Capilano Courier | Vol. 51, Issue 6.

VOLUME 51, ISSUE 6 NOV. 19 - DEC. 2, 2018

NEWS OPINIONS

YOU DON'T ADAM SANDLER'S HAVE MAIL NEW GROOVE PG. 4 PG. 6

Meeting the Demands of Cycling Infrastructure PG. 10

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

VOL. 51 ISSUE 6 NOV. 19 - DEC. 2

COVER: MARIA CENTOLA

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CANADA POST ON STRIKE

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STUDENT MARKETER OF THE MONTH

Vote. Seriously, it takes five minutes.

News

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Campus Life Opinions

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THE LAST STRAW

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HANDS OFF MY DOCTORS!

Special Feature

10 VANCOUVER'S CYCLING OBSESSION

Cover Feature

13 CLUB SOFA'S LEAD GUITARIST

Columns

16 TUNES TO GET YOU THROUGH EXAMS

Reviews

18 EXIT 22'S SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

Arts & Culture

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 6

STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ART DIRECTOR

MANAGING EDITOR

PRODUCTION MANAGER

NEWS EDITOR

COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

BUSINESS MANAGER

FEATURES EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Christine Beyleveldt capcourier@gmail.com

Helen Aikenhead manager.capcourier@gmail.com

Greta Kooy news.capcourier@gmail.com

Annalisse Crosswell associatenews.capcourier@gmail.com

Freya Wasteneys specialfeatures.capcourier@gmail.com

Cynthia Tran Vo artdirector.capcourier@gmail.com

Melissa Gibbons pm.capcourier@gmail.com

Ana Maria Caicedo community.capcourier@gmail.com

Jessica Lio businessmanager.capcourier@gmail.com

Saman Dara

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Nivedan Kaushal arts.capcourier@gmail.com

Maria Centola, Jominica Engelbrecht, Sarah Haglund, Heather Haughn, Natalie Heaman, Valeriya Kim, Alex Maertz, Juliana Vieira, Christine Wei

OPINIONS EDITOR

Megan Orr opinions.capcourier@gmail.com

EDITOR & COLUMNIST PORTRAITS

COLUMNS EDITOR

CARTOONIST

Rachel D'Sa columns.capcourier@gmail.com

Cynthia Tran Vo

Annie Chang

COPY EDITOR

Ashleigh Brink copy.capcourier@gmail.com

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Capilano Courier Publishing Society.

of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of Musqueam, Squamish, Stó:lō and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

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CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF espite writing a special feature about Proportional Representation several weeks ago, I’ll admit my understanding of the options on the ballot was still somewhat hazy until fairly recently.

Proportional Representation has been put to a referendum in BC twice before, and twice it has failed. There isn’t a lot of information out there, many people don’t know what the options would entail, and that’s where opposition to Proportional Representation springs up. It’s hard to get behind something if you don’t know anything about it, but that’s where it becomes your job to look for the qualities you desire.

When I turned 18, I was seriously stoked about being able to vote. I spent months leading up to the last federal election researching party platforms, listening to debates and comparing my values to those of Stephen Harper and those looking to replace him as Prime Minister. I even attended a rally in Vancouver. Unfortunately I’ve become a lot more cynical about the democratic process in the span of just three short years.

Our incumbent Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, promised that if he were elected in Oct. 2015, that election would be the last where votes were counted by First Past the Post (FPTP). I even remember news anchors on nearly every channel comparing the new seating assignment in the House of Commons to how it would have looked under various systems of proportional representation instead, because it was such a major part of his campaign. Trudeau failed to keep that promise. And why would he? The very system he sought to replace propelled the Liberal party to a majority government back from nearly being off the map, and the catch is that they received just over a third of the vote across the country.

In BC right now, we have a unique opportunity to have our voices heard. Even if we never end up with a fair system of governance, we might be able to make it at least a little bit

more fair. That cynicism I mentioned earlier? I began stewing not long after I realized that we the people actually have no say in what goes on in government. We elect a representative – or sometimes just a quarter to a third of the constituents in any given riding elect a representative, which gives way to strategic voting – to vote on our behalf in Ottawa. We have to trust that they’ll vote in accordance with our wishes. Obviously it’s not at all practical, but the most upright course of action would be to allow every voting citizen a say in what bills get passed. Our representatives have half of the say, and the other half goes to the Senate, who are appointed by the government.

Politicians say young people don’t vote. Not from my standpoint. I see young people coming out in droves to do more than just vote, they actively campaign. During last year’s provincial election, the Green Party candidate in my riding was fresh out of high school. The Capilano Students’ Union (CSU)’s own former president Sacha Fabry recently ran for Squamish Council.

The CSU invited mayoral candidates to Capilano University last month to debate in regular fashion. What I see is a generation more engaged in the politics of their communities, the rest of the province and as far as the Capital than ever. We may disagree on who we vote for or even how our ballots are counted, but the most important thing is that we vote.

A quote I’ve heard so often that we don’t even know who to attribute it to anymore goes that we don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. Now that we’re in a position to make decisions that will affect how our democracy is run for decades to come, we need to take advantage of the opportunity. No matter which way you choose to vote, just fill out your ballot and mail it back to the elections office. Oh, and get a move on, because Canada Post is on strike right now.

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What’s New with the CSU? Campus smoking policies under review and expansion of Cafeteria Greentainer program in development ANNALISSE CROSSWELL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

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ANNALISSE CROSSWELL NEWS EDITOR

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he Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) recently approved funding for an accessibility audit on campus. The audit is a step towards the CSU’s mandate of creating a space for the Accessibility Justice Collective Lounge, which will be accessible to all students. CSU spaces around campus will also reap the benefits, ensuring they are fully accessible. The project is still early in its development but the audit will likely occur before 2019, at which point conversations with Capilano University about the location of the lounge will begin.

While the Accessibility Justice Collective Lounge was already a part of the CSU’s strategic plan, Andrew Dillman, accessibility justice coordinator, brought up the possibility of doing an audit that would also look at finding a suitable location for the new lounge. “...seeing that the gender and diversity audit that the CSU and University are collaborating on is going well, I decided to talk with Kate [Jarman] about doing something similar through Accessibility Justice,” said Dillman.

Dillman and his team have been working closely with Kate Jarman, director of student spaces. Jarman has been a point of contact between the CSU and the company that will be performing the audit, Universal Access Design (UAD). Dillman said that when they reached out to the Rick Hansen Foundation

about the audit they were referred to UAD because they have worked on similar projects before.

This audit will only cover CSU spaces, but, if successful, the conversation may be brought to the University about auditing other campus spaces at a later date. Audits have been done in the past but have not occurred in recent years and have previously been performed internally.

Some concerns were initially raised about the cost of the audit due to confusion about what exactly the audit would entail, but Dillman said that once the process was clarified it seemed the rest of the CSU was supportive. It was thought by some CSU members that the quote for the project was too high for a simple audit and finding the appropriate space for a lounge, but it was clarified that this process will also be about designing the space itself.

Like many areas in Vancouver, the CapU campus poses an issue for accessibility because of its hilly terrain. Other small issues have been noticed in the past such as the “push to open” buttons being broken on some building entrances.

Later stages in the project will include talking to students about other accessibility issues and conducting a survey of what students would like to see in the new Accessibility Justice Collective Lounge.

Students have already expressed an interest in more quiet spaces to decompress on campus, which Dillman said the CSU will

be keeping in mind as they work on the new space.

“Since my first term in office I’ve always kind of wanted to do an assessment of the spaces and make sure that we’re not just meeting the minimum,” said Dillman, “That we’re actually going above and beyond to make sure that everything is open to everyone.”

There have been talks that the Accessibility Justice Collective Lounge could be a part of the new CSU building.

Fees for this new building were approved last year and it is still uncertain where it may be located on campus, though there is a chance it may replace the Maple building where the CSU offices are currently located.

“Students are paying us to use these spaces and we want to make sure that they’re able to,” said Dillman.

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CSU approves funding for accessibility audit on campus in preparation for development of a new lounge

THE CAPILANO COURIER

Future Accessibility Justice Collective Lounge in the Works

hile other universities around Vancouver reported Annual General Meeting (AGM) turn outs of around 20 students, this year’s Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) AGM drew in a crowd that reached attendance numbers that were, at points, as high as 95 students according to CSU Vice-President External Noah Berson. The Nov. 2 CSU Board of Directors meeting began with a recognition of this success, along with that of this year’s Lobby Days Campaign.

Vice-President Academic, Joshua Millard, has been working on a redesign of the Global Stewardship program, which he said has some flaws and has not been changed in about 10 years. Program conveners and deans have met with a group of alumni to reboot the program.

Millard is also currently involved in lobbying the University to whitelist particular sites so that students are able to access them. He is currently looking at potential external organisations to help facilitate this. CapU’s internet privacy policies are likewise in need of some changes according to Millard, who said that there have been some wording issues presented.

Anna Rempel, president and vicepresident equity, is working on a collaboration with CapU Works in regard to Greentainers, with a Greentainer awareness campaign and expansion in the works.

Smoking policies were also briefly discussed at the Nov. 2 meeting. However, Dhillon Dilnavas, vice-president finance & service, said the next president advisor committee meeting on smoking, to be held Nov. 21, will likely not come to a decision on CapU smoking policies.

CapU’s Spring semester celebration, CapRocks, is now in its final planning stages. Yats Palat, vice-president student life said that the event’s producers and artists have been finalized and branding isn’t far behind. On the other hand, the Capilano Blues Tailgate party that was planned for Nov. 2 was cancelled, which Palat said came as a big disappointment to members of the CapU residence located on Dollarton Highway. According to Palat, new regulations and concerns from the athletic department were among the reasons for the event cancellation. However, the tailgate party may still happen in January.

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Canada Post vs. the Union Workers More delays expected as rotating strikes carry on for fourth week GRETA KOOY NEWS EDITOR

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fter nearly a year of negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), the dispute has yet to see a resolution. The union, who represents 50,000 postal employees nationwide, is currently negotiating contract renewals in two divisions – urban carriers and rural and suburban workers. Talks between Canada Post and the CUPW began in November 2017 and mediated talks in January this year.

Since 2017, 50,000 postal workers have been without a contract.

The strike has insofar prompted Canada Post to ask other countries, inlcuding the United States Postal Service, to stop sending mail to Canada. So far, the UK's Royal Mail and China Post have complied.

Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman addressed concerns over whether or not mail-in referendum material would be affected by the strike early on, noting that the dispute was being closely monitored

by Elections BC. The referendum period is scheduled to conclude on Nov. 30, although, if necessary, Boegman does have the authority to extend the deadline.

In late October, the CUPW began rotating strikes. Different Canada Post locations will strike at different times in order to minimize postal disruptions. Strikes began in Victoria, Edmonton, Windsor and Halifax and have since spread to other cities across the country. At the time, a spokesperson for Canada Post said in a statement that they will “continue to operate across Canada… accepting and delivering mail and parcels in all other locations.” The strikes were set to last for 24 hours at respective locations.

“Since Oct. 22, CUPW’s rotating strikes have shut down Canada Post’s operations in more than 150 communities across the country,” Canada Post put in a news release, adding that they would “remain committed to the bargaining process.”

The CUPW’s key reasons for striking stem largely from recent surges of parcel deliveries and include wage equality for rural and suburban mail carriers, health and safety measures, job security and forced overtime.

Rotating strikes hit the Metro Vancouver area on Oct. 26 in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and North and West Vancouver with a total of 3,500 CUPW workers off the job.

“If anybody was in our position, where they’re put in the position to do things that they shouldn’t be doing or forced to work in the dark or unsafe conditions, I think they would have a problem with that too,” said Blair Bancroft, a CUPW member. Bancroft addresses striking letter carriers outside of a North Vancouver mail depot on Oct. 26.

