Capilano Courier | Vol. 52, Issue 8. by Capilano Courier

April '20 CAPILANO U NIVERSITY NAMED TOP EMPLOYER - C OVID-19 AND ITS EFFECT ON C APILAN O COMMUNITIES - U PDATE ON WET’SUWET’EN - INSIDE THE WORLD O F VANCOUVER’S P RETEEN SNEAKERHEADS - WHAT’S IN MY BAG - CAPITALIST CANINES - SHARENTING - GRIEF AND MASCULINITY - HANGOVER C URES - L IVING IN T HE S HADOWS AS A S TUNT PERFORMER - U NCERTAINTIES A ND PARAMORE - HARVESTING WINS AND GOAL PLANNING - HOROSCOPES - MOR E

KAH O Fu ru kawa

@kahofrkw

letter from the editor

Goodbye (and for the last time, print is not dead)

RACHEL D'SA Editor-In-Chief

“Sorry, I don’t have any bananas.” - My fruit bowl At the time I’m writing this *adjusts oil lamp*, the world is struggling to keep itself together in more ways than one. The situation on the forefront of most of our minds being the COVID-19 virus. At the Courier, we are piecing together articles to replace our now-useless calendar spread. Despite working in the media and living in a time of crises, I’ve been finding myself distancing from the media more than ever. It’s day nine of staying home, and I’ve resorted to reorganizing my CD collection and playing the rebooted Club Penguin. It seems like something people are primarily concerned about is boredom. Therefore, I find it interesting when I hear from friends that they too have been reverting back to activities that bring nostalgia for their adolescence. It’s times like these that bring us back to tangible things and community. We explore and rediscover things within arms reach that bring us out of our heads and distract us from challenging circumstances. In the horrendous condition of the world, I’ve found hopefulness in stacks of Kerrisdale Cameras envelopes, old computer folders and my grandmother’s photo albums. Trying times bring out the best and worst in people. Amidst the panic buying and racism surrounding this epidemic, there’s found hope in the sense of community we still cling to. Banding together, alliances are forming between neighbours, students, musicians and their fans, scholars, etc. as we adjust to the circumstances. At the NASH student journalism conference in January, I was surprised to hear that many Canadian student newspapers are going purely digital. The 2019 #StayOptedIn campaign is one of the ways that communities are both dwindling due to and simultaneously rising above the digital empire. The Courier is privileged in a sense that it doesn’t yet need to take to these measures. Though I’m certain there will come a day when we will need to once again come together as a community in order to keep our heads above rocky waters. I’ve never been good at goodbyes. It’s in the way I laugh at funerals and cry at reunions. I’m no longer a student journalist. My circumstances are shifting and so is the media landscape as it rapidly adjusts to fit demands. I may not know what comes next for me after this particular goodbye, as I part ways with this friendly campus publication. However, as I pass the baton to the next batch of editors that will be writing about the next crisis, I’m positive that print will not say its goodbye. I can only hope that publications, student-led ones especially, highlight and continue to foster a sense of community that is so vital during a time when there is so much white noise. While my time in the Courier masthead may be up, the publication itself will persist and (at the risk of sounding ignorantly idealistic, I say “I believe”), thrive. In a world rapidly vanishing into thin air of the disposable digital realm, it’s times like these that underline the importance of cultural practices and the purpose of what exactly it is that we do. It’s time for the annual Courier summer hiatus. But we’ll see you soon enough the next time you pick us up.

editor-in-chief

communications director

capcourier@gmail.com

community.capcourier@gmail.com

Rachel Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sa

Helen Aikenhead

managing editor

news editor

manager.capcourier@gmail.com

news.capcourier@gmail.com

Freya Wasteneys

Sheila Arellano

associate news editor

arts & culture editor

associatenews.capcourier@gmail.com

arts.capcourier@gmail.com

Megan Amato

Ana Maria Caicedo

features editor

OPINIONS editor

specialfeatures.capcourier@gmail.com

opinions.capcourier@gmail.com

Sarah Rose

art director

Cynthia Tran Vo

artdirector.capcourier@gmail.com

Alisha Samnani

staff writer

Jayde Atchison

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

Wen Zhai, Lena Orlova, Manjot Kaur, Bridget Stringer-Holden, Alexis Zygan, Maia Lomelino, Charlotte Fertery, Maria Luisa Santana, Valeria Velazquez, Hassan Merali, Katherine Griffiths, Maya Lomelino, Logan Dillon, Clarissa Sabile, Carlo Javier, Jamie Long

Christine Wei, Valeriya Kim, Jennifer Panata, Rebekah Maurice, Mikaela Johnson, Sarah Haglund, Jonathan Pachowsky, Megan Barry, Alison Johnstone, Emily Rose FEATURED ARTISTS

Juliana Vieria, Kaho Furukawa, Jamie Kusack, Anna Tsybulnyk, Sarah Haglund, COVER ART Annika McFarlane COLUMNIST PORTRAITS

Coralie Mayer-Traynor 4

VOLUME 52 ISSUE NO.8

table Contents of

NEWS

OPINIONS

North Shore Rapid Bus

Devil's Advocate

CapU Top Employer

Paw Patrol

BC Access Grant

Sharenting

International Students

Vancouver 2030

COVID-19

FOMO (Under the influence)

Stress Awareness Month

Media Coverage and Minors

VRR Denied Funding

Grief and Masculinity

Wet'suwet'en Update

Vancouver Nightlife

Strategy Hack-A-Thon

Vancouver Olympics

Women in Politics Panel

ARTS & CULTURE

FEATURES Hangover Cures

Sneakercon

Stunt Doubles

Artist Feature: Valeriya Kim

Mind Your Manners

Mapping Worlds VAG

Fire In The Madhouse

COLUMNS

Waste Audit

Social (Media) Etiquette

What's In My Bag

The Long Haul

Drinks Recipe

A Closer Listen

Sustainable Consumption

Recovering Achiever

ADDitude Adjustment

TransLink Spring Service Changes Bring New Routes to the North Shore The CSU remain skeptical that the changes will decrease wait times MEGAN AMATO Associate News Editor

TransLink’s new plan for added bus routes and service changes to Capilano University (CapU) will begin on Apr. 6, four months after their initial estimated date for Jan. 2020. North Shore residents will finally get to try out the new R2 Marine Drive RapidBus, which will replace the 239 Park Royal/CapilanoU, starting service at Park Royal and ending at Phibbs Exchange. A new express route will also be added from Willingdon Station to Phibbs Exchange and is expected to decrease the number of transfers for those that commute to CapU from Burnaby. The 28 Joyce Station/Capilano and 130 Metrotown/Capilano, which run during peak times, will now terminate at Phibbs Exchange, with a shuttle running every 10 minutes to connect students to CapU. Despite the new express routes aim to increase service and limit transfers, the CSU is worried about the wait time increases at Phibbs Exchange due to the termination of the 28 and 130 Capilano buses. The CSU has worked on building a good relationship with TransLink since the fall. Emily Bridge, CSU President and Vice-President Sustainability and Equity, states that the transportation network is committed to doing what they think is right. Greeters will be waiting at Phibbs during the first two-to-three days of the transition and will stay a few more days to help direct students who are confused about the service changes. Despite TransLink’s efforts, the CSU remains skeptical of the smoothness of the transition. “From the CSU’s perspective, we just don’t see how removing three bus routes to CapU and replacing it with one shuttle is going to work,” said Bridge. “Personally, I’m happy to be proved wrong and that the change will happen and their modelling has been correct and everything will be smooth and the line-ups won’t be

that long at Phibbs. I just don’t know if that’s going to happen.” A shuttle will run every six minutes during peak hours, connecting students to CapU, but Bridge states that the CSU is worried about non-peak hours, especially during the 11-11:30 AM block when queues at Phibbs are already long. The CSU is also concerned about TransLink’s “crush-load capacity” which Bridge said tends to happen often on university routes. “A standard bus is supposed to fit 50 people, a crush-load fits 77 and that’s not comfortable, that’s not a service standard. We should be trying to improve service,” added Bridge. “Not just to change it, but change it so that we see improvement.” Despite the CSU’s concerns, Bridge added that TransLink has made concessions after previous meetings to increase service times of the 245 shuttle. There are things that they can do in the interim if the change in routes doesn’t go as smoothly as TransLink hopes, such as adding extra buses if they’re packed. TransLink remains confident in their calculations and service changes, but should these developments need to be improved on, Media Spokesperson Dan Mountain stated that “TransLink monitors and adjusts bus service quarterly depending on ridership demand, as measured by public consultation and Compass ridership data.” Part of the problem in extending some of the bus services all the way to CapU is the lack of funding. Greater Vancouver and Translink have already used their federal funding allocated to improve transit on two phases of service updates. Currently, officials are in talks with the federal government to secure funding for phase three, which would include extended routes to CapU.

NEWS

Capilano University Named a B.C. Top Employer A breakdown of why being a top employer is important to CapU WEN ZHAI Contributor

The BC’s Top Employers national competition is in its fifteenth year with 95 winners for BC’s Top Employers for 2020, eight of which were colleges and universities. All applicants are evaluated using the same criteria. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the best workplace programs. It is a selection of the best employers in terms of employee benefits and wellbeing, flexibility, opportunities for growing, lifelong learning, healthcare package, workplace culture, pensions and maternity and parental leave. Capilano University (CapU) Human Resources Advisor Louise Allison explains how high living expenses have hampered the university’s ability to recruit employees, especially in high-level specialist roles. “This win highlighted all the wonderful things the school is doing for its employees while also showcasing its wonderful employees,” HR Manager of Development and Engagement Erin McFadden said. The holistic approach to employee wellbeing, holding campaigns throughout the year to improve social, mental and physical wellbeing and the benefits such as the extended health and dental benefits, and various development opportunities led CapU to be a winner. However, the first year that CapU applied they weren’t selected as a winner. From the application process, the university learned what they needed to

improve. Allison took the results of their first application to CapU President Paul Dangerfield. Since then, Dangerfield has been working with the Senior Leadership Council to “embed wellbeing across curriculum and everything that we do, including signing the Okanagan Charter in 2018, an international charter for health promoting universities and colleges,” Allison said. According to McFadden and Allison, student employees who work 20 hours or more per week are also eligible to be covered by the benefits package. Once a student becomes a student employee, there are numerous opportunities to move into permanent positions after graduation. “We have many, many employees who were students, or came to work with us and then became students because we offer free credit courses to all employees. And that actually takes us back to the development piece. We are all about helping our employees to develop,” McFadden explained. After the second successful recognition, CapU will continue to improve in areas such as environmental issues, diversity, equity and inclusion, and will continue improving wellbeing. There is an on-campus Wellbeing Working Group coordinating an approach to bring diverse people into the decisionmaking process affecting the CapU community. “In the first stage we need a commitment, and now we are making the plan and then we are going to be executing the plan,” McFadden concluded. On Equity,

Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), they started a LGBTQ2S+ group and an equity and diversity committee is underway. CapU is also a member of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI), a non-profit organization that provides related resources and training to member employees. This year is CapU’s second time winning BC’s Top Employers, but they are still waiting to be listed among Canada’s Top 100, which is on Allison’s to-do list. It’s a competition across sectors, meaning CapU would be competing against banks and other big companies. “I think we are really excited about the direction we are going,” said McFadden. “the [CapU] President has been very supportive and is a strong believer that we have to take care of our employees so that we can take care of and support our students.”

A Step Towards Affordable Education New provincial grant improves accessibility and universality funding for low-to-mid-income students LENA ORLOVA Contributor

British Columbia (BC) post-secondary students will access up to $4,000 in up-front, non-repayable education funds made available by the BC Access Grant (BCAG) starting Sept. 2020. The province hopes to alleviate financial barriers for low-to-midincome students by investing in the new grant, restructuring existing grants and eliminating student loan interest. An average full-time arts tuition for a teaching-intensive university like Capilano University (CapU) is approximately $4,731 for 2019/20 year, not including the cost of rent, transit, groceries and other general life expenses. The benefit of the BCAG is two-fold. First, it’s non-repayable, extra cash that students can use to pay school or home bills. Second, the grant directly addresses accessibility of education because it broadens the scope of eligibility. “The new grants program is a program rather than a patchwork of grants,” said CSU Vice President of Finance and Services, Joey Sidhu. “Previously, they were offered to specific groups. Now, we are seeing a comprehensive needs-based grants program that carries on for a number of years [rather than on a year-to-year basis].” In the past, every student in a program longer than two years could access the Canada Access Grant (CAG), which applied on the federal portion of the Consolidated Student Loan. CAG made Bachelor’s-level students eligible for up to $3,000/ year to help complete their education. Whereas funds from the provincial government would come from completion grants, which the new grant replaces. BCAG acts on the provincial portion of the Consolidated Student Loan. Students in programs of two years or less—like trades, certificates, diplomas, short-term specialized training and parttime students—can access up to $4,000/year. For

programs two years or longer, BCAG may provide up to $1,000/year for funding in addition to CAG. The 2020 budget estimates that nearly 40,000 students in the province will benefit from the new grant, which especially impacts CapU students because the university offers a wide breadth of certificate and diploma programs. Moreover, the grant is a culmination of advocacy work done on the part of Capilano Students’ Union and other regional students unions—Langara, UBC and Kwantlen, to name a few. “Capilano has been involved with [the] Board of Directors with Alliance of BC Students, often our student executives will specifically run for the Board,” Sidhu said. “Additionally, we provide support in terms of bringing students from our Board to the lobbying dates.” Education is a hefty investment, difficult to avoid in the face of rising expectations from the labour market. Based on a media release from the Ministry of Finance, “77 per cent of all job openings over the next 10 years will require post-secondary education and training.” Therefore, providing additional funding for education is in line with preparing students for the future labour market. Students do not need to apply separately for BCAG. Through StudentAidBC, every student will be automatically assessed for the grant at the time of their application for student loans. For additional financial education, resources and current news on funding options, students are encouraged to speak with CSU leaders and staff. Online resources can be found at StudentAidBC, StudentAid Canada, and in online student forums.

NEWS

In the Business of International Students Capilano University has seen a large increase of Punjabi students over the last four years—but are they equipped to support them? MANJOT KAUR Contributor CHRISTINE WEI Illustrator

There has been a gradual increase of international students studying at Capilano University (CapU) since its rebranding in 2017, but what’s significant is that a vast majority of these students are from Punjab, India. In 2019, CapU received nearly $9 million more in tuition fees compared to the previous year where international students made up 20 per cent of the student body—and $20 million more than in 2015. According to Statistics Canada, there were 296,469 international students enrolled in Canadian post-secondary institutions in the 2017-18 academic year and students from India accounted for 23 per cent of that. The Federal Government’s 2019-24 International Education Strategy states that it seeks to “promote global ties and foster a vibrant Canadian economy.” This initiative, plus the flourishing South

Asian communities in Canada appeal to Punjabi international students. Dilpreet Singh Bhatia, International Students Liaison for the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU), helps international students with their problems and concerns by relaying their issues to the CSU governing body. As a Punjabi international student himself, he can attest to the long, tedious and bureaucratic process of trying to get Permanent Residency (PR). Students have to pass with a minimum 6.5 score on the IELTS exam (International English Language Testing System) and are usually required to hire an immigration consultant to apply for an offer letter. The costs of enrolling as an international student at CapU are steep: a $5000 nonrefundable fee that goes towards tuition, a $10,000 government-controlled GIC

(guaranteed investment certificate) account for living expenses, and a $9,000 tuition fee per semester. The average national tuition costs for undergraduate international students rose 7.6 per in the 2019/20 period where on average domestic students saw a decrease of 5.3 per cent. This disproportionate increase sparked the CAP-IT campaign led by the CSU, which calls for the international student fee increase to be capped at 2 per cent with the rate of inflation. Bhatia has been living in Canada for two years, and hopes to apply for permanent residency once his three-year work permit nears expiration. Like many of the Punjabi students at Capilano, Bhatia prefers to live in Surrey as landlords are open to international students sharing rooms to reduce overall costs of living. However,

attending classes in North Vancouver results in up to four hours of transit to and from school each day. While Bhatia applauds the CSU for advocating for international students in recent years—from hosting social events to being attentive to their concerns—he stresses the need to offer literacy support to Punjabi international students. Not all students have the privilege of the time and energy to actively seek out help overcoming the language and the educational barriers they face. Students either attended schools where English wasn’t a requirement, or schools where learning English was a priority. The latter gives students an upper hand in their English literacy, but the majority schools are the former, causing students to feel overwhelmed by the various discrepancies. Bhatia commented that he and other Punjabi students have faced different levels of discrimination at CapU. “Some professors are selective in who gets to speak in class,” he said, stating the concerns Punjabi students have voiced to him and added that other teachers don’t seem to consider the students’ barriers when grading. Marking through “equal education” to students who haven’t received the same base English literacy education as their peers is more likely to discourage them than motivate them. With greater inflation of international

students, resources like immigration consulting and course registration help require more personnel and attention. Permanent residency is acquired through a point-based system, by the Canadian Immigration Council (CIC). Many international students prefer a twoyear study visa as it offers a safe length of time to ensure being able to meet the point requirements and a four-year bachelor's program may be too expensive for students. However, not all international students from Punjab opt for two-year study programs. Twenty-three-year-old Mayur Aggarwal has been enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Administration program since 2016 and has goals of becoming a chartered accountant later this year. “The reasons for wanting to study and immigrate to Canada are subjective to each individual student,” said Aggarwal and added that it will vary from person to person. Aggarwal felt that he hadn’t gotten a chance for practical learning experiences in India, in an environment that nurtures critical thinking and adds that he is thankful to have found that here. Aggarwal pointed out that during his first semester of study, he only remembers seeing around five or six other Punjabi students in all of his five classes. “Now you’ll find that at least half the class is Punjabi,” he said. He’d also found it hard

to make friends while entering a new culture, but now feels at home with many familiar faces. Aggarwal stated that he feels supported by the resources provided by CapU and the Wong and Trainor Centre for International Experience. However, he wishes that he’d been more aware and proactive in utilizing the writing centre, math learning centre, and various workshops in his first two years of study. Aggarwal’s main concern is “the lack of awareness amongst international students of the scholarship opportunities available to them, through active participation in school activities and volunteering.” The first two years are often the entire duration of study for many international students and according the the CSU and international student fees made up 80 per cent of tuition revenue the following year. CapU should use that revenue to allocate more resources towards making that initial transition easier and create more outreach to engage and provide guidance for new international students as many international students have expressed frustration when their questions not being directed appropriately. Ultimately, many questions have been left unanswered where international students have to rely on and pay for external immigration counsellors. The Wong and Trainor Centre for International Experience could not be reached for comment.

