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The Peak is the official student newspaper of Simon Fraser and is published every Monday.

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FIRST PEEK

January 4, 2016

3 P.9

“If made any I honestly can’t remember.”

Gurpreet Kambo First-year communications

“Mine was to be a better student.”

Oshea Gairey First-year communications While I’m ultimately satisfied with this decision, inevitably there have been those devoted fans who are not.

Here’s the reality: until now, Hermione has always been stuck in a sort of invisible racial limbo; her ‘whiteness’ has never been confirmed in the series, but has become ‘truth’ due to the way we (including Hollywood) mentally express our characters through our defaulted Caucasian imagery.

Harry Potter was the first fulllength novel I’d ever read. As my school’s library only had one very popular copy of The Philosopher’s Stone, upon a friend’s request, I convinced my parents to order me the book from a Scholastic book form, and ever since cracking open the freshscented, glossy paperback that one afternoon in second grade, my imagination was captivated.

I fell in love. The plots and settings were rich, the characters so believable I felt as though I knew them personally.

I did know them personally. In too many respects, their trials and tribulations felt as if they were my own.

And yes, in my imagination all these characters, unless otherwise written, had white skin.

I don’t feel racist admitting this. Afterall, growing up in a predominantly white environment, it’s only natural for me to envision fictional characters with my own ethnicity. I’ll also admit that, yes, I was rather taken aback to learn that the ever-clever Hermione Granger — a main character I’d grown so close to as a young reader — was recently cast in J.K. Rowling’s stageplay sequel Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as a black woman.

Let’s face it, Rowling herself was obviously mired by these defaults as she wrote the series.

She never delivered Hermione as a black character — a notion emphasized by her enthusiastic Twitter endorsement stating that she “loves” her character as black and that “white skin was never specified.”

Such a tweet conveying racial open-endedness clearly indicates that Rowling is just as accepting of this new idea as many of us are; otherwise we may have seen a post stating, “Yep, she was black all along!” Hermione is another piece in Rowling’s retroactively-tweaked canon. After the entire series was published, the author revealed that Hogwarts student Anthony Goldstein is Jewish, that Dumbledore is gay, and a variety of other unwritten characteristics to her wizarding world.

Rowling is retrospectively changing the initially straight, white world conveyed in her

printed story. These aspects were never explicitly expressed on paper, but Rowling is seizing the day and moulding the canon to fit our shifting cultural ideals of diversity in today’s fiction. And there’s nothing wrong with this. The lack of diversity in the Harry Potter series has been longstanding, and perhaps Rowling feels a tad guilty over her monoracial characters.

To be clear, every reader envisions a slightly different Hermione, and it’s only natural to be surprised at a casting decision that doesn’t match with our personal image of that character.

Though I will say that because a black Hermione has now been approved and endorsed by Rowling herself to be in a play actually written by the author, she is now officially solidified in the Harry Potter canon as being of colour.

Yes, Hermione is now officially black, and it’s now implied that she has always been. This may not have originally been the case in Rowling’s world — but now it is.

A fascinating and rare surprise to ever hit a canon. Let’s celebrate our now sealed and stamped black Hermione Granger.

And while too many fans will infiltrate public forums with shallow retorts along the lines of “she’s just not my Hermione,” or “she’s a product of forced diversity,” at least you can just shrug off these absurdities while you pat yourself on the back for perceiving this with such an openness. As the popular saying goes, “haters gonna hate,” right?

“Mine was to be not so sarcastic.”

Max Barkley Third-year political science

“Last year I graduated, and my resolution was to get a job, and I did!”

Yingzi Feng Chemistry graduate

“I don’t quite remember last year’s New Year resolution, so from that I assume I was not successful.”

Erwin Kwok Fourth-year criminology

4

NEWS

January 5, 2016

news editor email

Jamal Dumas news@the-peak.ca

associate news editor Nathan Ross

On January 12,beer enthusiasts can attend a workshop to learn more about SFU’s Craft Beer and Brewing Essentials Certificate at the Harbour Centre.

Prospective students will learn about classes they will take, ranging from “Introduction to Brewing” to “Quality Assessment of Beer” which will allow them to thrive in Vancouver’s beer market.

The SFU Advocacy for Men & Boys (SFUAMB) club have become the centre of an ongoing controversy following an open letter penned by the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies student union (GSWSSU) claiming the club is “using men’s issues as a way to attack feminism.”

The letter was published on the union’s Wordpress page on December 7, and was addressed primarily in response to SFU AMB’s November 8 event, “Toxic Masculinity & TOXIC FEMININITY.” The event was promoted with posters showing a biohazard sign over a venus symbol, a gesture the open letter alleges is “offensive, hostile, and aggressive.”

The main speaker for the event was Karen Straughan, a self-proclaimed “anti-feminist” and men’s rights advocate.

Straughan is a prominent figure in the men’s rights activist community, as well as a well-known YouTube personality — her most popular video, “Feminism and the Disposable Male,” boasts over 1 million views.

The letter also mentioned that the Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG) and Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) share the union’s concerns, and claimed that the SFPIRG “will be releasing their own open letter soon.”

As of publication date, neither group has released a statement.

However, the SFU Women’s Centre did share the open letter on their Facebook page, thanking the GSWSSU “for taking the time and energy to write this thoughtful response.”

Three days after the letter’s publication, the SFUAMB responded with their own open letter penned by Theryn Meyer, the group’s president. The letter disputed many of the GSWSSU’s arguments, including claims that the group is “anti-feminist” and “anti-woman.” Writing on behalf of the SFUAMB, Meyer claimed the letter’s criticisms were “simply an attempt at maintaining a monopoly on the conversation.

“Here at SFUAMB, we believe in a free market of ideas — no idea goes unchallenged,” she continued.

Straughan also offered a response to the GSWSSU’s letter, criticising many of the author’s points. “You accuse me of inciting male hatred and anger toward women, but the majority of men who contact me tell me that it is my work that calmed all that shit down. That gave them reason to hope,” she said in a video on her YouTube channel.

“And you think I’m dangerous.”

The controversy has attracted the attention of the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) Advocacy Committee, who briefly discussed the matter during their December 10 meeting. However, Kathleen Yang, VP External Relations and chair of the Advocacy Committee, mentioned that the minutes from the Dec. 10 meeting have not yet been ratified and “did not capture what was said at the meeting.”

Yang went on to note that the SFSS board of directors will be addressing the issue once they return from their holiday on January 4. “I shall be following up with our staff and committee members accordingly to ensure clarity in the future,” she said.

Yang went on that, “all approved student clubs have access to the same SFSS resources regardless of their mandate.” In response to the question of the SFUAMB’s status, she assured

that to her knowledge the club is not currently being investigated, adding that “when SFUAMB applied for club status, it was agreed upon by the then-executives of the club and the SFSS General Office that the club would not act based on a mandate of anti-feminism or present itself as anti-feminist.

“Should SFUAMB break this condition, their club status would be revoked.”

In an interview with The Peak , GSWSSU co-chair Laura Scheck expressed support for the letter, though she clarified that its author wishes to remain anonymous. “The main point, from my perspective, of publishing this letter was to call public attention to the issues we have with SFU AMB, rather than keeping the arguments between us and them privately,” she said.

“We wanted to call them out in a productive way [. . .] while also pointing out how their actions are more reflective of anti-feminist activism than actual men’s rights activism.”

In contrast, SFUAMB vice president Jesse Velay-Vitow echoed the statements of club president Meyer via email correspondence with The Peak .

“The SFU AMB’s first priority is to increase awareness of and affect change concerning men’s issues,” he wrote. “If that can be done within a feminist framework, then great, but when it can not we will not hesitate to examine those beliefs and doctrines that harm men. Even if they are feminist.”

Those interested in becoming an employment counsellor or career consultant should check out the information session for SFU’s Career Development Practitioner Certificate. Hosted at SFU Surrey from 5:30– 6:30 p.m., this free session will provide information on the program as well as a chance to meet others interested in the field.

Space is limited, and those interested can sign up via the SFU website.

The Beedie School of Business will host an alumni reunion at the Segal School of Business on January 13, featuring an interview with alumnus Bailey Klinger.

Klinger is the co-inventor of Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) technology, a service offering psychometric credit scoring for small businesses.

The interview will be followed by a reception for alumni to connect and network. The $10 registration fee includes one drink ticket and appetizer.

NEWS

January 4, 2016

generated by the 2,500 Syrian refugees expected to arrive in BC over the coming months.

The report, From Crisis to Community: Syrian Refugees and the B.C. Economy, released last month concluded that immigrants and refugees are 30 per cent more likely to start a business, have higher rates of self-employment compared to native-born Canadians, and tend to become consumers in Two SFU doctoral students have published a study that estimates that BC-bound Syrian refugees expected to arrive in the province before the end of February will generate approximately $563 million in local economic activity over the next 20 years.

Economics PhD candidates Eric Adebayo and Ricardo Meilman Cohn analysed Canadian and United Nations data as part of a study commissioned by the Vancity Credit Union’s humanitarian refugee initiative.

Adebayo and Meilman Cohn, both international students and second-year PhD candidates, used the limited information available on Syrian refugees through the UN High Commission for Refugees and coupled that with past Canadian immigration data to reach their findings.

“What we did was look at the age structure of Syrian refugees,” Adebayo explained. “Then, we looked at the previous earnings of immigrants and refugees [who] have come to Canada.”

The information allowed them to measure the economic activity that could potentially be

their communities, growing the local economy.

“Throughout [places] like the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, immigrants make up a huge portion of the population, and we tend to find that they improve outcomes in economies,” explained Adebayo.

Other findings from the report suggested that immigration to Canada generally does not decrease wages nor increase unemployment in communities where newcomers are settled.

The vast majority of government-sponsored refugees who arrived in Canada between 2010 and 2012 remained

in Metro Vancouver, choosing to reside mostly in Surrey, Coquitlam, and Burnaby.

