Humber Et Cetera

Arb building wins green design award

CHARMAINE KERRIDGE BIZ/TECH REPORTER Humber’s Centre for Urban Ecology won an architectural award of excellence for the use of environmental technology elements promoting sustainability in its design. On May 7, the Ontario Association of Architects will present the award to the architecture firms that collaborated with Humber to design the building located in the arboretum on the North Campus. A panel of jurors chose the centre because of its environmentally sustainable features and its design aesthetics. “This one was a real hit,” said Carl Knipfel, chair of the Honours and Awards Task Group. “What everybody loved about it is [Continue reading]

Game design drawing few female students

DAN BLACKWELL BIZ/TECH REPORTER Despite growing numbers of women players, there are no female applicants for the fall video game programming course, co-ordinator Rob Robson said. “Why don’t they want to come? It beats me,” said Robson. “We’re quite happy to see them, but they don’t want to come.” Only three of 95 Humber video game programming students are women despite a 2009 Entertainment Software Association of Canada survey found 39 per cent of Canadian gamers are female. Computer programming instructor Lynda Hausman said the lack of women students is discouraging, but not unique to Humber. “Not just computer [Continue reading]

New credit card follows Sharia law

JANE SPONAGLE BIZ/TECH REPORTER Humber is happy to accept tuition payments from the iFreedom Plus MasterCard, the first prepaid credit card in Canada marketed to the Muslim community. Sanjay Puri the director of financial services and planning said the card might even be better than regular credit cards. As the card is prepaid, Puri said, “the chances of it ever going wrong are nil.” Traditional credit cards violate Sharia law where it is prohibited to pay or accept interest fees attached to borrowing or lending money. Clients can sign up online for the pre-paid card, said Sikander Hashmi, vice-president [Continue reading]

High loonie means lower book prices

GILLIAN GALINSKYBIZ/TECH REPORTERThe soaring value of the Canadian dollar could help save students money, economics professor Paul Pieper said.“Everything students need to buy for school would be cheaper if it was coming from the United States. This ranges from books to computers and software,” he said.Suzanne Iskander, a business professor, said students will see the effects of the rising dollar the most in the price of books.North Campus bookstore manager Debby Martin said when the loonie was above the value of the U.S. dollar a few years ago, the bookstore charged the lower U.S. prices

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Fishing spots in the GTA

EMMANUEL SAMOGLOU LIFE REPORTER Humber students don’t need to head up north for decent angling, there’s a host of great fishing spots right here in Toronto, said a media outreach official with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. “There’s all kinds of opportunities along the waterfront itself,” said Wil Wegman, a promoter of fishing for the provincial government who authored Urban fishing opportunities in Toronto & Surrounding Areas. He said some of Toronto’s standout fishing holes include Grenadier Pond in High Park. Wegman said the Toronto Islands is also a good place, where prospective anglers can [Continue reading]

Beaches and pools open in June

NOEL GRZETIC LIFE REPORTER The City of Toronto aquatics manager said there are plenty of ways for Humber students to keep cool this summer. Anne Jackson said Toronto has 11 supervised beaches opening the first weekend of June and 59 outdoor pools opening June 26. “It is a very popular way to cool off and still get exercise in the summer when it’s warm,” said Jackson. Jackson said the popularity of the leisure swim, which is free at all city pools, is directly proportional to the weather. She estimated between 1.5 million and three million people visit the pools [Continue reading]

Sailing centre offers classes

PAM BAL LIFE REPORTER Humber students looking to spend the summer near the water don’t need to go far. Humber’s sailing and powerboating centre hopes to recruit people staying close to home for its sailing classes. Director of the centre Scott Hughes said Humber’s sailing courses are a good option for people not travelling this summer. “Why jump on an airplane and fly out somewhere and spend a lot of money, when you can stay in your own backyard and learn to sail,” said Hughes. While the first keelboating class of the season took place on [Continue reading]

Events highlight culture and art

BRONWYN ROWSELL LIFE REPORTER Summer festivals highlighting the arts, architecture and food are a way for students to enjoy the summer months and experience Toronto’s diverse culture. “It’s a great way to kick off summer,” said Chris Lorway, the artistic director of Luminato. Luminato is a festival of theatre, dance, music, film and literature celebrating Toronto’s arts community. It runs from June 11 - 20 and is held at many locations throughout the city, such as Yonge and Dundas Square and Queen’s Park. Doors Open Toronto provides a different cultural approach by offering public access [Continue reading]

Get outside, says fitness expert

EMILY ENGLISH LIFE REPORTER Now that summer is here, students should reap the benefits an outdoor workout can bring, said health and fitness experts. “There are so many things that you can do outdoors, running and walking are just two examples of it,” said Bryan Smith, regional manager for the Running Room. Besides these, students can try other workouts, such as rock climbing, parasailing, hiking, biking, rollerblading, canoeing, joining a sports league or even an outdoor boot camp class. “Getting out in the sun will help your vitamin D levels,” said Humber health and fitness program [Continue reading]

Free tunes at T.O. fests

ANDREW SUTHERLAND A&E REPORTER Students jazzed about the summer can enjoy free music at some of the biggest festivals Toronto has to offer. To celebrate its 30th anniversary Pride Toronto has extended the festivities from one week to 10 days. “This year we have expanded to Queen’s Park, where we’re going to have a free concert from Cyndi Lauper on July 3,” said Michael Ain, marketing and communications manager for Pride Toronto. “She’s a huge advocate for LGBT human rights, Cyndi and her team have been absolutely amazing.” Pride will feature plenty of other free performances [Continue reading]