Thursday, September 28, 2017

Council Recap: September 22nd, 2017

The Council of the Kwantlen Students Association had their first meeting of the new school year on Friday, September 22.  The new multipurpose room in the Birch building was packed with council members, staff and guests.


Here are the FIVE things you NEED to know from this week's’ Council:


#5
Arts Representative Jonathan Buyck went to the Langley campus, thinking the meeting was being held there.  In spite of this error, he was only 20 minutes late to the meeting.  Apparently this is something that happens often to the councillors, and at least once a semester, they’d be right!  Council meets once a semester on each of Langley, Richmond and Cloverdale campuses, with the rest of the meetings taking place on the Surrey campus.  Since they meet once a month, and there are four months in the semester...Buyck had a one in four chance of being correct.


#4
During his report, Jay Reedy hinted that there would be a special performance at the upcoming Open Mic Night in the Grassroots cafe by someone who was “in the room”.  Have the executive council been moonlighting as an ABBA cover band?


#3
Vice President Reedy asserted that he cannot function without 4 cups of coffee.  A cup of coffee contains on average 95 mg of caffeine, and most people can have 4 - 6 cups of coffee a day without any adverse effects.  


#2
Two Diwali parties were approved!  The budget was amended to allow for the funding of two  events, one hosted by KPU International on campus, and one hosted by Cre8ve, a community event organizer, at a local banquet hall.


#1
The President reminded everyone present of the upcoming by-election.  The campaign period began September 26, and polls are open 10 am - 7 pm October 17 and 18 on all campuses.  Visit kusa.ca/elections for more information. Don’t miss this opportunity to vote and have your say in KSA governance!

The full minutes of this meeting, and all other KSA Council and Committee meetings, are available after approval on kusa.ca/committees.

- Kelsey (KSA Records Coordinator & Archivist)

Check back each week post-Council for Kelsey's list of 'The FIVE things you NEED to know from Council.'


1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12519715

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Preparing for Fall: Self-Care and Exercise

It’s September - the start of many things, fall semester, new routines, sweater weather, and the end of fun summer adventures. September is the harbinger of lots of change in just a few weeks. Sometimes as life gets busy, we forget self-care, especially making sure that we take time to get some exercise. This happens to the best of us: school, work, family, friends, studying, Netflix, social media, commuting, sleep, exercise, relaxing, etc … the list keeps going. When I get too busy, I’m susceptible to hitting the couch with a good book when I get home because I’m overwhelmed.  It’s easy to feel like you are running out of time in the day to keep up with everything, and that you have to skip a thing or two on the list because something has to give.

The problem with skipping self-care and exercise is losing the balance between working our brains and our bodies.  Missing a day or two of working out can be healthy for recovery, but when you miss being active too many times it can affect you negatively. So how do you avoid this?


SCHEDULING
I avoid it by scheduling in self-care time and trying not miss it. Scheduling self-care and exercise, just like a dentist appointment or class, may seem like a lot of work but it doesn’t need to be. I don’t always make it to the gym for weight training workouts but I don’t miss my Monday night dance class, I walk for my errands every day, and I lead weekend Active KSA events because I have them scheduled in.


You may be saying, that’s nice but I don’t have time for that. But, making time to for self-care and exercise will actually give you more time in the day. Taking time regularly for self-care and exercise helps your brain take a break from the busyness of your day and lets your body get the workout it needs. Helping you to sleep better, focus better, maintain your health, and overall boost your mood.


APPS
There are tons of apps help you reach your exercise goals. The apps I use are Google Fit and Carrot Rewards on my smartphone. Google Fit tracks your movement and counts your steps. It can tell when you are walking, running, or cycling fairly accurately. You can then add in all the other activities that you do and then the app shows you your trends in activity reports. Google Fit also connects to Carrot Rewards, which is a free app the BC Government made that has little health quizzes and fitness challenges that allow you to earn points for Scene, Petro-Points, Aeroplan Miles, and more. It became a game with friends on who could get the highest amount of points by hitting our fitness challenges. You can check out Carrot Rewards here: www.carrotrewards.ca/home/. There are so many other apps out there that you can check out that might have the right setup for you, such as a running app where you’re chased by zombies or Strava which has tons of technical details about your exercise.


SELF-CARE CAN BE SIMPLE
On days you can’t get a work out in, or you’re on a recovery day, self-care can be simply stretching for a few minutes (outside for even more benefits), going for a walk with a friend or spending time on a hobby you love. If you miss a workout or self-care one day, don’t stress about it, just make sure to get it in the next day. Avoid making yourself feel guilty, instead focus on something else positive you achieved that day and try again tomorrow. 
As grey fall days start become the norm, it gets dark out earlier and earlier, and the assignments start to pile up, make the time for self-care and exercise so that you can make this your best fall yet. 

