Capilano Courier | Vol. 51, Issue 5.

VOLUME 51, ISSUE 5

NOVEMBER 5-18, 2018

NEWS

ARTS & CULTURE

TransLink's North Competing as a Shore B-Line Dragon Boat racer PG. 4 PG. 19

Meme Culture

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

VOL. 51 ISSUE 5 NOVEMBER 5-18

COVER: KYLE PAPILLA

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News

NEW MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Hard work doesn't always pay off, but that doesn't mean you should give up

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WHO YOU: JEREMY HEMMES

CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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Campus Life

BEN SHAPIRO AND THE FREE SPEECH DEBATE

Opinions

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Q&A WITH FARHAN MOHAMED

Special Feature

10 WHAT DO YOU MEME?

Cover Feature

12 EXPRESS LINE WOES

Columns

16 FREE SOLO: NOT A STAR WARS STORY

Reviews

19 EXPERIENCING AN INDIGENOUS BEADING WORKSHOP

Arts & Culture

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 5

STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ART DIRECTOR

MANAGING EDITOR

PRODUCTION MANAGER

NEWS EDITOR

COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

BUSINESS MANAGER

FEATURES EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

Christine Beyleveldt capcourier@gmail.com

Helen Aikenhead manager.capcourier@gmail.com

Greta Kooy news.capcourier@gmail.com

Annalisse Crosswell associatenews.capcourier@gmail.com

Freya Wasteneys specialfeatures.capcourier@gmail.com

Nivedan Kaushal arts.capcourier@gmail.com

Cynthia Tran Vo artdirector.capcourier@gmail.com

Melissa Gibbons pm.capcourier@gmail.com

Ana Maria Caicedo community.capcourier@gmail.com

Jessica Lio businessmanager.capcourier@gmail.com

Robyn Beyleveldt, Clinton, Emma Lewicky, Nirosh Saravanan, Bridget Stringer-Holden

Andrea Alcaraz, Jackie Duck, Fiona Dunnett, Natasha Jones, Ryan McDiarmid, Erika Medina, Kyle Papilla, Priscilla Yu

OPINIONS EDITOR

Megan Orr opinions.capcourier@gmail.com

EDITOR & COLUMNIST PORTRAITS

COLUMNS EDITOR

CARTOONIST

Rachel D'Sa columns.capcourier@gmail.com

Cynthia Tran Vo

Annie Chang

COPY EDITOR

Ashleigh Brink copy.capcourier@gmail.com

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deemed by the collective to exhibit sexism, racism or homophobia. The views expressed by the

​We acknowledge that the work we do and the

contributing writers are not necessarily those of the

institution we serve happens on the unceded territory

Capilano Courier Publishing Society.

of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of Musqueam, Squamish, Stó:lō and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

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was particularly inspired by my chat with Farhan Mohamed last week. For the full interview, see page eight, but in the meantime, I want to take the opportunity to write about innovation and scepticism.

Mohamed started the most popular online publication in Western Canada essentially as a hobby while he was in university, not knowing where it would lead. But he was active on social media and happy to divide his time between activities that had potential to further his career but more importantly, that he had a passion for.

It’s something I’ve been trying to keep in mind this week. It's been tough on everyone as we get further into the semester, and it’s all too easy to get irritable. I know. I came home from work on Thursday evening, took out my laptop and knuckled down on another job. And before I knew it, I’d spent another six hours in front of a screen, wolfed down dinner, ignored my family and then it was silent in the house again. Everyone had gone to bed and I was alone. It’s hard when this is the norm, not the exception.

That’s where my interview did more than just provide me with something to write about, it inspired me. I had a long conversation with Mohamed and I couldn’t include everything we spoke about, but one thing he did say, drawing from his own experience, was that the world is your oyster in university. This may not feel like the truth to a lot of you, especially if you’re on your own and trying to make it in Vancouver, but for a lot of us who arrived at Capilano University fresh out of high school with ruddy cheeks and an eagerness to learn that hasn’t dissipated yet, never again will you have the same freedom to pursue your passion projects.

I set up a website last Christmas. My excuse was that I wanted to get a better handle on WordPress so I could add another

skill to my resume. Everything is about my resume these days. I'm always trying to teach myself new things: how to use InDesign; how to speak German; the list goes on.

I ended up writing book reviews and a travel diary of my Garden Route trip in May after I got bored with having only my portfolio online. Then I took a nosedive into an international blogging community in the summer led by an Australian influencer, and tried every trick in the book to increase my influence and gain a handful of regular readers. It didn’t work. It was hard not to be disappointed after all the hours I put into my SEO, but there was one thing I could remind myself of: that I had gone in with the mindset that I would be doing this for myself. this was my chance to write what I wanted to read.

Mohamed was right about though about there being no risk. My career didn't depend on my being able to market my website. It was a hobby, just like the Vancity Buzz was for him when he started out, because when you’re young you can test your limits and figure out what works for you. Sometimes the hobbies we pour hours of energy into bring our dreams to fruition, and sometimes they don’t. At the end of the day though, you have to remember that you can only take one step at a time.

It’s hard not to be cynical when your hard work doesn’t pay off. But there are two important things to consider: you can’t predict the future, and even if you could, you can’t control it. There are so many things I still want to accomplish this year, but in the event that I don’t, that’s okay. I'll never be able to say that again afterward. Results matter more than effort when you get out into the real world, but it doesn't have to while you're still young and learning.

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DOGGY DANGER: Keeping Our Furry Friends Safe North Vancouver doggy daycare offered help to pet owners this Halloween MEGAN ORR OPINIONS EDITOR PHOTO PROVIDED BY KIEL MAPOLES

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on in North Vancouver.

“Stella is good at making sure we stay in her eyesight for the most part, but I also don’t know what she’s doing in the bushes sometimes. If she ate something I probably wouldn’t even know.” Mapoles doesn’t want to believe that it’s true that any of these were intentional, however, even something like mushrooms during this time of year are harmful, and potentially fatal to dogs.

Cate’s Park in North Vancouver has seen two dogs die this year from alleged mushroom poisonings. There are signs up throughout the park warning walkers, but Mapoles worries this isn’t enough.

“I don’t want to baby [Stella], but at the same time, if it’s not safe, I don’t want her getting sick, or worse,” said Mapoles.

He isn’t confident that he would know

the difference between just a regular upset stomach, and an actual poisoning until it was too late.

“Dogs get sick all the time and most of the time you don’t think about it anymore than making sure that they make it outside. It’s scary to think that because I wasn’t paying close attention she could die.”

Most research on knowing the signs that your dog has ingested something toxic reiterate what Mapoles said. The first signs, before they are actually sick, include licking their lips or panting heavily. Another sign that they have perhaps been poisoned is laboured breathing. If you suspect that your dog has eaten something toxic, take them to the vet immediately. While the RCMP continue to investigate the poisonings, it may be best to keep dogs on a short leash.

Students Feel the Chilly Impact of the Enbridge Gas Line Explosion Capilano University has turned down the heat in wake of natural gas line explosion ANNALISSE CROSSWELL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

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section of the Enbridge natural gas pipeline near Prince George exploded on the evening of Oct. 19.

Luckily, no injuries were reported. Fearing gas shortages because of the incident, FortisBC has requested that customers conserve natural gas wherever possible. By the following day, FortisBC said that they had seen a 20 per cent decrease in gas usage, and organizations across BC had issued advisories and made changes accordingly.

According to Capilano University’s Energy and Sustainability Manager, William Demopoulus, the 36 inches of damaged pipeline will mean a 40 per cent decrease in gas supply. While this primarily impacts the

Lower Mainland, it also causes disruption further south in Washington.

CapU responded to the event by turning down the heat 1.5°C to a temperature of 19.5°C, advising faculty and students through posters around the University, to “Bundle up to keep cozy on campus!” UBC has issued less specific statements informing their campus community that hot water and heating may be impacted, while the University of Victoria is turning down the heat as well as making the switch to dieselpowered heating systems. Other universities have entirely or partially turned off the heat on their campuses.

Demopoulus remarked that conserving gas on campus is difficult to achieve given that CapU has already made a 52 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2007, even while seeing through the development of the Bosa building. “In 2015 we were number three out of 28 schools,” he said of the University’s ranking in terms of energy conservation.

The University, like all other government-

funded institutions in BC, is also a part of the Carbon Neutral Government program.

Under this, CapU is obligated to conserve wherever possible, and to offset emissions by paying a $25 tax per tonne of gas used.

WorkSafeBC (WCB) rules are also in place within the University, that stipulate a heat of between 19 and 23°C during the winter, with the aim around campus usually being 21°C. Despite these difficulties, the current changes, which were put in place within four days of the crisis, have resulted in a considerable amount of gas savings. “Right now, we’re saving about 27 per cent of our gas use compared to the day before [making these changes],” said Demopoulus. While its effects have been felt around the University, the temperature on campus is currently not as low as the 19.5°C aim and is actually sitting somewhere between 20 and 21°C. These efforts will likely fulfill the University's obligations to conserve. If the weather were to decline, however, and the University was asked to conserve

more, there are other measures that could be considered if absolutely necessary. The Maple building, which houses the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) and Capilano Courier offices, could be emptied and brought down to a temperature just warm enough to prevent the pipes from freezing over. The Dogwood building could also be considered, however with the building lacking its own natural gas supply, it would be a less effective solution.

Investigations into the explosion are still underway, led by the Transportation Safety Board and the National Energy Board. Enbridge has said that the repairs should be completed by the middle of November, with service at a reduced pressure resuming after approval. In the meantime, students across the province should expect to feel the results of the conservation efforts now in effect.

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 5

doggy daycare that is now owned by JetPet).

Mapoles also emphasized the importance of recognizing signs of stress in your dog, because it isn’t always as obvious as shaking and hiding.

“Things like panting, and licking their lips. Oh and also, maybe, half-moon eyes,” said Mapoles. Half-moon eyes, or whale eyes, is when a dog is looking upwards or sideways so that you can see the whites of their eyes, and is usually associated with discomfort.

The Mapoles family has a five-year-old golden retriever, Stella. She is quite well trained, so they trust her off leash in the parks that allow it, though she does veer off the path occasionally, cutting through underbrush. Mapoles can’t help but to feel worried with the alleged poisonings going

THE CAPILANO COURIER

s pet owners, it’s our responsibility to ensure that the animals in our care are safe and protected.

However, there are many instances where unpredictable and unpreventable things happen that may put our beloved dogs in danger.

This Halloween, Jet Pet, a doggy daycare with several locations throughout Metro Vancouver, offered free care to dogs in an attempt to aid the animal’s anxieties. Jet Pet is a chain dog resort, with locations in Phoenix, Vancouver and North Vancouver.

They provide a variety of services, including boarding, training and grooming. Their North Shore location, on Lynn Avenue in the Seylynn area, prides themselves on creating a safe environment for all their furry guests. According to their website, “Our resort grounds were built with safety as a priority, and our play areas are laid out to reduce anxiety and minimize unnecessary stimulation in order to provide the best stay for your pet.”

With fireworks, parties and strangers coming to the door all night, Halloween can be a stressful night for our canine friends.

The service was offered in an attempt to create a calming environment for the dogs, where they would be away from all of the excessive noise of Halloween.

“People assume their dog will be excited to have all these people coming and going, but it’s actually pretty stressful for them. Not to mention the fireworks. Every dog hates fireworks,” said Kiel Mapoles, a former doghandler at WagZone (the North Vancouver

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Meet the three new members of CapU’s Board of Governors Emily Gaudette, Mila Mattson and Carleen Thomas join the Board responsible for running the University GRETA KOOY NEWS EDITOR

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 5

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apilano University recently introduced three new members – Emily Gaudette, Mila Mattson and Carleen Thomas – to its Board of Governors (BOG), which conjointly runs the University with the Senate. “We have a diverse, experienced and dedicated Board that will uphold the good governance and stewardship of Capilano University,” said Soon Kim, chair of the BOG. The BOG is made up of 15 members, including the Chancellor, President, two faculty members elected by their peers, two students and a non-faculty member elected by other University staff. The other eight members are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, two of whom are nominated by the Alumni Association. These 15 members

are responsible for the land, finance and affairs of the University. In accordance with the University Act of British Columbia, the BOG also sets policies and “must act in the best interests of the University.”