The report also made key recommendations that could ensure the economic success of the recent migrants. These included access to language classes and settlement and training programs within the crucial first years after arrival. The report also recommended steps be taken to value the foreign-learned skills of refugees and reduce discrimination.

“We wanted to [show] that there is a positive impact on the economy from people of diverse backg ro u n d s,” Adebayo said.

“Refugees do contribute to the economy.”

One fact the report does acknowledge is that the amount of economic activity generated by recent migrants is lower than what would be expected of non-immigrant Canadians because of the difficulties refugees face initially adjusting to their new home. Still, the statistics on previous immigrants and refugees show a steady increase in economic activity the longer they remain in the country.

However, Adebayo cautioned against fixating on the numbers.

“The number is not a way to say that refugees are a good investment,” said Adebayo. “[They’re] fleeing a horrible situation and civil war.”

Avalanches are a serious hazard for anyone venturing into the backcountry. To help better educate the public about the risks of avalanches, SFU has recently appointed Dr. Pascal Haegeli, an assistant professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management, as the Research Chair in Avalanche Risk Management.

As chair of this project, Haegeli will look into the questions of “How do people manage this [avalanche] risk, and how can we provide them with better tools so that they can make better informed choices?”

Over $1 million in funding and support over the next five years will be received from Canadian Pacific, HeliCat Canada, the Avalanche Canada Foundation, and SFU. Haegeli will be working in collaboration with partners in the Canadian avalanche prevention community to learn from their professional expertise.

In return, he hopes to help them work more efficiently and safely. Together they aim to make the knowledge they

5

uncover more accessible to the public.

In Canada approximately 12 people die every year in avalanches, and approximately 80 per cent of these fatalities occur in British Columbia. These deaths usually occur among skiers, snowboarders, and snowmobilers who venture out to explore the backcountry.

Haegeli’s research project will expand upon more traditional studies, which tend to focus primarily on the physical properties of the snowpack, and instead will take a more interdisciplinary approach that includes how the human element becomes a factor in avalanches.

“Ninety per cent of fatal avalanche accidents are actually triggered by the victims themselves [. . .] so that sort of highlights that people play a critical role in avalanche safety because they manage the risk by choosing when and where to travel in the backcountry,” explained Haegeli.

The snowy mountains may never stop alluring explorers with their awe-inspiring yet dangerous beauty. In his new position, Haegeli hopes to encourage people to continue exploring, but also to keep them safe.

Said Haegeli, “There’s more and more people going out into the backcountry, so the goal of my research is to help people make informed choices.”

6 NEWS

January 4, 2016

Some students go the extra mile with their homework, but the students in one Beedie School of Business class set out to raise a grand total of $30,000 dollars for a class project — and they weren’t going to be denied. They succeeded in surpassing their goal by just $34.

The money they were raising was for the 25toLife Campaign, which is a joint project between the BUS 361: Project Management class and the Canadian Cancer Society to raise funds for cancer survivors.

Beedie Lecturer Kamal Masri has led this initiative for three semesters. This past semester, his class set a fundraising goal of 30-thousand that they managed to surpass through a number of fundraising events organized and led by students. It all began when Masri decided that students seemed bored with the class and allowed them to plan an event that served the community.

“The Canadian Cancer Society came and spoke with students, and said that their project is about helping those with

cancer to live life to the fullest, so we came up with the name 25tolife to help raise $25 thousand to life,” he said.

Still, he was astonished to see the selfless effort from his students. The class only hit their aforementioned goal as students contributed money from their own pockets at the deadline to help them surpass their goal.

With their deadline looming and the group $500 short, class accountant Rhythm Tang turned to the students to donate the rest themselves in order to succeed.

“I mentioned to the class that if each person pitched in

$10, we would be able to reach our goal. There were students one after the other coming up to the front of the room with bills and counting down the amount until we reached our goal,” said Tang, who is also one of the students of the class.

During the final push from his students, Masri filmed the donations on his phone to keep a record of it for himself.

“I’ve never seen students respond to another student like I saw that day. It was amazing and showed that they were working together rather than working for a grade,” he said.

Since beginning in 2013, Masri and his classes have raised over $80,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society each fall.

The class was divided into several groups to arrange their projects to work towards their goal. One of the bigger successes was the “Are You Tougher Than Cancer” obstacle course, which was sponsored by the Steve Nash Fitness Club. Thanks to a large turnout from the community, that event alone was able to raise one third of their goal.

Other events include an Amazing Race scavenger hunt, a Fun Run around Burnaby Lake, and a soldout pub night in Langley.

The group was able to reach their goal in part, thanks to the support offered through the community, with a lot of participation and organizations such as Jeux du Commerce West and Enactus SFU. Tang encourages more students to take part in this class, but warns that they should know what they are getting into.

“You should have a passion for working with others and leading events and being encouraged by seeing results,” she said. “Kamal challenges us and tells us we should never give up because there’s always hope in the end.”

According to the First Peoples’ Cultural Council, a Crown Corporation working to revitalize Aboriginal languages and culture in BC, there are 203 First Nations communities in BC

with over 40 recognized languages. Many languages have no remaining fluent speakers and many face extinction without outside intervention.

Dr. Marianne Ignace of SFU’s First Nations Language Centre (FNLC) is working on a technological solution to this problem.

The Centre is working on the Tlli7sa Storybook Mobile and Web Application concept, a series of apps looking to provide educational content for courses and general use. It uses visual, auditory, and interactive tools to teach both the languages of

a community and the community’s cultural history.

Ignace hopes the apps can raise awareness for the 12 Indigenous languages of BC and the Yukon that are the focus of the apps as well as all Indigenous languages of BC and the Yukon. Her team has worked closely with many groups such as the Haida, Tlingit, and the Skwxwu7mesh (Squamish), and have also worked with the Hellenic Studies Program by utilising a language tutor platform originally intended to teach Greek.

With a $2.5 million dollar federal government grant from the

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to develop the app, the Centre expects to start testing early pilot versions sometime during 2016. Ignace hopes to release the first group of apps to learners in 2017.

The communities, all of whom are working with the Centre through a seven-year partnership that began in 2013, will be given the option to release the apps to everyone in the world, or to directly manage content and access through a server.

With everything falling into place, Ignace hopes to have developed all the apps within the

next five years. But it has been difficult at times, “because the languages are so different from one another. It really [wasn’t] feasible to work with a single content template,” she told SFU News. The contents of the apps have also taken a lot of time and effort to produce, especially with its “storybook” format of visual and auditory learning aids.

Ignace explained to SFU News that she hopes that the app, along with the Centre’s current efforts, will “provide a unique avenue to [learn their ancestral language].”

NEWS

While much research has been done to demonstrate the harmful effects of using extremely underweight models on the average woman’s self esteem, there has been little to no research in regards to the other end of the spectrum: the effects of using overweight, or plussize, models. A new study from SFU looks at just that.

SFU Assistant Professor Brent McFerran, in tandem with Cal State Los Angeles’s Dr. Lily Lin, recently published the study, “The (Ironic) Dove Effect: Usage of Acceptance Cues for Larger Body Types Increases Unhealthy Behaviors”, which concludes that the use of plus-sized models may be encouraging us to fall into unhealthier habits, thus promoting obesity.

The study was a collection of multiple smaller studies involving over 1,000 participants, each

January 4, 2016

examining the effects of both cues of acceptance and stigmatization towards larger bodies, as well as the effect increased acceptance of obesity could have on legislation.

The study concluded that increased societal acceptance of larger body types may discourage individuals from eating healthily, exercising regularly, and engaging in other health-conscious behaviours.

It draws the correlation between seeing an image of a plussized model with acceptance cues such as the term ‘real woman,’ and the increased likelihood of eating higher calorie snacks, decreased intention to exercise, and other actions. The report describes how this may be because Western societies value the feeling of ‘belonging.’

When overweight individuals feel a sense of community among other overweight people, the study implies, there is less inspiration to lose weight. If this is the case, it could have very real impacts on legislation. According to the study, after viewing images of plus-sized models with acceptance cues, participants were much less likely to allocate tax dollars towards obesity prevention programs.

McFerran and Lin are very careful to explain that they do not

[RICHMOND] – A 24-year-old man was charged with sexual assault on December 8, related to an incident that occurred on the Richmond Campus of Kwantlen Polytechnic University in September.

Norman Vincent Sagarbarrian, the alleged perpetrator, used the ruse of conducting a survey as a massage therapy student to approach a female student. According to the RCMP’s press release, he told the victim she won a “complimentary massage.” Instead however, “the victim was allegedly sexually assaulted by the male.”

advocate for the stigmatization of obese people in order to encourage them to lose weight, but instead argue “that drawing attention to any body size (large, small, or either) and suggesting it is an accepted standard [. . .] may be a poor idea.”

Additionally, they recommend the use of models who are a “healthy weight,” without drawing attention to the issue of size at all, although they admit that more work needs to be done to “calibrate what this ‘healthy’

[OTTAWA] – Algonquin College recently ran a successful charity campaign in its Angel Tree Program, done in collaboration with The Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa (BGCO).

Students, faculty, and staff could choose an angel from a tree that had the name of a child in need; they would then pledge to buy that child a present for Christmas.

The presents were given out to the children at a Christmas party on December 19 held by the BGCO; St. Nick himself stopped by to distribute gifts.

With files from The Runner With files from Algonquin Times

image should look like and how it should be framed to increase well-being.”

The study has proven controversial, and has garnered some criticism. Laura Wells, a plus-size model from Australia, told news.com.au that the use of words like ‘real’ by the researchers may be detrimental, as all bodies should be considered ‘real.’

Wells referred to messages she’s received from fans that

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describe how her modelling motivated them to become healthier and have a more positive self-image, and so she disputes the conclusion that there is a link between plus-sized models and obesity.

Vancouver based plus-size model Ruby Roxx also critiqued the research on her personal blog, calling it “overly-simplistic.” Said Roxx, “Eating disorders don’t come from seeing a picture, and the same goes for obesity.”

