Home Blog Page 1273

BC fails to display political passion

By
Peak Web
-
1

apathy

We’re leading the way in voter apathy

By Alison Roach
Photos by Flikr

Well guys, we blew it. Not all of us, mind you. I’m talking about the people who have been eagerly touting change in BC for the past month, waving Anti-Clark flags, or even those who said Adrian Dix was simply the lesser of two evils. The Liberals will be governing us again, and as a majority government.

True, we didn’t see this one coming. The Liberals were trailing the NDP by as much as 20 points in the polls before campaigning began. Dissatisfaction appeared to be high. Many openly declared themselves to be not huge fans of “MILF,” Christy Clark. The NDP were described as heavily favoured, but in the election lost three seats to the Liberals. So what happened?

Clark herself lost her Vancouver-Point Grey riding to her NDP rival David Eby by 785 votes, and she wasn’t the only leader to lose. Conservative party leader John Cummins lost in Langley to the Liberal incumbent. BC Green leader Jane Sterk also failed to oust incumbent NDP Carole James from her Victoria-Beacon Hill riding. Adrian Dix is the only one who managed to hang on to his Vancouver-Kingsway seat.

Maybe it’s a case of people voting for their riding, not their province. Maybe Liberal supporters have been keeping quiet, slowly biding their time. Maybe polling doesn’t work.

What matters is that this election also had one of the lowest voter turnouts in history, at a meager 48 per cent. I’m not so great at math, but even I know that’s not even half. While my Facebook feed was clogged with happy proclamations of having “just voted!” and Instagrammed pictures of the stickers they gave out at the polling stations, only 48 per cent of British Columbians voted.

One of my roommates, another 20-something student, didn’t make it out to the polls. She explained that she would have voted Green, but she thought that was pointless. At this moment, another roommate openly wondered what would happen if every eligible voter who said that actually went out and voted. The BC Green Party did manage to capture its first ever provincial seat, with Andrew Weaver — a climate change scientist — winning by a huge margin in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.

It’s discouraging to see a province so full of ennui, one that doesn’t even trust its political party leaders enough to elect them in their own neighbourhoods. The Conservative party, supposedly one of the big four, didn’t win a single seat in the entire province. When you look at the map of the provincial ridings, the coast and Vancouver Island are overwhelmingly orange, with another splash of orange near the easternmost tip of the province. The huge bulk of red is right down the middle of the interior.

So Clark will be the face for our province once again, emerging from the flames with her helmet-like hairdo intact. I have it on good authority that she’s the type of person who tries to use her cell-phone on a plane, and right after take off too (source: I’m a flight attendant), but this is who we voted for. Overall, the election seems to be saying that BC doesn’t care much about change; or rather, that we don’t care much about any of this.

Target is a neighbour I do not embrace

By
Peak Web
-
1

target

Missing the mark on advertising and prices

By Tara Nykyforiak
Photos by Flikr

Descending the staircase at Commercial Skytrain station this week, my eyes were met with a bright red and white display of a Target ad plastered on the wall. When it clicked in my head what I was looking at, I was reminded why I do not embrace Target’s move to Canada.

I’ve been reading about what Target will bring when they come here, and it doesn’t sound like all that much. Sure they will bring a larger selection of brands and products to Canadian consumers, but not at the level of savings that one might expect. A recent article from CBC’s website explains how Target’s vice-president of external relations, Derek Jenkins, wants Target to be a competitive store: “We want to make sure that we are competitive in the Canadian market.”

What does this look like? A comparison of American vs. Canadian prices reveals significant differences in the prices of some major products. For example, 400g of Cheerios is $4.99 at Target stores in Canada, while for only .2g less, American Targets charge almost half at $2.84. Similarly, the Silver Linings Playbook DVD is $23.99 in Canadian stores, but only $16.99 in American stores.

Extending this comparison further, I will take a quick look at pricing found at Walmart stores in Canada. The same 400g of Cheerios is $4.97 when bought at Walmart, and the Silver Linings Playbook DVD is $24.97. So while the Cheerios are only marginally cheaper at Canadian Walmarts, and the DVD is just under a dollar more, I’m left wondering what real benefit Target will bring that Walmart and Zellers (which Target bought out) cannot and could not provide.

