Meters spark petition

Small business owners report loss of customers due to paid parking along Fraser Street. P3

Delicate discipline

Okinawan Kobudo combines perfomance and martial arts.

P4-5

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Erasing sex stigma

How one Vancouver convention encourages all things love and romance. www.langaravoice.ca

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 * VOL. 53 NO. 01 * VANCOUVER, B.C.

} A SECURITY!

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As news of the COVID-19 virus spreads, so does a higher demand for face masks. Langara's community update suggests more practical measures such as frequent hand washing, and staying home if you're sick to prevent the spread of infections. Jessica 4. FROUD PHOTO

Students want clearer virus plan

College posts updates online but no contingency protocol

By MAX LECKTE ases of COVID-19,

formerly referred to as

coronavirus, remains at

four confirmed infections in B.C., and one Langara student wishes the college’s plans for poten- tial outbreak were more informative should the virus become widespread in the province.

As of Feb.12, Langara had posted three community updates on its website, Instagram and Facebook. The updates state that since the academic term has been in prog- ress longer than the virus incubation period and there are no reported cases on campus, classes and normal campus operations will not be inter- rupted. It also asks that any students or employees who have recently arrived from Hubei Province stay home for 14 days, and inform their instructors or supervisors. An email from the college said its protocol includes following the recommenda- tions of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and Vancouver Coastal Health.

Nadia Rahnumah, a first-year general arts student at Langara, said that she was not aware of Langara’s protocols, and she has a lot of unan- swered questions, should a virus

break out within the college.

“T’'d like to know what would happen if someone within the college caught it, would classes be shut down? Would there be a certain section of the building shut down?” said Rahnumah.

Rahnumah admits she doesn’t check the college website as often as she should, but wishes there were more regular social media updates.

Steven Taylor, a clinical psycholo- gist and UBC professor, said if the virus were to spread more in B.C. and become more serious, initiatives called “social distancing” would likely be implemented.

“School closures are effective in curtailing the spread of infection ... so that’s a possibility if things got really bad,” Taylor said.

Social distancing protocols have not been mentioned on the Langara website or social media platforms.

The COVID-19 virus was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. As of publication time, the virus has since spread to 24 countries with over 45,000 confirmed cases and 2068 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. But news outlets are saying more than 14,000 new cases were reported by Hubei Province on Wednesday.

—With files from Kristian Trevena A passenger on the Canada Line wearing a face mask. Ax LECKIE PHOTO

Climate fears high, program

intake low

First-year enrolment for enviromental studies declining

By JESSICA A. FROUD

espite resounding student involvement in global protests over the past year,

enrollment in first-year climatol- ogy courses at Langara has declined, according to one program instructor.

Andrew Egan, coordinator of Langara’s environmental stud- ies program said there are various reasons for this, but a message from the federal government is a princi- pal deterrent. He said its message has been clear: you can either care about jobs or you can care about the environment.

“The government hasn’t incentiv- ized that we should have an under- standing of the environment and students wonder if there is a job in the end,” said Egan, adding there are avariety of Langara courses consid- ered to be climate-based.

“While there is an uptick in enrol- ment in third year courses, we’re seeing a decrease in enrollment in first year classes.”

However, some students say that climate change worries are enough to motivate them. Environmental studies student Max Keller said his fear of climate change pushed him into the program.

“T can’t lie. It has put in me an existential terror,” Keller said, adding he sometimes feels over- whelmed at the enormity of what needs to be done.

“We want to think that we can make change but it’s actually reor- dering society,”.

Frank Williams, chair of inter- disciplinary studies and coordinator for the Canadian studies depart- ment at Langara, said he has seen the emotional impact of climate change on students who have chosen to enroll.

“People don’t feel powerful enough to do anything and that’s a recipe for depression,” Williams said.

Williams also said concerns that they can’t make a difference may be areason why students aren’t rushing to take environmental studies.

“You see a disaster but you can’t do anything about it. That’s where students are. That’s certainly where a lot of climate scientists are.”