The Voice • February 13, 2020 • Volume 53 • Issue 1

Meters spark petition

Small business owners report loss of customers due to paid parking along Fraser Street.

Delicate discipline

Erasing sex stigma

How one Vancouver convention encourages all things love and romance. www.langaravoice.ca

Students want clearer virus plan

College posts updates online but no contingency protocol

By MAX LECKIE

Cases of COVID-19, formerly referred to as coronavirus, remains at four confirmed infections in B.C., and one Langara student wishes the college’s plans for potential outbreak were more informative should the virus become widespread in the province.

As of Feb.12, Langara had posted three community updates on its website, Instagram and Facebook. The updates state that since the academic term has been in progress longer than the virus incubation period and there are no reported cases on campus, classes and normal campus operations will not be interrupted. It also asks that any students or employees who have recently arrived from Hubei Province stay home for 14 days, and inform their instructors or supervisors. An email from the college said its protocol includes following the recommendations of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and Vancouver Coastal Health.

Nadia Rahnumah, a first-year general arts student at Langara, said that she was not aware of Langara’s protocols, and she has a lot of unanswered questions, should a virus

Climate fears high, program intake low

First-year enrolment for enviromental studies declining

 By JESSICA A. FROUD

Despite resounding student involvement in global protests over the past year, enrollment in first-year climatology courses at Langara has declined, according to one program instructor.

Andrew Egan, coordinator of Langara’s environmental studies program said there are various reasons for this, but a message from the federal government is a principal deterrent. He said its message has been clear: you can either care about jobs or you can care about the environment.

“The government hasn’t incentivized that we should have an understanding of the environment and students wonder if there is a job in the end,” said Egan, adding there are a variety of Langara courses considered to be climate-based.

break out within the college.

“I’d like to know what would happen if someone within the college caught it, would classes be shut down? Would there be a certain section of the building shut down?” said Rahnumah.

Rahnumah admits she doesn’t check the college website as often as she should, but wishes there were more regular social media updates.

Steven Taylor, a clinical psychologist and UBC professor, said if the virus were to spread more in B.C. and become more serious, initiatives called “social distancing” would likely be implemented.

“School closures are effective in curtailing the spread of infection … so that’s a possibility if things got really bad,” Taylor said.

Social distancing protocols have not been mentioned on the Langara website or social media platforms.

The COVID-19 virus was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. As of publication time, the virus has since spread to 24 countries with over 45,000 confirmed cases and 2068 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. But news outlets are saying more than 14,000 new cases were reported by Hubei Province on Wednesday.

“While there is an uptick in enrolment in third year courses, we’re seeing a decrease in enrollment in first year classes."

However, some students say that climate change worries are enough to motivate them. Environmental studies student Max Keller said his fear of climate change pushed him into the program.

“ I can’t lie. It has put in me an existential terror,” Keller said, adding he sometimes feels overwhelmed at the enormity of what needs to be done.

“We want to think that we can make change but it’s actually reordering society,”.

Frank Williams, chair of interdisciplinary studies and coordinator for the Canadian studies department at Langara, said he has seen the emotional impact of climate change on students who have chosen to enroll.

“People don’t feel powerful enough to do anything and that’s a recipe for depression,” Williams said.

Williams also said concerns that they can’t make a difference may be a reason why students aren’t rushing to take environmental studies.

“You see a disaster but you can’t do anything about it. That’s where students are. That’s certainly where a lot of climate scientists are.”

Okinawan Kobudo combines perfomance and martial arts. P4-5

PRODUCED BY LANGARA JOURNALISM STUDENTS | WWW.LANGARAVOICE.CA

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 • VOL. 53 NO. 01 • VANCOUVER, B.C.

A passenger on the Canada Line wearing a face mask. MAX LECKIE PHOTO —With files from Kristian Trevena



As news of the COVID-19 virus spreads, so does a higher demand for face masks. Langara's community update suggests more practical measures such as frequent hand washing, and staying home if you're sick to prevent the spread of infections. JESSICA A. FROUD PHOTO

Burnaby shelters test free tampons

City's pilot project could make more dispensers available to low-income residents

LIAM HILL-ALLAN

Burnaby residents in poverty could see widespread access to free menstrual products, pending the success of a recently approved pilot project for the city.

