Inclusivity in action: Psychiatric Nursing students elevate LGBTQ2S+ cultural competency
Two Psychiatric Nursing students want to change the way the LGBTQ2S+ community receives acute and community care in hospitals and other health care settings.
During their recent practicums, Balraj Maird and Nisha Khattra saw firsthand how LGBTQ2S+ individuals experienced prejudice in health care facilities, which often prevented them from seeking treatment in time of need.
Balraj recalls meeting a LGBTQ2S+ patient at St. Paul’s Hospital, in Vancouver, who didn’t seek care for her mental health issues for fear of being discriminated against. The patient knew she needed help, but distrust and fear prevented her from reaching out. She eventually found herself forcibly admitted to hospital after a suicide attempt.
“If we can work on making the hospital a better place for her to come to when she’s feeling down and sad, and not getting to the point of attempting suicide, that would be the ultimate goal,” Balraj says.
Nisha points out that using a LGBTQ2S+ patient’s personal pronouns demonstrates respect and validation for their identity. During her practicum at St. Paul’s, she deliberately wrote down the patient’s pronouns in all handover materials during shift changes at the hospital.
Despite her effort, Nisha observed that some staff, especially casual nursing staff, did not address the patient using correct pronouns, making this vulnerable LGBTQ2S+ individual feel disrespected.
Read more: How this Douglas alum built a blossoming career as an activist for the LGBTQ+ community
Making hospitals more inclusive
“We want to prepare ourselves to provide LGBTQ2S+ individuals with the most culturally competent and safe care possible,” Nisha says.
After this experience, Balraj and Nisha embarked on a journey to alleviate the stress and stigma often felt by the members of the LGBTQ2S+ community when they seek medical care.
The two studied 21 peer-reviewed articles to look for practices that would be most effective in increasing LGBTQ2S+ cultural competency in a health care setting.
Cultural competency is the intricate integration of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours that improves cross-cultural communication and interpersonal relationships.
They found that health care providers report feeling underprepared to work with LGBTQ2S+ patients due to a lack of knowledge of their unique health needs. Cultural competency could be achieved to enhance interactions between LGBTQ2S+ patients and health professionals, according to their study.
Balraj and Nisha highlighted the value of workshops and self-reflection in bridging these knowledge gaps. “Workshops are pretty effective in increasing health care providers’ knowledge of working with this population, getting to know their needs and understanding how stigmatized and discriminated against they are,” Balraj says.
“We also found that health care professionals who practise self-reflection throughout their careers were able to identify these knowledge gaps,” Nisha adds.
When working with LGBTQ2S+ clients, they advise that health care providers use inclusive and gender-neutral language, and exercise sensitivity when asking questions about sexual orientation.
Two years into their practicums, the duo is thrilled to find that hospitals are gradually implementing the recommendations in their study. “We’re seeing a lot of workshops on LGBTQ2S+ care knowledge. Health care providers are becoming more knowledgeable about pronouns, and patients’ chosen names as well,” Balraj notes.
Read more: This Douglas student is championing trans-inclusive sports and recreation
Student research opportunities
For their efforts, Balraj and Nisha won the People’s Choice Award at Douglas College’s Student Research Days last year and presented their research at the WNRCASN 2023 Symposium.
Nisha says she is thankful that a wide variety of research opportunities are offered at Douglas College.
“If there’s something that students are really passionate about, they have the opportunity to actually go pursue it and gain more knowledge,” Nisha says.
From Douglas College to the front lines of climate change: a nursing grad’s journey of impact
By Bianca Blati, Foundation & Alumni Relations
Raluca Radu found her true calling when she learned about the critical intersection of health and climate change from a nursing perspective. The Douglas College Nursing grad began exploring this largely unexplored territory, and achieved her first milestone when she developed a case study on the health impacts of wildfires.
Today, Raluca champions the integration of climate change into nursing education and practice around the world. Her work, which includes developing educational materials and advocating for health equity – a state in which everyone has a fair opportunity to meet their health potential – aims to prepare future health care professionals for the challenges posed by climate change.
