Students outraged Visit to campus by pro-life supporters creates controversy. Page 3 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2016
SPOKE
A LEARNING NEWSROOM FOR JOURNALISM STUDENTS
CONESTOGA COLLEGE, KITCHENER, ONT.
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Water worries Protesters take on Nestle. Page 7 47TH YEAR — NO. 16
Shaving heads for charity
BY JAMES WELLS
Waterloo Regional Police were joined by friends, family and members of the Galactic Empire for the annual Cops for Cancer event on Oct. 1. The local fundraiser was hosted by the Canadian Cancer Society at Cambridge City Hall, one of the many event locations throughout October. Officers from the Waterloo Regional Police Service participated in the fundraiser. According to the Canadian Cancer Society’s website, it’s a tradition every year for the participating officers to collect pledges from co-workers, friends, family and the community in order to raise funds for cancer awareness. “This year we’ve specifically donated all the funds raised to children’s cancer research,” said Auxiliary Const. John Klager. Once all the money was collected and counted, the top 10 officers with the most money raised got to show their support for cancer awareness by getting their head shaved. Klager was one of the winners. “This is my seventh year doing this event,” he said. “My dad was diagnosed with cancer, so that was the first year I decided to shave my head in support of him.” This year Cops for Cancer also included a silent auction, a draw for a chance to win a dinner with Chief of Police Bryan Larkin of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, a con-
PHOTO BY JAMES WELLS
Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers stand guard as volunteers from the community get their heads shaved during the Cops for Cancer event, Oct. 1. cert by Collective and a Jail ’n’ Bail, where people were thrown into a mock cell and set free only after getting a certain amount in donations. Darth Vader, two Stormtroopers and Astromech R2-E6 of the Galactic Empire, were also in attendance to show their support for cancer
awareness from a galaxy far, far away. There were many volunteers for the Canadian Cancer Society helping out at this year’s event, one of whom was a cancer survivor himself. Jon Constable (“like the officer,” he said) is a first-time volunteer for the Cops for Cancer
event. He beat prostate cancer shortly after it was discovered back in 2011. “Ever since my cancer was removed, I go in for a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test every six months. So far all of my tests have been clear,” he said. Constable and his family
have experienced the physical and mental stresses of cancer. He now gives back to those who, like him, have been touched by cancer in a direct or indirect way. For more information about the Canadian Cancer Society or the Cops for Cancer events, visit www.cancer.ca.
Parking is expensive, so are tickets BY ROBERT JANES
Parking at Conestoga is expensive, however, a local business is selling parking permits for half the price of those sold at the college. David Coros, a first-year general arts and science student, spoke to the owner of Mango King last month about possibly purchasing one of his parking lot permits. The restaurant is located near the college across Homer Watson Boulevard. “It’s 220 bucks for the two semesters and they have a
$50 down payment. So as long as you return the permit when you’re done you get the 50 bucks back,” he said. Coros ended up purchasing a parking permit from the school after being ticketed twice, once by Conestoga Parking Services and again by the City of Kitchener when he parked at the McDonalds on Homer Watson Boulevard. He chose not to purchase the cheaper permit from Mango King because he was worried about the legality. Janet Mannella, occupational safety manager at
Conestoga College’s Parking Services, had concerns about the offsite parking. “It is not a secure lot,” she said. “There is not a lot of lighting … (students) park at their own risk.” Mannella said there were three rounds of waiting lists this year and that they all opened up within two weeks. To accommodate students, warnings were placed on vehicles before an actual ticket was given. Parking Services also reduced the weekly rate from $40 to $20 while students remained on the waiting lists. Casey Vanleeuwen, a sec-
ond-year radio broadcast student, was ticketed $120 for parking without a permit. “I neglected to buy a parking pass and I didn’t get ticketed in the first week, so I was like OK, I might just wait it out,” said Vanleeuwen. “I just didn’t get to it and I got four tickets in two weeks.” Manella said there are many ways to avoid tickets and that Parking Services encourages students to take the bus, the shuttle or to carpool. “You can put up to four vehicles on one pass so if you meet people in your classes and you
have the same timetable, we encourage people to carpool,” she said. She added there are repercussions for students who either don’t purchase a parking pass or use a fraudulent one. “A fraudulent permit is a $200 fine, and their account can be put on hold,” she said. “It can also result in a student code of conduct (sanction). Repeated tickets, when it reaches a certain threshold, will also impact their account and result in a student code of conduct (sanction).”