At a city council meeting on Jan. 27, Burnaby city council approved the Period Promise Pilot Project, a plan to “expand access to menstrual products in city facilities.” The pilot project will install free menstrual product dispensers at six city-run facilities around Burnaby aimed at fighting “period poverty.”

According to a staff report to city council, “period poverty, which affects girls, women, and transgender individuals, refers to having a lack of access to sanitary products due to financial constraints.”

Burnaby city Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said low-income Burnaby residents could have access to free menstrual products at “all facilities all over the city” if the pilot project is successful.

The staff report identified 168 washrooms at 38 “potentially viable locations” across Burnaby capable of housing dispensers.

“[Menstrual products] are not always available to everyone,” Dhaliwal said. “Considering we have a very diverse population.”

According to a 2016 study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Burnaby has the fourth highest rate of poverty in Metro Vancouver.

Beresford Warming Centre located at 5970 Beresford Street in South Burnaby is one of the six locations approved to receive a dispenser for the pilot project. The centre is one of a number of warming spaces made available to homeless Burnaby residents over the winter months. If the project is successful, dispensers could be made available to lowincome Burnaby residents at other similar spaces around the city.

According to Dhaliwal, the project was inspired by United Way’s Period Promise Campaign.

Natalie Hill, in charge of media relations at United Way, said that the campaign is dedicated to providing “greater free access of menstrual products.”

Hill added that Burnaby will be joining other B.C. cities like New Westminster and Victoria in the wide adoption of menstrual product dispensers.

“[There’s a] domino effect of municipalities,” Hill said. “We are seeing this plan ripple across the Lower Mainland.”

This post makes you pay

A particularly unlucky post is creating nightmares for drivers

 By AUSTIN EVERETT

Sara Mellish wanted to treat her elderly mother to a softserve ice cream cone. But an encounter recently with a notorious post in a parking lot left her with a detached car fender, a wheel that could barely turn and an expensive appointment with an autobody shop just up the road.

The post, in the centre of the parking lot of the Tsawwassen Dairy Queen on 56th Street, has been blamed for causing Tsawwassen residents expensive repairs and frustration for decades.

The black and red post, which has been there since 1970, has been a well-known factor for ICBC claims, according to residents, and has brought autobody repair shops a lot of business.

Mellish, who lives in Powell River and often visits Tsawwassen, was the latest casualty.

“I think somebody should do something because I know I’m not alone in this,” Mellish said.

When she took her car into the Tsawwassen Collision, they knew exactly what she was referring to when she told them she had a singlevehicle accident with a post, she said.

Tsawwassen Collision did not want to comment for the story.

Mellish said she was turning into the Dairy Queen parking lot when a truck came her way. Deciding to go around it, she turned left. But the sun was low and the post, being short in stature, was blocked by the frame of Mellish’s car window. She hit the post.

“I had to make a claim, so I did lose my safe driving discount that

I’d had for decades,” Mellish said. “It was totally not visible to me, zero visibility.”

The claim amounted to $8,000.

In a Facebook post by Mellish that received more than 80 comments, Tsawwassen residents shared their stories and opinions about the post.

Posting on Facebook, Thea Wessler shared her story, and said the post should stay: “I think the post should not be changed. My sister and her first high school boyfriend hit this post, my friend’s mom hit the post then hit the school president. I’ve hit the post after a much needed dipped cone.”

Aaron Asp, the CEO of Parking BOXX, a company which manufactures and designs parking lots and equipment throughout North America, said that while bollards, or posts, are installed to protect items

such as equipment or signage, there are other ways to provide protection if the post is hazardous for motorists.

Infrastructure such as “adding a curb, positioning a bollard closer to the asset or painting the existing bollard a bright reflective colour or a combination of these options [would work],” said Asp in an email response to The Voice.

Mellish said she was suggesting changes to the post in a letter she was writing a letter to the owner of the Dairy Queen.

