CUBAN FIVE. ssss00ss0000ss0220 INSIDE LOOK The Cuban Consolate General is coming to Langara TECH WORLD vice ccceccccccccecncncncceeeenencn4l this Saturday to speak about the five Cuban men who a ro have been imprisoned in the U.S. since 1998. a WINNING CO) rr Langara grad won $25 thousand dollars in RBC Canadian Painting Competition Arrest awaits suspected thief Security apprehended Langara’s suspected thief and said if he is found on campus again, he will be arrested By SHAWN GILL lhe man suspected by Langara se- curity of a string of recent thefts is thought to be the same person they hold responsible for 10 to 15 campus thefts last March. Security will attempt to apprehend and hold him for arrest by Vancouver Police under the Trespass Act should he again be seen on campus. Security has compiled a file that cat- alogues the suspect’s on-campus activi- ties dating back to last spring. “There may be enough evidence in some of those cases and some of those state- ments to proceed with theft under $5,000 charges,” said building manager Mel Fearman. “If we get continued ac- tivity from him next week, we'll be posting his picture campus-wide.” Security chased the suspect off cam- pus several times last week. Pictures taken by journalism student Jared Gnam, show the suspect to be a black man in his mid-twenties, wearing a Yankees cap and dark baggy clothing. On that afternoon, journalism stu- dents and instructors had a close en- counter with the suspect. While work- ing in the newsroom, students saw him peering through the doorway. Journalism student Anne Watson recognized him from a photo security had shown her and her classmates ear- lier in the week, and whispered to her colleagues, “That’s the guy.” Gene Keith, journalism instructional assistant, called security to report the whereabouts of the suspect. The suspect quickly left the depart- ment and headed for the exit at the building’s northeast corner. Langara campus security apprehended him as he left. He resisted as security attempt- ed to check his backpack. According to Fearman, security told the suspect that he is banned from campus and that ifhe returns he will be arrested under the Trespass Act. Security asks that students who see the suspect should not approach him or attempt to apprehend him, but call se- curity at 4444. JARED GNAM photo Ray Kennedy from campus security (left) asks to check the backpack of a man whom security officials banned from campus during their ongoing investigation of a rash of thefts at Langara. Say goodbye to plastic, LSU to implement a bottle ban in SUB The LSU wants to stop sell- ing plastic water bottles in the student union building to help the environment By ALEXANDRA GRANT appear from the Langara stu- dents’ union building if the first phase of a bottle ban is successful. The first step is to make LSU-funded events water bottle free. LSU board member at large Eli Zbar said that the union will gauge students’ reactions to the ban and adjust its development ac- cordingly. By starting small we can foster a community that embraces environ- mental action,” said Zbar. “We’re just doing this to test the waters and get a feel for how students react.” If students’ reactions are positive, the union’s next step will be to stop sell- ing water bottles in the SUB. Zbar said that the union would like i) P::: water bottles may soon dis- ALEXANDRA GRANT photo To be greener, the LSU is ridding the SUB of plastic water bottles to eventually develop a “two-pronged” approach, focusing on not only the SUB but also the college itself. Jay Strachan, the Director of Facili- ties and Purchasing at Langara, said that this is unlikely to happen. Though the LSU has the power to ban plastic water bottles in the inde- pendently operated SUB, banning them throughout the college is out of its scope of control. It would also have ad- verse effects for students, according to Strachan. “All the tins and bottles that are col- lected in the college, the revenue from that goes towards student bursaries,” he said. “If we put a ban on bottles, we reduce student bursaries.” Dietetics student Debbie Penner is supportive of the environmental initia- tive, but has concerns about the dietary implications of the ban. “Td be more worried about pop, es- pecially diet pop, rather than bottled water,” said Penner. “It should be any- thing in that plastic container if they consider banning bottles.” Zbar said the LSU will not ban pop because of sponsorship deals with soft drink vendors. “We can’t just get pop and every- thing banned because a lot of the reve- nue we get [comes] from pop,” he said. LSU ponders online voting for elections The votes are in, but voter apathy has the LSU looking for ways to engage students By PATRICK JOHNSTON tions committee is considering moving to an online voting system after another poor voter turnout for the LSU elections last week. Just two percent of eligible voters cast ballots. “We expect [online voting] would in- crease turnout but there is concern about paper trail and security,” said LSU elections committee member Re- becca Ha. Online voting allows for candidate profiles, positions and issues to be con- veniently linked to the voting platform, UBC political science professor Fred Cutler said. Since so many students al- ready spend so much time online, switching to such a system makes sense, he continued. “If they can inform themselves and vote in half an hour, then they are more Ti: Langara Students’ Union elec- See ONLINE VOTE, page 2 ELECTION results FEMALE BOARD OF GOVERNOR Anh Lu MALE BOARD OF GOVERNOR Muneori Otaka DISABILITY LIASON Ryan Hill MALE EDUCATION COUNCIL REP Kai Kui Chen EXTERNAL AFFAIRS COORDINATOR Candy Tran NATIVE LIASON Ryan Erwin QUEER LIASON Sonja Sandberg WOMEN’S LIASON Gunkirat Randhawa