Capilano Courier | Vol. 50, Issue 6.

VOLUME 50, ISSUE 6

OCT. 23–NOV. 6, 2017

ARTS

Inside look at haunted houses

NEWS

Master plan outlines CapU's long-term future

Ghost Stories pg. 10

EDITOR'S DESK

4

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Carlo Javier capcourier@gmail.com

CSU PRESENTS AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS TO STUDENTS

MANAGING EDITOR

Justin Scott manager.capcourier@gmail.com

FEAR NOT OF MAN

News Carlo Javier

NEWS EDITOR

5

Christine Beyleveldt news.capcourier@gmail.com OPINIONS EDITOR

NIGHTMARE BEFORE MIDTERMS

Tia Kutschera Fox opinions.capcourier@gmail.com

Helen Aikenhead specialfeatures.capcourier@gmail.com ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Rachel D'Sa arts.capcourier@gmail.com

6

THIS IS (SEXY) HALLOWEEN

CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

Greta Kooy campuslife.capcourier@gmail.com

Opinions

8

ONLINE EDITOR

Jessica Lio online.capcourier@gmail.com

THE MANY UGLY FACES OF OUR TIPPING CULTURE

COPY EDITOR

Leah Scheitel copy.capcourier@gmail.com

Columns ART DIRECTOR

Rachel Wada artdirector.capcourier@gmail.com PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Cristian Fowlie pm.capcourier@gmail.com

12

IT'S CHILLY IN THE AFTERLIFE Special Feature

COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER

John Tabbernor community.capcourier@gmail.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Andy Rice andy.capcourier@gmail.com

15

NOT A WALK IN THE DARK

COVER ART

Max Littledale

Arts & Culture

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Annalisse Crosswell, Julian Ensz, Laura Melczer, Natasha Jones, Freya Wastenays, Sarah Schmidt CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

Taylor Lee, Cynthia Tran Vo, Jenny Oakley, Juliana Vieira, Natalie Heaman, Max Littledale, Rachel Wada, Maria Centola

18

"HE’S A TRUE X-FACTOR" Sports

INTERESTED IN CONTRIBUTING?

THE CAPILANO COURIER is an autonomous,

Visit us in Maple 122 on Tuesdays and Fridays or

democratically-run student newspaper. Literary and

email capcourier@gmail.com.

visual submissions are welcomed. All submissions

INTERESTED IN ILLUSTRATING?

are subject to editing for brevity, taste and legality.

Submit your portfolio or examples of work to

The Capilano Courier will not publish material

artdirector.capcourier@gmail.com.

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

Capilano Courier Publishing Society.

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

THE CAPILANO COURIER

“There’s only one hell, Princess. The one we live in now,” – Melisandre

Campus Life

FEATURES EDITOR

2

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

Halloween is vastly different from what it was when I was a child. Granted, I did have my childhood in the Philippines, where cultural norms and religious practices were tied closely to Halloween celebrations. To celebrate the holiday, we visited cemeteries to commemorate those who had passed, we went to church for a special mass and children went door-to-door in their respective neighbourhoods, often receiving pocket change from homeowners – essentially our version of trick or treating.

There were similarities, too. Malls and popular streets hosted zombie parades, amusement parks modified their environment to add a spooky vibe to their facilities and haunted house tours were tremendously popular, especially real haunted house tours in abandoned buildings and homes.

When I moved to Canada nearly 10 years ago, Halloween started to change.

People still dressed up for the occasion, but costumes were no longer predicated on terrifying, horror ideals. They were funny, like an exaggeration of a popular superhero’s costume. They were meta, like a literal representation of a road kill.

Most popularly, Halloween costumes today are sexy, which basically applies to any possible costume, but with 70 per cent more skin.

While it may sound like I’m decrying the way Halloween has changed for me, I promise you, I’m not. I actually kind of like how Halloween has evolved. Ultimately, regardless of whether you like your Halloween celebration to be centred on cultural and religious values or exciting thrills and costuming extravaganzas, one variable about the popular holiday remains constant: fear.

Haunted houses still exist, tours around the spookiest neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland are abundant and horror films seem to be going through a rejuvenation.

Though it may seem like it’s walking the tightest of tight ropes, the Halloween spirit, even in the commercialized West, is still intact.

One of the best ways to underscore the differences in Halloween in the west and Asian cultures is through films. In many Asian horror flicks, fear is often predicated on the dead, on folklores and on the supernatural. You can see it in Asia’s most recognizable horror films, like Ringu, Juon: The Grudge and A Tale of Two Sisters.

While the same factors exist in Hollywood, many of the modern horror films are built around real, living characters. Often, Hollywood horror films depict sociopaths, murderers and other deviants. These movies also tend to favour

gory and nauseating scenes.

Though almost certainly superficial, could this difference in filmmaking philosophy be inherently related to the way we celebrate Halloween? It could very well be that Halloween in the west is not about the dead, but about the living.

This very detail might be the reason why I don’t really find an issue with the way the holiday has evolved through time and culture. Yes, cultural appropriation in costumes is a no-no, but really, I don’t have any issues with people who see Halloween as a day to “hoe it up” or as a day to get incredibly inebriated at one of our many downtown clubs. These are all ultimately just facets of the holiday anyway.

Maybe it has something to do with the focus on the fear of the living, being afraid of the dead is natural – I sure as hell am, but we also don’t live in Westeros, the dead are not coming. Nobody is bringing the storm – it’s already here.

With our current sociopolitical climate, being afraid has become all too relatable.

We no longer care so much about folklore and tales of the dead. Zombies and vampires are now just mere storytelling tropes and most symbols of Halloween have been humanized. The things we fear now are the things we live with. It’s the people that surround us, the guy that won’t stop messaging you and the government we elect. It’s anyone and anything, the only constant is that it’s real.

We tend to lambast the way Halloween has been devalued of spirit and tradition, but if Halloween is really about terrifying people, then it’s doing a pretty good job of reflecting reality.

TECHNICAL RETRACTION The editors of the Capilano Courier regretfully retract parts of last week's "Capilano Cleaners Join SEIU 2" story.

Concerns about clarity were brought forward by the union and the online version of the story has been updated for clarity.

–TAYLOR LEE

NEWS

POLICY CHANGES TO REDUCE TRAFFIC CONGESTION DEFERRED North Vancouver District Council will continue to lobby for more effective crash clearing Annalisse Crosswell CONTRIBUTOR

Students and faculty members at Capilano University can almost certainly expect that at many points during the semester, there will be an accident that hinders their commute. Many students travel daily over the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge at Second Narrows, which is known to be prone to standstill traffic when an accident of any size occurs.

Recently there has been much conversation around the District of North Vancouver Council’s efforts to lobby for a change in crash clearing policy, which has also garnered large support from the community.

Support for a change in policy is backed up within CapU’s campus community.

On some days, the traffic can mean the difference between making it to an hour and a half long class and missing it entirely. “My three-hour commute is supposed to take 45 minutes and

constantly makes me late for class,” said Emilyanne Peters, a third-year Arts and Sciences student. Some days, gridlock is so bad it becomes a question of whether it is even worth trying to make it to class.

Crash clearing policy was brought up recently at a Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) meeting held from Sept. 25 to 29. The UBCM provides a mouthpiece for local government, and policy-making mainly occurs at their annual September convention.

Unfortunately for commuters, the motion was deferred.

Currently, any road accident that incurs upwards of $1,000 in damages requires police to fill out a specific form in order for insurance claims to be approved.

Given that police cannot always make their way to a crash scene immediately – especially in the case of minor accidents – it can result in long waits. Even if a person involved in a crash does not wish to hold up traffic with their presence, they may be personally liable if they choose to move their car.

According to District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton, this dollar amount is part of the legislation around crash clearing, which is part of the issue they wish to change. The

intention with changing this particular piece of legislation is to change that dollar amount from $1,000 to $10,000. In doing so, this legislation would better reflect the current state of the economy and inflation that has occurred in the years since it was enacted. However, changing even one word in a piece of legislation is a time consuming process, which Walton said becomes “more trouble than it’s worth.”

He explained that representatives not otherwise engaged in their political duties from across the province usually attend the UBCM meetings. Of those, about half a dozen who attended this year were from the Lower Mainland. The way in which the change was proposed caused some to question how it would affect their communities, specifically whether smaller crashes would become the responsibility of volunteer fire departments in rural areas. Walton explained that this legislation was deferred partly because the proposal involved changes too specific to the motor vehicle act and that it is “really a Lower Mainland issue.”

Despite this response at the UBCM meeting, Walton does not see it as anything more than a “minor setback.”

Though there are no other motions currently being put forward of the type, the District of North Vancouver Council continues to write and talk to representatives in Victoria and lobby for change. The Council sees this as an environmental issue, considering that cars stuck in traffic for hours continue to emit carbon monoxide. They also deem it an economic problem, and not simply a minor hindrance. People are unable to reach their jobs and, in the cases of CapU students, many are unable to reach their classes in time, or at all.

Walton is confident that this is not a major hindrance for North Vancouver and those who commute through the area. In taking this motion to the UBCM meeting he thought that the policy change was going to be positive for the province at large. Reflecting on it now, the Mayor feels that the idea was presented in a way that led to misunderstanding from those not directly affected by it. He is hopeful that with further lobbying the policy will be changed in the future, for the benefit of all those that commute across North Vancouver and over the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

3

NEWS

CSU PRESENTS AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS TO STUDENTS Net assets higher than previous year and general meeting bylaws amended Christine Beyleveldt NEWS EDITOR

Every year the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) invites students to ask questions at their Annual General Meeting (AGM), most of which pertain to student life and community building on campus. The meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19 was delayed because quorum could not be reached immediately.

At a board of directors meeting

FUTURE CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT WILL PLACE AN EMPHASIS ON SUSTAINABILITY CapU has hired Dialog to craft master plan that will lay out the vision for the campus in 2030 Christine Beyleveldt NEWS EDITOR

Capilano University’s campus, according to Director of Campus Planning Susan Doig, needs to be designed for the student that is currently four years old.

An entire generation of future students is growing up in a world where technology is at their fingertips, so naturally the future of CapU will need to provide a space where they can thrive.

The University hired Dialog, a

4

THE CAPILANO COURIER

the following day, the CSU addressed participation at the AGM and turnout.

Owen Sigurdsson, vice president equity and sustainability, noted that the meeting was scheduled at the height of midterms, and he estimated that at least 75 per cent of students he spoke to had midterms scheduled for the block after the AGM. Gary Chun, senior accountant from Tompkins, Wozny, Miller and Co Chartered Professional Accountants, reviewed the CSU’s audited financial statements for the 2016-17 fiscal year, which ended on May 31.

The audited statements were viewed and approved by the board of directors on Oct. 10 and shown to students at the AGM. Chun revealed the CSU’s assets to be approximately $2.86 million as of May 31, 2017, which is nearly $300,000 more than their assets from the prior year, given that several student fees were increased and two new fees were introduced following a referendum held in March.

The CSU’s total revenue for the 2016-17 academic year amounted to $1.93 million

while expenses amounted to nearly $1.92 million, leaving an excess of nearly $18,000 of which $13,000 was contributed to the Capilano University Foundation.

However, not mentioned in Chun’s presentation, but included in the CSU’s financial statements was that for 2016-17, a net surplus of over $4,700 was recorded, marking a stark decrease from the $55,700 recorded in the previous year. Cash that was provided by operating activities, which accounts for administrative activities and program delivery, also totalled over $420,000 last year compared to just over $21,000 the previous year. Tompkins, Wozny, Miller and Co. was also approved to audit the CSU’s financial statements at the end of this year.

Nicole Cousin, business and professional studies faculty representative, also spoke to the CSU’s wish to amend their bylaws that dictate the governance of general meetings, specifically the seventh point, which deals with notice. The CSU wished to amend this bylaw so that they would be

planning and urban design company that has developed campus plans for postsecondary institutions across the country.

A campus plan lays out a framework for development and informs decision making for an extended period of time.

“Sustainability is embedded in everything that we do as a firm,” said Martin Nielsen, a mechanical engineer and registered architect with Dialog. Nielsen presented his inspiration at CapU on Oct. 11, adding that it needs to be a driving force behind the campus plan.

After the Second World War, there was an immense growth in campuses and increasingly, campus space began to be dominated by roads and parking stalls. Prior to the war, post-secondary institutions had a positive relationship with the land, and that’s what Dialog hopes to incorporate in the vision for the University.

For CapU specifically, students are drawn to the unique programming the institution offers. Working closely with the University while reviewing feedback from stakeholders, Dialog will create a vision over the next nine to 12

months. Each phase of the plan will take approximately three months. The first phase involves creating a baseline and launching engagement. When this baseline is complete, a draft will be shown to stakeholders, then during the second and third phases the plan will be developed and finalized.

Inspiration for the future of the campus focuses on community connection, mobility and investing in the landscape. A common complaint from students is that there aren’t enough social spaces on campus, which the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) hopes to remedy by overseeing the construction of a student union building with a social hub.

