BC students pledge to vote
Just two weeks after the launch of the Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia (CFS-BC) campaign This Time We Decide, over 4,200 postsecondary students have pledged to vote across the province, according to CFS-BC. The campaign focuses on first-time voters and uses social media and modern technologies to send reminders and information about the upcoming election to those who have pledged. More information can be found at thistimewedecide.ca.
Microsoft Office free for students
Back in March of this year, Microsoft Office announced it was making Office free for educators and students across Canada. During their launch of Office 2016, Microsoft said that since that announcement in March only 10 percent of eligible students have taken advantage of the free offer. To be eligible, students and educators have to be affiliated with an eligible educational institution, of which Camosun College is one. Find out more at office.com.
BC government fails students
The BC government recently revealed that an unprotected hard drive containing sensitive data pertaining to 3.4 million students has been lost, according to a press release sent out by the Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia (CFS-BC). The missing data dates back to 1986 and includes grades, mental health assessments, student loan data, and birth dates, says CFS-BC. This is not the first time the government has misplaced private student information. In 2013, a federal government hard drive containing information on nearly 600,000 Canadian student-loan recipients went missing and has yet to be recovered. Neither hard drive was encrypted.
New housing for the homeless in the works
Cool Aid Society’s Help End Homelessness campaign aims at creating 360 new supportive-housing apartments for the homeless. Currently, development on three different properties will provide an extra 164 living spaces by the end of 2018. This is only 45 percent of their campaign target of 360 new supportive-housing apartments. See coolaid.org for more information.
Our Place receives donation from United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada gave $500,000 to Our Place during their annual general meeting on Thursday, September 17. The donation is the start of a legacy fund that will go toward a community centre aimed at supporting Greater Victoria’s working poor, impoverished elderly, mentally and physically challenged, addicted, and homeless citizens. Don Evans, the executive director of Our Place Society, said in a press release that the legacy fund will generate income for years to come and will help change many lives. More information can be found at ourplacesociety.com.
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