WHITEHORSE – Justin O’Hearn studies pornography. This is not altogether surprising, porn is a multi-billion dollar industry and a growing number of writers, commentators and researchers are studying both the business and its effect on society.

What is surprising is that, in an age where ubiquitous internet access provides a gateway to massive amounts of adult content, O’Hearn has chosen to study some of the rarest, hardest to access, non-digital pornography in the western world.

“A class at Simon Fraser University introduced me to the subject of censorship and the ‘Paris edition’, which was late nineteenth and early twentieth century code for an uncensored, illicit book,” said O’Hearn, a University of British Columbia doctoral student and English instructor at Yukon College.

WHITEHORSE - Business Administration diploma students Jessica Dyck, Siearra Fries, and Erin Woods are heading to Montreal to compete in the Vanier College BDC Case Challenge February 7-9. They will be the first team from Yukon College to compete in what has become the most prestigious, national, collegiate level marketing case competition in the country, with 33 teams hailing from British Columbia to Newfoundland.

“We want to move the program beyond lecture-based classes and develop more experiential learning opportunities for our students. A competition such as this allows the students to put a combination of their management, economic, marketing and presentation skills and understanding to the test on real-world business cases,” said Christina Thomas, Chair of the School of Management, Tourism and Hospitality. “It is also an opportunity for the three to see how they stack up against other students from across the country.”

STRING THEORY

String Theory is a show of new work by students at the Yukon School of Visual Arts (SOVA) in Dawson City. The students were asked to develop projects that work with the concept of creative limitations.

Creative limitation is the practice of purposely restricting a process in some way (through limitations of time, materials, concept, etc) in order to find new and stronger solutions. In other words, what can you create when you are restricted to a set of specific parameters?

Students collectively chose a limited pallet of materials to work with: string, wax, ink, fur & watercolour, along with a single sheet of Stonehenge paper. Although each student was limited to using these—and only these materials—they were completely free to explore and experiment within that framework, and were unrestricted by theory, subject or form.

WHITEHORSE – Whitehorse City Council has been challenged. The senior management team at Yukon College has thrown the gauntlet down to the capital’s elected officials as preparations for the 2014 Community Challenge get underway.

“I think we have a strong team that brings experience from last year’s competition,” said Brian Bonia, team coach and Yukon College Director of Human Resources. “Mayor and Council may be able to out-talk us, but they certainly won’t out-wit or out-play us.”

However, Bonia’s bravado may be for nought, as Challenge veterans and reigning champions, Shay-Per Esthetics’ Beaver Cleavers, plan on a robust defence of their crown.

“We have a slight change in our team line-up, but I don’t think that will stop us from taking the win,” said Chantelle Morcombe, the Beaver Cleavers team captain. Morcombe believes it is their team’s advanced smoosh-boarding skills that have given them the edge two years in a row.

A balloon will be launched into space to kick off the third annual Research, Innovation and Commercialization (RIC) workshop.

Never before has a balloon risen above Whitehorse with a camera and GPS equipment to film the curvature of the Earth. In the spirit of innovation, Cold Climate Innovation (of the Yukon Research Centre) and YuKonstruct are inviting Yukoners to participate.

BALLOON LAUNCH:
What:    The balloon will be launched from outside of the Yukon Research Centre laboratory on the Yukon College campus.
When:   Thursday, January 30th, 2014 at 10am
Photo opportunity: a large balloon with cameras and GPS equipment will be held down by a team of people who will then release it into the sky.

The Yukon School of Visual Arts in Dawson City is pleased to announce Spring Hurlbut as our official SOVA Artist in Residence at KIAC’s Macaulay House.

Spring is an internationally acclaimed artist with a diverse and fascinating practice. She works with ideas of human mortality, ephemerality, collecting and multiples to produce breathtaking work.

For the past several years, Spring Hurlbut’s work has examined themes of life and death using motifs of stillness and motion. Her photography, installations, videos and sculptures, which use taxidermied animals, human remains and, most recently, ventriloquists’ dummies, confront us with our own mortality.

WHITEHORSE – Yukon College has named Margaret Dumkee as Dean of Applied Science and Management and Dr. Andrew Richardson as Dean of Applied Arts.

Dumkee joins the College after spending 15 years at Aurora College in Fort Smith, NWT, most recently as head of the Business Administration program. Richardson has been with Yukon College for eight years, most recently as Chair of Liberal Arts and acting Dean.

“Our new Deans represent the best of both worlds for Yukon College as we expand our activities and evolve as an institution,” said Dr. Deb Bartlette, Vice President Academic and Student Services. “Andrew’s institutional and local knowledge has informed his vision for the future of the College and Margaret comes to us with fresh eyes and different experiences - also important for leading us into our future. I am pleased to welcome them both to their new positions.  We have a very strong academic leadership team at the College.”

WHITEHORSE – The Yukon College Board of Governors has approved a 1.9% tuition fee increase to take effect for all credit courses beginning in September 2014.

The price of a course credit will go from $110 to $112. A full year of credit courses will increase by a maximum of $60 (for students taking 5 courses per semester).  Culinary Arts, Renewable Resource Management and Practical Nurse programs as well as Academic and Skill Development programs will see no tuition fee increase.

"We strive to ensure that the price of education at Yukon College does not exceed the lowest one third of comparable colleges in Western Canada, and this continues to be the case,” said Jennifer Moorlag, Registrar. “At the same time however, the fixed-costs of providing post-secondary education continue to rise."

WHITEHORSE – Registration has opened for girls in grades 5-7 for the 2014 All-Girls Science Club. Eight sessions will run bi-weekly on Saturday mornings at Yukon College from late January to May.

This year’s theme is the science of health. The club offers plenty of hands-on science experiments and fun activities relating to anatomy, epidemiology, occupational therapy, nutrition, blood typing, sports medicine and community health education. As well, interesting guests will speak about their careers in science.

“Research has shown that North American girls fall behind in science education not because of a lack of interest, but a lack of exposure,” said Lori LaRochelle, Science Adventures at Yukon College. “This program helps the girls to feel more capable and more welcome in the world of science, technology, engineering and math.”

WHITEHORSE- Community Services Minister Brad Cathers today announced $23,000 in funding support for the Primary Care Paramedic program at Yukon College. This one-time funding from the Government of Yukon has enabled College officials to reverse their decision to cancel the program and allows the seven students registered in the second intake of the PCP program to proceed with their training. Classes will begin in January 2014.

“The Yukon government is very pleased that this program will go ahead in January,” said Minister of Community Services Brad Cathers. “Our offer to assist was made based on our appreciation of how important this program is to the students who are working to develop their skills and knowledge, and our goal to encourage training of health professionals to serve Yukoners.”

For more information please contact Dan Anton at (867) 668-5258.