Since graduating from Douglas, Raluca has worked in distinct roles in the field and taught in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia, where she also obtained her master’s degree with the support of a Douglas College Alumni Bursary. She has taken part in national and international health education projects related to climate change and has worked as a climate and health educator with Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Along with other advisors at MSF, Raluca provided strategic guidance and support to MSF entities on climate change and planetary health literacy. Moreover, she supported the entire organization – including more than 60,000 staff – as it worked toward building capacity on the health impacts of climate change and on local projects to adopt mitigation solutions. In addition to her full-time role, Raluca delivers presentations across Canada on how climate change-related events affect individual and community health.
“My biggest reward is knowing that investing time in mentorship pays off by seeing that the next generations of leaders are the people who are going to achieve really incredible things and stand with others, not stand alone,” Raluca says.
Looking ahead, Raluca sees both challenges and opportunities. She is concerned about increasing chronic health conditions that result from poor air quality, extreme heat events and food insecurity, further exacerbated by the continued burning of fossil fuels that accelerate climate change. Still, she is hopeful that the growing opportunities around educating the current generation of students from all fields of practice on the direct relationship between climate change and health will help them understand how they can help create equitable and community-based climate solutions.
“The increasing burden of climate change on global health systems calls for innovative solutions, interdisciplinary collaboration and a new generation of health care professionals equipped to face these challenges head on,” she says.
A Message of Hope and Action
Raluca says she wouldn’t have gotten to where she is without the support of an Alumni Bursary from the Douglas College Foundation, which allowed her to pursue graduate studies at UBC and expand her career.
“I received the Alumni Bursary during a time when I was still not fully financially independent. It was difficult to work and study at the same time,” Raluca says. “It was helpful, and I was grateful to Douglas, because they supported me even after graduation.”
For donors and alumni, Raluca highlights the critical role of supporting students to pursue their dreams, especially in fields as critical and demanding as health care and environmental sustainability.
“The role of the donors is crucial because they are helping students get access to educational opportunities for ongoing growth and development. We live in a challenging time, and people get discouraged if they do not have access to grants and bursaries that can allow them to fulfill their dreams. It is important to be able to open the doors for people and let them contribute to society’s greatest needs.”
For Raluca, the journey from Douglas College to the global stage of health care and environmental activism is a testament to the power of education, the importance of nurturing passion and the impact one individual can make in creating a healthier, more sustainable world.
“The opportunity is there for us to make sure that the current generation of students is receiving information about what is happening to the world and how they can make a difference,” she says.
From cold to closed: This Criminology instructor’s research helps crack unsolved cases
By Aline Bouwman, Marketing and Communications
In 2020, U.S. law enforcement cracked the most famous cold case in American history when it caught the “Golden State Killer” using a new DNA identification technique known as Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG).
Criminology instructor Tracey Dowdeswell, a leading scholar in applications of forensic genetics in the criminal justice system, says FIGG has solved over 1,000 cold cases so far. But there’s plenty more work to be done.
“We have a huge backlog of unsolved homicides, untested sexual assault kits and many deceased persons – as many as 60,000 in North America alone – awaiting DNA identification,” Dowdeswell says. “FIGG holds immense promise for millions of people who have been waiting for a long time to see justice.”
Widespread adoption of FIGG in the criminal justice system has been slow, but Dowdeswell is ready to change that. She created the Forensic Genetic Genealogy Project, the first open-access database that makes publicly available all criminal cases that have been successfully solved through FIGG. She hopes the database will demonstrate FIGG’s potential to a global audience.
A new sheriff in town
FIGG combines DNA analysis with traditional family tree genealogy, which has the potential to solve criminal cases that have been “cold” for decades.
In the case of the Golden State Killer, forensic researchers were able to identify the perpetrator after his crimes lay unsolved for nearly 40 years.
So, how exactly does FIGG work?
Before the advent of FIGG, DNA samples from a crime scene could only be matched to existing profiles in law enforcement databases. If an offender was not already in the database, it ruled out the possibility of identifying them via DNA sampling.
According to Dowdeswell, FIGG is groundbreaking precisely because it can overcome these challenges. Even when offenders haven’t been previously convicted or arrested, the new technique finds recourse in powerful advancements in genetic ancestry analysis.
FIGG draws on powerful computer databases and search algorithms to find distant relatives of the person whose DNA was collected at a crime scene, and then applies traditional methods of genealogy – examining archival materials like birth certificates and death records – to build a family tree down to the present time.
