ONLINE SPECIAL
ENTERTAINMENT
SPORTS
WILDERNESS
Canadian rugby
Studio 58's new production explores themes of mental health. P4
Canadian Rugby excited about Maori All Blacks' dominance in front of historic crowd. P8
Campus shaming Students and experts discuss campus shaming in this week's podcast. www.langaravoice.ca
Lest we forget PRODUCED BY LANGARA JOURNALISM STUDENTS | WWW.LANGARAVOICE.CA
NOVEMBER 9, 2017 • VOL. 49 NO. 5 • VANCOUVER, B.C.
Punjabi Market due for action
Retail employees at Mona Cloth House Co. Ltd. in the Punjabi Market fold fabrics on Nov. 1. It is one of the few shops left in the historic area of Vancouver, B.C..MYRA DIONNE PHOTO Retail employees at Mona Cloth House Co. Ltd. in the Punjabi Market fold fabrics on Nov. 1. It's one of the few shops left in the market. MYRA DIONNE PHOTO
South Vancouver's small pocket of culture seeking revival By MYRA DIONNE
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usiness owners want less conversation about future changes to the Punjabi Market and more action. The City of Vancouver, in partnership with LOCO BC, invited community members to meet and discuss the state of the historic market last week. One meeting took place Wednesday at Sunset Community Centre and another Thursday at Langara College. Satwant K. Bunwait, owner of Amrit Fashions, remembers when the market was vibrant and busy.
Since 2010, her business has drastically declined, making her work a second job. “Almost seven years this market is struggling. Rather than doing something here, they come and give a lecture or whatever, but what are they really doing for the small businesses?” said Bunwait, who attended the meeting facilitated by the city about developing a vision for the future of the Punjabi Market. According to Jessie Singer, a planner for the city, the meetings came in response to comments made in 2015 about zoning development on the corner of 49th Av-
enue and Main Street. “People wanted to say great, change is happening to the area... but we also have some other concerns about the general state of the Punjabi Market as a kind of cultural and community hub,” Singer said. For several business owners, the old Punjabi Market died a long time ago. They said necessary changes are taking too long and they hoped the meetings would bring about immediate results. Harinder S. Toor, owner of Punjab Food Center, said concerns about Langara students parking in front of his shop, beautification of
the Punjabi Market, funding for Punjabi festivals and housing are among the problems community members have complained about for years. “We were told this meeting is a three-hour meeting. We came here to spend our time and make sure we get something out of it,” Toor said. “The meeting was done and no results came up.” Singer said the meetings were meant to engage conversation and not results. She said there is no clear date for resolving concerns but is anticipating consultation reports.
Tell our stories when we're gone
Preservation of Holocaust testimonials vital, says survivor By DANICA WALKER
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he importance of keeping the stories of Holocaust survivors alive for generations to come is important, according to one of the few remaining who can recount their history. Holocaust survivor René Goldman spoke about personal survival in Nazi occupied France and the
importance of preserving the events of the Holocaust at a Kristallnacht commemoration event at Congregation René Goldman HOLOCAUST Beth Israel SURVIVOR synagogue on Sunday night. He wants the Holocaust to be better taught in schools because of the dangers of forgetting such a horrific period of history saying that the world is currently seeing a resurgence of antisemitism so education is crucial. “It is important that people at
large, the populations at large, be aware of what had happened,” Goldman said. “I’m always angry every time I hear about the way history is taught or rather not taught in the high schools.” The event marked the 79th anniversary of Kristallnacht, or ‘Night of Broken Glass’, when Jewish communities were targeted in a night of violence and destruction in Nazi Germany and Austria. Goldman wrote a memoir titled A Childhood Adrift for The Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program with the Azrieli Foundation which looks at educating schools with survivor’s personal stories. Jody Spiegel, director of The Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program, said having first-hand accounts
are an indispensable resource. She spoke of the gravity of preserving their accounts. “When the last survivor is gone and their words can no longer be spoken, it will be up to us to tell their story,” Spiegel said. The program works with schools to teach the younger generation about the Holocaust by having survivors share their experiences. “These students are the last generation of students to actually listen to a survivor,” Spiegel said. Ilona Shulman Spaar, education director at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, told The Voice how hearing a survivor speak affects young people. “The most powerful is when they hear a survivor speaker,” Spaar said.
Home again... for now
Temporary nature of modular housing offers homeless no security moving forward By BECCA CLARKSON
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ith temporary housing for Vancouver’s growing homeless population planned on a South Vancouver site that will be redeveloped in the next five to 10 years, those depending on that shelter will eventually find themselves displaced once again. Ethel Whitty, director of homeless services for the City of Vancouver, hopes more social housing will be built so that people can move into more permanent digs. The Onni Group of Companies is allowing the City of Vancouver, B.C.’s government and the Vancouver Housing Agency to build the two temporary modular housing structures in question at 650 West 57th Ave. this January. Charles Maddison, an architect with Boni Maddison Architects, said using the space for temporary housing is easier to justify when it’s not going to be there forever. “The city is trying to find sites where they will be used for the temporary housing for a certain number of years,” Maddison said. “And then the buildings will be disassembled and moved to new sites when those sites are redeveloped.” According to Breanne Whyte, community liaison for temporary modular housing, the short-term aim is to get people off the street by winter. “It was an exceptionally cold winter last year...and the long-term goal will be transitioning people to more temporary homes once they’ve kind of gotten the support they need,” Whyte said. But Whitty, who was unsure they would be able to extend the modular housing on 57th Avenue beyond five years, said “the hope and plan” is to have over 5,000 units of this kind of affordability — even though it means some people will be displaced again when Onni builds its two residential care facilities. “Whenever a building is shut down, it will have to be that people are being placed elsewhere,” she said. “There's a lot of social housing coming on in the next five to 10 years in the city. As new social housing gets built, people can move into more permanent social housing.”
