6 Culture UNBC Continuing Studies Presents: “Experiential Tourism” Tyson Kelsall Culture Editor | ote-culture@unbc.ca he University of Northern British Columbia’s Continuing Studies department is offering up something out of the ordinary. It is based on the premise of education-focused travelling. With UNBC’s overall focus on bringing in more experiential learning, Continuing Studies has put a twist on this by calling the project Experiential Tourism. Within this program there are four trips being offered: Walk With Dinosaurs, Jetboat Photography, Some Like It Hot, and Ghost Towns. All but the first will be offered out of Terrace, BC. Walk With Dinosaurs is being offered out of Tumbler Ridge in August, and is an opportunity for a group to explore the region with two paleontologists. Jetboat Photography is based around nature photography, where an experienced biologist will take a group on a boat trip to places otherwise inaccessible. Some Like It Hot is a five-day hot spring tour, where with each new day comes a new hot spring. A Princeton professor who has researched hot springs in BC will lead this. Lastly, Ghost Towns will be a tour of abandoned towns in British Columbia. This includes the remote towns of Kitsault and Anyox, which are barely accessible. Rob Bryce, coordinator of Continuing Studies, said that he’s excited about the prospect of these programs. He says the focus will be on high-end education, adding that each program will have only eight to ten students, giving each person intimate time with the experts leading the tours. While Continuing Studies usually focuses on concrete professional development and certificate programs, Experiential Tourism is brand new. Bryce says this is unique in contrast to most practical field schools where faculty experts will leave their campus to go abroad and do work there. Experiential Tourism is more community- uing -studies Ss < g SI iS) S < 3 based, with experts staying in and/or coming to the Northern BC area. Courses will cost between $2,400 and $3,600, including luxurious meals and five-star accommodations, according to Bryce. He says the target demographic will be people with a sense of adventure who are looking to add learning and engagement to their holidays. CSU, CFS, and CNC: Tyson Kelsall Culture Editor | ote-culture@unbc.ca nother university student body is looking to leave the Canadian Federation of Students, the large student union that has been losing attractiveness amongst members over the past few years. Now, the Capilano Student Union is scheduled to have a referendum to leave the CFS. This has drawn the attention of the College of New Caledonia’s student leadership. CNC is currently a member of CFS. According to UNBC student and former President of the Capilano Student Union, David Clarkson, CNC is planning to send representatives down to Capilano to stand in favour of CFS and influence the referendum results. Clarkson says that this is not uncommon, but it might bother students whose fees are going into it. The referendum will happen from 24-28 March. Approval for CFS originally began to fall because some student bodies felt the results produced were not worth the high fees. The Eye Opener, Ryerson’s independent newspaper, reported that Ryerson pays $350,000 per year. The problems were amplified when student unions found out how hard it is to leave. At one point, CFS took the University of Victoria Student Society to the Supreme Court of BC in an attempt to delay UVSS’ referendum. Later, the Simon Fraser Student Society and CFS settled out of court ina related situation. Clarkson calls CFS “something like a nasty parasite, they’re hard to get rid of.” This has led shifting unions BC’s four biggest institutions to join a new project. In BC, a new student coalition is building, named the Alliance of British Columbia students, or ABCS. According to ABCS’ website, it currently represents over 140,000 students in BC. ABCS was founded in May 2011, shortly after the UVSS left CFS. It is built off previous individual campaigns, such as Where’s the Funding (WTF?). CSU is already part of ABCS... and if it follows in the steps of its partners, it will not be part of CFS for long.