Capilano Courier Vol. 45 Issue 16

“Pushing buttons since 1968�

Volume 45

N O R T H V A N C O U V E R / / F e b ruar y 6 , 2 0 1 2

Sa fe to d r i n k?

with Shy men // Hot Chocolate // Lana Del Rey // and so much more ...

Issue N o. 16

TABle of contents Vol. Fourty-Five | Issue 14

Pushing buttons since 1968

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caveat lector 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 Publishing Society.

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CSU representative contracts embarassing foot-in-mouth disease

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Featuring retroactive teen idol Ryan Gosling

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Fe a t u r e s

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Shady liquor laws, dating advice for shy guys, and the world water crisis

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Columns

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Following our columnists’ advice this week will definitely make you a more well-rounded person! a rt s e d i t o r

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“The Lana Del Rey Issue”

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Giant 3-page poetry edition!

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Britta Bachus Britta is a Vancouver-based artist, illustrator and teacher. You can see a wide range of her work at

➽ brittabacchus.blogspot.com IN SPORTS

B LU ES CO R N ER Results from Feb. 3 & 4

By Erik Horn // Sports Writer The third-ranked Blues women’s basketball team fell 77-84 to the first-ranked UNBC Timberwolves on Friday night. Fifth year forward, Jenna Ralston, was voted the Pacwest women’s basketball player of the week after her impressive showing against Langara last weekend (W 83-63), hitting a school record 10 of 15 shots from three point range and scoring a total of 42 points in the game against the Langara Falcons.

The men's basketball team came up short against the second place Timberwolves Friday night when they lost 85-91. The men are currently ranked fifth, two points ahead of the Douglas College Royals.

The women’s volleyball team had a hard fought weekend against the first-ranked VIU Mariners, winning the first game Friday night 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 25-27, 25-22, 15-11) and losing the second game on Saturday 2-3 (18-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-18, 14-16). The women are currently sitting in third place with Jacquelin Caverly leading the league in digs (4.85/game), Michelle Torresan second in the league for kills (3.18/game), and Ashley Van Acken second for blocks (1.04/game).

The men’s volleyball team lost both of their games over the weekend against the first-ranked VIU Mariners, falling 0-3 on Friday (17-25, 24-31, 23-25) and 1-3 Saturday(19-25, 21-25, 29-27, 1825). The Blues men currently sit in fourth place, two points ahead of the Camuson College Chargers. Third year Setter/RS Dan Caverly leads the league in digs (3.45/game).

COMING UP Friday Feb 10th Women’s Basketball: Douglas(8th) @ Capilano(3rd) 6:00pm Men's Basketball: Douglas(6th) @ Caplilano(5th) 8:00pm Women’s Volleyball: Capilano(3rd) @ COTR(7th) 6:00pm Men’s Volleyball: Capilano(4th) @ COTR(7th) 7:45pm Saturday Feb 11th Women’s Basketball: CBC(9th) @ Capilano(3rd) 6:00pm Men’s Basketball: CBC(8th) @ Capilano(5th) 8:00pm Women’s Volleyball: Capilano(3rd) @ COTR(7th) 1:00pm Men’s Volleyball: Capilano(4th) @ COTR(7th) 2:45pm

from the editor //

The right

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transgendered woman in New York, named Temmie Breslauer, was arrested in January for using the wrong subway fare card, as reported by Jezebel. At the police station, she says she was questioned about the appearance of her genitals. When she explained that she was in transition, rather than putting her with the female inmates or in an individual room, she was chained to a pole with her arm lifted above her head, and left in that position for 28 hours. In addition, she claims that they called her names (such as “he-she,” “Lady Gaga,” and “faggot”) and laughed at her. Meanwhile, people who were charged with the same misdemeanor that she was (theft of services) were processed and allowed to leave.

Breslauer says that the ordeal aggravated her post-traumatic stress disorder, giving her difficulty sleeping and leaving her suicidal. She is now suing for compensatory and punitive damages. Breslauer isn’t the first trans person the NYPD has been accused of harassing, though. In October during Occupy Wall street, Justin Adkins was arrested for protesting on the Brooklyn bridge. When the police discovered that Adkins was transgendered, he says that “they had me sit down in a chair next to the filthy toilet, and handcuffed my right wrist to a metal handrail.” He claims that he was laughed at and stared at by police officers throughout his detainment.

In Canada, issues regarding transgender discrimination have been raised by the public discovery of a recent change by the Harper government to the Aeronautics Act, which now states that: “An air carrier shall not transport a passenger if...the passenger does not appear to be of the gender indicated on the identification he or she presents.”

The regulatory change did not have to go through Parliament, but was rather passed through ministerial fiat. While there have been no reports yet of transgendered people being refused passage on flights due to these regulations, the potential is clear. In order to change the gender on your passport in B.C., you must either have had sex reassignment surgery, or have a letter with a scheduled surgery date within the next year. At that point you can get a passport for two years at a time, as the five year passports are only issued with a changed birth certificate (keeping in mind that surgery wait-lists can be over three years). Regardless of personal gender identification or appearance, whether transgender people are allowed to fly or not is now up to the discretion of airport security. According to the Transportation Minister: “Any passenger whose physical appearance does not correspond to their identification can continue to board an airplane by supplying a letter from a health care professional explaining the discrepancy.”

According to an online CBC poll, 92.7 per cent of readers (roughly 2000 voters) believe that Parliament should re-introduce the transgender rights bill. Bill Siksay’s Gender Rights bill was passed through

Parliament in 2010, but didn’t get through Senate before the election was called. Now both the NDP and the Liberals now have MP’s introducing Private Member’s bills to amend the Human Rights act and the Criminal code in regards to gender identity and gender expression.

Randall Garrison is the NDP MP whose bill C-279 should be up for a second reading near the end of February, before Hedy Fry’s similar bill C-276. Garrison has spoken recently about the airline regulations, saying: “A lot of transgendered people are non-operative, which means that there wouldn’t be any medical letter that would be possible … I’m not sure that a doctor would issue such a letter.” Garrison says that although he believes that the government is trying to chip away at LGBT rights, he doesn’t think this regulation was necessarily targeted towards transgender people, though it does effect them.

“I’m not sure that this is anything more than insensitivity and a lack of understanding of the issue,” he said.

The 2010 transgender rights bill that Siksay introduced was passed in Parliament, though the majority of Conservative MPs voted against it. With the Conservatives holding a majority government now, it is of vital importance that we take an active role in getting bill C-279 passed. MPs for every riding are easily accessible to contact, and it is the responsibility of every member of society to stand up for equal rights, not even but especially if we are cisgender, as we enjoy the privilege of living in a society that at the very least recognizes our basic human rights.

— Sarah Vitet // editor-in-chief

The Voicebox

with JJ Brewis Look for the Voicebox on Tuesday afternoons in the Birch cafeteria, to anonymously “voice” your “opinion” on any “topic.” Introverted alternatives include emailing your opinion to voicebox@capilanocourier.com, or texting (778) 886-5070.

“Why do people need to listen to loud bass music on the bus? It’s so annoying! How loud does it have to be? Can’t you hear it WITHOUT it being super loud? Ugh. So annoying. I’m trying to read Sartre, for Christ's sake.”

Every day I try and tell myself I’m not going to bitch about the regular Vancouver hang-ups: rain, bitchy people, transit problems. I tell myself I’m going to have a good experience, and generally it’s fine. Aside from the odd BMW splashing gravel-infused rain in my face, or someone screaming at me at work for not knowing where their sister-in-law’s office is, it’s usually an okay time.

But then I get on a bus, and the driver is really nice to me even though I’m the idiot fumbling for my bus pass holding up the line. Everyone behind me starts breathing down my neck, despite the fact that the bus came three minutes early, and it’s a beautiful day outside. I start getting paranoid, waiting for something terrible to happen. Like the day I went to see Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (I know.) and a pigeon shit on my new

haircut right on my way into the theatre (yep). Or like the time I told this guy in the washroom that he had done up his pants and left a massive string of toilet paper hanging out of the back of his pants that made him look like a business-class dragon. He was choked!

People are not courteous in general, and when you are nice to them, they’re so taken aback that they respond in rude ways. Well, today, everything seemed to be quite great. The bus driver let me on despite my usual fumbling for my pass (classic “I don’t have a bus pass” move – but really I do!), and he said, “Just go ahead.” And then … my dream man got on the bus.

He looked like a cross between a wizard and a '90s grunge kid. Pretty into it. So I’m acting all “coy” (I don’t even like that word, but apparently it’s effective), and he looks at me, and because of this big-ass cold-sore on my face, he sneers (he also may have been straight, didn’t like my uncombed hair, or mistaken my post-sickness shivers for something else, etc.), and then gets off at the next stop walking out of my life forever.

Well, you know what? He didn’t even say “Thank you” to the bus driver, and to me, that’s a complete dealbreaker.

Hmph.

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EDIT OR // Gurpreet Kamb o // ne w s @ c api l ano c o uri e r. c o m

News Briefs

New Email system for students

// Samantha Thompson

Capilano students had their university emails switched over to a new system, Live@edu, on Feb. 1. Students will be able to access the new system, hosted by Microsoft, through the same link as the previous email; however, emails will not be automatically transferred. Access to the old Webmail accounts will be allowed until Apr. 30, during which students will also be able to transfer all their files to the new account. A step-by-step guide is available for transferring emails on Capilano’s website.

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Many students across BC rally for education; CSU holds back

By Samantha Thompson // editor-in-chief

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

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undreds of students across Canada rallied together for lower tuition fees on Feb. 1, although some others were left out of the excitement. Many students in British Columbia, including those at Capilano, did not have the opportunity to get involved in the campaign because their campuses were not participating in the event.

The National Day of Action is a campaign put on by the Canadian Federation of Students that attempts to bring attention to the lack of funding for post-secondary education and the ever-increasing tuition fees. It branches off of the ongoing national CFS campaign, Education is a Right.

However, in B.C., some of the province’s largest institutions are not members of the federation, and thus did not take part in the campaign.

The CFS is a national lobby group boasting over half a million members at 80 post-secondary institutions across Canada, though the federation has seen a decline in its membership in B.C. in recent years. In 2011, the University of Victoria Student Society’s members voted to leave the Federation, and in doing so joined UBC, SFU and BCIT as some of the largest (in terms of population) institutions in B.C. who are also not members of the CFS. Many of the locals remaining in CFS-BC did hold events for National Day of Action at campuses across the province, including Douglas college, Vancouver Community College, and North Island Students’ Union. Events included a banner drop, students writing their “debt story”, and, in Courtenay, students took the opportunity to use a hammer to smash a van with “Tuition Fees” written on the side.

“We not only need to educate people about the importance of post-secondary education, but also the importance of fair access to post-secondary education,” Roxanne Dubois, the CFS’ national chairperson, told Canadian University Press.

The B.C. NDP also announced that they would urge the B.C. Liberal government to reinstate needs-based student grants.

“Ten years of tuition increases and the elimination of grants by the Liberals have made pursuing higher education increasingly difficult,” said Adrian Dix, the leader for the B.C. New Democrats, in a press release. “Restoring grants is key to improving accessibility, supporting young people, and building a more prosperous economic future.”

Although CFS-BC has been a long-standing force in B.C., institutions who are not a part of the CFS have recently come together to create an alternative campaign related to post-secondary funding, called Where’s the Funding?! (WTF?!) The campaign includes the UBC Alma Mater Society, the UVSS, the Simon Fraser Student Society, the Capilano Students’ Union, the Langara Students’ Union, the University of the Fraser Valley Student Union Society, and Northern Undergraduate Student Society. With these seven members, the campaign boasts representation of over 121,000 students, making it the largest student-organized post-secondary campaign in B.C. Teresa Grant, the CSU representative for the WTF?! Campaign, says that the initiative is very cooperative: “Everyone is really respectful of each other, and I think what we’re asking is very realistic,” says Grant. “We’re trying to work with the government and not critiquing and working against [them].”

The CSU is the only present member of the WTF?! campaign that is also a member of the CFS. Although the CSU paid $85,172 in membership fees to the CFS in 2011, they opted to forgo hosting an event in conjunction with the National Day of Action. The WTF?! campaign does not presently require membership fees, but any costs associated with on-campus events and promotional materials are absorbed by the student association.

Even though some members of the CSU executive were interested in running a campaign for the National Day of Action, nothing came forward from the CFS working group. According to Grant, there was little to no interest from the executive in running a campaign for the Day of Action. Instead, the CSU will be participating in a WTF?! event on Feb. 14, which will be held on the lawns of the provincial Legislature.

“The goals of Where’s the Funding?! were more feasible and aligned with what the CSU felt would be effective,” said Grant.

They will be calling on the government to establish a grants program and to lower or eliminate interest rates on student loans, as well as delivering “valentines” from students concerned about the funding available for post-secondary education. B.C. currently charges the highest interest on student loans in Canada, and is the only province in Canada without a student grants program.

“On Valentine’s Day, representatives will be going to Victoria to present the cards to Legislature … but it’s important to note it’s not a rally – [more of a] presentation of the cards from students,” says Grant.

The WTF?! and Education is a Right campaigns are not presently working together, but they are both advocating for similar changes to the post-secondary education system.

“I feel like the CFS kind of wants to do it their own way,” says Grant. “…They’re not willing to budge, to be flexible.”

On the National Day of Action, Dubois said, “The main goal is to fight for an acceptable, wellfunded system of post-secondary education in Canada.”

Both parties are separately fighting for a better post-secondary system, but until the goal is achieved, students are left with no choice but to cope with high tuition fees.

As of press time, the CFS-BC had not responded to the Courier’s request for an interview.

Capilano Groundhog retires from student politics Many Capilano students were taken aback this week by the absence of Willie the Groundhog at the CSU’s election forum (which incidentally was on Groundhog Day). Typically a CSU election mainstay, he announced his retirement from politics during a press conference immediately following his spring weather prognostication.

“Politics stinks,” he said, as he crinkled his nose. “I’m a fucking groundhog. Last year I was AWOL during Groundhog Day cause of the fucking CSU,” he said, referring to an executive meeting that went overtime due to controversy over how many posters could be used for an event.

At that time, Capilano groundhog fans were disappointed when he didn’t come out of his hole to forecast the onset of spring, causing them to protest, and burn an effigy of the other executive members of the CSU. Willie’s previous term ended in a flurry of bitter controversy, due to his missing repeated board meetings, which he attributed to “hibernation.”

By Gurpreet Kambo // News Editor

N e ws

Our Home on Native Land First Nations continue to have problems with Canadian State, says activist

By Lindsay Howe // Writer

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ot only did it take violence to create Canada, but it takes violence to stay Canada,” said Jessica Yee during a lecture she gave at SFU on Jan 27. “I do not believe that the people who caused this in the first place will be able to fix it.”

