Gaining Exposure

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FIRST PEEK

November 4, 2013 · Volume 145, Issue 10

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FIRST PEEK

Lately there has been talk regarding the possibility of women-only SkyTrain cars, in order to help with the constant sexual harassment and insecurity problems that women have to face on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, women-only cars in public transit are not uncommon in countries like Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Egypt, and others.

I cannot help but wonder why this implementation is necessary in the first place.

Debate over whether or not the city should put segregated cars into effect is complicated to say the least. Even though this idea may help women like myself feel safe sometimes, the problem of sexual harassment goes much deeper than this ostensible solution.

The fact that there is even conversations around separate SkyTrain cars speaks volumes about

November 4, 2013

how appalling the current state of personal safety really is. In order to fight the root of the problem, more money and time should be spent on preventative measures and education. Unless something is done to fight the embedded patriarchy of our society, segregated cars will only help superficially. If, however, more campaigns about sexual harassment are launched and children are educated about the importance of respect and choice from an early age, the future could definitely be a more positive one.

TransLink stated that they plan to kick off a campaign to combat sexual assaults on transit as early as December, which shows, at least, that they are taking these issues seriously. But if they opt to only implement

women-only cars, several questions must be asked first.

For example, what will happen if a woman gets sexually assaulted while not on board a women-only car? Will the public be less empathetic towards her because she did not use one of the tools provided? It is of the utmost importance that society realizes that having such cars in place does not make any kind of sexual harassment outside of them acceptable.

Furthermore, we should ask ourselves how anyone will define what constitutes a “woman.” Will they be inclusive to self-identified women? Who will decide not only what constitutes a “woman,” but also who exactly will be allowed to use this service?

Even though the idea of women-only cars can be a positive step towards helping women feel safer — when taking the SkyTrain late at night or by themselves — it is crucial to focus the energy and attention on dealing with perpetrators and the troubling increase in violence and harassment against women.

We must see this idea only as a tool in the fight against insecurity and sexual harassment, not as a solution.

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NEWS

An SFU student has made history by becoming the first North American to win the prestigious Eric Hosking Portfolio Award, which honours the best young wildlife photographers from around the globe.

Co-sponsored by BBC Worldwide and London’s Natural History Museum, the award is given to the photographer with the best submitted portfolio of six to 10 photos. According to competition criteria, while choosing the recipient of the award, judges were looking for “fresh, innovative, creative and challenging images of the natural world.”

As stated by the website, “being shortlisted in this competition is something to which photographers across the world aspire.” For Connor Stefanison, who had submitted portfolios twice before, this was his year to win. “I tried really hard to get as many good photos as I could,” said Stefanison. “All of the photos except for the hot springs photo have been taken since last year’s deadline.”

Stefanison, 22, is currently completing a biology degree in ecology and conservation at SFU — however, his true passion lies not in the lab, but behind the lens.

Stefanison first became interested in photography while riding the trails of the North Shore and Burnaby Mountain. He made the transition from sports to wildlife photography after visiting a camera club that had a strong nature focus with his friend and his friend’s father.

“I kind of instantly got into it from that,” explained Stefanison.

“I went on some camping the summer right after and I’d just go taking pictures of all the birds . . . the wildlife stuff came pretty naturally to me.”

Stefanison attributes his ease with wildlife photography in part to his experiences hunting, fishing, and trapping. “I think hunting has really helped a lot, just understanding animal behaviour,”

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said Stefanison. “And also hunting and fishing both have led me to know a lot of really good locations to go to. I have a lot of really good loon locations and that’s all from fishing.”

Of the six pictures that were chosen from his portfolio, each presented a unique challenge to Stefanison.

“The most difficult was definitely the barred owl flying,

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because I didn’t know how to use multi-flash before the picture and I hadn’t really used flash all that much,” said Stefanison. “A really tricky part was pressing the shutter at the right time because the owl’s flying by so fast and if you click it a little bit too late all you see are tail feathers and legs. But, if you click it too early, the owl is really small, so it took about two weeks of trying to get that right.”

In the photo entitled “Silent Flight,” Stefanison spent about a week and a half trying to get the blur effect right on the snowy owl. He also spent hours approaching the loon in “Evening Peace,” trying to make it comfortable, before snapping the winning shot.

Although originally deciding not to submit the picture “Lucky Pounce,” Stefanison was convinced by his friend and former

Alison Roach associate news editor news@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

editor of National Geographic to include it in his portfolio. “I didn’t think it was very original and the contest really looks for originality, but she insisted that I enter it, just because it’s a portfolio and it adds some diversity to it,” explained Stefanison. “Lucky” for Stefanison, this photo was one of the six that won him the distinguished prize.

For would-be wildlife photographers, Stefanison has some tips and tricks that he

Leah Bjornson

feels may give newcomers to the industry an edge.

“One thing that I see a lot of beginners doing that I personally would like to see less of is cropping in really tight after they take a picture,” said Stefanison. “It’s often more pleasing to leave a lot of environment in the photos.”

He also advised photographers to take advantage of local opportunities. “A lot of people think, ‘Oh, I live in Vancouver, I can’t shoot wildlife because I live in the city,’ but Vancouver is probably the best big city in North America for wildlife photography.”

“There are so many great nature spots and good bird opportunities . . . exploring what you have around your neighbourhood would be a really good thing.”

Stefanison’s photos will be part of an exhibition at the Natural History Museum until March 2014.

NEWS

If you’ve ever had an uncomfortable situation on TransLink and didn’t know what to do, there’s now a website for that. “Harassment on Translink” was started

by SFU students Katie Nordgren and Alexa Dredge as a project for their GSWS course, and aims to raise awareness of unwanted attention on local transit — attention that is mostly genderbased — by posting anonymous stories of harassment on TransLink services.

Nordgren and Dredge launched the blog on Oct. 21 with the mandate to “compile stories of these experiences to demonstrate the reality and severity of this particular issue to TransLink and the City of Vancouver.” Since then, the project has been covered by various local media outlets, including CBC, Huffington Post, and The Province.

Since starting to gather personal stories, the duo has defined three categories of perpetrators of harassment: the drunk or disorderly, the criminally aggressive, and the “nominally ‘well-intentioned’ romantic,” as they put it. The latter refers to the everyday instigator of conversation who does not intend malice, but who will not respond to social cues that indicate discomfort or disinterest.

The creators have posted a disclaimer on the website to address the misconception that they are in some way pinpointing individuals who were perpetrating this harassment, specifically the mentally ill. Nordgren and Dredge expressed that they are not pointing fingers at any one group, including TransLink, and stated that the issue goes much deeper than that.

“We’d like to facilitate discussion in a manner which neither blames TransLink nor individualizes the problem by placing the responsibility for intervention solely on those who are being harassed,” said Dredge.

“We think that gender socialization is a real culprit here,” added Nordgren, who went on to

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discuss how learned gender roles play into this scenario, stating that in its simplest form, men are taught to be assertive and to go after what they want; conversely, women often feel like they must be polite and engage in conversations they may not want to have.

Nordgren and Dredge were careful to stress that blame should not fall on victims of harassment. “We want to be careful not the put the burden of protection on the victims of harassment and assault,” said Nordgren.

“We truly believe that nobody deserves to be violated, whether that’s physically or socially, and that when people are victimized, we do them no services by asking what they could’ve done differently to avoid being hurt.”

This being said, in the moment that the incident is happening, there are a number of ways to de-escalate the situation (see sidebar).

“In order to promote equal engagement in our communities, public services must be equally accommodating and inviting,” said Dredge. “Additionally, it may be women who disproportionately need transit because of economic reasons.”

She continued, “Public transit straddles the territory between a private and public space and is therefore difficult to moderate.”

“Much like the anti-rape slogan of ‘no means no,’ no still means no outside of a bedroom context,” stressed Nordgren.

Some argue that it is already difficult to address strangers in this city and that this attitude would serve to further alienate people from one another. Not so, said Dredge.

“We don’t necessarily want to promote antisociality or vilify someone for trying to strike up a conversation, but to be conscious of the line between acceptable and unwanted attention,” she explained. “Disregarding a

refusal . . . indicates a lack of respect for personal limits and is threatening — even if the person transgressing them intends to be complimentary.”

The dynamic duo see their biggest priority being getting their mandate out to more people to collect their stories, but would love to eventually partner with TransLink in order to develop tangible solutions.

In fact, they are well on their way: since their unexpected media spotlight, the women have been in touch with Transit Police through media relations person, Anne Drennan. Nordgren lauded their support, as the media pressure has led TransLink to reveal ahead of schedule the strategies they had been planning to implement addressing this issue, which include an app, a text alert system, and a system-wide anti-harassment campaign.

Nordgren and Dredge have experienced some negative attention, but responses have generally been supportive, an encouraging sign that as a community, it is possible to address even those issues that are embedded in our everyday as we vie for greater change.

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6 NEWS

On Saturday, Oct. 26, S.F. Brew, the Simon Fraser brewing club, met up with brUBC — their cross-town counterpart — at Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers in North Vancouver for the first Annual University Home Brew Awards Party.

The party was both a celebration and an awards ceremony, the culmination of a friendly competition, as each club had submitted several home brews for judgement earlier in the week. The atmosphere was merry at Deep Cove as members from each club milled about, chatting and tasting each others’ submissions.

Daniel Collins, managing director at Hops Connect, a grower, procurer, and distributor of hops throughout Canada, explained how the idea for a university home brew competition was hatched, aptly, over drinks.

“It kind of came out of a few beers, a conversation with a couple of us [from Hops Connect] and the guys from Deep Cove, said Collins; “We just decided we could do something fun here with the homebrew scene by taking two of the university clubs and putting them together and creating what eventually became the Hops Connect Cup.” He continued, “Originally, we reached out to UBC, who we were already selling hops to regularly for a lot of their brews anyway . . . then we started searching around, [asking,] well, who else has a brew club, and the first one we found, aside from UBC of course, was S.F. Brew.”

According to S.F. Brew vice president, Natasha Peiskar, the club just recently got re-started.

After attending a meeting last year, Peiskar decided to take on S.F. Brew’s social media and, through Twitter, got connected with Vancouver’s burgeoning craft beer community.

“At Vancouver Craft Beer Week, Daniel from Hops Connect approached me and said, ‘What do you think about doing a SFU vs. UBC home brewing competition?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah! Let’s do it! . . . Oh no, I have no idea

November 4, 2013

Best

what I’m doing,’” recalled Peiskar with a grin.

Once committed to the competition, S.F. Brew had to reconnect with its members, many of whom had lost interest due to the club’s general inactivity. Club executives organized several learn-to-home-brew sessions, made their presence known at Clubs Days, rounded up new recruits with a range of home-brew experience, and started brewing up a storm. Their efforts paid off; S.F. Brew members submitted 14 entries to the six category competition and swept brUBC.

The panel of Hops Connect Cup judges was made up of

local brewers, three from Deep Cove, the owner of Four Winds Brewing, the brewmaster from Bomber Brewing, and Collins from Hops Connect. The judges used a points-system based on standard criteria to score each brew: appearance, aroma, flavour, and overall thoughts and feelings about each beer. S.F. Brew won in five of the six categories and had a higher overall score, garnering them the Hops Connect Cup. Peiskar’s IPA, Hop-A-Rella, was the bell of the ball, winning the IPA category as well as Best in Show. “The beer is called Hop-A-Rella because a couple of girls brewed it,” laughed Peiskar. “Honestly, people might not appreciate this, but it was the first beer we ever brewed.”

It’s a first-attempt that won big, as the prize for Best in Show is a commercial brew of 12,000 litres; Hops Connect will supply the hops, Deep Cove Brewery will supply the space, and Deep Cove brewmaster, Kevin Emms,

will help Peiskar scale her homebrew recipe. Production is to take place early next year.

Post-competition, S.F. Brew executives have high hopes for the future of the club. “It’d be awesome to have our own space at SFU so we could brew up [there]. I’m so jealous of UBC – they talk about how they have this huge refrigerator full of beers and every Sunday they have someone transferring a beer over . . . I hope SFU does that one day,” said social committee director, Kyle Middleton.

With over 250 new student sign-ups this fall and between 50 and 70 active club members, it doesn’t look like S.F. Brew will be drying up any time soon.

Open

in Sh ow

NEWS

Wednesday Oct. 16, BC student unions across the province relaunched No Means No, a campaign that aims to end rape on post-secondary campuses.

The No Means No Campaign was developed by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) over 20 years ago to combat issues of sexual assault, acquaintance rape, and dating violence across Canadian campuses. The campaign consists of materials which highlight research into incidences of sexual assault in Canada.

“Women continue to face disproportionately high levels of sexualized and gender-based violence on our campuses and in our communities,” said Madeline Keller-MacLoed, women’s student liaison of the CFS-BC, according to Digital Journal.

Keller-MacLoed said that the relaunch is a reaction to the recent instances of pro-rape chants at different Canadian institutions.

“Given the recent instances of prorape chants at the University of British Columbia and Saint Mary’s University, more students are now challenging rape culture on campus via this campaign,” she stated.

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The “No Means No” campaign has been an initiative of university and college campuses across Canada since October 1989, when it emerged at Queen’s University during a campus-wide debate around sexism and violence against women on Canadian campuses.

