ampus hews EDITOR VANESSA SZPURKO THE VOICE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2014 3 = 1 888 2 DONATE (1 -888-236-6283) ~ Www.blood.ca p eit LUKASZ JONCA photo Terri Havill is one of the registered nurses who works with the Bloodmobile, a self-contained blood donor clinic driving to Langara Feb. 3 Step right up and get pricked British Columbia hospitals experiencing a shortage of blood donors By LUKASZ JONCA hey want to suck your blood, but they'll give you a drink and a snack afterwards. The Canadian Blood Services Bloodmobile is coming to Langara on Feb. 3, giving students, faculty and the surrounding community a chance to donate blood. Currently there are only three blood- mobiles operating in Canada, one of which is based in Vancouver. Its goal is boosting the volume of donations through awareness, when many people don’t realize the importance of donat- ing blood and the positive effect their donations can make in someone’s life. It takes about 50 donors to collect enough blood for the victim of a car ac- cident. Patients battling leukemia need around eight donors a week, said Stephanie Scott with CBS. There are several challenges con- cerning blood donations. Scott said British Columbia is currently import- ing blood from Alberta because there are not enough donors to meet the needs of local hospitals. Last year roughly 30 per cent of Ca- nadians said they would donate blood but the actual number was less than four per cent, she added. “Most blood donations are used within five days. It does have a shelf- life of 42 days,” she said. “People think we can just kind of stockpile blood and we can’t. It actually does expire.” In addition, not all blood types are compatible, and some donors must be turned away for their own safety be- cause of iron deficiencies. People also forget about their appointments or call in sick. Another strain on the service is that the minimum time between blood do- nations is 56 days. This year it will take more than 850,000 units of blood to treat patients. “Our target on the Bloodmobile is 36 units of blood, so we usually need to book about 50 appointments to make that happen,” Scott said. Vineci Chung, a nursing student, said, “The nurses there are very, very hospitable. You feel like a VIP while you're giving blood. “They give you an awesome selec- tion of juice and cookies. “You feel like you just went to the grocery store, but they’re giving you everything for free.” To find out more INTERESTED IN MAKING A BLOOD DONATION YO CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES? Call: 1888 2 DONATE Visit: www.blood.ca A new year, a new semester - and a new president Langara’s third president hopes with time school will become known as ‘the best college in Canada’ By BEN ZUTTER dent Lane Trotter on Jan. 20, and he couldn’t be happier about his new job and the challenges it will bring. “As of day five, everything that led me to make the decision after I was of- fered the position, and even applying for the position, has been reinforced. “T made the right decision in accept- ing the position to become Langara’s president, and I feel so privileged and honoured to be here,” Trotter said. He is still very new to the job, but Trotter has high hopes for the college. “What I would like to see Langara be is the best college in Canada,” he said. “Tt might take five or 10 years, but I want people across the country to know who Langara College is.” Trotter has more than 22 years of work experience in the higher educa- tion sector. Former interim president Roy Daykin has spoken with the college’s new leader. “The tone of our discussion focused on helping me to be successful at Lan- Lie: welcomed its third presi- gara College and passing on his know!- edge and expertise so that I have a bet- ter sense of the college,” Trotter said. In his final letter before returning to his previous position as vice-president of administration and finance and chief financial officer, Daykin also suggested that one of the challenges facing the or- ganization would be dealing with loss- es to funding. Trotter would not comment on spe- cifics, but did recognize the ongoing challenge faced by both colleges and governments to meet the budgetary needs of their respective post-second- ary institutions. For now, he is focused on learning about what drives Langara’s communi- ty. “My first period of time here is get- ting to understand culture, getting to understand the people. “What are their aspirations and goals for the organization? What are the students’ aspirations and goals?” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to do with all of the people ’m meeting - understand the college through their lens.” KK LAW photo Lane Trotter has a Doctorate of Education from Simon Fraser University and a Master of Public Administra- tion from the University of Victoria Very low candidate numbers Lukewarm response to open student positions on education council causes election postponement By RENEE SUTTON o student seats on the Langara I education council are empty after a scarcity of nominations. The spring election application dead- line has been pushed back to Feb. 4 be- cause not enough students have ap- plied. Applicant numbers were unavailable. Of four student positions on the council, one male and one female posi- tion are filled every semester for a one- year term. The education council consists of 12 elected faculty and support-staff mem- bers, four elected students and four education admin- istrators appoint- ed by the Langa- ra president. It’s the final step of approval for poli- cies on student evaluation, grad- ing, curriculum, withdrawals and awards. “Curriculum "Hh i £ GERTA KRAUSE Education council chair usually is devel- oped in a depart- ment,” said Gerda Krause, education council chair. “Tt goes through several layers of ap- proval. Finally it comes to EdCo, and EdCo is what makes it official.” A couple of students said there was not enough promotion surrounding the call for nominations. An email notifying students of the opportunity to campaign was sent on Jan. 20, four days before the original deadline. “T deleted a couple of emails that said important elections, but I’ve seen nothing posted around the school,” Owen Bishop, a theatre student said. Science — stu- = dent Laura Baker OWEN BISHOP said she remem- Theatre student at Langara bered receiving the email but didn’t know anything about what the elections were for. On the other hand, economics stu- dent Andy Li was aware of the call for nominations. He remembered receiv- ing the email and seeing papers around campus announcing elections. Students applying for a position on the Education Council must have a schedule that accommodates council meetings, which can deter many stu- dents from applying, Krause said. There are usually one to three appli- cants. “Sometimes there’s an_ election, sometimes it’s more of an acclama- tion,” she added. “It’s a nice thing to have on their resume, which I think is why people choose to do it.” The deadline to apply for a student position is 4 p.m. on Feb. 4. Students can use their myLangara account to view candidate statements and cast their ballots from Feb. 18 to Feb. 19. A meeting schedule, minutes, list of current council members, EdCo bylaws and election procedures can be found online at: http://langara.be.ca/about- langara/education-council/index.html