Your 6^th Roommate by Kacper Wardynski, Residence Advisor

There are many rules in the Residence Contract, and surely there are many ways to bend them, but if you keep reading I will let you in on how to break the most important rule:

3.21 Pets and Guide Animals

Residents are not permitted to keep pets or animals in the accommodation or on the  residence property, even temporarily.

There is one small exception to this rule, but please keep it a secret; you can have a pet in a container, as long as this is a kind of animal that will not survive outside the container.  The first thing that probably comes to mind is a fish. But fish are boring. They swim. They eat. That’s about it; unless your fish is a shark.  “Pet Sharks” as they are commonly known, are not real sharks, but fish in disguise.  They look like miniature sharks and can be purchased for roughly $10 at any pet store (not including the tank, but they’re freshwater fish so that won’t be too expensive).  Common species are Bala Sharks, Red Tailed Sharks and Black Sharks.

You might want to consider an Axolotl.  This aquatic critter looks like a mix of a newt and a Pokemon, and the albino breeds make good pets.  You just feed them some ground beef and salad, or to mix it up you can buy them mealworms or dried fruit. Care is fairly simple, feed and clean. Cleaning is fairly simple, pour out water and scrub the tank, but buying an automatic filtration system does most of that for you.

But if you’re the kind of person that’s too busy to invest time in the care of a pet but want to liven up your living room, get an aquatic snail.

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The University is participating in ShakeOut BC on October 20 at 10:20 a.m. and would like everyone on campus to practice “Drop, Cover and Hold” and learn what to do in the event of an earthquake.   ShakeOut BC is the largest earthquake drill in Canadian History. Earlier this year, more than 470,000 people participated in the first ShakeOut BC. The drill will be on the third Thursday of October annually.

Even though there haven’t been large earthquakes along the coast in recent years, small earthquakes happen often. More than 1,200 are recorded each year across the province.

For more information on how to participate in ShakeOut BC and emergency preparedness, visit www.riskmanagement.ubc.ca

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By Johanna Webber, Residence Life Manager

It’s great to see so many students using the new spaces in the Commonsblock.  Here are some updates for you about the space. Continue reading →

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by Roshni D’Souza

What kind of building can 37 million dollars buy you? The most sustainable, innovative and high performance building in North America also known as the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS). If you haven’t yet checked out this gem at UBC, there is no better time than the present. Continue reading →

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The cold and flu season is almost upon us again.  A 2008 UBC health survey found that 33% of students felt colds and flus impacted their academics.  Did you know there are many things you can do to stay healthy during this time of year?  The influenza vaccine is the best way to prevent the flu and UBC Student Health Service offers influenza vaccine clinics every November.  There might be a cost to the vaccine for those who are healthy, but your UBC student plan provides $150.00 vaccine coverage yearly.  It is also important to get adequate sleep, eat healthfully, wash your hands and stay home when ill, especially when you have a fever.  If you don’t have a thermometer, pick one up the next time you are at a pharmacy.  For more information about influenza check-out Health Link BC.

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