Capilano Courier // Volume 48 // Issue 22

VOL UME

48

NORTH VANCOUVER, MARCH 23RD 2015

ISSUE

N O . 22

ELECTILE DYSFUNCTION Parties and Poll Dancing within Canadian Politics

Gaslight Anthem

Nautical Celebrations

Aramark Contacts

CAPILANO Courier

@capilanocourier

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

@capilanocourier capilanocourier.com

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News

A+C

Art shorts

FeAtures

opiNioNs

ColumNs

CAboose

Awwwww Muffin

Radder Than Radio

Boom Boomin'

Off The Beaten Path

Loaded Deck

Going For Gold

If I Had 15 Thousand Dollars

ON the Cover sydNey pAreNt

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Sydney Parent is a graphic designer/Illustrator who graduated from Capilano University's IDEA Progrmam. She sometimes forgets to wash her face. She enjoys finding crumbs in her hair, and watching Netflix until she forgets what day it is.

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS:

Tristen Schmidhauser, Kevin Kapenda, Christine Beyleveldt, Sabrina Kuhn, Keara Farnan, Cole Blight, Matt Jolliffe, Sarah Unger, Elena Boycheva, Taelore Keyana

Sydney Parent, Ekaterina Aristova, Crystal Lee, Vivian Liu, Guillem Rovira, Olliemoonsta, Zoe Sofianos, Taylor Lee, Danielle Mainman, Cristian Fowlie, Samantha Smith, Ksenia Kozhevnikova, Stephen Hare THANK YOU

To everyone who's assisted, stayed late, missed us when we stayed late, brought beer, sent love and supportive texts, and all you who have picked up the Courier. Hi Mom!

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.

THE CAPILANO COURIER.

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

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.

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The Staff

Leah Scheitel Editor-in-Chief

Therese Guieb News Editor

of this nearly finished, never diminished university newspaper

Andy Rice Managing Editor

Alva Tee Arts + Culture Editor

Andrew Palmquist Production Manager

Faye Alexander Features Editor

Gabriel Scorgie Opinions Editor

Cheryl Swan Art Director

Carlo Javier Lifestyle Editor

Ricky Bao Business Manager

Brandon Kostinuk Web Editor

Letter From The Editor Leah Scheitel, Editor-in-Chief

Help me Onto my Soapbox “Know your worth! People always act like they’re doing more for you than you’re doing for them."

– Kanye West Every time I go to work my charm on an unsuspecting guy, I have to check to see if there is a wedding ring on his left hand first. This habit is entirely new. In my early 20s I could assume that everyone was single and flirt with carefree vigour, oblivious to any consequences. But things have changed with age. Now, even if that fourth finger is bare, I have to assume that the object of my flirtation has a steady girlfriend, and at the very least, a dozen Tinder matches.

This is one obvious sign that I’m getting older. When I was a teenager, I used to notice grown ups wearing khaki pants and comfortable shoes and wonder when they decided to give up on life and become a bonafide adult. And now, I’m noticing signs that it’s starting to happen to my peers and I. We are aging and our habits and actions are changing accordingly. Looking for a wedding ring is just one example of it.

Another telltale sign that I’m broaching my 30s, however graceless, is that I have this innate desire to tell the kids how to live their lives. After making my mistakes and learning through them, I have now become an expert on bad life decisions, and want to impart my wisdom onto others about to make some mistakes of their own. But, just as I thought this was lame when I was 20, the kids don’t need my knowledge. They need to make their own mistakes, and while I might want to steer their decisions, I have to realize that the only thing I can steer is another piece of pizza into my rather large mouth.

However, I do believe that I have gained a few golden nuggets of wisdom that are important, and with only two editorials in my Courier career left, I would like to share some of these. If you don’t agree, feel completely free to use this exact page as a kitty litter box liner. I won’t be insulted.

I have a friend who is five years older than me, and really likes to party. And when I say that he likes to party, it means he could do tequila shots off of Paris Hilton’s passed out body. For as long as I have known him, he has had one piece of advice that he repeats: Do more crazy things in your 20s and don’t care about it. Go out late with strangers you met that night, use Craigslist to find a date on a casual Tuesday and don’t partake in the daily drama of your social life. Do what you do, and stick by it. His rationale for this is simple: the people who will care and shame you about your choices in your 20s won’t be in your life in your 30s. And the people who are there will love you,

the VoiCe box

*

sometimes against their better judgment, but they will love you for your mistakes. I believe he’s right, which entitles me to make as many crazy decisions as I want. I’m 29, baby, it’s all I got left.

When it comes to romance, I’m bursting full of my opinions on what and, more diligently, what not to do. For the better part of a decade, I have endured a turbulent love life that has only been useful to add to my comedic repertoire of embarrassing stories. But I have learned a thing or two about romance within those emotionally battering experiences. First, never, ever compete with a friend for someone’s attention or get caught in a love triangle. That chances are stacked against you, and you’re likely to lose both relationships as a result. And secondly, don’t let relationships make up your worth. Having a steady lover shouldn’t be a life objective, but rather treated as a by-product of being cool and doing the things you love to do. If love ever has you down, grab a friend, a bottle of whiskey and a cat, and force yourself to laugh.

And finally, if I could do it all over again, I would care more. Not about my choices, or the repercussions of drunk-dialing a crush, because that goes against both of my other rants, but about things bigger than me such as politics. As Gabe Scorgie dissects in this week’s cover feature, Canadian politics is like a large house party that nobody shows up to and nobody cares about. And I bet that the best ragers you remember were so epic because people cared about the party. It’s our turn to care about the political landscape in this country. This doesn’t mean that you have to campaign door-to-door for your local MLA, or post an un-original rant on Facebook. There are quiet and easy ways to do this, such as reading a newspaper, following journalists and political commentators on Twitter and just engaging in conversations with anyone who may want to. Being a wallflower isn’t a bad thing, and at least it means that you showed up to the party.

You probably have heard this all before, and I understand that this will have little influence over your life or decisions, as it should. But I’m looking at people in their 20s with envy, not because they have it better or because I will never get my ass to look like it was 21 again, but because they have an opportunity to do it all again. And now, will someone please help me off of my soapbox?

I don’t think I can make it down on my own. Mama’s gettin’ old, y’all.

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.

I saw your Editor-In-Chief carrying a stack of paper on her head last week, how does she do that? Doesn’t that hurt her head?

I worry about it sometimes but she used to train and compete in triathlon so she basically has built neck muscles, she developed those from other activities too, I’m sure. Now that she will be retiring, she will be taking a trip over Asia to become a street vendor, so she's been carrying stacks of paper on her head to practice.

How come you guys don’t cover the Blues? I want to know more about how our athletes are doing.

tweets oF the week

#MARCHMADNESS really into this girl. He approached her but ended up spilling his drink on himself because he was that nervous to talk to her. He’s the ladies man of the Courier because girls approach him for fashion advice. Maybe that’s why he’s still single?

With Leah retiring who’s going to be filling the position of head cat lover or relationship guru?

No one. Really, that’s the biggest hole Schei will be leaving with the Courier, aside from the hole she left in the space where a lot of men’s hearts are supposed to be in.

NCAA March Madness @marchmadness Remember today? Yeah, we're doing it all again tomorrow. #MarchMadness Jay W Lee MD MPH @familydocwonk You know preparing for tax season is just that awful when you procrastinate by studying for board recertification. This is my #MarchMadness.

Lindsay Patterson @LndsPatterson And I'm going to be the 1,003,999 person to say this. It's #MarchMadness anything can happen.

Jake Jones @Who_JakeJones Today's games reminded me why #MarchMadness is the best time of the year for sports!

When is the election? Can I become the Courier's next Vice President or Senior Chair or External Relations somebody??

Allison Tackett @tackk23 IDK how my professors expect me to study #MarchMadness

Our Election for Editor-in-Chief is happening on Tuesday Mar. 24! There will be pizza, you must have contributed twice prior to be eligible to vote. That's why you should have contributed this past year.

Robby Kalland @RKalland Take a victory lap, basketball

So I saw Carlo spill something on his clothes and he started hyperventilating and crying in public, what’s up with that?

I saw Therese but I was really scared of her. She looks like a mean girl. What's she like?

Carlo might appear slick on the outside as he dresses the part and is known as the ladies man of the Courier.

But let me tell you why his appearance is deceiving to most people. When I went to a party in Ottawa in January with the entire staff of the newspaper, Carlo was

We'll she has a boyfriend...or two, but they haven't kissed yet. I think she jumps right into "homeplate" if you know what I mean. Say "hi" to her, it may go somewhere.

Vic Lombardi @VicLombardi I may be done paying attention to seedings. I don't think they matter anymore. These games are ridiculous. #MarchMadness Isaiah Canaan @SiP03 Anybody have any hair left after the Tourney Games Today!! #MarchMadness CBS Sports @CBSSports What an awesome day of basketball.

And guess what...WE GET TO DO IT AGAIN TOMORROW!!!!

T H E C A P I L A N O C O U R I E R . VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

Wentried a few months ago but found it to be a real struggle because of the way production schedules work.

We build the paper on a Friday night and our Blues varsity teams play their games during the weekend.

However, I do feel like we can make this work next year. We plan to run previews and maybe have a nice little boxscore on our website.

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THE CAPILANO COURIER.

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

NEWS

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THERESE GUIEB NEWS EDITOR

what's new csu

Inside Access to bill c-51

On Mar. 11, the Capilano Students' Union (CSU) held their bi-monthly board of directors' meeting. Among the agenda that the board talked about at their meeting included: conference attendance, the CSU Maple Lounge re-opening, maintenance costs of the two CSU Lounges and new developments in the organization's committees.

The CSU executives’ work reports were presented and reviewed by the board. Four memebers from the board, which includes Brittany Barnes, Taylor Wilson, Sacha Fabry and Ben Glassen, will be attending the Canadian Alliance of Student's Association's (CASA) annual general meeting in Abbotsford from Mar. 26 to 27, which will cost $400.

On Mar. 31 there will be an event for the opening of the CSU Maple Lounge called the Maple Stir Up. The CSU is targeting for 100 people to come. There will be snacks, live music and alcohol served. The event will cost $1,370 to operate, including $100 put towards a band for a two-hour performance.

An electronic charging station called Powerbox Canada PB-04B will be purchased by the CSU for $3,400.

David Fryer, acting CSU Queer Collective Liaison, reported that Pride Week from Feb. 23 to 27 cost $2363.83 for all events and materials that were used.

A new Poker Club at CapU was approved by the board. However, students who would like to join the club need to be at least 19 years old. They will not receive any budget from the CSU and all of their profits from their events will go back to the CSU. Zachary Thompson was appointed by the board to the Student Life Standing Committee as a student-at-large.

Brittany Barnes, CSU president, resigned from being a voting member of the Services Committee. Taylor Wilson, CSU Faculty of Arts and Sciences representative resigned from his position in the Student Life, Services and Operations committees. Scott Knowles, CSU Environmental Issues Liaison, also resigned from the Services Committee.

- written by Therese Guieb

× Lifestyle Editor

NEWS@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM

CLERK SPEAKS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY TO STUDENTS Carlo Javier

× Crystal Lee

On Mar. 5, a group of students experienced an opportunity to get an up close and personal insight of the proceedings of the controversial proposed legislation, Bill C-51.

Students from Michael Markwick’s Communications 331: Policy and Law class participated in a conference call with LeifErik Aune the Clerk, Standing Committee of Public Safety and National Security in Canada. Aune is directly involved with the ongoing reviews of the bill.

The primary reason that the students were able to secure significant inside access to the proceedings of the bill was derived from familial factors. Aune’s cousin is second year Communications student Jullian Kolstee, a member of Markwick’s class. “Markwick spent a lot of time talking about Bill C-51 and this committee, so I decided to approach him about the possibility of my cousin phoning in or video conferencing in to elaborate on what’s going on with this bill,” says Kolstee.

For much of the class, Aune spoke about processes that the heated bill is facing, as it gets carefully and repeatedly debated. He also revealed that moving forward, the bill has been secured for at least 10 meetings where its features, capacities and potential repercussions will be repeatedly studied and scrutinized because of the already contentious nature that it’s in. Aune also said that although the attack on Parliament Hill last October played a significant role in fast tracking the drafting of the bill, a move for

an anti-terrorism act has been in talks even before the notorious event.

As part of his responsibilities, Aune was unable to comment on his own personal position regarding Bill C-51. However, he did provide a significant amount of rational information that were then left up to the students for translation into critical thought and opinion. “[Aune] appeared to have a rare place in the government, that is, a neutral stance that doesn’t require political opinion in order to complete his job,” says Joe Gale, a third year Communications student. “I believe that the talk we had was very enlightening, free of any political or opinionated BS that cloud facts.”

The conference call with Aune marks an unprecedented level of access to insight for university students, much less anyone outside of Parliament Hill. According to Markwick, this kind of reach is almost none existent even at the post secondary level.

For Kolstee, the chance to talk with an individual directly involved with a bill that can potentially alter the state of informational privacy in Canada is immeasurable. “I think it’s invaluable to us as we learn about the process, as we learn about the parliamentary system, as we are thinking critically about our democracy, that we understand the inner workings, that we have people who are working closely with the government on these contentious issues who are able to provide us with insight candidly,” he says.

As the intensive readings of Bill C-51 con-

tinue, Gale believes that students stand to dramatically benefit from gaining first hand insight on the heavily disputed proposal.

“The processing of this bill will determine just what gets implemented into law – if the bill passes, some of the content I feel will directly affect Canadians in our age group,” notes Gale.

One of the biggest takeaways from the conference call was that students might be lacking the platform in which issues like Bill C-51 can be discussed. Recently, Markwick revealed CAPTalks, a series of discussionled gatherings where students can have the platform to debate the needs of the CapU community. Currently, the forums and panels that occur in CapU can be prone to being focused on issues that pertain to the environment or the business industry. Naturally, the possibility of bringing in more opportunities to talk about political topics and campus issues is on the table. “I’d like to see a broader diversity of panellists,” says Kolstee, “In terms of politics and democracy; we don’t really get access to those kinds of people.”

Kolstee believes that one of the ways CapU can get more speakers like Aune can be done right through the administration, “I think the University asking is a really proactive strategy and I think that’s really positive.

However, the practical side of me actually believes that we might yield better results by working through our students and our faculty by their connections.”

training school for riders REASONS BEHIND THE MOTORCYCLE STORAGE ON CAMPUS Therese Guieb × News Editor

What was once a gated space filled with old furniture, rusted pottery equipment and leftover junk is now a storage lockup for expensive motorcycles. Many questions have been raised about the sudden appearance dozens of street bikes parked adjacent to the south entrance to the Maple Building. However, these motorcycles are not owned by Capilano University or the Capilano Students’ Union, and neither does the institution offer courses for riding motorcycles.