“We’re all connected by DNA with our ancestors in this big network, with common ancestors going back about 3,500 years,” Dowdeswell says. “FIGG can pinpoint where any DNA sample is in that human network. Traditional forensics are then used to compare the individual’s DNA with that found at the crime scene to one in a trillion or one in a quadrillion accuracy, and that’s the evidence that goes to court.”
Read more: How a Douglas Criminology alumna became the first Indigenous woman to serve in B.C.’s Legislative Assembly
True crime and true justice
Despite the many breakthroughs FIGG has made in criminal justice, Dowdeswell says that some of its most promising applications are in victim identification and Indigenous justice cases.
She says FIGG can aid the crisis of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and also help to identify human remains in Canada’s residential school gravesites. Dowdeswell stresses that this should be done while respecting Indigenous data sovereignty, a model in which Indigenous peoples have the right to own, control, access and steward data about their communities.
“It may be very difficult for Canada’s Indigenous communities to hand DNA over to companies or even to law enforcement,” Dowdeswell says. “If we could work with those communities to construct private databases where they would have control over their own genealogical data, I think they could solve a lot of their own cases without too much input from outside scientists or law enforcement.
“By integrating FIGG, we have the opportunity to deliver justice and give closure to countless people,” Dowdeswell says. “It is only practiced on a very small scale, but there’s great potential with this technique to create a more just society.”
Read more: This Youth Justice grad empowers Indigenous youth navigating the justice system
Student research at the cutting edge
Although popular procedural crime shows like CSI or Law & Order might lead you to believe that criminal cases are cracked in high-drama lab settings, Dowdeswell’s research on FIGG primarily takes place at her office at Douglas College’s New Westminster Campus.
Now, Douglas Criminology students are getting involved.
Last year, Taryn Mulvahill and Nico Concepcion helped Dowdeswell launch the most recent FIGG database update as part of a research assistantship.
“When students work with me, they learn a lot about research ethics, quality control and data collection,” Dowdeswell says. “These are all vitally important skills that will equip anyone to carry out important social sciences research in the future.”
Learn more about Douglas College’s Crimonology program and ways that students can get involved in academic research at Douglas.
Exploring the galaxy: A journey into Computing Science and VR education
By Angelica Largo, Marketing and Communications
As a 3D modelling and animation enthusiast, Computing Science student Ryan Milligan was keen on immersing himself in the world of virtual reality (VR). Under the guidance of Computing Science instructor Dr. Shahriar Khosravi, Ryan embarked on a transformative journey to create an immersive VR experience.
Bridging gaps
Before coming to Douglas, Ryan had worked a series of monotonous jobs. He was on a quest to find a fulfilling career but didn’t know where to start.
“I really enjoyed learning about computer graphics in my free time. I decided that I wanted to pursue a career that allowed me to channel my creativity and turn my visions into reality,” says Ryan.
His interests sparked a decision to return to school and pursue Computing Science, and Douglas was a great fit because of its affordability. To meet the prerequisites for his program, Ryan needed to take specific math courses, a hurdle he overcame at Douglas through Math Upgrading.
Once he completed his prerequisites, Ryan started the Diploma in Computing Science and went into the Game Development stream, where he learned how to code for computer games.
Coding the cosmos
What started as a capstone project for Ryan’s program resulted in a position as a Student Research Assistant under the mentorship of Dr. Khosravi, who specializes in aerospace engineering and teaches in the Game Development stream. The project gives students the opportunity to apply the skills they’ve learned in the Game Development stream to create VR experiences that have academic value. Ryan’s VR project, Astronomia Nova, was developed to help students visualize apparent retrograde motion from different perspectives on various planets, offering an immersive learning experience.
“Apparent retrograde motion is when a planet appears to move backward in its orbit, even though it’s actually moving forward. The application allows astronomy students to develop a deeper understanding of apparent retrograde motion by visualizing the phenomenon from perspectives that would not be feasible in real-life,” says Ryan.
During his time as a Student Research Assistant, Ryan found satisfaction in resolving complex coding issues and researching topics outside of his field of study, making the project a highlight of his academic journey thus far.
