Capilano Courier | Vol. 49.5, Issue 8.

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VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE 08

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BLUES BASKETBALL

TURNING A BLIND EYE

Columbia Bible College Bearcats fall to CapU men’s and women’s teams in season opener.

How Vancouver’s ocularists are restoring their clients' confidence, one artificial eye at a time.

NOVEMBER 14 - 20 | 2016

ALPINE SAFETY — IT'S SNOW JOKE!

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CONTENTS

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Cover Art

News

Campus Life

Sports

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TURNING A BLIND EYE

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DEMENTIA DOLLS

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Features

Arts & Culture

Opinions

Columns

VIVIAN LI

THE STAFF

FROM NORTH VAN TO DISNEY WORLD

PHOTOS: SUNSHINE COAST CAMPUS

A LOOK AT THIS YEAR'S WINTER BEERS

COLUMNISTS

CONTRIBUTORS

Andy Rice

Vivian Li Syd Danger

COVER ART

After a summer of recalibrating her repulsor jets, re-polishing her vibranium shield and reclaiming her right to wield the mighty Mjolnir, resident nerd world super-fan Syd Danger is back. Her column will be breaking down the latest news and developments that strike the geek world and she’ll also be offering up her Maester-approved analysis.

Fiona Dunnett

Carlo Javier MANAGING EDITOR

carlo.capcourier@gmail.com Kevin Kapenda

opinions.capcourier@gmail.com Gabriel Scorgie FEATURES EDITOR

specialfeatures.capcourier@gmail.com Justin Scott

Jacqueline Ranit With the fall season comes an influx of markets. Not stock markets, actual markets. That’s why we’ve brought in market aficionado Jacqueline Ranit to investigate and understand what some of Vancouver’s finest seasonal markets really stand for.

She’ll be finding the answers to questions like: which stand has the best bratwurst, what does the farmers market really mean to its immediate community, why should I go here?

Brandon Kostinuk & Kevin Kapenda

pm.capcourier@gmail.com

Paul Boici ART

Andrew Yang WORDS

Scott Barkemeyer

Rachel D'Sa

campuslife.capcourier@gmail.com

LAYOUT DESIGNER

ART

WORDS

CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

Syd Danger

Austin Legg

Alexander Derbas

Christine Beyleveldt

ART DIRECTOR

Justin Deruiter

WORDS

arts.capcourier@gmail.com

artdirector.capcourier@gmail.com

ART

ART

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Cristian Fowlie

Angela Martinez

Dante Mercer

Jessica Lio OPINIONS EDITOR

ART

ART

NEWS EDITOR

news@capilanocourier.com

VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

THE WEEK IN GEEK: COMIC BOOK MOVIES

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

editor@capilanocourier.com

THE CAPILANO COURIER

BLUES BASKETBALL STAYS UNDEFEATED

These guys are like our own version of Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith, and that’s exactly what you should expect from this politically-charged column. Here you’ll find Kapenda and Kostinuk duking out their differing first takes on the developments that surround the battle for America’s survival and sanity: Trump vs. Clinton.

May the right honourable win.

WORDS

Nick Scheffield WORDS

Jacob Muir WORDS

Graeme Findlay WORDS

Hassan Merali

Noah Penner

WORDS

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

multimedia.capcourier@gmail.com Therese Guieb COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER

community.capcourier@gmail.com POSITION AVAILABLE!

International House of Pancakes Food is one of the greatest universal languages and our new and improved “International House of Pancakes” lives by that mantra. Featuring a rotating selection of writers, IHOP will delve into the nuances and realities surrounding the cuisines that we’ve westernized, commercialized and taken for granted.

Authenticity is our best ingredient.

BUSINESS ADVISOR

business.capcourier@gmail.com Brandon Kostinuk WEB COORDINATOR

web.capcourier@gmail.com

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THE CAPILANO COURIER is an autonomous, democratically-run student newspaper. Literary and visual submissions are welcomed. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity, taste and legality. The Capilano Courier will not publish material deemed by the collective to exhibit sexism, racism or homophobia. The views expressed by the contributing writers are not necessarily those of the Capilano Courier Publishing Society.

EDITOR'S DESK

AN APPLE A DAY Andy Rice EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

nearly a century. The reality is, there’s so much of her left to enjoy, but she’s too busy lamenting what’s lost to see how lucky she is to have made it this far.

Whether you’re 48 or 98, the frustration of dementia is all too real. And, if you let it, it can claim you long before the physical effects of the disease ever will. The only thing worse than losing your memory must be knowing that it’s happening at a rate much faster than you’d like. People like Mann and Campbell, who soldier on despite the odds, are a rare breed. I would imagine that patience and perspective aren’t the first traits that come to mind when one is faced with such an earthshattering blow. To summon them on their level is nothing short of amazing.

In our Opinions section this week, contributor Scott Barkemeyer takes a stance on dementia dolls, one of many therapies available for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. Whether or not you agree with him, I think it’s important to take a moment every once in a while to imagine what this disease must be like for one of these sufferers and their families.

We’ve all misplaced our phone and joked that we’re “losing it” or professed on Facebook how we wish we could forget Donald Trump’s election victory ever happened. But how scary would it be to become so legitimately unravelled through the loss of your memory that nothing could ever bring you back?

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but if Alzheimer’s wants you, it’s coming for you, and it’s going straight for your core.

THE VOICEBOX with Carlo Javier

When are you guys going to be a Keurig 2.0?

We gotta be a Keurig 1.0 first.

You should also offer free Christmas treats next week.

You should come to the meeting and pick up an article.

Do you do Secret Santa?

THE CAPILANO COURIER

Jehovah’s most secret witness doesn’t celebrate Christmas.

Who would you guys have voted for: Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump and why?

I personally would’ve voted for Hillary because I’m all about the Power Pantsuit.

Who would you like to be stuck under the mistletoe with on Christmas?

I told you, Jehovah’s most secret witness doesn’t celebrate Christmas.

The Voicebox is back! If you have any questions, concerns or any other bitchin’ to do, text it over to our boy Carlo at 778-865-2649. “Please text me,” he says. “No one else does.”

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VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

I saw John Mann at Trout Lake Farmers’ Market the other day. Just a glimpse, as he was jogging by and I was paying for some apples. The frontman for Spirit of the West has been in the news a lot lately for his courageous battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and though I don’t know him personally or actively listen to his music, I often find myself wondering how he’s doing. It’s odd, isn’t it, how a stranger can pop in and out of someone’s memory, just as their own is slipping cruelly away.

I didn’t attend the band’s final show at the Commodore back in April. I missed their documentary, Spirit Unforgettable, when it played at VIFF last month, and yet there’s something about Mann’s story that follows me around every day. It’s a reminder, tucked in my back pocket, to cherish every moment with the people I care about because the words “life” and “lifetime” are two very different things.

I know that when I finally do get to watch the film, it’s going to hit me like a ton of bricks.

Country music legend Glen Campbell undergoes a similar struggle in a documentary called I’ll Be Me, which you can find on Neflix. As a pretty big Campbell fan (“Wichita Lineman”, “Rhinestone Cowboy” or “Gentle on My Mind”, anyone?)

I’ll admit that it was a pretty hard one to get through. There’s something awfully nostalgic about that man’s voice, and the fact that it was just about the only piece of him left by the time the credits were rolling got me right in the feels. Even for a man of 80, it still seemed too soon, and too unfair. There he was, spending his final cognitive months touring the world with his kids, only to return home having completely forgotten their names. At the beginning of the film, I found my heart aching for Campbell, but by the end, my sympathy had turned toward those around him – his wife, children, bandmates and friends. He’d already said his goodbyes.

They hadn’t.

The Alzheimer Society of Canada estimates that half a million Canadians are currently living with various forms of dementia, a number that’s only expected to rise as our population ages. Even today, it seems that everyone has a friend, neighbour or relative who is affected.

My own grandmother, at the age of 98, is convinced that she’s finally “starting to lose her marbles.” It stresses her out to no end, worried she’s going to leave the iron on, run out of luncheon meats or worse, forget one of our names. We keep telling her that it’s okay — she’s made it so far, she’s lived so much — but I think she feels as though she’s letting us all down.

The amount of pride she took in keeping it together well into her 90s has, I think, been the very thing that’s kept her going for this long. It’s awful to see her start to question what’s left to live for, feeling like she might have finally become more of a burden than a benefit.

Nothing I can say or do will ever bring her confidence back, or reconnect the synapses of a beautiful mind that’s lasted

NEWS

GREAT CANADIAN SALES COMPETITION RETURNS TO CAPILANO Contest allows students to expand skill set, and possibly their pocketbook Jacob Muir CONTRIBUTOR

Get your pitches ready. The fourth annual Great Canadian Sales Competition has returned to Capilano once again. The competition is billed as an opportunity for all students, not just those studying business, to practice their pitching skills.

To participate, students create a 30-90 second pitch about anything and upload it to the competition website. “There have been multiple pitches from CapU just for cats,” remarked Andrew Proknow, CapU

ambassador for the competition. Proknow notes that participants “don’t need a fancy video. An iPhone selfie is fine – it’s supposed to be very conversational.” From there, about 500 students are selected as semifinalists and are then given a new item to pitch to the sponsoring companies.

After that semi-final stage, 25 finalists are selected to fly out to Toronto and present a marketing campaign in the final round of the competition. They will not know the subject of the pitch until the day before. Finalists will lead a mock business meeting and pitch their full idea in this final round. The winner of the competition receives $7,500 and an opportunity to lead a meeting with representatives from Google. The next four winners are given $1,000.

Proknow recommends all students give it a shot as it’s an incredible learning experience. “A lot of people think pitching is just for business,” said Proknow, “But one day you might be working for an NGO

or the government and you need a grant or funding for a project and you’re going to need to pitch what you’re working on.”

Proknow emphasizes that “pitching isn’t just sales, but a skill that everyone can use in their careers.”

Proknow notes the potential employment opportunities that the competition presents. Since the sponsoring companies are the judges in the semi-finals and finals, “all of the people who make it to the second round are given networking opportunities to talk with people from these companies.” If that isn’t enough, the opportunities for more name recognition and networking increase as you advance in the contest. “None of the 25 students that make it to Toronto have ever left without a job opportunity waiting for them,” said Proknow.

For those who are interested in participating, all they have to do is submit a 30 to 90 second video of nothing but themselves talking and pitching

anything they like. Betty Huang, who is also an ambassador for the competition, suggests that “when formulating your pitch, keep in mind that the judges will be looking for three things: a good value proposition, confidence, and credibility.”

Other than that, there is no limit on what a pitch can be for or how it’s done.

Proknow and Huang are eager to work with students to help them develop their pitches. In fact, they are working with former CapU student and 2016 finalist, Ali Abassi, to ensure that at least one student represents CapU in the Finals. Abassi himself has since landed a job with IBM and currently works there.

too. Some of the courses that they take there, taught by executives in the Disney Corporation, are really interesting.”

As for who the program is intended for, Rudko encourages business and tourism students to apply because it fits within their degree’s requirements as far as credits are concerned. “It’s mainly for business and tourism students. We started it out with it just being offered to tourism students,” said Rudko. “But now we’ve expanded it to business students as well, which is really exciting because there are a lot of businessrelated courses students can take [in the program] and use the internship as directed studies courses.”

her employee orientations with Disney were. “Even though I did a lot of research beforehand, I was really surprised with the training,” said Rosen. “I know this sounds so Disney, but they really make it a magical experience for you as you start the job and learn all these facts about the Disney Company. You’re a part of a coveted group of people.”

In terms of how life is as an employee at Disney, students split their six-month work period over two postings. This experience gave Rosen a feel for the different operations that make the corporation, and tourism itself, maximize guest experience. “The way that it works is that you do three months in one position and three in another. It’s called role rotation,” said Rosen. “My first role rotation was in outdoor foods – in the food and beverage industry there in Disney [World]. It wasn’t the best. It was making popcorn in July heat and you were outside all the time, doing heavy lifting.”

Rosen’s second posting was much more

fruitful, allowing her to work up close with guests as they toured Disney World’s different parks. “My last three months, I worked in what they call Fantasy Attractions.

I worked in the Magic Kingdom Theme Park, where I was an attractions host,” said Rosen.

“I worked at an attraction called Mickey’s PhilharMagic, as well as the Carousel and Princess Fairytale Hall.”

One of the courses that Rosen really enjoyed in Orlando was Creativity and Innovation, where students learning how to stay creative within the industry. “It was really interesting,” said Rosen. “It was all about how things come to fruition, how people think and how people develop really grand ideas.”

If you are looking for an opportunity to try something different, learn new skills, and expand your network, the Great Canadian Sales Competition is an excellent opportunity to do so. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 8, 2017. For more information, visit greatcanadiansalescompetition.com.

FROM NORTH VANCOUVER TO DISNEY WORLD Disney International Program gives students chance to learn and work for Tourism giant in Florida Kevin Kapenda

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

NEWS EDITOR

On Nov. 1, the Centre for International Experience (CIE) hosted an information session about the Disney International Program. The Disney International program takes students from Capilano University to Orlando, where they are able to study the ins and outs of one of the tourism industry’s biggest giant, then put that knowledge to the test through a paid internship.

“The Disney International Program, as we like to say, is really an opportunity for students to work, learn and earn in the US,” said Alison Rudko, mobility and partnerships officer at the CIE. “Students gain academic credit that transfers back to Cap, but they also get to get some really cool work experience and get paid while they’re doing it – with a world-renowned company in Disney.”

Students who participate in the Disney International Program begin their journey in Greater Los Angeles, before jetting off to Orlando to learn and work at Disney World. “They start out with the coursework in California, at the University of California Riverside. They come together there with all the students from Western Canada and the Western United States,” said Rudko. “Then they travel to Disney World in Florida, and that’s where they do their internship, their paid work and some courses there as well.”

The students’ time in California is short – a few weeks long. It is the six months in Orlando when the fun of working and learning from Disney really begins. “When they go to Disney World, they actually take courses,” said Rudko. “So they’re working but they take courses while they’re there

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A MAGICAL EXPERIENCE Fourth-year Tourism Management student Rebecca Rosen completed the Disney International Program in 2014.

