Student makes a splash

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CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2013

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FIRST PEEK

A moving image and its impact on viewers has always fascinated me.

I love to create, I love to work in an intense environment, I love being surrounded by passionate people, and I love film. All these factors combined lead me towards an education in cinematography.

As an aspiring cinematographer, I study light, framing, and lens choices in hopes of one day being the head of the camera and lighting department on a film set.

As a cinematographer, I would be responsible for making all the artistic and technical decisions in relation to the film image.

Currently, I am studying in the SFU film program in order to reach this goal, and though I am currently in a supportive and inclusive environment, I know that as a woman I will face discrimination that my male classmates will never have to deal with as aspiring filmmakers.

In 2013, women accounted for less than three per cent of cinematographers working on the top 250 domestic grossing films. No female cinematographer has ever been nominated for an Academy Award, and those females who have succeed in the field — such as Ellen

January 12, 2015

Kuras, Mandy Walker, and Maryse Alberti — are not very well known or celebrated.

While the film industry has its own unique problems regarding sexism in both the content it produces and the treatment of its own working members, I believe it originates from something deeper in our society. Starting from a young age, women are not encouraged to pursue technical careers in general, and instead are pushed towards more traditionally femaleoccupied fields. This phenomenon is commonly spoken about with regards to jobs in the sciences and maths, but also applies to other technically-based careers such as cinematography.

I’ve heard several different excuses for why there is an underrepresentation of female cinematographers: it’s too technical, the equipment is too heavy, women can’t handle the brutal hours.

But I feel cinematographer Claudia Raschke put it best by stating, “When you go to an interview or onto a set, as a woman you are incompetent until you prove you know your stuff. As a man, you are considered competent until you are proven totally incompetent.” Too often, women aren’t trusted to execute this kind of work.

When I first developed an interest in cinematography, I was quite intimidated by the technical knowledge that seemed to be required. This type of ‘shop talk’ can make it hard for already isolated aspiring female cinematographers to break into the field. I know that without the mentors I had teaching me along the way, I would still feel very lost, and might not have pursued cinematography at all.

Unfortunately, many women haven’t been lucky enough to find the support and encouragement I have. The boys’ club mentality is still going strong, and many continue to use the physical, technical, and leadership aspects of the job to justify the lack of females in the field.

Existing female cinematographers have proven that these are falsehoods, and that women are just as capable cinematographers as men.

My talent, style, creative choices and skills as a cinematographer are not dictated by my gender, and it is extremely important that women continue to develop an interest in cinematography. We need female cinematographers for the same reason we need female writers, directors and editors: cinematographers are storytellers. Through all the equipment and technology, they are telling a story. They bring their own style, story and perspective to their work. To shut women out of this field would be a profound loss for the film community and its audiences.

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NEWS

Fourth year SFU business student Viktor Holicek is making a splash with his startup distribution website for swimming sports watches.

The site, Swimovate Canada, connects students with unique fitness equipment, provides details as to how the equipment can be best utilized, and links users to blogs related to fitness and swimming.

Holicek’s website eventually emerged from an idea he had for a device that would help swimmers track their workouts. “During my exchange in China, some friends and I were brainstorming ideas for swimming products,” he explained. “I knew enough about swimming to see [. . .] a business opportunity here in Canada.”

A competitive swimmer himself, Holicek originally envisioned the device as a lap-counting system for the entire swimming pool, but quickly had to change his plans. He explained, “After realizing how complicated and slow to implement that would be (pools are publicly owned for the most part), I started thinking of how to

Plans for a new food venue in Discovery 1 are now complete, with an expected opening this summer, pending final budget and permit approvals.

Ancillary Services at SFU will also unveil a Jugo Juice in the next week, which will be located in the Academic Quadrangle right next to the Renaissance Coffee.

Located in the Fraser International College (FIC) building, the Discovery 1 dining hall will be renovated to enhance the dining experience for students attending the college.

According to Mark McLaughlin, executive director of Ancillary

January 12, 2015

news editor email

Leah Bjornson associate news editor news@the-peak.ca

make a personalized gadget that would serve the same purpose.”

Although he originally wanted to develop his own watches, Holicek discovered a small husband and wife operation in the United Kingdom which offered a similar product.

From there it was a matter of getting in touch with them and working out an agreement for distribution, trademarks, licensing, and so on.

“I’d like to get into manufacturing my own products eventually.”

