17
VOLUME 49 ISSUE 11
NOVEMBER 16 - 22 | 2015
FIGHTS IN TIGHTS
08
12
DRIVING UP TAXES
TREASURE ISLAND
Why it might finally be time for motorists to pay for the use of highways, bridges and urban roads.
CapU Theatre department presents Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of murder, money and mutiny on the high seas.
CONTENTS
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
01
02
04
05
Cover Art
Editor's Desk
News
Cap You
07
09
Columns
Features
ZED ALEXANDRA
SIP SIP HOORAY! NACHOS AND WINE
WRESTLING WITH MY PAST
BUILDING BRIDGES WITH CULTURE
TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
13
GHOSTS OF A CHIVALROUS PAST
Arts + Culture
BLUES BROTHERS CAPTURE SILVER AT NATIONALS
16
BEER WITH A SIDE OF BOOTY
Opinions
THE STAFF STAFF THIS ISSUE COURIER COLUMNISTS Andy Rice
Therese Guieb
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
EXECUTIVE NEWS EDITOR
Carlo Javier
Gabriel Scorgie
EXECUTIVE LIFESTYLE EDITOR
FEATURES EDITOR
Kevin Kapenda
Mark Crickmay
OPINIONS EDITOR
ARTS + CULTURE EDITOR
BRANDON KOSTINUK After a year of working in clandestine, the Courier’s elusive web editor and lead investigative journalist will now also be adding the columnist hat to his ever-growing role with the paper. In this column, Brandon will be talking about sports, but not just the X’s and O’s. He’ll be discussing the controversies and taboo subjects that surround the world of athletics.
MAX LEY
Christine Beyleveldt
Alva Tang
CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER
Cristian Fowlie
Syd Danger
ART DIRECTOR
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Tianyi Bao
Brandon Kostinuk
BUSINESS MANAGER
WEB COORDINATOR
THE CAPILANO COURIER
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
CONTRIBUTORS SARAH UNGER TAELORE KEYANA
ZED ALEXANDRA TAYLOR LEE
JESSICA LIO
MEGAN DIETRICH
SCOTT BARKEMEYER
NATALIE MURRAY
JACOB MUIR
VIVIAN LI DANIELLE MAINMAN ANGELA ESTELLE JESSICA LAING
1
Max Ley is here to help. Much of the student population tends to live on a limited budget, which creates a hunger for cheap and accessible “student” foods and the occasional glass (or bottle) of wine. What Max will be doing is finding the perfect budget bottle to pair with your go-to snacks. Yes, we know, we should have this column every week.
ALEXA KWAN Alexa Kwan is so done with school. She is. She’s been graduated for two years and is currently working for a commercial mortgage brokerage. Here, she’ll be writing about life on the outside, beyond the protective boundaries of school. Oh and she’s got an Associate’s Degree from CapU’s Creative Writing program. She’s living proof that CapU can take you places.
KENNETH & JACQUIE We don’t know much about best friends Kenneth and Jacquie other than that they love fashion. However, we couldn’t give them a simple fashion column because you can only joke about Alexander Wang’s wang so many times before it becomes stupid. Instead, they’ll be our very own federal election fashion police. Hey, maybe they can even sway a vote or two!
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
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
WRESTLING WITH MY PAST Andy Rice EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Have you ever noticed that pro wrestling fans look absolutely nothing like the wrestlers themselves? I mean, nobody with the physique of Randy Orton has a Randy Orton poster. That simply doesn’t happen — and that’s precisely why it shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me that I was a huge WWE fan growing up. I fit the bill perfectly. I was a doughy musician with the athletic ability of a large bag of grapefruits — the furthest thing from John Cena you could ever imagine. However, my love for WWE has been something I’ve kept a secret for much of my life. In fact, I made it through childhood without anyone but my parents knowing. Close friends wouldn’t even have guessed that my consistent unavailability on Monday nights had something to do with the fact that Raw was on TV. But there I’d be at 6 pm, parked on the couch, gleefully watching the video montage that opened every episode. I always felt butterflies as “JR” Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler hyped up the night’s matches while cameras panned over the live audience. To this day, whenever I come across an old YouTube clip with those legendary voices doing the commentary, it takes me right back to my childhood. Some people dream of having Morgan Freeman narrate their biggest life achievements — I want Jim Ross to do mine in his slobbery Southern drawl. I’m not even kidding when I say that’s a bucket list item for me. After consulting a few journal entries and asking my mother, who remembers everything cringe-worthy about my past, it appears that Andy “The Grapefruit” Rice started watching Raw in late 1997 at the height of the 'Attitude Era.' That’s when the WWE (still known as the WWF at that time) was just starting to bring violent themes and sexually-charged storylines to new heights. Even some of the wrestlers from rival franchises like WCW
started taking notice of the WWE’s sudden penchant for freedom of expression. That’s how they got The Big Show, Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero on their side. It’s also how they got me. I wasn’t a particularly violent or aggressive kid, but I did have a healthy imagination. Every Monday night as I lay in bed, I would wrestle entire matches in my mind to the point of absolute realism — except it would be me, not The Rock, giving Kane the People’s Elbow that time. To this day, whenever someone pisses me off I just picture myself in full Undertaker garb Tombstoning them right to hell. Hands down, my favourite WWE star was (and still is) “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. During the 'Attitude Era,' he was the poster boy for ‘sticking it to the man.’ In his case, ‘the man’ happened to be the WWE’s real-life chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon. On screen, Vince played a fictionalized “heel” version of himself that was hated profusely by wrestlers and fans alike. His children Shane and Stephanie did it too, spawning an endless collection of storylines and conflicts that are arguably some of Raw’s most enduring moments. Every week, Austin would barrel down the ramp, middle fingers pointed to the sky, and kick some ass. As a redneck renegade, he was frequently known to celebrate by having a 'beer bash' in the middle of the ring, usually after hitting one or all of the McMahons with his signature move, the Stone Cold Stunner. The greatest beer bash of all took place on March 22, 1999 when he drove a refrigerated Coors Light semi truck down the ramp. After cutting a short promo from its roof and tossing a few beer cans disdainfully towards his bosses, Austin unrolled a giant hose and power-washed them out of the ring with a pressurized stream of blonde ale. Kurt Angle came up with his own variation in 2001, which involved a milk truck and an unsuspecting Stephanie McMahon. The moments that followed gave JR some his best one-liners ever — “MILKAMANIA IS RUNNING
THE VOICEBOX with Carlo Javier
I think the appointments were fantastic. The new environment minister is a great representation of just how hot everything is with this climate change.
She might actually be causing it.
...mais je ne sais pas. Probablement pas. 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.”
The CSU did! I had nothing to do with it, but I do need that UPass deal, so please vote! Ya’ll did it during the real elections and sorta did it for the CSU by-elections. This one matters more. Go do it.
TWEETS OF THE WEEK #FRIDAYTHE13TH
I came by your office last Friday to see my sweet Therese, she wasn’t there, what the hell. Who is this? Taylor Wilson? John Morrison?
How can I get in contact with your big shot art director? I want to audition to be an artist! Well, first and foremost, you have to go through a professional talent agency, because this shit is legit, yo. jk. Just shoot an email to artdirector.capcourier@gmail.com
2
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
I’m also trying to learn French as quickly as possible for the sake of picking up the minister of heritage. I’d like to think she’s going to text me more than people text the Voicebox…
Who paid you guys to run that obviously biased CSU ad last week? What are you now? A propaganda machine?
When the idea to do a cover feature on wrestling came up at a recent editorial meeting, I was beyond excited. It was a chance to relive some childhood memories and finally confess my secret love for the WWE. So before print space has me on the ropes, I’m going to tag out and let Carlo "The Broom" Javier bring you the rest on page eight. In the words of Mick Foley, “Have a nice day!”
THE CAPILANO COURIER
What do you think about our new cabinet ministers?
WILD” and “BAH GAWD! THE MILLION DOLLAR PRINCESS HAS BECOME A DAIRY QUEEN!” While there was rarely a dull moment on Raw during the 'Attitude Era,' the best storylines and biggest rivalries always came to a head at WrestleMania or Survivor Series. But at the tender age of eight, there was no way I was going to be shelling out $50 for a pay-per-view, and besides, that would have outed me to my family and friends. It’s for that reason that I got unusually skilled at using the Internet. Others were content to play Minesweeper and doodle with MS Paint, but I was balls deep in the family dial-up connection trying find out who took home the World Heavyweight Championship. In fact, I still keep tabs on who’s holding it.
NEWS
THERESE GUIEB
EXECUTIVE NEWS EDITOR NEWS@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
THE MISSING LINK
Link BC separates from CapU Christine Beyleveldt CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
Capilano University has a strong connection to outdoor industry, led by its own Tourism Management program. Link BC is a service organization that partners with post-secondary institutions throughout BC, describing itself as a mentor to tourism students and aiming to strengthen professional qualities. This is achieved through annual case competitions, Project Change – which encourages students to become active volunteers in their communities — and an industry rendezvous, essentially a tourism trade show. “For the last several years Capilano University received funding from Destination BC (formerly known as Tourism BC) to support our presence on campus,” said Link BC general manager Morgan Wescott. The organization’s offices are located on campus in the Cedar building, allowing CapU’s Tour-
ism program direct access to the resources Link BC has to offer. For several years, CapU has taken part in case competitions, finishing strong nearly every year and last month claiming first place. “They’re [Link BC] sponsored by some organizations in the tourism industry like Go2HR and Destination Vancouver,” explained CapU Communications instructor and case competition coach Sue Dritmanis. “They invite any school that does Tourism Management, so that would include Royal Roads, BCIT, Cap and people coming on from outside Vancouver to field a team.” Each competing school or external organization groups top-level students to compete. “They’re given a very specific scenario within the tourism industry they have to address,” said Dritmanis. Usually, students are asked to address issues per-
taining to marketing or human resources, they prepare a framework for their presentation, and when they arrive for the competition they fill in the blanks. “I think it’s excellent,” noted Dritmanis. “It’s excellent for networking, it’s excellent for presentation skills in a real world setting.” As a coach, Dritmanis explains that her responsibilities include guiding students and aiding them in aspects of their research in order to adequately prepare for case competitions, though much of the management falls to Tourism instructor Andreas Tize. For the coaches, case competitions provide an opportunity to help with student success and evaluate the work of others. “It’s great for instructors because we get to see the caliber of students from other places,” said Dritmanis. For students, the experience is an opportu-
nity to present their ideas to the industry, though it takes a lot to be successful. “[It takes] dedication, ability to think on your feet, willingness to work with others,” said Dritmanis, “So mostly collaboration and team building skills, and I think it’s also innovative, creative thinking.” Link BC has worked directly from CapU for several years, although that is about to change. “In early 2015, [the government] announced this funding would no longer be available,” said Wescott. Responsibility for case competitions and will be passed to Go2HR over the next year as Link BC dissolves. “Our legacy will continue but LinkBC as we know it will be finished,” shared Wescott, “[though] Capilano will continue to lead innovations in tourism and hospitality education in the province.”
LEARNING UNDER THE STARS
CapU takes students outdoors for Wilderness Leadership Program Christine Beyleveldt
THE CAPILANO COURIER
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
Capilano University may seem like a small campus relegated to the backwoods of North Vancouver, but there’s an even smaller hub in nearby Squamish serving those who do their best learning on the side of a creek or under the stars. The Wilderness Leadership Program (WLP) is the only post-secondary program that offers a handson technical skill-building certificate that equips students for careers in outdoor industries — “[though] typically they go onto adventure tourism occupations,” said Don Webster, Tourism professor and WLP convenor. According to Webster, for incoming students in their first year, the fall semester is devoted to dabbling in all areas of the industry and outdoor leadership. Then, come springtime, they choose a field to continue their studies in. “We do a lot of trips to get exposure to and build our skills in a variety of different outdoor activities such as sea kayaking, hiking, canoeing, mountaineering, and rock climbing,” said WLP student and newlyelected Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) Squamish representative Alora Wallace. In the second half of the program, students begin to develop professional skills in numerous outdoor sectors, among which are avalanche control, Nordic ski instruction and a variety of water sports. “I’d say we’re one of the most unique programs at Capilano,” said Webster. “Students
3
spend 70 per cent of their time outside actually in the field.” “Personally, I prefer this learning structure because it feels a lot easier to be engaged with the material as opposed to the feeling of multitasking multiple courses,” said Wallace. “Additionally, we have a small cohort of 22 students so we get to know each other really well and perhaps develop stronger student camaraderie than some other programs offered at Cap.” Unlike a typical semester on campus, WLP students will finish one course before moving onto the next one, and since instructors are pulled from industrial sectors to teach for a few
weeks at a time, students only focus on one aspect of their training at a time. “We have mountain guides teaching for us, we have raft guides, we have sailing instructors,” noted Webster. “They all come and do a couple weeks per year for us, we’ve really got that strong connection to industry that way.” Staying connected to the main campus back in North Vancouver isn’t always quite as easy. “To be honest, the North Vancouver campus seems to be quite distant from our tiny Squamish campus,” said Wallace. “It’s easy to forget about the larger mothership that is North Vancouver Capilano because we are so different and operate
quite independently.” Wallace admits that the social scene isn’t as prosperous within the Squamish cohort. “They’re pretty isolated up there,” agreed Webster. The WLP has been an essential part of CapU’s School of Tourism for over 20 years and is currently in the appeals process to have the certificate upgraded to a degree program. This would make it the first and only Wilderness Leadership degree in Canada. “The program takes a holistic approach to developing well rounded outdoor professionals,” commented Wallace. “[It] has a long history of providing quality outdoor adventure education.”
