VOL UME
48
NORTH VANCOUVER, SEPTEMBER 15TH 2014
ISSUE
N O . 02
Picket Line Scholars School's Out For Summer
FRINGE FESTIVAL
STUDENT WORKSHOPS
EAT FRESH
SHARKS & HAMMERS
CAPILANO Courier
VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 02
capilanocourier.com
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News
A+C
Art shorts
FeAtures
opiNioNs
ColumNs
CAboose
Put That In Your E-Cig & Smoke It
How To Be On IMDB
Fringe Festival
Attack of the Drones
Bootylicious Culture
Mediator Minute
Schoolhouse Rock
Leah Scheitel Editor-in-Chief
THE CAPILANO COURIER.
@capilanocourier
VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 02
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The Staff
2
@capilanocourier
Therese Guieb News Editor
of this back to pizza every Friday university newspaper
Andy Rice Managing Editor
Alva Tee Arts + Culture Editor
Andrew Palmquist Production Manager
Faye Alexander Features Editor
Cheryl Swan Art Director
Gabriel Scorgie Opinions Editor
Ricky Bao Business Manager
Carlo Javier Lifestyle Editor
Brandon Kostinuk Web Editor
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Katherine Gillard, Michael Ros, Julia Gabriel, Rosanna Hemple, Cianda Bourrel, Ben Bengtson CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS:
J.R. Pinto, Danielle Mainman, Sydney Parent, Kelsey Holden, Cristian Fowlie, Tony Yu, Jason Jeon, Ksenia Kozhevnikova, Jess Viaje, Vivian Liu, Alain Champagne
To advertise in the Courier’s pages, please contact our Advertising Director, Andy Rice, at 778-855-9942 or advertising.capcourier@gmail.com. We are proud to offer discounts to non-profit organizations and North Shore customers. A full media kit with sizes, rates and deadlines is available on our website, CapilanoCourier.com.
The Capilano Courier is an autonomous, democratically run student newspaper. Literary and visual submissions are welcomed. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity, taste, and legality. The Capilano Courier will not publish material deemed by the collective to exhibit sexism, racism or homophobia. The views expressed by the contributing writers are not necessarily those of the Capilano Courier Publishing Society.
Letter From The Editor Leah Scheitel, Editor-in-Chief
without apologies “We don't apologize for a joke. We are comics. We are here to make you laugh. If you don't get it, then don't watch us.” - Joan Rivers This past summer, I managed a tree-planting crew of six planters. My crew of misfits and romantics had the lowest production out of all the eight crews on the contract. One crew boss, Brady, would come home bragging about what he put in that day. “My crew did 12,500 trees today,” he’d boast. “That’s great. Mine did 7,500, and we had one more planter than your crew did,” I said, defeated as I sulked away. I often felt bad about this and put the responsibility onto myself. And I often found myself apologizing for things that weren’t my fault, or for honest mistakes, like forgetting to place my paperwork in the right drawer. I would say sorry if I accidently bumped into someone, sorry if I interrupted someone, and sorry if I lent someone my pen and they forgot to give it back to me. “Sorry” became my word for “Excuse me”, “Good Morning” and “How are you?” About six weeks into the job, I had a performance review with my supervisor, Erik. I accidentally bumped a radio as I sat down, and apologized for it, when he looked across the table and said, “You know, every time you say sorry without needing to, you devalue the word.” From there on, my performance review was essentially a lecture on apologies, when to say them and when to save them. And instead of apologizing, how to just admit that a fuck-up has been made, try to rectify the situation, and move on. Own your mistakes, as Erik put it, as people will have more respect for you if you admit to it rather than trying to bury it in false apologies I tried, very unsuccessfully, to stop apologizing. After our meeting, if I would say sorry for something, my boss, Vinny, would yell at me, “Stop apologizing. No sorry. No sorry,’ to which I would start apologizing for, only perpetuating the cycle. Instead of my apologies easing the situation, they only worsened it, as they infuriated Vinny, Erik, or whomever I felt like deserved one in that moment. I just chalked it up to my personality, and kept apologizing for everyone’s sins. This thought was re-awakened last week, with the passing of comedienne extraordinaire, Joan Rivers. While procrastinating on homework, I stumbled upon an article on Esquire’s website. Titled “Joan Rivers and the Power of Not Apologizing”, writer Paul Schrodt detailed why her convictions were
so refreshing. “The world now, particularly in that outrage machine known as the Internet, is full of people falling all over themselves to apologize,” wrote Schrodt, “Some say sorry for truly heinous things, others for trivial things, but the apologies rarely feel genuine in this noisy atmosphere.” If anyone knew the power of not apologizing and sticking to what you think it’s right, it’s Joan Rivers. And no one is as saddened by her passing then our own Faye Alexander, who will remain to be Joan’s biggest fan, long after her Hollywood funeral. But maybe dear Joan was on to something. It’s easy to apologize – too easy, in fact. What’s more difficult is to stand by what you did with conviction. Rivers has a reputation of being a little mean. If she was heckled while on stage, she wouldn’t cower away in hopes of making the audience feel more comfortable, and she would still go on to tell an ill-timed joke about the Holocaust, and heckle the audience right back. She had no shame when it came to her stance on anything, often preaching “Don’t tell me what’s funny.” She should be admired for two things: her ability to handle an insane amount of plastic surgery and her unapologetic approach to everything in life. Admittedly, I still struggle with an apology problem. I’m likely to apologize to a guy if he doesn’t text me back (“Sorry to keep annoying you. Have a good day.”), apologize to the homeless man for not wanting to give him my toonie (“Oh, I’m sorry. I need it for laundry”), and apologize to my cats for not cuddling them enough. Once I even apologized to someone before making the mistake, yet continued to execute my shitty plan. And it needs to stop. None of those things are my fault. But by apologizing for it, I insist on taking the guilt for it, which is just dumb. It’s not like I don’t have things to be sorry for – I do, plenty of them. Currently there is one complicated mistake looming over my conscience. But instead of showing remorse through my words, I can show it through actions. I can say all the apologies, with good intention, until my mouth starts to bleed, but unless there is a change in behavior and action, the apologies are virtually useless. Let’s save an entire step, forget about the apologies, and just change the action – or don’t. I’ve made mistakes, and will continue making them, and y’all are just going to have to deal with it. I’m going to have to deal with it too. But I’ll do it for Joan. She would want me to.
tweets From their seAts
the VoiCe box
*
STRIKE EDITION! with
Andy Rice
The Voicebox is back, ready to humbly respond to your questions, concerns, and comments about anything. To inquire, just send a text to 778.855.9942 to anonymously "express" and "voice" your "opinion" and "thoughts" on any "subject" or "issue". And, as long as it's not offensive, we will publish it here, right in the Voicebox. It's a win - win, or whine - whine whatever way you look at it.
Soooo… you guys totally fucked up the photos for the Street Party spread in the CapYou section last week. Those were from Summer Spree, you idiots.
You actually seem scarier than last year’s Voice Box dude, Scott Moraes, if that’s even possible. I’m not sure how to respond to that one, but I can’t think of anything sweet and reassuring that might convince you otherwise. Come to a story meeting, maybe?
Where is the pita place in the caf? I’m freakin out. I can’t find it. It’s not there. Did they cut this at the end of last year too? I’m hungry. I can’t even deal right now. Okay, breathe. Just breathe. The Pita Palace or Wrap World or whatever the hell it was called suspiciously vanished from campus over the summer. Maybe the studio arts folks were their best customers, or maybe Aramark is just branching out into the world of sushi now. Do you like fish? Do you like purchasing said fish from a multi-national corporation for inflated prices? Try the sushi. It’s probably better than Chevron’s. Does your Editor-in-Chief have any teeth yet?
What’s the prize for your sudoku contest? Is it a date with the Courier’s Lifestyle editor? Nope, it’s some kind of material thing. Although our Lifestyle
*
Did you know that most of the koala bears in Australia have chlamydia?
BCTF @bctf With huge teacher vote, there is only one group of people, @BCLiberalCaucus, standing in the way of opening #bced schools tomorrow. #bcpoli CTV Vancouver @CTVVancouver #BREAKING: B.C. teachers overwhelmingly vote in favour of binding arbitration to end strike. 99% said yes. #bced BCTF @bctf Dear @fassbendermla, BCTF bargaining team ready any time. Arbitrate mediate, negotiate. #DropE80 and get it done. Start moving #bced #bcpoli Dell Cameron @dellcam Marijuana activist @DanaLarsen says he mailed premier @christyclarkbc some weed to help end the BC teacher's strike David Eby @Dave_Eby 39m Belated thanks to the parents, kids, teachers and neighbours who made our emergency strike mtg a success. Let's keep the pressure up! #BCED News1130 @News1130radio Sep 9 Privatizing education in BC? The rumour has created lots of buzz on #socialmedia. @abailey1130 hears from @ christyclarkbc's office. #bced 24 hours Vancouver @24hoursvan 3h The #bced strike has led to some 'unschooling' for kids whether parents realize it or not, says #UBC expert. Christy Clark @christyclarkbc #ALSIceBucketChallenge with @PeterTaptuna and @ YukonPremier. @SteveNash, @fr_aquilini, @GM_Brillo you're up.
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Yes, we did. We shat an entire Sleep Country Canada full of beds on that one. This is where I would normally apologize, but in light of Leah’s editorial I’ll just move on. What I can do is offer you a free copy of next week’s Courier — because your breakfast on campus certainly won’t be.
editor is all about material and things, so that’s kind of close, right? For the record, I think last week’s prize was a coffee card.
Christy Clark @christyclarkbc We want students back in classrooms. But BCTF needs to come back with an affordable proposal.
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NEWS
THERESE GUIEB NEWS EDITOR
NEWS@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
student workshops MAKING UNIVERSITY LESS STRESSFUL Gabriel Scorgie × Opinions Editor University has started again and with every new semester comes more terrified students. Fortunately, whether you're a new student feeling overwhelmed on your first day of class, or a seasoned veteran stressed out by the six classes you're taking this semester, Capilano University has workshops that are aimed to help relieve you of some of that panic. “There are a lot of skills needed by students that aren’t taught in an academic classroom,” says Alison Parry, learning specialist at CapU. “Skills like managing time, studying effectively, and how to prepare a presentation are all necessary, but aren’t taught, so we’ve been offering these workshops.” The workshops are done at appropriate times during the semester. Reducing test anxiety and exam preparation and memory strategies are two workshops that are offered towards the end of the semester, while workshops such as “Head Start to Success” are offered earlier on. There are many challenges a student may face during the semester that can take away from their ability to learn and succeed in university. CapU recognizes that people struggle for a variety of reasons. Some students struggle with time management skills while other students might be dealing
× Danielle Mainman with personal issues that can distract them from their studies. Due to the diversity of reasons, these workshops try to address each area individually. “We have three topic areas,” notes Parry, “There are personal skills, study skills, and library skills.” Financial Aid workshops teach students how to find funding that doesn’t have to be repaid, how to apply for bursaries, awards and student loans. “Every year there are bursaries and rewards that will help people pay for tuition and that don't have to be paid back, but a lot of people don’t know about them,” states Parry. “So the financial workshops help educate students on how beneficial and easy it can be to receive that money.”
“Personal skills deal with having healthy relationships, looking at what makes people happy, and how to be assertive,” she notes. Parry also mentions that they have added two new programs this year. The first is called “Mindfulness Meditation” which will look at how you can incorporate meditation into your everyday lives as a way to reduce stress and anxiety. This workshop will be going on every Thursday in LIB 119 from 11:40 am until 12:20 pm. The second program, “Movement and Moods” is about how even basic exercise like going for a walk can improve your mood. “It’s amazing how much simple exercise like going for a walk three times a week for 20 minutes can improve your mood and mindset” says Parry. The study and library workshops focus on how to do well with the time you have and makes sure that you have the skills needed. “A lot of classes now require presentations, and don’t explain how to do a good one, so these workshops teach you how do well in those situations” she advises. The library workshops are often taught in first year classes. They focus on how to use online databases and how to find reliable material for your papers and presentation. Graham Cook, a Sociology professor at CapU supports these workshops by making attendance to the workshops a part of his curriculum. If you’re taking one of Cook’s classes, going to one of these
workshops and writing a paragraph about it will get you five per cent on the year. “The most academically successful people I know are smart, but they are also very good at these sorts of practical skills,” he argues, “They know how to read a text so they can understand the key points and not be overwhelmed by everything else in it. They know how to study effectively, even if they don’t have very much time to do it. They know the tricks that make it easier to get a good grade on a multiplechoice exam.” The workshops are free and if you want to attend, it’s as easy as showing up. Parry says that she understands that some people who may find these classes helpful may not be able to attend because of workshops being scheduled when they have classes. “If there’s a workshop that you wanted to attend, but couldn’t because of a conflict, then come to the counseling office and we can make an appointment for you to see someone for financial help, there’s the financial aids and rewards office which is located in the Registrar's office in the Birch building,” adds Parry.
duction of the app is a huge step for the university in responding to the growing student demand for a mobile-driven, fast-paced, and technological learning environment,” saya McCredie. The presence of apps from other schools helped guarantee the desire for the institution to have its own app. The success with other school apps shows that students at CapU would definitely find the app useful as well. All university apps available are slightly different because they work in conjunction with various student information systems. Therefore, student needs and institutional requirements can vary. But with features exclusively chosen and designed to make the lives of students at CapU easier, McCredie ensures that this is what makes the app unique to the school. “The app’s benefits make it the ideal companion to every Capilano student,” states McCredie. Based on the feedback of students received, McCredie and her team are looking forward to the improvements to be made in the future. She
hopes that the program will grow to be the app students want and need it to be. “There are plans for more features to be developed and the more we hear from the students, the more we can continue to build a unique app for them,” notes McCredie. So far, the feedback for the use of it has been highly positive. “I would definitely recommend it to other students because it’s a lot more convenient than the website,” says Baska. “Everything is at your fingertips.” The app is available for download today on the iTunes store under the name “CapilanoU” and the app can also be found on the Google Play store under the name “The Cap App” for Android smartphones. “Connectivity amongst the students is so important,” says McCredie. “By allowing students a quick, efficient, and easy way to stay up to date on their life here at Capilano University, we can further assist in their continued success”.
A full list of workshops and their descriptions is available online on the counselling page at Capilano University’s website, Capilanou.ca.
digital on the fly
YOUR STUDENT LIFE MADE EASIER
Alva Tee
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On Aug 26, Capilano University launched its own free mobile app known as the “Cap App”. It contains the same information as the school’s online website - Capilanou.ca - but condensed into an app that is easier to navigate. Everything in it is in a font and format clearly visible to users. “The Cap App is a mobile version of our frequently visited sites on the Capilano University webpage and commonly utilized features on the Student Information Web Service by our current students,” begins Karen McCredie, registrar at CapU. With easy touchscreen navigation scaled down to fit various iPhone or Android smartphone screens, anyone using the app is guaranteed to have an easy time finding what they need. “Currently, the app provides students viewing of their final grades,” continues McCredie as she lists the different uses. “Any holds on their
AGM
THE CAPILANO COURIER.
VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 02
× Arts + Culture Editor
account, their current schedule, building floor plans, emergency phone numbers, area maps, the [your] Daily Cap Blog, and PDF Viewbook,” “The Cap App has been very useful because it makes it a lot easier to access my schedule, Moodle, webmail and more,” says Jasna Baska, an Arts and Entertainment Management student at CapU. “It’s simple, yet highly functional.” Using the app instead of the mobile website through the phone will guarantee faster load times, scaled page viewing, ease of navigation and directly applicable information all available in one easy to read menu. Interactive features are involved as well such as checking and sending emails from the student webmail, tracking assignments and due dates on Moodle. Students can also utilize a wide range of the library online services such as book requests and database lookup. Having a way for students to stay connected to their daily life at CapU is important and is the main reason why the app was created. “The intro-
DEMOCRACY IS AWESOME
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FREE PIZZA
AT NOON
ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE’S
09˚23˚2014 MAPLE BUILDING 122
news
mining for coin BITCOIN GETS INTRODUCED TO CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES Therese Guieb × News Editor Since the world’s first Bitcoin ATM was installed in Vancouver last October, the city has been exponentially adopting the use of it. On Aug. 26, Simon Fraser University received a donation of bitcoins with a cash equivalent worth $6,000 and was named to be the first Canadian post-secondary institution to accept an online currency donation. Bitcoin is classified as a crypto-currency that can be exchanged electronically. It doesn’t require any transaction fees and can be used to buy products anonymously. “Over time Bitcoin use comes more and more ubiquitous… For smaller businesses saving that extra three to five per cent because you’re not using credit cards [you’re using Bitcoin] and you don’t pay fees so that can be substantial,” notes Mike Yeung, president of the SFU Bitcoin Club and CEO of Saftonhouse Consulting Group. There are many ways to acquire the digital currency buying on an exchange, making transfers through apps and computers, and through bitcoin mining. Bitcoin mining is the process where new bitcoins are created. According to an article by CNN, individuals “compete to mine” by solving challenging math puzzles
and in turn they receive compensation from the bitcoin network. Holders store their bitcoins in “digital wallets” that are available in a computer or a cloud. By doing so, they can electronically send bitcoins to buy goods and services. Yeung, along with SFU alumni Scott Nelson, donated the bitcoin to two SFU students for their humanitarian co-op project with Destiny Reflections. "Destiny Reflections is a non-profit organization in Kolkata, India. They rescue women who were victimized by human trafficking and also youth that are at risk of being victimized by human trafficking," explains Yeung. "They’re [the students] going to India to help out with that initiative and they will look for somewhere to spend [the Bitcoin] in India,” he continues, “They will also be in touch with various NGOs and having some Bitcoin out there can be a good way to spike some conversations about it.” The donation has led the institution to allow the installment of bitcoin ATMs on campus because the school's bookstore will start selling merchandise that can be paid for with the digital currency. "It’s still hard for the average person to buy some bitcoins when they don’t have the machine right next to them like an ATM. You have to go online and find the right bitcoin exchange, register, put
in your identification to the appliance, and get the bitcoins in that way," he begins. "But with an ATM it’s much easier. You just have to download a mobile wallet app and after you get that set up you just put some cash into the machine, let it scan your bitcoin wallet on your phone and you get your bitcoin in seconds." Over the course of five years, the bitcoin industry has managed to stay afloat despite fluctuations in the market. The demand for the digital currency has not only reached post-secondary institutions but the workplace as well. According to The Vancouver Sun, some employees in Waterloo, Ontario are now demanding their salary to be in bitcoins instead of Canadian currency because they will be able to get bitcoins easily and invest. However, since the bitcoin software is still new, individuals have to be cautious when using it. “The risk is not understanding how it works,” Yeung continues, “Bitcoin is clearly supply and demand and even though it’s been quite stable for the last six months or so, at the end of the day it’s still quite volatile. The reason being for that is because it’s still in a small market.” Another concern about the use of the digital currency is the bust of Silk Road, a web-based drug business that used bitcoin to buy and sell
the illegal substances. “Bitcoin is no different than any other currencies at all. Even the US Federal reserve admits that it [US dollar] is mostly used for drugs and other types of activities that considered to be illegal,” argues Yeung. I think bitcoin on its own is very neutral it doesn’t place the value on whom and who cannot use it.” The presence of bitcoin ATMs in post-secondary institutions like SFU and BCIT is a way to get students more accustomed to the use of the digital currency. “I think by adopting bitcoin and by embracing it, SFU will have a way to show to the students that it’s an innovative campus and an innovative school,” says Yeung. He encourages students and faculty members of other post-secondary institutions to consider the use of bitcoin on campus. “If students come along and if they try hard enough they can make an impact and mold the school into something that’s more unique and better than it was before,” he continues, “As far as I can see, the only risk with Bitcoin is basically not looking into it early enough because you don’t want to be the last one on the train.”
rettes, no one had heard anything about them. It was entirely brand new to the market,” explains Jason Naziz of VanCity Vapor. Starting small in specialty tobacco shops, Naziz began toting three different designs as well as e-liquids to grab interest among tobacco users, and it quickly took on a life of its own. “I think anytime something is new it generates a lot of buzz, the business blew up. Everyone seemed to want to try it,” he continues, “Now there are storefronts that specialize in just e-cigarettes all over the place – but I think the fad is dying down.” The market definitely did see a boom, according to USA Today electronic cigarette sales skyrocketed from 50,000 units in 2008 to 3.5 million in 2012. In July 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report which found insufficient evidence to determine an effect of × Sydney Parent electronic cigarettes on the ability to quit smoking. Although smokers who have opted for their drawal is an ugly and moody process for smokers, cigarettes electronic counterpart are saving themso the market was elated at the unveiling of the selves from inhaling an array of harmful chemielectronic cigarette. The electronic cigarette is a cals and carcinogens - the e-liquid vaporized with battery powered vaporizer simulating tobacco the electronic cigarette may still contain nicotine smoking, producing a vapor when exhaled that if a buyer opts for one containing nicotine. “I even looks like smoke. This product revolution- don’t want to advertise e-cigarettes as a way to ized a new way for smokers to transition away truly quit smoking. It’s just another option that from cigarettes. Not to mention, the prices of seems to bother the people around you less. You cigarettes were recently raised once again, making can still get e-liquids with the nicotine and beeven “bargain cigarettes” such as Pall Malls and cause there is no way to regulate how often or Viceroys at least $9.00. E-cigarettes in the big how much someone is using the e-cig, they may picture ate a much more cost effective option to even be taking in more nicotine then they would those who love their nicotine. smoking cigarettes,” says Naziz. “When I first began selling electronic cigaYet when it comes to electronic cigarettes, a rel-
atively new technology, Dr. Campling is skeptical of health risks. "If smokers are using the device to wean themselves off of nicotine all together, that's great. Users should be sparing on using any form of nicotine and try to lessen the dosage until they can enjoy it with the e-liquids that contain no harmful chemicals," she explains. Therein lies a large concern for Health Canada. In 2009, Canada banned the advertisement, import and sales of e-cigarettes containing nicotine – the only country to do so. Although e-cigarettes are still sold, e-liquids containing nicotine are not legal for sale. However, many e-cigarette storefronts may have them behind the counter if you ask nicely. Health Canada quickly made the nicotine liquids illegal because they have no proper control over the amount of nicotine users are taking in. Even cigarettes have a specific percent of nicotine allotted to every stick. Health Canada is concerned that e-cigarettes could create more addicts, not alleviate existing ones. There are suspicions by the public that Health Canada has only banned these liquids to maintain the millions of dollars in government tax revenue generated each year by the sale of tobacco products. It’s becoming more and more common to see people puffing away on electronic cigarettes. As the trend of “vaping” gains momentum, with celebrity endorsements now in television advertisements, it has raised concerns about the total lack of laws in effect prohibiting usage of e-cigarettes in public. More and more businesses have begun to gently ban the use of vaporizers in their establishments, as it’s distracting to customers.
the modern smoker THE DEAL WITH ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES Faye Alexander × Features Editor
whats new with the csu The first Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) Board of Directors Meeting of the year kicked off on Sep. 10. The CSU Strategic Plan was presented by the executives to the members of the board which stated the goals that the CSU wants to achieve between the CSU membership’s elected represen-
Therese Guieb × News Editor
tatives, the CSU staff, and the students of CapU by 2019. The plan consists of four main subject areas which are: growth of student life, growth of relationships, growth of student spaces and internal growth. Each subject area has a procedure designed to accomplish all of the prospected goals.
The student health and dental plan presented to the board to help them comprehend how the health and dental plan works, so that they can educate CapU students about it. The board also approved a budget for new banners for all of the CSU collectives as well as the creation
of the Capilano Film Club. The CSU announced that the CSU Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday, Oct 30, in LB 192 at the CSU library lounge at 11:30 am- 1:00 pm. All students are encouraged to come.
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Smoking is, by all measures, a filthy habit. Over the past 25 years, there has been a huge shift in the attitude towards cigarettes. There have been many campaigns created to educate young people and prevent them from placing a cigarette to their lips have made huge impacts in schools and through viral media campaigns. Yet despite best efforts and harrowing health risks, young people continue to become addicted each year. And they fork out large amounts of money to keep their nicotine addiction in check. What may surprise people is that tobacco is considered as the most addictive drug. Cigarettes trump both heroin and crystal meth solely for the risk of users becoming addicted, an estimated 96.5 per cent. With effects of smoking merely boasting slight stimulation and then reduction of activity in the brain, dizziness, a rise in blood pressure, and the health issues including cancer, pulmonary disease and heart disease, among many others, the draw of the cigarette is hard to justify. "It's always advised to simply quit smoking, and it's amazing how quickly the body bounces back from the effects cigarettes have on the lungs and mouth," says Dr. Ruth Campling, a family physician from North Vancouver. Quitting in itself is hard for a smoker that has up until recently, had few products to aid in transitioning smokers to life beyond the butt. With-
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arts + Culture
ALVA TEE ARTS + CULTURE EDITOR
ARTS@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
VIFF weathers changing of guards ANNUAL FESTIVAL PROVIDES INSPIRATION AND ENTERTAINMENT Andy Rice × Managing Editor With just over a week left before curtains part for the opening night of the 33rd Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), there is a tangible feeling of anticipation in the air. The whole city is buzzing. watching. waiting. Even in 2014, when piracy is standard practice and Netflix is about as common as toothpaste in Canadian households, it seems as though there’s still room for a good old-fashioned film festival. “The festival environment remains relevant due to the interactive experience audiences can have with content creators and other fans,” explains Jacqueline Dupuis, VIFF’s newly-named executive director. “The ‘see it here first’ factor makes film festivals exciting and oftentimes, this will be the only occasion to see many of the films we bring, as they are not available online or otherwise.” “For anybody who likes films that aren’t necessarily the 10 blockbusters that are easy to access in theatres at any given time, if you love film, if you love creative expression, if you love seeing what other cultures are doing, it’s a really finely-tuned, well-programmed festival for cinema,” says Ki Wight, a faculty member of Capilano University’s Motion Picture Arts and Communication Studies program. “The Vancouver International Film Festival is a real film buff’s film festival.” Earlier this year, Dupuis took the reins of VIFF after her predecessor, Alan Franey, moved into a programming role following 26 years as executive director. She says her next few years will be focused on expanding upon the artistic core and spirit he created for the festival, while consulting with stakeholders to expand VIFF’s reach to both audience and industry. “As we develop our go-forward strategy we look at relevance, growth opportunities
and audience development for our organization under the banner of excellence in storytelling and in the context of the evolution of the ever and rapidly-changing, screen-based industries.” One of the festival’s most notable features is a trade forum called VIFF Industry, which aims to connect film and television professionals for a meeting of the minds. This year, the event has been expanded into a year-round program to better cater to local industry professionals and stakeholders, and to increase Vancouver’s international destination appeal for visiting delegates, says Dupuis. “For the 2014 VIFF industry conference we will be beefing up the LA contingent visiting the festival, responding to industry stakeholder requests to 'meet the gatekeepers' of some of the major original programming studios in LA,” she continues, “We also have a contingent of heavy hitters coming to town from New York representing the leadership of new models for success in independent film distribution, marketing and audience engagement platforms.” This comes as exciting news to Wight and others in the Bosa building. Every year, a group of third year film students attends the trade forum on New Filmmakers’ Day as part of their program’s curriculum, receiving the chance to meet industry giants like Charlie Kauffman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) or JJ Abrams (Lost) up close. “It’s an entire day of industry panels geared to getting them up and off the ground and getting their careers running,” explains Wight, adding that her first year students must also complete an assignment that involves seeing a film or watching a keynote speech from a previous year. “It’s a really important festival for the Vancouver film community and it celebrates our achievements locally and internationally,” she says, “And
also, Cap has a very sophisticated program so we’re celebrating our own achievements in a way, I guess.” Among the 353 films from over 65 countries being screened at VIFF this year, there are three that credit CapU alumni. In addition to featuring a wide variety of local up-and-comers, organizers have also kept their fingers on the pulse of mainstream television and cinema. “For example, VIFF enjoyed great success and created international buzz in 2013 when featuring a screening of one of Vince Gilligan's favourite episodes of Breaking Bad followed by an up close and personal conversation with the man himself, just two days before the series finale,” recalls Dupuis. This year, appearances by Archer creator Adam Reed and Sons of Anarchy head writer and executive producer Chris Collins are vying for a similar response. “Effectively engaging [a wide audience] will be about delivering content that interests them and then showing them that more quality content exists in the festival environment,” Dupuis continues, “Broadening programming across demographics, genres, mediums and platforms will be key to attracting audiences of all ages.” Since its humble beginnings in 1982, VIFF has become much more than a yearly popup event. “Integration of our business units under the VIFF brand will be vital,” says Dupuis. “The organization has grown from an annual film festival into a year-round organization that operates the internationally acclaimed Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), VIFF Industry and the year-round programming and rental facility, the Vancity Theatre at the Vancouver International Film Centre (VIFC).” “Film continues to be one of, if not the most, accessible art form and more films are being made than ever before, growing year over year,” she adds.
“As audiences develop interest and taste for films, festivals will continue to thrive. Younger audiences, for example, under the age of 30, are watching more, better quality content than ever before. They are ardent fans of excellent storytelling, even if they don’t know it.” VIFF runs from Sept. 25 to Oct. 10 at several locations around the city. Tickets, schedules and film synopses are available at Viff.org.
CapU Alumni at VIFF Dead Hearts (Short Film) Alex Glua - Producer Sept. 29 - 8:30 pm - Tinsletown Oct. 7 - 4:30 pm - Vancity Theatre
Not Indian Enough Andrew Genaille - Writer/Producer Lisa Genaille - Producer Oct. 1 - 8:30 pm - Tinsletown Oct. 9 - 4:45 pm - Vancity Theatre
What Doesn't Kill You (Short Film) Rob Grant - Writer/Director Peter Harvey - Producer Oct. 2 - 8:30 pm - Tinsletown Oct. 10 - Noon - Vancity Theatre
getting your name out there HOW TO BE ON IMDB Carlo Javier
THE CAPILANO COURIER.
VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 02
× Lifestyle Editor
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Only in Marvel movies will an audience ever sit through a film’s entire credits roll. Even then, they’re not staying to see who’s in the lighting crew. They’re in their seats hoping for the possibility that Tony Stark will make a 10 second cameo. If by any chance, someone wanted to find the members of a film’s camera crew, common knowledge says to check the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). The website, Imdb.com, holds all sorts of information on films, television shows and video games. For most, it lists everything from the entire cast to the production crew — even a list of mistakes and trivia. This means that every individual who has made a contribution to a film, television show or video game has his or her own IMDb profile. “The best thing to do in order for someone to acquire a profile on IMDb is to submit your film to film festivals,” begins Jacquile Kambo, a third year student in Capilano University’s Motion Picture Arts program (MOPA), “You and your team are automatically given an IMDb credit. However, submitting into film festivals might be a difficult task as there is competition against others and criteria to meet their needs.” Kambo himself has his own IMDb page, with
credits acquired for his work on projects done through his studies at CapU, “On my IMDb page I have done some minor roles on set — one as a second assistant director and one as a grip,” he says. As a second assistant director, Kambo had the responsibility of working directly with the producer. “I was involved with production from beginning to end, for three 10 hour days. I worked with our producer closely to form schedules,” he explains. “There are only two credits on my page, but I’m currently studying to become a writer and director, and I hope to achieve that title with my work,” Kambo adds.
× Kelsey Holden
Getting an IMDb page can also be done independently. However, in order to avoid random, illegitimate accounts, a filtering system for selfmade pages is in place. Sam Marshall, a former CapU student who now works in the film industry and has his own IMDb page, says “I did two movies as a production coordinator. So I was working in the office, keeping everything going, that kind of stuff. If you’re on the credits on the beginning of a show or at the end of the show then you’re usually going to be on IMDb.” However, simply going onto the regular IMDb page is not enough to gain access to a self-built profile. “There are two different levels of IMDb that you can do,” Marshall says. “There’s the IMDb you get by typing in the URL, but there is also IMDb Pro.” For $19.99 each month, professionals can utilize the database to its fullest. It gives actors and filmmakers the option of creating their own page, as well as the power to edit it as they please. “It enables you to create a profile and edit your own stuff,” Marshall says. Its Pro Casting feature allows casting directors to publish an endless stream of casting notices. It also includes a STARmeter feature that measures the popularity of each actor in the database. The comprehensiveness of IMDb and its pro feature also benefits the career outlook of those
who have their own pages. “It’s very possible, people can contact you for work,” says Kambo, “If you’re an actor, agents and casting directors are able to communicate with you for roles. They are able to see your IMDb page with your headshot, résumé, and demo reels.” Directors, producers and executives are also able to view their pages and see the kind of films they’ve contributed in, “In a sense, it’s kind of like scouting,” Kambo says. IMDb’s networking aspect is better compared to another social networking service, says Marshall. “It’s almost like a LinkedIn kind of thing.” Acquiring an IMDb page can be considered as an achievement in its own right. Although early jobs for filmmakers may not always pay, having your name beside a creative project can be fulfilling – at least for the first few times. “For a young filmmaker, even for myself, it’s a big deal,” Kambo says. “It’s a dream to have your name on IMDb because people are able to see not only your name but also your work as an artist. It means your work has been recognized and will continue to be recognized.”
arts + Culture
MOnkey Business WRITING THEIR WAY TO MAINSTREAM AMERICA Michael Smith × Writer
Every single Arctic Monkeys album has hit number one on the British charts, though it has been AM, their fifth and most recent, which has broken the band through in North America. “I think that it’s now widely considered the best record we’ve done,” said Alex Turner, front man for the band, in an August interview with the Grammy’s YouTube Channel. “Consideration also extends to the States.” In the Pacific Northwest specifically, the album tour contained sold out runs at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver and at the Paramount in Seattle, along with an appearance at the Squamish Valley Music Festival last summer. All four of the theatre shows in Vancouver and Seattle sold out in less than half a minute. Numbers continue to validate the claim that AM has been respectively proven to be the best selling vinyl record in both 2013 and 2014. The album debuted in the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart, and singles “Do I Wanna Know?” and “Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?” have found heavy radio rotation since. “I had bought this guitar before going into the studio, a 12 string guitar, a Vox StarStream, what I wrote the riff to “Do I Wanna Know” on…” said Turner in the same interview. “I feel like that riff, or that song even, was like a ghost within the walls of this old guitar I had bought.” The band has cited Drake, Aaliyah, and other hip hop acts as influences, including other bands such as Black Sabbath. Turner has famously stated that the record sounds “like a Dr Dre beat, but we’ve given it an Ike Turner bowl-cut and sent it galloping across the desert on a Stratocaster.” Capilano University Jazz Studies student Brian Scott calls AM The Arctic Monkeys’ biggest re-
× Artic Monkeys Website cord yet. “It’s like, they have always been able to do something different for each album — picking different styles but still sounding like themselves,” he continues. “This album though is like the unforecasted storm. People are listening to this one and discovering four more that are actually just as good.” For example, Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not, the band’s debut, has been charting steadily in vinyl sales since the release of AM. “The lyrics have always been an important part of the music as well,” Scott states. “They’re innovating. There’s a conversational aspect to all of the words throughout all of the records, there’s a running theme.” CapU English and Creative Writing professor Crystal Hurdle, on the broader whole, voices that “Lyrics are today’s non-elitist poetry — with no clear dividing line, and how fabulous and rich is that?”
Lyrically, samples from AM include "The look of love/ The rush of blood/ The 'she’s with me’/ The Gallic shrug" from “No. 1 Party Anthem”, or even, “My heart was breaking and got left unlocked / Didn’t see you sneak in, but I’m glad you stopped” from “Electricity” (a B-Side). Most of the lyrics follow a theme in which the singer frustratingly paddles in the shallow end of a relationship. This was proven early in February of 2012, when debut single “R U Mine” was released — the track acting as the single hint in what was yet to come. The lyrics “Are you mine tomorrow, or just mine tonight?” show Turner singing about an entire world of romance dissolved into that of a single text – evidence of the certain unromantic world in which we live in today. Sonically, one would struggle to find the correct set of words to describe the general vibe of “R U Mine” or AM in its whole. It's heavier than their 2011 album Suck It and See and contains
elements of their 2009 release Humbug, which was produced and influenced by Joshua Homme, chief member of Queens of Stone Age. AM was written in Los Angeles and recorded in Joshua Tree, with all related experimentation inspired by the surrounding Californian landscape – deserts and parties included. In September of 2013, the album was released to wide critical and commercial acclaim. Although American culture typically dismisses “dramatic” British music journalism, the excellence of AM has created a boiling point in what would otherwise be considered the band’s American popularity — something that begs reconsideration of said British journalism, particularly New Musical Express (NME), who have even gone on record to say, for example, that AM could be “the greatest album of the past decade.” On the contrary, a band named The Orwells who supported the Arctic Monkeys for months, disputed against them. In an interview with DIY, singer Matt O’Keefe said, "They try and mash together genres. They’re kind of like the hip Backstreet Boys or something... the set list was always the same. If you saw the show once, you saw every show that they played. I mean, we learned lessons from good things that they did, but then also – let's not fucking do that." Regardless of praise or criticism, the Arctic Monkeys are winning over generations with AM and their matching back catalog. Their current tour will wrap in Rio in November, and deciding what to do next will occur in the subsequent freedom that the nature of Domino, their independent label, entails.
playing for keeps ANNUAL SALE CONCLUDES YEARLY JOURNEY FOR CAMPUS PIANOS Andy Rice × Managing Editor
like a detrimental leap of faith. However, Potter assures the arrangement has worked well for both Loewen and Kawai. Pianos keep their condition better when played regularly, there is a significant market for used instruments, and it’s essentially like putting a business card in the hands of everyone who uses them. “We want to promote our brand, like other piano businesses, and it’s a very competitive business as far as institutional presence or representation goes. The students that are studying at Cap will be the future teachers and consumers of pianos and we want them to think of us favourably as a quality line, so it’s planting seeds and I think there are multiple benefits to it,” he says. This year’s piano sale will take place from Sept. 19 to 21 in the Sportsplex multipurpose room. In addition to many of the 48-inch upright models that were used on campus for the past year, Loewen will have several others available. “Some people are looking for baby grands, some people are looking for digitals, some people are looking for new pianos,” explains Potter, “so for the effort and expense that it takes to hold the sale, we try and offer as much as we can to as many people that are out in the market looking for pianos.”
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Every September, a one-tonne moving truck pulls into the gap between the Fir and Cedar buildings. The doors spring open, out jumps a skilled crew of trained professionals, and for the better part of a day, pianos come and pianos go. Anyone from Capilano University’s music department will attest that it’s probably the closest thing to Christmas morning that exists on campus. Two decades ago, the university entered into a relationship with the Kawai company, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of keyboard instruments. For eight of those years, Loewen Piano House has facilitated the “September swap” and the annual piano sale that takes place in the Sportsplex once it’s complete. “The idea behind it is that because budgets are so tight, this allows the university to have very reliable, high quality instruments that they have on loan for one year through Kawai Canada, in addition to a scholarship that Kawai also contributes each year to,” explains Barry Potter, Loewen’s general manager. “In September, that’s where we come in as the authorized dealer, and we liquidate
those pianos because they primarily are one or two different models of which there are multiples, and it would be a challenge for us to bring them all back to the store. Part of the arrangement is that we have an on-site sale at Capilano University to liquidate these pianos and in turn, the music department is receiving another supply of pianos for the following year.” “I think it’s somewhere west of 30 pianos,” says Geordie Roberts, coordinator of CapU’s Music Diploma Program. “Music diploma, jazz, music therapy, and musical theatre, they all benefit from this arrangement. Basically, we could not run our programs without it.” The instruments are sent to a variety of locations on campus — practice rooms on the ground floor of Fir, the black box rehearsal space in the basement of Arbutus, and the Library building, to name a few. Many come fresh from the Kawai factory and are still cocooned in protective shrinkwrap, or “piano condoms” as Roberts jokingly calls them. “So if you see a piano with a condom on it, leave the condom in place or bad things will happen. You’ll regret it.” Even with the proper protection, dropping off a truckload of brand new pianos and leaving them largely unsupervised at a university seems
× Kawai Canada Photo
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art shorts
ANDY RICE ART SHORTS EDITOR
MANAGER.CAPCOURIER@GMAIL.COM
lord of the files FALSE CREEK GYM, SEPT. 4 Gabriel Scorgie × Opinions Editor Vancouver Fringe Festival celebrated its 30th anniversary this year with over 700 performances by 89 artists. Fringe festivals around the world carry a long tradition of providing a home for edgy and unusual independent theatre. Vancouver’s own 11-day celebration was no exception, providing a wide assortment of programming from around the world and pushing the envelope once again. From comedies to dramas and everything in between, Granville Island and the surrounding areas were abuzz with activity.
Lesley Tsina, an actress in shows such as Community and Funny or Die, came to the stage with a one-woman show titled ‘Lord of the Files’ - a monologue about the last year spent at a ringtone company that’s about to be shut down. Tsina hilariously describes the demise of her office and all the quirks that come with it, including: finally pursuing her office crush, Human Resources’ attempt at lifting worker morals by having officewide contests, getting rejected by her office crush, and mandatory pancake breakfasts. The stage was simple, comprised of a stand that would display
powerpoint slides and a small office desk with a keyboard and folders on it. Tsina explains early on that the events took place when she worked for a cell phone ringtone company in 2007 that specialized in turning top 40 songs into ringtones. The monologues were broken up by short blackouts and a top 40 song from that year would play in the background while Tsina moved positions. Overall, the crowd enjoyed the performance. They laughed at every punchline, awkward pause and “you have to work in an office to understand” joke. Tsina herself put on a great performance, only misspeaking a couple lines during the whole performance and never breaking character, even when the desk she was sitting on almost collapsed.
Macbeth THE CULTCH CULTURE LAB, SEPT. 7 Faye Alexander × Features Editor
eating pasta off the floor FALSE CREEK GYM, SEPT. 8 Andy Rice × Managing Editor
THE CAPILANO COURIER.
VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 02
Maria Grazia Affinito is just about finito with her dumpster-diving, garlic-gobbling, frying panswinging Italian mother. From the first spoken words of her one-woman show, she makes sure the audience knows it too. She breaks the fourth wall to lament the elder Maria’s many flaws, almost as if she’s having an afternoon cappuccino with a friend. Except that would be the Italian thing to do, and Maria Grazia is one of those “bad Italians” who is too skinny, can’t cook, and doesn’t really like olives. Eating Pasta Off the Floor is both funny and dramatic, its plot meandering through Maria Grazia’s New York upbringing before centering around a
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trip to southern Italy for a wedding — with her mother in tow. Finally, a chance to see her in the place she belongs — where she isn’t too loud, too blunt, too gruff, or too embarrassing. However, it soon becomes clear that Maria Grazia’s mother is a special case, even among her peers. She’s lived a hard life - harder than her daughter could have ever imagined, although not so different from her own in many ways. The details of their individual trauma may be glossed over — perhaps for brevity of the play, or simply for privacy — but the opposite ways in which the two women cope form the dichotomy that makes Eating Pasta Off the Floor a riveting success. It’s one that lingers — like garlic — on the emotional palate, even after the meal is through.
cannibal : The Musical FIREHALL ARTS CENTRE, SEPT. 6 Faye Alexander × Trey Parker Enthusiast For fans of camp, Cannibal: the Musical has everything a B-movie buff desires: blood, gore, cannibalism and terrible musical numbers. The play, a verbatim production of the 1993 film of the same name, tells the story of Alfred Packer, the first recorded American cannibal. Packer, a greatly misunderstood simpleton, takes it upon himself to guide a group of merry men from Provo, Utah to Breckenridge, Colorado Territory in hopes of striking gold. Set in 1873, this unusual clan of misfits make way on an adventure that quickly takes a turn for the worse. The play opens with a dark stage, and Packer in a state of psychosis taking chomps and violent bites of screaming pioneers, blood squirting into the audience left right and centre. And then the brilliant music, the
highlight of the whole affair, breaks in with the cheery "Shpadoinkle Day”. What is surprising is that much of the cast is played by women in men's garb — including Packer's great love, Leanne — his Arabain horse and the driving force behind the lurid tale that led the motley crew to a dangerous mountain pass. The musical gets particularly sentimental when Packer croons his love ballad, "When I was On Top of You". Playgoers who have watched the Troma film could sing along to favourite numbers like the infectious "Let's Build a Snowman", and the show was stolen by the brilliant performance of the trappers with "Trappers Song". The play had its laughs and its low points — if you didn't get a chance to catch the play, I strongly recommend you watch the film. It's a pre-South Park masterpiece, and if you are a fan of Parker, you'll get some schlocky laughs. It was a shpadoinkle play!