Viktor Holicek, SFU business student Marketed as “the only watch that counts,” PoolMates tracks statistics such as stroke count, distance, speed, calories, times, and efficiency. It can also upload the statistics to a computer, where users can track their progress.

“Ideally, I would have liked the chance to build the gadget myself had it not already existed, but taking on the distribution was probably enough to start on,” Holicek explained. “I’d like to get into manufacturing my own products eventually.”

Holicek eventually created the site Swimovate, which connects swimmers of all ages with tools to

Services, the existing services aren’t enough to support the growing FIC student population.

“Right now we have a little food cart down there that really just kind of a stopgap measure for those students,” he said.

The new design will offer international cuisine and coffee, among other items, and will likely run five days a week.

“I guess you could call it a mini Mackenzie Cafe,” said McLaughlin.

In previous years, students attending FIC would have to travel up the hill to get food from either venues at Cornerstone or Mackenzie Cafe, braving sometimes frigid weather conditions.

According to Ancillary Services, the new dining facility is meant to remedy that.

For McLaughlin, it’s important to not just focus on what SFU students on campus need, but what is necessary for the community as a whole — FIC,

help them set their goals and push themselves harder — without needing to have someone to time them.

As demonstrated by his jetsetting lifestyle, Holicek is the type of person who constantly challenges himself. “I’ll often get an uncomfortable feeling in my gut when I’m not somehow improving or trying new things,” he told The Peak. “I appreciate my time at SFU, but I have to keep in mind the sheer number of other business students

graduating each year who have the same skills and experience as me, if not more.”

With that in mind, Holicek is currently looking to gain more practical experience to complement his academic education. He assured The Peak, however, that this doesn’t mean he’ll stop pushing the limits of innovation.

“It reminds me of that saying,” he said, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.”

UniverCity, Cornerstone — to thrive and grow. “When we look at the campus, we just don’t look at [SFU],” he explained.

“For us the campus is the entire mountain, because the campus does not stop at Strand Hall.”

The SFU Board of Governors also announced in November that planning is underway for the possible construction of a new dining hall at UniverCity, to open in 2017.

we really do try to think longterm, and [. . .] about sustainability and future generations.”

Though space on the mountain is limited, McLaughlin explained that Ancillary Services is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to enhance the dining experience here at SFU. As part of their mission, McLaughlin said that they hope to provide students with a dining experience that includes both big name brands, such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons, and the local, such as Mackenzie Cafe.

In particular, Ancillary Services is looking to support big name brands that adopt sustainable food options for students at competitive prices. “In Ancillary Services, we use what’s called the triple bottom line,” said McLaughlin, “it’s just not about the money, it’s about creating community, about social values as well.”

He continued, “UniverCity is part of our community, and so we look at what opportunities and what services we could offer students over there. You know,

Melissa Roach

The SFSS has issued an open letter expressing their official opposition to the proposed 10 per cent increase to international undergraduate student tuition rates for the 2015/2016 academic year.

This move follows the university’s refusal of certain requests by the SFSS, which included exempting current international undergraduate student from the increase as well as freezing international undergraduate tuition fees at their existing level.

One of the main issues raised by SFSS president Chardaye Bueckert concerned transparency over how the revenue generated from these fee increases will be spent. “We know that $6 million in additional revenue will be realised, but we don’t know [how] it’s being spent, being beyond 25 per cent of the eight per cent tuition increase going to scholarships, awards, and bursaries, which accounts for $1.5 million,” she said.

VP finance Adam Potvin added his support: “I think it’s good of us to hold their feet to the fire.”

Bueckert also officially invited students to demonstrate their opposition at the next SFU Board of Governors meeting on Thursday, January 29.

The final decision regarding fee increases for the 2015/2016 year will be made at the next meeting in March of this year.

The board moved to transfer $24,642 from the society’s unrestricted surplus to account for “worse than expected losses” from Food and Beverage Services, as stated in the agenda.

VP Finance Adam Potvin explained that the deficit “is just accounting for the losses that have already piled up by September 30, so there’s not much of a choice here.”

Potvin estimated that the remaining balance of the unrestricted surplus is now approximately $45,000.

NEWS

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January 12, 2015

In light of a recent SFU Senate recommendation, students may have the opportunity to participate in the upcoming Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) special general meeting (SGM) despite conflicting classes.

At the last meeting of the SFU Senate on January 5, the senate moved to recommend that instructors accommodate students who request in advance to attend the SGM next Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 1:30 pm without academic penalty.

