BREAK-INS ON THE RISE IN OAKRIDGE AREA. .sssscenessennrrend Police are warning residents to protect their homes after they received more than a dozen calls for break-ins last month No flu shots for Langara Vaccine shortages are province-wide this year By EDMOND LU the flu vaccine for this flu season. It will not be receiving any more dos- es from the province, which is also run- ning low on their stock of vaccines. Massive demand for the vaccine took the province by surprise, with many clinics and pharmacies facing shortag- es and the Ministry of Health unable to resupply them quickly enough. Six people have died in B.C. from H1N1 this flu season. There have been more people want- ing the flu vaccine this year, said Dr. Claire Talbot, who works at Langara Health Services. “We ordered I think even more than last year but went through it very quickly,” said Talbot. Rexall pharmacist Sanket Thakkar on Fraser Street believes the rise in de- mand resulted from the publicity of the H1N1 virus, one of three strains this year’s vaccine immunizes against. According to a report by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, H1N1 has accounted for more than 80 per cent of flu cases in the province. The report said H1N1 is unique because more peo- ple in younger age groups have been admitted to intensive care units due to influenza than usual. “THIN1] has been in the flu vaccine for the last three years or so. I don’t think we’ve been so short on it before,” Talbot said. Lien Health Services ran out of FREEDIGITALPHOTOS.NET photo MUSICANS JAM DURING BREAK _ LAUREN COLLINS photo Cast members of YTV’s new show Some Assembly Required performing between takes of a recent taping in Vancouver. See story page 4. Foreign students flood in Langara hopes its location will attract more international students By ASHLEY LEGASSIC angara is becoming a more attrac- tive destination for international students wanting to pursue a Ca- Inadian education. The number of foreign students at Langara has jumped 63 per cent since 2004, rising from 609 international stu- dents to 994 in 2013. The Stephen Harper government re- cently introduced a plan to double the amount of international students in Canada by 2022. B.C.’s government introduced a plan in 2012 to increase the number of inter- national students by 50 per cent by 2016. Langara is well on its way to dou- bling its international student numbers by the end of next year. Foreign students studying in Canada are a large contributor to the economy, due to their increased tuition, but ac- cording to Ian Humphreys, Langara’s vice-president of enrolment and busi- ness development, that’s not Langara’s main goal. “There’s no denying that from a Ca- nadian perspective, international stu- dents are a huge contributor to the economy,” Humphreys said. “Having said that ... that isn’t really the key here.” Humphreys thinks the opportunity to pursue education overseas is impor- tant for both Canadian and internation- al students. Langara attracts international stu- dents through international market- ing, but Humphreys said Langara’s lo- cation makes it a prime choice for students. “It helps to be in one of the most beautiful and desirable places to live in in the world,” he said. Humphreys also said the option to go to UBC after two years at Langara is appealing to students. Commerce and business student Garima Shrestha said, “It’s a small place and I can get adjusted to it better. Since I’m an international student I won’t be too overwhelmed.” Langara offers various resources such as Homestay and Langara English for Academic Purposes to get interna- tional students to feel more comfort- able going to school in Canada. Sociology student Abby Feng said Langara’s Homestay program has made being an international student much easier for her. “They arranged a place for me... and I really like it there, they help me a lot,” Feng said. Langara is keeping up with the in- creased number of international stu- dents by expanding the capacity of classes and adding more classes. 66 It helps to be in one of the most beautiful and desir- able places to live in the world lan Humphreys South Vancouver gets approval for new seniors’ centre Seniors will soon have a new place to gather thanks to acquired funding i) By JEREMY MATTHEWS seniors’ centre after more than a decade of requests by seniors. The municipal government will pay $3.7 million toward the $7.5-million cen- tre, located near Killarney Community Centre. The federal and provincial gov- ernments will pay the remaining $3.8 Ss: Vancouver will be getting a million, with the federal government paying $2.5 million, and the provincial government paying $1.3 million. The centre will provide seniors with a space to meet and socialize, accord- ing to city councillor and Vision mem- ber Raymond Louie. “Tt will have a positive impact on se- niors,” Louie said. “It will give them a place to interact, to have meetings.” He hopes the centre will help lonely south Vancouver seniors. Different priorities by the previous municipal government are to blame for the long delay in approving a new cen- tre, Louie said. But Mayor Gregor Rob- ertson and his current Vision govern- ment have a continued focus on seniors, Louie said. However, opposition councillor George Affleck praised fellow Non-Par- tisan Association member Melissa De Genova on Twitter, citing her “tena- cious determination” in campaigning for additional funding for the centre. De Genova had been campaigning for additional city funding for the seniors’ centre for months. Groundbreaking on the project is ex- pected to commence in 2015.