NEWS

COVID-19: How Coronavirus is Affecting Capilano’s Communities For international students, the virus means choosing between continuing their education or returning home to their families BRIDGET STRINGER-HOLDEN Contributor CYNTHIA TRAN VO Illustrator

Over the last few months, concern over coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has quickly snowballed from precautionary warnings to the World Health Organization characterizing the virulence of the virus as a pandemic on Mar. 11. To limit the spread, various measures have been enforced globally and officials have called for social distancing in an effort to “flatten the curve” by reducing the number of people coming in contact with the virus. This has resulted in the closure of almost all nonessential services. In BC, a ban was placed on public gatherings of over 250 people on Mar. 12 and decreased to 50 people or more on Mar. 16. The City of Vancouver ordered that bars and restaurants be closed on St. Patrick’s Day, but the police found that many ignored the warning and remained open. Several institutions have responded to the rising pandemic by gradually phasing out unnecessary services on campus and moving toward online courses for the safety of students and staff. On Mar. 13, the University of British Columbia advised students that they would be moving online, actions that were closely followed by Simon Fraser University. It wasn’t until Sunday, Mar. 15 that Capilano University (CapU) informed students via their student email that classes would be paused until Mar. 18, at which time they would officially transition to an online format for the remainder of the semester. That same day, the BC government declared a state of emergency province wide with the Vancouver City Council declaring the same in Vancouver the following day. The public reactions to the virus have varied from remaining calm and following directives to others disregarding the recommended precautions. Some became

alarmed and began to panic; stores saw their stocks of toilet paper, masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes quickly depleted before the items could be restocked. “The number is increasing every day. It’s not going down anytime soon,” said Vy Nguyễn, a CapU international student from Vietnam who is concerned by the behaviour she is seeing. “We can’t find anything at supermarkets, the shelves are empty. We also have to face racism because not everyone is okay with us wearing masks.” In line with the ban of public gatherings, many events on campus have been cancelled, including the World of Colour celebration and the joint International Business Association (IBA) and Capilano Human Resources Management Association (HRMA) Connect Us networking event. “Although it's sad, we know it was a necessity,” said Nick Tarasoff, the President of the IBA. “There was a lot of uncertainty in the days leading up to school closures, but it all came so fast. When the decision had to be made to cancel Connect Us we were just devastated, having dedicated several months of effort into making the event a success.” “[COVID-19] taught me that life can just throw curveballs at you and that you really can’t plan for the future because you’ll never know what will happen,” added HRMA President Susanna Ngyuen. “We weren’t the only ones affected by it.” Canada has slowly restricted its borders with a decrease in international flights and on Mar. 20, the Canada-US land border was closed to all non-essential travel. International students and those currently studying abroad have been caught in the middle of these restrictions and had to make the tough decision whether to return home or not. There are still many questions left unanswered and students are unsure

what support they will receive. “The International Centre has been helpful but right now all my international friends are very worried. The parents want them to go home and be with them in case something happens but [they] cannot because [their] study permit might be revoked” said Dhari Patel, international student and peer helper. “This is putting our education at risk if we go back,” said Nguyễn, who, with no final exams, worked out a plan with her teachers so that she could arrange to head home to Vietnam. “But then I realized as a full-time international student, I can't leave Canada without ‘an authorized leave’.” Students who are studying abroad, such as Vanessa Parrotta in Vienna, are also affected. The time difference makes it challenging for Parrotta to stay in contact with her friends and family back home, but she decided to stay in Vienna. I feel absolutely safe here, the school here as well as the housing office and embassy have been helpful and are always willing to help or give advice,” said Parrotta who attempted to get three different flights home before settling in. Amidst a rapidly evolving situation, uncertainty remains. Officials can’t confirm when the need for social distancing will end and it is undetermined whether convocation and other events will be able to go forward as planned. However, on Mar. 10 The Guardian reported that Wuhan, China has closed their last makeshift coronavirus hospitals as new cases of infection are increasingly dropping in number each day. So, perhaps the rigorous measures put in place will allow for the same outcome here.

NEWS

Stress Awareness Month CapU offers resources to manage and release stress during exam season WEN ZHAI Contributor VALERIYA KIM Illustrator

With final exams looming, exhaustion and stress are waiting just around the corner. Suhki Sohi, Coordinator and Counsellor from Capilano University’s (CapU) Counselling Department, invites students to try something new to equip themselves mentally and psychologically. CapU’s counselling department offers free, confidential services to all enrolled students. “We kind of see everything,” Sohi said. “You name it, it’s appropriate for [students] to come to see us.” Students have two ways of accessing the counselling services on campus: by phone or in person (BR267). Drop-ins are available for up to 15-20 min., with the exception of crisis situations. “We want students to know that from Monday to Friday they can access a counsellor within 24 hours.” Within a few months, the online booking system will be ready and students will be able to book appointments online. Exam period can be stressful, especially when many students are trying to balance school and work. “Stress usually happens when we feel out of control and fear that we could not get things done. Just being able to reframe it and figure out a plan to create a sense of control is helpful,” Sohi said. People react differently to stress depending on various elements. Personality and history play a huge role, and this stress can lead to anxiety. General stress management strategies, like eating well, sleeping, and exercising will help. But many students find it difficult to keep up with healthy habits. “It is really important for students to be able to reflect and monitor their own mental health,” Sohi said. “If they feel they are so overwhelmed that they are not working to their potential or if they are noticing that they are procrastinating too much, or they are so overwhelmed

to the point of withdrawal or start missing classes, these are times when it would be helpful to come to meet with a counsellor.” There is a strong connection between time management and stress management. Learning how to prioritize, plan, and schedule in order to create a structure is a form of creating freedom. “Research shows that a huge impact on young people is technology,” Sohi said. The amount of time spent on devices can lead to lack of focus or sleep and these will have an impact on a person’s stress levels. Counsellors can help students prioritize certain goals even just for a period of time, which would greatly reduce stress. For students who think they haven’t completed enough by the time the exam period approaches, Sohi suggests that they see if they can put some of the items on the agenda on hold for a certain period (e.g. three weeks) or go talk with a counselor who will help with problem solving, validating feelings of stress, help calm down and shut off the destructive self-talk. “I want students to know that stress is normal and there are absolutely things you can do about it. Stress management is a skill that can be developed. It’s similar to how a body trainer helps you train your physical muscles—now you just need someone to help you train your mental muscles, through learning about stress symptoms, strategies, and tools,” Sohi concluded. For other resources to manage stress, accessibility services and learning specialists are available on campus in BR284.

NEWS

Vancouver Rape Relief Denied Grant Funding Due to Trans-Exclusive Policies Featuring an interview with Morgane Oger, trans politician and activist ALEXIS ZYGAN Contributor

Vancouver Rape Relief (VRR) is set to lose $33,937 in funding after they refused services to trans women and sex workers and declined to change their trans-exclusionary policies. The question of VRR’s funding was addressed by the Vancouver City Council on Mar. 14, 2019, and the society was given a year to implement the changes in their policies. This grace period was ignored under the claim that they wanted to ensure a safe space for those “born as women.” General Manager of Arts, Culture and Community Services for Vancouver Sandra Singh communicated that “using this clause as a rationale for one marginalized group to further marginalize another marginalized group is not in keeping the City’s overall intent of the criteria and exception, nor City values.” Vancouver Rape Relief, a product of the second-wave feminism movement, opened its doors in 1974 and was the first organization to provide services for women fleeing abuse in Vancouver. From the start, VRR specified that their "core services are not open to people who do not share our life experience of being born females and raised as girls into our current womanhood." In 1995, Kimberly Nixon, a trans woman and victim of male-violence, signed up to volunteer at VRR but was denied because of her gender identity. Nixon filed a human rights complaint, leading VRR to issue an apology and offer $500 in compensation. Nixon remained unsatisfied and the case was then brought to the BC Human Rights Tribunal where they ruled that VRR was at fault. VRR requested a judicial review and at that time they were protected by Human Rights Code, Section 41 which exempted VRR of responsibility due it being a charitable non-profit organization that’s primary purpose promoted the interests and welfare of women: “that organization or corporation must not be considered to be contravening this Code because it is granting a preference to members of the identifiable group or class of persons.” 16

However, in 2015 Vancouver took a step towards equality by approving a motion for “Ensuring Trans Equality and an Inclusive Vancouver.” Media reports following the decision to defund VRR framed the situation as discriminatory against Vancouver Rape Relief because of their decision to provide spaces for those assigned female at birth. “The demand is undemocratic and very dangerous bullying move on behalf of councillors,” said VRR representative Hilla Kerner to the Toronto Star. Kerner told the National Post that the decision to exclude trans women is equivalent to other organizations only serving a specific demographic, like a youth shelter. "This organization has been presenting that this is a campaign to take away women’s spaces,” said Vancouver trans activist, current vice-president of the BC NDP and founding member of the Law Union of B.C, Morgane Oger. “I am appalled to see the press are not doing the due diligence enough to recognize this is their propaganda. That in reality, there is a very specific reason why this organization lost its funding from the City of Vancouver by a unanimous vote of city councillors, eight of which are women, three of which are men, none of which are openly trans. Their decision, based on analysis, is that this organization has not been inclusive to all women for years," Oger said. Currently, VRR excludes trans folks from their services, which range from a free legal clinic, support group, transition house and peer-counselling with no waiting list. In 1983, VRRs founders left to form their own organization, WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre. “I am told that the organization was starting to suffer from a disagreement on whether to focus on services or ideology,” said Oger. “And it was decided that VRR would stay focused on ideology and stay political, which is recognized in the Kimberely Nixon case in which the judge said, as a political organization, VRR is free to determine who their members are and who gets services. Which is interesting

because political organizations refuse to accept government funding.” Systemic transphobia doesn’t only harm trans women but also sex workers who are also excluded from accessing services due to VRR’s belief that sex work is inherently abusive. All other shelters and organizations in Vancouver include all women regardless of their gender identity or source of employment. VRR validates their clause of exclusion by rallying towards “women-only spaces”. VRR does provide a safe space for some women but fails to include marginalized women who are more at risk of harm. There are many other organizations in Vancouver that do not discriminate based on gender, sex or occupation including Wish, WAVAW, Atira and the Downtown Eastside Women’s Shelter. The Morgane Oger Foundation is working towards making it easier for people to record their experiences of violence through an app. “It stores incidents of populous hatred, geocodes it and maps the participants in a way to help identify patterns of advocacy, extremist activism and try to evaluate if this goes above a legal barrier,” said Oger. It will also track government data to identify the locations where services are denied and compare them to other data sets to show whether there are correlations between place and the availability of public services. Their goal is to reduce systemic barriers to reporting a crime as 24 per cent of trans people who recorded their assaults were harassed by the police. Cutting the funding to Vancouver Rape Relief fails to solve the bigger issue at hand: the rise of trans antagonism. “Vancouver Rape Relief should realign with their mission to end violence against women and should recognize that engaging in hatred against some women causes violence against women,” said Oger. “This is a group that is run by its members that hold onto this belief, and its members can change this belief.”

The Wet'suwet'en Fight Belongs to Everyone CapU Indigenous students emphasize action over words when advocating for Indigenous causes MAIA LOMELINO Contributor

As the Canadian government continues conversations started on Feb. 27 with Wet’suwet’en peoples, Indigenous peoples, allies and youth across the nation continue to rally to voice their support. Recently the demonstrations and blockades held by the hereditary chiefs and supporters have received a great deal of attention as they shut down streets, railway and trade routes, with both sides of the debate having a lot to say on the matter. On Feb. 10, the RCMP forcefully entered the Unist’ot’en camp with dogs and automatic rifles to evict and make arrests in what they called an “unlawful” exclusion zone. The next day Indigenous land defenders, youth and allies occupied the B.C. Legislature in solidarity until a court injunction on Feb. 13 granted the Victoria Police Department (VicPD) the power to arrest protesters. This was tested on Feb. 24 when the legislature was reoccupied and five Indigenous youths were arrested by the VicPD on Mar. 4. The Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) declared their support to the Wet’suwet’en cause on Feb. 12 and Mar. 4 along with students from various institutions including UBC, SFU, Langara and Capilano University (CapU). Students joined the nationwide student walkout in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs. In an unheard-of action in North Vancouver, roughly 80 students, led by First Nation students, left their classes around 2 PM for a rally starting in the Cedar courtyard, marched through the library and went down the road to blockade the intersection between Mountain Highway

and Keith Road. Megan Helin, Tsimshian, Lax Kw’alaams and Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking Diploma student, described the situation as “an extremely emotional time not only for Indigenous peoples but for all land protectors that have been fighting for the land, water and future of civilization.” The walkout from Capilano University was Helin’s first opportunity to take part in the Wet’suwet’en initiatives in which she called “eye-opening.” “Social-media has been posting from both the land protectors’ and the media point of view, and having the first-hand account was extremely informative both emotionally and intellectually,” Helin said. “There was all-around discrimination towards the walkout because it was an inconvenience, many of the commuters said things like ‘you are not even Indigenous’, ‘why are you here’ and ‘this is not your problem.’ I was also quite surprised by the disrespect shown by Capilano students. When we entered the library there was laughter and snarky comments.” Helin also points out that there is some separation among Indigenous communities, with elected chiefs and hereditary chiefs not always agreeing. She added that it is not something that should cloud the fight for a better future for everyone. Tristin Greyeyes (wapan acahk iskwew), CSU Indigenous Students Liaison and one of the main organizers of the walkout, said that many of the students participating in the blockade had never done something like it before. One of the major issues was keeping the students safe in the midst of

angry commuters, some who tried to pass through the blockade with their cars. “Everything was so quiet on campus and we are a small campus. We needed to make more noise, to wake people up,” Greyeyes said in regards to the rally held in the Cedar Courtyard. “Everybody benefits directly or indirectly by Indigenous displacement. People like to do land acknowledgments but they don’t actually do anything about it. So, we decided to go to the library before going to the intersection. The Indigenous students were leading the march.” Greyeyes is a land-back Skodenfighter, basic human rights activist and an intersectional feminist. She stated that many believe that the blockades are making people angry with the Indigenous cause, rather than creating allies, but she states that is not the case. “Our culture is totally linked with the land. We have Indigenous women and girls disappearing and being killed. We are thinking of the long run about climatic changes and the importance of water—how the pipelines influence all of that,” Greyeyes added. “People voice solidarity but unless I see them really doing something and participating, we don’t need empty support.”

There are several ways to get involved and support the Wet’suwet’en including donations, fundraisers, solidarity statements or even following activists’ social media accounts like @redbraidalliance on Instagram and Unist’ot’en Facebook page or website for their supporter toolkit: at http://unistoten.camp.

