ampus hews EDITOR KELVIN GAWLEY THE VOICE, TUESDAY, NOV. 24, 2015 3 Club aims to help homeless Newly formed Langara group fundraised by raffling-off an iPad By SERENA PATTAR ith the cold weather ap- proaching, members of Lan- gara College’s new Social and Environmental Aware- ness Club (SEAC) hope to make the winter easier for those in need. Samdrup Khemsar, a first-year busi- ness student at Langara College, co- founded the club earlier this year alongside another student, with the hopes of aiding those in need while also growing social awareness. “Our club’s main vision is to connect and unite socially aware students at Langara to make this school a better place, and even make Vancouver a bet- ter place,” said Khemsar. SEAC held it’s first fundraiser in early October and was overwhelmed with the amount of interest in the event. An Apple iPad was raffled off, and the funds raised will be used to give back to the community. “We raised around 900 or 950 dollars. It hasn’t all been counted yet,” said Khemsar. “It will be used to give back, that was the purpose of the fundrais- er.” Khemsar said SEAC will use the funds to create winter necessities kits, complete with gloves, hats, and socks, to distribute with a soon-to-be deter- mined organization on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Karyn Eisler, an instructor in the an- thropology and sociology department at Langara, is SEAC’s faculty sponsor. She was immediately on board with the idea to be involved with SEAC, particu- larly since many ‘millenials’ are viewed as lacking social awareness. “Sociology informs millenials to think beyond themselves, that there’s a broader awareness of self and others in society,” said Eisler. Genevieve Fuji Johnson, an associ- ate professor in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies at SFU, echoed this statement. As an active member of the Down- town Eastside Women’s Centre (DEWC), Johnson believes that any- thing offered helps members, especial- ly since the centre operates on a tight budget and limited donations. 66 Our club’s main vi- sion is to connect and unite socially aware stu- dents SAMDRUP KHEMSAR SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS CLUB SUBMITTED photo Samdrup Khemsar and Karyn Eisler pose with raffle tickets for an iPad. LL JULIA WICKHAM photo Students study at Langara College’s library, which does not stay open at night during exam time, unlike other schools’ libraries. Students can't burn midnight oil here Langara College’s library is open later than usual during exam time but not through the night By JULIA WICKHAM ary schools in Vancouver are ex- tending their hours deeper into the night for studying students. Some are going all the way — staying open 24 hours a day — Langara College is not one of them. The W.A.C. Bennett Library at SFU’s Burnaby campus has been offering 24- hour study hours for students during fall and spring exam periods since 2012. According to Natalie Gick, associate university librarian, administrative services at SFU, the library began stay- ing open through the night after a re- quest from the Simon Fraser Student E: time is here and post-second- Society. Gick said, on average over 600 SFU students use the library to study over- night. “From the spring of 2012 to the sum- mer of 2015, we were open 24-hours for a total of 146 days and had close to 90,000 students use the library in the overnight periods,” she said. Joyce Wong, department chair at the Langara Library said that for Langara to take on overnight hours, there would have to be a sizable demand for it. “We do offer longer hours during exam periods and we have for a couple of years, but any decision on 24-hours would be based on demand and re- sources,” she said. David Trung, a computer science student at Langara said that he wouldn’t personally use the library more often for studying if it were open 24-hours, but said that it would be more convenient for students. “If it’s open 24-hours, that’s a great alternative for studying than going to 24-hour cafes that could be a huge dis- traction,” he said. “That would be a great idea.” The Langara Library will offer ex- tended hours — 8 am. to 10 p.m. — from Nov. 28 to Dec. 11. “Those hours are for what we have the resources for at the moment and it’s also based on our count traffic,” said Wong. Renewed LSU fall election in full swing Voting for new student council on this week By RUMANA DSOUZA dents’ Union Election has begun, and students are voicing their opinions about what they want from their elected representatives. Polling takes place from Nov. 23-26 in the Students’ Union Building in the lower lounge, after the first attempt at the fall election was declared void due to “numerous irregularities” found by the electoral committee in October. Second-year political science stu- dent, Stephanie Duke, said it was her first time voting in the students’ union election. “T read about the election in The Langara Voice...and I thought ‘T kind of want to get involved in this.’ I’m study- ing political science so I feel like I need to show up for this stuff,” she said, not- ing the cancellation of the previous election as “suspicious.” Duke said that her idea of an ideal student representative is someone who protects the interests of the collective student body. “Tm looking for someone who will actually listen to what the students want. Someone who brings a new voice to what’s going around here. It will be nice to have someone who is looking out for us,” Duke said. Hardavinder Singh, a first-year com- puter science student, said account- ability is an attribute that is most desir- able in a representative. “We need representatives who will be answerable to students. There needs to be more transparency,” Singh said. LSU staff and polling attendants re- fused to comment on voter turnout. According to the LSU’s website, the final results will be declared on Dec. 11. Viens for the 2015 Langara Stu- COPING with the cold Definitely wear . 8 more layers...Pd With Vancouver antict- Drink hot water Just warm probably take the pating a cold snap lat- and hot beverages nn |e rpmblie tromett er this week. what will like coffee or tea. ing else you can i because waiting ? really do. B for the bus outside you do to cope when | So es in those tempera 9 JENNY KIM ARSH DHINDSA BRIGITTE LUCANDO UTES TS JUSE 100 temp eratures drop ° Second-year gen- Second-year gen- Seconc-year edu- cold. eral sciences eral studies cation assitant INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS BY MARK STUART