NEWS
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE Queer Collective hosts important global event Therese Guieb EXECUTIVE NEWS EDITOR
There have been many progressions at Capilano University in terms of being more open and better incorporating the Transgender community on campus, not least of which is the upcoming Transgender Day of Remembrance. But according to Jon Kinsley, Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) Queer Collective liaison, the CapU community still has a long way to go. One of his biggest objectives is educating people on how to use language that is not oppressive to the Transgender community. On Nov. 20 from 9 am to 4 pm at the CSU Members Centre in LB 195, the CSU Queer Collective will be hosting the Transgender Day of Remembrance to commemorate Transgender individuals who have been lost due to violence against them. “We are progressing in a lot of different ways but at the same time, there is still so much violence towards specifically Trans women of colour as well as just Trans folk in general. And there is still so much institutionalized depression as well as stigma surrounding Trans folk and it’s something that needs to be deconstructed,” said Kinsley. The event is held in several countries around the world and is particularly recognized in Canada and the United States. “This day is to bring awareness,” added Kinsley, “Primarily, Canada and the States do a lot of the celebration around it and often it’s like a candle vigil or something just to take a moment.” Last year, the Collective didn’t host an
event on campus but just had a poster in the Collective’s lounge where students who used the space had a chance to write what the Transgender Day of Remembrance meant to them. However, Kinsley realized that a bigger spotlight should be placed on this event because it is a way in which to educate the campus about the purpose of
tin. “There is another one just interviewing folks on this campus, on their opinions [about] what’s the importance of Trans Day of Remembrance,” added Kinsley. This film is directed by David Thompson. A plaque that will have the names of Transgender individuals who are to be commemorated and celebrated will also be
the celebration as well as the progression that still needs to be made. “We are going to have a couple short films playing, primarily by students here at Cap,” noted Kinsley. “One [will be] on the issue of voting because the election just happened, but for the Trans folk, walking up to the election booth having to give your legal name can be very hard.” The short film is called The Right to be Heard by Krista Mar-
displayed at the Members Centre. “I’ve researched ten folks who have passed away in the last 20 years and it just speaks to their life. I didn’t focus on their deaths — I think it’s important to remember those people for who they were, not what happened to them,” said Kinsley. “On the other side we are going to have 10 Trans folks who are combatting and overcoming the oppression, so figures like Laverne Cox,” he added. In-
formation on nine steps on how to be a better ally to the transgender individuals and the Transgender community will also be available during the event, which Kinsley hopes students will use and implement into their lives. In addition to the event, the Collective is also working to have new policies put into place on campus as well as gender options that better recognize the Transgender community at CapU. “The University right now has a preferred name option,” said Kinsley. “When you register here, you can say this is my legal name, this is my preferred name. For me, it is like my legal name is ‘John’, but I’ve always gone by Jon so that’s the difference for me. But for someone who might be transitioning, it could be very different, like from Martin to Rebecca,” he explained. The Collective is working to have a policy be put in to place so that CapU cannot decide to abolish the preferred name option in the future. However, one of the biggest breakthroughs so far this year for the Collective has been its new space at LB 190B. Kinsley described it as a safe place to relax on campus and noted that it is also open to any students whether they are a member of the Collective or not. Kinsley hopes that the Transgender Day of Remembrance will have a lasting impact on students and staff at CapU and that many will become more involved with what the Collective has to offer. “I hope people take the time to read the displays and look at both the people who are overcoming these oppressions and societal issues and also taking time to remember those who have been lost,” he said.
LIBRARY OPENS UP THE ASPEN ROOM Vandalism repairs yield new workspace for students Therese Guieb EXECUTIVE NEWS EDITOR
and journal collection in order to add a new space for students. The hard copy collections that are already out of date are recycled and are sent off to the library’s reselling program that benefits charities. “We subscribe to different collections online and so we have one such as Credo Reference,” noted Alekson, “so now we don’t have to have the books on the shelves in the library. People can use them from wherever they want. As long as you have a computer you can access it from home, and we can use the space inside the library for the students.” Students are encouraged by Alekson to give feedback about the services that are being offered by the library by simply going on Capilanou.ca/library or dropping a feedback card located at the front desk in the library. “We are always eager to hear what students think and we want everyone to think about the library and the very diverse need that some people have.”
4
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
winner of the contest. The Aspen Room is open for students, however, there are still furniture pieces that have yet to be delivered. Alekson says that the furniture will likely arrive over the next few weeks. Other student spaces in the library have also been opened for students along with the Aspen Room this year. “This last summer, in the rotunda area, we made two changes, one was the inside of the rotunda that used to have quite old benches with cushions on them,” said Alekson. “We got rid of those and put in some high chairs and stools. So now it’s like café seating there. Also around that circle we had high shelves and they were kind of blocking the light, and we reduced the amount of books we had so we took out half of the shelves and ordered some new tables and some screens so there is a little bit of privacy between tables,” she continued. Over the last five years, the library has reduced the size of its book, prints,
THE CAPILANO COURIER
On Jan. 2, a break-in and arson occurred in the Capilano University Library. As a result, the workspace for students in the area became unavailable and the employees who occupied it also had to temporarily move to a different location. According to Mark Clifford, director of contract services and capital planning at CapU, “$209,762.10 in insurance was claimed by the school to cover hard costs such as clean-up, replacement of carpet, furniture, movers, painting, door repair and ancillary items.” When the renovations were completed and the space reopened in the library, half became a workspace for students while the other remained as offices for employees. The new workspace fits a total of 30 students and was named the Aspen Room. “After we had the fire, there was basically an opportunity to examine how our
employee workspace was in the library because it used to be where a lot of the staff sat and it had cubicles there,” said Tania Alekson, library coordinator at CapU. The library regularly conducts surveys as a means for students to evaluate and comment on the current services offered by the library. “We are constantly hearing from students that there is not enough space in the library, and so we just thought ‘Well is there a way to move all of the staff into another area that we were also using for staff seating, and give this space to the students,’” noted Alekson. Since the space was for students, the library staff wanted to give the students the opportunity to name the new area. “We had a contest through social media, and we offered a prize for a straight draw for everyone who entered,” said Alekson. “We had a lot of suggestions for tree names, and we liked aspen because we actually have some aspen right outside the library.” A $50 Visa gift certificate was given to the
CAP YOU
CARLO JAVIER
EXECUTIVE LIFESTYLE EDITOR CARLO.CAPCOURIER@GMAIL.COM
WHO YOU: JANELLE VENEGAS Communicating for a job Carlo Javier EXECUTIVE LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Despite an extensive list of qualifications or a university degree, a job isn’t exactly promised postgraduation. A position that pertains to the field you spend four, five or six years of school for isn’t always there. For fourth-year communications student Janelle Venegas, she found work, and she has yet to even graduate. Venegas is the director of communications for one of Shaw TV’s independent shows, Club FUCI. The show title stands for “Fun, Unique and Creative Individuals,” it provides a platform for young, aspiring and talented Vancouverites who aim to gain entry in the music industry. “It’s about getting independent music artists, locally or around BC, on TV to showcase their talent and get their voices heard,” said Venegas. The artists of Club FUCI come through many avenues. Some apply to perform on the show, others are found on the streets of Vancouver and another portion of the performers are recommended by one of the Club FUCI’s alumni, Rigel Realina. Realina has ventured onto big-
ger and brighter things, having had the opportunity to dance on Ellen. “He’s connected to a lot of musical artists and he’s recommended a lot of people,” said Venegas. As director of communications, Venegas’ daily responsibilities are primarily focused on the show’s social media platforms. She blogs, writes newsletters and connects with potential artists. Despite taking solace in the fact that most of her work is done online, Venegas can still get overwhelmed with her responsibilities, since she is a full-time student with five courses after all. Fortunately for her, she has two assistants whom she can rely on, “They saw that I had a lot of workload so they interviewed some assistants and got my approval for
hiring them,” she noted. Beyond the organization’s work as a platform for aspiring artists, Club FUCI also acts as another space where original and artistic Canadian content can be seen and heard – a current hot topic across Canadian media outlets due to recent developments of policies such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the rise of Apple Music and Spotify. “I think it’s important because Canada’s voice is getting lost with the Americanization of content here, which is why we’re required to play some Canadian content on the radio, but it has to be a certain percentage each hour,” she explained. “But now we want to bring in more Canadian artists and bring in more awareness that our artists actually have talent compared to America, because ev-
erything is so focused on America.” For Venegas, one of the most surprising ideas she’s learned in her line of work is the sheer number of young artists who work tirelessly to get their name in the radar of the music industry, to the point that they wind up investing much of their money on themselves. “I didn’t think that there were so many talented people and they weren’t being found and that lots of them have been trying to get to the music industry and actually spend thousands of dollars to get there,” she said. Despite her position, Venegas still plans on going for her Master’s Degree and Ph.D. mentioning Communications professor Kym Stewart as her idol. As for students in the program who aim to find work within the same field, her one tip isn’t necessarily about the lessons you learn in the classroom, it’s about the people you meet, “My advice is actually to just keep every connection you’ve ever had, because it will get you places. I only got this job because I knew someone who knew someone.”
A BITTERSWEET END TO A CINDERELLA SEASON Blues capture silver in national championships Carlo Javier
Capilano Blues Varsity Men’s Soccer came up short in their quest to win gold at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national championship, held last week in Saint-Lambert. Que. The boys fell to the Humber Hawks from Humber College in Toronto, Ont. in a gold medal game that took place on Nov. 14 at Seaway Park. The Hawks’ win came down to the wire with the match being decided via penalty kicks. Both teams traded three goals each until first-year mid/defender Andres Romo was stopped by the Hawks’ goalkeeper, Euginio Garro. “I was real nervous, personally,” said fourth-year midfield Devan Woolley regarding the penalty kicks period. “The first three shooters from both teams scored and then the keeper from Humber saved our fourth shot and I think everyone’s hearts dropped.” The gold medal game marked an interesting turn of events for the Blues. Throughout the season, the team found itself in uphill battles, but this time
5
around they were seemingly placed at an advantage after the Hawks received two red cards within the first half. However, the Blues were unable to capitalize due to the Hawks’ adjustment. Their opponents were able to slow down the pace of the game and limit the Blues’ fast-paced offence. “It was really fast-paced in the first half until Humber got two red cards, then they just played super defensively and that really slowed the game down,” said Woolley. “There was no love lost between the teams — both clearly wanted to win and were willing to do anything and throw their bodies on the line to get it done.” The Blues’ quest for gold began on Nov. 11 against the Holland Hurricanes from Holland College in Prince Edward Island. Second-year forward Bruno Fieri-Marinho got the Blues on board early with a goal at the 14-minute mark of the match. However, the Blues still wound up finding themselves down 2-1 by the half. First-year mid/forward Kamyan Amini got the
team back on track with the header to tie the game, and with less than two minutes to play, All-Canadian striker Kristian Yli-Hietanen came through with the goal to put the Blues back up and secure the victory. For their second matchup, which took place on on Nov. 13, the Blues were pitted against Kwantlen Eagles, the same team they beat to win the provincial championship. Unlike that victory, the Blues found their groove early against the Eagles and won with a comfortable 5-1 score. Both YliHietanan and Fieri-Marinho scored twice for the Blues and Lucien Kessler added another goal. The Humber Hawks were consistently hailed as one of the tops teams in the country, while the Blues, despite winning the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) championship, were hindered in the national rankings due to their lacklustre start. “We gave it our all and played a good game. We just couldn't break Humber’s defense down once they
'parked the bus' and started playing really defensive,” Woolley shared. “It's a great accomplishment to be second best in Canada but it's bittersweet as best in Canada was just that close.”
— VANCOUVER SPORTS PICTURES
THE CAPILANO COURIER
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
EXECUTIVE LIFESTYLE EDITOR
COLUMNS
CARLO JAVIER
COLUMNS EDITOR CARLO.CAPCOURIER@GMAIL.COM
SIP SIP HOORAY!