Since 2000, ProRide Motorcycle Training has used post-secondary institutions’ park-

ing lots to operate their business. “We’re renters, we pay them [CapU] a fee in order to use their classroom, the parking lot, and a space to store the motorcycles,” says Matt Grannis, owner of ProRide Motorcycle Training. According to Grannis, postsecondary institutions offer the best location for a training school because they have all of the facilities that are necessary to train students. “Well, it’s better to be at some type of university or college because they tend to have classrooms and parking lots and space to store our motorcycles and they’re in the proper zonage to get a business license for education,” explains Grannis. ProRide operated at Langara College before it transferred

to CapU. The reason behind the training school’s transfer to CapU is that Langara and other post-secondary institutions tend to build underground parking where there are series of small parking lots with speed bumps and dividers. “It’s hard to find a parking lot that’s large enough that doesn’t have a bunch of speed bumps. Capilano University is the only one around that doesn’t have an old fashioned style of parking, one big parking lot that we can use,” notes Grannis.

ProRide is not affiliated with CapU at all.

However, when asked about benefits that they may offer to CapU students and staff, Grannis says that the training school will look into offering discounts for the CapU

community. He notes that the school has over 400 students each year and has taught over 6,000 students and some of them are former CapU students who comment on how versatile the institution has become compared in the past when it was still a college. Though the motorcycles are being stored outside the Maple building, they are not a bonus to the new renovations for the CSU Maple Lounge, nor does the CSU have enough budget to offer this privilege to aspiring riders.

For more information on ProRide Motorcycle Training visit Proride.net.

news

aramark contract expires

SEARCHING FOR A NEW FOOD SERVICE PROVIDER

Tristen Schmidhauser × Writer

For 10 years straight, Aramark has been the only food services provider at Capilano University due to their exclusive contract with the institution. However, in 2013, that contract expired. Since then, the contract has been renewed on a month-to-month basis by the Food & Beverage Services Committee, but by this fall they plan to change that.

According to Mark Clifford, CapU’s director of Contract Services and Capital Planning, a new long-term contract is planned to be written by September. Any food provider can make a proposal for the contract. This means that Aramark may no longer be in charge of CapU’s cafeteria anymore.

The process is a long and formal one. The Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) works with CapU to create a contract for food services providers and helps to review potential applicants on campus. Sacha Fabry, vice president of University Relations and Services at the CSU, is at the forefront of the discussion in the creation of a new food services contract. “I believe that there is another week or so of the request for proposal [RFP] being out in the market still, I could be wrong, off by a week or so,” says Fabry. On the RFP document, Fabry states, “What happens in an RFP is you put out proposals on what you’re looking for in a contractor, and you develop a scoring matrix.”

He lists the following steps in accepting the proposals submitted by possible providers, “When a contractor comes in and says ‘This is my proposal, this is what I would do with the contract’ they give it to us, and we take the proposal and we grade it, based on our scoring matrix.” According to Fabry, they will then examine all of the bids that have been submitted, decide the top candidates and bring them in for interviews, before they pick who is the top provider to recommend to the university for approval.

No matter which provider is chosen to purchase the contract, a need for quality is undeniable. In order to ensure the quality of the proposal the committee is made of a diverse group, “The people at the table are

× Ekaterina Aristova

students, faculty, staff, and of course Mark Clifford, the Director of Contract Services.

So there's representation from the three main stakeholders on campus, the students, the teachers, and the faculty,” states Fabry.

In addition, Fabry feels a need for something new on campus, regardless of who they choose to accept. “Ideally, the successful candidate would be able to give something new [rather] than what we already have. I think it’s already established on campus that our food service is not at the level that it could be. And whatever successful bidder that comes forward will almost undoubtedly have plans for space reallocation.”

Alex Levy, a first year student in the Arts and Sciences program at CapU shares her

thoughts on the food selections on campus.

“It is severely overpriced, and the quality doesn’t match the price. A lot of food there....shouldn’t be served there.” She states that one of her main concerns with the current state of the cafeteria is the lack of diversity. “We basically have now some burgers, pasta and some sushi that’s not great. So probably more diverse food, and definitely affordable [prices] because we’re all students, we’re all just trying to pay for school and other amenities that we have in our life, and we can’t afford five dollar pizza,” argues Levy. When asked about what her thoughts are regarding a new food services contract and anything she would like to see changed, she expresses a clear desire to have a pub on

campus. “I really like the idea that we should have a pub that is separate from Aramark on campus, and maybe some other food providers or restaurants, that can’t hold a monopoly on the food items that are served to us.”

Quality and affordability of food in CapU is the main target of all stakeholder groups in their search for a new food service provider. “The contract is for 10 to 15 years, 10 years with an extension up to 15,” Fabry says. By the beginning of the fall term the contract will be instated, and CapU might see a new food service provider.

“Once whoever the successful bidder is gets it, they will take over for September,” he continues, “It could be Aramark, it could be someone else.”

Professional development CSU TO HOST STUDENT UNION CONFERENCE IN 2016 × Writer

Behind the elected Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) board of directors, there are staff members who see to it that policies and programs that they implement are being followed. CSU General Manager, Christopher Girodat, works with the CSU board of directors to make sure the organization’s day-to-day operations are running smoothly. Every year, student union general managers from other post-secondary institutions come together at the National Professional Conference (NPC), which is put on by the Association of Managers in Canadian College and University Student-Centres (AMMICUS-C). AMICCUS-C is a national organization that helps develop professional staff at student centres and unions to help enhance student life at campuses across the country. In May 2016, Girodat and his staff

100 schools.

As for the conference, it will take place sometime in May 2016 with specific details yet to be determined. While much of the conference will take place on campus, the CSU will also be hosting events throughout the city as well. “Activities taking place throughout Metro Vancouver, with a special focus on the North Shore, in order to showcase the beautiful North Vancouver campus of Capilano University,” says Girodat on why they want to organize the conference in this manner. The event is a professional development conference that will help Girodat and his staff introduce themselves to managers from other student societies so they can discover new ways to improve the CSU. “The conference is a great opportunity for student societies to share professional knowledge and best practices with one another,” insists Girodat. “For the Capilano Students’ Union, this is a chance to showcase the work that we do professionally and bring my colleagues

here to our smaller student society.”

The CSU won’t bear the financial burden of the conference because all costs they incur will be reimbursed and shared with AMICCUS-C. “The 2016 National Professional Conference will be cost-neutral for the Capilano Students’ Union,” explains Girodat. “We will handle all of the conference’s revenues and expenses and, at the end of it all, any surplus is returned to AMICCUS-C, and any deficit is reimbursed to us. There was no cost to bid on hosting the 2016 conference.”

Girodat’s hope for this conference is that it will help him improve the CSU by learning from student societies of all shapes and sizes in the conference when they converge in Capilano University in 2016.

AMICCUS-C didn’t respond for an interview request before article deadline.

T H E C A P I L A N O C O U R I E R . VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

Kevin Kapenda

will be hosting the annual AMICCUS-C conference to make connections with people from different student societies and to showcase our unique campus.

AMICCUS-C’s membership consists of more than 60 student societies across Canada, and was founded 1977. AMICCUS-C membership costs the CSU about $650 every year, which Girodat believes to be money well spent. Girodat explains that AMICCUS-C assists the managers of student societies with a multitude of things in addition to offering them professional development conferences. “AMICCUS-C- also makes print resources and online tools available to its members throughout the year, and also encourages online discussion between colleagues at different student societies throughout the country to tackle problems,” says Girodat. The CSU joined he association on 2013. AMMICUS-C describes itself as a growing organization, as it only has about 60 members nationwide in a country with over

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arts + Culture

ALVA TEE ARTS + CULTURE EDITOR

ARTS@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM

caplive diving in with real world experience INDUSTRY EVENT ALLOWS ASPIRING STUDENTS TO PUT THEIR SKILLS TO TEST Christine Beyleveldt × Writer

It’s not every day that punk rock bands get the opportunity to compete with indie and folk artists at a set event, but every so often, Capilano University’s Arts and Entertainment Management (AEM) students manage to pull it off. Every Band for Itself: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is the result of the collaboration between CapLive events, run by the students of AEM, and St. James Music Academy.

Described as a charitable night of music rivalry, the event will feature six bands from all around the North Shore, each performing two songs for the chance to win various prizes. With all bands belonging to different genres, the AEM students hope to bring each demographic of fans together for one night.

Several celebrity judges have been booked for the event as well, including CapU’s very own AEM Professor Warren Dean Flandez, founder of Vancouver talent development studio, Studio Cloud 30.

Offering free studio time, vouchers for records, instruments and even music lessons, CapLive knows how to attract aspiring musicians as submissions were pouring in from bands across the Lower Mainland before the

venue had even been booked. “Music lessons are something that at times may get looked over,” says Tracy Moromisato, AEM student organizer for the event, “The studios that are sponsoring this event are doing this because they want to help with up and coming talent.” All proceeds from the event are going directly to co-sponsor St. James Music Academy, which is known for educating the impoverished youth of the Downtown Eastside in the joys of classical music.

These events are hosted every few months for the benefit of showcasing the skills of music students, artists participating and for the organizers themselves. “I’ve been to a few of these events in the past and it’s always so amazing to see these events being put together,” says Flandez, “There has been a tremendous amount of work that has been put into this.”

For CapU’s AEM students, putting on this event was no easy task. “Everything from start until end is hands on,” says Moromisato, explaining that every single step of the process from booking to discussing contracts to negotiating and making big decisions was achieved by the hard work of her and her fellow peers.

Moromisato admits that there were some challenges the CapLive team had to tackle in

the process of planning the event. “Each one of us basically took on what was necessary from week to week… Little things like making sure we were reaching out to the right demographic,” she says, “All four of us need to be on the same page at all times.” They discovered how incredibly important having the ability to negotiate and accommodate all ideas was.

The hope of the AEM program is to guide students through the sometimes hostile, but exhilarating industry. “By putting on an event firsthand, you run into things you won’t necessarily run into being in a classroom. You can describe and you can tell people how an event is going to be or what it’s going to be like in the real world, but…

There’s nothing like firsthand experience,” says Flandez.

This is true for the performers of the event as well. Music students often find themselves confined within the halls of their rehearsal studios, practicing endlessly to perfect their notes. Opportunities such as these push students to get out of their comfort zones and experience the thrill of having a live audience. “Getting out there and performing for a group of people you don't know is a different experience, and it can make a performer that much stronger

by doing this… They will develop as artists and become more comfortable showcasing their talents,” says Flandez Through organizations such as CapLive and other events where students get to put what they’re learning and practicing into action, it is a more valuable experience than any regular day in the classroom. “Having to work in a group of four really enables us to get first-hand experience on what it is actually going to be like when we get into the industry,” Moromisato says, “It has been a great learning experience.”

Every Band for Itself: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly will be hosted by CapLive events at CBC Studio 700 in Downtown Vancouver on Mar. 29th at 7 pm.

WITH PERFORMANCES BY: ALEA RAE CLOUDED ELKHART LODGE ENDLESS COUCH FORTY FRIENDS THE RESPONSE

radio your voice LISTENING IN TO THE WONDERS OF PODCASTS Keara Farnan

THE CAPILANO COURIER.

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

× Writer

6

Podcasts are a form of entertainment that is often overlooked. Be it educational, a way to keep updated with news or on various interesting topics, they shine a light on the importance of audio and the way it can tap into someone’s mind for the greatest forms of imagination. “In a way, it’s the revival of the golden age of radio,” says Kyle Gest, a grad from the CapU Motion Picture Arts program (MOPA), “They stem every genre and interest you can imagine. From comedians to movie reviews to sex advice, you name it. In my case, it’s storytelling.”

Gest launched his very own podcast called The Lapse last year on his birthday, Feb. 9.

He was heavily inspired by podcasts such as Radiolab, The Moth and This American Life.

“Audio-rich shows like Radiolab demonstrate just how immersive a story can be with the right music, the right sound,” says Gest, “On the other hand, shows like The Moth or This American Life focus on more personal experiences but don’t utilize sound in the same way.

I wanted to combine the best of both.”

Though these podcasts have helped his own skills to develop, Gest says that his time at CapU has also contributed significantly to his passion for podcasts. “Murray Stiller of CapU’s MOPA taught me the importance of sound and design,” he says, “I also did my practicum with the English department’s Ryan Knighton, a phenomenal storyteller in his own right.”

Podcasts have no limits as to what the content is. “Unlike radio, a podcast can be about anything and it can be any length,” says Gest,

× Olliemoonsta

“It doesn’t have to adhere to censorship or content guidelines. You’re not going to turn on the radio and hear about the time somebody lost their virginity in a threesome, but you will in my show.”

Gest’s podcasts are descriptive versions of real-life stories with interviews that he has done himself. “We are film for your ears, we want to reinvent the interview as a story,” reads his website, TheLapse.org, “We don’t do journalism. While our guests are everyday people, sometimes even first-timers, you’d never know it… everyone has a story worth telling. Sometimes, it just needs a little gussying up.”

The process for Gest to produce his podcast is much longer than it would take for an average talk show. “For a talk show, it’d be a mere hour, but that’s not what I do,” he

says, “That’s what makes my show different.

Recording isn’t the issue for me.” He explains that he has to take pitches, sift through the best ones, book interviews, record them, transcribe them and write the script to cinch the story down into a listenable format. "Then I have to record my narration, piece all of that together, add sound effects, add music, promote the show… it takes two weeks, 9 am to 5 pm, for a typical episode to reach completion. It’s a full time job.”

He thinks that that’s part of why people love The Lapse, “I think the sheer amount of effort that goes into each episode shines through,” he says, “The stories on my show run the gamut from tragic to hilarious to horrifying and they’re presented in a way that places the listener there.”

Gest believes that the people contributing

the stories are far more fascinating than they give themselves credit for. “I believe everyone has a story,” he says, “Sometimes you just have to pull it out of them. With The Lapse, I’ve met some incredible people.” He has talked to people who have been framed by the Thai police, gone on a 12,000 km bike trip to Argentina, to the hobo guide stowing aboard trains across America.

“In some ways, podcasts are better than TV, better than film,” he says, “It takes out every bias out of the story. You no longer see race, age, body type, socio-economic class.

All that exists is the storyteller, and that is a very powerful thing.”

Having just met his first crowdfunding goal on Patreon, Gest has really seen the support from people who adore his podcast.

“People really, truly love the show and they want to support it,” he says, “That is incredibly humbling. It’s a rare thing to say, but in time, I expect to turn this into a career and a living.”

The Lapse won the iTunes Best New Podcast of 2014 award alongside other giant shows. For each episode, Gest posts a short overview on his website that provides a brief plot summary and a link to listen to the episode. Other than iTunes, The Lapse can also be downloaded through other websites such as Stitcher.com.

Gest is incredibly open to collaborating with other podcast artists and anyone is welcome to submit a story, as long as their story is not fictional. “It’s filmmaking for your ears," he says, "Visual storytelling in an audio medium.”