8

OPINIONS

In wake of the Liberal party promising to fully uphold the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), spanking one’s child will become illegal, and rightfully so.

In a society which claims to value peace, we must recognize the ramifications of using violence to solve problems in our homes. If peaceful existence with our fellow humans is the goal, then violence, in all its forms, is something we should discourage our children from partaking in, and parents must lead by example. The idea that hitting a child to discipline them doesn’t promote using violence is naïve.

According to recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the federal Liberals have agreed to “repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code that permits parents and teachers to use reasonable force to correct the behaviour of youngsters in their care.” While any attempt to reduce violence is commendable, this particular issue is not black and white.

Corporal punishment is a polarizing subject. On one hand, there are people who cannot imagine a world where spanking children is okay, and on the other, there are those who

January 4, 2016

opinions editor email

Adam Van der Zwan opinions@the-peak.ca

Parents most often spank when they’re angry, effectively teaching their children that hitting when you’re mad is acceptable behaviour. Contrary to the popular rhetoric among corporeal punishment supporters, ‘spanking’ is just socially acceptable ‘hitting.’ To lump spanking and hitting together makes supporters of spanking uncomfortable. Most prefer to see spanking as something other than hitting, exempt from that label.

Beyond the semantics, spanking is not effective and may have consequences exactly the opposite of what is intended. Many reputable organizations have spoken out against spanking, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, stating “corporal punishment is of limited effectiveness and has potentially deleterious side effects.” In

fact, more and more modern studies show that the use of corporal punishment on children can result in the slowing of mental development, as well as creating more violent behaviour in the child.

Currently, section 43 of the Canadian criminal code states that spanking cannot manifest as a reaction to feelings of frustration, loss of temper, or abusive personality. In a perfect world, this would be a fair and just rule. However, in reality, most parents are just as unwittingly flawed as the rest of us humans, and wouldn’t hit unless provoked by very commonplace, understandable emotions like ‘frustration’ or ‘loss of temper.’

Nobody hits when they’re happy. Many households have realized this already, and spanking has become less popular. As the Truth

and Reconciliation Commission states, “corporal punishment is a relic of a discredited past.”

Though many religious groups and other supporters of physical discipline believe that the government has no place telling parents how to discipline their children, the line between discipline and abuse is gray. To avoid abuse and the negative ramifications that

spanking influences on children, the government is right to act.

With the increase in credible evidence towards the detrimental effects of spanking, it is a government’s duty to rectify the situation. With education and promotion, alternative methods of discipline that do no harm to the child, could become more widely practiced. When it comes to children’s safety and development, government intervention is undoubtedly warranted.

Spanking should be illegal. There is no time or place to hit a child.

understand the benefits. I fall into the latter category. We have to understand that there is no mathematical equation for raising children successfully; human beings are too diverse for that.

I was raised in a country where corporal punishment was praised.

Although my parents used it sparingly and with tact, I did experience corporal punishment in school as the default strategy for discipline.

Therefore, I instinctively understood the difference between being disciplined and being abused.

There is a fine line between the two. In my household, I was always aware of why I was being spanked. My parents made it clear that corporal punishment was reserved for extreme misconduct.

I believe that the current spanking laws accommodate those grey areas between discipline and abuse. For example, present spanking laws prohibit straps, paddles, and other implements, blows to the head, and any corporal punishment of children under the age of two. Parents that disregard these limits should be held accountable for their actions.

Discipline should be subjective because different children have different personalities. They will respond differently to the same things. There are children that do not need to be spanked in order to understand that an action is wrong, and there are also children that do need to be spanked in order to understand the message.

It may be seen as politically incorrect to claim that spanking is good for certain children, but I think it’s true. Applying the same disciplinary tactics to all children across the board is misguided, and it should be up to the parent to know what works for their child and what doesn’t The government should only interfere if the well being of a child is threatened.

Abuse and violence are very important issues. However, associating all forms of corporal punishment with abuse and violence is an overreaction. If the goal of discipline is to mould children into well adjusted human beings, why restrict the methods by which parents can achieve it?

If you take into account the cultural diversity within Canada alone, it is somewhat arrogant to assume that all children will respond to the same disciplinary tactics in the same way.

OPINIONS

So, we’re a few days into 2016.

Have you been keeping up with your new year’s resolutions?

You might be doing well so far, but chances are you have a feeling that this success won’t last long. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. If you belong to the approximately 50 percent of the population who make resolutions, you may have committed to losing weight, exercising more, quitting smoking, or saving more money; but out of that 50 percent, only eight

Back in the days of flower children and easy living, the ‘in’ thing was to get married at age 20. And yet, despite the incredibly early marriage date, many of our grandparents are still happily bound 40, 50, even 60 years later.

Marriage has changed dramatically over the past half-century. The 1960s saw childbearing as part of what The Atlantic’s Peter Berkowitz calls “the core of marriage’s social meaning.” But fast-forward 50 years and twenty-somethings aren’t focussed on getting married.

In fact, the notion of walking down the aisle usually sits at the very back of the millennial brain.

Of course, to relay to your grandparents every Christmas that you got a bigger office isn’t nearly as exciting as bringing home that special someone. Our grandparents would sigh and remind us that they aren’t getting any younger.

Grandpa would say: “Back in the day, before all this Instabook and tweet-tagging, true love existed.

Your Grandma would always walk by the farm at quarter past eight, and I would smile at her while I tended Father’s fields. . .”

January 4, 2016

percent will actually achieve their resolution.

Making a change to your habits is never easy — it involves rewiring your brain to change your behaviours. It takes time, commitment, and persistence; and you can’t just give up when things don’t change right away. Often, people become discouraged if they don’t see results right away, and this can lead to backsliding into old habits.

On New Year’s Eve, we often make declarations of things we wish would happen or things we think we should be doing; we say things that sound good to us and get us into the spirit of the season, but we aren’t making realistic goals that we can actually see ourselves achieving. New Year’s resolutions fail because they remain hopes and dreams

They would get married at 21 and would still be together some 40 years later. At this point, Grandpa would turn to you and say, “See, it’s not so hard!”

Well, Grandpa, it is.

For one thing, marriage is nothing like The Notebook. We don’t live in black and white while working the fields. It’s obvious that our millennial priorities have shifted. Despite the advent of apps that make ‘dating’ as easy as swiping right, we have a serious case of cold feet.

There are those in the older generation who said “I do” as early as 18 and still find themselves very much in love. After growing a successful family, these sixtysomethings are now jet-setting to different vacation spots to relive a honeymoon forgone for their early families.

Meanwhile, 18-year-olds of today are just receiving freedom from asking to go to the washroom, are driving the highways for the first time, and are choosing the life paths they want, instead of the ones the government demands of them. In addition to upholding

that we have no intention of acting upon.

Deciding to do things differently in January is also not great timing to set yourself up for success. It’s still bitterly cold and wet outside, it still gets dark before dinner, and you’re recovering from the excitement and financial burden of the holidays. Going back to the routine of school or work, while also trying to change your life, only adds an unnecessary level of stress and complexity to your resolutions.

Another reason resolutions so often fail is that they tend to be huge aspirations instead of concrete, achievable goals; with multiple resolutions and unrealistic expectations, we only get stress and pressure that are extremely demotivating. When planning to change any habit, it’s important to

a steady job and reputation, we have no time to start a family. The hunt for ‘the one’ is placed on the backburner until our mid-twenties — but a degree, a few jobs, and a couple dates later, we’re already 30.

It’s a classic chicken and egg argument: our grandparents put the family first before their teenage dreams of success, while millennials are focussed on discovering our passions and fulfilling our dreams to pay off the crippling student debt that will accumulate during of our soul-search.

Further, our generation is arguably afraid of the word “commitment.” Getting married and living with someone is asking a lot from both parties, and since we’re all a little bit selfish, marriage gets set back while we figure out what we want. No one gets into relationships thinking of divorce five years down the road, so we push it aside. Fear and pride in tow, we’re on a neverending search for ‘soulmates.’

Somehow, the world has shifted our focus from love of each other to love of things. What may have been easy for our grandparents is definitely not the case anymore. Back then, there was little debt, fewer career options and less distractions — all things that prominently plague us today.

commit to small, manageable steps that can be achieved quickly — they’ll offer you the confidence you need to continue working towards the final goal.

Further, there is nothing inherently revolutionary about January 1. It’s just another day, and there are another 364 that could serve as your day to make a change.

It’s not that resolutions can’t be motivational — a new year can bring with it the feeling of renewal, which can seem like the

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perfect chance to turn over a new leaf and begin fresh. But perhaps we should stick to cleaning out the closets and preparing for the year ahead rather than trying to changing our lives wholesale.

One of my favourite quotes, care of Andy Warhol, states: “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” In other words, don’t wait for change to happen or for what you may think is the right timing — just seize the day and make it happen already.

I’m barrelin’ home to small town B.C. fer the holidays, and as dat dere Greyhound hauls itself into the mountains, them good ol’ memories come rushin’ back. I’m chuggin’ back beers with my buds in overalls – I’ve worn ‘em last two weeks. I’m smackin’ ol’ Bessie on the rear to giddyup through the drive-thru to get me my nuggets. I’m leakin’ out my name in the snow, only the “d” came out lookin’ like a “b.” I’m hollerin’ at that dumbass truck driver who’s drivin’ like granny on the roundabout. But my fondest memories would hafta be fillin’ my belly with good ol’ beer-butt chicken.

Each Christmas, Dad snaps the head off a fresh clucker (last year it was Crazy Sheila!) and plucks ‘er

right naked. Mom fires up the oven to 375. She whips some garlic, paprika, coriander, and oil in a tin, and massages that chicken the way she hollers Dad never could. Then she opens a piss-warm can o’ Budweiser, stretches open that clucker, and shoves it up the badonk!

