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Good marketing is good, says UBCO professor

KELOWNA – A UBC Okanagan marketing professor says Starbucks' successful and controversial red cup campaign was good marketing. Assistant Professor Eric Li said in a news release that attention to a product is actually good for sales. He also claims the anti-Starbucks Facebook video, uploaded by an American evangelist four days after the release of...

UBC Okanagan students arrange free tuition for two refugees from Syria

KELOWNA – The UBC Okanagan Student Union are finalizing a deal with the administration to provide free education for two young refugees who came to Kelowna from Syria. Student Union vice president of finance Ryan Kaila says the deal is still being finalized with administration, but he hopes to see it happen soon. "We met...

UBCO students hold moment of silence for victims of world tragedies

KELOWNA - Students at UBC Okanagan held a moment of silence Wednesday, as a way to bring attention to the number of tragedies that have happened around the world this month. The day started at noon and included talks by representatives from several cultural clubs on campus. It was organized by Ryan Kaila, who wanted to...

UBC Okanagan students okay with pricier transit pass

KELOWNA – Students at UBC Okanagan approved an increases rate for the universal transit U-Pass during a referendum this week. The cost of the U-Pass is included with tuition and will cost students $63 per semester. The last time the rate was raised was 2011. U-Pass is a special universal transit pass allowing for a...

Liquor store faces little opposition in UBCO neighbourhood

KELOWNA - Imagine, if you will, an application to open a liquor store in Kelowna that faced little opposition from local neighbours and in fact, will likely be warmly embraced when it finally does open. That’s because the neighbours in the building on Academy Way where the liquor store will be located are by and...

Local prejudice against Muslims tackled at UBCO

'IF WE DON'T SPEAK ABOUT THESE ISSUES... WE START DEVELOPING ALL THESE MISCONCEPTIONS.' KELOWNA - A UBC Okanagan graduate is organizing a forum on campus to address some of the misconceptions about his religion that are clearly still a problem in Kelowna. Adnan Akiel Ahmad Bhat holds a masters in electrical engineering from the Okanagan...

UBCO professor helps discover new species of giant tortoise

KELOWNA – A UBC Okanagan professor was part of an international research team that discovered a new species of giant tortoise on an island in the Galapagos Archipelago. The new species, now called the Eastern Santa Cruz tortoise, is so physically similar to its cousin that it took genetic testing to identify it as distinct...

Zombies to take over entire UBCO building

KELOWNA – An entire building at UBC Okanagan will be transformed into a zombie-filled nightmare at the Asian Student Association’s Haunted House next Friday. The second annual haunted house is organized by the president of the Association Peter Teng with help from the UBCO student union and the UBCO residency advisors. UBCO student union vice...

ELECTION 2015: We could do way more to help youth vote, says UBCO professor

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - A local professor who conducted his own youth voting campaign thinks we could do a lot more to get young people into a voting booth. “I had students on the last day asking about how they can vote back home. A lot of students don’t live here, their home address is somewhere...

Dying Nsyilxcn language given new life in classroom

OKANAGAN - Reviving an endangered language is a daunting task but Syilx Language House is going to try to do just that with Nsyilxcn, the Okanagan language. Thirteen beginning students have signed on with five co-teachers, who are also students. Lead teacher Michele Johnson says in a media release there are fewer than 100 fluent...

UBCO students launch first campus radio show in the Okanagan

KELOWNA - The Okanagan’s first college radio station doesn’t have a broadcast tower or FM licence, but they are attracting the attention of musicians and listeners across the valley. Heatwave Radio launched online only three weeks ago. Still in the beta stage, they're not worrying too much about their analytics and they don’t really know...

UBCO student brings campus cultural clubs together for first ever Harmony banquet

KELOWNA – It's unusual for Ryan Kaila to walk into a room at UBC Okanagan and not know anyone. "I consider myself a pretty well-known person around campus,” he says. “But I walked into this cultural club event and I didn't know a single person there. I noticed that all of these groups get the...

Solving Brains and Brawn puzzle means teamwork

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Grey matter and lean muscle mass — you need some of both to succeed in this world. That’s the message behind Brains and Brawn, a new event at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus which pits teams of two against a puzzle that leans on your muscles and your mind. “People...

Kelowna’s underground water source showing signs of stress

KELOWNA - A UBC Okanagan hydrogeologist says the huge Rutland aquifer running under Kelowna, which is the water source for thousands of residents, is showing signs of stress. And that means it’s time for a well-designed technical management plan of both ground and surface water sources in the Central Okanagan, Dr. Craig Nichol says, pointing...

Adventure Club to headline UBCO Frosh party Friday

KELOWNA – To celebrate the start of another school year the University of B.C. Student Union is holding their annual Frosh Concert this Friday, Sept. 18. With artists like Adventure Club and Big Data performing, tickets to the outdoor concert are expected to sell out soon, according to the UBCSUO Facebook page. Last year Canadian...

More than 30,000 Kelowna students find their seats this week

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Thousands of students found their way to new classrooms this week as school resumed at all levels. UBC Okanagan says some 8,400 students began classes this week, while several thousand more started at Okanagan College and another 22,000 started grade school in the Central Okanagan School District. In a press release, UBCO says...

Crush of students puts the pressure on Kelowna Transit

KELOWNA - They’re not yellow but considering how many students they carry, regular transit buses could almost be considered school buses. Jerry Dombowsky, the City of Kelowna’s regional programs manager with responsiblity for transit, says moving students is a big part of what Kelowna Regional Transit does. "Students of all ages make up a significant...

Bird book inspired by UBCO’s bio-diversity

KELOWNA - If you’re looking for hot chicks, look no further than the Birds of the UBC Okanagan Campus 2016 calendar. Produced by biologists, the annual calendar features some of the birds that can be found on the school’s campus. Photographers this year ranged across the entire 209 hectares of campus grounds and includes bluebirds,...

UBC Okanagan seeks change to firearms bylaw to set up ballistics testing lab

KELOWNA - UBC Okanagan and one of its research partners Helios Global Technologies, is looking to set up a ballistics lab in the commercial zone across from Kelowna International Airport. To that end, they are seeking a revision to the city’s firearms bylaw which would exempt ballistics testing within city limits. UBCO spokesman Bud Mortensen...

Study at UBC Okanagan seeks breast cancer survivors

OKANAGAN - A researcher from UBC Okanagan is hoping to find survivors of breast cancer for a study on the effects of increasing physical exercise after treatment and rehabilitation. Cristina Caperchione, an assistant professor with the School of Health and Exercise Sciences, is leading ProjectMOVE which has secured a $200,000 research grant from the Canadian...

Kelowna student association hosting vigil for Nepal

KELOWNA - Nepalese students in Kelowna are joining hands to honour the thousands of people who lost their lives when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal last weekend. The Nepalese Scholars’ Association of the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus will be hosting a candlelight vigil to raise awareness and funds for the Red Cross this...