Yee, a member of the Mohawk nation of Askwesasne, and also the founder of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, was there to give a lecture entitled “Marginalization Doesn’t Happen by Accident: Colonialism and Violence from the State”. This lecture, part of the Ruth Wynn Woodward chair lecture and workshop series for Spring 2012, gave listeners an up-close look at the struggles that many First Nations peoples in Canada are still experiencing to this day.

Yee developed an interest in the relationship between her people and the Canadian State at a young age, when her Aunt Patricia Monture, a well-known Mohawk scholar, began to make her question why she wasn’t taught more about her heritage at school. She was forced to realize that her teachers may not want her to know some of the realities.

As she grew older, Yee was able to understand the realities that came along with being an Indigenous woman living in Canada: “The laws surrounding matrimonial real property [say] that … in the event your husband dies, women are not allowed to solely own property on the reserve, as well as the fact that if an Indian woman married

a non-Indian she would lose her Indian Status,” she says. “[This] shows us that the State has the ability to control personhood and is taking away the ability to pass on anything.”

Yee continued by discussing the State’s involvement in the residential school system, noting that the State’s claims to “help and save them” were basically a way to assimilate Aboriginal children into the appropriate gender roles of the settler’s society on the claim that Aboriginal women were not fit for child-rearing. Although the days of residential schools are in the (recent) past, the pain of being taken from their families at a young age and, in some cases, dealing with sexual exploitation is still a heavy burden for many.

Yee also noted that simply because the term “residential school” is no longer in use doesn’t mean that the government has given up housing Indigenous peoples in a specific area: “Prisons are the new residential schools,” she says.

What Yee is referring to with that provocative statement is the disproportionately high number of Indigenous people among the prison population. As of the 2006 Census, some provinces in Canada had up to 30 times the amount of Aboriginal inmates than their counterparts.

In terms of Aboriginal women specifically, a 2008/2009 Stats Can report showed that over one in five women incarcerated in Canada are of Aboriginal descent, though Aboriginal people make up only three per cent of the entire Canadian population. Yee`s own research has uncovered that “ 75 per cent of sex crime victims in Native communities are girls, and the suicide

// Jason Jeon rate for young Aboriginal girls is eight times higher than the national average for non-Aboriginal adolescent girls” The negative stereotypes that surround Aboriginal women are only intensified by media outlets covering the story of the missing women from the Downtown Eastside and court cases such as the trial of Robert Pickton. Yee stressed, “The mistreatment of Aboriginal women is not new, and women have been missing since Canada was made. People believe that this is a new problem because these media outlets have only taken interest in the past 20 years. People need to realize that the reason we have privileges is due to the oppression of others."

As the end of the lecture was in sight, Yee ex-

plained “If you feel raw, empty, and uncomfortable, that is a good thing.” Yee’s self-proclaimed take home message was a simple one: “Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Nobody wants to be the bad guy. Think about how you treat people and what you will do with the information given to you tonight.”

She emphasized that she will be in attendance at the Annual Women’s Memorial March on Feb. 14 in Vancouver, and encouraged her listeners to attend as well, so as to do their part in creating a more just and equitable world for all.

For more information on this and other similar events please visit www.womensmemorialmarch. wordpress.com

CSU IDENTIFIES AS “BLACK SHEEP” OF STUDENT FEDERATION “We were probably really the only ones doing anything right,” says CSU chairperson

By Samantha Thompson // editor-in-chief

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tatives from member associations be made to swear an “oath of office” before they can be ratified to the CFS-BC executive. Although the policy that was being introduced was almost identical to the present standing resolution, it changed the word “ratification” to “acceptance”.

The CFS has had a problem with this resolution in the past, when they tried to prevent the KSA representative from sitting on the executive. The KSA representative at the time, Derek Robertson, had run an anti-CFS campaign.

Because of this, CFS-BC refused to recognize him as a member of the CFS executive. It resulted in an expensive court case that the KSA won, and the court stated that the CFS was in violation of section four of the Society Act. The section reads, “The members of a society may, in accordance with the bylaws, nominate, elect, or appoint directors.”

“No organization has the right to veto representatives elected by its members, as a matter of democratic principle,” read the Minority Report.

“There is no available reason to believe that this cosmetic change will enable the federation to continue to exercise the same tyranny it decries in university governance.”

The second item discussed was motion 19. This motion proposed that the section of the “Duties of General Meeting Committee Coordinators” be amended to remove the section stating that minutes needed to be recorded during the committee meeting, and that any “minority report is presented to the final plenary.”

“Every opinion has worth, and everyone here

has something to contribute. We, today, can look back at our own written history of this federation’s early days and be enriched by it,” said the Minority Report. “If we accept this amendment, those who follow us will not know, understand, and grow from our thoughts here.”

“Our concerns [were] that changes to policy on the acceptance of student … representatives were not sufficient or adequate and … [with] the proposal to eliminate minority reports; [we wanted] to respectfully express our concerns about the implications of those measures on the organization…and on students in B.C.,” says Clarkson.

The report concluded, “This Federation leads the students of Canada in social justice; we should also lead them in governance. Don’t let this be the last minority report.”

“We were the black sheep in a lot of senses,” says Clarkson. “Not in a bad way, that shouldn’t be construed to say that we were doing anything wrong – we were probably really the only ones doing anything right.”

Although there was some controversy at the general meeting, the CSU delegates still recognized the benefits of attending the meeting. Her experience at the SAGM was not wholly a positive one, but Grant still acknowledges that “the CFS brings together student societies so we can have a collective voice and work together. You can’t deny that seeing so many members from different schools around the province; it’s a really cool thing.”

Added Clarkson, “Even bad experiences can be good experiences.”

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

here is a culture in the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) that dissent is not valued, and not only is it not valued it is not tolerated. People who are dissenters are identified and separated and treated differently than others, and marginalized in a lot of ways,” says David Clarkson, one of the Capilano Students’ Union’s delegates to CFS-BC’s semi-annual general meeting in early January.

Teresa Grant and Brandon Hofmarks also attended the meeting, making up the CSU’s threeperson delegation. They noted that the meeting occurred with relatively little controversy, but the CSU delegation felt that they and the delegates from the Kwantlen Students’ Association (KSA) were on the receiving end of significant hostility.

The provincial chapter of the CFS meets twice annually to approve financial statements, elect their executive, and discuss motions related to policy, bylaws, and campaigns. In the past, delegates have observed heated debate over the motions, most recently on motions discussing media privileges, membership, and campaigns.

The CSU was having difficulty participating before the general meeting officially began. They did not receive first notice of the meeting, which notifies them of the dates of the meeting and gives them time to select delegates. In the end, they got the information from the KSA. “As a delegate, I tried to reach out and try to befriend people and talk to people,” says Grant,

noting that she felt as though people who were vocal with dissenting opinions were treated differently. Although in the past these general meetings have seen significant debate on motions, the CSU’s delegates noted that there was very little this time around.

“None of the other schools seemed to care about the questions I was asking,” said Hofmarks, “even if they were relevant.”

The general meeting added new campaigns to CFS-BC’s repertoire, including the addition of a policy about police brutality, the decision to support coalitions opposed to the Enbridge and Kinder-Morgan pipelines, and adding an information page to their members’ handbooks about First Nations in B.C. Elections were also held, and the delegates elected Katie Marocchi to be their provincial chairperson, Zachary Crispin as B.C. representative to CFS National, Chad Athay as treasurer, and Jillian Griffin as their campaigns coordinator.

Most of the motions during closing plenary passed with very little amendment, but two motions in particular generated a lot of discussion from the CSU and the KSA: Motions 12 and 19 garnered so much concern that the two associations collaborated to create a document they called a “Minority Report”. According to Clarkson, the team attempted to have the document presented to the closing plenary, but it was not accepted.

The first item discussed in their report was motion 12, which amended Standing Resolution 2.

The resolution states that incoming represen-

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News

STUDENTS HEAD BACK TO THE POLLS Meet your candidates for the upcoming CSU elections

By Gurpreet Kambo // news editor

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s surely as the groundhog failing to see its shadow indicates the onset of spring, so do the CSU’s annual February elections. This election typically sees only a few positions up for election – only if a position was not filled in the fall election, or if one of the elected executives resigned.

This year, there are two positions available. The Queer Students’ Liaison had no one run for the position in the fall elections, and in this election has three candidates. The International Students’ Liaison is also looking for a new person, as the liaison resigned. Two candidates are competing for this position. The Capilano Courier spent time getting to know the candidates so that you, the voter, will be able to cast an informed vote.

Students can vote in the CSU elections in the Birch cafeteria on Feb. 6-9 from 10am-6pm, and on Feb. 10 from 10-230.

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

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// Photos by Jason Jeon Rose Bunagan is a Liberal Studies student in her third year at Capilano. She feels like Capilano has been a great institution for her, and she is running for the Queer Liaison position so that she can give back “ten times fold,” she says. One of her focuses is on creating an environment where students can have meaningful relationships, especially by “establishing a strong presence and support for the GLBT student body.”

For Bunagan, homophobia and suicides of queer-identified youth is an enormously important issue: “The increased rates in teen suicide are alarming … Bullying is one of the biggest factors in GLBT suicides wherein an individual feels that taking their life is the only way out,” she says.

She's keen to up the visibility of the Queer Resource Centre: “Not many people know that we have a Queer Resource Centre on-campus and I think that establishing that strong presence will really help out anyone who is transitioning from high school to university, or from one school to another.”

She is also interested in a mentorship program for new students: “[In this program], second-, third-, and fourth-year students can give a quick tour of the campus, letting [first-years] know the ins and outs of Cap, and just be a mentor!”

She is also interested in putting on several events for students. She enthusiastically lists several ideas she has, including “movie nights, bowling nights, sporting events, karaoke, board games

night, speed dating, [and] adventures: hikings or the status quo,” she says. She feels that there may camping trips/art nights … just to name a few.” yet be a ways to go in achieving true equality: “Although people say that they accept people from the LGBT community, their actions and their use of language can often say otherwise.”

Despite the fact that, if elected, she would represent Queer students on campus, she emphasizes that it is not a group that is homogeneous.

“This may sound funny, but as of right now, I can't actually speak on behalf of the queer community at Capilano. This is because we are all individuals, many of which I don't know,” she says. “What I personally see as a key issue facing the queer community here at Cap, is that there hasn't been any presence of the queer collective in the school for the past couple years … Not having a voice in the CSU and not having a presence in the school from the collective has left me feeling as though I’ve been missing out on something, especially a chance to make some good friends.

When asked about her ideas for things she’d like to do if elected, she lists several ideas, including an open house for the new Queer CenCiara John A first year sciences student who tre, a spring barbecue, and bringing Qmunity, hopes to get into medical school, Ciara John which calls itself “B.C.’s queer resource centre”, to feels that she’d be a great fit for the position of do workshops.

Queer Students’ Liaison: “I have been raised She also emphasizes the collaborative nature with a warm and caring family with regards to of the liaison position. “It’s not just about my my queer status, and would like to use that same ideas – a handful of heads is better than one, so nurturing and warm attitude to help voice and upon being elected as Cap U’s Queer Liaison, I give great concern to the Queer student body at would love to hear all the ideas that members of Capilano U,” she says. the collective have followed by working together The key issue that she sees facing the Queer to bring an event to the school that everyone is students constituency is one of inclusion: excited about.”

“Everyone is welcomed here, regardless of reliInternational Students’ Liaison gion, sex preference, gender, upbringing, wealth, education-level, and subjects of career study,” she says. “I come from a very diverse background, being raised First Nations with ties to Germany. I know the complexities and impact of how culture can inspire individuals and make people feel at home.”

John was also a candidate for the First Nations Students’ Liaison position in the fall of 2011, where she came second in votes. “It is obvious to see my concern in being apart of the student experience, and ensuring that we all as students can look back and say ‘Yes, I did it! And had fun, and experienced a whole lot of new things.'"

Zoltán Blum is a Masters student in both finance and accounting who is running to be the International Students’ Liaison. He feels that he’d fit the position well because it’s already his second semester abroad as an international student himself, from Hungary. He has also spent time as a student in Germany last year. Furthermore, he has plenty of experience in governance positions, having acted as an elected member of his village council back in Hungary, and as the leader of a 20-person brass band at one point.

Blum feels that his extensive experience Brooklyn Kemp A second-year student in the abroad has given him perspective on what Global Stewardship Program, Brooklyn Kemp the needs of international students are: hopes to capture your vote for the Queer “International students are often facing the probStudents’ Liaison position. “I believe in equal lem that things just work differently than they are rights and acceptance for everyone, which, in this used to – different from their home country. I case, (unfortunately) actually means challenging want to help them to understand and experience

how things work in Canada and enable them to apply their knowledge.”

“I would like to ask the international and the exchange students what they want me to achieve, what they need, and what they wish for,” he says.

“One concrete idea from my last semester abroad is that I would like to organize special nights for the different countries, where representative students … can introduce their country, and where Canadian and international students enjoy some famous dishes, dances and/or music of that nation. I would like to help them to understand each other better, to learn from one another and to be curious about other parts of the world.”

He adds that if he is elected, “I will definitely give my best and do a great job for all the international students.”

Hyerin Choi “I think the international students’ committee has not represented international students’ main interests and issues appropriately,” says Hyerin Choi, a candidate for International Students’ Liaison. “If I am elected, I would like to help their voice to be heard in Capilano.”

A second-year student in the Global Stewardship program who is “passionate about social justice and environmental issues,” she feels she’d be the best candidate for the position because she has “clear objectives and strategies for the position.”

“Over the past three semesters, I have also participated in the CSU events such as the general meetings and social justice and educational issues committee events,” she says. “It has taught me so much about how the CSU works and what problems it has.”

“I would like to represent three main issues: the international students’ high tuition fees, lack of funding and scholarships for them, and their language barriers in studying,” explains Choi.

“International student tuition fees are more than four times the already-high fees for Canadian students and there are only eleven scholarships for them in Capilano. Even the scholarships are not for people who are in financial need because only students who register more than 12 credits ($5,700) are eligible.”

If she is elected, some of Choi’s “clear objectives” include a petition and non-violent protest against high tuition fees for international students, along with recruiting the members of her constituency to participate in other campaigns such as Where’s The Funding?!. She also hopes to work with international students groups from other schools, “since it is not only a Capilano issue.”

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Contact us to have your event featured in the calendar.

D on’t forget the date, time, address, and price!

m o n day f e b . 6 CLUB COLLABORATIVE MEET 'N GREET “Club Collaborative aims to provide a forum for collaboration amongst the various faculties at Capilano University. Come out to learn more about this great initiative and get involved.”

Sounds like a great way to make new friends!

12 – 1 PM. LB 322 (Library Building). Free!

