TOYS FOR TICKETS........................................3 Impark, which handles parking services for the college, is allowing unpaid tickets to be repaid in toys for The Salvation Army.
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PRODUCED BY LANGARA JOURNALISM STUDENTS
NOVEMBER 27, 2014 • VOL. 47 NO. 11 • VANCOUVER, B.C.
Transit sexual harassment on the rise Transit Police releases new app to help riders report and check crimes By MEL EDGAR
NPA under fire from CUPE JAMES GOLDIE and CHARLOTTE DREWETT photos
Left: Kirk LaPointe, NPA mayoral candidate in the 2014 election, right: CUPE BC president Mark Hancock and lawyer Leo McGrady.
Union case follows lawsuit filed by mayor and Vision councillor By CHARLOTTE DREWETT
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irk LaPointe and the Non-Partisan Association (NPA) are being sued again, this time by CUPE BC. CUPE BC and Local CUPE 1004 held a media conference on Nov. 26 announcing that they have filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction along with “the removal of offending language from websites and substantial general damages as well as punitive damages,” said CUPE BC president Mark Hancock, following the NPA’s accusations of “corruption” on Vision’s part by accepting campaign contributions from the union. LaPointe said in a telephone interview that the union’s claim, “appears to be similar in nature” to the current lawsuit filed by Mayor Gregor Robert-
son and councillor Geoff Meggs. “Once we have a look at [the claim] we’ll be able to assess what we’ll say in terms of our own defense, so until then really we’re not commenting,” LaPointe said. CUPE’s legal representative, Leo McGrady, from Vancouver law firm McGrady & Company, said the key issue is the allegations of corruption. McGrady said the language former NPA mayoral candidate LaPointe used in interviews and on the NPA website gradually got more offensive as the campaign went on. Secretary-treasurer of CUPE BC, Paul Faoro, said what the union has done is allowed, both in B.C. and Canada. “It needs to be perfectly clear that all of our donations are within the elections acts of British Columbia,” Faoro
said. Frances Bula, journalism department head at Langara College and municipal affairs writer for The Globe and Mail, said when someone accuses someone of corruption it’s a criminal offense. “So obviously there was some uncertainty in the media about how to phrase this themselves,” Bula said. Bula said that the lawsuit “seems like a prevention measure for the next election,” adding that people might be concerned about other negative ads. LaPointe said that the lawsuit is “a long way from anything involving the courts.” McGrady said that an apology from LaPointe and the NPA would have an affect on the damages awarded but they are “not prepared to drop the lawsuit.”
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It needs to be perfectly clear that all of our donations are within the election acts of [B.C.] PAUL FAORO SECRETARYTREASUER, CUPE
Langara Council approves LSU-opposed fee hikes Costs for transcripts, penalties for withdrawn courses set to increase By JAMES GOLDIE
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angara students will be paying higher prices next semester for basic student services, due to a series of increases approved by the Langara Council in October. These changes include increases in the fees for transcripts, graduation application, and even the rental of graduation gowns. First year business student Amit Luthra said he felt the changes felt drastic. “It’s unfair because the real cost behind a transcript is a piece of paper, Printed on recycled paper
and how much time the administration staff spends to produce it,” he said. Jana Jorgensen, executive director of the Langara Students’ Union (LSU), asked the council to defer implementing the changes proposed in June, arguing that the LSU had not been properly consulted. Her request was accepted, with the earliest date for implementation of the new fees set for the winter 2015 semester. On Oct. 6 the LSU presented a written report to the registrar and dean of student services, Clayton Munro. The report included the LSU’s position on what they believe students deserve access to. This list included high-quality education and affordable education, and opposition to any “fee or penalty increases imposed upon students on the
basis that it negatively impacts students’ access to affordable education.” However, despite the LSU opposition to some of the fee increases, the motion was ultimately passed. On Monday, LSU spokesperson and sexual and gender diversity advisor to council, Ben Friesen, said that the “LSU understands that the college is facing difficult financial times,” however, he reiterated the union’s opposition to fee increases. Starting in January, the fees for transcripts will increase from $6 to $10, the graduation application fee will increase from $10 to $25, and an enrolment letter will jump from $7 to $15. The tuition penalty fee will also increase. Students looking to drop courses during the first week of classes will now only receive a 70 per cent refund, as opposed to the current 80 per cent.
BEN FRIESEN LSU spokesman
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It’s unfair because the real cost behind a transcript is a piece of paper
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lthough reports of being touched inappropriately on transit are on the rise by almost 40 per cent compared to the same time period last year, the exact reason behind the increase is uncertain. “We believe that it is quite likely that the increase is due, in large part, to additional reporting,” Transit Police spokeswoman Anne Drennan said. “But it may be also that there are more offenses, so you can’t be sure.” According to Transit Police, the reason behind the uncertainty lies in the new reporting measures introduced this summer, including a mobile app OnDuty, which lets you report a problem, check news alerts or even see what crimes have been reported on the app in realtime. As many as 90 per cent of sexual assaults go unreported, Drennan said. “So we think that the numbers ZAFRIM ALAM of sex offenses reLangara student ported in the last year have gone up considerably in part because of [the] ability to provide information discretely and more easily though the app.” The 40 per cent figure though is well over the 15.8 per cent rise in sexual offence rates summarized in the Vancouver Police Department’s 2013 end of year report. A figure attributed to a greater number of “gropings.” Langara students generally don’t feel like they need to use the OnDuty mobile app, however. Even Zafrim Alam, a third year general studies student, who rides the Hastings bus at night. “Sometimes there’s people who get on that make me feel uncomfortable,”Alam said. “They might start talking to me and then trying to get information out of me, stuff like that. It makes me feel a little bit unsafe.” Alam said that, although she’s heard of the app, it never really occurred to her to install it. The Voice has previously reported on three sexual assaults in the South Vancouver area this year, the latest occurring on the morning of Oct. 3, when an older Asian woman said she was assaulted when walking towards a bus stop on Granville Street.
Check out our web exclusives at http://langaravoice.com/