NEWS

Battle for a Brighter Vancouver Twenty-five teams compete for a winning environmental solution

JAYDE ATCHISON Staff Writer JENNIFER PANATA Illustrator

On Earth Day (Apr. 22), Brands for Better Foundation is hosting a three-part event aiming to address the issues of waste reduction and sustainability in Vancouver. The foundation’s inaugural event will bring local teams together in a strategy hack-a-thon to compete for the best environmentally conscious design. Brands for Better Foundation, a notfor-profit give-back initiative, was founded in late 2019 by a community who wished to encourage people to implement meaningful changes with environmental and social issues in mind. “What is really important to me [...] is that we don't want to just have another idea,” said co-founder Scot Sustad. “We actually want to create genuine and measurable impact in our city.” A mix of 25 retail, construction, technology and other Vancouver-based companies and brands have signed up for the strategy hack-a-thon. Each team will buy seats for a table and can either purchase a whole table, half a table or individual seats. Each team will host up to 10 members with two students, one local master’s student (MBA and MD) and 18

one undergraduate. Once the teams have come up with their plans, they will have to pitch their ideas to a team of judges. The top five teams will be chosen based on the creativity and feasibility of their solutions. From there, the winners will move on to the Public Pitch Night. Between the initial event and the pitch night taking place on Jun. 11 at the Vogue Theatre, the winning teams will have guidance from local agencies to perfect their pitches and refine their solutions. The public is encouraged to attend the pitch night, a cultural evening that will showcase local talent and a Dragon’s Den-style pitching. Before the teams have presented their pitch they will sign an agreement that will determine whether their brand will take on the task of implementing their solution. One option will state that the winning team will accept responsibility to implement their concept utilizing the Brands for Better resources and community support. If the winning team does not have the capacity or the time to carry out their design, they will agree to have a team of three people under 30 years old take over. The final

group of people that agree to implement the winning concept will have access to community input, meetings with experts in the field and various resources that make their idea a success. There is a goal of achieving the design within one year. The judges will consist of a variety of influencers and subject matter experts to allow a diverse view of the solutions presented. “It is important that we represent the broader population,” said Sustad. “This way, we can see it from everybody's different perspectives and point of view.” Brands for Better intends for this event to become an annual affair, with next year focusing on social issues. The foundation chose the inaugural event to surround environmental problems, but kept in mind how they may impact the people and communities in the city. Each year, Brands for Better plans on rotating between addressing environmental and social causes. More information about future events and ways to get involved can be found at the Brands for Better Foundation website.

CSU Hosts Panel for Women in Politics Looking into the ways in which women in politics navigate the inequalities present in their profession. SHEILA ARELLANO News Editor

Over 60 Capilano University students, staff and faculty, community members and university donors gathered on Mar. 6 to conduct a panel to discuss the structural barriers that exist for women in politics. “We started planning for this in January by contacting all the panellists to see if they would be interested. Then we created marketing materials and started advertising, then worked behind the scenes to ensure all the logistics for the evening were planned out,” said President President Vice-President Equity & Sustainability Emily Bridge. The structural challenges women go through was a forefront topic during the panel. Each panellist, along with moderator Libby Davies, contributed to the conversation by adding their own unique perspectives and experiences. Bridge commented on how women often don't have the necessary resources to get involved in politics due to societal expectations and family demands. Together, the panellists discussed funding mechanisms to aid women and other marginalized groups to participate in the traditional political realm. Campaigning takes time, energy and money, which can become barriers preventing women from entering politics. “The expectations are still there that women will be the ones to travel home on weekends to care for their family and that by entering politics you make a choice to put your family and personal life on hold due to the demands of the profession,” Bridge said. Women still are not equally represented in traditional political structures, especially women of colour, and this is a gap that needs to be addressed. Observing the societal structures that have led to persistent inequities and helping underrepresented

groups participate is crucial to the evolution of the political world. “There is no doubt about how seeing someone that looks like you in a profession or workplace helps open up additional possibilities for what you can achieve, and that matters,” said Bridge. “We need women at the table and we need women who fight for all women.” The work women do often goes unrecognized in the public and private spheres. The work of Indigenous women, the women in Latin America, and women all over the world who are fighting to survive and build a better world for their children. It is rare when their work is recognized, and still, women take on the emotional burden of this work willingly. “This is something that I've experienced even here at CapU: men repeating things I've said and being listened to even when I was dismissed, colleagues just expecting I'll do their work for them because I'll always get it done, and even a lack of respect in my ability to be a leader just because I'm a woman,” said Bridge. “These things are tricky to pinpoint; they slip through your fingers as you try to grasp onto them.” “Politics isn’t just running for office in whatever level or capacity it may be, it's also about sharing your beliefs and opinions with friends, working in your community, showing up for causes you believe in and advocating for others,” Bridge said. “I just hope that if any womxn or non-binary folks are interested in getting into politics, whether traditional or otherwise, that they feel empowered to do so because while some days are long and hard and frustrating, they are also so incredibly rewarding and you do see real wins.”

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“This shit is so fucked up,” Dave mutters, clutching his phone to his chest and shaking his head. He’s wearing a bird-watching vest, a KC ball cap that covers his greying hair, and comfy New Balance shoes. I rummage in my bag for lip balm and when I look up, Dave hasn’t moved a bit. We stand in quiet company, surveying the sea of adolescence. It’s 1:00pm on a sunny Saturday, and I’m inside the Vancouver Convention Centre. The air smells of new shoes, Orange Crush and youth. There are people everywhere and the Hype. Is. Real. Above the commotion and beneath the fluorescent lighting I can make out Migos’ “Walk It Talk It” pumping from a DJ booth in the corner. There are hundreds of mostly preteen boys sitting on the floor with their Nike Dunk Lows and Yeezys spread out in front of them. Out on the periphery of the ballroom and against the walls are the parents, some halfleaning-half-squatting, some scrolling through their phones, others just staring off. There’s not a bench in sight. This is Sneaker Con 2020. Sneaker Con, an event that bills itself as “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth,” was founded in 2009 in New York. Since then, it’s exploded into the international sneakersphere, drawing thousands of sneaker connoisseurs to its events. Sneaker Con is where sneakerheads come together to buy, sell, and trade their sneakers and meetand-greet with the biggest influencers, vloggers and collectors in the sneaker world. This is Vancouver’s second Sneaker Con and with over 5000 attendees each paying an admission fee of $28.55, the event has tapped into a lucrative market. The line to enter the exhibition hall took almost thirty minutes and it’s here that I meet Luca. He tells me he doesn't really do these kinds of events anymore because “it’s just gotten so crazy.” Luca is 14. He’s here with his friends to browse, see what’s out there and maybe do some trading. Having

done my research, I go out on a limb and ask Luca if he’s after any grails. I hold my breath then feel the sweet wash of high-school acceptance when he answers, “Totally gonna scope some grails, probably the new Travis’ that just dropped.” Grails are to sneakerheads what a first edition Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone would be to a book collector. A pair of sneakers that you’re willing to spend well above retail price for, grails signify the limited nature of the sneaker. Luca explains that most of the sneakers here are way too expensive for him to buy or even trade for, but he’s always on the lookout. I get the sense that part of what makes grails so special is the search for them, the questing. I ask if I can follow him around for a bit. He agrees and once we’re in, he beelines for the trading pit. This is the heart of Sneaker Con, where swarms of teenage boys make quick deals and trades with just a couple of gestures and mumbles: “I’ll give you three bills for those.”

“You trading or selling?” “Naw, man.” “Bro, that guy just offered me double that, there’s no way, bro.”

I follow Luca into the heart of the pit and he pulls out a red Supreme hoodie. Before it’s even out of the bag, four boys are on us, walking alongside Luca. “I’ll give you five bills for that,” one of them says. Luca shakes his head, “No man, I got this for eight.” That’s eight hundred. Luca passes up three more offers, eventually selling his hoodie for $600 to 12-year-old Zach who is manning a “booth”—a space on the floor the size of a world map outlined by masking tape. Luca heads off to find his grails. I take my leave of him with a fist bump I’m three seconds behind on, and head for the Legit Certification station. On my way there, I walk by a live auction with a hot bidding war going on for a pair of Off-White 5s men’s size 8. They sell for $900 to a boy, no

older than 13, I just saw trading in the pit. When I get there, I find a long queue of sneaker lovers waiting to get their merchandise verified. This is an important step—as Luca told me: “[You] gotta get your shit legitchecked,” because even if the box is real, the shoes could be fake. At a table, two middle-aged men sit in sweatsuits and fancy sneaks, dispassionately poking, prodding, flashlighting and yes, sniffing shoes before giving them the verified tag or breaking the news about the fakes. This is where I meet Dave again. Remember him? Now he’s waiting for his 15-year-old grandson Tyler to get his shoes verified. Tyler beat leukemia and because of this, Dave says he’s willing to indulge his grandson in whatever he wants. He doesn’t get it, but he’s happy to make Tyler happy. Dave tells me when he was a kid, if he had a pocket full of cash he would’ve been going for some hockey cards. Times have changed. No longer are adolescent boys saving up their allowance to buy $1 packs of hockey cards. These days there’s bigger money exchanging hands: on the top end you can cop deadstock Nike Air Mags for 40K. I asked Sneaker Con co-founder Alan Vinogradov how it all got started. “This has been going on since Michael Jordan put on the Jordan 1… the pivotal shoe of this community, of this culture,” Vinogradov told me. “1985 was the… [year] he laced up the Jordan 1—this is the shoe that is really the most memorable piece of iconic sneaker history.” Tyler’s shoes get verified, Dave forks over $1000 cash and Tyler takes a series of selfies with the youthful merchant, a souvenir of his new purchase. I congratulate them both and head for the hot dog stand. Standing there, eating my hot dog and feeling a little less like an outsider, I wonder if Luca managed to cop his grails.

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A R T I S T F E AT U R E

Valeriya Kim MEGAN AMATO Associate News Editor

Shadowy portraits, conceptual images, painterly action-shots and colourful illustrations all grace Valeriya Kim’s Instagram account. She showcases versatility and skill that is almost as remarkable as her ability to weave narratives through each piece. The 21-year-old IDEA student from Kazakhstan laughed as she reminisced about her beginnings as an artist. “I was painting a lot of circles with watercolour. That would be all that I would paint. Page after page after page of circles.” Her mother must have seen something in those circles because she was put into art school, where a supportive art teacher helped her foster her natural ability across different mediums. Despite the eccentricity of her portfolio, Kim’s favourite style to work in is conceptual art. Growing up she loved to play videogames and was inspired by the stills of the videogame art designs that promoted games prior to their release. “Character design is my favourite because this is where you can do most of the storytelling. You have to imagine where is the character from, where does he live, what does he do in his free

time, what is his financial situation. I feel like when you can visualize it, this is where the creativity comes out.” There is no denying that Kim is a natural storyteller; her pieces invite you into fantasy worlds with dark ethereal portraits and enigmatic scenes. When she was younger, Kim’s main inspiration came from the Rococo period in France. “It was really fluid, and a really beautiful balance of contrast and light,” she said. The internet, however, changed everything for her. Kim was introduced to and influenced by the plethora of illustrators she found online, drawn to the purposefulness that was in the medium of graphic design. However, she emphasizes the importance of glancing away from the screen and paying attention to the world around her. “It is important because if you want to get better, you should draw from real life more. Absorbing everything around you is important because I think that’s how you form your unique style— through your environment.”

Follow Valeriya Kim on Instagram @valerochkim

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A Look Inside Shuvinai Ashoona's Fantastical Worlds Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds features drawings that combine otherworldly creatures with Inuit scenes of everyday life MARIA LUISA SANTANA Contributor

Through her colourful drawings of fantastical creatures sharing spaces with members of Inuit communities, Shuvinai Ashoona brings her inner world and perspective to life. Open since February, Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds at the Vancouver Art Gallery is the Inuit artist's first exhibition in western Canada, and features a selection of her work from the past twenty years. Ashoona blurs the line between reality and fantasy by producing drawings that often illustrate the changing landscape of the Cape Dorset region in Nunavut with the arrival of western technology and practices. “A lot of her work—whether it is depicting something really fantastical or something that’s more based in observation—it is really kind of matter of fact,” shared Vancouver Art Gallery curator Tarah Hoghe. The 58-year-old Indigenous artist’s work is deeply rooted in the arctic landscape, portraying the changing circumstances of Inuit peoples' traditional ways of living. Ashoona incorporates contemporary western culture into her work by drawing people holding phones or cameras, and by making use of English words and vocabulary in her pieces. The inclusion of these motifs in her work references how globalization and the introduction of western technology into her community is changing the area Ashoona grew up in; her art is a testimony on how colonization changes the routine of native communities. A combination of memories and dreamlike observation find their way into Ashoona’s very straightforward style of expressing and illustrating; she mixes a multiplicity of different perspectives on a single piece of paper. The Inuit artist depicts members of her community in everyday activities while co-existing and sharing their spaces with fantastical creatures. “The idea of worlds within worlds is one that really speaks to the way that she brings reality and fantasy, past and present, together in her work,” said Hoghe. "Many worlds exist in the same place for her." Untitled (two people cutting seal) depicts a seemingly ordinary camp scene: two Inuit men cut a seal in half. But when you look closer, a hidden parallel world reveals itself: a rock morphs into a bear head, a mystical spider brings food, colorful snakes emerge from rocks. These creatures gather around the men who

don’t seem to notice their presence. The drawing illustrates the peaceful coexistence and harmonic sharing of common spaces between the men and the fantastical animals, portraying how Inuit community members are dealing and adapting to change. Shuvinai Ashoona comes from a family of artists. Her grandmother was one of the first artists to begin drawing as a primary practice at the community's cooperative, West Baffin Eskimo cooperative, a creative space where Inuit artists can produce their graphic and carving work. Her mother, Sorosilutu Ashoona, was also a drawer, and her father, Kiugak Ashoona, was a master carver. Shuvinai Ashoona tends to be described as a self-trained artist, but in reality she was raised and surrounded by many other women who were artists as well. Ashoona’s work stands out for constantly breaking the standards and patterns around what Inuit art should look like. Her art most aligns with that of her first cousin, Annie Pootoogook, who would portray the details of her everyday life as a Inuit woman through drawings. Pootoogook broke expected norms around what Inuit art should represent and how it should look. “Annie started to represent life as it was in the north for her, like people shopping in the grocery stores,” said Hoghe. “It helped Ashoona to continue to break out of the expected mold.” Under Ashoona’s lens, the transformations in her community are made visible, but not necessarily depicted as a negative phenomenon. Instead, her work renders the inevitable presence of modernification and the way in which communities adapt, adjust and mold their rituals around it. Through her drawings of imaginative animals peacefully co-existing with Inuit characters, Ashoona opens up space for viewers to have extreme inventive interpretations of her art pieces. “Part of the real joy of her work is just looking at it and trying to figure out what it is, and putting the words to what it is you’re seeing.” Shuvinai Ashoona: Mappings Worlds is on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery until May 24.