An hour later Crazy Sheila comes sizzling out o’ the oven, right as rain, golden brown, tender ‘n juicy, birthin’ a can o’ the best drink this here side o’ the mountains. As we stuff ourselves on chicken, we says, “holy moly Crazy Sheila, yer makin’ me all drowsy like! That Bud did you somethin’ special!” The supper table nods and belches, and we grin and toast to stuffin’ next year’s chicken with Molson instead.

Christmas comes ‘n goes, and then we’re gearin and beerin’ up fer the biggest celebration this here side o’ the darn border! And each New Year’s eve, me and the boys chug back a few cold ones to soften us up, then we play the new year’s game o’ “Snow Tushie.” Yup, ya heard that right, sorry ma.

Snow Tushie’s a chance to show that we’re ready fer the new year, a chance to toughen us up like. S’pretty simple — we pull down our johnnies and sit down bare-ass in the snow fer two whole minutes! Not that tough; I do it every year no sweat. Though there’s always that little wimp who ain’t got the nards to stick his crack

in a snowpile fer long, before he yelps and leaps with eyes bulgin’, cheeks clenchin’ tight, then whimperin’ like.

Last year it was Jimmy; the year before it was Fred. This year, while we whooped and hollered, Pat was squattin’ and squealin’ like little Daisy down the street! He only made it to one minute n’ 45.

Jeezus, Pat! If you can’t wiggle that bony patootie in the darn snow for just two minutes, then you better grow a pair o’ lowhangers an’ prove yerself next year cause I ain’t got no time fer this horse pucky!

What a bare-butt chicken.

Here’s to a better 2016!

three mixhad a great 2015. He released en for a socially Future tak mis be tinued to er con nev and will n ke, Sea Dra Big a split LP with a par ticularly tapes, is the DS2 re. gen sub trap conscious rapper, or even the define and perfect s, ger ban to es com it n r made; it’s brash and consmart one. But whe se best album he’s eve adi Par Sky k Dar t. bea to he’s a tough one the line between the rapper’s anc- fident, and toes bal e, dat to um alb ent sist is his most con bravado and his softer side. some surprising cheeky ing plenty of dumb fun with there any song gravitas. And be honest: was as “Blessings”? in 2015 as gleefully replayable e feels more like This album from Lil Ugly Man thing, a jumble any than e piec a conceptual art the — py Hip ck Bla in g sical projects that It must be tough bein of the rapper’s abandoned mu adrsh ove be to ds ten p hip-hop supergrou ing from death metal to techno.

Lamar. includes everyth k dric Ken er, isn’t mb me key owed by its long, Third Side of the Tape is more At two hours LP ore hom st sop mo r’s k’s yea Roc the Jay , Thankfully n, but it’s one of own, refin- an easy liste its on d stan to ugh eno ng than stro ng. le introducing rewardi ing the rapper’s sober style whi alter ego Lance Skiiiwalker. this album isn’t Like most of Milo’s work, com ple x, and for eve ryo ne: it’s eso teri c, if you’re lookmore than a little weird. But different, So the ing for something a little best work yet, a Flies Don’t Come is Milo’s per in a league rap smooth, soulful LP by a of his own.

The Odd Future Man, Earl, are you okay? the most optialbum has never been among ost oppresalm is mistic rappers, but this one ous, miniseri the sively bleak. Continuing l’s latest Ear is, Dor ut malistic tone of his deb an MC from rt effo ed cus is a sharp, laser-fo rs. yea wise beyond his Young Thug: you Few rappers are as divisive as . Much of this him either love him or you hate genre’s conthe ges is due to how he challen g to other rrin refe , sses ventions — wearing dre with a cag pin rap and es,” male rappers as “ba ’t convert won 6 ter Bar . own his dence that’s all s of Young Thug’s any non-believers, but for fan mple yet of his unique style, it’s the best exa seemingly limitless potential.

If You’re Reading Here’s an unpopular opinion: m of Drake’s caThis It’s Too Late is the best albu heavy on boastful, reer. Light on mopey R&B and reinvented himquotable lyrics, Drake quietly rapper with this ct self as a harsher, more dire k Mill beef and Mee the mixtape. In the year of es, this album mem g” Blin a thousand “Hotline ent. hm plis om acc est was still Drake’s bigg Summertime ‘06 Had Vince Staples released may have found in any other year but 2015, he -hop conversahip himself at the centre of the r, and Staples’ yea k’s dric tion. But this was Ken er the radar. und flew m albu outstanding double e ‘06 may be the That’s a shame — Summertim rapper since Kenmost exciting debut LP from a drick’s own.

else? So much has Were you expecting anything k Lamar’s genredric Ken been written about that anything I bending masterpiece already ous. Suffice it to could add here would be extrane tive year for hipsay that, in a ruthlessly competi head and shoulhop, To Pimp a Butterfly stood ders above the rest.

A short and sweet comedy centring on an immigrant Chinese family and their struggles associated with fitting into a white culture. It combats Chinese stereotypes with humour and individuality and is quite entertaining.

) The show follows Dev, a thirtysomething guy in New York, as he tries to navigate all aspects of life, like having kids, male privilege, family, and the like in lighthearted yet introspective ways. If you’re looking to fill the gaping hole left by Parks and Recreation, Aziz Ansari’s new show may be what you’ve been waiting for.

At first glance, this incredibly diverse cast would be interesting just because of how they contribute to greater representation on TV. But what makes the show special is that the main characters are all emotionally and mentally connected, both figuratively and literally.

Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) is a paranoid, socially awkward, and often depressed computer tech and hacker who takes issue with society and capitalism. He’s recruited into an anarchist hacktivist group to take down E Corp in order to erase the world’s debt.

Lawyer by day, vigilante by night, Daredevil follows the blind Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) as he fights demons both internal and external with the help from his partner-in-law, Foggy, and their first-client-turned-associate, Karen Page. It’s a humorous, action-packed, and all-around fun time.

Rags-to-riches gangster-turned-hip-hoplegend Lucious gets his death sentence in the form of ALS and must decide which of his

three sons will inherit his mu the fortune up for grabs, the comes divided and chaos ens

You’ve heard about her co it’s time to meet Kara (Me who lives the same sort of as Superman — working mogul and using glasses — but Supergirl has an o a story that is all her own team offers a diverse resp lems she faces, such as ge ity and living in another’s maintaining a refreshing ness and optimism.

‘Liv’ (Rose McIver) dashes being a heart surgeon to be cal examiner after she beco She help to solve crimes b der victims’ brains and the memories. If you like yo weird, funny, and with a do fighting, this is your jam.

A well-woven web of myste that revolves around ex-s P.I. Jessica Jones (Krysten R mind-controlling nemesis K Tennant). This noir-toned d is brilliantly acted and writt anced explorations of darke as rape, assault, and PTSD.

A well-written series about a Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwe subvert the 1940s patriarchy ing assumptions made abou in some sass, some humou comforting good vs. evil sto get Marvel’s Agent Carter.

usic empire. With family soon besues.

ousin, Kal. Now elissa Benoist), f mundane life g for a media as a disguise originality and n. Her support ponse to probender inequalshadow, while sense of light-

s her dreams of ecome a mediomes a zombie. by eating muren sharing their our TV slightly ollop of crime-

ery and intrigue superhero and Ritter) and her Kilgrave (David detective series ten, with its nuer themes such

badass woman, ell) manages to y through extortut women. Add ur, and the old oryline and, you

year’s most hidden debut is perhaps the teenage couple who gem. This film about a ism sex of ue critiq surprise pregnancy, Asghar Farhadi’s social have to deal with a t tha life of e is a slic t, second, third, and in contemporary Iran made me shed my firs ast Bo ry. ste n my onto International plays like a Hitchcockia final tear at this year’s Tor the m fro ces rman ing naturalistic perfo Film Festival. unobtrusive visual an d an t, cas ensemble out Elly is a raw style from Farhadi, Ab conversations with more this year than thriller of mundane No film delighted me . n’s coming-of-age incredibly tense drama Alfonso Gomez-Rejo tered cinephile who story about a self-cen ll when his mother breaks out of his she rld wo a d an he stic the girl in his class Buried in an artificial pa forces him to befriend m fro me ho s urn z ret th kinetic cameraof false faces, Nelly Len with terminal cancer. Wi s ion rat figu dis h wit play, and two exa concentration camp work, a hilarious screen As y. an rm Ge d ure m Thomas Mann — in an equally disfig cellent performances fro II, WW er aft iety soc s Sundance darling an allegory of German and Olivia Cooke, thi d an se den st mo r’s gut-busting, and Phoenix is one of the yea is emotional and funny, s. thought-provoking film heart-wrenching. film in seven years modern bromance Charlie Kaufman’s first James Ponsoldt’s poste tiv en inv lly ica list on Infinite Jest auis one of the most sty is a multi-faceted biopic d an ry, mo me t en e, which includes animated films of rec thor David Foster Wallac x, ple com t, an ign po se Eisenberg as a also one of the most excellent work from Jes es tur fea ich wh , er and Jason Segel as and thoughtful. This film Rolling Stone interview , ally nic iro , ors act n puppets and no huma the enigmatic writer. st devastatingly mo the of e som es provid y film in 2015. human moments of an anguage debut is Joachim Trier’s English-l m many perspeca story of grief told fro rai Uk s thi in ken powerful yet quiet Not a single word is spo tives and angles. It’s a g rin hea a in g rin me tivity through menian drama about a cri film that builds subjec h ug ho alt d an l, oo ceover, culminatimpaired boarding sch ticulous editing and voi its , cky mi gim nd sou mestic drama that this wordless film may ing into an honest do me eso gru d an n tio posite of its Hollynarrative experimenta does precisely the op s. les ech finale will leave you spe wood counterparts. cia Vikander, Domspeak or function It was a good year for Ali I could hardly walk, ir the t bu ac, Isa car Nemes’ Holocaust hnall Gleeson, and Os after watching Laszlo ce pie er mb cha -fi sci s a man who tries best work was in this drama, which follow ial ific art nt tie sen ish burial inside about the inception of to give a dead boy a Jew y htl tig film a is na For the entire film, intelligence. Ex Machi Auschwitz-Birkenau. a to ked lin is ill thr fettered to our prowound, where every the camera is nearly erdet d an l wil e fre iding exploitation larger discourse about tagonist’s shoulder, avo riatt at wh of on ati s outside or at the minism, and an explor by leaving the atrocitie n of Saul is a harbutes make us human. edges of the frame. So that may come to rowing tour-de-force the most important be considered one of rey an y rdl ha d an subject.