Media reports followed the campaign, as male students across campus posted offensive anti-slogans such as “No Means Harder,” “No Means More Beer,” and “No Means Down on Your Knees, Bitch,” on their residence halls and windows.

In response to the incident, and the campus’ tolerance of the men’s behaviour, a 24-hour protest sit-in was staged by members of the “Radical Obnoxious Fucking Feminists” group. Fifty masked women read a list of demands from then president David Smith’s office. With the resulting media attention, and loss of alumni

gifts, the school’s board of trustees was forced to follow the group’s demands.

Months later, another campus made media headlines, on Dec. 6, 1989. A deranged gunman at Montreal’s École Polytechnique, singled out and massacred the 14 female members of the then male-dominated engineering faculty. Two years later, in 1991, the Canadian government recognized Dec. 6 as National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Although the level of harassment has gone down since the events of 1989, many experts believe there’s still a long way to go. Elizabeth Sheehy, professor of law at the University of Ottawa, spoke to this at last year’s National Research Day 2012 Conference.

“There is a 64 per cent unfounded rate of sexual assault cases [across the country],” said Sheehy, “a rate which is higher than any other assault rate in Canada . . . failure to recognize assault in all of it’s forms empowers the offenders and punishes the survivors.”

Caiti Barendregt-Brown, a sex educator in London, Ont., said when she finishes her high school sessions, she is still approached with questions from bewildered boys, according to The Globe and Mail. “I’m really confused,” one told her, “if a girl wears a short skirt and a

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low-cut top to a party, it looks like she wants sex.”

In remembrance of these events, and the growing concern that sexual assault and discrimination has been growing again in today’s “rape culture” the No Means No campaign has resurfaced. Using, posters, buttons, and stickers, the student driven initiative has spread all across Canada, from the University of Toronto, to the Camosun College in Victoria. SFU however, did not take part in the relaunch, having severed ties with the Canadian Federation of Students in an out of court settlement in 2011.

The separation followed a campus-wide referendum in 2008 where over 92 per cent of student voters were reported to have cast ballots against SFU’s membership in the CFS. This referendum was subjected to concerns about process accuracy and fairness, but facing a potential court hearing, both parties settled on December 23, 2011.

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8 NEWS

Canadian students are attempting to break down dichotomies surrounding the proposed pipeline project in Northern BC and Alberta with their multimedia project, Line In The Sand.

A student-founded, Vancouver-based initiative, the project focusses on the perspectives and personal stories of individuals living directly along the route of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. The team hopes to ultimately produce a short documentary and full-length book by capturing the stories of these affected lives both on print and film.

“There have been a few documentaries made on the Northern Gateway, and the way that we’ve approached producing this one is to deliberately avoid at all costs jumping onto the protest porn bandwagon.” explained Tomas Borsa, co-founder of Line In The Sand and a freelance journalist. “But at the same time we wanted to capture and transmit a deeply emotive theme.”

The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines Project is a proposal to construct twin pipelines that would run 1,170 km between Bruderheim, Alberta, and Kitimat, British Columbia.

As the project was heavily criticised by First Nations groups, environmentalists and oil sands opponents, the National Energy Board established a Joint Review Panel in 2010 to examine and report on the potential for building the the Northern Gateway Pipeline.

However, the validity of the panel process was brought into question after the passage of Bill C-38, which imposed strict time limits on environmental assessment, restricted the range of individuals authorized to give

November 4, 2013

testimony, and removed the obligation for environmental assessment.

In an attempt to remedy this issue, Borsa and his team have travelled the span of the proposed pipeline collecting previously unheard stories from both opponents and proponents of the project.

“When we entered this project we were avoiding aligning ourselves with one side or another and we came in with as open a mind as possible,” said Borsa. “We didn’t want to discredit or discard either side.”

He continued, “But in immersing ourselves in the lives of people who are directly affected, it’s become apparent to us that one side really does have a more compelling and persuasive argument, and that would be the side that argues against the pipeline, because there’s just so fucking much at risk.”

Joining Bursa are Skyler Flavelle, a filmmaker and student at Capilano University, Tristan Becker, a professional photographer and nursing student at the University of British Columbia, JeanPhilippe Marquis a filmmaker from Montreal, Quebec with a degree in journalism from Concordia University, and Doug Koyama, an improvisational musician from smalltown BC.

A mixed bag of filmmakers from across the country, Borsa hopes that Line In The Sand’s message will touch citizens beyond those directly affected by the pipeline.

“This is an issue that’s somewhat out of sight out of mind beyond BC-Alberta borders, but the precedents that could be set by it and the implications are very real,” said Borsa. “This might be a very au courant issue, but it’s not going to be very long before it becomes an issue elsewhere.”

SFU is offering certified divers and pilots the opportunity to experience first-hand the effects of nitrogen narcosis and hypoxia, in Canada’s only civilian research hyper/hypobaric chamber. The project, led by Sherri Ferguson, director of the environmental medicine and physiology unit (EMPU) at SFU, is delving into the effects these have on people.

Nitrogen narcosis is a condition that divers experience as a result of breathing at increasing pressure. “By the time they reach 100 feet, the partial pressures of nitrogen cause a euphoric feeling,” explained Ferguson. “Eventually, if deep enough, it can lead to hallucinations, potentially convulsions and unconsciousness.”

At a much higher elevation, mountain climbers and pilots are also at risk of hypoxia, as the air they are breathing at high altitudes may not supply enough oxygen to the brain. “At high altitude . . . the symptoms are similar to narcosis in that there is impairment and often an unrecognizable impairment” Ferguson explained.

Pilots of pressurized aircraft are at higher risk because at very high altitudes, between 25,000 to 30,000 feet. Ferguson said, “If they were to lose cabin pressure . . . within three to five minutes they are no longer able to make useful decisions.”

To simulate these extreme conditions and allow those at risk to experience the effects of hypoxia — which causes a dazed, drunken sensation — the Burnaby campus lab is equipped with two chambers, one of top of the other. The top chamber is used for hypoxia and the lower one for nitrogen narcosis, and may accommodate up to six people at a time.

The upper chamber is kept dry, while the lower chamber can be filled with up to 2,500 gallons of fresh water.

Participants trying out the chambers so far have feature a range of different groups within the aviation and diving community. “The high altitude is being used by flight schools and airlines are training their pilots to high altitude and hypoxia awareness,” said Ferguson. “We are open to certified divers but many dive shops and dive clubs are booking us right now.”

The common citizen needs a diving certificate to book sessions in the chamber, , while pilots or flight students are ableto book through their airline or flight school. The

increasing popularity of the opportunity has resulted in an expansion of the research linked to use of the chamber.

The chamber may also play host to clinical trials involving hypobaric oxygen. Ferguson explained: “Breathing the oxygen under pressure is a form of medicine as well . . . There are 14 indicators that physicians will treat in a [hypobaric] chamber.”

Injuries such as burns, carbon dioxide poisoning, diabetic ulcers, radiation narcosis and nonhealing wounds may be treated using a hypobaric chamber.

The project is also open to a new area of research involving pressurized, hypobaric oxygen in the possible treatment of children with autism or people with Crohn’s disease. This new interest stems from reports by operators of hypobaric chambers not overseen by physicians on the effects on people suffering from these diseases.

“Some of the research that we do in here is to do proper, randomized, controlled, clinical trials, so we can look and see whether or not that [treatment] is effective,” said Ferguson. The healing process of some of these indicators is still a mystery, as it is done in the process of narcosis in the brain.

Looking forward, a researcher from the US Navy is set to start work with Sherri Ferguson and her unit next year to explore the effect of hypobaric treatment on the brain and stroke victims in particular.

Ferguson concluded, “If we can understand the mechanism more then we can maybe expand what we use it for . . . I would really like to see in brain neurons what is happening under pressure.”

NEWS

Vancouver — The RCMP are now investigating six reported sexual assaults that occurred on UBC’s campus over the past over the past seven months. They believe one suspect is responsible for all six assaults.

At a press conference last Tuesday hosted by UBC and the RCMP, Sgt. Peter Thiessen of the Lower Mainland RCMP said an additional sexual assault occurred early Sunday morning, when a young woman was walking alone from Gage Residence on Student Union Boulevard around 1:30 a.m.

He also said RCMP are now including two sexual assaults reported in April and May in the investigation. The Ubyssey also reported a seventh assault last week, which has not been reported to police to date.

“These attacks seem to be crimes of opportunity, where the suspect is specifically targeting lone females in secluded areas,” Thiessen said. One journalist at the press conference pointed out that the attack this weekend happened while many additional security measures were in place.

“UBC is a city within a city, so it’s no different policing here than it would be policing in a large metropolitan city,” Thiessen said.

“Our resources can’t be everywhere all the time.”

Thiessen said the Major Crimes Unit of the RCMP has the capacity to provide as many resources as necessary to investigate the assaults.

The RCMP have also increased patrols at UBC, and have engaged other units including the RCMP Bike Patrol, Lower Mainland District Integrated Police Dog Services and the Lower Mainland District Integrated Emergency Response Team.

Behavioural scientists, criminal and geographic profilers are also working on the case, alongside crime analysts, forensic artists and operational psychologists. The RCMP are also coordinating with the Vancouver Police Department.

The RCMP are also using tools like the Violent Crime Linkage

November 4, 2013

Analysis System, a national computer program that looks for links to previously identified suspects.

A composite sketch of the suspect is being created.

“I don’t recall a similar set of circumstances at a university or educational campus in this province,” Thiessen said. He also explained that the RCMP would have special strategies in place for Halloween night last Thursday, but would not give specific details.

The current description of the suspect the RCMP are working with is a Caucasian male with a slightly darker or olive skin tone.

He is possibly tanned, and is in his mid- to late 20s or early 30s.

The suspect has a thin build and is somewhere between 5-foot-8 and 6-foot-2. He has a long, round chin and face, a straight nose, a broad forehead and short, dark hair.

This weekend, the RCMP knocked on hundreds of residence doors on campus and spoke to 300 people to get additional information on the assaults. RCMP have received 30–40 tips from the public and they are following up on all of them, Thiessen said.

“We urge anyone with information, however insignificant it may seem, to contact their local police department. You may have noticed something . . . that could potentially lead to identifying a suspect or [the] location of where that person may be,” said Thiessen.

UBC President Stephen Toope released a letter today about the recent assaults. “I am grateful to the RCMP who have made this a top priority,” he wrote. “Their investigation is critical to restoring the safety of our campus.

“In the days to come, until the alleged perpetrator is apprehended, I ask you to be extra vigilant,” Toope wrote. “The ultimate choice is yours, but the RCMP [are] advising you not to walk alone after dark.”

UBC VP Students Louise Cowin also announced that the university is increasing security at campus residences. Starting tonight, one male and one female security guard will be patrolling each residence. There is also a new service called Rezwalk, which will escort students from residence Commonsblocks back to actual residence buildings.

Cowin said UBC is also ramping up access to UBC counselling services, “This is a time to rally support for one another, look out for each other and stand up against sexual violence,” said Cowin.

Anyone with information about the attacks is asked to call the BC RCMP Major Crimes Section’s tip line at 778-290-5291 or toll free at 1-877-543-4822.

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AT ITS VERY BEST

10 NEWS

With oceans quickly acidifying due to carbon dioxide emissions, aquaculture farmers face a serious threat to the health of calcifying sea organisms like crabs, clams, mussels and shellfish that we enjoy at the dinner table.

“It’s becoming harder and harder for these organisms to build their calcium carbonate shells in larval stages because there are fewer free carbonate ions in acidic seawater,” explained SFU environmental sciences graduate student Carolyn Duckham.

Duckham has discovered however that the missing carbonate ions can be restored by adding hydrated lime, an inexpensive, abundant compound that increases pH and could neutralize acidic seawater. During

November 4, 2013

a two week long experiment, Duckham found that shellfish larvae growing in limed water — where the pH is at 7.65, close to pre-industrial levels — grew significantly larger shells than those in acidic seawater.

“However, we found no impact — positive or negative — on shellfish survival or the level of deformities in larvae with the use of hydrated lime,” says Duckham. “But, its use does help them grow. And when you look at other research, you see that those that grow bigger tend to do better.”

It seems natural to extrapolate these results and assume that liming the whole ocean would be feasible and effective — but, Duckham explained, this is not the case. “You’d have to add so much lime into the ocean to do that. It would ramp up the pH and take years to circulate around the ocean, so from that aspect, it’s only useful [at the hatchery level].”

In the future, she notes, carbon dioxide emissions and water acidity in nature will likely increase until shells begin dissolving into seawater.

Though other studies indicate

that hatchery shellfish are more resilient to ocean acidification than wild shellfish, scientists are still raising concern over their general ability to adapt to these harsher conditions.

“I think the fear for most scientists is that environmental change is occurring so fast, and we don’t know if these

organisms can adapt quickly enough,” said Duckham.

Similar acidification reversal strategies are already in place in East Coast aquaculture to control invasive tunicates. Duckham’s strategy is soon to be tested by the Center of Shellfish Research on a hatchery-wide scale — this will involve larger sample sizes

and tests on different species of shellfish than her lab tests.

“In some ways, my method is a temporary, bandaid solution,” concluded Duckham. “But for now, these findings could really help the shellfish industry until we figure out what we’re going to do about the world’s fossil fuel emissions.”