RANDY & MR. LEAHY LIVE Trailer Park Boys comes to the Biltmore! I kind of hope this isn't stand-up; I hope it's just like them, being in character all night long, heckling 20-somethings and being creepy to cute girls and drinking whiskey out of the bottle. That's something I'd want to see!

8 PM. The Biltmore Cabaret. $15.

t u e s day feb. 7 VALENTINE'S DAY IS ONE WEEK AWAY You better get a boy/girlfriend, stat, honey! PS that's me talking 2 myself lol. T_T  that's an emoticon of me crying, I learned it from a Livejournal community that I follow that is focused on an online Japanese paper-doll game.

A WACHU MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH What better way to celebrate Black History Month than by getting funky? Local funk phenomenon The Phonix with special guest David Ward will be bringing smokin' hot funk sounds to Calabash Bistro as they acknowledge Black History Month.

Also featuring special guests Dawn Pemberton & Asha Moyo.

9 PM. Calabash Bistro (428 Carrall St.). Free!

w e d n e s day feb. 8 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS LIVE ON STAGE “Circus Maximus Players present: The single greatest event since the fall of Mordor!” With players drawn from various improv and live theatre groups from all over Vancouver, this seems like it should shape up to be a hilarious night! 19+.

7:30 PM. The Rio Theatre. $8 advance/5 at door.

t h u r s day feb. 9 RUSALKA, PRESENTED BY UBC OPERA Rusalka is basically the story of the little mermaid, but in opera form. And no, this doesn't mean they will sing “Under the Sea” in an operatic voice; this is an actual opera by Dvorak. But now, I want someone to stage an opera version of Disney's The Little Mermaid.

7:30 PM. Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $39.50.

OLD MOVIES AT SCOTIABANK Holy moly! I guess with Rio out of the movie business, Scotiabank theatre decided to scoop up some of that sweet niche market, and I have to say that I'm not particularly mad. Check out Ferris Bueller's Day Off or Sixteen Candles, playing at 7:35pm and 9:50pm respectively. Picture me with hearts for eyes already!!!

7:35/9:50 PM. Scotiabank Theatre (900 Burrard St.). $12 (ish).

VOTE FOR JONTY'S VIDEO Jonty, the Courier's resident ad manager/film columnist made a video for the Virgin Radio Fake Film Fest and he needs your votes so he can win a prize! What is the prize? Maybe a pony; maybe a mint condition copy of Lady and the Tramp. I don't know. Anyway, go to vancouver.virginradio.ca and search for “Beastie Dogs”; it is an adaptation of Reservoir Dogs done in the style of the Beastie Boys.

JJ AND SAMANTHA SEE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST LIVE Samantha Thompson, editor-in-chief, and Jj Brewis, art director, get to go see Beauty and the Beast: The Musical! You can, too; if you see them, tell them I say hi! And get your picture taken with them/their autograph. They're both gonna be famous some day. Runs until Feb. 12.

7:30 PM. Queen Elizabeth Theatre. $37.95 – $97.30.

JAZZ NIGHT AT EL BARRIO Mexican food and fine jazz! This week features Soft Morning City, which is comprised of John Paton, Kevin Elaschuk, Sam King, Cole Schmidt, and Paul Townsend. This should be beautiful and delightful!

9 PM. El Barrio. By donation!

PIZZA PARTY TIP Here's a fun way to spice up the party that exists every time you eat pizza: instead of getting a regular pizza and dipping it in ranch sauce, order a pizza with alfredo sauce and dip it in marinara sauce! So fun, so fresh! That's how I just ate some pizza.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE MONDAY Today is a test-out about what the world would be like … IF THE WORLD WERE DIFFERENT. Maybe your hair is curly for some reason, and you've decided to pursue a career in engineering, and you don't really “get” Wes Anderson movies, and you have a new sibling or something who is addicted to gambling. PS this was an episode of Grey's Anatomy and it was hilarious.

AHH MORE OLD MOVIES AT SCOTIABANK You guys, they're screening Serenity! As in, the Firefly movie! Jesus Christ, MOVIES, I love them!

Gorram.

4:45 PM. Scotiabank Theatre. Cheap night! So like, $7ish.

TWIN SISTER AND ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER From JJ: Double-headlining bill for cheap! Long Island dream pop band and internet favourites Twin Sister team up with Fiery Furnaces' Friedberger performing solo! From Celina: Friedberger more like FRIED BURGER. Sorry. Okay. I'm done.

8 PM. The Media Club. $15.

WHITE LUNG AT THE BILTMORE Marco (our opinions editor) says, “The other guy from work invited me, and he smokes spliffs, so you know he's cool.” Marco's other job is at Puff!

The Biltmore Cabaret. $5.

20th ANNIVERSARY OF LITHUANIAN INDEPENDENCE In 1991, the state of Lithuania voted for its independence from the Soviet Bloc! According to local tortured soul composer/ethereal mystery man/feminist hunk Alex Dobson, “Long live the Baltic free state, smash the Russian dogs.”

What does that even mean?? He's so mysterious!

All day. Lithuania. Free(dom)!

friday feb. 10 APOLLO GHOSTS/MOVIELAND/JAY ARNER AHHHH!!! I'm so excited! Movieland is my bestie Alie's new band and they are a rad girl group who are going to be awesome, Jay Arner is half of Fine Mist, greatest dance band to come out of Vancouver for infinity, and Apollo Ghosts is Apollo Fucking Ghosts. Do Not Miss!

9 PM. Zoo Zhop (223 Main St.). $5.

HEART THROB Dance party/benefit for the Heart & Stroke Foundation! Features live music, DJs, an interactive art exhibition, ~burlesque~, and, my personal favey, a kissing booth!

9 PM. Chapel Art (304 Dunlevy St.). $12.

BENNY BENASSI IS TOMORROW Stay hydrated, don't stay out too late, eat some healthy meals, because tomorrow BENNY BENASSI is coming to town and you're gonna get FUCKED UP AND DANCE AROUND TO SANDSTORM WHILE WEARING SILLY GLOWSTICKS. I'm pretty sure he did Sandstorm, right?

Tomorrow. 7 PM. Vancouver Convention Centre. $75 lol.

saturday feb. 11

sunday feb. 12 LEZ HOOK-UP: GIRL-GIRL SPEED DATING “Make new friends or find something more at this speed-dating event designed for lesbians.”

With Valentine's Day coming up, perhaps this is the perfect time to try speed-dating! If you meet someone, you are welcome. And if you get married, you get to be hilarious and say, “Yes, I met your mom at an event called Lez Hook-Up.” 5:30 – 8:30 PM. Oasis (1240 Thurlow St.). $25.

OK VANCOUVER OK/PEDAGOGUES/DINOSAUR HEART/DADS II/GANG RADIO Woohoo! A fun rock show! Ok Vancouver Ok is really special if you've never seen them before, and Pedagogues is, if you are familiar with Bad Fate, Aaron from Bad Fate. And while I've never seen the other bands (they are touring), they all have rad, rad names. All money goes to touring bands; support independent music! Presented

by Safe Amp. 8 – 11 PM. Prophouse Cafe. $5.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY D'ANGELO Today is soul singer D'Angelo's 37th birthday! If you are D'Angelo, I hope you have a really nice day, and thank you for reading the Courier. If you aren't D'Angelo, celebrate by: dressing up like D'Angelo, listening to D'Angelo, doing something really really sexy, creating a D'Angelo collage, writing D'Angelo a nice email. Happy Birthday D'Angelo!

TREVOR & LORENA WATTERS: MAGIC SHOW “Professional magic duo performs a show of illusions, sleight-of-hand effects, and audience participation.” Eeeee! I've talked about how much I like magic shows before on here, right?

Basically I love magic. I find it deeply surprising and thrilling.

8 PM. Massey Theatre (735 8th Ave., New West). $20.

VALENTINE'S VEGANTIMES MINGLER From JJ: An evening of mingling with fellow vegans! This store is actually pretty rad. Your ticket includes food demos, sound healing session, organic chocolate, and food samples! Plus ten percent off all the goodies found within. I'd recommend the CHOCOLATE. Anything chocolate always.

8 PM. Karmavore (610 Columbia St.). $15.

RETRO DESIGN & ANTIQUES SALE Honestly, throw the word “shabby-chic” into the description of any event and I'm sold. The description for this estate and vintage sale also includes phrases such as “country stuff”, “popculture classics”, and “mid-century Modernist decor”. It's like they're reading my mind!

10 AM – 3 PM. Croatian Cultural Centre. $5 entry.

WINTER BIRDS WALK “Naturalist Hana Hermanek helps you discover strange bird habits and listen to common and unusual bird calls.” Educational and delightful!

I love birds. If it's a nice day out, this could be a fun thing to do! Why are you sitting at home on Facebook? Go learn about birds!

10 AM. Pacific Spirit Regional Park (UBC Endowment Lands). Free!

SPORTS “The Marlins, that's a team, right? Yeah, the fucking Marlins, the football championship of the year. The San Francisco Marlins. What's that team with the fish again? The Miami Dolphins.

Ummm, latest hockey news, ummm, Henry Bradley has been awarded the old-timey legends … that's not as good as my first one.” – Marco, on sports.

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TEEN DAZE Dance party! I basically choose events judging on whether or not they have the word “teen” in their title. Also, Vancouver's guy-around-town/ Winniecooper.com guy Tristan Orchard is also DJing alongside Teen Daze's DJ set, and frankly, I like him; he's friendly and he's also a good DJ. 10 PM. The Astoria. $8.

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ED I TO R S / / Sarah vit et + Samant ha Thomp son // s pe c i al fe ature s . c apc o uri e r@ gmai l . c o m

Late Night Double Feature Picture Show Double standards becoming apparent in liquor licensing conflict

By Beni Spieler // Writer

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he Rio Theatre on Broadway and Commercial is one of the only theatres left in East Vancouver. Built in 1938, the Rio has since been restored, with modern amenities and equipment, without losing the “retro” feel that people have come to grow and love over the years. Red velvet ropes and curtains, cream colored backdrops with lightbulbs, and a single screen with a stage in front of it. They generally limit themselves to one new release film per month, but focus on their core business of playing classic cult films.

“Single screen cinemas are contractually obligated to play a new movie for three weeks, not doing any live shows or other events during that time. It’s a lot like betting on the ponies, sometimes you get a bad film and you lose a lot of money, and there isn’t much you can do about it,” says Corinne Lea, owner of the Rio. They also screen independent films, local student films, and have live performances. Another aspect of the theatre that sets it apart from other venues is that they encourage patrons to wear costumes and make noise during the movies.

Costume-wearers receive a discount and have a chance to receive prizes after the movie. Even with its many unique characteristics, Lea has always struggled to keep the theatre going.

For this reason Lea had been trying to get a liquor license for the theatre, and after two years of red-tape, petitions, and hoop-jumping she finally managed to get one on Jan.19. Later that day, the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch released a statement with a previously unmentioned condition stating that by law, a theatre can’t operate as a liquor-licensed live theatre and a non-licensed theatre at the same time.

It stated that the Rio was not permitted to show movie or any time of cinematic screenings at any time.

“We weren’t informed of the condition until 30 minutes before we were supposed to sign it,” Lea says. “The fact that they had to add a condition means that it’s not standard and they’re singling us out. We asked a consultant and he said it wasn’t going to be an issue as long we weren’t serving alcohol on movie nights.”

This was not the case, as she soon found out.

The liquor license itself only allows the Rio to sell alcohol during the evening hours – such as 6pm onwards. There was hope that they could play movies earlier in the day, in order to remain open and have an income, but this was quashed also. Even though the license only allows them to sell alcohol in the evenings, they are technically licensed at all times; therefore, they cannot play movies during the day.

The Rio has always been open every day of the week, but now the liquor board’s condition has forced them to stay closed for several days in a row. “It’s just a matter of paying the bills.

Every day that we’re closed I’m losing money, and we were struggling already. The Rio can’t afford to be losing any money right now.” Lea also objected to the fact that the LCLB was classifying her as a “movie theatre” and not as a “multimedia venue”.

"It's not the term and condition itself which prohibits them from operating as a movie theatre," Karen Ayers, General Manager of the Liquor Board, says. "It's the liquor and control licensing act regulation."

Ayers added that the regulation was in place in order to protect public safety. "A large number of moviegoers are youth and families, and there's some fairly unique challenges posed by movie theatres in terms of ensuring minors don't have access to alcohol," she said in a phone interview with the Georgia Straight. Ayers expressed concerns that the darkness of a theatre provides ample opportunity for liquor abuse in what is supposed to be a family environment.

This has been a massive point of contention with Festival Cinemas, owner of various theatres and the land The Rio is on. “The local municipality should just overrule the Liquor Board; they seem out of touch with the whole situation and I don’t understand why they are pursuing this,” Leonard Schein, President of Festival Cinemas, says. “The license starts at 6pm, so they should be allowed to play movies before that time.”

Schein expressed confusion towards the Liquor Board’s concern that alcohol might find its way into the theatre, even if it’s not being sold, and have a negative impact on any minors in the area. “I was at the Roger’s Arena watching a game a little ways back, and they had people walking up and down the aisles selling beer to everyone. There were plenty of kids around and others under 19. Why is that not a problem, but the Rio is?”

“The government keeps trying to smokescreen the issue by saying it is a public safety issue because cinemas are dark and people could mix drinks,” Lea adds. “Rogers arena is dark during all-ages events, yet they’re allowed to serve alcohol even when minors are on the premises: explain that. Why haven’t they been shut down?”

In a press release on Jan. 25, NDP MLA Jenny Kwan announced that she would take immediate action to help reverse the decision that crippled The Rio. “The minister can fix this literally with the stroke of a pen,” Kwan said. “Allow them to operate as they always have been … without the red tape.”

Many people have argued that B.C. liquor laws are archaic, some dating back to the 1940s when it was "illegal to sell liquor to a person who was standing up straight." Many believe that the laws need to be reviewed and updated to accommodate the changing times. This can be seen in other areas of the law, where entire sections were repealed in order to allow alcohol at sporting events and concerts where it had previously been banned.

What is perhaps most interesting about the Rio’s situation is that it seems void of options.

Several movie venues in Vancouver have received liquor licenses in the past, generally under the condition that they have a membership process with age restrictions, and a theatre like the Rio could likely follow suit. This prevents minors from entering the premises, regardless of the age restriction on the movie itself.

This can also be seen in Manitoba, Ontario, and Alberta, where liquor laws are more lenient where theatres are concerned. In some rare

// Photos by Samantha Thompson cases, commercial theatres in Ontario have installed bars within the theatre, along with various fast-food stands, in order to better regulate who gets served.

Even with all that is happening, Lea remains hopeful that it will all work out: “We’ve been getting a lot of community support, [and] the majority of people are on our side, but there are a few people who have been getting angry at us for not playing movies anymore. I think they might be misinformed, and think that we sacrificed movies for a liquor license intentionally.”

