Olympic Cheers and Jeers
2010 Olympic survey tells all and gives students more than a classroom experience
This winter, the world came to Vancouver to celebrate the 2010 Olympic Games. And, proponents of the Games or not, residents were inevitably affected by the events. This fact was the basis for a survey that a group of TWU Anthropology students conducted, hoping that the information they gathered would provide future Olympic organizers with feedback on how VANOC could have better prepared their citizens for the Games. And already the City of Vancouver has taken note.
Professor of Anthropology, Claudia Launhardt, Ph.D., encourages her class to conduct such surveys, giving them practical experience to complement what they learn in the classroom. In October 2009, Launhardt’s 24 students asked 350 people from Metro Vancouver questions concerning the upcoming Games—specifically about their expectations and the impact the Olympics were having on their communities.
One of the goals of the survey, which was presented to the City of Vancouver Olympic Operations on November 30, 2009, was to find out if views and concerns about the Games differ from region to region. Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) played a big part in the survey.
First-year international studies student, Meredith Overmyer, heard East Side views of the Olympics firsthand.
The survey results revealed four major concerns that are consistent across geographical locations: traffic, the overall cost of the Games, tax hikes, and increased homelessness. Based on these concerns, the paper made several recommendations. In December 2009 one of the recommendations was adopted: the city of Vancouver hired 22 “binners”—people from the dtes to collect bottles during the Games. “This shows me that city and government employees really read and studied our report,” says Launhardt.
Despite the direct effects the Games have on dtes residents, she explains, they are a population that is normally not included nor invited to submit decisions regarding such events. “Residents in other areas of Metro Vancouver were consulted, but the people in the Downtown Eastside were left out of the process.”
For first-year environmental studies student Emma Hansen, the survey process was pivotal in her learning experience. Hansen says, “I never really thought about the Downtown Eastside’s view of things and I was just excited about the Games. It’s changed me to think about how all of this affects other people.”
Says Launhardt, “When we are talking about a unified society, we have to include the Downtown Eastside population. They are the ones who will be impacted that much more than those who live in the suburbs. Their challenges concerning homelessness and the costs of the Games will still be evident long after the festivities have come and gone.”
by Erin Mussolum '95
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