Despite never having taken physics before, Ryan delved into extensive research on orbital mechanics, showcasing dedication to creating a realistic physics simulation of the solar system. The project, initially developed in Unreal Engine, a video game development tool, was later remade as a web application using React.js and Three.js.
Looking back on his journey, Ryan realizes that VR could transform education by making learning more engaging and immersive. This project also inspired his curiosity in physics, leading him to sign up for an introductory physics course.
A future fuelled by passion
For current Douglas students navigating their paths, Ryan offers a valuable piece of advice: “Try out as many things as you can and take advantage of opportunities that come up. You may find something that you end up enjoying that you never realized would interest you.”
For Ryan, Dr. Khosravi’s supportive mentorship is the reason why he had the confidence to explore topics beyond his scope of knowledge and create an immersive VR experience. As Ryan continues to chart new territories in the dynamic field of computer graphics, he stands as a testament to the boundless possibilities that unfold when passion meets education.
Interested in Computing Science or Game Development at Douglas College? Visit our website to learn more:
Turning a dream job into a reality: How the TESL program helped Andrea Leclerc change careers in a semester
Andrea Leclerc had struggled to find a career that would inspire her. It took Douglas College’s Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)’s one-semester program to transform her life, allowing her to do what she loves every day: teaching English to adult students.
By Maggie Clark, Marketing and Communications
Andrea Leclerc’s passion for connecting with and helping others had always drawn her to the idea of working in education. But the two career paths she knew of in the industry – teaching in elementary and high school – didn’t resonate with her. After exploring jobs in administration, construction and more, she felt it was time to go back to her studies to open new opportunities. That led her to Douglas College’s Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program, giving her the tools she needed to have the career of her dreams within a semester.
Offering a well-rounded education
Douglas’s TESL program wasn’t the only one Andrea had been considering. But it was the one that stood out to her the most.
“When I found Douglas’s TESL program, I realized it fit my career goals,” she says. “I loved the idea of helping international learners and new immigrants.”
The program itself looked well-rounded when Andrea considered it further, providing an in-house practicum and a chance to tutor current international students at Douglas. On top of that, it would only be a semester long, which meant she could pause work for just four months and focus solely on her studies.
What sealed the deal was that Douglas College is accredited with TESL Canada, making her education highly credible for those looking for TESL instructors. She felt that would help her stand out once she was ready to job hunt for a career in teaching English as a second language.
“The program is considered high standard in the TESL industry,” says Andrea. “So I felt like it was the right decision to go with Douglas.”
Encouraging student confidence
As an older student, Andrea was nervous about going back to school. However, she was quickly put at ease, noticing the range of ages and educational backgrounds of her peers and the welcoming atmosphere.
“Everyone in the program was supportive and excited that students like myself wanted to take a step in a new direction,” she says. “I felt empowered, like I would be helping other people by starting this new career, and that felt really special.”
This encouraging learning environment forged a strong bond between Andrea, her peers and her instructors. It gave her the confidence to practise her teaching skills through tutoring a student from Douglas’s English Language Learning and Acquisition program.
“Even though I wasn’t fully trained yet, I was starting to get real hands-on experience by becoming this student’s tutor and learning about her journey,” Andrea says. “I was able to help someone at Douglas while studying there at the same time. So, it was pretty amazing actually.”
Andrea went on to further these skills through TESL’s online teaching practicum, which had been offered in place of an in-person one due to the pandemic. It gave her the knowledge necessary to run classes effectively, whether online or offline, and keep students engaged.
“At the time, it was challenging because I was so excited about being in a classroom and everything I had been taught up until that point was for in-person work,” she says. “But it just made me realize that you can pivot. There are so many different jobs and careers you can have with your TESL experience, whether they’re in-person or online.”
It was an experience that Andrea felt was essential for her new career path.
“I wouldn’t have even applied or considered working in this industry without my TESL experience from Douglas College,” she says. “I felt like the program really prepared me for work compared to regular college or university classes that just focus on one topic and not on next steps for your career.”
Opening job opportunities
With the skills and confidence she’d gained through the program, Andrea was able to set up her own successful private tutoring service before becoming an instructor and teaching assistant, for DIVERSEcity, an organization that supports newcomers to Canada with language instruction, citizenship test preparation and more.