For more information, visit TheLapse.org.

arts + Culture

courage to connect A MUSICAL CONCERT PROJECT HOPING TO INSPIRE CHANGE Sabrina Kuhn × Writer

The plain old walls of an empty gymnasium with perhaps a podium front and center and students ready to fall asleep paint the image of an average school assembly. But, imagine walking into the room with a full stage set-up including two screens for videos, drums on a riser and microphone stands ready and waiting. Students sit up, readily and excited for the show that awaits them. This is Live Different, a movement passionate about making a difference in the lives of people through powerful presentations, humanitarian build programs and leadership development opportunities.

“It’s very fast-paced and engaging,” says Jamie Lobban, Team 2 leader of Live Different from Ottawa. Live Different tours from coast to coast in two separate teams, each presenting to one coast during the first semester and then switching to the other in the second.

With the presentation split into three parts, the first part consists a performance by the touring pop band paying a blend of originals and remixed covers, the second is the presentation of young adult motivational speakers and the third is the viewing of videos put together that focus around the theme of each year.

“This year’s theme is Courage to Connect,” explains Gina Olsen, a motivational speaker from Live Different, “It’s about putting away your cellphones and relating with other people, having actual conversations instead of staring at your screens.”

Olsen has been involved with Live Different for three years and because of that, she has been able to experience their effects on society first-hand. She initially became involved when going on a trip to Mexico on a Live Different Build (a 10 day trip to Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic or Thailand) with 45 of her friends and family. She

× Guiellem Rovira

says that her life was changed when she built a house side-by-side with the family who would soon own the building when construction was finished. After this experience, Olsen returned to Mexico as a volunteer twice before going out on tour.

“I didn’t realize how many opportunities there were to get involved,” says Kyle Fox, drummer for pop band Panicland and currently the featured artist with Team 2. The band signed up after hearing from two other bands that had previously toured with Live Different express how unique the experience was for them. “It was just something that as

soon as we found out about it, it really made sense and it was something we wanted to do,” he says.

“I’m happy. Putting this together, the hard work involved, the long hours of driving, doing shows, it’s all worth it. It’s the most rewarding thing you could do,” says Lobban.

He has invested a lot of his adult life into Live Different, having been a part of over six Live Different Builds and spending four years touring with the motivational presentation program.

With each presentation geared to bring out the harder topics of a person’s life, a certain

level of maturity is needed with each member of the crew. It’s common for students to open up on a deeper emotional level to the crewmembers. “They want to talk to someone who doesn’t know them and who has no idea what is actually going on,” says Olsen, “They just want to talk to someone who isn’t biased.”

Sharing a more personal story, Lobban says that he has had students come up to him and express the issue of harming themselves and the self-loathing for the action.

They would talk about their depression and how after Live Different’s presentation, they would do their best to commit to abstaining from all of that, and really start focusing on their lives. “I’ve seen a lot of progress in students when we come back year after year,” he says, “It’s very cool.” This sentiment is echoed across all 10 crew members, all truly dedicated to connecting with the students they see and hopefully impacting their lives for the better.

“Art has an incredible capacity to heal and inspire,” says Jennifer Nesselroad, coordinator of CapU’s Arts and Entertainment Management program, “While this type of presentation won’t speak to everyone, the kid sitting in the back of the room who feels like they are alone in the world and can’t make a difference; this could be a turning point for them.” This kind of outreach and connection is exactly what the presenters are looking for.

“We are trying to get on the same page as the students, we’re trying to be in their shoes. I feel like this type of presentation that we do at Live Different is really relatable and that’s really important for the connection,” says Olsen. Live Different’s philosophy is that being able to meet in the middle is essential, and being able to listen will mean the world to someone who has never truly been heard.

Vancouver's got a new channel CAPILANO ALUMNI CREATES FIRST EVER WEBISODE FESTIVAL IN VANCOUVER Keara Farnan × Writer

to vote on which webisode they love the most and five webisodes become “VanChan Primetime shows.” Then, each Primetime show is invited to make a follow-up webisode for the next month alongside five new web series pilots and the process begins again.

“If a show fails to move forward from lack of audience votes, no problem, those filmmakers have now learned ‘what audiences want’, something not taught in schools, and are now given an even greater gift: a chance to come back with a new show idea for next month,” says Marashi.

A five-minute limit is the only limit created with the artistry of each webisode. “It’s up to the filmmakers to find out how to make their films,” Marashi says, “VanChan provides a place to have your work shown in front of many people.” He says that some shows are made with a crew of 50 people, while others can be made with one person in front of a camera on a tripod. “What will be considered ‘better’ is completely up to the creativeness of filmmakers and how they understand the audience.”

After the launch of the VanChan Festival, Marashi hopes to have the opportunity to interact with new and old friends within the filmmaking industry. As for the audience, he

hopes that each audience member will have fun, laugh, cheer or cry. “But most important of all, I want them to feel pride in their act of directly supporting Vancouver arts,” he adds.

Starting off strong and aiming for bigger things, Marashi has already begun thinking about events for the future. “The next event that we are planning for at VanChan is a Halloween-themed event in October,” he says, and “an award show next January where we hold a mock ‘Emmys-type’ event and celebrate the best of VanChan, including directors, actors and more.”

With the help of Marashi's other team members, who also graduated from CapU, VanChan is quickly achieving its goals. It serves as the perfect opportunity for filmlovers of all genres to be a part of a live studio audience and have their voice heard in what they'd like to see.

Each monthly screening of films will take place at Beaumont Studios, located at 316 West 5th Avenue in downtown Vancouver. For more information, visit VanChan.ca.

T H E C A P I L A N O C O U R I E R . VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

On Mar. 15, the first webisode festival to ever exist in the Vancouver area held their premiere event to launch the now monthly Vancouver Channel Webisode Festival (VanChan). “I am very excited,” says Zia Marashi, a 2012 CapU Motion Picture Arts grad and festival director of VanChan, “The city desperately needs more avenues like VanChan to support our community of artists.”

Marashi says that the event focuses on the processes of filmmaking by offering artists a safe place to stretch their filmmaking muscles, experiment and build a local or international fan base along the way. With five minutes as the maximum for each webisode feature, it allows a tight schedule to be kept of the festival. “It keeps the night full of fun energy and it adds an extra challenge to filmmakers,” he says, “In many ways, these five minutes are preparing the artists for the realities of working in film and TV where a certain amount of time is written in stone by the executive producers.”

Developing this event since 2013, Marashi was ready to assemble his team in late summer

of 2014 after creating his own website and building an audience through social media and crowd-funding. “I was motivated to make this festival out of sheer frustration as a filmmaker,” he says, “I love making films for the sake of entertainment but the audience for Vancouver-based media is underdeveloped.”

For this reason, Marashi felt distant from the filmmaking community so he searched for a way to fix this for himself. He was inspired to create VanChan after hearing about Channel101.com, a highly successful festival in LA created by Dan Harmon, best known as the man behind Community. “I reached out to Channel101.com and pitched the idea of making a Channel101.com/Van event but they were not looking to expand their umbrella.” Instead, Marashi was given their blessing to create VanChan.

With over 200 submissions before their premiere, VanChan's goal is to receive at least 30 a month. “We are creating a community of artists, made up of artists and our live audiences,” says Marashi, “The community are the viewers. This way, we can create a working relationship that will lead to even greater productions down the road. This is how we strengthen Vancouver’s artistic voice.”

During the festival, audiences are allowed

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art shorts

Follow the Art Shorts team on Twitter @CAPCOURIERLIVE

The Boom Booms

Kendrick Lamar

Mar. 13, The Imperial

To Pimp a Butterfly

written by Leah Scheitel

written by Carlo Javier

When a band plays to their hometown crowd, there’s something automatically decent about the show. It’s like putting on a worn-in sweater; it might not be the best you’ve ever looked, but it’s so comfortable that you feel fabulous. That was the Boom Booms on Mar. 13, playing to an energetic crowd at the Imperial. Playing for the first time in Vancouver in six months, the show was oversold, and many die-hard fans were unable to get in. Star Captains and Chin Injeti opened for the local boys, which was fitting as the Boom Booms have strong personal and professional relationships with both groups.

They used to double bill with the Star Captains, playing to crowds at the Anza Club, and more recently Injeti served as producer and a major driving force behind their most recent album Love Is Overdue. The Boom Booms started their set off on a slower foot, opening with two songs from Love Is Overdue. Not everyone in the crowd was as familiar with their new work, leaving some awkwardly swaying to new tunes, but that all changed when the band played “Real Love”. The crowd lit up, and so did the Boom Booms. The thing about these guys that has enraptured fans since day one is their charisma and passion. All six of them look like they’re in love on stage, and are just so thrilled to be playing for an excited audience. While this quality

is apparent in all band members, it’s in guitarist Tom Van Deursen that it shines. If there has ever been a more excited and happy guitar player to perform in Vancouver, I have yet to see it. Backed by a three-piece brass ensemble, the Boom Booms spent the hour-long set weaving old classics and new singles together. It wasn’t always an easy transition, as one song would get the crowd dancing like mad while the next would mellow it right down, but there were too many favourites for anyone to be upset. Birthday boy and keyboardist, Sean Ross, shone as he took over lead vocals on “Foolish” while his big brother, Aaron, sang with the heart-melting enthusiasm he is known for. Drummer Theo Vincent brought back the Magic Finger dance move on “You Know”, and added a new twist to the crowd pleaser. But a hidden gem was bassist Geordie Hart searching for a bottle opener on stage. He borrowed one from bandmate Richard Brinkman. After an encore of “Gloria”, “Grandma Hands” and a classic cover of “No Diggity”, the crowd was satisfied. Like their reggae and soul-inspired music or not, it’s undeniable that the Boom Booms are good performers – almost masters of it. Crowds love them, moms love them and Vancouver loves them. And that is the beauty of a hometown band playing to a hometown crowd. There is nothing quite like it.

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

written by Carlo Javier

THE CAPILANO COURIER.

But the real star here, as it always is with hiphop, is Lamar. If good kid, m.A.A.d city was his personal short film about growing up in the streets of Compton, then To Pimp a Butterfly is his full-length documentary about race and society in America. He’s a much more established artist now than he was two years ago, and the scope of his new album is just as big, but even more important. He channels the idiosyncrasies of Andre 3000 and the socio-political commentary of Tupac Shakur. Throughout the album, snippets of a poem that Lamar is reciting for an unnamed individual is played. In the final six seconds, this individual is revealed to be Shakur himself. In all but abandoning the conventional hip-hop sound, and in taking the complete opposite musical direction from his beloved debut album, Lamar will undoubtedly alienate fans. That’s the cost of building an extremely focused, unapologetic and complex commentary about the state of race and society in America. That is the challenge. Fans will continue to debate who the best emcee is and which album is the best. Is Kendrick Lamar the best rapper right now? Maybe. Is he the most important? Without a doubt.

Laila Biali & The Radiance Project written by Andy Rice

Mar. 14, Electric Owl

On Mar. 14, Shred Kelly’s energetic brand of folk-rock touched down at the Electric Owl in support of their third full-length album, Sing to the Night. The banjo-driven band from Fernie, BC came out to an already electric crowd after The Wild Romantics’ impressive opening set.

The Vancouver duo’s intimate style of southern rock seemed fitting to hype the crowd up for the fun-loving, self-described ski bums. Also fitting was the cozy and loungy feel of the Electric Owl, even to the point that it might’ve been too fitting. The show almost seemed like a concert in a ski lodge. The crowd inside the nearlypacked venue sang along to Shred Kelly’s sig-

Hip-Hop is competitive. Fans will endlessly debate on who the best rapper is and which album is the best. Kendrick Lamar is one artist who’s perennially among the names listed at the top of the hip-hop echelon. His critically acclaimed debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, is already considered as among the greatest albums of modern hip-hop. Anything he does is understandably placed under the microscope. In his much-anticipated follow up, To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar not only beats the pressures and challenges of fan expectations, he flips it around and challenges the listeners themselves. The album opens with “Wesley’s Theory”, a track produced by the always-masterful experimental musician Flying Lotus, and right off the bat the atmosphere is set. In “King Kunta” Lamar channels James Brown’s funk and energy, while the unabashed and cerebral “The Blacker the Berry” is reminiscent of the bombastic and electric sound that OutKast delivered in Stankonia. To Pimp a Butterfly shines partly because of its jazzy and eclectic production. Jazz-fusion artist Thundercat’s work is noticeably sprawled throughout the album, and saxophonist Terrace Martin also lingers from beginning to end.

House of Many Rooms

Shred Kelly

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ANDY RICE ART SHORTS EDITOR MANAGER.CAPCOURIER@GMAIL.COM

nature anthem-heavy music. Songs like the title track, “Sing to the Night”, and “Cabin Fever”, from their previous album In the Hills, provided spirited and dynamic music. Where Shred Kelly really shone however, was in the duets of their vocalists Tim Newton and Sage McBride.

The duo’s vocal chemistry flowed seamlessly through the myriad of instruments and sounds that the band plays with. In “My Vessel, My Grave” the juxtaposition of their contrasting voices truly had its highlight moment. As well as Shred Kelly did perform, it almost felt like the show was a bit short, but maybe that was just a testament of how electric they were.

FOR LIVE UPDATE S FOLLOW CAP COURIER LIVE ON TWITTER @CAPCOURIERLIVE

Fans of Vancouver-born jazz singer/pianist Laila Biali are in for a shock, but it's a good shock.

Her new album, House of Many Rooms, shows another side to one of Canada’s most accomplished jazz artists. Set to be released on Apr.14 under the name Laila Biali & The Radiance Project, the 11 tracks offer more a more elaborate soundscape and an expanded instrumentation not found within Biali’s traditional idiom.

This is piano pop through the eyes of a jazz musician, and therefore packed with plenty of sophistication, musical substance and just the right amount of sass. The album opens with “Shadowlands”, a rumbling tune with a gospel feel bolstered by the Toronto mass choir and a couple of celebrity cameos Biali met while on tour with Sting back in 2010. (If you’ve watched the documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, it won't take you long to pick out Lisa Fischer on the outro.) The second track, “Love”, is reminiscent of early Sara Bareilles with a the piano-driven groove that wouldn't be at all out of place on her 2008 debut, Little Voice. However, Biali has added an extra layer of orchestration here that’s clearly channeling the Beatles’ “Penny Lane” as well. It's a mix that works nicely and shows a wide range of musical influences. Aside from her astounding keyboard chops, which sadly

don’t come across quite as prominently here as they do on her jazz releases, Biali possesses a unique voice with a warmth that makes you feel safe and loved. Maternal is the word that comes to mind, which makes sense as the next track — the ukulele-tinged “Little Bird” — was inspired by her son. The album continues from there with a cohesive but diverse mix of songs.

For example, “Shine” and “Plain Clothes Hero” are simple, uplifting and beautiful while “You” is a unique fusion of sounds that can best be described as Hawaiian-meets-Cabaret. Only on the eighth track, “Upside Down”, does a tangible jazz influence finally begin to surface, but for the most part the album remains distinctly different from Biali’s musical past. It's worth noting that not everyone could make a switch so seamlessly as Biali has done here. It works because she’s versatile enough to transcend musical genres convincingly, and the album is full of perfect little moments that exemplify that dexterity. It certainly can't hurt as a songwriter to have knowledge of jazz theory either, or an all-star band to help bring these new songs to life. Currently touring across Canada for her CD release tour, Biali will return to her hometown on Apr. 17 for a show at the Fox Cabaret.