Carleen Thomas, who was appointed to the BOG by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, works as a special projects manager for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN). She has worked for the TWN educational department and with both the Burnaby and North Vancouver school districts. At CapU, Thomas has acted as an Indigenous representative to the Senate.

One of the two elected student representatives is Emily Gaudette. New to the Board this year, Gaudette is in her fifth semester at CapU in the Global Stewardship Program. Apart from serving as a member on the Board of Governors, Gaudette is also a member of the student-driven CapU Works, a representative on the Board of Directors at the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) and sits on their Governance Committee.

“Having that experience and support has been invaluable and I hope to carry

that experience over to my role on [the] BOG,” said Gaudette. “Being a Student Representative means my job is to advocate for student issues and goals within Capilano,” she said, adding that being a student gives her a different perspective.

“I've been a full-time Capilano student for two years and I believe I know what many of those issues and visions are.” She encourages students to approach her with their own perspectives and experiences.

Gaudette’s primary focus will be on helping the University develop in areas such as accessibility, sustainability and inclusivity as well as the implementation of the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy. “After witnessing the growth of many of my peers and friends who got involved in various ways on campus with the goal of making it better, I decided to put my foot in the ring,” she said.

Mila Mattson, another new face on the BOG, has been involved at CapU in a variety of different capacities for the past 14 years, the latest of which has her in a supervising role in the Faculty of Health and Education.

“I first became interested in running for the [BOG] as I had felt a disconnect to it in the past,” said Mattson. “I didn’t know who was on it, what it did and decided to really look into its role and mandate, and became immediately interested.”

Mattson’s connection to the community is staff and student-oriented. “I wanted to be sure that the everyday story is told from a working and experiential perspective,” she said, “I think that it is important to bring this perspective to the membership.”

She has worked directly with students on many occasions in her roles within the Registrar’s office, in areas such as admissions, advising and graduation services.

“I have witnessed unbelievable successes here at CapU and have been honoured and privileged to work with some amazing students and staff,” said Mattson. “If we continue to ask ourselves ‘how does this benefit our students?’ as we move through development… we can’t go wrong.”

Quay would be more efficient, along with redirecting some of the traffic on Second Narrows. “You’re going to start to have people who are bussing across the bridge being like: ‘Why don’t I take the bus?’” said Berson, who believes that if the B-Line is a success, it could increase the number of public transit users.

During the all-candidates forums on campus leading up to the municipal elections last month, Berson said he specifically made an effort to talk to those running about the importance of the success of this project. “I think that if this project is rolled out well, it’ll be a really important

milestone in… freeing up the traffic that exists on the North Shore,” he said. “If it doesn’t go well it could potentially set back some of the progress TransLink and the West Vancouver Bus Company have made on the opinions on transit.”

“We’re always listening, so once this is implemented, we do encourage customers to tells us what they think,” added Drew.

TransLink has four schedule changes a year in which changes can be implemented if required. She also emphasized the fact that this service will ultimately make commuting faster, although it will require students to change their habits.

East to West B-Line Expected in 2019 The North Vancouver B-Line is set to eliminate the 239 bus route that services CapU ANNALISSE CROSSWELL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

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hile students and North Vancouver residents await the beginning of an express bus service, TransLink is working behind the scenes to procure buses and design the final route. The East to West B-Line bus route, which is part of TransLink’s 10 year plan, will begin service from Dundarave to Phibbs Exchange in late 2019, cancelling out the 239 bus route.

The route’s success was a topic of discussion at last month’s mayoral debate on campus.

“We’re working with the cities as well in the area to bring in some priority measures like bus lanes or advanced signals to help the bus go more reliably,” said Jill Drews, the senior issues management advisor for TransLink. She said that this is the most important reason to partner with cities on projects such as this, to ensure the express route is in fact faster than other routes.

The 239 route that will be eliminated is used frequently by Capilano University students and, unlike the B-Line, takes riders directly to campus. This poses an issue for students that TransLink hasn’t resolved, but Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) Vice President External, Noah Berson, noted that there are several options under consideration. One option to solve the transportation issue for students is an exclusive shuttle that would travel between Phibbs Exchange and CapU, which Berson

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argued, has the benefit of being a route with low traffic density, which would result in it having a more consistent schedule.

The other option, which is to increase the frequency of the 130 and 28 bus routes that only travel to CapU during peak hours, will appeal more to Burnaby residents and students coming across the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge.

Berson sees many positives to this new B-Line. The route has the capacity to do a lot more than just increase east-west travel across the North Shore. It would also make Seabus travel more feasible because transit between Phibbs Exchange and Lonsdale

CAMPUS LIFE

WHO YOU: Jeremy Hemmes After high school, his father offered him an ultimatum that ultimately brought him to Capilano University, but he had a long, hard road ahead GRETA KOOY NEWS EDITOR

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witnessed the arrival of his sister, a cousin and his grandparents in Canada. “I still think of South Africa as my home, but Canada is my home now too.”

If you don’t catch Hemmes on campus

with his nose buried in his books, you might be able to find him off-roading – a hobby he picked up in Alberta. “I love hitting the mud,” he added, “with a Tim Horton’s coffee in hand.”

Brain!” was a perfect fit. “We wanted to raise awareness for mental health and give students a way to relieve stress,” Fernandes said. Tawde also said they wanted it to be fun, “You know, dance around, have some beers.” Yes, there was alcohol for sale.

They were able to do both those things while donating all proceeds to the Canadian Mental Health Association.

The event, however, wasn't all fun and games. It was a full-fledged competition with judges and prizes. Professors Christy Goerzen and Warren Flandez judged along with a few second-year AEM students.

Judging was done on a scale from one to 10.

“It really was a battle, and you were judged on your presentation, your choreography and lip syncing,” said Greenberg. Third place went to Mati for a killer performance of Kesha’s “Tik Tok”, with a calendar prize.

Second place went to Rita for an emotional performance of Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball”, who was awarded a $50 gift card to The Pie Hole. Winning the first place prize, a large bottle of gin donated by Deep Cove Brewery, was Oscar’s extremely entertaining performance of “I Will Survive”.

There were a few other competitors who performed with costumes and choreography that deserve an honourable mention. One student, dressed in a full suit patterned with jack-o’-lanterns, performed “Oogie Boogie’s Song” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Seeming to be a popular pick, there were multiple hilarious performances of the classic “Barbie Girl”. Professor Greg Robinson did a perfect Mick Jagger impersonation. Another student painted his face like a skeleton and did a performance

of songs from the animated movie Coco.

Fernandes, Tawde and Greenberg were initially concerned about attendance while planning the event. They began the endeavour just in September, and had some trouble getting people to sign up. “It was definitely challenging at first,” Fernandes said. “For the first little bit we had no one, but it started to pick up as we got closer to the date.” Nonetheless, the University’s second annual Lip Sync Battle turned out to be a great hit. People had fun and it was the stress reliever it was meant to be. Fernandes, Tawde and Greenberg aim to host the next event in the Birch cafeteria.“We’re glad everyone seemed to have fun and you can look for it next year,” said Fernandes.

THE CAPILANO COURIER VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 5

wo months after graduating from high school, Jeremy Hemmes’ father gave him an ultimatum: either he could go to Canada for a gap year or he could move out and get a job. Naturally, he chose Canada. “That night, that same day, he handed me an envelope… and inside was a one-way ticket to Canada leaving in three days’ time,” he said.

Hemmes moved from his home in Cape Town to Vancouver in January 2012. Having just left South Africa in the middle of its summer, he boarded the plane in flip flops, shorts and a T-shirt. “When I arrived in Vancouver it was minus two,” he said. “That was interesting.”

He stayed for just two days in Vancouver with an estranged aunt, after which time he hopped on the Greyhound bus to Whistler.

He didn’t know anyone and wasn’t exactly sure where he would be sleeping that night.

“I had been there once before as a child, so I knew there was a ski mountain, I knew there was a village, and I knew there were people.

So there must be work,” he said.

He eventually settled in a hostel by Cheakamus Crossing near Whistler Village and began looking for job opportunities. “I had this idea in my head that I would stay in the hostel for a while and then go get a job at the bar,” he said. “I figured it’d be a good way to meet people and sort of integrate.”

Unfortunately for Hemmes, he was one year shy of Canada’s legal drinking age, which put him firmly back at square one looking for employment again. But he ended up working odd jobs to pay for his three-month stay in Whistler.

“I was always converting everything back to Rand and just thinking ‘this is so expensive’. But after I started working and actually started earning a bit of money everything sort of became a little bit more relative,” he said.

After spending some time in Whistler

working, meeting people and learning how to snowboard, Hemmes returned to Vancouver. Six months later, after living paycheque to paycheque in costly Vancouver, he figured it was again the time to move on – this time to Alberta.

He packed up his belongings and drove his newly acquired truck over to the Prairies and parked at a campsite in Drayton Valley, where he stayed in his truck for three nights in the chilly October weather. “It was minus 10… I was freezing my ass off,” he laughed.

Motivated by the need for a warmer place to stay, he began handing out hundreds of resumes every day. The manager of one of the companies he stumbled across in his job search had just returned from a trip to South Africa, and that served as the perfect introductory talking point for Hemmes. “It was kind of an unofficial interview,” he said.

Later that day, he received an email from that same manager, offering him a place to stay. “That was probably the most absurd thing I’d ever heard in my entire life – somebody who didn’t know me from a bar of soap is now offering for me to stay in their house with them. I was shocked by his generosity.”

Not looking for charity, he politely declined the free board and returned to the campsite for another night in the sub-zero temperatures. To his surprise, the manager he had met showed up in a truck and told him to pack up. Hemmes wouldn’t spend another night at the campsite.

“I ended up staying with him and meeting his whole family, and we became really good friends over the years. Canadians are extraordinary like that,” he said.

After two and a half years in Alberta, Hemmes returned to BC with an acceptance letter from Capilano University, where he’s now in his fourth year in the Bachelor of Business Administration program.

Although his aunt was his only point of contact in Canada when he first moved across the Atlantic, he has since made countless connections and friends and

JEREMY HEMMES BY GRETA KOOY

Lip Sync Battle 2018 CapU’s second annual Lip Sync Battle brought out the competition EMMA LEWICKY CONTRIBUTOR

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apilano University’s Arts and Entertainment Management (AEM) program presented the second annual Lip Sync Battle in the Maple Lounge on Oct. 25. Planned by first-year AEM students Christina Fernandes, Yash Tawde and Alexandra Greenberg, the event provided a break from school and was a massive hit with attendees.

Thrown during Mental Health Awareness Month, the event’s slogan, “Have a Nice

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Let's Agree to Disagree Controversial commentator Ben Shapiro racks up security bills for the UBC Free Speech Club NIROSH SARAVANAN CONTRIBUTOR ILLUSTRATED BY NATASHA JONES

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hether it’s from his speeches, his clickbait videos or the variety of memes he’s quoted in, it’s likely you’ve heard of conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. If not, he’s a Harvard Law graduate known for his controversial views on abortion, illegal immigration and transgender people, among other things.

The UBC Free Speech Club hosted Shapiro at the Chan Centre on Oct. 31. With him being such a divisive figure, Angelo Isidorou, the director of the organization, stated that, “This is pretty much, out of all of our events, the highest security we have ever had”. With that being said, you might wonder, why all the hassle? Freedom of speech is the obvious answer, but where do we draw the line?

It’s odd that Shapiro is being considered a representative of free speech, when he openly attacks the liberal media for not supporting “American values.” The division of church and state has always been a touchy subject in the United States, and is further complicated by popular media. The intent of religious scriptures, which Shapiro holds in such high regard, is to convey messages of morality. Who is to enforce morality in media, the market or the government?

With many different messages, with many different meanings, it is up to the individual to decide if they want to agree or disagree with the idea being conveyed.