Nachos + Porta da Calada Vinho Tinto Max Ley COLUMNIST
Nachos are a beautiful thing. All you truly need are some tortilla chips and cheese to start and you’re well on your way to building a culinary masterpiece with the endless combination of toppings you have lying around in your fridge. Once heated, the layers of chips, cheese and other possible ingredients all combine to make levels upon levels of greasy goodness, the whole being far greater than the sum of its parts. While there are plenty of nacho variations to be found at local restaurants such as the Foundation or Saint Augustine’s, I stuck close to home and cooked up my own version full of onions, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, chips, a little bit of ground beef and a ton of cheddar cheese. They were quick, marginally healthy (hah!) and best of all, cheap. They also offered the added bonus of getting rid of some extra veggies kicking around my fridge. To round out the flavours, I added tiny dishes of salsa and sour cream as dips. And of course, I cracked open a bottle
of wine, because that’s just what I do. At first, I was undecided as to which wine I was going to choose. Sparkling wines, whites, rosé and big reds were all on the table but I was leaning towards a red. After going through a few options, I finally selected the Porta da Calada 2013 Vinho Tinto from Portugal. Although known for its port, Portugal also has a thriving market for both affordable and high-end wines. Portuguese reds in particular are a fantastic go-to for affordable and interesting bottles. The Porta da Calada, which retails for $15.99 at Liberty Wines Commercial Drive, is a red blend from the Alentejo region of Portugal. Alentejo is a very hot and dry region of the country and this wine is a wonderful example of the kinds of inexpensive reds you can expect from this area. The wine is a blend of Aragonez (another name for the Tempranillo grape), Trincadeira and Syrah. The result is a wonderfully juicy little red that totally impresses for the price. The aromas out of the glass are deep and full of bright raspberries and playful pepper spice. A fruit for-
FEDERAL FASHION
ward body with light acidity shows flavours of dark juicy fruit, soft tannins, pepper and a medium dry finish. Many people searching for a full and rich red from California or Argentina could definitely use a red like this as a unique alternative. But how would this wine fare with the decadent nachos and the myriad flavours provided by the toppings? The saltiness of the chips, the spicy tang of the jalapeños, the savouriness of the ground beef, the freshness of the tomatoes… all of these flavours combine to make a plate of food that is just begging to dominate a poor, unsuspecting wine. The Porta da Calada was a fantastic accompaniment to the cheese and greasiness of the nachos. Every time I picked up a chip, no matter the ingredients and materials that ended up on it, the wine was able to clean and freshen my palate, while accentuating the flavours present in the dish. The little bits of ground beef were particularly excellent with the wine as the richness of the red matched the greasiness of the heavy meat. The red was strong enough not to let the extreme saltiness of the chips dominate the palate and even the richness of the sour
cream was not too dominating. The only ingredient that was a little bit tough on the wine was the little chunks of jalapeno. Although the wine was able to refresh my palate, the spiciness was a little bit too sharp and the wine struggled a bit to keep the flavours in check. Ideally, something with some bubbles or a dry white might be able to match and clean out the sharpness of the jalapeno’s spiciness. That being said, this is a supremely nitpicky detail as the bright juiciness of the Porta da Calada was a bit more fitting with the cheese and meat combination that the nachos offered. This wine was a great pairing for such a party favourite of a dish. The Porta da Calada is everything I love in an inexpensive red as it is a great demonstration of the capabilities of its region, super tasty and a wine that is a bit off the beaten path of conventional choices. That being said, be sure to enjoy the nachos and wine among friends! Of all the pairings I have made for myself while doing this column, eating nachos alone was a rather lonely experience, and a bottle of wine is always enjoyed best with somebody special.
WITH KENNETH AND JACQUIE
Upgrading Justin’s best feature K: We disagree on a lot of things but we can both agree on the fact that Justin’s got the finest, most luscious locks in town, ya? J: Ya. And we agree that they could be even better with a couple modern touches. K: YES! TOTALLY! Hey, wait. This newspaper has an art director, right? Can’t he Photoshop some potential weaves on JT or something? J: I dunno, Ken. They still haven’t paid us for our first column yet… you sure this is a good idea? K: Trust me. When have I ever led you astray? J: Uhh… that gas station sushi you insisted we get last year after New York Fashion Week? K: Right. Sorry.
GHETTO LETO
J: I thought he’d look like a hunky soldier with this do, or Channing Tatum, but boy was I wrong. Instead, he looks like someone who should be receiving a ‘Get Well Soon’ card. Yikes.
J: I am digging this Jared Leto ombre thing.
K: Yup. Okay, back to the drawing board…
LILAC LOCKS
J: AHHHH. He looks like the lovechild of Ellen DeGeneres and a Cabbage Patch doll. No. No no no no no.
K: He needs a beard to rock it though… Do we actually need to bring back 2011 Trudeau? We already agreed weeks ago never to speak of that again. Maybe we should reconsider...
BIEBER TAIL K: Okay, last one. J: It’s definitely better than that other Justin from Canada. K: Ling? J: Duh.
6
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
K: Oooh! Would you look at our PM in purple!
THE CAPILANO COURIER
G.I. JUSTIN
COLUMNS
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
ATHLETIC DISCRETION
The NHL is demonstrating it isn’t afraid to go where none has gone before Brandon Kostinuk COLUMNIST
Can you hear that? The gnashing of skates, but not just any skates, over 150 pairs that belong to the best ice hockey players in the world. The 2016 World Cup of Hockey is officially less than a year away, and despite the criticisms and harsh critiques, the international tournament in its third instalment is more than just so-called “gimmicks” to be eschewed away. This NHL is demonstrating it isn’t afraid to go where everyone else is thinking. This is the world’s top hockey league flexing its muscles to say the hell with political correctness. This is hockey – this is sporting entertainment. The World Cup of Hockey is an NHL-sanctioned competition. The last time it was held was in 2004, eight years after the inaugural event. Evidently, the league couldn’t uphold any consistent interval, thereby effectively robbing the competition’s chance of drumming up much momentum. That’s one reason why the upcoming event, which will take place from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 2016 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, is something to relish. The other reason is, the format. The teams, which were formally announced in early September by the International Ice Hockey Federation, will consist of eight rosters, two of which are blanketed by controversy: an under-23 North American squad and a “Rest of Europe” team.
The National Post’s Chris Selley contended this as a “recipe for dialling down the intensity,” further imparting that, “It has been suggested to me that the ‘Young Stars’ concept is dumber than the ‘Leftover Euros’ concept. Upon reflection, I agree.” Selley draws attention to the lack of chemistry that will be felt by the Young Stars and within the Rest of Europe team. But why should these squads not be afforded a similar amount of time? The management team for Team North America are Edmonton Oilers president and general manager (GM) Peter Chiarelli and Chicago Blackhawks vice president and GM Stan Bowman. For Team Europe, the management team will be German Ice Hockey Federation President Franz Reindl and former Slovakia team captain Miroslav Satan. Both contingents are in great hands and to think preparation amongst the competing nations will differ vastly is to underestimate the abilities of some of the greatest hockey minds on this planet. Further, it underestimates, quite significantly, the talent level and hockey knowledge of these athletes, in both of these unorthodox teams. The decision to move forward and launch an international tournament under such a format is daring and should be applauded. Is it gimmicky? Sure. The intention is to attract attention. Even more praiseworthy is the immeasurable lack of political correctness in the decision not to include non-traditional hockey nations like Latvia,
Austria and arguably Slovakia and Switzerland. “I don’t like it at all. Not one thing about it,” said Swiss defenceman and NHLer Mark Streit to the Cherry Hill Courier-Post , “It’s a nations tournament. You love playing for your country.” While Streit was part of the team that upset Canada and the Czech Republic at the 2006 Olympics, the overall data suggests these occasions arrive few and far between. Of the six distinct nations to be represented at next year’s tournament — Canada, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic — 94.1 per cent make up the body of NHL players in 2015, according to Quanthockey.com. Just 5.9 per cent are made up of Slovakian players and nations outside those listed. With the World Cup of Hockey being an NHLsanctioned event, the team selection fits well with the current scope of the league’s composition. The Rest of Europe squad helps slot in topline talents like Slovakian Zdeno Chara and Slovenian Anze Kopitar. And on the other spectrum lies the North American young-guns of the league, who, in Olympic tournaments, are typically left off the men’s squad. It is oft said the NHL is a young man’s game. Pitting the likes of Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid, Max Domi, Aaron Ekblad and so on against Sidney Crosby and the best from either Canada or the US will help settle some of the score. Is there risk of being injured? No more than what could be expected during the NHL regular season (McDavid has already went down from a brutal check into the boards). In fact, it
could be argued there is a lower chance of injury given these are the elites among a class of today’s best players. Are you going to get dirty checks, boarding penalties and game misconducts? I think the chances are less likely than what you would see in the NHL. The league also cannot fail to recognize if its top players get hurt pre-season, they hurt. But that’s another reason why the tournament is such a bold move. NHL chief operating officer John Collins said, “What we wanted to do was we wanted to have the best hockey tournament we could possibly have with as many NHL players as possible and make all eight teams really competitive. This is a way to deliver on the best hockey tournament in the world.” I, unlike some, have to agree. Limiting the pool to competitive nations, basically teams that can fill-out a roster with NHL-talent pushes the tournament away from the blowout-spectre of Olympic hockey that robs a lot of the excitement from the preliminary rounds or group stage. Selley wrote, “But given the echoing void that is international hockey, it is inexcusable and inexplicable to screw this up so badly.” However, the problem isn’t the tournament itself, it’s the labelling. The World Cup of Hockey transcends what a traditional world cup is. It isn’t a “screw up”, it’s a a tournament of the world’s best with a generational bridge leaving no stone unturned in the realm of hockey bragging rights — and I can’t wait.
LIFE ON THE OUTSIDE Alexa Kwan
THE CAPILANO COURIER
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
COLUMNIST For ten months out of the year, school is a full-time job for elementary and high school students. For over 7,000 students at Capilano University, post-secondary education remains a full-time commitment as well. School, at all levels has the commonality of encouraging students to explore and discover their passions and to set goals and accomplish them. It is structured in a way that allows every single person to develop a set of skills and forces them to move forward at the end of the year in order to further hone those skills at a higher level. Learning should not stop after graduation. Although many workplaces provide training for their new hires, the general connotation of a full-time position is that once the desired level of training has been reached, the incumbent settles into a relatively mundane routine and becomes more and more comfortable and efficient at their given position over time. This routine has been shaken up in recent years by the increasing number of people who are investing time and money into continuing education, a concept defined by Referenceforbusiness.com as “the acquisition or improvement of work-related skills by people already in the workforce.”
7
Terina Allen, CEO at management and consulting firm ARVis Institute, addressed this specifically in an article she posted to her LinkedIn profile earlier this year. Allen said that decades ago the goal was to finish school and then work for one company for “ten years, twenty years, thirty years hoping for management to promote you.” This age-old practice resonates positively by demonstrating dedication and commitment to a specific company. As experience with the company is gained, seniority is established and ideally puts the employee in the spotlight when a promotion opens up. However, Allen ultimately proposes the idea that although remaining with the same company exhibits loyalty, staying at one job for too long can actually have negative consequences when it comes to career advancement and professional development. It may seem as if an employee has a lack of desire to move forward and little drive when it comes to self-improvement. It appears that many of us in the workplace agree with Allen’s stance. Employees are increasingly searching for opportunities outside their current company. According to a Forbes article published in 2012, the average worker remains at his or her job for about four-and-a-half years before moving on. It’s as simple as having a child continuously repeat the same grade. Eventually
— NATALIE MURRAY
Education – It’s not just for students
the original skillset that was learned becomes outdated as everyone else moves onwards. The working world as a whole is comparatively similar. If we do not find ways to continue growing once we have settled into a position, it is inevitable that someone with the same level of training will surpass us in usefulness, especially if they continue to learn and improve after graduation. How, then, can we prevent this stagnancy from happening? Many adults including myself may find themselves asking, ‘what should I be learning? Where do I go to learn it?’
There are a surprising (or maybe it’s not surprising to some) number of resources available to those looking to further their education both personally and professionally. It’s as easy as perusing through the CapU website or grabbing the latest Continuing Studies brochure. There are courses specifically for teens and youth, as well as ones for anyone over the age of 55 who is part of the ElderU community. There are courses in music and art, and computers and technology. The options are endless. Don’t live in North Van? No problem. UBC and SFU both offer their own continuing education courses, and many of the smaller institutions around Metro Vancouver do as well. However, there is another aspect that may be a deterrent to those considering furthering their studies: the financial implications of taking more courses. Understandably, paying to continue your education after achieving your degree can be a tough bullet to bite, especially once you’ve landed a full-time position. Unfortunately for those who are satisfied remaining in their same position for a number of years, Referencesforbusiness.com now describes continuing education as “less of an option and more of a necessity.” Ultimately, whether it be a necessity or not, there are thousands of students graduating and entering the workforce every year — isn’t it worth investing your money so that you can give them a run for theirs?