Arts Club 2015.2016 Season Announced STANLEY INDUSTRIAL ALLIANCE STAGE Disgraced

By Ayad Akhtar September 17–October 18, 2015

× Stephen Hare

A Christmas Story, The Musical Book by Joseph Robinette Words and Music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul November 5–December 27, 2015

The Gaslight Anthem

Pride and Prejudice

Mar. 19, Commodore Ballroom

By Janet Munsil Based on the novel by Jane Austen January 28–February 28, 2016

written by Faye Alexander

Good People

The stage was set in modest dressing with simple curtain skirting the stage, the lights went dim over the swell of men in plaid and Harry Belafonte’s “Jump in the Line” blared out over the sound system. Weird. The Gaslight Anthem made their way onto the darkened stage to the soundtrack staple of Beetlejuice. No one seemed quite sure why but if you need a song to pump up your crowd, why not go totally random? Armed with electrifying guitars, the band launched head long into what would be a two hour set piled heavy with cuts from their debut album, Sink or Swim, and only peppered with tracks from their latest album, Get Hurt, showcasing the band’s evolution from a more punk heavy influence to straight-up rock ’n roll with some real country undertones and Springsteen vibes. The sold out crowd was amped, with fists flailing into the red and white lights burning from over the stage. It’s the kind of music that’s not aggressive enough to mosh around

to, so beard-clad dudes and rock-loving ladies were swaying and head bopping on the sticky floors between thirsty sips of beer. In between songs the band would embark on some lengthy talkative tirades, so long in fact you could tune in and out and always find yourself surprised the Gaslight Anthem were, in fact, still talking.

Vocalist and guitarist Brian Fallon boasts an amazing voice but its better when belting than droning on about mundane shit – but it did lend well to refreshing drinks at the bar. The band divulged early they would not be doing an encore, since they could fit more songs in if they didn’t waste time leaving the stage. They closed with “We’re getting a Divorce, You keep the Diner” and disappeared from whence they came. But then “Jump in the Line” by Belafonte came back on the speakers. Had the whole thing just been a weird dream?

Writer’s note: the guy next to me was drinking a fucking screwdriver, who does that?

THE CAPILANO COURIER SUMMERTIME SPECIAL ON STANDS IN THREE WEEKS!

By David Lindsay-Baire March 24–April 24, 2016

Billy Elliot Book and lyrics by Lee Hall Music by Elton John May 12–July 10, 2016

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE The Waiting Room Book by Morris Panych Music and Lyrics by John Mann October 1–October 31, 2015

It’s a Wonderful Life

By Philip Grecian Based on the classic film by Frank Capra November 19–December 26, 2015

BOOM

By Rick Miller January 14–February 13, 2016

The Valley

By Joan MacLeod April 7–May 7, 2016

Rock of Ages Book by Chris D’Arienzo June 16–July 30, 2016

WEST FIRST STAGE (in place of the REVUE STAGE) Peter and the Starcatcher

By Rick Elice Based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson November 26–December 27, 2015

Book and music by Tomson Highway February 4–February 28, 2016

Onegin Music and lyrics by Veda Hille Book and lyrics by Amiel Gladstone March 17–April 10, 2016

ON TOUR (Metro Vancouver and throughout the province) Red Rock Diner

By Dean Regan October 14–November 22, 2015

In a Blue Moon

DOES ANYONE NOTICE IF YOU SCRATCH YOUR BUTT?

By Lucia Frangione January 8–30, 2016

4000 Miles

By Amy Herzog February 13–March 12, 2016

T H E C A P I L A N O C O U R I E R . VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

The (Post) Mistress

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FEATURES

FAYE ALEXANDER FEATURES EDITOR

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E S @ C A P I L A N O C O U R I E R . C O M

Joining in the media scrum GABRIEL SCORGIE WORDS

THE CAPILANO COURIER.

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

In 2014, 20.4 million people tuned in to see the Belmont Stakes. It was the 26th highest viewed sporting event of the year, even ahead of the NBA finals. If that proves anything, it’s that people love a good horse race. Whether it’s seeing who jumps out to an early lead, or witnessing a late surge from an underdog during the final stretch, there’s something there for everyone. The media knows this, and they’ve found a way to harness that excitement and bring it to their election coverage through the use of opinion polls. If people have the news on during an election year, even in the background, it’s likely they’ve heard the phrase “recent polls show…” at least a handful of times. Poll data is collected by companies and people known as pollsters, with the goal of providing information about how well a party’s campaign is going.

The issue is that the Canadian media has developed such a dependence on opinion polls for their election coverage that Andre Turcott, a professor at Carleton University and Pollster, told the Toronto Star that media companies that report even the slightest change in poll data should “really consider what is the basis for your addiction and maybe enter a 10-step program.”

Polls may seem like a minor subject, but they’re the only way for people to get a feel of who is poised to win an election, Federal or Provincial. This can influence people’s vote, as some people won’t vote for a party if they feel they have no chance of winning. They consider it throwing their vote away. Unfortunately, the polling industry is currently in a bit of a transition phase and they’re being asked to provide more data – CBC requests updates every two weeks – during a time where their accuracy is lower than ever.

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Off the Mark In the 2013 Provincial Elections, Adrian Dix, former leader of the BC NDP, was cautiously optimistic on Election Day. All the polls in the province had predicted he would win by at least six points over Liberal candidate Christy Clark.

Not a single poll that was done, including the day of the vote, had the Liberals winning. None even had them close. So when the results came in and revealed the news that not only had the NDP lost, but they lost by five points, more than a ten point difference from what the polls predicted, people were stunned. Dr. Richard Johnston, a UBC Political Science professor and Canada Research Chair in Public Opinion, Elections and Representation, believes the BC election to be a poor example. “Part of the story about 2013 was that everybody had given up on the campaign; there wasn't a deep investment in the polling or in general forms of media coverage. Everybody was surprised by the result.”

ANDY RICE GRAPHICS

According to Dr. Johnston, even if BC was a special case, it’s not unusual in recent elections for the forecasts to be off the mark. “The BC result wasn't so unusual. It was even worse in Alberta the year before, and a similar pattern has prevailed in Quebec in recent years and in Federal elections. In fact, it’s been that way in most Federal elections since 2004.” The reason for the decline is highly debated. Some people blame the methodology, claiming that polling firms are now unable to get a random sample of the population, which skews results, while others believe that pollsters are asking the wrong questions, and some think the media has forced polling firms to provide quantity over quality.

When polls first started, the information was gathered through door-to-door polling. Dr. Johnston still considers this the golden standard, but says it’s very rarely done now because it’s so expensive and time consuming. As the population grew and technology advanced, polling firms moved onto telephone polling. Calling people over the phone was the best and most efficient way to get the information the companies were looking for. However, with much of the population moving away from traditional landlines, coupled with the ability to screen calls, there has been a sharp decline in its usefulness.

“The one that is taking over is the internet poll where the company assembles a large body of persons who have expressed a willingness to be a part of the ongoing polling process,” explains Dr. Johnston, “The telephone is still out there, and is still important. Survey companies that use the telephone use a method called Interactive Voice Response. So your phone will ring and there will be a recorded voice and if you're willing to go ahead you will respond by keying in your responses.”

Joan Byden, a writer for the Toronto Star, believes the issue is with the declining use of landlines. In an article for the Star, she wrote that “For a poll to be considered an accurate random sample of the population, everyone must have an equal chance to participate in it. Telephone surveys used to provide that, but with more and more people giving up land lines for cellphones, screening their calls or just hanging up, response rates have plummeted to as little as 15 per cent.”

She also believes that people who participate in online polls tend to be disproportionately young, well-educated, urban people — not diverse samples of the general population like the polls claim to be, and a stark contrast to the people polled over the phone.

Dr. Johnston, however, believes that the issue isn’t with the sample, but with the questions that are being asked. “There seems to be an emerging pattern of forecasting error. But I wouldn't say it's necessarily specific to any of the modes.” Dr. Johnston explains that after the polls are conducted the results undergo poststratification weighting, where some answers increase in value, while others decrease. “But I get the sense that regardless of mode, there seems to be a forecasting error problem. They've

tended in general to under predict the share of the government seeking re-election.” he says, “I think there's something about the actual electorate's mental processing. Polling firms may need to think about questions that get at underlying predispositions that may be masked, even in voters’ minds, going into the election campaign.”

For the most part, polling firms rely on answers to the question ‘If the election were to be held today, who would you vote for?’ and maybe a few follow-ups like ‘How firm is your opinion?’ or, ‘If you had to choose?’ Dr. Johnston believes that the problem with this line of questioning is that it assumes two things. The first is that the person knows what they’re going to do, and the second is that they’re willing to be honest about it. Dr. Johnston says that although these assumptions have been effective in the past, both he and the polling firms are starting to get more anxious about them.

High-Risk Advertising There isn’t any polling firm that specializes

only in doing elections; there just wouldn’t be enough money in that. The majority of their business comes from doing market research, general research and public perception polls for large companies. “The actual profit centres for these outfits are for corporate polling, maybe some contract polling for government as well.

And then, over the course of the election campaign, firms will engage in horserace polls for the campaign. But in a way, that’s a form of advertising,” says Dr. Johnston.

The interesting thing about polling firms is that, most of the time, there’s no way to verify their accuracy. A polling firm’s value comes from their ability to accurately represent the views of their target audience. Companies don’t know how polling firms get the results they do, so they have no real way to verify the information. “The one place, where in some sense the polling firms have to put it on the line, and where they're subject to the gold standard of verification, is on predictions for the election.

This is where they validate their general accuracy, and it's become a high risk venture because of these prediction failures. ” Dr. Johnston says that he’s getting a feeling that trust in these polling companies is starting to decline. “From a polling firm point of view, this is starting to be a bit of a Las Vegas deal, there's money on the line here.”

They want to get on the front page," begins Dr. Johnston, "and they want their information to be on display, not the other ones. So they might be prepared to offer their data to a media outlet at a below price." week, it should be reported as no change — but rarely is. A two or three point change is more likely to be touted as one party surging or the other collapsing.”

The Bandwagon Effect Voters want to know that their vote counted for something, and people in general don’t like straying from the pack too much. Even if opinion polls aren’t always completely accurate, they’re at least intended to give people an idea of which parties have a chance of winning, and knowing that information can affect the way people vote. “We have concrete indications on the ground, for example, voters might be induced to change their vote intention based on the results of polls,” says Dr. Johnston.

One of the results of this is known as the bandwagon effect. And it means that opinion polls can have a measurable effect on the out-

come of an election. The reasons for this are psychological. For some, they think if they adopt the opinion of the majority, that they will be more liked and accepted. Others do it because they trust in the wisdom of the majority. They assume that the people who have an opinion are intelligent, did their research and are making an informed choice.

People also use opinion polls so they can make a strategic vote, coordinating their vote with others. “In 2011, where you had a three party contest, voters might be asking themselves the question, 'I'm really a liberal, but it looks like they can’t win, what should I do now? I guess I should vote NDP.’ There's evidence that voters do that,” says Dr. Johnston. “In BC, when voters started to notice the NDP was moving up, there was movement towards the NDP which must have been induced by the polls. That movement was good from the point of view of coordination. It did increase the share of the party best positioned to block the Tories.”

But he also warns that sometimes voters get it wrong. “In Ontario, exactly the opposite happened. The party that was best position to block the Tories was the Liberal party. And the movement toward the NDP actually handed a lot of seats over to the conservatives.” The reason that voters sometimes get it wrong comes down to

the accuracy of the polls, and the information that the polls represent. Even if the poll is correct, the type of strategic information they’re looking for is information on individual ridings.

What they usually end up looking at are Federal trends, which isn’t useful. Dr. Johnston says that this kind of coordinated voting could be a big issue in 2015 because of people’s desire to maximize the change of defeating the Conservatives.

Currently, opinion polls have the Liberals leading the Federal election by less than one per cent of the vote, and with the trend of pollsters under-predicting the amount of support the party seeking re-election has, it’s likely the Conservatives are actually in the lead. This election is supposed to be a close one, and it’s possible that opinion polls could make a difference, either through bandwagon votes or coordinated attempts to defeat the Conservatives. With the inaccuracy of recent election forecasts, it’s going to be up to the polling firms to adjust the way they are getting their results, and for the media to use the information responsibly.

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Polling firms see the election as a way of securing future business. If they can be the firm that correctly predicted the outcome, or at least came the closest, that can mean a lot of money in the future. “From the polling firm’s point of view, they want to get on the front page,” begins Dr. Johnston, “and they want their information to be on display, not the other ones.

So they might be prepared to offer their data to a media outlet at a below market price.” From the media’s point of view, poll data is cheap and relevant news. Most polling firms include copy that goes into the paper, readers do read the poll results, and it ultimately helps sell more papers, something that has drawn criticism from other groups.

Journalists have been accused of both misconstruing data, and ignoring margins of error (MOE). In her article for the Toronto Star, Byden explained how the media can misuse data to generate sensationalist headlines, and increase pickup. “Take a poll that suggests Tory support stands at 35 per cent, the Liberals at 30. If the MOE is, say, two percentage points, that means Tory support could be as high as 37 and the Liberals as low as 28, a nine-point gap. Or the Tories could be as low as 33 and the Liberals as high as 32, a one-point gap. If support falls within those ranges the following

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FEATURES

FAYE ALEXANDER FEATURES EDITOR

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E S @ C A P I L A N O C O U R I E R . C O M

OFF THE GRID Unplugged and Wireless FAYE ALEXANDER

ZOE SOFIANOS

WORDS

IMAGES

Vancouver has once again been ranked as the most liveable city in North America according to the Economist. That seems to come as no surprise, as Vancouver has become a highly sought after locale for the many who call it home, and coincidentally choosing to live in Canada’s most liveable city also means residing in the second most expensive place to live worldwide. Choosing to be the meat in a mountain and ocean sandwich comes at great expense.

“The latest government numbers show that from January to March this year, 2,554 people, mostly Vancouver-area residents, left BC for other provinces,” explained Bill Mann, a columnist for MarketWatch.com, “That’s an eye popping jump, accelerating a negative trend started last year when BC logged a net migration loss to other Canadian provinces.” While the high cost of housing is one element driving people away from the city, wage disparity is another.

For all the publicity and praise Vancouver reigns in, the appeal of a fast paced lifestyle in a beautiful city doesn’t cast a spell on every one. In fact, more and more folks in BC as well as across the country are unplugging from the daily buzz and choosing lives less ordinary.

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City Limits

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“I think more people could benefit from the idea of making do with what you need, rather than what you want,” explains Tamsin Denison, who, at 57 years, old has chosen to live away from the bright lights of Vancouver in a cabin without power, indoor plumbing or WiFi in Lasqueti, one of BC's Gulf Islands. The island, home to roughly 400 residents is exclusively off the grid and offers a rural lifestyle that would have been much more common a century ago. Denison says that choosing an alternative lifestyle was not an entirely easy transition but there are great benefits to simplifying.

