Wrapping up the UBC news story

12/6/2019

We all agree Seismic Upgrading of schools should be a priority for the Provincial Government and the VSB so the conversation that followed the publication of a UBC Earthquake Risk Perception study reminded the public that many schools are still at risk. The area of contention for Tennyson families is that they used a picture of our school for their study and news release.

In addition to M Roch and the VSB's huge effort to persuade the researchers and UBC media department to use another image, the PAC Executive also contacted the UBC media department on behalf of Tennyson parents. We asked the media relations officer to remove the image and he agreed to take down the picture of the intact school from their website to make it less recognizable. He also assured us that he would not be naming the school if media outlets requested. Unfortunately, it was too late and the images had already been released to the media.

The PAC Executive was only contacted by the Vancouver Sun/Province for comment and we released the following statement:

We believe all students deserve to study in safe buildings, and urge the VSB and Provincial Government to continue its seismic projects with urgency. Lord Tennyson will be moving into a newly constructed, seismically up-graded building this summer, and images, like the post-disaster image of our school used in this study, have only caused distress and anxiety in our community.

The VSB has already clearly expressed their unhappiness with the use of the image in the media releases. If you would like the PAC to also send a letter expressing our displeasure then please leave a comment below or email us. If 20 people or more comment or email we will go ahead.

UPDATE December 13 2019: We received 3 comments to the blog post and 3 emails so will let the matter rest.

4 Comments

Anita Seiz

12/8/2019 06:55:06 pm

Yes - following up is important. If only in hopes to change procedures in the future and prevent this happening again.

Cheryl Lee

12/8/2019 09:03:16 pm

I am in favour of the PAC sending a follow up letter!

Amy Han

12/9/2019 10:15:19 am

I hope I'm not the only one who don't mind the Tennyson photo being seen, by adults of course. I really don't think this is an issue of privacy, because the issue this photo represents is way bigger, and way more dangerous than that. The people who created the image did not intend to distress Tennyson families, at least, no more than all BC families whose children are going to hazardous school buildings everyday.

I did a bit of information hunt a couple of years ago when I tried to figure out the condition the school building during an earthquake situation. The province did a study on every school building and Tennyson building is listed as H1 (the highest hazardous level). The photo, as distressing as it is, matches with what I found in the report from the province, and is (still is, as of today) a very real possibility should there be a catastrophic earthquake in Vancouver. As a parent of two kids who just walk into this building this morning, I would rather understand the risks than burying my head in the sand and pretend it will not happen. (Statistically speaking the possibility of a cat 6+ earthquake -- we're not talking about "the big one", BTW -- is not super high in Vancouver, so that's the part I can bury my head in the sand for.) I applaud for photos like this, because I do think it can help shred some light on this very real issue. The seismic mitigation program has been going on for 20 years and only about 1/3 of the hazardous buildings in the province have completed the work. This is unacceptable in a place where you can't drive 30 minutes without seeing a massive development site, and a skyscraper can go up faster than a 3 level school. I do think they picked Tennyson for a good reason. It's not finished, so the possibility is very real. Yet we've still got a way better deal than the 248 schools that don't even have a start date. Had one of their pictures be picked, it'd truly would seem hopeless.

For provincial seismic mitigation program including a update made this month, you can go to https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/capital/seismic-mitigation
The priorities used to be listed as H1, H2, H3 system H1 being the most dangerous. But it looks like the most recent report no longer lists this information.

The report on Tennyson is called: Seismic Project Identification Report, Report No. SPIR-39-033 for Tennyson. You can request this from the province directly thanks to freedom of information act. Or message me for a copy.

Orla Sturgess

12/9/2019 02:04:33 pm

Hi Amy

Thank you for your comment. I think you make some very valid points and every one's opinion is appreciated.

Kind regards

Orla

Wrapping up the UBC news story

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