With no distribution films ever made on its s feature-length ez’ Sen e um illa Gu , views

The lyrics are atrocious and a kick in the face to women everywhere.

Just the song title alone is enough to make you cringe, let alone the song.

This track is really, really, really terrible.

Ugh. It’s just so gross.

Seriously Madonna, you’re better than this.

Man, I love me a good PSY track, but since “Hangover” with Snoop Dogg, his tracks have simply fallen.

Although this 12-year-old is already more successful than me, YouTube has tried to save the remainder of her dignity by disabling comments.

THE MUSIC VIDEO. MUCH DISCOMFORT.

IS THIS EVEN A REAL SONG?!

Is this a country song? What is he even singing about?

By By Courtney Miller, Peak Associate Courtney Miller, Peak Associate If you like ‘em black and bitter, this Steamworks IPA is definitely for you. It’s hugely hoppy and floral, with tropical fruit and spices, and the caramel malt balances the bitter just enough to give it a delightful finish.

A variation on a Stone Brewing core beer, this American strong ale is boldly hoppy. The oak barrel flavour is a perfect balance to the caramel malt and brazen hoppiness. The name alone is enough to make you want a pint!

A Belgian style golden ale from Funkwerks, Inc. that uses pilsner malts for a smooth body. It has a high ABV, 8.5 per cent, but is easy to drink and refreshing with its tart citrus.

Browar Gontyniec in Poland produces an amazing rye porter matured in oak sherry barrels. The addition of cocoa husks and salt flakes give it an almost chocolate chip cookie kind of flavour.

A blonde ale from Steamworks, this beer is crisp, refreshing, and extra bitter if you chill it thoroughly before enjoying. The combination of the light beer flavour with the heavy cucumber tones and just a hint of maltiness makes for a surprisingly good fusion of flavours.

Although this white ale sounds like it should be from Hawaii, Avery Brewing in Colorado has harnessed the flavours of its passionfruit namesake into a remarkably refreshing, complex beer. The powerful tropical infusion works well with the witbier base, producing an earthy and acidic light brew.

This Märzen style lager from Odell Brewing Company is a clean and classic brew of balanced sweet and herbal notes. It feels like autumn in your mouth and finishes with the onset of winter (read: crisp floral tones).

Firestone Walker Brewing Company won a gold

medal for German style pilsners for this amazingly crisp and refreshing beer. The flavour profile is accentuated with spicy and floral notes and just a dab of lemongrass to round out the beer’s light body.

Originally released in 2011, Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery revamped this beer for a 2015 redux. It’s a lovely Belgian quad with a whiskey and pomegranate nose, matured in an oak barrel that adds a little smokiness to the finish of the rich, malty mouth feel.

The dense roasty flavour coupled with the bourbon core of Weyerbacher’s stout plays nicely with the subtle vanilla and spice notes from the oak.

Combined with a leisurely finish of espresso and unsweetened chocolate, the end product is both intoxicating and invigorating.

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ARTS

Just when you think that the print versions of J.K. Rowling’s beloved series Harry Potter couldn’t possibly be improved, the fully illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released.

It may be because I am a massive Harry Potter fan, but when I first picked up the book I was taken back to discovering Harry Potter and the magical world for the first time. I would hesitate to call this a surge of nostalgia, but I am not afraid to admit that I did get goosebumps when I opened to the first chapter to see the Dursleys illustrated to perfectly coincide with Rowling’s description.

Throughout the book, illustrations complement and accentuate the story and Rowling’s prose. This is not like a picture book for small children

Carol will rattle your heart and leave you wanting more. This lesbian romantic drama film is both aesthetically pleasing and cinematically genius. Admittedly, the plot moves slower than most other modern romantic movies; in fact, while I was enchanted, I overheard a couple in the audience mumbling about how boring it was and how they snoozed off.

However, Carol’s slow pace is more than made up for by the film’s beauty and elegance.

arts editor email

January 4, 2016

— Rowling and Kay still leave space for your imagination to fill in missing images in the story, and the ones that are present on the pages serve to centre your imagination in a way the movie adaptations never could.

The detail put into the creation of this book is astounding. Whereas most illustrated editions of novels do black and white images on a few pages and a few colour plates in its centre, this edition features some form of colour or illustration on every page. Each one appears as though printed on well-aged parchment paper — the preferred paper of both witches and wizards alike.

While the font of the book does not go to the same lengths as the illustrations of the novel, this is understandable. It would be incredibly exciting to a Harry Potter nerd like me to see the story told through fonts that resemble the writing of all the main characters in the series, but the readability of the novel would suffer. This may sound nitpicky, but it works with the feel of the book and the thought that was put into its creation. They chose to not go overboard on the creativity and this allows the masterful illustrations to star.

Inspired by the 1952 novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, the movie whisks the audience back to an enchanting 1950s vision of Manhattan. The plot centres on two charismatic women

Jessica Whitesel arts@the-peak.ca

One of the main complaints surrounding the Harry Potter series and its various incarnations has been the lack of diversity, an issue which is addressed through some of Kay’s

illustrations. Two noteworthy examples of this are the illustrations of the suits of armour in “The Midnight Duel” chapter: they are of varying heights, shapes, and body types. The

other example comes from the “Quidditch” chapter, in which students of varying ethnicities are shown. While the main characters are all still white, it is refreshing to see that Hogwarts and the wizarding world isn’t necessarily as monoracial as previously thought.

While the movie versions of Harry Potter seemed to depict Hogwarts as a serious place, Jim Kay took some creative license with some of the less well described parts of the castle. Where there was once just a hall filled with suits of armour that I had always envisioned in a manner similar to that of the suits of armour in Beauty and the Beast, Kay gave each suit he illustrated a personality of its own. The same goes for the magical chess pieces, which are described as being somewhat sentient in the novel; Kay again gives each one its own personality.

Having been excited for the release of the illustrated versions of Harry Potter since they were announced, I had a lot of potential to be let down by the final product. I am pleased to say that it doesn’t just meet, but exceeds my expectations. I couldn’t be more excited to see what Jim Kay will do with the remaining six books.

from very different backgrounds whose chance encounter leads to an undeniable bond. With many complicated factors standing against them, they both go through a dilemma filled journey

that makes them ask how much they will risk for true love.

Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) is in a loveless marriage of convenience.

As a result of her scandalous interactions with women, her husband takes legal matters to bring into question whether or not she is a suitable mother. The film portrays the challenges faced by lesbians in the 1950s authentically, showing the struggles faced by Carol when she is forced to choose between her daughter or the love of her life.

Director Todd Haynes does a phenomenal job, illustrating most of the plot rather than narrating it — showing us, rather than telling us, about what it’s like to fall madly and truly in love. Haynes depicts the film’s story so gracefully that the seemingly unfathomable concept of ‘gay love’ is no longer something foreign, but the same as any other passionate love.

As a result, anybody is likely to be

moved by the powerful emotion and artistic value this film offers.

Both lead actors are spectacular. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara will convince you of not only every large dramatic moment, but also the little moments. They absolutely disappear into the eccentric characters of Carol Aird and Therese Belivet — and if you aren’t careful, they have the power to emotionally tear you apart in those meager two hours.

Carol is also the most cinematically impressive film I have seen in a long time. The simple symbolic actions, minimal dialogue, innovative filming techniques, and powerful cast are all factors that make this film successful. Todd Haynes really proves his directing genius.

He subtly challenges the audience to perceive the story as more than a niche ‘lesbian romance,’ but an honest and beautiful unravelling of the lovesick heart.

ARTS

January 4, 2016

GOOD READS

Waste time you don’t have with these great reads

Tamara Connor Features Editor

This mystery has been called a Hitchcockian thriller and an incredible debut for Paula Hawkins. For anyone wanting to immerse themselves in a world consumed by betrayal, obsession, and murder, Hawkins’ novel is the perfect read for the New Year.

Mindy Kaling’s collection of short and comedic essays guides you through her everyday, her work, and her personal life.

While you kill yourself laughing, Kaling’s stories will still manage to inspire and motivate you.

This is no cookbook for little old ladies. Thug Kitchen gets real with readers, teaching them how to live and eat healthy while not breaking the bank.

This collection of healthy alternatives is ideal for students looking to find an easy way to get their diet on track and have some fun doing it.

This book is a decade old now, but its vivid description and breathtaking telling of the fall of the golden spruce is as enjoyable today as ever before. John Vaillant somehow finds the words to describe the beauty, the tragedy and the legend behind a mythical tree and its untimely murder.

2015 was a milestone year for Aziz Ansari, and that’s partly due to the success of this book, which critiques and studies the way millennials connect with each other and form relationships. Drawing on his own experiences, Ansari helps

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CINEPHILIA

us to understand what falling in love looks like today.

John Higgs shakes up everything we know to be true about history. Higgs suggests that up until the 20 century, history can be considered a natural progression of events and innovations — but the 20 century, in contrast, is a time of chaos and instability where no such model can be applied. Higgs’ interesting take on recent history will captivate you.

This deeply moving novel has been praised for its intense physical imagery and for the poetic and just representation of our need to form relationships. Doerr rightfully received the Pulitzer Prize for his enchanting and stunning work.

Just because we’re students living off of ramen noodles and crackers doesn’t mean we can’t see the world. This travel guide geared towards the young and broke provides a list of 100 destinations that could make 2016 the year you never forget.