FEATURES
GABRIEL SCORGIE FEATURES EDITOR SPECIALFEATURES.CAPCOURIER@GMAIL.COM
FROM THE TOP ROPE
The physical, violent and very real theatre of pro wrestling Carlo Javier EXECUTIVE LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Scotty Mac is spiteful. The current Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) champion isn’t satisfied with his title. He wants more. Every time he cuts a promo in the ring, he demands the adoration of the crowd. He’s been with the company for a long time and he’s done a lot for the people who follow it. In his mind, the crowd owes him respect, gratitude and appreciation, but they have other plans. They boo and they heckle, and despite being the champion, much of the ECCW fan base hates Scotty Mac. But it doesn’t matter — in fact, he loves it. In the world of pro wrestling, some people thrive under the chorus of boos and hate. Several of the most enduring icons in the business have been “heel” characters, including the Iron Sheik, Jake “the Snake” Roberts and Triple H, to name just a few. Born Scott Schnurr, the 36-yearold, five-foot-nine, 179-pound wrestler has been surrounded by pro wrestling since he was child. He would collect action figures and magazines. He made it a mission to never miss a single episode of WWE Raw or Smackdown, and if he knew he was going to miss a show, he always had it recorded. Simply put, it was his favourite thing in the world. After high school, Mac immediately began his pursuit of becoming a pro wrestler. He trained with Can-Am Wrestling in Alberta and continued his training once he returned to BC and joined the ECCW. His first match came with just under six months of training under his belt. “I had already gotten into good shape. I know that I had a marketable look right off the bat so [the ECCW] got me in the ring relatively quickly,” he said. Mac’s first bout was against his own trainer, Chance Beckett, a man
who, to this day, he labels as among the most talented wrestlers he’s ever been in the ring with — high praise considering Mac has worked with one of World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) biggest stars today, Daniel Bryan. Though Mac treasures his first match experience, saying that it was probably better than the first matches of most wrestlers, it didn’t necessarily go without a hitch. “It was a little bit scary though because I had broken my wrist six weeks earlier,” he recalled. His cast was taken off just two days prior to the bout. Nearly 16 years later, Mac remains with the ECCW, and not only as it’s current champion but also as one of the company’s part owners. In 2010, ECCW founder and then-owner, Dave Republic, decided to step away from the helm of Canada’s longestrunning pro wrestling promotion, selling the company to a group led by Mac. Mac has done well for the ECCW – the company thrives in training and producing Canadian wrestlers, as opposed to booking shows headlined by former WWE stars. He’s run the promotion for the last year and has been an owner for the last five years. He takes pride in the fact that the ECCW has provided a professional wrestling product that Vancouver can call its own. “We have built up a fan base on homegrown talent, as opposed to relying on bringing in former WWE stars in order to grow our fan base. We do bring in stars occasionally but for the most part, our wresting shows, they involve wresters who are from here or they’ve trained with us,” he said. In the ring, Mac’s work is reminiscent of WWE legend Shawn Michaels. He’s worked to be able to adapt his style to whomever his working with. He’s able to keep up with the speedy and high-flying types, he can stand his ground with mat-based wrestlers and he can compete with the most technical and savviest grapplers, mix-
8
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
exclusive to the WWE. Even smaller companies understand that the fans know, and have mostly come to terms with the fact that at the end of the day, pro wrestling is a matter of suspending belief. “Most of our fan base is very much aware of my position in the company now. I’ve been around and they now that I have a lot of influence in the company,” said Mac. “In promos, I’ve started demanding respect, appreciation and gratitude for everything I’ve done for everyone, and it’s in a way where hopefully it comes off as very unlikeable and that the people don’t want to be told that they should appreciate me.” The conflict with the word “fake” has also steadily faded in recent years. Fans will remain fans as long as they enjoy the craft. The issue has always been with non-fans, who Mac described as people who don’t like wrestling because they believe the people who like wrestling think it’s real. For Mac, he said that the general public is finally getting to the point where they’ve come to accept wrestling for what it is, “It seems like the mainstream public is accepting that a wrestling fan doesn’t care that they know who wins beforehand — they’re watching it to enjoy, suspend their belief and to be taken on a rollercoaster ride and told a great story.” Nearly two years ago, the ECCW did their first show at Vancouver’s storied Commodore Ballroom. The show sold out and was dedicated to Mac’s grandmother, who had passed away just weeks before the night. As he always strives to do each and every night he’s in the squared circle, Mac put on a great match. At the end of the night, he came out to address the crowd. This was an emotional moment for Mac, a monumental one too. This time however, he wasn’t being booed. He wasn’t demanding the respect, appreciation and gratitude that he often would on any other night. He was grateful, and so were they, as a loud “Thank You Scotty” filled the ballroom. This was pro wrestling at it’s finest, when fragments of reality and character are blurred and everything comes together as one.
THE CAPILANO COURIER
ing in a healthy amount of suplexes, slams and top rope activity. He even shares the same finisher as Michaels and resents the fact that it’s become an overused move in the arsenals of many wrestlers. “I idolized Shawn Michaels growing up,” he said. “Shawn Michaels’ finisher was the superkick and I was in martial arts growing up as well, so my kicks were always pretty decent. I find these days in wrestling, a lot of times the superkick is overdone. When Shawn Michaels was doing it, it was a finishing move. Nowadays when you watch WWE, there are several guys that do it as part of their regular offence. It’s unfortunate because it’s not looked at as the finisher as it once was.” As a whole, the world of pro wrestling has undoubtedly been polarizing to the mainstream. Fan support for the WWE has fluctuated over the years, with the commonly-accepted golden age happening somewhere around the late 90’s and early 2000’s, during the peak of ultra-popular stars like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock. The “Attitude Era,” as its labelled by many including the WWE itself, has come and gone. While the rise of the Internet and blogspots has provided extra coverage for pro wrestling, it’s also been a double-edged sword. Finding the predetermined results of an upcoming match is easier than it’s ever been. Information on returning and debuting wrestlers is also relatively easy to find online. Even hints, speculations and rumours from backstage aren’t safe from the reach of the Internet. Due to that, the WWE has adapted its ways. Save for arguably its most iconic figure, The Undertaker, the WWE no longer keeps its stars’ off-screen personas out of the public eye. In fact, the lives of its biggest stars have never been as accessible to the public as they are now. Xavier Woods, one of the WWE’s up-and-coming stars hosts UpUpDownDown, a YouTube channel dedicated to gaming. The video series depicts him and several members of the roster playing video games – completely off character. This acceptance of reality, from both the promotion and fans, isn’t
FEATURES
BUILDING BRIDGE
WHY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS SHOULD BE MUCH MO
Kevin Kapenda OPINIONS EDITOR
Among the many other prevalent discussions of our time stands political correctness, which is often described as the adaptation and changing of a society’s use of language, symbols, policies — and at times, rituals and traditions — to accommodate, support and integrate as many people as possible. Societies and communities, such as Canada and Vancouver, are increasingly becoming diverse, which means more people from different ethnic backgrounds, faiths, lifestyles, gender and sexual identities are living alongside one other. At times, people become overwhelmed by the vast amount of diversity in regions and are afraid to openly express themselves in fear of offending someone. This self-restraint often goes hand-in-hand with indifference or lack of cultural competence, because people are so closed off from the other communities around them. However, if Canada can become a country that is more culturally aware of the diversity it has, stakeholders like businesses, public administrations and all sorts of other organizations could potentially improve their performances by having a much better understanding of the world around them.
THE CAPILANO COURIER
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
9
A large proponent of political correctness is that if civil society, government and the private sector discourage contentious dialogue, policies and references to certain symbols or traditions, everyone will get along fine without ever offending anyone. While political correctness has some strengths, its dominant approach often leads to less understanding and awareness of other cultural groups’ needs, interests and values, because it forces people to interact on the same level. This can sometimes lead to indifference and marginalization of other groups, or anger about not being able to celebrate or practice one’s culture openly. Intercultural competence is an alternative way to thinking about diversity and exploring some of the issues around it, such as integration, cross group dialogue and fostering understanding between people who come from different cultural backgrounds. Capilano University Business Administra-
tion professor Anne Watson describes intercultural competence as the willingness to personally embrace and adapt to different cultural interactions. “I look at intercultural competence as the ability for a person to shift perspective in a new cultural environment and to be able to adjust their behaviour to be appropriate within that environment,” explained Watson. While changing one’s behaviour depending on the cultural interaction is much easier to do, it’s adjusting your attitude towards different cultures that is most important when communicating with other people. “Perspective deals with appreciating the values that the culture represents, and handling the deeper parts of that culture. So really dealing with beliefs and practices, and getting down a little deeper into the culture, without judging,” said Watson. Cultural environments are spaces that involve and facilitate interaction and or connection with specific cultures. These could range from cultural resources, community centres, places of worship and events in which culture is being practiced or celebrated, like weddings and parades. For Watson, exercising intercultural competence means being able to engage with different cultural environments as best you can. “If I were to be invited to a cultural event in a community of which I am not a member, it’s very important that I, as the guest, can appreciate the environment I’m now finding myself in and be able to adjust my thinking to take on that perspective to the extent possible,” explained Watson. “So it’s really about appreciation. It’s looking at diversity and becoming inclusive with it.” While intercultural competence can take years to acquire, it can be assessed by a questionnaire known as the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) to let people know how much they hold at a certain point in time. The IDI is a 50-item questionnaire that lets people know where they’re at by placing them on a continuum of cultural competency. The IDI has five orientations, each of which are very different from each other but all serve to inform the question-
naire taker where they’re at in terms of their cultural competency. “Each orientation is quite distinct in how people within that orientation process the world around them, but also how the world around sees their ability to communicate directly, say, with a person of a different culture or ethnicity,” said Watson. “It’s a test that really allows us to learn more about ourselves. It’s a methodology of becoming aware of our cultural competence, which then goes on to give us the ability to improve our cultural competence through actual skills and readings we can then use to relate better to others.” Increased cultural competency in workplaces that service communities or individuals like businesses, educational institutions, and public administrations can improve their productivity and effectiveness because they know more about the people they serve. “[Cultural competence] helps the organization to make better decisions because you’re getting the involvement of a more diverse set of opinions and especially in a country like Canada, where we have huge diversity, you bring more thought to the table, and more ideas,” explained Watson Having rich levels of cultural competency within organizations is of course very valuable in a day and age where businesses and professionals have to deal with increasingly diverse communities within Canada and look beyond our borders to seek trade elsewhere.
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION When trying to develop more of an understanding about other people, much of that process happens through communication. Because that dialogue is happening between individuals who come from different cultural groups, that process is often referred to as intercultural communication. Lori Walker, a Communications professor at CapU, describes intercultural communication as a process of discovery between people of two different cultures. “It's about how groups make sense of each other and bring out the best in each other based on understanding,” said Walker. As we engage with people from different cultures, Walker believes that it’s critical to re-examine, and possibly reshape our longstanding beliefs about other groups. “It’s important that we think about how we see other people and whether or not those perceptions are correct and appropriate,” explained Walker.
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
ES WITH CULTURE
ORE THAN NOT TRYING TO OFFEND OTHER PEOPLE
derstand them and ask them the right questions, our perceptions often change and we are bound to become more empathetic.”
LGBTQ AWARENESS
When political correctness is present in societies, people are often too reserved to
national anthem. What once was a cultural practice seldom talked about because of fear of insulting or offending Muslim Canadians became an opportunity for the mainstream to learn more about the faith, its values, rituals and the commonalities its community held with their own. If the advancement of cultural competence can help encourage awareness and understanding around diversity and inclusiveness without pushback or contention, then it should be what governments, public institutions and other organizations use moving forward to build bridges between different cultures within our communities.
10
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
RETHINKING POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
learn more about the other cultural groups and communities around them. This selfrestraint could be exercised out of fear of offending someone or out of resentment that an individual often feels when they’re culture is being minimized for the sake of monocultural harmony. Canada was no stranger to this until not so long ago, when our federal election centred heavily on values, and the accommodation of certain religious practices, most notably ones related to Islam. Cultural competence was indeed gained by many Canadians who learned more about the Niqab, a type of veil worn by some Muslim women that conceals everything but the eyes. This led to more support for women who choose to wear it during their citizenship ceremonies, even if it meant being unable to see their faces during their oaths, and singing of the
THE CAPILANO COURIER
One diverse segment of our population that has worked tirelessly to reclaim their identity and share their culture with other groups through education and dialogue, is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer community (LGBTQ). Joel Harnest of QMUNITY, an LGBTQ advocacy and resource centre, believes that the term has been life-changing for the community because of its enfranchising nature. “I think the big distinction today is that the terminology [LGBTQ], is being defined by members of the community, and its being listened to by media, politicians, businesses,” explained Harnest. “It can be really empowering to step out and claim your identity and also see it used in interviews, by politicians and businesses in advertising.” When trying to become more culturally aware and competent about LGBTQ issues, knowing, and understanding the right language can really help ease that process and make it enjoyable for everyone involved. “The LGBTQ term definitely helps build bridges with others,” said Harnest. “The terminology gives people the opportunity to communicate with each other in respectful terms and in
ways that honour the identity and experiences that people bring to their life, jobs and relationships with others.” Language, at its most basic level, is a tool that has been used to communicate with other people, through many different mediums of course. But, it is also something that has been used negatively as well, to discriminate and demonize others. For Harnest, language very important to what he does as the education and outreach director for QMUNITY, because of its history of antagonizing the LGBTQ community. “If you look at newspaper articles from the 1960s and 70s, you’d see pieces about ‘the homosexuals’ or even the ‘transvestite community’. That language was outdated and wasn’t even words that people within the community would identify with.” Thanks to the LGBTQ term and others related to it, Harnest now believes that positive language has allowed the community and organizations like his own to streamline outreach, reclaim their identity and change perceptions. “Our executive director often says that [QMUNITY] is in the business of language. Language is incredibly powerful tool, as it’s communicated through a number of different mediums,” added Harnest. “Rather than handing power over to the politicians, media, businesses and other groups to put labels on us, we’ve used the LGBTQ terminology to define ourselves.” When examining the link between LGBTQ advocacy and outreach, and the success the community has had in fostering greater understanding and acceptance between itself and the rest of the population, it is no secret that dialogue, instead of restraint, is the only way popular perceptions can be changed. Groups related to different causes, groups or communities are the organizations that usually help individuals acquire more cultural competence about their needs, interests, and values. QMUNITY is no exception to that, using various outlets and strategies to engage and educate the population around them on LGBTQ issues, history and identity. “What we do at QMUNITY is to try to get [the issues] out more in the workshops that we do around the community, our outreach over social media and articles in which we’re featured, whether in Georgia Straight or Metro News for example,” said Harnest.