Shuvinai Ashoona, Untitled (two people cutting seal), 2011, Fineliner pen, graphite and coloured pencil on paper, Private Collection A RT S & CULTURE

Fire In The Mad house Delivers Crazy-Hot Comedy Inside the new stand-up comedy event in Vancouver guaranteed to get at least one laugh out of you VALERIA VELAZQUEZ Contributor

Some say laughter is the best medicine, and a shot of it will definitely be easier to get than the vaccine for coronavirus. Fire in the Madhouse is a new standup comedy show co-produced by local comedians Tom Balog (also known as “Hot Tom”) and Bobby Warrener. Still in its infancy, the show has already sold out twice, boasting a regular crowd of comedy-lovers that flock each month to The Dashes on Hastings to grab a beer, snatch a seat and settle in for a night of laughter. Balog, who is a communications student at CapU, started doing stand-up back in his mid-twenties in his hometown of Calgary. “I always had an appreciation for stand-up comedy and looked up to people who were able to go up on stage and voice their opinion,” he said. Before moving to Vancouver, Balog organized stand-up shows in Calgary for a few years. “One of my favourite shows I ever put on was in this crystal hippie store in Calgary. There was this one guy that worked at the store, and he just meditated throughout the whole show,” he recalled. After taking a year off from comedy, Balog decided to jump back into stand-up and set this project in motion with Warrener. They were waiting for the right time and place to put on the event when their friend and owner of the venue, Steven, agreed to provide the space for the show. They decided to keep the name Fire in the Madhouse, which Tom had used for his standup shows back in Calgary. The phrase was taken from the last recorded interview of Terence McKenna, an American ethnobotanist known for his interest and advocacy for naturally-occurring psychedelic plants. Balog and Warrener have been able to network with a variety of Canadian comedians, providing the show with an ever-changing roster of emerging and seasoned comedians alike. Visual artist and musician Aaron Read, veteran comic Jane Stanton and Nigerian-

Canadian Ola Dada (a former CapU student) are only some of the talented stand-up acts that have graced the stage. The show provides a space for people to get together and enjoy life through fun, relatable insights and reflections. “Laughter lets people deflate, lets the steam out of the situation,” said Balog. “[It] helps us be able to reflect on ‘yeah, things are fucked up and strange, but it’s always been that way and it’ll always be that way, so let’s not carry such a heavy weight.’ Nothing’s ever gonna be perfect and we’re always gonna face issues and that’s okay.” When asked what his vision is for the future of the show, Balog said with a smile, “At this point, it’s a lot just juggling work and school and coronavirus and, you know, World War III and existential issues, and also having to eat every day, like, it takes a lot of time. So, I don’t know—what was the question again?” After a little laughter session, he finally made an attempt at a serious answer: “I don’t know, I don’t know where it’s gonna go, but I like putting it on, and I like bringing everyone together, especially people like friends and people from different communities —[I like] being able to laugh together.” While Balog and Warrener both continue to spread the word about the event, Warrener is also working on another comedy event himself. He will be hosting the Friday Late Gala for WPG Comedy Festival, which will take place Apr. 25 to May 2 and will be aired on CBC. Even though they each have their own things going on, the friends plan to continue putting on Fire in the Madhouse for everyone to enjoy. Find the next Fire in the Madhouse show on Facebook at @fireinthemadhouseyvr

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Taking out the Trash Capilano University hosted its 11th annual waste audit on Mar. 10 in the parking lot beside the Sports Complex. Each year, various faculties partner up with Earthworks and sort through one day’s worth of waste on campus. This year, all the campus’ waste from Monday, Mar. 9 was sorted through. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are typically the busier days at the university, and yet the mixed pile of garbage bags were spread across two parking spots and stood above waist height. Prior to the event, professors from biology, geography, business and other departments advertise the audit and recruit students to help sort through the garbage for a period of one and a half hours. “We’re really trying to encourage interdisciplinary connections,” said biology professor Thomas Flower, “To recognize that environmental stewardship is not specific to any particular discipline.” Volunteers are layered in protective full-body suits, gloves and masks to make the process as clean as possible. Despite the cold rain, students showed up in large groups and were discussing the contents found in each bag. The purpose of the student involvement is to showcase how the university is handling its waste management and allow insight into what goes into each bin on a daily basis. For Sustainability Engagement Facilitator Emilie Ralston, the goal of the annual audit is for students to better understand that out of sight is not out of mind. “Just because they toss their garbage into one of the waste streams it doesn't mean that it disappears,” Ralston explains. “It still has to be dealt with and it takes a lot of transportation, energy and resources to process and it’s very costly as taxpayers and to the environment.” The Greentainer program was implemented by CapU to enable sustainable options for students and staff to enjoy meals from the cafeteria. After each use, people can return the containers to their designated bins to be washed thoroughly and used again. For some students, the fact that the containers need to be returned and reused may not be clear, as two green containers were found in the trash, only to end up in the landfill. If there’s an average of two containers ending up in the landfill a day, an estimated 730 containers a year would become single-use plastic. When people toss their containers into the various waste bins, it defeats the intention of the program, and creates the undesirable outcome of more plastic ending up in landfills. CapU students who attended high school in North Vancouver may be familiar with zero-waste stations in every hallway. However, many CapU students have approached their instructors to let them

The 11th annual Waste Audit at Capilano University reveals a need to further educate students and staff on proper waste management procedures JAYDE ATCHISON Staff Writer

know that it’s their first time experiencing multiple bins. Capilano University tries to encourage students to recycle and manage the campus waste, but little education is given across the faculties. Implementing a recycling program can only work if everyone on campus participates. “If a few people put the wrong waste in the wrong bin then that waste is thrown into landfill rather than recycling,” said Flower. “So just a few people can undo all the good work of everybody else.” When one student throws their Clif Bar wrapper into the organics bin, it contaminates the bag and everything gets dumped into the landfill, making the organics bin useless. Whether it’s ignorance or blatant disregard for the environment, the university should provide basic waste management education to students across all disciplines. Perhaps, during the first week of each semester students can be given a rundown of what is allowed in each bin and the impacts of incorrect recycling. One organics bag contained around 20 partially sliced cucumbers, still wrapped in their plastic. Not only is this a waste of edible food, but the plastic wrap left on is also not compostable— instead they are considered contaminated and part of the general landfill. If the employees were to remove the plastic off each cucumber, the organics bin would remain compostable and would result in less waste in the landfills. These vegetables most likely did not come from students, but one of the food services provided on campus (Tim Hortons, Subway or the cafeteria). In addition to educating students and staff on the importance of recycling, Capilano University may have an obligation to discuss how to further educate food service staff with Chartwells to help reduce contaminated waste. We have been taught through media channels and on bin signage that to-go cups should go into the recycling. In the District of North Vancouver, people are able to recycle things like coffee cups in their blue bin at home, but institutions are not allowed to put them into their recycling. All the coffee cups have a lining which prevents them from going into the regular recycling. “We would love to see the District of North Vancouver start to accept those cups from institutions as well as from private garbages,” said Flower. Students are able to learn more about the waste audit data through updated signs above the zero waste stations, and through contacting members of Earthworks at sustainability@capilanou.ca

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Maia is a 31-year-old int erdisciplinary studies stu dent from Brazil. Befor coming to Canada, she e already had a bachelor’s degree in digital design. “In Brazil, we brush ou r tee what she called “the eve th after every meal,” she said as she took out ryday essentials”—a too thbrush, mini toothpast Dove Dry Spray and a Snow W hite mirror. “I e, don’t leave home witho mirror.” This mirror wa ut a s from the 75th annivers ary of the Disney movie Snow White and the Sev en Dwarfs. It is a treasu re for any fan like Maia claims to love everythin who g about Disney. “It wa s super expensive the firs time I saw it, and a mo t nth later it was like five bucks. I was like ‘Yeah! mine now!’” Despite be It’s ing years later, Maia sti ll couldn’t contain the excitement rememberin joy and g that moment.

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The Nintendo lanyard sprawled out on the counter is important to Maia because she used it when she worked at the company as a game tester. “I loved the job and the people. I miss them every day,” she said with a sigh. Like her love for Disney, it comes as no surprise that her love for Nintendo has also influenced her playful keyring. “My favorite thing when I lived in the US was that I lived really close to a Disney store; I spent most of my money on the Nintendo store and then on the Disney store.” When asked why she didn’t pursue a career in game design, Maia explained that she’s already a digital designer and wants to try other things. She’s more interested in game testing and production now and she’s the president of the University’s Game Design Club.

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A RT S & CULTURE

Summer

Beverages

For The Soul Mangonada A vacation in your own home SHEILA ARELLANO

News Editor

n Yuzu Gi ic n and To kes yuzu ma B e ca u s e g b e t te r ever ythin

MATO MEGAN A ews Editor N A ssociate

e my tonics ar mer d an sum Gin al go to quintessenti e that botanical gin m drink. Give all batches and pair sm in ed brew tonic and high quality ay from a h it w h it w ote: stay aw I’m sold (n ’s at all the hipster T drinking G& nd Vancouver— u o ar s e u feelings ven our bitter y l al e ’r y e th The yuzu in a cup). my embodied routed from dy. sp ic n to d d gin an hot to k, the yuzu winter drin feel summery on a I wanted to voila, the yuzu gin d bad day an born. as w ic n to and nts: Ingredie s of your ce n u o 2 • rite gin u vo fa nic ounces on to 5 • 4 to ix m a te yuzu • Korean ke marmalade) (looks li 2 ice cubes • of your fruit garnish • Citrus ptional) (o choice r just t the gin—o Measure ou ally do—add the usu and eye it like I the yuzu tea er at tonic w , your ice and citrus d mix well. Ad h and is n fruit to gar ! you're sorted

A Moscato Moment Wine not?

JAYDE ATCHISON Staff Writed

Ingredients: o • 1 bottle of preferred Moscat ) ows foll as (mine are • Jacob’s Creek Moscato • Copper Moon Rose • Krause Berry Farms e Sparkling Strawberry Win tub h • 1 bat • 1-10 episodes of The Office your Grab your laptop and toss on (I ce Offi The of ode epis favourite ile Wh . suggest “Dinner Party”) the you are filling your bath with can you er wat re atu hottest temper o withstand, take the chilled moscat lthy hea a out of the fridge and pour stop dose into any glass or cup (let’s king drin ve abo are pretending we To g). mu Cat ire esh Ch a of wine out nts tpri foo avoid inconvenient wet the throughout your place, leave y eas for b htu bat the bottle close to this r, eve how ned war Be access. etest wine goes down like the swe you it, w kno apple juice. Before you f rsel you find and z have a nice buz n tha re mo ed Cre to te rela to starting ry you ever have before. Enjoy eve ! ibly ons resp ” “that’s what she said

If you are into sweet and sour flavours, this Mexican drink is definitely for you. It is called a Mangonada—a drink that simply embodies the feeling of summer. The combination of the mango’s flavour with the spicy and sourness of the lime, chilli powder and tamarind make this drink perfect for a hot day at the beach. If people could taste the feeling of dancing salsa, this is what it would taste like: spicy, sour and sweet. This is the drink you have always been searching for, the drink that will give you instant happiness after exam season. Believe me. Ingredients: • 5 large ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 8 cups) • ¼ cup granulated sugar • ¼ cup fresh lime juice (from 2 fresh limes) • 1 ½ cups cold water • ¾ cup silver tequila or rum • ¾ to 1 cup chamoy • Tajín • 4 tamarind candy straws (optional) Blend 5 cups of mango, and reserve the remaining mango. Add the sugar, lime juice and 3/4 cup cold water to the blender and blend until puréed. Blend in tequila or rum. Add water until the mango mixture reaches the desired consistency. After, chill the mango mixture in the refrigerator until ready to serve. When serving, pour or scoop about 1/2 cup of mango mixture into glass. Add about 1/3 cup reserved mango to each glass, followed by 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of chamoy and a generous sprinkle of Tajín (special chilli powder). Garnish each glass with a tamarind candy straw, if using, and a spoon. ¡Listo! Cheers.

Rum and Coke Just in case you forgot that these exist

The Unbearable Lightness of Peeing e Bring the Prague Spring hom with a summer twist on this historical Czech spirit SARAH ROSE

Features Editor

I read Milan Kundera’s classic meditation on politics and sex in my second year at Cap. Unlike every student allegedly “registered” in it, there’s no secret I’m an alumnus of the creative writing program. Here’s another secret: this cocktail goes down lighter than its namesake novel. After finding yourself lost in the summer ennui of binge drinking and hangovers, a flat beer the morning after on the balcony isn’t going to cut it. Try this contemplative sipper instead. It's like a sex on the beach meets Camus except no-one dies and once you finish, you’ ll probably be left both hopeful and haunted.

Ingredients: • 1 ounce absinthe • 2-3 ounces pineapple juice • Ice

Fill a rocks glass with an ounce of absinthe (I recommend Psychedelic Jellyfish from Tofino Distillery or Taboo by Okanagan Spirits) and add crushed ice to fill. Pour in 2 to 3 ounces of pineapple juice over the ice to taste. Watch the absinthe louche into a murky golden glow like a sunset after a storm, while contemplating the debilitating consequences of our seemingly trivial everyday decisions. Garnish with a lemon wheel, bowler hat, existential dread or nothing at all – the true nihilistic drink accessory. Drink slowly and softly, lest you also wake up wearing nothing at all. As Kundera says, “in the sunset of dissolution everything is illuminated, even the guillotine.”

RACHEL D'SA

Editor-In-Chief

This one’s for the desperados of us that only have a few ingredients kicking around and can’t make it out to the store. This is not my drink of choice (try a moscow mule, glass of moscato or bellini). I, however, have not left the house in two weeks. I knocked back a few of these babies last night, hunched over my painting workstation, and they seemed to do the trick. My favourite part? It’s all in the name so you’ve really gotta be an idiot to screw this one up. Ingredients: • 2 ounces rum • 4 ounces cola (or 6 for the faint of heart) • Ice • A lime slice (optional, but this is already a really simple recipe so you should maybe try a little harder here) Ice in a cup. Add the rum (sigh). Garnish with a lime wedge. Oh right, add the coke. Eat the rest of the lime, make it into a bird feeder, makeup applicator, focaccia, whatever. Don’t you dare let it go to waste.

Fruity Iced Tea Lemonad

Save a trip to th e grocer y store during th e pandemic

ANA MARIA CA ICEDO

Arts & Culture Ed itor

The first and only time I went to a nutritionist, she gave me a handy little tip that has nothing to do with nutrition at all: brew some very, very strong tea, add sweetener, and pour it into an ice cube tray for a week’s wo rth of delicious iced tea. W hile I never tri ed the ice cube tray thing , I did get into brewing very strong, concentrated iced tea because I am an iced tea aficionado and als o very lazy. One summer, missi ng of lemonade my abue the daily pitchers lita used to make for me in Colombia, I de cided to combine my three favourite drink s: iced tea, lemonade and agua fresca. Using mint from a bush that had sprouted in my backyard and the raspberries that were abou fridge, I whipped tog t to go bad in my ether my signature concoction. Okay, I’ll admit it. Deciding to mix iced tea, lemonade and fru it doesn’t make me mixologist of the year. Th million variations of th ere’s probably a is recipe online, but what I like about my recipe is its flexibility and yield. All you need is or lime juice and fruit. tea, some lemon I usually make mine with raspberries and mint, but feel free to take the general prem ise create your own fruity of this drink and iced tea lemonade with whatever you ha ve on you. Ingredients: • Tea • 1-4 lemons or limes • Sugar or sweetener to taste • Fruit (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries or blu eberries all work) • Mint leaves (option al) Brew one or two litr es of very strong tea and chill it in the fridg e. In a bowl, mash together the juice of two or more lemons, fruit, mint, and 2-5 tablespoons of sugar. Fill a glass with ice an Spoon in the lemon d pour the tea in. juice/fruit mixture. Depending on how strong you brew the tea and how much of the lemon juice/fruit mixture you make, on e batch can last you a few days if you water ea That’s it. That’s the rec ch ser ving down. ipe. A RT S & CULTURE

THE DEVIL'S

ADVOCATE Why sugar is not as bad as you think it is

LENA ORLOVA Contributor EMILY ROSE Illustrator

If we take our information from the news or the health and fitness industry, we come to believe that all carbs are bad. Carbs lead to weight gain, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity, acne, headaches, infections and texting your ex when you know you shouldn’t. Well, I wouldn’t want those things either. The simple solution may be to cut the sugar, be done with it and live happily ever after. However, is the absence of disease the same as being healthy? Let’s begin first with who defines health. Depending on who you ask —a doctor, a fitness instructor, a fashion model, an athlete or a college student—the answer will differ. In 1948, the World Health Organization stated, “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This makes sense, since people who get sick aren’t necessarily unhealthy. Everyone is susceptible to the flu once in a while. Many factors can make people susceptible to disease like lifestyle choices, genetics, exercise habits or even past traumatic experiences, as demonstrated by the 1998 study on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Sugar can’t take all the credit. An examination in the “Low Carbohydrate Diet” by Robert Oh and Kalyan R. Uppaluri, shows that, in the short-term, diets that restrict sugar—like keto or Atkins— promote weight loss and more balanced blood sugar levels for those with type 2 diabetes. Yet, for periods of more than one year, two years or 10 years, findings disconcert. In the meta-analysis and prospective cohort study on “Dietary Carbohydrate Intake and Mortality” in 2018, Sara Seidelmann and authors found that groups with the lowest mortality rates obtained 50-55 per cent of their energy needs from carbs. Overall, they associated highest mortality rates with low carb (less than 40 per cent) and high carb (more than 70 per cent) consuming diets. Low-carb diets often lead to fatigue, stress, tiredness, cold body temperature and insomnia. Health researcher, nutrition activist, lifestyle and exercise coach Kate Deering makes the link that these are all symptoms of a slow metabolism. Metabolism is the sum of all cellular activities in the body and affected by the absence of carbs. A carbohydrate is a nutrient necessary for survival. It exists in fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains and refined sugar. The body breaks down most carbs into simple sugars like glucose. Glucose is the preferable energy source— quick cash. There are areas that only use glucose as an energy source: your brain, cells of the retina and your red blood cells. Yes—even your blood needs

The body needs energy to drive all cellular processes like growth, repairs, detoxification and the immune response. Sugar stimulates the metabolism. A healthy metabolism is linked to better energy, better sleep, better sex drive, better physical shape and overall mood, Deering points out in How to Heal Your Metabolism. Think about the last time you were stressed: you probably craved something sweet. In a stressed state, your body prepares for expenditure of energy by craving energy. Popular low-carb diets go by the theory that if you cut the sugar, eventually the body’s energy source becomes fat and you burn fat. Yes, that’s part of the story. However, breaking down fat as the main source of energy for all body functions and for a prolonged period of time inhibits the same physiological processes that normally contribute to detoxification, healthy metabolism and a healthy body. Decades of well-supported, countermovement research has been done by nutritionist and biologist Dr. Ray Peat on the real role of sugar, which goes against the current anti-sugar culture. But before you go out eating a candy bar for health, consider that the source and type of carb you eat is also important. Anything that spikes blood sugar levels will lead to erratic energy levels and weight gain. Deering recommends that all carbs should be eaten in conjunction with a fat and a protein to slow their absorption into the bloodstream. If you choose to eat a sweet snack—pair it up. Cheese and fruit. Milk and honey. Healthy sugars should come from organic sources without toxins, preservatives and anti-nutrients. Ideally, the best sources of sugars are organic fruit, honey and milk. Yes, soy and nut-milk lovers, milk is healthy too. (But that’s another story). For thousands of years humans have consumed carbs to meet their energy needs. But unlike our cave-dwelling ancestors, we work, study and deal with crises more frequently than at any other time in history. To flourish and manage everyday life, we need energy. Period. Yet, we’ve collectively been sold the idea that the very thing that provides us energy is absolutely, in any amount, bad for us despite our physiological systems being welladapted to digest them. What we haven’t adapted to is eating toxin-rich junk food, GMO, processed candy, corn syrups, preservatives and fake flavouring. And what we haven’t outgrown is our psychological insecurities that drive us to diet our way to beauty. Meanwhile, dear Sugar, maybe we can be friends again?

