4 3 OVER THE EDGE September 12-26, 2007 Summer Recap - Busy Year For UNBC CAMERON ORR News Eniror (rerirep) This last summer has been part of a milestone year for UNBC. The Northern Sport Centre is in its last throes of construction, the new Teaching and Learning Centre has already opened, and new additions to UNBC’s offerings have made new opportunities possible. To quickly recap what is new, Over the Edge has compiled this list of the things you may have missed while you were out of town: Anonymous Donor helps North- ern Medical program On May, 4, 2007, Don Cozzetto, UNBC President, announced in Williams Lake that a two million dollar pledge has been given to the Northern Medical Programs Trust. The donation, contributed anonym- ‘ ously, will be used towards medical programs: in the north, such as edu- cation and initiatives to retain doc- tors in the region. 1) A fundraising program for the Northern Medical Programs Trust was to raise $6 million by 2008. The new pledge has allowed that goal to be realized one year in advance. 2) Teaching and Learning Centre open On May 11", the Teaching and Learning Centre had its official opening. The building, which began construction in 2005, is now home to 10 degree programs, continuing studies and features an impressive 68-foot tall atrium. The building is said to have been created out of a projected increase in student numbers. 3) Budget made for new year. Stu- dents following the ‘budget crisis’ last year may remember some con- cem over a potential deficit at the university. The Board of Governors has approved the new budget for 2007/2008. The budget includes a 2% tuition hike and allocation for money into strategic and investment funds. UNBC announced a savings of $3.4 million with their new budget. $2 million of this will go into the International Exchange Agreement with Umea Universit ResBecca CARMICHAEL Copy Epiror Have you ever considered making an international ex- change part of your university experience? Many of us have, but usually stop short of taking the plunge. How- ever, it’s really not all that difficult to have an amazing experience abroad in a different country. In particular, UNBC has an international exchange agreement with Umea University in Sweden. Umea is a university of about 30,000 students with a strong focus on international cooperation. Students from all over the world travel to study there in disciplines including business, health sciences, math, history, biology, chem- istry, physics, geology, political science, and psychol- ogy. However, for some reason very few students from UNBC have taken advantage of this opportunity. In the middle of April, a delegation from Umea Uni- versity came to UNBC to promote exchanges between the two universities. The delegation was travelling across Canada to various universities. This delegation was headed by Cole Roberts, who is completing his Master’s of Business at Umea. He grew up in 100 Mile House and did his undergraduate degree at Capilano College. He’s enthusiastic about sharing the benefits of Umea with other Canadian students. Umea offers an experience for UNBC students that will be both unique and familiar. Just as Prince George is known as the capital of Northern BC, the city of Umeda is known as the capital of Northern Sweden. It has a population of around 110,000, not much big- ger than Prince George. It’s around the same latitude as Whitehorse, but the Gulf Stream keeps the climate gained from it are well worth the effort. relatively mild while still enjoying the ity and midnight sun of the Arctic. Umea is also known as a regional centre for leisure and culture. The university offers a high quality education with a strong focus on innovative research. In the Swedish system, only one subject is studied at a time, allowing for intense focus in one area of study. Many of the same subject areas are offered at Umea as at UNBC with numerous transferable courses, as well as different ones you may not be able to take otherwise. Many courses are offered in English for international students, so pri- or knowledge of Swedish is not necessary. However, international students are offered an intensive course in basic Swedish, with further courses in Swedish as a second language available. The cost is often seen by many students as an impedi- ment to taking on an international exchange, but in this case the cost may be on par or even less than that of studying at UNBC. Swedish universities do not charge tuition, even to international students, although some fees may apply. The cost of living is somewhat high- er, but still reasonable. Students can expect to budget around 10,000 Canadian for the cost of living for a full year, including rent, food, books, and fees. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, you can get more information at http://www.umu. se/umu/index_eng.html. To apply for an international exchange, you can go the international centre at UNBC and speak with an international advisor. You can also download an application form from www.unbc.ca/ international. Generally, high grades and references are needed to go on an exchange, but the experiences base operating budget, and $1.4 million is going into a strategic in- vestment fund. This fund will be used to create more opportunities for UNBC, such as building exter- nal relationships. The fund will also be used to help grow enrollment. 4) Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre opening It’s not quite ready yet, but stu- dents should expect to be able to take advantage of the sport centre very soon. The opening of the sport centre is slated for Friday, September 21 2007. The ceremony is an event open to anyone. There will also be tours offered of the facility. Shuttle buses from CN Centre will be pro- vided free of charge as well to the opening. Bears! Arrr! Two black bears spotted on campus ortable. Make lots of noise and make your presence jnown to let the bea now it is in human ferriiory. Ensure the bear has a safe avenue of escapes Exit. - Call for help. If the bear is ee biman or ree eatery or destroy ng property. Call the police or Conservation Officer Service at 1- sOD-Oe> LD (9453). - Make noises, you may scare them off selene coming into contact. - Do not feed the bears. The Montana State website offers additional advice for people who come nto contact with a black bear: -Give the bear time to react. If the bear begins to bounce on its front legs t is trying to scaré you away or is preparing to: bluff charge. When blufi rm harging it moves towards you straight backed, with its head down. It wil Dften run past you, and if it happens to knock you down, stay down unti vou are certain it has moved completely away.