“Without the TESL program, I wouldn’t have a career where I actually love to go to work every day,” she says. “I never thought I’d have that for myself. I thought a job was a job, but now, that’s changed. And it’s all because I took Douglas’s TESL program.”
Interested in the TESL program at Douglas College? Visit our website to learn more.
Changing chords: How travelling to Rwanda inspired this Douglas instructor to decolonize music education
By Aline Bouwman, Marketing and Communications
As she was waiting to board a flight to Rwanda last summer, Hazel Fairbairn was asked – more than once – if she was a missionary heading to Africa to do religious aid work.
In fact, the Douglas College Music Technology instructor was on her way to the Rwanda School of Creative Arts and Music to join five Douglas music students on a special project that would see the group taking lessons from Rwandans on music, education and the power of community.
Now, Hazel is using what she learned in Rwanda to transform music education at home and help her students find their own rhythm through a unique teaching model.
Read more: This Douglas College Music Diploma alumn turned her music passion into a profession.
Flipping the narrative
Located in the capital city, Kigali, the Rwanda School of Creative Arts and Music (RSCAM) emphasizes rehearsal and performance under a unique evaluation model Hazel calls “play and feedback.” Through this model, students play their music in front of a jury and receive immediate verbal commentary. Students then incorporate that feedback and come back to rehearsals for further rounds of critique as they hone their skills and performance.
For Hazel, this educational framework levels a profound challenge at the individuality and hierarchy inherent to music education in Canada, and the Western world at large.
“The style of teaching in Rwanda made me realize how important it is to give honest and candid feedback to students,” she says. “Seeing how music is taught in Rwanda has shown me that community-oriented values can coexist with educational rigour and musical excellence.”
Hazel points out that Western education models still carry the legacy of colonialism, and music education is no exception. She explains that modern music education has not diverted much from classical pedagogy, which builds on a laddered learning structure based on individual progression, hierarchical instruction and theoretical examination.
That way of learning is so saturated in Western education that it can be difficult to imagine what it could look like under a different structure. The paradigm shift required to undertake such a reimagining, Hazel believes, is precisely what Rwanda has to offer to musicians, teachers and students of music.
“There’s no real reason why instrumental skills couldn’t be taught in a more oral tradition, which focuses on listening and repetition as the main means of learning,” Hazel says. “Auditory-based teaching methods like the play-and-feedback model emphasize community learning rather than the individual quest for perfection.”
Read more: Hands-on learning prepares Music Technology students at Douglas College for a successful career in the industry.
The power of community
While strides are being made to decolonize the classroom in Canada, Hazel points out that stubborn colonial narratives persist. It is still a widely held belief that Westerners travel to African nations to bring education, enlightenment or development.
But back home in Canada, the opposite is true. Hazel believes it is Western educators who can learn from diverse cultural contexts and be transformed by African education.
As for the music students who took part in the project in Rwanda, the trip not only allowed them to experience a different educational culture, but it also resounded with their own learning styles.
Jussarah Bellow, a second-year Music Technology student, highlights how the communal focus at RSCAM helped her come out of her shell, musically speaking.
“It was a welcoming and joyful environment to be in,” Jussarah says. “In the past, I was shy with others in showing my musical abilities, but during the trip the musicians we met helped me grow in my musical journey. They were so encouraging, and I became much more comfortable on stage.”
Hazel agrees that music students learn best through doing. “Instruction should be about facilitating rather than instructing,” she adds. “Travelling to Rwanda has renewed my conviction that music is not about individual excellence – it is about the power to create community and reach more people.”
In fact, individual performance was not a common sight at RSCAM at all.
“I never heard anybody playing on their own,” Hazel says. “I’m not sure I ever saw anybody in Rwanda doing anything on their own. Everything is about community. Everything is about connection and how people are building something together. And music is such a beautiful place to do that.”
Learn more about Douglas College’s Music and study abroad programs on our website.
Douglas College is one of the best places to work in B.C. Find out why.
For the 11th year running, Douglas has been recognized by BC’s Top Employers as an outstanding place to work. But what does this actually mean for the people on the ground – our employees?