In Vancouver, Anju Parma, CUPW Vancouver Local 846 third Vice-President told Global News that negotiations have still not resulted in their mutual satisfaction, adding that there are still many outstanding

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demands not being addressed.

“The Corporation has made significant offers to CUPW, which include increased wages, job security and improved benefits and has not asked for any concessions in return,” Canada Post said. However, their efforts have been futile. On Nov. 13, they suspended delivery-time guarantees.

The CUPW has closed two major processing centers, including one in BC, which Canada Post admitted will cause significant disruptions. Nearly 600 tractortrailers of mail have accumulated since the beginning of the strike.

Canada Post has three main sorting plants located in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal – all of which have been closed several times since the beginning of the rotating strikes. All three combined process

approximately a million parcels per day.

“Canada Post has been working hard to maintain service to Canadians, but Vancouver is a key processing hub for mail and parcels in Canada. The union’s rotating strike will therefore have a significant impact on our operations and cause further backlogs of trailers,” they said.

Canada Post is deemed an essential public service, which means that the federal government can table legislation forcing employees back to work even in the event of a strike. During the 2011 postal workers strike – which was met with a lockout by Canada Post – the Canadian Government passed legislation doing exactly that.

E-Commerce giant eBay called on the federal government to put a stop to the dispute, prompting Canada Post’s new

“time-limited” offer to CUPW. The fouryear, $650 million offer includes an annual two per cent wage increase and a $10 million health and safety fund.

There was a catch, however. Negotiations must be concluded before the holiday shopping rush with an acceptance deadline of Nov. 17.

Currently in their fourth week of rotating strikes across the country, the CUPW refuses to back down. “In spite of the continued assistance of the mediator over the weekend, Canada Post still refuses to address our major issues,” said CUPW national president Mike Palecek in a statement. “While we remain at the bargaining table, ready to negotiate with Canada Post, we will not sit back in silence.

This fight is not over.”

CAMPUS LIFE

CAPUMA Introduces Student Marketer of the Month

CapU’s Business Student Kaitlin Wong is the first to receive this recognition ANNALISSE CROSSWELL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

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President of HRMA, Jasmin Grewal, nominated Wong, wanting to acknowledge Wong’s hard work on redesigning the HRMA website and for creating a new look for the association in time for the Fall semester. “...every time I told her to create a poster or fix up the website she was so quick to do it and always had a great attitude towards my input, but she is never afraid to share her input as well,” said Grewal. She sees this award as a great new initiative for the CapU Business Faculty. “CAPUMA is one of the leading associations here at Capilano and the Business Faculty definitely recognizes that, so having the award, I think it creates a competitive drive between

students, especially if a faculty member is nominating them,” said Grewal. “It is also nice to see big or small recognition given to students that are working hard at Capilano.”

Recently, Wong worked on designing promotional posters for a recruitment panel hosted by the HRMA. The panel brought in human resources industry leaders who educated students on what to expect when applying for jobs, focusing on what they personally look for when hiring.

Wong is the first student to receive CAPUMA’s Student Marketer of the Month award, so keep your eyes peeled to see who follows her in this acknowledgement of excellence.

Cap Core Program Officially Launched at Capilano University this Semester

Degree requirement changes have taken effect for baccalaureate students GRETA KOOY NEWS EDITOR

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apilano University introduced and implemented their Cap Core program earlier this year. The program is designed to prepare students for life after university, helping them become “critical thinkers and excellent problem solvers.”

The Cap Core model is arranged into three different themes: Foundation, Integration and Professional Practice, all of which incorporate various courses that students are to work through towards their degrees.

It’s a new approach to the way students take electives, giving them new opportunities to explore classes that otherwise may not seem to fit in with their main focus of study.

“The Cap Core initiative enhances the rich education Capilano University provides by exposing students to additional perspectives,

approaches and means of expression,” said Vice President Academic and Provost Laureen Stylnes.

Styles is responsible for “the academic quality, direction and stewardship of Capilano University’s programs.”

Previously, Styles acted as Vice President Academic for the Justice Institute of British Columbia and at Vancouver Island University.

“Cap Core fosters depth and breadth of learning outcomes consistent with the degree-level qualification. Faculty and administrators collaborated across the University to develop Cap Core as a unique signature for the University to enrich our degree offerings,” said Styles.

Currently, Cap Core courses are a program requirement for students working towards their baccalaureate degree. Students in degree programs must earn 30 Cap Core credits over the course of their studies, which typically means participating in 10 Cap Core courses.

Foundation classes make up six of those credits and include courses like BADM 210:

Business Statistics and others that cover fundamentals.

Integration courses are intended to introduce students to a new perspective, and include classes that focus on self and society, science and technology and culture and creative expression. This includes courses like CMNS 333: Conflict and Communication. The Integration portion of the Cap Core program is the largest, making up 18 of the required 30 credits.

Baccalaureate students must also complete six credits of Professional Practice courses, which is intended to put into practice the skills students have learned through completing the Foundation and Integration portion of the Cap Core program. This includes an experiential learning component and a Capstone project. An example of which is APSC 140: Engineering Design.

Before courses are added to the Cap Core program list, they must first go through an approval process. There are currently 279 different courses offered under the three Cap Core themes with more courses being added

monthly.

For those in certificate and diploma programs, Cap Core credits will be a requirement, six for certificate students and 12 for diploma students, beginning in the Fall of 2019.

Styles said that courses within the program were implemented in order to help students become well-rounded and equipped with a broader knowledge base. The courses “bring other viewpoints to the fore for students and augments studies in their selected discipline.

Having electives flow through Cap Core will give students a comprehensive education that prepares them to thrive in their careers and communities,” she said.

For more information on the Cap Core program, please visit https:// www.capilanou.ca/programs-courses/search--select/cap-corecourses/ or if you have questions regarding the Cap Core program, contact capcore@capilanou.ca 5

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media, aspiring to work for big companies in the industry such as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. “I just like creating and designing, and playing with Photoshop,” said Wong, “that’s probably why I liked marketing, and then [human resources] was just a good backup plan.”

Beyond her interests in marketing and human resources, Wong enjoys trying new restaurants around the city, as well as travelling and hiking. Like many others, she hopes to be able to bring these personal interests into her future career. Wong’s ideal marketing job would allow for travel and “if free food is included that’s good too,” she said.

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he Capilano University Marketing Association (CAPUMA) presented their first Student Marketer of the Month award, a new initiative to give recognition to students in marketing-related courses, last month.

The award’s first recipient is Kaitlin Wong, director of marketing and web development for the Capilano Human Resources Management Association (HRMA). Wong runs social media campaigns for all of the association’s events and handles their website's development. “I was kind of shocked when I won the thing,” she said.

CAPUMA’s goal with these awards is to recognize the excellence of those outside their own association. “Professors are the ones that nominate them, and we do that because … we don’t want [CAPUMA] to be involved in that process,” said CAPUMA President Rosemary Preckel. “We do believe that recognition should come from faculty.”

Recipients of the Student Marketer of the Month award are given a certificate, along with a $5 gift card and promotion across the association’s social media platforms.

Wong is in her fourth year of the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program, majoring in Marketing and Human Resource Management, which she hopes to finish in the fall of 2018. In the future, she endeavours to continue her work with social

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A Plea to Preserve the Sanctity of Grey's Anatomy TV Crossovers: keep your hands off my doctors!

a good show, although admittedly, I was only there for Sophia Bush and haven’t HELEN AIKENHEAD watched an episode since she left. I do still MANAGING EDITOR keep up with Chicago Fire, which is really what brought this epidemic to my attention.

NATALIE HEAMAN Wolf created a third show in 2015, Chicago ILLUSTRATOR Med, concluding his trinity of dramatized emergency response. Naturally, these three love Grey’s Anatomy. I have been sectors have reason to cross paths in the a loyal, dedicated and dare I say, nature of their work, and I do understand obsessive viewer since I was much and respect the idea of creating such an younger than I probably should’ve been immersive and realistic world that allows when I first saw an episode. Safe to say, I’m your characters to interact just as they would here for it. Here for whatever heartbreak, in reality. But Wolf, you’ve gone too far. curveball or other twist Queen (and show The launch of each of the franchise’s creator) Shonda Rhimes throws my way. instalments brought a crossover event where But, I’m scared. There’s a recent trend in the same story would continue on to the television that I fear may soon be coming for next. From a marketing perspective, again, me and my beloved surgeons of Grey Sloan I understand, and I respect that. But it has Memorial, and it’s one I’m not physically gotten to the point where following all three able to handle. shows is almost required to enjoy the others, The crossover has been around for as long and it is no longer exclusive to a special as I can remember. Show of hands, who launch event. This isn’t about the occasional remembers the absolute genius that was cameo from another show’s character, which That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana?

I actually think is pretty entertaining, I’m That was televised gold. It was a rare and talking about a full-blown plotline ménage highly anticipated occasion when your à trois. If you want to see the resolution to a favourite fictional worlds would collide as story introduced in Chicago Fire, you have to you ate your after-school snack, and all was watch Chicago Med. Think that’s it? No, the right in the world. But now, the crossover real conclusion isn’t revealed until you also has become a pervasive time-suck, and watch Chicago PD. unlike the tumultuous life that comes with For the last time I’ll say that the creativity being a Grey’s Anatomy fan, I am certainly of this is not lost on me. The problem is, I do not here for it. not have the time! With a full course load, The best example, or biggest perpetrator, a job and the last semblance of a social life of the crime I present to you today comes to cling on to as finals season approaches, from another famed show creator, Dick a quick rest to watch a show cannot mean Wolf. In 2012, Wolf introduced us to watching three and it’s unreasonable to the world of emergency responders in expect your viewers to do so.

Chicago with Chicago Fire, a show about Now back to what’s most important, firefighters and the paramedics housed at Grey’s Anatomy. If Wolf wants to flex with their station, which came as a relief to the this Chicago empire, so be it. I won’t be oversaturated market of police procedurals. making time for it, but I’m sure many people Then, two years later, came Chicago PD will. However, in the recycled landscape of – a police procedural. To be fair, it was network television I will not stand for this

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becoming a trend.

With the second season now underway, the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff, Station 19, is making me pretty nervous. Is it a bad show?

Not at all. But am I willing to devote as much time and emotional labour to it as I am to Grey’s? Absolutely not. The crossover elements have been pretty tame, besides stealing one Grey’s regular to permanently join the Station 19 fire squad. But when a spontaneous viewing of the latest episode of Station 19 revealed a massive development in a plotline that’s been brewing in Grey’s

Anatomy for a good half of a season, I was pissed.

I acknowledge the need to stay relevant in the streaming age but making your shows more inaccessible is not the answer. So, this is a plea, mostly to Shonda Rhimes (as my pleas are often directed) to keep the development of your shows within their designated time slots.

If (and when) I want to dedicate three hours of emotional turmoil to a one-hour episode of Grey’s Anatomy, I will, so please don’t force me to do it.

(Re-)Enter Sandman Adam Sandler’s new Netflix special revisits his comedy roots GRETA KOOY NEWS EDITOR

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inally taking a break from filming comedy classics like The Ridiculous 6 (joking), Adam Sandler made his long overdue return to stand-up comedy with his Netflix special Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh. Despite what the title suggests, the special isn’t cutting edge. Sandler’s routine and songs are new, but it errs on the side of all too predictable. That being said, Sandler has acknowledged in the past that he’s doing it for his audience and not the reviews, which he told Howard Stern during his 2015 interview, he doesn’t “give a fuck” about. If anything, the title acts as a middle finger to the critics who’ve been dousing Sandler’s work with negative reviews for the last couple of decades. And honestly, good

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on him. The Brooklyn-born comedian is truly an icon, and though most of the movies we’ve seen him in recently are complete flops, he still deserves our attention.