The encouraged academic excusal (or amnesty) would be subject to the discretion of individual professors.

Due to issues with capacity and the loss of quorum partway

through the recent SFSS annual general meeting (AGM) held on December 16, some students have raised concerns over the matters of approving the Build SFU debenture and a bylaw addition.

In response to those concerns, the SFSS resolved to hold the SGM in the new year to allow those students who were unable to attend the AGM the chance to make their voices heard.

Senator Peter Tingling noted his opposition to the motion and raised an issue regarding the accountability of students in their own academic careers, a concern that was echoed by other senators.

“We all make choices. We all deal with the repercussions,” he argued, “I think the best way to get people to continue to be engaged is to do so in a realistic environment.”

SFSS VP University Relations Moe Kopahi responded by suggesting that the SFSS confirm the SGM attendance of students who express intent to participate in the meeting to their professors.

Senator Colin Percival pointed out that this sort of academic

amnesty is typically granted for situations in which students are off-campus during classes for a protest regarding university affairs; however, president Andrew Petter interjected that it had been previously applied to an SFSS AGM in 2007, at which a board member was impeached.

Senators also raised the issue that the meeting time falls during peak instructional hours. Kopahi explained that the selected time was chosen for the amount of students expected to be on the Burnaby campus. He said, though unfortunate for people who have class, it was the time that made the most sense. “We’re trying to accommodate the need of those students as well,” he said.

Senator Tracey Leacock countered that if “this meeting is not important enough to

students that they would be willing to attend at a time that they weren’t already on campus,” it perhaps “is not as important as the student society is making it out to be.”

However, Senator Peter Ruben commended the SFSS for the lengths to which they have gone to ensure funding to its Student Union Building project.

“I think it’s quite amazing that they’ve done this,” he said. “The senate and the university should do all it can to ensure that every student has a voice in how this whole venture unfolds.”

In the vein of including as many students as possible in the meeting, senator Helen Wussow suggested that the proceedings be extended to an online environment, allowing those unable to physically attend to participate in voting and discussion.

Student senator and SFSS president Chardaye Bueckert cited the BC Society Act, explaining that the debenture must be passed by special resolution requiring an in-person vote. She went on to explain that the society lacks the technological

resources to fully offer online participation, such as video conferencing, to all students who may require it.

The amnesty, given professors see fit to grant it, would not only promote the attendance of students on Burnaby Mountain, but would allow students who study at other campuses the opportunity to attend the SGM. Many members of senate responded positively to the motion, arguing that it would help build community by reaching out and encouraging students to engage in student matters.

Senator Panayiotis Pappas explained that he was in favour of the motion on the grounds that the inaccessibility of SFU’s location must be taken into account.

“We have to face up to the limitations that our location puts on student community life,” he said. “If we have to make an adjustment now and then, it’s not the end of the world.”

Petter noted that it had been a good discussion on both sides, but in the end, the motion was passed with only a few oppositional votes.

SFSS ENHANCED HEALTH & DENTAL PLAN

A Plan for your everyday adventures A flexible benefit model offers undergraduate students a choice between different levels of coverage. The Plan covers health, dental, vision, and travel benefits. You are automatically enrolled in the Enhanced Plan.

Enhanced or Basic

Mix and Match

Basic HEALTH & DENTAL PLAN

OR

HEALTH & DENTAL PLAN

OR HEALTH ENHANCED

HEALTH BASIC

DENTAL BASIC

OR

$170.00

$132.00

HEALTH ENHANCED

OR DENTAL ENHANCED

DENTAL ENHANCED

OR HEALTH BASIC

DENTAL BASIC

Change-of-Coverage Period As a new Spring semester student, you can either choose a different level of coverage or opt out during the Change-of-Coverage Period from Jan. 2 - 19, 2015. You can also enrol your spouse/dependants in the Plan during this period.

The Member Services Centre is also there to assist you from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays.

Toll-free: 1 866 369-8795 Health & Dental Plan Office: MBC, Room 2240

Are you a graduate student? You are covered by a separate Plan, the GSS Graduate Plan! Please visit www.ihaveaplan.ca for more details.

6 NEWS

According to an SFU adjunct professor, quickly getting back into a routine can lessen the difficulty of returning to the classroom after weeks of holiday feasting, socializing, and general merrymaking.

Psychologist and SFU adjunct professor Joti Samra explains why returning to the daily grind in the new year is so tough, and what you can do to make the transition easier.