Crooked Teeth Theatre company brought the classic Shakespeare play, Macbeth, to the Vancouver stage at this year’s Fringe Fest. Presented at the Culture Lab, this dramatic addition to the lineup holds great allure for fans of Shakespeare who weren't able to get a ticket to Bard on the Beach. The brilliant thing about a Shakespeare play is that the storytelling is timeless and can be reimagined again and again, and Crooked Teeth's take was full of modern artistry and edge. Part of the festival's new Dramatic Works Series, it was wonderful to
see an older work of theatre, which brings drama and culture to a lineup that can quickly get tangled up in a sea of campy small productions. Macbeth, which will be relatable for eons, plays with themes of ambition, guilt and utter madness. Hannah Rose Brearly brilliantly executed her role as Lady Macbeth, but the entire cast seemed well seasoned on the stage. This gritty take on the classic was haunted with peculiar props and a film-noir feel. By making the play modern, removing Shakespearean garb from the stage, it makes this heavy number more palatable to a younger audience who may not have been forced to read the play in grade 10 English. A classic never dies.
verbal diarrhea, actual diarrhea...in hd STUDIO 1398, SEPT. 4 Gabriel Scorgie × Opinions Editor The topics of masturbation, having an out of body experience, getting hit by a car, and shitting yourself were covered in great detail by English performer Gerard Harris in the hour-long storytelling session titled “Verbal Diarrhea, Actual Diarrhea...In HD.” From the start, Harris made it clear that he wasn’t going to try to make himself look like a hero when he described his attempts to lose his virginity as “a race that I took a long time to finish.” Verbal diarrhea is an adequate way of encapsulating the show. It takes a special kind of performer to be able to stand on a stage and
talk for an hour, without any props and still keep the audience’s attention. But that’s exactly what he did. Harris’ unpredictability was what made him so entertaining. His ability to draw out a simple story like cooking lobster into a hilarious 15-minute rant about the ethics and morality of killing animals and then summarizing his 10-year marriage with the sentence, “I once was married, now I’m divorced, nobody lived happily ever after” and never talking about it again created an environment where the audience hung onto every word, waiting to see where he was going to go next. In the beginning Harris said the show used to be two hours long — and by the time his hour-long performance is over, you’ll wish it still was.
deranged dating ARTS CLUB REVUE STAGE, SEPT. 8 Andy Rice × Managing Editor Thirty-five and hopelessly single - that’s Shirley Kirschmann’s story and she’s sticking to it. And while it was certainly palatable subject matter for a 45-minute performance on the Arts Club Revue Stage, it wasn’t anything her audience hadn’t heard before. Relatable on many counts, but also often tired and cliche, the show weaved and wobbled through a mixture of skits, jokes, and anecdotes. With the typical fare about men driving and the royal family out of the way, Kirschmann managed to come up with a few zingers — for instance, her vivid description of the dick-pic she received from a potential suitor and mistook for a ring-necked
vulture, her re-enactment of scaring another who showed up to meet her while high on acid, or the more controversial “’I’m now so desperate that before I go on a date, I take Rohypnol.” The handful of jokes that did land induced some hearty laughter, but it was Kirschmann’s character acting which ultimately won over her audience: The concerned aunt, who greeted patrons at the door before launching into an opening monologue. Or the satirized version of “Shirley”, who illustrated her failures through interpretive dance and spitscreen re-enactments. The kooky sex therapist who dispensed her lines between a variety of outlandish idiosyncrasies. They were the deranged ones and offered a much-needed original spin on an otherwise-dated subject.
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Interpol Commodore Ballroom 8 pm $49.50
Royal Wood M 15
Media Club 8 pm $20
capilanocourier.com
@capilanocourier
Ear Muffs M 15
The Cobalt 9 pm $ - dignity
Movie Mondays M 15
My house? All day $ - SNL Trivia
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Once in 2003, I made out so heavily to Interpol’s album, Turn On the Bright Lights in the back of my mother’s Dodge Caravan that I had not one, but three hickeys that I had to awkwardly hide for the next week. That’s how good these guys are. If you go, remember the cover up. You’ll need it.
Royal Wood has a wardrobe that Carlo Javier would envy. Seriously, it’s like he walked straight off the cover of GQ. The Toronto-bred singer/ songwriter will be serenading the crowd at the Media Club, and no doubt looking like Zoolander doing it. Also, his stage name makes me think of Prince Harry's boner.
Ear Muffs is the Cobalt’s aptly named karaoke night. Hosted by Drew Waldorf, who apparently has been able to make a living by hosting karaoke competitions, the night promises to include several out-of-tune Cher covers and at least one attempt at Bohemian Rhapsody. What else have you got to do, homework? Pfft.
While patiently waiting for the new season of SNL to start, I will re-watch some of the worst movies ever attempted by SNL alum. This week, it will be MacGruber, in which Will Forte saves the world from an evil man with no penis. It’s basically a reenactment of any of my failed dates.
Add/Drop Cutoff
Kaiser Chiefs
Mick Foley
Zammuto
The Internet All Day $ - your future career
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Commodore Ballroom 8 pm $32.50
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ACT Theatre (Maple Ridge) 7:30 pm $37.50
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Media Club 9:30 pm $13
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Don’t think you can make it through your Sociology 101 classes because the guy next to you chews his gum like a mule? Or did you see your crush walk into Philosophy of Religion and you think this will be your chance to charm them? Well, today is the last day to add or drop any classes without getting a kick in the wallet for it.
The Commodore is bringing back the mid-2000 indie rock bands hard this week. It’s like the organizers went through my old CD collection and decided to bring them all back. The Kaiser Chiefs, who formed in England over a decade ago, will be here the night after Interpol. They have a new album with a very long title, but it’s about education and war. Interesting.
This guy is an ex-WWE wrestler turned comedian and author. I want the same career but in reverse – become an author and comedian and then turn into the ultimate WWE wrestler. Anyways, he’s performing his one-man show in Maple Ridge. Maybe he will body slam himself into the stage.
These guys are a four-piece band, and one of them is named Zammuto. Did the band get named after him because he has the coolest sounding last name? Or did he beat them all at an arm wrestling competition? Now I’m just curious. Anyways, these guys from Vermont are playing songs from their new album Anchor. Check it.
CSU Committee Meetings
Cobalt Cranes
Art Lecture - History of Art
Jeremy Jones' Higher
CapU Cafeteria & Maple 116 2:30 & 4 pm $ - an hour of life
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Electric Owl 9 pm $10
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4397 West 2nd Ave 7:30 pm $12
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Rio Theatre 8 pm $12
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The CSU hasn’t quite updated their events calendar yet, so here are two committees that are meeting today that may be interesting. Students with Disabilities meets at 2:30pm in the Cafeteria, and Operations meets at 4pm in Maple 116. Get involved, people. It’s how singles used to meet before Tinder.
These guys started in a random LA apartment. I wonder what other great things originated that way: blueberry-infused vodka and dollhouse constructed entirely out of Q-Tips. I can only hope so. But these guys have a 90s pop sound and are playing with Wooden Indian Burial Ground from Portland. And it’s live music for $10. That’s less money than it would cost to make that Q-Tip dollhouse.
If you attend this lecture on the history of art, you have a chance to win a piece of art from Canadian artist, Stewart Stephenson. It’s a bit like playing the lottery, but that $12 ticket could win you a piece of art that you can then sell on eBay for a lot more. Plus you get to learn about surrealism in art, and that may mean something to you someday.
This will be the first gathering of flowing locks and brightly-coloured toques of the winter season. Jeremy Jones is regarded as somewhat of a backcountry god, who has dominated some gnarly mountains to snowboard down them, and then he makes movies of it. When I went to Wyoming this summer, I met the guys who filmed it and they were all mega babes. So I will, of course, be there, looking fabulous.
New Forms Festival
La Roux
Improv Against Humanity
Songs of Tom Petty
Science World 9:30 pm $125 festival pass
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Commodore Ballroom 8 pm $30
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Rio Theatre 8 pm $6 – 9
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Biltmore Cabaret 8 pm $10ish
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New Forms Festival is taking over Science World. Combining art with DJ music, this three-day festival features music from Young Braised and art from Soledad Munoz, who studied at the Textile Arts Program at CapU. Most shows are $25, but $125 gets you a festival pass. Check out Newformsfestival.com for all the gritty details.
Remember that one hit from La Roux, “In For the Kill” that got remixed by a plethora of other DJs, and was on every indie list for two years? Well she’s back. I would like to give you a preview, but honestly, I have no idea what else she sings. Maybe she’ll just sing that one song, remixed by every artist, 40 different times. Let’s hope so.
If you haven’t been to this comedy show, it’s a must see, at least once. It combines improv comedy with a riveting game of Cards Against Humanity. The performers have to act out the most taboo and odd situation as described on the card games. Go early, as this once a month event is popular and has a line around the block.
Pay tribute to everyone’s favourite crooner from Florida. Local musicians play Tom Petty covers while you get drunk and belt out “Free Falling” along with them. It will be just like that scene out of Jerry Maguire. Maybe Cuba Gooding Jr. will show you the money after, but I doubt he has any money left to give.
Art in the Park
Juno Reactor
Smash Boom Pow
Il Mercato: Italian Night Market
Dunbar Community Centre 3 – 6 pm $ - free
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Rickshaw Theatre 8 pm $30
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Electric Owl 8 pm $10
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3075 Slocan St 3 – 7 pm $ - free
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Art in the Park is a free community event, featuring performances honouring the harvest and start of autumn. It’s very folksy, and sounds like something that my mother would really enjoy. But I do love the start of autumn and this is a free event, which is perfect for my broke ass. Anyone want to take me?
Along with ten-year-old indie rock, this seems to be a week for “nights of electronic rock” in Vancouver. There are three different events at various venues dedicated to a mix of DJs mixing different music. This one at the Rickshaw features DJ Pandemonium, Goa Pete, and Smoke Noir, and I don’t recognize any of those names.
This just sounds cool. Who wouldn’t want to go to an event named after Batman sound files? Ink and Epic present Mark & Bobby, Ink Love and friends for a night of dancing, drinking, and just making some love. Smash and boom it. Smash and boom.
This is the first of its kind in Vancouver: a farmer and Italian night market. I’m not sure of what to expect, but I can only imagine a bunch of homemade spaghetti sauce, some Italian farmers with great facial hair, and old ladies telling me that I don’t eat enough.
Blake Shelton
Westbrook Village Festival
Paul F. Tompkins
You Me at Six
Rogers Arena 7 pm $42.50
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Westbrook Village (UBC) 11 am – 4 pm $ - free
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Fox Cabaret 7 pm $20
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Rio Theatre 6 pm $21.50
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Blake Shelton is taking a small break from blowing up singers’ dreams to grace Vancouver with his presence. Seriously, did anyone know who this guy was before The Voice resurrected Carson Daly’s VJ career? I think his marriage is splashed all over tabloid magazines, which must mean that he is somebody. You’re no one until US Weekly gossips about you.
Come hang out in a fancy neighbourhood. Westbrook Village Festival is an annual event in the Westbrook mall, and has free BBQs, live music, and a bouncy castle, which is most likely just for the kids. This is foreshadowing of what I will be doing for years: freeloading off of my rich neighbours.
The Sunday Service presents a night of stand up comedy with Paul F. Tompkins. I’m only familiar with him because he’s sometimes on @Midnight, that show hosted by Chris Hardwick, where comedians comment on Internet hilarity. Whenever he’s on the show, Tompkins looks the most dapper, always sporting a bow tie and a well-groomed mustache. That instantly makes all of his jokes funnier.
These guys are from England, so they may be the re-incarnation of the Beatles. Or they may just be another alt-rock band from London, sporting their cute accents and trademark questionable dental hygiene habits. Anyway, they brought some friends with them, and are playing with Young Guns and Stars in Stereos.
21st Century Flea Market
Go-Go Bungalow
Mad Decent Block Party
Sunday Service
Croatian Cultural Centre 10 am – 3 pm $ - free
Su 21
This is a hoarder’s dream come true. Featuring 175 tables of collectibles, such as books, lamp shades, postcards, and everything else that you could want to steal from your grandmother’s basement. There must be at least three tables dedicated entirely to stamps. This sounds like a perfect hungover Sunday.
The Shameful Tiki Room 8 pm $ - a rum passport
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This bar has everything, and by everything I mean the largest selection of rum in Vancouver. They even will issue you a Rum Passport, and if you try every kind of rum in the passport, you get a photo of yourself on the wall. My friend Holly and I wanted a passport, and the waitress said, “Don’t. It looks like it would destroy you two.” She’s probably right. But check it out, as tonight they even have burlesque dancers as entertainment.
PNE Ampitheatre 8 pm $59.60 +
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If you’re not really ready for summer to end, then you may want to hit this. Or at least that’s what the video promoting it looks like – summer’s last festival. DJ’s including Fatboy Slim and Bear Mountain will have you bouncing so much that you may want to stay clear of Bacardi Breezers or Palm Bays. That’s just a recipe for vomit.
Fox Cabaret 9 pm $7
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Laughter is the best medicine, right? Or is it just my grandmother who said that? Anyway, put her theory to the test and see if laughter can cure hangovers. The Sunday Service is absurd and awesome improv comedy, featuring local performers. Its even “award winning”. At least that’s what Google tells me. And this performance is special as Paul F. Tompkins is staying for a guest appearance.
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The Teacher Strike & the State of Education Carlo Javier
Katherine Gillard
× Lifestyle Editor
× Writer
THE CAPILANO COURIER.
VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 02
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For every student, September marks not only the end of summer - it also signifies coming back to school, but not this year. As the negotiations between teachers and the provincial government collapsed, the scheduled reopening of schools at the beginning of September has been put on an indefinite hold. Students and teachers were restricted from their classrooms. Families scrambled to find day care services, some even transferring their children to private schools. The state of public education in British Columbia has been placed under the microscope. “The harm must end. Enough is enough,” wrote Jonina Campbell, Chair for the New Westminster Board of Education, in a scathing letter directed towards both bargaining sides. She called for more work from the parties involved, emphasizing that the longer the deadlock persisted, the worse the repercussions will be. She asked for the Minister of Education, Peter Fassbender, and the President of BC Teachers’ Federation, Jim Iker, to recognize that ultimately, the students missing their education are the ones getting the short end of the stick.
