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By Jarrod Yeo Panther Post

An Island nurse with ties to the University of Prince Ed- ward Island who was kid- napped by militants in the Darfur region in Sudan was

released without incident last week. Laura Archer _ graduat-

ed from the University of Prince Edward Island with an honour’s degree in nurs- ing in 2001.

In an account of her inter- national aid work in UPEI’s alumni magazine, Archer de- scribed how her life changed

March 16, 2009

CAMPUS

with a single realization in 2004 while she was a nurse in San Francisco.

“It occurred to me that I knew very little about the world outside of North America,” she wrote.

Her experience brought her to various countries around the globe including Thailand in the wake of the 2004 tsu- nami.

After returning to Canada in 2005, she applied to Doctors Without Borders and was soon posted to the Central African Republic in Mark- ounda in 2006. Markounda is a region know for its po- litical unrest.

It was announced by Suda-

nese Officials late Saturday she and three other captives, an Italian doctor, a French field worker and a Sudanese staff member had been re- leased unharmed. A report released on Friday saying the same proved to be pre- mature.

Archer’s parents, Ted and Barb Archer, of Charlotte- town told The Guardian in a telephone interview they were relieved by the news but did not elaborate.

“We are still very guard- ed until we speak with our daughter,” said Barb Archer, “until things are confirmed.”

PANTHER POST

Island nurse who was captured in Sudan released

UPEI graduate Laura Archer was released after being kidnapped by militants. Photo: West Mount Examiner

New KENO Lottery machines raising questions about problem gambling

By Whitney Byserveldt

Panther Post

Voting, porn and lotto tickets. All of the illustrious things that come with turning 18, or the age of majority here on P.E.I. But as of April 1, 2009 the legal age for purchasing lottery tickets will be upped to 19.

The amendment is part of the provincial government’s first responsible gambling strategy which was intro- duced in September of last year and will move the province in alignment with P.E.I.’s gambling legislation with that of the Atlantic Lot-

tery Corporation’s regula- tions.

This recent change is amid controversy over the induc- tion of KENO Lottery, a new form of live gambling that is available in both P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.

Launched on March 2, KENO Lottery is available at approximately 190 li- censed sites throughout the two provinces including a site at the CDPEC.

A strategic move by the ALC as the basis of the game is similar to that of betting on horses and has proven to be appealing to those who partake in harness race gam- bling.

The game runs everyday from 12:05 p.m. to 11:55 p.m. with a draw occurring every five minutes and scheduled breaks taking place at the top of each hour.

Wagers can amount up to $50 per selection with win- nings ranging from $1 to $100,000 per draw.

Broadcasted on monitors at authorized sites the num- bers are drawn live, a char- acteristic of the game that ups the ante for addiction and has opponents of gam- bling incensed. Although it has been cited that KENO Lottery does not have the same potential for addiction that VLTs do, doubt still sur-

rounds the subject.

Although he did not have much to say on the subject, Dr. Peter McKenna, a po- litical studies professor at UPEI believes implications of games such as KENO is far from a good idea.

“You shouldn’t be introduc- ing new forms of gambling when there’s already sig- nificant problems with VLT gambling already,” he said

McKenna is the author of Terminal Damage, a book depicting the negative conse- quences involved with VLT

-gambling in the Maritime

region and has progressed as an outspoken critic of VLTs within PEI.

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The ALC is not the first to introduce a form of KENO Lottery, as British Columbia has already been running a similar game for years.

Although few statistics can be found related to. gambling addictions and KENO Lot- tery, ALC has stated that the production of the game involved the work of three

professional responsible gambling experts. \Whether these experts

were hired internally or ex- ternally was not disclosed by the ALC communications representative.

Along with the advent of KENO Lottery comes the fall of another lottery ticket game as Lotto Super 7, a quite successful weekly lot- tery terminal game, will be retired nation-wide this September. A new and un- announced national lottery game will coincide with Su- per 7’s demise.