Where KPU Succeeds and Fails at Student Representation
Features / September 5, 2018
Comments (0)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University boasts a diverse student body. It welcomes folks of various nationalities, ethnicities, genders, ideologies, and sexual identities. Representing these groups, however, has always been a challenge for members of the Kwantlen Student Association, which balances the day-to-day duties of student governance with advocating for a sizeable and widely-dispersed student populace. In many... Continue Reading
Advocates at KPU Help Reduce Surrey Gang Violence
Features / August 22, 2018
Comments (0)
For years, Surrey has had a uniquely problematic history with gang-related violence flaring up in the streets, shattering lives and leaving communities torn. Residents have been calling on City Council to take action that results in a meaningful reduction in organized crime, which is why Mayor Linda Hepner formed the Mayor’s Task Force on Gang... Continue Reading
The Art of Loving Offers Sex Smarts to Vancouver
Features / August 16, 2018
Comments (0)
Sex positivity, the socio-philosophical movement towards accepting safe and consensual sexual expression, has waxed and waned in popularity throughout history. In the 1920s, Sigmund Freud and Wilhelm Reich called it sexual liberation. In the 1960s, it reappeared as free and open love. Now, in the 21st century, sex positivity is a regular part of Western... Continue Reading
Kitchen Culture Serves up Toxicity for Employees
Features / August 2, 2018
Comments (0)
After the tragic passing of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, many people took another look at some of the topics he raised in his book Kitchen Confidential. Just last year, Bourdain expressed regret for his own complacency in—and even glorification of—toxic elements of kitchen culture, namely the unchecked sexism of the back of house. Having spent... Continue Reading
A Look into Surrey’s 10-Year Parks, Recreation & Culture Strategic Plan
Features / July 25, 2018
Comments (0)
Most Surrey residents can agree that the city’s 200 parks and 35 recreation facilities and community centres go a long way for establishing the beauty and livability of the city. Now, thanks to the Parks, Recreation & Culture strategic plan developed by Surrey Parks Board, the city can look forward to enjoying new and improved... Continue Reading
Big City Blues
Features / July 13, 2018
Comments (0)
Vancouver is consistently ranked one of the most livable cities in the world. With its mild climate, breathtaking scenery, and quality of education and healthcare, it’s not hard to understand why. Yet recent research has found that we’re also one of the most miserable cities in Canada. A Study entitled How Happy Are Your Neighbours? by... Continue Reading
Parents Scramble for Affordable Child Care in B.C.
Features / June 28, 2018
Comments (0)
Four months before the birth of their first child, Julia Smith and her husband registered their names on wait lists for licensed child-care programs. Last November, after 16 months of waiting, the only change in their situation was their daughter’s age and the fast-approaching end of Smith’s maternity leave. “I’m on 14 wait lists and... Continue Reading
KPU’s Recent International Tuition Hike Divides Students and Administrators
Features / June 14, 2018
Comments (0)
When the KPU Board of Governors voted on March 28 to raise international tuition by 15 per cent, they received an immediate backlash from members of the Kwantlen Student Association. By April 5 the KSA had released a statement saying that it was “disappointed” with the increase in tuition, and with the fact that the... Continue Reading
DigitaLENS Fosters Sisterhood Through Storytelling
Features / May 27, 2018
Comments (0)
At the third annual DigitaLENS Film Festival, Muslim women came together to put their creativity on public display. Over seven weeks, Aisha Amijee, Alia Youseff, and Katie Warfield—all digital storytelling instructors at KPU—planned the event to merge technical videography skills with social justice and introspection. The course that the three instructors teach is held during... Continue Reading
Keeping Kayfabe in the Local World of Wrestling
Features / May 23, 2018
Comments (0)
While many Canadians were celebrating Cinco de Mayo, those in New Westminster’s Sapperton Pensioners Hall spent May 5 crowded around a makeshift wrestling ring. “Cinco de Mayhem” was the name of Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling’s latest event, which saw the typically tranquil Pensioners Hall transformed into a wrestling arena. Founded in 1996, ECCW is currently... Continue Reading
Surrey Shows High Spirits at the 2018 Vaisakhi Parade
Features / May 2, 2018
Comments (0)
Hundreds of thousands of people from various cultures and communities gathered in Surrey to celebrate Vaisakhi, the Lower Mainland’s largest annual cultural event on April 21. The festival celebrates the creation of the Khalsa fraternity in 1699, when the tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, initiated the first Amrit Sanchar (Sikh baptism or initiation) for his... Continue Reading
KPU Crim Profs Study Addiction, Homelessness, Outreach on the Surrey Strip
Features / April 9, 2018
Comments (0)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Social Justice Centre (SJC) is at work to better understand the issues of homelessness and addiction in Surrey, particularly on 135a Street, where inequality in the city is most visible. KPU criminology professors Michael Ma and Mike Larsen have set out to understand the circumstances of people living on 135a—colloquially known as... Continue Reading
Exploring Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Trade Renaissance
Features / April 7, 2018
Comments (0)
When Katherine Vreugde told her friends and family that she was going to become a farmer, they responded unanimously with surprise. She had spent the past 10 years as an accountant, and neither she nor her family had any roots in a farmer’s field. Her professional experience was gained almost entirely in an office environment.... Continue Reading
KPIRG Sues Founder and Former Employee for Fraud
Features / March 28, 2018
Comments (0)
with files from Tristan Johnston, Contributor According to a notice of civil claim filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on March 23, the Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group is suing one of its founders and former administrative coordinator, Richard Hossein, for fraud. Last year, Hossein allegedly made a series of false claims to... Continue Reading
Uncovering the Face of Vancouver’s Opioid Epidemic
Features / March 16, 2018
Comments (0)
While conversations about Vancouver’s opioid crisis often conjure images of litter-strewn back alleys on the Downtown Eastside, recent data has revealed that the crisis is actually most prevalent in the private homes of middle aged men. Last year, 1,422 people in British Columbia died from illicit drug overdoses, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. Of... Continue Reading