Karen Gill, the manager of the Tsawwassen Dairy Queen, told The Voice she has hit the post herself. She said she is committed to ensuring the store owner Rahul Mehta takes action.

“I will talk to my owner about it, but for now I have no clue what we can do,” Gill said.

Richmond city council looks to solve city's birth tourism issue

City passes vote to ask feds for changes in the Immigration Act

 By STEVEN CHANG

The City of Richmond took its first step against birth tourism after city council voted 6-3 to ask the federal government to change the Immigration Act.

Multiple public speakers attended the council meeting on Monday night to express their thoughts on stopping birth tourism in Richmond, which led to Coun. Kelly Greene raising her concern about the exclusion of refugees from government services if citizenship rules are changed.

Coun. Harold Steves said Canada should open its door to refugees, but

that refugees are entirely different issue than ending birth tourism.

“The resolution is to keep it simple. I don’t care if they come back or not. These are wealthy people clogging our housing space and hospital space,” Steves said.

An SFU grad student, one of several public speakers who at council Monday night, presented his thesis on birth tourism and said 66 per cent of all non-resident births in B.C. are born in Richmond.

Richmond is seeking help from the federal government to prevent automatic citizenship for babies born in Canada to non-resident parents. Birth tourism is an ongoing practice by foreigners who come to Canada to give birth so their child can receive Canadian citizenship with the option of returning to Canada

in the future.

Greene said she is 100 per cent against birth tourism. But changing the Immigration Act will also harm vulnerable people and refugees who are trying to resettle in Canada, she said.

“It has been extremely disruptive to our neighbourhood, hospitals and maternity services. I have been personally impacted by birth tourism,” Greene said. “This motion doesn’t ask the federal government to stop birth tourism. It is ending birthright citizenship for everyone who aren’t Canadian citizens.”

Councillors Greene, Alexa Loo and Michael Wolfe opposed the motion.

The challenge of birth tourism is beyond the city’s jurisdiction, says the city’s spokesperson, Clay Adams.

Adams said while the city is concerned about birth tourism, it can only enforce businesses licences and bylaws.

“Changing the immigration law is not meant to punish people from

gaining a Canadian citizenship. The issue is people are essentially paying money to get their child a Canadian passport,” Adams said.

BIRTH

STATISTICS

» 313 newborns

Total births in Canada to mothers who resided outside Canada in 2016

» Richmond Hospital

The hospital had 469 births to mothers who reside outside Canada, the highest in Richmond in 2017-18.

» 1.5% of total births

The percentage of total births in Canada to mothers who resided outside the country between 2010-2017.

“[Menstrual products] are not always available to everyone.”

KELLY GREENE CITY COUNCILLOR, RICHMOND

The notorious post at the Dairy Queen parking lot on 56th Street in Tsawwassen. AUSTIN EVERETT PHOTO

Pay parking hurting bottom line

Some small Fraser Street businesses reporting a 30% customer downturn

 By JACOB HOHEISEL

Small businesses say pay parking on Fraser Street is taking its toll.

It’s been four months since the introduction of new parking meters and pay parking lots in the Fraser Street area between 43rd and 49th avenues and some small businesses are reporting fewer customers and a downturn in business.

Sam Shaer, owner of Vic’s Styling Centre, a barber shop, said he has to speak out against the meters.

“It affects everyone on Fraser Street … especially in the back [lots]. People driving from other neighbourhoods don’t stay as long now because they have to watch the time.”

Shaer says his business is down 20 to 30 per cent.

“The big business takes over the little business. It’s like a shark eating all the small fish.”

Vancouver city council voted to end 60 years of free parking in the area at the recommendation of the city’s engineering services department.

A petition signed by 90 businesses, representing about 50 per cent of the stores on Fraser Street, opposed the installation of meters. The city still went ahead despite the opposition. The engineering service’s report cited revenue generation, an effort to cut emissions, and a way to rotate more traffic through the area as reasons for installing the meters.

Rob Nijjar, executive director of South Hill Business Association, said that North American studies about implementing pay parking in business areas show that although there is an impact to businesses at first, the benefit is more people come into the area and they’re able to find parking.