A History of Negotiation and Conflict Negotiation demands have been well documented throughout the ordeal. Failed attempts at talks about class size and composition, wages and salaries, and the comprehensive query about the provincial government’s seeming lack of enthusiasm for spending on education have been major topics in media outlets. Both sides have been equally criticized. Teachers have been denounced as greedy and unreasonable. The government has been much maligned for twice tak-
ing illegal action, and for their reluctance to put education first. Yet understanding the nature of the strike requires reflecting on the past. In 2002, then-Minister of Education, Christy Clark led her cabinet in legislating the elimination of class size and class composition limits, as well as scrapping the teachers’ contract in order to annually save $275 million. The nature of the extended bargaining impasse goes as far back as a hundred years. Jennifer Boulanger is a public school teacher in Burnaby, and has been a certified teacher in BC since 1981. In Boulanger’s opinion, the difficulty in finding a middle ground between the teachers and the government can be traced to two primary causes - the archaic features of union-management relations and larger financial issues. “Personally, I think, one of the problems, one of the biggest ones is, the dysfunction of the bargaining process as it is,” Boulanger begins, “I don’t know how long unions and managements have been negotiating, whether it’s a hundred years or whatever, but the system itself of negotiating between management themselves and the employees have not changed since it began. It’s very evident in the news that the actual process of negotiations, particularly with the teachers and the government, that it’s flawed and it doesn’t really work well.” In this case, the dialogue is between the BCTF and the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA). Or at least it was. “Our employer is theoretically BCPSEA,” explains Boulanger, “Ultimately that’s whom we bargain with, not the BC government or the Ministry of Education, and they are composed of representatives who are voted by associations of school trustees, school superintendents, etc. So basically, our bosses elect
a team of people who will be our representative employers in BC, so theoretically, we are supposed to negotiate with them.” The representatives took a dramatic turn in 2013, when Christy Clark’s cabinet attained reelection. The provincial government proceeded to halt BCPSEA from furthering talks with the BCTF by replacing the teachers’ representative with Peter Cameron, a government appointee who then negotiated as the representative of the BC government. Financial disputes can be traced back to 2002, when then Minister of Education Christy Clark – again! – led her government into legislation despite ongoing negotiations. Clark and the Ministry of Education infamously decided against spending on education, opting for a route that would annually save $275 million. The amount of money saved seems grand, but it came at the cost of scrapping the teachers’ contract, and creating lasting trust issues between Clark and the teachers. Prior to the 2002, the teachers agreed on a three-year contract where, in exchange for receiving secure staffing ratios of specialists in public schools, they would settle for three straight years with a zero per cent salary increase. “We had staffing ratios put into our contracts at that time, things like, for every 747.4 students, we would have one full-time teacher librarian. For every 587 students, we would have one counsellor. For every 834 students, we would have one full-time learning assistance teacher. For every 331 students, we would have one special education resource teachers,” explains Boulanger. The pre-2002 contract also included maximum class size, 20 students for kindergarten, 22 for primary level, and 30 for the intermediate level. Ultimately, these agreements would wind up
scrapped from the teachers’ contract. Combined, both money issues and union-management relations have been the two driving forces fuelling the strike. When amplified with the desires of the negotiating sides, coming to an agreement becomes almost impossible – thus a strike. For Boulanger, the intentions of the union and the government have been critical in the development of the deadlock, “In normal union negotiations, this is why I feel it’s archaic, the employees will go asking for the moon, asking for things that we know we’ll never get,” she starts, “Then the management comes in and they’re really low balling, ‘we would like you to cut your wages, we would like you guys to work 72 hours a week.’ That’s sort of what’s evolved, both sides go with really ridiculous intentions, and then they try to meet in the middle.”
About the Students Teachers have said that class size and composition remain as the primary reason behind the strike while the government has said that the teachers’ high demands are the main reason for the impasse. As for students, some of them have taken matters into their own hands. A number of Grade 12 students from Argyle Secondary orchestrated a walk in to their school grounds. Despite the locked doors, the students insisted to linger on the school grounds and voice their concerns. Similar walk-ins were also held at Seycove Secondary and Eric Hamber Secondary. Graduating students have been particularly worried about the possible ramifications of the strike. In BC some courses require provincial exams, including required courses with mandatory provincial exams such as English 12. Although most
ON the Cover
Jr piNto Javier R. Pinto is a young artist from Madrid, Spain who has worked for Bandiz Studio. He now lives and works in Vancouver and his goal is to become a creator of comics. He is a lovely new artistic addition to the team of contributors. To see more of his work, visit Jrpinto.co or email jrpinto.ma@gmail.com
"It's very evident in the news that the actual process of negotiations, particularly with the teachers and the government, that it’s flawed and it doesn’t really work well.” student-parents, despite their desires to. “[The strike] hasn’t affected us in terms of enrolment,” begins Tia Smith, Manager of CapU’s Children’s Centre, “What I would probably say is that it’s affected us in terms of our inability to support families with the difficult time.” The Children’s Centre can accommodate a child up until they reach school age. The facility has 69 spaces, 24 of which are typically reserved kids under the age of three, while the remaining 45 are dedicated to children between ages three and five. “It’s been a challenge because we haven’t been able to provide care for the kindergartenaged students who have been with us, and left to start kindergarten because their enrolment has been filled with new children coming in for families on campus in September,” explains Smith. However, the limitations of CapU’s Children’s Centre have not completely stopped the university from offering as much help as it can to adult students. The Continuing Studies and Executive group has extended its summer camp programs through September in order to help students. “I have known about the programs that Continuing Education offers so I’ve been directing the campus students to go to Continuing Education to see about enrolling,” says Smith, “I think it’s been really responsive, it’s really great. I think that it’s a campus that’s trying to work and be committed to education by supporting our adult students with children.” “We’re trying to put some academic stuff, not only playing, so that they can at least learn something too. The most difficult thing is getting classrooms because Capilano students are back to classes so we need to kind of scramble to get classrooms here and there so that’s the hardest thing,” says Paola Portaro Camet, program manager for
The State of Education The teacher strike has drawn tremendous criticism to every party involved. After it became clear that
the deadlock wouldn’t be resolved after the first week of September, the public began to talk less about which side is right or wrong. The conversation became the state of public education in the province. Compared to the rest of Canada, BC spends about $1,000 less per student. The province has also decreased its budget spending on education down to 15 per cent, a stark decline from the 26 per cent that it used to be. “I think the damage might be irreversible if we continue on the path of underfunding schools, forcing teachers to pay out of pocket for their classroom supplies, overloading classrooms with too many students and not providing adequate supports for students with different needs,” voices Thiessen, “These are problems caused by the chronic under funding of education in this province, not the teachers agitating for better working conditions.” In an attempt to address the demands about class size and composition, the BCPSEA has proposed the E.80 clause. This proposal presents the government’s willingness to invest $375 million in classroom needs. However, part of the deal includes giving control of class size, class composition and specialist teacher ratios to the government. “We don’t want that because it basically is repeating again what happened in 2002, which is taking it out of our contracts, but not giving us concrete evidence that they’re going to support kids,” says Boulanger. Despite the differences, the disagreements and the animosity from both sides, there still could be a light at the end of this tunnel. “I would like to see ultimately, in an ideal society, I would love to see class size, class composition, support specialist teacher ratios, things to support or help kids, I would love to see that not in our contracts,” begins Boulanger, “I would love to see that as part of just the expectations that our society places on public education, it seems to me, it should almost be a part of school.” For Smith, the Strike has brought forth a dialogue about the province’s public education system like never before, a certain positive, considering it has at least created action to address an integral part of society. “I certainly think it’s drawn an incredible amount of attention to our public education system. That to me is something I have value towards, I think across the province, its really highlighted public education and brought forward this thinking about the investment into education and what it means for our children.” On September 10, BCTF President Jim Iker announced that 99.4 per cent of teachers voted “yes” to binding arbitration that would end the strike. However, the BC Liberals have refused to consider arbitration for the second time since the strike began.
"Compared to the rest of Canada, BC spends about $1,000 less per student. The province has also decreased its budget spending on education down to 15 per cent, a stark decline from the 26 per cent that it used to be."
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schools in the province are based on a system in which high school students take eight classes that begin in September and end in June, there are schools the require students take four classes from September to December and then four classes from January through June. This means that students in the semester system would be required to take their provincial exams as early as January. “The strike makes me more nervous as we get later in the year. I have no idea how they plan on making up for lost time and how I’m supposed to finish each of my courses,” says Sophie Marx, a Grade 12 student at Sutherland Secondary school. Marx is enrolled in English 12 for the first semester and is planning on applying to universities both inside and outside the province. Students at her school are worried about how the strike may set them back if it continues further into the fall. “At this point it’s truly upsetting. I, and the majority of my classmates, feel incredibly helpless. We are the ones that this is having probably the greatest impact on and there’s nothing we can do about it. I feel so terrible for the teachers, they have gone for so long without pay and many have families that they have to look out for,” she explains, “To be honest, I feel like the government is only looking out for themselves. Not once have I felt as if they were taking our needs as students into account. I wish our teachers the best and would love to get back to school as soon as we can.” Even students at the post-secondary level have felt the impact of the strike. Adult students with young children have scrambled to find convenient day care services that can accommodate children at school age. For Capilano University’s Child Care Services, the struggle has been their inability to provide sufficient assistance to
CapU’s Continuing Education’s summer camps for kids. “We have something planned until October 3rd, and I’m looking for rooms to see if the strike continues what we can do. For sure we’re looking into that,” Camet adds. Daycare services are not the only non-public school institution that has been affected by the strike. The Federation of Independent School Associations of BC (FISA) reported that private schools have experienced a five per cent spike in enrolment this September. FISA’s executive director, Peter Freose told Global News, “It tells us clearly that the protracted strike in public sector is having an impact and I believe parents are frustrated.” Kaschelle Thiessen is a third year Global Stewardship student at CapU. She’s also a mother of two young children, one entering the third grade, and the other will be starting kindergarten once the strike ends. Fortunately for Thiessen, she hasn’t had to deal with scrambling for day care services. However, she has had to face another kind of situation with her kids. “We have used this as an opportunity to start discussions with our children about unions and social safety nets, and try to make it out at least once a week to the picket lines to drop off snacks and coffee and have the children thank their teachers for fighting for their rights.” Parents who sought out childcare services during the strike were taken into account by the BC government. The government devised a program that will pay parents $40 per day, for each child under the age of 12 to compensate for the costs of child care services. This program could cost up to about $14 million a week, and $300 million for the month of September in tax dollars – the same amount of money that the government of BC is reluctant to spend on education. Still, there are lesser-known details about the $40 per day plan. Although it can prove helpful for families who don’t normally spend on childcare services, the plan doesn’t necessarily help the ones truly in need. “The way it is set up does nothing to help those families who are living on the margins,” says Thiessen, “The money is not given until 30 days past the end of the strike. What happens to parents who do not have that money up front, who don't have credit cards and can’t get loans?” “These are the families who most need the money,” she continues, “I also believe this money is pure pandering from the Liberals, hoping to win over the public and further drive a wedge between parents and teachers by setting up a false dichotomy of the people paying for the children and the people making life harder for families.”
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birds eye view THESE ARE THE DRONES YOU'RE LOOKING FOR Gabriel Scorgie × Opinions Editor
× Cristian Fowlie
"Drones fall into a legal grey area because they’re so new – no laws prohibit their use."
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than that, they’re considered “model aircrafts” and you no longer need to ask the federal department permission to launch. Not surprisingly, one of the most popular drones available is the DJI Phantom, which costs roughly $600, weighs less than 1,000 grams and is ready to be flown right out of the box. "I think what we're seeing is a transition between hobby and mainstream," Eric Cheng, DJI's director of aerial photography, told Vice, "We're working as hard as we can [to make sure people fly them safely]. It's an ongoing issue to help educate first-time buyers. It's a dialogue between us and the customers and policy makers. We've been proactive in setting up infrastructure in the Phantom line to help people fly them as safely as possible… [right now] people buy it on Amazon and take it outside without reading the manual." Cheng has a point - up until recently, Model Aircraft owners have been flight enthusiasts. They would build their own planes out of their love for flying - practicing at low altitudes and learning how to control their aircraft before sending them high into the sky. Flights were also done in large open spaces like fields and parks – largely unpopulated areas that had little air traffic to worry about. But now, because of the ability to put a camera on your “ready to fly” aircraft, people aren’t going airborne for the love of flying, they’re doing it to capture footage for their latest YouTube video which is causing inexperienced pilots to fly increasingly dangerous routes. “I crashed my aircraft almost instantly. I got it as a gift so I didn’t really know how difficult they were to control.” says Seth Vellani, a Vancouver local and owner of a quadcopter model aircraft. Though the controls are basic, model aircrafts and UAVs can be hard to pilot once you’re in the
air. For example: on the DJI Phantom 2, forward on the controller is relative to the direction the drone is facing. So if you’re flying straight ahead of you, it will fly towards you - but when you’re looking at the drone from the side and have to quickly maneuver out of harm’s way, it’s easy to take a wrong turn and get into trouble. DJI has already taken steps to making their drones safer by adding built on no-fly zones to their models, so if you get too close to an airport, it will begin to land immediately. “I was trying to use my drone and it wouldn’t take off. At first I was worried, I thought I broke it, but then it said on the screen that I was too close to a restricted area.” says Vincent Cheng, a DJI Phantom user. They’ve also added the ability to set height and distance limits so you don’t accidently exceed local flight regulations. Unfortunately, a person trying to capture a sunrise and crashing into the side of a mountain hasn’t been the only problem with drones. “There have been at least ten complaints since May made by people regarding drones flying too close to homes or high-rises.” Vancouver Police told CTV News. BC isn’t the only place struggling with drones invading people’s privacy. In Ottawa, a man complained this spring about a drone flying close to his complex and in the US, a man in New York was arrested for flying his drone too close to the George Washington Bridge. The problem is that drones fall into a legal grey area because they’re so new – no laws prohibit their use. "Right now in Canada we don't have any laws that regulate recreational drones, specifically, especially in terms of privacy," Ciara Bracken-Roche, a member of Queen's University’s Surveillance Studies Centre, told CBC, "[but,] If you're inside your 10th-floor condo and a drone flies outside
your window and takes pictures into your private dwelling, your reasonable expectation of privacy is totally violated." To make matters even more difficult, there’s not much the police can do if you feel you’re being harassed by a drone. To launch an investigation in Canada, you must be able to identify the organization you want investigated, but since a drone’s pilot is hard to spot from the 10th floor of your condo, it presents a difficult task for people. "In some instances there may be grounds to lay charges if the behaviour was seen to meet the requirements under the Criminal Code for these charges. That said, it would be very dependent on the individual facts of each case." noted Const. Pierre Bourdages, the public information officer for Halifax Regional Police. The laws will need to adapt to the technology. People need to see a drone and know that if they start to feel uncomfortable by it, they can take action. The prospect of what drones will be capable of in the future is exciting. With the potential for journalists to get closer to dangerous situations without putting their lives at risks, and search and rescue teams scouting out areas so they can work as efficiently as possible, drones have the potential to do a lot of good. Recreationally, people will be able to capture their vacations in a whole new way and hopefully the makers of drones can follow in the footsteps of DJI and continue to make their aircrafts as safe for new users as possible.