UBC is well within its rights to deny a person the ability to use its platform, much like YouTube demonetized videos that advertisers understandably did not want their products associated with, ranging from conspiracy channels to videos of terrorism. These actions have been met with considerable backlash from the community, with accusations of censorship. UBC Vice President Academic and Provost, Andrew Szeri, told the Daily Hive, “UBC’s commitment to free speech includes student groups and other invited guest speakers using UBC venues such as the Chan Centre. This is the case even where some members of the University community

may consider the guest speaker’s ideas, or the way in which they are expressed, to be controversial, or offensive.”

The situation definitely puts UBC in a bit of a predicament, with it having to decide whether it wants to give legitimacy to a person like Shapiro or face accusations suppressing free speech.

UBC is no stranger to having controversial figures on campus. In spring 2017, Psychology Professor Jordan Peterson, best known for his opposition to Bill C-16, the bill that is meant to protect transgender individuals from discrimination, was invited to speak by the UBC Free Speech Club. There was a surprising lack of

security, as well as a lack of protest.

Freedom of speech really is one of those things where you actually can’t have your cake and eat it too. You can only go so far with either extremes without running into problems. On one end you have a disturbing rise in how often hateful people’s views can cumulate into action. This unfortunately happened last weekend with an attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 dead and six injured, when an anti-semitic gunman opened fire on worshippers. On the other end, Hopefully, there can come a time where civil discussion is re-established, and it isn’t considered taboo to speak politics at the dinner table.

About the Former Governor General’s Outrageous Expenses Adrienne Clarkson has consistently billed Canadian taxpayers over $100,000 nearly every year since she left office, and even if she's entitled, that's wrong CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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drienne Clarkson’s spendthrift ways have lit the Internet on fire.

On Thursday, the National Post reported that the former Governor General, who retired in 2005, has billed taxpayers in excess of $1.1 million since she left office.

It’s all part of a program created in 1979 that permits retired Governors General to continue claiming expenses for the rest of their lives. The kicker? Even the Queen’s expenses are on public record, while there’s almost no transparency with Clarkson’s bills.

The Queen’s representative in Canada

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may only continue to be reimbursed for work-related expenses after they retire because they are expected to continue acting as a public figure. But the amount of taxpayer money Clarkson has spent on herself is outrageous, and at the very least she should be transparent about her bills.

Hours after the report was released, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the concerns, adding that Canada’s Governors General need to be more transparent in their spending after retirement, although still stating that they deserve continued support.

“These are people who’ve stepped up and offered tremendous service to this country but Canadians expect a certain level of transparency and accountability and we’re going to make sure we’re moving forward in a thoughtful way,” Trudeau told the National Post on the way into a caucus meeting after the initial story broke. Funny, our veterans have also given “tremendous service to this country”, but when a wounded soldier asked the Prime Minister why the Canadian government continued to fight veterans in court at a town hall event in Edmonton this February, Trudeau replied that they were just asking for more than the government was

able to give.

Evidently that’s not even the case. Global News reported last month that since taking office, $372 million that was meant to go towards veterans hasn’t even been spent.

And our veterans aren’t billing for speaking engagements or travel itineraries like Clarkson is. We’re talking about Canadians who sustained severe injuries, and many of them PTSD, fighting overseas. They asked to have their lifelong disability pensions reinstated after returning from active service.

It’s utterly reckless that taxpayers have to finance Clarkson’s lifestyle, while our veterans have to fight the government, for whom they put their lives on the line, for their pensions.

Now $1.1 million is just a fraction of a per cent of the federal budget. That’s on top of the $1.6 million that Clarkson already took as a government pension when she retired.

In nine out of the 12 years since Clarkson left Rideau Hall, she has billed taxpayers in excess of $100,000, which deserves its own spot on the government’s expenses record and that’s the only reason it’s traceable. Any payments made out to retired Governors General under $100,000 are lumped together

under a single line item in the budget called general “temporary held services”. This isn’t the first time Clarkson has been called out for her spendthrift ways. The only years after she left office that she did not file for reimbursement in excess of $100,000 was between 2012 and 2014 in the immediate aftermath of a Toronto Star article that called her out on her expensive habits.

For such an outrageous amount of money one person is claiming after retirement, Canadians deserve to know what their taxes are being spent on. In 1999, Clarkson toured the northern countries and racked up a whopping $5.3 million in bills before she was halfway through the trip, which was only supposed to cost $1 million. If that is the kind of reckless extravagance our former Governor General is doling out the middle class’ hard earned cash on, then Canada seriously needs to reconsider its unique policy of allowing Governors General to claim expenses for the rest of their lives.

The Big One You may not feel it now, but whether you’re prepared or not, this earthquake doesn’t care RACHEL D'SA COLUMNS EDITOR

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potential to kill thousands from Vancouver Island to California. Yet, all we’ve ever known and practiced is how to duck under a budget-friendly table in a public setting and count to 60. Just as it’s ridiculous to think our Kirkland dried fruit and nut oat bars will save our souls after a 20-metre high tsunami, it’s crazy to brush off worrying about a natural disaster, based off our experiences of “not feeling anything.”

Currently, just off the coast of Vancouver Island, two tectonic plates are locked in place. The oceanic Juan de Fuca plate has slid underneath the less dense plate that we reside on. For three centuries it has remained stuck, building up pressure, and it is ready to give in at any moment. With recent tectonic action (the earthquakes we “haven’t felt”) deformations have developed in our plate of residence – hundreds of cracks in the earth standing by, waiting to give way, triggering catastrophic disaster. Though seismic waves will have a long way to travel before getting to big cities, losing energy, the ruptures will still be violent and horrific.

The dealio is this: you won’t know that you’re dealing with a catastrophic disaster until it hits full force. Though we may not feel earth-shattering chills with every small quake that hits, we sure as hell will be paying for our passive behaviour and laziness when the earth truly is shattering in front of our very eyes.

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he news that a catastrophic, 9.0 magnitude earthquake, otherwise known as the “Big One,” will hit the BC coast any day now, is not new. In fact, somehow even after staggering statistics regarding probability and severity have been widely advertised, West Coast residents have no problem kicking up their feet and forgetting about the inevitable catastrophe, which could come with dire consequences.

At this point, there’s no room for ignorance.

On Oct. 21, two major earthquakes, the first with a magnitude of 6.6 and the second with a magnitude of 6.8, struck just off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

These earthquakes were followed by four additional quakes, ranging in magnitude from 4.3 to 6.5. Somehow, the public doesn’t seem at all phased. Swarms of online comments responding to news articles on these earthquakes all revolve around the same, homogenous experience –

not feeling a single thing.

I cease to believe these people won’t be eating their words when the West Coast faces a real natural disaster. According to a recent CBC article, the “Big One” is supposed to reach a magnitude of 7.0 with an epicentre (a point on Earth’s surface that is vertically above the primary focus of an earthquake) close to Vancouver and Victoria.

The one in five chance that the megathrust earthquake could hit anytime in the next 50 years, has seemed to override the news, not providing the public with reiterations of the importance of preparation.

The occasional preparation lists are embedded in online articles and on government websites, covering whether or not you should pack granola bars in your fanny pack, but it’s safe to say the common Joe is clueless on the severity and protocol.

The 127 page BC Earthquake Immediate Response Plan is open to public viewing online, but really, who has the time, patience and ability to sit through reading a business report and come out fully understanding the content. The lack of accessible, comprehensible knowledge on the matter leads us to believe that everything is fine and dandy in the meantime, since there is seemingly no push on learning disaster relief protocols.

There remains the possibility of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a Pacific Coast monster tsunami that has the

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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of J.K. Rowling The new film franchise is facing backlash and it's sad MEGAN ORR OPINIONS EDITOR ILLUSTRATED BY JACKIE DUFF

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waited more than a year after its release before watching Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I could say it was out of stubborness – this story wasn’t canon and I didn’t want to wreck the Harry Potter universe for myself. However, it was something more like fear. That world had so much meaning and I was scared that it would be ruined irrevocably for me, much like the last few mediocre Harry Potter movies had nearly done. I was wrong in my worries though. The film simply added more depth and layers to the already complex world that J.K. Rowling had created over the course of those beloved novels. Although the film received mixed reviews, it was already set to be franchised, and the next installment, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, is set to be released on Nov. 16. However, this has not been without controversy.

Johnny Depp is playing the infamous Grindelwald for the second time, against the backlash of critics demanding he be recast due to the abuse allegations laid against him by his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Though Depp has since denied them, Heard, as well as her attorney, have been adamant in their claims.

To fans’ confusion, J.K. Rowling, who has always been a proponent of women’s rights (as a character like Hermione Granger

could tell you), was supportive of this casting decision. Additionally, the film has received some lukewarm excitement due to the fact that Jude Law’s portrayal of young Dumbledore will not acknowledge the character’s homosexuality, even though

Rowling has said he was written as a queer character. But apparently she didn’t mean it in a “here’s some cool positive representation” kind of way, only in a “he’s gay in our hearts” kind of way.

This is actual bullshit. J.K. Rowling,

the queen of internet clapbacks, does not have our backs here, folks. Truth be told, as Twitter user, @cemetrygerard, put it, “If it isn’t obvious by now: Rowling said Dumbledore was gay all those years ago purely to try and avoid backlash for not having enough diversity. She never said anything about it in the actual series, and now won’t again in Fantastic Beasts.”

As far as Depp’s casting, it just goes to show once again how men’s actions have little to no consequences in this world, and further, how people will defend their problematic favourites no matter what. But seriously, coming into the pure-as-all-hell Potter fandom, GTFO! I don’t want to have mixed feelings about enjoying a franchise that is, at it’s very heart, enjoyable. How dare Rowling and director David Yates take this away from me? How dare you, Johnny Depp? I trusted you!

While Rowling, as the author, obviously has the decision-making power to include or not include whatever she wants, people are demanding more from this oftenempowering series. It isn’t necessarily fair to insist that Rowling be the one to be held entirely accountable for the overall casting and inclusivity of these films, but then who should be? I’m not going to lie, I’m probably still going to go see it, and I will probably really like it, but I won’t be happy about it.

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Q&A with Farhan Mohamed

The Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Hive isn’t a writer, but he’s business savvy, and that might just count more in today’s changing media landscape.

BY CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT ILLUSTRATED BY CYNTHIA TRAN VO

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Out of high school I wanted to do business, but I never had the grades for it.

I was so focused on everything outside of school in high school. I was doing a lot of volunteering and pretty much a whole ton of community service, and so that’s where my passion was – in community. Out of school I ended up at SFU… I went into criminology, I didn’t really know what I was doing but I liked CSI, and realized that you needed a science degree to become a criminologist so that wasn’t going to be a move I was going to make.

Then at the end of 2010 a friend approached me and said “you’re big on social media… can you do a whole bunch of social media and help me get youth involved in a campaign if I’m running in the election?” I’d always wanted to get into politics, so I said sure, and I ended up helping him launch his nomination campaign and all of his social accounts. I took over his online campaign and within a matter of weeks [was] into a full-fledged federal election campaign and it was a ton of fun. That really opened my mind up… and a friend approached me while I was working on the campaign and said “why don’t you do this for life?”

I left it to fate, I applied to university in Ottawa and applied to Cap and said, “If we win, I’ll switch schools, I’ll move to Ottawa, I will have, most likely, a job in a big office in Ottawa. And if I lose, I’ll go to Cap and

CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT HOW YOU WERE INVOLVED WITH YOUTH IN HIGH SCHOOL? Probably one of the best things that I did was realize that my friend group needed to do [that] one summer, and we didn’t have anywhere to turn to. We loved playing basketball, so I started a basketball league and ran it for two summers.

We had upward of 60 people who were playing and we were anywhere in the range of 14 to 16, 17 years old. The entire summer we would have games every weekend at the local mosque. It wasn’t set out for basketball but there were nets, so we would put tape down on the floor, we got people to pay a little bit and we got jerseys and scorekeepers and [referees], it was like a proper league.

It turned into something that was really cool and it was all because… we needed good things to do rather than getting up to mischief. So I wanted to do something for the community and that was it.