Going off the grid means no longer being dependent on public utilities such as waste management, gas and especially, electricity. That cuts out some major living costs that weigh on your average Canadian. Rather than call up BC Hydro, off the grid residents create their own power sources by installing solar panels to generate their own electricity, and for fresh water rainwater to be harvested. “Some people want to live off grid just to regain some peace of mind, or because they want to reduce their carbon footprint. I think there is a real sense of freedom for a lot of people who are having a chance to get away from a monetary economy” says Denison.

“I’ve suffered a lot from depression,” explains Jeremy Kuhn, another Canadian who has gone off grid and currently resides on Read Island, BC “I’ve heard gurus say many thing about happiness over the years, but none have really helped me to understand it, until I went off grid with my wife.

There is a different kind of world out there that is readily available to you that isn’t swept up in the hustle and bustle of city life, it’s given me a sense of peace and has really helped me in battling de-

pression.” However, living beyond the city limits in remote areas almost entirely detached from the regular world doesn't automatically mean the simple life is necessarily that simple.

Natural Habitat On Lasqueiti, residents rely on the trading of goods to sustain their lifestyle. With no real economy, most of the locals grow their own vegetables and do their part to help out their neighbors.

“I was never much of a gardener before I came here,” explains Denison, “But now I am fully immersed in it. You have to either learn how to grow your garden or you have to rely on the ferry and taking your weekly trips off the island to stock up on supplies. The hardest thing to get a hang of is properly storing your food and stocking yourself with supplies for the winter months. It’s not always the easiest, but that is why it’s great being so close to the mainland. You’re just far enough removed to feel like you’re in a different world, but the real world is not inaccessible.”

Abandoning modern life has gained some momentum and it has caught the attention of major media outlets. TLC’s Risking it All profiled families who were making the leap to make it out there on their own, giving up their daily comforts to rough it in the wilderness, and Lasqueiti has now garnered the attention of major news outlets

such as the CBC and the Globe and Mail. “I think that some people, the kind of people that going off grid appeals to, are just bored with their day to day life. It’s easy for things to get stale, it’s easy to get caught up in a daily routine and nothing ever changing. That is not a possibility here,” explains Kuhn, “I have been able to power my own home with solar panels and a wind turbine, I get my water from a nearby creek and when I’m in the mood for protein, I can always go fishing. It doesn’t get dull – it’s actually a really fulfilling and honest way to live.”

For Denison, the transition to life off the grid has been a good transition but there still are some first-world goods that she does pine for. “The only thing that takes getting used to is the fact there is no plumbing, that is a major adjustment.

I don’t think I realized how great indoor plumbing was until I left it behind,” she says, “We have no sewer pipes or sanitation facilities so you have to get creative. Sometimes that just means digging some pretty deep holes in your yard or going for a long dip in the ocean.”

Safe Haven Canadians who have gone off-grid haven’t abandoned regular life completely. Not all off-grid locations are quite as remote as Lasqueiti, which requires a ferry to get to. In fact, many off-grid

Canadians are just a stone’s throw away from a city or town and maintain regular jobs to cover their expenses. It’s only at home where their lifestyle differs from that of ours. “I’ve been fortunate enough to not have to work at this point,” says Denison, “I was able to retire early and I do consider all the work I have to do to make sure my home is running smoothly is a full time job in itself. But even though we trade and we have a ‘free store’, there are always things to pay for.

No matter how far away you move, money always chases you.”

The choice to change lifestyles and choose the path less trodden is certainly not for everyone.

However, according to Kuhn, it’s a great choice if you are looking to get some first hand experience in self-sufficiency and resilience. “When I decided to do this, I had friends and family who were right there with their concerns and their doubts, but it really brought me to life. I don’t feel like I was truly living until I had to rely on myself to survive. It didn’t hurt that living in the city is expensive too, but I’m living a much healthier and cleaner life now. I eat locally, I exercise and I enjoy my life every day.”

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@capilanocourier

FRACK OFF Grandview Calvary Baptist Church 6 pm $ - protests

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Fir 205 11:30 am to 12:30 pm $ - happy pills

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Movie Mondays Gabe’s House 69 pm $ - stimulation

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HOT ART Wet City is hosting an art show dedicated to David Suzuki, the beloved environmentalist.

The guy is turning 79, and so why not celebrate it with a bunch of earth-friendly art. This is also the environment day in the Calendar, so I want you all to take off your shoes, eat some salad or granola, and only get around by bike. Love the environment, y’all, it’s all we got.

Got the winter blues? School make you so grumpy that you need to go home and sleep the afternoon away, like I have done twice in the last week? If so, this workshop might be for you. It’s all about how to be happy and where to find the elusive happiness, and then how to keep it. Just hold on tight, babe, we’re going home. Drake may be my happiness.

Every week, someone texts Andy Rice to ask if “Gabe the Babe” is single, so this is a message to that determined person on how to woo the babe.

Trainspotting is his favourite movie, he likes whiskey and anything hockey. If you want to spoon him, start there. If it fails, don’t despair, he’s got some hot friends! Hi Cole.

EDITOR ELECTIONS

THE SEA OTTER STORY

COLIN JAMES

MY DAD'S BIRTHDAY

Maple Dumpster – 122 Noon $ - eating some pizza

T 24

BlueShore Theatre 7 pm $ - Sea Otter Love

T 24

Orpheum Theatre 6:30 pm $39.50

T 24

All Day Grand Forks $ - long distance phone call

T 24

That’s right folks, my days as supreme Courier bitch are dwindling, and someone new is in the wings waiting to knock me off my self-made pedestal. Who that someone will be though is up to you! Come vote or run for the next Editor-inChief of your underrated student rag. If nothing else, you’ll get pizza out of it.

This lecture is part of the Earthworks series, where people gather to hear talks about different and cool things from Earth, and there are lots of cool things from Earth. This one is all about sea otters, and from the few of these I’ve seen, they are ultra cute and have a bunch of personality. That’s why I think they are my spirit animal.

Colin James has always annoyed me. I dunno why, but when he comes on the radio, I usually try to sing over him in a very annoying fashion.

Maybe that’s why I never got along with Mr. James. Andy Rice tells me he’s a really nice guy, and I feel really bad for writing this about him.

He’s a good ol’ Canadian boy who likes to sing good ol’ Canadian songs. Let him serenade you. If I go, I’ll make it a terrible experience.

It’s my dad’s birthday, and last year, when it went into the Calendar, it was accompanied by the best calendar entry of the year. Instead of competing, I’m just going to copy and paste: “You may remember him from such editorials as ‘Let’s Get Old Together’ where he advises Leah to stand up in a pen full of balls that she was literally drowning in. He’s right – next time you’re choking on balls, remember to stand up and breathe.”

CSU BOARD MEETING

OK GO

PUNCH BROTHERS

PHAZZ (SOULECTION)

CSU Library Lounge 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm $ - interest, baby

We 25

Commodore Ballroom 8 pm $25

We 25

These guys are known for the most creative music videos, featuring them on running machines and doing fun things with drones. There was also one with umbrellas and a bunch of them moving and clapping. In that one, I thought they were all really cute. But that doesn’t say much, I think most things are cute, especially if they can sing and dance.

CSU SEMI-ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING BOBBY BAZINI CSU Library Lounge 11:30 am to 1:30 pm $ - boredom?

Th 26

The Media Club 8 pm $15

Th 26

Vogue Theatre 8 pm $39

We 25

Fortune Sound Club 9 pm $15

We 25

So these guys aren’t actually brothers at all, so that’s some false advertising in a name. But they are a bunch of people who can play string instruments very well. It’s a collection of a banjo, a violin, a mandolin and a couple of guitars. Apparently, they were featuring on the Hunger Games soundtrack, which means jack shit to me, but some of you might like that.

This guy is motivated by a love for the piano, which I find romantic, and he’s French, which I find sexy. This guy is more than likely a “Schei guy”. He’s a hip hop and electronic artist, and apparently he’s supported by quite a few other artists.

I could tell you their names, but that just seems useless. Let’s talk about the fact that he’s from France again.

CREATING CONNECTIONS

NUTRITIONIST LUNCH AND LEARN

Pinnacle Hotel 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm $20

Th 26

Library 322 12 pm to 1 pm $ - the munchies

Th 26

The CSU is holding their semi-annual general meeting, where they gather as many students and interested parties as possible and tell them what’s up with the CSU. Rumour has it that they will be proposing some new bylaw changes, which are important to know about and vote on. Also, if you want to be the future Stephen Harper, it’s good to start at the student level. And who doesn’t want to be Stephen Harper?

“It’s almost like Shakey Graves-esque,” says Andrew Plamquist when I ask the staff who the hell this guy is, “Some say he might be one of the original Schei-Men.” For those of you who don’t know, a Schei men or guy is someone who I would find intriguing. Apparently this guy fits the bill, so I will be front row, looking good and acting interested.

This yearly event is all about networking and meeting the right people to stimulate your career after CapU. There will be a bunch of professionals and booths there, and all will be open to conversations and letting you pick their brains about the industry and job market. Don’t be a broke student anymore! Get a job, you filthy animal.

Have you wondering about the calorie count of a piece of pizza? Me neither. But if you’re now curious, check out this event, as it’s a Q&A and open forum with a certified nutritionist. She will talk about stress eating and psychology of eating, which sounds like it could be good to combat that freshman 15. Once on the lips, forever on the hips, or so my grandmother says.

CAP CLASSICS CONCERT

GHOSTFACE KILLAH

CLOUDED

MOON DUO

BlueShore Financial Theatre 11:45 am to 12:45 pm $ - musically inclined

Fr 27

Alexander 8 pm $40

Fr 27

Joe’s Apartment 7:30 pm $12

Fr 27

Biltmore Cabaret 8 pm $17

Fr 27

The students of CapU’s Diploma in Music program will show off their chops in this concert, as it’s a student showcase. We got a lot of music programs at this school, and some pretty talented people in those programs. Go see what they are all about. If you’ve ever wanted to date a musician, this might be a good place to scope out the goods.

This guy is super gangster who got his Jesus piece in 1994. This means a lot to the rest of the Courier staff, but I had to ask what a “Jesus piece” was three times. He also used to be apart of Wu-Tang, and Faye thinks he may have murdered someone, but that is nothing more than friendly hearsay.

I bet there will be some interesting gangstas at this partay.

Clouded is what you’d have to be to willingly walk into Joe’s Apartment. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

It feels really weird to have an entire calendar without one mention of the Biltmore. So here, is my homage to the boys down at the Biltmore. They’re hosting Moon Duo, which is an American band on tour for their fittingly-named Shadow of the Sun. I’ll be there because I can then stumble home!

HUMANS

SHANE KOYCZAN

THE TING TINGS

STUDYING

Celebrities Nightclub 9 pm $15

Sa 28

Vogue Theatre 7 pm $27.50

Sa 28

Venue 7 pm $27.50

Sa 28

Library All day $ - your education

Sa 28

I’ve always loved these guys, mostly because of their video to “Bike Home,” where two puppets dressed up as policemen try to break up a house party, filled with hot people. They get sucked into the party, end up snorting bad things off of lacy underwear and models, and generally just have a good time. That’s what Humans provide, a damn good time.

Everyone’s favourite spoken word artist is performing at the Vogue. My mom saw him once, bought his CD, got him to sign it, and he made it out to me. All jokes aside, this guys does some pretty inspirational performances. He talks about bullying and other problems that everyone can relate to. It should be an entertaining and insightful evening.

These guys don’t really care what your name is, so don’t bother telling it to them. The best use of that annoying song is when it was on Horrible Bosses and Charlie Day accidentally did a bunch of cocaine and danced to this song like a lit up sparkler. I’ll go to this show if they promise to have Charlie Day as a back up dancer.

I was going to put in yet another concert listing and write yet another ill-informed write up about it, but that seemed irresponsible. It’s coming up on final exam season and all those stupid group projects are looming at this point. Do yourself a favour, get some take-out, sit your ass down and open up that textbook that has collected some dust. Your mom will thank you for it.

MARILYN MANSON

MAROON 5

DAN + SHAY

THE MOWGLI's

Queen Elizabeth Theatre 6:30 pm $45 to $69 (fitting)

Su 29

Master of all things dark and goth – Marilyn Mason comes to woo the Vancouver crowd. I actually have a lot of respect for this guy because a) he’s really articulate and b) he bags a lot of babes. If he can do it, there is hope for a weirdo like me after all. Plus I like his music. Let’s go together and start a beautiful friendship.

Rogers Arena 6:30 pm $29.50 and way up

Su 29

Adam Levine has melted hearts across America and I don’t really know why. This show had both Therese and Alva frothing at the potential press pass to review the show. Faye thinks that he has a big face with small features, and Gabe thinks he’s a really nice guy. He also stands on a lot of chairs, and I like to do that too, so maybe we would get along after all.

Commodore Ballroom 4 pm $20.50

Su 29

At first, when I read about this event, I thought these guys would be rappers – you know, like from the Midwest like Eminem. But upon research, I discovered that they are a country music duo, which makes way more sense. They also met in Nashville, which is jus the last piece in this country fairytale. Put a piece of straw in your mouth and go to this afternoon show. Yee-haw!

The Media Club 7 pm $16

Su 29

This band made their major label debut (if that’s still a thing) in 2013, and yes, they did name their band after the Jungle Book character in a roundabout kind of way. There are a lot of people in the band, playing a various instruments. Think of a Broken Social Scene that is still relevant and from Southern California. If that’s your thing, check it out while it’s cheap.

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HOT ART Wet City Afternoon stroll $ - donations for art

FINDING HAPPINESS WORKSHOP

Frack Off is an informative talk about Indigenous struggles against fracking and environmental non-friendly actions. Apparently there will be snacks and warm soup, and poetry by local and friendly people. Get educated and eat warm soup at the same time – sounds lovely to me.

Did you know that the CSU is in control of a bunch of money – like I mean a bunch. More than I can ever dream of making as a fabulous writer. And did you know that they spend a lot of that money in odd ways, like popcorn machines and boat parties. If you wanna know what they are doing with the funds, start paying attention and the best way to do that is to go to these meetings.

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DAVID SUZUKI ART SHOW

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capilanocourier.com

@capilanocourier

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opinions

GABRIEL SCORGIE OPINIONS EDITOR

OPINIONS@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM

it's just a prick WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO VACCINATE CHILDREN Taelore Keyana × Writer

For decades, parents have been encouraged to vaccinate their children shortly after birth to protect against diseases such as polio, measles and whooping cough. Medical practitioners have always warned about some minor side effects like swelling at the site of injection, and a little drowsiness in the following 24 hours.

Now, some people think these vaccinations can cause serious health risks and won’t get their child vaccinated because they think they know best. While parents may know what’s best when it comes to what pajamas their kid might like, doctors tend to know a little bit more about the purpose and side effects of vaccinations.

