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• around campus

111 expansion a step 11aser
Not only will it be a cool place to hang out, the Campus Activity
Centre expansion will help to foster a more solidified student
community at The University College of the Cariboo, says a
student society vice-president_

Jason Meidl, Cariboo Student Society vice-president, Internal
Affairs, said the building is an exciting addition to campus,
especially since it will be student-owned and operated.
"We need to build on the student community. There is a lot of
student apathy that exists and this will help to improve the
situation," he said.
It will also help create jobs and provide a place for students to
be able to call their own.

The project will be fully funded by students through
Carlboo Student Society fees, a portion of which has
already been collected over the past three years. UCC
has been authorized to borrow the balance of the
building costs that will be repaid by the student
society.

Because the project is not funded by government grants the
expansion was not caught in the most recent provincial
government capital projects freeze.

BA Blacktop, a Kamloops company awarded the tender for civil
work associated with the expansion, started excavation and
ground-leveling work in early October and is expected to
complete that part of the project before the full force of winter
hits, said Phil Hanmer, manager of capital projects at UCC.
Construction of the 12,000 square-foot building, which will be
connected to the Campus Activity Centre, is expected to be
complete by the summer of 2002.

The $1.8 million expansion will include offices for the student
society and First Nations Student Association as well as
permanent space and storage for UCC clubs. There will also be
a student lounge and a huge general-purpose space to host
concerts and events. Other features include a large outdoor
patio and a glassed-in area that takes advantage of the
beautiful Kamloops views.
The society retained Architectura for the expansion, the same
architectural firm that designed the Campus Activity Centre.
Project architect Steve Mcfarlane has been responsible for
keeping a consistent style between the older building and the
new.
A model of the expansion can be viewed in the Cariboo Student
Society office and in the Campus Activity Centre.

animal health
taahnology sets sights
DI new bulldlng
One of the best animal health technology programs in the
country will no longer be housed in one of the worst facilities.

The University College of the Cariboo moves forward with a
new building for the two-year program, the only one of its
kind in British Columbia, after awarding a $1.68 million
contract to Mierau Contractors in mid-October. The
development will be twice the size of the current facility, a
Second World War home that's become unsuitable for
instructors and students.
It's a project that has been discussed on and off for the past
four to five years, but was forced to move forward because of
pressure from the national accrediting body for the program,
the Canadian Council of Animal Care.

"It's one of the few projects that has 11ot been caught
up In the most recent provincial government freeze on
educational Institution capital projects," said Josh
Keller, public relations director at UCC.
The site already has road and sewer services and
construction near the Trades and Technology Centre began in
October. It's expected the building will be completed by
Summer of 2002.
From a clinical point of view, the facility will be far more
functional and user friendly, said Dr. Dave Sedgman, Chair of
Agriculture Related Programs at UCC.

VIIUIIIJ Impaired man 1111 what's n11d1d
By Taylor Zeeg, UCC 3rd Year Journalism Student

Although legally blind for almost two years, Vern Short
doesn't live in the dark.
After learning last spring The University College of the
Cariboo was to receive $1 million from the provincial
government to upgrade its computer systems, Short seized
the opportunity to improve things for visually impaired people.

disability and use the UCC library. Without them, the visually
impaired "wouldn't be able to use the library effectively,"
said Short.

The 49-year-old is enrolled in the Provincial Instructor
Development program at Vancouver Community College,
which he takes through UCC. The program educates students
on how to structure lesson plans, deliver effective lessons
and facilitate learning programs.

The Kamloops-based advocate for the vlsuaUy
disabled approached Catt1y McGnigor, previous MLA
for Kamloops, who In turn contacted UCC: to see what
could be done, UCC decided to Install a :1.9•lnch
monitor and special software, called ioom Text, In the
campus library for those who are vlsyally Impaired.

Through the program, Short is developing his own program
and business called S.A.A.F.E, (Sensitivity Awareness and
Accessibility for Everyone). The business will focus on access
issues for those with disabilities. Short will target the tourism
industry, small business, and corporations. His objective is to
promote education awareness and respect for people with
disabilities.

Nancy Levesque, UCC director of Library and Information
Systems, said the new equipment is "meant for those who
have eye-deteriorating problems.

Davina Neve, transition planner with the student
development division at UCC, said there are a handful of
known students attending UCC that will definitely benefit
from the library computer upgrade, but added there could be
others that would also be helped by it.
The computer is located on the main floor of the library.

The software enlarges the font and, coupled with the larger
screen, makes reading the text easier.

From Short's perspective the new software and monitor
provide accessibility and convenience to those that have a

There will be larger kennel and outdoor areas for
resident animals, more classrooms and a lab animal
colony that will serve as a working model of a large
research lab.
"There will be more opportunity to do wet labs and other
forms of continuing education instruction for graduate
animal health technicians and veterinarians along with our
own students because of the larger facility," said Sedgman.

The new building could eventually provide opportunity for a
second stream of animal health technology students.
"Our biggest market for students right now is from the Lower
Mainland," said Dr. Sedgman. "There is the potential for
further instruction though distance education programs
using ITV. There is also the possibility of having a summer
stream of students who would take the course over three
years instead of two. That way, people don't necessarily have
to quit their jobs to go back to school."
The two-year diploma program provides classroom and
laboratory instruction, field and clinical experience involving
small and large animals. It has
space for 24 students each year!t
who go on to a variety of careers in
j
small and large animal
healthcare.
...

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