ampus news EDITOR BRIAN “THE HEADLESS” HORSTEAD THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013 3 Langara singers rock on New program offered at the Langara satellite cam- pus had few enroll and its future is in question By GAVIN FISHER group of twenty-somethings gather at Langara’s continuing studies campus on West Broadway to hone their skills as musicians. Each is a student in the 14-week singer-songwriter certificate program that began this fall, and there are only four of them. The program nearly didn’t make it into existence because of low enrol- ment. “Because it’s brand new, a lot of peo- ple don’t know about it yet,” said pro- gram coordinator Deborah Holland. “Tt’s very unique.” The students take classes in music theory, performance skills, songwrit- ing, digital recording and music busi- ness. Local pop-rock performer Luke Bentlay said he signed up for the pro- gram because he wanted to take his hobby “one step further.” “Tneeded something more solid than just doing auditions,” said Bentlay. Another student, Wesley Scott, used to play in punk and hard-rock bands while studying at the University of Vic- toria. He now performs indie-folk music under the name Zulu Panda. Scott has found the business and performing classes especially useful. All of the program instructors are experts in their field. Holland, who teaches the songwriting class, used to sing in the band Animal Logic with Stewart Copeland, drummer of The Po- lice. She taught songwriting for 12 years at California State University, Los Angeles. In Holland’s class, the students bring in their own material to be critiqued but she also makes them write a new song every week. “IT give them specific assignments that I think will help stretch them as songwriters,” said Holland. The four then review their songs to- gether with Holland. She said the criti- cism can be the hardest thing for them. “Your songs are like your babies,” said Holland. “And then you bring your baby to class and then I rip the head off of your baby.” Scott said the criticism is difficult but is ultimately making him a better songwriter. CORRECTION A story in last week’s Voice sug- gested all students and faculty can receive free flu vaccines from Langara health services. Only people under five, elderly people, people with chronic illness, and those who work or live with people in those categories, or regularly visit them in care facilities, get the shot for free. Others pay $20. The story also implied that dizziness and fatigue are common side effects - they are uncommon, with temporary pain at the injection site the most com- mon side effect. Lastly, Langara nurse Susan Kensett’s name was incorrect in the article. The Voice regrets the errors. The second vaccination clinic runs Nov. 5-6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the foyer of building A. EB: weekday evening, a small photo courtesy of LANGARA SOCIAL CLUB Event co-mastermind Ben Livingston (right) enjoys the fruits of his labour with the party-goers at Fortune Sound Club Ghouls, ghosts & drinks Langara Social Club gets a head start on Halloween partying 66 By NADIM ROBERTS ver 70 students came out in cos- Because tume this past Saturday to at- . tend a club crawl organized by Lang ara ts the Langara Social Club. a commut- The sold-out event kicked off at 8 p.m. at Killjoy, a cocktail lounge in Yale- er college, town, and ended at Fortune Sound Club it doesn’t in Chinatown. Stops along the way in- have the cluded the Portside Pub and Metropole Community Pub in Gastown. bars and The event was the brainchild of so- pub sor cial club co-founders and Langara busi- . ness students Jade Solacito and Nico community Sto Tomas, along with their friend Ben life that Livingston. After spending time travel- ing over the summer and attending or- UBC does. ganized pub crawls, the trio decided to Benjamin organize their own for Langara stu- Edelstein dents. They didn’t expect the $20 tick- ets to sell out within the first few days. Sisters Genevieve and Nympha Fon- tanilla, both business students, said the event was a good initiative. “Its definitely been an interesting night, but loud,” said Genevieve. Benjamin Edelstein, a newly elected councillor on the Langara Students’ Union, said he enjoyed having the op- portunity to socialize with students off campus. “Because Langara is a commuter college, it doesn’t have the bars and pubs or community life that UBC does,” said Edelstein. “That’s why events like this are so important.” Eyren Uggenti, who assisted in orga- nizing the event, said the club crawl was important for engaging students in college activities off campus. “Events like this are allowing stu- dents to build their networks,” said Ug- genti. “In the long run, that’s good for Lan- gara.” The social club was founded over a year ago when Solacito and others “no- ticed that Langara was lacking in stu- dent-run events and an overall student community that made people proud of where they attend school,” said Solaci- to. Since starting the club last year, So- lacito said he has seen an increase in students taking an interest in campus activities. “People want to be more involved with Langara and student clubs offer that to a wide range of people,” said So- lacito. “T think seeing your peers succeed and take initiative in their school life empowers others to make the best of their time here.” Although the social club is currently organizing future club crawls and par- ties for next semester, they also said they want to do more than just orga- nize parties. “Our focus this year is to really en- gage students with a variety of activi- ties like sports, music and volunteer- ing,” said Solacito. Flu season infecting holiday festivities There are many ways to fight flu-season blues, especially with Langara hosting flu-shot clinics By VANESSA SZPURKO like zombies around the hallways making strange noises and carrying disease. No, not Halloween. It’s flu season. With all those germs circulating, stu- dents who catch bugs may be unsure if they have the flu or not. “Most people that get sick don’t actu- ally have a flu, they have a cold virus,” said registered nurse Susan Kensett. [ that time of year - people shuffling While both the cold and flu involve sim- ilar symptoms the flu tends to be much more severe, with a quicker onset and a high fever. Langara student Rupali Mann has just gotten over the flu and experienced related school difficulties. “You can’t make proper sentences,” said Mann. “If you’re an A level writer all of a sudden you’re a B level writer because your brain can’t work like it normally does.” Kensett advised that most students can ride out their flu at home, with the fastest way to getting healthy being rest and extra fluids. Luckily, students at Langara have techniques available to avoid getting sick. Third-year mar- keting student June Kinloch uses oil of oregano, a natural supplement that supposedly wards off flu symptoms. “Tt tastes terrible, but you can get it in capsules so it doesn’t taste so bad,” said Kinloch, who started taking the supplement when midterms started. She said she hasn’t caught the flu so far. Kensett said the classic flu avoidance methods still work, including regular hand washing, getting enough sleep and staying hydrated. The flu shot is also a viable option, with clinics being held at Langara Nov. 5 and 6. “It’s a personal decision for ev- eryone. Weighing the risk versus the benefits to you personally and to those around you is an important thing to do,” said Kensett. a JUNE KINLOCH Third-year marketing student uses oil of oregano to ward off flu