Theresa Nguyen, owner of Purple Rainbow Florist, said like the other independently owned shops in the area, her business is down since the meters went in. When people do come into her shop, Nguyen said they don’t stay as long anymore.

» Approximately 260 parking spots

Spread over12 parking lots.

» Approximately $851,760/year

To be collected by the city from above parking spots.

Weaving sparks conversation, learning

Students gain appreciation of Indigenous values

 By SAFOURA RIGI-LADIZ

Langara’s Salish weaving course gives students an opportunity to learn a once-lost tradition of B.C.’s Coast Salish people.

The history of the traditional weaving practice and its cultural applications are an important part of what students learn. Students are taught to prep the wool, which includes spinning and dyeing the wool using natural dyes, before using it for weaving.

Stephanie Aitken, chair of Langara’s fine arts department, said instructor Debra Sparrow teaches students

everything about the process.

“There’s a huge component with Debra’s class about conversation,” Aitken said. “It’s a history class disguised as a weaving lesson in many aspects.”

Aitken took the course last year.

Sparrow, a Coast Salish artist, specializes in weaving. Together with her sisters, they revived this lost art of weaving, according to Aitken. Her art is currently being displayed at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

“It was really great to hear Debra’s experiences with her life and her life choices to revive this lost art,” said Leah Hille, a fine arts student who completed the course last semester.

Carolee Duttchen, another

student who has taken the course, has learned other aspects of traditional Indigenous culture by completing the weaving course.

“One of the most wonderful things that I’ve learned about Aboriginal people is their generosity,” Duttchen said. “They don’t measure their wealth by what they have, they measure their wealth by what they give away, and I think we could learn a lot from that.”

As a result, Duttchen said she wouldn’t sell her art; she would give it away.

This is the third time Langara has offered Salish weaving. Classes are limited to 10 people, with five slots held for Indigenous students.

Sam Shaer, owner of Vic's Styling Centre on Fraser & 45th, cuts hair and talks about the decrease in customers. Pay parking came into effect in the South Fraser area during the Thanksgiving Day weekend, October 12-13, 2019. Shaer has owned his shop for 16 years. LINA CHUNG PHOTO

Sam Shaer OWNER, VIC'S STYLING CENTRE

Carolee Duttchen shows off Salish weaving she created during Debra Sparrow's course, last semester. She will be gifting it to her daughter-in-law. SAFOURA RIGI-LADIZ PHOTO

“It's a history class disguised as a weaving lesson..."

— STEPHANIE AITKEN, LANGARA, CHAIR FINE ARTS

SOURCE: LINA CHUNG USING CITY COUNCIL INFORMTIONM

MONEY FROM FRASER STREET PAY PARKING LOTS

Okinawan performance sport

South Vancouver-raised instructor says kobudo is rare and expensive

“Ichi! Block with the rochin,” Sensei William Chung yelled, as his students alternated thrusting forward with their short spears and their tortoise shaped shields.

“Ni! Step forward and block with the tinbe!”

Chung teaches Okinawan kobudo, a rare martial art that uses weapons, to a group of dedicated students at Dunbar Community Centre.

When asked about the sport, Chung agreed that the reason kobudo is still so rare is because of its biggest strength, the weapons.

The sport, practised by few, requires unusually staunch commitment from the toughest of students — from buying incredibly expensive equipment, lugging it to practise, tiring repetitious training exercises and hearing your sensei critique the tiniest of muscle movements.

Sensei Krister Naab, from North Vancouver’s Hinode Karate & Kobudo, said a lot of the weapons people aren’t even familiar with because they’re so old and tradi

tional.

Chung’s kobudo students use a long staff called a “bo,” a small dagger with three-prongs called a “sai,” a wooden baton called a “tonfa,” a nunchuck or as it’s correctly spelled “nunchaku,” a small brass knuckle looking weapon called a “tekko,” and the “tinbe-rochin,” a shield shaped like a tortoise’s shell and a small spear.

He said having students practise with these large, expensive weapons means smaller, more expensive classes and fewer instructors to open new classes.

