SFU recently announced that Louis Riel House, the residence that primarily houses graduate students and families, will close at the end of August due to structural and air quality issues.

Current residents have been asked to vacate by that time. This has sparked an outcry from residents who are not eligible to apply for any other on-campus housing — most of which offers single-bed dorm rooms only — and must find alternative housing for themselves and their families.

After completing a full assessment of the condition of the building, SFU has deemed the structure beyond repair and has decided it must be torn down.

In a press release on March 10, the university wrote that “The wellbeing and safety of residents at Simon Fraser University is a top priority. Given ongoing concerns with the structure and indoor air quality at Louis Riel House Residence, and following a recent assessment [. . .] it is clear that the mechanical systems and building envelope are at the end of their service life.”

The release also stated that Louis Riel residents are an important part of the campus community, and that the university will continue to meet with and assist students and families as they develop next steps.

Concerns about the general upkeep of the residence have been expressed over the past several years, but it wasn’t until last September that SFU began a thorough inspection of individual units and common spaces in Louis Riel to address issues with black mould.

In an online update, the university stated, “The assessment identified a number of moisture sources which are resulting in damaged building materials, fungal contamination and reduced indoor air quality.”

During the inspection process, 39 residents were relocated to alternate housing on campus due to health risks in their units.

Several Louis Riel residents have protested the closure throughout the process and held a press conference on the morning of March 10 following the announcement.

At this conference, Louis Riel resident Teresa Dettling said that, had she known about the issues in the building, she would have thought twice about moving in. “We were all lied to about the condition of the building before we took possession of our apartments,” she said.

Many of Dettling’s neighbours expressed concerns about how they are going to finish their education if there is no place for them or their families on campus. SFU Residence and Housing has communicated its intentions of “reviewing its housing plan for the future” and to meet the need for family housing, but has offered no immediate solution.

All the residents of the condemned building were invited to a closed town hall meeting later that evening to have their questions and concerns addressed. Security was present outside Shell House where the meeting took place. Dettling stated that their presence was an “intimidation tactic” on the part of the administration.

Dettling approached the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) board at its meeting on March 11 on behalf of the Louis Riel Community Association to ask for the society’s support.

She explained that she and fellow residents are looking to be relocated to other housing on campus — something the university has not promised to accommodate — as well as to request that SFU incorporate low-income housing into future residence projects.

“Any type of pressure you could put on the university [. . .] would be extremely helpful to us,” she said.

SFSS President Chardaye Bueckert advocated for assisting Dettling’s group and moved a motion to that effect. The society agreed to endorse their declaration and to support them “as required and requested.”

“If the SFSS is not in favour of affordable family housing on campus, I don’t know why we’re here,” said Bueckert.

The Louis Riel Community Association will be holding a rally on Wednesday, March 18 in Freedom Square next to Convo Mall to stop the “displacement” of Louis Riel’s students and families.

SFU has joined a new national research council that investigates glycomics, the study of the structure and function of carbohydrates in biological systems.

Six scientists from SFU have joined over 60 others across Canada in the Canadian Glycomics Network (GlycoNet), which received $27.3 million in federal funding last month.

GlycoNet is one of the leading health-related research networks to receive funding from the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence program. Boasting a set of multidisciplinary researchers from across Canada, the organisation is playing a key role in large-scale research initiatives, such as glycomics, with the aim of improving human health.

David Vocadlo, an SFU professor of chemistry who has joined GlycoNet, told The Peak what glycomics is all about.

“Many people think of carbohydrates as simply a source of energy used by the body. Remarkably, however, the body takes glucose and converts it into about 10 different types of specialized and distinct sugar units,” he explained. These specialized sugar units are then taken by cells and stuck onto proteins that are distributed throughout the cell, coating its surface.

The sugar units play different roles, all the way from conception through development and into adulthood and aging. Vocadlo continued, “We don’t really know all the roles played by these different sugar structures in the body, and that is a topic of intense international interest.”

He also noted that the study of glycomics may contribute to our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

“In diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, the cells that are affected show differences in how they use sugars. In cancer, for example, the cells take up additional glucose to feed their growth, and this creates stress on the cells,” Vocadlo said.

“Cancer cells protect against this stress by changing the levels of specialized sugars found on certain proteins. So, if we can identify these changes and then understand how these changes impact these diseased cells, we can enable the development of new therapeutics.”

Vocadlo said he believes these findings could help with the development of new therapeutic strategies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Glycomics could also have wide ranging significance in areas extending to antibacterials and antivirals including vaccines.

Ultimately, Vocadlo is enthusiastic to be joining GlycoNet, and will begin by focussing his research on understanding and controlling carbohydrate-processing enzymes.

Students were in motion around the clock in the West Gym on SFU’s Burnaby campus to raise funds and awareness for the Canadian Cancer Society.

The annual event took place from 7 p.m. on Friday, March 6, 2015 to 7 a.m. the following morning, and students and members of the SFU community raised $18,666 this year, as of press time. Donations are still being accepted, and that number is still rising.

Over the past seven years, SFU has raised over $200,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Event attendees raised money and pledges in teams and walked, ran, or wheeled around the track for the duration of the 12 hour event. Attendee Jenna Gigantelli enjoyed the event, saying, “it was wonderful being there with my friends, because we all stepped up together to show our support.”

The event also involved a number of other activities, including a photo booth, sumo wrestling, zumba, live music played throughout the night, and a pancake breakfast in the morning.

Brooke Sherwood, the team lead for community giving for the Canadian Cancer Society’s Greater Vancouver region, explained the importance of the Society’s work within the community.

“Not only is [the society] a funder of research, it also provides a lot of support programs that can’t be funded by the government,” she said. “There are a lot of missing links that people on a cancer journey require, and the society raises money to support them.”

The Canadian Cancer Society not only funds research projects, but also runs a pediatric camp for children and their families in Maple Ridge. Called Camp Good Times, the centre provides low-cost or free lodging for cancer patients and their loved ones, near cancer treatment centres across the province. Through this support, they aim to enable everyone to fight their cancer, no matter their financial situation.

At 11 p.m, attendees participated in ‘Laps of Remembrance,’ when each attendee was encouraged to decorate a luminary in support or memory of someone who fought or is fighting cancer.

The track was lit by the luminaries, and laps were done in the dark, while “Hallelujah” was played and a dancer performed below the track amongst luminaries spelling out “hope.”

Gigantelli explained that the memorial meant a lot to her, as her dad is a cancer survivor. “The whole time, all I could really do was be so thankful my dad is still with me, and reflect on what it would have been like if his luminary was a memorial one,” she said.

When asked what she intended to accomplish that night, Sherwood said, “We hope that [the event] brings meaning. The reality is, if we were to ask everyone in the room if they know someone who’s had cancer or is on the cancer journey, unfortunately the vast majority of people would put their hands up.”