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Atlarge
THE VOICE | THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 2017 | EDITOR SASHA ZEIDLER
N. Van policy in question Councillor says 'locals first' housing plan opposes Canadian values By JASON GILDER
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proposed 'locals first' presales policy for homebuyers has one District of North Vancouver councillor questioning whether it offends “core Canadian values” in a municipality with a high immigrant population. Coun. Mathew Bond, one of three councillors to vote against Coun. Lisa Muri's Oct. 30 motion to develop a policy, said the idea goes against one of the country's core values, which is inclusion. “For someone new to this country to come here and then not be able to buy a place because of this policy, I just don’t think that’s right,” Bond said.
“I just don't think that's right.” — MATHEW BOND, DISTRICT OF NORTH VANCOUVER COUNCILLOR
Coun. Roger Bassam and Coun. Robin Hicks also voted against the motion, which passed 4-3. Mayor Richard Walton, Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn and Coun. Jim Hanson voted in favour. If the new policy gets approved, developers of new condos and apartments would give North Shore residents first crack at buying new homes for the first 60 days of the sales period. A 'locals first' policy has been tested in West Vancouver. Introduced two years ago, it had a positive impact on the local housing market, according to Muri. “I think it did produce opportunities for those that live in the area, or live on the North Shore, to buy into a property,” Muri said. The Urban Development Institute has been a critic of such policy and their concern was highlighted in an Oct. 17 letter to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. Anne McMullin, the institute's president and CEO, wrote the letter to Robertson after he proposed a locals first policy for Vancouver. “We have been working constructively with the city on a number of policies to address the housing affordability crisis and we don’t believe this motion advances those affordability objectives,” said McMullin in the letter.
'LOCALS FIRST' IN B.C.
Development of Memorial Park is redirecting access to the White Rock Pier until summer 2018. SYDNEY MORTON PHOTO
Seaside city gets facelift
White Rock council looks to 2045 with new community plan By SYDNEY MORTON
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hite Rock council has unanimously approved a new Official Community Plan that envisions what the seaside municipality will look like by 2045. Council's adoption Oct. 23 of the wide-ranging plan comes after more than two years of meetings in which feedback from the public helped shape what is considered "a living document." “We made sure to consult with the community a lot, which was really good, but the community thinks this is set in stone which is where the mistake is made,” said
Coun. Helen Fathers. “There is no legal requirement to follow this and anyone can come asking to have it changed. The focus needs to be on steady growth.” The plan calls for residents to have better access to the waterfront, the expansion and diversification of the town centre, create more housing opportunities for different age groups and demographics, and add public green spaces. The plan replaces what many considered an outof-date document to guide a municipality's future growth, which is expected to increase by 23,000
to 27,000 people by 2045. White Rock's current population is 93,729. Cliff Annable, executive director of the White Rock Chamber of Commerce and a former councillor
ulation growth. “Why hide the most beautiful view in the world?” Annable told The Voice. Coun. Grant Meyer believes the plan should have called for more densification of some neighbourhoods. That way, “Why hide the most he added, more families could be accommodated beautiful view in in smaller neighbourhoods such as near Peace Arch the world?” Hospital and along North — CLIFF ANNABLE Bluff Road. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE WHITE ROCK “The OCP is supposed to CHAMBER OF COMMERCE be a living document, and it can always be amended who worked on the previous com- to reflect the current time,” Meyer munity plan, said he favours more said. “We especially needed an uphighrises to accommodate the pop- date, it had been almost 15 years.”
River District traffic overflowing Fraserview residents call for transportation plan
CHANGES IN 2017
Jan. 23 District of West Vancouver tests 'locals first' plan for the Sewell's Marina.
Oct. 17 Proposal by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is approved.
Oct. 30 District of North Vancouver council approves drawing up of 'locals first' policy. SOURCE: NEWS OUTLETS
By ROBERTO TEIXEIRA
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raserview residents are worried the development of the massive River District waterfront community in southeast Vancouver will bring even more heavy traffic to their neighbourhood. Barbara Borchardt, a Fraserview resident, said the 130-acre development is already creating traffic problems, with SE Marine Drive "becoming a parking lot during many days.” Fraserview is adjacent to the River District, which is located on the lands between Kerr Street and Boundary Road, south of Marine Way. When completed, the new
Transit upgrade requested in South Vancouver's River District. WESGROUP PHOTO
community could have a population bigger than 10,000 and employ thousands of people, according to the developer, Wesgroup Properties. Such an increase in population is what worries Borchardt, who was
invited to meet with Wesgroup to discuss concerns about transportation and other issues with the project. She called it "a positive sign." "My take is that this issue of transportation and transit squarely lands on the shoulders of the city
and TransLink," Borchardt said. Andrew Dennis, who lives in the E Kent Avenue neighbourhood, said there appears to be a lack of communication between the city, TransLink and residents, including discussion about the use of a rail line. "There is very limited information on this and what’s personally interesting is there has been no input sought to date by the city or TransLink from existing residents who live directly on this rail line," Dennis said. Wesgroup's original development plan of 2006 identified three new bus stops in the community. The plan also called for a water taxi on the river. A passenger train on the existing Canadian Pacific rail line was to connect the Marine Drive Canada Line station with the SkyTrain station in New Westminster. “[We] continue to work with the city and TransLink to initially make sure that the busses are coming through the neighbourhood,” said Brad Jones, Wesgroup's director of development.