— ANGELA ESTELLE
This is of course because everyone, no matter what cultural background they come from, tends to hold preconceptions about other cultures and segments of the population. “Sometimes we have just enough familiarity with other groups, where we think we know what they’re all about, because we had a class with them in school, but we don’t really know. We rely on assumptions,” said Walker. “Once we sit down with them and really un-
CALENDAR NEWS
16 MONDAY
KENNY G
RIVER ROCK SHOW THEATRE 8 PM • $69.50 TO $79.50 + SC
Oh good, everyone’s favourite curly haired smooth-jazz saxophonist is coming to town. Kenny G takes more shit than Biebs and Kanye combined, but it’s worth mentioning that he has a fantastic sense of humour about it. I’ve seen multiple Super Bowl commercials and Funny or Die sketches where he figuratively (and literally) riffs on his terrible reputation.
HOPSCOTCH
ALL ROUND VANCOUVER EVENINGS • $ VARIES
ANDY RICE
CALENDAR EDITOR EDITOR@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
15 17 TUESDAY
Vancouver’s 20th annual Hopscotch Festival opens today with a Whisky 101 course at Legacy Liquor Store. Running until Nov. 22, the event boasts over 300 varieties of whisky, beer and spirits, along with meal pairings, tasting galas and master classes. Tickets and drink tokens are outrageously expensive, but ideally you’ll be drunk enough to forget that.
WEST END COMMUNITY CENTRE 7 PM • $25
Even if your apartment is the size of a tampon box, it’s still possible to grow your own food. Inconvenient, but possible. The lovely folks at the West End Community Centre will teach you the basics of planning, preparing and starting edibles over the winter so that in just a few short months you can finally use your bathtub again.
Seeing how this edition of the Courier features a big story about wrestling, I’d be an idiot not to include Jake “The Snake” Roberts in the calendar. The WWE Hall of Famer will be in Vancouver telling stories from his heyday in the 80s and 90s and all the pranks he used to play on guys like Andre the Giant and “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
18
WEDNESDAY
The Fictionals, a local improv troupe, are celebrating five years together with a big party at the Rio Theatre. They’ve become locally famous for something called Improv Against Humanity, where audience members draw cards from the popular game and the comedians improvise the results live onstage. Unlike all the other times they’ve done this, there will be cake.
EROTIC ROPE BONDAGE
THE ART OF LOVING 7:30 PM • $25
It’s too bad that Scouts don’t get laid as often as other members of society, because they really are the best at tying knots. Seriously, those ex-Rovers and Ventures make Jian Ghomeshi himself look like a fumbling idiot with a rope, and they’re not dicks about it either. Attend this workshop and learn how string up your loved ones safely and consensually.
19 17 THURSDAY
X AMBASSADORS
20 FRIDAY
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11 THE CAPILANO COURIER
JUST EAT IT
THE HIVE VANCOUVER 6:30 PM • $15
Canadians waste over $31 billion in food every year. That’s why the Green Chamber of Commerce BC is screening a 74-minute documentary called Just Eat It. The film has won many awards for diving into the issue of waste from farm to fridge. If you go to this, you’d better eat every piece of your popcorn or you might find yourself in the sequel.
DISCORDER’S FALL FUNDRAISER
If you’re an avid listener of 102.7 The Peak then you’ve probably heard a song called “Renegades” — you know, the one with glockenspiel, gang vocals, hand claps, acoustic guitar and harmonies. Yeah, that doesn’t narrow it down much, does it. Anyways, the band who wrote that song will be on stage at The Vogue tonight. Come say “hey, hey hey hey.”
UBC is like CapU’s taller, more successful older brother. Part of that cool-factor lies undoubtedly in its campus radio station, CiTR 101.9 FM, which publishes a monthly magazine called Discorder. The folks at Discorder are holding a fundraiser to help pay the bills, so go dance with them, Revered, Mesa Luna, Late Spring, TV Ugly and DJ Danny Vancouver!
TIL DEATH: THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII
ACT ARTS CENTRE 8 PM • $15 TO $30
Tara Travis stars in this one-woman show, Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII, which begins in a waiting room as his decapitated spouses arrive one by one to the afterlife. The story follows the first as she tries to figure out who deserves to spend eternity with the King. The website says it best: “Six Queens, Six Love Stories, Six Deaths, One King, One Actress!”
BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU TIME 2015
HERITAGE HALL 7 PM • $10 TO $12
MERCATO ITALIAN CHRISTMAS MARKET
Buon Natale, motherfuckers! Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre (Il Centro) is hosting an indoor Christmas mercato and collecting non-perishable items for the local Food Bank. In addition to dozens of opportunities to purchase panettone, the market will feature homemade Italian delights, over 40 artisans and bakers and traditional music.
21 14 SATURDAY
VANCOUVER FITNESS EXPO
VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE EAST 10:30 AM • $ FREE
Vancouver Fitness Expo takes place Nov. 19 to 22 this year. To me, no such event is complete without an appearance from BodyBreak stars Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod. Seeing how they’re not going to be there, neither am I, but there are plenty of other fitness celebs lined up, along with the latest products and services. Let me know how it goes.
CANUCKS VS. BLACKHAWKS
ROGERS ARENA 7 PM • $90.25 TO $334.25 + SC
The Vancouver Canucks face off against the Chicago Blackhawks — you know, the NHL team with the racist logo and the name that sounds like a dick joke. Seriously. Try saying it three times fast. Blackhawks-Blackhawks-Blackhawks. Right?! Anyways, the Sedin twins will be getting a beatdown from multiple Blackhawks all night long, if you care to watch.
CANDYTOWN YALETOWN HOLIDAY FESTIVAL
MAINLAND STREET NOON • $ FREE
I had no idea Yaletown had a free outdoor Christmas festival called CandyTown, but obviously it does. “From horse-drawn carriage rides and visits with Santa and the Ice Queen, to Christmas arts and crafts, and of course lots of candy treats, CandyTown is an event to ignite the festive spirits in all guests,” says the event’s official press release.
HARBOUR CENTRE STAIR CLIMB CN TOWER… JUST KIDDING! 10:30 AM • $ BY DONATION
Vancouver’s Harbour Centre has been home to a great many things over the years, including a Sears department store, Coast Guard radio command centre and revolving restaurant. Despite being the fifth tallest building in the city, there are only 35 flights (floors) of stairs. On this day, you can climb them all in support for cancer research.
LIFE OFF GRID
RIO THEATRE 1:30 PM • $8 TO $10
Life Off Grid is a film that took over two years to make, documenting the lives of disconnected Canadians in every province and territory. For some crazy reason (probably spurred on by an all-vegan diet) these people have chosen not to use technology or burn fossil fuels, despite the obvious challenges. Some call them heroes, I call them hippies.
11
The Kettle Society presents a gallery-style art show and sale as part of this year’s Eastside Culture Crawl. “Art Against Stigma will feature more than 1,000 pieces of art created by local artists living with a mental health disability,” according to the website. “All works are available for purchase with all proceeds going directly to the artists.”
ASTORIA PUB 9 PM • $5 TO $10
ITALIAN CULTURAL CENTRE 4 PM • $ FREE
SUNDAY
ART AGAINST STIGMA
KETTLE ON HASTINGS 5 PM • $ FREE
VOGUE THEATRE 8 PM • $17 + SC
While Beaujolais Nouveau itself isn’t much other than a very young, fruity-tasting, barelyfermented red wine that is released to the market in the same year it’s been harvested, anyone in the wine industry will tell you that Beaujolais Nouveau Day is a big deal. This year, that day falls on Thursday, Nov. 19, although this particular event takes place on the Friday.
22
STUDENT FINANCIAL PLANNING WORKSHOP
CE 136 10:30 AM • $ FREE
INTRO TO ORGANIC FOOD GARDENING
JAKE “THE SNAKE” ROBERTS
IMPROV AGAINST HUMANITY: ANNIVERSARY
If you’ve ever had an interest in pursuing an education outside of Canada then you should definitely attend CapU’s Study Abroad Fair. The University offers full-term exchange destinations as well as shortterm programs, and the fair is hosted by Study Abroad ambassadors who can tell you first-hand how their experiences around the world changed their lives.
So what if your parents aren’t rich, you don’t qualify for student loans and you ate your savings in mushrooms over the summer. All you have to do is attend this financial planning workshop offered by CapU’s counselling department. Let the experts steer you in the right direction by giving you a roadmap and a list of options to get you through your studies.
YUK YUK’S COMEDY CLUB 8 PM • $30
RIO THEATRE 8 PM • $10 TO $12
STUDY ABROAD FAIR
LB 127 11 AM • $ FREE, FOR NOW
TIL DEATH: THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII
NEWS ARTS & CULTURE
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
FROM JUNKYARD TO MAIN STAGE
The Scrapyard musical phenomenon taking Vancouver by storm Jessica Laing CONTRIBUTOR
From baseball bat-violins to car hood percussion, The Music of Junk covers some of the most creative approaches to making music out of scraps. The Vancouver based group first came together in the summer of 2014 in preparation for September's Fringe Festival. Today, nine of the original performers plus three new members work together to turn old junk into more than 20 different homemade instruments, creating a fun, unique show like no other in the Vancouver area. The founder of the group, Paul Snider, says he has always been interested in making music from nonmusical items. Graduating from university with both a music and a computer science degree, Snider wanted to be able to combine aspects of music and engineering. "In 2010, I played with this idea by putting together our national anthem at the time of the Vancouver Olympics using only Canadian animal sounds," Snider explained. He went on to create a second video similar to this, using sounds from a trip to Europe.
Snider's ideas to create new instruments were also influenced by the use of recycling and reusing products while on a volunteer trip to Kenya in 2011. While teaching music for a children's school, using everyday items had been the norm. "I was impressed with the items they would reuse in their markets, such as shoes from rubber tires,” he recalled. By 2013, Snider had begun to build the instruments himself, to help remind people of an important lesson. “I thought it would be a great way to remind people about recycling and [it’s] quite a technical challenge if I built the theme of the instruments around recycling and using repurposed junk, so I set out to create a band using instruments made from junk and recycled items.” Snider hopes that his show will be a special experience for his audience. “Some of the music itself takes the audience on a journey through a junkyard and the past that these junk items may have had, which I haven't seen before in music,” he said. Three of the impressive creations include a
cello made from a tin garbage can, a tube tower from drainage tubing and a bass from a wheelbarrow. Other groups like STOMP or The Blue Man Group, use classical instruments to back themselves up, but The Music of Junk does not. “Any other instruments made from non-musical items are usually backed by a band of musical instruments, but it doesn't seem to exist — an orchestra made entirely from non-traditional musical instruments,” Snider explained. While some of the songs carry more serious tones to them, the majority of the show is a fun, fast-paced experience that, at points, allows certain instruments to be highlighted and performed solo. “The sound of the music itself is very unique of course by using these instruments, and there are different genres of music in this one show such as pop, rock, blues, folk rock, orchestral, and even a Scottish tune,” he said. “The show is unique in that it isn't quite a musical, but it also isn't quite a concert — it's a mixture of both and it is quite educational see-
ing these instruments making these sounds,” commented Snider on the performance’s overall feel. Being able to see such odd items making music allows both the performers and audience to get more in touch with their own creativity, and possibly build off the ideas. Alongside the performances, Snider also commits to delivering workshops that focus around the processes behind building the instruments. One of these workshops was held at Science World on Oct. 10, where the audience was able to try the instruments for themselves. Snider is offering a second workshop discussing and demonstrating the workings of his instruments on the afternoon of Nov. 18 from 1 pm to 2:30pm, costing only $5. The Music of Junk runs from Wednesday, November 18th, 2015 until Sunday the 22nd. Tickets range from $10 for youths, to $20 for adults. To experience The Music of Junk, stop by the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island.