Unfortunately, more and more parents are hopping on the bandwagon of not giving their children the recommended vaccines required to help build up immune systems to fight potential diseases.

In recent weeks, there have been dozens of reported individuals infected with measles.

While the source is unknown, most of the cases have been linked to an outbreak in Disneyland this past December. 170 people from 17 states and the District of Columbia have been infected since the end of February. In addition to the outbreaks in the US, there have been 137 confirmed cases in Canada, the bulk being 119 cases in Quebec. These statistics act as solid proof that not vaccinating your children should not be an option.

In 2015, there’s enough medical technology that these outbreaks should not be occurring.

To date, 79 per cent of anti-vaccinating parents are still choosing not to vaccinate because of health reasons. And the majority of these

× Cristian Fowlie parents are following alongside Playboy’s 1994 Playmate of the Year and over opinionated host on The View, Jenny McCarthy and her belief that medical vaccinations cause autism. McCarthy has publicly voiced her opinions on how vaccinations cause diseases, instead of preventing them since 2009. “TIME magazine’s article on the autism debate reports that the experts are certain ‘vaccines don’t cause autism; they don’t injure children; they are the pillar of modern public health.’ I say, ‘that’s a lie and we’re sick of it’,” said McCarthy in a 2009 interview with the Huffington Post. It’s absolutely ludacris that people choose to agree with a celebrity

and not a licensed medical professional when it comes to their child’s health. By not getting their child vaccinated, parents are opening up the door to disease, not only for their child, but to the children of others.

Parents are given a certain set of responsibilities. Alongside feeding, watering and clothing their child, one of those responsibilities is to keep them healthy. A child cannot be healthy, if other people don’t help them. No kid is going to book themselves an appointment with a local doctor to get themselves vaccinated. They need the guidance of their parents. Children who are not vaccinated are 56 per cent more

likely to get infected with a disease like measles when being around other children who have not been vaccinated, than a child who is interacting with kids who have been vaccinated.

Using health reasons like autism to back up why vaccinating an infant is a bad idea would work if it was a true statement. However, this was proven false in March 2009 when the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report saying that there is not a relationship between certain vaccine types and autism. An infant’s immune system is capable of responding to a large amount of antibodies and, from time of birth, infants are exposed to hundreds of viruses and countless antigens that are not associated with vaccination. This study demonstrated that autism spectrum disorder is not associated with immunological stimulation from vaccines during the first two years of life.

Parents should realize the vaccines their children receive are safe and effective. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is committed to assuring the safety of vaccines through rigorous pre-licensure trials and post-licensure monitoring. With all of the pre-licensing trials, scientists and medical experts have found zero connections between infant immunizations and developmental disorders such as autism.

With so many agencies, doctors and scientists working to develop safer, more efficient formulas to build up immunity to such horrible illnesses, we have every reason to trust that children - and adults for that matter - are getting the best care possible. There is no reason why people should be exposing themselves, their children and their community to such horrible diseases. Vaccination should not be an option, don’t listen to McCarthy.

a watered down proposition BRITISH COLUMBIA'S RESOURCES PRACTICALLY BEING GIVEN AWAY Christine Beyleveldt

THE CAPILANO COURIER.

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

× Writer

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It appears that whenever 90 per cent of BC’s population votes “no” on a proposition, it often passes anyway. Whether the debate rages about a pipeline that could potentially destroy the Pacific coastline, or a condos going up on the North Shore, the voice of the people often goes unheard. For a change, however, Premier Christy Clark is now taking the same side as her people, and protesting the next-tonothing price that BC’s most valuable natural resource will be given away for.

The Water Sustainability Act (WSA), which has been on the drawing table for the past four years, will come in to effect as of January 2016. The proposition is to charge a levy of $2.25 per million litres of groundwater extracted in BC, excluding wells on private properties. Yes, that number is correct, just $2.25. Essentially, the purpose of this act is to get the water purification company, Nestlé, to start paying the province for the groundwater it currently helps itself to.

While planting a price on the province’s water supply is an improvement over the previous ruling - a bill passed in 1910 enabling BC’s groundwater to be extracted at

no cost - this new act has already caused a lot of controversy. Many say that the WSA, which aims to conserve groundwater, will do nothing to sustain the resource. “We have to be very cautious,” said Mary Polak, the BC Environmental Minister who proposed the WSA in an interview with the Globe and Mai, “British Columbians have been very clear they don’t want us to sell water.” It’s not the fact that Nestlé will be charged to remove water from the ground that upsets so many people, they encourage it, but rather that BC’s most precious resource would be sold for such a negligible amount.

This province is known for having some of the purest water anywhere on earth, flowing from the glaciers atop the coastal mountains, and trapped deep in the ground. But the cost the government plans to impose upon Nestlé is inconsequential, and will have more of an effect upon the tax rates than on deterring the over extraction of freshwater. According to the government’s budget, it will cost about $8 million to enforce this new ruling upon Nestlé, and the funds to do so will be taken from the pockets of tax paying BC citizens.

But the water purification companies will have to fork over a fraction of that amount in comparison. If BC’s water truly does need to

be sustained, then surely the price of it should reflect that.

Since the WSA was unveiled to the public last month, petitions have quickly sprung up in defense of BC’s water, one garnering over 90,000 signatures in the last week alone. “When over 100,000 people objected to Nestlé taking 285 million liters of Canada’s water for free and selling it around the world, this wasn’t the fix they had in mind,” read the online petition. One of the most prominent sources of outrage stems from the fact that one water purification company would be allowed to make such an enormous profit over a resource that many countries in the world would go to war over. When Polak stated that Nestlé would be “charged at the highest industrial rate,” she apparently didn’t look at the other rates in the country. In other Canadian provinces, water levies have been in place for a long time, and the costs are substantially greater than what BC proposes for its own water. In Quebec, groundwater is sold at $70 per million liters, and in Nova Scotia, at $140.

In BC, residents are frequently told that they should count their blessings, because they have direct access to the “world’s best tap water” according to the CBC, yet Nestlé will be allowed to buy it as if it were sewer water.

Anywhere bottled water is sold - an amusement park, a restaurant, or a vending machine - a half litre bottle typically costs $2.25 – meaning that Nestlé will be allowed to reap a profit more than two million times its expenditures. This year alone, Nestlé plans to extract 300 million litres of freshwater, and for no charge. Next year, they will be paying just over $600 to do so. “I don’t think the water’s being properly valued in order to properly protect it,” said NDP environmental critic Spencer Chandra Herbert in an interview with the Province, “A lot of business groups, community groups, farmers — they want to see better protection for their water.

The water belongs to all of us, yet [one] can make massive profits on just repackaging (a resource) we already own.”

opinions

ROCKING the boat THE CSU EVENT THAT IS CAUSING A STORM Sarah Unger × Writer Ever since Lonely Island came out with "I’m on a Boat," students everywhere have dreamt about getting drunk on a boat with Andy Samberg. Well, thanks to the kind people at the Capilano Students Union, roughly five per cent of student will get to live out half of that dream. Sure, it sounds like it could be a good time. What could be better than being in the middle of the harbor on a cold April night?

The 400 students that managed to get tickets will have a great time. But every single student at Capilano University is paying for this party, that only a fraction of the student population can attend.

The cost of the entire Rock the Boat event is going to cost the CSU $15,000, and they expect to make around $7,500 of that back.

They are going into the event knowing they will lose around half the money they put into

it. The original cost of the party was going to be half of that, but Vice President of Student Life, Zofia Rodriguez decided that the DJs were too obscure. She decided to shell out and spend $3,500 to bring household names such as, DJ LUVLYF and FKYA. They combine for nearly 5,000 likes on Facebook, which means they must be good, right? There was no need to go so far over budget to hire two DJs that the majority of the students have never heard of, especially when they are doing this with the idea that they’re giving the students what they want. There are talented music students at CapU, and DJs that could do the exact same job for cheaper. Saving money on music would’ve made a substantial difference in the budget. The worst case scenario would’ve been a rowdy playlist that has a mix of music for all students on board.

The weather for the event is forecasted to be less than appealing, with temperatures between two and ten degrees with steady rain. What is

the point of throwing a boat party when everyone on board is forced to stay inside? There’s no difference between being on a boat during the cold Vancouver spring and renting a venue on land that had a larger capacity. They already spent money on a land venue for the after party. What they should’ve done was just have the whole party there instead. If local high schools can find the money to rent out places like Pop Opera and Aubar for grad events, the CSU surely has the option for it as well.

If the CSU spent the same money on a larger venue, it would at least be more justifiable.

Sure, there’s a risk of not selling it out, but Rock the Boat sold out, so there’s clearly some students who find getting drunk and partying to be fun. The problem is that demand should not so greatly exceed supply when it comes to student oriented events. CapU has over 7,000 students and only 400 are able to attend. For such an expensive event, only a small fraction of the students are going and they’re allowed to

bring friends and significant others, regardless if they’re students or not, which is further reducing the number of students able to go. The vast majority of students are spending money for other people to have a good time.

Realistically, the CSU should have budgeted and planned much better than they did. The event cannot accommodate enough of the students to have so much of our money being spent on it. Other options were available to them, cheaper DJ’s, cheaper or bigger venues.

They decided to spend a lot of money to accommodate few people. There was no reason to have the party on the boat during a time that is notoriously cold, wet and windy in Vancouver.

It makes about as much sense as booking a ski trip for August. Unfortunately, most students at CapU will have to find out from their classmates if the event was fun or not.

a bad hand THE REAL PROBLEM CAUSED BY THE FAKE HOUSE OF CARDS US politics will know the difference. And that’s the problem with the fictitious plot line of the series. It’s too real. Sure, there are extremes, such as a president murdering people during his march to the Oval Office (oh, c’mon, if you didn’t know that one, you shouldn’t even be reading this article). But there aren’t enough extremes. It wavers too close to reality and therefore is in huge danger of confusing people.

Let’s not kid ourselves — more people binge watch Netflix than read daily newspapers, which has most real-life journalists’ panties in a knot – not the fake journalists, because their panties are around their ankles.

And it’s a cause for concern. When more people reference sitcoms and TV shows as their sources, those sources then have a responsibility to depict themselves as clearly fake, and a work of artistry and fiction or be spot on the mark and become a documentary. And the beloved House of Cards is wavering between the two, even though that’s not the intention.

It wouldn’t be surprising if some Republicans refer to Obama as the “Black Underwood,” seeing as they are both the nemesis of congress, both fake and real.

Leah Scheitel × Editor-in-Chief

× Samantha Smith FEMA to those who know it, tweeted out info to tell people that the storyline that they are referenced in would never be plausible.

FEMA had to apologize for it’s tweets, as it contained spoilers, but isn’t it more important that FEMA inform the masses on how the system really works instead of letting people believe a false storyline, spoilers or not?

House of Cards isn’t the only show to take creative liberties and base some of the storyline on fact, but with the majority of it being fiction. It’s likely a surprise to some when they don’t get medical treatment from a bombshell blonde, like the ones depicted on Grey's Anatomy, jail isn’t nearly as interesting or soft-core porn-like as shown by Orange is the New Black, and let’s not even get started on soap operas. Scandal, the political drama on ABC starring the badass Kerry Washing-

ton is a perfect example of the writers taking complete advantage of a ludicrous storyline.

There are more ridiculous situations and storylines on Scandal than shitty journalists on House of Cards, and they still reference factual US history throughout the series. The difference between the two shows is that Scandal plays up how ridiculous the concepts on the show are. They are blown out of proportion so badly that it’s clearly a work of fiction, which is something that House of Cards fails to do.

House of Cards draws so much from current politics that it blurs the line between fact and fiction too well. This season features an antagonist in the form of a Russian president with the same initials as Vladimir Putin. It draws from real life situations and only slightly manipulates it, to the point where only those who are educated on current affairs and

MORE PEOPLE BINGE WATCH NETFLIX THAN READ DAILY NEWSPAPERS, WHICH HAS MOST REAL-LIFE JOURNALISTS’ PANTIES IN A KNOT – NOT THE FAKE JOURNALISTS, BECAUSE THEIR PANTIES ARE AROUND THEIR ANKLES.

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As the clock struck midnight and Feb. 23 began, so did the streaming of season three of House of Cards. The Netflix political drama, starring Kevin Spacey as the hottest president ever, has become a cultural hit, with people binge watching until they have imprints in their skin from their tight underwear. As fans consumed the third season in it’s entirety, criticism of the award-winning show began to surface, and for good reason. There are aspects of the show that don’t add up, especially in the new season, and have many concerned about the line in the sand between artistic license and fact-based fiction.

Let’s put aside the actual opinions of the storylines for the new season — it will spoil it for those who have had their heads up their asses and haven’t overdosed on the Underwoods yet — and bring into question the creative liberties the show takes, as it takes many, and in different forms.

From the beginning, the quality of journalism on the show has been a thorn in the side of the public, especially for real-life journalists. Female reporters who almost always sleep with their sources to get the lead on a story, isn’t exactly ethical, nor is it what’s taught in any journalism school. It’s insulting to those out there who want a career in this industry, but don’t necessarily want to suck a dick to do it — such as yours truly. House of Cards portrays the journalists as slightly inept, vengeful and terrible at their jobs. Seriously, there are easier ways to obtain information than any method displayed in that show. And to anyone who wants to embark on a career as a journalist, you do not have to sleep with someone to get a story, and if they tell you that you do have to, then that is the story.

The quality of the political systems played in the show is also in question. Without giving too much away (seriously guys, watch this season), actual policy makers got on social media to tell people that the shows plot line could never happen on Capital Hill. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or

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columns

LEAH SCHEITEL COLUMNS EDITOR

the penalty box BEST OF THE WEST

Cole Blight

the first player in Canucks history to have his number retired, having his #12 lifted to the rafters in 1991. It’s impossible to go to a Canucks game today without seeing the infamous ‘FlyingV’ jersey with Smyl’s #12 on the back.

#4: Markus Naslund

× Columnist Cole Blight wasn’t meant to be our Hockey Columnist. However, after sneaking into a gala event under the guise of our Sports Editor, he impressed everyone with so much ease and class, that we knew he’d fit right into our little roster of columnists. He also thought our EIC was 22, so she had to give him a job after that.

There have been many great and talented players who have worn a Canucks jersey, but who is the greatest Canuck of all-time? With 45 years of players to choose from, there have been many who have earned consideration for the title. Here is my list for the best Canucks of all-time.

#5: Stan Smyl Stan Smyl was the face of the Vancouver Canucks franchise for most of the 1980s, serving as team captain for a team record eight seasons. Smyl’s hard-nosed and relentless style of play made him a nightmare to play against and helped make him a favourite amongst fans. Smyl played all 13 of his NHL seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and led the Canucks in games played, goals, assists and points when he retired. Smyl was also

In 1996 after what turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades in history, the Canucks acquired their future captain, Markus Naslund, from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Alek Stojanov. You might be thinking “Who is Alek Stojanov?” and when you find out please let me know because I have no clue either. Naslund was an elite sniper with a deadly wrist-shot and silky-smooth stick handling skills. Naslund played 12 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, totalling 346 goals becoming the franchise’s alltime leader in goals and points. Naslund also served as captain for eight seasons, tying Stan Smyl for the longest tenure as captain in franchise history. Naslund became the third Canuck in history to have his number retired, having his #19 raised to the rafters in 2010. However, Naslund could never lead the Canucks past the second round of the playoffs, which hurt his position on this list.