Campusnews
EDITOR LAURA BROUGHAM | THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 2017 | THE VOICE
Students promote chickens Project promotes benefits of backyard poultry in the city
Hot, cold and dusty - a work in progress
By LISA TANH
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Steve Brown, building mechanical specialist with Thermenex, testing the valve of the new heating system in room A225 on Nov. 3. ANA ROSE WALKEY PHOTO
New heating and cooling system still 'learning' in Building A By ANA ROSE WALKEY
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midst upgrades and renovations to Building A, some students and faculty have been wearing toques to deal with frigid temperatures. Some are considering wearing masks, worried about dust and air quality in the old building. A new self-regulating heating and cooling system has been causing swings in temperature as the system adjusts, according to Steve Brown, building mechanical specialist with Thermenex, in charge of checking up on the new system. The system will heat individual rooms only when people are in them, instead of heating the whole building as one unit. The system will finish being in-
stalled by March 2018, and fully callibrated a year from then, Brown said. “Once the project is completed, from there we’re going to move on to have it understand the way your guys’ building loads are,” he said. “We do a four seasonal learning process…for summer, fall, winter and spring, they all have different strategies that need to be created.” Alexander Boston, Langara’s philosophy department chair, said his office got very hot last week, and when he tried to adjust the temperature, it didn’t work. “I thought I could try and turn the [heat] down … but it didn't respond,” Boston said. As renovations to the vacated chemistry labs advance, some faculty have been worried about air
quality. One instructor said teachers are continually cleaning dust covering desks and floors. “We are renovating a mid-70s building…I don't see any external ventilation,” said the instructor, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. “Have we addressed that situation? Do we know if it's clean or not?” Langara’s facilities director Alexander Boston Wendy Lannard PHILOSOPHY said there aren’t DEPARTMENT CHAIR asbestos health or safety concerns in Building A. “Where asbestos has been noted or suspected, it has been tested by
a testing agency and where findings have been positive, it has been abated by a professional abatement company,” she said in an email, adding WorkSafeBC visits the site and monitors the abatement practices. Lannard said the new heating system has not involved any asbestos, though some ceiling tiles on the third floor might be tested and “if necessary, removed following asbestos abatement procedures prior to the work commencing.” The concerned instructor said while they are glad there is no asbestos, the college should have comminicated that to everyone. “I only wished we had known this before the work had commenced,” the instructor said. “[I] would like to see some further communications to students and faculty.”
Hampers bring ease to students Departments give gifts to studentparents in need for the Holiday Hamper program
By NICK VALKA
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he Student Services department is trying to make the holiday season less difficult for some students in need. The Holiday Hamper program provides Langara student-parents and their children with a package during the holidays. Student-parents get paired up with a depart-
Last year's hampers ready to be delivered to recipients. CHARLOTTE JURAS PHOTO
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ment anonymously, then submit Michael Lister, the vice president a list of items they need or want of the Langara Business Associain their hamper. The hampers can tion, said they put on fundraisers contain gifts or clothing items, but every year to raise money for the no food. program. Melia Fernandez, the operations “Typically [the business assomanager for ciation] raise Student Services about $1,200 to “We're really at Langara, said $1,500,” Lister to be considered enthusiastic about said. “We’re tryfor a hamper, a ing to give back helping out our student must be to our school.” a parent whose The money students this way.” raised goes tobeen approved for financial wards grocery — LOUISE REID, LIBRARY TECHNICIAN need by the Fistore gift cards, nancial Aid dewhich supplepartment. ments the department’s hampers. “We go through the list of all the Supporting students in Youth in student-parents who have applied Care Canada is a new addition to for bursaries and we send them an the program this year. These stuemail. ‘Hey we've got this program, dents are members of group homes, we want to give you a holiday ham- or have aged out of the foster care per,’ ” Fernandez said. system. The program aims to proThe library sponsors a family vide 25 families with hampers and each year and Louise Reid, a tech- support for 29 Youth in Care stunician in the reference department, dents. said this is one more way that the Fernandez also hopes that word library can assist students. of the program will spread to newer “The library is very much service staff members. focused, we’re really enthusiastic “The more departments we have about helping out our students this sponsoring families, the better we way,” Reid said. can support them,” Fernandez said.
angara’s environmental studies students will be showcasing their projects to help Vancouver become the greenest city in the world – one of which aims to raise awareness on the benefits of backyard chickens in the city. Drake Carruthers and Allison Robertson, are among the 14 students who will be presenting their projects at CityStudio Vancouver’s ninth HUBBUB event at City Hall on Dec. 1. Their project focuses on chickens in the city since they believe not many people know about it. In 2010, the city passed a bylaw allowing backyard chickens to help people become more involved in their food production. “We are urbanizing chickens, essentially,” Carruthers said. “It goes against heavy industrialized farming which I'm opposed to and I feel like that's a jab at that industry.” Mike Smith-Cairns, a geography instructor at Langara, said the project speaks to a much bigger issue which is an overall disconnect from the source of their food. “The idea around this group's project is that they want people to have more of a connection with where their food is coming from,” Smith-Cairns said. “Hopefully, that will spiral into something.” Robertson said the project will involve going to a farmer’s market, having a table with posters and brochures and allowing people in the city to meet chickens. “We're just trying to promote local food and educate the public,” Robertson said. CityStudio gives students the opportunity to create projects with faculty and City of Vancouver staff that directly contribute to the city’s Greenest City Action Plan and Healthy City Strategy.
LANGARA PROJECTS
SPRING 2017 SUBMISSIONS
I Heart Dunbar
Improving disaster preparedness by strengthening community.
A Home For Everyone: The Densifiers
Looking at new ways to address negative feelings towards affordable housing.
Intergeneration Collaboration
Pairing seniors with youth to create connections, and combat loneliness.
Pop-Up Neighbourhoods Case Study Examining the effect of building a new community within an old community.
