📣 Open Letter to College & University Students

Dear Students,

Every generation faces a defining crisis. For ours, it is the housing and homelessness emergency — and it is happening now, on our streets, in our classrooms, and in the lives of classmates who are struggling to find a safe place to sleep. 🏘️💔

Many of you are juggling classes, jobs, rent, and the stress of unstable housing. Some are couch-surfing, living in cars, or relying on food banks while trying to keep up with studies. This is not a private hardship — it is a systemic crisis that affects mental health, academic success, and future opportunity.

We ask you to act. Encourage your instructors, departments, and student unions to turn the focus of coursework, research, and projects toward housing justice and homelessness solutions. If tuition pays for learning and research, why not direct that investment toward real, practical change?

• Can your assignments or group projects address local housing issues? 📝
• Can classes partner with community organizations supporting people without housing? 🤝
• Can your student union push the university to fund practical, on-campus solutions (tiny homes pilot projects, emergency student housing funds, applied research collaborations)? 🏗️

Imagine architecture studios designing affordable prototype housing. Imagine engineering courses building low-cost, energy-efficient shelter models. Imagine social work, public health, economics, and law students testing policies and offering real assistance. Your classroom can be a lab for change — not just a place to write papers.

You are paying tuition to learn. Let that investment do double duty: educate you and help the communities you live in. If we fail to solve the housing crisis, every other goal — climate action, health equity, economic fairness — becomes harder to reach.

The time to act is now. Start conversations in lectures, seminars, clubs, and student government. Demand that housing justice becomes a cornerstone of campus learning. Together, students can turn campuses into engines of hope, fairness, and lasting change. ✊🏽🏫🌍

In solidarity,
Tina Winterlik
aka Zipolita 💜

Dear Educators: This Is Not Education — This Is Exploitation

 Dear Educators, Politicians, and Anyone Listening,

It’s time we speak the truth.

The education system in British Columbia — and much of Canada — has lost its way. What was once meant to be a path to empowerment has become a money machine. A machine that eats up the dreams of international students, overburdens local families, and spits out people in debt, desperate, and discarded.

This is UNACCEPTABLE.

Let’s start with the foreign student pipeline:
Private institutions — often disguised as “universities” — are pumping out overpriced, low-value diplomas to international students who are sold a dream. They’re told: “Come to Canada, study here, get a great job, stay forever.” But what they actually get is crushing debt, low-wage survival jobs, and sometimes exploitation.

Many end up in security roles or delivery apps — barely surviving, not thriving.

Meanwhile, the system profits off them. These institutions are not built for learning. They are built for extracting cash and feeding immigration loopholes.

And let’s talk about those of us born and raised here:
We can’t get home care for our elders.
We can’t access child support or affordable housing.
We can’t afford retraining unless we go into debt, and even then, it’s for jobs that don’t even exist anymore.

And what about caregivers, mental health workers, addiction support, and housing specialists? Where are those training programs?
They exist — if you can pay thousands.

How is it that in a province with a massive housing and mental health crisis, we’re not teaching students how to deal with Alzheimer’s, autism, fentanyl recovery, or community gardening?

Instead, we push coding and business diplomas — things people don’t even want or need, just because they look good on paper or attract tuition money.

This is a betrayal.
A betrayal of the values education is supposed to stand for.

And let’s not forget — this is the same education system with a dark, violent history. Residential schools. Colonial erasure. Generations of trauma.
We haven’t even fully apologized, and already we’re building new systems of harm, wrapped in glossy brochures and fake success stories.

---

We need a New BC.

A BC where:

• Education is about care, healing, resilience, and community.
• Students — local and international — are treated with dignity, not as walking tuition fees.
• Teachers are empowered to teach what really matters: mental health, elder care, food security, conflict resolution, and life skills.
• Learning is free or affordable and accessible to all ages, not just the lucky or the wealthy.
• We train people to protect life, not enforce authority. No more six-figure transit cops ticketing the poor. No more newcomers forced into roles of punishment and surveillance.

---

This is a call-out — and a call-in.

