4 News UNBC Students Make an Impact on MATTHEW CHURCH CONTRIBUTOR Four UNBC students were among 180 students from across Canada who attended the Impact Con- ference for Sustainability Leadership in Guelph, Ontario at the end of UNBC's delegation consisted of Emily Wale (2nd-year Health Sciences), Robin September. Chang (3rd-year En- vironmental Planning), Caytlyn McFadden (3rd-year Environmental Studies), and Matthew Church (4th-year Chem- istry & Business). This conference was particu- larly timely as sustain- ability is an issue of ma- jor importance with its related economic, social and environmental challenges. In addition, organizations of all sorts are increasingly inter- ested in hiring employees with knowledge and understanding of sustainability best practices and solutions. Conversely, the next generation of workers will favour employers who demon- strate a comitment to sustain- ability. “No matter what you're studying, you will absolutely In the attached photo (left to right); Mat- thew Church, Caytlyn McFadden, Emily Wale. Robin Chang is not pictured. need to keep sustainability in mind going into the future,’ said Matthew Church, The keynote speakers at the conference included David Su- zuki, award-winning environ- mentalist, scientist and broad- caster, and co-founder of The David Suzuki Foundation as well as Peter Schiefke, Manager of The Climate Project Canada. Peter Schiefke is better known Sustainabilit PHOTO SUBMITTED BY MATTHEW CHURCH Gore and David Suzuki in 2007. Suzuki and Schiefke provided a great deal of insight and inspiration. The conference had represen- tation from a broad partner- ship of universities, leading sustainability organisations, and student groups. During the conference, participants col- laborated with industry leaders across all sectors to develop vi- Canadian businesses and But what was most about this that governments, unique conference is the true focus was on what can be achieved after the event itself. On the final day of the conference, the CEO of the Co- Operators insurance company announced a $50,000 fund for participants to help further sustainabil- ity initiatives in their communities. Over the Edge publishes many columns about the enormous __ sustain- ability-related _ prob- lems that are threat- ening our world, but as Caytlyn McFadden points out, “sustainability can start on an individual level, such as use a reusable mug, water bottle, and lunch container.’ For more information about The Youth Conference for Sustain- ability Leadership, visit www. impactyouthsustainability.ca Impact! Co-operators as the person who united Al able sustainability solutions for- Community Climate Change SHELBY PETERSEN NEWS EDITOR Last week you may have noticed a few peculiar events happening throughout the week in and around the Winter Garden. The purpose behind the strange events witnessed during the week was to raise awareness for the ever looming threat of climate change. For those of you who are unaware, climate change is considered to be one of the most serious threats facing the planet today. Cli- mate Change usually refers to the change in modern temperatures and the degradation of our ecosystems. Furthermore, — scien- tists have found a dis- cernable link between the change in global temperatures and the change in human ac- tivity over the past century (specifically burning fossil fuels). The point that the students staging the events were trying to get across was that climate change is a universal problem re- gardless of your Major, back- socioeconomic Another casualty in the fight for climate change. Campaign ground, religion, or race. Ignoring the issue of climate change will not only affect you, but everyone that you know. To emphasize the drastic and dire consequences of climate stage, several of the students stage a “die-in.” The purpose of the “die-in” was to reiterate how pertinent the issue of climate change is with students lying of the floor feigning death while holding grave stones above their heads which said such things as “I died for climate change.” The Community Climate Change Cam- paign also urged students to call their MP and demand that the government take more affirmative action in the battle against cli- mate change. Other such events included t-shirt painting and various acrobatics. Also, as part of the campaign to raise awareness for climate change there was a screening of the film The Age of Stupid (2008) starring Pete Postlethwaite. The film, which is a feature film/documentary hybrid takes place in the future and asks the question,“ Why didn't we do something about climate change when we had a chance?” Finally, the over arching purpose of the week's events was to build up hype for the most widespread climate action day in hist- ory, which took place on October 24, The event saw people marching along Victoria Street, in down town Prince George, and then converging for a rally on global cli- mate change. Simultaneously, there were protesters across the world participating in similar activities to raise awareness for climate change issues. It is safe to assume that UNBC will see many more environ- mentally focused pro- tests and rallies in the near