With heated discussion from both sides of the table, and an outpouring of public opinion, the Rio will likely be remembered either as a victim of government red-tape, or as an underdog who spearheaded liquor law change in British Columbia.

F e atu r e s

“THE FEAR OF JUST APPROACHING A WOMAN IS INSURMOUNTABLE” New book gives tips for shy men improving lives. Because there are books to improve virtually every aspect of our lives, it is easy to get intimidated and overwhelmed when looking in that section. Besides reviews and testimonials, there is little to convince the readers that it will actually help improve their lives. What assurance is there that we’re not just going to spend $20 to stay in the exact same situation that we’re trying to get out of?

By Leah Scheitel // writer

“I

’m sure every guy, shy or not, feels nervous when approaching a woman, but when you’re love-shy the feeling of just approaching a women is insurmountable,” said Christoper Gray on Global Toronto’s Morning Show, “You see a woman you’re attracted to and you feel like there is nothing you can do about it.

You feel helpless.”

It’s these feelings of helplessness that Gray addresses in his book, From Shy to Social: A Shy Man’s Guide to Personal and Dating Success. The author based the book on his own experiences of being extremely “love shy”, to the point where it was crippling his social life.

“I wrote it after I had such a rough time socially, such a rough dating life, and I went looking for answers on how to fix it,” he explained. “Basically, I detailed my journey on how I fixed my social life. Once I reached this level of normalcy, I thought it might be good to detail my journey and some of the methods I used to help some of the other guys that might be suffering from the same problem.”

Gray thought that if he had such success in revitalizing his social life and conquering shyness, maybe his experiences could help other shy men do the same.

Testing the Tips

Book Tips starting a conversation. It’s almost like a wall that you have to scale. Once you do it, and you do it a few times, it gets easier and easier.”

The first assignment is to get yourself on the Internet more, where you are in the comforts of your own home, but still reaching out to people online. This is easy in comparison to assignment seven, where he challenges the reader to approach 50 women in ten days. It also features tips on grooming and appearance, gaining confidence, improving your walk, party etiquette, and how to approach women at bars, versus book stores, versus coffee shops.

Today, there is an abundance of ways to meet people: online dating, speed dating, and singles clubs, among others. According to Gray, one method is not better than any of the others, but the trick is to try them all to find what works for the individual.

“Internet dating is popular and can be successful if you present yourself well in your profile,” he says, “but my favorite way is to approach a woman directly in bookstores, or other common places.” Gray prefers this method because if he sees a girl at a place that he enjoys, like a bookstore, he already knows that they share a common interest, and he can see how she carries herself in real life.

The book shares many insights into what women want. Gray talks about many relationship myths, like how women are only attracted to the “bad-boy” type.

“Women want bold men,” he writes, “or if that word is too far away from where you are right now, they want decisive men. This doesn’t mean that they want a tyrant that always wants his way, but someone that is not wishy-washy.”

Gray does generalize about women throughout the book, and while he is correct in some cases, not all women want “bad-boy” types, or want to be pursued in non-social situations, like at a

Self Help “I never thought I would write one. It was only after I had success that I considered it,” Gray explains about writing a self-help book. “I’ve read self-help books before on dating and I didn’t find them to be that helpful because most of them don’t target the problems that shy men face, so I thought that this book would break new ground, and help out the shy guys.”

Gray was never planning to write a self-help book. He was working as a professional freelance writer, mostly in the business sector. It was only after he revived his own social life did he think that his experiences could help others. The book was released in November of 2011, and is a selfpublished project, which is becoming more popular medium amongst writers.

“It was a trial by fire experience,” Gray says of self-publishing. “Every writer needs an editor.” He says that hiring the right people, such as an editor and cover designer, is the key to a successful self-published book.

A self-help book designed to rejuvenate a man’s dating life has a market, but like other books in the self-help genre, people can question how effective it actually is. There are an abundance of self-help books on the shelves, all claiming to be the key missing tool to

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The book covers various topics including how to gain confidence, improving personal presentation, various methods of meeting women, and exercising social skills and tips from expert pickup artists. The first chapters of the book are dedicated to pinpointing the roots of shyness, what causes it, and how to overcome it. Understanding the problem is the first step to fixing it, and these chapters give some real insight into social awkwardness. Although the book is designed for the male reader, it does provide some perspective to females as well.

The author’s inspiration for the book was his old social life, which he describes as lonely and mundane: “My social life was so dismal. I found that after I started working full time, I was not making any new friends, I was not dating, and I was just coming home after work and watching TV or surfing the web. It was due to my shyness.

I was resisting invitations to go out because I was so uncomfortable in social situations, especially with women I was attracted to.”

Currently, he describes his social life as “pretty much normal.” He goes on dates, has friends, and interacts with others in cafes or bookstores.

Gray embarked on an 18-month research period, over which time he talked to five different dating coaches and various psychologists about ways to ease social awkwardness. “A lot of the research was my own trial and error, figuring out what works and what doesn’t.” He also cites different authors and experts throughout the 200 pages.

Amongst the book is a list of assignments, each one slightly more difficult than the first. The assignments were designed to help the reader become more comfortable around women: “They do become more difficult. You have to get yourself out of your comfort zone in order to improve,” says Gray. “The most difficult part for me was actually approaching a woman and

// Katie So bookstore. This generalization may lead some men astray, and the book would benefit from a direct female view of what she wants, instead of a male view of what all women want.

Although some of the tips may apply elsewhere, the book is focused on helping men interact with women. It’s not designed to help a gay man or a straight woman with their social lives: “You can be a shy woman, and guys will still approach you. But if you’re a shy guy, you’re still expected to make the first move,” Gray explains.

To test the theories in From Shy to Social, I invited my friend Andy out on a Thursday night.

Andy is a relatively shy 23-year-old guy who rides his bike everywhere. We work together at a snowboard shop, and one day a cute girl came in with her bike. Andy was very intimidated and too nervous to talk to her, so he went and folded sweatshirts in the men’s section instead of approaching her.

Over dinner, I briefed him on the book, and gave him a crash course on the assignments.

Wanting to start off slow, my main point to him was to smile at every girl he thought was attractive and to say, “Hello.” This was based on assignment four from the book. My goal that night was to get Andy a phone number.

At the Backstage Lounge on Granville Island, they were serving Bowen Island Lager for $1.60, and had live funk music. Andy noticed a girl sitting at a nearby table. There were different guys around her, but she didn’t look particularly interested in any of them.

“I want to talk with her,” he said, pointing her out. I patted down his cowlick, fluffed his collar (there is a whole chapter dedicated to presentation and grooming tips), and sent him off.

As he walked past her on his way to the bathroom, he made solid eye contact and smiled, and on his way back to the bar, he smiled at her again.

Although other guys were swarming around her, it looked like she was eager to see Andy, and they continued making eye contact from across the room while we sipped beers.

Excited that he was eye flirting with a cute girl, he wanted to move on to the next step. I told him to initiate a conversation with her, but quoted the book in saying to keep the focus on her, not to ask what she does, and to keep the conversation flowing. After he went to talk to her, it was 20 minutes before he returned, and there was a large smile on his face afterwards. There was one on mine too, but that was probably because he left me at a bar that was serving $2 beers.

Andy continued to have various conversations with her throughout the night, and whenever they saw each other on the dance floor, they would flirt. When we left at the end of the night, Andy had her number in his phone. He was convinced, and I will be getting him this book for his birthday.

From Shy to Social hopes to help guys get over the fear of talking to women they find appealing, which is a fear that even the most confident of guys can understand. “You’re afraid that you’re going to come off looking like a jerk,” says Gray on talking to women.

The dating world is intimidating for guys and girls alike. This book can help guys put more numbers into their little black books, and also make it easier for girls, so they don’t have to hear pick-up lines like, “My name is Doug. That’s GOD backwards with a little U in it.”

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Before the Taps Run Dry The world water crisis and what it means for us

By Colin Spensley // writer

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orget the tanking economy and rising food costs; forget the Iranian nuclear arms scare, sky-rocking emissions and everything in between. The most real threat for humanity comes from something we often take for granted: our dwindling water supply.

This is something we frequently overlook: as Environment Canada states on their website, Canada holds seven per cent of the world's fresh water but is also one of the largest consumers of this precious resources.

Residents of a large part of Canada can almost be forgiven for their lack of compassion for the dry, arid regions present in the rest of the world.

We are surrounded by water, with lakes, rivers, and streams pumping an inexhaustible amount of fresh water through pipes, out of our taps and down our throats. Unfortunately, we make up a very small percentage of the world population.

While we are presently surrounded by H2O, the significant percentage of the global population faces a daily struggle to obtain clean water.

GLOBAL BACKFLOW

cent, however, has managed to act as our lifeline for as long as humankind has existed on this planet. Our rivers, lakes, aquifers, streams and reservoirs have allowed us to expand our civilizations well beyond the limit of sustainability.

Unfortunately, international corporations, agriculture and national governments are exploiting what fresh water we have left.

It is estimated that even in economically developed nations like the United States, regions like southern California and Nevada could potentially run out of fresh water within 20 to 50 years at the current rate of expansion.

Areas like this often use a “toilet to tap” method of water recycling in which waste water is pumped into aquifers, filtered, treated and pumped back out the tap. The risk of contamination is high with many viruses and bacteria not being eliminated by sanitization. These bugs cause between 500,000 and seven million United States citizens to become sick from contaminated water each year.

Outside of North America, 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe and clean drinking water, leading to more than two million deaths every year directly related to water, many of which are children. The documentary For Love of Water (FLOW) goes into detail about the varying water situations around the world.

Much like the basic biological make up of humans, the earth is made up of 70 per cent waIndia: ter. Of that percentage, only three per cent of the Earth’s water is drinkable, with 97 per cent In countries such as India, what little fresh waremaining in our oceans. That meager three per ter they do have has often been polluted and

abused by multi-national corporations such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi. In 2009, in Plachimada, India, a Coca-Cola bottling plant turned an entire city’s drinking water toxic. Within six months, the water became ill-fit to drink or bathe in, and the crops that the citizens of Plachimada grew with the water became rancid and died.

Coca-Cola also offered the farmers of Plachimada a “free bio-fertilizer” for their coconut plantations which, when analyzed by a BBC study, showed toxic levels of cadmium and lead.

Only after a year of protest and public outcry did the India government impose laws, which shut down the Coca-Cola bottling plant for good.

Bolivia: In Bolivia, in 1999, multinational water corporations like Thames Water, Vivendi, and Suez have privatized municipal water supplies through the request of the World Bank and the governments of this developing nation. Companies like Suez work to set up water treatment plants in cities across Bolivia; however, the water supply often goes unchecked and becomes contaminated and unfit to drink.

In a country like Bolivia where one in ten children die before the age of five due to drinking water, it seemed like a step in the right direction for its citizens: “The objective of privatization was equipping the cities of La Paz and El Alto with potable water and sewage. But during that process we have evidence that in El Alto alone 208,000

// Illustrations by Britta Bachus people have been excluded from potable water service,” claims Julian Perez of the Federation of Neighbours of El Alto, in an interview during the documentary FLOW. These for-profit companies’ main goal is to sell cities own drinking water back to its citizens, often for more money than they can afford.

Fortunately, public interest groups rallied around the nation of Bolivia and the poor citizens within and drove out Suez in 2007.

AN AFFLUENT STREAM The water industry has become the third-largest industry in the world, falling just behind electricity and oil. With water prices continuing to rise and the threat of disease from tap water becoming more apparent, the Western world has turned to bottled water for drinking. Although most harmful pathogens enter your system through bathing and showering, we often tend to disregard that fact. Last year Americans purchased 31 billion litres of bottled water, costing $10.8 billion.

World wide bottled water sales shot upwards to $100 billion. This water is often unregulated, and the FDA claims that only one employee works to maintain the safety of the bottled water industry. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently does not regulate 51 known water contaminants, and studies show bottled water can contain chemicals, including arsenic, fertilizer, and painkillers from the top ten bottled water companies in the world.

f e atu r e s The real trick comes with the fact that these bottled water companies, including Nestle, have been accused of selling you tap water. Brands like Aquafina and Dasani are not only hundreds of times more expensive then tap water, they are allegedly tap water with added chemicals and bottled into carcinogen-leeching plastics, often sold at prices higher than gasoline. The UN has estimated that the total cost yearly to provide safe and clean drinking water for the entire world to be approximately $10 billion; the yearly revenue provided to the bottled water industry is three times that number.

With Nestle owning over 70 per cent of American bottled water companies, including Perrier and San Pellegrino, their thirst (no pun intended) for fresh water has become detrimental to ecosystems. An average bottling plant pumps around 450 gallons of water per minute, which, unsurprisingly, can cause the very streams they pump from to go dry in a matter of years. And as if that wasn’t enough, Nestle allegedly pays no money for the water, because they have the right as all citizens of America do to use tap water as they will.

IF THE WELL RUNS DRY

for Health and Environmental Regulation in the Bottled Water Industry.”

The Polaris Institute goes on to point out that the water that comes from your tap is strictly monitored and regulated by provincial governments and is tested every five hours, whereas bottled water has little to no regulation whatsoever and is tested once every two and a half years, on average.

Such health concerns have led many universities to not only raise awareness of these risks, but to occasionally ban the sale of bottled water all together, including forwardthinking Canadian schools like Vanier College in Montreal.

“We do have water refill stations and we’re hoping to start a ‘Pro Tap Water’ Campaign,”says Heidi Anderson, the Environmental Issues Coordinator for the Capilano Students’ Union.

“We are also looking into getting the water tested to show students that the water is essentially the same [as], if not better than, bottled water.” There is a petition with the Canadian Federation of Students for an anti-bottled water campaign, which can be signed in the CSU. Unfortunately, Capilano continues to maintain its vending machine contract with Coca Cola

lamps and water flowing underneath them.

The cost of running a Water Health UV Filtration System, which provides each person with ten litres of clean drinking water per day, is just $2USD per person annually, a truly meager amount. Also, the money saved from medication and travel costs imposed by diseases incurred from contaminated water is very high. Currently about 300,000 people have benefited from this new technology in India, which is a drop in the bucket when viewed against the people who need it (India has a population of over a billion people), but still a step in the right direction.

Water is also greatly wasted and exploited through mining practices across North America.

Fracking is a new type of mining method used to extract natural gas, which uses millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals to extract natural gas from shale beds across the United States. Not only is this method wasteful, it is also extremely toxic and dangerous to any near by water supply. Similar to Canada’s own tar sand “tailings”, the wastewater left behind from such operations is very toxic, not to mention wasteful. Between two and four barrels of water are used for every single barrel of oil removed from Canada’s tar sands.

which was renewed just last year – making it dif- the motion and these water meters actually going ficult to ban bottled water on campus anytime in to achieve the results you’re wanting to have? I the near future. think there are better ways to spend that money,” he told the Straight.