To the educators: We need you to speak up.
To the policymakers: We need you to listen and act.
To the people: It’s time to demand a system that serves the public, not profits from it.

Education should never be a trap.
It should be a bridge — to purpose, to healing, to community.

We can still build that bridge. But only if we stop lying to ourselves about what we’ve become.

New BC starts here.
New education starts now.

— Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

A Bus Stop, A Chocolate, and A Crisis in Vancouver

 Yesterday at the bus stop, I saw a glimpse of two very different Canadas. One full of hope, one full of despair. One that welcomes newcomers with opportunities, and one that leaves its own people dying on the streets.

It started with a missed bus. Frustrated, I decided to walk to the next stop rather than wait 15 minutes. My bag was heavy, or I might have walked farther. When I got there, a man was sitting on the bench. I checked my phone and told him the next bus was in seven minutes.

He thanked me and gave me a little piece of chocolate. A simple gesture of kindness.

I tried to guess his language—Russian? No, he spoke French and Arabic. We chatted, and I told him about my winters in Mexico, how I haven’t been able to go back this year. He told me about Spain, a country he’s visited every year for the past two decades. We talked about his children—one in Dubai, one here in Canada. He’s only been here three years, working toward Permanent Residency.

And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man at the bus stop struggling. He was about to pull his pants down right there, on Burrard Street. My first thought was to call 911, but then I realized—he wasn’t just some drunk guy causing a scene. He was deeply addicted, desperate, and trying to get to the hospital for his medication.

It was horrifying. A man in the heart of Vancouver, in broad daylight, so sick that he couldn’t even control his body.

The man I was speaking to looked on in shock. “You never see that in my country,” he said.

I told him: “You didn’t used to see this here either. Not until about six years ago. But Big Pharma got everyone hooked, and now 14,000 people have died—just in BC.”

He had no idea.

I told him the number for all of Canada: 50,000.

He was stunned. And yet, the suffering continued right in front of us. The man in crisis got on our bus, struggling, sick, fighting for survival in a city where people rushed past, eyes averted, pretending not to see.

The man I spoke with still loves Canada. He sees opportunity, security, a new home. But I see something else. I see a system that’s been gutted, a city where locals can’t afford to live, where people are stepping over bodies on the sidewalk while celebrating hockey games, concerts, and international events.

I used to say, “Good for you!” when people told me they were getting their PR. I don’t say that anymore. Not when so many are losing their jobs, their homes, their dignity.

Is there hope? I don’t know. But yesterday, at that bus stop, I saw the two Canadas collide. And I don’t know how much longer they can exist side by side before something breaks completely.

The Human Cost of Transit Fares and Enforcement

 The Human Cost of Transit Fares and Enforcement

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the current state of public transit in Metro Vancouver, particularly the high cost of fares, punitive fines, and the increased enforcement measures targeting vulnerable populations.

What happened on the bus today was deeply disturbing. Four transit police officers boarded the bus at one stop and began checking everyone's passes. I’ve experienced similar situations in Mexico, where it’s normal for police to board long-distance buses and ask for passports. I was prepared for that there because I understood the context and purpose. But in Canada, this level of enforcement feels alarming and out of place.

I spoke with a young student who shared her own struggles. She’s been here only two years, working toward an Associate of Arts degree at a college near Metrotown. She told me about the enforcement that has been happening for the last six months, about the steep fines, and how difficult it is to afford the $200 monthly transit pass from Surrey to Vancouver. She’s just one example of so many who are being impacted by these policies.

Public transit was never meant to be a tool of punishment—it was designed to connect communities, provide opportunities, and ensure accessibility for all. Yet today, it has become a source of stress and danger for low-income individuals, students, and vulnerable groups.

Imagine the consequences: women and other vulnerable individuals being forced into unsafe situations because they cannot afford to get to work or school. Imagine someone you care about—a daughter, a brother, a mother—unable to pay a fine or afford transit. This is not a hypothetical scenario; it is the daily reality for many people.

Meanwhile, we see massive construction projects and "big plans" for transit expansion, but little thought seems to be given to the human cost. Public transit should be funded by those who can afford it—through higher taxes on billionaires and corporations that benefit from the infrastructure—rather than placing the burden on those already struggling.

