5 Turn off phones, study! Staying away from elec- tronics may just be what all students need to excel By ALEXANDER HOEGLER ith midterms quickly ap- VU evescting many Langara Col- lege students said technology is to blame for their procrastination and lack of studying. February is a stressful month for a lot of students. Many said cell phones, television and computers distract them while others said technology aids in their study routines. Trevor Newland, an English instruc- tor at Langara, has observed the ef- fects of how r4 4 technology can interfere with studying. He Unless you — said it is critical for students to turn your avoid electronics phone or while hitting the books. comp uter “Unless you off, yowre turn your phone or computer off, not reach- yow’re not reach- ing your ing your full po- tential as a stu- f ull poten- dent,” Newland tialasa said. “There’s no student. question about it.” First-year ki- nesiology — stu- dent Emily Ip, who is wrapping up her third mid- term in two weeks, said studying is time-consum- ing but important. “When I’m not studying, each night I have three 15-minute breaks, and study around four to five hours a night,” she said. Ip, who studies both at home and in the library at Langara, said she uses her cell phone to help her study. “T use an app on my phone called Flasheards,” she said, which repre- sents a virtual flashcard. It allows us- ers to put questions on one side and by tapping the phone, reveal the answer on the back. Sean Maschmann, a history instruc- tor at Langara, knows how to ensure his students get the most out of study- ing. He said he believes plenty of quiet is needed for quality study time. TREVOR NEWLAND LANGARA ENGLISH INSTRUCTOR Ly ait MICHAEL LYLYK photo Political science student Joshua Kier produced his winning entry to Langara’s Postcard Story Contest this year through his inspiring travels in Berlin, Germany. By MICHAEL LYLYK ime spent in Berlin, Germany in- spired a Langara College student to create a project that won him first place in the college’s 2014 Postcard Story Contest. The contest involved candidates sub- mitting a 250-word short story along with a postcard-sized photo. The win- ning piece, by political science student Joshua Kier, is titled “Ampel- mannchen”, which is a German phrase meaning little traffic light man. It re- fers to old traffic lights in former East Germany depicting a male figure with a hat. “Tt was one of the few artefacts that was left over, because the residents couldn’t stand the thought of having it torn down,” Kier said. As most institu- tions of the communist government were done away with, it was a symbol that still manages to stand at different intersections around East Berlin. “It’s a very accurate portrayal,” said Guy Wilkinson, an English instructor and one of the judges for the competi- tion. Wilkinson, who has been to Berlin himself, said he felt that Kier’s story Winning with art Every week, The Voice will be showcasing a Langara student who stands apart and inspires both college and community. Well done! was authentic. “It’s a story written by a person who seems to have the ability to connect with a place very well,” he said. Kier said he approached this project similarly to how he approaches most of his work. “T created a collage, physically on the floor of my room, and then I used a camera. Lifted the shutter exposing the sensor to whatever light came in and I used a flashlight to illuminate the im- age,” said Kier, who uses the flashlight to literally paint with light. It all comes together to create a scene, emotion, or political statement. Kier then uses computer software Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to punch out certain colours and increase clarity. He said that one thing he tries to achieve through much of his photogra- phy is to create an image that could be put in a graphic novel. Despite his major in political sci- ence, he said art and photography are ongoing projects for him. “Tf there’s any time that’s made avail- able to me I would use it to produce more photographs,” he said. POSTCARD excerp Its amiserable sight, made all theworse by the corrugated tapestry of the sign itself Picture: vemillion ink dancing upon a landscape of orange and oxidized metal: toxic watercolours and Cold-‘War hieroglyphs. |, during moments of poisonous nostalgia for Communistera artifacts, have made pilgrimage to this sailed banner to collect my thoughts and purgemy boredom. Source: English department, Langara College Wet skies bring hair frizz woes Early spring weather may mean more problems for those with untamed hair By BAILEY NICHOLSON ith spring showers quickly ap- YU esse, Langara College students with frizzy hair can fight back with more than just an um- brella this year. Rain and humidity in the upcoming months for Vancouver will be working against those who battle out-of-control hair on a regular basis. Langara film arts student Michela Ross said she’s not a fan of what the rain does to her hair. “If it’s raining or wet I just try to cover my head with anything I can,” she said. “If I don’t have a hood I'll put a book on my head and just hold it there because as soon as any water touches it at all, it just starts puffing out.” “Frizzy hair is probably one of the things people hate most about their hair,” said Dale Ewing, who has been a hairstylist in Vancouver for seven years. He offers potential solutions for people who dread the effects of rainy weather on curly locks. Use styling products, including leave-in conditioners and anti-humidi- ty sprays that work to block moisture from the hair, he said. The Weather Channel has also in- creased its use of digital data to target advertising. For example, a rainy day in Seattle means more anti-frizz shampoo ads for viewers in that region. Winnie Tosetti, a Langara fine arts student, finds rainy-day hair hard to escape. “It makes [my hair] super flat and kind of gross-looking,” she said. “There’s nothing really you can do, hu- midity is everywhere.” Biology student Eli Kaplan BAILEY NICHOLSON photo Sciences student Genevieve Caron (left) and recreational leadership student Josie Pearce (right) are no strangers to wild hair.