Campusnews

The aim:
move to
Canada

International

students in post-degree
programs hope for
permanent residency

= By KIM LAU

any international students
enrol in Langara’s post-
degree programs as a step-

ping stone to obtain their permanent
residency in Canada, according to
one post-degree program instructor
at the college.

Upon graduation, the government
of Canada offers a work permit of
up to three years for international
students. For many, this offers a way
to build a permanent life in Canada
for themselves and their families.

Jason Madar, post-degree
computer science instructor at Lang-
ara, said international students will
often move their families out here
while they are still studying.

“They basically uproot themselves
from their home country and come
here, so I think this is an attractive
offering for students who are inter-
national students," Madar said.

Kunal Dandona, web and app
design post-degree diploma student
from India, said he chose to study in
Canada to gain hands-on experience.

“In India, the studies are more on
theoretical knowledge. They give you
books which will give you knowl-
edge, but they won't give you the tests
like what happens in the industry,”
Dandona said. “In Canada, it is more
practical knowledge.”

The current academic year saw the
largest registration of international
students in post-degree programs,
totalling 832 of the overall 867
students enrolled, according to a
Langara report.

Brad Van Dam, director of Lang-
ara’s international education opera-
tions, said that international students
do not displace domestic students.

“The provincial government
allocates the number of spaces for
domestic students each year accord-
ing to the college’s budget, and it has
nothing to do with the international
student intake,” Van Dam said.

A recent Canadian Bureau for
International Education study found
60 per cent of international students
in Canada plan to apply for perma-
nent residency after graduating.

Harmanpreet Kaur, web and app
design post-degree diploma student
from India, said a key factor in her
decision to study here was how
accepting Canada is of immigrants.

“T love it here. I do have three years
of work permit, and I’m going to see
if | want to stay here permanently or
not,” Kaur said.

INTERNATIONAL

STUDENT STATISTICS

» Total students
4,922 international students
registered at Langara in fall 2018.

» Top country

Students from India make up 57 per
cent of international student enrol-
ment at Langara.

» Academic programs
Health Sciences is the most popu-
lar academic program at Langara
for international students.

EDITOR KELSEA FRANZKE |

THURSDAY, FEB. 14,2019 |

THE VOICE

3

A student buys Indian food in the main Langara cafeteria. Food services on campus are provided by Chartwells. rena mEDow PHOTO

Slim on nutritional facts

Chartwells says ingredient lists will be coming in September

= ByRENAMEDOW

cc

ere hungry
minds gather”
might be the
mission state-
ment of the company that provides
dining services at Langara, yet for
years, students have been starved of
knowing what ingredients go into
the food they are being served.

Chartwells, the company that runs
food services on campus, has prom-
ised to start providing full nutritional
information, following the release
of the new Canada Food Guide and
the significant dietary changes it is
recommending.

As of next September, Chart-
wells said it would list the full nutri-
tional and ingredient information at
the hot entrée stations in the main
Langara cafeteria.

‘The main obstacle right now, said

Eli Browne, the director of sustain-
ability and culinary innovation at
Chartwells, is that the cooks don’t
always follow set recipes.

“Many of our hot food entrées
are made from

said the company will list ingredients
at the hot entrée stations in the main
Langara cafeteria.

Langara computer science student
Arsh Hothi wonders why this hasn't

happened sooner.

scratch by our a, “| “Ifyou have an
chefs and cooks, Tam concerned allergy to some-
without follow- there are no labels _ thing, not know-
ing a standard ing what is in
recipe,” Browne | T want to know what | the food could
said in an email . ” be dangerous,”
statement. Iam eating. Hothi said.
While this —HARKAMALJIT KAUR, STUDENT Harkamaljit
ensures more ~— — Kaur, a student

authentic flavours and cooking tech-
niques, it does make it more difficult
to provide nutritional information
ona daily basis.”

Browne, who noted that Chart-
wells made the decision to include
nutritional information about their
menus two days after the new
Canada Food Guide was released,

studying health sciences at Langara,
said that students should be able to
know the ingredients in food being
served.

“Tam concerned there are no labels
— I want to know what I am eating,”
Kaur said.

For grab-and-go foods like some
of the packaged wraps and salads

available in the cafeteria, the nutri-
tional information and ingredients
are already listed.

‘The updated version of the guide
released last month suggests that
Canadians should drink more water
instead of sugar-based drinks, cut
back on dairy and choose more
plant-based proteins.

Monica Molag, department chair
of the nutrition and food service
program at Langara, believes that
ultimately students have to take
responsibility for their own nutri-
tion, whether that’s by intuitively
making better choices at the cafe-
teria or the grocery store.

“You can be mindful of your
own diet and thereby direct the
marketplace through your deci-
sions,” Molag said. “Everybody
at Langara is an adult and has
to take responsibility for their
own nutrition.”

Union: Student fees provide a lot

If B.C. were to follow Ontario legislation, student services could disappear

= By KRISTIAN TREVENA

ew Ontario legislation
that allows post-second-
ary students to opt out of

tuition fees that are deemed “non-
mandatory” could cause more
harm than good for some students,
according to the Langara Students’
Union.

In an attempt to make post-
secondary education more afford-
able, the Ontario government
announced earlier this month that
students would no longer have to
pay certain non-essential fees.

While some have applauded the
move, others are concerned about
what this might mean for students
should British Columbia follow
suit.

If the same legislation were
passed in B.C., a withdrawal of
student funding could result in
many student-based events and
services being taken away, the
LSU said in an email statement
to The Voice.

“The impact it would have on
students would be concerning for
the services that students currently
enjoy,” said the LSU Media
Committee in an email.

Services that could be taken away
could include the student health
and dental plan; various financial
aid programs; and seasonal events
such as Lunar New Year, Halloween
and student barbeques. The student
U-Pass program, which provides a
transit card to students for $164 per
semester instead of up to $174 per
month, could also be affected.

Noah Berson, assistant chair-
person of the British Columbia
Federation of Students, said that
the reaction to this new legisla-
tion is more negative than positive,
and that taking away these services

could be detrimental to students’

college and university experience.
“(These services] are what make
students tick,” Berson said.
Berson also said he thought that
it’s unlikely B.C. will pass similar
legislation, because the province’s

NDP government is not like the
Conservative Rob Ford government
in Ontario.

Langara student Sasha Bond-
archuk said tuition costs and
fees should be revisited regularly

because students are stretched too
thin.

“They should check more often
which fees can be taken out — it
could make a huge difference for a
student,” Bondarchuk said.

Were B.C. to follow Ontario legislation, the U-Pass program is a service that

could be cut. KELSEA FRANZKE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION