AMPUS NEWS — sororsurnsviee THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2011 3 W49 mag features Student writers Creative writing magazine overseen by instructors, aims to support current and former students By MORNA CASSIDY iters are sexy. That’s what Whines: English department wants students to realize with the release of their annual creative writing publication W49, revealing work of current and former students. The journal showcases winning en- tries from the college’s annual creative writing contest featuring poetry, short fiction, graphic short fiction and cre- ative non-fiction. It is available for $5 at the Langara bookstore. “T was delighted to find out that I won — and in two categories!” said Le- anne Dunic, top winner in the creative non-fiction category and second place finisher in fiction. Dunic, a former Langara student, is currently enrolled in Simon Fraser University Writer’s Studio program and works as a freelance writer. “The W49 contest offers an afford- able opportunity for participants to have their work considered by a well- respected jury,” Dunic said. “Langara is very supportive of its writing community and W49 is an ex- tension of that.” Now in it’s 15th year of production, the English department has been working hard to expand awareness of the publication and present opportuni- ties to writers like Dunic. W49 Magazine is edited and admin- istered by instructors from Langara’s English department. “Up until a few years ago W49 was a nice but little known magazine with limited circulation,” said Peter Babiak, Langara English instructor. He men- tioned that past issues are now avail- able online and social media is used to help advertise the magazine. “Ultimately, all the publicity has a single purpose: to get Langara stu- dents to write creative material and then to send their poetry, short stories and graphic fiction, and creative non- fiction to the Langara Writing Con- test,” he said. “Writing is sometimes seen as a chore by students, and understandably so. It’s hard work. But it’s gratifying work and it can pay off and even if it doesn’t, writing is absolutely vital to living,” Babiak added. Every year, the design, illustration and layout of the magazine is done by a Langara’s publishing student — this year’s was designed by Mina Deol. Paper service offers edits COLLEGE REACTS, continued from page 1 paper offers an editing service. In the frequently asked questions area of their website, Acemytermpa- per states that: “Our service helps you to present your ideas clearly so that you can be graded for your under- standing of the subject, not on your written English.” In response, John Russell, philoso- phy department chair, said, “There is no clear thought without clear writ- ing,” and because critical thinking and language proficiency are connected, paper writing services “undermine the process of evaluating students based on their written work.” By MATT HYNDMAN fter spending much of the past year traveling across North America, Langara biology pro- essor Cameron MacDonald is writing a book about what he calls The Endangered Species Road Trip. MacDonald has seen 28 of the 33 spe- cies on his list, including the desert tor- toise in Nevada, grizzly bears and wolves in Yellowstone, the West Indian manatee in Florida and, closer to home, the Vancouver Island marmot. The book will be part travelogue, part educational tool and tale of a fam- ily adventure, as MacDonald’s wife and kids accompanied him on the trip. “It was at some level a big family road trip, the classic Chevy-Chase-in- the-station-wagon road trip,” he said. But the trip was about much more than that, as it allowed MacDonald to see some species that may disappear within the next few decades. “There’s a little bit of arush because you’ve worked hard to see it and there it is,” he said. One experience that particularly moved him was seeing a California con- dor. “They’ve got a 10-foot wingspan, they’re huge birds, and when you start thinking about the fact that there’s maybe a couple hundred in the wild... that’s depressing,” MacDonald said. “There’s a chance they won’t be around in 50 years.” His goal in writing the book is to pro- vide an accessible read that will also include a fair amount of information, affording a chapter to each species he came across. “It’s very related to a course I teach [biodiversity and conservation biolo- gy],” he said. “I’m trying to increase awareness about these species.” While he does feel that awareness about endangered species is currently strong, one concern MacDonald has is that people favour saving some ani- mals over others. “If things are cute, killer whales, be- luga whales, there is momentum be- cause they’re marketable at some level. People are less worried if a butterfly goes extinct than if the polar bear goes extinct,” he said. MacDonald is only two weeks re- moved from a trip to see polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba. Choosing to skip the big tours he drove a rented car, seeing around 30 polar bears in and around the city. MacDonald’s book, The Endangered Species Road Trip, is to be released next summer. ‘ ys Photos courtesy of CAMERON MACDONALD & MATT HYNDMAND Clockwise from top: Cameron MacDonald holds his daughter Brora while she looks through bin- oculars during his endangered species road trip. MacDonald sits in his classroom at Langara College. MacDonald and his daughter spot a vulnerable species, the desert tortoise in Nevada. Road trip unearths endangered species Langara biology teacher documents his travels across North America in search of rare animals SIGHTED rare species Spotted owl in Oregan California sea otter in Monterey Bristlecone pine in Nevada Jaguar in Arizona Sage grouse in Utah Greater prairie chicken in Ne- braska lvory-billed wood- pecker in Arkansas Kirtland's warbler in Michigan lvory-billed wood- pecker in Arkansas Source: Cameron MacDonald Art exhibit guarantees a magical experience Design formation students to reveal Muse, which uses vintage mannequins and old forms to tell a story By EMMA CRAWFORD ond-year design formation stu- dents will unveil an event that has until now been shrouded in mystery. Muse - An Exhibition of Myths and Mannequins will be on display in A101 from Dec. 2-15. Kevin Smith, design formation in- structor and the curator, said he guar- antees the show will feature “stuff you have never seen before.” Principally through the use of man- nequins but utilizing many other visual presentation techniques, the students have created a series of narratives and translated them into a compilation of 3D installations. “This is a collection of vintage and older forms and shapes that have sur- vived, and there’s a history to every figure that’s in here,” Smith said. The works are fantasy-themed, large-scale displays made with intri- cate detail, utilizing all manner of me- dia, from mannequins to expansion foam, painted canvasses to Poly Filla. The design formation students work in a variety of areas including interior design, 3D retail display, graphic de- sign and store planning. They have al- ready worked for clients including Harry Rosen and Mink Chocolates. Smith said the show is an opportuni- ty for the second-year students to showcase their skills and talents and to learn event planning. They are doing everything themselves, from the de- sign of the displays to building the walls, lighting, writing stories, market- ing and photography. Second-year design formation stu- dent Ron Baldesancho is part of the graphic and production managing teams for the exhibit. He said he is excited about the show and the work he’s doing. “We have a media night where we invite all the people we want to be no- ticed by,” said Baldesancho, referring to a VIP sneak preview on Dec. 1. In- vited guests include designers and rep- resentatives from the film, television and high-end retail industries. The event will be open to the public from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily (11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on the weekends.) “Yowre going to see some magic, youre going to see some mystery, you're going to see some fantasy,” said Smith. “Is there a unicorn involved? Maybe.” S: next Friday, Langara’s sec- EMMA CRAWFORD photo Second-year design students Kyla Thibert and David Pachal apply fake snow to a tree for their upcom- ing art exhibit, Muse.