OPINIONS

The science-fiction-esque fantasy of test-tube meat, aka in-vitro meat, produced in a lab from the stem cells of an animal, is soon-to-be a reality in the modern world. In August of this year, the world’s first lab-grown burger was cooked, eaten, and judged by critics in the Netherlands.

It’s a strange concept that many surely see as fundamentally unnatural and therefore wrong. This concept arouses the issue of the naturality of modern diets. While we may want to eat what we consider natural foods, a modern, firstworld diet is fundamentally unnatural, and should therefore — arguments for one’s health aside — be chosen based on what will cause the least damage to the earth as a whole. If in-vitro meat is the lesser evil, then I’m on board with it.

Natural is important to me. I feel that eating as closely to the primal way that humans do as animals is how they should eat.

I have a hard time accepting supplements, to a lesser extent vitamin pills and protein powder, to a greater one processed foods, pumped with geneticallymodified soy and corn products, or snake-oil health supplements promising to solve every health issue (think goji-berry drinks).

Still, I choose an apparently unnatural diet that I feel benefits the Earth the most. I eat vegetarian, and temporarily ate vegan (long story), because I believe these diets minimize the destruction caused by modern food production. They reduce

November 4, 2013

the amount of greenhouse gasses, the destruction of land, consumption of water, and amount of plants required for raising animals for meat or dairy products.

As it almost goes without saying, animal factory farms also tend to foster an attitude of treating living beings like inanimate objects (I’ll save the grotesque descriptions for PETA pamphlets).

Vegetarianism and veganism aren’t exactly natural. The amounts of beans, grains, soy, and — as I found out — protein powder that I consume do not align with the meat, fruit, and vegetables that our pre-farming ancestors surely ate.

Still, these diets are no less unnatural than meat-inclusive alternatives. Sure, one may logically deduce that, in accordance with how our ancestors ate, our body chemistries do best with meat (there are countless studies/propornents both for and against this issue). But in our culture, we do not have to hunt, and are therefore not brought face-to-face with the killing our eating habits demand.

When our meat is presented by fast-food companies as being happily surrendered by smiling chickens, pigs, etc., it’s neither accurate nor natural.

It takes a person further away

opinions editor email / phone

Joel MacKenzie opinions@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

from what it means to consume something, from what it means to have to destroy to live, something that no living being can ever be free from.

With the choices of diets the modern first-world has to offer, the most ethical one to choose

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is that which reduces the harm done to the Earth. If in-vitro meat provides a solution to the food crisis facing the world, if it reduces the amount of damage from factory farming, then it’s a necessary solution.

I want to say this.

But this conclusion is disappointing! I don’t want to be a pseudo-nihilist that sighs and lets my diet consist of chemicals, growth hormones, and Tang, to support that which separates us further from the truth that eating necessarily involves death!

I really just wish issues like this were more black-and-white.

12 OPINIONS

November 4, 2013

Of the many problems that face the latest batches of 20-something undergraduate degree holders, like living with the existence of Grown Ups 2, or being unable to buy alcohol at grocery stores, perhaps the greatest are unemployment and a lack of employable skills. A large gap exists between what is taught in many degree programs and what is needed to be employed in the field that a particular degree leads to, which results in difficulty obtaining gainful employment.

A solution to this issue is mandating experiential learning, or learning through practicing a skill, as part of an undergraduate degree.

As Canada progresses further into the 21st century, a university education is becoming less and less valuable. The Financial Post

reports cost of a bachelor’s degree is 20 per cent higher than it was in the late 2000s, while the unemployment rate for those who complete the degree is just under two percent lower than high school graduates.

While fields with tangible applications such as engineering, math, computer science, and commerce-related areas do tend to fare better in terms of earning

potential and employability, there is no reason the same utility cannot be added to many other areas of study through the use of experiential learning.

Experiential learning already exists at most universities across the country as Co-operative Education programs. However, with the exception of some programs in Applied Sciences, these opportunities are optional and undertaken by

a disproportionately small number of students. One only has to look towards trade programs, which integrate mandatory practicums into their curriculums, to see that they provide the necessary skills to train prospective workers for the socalled ‘real world.’

Some might say, though, that the goal of universities is solely to create more enlightened and educated individuals rather than

Natasha Wahid’s column’s last installment “When a Fire starts to burn” shows the exact disdain towards the Downtown Eastside that is responsible for it being stigmatized and avoided. It shows the same attitude that made us try to hide it from the world’s eyes in 2010.

When I read its description of “homeless people, junkies, mentally ill lurching about” on transit, I thought it was a tongue-in-cheek satire of the holier-than-thou attitude towards the neighbourhood.

I waited to get to the point where this attitude was craftily torn down to reveal what

the neighbourhood really is, where we get to the heart of the Downtown Eastside. But it never came.

Instead, those that realize there’s something drastically wrong with our city, specifically with the systemic issues that have created this neighbourhood, one being the attitude that creates and victimizes the “homeless people, junkies, and mentally ill,” are berated for “protest[ing] and crusad[ing] for the rights of Downtown Eastsiders without ever really seeing them.”

On the contrary, those that protest and crusade are not doing so for the rights of “Downtown Eastsiders,” but for the basic human rights that simply aren’t extended to the residents of the area. In fact, many residents are themselves crusading for their own rights.

Organizations such as Pivot Legal Society work side by side with the people they are fighting

for. The SROs, the police brutality, the horrifying poverty, the untreated mental illness, the survival sex work, the addictions that beat down the individuals living this life are nothing compared to the stigma placed upon them by people that share the attitudes of this column.

Her article enlightens us that the “Downtown Eastsiders” are humans too. But I’d even go so far as to deconstruct them into individuals: “Downtown Eastsiders” are families, students, seniors, artists, and poets. I lived off of East Hastings until recently; so to me, they’re also neighbours.

Rather than the “Downtown Eastsiders” feeling shame, those that look at individuals as “junkies” instead of people that have experienced traumas that we, in our high towers of privilege, cannot imagine: hearing these stories, of losing everybody they have ever loved, or being victimized by everyone

they had trusted, I am inspired by the resilience of those that manage to drag themselves from day-to-day, despite disability and daily victimization.

The Hope in the Shadows campaign, for which members of the area are given cameras to portray their community, gives a perfect example of what this neighbourhood is made of: yes, addicts, the mentally ill, the homeless, but also so much more.

The area is all of these people making what they can of life, the beauty in relationships, in families, and in art, often despite

train workers. But university students who are currently facing a hostile job market and mounting debt would most likely argue with this. The employment market has evolved from rewarding any degree holder with a position in their field to a more competitive model valuing experience over education. Therefore, eventually higher education needs to adjust its aims towards the needs of the provincial and national job market.

If academia can learn anything from trade schools and vocational programs, it is that inclass works cannot be used as a substitute for actual on-the-job training. What is learned in a textbook or from a professor tends to be based in idealistic theory rather than a pragmatic approach to the material.

Therefore, a mandatory practicum-system implemented into all undergraduate degrees would not only improve the student’s employability, but his or her learning experience as well. After all, if you would not hire a plumber who had never snaked a drain before, why then would you hire a public relations officer who had never drafted a press release?

losing everything else; it is the Heart of the City festival that showcases the artistic vision of the neighbourhood’s residents; it is Carnegie Community Centre, whose steps really are the centre of community.

So, as touching as it is to hear that a presumed crack addict can have friends just like us clean and upstanding folk, as admirable as it is that the author is realizing that her own comfort and privilege are not shared by all, as much as I would love to read more about how the “junkies” are people, too.

I feel compelled to say that this column does not speak for all of “us,” that the residents of the Downtown Eastside do not need more stigmatization, and to entreat all that choose to write about the Downtown Eastside – or any marginalized area or group – to first be more versed with the topic, because you may be doing more harm than good.

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14 OPINIONS

November 4, 2013

To the Opinions editor, In regards to your article “Un-liking Facebook for good,” I believe that whether Facebook is antisocial or makes people more social does depend on what kind of person you are. For those who are highly organized with strong self-control...

Facebook can actually be used as an excellent supplementary tool to get you involved in social activities, to support friends and do more without wasting time.

Your idea concerning people using the site to create an ego makes sense . . . But how about those people who consider Facebook merely as a tool to connect to others, just like cellphones with a contact list. When they go online, they have a purpose.

Probably, a meeting could be held through Facebook; a problem could be solved with group discussion; re-connection with old time friends could be formed. In this sense, then, Facebook does not merely serve to create these alter-egos.

Cheers,

Mike Duffy, Mac Harb, Pamela Wallin, Patrick Brazeau.

A year ago, only the most politically knowledgeable Canadians would have been able tell who these four people were, let alone what they had in common. Now, being involved in what is now commonly called the Canadian Senate expenses scandal, they are rapidly becoming household names.

Former Senator Harb is perhaps the least known out of this group, as he both quickly resigned from his position and repaid outstanding money to the Senate. The remaining three, however, are determined to fight the accusations that they wrongfully claimed over a quarter of a million dollars collectively. While unrelated, it is noteworthy that Senator Brazeau has already been barred from the Senate due to a criminal arrest.

This scandal has erupted into a political brawl in Ottawa. A faction led by Senate government leader Claude Carignan — and heavily influenced by prime minister Stephen Harper — called for the three Senators to be suspended without pay. Another faction claimed this act tantamount to declaring the three guilty without due process.

Harper responded to this, stating that he wants them off the public payroll. He justified the suspensions to the radio station Newstalk 1010 on October 25, stating “if you did that in your work, your boss wouldn’t wait for you to be convicted of a crime.”

One of the biggest problems with the entire situation is the fact that the Senate is responsible to no one. While

representatives in the House of Commons are responsible to Canadian voters, who can refuse to vote for them if they fail in their responsibilities, members of the senate of Canada are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the sitting prime minister, and may serve until the age of 75. Effectively, therefore, the Senate polices itself. No raging debate in the House of Commons can have any legal ramifications on it.

It is ridiculous that Canada, as one of the oldest democratic nations on the planet, has a branch of government that is both not elected by its people and has access to their money. It is just as ridiculous that these three accused of taking over a quarter of a million dollars from the Canadian people are still on the taxpayers’ payroll.

It is time for some serious Senate reform. Canadians apparently agree with this: a recent poll from Angus Reid suggests about 40 per cent of Canadians favour Senate reform, with about 36 per cent favouring abolition.

So why can’t it get done?

The Harper government, elected with a promise to

reform the Senate, recently introduced Bill C-7, proposing limiting senators to nine-year terms and having provinces hold Senatorial elections. The Supreme Court will hear this bill next month, but the provincial government of Quebec already made noise, pointing out that such reform requires the approval of seven provinces with half the country’s population. Such support seems unlikely, as our provinces already find it difficult to agree on anything.

It looks like we’ll be stuck with appointed senators for the foreseeable future. As for the current scandal, those involved need to stop the mud-slinging, accept their punishment, and allow a proper investigation to occur.

Accusing the prime minister of a conspiracy to destroy your reputation is not doing anything to help it, and I believe I speak for all Canadians in saying that we want to see this episode behind us.

We want to see our government governing the country, not dealing with a few senators who couldn’t keep their hands out of the proverbial cookie jar.

Ellie Yu SFU student X X X

To the Opinions editor, Concerning your article “Un-liking Facebook for good,” I see the recognition of a Facebook profiles as an ego to be a powerful tool for communication. Once you’ve recognized that you are portraying a particular social image of yourself, you can have a lot of fun with it.

I kind of take it in this mindset of not taking myself (or my Facebook ego for that matter) too seriously.

With the increased functionality of sharing, I think Facebook is becoming an increasingly important platform to voice opinions, and to engage in lengthy debate. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I have read posts with 50+ comments involving friends and Facebook friends-of-friends directly addressing one another through tagging.

Regards, Christina Ma SFU Student

OPINIONS To the editor, Re: “We need not fear a nuclear Iran” I think we should be fearful of a nuclear armed Iran, although I don’t think Israel and the US will allow it to happen. Israel (and presumably the US) will attack if Iran is close to obtaining a weapon -— we’ve seen this movie before in Iraq during the 80s, and more recently in Syria.

Such a scenario will lead to even more instability in the region at best, and all

November 4, 2013

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out war involving many states at worst. If Iran’s nuclear capabilities can’t be taken out, then we’re talking about an arms race in the Middle East.

Either way, Iran’s nuclear ambitions will end poorly for the region. I think you may be under appreciating the consequences of Iran obtaining, or even pursuing, nuclear weapons.

Cheers, Justin Isaacs SFU student

In Western society, making eye contact during a conversation shows confidence. The fearless honesty this act implies is perhaps what makes it so hard to hold sometimes. Eye contact is something that I’ve personally become more aware of lately; the more I hold it with friends, the more mutual smiling and, often, calmer conversational tone occurs. The deep connection of the act is apparently primordial: infants smile more in relation to receiving more eye contact; predatory animals like

coyotes or bears interpret the act as a threat.

Of course, eye contact doesn’t have to be staring. Staring is weird. It makes one appear to want more from a conversation than they’re getting.

But there’s nothing wrong with moments of eye contact with anyone, including strangers.

There’s nothing wrong with trying to connect to anyone.

Except, of course, if that someone is a predatory animal like a coyote or bear.

Vancouver is a pretty awkward society.