Nielsen added that he thinks the notion of a complete campus will be a huge topic of discussion, as it refers to a campus that provides services and amenities on site.

Nielsen also remarked that millennials in particular have redefined mobility and needs for it, pointing out that the use of personal vehicles has decreased over the years with more people reverting

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

required to provide a minimum of three weeks notice before any general meeting can occur instead of two. They also wished to change the number of posters that would be required to advertise AGMs, since they now use social media to advertise their events Only 10 posters instead of 50 would need to be distributed at CapU's North Vancouver campus. This was also amended to have references to the Squamish campus and Sunshine Coast campus removed from the document, since the Squamish campus closed at the end of the 2016 academic year. It was originally supposed to be out of use for the 2016-17 academic year with its single program, Advanced Wilderness Leadership, suspended so it could be adapted to better serve students’ needs but over a year later CapU students still haven’t been able to return to the campus.

to walking, cycling and taking public transit. “The U-Pass came out of CapU,” he said, “and I give UBC all the credit, because I know how much it’s changed UBC… They’re expanding their bus loop, they’re getting 900 buses a day and far less single occupancy vehicles.”

As for investing in the landscape, Dialog hopes to incorporate public infrastructure into the learning experience, and make use of the surrounding environment for teaching purposes. Doig later pointed out during a panel discussion that when she thinks about the campus, she thinks of creating a space that can serve as a classroom instead of creating a classroom, but it has to serve future needs.

“When I first came here we looked like a church basement,” Doig said, “What we’ve done very successfully I think, is we’ve become a really good high school, and now we have this amazing opportunity to leapfrog and really start to try and envision not what does 2030 look like physically, but what do we see [as being] the most radical change we possibly could?”

CAMPUS LIFE

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS WORKSHOP RETURNS TO CAPILANO UNIVERSITY

A recap of the do’s and don’ts in relationships, guided by Karen Peaderson from the Counselling Department Julian Ensz CONTRIBUTOR

CSU TO HOST HALLOWEENTHEMED PARTY ON CAMPUS Pre-midterms celebration comes just over a month after costly, but successful Captivate Natasha Jones CONTRIBUTOR

What do Midterms and Halloween have in common? Both will give you a good scare. This year, the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) will be hosting Nightmare Before Midterms, a Halloween party that will be taking place on Oct. 27 at Capilano University. Students will have something spooky to look forward to this Halloween, and it will be happening right here on campus.

Led by Yats Palat, vice president student life, the CSU's Nightmare Before Midterms will be happening in the Members Centre (located in the Library building) from 5 to 9:30 p.m., and an after party will also be planned for those who wish to keep on partying later into the evening Nightmare Before Midterms will be a free event and doors will be open to the first 150 students who arrive.

The Members Centre will be decorated a week prior, creating a spooky Halloween-like atmosphere and giving students a sneak peek of what's to come. By Friday, the space will be fully lit up and decorated. There will also be a DJ so be prepared to dance. Liquor and food will be served

STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH A FOCUS FOR CSU New substantive mental health strategy for the campus, currently in development phase Laura Melczer CONTRIBUTOR

“What do you do to take care of your mental health?” It looks like a simple question or a list-icle a friend might share on Facebook. There is an added importance to ensuring that university students are taking care of their mental health, especially because students face an intense form of stress and pressure. With what feels like a neverending amount of papers, projects and exams, stress can be high.

Mental Illness Awareness Week ran from Oct. 1 to 7. The week is used as a tool to help share information and is focused on public education about the realities of living with a mental illness. Often presented by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, the week consists of events coordinated with associated organizations to spread awareness about life with mental health issues. The initiative also provides education about where to access resources and works towards ending the stigma around mental health illnesses.

Despite a lack of major events held on campus during

as well and costumes are expected, but not mandatory.

There may, however, be a prize for the best costume.

A little over a month ago, Palat and the CSU hosted Captivate, back to school party that debuted this year in the Cedar Courtyard. A stage and high quality sound system was set up and DJs performed throughout the day. There was also a beer garden, food trucks and a prize wheel. Overall, the atmosphere on campus was very positive and Captivate was well received among students.

Although Captivate was a great way to kick off the school year, the event was also costly and as a result, not much is left in this year’s budget. From the $5,000 that remains, $1,900 will be going towards Nightmare Before Midterms. Originally, the budget for the event was $1,250, but Palat pushed for $1,900. On a board of directors meeting held on Oct. 20, Palat happily announed that he didn't need to use the extra $650 after all.

Nightmare Before Midterms will not be sponsored, although future events could be. Another concern is space. The CSU Members Centre has a maximum capacity of 150 people and doors will only be open to the first 150 who come.

Palat said this year’s Halloween party will add to, and strengthen the student life at CapU, and that this all begins with having more events on campus. “I just want the students to get the best experience possible,” he said.

Mental Illness Awareness Week, there were posts on social media coming from the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) talking about how students can take care of their mental health. The lack of events on campus for the week, which would be organized partially by the CSU, was due to a mix of focus on other planning as well as a new board.

As Owen Sigurdsson, the CSU’s vice president equity and sustainability, explains, the “CSU is a busy place, and unfortunately this year there were no substantial events put on by the CSU for mental health week. It is unfortunate that no events were organized this year, and with a brand-new board, we are just getting into the motions of regular event planning.”

The lack of events coordinating with Mental Illness Awareness Week doesn’t mean that the mental health of students on campus is slipping through the cracks for the CSU. There are plans to ensure that students’ mental health and mental health awareness remain a part of the conversation all year round. Sigurdsson added that, “we at the CSU, in particular, myself as well as the president, Perry Safari, and our Accessibility Justice Coordinator Andrew Dillman, have been hard at work at developing a substantive mental health strategy for the student union and its satellites and events.”

The comprehensive resources from Capilano University’s Counselling and Learning Support Services, along with the CSU’s new strategy once it gets released, will emphasize and organize events surrounding the mental health of students across campus.

Healthy relationships today seem to be few and far between and contemporary dating gets confusing for a lot of us. Thanks to the Counselling Department and Karen Peaderson, Capilano University hosted its second annual Healthy Relationships Workshop. On Oct. 5, Peaderson guided a 45-minute session on not only building, but also maintaining strong, honest and loving relationships.

Change is inevitable and scary, but it’s the constant expression of gratefulness, requesting change when you need it and supporting it when it happens that keeps us together. Peaderson has been focusing her work around relationships for a majority of her career and considers it her passion —drawing from experiences in her long, loving marriage.

The workshop began with an ice-breaker of “how to say ‘I love you’ in 23 languages” – this encouraged the group to get comfortable in a room full of strangers.

Following the distribution of handouts, she honed in on the specific dos and don’ts of each — the power plays, assertive rights, characteristics of loving relationships, power and control, and equality.

It isn’t uncommon for us to enjoy making our “others” a little green—and green is not to imply ill, rather jealous. A little jealousy can be oddly validating. Some tend to tell themselves it’s because their partner cares.

Peaderson made it very clear that jealousy does not correlate with love. She said it is a power game that does not hold our partner responsible. Should we maintain trust, honesty and ongoing communication of “wants” and “needs”, there is no room for power plays and jealousy ceases to exist. Most importantly we need a strong sense of self in our relationship. She said we need to make our values and bottomlines very clear, very early. We have the right to have rights and being the strongest and best self is key. By maintaining our own identity we can continue to flourish — it’s the reason our other showed interest in the beginning.

Many of us enjoy floating endlessly in Disney fantasies and synthetically inflated expectations of love and romance. Peaderson insists that these are fantasies for a reason; they’re simply a myth. She outlines that a large factor to fostering a healthy bond between you and your other is to let go of these fantastical expectations, get to work, and open yourself up. It can be scary, but with a true sense of self and courage, a blossoming relationship will unfold.

Peaderson facilitates a space which students and faculty can gain structural insight to building and maintaining healthy relationships while simultaneously educating students on the counselling resources at Capilano University.

CLASSIFIED Insurance company, American Income Life (AIL), is hiring agents to work in the Lower Mainland. Are you unemployed, hit a ceiling at your current job, or simply looking for a change? AIL Burnaby could be a good fit for you.

Call Alden Hodson at 604-347-8449 or email alden.hodson@yahoo.com for more information.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

5

OPINIONS

WHEN “DEMOCRACY” IS ACTUALLY STRAIGHT UP FASCISM Catalonia should be able to vote on independence without fear of being overrun by Spain Christine Beyleveldt NEWS EDITOR

Independence has been a pressing concern to the people of Catalonia for centuries, and today the region of Spain at least deserves to vote on the issue without the Spanish Government violently interfering.

Catalonia’s government went ahead with an independence referendum on Oct. 1 — even after Spain’s Constitutional Court suspended it — but was met with brutal opposition. Spanish security forces seized ballot boxes and fired rubber bullets into crowds of people in an

attempt to shut down the vote. Hundreds were injured and even though less than 50 per cent of the population were able to cast votes, over 2.2 million votes were counted at the end of the day and 90 per cent were in favour of independence.

Referendum advocates pointed out that the excessive police force was a blight not only on the Spanish government, but Spanish democracy itself, which is relatively young and memories of Francisco Franco’s fascist rule are still fresh.

Marketplace reported that Catalonia’s motive for holding the referendum may have been economic, as the region has been propping up the entire Spanish government amidst an economic crisis that has been ongoing since 2008.

During the police raids voters chanted “this is what happened with Franco.” To make matters worse, Spain gave Catalonia an Oct. 16 deadline to make their decision on the matter of independence, which they failed to meet Later that same day, two prominent independence leaders from the Catalan National Assembly and Omnium Cultural were arrested and imprisoned on charges of sedition. Wikileaks founder Julian

Assange tweeted that “Spain just created its first high level political prisoners over Catalonia’s referendum.”

Catalonia has given Spain plenty of headaches in the past, similar to the way the Quebec population has felt resentment towards Canada. Like Quebec, Catalonia has its own set of customs and culture, with an entirely distinctive language to the rest of Spain.

The last independence referendum Quebec held was in 1995, which the Supreme Court of Canada ruled to be illegal after the vote. In that year, there were no armed police with batons beating back the people who turned out to vote.

There are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between Catalonia and Quebec, one of which is the country’s response to a determined independence movement.

While Spain clearly needs Catalonia given the economic crisis they’re in, they won’t wear down the movement’s resolve by denying them the right to vote or by refusing to negotiate with leaders of the independence movement. Now, if Catalonia does separate from Spain, it will be disastrous for both of their economies. Over 35 per cent of Catalonia’s

imports are from Spain and on the flip side of the coin Catalonia accounts for 20 per cent of Spain’s gross domestic product. However, the region should be allowed to vote without fear of citizens being arrested or beaten by Spanish police. There is a strong link between the modern Spanish government’s reaction to Catalonia’s push for independence and Franco’s similar hardline approach.

When the fascist dictator was in power, the Government of Catalonia was shut down and even the Catalan language was forbidden.

The term “fascism” is thrown around a lot today, but its real definition is the total control of the people through government force. A fascist government allows no opportunity to vote and no freedom to protest it. This kind of political response from the Spanish authority is one that people should be concerned with and speak out against if we’re to prevent any nation in the western world from falling into tyranny again.

and it became known for it’s rebellious drag costumes. As the event became more well known, retailers began to capitalize on the idea, and thus began the sexification of Halloween.

There are two trains of thought on the sexy Halloween costume that prevail: on the one hand, women should be able to wear whatever they like (no questions asked).

On the other hand – are we comfortable?

Do we really feel empowered? The things women put themselves through to remind the world of their sexiness often involves the risk of hypothermia and more than a little discomfort (ahem – trying to pee in a skin tight body-suit that took you an hour

to get on).

According to the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, sexualization occurs “if someone’s value is based on her sexual appeal,” and “If someone is considered sexy only if she achieves a narrowly defined rigid standard of physical attractiveness.” In a study conducted in 2016, Sharron Lennon addressed issues such as sexualization and self-objectification. According to Lennon, the issue becomes when people’s “selfperceptions and perceptions of others” are influenced, leading to consequences such as “continual body and appearance monitoring.”

The key is to separate feeling sexy from

being sexualized. We need to ask who we are wearing these costumes for and why. If the goal is to feel comfortable in our own skin and celebrate our sexuality, then going to a party as a “sexy bad habit nun” or a “sexy bottle of ketchup” is an odd way of achieving this. By limiting our sexuality to one night of the year (a night when we are pretending to be anything other than ourselves) we seem to just reinforce the idea that being sexual is only okay in this context, and continue the fetishization of showing a little skin.

THIS IS (SEXY) HALLOWEEN From ghosts and goblins to sexy ketchup bottles Freya Wasteneys Hark! ‘Tis soon the season to bingedrink, stuff our faces with candy, and wear whatever the hell we want and call it a costume. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.

These days, the options for women’s Halloween costumes are positively staggering. You have everything from sexy cat (classic), to sexy crayon (weird) to choose from. Or, if you really want to push the consumerist envelope, how about a “sexy Ebola nurse” costume? It’s different, edgy, certainly checks the “scary” box, and for just $59.99, it could be yours to flaunt.

