Camosun hosts Mechanical Engineering Showcase
On Friday, August 24, Camosun College hosted the 2018 Mechanical Engineering Showcase in the atrium of the Centre for Trades Education and Innovation at Interurban. The showcase included the work of 52 graduating students from the Mechanical Engineering Technology program; the students worked in teams of four to build 13 contraptions, including a vertical bike rack, a cold-forming wood-bending machine, a prototype camp stove/BBQ/lantern unit, and a low-cost cider production bottle filling station. See camosun.ca for a full list of the projects shown at the event.
BCFS launches new campaign
The British Columbia Federation of Students (BCFS), of which Camosun students are members, launched its Fairness for International Students campaign at Camosun on August 15 (see page 1). Speakers discussed the recent troubles between Saudi Arabia and Canada that have forced all Saudi Arabian students studying in Canada to leave the country (see page 1) and said that if tuition continues to rise at the current rate for international students—an average of 6.3 percent across Canada in 2017/2018—international students will find another country to go to school in. According to the BCFS, BC has the second highest tuition rates in Canada for international students.
Camosun director involved in statue-removal decision
Camosun College director of Indigenous Education and Community Connections Janice Simcoe was part of the committee that made the recent decision to remove the statue of John A. MacDonald outside Victoria City Hall. MacDonald was Canada’s first prime minister and a key figure in the residential school system; his statue was removed as a step toward reconciliation.
New bus route to go to both Camosun campuses
Students will want to keep their eyes open for the new number 9 route when bus schedules in Victoria change this fall. The route, called UVic/Royal Oak via Gorge/Hillside, will stop at Camosun’s Interurban and Lansdowne campuses. Arrival times are designed to match class start times. Each Camosun student gets a bus pass through their student fees.
Study finds nearly half of student internships unpaid
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations recently released results from a poll that found that nearly half of Canadian students are not getting paid for student internships. 1,000 people took the poll, which was conducted in July by Abacus Data, a polling and market research firm based in Ottawa.
Victoria homelessness-tally data announced
On Tuesday, July 24, the Capital Regional District announced the results of the Greater Victoria Point in Time Count, a tally of people experiencing homelessness in the Victoria census metropolitan area on the night of March 15, 2018. The tally shows that 158 people were counted as being unsheltered, 18 percent fewer than last count. 19.4 percent of people were over the age of 55, with 41 percent saying they experienced homelessness for the first time at 18 years of age or younger. See crd.bc.ca for more information on the results of the tally.
Local man charged in large fentanyl bust
Police have taken a large amount of cocaine, fentanyl, and several firearms from a house in Colwood, after a June 21 raid. Police spent a month following and investigating a man before arresting and charging him at the house. The fentanyl seized was said by police to have a street value of over $1 million. The last Victorian charged for a similar quantity of fentanyl, Duc Khuong Pham, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.