Even for Chung, who grew up in South Vancouver and went to Langara, began studying kobudo in the 80s. He said it was difficult to find someone qualified to teach him.

“I was taking karate at the time. There was an exchange student from Japan who knew a little about the weapons,” Chung said. “That was the first [kobudo teacher he] got exposure to.”

Most kobudo students have extensive experience in other martial arts because of the added difficulty in

wielding weapons. Chung is no exception. He was on the Canadian National Kung Fu team in 1986 that competed in Tianjin, China. He came fifth in the competition.

Chung said he now enjoys teach ing kobudo to his group of commit ted students every weekend, and has no plans to stop any time soon.

“Every time they learn something new, I see it in their face. I see it in their personality and that’s reward ing to me,” Chung said.

Bob Mooney, one of Chung’s kobudo students said, learning kobudo is about having a physical connection with the weapon and learning how to connect that [weap on’s movement] to the floor.

Mooney first started learning taekwondo and transitioned into studied wado ryu karate under sensei Norma Foster in 2000.

Today, Mooney teaches karate at Simon Fraser University and is also a head instructor at Guseikai Karate in Burnaby.

“When you have one [martial art, you think] ‘how could I augment this?’”

ABOVE: William Chung's students preparing for their warmup.

TOP RIGHT: A kobudo weapon with purple handles called the sai.

CENTRE-RIGHT: William Chung practising with his students using the tekko.

BOTTOM RIGHT: A close up of kama, it is a tool used by farmers in Okinawa. Photos by Steven Chang.

Kobudo origins mysterious

The beginning of traditional martial art is unclear

Although kobudo was first practised around the 13th century, there are no evidences of its exact origin of place,

Okinawan kobudo, practised with a series of weapons, is distinct from other “open hand”

The weapons used in kobudo reflect the austere nature of the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. For instance, the shield used in kobudo is often shaped like the shell of a tortoise, the wooden batons look like simple handles. Students of kobudo tend to own the weapons they practise with, admiring each other’s during the short breaks of the class.

Chung, head of Karate Kobuto, believes that while nothing was documented during the kobudo’s invention, kobudo gained popularity in the early 20th century as a fitness routine to teach

Okinawan children, that could also be practised as a martial art for adults.

Chung said kobudo has not been continuously practised throughout its history, and at one time it was becoming a dying form of martial arts.

“The Okinawans preferred the more easily exportable karate and they didn’t find kobudo as interesting. But the foreigners enjoy kobudo more than the locals,” Chung said.

As karate gained popularity around the world, karate students also began exposed to kobudo and fell in love with it.

“Unfortunately, the expensive nature of teaching kobudo means that there’s not a lot of knowledgeable instructors out there,” Chung said.

Stories and photos by Christopher MacMillan

CENTRE LEFT: A photo of eku with Japanese writings. It was used by Okinawan fishermen.

Photo by Steven Chang.

BOTTOM-LEFT A student practising kobudo with nunchaku.

BELOW : Bob Mooney practising kobudo with tinbe and rochin. A shield with a small spear.

Photos by Christopher MacMillan.

Pay parking pays off

There are valid reasons for pay parking to be implemented along Fraser Street, but concerns raised by small business owners should not be ignored.

In 2019, the City of Vancouver, with support of the South Hill Business Association, dissolved the South Fraser Street Collective Parking Project.

OPINION

For 60 years, this project ensured 260 free parking spots along Fraser Street, between 43rd and 49th avenues. According to a City of Vancouver report, free parking cost neighbourhood businesses over $300,000 in annual fees.

According to the business association, it was difficult for patrons to find places to park.

Implementing pay parking is a strategy to reduce the number of vehicles in the area, and to ensure steady turnover of cars that park along the street.

In 2013, a report was published by IBI Group and Nelson Nygaard, two urban planning companies, for TransLink’s Regional Transportation Strategy. The report said free parking increases neighbourhood traffic congestion and is tied to increased vehicle ownership and increased vehicle use.

Driving impacts the rate of climate change and environmental damage.