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The world of Remote Control flight has changed – owning a model aircraft doesn’t mean you spent hours tinkering away in your garage anymore. Now stunning views of mountains, fireworks and vacations are getting millions of views on YouTube. They’re being captured by hobbyists who’ve bought drones that are ready to fly right out of the box. Drones are being used for more than just Internet videos as well. On Sept. 7, Halifax RCMP used a drone to find a missing family in Nova Scotia - and Ethan Baron, a journalism professor at Langara, has incorporated piloting drones into his course for journalism students. However, when something gets mainstream attention, there are growing pains that need to be addressed. Drones, while being the popular name, isn’t how they’re legally recognized. The official term is Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV). UAVs have been used by businesses in Canada since 2007, however their recreational use is a more recent development. They’re regulated by Transport Canada and require a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC). To apply for an SFOC, you have to list the date and time of flight, location and what model UAV is being used and who will be operating it. An SFOC can take as long as 20 days before it is approved, so flights are planned far in advance. In the beginning, an SFOC will be required before every flight, though if a history of safe flights is made, you can be given a “long-term authority” which essentially gives you permission to launch a UAV at any time. The penalty for operating UAVs without an SFOC is a $5,000 fine for recreational users, and $25,000 for businesses. However, this is where it gets a bit tricky - though an SFOC needed to be able to fly, that’s only applicable if your UAV weighs more than 35 kilograms. If it’s lighter
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opinions
GABRIEL SCORGIE OPINIONS EDITOR
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a good kind of wagon CROWDFUNDING AND THE POWER OF PEOPLE Carlo Javier
provide the artistic freedom that they may not have when bound by the expectation of profit that comes with working for a studio. Notable filmmakers Charlie Kaufman and Dan Harmon have come together and utilized Kickstarter to help fund a project without the aid of a major studio, securing them with complete creative control of their project. In their Kickstarter page for their stop-motion film Anomalisa, Kaufman, Harmon and the rest of Starburns Industries wrote that their mission is to create a unique project that is free of the limitations and contractual obligations that a Hollywood production can bring. They emphasized that through crowdfunding, they’re able to share their work to an audience at its purest, most natural iteration. Tech products are among the most popular projects on crowdfunding platforms. One of the most popular ever is the Pebble E-Paper watch. The smartwatch allows its users to sync their smartphones with their watch, giving them a quick access to email, text or reminder notifications. The power of crowdfunding is not exclusive to entertainment purposes. It can also be used to improve living conditions in a society. In an article published in the Crowdfund Insider, Faith Wallace-Gadsden wrote, “Social crowdfunding is a particularly powerful seed-funding tool for organizations with a social mission but a yet-to-be proven business model. With a strong and com-
pelling social mission, organizations can reach out directly to funders, communicating intended impact and the plan for sustainability.” Wallace-Gadsden is the founder and director of the Archimedes Project, a program that works to stop and prevent waterborne diseases by finding or building clean and sustainable water supplies in vulnerable sectors. She further wrote that crowdfunding not only allows for the gathering of financial support, but “encourages the inclusion of new voices and ideas in the conversation about how to build and expand sustainable humanitarian enterprises.” Similar to the way social media can work, crowdfunding allows for the rapid spread of information globally. Still, the biggest game changer that crowdfunding brings right now is allowing for greater market freedom. Back in March of this year, Kickstarter announced that it has surpassed $1 billion in total pledges. More than half of those pledges were made in the last 12 months – a testament to the rapid rise in the popularity of crowdfunding. Essentially, it’s almost like a public version of Dragon’s Den, only this time the investors aren’t always experts, and seemingly not as hard to come by.
seems to be going so well for Scotland that it would be misguided to make such a drastic move. Scotland doesn’t benefit enough from becoming independent to make it worth the potential risks involved. They still want to keep the Sterling as their currency, the Queen would still be their head of state — like in Canada — and they want to be a part of National Atlantic Treaty Organization. However, what they’ll lose is a seat in the G20, a place that allows Scotland to discuss Climate Change, tax avoidance and trade deals with other advanced nations. There’s also the issue of joining the European Union. An independent Scotland would want to join the EU, without adopting the Euro. “Every new applicant state must commit themselves in law to
adopting the Euro. There have been no opt-outs. It’s a condition of membership,” explained Professor Jo Murkens, an expert on Scottish independence and European constitutional law, in an interview with The Scottish Express. It’s not like the EU will be greeting Scotland with open arms to begin with either. “The EU doesn’t necessarily want an independent Scotland,” Calum Crichton, a contributor to the pro-union campaign British Unity, told Vice, “chiefly because they're afraid that we'd be the first domino to fall in a Europe-wide Balkanisation process, with Flanders, Catalonia and the Basque country to follow. We’ll get in, eventually, but the fastest successful application to date took almost three years [which would obviously have an adverse
effect on investment at a time when we'll need it most] and Brussels will have us over a barrel.” Three years is a long time for a newly Independent country to have to survive on its own. The realistic worst case scenario is that an independent Scotland doesn’t join the EU, leaving them broke, without any allies and having given up their say on global affairs — all while being surrounded by a very hostile UK. If Scotland was being grossly mistreated by the UK, then it would make sense to separate. But right now, it isn’t worth the risk.
future for Scotland to thrive and prosper without the control of Westminster. The “Yes” campaign claims that an independent Scotland would have free tuition and would create more available childcare. With an independent Scotland, the country’s officials would be able to be more involved in helping businesses thrive and protect pensions. If all of these things are possible, why does Scotland need the UK? “Here at Glasgow Central Mosque and across all of Scotland's communities, people are waking up to the opportunity of independence to build a fairer society, to support our young people with greater job opportunities and to protect our public
services like the NHS,” Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister of Scotland said in an interview with the BBC. "Scotland's success on the world stage is built on innovation and a rich and diverse cultural heritage — that outward-looking and inclusive approach will blossom on the world stage with a Yes vote and independence,” she added. Currently, Scotland is able to benefit from their oil reserves, and although there’s debate on the longevity of oil reserves supporting an economy, the country would be able to support themselves without them. As it stands, Scotland does not have complete control over how their budget is spent, but if the country became independent, they would
stop funding to the UK’s nuclear weapons program and save themselves a lot of money. Another large part of this argument would be Scotland’s ability to never become involved in war with Iraq again – something they’re a part of because of the UK. The biggest reason to vote for an independent Scotland is their opportunity to separate themselves from a distant government that isn’t keeping their best interests at heart. If Scotland were to become independent they would be able to vote in their own leader to make changes that are important to Scotland specifically. Although this raises the issue of currency change (losing the pound, perhaps joining the EU) the country is full of capable decision makers.
× Lifestyle Editor There have been many moronic ideas. For example, the “TARC” is supposedly the “first free energy thought magnifier,” or in simpler terms, it’s a pebble that channels telepathic thoughts to other TARC users. There’s a project about socks made out of coffee and a contraption like piece that you clip on to your shoes, so you’d never have to tie your laces again. There are also a fair share of controversial ideas, such as the money raised for the cop who shot Michael Brown 11 times, or “Str8wear,” a clothing line that – not so – subliminally advertises your sexual orientation. Looking past these head-scratching projects, it’s easy to imagine the potential that crowdfunding has. In retrospect, it seems as if the rise in prominence of crowdfunding was inevitable. The notion of having an audience pass judgement on a product is all too familiar in modern society – it’s the way the Internet works after all. Crowdfunding has been utilized to financially support a comprehensive range of ideas. Entrepreneurs and tech developers use Kickstarter or Indiegogo as a platform to publicize their works, humanitarians have turned to crowdfunding to help those in need. Even established actors and filmmakers have crowd funded some of their projects, calling upon their fans to support the produc-
× Jess Viaje tion of a cult favourite. Just ask Kristen Bell. The beloved television show Veronica Mars experienced its cinematic revival through Kickstarter, one of the world’s biggest crowdfunding platforms. Within 10 hours of its launch, Veronica Mars amassed $2 million in pledges, breaking the Kickstarter record for fastest project to hit a million dollars. Currently, the Veronica Mars movie ranks as the 5th most successful project raised in Kickstarter, with a grand total of $5.7 million in pledges. In the field of arts and film, crowdfunding can not only financially support creators, but also
an independent scotland VOTE NO Gabriel Scorgie
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× Opinions Editor
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Sept. 18 will be a big day in Scotland’s history. Anyone living there who is over the age of 16 and registered to vote will be asked the question, “Should Scotland be an independent country?” And upon review, there are more reasons to vote no than yes. It’s not that an independent Scotland would fail. On the contrary, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has done a good job of running the country over the past few years. Homelessness has decreased, they have a world-class university and have been named one of the top places to live in Europe. Everything
VOTE YES Katherine Gillard × Writer The Scotland referendum polls have shown that 49 per cent of citizens are leaning towards voting in favour of independence from the United Kingdom. With the country so divided, it is hard to know where to fall on the debate. However, despite the “No” side leaning towards issues of currency and concern about payment of public services, the “Yes” side is set in the fact that Scotland’s economy is strong on its own and is capable of financing its own welfare. The “Yes” campaign is rooted in a positive and inclusive
opinions
black & white issues THE PROBLEM WITH APPROPRIATING BLACK CULTURE Faye Alexander × Features Editor There are some simple truths that come along with being a white person that may not seem popular to divulge, but we’re in university now, and it’s time for real talk: white people have it easy. That doesn’t mean that white people are in any way superior – it just means they have “white privilege”, a clear set of advantages and immunities thanks to the fact their parents are also white. It isn’t fair, but being ignorant enough to pretend it’s not true makes you look like a dick. And even though white people get a substantial head start in life just for being born Wonder Bread white, that isn’t enough. White people appropriate everything and make it digestibly white, and there’s a sincere appetite for black culture. North America has long been hailed as a melting pot for different cultures. Ironically, white people were not native to these lands – First Nations people are. With a myriad of ethnic backgrounds mingling together in close quarters (think of Vancouver alone) it’s no surprise that different cultural practices and trends rub off on one another. North Americans are also born free to pick up and practice different customs, religions or languages – which are all good and fine, but cultural appropriation is an entirely different thing. It’s defined as a dominant group (think: white people) exploiting the culture of less privileged groups (think: any other people) with little understanding of its cultural significance.
× Ksenia Kozhevnikova We see it all the time. Most recently, country pop starlet Taylor Swift released her music video for the (sadly) infectious tune “Shake it Off” which has her bopping around in several different popular dance motifs. Notably, Swift is surrounded by bodacious twerking black women – Swift looks bewildered at all that sensational ass shaking and plays up her role as the cute blonde white girl who seems baffled by her own white-
ness. The video has received tremendous backlash for being racist. It objectifies women of colour and uses them as comical props. Instead of celebrating black culture, the video perpetuates black stereotypes to the same demographic of white girls who hide their prejudice under the guise of appropriation. Swift, decked out in gold chains and booty shorts masking her non-existent white booty - is clearly intended to be cheeky – but it raises some complex concerns about the message Swift is sending. Last year at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), Miley Cyrus launched herself to the top of every news outlet by twerking on stage. Twerking, a dance style involving the sexualized shaking and popping of ones’ derriere, born in black culture, was suddenly on the lips of every white person across the continent. White people on mass began to twerk, Ellen was twerking, Matt Lauer was twerking, soccer moms were twerking – all laughing it up at how hilarious this new thing white people had discovered. Twerking, initially made popular in hip hop, has become a mainstream sensation no one could shut up about for a solid six months. But it was all thanks to a white girl in rubber underpants singing pop tunes – not a black woman. The Guardian journalist, Hadley Freeman, wrote of Cyrus’ performance, “Cyrus is explicitly imitating crunk music videos and the sort of hip-hop she finds so edgy – she has said, bless her, that she keels like Lil’ Kim inside and she loves
‘hood music’ – and the effect was not of an homage but of a minstrel show with a young wealthy woman from the south doing a garish imitation of black music.” Ebonic slang always finds its way to white people, who quickly adapt it as their own, usually finding it edgy. But as quickly as white people can appropriate it, there are new dances, slang terms, artists, etc. being invented to take its place in the underground. Remember when all your friends started saying “in ‘da house”? Nowadays, you hear your girlfriends throwing around words like “shade” and “basic bitch” – it’s all stripped from black culture. It’s been going on for decades with no signs of stopping. Even the Beatles gained their initial success by cashing in on black music – suddenly with four cute white English faces, rock n’ roll was born and widely labelled a “white” thing. Iggy Azalea is a ”white” thing despite her southern rap style. It’s reinventing things to make them accessible to a white audience. By borrowing components of black culture and distributing them back white washed is toxic. Maybe it’s that white people don’t have anything that is definitively “their own” aside from, you know, pretty much everything – but it’s time for whites to stop rebranding black culture as their own. It’s time to embrace the artists and peoples who are the creative founders, and celebrate them – not just paint it white and hope Ellen does a funny white interpretation. But as white people always say “haters gonna hate.”
intercepting the intercept US MILITARY BLOCKS EMPLOYEES FROM VIEWING PUBLIC WEBSITES Leah Scheitel × Editor-in-Chief
equipment will cause you long term security issues.” What’s weird is that the US military is blocking their staff from viewing information that is readily accessible to the public. You would think that you would want your staff educated on the documents that have been “wrongfully released”, and be able to comment on them in a way that stays true to the values of the military instead of pretending that they just don’t exist. This is similar to parents who teach their kids that abstinence is the best method of birth control rather than actually educating them on the proper birth control techniques and safe sex. This is another attempt by the US military to thwart journalists from doing their jobs: reporting on issues and subject matters that the public should be aware of, and have a right to know about. Although they can’t shut down The Intercept all together, which they would love to do, they are trying to censor them. The less people within their organization that have access to the information on The Intercept, the less questions arise. Not informing your staff about this information doesn’t make it go away – it just means
that they have to operate with less knowledge. It isn’t surprising that the US military is doing this. After all, they don’t have a squeaky clean record, and aren’t the most well liked people in the world. But this should be alarming. The fact they’re attempting a ban on public information like this supports that we need more journalists and news outlets like The Intercept. We need more people to ask the harder questions and less primetime news stories on what Halloween costumes will be most popular for pets this year. We live in a scary time, with secretive governments and big corporations controlling most of the world’s wealth. We need transparency and it should be accessible to all people, no matter what job they hold. Without that, we are one step closer to Big Brother and an Orwellian future. This step by the US military may be small, but it is nonetheless a step in that direction.