Sandler became a writer for Saturday Night Live in 1990 after being discovered by comedian Dennis Miller. Before that, Sandler appeared on The Cosby Show in 1987 as Smitty and alongside stars Chris Farley and Dan Aykroyd in the 1993 classic Coneheads. Outside of acting and standup, Sandler also released comedy albums, a couple of which did very well. He’s also known for songs like “The Chanukah Song”, which appeared on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 1999. Unfortunately, Sandler shelved working on albums and stand-up routines once he had become a box office regular.

His breakthrough into Hollywood was followed by iconic Sandler films like Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996) and The Waterboy (1998). Since then, he’s experimented with more serious roles, such as George Simmons in Judd Apatow’s Funny People (2009) but has kept up

appearances in forgettable comedies like Jack and Jill (2011) and The Do-Over (2016).

Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh is the comedian’s first comedy special since his HBO What the Hell Happened to Me? special in 1996. His Netflix special is a coordinated mashup of footage pulled from a recent tour, which, keep in mind, allows editors to pick and choose which clips captured the best joke landings and Sandler delivery. Despite this, it’s a fun special to watch and his energy throughout is undeniable. One clip features Sandler performing the same bit in a New York City subway station, disguised as a busker in a large hoodie, puffy jacket and sunglasses.

What little attention he gets in the station is negative, but he doesn’t care. As he sings “Grandma died today/I guess I’ll go to a bingo game and steal somebody else’s grandma and hope that my dumb kids can’t tell the difference” he laughs at his own dumb material and disregards the judge-y onlookers. It’s great.

A little musically overweight, his special

isn’t outside of the bubble of his usual shtick. While he didn’t completely ditch the arguably played-out accents, Sandler is surprisingly raw and somewhat vulnerable, still keeping his jokes dramatic yet relatable.

There are serious moments too – a Chris Farley tribute and a song Sandler wrote for his wife Jackie (a twist on his classic “I Wanna Grow Old With You” from the Wedding Singer), which, admittedly, had me in tears. He ends the special with an acknowledgment to his audience, saying “this goes for all of you guys here tonight, thanks for growing old with me”, rolling a montage of clips from old movies, specials and SNL skits in the background.

The ending was what changed my mind – I went into watching his new special expecting something unusual and contemporary, but what I got was something so distinctively Adam Sandler that I couldn’t not like it. If his recent work suggests anything about what the comedian’s future looks like, we can expect to see more of Adam Sandler the iconic comedian, and not Adam Sandler the has-been.

OPINIONS

Calgary’s decision to reject the 2026 Winter Olympic Games is a lost opportunity The benefits associated with hosting far outweigh the costs, as hefty as they are CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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destination because of the Olympics, but the city saw a massive and much-needed upgrade, largely paid for by the provincial and federal governments. The Canada Line was built for the Games. The Vancouver Convention Centre, which now hosts over 500 events every year and will inject $500 million into the economy this year alone, was built for the Games. CBC reported upon the 30th anniversary of the first Canadian Winter Olympic Games this year, that in 1988 the lack of infrastructure propelled Calgary to bid for the Games. And unlike Rio de Janeiro’s Aquatics Centre, which has stood dormant since its single use in 2016, much of Calgary’s sporting infrastructure built for the Games is still used for the same purpose. The International Olympic Committee even supported the idea of using more recently built sporting venues in Whistler.

Pride and generosity are hard to come by, but the Olympic Games offer it aplenty.

It brings people together from all over the world, and is a great investment in a city.

Great gains only come with great risks, and given that Calgary is just coming out of an economic recession, the Games could’ve brought a renewed energy and the promise of something more to the city.

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he International Olympic Committee has a problem. Nobody wants to host the Games anymore. Calgary voted against putting in a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics on Tuesday night, following Turkey’s withdrawal from the bidding process in October, Japan’s in September, and Switzerland’s and Austria’s in June and July, leaving just Milan and Stockholm in the running. Anyone will say that the cost of hosting an Olympic sporting event is just too much – but Calgary’s loss is a squandered opportunity.

Calgary has the advantage of already having much of the needed sporting infrastructure in place from the 1988 Olympic Games. The Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010 cost $7.7 billion to host, and in 2017, it was estimated that it would cost $4.6 billion to repair the existing infrastructure from the last Calgary Winter Olympics for a Games in 2026.

Let’s go back to 2010 for a moment,

because most of us will remember. Nearly 20,000 volunteers stepped up to organize and coordinate the Vancouver Winter Olympics. They acted as tour guides, translated, welcomed athletes and gave directions with a smile and a wave. For a city that is often, and sometimes unfairly, dubbed the “no fun” city, hardly anyone didn’t have a smile on their face during those two weeks, and the cheery atmosphere only cemented Canada’s worldwide reputation for friendliness.

Many didn’t want Vancouver to host an Olympic Games in 2010. Many can’t justify the expense. Expense aside for a moment, we haven’t stopped talking about Alexandre Bilodeau since he won the first gold medal on Canadian soil in 2010. His victory inspired every Canadian athlete competing in those games, and we won a recordshattering number of gold medals. That was the year Canada’s darlings, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, graced the Olympic ice for the first time. Tourists come from all over the world to watch their star athletes compete, and we all feel an invigorating sense of pride in our competitors. Everyone stops to watch the good-natured competition and root for their country, if only for two weeks.

But there’s more to an Olympics than just national pride and two weeks of peace between nations adopted under the Olympic Truce. Vancouver didn’t become a tourist

Although unnecessary, many brands still test their products on innocent animals SAMAN DARA CONTRIBUTOR ALEX MAERTZ ILLUSTRATOR

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f you’ve convinced yourself that animal-tested products are safer, okay to purchase once in a while or “not that bad,” this is an invitation to ponder the impact of your choices. Test your compassion towards another living thing and in accordance, adopt cruelty-free products.

Cruelty-free shopping is a rewarding and guilt-free experience – just look for a bunny leaping or pink floppy ears on your products!

Animal testing is still rampant within the biomedical, commercial and healthcare industries. In the US and Canada alone, over 104 million animals – including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish and birds suffer in labs each year. Globally, animals are subject to burns, shocks, poison, starvation, addiction and brain damage. These animals are then destined to be killed by asphyxiation, neckbreaking or decapitation. The practice is immoral and unnecessary.

Yes, you read that right, unnecessary!

There have been scientific breakthroughs which avoid animal testing, such as using donated human skin to create realistic models for dermatological and toxicity

testing. This innovative product testing would be applicable for human use because, surprise surprise, humans are nothing like loveable, helpless rodents. Additionally, non-animal testing is far more efficient and cost effective. These progressive experiments can last from minutes to hours rather than the months required with traditional test species.

It’s 2018. We should have faith in new testing methods, and more importantly, we should know better! The best test species for humans is humans. Animal testing is irrelevant and inhumane.

Ethically, we need to abandon brands that conduct animal testing. These days this can be very, very difficult as brands are endlessly intertwined with one another.

Supporting and purchasing animal-tested brands condones these actions and funds future practices. It can be difficult to truly monitor what your purchases are encouraging, especially with the deceptive labels we see today. It feels as though one can be misled by the label “cruelty-free.”

Nonetheless, we should aim to endorse truly cruelty-free products.

From a global perspective, the dynamics of the cosmetics industry are complicated.

China’s regulations require foreign brands to use animal testing. Many parent companies who are shelved in China receive criticism, and rightly so. This means that even if a brand is advertised to be cruelty free, their parent company may not be. Doing your research is essential to purchasing from ethical brands.

Ethical products are most accessible in

North America since brands have diversified into cruelty-free culture. It can feel tempting to purchase products for an aesthetically pleasing design and/or use, without thinking about how the product got there. Yet, embracing cruelty-free products allows our voices to be heard, and companies will be forced to accommodate our values. In early November 2018, Michelle Thew, CEO of Cruelty Free International announced, “Covergirl marks a new milestone in this area as the largest makeup brand to be certified cruelty free after having met our

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Animal Testing: Unfortunately Not a Thing of the Past

rigorous criteria. It demonstrates how it’s possible to be an accessible and innovative brand without inflicting suffering on animals.” The mandate also means that Covergirl is no longer available in China.

This development brings hope for crueltyfree communities around the world and increasing accessibility. Change starts with individuals, specifically consumers, to acknowledge cruelty free as the status quo.

Begin by re-evaluating your own belongings and morning routine products and ask your friends to do the same.

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 6

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The Last Straw In a last-ditch effort to save the planet, straws have become the hot-ticket no-no item on Santa's naughty plastics list.

BY ANNALISSE CROSSWELL ILLUSTRATED BY JOMINICA ENGELBRECHT

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“When I first heard about the ban on straws I was thinking it’s something, but it’s so miniscule, it might do more harm than good,” said Muckle, “It’s like we’re doing our part to save the environment, but really in the grand scheme of things it’s pretty negligible.”

Instructor of Environmental Biology, Rachel Clearwater, shares this sentiment. Clearwater has worked as an environmental consultant and has a PhD in Conservation Ecology. While waste is difficult to accurately measure, she cites one study based on coastline cleanups by Hardesty & Wilcox that estimates somewhere between 437 million and 8.3 billion plastic straws end up on coastlines around the world. Although, as she points out, compared to the almost

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recycling as well. Finding a balance is important, and CapU’s audits put it ahead of many other institutions that are only now starting to monitor their waste more closely.

In the past the audit has sectioned out particular items to be tracked such as coffee cups, but never straws, so there is no way of telling how much of an issue this is specifically for the University.

Another prominent conversation for environmentalists is how these individual efforts measure up when compared to the waste that is created by corporations. Muckle is adamant that this comes down to a lack of policy surrounding corporate waste. “What I can tell from reading around the world, is to be truly effective in terms of overall waste, including, but not restricted to plastic, you have to hit the corporations, and the government has to hit the Take the ridiculous Starbucks debacle corporations,” said Muckle.

According to Muckle the countries that are significantly less wasteful than North America put the onus on where they replaced plastic straws with corporations to use less packaging, with penalties in place paper straws in plastic wrapping. While for those that do not comply. Without these penalties we cannot expect companies that are striving for financial success to use less packaging when it is the easiest and most of these bans are well meaning, cheapest solution for them. Muckle said that Japan is an the tendency to jump on the bandwagon example of this, producing half as much waste despite being a comparable industrial nation.

Clearwater points to legislation as an important factor without thinking tends to yield a lack of in the progress of this type of environmentalism. She thinks overproduction is the key issue, but as individuals, consideration and silly mistakes. the biggest change we can make is by making sound political decisions, such as voting for politicians who take nine million tons of plastic that a Science article estimated in these issues seriously. Similarly, making more sustainable 2015, this number seems insignificant. choices like being more particular in the products we “Even though straws are a small percentage of plastic purchase is, for Clearwater, a step in the right direction. waste by weight, they are a very visible fraction,” said Straws may not be the be all end all of waste reduction, Clearwater. “Because they are light they float and often but Clearwater thinks it is important for individuals to take end up on shorelines. When people do shoreline counts of a look at what they are using in their daily life and where individual pieces of plastic trash, straws turn out to be four to small changes could be made. “Right now, raising two seven per cent of overall plastic waste on beaches.” kids, I am horrified by how many plastic toys exist and Muckle is involved in the waste audit that is led by end up in our house. I am working on ways to recycle Cheryl Rossi on CapU's campus annually. The audit, aside toys and reduce demand for single use plastic toys…” said from providing experiences for students to learn about the Clearwater. “...I don't want to be the person complaining reality of what we are throwing away, provides important and lecturing about the evils of loot bags, balloons and information about what is and isn’t helping with CapU’s floaty toys, so I work on doing this in an inclusive and waste habits. According to Muckle the first audit showed empowering way. It’s a challenge but I think I am learning that plastic garbage bags were the biggest category of waste to be more effective.” in the school. Knowing this led to a change in how many It may not be enough, but cutting down your use of garbage bins there were around campus, with individual bins straws still has an impact, even if it’s just to raise the in offices and classrooms being replaced by more bins in question of whether or not we are doing enough. As hallways.