As for her experience on the job, Rosen was positively taken aback by how awesome

To apply or find out more about the Disney International Program, visit capilanou.ca/ study-abroad or visit the CIE directly in the Library Building, across from the CSU Lounge. The deadline to apply for the next year’s intake is Jan. 13, 2017.

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UNITED WAY BOOK SALE CapU admin and staff raise funds for disadvantaged residents Alexander Derbas CONTRIBUTOR

On Nov. 8 and 9, the Capilano United Way committee held their annual Used Book Sale in the Birch cafeteria. The proceeds from these books will be used to support the United Way of the Lower Mainland, a non-profit organization based in Burnaby, BC. According to their website, the United Way aims to “strengthen our community’s capacity to address social issues.” The organization is dedicated to the improvement and betterment of those living in disadvantaged and impoverished conditions in the Lower Mainland. United Way also asserts that, “with your help, United Way funds programs and initiatives in 136 agencies across the Lower Mainland.”

Brian Ball, who is the manager of the CapU Bookstore and a CapU United Way committee member, states that “The University United Way committee runs the United Way Book Sale, which collects and sells general interest books to raise money for the United Way.” About $2,000 is raised annually for the United Way by selling books, CDs, and DVDs to the campus community. The Book Sale was created in order to raise awareness and knowledge about the services the United Way provides to Lower Mainland residents, in a visible and engaging way.

UNITED WAY CAPILANO The United Way campaign incentivizes employees to donate to the United Way via payroll deductions and supporting events such as the Book Sale. Ball continues to express his message that the Book

ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION WELCOMES WALL STREET GIANTS TO CAPILANO Firms and Industry Night highlights success club has had in getting members employed NEWS EDITOR

has been involved with the United Way, and is now the most supported charitable institution by the University.

goal is basically to connect students with industry professionals and provide them with the related information and resources they need to pursue a career in accounting by promoting the profession to them.”

This year’s event saw roughly a dozen firms come to CapU, including the world’s so-called “big four” accounting giants: Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, and KPMG. BDO, which is the planet’s fifth largest professional services firm in the world, as well as eight other BC and Western Canadian giants were also present on the evening. “At the event, there were 13 firms in total, which is the most we’ve ever had at CapU. Last year we had about eight,” said Wimmer. “As for students, last year we had about 40 attend. This year, we had around 70, so it’s been a big year for us in terms of this event.”

One of the important aspects of Firms and Industry Night is the ability to introduce oneself to the companies that participate in ‘Fall Recruit’, the primary method by which Vancouver’s biggest accounting outfits transition grads into their companies. “Every summer, into September, the large firms have something called Fall Recruit, where the firms have networking events, invite students to come out to their offices for tours and information sessions,” said Wimmer. “By September, they have

interviews running all throughout the month. Going to these events and involving yourself with the CAA allows professionals to put a face to your name and let the firms get a better idea of who you are, while you get to understand the firm a little more.”

According to Wimmer, of the extra students who attended this year’s Firms and Industry night were first-years, which is a welcome sight because it is never really too young to start learning about the accounting designation process and profession. Wimmer, who was recently hired through ‘Fall Recruit’, is also delighted that the CAA is punching well above its weight in terms of getting its members recruited by Vancouver or Canada’s largest firms. “Last year, four Capilano students were actually successful in obtaining jobs [through Fall Recruit],” said Wimmer. “This past fall, we were extremely successful as a program. 15 were able to obtain jobs. I don’t have the exact number of students who applied, but ballpark figure is around 25 to 30. That’s a success rate of 50 per cent.”

Second-year accounting student Ken Nguyen, who attended his first Firms and Industry Night, praised how relatable the representatives from the different companies were. “I found it great and really informative,” said Nguyen. “The majority of the firm representatives there, from the

large public accounting firms, were actually graduates from Capilano. They understood that networking events can be nerveracking, especially for students who have just started to do these types of things.”

While Nguyen wasn’t sure of what to expect before the event, he believes that having the chance to interact with CapU alumni made him feel very much at ease.

“I was nervous at first, but after talking to them and knowing that they came from where I am going now made me comfortable,” said Nguyen. “They really focused on talking about accounting and what they do, rather than how the students dressed or presented themselves.”

For students who are interested in pursuing accounting careers, Nguyen suggests getting used to events such as Firms and Industry night because they will most likely be required to partake in similar activities for years to come. “I started learning about accounting events a year before I decided I wanted to become an accountant,” said Nguyen. “I recommend all students attend these networking events, especially if you are serious about accounting, because networking events are a part of the profession’s culture.”

To find out more about the United Way Capilano program, visit their website at capilanou.ca/united-way.

For more information about Capilano Accounting Association, Capuaccounting.com.

the visit

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On Thursday Nov. 3, the Capilano Accounting Association (CAA) hosted their annual Firms and Industry Night in the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) Maple Lounge, an event that sees the largest players in the world of auditing and tax management consultancy present at Capilano University.

The event is all part of the student-run organization’s mission to prepare students for the long road ahead – earning their professional accounting designation and carving out a career in management firms.

“Firms and Industry Night is essentially our big event that we have every year,” said CAA President Maximilian Wimmer. “Its

of doing it. “The Book Sale is one of several methods United Way committees have used to raise funds and create awareness over the years,” said Ball. “The Book Sale has been very popular, and was brought back to the campaign in 2012 after a two year hiatus.”

For at least 10 years, Capilano University

THE CAPILANO COURIER

Kevin Kapenda

Sale “has been running for more than a decade, and was started by staff on campus who volunteered to run the United Way campaign.” While the book sale isn’t the only way United Way Capilano raises funds for the Lower Mainland chapter, it is definitely one of its most popular forms

CAMPUS LIFE

JAZZING UP HIP-HOP Business student Cullen Hughes is making the lo-fi beats to soothe your soul Christine Beyleveldt CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

Cullen Hughes has always had a soft spot for music. When the third-year Capilano University Business Administration student isn’t studying, or working, he spends his spare time looking through old jazz music samples. Hughes played the trumpet in his school band from the fifth through to 12th grade. “The trumpet’s not really an instrument I can just sit in my room and play by myself and practice, so I said ‘Oh, what else can I do,’ and I’ve been interested in electronic music,” he explained. “It’s one of my favourite genres.”

He started making music of his own accord and put his first tracks on Reddit forums, where he also asked other users for advice.

Hughes describes his first tracks as futurebased, a mellow version of trap and EDM. “It’s like a genre that you don’t really hear too much of in the mainstream electronic world,” he said. “Usually when people think of electronic music they instantly go to dubstep and big house rave music and stuff, but it’s a lot more mellow and laid back than that, and a bit more experimental than a lot of stuff that you hear otherwise.”

A little over a year ago, he got in contact with a musician who experimented in a similar style, and then another who invited him to join their band, Forward Theory – a collaborative effort between 13 producers.

Their first volume featured 13 original pieces that were meant to capture the personalities of their creators. The instrumental soundtrack relied on a variety of beats and rhythms. Hughes considered their first volume to have been a great success. They put out a second volume, but he admitted that his style started to drift away from that of the

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

JUST AROUND THE ENGLISH CORNER Local and international students come together for cultural discussions on campus Andrew Yang CONTRIBUTOR

Dina Majidi, founder of the Langara College English Corner, has created her own interpretation of a cultural space for students of all diversities on campus. Majidi noted that Capilano University's campus life needs to incorporate this essential aspect into its community, and she hopes to bring out more enthusiasm about students’ cultural backgrounds, domestic and foreign alike.

The Capilano Students' Union’s Student Life Committee approved the Capilano English Corner on Oct. 19, 2016. Majidi hosts her club meetings every Monday at 11:30 am in Birch 166. When Majidi is not running the club, she volunteers her time to

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group. He got in touch with another music producer in the spring of 2016 and began working on a separate project now called the Dad Tapes.

Eventually, the members of Forward Theory stopped collaborating, and the Dad Tapes became his new focal point. Hughes describes his new style as being closer to hip-hop or jazz and further away from the electronic genre that was Forward Theory.

While fine-tuning his new style, he has been focusing on getting his pitches, notes and rhythms right. “I know with a lot of producers when they start out, they don’t know anything about music theory, so they’re trying to mix

their scales together,” he said. He believes learning music theory when he was younger gave him an advantage. “If you’re playing notes in C major you can’t have like every note from B flat major as well.”

The Dad Tapes now has a total of nine members. Half of them are music producers and the rest of the roster is composed of MCs. “We’ve put out two tapes now, but actually one of the MC’s from Dad Tapes linked up with me and so we’ve been working on an album together for a little while now,” he explained. Hughes has been working primarily with X’ander Keblawi, an artist from Spokane, Washington.

A little while ago they put out a single from their first album together, a work in progress, and it has even garnered the attention of a few start up record labels.

Most of the time, Hughes will be studying, but his passion for producing music has a stake in his future. “I’d love to finish my business degree and maybe try and either work with a record label or start my own record label or something like that,” he said.

extracurricular activities outside of campus.

She brings her personal philanthropy to youth aged 11-15 in the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program.

The English Corner is based on the core values of the Colibri Learning Foundation.

Developing communication skills is essential to creating an understanding between cultures instead of breeding conflicts through differences. "The club also helps improve international students’ English from the support of the community as well as having culture and insights being shared,” she said. “The club facilitates cultural presentations from the involvement of members and hosting potlucks, movie nights and social events to have members create new friendships.”

Majidi explained that the English Corner is designed for the benefits of community building, and she states that she found a purpose in uniting people of different nations, beliefs, ethnicities and traditions.

She also believes that people can cooperate through discussing meaningful topics such as society and our roles within it.

Ayumi Kobayashi from Langara College was the source of Majidi’s inspiration and

collaborated with her to start this club. By gathering people, the English Corner is the foundation of supporting international students through facilitating meaningful questions. This is an excellent opportunity for EAP (English for Academic Purposes) students who require extracurricular activities to polish their fluency in English.

Since there is a fair share of people who speak English as their second language, it helps by understanding how each country’s unique pronunciations sound to native speakers. For example, Japanese students will have trouble articulating letters such as “L” and “V”, whereas German students will be relatively at ease due to the Germanic roots in the English language.

However, the English Corner isn’t exclusively for ESL (English as a Second Language) students. Instead, people who speak English as their primary language can also learn from the international students by listening to their stories.

This club is also an opportunity to reexamine national biases. Taiwan has been consistently portrayed by Mainland China as being governed by short-tempered and incompetent politicians who would

rather engage in fistfights over peaceful diplomacies. It doesn’t help that Taiwanese democracy is incompatible with China’s Communist Party, thereby generating political tensions. Another example is of how Berlin is much more popular than Frankfurt when it comes to creative artistic spaces. In comparison, Frankfurt boasts more advanced skylines built by engineers and bankers from the financial district.

It’s incredible how one city excels in fine arts and politics where another thrives in science and mathematics.

In a world tainted with xenophobia, people of all ages and backgrounds want a safe space to discuss their positions in society. “We need your help to build a stronger and more supportive community within Capilano and it all starts with your contribution and cooperation,” said Majidi.

“In order for us to advance as a society we need to be open to learning from other peoples’ cultures and traditions.”

Cullen’s music can be found on Reddit, Lo-Fi hip-hop forums and at Soundcloud. com/luciddd.

More information about the Capilano English Corner is available on their Facebook page.

To learn more about the Colibri Learning Foundation, go to: colibrilearning.org.

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PHOTOS: FACES OF THE SECHELT CAMPUS On Oct. 24, the Capilano Courier visited CapU’s regional campus on the Sunshine Coast, in an effort to tell the stories of those who work and study there. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for photos, articles and video content from the trip.

Students in the Community Adult Literacy and Learning (CALL) program practice terminology with instructor Sandy Middleton.

The campus offers a Health Care Assistant Certificate (HCA) program, which trains students to work with seniors and those in need.

Amos Otumu is proud to share his culture with his classmates. Originally from Nigeria, Otumu moved to Canada to study in the HCA program.

Lydia Watson (instructor, coordinator of the Sunshine Coast Initiatives Department) and Jules Smith (instructor, convenor of the HCA program).

A newly-installed plaque explains that the campus was gifted a shíshálh name, kál­ax-ay, which means “oceanspray bush” or “iron wood.”

— ANDY RICE PHOTOS

THE CAPILANO COURIER VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

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SPORTS

BLUES BASKETBALL STAYS UNDEFEATED Both teams dismantle Bearcats in home opener Carlo Javier

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

MANAGING EDITOR

Both of Capilano Blues’ basketball teams had plenty of reasons to win their home opener against the Columbia Bible College (CBC) Bearcats last Thursday, Nov. 10.

The Men’s and Women’s teams have gotten out of the gates fast, winning games with supreme defensive effort and smart offences that have led to good looks around the basket and beyond the arc. Both squads are also undefeated in the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST), standing atop their respective divisions. Yet, the biggest factor in winning the game might be realities that surrounded the schedule. Although basketball season extends through two semesters, the Capilano Blues’ home opener is their lone home game until January.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: 77-32 The game was over from the start.

Right after tip, the Blues quickly established the tone of the matchup and caught the Bearcats off guard with a swarming defence that forced more turnovers than the shot attempts that the Bearcats could muster. The Blues’ guards and wings incessantly pressured the Bearcats’ ballhandlers and prevented open passing lanes to the paint, creating easy scoring opportunities in transition.

Offensively, frontcourt players Carmel M’Bikata and Karyn Nelson had their way

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against the Bearcats’ overmatched bigs, even misses led to offensive rebounds that Blues had no problems converting into more scoring opportunities. By halftime, the Blues had already built a comfortable lead of 41-16.

The second half only got worse for the Bearcats as sharpshooting guard Sherrie Errico finally got rolling from beyond the arc.

The Blues feasted on clever floppy actions that gave Errico multiple open shots from the short corner, effectively nullifying the 2-3 zone that the Bearcats implemented.

Behind a strong overall play on both on ends of the court, the Blues easily defeated the Bearcats 77-32.

Earlier this season, both forward Amber Kavanagh and guard Brittany Wertman said that the Blues aim to be the best defensive team in the PACWEST. Their performance against the Bearcats suggests that they’re dead serious about winning games by locking down opposing teams.

