They are studying in various academic fields – business, communications, criminology, geography, interactive arts, sociology, world literature and international studies – and are now interning on the front lines of one of British Columbia’s most talked-about cities.
The Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association (BIA) has nine Simon Fraser University (SFU) co-op students working for it as part of a program that started back in 2005.
Downtown Surrey BIA manager Bonnie Burnside said the students are getting something of a trial by fire in a fast-growing city that is wrestling with major issues that include a lack of adequate public transportation and a high crime rate.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m throwing them into the deep end of a pool and hoping that they’ve got enough abilities to swim,” Burnside said.
“And sometimes it takes them a little bit longer to get to the edge of the pool and sometimes they just jump right in and they swim right away. And a lot of that has to do with their backgrounds and interests.”
The nine students, all in their late teens and early 20s, are working on a number of projects and initiatives including conducting the annual safety audit, creating a quarterly newsletter, developing a restaurant guide and crafting a campaign to fight homelessness.
Alex Dibnah, a fourth-year criminology student who was part of the co-op last summer, is also working on the BIA’s Business Connect program, aimed at boosting public safety in the area. She said her time with the Downtown Surrey BIA has prompted her to focus on developing a career in which she can help bridge the gap between the local community and its police force.
“It has definitely been eye-opening because we learn there is sometimes a disconnect about what you read in the media and crime,” Dibnah said.
“A bunch of the businesses that I spoke to said the things that people read about Surrey aren’t necessarily what is actually happening, and they want that to change.
“It kind of gave me a view of how we really do work together, and that’s really important for this area.”
The group also took a supporting role in the recent transit referendum, in which voters shot down a proposed Metro Vancouver tax that would have helped pay for transportation upgrades including light rail in Surrey.
Elizabeth Model, the Downtown Surrey BIA’s chief executive officer, was a prominent figure for the Yes side’s campaign, and the SFU co-op students got a first-hand look at politics in action.
A big component of the Yes campaign was a bid to reach out to commuting university students who depend on adequate public transportation service levels. Melissa Youds, a second-year business administration student who has been working on the Downtown Surrey BIA’s branding, marketing and social media, said the transit plebiscite’s outcome was not what she’d hoped for but added that it was interesting to be involved in the Yes campaign.
“Of course it was disappointing that it wasn’t passed,” Youds said.
“I myself attend SFU Surrey, and it’s very hard when I attend classes at SFU Burnaby to get up there. I wish transit was better. But we’re committed to continuing to work on the issue.”