According to the costume industry, there is only one way to dress up for Halloween, and it involves showing as much skin as possible. At a certain point we have to question where the line gets drawn between current, sexy and downright distasteful.

Halloween wasn’t always like this. As a rogue holiday, one that isn’t attached to a particular person or event, Halloween has changed dramatically with the times.

While it’s origins date back 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, Halloween wasn’t even closely recognizable to what it is today until the 19th century.

During this time in Scotland and Ireland, children would go house-to-house in a “guise” collecting coins, giving rise to what we now call “trick-or-treating.” Yet now it has somehow become the one time of year it is socially acceptable to remove our clothes and don costumes with minimal fabric, usually as the “sexy” version of, well, anything.

According to historian Lesley Bannatyne, the emergence of sexy dress didn’t start until a Halloween parade in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1973. The event was held in a prominent gay district,

6

THE CAPILANO COURIER

–CYNTHIA TRAN VO

CONTRIBUTOR

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

@CAPILANOCOURIER

@CAPILANOCOURIER

/CAPILANOCOURIER

PRAY FOR WHAT? Twitter hashtags that follow tragedies are pointless Sarah Schmidt

In the days following the mass shooting in Las Vegas, the hashtag #PrayForVegas almost instantly became a widespread rallying cry for netizens. The trending tag dominated Twitter and Instagram feeds, and as per data retrieved from Keyhole, #PrayForVegas is still getting tweeted hundreds of times per day, more than two weeks after the terror attack.

While the increasingly popular “Pray For” hashtag template may often come from well-meaning sources, it has become overused and has proven that without actual legislation, internet activism is only good for social media likes and not real change or support.

In a 2014 Maclean’s article, the issue of following activism trends on social media is argued to be more counterproductive than fruitful. When #bringbackourgirls was done trending, the 276 women who had gone missing in Nigeria had yet to been found. For many participants of social media activism, the belief is that sharing your voice across social networking platforms will help drive change, but until governmental intervention actually happens, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts will just get lost in social media’s massive community.

The terror attack in Las Vegas earlier this month is deeply connected to the United States’ contentious gun control problem, an issue that will most certainly take ground-breaking legislation to address. Yet there are other tragedies that

HORROR FILMS: A PLACE TO MAKE A POINT Sometimes horror films are terrifyingly predictable. Other times, they are refreshingly real Helen Aikenhead FEATURES EDITOR

Warning: spoilers ahead for It and Get Out. Through the means of film, powerful commentary can be made on the errors of society. More often than not, it is the films that do so which are celebrated and remembered years after they're pulled from cinema screens. It's understandable then, that when attempts are made to speak on something bigger and they fail, they fail so much more tremendously than those who play it safe.

Horror is not a genre where viewers generally look to be moved by some form of political or social statement, however that's not to say that it can't— or hasn't—

–JENNY OAKLEY

CONTRIBUTOR

become popular avenues for social media activism that don’t necessarily have to involve a change in laws. Hashtags such as #PrayForMexico, #PrayForPuertoRico and #PrayForHouston are some of the popular social media trends that came to life this year, and while showing moral support and solidarity to the victims of

natural tragedies can be meaningful, tweets are still just tweets.

Parts of the world that are stricken by unavoidable tragedies need more than written support on social media, they need real, tangible help. Food and water needs to be donated, infrastructures need to be rebuilt and health aids need to be

been done. Horror and thriller films bydesign have a unique platform at their disposal through which they can deliver social commentary— their eerie nature both complements and amplifies any sense of societal whistleblowing. However, it isn’t required, so it is perfectly acceptable for them to simply be the reason why you sleep with the lights on for the rest of the week. Also, because it isn’t required, when these movies do deliver a thoughtful message, it can be all the more compelling.

The latest take on Stephen King's It, from director Andy Muschietti, fell into the rare grey area in which it managed to do neither. It didn't fail in the sense of reception— in fact, it was a hit worldwide.

Where Muschietti’s It failed to make the mark was in bringing its intended message to the screen.

Some fans of the novel have argued that the original story is in fact one of social commentary, and they may very well have reason. The story's antagonist— Pennywise the clown— is said to be a form-shifting realization of societal evils, revealing itself to a group of small town pre-teens by externalizing what they fear most. The theme is one of discovering ubiquitous evils within the world and it's inhabitants. Ultimately,

the central group of characters is able to defeat this figure of evil by denying it their fear —fear being symbolic of heedless acceptance of the darkness within society.

In the latest film adaption, these themes are diminished to focus on the visually scary antics of a child-eating clown, and the blockbuster appeal of cheap jokes generously sprinkled in to break the tension. There is no obvious message or takeaway, making It nothing more than a disappointingly predictable pre-Halloween release.

What's perhaps worse than completely erasing all signs of the original story's underlying meaning is that the latest adaption alludes to it, only to then actively ignore it. All of the aspects are present in the small town setting; sexual predation, racism, abuse, misogyny, but never addressed. The blatant disregard of these issues is, frankly, more upsetting than the damn clown.

In absolute contrast, Jordan Peele's Get Out, released earlier this year, used the classic horror format as a platter (or teacup, anyone?) on which to serve its message. The film follows a young African-American man as he travels with his white girlfriend to meet her family for the first time. When he arrives,

provided – and none of these can be delivered through #praying.

Despite the amount of negative press that social activism receives, it is understandable that social media is ultimately the most popular way to gather information. A 2015 Huffington Post article argues that there are real benefits to social media activism. It can be the fastest way to spread news and can avoid the bias of corporate owned media outlets. After the Las Vegas shooting, thanks largely to social media, news of the tragedy spread quickly. The local community went to the scene of the massacre to give victims of the event rides to their homes, hotels and hospitals. The number of people who lined up to donate blood was tremendous – even though The Red Cross has been advertising for years, asking for individuals to donate blood and become organ donors.

Though social media can efficiently raise awareness about particular events, it can also create a general apathy in some people. In Vancouver alone, we seem to forget that we have a rising homeless population; that women, men and children are getting abused in their homes; and oppression is still holding back the minorities that make up our communities. It appears that the only time anyone is willing to get out and help is if they can get a cool post about it to brag to their friends.

Every ensuing “Pray For” hashtag that becomes popular won’t achieve anything different than any of its predecessors. Simply showing “support” in the wake of tragedies doesn’t mean much, and certainly won’t accomplish any real change. Without inciting actual movements that can get the attention of governments, a tweet is ultimately just a tweet.

protagonist Chris is on the receiving end of many ostensibly innocent actions and remarks made by the family. These remarks, however, are anything but innocent— they are laden with prejudicial double meaning.

As the story progresses, the sinister subtleties grow more apparent, until it is revealed that Chris is in the middle of a seriously twisted game the family has played for generations. Let's just say that if they had won the game, for Chris, it would have meant torture and ultimately, death.

Jump scares and typical horror tropes are limited in Get Out to allow its message of real-life moral horrors to shine. Peele has described his goal in making the film to have been to comment on the experience of African-American men living in today's America. Touching on a wide range of issues, from claims of a post-racial society to police brutality, Get Out is frighteningly real.

Earlier this year, in a discussion of his film with The New Yorker, Peele explained “the monster at hand is society.” For anyone who watched, that point was impossible to miss. Audiences of It, however, were left wondering if it wasn't actually the film that had missed the point.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

7

–JULIANA VIEIRA

COLUMNS

THE DOUBLE-EDGED KNIFE The many ugly faces of our tipping culture

Aki Guomundsdóttir COLUMNIST

"Mr. Blue: You don't care if they're counting on your tips to live?

Mr. Pink: [rubbing his middle finger and thumb together] You know what this is? The world's smallest violin playing just for the waitresses.

Mr. White: You don't have any idea what you're talking about. These people bust their ass. This is a hard job.

Mr. Pink: So is working at McDonald's, but you don't see anyone tip them, do ya?

Why not? They're serving you food. But no, society says don't tip these guys over here, but tip these guys over here. That's bullshit!"

–Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs There is no topic in the food industry more divisive than tipping. Like anything that exacerbates inequalities, it divides us into winners and losers, and in such extremes, it becomes difficult to imagine a compromise.

8

THE CAPILANO COURIER

As a cook, I've long been biased and bitter knowing that when working in busy restaurants, kitchen staff will always get the short end of the stick when it comes to tips.

They're always left to wonder how at the end of an insanely busy day, they walk away with $10 in tips, which is probably the equivalent tip of a server's or bartender's one-minute effort of opening and serving a $50 bottle of wine. Chronically underpaid cooks keep quitting and any suggestion to give them a better cut of the tips (and give them the right to a meal, to a break, to vacation, to a life... so they won't quit), elicits a dismissive reply such as “we can't simply give everyone more money... it needs to be a meritocracy.”

Good luck explaining the meritocracy concept to really good, really experienced cooks who have seen no raises in years.

Explain to them that the brand new 19-yearold server (regardless of how good they may be at their job) is already meriting an hourly rate (with tips) two to three times higher than theirs. Yes, even if they work a lot less hours and may not make as much money at the end of the month.

Our tipping culture also essentially works like a black market, distorting wage statistics to the point that we have no reliable data on the median total income of tipped workers. Not surprisingly, according to a 2012 Toronto Star article, “an auditing of 145 servers in four restaurants by CRA mentioned in the report uncovered that among 145 staff audited, CAN $1.7 million was unreported”. A 2015 article by The

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

Atlantic cited a report estimating USD $11 billion of annual unreported income in the US. Given the bureaucratic impossibility of auditing every single restaurant, we're left to accept that most of that unreported income will simply go unnoticed and untaxed.

Given the unreliability of tipped income statistics, we're also left to infer that servers either have it really good or really bad. We know it's a discriminatory system, but by not actively talking of reform, we've conformed and are “okay” with a young, sexy, white, blonde server making three times as much money as an overweight, middle-aged, ethnic minority server. Or as Mr. Pink so eloquently put it in Reservoir Dogs, why are servers and bartenders tipped so handsomely, while cooks, bakers, baristas, fast-food workers... are often not tipped much if anything at all? It's not the system that's discriminatory, it's the customers, we tell ourselves. Ain't nothin' we can do, right?

Also, we seem okay with the fact that a young sexy server or bartender may make twice as much more money than paramedics or teachers and pay less taxes by not declaring half (or more?) of their income. We're also okay with the thought that a different server working part-time at a poorly managed, struggling restaurant is getting sent home early every day with $40 a night, sinking further into student loan debt, credit card debt and housing insecurity.

Since some benefit so handsomely on tips at the expense of others, opinions vary

widely on the feasibility of abolishing tipping altogether on the models of, well, most developed countries in the world, really, where these jobs are seen as careers (with long-term stability, living wages or salaries and benefits) and not temporary jobs.

Pro-tipping advocates will often argue that higher prices and higher wages would be unfair to customers because, “if the service is bad and we're automatically tipping, that's not fair.” Living wages should not be seen as automatic tipping, but simply as fair payment for a service. In the case of truly bad service, you can always take it up with management. But just as you cannot interfere with the income of a shitty doctor or politician if you think they're not doing a good job, there's no reason you should have the right to punish someone's wages when you see fit. There's something vaguely elitist with wanting the privilege to interfere with the livelihood of “lowly servants”.

Tip-dependent income clouds statistics, distorts the economy, engenders major tax evasion, perpetuates discrimination based on gender, age, and race and creates an unhealthy conflict between the haves and have-nots in the service industry. As a deeprooted illness in our culture, it's unlikely that things will change for a few years, but it's about time to start studying the alternatives.

@CAPILANOCOURIER

DROPPING THE F-BOMB Self-care 101

Brittany Tiplady COLUMNIST

I know what you’re probably thinking: why is this so-called feminist writer not talking about the viral #MeToo campaign that has swept our social media feeds this past week? The truth is, that topic is near to me and one that I don’t think I could truly delve into without taking weeks to process and write with full integrity and vulnerability.

In the meantime, I want to tap into the topic off self-care and how I changed that buzzword from major eyeroll, to a personalized ritual.

Rewind to three months ago: I was in the thick of planning my (expensive, stressful, demanding) wedding, my business was (and is) growing rapidly and requiring more and more brain power, my freelance career was overwhelming, and so, as I often do, I relied on my age-old unhealthy habits to cope with the stress and anxiety.

I cringed when the women in my life would talk about their self-care routines and necessities. Meditation? I don’t have time for that. Walks in nature? I’m more of an indoors, Netflix and mindless Instagram

@CAPILANOCOURIER

scrolling kind of gal. Clean eating? Catch me in a drive-thru pondering what I can eat to quickly absorb my feelings while I’m racing down Highway 99 to my next gig.

When my fellow woman cohorts would explain that they needed a day of rest or dropped the self-care buzzword, I would incessantly cringe. My immediate (albeit, judge-y) thought was always: that sounds like laziness to me. I don’t have time for that.

I know, I sound like an awful tyrant. I’m sorry. It’s all about learning, right?