Although the box score recorded only eight steals for the game, the Blues’ sharp defence deflected more balls than the score keepers could track. They prevented open passing lanes and were also keen on making it difficult for the Bearcats’ post players to kick out to open shooters. The Blues also found success by mixing in full and half court traps in their defensive sets, confounding opposing ballhandlers into turnovers with some suffocating press defence.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: 91-54 Unlike the earlier game, the Blues Men’s basketball team had a much rougher first half outing compared to the women’s squad.

Although the Blues maintained the defensive identity that led them to three straight victories to start the year, they were hampered by some questionable calls from the officials and just plain lack of scoring.

Make no mistakes, the Blues ran their offence and found open shots — they just weren’t falling. Despite the early struggles, strong bench play by guard Mo Karimarad kept the Blues ahead at halftime 35-27.

Fortunes changed for the Blues once the second half began. Sharper cuts and stronger set screens allowed for even more open looks from the arc, as well as clearer passing lanes to the paint. It also helped that dynamic forward Greet Gill started heating up in the second half. Gill was a man amongst boys inside the arc, finding opportunities to score with his smooth mid range jumper or refined play inside the paint. He finished with 28 points on an ultra efficient 12-16 shooting, continuing his stellar start to the season which has him in the top three in scoring with 23 points per game and at the top of the league in rebounding with over 12 rebounds a game.

Their strong play in the second boosted the Blues’ field goal percentage to 50 per cent,

and behind the hot shooting in the second half and their stifling defence, the Blues were able to put away the Bearcats 91-54.

Head coach Cassidy Kannemeyer cited the all-around versatility as the team’s biggest strength, and he couldn’t be more right after the win against the Bearcats. The Blues can generate open looks primarily because of every player’s ability to take their defenders off the dribble and bend the defence to find an open. Even though he seemed to have twisted an ankle in an early play, promising second year guard EJ Mabone displayed the poise and control needed to be a great lead guard in the league. Mabone’s backcourt mate, Wowie Untalan also exhibited his blistering speed and ability to get to the basket at will.

The Blues have already found success behind their defence and strong rebounding in the young season. The team even handed the Vancouver Island University Mariners their first loss in over year on Nov. 5. Once the threes start falling, the Blues could really be one of the major players in the PACWEST. Both Blues teams look to maintain their undefeated records against the Quest University Kermodes on Friday, Nov. 18 at Quest University.

To watch streaming coverage of Blues games online, or archived footage of past games, visit sportscanada.tv/pacwest/capilano-blues.

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DANAE SHEPHARD’S ALL-AROUND PLAY IS A BIG PLUS FOR WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL One of PACWEST’S best blockers aims to push Blues to next level Carlo Javier MANAGING EDITOR

For the past two seasons, Danae Shephard has finished in the top three in blocks in the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) women’s volleyball league.

Despite the high rankings, Shephard had no idea that her play on the court had translated into impressive numbers on the boxscore. Although the stats indicate that the third-year middle blocker is already one of the league’s best at her position, the will to continue improving is still not lost on Shephard. “I’m working on my blocking still,” she said.

In her three years with the Capilano Blues Women’s Volleyball Team, Shephard has quickly cemented herself as one of the team’s core rotation players.

Although the numbers suggest that her primary contributions come on the defensive end, Shephard sees her game to be more partial to the offensive end, “I’m pretty half and half with hitting and blocking,” she said. “I think maybe I’m a bit more effective with hitting right now than blocking.”

This year, Shephard stands as the only third-year player on the team.

Although this might seem like a simple inconspicuous detail, Shephard’s status puts her right in the middle of a roster that features an interesting mix of fifth year veterans and upstart rookies. “We’ve got a really diverse team right now,” she said. “We’ve got some strong backups for some positions that haven’t had backups before and that’s pushing the more senior players to play better. It’s something that we haven’t had since my first year.”

The roster make-up not only adds an extra motivation for the players, it also places a certain pressure on the next leaders of the team once the veterans

BLUES NOTCH NATIONAL BRONZE MEDAL TO CAP OFF 2016 SEASON

Carlo Javier MANAGING EDITOR

for aces and digs. “It depends on if I can figure out what the heck I want to do after school. I’m happy with my program but I don’t actually know what I want to do afterwards,” she said. “I’m happy playing volleyball so if that’s an opportunity for me then I’d like to make that a career for as long as I can.”

The surprise loss to the Huskies ensured that the Blues would not be competing in their second straight national gold medal game. The loss was marred by an out-of-character subpar performance by the Blues, who romped their way to the national tournament after going undefeated in the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) conference. The loss also marked the first time in the 2016 sporting season in which the Blues gave up more than two goals. “Obviously, we were going for the gold medal and that was the goal and the aim,” said forward Salah Hawsawi. “After losing against Keyano, we were absolutely devastated, but we had to rock it and roll on.”

Despite the heartbreak, the Blues clinched their spot in the bronze medal matchup after they defeated the Dynamiques de Sainte-Foy 4-0 on Nov. 11. The bout was the first of two win-or-go-home battles for the Blues, but the team comfortably came through behind the valiant play of departing fifth-year captain Devan Woolley.

The centre-back has been the foundation of

the Blues’ defensive identity all season, and his header late in the first half couldn’t have come on a more memorable occasion. “The hardest part is saying goodbye to our great captain Devan Woolley, after an amazing five years,” Hawsawi said.

On Saturday, Nov. 12, the Blues defeated the Algonquin Thunder 3-2 to claim the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association (CCAA) national bronze medal. An early goal by forward Kamyar Amini quickly put the Blues up 1-0. Midway through the first half, Midfielder Edris Najm delivered a beautiful assist to a header by Jackson to push the lead to two.

In the closing minutes of the first half, Blues goalkeeper Hudson Nelles delighted the Keyano crowd with a series of big saves, until the Thunder’s Trevor Turner finally snuck a goal past the Blues’ vaunted defence to put the Thunder on the board 2-1.

After the Thunder managed to tie the game with minutes to go, Najm once again displayed his knack for the highlight reel with a stunning curve goal off a free kick to reclaim the lead for the Blues. Najm’s

goal wound up being the game winner as the Blues defeated the Thunder 3-2, and claimed the 2016 CCAA bronze medal.

“We went back again on track because we reminded ourselves that we had a job to do”, Hawsawi said.

Although the Blues were unable to fulfill the goal of claiming the national gold, Hawsawi still describes the journey towards the tourney to be a magnificent and unforgettable experience. “Going back to nationals wasn’t an easy thing to do,” he said. “It felt amazing to be back here and to get another taste of it.”

With the soccer season ending, the Blues are armed with a host of quality veterans and upstart young players who are poised to continue one of Capilano University’s most successful athletic programs.

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After falling to hometown team Keyano Huskies 3-1 on Thursday Nov. 10, the Capilano Blues Men’s Soccer Team made sure they weren’t going home empty handed.

The Blues started off the tourneys strong, defeating the Holland Hurricanes 4-0 in the preliminary rounds. The win saw the team’s usual suspects have their way with the opposing team’s defensive line, with forwards Kristian Yli-Heitanen and Keith Jackson each finding the back of the net early in the game.

Whether she’s playing on the court or on the beach, Shephard has found solace in volleyball since she took up the sport in elementary school. Although she enjoys her studies in biology, Shephard attests that if an opportunity to play volleyball as a career presents itself, she just might ditch the microscope

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Men’s soccer team falls short of gold but still comes home with honours

graduate. “A lot of people are going to have to step up and take more leadership roles because we are losing our four biggest leaders,” Shephard said. At the end of this season, Kira Sutcliffe, Sarah Hughes, Kelsi Boroevich and Kolby Richter will be finishing their five-year athletic terms. All four have played with Shephard throughout her entire career and, for Shephard, the team’s veterans have played an important role in helping her growth as a player. “I’ve played with all four of them since my first year so they’ve been kind of like my parents on the team,” she said. “I think I’ve completely changed from my first year.

On-court I think I’m more aggressive, I talk more and I’m more aware of what’s happening.”

For many student athletes, factors such as recruitment, the possibility of playing time and a program’s legacy play a significant role in deciding which varsity program to join. However, Shephard’s path towards the Blues came, quite literally, from the outside. Her beach volleyball coach in Kelowna had suggested she attend Capilano University and play under the tutelage of head coach Cal Wohlford.

Not only has the Blues program helped cultivate Shephard’s skills on the court, it’s also given her a secondary family that’s become so close to her during her collegiate life. “We always hang out here, we do stuff together. Off the campus too, we’re pretty much always together. Sometimes we get on each other’s nerves but it’s still fun.”

During the off-season, Shephard hones her skills in a different environment, amidst the sun and the sands of a beach. “I actually prefer beach because I think you are less tentative when you are playing with just one person, because if you don’t get it then they have to, and if they don’t get it then you have to — you don’t have a choice.”

FEATURES

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE A closer look at the work of Vancouver’s ocularists Andy Rice EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

“Oh, this one’s close enough.”

Scary words to hear from a medial practitioner in any circumstance, but especially when it comes to fitting an artificial eye. Believe it or not, this was common practice, up until the mid-20th century when optometrists began making referrals to ocularists, rather than a drawer full of samples in their office.

Still not a booming industry by any means, Canada is now home to a small-but-mighty contingent of fulltime ocularists. And, with an old-school heredity befitting of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, many of them happen to be second or third-generation.

In British Columbia, for example, there are only two families that do this type of work: the Ericksons and the Drennans, and both clans will attest that they didn’t learn the trade overnight. Learning to create custom ocular prostheses takes years of study, practice and apprenticeship, blending one’s artistic talents with a passion for anatomy, invention and, above all, helping others.

Simply put, there’s far more to this profession than meets the eye.

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THE TRAINING In an age where there’s a university program for just about everything, one might be surprised to learn that no such thing exists for ocularistry. “There’s no university that teaches how to make artificial eyes,” explained Rob Drennan, a Burnaby-based ocularist. “It’s not like you can go to BCIT or UBC because they don’t offer anything like that. It’s been handed down through generations.”

Drennan learned the trade from his wife, Marie Allen, who picked it up from her father. “He was a maxillofacial prosthetist with the BC Cancer Agency — he used to make eyes, ears, noses, fingers, toes, the whole bit,” said Drennan.

Despite her father’s warnings about the lack of demand at the time, Allen forged ahead with her training, studying at SFU and Oxford. After returning home to apprentice at the BC Cancer Agency, she became a board certified ocularist in the mid-80s. “Sure enough, there were a couple of people who used to do it but retired and Marie got busy enough to make a go of it,” said Drennan. “It wasn’t until after we were married that I learned to do it as well.”

Recently, their daughter has joined the practice, spending one day a week at Allen’s office in Vancouver and another at Drennan’s in Burnaby. “She’s just starting so it’s going to take her at least another six

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years to get certified,” said Drennan.

For budding ocularists, the certification process is rigorous and expensive. Doing so involves a combination of one-on-one apprenticeship, courses, presentations and examinations conducted through the American Society of Ocularists (ASO) and the National Examining Board of Ocularists (NEBO). The ASO’s past president, Leif Erickson, happens to operate the other practice in town, and he too is passing his skills onto his children.

“If you have someone you’re apprenticing under, it is a 10,000-hour apprenticeship,” Erickson explained.

“The whole concept of apprenticeship works very well for this particular type of work because so much of it is hands-on; it’s a matter of being able to actually do the work.”

Stanford University once tried its hand at training ocularists in a classroom setting, but soon realized there was no substitute for practical know-how.

“What they discovered was when people came out of the program they didn’t have enough hands-on experience to really do the work and they ended up still having to apprentice,” said Erickson. “And that was Stanford — they’re an Ivy League school and it still didn’t work. The program fell apart fairly rapidly after that.”

Erickson received his training in the United States, before heading north to set up shop in Vancouver. “I learned from my dad and my uncle and my cousin. My dad was in Spokane, my uncle and cousin were in Seattle,” he said. “When we moved up here from Seattle in 1985 my younger son was three and the older one was five, almost six — and here they are working with me now, they’re 35 and 37.”

All, including matriarch Donna, are Capilano College alumni, having taken courses in sciences, math, bookkeeping, music and various other subjects over the years. The youngest son, Stacey, fell into the family business almost by accident in 2006, after briefly filling in for his older brother, Lars. This month, he is celebrating the final stages of his NEBO certification.

“There are a lot of medical areas where family members will indeed follow,” said Erickson. “I’m surrounded here in Vancouver. I’m over by VGH, we have a ton of opthamologists here and it’s fascinating to me how many of them have indeed been grandparent to parent to child even within opthamology… I think the parents are steeped in it at home which is what leads [the kids] to becoming doctors as well.”

Even still, there are fewer than 40 ocularists working in Canada, including apprentices. “Essentially, a little more than one per million right now,” said Erickson. “That would hold pretty much true for the States. I think the States is actually lower than we are percentagewise. If we had many more than where we are now we’d all need second job. It’s not a huge demand. We’re looking at about maybe one in 1,000 that needs a prosthesis.”

THE ORIGINS The exact origin of artificial eyes is widely disputed, but their first creation is typically attributed to priests in Rome and Egypt who fashioned external devices from bits of cloth and clay. “In terms of the internal ones I think you would have been looking probably at the Renaissance era where they were doing solid glass,” said Erickson. The method was first perfected in Venice, then Paris and later Germany.

Germany continued to be the leader in artificial eyes up until the Second World War, offering a blown glass variety that remains available today. A type of acrylic, known as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), has since become the industry standard in North America and much of the world, after being discovered somewhat by accident.

“They had been using acrylic as a dome material on the fighters and the bombers and they found that there were airman who had gotten injured where a piece of one of those domes would have been embedded in the body, like plastic shrapnel,” said Erickson, “And what they found was that the tissues around that were quiet. I mean, they did indeed take the plastic out, but the fact that the body would tolerate that really got somebody thinking, ‘You know, we could use this plastic as an implant material as well as using it for artificial eyes’ because the tissues in the body would accept it quite nicely.”

Though their methodology varies slightly, Erickson and Drennan both use PMMA for their ocular prostheses.

“They’re more durable, they’re not going to break,” explained Drennan. “You know, you drop them and they’re not going to pop, and they’re not going to implode in a socket.”