It means that we strive to offer everyone who works at Douglas – from staff, to faculty, to management – an inspiring, supportive and respectful environment where everyone has the backing and resources to thrive in their roles, advance their careers and, quite frankly, be who they are, enjoy themselves and have fun.
Welcoming and inclusive
We are proud to be recognized as a workplace that welcomes employees from diverse groups, a workplace that is committed to fostering a campus environment that is respectful, inclusive, accessible and welcoming to everyone. But don’t take our word for it! Read what some of our employees have to say about working at Douglas:
“There’s a richness in the diversity of the Douglas College community,” says Janice Sestan, a Communications and Global Citizenship instructor. “I believe the future of education is people from different backgrounds working and learning together.”
“My favourite thing about working here is how sincerely colleagues respect one another,” adds Richa Dwor, English instructor and Coordinator of the Research and Innovation Office. “It’s truly a supporting, collegial and positive work environment.”
Promoting success
Douglas is a place where our employees can – and do – grow. We support ongoing education and professional development through things like tuition subsidies, in-house and online training programs as well as subsidies for professional accreditation. In some cases, people have started working at Douglas in entry-level roles and have worked their way up to senior management positions. All employees have free access to the LinkedIn Learning platform, where they can sharpen their skills in everything from public speaking, to project management, to learning new software and much more.
Fostering connection
At Douglas, our employees don’t just have a job – they have a voice. We are a culture of community and connectedness, and our employees are invited and encouraged to take part in important decisions undertaken by Douglas, whether it be through sitting on College committees, joining the Education Council or College Board, or giving feedback on the annual College budget plan.
“Our work environment values collaboration, discussion and unity that is rooted in a sense of trust and care for one another,” says Michael Lam, our Associate Vice President, Technology and CIO. “Our ability to come together and help one another is our strength – it’s our superpower.”
We also recognize and celebrate our employees with annual events such as the end of summer barbecue and the holiday party in December. Both events saw, in 2023, record numbers of people coming out to enjoy food and conversation with their colleagues. We also hold a formal event every winter that honours new retirees as well as employees who have been with the College for five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and – yes – even 40 years. The event also recognizes the outstanding work of individuals and teams who have gone above and beyond in their roles.
Nurturing wellness
At Douglas, we care about the health and well-being of our employees. Our benefits package includes maternity and parental leave top-up payments, along with generous extended health and dental benefits. We also offer a defined-benefit pension plan that provides a lifetime retirement income for employees.
Glenn Ellingson, who has been with Douglas for 40 years as the Supervisor of the Print Shop, says he has stayed with Douglas because it has provided him with a stable position, a decent income and more.
“It has been great for raising a family and having both the benefits and vacation time to share with them. I have been in the Print Shop my entire time here and have seen so many changes in print production over the years. DC has always supplied us with the equipment to stay current in the industry.”
Our intranet, DC Connect, has a library of free mental health and wellness supports. Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offers free counselling and coaching in the areas of mental health, addictions, lifestyle, career planning, relationships and more. The EAP is available to all employees, including auxiliaries and contract employees. Employees also have access to free wellness webinars on a variety of mental wellness topics.
All employees can use our fully equipped gym free of charge as well as enjoy group fitness classes like yoga, HIIT and bootcamp. We even have an onsite daycare that gives priority admission to children of employees and students.
Enjoying life at work
Did we mention the annual summer barbecue and holiday celebration? There’s also a yearly Halloween costume contest that sees some wonderfully creative entries and good-natured competition between departments. On a day-to-day level, we offer lots of options for food and drinks on campus, including fresh meals, grab-and-go items like pizza and sandwiches, and a variety of plant-based options. And of course, there is coffee. Both campuses have a Tim Horton’s to help you stay fueled and satisfied throughout the workday.
Join us!
We are always looking for talented and passionate people to join the Douglas community, whether you are a recent graduate seeking your first job or a veteran in your field looking for new and exciting challenges. Visit our website to learn more about careers at Douglas and see our job board to find out what positions are available right now.
The truth unzipped: Why it’s time to ditch fast fashion
By Naomi Higo, Institute of Urban Ecology
You’ve probably seen the term “fast fashion” floating around. But if you don’t know what it means, here’s the skinny on your skinny jeans. Fast fashion is a business model that mass-produces cheap, trendy clothes in high-speed cycles. But that kind of rapid production has consequences.