One of the first things I noticed about European immigrants visiting here was their warm smiling and eye contact with everyone, strangers included. This stands out in Vancouver, where many, myself included, often avoid direct eye contact with friends, and don’t hold it with passing strangers for more than half a second.

This lack of vulnerability is also reflected cell phone use: people seldom allow themselves a moment’s vulnerabilityby putting down their phone and inviting

conversation when waiting, for instance.

Sure, it is silly to suggest that mere eye contact will change the deeply-ingrained beliefs that make people publically aloof or uncomfortable.

But, if we’re ready to practice it, we’re ready to start building a generally more trusting, comfortable environment. I, for one, am going to make a more conscious effort to make note of the eye colours of strangers and friends alike.

If you don’t already, I challenge you to make those connections.

Readers who saw my last column will recall its focus on treating trans* people respectfully. One important concept I did not explain, however, is the asterisk on “trans*.” Before addressing some contemporary trans* issues in upcoming columns, this terminology must be addressed. Understanding the semantics is essential to grasping both the concepts that I will raise in the next two instalments, as well as the issues that trans* people face today.

Most non-trans* people are unaware of trans* theory, if not generally ignorant of trans* issues. The theory is a framework within which to articulate and understand issues surrounding the topic, and solving these issues is impossible without understanding it. For us to talk about these problems, therefore, we must become acquainted with this jargon.

First, let’s look at “cis.” A cis person is someone whose gender is very close to the sex assigned to them at birth. They define themselves as male or female. “Cisnormativity” is the situation in which cis people are considered more normal or natural than trans* people. This

is what all of us, cis or trans*, are raised to believe. Cisnormative indoctrination is not just personal, but systemic.

A trans* person is one whose gender is different to that which they were designated at birth. Often, trans* people are forced by others to present themselves as the gender assigned to their sex, even if this causes dysphoria. This imposition of gender roles on the child is harmful to both cis and trans* individuals.

The most widely-known examples of trans* people are male-to-female and female-tomale, as opposed to non-binary trans* people. This partial conception of trans* people, in accordance with blogger Ellie June Navidson’s definition, may be called “trans*normative,” meaning it privileges some genders as normal and others as abnormal.

At this point, all these asterisks are probably starting to bother you. They exist to differentiate this term from its origin, “trans,” as it is applied largely to trans*normative people. Trans* is an umbrella term, referring not only to trans*normative genders, but non-normative ones, like those of genderqueer persons, who generally identify

as both male and female.

Trans*normativity is possible because those who fit into this particular gender narrative have slightly more privilege than non-normative people.

A trans* person who looks cis (or, in trans*normative terms, “passes”) is often granted more privilege by cis people than a genderqueer person.

Because they “pass,” a cis person may mistake them for another cis person. In doing so, the cis person extends their privilege to the trans* person, albeit unwittingly.

What makes these terms so odd? I believe it is a problem within the English language itself: it is colonial, fundamentally hostile to trans* people.

As the victors write history, they also shape our language.

If cisnormative language does not shape our thoughts, it at least makes conceptualizing a more inclusive world difficult, particularly one that is not trans*normative.

In coming installments, we will venture deeper into the internal conflicts facing the trans* community. The next article will focus on the expectation of trans* normativity, a definition that hopefully even cis readers are now familiar with. Maneuvering around a language apparently seeking the erasure of non-normative genders is awkward, but the result is an easier time preventing this erasure. Augmenting a hostile language means conceptualizing, and consequently has the potential to create a better world.

f you’re reading this, congratulations: chances are you’re a millennial. For those of us born between 1980 and 2000, the title is non-negotiable. It’s been administered in the same way that Generation X was dubbed the “MTV Generation.” If you’ve read one of the myriad columns about the state of ‘kids today,’ you know that it isn’t meant as a term of endearment — to be a millennial is to be seen as self-absorbed, lazy and rude by the rest of the population, who will often grumble something incoherent about how things were different “back in their day.”

Having been born in the early 1990s, I doubt that I’m the only member of Generation Y who has trouble self-identifying as a millennial: apart from its almost exclusively negative connotation, it just isn’t a term that I relate to.

Even the word “millennial” seems forced, like a tagline used to sell hair products to college freshmen.

Tempting though the “millennial” buzzword may be to columnists who single-mindedly seek to typecast us as hipsters and layabouts, we are not defined solely by the time period in which we are emerging into the harsh light of the public sphere. We did not choose to grow up in this time and, had we been given a choice, it’s doubtful this would have been it. Our youth unemployment rate is at 13.6 per cent, and one in 10 Canadians between the ages of 15 and 24 is neither working nor enrolled in school.

Tu i t i o n is more expensive than it used to be — by 2017, it’s expected to have tripled since 1990 — and, as a result, we’re piling on more debt than any generation before us. But we don’t have a choice: post-secondary education is the new high school diploma. Unemployment rates in 2011 for 24-to-35 year olds with a degree was 6.8 per cent, compared to 18.1 for those without one; compare this with 55-to-64 year olds,

whose unemployment rate was 4 per cent with a high school diploma and 8.8 without.

The jobs that baby boomers and Generation X-ers used to be able to find without a degree are becoming more and more scarce, and we’re taking on mountains of debt to find alternatives — no wonder we’re so worried about money.

Yet one of the most common statistics cited in the tirade against millennials is that we value cash — or, more specifically, having some — as our number one most important life goal, whereas in 1971 it was only number eight.

This is one of the most frequently cited factoids used as irrefutable proof that we are narcissistic and self-absorbed, as though having enough money to pay for a home or to support ourselves and our families is undesirable. Can you really blame us for valuing financial stability?

The answer, predictably, is yes. Journalists and researchers have found a way to blame millennials for pretty much every issue we face in modern society: how us marrying later and living at home longer is killing the economy ( J. Maureen Henderson, Forbes); how we’re cheap underconsumers who are destroying the economy ( Joseph P. Kahn, The Boston Globe); how we lack focus and commitment (Patricia Sellers, Fortune). It’s enough to make your head spin, and your blood boil.

But it doesn’t stop there.

One of the most well-known critics of Generation Y is Jean M. Twenge. She’s a psychologist who has authored books titled Generation Me and The Narcissism Epidemic, and she’s often featured in publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic. Her position is that the current generation of young people is comprised of self-absorbed narcissists, and Western culture is to blame: parents, teachers and other adults put too much emphasis on young people being “special,” giving every kid a trophy and encouraging success before it happens rather than rewarding it once it does.

Her celebrity is built on a foundation of aging baby boomers and Generation X-ers: parents, grand-

parents a n d people who watch Good Morning America have rallied behind her research, all too happy to find another reason to blame youth for being entitled and selfish.

Tw e n t y - s o m e t h i n g s happen to be particularly easy targets, and all it takes is a few pseudo-scientific claims to send baby boomers into rants about pretentious bohemians and unemployed slackers.

But Twenge’s research, which is dependent on a test called the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, has met controversy from her peers: Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a research professor in psychology at Clark University, accused Twenge of “vastly misinterpreting and over-interpreting the data,” and “inviting ridicule for a group of people about which there is already negative stereotypes.”

It’s not hard to see why: among the questions Twenge includes as indicators of narcissism are yesor-no descriptors like “I am assertive” and “I like to take responsibility for my actions.” Since we can assume that most millennials are answering “yes,” this clashes with the view many hold of the younger generation as lazy and terrified of commitment. Not to mention, many might see taking responsibility and being assertive as a sign of maturity and good work ethic, rather than selfishness.

Echoing some of Twenge’s views is Joel Stein, whose June 2013 front-page Time’s article “The Me

Me M e Generation” has become the blueprint for millennial mudslinging. My personal favourite quote is this one: “Not only do millennials lack the kind of empathy that allows them to feel concerned for others, they even have trouble intellectually understanding others’ points of view.” As a millennial, the only intellectual point of view I have trouble understanding is one which trades insight and restraint for acidity and hyperbole — Stein’s being my permanent go-to example.

To back up his hateful (and just plain untrue) arguments, he proposes that unlike his parents and grandparents, who likely made similar claims about the previous youth generation, he has proof — that is, proof that narcissistic personality disorder is thrice as common in twenty-somethings as it is in those over 65. But this figure has little to do with a generation gap: as Brent W. Roberts, Grant Edmonds and Emily Grijalva write in their 2010 paper “It Is Developmental Me, Not Generational Me,” narcissistic personality disorder is simply more common in young people, with no notable difference across generations. “[When] older people are told that younger people are getting increasingly narcissistic, they may be prone to agree because they confuse the claim for generational change with the fact that younger people are simply more narcissistic than they are,” the paper states.

St e i n’s article, apart from being written in a crotchety and, frankly, insulting tone, is also laced with a heavy dose of irony, albeit an unintentional one — surely there’s something narcissistic and self-aggrandizing about characterizing the younger generation as lazy, narcissistic and unmotivated, and characterizing your own as hardworking, selfless and motivated.

This is a common thread in these columns: a smug sense of superiority pervades any assessment of the Me Generation, as exemplified in “The End of Courtship?” a New York Times opinion piece wherein writer Alex Williams laments the increasing technological nature of relationships and longs for the “courage” involved in traditional courtship.

Every person would surely like to believe that theirs is the best generation, that their hardships were worse than those the current one is facing. But it’s myth.

It takes a lot of hubris to think that this generation is somehow worse than every one that has come before, but it’s been happening for centuries. From the Greek poet Hesiod’s dismissal of the youth of 700 BC as “reckless beyond words,” to an article in a 1907 issue of The Atlantic decrying “the latter-day cult of individualism; the worship of the brazen calf of the Self,” to Tom Wolfe’s 1976 New York article that promised “the 1970s [...] will come to be known as the Me Decade,” the older generations have always criticized the younger ones.

This casual form of ageism — one that many aging millennials will doubtlessly administer on the not-yet-nicknamed Generation Z — only serves to further dampen the spirits of a generation whose economic and social prospects are among the worst in recent history. I don’t mean to rebuke every claim of narcissism in young people: a percentage of teenagers and twenty-somethings will always be self-absorbed, lethargic snobs, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

But there is also a whole lot to love about millennials — and I’m not just saying that because I am one. They’re more educated, racially

integrated and politically engaged than the generations that have come before. They tend to be more tolerant, progressive and open to change than their seniors. You can thank them for dropping the teen pregnancy rate in Canada by 37 per cent in the last decade, and for dropping youth crime rates in BC by 49 per cent between 1991 and 2006.

Many millennials are among the most intelligent and motivated people you’re likely to meet.

I n f a c t , about a third of millennials have children of their own, and are raising them to be active and engaged members of society, despite the capricious Canadian job market and climbing cost of rent. According to the Pew Research Center, even those who don’t have children value being a good parent above having a successful marriage — 10 per cent more than their Gen X counterparts.

The problem here is generalization. It’s easy to define a group of people based on a set of characteristics and traits. It’s why stereotypes exist, and it plays a pretty big hand in sexism, racism and whole lot of other -isms. But like the generations before them and the ones yet to come, millennials are made up of both the worst and best human beings that this world has to offer.

This is because they happen to be people, and people make mistakes — not all of them, mind you, and those who do shouldn’t have a negative effect on those millennials who are doing the best that they can to make it in the world they’re about to inherit.

After all, Generation Y is the workforce of the future. They are the doctors, lawyers, artists, journalists, architects, scientists and teachers that will lead the world into the uncertain haze of the 21st century. Some of them will doubtlessly create new jobs as old ones continue to disappear into obsoletion. Many of them are among the most intelligent and motivated people you’re likely to meet — even if a few of them have a little growing up to do.

So relax. We’ll do just fine.

18

FEATURES

f the old adage is correct and prostitution is the world’s first profession, childcare must be the second. Long before the days of professional childcare, parents have struggled to balance raising their children and supporting their families.

In this day and age, many families struggle with the search for affordable, adequate childcare. After all, this decision dictates the well-being of your child; not anyone can be trusted with such a duty.

Complaints of all sorts commonly surface about inadequate child care, whether it be unsatisfactory education, overfull daycare centers, or even cases of child abuse.

In a market where demand exceeds supply, waiting lists for professional child care centers are far from short.

Another common complaint is the affordability of childcare services. Child care has an uncanny ability to burn a hole in parents’ pockets. In our sputtering economy, it becomes essential for parents to reenter the workforce not long after having children. Not all families have the funds to allow for one working parent and one stay-at-home parent, and naturally, daycare is the most convenient alternative.

However, professional child care centers cannot keep up with the growing number of parents who require care for their children. Rising costs force parents to turn to unregistered and unregulated home care services, sometimes sacrificing quality and safety for cost — not necessarily a sacrifice parents should be making with regard to their children.

Taking this into account, it may appear that childcare should be a pertinent concern in decision-making circles; however, it is not. The Canadian government remains engaged in a long and mostly fruitless debate over publicly-funded, subsidized child care. The only province to make headway on this front has been Quebec, which has had subsidized, provincial daycare since 1997.

Quebec’s current policy offers childcare for $7 a day across the board to families of all social classes, under a waitlist program open to all Quebec citizens. Under a $2.2 billion dollar budget, the province of Quebec plans to decrease the unemployment rate, improve child development and create opportunities for lower socioeconomic classes.

The province has promised to provide universal childcare by 2016, in lieu of their current program which often involves long wait times for parents in need of health care.

