CANNABIS ON CAMPUS...........00:0cssseecssesennee Students hazy on rules for smoking marijuana on Langara College grounds Spring forward this weekend for daylight savings! C n u rch x ie proposes =" housing New development could bring affordable units By ALYD LLEWELLYN proposed redevelopment of a AS Vancouver church could include 46 affordable housing units for low-income families, which some advocates say is needed. Oakridge Lutheran Church on 41st Avenue has partnered with Catalyst Community Developments Society to propose to rezone the church. If ap- proved, the church would be replaced with a six-storey building that would contain low-income units, space for re- tail shops and the church. RJ Aquino, a founding member of OneCity, a housing advocacy group, said Vancouver’s lack of affordable housing has a negative effect on par- ent’s ability to support their children. “It’s a struggle to try to keep up in terms of the rising costs of not only rent but being able to maintain a stan- dard of living,” said Aquino. “There’s not a lot of available housing that’s suitable for a family, and if there [is], they’re well beyond the reach of most families’ income.” Catalyst president Robert Brown said the development would include four floors of apartments ranging from studios to two bedrooms. “We're trying to maximize afford- ability,” he said. “Our goal is to partner with other non-profits to build below market rental housing in affordable space.” South Vancouver resident Sharam Khayam would rather the church re- main in its current state. “Tt’s part of the history of the city, so I wouldn’t tear it down,” said Khayam. Units that fall under BC Housing’s classification of affordable rent mean that rent can be no more than 30 per cent of a household’s total gross monthly income. According to Sta- tistics Canada, ~~ the median household in- © come in Vancou- ver in 2013 was $73,390. The Oakridge Lutheran Church chose not to com- ment at this time. ALYD LLEWELLYN photo The Oakridge Lutheran Church. i) AN NA TILLEY photo student walks by bikes at Langara, which is not included in the city’s bike share program. Bike share bummer City program may never reach Langara College GLOBAL bike shares By ANNA TILLEY e City of Vancouver’s recently announced bike share program will not reach South Vancouver in its first phase this summer. Jerry Dobrovolny, general manager of engineering for the City of Vancou- ver, said the current areas were chosen because of the high concentration of people, jobs and activities. In the future, he said, the city will ex- plore opportunities in South Vancou- ver. “You just have to be careful not to expand too much or too large of cover- age area where all of a sudden now youre starting to lose money,” said Do- brovolny. The program will initially service Downtown Vancouver extending to 16th Avenue bordered by Arbutus Street and Main Street. The second phase includes expan- sions west and east, but not south. The program, a first of its kind for the city, was formed through a partner- ship with bike share operator Cycle- Hop. It will launch 1,000 bikes and 150 sta- tions this summer and an additional 500 bikes and 50 stations by the end of 2016. ‘Smart bike’ technology allows the bikes to be unlocked and activated by an interface on the handlebars. Colin Stein, director of marketing with HUB Cycling, an organization that addresses cycling issues in Metro Van- couver, said bike share programs tar- get high density areas like downtown cores, but said it could thrive in the south. Stein said a bike share network in South Vancouver could connect hubs like community centres, schools and the Marine Drive SkyTrain station. “Tt would be ideal for someone to be able to get from Langara to Marine to Marpole, but that might be far down the road after the first model is proven out,” said Stein. Corey Bussey, a first year library and information technology student at Langara College, bikes to school al- most everyday and said expanding the program to Langara’s surrounding ar- eas would be positive. “T don’t think it would be used as much as downtown, but I think it would be pretty good,” said Bussey. “It would get more and more people out into bik- ing.” 1 2 Hangzhou, China's 78,000 bicycles form the world’s largest program Paris, France has Europe's largest bike share, with about 86,000 rides daily Montreal's efficient program has been a model for other cities, like NYC, and has 3 million riders annually Source: www.EcoWatch.com CITY OF VANCOUVER submitted photo Vancouver’s bike share program launches this summer. on campus, student science fair and death cafes College parity wanted Women hold almost half of Langara College’s execu- tive positions, including deans and directors By JENNA TYTGAT tution more effective, and can help reflect the student popula- tion, said Leelah Dawson, dean of the faculty of social sciences and manage- ment at Langara College. Last week was International Wom- en’s Day, with a theme of gender parity. The theme underscores the impor- tance of employment equity at Langa- ra. Within Langara, women hold ap- proximately 45 per cent of executive positions, | which include the presi- dent, vice-presi- & dent, deans and di- rectors. 51 per cent GC: diversity can make an insti- of executive posi- © tions at Vancouver b Community Col- mE lege are held by women, and Doug- las College’s senior administration is LEELAH DAWSON Dean of Social Sciences and made up of approx- Management, imately 65 percent Langara women. “Tt could be bet- ter, but it’s good,” said Itrath Syed, a women’s studies professor at Langara. “The institutions of our society should represent the society that they serve.” Dawson said that people often hold positions at the college for years. As in- structors retire, she said that the col- lege will see growth in cultural and gender diversity. “By having a diverse group of people at the leadership table, you get more perspectives showing up ... and so it makes for a deeper conversation,” Dawson said. Julie Longo, dean of arts at Langara, said her employment experience at Langara has been positive and she is thankful for diversity. “Often when I have heard from friends in private industry, I have thought myself lucky to have not had their experiences with structural sex- ism and overt discrimination,” she said. Patricia Cia, director of academic in- novation at Langara, said that it is im- portant to hire the best person for the job, while considering diversity. “T would always like to see more fe- males in leadership roles. I think wom- en do bring a nice perspective,” Cia said.