2 THE DAILY VOICE, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2012 EDITOR CARISSA THORPE ews & features LSU needs reform: anonymous letter In an open email sent to the Langara Students’ Union and Langara staff, two students call on the union to address the numerous issues they have raised By SAM REYNOLDS wo anonymous individuals sent a lengthy open letter criticizing the Langara Students’ Union to the union’s board and all Langa- ra faculty members last week. Divided into five sections, the letter outlines the pair’s areas of concern: communication, transparency, ac- countability, lack of focus on “impor- tant” issues and general dysfunction within the LSU. Signed by a “concerned” Langara student and a former LSU board mem- ber (who will not reveal their names) the letter condemns the union for not sufficiently engaging students, focus- ing on issues that do not affect most students, not following proper meeting in yelling matches”), not responding to concerns and inquiries from both stu- dents and The Voice, and not defining board members’ roles and responsibili- ties, thus dissolving accountability. The authors state that their letter isn’t meant to embarrass or criticize the LSU’s board, but rather serve as a call to reform. “The LSU should exist to serve the students,” the letter reads. “It should be transparent and accountable for its actions.” The duo are calling for more trans- parency from the LSU, particularly with regards to financial statements. “We want to know everything, from how much each director is paid, how much each staff member is paid, and how much was spent on specific pur- have the right to know how much was spent on what and why,” they say in the letter. Because of an organizational culture that critics would see as opaque — due to large parts of meetings being in- camera (closed to the public) — the let- ter writers allege that the board was able to take an all expenses paid re- treat to Victoria that apparently in- cluded alcohol. For two Langara student politicians, this letter to the LSU is a fair summary of the problems many have had with the organization. “Tve been a member of the LSU board for over a year and I echo many of the concerns brought up in this let- ter,” said Teresa (Anh) Lu, a student member of the Langara Board of Gov- students.” on the college board. 66 “The lack of transparency on finan- The LSU cial and executive decisions isaserious Should issue that should concern all Langara exist to Dean Tsatouhas, who was recently Serve the elected to the college education coun- students. It cil, which works with the LSU, and sits should be “I agree with the concerns that the transpar- letter addresses, but cannot comment on the issues because even though I ent and have a seat on the LSU’s board, they account- have not fully acknowledged me onto . their board,” said Tsatouhas via email. able fe or its “When I was first elected onto educa- actions tion council, there were no attempts to contact me about my seat on LSU’s cai te board.” Asked for comment, LSU media liai- son Adam Giesbrecht said, “We don’t etiquette Gincluding “often engag[ing] chases. As [paying] students ... we ermors, via email. respond to anonymity.” wa The Rock at Langara ® View conversation @spencerlatu don't be scarred! It's just a costume! You'll be calling me the jolliest rock you've ever seen come December! ® View conversation P< ®@ View conversation ErTR The Rock at Langara UBC! The Rock at Langara The Rock at Langara ©\2 C “@LangaraVoice: BREAKING NEWS: the @LangaraRock has its own Twitter account.” Thanks for the mention! So gneiss of you! The Rock at Langara © Langer 8 Nc @LangaraVoice as long as they don't make the ponds outside the \ library designated smoke areas, I'm happy! PG angaraBlog Thanks! They're just not as geologically informed * ® View conversation Reply ti Retweet »& Favorite Oh a Go BarROCK! “Elections2012 #Obama ah i? ‘ \ Pa gents” es i, AUDREY McKINNON photo illustration The ever-present rock outside the Langara Library has grown both a mustache and a personality, establishing itself in the Twitterverse in recent weeks. The rock’s tweets are often on current events, and usually have a rock pun in them somewhere. Drinks on links nothing new — golfers LOCAL golf courses 1 Langara 6706 Alberta St. 604-713-1816 2 Fraserview 7800 Vivian St. 604-257-6923 3 McCleery 7188 Macdonald St. 604-257-8191 Source:City of Vancouver website Vancouver’s golf courses are one step closer to sell- ing beer right on the green By KEVIN HAMPSON hile beer could be sold from li- Wie carts at Langara Golf Course by next summer, golf- ers say drinking on the course is al- ready a reality. City council approved a request from the parks board last week to allow beer carts on Langara, Fraserview and Mc- Cleery golf courses. The request still has to be approved by the province. Only Green councillor Adriane Carr voted against the request. “TA public golf course] should be treated like a public park or a public beach,” she said. “Open liquor con- sumption is not allowed in a public space.” Allowing drinking in public golf courses may open the way to allowing it in other public spaces, Carr said. But Langara golfers say that in prac- tice, all three courses already allow golfers to take beer from on-site res- taurants onto the course. According to golfer Allen Lewis, all you have to do to drink on the courses currently is ask for your beer in a plas- tic cup and then take it with you. A lot of people do this on the Langa- ra golf course, said golfer Miles Bruce. “Youre allowed to do it, as long as you get it from over there,” he said, pointing to the clubhouse. Staff at the clubhouse declined to talk to The Voice. But not everyone opts for the club- house beer. “T usually bring my own beer and keep it on the down-low,” said a golfer who only wanted to be identified as Dale. Dale said he was not enthusiastic about the possibility of beer carts, be- cause the course might crack down on people who bring their own. “T don’t want their seven dollar beers, ” he added. According to the report from city staff presented to council, golf courses represent a low risk for alcohol-related harm, because people use them for rec- reation and not drinking. The Vancouver Police Department told the city it has no concerns with the beer cart proposal. Cards for Christmas Crafting session will teach staff art of D.LY. greetings By TANYA HILL Homes and Gardens, do it yourself culture has gone mainstream. Langara College employees are set to join in by making their own Christ- mas cards at a Christmas craft session to be held Friday Dec. 7 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Room B114. Giselle Lemay co-ordinates the Lan- gara employee development centre (LEDC). Lemay decided on the Christmas cards based on the response from a survey she sent out to employees. The craft session will be facilitated by international student coordinator Celine Huang, with materials provided. “Participants are encouraged to bring a donation,” said Lemay, which will go towards a financial aid program that provides seasonal hampers to sin- gle parent students. “Huang is an experienced home crafter and will be designing the cards,” said Lemay. Employees interested in participat- ing in the card-making session can reg- ister with Lemay by emailing her at ledc@langara.be.ca The United Way Craft & Gift Fair takes place from Nov. 26 to 30 in the foyer of the A building. Fe: Martha Stewart to Better Little info on bylaws Continued from page 1 meetings to report to the public. The LSU bylaw vote has been open to the public since Tuesday in the foyer of the A Building. Voting booth attendants have been unwilling to share any information with anybody representing The Voice and refused to give their identities ex- cept to say they are volunteers. While bylaws are posted on a board in front of the booth, no take-away in- formation about the proposed bylaws is available there. “We're not giving them out on paper as a way to be environmentally friend- ly,” said one volunteer. The voting ballots themselves are printed on standard 8'/2-x-11 paper. Voting takes place in either the A Building or the Students’ Union Build- ing through Dec. 5. Check Isu.be.ca for more information.