AVAST YE PIRATES!
CapU’s Theatre department to showcase Treasure Island Christine Beyleveldt CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
kinds of natures to him [Long John Silver]. He’s very manipulative and sly and sneaky. He doesn’t use brute force to intimidate — he finds his way to weasel around certain things.” Hannah doesn’t mind admitting that he has a blast being ruthless. “As an actor I enjoy playing bad guys because they have this darker nature to them and they’re not just straight evil”, said Hannah. “It’s nice to delve into their kind of psyche and just wonder what makes them tick. I normally get typecast as bad guys, just because of my voice.” As with most of Exit 22’s productions at the Blueshore Financial Centre for Performing Arts, the theatre troupe aims to bring an evening of revelry to audiences, and refer to Treasure Island as their own take on “murder, money and mutiny on the high seas.”
THE CAPILANO COURIER
Exit 22’s Treasure Island is playing at the Blueshore Financial Centre at CapU from Nov. 19 to 22 and 25 to 28 with tickets ranging from $10 to $25. For more information, visit Capilanou.ca/blueshorefinancialcentre.
12
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
After a successful kick-off to the 2015/16 theatre season, Exit 22 Productions is getting ready to stage their next feature production. Treasure Island is a classic tale of swashbuckling pirates and the quest to find a longhidden buried treasure, first written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1883 and adapted by writer Bryony Lavery to feature a cast of ruthless female bandits, joined by many of the original characters. The Capilano University theatre department selected Desmond Price to direct the production. “It’s a big ensemble piece,” said third-year acting student John Hannah, who plays Captain Long John Silver. “It’s cool because it’s been kind of a mishmash of a whole bunch of theatrical elements.” Music, storytelling and sword-fighting are just a few of the bombastic activities the cast enjoys dabbling in. Treasure Island begins nonchalantly enough, set late at night in a shabby inn, where a thrilling adventure begins. A treasure map is produced, the pirates descend, and
havoc on the high seas ensues. The cast began rehearsing just after Thanksgiving, and slowly but surely they are coming together, having been required to adopt an entirely new set of skills in order to get into their roles. Hannah, for instance, has had to learn to limp on a crutch. “My character Long John Silver, he’s missing a leg,” the actor explained. Others have learned the art of puppetry in order to wield obnoxious parrots through the skies while mimicking their cries, and everyone has learned to handle a sword. “It’s a lot like dance,” explained Hannah. “You have to be with your partner and move in sync, and you can’t miss a beat otherwise someone’s going to lose an eye.” “He’s this cunning pirate captain”, Hannah described of his character. “He’s very dual-sided.” In the first act, the cast of pirates are in disguise as a band of friendly cooks, and it isn’t until halfway through that they strip their faux personalities and reveal their bloodthirsty nature. The production of Treasure Island calls on actors to play up their emotions more than their body language. “There’s two
ARTS & CULTURE NEWS
MARK CRICKMAY
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR ARTS.CAPCOURIER@GMAIL.COM
GHOSTS OF A CHIVALROUS PAST A gendered and generational look at chivalry Alva Tang COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER though it might be slightly more lost on the younger generation. “Today’s generation is a digital generation and it is challenging to show chivalry via text message, Instagram and Facebook,” she said, “It is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children common courtesies shown to the opposite sex as well as setting an example themselves.” This poses the question: Is chivalry extinct or do men and women out there still believe in common courtesy? We at the Courier took it into our hands to find out the thoughts of various demographics’ and what chivalry means to them.
NAME: SHANNON CAMPBELL AGE: 50+
ETHNICITY: CAUCASIAN
WHAT CHIVALRY MEANS TO ME: When I think of the word chivalry, I am reminded of my parents who expected respect, good manners, which I think chivalry is. I don't expect the door to be opened for me but I will say thank you and accept when good manners still mean a man opening a door for a woman. As a business person working in the financial district downtown, chivalry is common. Small things like when an elevator opens, the men usually stand aside and let the women enter first. I take this as a sign of a good upbringing; polite with good manners.
NAME: MIYOKO MCKEOWN AGE: 21
ETHNICITY: MULTIRACIAL
THE CAPILANO COURIER
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
WHAT CHIVALRY MEANS TO ME: Chivalry, to me, is being a gentleman — and not like a gentleman of the 21st century, but like a gentleman from our grandparents’ generation. Wouldn't it be nice to actually go on a date and have the man come to the door, rather than text you he has arrived? Chivalry is going that extra step to be even more kind and caring.
NAME: LINDSAY KIRK AGE: 20
ETHNICITY: CAUCASIAN
WHAT CHIVALRY MEANS TO ME: Chivalry, to me, is when men treat others with respect and generosity, doing extra little things to help, like holding the door open for another person or pulling out someone’s chair for them to sit in. Being chivalrous does not mean physically fighting for a lady, but rather showing a woman, or anyone really, that you are a kind-hearted person who is willing to go out of your way to help.
13
NAME: JACOB GEBREWORLD AGE: 19
ETHNICITY: ETHIOPIAN
WHAT CHIVALRY MEANS TO ME: Chivalry to me is treating women like royalty, not because they need it but because they deserve it. I believe that's my responsibility as a man. However, treating someone like royalty is relative. It can be classic actions (opening doors, driving them home if they are going to walk in the dark, etc). Mostly though, it is a mindset of love and appreciation for women that goes beyond token gestures. It prompts me being a feminist, wanting to be a good husband and dad. Hopefully guys don't go babying women without context and claim they're being chivalrous, because that can be counterproductive.
NAME: ERIK SAGMOEN
— DANIELLE MAINMAN
In today’s world, it’s often hard to believe that chivalry still exists. Some women would argue that it’s been long forgotten, while others have expressed concern over feelings of inferiority when a man is simply trying to do something nice. As a result, many of the world’s hopeless romantics now choose to err on the side of caution, fearing that opening a door for a woman might be mistaken as an argument that she can’t do it for herself. “I don’t believe the definition of chivalry has changed,” said Carey McBeth, an international etiquette expert & soft skills trainer, “I believe the interpretation now is cloudy. With the women’s liberation playing so strong today, men are confused as to how women want them to act.” She says that on one hand, they want to be treated the same as men, and on the other they want to be treated like a lady. Regardless of one’s culture, age or gender, McBeth argued that courtesy still remains today, al-
The general definition of chivalry seems as though it could be universal, and McBeth believes that women can be chivalrous as well. “It is about treatment, respect and common courtesy, which can be displayed by both sexes,” she said. “Contrary to some women’s belief, chivalry does not make women inferior.” Be it toward the general public or your significant other, nice gestures are almost always appreciated. However, there is a fine line. “There are circumstances where it is not chivalry, it is dominance,” said McBeth. She gave the example of ordering food for someone without asking if that is something they would like. “Everyone likes to be treated special and chivalry is a way of doing just that,” she added.
NAME: BRIHTNNEY AMPONSAH AGE: 21
ETHNICITY: AFRICAN-CANADIAN WHAT CHIVALRY MEANS TO ME:
I think of the word “chivalry,” as a knight in shining armour but we’re in the 21st century! In my opinion, chivalry often pairs with loyalty. In other words, it’s having a gentleman who has the qualities of being selfless, courageous, polite and has the readiness to help anybody in need — a gentleman who knows what respect is and knows how to take care of the people he loves.
AGE: 21
NAME: AZIZ JOHN DOWLA
WHAT CHIVALRY MEANS TO ME:
ETHNICITY: EURASIAN
ETHNICITY: MULTIRACIAL
Modern day chivalry is a group of male behaviours that collectively promotes respectful, but often paternalizing attitudes toward women. The gestures, such as opening the door for a girlfriend, are recognizable and harmless in nature but represent the traditions of past societies where women were to be protected by men and existed solely as the property of their husbands. Given the unprecedented gender equity in today’s western world, chivalry is simply a remnant of the past and incompatible in the gender-based interactions of our larger societal context. With the intention of protection, it's incompatible with equality.
AGE: 42
WHAT CHIVALRY MEANS TO ME: Chivalry: something that has died due to people mistaking courtesy and kindness for weakness, ineptitude and a blow against their hard-fought liberation. A sad loss of the ability to show that one who is held affectionately above others should be subject to a specialized in-service behaviour. A gesture of focused courtesy and compassion that one offers to another who is held in a greater form of dignity/ respect/love. I suppose another word is "in-service" respect and kindness, which is what you ought to do for those whom are beloved or deserving or sometimes, just out of kindness and goodwill.
ART SHORTS NEWS
PURPOSE Justin Bieber
Carlo Javier
inspired “Sorry” and the rave-ready “Where Are Ü Now” further displays his range, showing his growth by minimizing his presence for the sake of spotlighting the production. On the other hand, “No Pressure” further proves that rapper Big Sean can shine on other people’s tracks, but for some reason, not his own. But the true highlight of the album is the Ed Sheeran-assisted “Love Yourself,” which is easily the best pop love song since Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” Purpose isn’t without its drawbacks, however. The album’s flaws are evident midway through, with Bieber taking pages and pages out of The Weeknd’s style. As a whole, Purpose shines as a modern pop album. But it’s bigger than that — this is Bieber’s comeback and he’s no longer that insolent kid he used to be.
EXECUTIVE LIFESTYLE EDITOR Over the past few years, Canada’s second most important Justin has been under intense scrutiny because of his increasingly bad boy antics. He’s been arrested for DUI, had his pet monkey confiscated and has been ridiculed for his poor comments regarding Anne Frank. With his new album, Purpose, Bieber addresses and atones for his string of poor decisions and questionable behaviour, all the while showing a modern, mature and enjoyable new sound. The overarching sound of Purpose is clear right off the bat — this a modern pop album, meaning it takes the best elements of EDM, the atmospheric mood of electro R&B and the lush vibes of tropical house. Hit single “What Do You Mean?” shines not only as the best example of Bieber’s new sound, but also as the epitome of the direction modern pop songs are taking. The song clearly draws elements from popular tropical house producer Kygo, using opulent and vibrant tones to surround Bieber’s vocals. Other singles such as the dancehall-
ACTORS
Nov. 12, Fox Cabaret Mark Crickmay ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Every once and a while you get a killer bill with all excellent bands on it — and of course the same night a nasty monsoon also decides to come to town essentially deteriorating walk-in traffic. Luckily, the majority of the bands
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
at the Fox Cabaret on Nov. 12 had garnered enough attention to bring in a regular crowd for themselves. The night was put on by Jacknife Sound and Northern Light Records. Kicking off the evening was local new wave gothic heroes ACTORS, leading the darkened procession with “It Goes Away,” followed by the edgy, neurotic “How Deep Is The Hole”. A soggy, frail and post-gothic-looking (if that’s legitimately a thing) crowd sourced their energy from frontman Jason Corbett, local Vancouver producer (and creator of Jacknife Sound) of fine bands such as Gold & Youth, Sunshine, Sex With Strangers and Jody Glenham, who wittingly filled the space between songs with his charming demeanour. ACTORS hit an emotional chord while transforming dark 80s synth pop into a polished yet edgy new sound. The group really connected with tracks “Nightlife” and “Like U Want 2” where the crowd filled out more and steadily swayed to the beat. It’s safe to say that ACTORS could, and maybe should have, played in the third spot of the night, lending their smooth Bowie-esque craft to a more eager crowd. Following up to ACTORS was Koban, a dark post-punk noise rock duo. Using a drum machine (of some sort) and remaining morose differentiated Koban from their genre brothers and sisters, giving them a noir gothic feel. Likened to a combination of Crystal Castles, New Order and local dark goths Animal Bodies, Koban never let empty space fill the room, continuing to play or allow backing tracks to elevate the atmosphere. Koran’s songs seemed to get better as their set went on, the energy of the duo gave way to a supportive crowd, never really needing any in-between banter. Some tracks spilled over a little too much with Koban, blurring the lines and sometimes lacking definition. Thank-
Meet the editors at our official pop-up tent at the following locations this month: Nov. 17 Nov. 24 Dec. 1
Maple 122 (Courier HQ) Library Hallway Library Hallway
Find us online at capilanocourier.com or access our mobile site on the go! @capilanocourier
14
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
Every Tuesday from 9 -11 am New contests & giveaways every week!
Get the day started off right – warm up to your student newspaper over a FREE cup of joe!