A recent survey conducted by The Globe and Mail concludes that there is no significant savings being offered by Target to its Canadian consumers. In fact, prices are, on average, 0.2 per cent higher than their Canadian Walmart counterparts.

Funny enough, before opening its doors here, promotion and marketing efforts centred on the low prices that Canadian shoppers would be able to enjoy. Coming from an American company taking away business from Canadian retailers, low should definitely mean less than the status quo. As it stands price wise, Target fails to justify their move into Canada.

Target has faced backlash because of this, and attempts have been made by them to defend their prices. It states the cost of doing business in Canada as a factor (i.e. higher real estate costs and higher minimum wages), and the president of Target’s Canadian division has encouraged consumers to continue to do cross-border shopping.
So let me get this straight. Target comes into our country and takes over Canadian business and then tells us to keep spending money in the US? This definitely does not bode well with their ad’s message of “CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU NEIGHBOUR.”

We really have to think about what they mean when they say “neighbour.” They are taking over our space by “moving in” and are trying to undermine this through the façade of being “warm” and “inviting.” But why then are they not offering anything new?

The Target by my house opened up this past week, and I have no plans of stopping by and meeting my “new neighbour.” My city is not for the taking, and I will continue to stand by my loathing of American stores invading our country under false pretences.

Chris Hadfield continues to film every menial task he performs

By
EIC
-
0

Hadfield_youtubes_web

Former ISS Commander won’t stop posting tedious YouTube videos of himself

By Brad McLeod

TORONTO — Despite having returned to earth nearly a week ago, a bewildered Chris Hadfield, unsure of what to do with himself with all this gravity and convenience, has continued to post instructional videos of everything he does in his day-to-day life as if they are amazing accomplishments.

According to YouTube subscribers of the former “coolest man in space” and current 100-millionth coolest man on earth, Hadfield has not ceased to release videos of mundane activities that he does and seems to be unaware that they were only interesting because he was doing them in zero gravity.

His latest video, released on Saturday and entitled “How Astronauts Shave (When they are at home in Ontario)” was essentially just footage of how any man would shave except for the fact that Hadfield kept dropping his razor forgetting that it wouldn’t float in mid-air.

“It’s kind of sad to watch” explained John Druken, one of Hadfield’s biggest fans. He seems so lost being on earth, it’s heartbreaking to see him acting so delusional as if he thinks he’ actually an Earth celebrity.”

While Hadfield’s videos are almost identical to those he produced for the Canadian Space Agency during his time away from earth, having them set in his kitchen in Ontario as opposed to the International Space Station has had a significant impact on their popularity.

“I thought it was really cool how he made those videos in space and played guitar in space but now that I think about it, it’s got nothing to do with him, space is just really, really cool” described one recent unfollower of Hadfield’s Twitter account. “Even something as terrible and boring as shaving is great in space, shaving in Ontario on the other hand, not so much.”

Although many people believe that Hadfield will soon realize that the cache behind his videos is gone since he’s on earth and will soon stop making them, there are others who believe that Hadfield will never be able to let go of his brief time as the cool space guy.

“I mean, it must be awful for him to have to come back to Earth” psychologist Melanie Stevens told the Peak “On Earth he’s not really special, everything was better up there for him, well except having to eat awful food and not being able to do pretty much anything, ever.”

The idea that Hadfield is not ready to start living a normal life on earth has also been supported by Hadfield’s family who say that since his return, the astronaut has continued living as if he is still in space.

“He still sleeps in a pod, he drinks nothing but Tang and constantly attempts to glide across the room” his exasperated wife explained. “The only time he seems to even acknowledge he isn’t still in space is when he’s updating his Twitter and complains about how spotty the reception is way down here, it’s incredibly frustrating.”

While a new video of Hadfield drinking a glass of water in his living room is supposed to come out tomorrow, there are a lot of online fans urging their hero to just go back to being the regular guy he probably never really was.

“It’s enough already, it was fun, but it’s time to move” urged Druken, still one of his biggest supporters. “I’m not sure what he should do though, now that he’s on earth he has less free time than ever . . . maybe lose a few hobbies?”

