Club events stalled by college room changes
A surprise change to the college's room booking process left clubs confused about where to hold events
By LYDIA OCHIENG
A two-workweek freeze by the college on the ability to book rooms between October 1 and 11 caused confusion for Langara’s student clubs.
Langara’s Computer Science Club was left in the dark for a week and a half after requesting a room for an event.
“Not knowing where to hold the event and having to look at possible, like external places, it gave us additional stress,” said April Ternida, director of events at the Langara Computer Science Club.
Ternida said that the hold came at a time already busy for students. “Considering you know we’re also students, we also have to prepare for our midterms.”
Clubs help students find community
Akashdeep Singh, vice president of events and operations at the Langara Punjabi Association, said that his club has been running for two semesters and has never before faced a problem with booking rooms. The booking issues and a requirement to give the college 28-days notice for events has reduced the frequency of their events.
“We have a passion to create cultural awareness…. So we try to organize events, but like, planning it in 28 days of advance is not feasible,” said Singh.
Singh said that his club is run by volunteers who need to focus on academics and part-time jobs.
A common trend for Langara
Ayla Maxfield, former president of the Langara Kinesiology Association, was not surprised to learn about the hold.
“I find things are changing very frequently and it’s hard to keep track of what’s policy like what we’re supposed to do as a club,” said Maxfield.
Langara student engagement, which is responsible for clubs on campus, was unable to comment before the Voice’s deadline. The Langara facilities department also did not respond.
This story was updated to accurately reflect the timeline of the room booking freeze.