You’re only as strong as your community is. Whether that’s online, offline, that’s something that you have to bridge. You have to bring people together. Everyone shares their experiences or interests… community is what I’m about today, and it’s really helped me career-wise.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WHILE YOU WERE AT CAPU? I was doing Daily Hive, formerly Vancity Buzz, while I was in school. And what all these associations showed me was that you could do whatever you wanted while you were in university. To me, university is that time where – you’re in your late teens and early twenties – your risk is so low that you can do pretty much anything you want. So I tried to do that. I filled my days in such a way that I could go to classes, I could go to whatever association meetings and I could also do work. Back then it was free work but it was still work and passion projects. And so I used that time to do as much as I can with this short amount of time we have. I think a lot of people don’t realize that.

YOU’VE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THE VANCOUVER SUN AND WITH THE DAILY HIVE – THE AGE-OLD QUESTION IS: DO YOU NEED TO GO TO J-SCHOOL TO HAVE A CAREER IN MEDIA? Short answer no. Between myself and my partners, none of us went to journalism school. We’re all business grads. I think now – my role and what I do – is very much

around how do we build the business.

We do have people on the team who are journalists… I think that what journalism school does is really help you get that understanding of what to do and what not to do, [and if] you come into an organization like ours we’ll use that, but we’ll also test and push you a little bit further. You have to think in this online world today, what is it that people want? How are they consuming it? It’s no longer the days of the newspaper where everyone is picking up a story and reading whatever you give them. Now they have hundreds and hundreds of headlines in front of them every single day, and it’s up to them what they want to read. So the tables have turned 180 degrees and you have to be thinking about things in a very different way.

HOW WOULD YOU SAY THE CULTURE OF THE VANCOUVER SUN DIFFERS FROM DAILY HIVE? That was a very different experience for me. I was with a company that had been around for more than a century [and] they did things in a very certain way. They were unionized. They felt they needed to go for breaks at a certain time and do things at a certain time, and that’s how they operated.

I think the biggest thing is they didn’t see the change coming, and they didn’t adapt fast enough. The biggest difference, I wouldn’t even say between our two organizations, but the biggest difference between traditional [media and those] that are taking over today, is that we are always looking at different ways to change. At any given time I have analytics up on my screen.

We publish a story or we post a video and people aren’t engaging with it or aren’t clicking on it, they’re not reading it, then there’s something wrong with that. So we’re looking at what is the reason they’re not engaging with this. Is it the headline, is it the image, is it the caption, is it the timing, is it the time of day, is it the city, is it the theme, is it the topic.

It’s not one-dimensional anymore. There are so many factors that it’s almost like a science that you have to understand. You have to understand everything about people and what they’re doing. It’s more than just writing and publishing and posting stuff on social, or shooting and editing a video every day. Everything has changed.

YOU SAID IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE RUNNER AT KPU THAT VANCITY BUZZ STARTED OUT AS A BLOG. WHAT WAS YOUR VISION WHEN YOU WENT IN AND HOW HAS IT MORPHED OVER THE YEARS?

culture, things to do. When I came in it was still very much a small team that would meet once a week for a couple hours, and we would talk about things we wanted to write about and what stories we were interested in.

The biggest change came right around 2013-2014 when we realized that there was an appetite for things that were a little more community-focused or community-based.

We would write a story later than other outlets, yet ours was performing better and would have more social engagement, and so we started to morph it. We started doing original reporting to get our own sources and break stories, and we got to the point where we are today, and we will be the first to publish a story and then everyone else jumps on it after we do.

We really shifted in that way [and] we had to look at it in a way of is this important?

Will people look at it from a local angle?

Are we ourselves creating content that we want to engage with? That we want to read or we want to watch? That’s the baseline barometer with our team. If we are creating something that we are not going to click on and read, then why are we creating it? And so we started to ask those types of questions.

WHAT CONNECTION DO YOU HAVE TO YOUR ALMA MATER THROUGH THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION? During my time at Cap I always wanted to get involved with more things. The trouble was I only had a short amount of time.

Before you knew it, it was done. It’s been a really cool opportunity to try to give back and to try to showcase that this is where things started. And I feel oftentimes when it comes to universities – and I only use my own experience in this way – that Cap for me was that life-changing experience. Had I not gone to Cap maybe I would’ve still been at SFU, maybe I would’ve gone over to Ottawa. My life wouldn’t be where it is today. [And] I know many many peers of mine who are in that same boat.

In 2015, Calgary Buzz was launched as a first iteration outside Vancouver. As Mohamed received more and more requests to expand the Buzz, the team instead decided to rebrand the online-only publication as Daily Hive. Daily Hive covered the provincial election in BC last year extensively, publishing over 150 articles about the political circus. But he still doesn’t consider himself a writer.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

It was 100 per cent a blog in the beginning. [We were] writing about the city,

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YOU MENTIONED HAVING A LIFE CHANGING MOMENT WHEN YOU MOVED OVER FROM SFU. WHAT HAPPENED?

get my business degree.” And we ran a campaign but ended up losing, so I went to Cap and it was the greatest.

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arhan Mohamed flitted between art and criminology after high school, but longed to study business. It wasn’t until a friend pointed out that he had a knack for social media that he started to look at other avenues. He realized that social media is more than just creating personal connections – it’s about brand development.

During his time in university, social media was quickly shaping the way we live our lives and digest journalism, and he knew how to use it to his advantage. A decision left to fate took him to Capilano University, where he aggressively pursued his desire to study business. He joined the Marketing Association as an extracurricular and, as he says, the rest is history.

Today, Mohamed is the Editor-in-Chief of Daily Hive, one of the most popular online-only publications in Canada, and chair of CapU’s Alumni Association. He’s always firmly believed in having a strong community connection – which is what has allowed Daily Hive to succeed. Recently, he spoke with the Capilano Courier about his ties with the community and how he navigates the ever-changing media landscape.

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seodudoes What do you Meme?

Your favourite medium for online humour is more political than you think

BY ANA MARIA CAICEDO ILLUSTRATED BY KYLE PAPILLA

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hen was the last time you stood at CapU’s recycling stations agonizing over where your garbage belongs? Do you remember cringing at the beginning of the semester when you had to share your name, program and a “fun fact” about yourself class after class? Turns out there’s an Instagram account that gets your struggles. "I just wanted to share the relatable things that we all experience at CapU that I find funny and thought others would too,” said the anonymous creator of the Instagram meme page @justcaputhings. At least the next time the recycling bins make you late to class, you’ll know you're not alone.

While many of us see memes everyday, few may know the term was first coined

by English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 to describe how units of cultural information are replicated and spread virally. It was Mike Godwin, an American lawyer who applied the term in a 1994 issue of Wired to the Nazi comparison memes he would see being shared online.

“Memes are an example of postmodern art. They are [postmodern art] point-blank,” said Tamia Thompson, an Art History student at Ryerson University. Back in 2016, Thompson was one of about seven admins on Post Aesthetics, a Facebook group which, at its height, housed approximately 40,000 members. The group grew quickly, tapping into a cultural niche. “We were literally just posting things that we found to be pleasing to ourselves in terms of postmodern art, memes, clothes – anything that specifically related to millennials and ourselves,” Thompson said.

While other media like television or radio require us to be passive consumers, memes are a participatory media, making them inherently democratic and easy to share.

They give us a chance to splice pieces of our media world and join them together in a kind of cultural collage – screenshotting, cutting and pasting, adding text – to make the images our own. Online, memes often spread virally, becoming part of a collective cultural experience. But the most remarkable quality of this medium could be its flexibility. Each time a meme is repurposed, its previous meaning is altered and distorted.

The malleable nature of memes makes it easier for us to latch onto the common experiences and feelings they portray – which can lead to the dilution of meaning

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altogether.

As the membership of Post Aesthetics grew, the content became increasingly generic. Most people attribute the demise of Post Aesthetics to a green frog on a unicycle – otherwise known as the “Dat Boi” meme.

Back in 2016, “Dat Boi” – already popular worldwide – began to circulate on the group, and spurted complaints of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) appropriation.

But according to Thompson, “Dat Boi” was only a sliver of the force behind the group’s closing. “Essentially what was happening at the time that we decided to delete the group was that people were posting things that were tired, people were posting things that we didn’t want in the group – people were posting things that were outside of the original intentions of what we wanted the group to be for,” she said.

Posts that typically would have been intriguing went by unnoticed, and the feed became flooded with regurgitated memes and second-rate content. “There would be a funny post and nobody would like it, because everybody’s busy liking some other mediocre post. They weren’t getting any traction because of Facebook algorithms,” she said. “It got to the point where there was just too many people for content to be curated in a way that made sense.” The admins felt the original essence of Post Aesthetics had been bastardized by the constant bombardment of uninspired content, and decided to close the group.

“Dat Boi was incidental,” Thompson said, “it just happened to be the straw that broke the horse’s back.”

Memes have become so prevalent that it seems we not only create and consume them, we think in them too. If you find yourself saying “same” every time you remotely identify with something, or pointing to your head and smiling coyly at your friends in reference to the “think about it” meme, then you do it too. “Memethink” is a new term coined in a recent report from BOX1824 (a cultural strategy firm based in New York and São Paulo) titled “Gen Exit.”

Memethink, as “Gen Exit” researchers Sean Monahan and Sophie Secaf describe it, is “an image-based form of groupthink.” Or, as writer Tierney Finster put it in her Dazed interview with the researchers, memethink is the “collective way of thinking that characterises our social media-saturated world.”

There are real-world consequences to this collective way of thinking. You may remember Pepe the Frog, who went from being a loveable character shared on the greater internet, to a symbol for white nationalism and racism after white supremacists started to associate Pepe with Nazi propaganda in 2015. The initial 4chan post that fueled Pepe’s transformation into an alt-right symbol was a meme with a Trump-esque Pepe at the US Border, smiling at the viewer as two Mexicans in

the background stood behind a fence. A few months later, Donald Trump retweeted an illustration of Trump Pepe. Pepe the Frog was forever lost, stolen by the alt-right and branded as a symbol of white nationalism.

The ease in consuming and interpreting memes, according to the “Gen Exit” report, has led to the alt-right weaponizing them to “redpill” people – a term that refers to ‘waking people up’ from regular state of thinking. “Images are inherently more seductive and often bypass people’s critical

world and join them together in a kind of cultural collage – screenshotting, cutting and pasting, adding text – to make the images our own." progressive ideology because progressive ideology allows itself to have complexity and nuance, and opens itself up to questioning – contrary to the easy-to-consume nature of memes. But the right aren’t the only ones using this medium to propel ideology – socialists have been creating Marxist memes to get people to question capitalism. There’s even an article on Broadly titled, “How Meme Culture Is Getting Teens into Marxism,” which mentions “Sassy Socialist Memes,” a Facebook page with over one million followers. One of the memes posted features the Spice Girls lined up with Karl Marx’s head superimposed over Scary Spice’s face, with the flag of the Soviet Union faded into the image. The Spice Girls hold up the text: “if you wanna be my lover you gotta...” and

Marx, at the end of the line up, holds “seize the means of production.”

“I used to find communist memes funny, but now, not as much,” said Thompson. It was her time at Post Aesthetics that broadened her perspective on communist memes and familiarized her with Marxism. With people on the page constantly posting on Marxism and creating socialist memes, she said being in the group helped her develop a critical eye when engaging with internet humour and content. “I started to look communism up a lot more and I started to read a lot more about Marxist theory because it’s interesting and the memes themselves are smart,” she said. “But some of the memes I saw, it was just like – you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Thompson started noticing people using

Follow Tamia Thompson on Twitter at @silkslips or on Instagram at @t__stn and CapU’s unofficial meme account on Instagram at @ justcaputhings.

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"They give us a chance to splice pieces of our media

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faculties, because most people don’t really have an education in critically engaging with images,” said Monahan. “The average person doesn’t look at an image and wonder if it’s true or false or if it’s propagandistic.”

The alt-right load memes with symbolism that reflects their ideology, and because the ideology is in meme format it becomes easier to penetrate people’s thinking and radicalize them. “The most successful memes tend to be the most flexible memes, in that they can mean lots of different things to lots of different people,” said Communications Professor Whitney Phillips in an interview with Vice. Whitney coauthored The Ambivalent Internet, a book on everyday online expression. “It's a way of feeling connected to other people who have similar experiences, and that can be really positive and life-affirming and pro-social and all these good things, and that is also how people connect with racist memes, because that resonates with their racist sense of the world.”