New federal funding could help SFU save millions of lives

By
EIC
-
0

WEB-Federal Funding for LabOnAChip-SFUPAMR-FLickr

Lab-on-a-chip technology could mean the difference between quick diagnosis and too-late treatment

By Kristina Charania

Photos by SFU PAMR

In some rural African villages, children are underfed and have little access to safe water and clean toilets, resulting in thousands of fatalities caused by infantile diarrhea. Such fatalities can reach nearly 2,000 per day on the continent, according to a Water Aid estimate. Once infected, two main options remain: multiple treatments with antibiotics administered based on a doctor’s recommendation, or no treatment at all. Both will usually result in death.

Working towards a solution to this crisis, SFU engineering professor Ash Parameswaran is developing new technology in the hopes of facilitating the process of diagnosis and treatment. Parameswaran plans to take the lab tests needed for correct antibiotic prescriptions and condense them into mobile phone accessories that are inexpensive, user-friendly, and accessible to those living in remote areas.

Six years ago, Parameswaran travelled to India to speak to a group about technology development, and in that process he received queries from researchers wishing to develop discrete on-location testing for infections like infantile diarrhea — an infection usually caused by E. coli. “That’s when the group in India and the group here at SFU decided to put our heads together and see how this could be done,” said Parameswaran.

“In developing areas of Africa and India, doctors will administer one antibiotic and then wait two or three days to see what happens to their patient. If it doesn’t cure the disease, they’ll try another drug,” continued Parameswaran. “Sometimes this kind of testing is fatal for newborn infants because their bodies can’t handle the drugs. This is why it’s crucial we determine which antibiotic should be administered quickly and correctly.”

His team now consists of two SFU graduate students, four SFU undergraduate students, and two graduate students from India with expertise in microbiology and electrochemistry. The team is also supplemented by the expertise of Dr. Peter Unrau from SFU’s Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and Dr. Craig Scratchley from the School of Engineering Science.

Traditionally, the textbook technique for determining the correct antibiotics for a bacterial disease is a long process: it involves taking a feces sample from a patient, sending it to a lab for analysis, finding a suitable antibiotic or making an antibiotic cocktail, and sending the results back to the patient’s general practitioner. This takes several days — long enough for an infected individual to succumb to the disease in some of the cases.

Parameswaran’s first step was to see if this process could be done on a smaller scale. “Initially, we built a small chip to see whether this textbook technique could be implemented on a chip. That was successful, and we were able to publish that work,” he said.

His team’s next move was to brainstorm the steps necessary to turn this technology into an easily usable Android phone accessory. “If a person has to be trained in a laboratory for a number of years to use this technology, it isn’t applicable in a rural setting,” said Parameswaran. “We chose to develop an Android app because Android phones are the most common in India or Africa.”

With this proposal, Parameswaran’s team approached Grand Challenges Canada, a federally-funded organization that awards $10.9 million annually to projects aiming to better healthcare. Grand Challenges accepted their plan and granted them $100,000 in seed money to develop a systematic electrochemical test for their gadget.

For phase one of their research, Parameswaran estimates that it will take roughly one year to create a validatable prototype that can eventually be streamlined into their final product. The accessory will produce an antibiogram that will identify the correct antibiotic to prescribe.

“Of course, it won’t look very compact or elegant at first. It’ll probably occupy a tabletop, but we will be able to show it works,” said Parameswaran. “If Grand Challenges is convinced by our work, they will take us to phase two, which is when industries will become involved.”

Most importantly, correct drug prescription and use will slow down the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. When the wrong antibiotics are used, the bug within a patient will not be killed; rather, they will adapt to the antibiotic and become resistant. “Bugs are intelligent — maybe even more intelligent than we are. A bug will understand the mechanism of an antibiotic and then develop immunity to it,” said Parameswaran.

“If the physician doesn’t make the right initial diagnosis, the bug in the child will develop multi-strain resistance. That will actually cause even more damage, which is why the first diagnosis and prescription should be done correctly.”

Parameswaran now awaits the two Indian graduate students who are travelling to work at SFU laboratories in June. “We’re looking forward to having those students come and work with us, and really excited about launching this project,” he concluded.

Local company now offering full-pay internships due to careless mistake by unpaid intern

By
EIC
-
0

Unpaid intern’s incompetence results in payment

By Brad McLeod

VANCOUVER — Amidst the recent backlash against unpaid internships in BC, local corporation Hamtrax, announced on their website last week that all future internships will be “full pay with benefits,” a move that they have since blamed on one of their incompetent interns.