WATER CONTROVERSY FLOODS CITY HALL A POTABLE FUTURE As far as cities go our rain-soaked city of Vancouver fares pretty well with water con- Besides drinking wastewater from a reusable sumption, which comes as no surprise, since bottle, taxing consumers, and building dams, we are surrounded by it. However, as part of there are other ways to protect our freshwater the Greenest City 2020 Action Plan, which the supplies. Many water activists in India are pushVision Vancouver government brought forward ing forward Water Health UV Filtration systems, in Jul. 5, 2011, Vancouverites were encouraged to which use an electronic UV lamp to sterilize their reduce their consumption of fresh water through water. These units are self-sustaining and require metered usage. only one or two employees to monitor the UV

The harsh reality of this crisis is that many areas of North America will soon either experience water shortages, something they rarely experience, or that the water they do consume will become highly treated or less safe.

However, there is hope for the world of water. As with most obstacles, humanity can once again turn to science: vast water-use reduction and treatment, along with more water efficient appliances and homes, will likely stall the inevitable point of no return. We must act quickly though, securing our supply of clean, sustainable drinking water, and maintaining it before the taps run dry.

So where do we turn when the rivers have run dry, we’ve polluted our lakes, and tapped our aquifers to depletion? The National Research Council has reported that in Southern California, and in the surrounding area, steps have been taken in an attempt to purify what was once considered wastewater. Las Vegas, a city with a population of almost 600,000, empties all of its wastewater into Lake Mead, which in turn provides a large amount of tap water for the rest of the South Western United States.

Lake Mead was formed from excess water retained by the creation of the Hoover Dam in 1936 and holds approximately 35.2 km of water. The water pumps into areas like Southern California and Arizona and is drawn from taps of homes, containing on average about five per cent wastewater in it, which can contain a lot of nasty microbes. Scientists claim, however, that the five per cent of contaminants, which include pharmaceuticals and hormones, are less dangerous than many natural reservoirs and pose no serious health risks.

Even if this is the case, Lake Mead’s water levels continue to rise and fall in dramatic levels of excess and drought. It has been predicated that within 30 years, with current levels of growth, Lake Mead could drop its water levels by up to 50 per cent. This would leave a large part of the southern United States in a state of drought and potential famine.

The National Research Council seeks to prevent this by sending the wastewater back into the pipes of Americans: "Wastewater is a droughtproof supply. People are always generating wastewater," Jorg Drewes of the NRC said in an interview with the LA Times. "That can be a very viable option, the committee felt, compared to imported water and other options."

THE CAMPUS AQUEDUCT Fortunately for Vancouver residents, the water that comes out of our taps is rated within the cleanest and safest water in the world. It seems foolish to throw your money into a vending machine for a bottle of Dasani water that was likely bottled in Toronto or Quebec.

“In Canada, there have been 29 separate recalls of 49 bottled water products since January 2000 due to bacterial or chemical contaminants including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, and Arsenic [CFIA],” claims the Polaris Institute in a report entitled, “The Urgent Need

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

All new family homes and duplexes require water usage meters installed to monitor a household’s water consumption, a proposition proposed by city councillor Andrea Reimer.

Currently, all homes in Vancouver pay the same flat rate for water utility; however, this seems unfair to Reimer.

“Right now we all pay the same amount [in a flat utility fee], no matter how much water you use in your house,” she said in an interview with the Georgia Straight. “The less people you have, generally speaking – though not universally – the less water you are going to use, right?”

The proposed meters would cost roughly $500 per household, which has caused a bit of a stir among other city councillors. Opponents include the Non-Partisan Association, which views the water usage meters as some sort of extra tax being imposed by the city under the guise of creating a greener city.

Although many developed cities use per-usage water metering as an effective way to reduce consumption, George Affleck of the NPA sees it differently: “I understand the conservation argument. The conservation argument is obvious, and that’s why they say we should pass this motion.

Well, actually I understand preservation, but is

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EDIT OR // Cl aire Vul l iamy // arts @ c api l ano c o uri e r. c o m

tv Reviews

NOT YOUR GRAMMY’S MUSIC AWARD SHOW

(Contains spoilers)

Music’s biggest night

GOSSIP GIRL

// Shannon Elliott

By JJ Brewis // Art director

W

ith the approach of spring comes the onslaught of celebrity award shows, and “Music's Biggest Night” is the Grammy Awards. Each year we are treated to a massively long speech about downloading and the state of music today, obnoxious fashion, an annual appearance by either Bonnie Raitt or Stevie Wonder, and scandals, such as in 2009 when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s award acceptance speech. Then, of course, there are the awards themselves, which always seem to be an afterthought. This year the Grammys return in full-force, hosted by LL Cool J. Here, then, is a breakdown of the biggest and most intriguing categories.

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

RECORD OF THE YEAR & SONG OF THE YEAR

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Often times, the nominees for Record of the Year and Song of the Year are near identical. In the past, recipients of one category have had about a 50 per cent chance of picking up the other.

This year, both categories share four nominees: Adele's "Rolling in the Deep"; Bruno Mars' “Grenade”; Bon Iver's "Holocene"; and Mumford & Sons' "The Cave". The only difference is that the Song category, which is awarded to the songwriter, also features Kanye West's "All of the Lights", whereas the Record category, which is awarded to the artist and producer, includes Katy Perry's "Firework".

If the Grammy committee is looking to actually honour the song with the biggest impact on the musical landscape, they'll give it to Adele.

Personally, I'd go with Bon Iver, but he may be too obscure to scoop this up. Record of the Year is one of the most versatile categories, with recent winners ranging from Coldplay to Green Day to Norah Jones. In Song of the Year, West's "Lights" stands a good chance, given its multiple superstar vocalists, including Rihanna and Elton John.

All of the nominees are quite distinct, so all the voters need to choose is which style to reward, whether soulful (Adele), a use of vocal register ("Grenade"), or folksy ("The Cave"). But guaranteed, West and his crew are walking away with this one.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Interestingly, this is the first year that combines genders for the category, and both winners in the Male and Female Pop Vocal Performance category last year, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, are present among the nominees in this new consolidated category. Fellow contenders Adele and Katy Perry make the list a competitive one, as all four of those artists are also represented in the other big categories.

The pop music radar is surely showing to be a woman's world, at least for the time being, with Pink tossed in as the fifth nominee here, leaving Mars as the sole male in the category. Though a pop phenomenon, Gaga's "You and I" failed to make a mainstream splash, leaving Adele and Perry fighting for the finish line in this one.

Has there been a more hyped and promoted album in recent years than Born This Way, Lady Gaga's homage to equality and self-appreciation? It's doubtful. This is her third nomination in a row, being squashed out in 2010 by Taylor Swift, and in 2011 when underdog nominee Arcade Fire took home the prize. However, Adele's 21 was the top selling and most singleproducing, appealing to a much wider audience.

Last year's win was an upset for major nominees including Eminem and Katy Perry. This year sees a rock inclusion from Foo Fighters, and other top 40 stars Bruno Mars and Rihanna. Given that Gaga's singles didn't pan out for any nominations, I'm betting on seeing a wacky gown up on POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE that stage.

Last year Bruno Mars shocked viewers by beatBEST NEW ARTIST ing Michael Jackson in the only category he was The category's title is a bit misleading, and actual- posthumously nominated for. What will happen ly rewards "the first recording which establishes to the final nomination for Amy Winehouse, who the public identity of that artist", which may not is represented here for her duet of "Body and necessarily be the first release from that artist. Soul" with Tony Bennett?

Sometimes the winners go on to make a massive Other nominated songs in the category were splash, with recipients ranging from The Beatles huge chart toppers, including Foster the People's to Mariah Carey. Sometimes, an artist like Hootie "Pumped Up Kicks" and Maroon 5's "Moves Like & the Blowfish, who faded into obscurity, beats Jagger". Coldplay and The Black Keys are also repout eventual career artists like Shania Twain and resented here, but it's likely to come down to eiAlanis Morissette. ther "Jagger" or "Soul", as both feature artists with This year, dubstep electronic artist Skrillex, previous Grammy wins. enchanting indie woodsman Bon Iver, the new BEST RAP ALBUM First Lady of rap Nicki Minaj, R&B artist J. Cole, and country act The Band Perry round up the Before the nominations for this year were annominations. It may come down to a hair, but I'm nounced, Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark betting on Bon Iver to squeak out a narrow win Twisted Fantasy was a huge buzz album that over Minaj. made it on essentially every critic's year-end list for 2010. But despite massive critical appeal and BEST DANCE/ELECTRONICA ALBUM chart success, West abandoned the album early There are some solid offerings here, such as Cut in 2011 and never even toured with it. Instead he Copy's Zonoscope, which would be my personal focused in on his Watch The Throne collaborachoice. The likely pick will be favourite David tive album with Jay-Z. Both discs are nominated Guetta, who has literally collaborated with every in this category, and neither of them are up for major pop and R&B artist in Billboard's Top 100 best album. at this point. Also featured are Robyn, who has Will the academy go for West's solo artistic made a massive splash with her three-album opus or the crunchy duets album? The real clinchBody Talk project, Skrillex, and the maybe-slight- er here is the inclusion of rap's artsy bad girl Nicki ly-passe DJ act deadmau5.

Minaj with her Pink Friday release. Lil Wayne and Lupe Fiasco round out the category, but I'm cerPOP SOLO PERFORMANCE tain Throne will pull out on top.

This episode was the best thing to happen on TV this week. Well, the wedding happened (WTF), but before we get to vows, we find out a number of tantalizing details: Blair’s mom really cares about her, Chuck really is a good person (I told you so! It’s all in his smile!), and Serena really loves Dan (we already knew this). Georgina shows up (did not miss her at all!) with her hilarious new husband and baby. Chuck finds out the real reason that Blair won’t be with him (so dumb) and he stands at the back of the aisle making us collectively hold our breath while we wait to see what he’ll do. Then Gossip Girl sends a blast that everyone in the church gets that shows Blair confessing that she will always love Chuck. The wedding happens anyway, Louis tells Blair he doesn’t love her anymore but they’re going to pretend to be happy for the cameras, and then she runs away with a new man. But it’s not Chuck, it’s Dan! This is right after Serena confessed her love to him and Chuck came running back to apologize. The worst part of this episode was that Georgina is Gossip Girl. Except I don’t believe it, and also I hate her.

GLEE Glee, why are you getting so bad!? You’re telling me that someone in grade 12 decides her life is over (we’re talking about Rachel by the way), and agrees to marry her high school boyfriend before they’ve even graduated?

Their plot continues to make no sense at all, and yet we all keep watching because they entice us with Artie dancing around without his wheelchair (again?). Then Blaine gets slushied and now he might lose his eye because there was rock salt in the slushie? This is the strangest alternate universe I’ve ever had the privilege of peering in on! Seriously though, eyepatches are sexy, so Blaine might be in luck.

GREY’S ANATOMY Remember how last week I said that this episode was going to suck? It kind of did. It all started because Meredith went to sleep in the real universe thinking, “What if everything was different?” Then we got to see what would happen if everything was different!

Everyone was dating the wrong person (Torres and Sloan? Not cool). Alex and Meredith were engaged but then all hell broke loose because April and Karev were hooking up in Karev’s office. And Miranda gets fired! The only real difference in the plot is that Webber marries Meredith’s mom who is still alive, and who is a huge bitch. But then at the end of the episode everyone is where they should be!

And Meredith is sipping tequila like it’s no big deal, chilling with McDreary. What! Good news is, next week’s episode is (probably) going to rule.

By Samantha Thompson // Editor-in-Chief

A r ts

A night in a Japanese love hotel Photographer Nathalie Daoust documents female sexuality

By Julia Whalen // The Aquinian (St. Thomas University)

F

REDERICTON (CUP)—Photographer Nathalie Daoust spent several months in a Japanese love hotel exploring female sexuality and the subversion of gender stereotypes.

She had no idea the people she met would be so special and kind.

She also didn’t expect to be tied upside down by a shibari master – a specialist in Japanese bondage: “He said that I should try it if I was going to photograph his model in this position. I said, ‘Why not.’”

Daoust lived in Tokyo’s Alpha-In, one of the biggest S&M – short for sadomasochism – love hotels in Japan. People who practice S&M are pleasured either by inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation from their sexual partner.

Daoust photographed 39 women of all ages who took dominant roles in S&M. The photos show them in their private rooms, surrounded by the specialized equipment and costumes that define their trade as a dominatrix.

She believes in confronting stereotypes of gender roles that exist not only in Japan, but all over the world. Her goal is to provide an insight into the concept of women as dominant beings.

“I would say that women are more oppressed in Japan, [but] of course not all,” Daoust says.

“Even the dominatrix that I met would bow lower than their customers and walk behind them.

Only when the hotel doors would close would they then have the power.”

Love hotels, also known as fashion or boutique hotels, can be for short stays – up to three hours – or overnight. They’re operated around the world with the primary purpose to allow couples undisturbed time together, but they’re also used for budget travelers looking to share accommodation or for prostitution.

Daoust had the idea for the project after living in the Carlton Arms Hotel, also known as the Artbreak Hotel, in New York City from 1997 to 1999. Each room in the hotel was designed by a different artist, such as British street artist Banksy who decorated a stairwell.

She lived in and photographed every room in the hotel, and it was during this time she met some Japanese tourists who told her about theme-decorated hotels in Japan. The purpose of these hotels, though, was for threehour stays.

“I was interested in documenting this and moved to Tokyo for two years,” she says.

Daoust photographed many love hotels in Japan, but the Alpha-In initially didn’t allow it.

When she published her first book, her New York Hotel series, she returned to Alpha and showed her work to the owner.

I got used to hearing the screaming from behind the doors, seeing the tools and costumes or even seeing customers ‘playing’ in the hallways.”

Over the years, Western media has sensationalized and negatively affected Japanese sexual practices to the point where some love hotels like Alpha were done away with to create a different political image. Daoust says that in 2001 when she was documenting the love hotels, hotels were in the process of being shut down because of foreign media.

Healthy practices of sexuality and fantasy, she says, seem to be constantly swept under the rug in North America. She says it’s this unwillingness to openly discuss sexuality that’s a major contributing factor to the challenges of confronting stereotypes of gender roles.

After several months in the Alpha-In and talking with different people, Daoust says she realized there was actually nothing wrong with what they were doing as long as everyone consents. // Photo courtesy of Nathalie Daoust “It was quite sad [to see them go because] “He then invited me to come back to Japan and many hotels that had amazing decorations were do a project on his hotel, and now we are very being destroyed or just painted in plain white good friends,” she explains. walls. What was so wrong about this fantasy?”