History has shown us the consequences of ignoring vulnerable populations. The recent installation of cell phone services along the Highway of Tears is a tragic acknowledgment of the dangers faced by those without access to safe transportation. We cannot allow our urban transit system to create similar risks for people who simply can’t afford to pay.

I urge you to reconsider the current fare structure and enforcement policies. Consider eliminating fares altogether and funding transit through equitable taxation. Transit should be a public good that serves everyone, not a system that penalizes poverty.

The inventors and visionaries behind Expo 86 never imagined a transit system that would punish impoverished people. They envisioned a future of connectivity, opportunity, and progress. It’s time to live up to that vision.

Sincerely,

Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita 

Teachers Federation of BC Wins in Supreme Court!!!

HURRAY!! I AM STUNNED! JUSTICE!!

I am so tired, yesterday, well for the last two days I was been building a website, with social media an photography for my new friend Maggie. We met at Langara College, she was in the lobby selling hand-made soaps. I love hand made soap and seeing the name of the soap I felt an instant connection. Angel Silk and Suds and my kid's name is Angel. http://angelsilknsuds.blogspot.ca/
I just felt the universe was telling me something...so I listened.

And the universe was obviously telling that Supreme Court something and thank goodness for the sake of all the kids, teachers, parents they listened.

What's been going on in this province for the entire life of my child has been insanity.

BCTF wins Supreme Court battle over class size and composition
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bctf-wins-supreme-court-battle-over-class-size-and-composition-1.3845620

"After 14 years of acrimony, after 14 years of disrespecting classrooms, the end of the road is here for Christy Clark and her disrespecting classrooms," said Horgan.


"The ongoing dispute dates back to 2002, when the province used legislation to strip teachers of their right to bargain class size and composition. The union says the province will now have to provide resources for class size and composition that date back to levels from when the legal dispute began"

It was obvious in the first year my kid attended, in Kindergarten she had 4 teachers, we moved but still 4, 2 in Nelson, 2 in Vancouver.

I home-schooled her for Grades 1, 2, 3, half of Grade 4 and half or grade 5
When I put her back in she had some great teachers for grades 4, 5, and 6 but...  

In the 7th grade she had 16 teachers.    

NO! I can hear you say! WHAT! It's true, one teacher was off sick, she never came back and they kept putting in substitutes, teacher would stay, leave, more substitutes, teacher would come, move, more substitutes. We counted. I do you think my kid learned good things that year. She saw a lot of misbehaviour I will tell you and she saw the stress on the teachers and well it was enough to want me to pull her out and never put her back.

But she insisted she wanted to go to Grade 8....now she's in Grade 9. But I don't think she's learning the stuff she needs, a lot is really dated and they don't even cover First Nations Issues until Grade 10 I am told. They are not teaching important things about Unceded Territories and Treaties and the truth about Canada's origins and truth of what has happened in the last 150 years.

It's all one sided because the text books are old and there had been no money for so long.  The system is really a mess and Christy Clark is to blame for that. She is a big bully and she caused so much of this grief.

This was my daughter's experience after the first day of Grade 1. I pulled her out. I had been planning to take her to Mexico but this was the catalyst, who gives a kid a time out on the first day of Grade one. Obviously a super stressed out teacher that shouldn't be teaching.

I let Angel do the video to sort of de-brief her and help her express what she wanted to tell that teacher. My video battery was low so the second doesn't say everything...but you get the drift. The teacher asked "Anyone have any news " and from outside the door I heard silence. I knew something was really wrong because Angel would definitely have spoken up. 