While the announcement has certainly made them hugely popular with university students looking to gain work experience while also eating and living indoors, Hamtrax has not been pleased with their now-paid interns.

“We gave him one thing to do, one thing” explained Hamtrax’s frustrated CEO Dave Klimchuck, “We just told him to put a message up on the website that we we’re hiring interns, that’s it, and he had to go and include all this information about fair pay and benefits, and now we have to pay him for it!”

Although the individual in question, Ryan the Intern, has been in some hot water over the “this isn’t free labour” slip-up of the new internship program write-up, Hamtrax has not been able to have him fired thanks to the conditions Ryan accidently included in the new intern agreement.

“I can see messing up and writing that we pay interns, that’s a mistake anybody could’ve made, but this asshole accidently included all sorts of rights and proper conducts for termination for interns” continued an exasperated Klimchuk “God, these interns are a pain in the ass . . . and thanks to their fuck-up they’re now some of the highest paid employees at this company!”

According to the terms written by the clueless intern, not only do interns have to be a paid, but they have to receive minimum wage which is more than he says he deserves after his blunder.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen” Ryan the intern told The Peak apologetically. “I just looked up the proper legal requirements for internships in BC when I put it up on the website, I know they didn’t ask me to do it, it was just an honest mistake, I swear!”

The mistake has now cost Ryan his unpaid internship and forced him to start receiving financial compensation for his labour. He will also now be joined by plenty of other foolish young hardworking, career-driven students.

“This never would have happened if we just had interns who didn’t try to actually work and just slacked off all the time like young people are supposed to,” complained one of Hamtrax’s hundred vice-presidents, Mike Steele. He explains, “We only got into this mess because Ryan showed initiative; hopefully giving them some money can make them complacent enough to stop trying and just be like everyone else who works here.”

Even though they might not be happy with their new internship program, Hamtrax now has no choice but to follow through on it but rumours have swirled that despite the pay it won’t be the happiest place to work.

“Apparently the company is so mad about what Ryan did that they’re going to make interning there into the least fun time they can” explained Matt, the prospective future intern. “I’ve heard it’s going to be long hours, irrational bosses, uncomfortable co-worker relations, I mean, what kind of work experience is that?”

Where are they now? – May 20th, 2013

By
EIC
-
0

Ever wonder what happened to those celebrities who were everywhere back then, but have since fallen off the face of the earth? Well, stop asking yourself stupid questions like an idiot and find out where they are — now!

 

The Original Host of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

First host of the 7th best late-night talk show on TV

Of course, everyone knows and loves the long-running late-night talk show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and its current host, Jay Leno; but whatever happened to that hilarious, squeaky-voiced, working class guy who originally hosted it? Well, apparently he’s still around and entertaining people across the world with his comedy. He also hosts The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

 

World Trade Center Tower B

I know, I could never tell them apart either

As much as we’d all love to forget, the destruction of World Trade Center Tower A in the tragic events of September 11, 2001 is something that will stay ingrained in all of our minds for as long as we live. But whatever happened to its twin, World Trade Center B? According to everything I’ve read, B just wasn’t able to survive as a single act and must have descended into obscurity after A’s demise.

 

Your Nose

The one you had stolen as a child

You might not remember any of this but when you were a kid your uncle stole your nose and never gave it back. Don’t worry though, it was actually just his thumb and you’ve had your nose this whole time. Your virginity on the other hand, he took that for good.

Word on the Street: Election Results

By
EIC
-
0

Q: What are your totally reasonable thoughts about the election results?

 

Christy Clark is worse than Hitler! Did you hear what she said about the Poles? “The Poles were wrong . . . We can’t trust the Poles!” What year is this?

Tim Gunderson, Has trouble with homophones

 

I’m pissed off. I was sure the NDP would win! They HAD it! They were ahead by so much! How do you blow a lead like that! Godammit Bergeron!

Bill Johanson, Mixed up NDP/Toronto Maple Leafs Supporter

 

I am ecstatic. It’s so nice to finally see a nice guy lose!

Sam Dorsee, Long Suffering Jerk

 

I’m not surprised at all by the results. No one is ever going to win an election with a “hope” and “change” message.

Jerry Levy, Doesn’t follow American Politics

 

I’m shocked and disappointed. Based on the poll I did of my five friends I thought there was no way my party could lose.