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The Internet is a vast world. A ten-year-old can access information on Paris Hilton’s sex tapes, a wife can delve into her husband’s porn habits and my mom can finally access her email. The Internet has information that is open to anyone with a computer and an interest – well, nearly anyone. The US military has restricted anyone in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps from viewing and accessing The Intercept, a website dedicated to reporting on US international affairs and political relations. The ban applies to everyone within the organization — even those with top-security clearance. This begs the question: How can someone who can view the most delicate reports on US intelligence not be allowed to visit a site I go to every morning while eating Corn Pops? The Intercept launched in February of 2014, and is the brainchild of Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy
Scahill and Laura Poitras, who are all esteemed journalists with impressive resumes and all have extensive histories reporting on sensitive issues. Scahill’s 2013 documentary, Dirty Wars, was nominated for an Oscar, and Greenwald is famed for penning columns in The Guardian, The New York Times, and Salon.com. Its main purpose is to “provide a platform to report on the documents previously provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.” These guys came with a mission of informing the public about the goings-on of America’s most secretive organization. What’s confusing is that the people who they’re reporting on aren’t allowed to read the stories that they’re producing. The memo, which has since been acquired and released by Ryan Gallagher at The Intercept, stated “As a reminder to all personnel who ever signed a non-disclosure agreement, we have an ongoing responsibility to protect classified material in all of its various forms. Viewing potentially classified material (even material already wrongfully released in the public domain) from unclassified
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columns
LEAH SCHEITEL COLUMNS EDITOR
EDITOR@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
canadiana THE COST OF RISING TUITION FEES Rosanna Hempel × Columnist
Rosanna Hempel has worked and lived in nearly every province from coast to coast. Thanks in part to this, she has an intimate knowledge of Canada. Her column will explore how Canada measures up to other countries on different topics. It’s basically a report card for the entire country. How is it already that time of year – campus is bustling again with eager first-year students and available seats at the library are nearly impossible to come by. Our fall course syllabi are sitting heavily on our desks outlining a semester of foreseeable anxiety and sleepless nights. Most of us have compiled our midterm and research paper due dates into our calendars, already dreading those abominable weeks studded with multiple entries labeled in red. On top of that, with tuition deadlines already passed, several thousand dollars from our bank accounts have vanished in the blink of an eye. The fact that an undergraduate degree is immensely expensive is not news to anyone. Everywhere we look it seems media sources are regurgitating similar stories suggesting a grim future for Canadian students and the value of our education. An article on Yahoo Finance stated that “from the cost to the competition, attending university is going to be an incredible challenge for Canadians in the future.” The national average student debt is currently said to range from $25,000 to $27,000 and will take approximately 10 years to
× Jason Jeon pay off. Think tanks estimate the cost of a Canadian undergraduate degree may increase to well over $100,000 over the next two decades. Despite these considerable financial investments, Canadians are opting for post-secondary education more so than any other country according to a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Canada is the second most educated country in the world, that is to say we have the highest percentage of undergraduate- or graduate-educated adults at 51 per cent of our population, ahead of Israel and Japan and just behind Russia. We also came in first place with 40 per cent when this study was conducted only a decade ago. Given these statistics, it appears attending university is more or less the norm for young Canadians nowadays. Only time will tell whether this trend will continue, given the ongoing onslaught
of negative headlines with which the Canadian public is greeted relating to undergraduate education. Regardless, how can young Canadians expect to cope with these increasing financial burdens, aside from facing debt for years and years to come? Not all undergraduate students are fortunate enough to have parents who invested in a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) or enjoy the financial benefits of academic scholarships. Currently, the most affordable university tuition fees in Canada are in Newfoundland & Labrador and Quebec – that is, if you are considered a Quebec resident. As a native New Brunswicker, tuition fees in my home province are among the highest in Canada. Many of my friends have opted to live and work in Quebec for a year to gain their Quebec residency status so as to enjoy these relatively lower tuition fees. As we saw with the 2012 student protests in Quebec, proposals to increase university tuition fees were met with widespread student strikes, eventually leading to a tuition fee freeze in the province. Newfoundland & Labrador also currently have one in place. In recent years, this province has abolished interest on provincial student loans and now offers non-repayable, needs-based grants covering up to more than 50 per cent of their financial needs. There is much criticism targeting the overall vagueness and use of an undergraduate degree. Although, polls suggest that most degree-holders admit it was crucial to their success, while also maintaining that Canada’s education system requires reform. Many suggest that a shift towards more practical course options is needed, such as the co-op components offered in some engineering programs. Generally speaking, Canadian society is in need of a shift in attitude. Our comparatively negative stigma towards trade skills in relation to
a “prestigious” university degree may be one aspect at the root of this problem. We need to encourage young Canadians to make proactive choices in deciding when and if to invest in an education that gives them the results they are seeking (whether its personal enlightenment or tangible skills), all the while realizing the consequences of said investment. Coming from a family of academics, completing at least an undergraduate degree was expected of me. I enrolled in general arts and sciences in my first year of university and in retrospect, wished that I had shown more conviction and determination regarding a tangible career direction instead of pursing a degree for the sake of having a degree. Basically, rising tuition fee costs are unsustainable in the long run. Unless we all move to Newfoundland & Labrador or Quebec (which would suffice as a short term option for some), as citizens and students living outside of these provinces, collective action may be able to afford us improved financial options from our respective provincial governments. This is more easily said than done and does not solve anything for all of those students currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree. It may be worth entering the work force after secondary school or during your undergraduate degree to gain some perspective in contemplating the type of post-secondary education that is worth your financial and professional investment – that and opening your own Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). Aside from general tax benefits, this program allows you to withdraw tax-free funds for post-secondary education. The debate surrounding post-secondary education is a marathon event lacking an easy and obvious solution, although societal attitudes and prospects can change for tomorrow if we take this initiative now.
Geary, and since then has been doing most of the graphics for the line. Although Welcome to Eastvan is no longer sold in Sharks & Hammers, the brand is still thriving in its new home, Shop Wrong, located on East Hastings Street. The brand is emphasizing the unique area we live in, and provides graphics that are relatable no matter what neighborhood you occupy. The Vancouver community is a major aspect of Sharks & Hammers, something that doesn’t need to be questioned. “I really relate to everyone who surrounds me, my neighbors, the street people, the douchebags, and anyone. Whatever, I deal with them all. I’m just happy to be part of anything, and I like to contribute to it,” Usow says. Finding cool local brands is also incorporated into this, but they aren’t looking for the brands who just slap their logo on a t-shirt and are done with it. It’s more than that to Usow. “I like shirts that are graphic friendly and not brand focused.” Bringing something new and unsurpassed is what’s going to get you a space on the racks of Sharks and Hammers. No matter your age, gender or occupation, if you’re into the goods, you’re the ideal Sharks & Hammers customer. Usow explains his ideal customer as, “just people who understand the product and like seeing unique stuff, and are excited about it. I honestly do like seeing people excited about the stuff that we carry.” Sharks & Hammers doesn’t stand out just
because of their product selection, but also the location and building it’s in. Gastown seems to have been a good starting point for the store, even if Usow does have other locations on the mind. He comments on the store location. “I’m on the bad side of Gastown, on this weird street that only dog walkers and homeless people walk down. Which I’m fine with, but I really don’t get a lot of walk by traffic.” So maybe there is no perfect location in Usows’ mind, but most of us appreciate the stores that are on a side street and out of the tourists’ path. The building itself is as old as they come in Gastown, and this is something Usow appreciates. “The historic buildings are better just because they’ve got the brick and they’re not made of glass, and stupid. They have character, and I like that.” We can agree, and say that both the interior and exterior of Sharks & Hammers is a feast for the eyes. Discovering new places in Vancouver is important, especially if they sell cool shit. Sharks & Hammers fits well into this category, placed far above any chain store you will find in the area. The dark brick walls and handpicked products will make you a regular, and each visit to the shop will feel better than the last. So it’s probably time that you checked your balance at the bank and hoofed it to Gastown.
finding the goods GETTING TO KNOW SHARKS AND HAMMERS Cianda Bourrel
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× Columnist
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Born and raised in small town, Grand Forks, BC, Cianda spent most of her youth surrounded by the great outdoors. She moved to Vancouver at the age of 18 to adventure and experience the city. She now resides in Chinatown, where the fruit is cheap and the alleys smell like piss.
The streetwear market is constantly on the rise, something most of us are so used to that we easily forget. Alex Usow and Mark Brand, owners of Sharks & Hammers, saw this coming before the rest of us even knew the word streetwear. Sharks & Hammers, located on Alexander Street in Gastown, carries products ranging from unique apparel to locally made patches to markers and art books. It’s hard to put a finger on what category the store falls into, but it’s got a mellow vibe that doesn’t depart after the first visit. For Usow and Brand, the concept of Sharks & Hammers came naturally. Although their first idea was not to open a store, Usow explains, “I opened the store because originally I wanted to have a tshirt line, and then I realized that everyone was having a t-shirt line, and I wanted to one-up ev-
eryone and open a store.” This all worked out in 2009, when he saw a “For Lease” sign and called the number, thus starting the long retail journey the two were in for. One major incentive behind the product selection is diversity. The brand selection in the store is unique, stocked with lines such as Only NY, Poler, Penfield, SSUR, various local products, and so many more. Usow describes how they originally decided on the products. “There was a lot of other streetwear stores down here. There’s Livestock, there was Complex, there was Alife, [and] there was Stussy. A lot of streetwear brands open up in places and they just sell all those brands that all those stores already carry. I couldn’t carry any of those brands because they were already here, so I had to go find weirder brands.” Branching out from the usual streetwear brands is what makes the store’s selection so desirable. The allure of discovering products that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in Vancouver is what sets Sharks & Hammers apart from many of its competitors. Although the store may be his main focus, Usow also works on the brand Welcome to Eastvan. Alongside Rob Geary, the creator of the brand, the two work together to create a line of apparel inspired by the local community. The line was first sold in Sharks & Hammers, when a venue was needed and it seemed extremely well suited. Usow soon decided to partner up with
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Staff editorial WHO DAT WHO DAT, A L V A Alva Tee × Arts + Culture Editor
Hi, I’m Alva. I was lucky enough to score the position as the Arts + Culture editor this year for the Capilano Courier and I figured people should know a little about me. My last name isn’t actually Tee, but what it really is, is for me to know, and you to probably never find out. I’m pretty damn weird. But hey, being weird and interesting is much better than being normal and boring. What is normal nowadays anyway? The littlest of things can make me happy, but I can also get sad really easily — though I rarely ever show it. Emotions are contagious, so why not let the smiles be what is passed on? That’s basically my mentality in life. I like to try and find the positivity in everything and hold onto that. Everything happens for a reason is a strong belief of mine. Every “mistake” is what makes us human. I don’t believe in regret. Every experience has a lesson to be learned somewhere,
whether the experience is good or bad. Sulking in the bad (though I know sometimes we all need to sulk a little) won’t help anything so we might as well choose to accept things, learn from it, and move on. I‘m an arts kid all around — music, photography, writing, dance, art — you name it. Anything that’s “too hard” to make a successful career out of, I’m probably interested in. It might be unfortunate, but it’s undeniable. It’s also why right now, I’m trying to go for more behind-the-scenes careers so that I can still be in that industry, but not risking so much that what I love might become the biggest stress factor for me in life. Music and performing are two of my absolute loves. There’s something about the thrill of being onstage that is so exhilarating to me. My dream career is to be on a stage, doing what I love and making everyone in the crowd smile. That’s another thing, I love making people sm:)e. For me, the greatest amount of joy comes from that. Though I’ve been called “too nice” and told that I “care too much” way too many times, I’ve
come to a point where I’ve realized that that is a part of me that will never change, and I have to make do with the consequences that come with those personality traits. On the surface and in most social situations, I’m an extravert. But there are many things about me that make me an introvert too. I do love most social gatherings, but there have been too many nights where the better option seems to be staying inside, huddled up in blankets, watching TV or simply listening to music. I love being by myself and just with my thoughts. I absolutely love being by water. Something about it just calms and soothes me. I overthink a lot, analyzing situations and myself over and over again and I do my best to see things from all sides. I’ve been told multiple times that I am a global thinker. I believe in justice, but that might simply be because I am a Libra. Yes, I believe in a good amount of zodiac stuff as well. I believe in Santa Claus. Think about it — what are the chances that a kid would be completely
good the entire year round? Coca-Cola may have made him up, but I’m not forcing that opinion on anyone. Those are my own thoughts and I think everyone should have a right to believe what they want, as long as it’s not bringing any harm and they don’t try to push their opinion on others. I have a “live every day like it’s your last” mentality. I hate leaving things unsaid (I don’t often use the word “hate” at all) and need to talk things out. I constantly remind those I care about that I do care about and love them so much, because I don’t think one could ever say it enough. I am very literal and am peculiar with the words I choose to use. Not in the technical way, but in a words-were-created-for-a-reason-so-we-shoulduse-them-right way. I dislike lying, and I try my best to mean most everything I say. My favorite color is pink. I love sparkles. I love animals (not the creepy crawlies). I’m obsessed with the sky most times. I’m often awkward. I love food. I tend to ramble a lot. And this is me — in exactly 750 words.
we barely even consider – it has now emerged as nothing less than gargantuan. To see it now, Amazon has an aggressive mission to entangle American media within its all-encompassing brand. At this moment Amazon is currently a video distributor, hardware manufacturer, book publisher, production studio and grocery delivery service. This year Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post, meaning Amazon now controls one of America’s most revered and widely syndicated newspapers. On Aug. 25, Amazon purchased Twitch, a live video game streaming service, for a cool $1 billion, out-bidding expected purchaser, Google. But this is what Amazon does — they are first-rate provocateurs, engaging in one risky venture after another, and effectively destabilizing and threatening the other players in the game. It’s an “Everything Store”, the only thing consistent with the brand being its expanding ambition and thirst for new ideas. Where is the danger in that? The picture of Amazon I’ve painted so far suggests a totalitarian company bent on controlling everything by essentially producing and distributing everything that there is. This might not be far from the truth, but realistically this isn’t something unique to Amazon, but rather the reality of 21st century corporations in general. All the players are “Everything Stores” now. In order to compete, they’ve had to diversify. In order to diversify, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Netflix have had to seek unique opportunities in the market, analyze trends of consumption, and generally have had their finger on the pulse of quickly shifting tastes. The companies that will succeed in the future must either become fantastic anticipators of culture, or be daring enough to attempt to change the direction the culture is heading – to tell us what we want. Who could have predicted that
streaming television would become the norm, that going to the movies would become obsolete, that apps – apps – could become a billion dollar industry? Pundits, however, question why Amazon of all companies would purchase a video game streaming website. Intuitively this critique makes sense. YouTube, for example, could have integrated such a feature seamlessly into their already established network. What these experts fail to recognize is that Amazon can further their reach by purchasing successful companies and simply letting them continue to do their thing. Anyone can see the benefit of Twitch when one considers the 55 million unique viewers who watched user-generated content in July alone. Instinctively we are suspicious of mega corporations owning too much stuff, of becoming too big – this is, after all, the scenario that preludes all of our Orwellian anxieties about the future. Are these companies just “competing” with one another, or is something more sinister at play? And at what point will their ambitious thrusts for dominance begin to realistically harm us, the simple consumer? These answers aren’t here right now, but one thing is — Amazon will continue to grow until every aspect of our lives is engulfed within Jeff Bezo’s and Amazon’s convenient, wonderful jungle.
the mediator AMAZON IS GROWING
Ben Bengtson × Columnist
Ben Bengtson is interested in all things media, but mostly how corportations are a part of our modern media way of life. Through his column, The Mediator, Ben will explore what aspects of media are thriving while others are decaying to change. Oh and his favourite movie is Dazed and Confused, and we think that's pretty cool. × Tony Yu A company that currently characterizes this notion of an evil empire is Amazon. Amazon founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, has frequented news headlines over the past year, often in a positive light, though frequently the company is described in an unsure and sometimes hostile manner. For the record, I don’t mind Amazon. Hardware, such as the Kindle, and services like their massive online store I use frequently and happily. But more importantly, it’s clear that Amazon is the perfect summation of a modern corporation: a company that tries to do a lot of things and in turn incurs greater amounts of suspicion and disregard. A company with ambition, a competitive mindset, as well as money to burn, pundits position Amazon as “dangerous”. I don’t know about that, but when we’re talking about the company’s obsession of late – buying and controlling many facets of media – Amazon.com and the future of global information can start to look a little challenging and all the more frightening. Amazon is a jungle of a company. What is this beast that lies before us? A global superstore that from the beginning dealt in the very physical, very material world of retail books and goods – kitchen appliances, children’s toys, other minutia
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In the future, we’re led to believe that omnipotent super companies, the kind that in fiction stories occupy tall, soulless skyscrapers that loom over a vast city, will reign supreme over the human race. No one will be saved from the coming corporate onslaught. Humankind’s version of Terminator’s Skynet shall emerge, the results more disastrous than we will be able to imagine. These companies will operate within a vague set of parameters, inhabiting ambiguous fields such as “Oil”, “Tech”, “Social Media” and basically anything to do with pharmaceuticals. Today we see these companies dipping their toes into many pools. We know their trademark because they appear everywhere and, if they’re involved in tech, they appear relevant and futuristic. They invade our personal lives, make us anxious about drones, hidden fees, Ebola virus and leaked celebrity nudes. It’s the unfortunate result that comes with our Facebook-GoogleNetflix culture. Only God, and perhaps the NSA, knows how much we love to hate on this silly smartphone culture of ours. In the same breath, we hate how much we love it and how much we depend on it.
