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www.ufvcascade.ca
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012
NEWS
Big Brothers Big Sisters makes a big difference KAREN ANEY
close of their own accord. He says there are two main accomplishments he and Alex have achieved. First, Alex has gotten his grades up in school and understands why it’s important. Second (and more importantly, Brar says) the pair have worked together to develop his little’s confidence. “When we first met, he was this shy little kid who didn’t talk much . . . [we played football and basketball with friends], and he started building his confidence in there and real life too . . . now, he’s not really afraid to talk to anybody because he doesn’t feel inferior to anyone,” Brar says. If this kind of volunteering doesn’t seem like it’s up your alley, there are a few other options. One example is the Go Girls! (for girls) or Game On (for boys) program. These are after-school mentoring programs that consist of two-hour classes once a week for up to 10 weeks, where mentors teach grade five and six students about healthy living, including nutrition, physical activity, selfesteem and diversity. Jessica Warkentin is a social work major at UFV who has been directing a Go Girls! class since September. Along with two other co-leaders, she guides the girls through exercises that encourage healthy lifestyles, inside and out. Last week, her supervisor visited the class to ask the girls their thoughts on what they were learning. Warkentin said this was rewarding, because she was able to hear them mention all the things she’s been trying to teach them. “A bunch of them mentioned ‘it’s helped me with my self es-
teem, and helped me realize that what other people think about me isn’t as important.’ That was really cool, to hear that they were getting the message,” she said. Though she doesn’t know what career she is aiming for, Warkentin is sure she’ll use her Go Girls! skills in the future. “Learning to facilitate a group is a big thing,” Warkentin says. “All the girls have their own unique interest and a way of expressing themselves. [I’m] learning to bring them all together as one group.” Gurv Brar says that his time with Alex has helped him as well – and not just with future employment opportunities. “It helped me get an $800 scholarship from UFV,” he states. He went on to say that it’s always great to have on a resume – it demonstrates that you can be trusted and are able to work with youth, which is a valuable skill in many fields. If you can’t commit as much time as Brar or Warkentin, there is also an In-School Mentoring Program that involves spending time with a child in their school once per week. This time is used to connect with the child and simply be there as a friend. Students are welcome to apply for all programs. Potential Big Brothers and Game On leaders are especially needed. Mentoring coordinator Cassie Silva, a recent UFV Bachelor of Social Work graduate, explains that this is an invaluable relationship for young boys. “Some moms tell me they just want their sons to realize that it is possible to have a genuine relationship with an adult man . . . some of their stories can be heart-
breaking to hear while others are very common; I am so fortunate to be in a position where I can match children with a great role model and make a positive difference that will truly impact the
Image: Håkan Dahlström / Flickr
Image: London Summit / Flickr
Image: Reuters
Image: geologyrocks.co.uk
BC unveils new colorectal screening program
Canada pledges again to balance budget by 2015
Israel says prefers diplomacy but ready to invade Gaza
New film chases glaciers, with time-lapse photos
Israeli government websites under mass hacking attack
NEW WESTMINSTER (CUP) — The BC government will be introducing a new colorectal screening program next spring. Colorectal cancer, commonly known as bowel or colon cancer, takes the lives of over 1000 British Columbians a year. The aim of the program is to try and catch signs such as pre-cancerous polyps or malignant tumours early on by employing a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) which can be completed in the privacy of one’s own home before sending the samples to a lab for analysis. “As a province, we are known for excellence in cancer control. Early detection through screening saves lives,” said Dr. Max Coppes, president of the BC Cancer Agency.
OTTAWA/NEW YORK (Reuters) — The Canadian government on Friday reiterated its intention to balance its budget by 2015, three days after projecting there would be deficits until 2016-17. In separate appearances in Quebec City and New York, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty were at pains to say they still intended to end the red ink by 2015. “It remains the government’s plan, intention, to balance the budget prior to the next federal election. The recent economic and fiscal update by the minister indicates we are actually very close to that objective,” Harper told reporters in Quebec City. The next election is in October 2015.
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israel bombed dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire. Mediator Egypt said a deal for a truce to end the fighting could be close. The leader of Hamas said it was up to Israel to end the new conflict it had started. Israel says its strikes are to halt Palestinian rocket attacks. For the second straight day, Israeli missiles blasted a tower block in the city of Gaza housing international media. Two people were killed there, one of them an Islamic Jihad militant.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Six years after Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” a new film, “Chasing Ice,” goes beyond the data and the diagrams to document the disappearance of the world’s glaciers with time-lapse photography. Photographer James Balog has been capturing the grandeur of glaciers and ice floes since 2007. He started the Extreme Ice Survey the same year, which is considered the most wide-ranging photographic study of glaciers. What started as a video record of Balog and his team’s Arctic excursions instead turned into “Chasing Ice,” a chronicling of the effort to capture and consolidate timelapse photos of vanishing polar landscapes.
(Reuters) — More than 44 million hacking attempts have been made on Israeli government web sites since Wednesday when Israel began its Gaza air strikes, the government said on Sunday. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said just one hacking attempt was successful on a site he did not want to name, but it was up and running after 10 minutes of downtime. Typically, there are a few hundred hacking attempts a day on Israeli sites, the ministry said. Attempts on defence-related sites have been the highest, while 10 million attempts have been made on the site of Israel’s president alone.
THE CASCADE
There are a plethora of activities for students to devote their time to when they aren’t in school – not the least of which are napping and watching reality television. Neither exactly screams job potential, however. If you’re looking to get off the couch and maybe give back to your community, think about giving Big Brothers Big Sisters a call. The group has a chapter in the Fraser Valley, and you could be their next volunteer. There are different ways to get involved. The volunteer position that most of us have heard of is the classic mentor program, where an adult is paired with a young member in their community. This involves a two to four hour commitment per week, where the pair engages in an activity that suits their interest – this could mean hiking, biking, swimming, knitting, baking, joining a book club or any number of things. Gurv Brar, a fourth-year Criminology major at UFV, has had a Little Brother through this program for just under two-and-ahalf years. Alex, his “little,” is now 14. Gurv interacts with Alex around 10 hours per week – they typically go out once, and often play football or basketball (something they both enjoy), and finally spend a lot of time texting and on Facebook or FaceTime. He says that the overall experience has been very rewarding, and he and Alex are at the point where they don’t really need the Big Brothers association to facilitate their time together; they’re
Image: courtesy Gurv Brar
Gurv Brar, a Criminology major at UFV and also a Big Brother.
rest of their lives.” If you’re interested in volunteering, phone 604-852-3331 or email cassie.silva@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca.
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Image: Failed Guide Dog Photography