Chris Hadfield is undoubtedly a true Canadian badass. In his autobiography, Hadfield details his unbelievable journeys through the cosmos, like the time he broke into a space station with a Swiss army knife, and how he became the first Canadian to set foot on the Moon.

André Alexis’ novel has been the talk of the town since winning the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

This playful and energetic novel plunges into the beauty and costs of human consciousness and forces readers to reflect on their own lives.

Kaufman, the director of Synecdoche, New York and the writer of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind — Anomalisa is one of the most formally rousing and narratively creative animated films of the decade, and perhaps one of the most tender and heartbreaking, too.

Similar to the rest of Kaufman’s oeuvre, Anomalisa We uncomfortably identify with Michael Snow, our self-centered and predatory protagonist of Anomalisa: his neuroses, egoism, and disillusionment. Whether female or male, family or stranger, friend or foe, to Michael every face, voice, and personality is ubiquitous and indistinguishable. His wife looks the same as a generic male host at a hotel; his son sounds exactly like a faceless stranger in a crowd. In Michael’s suffocating nightmare, he is trapped in a bland setting with bland acquaintances, and a bland routine.

Then, while on a brief trip in Cincinnati to do a talk on customer service, Lisa emerges, like Madeleine in Vertigo, or Daisy from The Great Gatsby — except rather than being stunningly beautiful or mesmerizingly enigmatic, Michael’s dream girl is inscrutably average, not particularly smart, cultured, or gorgeous. A fascinating dichotomy emerges between Lisa, who is the anomaly, and Michael because her uniqueness lies in her mediocrity; she has the only face and voice that stands out among the crowd, yet she is the same kind of person you might meet in passing and almost immediately forget.

From an original voice in contemporary cinema — Charlie

uses a radical concept to illustrate a simple conflict. Synecdoche, New York created an infinite regress of narratives within narratives to externalize a theatre director’s nihilistic worldview, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind went into a man’s fractured memory to look at the history of a doomed romance. Anomalisa uses inventive animation and its identical-face-and-voice gimmick to tell a subversive take on the disillusioned-man-meetsdream-girl narrative.

The stylistic choice to tell this sombre dramedy with stopmotion animation subtly builds Michael’s subjectivity, as the puppet figures and miniature production design border on a realism that is interrupted by uncanny quirks — a slit that separates faces between the upper and lower of half of the eyes, or slightly mechanical movements.

It’s a subjective perception that

doesn’t use expressionistic or surreal signifiers like many films and paintings, but one with uninterrupted long-takes, naturalistic (puppet) nudity, and an attention to realistic lighting and colorization, which is so unlike other animated films.

This tension between the surreal and banal extends to the film’s storytelling, where we are entrenched in a man’s fractured subjectivity yet also immersed in the mundanity of the world around him.

Although there is a hilarious self-awareness of the film’s concept, with particular funny moments where his wife and young son speak with a very deep, male voice, most of the humor comes from the character’s inescapable boredom: Cincinnati’s tourist attractions are their “zoo-sized zoo” and the world-class chili; Michael struggles to order room service when all the icons on the hotel phone look alike.

The world’s beauty, uniqueness, and warmth lies beyond our disillusioned perception.

We must choose to see others as individuals, to connect to them beyond the level of the sex doll that Michael brings home for his son after the trip.

If you’ve ever been frustrated by a hotel room lock, had a creepy stranger hold your hand on a plane, or exchanged awkward small-talk, Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa will be funny in its tediousness, poignant in its banality, and relatable in its mundanity.

14 ARTS

January 4, 2016

There’s nothing better than that feeling of anticipation as the house lights dim, the performers take their places, and the deafening silence of an eager audience fills the theatre.

I’ve always loved the performing arts, and recently I’ve even started planning vacations around my thirst for a good show. For example, I thought it would be nice to have a weekend getaway a few months ago, but my main motivation was wanting to see Hamlet at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Yes, I flew across the country to see a play, but with the international theatre and dance now being shown in cinemas, you may not have to leave your hometown to do the same.

I recently discovered the joy of seeing world-class theatre at my local cinema when I saw Benedict Cumberbatch in National Theatre’s Hamlet. It was superb. I’ve

seen countless Hamlets over the years, and this was the all-around best. The calibre of the acting, the detailed and stunning sets, and the nuanced direction (care of Lyndsey Turner) made this an extremely enjoyable three and a half hours.

Don’t worry about the length; they give you an intermission, just as if you were at the theatre.

London’s National Theatre has been filming their productions live in HD since 2009, and they broadcast to over 1,000 cinemas around the globe. Coming on January 23, you can see an encore of their production of Jane Eyre, and on January 28 you can catch Les Liaisons Dangereuses featuring an all-star cast including Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery. They will also be broadcasting their production of As You Like It on February 25. If you can’t fly to London to see these shows, this is the next best thing.

If you’re interested in theatre from a bit closer to home, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival has also entered the digital age and this past year began broadcasting select productions in cinemas, although not live ones. Last year, they presented three 2014 productions (King Lear, King John, and

Trisha Cull will take your breath away in this jarring and revolutionary memoir. She bravely sheds light upon the raw and dark stream of consciousness of a woman struggling with multiple mental illnesses. Cull’s prose is utterly poetic, and her honest story is startling and captivating.

“The depression squeezes my throat, digs in, presses me earthward. . . Negative space is relevant.” Almost instantly Cull

takes readers by the hand and reveals the almost unbearable truth about the “intense and immediate experience of mental illness.” Throughout the memoir it is known that Cull struggles with depression, bulimia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorder, and multiple substance abuse, not to mention highly toxic relationships with men — she uses their love as a way to validate her own self-worth.

Trisha Cull’s The Death of Small Creatures is written in a way that is chaotic and entirely detached from reality. It gives an accurate representation of how mental illness distorts people.

There are many artistic qualities to Cull’s prose, especially when she dives into her pain.

Examples include when her and her husband Leigh have a huge falling out, when her two

Antony and Cleopatra), and although they have yet to announce this year’s lineup, we can expect to see Hamlet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and The Taming of the Shrew — maybe even Pericles.

Along with theatre, worldclass ballet companies have also begun showing in cinemas, namely The Bolshoi Ballet and The Royal Ballet. Upcoming shows include the Bolshoi’s The Taming of the Shrew on January 24, and Royal Ballet’s Rhapsody and Two Pigeons on January 31.

For any dance lover, this is an amazing opportunity to have access to these international companies, and for a fraction of the price of being there in person.

For opera lovers, The Metropolitan Opera is also on screens around the world, and their 2016 season includes Tannhäuser, Lulu, Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Madama Butterfly, and Elektra.

Aside from that, there are a few other events of interest that you might rather see live in cinemas instead of shelling out

thousands of dollars — you can see the TED 2016: Dream conference opening night on February 15 in cinemas for about $20, instead of the $8,500 it costs to be at the conference in person. One-off events come up from time to time as well, such as the Monty Python Live (Mostly) reunion show which was broadcast around the world live from London in 2014.

You won’t want to miss the opportunity to see these exceptional productions on the silver screen in 2016.

beloved pet rabbits pass away, or when she reflects on the fact that because of her, so many people are in pain. Cull illustrates her experiences with a blur of doctors and psychiatrists, what it’s like to be admit-

not a simple read. The short entries moved along quickly, but they were not in chronological order; they jumped back and forth between the past and present. This was especially the case with Cull’s relationship with Leigh and her other unconventional associations with men. These relationships were unstable and difficult to keep track of in terms of differentiating the present and the past.

Sadly, the better and more loving memories Cull has with Leigh are mostly all from the past, and in her more recent entries readers see that her

relationship with him is becoming more and more problematic. That being said, the chaos of the memoir’s order completely compliments the artistic vision that Cull most likely had for the entire book. Taking this into consideration, this story’s disorder could be considered praise of her literary creativity.

Cull’s voice is hopeful and hopeless all at once — depicting the ups and downs of her mental illness. In summary, her memoir is refreshingly unapologetic and courageous for a topic that is still considered somewhat unfavourable. Her writing is generously detailed and unflinchingly honest.

Trisha Cull has somehow managed to do what most people have not,she turned her toxic and all-consuming past into a hauntingly beautiful memoir.

ted into a mental hospital, and to completely lose sight of your own identity and will to live.

The only criticism I have for this memoir is that it was

DIVERSIONS / ETC

January 4, 2016

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LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

EVENT LISTINGS ARE FREE FOR SFU STUDENTS AND STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS. SEND THE DATE, TIME, LOCATION, NAME, AND A 15-WORD DESCRIPTION TO CLASSIFIEDS@THE-PEAK.CA

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SPORTS

sports editor email

January 4, 2016

Nick Bondi sports@the-peak.ca

SPORTS SUMMARY

Catchin’ up with the Clan A month (and a bit) in review for SFU sports

by Austin Cozicar, Peak Associate

The Peak may take December off — but that doesn’t mean the world of SFU sports stopped. Here’s a guide to what happened in December and the last bit of November:

Cross Country

Photo courtesy of SFU News

On November 21, the men’s cross country team broke new ground with a 12th place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championship in Joplin, Missouri, marking their best performance at the national championship.

This marks only the second time that that the men’s team have qualified for the national championship, having placed 20th in 2014.

“The hardest thing to do is to qualify for nationals, and we did that, and we improved on our previous performance,” Head Coach Brit Townsend told SFU Athletics.

“Our young guys did better than expected and will be real leaders in the future for us now that they have had this experience.”

Junior Oliver Jorgensen led the pack, placing 48th with a time of 30:41.2 on the 10 km track. Senior Marc-Antoine Rouleau placed 56th, freshman Sean Miller 103rd, freshman Rowan Doherty 121st, redshirt senior Cameron Proceviat 125th, senior Brendan Wong 139th, and sophomore Phillipe Gravel finished 189th.