The artist said Alpha was initially a very she explains. “Before this experience, I mostly strange place for her, but after several months in learned that S&M was bad, and whoever does it the hotel everything seemed almost normal: “I must be disturbed. [But] Japan is quite open to only had preconceived notions to what S&M was experience any type of fantasy. I find this better and [about] the people that go there. After a while then repressing it.”

MAKE YOUR OWN SANDWICH, I’M AN ARTIST Capilano University screens a feminist art documentary

By Claire McGillivray // Writer

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question and answer period. Featuring a highly knowledgeable panel, the roster included local filmmaker, performer, and writer Amber Dawn and Capilano University faculty members Toni Latour and Sandra Seekins, professors of Studio Art and Art History, respectively.

Immediately preceding Capilano University’s film screening of !WAR was a presentation of Riva, a short documentary created by Capilano Documentary film student Shurman Esseline.

His film tells the story of a dear friend of his, the passionate and vibrant Riva Fisher.

The documentary takes viewers through her deeply personal and challenging experiences dealing with a brain tumor this past year.

Esseline noted, during his question and answer period, that he “had to leave a lot of stuff out because [he] just couldn’t bring [himself] to turn the camera on.”

Esseline also updated the audience that Fisher is now finished her chemotherapy and back at

// Tiaré Jung school. Her strength and positivity throughout her battle against cancer, paralleled many of the sentiments expressed by the strong females profiled in !WAR. When asked what advice she would offer to other contemporary artists focusing on social change, especially young women, Hershman states, “Keep working despite perhaps a lack of perceived success.”

Her last words reflect an essence of the film that resonates with simplicity: “Hold onto your vision and sense of humour.”

Capilano Film Series presents upcoming screenings of Sound it Out directed by Jeanie Finlay and Familia directed by Alberto Herskovits and Mikael Wiström. The screenings take place at 7:30 pm on Feb. 28 and Mar. 13, respectively, at the North Shore Credit Union Centre for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for students.

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

o women have to be naked to get into the Metropolitan Museum of Art?” This was the slogan for a campaign started in 1985 by a feminist art collective called the Guerrilla Girls. Their action was in response to an art exhibit that marked the reopening of the Museum of Modern Art, which featured recent and international art, but only 13 of the 169 artists were women.

The Guerilla Girls are now profiled in a recent documentary where the ratio is a lot higher.

Hannah Wilke, Judy Chicago, Yoko Ono, Cindy Sherman, and Barbara Kruger are among a number of influential female artists who are showcased in !Women Art Revolution, a feminist art documentary directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson, a multidisciplinary artist herself.

In partnership with Vancouver’s DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Capilano University presented a screening of !Women Art Revolution on Jan. 24. The film, colloquially referred to as !WAR highlights the place of feminism and social activism in art over the last four decades.

Hershman agrees that her film represents a vital story that needs to be heard. She says that it details “a political movement [that] commented on the injustices of society and sought to shirt power structures in a way that reflected social justice and civil rights.”

The film focuses on how feminist artistic integrity can play a vital role in this shift towards social justice. Before the project, Hershman emphasizes, “there really was no history in existence about this movement.” Described by the New York Times as "passionate, contentious, funny,

sincere, [and] politically attuned,” the film itself represents a leap forward in the women’s art movement.

Based on Hershman’s extensive body of work, a lot of connections can be made between artistic expression and social commentary. Her art has touched on themes of consumerism, privacy, and the comparison between reality and virtual reality. Her inspirations drew on traditional theatrical performance and innovative installation art. Due to the highly experimental nature of her work, it was not always easy finding an audience.

This film is no different: “Independent films and those especially about social issues have a tough time reaching a large public,” says Hershman. There have been many difficulties and challenges that she and her team have had to overcome in all of her projects.

Most specifically, this relates to distribution.

Fortunately for Hershman, the film “had a great distributor that helped the work be seen on a larger scale.” !WAR premiered internationally as an official selection at such prestigious festivals as the Toronto International, Sundance, Panorama Berlin International, San Francisco International, and the Human Rights Watch Film Festivals.

Hershman describes the experience of having the film selected by MoMA as one of the three best documentaries of the year as “a thrill.” “[I was] surprised by the positive reception to the film,” she says. The positive reception, both publicly and professionally does justice to the message, and the story that is being told. “All of these things help people know about the movement and the issues.”

The Capilano Film Series, in partnership with the DOXA film festival, included a pre-screening

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Arts

VANCOUVER’S ONE-OF-A-KIND HOT CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL Explore the city and its flavours

By Leanne Kriz // Writer

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lack sesame, lavender, and salted caramel with rosemary are generally not flavours of hot chocolate you see on the menu of your local coffee shop, but at Vancouver’s 2nd Annual Hot Chocolate Festival, hosted by City Food magazine, these are the norm amongst the dozens of other wild flavours on offer. After the huge success of the first Hot Chocolate Festival, Rhonda May, the coordinator of the event, says that main push to continue for a second year was due to the many requests from the public.

May explains that the Festival began because, as far as they knew, “no one had done a city-wide Hot Chocolate Festival before, so it was a different idea to try.” Not only that, but “Vancouver has some of the most talented chocolatiers and pastry chefs in the world, using the best ingredients, and there was not enough attention being given to that.”

This year there are 13 different locations, cafés and chocolate shops alike, who are participating in the festival by offering a rotating variety of flavours over the course of one month. The festival began mid-January and ends on Feb. 14. A list of the different venues taking part in the festival can be found on the website (www.cityfood.com/

events/hotchocolate/) as well as the different flavours which festival-goers have the opportunity to experience.

One of these shops is Bella Gelateria, a handcrafted gelato shop on the corner of Burrard St. and West Cordova. They are featuring salted caramel, Italian honey nougat and hazelnut, and macadamia nut flavours, all of which are accompanied with a complimentary slice of banana bread. Bella Gelateria’s specialty is handcrafted gelato but has been chosen to take part in the festival because of the fine quality hot chocolates they serve: “We put a lot of care into our hot chocolates, we use organic milk, and Michel Cluziel chocolate,” explains Tyler Pletzer, an employee of Bella Gelateria.

Beyond trying the different flavours, real hot chocolate enthusiasts can also take part in the Online Photo Contest, which will automatically enter each contestant in a draw to win various gift certificates from the participating businesses, as well as the opportunity to win a Festival Pass to the 2013 Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival. All photos entered must be of either the hot chocolate itself, or of you and your friends enjoying your drinks.

Young and old alike are encouraged to join, as May explains: “Almost all other beverage festivals involve alcohol, and are therefore restricted to adults only. This is one that the whole family

// Kira Campbell can enjoy, while at the same time supporting a neighbourhood business.” Furthermore, all proceeds of the festival go towards Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre and its food services programs.

As the festival nears its end on Valentine’s Day, it allows people an opportunity to take out their

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significant other for a romantic date, or simply for some cheer. As May puts it, “Nearly everyone loves chocolate, and in January, when the holiday season is over, Valentine’s Day seems a long ways away, and the Vancouver weather is dark, wet and a little depressing, we can all use some cheering up.”

E DIT ORS // Samant ha Thomp son + Sarah Vit et // e di to r@ c api l ano c o uri e r. c o m

IN THE HEADLINES

The world is your responsibility

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

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oter turnout in federal elections has been steadily decreasing for the last twenty years: in 1988 it sat at 75 per cent, and by 2008 it had dropped to 59 per cent. In 2008, 5.9 per cent of Canadians reported that they were involved in a political party or group. Also in 2008, 13 per cent said they had contacted a newspaper or politician to express their views, 24 per cent signed a petition, 19 per cent attended a public meeting, and 3 per cent participated in a protest or march. Although these numbers decreased from 2003, the number of Canadians who said they had searched for information on a political issue in the 12 months prior to the survey did increase from 24 per cent in 2003 to 27 per cent in 2008.

These things are all related, and they speak volumes about the present state of our society.

Although being an active participant in society cannot be reduced to your involvement in politics, they certainly play an important role in painting a picture of what we as citizens of society are likely to do. Most importantly, these statistics tell us that Canadians are headed down a dangerous path when we increasingly ignore the world around us.

When I was younger, I wasn’t aware of current events. I didn’t know anything about politics, world issues, didn’t care for history classes; until one day, I started taking classes like Civil Studies and Law with Mr. Adair. Sometimes, all it takes

is one good experience with current events to change your opinion about their importance.

In the first class of Civic Studies, he told us, “If there’s one thing you can do for homework, I want you to watch the news every night.” He wanted his students to be critical thinkers, not passively unaware members of society.

Although I learned this lesson in high school, it is difficult to ensure we remain informed members of society as we progress into adulthood.

Despite the fact that it is not easy, we must work to educate each other and encourage dialogue about what we are reading and seeing every single day. It cannot be emphasized enough how important this is.

Imagine if we ignored current events altogether. What would happen? We would become a very suppressed and ignorant society. It would be so much easier for corporations and governments to control our lives, we wouldn’t be helping others when disaster hits and we wouldn’t be able to protect ourselves. Life would be very grim and chaotic. It is in this situation that I now understand the phrase “knowledge is power” and I am ready to be powerful.

We can start off with conversation. I don’t know about you, but sometimes you need a conversation starter and it feels good to talk about something other than the show you watched last night on TV, or the latest gossip about people’s relationships. It feels good to exercise your brain

and feel smart; to share ideas, thoughts and opinions on what will one day be part of history.

I always want to talk about something interesting I’ve read in the news. Too often we overlook how fascinating real life can really be.

Not everyone is like me, but I did become more active and motivated when I knew more about the world. Imagine how much we all could accomplish if this was the case. If everyone knew what was going on, everyone could develop opinions and potentially get involved and we could truly initiate change.

It’s like what people say at election time: “If you didn’t vote, you have no right to complain about who got elected.” Everyone who’s part of a proper conversation or debate should be able to back up or explain what they’re saying. How did you develop your opinion and where did it come from?

If you don’t know what you’re talking about, you have no right to complain. We must do our research before we start spouting off about how much we hate our Member of Parliament. We saw a very important example of people coming together, finding information, and beginning conversations about it with the American legislation pertaining to the Internet.

Everyone uses the Internet and everyone shares information and entertainment with each other online. It’s accessible, but we may lose the right to share information openly and freely. Although the American SOPA and PIPA have been

With Alyssa Kostello // Columnist

put on hold, Canada’s Bill C-11 is on the horizon and we need to speak out just as loudly against it. If everyone makes themselves aware about these pieces of legislation, we can form an opinion, get involved, take action, and make a difference.

An even bigger and more relevant issue, for students especially, are the high tuition fees and insane amounts of debt that go along with it. In B.C. over the past ten years, tuition fees have more than doubled, and the average student debt is $27,000. My Ontario student loan has interest of $4 a day. We are entering a generation of debt and there are ways we can stop this from happening if we educate ourselves and get involved.

As Mr. Adair said, the best thing you can do is start by watching the news. If you are reading up on current events, make sure you are also checking your sources and find a variety of stories to compare with in order to get a balanced point of view. Biases are always present, and unbalanced information can also be misleading. Inform yourself about everything, so that you’ll be able to participate fully as a citizen of the world.

Alyssa is a recent graduate from the Acting for Stage and Screen Program here at Cap and is excited to be trying her hand at writing articles. She is currently writing a few plays, hosting a monthly variety night, and is the new President of The NOW! Organization.

C o lu m n s Not what not to wear

The personal uniform

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don't know how you guys feel about mornings, but I can't fucking stand them. My energy levels are well into the negatives when I leave my heated mattress pad (shut up, I'm old) in the morning to hit up my totally uncool but publicly visible minimum wage job. The last thing I'm concerned with is maintaining a stylish personal groove … until my fifth coffee at around 2pm. At that point I usually look down and yell, "What the fuck!" when I see what my dog has allowed me to leave the house in.

I'm sure you all feel my pain. When you set off to school or work at seven in the morning and you put on whatever you found lying on the top layer of the laundry hamper, you really don't expect to run into your ex, the future love of your life, or a Hollywood casting agent. Of course, these are the situations where that kind of shit's going to happen. It's too bad that you wore your most busted-ass dad jeans with Crocs, you turkey!

The importance of a personal uniform cannot be overstated. My friend Giles has got it nailed.

He wears nothing except skinny black jeans and plain collared polos every day of his life, and I bet he saves a fortune on poorly thought-out fashion purchases. Although I don't expect everyone to take it to this extreme, it is an amazing relief to wake up in the morning knowing exactly what you're going to put on.

What you have to do is cultivate a consistent

With Cheetah Powers // Columnist

daily uniform of go-to, mix-and-match pieces that are serviceable, not too stained, comfortable, and understated. Then, if you're feeling ambitious, you can throw on some extra bling or accessorize to customize each day's look. This way, you can minimize the time spent humming and hawing in front of the mirror and spend more time fixing up your haggard face.

Here is an entire week's worth of outfits utilizing only a few articles of clothing. It works for both men and women, and you don't have to waste any brain power at all. ▶ Pair of black jeans: professional, flattering, and stain-repellent ▶ Plaid shirt: duh ▶ Denim shirt: always a classic ▶ Rugged work boots: comfortable, and good for any event except formal. Get a range of sweet socks for "flair". ▶ A few plain or subtly patterned t-shirts or sweaters ▶ Warm cardigan: layer under or over your usual layers for extra thermal insulation ▶ Toque: to cover your gross bed-head.

The end. This is how you get “a look”.

Cheetah Powers is a long-time hoarder and lover of fabulous clothes. She believes that a truly stylin' outfit should always be affordable, universal, and easy to pee in.

Student foodie

Soup’s on!

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// Columnist

Leanne comes from a long line of food lovers, and has been cooking since she was eight years old. She has spent many years creating the perfect chocolate chocolate chip cookie. In spite of all of her food experimentation, to this day her favourite meal is still a delicious bowl of popcorn.

 B ab i’ s Y ummy V e g etabl e Soup Prep time: 15 mins Cooking time: 35 mins

Another tip is to pre-cut all your vegetables and have your spices, herbs and other ingredients ready to go so that you are not scrambling around the kitchen to locate all the ingredients while you are cooking. It is important to be prepared with soups, because timing is everything!

You don’t want to overcook your vegetables, but I’ll explain that later in the recipe.

Broth: 3 bouillon cubes 7 C water 1 medium onion, chopped fine 1 celery stalk, chopped quite fine (optional) 1 carrot, chopped quite fine (optional) 1 tsp dry thyme (use half if fresh) 1/4 tsp pepper 1. In a large pot, bring 7 cups of water to boil.

Crumble in the bouillon cubes and stir until dissolved. Turn off heat.

2. In a separate saucepan, sauté onions, celery, and carrot until the onion is translucent. Once cooked, add to the broth. Note: Sautéed onions give tons of flavour, so it is always better to have more rather than less.