SOURCE: CITYSTUDIOVANCOUVER.COM
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THE VOICE | THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 2017 | EDITOR SHOJI WHITTIER
Arts&entertainment
eSports gaming for good cause Langara gamers play live for 24 hours, raising funds for kids By LINDSEY LLOYD
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From left to right – Jessie Liang as Sophia, Nolan McConnell-Fidyk as Cole, Alina Blackett (top) as Elizabeth, Caitlin Volkert as Chloe, Heather Barr as Dylan and Logan Fenske as Michael. DAVID COOPER PHOTO
Studio 58's got attitude
Next production, WILDERNESS, a tale of youth mental health By ALLISON HAYES
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tudio 58 is opening up with stories of self-doubt, insecurity and disconnect from an ever-pressuring society in their latest production, WILDERNESS. Based on real events, the story follows six youths sent to a wilderness therapy camp, hoping to work through the complexities of adulthood by reconnecting with nature. First produced in 2016, WILDERNESS premiered at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music by En Garde Arts. Studio 58’s production will be the first time the play has been performed in Canada. Director Genevieve Fleming said it has been great to work with a larger cast, as it makes the plot more interesting and dissects the characters' unique dysfunctions. “Everyone in this play seems to be doing their best, which I love because we’re all flawed human animals just trying to do our best,” she said. “Despite dysfunction with mental health or addiction or issues
with your parents, the whole gamut of experiences that might lead to a place like a wilderness camp, there’s still a lot of heart there.” The play focuses on the challenges of growing up in the 21st century, exploring issues like addiction, mental health, and sexuality. According to Shanae Sodhi, Fleming’s assistant, the issues the play covers are ones that a student audience will be able to connect with, especially in regards to mental health. “Everybody between the ages of 17 and 30 was in high [school]
when mental health was really on the radar,” Sodhi said. “I really like the way they talk about mental health in [the play]... they don’t try and draw any conclusions that aren’t being said, they simply let characters speak their truth.” WILDERNESS actress Jessie Liang said many people are scared of being alone. “It’s so fresh. We are excited to connect with the audience with a story that is super relevant.” The play premieres Nov. 16 and runs until Dec. 3.
Student theatre not child's play Studio 58 actor to produce his own show, solo By ALLISON HAYES
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Jarred Stephen Meek plans to produce and act in his play. ALLISON HAYES PHOTO
t takes motivation and drive to produce a play solo, it takes even more when you’re still a student. Studio 58 theatre student Jarred Stephen Meek is throwing himself into his own creative project on top of attending school as he stages his first independent play, Josh and Carol: The Reunion. The 23 year-old Kelowna native is expanding his performing portfolio in theatre and drag, utilizing everything the college has to offer to help facilitate the complex process of producing an independent stageplay. In general, it is rare for Studio 58 students to work on outside projects during the semester. “It’s so helpful here because I can just write and have people give feedback,” Meek said. “That’s what I love about this and that’s why I’m doing it now, because I really want to be able to use all the resources that I have.” Meek’s play follows protagonist
Josh, who has done nothing since high school, as he prepares to attend his school’s 10-year reunion. Joined by his former girlfriend, Carol, they decide to try and fake it as a couple. The reunion only grows more disastrous, and comedic, as the play goes on. Jessie Liang, a classmate and friend of Meek cast to play Carol, said it takes considerable dedication to produce and stage a play alone, in addition to the workload of school. “I feel like a lot of our work is still contained into our school because we are still learning. It is quite unique that Jarred decided to do this. He’s one of the few people who has the drive and the courage to go forth with his ideas, it’s really fun for me to be a part of this,” Liang said. Taylor Long, who plays the character of Chloe, a functioning alcoholic, said Meek has an outgoing personality which will take him far in the industry. “Knowing as an actor, we can go out there and create our own work [and not wait] for someone else to tell us that we’re hired,” Long said. According to Meek, Josh and Carol: The Reunion will be performed in 2018, however the location and date has yet to be finalized.
he Langara eSports Association turned their passion for online gaming into cash, raising $100 for charity in a 24-hour livestream. The association participated in an all-day gaming marathon Nov. 4, where videogame players raise money for Extra Life, a charity organization benefiting Children's Miracle Network hospitals in North America. Gamers livestreamed their gaming online during Extra Life’s game day so people around the world can watch, play and donate through the Extra Life website. Jonathan Wong, Co-Founder of the Langara eSports Association said the event is the perfect way for gamers to raise money. “You know how people run marathons for charity organizations, for us that would be playing a videogame for 24 hours,” Wong said. The association played a variety of popular online multiplayer games that anyone could join and play, such as League of Legends and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Isabelle Tupas, Langara eSports Association Co-Chair, said raising money for Extra Life is something the association has done since its inception in 2015. “It’s one of the things that, as gamers, [is] specific to us...we can help in our own way,” she said. Pamela Smith, communications specialist for BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, said Extra Life has really made a difference for kids in need. “The movement, formed by gamers bonded by passion, is committed to saving and improving the lives of local kids.” Smith said. The money raised by the Langara eSports Association during the game day marathon will be donated to BC Children's Hospital. “We want to show that gamers aren’t just people that sit down and play video games for eight hours a day… It's the perfect charity for us to participate in,” Tupas said. The Extra Life charity event has raised more than $30 million since its inception in 2008, most of the money raised is donated during game day. Over $7 million was raised during the 24-hour marathon across North America on Nov. 4. Extra Life hopes to finish 2017 with $10 million raised this year.
EXTRA LIFE STREAM
Recipients
170 children's hospitals in North America recieved money from Extra Life's 24-hour stream event.
Participants
630 people around the world participated in the livestreams. SOURCE: PAMELA SMITH, BC CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
Lifestyles
EDITOR JASON GILDER | THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 2017 | THE VOICE
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Big label sunblock brands can burn Concerns surrounding chemical-based sunscreens are addressed by local workshop By DANICA WALKER
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Matt Loeb recounts his experience as a paid subject for medical students to practise on at Story Story Drive at The Drive Coffee Bar on Nov. 1. The shows at The Drive Coffee Bar have quickly gained popularity throughout Vancouver, along with other local storytelling shows. ANA ROSE WALKEY PHOTO
Storytelling hits the stage Anecdotes of all varieties are shared on a growing platform
By ANA ROSE WALKEY
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torytelling shows are gaining popularity in Vancouver because they create a personal connection between the performer and the audience, according to one show creator. The shows at The Drive Coffee Bar have a similar format to standup comedy but in which people tell a variety of stories. The shows nowadays draw up to 20 people, compared to five even a year ago. Jo Dworschak, a comedian and creator of storytelling shows Story Story Lie and Story Story Drive, said storytelling is about an in-person connection. “Something that society used to do so much,” Dworschak said. “Now, all the communication we
have is with our phones and so being able to go and connect with people and hear their stories is really amazing.” The format of these shows includes someone standing in front of a crowd and delivering their piece. The stories can be anything from funny to sad and csn range from fictional to non-fictional. In Vancouver, storytelling shows include Story Story Lie at the Rio Theatre, Story Story Drive at The Drive Coffee Bar, Fine. at The Lido and a number of travelling shows such as Rape is Real & Everywhere. Former journalism student at Langara College, Luisito Mina Jr. changed paths to pursue stand-up comedy and later, storytelling. Last Wednesday at Dworschak’s show, Mina Jr. performed his sto-
ries for the first time and said storytelling allows him to share his work without the pressure to deliver punchlines. “There's people who were familiar with stand-up, liked stand-up and migrated to this because it's the same kind of thing just without such heavy constraints to be hilarious,” said Mina Jr. Emma Cooper, a local comedian and co-creator of Rape is Real & Everywhere, said, “I've noticed recently more shows that are conducive to prioritizing personal anecdotes and vulnerability over concise punchlines." Dworschak encourages everyone that has a story to give storytelling shows a chance. “If you've learned how to speak, you can do it,” Dworschak said.
STORY STORY DRIVE
BASIC INFORMATION
A Vancouver First
Story Story Drive is the first weekly storytelling show in Vancouver.
Platform
A mix of new and experienced performers share stories of all varieties.
Location
At The Drive Coffee Bar, 1670 Commercial Drive. SOURCE: WWW.MEETUP.COM/VANCOUVER-WRITERS-GROUP/
Waste-based meals heating up The second of our three-part zero-waste series explores cuisine Three-Part Series
for Metro Vancouver, said she tries to think of creative ways to utilize food waste at home. “For things that are really good waste like carrot peelings and chicken bones, they go into a boiling pot of water to make a soup stock,” Rowan said. “We can make a difference.” Metro Vancouver is currently in the third and final year of its Love
Food Hate Waste campaign. The campaign is designed to reduce avoidable food waste in homes, and according to Metro Vancouver communications coordinator Alison Schatz, there is a significant amount of food being by wasted that could be utilized. “Food waste is a serious issue in our region,” Schatz said. “A typical household in Metro Vancouver
By NICK VALKA
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hile using every last food scrap in the kitchen to create dishes is now commonplace in local restaurant culture, the waste saving technique is starting to enter local households. Waste-based cuisine has become a trendy term to describe something restaurants have practised for a long time, using items such as peelings from vegetables or bones and trims from proteins to create their dishes. However, this practice is gaining popularity inside local homes. Ann Rowan, program manager of collaboration initiatives
A sous chef mixes chicken bones and vegetable peels to make chicken stock for Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill. NICK VALKA PHOTO
wastes $700 worth of food per year.” While this program targets households, utilizing food waste has always been a point of focus in restaurants. The production of food uses a large number of resources, from water to labour, and throwing away food means those resources are wasted. Whether it’s saving vegetable skins and meat bones to make soup stock, or the green tops of radishes and carrots to make pesto, Giuseppe Posteraro, chef and owner of Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill and Enoteca in Yaletown, uses every last bit of food in his high-end cuisine. “It’s part of my culture,” Posteraro said. “With stale bread I make breadcrumbs. In cooking, nothing eventually gets thrown away, it gets recycled.” Posteraro said that minimizing food waste is a trend that should be practiced around the world. “We don’t take into consideration that whatever we waste, it would keep alive many other people around the planet," he said.
ith awareness increasing about the risks of using chemical-based sunscreen, a workshop last Saturday at Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre taught people how to make homemade sunscreen with natural ingredients. Jennifer Rashleigh, workshop instructor and urabn farmer at Farmers on 57th, said the focus is on being aware of what people put on their skin.Workshop attendees were taught to make sunscreen containing infused almond oil, shea butter, beeswax and the active ingredient zinc oxide which,
“I see us spraying stuff on our kids' skin that soaks in and I see us not asking enough questions about what that is.” — JENNIFER RASHLEIGH, URBAN FARMER AT FARMERS ON 57TH
Rashleigh said, acts as a sun blocker, shielding the skin from UV rays. She believes that health should not only be about what people put in their bodies, but on their skin too. “I see us spraying stuff on our kids’ skin that soaks in and I see us not asking questions about what that is.” Rashleigh said. Health Canada lists two types of sunscreen, those with chemical filters and those with physical filters. Rashleigh said the chemicals in sunscreen Jennifer are damaging for Rashleigh health. URBAN FARMER, Jade Kugelman, FARMERS ON 57TH who attended the workshop, said she wants to learn to make her own sunscreen to protect her children both from the sun and chemicals after one of her children develope a reaction to a commercial-brand sunscreen. “One of my children developed an allergic reaction to a well-known brand,” said Kugelman. Rashleigh wants people to appreciate the benefits of the sun while protecting themselves. Rashleigh works outside on the farm all day and claims that she never burns but said that it is also about having common sense when being exposed to the sun. “The sun is responsible for life on this planet and so I think it’s really important to balance the benefits the sun brings as well as the risks of it.” Rashleigh said. Rashleigh hopes to run more workshops in the future discussing other natural products.
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Viewpoints
THE VOICE | THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 2017 | EDITOR RICA TALAY
Organic or not, put it on
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ven in Vancouver where sunlight is scarce, skin-damaging rays are still emitted and organic or not, people should wear sunscreen every day. By just following this rule, they can give their skin a younger look and protect NATALIA it from permaBUENDIA nent skin damCALVILLO age, but it’s important to keep in mind that not all sunscreens that are labeled as “organic” are completely free of un-processed ingredients. Jen Rashleigh, the founder of Farmers on 57th, taught a workshop last Saturday to show individuals how to make their own sunscreen and to be aware of what people put on their skin.