What I really needed was to find what self-care tactics and rituals worked for me, and also let down my guard and come to the realization that I can make time for ritual, I just have to find the ones that suit my lifestyle and my needs.

Disconnecting from my phone and the internet isn’t really my thing. I love feeling connected to the world, and I work in social media, so that’s not the most viable option.

I like the odd hike and picnic, but a walk in the forest isn’t cleansing any of my problems. I eat well on a daily basis, but fuck it, if I want to order a large pizza on a Thursday afternoon when I haven’t had time to grocery shop, you bet I’m going to have Panago cued up on speed dial.

So, now that I’ve divulged what doesn’t work for me, let’s bring infuse some good ol’ positivity into this article and talk about what has.

Morning Coffee ritual I drink coffee every morning anyway – and I almost always prefer to start the day with my own brew, so pumping up my jo with some adaptogens felt right. I am definitely

/CAPILANOCOURIER

reliant on caffeine, but was starting to feel betrayed by the post-coffee jitters and anxiety that has recently started. I began adding a teaspoon of Anandamide “Bless Alchemy” from Sun Potion into my coffee each day. Easy. Stress-free. And full of goodness. My Anandamide blend activates and harmonizes the nervous, digestive and immune systems and is said to help brighten the mind and open the heart.

Caring for myself and my mental health in this little way has become a subtle ritual in my mornings that shows my body: “Hey, let’s take two seconds to put this brown delicious powder in your coffee, and start the day taking care of yourself.”

Skincare I went through puberty at the ripe age of 23. I take late bloomer to a whole other level.

My body skipped the pimply teen years and I was instead greeted with hormonal acne (amongst other pleasantries), in my 20’s. Up until a few months back my skincare “routine” looked like this: take makeup off with a baby wipe at night, maybe scrub my pores in the shower with the same Saint Ives Apricot Scrub blend I’ve been using since I was 15, lather my face with coconut oil. Repeat.

During my stagette weekend, my best friends were connecting over skin care routines, and products, swapping research and recommendations, and I decided to let their enthusiasm (that I truly found really silly), provide some education.

Following their lead, and reading up on skincare routines and products, I started to invest in my own skin. I now carve out time

DIVIDED WE STAND The Real Racists of North America

Gabriel Scorgie

Over the past two weeks, I have unsuccessfully been trying to write about several topics for this column. No matter which one I chose, they all failed to take a bite out of their respective issue without becoming bloated, so what started out as a side dish has now become the main course.

One of the most powerful words has been bankrupt of all it’s currency. To call someone a racist is now almost entirely meaningless. The charge of racism has been relegated to a misdemeanor, a pardonable offence that doesn’t have to be intentional, that doesn’t have to have been directed at a person of colour and that doesn’t have to do any real damage. When Pewdiepie can be a racist for calling someone the n-word in a video game, then the word has died.

The AV Club’s article, "Pewdiepie Did Something Racist Again", should make an adequate murder suspect.

After the word "racist" became too mundane to describe him, Donald Trump got promoted to a white supremacist. They killed one word, moved on to the next, and started their stroll down a dangerous path. I wasn’t the only person on Aug. 11 who, after hearing there were racists

–NATALIE HEAMAN

COLUMNIST

marching in the streets of Charlottesville, was surprised to see the media was correct in their assessment. When being called a racist becomes a normal accusation, we lose the ability to identify the real people who intend to do harm.

As a supporter of racial-realism, a branch of science that looks to uncover biological differences between ethnic

groups, Jared Taylor holds some of the most reprehensible views when it comes to race. Taylor believes that Black and Hispanic people are inherently more violent and less intelligent than their white counterparts. He is an advocate for a white nation state and has been able to promote these views on several talk shows and podcasts without push back from the

each night and morning to take care of my face. Come hell or high water. Come raging hangover, or looming deadline, I take a few minutes for my face. In truth, it’s the only one I got, so why wouldn’t I nurture it? It sounds so gratuitous but showing myself some love in this way has improved my mental health and the way I approach myself in the mirror. Whether it be doing a face-mask, or gently applying serum, or researching organic ways to care for skin, this act of self-love has been bomb for my confidence. And maybe will keep the crow’s feet at bay for a bit longer.

20/20 Vision I have legit superhero vision. It’s something that I am proud of and hope to have for a long time. Now that my life is primarily spent in front of a screen, I recently started getting headaches and sore eyes after a long day of tapping away at my Mac. I purchased a cute pair of “digital protection” glasses to wear while I’m at work, or when I feel my peepers start to get strained. They were under $100 (let’s be real, writers are broke bitches so this price was right), and show my body that I care, once again, in a way that feels right for me.

The discussion on self-care rings “millennial,” and after developing my own routine, I’m totally fine with that. You only have one vessel to do life with, and life is like really, really hard. Your body carries you through joy, pain, loss, stress, work, sleep, drunken nights, declined credit cards and hardships.

Show it some fucking love.

interviewers. Why? Because being a racist is no longer a serious enough accusation to have your opinions met with skepticism.

When important language becomes obsolete, we allow people like Taylor, a white supremacist who deserves to feel every ounce of shame and disapproval that label is meant to carry, a chance to talk without confrontation.

This is the result of the retrograde idea that you should think with your epidermis.

The point of the original civil rights movement was to make people’s biology irrelevant, not to put it at the forefront of every discussion. People are so quick to describe themselves by their skin colour, gender and sexual orientation that to acknowledge someone as an individual and not by a hierarchy of genetic traits is almost offensive. When you’re told that what you look like is what dictates your experience on this planet, every unpleasant encounter will be bathed in a prejudiced light. This is not to say there is no discrimination. It’s as ignorant to think nobody discriminates, but to have such a narrow view will leave you blind to bigger problems.

Some people, knowing I’m a white male, will scoff and say what I write is a typical display of white privilege. It’ll take two seconds to say, require not a moment of thought and in their mind all my claims will be dismissed. It’s exactly that kind of flippancy that rots the English language and allows the most odious sort of human to ooze out from the sewers and join the rest of society. Words aren’t violence, but they do have power – and it’s in everyone’s best interest to treat them with the seriousness they deserve.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

9

FEATURES

BY JUSTIN SCOTT ILLUSTRATION BY MAX LITTLEDALE s much as Sitara Grey and her roommates wanted to believe everything was okay, it had gotten to the point where she and everyone else in her apartment knew something needed to be done. For weeks, their apartment had not felt like a home, playing host to numerous unsettling and strange events.

Eventually, they decided that they needed to sit down and have a serious discussion, as one of the roommates from Canada, Marie Last, had some serious questions to answer.

Grey grew up in Margeret River in Western Australia and later moved down to Perth to attend Murdoch University.

She was accepted into the University’s housing and was assigned roommates.

“I’d never lived away from home so I was actually really nervous about moving into the place and getting four roommates I had never met before,” she said. Luckily for Grey however, her anxieties were proven unnecessary. “As soon as I got there, we all got along right away, I was so happy,” she recalled. The new roommates soon became friends and life couldn’t have been better.

For the entire first semester and the beginning of the second, they lived without problems, until Last went away for a weekend in March. “Honestly before that, our place was always happy. You know when you walk into a room or a home and you just smile? That was what our place was like,” she said. However, once Last got home from her weekend road trip, things changed.

“At first it wasn’t anything serious,” Grey

10

THE CAPILANO COURIER

explained, “we just felt, I don’t know how to explain it… unsafe.” Over the next few weeks, strange things started happening.

“We had one mate who would just black out,” she said. Worried the girl might be anemic, Grey and her other roommates insisted that she see a doctor, who found her iron levels were fine. Grey and others in the apartment felt increasingly unsafe, but couldn’t explain why. “We were even locking our windows at night,” she said, even though they lived on the fourth floor and there were no ladders or anything on the building that would allow access to the windows.

Over this period, Grey had been noticing strange bruising on her right thigh, but thought nothing of it. One morning however, it became all she could think about. “I was going to have a shower, and Claire [another roommate] had just finished in there. She walked out with just a towel on, and I saw the exact same bruises on her legs,” Grey explained. At this point, she knew it was time to act.

Grey and her roommates discussed it only to realize that everything had started after Last had returned from her trip. All sitting in the living room, they waited for Last to finish class and once she came through the door, they said they needed to talk. “The first thing we did was ask her if she had a bruise on her leg,” said Grey, and sure enough, she did. Last told them all about her road trip – what she had done and where. Eventually the girls realized that one of the parks Last had visited was on Aboriginal land. “She had gone four wheeling one day, and we think she may have been on burial ground,” Grey said.

Having believed in spirits her whole life, Grey was immediately concerned. hile Grey and her roommates weren’t sure what to do at first, for many in Vancouver

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

who have experiences like this, they call the Vancouver and Interior Paranormal Society (VIPS). Established in 1993, VIPS is a not-for-profit society that investigates paranormal activity in the Lower Mainland and BC’s Interior. “Paranormal is an umbrella word. Spirits, cryptozoology – which would include Sasquatch watching – you have Ufology, all those different things.

It’s that which you can’t explain,” clarified VIPS vice president, case manager and lead investigator, Kelly Berge. As a member of the Atlantic Paranormal Society, VIPS conducts all their investigations on a purely scientific basis, only working in tangible facts and evidence.

VIPS is made up of team members dedicated to investigating happenings that they’re contacted about. “I spend a lot of time with people before we investigate,” said Berge. “Back and forth emails, I ask them to call me – I want them to call me and not the other way around because I want to see their commitment – I spend a lot of time on the phone with them and not just once, two or three times,” she explained. For VIPS, investigations are done with a passion and thirst for an understanding of the unknown. Due to this, most are conducted on weekends because team members work during the week. This means that they must be selective with what cases they accept, so Berge makes sure that the cases have a legitimate merit to them before agreeing. Once Berge is satisfied that whoever is reaching out does in fact have a need for an investigation, the team coordinates a time that works, and a new investigation begins.

The society has a diverse and endearing team, who are all fascinated by paranormal events for one reason or another. “My childhood was right around the Scooby-Doo era, so as a child that captivated my first interest into anything paranormal,” said team member Mike Lutke. “With Scooby-

Doo, it’s always something explainable, so, fast forward many years and you start getting into the paranormal shows that are on TV and it’s like, ‘Okay this is real life, these are real investigators and not just cartoon characters,’ and that fascinated me,” he continued.

While most of the team believes in the paranormal, every Mulder needs a Scully.

Gord Perrin initially joined VIPS because of his wife, Karen, who can still remember her first paranormal encounter. She was seven years old and still living in her home country of England. “Our house backed onto a graveyard and I was just looking out of my window one night and I saw what looked like a grey mist, and it was in the shape of a human,” she remembered. “I just watched it glide through the cemetery and I was mesmerized.” Since then, Karen has had many more experiences and identifies as a Sensitive – someone who has increased senses when it comes to spirits and paranormal activity.

Gord, however, who refers to himself as an “open minded skeptic” needs more evidence before he can fully believe. “I respect everybody in this group and I’m interested in it all, but for me something needs to come slap you in the face, and nothing’s happened to me my whole life,” he said. While he may feel like the odd man out on occasion, Gord and the rest of the team acknowledge how valuable he is as a member, as he is someone who will challenge them to seek more evidence.

Once in the middle of an investigation, the team pushes aside their theories to focus on the facts. To help them do this, the team has collected a large arsenal of equipment that allows them to gather data and conduct tests that they hope will lead them to a conclusion or some kind of an understanding. They use Mel Metres, which monitor Electro Magnetic Frequencies (EMFs) and temperature changes;

@CAPILANOCOURIER

Environmental Detection Instruments (EDIs), which are new in the paranormal field, to monitor EMFs and temperature changes as well as changes in humidity, air pressure and detect vibrations; Laser grids and ultra violet cameras to try and see spirits; and high-quality audio recorders to capture Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVPs). They also carry objects like small balls and ChapStick – objects light enough to monitor the movement of any spirit who may try. Lutke even brings a carbon monoxide detector to ensure that whoever called them had all their faculties about them, as the gas can cause hallucinations.

While none of their equipment has “ghost detection” capabilities per se, they believe that by monitoring the environment around them, they can gain a greater understanding of what is occurring. For example, VIPS and most others active in their field believe that spirits emit EMFs seeing as they’re made purely of energy – which would make sense. So, while picking up an EMF isn’t definitive proof of paranormal activity, it’s certainly something. EVPs can be even more convincing, as they can be heard and often understood. For the team, few things are as exciting as capturing a Class A EVP on one of their audio recorders. “It’s a voice that we can hear that’s not one of the investigators, or anyone else there.

It’s going to be loud, clear, unmistakable in what it says, full toned and hopefully it shows up in the flat line of the audio,” explained Berge. For team skeptic Gord, EVPs can be some of the most intriguing phenomena. “I know it’s real, it’s strange, it’s weird. ‘It’s not my first one, I’ve caught a few others,” he’ll think to himself, “I’m always thinking that’s a cat off in the distance, or that’s a car, it’s just the way my mind works.”