#3: Pavel Bure Pavel Bure is easily the most-electrifying and offensively-gifted player to ever play for the Vancouver Canucks. Bure was drafted 113th overall in the sixth round of the 1989 NHL amateur

EDITOR@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM

draft. He was a high-touted prospect and considered to be the best player available, however, many NHL teams were afraid to pick Bure because no one was sure if he would defect to his home nation of Russia (at the time it was the USSR). The Canucks took a chance on the highly-skilled rookie and in 1991 saw Pavel Bure suit up for his first-career NHL game. Bure totalled 254 goals in 427 games as a Vancouver Canuck, leading the NHL in scoring in the ‘94 season.

Bure also became the first Canuck ever to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012, finally getting the call after being passed over six times. The Canucks also honoured Bure by retiring his #10 in 2013, making him the fourth and most recent player to receive the honour.

#2: Henrik Sedin The current Canuck captain and franchise leader in points and assists has established himself as one of the most prolific playmakers in the NHL. Henrik was drafted alongside his twin brother Daniel in 1999, which signified the start of the Canucks climb to success. Henrik worked up the Canuck roster and quickly became a leader on and off the ice. Many people have criticized Henrik saying he’s only successful because of his brother. However, in 2010, Henrik became the first Canuck to win the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP as well as the Art Ross trophy as the league’s leading point-scorer while Daniel was injured for most of the season. In 2011, Henrik was named the Canucks captain and led the Canucks to the President’s Trophy and the Stanley Cup Finals, where the Canucks lost in seven games to the Boston Bruins. Henrik has become the face of

the Canucks and has led the franchise to its most successful seasons in team history.

#1: Trevor Linden Trevor Linden symbolizes everything good in the world and could easily become mayor of Vancouver if he ever decided to. Linden was drafted second overall in the 1988 draft and quickly made his mark on the franchise. Linden was the prototypical Canadian hockey player — he was physical, skilled and above-all hard working. Linden quickly rose to fame in Vancouver and was elected team captain at the age of 21. Linden then led the Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup, where the Canucks fell to the New York Rangers in a dramatic seven game series. When Linden was traded to the New York Islanders in 1998 the Canucks fans felt like they lost their leader and were outraged with management. Fans got their wish though when Linden returned home in 2001 after the Canucks made a deal with the Washington Capitals. Linden then spent seven more years playing for the Canucks where he became the franchise’s all-time leader in points.

In 2008, the Vancouver Canucks retired Linden’s #16 and renamed the players entrance gate from gate 5 to gate 16 in his honour. Trevor Linden then made the move to Canucks management in 2014 when he was named President of Hockey Operations, a position he still holds today.

Naming any one of these players as the greatest Canuck of all time would be the right choice. We should consider ourselves lucky that the Canucks have had so many great players that we’ve been privileged to watch.

a ghost in a dying scene A GHOST IN A BOOMING SCENE Matt Jolliffe × Columnist

THE CAPILANO COURIER.

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

Matt Jolliffe is educated in psychology and punk rock, which are two very interesting and diverse fields of study. He is a long-time Courier friend, and rumour has it, he knows something about the Ghost Chair in the CSU Maple bathroom. His column will illustrate why punk music shaped who he became.

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The first time I went to a hardcore show was in 2002. It was a Strain reunion show, with Blue Monday, Dissent and Burden. Strain was a big deal in the straight edge and hardcore community. Hardcore is pretty much just punk rock. Bands like Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Minor Threat spearheaded it in the 1980s and it’s changed into various forms since. This show occurred during the height of “fighting invisible ninjas” in the pit.

What happened was during a slow part of a song, referred to as a breakdown, a circle in the crowd opens up and people in the pit would start throwing punches and kicks in a coordinated manner.

Not to say this doesn’t happen anymore, because it does, but it’s slowly weaned, reverting back to more traditional “slam-dancing”. My 16-year-old self was highly perplexed, so I asked a guy from the committee who was well-versed in the world of hardcore. He told me they “were rocking out, man!” Hardcore is the scene I ended up eventually becoming very much involved in. Now, if you go to metal or punk shows at Funky Winkerbeans and missed the era of Seylynn Hall and everything I’ve talked about, this might not make any

× Danielle Mainmann god damn sense to you, but please bear with me.

Back in the Seylynn days, I used to get upset when my friends increasingly stopped showing an interest in local shows. People were growing up, they were getting full-time jobs, they were going to school — I was upset because I don’t like change. I never really have. Maybe this was also due to the fact that it was something important to me. My then-girlfriend told me that “Seylynn was stupid”, but she still cared enough to understand that music, and that venue, were a huge part of who I was. The doors shut to Seylynn Hall in 2009, and although a few years later a new committee came aboard and tried to get things running again, it was gone for us. The Vancouver hardcore scene had lost Seylynn, we had lost Blue Monday, we had lost Go It Alone, and we had lost In Stride. It was the late 2000s, and all the seminal hardcore bands who had any sort of draw or notoriety were gone. We were

also losing all-ages venues. Video Inn cost too much to rent, Casa Del Artista stopped allowing hardcore shows. The state of Vancouver hardcore was in limbo.

During this time, I was making a concerted effort to make it to practically every show that was happening. There were a group of promoters who were bringing good shows to town, and locally, we still had a great group of talent. For me, however, as I was getting older, I felt nothing new was happening and no one new was coming out.

It felt as though I was playing for the same 15 people every time I plugged in my guitar. I was still playing in bands, but my attendance at local shows began to slowly decline. I was becoming the person that I used to get upset about. I still attended a show every now and then, but they were few and far between, and I wasn’t well versed in the local house show community. All we really had for all-ages at the time was the Zoo Zhop

(RIP), where hardcore shows happened maybe once a month.

I’ve wanted to write about my experiences with the all-ages community in Vancouver for a long time, and when I first pitched the idea for this column I was in a strange predicament, which I felt would unfold nicely onto to a page in print. What was the kicker for me was when I was approached by someone I used to see quite frequently at shows who asked me, “Where have you been?” It was a good question. I’ve been asked this before as well, and it’s something I keep thinking about. To be fair, it’s been hard for me to make it to shows. I’ve become a walking contradiction. I’m working, and trying to commute over town from the North Shore to a show that will end at 1 am when I have to work at 7 am doesn’t seem so appealing. I don’t want to be tired. I’ve become an adult, and it pains me.

For the longest time I used to think of Vancouver’s hardcore and punk scene as this increasingly dying facade, full of cliques and waiting to have a torch taken to it. My analysis may be wrong, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s what it was. Nowadays, a group of transplants from New York and Kelowna have made their mark in this rainy city and have taken the promotion of all-ages hardcore and punk under their wing and I’m grateful for them. The scene where you used to play for the same 20 people every show has expanded. There are new faces in the crowd.

There are new bands forming, and there are new touring acts coming to town. I played a show last month in which I had no idea who any of the other bands were. Most of them were touring, and there were at least 80 kids in the crowd I had never seen before. It reaffirmed to me that I am a ghost in a booming scene.

columns

superfluous feast KEEPING IT SIMPLE Faye Alexander × Columnist

Faye Alexander is the person all other editors turn to when they need something written. She has written about everything from Vancouver’s burlesque scene to scathing shotgun reviews of Alex Trebek and she does it with a steadfast ease that should be marvelled. So it’s only natural we gave her a column to write about the thing that scares her most — the kitchen.

Recipe: Parmesan and herb crusted chicken breast on a bed of tomato pasta Cookbook: Loony Spoons Guest: Whoever was available On Tuesday evening I was scrambling to pull a meal together. I arrived home after work realizing I had completely overlooked my obligatory cooking session, so I pulled my cookbooks off the shelf and began to thumb through the infinite recipes hoping to come across something inspiring. I caught Loony Spoons in my eye line, a tattered, worn out cookbook that was

a strong presence in my childhood home. My mom and her friends all bought the same cookbook in perfect unison resulting in the kids in my neighbourhood all being accustomed to the same healthy meals that were accompanied by outlandish cartoons of chickens in air balloons and spoons with cartoon eyes.

I quietly decided on chicken and the next step was finding a guest to join me on very short notice. When it comes to pinning people down to plans, good reliable friends are hard to come by. In fact, the older I get the more apparent that seems to be, most of us would be lucky to have two. However, when free food is literally on the table, people are happy to arrive with gusto to share in the fare. It’s hard to turn down a homecooked meal.

I marched down to the grocery with my list in hand, anxiety was building in the back of my throat. The clock read 7:30 pm and the streets were alive with the sound of St. Patrick’s Day enthusiasts. There was a swarm of shamrock clad partiers spilling out into the streets of Gastown and I had to bob and weave to make my way safely into Nesters. I navigated the aisles pulling halved chicken breasts, Japanese style panko bread crumbs, dried basil leaves, olive oil, parmesan, a garlic bulb, pasta and some premade jar of tomato sauce. While Vancouver was

quickly becoming a demented cousin of Ireland for the night, I was hyping myself up to become Martha Stewart’s long lost twin. With my basket full, I made my escape back into the rowdy streets and towards the kitchen.

I had hoped to end on a high note, but instead the recipe seemed alarmingly simple. I filled a small bowl with six tablespoons of olive oil and two cloves of minced garlic, and in another I combined a cup of panko and 2/3 cup of parmesan with a hefty dose of dried basil and cracked pepper. I greased a casserole dish and began to piece my meal together, submerging the breasts in the oil and garlic and then coating it in the breading. In just 15 minutes my chicken was ready to cook in the oven at a temperate 350 degrees. I abandoned it in the oven and set my timer for 30 minutes and began to boil water since it seemed like it would be much fancier if it were served on a bed of pasta. I had opted to go rogue and try and create something a little more luxurious than just chicken breast.

It was my own take on chicken parmesan.

Between the grocery store, traversing the busy streets, cleaning the kitchen in order to be able to cook freely in it without contracting a disease, it was nearly 9 pm by the time the chicken had made its way into the oven. I realized that this meal was quickly turning into a midnight snack. When my alarm went off, I pulled out the dish and the golden chicken breasts were a vision to my hunger-strained eyes. I piled the

dish with a simple pasta and lay the chicken akimbo against the pile of carbs. I grabbed a few fistfuls of mixed greens to complete the presentation, and there it was: a beautiful meal.

There is some truth in keeping things simple.

Creating great meals doesn’t always have to mean using space-like kitchen gadgets and 32 step recipes. I had always thought that the foods I loved most were the ones that had been deeply slaved over and had required hours of dedication and practice to perfect. Yet, over the course of my experience in cooking, the most eye opening experience has been that cooking is not all that daunting — if you can play within your skillset, the results can be just as exquisite. Starting simple and developing an appreciation for the loving meals you can make at home can transform your routine, and there is something to be said about how much better you feel when you make it yourself and know the ingredients were fresh and picked yourself.

Maybe I haven’t gotten to the point where I can make Duck L’Orange (apparently the most challenging thing one can hope to perfect), but wonderful food is only a recipe book away at any given time. It used to intimidate me, but as my guest was deeply entranced in mouthfuls of food, “You’re such a good cook, everything you make is amazing!” – maybe I was a better cook than I had given myself credit for.

the time traveller CARIBOO GOLD

Christine Beyleveldt × Columnist Christine Beyleveldt has been a regular Courier contributor since the start of Volume 48. She mostly writes about plays, but apparently she's a huge "geek for history." Note that her work is historical fiction, and the quotes in her work are educated guesses of the correspondence between the historical characters.

× Taylor Lee

shantytowns after the last gold rush had failed to bring any wealth into the area. The cry for gold was heard around the world. It even brought Chinese immigrants across the Pacific to British Columbia, making the territory the first multiethnic one of its kind along the west coast.

The Fraser River gold rush promised another chance to those seeking fortune. “Men began to come from San Francisco and the Sound ragged - boots minus soles - unshaven, tattered, dirty and forlorn - miserable looking beggars - but active. That is to say most of them had leathern bags filled with gold dust,” said one British Columbian physician, John Helmcken, who spent years attending to the ailments of miners along the river.

The mountain range along Vancouver’s north came to be known as "Gum Shan", the Gold Mountain, and many American settlers revelled that British Columbia must have been the new El Dorado. As with most of the gold rushes across the Pacific Northwest throughout the mid-19th century, the one in the Fraser Valley attracted tens of thousands, but most returned home empty handed, unable to either claim a stake along the riverbed or find any gleaming nuggets amongst the sand. It appeared that, as always, rumours of a hidden El Dorado in the mountains of British Columbia had been greatly exaggerated, but the few lucky Americans who did strike gold were quick to carry their newfound wealth across the border. “Here a great smuggling business with

T H E C A P I L A N O C O U R I E R . VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

In 1858, the Yosemite, a large cargo ship carrying fortune seekers, landed on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island. Many of these immigrants had sailed across the globe from China and met with others who had travelled up the west coast of the United States from San Francisco, following the promise of gold along the banks of the Fraser River. “Gold! There’s gold on the Fraser!” was the resounding cry uttered by destitute miners in California. While the whereabouts of the Fraser River was unknown to many, men still packed their wagons and trekked north in search of it.

As for the ship bearing gold-seeking immigrants, it refused to sail any further than Fort Victoria.

But the notion of gold was so enticing that these prospective settlers constructed rafts from the furniture and old barrels on board and paddled across the Strait of Georgia.

For the longest time, Hudson’s Bay Company fur traders and the Musqueam First Nations people populated British Columbia; the pioneers of the area inhabited the banks of the Fraser River and the Burrard Inlet. It was said that the area was home to only 150 Europeans, who made little mark on the land. Gold had existed in the solute of the Fraser riverbeds for thousands of years, but when British colonists descended upon the territory, the Musqueam people began to mine the substance, realizing that it could be used for barter with the British who considered it so valuable. Word soon reached San Francisco, where many Americans were living in hastily assembled

the States ensued and many made a great deal of money,” said Helmcken, while others, still hopeful, worked their way up the river into the north, where the Cariboo region proved fruitful, and another gold rush sparked.

As more miners travelled to the site of the Fraser Valley from San Francisco, the British officials governing the area grew worried for the disappearance of their resources. It was in 1859, at a time where the most valuable resource of the Pacific Canadian coast was disappearing across the American border that British Columbia was officially dubbed a crown colony. Effectively, this was their way of regulating the stream of northward bound American miners.

Infrastructure was brought to British Columbia in the early 1860s, when the colony’s first governor, James Douglas, commissioned the Cariboo road. It was a seemingly endless stretch of gravel highway that would weave through the mountain ranges in the Cariboo region down to the Fraser River. Over the next two years, labourers took camels north, loaded as if they were mules, and paved this road over barren fields and through mountain bypasses.