OPINION
“Calling it organic would be like calling ibuprofen a natural remedy." The marketing language and chemistry facts differ a lot and this new misinforming trend of using the word “organic” to sel+l products to those that want a healthier option is everywhere. After reading labels of expensive, ‘organic’ sunscreens I noticed most of them contain zinc oxide plus other hydrating compounds. “One-hundred per cent organic sunscreens” are misusing the label. Zinc oxide must be processed in a lab and it comes from an inorganic mineral called zincite. Calling it organic would be like calling ibuprofen a natural remedy. A study published by Lisa M. Martorano, Christian Stork and Yang V. Li in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, mentions that zinc oxide, an inorganic compound, filters the ultraviolet light spectrum and is used to protect against the carcinogenic and photo-damaging effects. That information sounds great but in the same study it is also concluded that “the accumulation of free or labile [zinc ion] from sunscreen causes [cell damage].” Therefore, it is still toxic and damaging to our skin. The skin is the largest organ in the body, whether it is mineral or chemical, just wear sunscreen. The slight toxic effect from sunscreen is better than the permanent damage the sun can do to your skin.
We want to hear from you Journalism instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Email: ebulman@langara.ca
The Voice is published by Langara College’s journalism department. Editorial opinions are those of the staff and are independent of views of the student
government and administration. We welcome letters to the editor. They may be edited for brevity. Your letter must include your name and phone number.
Mobile housing units aimed at helping the homeless transition off the streets are bringing some Vancouverites into direct contact with their own conflicting attitudes towards the welfare of their fellow citizens. PERRIN GRAUER ILLUSTRATION
Fear of homeless diminishes us
F
ear will always speak the loudest, and the only solution is an authentic encounter with another human being. As modular housing designed to stabilize people while they transition off the streets begin to pop up in neighbourPERRIN hoods around GRAUER the city, some
OPINION
residents are concerned that it will incline the crime rate within their community. These residents are making it clear that they are both sympathetic to the plight of the city’s homeless and yet they are unwilling to share a fence with them. And I’m usually quick to criticize those who lament the suffering of the vulnerable, but who oppose any solution that brings that suffering closer to home. I would cry shame that anyone could allow fear to trump empathy for a fellow citizen.
But then a week ago, my housemates and I discovered that a young homeless man, clearly in distress, had taken up residence in our laundry room. And without a moment’s hesitation, we tossed his belongings into the alley and told him unequivocally that he should never return. We didn’t offer to find him shelter. We didn’t offer to feed him or make a call to an outreach clinic on his behalf. We were scared. The power of fear completely overrode everything I have claimed to stand for and everything I have
learned from a decade of living and working in the Downtown Eastside. So, I understand the fear that many have expressed regarding modular housing in their neighbourhoods. The real problem in creating a city where everyone has a home is it’s going to take trust, patience, courage and empathy. And those things are impossible to legislate. So, until each of us take the time to reach out to those that we might otherwise fear, fear is our city planner. And that’s no city I want to live in.
Lukewarm reception of HVAC system in Building A
I
f you’re ever in Langara College’s Building A, then you must understand what I mean when I say the temperatures are whack in here. The new installation of a cooling and heating system that will selfcalibrate a year from now to cater to each season is leaving students and faculty members either wearing their winter coats and toques in class or their tank tops and t-shirts. The system will be fully installed
in March of 2018, which means some students and faculty members are left to freezing their toes off during the winter season. One side of the building is as cold as Antarctica and the other
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PHONE 604-323-5396 E-MAIL thevoice@langara. bc.ca WEBSITE langaravoice.ca
DROP-IN Room A226 Langara College SNAIL MAIL The Voice 100 West 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 2Z6 MANAGING EDITOR Sasha Zeidler
OPINION RICA TALAY PAGE 6 Rica Talay PAGE 7 Kurtis Gregory PAGE 8 Sydney Morton MANAGING WEBSITE EDITOR Violetta Kryak
is as hot as the Sahara Desert. I’m tired of constantly having to take my coat on and off when I’m switching from classrooms. I’m getting hot flashes and I’m way too young to be feeling like I’m going through menopause. Now I know that it sounds like I’m making a big fuss out of a little issue, but I wouldn’t be complaining if the college didn’t decide to do this switch during the start of the cold seasons, leaving some students WEB EDITORS Cass Lucke Saša Lakić Evan Hagedorn REPORTERS Allison Hayes Ana Rose Walkey Becca Clarkson Danica Walker Jennifer Wilson Lindsey Lloyd
Trevor Nault Lisa Tanh Myra Dionne Natalia Buendia Calvillo Nick Valka Perrin Grauer Roberto Teixeira
working in below freezing temperatures. Sometimes in some rooms it even feels like it's colder indoors than outside. While the college fails to find a temporary solution, I've resulted to using the heat that’s coming from my computer to warm my cold soul. I’m just hoping that Langara will find some sort of solution by the time it starts snowing, or I might have to start bringing my own blanket and a portable heater to class.
CONTACT US Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter @LangaraVoice
Issues&ideas
EDITOR KURTIS GREGORY | THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 2017 | THE VOICE
South Van Crime Control
7
Civilians policing Kerrisdale community helps keep crime down By JENNIFER WILSON
I Residents of Marpole, at an information session at Langara College on Nov. 2, protest the decision to construct temporary modular housing near Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementry School for the homeless. NATALIA BUENDIA CALVILLO PHOTO.