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CAp you
CARLO JAVIER LIFESTYLE EDITOR
CARLO.CAPCOURIER@GMAIL.COM
eat fresh! POCKET SOME FRESH PRODUCE AT THE FARMERS MARKET Carlo Javier
produce and freshly baked goods, all to the tunes of CapU musician, Jesse Epp. “With the Farmer’s Market, the goal is to have fresh food available on campus,” says FoodWorks Student Organizer Jaimie Harris, “It also helps in getting various departments together, students together for one event.” Bringing the campus together and improving food sustainability are not the only goals of FoodWorks. The program is optimistic that the farmer’s market becomes more than just a one-time event. “This is the pilot or trial run, and we hope to increase the number of ven-
× Lifestyle Editor
This year, Capilano University is taking its sustainability game to another level. On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the Birch Courtyard will be home to more than just cheeseburgers, chicken fingers, and fries. Healthy eaters rejoice! CapU’s FoodWorks will be presenting the campus’ first ever Farmers “Pocket” Market, where a for a few hours, students will be able buy locally-sourced
dors and eventually make it a monthly market,” says Sustainability Assistant Marina Van Driel. “[Jaimie] is passionate about bringing local food and sustainable options to campus and the community. The hope is that the success of this pocket market, larger farmer’s market will become a regular occurrence at CapU,” adds Van Driel. Students will also get the chance to win door prizes one of which is bundle provided by the sportsplex. Improving sustainability in CapU is already apparent this year. Students may notice that classrooms are now almost all free of garbage bins.
Instead, the campus’ new system paves way for a more efficient and more environmentally conscious process of waste. Getting a farmer’s market that provides fresh produce on a more consistent basis will do the same for the school’s food sustainability, and Harris could just be the one to lead to many more. Van Driel certainly believes so: “Jaimie hopes to increase the amount of local and accessible food that is offered on campus, that is still delicious and affordable, so stay tuned to see what she’ll be up to in the next few months.”
teach me the ways MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS × CIE
Carlo Javier × Lifestyle Editor
THE CAPILANO COURIER.
VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 02
With the sounds of jazz student Emma Magirescu’s beautiful voice, one would have thought that Capilano University’s vibrant Emma Magirescu Trio was holding an intimate concert at the Student Union’s Lounge. The raucous CSU lounge was packed, Sept. 11, with international and domestic students alike, all for the Centre for International Experience’s (CIE) Student Mixer. The mixer served as the vehicle for CIE’s mentorship program, where model CapU students who serve as mentors for new international students got the chance for a formal, school-based, meet and greet. “Our international mentorship program has been running for three years, and it brings together, this year 43 students,” begins Stasa Andric, International Outreach and Events Coordinator for the CIE, “These 43 students are organized into teams. They organized different activities and events in campus and that’s one side of their role. The other part is we match each of these mentors with a mentee, the new international students.” Any CapU student is eligible to apply as a mentor for new international students, with the only requirements being the completion of at least two semesters, and maintaining a good academic standing. “I think it’s really important for us to create
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× Carlo Javier
something that would give students a chance to develop in a variety of different ways,” starts Lana Van Velthuizen, Manager of CIE, “As much as international students are benefitting from our program, our mentors benefit from it so much, and often times what I’m really happy to see is when an international student joins in as a mentee, but then several semesters from there, they become a mentor for someone else, so it becomes this positive cycle of giving back and supporting each other.”
Applying itself requires only the Internet and a computer, the CIE website holds application forms for any interested students. Students would also have to take part in an interview with the organizers prior to learning whether they’ve been accepted as a mentor or not. “We like variety, we have international students, and we have domestic students mentoring. We have students who have studied abroad, we have all kinds of students,” says Andric.
CapU’s international student population makes up around 10 per cent of the school’s entire population, with students coming from over 55 countries. This year alone, nearly 300 new international students enrolled in the campus. “What we do in the beginning of September is organize the mixer to give them the chance to meet, if they haven’t already done so,” explains Andric. One of the upcoming events that the mentors and the mentees will collaborate in is the Shoreline Clean up. The program will be partnering with the Vancouver Aquarium with the mission of cleaning up the creek right behind the school. Building connections, food and drinks, and a lovely trio certainly helped in bringing more people to the mixer, continuing a positive trend of strong starts in community building this year. As for the CIE, the hope is that having the mentors and the mentees in a casual, social environment serves as a platform for a lasting partnership between students. “The most important thing is that these Mentors work at a very micro level supporting individual international students as they are adjusting to their new home and new life here at CapU and Vancouver,” begins Andric, “So, the differences each Mentor makes are often as small as a conversation in a campus hallways but with huge impact on the well-being, happiness and connectedness at CapU."
summer spree A WEEK'S WORTH OF FESTIVITIES TO START THE YEAR Carlo Javier × Lifestyle Editor
Back-to-school week at Capilano University has never been so exciting. Not only did the school hold its inaugural Street Party on Sept 2, but the entire first week of classes was marked by a variety of events and features that were all – at least in recent memory – relatively unseen on campus until this year. There were food trucks, a mariachi band and free breakfast — yes, free breakfast. The week also culminated in DISorientation, a pub-crawl that began at the Narrows Pub and ended at The Pint.
For Zofia Rodriguez, Capilano Students’ Union’s vice president of student life, the motivation behind the Summer Spree came from the school’s potential. “I’ve seen so much potential at CapU for the last three years, and I see people with so much energy,” she begins, “I’ve been running events for marketing students before, like educational ones, and now I feel like I have this role, I feel like I have this opportunity where I can cater to everybody.” The CSU’s grand opening of the year took place on the first full day of classes, where students got the chance to meet and learn about the school’s several collectives. Another rare occurrence that happened during CSU’s Summer Spree was the acquisition of
a liquor license. The union served alcohol at the Library Lounge on Sep 5. As students know, CapU remains as one of the few post-secondary institutions that doesn’t boast a pub on campus – something Rodriguez hopes to address this year. “One thing that I would really like to pursue is to open up the CSU lounge and have a liquor license,” she says, “I think it’s such a perfect place for people to meet each other, build relationships, and maybe even just have one or two drinks. We don’t have a pub on campus, probably one of the only universities that doesn’t have a pub on campus, so I think at least having some kind of social hangout a couple times a month is really going to help students develop relationships.”
Another aspect noticeably missing from CapU is student unity. School-based events such as sports games, mixers and even parties have notoriously struggled to draw a considerable crowd. After the Street Party and the Summer Spree, one could assume that this lack of school spirit is to be addressed this year. “I think that really is done through social events,” says Rodriguez. “Before, I was in the business faculty, I felt that through all of our events, we were able to unify. Now my challenge is to do that for the whole university and I think the liquor license is a good place to start, and I just have to keep trying to reach out to all students.”
caboose
CARLO JAVIER LIFESTYLE EDITOR
CABOOSE@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM
Childhood Gabriel Scorgie × Opinions Editor
× Arin Ringwald
all around me and mice men getting slaughtered was too much for my little kid’s brain to handle. Then, when I got a little bit older, I was allowed to watch the acid inspired The Beatles’ movie, Yellow Submarine which, once again, I struggled to wrap my head around, though I did enjoy the rhyming. The highlight of my entertainment miseducation from my parents was Pink Floyd. From first time my six-year-old ears heard “Another Brick in the Wall” I was hooked. There was no going back from that moment on. I was destined to smoke a lot of weed in my life. I don’t think my parents knew what they were doing at the time – as far as they knew they were introducing me to great music and movies. They probably never realized that no other kid I was going to meet was going to be anything like me. When I entered the school system, it was the little things that gave away that I might be a bit odd. Sure, I loved Pokémon,Yu-gi-oh, and Digimon as much as the next kid. That wasn’t the issue. Problems would arise when the teacher asked us to write down the
lyrics of our favorite song and I would start quoting Alice in Chains and write down things no child in the third grade should ever even know about, like, “I have never felt such frustration / Or lack of selfcontrol . I want you to kill me and dig me under / I wanna live no more.” I had no idea what the fuck it was about at the time, I just thought it sounded cool and grungy. In Grade 6, we had an anti-drug teacher come in and talk about how dangerous drugs were. Part of that presentation was to inform us that drug dealers are the scourge of the earth and should never be trusted. They enforced this point by showing a clip from a movie where that main character overdoses on heroin and falls into this metaphorical grave while his drug dealer stuffs him in a cab and gets him dropped off at the hospital entrance. Upon seeing this clip, my brain knew exactly what to do. Its years of training - watching Yellow Submarine and Pink Floyd’s The Wall: The Movie were finally going to pay off. It had all led me to this day. I needed to see this movie.
I went home thinking it was the coolest, most artistic and intriguing scene I’d watched in a long time and I figured out exactly what movie it was from. Turns out it was a scene from Trainspotting and as luck would have it, three days later it was scheduled to be shown on TV at 1am. I made a mental note of that and when the day came I was wide-awake until 3am watching Trainspotting, and to this day, it’s still my favorite movie of all time. That’s not to say that I like heroin, just that I was raised in a way that, to an outsider, would be considered different. I wasn’t lied to as a kid and I grew up watching fucked up shows and listening to music that was mainly about drugs and antiestablishment. It would be naive to think that my childhood played no role in why I’m drawn to the cult classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, over box office smashes like Avatar. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
T H E C A P I L A N O C O U R I E R . VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 02
Most families raise their kids in an innocent environment. From the things they’ll talk about with them, to the TV shows and music they’ll introduce them to, it's all safe and sanitized. Songs like “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Yellow Submarine” just happen to come on the stereo when you’re around, and whenever you ask your mom what she wants to watch, it’s always either “Peter Pan” or “The Lion King.” That was not my childhood. One of the first songs I remember singing along too was the Kid Rock hit single “Bawitdaba” which featured very child friendly lyrics such as: “Wild mustangs the porno flicks /all my homies in the county in cell block six / The grits when there ain't enough eggs to cook / And for DB Cooper and money he took.” When I hear that song, I can’t help being filled with warm memories of my childhood. As far as movies go, I had a pretty normal childhood. I saw The Nutcracker when I was two years old in IMAX, and I did what any normal kid would do when thrown into such a situation - I cried my eyes out. Something about giant cannons going off
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shotgun reviews SINCE YOU'RE ON THE PHONE: TAP THAT APP:
CAMERA 360
RATE A FART 2.0
SNAPCHAT
TINDER
Therese Guieb // News Editor
Julia Gabriel //Writer
Carlo Javier // "The Gay Bestfriend"
Mike Ros // Writer
Just when you think that selfies are limited to holding your phone with the front camera activated, it’s not. The Camera 360 app was created to let you hold that perfect duck face pose for as long as 30 seconds. The app was designed to be used with the most ingenious product Asians invented, the selfie stick. Yes, the selfie stick, it’s real. Without the Camera 360 the selfie stick would be a piece of crap because let’s face it, you don’t have a finger that long to click the damn phone button. Not only does the app have a timer, it allows you to edit your selfie right away. Believe it or not, the sample picture for every editing effect is an Asian girl. You think the effects would make you look better but it just gives you the option of making your skin lighter, your eyes bigger, and your lips more defined. Guess who looks like a fucked up version of Asian Angelina Jolie? YOU! So all you selfie addicts out there, HELLO VAIN LOSERS, get that glorious selfie stick and Camera 360 app now! It’s the best $3 I’ve ever spent - yes I own it I even got the damn thing shipped from the Philippines.
Adolescent boys rejoice: passing gas is now more than just a bodily function. Designed to record and rate each flatulent outburst, Rate a Fart 2.0 adds a competitive edge to passing gas. For a mere 99 cents, iPhone users buy more than just the ability to document their fluff and waste precious data. This app has a surprisingly well thought out library of over 700 farts, created with the sole purpose of categorizing each smelly accomplishment. Connoisseurs of the constipated and master gas passers alike can now put a name to their brew and rate it against other users, because what else is there to do on a Friday night other than fart around at home? Probably not much for the kind of person who downloads a fart-orientated iPhone app in the first place, but don’t judge. After all, everybody farts… but not everybody rates it on a terrible app.
Snapchat is not actually always the worst app on my phone. It’s just usually the worst app. The dubious distinction is not reserved for any exclusive app. Instead it’s on a constantly rotating shift. However, on a Friday night – or any night to be honest – after poppin’ some bottles, Snapchat plummets to the nadir of my app rankings, and I can never make these judgements until the morning after. The problem with snaps is that you will take pictures and/or videos, and yes they’ll only last a maximum of 10 seconds, but to those who receive these images, the memory lasts forever. It gets worse when you start instinctively using your Snapchat camera as your actual camera. That’s when you take pictures similar to the ones at the end of The Hangover, the ones reserved only for your own viewing. Also you’ll take pictures with people whom all your friends will assume is your girlfriend, while all her friends will think you’re her gay best friend.
I had taken four months of "Pre-Tinder Therapy" before I finally decided to download the app. Most of my friends were just coming out of "Post-Tinder Therapy," so I knew what I was getting into. I was prepared. It felt like I was deciding what hotel room to stay in, provided the hotel room liked me back. I struggled with group photos, where you couldn’t tell which one was the girl. If it was just a girl on a horse, I could tell, but then I haven’t met any girls named “Mustang” or “Black-Jack”, so this was terrifying to an unfamiliar degree, especially when I got those specific matches. In the end it’s a dangerous game. Like standing in front of a girl and flicking her nose and watching new faces appear over and over again - a game, of course, not to be played in real life - even if you're flicking right or carefully drawing a heart onto a forehead.
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// SALADS
SMILING AS SHE GOES BY // 1 POINT
THE CAPILANO COURIER.
VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 02
HOLDING THE DOOR OPEN // 2 POINTS
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SAYING "HI" // 3 POINTS STEALTHILY CHECKING OUT HER ASS// YOU'RE A JERK SEPTEMBER // SWEATER SUMMER DTF // DOWN TO FRIEND DROPPING CLASSES // LESS LIKELY TO DAYDREAM DROPPING CLASSES // LESS LIKELY TO FIND LOVE DROPPING CLASSES // LESS LIKELY TO BE LATE CHECK OUT HER FRIENDS ASS // 5 POINTS