The province is already well on its way towards increasing the number of subsidized child care locations: they now number at over 230 000, compared to only 77 000 when the program began.

Though Quebec’s program has incited envy from parents across the rest of Canada — many of whom foot thousands of dollars a month to afford adequate child care services — the province’s subsidized child care system faces hard critics.

One of the leading critiques introduces the sacrifice of quality for quantity. With a subsidized daycare program coming into effect in Quebec, the demand for child care has skyrocketed. Parents across the province have crawled out of the woodwork in search of $7 a day childcare. The problem arises in the quantity of available

November 4, 2013

resources — there are only a limited number of professional daycare centers that the province can subsidize.

This results in over-capacitated daycares overflowing with disproportionate child-tocarer ratios, and capitulation to homecare centers, which have been heavily criticized for paying insufficient attention to children.

In recent years, multiple child deaths have been reported due to inattention in home daycares — not a reassuring fact for parents.

Not only does the high demand for subsidized childcare force parents to turn to home care, it also pushes professional centers beyond their maximum capacity. With childcare institutions stretched to the maximum, successful development and educational benefits to the child can be lost.

In 2011, the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), a research survey studying a range of youth across Canada, concluded that children

features editor email / phone

Max Hill features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

in subsidized daycares below school age perform inadequately compared to their counterparts in other provinces with unregulated daycares — an astonishing result under a policy that strives to increase

take spots that are inconveniently distant from their homes and work. Though the province’s upcoming policy changes attempt to fix these issues, many Quebecois remain skeptical.

children’s educational development. According to the NLSCY, Quebec’s subsidized child care may do more harm than good.

Another problem stemming from excess demand for Quebec’s child care services is unbearably long waiting lists.

Parents are sometimes forced to wait beyond a year for daycare openings, or

One of the most outspoken critics of Quebec’s child care programs is none other than Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The Conservative PM has firmly established his stance on universal health care: in his view, it is simply not beneficial to Canadians. After scraping the budget to expand subsidized child care across all

FEATURES provinces, Harper plans to provide child care subsidies in other formats.

“We took money from bureaucrats and lobbyists and gave it to the real experts on child care, and their names are mom and dad!” Harper said in a keynote address on June 10, 2011, regarding his Universal Child Care Benefit policy, which aims to provide families with $100 a month for every child under six.

However, Harper — firmly entrenched in his own conservative economic policies — refuses to entertain the idea of truly universal child care.

Amid persistent complaints on the subject of universal, subsidized childcare, Quebec has produced outstanding and underpublicized results. The benefits of subsidized daycare in Quebec are substantial, and ultimately outweigh the risks.

To begin, the province of Quebec now serves 70 per cent of children with subsidized daycare. In a 15 year period, this is a profound achievement. The province has promised to achieve a space for every child by 2016, and is well on its way. Quebec has demonstrated that the development of infrastructure in the childcare sector is possible; however, it will take hard work, a sizeable chunk of the province’s budget, and a long-term mindset.

But statistics have already begun to speak to Quebec’s success. In the last 10 years, child poverty in the province has been reduced by 50 per cent. To put it simply, in the last decade, the number of children living below the national poverty line has been cut in half. The connection lies in the increased number of adults able to enter the workforce, increasing family incomes, resulting in better socioeconomic conditions for growing children.

The full essence of this phenomenon cannot be observed until this generation of universal child care children grow into adults. Studies of a quantitative as well as qualitative nature have shown that impoverished children have high chances of remaining in poverty into adulthood. It will be interesting to see the effects that subsidized child care may have in the long-term. With fewer children raised in impoverished households, will the coming decades see a decrease in Quebecois poverty at large?

Since the province introduced its policy of universal child care in 1997, Quebecois public school test scores have gone from some of the lowest to some of the highest in Canada. The effects of subsidized childcare on education are just beginning to be seen.

Women have also been empowered by these policies, to the benefit of the Quebecois economy. Though gender roles are becoming progressively less prominent in parenting, some traditions have yet to subside: according to Statistics Canada, in 2009, mothers accounted for 88 per cent of stay-at-home parents in the country. In modern Canada, women still commonly trade their place in the workforce and the pursuit of higher education in order to stay at home with their children.

Since the introduction of subsidized child care in Quebec, the province now has more women enrolled in postsecondary education than any other province in Canada. Quebec also has an

November 4, 2013

$2.2 billion $1,969

The amount that Quebec spends on subsidized child care annually Amount of funding Quebec provides for child care per child

$850

The monthly cost of raising a two-year-old in BC (highest in Canada)

$752

Amount of funding the rest of Canada provides for child care per child

$154

The monthly cost of raising a two-year-old in Quebec (lowest in Canada)

$1.49 to $2.78 0

19

The estimated benefit to the Canadian economy for every dollar spent on early childhood education Amount that Finnish parents with low income rates pay for subsidized child care

outstanding 74 per cent of women with children under age six in the workforce.

Not only is this increase in gender equality beneficial to women, it also has substantial economic benefits: it can be said that Quebec’s $2.2 billion dollar childcare budget has been heavily funded by the increase of women in the labour force.

Tax benefits from working mothers cover almost 40 per cent of the total cost of the child care program. Essentially, the program is funding half of itself.

world. Finland provides universal child care for children between the ages of 18 months and five years, when Finnish children begin elementary school.

Though we now tend to think of this system as utopian, the benefits derived from Finland’s universal child care program did not happen overnight: The nation’s first policies introducing subsidized child care were introduced in the early 1970s, but Finland did not achieve full universal childcare until 1990. Only after decades of hard work

Quebec’s child care program does have its flaws — waiting lists, unbalanced carer to child ratios, commutes to the daycares. However, the program has only been in effect for 15 years, and its full repercussions cannot yet be accurately observed. As the first Canadian province to implement universal child care into their budget, Quebec is still on the learning curve. A program like this is not a shortterm plan; it will take time to perfect.

Take Finland, for example; arguably the most developed universal child care provider, with some of the highest literacy scores and education levels in the

and perseverance have the full benefits of the program been observed.

Quebec is already beginning to detect flaws in the system, and make revisions accordingly. In September of this year, the province announced that in 2014 they will be opening an online waiting list database. Parents will no longer be forced to seek out daycares themselves; instead, the database will find the closest, most suitable daycare for them with the shortest waiting list, hopefully reducing commutes for parents and making it easier for parents to find open spots.

Like any successful social program, Quebec’s system will take time to fully develop.

Instead of focusing on the harsh critiques, we should focus on the positive benefits achieved in only 15 years. In its short lifespan, Quebec has made admirable progress toward a universal child care system that has significant social and economic effects on families of all socioeconomic classes across the province.

The benefits derived from foreign universal child care policies and Quebec’s new system have gone exceptionally unnoticed in Canada. Many Canadians are unaware that any kind of subsidized child care exists anywhere in the country, and Stephen Harper’s child care budget is ultimately ineffective when parents foot thousands a month on daycare services.

An aging population requires a greater workforce, and more babies that need caring for. As proven in Quebec, subsidized childcare can be an answer to these problems. So, why is this so underpublicized, if not condemned, by Canadian decision-makers? Maybe this is a product of the neoliberal ideology embedded in our conservative government to privatize and commodify everything, with no concern toward the everincreasing inequality in our country — or maybe childcare is simply not on the agenda.

Whatever the cause of such lack of attention to the possible benefits of subsidized childcare, it is undeniable that Quebec’s system has made significant social and economic improvements to the province, and should be considered a viable option for the rest of Canada.

20 OPINIONS

When I ask a barista to make my drink with soy and forgo the whipped cream, I am not trying to be trendy or picky. There are many reasons for practicing

a more selective diet, ranging from personal preference to avoiding negative physical reactions. One aspect that these choices have in common is the negative way in which people respond to them. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not fair to judge others for what they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t eat: dietary restrictions are serious and should not be trivialized as petty complaints.

Whether one is allergic, prescribing to a certain world view, or following a specific religious practice or diet for health

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November 4, 2013

reasons, avoiding certain foods is less of a choice and more of a necessity. For some of these people, eating whatever is set in front of them could contrast deep moral convictions of religion, environmental views, or animal rights advocacy. For others, the cost is physical and can either negatively clash with a doctor recommended course of action or result in adverse allergic reactions.

As someone who suffers from lactose intolerance, I know the difference between choosing to not eat radishes because I dislike them, and avoiding milk because it makes me physically ill. I, and those like me, would eat standard food if we could, but we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t; this is why so many alternatives exist, like soy milk or gluten-free beer.

While there are some who tote around a diet as something to brag about, most of us do not feel elitist or particularly special for our restrictions. In fact, it is actually more expensive and difficult to feed yourself while actively avoiding a common ingredient. I have yet to meet a celiac or person with gluten intolerance that would suggest

this. Further, gluten-free and other similar options are often priced above regular versions of a dish. Having a beverage made with soy is normally 60-cents more, and asking for a dish with a main item removed will rarely lower its price.

The worst of the food allergies are the ones that do not rely on consumption. Peanut allergies can be triggered by noneating exposure, and are often met with disdain as people underestimate the fact that exposure could put sensitive people in the hospital. No one wants to be the kid who prevents everyone else in the classroom from having peanuts.

Similarly, it really is not enjoyable having to send back a dish to a busy kitchen that

accidentally included something explicated identified as an allergy. In avoiding lactose, I have had several uncomfortable experiences asking a barista to remake a drink for me because they missed the note about no whipped cream. On one occasion, I was told to suck it up and scoop it off the top of the drink, at which point dairy had already melted into it. It is not fair to make someone feel childish for politely asking for their order to align with their diet.

Having a dietary restriction does not necessarily come with liking to give detailed orders, ask for special handling, or explain why they cannot eat what they are served.

Unless you know that someone is avoiding a certain food just for the sake of it, it is incredibly rude to assume that the restriction is not valid. Food restrictions are a very real thing that many people face daily.

Someone who cannot or will not eat your favourite food does not deserve to be questioned about the validity of their claim, or to be treated as picky. Give people respect, regardless of what their diet excludes.

ARTS

arts editor email / phone

November 4, 2013

This year, the Vancouver International Film Festival this year was host to 340 movies from over 75 different countries, but one of the most talked about films on this year’s line up was That Burning Feeling, directed by SFU alumni Jason James. Winner of VIFF’s Best Canadian First Feature award, the film challenges and enhances the romantic comedy genre — and was filmed completely in Vancouver.

The Peak sat down with James and he talked about That Burning Feeling and what brought it to life. He was inspired to make this film by watching cheesy airplane movies. “I like to watch the biggest, dumbest movie possible; there is something poetic about watching these big movies on these tiny little shitty screens.” James also mentioned his “love hate relationship with rom-coms,” adding that

“some of the best films made are of that genre and some of the worst films made are of that genre.”

James knew he wanted to create a rom-com that would hold true to the genre and address a new topic, usually dismissed as unromantic. He called up his writer, Nick Citton, and they got to work, whittling away at the concepts and characters until they created something they could stand behind.

The duo wanted to make a romantic, heartwarming movie about something off-putting: gonorrhea. That’s right, gonorrhea. A big challenge was securing backing for a film that addresses the situational humour of STIs. Within the first few minutes of the film, Adam Murphy (Paolo Costanzo) is diagnosed with gonorrhea and must inform all his sexual partners of the past 30 days. The thing is, Adam has slept with — and thus must get in contact with — a good number of women. Like any romcom, That Burning Feeling has a bad guy, a funny friend, a love interest, and a flawed protagonist.

It follows the formula, but adds its own flair to create a memorable and enjoyable film.

James is the brain behind Resonance Films, a Vancouverbased production company, and is responsible for acclaimed films in both the Toronto and Vancouver International Film Festivals. He also worked on This Space is for Rent, a well-known dramedy on CBC. Graduating from SFU in 2000 with a double major in communications and film, James has been wanting to make movies ever since he was nine years old (when his family bought their first good camera): “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, what I’ve always done, like every single step I’ve made in my life has been towards becoming a filmmaker.”

At the end of our conversation, James offered some advice on how to make it big: “Make bad movies, because you have to start making bad ones to eventually make good ones. You actually start learning when you’re in the real world.”

Daryn Wright arts@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

21

22 ARTS

Play House, the first retrospective of Vancouver-based modernist architect Daniel Evan White, opened this month at the Museum of Vancouver. White designed public buildings, pre-fabricated cabins, modest houses, new housing prototypes, and some of the most unique residences in Vancouver throughout his career, which spanned from 1960 to 2012.

Though White never identified with a particular style or group and his work is not easily categorized, the curators showcase some of his most lauded residences and attempt to understand his work in the context of both local and international architecture.

Stanley Park Brewery and Mamie Taylor’s are teaming up to bring you a beer-paired dinner on Nov. 5. Going down at 6:30 p.m. at Mamie Taylor’s location at 251 East Georgia St, the dinner will feature four courses, including beerinspired canapés, a shaved root vegetable salad, pork and sweetbread boudin blanc, chicken fried beef cheeks, and a pear beignuet, vanilla ice cream, and Stanley Park Brun float. And all these lovely dishes will be matched with their beer soul mates. Check out mamietaylors.com for more details.