OPI NIONS

Capitalist Canines

Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the paw

SARAH ROSE Features Editor CYNTHIA TRAN VO Illustrator

“Here’s to Paw Patrol and to capitalism,” chimes outgoing Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer while drunk ranting on Twitter about the free market. “May those enduring so much hardship in places like Venezuela, North Korea and Belarus one day be able to enjoy the benefits the free market brings to the world.” He says this while lifting a glass of what we can only presume is either union-made in Canada Alberta Premium rye or Glenlivet 1964, which retails for $7000 a bottle. Of course, Scheer’s government pay cheque will pick up the tab where he enjoys it from within government housing while tweeting about anyone who doesn’t support his policies of transferring capital from the working class to the ruling class. This latest video in Scheer’s hallucinogenic body of work suggests he’s generously sampling his own product. In a wildly incoherent statement like “free market capitalism built our country,” he genuinely believes what he’s saying. Even though he’s clearly never used any of our three main telecommunication systems. Economic ideology doesn’t build countries, labour does, but the power of belief is resilient. Marx emphasized that a commodity is never just a simple object we buy and consume, like a toy. A commodity is an object full of ideological, and according to Slavoj Zizek, even philosophical and theological niceties. An actual toy for sale right now on the PGMall website is the Paw Patrol Concentration Camp. For the low price of $14.99, your child can play with Chase, Rocky and Zuma as they learn to, presumably, dig mass graves. The only conclusion one can possibly arrive 34

at from this is that it’s satire. It has to be. Except, it’s not, and people really believe in this. We live in a world where the worth of an idea can be measured in dollars, and parents (presumably) spend around a billion dollars on Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise every year. In a backwards, pompous and comically befuddled way, Scheer has a point. All capitalist and fascist behaviour is learned, but ideology isn’t just imposed. Ideology is our spontaneous relationship to the social world. Competition and obedience are indoctrinated into children systematically in order to ensure the continued survival of the upper class. Paw Patrol itself was designed to be sold as a commodity with the migration of children’s programming moving to streaming services like Netflix where kids are less exposed to advertisements—it worked. Paw Patrol merchandise routinely outsells almost every other television show in licensed merchandising according to data from the Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association. Is such an escape from ideology even possible in the real world where society is under near constant surveillance by corporations and the media? Where information and technologies and the corporations providing them can virtually “plug in” to consumers lives without their knowledge or consent? World systems analyst Immanuel Wallerstein already acknowledged this aspect of core-periphery theory. One political system, race, or religion becomes dominant creating a sphere of influence, dividing the world into a core, semiperipheral and a peripheral in terms of

their integration in the capitalism system. Reminiscent of Paw Patrol fan Justin Trudeau, the governing administration in Paw Patrol chooses to spend the vast majority of one episode building a solid gold statue of the Mayor’s ancestor. Remember, this is a world where adults can’t figure out how to operate a rowboat. Next time on Paw Patrol: the pups and a six-year-old child rescue a coal miner from what we can only assume are the dangers of excessive health and safety regulations. Ryder’s Paw Patrol represents a monolithic core in a world that isn’t just ubiquitously occupied by the media but rather arguably is the media, all barking and panting with moralistic propaganda. Or as the Irish Times wrote, “an apawlling attempt to normalise state-sponsored thuggery.” The premise of Paw Patrol is an almost comical Dr. Strangelove-esque scenario that allows for the emergence of a totalitarian form of government in order to restore security. CNN assuages that despite the rage and revulsion at this brand of “primarycoloured authoritarianism,” the id-driven brains of young kids perversely crave the kind of covert fascist order and even punishment of Paw Patrol. This wouldn’t be as controversial if it didn’t mirror many other wildly popular children’s shows. It’s not outrageous to indulge the blossoming Freudian minds of kids in a fantasy narrative of iron clad morality, maybe just do it without the white guy on top for once. In the words of Neil Stephenson, “a lot gets lost in translation […] And that’s how they know what’s going on inside a person’s head—by condensing fact from the vapor of nuance.”

efore think twice b ld u o sh ts n re Pa n online s' informatio id k ir e th g n shari utor ZQUEZ Contrib VALERIA VELA RICE Illustrator U REBEKAH MA

Sharing our lives through social media has become part of our daily routines. The places we visit, the food we eat, and the people we hang out with are often visible in our social media posts. It often seems harmless, but we can’t always be sure, especially when we share without consent. Enter sharenting: where proud parents unwittingly share their kids' personal data on social media. The things they share range from uploading baby pictures to sharing their kids grades. It might not seem bad or complicated, but as the phenomenon grows, the ethics of it are being called into question. Think about this: You, as an adult, consciously make the choice of sharing personal information on your social media. You (hopefully) are aware that there are consequential or beneficial aspects involved for you. Yet, even as adults, we sometimes struggle with the concept of the reach and vastness of the internet, so why put a minor in this vulnerable position without their consent? Every parent has the freedom to choose how to raise their own kids. They decide what tools to give, what values to instill and what behaviours to promote. These vary from family to family but I think—or at least I would hope—that something every parent wants and tries to do is show love and support for their kids. Love can be shown through actions: protection, environmental setting and opportunity provision

for future success are but a few ways parents do this. Unfortunately, this can be jeopardized when parents share their kids' lives on their personal internet platforms. Sexual predators, identity theft, and bullying derived from an adult’s post about their kid are some of the very real consequences. But beyond being safe, it is also confidentiality and consent. In real life, we knock on doors and ask before sharing information, so why not online?. If the children are not old enough to make a decision for themselves, parents should think twice before posting photos or videos. Some of the questions a parent could ask themselves before making a publication of this sort should be: Who will have access to it? What exactly am I sharing? Why am I sharing it? Reflect on if it is actually necessary or beneficial in any way, sense or form. Keep a kid’s needs in mind before your own social media feed. If you’re willing to trade your child’s privacy for a couple “likes” or “aws,” reevaluation may be necessary. Yet again, if we are not sure of the effects, then why even do it?

OPI NIONS

Under the Influence (help, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m trapped in the web)

FREYA WASTENEYS Managing Editor MIKAELA JOHNSON Illustrator

Confession: few things irk me more than scrolling through an Instagram feed of bluebird conditions and fresh powder while I’m stuck at home on a Sunday, desperately trying to finish a barrage of assignments. I hate to admit it, but in the final stages of my seemingly endless degree, I am very much not thrilled, inspired or empowered by the joyous mountain photos flooding my social media. Mountains. Deep powder. Babes. Badass. Bluebird. Empower. Inspire. Rad. At the top of screen, I see the circular glow of icons; stories from accounts I follow. I know certain ones will send me into spirals of negativity. It’s a landmine. Defeated, I tap on them to get it over with—perhaps to punish myself for not getting my assignments done sooner; for being inefficient with my precious, precious time. I used to escape into the mountains to lose my sense of time, but now I feel like I am constantly aware of it. I can’t help but feel the impending sense of anxiety attached to fitting it all in and figuring out how to squeeze the most fun out of my day. People constantly have tabs on where they are and what they’ve done, and it can be challenging to separate what we want from what we need. Where once I looked forward to my weekend escape to the mountains, I’ve come to accept that fitting in all my activities has, at times, become just another source of anxiety. Look at this pillow line I skied, this mountain I climbed, this glacier I crossed, this project I completed. In the past, my time spent outside was a way for me to escape and re-center, but increasingly it’s become another way for me to run away from my problems; another item on my growing to-do list; another should: I should be happy for you, I should support you, I should… do more and be better, kinder, faster, stronger. Inevitably, I end up more stressed out. Turns out spending up to five hours in the car to get my fix is not always the most efficient, effective or responsible way to look after my mental health. Instead, sometimes the best thing I can do is sit diligently at my computer, maybe go for a run, and deal with the negative feelings that sometimes arise. It’s not the most glamorous, but it is, realistically, another necessary form of self-care. It’s also not what people want to hear. While social media can work to connect communities, help us share experiences and make the outdoors more accessible, the ability to constantly update others on our lives can blur the lines between what we do for ourselves and what we do for acceptance in our online communities. With the increasing pressure to “get out there,” what was once a privilege and escape is quickly becoming something that we take for granted. As our livelihoods become more and more tied to our ability to market ourselves online, we can lose an integral part of what drew us to such pleasures in the first place. Instead, social media leaches into sacred spaces and germinates discontent; a sense of inadequacy. We combat these feelings through

posts that assert that we belong, or by buying things we don’t need with money we don’t have. The more successful we become at curating our lives, the more we seem to lose—wasting time and energy on sharing our exploits rather than savouring moments of escape and appreciating what we have.

Get out there, live your best life, drop everything, quit your job, find your bliss… And then binge-post, lap up the likes like a spilled drink, and make sure you aren’t left behind.

We address the ridiculousness of social media addiction in ironic tones, yet few of us abstain. The discussion surrounding our presence on social media is fraught. What’s good for one person is not necessarily what’s good for another, and with every benefit comes something equally problematic. It’s hard to come up with a solution to a problem that can also provide so much value. We can’t control what others do, think, see, and in the end, the onus is on us to decide how we react and participate online—but that’s hard to do when everyone else is wrapped up in it too. Beyond the half-joking proclamations of “doing it for the IG,” having discussions with others about our own roles on social media can be downright uncomfortable. In many ways, the outdoors and social media seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum: one is down to earth, the other in the cloud. Ultimately, however, they are increasingly connected, and just another way for us to measure ourselves against each other while seeking validation. We often have a narrow idea of what social media addiction looks like, but it’s harder to recognize when it spills into other areas of our lives and drives our motivations beyond the obvious urge to scroll, post and like. Afterall, it should be easy to manage, right? Simply abstain, influence responsibly, limit yourself to the daily recommended number of posts and most of all, just be better. Like any relationship, my tryst with social media undulates through highs and lows, but I'm coming to realize that it can also amplify whatever I'm feeling at the time. Sometimes the more we fixate on the parts of ourselves that we want to fix, the more our perceived imperfections can become a problem and we lose sight of the bigger picture. When I think about the times things seem the most in balance, it's usually when I've somehow managed to forget about social media and have engaged fully in whatever I'm doing: approaching life with curiosity and giving myself the space to be perfectly imperfect. Acceptance is elusive if we can't give it to ourselves.

OPI NIONS

A Major Problem for Minors Taking photos of children you don’t know for money is f**king gross and it needs to stop JAYDE ATCHISON Staff Writer SARAH HAGLUND Contributor

I am wrapped up in my coziest jacket holding a large double double, watching my little sister play her first game of soccer. She is five years old. It is a balmy April Sunday morning and I am laughing along with the other adults on the sidelines over how unorganized and adorable the players look. The last thing I would want to see while watching the game that would lead to her inevitable athletic career is a strange man with a heavy duty camera taking photos of children he has no association with. This exact situation happened to Hilary Duff in February, while watching her seven-year-old son's football game. The Lizzie McGuire icon filmed an interaction with a paparazzi photographer asking him who he was with and requested that he stop and leave as she was uncomfortable. The man insisted that his actions were “legal” instead of apologizing for attempting to make money from the pictures of Duff ’s child. When we go to the grocery store each week we are bombarded by tabloids filled with photos of celebrities trying to live their everyday life. We see bad angles, sweats and the mundane. People get paid for taking photos of our favourite stars in vulnerable moments. We are conditioned to see this tacky and obnoxious behaviour as normal. The magazine publishers and photographers seemingly do not often take into account the privacy of anyone in the public eye. I certainly do not want my photo taken while I am taking a trip to Shoppers Drug Mart for tampons and Gatorade. I especially wouldn’t want my sweatpantsclad trek posted online for the masses. I can only imagine the unease of having every moment captured by strangers hoping to make a few dollars. Being unable to leave your own house without the worry of someone getting too close or photographing your

insecurities seems like the eighth level of hell. Regardless of how we feel about adult celebrities being followed and photographed, I think we should all stand together against the manipulation of children. There is no way these minors can consent to being filmed, photographed and spoken to by strange people. In most cases, a consent form needs to be signed by a parent or guardian in order for photographs of children to be published. This practice is not implemented for Hollywood’s stars and their children, and people are paying their bills with tainted money. We have seen severe outcomes that came from children being in the limelight, and led to mental breakdowns, drug abuse and inappropriate social behaviour. This is not to say that all children are going to spiral down a toxic path from getting public attention from a young age, but the pressure to be “on” all the time must be crushing. Celebrities, like any parents, should have control over when their children are photographed for the purpose of being posted. The whole paparazzi industry needs to be reevaluated and perhaps society needs to let tabloids and companies like TMZ should evaporate into oblivion. This is probably a pipe dream, but the children of famous people deserve a world where they can play football without their fumbles or touchdowns being subjected to criticism. Ultimately, it is creepy and obscene to take photos of children without express permission from a guardian; especially when it is for monetary gain. People need to stop creating photo, film or written stories about minors and consumers need to stop supporting the magazines, accounts, tabloids and television programs that publish them.

On Grief and Masculinity Fighting expectations and building truth HASSAN MERALI Contributor

“You’re the man of the house now.” When my grandfather died in January, hearing those words again made my blood boil. The first time I’d heard them was when my dad died. He was a healthy (or so we thought) man, approaching 44, and had a massive heart attack out of the blue. Everybody—family, friends, members of the community, men and women—said the same thing. But I wasn’t actually a man. I was 10-years-old. I am, however, a male, and with that comes expectations of strength, stoicism and resilience. I’ll never know how my mom moved us back to Vancouver and started a new career as the sole breadwinner for two young children all on her own. She was the one actually taking care of our family, which makes sense. She was the adult, the parent. I was told that I was the “man of the house” though, which ostensibly carried with it different duties. What were they expecting me to do? Hunt? Chop firewood? Use physical force to protect my mom and sister from robbers, or deviants? I’m sure no one meant that, but it’s the implicit directives in “man of the house” that inform our understanding of the phrase. It means you should be “manly,” and in the context of grief, that means not showing emotion. Which brings me to the other bullshit phrase that was said to me over and over after both my dad’s and grandpa’s deaths. “You’ve got to be strong for your mom and your sister, ok?” Strong didn’t mean anyone expected me to start lifting weights. In this case, strong means “don’t cry.” People accept when women cry, and expect them to. Men, however, are supposed to be “stronger” than that; to be above such bodily functions. In North American culture, crying is seen as the ultimate weakness, and coincidentally, associated with femininity. Speaking from personal experience, I know the opposite is true. If you feel like crying but try to hold back, to me that is the biggest form of weakness because it means you aren’t willing

to admit to yourself that you’re vulnerable. I understand why people bottle it up; for years I tried to hold back the emotions I was feeling from my dad’s untimely death. It wasn’t until I turned 14 that I let myself cry and confront what had happened. All of the trauma came pouring out— and with it, freedom. Freedom from having to hold back. Freedom from hiding what I was feeling, of not telling people what I was thinking. But most of all, the freedom from not being honest with myself. It resolved a dissonance within me that was holding me back from being a single, unified whole. That I bottled up my emotions in an effort to be strong reflects the way we expect men to deal not just with grief, but with any of their emotions. It’s the most toxic gender norm in our society. This expectation that men don’t cry, that men are strong (read: emotionless), that men can’t or shouldn’t be vulnerable—affects people of all genders. Women and LGBTQ2S+ people try to bottle up their emotions to seem strong. There’s a tendency to associate emotion with femininity, and by extension, femininity with weakness. When I see someone avoiding their emotions now, I understand it for what it really is: denial. Denial of the depth of your emotion. Denial of the gravity of your loss. Denial is an understandable thing to go through, but not an acceptable thing to prolong. Denial cripples you, and prevents you from accepting reality. When I see people crying, however, I see people embracing the pain that’s already present in their hearts but hasn’t been accepted by their minds. Embracing that pain is accepting what has happened. Allowing ourselves to feel a range of emotions builds resilience. I’ve been crying a lot lately after losing my grandpa. I was extremely close with him and loved more than almost anyone else. But unlike the last time I lost someone this close to me, instead of changing myself to fit within the confines of masculinity, I’m changing masculinity to fit within me.