Felix Astrado, Communist Party Supporter 

SFU Professor Power Rankings (Week 3, Summer 2013)

By
EIC
-
0

1. Dr. Winston Hubbard | Mathematics

Hubbard’s been rolling this semester with a couple of stellar back-to-back lectures to kick off the summer. Look for him to continue his perfect semester when he takes on Linear Algebra in week 3.

Last Week: 1

 

2. Dr. Claude Brooks | Geography

After some opening week jitters, Brooks has found his form and is teaching with total confidence and poise. Brooks currently holds a 4.7 score on Rate my Professors, a number that is only going up.

Last Week: 3

 

3. Dr. Sonia Bowers |History

Bowers struggled early on with her PowerPoint slides but quickly managed to turn the lecture around and by the third hour was a truly dominant force of Weimar Republic knowledge.

Last Week: 2

 

4. Dr. Pat Mills | English

Despite some inconsistent TAing over the past few years, Mills is having a solid semester and is backed up by a great supporting cast. His class is definitely not to be dropped.

Last Week: 8

 

5. Dr. Miranda Kelley | Chemistry

Kelley has been surprisingly strong in his first two lectures after she closed out last semester with an error-filled final exam. Expect her performance to dip though as midterm season approaches.

Last Week: 5

 

6. Dr. Stanley Ortega | Criminology

Although Ortega’s lectures have been hit-or-miss so far, his reading selections have been great and he’s currently holding some of the best office hours of his career. If you’re looking for some extra credits this semester, his class could be worth a late add.

Last Week: 4

 

7. Dr. Juan Garrett | Computing Science

Garrett finally got his chance to teach an upper division course this semester and has not wasted the opportunity. His whopping 95.6% student attendance in week 2 speaks for itself.

Last Week: 6

 

8. Dr. May Hill | Kinesiology

After 3 semesters off dealing with an undisclosed maternity leave, Hill has shaken off the rust and is now clawing her way back to being one of the university’s premiere professors.

Last Week: 35

SFU professor to speak at European Parliament

By
EIC
-
0

Mark Jaccard will present on Canadian oil sands and emissions

By Leah Bjornson

The European Parliament has invited SFU professor Mark Jaccard to Brussels to debate the merits of the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD), a policy that would classify global fuel sources by the emissions caused by their production and transportation. The FQD would single out crude from Canada’s oil sands as the most harmful to the planet’s climate.

Jaccard, a professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at SFU, argued for an end of the expansion of the Alberta oilsands.

The FQD is part of the European Union’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions from transportation by 20 per cent between now and 2020. Its policies aim to help European countries reach greenhouse gas emission targets by classifying global fuel sources by their level of emissions and encouraging the use of cleaner and lower-carbon fuels.

Different fuels are produced from different raw materials, and depending on extraction, refining processes and associated energy needs, these materials can differ greatly in their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

The FQD distinguishes between these by labeling them as conventional oil (less dense or less viscous crude oils), gas-to-liquid, or natural bitumen (more dense, in a sense heavier, and more viscous), shale oil, and coal-to-liquid. Natural bitumen, like the oil sands, emits greater amounts of carbon dioxide per megajoule of energy used to transport them than conventional oil.

According to Jaccard, Canada is not on a path to meet the 2020 target, and points to oil sands as the reason: “Sadly, Canada’s oil sands continue to make a name for our country, for all the wrong reasons.”

In a study commissioned by the government of Alberta, it was found that oil extracted from the oil sands emitted 12 percent more emissions than oil produced in Europe, with some studies estimating that the oil sands pollute up to 23 per cent more than other sources. The Canadian government has been engaged in a lobbying campaign to stop the EU from adopting these fuel standards, which they claim could hurt oil sands exports to Europe.

The FQD has been opposed by the Canadian government, who are concerned that if the oil sands were labelled ‘dirty’, this designation could greatly impact future markets for Canada’s oil sands products.

“By treating oil sands crude as a unique high GHG-intensive ‘feedstock,’ it is effectively shutting oil sands crude, and products derived therefrom, out of the EU market,” reads the Natural Resources Canada website. “Canada will not hesitate to defend its interests should FQD single out oil sands crude in a disproportionate, arbitrary, and unscientific way.”

Canadian officials are also worried that if the FQD is passed, Canada’s largest oil sands importer, the US, might quickly follow suit. With this in mind, Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver recently said in Brussels that Canada would consider filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization if the EU goes ahead with the directive.