November 4, 2013

In the 1,800 square foot exhibition — the same square footage as White’s Máté Residence in West Vancouver — and even smaller reception room at the opening reception of Play House, every person looks comfortable and polished. This is partly due to the dress code: whether guests dressed in black or white or both, the dress-code is a preview of the almost entirely black and white exhibition in the next room.

The décor adds to this effect: black and white pins and magnets are scattered from the coat check to the bar and from the interactive children’s table to guest’s lapels. The pins and magnets are black squares with assorted white geometric patterns on them.

These, the woman at coat check explains, represent aerial-view reductions of White’s houses.

The dozens of commissioned maquettes (scale models) in the exhibit are white with black accents.

The photocopies of floor plans, and most of the photographs pinned to the timeline of his work, are in black and white. Photographs in colour have faded over the past four

decades; snippets from recent articles about the architect are in vivid colours, as are the building blocks and instructions at the children’s table. Despite these splashes of colour, there is a refinement to the whole tableau, as though it is black text on a white page.

The textual pieces within the exhibition, which supplement the maquettes and the timeline of the architect’s work, left me with more questions than answers. I was frustrated when I reached a certain passage of text, a biographical tidbit about White, copied for the third time; however, the secondary material on the MOV’s website is informative.

The series of interviews between MOV curator Vivianne Gosselin and guest curators Greg Johnson and Martin Lewis, from the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), expand upon the exhibition. Insights from the three curators, who were present and approachable at the opening, are significant given that there are not many other places to look for information about White. The

SFU and Opera Bravissima presents the Singing Bank, a night of opera in Pigeon Park Savings! That’s right, it’s an evening of music, celebration, and contemplation on the theme of Truth or Consequences in a bank in the Downtown Eastside. Come down on Nov. 7 and invite your friends. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with offerings of free chili and the show starts at 7:00 p.m., and did I mention that it’s free?

Want to brush up on some French history? The Cinemathéque presents 1963’s Le Joli Mai, the masterpiece by film essayist Chris Marker which has been newly restored for its 50th anniversary in Vancouver. The film delves into France’s socio-political climate after the Algerian War. Marker and co-director Pierre Lhomme illustrate Paris’ first peaceful springtime in years in this long and hard to find film. Le Joli Mai runs from Nov. 9 to 11 and 13 to 14.

team worked toward the finished presentation alongside the late White’s office and family; this was, as the curators expressed, an asset to the exhibition.

My frustration about the supplementary text aside, asking questions is the groundwork of studying the lifetime work of an artist in any discipline.

This detailed exhibit introduces Vancouverites to one of our outstanding artists, and it will

If you didn’t get a chance to check out Hot Art Wet City’s No Memes No art show last week, you’ve still got a chance. The show, running until Nov. 8, is inspired by the internet; there may be an appearance by Grumpy Cat and other beloved internet beings. Also, the show is free, so take a peek inside and then pop over to the gallery’s neighbour, newlyopened Brassneck Brewery, for a pint.

hopefully inspire more studies of his work as well as an appreciation for the architecture he has created in our community.

The Vancouver Circle Craft Christmas Market opens up this week on Nov. 7! Taking place at the Vancouver Convention Centre West at Canada Place, the market features tons of local artisans, fashion shows, food vendors, entertainment, craft demonstrations, student art exhibits, and more. Itching for Christmas early this year?

The market runs until Nov. 11, so you’ve got a few days to hunt down those one-of-a-kind ornaments and knitted seasonal sweaters — and maybe indulge in some early-bird egg nog.

ARTS

Batman is still at the apex of his fame and Warner Brothers seems fully aware of this. Passing the successful Batman: Arkham series from Rocksteady Studios to an internal Montreal development house for the first time was, initially, a frightening prospect.

Fortunately, Batman: Arkham Origins is a solid iteration in the Arkham canon, even if it doesn’t necessarily break the mould of the previous games.

Taking place on Christmas Eve, players take control of Batman before he became the hero that Gotham City needed. When Black Mask puts a bounty on his head, it is up to the caped crusader to take out the assassins that are hired to kill him.

Batman is still at odds with the Gotham City Police, so he has more than enough enemies to contend with for one night.

November 4, 2013

Origins has nods to other entries in the series, but what makes it worth playing is its personal narrative. As the name suggests, this is an origin story and, unlike the previous games, it is about discovering who Batman is and why he is a necessary presence in Gotham. With new voice actors and a more comic book-esque art-style, the game’s presentation slightly differentiates it from the rest of the series, but technical issues still occur including framerate drops and random glitches.

Arkham Origins does do a great job of introducing many other characters from the Batman lore, however, with notable encounters for most. Despite gameplay behaving very similarly to Arkham City, boss battles feel a lot more satisfying and memorable than previous games. General combat scenarios still consist of “attack, counter, attack,” with a few slight modifications, but Origins makes sure that the boss battles truly stick out by taking advantage of Batman’s vast arsenal of gadgets.

The only significant addition to Arkham Origins is its multiplayer aspect, which has players taking the role of gang members in a team deathmatch/territory-based hybrid.

Meanwhile, two randomly chosen players stalk the shadows as Batman and Robin, picking off gang members as they fight against each other. When playing as a gang member, it is hard to not constantly be worried that Batman will pop out of the shadows, and that feeling alone makes the multiplayer exceptionally satisfying.

Unfortunately, Arkham Origins is a lot more of the same when it comes to every other aspect. There are still Riddler collectibles, an emphasis on stealth, and crime scene investigations that feel overly simplified, removing any intelligence previously necessary to complete them. And while it’s disappointing that few people will bother with its unique multiplayer, Origins has a solid enough campaign to keep fans enticed — despite a lack of new additions to celebrate.

In terms of video games, Gone Home may be one of the best told stories of the year. Exceptional writing and a reliance on players wanting to explore helps to uncover a story about childhood and love. While other games thrust the narrative upon the player, Gone Home distances itself from those titles, allowing the player to discover as much (or as little) of the story as he or she wants.

The premise for Gone Home is extremely basic: set in 1995, Katie has just come home from travelling Europe and arrives to find that no one is there to greet her. It is completely up to the player to discover all the nuances of the plot, or to just follow the main story involving Katie’s sister, Sam. The empty house setting aids Gone Home in presenting itself as a creepy game, and it left me in a constant state of unease as the house creaks or lights flicker to craft a unique and chilling atmosphere.

The amount of time spent playing Gone Home will fluctuate between players, as they explore the house’s many secrets, pilfer through every clickable item and thoroughly analyze the painstaking detail put into each object. There are some puzzles to solve that involve finding codes to locks,

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but otherwise, the game is about immersion.

That immersion wound up lasting for just under two hours for me, but with no hand-holding, the game allows you to take your time before you proceed with the rest of the story.

Even after reaching the end of the main plotline, the player still has the option to go back and discover more side stories.

All the stories are brought to life through hand-written letters and messy rooms that allude to the different characters’ emotions at the time.

Personality is prominently displayed in select rooms — such as Katie’s dad’s office and Sam’s room — which subtley hints at the plot.

Unfortunately, the immersion is broken at times by some sound design choices.

When a plate hits the ground, it sounds exactly like any other falling object. There are also long stretches of silence and a recycled thunder sound effect that will abruptly cut in every now and then. That abruptness works to frighten, but at times it harms the atmosphere.

Regardless of any problems, Gone Home is an incredibly engaging experience that proves how powerful and emotional storytelling can be in video games. Available on Steam now, its minimalist approach to gameplay, short length, and attention to detail make it a game worth sitting down and devoting a couple of uninterrupted hours to; preferably with the lights down and headphones on.

24 ARTS

I’ve listened to Reflektor, the new album by Montreal’s flagship indie rock orchestra, at least eight times since it was released only a few days ago. I have no regrets. Like many of the albums that have influenced the LP, Reflektor is the sort of record that justifies the existence of the repeat button.

Messy, loose, and deeply flawed, the group’s newest LP is not only their most difficult to pin down — it’s also their best work since their seminal debut Funeral almost a decade ago.

Though the record has received its fair share of acclaim, detractors have cited the LP’s lack of coherence, knee jerk genre experiments, superficial concept and fluctuating tone. To be fair, each of these criticisms carry

Metal Machine Music is awful. To listen to the album — over an hour of aimless electronic sludge, split across

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weight — most egregiously, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is periodically referenced throughout Reflektor, but never really integrated into the album’s DNA. However, Arcade Fire’s promiscuous musicality and unhinged performances are the album’s greatest strength. The Suburbs, the group’s previous album and an unexpected Best Album Grammy winner, was heavily conceptual and obsessively micromanaged, whereas Reflektor sprawls and breathes, content to try its hand at disco, dub, electro-pop and chanson with little regard for the expectations that weighed heavy on the record’s release.

The beauty of Reflektor as a listening experience is in catching the tiny inconsistencies, singing along to the seemingly improvised harmonies, and trying to fit together the pieces of the album’s Kierkegaardian themes.

There’s plenty of stock footage Arcade Fire here to enjoy: raucous pop songs, crescendo-core ballads and heartstring-tugging suites are all in supply, each supplemented by a selfaware swing and touches of producer James Murphy’s signature sound that manage to charm rather than alienate.

Though this isn’t the album to upset Funeral ’s place atop the Arcade Fire podium, Reflektor is still an extraordinary, unfettered work of art, and one that seems to come at exactly the right time.

four indistinct parts — is to win a war against your senses. Each minute of the record is filled with so much dissonance, distortion and harsh, polarizing noise that completing the record feels like some kind of achievement, although its creator Lou Reed would disagree: he once quipped, “anyone who gets to side four is dumber than I am.”

In the aftermath of Lou Reed’s recent death, it’s strange to reflect on this record, one which many consider the inarguable nadir of his creative output. Though it was released to universal critical malign, it sold fairly well — probably to well-meaning Transformer fans looking for another series of upbeat glam rock numbers. Nowadays, the album has its fans: when Reed found a touring band willing to perform the album live back in 2010, all of his shows sold out.

In the liner notes, Reed claimed that he had invented heavy metal. Though this claim is often cited as evidence that the record was an elaborate joke, it’s hard not to feel the devil-may-care

Los Campesinos! make music for teenagers. It’s what they’re good at — from their blithesomely cynical debut Hold On Now, Youngster… to the fast-paced angst of Romance is Boring, the Welsh sextet has excelled at creating catchy, clever and heavily referential indie pop that appeals to the above-average intelligentsia of suburban high schools.

Their fifth LP, No Blues, is a return to form after 2011’s lethargic Hello Sadness, which felt like a calculated attempt to “mature” the band’s sound through sour lyrics and suffocated production. On the contrary, this record is the band’s most elated and likeable effort since their first — and best — albums. Sure, the lyrics are as abstruse as ever, and self-indulgent enough to make Morrissey blush.

energy of Metal Machine Music in punk, noise rock and industrial music.

The record itself might be better off judged as a statement, anyway: it was released during a period of tension in Reed’s creative career and at the tail end of a strained recording contract with RCA. The thought of Reed handing in the master tape of Metal Machine Music, tailor-made to be as offensive and unmarketable as possible, is as indicative of his nature as any of his performances.

An artist is only as good as his worst album, and Metal Machine Music is so bad, it’s legendary. It’s been discussed and analyzed to the point of overshadowing some of Reed’s best work — is it a joke? Is it a message? Is it a masterpiece? All that we do know is that it’s enough to fry your eardrums, and make you wonder what the hell Lou was thinking.

Rest in peace, you beautiful bastard.

However, Los Campesinos! are still one of the best indie pop acts around, and with No Blues, they mean to make sure that no one forgets it.

Though the ten tracks on the group’s latest still lean towards their cardiganclad Holden Caulfield demographic, older listeners are sure to find something to enjoy, or at least appreciate, here. The six members of Los Campesinos! imbue each song with so much energy and enthusiasm, it’s hard not to get wrapped up in the spirit of the whole affair — even if some of their turns of phrase are a little too on the nose.

Musically, the group hasn’t evolved much in the half decade since their genesis: frenetic drums, sprechgesang vocal accompaniment, an occasional keyboard earworm. There are mopey ballads, unabashed pop numbers, self-aware rock and rollers, and even a hint of hip-hop influence.

Though some listeners might argue that No Blues is nothing new for the band, to me it seems that this record is long overdue — a back-to-basics effort that’s far from groundbreaking, but offers a breath of fresh air to fans who’ve been longing for the band’s glory days.

SPORTS

SFU’s men’s soccer team has had a strong season right from the start and continues to dominate, shutting out both Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings by 7–0 margins at home to improve their record within the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to an impressive 9–1–1, and securing their national ranking for another week.

Both games had similar feels as the Clan embarked on their final home swing of the season — they allowed no goals and less than five shots on goals in the two games combined.

Against NNU, Jovan Blagojevic opened the scoring for the home side before Colin Jacques and Ryan Dhillon added another two goals early in the first half.

Defender Magnus Kristensen then

After months of unsuccessful attempts, the Simon Fraser University women’s soccer team finally has a win in the books, defeating the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders 2–1 in overtime at home. In their first meeting earlier this season the two teams had tied in a 0-0 draw; As they took to Terry Fox Field for the rematch both teams were looking to take the season series.

The Crusaders struck first in the first half, and the first 45 ended with NNU up one. But the Clan were not ready to go down without a fight, pressuring the visitors relentlessly until freshman Sophie D’Souza was able to even the score.

