Rick Mercer poses with students at Langara College March 7, 2017 susmiTTED PHOTO College nets charity prize More than $14,000 given to Plan International to help fight malaria in Africa By SHOJI WHITTIER angara has won Rick Mer- cer’s Spread the Net student challenge, donating almost $15,000 to fight malaria in Africa. Spread the Net is a charity program established by Rick Mercer of Rick Mercer Report and non-profit organi- zation Plan International Canada, a chapter of the global non-profit organi- zation which aims to improve the lives of children and families in developing countries. The goal of the program is to raise money for anti-malaria mosquito nets for households in Africa. Malaria kills approximately 429,000 people each year worldwide(World Health Organization), and until re- cently was the leading cause of death of children in Africa. Langara donated $14,695, which is more money than any other post-sec- ondary school in Canada. Mercer vis- ited Langara on March 7 to thank the college for their donations. According to Mercer during his in- terview with CBC, Langara has been donating to Spread the Net for several years. “[Langara has] been involved in Spread the Net for quite a while. They've been fundraising for years now, but this is the first time they’ve won the post-secondary category.” Mercer said. Many Langara students _ believe Spread the Net is a cause worth donat- ing to. Journalism program applicant Mira Galperin is planning on going to Africa this summer, and understands the need for anti-malaria nets. She thinks it was good for Langara College to donate the money. “Tm actually going to Africa and Asia, so I know the whole malaria scare that’s going on there,” Galperin said." I’ve been prescribed malaria pills for three months.” Massage therapy student Sarah Houtman missed Mercer’s visit, but said she believes the money was well donated. “T think that’s awesome, yeah, I think it’s a great cause,” Houtman said. “[but] honestly I have no concept of what goes on around here, which is bad as I’m a student, but we're so busy." Mercer featured Langara, as well as the winning high school and elemen- tary school on Rick Mercer Report’Tues- day evening. In 2015 there was an estimated 212 million global malaria cases. More than two-thirds of all. malaria deaths occur in children under five years old. Since 2010 malaria rates have fallen globally by 29 per cent. SOURCE: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION More nursing bursaries Nursing department responds to dramatic increase in students seeking help By VIOLETTA KRYAK his week, Langara College's nursing department is launch- ing a fundraiser for bursaries to support nursing students in financial need. This is the first year the depart- ment will be fundraising money and is a response to the high demand for financial aid from nursing students. Denise Thomas is an instructor in the nursing program who is working on the fundraiser, called Code Orange, a brand new project to raise funds for nursing student bursaries. “We decided to respond to the in- crease in requests for financial aid dollars, which happened dur- ing the summer,” said ay ata Kyle Yrjola Thomas. “I think the | agaga NURSING increase Was almost STUDENT 42 per cent by the nursing students, which is more than any other program at the college.” Code Orange is made up from people from the Langara marketing team and nursing faculty members. Kyle Yrjola is a student in the nursing program, who started working on the fun- draising project through being a part of the Student Nurse Advocacy Program. He said Code Orange is a great way to help nursing students, because the pro- gram is very tight and does not allow for a stable job. “T felt very out of control with that, be- cause I no longer was able to keep up my finances, that’s when I started applying for bursaries,” said Yrjola. "It has made a huge difference in my experience at Langara , being able to have this kind of financial security.” Thomas said the goal is to raise $25,000 for nursing student bursaries. Langaras Master Plan still up in The cafeteria in in 1 Building Ais in need of seismic ‘ upgrades according toa college board memo. DUNCAN ANDERSON PHOTO Building As future uncertain as college mulls seismic upgrades By DUNCAN ANDERSON S tudio 58 is eager to pack up and move to Granville Island along with Langara’s fine arts depart- ment, to be relocated as the college works to bring Building A up to seismic code. The theatre program, located in the bowels of the 1970-built concrete facility, has long wanted more suitable digs but where it will go when the building is va- cated remains unclear. Kathryn Shaw, Artistic Director of Stu- dio 58, said as far as she knows, the plans for moving Studio 58 to Granville Island are still up in the air. “Tf that could happen, I think everyone would be delighted,” Shaw said. Shaw said the Langara theatre space has water leaks, no backstage space, and its classes lack natural light, among oth- er issues. She suggested that Langara is awaiting funding from the province before making definite plans. According to a memo issued by vice president of administration and finance, Victor Sokha, the condition of Building A is currently hindering the quality of teaching and learning. Sokha wrote that the reputation of the Studio 58 program is jeopardized by the condition of Building A, and may move to Emily Carr Univer- sity of Art + Design. The college hasn't announced whether it will simply remediate Building A or demolish it. According to the memo, a “request for funding to the Ministry of Advanced Education for a new Creative Arts building or upgrading Building ‘A’ have not been successful.” Because of “concern over the aging in- frastructure of Building A,” the College Board is spending $600,000 on consult- ing fees as part of an update to the plan, halfway through Langara’s 25-year Master Plan, according to the memo. Attached to the agenda for an upcom- ing board meeting this Thursday, the memo outlines a number of issues neces- sitating an update of the Master Plan. Ac- cording to the agenda, a seismic evaluation done on Building A in August 2010 by the he air City of Vancouver suggested it is unsafe in the event of an earthquake, having many “non-structural elements that may affect shift, move, or collapse during an earth- quake.” Victoria Gibson, a student in the pub- lishing department also located in Build- ing A, said that she is mostly happy with the facilities in her department. “T don't have any issues,” she said. Students in Building A SEAN HITREC PHOTO