In Vancouver, there are alternatives for transportation. South Fraser is rated as a highly walkable area, with high bike and transit scores, according to walkscore.com. When alternatives are available, it’s a healthy and forward-thinking decision to encourage other ways of commuting.

The urban planning report also emphasized that space and maintenance for parking isn’t free. Why shouldn’t drivers contribute to the cost of the assets they use most often?

All this being said, rising property taxes and redevelopment have already negatively affected small businesses. In light of this, the city should be open to altering the rate or type of parking management system especially if business owners consistently report a loss of customers.

Ultimately, it’s important for all to be open to change. It’s uncomfortable now, but in time, it may just be the new normal.

Led by panic, not passion

The idea of young people pursuing environmental studies seems wonderful but this betrays a sad reality. The danger stemming from climate change is forcing young people to make life choices out of fear, not necessarily out of true passion or interest.

The action and initiative that young people are taking against climate change is inspirational and unprecedented. But the reality is that environmentalism has become increasingly popular because we don’t really have another choice.

According to a National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration study, 2019 was the second-warmest year on record, with nine of the 10 warmest years having occurred since 2005.

If temperatures continue to increase on a global scale there will be changes felt locally. This includes coastal erosion, an increase in wildfires

and insect outbreaks and diseases, according to the Canadian Public Health Association.

At this point, none of this is really a surprise to anyone. Some young people, myself included, are pledging to not have children due to the severity of the climate emergency. This illustrates the bitter truth of climate change action.

Langara’s Canadian Studies coordinator and biologist Frank Williams is right when he says that the increase of environmental depression is a sad outcome of the reality of just how severe the climate emergency is. Max Keller is a Langara student

who chose to enrol in environmental studies because he feels “existential terror” due to climate change. Most young people can relate to this anxiety, environmental majors and others alike.

In a perfect world, environmental studies shouldn’t be a career path to pursue out of fear and uncertainty of the planet’s capacity to host humans. Instead, it should be a career to pursue out of genuine interest, like all other majors. Pursuing a career out of fear adds another layer of unhealthy anxiety.

Unfortunately, this feeling is only becoming more widespread.

Current risk low but virus fear spreading

Coronavirus, now named COVID-19 , is dominating the headlines. People are nervous and at times fearful of the potential for disease outbreak in Canada. However, the anxiety surrounding the issue may be a bigger problem.

At Langara, the fear is as much about missing class due to illness, and the impact this can have on a semester. Anyone who has caught the flu during the school year can attest to the stress this causes. The feelings surrounding the COVID-

19 virus seem to be similar, if not the same, to that of the worry of catching the flu.

Stress causes sleeping issues and trouble focusing, and the threat of a major illness sweeping any place, be it a country or a college, can be terrifying.

According to the Government of Canada’s

website, there have only been seven cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the country, as of The Voice’s publication date. Three cases are in Ontario and four are in B.C. The probability that the virus could be infecting as many people in Canada as it has abroad is still very low. To panic at this stage would be wildly irrational. Many major health organizations are monitoring the spread of the disease, and the status of anyone infected. Still, many students have been wearing face masks, and while this does limit the spread, it is not as

necessary as some may believe.

Langara is following suit with most post-secondary institutions by suggesting practical ways of limiting the spread of disease.

This includes washing your hands, practising proper sneezing etiquette (sneeze into your elbow, not your hands) and taking a break from classes if you’re feeling sick.

So please wash your hands and take a few days off if you’re not feeling 100 per cent, but don’t panic.

This probably isn’t the beginning of the end.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control said the risk of contracting COVID-19 in B.C. is low, but some students are still concerned. ILLUSTRATION BY JACOB HOHEISEL

Urinetown takes piss out of life

Studio 58's current production is flooded with commentary

 By LUCAS JORNITZ

Studio 58’s newest production Urinetown, The Musical tackles heavy themes with a humorous touch, using comedy to shed light on climate change, corporate greed and social uprising.

Using satire, Urinetown is a commentary on how the wealthy abuse their power over the disenfranchised.

Director Courtenay Dobbie said the play’s themes are all explored through humour.