future, especially with the forthcoming Green Centre and NUGSS'recent board creation, Associate Director of Campus Sustainability. For more information of the International Day of Climate Action go to www.350.org or contact the Associate Director of Campus Sustainability, Nadia Nowak. PHOTO SUBMITTED BY SHELBY PETERSEN PPA \. AL ANDREW BAILEY EDITOR IN CHIEF The installation of UN- BC’s new president Dr. George K Iwama occurred with infinite success in the Charles Jago Northern Sports Centre on October 24, 2009. It was a_ spec- tacular event that included an all-stat cast of speakers in- cluding Tsuneo Nishida, the Ambassador of Japan to Can- ada, who was there to con- Dr. Iwama for be- gratulate coming the first Japanese-Can- adian to hold the Presidential office at a Can- adian Univer- sity. In his state- Nishida beamed: “it is significant that Dr. Iwama ment, is to become the first Jap- anese-Canadian president of a Canadian university in British Columbia, a province which has played a meaningful role in Japan- Canada relations ever since the first Japanese immi- grants to Canada arrived there.” The formal speech per- iod of the installation last- October 28, 2009 + Over the Edge New President Stresses Student Voice on Campus ed about an hour and a half and was held in front of a crowd of roughly 400 stu- dents, faculty, and guests. There was a public recep- tion immediately following the ceremony to provide attendees a chance to meet with Dr. Iwama and his family. Unfortunately the reception did not include drinking, as according to NUGSS president Lind- say Gardner “it wasn't that kind of event.’ Through- out the ceremony, banners were placed around the Dear members of our UNBC community, Iam pleased to inform you that we are begin- ning our discussions about planning for our future at UNBC. I would invite you to one or more of the town hall discussions about this. Please visit our web site dedicated to this activity and purpose. http://www. unbc.ca/plan. If you are on one of UNBC’s regional campuses, I will be visiting regional campuses in the coming months. We are in the process of arranging those vis- its. We will post those dates as they become available. We will be taking minutes of these meetings, read- ing your contributions and revising the current Vi- sion, Mission, Values and Priorities. It is my objective to focus and refresh a UNBC Plan for 2010-2014. I thank you in advance for your contributions to this process. If you have any questions about the plan- ning process, please contact Tim Thomas at tthomas@ unbc.ca or 250-960-5739. Best wishes, George Iwama President and Vice-Chancellor sports centre for students to write on. The theme was passion and you will all be able to see what students described as their pas- sions on banners posted throughout the school. During his speech, Dr. Twama illustrated the im- portance of these banners in regards to conveying UNBC’s unique student voice as he exclaimed: “please look around you: the posters you see on the walls, and outside, depict our people, our UNBC community and alumni. They make this a very special place. It is a warm, inclusive community com- mitted to excellence and driven by a passion to make a difference.” Dr. Iwama has placed a huge importance on listening to UNBC’s stu- dent voice in his young Presidency and has gone as far as to organize town hall meetings for students to raise issues they feel are important to student life, These meetings are illustrated in a letter in- cluded some- where on this page which he wishes to have circu- lated around The Town campus. first hall meeting is scheduled for November 13" in room 7-150 from 1:00 p.m, to 3 p.m. I strong- ly encourage y'all to attend, but for those of you who can't, dont fret as you can always rely on your friend- ly campus newspaper to fill you in with all the details as Over the Edge's crack jour- nalism team will no doubt cover it stupendously. Students for a Green University & goBEYOND present: GREEN TIPS Tips to help you live more environmentally friendly everyday People love to shop for clothes; it has become an expensive hobby for some people and a sport for others, But what many people don't know about their shopping addiction is that the big box stores that they buy from are exploiting people and cultures around the world. They exploit the land and animals to obtain the materials that go into the products, they pay the local people miniscule amounts of money for their labour and make them work in horrific conditions, many of the workers are women and young children. The clothes are then sent around the globe in highly polluting container ships Think about your closet full of clothes you have not worn or perhaps have worn once or twice. You probably only wear a few key items clothing each week. Donate the clothes you don’t wear to a charity or thrift store; they are always looking for more items. If you da shop for clothes, visit local shops and thrift stores; they have lots of cool in-style clothes for great prices. And remember to follow the important 3 R's. Reduce the amount you buy, Reuse until your clothes have holes. And recycle the clothes you're getting rid of by donating them.