Of course, the team will experience things during investigations that may not offer any proof, but further solidifies their beliefs. Lutke recalled one experience in particular that he will never forget. “We were on an investigation and Kelly was there, but she was in a separate part of the place we were investigating,” he explained.

“So, during the EVP session she said, ‘can you touch Mike on the lower back?’ Well at that moment I was in a totally different part of the building with another investigator, and I felt myself get touched on the lower back,” he said. Lutke was startled at first and looked around himself to see if there was anything that could have touched

him, but found nothing. He continued his investigation, then returned to the rest of the group to report his findings. Upon his return, he told the team what had happened. “I told Kelly and I said, ‘you’re not going to believe this,’ and she said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me, I just asked for something to touch you.”

As fascinating as the investigations can be, according to Berge, the goal of an investigation isn’t to find proof of paranormal activity, but to ease their clients’ mind. “We want to have achievable, hands-on, measurable data,” she said.

“We want that so we can provide it to the client and say, ‘Look, you’re not going crazy, we can’t really explain this but it looks like something is going on and this is what we have for you.” While this is the goal, it doesn’t always go as planned.

“Sometimes you leave an investigation with more questions than you had going into it,” said Lutke. On the other hand, the team will often be able to fully explain

One of the many spirits the Vancouver Paranormal Society has captured on film with a full spectrum DVR camera and IR lights.

@CAPILANOCOURIER

/CAPILANOCOURIER

the phenomena to their clients, with it often being as simple as water pipes and furnaces making noises. owever, for most people, there are no numbers or read-outs that will be as convincing as a first hand encounter with a spirit. Though Vancouver may be a relatively young city, one doesn’t have to join VIPS to encounter paranormal activity here. The city’s Fairmont Hotel has its infamous Red Lady, The Penthouse Nightclub is said to have a resident spirit, and even Waterfront station is apparently enjoyed by some not-so-living inhabitants.

If you still aren’t convinced, you may be surprised to learn that nearly half of the people around you would disagree.

A recent study conducted by the Harris Poll found that 42 per cent of Americans believe in ghosts. Additionally, a recent Gallup Survey found that nearly 75 per cent of Americans believe in some kind of paranormal activity, and the Pew Research Centre released data that showed nearly one-in-five Americans believe that they’ve seen a ghost in their lifetime.

Unfortunately for Grey, her experience wasn’t as simple as seeing a ghost. After her and her roommates established their theory that a spirit had followed Last home on her trip, they began to take action. “We did a water cleansing,” she recalled, “We sterilized water with sterling silver and we sterilized our apartment and all our stuff, and then that night we all slept in our living room together.” However, she quickly realized the cleansing hadn’t been enough. “That night I woke up at 3 a.m. to the sound of water running so I woke up my roommate and she went over the kitchen and right when she flashed her light the water stopped. After she went back to sleep I stayed up and the water started running again, so I just put on music and tried to sleep.” She can’t recall whether there was

any water left in the sink, but is adamant that she could clearly hear it running while there wasn’t anyone in the kitchen to turn it on. And it didn’t stop there. “The day after the cleansing, I was in my room and a candle flew across my room and hit my arm and hot wax went all over it. Then all my books fell off my shelf and onto me. I honestly didn’t know what to do.” At this point, she and her roommates left their apartment for a weekend and visited one of their family’s vacation homes.

Before leaving however, they tried to remedy the situation one last time. “We told the spirit that ‘We’re just here for school. We don’t care if you’re here but please don’t communicate with us’.”

According to Berge, this was exactly what they should have done. She explained that dealing with a spirit can be just like dealing with another person, so sometimes it’s as simple as explaining the situation.

“Be respectful and just say ‘This is my home, and you’re welcome to be here as well but just understand that this is me and my family’s home... You respect us and we’ll respect you.”

Upon arriving home from their weekend away, the roommates had no more issues.

Grey never fully understood what happened but knows what she experienced.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, Berge advises that you try to handle it yourself before contacting VIPS. “Always try and deal with it yourself first,” she said. “Always look for reasonable explanations, always keep an open mind and don’t go to that place of immediately thinking it’s paranormal. Relax, and if you really do believe it’s paranormal then just set limits. Calmly, respectfully, kindly set limits and remember that ghosts are people too.”

Or at least, they were.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

11

FEATURES

A cryptic look at cryopreservation and the possibility of resuscitation after death

BY CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT ILLUSTRATION BY MARIA CENTOLA

eegan Macintosh, Vancouver Director of the Cryonics Society of Canada (CSOC), plans to have his body cryopreserved after he dies. Because the goal is to prevent ice formation during preservation, he prefers the term “cryopreservation” to “freezing”, but none of this is to say he assumes he’s going to die anytime soon.

Without any debate in the Legislative Assembly, or consultation from the field of cryonicists – which Macintosh admits is very small – BC's provincial liberal government passed a law in 1990 stating that a person could not pay to arrange for the preservation of human remains on the expectation of resuscitation.

Meaning that although preserving someone isn’t illegal, telling them as a fact that they can be brought back to life one day if they pay to be preserved is.

BC is the only province in Canada, and the only jurisdiction in the world, where preservation on the expectation of resuscitation is illegal. Instead, scientists are looking into life extension. Macintosh is also a former executive director of the Lifespan Society of BC (LSBC), an organization that tackles agingassociated diseases and researches more effective ways of repairing the damage they can cause our bodies. Clearly, there’s a lot on his plate, including his current undertaking. Macintosh is challenging the law prohibiting cryopreservation on the grounds that it impedes on his right to liberty. He has also signed the first cryonics contract with the LSBC, which will keep him in suspended animation until he can be transferred to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona to undergo cryopreservation.

Legalities aside, cryopreservation is no easy task. The CSOC in other provinces has to start the first stage of the preservation process, and then send the remains to the United States to complete the treatment because they don’t have the proper facilities to complete full cryopreservtion to store and maintain bodies. Christine Gaspar, president of the CSOC, said that she waits on standby to receive an official pronouncement of death and for a funeral home to take possession of a body. Only then can they begin the first stage of preservation.

The goal is to keep blood flowing to the brain to maintain its viability while also

12

THE CAPILANO COURIER

introducing low temperatures to slow the rate of damage that starts occurring after death. “Essentially it looks like CPR, but it’s not,” Macintosh remarked on the process. The patient is given blood thinners to prevent clotting when they later undergo surgery and their stomach acid is neutralized.

Since there are no cryopreservation facilities anywhere in Canada, the bodies are shipped in water kept at ice temperature – zero degrees but the water doesn’t actually freeze – to either go to Alcor or the Cryonics Institute in Michigan. When they arrive at the facility in the US, the corpses' blood is replaced with a cryoprotectant solution, which prevents ice formation, and they are then subsequently cooled using liquid nitrogen, the same substance doctors use to remove warts.

For patients whose bodies have to be shipped to a cryonics lab further away, cryonicists use a dry-ice profusion to preserve them for the longer journey.

During this process, the body is cooled to -70°c and the blood is washed out before it’s replaced with a solution impermeable to water, as water would freeze at that temperature, causing damage to the

“...although preserving someone isn’t illegal, telling them as a fact that they can be brought back to life one day if they pay to be preserved is. ” cells. Upon arrival at the facility, the body then undergoes the preservation process.

Gaspar joined the CSOC over 20 years ago but led a career as a nurse working in emergency services. “I don’t believe in an afterlife or a spiritual life,” she said, explaining why she gravitated to the idea of cryopreservation. “I like to live and be here. My nursing career tells me how fragile life is.”

Before cryopreservation, there were other methods of maintaining a body at low temperatures. These included a technique Gaspar and Ben Best, founder

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

of the CSOC, briefly considered but never tested called permafrost burial.

Ultimately, they decided against it because the temperatures weren’t consistent. “I would expect that people who were proponents of permafrost burial… would recognize that it’s really not such a good idea in view of global

“Humans have found remarkable ways of preserving their dead for thousands of years, although not until recent times has reanimation been seriously considered.” warming and climate change,” joked Macintosh. Although, it’s not an entirely unfounded fear; nearly a decade ago, Live Science began reporting that the thawing tundra was unearthing bodies infected with smallpox, which was deadly before it was eradicated in the 1970s.

One such example of the remarkable preservation of a frozen body is Juanita, an Inca adolescent girl who was sacrificed roughly 500 years ago.

When archaeologists found her corpse in 1995 on top of Llullaillaco, a volcano that borders Chile and Argentina, they were astonished at how remarkably preserved she was, nicknaming her the Ice Maiden. Her black braids fell in her face and her head was slumped forward on her chest. She appeared to be asleep. “What counts for a good preservation for archaeological purposes is very different than what counts as a good preservation for cryonics purposes, I don’t think anyone was wondering if there was still a person in there because she was frozen without the benefit of any cryoprotectants,” said Macintosh.

Humans have found remarkable ways of preserving their dead for thousands of years, although not until recent times has reanimation been seriously considered. Consider the ancient Egyptians, who scooped the brains out of their dead's skulls using instruments that were inserted through the nostrils.

“You can put a piece of chicken in your freezer and then pull it back out and

cook it and eat it,” said Macintosh, “That doesn’t mean that you’d be able to put an organ in the freezer and take it back out and expect you could transplant it.”

Gasper revealed there is a new advancement in preservation that involves the use of aldehyde. Robert McIntyre from 21st Century Medicine won a prize from the Brain Preservation Foundation in 2016 for his remarkable preservation of a rabbit brain soaked in a formula containing the compound.

Unfortunately, the process can’t be reversed, which does cryonicists no good if they want to reanimate the subject.

“The people that tend to be on the aldehyde team who really think that this is a great idea are the people that tend to believe that brains will be uploaded,” said Gaspar, “So they don’t mind the fact that that tissue is fixed, whereas people who are more in the tissue camp are people who tend to want to hang on to, you know, our biological tissue.” She’s not convinced on the mind-uploading front as it would require quantum computing – and there isn’t enough computing power in the world to store all of the data stored in the human brain.

Some cryonicists get into this realm with neuro-cryopreservation – the practice of only preserving heads.

According to the Cryonics Institute, this is because information stored in the brain is believed to be the most important. It’s also believed that if and when the technology to restore function to the brain is available, the technology to clone a new body will exist alongside it.

If someone’s heart stops beating and they are pronounced dead but they are resuscitated, did they really die in the first place? “It won’t be that we’re reviving dead people,” said Macintosh, “We will have redefined the definition of death, the same way that we did when we defined CPR and defibrillation and other resuscitation techniques.”

There’s no doubt that human remains can be perfectly preserved for centuries.

As for reanimation, nobody knows what the future may hold except that death won’t be the final chapter.

@CAPILANOCOURIER

@CAPILANOCOURIER

/CAPILANOCOURIER

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

13

ARTS & CULTURE

THE CRITERION COLLECTION Capilano University student hosts community movie nights Carlin Parkin CONTRIBUTOR

Sean Sallis-Lyon is more than just your average Capilano University student. In his spare time, the third-year Communications student runs movie nights at the Mount Seymour United Church. The movie night crafter sat down to discuss his role in the community, along with his collection titled The Criterion Collection, while noting the importance of the eventful evenings.

How did it come about that you started holding movie nights at your church?

I began volunteering at the church a little over a year ago. From there they decided to actually hire me and have me on a little bit more, and from there I got to know the staff. What that essentially allowed me to do was to rent out [the space for] the event essentially for free, in exchange what I’d do is any proceeds, like voluntary donations, I’d just give back to the church. Now, obviously you don’t have to pay to get in, it’s just a “if you feel like donating” kind of thing, and you know, a lot of people do so that’s nice.

What’s the process for selecting a movie to screen at these nights?

As for the movies themselves, I make sure that they’re all from The Criterion Collection, and we usually have three movies to choose from. I select the three of them; I make sure that they’re all very diverse. I make sure that they’re all appropriate for the church and they also have to be interesting. Now what we use for voting is single transferrable vote, unlike the federal government, which is a fun little add-on that I think adds a neat little element to the movie night.

Can you explain what the Criterion Collection is and why you choose your movies from it?

The Criterion Collection is a collection by Janus Films of movies, as the name would imply, where they seek out really important [classic] and modern films, and they want to present them to movie aficionados. They are typically really important in that they include a lot more extra features that you wouldn’t normally see included. Their transfers are always from the film directly, not any of this secondary transfer kind of bullshit, you know? The reason I got into it actually [is] with Laserdiscs. The very first Criterion Collection films were released on Laserdiscs and that’s where they actually pioneered the secondary audio tracks, like director’s commentaries, for the first time in the home, as well as widescreen for example, like letterboxing. They were the first to do that as well.

What’s your typical audience at these movie nights and how have they reacted to the films that you’ve screened?

The very first movie night we got a total of nine people and I was very happy with that turnout to be honest. I didn’t know what to expect and I was really glad that there was so much appreciation for it. However, what happened was through single transferable vote we ended up voting for Touki Bouki, a very important film from Senegal, that, though it is as I mentioned a very important film, I didn’t quite know that it would be church appropriate. This taught me the lesson that I should always screen the movies beforehand. Within the first ten minutes we decide to turn it off because there was this huge bloody slaughter of a cow…suffice it to say we ended up watching Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be or Not to Be instead with Jack Benny and Carole Lombard.