“I had a patient many years ago who had a glass eye that exploded while he was wearing it,” recalled Erickson, explaining that the acidity in the man’s tears had gradually etched away at the back side of his prosthesis – its weakest point – until

a crack had formed. Fluid entered, then putrefied and released gases, which reversed the vacuum effect that is a natural by-product of the glass-blowing process. “Then you go from, in this case, a warm farmhouse where this guy was living, into a blizzard. He went out to check on the animals in the barn and he took about three or four steps outside and he heard this thing go pop.”

Snowed in, home alone and 15 miles from the nearest town, the man had to extract the shattered pieces himself and vowed that day to make the switch to acrylic. Erickson keeps the remnants of this eye in a plastic container at his office, shaking them at anyone who thinks they might like to try glass for a change.

THE PROCESS Drennan and Erickson deal with two main types of prosthesis: one that is conventional-shaped and would fit into the socket of someone who has had their eye removed, and another called a scleral shell, which is designed to cover an unsightly or damaged eye, similar to a giant contact lens. In both cases, impressions are taken, the iris is painted by hand and great care is taken to provide optimal realism and movement.

In most cases, before the patient has even arrived in the ocularist’s office, an occuloplastic surgeon has already embedded an orbital implant within the muscle cone of their eye socket, giving something to attach the prosthesis to, and a greater potential for motility.

“At the same time that we’re doing the impression usually we’re painting the iris,” said Erickson. “It’s just like sitting for a portrait. We paint the iris and we’ll get it up to being finished other than needing to be capped with acrylic. That would all be in the first session.”

After the impression has been cast, a model is made from wax or acrylic, depending on the ocularist. “If its acrylic then that would become the base for the finished prosthesis and that’s the direction that we tend to go,” said Erickson. Others, like Drennan, use a wax pattern to start, and would then create a mold and cast it in acrylic before the next session.

Scleral shells require an extra step, where a clear shape is produced to offer a view of the cornea or remaining tissues and any clearances that must be made. After the ocularist and patient are satisfied with the fit, an opaque white version is produced and the iris is positioned. “Then we would grind back

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the sides of that shape to allow for the veining to be done, the scleral tinting and then we would have the patient come back in and sit for that too so we make sure to match them as precisely as we can,” said Erickson. “Then we add a layer of clear plastic over top to seal everything in and then polish it up and try it back on them. Usually, with a few modifications, we’re done.”

In most cases, an artificial eye can be created within two to three days, with regular follow-up appointments over the ensuing months to check the fit. “We routinely see people every six months to have it polished, because they do indeed scratch, and then we’re looking at approximately three to five years for replacement,” said Erickson.

The cost of an ocular prosthesis can vary greatly according to one’s location.

“Right now in Vancouver you’d be looking at about $2,500 and there’s no tax because it’s a medical appliance,” said Drennan.

“In the States I know some ocularists who are billing $5,600 American for them, so they vary. It depends on where you live.”

Ocular prostheses are typically subsidized by medical coverage, according to one’s income, or paid for by insurance, depending on how the eye was lost. “If it

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was an ICBC case and they had insurance then ICBC covers it. If it’s Worker’s Compensation Board then they would cover it,” said Drennan, “But they’re not going to give you a new eye every year. It’s going to be every five years or so.”

THE CLIENTS People end up in an ocularist’s office for all sorts of reasons. “I’m seeing anyone from children a couple months old right up to people who are 100 years old,” said Drennan. “It’s a cross section – trauma to the eye, sports injuries, motor vehicle accidents, cancer, children born with anopthalmia (no eyes), microphthalmia (abnormally small eyes). I’ve had knife fights and things like that, beer bottles, grenades, a car hitting a moose crossing the road – we see everything.”

Although they’re largely competing for the same share of the BC-Yukon market, Drennan and Erickson consider each other to be good friends. ‘We have a wonderful relationship,” said Drennan. “We know each other through the Canadian Society of Ocularists, the American Society of Ocularists, and we’ve got that respect for each other.”

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At the end of the day, it’s not about who keeps the busiest office, but rather about restoring the self-confidence of each person who comes through the door, allowing them to live their life to the fullest.

“You’re dealing with people who have lost something very dear to themselves,” said Drennan. “Try to replace an eye — you can make it look pretty nice but it’s never going to see, right? But if they can go out into the public without getting that second look… Our work is the best when no one notices.”

With normal use, a client is likely to go through several ocular prostheses in their lifetime. “Gravity takes its effect, sometimes the implant shifts in the socket after a while, and with kids you’re seeing little children and then they’re growing up to be adults,” said Drennan. “I start with them, they’re in my arms really as babies and then all of the sudden they’ve graduated and they’re taller than me, you know?”

Many ocularists develop close bonds with their clients, due to the fact that they spend so many hours with them over the course of a career.

“It’s not like going to a doctor’s appointment where you’re in and out and

you’re chatting for 10 minutes before the next patient,” said Drennan. “These guys are sitting with me for hours. You get to know each other and you start to know what they do for a living, their whole character and everything else. That part of the job is pretty cool.”

Erickson agrees. “With many patients, I’ve worked with them so long that we consider each other friends. That, to me, is the real reward. I just love sitting around and talking with patients while we’re doing the work. You learn their story, they learn yours, there’s a lot of sharing that goes on. When all the other parts of this job become a bit stale, it’s the people who keep you going.”

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Fun fact: When an ocularist is hand-painting the iris of an artificial blue eye, no blue pigment is actually used. Instead, they apply layers of white upon black, relying on the reflection of skin tone and the sky to achieve what we interpret as blue.

FEATURES

MOUNTAINTOP HEROES The people who keep you safe on the slopes Christine Beyleveldt

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CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

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One of the most exciting but most dangerous duties of a ski patroller is avalanche control.

When copious amounts of powder accumulate on the slopes, it becomes a hazard. “Part of our responsibility [is] that we would be tasked to go into certain areas and do what’s called avalanche cutting. [We’re] just trying to release tension on the snow so that an inadvertent skier does not trigger it themselves,” said Dion.

Ski cutting is a risky activity whereby patrollers ski rapidly across the slopes to see if it triggers an avalanche. The technique is used to release some snowfall to reduce the risk of a cascade if a less experienced skier gets caught on the slope. The Grouse Mountain ski patrol monitors the snow accumulation and performs snow cutting near the mountaintop snowshoe park. The patrollers on Grouse, unlike the Canadian Ski Patrol, also perform controlled explosions by throwing chargers into the banks to release the snow. Even the snowfall on roofs can become a hazard if it becomes too deep. Patrollers remove excess snow from the roofs of the hut by repelling down the sides and scraping snow from the top down to prevent it from becoming heavy and posing a sliding risk.

Throughout the day, Williams might respond to two or three calls, and most of them are minor injuries such as broken wrists or twisted knees. During peak season, Christmas break and spring break when there are more young skiers and snowboarders on the slopes they field 15 to 20 and on some occasions as many as 25 calls per day. Traumatic injuries aren’t common on the slopes but they do happen from time to time.

Despite the joys of the job, sometimes it causes heartache. Two years ago Williams responded to a very serious call on the job. A beginner skier had gone over the edge of a cliff and the young man didn’t survive. “You know, part of the job is you can see very traumatic things like that sometimes, and so there’s programs in place just to help you if you are struggling,” he said. The event hit Williams hard. “You’ve got to be a certain type of person I think to be able to deal with those things and be okay with it, but every now and again something will set [it] off in you, something will trigger it. Like, for me, I don’t like seeing really young people hurt themselves like that just because they’ve still got so much of their life ahead of them.”

Even though these mountaintop heroes work tirelessly to monitor the slopes, most of them do it at a personal expense. Volunteers staff the Canadian Ski Patrol, but those service workers have to pay their own way as well. “We pay to be a member of the Canadian ski patrol, and as part of that we get first aid certification and we get training, both in first aid and on the hill, [but] we have to pay for uniforms and equipment and avalanche equipment and oxygen and all of those things,” Dion explained.

“Our budget in Greater Vancouver is over $100,000. Well, those funds we have to raise ourselves. We get no support, we don’t have any support from any government agency to defer those expenses.”

Every year, Dion helps to organize ski swaps for Vancouver and Richmond residents to sell their old ski gear with a portion of the proceeds going to the Canadian Ski Patrol.

At the end of the day, the folks setting up the protective fencing in the morning and seeing the last of the skiers off of the runs at night may not seem like they have an exciting job, but they are the unsung heroes of the mountain, performing many of the behindthe-scenes duties to prevent and respond to accidents in the extreme weather conditions.

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Mark Williams was working at Grouse Mountain as a tram operator 11 or 12 years ago when he was drawn to join the ski patrol after witnessing an act of heroism. “One of my colleagues was closing the tram door with the metal key when lightning struck the tram line at that point,” he said. “So I witnessed my colleague kind of get struck by lightning; they were the grounding point. There was a patroller-paramedic at the base, and that person saw what happened and kind of hopped over the turnstiles and basically started to help.” After that incident, Williams began taking first aid courses and working towards obtaining certification as a ski patroller.

Up on Grouse Mountain, ski patrollers need to have an OFA (occupational first aid) level three certification and ski or snowboarding ability. “That being said, it’s a little more competitive,” Williams acknowledged. “There are guys that bring a lot more to the table, so if you just bring those two requirements it’s pretty competitive.”

Some of the patrollers are paramedics or rope rescue technicians already, and in a ski resort such as Whistler they are requirements for the patrol. The Whistler patrol is also adamant that their patrollers be expert skiers, while Grouse Mountain’s patrol can be skiers or snowboarders. “They get one of their level three instructors to take you out and make sure you can ski and toboggan the pretty gnarly terrain that they have up there,” said Williams, who is also a volunteer for the Whistler patrol beyond his regular duties on Grouse Mountain.

Whistler is a destination resort that wanted full control over their own staff and volunteer registry, including the ski patrol, and Grouse Mountain started its own patrol in 1940, a year before the Canadian Ski Patrol was formed.

The Canadian Ski Patrol is the largest organization of first aid and rescue volunteers in Canada. Over 4,200 members oversee 240 venues including four in the Lower Mainland: Cyprus Mountain, Manning Park Resort, Hemlock Valley Resort and Mount Seymour, where Denis Dion volunteers every second weekend. Dion joined the patrol while he was living in Calgary in 1991 in order to get a chance to ski more frequently while he wasn’t working a day job. Twenty-five years later he has served the patrol units for Mount Shark in Calgary and Big White in the Okanagan Valley, among others. Aside from patrolling the ski slopes in the winter, the Canadian Ski Patrol also oversees summertime events such as the Ride for the Cure, where they stand by as volunteer first aid and safety services.

Williams, on the other hand, performs his duties full-time. On a typical day, he is the first to arrive at Grouse Mountain. “I’ll take the sled or the snowmobile out onto the shelf and I’ll basically do a hill tour, and what I’m looking for is, you know, did they groom things properly the night before? Was there a windstorm and a snowstorm and like half that stuff is buried beneath and left?”

Williams usually arrives half an hour before the rest of the team so he can do this, and then he’ll return to the cabin and meet with the rest of his team to review their duties for the day. All of the patrollers arrive before any of the other mountain staff so they have time to set up the barriers at the bottom of runs to keep guests out of hazardous terrain.

Throughout the day, they’ll be lifting rope lines and knocking the snow off of them. First aid calls are their number one priority, but as an emergency response service, they have many other duties to fill the passing time.

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ARTS & CULTURE

EXIT 22 BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO A CHRISTMAS CAROL Students' take on the Dickens classic plays this week at Blueshore Centre.

Christine Beyleveldt CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

As the sound of joyous children singing carols fills the crisp, autumn air once more, it can only mean that Christmas is around the corner. Folks tend to get a wee bit grumpy when the consumer frenzy eclipses autumn before the season is even over, but as Capilano University’s Exit 22 Productions would remind us, the holidays are a time to be merry and forgiving.

Exit 22 is gearing up for their first performance of the 2016-17-theatre season with a twist on a classic tale, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It’s a departure from some

of last season’s more risqué performances that saw the best of CapU’s acting ensemble appear onstage in wildly eccentric characters and scandalously sparse clothing. According to lead actor Branden Kupfer, moving toward a more traditional performance was a chance to revive an old favourite that still holds appeal for audiences of all ages.

A Christmas Carol was originally published in 1843, and has been a holiday staple ever since. The story follows bitter Ebenezer Scrooge who hates the holiday itself, if only because he lost the love of his life at Christmastime. The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, who show him what once was, what is and what will become of him if he doesn’t open his heart, visit him and as a result he transforms into a gentler soul.

“This version of A Christmas Carol is going to be a lot different from what people are expecting, but it still has the exact same message and story that the original Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens delivers — which is opening your heart at Christmastime and, for that matter, the rest of the year,” Kupfer explained. Adapted by Doris Baizley and directed by Stephen Atkins, the reinvented

classic follows an Edwardian theatre troupe consisting of shabby characters that scramble to pull together a production of A Christmas Carol before they are due to perform.

This is the third-year Acting for Stage and Screen student’s first role in an Exit 22 production, and fittingly as a character he has admired for his complexities since early childhood. “You’re stuck in your own head, you’re not willing to let people in, and seeing that arc that Scrooge goes through is just beautiful, because as hard as it is, everybody in the world wants to feel accepted and loved and everybody wants to give something back,” said Kupfer. He was ecstatic to be informed that he had been given the role, and spent much of the summer practicing getting into character and memorizing the script.

The actors only have a few weeks onstage to rehearse the entire production before opening night, and the performance generally runs smoothly due to the cast’s good cheer and cooperation.

Kupfer continued by saying that the message of the story has been important throughout the ages. No matter that times have changed and that our values are no

longer the same, the moral that one should look into their heart and find something in their life to be joyful for is applicable. “This was the story that actually helped pave the way [for] Christmas as you know it,” he said “Not commercial but hanging holly, getting together with family, singing songs, embracing the cold winter season and not slipping into depression, which I think is very relevant to Vancouver.”