The men’s team finished with an average time of 31:16, which gave them 372 points, while first-placed Colorado School of Mines finished with an average time of 30:22, and 100 points.

The race included 32 teams and 246 runners.

For the first time since 2012, the women’s team did not qualify for the national championship, having placed seventh in both 2013 and 2014. However, junior Rebecca Bassett earned an individual invitation to the nationals after placing ninth in the West Region championship.

“Our women have battled injuries all season long but we will be back,” Townsend told SFU Athletics. “We just need to get

our confidence back because we have the people to get us right back where we need to be.”

Despite the disappointment of the team missing the cut, Bassett made up for it with her performance, finishing 21:05.9 on the six kilometre track, placing 24th out of 247 runners, and making the top 40 cut for AllAmerican status.

Men’s Basketball

Lisa Dimyadi / The Peak

The men’s basketball team has struggled out of the gate, having only achieved one win in their first nine games.

Having lost key players from last year like Sango Niang, Justin Cole, and Patrick Simon, the team has only managed a win against Douglas College — a member of the Pacific Western Athletic Association (consisting of local colleges and universities in BC), and is certainly a step below Division II play — and none against Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals or any American team.

And it’s not likely to get any easier.

In previous years, January was kryptonite to the men’s basketball team. In the 2013–14 season, after going 7–3 before the New Year, the men’s basketball team only put up one win in eight games in January. Last season, after putting up a respectable 6–3 record before the Christmas break and gaining media attention for their high-paced offence that scored 100+ points nearly every night, the team went 2–7 in January, and ending the season with a 11–15 record.

Whether this drop in play is due to the long break forced by the NCAA in which teams aren’t allowed to practice, or simply due to the fact that much of November and December is spent playing non-conference rivals, the fact is Januaries aren’t kind to the Clan.

However, this is par for the course. In an interview with The Peak before the start of the season, first year Head Coach Virgil Hill emphasized the focus was on the future, and on building a culture.

“Right now, it’s just about culture,” he said. “It’s about developing culture and having some of the young guys being able to compete every night. If we can compete for 40 minutes, whatever the result is, it is.”

And there are certainly bright spots. Junior transfer Max Barkeley has looked impressive, leading the team in points-per-game with 17 and playing with an in-your-face attitude. Freshman Oshea Gairey has also shown potential, and returners from last year like JJ Pankratz, Michael Harper and Hidde Vos have stepped into key roles on the team.

Men’s Hockey

Nick Bondi / The Peak

The men’s hockey team went into the Christmas break on a twogame winning streak after wrapping up the 2015 calendar year with a dominant 8–2 win over Selkirk College — who had swept SFU in last year’s BCIHL Finals to win a third straight championship — on December 5.

The victory also avenged a 5–0 loss to Selkirk on the road at Halloween.

SFU opened the scoring with second-year forward Adam Callegari notching his first of the year just minutes into play.

However, Selkirk would tie it up with 6:11 left in the first, then would take the lead on a power play goal with 42.5 seconds left in the period.

SFU would have the last laugh (of the period), when Callegari beat the buzzer tying up the game with only nine seconds left in the first.

From then on, it was all SFU. With two goals in the second period and four in the third, SFU had seven different and goalscorers and 14 players credited with a point.

In addition to Callegari, Brendan Lamont, Saylor Preston, Darnel St Pierre, Jesse Mysiorek, Brandon Tidy, and Michael Sandor added goals.

“It’s awesome to see guys who don’t necessarily get powerplay time and first line minutes step up and score a goal,” said Coletta. “Our guys, [if ] you give them a chance, they’ll score.”

With the victory, the Clan sit in third place in the BCIHL with a 7–4–0 record, behind Selkirk College and Trinity Western.

SPORTS BRIEFS Elsewhere in SFU athletics. . .

Men’s Wrestling SFU split a pair of wrestling meets with Southern Oregon University and Pacific University, with Cruz Velasquez, Tyler McLean, and Ciaran Ball all going undefeated.

Southern Oregon won the first meet 35–17, with Cruz Velasquez winning in just 52 seconds. The second meet SFU defeated Pacific University 32–15.

Women’s Golf Head Coach John Buchanan has announced that Jaya Rampuri has committed to the Women’s Golf team. Rampuri is a two time Vancouver Golf Club player of the year, and is a grade 12 honour roll student at Dr. Charles Best Secondary.

She is the youngest girl to ever receive the VGC Ladies Club championship, winning it in the 10th grade.

By Nick Bondi

With files from SFU Athletics

SPORTS

In 2012, I attempted my third backcountry hiking trip with an ambitious goal. I intended to do the unmarked Donjek route in Yukon’s Kluane National Park.

Upon arrival at the park office, the ranger told me that she would not issue me a park pass because I was unprepared for the Donjek. The reasons were that I had no GPS, emergency beacon, or route plan, and that no one had done that trek alone all year.

She then delightfully told me that there was an alternative trail that I could do that would meet all my expectations for wilderness hiking and more in the fabled Yukon.

My possession of bear spray and a bear canister made me eligible for the 85 km Cottonwood

We’re close to halfway point of the NHL season, and the Vancouver Canucks are in a playoff spot. Not because they are playing particularly well, but because the Pacific Division this season has been terrible. Six of the seven teams in the division are at .500 or worse, including Vancouver, who have 14 wins and 23 losses in regulation in overtime combined, good enough for third place and 37 points. In comparison, the Canucks would place sixth and seventh in the Central and Metropolitan divisions, respectively.

While the playoff home dates will be welcomed by the owners (read: more money), playoffs would mean yet another year of putting off the inevitable. Approaching the stretch run of the NHL season, the Vancouver Canucks need to seriously consider starting the dreaded “T” word: tanking. Tanking is purposely

January 4, 2016

Trail, a marked route with no human improvements such as toilets, campsites or bridges.

The first day was spectacular. I hiked up switchbacks alongside a deep blue inlet of the Pacific Ocean flanked by a beautiful mountain which reflected majestically across the water. At its crest, I was treated to an endless expanse of virgin forest untouched by the hand of humankind. My first night was spent watching loons play in the sea on a gravelly beach under the stars.

The next day I did my first of several creek crossings. These “creeks” were rushing torrents of water, ice cold and often waist high. I had to strategically and carefully move across them with my poles and plant foot fighting the current.

Day two saw me set up camp at midday in a beautiful river estuary surrounded by mountains and a sheltered bay. As there was no sign of anybody since I began the hike, I decided to roam around the rest of the afternoon in the nude. It was the first time I had ever been naked out in the world and it was exhilarating!

After a beautiful fire and spectacular

losing to get a high draft pick by putting a subpar product on the ice, and it would be the best course of action for the long-term competitiveness of the franchise.

Although Jared McCann, Bo Horvat, Jake Virtanen, and Ben Hutton have shown brief flashes of brilliance, they are not the top-end talent needed to win the Stanley Cup. The only way to get that talent in a salary cap system is to draft them high. Gone are the days before the salary cap

mountain sunset I awoke in the middle of the night to see a beautiful white arc in the night sky.

Day three’s highlight was a grizzly bear sitting on the trail.

I had seen evidence of their footprints and scat throughout the trip. Fortunately, it ran away as soon as it saw me. I then descended into a beautiful

where teams like Detroit, Colorado, and Dallas could sign and trade for all the talent they could afford to get. With the salary cap, the free agent market has dried up, resulting in less high end

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meadow adorned with moose antlers before another spectacular sunset.

Day four was the most incredible part of the trip.After a tough uphill climb on a hot August Day I reached the ridge and saw three large wolves at extremely close range. I yelled and they immediately bolted.

I spent that night in a beautiful alpine meadow before an easy hike out to the highway the next day, having seen no other people the entirety of the trip. The Cottonwood Trail is the most beautiful place I have ever visited in Canada, and I hope you get the chance to visit it in your lifetime.

talent getting there and gross overpayments for the players that do.

Trading has become a balancing act, with equal salary having to go out and come back.

The only way to get high-end players is to draft them, and more often than not they’re picked in the top five.

Recent history has proven that tanking ultimately achieves its desired result. Chicago drafted

Jonathan Toews third overall in 2006 and Patrick Kane first overall in 2007, and went on to win three Stanley Cups in five seasons. LA drafted Drew Doughty second overall in 2008, and he ended up being a major player in their two Stanley Cup wins. Pittsburgh of course drafted Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin first and second overall in their respective draft classes, and have been perennial contenders ever since, even winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. Edmonton is still trying to become competitive, but there are always exceptions to the rule.

The worst place to be is where the Canucks are right now: a middle-of-the-road team. Not only do you not have any chance of competing for the Stanley Cup, you also won’t get a high enough draft place where your odds of picking an highend, impactful player are good.

The Vancouver Canucks are at a crossroads. Do they make a push for the playoffs that will most likely result in another first round exit? Or do you bite the bullet for the next few seasons, acquire high draft picks, and try and eventually win the Cup? I believe the best course of action is obvious.

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HUMOUR

humour editor email

January 4, 2016

a) What are you talking about? We’re still going hard here! (5 points) b) Made it to midnight to watch the ball drop — you can all leave now! (3 points) c) Who cares about the new year? I’m more concerned with maintaining my flawless sleep schedule. I was in bed by nine. (1 point)

a) Beyoncé. Mutherfuckin’ Beyoncé. (10 points) b) Only the closest of my friends got an invite. Who actually enjoys having to entertain 20+ people? (5 points) c) My parents — everyone else had other plans. Actually. . . I don’t even know if my parents wanted to be here either. (1 point)

a) Drone delivered Beluga Caviar from the Caspian Sea (with a set of complementary crystal spoons). (5 points) b) Pizza, but like, not Little Caesars. The good kind. (3 points) c) Heated up leftover casserole from Aunt Gertrude’s Christmas troth. (1 point)

Justin Stevens humour@the-peak.ca

a) Hand-selected mix between pop and indie tracks to give off that perf hipster vibe. (5 points) b) A premade Spotify playlist of the top 40’s finest (Except Pitbull. Fuck that guy). (3 points) c) 2000 throwback jamz! . . . What? (1 point)

a) Black tie event. If my friends didn’t show up in tuxes, they weren’t let in.