Pioneer settlements sprung up at convenient points throughout the interior. By the time the project was completed, the rush had come to an end, and most of the gold extracted had been taken over the border into the United States, leaving the crown colony of British Columbia in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, but finally open to expansion northwards.

Officials merged the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island formally in 1866, believing that the respective governors would help each other to pay off their massive debts.

When they were unable to do so, the united colony was assimilated into the country of Canada, as the sixth province. “We have [now] seen Canada entering from both oceans,” heralded all of the colonial newspapers, “Canada has acted in good faith.”

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CAp you

CARLO JAVIER LIFESTYLE EDITOR

CARLO.CAPCOURIER@GMAIL.COM

THE REAL MVP, KIRA SUTCLIFFE

× Vancouver Sport Photos

Kira Sutcliffe is a powerhouse on the volleyball court. The 2014/15 season marks her third year of playing at the varsity level, with the majority of the last two years spent with Capilano University’s team. While she attributes much of her success this year to her coaches and teammates, a previous experience with a different team and a different coach had actually led Sutcliffe to take a whole year off as a result of lost interest in the sport. However, after the results of this season, it seems that she has rediscovered her passion.

This past season, Sutcliffe received the Pacific Western Athletics Association (PACWEST) Player of the Year award. She was named First Team All Star, gathered multiple Player of the Game honours and was also included in the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association (CCAA) Women’s Volleyball All-Canadians Team. On top of that, Sutcliffe was also nominated as the National Player of the Year.

The awards that Sutcliffe picked up this year

exhibit not only her skill on the court, but also display her passion for the sport and her future potential. The entire team practiced at least two hours a day this past season, with many players putting in more hours in the gym and extra practice during open time, “Towards the end of the season we calculated that we had practiced and trained over 800 hours as a team,” she says.

“I have known Kira since I have recruited her out of high school,” says Capilano Blues Women’s Volleyball Team Head Coach Cal Wohlford, “I think over the years she has been a little underrated as a volleyball player. One thing I try to do as a coach is help players succeed as high as they can go. I feel that she is one of those players that could have volleyball in her life for a long time.”

Sutcliffe is humble about her talents, admitting that being named Player of the Year took her by surprise. “I wasn’t expecting Player of the Year,” she says, “I did suspect being First Team All Star.

When I heard about [receiving Player of the Year] it was a complete shock and surprise, it brought me to tears. I thought it would take me at least two full seasons to make Player of the Year.”

According to Wohlford, Sutcliffe will not only be coming back with the team next season, she will also be holding a stronger role. Sutcliffe herself makes the statement that her team is definitely going to Nationals next year. “No more of this bronze shit,” she says. Her role on next year’s team is expected to grow, as part of this, she will have to become more of a leader within the team and find out just how far she can go.

“I wanted her to be a threat this year, our team’s go-to player, a player that makes a difference,

a player that the other teams afraid of playing against,” says assistant coach Lauren Stockstad, “I think this season she has done that. Winning Player of the Year was statement enough.”

When asked of the challenges that she has faced over her years on varsity teams, Sutcliffe says that her biggest challenge was finding the balance in life. Being a student is difficult enough, but being a student athlete that practices daily and spends weekends at games leaves less room for the student part, “If you can’t do well in school you can’t play, I have learned that the hard way,” Sutcliffe says. Travel is another challenge that CapU athletes have to overcome. Teams are not

SOUNDS OF SOUL

THE CAPILANO COURIER.

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

On Thursday, Mar. 19, Capilano University’s outdoor pavilions and the CSU Library Lounge became the school’s very own spots for a mini music festival.

Led by students from CapU’s Outdoor Recreation Management Diploma and a host of mu-

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sicians from CapU and North Vancouver, the first ever Sounds of the Soul managed to brave through the seemingly endless rain and show the musical talent that the community has to offer.

Let's do this more often, guys!

[o] Scott Barkemeyer

only located in the Lower Mainland. There are also teams on Vancouver Island and one team located in Cranbrook, a 14 hour drive away. External support is another factor. All of sports teams of Capilano University are in need of more support from the school, within the Athletics department, and from the community on campus in general.

“Cap needs more fans,” Sutcliffe says.

Beyond her merits, Sutcliffe remains selfless and gracious for her teammates and coaches, “I really want to thank my coaches and my team, this is not something that I could have just walked out and done on my own.”

- written by Scott Barkemeyer

caboose

CARLO JAVIER LIFESTYLE EDITOR

CABOOSE@CAPILANOCOURIER.COM

MASTER OF THE COIN WHAT I WOULD DO IF I HAD ROCK THE BOAT MONEY written by Carlo Javier Like 400-something other Capilano University students, I’m also going to be attending Rock the Boat. It’s billed as the biggest year-end party that CapU has seen in a long time, and the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) seems pretty stoked about it. In all honesty, I am too. They had me at “light dinner provided.” Despite the fact that thousands of other students can’t come, I’m excited that the preparation really had the feel that it was all in the purpose of improving school spirit. Hey, baby steps right? Maybe next year, the end of the year party will truly be campus - wide. It could be in a bigger space that has no track record of sinking, it could be somewhere not in North Vancouver and it could maybe feature the great Waka Flocka Flame! Or Bobby Shmurda! I’m sure they’ll cost quite a bit, but the CSU got them cash yo. Speaking of cash, it’s become news that the CSU did opt to spend $15,000 on this fancy shindig. At first I thought it was because there will be lobster tails served as light dinner, but it turns out it was partly because of compensation for the DJ. Unlike the Courier, the CSU has a nice cash flow, but $15,000 is quite a bit of dough for a year-end party that only 400-something students will get to go to. So, just for fun, I wondered what I would do for CapU if I had $15,000 to blow.

Get Susan Doig Whatever She Wants For those who might not know, Susan Doig is CapU’s Director of Facilities. She’s probably one of the hardest working people on campus, if not the hardest. She makes sure the campus is safe, that our waste level is kept to its minimum and that everything is running smoothly. Simply put, she’s the hero that CapU deserves and needs. Outside of CSU President Brittany Barnes, she’s the Courier’s most popular interviewee for all sorts of things happening on campus. Sometimes that makes me wonder whether that speaks more on all the responsibilities that are on her plate, or more about the lack of real journalism from us. Again, $15,000 could go a long way toward that too. During my full time years with the Courier, I’ve interviewed Sue Doig about earthquake preparedness, waste audits, zero waste centres, coffee cups, crème brûlées, her zebra car, our Managing Editor Andy Rice, wine and many other topics. I don’t think I can get the campus waste production to zero with $15,000, and obviously no monetary value can really prepare anyone for an earthquake, so I figure the best way to show my appreciation for Sue Doig is to give her a year’s supply of Zinfandel. Actually, I think I might like that for myself.

Sculpture created by internationally acclaimed instillation artists Carlo Javier and Andrew Palmquist. "The Boat" will be on display outside Maple building until the rain destroys it.

Pimp Bulcroft’s Ride

A Token of Appreciation for George Rammell

With her retirement looming a little more than a year

Air Jordan / Air Robert

Donate to the needy Obviously by needy, I mean CapU itself. $15,000 can

Now wouldn’t this be nice? I wonder, did George Ram-

local celebrities on campus. Robert, as many already

go a long way. It can maybe help improve the no-

dent Kris Bulcroft a parting gift that she can at least

mell or anyone from the roster of axed programs ever

know, is their undoubted ringleader. He’s the one al-

toriously bad Internet on campus. If the bandwidth

enjoy in her final year. Something that will cement her

get a parting gift? Like at least a token of appreciation

ways chatting with every customer. He’s also the one

increases, I can finally start streaming March Mad-

status as the president of the University, something

for their undoubted fine work? It would be a total let-

that’s always getting yelled at. Although most ladies on

ness games during my Communications 331 class.

that will act like a symbol of presidency, so that every-

down if all he ever got after being banished from the

campus might say that Robert may have the tendency

The money can also be used to start the most exciting

one finally gets to know who she is. She can’t wear a

school were a severance cheque and the remnants

to be a little too conversational, those small talks will

Indiegogo fund since No Island started theirs – we can

crown because that’ll look foolish. Her office is ultra

of that infamous effigy. I know he made an unflatter-

ultimately get you an extra dipping sauce or more curly

help ease the tension at the bargaining table and end

nice but it doesn’t give an Iron Throne type of vibe.

ing medium of socio-political commentary, but that

fries than usual. The CapU community likes to collec-

any questions about a potential strike! Yes we can! Or

The best way to accessorize the president aside from

doesn’t make him pre-Deathly Hallows Severus Snape.

tively hate on Aramark, that’s a given fact. They get

we can have a dope party, maybe a boat party and

her enviable salary is to pimp her ride, just like Xzibit

I’m sure all he would ever want is the return of the

routinely criticized for their prices, those things that

have music and drinks at the boat. Then after we’ll all

used to do. Swag that Prius up with some gold plated

beloved program. As much as we all would like to help,

they masquerade as sushi and for really monopoliz-

go to nice bar/lounge/club and have a really fun year-

spinning wheels, install a portable dog salon in the

we only have $15,000, enough to rent the biggest boat

ing the food industry on campus. You can’t even have

end party where CapU students can finally – wait, this

back, park that thing by Arbutus and everyone will

in the marina and pay a handsome amount to a DJ. For

food at your campus-based event unless it’s Aramark.

almost sounds too familiar.

know what’s up.

now, we can’t bring it back. Sorry. We miss you George

Student-leaders working with the Sustainability depart-

and friends. I mean that.

ment even have that garden beside the old ratchet film building that was once dreamt upon as a potential source of organic goods for the campus. *Slow clap* However, just because Aramark may seem like the big bad corporation doesn’t mean their people are. Really, the boys at the grill are the best. These dudes always aim for the best quality of service and they’re very entertaining. Let’s get Robert some Air Jordan 11’s.

He more than deserves a pair.

Note: This article is entirely satirical and should not be taken seriously. So is the writer, don’t take him seriously, but you probably already knew that.

T H E C A P I L A N O C O U R I E R . VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 19 22

Our boys at the cafeteria grill are some of the truest

from now, it feels like it’s the right time to get Presi-

19

shotgun reviews BOAT PARTY SURVIVAL TACTICS

Yatch Smuggling

Boats and Bitches

Chai Tea

Actual Survival Kit

Your day has finally come. It’s time to let the world know that you’ve got money, style and friends. It’s time to go to a bonafide yacht party. Now before you go enjoy your one free drink, you have to get ready. By ready, I mean strapped with alcohol.

Nobody wants to be that big spender who actually pays for their drinks on the yacht because they weren’t smart enough to strap a mickey to their scrotum. Some people insist that pre-drinking is the best option, but let’s be honest here, to really make a good impression on the people you’ll never meet again or the girl you spoke to once in Poli sci, you gotta be able to give them a shot or two from the flask in your pits. Now, you might be a bit scared that you’ll get caught and kicked off of the yacht, but don’t worry about that. You didn’t go to a yacht party to spend four hours drinking, puking and discovering that ambulances can also come as boats. You went to tell people you’re cool enough to go to a yacht party. But do you know what’s cooler than going to a yacht party? Getting kicked off the yacht.

What do people even bring onto boats? I’m not entirely sure how the whole thing works – I guess you get on the boat, get drunk on the boat, do drugs on the boat and potentially get laid on the boat. But if you’ve got a boy or a lady-friend, bring your own boat, and leave ‘em in there as backup in case the entire thing sucks. Boats and significant others are good for many things, they’re good for general entertainment on a casual Saturday evening (especially if the party didn’t live up to your wildest expectations) and escaping potential carnivorous ocean wildlife and love interests who just will not leave you alone (both go hand in hand). It’s always good to come prepared, especially if the damn yacht pulls a Titanic on you and decides to sink on your ass.

No one wants that, which is probably why you don’t want to be tripping out on a boat, because if the boat does sink, good luck swimming to shore. Won’t be so fun while your entire world is pulsating with purple dragons and unicorns on acid. It would be even worse if your date hogs all the plank space that could easily fit two.

When it comes to parties and going onto boats, I have to admit that I am not a huge fan. I am a rather diligent individual who, unlike some students, puts academics before her social life. Although I turned 19 earlier this year, I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of alcohol, you are more likely to find me devouring a pint of Chai tea with honey if you ever do encounter me at a party, much less a boat party.

If you bring your own mug and don’t try and steal my pack of Chai tea, then perhaps we can share a teabag or two, maybe even the entire container. Chai tea is the reason why I stay awake during geography class and continue to kill it on each lab assignment and I must admit my teacher has been really impressed with my progress in the course so far. However, if you don’t have your own mug, I will not share mine with you as I am quite the germaphobe and I don’t want to be catching a cold or anything.

When I get on a boat party, I make sure I have all the necessary items for my survival. And I don’t mean my survival in a hyper social environment.

I mean my actual survival. I saw Titanic, and I know how charming guys can get in serious trouble when getting onto boats, and I don’t want to be the guy handcuffed to a pipe because I accidentally made a girl fall in love with me – and I’m genuinely fearful of that happening. I don’t want to be leaning on a plank while this damsel in distress takes up all the space. I’m bringing a life jacket, because everyone needs that. I’m kind of worried that the costs of Rock the Boat might not have included life jackets or an escape raft. If the poor fellow who’s supposed to be on watch for icebergs, aquataxis and a rogue school of orcas fails at their job, I’m cautiously optimistic that someone will help me doggy paddle from the middle of the sea to the shoreline. Also included in the things to bring is a whistle — it really worked out for Rose.

- Keara Farnan

- Carlo Javier

- Tristen Schmidhauser - Elena Boycheva

the hot ChArt

ABOUT BOATS

BY ANDY “THE AQUAHOLIC” RICE

YOLO // SEAS THE DAY I’M SINKING // CANOE HELP ME?

$15,000 OF CSU MONEY // WAVE IT GOODBYE

THE CAPILANO COURIER.

VOLUME 48 I SSUE N O . 22

$7,500 IN “INTENTIONAL” LOSSES // WHAT THE HULL WERE THEY THINKING?

20

STOP JOKING ABOUT THE BOAT PARTY // WE’VE BEEN GIVEN STERN WARNING MICHAEL JACKSON CAN’T SWIM // SOMEONE THROW HIM A BUOY! MY LOVER’S GOT HUMOUR // SHOULDA WORSHIPPED HER SCHOONER AN ENTIRE HOT CHART ABOUT BOATS // BAD IDEA, BUT NOW WE’RE IN TOO DEEP BELLY BUTTON LINT // THE NAVEL DESTROYER DECK HAND // RECENTLY PROMOTED TO REGIONAL SAILS MANAGER ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE GOING TO THE CSU YACHT PARTY // PIER PRESSURE BUT WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A TICKET? // YOU CAN JUST BARGE IN

THIS LIL' SAILOR'S SEA LEGS AREN'T QUITE UNDER HIM YET. HE HAS MISPLACED A COUPLE OF HIS PERSONAL BELONGINGS. SPOT THE DIFFERENCES AND WRITE INTO US. YOU COULD WIN SOMETHING SPECIAL!