The fast fashion industry is infamous for being one of the planet’s biggest polluters. It’s also one of the biggest sources of sweatshops and child labour in developing nations. So, what can you do about it?
As consumers, we have the power to choose how and where we spend our money. Some of the easiest ways to make sure you’re not supporting a fast fashion company are to educate yourself, buy less and buy second-hand.
- Build your knowledge. Learn more about the fast fashion industry and the environmental consequences of clothing and textile consumption so you can make informed decisions about what you’re buying. Read more.
- Buy secondhand. Not only does thrifting help the planet and save you money, it’s also fun! At thrift shops you can often find one-of-a-kind vintage items as well as quality pieces made of wool, silk, cashmere and other fabrics that stand the test of time. Read more.
- Upcycle your outfits. Don’t just throw away your holey sweaters! There are ways to revive your much-loved pieces. You can learn to do minor repairs or even remake them into something new. Worst case scenario, you can donate them to a textile collection service in lieu of dooming them to a landfill. Read more.
Want to get started on lifestyle changes like these? Join Douglas College and the Institute of Urban Ecology for Circular Economy Month and Waste Reduction Week! Oct. 23–27 is packed full of free events at both campuses to support Douglas College students and employees in living more sustainably.
Waste Reduction Week comes from a larger Canadian tradition dating back to the ’80s, one that’s all about limiting environmental harm. It historically explores everything from individual choices up to the systemic changes needed to transition to a circular economy. (A circular economy is one that minimizes waste and reuses resources as much as possible.)
At Douglas, we strive to be global citizens and role models in our communities. Part of being a global citizen is recognizing that the choices we make in our cities affect more than our urban ecosystem. Their effects radiate outward to people and nature in other parts of the world.
It’s easy to think of the environment as “a problem for the experts,” but you don’t need to be a scientist to make a difference. Sustainability is interdisciplinary. No matter what your skills or passions are, if everyone made one small change today, those small changes would add up to one big change globally.
Chef Anne Marie Bonneau said it best: “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
Want to learn more about reducing your fashion-based waste? Attend our Waste Reduction Week events!
Naomi Higo is the Urban Ecology Coordinator at Douglas College’s Institute of Urban Ecology. As an educator with a passion for conservation biology, Naomi has worked on causes like animal rescue, ocean health, habitat loss and the exotic pet trade. She believes that sustainability education should be integrated into every field.
Examining how technology shapes relationships and beliefs
By Ming Yeung, Marketing and Communications
Have you ever wondered why the default voice on digital voice-controlled assistants, like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, are female?
When Douglas College Philosophy instructor Dr. Jennifer Jill Fellows was teaching a feminist philosophy course in 2017 and introducing the idea of gender performativity, she realized that virtual assistants were the perfect example, as they are gendered. The theory of gender performativity suggests that being born male or female doesn’t determine behaviour. Rather, people learn to behave in particular ways to fit into society.
Biased digital assistants
“There are some philosophers who argue that sex is a social construct, and I found that looking at virtual assistants, like Siri, was really effective because they are so obviously gendered,” Jennifer says. “You can’t assign a sex, but people assign gender and use gendered pronouns to talk about digital assistants all the time.” For this reason, she thinks virtual assistants are a great way to show how sex and gender come apart.
What’s more, Jennifer – who studies how computer and digital-assistant design and marketing reinforce binaries between human and machine, man and woman, and mind and body – has found that tech companies are constantly feeding our biases back to us, which could be detrimental to the fight for a more equitable future.
“A lot of times people aren’t even aware that you can be discriminated against by an algorithm or that technology itself can further marginalize people. They can subconsciously reaffirm the outdated social construct and gender bias that women are subservient, quiet, polite and here to ‘assist’ others,” she says. “We want tech to be progressive, and not just feed back to us these outdated, outmoded stereotypes.”
From page to podcast
While studying these phenomena, Jennifer and Dr. Lisa Smith, from the Department of Sociology, came up with the idea of creating a course about gender, sex and technology.
“We were hammering out the course, and then we looked at each other and thought, ‘This is more than a course, this could be a book,’” Jennifer recalls.