Fears not justified: expert Homeless stabilize once housed & integrated in community By
NATALIA CALVILLO
BUENDIA
F
ears in the Marpole community that a new modular housing unit will bring increased crime will be validated only if they reject their new neighbours, an expert says. Once a homeless person finds stable housing these behaviours tend to diminish, said Martin A. Andresen, a Simon Fraser University professor at the School of Criminology. This means residents around the 79 temporary housing units at West
57th Ave. and Heather St. — across from Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School and Ideal Mini School — shouldn’t expect a huge spike in crime, he said. “Generally speaking, criminal activity and police interactions tend to decrease as you provide housing and social stability to people that do not have it,” Andresen said, adding that crime rates will also depend on how new and old members of the community interact with each other. “If the people in Marpole shut those people off and not let them be part of the community then it’s
more likely that they would have a negative impact [on the community].” Sally McLellan, a Marpole resident, is worried that the occupants of the temporary housing will leave drug paraphernalia and needles near the school. “It’s more of a concern for the children, we don’t know who the people that are going to move here. And that’s quite disturbing,” McLellan said. Rob Murray, who lives seven blocks away from the construction site is concerned about the lack of social support services.
“The neighborhood is very light on support services, and for people that are coming directly from homelessness into this transitional housing, there is no nearby stuff for them,” Murray said. According to the City of Vancouver website, residents won’t be left without support and will be “placed directly into housing with supportive services until they can transition to longer-term housing.” An online petition started by Marpole and Oakridge residents has already gathered 1,465 signatures to stop the modular housing project.
Bouncing back from a bad year Vancouver Fire and Rescue change protocol and team up with VPD to control arson By PERRIN GRAUER
V
ancouver Fire and Rescue Services has had to pull out all the stops in an effort to curb a spike in arsons in vacant homes in 2016. The Marpole, Sunset and Grandview-Woodland neighbourhoods saw a doubling and even tripling of arsons last year, many of them in homes that were unoccupied, contributing to the 38 vacant home fires that Vancouver saw last year. In an effort to get to the bottom of the increase, fire services now consider home fires that occur after an unlawful entry as arson and involves the Vancouver Police Department, even if the fires themselves are technically accidental. “Before it became a really per-
vasive problem we would just treat those as an accidental fire,” VFRS spokesperson Cpt. Jonathan Gormick said. “But when they started to increase with such frequency in 2016, we began involving VPD in the files.” Sgt. Jason Robillard of the VPD says many criminal acts can result in unintentional arson. But police are not yet able to provide a definitive explanation for last year’s statistical spike. “These investigations are complex and oftentimes we don't realize why there was a spike or why there was a decrease until we make headway in those investigations and we follow the evidence,” Robillard said. City officials, meanwhile, have been working with VFRS to create bylaws to help prevent unlawful entry to vacant homes.
Sara Couper, communications manager for the City of Vancouver, says fire bylaws have been amended to require that vacant homes be boarded up, and that this strategy seems to be working. “VFRS has not seen a re-entry into a boarded-up home since this new standard was implemented,” Couper said via email.
“VFRS has in fact seen over a 50 per cent reduction in vacant home fires this year.” And while, as Gormick said, “there's not one reason for it and there's not one solution,” police, fire and city all point towards vigilance on behalf of residents as key to reducing the potentially devastating harm resulting from home fires.
n one of Vancouver’s safest neighbourhoods, police point to community engagement as the secret to success. Kerrisdale has one of the lowest crime rates in Vancouver and thefts of up to $5,000 have fallen by two thirds this year after reaching a 12 year high in 2016, while Vancouver as a whole has seen an increase in property crime. Sgt. Jason Robillard of the Vancouver Police Department said in an email that police working in conjunction with local organizations has helped reduce crime. “Officers assigned to community policing in the area typically identify ‘hotspots’ for BNE [break and enter] and thefts,” Robillard said. Tony Bulic, executive director of the Kerrisdale Oakridge Marpole Community Policing Centre, said volunteers act on this information provided by police. “We are not the police; we are here as a middleman to inform the police and be a visual deterrent and be the eyes and ears,” Bulic said. Robillard said crimes such as theft are often perpetuated by the same individual and once that person is removed, the rate decreases. “Some chronic offenders have been responsible for a larger percentage of property crime. Once they are arrested the stats will drop,” he said. “Officers have recently identified a few chronic offenders in the area and had dedicated police resources to deal with specific offenders.” Elisha Yao, executive director of the Chinese Community Policing Centre, said she works closely with the Kerrisdale CPC to provide Mandarin interpretations for residents. According to Bulic, language support builds trust and encourages homeowners to join the block watch program. Robillard also said ‘target-hardening’ work — making the target tougher to access — executed by the community policing staff is an effective way of reducing crimes. For instance, clipping garden bushes and keeping items out of view in a vehicle can go a long way, or even placing a pair of thrift store boots outside a door can help. “When a thief comes up and sees a man’s size 12 work boot he'll think twice,” Bulic said.
S. VAN CRIME 2016
Break and Enters
South Vancouver had 1,221 of the city's 5,582.
Assaults
South Vancouver had 260 of the city's 3,706.
Arson Vancouver Fire and Rescue Engine 1. PHOTO FROM: BRITISH
COLUMBIA EMERGENCY PHOTOGRAPHY
South Vancouver had 58 of the city's 227 cases. SOURCE: VPD STATISTICAL REPORTS
8
Sportsnews
THE VOICE | THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 2017 | EDITOR SYDNEY MORTON
Falcons' coach above the rest Ex-Falcon returns to the nest to lead her team to victory and PacWest awards By BECCA CLARKSON
A
Sunset Skating Club figure skaters: Aileen Chen, Jocelyn Zhong, Chantel Lim, Vanessa Ho, Chaya Kumar, Tehryn Lee, Miikka Ho, Leah Lee and Kelly Sweeney.