The game then went to overtime and it looked like it could end with a similar result to their first meeting, but the Clan continued to press. This time, after

sports editor email / phone

November 4, 2013

stepped up for some big plays in the Crusader’s box scoring his first of the game off a large rebound that bounced out of the visitor’s end, before putting a head on an Alex Rowley corner kick less than three minutes later.

Dhillon then added his second of the game before Gilbert Kyne kicked the final goal.

Rowley had two assists in the game while Robert Hyams and Jaun Sanchez also tallied one assist each.

Adam Ovenell-Carter sports@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

Against the Yellow Jackets it was Dhillon who opened the scoring, netting the sole goal in the first half. After a half-time talk from head coach Alan Koch motivated the team to keep up the pressure, the home side

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went on a scoring frenzy as Chris Bargholz, Adam Staschuk and Carlo Basso each added a goal all within a three-minute span.

Basso then scored his second of the night before Jaques potted his second of the weekend and Tarnvir Bhandal added the seventh goal — his first ever collegiate goal.

Dhillon earned the GNAC Red Lion Offensive Athlete of the Week award for his threegoal performance as the Clan’s successful season continued.

The men also earned recognition in the classroom as Dhillon and Staschuk were both named to the GNAC All-Academic team following the weekend.

Now the Clan will focus their attention on the final three games of the conference season. If they’re able to win out, they will secure their spot as GNAC champions for the fourth consecutive year and qualify to their second NCAA Division II national tournament in as many years.

a scramble in the box, freshman Kate Pearsall netted the go-ahead goal for the Clan, and the lead would stand without much contention from the Crusaders over the rest of the period. Keeper Simone Tessler also had six saves in the team’s first win of the season.

It was an exciting game for a team that has shown heart and moments of brilliance throughout the season, but struggled to capitalize and produce results.

Unfortunately, the Clan were unable to build a win streak as two days later at their seniors game they fell to the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets 3–0. The two-game split brings their conference record to 1–11–2 on the season.

Before the game, seniors Abbey Vogt, Marissa Di Lorenzo, Yva Rodriguez and Jenna Piovesan were honoured for their contributions to the Clan

as they played in their final home game.

The team also received offthe-field accolades this past week as three team members were named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic team. Di Lorenzo, honoured for her third consecutive year, was, joined by juniors Ali Trenter in her second time honoured and Aja Choy-Halo, a first time honouree. To be eligible for the GNAC

academic team, student-athletes must be a letter winner, have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 and be in at least their second year of competition at their university.

The women’s squad will now turn their attention to their final games of the season hitting the road to close their conference schedule with the intensity and heart shown in their first win of the season.

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By

Dr. Gurdev S. Boparai An e-­‐book at Amazon/Kindle for $5

26 SPORTS

SFU’s women’s wrestling squad, 2013 Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association champions, have returned for another year of competition as the Clan look to have another solid season in 2013-14.

After starting strong with a victory over Wayland Baptist, the ladies hit the road again this past weekend travelling to the Oklahoma City Duals. The women earned a second place finish, perhaps a disappointment after having won the same competition last season. It was an impressive performance nonetheless, especially considering the number of freshmen on this year’s squad.

The ladies got off to an early lead beating Lindenwood 32-11 in the first match of the weekend which allowed them to advance to the semi-finals. Next on the docket was Oklahoma City, the runner up from last season’s meet, and a highly contested competitor for the Clan. The visitors fell behind by a 15-point deficit to their cross-continent rivals before coming together as a team

November 4, 2013

to take down the Blues in a comeback victory that will not soon be forgotten.

The Clan trailed 16-1 after four matches before Gina Carpenter was able to win her match at 130 pounds to give the Clan the spirit to strike back. Following her match the Clan went undefeated as they swooped in to steal the win from their hosts, 25-18. Wins came from Mallory Velte, Bailley Halverson, Monika Podgorski, Justina DiStasio and Jenna McLatchy.

In the finals however, a comeback could not be staged as the women fell 35-9 to Kings University. Darby Huckle, Michiko Araki and DiStasio were the Clan’s sole victors in the final competition, but the top-ranked Kings were able to combine their efforts for the win.

DiStasio was notably undefeated over the entire weekend and in the season to date, winning all eight of her matches in Oklahoma City and all 10 in the short season thus far.

The women have a long schedule passing through the new-year before competing in the WCWA championships in the spring. The SFU men’s wrestlers, who also have a lengthy season ahead of them, will begin competition in November as the last winter sport team to begin their 2013-14 campaign.

Against the Montana State University-Billings Yellowjackets, SFU women’s volleyball was able to do something they haven’t done since preseason — and haven’t done in conference play in years: win a second straight game.

In what was the closest game of the season, the Clan needed all five sets to steal the victory, their second straight after defeating Alaska Fairbanks. SFU won the first, third, and fifth sets by scores of 25–20, 25–22, and 16–14, respectively, and lost the second and fourth sets both by 25–21 scores.

Junior Kelsey Robinson, one of the team’s captains, shone on offence, registering 24 kills, far and away the team lead. Fellow junior Amanda Renkema was second with 13. Robinson also had 18 digs on the day, good for second on the team, seven behind junior libero Alanna Chan.

“We knew we had to keep our heads in the game and to focus on the next play,” said Renkema of the back-and-forth affair. “We just needed to get the job done. We wanted to win really bad and everyone knew what they had to do and we really came together to get the victory.”

You’d have to go all the way back to the 2010 season to find the last time the Clan won backto-back games within the Great Northwest Athletic Conference

(GNAC) — then it was against MSUB and Saint Martin’s. The win only brought SFU’s record to 4–5 within the conference, but is a testament to the vast improvement the team has showed in 2013 under new head coach Gina Schmidt.

Unfortunately, the Clan couldn’t keep the momentum going, dropping their next game in four sets to Seattle Pacific on Oct. 26. It was another relatively tight game, with SPU and SFU splitting the first two sets 25–19 and 25–21, respectively, before the Clan dropped the next two 25–23 and 25–17.

Despite the loss, it was another strong effort from SFU. Robinson again lead the team in kills, with 21, while sophomore Tamara Nipp led the Clan with 21 assists.

Their record dropped to 4–6 within the GNAC, and the Clan aren’t satisfied in simply finding positives in losses anymore. They’re showing signs of life, but will need another win streak to do it.

SPORTS

Simon Fraser’s first meeting of the season with the Selkirk College Saints was more than just another regular season contest: it was a statement game in every sense of the phrase. SFU was looking to make their championship aspirations known by knocking off their bitter rivals, and the reigning BCIHL champions, from Castelgar.

Selkirk, playing the role of the visitors, flew out of the gate, outskating SFU and drawing two penalties. SFU killed off both powerplays, but the man advantages gave Selkirk the momentum and the visitors eventually opened the scoring on a Darnell Dyck sharp-angled shot.

Selkirk, however, gave the momentum right back to SFU with a lazy hooking penalty from Connor McLaughlin two hundred feet from his own net.

SFU’s number-one powerplay in the BCIHL continued its torrid pace as Nick Sandor muscled in

November 4, 2013

the puck off a scramble in front of Selkirk’s goal.

After Sandor’s tally, the ice had clearly started to tilt in SFU’s favour. Josh McKissock added to SFU’s total with a cheeky backhand that floated over Saints’ goaltender James Prigione’s glove. Jesse Mysiorek tipped in the home team’s third goal of the first period, giving SFU a 3-1 lead after one.

SFU’s forecheck and special teams were key in the victory and the Clan continued to find success off each in the second period. Late in the middle frame, a solid forecheck drew another Selkirk hooking penalty, putting the Clan back on the power play with an opportunity to pad their lead.

On the ensuing powerplay, the Clan’s leading scorer Jono

Ceci finished off a slick cross ice pass from Sandor for the team’s fourth goal. After finding themselves down three goals, Selkirk showed their championship mettle by battling back and scoring a late power play goal heading into the third.

Goaltender Graeme Gordon was the sole reason SFU did not relinquish the lead in the third period. Although the Clan

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played solid defense, Selkirk’s skill was on full display as Saint’s forewards threw everything they had at the SFU goalie.

Gordon’s best save, and a save-of-the-year candidate, came off a Scott Swiston partial breakaway. Swiston faked the forehand shot, freezing Gordon, and pulled the puck back across the net with one hand.

The net was wide open, except for Gordon’s flailing arm, which he used to turn away Swiston’s backhanded attempt.

SFU’s top line rewarded their goaltender’s effort as Sandor rushed the puck along the left wing and fed it cross crease to Ceci for the tap in.

Selkirk would add a late goal in the third but it was not enough, and SFU won their biggest game so far this season 5–3.

It is apparent SFU’s mantra is to forecheck heavily and to draw penalties while doing so — A strategy that has worked to perfection so far.

Next on the schedule is a visit from the University of Victoria Vikes before the Clan hit the road for stops at Eastern Washington and a rematch with the Selkirk Saints.

28 SPORTS

The Simon Fraser cross-country squads are coming off success at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) championships as they turn their attention to the upcoming West Regionals.

The women continued to show why they are one of the top-ranked teams in the nation with a smoking fast second-place finish behind a higher-ranked program from Alaska Anchorage, while the men’s side had their best performance since joining the GNAC in 2010, finishing in third place overall.

November 4, 2013

The first Clan lady to cross the finish line was captain Lindsey Butterworth who clocked in with a time of 20:41, earning a fifthplace spot overall. She was closely followed by teammate and 2012 All-Regional competitor Kansas Mackenzie in eighth place, and Kirsten Allen in tenth. The three ladies would earn All-Conference honours for their efforts, as they led their team over the six-kilometre course.

Senior Sarah Sawatzky was close behind in the 11th spot while freshman Rebecca Bassett rounded out the point-scorers for the Clan in 15th. Bassett, in her first championship race for the Clan, was also the top freshman in the race earning her the GNAC Freshman of the Year award.

“It was very exciting,” explained the Nanaimo, BC native

who had no idea that the award even existed. “They were calling out names for the conference honours and then I heard my name and my time and they called me to the stage for the Freshman of the Year award, it really makes your day when something like that happens.”

On the men’s side, another Clan freshman was making waves as Abbotsford native Oliver Jorgensen led the men to their first top-three GNAC performance. Jorgensen was SFU’s top finisher crossing the line in ninth place overall to secure his spot on the All-Conference team. Being the first freshman to cross the line on the men’s side earned him the GNAC Freshman of the Year award as well, as the Clan swept the titles.

Jorgensen was followed by captain James Young with a time of 25:41 over the eight-kilometre stretch, finishing 17th overall.

Cameron Proceviat, Brendan Wong and another freshman, Stuart McDonald, rounded out the Clan’s top five men in 26th, 33rd and 37th places respectively.

The men’s and women’s overall competitions were both won by Alaska Anchorage as the women broke a conference record,

making this year’s championship title their fifth consecutive victory. The Clan will race the Seawolves again at the West Regional championships in Spokane, Washington as the SFU runners look to qualify for their first ever NCAA Division II cross-country championships.

The regional championships could prove to be a comeback competition for the Clan women, who failed to qualify in 2012 after narrowly missing the necessary top-five finish by one position. This year, again expected to qualify, the women will look for redemption from last years finish. The men, who have an outside shot to qualify, will look to improve on their 13th place finish from 2013, as the Clan racers close their short but action-packed season at the end of November.

University of Montana Grizzlies, who won the Big Sky Conference championship last year.

The game started off similarly to the game against Gonzaga: the Clan fell behind 10–0 before getting their first points. Unlike the Bulldogs, the Grizzlies defence completely stifled the Clan attack, and Montana had a commanding 46–19 lead at the half, a deficit that would only increase in a 102–49 loss.

“We came out flat against the defending Big Sky champion,” said Blake after the game. “Montana took us out of our offence early and we never got into a good flow . . .”

“Unfortunately we just ran out of steam playing against good Division I teams back-to-back.”

The good news is, the competition won’t get any tougher for SFU. There were no expectations

on the Clan to win these two games, instead it was more of an opportunity to see how some of the best college basketball teams in the world operate.

The Clan are far from that recognition, but have a shot this year to bounce back and be one of the best teams in their conference. And after playing two Div. I schools, it’s only going to get easier.

SFU’s David Gebru named a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) preseason all-star, finished with 14 points to lead the Clan, and two newcomers, Justin Cole and Sango Niang, also hit double digits in points. And though the final score wasn’t close, it was closer than you may have expected, with SFU dropping the contest 103–68.

Gonzaga University entered this year’s NCAA March Madness Tournament as a No. 1 seed, featuring the 13th-overall draft pick in the 2013 NBA draft, Kelly Olynyk, as well as the son of NBA Hall-ofFamer John Stockton.

The Bulldogs are an elite, Division I organization. And the Clan visited them last week.

It was the first exhibition game of the men’s basketball team’s new season, and it started off how you’d expect: Gonzaga roared out to a 15–3 lead, and held the Clan to 1-of-17 shooting to start the game. Another three-pointer from SFU’s senior guard Dillon Hamilton would bring the lead to 15–6; the nine-point differential would be the Clan’s smallest deficit of the game.

At the half, the Bulldogs had nearly doubled the SFU’s scoring output, sporting a 52–28 lead. The Clan refused to roll over though.