“ Urinetown asks us to laugh in the face of our human-caused selfdestruction,” Dobbie said. “But also to question authority and power.”

The play centers around a group of impoverished people who are outraged at the greed of the corporation, Urine Good Company or UGC for short. The company controls the toilets used by the people amid a

water shortage, prompting the group to rebel.

The play’s messages are obvious and hit home in a world where conservation is at the forefront of the public consciousness.

But it never gets too serious, according to Studio 58 actor Liam Stewart-Kanigan who plays Officer Lockstock.

“It’s such an absurd concept it’s like how can you be offended?”

Dobbie said the production

wasn’t seeking simple answers and she wants the audience to be both entertained and informed.

“It doesn’t provide any easy solutions and acknowledges the grey areas between what’s right and wrong,” she said. “Once the laughter subsides the audience has a chance to reflect on how the themes presented are relevant to their own lives.”

Audience member Paterson How, who watched the play, said the satirical nature worked.

“There are important things to consider and laying them out through comedy is a really good way to do it,” How said.

Dobbie said the musical’s themes are even more relevant now than they were 20 years ago, given the current state of the world.

“It’s unfortunate that in some ways we are only just now waking up to a lot of what the play warns about.”

Urinetown, The Musical runs until Feb. 16.

Online dating apps a temporary fix for loneliness

Sites might give you a boost but can end up dragging you down

 By RYAN NG

Langara student Jian Cuizon doesn’t recommend dating apps to end loneliness because he’s tried it — and it ended up just being a temporary fix.

Cuizon, a first-year criminology student, abandoned dating apps after trying Tinder once. Cuizon said he actually felt worse when he was using the app.

“When I was swiping left and right, and not (getting) a single match, I felt as though I was still pretty lonely,” Cuizon said. “I guess it doesn’t really reduce loneliness in a way. It just increases it.”

He said he became addicted to it just to get at least one match.

“And when I did get one match, I found out it was a bot.”

According to Statistics Canada, there are over 15 million single Canadians.

The online dating app scene is a highly saturated one that continues to grow, with a 0.5 per cent increase of Canadians participating in online dating from 2019 to 2020 according to satista.com. The Vancouver-

based dating site PlentyOfFish alone has 150 million users worldwide with 65,000 new users a day.

“If you start off the relationship in a way that’s largely text-based or online, I think that doesn’t necessarily translate that you’ll have the same dynamic in person,” said Tesicca Truong, co-founder of the youth engagement organization CityHive.

In 2019, CityHive’s cohort-based education program City Shapers, ran a five-session class on social isolation.

The Vancouver Foundation’s Connect and Engage 2017 report found that 60 per cent of people would prefer connecting in-person while there are 55 per cent of resi-

dents that connect through technology.

At least 17 per cent of people also feel that they spend too much time with technology and that it takes away from in-person connections.

Suparna Bakaya, a psychology instructor at Langara, said she believes that the long-term effects of these types of online interactions do not lessen the feelings of social isolation.

“Short term, if somebody is really struggling and they want a quick uplift in emotion and being able to free themselves of feeling completely lonely in that timely fashion, then okay, yes,” Bakaya said. “But in the long term, not so much.”

Where heart thou Romeo?

» 15,157,267

The number of single Canadians as of 2019, according to StatCan.

» 55%

Percentage of Vancouverites who use technology to connect with others.

» 31%

Percentage of Vancouverites aged 18-24 who spend more time alone than they would like.

TOP LEFT: The cast lines up to pee. RIGHT: Gabriel Covarrubias as Caldwell B. Cladwell. BOTTOM LEFT: Ivy Charles as Pennywise. PHOTOS BY EMILY COOPER

Mixed results for Falcons

Four more regular season games remaining for both teams

 By RUI YANG XU

The Falcons’ men’s basketball team lost two crucial matches against the top-ranked Douglas College Royalsthis weekend, sinking further to a 4-10 season record. Meanwhile, Langara’s women lost a first game to Douglas but overcame them in a tight nail-biter the following day for a timely confidence boost.

