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16 The Chronicle November 21, 2006
CAMPUS NEWS
Poinsettia the Christmas plant
By Valene Nicholas
Chronicle Staff
Th e Mexican fl ame, Christmas
star or Noche Buena decorates shop
windows, dinner tables and homes
during the holidays.
Known to most as the poinsettia,
these red, pink, burgundy and white
plants originated in Mexico and
were introduced to the U.S. in 1825
by Joel Poinsett. Poinsett was the
fi rst U.S. ambassador in Mexico.
Th e plant with brightly coloured
leaves encircling tiny yellow bundles
of fl owers, caught on like wild
fi re, and is now the Christmas fl ower
in Canada and the U.S.
Each year Rekker’s Garden Centre
in Bowmanville grows 70,000 to
80,000 poinsettias in some of their
60 green houses.
“We start out with cuttings or
plugs in June,” said nursery manager
Lynn Roth.
Cuttings are shipped from Mexico
and nurtured by nursery workers
until the holidays.
Most of the plants are shipped
from Rekker’s to stores across On-
tario.
Proper care of poinsettias determines
their life span.
“Th ey can last for years and
Photo by Valene Nicholas
HOLIDAY PLANT: Behind nursery manager Lynn Roth are
poinsettias, the Christmas plant in Canada and the U.S.
years.” Roth said.
Th e actual fl ower stays in bloom
for about six weeks.
Poinsettias will fl ourish in bright
Friendships can last
or fade; not all are lost
By Tania Harris
Chronicle Staff
You were introduced to them as
a child. You played hopscotch on
the sidewalk, tag in the fi eld and
jumped rope together in the playground.
You shared secrets and
new experiences with each other,
building precious memories that
last a lifetime. But time has passed
and your childhood days are over.
Th ere is no more playtime and your
secrets are never revealed because
your childhood friend is not around
to hear them. Time brings change
and amongst these changes your
friendship was lost.
Many children and teenagers
believe that their friendships will
last forever, but the reality is many
childhood friends drift apart as they
grow older.
Friendships end for many reasons,
but most commonly because
of change, says Kelly Lumber, Oshawa
psychotherapist.
As people mature so do their interests,
which changes their priorities
and leads them down a diff erent
path than they originally planned.
In high school many teens begin
dating and spending more time
with their partner and less time with
their friends. A feeling of jealousy
and resentment develops resulting
in an abandoned friendship.
“We were inseparable before she
started dating him,” says Dionne
Bea, a fi rst-year Business Administration
student at Durham College.
“As soon as they got together
she stopped calling and I felt hurt.
She neglected me and betrayed our
friendship so I walked away from it
all.”
A change in geography can also
cause a friendship to end. After high
school many students go away to
college, sometimes moving to another
city, province or country. It
takes more eff ort to stay in touch
with friends.
Ruth Priester, a fi rst-year personal
support student at Durham,
moved to Oshawa from Holland
four years ago to be with her family.
She no longer communicates with
her friend because of the distance
between them.
“It’s weird to think about it because
we were so close. I guess we
aren’t friends anymore because we
haven’t talked for so long and I live
so far away,” says Priester.
“Generally speaking a friendship
remains intact if both parties
change in similar directions. If different
paths are taken then the
friendship most likely will be lost,”
says Lumbers.
Even though a friendship may
have been lost it does not mean it
is lost for good. Jane Henry, Peoples
Jewellers representative in the
Oshawa Centre, and Maryann Le-
Ronde met in September of 1974
at the age of 5. LeRonde was sitting
alone in the middle of a gray carpet,
looking down at her hands. She was
nervous to start school and scared of
her new surroundings. Her cheeks
were still wet from the tears that fell
when she let go of her mommy’s
hand moments earlier.
“Do you want my yellow crayon?”
asked a soft voice.
LeRonde looked up to see Henry,
a skinny little girl with big blue eyes
and blond pigtails held up with red
ribbons. Before LeRonde could answer,
Henry took LeRonde’s hand
and led her to a round wooden table
where they began to colour and
build a friendship.
Th eir friendship, however, was
not long lived. LeRonde moved
away at the age of 10, which separated
the two.
“I don’t remember her moving
away. It was like one day she just
disappeared and I always wondered
where she went,” says Henry.
But just because their friendship
had been lost didn’t mean they
couldn’t fi nd their way back to each
other. Henry had been working at a
jewelry store at the age of 20 when
she saw a familiar face. She took another
look. “Maryann,” Henry yelled.
Th e familiar face turned around and
sure enough it was Maryann Le-
Ronde, her childhood friend.
“It was fate that brought us back
together and who are we to argue
with that,” says Henry.