Christmas spirit fills the air long before the holiday appears on the horizon. For some it fills their hearts with warmth, and for others the seemingly never-ending source of celebration is a reason to be bitter. Scrooge is more than just an example of an ill-tempered miser, but a reminder that there is joy in even the darkest of places, and anyone can find it if they only seek it.

you’re drinking a stout like the Stag and Pheasant from Main Street Brewing, which Nemanishen is partial to, try it with some roast beef. If a malty beer is in front of you, like the Chestnut Ale from Whistler Brewing Company, a creamy pasta should be next to it. Nemanishen recommends trying the Anno 2016 from Dageraad Brewing (to be released in December), the Wooly Bugger Barleywine from Howe Sound Brewing Company, or, if you’re just starting out, a classic BC winter beer like the Lions Winter Ale from Granville Island Brewing Company.

I also sat down with Kerry Dyson, lead brewer at Bridge Brewing, located on the North Shore just minutes from Capilano University. Over a sampling of their two excellent winter selections, The Grinch Winter Seasonal Ale and The Sleigh Booster Imperial Red Ale, he reiterated that winter beers often use spices associated with wintertime foods like allspice, cinnamon and clove. In general, Dyson says winter beers usually have some chocolate or caramel notes.

Dyson first showed me the Grinch. It was malty, sweet, and as Dyson likes to say, “very approachable – it’s not a spice bomb.” The Grinch is an easy drinking, lightly spiced ale, with cinnamon and oak chips to give it tremendous character and a full body. It’s one of those beers that makes you want to cozy up on the couch with a good book or a movie when it’s cold outside. It leans to the malty sweet side, so I recommend pairing it with some Christmas cookies that will complement the cinnamon in it.

After the Grinch, Dyson gave me a sample of the Sleigh Booster. This was clearly his favourite – as we started sipping it, his eyes lit up as his face broke into a satisfied smile. The Sleigh Booster is an Imperial Red Ale, and a lot boozier than the Grinch. Clocking in at a livertingling nine per cent, this bad boy is best drunk with food (Nemanishen claims a strong cheese is the best way to go with this one, another of his suggestions).

You can taste the caramel notes as you sip on the Sleigh Booster, which has a

noticeable hoppy feel to it. The Chinook, Centennial and Columbus hops are a nice counterpunch to the Crystal, Caramel and CaraVienna malt, so it doesn’t sacrifice sour for sweet like a lot of winter beers do. As for recommendations, Dyson says he’d go with the Sleigh Booster or the Steamworks Blitzin’, a Belgian Tripel.

Though it’s not in the conventional spirit of a winter beer, it’s worth checking out.

As it gets colder outside and we’re reminded that we live in Canada, we might as well take advantage of the delicacies that come with our changing climate. Drinking a winter beer is a great way to enjoy a myriad of tastes and flavours, and they’re great for drinking whenever; but it’s pretty hard to drink a lot of them. Take it from me and my dedicated research on the matter — it's not wise to attempt to consume a whole six-pack of the Stanley Park Ice Breaker Winter Ale in one sitting. Grab a couple, sit back and let the flavour of a winter beer engulf your palate as much as the cold has engulfed your body.

A Christmas Carol will preview on Nov. 16 at the Blueshore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts and play from Nov. 17 to 19 and Nov. 23 to 26 at 7:30 pm with 2 pm matinees showing on Nov. 20, 26 and 27.

Tickets can be purchased through tickets. capilanou.ca for $10, $22 or $25.

THICK SWEATERS & STRONG TASTES Even the faint of palate can enjoy richer and more flavourful beer Hassan Merali

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

CONTRIBUTOR

When having beer in the winter, the pilsners and lemon saisons tend to go out the window, and beer drinkers start reaching for darker, heavier beers. The light lagers and fruity ales just don’t satiate like they did in the summer months – as the heavier clothing comes out, so do the heavier beers. But what constitutes a “winter warmer”? How much malt and hops go into winter beers? Are there certain flavours that influence them? As I can normally be found with an IPA in my hand, my knowledge pertaining to winter beers was woefully incomplete. For some enlightenment on this crucially important matter, I talked to two gentlemen who know their beer better than most, and got them to elaborate on what goes into winter beers, what to pair them with and what local brews are bringing them the most comfort and satisfaction during these dreary months between fall and spring.

To get a sense of what makes a beer a winter beer, I talked to craft beer blogger Jeremy Nemanishen of craftbeervancouver.ca. “I love winter time because it’s stout season,” he professed.

Jeremy explained that winter beers typically come in three styles: porters, stouts and strong ales. He said that winter beers generally have more malt than say, a lager or wheat ale, and tend to have a bit of residual sweetness. They’re also darker in colour and higher in alcohol content.

Winter beers also use flavours from food and drink consumed in the winter, like vanilla, nutmeg, chestnut, etc. That’s why Nemanishen suggests pairing them with equally strong flavoured foods. If

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IN BETWEEN ECO AND FASHION, BUT WAY FRESHER Capilano grad makes waves with sustainable clothing line Carlo Javier MANAGIN EDITOR

Kaya Dorey already knew what she wanted to do before even finishing her studies at Capilano University.

A host of environment-based courses at CapU had left a lasting imprint on the Tourism Management program graduate, and when combined with her affinity for fashion, creating a sustainable, lifestyle brand was a no-brainer. “I have a passion for sustainability and fashion, but I knew that fashion was really not sustainable so I tried to figure out a way to combine the two,” Dorey said. “That’s how Novel Supply Co. all started.”

Novel Supply Co. is an upstart lifestyle brand that combines distinct Pacific Northwestern (PNW) aesthetic with ethically-sourced, sustainable fabrics. The apparel utilizes both hemp and cotton-based material, as well as ecofriendly ink. Furthermore, Dorey also works with local artists to design Novel Supply Co.’s rotating selection of print, all of which channels inspiration from PNW symbolism and imagery. “I have three different prints that were designed by a local artist and two different logos, so I have five different prints and those can go on whichever item you want,” Dorey said. “Every four months or so I’m gonna be collaborating with a different artist so those prints are gonna be changing.”

Novel Supply Co.’s current selection features three primary items, the Cabin Crew, the Adventure Tee and the Muscle Tank. “For the garment, the Cabin Crew is definitely the most popular right now, obviously because it’s fall and people really want to throw a cozy sweater on,” Dorey said.

After she left CapU in 2012, Dorey knew that despite her ambition and passion, she still wasn’t ready to jump

TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Graeme Findlay CONTRIBUTOR

into the sustainable fashion market with an unestablished name. Instead, Dorey completed a year-long sustainable leadership program at BCIT, and then further supplemented her education and experience with an online program known as Factory45. “Essentially, they just walk you through the steps of starting your own sustainable clothing line, which is exactly what I wanted to do,” she explained.

One of the lessons of Factory45 was the opportunities that a crowdfunding platform can provide for an upstart entrepreneur. The program’s founder, Shannon Whitehead, had followed the crowdfunding path herself to launch her own business and finding success through crowdfunding is a significant part of the accelerator program’s curriculum.

Dorey used the tools of Kickstarter to help support her apparel line, and according to her, the website’s features have been instrumental in illustrating what Novel Supply Co. aims to achieve.

“It’s a really great platform, it’s super easy and visually appealing,” Dorey said about Kickstarter. “It’s really appealing for people to go and check it out, and it’s really easy to back a project, and I think the thing that is most appealing for Kickstarter is the fact that people aren’t just donating to your cause, they’re backing it and are getting something out of it.”

For now, Novel Supply Co. is still very much a start up. Although Dorey has ramped up the amount of work hours she’s dedicating to the line over the past six months, she still finds the time to maintain a full-time job to support her endeavours. Finding a work-life-passion balance might seem insurmountable, but for Dorey, a conscious attempt at acquiring inner peace has been a major positive addition to her busy lifestyle.

“Meditating has been kind of a lifesaver for me, meditating and yoga, just because it can get very stressful sometimes,” she said. “Taking time out of everyday to have a moment and just let go of a lot of the things that you’re hanging on to, was super important for me.”

With her Kickstarter campaign drawing to a close, Dorey aims to continue her quest in developing Novel Supply Co. into a clothing line that is both game-changing in terms of look and design, and also a champion of

sustainability and eco-awareness. “My main goal from the very beginning was that I don’t want to make this into another sustainable clothing line,” she said. “I really wanted to make a lifestyle

brand, something that people would look at and say ‘wow that’s really cool’ first and foremost, and secondly ‘that’s really awesome that sustainability is incorporated within it.’”

Audiences and attendees have also grown significantly since then.

Jon Shaw is one of the artists participating in this year’s event.

He operates out of his studio in the Mergatroid Building on 975 Vernon Drive. Shaw is familiar with the event as this is his fifth time being involved.

He feels that it is a unique experience for the average person or art fanatic. “For me, it is the whole scope of it. There are over 475 artists this year. There is also the whole studio availability aspect as well that is included in the event. Gallery shows are great, but this is a different experience for a lot of people,” he noted.

Shaw enjoys this event because it isn’t exclusive to Vancouver’s art elite.

One of the Crawl’s strongest features is how inviting it is to attendees. “It is also pretty accessible and very inviting because absolutely anybody can go. I also know a

lot of people who come down to our studios, but wouldn't necessarily go to commercial gallery art shows. People will make weekends of the Culture Crawl and come down on a Thursday or Friday,” said Shaw.

Shaw sees the Crawl as a glimpse into the lifestyle of the East Van arts community. He expressed the importance of not only seeing an artists work, but seeing the space they sell it out of and where their creations are made. “It is the same community that we all work with throughout the year, so we are familiar with each other. We are all there at the same time showing our art.

Not only do you get to see our work, but you also get to see our spaces. That, to me, is unique and cool.”

Shaw has also seen the festival grow in a number of ways over the years. “It is getting a lot of a backing and better funding,” he said. “There are sponsorships

from car rentals, as well as the addition of food trucks and local breweries. It is definitely increasing.”

Shaw stared out like many others, with a passion for drawing and scribbling. These seeds, however, blossomed into a lifetime of creative output. “Art was always my main interest. When I was a kid, I developed a passion for drawing,” he said. Throughout high school, Shaw became more serious about his passion, eventually attending art school in New Brunswick. “Even though I got formal training, I didn't really find my art in the school all that great, and it was after the fact where things really started to come together. I started doing it professionally, meaning that I had a studio and sold my own art, and have been selling art out of [my] studio for over six years now.”

For more information on this year’s Eastside Culture Crawl, visit culturecrawl.ca.

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From November 17 to 20, Vancouver will see the return of the Eastside Culture Crawl. The Crawl is an art, design and craft festival, taking place at a variety of venues and studios across the city — 78 buildings, to be exact. This year will see over 475 artists showcasing their work.

It is a unique and different event in the city, and has grown over the years since it first began in 1997 with just 45 artists in three Strathcona area studios.

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Vancouver’s annual art walk returns this month

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VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

SHORTS

BLACK AMERICA AGAIN

BIG BABY D.R.A.M.

COZY TAPES VOL. 1: FRIENDS NIGHTRIDE

Common

D.R.A.M.

A$AP Mob

Carlo Javier

Kevin Kapenda

Justin Scott

MANAGING EDITOR

NEWS EDITOR

Cristian Fowlie

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

ART DIRECTOR

Let’s be honest, Common hasn’t exactly been the same thought-provoking, heart-on-the-sleeve poet that he used to be since he started taking every typecast role in Hollywood. Although there were legitimate gems in his last two releases, The Dreamer/The Believer and Nobody’s Smiling, the vivid storytelling that brought us “I Used to Love H.E.R.” and “So Far to Go” hasn’t really been rhyming at his fullest capacity.

With Black America Again, Common proves that amidst his shift in industries, he’s still very capable of reaching back into his bag of tricks and reminding fans that he’s still very much, one of hip-hop’s best, and most honest storytellers.

Although Black America Again doesn’t touch the sonic achievements of recent conscious hip-hop music like Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly or D’Angelo’s Black Messiah, it does succeed as a strong entry to the return of protest rap music that Questlove has publicly called for.

Title track, “Black America Again”, is an epic and resonating piece that details the historical and recent hardships of African Americans. “Trayvon’ll never get to be an older man/ Black children, their childhood stolen from them,” he rapped.

It doesn’t hurt that the song features a piano arrangement and the inimitable Stevie Wonder on the hook. Emotionallystirring songs like the BJ The Chicago Kid-assisted “The Day Women Took Over”, and “Rain”, featuring Common’s recent go-to-partner, John Legend, provide the much-needed soul flavour to a standard Common album.

The Production work by jazz musicians Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper surrounds Common’s hard hitting bars with intricate arrangements that would make the late J. Dilla proud.

Songs like “Pyramid” and “Little Chicago Boy” could very well fit into Common’s magnum opus, Like Water for Chocolate.

Black America Again manages to be emotive and contemplative without sounding a corny — a pitfall in Common’s recent work. It’s a diplomatic approach to the issues that surround America and Common shines in the role of storyteller.

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Tinashe

The last time there were this many hot new rappers making waves, was back in 08/09. The hip-hop world met Big Sean, Drake, J. Cole, Kid Cudi and Wale, while helping America elect its first black president. Eight years later, a new president is in town and a seemingly new crop of emcees who appear equally as prepared to dominate for years to come.

D.R.A.M. and his debut project, Big Baby D.R.A.M., has proven to be no exception to that rule. Combining everpopular variations of contemporary “mumble rap” vocals, while singing like a mid-20th century Motown tenor and spitting with flow comparable to A$AP Rocky.

Anchored by “Misunderstood” with Young Thug, “WiFi” with Erykah Badu and “Broccoli” with Lil’ Yachty, Big Baby D.R.A.M. has no shortage of strong singles in its track list. However, it is arguably the r&b-influenced tracks, “Cute”, “In A Minute/In House and Outta Sight”, as well as the rap-sung gems of “Monticello Ave” and “Cash Machine” that truly encapsulate D.R.A.M.’s versatility.

He explores the usual topics in his album — relationships with women and friends in the context of being newly successful. However, he does so in a way that isn’t braggadocious or condescending, but instead emotional and vulnerable, as if he were just as broke as any dude on campus. “Change My #” and “100%” captures this sentiment perfectly. No ‘taking girls to the mall and getting them a new outfit’ like Drake, just D.R.A.M. and his smooth vocals that go high like Smokey Robinson and low like Bill Withers.

