amazing, the stigma around not driving,” said Smith. “And yet I can tell you that I have plenty of friends my age who are closeted non-drivers. They just don’t talk about it.” The convenience of the Canada Line lured nursing student Anna Villalobos out of her car. The result has been less stress and more savings. Villalobos drove to her job in North Vancouver every day, until she started school at Langara. She likes the train because it’s fast, and she doesn’t have to pay for gas. But what she enjoys most is not dealing with other driv- ers. “Some of them can be really ag- gressive,” said Villalobos.