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Julia MacDonald & Jill Gilroy
Members | UNBC Jack Project

he Jack Project is UNBC’s very own

chapter of a nation-wide organization.
As an organization run by students at
university campuses across the country, The
Jack Project is dedicated to raising awareness
of and reducing the stigma surrounding
mental health. UNBC is proud to offer the
first chapter of this organization in British
Columbia.

Jack UNBC is all about collaboration.

There are numerous resources on campus
dedicated to helping students manage their
everything from daily stressors to more
complex mental health issues. One of the
main goals of our particular chapter is to
connect students with these resources.

Our past events have included decorating
bags at the Connecting U Café’s, and handing
out chocolate during exam time as part

of Exam Jam. This semester we hope to
organize yoga and meditation classes, and
hand out “punny” coffee sleeves at Degrees.

Ultimately, we’re aiming to bring the
topic of mental health under everyone’s
radar. Everyone has mental health,

and that’s something that we want

to be widely accepted on campus.

We’ve got an enthusiastic team made up
of undergraduate and graduate students,
and our initiatives go far beyond reaching
students as we work with staff, faculty,
and members from the community.

Jack UNBC is a great way to meet other
students on campus and to explore issues
surrounding mental health in a comfortable,
creative, and collaborative way. At the
national level, The Jack Project is the

only national network of young leaders
transforming the way we think about mental
health. With initiatives and programs

UNBC Life 5

Club Spotlight: The Jack Project UNBC

UNBC

jack.org

designed for young people, by young people,
our goal is to end stigma in our generation.

If you’re interested in receiving more
information on Jack UNBC, or have an
idea you’d like to share related to raising
awareness on mental health or reducing

Online Learning: threat or opportunity?

Nahid Taheri
Team Member

he current challenges facing traditional

colleges and universities, such as higher
tuition, budget cuts, and course shortages,
have caused many students to search for
alternative forms of higher education. As
reported by the Sloan Consortium, there
are over three million students currently
enrolled in fully online degree programs and
six million taking at least one online course
as part of their degree program.

Accessibility and availability are the
greatest limitations on people who have
restrictions that stop them from going to
colleges and universities. They can really
use online learning, which gives them the
chance to obtain high level education in

a way that suits their daily schedules.

Rather than having the one-on-one
interaction that students get in traditional
classrooms, simple and flexible timing,
immediate results and feedback, and lower

INBC

cost are all benefits of online education
that encourage students to enroll.

However, while students of online courses

can take the opportunity to communicate
with their teacher through email or forums,
they do not get the chance to develop the
public speaking and socialization techniques
that may be needed in the working world.

In addition, the sense of freedom that

Blackboard

comes with distance education can be a
dangerous thing if the student cannot

handle procrastination. The professor is
not going to remind the student that an

stigma, we would love to hear from you!

Contact us at unbcjackproject@gmail.com.
Jack UNBC meets every Tuesdays from

10 to 11 on the couches beside Degrees in
the Teaching and Learning building, so
come on by and join the conversation!

assignment is due, nor are they going to
remind the person that they have not turned
an assignment in. They will also not force the
material onto the student, so it is up to the
student to learn the material on their own
without being pushed by the instructor.

This is a huge problem for many students
who are not self-motivated. Because of
this, many people fail online classes.

We can also count computer problems

or an unreliable Internet connection

as disadvantages of online learning.

Ultimately, each student’s goals, priorities,
and preferred learning style play important
roles to choose between correspondence
learning and traditional learning.