OPI NIONS

Cancelled Culture Our city is losing culture, but where does the blame lie?

JAYDE ATCHISON Staff Writer JONATHAN PACHKOWSKY Illustrator

Friday night rolls around and you and your friends are trying to find the best place to let loose and forget about the struggles of being a student for an evening. Whether it’s discovering the perfect cocktail, discussing art over espresso or listening to a local band perform live, we all have a favourite social escapism. Sadly, our favourite places seem to be disappearing faster than our will to study. Walking down Denman Street in 2016 offered an entirely different array of bars, restaurants and coffee shops than 2020. Increasingly, shiny storefront windows are replaced with the brown paper of mourning. Daily Hive articles warn us of yet another closure creeping up, like the Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret, and it is frustrating not being able to have a say. Establishments close down because they have a lack of patrons due to the infamous BC Bail, skyrocketing rent prices and an increased cost of living. Gentrification plays an overwhelming part in the loss of homes and shops, through character buildings being torn down for unreasonably priced high rises. Personally, I seldom go to movie theatres, live shows, bars or restaurants because it often comes down to: do I buy groceries this week or do I go to one dinner 40

on Main Street? I am guilty of cancelling plans and perfecting my homebody attire on a semi-regular basis. Leaving the 20-block radius around my house is dependent on special occasions (read: birthdays, goingaway gatherings and cat cafes). Does this mean I want to see beloved establishments close down? Absolutely not. I know that for some, leaving home and saying yes to social outings is a crucial part of their lives. Local businesses deserve more engagement than the bigger companies, for social and economic reasons. Local establishments typically invest in local resources which leads to a smaller and more sustainable carbon footprint. Attending live shows at small venues allows local performers to gain momentum and support. When venues keep shutting down it feels like the city is losing its culture. A vibrant art scene can be a deciding factor in attracting newcomers or retaining residents, and vice versa. When I think of my neighbourhood, I do not think of the cute niche places I used to frequent—instead I think of the countless FOR LEASE signs where the only lasting places are Tim Hortons, Starbucks and the Donnelly Group bar (which is also under threat of closure). We can protest and sign petitions until our hands go numb, but it

usually doesn’t help. We saw the resurrection of The Rio and The Cambie, but sadly not all small businesses have the rallying support of their community behind them. We live in a city where people get away with renting out solariums for nearly $1000/month and we have to say thank you because at least we have a roof over our heads. Those who are brave enough relocate outside the lower mainland, but the further we move out, the harder it is to get ourselves out the door—especially when we have to travel up to an hour on public transit. For a lot of us, we are not showing up to events because our living situations don’t allow for that luxury. As the once unique and underground socializing scene of Vancouver is replaced with fear of reno-viction and getting underpaid in our field of choice, we lose an integral part of what makes a city livable. If your idea of culture is snowboarding and hitting the beach in one day, then Vancouver is probably the spot for you. If your thing is wandering into small businesses and finding the best place for gritty, underground performances—Vancouver is on its last leg of cultural worth.

Two decades after the 2010 winter Olympics, Vancouver has the chance to show the world we can do it right KATHERINE GRIFFITHS Contributor MEGAN BARRY Illustrator

Vancouverites love something to brag about. We have Lululemon, Botox, Greenpeace, and the California roll to throw down whenever bragging rights are required. The 2010 Winter Olympics gave Vancouver something to be proud of; a veneer to cover over our less attractive athletic headlines such as the 2011 hockey riots. We, as a city, waffle with our love/hate relationship with Vancouver in a careful balance of loving things such as the seawall, every television show filmed here, and our cultural diversity whilst simultaneously complaining about what we hate such as dating, flaky people, and the cost of living. The Olympics gave the city both sides of the same coin. The construction of barely finished housing, the lack of snow, and the infamous Olympic flame—that well, didn’t quite light—allowed Vancouverites to complain to their hearts’ content. However, as a city, we did receive many benefits from hosting two weeks of the best of the best. We now have the Canada Line SkyTrain, the redesigned infrastructure built for the events, and an incredible sense of pride that we, as a city, rocked something memorable more recently than the 1986 Vancouver Expo. Not so bad, Vancouver. Vancouver needs something to look forward to again. We can have our moments when we band together and stand as a city that we are proud to call our own. These moments can often be harder to find in this city than one would think. But when we are singing our national anthem, in our city, wearing our red and white toques, and cheering

for our Canadian athletes, we are one. We buy into our sense of pride in the best way possible. And we all know that Vancouver loves buying into something that other people want, especially if we can flash how many dollar bills it cost us. While we would need to find another corner of the city to build new housing and hope to whatever gods might be listening that there will be snow, we already have half of what we need in place. Plus, Vancouver loves to show off getting something right. So maybe this time we can fix the things about 2010 that didn’t work very well and show off in a bigger and better way for 2030. Vancouver could find a sustainable solution that will benefit the homeless population, rather than just glossing over their existence. There could be infrastructure planning that improves the viability of the transit system, the housing construction, and the tourism sector to provide long term benefits of hosting the Olympics again. Giving Vancouver an opportunity to host the Olympics again might sound like a daunting task, but I think that it will provide the city with even more opportunities. More jobs and housing will be created, which never go out of style here. The Olympics helped to create an identity that Vancouverites can be proud of, and because of this, I think it would be a damn good idea to bring that back in 2030. And my favourite thing that happens? When we host the Olympics here in Vancouver, we all don’t bail, we actually show up. OPI NIONS

sa rah h ag lu n d

@sarahlouise_designs 42

ju l i an a vi ei ra

@julianavii FEATURED ARTI ST S

Wishful Drinking If you are over 19 years old, you have probably been through this: a night out with friends, a party, or a game night where you go a little overboard with the booze. Picture this: 9:47am, you’re “awake.” There’s a foul taste in your mouth that can only be described as “old moldy socks.” Your head hurts. There are so many dark circles under your eyes you’re wondering if you’re finally becoming a human-raccoon, and you’re are pretty sure that you can hear the church bells ringing at Saint Peter’s basilica… in Rome. This personal hell of nausea and pain, enough to make you promise to never drink again, is a hangover. Just to rip that bandaid now: there’s no cure for hangovers, and if everything they say is true, after 25 you can only expect bills to pay, student loans and even worse hangovers. Time wounds all heels, or something like that. Sometimes we get a little wiser, but if you’re not wise enough to stop drinking— fear not. Like aging, the hangover cure is its own business full of breakfasts, cocktails, juice cleanses and pills. Japan even has a whole market niche dedicated to the coveted idea of hungover nirvana. Hangovers might not have a cure, but there are a few things that might make you feel maybe not better, then at least a little less miserable. On my search for the best treatment for this nasty evil that makes us wish for a painless and immediate death (or sci-fi style headache cure), I came across a fair amount of chaotic weirdness before getting to the good stuff. After talking with friends from around the world, family, researching books, and even getting advice from a real doctor, I’ve managed to separate the chaff from the wheat of the hangover world. In ancient Greece, the staple cure was a breakfast of owl eggs and sheep lung. The ancient Roman gobbled down a deep-fried canary to revitalize after one too many rounds. You’d be pressed to find fried canary in Vancouver, but Juke Fried Chicken is a hidden gem in Chinatown (they even have hangover fries!) The first most suggested cure within my social network circle was a raw egg before and after drinking (in the name of food safety, do not try this one unless you are absolutely sure your eggs are grade A, in other words, pasteurized). For the prairie oyster aficionado, eggs contain the amino acid cysteine which assists the body in breaking down alcohol. An egg doesn’t exactly cut it after a rough night, though. Take it from party rights champion Mike D of the Beastie Boys, “forget the hair of the dog thing, you’ll be needing the whole coat.” Many from the Brazilian crowd mentioned a popular cure with older folks is a tablespoon of olive oil after drinking. Honestly, I prefer my olive oil as a salad dressing, thanks very much. Another friend said tomato cup noodles with a tablespoon of sugar is the ticket. I guess it really makes any medicine go down. Perhaps this is the true Brazilian way, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. 44

Hangover cures: every culture has them, and everyone has one. After a night out, we’re chasing the human obsession with washing away the sins of alcohol MAIA LOMELINO Contributor

ANNIKA MCFARLANE Illustrator

Prairie Oyste r Also known as a “Thai

aphrodisiac” for vague reasons. Th mysteriously e legend goes that a delirious, hungov cowboy once mum er bled something ab “prairie oyster.” H out needing his onestly, I only kn ow about this drin from watching Ad k dam friendly virgin vers ’s Family Values where there’s a kid ion on the baby ’s bottle after a party The classic prairie . oyster is a shot co nsisting of olive oi an egg yolk, a spoo l, nful of ketchup an d dash of hot sauc topped with salt e and shot of brandy. Pr pepper. Some folks also call for a actically a gourm and mayonnaise fo breakfast. r Somewhat les s weird and mor e delicious person advice came from al yet another Brazili an friend: bolognes spaghetti and a Co e ke. I’m pretty sure th psychological rath er than physical, bu e effect is more t who would refuse a mama’s plate? Ba rtender Magazine publisher Ray Foley recommends drin king a flat beer left out overnigh Likewise, Brazilian t. s are also keen on belief that the be the widespread st hangover cure is to just never sto drinking. p Mexicans seem to follow the sam e line of thought. One Mexican rem edy explained to me consists of “L Micheladas” beer, as clamato, and spicy salsa. I guess “kee drinking” is a valid p palliative in the se ns be hungover if yo u’re still drunk. So e that you can’t , a kind of Latino style Caesar that se ems to follow the Mexican aphorism “a mi la muerte me pela los dien tes,” which means something like, “d eath will peel my teeth.” Mexicans ar not amateurs! e One Canadian -Ukrainian said th at all her friends Odessa drink pick in le juice to keep th e hangover demon at bay. Others sa s id their Asian m others swear by lime juice with hot ginger. So far, th e recurring them are Spaghetti Fact es ory meets Fear an d Loathing and… pickles.

The Pickleback

Water

Exactly what it sounds like, which is thankfully not Nickelback. It’s a shot of pickle juice riding on the back of a shot of Jameson’s. Far from Odessa, the pickleback was born at a country club in Brooklyn when a very hungover bartender decided to shoot Old Crow after eating pickles. A single pickle has around 1208 mg of sodium, which is something like 50 per cent of your daily recommended intake. Well, salt assists in water retention? I’ve heard the Wise Hall has 6 dollar picklebacks year-round. Hey, it’s your stomach. Beyond pickles and eggs, food is a common fixture of hangover cures. Canadians like to have poutine, the British have a full Breakfast with eggs, tomato, beans, black pudding, mushrooms, hash potatoes, and toast. Then there’s the domain of the rich and famous. Frank Sinatra had gin and cream, Roger Moore liked to have ice cream, Lady Gaga likes to eat croissants the morning before going drinking, followed by green juice and a yoga session the day after. Alice Cooper is said to blend tuna fish, pistachio ice cream and milk in what can only be described as an instant-puke recipe. Julia Roberts likes to alternate champagne and carrot juice, and Prince Harry is rumored to resort to a strawberry milkshake the morning after. It’s hard to argue with that one. Royalty, even the runaway type, knows what is good in life. C.M. Lindemann, a Ph.D. student with an MSc in pathology from the University of Sao Paulo, says that the best thing anyone can do is hydrate, eat light, and eat something sugary—but not in excess. Sugar is supposed to “trick” the brain into prioritizing it instead of alcohol.

There’s drinking water, and there’s drinking water at six am with a hangover. Standing in front of the kitchen sink, desperately chugging glass after glass in a Hercules mug from 1999. It’s just water. As much as you can drink. According to Lindemann, water helps break down the aldehydes which are byproducts of the liver synthesizing alcohol. “Other than that, any medicine for pain and nausea, and by my own experience, some coffee for a pick me up.” Also, if you couldn’t tell from the bathroom line, alcohol is a diuretic (it makes you pee more). Stanford University agrees that water is essential after a dance with some alcoholic spirits. Dehydration isn’t going to do a hangover any favours. Basically, the consensus is water and sugar. The best candidate for that is probably a sports drink with electrolytes. Vitamin B also helps as alcohol makes us feel tired from all the extra work our body has to put in to synthesize it. Cold grapes are a good and natural way of getting some needed sugar and water, too. Don’t just be a smart student, be a smart drinker: Eat before chugging and have water between shots. Thank me later. Anyone seeking a better living through alcohol could take a page from Sun Tzu, and know thy enemy (in this case, your own drunk self). Sometimes, we really are our own worst enemies. Now, if you are eager to try any of those tips but don’t know where to start, here are some more pleasant drink recipes. All in the name of empiric knowledge.

Brazilian Caipirinha Two limes cut in 4 halves and crushed (almost a lemonade), sugar to taste, and a dose of cachaça. You can add some water to help break the lemons and dissolve the sugar. You can substitute the Brazilian cachaça by vodka, but then you should call the drink “Caipiroska”.

Romulan Ale One of the most alcoholic beverages of the Star Trek galaxy and illegal in all Federation territory. If you’re ready to break galactic treaty, mix 1 ounce blue curacao and 2 ounces vodka on ice in a tall glass. Complete it with sparkling water and lemon-lime soda to taste.

The James Bond :

Vodka Martini — shaken, not stirred Two ounces of premium (also known as whichever one you can afford) vodka and 3/4 ounce dry vermouth followed by an optional couple dashes of bitters and lemon twist or tree olives for garnish. Put everything (minus the garnish) in a shaker and bam, you’re Mr. Bond, James Bond, ready to fight Freddie Merc—I mean, Rami Malek in a tuxedo.

Moscow Mule You already know what this is. 4 ounces of ginger beer, 1 1/2 ounces vodka, 1/6 ounces lime juice. Combine the vodka and ginger beer in a copper mug or highball glass filled with ice. Add lime juice. Stir gently and garnish with a lime slice. You can fake a fancy “lime foam” with a little lime whipped cream for a gourmet touch.