If that wasn’t enough, Big Baby D.R.A.M.’s, bonus track, “Workaholic”, wraps up his impressive debut project with an upbeat, drill-style anthem that deserves a video with middle schoolers dancing in it. From track one to 14, D.R.A.M. pushes the envelope with vocal range we haven’t seen, arguably since Andre 3000. He wasn’t lying, folks. He definitely “Does. Real. Ass. Music”.

Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends, is the A$AP Mob’s first major release as the Mob. This album sees its creators revisiting the sounds that pushed their leader, A$AP Rocky, to become one of rap's rising stars. The production is aggressive and rambunctious at times, while sounding like it’s in a codeine haze at others. Although many of the Mob’s members have been vocal about their desire to progress as artists, this work is almost a 2016 version of Rocky’s classic, Live.Love.A$AP, in a good way.

The album is a tribute to the Mob’s late founder, A$AP Yams. He was the leader of the collective, before his tragic death nearly two years ago. His fingerprints however, are all over the Cozy Tapes.

Yams always had an affinity for drugged-out, heavy beats, the kind that can be found throughout this album – and Rocky and his crew were always able to glide over them with their grandiose and self-indulgent lyrics and impeccable flow.

Cozy Tapes, however, is far from perfect. For starters, the album feels more like an A$AP Rocky album, featuring the A$AP Mob and friends.

Rocky is featured on nine of the 12 songs (A$AP Ant has the second most with four and A$AP Ferg only has two). There are 17 features, with notable names like Wiz Khalifa, Skepta, Tyler the Creator and young sensations Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert making appearances. While this leads to a work full of great music, it doesn’t feel like the showcase it could, or should have been.

“Young N***a Living” is the only track on the album with a Mob only roster, and is one of the best. Other standout tracks include “Put That on My Set”, “London Town” and the rekindling of the bromance between Rocky and Tyler on “Telephone Calls”.

Overall, Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends is a release full of party-ready tracks, featuring some of the biggest names in rap today. If it were just a mixtape, it would be one of the year’s best.

Unfortunately, this was supposed to be the big debut of the Mob as a collective, and it doesn’t feel like it is.

While fans impatiently await the release of Tinashe’s sophomore album, Joyride, the singer surprise released a companion piece instead. Nightride sits somewhere between mixtape and album, 52 minutes of alt-r&b songs melting into the next, chopped, screwed and intercut with experimental sound recordings and skits.

Most may know Tinashe as a pop princess from her club anthem “2 On”, and her sugar sweet collaborations with Chris Brown or Chance the Rapper, but she is also a budding female producer with a stubborn weird streak.

Built on demos recorded in her bedroom studio, Nightride sounds appropriately moody and intimate.

Tinashe shares this sound with artists like Jhene Aiko, fka Twigs and Kelela, but unfortunately pales in comparison.

Nightride lacks a commanding presence or the cutting-edge production of its contemporaries.

Tinashe’s breathy vocals often fade into the hazy production. Four-minute songs feel sleepy and bloated. Tinashe instead excels when there’s an uptempo beat. “Sacrifices” is pulsing and brooding, and her delivery emulates Rihanna’s “Needed Me”. On “Ride of Your Life” Tinashe coolly brags over an icy Metro Boomin’ beat. Past collaborator Dev Hynes returns for the glittering piano ballad “Ghetto Boy”.

There are beautiful and exciting moments throughout, but a lot of the album fades away like a dream.

Nightride isn’t exceptional on its own, but is a good teaser for the upcoming 2017 debut of Joyride. Like Frank Ocean’s dual release of the amorphous “Endless” and the carefully composed “Blonde”, Tinashe is sharing her process and experiments through this album.

CALENDAR

14 MONDAY

SPRING SEMESTER REGISTRATION CAMPUS-WIDE 10 AM / THE PRICE OF EDUCATION Sound the alarm, it’s the annual spring semester registration. That means a lot of students will be once again left disappointed by the restrictive course selection that the spring semester always seem to have. Need upper level electives? Need a 200-level Communications class that doesn’t conflict with the 400-level Communications class that you need? Good luck!

18 FRIDAY

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK

15 TUESDAY

"CAMPUS-WIDE" BUT PROBABLY JUST BIRCH CAFETERIA 11:30 AM / FREE International Education Week (IEW) is like the third best themed week that Capilano University can offer. It’s right behind Reading Week and just a notch ahead of the annual De-Stress Week that somehow ends up being a pretty stressful week. I do wonder, is IEW about the actual melting pot of cultures that we have at CapU, or is it about just the actual international students? Hmmm.

TRADITIONAL SHAOLIN KUNG FU TROUT LAKE PARK 6 PM / FREE If you thought that the notion of a free traditional Shaolin Kung Fu lesson near a lake/park is a familiar idea, well, you’re on the right track. Although this isn’t exactly a real-life retelling of The Karate Kid plotline (with Kung Fu of course), it really could be the closest thing to the beloved martial arts classic. Yes, even closer than Jaden Smith’s greatest hit.

EARTHWORKS

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WEDNESDAY

6:30 TO 8:30 PM / $60+ Whatever disinterest Editor-in-Chief Andy Rice had with gardening is now over. The Botany of Beer is an annual collaboration between VanDusen Gardens and Bomber Brewing to provide beer aficionados with the history lesson on the botany behind your favourite brew. Price includes the talk, a tour and, of course, tasting samples.

8 PM / $10

Vancouver’s experimental-rap heroes like So Loki, Missy D and Spotty Josif are headlining theis Discorder Magazine show and that means the $10 entrance is an absolute deal. Speaking of hip-hop, look out for the Courier’s own, The Unreliables, to hit the airwaves very soon.

19 SATURDAY RIO THEATRE

TRI-CITIES CASK FESTIVAL BURRARD PUBLIC HOUSE 12 PM TO 5 PM / $35 You might be wondering why this calendar never fails to have a beer event with each passing listing. Well, it’s not just because we like beer, but it’s also because we like you guys and we feel that we should be sharing ultra dope events with everyone — like this one.

Check out some of the best brews that the Tri-Cities have to offer!

SOUTH SURREY/WHITE ROCK ART SHOW SOUTH SURREY RECREATION CENTRE 10 AM TO 6 PM / FREE I never thought I would see “South Surrey” and “Art Show” in the same sentence but here it is. The bazaar will feature numerous original artworks from a variety of mediums and styles that just might bring the Surrey art game to the next level. Expect our own web editor and news editor to be on site, drawing live portraits of each other.

20 SUNDAY

CAFÉ MEDINA: FRONT OF THE LINE CAFÉ MEDINA

10 AM, 11:30 AM AND 1 PM / $25 The beloved institution never takes reservations but this might be your chance. Not only will you be able to reserve a table, but 100 per cent of the proceeds will go to the Movember Foundation.

Fun fact: I’m pretty sure that if you text Andy in the morning and say, “Medina?” he’ll be there.

18TH ANNUAL WEST COAST GUITAR NIGHT

BLUESHORE THEATRE

THE CULTCH

8 PM TO 10:45 PM / $29 An impressive array of guitarists put together in one room to play the guitar in a variety of styles that range from folk, jazz, classical, flamenco and many others? Sign our features editor up.

People always assume that I know how to play the guitar because of my race and I don’t really want to disappoint them so I often just say yeah.

EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL

THE CAPILANO COURIER

THURSDAY

A Tribe Called Red is low key one of the most influential electronic groups in Canadian history. Heck, A Tribe Called Red probably has a legitimate place in Canadian music history in general. The group’s signature mix of hip-hop, reggae and traditional First Nations music is innovative, electrifying and pulsating. This is bound to be a can’tmiss show.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL 7:30 PM / $10+ Exit 22 is showcasing their annual winter special with this year’s A Christmas Carol. The production promises to be a circus adaptation of the beloved Dickens story and could really be one of the bang for your buck deals when it comes to Christmas-based productions. Side note: Back in the Philippines, I used to do actual Christmas carols in the streets and got money for it!

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8 PM / $25+

THE MEDIA CLUB

I for one have never been to any of these EarthWorks speaker events but it’s starting to really seem like I’m missing out. Maybe it’s time for a change. Speaking of change, I heard Mr. Presidentelect has picked one of the world’s foremost climate change skeptics to head his Environmental Protection Agency transition team. Shit, we might not even get to 2020.

VANDUSEN BOTANICAL GARDEN

COMMODORE BALLROOM

LOCAL HIP HOP SHOWCASE & FUNDRAISER

BOSA THEATRE 7 PM / FREE

THE BOTANY OF BEER

A TRIBE CALLED RED

VARIOUS EAST VANCOUVER LOCATIONS

5 PM / “FREE”

The four-day visual arts and crafts festival has been one of Vancouver’s most well-attended events since its inception.

Featuring hundreds of artworks from a host of local artists, Eastside Culture Crawl is not only an effective celebration of art, it also invites visitors to see the streets of Vancouver that’s overflowing with culture, beards (still!) and sushi restaurants.

SFU HARBOUR CENTRE 7 PM TO 9 PM / FREE LeadNow is putting together a speaker session to discuss the antipipeline protests that have ignited in both Canada and the US in the past few years — and educating yourself before you mindlessly protest can get you farther than you can imagine. Trust me, I protested McDonald’s taking out buffalo sauce and it still hasn’t gotten me anywhere.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

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STANDING ROCK TO BURNABY MTN

OPINIONS

THE PRICE OF ETHICAL FASHION What the fast-fashion industry counts on us to forget Rachel D’Sa CONTRIBUTOR

I will admit that I’ve been one of those annoying customers who has wandered into American Apparel, or any other ‘sweatshop-free’ indie store downtown, and wondered why they heck they sell the most basic looking clothing pieces for such a steep price. I have pondered the idea of splurging on fisherman knits, then stepped away empty-handed and walked a few feet further, only to be in clear view of the two holy grails of fast-fashion: Forever21 and H&M, the industry giants who are constantly trying to over-fill every broke college student’s closet in the name of affordability.

Even being familiar with the common sales environment, I’ve knowingly walked in. Refusing to be blindsided by the annoying, fruity music they blast and salespeople trained to be wallet-sucking, retail-thirsty beings, I knew to avoid the fake smiles and upbeat conversation.

Instead, I’ve headed straight to the sale section to find multi-dimensional colours and lustrous fabrics, priced at less than the cost of a morning latte. But if I was opting out of paying full price, who exactly was paying to sell these clothes for such a low cost?

The workers at the Bangladeshi sweatshops who export apparel to global retailers earn the lowest wage in the world — approximately $43 per month. Meanwhile, Canadian and American workers earn approximately $10.85 hourly. In comparison to Bangladeshi workers, this wage seems lavish, yet in Canada this still hovers at the line of poverty.

In countries like Bangladesh, labour standards (where they do exist) are low, therefore sacrificing the safety of workers in the name of turnaround is an

DEMENTIA DOLLS

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VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

Alternative treatment methods Scott Barkemeyer CONTRIBUTOR

Watching a loved one struggle with dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s and other conditions impacts families in terrible ways.

It’s difficult to conceive the immense difficulty unless you’ve experienced it firsthand, and given the stigma around these medical conditions, it’s not surprising that the idea of doll therapy doesn’t sit well with everybody.

Due to the varying nature of how a person’s mental ability and personality are affected, the symptoms and how they become visible are different for each individual. In one moment, you could be having a conversation with someone you’ve known your entire life.

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—DANTE MERCER

easy choice for some companies. Sweatshop employees aren’t paid until they meet the extreme daily demands of this murderous industry. Employers deprive them of basic bathroom facilities, access to water, instead forcing them to work 14-hour days or longer without breaks.

On many occasions, such as the November 2012 fire in a Bangladesh factory in which 112 sweatshop slaves died due to locked exits, workers have sacrificed their lives so consumers like myself can shop sale. In fact, it is estimated than 55 million children (ages five to 14) are sweatshop workers, in India alone, and in a 22 year span, at least 500 labour slaves have died solely due to major fire incidents.

Even knowing all of this, is it actually justified for a trendy local shop in Gastown to charge $200 or more for a dress in the name of ethics? Are they merely beasts of the same industry, wearing a more pretentious mask and bigger price tag? Or does ethically correct clothing truly cost that much?

The answer is a simple yes.

To cover the costs of manufacturing a basic dress in Vancouver, excluding anything extra such as buttons and zippers, the price would only go up from a $200 minimum. Quality fabric alone can cost a minimum of $8 per metre, and a fair wage for the worker would be $30 per dress. The manufacturer would then have to pay for small additions such as the costs of shipping, handling, and the dress pattern/design. From there, fashion wholesalers and retailers will mark up the dress four times to cover rent, sales costs, workers’ salaries and mark ups for profit. After covering all these costs, the dress would come out to be a minimum of $200.

So where in the world is the working class going to get the money to pay for pieces like this?

Well, simply put, we’re already spending it. According to the Government of Canada’s statistics regarding average household expenditure, the average

Canadian household in 2014 spent more than $5,000 on clothing, accessories and miscellaneous expenditures. If you were to do the math using numbers from a 2011 census, the average Canadian household has 2.5 people, and you could conclude that each Canadian spends more than $2000 on unnecessary luxuries pertaining to their aesthetics.

If thrifting and up-cycling are not for you, sustainable and ethical clothing can still be attainable. A simple shift in looking at the price of fashion will tell you that shirts shouldn’t cost $3 (even if they are on sale) and be worn only once or twice before you throw them out.

We don’t need to be buying new things every season, regardless of what the fashion industry tries to sell us. Instead of purchasing $10 or $20 shirt multiple times a year, treat yourself to a few wellmade, locally-produced pieces, and be a part of a movement to help patch up this world that’s already seeping with fashion gluttony.

In the next, they could stare at you, blank-faced, not knowing who you are and why you are there. Even though anecdotal evidence online suggests that there are multiple benefits to doll therapy for Alzheimer’s patients, there’s no guarantee that introducing what is essentially a child’s toy to a person who has Alzheimer’s would be received well.

When a person with this type of mentally degenerative disease remembers that they used to do or enjoy something, but doesn't remember how to actually accomplish the task, they could get very frustrated. For some, if they think you are treating them like a child, they could also react poorly.