That was a delight.

What made you want to start these movie nights?

I’ve always loved hosting small movie nights at my own house and I do have my own little home cinema thing, but that’s always been very limited not only in the amount of people I can have but what people are willing to watch. Most of the time when people come over for a movie night they’re really kind of interested in something mainstream, something just for fun, or something - worst case - to have on in the background. I really do like movies; I like watching them, I like watching very important ones, I like discussing them.

I’m not in the film program but this is something that I really am passionate about. Since starting work at the church I sort of came up with the idea that, “Hey, I’ve got access to this space…[I’ve got] these

INSIDE THE CLOSET OF A NIGHTMARE How clever costuming pushes the horror franchise forward Rachel D’Sa ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Every Halloween the streets are filled with children trick-or-treating, teens and young adults causing havoc and adults attempting to balance the two. While these are very different activities, they have one thing in common – costumes. And though we all have that one friend who knocks it out of the park every year with a homemade costume, most people just hit up their local store and buy whatever’s hot that year. What often goes unnoticed however, is the subtle fluctuations in what costumes are popular on a yearly basis, and what inspires them.

Whether you go as a cat each year or the lead villain of the latest movie release, Halloween is a time to explore creativity and is heavily influenced by the entertainment industry. Iconic costumes pulled from the stage and film roam the streets each year, but how do these symbolic ensembles come to be?

Coordinator of Film Crafts and instructor for the Costuming of Capilano University’s Stage and Screen diploma program, Karen Matthews, has been at the school for eight of the program’s 12 total years. With over 28 years of designing experience for film, television, theatre, opera and dance, and

14

THE CAPILANO COURIER

as a senior member of entertainment production union, IATSE 891’s costume department, she understands the importance of costuming regarding all production genres, including the everevolving horror genre.

While working on the 2005 supernatural horror/thriller film White Noise, Matthews used her technical and creative skills to push boundaries that film tricks alone couldn’t achieve. The film crew needed characters that would show on screen quickly, so it could register psychologically for the audience without taking a lot of camera time. These actors needed to be extremely thin, as an otherworldly experience, and they didn’t have the money to do special effects at that point. Matthews took the already slender casted actors and created a hooded unitard from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes, airbrushing in the musculature of a human body in a very thin way using shadow effects. The actors were then filmed a few times against green screens, and were then inserted into the film.

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

When dressing for the horror genre, Matthews believes it all comes down to believability. “What you’re trying to do is support the psychology of the character, without it being too much,” she said.

Matthews explained some visual tricks often used in the horror industry, such as putting actors in dark colours for when they emerge from the darkness so that the shadows help camouflage their existence, illustrating characters as menacing by dressing them in shoulder pads or enlarging upper bodies using layers to make characters appear mighty. She used the example of the classic Dracula to exhibit the use of costume for dramatic reveal, where the creature’s collar is flipped up and then down to give the idea of being hidden and revealed through the cape being taken off.

While film productions can stop action and replace costumes with various versions, live-action costuming for horror must be extremely clever to recreate the same effects as stop action. “With live-action you are relegated to different processes,”

contacts right? Why not host a movie night here?” It sort of came out of that; everyone was very supportive of it. The people from the church who I volunteer with, a number of them have come to the nights along with my friends and it’s really been a lot of fun.

I’ve discovered from a lot of my friends who I didn’t even know were big movie buffs [that they’re] really into movies, and it’s really just worked out in the best possible way.

What does the future of these movie nights look like to you?

We are planning on moving to a slightly different venue, right now we’re just at the Mount Seymour United Church, but we are hopefully planning on moving maybe to the atrium [across the street] but that’s all to be determined. Essentially my focus right now is hopefully on improving the acoustics, though it is one hundred percent watchable and listenable right now, it’s a church, so it’s a little bit echo-y, so dialogue can sometimes be a little bit difficult to hear.

As for the actual movie nights themselves, we’re just looking to get more people, more involvement, more movie enthusiasts coming to them, and of course we always like to have the “cookies”, the talking about the movies, the after-movie discussion, that kind of thing. I’m just looking forward to more of that; just keep going forward.

Sallis-Lyon’s next movie night is Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at Mount Seymour United Church.

Though donations are appreciated, they are not required and all are welcome.

Matthews explained, “If you’re emitting blood, that can be done through sponges that are hidden underneath with slight tears that the audience doesn’t necessarily see, until they’re tugged on very lightly and then you have a blood sponge underneath which then emits that blood.”

While costuming processes can be applied to any given genre, when taking on horror projects, costume teams often must examine the script carefully to understand each character’s survival story. “It’s about a journey. Usually you are taking something from being in a state of newness, to whatever happens to the character. You would perhaps make them more innocent by putting them into lighter colours so that you’ve got a long way to go as far as contrast, so that all of the breakdown shows,” said Matthews. As characters experience falling, being slashed, and other various forms of wear and tear, the costumes must reflect the journey.

“It’s all about creating fear,” she said.

“What’s happening in the environment around the characters? Through this you get bits of dirt and blood added and aged to appear as an older dried stain and such, and how it fits on the costume as they travel into the scenario. It’s about creating an ability for the distance to be visually illustrated on the costume.” Matthews believes that each costume tells a story of each character, and by utilizing various aspects of costuming to create realism, believability is increased, creating the ultimate horrific experience for audience members -- the golden goal for all horror productions, which wouldn’t be possible without the brilliance of costuming.

@CAPILANOCOURIER

@CAPILANOCOURIER

/CAPILANOCOURIER

THE LAUGH JEDI Vancouver Theatre Sports League transforms a classic film series into a night of smiles and laughter Justin Scott MANAGING EDITOR

While everyone has a bucket list, there are certain things we dare not even dream of achieving as we know that they’re impossible. For me, one such goal was to see the Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes perform their signature piece “Cantina Band”. However, on Oct. 12 I did just that.

I was not in Mos Eisley on Tatooine, but rather the Improv Centre on Granville Island for the premiere of the Vancouver Theatre Sports League’s (VTSL) latest production, Improv Wars: The Laugh Jedi.

Running until Nov. 19 on Thursdays through Saturdays from 7:30 p.m. until around 9 p.m., the show is a must see for any Star Wars fans, or humans in general who enjoy laughing until it hurts.

Following a loose storyline, The Laugh Jedi takes place in a Star Wars universe devoid of all laughter, obviously due to the Empire. An Obi Wan Kenobi-styled character starts the show by welcoming the audience, then introducing them to that night’s contestants for becoming the Laugh Jedi – the galaxy’s last chance at rediscovering laughter.

I was lucky enough to have a front-row seat, and saw each contestant up close as they made their way on stage. First, a lackadaisical Luke Skywalker, then Han Solo, Grand Moff Tarkin, C-3PO, Aunt May and finally Jabba the Hutt. While

NOT A WALK IN THE DARK A behind-the-scenes look into life inside haunted houses Rachel D’Sa ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Like clockwork, every autumn is accompanied by an onslaught of filtered pumpkin patch Instagrams, annoying slippery patches of fallen leaves, sketchy firecracker pop-up shops and Halloween.

While there are many ways to enjoy the questionable holiday, one of the most common ways to celebrate is by attending a haunted house. Whether you’re forced into one by thrill seeking friends or family members, or you decide that marching your way through one is the only way to impress your date, these attractions are inevitably experienced by almost every carnival goer at one time or another. While the act of trying not to scream can be quite strenuous, it doesn’t even come close to the dedication that comes with crafting each scare.

Haunted house actress, Ashley Johnson, found herself working the atypical job after stumbling across a Craigslist ad advertising a casting call for actors while looking for seasonal work. She had missed

this cast couldn’t have been better, when I talked to one of the shows performers, Brian Anderson, he explained that it will be different night-to-night. “We rotate the characters that are in it,” he said, “it’s very much player dependent.”

Anderson explained each performer has a roster of around three characters they will be bringing to the stage depending on the night, and seeing as the VTSL has around 40 players on their roster, no single night will be the same. Anderson also explained that while the show’s opening performance included notable characters, not all the performances have such a recognizable cast. “There will be some standards,” he explained, “I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of Lukes and Hans coming through, but we’re going to have the occasional Ewok or Wookie, or even really obscure ones like technician number two, or guy who didn’t

blow up the escape pod.”

The beauty of combining Star Wars and high-quality improv comedy is that it allows the players to make the characters their own, all while highlighting the comedic characteristics of each one. The actress’ portrayal of Grand Moff Tarkin for example, was nothing short of brilliant.

While Tarkin only has a few stern lines in the original films, created a character so riddled with dry humor I may never be able to watch the films again without laughing.

Jabba the Hutt on the other hand, had the crowd in stitches, without saying a single word in English. The actor used nothing more than body language – all the more impressive as he was in a full-body inflatable costume – and a strong Jabba the Hutt impression to insight a roaring response.

For Anderson however, there’s nothing

acting since graduating from her high school theatre company. “It was incredibly intimidating at first, because I’d been to the haunted house in previous years as a customer and knew the actors there were very good at what they did,” she said, “Apparently they thought the same about me, because they asked me back the next two years.”

Having worked as a haunted house actress for three years, playing characters ranging from a pirate, to a victim of Jack the Ripper, Johnson is well aware of the hard work that goes into creating the temporary attractions.

“The thing that shocked me the most would probably be how much time and effort it took to set up the houses and whatnot from start to finish, compared to how quickly the scare season came and went,” said Johnson. She wasn’t provided with any training in the haunted houses that she worked in, which left her learning the ropes herself. “Because everyone scares differently, I came up with a base personality for my character of the night and played around with it my entire shift rather than having a set character or role for the entirety of the scare season,” she explained. What scares one person may not scare another, and she found this to be the biggest challenge, having to adapt her characters to feed off each customer’s energy.

Unlike with most acting roles, Johnson

was assigned her characters upon showing up for her shifts each night, as actors had to be switched due to scheduling conflicts and no-show workers. Last-minute character preparation wasn’t the only thing she had to deal with on the fly. Along with focusing on her many characters’ roles, she also had to prepare for the reactions that come with the job.

The normal human instinct to a threat is to protect which can come in a defensive or offensive manner. Most of those who have set foot in a haunted house know the protocol. Before entering there is always a rundown of a set of rules that each attendee needs to agree to before they venture in. This rundown typically consists of rules such as: no touching the props and actors, no pushing, keep moving forward, no running, etc. “When you scare someone, you have to be prepared for flailing limbs and flying fists,” said Johnson. While some of these rules (like the ban on bringing umbrellas inside) may seem a bit silly and unnecessary, not having these rules in place can put actors in danger of potential assaults from the occasional customer that gets caught up in the realism of the environment. “Some customers would definitely take it too far by getting in the actors’ faces, pushing us, threatening us, and hitting us moments after we initially startled them. There were also customers that would get very grabby with female actors, and sometimes

like the saga’s staple characters. “I’m a big lover of C-3PO, I just think he’s a fabulous comic character,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of love too for the, not the later mature Luke, but the young, kind of whiny farm boy Luke,” he added.

While each night will be different, the performance consists of two acts. The first is a series of challenges that determine who will be the Laugh Jedi. Then, after a brief intermission, the second act sees the Laugh Jedi attempt to return laughter to the galaxy.

Improv comedy relies on a heavy amount of vagueness in the performance’s storyline, allowing the performers to truly thrive. Taking this one step further, The Laugh Jedi frequently relies on audience interaction and suggestions, making each performance as much the player’s as it is the audience’s. Additionally, this setup allows for some truly hilarious situations. The performance I attended for example, had Grand Moff Tarkin stranded on a planet of gerbils trying to find transportation to the Death Star, eventually hitching a ride on a gerbil-powered space ship. Anderson sees this aspect of the show as one of it’s best.

“One of the fun things that we’ve really been discovering is that these characters in more modern, or our world, settings can be really fun,” he said, “Imagine Emperor Palpatine's Starbucks order gets messed up,” he added with a laugh.

Whether you’re a Star Wars fan or not, The Laugh Jedi transcends the iconic films and promises to be an exciting night full of laughter. Also keep an eye out for the company’s next production the Christmas Queen, which will open on Nov. 30. So, make your way down to Granville Island and see the performance before it’s too late, as it’s end date is not too far far away.

we would call them out directly, other times we called security to deal with the issue.”

For Johnson, the number of amazing customers far outweighs the number of rude or aggressive customers, making the job well worth it. However, she advises those looking to try it out, to do their research and ask questions to get a feel for which company is right for them and to make sure that the company takes care of their actors. She also recommends questioning previous employees of the companies to make sure some sort of security procedures are in place.

What started out as an act of curiosity and a love for acting has led the actress to meet fellow talented actors, building friendships through the bonding experience. She also noted that she has gained an incredible amount of self-confidence with every successful scare. Johnson experienced a change in perspective through the work having come from a background of having nightmares from viewing horror content and running through haunted houses, barely looking up and on the verge of tears. However, since working in the field, she has been able to walk through the houses, recalling her experiences comparing each character that she views. “Above all, I have a huge amount of respect for the actors that work so hard to put on an amazing show every night.”