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casting a Shadow Stunt performance is as old as the silver screen itself, but in the era of VFX, defying death still requires a human touch LOGAN DILLON Contributor

ALISON JOHNSTONE Illustrator

They live amongst us, their work watched by millions but very few know their names. They are stunt doubles, and they are crucial in all of the adrenaline—inducing action that fuels the films we adore. The stunt industry is part of the creation of such awe-inspiring scenes, while still allowing for a level of safety and precaution to be taken, using highly-trained individuals. Yet it took quite a while to realize the dangers and harms of performing untrained stunts; the first stunt performers were just as insane as the feats they were performing. The use of stunt doubles began in 1903, the first recorded stunt person being Frank Hanaway in the film The Great Train Robbery. Stunt work actually began in comedy with performers from the fringe. Clowns, acrobats and vaudevillians found work in The Keystone Kops film series, paving the way for many famous stunt performers such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Many of these early stunts lacked any training and were mostly based on trial and error. As the stunt performing industry began its early years, new technologies and safety features were slowly developed as actors were recognized as both a value and a liability of the film studios. The first film to incorporate these features was Safety Last, which included a stunt that required actor to hang from a clock tower. This stunt introduced the use of protective padding under the actor’s suit with a safety wire attached to the structure and mattresses laid down on platforms out of the camera’s view. Technologies like safety harnesses and wires are now a commonplace for the stunt industry. Andrea Ross, a local stunt performer who has worked on shows such as DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Man in the High Castle described a scene she worked on using such devices. “I was hired to do a 7-person wire ratchet out of an explosion, I got to dive through a pane of glass and then do a 50-ft wire assisted 46

free fall.” Having come a long way from its early days of haphazard falls and gags, modern stunts may appear more extravagant on screen, but are nowhere near as dangerous as those from the early twentieth century. The technology and training that comes with this development has created an industry that thrives on well trained and educated professionals. A minimum of six months of recognized general stunt training is a requirement before starting a career as a stunt performer. This kind of stunt training can be attained by attending any stunt school, where lessons in areas such as body control, heights, vehicles, animal riding and water can be taken. These training sessions are important as they are the cornerstone of the stunt industry, and a must for any aspiring stunt performer. “Gymnastics and parkour have taught me spatial and aerial awareness which I use every time I get pulled on a wire, take a big fall or learn a choreographed fight sequence,” Ross said. Stunt school is costly but it is a requirement for anyone wishing to pursue this line of work, and with good reason, the work can be dangerous if the utmost precaution is not taken. Yet it is not just the ability to perform these stunts that is important, it is also the knowledge of how to perform them in an exciting yet safe manner. A stunt performer with a greater amount of experience can leave the stunts to others and work as a stunt coordinator, a profession that comes with time as well as connections. A stunt coordinator is in charge of all the stunt performers, organizing the stunts, and the most important feature: safetyDaniel Beavis, a local stunt performer who is known for his work in films like Just Friends and Chained offered his insights on the industry. When discussing many of the dangers that come with the industry, Beavis stated: “You need to be creative and

always thinking because you are helping create a vision that a director or writer has in their mind, but you always need to do it with safety in mind.” The range of performances in stunt work varies but most stunts are more menial rather than death defying. Falling from a chair or being slapped in the face are the bread and butter basics, but these stunts actually have a higher risk of injury. “You are more likely to get hurt doing a fight scene or small gag,” Beavis said. He argues that it comes down to repetition, “you need to often do it over and over again, where during the bigger stunts you might only have to do them once.” However, there are still more dangerous stunts that can be performed. One in particular is being set on fire. Seen in many films and shows, the stunt itself requires a large amount of preparation. Several layers

of a cold gel are applied to flame retardant clothing that the performer wears on their body and face, along with a burn layer on the outside of their protective gear. A specialized accelerant is put on the places that are to be burned. While the stunt is being performed, the performer holds their breath, as to not breath in any of the toxic fumes. “Being on fire is the easy part,” Beavis said. For Beavis, the hard part is keeping someone safe after they’ve been engulfed in flames. Stunts like full-body immolation require a vast amount of skill and can be quite dangerous. Visual effects allow for physically impossible stunts to be performed, without any possibility of danger or injury, while also keeping the budget lower than it would be if it were all to be shot using practical effects. There is speculation around this emerging frontier

of stunt work, and the declining need for human performers. VFX labs like Disney’s Imagineering push the boundaries of the spectacle with stuntronics, a set of animatronic stunt robots able to perfectly perform a stunt every single time. These animatronics are being developed with the intention of being utilized in Disney’s theme parks, the newly announced Marvel world in particular. Yet the debut of these animatronics could mark the beginning of automation for the historic art form. Even in the face of his robotic double, Beavis doesn’t blink. “I’ve seen clips of a stunt robot being shot out of a cannon and it makes a cool headline.” At the end of the day, Beavis explains that stunt animatronics are still always lacking a proverbial human element. “That robot can’t get a drink thrown in its face and pushed off a bar stool, and that is the type of stunt the industry is built on.”

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Mind Your Manners From table manners to the world of business, etiquette is the social architecture behind how we interact with the world, and ourselves SARAH ROSE Features Editor

From the moment we step outside ourselves, the world is writ large with rules of engagement. To avoid the gaze of people crossing paths, or to smile and nod. To sit or stand next to the window of a 6am commuter SkyTrain or stand. Small streaks of rain pierce the skyline as the train climbs over the bridge, where the city often fragments into two worlds cleaved apart by morning fog. We catch stray breath against the windowpane, and trace a finger through the condensation, revealing the sunrise emerging behind white noise. Is that too many germs, or just childish faux pas—maybe both. Don’t answer the phone, and hope the music isn’t too loud—all that hidden programming of knowing when to leave, how to leave, where to go and what to do; this is the world of social architecture. The Skytrain is just one small isolated space where the language of etiquette is confluent. Etiquette is the cornerstone of social architecture, it’s the social code weaved into every interaction in society. Subsequently, it extends far beyond how to stand on the SkyTrain, table manners, the tyranny of a “maybe” RSVP and basic conduct. “[Etiquette] is a whole world view and system of values,” says Catherine Newman, author of How To Be A Person. As an etiquette columnist, Newman is tangentially related to an elite class of those devoted to studying the social code: social architects. Social architects such as Dr. Lew Bayer, director of the In Good Company finishing school, describes herself as “one of only

14 master civility trainers in the world.” It gives off an air of arcane knowledge and mysticism, but beneath the veneer of polish it reads like any other moderately useful self-help book. The difference is in those who take that attitude and figure out how to wrench it into weaponized realism. The wildly popular book 12 Rules For Life offers one such example. Unlike Dr. Bayer who believes that in “choosing civility, people find their best self,” and that civility is “a continuous acknowledgement of one’s responsibility to ease the experience of others.” 12 Rules For Life author Jordan Peterson doesn’t stop at hopeful platitudes like “make your bed” and “sit up straight.” Rather, he uses these simple personal etiquettes as a Trojan horse for his ethical maxims by weaving evolutionary psychology into social Darwinism as an easily digestible mythos. Any disaffected human worried about how to interact with the world simply needs to look at several eons of natural selection instructing primates on their posture. Then pay attention to the hierarchy. It’s The Art of the Deal meets The Old Testament, which isn’t as far from the truth as it possibly could be. The word etiquette is derived from French culture, meaning “little ethics,” and the doyenne of American etiquette is the infamous Emily Post. The daughter of an architect, like Newman, Post began her career as a columnist in the early 20th century and eventually published five novels including a book on etiquette. Not just any

book: Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home is considered the book informing how we view North American etiquette today. Post’s rules are, what she describes, designed for the “best society,” which allegedly isn’t a reference to the socialite chaste to which Post belonged, but instead to “those who are not of exalted wealth but gentlefolk with good form in speech, charm, and manner and instinctive consideration for the feeling of others.” Etiquette then goes on almost in its entirety to describe the social architecture for royalty, presidents and socialites like herself. Perhaps without intending to, Post reinforced the idea that people should know their place in the societal hierarchy. Arthur M. Schlesinger once said that literature like Post’s work on etiquette was a part of “the leveling-up process of democracy,” an attempt to resolve the conflict between the democratic ideal and the reality of a class system. In fact, learning and using this arcane knowledge serves a hierarchical, class related function. In that it differentiates those who are “superior” from the rest of the “common people.” Dr. Bayer’s company Civility Experts Inc. is one of a handful of companies designed systematically for deftly crafting businesses in the art of civility. Vancouver etiquette trainer and coach Carey McBeth knows etiquette dominates the modern business landscape— and it starts with table manners. Many employers hold interviews over meals, “they want to see how [candidates] handle themselves in social situations,” McBeth said in The Vancouver Sun. Most of her clients are those looking to get ahead in the business world. According to McBeth, when 60 per cent of business is done over a meal, there’s an unwritten need to be wired into the social code. “Knowledge is 15 per cent of why you’re going to get the job. The rest is social skills.” She explains how even sending handwritten thank you notes is strategic. Unlike an email, those cards stay on a desk and do the marketing work for 7 to 10 days. These rules of engagement translate precisely to business. They’re designed for

status-seeking, upwardly mobile people. Particularly those in the upper-middle class, where knowing how to stir a cup of coffee properly can land one a highpowered career. Few, if any, powerful political figures have discussed the use of etiquette, except perhaps, for none other than Leon Trotsky. Trotsky wrote extensively on manners and etiquette, describing them as a “necessary lubricant in daily relations.” He went on to argue about the topic at length in Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper. Here, he painted the bigger picture: to him manners were an essential part of an enlightenment project. It was essential for leaders and those in power to transform Russia’s pre-revolutionary culture, rooted in a deep contrast of servitude and aristocratic privilege and move towards a more humanist direction. “As society changes, our manners have to change as we adapt to the world around us,” writes Lisa Grotts, founder of the Golden Rules Gal. Over the years, some manners have evolved in the kind of humanistic spirit Trotsky envisioned. Things such as not overtly assuming the genders of strangers or subtle body language rules to maintain women in submissive roles are largely eschewed. But the fact remains there is still a social code and architects behind it, and subsequently, people are getting left behind. Particularly neurodivergent people who naturally don’t align with the rules of etiquette. Neurodivergent conditions like autism or ADHD are often marked by “social difficulties” and yet for many of these people, that concept is flat out perplexing. Their social struggles might indeed be disabling, but only in so far as how their interactions are measured with, and by, neurotypical people. “Without eye contact, you can’t communicate properly, and looking at someone when they’re speaking increases understanding and shows respect,” Grotts said. Ask anyone with autism, and it's doubtful they would agree that direct eye contact is required to convey an idea. Yet, McBeth advises making eye contact 40 to 60 per cent of the time. Perhaps an even

bigger issue is these very same neurotypical people’s reluctance to interact with those with one foot outside the social code— with those who are different. Etiquette consultant Margaret Page explains that the first rule of etiquette is kindness. Good manners really only develop once a personal standard is set for ourselves, rather than a basis for judging others. Nature is full of novelty, with novelty, forever beyond the grasp of a wholistic understanding because it’s more than a collection of rules to follow. Kindness begins with challenging our assumptions about what is normal, what’s necessary, and what’s desirable to live well. Like anything inhabiting nature, the human body is host to an ecosystem not unlike the ones we occupy. Evolution is a succinct way of saying we’re an embodied, breathing work of art constantly changing. Neurological variations are a vital part of not just nature, but our social landscape. It’s not up to the individual to bestow upon themselves the right to decide which characteristics are worth keeping. Yet, failing to comply with these standards is automatically seen at best, as abnormal, and at worst, as less human. Depending on how far back we look in history, and where, something like epilepsy might’ve either been the mark of a shaman, or demonic possession. Disability, like atypical, is a complicated word more often defined by societal expectations than by the individuals themselves. Every mind is valuable the way every tree is valuable to a forest regardless of how we classify its supposed functioning. No one thinks about changing the way bees dance in maps or the syntax of sperm whales, we only want to learn it like a second language. The way to love nature is not by assigning a condition to it, dressing it business casual, or making it sit still when speaking. It’s studying exactly what it is and then realizing we’re looking at a mirror, not a painting.

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FEATURE D ARTI ST S

Social (Media) Etiquette Screen time

CLARISSA SABILE Columnist

Have you ever: 1. Swiped out of an app, just to open it right back up again? 2. Reached the end of the timeline, realized how long you’ve been scrolling and refreshed the feed anyway? 3. Woken up with temporary vision problems because you watched one too many videos the night before? Well, I have, and it seems these unexplainable habits and problems are quite common among social media users. After long ignoring parental scoldings and scientific research, it seems the dangers of phone addiction don’t mean much to the ones most at risk. I, as do most, recognize the mental and physical health risks that have been linked to frequent device exposure. A few (of the many) include the negative impacts overuse has on self-esteem, sleep, vision and attention spans. It can cause eye problems and fatigue, and can be a source of stress, anxiety and depression. But despite all the experiments, reports and articles on the benefits of social media detoxes, people still remain highly active online. When I was younger, my mom would scold me for reading at the dinner table. When I got a Nintendo DS for Christmas, my video game obsession yielded the same reaction. When I got my first phone in high school, the pattern continued. Aside from being raised to turn my phone off at meals, I became accustomed to being permanently connected. I’d spend my days texting friends on Facebook Messenger during lessons and long bus rides scrolling down my never-ending Instagram timeline. But phone use isn’t restricted to fun. From messaging group members about finishing assignments to managing my workplace’s Instagram page, the digital realm is inescapable in our professional lives too. Social media has been incorporated not only into our friendships, but expanded to affect us as employees and students. It’s considered valuable to be active and social online. Over-reliance on technology in all aspects of society, like work, school and leisure make it nearly impossible to put our phones down. Using your phone isn’t the issue, it’s excessive phone and social media use that causes problems. Not many people realize their digital habits either, which makes it harder to control. Enter: screen time monitoring. While Androids and third-party apps offer similar analyses, as an iPhone user, I’m all about my Screen Time. Screen Time is a report-like feature in handheld Apple products like iPhones and iPads that informs users about their average phone use. The data accurately shows way-too-specifics like the total amount of physical phone pickups in a day, and the initial app opened after turning the phone on. Basically, Screen Time provides the user

with opportunities to acknowledge their possible social media addiction and to consider limiting their usage. As a completely normal sibling bonding activity, my sister and I regularly partake in unnecessary competitions. Recently, I decided to contrast our Screen Time data (to feel better about my own). My daily average screen time last week was a shameful 8 hours and 14 minutes. Quite literally, one third of my days were used up by Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Sometimes, I have to turn my phone on and off to believe these numbers. But my sister’s numbers: a whopping 11 hours and 42 minutes on average. Since she was born in 2000, it came as no surprise to me that a majority of her usage came from TikTok, followed by Instagram and Twitter. She took pride in this and (ironically) immediately posted it on her private Snapchat Story. The Screen Time interface displays a bar graph of your phone use split into the top three most-used operations. For both my sister and I, these were the same: Social Networking, followed by Entertainment and Productivity confirming that our go-to smartphone applications were, you and I guessed it, social media platforms. I’m not asking you to take a month-long social media break, nor telling you to get off your phone like a parent might. Just consider taking a step back and recognizing your habits. If you’re willing to adjust your typical phone use patterns and social media intake, more power to you. In the meantime, don’t mind me scrolling down my Twitter timeline on Dark Mode and falling asleep when my eyes start to hurt… Well, I should probably work on that.

the long haul The end is nigh

MEGAN AMATO Associate News Editor

My number one piece of advice for anyone entering a long-distance relationship (LDR) is this: you’ve got to have an end date. It doesn’t matter if it's next month, next year or five years down the line. As long as you have that prospective date, you have something to work towards. Something that keeps you motivated to go through all the motions of being in a relationship without the benefits. Without that carrot— or in my case, loads of chocolate—at the end of the stick, a LDR can seem pointless, hopeless. It has been the number one failing in many other LDRs. Either the couple isn’t willing to agree on where they would end up or so many barriers were placed in front of them that they couldn’t see that end in sight. You can’t go on forever without a plan for your future, and my husband and I have had one from the start. And my time has finally come. If all goes as planned, I will be reunited with my husband by the end of June. If, if, if... I don’t have to tell you that this relationship has been expensive with the dozens of transatlantic flights over the years, two temporary visas, and several Christmas care packages to each other and our families. Immigrating to another country isn’t cheap and now my bank account is crying over the cost of applying for a visa to move permanently. I naively went into this thinking it would just be the visa cost but didn’t account for the steep healthcare surcharge, processing fees and flights over. And though I’m often broker than an old cuckoo-clock, I’m only one person from a very wealthy country. I can’t imagine the fees families and those with dependants have to pay per person, and from countries whose economies aren’t as strong compared to the UK. I briefly debated taking out a high-interest loan, finding another job or selling my eggs (of which I have no intention of using, so why not?) to help pay for these costs. So far I’ve resisted, sticking with the old fashioned

method of saving every penny I could manage and not spending all my money on antique books and dumplings. It isn’t only financial concerns that are cause for anxiety however, there is that lingering fear at the back of my mind: “what do I do if my visa gets rejected?” It seems like an unlikely situation; I’m quite privileged being white and from Canada. But the UK’s recent anti-immigration policies, along with public opinion being on the more xenophobic side of things is enough to cause for worry. The 2016 EU Referendum where the majority of Britain decided to leave went into effect this year and though the majority of Scotland itself voted to stay in the EU, it isn’t Scotland who processes my visa application. Niggling anxieties of small things from the past surface in my mind: What if my visa is denied due to my father’s criminal record? What if it’s denied due to my student loans? Due to my credit score which hasn’t always been great? Due to a comment that I left on Facebook ten years ago, or mistakes I’ve made in my past? All these things, big and small, compile to cause anxiety that sits like a ball of fire in my stomach and they won’t go away until I receive that letter telling me that my visa has been approved. In February, I travelled to the UK to visit my husband and as we were saying goodbye in the airport, his own anxieties came to the surface—in a more glass half empty kind of way. They had me knocking on wood as he lamented about his bad luck, and the chance of me probably dying before I finally moved there. One of his worries was the recent Coronavirus pandemic and while he was being rather overdramatic about me catching the virus and perishing—please knock on some wood for me wherever you are—that is certainly a terrifying possibility, as is the chance of it spreading to those who are older or have autoimmune diseases. However, the bigger—albeit more temporary—worry that I have is whether or not I will be allowed to travel and immigrate

during the pandemic. Travel bans have been put into place in multiple countries and it seems that the virulent virus is only getting started. It’s a real possibility that all travel will be suspended until COVID-19 runs its course. However, despite all these anxieties, they won’t stop me from barrelling on and getting through this process. Not because I am a fully functioning adult, but because I am really good at ignoring my problems. I’ll just push them down and bury them into that flaming pit in my stomach until that approval comes and I can breathe a sigh of relief. And if it doesn’t, well that’s something to deal with later. Unhealthy coping mechanisms aside, the thing getting me through it is being one step closer to that goal. One step closer to being with my husband because once I’m there with that lovable oddball, then all those anxieties will be worth it. All my stressing, late-night googling, half-filled out loan applications and binge-eating of sugary foods will not have been in vain and I will be rewarded with the tangible outcome of my relationship.