“This game was an unbelievable experience for our team,” said SFU head coach James Blake. “Our guards played tough defence and really challenged their perimeter players. They are just so big and we really struggled on the boards.”

“I wanted to play the hardest teams in our preseason schedule and we are. These games will prepare us for an unbelievably tough GNAC schedule,” he added.

His team played another one of “those games” last Saturday, against another Division I opponent, the

HUMOUR

November 4, 2013

humour editor email / phone

Brad McLeod humour@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

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NEW YORK — Making the natural leap from print magzine to

SHELL HOUSE — Jeremy Johnson, a second-year student at Simon Fraser University could quit video games anytime, like any time . . . if he wanted to.

“Just think about all the studying I could do if I wasn’t playing over six hours of video games everyday,” Johnson said, filled with confidence, explaining that he could study for all three courses he is currently enrolled in and still have enough time to hang out with his bros and like read and do smart stuff. “ I could quit in the blink of an eye but you know, I’m just not feeling it, I mean I’m pretty smart, so like I don’t really need to study anyway — haha got ya SON, get OWWWWWNNNNNNNNEEEEEDDDDD!” he said as he clicked frantically on his Xbox controller while hunched over, and staring intently into a TV screen mere inches away from his face.

While sources confirmed that he did totally own that guy, when asked if he could put down the Xbox controller just until the end of the interview Jeremy said, “Ok, Ok, just let me finish this round.”

When the round was over he was asked again to which he replied, “Yo, just hang on, I didn’t do that well so just one more round.”

After another four rounds Johnson put down the controller for long enough to actually look our interviewer in the eye and conclude, “Yeah, so basically I could quit anytime, if I wanted to.” Johnson then started another round of “Call of Duty.”

BLUSSON HALL — With midterm season well underway for most of SFU’s undergraduate population, many students are feeling the pressure of looming exam dates. However, none of them know said pressure better than second year Psychology major, Stewart Terry. Terry, 19, announced via Facebook that his midterm had “literally destroyed him.”

The news that Terry had been actually dismantled by an examination came as a shock to many of his friends and family. His classmate, Matthew Everette, told The Peak, “At first I, of course, thought he had meant it figuratively. However, once I saw that he had added ‘literally’ into the post, I was shocked. Completely shocked.”

When asked if there was any way that Terry could have used the phrase for emphasis instead of to describe something that had happened in actuality, he added, “There is literally no way that someone this far into a university degree would make that mistake.”

The instructor of the course, Professor Elroy Dwight, was equally distraught at the news. He described it to The Peak as a “tragedy” to The Peak that a nearly grown man could be just utterly decimated at the figurative hands of an inanimate piece of paper containing questions that were covered to an extensive degree in his class.

“That being said,” Dwight added, “I did do that thing where you have, like, one thing that could be right, one thing that is probably right, one thing you’ve never heard of, and then all of the above and none of the above . . . that definitely could have done it come to think of it.”

Though nobody has actually checked on the well-being of Terry, it would be completely inhumane to expect someone to witness the husk of a man who had been actually destroyed. The Peak can only imagine that it would involve something completely beyond the descriptive powers of written word.

THE TOWNHOUSES — SFU student, Bill Ryan, told reporters Monday that he strongly believes he should have more beers left in his fridge.

His claim was made according to his rough estimates of how much he drank this weekend, and how much he now has left. Foul play is suspected.

While Bill claims to have bought two cases on Friday, he now only has seven beers left, a nearly 86% decrease.

“I won’t even have enough to get drunk again this week, I’ll have to go out again and get more, it’s very sad,” he told the press. “I know my roommates were short on beer before the weekend started, and I don’t think they bought any more.”

He also let reporters know that he doesn’t mind when his roommates drink his beer, as long as they replace it, although his roommates were quick to discredit his claims.

“He’s a drunk,” remarked roommate, Jason Boyce.

“He was blackout drunk Friday and Saturday, and then Sunday when we got back from the bar he accidently left lasagne in the microwave for 80 minutes and passed out in the shower with his clothes on, so what does that tell you?”

His roommates went on to comment that Bill could have easily drank the 41 beers over the weekend. “He doesn’t puke, he’s got a stomach of steel” explained his other roommate Andrew Wagner, justifying the claims.

When Bill was informed about his roommates’ comments about his stomach, though flattered, he insisted “that still doesn’t change the facts.”

“The beer consumed would have totalled about 14 beers a night,” Bill explained, perplexed, “and that’s just the pre-drink, everyone knows it’s at the bar where I really get down to business, there’s just no way I could have done that.”

BROKEN NEWS ILLUSTRATIONS BY ELEANOR QU

30 HUMOUR

minutes until another officer cut him off with his vehicle and proceeded to tackle the suspect to the ground.

“I was just out for a morning jog,” explained the confused middle aged man in response to the police’s interrogation about his odd behaviour.

VANCOUVER — A man was brought into custody early this morning after running past a police squad car, and therefore clearly guilty of some sort of crime.

According to the police officer on duty, he saw the man through his car window and was forced to put down his donut and call down the block to see why he was running.

When confronted, the alleged jogger simply turned his head and pointed to the earphones he had on at which point the officer called for back up and started to pursue on foot. The runner was able to elude capture for several

At this point the baffled officer could only produce the word “Why?” before demanding that the man “just tell them the truth about why he was running.”

Despite the jogger’s ramblings about “healthy lifestyles”, “fitness regiments,” the officer still couldn’t see any sense in his actions.

November 4, 2013

Confused and suspicious of these answers, the police questioned the suspects neighbours who provided some shocking insight into his past.

“Yeah, he gets up early and runs at least three times a week,” said a next door neighbour. “I always thought it was a bit strange, but he says he enjoys it.”

However, police have refused to believe such an unorthodox theory that goes against all common sense. “It just doesn’t make sense . . . he must be hiding something,” the officer told The Peak in utter bewilderment.

The jogger will be held in custody while his actions are investigated. In the event that he is telling the truth and he does just enjoy jogging, police recommend that he be committed to a mental institute where he would be treated until he is deemed to be of a sound mind.

Listen, I know you guys were all jazzed about doing Rent this year but we just can’t afford to put in on. I don’t want you to take this as an insult to your acting abilities — I know you could pull it off beautifully — but our budget just won’t allow it this year.

I mean, god, the sets alone would put us in the red with all those different Lower East Side murals we’d have to paint not to mention buying all those drag queen costumes. I know we could just do it using some of the backdrops we already own but I don’t want to do anything that isn’t authentic.

Some of you might remember in 2009 when we did Grease using our 19th century revolution-torn France Miserables sets . . . quite frankly, it was a disaster. I don’t want to do that again this year, especially with a musical that deals with material as serious as Rent does, so I say we should just do Phantom again.

Yeah, I know we just did it last year but we already have all the sets made, we already invested in the sheet music and we already

spent a shit load of money on that goddamn half-face ceramic mask.

Come on though, it’ll be great.

We could really nail it this year.

Sure it was good last year but with a whole other year to rehearse we can make it perfect!

Rent is overrated anyways, Phantom is a classic. We can even switch up a few of the roles to shake it up and maybe adapt the story to make it fresh.

We could even write in that the phantom has HIV if you guys are really so hell-bent on this Rent thing.

So it’s settled. Rent is out and were doing Phantom again.

Maybe with a couple more lesbians and anarchists than the original. Everyone good with that?

I’m really sorry for all you guys who already learned all the songs for Rent . . . I really would’ve let you guys do it if we could afford it. The drama department sure is underfunded. I can’t think of any bigger problem in our province right now that the crazy prices of putting on musicals!

Is there anything that’s more unfeasible than the price of Rent: The Musical?

DIVERSIONS / ETC

Across 1- Slant 6- Listen to 10- Turf 13- Earth 14- Spanish “other” 15- Flat-fish 16- European viper 17- Latin “in proportion” 18- What a bill becomes 19- Editor’s mark 20- Went in 22- End of a threat 24- Most cunning 28- Stinging plant 31- Bony prefix 32- Gymnast Comaneci 34- Before 36- ___ she blows!

37- Bro or sis 38- On the loose 41- Acute Respiratory Infection 42- Mild oath 44- Aliens, briefly 45- Secluded valleys 47- Carlsbad’s river 49- Shorthand pros 51- Soldiers 53- Linger aimlessly 56- Postal carrier’s tote 59- Ski brand 61- First-class 64- Tidy, without fault

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31

CLASSIFIEDS@ THE-PEAK.CA CLASSIFIEDS@ THE-PEAK.CA CLASSIFIEDS@ THE-PEAK.CA CLASSIFIEDS@ THE-PEAK.CA CLASSIFIEDS@ THE-PEAK.CA CLASSIFIEDS@ THE-PEAK.CA CLASSIFIEDS@ THE-PEAK.CA

65- River that flows through Paris 66- Lost traction 67- Central part 68- Act badly 69- Citrus cooler 70- Ghost World lead 71- Mary of “The Maltese LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Falcon”

30- Do the wrong thing 32- Chad neighbor Down 33- Bahamanian island 1- RR stops 35- Milk and egg drink 2- Resulted in 37- Equinox mo.

3- Command 39- Mil. officers 4- Feign 40- “The Time Machine” 5- Fleshy head hole people 6- Large stinging wasp 43- Damned 7- Coup d’___ 46- Values highly 8- Commedia dell’___ 48- Hot tub 9- Lion sounds 50- Overjoyed 10- The sun’s name 52- Subsequently 11- The Wave 54- Poet T.S. 12- Condensed moisture 55- Charged toward 15- One who enjoys in57- Trotsky, to friends flicting pain 58- Adriatic port 20- Executor’s concern 60- At no time, poetically 21- “Hold On Tight” band 61- Cute ___ button 23- “Star Wars” princess 62- No longer young 25- Actor Hawke 63- German “never” 26- Singes 65- Large body of water 27- Actress Spelling 29- Minimal

Hope to see you there!

32 LAST WORD

Hydraulic fracturing, known by its nickname fracking, is a controversial method by which natural gas is extracted from the Earth. This technology is relatively new, and has been known to cause some major ecological problems, including groundwater contamination, the release of thousands of tons of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) into the air, and minor earthquakes in areas where it is conducted.

Nevertheless, fracking is widely regarded as a viable solution to the environmental degradation that is normally associated with methods of oil and gas extraction. So, let’s break down the positive and negative aspects of fracking.

So what exactly is fracking? It’s the process by which water is pumped into the Earth with extreme pressure in order to fracture rocks within the Earth’s surface. This releases previously trapped natural gas. In order to increase effectiveness, the water used in fracking is usually infused with chemicals. It takes anywhere from 1 to 8 million gallons of water in order to complete an average fracking job.

There are some environmental scientists who believe that this type of shale gas extraction is much better than the alternative. Before this type of technology was available, thousands of hectares of forests were regularly dug up in order to get at this resource; in comparison,

features editor email / phone

Max Hill features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

fracking is less destructive of the environments in which it takes place.

However, the process also carries considerable risks, whose impacts are only beginning to be felt in Canada’s ecosystem.

The amount of water being used for fracking is a very significant problem, as this water is often taken directly from aquifers and could lead to drought for many communities by depriving them of their own water

populations. In addition, the pressure associated with pumping these liquids into the ground, accompanied by the breakdown of integrity in the bedrock, has been known to cause minor seismic activity.

Given all these factors, it is interesting that the provincial and federal governments seem so keen on these types of practices. Here is my question: What kinds of costs are being weighed here, and for whose benefit?

sources. Also, due to the chemicals used in this process — including formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, methanol, radium, uranium, lead, and mercury — waste water from hydraulic fracturing is highly toxic.

Without proper care, this waste water also has the potential to contaminate our drinking water.

Waste water also poses a danger to animals in their natural habitats, and fracking water left in tailing ponds can evaporate and release pollutant VOCs into the air. It is estimated that 20–80 per cent of the waste water is left in the ground after the fracking is over, which could mean bad news for Canada’s animal

The shale gas industry in BC alone pumps an estimated 100 billion dollars into our economy each year, and billions more into Canada’s — but is this worth the human and environmental costs of such risky business?

It is also important to consider who is reaping the rewards of this economic boom. One could argue the poorest factions of our society are not the ones benefiting. These fracking practices also come at a time when the federal government is culling water regulations. This is dangerous, as it jeopardizes the longevity of our natural resources; the ones that have the potential to provide Canadians with the basic

November 4, 2013

necessities of life, such as food and drinking water.

By examining these policies, it becomes quite clear that our government values the economy much more than it values the environment.

Which brings us to the events of the past month. In New Brunswick, widespread anti-fracking protests have been receiving national attention. The now-viral picture of an Elsipogtog First Nations woman on her knees before the police, holding up a single feather, brings to mind the same sort of visceral imagery as the sole protester standing up to a tank in China’s Tiananmen Square. And here is the rub: the county council in this region voted almost unanimously to ban fracking in their community.

This begs the question: since when does the need to pump money into the Canadian economy override our democratic rights, and to what extent is the rest of the Canadian public willing to stand idly by while this happens? Fracking may be a viable way to extract resources from the Earth, and it obviously comes with some serious economic benefits. However, there are also serious dangers involved in this process, ones that should not go unnoticed

by Canadians or the world at large.

If we are not able to weigh the costs and benefits of fracking and decide for ourselves the appropriate course of action, what does that mean for our democracy?