Many people with Alzheimer’s can even get aggressive and violent, if they don’t understand what’s going on around them. Seeing this and how they might treat people who want to care for them can be shocking.

With others, introducing a doll or something else from their past might be

beneficial, depending on the memories and emotions that the object evokes.

It can provide something consistent, something that they can focus on when having problems with other parts of their life. The use of a doll can comfort someone who has been a caregiver, a mother, a father or anyone else that cared for someone. The dolls have also been seen to ground a person, calm them and reduce violent outbreaks that can be common in patients with forms of dementia.

So the real issue is not with the dolls, but rather with how the general public reacts to them. In today’s society we are quick to react to and sensationalize everything. Feel-good discourse around the videos of patients receiving the dolls going viral is not what those who suffer from these illnesses need, and it’s not what their loved ones need.

What these people need is support and understanding. The dolls may offer that support, but the reaction from the public

does not, it trivializes the issues. Instead of talking about the problem, they talk about the doll and how cute the child’s toy looks with the patient.

A quick Google search of either dementia or Alzheimer’s returns images ridiculing elderly people — caricatures of heads with missing puzzle pieces, even scrabble tiles with word misspelled.

These images already satirize the problem. Even worse is what Google states as synonyms: mental illness, madness, insanity, derangement, lunacy. What are we saying to those who are searching for information about the diagnosis of a family member?

Let’s remember that these people are humans. They are adults who suffer from terrible illnesses that shouldn’t be trivialized. Alzheimer’s and dementia need to be studied more as to reduce the impact they have on patients and their families. Adding dolls might not help with the stigma, but they might help the patient, which is all the family wants.

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NOT YOUR PARENTS’ BOOKSTORE Amazon’s first brick-andmortar shop Gabriel Scorgie FEATURES EDITOR

It’s been a while since local bookstores have existed in a substantial way. Much like record shops, they got pushed out by big-box stores like Indigo years ago.

Now, we’re seeing those book retailers start to close down as well, most notably when Indigo’s flagship store on Robson was replaced by a SportChek last year.

A week ago, Amazon opened the doors to its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in Seattle. It’s also the first storefront

that almost makes using a smartphone a requirement to shop there.

Looking at the high-tech design of the Amazon bookstore, it was seemingly designed to be as inaccessible and confusing for old people as possible.

The books on the shelves have no price tags, just a barcode that people can scan with the Amazon app on their phone.

For those who don’t have a smartphone on them, they can take the book to a scanning booth in the middle of the store. Consider it a walk of shame type punishment for having not caught up to the 21st century yet.

Besides not having price tags, there are other unique aspects of the store.

The books are put on display with their cover showing, not the spine. It’s a more minimalist approach and Amazon said they did it to create a more visually appealing experience for customers.

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Amazon also puts its books into different categories. Instead of Horror, Romance and Sci-fi, they organize by “Books that inspired Amazon shows” and “Books over 4.5 stars”. All in all, the store is quite nice and pleasant. The only real detractor is the people that shop there.

Imagine taking all those shitty people who text during movies and check their phone mid-conversation and designing a store that encourages exactly that. This is what Amazon did.

Customers will stand in front of a book, scan it and then surf through all the reviews and related products on their phone instead of picking up the book and skimming through it.

The store also has reading areas that offer tablets and charging stations for people to use. Ensuring nobody has to accidentally have a real interaction with someone else once they’re in the

store. The only thing Amazon left out of their digital emersion was a 50-foot TV playing a loop of the yule log channel.

The Amazon store is the type of place your grandparents will wander into, look around, wonder what the fuck has gone wrong with the world and then quickly exit. In many ways, it pushes the limit of how much effort the customer is willing to put into their shopping experience. It’d be difficult to walk in and find the book you wanted unless you were already familiar with the Amazon ecosystem. For some people, this store might seem like the next logical step.

In many ways it’s simpler and streamlined, but that’s not always what makes a place worth frequenting. Sometimes it’s the little quirks and the human imperfections that make a store endearing, but booklovers will have a hard time finding that in this store.

TEAR DOWN THE WALL Paywalls harm the media and polarize the public Nick Sheffield CONTRIBUTOR

— AUSTIN LEGG

the views of even those willing to cross it. Once a reader has invested time, money and effort into acquiring a certain news source, they are likely to rely on it increasingly, since doing so makes the subscription cost more worthwhile. They are also far less likely to pay to access a different source of news which conflicts with their views. All of this feeds an echo chamber effect, whereby an individual’s perception of world events is shaped more by their opinions and sources of information than by reality. A perfect example of this can be seen in the United States today, where the supporters of two political parties, having consumed largely separate media for nearly a decade, now effectively exist in two different realities.

With paywalls seeming like a less than attractive option, are there any alternative ways to fund high-quality

journalism in the digital age? The answer may be a simple one. Virtually every major state, with the non-coincidental exception of the United States, has a publicly-funded news media outlet. Why not merely transition the current system into public funding of news media outlets? Grants and subsidies could be awarded to news media companies as needed, allowing companies to maintain expensive but important journalistic assets, such as overseas correspondents.

Companies seeking funding could be subjected to a form of peer-review from other outlets before approval, ultimately making the truth the most profitable narrative for news outlets.

Ironically, in an age where information is cheap, accurate information has become a precious resource, and only our investment in all media, not simply the media of our choice, can safeguard it.

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becomes not a source of revenue but a block on readership.

This competition wouldn’t necessarily be a problem if all news outlets were created equal, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. Many online news sites generate revenue solely from advertising, and the value of a site to an advertiser is determined by the number of people who visit the site per day. As a result, attention-grabbing headlines are often used as ‘click-bait’ to increase the advertising value of a site, with minimal consideration to the journalistic merit of the stories. For readers used to accessing other forms of media instantly and without charge, the paywall narrows the scope of the news to a handful of headlines, leaving other potentially less credible sources to fill in the details.

However, the most worrisome sideeffect of the paywall is that it narrows

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Paywalls: We’ve all encountered them.

Whether researching a project or just browsing the news online, at some point your progress will be blocked by a pop-up informing you that for the low price of just $2.99 a month you could be receiving unlimited access to (insert name of website here).

Since the advent of the Internet, news media organizations have struggled to adjust to the realities of a digital world.

As newspaper circulation has dwindled, so has revenue from print advertising, which used to be the primary source of funding for news outlets. The online advertisements which have replaced it have proved to be far less profitable for the news organizations selling them.

Enter the paywall, a seemingly elegant solution which allows the news outlet to generate revenue from readership without relying on the excessive sale of advertising. In theory, the paywall should alleviate the financial concerns of media companies without major drawbacks; after all, subscription fees for newspapers, magazines and cable news networks have existed as long as the media itself.

However, incorporating old concepts into a new reality is a process replete with unintended consequences, and the paywall is no exception.

Traditionally, all news outlets, with the exception of state-run broadcasters, charged subscription fees for access to their content. However, the internet has opened the way for virtually any individual or organization to publish ‘news’ at a minimal cost. While this has given freelance journalists an unprecedented forum on which to share their work, it has also given rise to a myriad of pseudo-news outlets, often with questionable editorial standards.

In an environment where traditional, high-cost, high-standard media is forced to compete with these newcomers for a finite number of readers, the paywall

COLUMNS

THE WEEK IN GEEK It’s a bird! It’s a plane!

It’s more comic book movies!

Syd Danger

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VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

CRUSHINGLY AVERAGE

DOCTOR STRANGE PREMIERES

WONDER WOMAN OFFICIAL TRAILER

Now for transparency’s sake I should tell you I haven't seen Doctor Strange yet. I know, it’s shocking, but I just hate that crazy first-weekend rush. People clap after the movie’s done and I can’t handle that. Who are you clapping for?

It’s a pre-recorded film, you twats.

That being said, I always want to see more Benedict Cumberbatch. Maybe it’s his sexy shark face. Maybe it’s his ability to make mundane sentences sound like they’re poured molasses.

Maybe it’s the famous fact that you can replace his name with anything, like say, Bumblebee Candlestick, and still know exactly who someone’s talking about. I’m not completely sure what it is, but when I heard he was going to be put in the Marvel universe, and as Doctor Strange no less, I was pretty excited. Not excited enough to go brave the clapping idiots, but still excited.

The magical Marvel movie (you’re welcome for the alliteration) opened with a resounding success, and currently holds a strong 90 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s hoping that the success of such a weird and relatively obscure (for normal people) character will drive Marvel to create movies for other weird characters. So, Marvel executives, here is my official list of characters that I would like to see a movie made about, thank you.

I’m still a little salty about the casting of Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot is gorgeous, but it would have been pretty awesome to see a jacked, Amazon-type just annihilate. I mean at this point, I’m just happy a female lead superhero movie is coming out, and I’ll go see it regardless, but my heart won’t be in it, okay?

We did finally get a more story-driven trailer this week, which confirmed that the movie would take place in two different time periods: a bit set in the modernday Batman vs. Superman timeline, and the rest in World War One era. Being a demigod, Diana is incredibly long lived, so I’m sure we’ll get a very sad and touching Captain America-esque love story between her and Chris Pine. Which, I get why they did that but also, can you not, DC? Stop it.

What I did love about the trailer is how it highlighted Wonder Woman’s fighting style. It’s different enough from Batman’s to keep her unique, and it seems they have also de-powered her a bit – she doesn’t look like she’ll be flying anytime soon – to have her offset the extremely over-powered Superman. I can imagine them all fighting together in Justice League and… it might actually be okay. That’s the biggest compliment you’re going to get out of me right now, DC. I still haven’t forgiven you for Suicide Squad.

Just like Marvel, I think DC could really expand their horizons and shine a little light on some of their looked-over heroes. So, here’s my very official and very good wishlist of DC movies.

SYD’S SUPER OFFICIAL MARVEL MOVIE WISH LIST

SYD’S ALSO SUPER OFFICIAL DC MOVIE WISH LIST

She-Hulk

Zatanna

Lawyer by day and sexy angry green lady by night, Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk would have such an amazing story that I almost wouldn't care when Marvel inevitably casts a Size 0 model to play her.

A Doctor Strange-esque character, Zatanna is a stage magician who actually possesses real powers.

She’s powerful, engaging and doesn't wear pants. What more could you want from a superhero?

Spider-Gwen

Beast Boy

I know! Spiderman just got possibly his first good adaptation in years (crucify me if you want but I still love Tobey Maguire), but there’s something about alternate-earth Spider-Gwen that I think could make for a fantastic movie. Although on second thought, I also wouldn’t want to see another Halloween filled with terrible Spider-Gwen and Peter Parker costumes like this year’s The Joker and Harley Quinn tragedy.

DC is really missing out on the green superhero angle, and Beast Boy could be the perfect filler. The cost of CGI for his constant animal transformations could be reason enough to rip up that script, but sales of green face paint would skyrocket and balance it out.

Squirrel Girl The award for the worst superhero name and powers ever go to Squirrel Girl, but in the face of all this, she’s still somehow a fan-favourite, and could make for a really fun off-beat movie. Do it for the cosplay factor alone – I can already hear the whirr of sewing machines making thousands of faux-fur tails.

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— SYD DANGER

Martian Manhunter They would absolutely ruin this.

It’s a terrible idea, but he’s such a great character. If you don’t know Martian Manhunter, grab a copy of Martian Manhunter: Others Among Us. It’s for your own good.

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1600 AND STILL RUNNIN’

— PAUL BOICI

UNDER TRUMP, LIFE WILL TRULY BE HELL FOR MINORITIES Kevin Kapenda NEWS EDITOR

After 20 months of non-stop campaigning for the presidency, which Donald Trump won last week, it is unimaginable to me that we would have been in this situation — having to choose between a racist, patriarchal demagogue and an at times unethical liberal — at all.

When President Obama won re-election in 2012, much discussion regarding the role of minorities in presidential politics and the larger political system followed.

THE FAR-REACHING IMPLICATION OF LOW TURNOUT AND DISAFFECTION IS DONALD TRUMP AS PRESIDENT Brandon Kostinuk WEB EDITOR

election has dangerously helped reinforce Trump’s “Nixonian” notion that “blacks live in hell” and get incarcerated exponentially more than whites because they are too stupid to vote for leaders like him.

Critics of visible minority empowerment movements, such as Black Lives Matter (BLM), often cite the election of an AfricanAmerican president as evidence why those organizations have no reason to exist.

Well, after two years of being referred to as sub-human, drug-dealing rapists who live in urban hell with no representation on both major parties’ tickets, I’m not sure how anyone can deny the relevance of BLM and Latino Justice PRLDEF (Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund) or the fact that they are very much needed to advocate for issues neither Ms. Clinton and Mr. Kaine are impacted by.

states — Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. She held Minnesota, Colorado and New Mexico. She took President Barrack Obama’s home-state, Illinois, and then continued on into the northeastern states, securing the lion’s share of votes in New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, and taking Maine through to Maryland. But, as we know, it wasn’t enough as she lost battleground states Florida, Iowa and Michigan. For Clinton supporters, it was an unmitigated fiasco.

How could a man like Trump win?

Voter turnout is one truth of this election. The rate hovered around the 50 per cent mark. But turnout for the presidential election has been around that mark since 1972, and touches on that rate at points before the early 70s.

Clinton, in fact, secured the popular vote by a slim margin.

According to The Times, Hillary Clinton had received 337,636 more votes in the general election than Trump.

Clinton thus far received 47.70 per cent of the popular vote, while Trump acquired 47.43 per cent.

Yet, the unlikely, brash-talking businessman with no political experience, of chauvinistic character, a blatant liar and racist, secured the White House for the Grand Old Party. Of those that voted, Trump managed to attain 29 per cent of the Hispanic vote, greater than the 27 per cent fellow Republican candidate Mitt

Romney secured in 2012. This despite Mr. Trump's comments regarding Mexicans and his plan to build a wall between the two neighbouring countries.

In addition, the lower educated vote swung in favour of Trump. In the voting demographic of those without a high school diploma, Trump led 51 per cent to Clinton's 45 per cent. In the last election, President Obama had obtained 64 per cent of the support from this group compared to Romney's 35 per cent.