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A CLOSER LISTEN On uncertainties CARLO JAVIER Columnist

Given fair traffic, the trip from my home in Coquitlam to a clinic in Burnaby can take around 10 minutes by car. I make this trip—often on a Saturday—every eight weeks to get an IV infusion that helps me manage my Crohn’s Disease. And because I don’t drive, it will often take me closer to 20 or 30 minutes by bus. What this means is that if I put on Paramore’s After Laughter just as I board, I’ll take a seat near the exit doors right around the same time that Hayley Williams starts to sing, “All that I want is to wake up fine, tell me that I’m alright, that I ain’t gonna die.” On the days where I can avoid waiting long periods inbetween bus transfers, I’ll get to the clinic around the end of “26” —just as the album’s emotional centrepiece fades into a prolonged silence. Much to my dismay, turning 26 did not turn out to be the monumental moment of growth I had romanticized it to be. In the weeks and months that led to my 26th birthday, I had started to grow cognizant of my place in the world and all the goals I had set for myself and have yet to achieve. Maybe, because I arbitrarily deemed 26 to be the point when I switch over from my early twenties to my late twenties, I inadvertently conditioned myself to see this year as an important point for introspection and self-assessment. The environment I occupied catered to my desire for a grand self-assessment, too. Over the past year, I had started a full-time career in tech. A nine-to-five type that is bound by an indefinite contract as opposed to the internships and short-term gigs I had become accustomed to. It is an odd sensation to feel uncertainty with permanence, but as I settled into commuting to the corporate corner of Richmond every morning, I couldn’t help but get lost in wondering if this was it. To further add fuel to my thirst for self-questioning and self-critique, the past year saw me live through a break up with life-altering repercussions. I left the jungle of social media and instantly lost contact with the old friends I grew up with. I wrote, I got published, I snuck time away from my debilitating schedule to spend as many hours as I could with the friends who remained. Most of the time, I was left to wonder about what might come next. There were structures that guided my earlytwenties: the boundaries of school, relationships, and internships. On some days, I’ll only feel the enormity of whatever might lie ahead and the thought of tomorrow is always marred with uncertainty. What I love about the first six tracks of After Laughter is not just that each song captures the wild turmoil of Piscean emotions I have, it is that the rollercoaster sequence of the songs perfectly encapsulates the metronomical mood swings 54

I’ve tried hard to combat. Ironically, it is the pessimistic view of “Hard Times” that gets me uppity every time I listen to After Laughter. The reality check of “Rose-Colored Boy” always feels more like an endearing kiss on the cheek than a stern talking-to. And then there’s that ending to “26”, a 10-second silence that serves both as an interlude and as means to emphasize the song’s last lines: “Hold onto hope if you got it, don’t let it go for nobody. And they say that dreaming is free, but I wouldn’t care what it cost me.” The thing about silence is that it beckons introspection. What I really like about the silence at the end of “26” is that it never fails to invite an urge to rewind and hear Williams’ words again. It is like a reminder, a note to self, or an opportunity to look back. The 410 bus from Richmond-Brighouse Station can take a little over an hour to get all the way to its terminus stop at 22nd Street Station in New Westminster. At night, when there are fewer commuters and thus, fewer stops to make, the end-to-end trip can be completed in just around 50, maybe even just 45 minutes. On the night I turned 26, I played basketball with some coworkers at a gym in Richmond. After the last game, I hopped on the 410 from its terminus station, preparing myself for one of those long bus rides I irrationally enjoy. And because I had become so comfortable with only listening to the first six tracks of After Laughter and ending my listening sessions during the silence of “26”, I had forgotten about what followed. Once the silence of “26” starts to feel a little too long, the buoyant beats of “Pool” begin. In this song, Williams preaches persistence by singing: “As if the first cut wasn’t deep enough, I dove in again ‘cause I’m not into giving up.” It is a song about trying again, but really, it is a song about simply trying; in spite of the fear of it all, and the impossible weight of uncertainty.

THE SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION SERIES

Food insecurity and how we are going to overcome It JAMIE LONG Columnist

By 2050, the world’s population is expected to grow from what is now just shy of 8 billion to a whopping 10 billion people, and feeding this population will be one of Mother Earth’s greatest challenges yet. As the population has risen, so too has the development of methodologies that attempt to fight food insecurity, while at the same time sustaining the earth’s natural resources for generations to come. But, with all their successes, there are also flaws in the current systems that will need to be worked out as the numbers grow even more. If you are not sure what is meant by the term ‘food insecurity’, you only need to look to its opposite. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) defines food security as “a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” In short, food insecurity is what occurs when hunger is paired up with the prevalence of undernourishment (PoU). As reported by the FAO, the number of hungry people had been declining for decades, but this isn’t true anymore. Today, the number of malnourished people in the world is back to levels seen in 2010–11 with more than 820 million people across the globe not having enough food to eat. Simultaneously true; no region is exempt from the epidemic of obesity. So what gives? The association of food insecurity with obesity varies largely depending on the income level of a country. In order to fully understand this, it is important to note the connections between hunger, malnutrition, and the driving forces underlying each of these misfortunes. In low and lower-middleincome countries, living in a food-insecure household decreases the likelihood of being obese, while in upper-middle and highincome countries, food insecurity increases the likelihood of being overweight or obese. In other words, as national economies grow, people facing difficulties in accessing food have a higher risk of obesity. But what does

this information tell us? For the past several decades, in order to feed so many people, food producers across the globe have been employing a plethora of cheap, convenient and non-nutritious natural food alternatives. At the same time, farmers, in an attempt to increase food production through agricultural intensification and expansion, have struggled to produce a viable amount of food at a fair and/or accessible cost to those who suffer from hunger. Together both of these food production approaches have had inevitably negative effects on the environment in areas such as biodiversity loss, plastic pollution from packaging, the emission of greenhouse gases and the unsustainable use of land and water resources. To make matters worse, as the earth’s population continues to increase, massive amounts of arable land (land that is capable of producing food crops) are being lost. This loss of precious arable land is largely due to ever-evolving industrial development and urbanization. However, factors such as mono-cropped farming ventures, and other unsustainable agricultural practices leading to soil erosion have also proven to be major contributors to the loss of food-capable lands around the world. All this to say, our global food, resource, and land-use systems have gone wrong, and if changes aren’t made soon, I don’t know how the earth’s growing populations are going to be able to survive. But despite it all, I have not lost hope! So what are some of the current opportunities being employed in order to fight this battle of food insecurity and resource depletion? In order to accelerate progress towards ending hunger, achieving food security, and ensuring improved levels of nutrition, technological advancements and efforts in areas such as organic farming, urban farming and vertical farming techniques (including the use of hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic systems) are being employed. Here in the city of Vancouver, organizations such as Sole Food Street Farms and Terramera are proven

industry leaders in the fight against local food insecurity. Sole Food Street Farms grows vegetables seasonally within the city and sells this produce to local citizens and restaurants. Terramera (a separate but equally as cool entity) focuses largely on leading the industry in advanced technological initiatives for clean food with a mission to increase global yields while decreasing synthetic chemical loads. Overall, both Sole Food Street Farms and Terramera (as well as many other local and non-local organic, urban and vertical farms) are focused extensively on growing affordable and clean food for everyone. In doing so, they fight hunger and food insecurity while ensuring efficient and sustainable uses of the land on which their food is grown. What’s better is that farming and food production initiatives such as these are being employed and growing across the globe! According to the Economist, investors are ploughing hundreds of millions of dollars into vertical farming in order to help feed the world’s growing population. I believe that keeping food local and healthy, while ensuring the most optimum and efficient uses of land and technology is a great start to putting an end to food insecurity while embracing sustainability. Furthermore, as technology continues to advance, new approaches will improve the efficiency and productivity of modern food systems. As I see no need to completely abolish ‘traditional’ farming techniques, I believe that together, urban farming and vertical farming will most-definitely help to fill the voids of food insecurity in the coming decades. And as traditional agriculture practices (hopefully) begin to embrace organic farming practices, they can help to preserve what precious resources are needed for our earth’s future generations to thrive.

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the recovering achiever Harvesting wins and planting goals LENA ORLOVA Columnist

Spring signals the end of persistent Vancouver rain, the beginning of summer, Daylight Savings and an opportunity to take stock of what I’m bringing forward with me into the future. Anchoring gains is just as important as setting goals. Gains tell me what I’m good at, what I have and what makes me appreciative and proud. I reap the fruits. Goals tell me what I don’t have yet and therefore, what I want to work towards. Goals are the seeds I collect for planting. I’ve been fascinated with this idea that reflecting and reorienting isn’t something to be practiced only once a year on Dec 31, the time we collectively decide to have resolutions only to give them up a week later. For me, January doesn’t feel like turning a new leaf. I need to see cherry blossoms bloom and the days grow longer. Winter calms, but spring inspires. At the time of writing this column, my personal inventory has more goals than wins. I want to hand things in on time, I want to exercise more, I want to read more books, I want to travel and I want to spend more time with my friends. I want, want, want. I want to be more confident, more openminded, more honest and more creative. Eeesh, the list keeps on growing. I quit before the overwhelmingness of it all suffocates me. My upbringing taught me that what a person has isn’t as important as what a person should have. A person may have knowledge, but they should be smarter. A person may be healthy, but they should be beautiful too—which meant white, skinny and inoffensively dressed. A person may be happy but they should appear to be happier and funnier than everyone else. In elementary and high school, I braced myself every time my report card would arrive at home, back when they came via snail mail. I rushed downstairs, ripped open the envelope and scanned the column of numbers, first ensuring I would be completely safe from a less-than-B catastrophe. In a 90 per cent, I saw only the 10 per cent lacking, not the rest that I had earned. I told myself relentlessly that I had to work harder, smarter and more diligently next time. Ironically, by this time I lived with my mother who didn’t punish me for bad grades. Instead, she forgave my transgressions and chronic class-skipping on the condition that I got good grades. The hustle mentality led to my eventual disconnection with any real sense of progress. True, I earned excellent marks and completed my assignments on time, but I had no understanding of how they fit into the bigger picture— if the picture even existed. I had grades on paper; I climbed up the ladder to graduation. But moving up the ladder just because there is one isn’t 56

necessarily progress. I could have a million things checked off on my to-do list without once feeling fulfilled. Only a straightforward, stubborn propulsion carried me through my school years. As I’ve mentioned before, this poverty of spirit stemmed from well-meaning parenthood. My parents had been disciplined by their parents. My grandparents’ generation did well in school mostly to escape the belt if they came home with anything less than an A. Performance was a way to avoid painful consequences, in the same way I avoided scolding for skipping class. All my work was motivated by either a desire for improvement or avoidance of punishment. Nature doesn’t seem to be so robotic. Consider a tree. A tree doesn’t tear itself apart making itself grow closer to the sky or trying to escape the confines of the earth, it just grows upward. In time, its branches meet the sun. All a tree has to do is stand there and soak up the nourishing rays. I too wish to stand and soak up the sunshine, soak up the goodness of what exists in my life but also elegantly grow towards the light. I watched other people who seemed to be better at flourishing than I was. I noticed they do two things: anchor their wins and set meaningful, attainable goals. My list of gains requires broadening. Unlike with my report cards, now I ignore marks and marathons. I add events and milestones. Moving in with my partner. Our first home. First Christmas together. First New Year together. First Valentine’s day. First anniversary. My birthday. A new column. New friends. Deeper connections. First run of the year among the trees of Stanley Park. First snowfall of winter. Why not? I feel happy, joyful and grateful for the things I didn’t have to try hard to accomplish. They are rays of sunshine in my life, gently informing what direction my growth and my work should be heading in.

additude adjustment

Crass, my bedroom and the colour pink SARAH ROSE Features Editor

When I was in kindergarten my favourite colour was pink. As a four-year-old, I was still fairly removed from ideas about gender roles, like the paradoxical history of pink as a shade of masculinity. I just wanted my room to be pink, so it was. Every wall was covered in that iconic bubblegum hue, like my easybake oven or petals on a spring rose. There are symbols and experiences so ubiquitous within our lives that we rarely stop to think about the meaning behind them. The perceptual experience of seeing colour is one of these overlooked experiences, unless you’re colourblind or a philosopher like Immanuel Kant. Kant thought a lot about space, particularly absolute space, if such a space could exist “in a reality of its own, independent of the existence of all matter.” He excavates this from his obsession with incongruent counterparts. An idea that we live in a world of impossible doubles. Even in things that are mirror images of each other, like your hands, only you, the observer, can deduce whether your hands are in fact right or left. There is something different about what it is to be right or left, like there is something different about what it is to be a woman or a woman with ADHD. Which is to say, my room wasn’t pink, because pink is impossible. Pink arises from a pair of incongruent counterparts, the way women with ADHD are also often seen as a collection of opposites. It’s scientifically impossible for opposing wavelengths of red and violet to merge, and yet I can still glimpse the memories of my childhood room in all its Pepto Bismol glory. Because pink is wishful thinking, a brain-bending marriage of contradictions. My room wasn’t pink, not strictly because pink is an impossibility, but rather because colour is impossible. Colour doesn’t exist, we only feel like it does. Similarly, the spaces we occupy aren’t absolute. The human self isn’t something literally self-contained or locked up within

the walls of its own reality, and neither can it be treated as something that exists within any isolated moment in time. My childhood bedroom will always be pink because the universe isn’t a space, it’s an event. I am the colours I love. Simon Frith once said in the 70’s that girl culture begins and ends in the bedroom. The bedroom is not only a representation of the mind, it’s an extension of the body and the ways we embody our cognition. In high school, I spent my mornings waking up to the large, electrical tape lettering that read “the system’s got you but it won’t get me” from Crass’ Big A Little a on the wall. It wasn’t because I was a fan of punk per say, I’d simply heard the song playing out of the headphones of a classmate while she painted on the walls of our school. Girls with ADHD are so often cited as having an internalized symptom profile compared to the externalized symptoms documented in boys. I argue this is at least partly true because from an early age, girls are guided towards and virtually trapped in their bedrooms. When the world outside is filled with trauma unique to womanhood, girls need a space to express their anger, to become. When that space isn’t available, the anger is often directed towards the only other absolute space we occupy: ourselves. It can feel impossible to find a way out of the wars within the confines of things like language, medication and gender within ADHD. On one hand, I’m constantly bombarded by ADHD presented as social control, or a pill abused by college students at the hands of drug companies looking to make a profit. Or, on the other hand, ADHD is presented as a medical condition based on biological and scientific truth. It’s not possible or my responsibility to impose an absolute space on ADHD. It could be all of the above, but it’s also a way in which women like myself have a framework to make sense of the struggle, chaos and complexity that creates our lives.

The most difficult task is dissolving the error of perception, the idea that I am only here. I’m an adult now, but I still get dressed in front of the broken mirror covered in magazine clippings from my high school bedroom, as if I’m always trying to find a glimpse of myself there. Our species evolved in the liminal, with a body in the sea and head to the sun, torn in two. Life rejects completion. Identity is a process of mirrors and opposites. Relational, not an absolute, yet it serves as the source of our attachment and even commitment to our perceptions. ADHD can only enter the space of personal identity when we can really see it, feel it in self-reflection. I’d invite you to spend some time in my high school bedroom. The walls there aren’t pink anymore, unless you want them to be. Afterall, we must become others before we can be ourselves. “No one else has got your eyes, can see the things you see, it’s up to you to change your life and my life’s up to me. / Big A, little a, bouncing B. The system’s got you but it won’t get me.” Crass, 1982

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g rac e ch o i

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

e acknowledge that the work we do and the W institution we serve happens on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of Musqueam, Squamish, Stó:lō and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Maple Building 122 @CAPILANOCOURIER

CAPI LAN O COU RI ER VOLUME 52, ISSUE NO.8