The men lost 85–99 and 87–102 to the standing leaders. Despite the losses, coach Paul Eberhardt said he felt good about how the team played.

“It showed that we can compete with the best in Canada,” he said.

Currently, Douglas tops the rankings at 15-1, followed by Vancouver Island University at 12-2, with Camosun sitting third at 8-6. Langara is currently ranked fifth of seven teams.

With a tough four games remaining, missing the playoffs remains a possibility but the team isn’t overly worried.

“We just got to perform, come out

with energy and commitment and we’ll be fine,” said Falcons guard Luka Lizdek.

The women opened their weekend with a 56–79 loss Friday. Undeterred, they rallied in a chaotic game on Saturday with Meagan Briggs making three clutch free-throws to secure a 58–57 win with less than .2 seconds remaining on the clock to end the weekend with a 7–7 division record.

Falcons forward Steph Von Riedemann, who leads the team in rebounds, said the back-to-back games were “a good chance for us to really show the improvement that we made over the Christmas break.”

Despite the split, Langara women’s coach Virginia Watson wasn’t too concerned and planned to stay focused on preparing for the final games of the season.

“It’s nice to get the ‘W’,” Watson said.

The women sit in fourth place with four games remaining. VIU tops the leaderboard with 13-1, followed by Capilano on 11-3 and Douglas on 9-7.

GAMES SCHEDULE

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL VS Vancouver Island University

Home game

Feb. 14, 2020 6 p.m.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

VS Vancouver Island University Home game

Feb.14, 2020 8 p.m.

Langara kendokas in top 3

Underdog beginner, veteran overcome the odds to place

 By DANAUCA DORY

Langara Kendo Club members placed at the Steveston Taikai on Feb. 8th.

Steveston’s Taikai is one of the largest taikai in North America, bringing together teams from B.C. to Hawaii. Kendo is a traditional Japanese martial art that uses protective armour and bamboo swords.

Due to an injury, Langara club president David Wu said he was not expecting to place at the Taikai. The club has spent most of the semester training beginners, leaving little time to practice for themselves.

“We are the underdogs and we will try and do as best as possible,” Wu said, before the tournament.

However, Wu came in third for the 1 Kyu division. He said he is incredibly happy with the results and hopes

to be able to improve from here.

Anthony Lee, a computer science major at Langara, came in third in the unranked 0 Kyu division.

“I learned a lot from my opponent, definitely my faults,” Lee said. Before the tournament, Lee said he was looking to place. Although proud of his win, Lee said he believes that he can always improve and learn from his mistakes.

The club has been spending a lot of time this year helping beginners learn the art of Kendo, which leaves them with less time to practice. Still,

both Wu and Lee placed in their division.

Although the kendokas, the word for people who practice kendo, did very well in the individual tournaments, Langara College did not place during the team matches.

The Langara Kendo club was formed in 2012 in order to create a space for people to learn about Kendo for beginners and those with experience.

This is true for Leslie Law, a former student at Langara who remains a member of the Langara Kendo club. She said that she found about Kendo through the college’s website and has been doing it off and on for the last four and a half years.

“I’m excited [for the Taikai] because I want to learn different techniques from other schools,” Law said.

KENDO FACTS

>> Kendo evolved from the centuries-old practices of Kenjutsu dating back to 1336.

>> Kendo competitions have 3 referees who use red or white flags to indicate a successful blow.

>> The Steveston Kendo Club is the oldest of its kind in Canada, founded in 1914 by Tsuzuki Kenta.

>> The Steveston Taikai has been held for over 50 years and is attended by clubs all over North America.

SOURCE: MARTIALARTSWORDS.COM

“It’s a good chance for us to really show the improvement that we made over the Christmas break.”

— STEPH VON RIEDEMANN, FALCONS FORWARD

TOP and BOTTOM-LEFT: Leslie Law from the Langara Kendo club competes with a kendoka from the Steveston Kendo club. B OTTOM RIGHT : Leslie Law.

DANAUCA DORY PHOTOS

“I learned a lot from my opponent, definitely my faults.”

— ANTHONY LEE, COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR