UNBC is 11 (According to Maclean's

Colin Slark
Editor-in-Chief

t’s official. UNBC is number 1. Well, at least

according to Maclean’s Magazine. After years of
being highly regarded in the magazine’s annual
post-secondary institution survey and being the
runner-up several times, the plucky little school on
top of Cranbrook Hill was named Canada’s top small
university for 2016. Obviously those in charge of

Maclean’s decided they needed to make up with Prince

George after naming the city the most dangerous

in the country back in 2011. Most likely they were
impressed after we managed to hold a major national
sporting event without any major incidents.

Joking aside, what does this mean for UNBC and its
students? One potential benefit is peace of mind.
Even though UNBC may not be the biggest, or most
well known university, you can feel comfortable
that you are still getting a quality education. UNBC
may be your “local” post-secondary institution, but
you have not compromised by attending classes
here. However, many of you already know this. For
the first time in over a decade, Maclean’s included
a student satisfaction survey in their rankings,

and students rated their university highly.

UNC Life

This announcement is nothing earthshaking, but is
welcome. More exposure means more prospective
students, more public awareness, and perhaps more
top class instructors joining the excellent faculty at
UNBC. More students could be needed to provide
revenue to the university as according to the CBC,
student enrollment declined 5.9% this year over
last, possibly due to last March’s Faculty Association
strike. Part of the Faculty Association’s assertions
during that strike was that UNBC’s faculty was top
quality and deserves proper compensation, so this
announcement must be some sort of vindication.

While these rankings are merely the opinion of one
publication, it is still good for UNBC to be recognized
as one of the best universities not just in British
Columbia, but across Canada. We have a lot to be proud
of: a beautiful campus, excellent faculty, accessible
amenities, and much more. Remind yourself when
thinking about these rankings that while the university
itself deserves a lot of credit, you, the students are

a large part of the institution’s success. Great job
everyone, let us try to make it two years in a row.

UNBC Shines in Wastewater Competition

Tlerney Watkinson
Team Member

t the Water Environment

Federation’s Annual Technical
Exhibition and Conference
(WEFTEC) in Chicago, which was
held from September 26-30 this
year, UNBC was represented by
students Allison Matfin, Maureen
Long, Clayton McBride, Brenden
Vissers and Stephanie Wall. Each
student is currently in their final
semester in the joint UNBC/
UBC Environmental Engineering
program.

The team had three months,
beginning in January 2015, to

come up with a solution for a
complicated design problem. In
this case, they were presented with
the task of finding a way of creating
biogas out of sludge, the leftover
materials from treated waste

water, for the city of Kelowna.
Back in April, the team’s proposal
placed first in the BC Water and
Waste Association Student Design
Competition, qualifying them

for the international WEFTEC
where the team ultimately placed
third out of ten entries for their
proposal in the Wastewater
Competition. Allison Matfin
remembers the competition

as a great learning experience;
she really enjoyed working

with her team in researching

all of the different technologies
available that would help them
solve the design problem.

The team’s findings have been
presented to Kelowna, but whether
the plan is put in place or not
depends on the overall cost of

implementing the plan as well as
space of the current waste site.
According to Matfin, the team is
still speaking to the city about
aspects of the proposal. In essence,
the plan involves putting sludge
into an anaerobic digester, which
is “Essentially a tank that has no
air in it,” Matfin explained to me.
Microorganisms in the tank digest
the sludge and they produce energy
in the form of natural gas; as well,
the remaining solids are removed
of odours and pathogens and can
be used for fertilizer. The team’s
proposal is a huge step towards
making waste management more
environmentally sustainable.

Congratulations to this extremely
gifted group of students!