Trump captured 62 per cent of the rural vote and half of the suburban vote, while Clinton won the urban vote with 59 per cent. Further, votes cast for third-party candidates was greater this election than the two previous by a fair margin. According to The Guardian, “Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson gained over three per cent of the popular vote, and the Green party’s Jill Stein got one per cent. Altogether, candidates who did not represent either of the two main parties got around 4.9 per cent of the popular vote (in 2012, third-party candidates only managed 1.7 per cent, and in 2008, 1.4 per cent).”

Voter disaffection is the second truth of this election. Polarizing figures and greater votes cast to thirdparty candidates is demonstrative of a political culture — fed and cornered by two dominant political establishments — breaking at the seams. The low

turnout is a by-product, but a gentle one.

A Trump presidency is the hard reality.

The circumstance forced is one where a nation remains harshly divided by fundamental values that guide and anchor a country, and one that is in many ways a guiding beacon for the world. But when Uncle Sam checks his reflection in the mirror it will reveal two images very unlike one another. The political equivalent to split personality, except the split is now growing increasingly splintered. Vanilla or chocolate has been on the menu for well over a century and 2016 showed the madness and dissatisfaction lack of choice creates. Other flavours may need to bubble to the surface to motivate the approximately 47 per cent of the voting age population — over 90 million eligible voters — to actively participate in the democratic process.

At the current rate, the consistent battle between status quo and purported change leaves little by way of actual change and the far-reaching implication of this is political civil war. And as poet John Lyly's famous line in Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit iterates: “All is fair in love and war.”

The result of it all: The leadership of the Free World is left in the hands of a man whose personality is brimming with traits of narcissism, disagreeableness and grandiosity, with beliefs and desires much unlike anything considered liberal and inclusive.

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lives of those who have been oppressed and ignored for too long (women, LGBTQ, visible minorities), decision 2016 has focused on the voters who the system has basically always prioritized throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries — white, working-class voters.

Confined to topics on crime, police brutality and economic ruin in urban centres, African-Americans have been suffocated by their desire to be viewed as complex, multi-faceted citizens who aren’t only concerned with incarceration and prejudice, but the policies that perpetuate these inequalities. Of course, that’s not to say that there aren’t problems that need addressing. However, by limiting the discussion around the underlying causes of these inequalities to “stop-and-frisk”, “implicit biases” and “body cameras”, this

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President-elect Donald Trump cascaded to victory last Tuesday to become the 45th president of the United States.

The New York Times labelled it a “repudiation of the establishment … a stunning culmination of an explosive, populist and polarizing campaign.”

Viewers at home watched the electoral map devoured by red as election night bore on into the late hours of the day.

The next day, protests across the US, in major cities, erupted, initiatives for a US like ‘Brexit’ was heralded by left-wingers that wished to do more than frown in disapproval as the Trump era begins to take form in reality.

Two elements — two truths — emerged from this election, however, and they present a sweeping implication for the state of politics in the US. Trump’s Democratic counterpart, Hillary Clinton, swept the westernmost

Many analysts predicted that a visible minority president could soon follow and that both parties, including the Republicans, would need to do more to include non-whites at the highest levels of their tickets. Speculation rose just as quickly as those conclusions sunk in, and declared that 2016 would be there year of minority VP picks in the mold of the Castro twins, Corey Booker or Deval Patrick for the Democrats, and possible Latino presidential candidates in Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz for the GOP. Fast forward to 2016 though, and all of that has pretty much been thrown out with yesterday’s paper. Why you ask?

Well because “Middle” America wants back in after eight years of Obama.

Instead of experiencing a campaign that was previously predicted to centre on the

COLUMNS

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES Sorry, I’m on a (Russian) Salad Diet Akhmet Tokishev COLUMNIST

Among the dozens of different cuisines in Vancouver, one remains criminally underrated – Russian food.

Ask yourself, what do you know about Russian food? Perogies? Those small, bite-sized dumplings that are usually eaten with sour cream.

Borscht? That weird-sounding beet soup. Well, those dishes are originally Ukrainian anyway so I decided to focus on traditional Russian salads. Back in Russia and other post-Soviet Union republics, traditional salads are one of the standards of a celebration. Like turkey on Thanksgiving, those salads are the key dishes for a New Year's Eve celebration, which is the main holiday for Soviet people.

If you ask any Russian speaker about their favourite salad dressing, they will probably say mayonnaise. If not, then they’re lying because mayo plays an important role in Russian culture. The funny fact is that Russians had an odd “French” fetish in the 19th century, where anything French was super popular among Russian people, and mayo was one of them. Basically, you can classify traditional Russian salads as “anything you have in the fridge” with tons of mayo.

Before mid-50s, mayo was a scarce dressing, By the time most of the salad recipes were invented, mayo was already in short supply so only a small number of people had access to it.

According to Soviet standards, it was a very classy sauce simply because when something is inaccessible it instantly becomes 10 times tastier. That’s

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VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

OP-ED: THE BLUES MATTER MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK Both school and CSU could stand to benefit from working with athletics Carlo Javier MANAGING EDITOR

If you happen to have stumbled your way into reading an issue or two of the Capilano Courier, then you must’ve seen the significant uptake of Capilano Blues coverage in our content.

By significant uptake, I mean from zero coverage whatsoever, into about two full pages per week, plus the occasional live-tweeting of games and online recaps.

Over the past year and a half, the improved coverage of campus athletics has been made possible by the hard work and cooperation from a handful of people within the Courier staff and the Athletics Department.

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why our older generations sometimes considers the word “dressing” to mean “add some mayo” to any salad. Also, mayo is a great tool to add some extra calories during cold winters in Russia.

There are two main salads that are mandatory on every New Year's Eve table. “Olivier” was the adaptation of the fancy French recipe with limited ingredients. This salad has dozens of variations in different countries. It is usually made with diced boiled potatoes, carrots, brined dill pickles, green peas, eggs, some sort of protein (chicken, beef, sausages, ham or different types of authentic Kielbasa) and mayo, of course. Some Eastern European countries like to include celeriac, tart apples and onions, but usually, those are unnecessary. Some of the Central Asian countries have recipes with lamb and horse meat (author's favourite).

“Dressed herring” is usually one variation with some slight add-ons. It is diced pickled herring covered with

layers of grated boiled potatoes, carrots and beets all filled with mayo. Some people add eggs and onions, while others prefer diced apples on top. If you decide to cook one of these, I think tuna would work as a substitute for herring. A fun fact is that in Russian we call it “selyodka pod shuboy” which means herring “under a fur coat.” So, the next time you see your Russian friends, you can joke with this phrase.

You can try these salads in any of the Ukrainian/Russian restaurants in Metro Vancouver such as the Ukrainian Village in the West End. It’s a bit overpriced in most of the places in Vancouver, so I recommend you to try to cook them by yourself. Ingredients are relatively cheap and it's easy to cook. Just boil all ingredients together, then cut them and add mayo. Believe me, it’s very tasty and worth to try. And don’t forget, they make a great accompaniment to vodka.

After we were finally able to create an effective system in terms of covering sports amidst our conflicting schedules, I had the grand idea of having my own brand of smart sports journalism. Something akin to the work of writing heroes like Zach Lowe or Ramona Shelburne. Did it work? Yes, I would like to think so. It might not even come close to touching the content you’ll see on The Ringer or Sports Illustrated’s “The Crossover”, but I’d like to think that we’ve done well in our jobs as a school newspaper to cover the school teams.

Amidst it all, is a minor realization I experienced while attending the Capilano Blues basketball home opener. During the half-time of the men’s basketball game, the department organized an impromptu free throw shooting competition. I smartly did not participate despite my silky-smooth shooting form because of an injury. No really. But there was about two dozen people of all ages eager to compete for the $25 prize.

It begged me to wonder, how come the school, or the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) for that matter, haven’t been able to capitalize on the community-building potential that the Blues offers?

Apathy and lack of community are some of the most common themes that surround Capilano University. Every association on campus, no

matter how big or small it is, faces the issues of student apathy. I understand that the inherent nature of CapU as a commuter school is all but an insurmountable challenge, but does that immediately mean that we shouldn’t try?

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the student-athletes that represent the Capilano colours on both the provincial and national scale. These guys work incredibly hard to maintain peak athletic performance and, at the same time, maintain their GPAs as high as they can. Heck, some of them are even All-Canadian scholars. Yet, the biggest source of my respect for student-athletes is a matter of understanding.

Working with the Courier is equally wonderful and stressful. The job is as full-time as full-time can be, but it also allows me to build a portfolio and further hone my skills – in the case that Bill Simmons comes calling for a new writer. The amount of work we do as studentjournalists can be debilitating sometimes, and unlike sports, we don’t necessarily have any sort of moments of “victory” that we can cherish. What does mean the world to me is an acknowledgement — a response, it doesn’t even have to be positive.

With that coming from a lowly studentjournalist, you could probably imagine what a simple acknowledgement would mean to

AKHMET’S GUIDE TO MAKING YOUR OWN RUSSIAN SALAD: Consider the logic behind recipes.

People used the most efficient ingredients to make good and tasty “starters” with a high nutrition.

VEGETABLES Carrots, beets, cucumbers, potatoes; rarely tomatoes (Beets are everywhere!)

SEAFOOD Fish, canned fish, cod liver oil, fish roe, squid, seaweed, crab sticks (Those crab sticks guys are the favourites of any post-Soviet person who is older than 25.)

MEAT Sausage, ham, chicken, beef (Most of the cuisine contains lots of meat, 100% not vegan-friendly).

a student-athlete. I’m sure as hell nothing like the Blues athletes, the pressure I face is nowhere near the pressures they face. If I take an L today, I can count on the possibility of having a backup article to cover for me.

What I do understand is the semblance of sadness that comes when your hard work goes unnoticed. It just feels like you’re yelling in a cave, and no one’s home.

I attended the Blues Men’s Soccer provincial tournament a few weeks ago with our news editor Kevin Kapenda and Capilano icon Scott Barkemeyer. We spoke to some of the players and I remember talking to both Devan Woolley and Keith Jackson. Both players said something along the lines of “We really appreciate the work you guys have done for us all year.” Little do they know that the back to back gold medals they’ve won in the provincial championships is a greater contribution to the CapU name than they were ever told. You know how long the school website had their photo on their page? Two days.

We talk a lot about building community and we bring a host of external resources to prosper student life. Maybe student life doesn’t need to be masqueraded as some sort of event. Sometimes it just starts with a simple acknowledgement.

HUMOUR

Whelp Capilano University is the shame of High Education... on Yelp Gabriel Scorgie // Features Editor 9 Reviews Students at Capilano University have little to brag about when it comes to their campus community. No housing. No bar. No late night events. The reality is that it’s our own fault. We should’ve known better and done our research. If we had, we would’ve seen that CapU only gets a 2.1 rating on Yelp.

Go to any other college or university But Cap U! Do Not Go to this school if you care about your life.

Crap. BBA program won’t help you land a good job. Go to BCIT instead.

Students of CapU should be embarrassed by this. UBC has a yelp rating of 4.2, SFU gets a 3.2 and so does BCIT. In fact, CapU is allegedly so bad at being a place of higher learning that it has lower scores than the following places:

Mountain View Cemetery

Funeral Services & Cemeteries 4.2 Stars

If one day you are forced to choose between spending a day at CapU or going to a cemetery and having a picnic with tombstones, Yelp thinks you’ll have more fun in the graveyard. Probably because even the dead bodies aren’t as lifeless as this schools campus atmosphere.

“So, this is weird. I could have gone to Hawaii, but instead I went to Mountain View Cemetery and purchased interment rights for my cremated remains. Over the years I’ve run along 33rd street, and along the 37th ave bike route that runs through the cemetery. You don’t tend to think of when or if you’ll need their services when you’re a young, fit, healthy passerby. But then one day the floor drops out from under you while an oncologist tells you to “put your affairs in order.” Well I can tell you that there are lots of things that are shitty about putting your affairs in order, buying a burial plot at Mountain View, while it is a weird feeling, is actually a somewhat pleasantish and quite reassuring experience.”

Vancouver South Transfer Station (aka the Dump) Junk Removal & Hauling, Recycling Center This one isn’t really fair — everybody loves going to the dump. It’s a great stress reliever. Nothing helps getting over a break up like throwing all your ex’s stuff into a big pile of garbage and watching a giant compactor smash it up into nothing. Maybe asking to be better than the dump is too much. Fair enough. However, we shouldn’t be so much worse at educating than they are at disposing that they earn twice as many stars.

Yes, the prison is only .8 stars better than CapU, but let it sink in for a moment that an American state prison is the bar we one day hope to hurdle over.

By all accounts, what sets this prison apart from CapU is its community and culture. It’s not a direct comparison — at least they have housing and you can leave there with a useful degree.

Nonetheless, maybe some members from the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) could still learn a thing or two from them.

“Great prison by the bay for a stay on the State. West Block is a disaster but North Block is a great community, whoever was dying the pigeons different holiday colors “Thanks!” that made my day(s). Hanging with Steve and the rest of the old school wise guys, swapping stories and smokes was a great way to pass the time. Fondest memory? When the young guy was getting hassled in the shower and I rubbed the soap across my chest and said in my best growley voice... ‘What....Youse don’t find me attractive?’ Guess not, they forgot all about their mission and disappeared down the tier. Ah S.Q...! Bright star of the Pacific! Be sure to see my play “Blythe” performed by The Poetic Justice Project on Nov. 5 2016 on Alcatraz Island.”

So, let’s knock it off with the school pride. Every school in Vancouver is rated higher than us. Not only that, you’re more likely to have a good time sitting in a cell, drinking wine from a toilet than enduring another lecture in Communications. CapU students have never had much to celebrate, but now we know just how bleak our existence is.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

4 Stars

San Quentin State Prison

Public Services & Government 2.9 Stars

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VOLUME 49.5 ISSUE NO. 08

“Today I enjoyed emptying an SUV load of styrofoam, plastic and cardboard. Considering curbside pickup doesn’t do the first two, I thought I might as well go to the depot because I had a large quantity of all three. It’s free to get rid of all this stuff, so there’s no excuse unless you don’t have a car. Better recycled than in a landfill.”

CAPILANO UNIVERSITY

BRAND REVEAL

November 24

11:30 am | Birch Lower Cafeteria