And then Gender, Sex, and Tech! was released in the spring of 2022.
The book, showcasing a collection of essays written by a range of established and up-and-coming Canadian scholars, explores everything from how relationships change with the widespread use of smartphones and dating apps, to what we can learn about period poverty by thinking about tech equity.
The book led to Jennifer creating an interview-style podcast, Gender, Sex, and Tech: Continuing The Conversation. The first season expands on ideas presented in the book, in addition to new observations around gender, sex and technology.
One episode of the podcast discusses how some social problems, such as sexual violence and sexual racism, are facilitated by technologies. For example, in 2015, a group of fourth year male Dalhousie dental students were discovered to be posting sexually explicit, offensive comments about their female classmates in a closed Facebook group called, “Class of DDS 2015, Gentlemen.” Incidents like this raised the issue of what a university’s responsibilities are to safeguard community members from sexual violence online.
Continuing the conversation
“Basically, I think that we can’t address these issues unless we’re aware that they exist. So, what I’m trying to do is create a space in the podcast for feminist discussions about this and to shine a light on the issue,” Jennifer says. “Automated systems don’t hold discriminatory beliefs, but they can still perform discriminatory actions. And I think people knowing that helps them fight against it.”
With the success of the podcast, Jennifer has taken the opportunity to integrate it into her own classroom teaching. She says students can read the chapter from the book and then they can listen to the interview. “Students have responded to that well,” she says.
From fitness tracking apps to sex robots and much more, you won’t want to miss this series of thought-provoking conversations that continues in the second season.
Nurturing Dreams: How English Upgrading opened doors for this Douglas student to pursue a career in early childhood education
By Angelica Largo, Marketing and Communications
When Inga Veclici immigrated to Canada from Moldova, she wanted to pursue her dream of becoming an early childhood educator. She decided to apply to the Early Childhood Education (ECE) program at Douglas College. But there was one catch: She didn’t meet the English proficiency requirements.
Inga took an English assessment at Douglas and was advised to take English Upgrading (ENGU) courses to support her pathway into the ECE program. The ENGU courses are tuition-free and aim to enhance students’ reading and writing skills for success in their other college courses
She says her instructors were game-changers. They demystified the complexities of the English language and taught her effective communication. She recalls one extraordinary instructor, Daniel Dunne, whose teaching style, marked by humour and personal anecdotes, made learning enjoyable and cultivated trust among her classmates.
Now that Inga’s fulfilled the English proficiency requirements, she looks forward to continuing her education at Douglas in the ECE Special Needs – Inclusive Practices Certificate program this Fall.
Nurturing curiosity
Inga’s interest in early childhood education was sparked during her daughter’s time in kindergarten, where she volunteered in a reading buddy program. This experience opened her eyes to the joy of interacting with children and nurturing their innate curiosity.
“When I first started working with kids, I was inspired by the connection that they make with adults,” she says. “Children aren’t judgmental, they don’t care where you come from or how you look.”
With the ECE Special Needs – Inclusive Practices Certificate, Inga will have the opportunity to explore her interest in working with children that have special needs and learn the best ways to support them in a child-care setting.
Connecting with nature
When it comes to teaching young children, Inga believes in the importance of active learning through outdoor play. She prefers to go outside and spend time in nature as it encourages curiosity and exploration in children.
“Regardless of the weather, nature should be a part of a child’s education,” Inga says. “If it’s raining, we can bring nature into the classroom and relate activities to the subjects that we’re focusing on that day, whether it’s art, math or science.”
Looking forward
In the future, Inga wants to venture into infant and toddler care and take the Early Childhood Education Infant/Toddler Certificate program at Douglas.
Drawing from her experiences, Inga offers advice to current Douglas students pursuing the English Upgrading to Early Childhood Education pathway. She encourages seeking guidance from program advisors and emphasizes the significance of investing in education, as it has the power to transform aspirations into realities.
“Through the English Upgrading program, I’ve learned that I can achieve anything I set my mind to,” she says. “This pathway has boosted my confidence in English and prepared me to pursue my dream of becoming an early childhood educator.”
Interested in the Early Childhood Education program or English Upgrading at Douglas College? Visit our website to learn more:
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