Resident Services SR SN ES setae aon MMS B toners Wetsieedstitrectttiienadrennd’ tebe otto Foal Tih #P 4 ely >> Photo by Marion Francescini Res student Earson Gibson demonstrates the Neyoh phone. Res students have been struggling with long distance problems at Neyoh. By: Bryna Casey >> Staff Writer This year it was advertised on the UNBC website that there is an inclusive phone line, call ID, voice mail, High Speed Internet connec- tion and cable television all included in a technology bundle. These things were indeed includ- ed, just perhaps not in a way that fits with out preconceived notions. The way that the telephones have been set up this year in dor- mitories is quite a bit different than it has been in the past. The moment that residents plug in their phone on the first day, they “I don’t think that stu- denis should have to pay for a program that isn’t working up to par.” already have a telephone number. There have been many positive comments from parents who like knowing that they can get into contact with their child immedi- ately if need be. To get in touch with a student in Residence from an outside source, you must call a generic number (277-1100) and then the extension of the person that you want to call. Each resi- dent has access to a voice mail box with up to 5 minutes of message storage and after a week mes- sages which have been heard will automatically be deleted after 7 days. Long distance telephone ser- vice is not provided by the University. The housing office is working on offering choices of long distance providers, such as London Telecom and Primus. If residence should so choose, they also have the alternative to use calling cards for long distance. The housing office is vending green Ultra Vox telephone cards, which offer quite competitive rates and no connection fee (unless calling from a payphone.) With a $20 card, it is possible to call anywhere in Canada or the United States for up to four hun- dred and nine minutes. Rates vary with the country that you want to connect to. It is also pos- sible to get calling cards that cater specifically to regions or countries ° of the world. For information on these cards please contact the housing office. These cards are easy to use and are also affiliated with Bell Canada, as is the inter- net. Internet in dormitories has been a problem thus far this year for students, Bell, ABC Communications and _ the Housing Office. Though students had access to the internet (provid- ed they had a computer and the proper cord) right away, there have been some difficulties get- ting the internet connected and working flawlessly. MSN mes- senger and Internet Explorer work, but there have been com- plaints by online gamers and fre- One disputed aspect of the ail inclusive pro- gram is that residents are having to pay for internet, Telephone and Cable Television even if: they did not wart the service quent down loaders about the performance online. Blake Rose, a first year student says, “It seems pointless to spend so much money on a game that you can’t even play.” The hous- ing office will be giving a rebate on internet service until the day the system works without any problems. “T don’t think that stu- dents should have to pay for a program that isn’t working up to par.” Says Randall Brazzoni who is the Manager of the Housing & Conference Services at UNBC. He also says that they hope to have all the problems with the internet resolved by _ early October, as they are just waiting on a part to come in to fix the problems. This represents a ray of hope for students like Rose. One thing that has stayed rela- tively the same from this year to. last is cable television. There are 28 channels including CTV NewsNet, CTV*-Vancouver, A Channel (CKEM Edmonton,) TSN, Food Network and Treehouse. These channels were chosen with many things in mind such as; time zone, programming, distinction and interest. The housing office is looking at adding channels to the list this year and is going to talk to Residence Council after elections next week. One disputed aspect of the all inclusive program is that resi- dents are having to pay for Internet, Telephone and Cable Television even if they did not want the service, or are not using all aspects of the service. Brazzoni says that most students in residence use either telephone, internet or cable (or all three) and that the price that you pay for all three is comparable for the price that you could find yourself pay- ing for one. And that going through the package saves you half of what you would normally spend if you wanted all three. In conclusion, a massive over- haul was done of the communica- tion options in dorms at UNBC this year and the flaws are being worked out as quickly as possible. 3 SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 Co-op is in Support of Non-profit Organizations “The situation right now is that a lot of non-profits are struggling to make ends meet” >> Continued from “Co-op for Non-Profit” page 1 by providing a $2500 subsidy for a student to fill one of those posi- tions. Charlene Milburn headed the project which provides funding for one student per semester. In addition to the $2500 from the pro- gram, the organization is required to come up with the rest of the money to pay the student. Also the position has to be one that a student is available and interested in taking. Currently the funding is coming from the co-op program’s budget so when the money runs out, so does the program. The hope is to find a third party to sponsor it in the future so that more students can have this opportunity and more non-profit organizations can get their much needed work done. The project started over the spring and summer semesters with a student working for the Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum and continues now with its first fall semester with the BC Learning Difficulty Centre. To decide which non-prof- it organization got the funding, Milburn along with co-op coordi- nator Peter Rans organized a com- petition to see which non-profit organization could provide the best offer for the students and had the most need. Although all the applicants were definitely worthy of the award, there was only one to be distributed. This semester, a history student named Krystal Etter has taken the position at the Learning Difficulty Centre. She worked for them over the summer and was delighted. to continue her work there. Over the last few months Etter researched and wrote proposals for the Centre and went through all their files and wrote a history for the | Prince George Dyslexic Support Society (which is affiliated.) She considers the work she is doing invaluable to her education and her future career working with heritage museums. “The situation right now is that. a lot of non-profits are struggling to make ends meet; by offering an award like this, non-profits can hire an employee that they would- _ mt have been able to hire other- wise.” Says Etter about the pro- gram. Hopefully the success of this program. will inspire other people to join in and find funding for more of these placements in the future.