According to Whitney, the abstract and flexible nature of memes makes it harder for progressives to utilize them. It could be possible that it’s harder to load a meme with

communist motifs like the sickle and hammer to make their memes funnier. “I found that a lot of the people that were making these jokes on Marx, that were making jokes about communism, they weren’t really founded in anything,” she said. “I’ve actually met people that are like ‘yeah, we need a communist society’ but like, they don’t know why, and they don’t know any nation that’s been communist and it’s actually worked and they don’t have a means to progress from that, to move away from that. They don’t have any talking points about why communism would work and what it would do for people, other than universal things like healthcare.”

Not everyone that comes across a Marxist meme will get it. Thompson noted that the memes you like depend on the experiences you go through and your personal demographic. “Observing a meme and finding it funny versus not finding it funny is exactly a result of your upbringing – exactly a result of what you were raised up to find funny, what you ended up being nurtured to find funny.” Memes not only reflect our sense of humour and tastes, but they shape them. “I can say with a thousand per cent surety,” Thompson said, “that if I did not have the internet community I had when I was a teenager on Tumblr and when I was in college working on Post Aesthetics, I would not have the sense of humour that I have now.”

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Naked and Not Afraid Finding my place in the burlesque community

SCARLETT VANDERWOODSEN COLUMNIST

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here’s something so powerful about finding your niche, your community, your home. Connecting passion to what you pursue is what living a full life entails. During my time as a ballet dancer, I learned an astonishing amount about discipline and integrity. A widely-known fact about the dance community is that it is incredibly competitive and toxic. At a young age, I never quite fit in with the kids at school because of my extracurriculars.

And on the rare occurrences that I did, the time I could’ve spent hanging out my peers was spent in a deathly frigid studio doing tendus and padebures for hours on end only to go home to a stack of homework. I never

Bitter and Better There’s something terrible happening in the express line, and it’s not just the grammar

GRETA KOOY COLUMNIST ILLUSTRATED BY ERIKA MEDINA

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arlier this week I went to Whole Foods to buy some cheese. That’s it – nothing else, just $11 cheese. I knew exactly what I wanted and where to find it, so I put about nine minutes worth of change into the parking meter, thinking that’d be more than enough time.

There were a lot of people in the store that day, typical of this particular Whole Foods on a Tuesday afternoon. Despite that, I was sure nine minutes was probably all I needed.

I navigated swiftly through the crowd, grabbed my two small blocks of cheese and

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quite fit in with the girls at my ballet school either. I’ve never been a highly competitive or aggressive person, which led me to accept whatever was thrown my way and that ultimately took the passion out of it all. I was shy, and while I felt like I had so much to offer, I struggled to express my thoughts, fully explore my creativity and give myself credit for what I accomplished.

My abundant love for the film Burlesque has been a rollercoaster. Initially watching the movie, I was overcome by the glamour and perfection of the highly rehearsed dance routines and pre-recorded vocals. It was once I began looking into becoming a burlesque performer myself, that my relationship with the film turned a bit sour.

Every character has visible abs, a radiant complexion, charismatic personality and, above all, a limitless amount of talent and sparkle.

While there are many inaccuracies in the movie, one of the major aspects of the art that totally gets lost in the film is the level of acceptance within the burlesque community.

Where I feel the film really dropped the ball is how it had the chance to open itself up to the LGBTQ+, boylesque and minority communities, but instead chose to throw in just a couple people of colour (again, all with rock-solid abs) and call it a day and a half.

The burlesque community is so much more than just another performing arts community, and so much more than just a weekend show to drop in on. Given the

vulnerability performers must be able to open themselves up to when they’re on stage, a show creates a bubble of acceptance, for both the performers and the audience members.

One of the best examples I can think of is my solo to The Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer.” Dressed in a Parisian getup, including a trench coat, a black and white striped shirt and topped with a red beret – all of which were stripped – I crawled and clawed my way to the front of the stage. The manic agony I presented to the audience wasn’t sexy. In fact, it was pretty horrendous. However, it was the passion that I portrayed and the commitment to the creepy character that made my performance an absolute hit. From propping myself up on a small ledge between booths going all in for David Bryne’s harsh cries in the song, to sprawling myself across an audience member’s table (which was incredibly unstable might I add), the audience was there for it all. No matter how seemingly ugly the number would get each night I performed it, the crowd would still go nuts for my beret-tossing striptease finale, rather than critique the gracefulness and shallow beauty of it. While previous numbers that I’ve performed included “Do Right”, “But I Am A Good Girl” and “Nasty Naughty Boy”, these have all fed the stereotypes of allure and sexiness that Burlesque showcases, it’s my numbers that work to push boundaries and perceptions of what beauty is, that end up being my best

performances. To this day, the mass amount of acceptance I received from my troupe madame, who gave me the green light for the number in the first place, and the crowds those nights continues to rock me to my core when I think back on it.

The encouragement and personal support that I’ve gotten as a performer from my troupe through rehearsals to show nights is what has kept me a part of this community.

Outside the club, I continue to be doubtful of what I’m capable of and my talent, and to this day, I question whether or not I’m even cut out to be doing burlesque. But the truth is, anyone can do burlesque. Though you must still be able to bring a level of professionalism and ability in order to perform, you don’t have to be a certain gender, sexual orientation, race or body type. You don’t need to be ultra smooth and sophisticated and mysterious. Though certain companies will look for performers who are willing to mould to whatever production they want to put on, making that executive decision to either stay with a company or be your own boss is yours to make.

I was lucky enough to make a choice that led to me joining a troupe that is a perfect fit for me. The stage is my place for growth both personal and as a creative. Despite the doubts that were instilled in me from a young age, I now feel like I’m enough. In fact I know that I am, and always will be enough to be a part of this community. And for once, I feel right at home.

headed for the “eight items or less” express line. There were four people ahead of me, two of whom were a very Kitsilano-looking couple. It was when they got to the front of the line that my Whole Foods Hell was realized and my patience tested.

I could tell with one look in their basket that they certainly did not have “eight items or less”. The tall Jared Leto look-alike with a black beanie started fishing items one by one out of their basket and placing them on the countertop.

The person behind the register gently reminded them that this was an “eight items or less” line, but continued to scan their items anyway. My type-A personality reared its ugly head and I started counting.

16 items.

I looked down at my phone, worried about how much time I had left on my meter, and I was down to just four minutes.

Normally I wouldn’t fret too much about running out of time at a meter, but this area of Fourth Avenue is notorious for parking tickets. I was in no position to afford a ticket – I spend all my money on this expensive cheese, and I became irrationally angry at this couple. How dare they bring twice the number of allotted items into this sacred line? Don’t they know there are rules? This is anarchy.

The extra wait time gave me a chance to try and understand them a bit more. Maybe I’d dislike them less? I am trying to be better, after all.

This couple, a very chilled-out couple, looked like they could’ve lived out of their van. They didn’t care about material items and they justified the expensive price tag at Whole Foods by saying they supported local

businesses. They wanted to do better by the planet. She wore a long, flowy dress and her hands were adorned with at least six rings each. He was tall and wore ripped jeans.

Perhaps they had a cat or two and rode their bikes everywhere because it’s better for the environment? They were good people like that.

They seem cool, I thought to myself. I need to relax. As irritated as I was, I bit my lower lip and waited for my turn. Finally, the cashier had run their thousands of items through.

That’s when she pulled out a Louis Vuitton wallet.

It all hit me at once. I now noticed that he was wearing expensive leather shoes and the tote she was carrying read CÉLINE on the side. These weren’t free-spirited, loving hippies, they were phonies. All of my previously imagined perceptions of them crumbled.

This situation bothered me, I don’t really

know why. I was willing to give them a pass when I thought they were saving the planet.

Nope, not anymore. My judgement was no longer clouded and those 16 items were now inexcusable and inconsiderate.

I could tell I wasn’t the only one bothered by it either, which gave my frustration the affirmation it needed.

I titled column Bitter and Better, hoping that I could share these moments of trivial frustration and somehow better myself from it, maybe even chill out a bit. But by the way of things lately, I’m on the verge of changing its name to Petty and Proud – a much more honest description.

Finally, the couple left with three paper bags in tow. The next person in line checked out in less than a minute and so did I. This is what the geniuses behind the express line had imagined it to be – swift and painless.

Still, feeling a bit bitter I walked back to my car with the two small blocks of cheese, and there was a ticket on my dashboard.

Beats and Buckets There's nothing like a hometown hero

JUSTIN SCOTT COLUMNIST

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donned Steve Nash jerseys. My basketball club made annual trips to Seattle to see the SuperSonics host Nash and his Phoenix Suns. He’d often come out after the games and talk to us and answer our questions.

Nash was a hero to many.

It’s people like him who prove that “anything is possible”, in former basketball star Kevin Garnett’s words. If a relatively short guy from Victoria can become a twotime NBA MVP and almost win an NBA championship, you can certainly succeed in your goals as well. This truth is driven home even more when you see those you know succeeding.

When someone you grew up with finds success pursuing their passion in such competitive industries like the music world or professional sports, it makes you feel like there’s no reason you can’t do whatever it is that you want to do. They’re inspiring and give hope. While many musicians and athletes already do this, if they’re not from your hometown, you don’t have the same connection with them.

Perhaps the only thing more exciting than seeing those from your city on the big screen is seeing their journey to get there.

High school athletes starting to generate buzz, or local bands building up steam, offers the excitement that only seeing

Digital Hurdles Publishers are playing us

ILLUSTRATED BY RYAN MCDIARMID

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hate to break it to you, but we’re not playing video games anymore – we’re playing live services. You may have heard the buzzword being tossed around the video game industry over the last year or two, and for good reason. Publishers and developers are consciously moving away from static price tags on their games.

We’ve seen this in the past with post-launch add-ons, downloadable content or special editions with packed-in bonuses. But now, games are specifically designed to keep us playing. Forever. Or until the publisher decides they’re not making enough money anymore and pulls support and shuts down the servers.

This idea of the “forever game” or “games as service” is nothing new. The mobile games market has been perfecting this business model for years, and only recently has the mainstream games industry caught up. It’s a simple idea really – keep players playing and paying into the same game rather than moving on and buying a new

one. In more business-y terms, this is often referred to as “PRI” or “player recurring investment.” It’s something that Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry developer Ubisoft is doubling down on. The company announced earlier this year that it would be moving most, if not all of its titles to this live service model. Their CEO, Yves Guillemot, went so far as to say, “PRI has the potential to deliver prodigious value for our shareholders.” Essentially, it will make them boatloads more money.

And this model is incredibly effective.

Epic Games’ Fortnite has quickly become a cultural phenomenon since its release last September. By May of this year, the game had already made over $1 billion. None of that money came from a traditional price tag associated with purchasing the title.

The game has always been free to play and earns revenue only through cosmeticbased microtransactions. Similarly, in 2017 Activision Blizzard made $4 billion on microtransactions alone. That is the unicorn that live service games are chasing.

Publishers want to figure out how to give their game as long of a tail as possible.

That way they can continue to rake in money from the same users. It is far more valuable for them to keep us paying a few dollars here and there every month then to charge us $79.99 once every few years. It’s why we’ve seen new releases like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 adopt not just similar game modes to other successful live services, but also plan a yearlong roadmap of new content and events.

There’s a number of different strategies developers utilize to keep players in their ecosystems for as long as possible. Many games now feature daily login bonuses that reward us if we keep checking in and playing the game. Others have limited edition “game passes” that unlock seasonal rewards for playing during a specific event. Even the recent Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey offered players a one time $10 experience boost that will help get them through the massive game just a little bit faster. Even the highly controversial blind box or “loot box” is still prevalent in the space. Certain governments

around the world have likened blind boxes to slot machines and gambling. These reward players with a chance to earn items or cosmetics in exchange for real world money. The key word there is “chance.”

Whether it be gambling mechanics or daily login rewards, these systems become all the more troubling when we take into account their addictive nature. Players may be able to control their spending and limit how they interact with these systems, but those that are predisposed to developing addictions may wind up paying the price.

In the end, I suppose it falls to each player to determine how they derive value from these games. For me personally, it can feel like being pulled in a million directions.