3. Add thyme and pepper and bring to a simmer.

Simmering means you bring the heat up to the point of just below boiling. You want the broth hot, but without the violent bubbles that come along with boiling.

You may have noticed that the celery and carrot are optional. I like to cook with these to give the base of my soup more flavour, but if you don’t have

them, it’s not a big deal; they aren’t essential.

The rest of the soup is what I consider to be the most interchangeable part. You can mix and match vegetables and meats to suit your style. I’m going to recommend a nice mix of vegetables, but feel free to get creative and switch it up. I prefer to use beans rather than meat because they are equally delicious and a lot cheaper.

Starches and Vegetables: 1 large russet potato, cut into small cubes 1/3 cup uncooked brown or white rice 1 large tomato, cut into small cubes 1 can red kidney beans 2 cloves garlic, pressed 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (optional) 4. Take the potatoes and cut them into small cubes.

The larger the cubes you cut, the longer it will take to cook, so keep that in mind. Add the potato and uncooked rice to the soup and bring to a boil. Keep on high for about 15 mins, or just until the potatoes start to become tender but are still somewhat raw.

They should still be quite hard at this point.

Note: The reason you are adding these first is because they take the longest to cook. The timing of adding your vegetables is the key to not overcooking them, and can be a little tricky to get used to.

5. Add the cubed tomatoes, kidney beans, and pressed garlic into the soup. Simmer for another 10 mins. Add the parsley at the end and let it cook for a few more minutes before serving.

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

The best thing about soup is its versatility. If you learn to make a zucchini soup, you can replace the zucchini with brocoli, or replace it with beets. Once you know the basics, you’re laughing, and the world of soups will open up to you.

Your vegetables can be on their last legs, old and wilted, but it doesn’t matter because it all gets blended up into the soup. One great tip to save money is to go to your local supermarket and find the old/ reduced-price vegetable section (I go to Kin’s Market because they always have tons of stuff).

You can switch up the recipe and replace the rice with barley or noodles, add turnips, use black beans, chickpeas, or any other type of bean that you like. Throw in broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, zucchini, or whatever vegetable you’re craving.

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try cooking something new. If you’ve got a good standard recipe like this one and an array of delicious vegetables, it’s almost impossible to go wrong.

Chow chow, thrifty friends!



olévka means “soup” in Czech. My Dad’s side of the family comes from the Czech Republic, so I go there every few years to visit my grandma and other family members.

The first year I went without the rest of my family was also the first time I had visited since I began to dip my toes in the world of vegetarian cuisine.

I am more of a “flexitarian” now, but at that time I was a hardline veggie.

Little did I know that the word “vegetarian” barely existed in the Czech Republic, and those who had heard of vegetarianism considered it more as a mental illness than a dietary choice. Despite my insecurities about being an outsider, I managed to maintain a strong hold of my dietary habits and the moral values that went along with them. As a consequence, my new nickname became “Rabbit”.

My grandmother (or Babi, as I call her), loves to cook. She also takes pleasure in ensuring that nobody goes hungry, or even merely full; everyone must be near-bursting before they can leave her table. The whole vegetarian thing knocked her off kilter: how can you stuff a person with vegetables? In a land of meat, potatoes, and dumpling, the idea seemed preposterous.

My vegetarianism troubled her; through all our language barriers, food had always been her way of communicating, and now she had no way to communicate with me.

My Babi will always find a way though, and the answer was found in polévka. My grandma taught me the fundamentals of cooking soup, and she also taught me a lesson that I didn’t realize at the time would become vital for me in the future: she taught me that I could survive on soup for many weeks, and it is by far one of the cheapest and easiest meals to make.

With Leanne Kriz

15

Op i n i o n s

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Edi tor // Marco Ferreira // o pi ni o ns @ c api l ano c o uri e r. c o m

A Second Chance Was the veneer so thick? actually just liked the quality of the film that the directors used during that time. It’s not so much // writers about the message of the clips that I used … it’s more about what strikes me visually… what I Niggie: just find to be beautiful and that … is what leads side from her controversial SNL debut, my narrative.”

Lana Del Rey has only played a handAs an artist, Lana Del Rey created a world for ful of concerts. She performed in Paris herself. In the songs that she did write, she really at the Nouveau Casino, where she debuted her comes through in the music. She created not only song Born to Die along with a new look and a audio stimulus, but visual to connect with her deeper voice. She also headlined an exclusive audience. What else do you want? She isn't her performance in New York where she chose to marketing, and we should know that. Her album sing six unreleased songs. Presumably, this was is out now, so if you liked the song “Video Games” the singer easing her way on to the stage. before her SNL performance, give it a listen reAs we saw, it still wasn't enough preparation. gardless. Her live performance does nothing to For anyone familiar with the music industry, change the music everyone was so excited by in the result of her premature SNL performance the first place. shouldn't come as much of a surprise, and it JJ: shouldn't change your opinion of the artist’s music. woman steps on stage in front of the bigSince the performance, Lana Del Rey has been gest audience of her life, and the crowd labeled by critics as a manufactured wannabe. is stunned by how beautiful she is. Yet The question remains, why do we ascribe the importance of authenticity to one artist and not mere seconds into her performance, it is quite the next? It isn't any feat worth bragging about to apparent she's out of her league, with her vocals see through Lana Del Rey's marketing. The less- completely off-pitch, and her stage presence enthan-perfect woman and singer used the well- tirely lacking. It's 2011, and the media is neither documented resources of her father to get the leg forgiving nor forgetting: Lana Del Rey's atrocious up on the competition. How many other pop mu- Saturday Night Live performance was a spectacle different from anything the show had expesician success stories could be told differently?

Despite the fact that she doesn't write all of her rienced in the past. While the show had seen a own lyrics, which is hardly an argument against few blunders in their time – the Ashlee Simpson any modern day pop star, Lana Del Rey is still an lip synching fiasco, Kanye West's flat singing, or artist at heart. The music video for “Video Games” Sinead O'Connor ripping up a photo of the Pope is comprised of clips and footage that she chose, – the Del Rey situation is different in that she is a collected, and recorded. Some of the footage is brand new artist.

Del Rey was booked entirely based on internet of her growing up; other clips are from cartoons and movies that she was drawn to and wanted to buzz and, quite honestly, a beautiful face. Photos of her were everywhere, viral videos posted on see in her video.

When asked by blog Faceculture about the every major site leading some to believe she vintage clips, Lana Del Rey said, “I think a lot of could legitimately be the next big thing; we the reason why I chose the clips from like the bought into something before we'd really tasted era of the ‘50s and the ‘60s is mainly because I the product. SNL's booking of Del Rey so early

By Niggie Purrhnama and JJ Brewis

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into her career was a serious misstep, considering that playing the show is often a milestone for a developed or established artist. Perhaps the shakiness of the deal was good for ratings, knowing that the world's eyes would tune in to this up-and-comer.

That said, it's hard not to question the judgment behind the booking, when everyone from musician Juliette Lewis to NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams expressed distaste in Del Rey's performance. Popular New York record label DFA Records tweeted, "Lana Del Rey plays Saturday Night Live next week. LCD Soundsystem tried for 6 years to play Saturday Night Live. Isn't 'too soon' ok advice?" Del Rey was only the second artist, following Natalie Imbruglia in 1998, to appear on the show without an American release behind her. The entertainment climate has changed significantly in those 14 years, and the gamble could have gone either way.

Del Rey is perfect in any other medium – her videos glossy, her recorded singles catchy. Records can be altered, and money can be poured into any star, and that's clearly the case here.

// JJ Brewis Del Rey is the daughter of wealthy investor Rob Grant, and early last year released material under her birth name Lizzie Grant. With poor reception, that material was pulled, and Lizzie Grant underwent a rebranding – styling the now Del Rey as a modern day Nancy Sinatra with vintage frocks and lip injections.

This part isn't really Del Rey's fault – she's the newest in a series of label rebranding projects that effectively restarted the careers of artists like Alanis Morissette and Lady Gaga before her. With a fresh look that was missing in the music landscape, Del Rey with her floral headdresses and pouty face made a mark when her mug showed up in music magazines and websites.

However, her SNL performance is a huge road sign that reads "Do Not Pass". Anyone can sound half-decent on an album; look at recent releases from Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. The difference with those artists is that they're releasing vanity albums for the sake of it, where Del Rey was marketed to music fans who know better.

People feel tricked in the game of style versus substance, and that's going to be a hard one to bounce back from.

“But they won’t shut up!”

Conservative party continues its attack on the CBC

By Lindsay Flynn

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

// writer

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hen asked at a national student journalism conference what she would say to the reality that we live in a capitalist society and, “you know, money talks,” Jo-Anne Roberts, CBC radio journalist and host of All Points West, replied, “Yes. And what does it say? It says more money.”

When media, in any form, is owned by private citizens, it only stands to reason that the news reported by them may be prone to say, oh, I don't know … bias against organizations and issues that conflict with their business goals. As Mr. John Mayer crooned, “When they own they information . . . they can bend it all they want.” Thus, the importance of our publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Because the CBC does not rely on advertising investors exclusively, it is less prone to be influenced by the same advertisers whose products are in direct conflict with the news be-

ing reported (think car ads running alongside coverage of the Enbridge pipeline). In the mandate of the CBC, it states among other goals, to “actively contribute to the flow and exchange of cultural expression … contribute to shared national consciousness and identity … [and] reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada.” Pretty good goals for something my tax dollars are going to, if you ask me.

There are some in Canada who do not share my love of the CBC, with one of the biggest critics being the current Conservative government. The first day back in the House of Commons, Jan. 31, saw four conservative M.P.s present petitions to cut all funding to the CBC. Conservative MP Brian Jean went on record saying, “[The] Government of Canada funds the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to the sum of $1.1 billion per annum; that vast amount of Government of Canada funding gives the CBC an unfair advantage over its private sector competitor … [We] call upon Parliament to end public funding of the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation."

Say what? Implying that the CBC has an unfair advantage over private competitors, such as CTV, for example, is not only inaccurate but ridiculous.

CTV, the CBC's obvious competitor in the private sector, is owned by none other than Bell Media … a multi-billion dollar corporation.

By the end of September 2011, the federal government had announced a ten per cent budget cut to the CBC, which will cost thousands of people their jobs. While I don't agree with budget cuts to arts and culture in any context, the 2012 anti-CBC rhetoric coming out of Ottawa last week is hitting new heights. Calling for an end to funding of the CBC, and thus resulting in its demise or privatization, is further evidence that the current government feels deeply threatened by the CBC on an ideological level.

To be specific, the CBC espouses values that are integral to the very function of journalism; values that are directly opposed to the Conservative agenda. The Conservative push to eliminate CBC funding is an overt attempt to silence the

voices of those they see as political dissenters.

This isn't to say that the Conservative Government doesn't claim to promote Canadian culture and multiculturalism, but here the government pays lip service while blatantly pushing their own agenda – more money.

I am glad that Canada is a standout among countries during economic uncertainty. I am glad that our own economy is growing increasingly independent of our neighbours to the south. I didn't vote for Stephen Harper, but I'm a fair person, and I am grateful that he has proved his merit at keeping Canada's economy afloat. His government's fevered suggestion of the elimination of the CBC, however, leaves me beyond disturbed. Broadcasting, which has a mandate of reporting for the people, free of the influence of privately-owned corporations, has a responsibility to answer to the people. I believe the CBC does just that, responsibly, brilliantly, and passionately. Any move to silence the CBC is to silence the voice of the people, and that's as undemocratic as it gets.

opinions

BABIES ALL LOOK THE SAME ANYWAY New article suggests gender-based abortions are a problem in Canada

By Leah Scheitel // Writer

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ant to start a heated argument?

Bring up abortion. That’s exactly what Canadian doctor Rajendra Kale did in an editorial for the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), where he claimed that ethnic groups are responsible for the high number of gender-based abortions in Canada.

Dr. Kale used his editorial to urge Canadian doctors not to reveal the sex of a child until 30 weeks into the pregnancy. He claims that this will curb the high rate of sex-based abortions, which are popular among certain minority groups in Canada, mainly Chinese and Indian communities.

“I think female feticide is discrimination against women in the most extreme form and this is something that needs to be stopped,” Dr. Kale says. “We need to make it clear that it is not acceptable in Canada.”

Since the controversial editorial hit doctor’s desks and newsstands on January 16, he has been replaced as editor of the publication.

Canada has a high immigration rate from Eastern, patriarchal societies, where cultures value boys more than girls. Since China introduced its one-child policy in 1979, it has been common in China to favour baby boys. Males are thought to be more able to care for themselves in life and do not require an expensive dowry, which can be a financial burden for families. According to DiscoveryNews.com, currently 95 per cent of children in Chinese orphanages are girls, and there is a major imbalance in China’s male-tofemale ratio. A study conducted by the Chinese

Academy of Social Sciences predicts that China could have as many as 24 million bachelors by 2020 because of the distinct lack of females in the country.

There is a similar situation in India, where prolife activist, Lila Rose, claims that tax benefits are given to families who will have baby girls. In April, the Economist reported that there are only 914 girls for every 1000 boys in the 0 – 6 age bracket in India: “A cultural preference for sons and the increasing availability of prenatal screening to determine a baby’s sex have helped contribute to a worsening in the ratio of men to women,” writes the Economist.

Dr. Kale is basing his information primarily on census data. The study suggests that if an Indian who immigrates to Canada births two females, then the third child is more likely to be a male. The results were compared to recent census data in Canada, and major discrepancies were found. This, claims Dr. Kale, is evidence of sex-based abortions performed in Canada, even though there is no concise statistics of gender-based abortions in Canada as of yet.

He also used research from the U.S., where in a study of 65 Indian immigrants, 40 per cent had aborted a female fetus. Of those that were currently pregnant with a girl, up to 90 per cent of them entertained the idea of an abortion at one point.

Since its publication, Dr. Kale’s editorial has received international attention and criticism. The main criticism is that Dr. Kale’s recommendation isn’t a viable option, and not disclosing the sex of the fetus is impractical and carries ethical issues.

While knowing the gender of your child is not a fundamental right, people have become accus-

tomed to having the option, and it’s one that would outrage the public if it were to be taken away.

Various technology has been making it easier for people to know the sex of their baby within the last few decades. Ultrasounds are relatively inexpensive, and blood tests are easily conducted. In Australia, home sex-kits can tell you the sex of your child in the comfort of your own home.

In India, revealing the sex of an unborn child was banned in 1994 to help curb female feticide; however, sex-based abortions still occur in high numbers. With the technology available, there is no way to stop people from knowing the sex of their child in utero.