If you need help figuring out what to add as your self-care and exercise, checkout one of the mental health events coming up this October at www.kusa.ca/calendar.html and you can join our Active KSA events at www.kusa.ca/activeksa. Take care of yourself and hope to see you soon!

-Tonya

Friday, September 22, 2017

How Many Slices



Avocado toast 1.jpg


So by now many of you will have heard about the statement made earlier in the year by Australian property investor and huge millionaire Tim Gurner criticizing the ‘poor purchasing decisions made by millennials that have resulted in a decline in homeownership’. The guy thinks we can’t afford houses cause we buy avocado toast. People were appropriately sarcastic in responding.
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I have several thoughts:
  1. Avocado toast is great, and if it makes you happy you should keep eating it. Don’t let wealthy Australians tell you how to live your life.


  1. The median price for a home in Metro Vancouver was $1,400,000 (175,000 Avocado toasts, assuming an avocado toast costs $8) in 2016. If you skipped having avocado toast every day in order to save for a down payment, it would take a little bit more than 95 years. Paying for an entire home would take 657 years of not buying a slice of avocado toast each day. While I do eat the occasional piece of avocado toast, I think it’s possible that there are other issues at play here.


Median house price $1,400,000.png
  1. Homeownership is so far out of the question and really I just want to be able to rent somewhere that isn’t an asbestos infused basement shared with 8 other people.


avocado toast 2.png


It’s super easy to present the housing crisis as being about lazy or irresponsible millennials who feel entitled to own a home. But young people are working harder than ever (today students in BC actually work 180% more hours than students in 1975 did), and are in even more debt. Homeownership is getting less realistic for young people than a fairy godmother appearing to grant you three wishes. But despite this, the real housing crisis isn’t about homeownership, it’s in the rental market.


no vacancy- waiting list.jpg


Finding a place to rent in Vancouver (and much of British Columbia) is an ordeal. Everyone knows someone who has a horror story about struggling to find a place on craigslist that isn’t mouldy, overcrowded, or underground, or showing up to see a place that looks half-decent and finding 100 other people there, damage deposit in hand, competing against you for it.

Every year there are fewer and fewer units available, and the rent is steadily increasing. Between 2015 and 2016, the average rent in the region went up 6.4% to $1,223. An even more recent study put the average rent for a 1 bedroom unit in metro Vancouver at $1990 (248 Avocado toasts, for those of you keeping track). Prices are getting out of hand, and vacancy rates (the percentage of units that are available to be rented) are dropping dangerously low. no-vacancy-vancouver.jpg


A healthy vacancy rate is around 3%. The vacancy rate in Metro Vancouver hit 0.7% in 2016. This was worse in Surrey where rates dropped from 1.9% to 0.4% between 2015 and 2016. What this means is that there is almost nowhere to live, and so landlords can charge waaaay too much. 248 Avocado toasts a month guys. CMHC recommends that you spend 30% of your monthly income on rent. Different sources estimate that students earn on average $13,000- $20,000 a year, which means a recommended $325-$500 a month on rent. This is only 40-62 slices of avocado toast.


avocado toast 3.jpg


To make prices lower we need more rental units. Developers could build these by themselves, or municipalities could require that a portion of any new buildings are rental units. The government could also change some regulations and let universities borrow money to build on-campus housing for students. There is huge demand for student housing and so if institutions like KPU were allowed to borrow money and build residences, the debt would be paid off easily through residence fees. We have been asking the government to let post-secondary institutions borrow money to build housing and if you’d like to sign a letter to ask them too, you can do that here.


In the meantime, the best of luck navigating the rental market and enjoy your avocado toast.


-Nicki

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

KSA Spotlight: Ling Yan

LING YAN – REBOOT Technician
There are some pretty amazing people on our staff and because we do a lot of the 'behind the scenes' work, students don't always get to know who we actually are. Every month we'll feature a staff member (and occasionally Council member) so you can actually put a face to the name / event / project. This month, I invite you to meet Ling!



Ling is a super helpful guy around the office, always saying hello to you in the morning and fixing those pesky computer problems that you just can’t seem to figure out on your own. He came across the KSA REBOOT Technician position by pure chance and has been working on student’s electronics ever since. If you visited us at Welcome Week, he may have been the one to give you a brand new KSA REBOOT fidget spinner.