I have been blogging about this stuff for such a long time, it will be nice to see something happen for my kid's last years of  high school and for other people's children and for the Teachers, and Teacher's Aids this is huge!!
https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.ca/2011/04/change-education-system.html?m=0




Because our children are our future and when you send your kid off to be taught by strangers for 7 hours a day, you want that person to be happy and well-adjusted, that they have slept well and and that they are not super over stressed, tired and cranky or not with it and not caring because they are overwhelmed because there are just too many kids and to many problems to deal with.



and when there are huge problems with bullying in our society
http://iheartattawapiskat.blogspot.ca/2016/04/lets-talk-about-bullying.html

 and the entire Vancouver School Board gets fired because of it.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/b-c-fires-vancouver-school-board-after-investigation-into-bullying-budget-1.3118658

and the Premiere of the province Christy Clark engages in bullying and it's well documented
https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.ca/2016/03/bully-christy-clark-laughs-at-plight-of.html
https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.ca/2016/02/mental-health-professionals-to-remove-cc.html

how in the world do we deal with things and not turn into what has just happened in the US with Trump becoming president. We don't want to go there....  https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.ca/2016/11/the-fall-of-wall-of-shame-heroes-1989.html

The education system of  BC has some really evil beginnings with the Residential Schools and the legacy is living on and the only way to counter act it is to have great teachers with smaller class sizes where children can really be heard and learn in a healthy situation.

I have learned so much since I have started my Reconciliation Carving Course.
https://mylangaratrccarvingjourney.blogspot.ca/  

It hasn't been easy, I will admit and sometimes I wondered why in the world am I putting myself through it, but I am getting through and I believe I will do something good. That something really wonderful will come from it. I have a super kind instructor Aaron Nelson Moody and there's Dr. Justin Wilson and he really cares about us all so much, there's a wonderful elder Shane Pointe that hates to be called elder...so I will call him Wise One and they all care about us so much, they care about all the indigenous and non-indigenous and together we are going through and Apocalypse. Ha! Ha!

That's Shane's word.  "Apocalypse"   Do you know what that really means, everyone thinks it means war or the end of the world but it actually means the "disclosure of  knowledge"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse 

Wow, so grateful to have found this video today. We are not in our Reconciliation Carving Class today because it's Remembrance Day so to find this video brought great comfort to me. We are so blessed to have Shane Pointe come to our class each week. He is so kind and his wisdom had brought us great strength and while we deal with very serious issues he sheds light on so many things but always encourages to "have fun!! "  Love this man!!  



“My goal,” says Pointe “Is to build cultural awareness through teachable moments, using language, culture and ceremony to enhance the life of students.”

https://www.vsb.bc.ca/district-news/shane-pointe-appointed-vsb-knowledge-keeperelder-residence

About Shane Pointe

Shane Pointe is from the Point family and is a proud member of the Musqueam and Coast Salish people. He is a highly respected Musqueam community member, ceremonial traditional speaker and cultural educator. He provides protocol and ceremonial guidance for many cultural events – locally, nationally and internationally. 

He has worked in various capacities such as: Aboriginal Support Worker (AEEW VSB), Trial Support Coordinator for the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, Native Alcohol and Drug Awareness Program worker with the Musqueam Indian Band, in the Longhouse Leadership Program at the First Nations House of Learning (University of British Columbia), and most recently providing support to the Aboriginal Mothers Centre.

Art and Bio of Shane Pointe
http://www.authenticindigenous.com/artists/shane-pointe 

The Apocalypse is upon us, what opportunities we incur is up to us. The world is our oyster. 
The children are our future.

The time of transformation is upon us. How will the education system be transform we must wait and see. I believe there must be a lot of art  

Title: Tail of Tears
Media: Oil on Canvas
Size: 30" × 40"
Artist: Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

The water drops represent the tears of all Residential School Children, their parent's tears and my tears having read and learned their terrible fate. I was reading The Survivors Speak and crying while I painted them.

 https://mylangaratrccarvingjourney.blogspot.ca/2016/10/tail-of-tears-painting.html

Photography by Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita © 2016

and get the communities involved like this
 UNYA- Lattimer Gallery- Annual Bentwood Box Charity
and we need to start learning the languages 

One thing I hope that they encourage is for everyone to learn the truth and to learn about their ancestry. So much has been hidden and if we find out who we are and who our relations are, we will find we are all related and that in itself will bring us together.  I have learned so much since I started this course about who my family was and I have alot more to discover. https://mylangaratrccarvingjourney.blogspot.ca/2016/11/enos-poirier-ancestry-kalapuya-iroquois.html  

