2 NovemeBer 10, 2004 UNBC Program Expands, Yet Cuts Full-time Job Expansion and growth leads to job cuts for UNBC’s Northern Advancement program By COREY SCOFIELD STAFF WRITER As of November 17th, UNBC’s Northern Advancement Program will be officially eliminating one full-time position from its staff, a curious offshoot of the growth of the program. With a total of 22 students now enrolled in the pro- gram this academic year the program has consistently proven _ to be an outstanding success The Northern Advancement Program, which is run through UNBC’s First Nations Centre, provides transitional support to aboriginal and rural students during their critical first year of study. The program also offers these students additional assis- tance in areas vital-to their aéad- emic success such as; critical-. reading and writing, titne man-' agement and effective studying skills. Drawing on the First Nation philosophy of a holistic learning approach, the program seeks to create a community of learning by providing a network for per- sonal growth and academic development, and by providing additional tutoring and mentor- ing resources as well as commu- nity and cultural forums for stu- dents to draw upon. Now in its 8th year, the pro- gram has experienced consider- able growth in the last two years and now employs 7 employees, up from 3.7 as of the last acade- mic year. Due to this expansion and restructuring of the Northern Advancement Program it has ' become necessary to eliminate the position of Liaison Officer, a recruitment position whose duties are now being performed through other channels within the program. According to Paul Michel, Director of UNBC’s First Nations Centre and the Northern Advancement Program, this “restructuring of resources” will allow the program to continue to expand and provide additional aid to students making the tran- sition from a rural to urban set- ting. With a total of 22 students now enrolled in the program this aca- demic year. the program has con- sistently proven to be an out- This “restructuring of-resources” will allow the program to — continue to expand and provide addi- tional aid to students making the transi- tion from a rural to urban setting. standing success in aiding stu- dents from aboriginal and rural communities throughout British Columbia make the transition from secondary to post-sec- ondary academic life, as well as strengthening small rural com- munities and expanding UNBC’s northern presence. CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE Students in residence are under- standably outraged by the occur- rence of vandalism in the place they call home. “| find it really frustrating,” stat- ed a second, year Social Work Student, “when, you move out on ;your own it is assumed that you have achieved a certain amount of maturity. It is obvious that this is not the case.” “It is pretty sad that we have to live in this kind of environment,” agreed another second year student living in the residence. A major issue with the damage that occurred on October 30th is that University Security was pre- sent ‘at the residence all weekend. Their presence justifiably drew some Criticism, as they were obvi- ously unable to prevent these events from occurring. Sucro stated that security officers were stationed at the residences Rash of Vandalism Hits By primarily “to ensure the safety and security of students living in the residences. I can only image what events would have occurred if security had not been present,” she said. Many students have issues with the effectiveness of security and their ability to ‘prevent the resi- dences from vandalism. In the words of a fourth year English Student, “the security guards are totally ineffective because there are two ways to get into both buildings. The only thing they do is turn away people’s friends, which is a big pain in the ass. What I want to know is if we're paying for them to secure our buildings, why aren’t they account- able when damage is done? I’d ‘rather not pay for security to be there when they’re obviously impo- tent at preventing vandalism. I’d rather pay for video cameras’to be installed.” Residence PHOTO BY BECKY BOOTH A simple hose like this was turned into a weapon of mass destruction when a thoughtless vandal uncoiled it and used it to create a giant waterfall down the stairs in the Keyoh residence building This sentiment is also reflected by a third year Psychology student who lives on the floor that the majority of the damage took place on.“[The extent of the damage] really. pisses me off. You would think that is what security would be there for. They obviously can’t do their job.” According to Godfrey Medhurst, Head of Facilities at UNBC, the security guards are “not allowed on the premises at the residences unless specifically invited by a Resident Assistant.” This policy definitely infringes upon the ability of security to make sure that stu- dents, and in turn their living quar- ters, remain safe. } As of press time, none of the cul- prits have come forward or been caught. If this problem is not recti- fied, the students living in resi- dence are going to face large bills for the damage at the end of the semester. Take a Stand against Consumerism on Buy Nothing Day Save money and the world at the same time! BY BELINDA LI STAFF WRITER Zombies and robots -will be invading Prince George on November 26th! Though this may seem to be the beginning of a Fake News story, the invasion will actually be a true event for this year’s: Buy Nothing Day. Held on the day after the American Thanksgiving since its beginnings thirteen years ago, Buy Nothing Day is an international campaign to bring attention to the consequences of consumerism that people often overlook. On this day, millions of people will simply abstain from buying anything so that they can reflect upon the cur- rent unsustainable consumer cul- ture. According to Matt Hindman, a member of PIRG’s Buy Nothing Day Action Committee, “Buy Nothing Day is a crucial step in recognizing the over-consuming trends plaguing the developed nations that are already having a detrimental effect on the social and environmental climates of the rest of the world.” In celebration of Buy Nothing Day, PIRG will be organizing events at the school and in the community. The focus of this year will be of a more optimistic theme. Instead of just concentrating on the places where people shouldn't shop or revealing the harsh condi- tions of sweatshops like most other campaigns, the light will be shone on realistic actions people can take to combat consumerism. Such actions include tasks as simple as purchasing locally grown crops instead of imports. On Buy Nothing Day, several demonstrations will take place in the Winter Garden during the day. One notable workshop is a sweat- shop simulation, which will give participants first-hand experience in what it takes to make simple items of clothing that most people take for granted. Static displays of creative garbage art will also be on display throughout the day. Off of campus, volunteers will be infiltrating local shopping cen- tres dressed as zombies and robots as a means to interact with the gen- eral public about these issues at the places where these important pur- chasing decisions are made. “The point of the zombies and the robots is to draw attention to the decisions that people can make when they buy things. People often do not realize the conse- quences of supporting unfairly made or grown goods. This is a display of the death of the human for the robotic and thoughtless actions of the consumer,” explained Hindman. In the evening, a Cosmic Café with an open mic will take place on campus. There will also be poetry readings and a performance by fire dancers. A fashion show will take place as well, but it will not be the typical show of chic models in the latest trends. Instead, it will be a fashion show of truth that will highlight exactly how each clothing item on display was made. The Buy Nothing Day Action Committee is still looking for vol- unteers, performers, or anyone who wants to do something for Buy Nothing Day. They invite everyone to take action whether it be to refrain from purchasing or taking part in one of the special events. As stated by Hindman, “On November 26th, take a stand on over-consumption by not buy- ing anything and hey, maybe you'll enjoy the difference you'll make.”