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

15

SHORTS

N T E U A D H

HITS

Carlo Javier

Justin Scott

Tia Kutschera Fox

Helen Aikenhead

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MANAGING EDITOR

OPINIONS EDITOR

FEATURES EDITOR

“Death with Dignity” – Sufjan Stevens Mood: You haven’t drank yet Creating the perfect Halloween playlist isn’t the easiest of tasks, but since the best Halloween thrills are the ones that completely immerse you, then that is exactly what this playlist will do. First things first, you die. Let Sufjan Stevens’ hauntingly melancholic vocals take you away peacefully. For now, at least.

“Faded Creek” – D33J Mood: The people who are always early are at the party, but no one else is “Faded Creek” may not be as overtly spooky as other productions, but it belongs on this list. The spaced out vocal samples are sure to remind listeners of spirts and the heavy basslines perfectly mimic the vibes brought by autumn weather.

“Slow Like Honey” – Fiona Apple Mood: Dark and vampy Play this song for slinking around the party with a glass of wine in your hand.

Fiona Apple’s velvet voice will take you away to a field of dead flowers and fluttering bats under a full moon. With lyrics like “I'll haunt the world inside you” and “Slow like honey heavy with mood” this song is great for some melancholic private contemplation or for when you want to actually be able to hear guests at the party.

“Walking with A Ghost” – Tegan and Sara Mood: Anti-Halloween I like to think of this not just as a Halloween playlist, but as a regular playlist in disguise. Or, in costume I suppose. First up is a song I tend to listen to year-round that just happens to mention ghosts. If you know me, you know my love for this band. So, it's a given that this would be first on my list. A timeless song by a timeless band, “Walking with A Ghost” is the perfect kick-off to this playlist.

“Make My” – The Roots Mood: You’ve had two tequilas “I did it all for the money lord,” Big K.R.I.T raps in the highlight track of The Roots’ Undun. “Make My” is an apt soundtrack for your journey through the purgatory. The song features contemplative lyrics from K.R.I.T. and the great Black Thought. It’s full of regret and a closing line that seems completely devoid of hope, “If there’s a heaven, I can’t find the stairway.”

“Mr. Rager” – Kid Cudi Mood: You just started mixing your alcohol Without much sense of direction, you turn to the dark side just to find some answers. There aren’t many better artists that capture the sense of loneliness than Kid Cudi, and “Mr. Rager”, from his second album still stands as a gem in Cudi’s increasingly diluted discography.

Cudi’s signature moaning/slurring style of singing, combined with Mr. Rager’s chimes and pulsating percussion makes for background music in your journey to the unknown.

“The Cool” – Lupe Fiasco Mood: Someone brought you some snacks Looks like there is some hope after all.

“The Cool”, off Lupe Fiasco’s debut album, details the story of a murdered drug dealer who comes back to life to avenge his death. “He came back, in the same suit he was buried in, similar to the one his grandfather was married in.” This was a young and hungry Lupe Fiasco, and the clever storytelling in “The Cool” is as spooky and thought-provoking as it gets.

“Closer” – The Chainsmokers Mood: You blacked out and forgot to drink water After all your effort, you find out that you’re going to hell after all. I imagine hell to simply be a place where “Closer” plays on an endless loop, complete with The Chainsmokers’ terribly off-key vocals and hundreds of teenage girls screaming along.

Sucks to be dead.

16

THE CAPILANO COURIER

“I Bleed” – Pixies Mood: People are showing up and you don’t want to scare people away An older selection, the 1989 track is perfect for a Halloween playlist. It opens with a simple bass guitar line and builds the whole time. The contrast of Black Francis and former member Kim Deal’s voices is especially chilling. The songs simplicity lends to its spookiness. Much like Dark Red, much of 1989’s Doolittle would be welcome on a Halloween playlist.

“Ditch” – Shlohmo Mood: Time to get things spooky, but not crazy Almost any track off Shlohmo’s Dark Red album could find a home on this list, but “Ditch” is surely the spookiest. The low end of the song could be the soundtrack for a haunted house, while the pitched-down chimes numerous samples add even more of an eerie aura to the song. Overall the song oozes creepiness while still being a beautiful production.

“Monster” – Kanye West Mood: It’s time to get the party going “Sasquatch, Godzilla, King Kong, Loch Ness Goblin, ghoul, a zombie with no conscience.” This song is not only great, Jay-Z gives some pretty handy costume advice as well. One of West’s best collaborative efforts, this track is sure to kill at party’s as well as instill some truly haunting visuals in your mind.

“Goosebumps” – Travis Scott Mood: Things are getting out of hand and everyone wants a song to scream along to Sharing a title with one of the all-time spookiest works, R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps, Scott’s collaboration with Kendrick Lamar was a shoo-in for this list. It doesn’t hurt that the production has ghostly quality to it. The lyrics aren’t especially haunting, but overall the song fits the mold for a Halloween hit.

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

“The Zombie Song” – Stephanie Mabey Mood: Cute and catchy A cute Halloween song? Hear me out: this is a song that simultaneously combines 8-bit style retro-Halloween melodies with a post-apocalyptic romance that makes fun of Twilight. Need I say more? Play this when you want to liven up the party — it Could also make an awesome karaoke number.

“Paradise Circus” – Massive Attack Mood: Scary sexy Hope Sandoval’s breathy voice sings against some deep bass and a twisted top melody that sets the perfect ambience for a darker and scarier setting. As with most Massive Attack songs, the singing is more of an accent to the melody so you don’t have to listen very closely to enjoy it. Play this when you want to bring the party tone back to a proper scary Halloween.

“Bust your Kneecaps” – Pomplamoose Mood: Upbeat and twisted The title is going to throw you off – when you first play this song you’re not going to understand unless you listen to the lyrics closely. This makes it very fun to play at parties because once the chorus starts, people start tuning in and getting horrified. “Oh, a cute little song – nope I was wrong, they’re singing about busting a guy's kneecaps what the fuck.” This is the trick in trick or treat.

“Smoke and Mirrors” – RJD2 Mood: Spooky blues The beat of this one just puts me in a damn good Halloween mood, the kind that makes you feel confident wearing the blackest clothing you have and starting a conversation with that hot werewolf in the corner of the party. You should also dance to this with said hot werewolf because blues music is the bomb and Halloween should have more partner-dancing.

“Easy” – Son Lux Mood: Late October night This song is just spooky. Lyrics telling you to “pull out your heart,” aside, it's the instrumentals that really give this song its Halloween vibe. Something about the synthesized beeping becomes menacing as it continues throughout the entire song.

Combine that with a dominating trombone sound and the occasional distressed wailing of a flute-like instrument, and “Easy” is the perfect unconventional Halloween song.

“Wolf Like Me” – TV on the Radio Mood: Pumped up A true anthem for werewolves, this song has an obvious Halloween connection.

Complete with howling, this song narrates the curse of someone that changes form in the moonlight. I don't know if there's anything more appropriate to the holiday than that.

“No Rest for The Wicked” – Lykke Li Mood: Melancholy At it's core, Halloween as we celebrate it is centred around wickedness – a key theme to this song. Lykke Li's signature sad and echoed sound lends itself well to the spooky theme. Something about the lyrics “no hope for the weary” and “no rest for the wicked” paint a picture of a lost soul or wandering ghost, other than overall sound, that idea is why I threw it in the list.

“Seven Devils” – Florence + The Machine Mood: Uneasy This song is loud and anthemic. Probably not something you want to play at your costume party, but it definitely earns its keep in a Halloween playlist. The harp, violin and choir give this song an eerie vibe. As Florence Welch sings of the seven devils plaguing her, this playlist comes to a climactic end.

–RACHEL WADA

STAFF PICKS

CALENDAR

23 MON

‘DO RAINBOWS COME IN GREEN?’ ROUNDTABLE PUBLIC EVENT UBC FOREST SCIENCES CENTRE 5 P.M. / FREE

As someone who is colour-blind, I don’t know what colours rainbows normally come with to begin with. But I don’t think that’s the point of the event. If one of your favourite parts of Capilano University is how beautiful the trees are on campus, then this event will be for you.

27 FRI

SCIENCE WORLD AFTER DARK: ZOMBIE OUTBREAK

THE FEATS OF STRENGTH – SEINFELD TRIVIA NIGHT SIMPLY DELICIOUS EATERY 7P.M. / $12

Few qualities are more attractive in a partner than the ability to recall facts about a sitcom that’s been off the air for nearly 20 years.

I’ve only watched three episodes of Seinfeld so I don’t even know enough about the show to insert a witty joke here.

24 TUES

BRAD MEHLDAU

SCIENCE WORLD 7 P.M. / LATEST SCALPING RATE

BLUESHORE FINANCIAL CENTRE 8 P.M. / $45 - $48

Everyone should go to these Science World After Dark events at least once. They are so much better than the regular, kid friendly stuff that goes on during the day. The booze is reasonably priced and spare no expense when it comes to the decorations. This is the place to be for Halloween.

It’s rather audacious for BlueShore to charge people $45 to see a jazz musician. If you’re a lover of jazz, but think the tickets are too expensive, then I recommend getting stuck in an elevator for a few hours. It’ll be roughly the same experience.

FLYOVER CANADA HALLOWEEN

VOLLEYBALL: CAPILANO UNIVERSITY BLUES VS. COLLEGE OF THE ROCKIES

CANADA PLACE 5 P.M. - 9 P.M. / $17.85

SPORTSPLEX 12 P.M. / FREE

I’m going to be honest with you, dear readers. I thought Halloween was a lot closer than it really was last time I did the calendar.

Some of you may have noticed that I prematurely blew my haunted Halloween load all over the calendar last week and left only the afterglow for this one. So, you can imagine my relief when I found an event as cool as this one to shamelessly advertise.

25 WED

PAINT NIGHT

ZEALOUS ART 6:30 P.M. - 9 P.M. / $35

Story time: In preschool I was so bad at arts and crafts that the teachers didn’t let me play at the art station during free time. That was a real kick to my self-esteem. I’ve been told painting is a fun, relaxing way to spend an evening. I wouldn’t know.

If for some reason you feel inclined to show some school spirit, come out and support the volleyball teams. It’s doesn’t quite have the same prestige as college football in the USA, but it’s as close as we can get.

28 SAT

THURS

ROGERS ARENA 8 P.M. / $68

I saw Roger Waters when he was touring The Wall and I can say with absolute confidence that it was the best show I’ve ever seen.

I don’t know what the former singer of Pink Floyd is up to these days, but if you’re a fan of his work you will regret not going to this.

WASTED YOUTH: THE SEQUEL

HALLOWEEN CIRCUS CARNIVAL

I believe this should've been the title every newspaper went with after Capilano announced their University accreditation. I’m a pretty big fan of snowboard videos though, and this looks like it’ll be a good one. There’s a good chance our former Editor-in-Chief, Leah Scheitel will be there too, prowling for dudes.

This is a good option for people who are too poor to afford Cirque Du Soleil tickers, but still want to see people do backflips in the air. Hosted by the Vancouver acrobat school, they’ll be putting on shows all evening, though the 8 p.m. one is 19+ only and serves alcohol. So obviously go to that one.

RICKSHAW THEATRE 9 P.M. / BY DONATION

26

ROGER WATERS

SILVERSUN PICKUPS FORTUNE SOUND CLUB 8 PM / $25+

Fentanyl-related issues have dominated the news in the past year and the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) is here to help raise awareness about the troubling crisis. Stacey Forrester of the Portland Hotel Society will be on site to run a workshop about harm reduction.

If you’re free on Monday at 4 p.m., attend this. If you have a class, skip it and go to this.

PIPE SHOP AT THE SHIPYARDS 8 P.M. / $15

29 SUN

PARADE OF LOST SOULS

SECRET LOCATION REVEALED THE NIGHT BEFORE 7 P.M. - 10 P.M. / FREE

For those who want to get really immersed in Halloween this year.

The location will be revealed at midnight the night before and there will be an after party until 3 a.m. once the parade is over.

Dressing up is encouraged.

GLOW IN THE GARDEN

THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED

A Halloween event at Van Dusen sounds like a fun time. Once, my friend, thinking he had the evening to himself, did a bunch of mushrooms. Turns out his entire family was in town and surprised him with a trip to Van Dusen. He had a great time. It’s a great option for people who want to get into the Halloween spirit without being surrounded by drunk people.

I didn’t realize I wanted “The Beautiful and the Damned” to be written on my tombstone until today. Leave it to a hotel to turn Halloween into a suit and tie event. Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad, nothing scares me more than being in a room full of rich people.