(5 points) b) Jeans and hoodies, like every other day. Time is relative and we’re all going to die anyway. (3 points) c) My snuggie. I was asleep by midnight. (1 point)

a) Chandeliers, drop-ball, glitter, sparklers, red lipstick. Very 1920s-esque. It’s not a party without a theme! (5 points) b) Balloons, party hats, streamers. I’m not Martha Stewart, but everyone loves a few decorations here and there. (3 points) c) Noise-makers, 2016 sunglasses — every middle schooler’s dream! (1 point)

a) Champagne — only the classiest for Beyoncé! (5 points) b) Sparkling apple cider. I’m not trying to have a rager. (3 points) c) Sneaking sips of Pabst when my parents weren’t looking. (-5 points)

Now, you know how to party! The great Gatsby couldn’t throw even half the star-studded house wrecker you could. You even (probably) snagged Beyoncé, player! You run the world!

So you hung out with your friends on the last day of the year, ate pizza, and listened to fun music. Who needs champagne when you have the best possible company? Even if the New Year’s party was the same as every other party all year, you still had fun and ultimately that’s what counts.

You should be ashamed of yourself! Decorations were tacky, the guests (your parents) went to bed four hours before the ball dropped — everything was awful. The good news: in 366 days, you have a chance to redeem yourself! Luckily for you, the leap year allows an extra day for planning. Use it.

HUMOUR

January 4, 2016

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To whom it may concern, I’m writing out of concern for the lack of heating and lighting in the vast majority of the AQ as of late.

After the sun is down, it’s completely black and cold in the AQ. Also, the bathrooms are constantly trickling water under the door, and do I even need to mention the amount of bats?

These have only happened since this recent SFU management takeover or whatever. Also, I’m concerned by the constant, echoing laugh currently haunting several AQ bathrooms.

— Wei T.

With the first week of classes underway here at SFU, it might come as a surprise — and disappointment — that the inaugural first classes of this semester were almost cancelled in favour of an earlier-than-normal reading break. All on the grounds that New Year’s Eve celebrations were so off-the-chain, they left the majority of students floored, quite literally.

Shortly after New Year’s festivities concluded, hungover SFU students from across the lower mainland and Metro Vancouver took to their email accounts begging administration

to postpone the start of classes for just one more week. It is reported that hundreds of undergrads parleyed with professors also, albeit unsuccessfully — more than likely due to poor grammar and punctuation dictated in emails.

Despite the university’s strict policy towards reading break, SFU staff did congregate over the weekend to begrudgingly devise a solution to student whining which had left its administrative resources in nothing less than a shambles.

SFU reported that its phone lines were in disarray due to an unprecedented influx of inaudible voicemails.

Likewise, that university website nearly crashed when undergraduates took to the SFU live chat to regale administration with stories of their booze-fuelled bashes.

The Peak caught up with one SFU administrator who has been at the forefront of this event since the very beginning for further comment: “SFU students cited that New Year’s Celebrations were — and I’m quoting this — ‘turnt as fuck’

and ‘cuckoo bananas.’ We suggested that students sleep it off and drink plenty of water, but they were unreceptive. The comments we got back ranged from ‘Dude, do you even drink?’ to ‘Ain’t nobody got time for that, bitch.’”

Engineering student Ralph N. Chuck took the time to contact The Peak after his bedroom

“I think I speak for everyone when I say students would rather have an extra week to recover after New Year’s, nursing the stupefying ramifications of nine rocky mountain bearfuckers and a pitcher of water that turned out to be ouzo then — [sound of dry heaving] — I’ll call you back.”

stopped spinning to advocate for his suffering fellow students in a brief and poignant phone call.

“What were asking for isn’t unreasonable at all, man. The placement of the reading break has never been helpful in the slightest — granted, that probably has something to do with leaving all my readings to the last minute but that is neither here nor there.

SFU reading break is slated for February 9–14 and shows no current signs of changing anytime soon, leaving a resounding sigh of disappointment throughout campus as partyweary undergrads drag their feet to their next unexciting batch of classes with thick pairs of sunglasses and advil-filled pez dispensers.

To Wei, Thank you for your letter! We at SFU administration would like to reassure you that there is nothing shady going on with the “AQ.” Over the last few millennia, we’ve had many, many letters complaining about the building’s high temperatures and bright artificial lights, and we with the reformed SFU staff take these, and all, concerns seriously, and lowered the temperature accordingly.

If you’re feeling chilly, I recommend wearing more layers of cloth or wool around you body, as I often do, especially while gliding through our SFU halls. Layers of cloth or wool around the skin warms blood that circulates through your legs, head, brachial arteries, or necks. Or how about a cotton or wool head hat? Heads carry roughly 20 per cent of a body’s total blood volume at any given moment!

As for the bathrooms, we hope the new cool, damp blue theme comes close to your impeccable standards, Wei. The laughing relaxation bathrooms are also a major part of the changes at the “AQ,” and were recently favourably voted-in by the majority of the roughly five per cent of students at the last general meeting (that one in the gym, remember?

If you’d like to discuss any more, Wei, feel free to fly by my office any time (066, the lower lower level) and enjoy some free candy and antiseptic neck wipes!

Sincerely, SFU Burnaby lighting director Sharon Michael — Questions and answers compiled by Joel MacKenzie

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FU students who take the 135 bus up to campus every morning see a lot of different bus drivers — some nice, some not so nice. Most of them tend not to make much of an impact. But Bill Laird is an exception: known for his friendly demeanor and insistence on wishing every single passenger a nice day, he’s become an honorary member of the SFU community.

Oh. And did I forget to mention that he totally looks like Walter White from Breaking Bad? A post featuring a photo of Bill, along with the words “I am the one who stops,” exploded with popularity on the SFU Confessions page this past October, garnering over 600 Facebook likes. Then Reddit got a hold of the image, resulting in over 4,000 upvotes, 500 comments, and a brief stint on the site’s front page. “Someone has the easiest Halloween costume in the world,” one commenter quipped. “Dude, you have to post a pic of your bus driver for comparison,” joked another.

Bill’s photo has since been the subject of many Photoshop gags, including several replacing his face for Bryan Cranston’s.

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell whether the images are Photoshopped at all.

By now, most SFU students have heard of Bill — they know him as Heisenbus, Braking Bad, the one who works for Bus Fring. But he’s also known, and beloved, for a lot more than his celebrity doppelganger. The Peak sat down with SFU’s nicest bus driver to ask him about his love for the series, his sudden Internet fame, and what inspires him to be so friendly to his passengers.

The Peak: So, to begin: have you ever seen Breaking Bad? Bill: You bet. I love it. I’ve been watching it for a long time.

P: Who was the first to point out the resemblance between you and Walter White?

B: That would have been. . . damn, I don’t remember the gentleman’s name. But he came on the bus and asked if he could take my picture, and he said “you look like the guy from Breaking Bad,” and I went “oh, okay!” And my son made a comment about it, and he showed me something on the Internet — and the first gentleman, he had put it on, what the heck is it, I think he put something on SFU. . .

P: SFU Confessions.

Yeah! Yeah, so he put the picture on there. And actually, I ran into him just a while ago, and we sort of just looked at each other and we just smirked about it, right? Because nobody thought it would be so popular.

P: You say you’ve been doing this a long time. When did you start working as a bus driver?

B: Oh God, I’ve got 25 years in now. So it would have been, I guess, September 1990 P: And how long have you been doing the 135 route?

B: Oh, I don’t know. How long has the university been around? [laughs] Yeah, basically on and off for about 25 years. And I absolutely love it. It’s a lot of fun — you know, it’s students, faculty, and businesspeople, and I’ve never, ever had an issue with anybody.

I’ve done other routes with the company where I’ve had nothing but problems, but nothing with the 135.

P: What would you say is your favourite thing about that route?

B: SFU. Definitely SFU. The least favourite is driving through the rest of it, the downtown part of it. [laughs] P: It’s funny, because you seem like the

It’s simple — I wish I had something more exciting to tell you, but it is what it is, right?

P: What’s something that most SFU students probably wouldn’t guess about you?

B: Well, I’ve got a family. You know, I’ve got numerous hobbies. I ride motorcycles, I get my tail kicked on Xbox on a regular basis — probably by some 12-year-old in another country who thankfully can’t see who he’s playing against. But you know, I’m a family guy. My wife and I have been married 40 years. I’ve got two wonderful kids, and they’re all grown up and have their own families.

Life’s moving along nicely.

P: Is there anything you want to share with the SFU community?

B: I just want to say thank you very much.

I really appreciate the way everybody has treated me, and I’ve had a lot of fun with this. You know, I go online and look at the comments and stuff, and I absolutely love the Photoshop stuff that’s been done. My

P: Do people point it out more often, now?

B: Yes, definitely. It’s great, I absolutely love it.

P: You’ve become something of a minor campus celebrity, in part because of that post. Do you find that a lot of students recognise you not as Walter White but as Bill the bus driver?

B: Yep. I have no problem with telling people who I am — you know, I’ve been doing this a long time. Some guys, they sort of keep stuff inside, and they try to stay a little bit distant, but I’ve never had an issue with that. That’s just not who I am. [laughs]

polar opposite of Walter White — you’re always so friendly and accommodating to everyone on the bus. What compels you to give that extra effort when most bus drivers don’t?

B: Well, that’s just me. I can’t really think of anything else. You know, I try and treat people the way I would like them to treat me.

favourite one is the one with me and Walt sitting there having a beer. And apparently somebody the other day put [Vladimir Putin’s] face onto my body, and I’m looking at it and I’m going, ‘that was well done!’

Stuff like that I absolutely love. And I’m just very happy that there’s a lot of good people who are having a lot of fun with it.