Sunset at dawn of success LISA TANH PHOTO
Young hopefuls skate towards new heights at competition By LISA TANH
A
former Olympic figure skating competitor and judge is preparing a group of local figure skaters for this year’s provincial championships. Thirteen-year-old novice, Leah Lee, from Vancouver’s Sunset Skating Club and her coaches feel that she will make it all the way to this year’s Canadian Figure Skating Championships. "This year's championships is so important to me because it's my chance to show what I can really do," said Lee. "As to last year's championships, I wasn't able to
perform my best due to my back injuries.” In the 2016 Championships Lee placed Second, qualifying for the 2016 Skate Challenge. Skating Director, Jennifer Yibing Jiang, 1988 Winter Olympics figure skating competitor and judge at the 2006 Winter Olympics, is sending nine figure skaters to this year’s Super Series BC/YK Championships . The nine figure skaters are between the ages of nine to 14. “For this competition, every year it’s really important to everyone,” said Jiang. “It’s the last competition and it’s the qualifying [stage] but it’s good for the skaters to compete.”
From Nov. 9 to 12, Skate Canada British Columbia/Yukon will host the BC/YK Section Championships in Parksville B.C., where the province’s top figure skaters will compete to enter the next round of qualifying events leading to the Canadian Figure Skating Championships. The Canadian Figure Skating Championships is held annually to crown the national champions of Canada and will be the trials for the Winter Olympics. To prepare for the BC/YK Championships, Jiang says she has a detailed plan for each skater. “We have a whole year plan [for the skaters],” Jiang said. “And then we report [to the skaters’ parents]
on how much they’ve improved and next steps.” Gary Lim, president at the Sunset Skating Club, says these plans are in addition to prepping skaters for competitions and getting their programs choreographed. “They work hard. Most of them skate five to six days a week and do off-ice training as well,” Lim said. Ted Barton, executive director at Skate Canada British Columbia/ Yukon, says the pressure at the BC/ YK Section Championships is far greater than any other competition. “You need to get a certain placement in order to qualify,” Barton said. “It's a first step on the way to nationals.”
FALCONS' TALLY MEN'S SOCCER
W-D-L 1-1-10
Ranked: 5th end of season
WOMEN'S SOCCER
W-D-L 4-5-3
Ranked: 4th PacWest championship
MEN'S BASKETBALL
W-D-L 3-0-3
Exhibition
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
W-D-L 0-0-0
First game Nov.10, 2017
Crushing loss a victory for rugby Any press is good press rings true for Canadian Rugby teams
By TREVOR NAULT
A
record crowd packed BC Place on Friday to watch the Maori All Blacks destroy the Canadian men’s rugby team and Canada couldn’t be more excited. Jorden Sandover-Best, a rookie on Canada’s national rugby team and former UBC Thunderbird, believes the sell-out crowd is only the start of something bigger for rugby in Canada. According to data from Statistics Canada and Canadian Heritage, soccer, swimming and hockey have
traditionally dominated the list of sports played by youth in Canada. Rugby’s never broken the top ten, but Sandover-Best is hopeful that trend could change. “It’s the fastest growing sport, it’s on the up. There’s so much going on. It’s been popular all around the world and it’s just been catching on in the last 10 years or so from my perspective,” Sandover-Best said of Canada’s rugby scene. Canada currently has 263 registered clubs. Though Canada has yet to win a game against the All Blacks this season, nearly 30,000 fans came to watch their 51-9 loss on Friday, the single largest crowd for a fifteens match in Canadian rugby history. “It’s not a traditional rugby country,” said Clayton McMillan, coach of the
Maori All Blacks. “Thirty thousand fans here, It’s a great advertisement for rugby worldwide.”“[The fans] were very vocal and passionate, and that certainly added to the occasion,” McMillan said.Phillip Mack, Rug by Canada’s team captain has seen the game grow since high school. “In high school, I didn’t know
what rugby was. It was just thrown on me and I took to it and I just didn’t look back,” Mack said. “We’ve seen an exciting growth of the popularity of rugby in Canada, based on the the success of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, key tournaments like Canada Sevens in Vancouver and Langford and the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups,” said Dustin Hopkins, director of National Development at Rugby Canada. Canada heads to Europe now to play Georgia on Nov. 11, Spain on Nov. 18 and Fiji on Nov. 25. They’ll return to Vancouver on Jan. 27 to take on Uruguay. All Blacks' Ihaia West, Charlie Ngatai, Dan Pryor and Brad Weber. Canada's Matt Heaton looks on TREVOR NAULT PHOTO
fter coaching the Langara Falcons women’s soccer team for only one season, Rachael “Rae” Pelat was named PacWest Coach of the Year. The award marks many firsts for the former Falcon, who played with the team from 2004-2007. This was her first role as a collegiate head coach and the team’s first time having a female leader.
“Now I have someone to look up to, she's a great role model and a great coach.” — GIULIA REPOLE, MIDFIELD
“I would definitely consider it a team award that is reflective of the group I worked with this season,” Pelat said, adding that the team’s athletic abilities and personalities made for a positive environment. “It's tough coming into a program as a new coach, but I'd say just as tough coming in as a player to a new coach.” Second-year kinesiology student, Giulia Repole, plays for the Falcons Rachael Pelat says, a new PACWEST COACH OF THE YEAR coach makes a new team. “I’ve played soccer since I was five and she was the first female coach I’ve had,” said Repole, who was named a PacWest Conference AllStar. “Now I have someone to look up to, she’s a great role model and a great coach.” Jake McCallum, director of the college’s athletics and intramurals, says he hired Pelat because of her desire to develop not just student athletes, but young women as well. “Having been a female student athlete herself at this level, she can put herself in their shoes a bit more easily,” McCallum said, adding that while it’s important for an all-female team to have a female coach, without Pelat’s impressive qualifications the team wouldn’t have been so cohesive. Pelat told The Voice that to her, it’s important to answer questions about her gender as a coach. “Sometimes I have to deal with people going straight to the male coach on the field, or thinking I’m a player but it doesn't really bother me. I just think it's pretty cool that I get to be in this role as a female.”