Muckle points out, it can be disheartening to make a huge The audit has influenced how many bins there are, as effort as an individual when it seems like others don’t care, well as signage and location, with new changes made but while there are many issues out of our control we can every year. When there are too many options people tend still do our part in ensuring a habitable planet for future to get overwhelmed, but too few options result in improper generations. We all play a part.

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n the current scramble to save the planet from our neglect, plenty of initiatives have begun with the intent of moving towards a zero-waste future.

Straws are the new plastic bags of the environmentalism conversation, but are these bans really the answer to our plastic woes or are we giving ourselves a preemptive pat on the back? We’ve all seen the video of the tortoise having a straw pulled out of it’s nostril, but straws are not the only waste that poses a threat to our ocean friends.

America is widely known as one of the most wasteful countries in the world. A 2006 Forbes article said that according to reports from 2005, America, making up only five per cent of the global population, produced a quarter of the waste at more than 236 million tons. A fact that Bob Muckle, an instructor of archaeology at Capilano University, said is still the case today, with the middle class being the worst offenders. There are fewer studies regarding Canadian waste, but with our cultures being so similar it is thought that Canadians are, by extension, similarly wasteful.

In an effort to clean up our act, Vancouver voted to ban straws in May, along with foam containers used for takeout. The ban is set to be implemented by June 2019.

Vancouver is just one of many cities globally that has already vouched to abandon the use of plastic straws.

According to a Fast Company report, cities and states that have banned plastic straws in America alone include: Malibu, Oakland, Berkeley, Seattle, Edmonds and Miami Beach, along with New York, California and Hawaii who are in the process of doing so.

The movement has been embraced by developed nations, but there have certainly been concerns raised in the process. Take the ridiculous Starbucks debacle where they replaced plastic straws with paper straws in plastic wrapping. While most of these bans are well meaning, the tendency to jump on the bandwagon without thinking tends to yield a lack of consideration and silly mistakes.

Plastic straws may be unnecessary for most, but for people with disabilities like tremors or degenerative muscle diseases which impair their ability to drink from a cup, it’s not always as simple as using a paper or metal straw. When Seattle banned plastic straws in July of 2018 it was certainly an issue that had to be considered. Ellen Pepin-Cato, spokeswoman for the City of Seattle told CNN two weeks later, “The new director's rule provides a waiver for flexible plastic straws, which can be provided to customers who need such a straw due to medical or physical condition." According to the CNN article, no proof of being disabled would be required, but the onus still falls on individual businesses to choose whether to supply these straws.

Besides the concern of accessibility, one has to wonder how much we are really doing for our environment.

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Let There Be Bikes As traffic on the North Shore increases, more bicycle infrastructure is necessary to meet the demand from cyclists

BY FREYA WASTENEYS ILLUSTRATED BY MARIA CENTOLA

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teep hills, dirt trail detours, bits of glass and busy intersections always make my 15-kilometre cycling commute to CapU a little spicy. I learned a long time ago that leaving the house without a patch kit was a surefire way to end up carrying my bike while I ran over the Ironworkers Bridge to Phibbs Exchange sweaty, frantic and late for class. In order to avoid the insecurities of riding beside cars, I tend to go out of my way to find alternative routes that follow established bike paths, but connecting them can be a challenge. I love biking – I fell in love with Vancouver through biking – but too often I allow mild inconveniences to influence my decision of whether or not to ride. Maybe it’s raining, or maybe the route is unconnected in places.

Maybe I don’t want to carry my heavy Abus U-lock. Whatever it is, there have been too

choosing self-propelled wheels over a car.

In the grand scheme of things, Vancouver is quite accessible by bike, but according to Tony Valente, North Vancouver City Councillor-Elect, and former chair of North Vancouver’s HUB Cycling, there’s still room for improvement. Despite forward steps, the bike route master plan remains incomplete. “The different types of infrastructure that we have now means that you’re working with an incomplete grid, so it’s kind of challenging to get around,” said Valente. “The signage is getting better, but is a little bit spotty as well.” #UnGapTheMap is an initiative developed by HUB Cycling to address over 300 priority gaps in Metro Vancouver’s bike network. A charitable non-profit, HUB Cycling is a member-based organization that aims to remove the barriers cyclists

“The classic thing is that people say bike lanes are a vanity project, but we don’t determine where

we’re going to build a bridge based on the number of people trying to swim across the water.”

many times I’ve been halfway out the door, only to say “hell naw.” Despite being a little lazy, and a sucker for convenience, there has rarely been a time that I’ve regretted

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face. The organization works to create safer cycling infrastructure, and to improve the “quality of our communities, our health, the environment, and local economies.”

Through consultation with local governments, HUB brings forward issues raised by the community, and works to find solutions.

“The classic thing is that people say bike lanes are a vanity project, but we don’t determine where we’re going to build a bridge based on the number of people trying to swim across the water,” said Valente.

“People will show up and bike when they feel that it’s safe, and [HUB is] working on making it safe, but until it really is – and you can get to where you’re going – people won’t bike. And right now it’s easiest and safest in the car.”

For cyclists comfortable riding beside traffic, there are many options available, but Kaitlynn Rogers, manager of English Bay Bike Rentals, believes that it can be hard for new riders. “When I started cycling I felt very timid riding on the road,” she said. Rylan Tailfeathers, English Bay Bike Rentals senior mechanic, agreed with

Rogers. For confident riders, he finds the system is mostly reliable, but addresses that it can be challenging for those just getting into it. “The connection points where bike lanes either end, or have detours, are awkward,” he said. “It could definitely be improved to allow more casual riders to feel more comfortable and safe.”

As proficient cyclists, the two feel relatively comfortable riding in traffic, but near misses appear to be part of the game.

“Thankfully I've never had any collisions with vehicles but I have had countless close calls,” said Rogers. “Usually it will be from vehicles trying to squeeze past me without allowing oncoming traffic to clear, using bike lanes to cut traffic or turning across bike lanes without shoulder checking.” For her, the current bike lane designs fall short when they merge into traffic, or have poorly placed turn lanes on the left shoulder instead of the right.

That being said, working in the rental business Rogers and Tailfeathers often hear outsiders’ impressions on the city. “I have only ever heard praise for the level of cycling infrastructure from other Canadians,

and American tourists,” said Rogers. “Many are shocked at how accessible the city is to cyclists.” But in terms of safety, it seems to be a matter of consistency in infrastructure.

As creatures of habit, most of us can get used to just about anything if exposed long enough. If the goal is to get more people on their bikes, the city needs to consistently address both safety and convenience, looking beyond the major arteries.

Dr. Kay Teschke from the School of Population and Public Health at UBC initiated Cycling in Cities back in 2004 to investigate route infrastructure. Though retired, Dr. Teschke is still heavily involved in policy and safety committees for cycling, and has instigated numerous studies looking specifically at route infrastructure, cyclist preferences, barriers and safety.

One telling study conducted in Vancouver in 2010 examined “16 route types and found a marked discrepancy in the types of bicycle routes that are currently available, and what is preferred.” While preferences varied between experienced cyclists and those newer to it, the findings showed that providing prefered infrastructure had

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“As our cycling community grows I feel more space will eventually be needed,” said Rogers. This summer (special thanks to the warm weather and improved bike infrastructure), the City of Vancouver saw a record number of cyclists on the five major bike routes, including Burrard and Cornwall, Science World, Adanac Bikeway, Lions Gate Bridge and Point Grey Road, proving that if the infrastructure is in place, it will be used.

raising cycling awareness in Vancouver.

Utilizing fun, classic bribery tactics throughout the week – prizes, snacks, drinks and bike maintenance – they hope to get more people involved with HUB, and provide a little bit of knowledge along the way. This is one step towards growing (and improving) the cycling community, but it is only a piece of the equation.

As the community pushes for more

“It’s amazing how much we spend on bridges

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is not entirely surprising, it does show that convenience plays a large role in whether or not people choose to bike, especially when it hasn’t become part of their daily routine.

As it is, Vancouver is currently in a form of bike-lane limbo – there are sections of infrastructure that have been manicured to the point of near perfection, while other areas are a veritable wilderness of traffic-filled death.

Since consistency and convenience are major deciding factors for many cyclists, the wellestablished routes continue to get busier, while the less established routes see much less love.

and tunnels for cars, and yet somehow when it comes to spending money on bikes, and

addressing what is really a public safety issue, somehow people think it’s not worth it."

While it’s encouraging to see more people on their bikes as the cycling community grows, the lane infrastructure isn’t the only issue. “I think that one of the biggest issues I face while riding on the road is lack of consistency from cyclists and drivers,” said Tailfeathers. “You have these cyclists who think they are above all of the traffic laws by running red lights and swerving through traffic, and then you have cyclists who are stopping at the lights or waiting for pedestrians.” Tailfeathers also noted that the inconsistency often makes it difficult for drivers. “This goes both ways though,” he said. “Some drivers will be operating in a consistent and predictable manner while others are running red lights as well.”

Many of those who argue against bike lanes point to the staggering cost, or oppose projects based on the sense of entitlement many cyclists have on the road. Tailfeathers, though a rider himself, agrees that there are certain rules of etiquette that get ignored by cyclists which often breeds resentment between cyclists and drivers. He wishes that there was a way to implement a general re-education of traffic laws, but doesn’t see this happening anytime soon.

While mass-scale re-education may not be entirely feasible, HUB Cycle’s annual Bike to Work Week, which just ran from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4, is one way the organization facilitates

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the potential to change travel patterns in a significant portion of cyclists who currently only cycle occasionally, which would have both health and environmental impacts. Similarly, a study on bike infrastructure led by Professor Seyed Zahabia at McGill University in 2016 predicted that increasing a city’s network by 10 per cent could reduce car commutes and emissions by about three per cent.

In 2016, Dr. Teschke led another study which showed the impact of proximity to bike lanes, the time of commute, and also found that uphill routes generally saw less traffic. While this

infrastructure, pushback continues, and the price of construction is questioned. One could argue that Vancouver’s infrastructure is “good enough” and that there is no point building more, but Valente sees it differently. “I don’t want to say the sky's the limit because it’s not, but I think the question approaches what the value of human life is,” he said. “It’s amazing how much we spend on bridges and tunnels for cars, and yet somehow when it comes to spending money on bikes, and addressing what is really a public safety issue, somehow people think it’s not worth it, and we’ve had a lot of fatalities on the North Shore. We just had one in August, and I know a lot of people who were personally affected by that.” Compared to the rest of the country, Vancouver is doing pretty well, but “good” is not “great.” When lives are on the line, there’s always room for improvement. And as the traffic on the North Shore increases, safe solutions for alternative forms of transport will benefit everyone. Build it, and they will come.

Interested in having a say? Check out Hub Cycling, and become a member: https://bikehub.ca/about-us/ hub-cycling.

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COLUMNS

Digital Hurdles Athletes Invest in Video Games

JOHN TABBERNOR COLUMNIST

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If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,” - or so the old adage goes. Many of us might try to forge careers out of our hobbies, only to face a harsh reality and settle for something else. Something less meaningful. It would be nice if you had an entire union backing your passion and doing all the legwork for you.

Lucky for video game fans in the NBA, they have exactly that.

This week, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced a

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cross promotional deal with gaming startup ReadyUp. The deal would help develop the gaming and e-sports careers of current NBA players. This isn’t too surprising. The new generation of athletes and players coming up in traditional sports have all grown up with video games. Many players use them to unwind after games or practices, and to fill the empty hours while they’re on the road. The NBPA itself estimates that 85 per cent of its athletes play video games.

What makes this news interesting is that the NBPA is doubling down on a trend that has been on the rise alongside live-streaming and influencer culture. Many athletes have converted their fame within their sport of choice to that of video game stardom. It makes sense that we are now seeing new initiatives to help develop the personal brands of players as they tap into these new markets.

Those personal brands that players cultivate on the physical playfield bring a lot of weight to the digital field as well. Whether it’s streaming on gaming platforms like Twitch or broadcasting live on YouTube, those big names are finding an audience for new and old fans alike.

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson has built up a substantial following and side business with his gaming sessions on Twitch. The flyweight champion has made no secrets about planning for their life after the UFC. For many athletes, that is a harsh

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reality of their current situation. Their bodies can only take so much, and one day, they’ll have to retire. Investing their name brand caché into something they love seems to be a no brainer, and that name recognition can go a long way.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, the wide receiver for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, just signed a six figure endorsement deal. It wasn’t with an energy drink or a fast food chain, but HyperX, a gaming peripheral manufacturer.

With the NBPA’s deal with ReadyUp, it’s likely that we’ll be seeing much more of these sponsorships in the days ahead. In years past, we’ve even seen that investment go the other way, as prominent athletes have sunk money and resources into the growing esports scene. Jeremy Lin of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks partnered with Chinese e-sports organization Vici Gaming to create Team VGJ. Retired basketball player Rick Fox bet big on esports in the early days with his organization Echo Fox, and is now reaping the rewards. What remains to be seen is whether this new initiative from the NBPA will lead to any breakout gaming careers for any current or future NBA players.

There may, however, be substantial pushback on this endeavour from the very teams these players represent. During the most recent NHL drafting season, there were rumours that potential draft picks kept hearing the same question: “Are you addicted to Fortnite?” in their interviews.

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There has been growing concern in many sports organizations that video games might be affecting the performance of their athletes. In the past, it was worrisome that players weren’t getting enough sleep due to late night parties, now it’s late night gaming sessions. We could chalk this up to a generational gap between players and management, but the apprehension over player self control remains.

If athletes start to see success in their burgeoning gaming careers, they might not even care that their day job is hurting as a result. In esports, we’ve seen players at the top of their game give up competitive play to become full time streamers. Big names like Shroud and Ninja were able to grow audiences and generate incomes by streaming on Twitch that exceeded anything in their past esports careers. Even something as simple as a steady flow of money from sponsors, fans, and advertisers can prove enticing. Though this new venture from the NBPA most likely won’t lead to our favourite NBA stars giving up their dreams on the court to make it big in video games, it could prove to be a both interesting and profitable outlet for those athletes. It makes business sense to help these pros monetize their hobby. Seemingly, they’re also investing in their post-career lives.

Traditional sporting careers might have an expiration date, but the prospects of digital careers are only getting better.

Beats and Buckets

The struggles of those we look up to can be just what we need to get us through our own

JUSTIN SCOTT COLUMNIST SARAH HAGLUND ILLUSTRATOR

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hat doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is one of the most overused clichés in sports and a decent Kelly Clarkson song – the sentiment behind it however, is spot on. There’s nothing better than a good comeback story, especially in the worlds of music and sports.

One of the most exciting storylines in this year’s NBA season has been the resurgence of Derrick Rose. The former league MVP who seemingly had his incredible young career torn apart by a series of injuries is looking like he’s finally having the comeback season basketball fans have hoped for.

It’s stories like this that show sports are about far more than just stat lines. Athletes are more than their profession. So, when someone who has gone through some of the most challenging trials and tribulations on and off the court starts to see the success

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they’ve been deemed destined for, it’s always exciting.

The same can be said for just about anyone going through a tough time in their life. Be it a family member, friend, colleague or just about anyone you know. It’s always hard seeing people hurt. It’s this pain that makes seeing them overcome their hurdles and succeed so rewarding. Sometimes though, people need a push or inspiration.

And this is when seeing an athlete or musician you’re a fan of fight through their troubles shows that they’re more than just their title.

A recent interview John Mayer did with Complex magazine alongside Jerry Lorenzo, the head of clothing imprint Fear of God, was an excellent example of this. Seeing two figureheads of their respective industries open up about their personal battles with alcohol did more than just show that they’re doing well on their separate roads to

recovery. It showed that even those that are idolized by many have their own issues and aren’t these perfect idols they’re often made out to be.

Another example of this is Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last season, Love wrote an op-ed for the Players Tribune in which he discussed his battles with mental health issues. He received tremendous amounts of support not just regarding his fight, but also for opening up in the way he did. As athletes are often inevitably seen as models of strength, to have one of the league’s stars open up about his mental health not only humanized athletes, it sparked a conversation.

It’s this social power that those on the big screen or stage have that makes their success stories so important. Of course, Kevin Love is by no means the only person facing mental health issues, but he has a far louder voice and bigger platform to

speak from than most do. It’s the same with Derrick Rose. So, to see Derrick Rose fight through his injuries, with hard work and a passion for the game, it’s an inspiring story seen not by the few, but by the masses. Once in a while though, the stories that emerge regarding players and their fans are even more inspiring themselves.

Last month a video emerged of a young boy named Daniel Carrillo, who was born with just one hand. For his birthday he received a Shaquem Griffin jersey. The defensive player for the Seattle Seahawks was born with the same condition as Daniel and also has a single hand. After the video spread and Griffin saw it, he reached out to Carrillo with words of support for the boy, who also plays football. It’s these rare moments that allow sport to be more than a game and show people that, (In Kelly Clarkson’s voice) what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

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Bitter and Better Caution: don't touch

GRETA KOOY COLUMNIST

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Artist Angle Finding passion and ease amidst depression

JULIANA VIEIRA ILLUSTRATOR

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ere’s a crappy stereotype that’s unfortunately usually true: I’m a musician and I live with depression. My name is Dominique Hallberg, and I’m currently the lead guitarist for local, all-girl band, Club Sofa. I started playing guitar when I was 15 and had no friends. At the time, I was just really craving something to associate myself with since I didn’t consider myself smart enough to be a “nerd”, not athletic enough to play sports, etc. My parents were and still are very supportive, having bought me my first guitar (a black Epiphone Les Paul), they would drive me to guitar lessons, and once I was over the learning curve, I was enamoured with playing. It was the classic “locking yourself in your room for hours and playing” type of love.

I began to curate my own music taste and I found myself feeling less and less lonely.

I went through different genres of very guitar-centric music, from the “hair-bands” that my dad loved like Van Halen, to blues like Bonnie Raitt, to neoclassical like Jason Becker and then to jazz artists like Wes Montgomery and Grant Green. I was in love with the idea of being “that guitar player”, and after a couple of years of practicing, I began to get the recognition from my peers that I craved.

That led to performances, which led to joining the jazz band, to joining a jazz combo, and pursuing jazz as my focus for post-secondary. I graduated from high school in 2016, worked every day

my neck far enough out that it gives the illusion of an actual hug. It’s always weird.

Curious, I read up on why someone may be opposed to being hugged. The main conclusions I came across were I wasn’t hugged enough as a child or was hugged too much, I’m an introvert or I have social anxieties and low self-esteem. Not entirely shocking, but interesting.

I’d like to argue that despite there being “reasons” for why I don’t like being hugged, it could just be, plain and simple, that I don’t know you well enough and I don’t want you to touch me. End of story.

That includes the all-too-familiar offenders of the “I’m a hugger” and “Where’s my hug?”. Not wanting to be hugged shouldn’t be seen as a pathology, we all just have varying levels of intimacy and the physical act of hugging has different meanings for different people.

I’m not trying to come off as entirely reluctant to affection, I simply just don’t like to be hugged. If you’re not a family member, close friend or the guy I like to get my kisses from, then a wave and a smile is really all I’m looking for. And if you’re one of those “I’m a hugger” types, then it is with an honest heart that I have to say, “Sorry, I’m not”.

the summer after, and moved to North Vancouver from Vancouver Island to attend CapU in September.

I was nervous yet excited to leave home for the first time. I felt like things would be okay, I felt prepared and confident in my choices. But unfortunately my first year of university, and the semester afterwards, was the worst year and a half of my life.

Depression, I’ve learned, is something that sneaks up on you. One moment you can go to school and get up on time, finish your homework and be present in your life, and the next you find yourself skipping classes, binge eating, crying what seems like all the time, pushing away friends and having suicidal thoughts and ideations.

Those symptoms started for me around November, when some of my classes gave me so much anxiety that I would throw up and cry beforehand – resulting in me skipping the class altogether. My grades took a dive and I felt suddenly and completely useless. The worse I did in school the more I beat myself up, and the more I would stay home, the less I would practice and the less I loved playing.

I didn’t see a point in music anymore and was ready to quit, before I got a Facebook message from a friend, Payton Hansen – an amazing singer who also happened to be in my jazz program. She wanted to start a band with a girl named Jess, a drummer in my program, and a bassist named Jasmine, and she wanted to invite me to be their lead guitarist. My boyfriend encouraged me to join, and with the stress that school was putting on me I thought it might have been a good idea to make some friends and overcome my loneliness.

We met at a friend’s house for our first practice, all of us a little nervous. We played through some basics like “Cherry Bomb” (obviously) and “I Wanna Be Your Dog”.

We learned everything together and soon found ourselves bonded, and really enjoying each other’s company. We played our first gig to a solid crowd of maybe 30 people (including boyfriends and family) in a Port Coquitlam community hall, but it was the

start of something much bigger.

Playing with Club Sofa eased my anxiety and depression in ways I can’t explain.

Maybe it was the positive reinforcement – the fact that I had three other girls constantly cheering me on, telling me that I was wonderful and loved – or maybe it was the fact that for the first time in months I was leaving my house to play music and it truly excited me.

I'm usually my happiest when I’m getting ready for a show with my band. I love simple things like sharing makeup, I like it when we meet up to practice, I like stopping at the gas station and getting an energy drink or meeting up at “Timmy’s”. It’s these little actions of friendship that I find impacting me so much, because I know what it’s like to do all of those same things alone.

Through Club Sofa I found my nerves prior to shows dissipating more and more.

Because of my band I’ve had amazing opportunities. I met Isaiah Dobbs who currently leads Vancouver band Schwey, at a Winona Forever show. Fast-forward a few weeks and I was offered the chance to subin with Schwey, which led to opening for Marianas Trench at the Calgary Stampede in

front of thousands of people.

But even with opportunities like that I still have lows. I still leave shows early because of anxiety, I still experience episodes of depression, I still find myself unmotivated and sleeping most of the day for weeks at a time. But the difference for me now is defined by my support system, namely my band, my family and boyfriend. They make me feel loved and appreciated when I feel like I’ve been nothing but a huge burden.

As someone who suffers from depression it means the world to me.

For those who too feel lonely and crave a connection with somebody, anybody, I’m here to tell you now that you need to take that step and do something social with your passion. I know it’s hard to let go of the fear of embarrassing yourself, the fear of just outright failure, but it's necessary. When I first started to feel these lows I felt like I was drowning with no one to pull me out of the water. Now, I never have to doubt that I will have a safety net. Art really does have the potential to heal, and my medium isn’t an exception – Club Sofa has made me a better and more confident person in more ways than one. And for that, I’m forever grateful.

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DOMINIQUE HALLBERG COLUMNIST

social requirement, than a natural and free behavior,” writes researchers Lena M. Forsell and Jan A. Åström, authors of Meanings of Hugging. And that’s a shame. Hugs certainly shouldn’t feel like a requirement, although it’s true for me that they often do.

A friend of mine recently told me about her first time away from home – she was 12 and went to Switzerland to visit family.

She was greeted by her cousin’s male teenage friend with a kiss on each cheek – something that was slightly mortifying for her pre-teen sensibilities. In her circles, a kiss on the cheek was still spin-the-bottleworthy, and she freaked out as he leaned in. 15 years later she hasn’t lived it down, and is reminded to this day, she said, of her social awkwardness by her cousin.

In my friend’s case, she was met with a social gesture that was natural to everyone but her. In countries like Switzerland, France, Turkey and Italy a kiss on the cheek is somewhat customary. In Japan you’d bow and in Saudi Arabia you’d touch noses.

In Canada it’s usually a handshake, but in less formal situations it can be the hug that comes out on top. In these situations, rather than awkwardly squirm away or straight up decline a hug (because that would be weird, right?), I tend to lean a shoulder in and stick

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used to love hugs. I’d hug everyone, my mom and dad, my sister, all the boys I had crushes on and every dog I came in contact with. Hugs from friends and loved ones, even people I didn’t know all that well, made me feel warm and happy, and I embraced them when they were offered up.

Some of those sentiments still ring true, but these days I’m much less touchy-feely and don’t really welcome hugs like I once did.

When I’m now faced with the open arms of a hugger, someone I’m not entirely comfortable with in that way, I tense up and tend to feel ashamed that I’m not as emotionally receptive. It’s nothing personal, I’m just not comfortable with it.

Ok, sometimes it’s personal.

Without calling anyone specific out, there are definitely people in my life who overstep my personal boundaries. And it’s not necessarily their fault, maybe I just give off a vibe that says “I need a hug.” At the same time, you’d think that they’d be able to “read a room”. It’s like being on an empty bus, and then the one other person who gets on decides to sit right next to you. I’m not trying to be an asshole, but why?

Hugs are interesting. They’re intimate gestures capable of expressing emotion without words and can convey feelings of safety and closeness. On the other hand, they’ve become a normal, casual greeting that people don’t really think twice about. For some, that kind of closeness doesn’t even cross their minds as unusual.

For others, like myself, it’s a fleeting, compulsory moment of awkwardness that never seems to end.

“A hug has great positive significance most of the time, although in some situations may be considered more of a

COLUMNS

If She Ruled the World The Year of Minority Women

KEVIN KAPENDA COLUMNIST

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 6

D

ivisive politicians eventually reap what they sow. Therefore, it should be no surprise that after three years of Donald Trump, it was a diverse wave of female candidates and voters that propelled Democrats to a decisive victory in the 2018 midterm elections. While the Democratic party won a majority in the House of Representatives and seven governorships, which is cause for celebration, this moment calls for just as much reflection. This election was proof that Democratic voters don’t want the same people talking about diversity. They want politicians that reflect their diversity and oppose discrimination.

Naked and Not Afraid Don't sacrifice opportunity

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10 years ago on Nov. 8, Americans elected this kind of President. A decade later, after a disastrous 2016 ticket, it appears Democrats have finally realized the key to victory are candidates that reflect the identities of their most important voters: women of colour.

It was this group of voters that stole the election from right under Trump’s nose.

On Nov. 6, the Democrats won at least 230 house seats to the Republicans’ 197, with seven seats still uncalled as of Nov. 15.

This could mean the Democrats’ advantage could balloon to 237 – 19 seats more than required for a majority in the House. What defined this election was the number of women elected to Congress. At least 100 women won house races this year. The previous record for women elected to the House in a single year was 85. However, even more significant was the diversity of Democratic women elected to Congress.

Democratic House caucus will include the first two Native American women ever elected to Congress – Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico.

It also featured numerous other firsts, including two Muslim women, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. Even more inspiring was that many of the new women in Congress ran in white-majority districts and defeated male incumbent Republicans, including Illinois congresswoman-elect Lauren Underwood. A nurse by trade, Underwood is widely considered a rising star in American politics and will be one of 20 black women sworn-in on Capitol Hill in 2019.

Let’s be clear though, this diverse

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conference of Democrats was delivered by diverse voters. After falling short in 2016, the Democrats’ new diverse candidates were needed to energize their increasingly brown coalition of voters in the age of racial polarization. According to CNN exit polls, Trump won just less than half of the votes (49 per cent) of white women. However, 92 per cent of black women, 74 per cent of Hispanic women and 66 per cent of all other visible minorities voted Democratic, demonstrating that racial identity continues to be the faultline in American politics. Furthermore, it is women leading the resistance against Trump, with 88 per cent of black men and 63 per cent of Hispanic men voting Democratic. These numbers suggest two things: that we have much to learn from the strong women in our lives, and that the male demographic needs to get in line if Trump is to be defeated in 2020.

When a president characterizes members of American society as lemons, you make lemonade by electing individuals from those groups to public office and challenging white nationalism. There is no greater rebuke of Trump’s racism than being chosen by citizens from all walks of life to serve as their voice. After a ban imposed on people from seven muslim-majority countries, two veiled women were elected to Congress.

The result of Vice President Mike Pence and numerous homophobic cabinet members was the re-election of an LGBT Governor, two Senators and a handful of other gay female lawmakers. Additionally, nine new black women were elected to the House of Representatives, 20 in total, all of whom are Democrats. While Stacey Abrams, an African

American, fell short in her bid for the Georgia governorship, she outperformed her two predecessors, both of whom were white males, by four and 5.8 per cent respectively. Abrams, along with Andrew Gillum in Florida, are proof that the key to turning out black voters in states where they are critical to Democratic hopes is not through statistical models and similar hipster hoodoo. It’s by having candidates the electorate trusts to have their back, because you can’t hide from your community.

Many Democratic strategists and political pundits have said the party must run a “white male” if they hope to challenge Trump in 2020. This approach, despite being characterized as safe, could actually not be any riskier. This November was proof that fortune favours the bold and the Democrats can’t afford another lame duck candidate four years after the Clinton-Kaine debacle in 2016. Clinton’s bid for the White House could have been saved with a much stronger running mate. Kaine didn’t hurt Clinton’s odds like Sarah Palin did John McCain four years earlier, but unlike Palin, Kaine had no positive impact with key Democratic groups such as African Americans and Hispanics.

Corey Booker or Deval Patrick could have helped Clinton with African American turnout in 2016 and can’t be overlooked as a presidential hopeful this time around.

Kamala Harris is another good choice. One thing that is clear is that if the Democrats win the Presidency in 2020, a visible minority or woman will be sworn in as either President and Vice President (Sorry, Bernie). It’s the only way they’ll win.

verge of getting the boot for my classroom performance. The thought of taking something on that could have the potential to distract me from my studies made me reluctant to attend my audition, but one thought overrode it all – what do I have to show for my life aside from a piece of paper as an accomplishment? While I believe education is very important and I’m immensely privileged to be able to attend university, above all I stand beside the belief that it is just as important to not only dream big but chase those dreams.

At the time I made the decision to audition, I placed school over everything and I found I had lost myself in investing so much of myself in my GPA. Social life? Non-existent. Fun? Never. Skin? Dry. I felt I owed it to myself

jazz vocals, even though I was home alone.

I packed my cutest thigh-highs and babydoll and trekked downtown.

While the skimpy number I stripped down to emitted some sort of sex appeal, my rendition of “Georgia On My Mind” however, did not. With the audition on such short notice, I had learned the melody and lyrics of the song and attempted to add a choreographed dance routine to the classic song in the span of just a few hours.

This ultimately led to my demise on stage.

Thrown off by the pole in the middle of the stage, I desperately tried to interact with the foreign objects in my path in both a swift and smooth way – both of which I failed to achieve. In addition to my poorly executed

to make a change before my past unhealthy coping mechanisms for distress kicked in.

After my last class of the day, I headed straight home and began rehearsing into a pillow. Since my house has terrible acoustics and my songs of choice contained powerful vocals, I belted into a pillow out of worry that my neighbours would hear my sad attempts at

methods of seduction, the lyrics slipped from my mind, followed by my dignity.

I could’ve dusted my hands of that audition, called it a day and said it wasn’t meant to be – it would have been an easier blow to my ego to not risk making things worse. And it would’ve been a hell of a lot less awkward for everyone in the room. But

I knew that if I left the stage it wouldn’t just mean that I didn’t give my performance my all, it would also mean that I didn’t give myself a chance.

Since the first time I hit stage at the ripe age of three years old up until my audition, I performed for everyone but myself. It was in the way I wrote music for my band that I thought that others would like. I plastered on makeup and a smile for my family for years as a dancer. I unintentionally conditioned myself to please others.

Being a student has the ability to turn us into career-driven machines, focused on the bottom line – a totally understandable and expected outcome given the environment we’ve been placed in. But I think it’s important to remember that just like in the ways we work hard at our degrees, we should work hard on ourselves and not limit ourselves to whatever it is that our degrees sum us up to be. Taking the time and effort to explore every aspect of our lives and working to achieve the bliss that comes with pushing our boundaries, is what may drive our happiness and affect the career path we’ve been working so hard to chip away at.

Only a handful of people know that I’m a burlesque performer.I won't ever tell my family. Not because I’m scared of the stigma around what I do, but because my place on the club’s stage is my little corner of the world that is reserved just for me, and I respect myself too much to give it up.

As Stanley Tucci’s character in Burlesque says, “Every opportunity has a shelf life.”

Regardless of what you're working towards at your time in university and outside the boundaries of this campus, allow yourself to embrace the opportunities thrown your way last-minute, recognize that you are worthy of your dreams and soak up your spotlight, because you are so so worth every bit of it.

SCARLETT VANDERWOODSEN COLUMNIST HEATHER HAUGHN ILLUSTRATOR

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round this time last year, I received an email response inviting me to audition for the company I’m currently with. They were in a hurry to get me through the door since the founder of the group was in town for just a short period of time, and they called me in a flurry. I was asked to prepare a classic jazz and rock number for the same day as my audition – to say the least, I was in a panic. On that particular rainy weekday, I found myself sitting, hunched over on a bench on the first floor of the Arbutus building, racing through webpages trying to find doable songs. I was trying to memorize lyrics in just a few hours, with thoughts swirling around my mind.

I had just started to get my groove being back at school after being on the

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CALENDAR

19 MON

20 TUE

21 WED

THU

FRI

24 SAT

25 SUN

26 MON

PNE 10 PM

Calling all craft spirits aficionados - tonight the Grand Tasting Hall comes alive with a selection of ales, ciders, whiskies and beers from around the world.

WINTER MARKET

BIRCH CAFETERIA 11 AM / FREE

Our friends at Earthworks host an annual winter market where vendors from across the North Shore hawk their wares out of the lower cafeteria.

If you’re looking to get your holiday shopping done before exams, to get a little bit of advice about zero waste and support small, local businesses, do it here. Plus, if you bring a reusable mug you can get a free cup of hot chocolate.

VANCOUVER CHRISTMAS MARKET

JACK POOLE PLAZA 11:30 AM / $10 ONLINE OR $12 AT THE GATE

I can almost smell the schnitzel and bratworst already. The annual Christmas Market pops up, and while vendors sell everything from fashionable knitwear to handmade jewellery and soaps, we all know the real reason one goes is for the food.

NORTH OF 49

CSU MEMBERS CENTRE 11:30 AM / FREE

The CSU has teamed up with North of 49 to bring Canadian Films to campus, bring students together, and perhaps most importantly, bring a reprieve from the stress of exams. Catch c̓ əsnaʔəm: The City Before the City, a story of the Musqueam people’s relationship with their ancestral land.

VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 6

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HOPSCOTCH FESTIVAL OF WHISKY, BEER AND SPIRITS

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NOVEMBER

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS MARKET CENTRO ITALIAN CULTURAL CENTRE 5 PM / FREE

As much as we love a good schnitzel, Italian food is heavenly bliss, and this Christmas Market will have local liquors, chocolates and a traditional Italian Christmas Dinner prepared by the Cultural Centre’s catering team.

AURORA WINTER FESTIVAL CONCORD PACIFIC PLACE 4-10 PM / $14.99+

The Aurora Winter Festival actually opened yesterday, but we couldn’t pass up on Italian food, and Canada Place will be transformed into a winter wonderland right through Christmas. That’s right, visit Santa’s Workshop, skate on a frozen indoor pond and soak in the light displays.

SCANDINAVIAN CRAFT FAIR SCANDINAVIAN CULTURAL CENTRE 11 AM - 4 PM / FREE

We’re worried that we’ll overload you with Christmas and Holidaythemed markets before our Winter Holiday issue even hits stands a week from now, so we promise, this is the last market we’ll include in this calendar. But seriously, if you like arts and crafts, baked goodies and vendors selling ornaments, cards, jewellery, furniture and more, or if you’re looking for your Gustav or Sven, then this might be the market for you. (There’s also an Icelandic Bake and Craft Sale at the same venue on Dec. 2.) I promise I’m done now.

NASTY WOMEN COMEDY: FORBIDDEN THE BILTMORE 7:30 PM / $13.35

The dectet of female comedians takes to the stage to tackle all topics forbidden, including Twilight fan fic, Harry Potter’s Forbidden Forest and the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. What else besides vampires, werewolves, fifty Shades of Grey inspo and unicorn blood-sucking creatures do they have in store? You’ll have to find out.

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CALENDAR

27 TUE

28 29

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DE-STRESS SERIES FT. MASSAGE THERAPY CSU MEMBERS CENTRE 10:30 AM / FREE

De-stress week may single handedly be the best event the CSU brings every semester, because more often than not it involves St. John’s Ambulance therapy dogs and free massages. Unfortunately massages aren’t covered by the student healthcare plan, so mark this down in your calendar and be the first in line, because there’ll be a long one.

CYNTHIA'S BIRTHDAY

We’ve got another 21st birthday in the house! This time it’s our Art Director on the threshold of adulthood (in the United States).

WED

30 FRI

CSU MEMBERS CENTRE 10:30 AM / FREE

De-stress week is n all-week affair, did we not mention that? Well, we did mention that our fluffy friends from St. John’s Ambulance make an appearance at least once per semester. Catch them in the lounge today, belly-up and expecting a rub.

Tunes to

NIVEDAN'S BIRTHDAY CAPILANO COURIER OFFICE 5 PM

We’ve gone through the drill before, when we have two staff birthdays in one week, we make a big affair of it. Our Arts & Culture Editor turns 19 today so drop by and help us eat cake!

CHRISTINE WEI ILLUSTRATOR GRETA KOOY NEWS EDITOR

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 6

THU

DE-STRESS SERIES FT. DOGGO THERAPY

"Drip’n" – Tusken "Sloth Jazz" – BluntOne "The Right Way" – Park Ave. "Cozy Winter" – j’san "Dezembro" – Smoke Trees "Don’t Fall in Love" – T. Hemingway

DECEMBER

1 SAT

2 SUN

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"youshouldacalledme" – Leo Kamil "73 Degrees" – Masego "Tropicana" – Saiko

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

"What happens when you watch spirited away for the fifth time" – aftertheparty

It’s a tale as old as time, and apparently not overperformed. This live performance of the classic tale on stage is playing at the Arts Club throughout the holiday season, with a cast of colourful characters and musical numbers.

U

STANLEY INDUSTRIAL ALLIANCE STAGE 2 PM AND 8 PM / $39

WINTER’S DANCE #ONROBSON JOHN ROBSON BUILDING 6 PM / FREE

Now that it’s December, finding a non-Christmas-related event anywhere in Vancouver is surprisingly difficult. However, tonight you’ll find a dazzling lights show and dancers performing in front of the John Robson Building and in the windows of several nearby shops - a feast for the eyes.

p until recently, I was one of those students that needed it to be completely silent when I was studying or working on an assignment. I envied the people I saw working diligently away at coffee shops or public parks, wondering how they managed to stay focused with all the excess noise.

About a month ago I was pulling one of my infamous all-nighters, trying to cram in as much productivity as possible before I had to shower and head off to class. At about 4 am the silence became unbearable.

I couldn’t stand the sound of my fingers on the keyboard anymore and needed some kind of noise, anything. Reluctantly I turned on some music, thinking that it’d probably end up making me lose focus. I decided to stay away from songs I already knew,

otherwise my study session was bound to turn into a solo concert that my neighbours never bought tickets for.

I flipped through a bunch of random playlists until I came across a lofi hip-hop station. “Alright,” I thought, “this could work.”

And it did, lofi hip-hop and slow R&B became my new obsession for studying. The smooth melodies and calm beats actually reduced the stress I was feeling, and for once I started to feel relaxed while studying. In fact, I found myself getting more into what I was working on by having something playing in the background.

In a weird way, I look forward to coming home after classes and doing homework. I’ll throw on the comfiest loungewear I have and a plush pair of socks, tie my hair back and pour myself a glass of wine. Typically, I’ll listen to a couple of tracks before I get started, it helps me unwind a bit before jumping into everything.

If you’re a silent studier, try some of these tracks on for size. You might just find yourself the study buddy you never knew you needed.

CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

"Adiemus" – Classical Chillout "Eloi" – Klaus Badelt "Abraham’s Daughter" – Arcade Fire "All'Improvviso Amore" – Josh Groban "Mordred’s Lullaby" – Heather Dale "Harden My Heart" – Quarterflash "Superheroes" – Sound Without Silence "Rebel Heart" – the Corrs "Major Tom" – Shiny Toy Guns

SHORTS

"One Life Stand" – Longo and Wainwright

HELEN AIKENHEAD MANAGING EDITOR "Under Pressure" – Queen and David Bowie "I Never Learn" – Lykke Li "Confirmation" – Westerman "Kerina" – Adrianne Lenker "Sans Cesse, Mon Chéri" – Domenique Dumont "Femme Fatale (cover)" – King Princess "Shit Happens" – Tierra Whack

playlists, but the ones those songs may still hang out with if they were looking for a good time. Does that make sense? Maybe not. That’s because I wrote this while I was listening to my playlist through my headphones and someone else’s playlist rivaled it through much more powerful speakers. It was a very confusing time. Anyway, on this playlist, I added a few songs (“Sans Cesse, Mon Chéri” and “Milk”, for example) that have instrumental interludes that run a bit longer than is the common format.

I always appreciate that in a good focus tune.

But to the opposite end, there are also some more wordy ones like “Moody Orange” that satisfy the side that prefers a faster tempo. All that said, the unifying factor between these songs is that they’re fantastic. So, have a listen.

I hope you find something you like and pass whatever test you’re preparing for. You’ve got this, bb.

"Milk" – Kings of Leon

RACHEL D’SA COLUMNS EDITOR

"Moody Orange" – Rainbow Kitten Surprise

"Justice" – Stress

"Moonlight Mile" – The Rolling Stones

"Black Sabbath" – End of the Beginning

T

ruth be told, this playlist doesn’t have much of an overall theme other than being generally relaxing and easy to work to. Although, a few selections, purely based off their titles, may be reflective of the general public attitude towards studying. The kind of music you like to surround yourself with while you study or work is really an individual preference and it can totally make or break your productivity level. For me, there are definitely times when slower songs do absolutely nothing but distract and I need to listen to very loud and fast tempo music which somehow does the trick. No matter what the style, it’s best if its music I know and love.

The familiarity of it makes it much easier to work to. For this playlist, I went neutral and selected songs that won’t necessarily be found on Spotify’s curated acoustic-heavy study

"King Princess" – Pussy is God "Empress Of" – Water Water "Kavinsky" – Nightcall "Katy B" – On A Mission "Ty Segall" – Melted "Sex Pistols" – Holidays In The Sun "MOURN" – Gertrudis, Get Through This!

"ZHU X Skrillex X THEY" – Working for it

I

’ve never been able to focus in absolute silence. In elementary school, my mum used to drag me to the public library close by our house. The subtle yet greatly irritating sounds of a swishy windbreaker or teenagers laugh-whispering grinded my gears more than finding out my sister had re-hidden her halloween candy stash.

I’ll never forget the one day that I forgot my homework at school (a three-minute walk from the library might I add) and my mum yelled at me in the library the one day that it just happened to be dead silent.

Since then, I’ve never gone back to study there. It wasn’t just because that experience was humiliating, but because I’ve always disliked the uptight feeling that libraries give off. While for others they work as a neutral, comforting environment to be productive and focused. For me, libraries have radiated discomfort. Not getting to exclaim “fuck” or eating a messy burrito during a time of immense stress just doesn’t sit right with me.

These days my office is my bedroom, my desk is my bed and my burrito is always by my side. I choose to surround myself with an environment of fuzzy blankets and soft light with my cat flopped over my calves.

Despite the calming setting, my studying playlist includes some heavy songs. There’s something about listening to music at an unbearably loud volume that helps me concentrate. Not only do I feel absolutely badass, but I feel completely at ease with turning the blaring music to white noise.

This playlist will take you from Justice’s totally accurate embodiment of stress, to King Princess’ pussy-popping bass line to Ty Segall’s face-melting alternative banger. The dash of punk and metal adds the potential for head-banging – a great way to express the frustrations and pent-up emotions that come with the studying/paper writing process. The time has come for you to study your sorry ass off. So sit down, turn the volume up and buckle up for the ride of your semester.

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s much as I want to listen to upbeat music that’ll put a smile on my face and a rhythmic tap in my foot while I’m trying to concentrate, it’s the milder, more placid songs that aid the study process. What I call studying is actually reading and re-reading my notes, powerpoint slides and snippets of textbook over and over again, making new notes as I go along – all of these processes, affected by the music I carefully choose to play as the soundtrack to my anguish.

Playing my favourite band really only distracts me since I can’t direct my attention to two voices at once – the one in my head that’s reading and trying to absorb information, and a singer’s voice that I ohso-badly want to chime in with. Instead, I opt for the music that will actually enhance my studying experience.

Several studies have shown that classical or instrumental music aids the thought process. Apparently, students retain more information and perform better academically if they listen to Mozart. Although you won’t find any of this 18th century Viennese composer’s music on my list (he’s far too old fashioned for my tastes), I do prefer more relaxing tunes. The songs on this list all have one thing in common – the singers’ voices fade into the background and the instruments come to the forefront. The acoustics keep me alert, but don’t distract me from reading.

Classical Chillout reminds me of Irish singer Enya. Quarterflash’s lead singer, Rindy Ross, has a soft voice. Josh Groban often sings in Italian and Spanish, and Klaus Badelt uses stone language (read: fictitious), preferring to make a statement on a range of wooden and stringed instruments.

The melodies start slowly enough and bring listeners to a gradual rise into more pronounced tunes as the playlist progresses.

It’s music that’ll keep you upbeat and perhaps tapping your pencil against your notepad, but not so upbeat that it’ll make you

get out of your chair and dance, which is best for those long, empty hours spent preparing for exams.

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get you through exams

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Give Sensibility a Chance Playwright Michelle Deines takes a few creative liberties in the new Exit 22 Company production of Sense and Sensibility FREYA WASTENEYS FEATURES EDITOR PHOTO BY TAE HOON KIM

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n a whirl of tulle, faux fur, fascinators and feathers, Jane Austen’s beloved novel, Sense and Sensibility, is given new life on the BlueShore Theatre stage. Following the romantic trials and tribulations of sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, the story is a witty romantic comedy that revolves around the two siblings’ opposing natures – exploring the balance between the directives of the head and the heart. Thanks to set designer Heidi Wilkinson, it’s a feat of moving parts, with free-standing screens that glide around the stage marking each transition, keeping the student cast – and the audience – on their toes.

The original adaptation, written by CapU’s very own Michelle Deines, has been complex to render, but with the help of cast and crew, the play was launched

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on Thursday, Nov. 15, and will run until Saturday Nov. 24. “It’s been a huge challenge, but it’s been lots of fun,” said Deines, who in addition to writing the play, is the assistant to director, Bob Frazer.

Deines, who won the Special Merit Prize in Theatre BC's National Playwriting Competition in 2013, has taught at CapU for the past two years in the English and Theatre departments. This is the first time, however, one of her plays has been produced on such a large scale.“It’s a really neat opportunity to write for a university stage,” she said.

“In some ways it’s kind of freeing, because in the professional world it’s all about budgets.” <i>Sense and Sensibility<i> will be the first commissioned piece produced for CapU. Deines fell in love with Austen’s work when she read Pride and Prejudice during her undergraduate degree. She then watched Emma Thompson’s 1995 film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, before reading the original novel. “It’s really different, but it’s a great story,” she said. “But I was always struck by how sad Marianne is at the end of the Emma Thompson film. I wanted to see if there was a way to bring out her story in a different way. Or at least to explore that character in a different way, and highlight the relationship of the two sisters.”

Having spent hours pouring over a footnote-heavy edition of Sense and Sensibility, Deines found an interesting letter where Austen questioned whether she had favoured “sense” over “sensibility,” or

rather, reason over romanticism. “I thought that was actually really interesting, because I thought the book really favours sense not necessarily fairly,” said Deines. “So I guess what I’ve tried to do, is just to give Marianne more of a voice at the end, so that she has learned and transformed, but she’s still herself. She doesn’t totally lose the good side of her personality… the bubbliness and passion that she has doesn’t go away. She’s just a bit wiser.”

Courtney Burkholder, a theatre student in her final year at CapU, is one of 20 CapU students cast in the play. The production has consumed her semester in a way that only theatre can. “It’s unique to have a piece written for us,” she said. “Everyone is so protective of [Deines] baby and it’s really turned out amazingly.” Burkholder, who plays the Dashwood sisters’ housekeeper, Sarah, noted that while Deines has made the play her own – injecting it with “wonderful Deines humour” – she has stayed true to the integrity of the characters, and the original book.

In her adaptation, Deines makes an effort to maintain Austen’s iconic style, mimicking her dialect – perhaps to the chagrin of the young actors. With a slew of subtext, scenes and archaic language, it can be challenging at times, but the end result is worth the effort. “It’s been exciting to watch the students work on that and develop their characters,” said Deines.

“This will be my last production at Cap,” said Burkholder, who will maintain fond

memories of this particular cast and crew.

“Probably my biggest takeaway is that no matter how loud you are on stage, you always need to be louder, and no matter how quietly you walk backstage, you are never quiet enough.”

From the cast to the set to costumes, the play will showcase CapU talent at its best.

The result is what Burkholder describes as “Beautiful, but hefty!” Unsurprisingly, it promises to be a feast for the senses.

ARTS & CULTURE

How I Became an International Trumpet Player Bria Skonberg broke into the New York jazz scene after graduating from CapU NIVEDAN KAUSHAL ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

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THE CAPILANO COURIER

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun is Having a Bad Colonial Day Usufruct and colonialism is exposed through Indigenous art

which has been described as “phantasmagoric, ferocious, loving and deeply disturbing.” Over his more than 35 year career, Yuxweluptun has created numerous paintings, many of which now reside in the National Gallery of Canada, that sharply critique the way colonial and usufructuary practices NIVEDAN KAUSHAL affect Indigenous peoples’ daily lives. As Yuxweluptun said ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR himself in reference to Indigenous relations in Canada, “We will always be enemies, because we've never been friends.

VALERIYA KIM That's what I paint – our relationship of hate with each other.”

ILLUSTRATOR Many of Yuxweluptun’s works depict what he terms “super predators,” the social, economic and political elite who exercise usufruct and negate Indigenous rights. Two such cclaimed artist, political activist and residential paintings are Christy Clark and the Kinder Morgan Go-Go school survivor Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Girls, which depicts the former BC Premier with the head of approaches a woman sitting in the front row during an animal painted in an Indigenous style, and Fucking Creeps his lecture. “This mug belongs to you, but I’ve taken it. You They're Environmental Terrorists, which shows Big Oil CEOs own it, I have it – I'm using it. You're not benefiting from this, decimating the environment. Other paintings were created yet this mug belongs to you. This is an act of usufruct. Come to respect the victims of colonial oppression. “That’s why I back in 200 years with a good lawyer, and maybe I’ll give make art – to record history, to interpret your culture from my it back.” On behalf of Capilano University’s Liberal Studies world,” said Yuxweluptun. Portrait of a Residential School program, Yuxweluptun gave a talk titled I am Having a Bad Child, for instance, is in honour of the 150,000 First Nations, Colonial Day on Nov. 2, 2018. He discussed usufruct, defined Inuit and Métis children who were taken from their families by the Oxford Online Dictionary as “the right to enjoy the use and forced to attend residential schools from the 1870s to the 1990s. and advantages of another's property short of the destruction Despite being a critic of “the system,” Yuxweluptun firmly or waste of its substance,” and how his art exposes the way believes that change can only come from within the current usufruct has been implemented as a technique to suppress political framework itself. He urges citizens to vote for a Indigenous cultures. truly representative government, and believes that the easiest Of Coast Salish and Okanagan descent, Yuxweluptun was born in Kamloops in 1957 and partook in the “Canadian action they can take to help Indigenous political presence is cultural paradigm” – he played hockey for 30 years, and to advocate for National Indigenous Peoples Day to become eventually studied European aesthetics at Emily Carr a nationwide holiday. “All of this painting... it's to show University – after transferring from the residential school you there's nothing to be afraid of. It's so that people can system to a public school in Richmond. Yuxweluptun’s understand and not hate me – hate us – anymore,” he said parents, who were also advocates for Indigenous rights, “I am here to just facilitate a dialogue between two clashing profoundly influenced his artistic philosophy, generating work worlds.”

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Correction: A story titled "How I Found One of the Only Japanese Bathhouses in North America", which appeared in the last issue of the Capilano Courier, was mistakenly attributed to Nivedan Kaushal instead of writer Sarah Rose.

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 6

It was one of those moments where I was ready to throw the trumpet against the wall – just a breaking point of frustration. And then I had a heart-to-heart with my horn. ‘All right, are we gonna do this? Are we gonna do this? Yeah. I think we are.’” New York-based jazz trumpeter and singer Bria Skonberg, an alumna of Capilano University’s Jazz program, grew up in between a dairy farm and a cornfield in Chilliwack, BC. She was asked to learn trombone for grade 7 school band, but instead picked trumpet because her father, a trumpeter himself, had one in storage. Many years later, Skonberg has performed with several acclaimed jazz musicians, including Wycliffe Gordon, Bucky Pizzarelli and Howard Alden. Her LP, Bria, won a Juno Award in 2017, and her most recent album, With a Twist, was nominated for another this year.

“I was a shy kid, too shy to sing. I think trumpet was really a vehicle for me to be around people and perform,” said Skonberg. During high school, Skonberg partook in improvisational theater, captained both the soccer and volleyball teams and served as student council president.

Her love for performing prompted a guidance counsellor to suggest she study music at CapU. It wasn’t until Skonberg’s second year of university, however, when she broke out of her shell. Committed to being a professional musician, the “trained extrovert” started hanging out in the Fir building’s halls until 11:30 pm every night. “To be honest, I haven't been on this campus very many times since I graduated. Fir 113 still has the same kind of anxiety it used to,” Skonberg laughs. By third year, she was fully supporting herself as the leader of two hot jazz bands with a full touring schedule. After graduating in 2006, Skonberg was scouted to play in the Dal Richards Orchestra, a big band led by Vancouver’s “King of Swing.” “And then I spent a lot of time gigging over in Europe. Honestly, I fell in love with somebody.”

Vancouver was Skonberg’s homebase as she toured through Europe, China and Japan. Her initial success slowed considerably, however, when she failed to receive a grant to study in Los Angeles, and was passed over by major producers who “already had a blonde jazz singer.”

Struggling to find her niche as a musician, she relocated to New York – the hub of artistic authenticity and originality – in 2010. “I was going through my growth, but I was still kind of copying, aspiring to do what what others had already done. You know…. glossy, jazzy big band type stuff. The moment of realization for me was when I thought, ‘I’m the only trumpet player in New York from Chilliwack.’”

Nowadays, Skonberg regularly performs original material, much of which differs from the hot jazz she is traditionally known for. Skonberg is also involved with many educational initiatives such as Jazz and Democracy, a project which uses jazz as a metaphor for understanding democratic ideals. She does outreach for jazz at the Lincoln Center and is the co-founder of the New York Hot Jazz Festival. “I have three T’s to hit in a day – trumpet, training and trust. If I practiced trumpet, gotten some physical exercise and reached out to someone I love, that’s a good day.”

CABOOSE

@CAPILANOCOURIER

HOROSCOPES AQUARIUS (JAN. 21 – FEB.19)

Just remember that your boss can see the stories of you partying after you call in sick.

PISCES (FEB. 20 – MARCH 20)

You change your mind too often. Try sticking with a decision once you’ve made it and watch how much more people appreciate it.

@CAPILANOCOURIER

/CAPILANOCOURIER

COMIC MOPEVATIONAL COMICS FOR SAD PEOPLE. ILLUSTRATED BY ANNIE CHANG @SADTIRIST_

ARIES (MARCH 21 – APRIL 20)

You are the embodiment of #avocadotoastgeneration.

TAURUS (APRIL 21 – MAY 21)

Don’t be one of those people who complains about how busy you always are if you’re only taking two classes.

GEMINI (MAY 22 – JUNE 21)

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 51 ISSUE NO. 6

Those Uggs never looked good on you.

CANCER (JUNE 22 – JULY 23)

The planets will align and the titans will rise up from the bowels of the earth before you get another date.

LEO (JULY 24 – AUG. 23)

After three years at university you’ll finally make your first friend. Don’t get too excited though, it won’t happen again.

VIRGO (AUG. 24 – SEPT. 23)

I know you’ve got that group member that isn’t pulling their weight on the project due next week. Dust your hands, watch them scramble and start perfecting your evil cackle now.

LIBRA (SEPT. 24 – OCT. 23)

You’re looking rather pallid. You need some Vitamin D. No, I’m not telling you to book a vacation you can’t afford on the Mayan Riviera, I’m telling you to take a multivitamin.

SCORPIO (OCT. 24 – NOV. 22)

Friendly reminder that it’s still too early to start playing Christmas carols. Like what the actual fuck? It’s November. Chill.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 23– DEC. 21)

I’m a newspaper and I think you smell bad.

Take a shower.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 – JAN. 20)

You do know the goal is to pass your classes, graduate, and then leave right? Hurry up.

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