From that day on Henry and Le-
Ronde continued where they left
off , developing a strong friendship
while making lasting memories.
Th ere were, however, a few bumps
along the way.
“Friendships are not easy to
maintain but a separation can be
avoided by listening to your friend
and desiring the best for each other,”
says Lumbers.
However LeRonde and Henry,
couldn’t avoid another separation.
Th is time they didn’t separate because
of a move.
In March of 2000 at the age of 31,
Maryann LeRonde succumbed to
breast cancer.
“Her cheeks were wet just like
they were the fi rst time I saw her,”
says Henry. “I couldn’t do anything
except take her hand and keep holding
it until the end. I buried her with
what brought us together, a yellow
crayon.”
natural light, in temperatures under
22 degrees Celsius.
Th e plant needs to drink when
the soil surface is dry and excess
water should be removed 10 minutes
after watering.
“Th ey don’t like a drafty area,”
Roth said.
Poinsettias transform back to
their green leaves after winter. Th ey
can be planted outdoors for the
summer months and must return to
confi nement in September.
“Some people can’t do anything
to kill them,” said Florene Prins, Rekker’s
assistant offi ce clerk.
Even though care is simple, poinsettias
must be exposed to equal
amounts of light and dark.
In autumn for about eight to 10
weeks, poinsettias should be placed
12 hours in the dark and 12 hours in
sunlight.
A perfect spot for darkness is in a
closet, said Roth.
Since daylight hours in the winter
are almost equivalent to night
hours, poinsettias can remain in
one location.
Th e plants aren’t easy to kill, but
for many years myths have been
More jobs
during the
By Krystle Pereira
Chronicle Staff
When you shake your pockets
do you notice the sweet sound
of nothing? Well, that may soon
change. Along with the brightly
lit houses, fl uff y snow and merry
jingles of Christmas comes jobs.
Finding a job while struggling
to fi nish all last-minute assignments
and studying for exams
can be diffi cult.
But don’t frown for too long
because seasonal jobs are popping
up more quickly than most
would imagine.
Seasonal opportunities do
mean that once Christmas has
passed and the rush is over, your
contract ends, but they are a perfect
way to earn some extra cash,
gain more experience, and with
some employers, if you do a good
job they may consider keeping
you after the holidays.
Eileen Ozanick, service co-ordinator
of Advantage Personnel
in Ajax, suggests that students
start applying for seasonal jobs in
September, but if you haven’t as
yet, don’t panic.
A lot of stores accept resumes
in September, but some don’t
start hiring until November, especially
those with a tight budget
who don’t want the extra staff too
soon.
Ozanick mentioned that although
seasonal jobs appear
frequently, the extra eff ort is
still needed in order to have a
fl oating around that poinsettias
are lethal to children and pets that
munch on them.
Roth said the rumours are false.
Rekker’s has a cat and with thousands
of poinsettias hanging around,
the cat has never become ill.
“Th ey can get sick from ingesting
the white sap,” Roth said, but she
also stated that a child or pet would
have to eat piles of the plants to be
aff ected.
Th e sap from broken stems and
leaves is bitter to taste, so snackers
would soon learn not to eat them.
Even though these plants are not
poisonous, Rekker’s recommends
their customers keep poinsettias
and any plant in a safe area away
from little hands and paws.
Poinsettias come in four diff erent
heights ranging from four to 12
inches.
A stubby red fl ower may be perfect
as a centerpiece for Christmas
dinner, or an elaborate tall fl ame
may do the trick in livening up a
hallway.
Whatever the spot, a pot of poinsettias
brightens any home during
the holidays.
holiday season
chance.
“People have to consistently
do a run of dropping off resumes
every week,” Ozanick said. “Pick
stores and keep dropping off resumes.
Check in with the manager.
It is hard but you can’t fi nd
a job after only dropping off one
resume.”
Advantage Personnel doesn’t
typically provide retail opportunities
but it does have temporary
jobs for students that co-ordinate
with a student’s busy schedule.
Another way to seek seasonal
employment is by going online.
Several websites such as Groovejob.com
and Workopolis also
provide current listings for seasonal
retail opportunities.
Th e easiest way to apply would
be to print off resumes and walk
to each store in your nearest mall.
In the Oshawa Centre, a lot of
stores such as Suzy Shier, HMV
and Aldo post signs indicating
they are hiring.
Larger department stores
such as Sears and Th e Bay have
seasonal job fairs where you are
interviewed and possibly hired
on the spot. To fi nd out information
about department store hiring,
visit their home websites.
Besides stores that have specifi
c postings for job opportunities,
pick locations that usually
have a lot of staff or require
several diff erent positions, such
as department stores that need
people for stocking and sales and
as cashiers.