VAN DUSEN BOTANICAL GARDEN 5 P.M. – 9 P.M. / $12.50

HOTEL GEORGIA 9 P.M. / $55

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

17

“HE’S A TRUE X-FACTOR”

The returning Brenden Bailey could be the missing piece to the Blues puzzle Carlo Javier EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Shortly before the start of last season, Brenden Bailey withdrew himself from the Capilano University Blues men’s basketball team. The guard was a likely starter for an upstart Blues team, but his decision to leave was driven by anything but the sport “I just needed a year off,” Bailey said, “To work, to recoup.”

Now back in blue, Bailey enters his third year of eligibility with a newfound level of maturity and discipline – plus a rekindled passion for the game he loves.

Bailey’s collegiate basketball days started with the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles in the 2014-2015 season. While the Eagles fell in the cellars of the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST), Bailey’s game stood out as one of the team’s few bright spots. He averaged 19 points a game, a number that topped all rookies and ranked second in the entire league. A year later, he transferred to the Blues and formed a dynamic backcourt with the sharpshooting combo guard, Martin

18

THE CAPILANO COURIER

Bogajev.

Heading into the 2016-2017 season, Bailey was meant to be a key cog in a team that was primed to make a leap. The Blues had brought in a talented inside presence in Greet Gill, an exciting rookie guard in Wowie Untalan and welcomed the return of defensive stalwart Hassan Phills. Bailey’s late exit, compounded by the departure of a couple other players forced the Blues to adjust on the fly.

This year, the Blues once again enter the year with a host of fresh faces. The team will be fielding eight rookies and no fifth-year players. Phills and recent transfer forward, Denver Sparks-Guest stand as the their most experienced players, each entering their fourth year of eligibility. Much of the team is new, and Bailey’s return couldn’t have come at a better time.

According to Head Coach, Cassidy Kannemeyer, last year’s team often struggled when Untalan went to the bench. The shortage of primary ballhandlers with the ability to create scoring opportunities for both themselves and their teammates was one of the Blues’ weaknesses last year. For Kannemeyer, Bailey’s return can alleviate that concern. “We struggled in stretches when Wowie came off the floor last year,” he said. “They will play together, but I also envision that one of them will be on the

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

floor at all times.”

Bailey himself has known Untalan for many years and sees their games meshing well with one another. “I think we complement each other really well,” he said. “We like to get up the court, we like to run and gun, two fast guards who can pass the ball really well.”

An attack guard, Bailey’s ability to break down defences and draw two or more defenders will be integral to the Blues’ spacing. “Brenden has premier one on one ability,” said Kannemeyer. “He’s able to create space between him and his defender to rise up and make contested jumpers.”

Last year, forward Greet Gill led the team with 17 points and 10 rebounds per game. Having decided against returning to the Blues, Gill left a void that will need to be filled. Though Bailey fully intends to expand his offensive game and improve as a facilitator, his natural scoring talents will surely be needed. Gill's 17 points per game last year was just one of two Blues scorers to rank in the top 25 in the PACWEST, and historically speaking, Bailey has fared well in the league in terms of getting buckets.

While Bailey’s contributions on the court will certainly be integral to the Blues’ success, it’s what he brings off the court – especially in practices – that can really help catapult the Blues to the next

level. “Brenden has shown a rejuvenated approach to practice in general,” said Kannemeyer. “His approach is infectious to his teammates and he seems like he has a joy in his life back.”

A year off from PACWEST play has Bailey anxious to get the season started. An early season match up with the Langara College Falcons will bring the Blues head-to-head with a bevy of former teammates, including the likes of Bogajev, EJ Mabone and Malik Holmes.

One game that Bailey has set his sights on is their first rematch against the Vancouver Island University Mariners on Nov. 18. The Mariners, led by last year’s player of the year and top scorer, Usama Zaid, beat the Blues for the gold medal in the PACWEST playoffs. Zaid, who broke a variety of scoring records last year is poised to lead the Mariners again this year, but Bailey is more than ready for the marquee match up. “I got him [Zaid] though,” he said, confidently.

The Blues are clearly on the rise, and Kannemeyer believes that Bailey could truly help push the men’s basketball team over the hump. “If Brenden plays hard on every single play on both ends the sky is the limit for him and our team, he’s a true X Factor,” he said.

After missing a year’s worth of competition, you could bet Bailey will leave it all on the floor.

–VANCOUVER SPORTS PHOTO

SPORTS

@CAPILANOCOURIER

@CAPILANOCOURIER

/CAPILANOCOURIER

FROM THE PITCH TO THE STAGE

Brittney Roussy will soon be taking a bow on more than one stage Justin Scott MANAGING EDITOR

While many people often see theatre and athletics as vastly different practices, for Brittney Roussy, the Capilano University Blues women’s soccer team’s starting goalkeeper, they’re two of the biggest parts of her life. The second-year player is not only seeing impressive success on the pitch this season, but she’s also finding the same success off it.

Roussy is deceptively ranked third in the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) with a 0.805 goals against average and the league's most wins, but has played twice as many games as Douglas College Royals’ Nicole Scott, who is ranked first. Not only is Roussy seeing a burst of success, but the women’s team as a whole is surging at this point in the season, experiencing a hiccup this past weekend. After starting their season with four ties, a win and a loss, they had won four straight before dropping their last two, now to just four points behind first place Royals.

If her success on the pitch wasn’t enough, Roussy has been taking major strides outside of athletics as well.

“I’m finally in a program I really like,” she said. After a year of general studies, Roussy was accepted into CapU’s Acting for Stage and Screen program this semester – something she’s always dreamed of. “I’ve always wanted to be a voice actor,” she

explained, “I’ve been doing little voices since I was a kid.”

While students in the first year of the program generally aren’t allowed to act in Exit 22 Productions, they can help with the shows. Roussy hopes to be a stage manager in the spring, which she’s only done for high school productions in the past. And the timing couldn’t be better for such an integral part of the women’s team.

The team has set a goal for this season – win the PACWEST conference and represent BC in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association’s (CCAA) national championships in November. The women’s team last won the PACWEST in the 200708 season and the CCAA national title in the 2001-02 season. In Roussy’s opinion, if there’s a year to repeat these feats, this is the one. “If we are going to do it, it’s this team,” she said.

For the Blues to achieve their goal, Roussy will need to maintain her domination of other team’s attacks, something that she achieves in tandem with her defensive line. “Our strong defence is what I really rely on,” she acknowledged. “I trust my back line a lot and the fact that they can use me as a player as well as a goalkeeper and they have a lot of trust in me that if something happens I’m always there for them.”

Roussy was trained to be a diverse keeper and to not just sit in her net. This means that she is far more active in the defence’s play than others who share her position, which she sees as an advantage for both herself and her teammates. “I was trained to play very high out of my box, almost like a sweeper. So, I’m always there for pass backs, and any through balls,” she explained. Additionally, she likes to charge through balls sent by opposing teams as opposed to sitting back and allowing them fast break opportunities.

Although the team is only midway through the season, Roussy’s future is looking bright, both on and off the field.

She has three years left in her program and four of playing eligibility. Having already secured the starting spot, she’s now full of confidence and ready to help lead the team to the national tournament.

“I’ve never been past Alberta, so to go to

>> FREE concert!! suggested donation of $10 towards The Canadian Network on Cuba’s Hurricane Relief and Reconstruction Fund after Hurricane Irma.

FRIDAY October 27

Nova Scotia, it’s always in my dreams to go for soccer and to know that we’re representing BC – it would be the coolest thing, I’d love it,” she admitted.

With the pitch under control, she’s now ready to see similar success on the stage.

She may only be in her first year of the program, but it’s something she’s been preparing for her whole life. Roussy’s dream is to end up with roles in feature films, but believes that voice acting will be where she’ll find success at first. “If I get

IN ASS ASS THE VARA R E AFT GUE EARS CHE 50 EYRNESTO OF

into movie acting then fabulous, but I feel like there’s a bigger market right now for voice acting,” she said.

Although the two disciplines may seem worlds apart, Roussy finds that they in fact complement each other, learning from all of her life’s experiences. “Movement and teamwork; I find I can flow better on stage as well as working with my peers.

It greatly influences my education, and just as through acting, I find I have more confidence on the field.”

N ATIO

AL TION A N TER TH IN

E H C

7

RA A UEVENCEA

G

R CANAD NFE ER, V ON CO U UTIIO NCO N OLU VA V T E R VOL N A I E S RUSUBANADRERSHIPT,PROJECT C LE LIS

M FRO THE TO THE

N OF E SOCIA H STIO QUE NTING T TODAY E H T ARE EME IMPL ERE WE H ish &W Sp a n

& ol nglish spañ e in E lés y e erenc n ing Conferencia e C o nf

Featured Speakers: ISAAC SANEY: Professor at Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s Universities. Specialist on Cuba-Africa relations.

WENDY HOLM: Professor of UBC’s International Field Studies

in Sustainable Agriculture. Award winning agrologist, economist, author, and journalist.

N

IO OLUT N REV

HELEN YAFFE: Economic History Professor at the London

SIA TION E RUS EVOLU CE TH UBAN R

School of Economics.

S SIN HE C YEAR S OF T

HENRY HELLER: Professor of History, Marxist scholar,

017 9, 2 2 R 27 VER OBEN HALLE, VANCOU T C O SIA AVENU RUS PBELL 100 58 YEAR AND

University of Manitoba.

MS. TANIA LÓPEZ LARROQUE: Chief of Mission, Consul General of the Cuban Consulate in Toronto.

MR. WILMER OMAR BARRIENTOS FERNÁNDEZ:

Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Canada.

MR. WILFREDO J. PEREZ BIANCO: Chief of Mission,

CAM 600

Consul General of the Venezuelan Consulate in Vancouver. PhD in Information Sciences.

WWW.CHEGUEVARACONFERENCE.CA

GERARDO ALFONSO: Professor of History and Sociology in Havana, and world-renowned songwriter.

Cuban Legend

Gerardo Alfonso Live in Concert

With Local GUests

CanAmerica!

RUSSIAN HALL

600 Campbell Ave.

THIS CONCERT IS PART OF THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL CHE GUEVARA CONFERENCE IN VANCOUVER OCT 27-29, 2017

www.cheguevaraconference.ca THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

19

CABOOSE

@CAPILANOCOURIER

CAPILANO CONFESSIONS

@CAPILANOCOURIER

/CAPILANOCOURIER

HOROSCOPES

THE VOICEBOX with Justin Scott

Hello once more Justin

Oh hi

IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK:

Holy shit you made it. I did not expect that.

Have you ever been to Cartems? The donut place.

ARIES (MAR. 21 – APR. 19)

Of course

I hate writing these as much as you love reading them.

Well then

TAURUS (APR. 20 – MAY 20)

Isn’t it the best donut in Vancouver? My friend argues it’s Honey’s, but let’s not kid ourselves, right?

“I skipped school last week to go to someone's house and learn to give hickeys.”

You make simple things look incredibly hard.

Sorry, but as someone who grew up in the cove I can proudly say no one’s fucking with honey’s

–

GEMINI (MAY 21 – JUN. 20)

Your favourite pastime is laughing at the misfortune of others.

I should have known

“I'm enjoying the new hypersexual version of Riverdale.”

Sorry to break your heart

CANCER (JUN 21 – JULY 22)

You will make a great janitor one day.

– “I haven't had a real shower in four months.”

The Voicebox is back! If you have any questions, concerns or any other bitchin’ to do, text it over to our boy Justin at 778-873-7288. “Please text me,” he says. “No one else does.”

SUDOKUWEB

LEO (JUL. 23 – AUG. 22)

I hate to say this, but you’re going to be just fine.

– “I write all of my articles for the Courier while I'm high.”

123456

SUDOKU

– “I snuck my ex into my house while my parents were asleep.”

VIRGO (AUG. 23 – SEPT. 21)

This is a good week to start drinking.

Difficulty: Medium

LIBRA (SEPT. 22 – OCT. 23)

8

7

6

4

Your imaginary friend would rather be an acquaintance.

2 5

7 8

6

SCORPIO (OCT. 24 – NOV. 21)

1 3

4

8 9

–

5

8 4

6

“I peed in the elevator of the Birch building.”

4

7 2

9

7 8

3 1

2 4

5

4

8 7

9 1

2

1 9 4

6

9

1

5

– “I lost my keys skinny dipping in the ocean.

Then I dove back in and found them. #winning”

– “I only go to the strip club for the food.”

• First select a number/operator and than apply it to a sudoku cell.

Read more and submit your own confession at capilanocourier.com/confessions

20

THE CAPILANO COURIER

TO ADVERTISE in the Courier’s pages, please contact John Tabbernor via email at community.capcourier@gmail.com We are proud to offer discounts to non-profit organizations and North Shore customers. A full media kit with sizes, rates and deadlines is available on our website, Capilanocourier.com. Classified advertisements up to 50 words are free for students.

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 6

Sometimes, the only appropriate response is to cry.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 – DEC. 21)

If life is a rollercoaster then this is the part where it goes upside down.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 – JAN. 19)

For Halloween you should dress up as a functioning member of society.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 – FEB.18)

Don’t forget to write.

Seriously, your essay is due next week.

PISCES (FEB. 19 – MAR. 20)

You aren’t even in a relationship and you still managed to get cheated on.