And we need to teach the children to find their voices and speak up for the environment like in Standing Rock and to protect our Coast.  #SaveMyCoast  http://savemycoast.blogspot.ca/

and like this 

The Survivor's Totem Pole - Pigeon Park- DTES

A Survivor's Totem Pole raised by communities struggling for justice and dignity in the Downtown Eastside since colonization, it honours First Nations, LGBTQ, Japanese, Chinese and South Asian survivors of racism and injustice

On Nov 5 2016, a historic moment in time occurred. Here are some of the interviews and photos and videos I created to document this, so that it can live on and never be forgotten.

https://mylangaratrccarvingjourney.blogspot.ca/2016/11/the-survivors-totem-pole-pigeon-park.html 


I hope that the education will encourage this. Now we will have to wait and see what happens but I am hopeful. This is all great news. I had a sign the other day. It was double rainbows. I believe in signs. 

And this Win for the BCTF in the Supreme Court is a sign of great things to come.

Related links
https://www.amazon.ca/Skwxwu7mesh-Snichim-Xweliten-Snichim-Squamish-English-Dictionary/dp/0295990228

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squamish_language 

https://mylangaratrccarvingjourney.blogspot.ca/2016/10/rattles-song-prayers-peace-standing-rock.html  

https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.ca/2016/11/rememberpeople-died-and-are-dying-for.html




 

Everything is Going to Be Alright! Share This!

A mental health awareness video created by Amelia Curran and friends.
You are not alone.
Directed by Roger Maunder
www.thisvideo.ca

What's Happening in Mexico- Spread the Word!

We want it to STOP RIGHT NOW!!



http://educaoaxaca.org/la-minuta/1436-denuncian-allanamiento-de-casa-de-defensora-de-los-dh-silvia-gabriela-hern%C3%A1ndez.html#titulo6

 https://www.tumblr.com/search/JusticeForAyotzinapa
https://twitter.com/hashtag/justiceforayotzinapa

See more photos here https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Ayotzinapa&src=hash&mode=photos

Stop, Breathe and Think App- LET'S SHARE and get it out there!!

Blog post by Tina Winterlik © 2013
zipolita@gmail.com
http://zipolitazstudioz.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/#!/zipolita @zipolita
http://gplus.to/zipolita Google+


Here's a brilliant idea and very inspiring since I am learning how to build apps!!

Tools for Peace™ teaches people of all ages how to develop and apply kindness and compassion in their daily lives.

MINDFULNESS • MEDITATION • COMPASSION-IN-ACTION

We accomplish our mission by:

• Providing a friendly and accessible curriculum and courses (in-person and online) for those looking for practical methods to cultivate compassion and live more inspired, connected lives;

• Promoting positive and concrete skill development for young people through our Stop, Breathe & Think curriculum, in-school programs and mobile app;

• Facilitating retreats for youth and adults to teach practices of mindfulness and the capacities that support social and emotional intelligence as well as academic and professional success.

It's Free, so let's get it out there!!!





Tools for Peace (TFP) teaches people of all ages how to develop and apply kindness and compassion in their daily lives. Founded in 2000, Tools for Peace is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to strengthening and supporting emotional and social intelligence as well as academic and professional success. TFP has partnered with over 20 organizations, universities, and schools.Through our middle and high-school programs and Annual Teen Camp, TFP has served over 2,500 youth with instruction and enrichment activities in underserved and underrepresented

http://toolsforpeace.org/

Pots & Pans Protests!

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Blog post by Tina Winterlik © 2012
tina_winterlik@yahoo.com
http://tinawinterlik.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/#!/zipolita @zipolita
http://gplus.to/zipolita Google+



I've been seeing alot of interesting media reports coming out of Quebec. This video really peaked my interest. I'm not condoning any violence but I am sure proud of all the people coming together to support radical bills and unfairness. The education system is just a money making racket that leaves people with huge debt and it's good that people recognise it and stand up for their rights!



Related Links

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/05/26/montreal-classe-student-protests-bill-78.html
http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/news/

Dark Days are Over- Get Out & Vote

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Blog post by Tina Winterlik © 2011

http://tinawinterlik.blogspot.com

These are all so great, I have to post them.