History of prohibiting abortion has shown that putting restrictions on abortions drives the practice underground, where sanitary guidelines aren’t strictly enforced, increasing the danger to the mother. According to guttmacher.org, there were 47,000 deaths due to unsafe abortions in 2008, and complications from underground

// Alexandra Gordeyeva abortions cause 13 per cent of all maternal deaths, even when clinical abortions are legal.

Also, as pointed out in the Globe and Mail, a nationwide ban against knowing the gender of a baby isn’t needed, as it’s only a common practice among certain ethnic groups. However, restricting the rights from certain cultural groups is discrimination and racism. Canada is a nation that prides itself on being multicultural and non-discriminatory based on ethnicity. Adding restrictions on abortions only for women from Eastern cultures would cause a political uproar.

Dr. Kale’s editorial stirred up a subject that the public doesn’t often talk about. In general, Canadians shy away from sensitive topics, abortion and cultural customs included, for fear of being offensive. Not talking or recognizing these issues is not going to make them go away. Dr. Kale might not have a reasonable solution to sex-based abortion, but he at least got us talking about it.

Commercializing ‘unique’ Disney pisses off fans after copying popular album art

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trend-setting phenomenon as having a triangular shape. She explains it from top to bottom: “At the top of the triangle there's the innovator, underneath them is the trend-setter … who pick[s] up on [innovators’ ideas] and kind of claim[s] them as their own.” At the next tier, she describes “the early adopters … [who take the idea] and make it palatable for mass consumption. That's when the mass consumer picks up on it and runs with it and … eventually kills it.”

Joy Division’s waves graphic originated from the groundbreaking pulsar image of the '60s. It was turned into a trend by the band selling it as its album cover, and kept evolving over the years.

When Disney tweaked it and made it a mass commodity this year, its meaning was lost; it became another collectible Mickey Mouse t-shirt. If loyal music fans had not outraged and defended Joy Division’s relationship to the image, the pulsar waves would have been worn by unknowing fashionistas all over the globe.

No matter how obscure or insignificant an independent design may seem, it has the potential to be mainstreamed. Whether it is achieved through a marketer’s cunning techniques, by the influence of the media, a major corporation, or developed into a phenomenon by persistent “cool hunters”, Merchants of Cool proves that anything can be turned into a commodity and made into a global trend. As Disney’s famous saying goes, “It’s a small world, after all.”

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

Another controversy has recently occurred between Disney and the band Joy Division. According to Rolling Stone magazine, Disney took the abstract “wave-form” design from Joy Division’s 1979 Unknown Pleasures album cover from the public domain without discussing it with the remaining band members. The image was molded into an outline of Mickey Mouse’s head and made into a t-shirt. It was made available for sale online and at Disney stores worldwide for $24.95. The release of the t-shirt caused a stir amongst Joy Division fans, and according to the Toronto Star, a few days after its unveiling, the “Waves Mickey Mouse” tee was taken off the website. By mainstreaming the “Flipper” and Unknown Pleasures graphics, the deeper meanings of the images are lost, and so does their originality that made them iconic in the first place.

The 2001 Frontline documentary Merchants // Shannon Elliott of Cool features correspondents who talk with approaches the marketer to find the new cool. top marketers, media executives, and critics to

By Michelle Plaschinski This past year, there has been turmoil between see how teens respond to marketers’ messages. // Writer the clothing store Forever 21 and Kurt Cobain’s They also observe if it results in the success of a he commodification of alternative cul- own hand drawn “Flipper” t-shirt. Nirvana’s front trend. Marketing moguls conduct surveys and ture happens everywhere in our society. man made it as tribute to the original band in host friendly focus groups to access the teenage People rely on Hype Machine and Pitch- the early 1990s, but it was mass-distributed in goldmine. The use of these research methods fork to find unique music, or shop at Urban Out- Forever 21 stores in 2011. Turns out that Forever allows marketers to get inside teenagers’ heads. fitters and H&M to indulge in the latest fashions. 21 did have the rights to distribute and sell their A segment of the documentary involves the Through these individual activities, the marketer “Flipper” design, but Kurt Cobain’s inspiration work of “Look-Look”, a research company that doesn’t need to approach the consumer any- for creating the shirt was not passed along to its specializes in youth culture co-founded by more: instead, the consumer subconsciously new owners.

Dee Dee Gordon and Sharon Lee. Lee sees the

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C a b o o se

Caboose

F e at u r e d F i c t i o n

a gotta accept the facts: in the land of opportunities, ya gotta be pretty damn stupid to end up in the can. Now, I ain't saying that I'm stupid, but I've done some silly things. I don't blame society, the system, or anyone in particular. The inclination is in my blood.

You see, my old man came from down south. A tough old Texan, a scary puritan who feared only Jesus, and feared Him too much, at that. He set out on his own crusade against abortionists and homosexuals. Only, he picked the wrong place to do it. Killed a few in the name of the Lord and got put away. Down south he might've been given a medal, but up here he got what he deserved.

I knew he was funny in the head, and I blocked

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Edi tor // MIKE BASTIEN // c abo o s e . c apc o uri e r@ gmai l . c o m

The voice of a prisoner

By Scott Moraes // Writer

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his Jesus-freak blood thirst from corrupting my soul. When he found out I wasn't going to church and had given up on religion, he disowned me. I was glad to have the link severed. But part of him, the part that did the thinking after the act, stayed in me and ended up bringing me here, despite all my tolerance and self control. Here, where you're supposed to reflect and repent; I ended up doing the reflecting, but instead of repenting, I've gotten more proud. This is the place where instead of repressing my talents, I was free to let them blossom, which gave me something I never had: respect.

I got in here and saw a bunch of sad little creatures, not the bulky seven-foot rapists you see in the movies. Guess I looked pretty damn mean, someone they would fear and follow and … never get behind of. I told them all sorts of sto-

ries. That I killed a fella by bashing his head with a bag of frozen peas, or killed another by piercing his brain with a chopstick through the eye, the thought of which disgusted me so I almost blew my visage. I'm still debating in my head whether or not I should disclose the true nature of my crimes; it would hurt my reputation real bad, but my imagination has its limit, and I fear I may have just reached it.

Just recently, a young cousin of mine, a journalist wannabe of some sort, wanted to write a piece on the conditions of Canadian prisons. Only he didn't wanna visit one. Wrote me a letter out of the blue, saying shit like, “I heard it's more like a hotel with bars. Is it true?” Never showed any sympathy for my situation. When a little pussy like that straps on a pair of balls to ask me to describe the conditions of my “hotel”, well, that just

shakes me off my nest. I wrote him back a masterpiece of descriptive bullshit, just to piss him off. Told him we had ourselves a sports court, a swimming pool, bathtubs, a bilingual library, a movie theatre, and beef bourguignon for dinner.

All of us loved to be here, under the care of our over-zealous government; it was easier, after all, to be a parasite on the federal budget than actually being out there working our asses off for so little. He wrote me back a thank you note and attached his piece. He had swallowed my crap, every little bit of it, and some shit-faced editor went ahead and published it. Makes you wonder if you got the right people in jail.

In my lifetime I stole food and umbrellas, evaded taxes, parked in front of hydrants, drove into an old lady, changed names, cheated on women, and abandoned a baby. But none of that ever got me in trouble. What got me here were the crimes of another man, whose name I was unlucky to pick, and whose features I was unlucky to have, and whose luck was running high when I decided to confess to his misdemeanours. I did it because freedom was too much responsibility and I was tired of the struggle. I'd also heard prisons were more like “hotels”. Turns out they're not, but the laws of the can are easier on you than the laws of the jungle – that's a fact, and ya gotta accept the facts.

With JJ Brewis

The Hot Chart SASQUATCH LINEUP ANNOUNCED 2003 called…

NIN JIOM COUGH SYRUP Taste of honey rather than taste of Buckley’s asshole OUR PANAGO DELIVERY DRIVER Smiles for miles THE MASK Still lol

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

GWEN STEFANI She’s Asian quite well

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THAT NEW MADONNA VIDEO She really did the Super Bowl. THE WHOLE THING COLD SORES For days when you’re not feeling quite repulsive enough “BAGGAGE” ON THE GAME SHOW NETWORK WEBSITE Apologies to your time management GEOCITIES Or: The Flintstones meets The Jetsons SNUG AS A BUG IN A RUG No longer comforting 

caboose

From ... A Second Flood

By Kevin Murray // Writer

my heart palpitates and I thud and shud der, trip and f a l l

fat count clench to see the real moves slug-like saliva stitched sideways into somewhere humility is a forest floor but we want an uptown transfer and comfortzone seal cushions

a concrete carriage, a cobbler crumbles river rats chew, their claws click, and we ride from here

this is not a worthy destination a weigh station wastrel is an art farce in torture black coats and bondage wear toltecs on buttons slo gan shoots state meant: I must go! my wife will kill me if I don't bring back a buffal o … brittle mold

breaks shoelace and goes without empty eyelets arch flatten Chuck Taylor ties normal, flaunts formal

for a fishhook or the clasp of a red dress is a sigh in the city

refund confusion and madness intrigues her coy cut bedroom bob cut bluebell capri cut cellphone tattletale cut mannequin moneyshot cut commodity camisole cut low swallow and shut up clone. we know what you're after

…

rise up wise away the pampers of an M-String Family Unit

reflect on the mirror laugh empty or undead? liquid or solid? tendons intestines pose preening pretentious expel the white queen

chapping bland sadness unknown in an alley except the one where no one goes to up-gauge

hair spike anti-handbag on anti-hip ster thrust

short pant and cat-a-holic sock whatever eyeglass rim depends on a cock instead of a sweater, sorted sadly swooned stripped panic clever cleaving of fingers flashing s p r e a d i n g withdraw, the Shade tears dread lock walked in swallow (not beeswax ) in squalor compound the honesty (she can't have sex anymore prefers mind scat) reality is raw and baseball is a spectator sport played in diamonds and rape is the new homerun want, wet with pain the hush of struck can't be broken by this so-spouting séance a geyser of wait and watch drop our popcorn and wish our teeth crack we heat our hands in the pockets of a photograph then lick our fingers small waste unwinding fingernails finding a staircase of skin clutch ankles begin to enjoy it the sky weeps on wet streets

true believers I feel a tooth approaching

black as a baggy sweater red as a scalped jaw gold as a crack pipe christmas carol crusted boots and blue dollardaddy, us coins poetic

…

a carpenter's hand the glass borders a street side sandwich. refrains from staring, returns to coffee the waiter wears a mask but forgets he wears it. waits. hating. face complacencies are careful and shields are ongoing, habits sever and clevers ingrain this reft, buffered stretch with a billboard if a business broke the sandbox sentimentality. Machiavellis banality growls in an off-put output chaps at the bit. refrained filling till shame makes it ask, cups coins in the alley and pours with a trembling hand. his fingers are yellow and smoke smells like coffee, it lingers. reminds him of her this kind will bump tables and fart on or jostle a or spit in a salad or sever the service if etiquette falters inciting defiance (that aging meddler) a ghost in my cup it rattles and I sip a cornerstone page-play edges pasta and a tomato smear smears french fry spears are left on the table we burned them in oil and warned you this will damage your heart there is blood in the alley

sighs.

it's hard to get good help these days

Elements crossword!

// Mike Bastien

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

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caboose

the capilano courier | vol. 45 issue 16

elements

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Fire McKenzie Rainey

Wind Niggie Purrhnama

Water Victoria Fawkes

Earth Beni Spieler

Fire is sexy, fire is hot, fire is smokin’. Sparks fly and flames sway like belly dancers, imaginary attractive ones, not the freaky one in that Greek restaurant that scarred you for life when you were eight. Fire is sexy anywhere, even Disney movies. According to one conspiracy theorist, there’s a hidden drawing of a naked woman in a fire in the “Hellfire” scene in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. If you play the video backwards, the sprite whispers. “Have … sex … with … me …”

Whether Quasimodo got the hint is unknown, because nobody thought to check his junk for blisters. The only thing hotter than fire is the sun, which is just a big sexy ball of fire anyway, despite so-called “scientists” telling us it’s hydrogen and helium. There’s a reason all the planets want to circle around it; they’re all secretly thinking, “Damn, can I get me some of that (g)ass?” So the next time you’re trying to impress that certain guy/girl/hermaphrodite, tell them, “You’re sexier than a one-and-a-half million kilometre wide ball of fire, baby!” Guaranteed to get some results. And if it doesn’t? Well, that’s a whole other kind of a burn.

A little boy sitting on a stoop with his pale chubby hands placed under his chin and a puzzled look on his face. His stomach grumbles in anger and asks repeatedly for use of the coins located in his brown corduroy pockets. All the while his mind races, thinking of the many savoury dishes he’s had before, none of which tickle his fancy.

A rustle of leaves in the distance catches the boy’s attention; as he looks over, a soft gust of wind wraps itself around the boy, carrying with it a warm scent of baked apples, cinnamon, and candied pecans, prompting a loud gurgle to emit from the boy’s pleading belly. He races to find the source with the wind hot on his heels, as if it were cheering him on. As the scent grows stronger, the boy feels the wind lift him with every stride until the moment his body is in the bakery. He exits the bakery with a steaming hot apple strudel glistening with candied pecans on a plate, sits at a small table, and looks at it with both hands under his chin. At that moment a cool gust of wind passes over the plate until the steam settles. The boy grins with delight and digs in.

I dare you to go without showering for a month.

Can’t do it? Don’t want to? Yeah, that’s what I thought. If there was ever an element that we take for granted more frequently than the rest, it’s definitely water. Water is the planet’s most precious renewable resource, yet the planet’s supply of fresh, clean water is steadily decreasing. Think about it: if there are programs specifically put in place to conserve as much of the planet’s water as possible, it’s got to be the best element. You don’t see “wind conservation” programs, or those created to protect the well-being of fire. Water is so badass, it’s got its own bodyguards to protect it, and for good reason. We drink it, we bathe in it, we do our dishes and brush our teeth with it.

Hell, our bodies are up to 70 per cent water! Without water, we’d just be dried up, withered sacs of flesh. Yummy, huh?

The lovely brown stuff, and I’m not talking chocolate milk. The soil that is deliciously dirty. God, I love earth. Even blind people can see how awesome it is. What can’t it do? Earthquakes shake my martinis and milkshakes for me, and those milkshakes bring all the boys to my yard. Also, no coincidence, my yard is made of earth. Earth is just awesome! Earthworms; delicious, and they sometimes wear super-suits! Planet Earth is a pretty good place for a party. Heck, if you plant an apple seed into it, you get a tree of apples!

What else can do that for you? Nothing! Show me a bonfire that gives you an apple. Suck it, other elements! Rocks come from the Earth and rock beats scissors. What about paper, you say? A lie!

Paper comes from trees, which grow in the earth!

Rock and paper are secret allies in this Mexican standoff. Rock is also the name of the best music genre, as well as the best wrestler/actor the world has ever seen. Viva la earth!