THE CAPILANO COURIER
Coffee with the Courier!
fully, raw energy and unique production made up for this. Up next was Vancouver-donned, Calgary-born Ultrviolence, sustaining a clear love for Interpol, that 80’s post-punk sound and possibly a hint of… Crash Test Dummies? Just a hint though. Frontman Nate Jespersen channeled a combination of Paul Banks and Brad Roberts. Don’t ask how but it worked so well intertwined in the dark, ghostly sound of the band. Reviewing their records it’s safe to say that the group is talented, but not quite as refined live as one would have hoped for. Still some work to do sonically, though technically quite obviously skilled — and a class act to be followed for sure. Their upcoming album, The Black Sea, will likely be a tour de goth worth listening to. Finalizing the theme of darkness was Red Vienna, formed by longtime pals Jahmeel Russell and Robbie Zgaljic, both formerly of The Black Halos — an honourable mention. There could not have been a better way to bookend the evening than with this powerhouse trio. Russell conducted to the crowd with deep melancholy lyrics, growling bass lines and solid vocal cords. Pulling songs from their freshman, self-titled release and from their sophomore album, The Book of Hours, Red Vienna packaged an introspective feel within catchy hooks, deep anguish and captivating beats. Maintaining a crowd this late at night (okay it wasn’t that late, but 12:15 is late enough) is difficult for anyone, famous or not. The boys in Red Vienna pulled that off nicely though, sustaining at least a third of the crowd to be on their feet while others took a break on the sidelines. Red Vienna’s songs are crowd pleasing in a dark and mournful kind of way, and they definitely did the night, venue and crowd justice by performing in the top tier of the night, regardless of the soggy nature of the outside world.
OPINIONS
KEVIN KAPENDA
OPINIONS EDITOR OPINIONS.CAPCOURIER@GMAIL.COM
BC LABOUR SHORTAGE
Trudeau government should focus on jobs training not student debt relief Jacob Muir CONTRIBUTOR For half a decade now, the recently-defeated Conservatives and our right-leaning provincial Liberals have been ramping up funding for skills training and trades apprenticeships. University students haven’t been too pleased with the direction those governments have taken, arguing that they should instead be focusing on abolishing tuition and reducing debt from loans. Recent funding initiatives and retirement statistics reveal that our provincial and federal governments are struggling to supply employer demand with skilled tradespeople. While student debt accumulated by university graduates is a problem, the lack of skilled tradespeople in Canada is an even larger one. If we do not replace our aging labourers with young ones, it will prevent our country from rapidly developing the housing, transportation and energy infrastructure our growing population needs to support itself. More young people are foregoing trades training to enrol in university. When that trend is paired with statistics about our aging population, economists and policy analysts forecast a massive shortage of labourers in the near future for Canada. According to a Man-
powerGroup.com “Talent Shortage Survey,” 32 per cent of Canadian employers said that they have trouble filling new positions today, with the titles of “skilled labourer” and “truck driver” proving to be the most difficult. Our labour shortage is no small secret. The fact that we have a Temporary Foreign Workers Program demonstrates that something is very wrong with our domestic skills shortage. Vocational training is a much faster, and cheaper option than university. Learn for a year or two and you can walk into a job, which is not something many of university students expect to do. Those labour jobs have highly livable wages too, and without a massive debt load trades folks can get on with their lives much sooner. This can mean buying a house, a couple cars, and jumpstarting one’s retirement savings. It’s confusing as to why more young Canadians aren’t following such a smooth and easy path to prosperity. Decades of increasing university enrolment have flooded our knowledge-based economy with plenty of capable workers. But because the market is so saturated, wages are being suppressed by the age old principles of supply and demand. Thus, university graduates are having trouble paying off their student debt loads. In light of current postgraduation hardships, why are we demanding more incentives to go to university when
there are more well-paying jobs for tradespeople? After all, our labour shortage is why we are having to fly in more unpopular temporary foreign workers to keep our mining, oil, construction and lumber industries running smoothly while university graduates squabble over poor job prospects. As children, our parents often tell us to follow our dreams, but that’s quite difficult when thousands of other people have the same goals and competitive credentials. Canadian youth need to be realistic and look into careers that will allow them to feed their families and own a home. On a broader scale, our economic system is based on the concept of continuous growth. However, it’s hard to grow industries or even build new infrastructure when we don’t have the hands necessary to complete the real work. Importing workers can only reasonably fill smaller deficits in labour. What we really need is to boost our domestic numbers. The stigma around labour also fuels the shortage. A century ago, you would see workers getting exploited left right and centre. Even a couple of decades ago this was true, but today’s work standards and unionization rates are unrecognizably different from what they were then. Yes, the work may be hard, but in almost every work place today there are adequate precautions in place to make sure workers are not harmed. Labour used to
grind a person down and potentially leave a person unable to work in their forties or fifties, but because of advancements in technology and increased safety standards, many of those realities about being out of a trades job at 50 do not exist at the present. Today, welding, auto mechanics, machinery operation, carpentry and plumbing are safe, reliable careers that can also turn into profitable businesses as well. There is no better time for university students to change career paths and hop on the money train. We need more people in the labour force, and we already have an exemplary education network to train workers. Governments need to continue making the labour market as accessible as possible, as it’s the only way to drown out misconceptions about working in the trades. For most people, working in a mine or construction is not the definition of following their dreams. What those jobs do provide, however, are realistic and highly-profitable career opportunities that very few young people are taking up. Our government should be offering all of the incentives it can to encourage young Canadians to go into the trades. On our end, we should stop encouraging people to do whatever they want when it isn’t a responsible option for both themselves and a country with a labour shortage.
WHY #DADDYTRUDEAU CAN’T BE OBJECTIFIED The PM will be fine, but we’re treading in shallow water Jessica Lio
THE CAPILANO COURIER
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
CONTRIBUTOR Following the recent federal election, Canada’s new prime minister Justin Trudeau gained a lot of attention both internationally and domestically for his appearance, leaving some self-proclaimed feminists seriously unimpressed. While the Twitter hashtags #DaddyTrudeau and #PMILF flooded social media with praise for Trudeau’s looks, headlines in America and the UK were dedicated to commentary about shirtless photos of the 43-yearold. As a response to all this mania, others took to the Internet to criticize what they saw as hypocritical sexual objectification. My initial reaction to all this craziness was the obvious double-standard of how outraged feminists would be if these comments were being made about a woman, which had me wondering why nobody was talking about that. But the dust seemed to settle when Trudeau was sworn in as the 23rd prime minister of Canada and headlines everywhere shifted to applaud his decision to appoint an equal number of men and women to his cabinet. His response to a reporter asking why he felt this decision was so important, “Because it’s 2015,” has now been transmitted around the world, giving the media even more opportunity to emphasize
15
his charm and attractiveness. Some people have justified the attention paid to Trudeau’s looks by claiming that “equal objectification” is a step towards gender equality. But it’s hard to accept a wrong for a wrong as a valid excuse. As somebody who cares about feminism, I can say with certainty to women that trying to subject males to our experiences will not resolve inequality. Equal objectification is not possible because historically, men and women have not been treated fairly anyways. When a man comments on a woman’s appearance, the objectification can echo centuries of sexual violence, systematic oppression, and discrimination against women. When a woman comments on a man’s appearance, the equivalent subtext simply isn’t there. To take a step away from history, we can look at an example in the entertainment industry. Lauren Mayberry, lead vocalist of the Scottish electronic band Chvrches, has been making waves in the music scene by speaking up against the misogyny and harassment she has faced in her career as an artist. In October, a man in the audience at a Chvrches show in New York City yelled “marry me” at Mayberry and when she called him out on it, the crowd cheered in support. A video showing the exchange became the subject of much online attention and fans everywhere gave her
kudos for putting the man in his place. So why don’t we encourage male musicians to shame their female fans for proposing marriage and asking them to parent their future children? The history of gender inequality and violence against women has made it so that when a man suggests that a woman do something it comes an implication that she should comply while a woman proposing the same thing to a man will never hold the same weight. It was disappointing when the opposing political parties tried to use Trudeau’s looks to undermine and discredit him, but even more so when the media promotes this behaviour. In one ad displaying the Liberal leader’s name in sparkly cursive font over a video of him dancing at a charity event, then in another commenting on his ‘nice hair’, the Conservative government sent a clear message to Canadians: Justin Trudeau is only a pretty face who doesn’t have what it takes to lead. This is the same misogynistic tactic that has been used to prevent women from holding positions of power. Trying to persuade Canadians into thinking that leadership ability should only be correlated with masculine ideologues is the exact type of thing that shouldn’t be tolerated in politics, but because the media normalizes criticism on peoples’ appearances, the ads continued to pile on
and most people didn’t bat an eye. The more I consider it, the more painfully obvious it becomes that the attention hasn’t hurt Trudeau’s public image at all. If anything, it works in his favour because he is a highly respected white able-bodied male living in a society that favours people who fit that exact description. It has to be recognized that photos of Trudeau shirtless portray him as strong, healthy and capable instead of weak or submissive. There has never been a history of men’s bodies being treated as sexual property and the photos are not a reminder of a reality of physical and sexual violence against the male body. Forbes magazine has now named Justin Trudeau as one of the most powerful people in the world and he has become an inspirational image of youth, attractiveness and vitality. As a society, our perception of this public image has translated into believing that he is worthy of power and credibility for his looks and desirability. Even if Trudeau can’t be objectified, there are real dangers in fostering a mentality of entitlement to comment on other people’s bodies and appearances. For every article written about Trudeau’s sex appeal, the reinforced message becomes that it’s okay to value a person’s looks over anything else they can contribute to society.
OPINIONS
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
PROS AND CONS Uber Needs Regulation
Why Uber shouldn’t bend to government
Sarah Unger
Taelore Keyana
CONTRIBUTOR
CONTRIBUTOR
Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Uber. It’s a $50 billion transportation giant based out of the United States that has its sights on spreading itself all over the world, including Vancouver. The company caters to all, with its app that lets you locate operating cars around you, how long the car will take to arrive, and an online payment plan. The convenience it brings to the table is like none other, but there needs to be a middle ground that incorporates Uber’s convenience with a form of regulation that keeps everyone involved safe. Uber is without a doubt a huge competitor for Taxi companies, who have paid authorities large sums of money to ensure that they legally operate within our city. Uber on the other hand does not pay any regulation fees to operate, nor does it even pay taxes. Taxi operators need three licenses — a chauffeur’s permit, a police background check and a driver registration course. This allows people to know that they can trust the taxi companies they are using in their city. It is hugely unfair to those invested in taxi companies because Uber is so unregulated to the point where anyone who passes a background check can work as an underground operator. No one has been cleared as a safe driver; they are untrained, unlicensed and uninsured. There needs to be some form of regulation to ensure safety for drivers and users. When you really look at Uber, sure it is a convenient, cheaper way to get around, but to see how little it is controlled and monitored should sketch any right-minded per-
son out. There have been many scenarios where Uber drivers have been in accidents, killed pedestrians and driven under the influence of alcohol or drugs. You should never have to question your safety when using a transportation service. In order for Uber to operate in Vancouver they should adhere to a system that can monitor their drivers and ensure that all operators have the proper insurance and licenses to drive carservice vehicles.
Why fix something that’s not broken? Cities across the world allow alttaxi service Uber to operate without possessing a transportation license. The six-year old company had previously attempted to op-
erate in Vancouver back in 2012, until the province placed a $75 trip minimum upon the company. In addition to the minimum ride, the provincial government said that without proper insurance it “may pose a serious safety risk”. Do cabbies care about safety anyways? First of all, where in Metro Vancouver are you going that would cost $75? A trip in a standard taxi from the Vancouver International Airport to North Vancouver is around $64 in rushhour traffic. Second of all, Uber has a 5 million dollar insurance policy for each
ride whereas Vancouver taxi companies (and most companies across Canada for that matter) only have a 2 million dollar policy to protect their riders. By attempting to micro-manage the service that Uber provides by cashing in on it, the government would be taking away another service from marginalized groups that reside in the Metro Vancouver area: the unemployed, working poor, students and the carless. Those who are currently in the market for a job could be one of the hundreds, if not thousands, to join the army of Uber drivers. After undergoing a lifelong background check to make sure you have no DUI’s and have never been a sex-offender (whereas taxi drivers are only searched for their last five years), prospective drivers could go from jobless to employed in a matter of weeks. After employing many people, those who do not drive can pay a much cheaper fare for a ride to their destination. Not only will we be putting jobs into the city, we will be providing rides. Providing rides ensures you get to where you’re going on time, prevents drunk driving and keeps you dry in RainCity. For almost seven years, Uber has operated almost without incident in 220 countries around the world. Taxi services, which have been operating in communities big and small, prove to be troublesome every day. Long wait times, grouchy drivers and high costs all hinder the quality of life for the consumer. Allowing a ‘for the people/by the people’ transportation service to operate would make for a happier community, employed residents and drier socks.
CREATING YOUR BRAND
Everybody needs to quit picking on the young Instagram star Gabriel Scorgie FEATURES EDITOR
around dressed like they’re ready for a photoshoot. And for a college couple, there’s very little kissing happening in this video. None of this is to say that there aren’t good people to follow on Instagram that post interesting photos and thought-provoking captions. Nor is it to suggest that there isn’t quality amateur porn out on the internet, but the best people on Instagram are the ones that are transparent. They admit that a photo is from a photoshoot or that they’re a photographer and know how to make shots looks interesting. Everyone on social media who has lots of followers is a brand. They all make a conscious choice about how they want to portray themselves — if they want to be brutally honest, always smiling, or the life of the party. Not all brands are bad. Some are good, insightful and high quality. O’Neill decided to stop being a bad brand that didn’t mention that the selfies are staged and the products are sponsored. People can criticize her for what she’s done, but they shouldn’t criticize her for changing.