Investing in a game is no longer like going to the movies – strapping in for an experience that I know has a definitive end. I find myself growing anxious, and no longer excited when I see an interesting new game or franchise announcement. I worry whether it will be worth the time and the investment.

Will this hot new open world co-op action role-playing game be a money pit? On top of that, will this new hotness pull me away from the games that I’ve already sunk so much time, effort and money into?

We saw a similar monetization model with massively multiplayer games in the early 2000’s. These subscription-based games asked for $15 per month from every player. After World of Warcraft rocketed to success, countless more titles tried to get a piece of the pie. However, most shutdown just as soon as they sprang up when players weren’t willing to make that extra investment. Maybe in the Netflix era, we’re more accustomed to paying into these types of live services. Truth be told, I’m really excited to check out The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and to see what other interesting new shows Netflix might have planned down the road. But will I be playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 a year from now? I seriously doubt it.

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JOHN TABBERNOR COLUMNIST

potential come to fruition can give.

Seeing Peach Pit at the Vogue was a special experience, but what makes it even better is the fact that many in attendance had been to a few of their previous shows at much smaller venues. To be able to see them find their sound and grow as a group both musically and in terms of success just gives even more context to where they are now – and that’s something that only someone from their hometown could have.

There was a moment at the concert last Friday that exemplified this better than words could. As the band played their song, "Tommy’s Part", their parents, whom they had already pointed out and thanked earlier in the night, could be seen dancing along in the venue’s upper balcony. The thing is, many of the attendees didn’t know their parents because of the band’s praise earlier that night. They’d known them for years. At school events, time spent at the band members’ houses as kids or getting rides to or from sports games, these parents had been in many of the fans lives far longer than Peach Pit has existed. That’s a connection that can’t be beat and will never be broken. It’s connections like this that make homegrown talent so special and exciting to see.

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here’s something special about seeing someone from your hometown make it big. It’s even more special when you grew up with them.

Whether it’s an athlete, musician, actor, politician or other notable personality, we tend to see ourselves in those we share roots with.

Last Friday, local breakout band Peach Pit played a sold-out show at the Vogue.

This show was extra special for many in the audience since they knew at least one or several members of the group. They grew up with them, went to school and parties with them and still see them occasionally. To see the people you spent your formative years with rocking one of your city’s most storied venues is hard to beat.

It’s no different for athletes. Whenever an athlete, no matter their sport, returns to their hometown, they’re usually greeted like family. Or, if someone can represent their hometown by playing for one of their city’s teams, they become an ambassador and often a hero. The best recent example is LeBron James ending Cleveland’s championship drought by winning the 2016 NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But why is seeing someone from your home on the big stage such an experience?

It’s because it’s hard not to see a little part of yourself in them. To know that even if you grew up in completely different areas, never shared any of the same friends or have any other connection, you’re still from the same place and the same community.

I was young kid who loved basketball.

During an era when some of the greatest players to ever grace the hardwood were in their prime, the majority of Vancouverites

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If She Ruled the World Tiffany Haddish, the First Queen of Black Comedy, didn’t just steal the show, she overtook the entire game

KEVIN KAPENDA COLUMNIST

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 5

ILLUSTRATED BY FIONA DUNNETT

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ike music and film, comedy has long been a form of entertainment that has not only been segregated, but has favoured white comedians. Like Hollywood being too white, or African Americans rarely winning the Grammys for album, record or song of the year, comedy has proven to have just as much inequality.

After all, late-night talk shows, which have long been viewed as the pinnacle of comedy, have only ever produced one black host – Arsenio Hall. The good news is that, just like the film and music industry, people are noticing the level of inequality in comedy and trying to do something about it. As the son of African parents who immigrated

to Canada, I generally grew up watching African American comedians. But in my 24 years of life, never has a black woman been regarded as the top comedian in that sphere.

That is until Tiffany Haddish took the field by storm.

Comparable to some of my favourite women in Hollywood, Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis and Ali Wong, Haddish was a late bloomer. Her first major gig came at 34 in 2014 at the Oprah Winfrey Network’s (OWN) drama television series, If Loving You is Wrong. However, it wasn’t until 2015 when she scored a breakout, landing a supporting role on NBC’s The Carmichael Show. It was her performance on this sitcom that earned her a role in the 2017 summer comedy movie, Girls Trip, alongside some of the most successful black actresses of our time – Regina Hall, Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith. Despite the stardom of her co-stars, Haddish was the one who stole the show and earned numerous nominations for her supporting role.

While Haddish is now a household name, things weren’t always as easy for the comedienne. Born in 1979, she grew up in South Central Los Angeles during

the tumultuous 80s and 90s, where a lack of economic opportunities fueled crime, and police brutality was the norm. Her environment, surprisingly, was only a small detail of her difficult childhood. When she was nine, her mother was involved in a near-fatal car accident, which understandingly made it harder for her to be an adequate

myself. The human part. The part that has feelings and expresses them. I started to shut down. I got really good at bottling everything inside, telling myself over and over that my feelings were not valid. That I was not allowed to feel.

Man, what a hypocrite I was. In high school, I was always the person that my friends would go to whenever they needed advice. I encouraged all the people around me to talk about their feelings and to practice self-love. My friends used to jokingly call me their therapist – I did it so often and so well that for awhile I wanted to go to university to be a psychologist (okay a counsellor, let’s be real, I would never have the discipline to acquire a Ph.D.).

Eventually I came to terms with the absolutely terrifying realization that there was only one thing I wanted to go to university for, to be an actor. It was the only thing I ever wanted to do, it was what I needed to do, so one afternoon while in a state of stress and frustration studying for the upcoming chemistry test I had to take, I took a chance and applied to CapU’s Acting for Stage and Screen Program. There were a lot of things holding me back before, but once I applied I was determined that this is what I was going to do. I still remember going into the bathroom during a Law 12 class simply to check my phone and saw the email asking me to come in for an

audition. I started jumping up and down in the bathroom stall and started crying. This is something I wanted so badly. I entered the first year of the program bright eyed and bushy tailed. I had worked to get over all of those fears and doubts that had been implanted and I was excited to start a new chapter of my life, to meet new people and to finally be in school for something I was extremely passionate about.

This program has been a roller coaster to say the least, but throughout it my passion for acting has only grown. If there is one thing that has been stressed over the course of my education, it is that you can’t simply make up feelings or emotions that your character has – they have to be rooted in something real within yourself. Let me tell you, it’s not easy.

Here’s the thing about acting school, you talk about your feelings a lot. This is something I had trained myself to stop doing – in high school I was the one that listened and never the one that talked. Not that my friends wouldn’t try to get me to talk that is, they would constantly be saying things like “anyways enough about me, how are things with you?” And every time they would ask I would always respond with something like “there’s just nothing going on with me, I’m fine!”

I’m fine. These two meaningless little words were my defence mechanism.

guardian. This resulted in Haddish spending much of her teenage years in foster care.

Not only did it take her years to break into the industry, but the fact that she survived a childhood most couldn’t even imagine makes her a true testament to the American Dream.

Since the release of Girls Trip, the last year has been a whirlwind for Haddish, appearing on many daytime and late-night talk programs, and gracing the cover of many periodicals, including Essence, Time and The Hollywood

Reporter. But what is most special about Haddish’s rise is that she has become the face of black comedy – the first time a woman has ever been in that position.

Haddish is more than deserving of being mentioned in the company of iconic black comedians, from Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby, to Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock and later, Kevin Hart. However, if the rise of Ali Wong and Amy Schumer tells us anything, it is that the women in comedy are no longer waiting their turns to have a breakthrough. They’re kicking down doors and demanding the doormen to add them to the list.

Refusing to rest on her laurels, Haddish has transitioned smoothly from Girls Trip, to headlining two movies and starring in a new sitcom. The movies include Night School, alongside Kevin Hart, and Nobody’s Fool, with Tika Sumpter. Her new sitcom, which is carried by TBS and sadly not shown in Canada, is titled The Last O.G., and also stars comedy heavyweight Tracy Morgan.

In Night School, Haddish plays a teacher whose students are adults trying to earn their GED. Her role in Nobody’s Fool is that of a convict that has recently been released from prison into the care of her “white collar” sister, while in The Last O.G., her character is in the opposite position, as the ex-wife and mother to the kids of a man, played by Morgan, who has recently been released after a multi-year sentence. These roles are both proof of Haddish’s versatility and why I think she will continue to be a force in comedy for years to come. A true trailblazer, there’s nothing like breaking down barriers for both women and African Americans at the same time.

Artist Angle Reclaiming my sensitivity MILA MELADINIS COLUMNIST A

rotating spot with the personal

recollections of various students

– this A cting S tudent M ila M eladinis writes about embracing sensitivity . reflecting on their artistry issue :

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knew from a young age that acting was something I loved. There was just something about expressing myself by delving into a character that was so exciting. The happiest memories of my time in elementary and high school were when I got to perform. Despite all of this however, there was always that voice in my head that told me it was not worth it. As I got older I became more apprehensive towards acting. The dream of being an actor seemed just that, a dream. Although I continued to participate in any opportunity I had to act within my school, I was starting to lose my desire to be an actor – I was scared.

Growing up, I was a strongly emotional person. I felt everything and wasn’t afraid to share it. I was labelled as sensitive, and it started to become something that I was ashamed to be. I grew to hate that part of

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Fortunately for me, in acting school we cut right through those defence mechanisms, and it didn’t take long before I realized that I wouldn’t be able to hide my emotions away for much longer. Being an actor is extremely challenging if you can’t be vulnerable. I have had to rediscover that person that I was before social pressure got the best of me, the person who was emotional and not afraid to be sensitive. Throughout my training in acting I have had to be pushed pretty far, exploring some of the most intense sides of life, exposing myself to all kinds of heartbreak. It is so important as humans to take care of ourselves. Reminding myself to take time to breathe is a constant struggle.

I have always felt very strongly about self-care and something I have grown to learn is that the first step in doing this is by not hiding your emotions. Let yourself feel because it is okay to have emotions. It’s not enough to put on a brave face and smile through the pain.

Every once in a while I find myself reverting to my old habits, bottling up any pain I feel. I have to remind myself every day that I’m allowed to have feelings, and that I have the right to express them. It’s my job as an artist to embrace my vulnerability, as scary as it may be, because acting is an expression of humanity, and having emotions only makes us human.

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NOVEMBER VARIETY OF FOOD-BASED WORKSHOPS

CENTRO ITALIAN CULTURAL CENTRE 6:30 PM / VERY EXPENSIVE

Learn how to make gnocchi or vegan cheese from Karen McAthy, owner of the Blue Heron Creamery. She has a great recipe for figs stuffed with ricotta cheese made from almonds.

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE TRIVIA

TERMINAL PUB 7:30 PM / $10.99 ADVANCE OR $15 AT THE DOOR

Test your knowledge of detective Jake Peralta’s most notorious hijinx on the hit show over a couple of beers. Wrangle a team together and see who can accurately guess what Captain Holt’s reaction was the first time he tried a marshmallow.

INVESTMENT STRATEGIES NIGHT: STOCK TRADING

CSU MEMBERS CENTRE 5 PM / FREE

Leonardo DiCaprio made stock brokering look easy. And with some advice from the Capilano Finance Association, you could be on your way to managing your own portfolio. Although we highly recommend you don’t snort your earnings after you cash out.

SUIT UP GREAT GATSBY STYLE

CSU MEMBERS CENTRE 5:30 PM / $10

Our Production Manager is organizing this event so it’s guaranteed to be a blast. If you’re one of those people who dresses to the nines at every occasion, this is for you. A Great Gatsby-themed networking event featuring door prizes, LinkedIn headshots and a complimentary drink. I hope the Jazz students will be there so we can dance the Charleston.

VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 5

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BACK TO THE FUTURE

RIO THEATRE 11:15 PM / $10.50 ADVANCE OR $12.50 AT THE DOOR

Great Scot! Marty and Doc are back. Enjoy Back to the Future on the silver screen all over again.