Jaccard’s role in deciding the fate of the FQD is to share his economic and environmental insights to the European Parliament. Also a member of the 2007 Nobel Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Jaccard and climatologist James Hansen, from NASA’s Goddard Institute, will make presentations in Brussels, at The Hague in the Netherlands, and at a public event at the London School of Economics.

“Dr. Hansen and I are honoured to be asked to provide guidance to the European Union on such a critical policy decision.” said Jaccard. “We hope to provide clarity not only on the current detrimental impacts and implications of allowing oil sands growth to continue unchecked, but how continuing to say yes, regardless of geography to our country’s dirty, energy-intensive products will have global implications for others, long-term.”

The debate on the morality of unpaid internships

By
EIC
-
1


WEB-Intern Photo-Vaikunthe Banerjee

Companies like Vancouver-based HootSuite under fire for the practice

By Joel Mackenzie
Photos by Vaikunthe Banerjee

The ballad of the unpaid intern is far from new, but is one that is starting to be sung a little louder. Unpaid internships in British Columbia are prevalent and undertaken by many BC graduates to gain experiences in their fields of choice, despite being technically illegal in the province.

One Vancouver-based company came under fire recently for offering unpaid internships. The digital media company HootSuite earlier this year received much online criticism for doing so and has since promised to provide full payment and interest to unpaid interns working from October 2012 to April 2013.

The company is not unique in offering such positions: they are common in many employment sectors, prominently in journalism for local newspapers and radio stations, in marketing, and even in organic farming. Nationally, the University of Toronto Students’ Union recently called on Ontario’s Minister of Labour to end unpaid internships, stating that 300,000 Canadians are “illegally misclassified” as interns, trainees, and non-employees, according to The Huffington Post.

However, not all unpaid internships violate the BC Employment Standards Act — such as strictly educational internships — illegal internships are defined as involving an employee, or a person completing labour or services performed for an employer, and not being paid at least the BC minimum wage. Practicums are separated from internships in the act, as they may be unpaid, and involve practical training that is part of the formal education process completed for school credit.

Many are torn by the idea of unpaid internships. David Lindskoog, a career advisor for SFU’s Surrey campus, believes that there’s not really an easy answer either way. “From a student’s perspective there are compelling reasons to do one if you can . . . I think a lot of students out there are . . . in a situation in which any experience is better than no experience.”

Lindskoog continued, “From a systemic perspective . . . personally I think there’s kind of a fundamental problem with unpaid internships in that, not everyone can afford to work for free . . . If your life situation is such that you can afford to take that hit, then you’re gaining an advantage on others who don’t have that opportunity.”

Douglas College student Eric Wilkins disagrees with what he calls the “slave labour” of unpaid internships. It is wrong for an intern to have to complete “work that would ordinarily have to be done by someone else” without being compensated, he says. “For many students already burdened with loans, a full-time unpaid internship can be a daunting, if not impossible prospect.”

Wilkins explains, “The line between practicums and internships . . . has to be erased. Practicums are internships; the fact that practicums are mandatory for completion of certain credentials doesn’t change the work that students have to do.”

Liam Britten on the other hand, a Douglas graduate and current SFU student, finds internships to be “an accepted part of many career trajectories.” In his personal experience with two unpaid internships in the past, he received “invaluable . . . guidance and practical instruction from working professionals,” and was allowed the “opportunity to make mistakes and grow from them, [which] obviously wouldn’t be tolerated from a paid, full-time employee.”

Britten sees internships as a stepping stone, and explained how “Regular staff always have a soft spot for someone who will do [work] for free, especially if you show a good attitude in the process. It brings respect.”

Lindskoog offers this advice to students who are considering completing an unpaid internship: “Make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons . . . make sure that you’re aware of your rights in the Employment Standards Act, [that] there’s actually a training or educational component to the internship, and that it’s not just you going in and doing the same thing that a paid employee would be doing anyways.”

Lindskoog does suggest that it is important to remain in touch with the people you meet during an internship, to keep up those connections. “You’re going to take some things out of that,” he said, “You’re going to learn more about yourself [and] about the industry you’re working in, about what’s actually out there and whether you like or dislike these things at all.”

1...1,2721,2731,274...1,421Page 1,273 of 1,421

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024