16
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
What everyone seems happy to ignore is that O’Neill was absolutely right when she said what she was doing was dangerous. O’Neill started when she was 16 and you know who follows 16-year-old girls? Other 16-year-old girls. And while these girls have been taught that things on the Internet aren’t always true, they probably haven’t wrapped their Grade 10 brain around the concept of native advertising. If someone their age on Instagram tells them that a product is good, they have no reason to believe their endorsement is bought and paid for. And not only was she paid to endorse products, but many of the photos she posted that were supposed to look like quick selfies before bed were actually staged and Photoshopped afterwards. There’s nothing wrong with doing a photoshoot and posting the results, but trying to pass it off as something natural is where the line should be drawn. It’s like fake amateur porn. They want people to believe it’s possible to live like that and the alleged authenticity makes it interesting, but nobody lives in a house with lighting that good. Nobody walks
THE CAPILANO COURIER
Whenever young people do something that feels important to them, their default reaction is to tell the world on social media, and then start a blog. It’s a rite of passage for upper middle class university students in their early 20s who just got back from their first backpacking trip and can’t fathom why everybody else doesn’t live this way. Fortunately for most of these people, their 500 friends on Facebook aren’t enough to generate any real criticism. For others, the stakes are higher though. Essena O’Neill learned that the hard way when she decided to quit Instagram after calling it a platform full of fake photos and self-absorption. After telling her 612,000 followers how she felt, O’Neill not only drew shade from outside critics but also managed to draw the attention of major newspapers, magazines and even a few CEOs. O’Neill edited all of her captions on Ins-
tagram to provide background information on the picture. One of them was her in a bikini at the beach when she was 16. It’s hard to imagine being 16, having over 500,000 followers on social media and making a living based solely off of pictures of your body. Now people are calling her a hypocrite, saying she’s the one who’s fake. The biggest criticism O’Neill is facing is the belief that she’s throwing the Instagram community under the bus for her own benefit. Because she started a blog, the thing every 18-year-old does, after denouncing Instagram, critics say she’s just trying to redirect traffic to her own website for a bigger monetary gain. “I want to live in a world that encourages creative ideas, innovation and authentic self-expression. This site is my way of expressing myself and what inspires me, in hopes to motivate you to express yourself in your own life. I don't have all the answers and I don't want them. I want to feel, question and create,” reads the ‘Info’ page on her new site, sounding more like the thoughts of an 18-year-old than someone trying to game the system.
OPINIONS
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
TAXING THOSE WHO USE ROADS
Why it's high time drivers paid for transit and road repairs Scott Barkemeyer CONTRIBUTOR
Should drivers get taxed because they use highways, bridges and urban roads? Yes, they should. And before all you drivers get all uppity about someone stating this idea, I drive. In fact I drive a lot, the only time where I have drove more was when I did it all day for work. So this isn’t coming from someone who walks, bikes and rides transit everywhere. I have driven all over Western Canada and it is evident that our infrastructure needs repair. The infrastructure I am talking about are the regional roadways, which connect our municipalities together. Many of the highways, bridges and tunnels that connect Vancouver together are in need of massive repairs. Repair means spending money of course, but who should foot the bill? Does it seem fair to ding all residents and businesses in the city, including those who do not use the roadways or should it come from drivers? That is the question many Canadian cities, including Vancouver, are grappling with, as vehicle conges-
tion continues to rise in Canada while transit investment stagnates. Users are already taxed for their consumption of alcohol, tobacco and fuel. We pay tax on almost every product that we purchase in some form or another, be it federal or provincial taxes. Why would we not impose taxes on drivers? Governments around the world have found benefit in taxing drivers. In Canada we impose taxes on items to discourage their usage, so why not attempt the same for drivers and reduce the impact on our motorways? When considering the impact of driving, we have to examine the various costs car accidents pass on to government, the burden motor vehicle pollution puts on the environment, as well as the effect congestion has on the transportation of goods, labour and services. Policy research organization, Ecofiscal, estimates that the economic cost of congestion in Vancouver is $1.4 billion annually. This cost can be reined in year-by-year by gradually reducing the number of drivers on the roadways. While any tax on traffic would be new in Canada, this policy is already being put to the test in cities around the world. Lon-
don is known for its congestion tax system; however, smaller cities in Europe have their own methods of tolling road users too. Canadian cities should not be lagging behind Europe with these policies, because it is not like our roadways and climate don’t get punished by damage and pollution too. By broadening the methods implemented on the Port Mann Bridge, for example, we can target all users of Vancouver infrastructure to bear the costs of climate change and transit funding. Tolling Vancouver’s viaducts, both of the North Shore’s bridges, Surrey’s Pattullo and Delta’s Alex Fraser would be the most effective method in the short term without the deployment of tracking units on highways and major roads for now. It would allow drivers tax-free travel within their own municipalities, while only charging those who frequently use cross-community infrastructure. If you don’t want to be taxed, don’t drive as much. The transit system in Vancouver is far more effective than most people believe, notwithstanding the occasional SkyTrain breakdown and bus delay. It would have also been improved through the referendum that was shot down earlier this year, and
could have forever changed public transportation service in many of the region’s fast growing communities, like the North Shore, Tri-Cities and Surrey. What is clear now though is that we need sustainable funding programs for our transit services and the easiest way to go about that would be to toll all major roadways, from highways to tunnels to bridges. As public transportation projects are completed and running, taxes for using the roads could be eased or lowered in terms of per-trip costs so we reward Vancouverites as a whole for committing to using more transit. Why should someone who doesn’t drive have to bear the billion-dollar cost of road congestion? Let those who use cars pay for increased transit service so general tax revenues can go towards services like health care, education, law enforcement and retirement security, which are all going to need more and more resources in the coming years to cope with our growing population and aging workforce. Maintenance and regular road work are of course not a right, but a privilege and one that costs municipalities millions of dollars every year.
BEER WITH A SIDE OF BOOTY
Popular bar chain scolded for sexist dress code Taelore Keyana
THE CAPILANO COURIER
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
CONTRIBUTOR If you’ve ever been to the United States or traveled to eastern Canada, you’ve more than likely heard of Hooters or Twin Peaks. Both restaurant chains capitalize on the stereotypical male dining fantasy: beer, wings and attractive women. Until recently, Bier Markt, a Cara Operations owned chain, had its employees wearing a conservative, gender neutral uniform that consisted of golf shirts and dark pants. However, with a rebranding campaign on the horizon, a trendier dress code was implemented for each gender. For women, management decided that a curve hugging, navy blue cocktail dress that would be the new uniform. Gasp, how risqué. Restaurants and bars have never been an exception to the sex sells marketing rule companies have been using for years. As a female with curves, I think that these girls should suck it up and strut it in their new trendy ensemble. Over 40 women from four separate Bier Markt locations have up and quit their jobs since the introduction of the new uniforms. Male servers were told that their new dress code was to consist of a button down shirt, jeans, and Converse-style sneakers. However, their female counterparts were informed that they would now have to squeeze into navy blue dresses of cocktail length. The dresses’ crew necks don’t reveal too much cleavage but they’re allegedly made of ‘bathing suit type material, that is very tight, and skimpy’
17
according to Tierney Angus, a Bier Markt server in Toronto's West End. In addition to this tight material, the ladies were informed that cardigans and thick tights would be forbidden, and heels or boots would be the mandatory footwear. The feminists of the world considered this announcement to be some sort of ‘objectification’ or ‘exploitation,’ backing up their statement with some statistic about how conservatively dressed women hold more respect and are seen as more knowledgeable. However, from a marketing standpoint, longstanding industry research demonstrates that sex sells in the end, regardless of uproar and boycotts. Additional studies show that sex is also directly linked to another primal instinct, which is hunger and a desire to be fed. Arousal and the feeling of hunger feed off of the same pleasure receptors in the brain. Therefore, it would only make sense that servers (both men and women alike) wear something that’s a little more attractive and gender-specific, to increase the average dollar per head.
One thing I’ve never understood is why women are so opposed to being ‘sexy’-especially in an industry driven on appearance. Most would argue that customer service is the driving force behind servers of the world; but without question I’ll beg to differ. The tips are always a little more generous when you are stereotypically attractive. People who you interact with treat you with a little more respect when you are overly good looking. In general, people just cut you a little more slack. I’d bet that not one person out there has not treated a good looking person just a little bit nicer, simply because they are good looking. Many women who quit their jobs at the Bier Market filed human rights complaints with lawyers in their regions. Since being confronted by CBC News’s Go Public, Cara Operations has retracted the uniform changes in their Bier Markt chains, leading to some of their ex-employees withdrawing their complaints. Female servers will now have the options of mirroring the male uniform, or wearing the dress. The servers who purchased the dress, can now also return it and get their $70 back.
Women (and men, and everyone else) should be able to wear whatever they want in their free time. With that said, many jobs have uniform policies that must be adhered to, so long as they are functional. If the uniforms change during your time with an employer, you should either suck it up or move on. The job does not define you or who you are. It’s a source of income, to support who you really are and want to become. If the uniform change gets your panties all wound up in a knot, you have the option of resigning. You can gain employment somewhere else where the ensemble doesn’t ‘violate your human rights.’ For decades now, restaurants, clothing companies and beauty brands have been harnessing the power of sex and attractiveness to move product. With proof of this dating back to the early 1930’s, the sexy advertisements and revealing outfits show no signs of slowing down today in a world that is much different than the one then. In 2015, people should just realize this is not going to stop anytime soon and move on to discussing bigger issues. Bier Markt is just following suit of other chains like Hooters and Cactus Club, which have become immensely popular by mandating more risqué uniforms for their female staff. Not only is the potential for profit increases good for a restaurant, but good for staff too, in terms of generating more tips. So strut on all you fine fellas and sexy sirens in your new trendy work attire. Serve hard and rake in the benefits.
HUMOUR
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
THE CAPILANO COURIER
write for us! 18
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11
☞ Story meetings Tuesdays at noon Maple 122 We pay for your words! ✍
THE CABOOSE HOROSCOPES IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: Your birthday is so close to Christmas… Do you even get two sets of presents or is it just one big bag of socks?
ARIES (March 21 - April 19):
The only thing positive about your week is the blood test results.
TAURUS (April 20 - May 20):
Your trust issues will continue to get worse after Netflix abruptly removes your favourite TV show.
LIBRA (Sept. 22 - Oct. 23):
After a failed attempt at Netflix and Chill, you’ll go back to the tried and true method of PornHub and masturbate.
GEMINI (May 21 - June 20):
CANCER (June 21 - July 22):
Your best friend’s new relationship will make you realize that chivalry isn’t dead, you just keep dating assholes.
THINKING CAP
Q
WHAT WOULD YOUR WRESTLER NAME BE?
“John.” — Alexander Babarika First Year Business
SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 21):
Your constant desire to surprise people and show up unannounced will have you once again walking in on an orgy.
The Starbucks red cup controversy will make you wonder who really needs Jesus.
@CAPILANOCOURIER
WWW.CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
“The Librarian. And your ass kicking is overdue!” — Taylor Wilson Professional Wrestler
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21):
It’s one thing to never give up faith, but it’s another thing entirely if you’re 25 and still checking the mail for an acceptance letter to Hogwarts.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19):
This next week will convince you that you’re definitely in the darkest timeline.
“Eric Von Smash Your Skull” — George Kuintero First Year Liberal Studies
LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22):
The stars tried their best, but unfortunately your fate is in your own hands this week.
VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 21):
Romance is in the air this week. It’s also all over your bed sheets and in a slowly solidifying puddle on the floor.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18):
The fact a young child made your new Air Jordans is one of those things you prefer not to think about, kind of like the fact Beck is a scientologist.
PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20):
“Some people call me Kung Fu Panda, but that’s weird. Some people also call me Duct Tape and that’s also weird. But you can call me Smasher Suv.” — Suvendra Anandalingam Second Year Human Kinetics
Your circle of friends will increase exponentially after The Sims: Complete Collection goes on sale.
TO ADVERTISE in the Courier’s pages, please contact us by phone at 778-855-9942 or email Alva Tang, our Community Relations Manager, at community.capcourier@gmail. com. We are proud to offer discounts to non-profit organizations and North Shore customers. A full media kit with sizes, rates and deadlines is available on our website, CapilanoCourier.com. Classified advertisements up to 50 words are free for students.
SUDOKU
VOLUME 49 ISSUE NO. 11 THE CAPILANO COURIER
“Nacho & Esqueleto. I’m Nacho, he’s Esqueleto.” — Therese Guieb, News Editor — Cristian Fowlie, Art Director
LAST WEEK'S SOLUTION
— MEGAN DIETRICH