Rebuilding My Blogs in Websites

So something Super Cool Happened last night about this time. A musician I know needed a website, but cash is tight and so I told him I would build him a blog instead. 

He liked it, at first, but then said he needed something clean and easy for clients to find his info, as he has a lot of experience, plays with alot of different bands and has different bios, etc.

I told him what he was describing was a website and if that's what he wanted he'd have to pay the webhosting fees,(we're bartering a blog in exchange for drum lessons for my daughter) but I told him I could try to build him something with the pages feature on Blogger.

Well a Miracle happened. A real Break Through, for me anyways, because I don't know if anyone else is doing it. I haven't heard of it if they are. Anyways, here is my new website for Tina'z Social Media Workshop http://tinazsocialmediaworkshop.blogspot.com  I think it's really great! I am really happy with the results.

Before-Tina'z Social Media Workshop- Blog

After-Tina'z Social Media Workshop- Blog- Now A Website

Anyways I created the website/blog for the musician and another for client who was having a hard time getting the right personel at his school to give him the info he need to upload his site to the server.

We've been waiting months to upload it, so tonight I just turned the blog I originally created as part of his website, into his website and now he's online.

I'll show you both these sites in bit after the clients have had a chance to look at them and they are totally fine tuned. 

I still have lots of info to add to Tina'z Social Media Workshop, but I added a Job board today and I'll get it all done soon but wanted to take care of my clients first.

So just wanted to warn you there are some major facelifts coming to my blogs so Stay Tuned!! And be patience if they happen to act weird as I may be working on it as your viewing it. So your patience is REALLY APPRECIATED. 

Okay thanks for reading. Have great night. I better get to bed, I was falling asleep typing a few minutes ago. :) Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

** Just a little note, isn't amazing this happened after two things, I watched the video Forgiveness is a Gift Video ( a couple of times)  (and really tried to put into practice what it said)  and I posted the Pay It Forward -Video.  I really feel like I was blessed with this knowledge in response to the positive energy that is flowing right now with all the sharing of wonderful videos and info from Four Years. Go and so many other amazing videos I am seeing and sharing. I really feel so truly blessed right now. Thank you Universe, God and all the positive energies and everyone for sharing you positive energy with me. I truly do appreciate it!

$25,000 Science Scholarship

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Blog post by Tina Winterlik © 2011

http://tinawinterlik.blogspot.com

Choose Science- Go Far

http://www.youtube.com/yearofsciencebc
Contest Rules
https://sites.google.com/site/yearofsciencebc/

1. CONTEST OVERVIEW:

1.1 Each entry to the Contest must consist of a video containing your child’s or legal ward’s (“the Child”) idea for a science experiment to be conducted by British Columbia scientists (the “Entry”). The Entry must not (a) contain more than one Child and (b) be longer than 90 seconds in length.

1.2 The Contest consists of the following two phases:
(a) The first phase begins at 1:00 p.m. PST, November 1, 2010 and closes at 11:59 p.m. PST April
15, 2011 (the “Submission Period”). During the Submission Period, individuals may submit one
or more online Entries. Each individual for which at least one Entry has been submitted during
the Submission Period will be eligible to win prizes, as further described below.

(b) The second phase begins at 6:00 p.m. PST, November 15, 2010 and closes at 11:59 p.m. PST
May 31, 2011 (the “Panel Judging Period”). During the Panel Judging Period, a panel made up
of three members of British Columbia’s science community (the “Judging Panel”) will view the
Entries submitted during the Submission Period and will choose:

i. one winner each month for the months of November 2010 to May 2011 inclusive,
excluding December 2010 (the “Monthly Prize Winners”); and
from the Monthly Prize Winners, one grand prize winner (the “Grand Prize
Winner”) on or before June 30, 2011.

ii. Only those Entries received during the Submission Period will be considered by the Judging Panel. The Monthly Prize Winners and Grand Prize Winners will be awarded prizes as further described in sections 6 below. The Submission Period and the Panel Judging Period are collectively referred to as the “Contest Period”.