VANCOUVER PODCAST FESTIVAL VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY 11 AM / PRICES VARY

Featuring producer talks, meet and greets and panel discussions about politics, true crime and journalism in the podcast industry, this day-long event is for both the experienced and the newcomers of the podcasting world.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

This one is extra important because it’s the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War. Take a moment to remember the fallen, and the veterans that need support. And don’t forget to accidentally stab yourself with a poppy.

THREE WINTERS

THE CULTCH 2 PM AND 8 PM / PRICES VARY

The play is a fictional account of soldiers captured at the Stalag Luft III POW camp who hatched several daring escape plans, all performed by millennial actresses.

It’s all about challenging the audience to think about why only certain people are allowed to play parts on stage or screen. Select performances are cheaper. Housing Crisis Prices (those are a real thing) will be offered to those who struggle to afford to live in Vancouver. Although if you do, I wouldn’t splurge on the theatre.

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CSU MEMBERS CENTRE 6 PM / FREE

There are more opportunities for networking at Capilano University, and the Young Women in Business want to help you find some clarity in your dreams. Grab a bite to eat, shake a few hands and take a goofy photo in the photo booth.

CREATING CONNECTIONS THE PIPE SHOP 5:30 PM / $15 AND UP

Wait, even more networking? Except this event takes place off campus, and it’s the most expensive one at the reasonable price of $15 to meet and greet reps from local businesses over food and drink. Is November Networking Month? Maybe business is like Tinder and everyone’s looking for love (or jobs) over the holidays? Whatever the case, I didn’t get the memo.

EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL VARIOUS LOCATIONS

The Eastside Culture Crawl is a four-day artist showcase. Today, check out a metal clay jewellery demo by Polish artist Beata Kacy at Octopus Studios at 3 pm.

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 5

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CRYSTALLIZE

Free Solo (not A Star Wars Story) An untethered portrait of the man behind the athletic feat of the century

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FREYA WASTENEYS FEATURES EDITOR

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

BLUESHORE FINANCIAL CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 8 PM / $15 FOR STUDENTS

If you haven’t seen an Exit 22 play yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. Sense and Sensibility is a Jane Austen classic, but CapU’s own musical theatre, acting, technical theatre, costuming and arts and entertainment management students come together in a display of amazing talent. Support your classmates. See a play.

COCKTAILS AND COCKATOOS GREYHAVEN EXOTIC BIRD SANCTUARY 2 PM / $25

I hope this event lives up to its name. I can just picture sitting at the bar, sipping a minty mojito while Polly squawks in my ear for a cracker. I’d go all the way to Delta for that. Yes, the drink is included in the price of the ticket.

VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: THE PLANETS ORPHEUM THEATRE 2 PM / $11+

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is collaborating with the Canadian Music Competition Ambassadors Concert Series to bring the night sky to life through music and imagery projections by the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.

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weaty palms are guaranteed to all who watch Alex Honnold scale Yosemite’s famed 2, 307 metre granite monolith: El Capitan. The newly released documentary, Free Solo, hit the main screen in Canada last week, and, frankly, it was stunning.

For this cliffhanger of an epic, directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin partnered with National Geographic to provide an intimate look into the life of the prolific climber as he prepared for his solo mission up the world’s biggest big wall.

Call it foolhardy, risky or stupid, and you would probably be right. Honnold and co. admit that there’s no rhyme or reason to the act. Honnold spent years looking up at the rock face, only to say “no, too scary.”

But coming from a hesitant star, hesitant friends and hesitant filmmakers, is an authentic, brutally honest introspection on risk in sport, which provides a revelation on Honnold’s unorthodox methods and relationships. One relationship triangle takes center-stage, in a face-off between his romantic interest, Sanni McCandless, and his first love — climbing.

Feel all the feels as Honnold shares brutally blunt revelations like his nevergood-enough mentality and poignant childhood reflections. His parent’s separation, his mother’s harsh criticisms and his father’s idiosyncrasies and early death provide insight on the somewhat ambiguous

brown-eyed figure the climbing community has come to know and love. Even if you’re not a thrill seeker or a climbing nerd, this movie hits a deeper vein than most sporting documentaries.

Don’t let weird bodily reactions like stress sweat and stomach drops deter you from seeing this cinematic sports thriller. As you watch Honnold hang over the Yosemite Valley, don’t feel bad, just know that pretty much everyone involved in the making of this film was shitting their pants, too. While it may not make sense to ordinary folk or even extreme sports athletes, there is no denying that Honnold is the real life embodiment of Spiderman.

Climbers — don’t forget your chalk bags.

Your sweaty hands will thank you.

SHORTS

Reviews Film, Music, Live Theatre and more.

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Franz Lehár’s Viennese operetta,The Merry Widow, is highfalutin fun

CHILLARY CLINTON NASTY WOMAN

ROBYN BEYLEVELDT CONTRIBUTOR

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here's something different about Jessie Reyez. It's not that she's already come close to the apex of the Canadian music landscape with a Polaris Music Prize longlist in 2017. Or that she followed the prestigious nomination by winning the Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist in 2018. It's not even that both accolades were built on the momentum of her magnetic, seven-track debut album, Kiddo.

What separates the Canadian singersongwriter is in fact, far from the prestige and mystique that many of her contemporaries are often enveloped by.

Reyez, as she once again exquisitely illustrates in her aptly-titled latest album, Being Human In Public, is really just one of us.

This type of humanness is perfectly illustrated in opening track, "Saint Nobody".

The power-packed ballad leads with a macabre yet not uncommon thought: "I think about dying everyday / I've been told that that's a little strange / but I guess I've always been a little strange." The track, which serves as a never-give-up rallying cry, doubles as an ode to the oft-harsh realities that many immigrants face, with Reyez delivering some heartfelt words about her parents.

In tracks "F*** Being Friends" and "Dear Yessie", Reyez exhibits a level of range and bravado that's reminiscent of the

great Rihanna. She raps with a ferocity that would put your favourite rappers to shame, and sings with so much vindication that it's almost cinematic.

Like Kiddo, Being Human In Public is a concise seven-track release. And just as "Figures" was two years ago, "Sola" is an undoubted masterclass. Sung entirely in Spanish and accompanied only by a single acoustic guitar, "Sola" has Reyez at her absolute best. She juxtaposes her raspy, whisper-like voice with flickering moments of tenderness, almost treating the track as a microcosm of the album's most eminent theme: vulnerability.

Two days before her Vancouver show on Oct. 16, Reyez posted an invitation across her social media platforms: "I'll be at DUFFIN's Donuts at 4:30 pm today. Come through. I wanna eat some fried chicken and meet some of my Vancouver peoples."

The message is entirely representative of Reyez and the very nature of Being Human In Public. There is an openness here – a deliberate lack of desire to shield oneself with the boundaries of celebrity and stardom. Being Human In Public is deeply personal yet it so easily represents the voice of many. To say that the album "speaks to you" would be a tragic understatement – it is a manifesto of women, of the other, of the lover, the loved and unloved, of the immigrant and of course, the human.

PHOTO BY KEN HOWARD METROPOLITAN OPERA

F

or all of last week, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre showed Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow, a fun and fancy excursion for anyone wanting to sample the opera lifestyle. As a first-time opera attendee, I had no preconceived expectations or standards, which is why The Merry Widow was my ideal introduction to similar highfalutin functions. As an operetta, it transitions between grandiose musical numbers and interludes of dialogue.

Surrounding scandal, extravagance, politics, financial crises and lovers in denial, The Merry Widow covers endearing themes in three acts, with witty humour and romance littered throughout.

The story follows the exploits of the Pontevedrian ambassador in Paris trying to prevent his small country from going bankrupt. The ambassador, Baron Zeta, hosts a ball to raise money for the embassy.

His real agenda, however, is to secure the fortune of wealthy widow Hanna Glawari so he can end his country’s financial crisis. He schemes to marry off the womanizing Count Danilo Danilovitch to the merry widow. The count and the widow, upon meeting, realize that they had been engaged years before but were never married due to their class divide.

Hanna’s poor family was considered unfit to marry into Danilo’s aristocratic one. Thus,

VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 5

The new people's champ, Jessie Reyez, is the latest voice of a generation

Danilo struggles with wanting to help his country but not wanting to appear a gold digger by asking for Hanna’s hand again in light of her new wealth. So begins the will-they-won’t-they romance central to the story. Meanwhile, the Baron’s own wife and a mysterious Frenchman are flirting with hilarious results.

There is a lot to like. The Merry Widow’s amusing characters and their relationships make the story endearing. The sets are equally as colourful as the characters within them. The three acts are set in the most lavish rooms imaginable: the foreign embassy ballroom, the rich widow’s villa and a French salon complete with cancan dancers. The songs are all in German, accompanied by English subtitles above the stage, while the dialogue is in English.

The performers are incredibly talented singers, actors and dancers. In the first act, they waltz throughout the ballroom in monochrome suits and gowns. At the rich widow’s villa, they traverse the stage in feathered hats and scarves. In the final act, they perform a bona fide Can Can dance which is the undeniable highlight of the show. So take any chance you get to visit the opera sometime soon. La Bohème is playing in February.

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Alumni Filmmakers Show Off Their Most Memorable Work at Off the Grid The extracurricular film school project celebrated 10 years last month CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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uring the summer months, the state of the art film equipment used

by Capilano University Motion Picture Arts (MOPA) students goes in for servicing and the Nat and Flora Bosa Centre stands dormant. Wishing to make use of the idle days and available equipment, Chair of the MOPA program, Michael Thoma, began an extracurricular activity that would turn into Off the Grid.

Off the Grid is a summer project, and as alumni filmmaker Pat Suveg can attest, for many students their first taste of pitching.

Students are required to sell their scripts, and Thoma only chooses the best. The lucky students receive access to the equipment for eight days, and have the rest of the summer to edit and produce their short film, which show in the Fall semester.

2018 marks 10 years of Off the Grid, and to celebrate the success of this decadelong venture, Thoma invited back alumni filmmakers to share some of their more popular short projects. Among the alumni who aired their films at the Oct. 16 screening in the Bosa Theatre were Chris Beaubien and Pat Suveg.

Beaubien, a recent graduate of the program, showed his short film Socket, which has screened at a dozen film festivals since its premiere at Off the Grid in 2016.

At the GenreBlast Film Festival in Virginia, it was nominated for the Best Overall Short award, and it was also shown at the Sick ‘n’ Wrong Film Festival in Florida.

“I take very awkward or very painful periods in my life and try to give it some meaning by turning it into art,” said Beaubien. Socket is a psychological horror film about a doctor who takes revenge on a patient who blithely dismisses her attempts at photography as amateurish.

Currently, Beaubien is wrapping up production on his fourth-year project, a short film called Siren, which he has submitted to

Sundance and the Seattle International Film Festival. “A modern-day Grimm fairytale” in his own words, Siren bounced around inside his head for four years until he finally had the opportunity to produce it. “The idea occurred to me when I got pulled over for speeding by a cop one winter night,” he said of the film, which was also inspired partly

by Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. “That movie made a real impression on me. I was thinking about making something along that vein, and I began to imagine this nightmare scenario where two women get pulled over by a cop and essentially their whole world evaporates around them,” he said.

Suveg, who graduated from MOPA in 2016, is currently working “normal hours” at his alma mater. After graduating, he did a camera trainee program and took up work on rotating film sets, including a stint on the set of The Descendants, a spinoff series about the descendants of famous Disney villains. “A lot of people don’t understand or realize until they’re in the industry how much of its own lifestyle it is,” he said. On set he’d work up to 15 hours a day. At the beginning of the Fall semester, he began as a studio technician preparing equipment for MOPA students. “It’s a very welcome change of pace,” he said.

Suveg’s Off the Grid film Red Danube aired on Oct. 16. He made the film three years ago and considers it the best of the three short films he made for Off the Grid while he was a student.

Red Danube follows a young woman in Budapest in 1944 that wakes to find her neighbours’ apartment ransacked. Their children are hiding in the upturned flat and their parents are missing. In an attempt to help the children, she gets caught up in the tide of deportations and executions.

“My parents were immigrants and I just have a love for history,” Suveg said. Those two factors keep him returning to Hungary in his films time after time. “When you think of things like World War Two everyone

PRODUCTIONS STILL FROM SOCKET (TOP) AND RED DANUBE (BOTTOM) PROVIDED BY CHRIS BEAUBIEN AND PAT SUVEG.

knows what happened in the west, but the east is more muddled.”