Here are a few facts about Ling…

1. Position title & brief summary of your job:
I am the Reboot technical support of the KSA and work with students to help them solve issues they are having with their laptop and desktop. I have acquired valuable experience in all facets of troubleshooting, installations, and maintenance of various desktop, laptop, and network operations.
2. What is your favourite thing about working here?
Discussing new technology with students and staff.
3. Best activity to do on the weekend?
Gym, swim or cook


4. What is something that makes you unique?
Fast and strong troubleshooting skills and I’m happy to try my best to help everyone.
5. What is your favourite food?
All tasty food.
6. Best KSA Memory:
All of my memories in the KSA are the best memories.

If your computer is slow/glitching/broken, stop by and say hi to Ling at Richmond or Surrey Campus (he works both!). He loves helping out KPU students and KSA staff!

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Cycling Into Fall

Late summer and early fall is my favourite time of year to cycle in Vancouver the weather is cool and crisp and the sun is still shining and the leaves are beautiful.

If you’ve just moved to town for school or need a break, a weekend ride is a great celebration of the last afternoons of summer.  Before you set out to ride though, a couple of notes - bike helmets and lights are required by law in BC.  Helmets - make sure you’ve got one and it fits well. Lights are required for anyone cycling from sunset to sunrise so if you’re going late get your lights charged up and don’t forget to turn them on.

Our two recommended rides for a leisurely afternoon are Stanely Park in Vancouver, a picturesque ride along the seawall with views of the North Shore Mountains, downtown Vancouver and English Bay, or Steveston a smaller fishing community at the south end of Richmond where you can ride the dykes with views over the salt marshes and Strait of Georgia. Picking which one to do first might be the biggest challenge.  Both routes are accessible by transit which means you can get there using your UPass.

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Stanley Park Seawall with Lions Gate Bridge | Active KSA

STANLEY PARK
The seawall around Stanley Park making a loop from West Georgia St and Denman St is about 10km around and there are some small hills and the route is fully paved. Bike rentals are available at Denman and Georgia and a two hour rental will get you around the park with time to stop for lots of photos. There are a few spots where you’ll have to get off your bike and walk where there are significant pedestrian volumes crossing the cycle path.  For a detailed route map: http://www.letsgobiking.net/intermediate/stanley-park-circle-vancouver-bc/?_sf_s=stanley+park

Cycle-Rout-West-Dyke-Trail.jpg
Richmond West Dyke  | Kevin Eng
STEVESTON
Riding along the dykes in Steveston you can go north, towards the Vancouver International Airport and watch the planes fly in and out against a backdrop of the North Shore Mountains and the strait, or ride east along the south arm of the Fraser River past the historic fishing villages of Steveston. Both directions warrant beautiful views and gravel or paved flat cycling routes suitable for all levels.  Bike rentals are available in Steveston and depending how far you want to go two hours is a good start.  


When summer slips away, Vancouver quickly enters rainy season - a significant change in weather that warrants a change in cycling style too.  

Here are our top 5 tips for getting ready to cycle in the fall:
  • Watch for leaves and early season rains - the roads get really slippery and you’ll need more distance to stop and turn.
  • Get visible - Make sure your have your bike lights charged and ready to go, you need them from dusk until dawn and on a rainy day, any time of day really. If possible get a light coloured pannier cover and bike jacket to improve visibility.
  • Dress in layers and carry a toque and gloves
  • Get a rain cover for your pack or bag so your spare clothes arrive dry
  • Maintain your chain and make sure to wipe the gunk off your bike

bikelight.jpg
Even if you think you’re visible you could probably be more visible | change.org
Looking to cycle to campus? Here are the on-campus cycling resources:
  • Bike Lockers are available for rent on all four KPU Campuses - http://www.kusa.ca/multipass/BikeLockers.html
  • Lockers to stow your gear are available for free from Member Services on each campus.
  • Bike repair stations are available on all four KPU campuses. They have an air pump, rack for supporting your bike and basic tools to do repairs or maintenance.

Bike Repair Stations | KSA Multipass

  • Showers: Surrey Campus in the Gym in Cedar Building, Langley in the Nursing Building, Cloverdale in the Gym and will be coming to Richmond when the new Chip & Shannon Wilson School of Design building is completed in 2018.
  • Reflectors and bike lights: MultiPass has a variety of bike lights and reflectors if you find us at events or send us an email.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Bike the Night Sept 16 - Join HUB Cycling and more than 5,000 other riders for Vancouver’s only official night ride on city streets! Experience the beauty and energy of nocturnal Vancouver at its best - by bike. Take in the city skyline as we cruise through car-free Vancouver streets and over the iconic Burrard Bridge.  KPU Students can register with us here: https://bikethenight.eventbrite.ca we’ll buy your ticket for you.  You do need to have your own bike or arrange your own rental. Non-students can purchase a ticket online at: https://bikehub.ca/bike-events/bike-the-night-presented-by-mec

 --Mairi (KSA Sustainability Coordinator)