“One of the most successful [filmmakers] coming back is Gigi Saul Guerrero, who was responsible for El Gigante,” said Beaubien. “She scored a deal with Warner Brothers. That gives me as well as a number

of our peers some incentive,” he laughed. El Gigante is a short film adapted from Shane McKenzie’s novel, Muerte Con Carne about a Mexican wrestler. Also shown on Oct. 16 were films The Bus Stop by Kama Sood, Ennui by Cole Beaulne and Return To Sender

by Malibu Taetz.

RECAP: HUB Cycling Bike to Work Week Commuting by bike is not as daunting as you think BRIDGET STRINGER-HOLDEN CONTRIBUTOR

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ince HUB Cycling, a Metro Vancouver cyclist advocacy group, started the Bike to Work Week program in 2008, there have been about 20,000 people who have started commuting via bicycle. According to the HUB database, the majority of them continued cycling as well, with an average of 70 to 75 per cent of new riders still biking two months after the event. Those numbers still don’t account for seasoned cyclists like Michael Begg, an instructor at Capilano University, who began long before Bike to

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Work Week was established.

“I don’t ever drive, except a couple times a year maybe, if I’m hauling something big up to the office,” said Begg. He originally began cycling in 1991 during his summer co-op job as a UVic student. “I just found it was the best way to get to work, I just loved it, it was my exercise and it woke me up in the morning and then again after work.”

When the SeaBus shut down due to the 2011 Stanley Cup riots, Begg learned that biking across Lions Gate Bridge was a faster way home. Soon after, he started commuting by bicycle every day – rain or shine. Dry feet are his only requirement for comfort. “It was all upside, no downside.”

To get people cycling more often, HUB cycling started hosting Bike to Work Week every spring and fall. Mobi, a Vancouver bike share program, also has free 24-hour

bike rentals throughout Bike to Work Week, which ran from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4 this year. At every HUB station, quick bike maintenance was offered. There were also comment cards where people could write what parts of their bike route they wished to see improved. “Most people that engage in Bike to Work Week do end up cycling continuously after the fact. We use Bike to Work Week as a kind of hook to get new people in, but also to encourage people who normally bike to work to record those stats, so we have that snapshot of cycling at a specific point in time,” said Tom Skinner, the Bike to Work Week manager.

Though Begg was not personally influenced by Bike to Work Week, he encouraged his daughter to ride her bike to school through the program. “She’s in Grade 3, her school is 28 blocks from her

house and now she rides fairly often. I see the effect that [the program] has on kids going to her school,” he said. Begg also encourages people to get out there and bike, despite how intimidating or uncomfortable it might appear.

“Like everything in life, [cycling every day] takes a bit of initiative to start doing, but once you’re doing it, it’s easy,” he said. “Very quickly, after the first few trips, you secure your route and figure out your gear, it’s what you do, I don’t think about it all. I don’t think about it as a daunting thing, I get up in the morning and I put my son in the chariot and we head off to work.”

How I Competed as an International Dragon Boat Racer Helen Law remembers her frustrations at the 2018 Club Crew World Championships NIVEDAN KAUSHAL ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

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Paddlers, are you ready?” Helen Law, a fourth-year Capilano University Early Childhood Care and Education student, sat amongst the 22 crew members who represented Canada. Law sat in the 10th row of the 40 foot long dragon boat – the steerer at the stern, the drummer at the bow. Their white and red jerseys had

“Dreadnought” written across them. The horn blew. “30 seconds in, the bungee cord that held the drum in place snapped. The drummer fell. They deemed it as ‘not a safety concern’ and we came out last.”

Law’s dragon boating career began when a youth worker introduced her to the sport in Grade 11. Her first team was community oriented, focusing on having fun on the waters of False Creek. A few years later, she earned herself a spot on Dreadnought, a competitive Vancouver-based dragon boat racing team. From her first race with the team in Portland, Oregon, to placing fifth at Nationals, Dreadnought quickly advanced in the global rankings and qualified for the 2018 Club Crew World Championships (CCWC). The 21-year-old athlete

practiced six days a week leading up to the tournament, with some days having double workouts.

Dragon boating arose more than 2,000 years ago in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong, China. The boats themselves were culturally significant for the ancient Chinese, serving as vessels to appease the rain gods. When Chinese poet and minister, Qu Yuan, committed suicide in the Miluo River to protest political corruption, the public began organizing dragon boat races in his honour. Thousands of years later, the sport is now governed by the International Dragon Boat Federation, who held the 2018 CCWC at the Olympic Centre of Szeged, Hungary. Despite dragon boating’s ancient origins, the sport remains massively

popular, with more than 40 teams competing in Dreadnought’s bracket alone. “We lost the 200 metre because of the drum, and the 500 metre was even more stupid. We got fourth, but according to all audience and photographic evidence that we have obtained, it looked like we crossed the finish line third,” said Law. It was time for the last race of the whole tournament – the two kilometre dash. Eager to medal at least once, Dreadnought faced its final chance for glory. The teams approached the starting line. As they paddled mercilessly to the finish, one team’s boat began to sink. “All the coach boats came to rescue them. But of course, these coach boats create a lot of wake which affects how the boats paddle. So pretty much – in the end – everybody got screwed over.”

Beading with Shelley Ferguson in the Kéxwusm-áyakn Student Centre

NIVEDAN KAUSHAL ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR ILLUSTRATED BY PRISCILLA YU

As Ferguson learns more about traditional beading styles and techniques, she continues to make intricate patterns with anything she can. Over the years, she’s beaded John Lennon’s face on a bracelet, a Game of Thrones-inspired hair clip shaped as a dragon and even a pair of Star Wars shoes for her sister, complete with Darth Vader and the Death Star. Ferguson’s patterns may be complex, but “it's actually really simple,” she explained. “You're just going around and around and around, picking up different coloured beads.”

All a beader needs to do is choose an image, trace it, and start.

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helley Ferguson, a second-year Psychology student from the Qayqayt First Nation, sets an assortment of crafts onto a sofa. A handful of people work on their beaded creations while another student plays Brazilian guitar. Ferguson’s beaded Wonder Woman tie swings as she points to the Vancouver Canucks logo she made earlier. “There was at least a year or two where all I made were these different Canucks logos ‘cause that’s all anybody ever wanted. And now I’m just like, ‘I’m done.’”

The crafts include iconic cartoon and comic book characters like Bugs Bunny, Goofy, Harley Quinn and Jessica Rabbit beaded into bracelets.

Ferguson is facilitating Beading with

Shelley, a series of beading workshops held every Friday until Nov. 23 in Capilano University’s Kéxwusm-áyakn Student Centre. The series is part of the Centre’s goal to hold regular cultural workshops for students, faculty and the general public to attend. Though this is her first time as a facilitator, Ferguson has been perfecting her loom and embroidery beading skills for the last 15 years. “I think the beading process is very therapeutic once it gets going,” said the student playing Brazilian guitar. The repetitive, detailed work is a practical way to de-stress for many, including Ferguson when she was a stay-at-home mother.

Beading has allowed Ferguson to strengthen the connection to her Indigenous heritage. “My grandmother had [gone] to residential school. When she came out, she was ashamed of being First Nations.

She didn't tell us about beading – about anything.” Everything Ferguson has learned about the craft has come from trial and error and the internet. Currently, Ferguson is taking a First Nations of BC course to study Indigenous aesthetics. “My mother was 24 when she found out that she was half Native.

We didn't grow up with any of that culture,” she said.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

Ferguson connects with her Indigenous heritage, and makes Star Wars shoes

How I Found One of the Only Japanese Bathhouses in North America Bob Muckle stumbled across a nikkei camp by accident NIVEDAN KAUSHAL ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

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Archaeology is not just treasure hunting, it’s destructive. You have to have a good reason. You have to have a good question.” On a sunny spring afternoon in 1999, Bob Muckle, an archaeology instructor who has been teaching at Capilano University since 1989, got a phone call from an educational director for kid’s summer programs in North Vancouver. “He said it would be a terrific idea to get a bunch of metal detectors and give them to the kids and dig up stuff! It wasn’t illegal but certainly unethical.” Muckle pauses for a short laugh.

“I just immediately hung up the phone and

said, ‘okay, I’ll come up'."

From a subtle shift in growth pattern and a hint of garbage, they knew within an hour the proposed excavation site had potential as a field school – the paperwork went through in just two days. In 2003 they discovered something remarkable: an early 20th century nikkei camp – possibly the only one of its kind discovered in North America. “These are some of the artifacts right there,” Muckle gestures to one of the shelves in his office. Hidden in the peripheries is a display of bottles, clocks, china and pill boxes – a brief fragment of the 2000 artifacts that have been recovered from the camp to date. “They turned it into an oasis of Japanese culture,” he said.

This small group of nikkei settlers, who came to the valley through the logging industry, brought the seeds of a traditional way of life: a vegetable garden, a Shinto shrine and an ofuro (bathhouse) – one of the only Japanese bathhouses excavated on the

continent. The 12 buildings and the families living in them remained until the Second World War, where Muckle says the volume of personal artifacts indicates they likely faced interment. “None of the Japanese camps have any documentation that they were there,” said Muckle. To protect the water supply from Seymour Lake, the government destroyed any trace of human activity prior to 1950. The Euro-Canadian settlements are all that survived in popular local histories and records.

Muckle has given several talks at the Japanese-Canadian Heritage Centre in Burnaby as well as special tours for Japanese tourists and residents who come out to visit the site. On April 1, the 75th anniversary of the internment of 20,000 JapaneseCanadians during the Second World War, the site was officially designated on the provincial register of historic places. “Which is no small undertaking,” Muckle added.

“The designation was important because

only sites older than 1846 are protected by legislation.”

Muckle is the author of several books, including First Nations of British Columbia and Indigenous Peoples of North America.

His latest project is an upcoming book on the nikkei camps. Of the many places he’s had the opportunity to work, including Egypt, Alaska and Alberta, BC holds a special significance. “What’s here is no less important than it is in Rome or Greece or anything like that, but people tend not to appreciate the heritage we have here that goes back 14,000 years. It’s just not so visible like the Roman Colosseum or the Egyptian pyramids but that doesn’t mean it’s any less significant, it just requires more interpretation.” He looks outside for a moment at the forest, “it’s so hard to see because it gets buried really quickly – the leaves fall.”

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HOROSCOPES AQUARIUS (JAN. 21 – FEB.19)

It’s a shame you can’t wear that Devil’s tail and horns all year. It suits you.

PISCES (FEB. 20 – MARCH 20)

Your friends have screenshotted all of your drunk snapchats and believe me, they will come back to haunt you. Probably this week, right before your important job interview.

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COMIC MOPEVATIONAL COMICS FOR SAD PEOPLE. ILLUSTRATED BY ANNIE CHANG @SADTIRIST_

ARIES (MARCH 21 – APRIL 20)

You’ll realize you’ve hit a new low when you lick the locker room floor to win a 25 cent wager.

TAURUS (APRIL 21 – MAY 21)

Don’t let your looks get you down. Your grades can do that just fine on their own.

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 5

GEMINI (MAY 22 – JUNE 21)

Your roommate knows you’ve been stealing their sandwich ingredients.

CANCER (JUNE 22 – JULY 23)

Your physical prowess will score you a great deal of mating opportunities this week. Pack some rubber.

LEO (JULY 24 – AUG. 23)

Sorry, you’re up all night to get lucky but it’s not happening this time. Keep packing the rubber though. I’m rooting for you.

VIRGO (AUG. 24 – SEPT. 23)

There’s a special place for grammar nazis like you – the Courier’s office.

LIBRA (SEPT. 24 – OCT. 23)

Congratulations! You survived your first walk of shame.

SCORPIO (OCT. 24 – NOV. 22)

Don’t be a thorn in the side of everyone you meet.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 23– DEC. 21)

You need to stop living in the past and ground yourself. Otherwise you’ll be permanently grounded in your parent’s basement.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 – JAN. 20)

Your sunny ways attitude depresses people, especially when you never follow through on your promises.

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