Samra said that the month of December is different for most people in regards to their dayto-day activities. They change their sleep patterns, their diet, and their exercise habits, which can make returning to a regular routine jarring.

“If we go weeks with having our usual structure and routine off, it’s quite hard for us to get back to it,” Samra stated. “We’re creatures of habit, as human beings, and we like structure and routine. When that routine is off, it’s hard to get back into the flow of things again.”

January 12, 2015

After the break, people typically experience an excess of fatigue and a lack of motivation.

“A lot of people feel this kind of let-down after Christmas.” she said. “They’ve been a lot more social, seeing people that they like and love, and they really enjoy that.”

Samra continued, “All of the sudden, it’s back to responsibility, back to bills, back to usual routine.”

She went on to say that the post-holiday blues is often not only the result of indulgement, but also the stress of the season: “It can be a difficult time of year. There might be stresses that come along with the holiday season, with family and financial stresses being at the top of the list.”

Combining those stresses with the fact that days are shorter and the weather is consistently bleak makes for several factors that contribute to a sort of slump after the break.

Samra offered The Peak some pointers on how to minimize the holiday hangover and to ease yourself back into work or school. “An important thing is to manage your expectations and to remind yourself that most of us usually feel like this every year,” she advised.

She encouraged people to take “good measures for self-care” and also warned to be “mindful of the usual suspects” that can interrupt your healthy lifestyle, such as sleep, exercise, diet, and alcohol intake.

“Remind yourself that the semester will go fast, and if

you’re taking good measures for self-care — eating healthy, exercising, managing your stress levels — all of that can help make it go smoother,” she said.

Samra’s last piece of advice was to incorporate what was enjoyable about the holidays

into your regular routine. She concluded, “Scheduling in rest breaks [and] social activities that give you a kind of reprieve from the usual grind of school can just recharge you, and help you feel a bit more rejuvenated for more studying.”

Scientists search Antarctic skies for Big Bang origins U of T students aim for infinity, and beyond!

The University of Toronto Aerospace Team (UTAT) is reaching for new heights with their latest project: a small-scale spacecraft.

Jeffrey Osborne, UTAT president, told The Varsity that the team is designing a small satellite, with the intent of eventually launching it into space. The satellite’s mission would be to investigate the effects of space on the human body. Osborne believes that that the group may be able to launch a spacecraft every three years, should they receive proper funding.

The team also welcomed experts from the field on January 10 to review the spacecraft’s current progress.

A team of UBC scientists based out of Antarctica have launched a telescope that may reveal clues that shed light on the very beginning of the Big Bang.

The device, called SPIDER, was launched on December 31 and will remain airborne for 20 days, riding the circumpolar winds around Antarctica’s coast.

The telescope will attempt to locate patterns of polarizations that would have occurred only moments after the Big Bang. If it succeeds, the telescope, “would be a smoking gun of how the universe began,” said UBC professor Mark Halpern, a member of the SPIDER team.

With files from CBC News

Dalhousie suspends 13 dentistry students for Facebook controversy Dalhousie University announced on January 5 that 13 men who were formerly involved in a controversial Facebook group have been suspended from clinic work until further notice.

The men belonged to a group called Class of DDS 2015 Gentlemen, in which the fourth-year male dentistry students posted misogynistic comments about female classmates. Among these comments were a poll about drugging women and having “hate” sex with female classmates.

While the suspensions are in place, the men cannot graduate and may not be able to attend their classes.

With files from CBC News

With files from The Varsity

NEWS

Last Saturday, January 10, SFU Woodward’s hosted the 130th annual Modern Language Association convention. The event included an evening of presentations from various artists and academics in the field of Asian diaspora studies. Among the speakers were several authors, including Lydia Kwa, past SFU writer-in-residence Madeleine Thien and incumbent Rawi Hage.

To ring in the new semester, SFU Surrey students feasted on free pancakes last Wednesday, January 7. The SFSS Surrey Campus Committee hosted the annual free breakfast to welcome students back to school for the spring semester.

While most SFU students have returned to lecture halls this semester, the students of Business 361 are now attending class in the Surrey City Hall council chambers, which neighbour the Surrey campus.

The popular project management course will be taught by business professor Kamal Masri.

January 12, 2015

SFU Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies (GSWS) professor Lucas Crawford has just been named the Canadian Women in the Literary Arts’ Critic-in-Residence for 2015.

The honour of being selected as the Critic-in-Residence has been awarded to one researcher each year since 2013.

In the past, Crawford has focused much of his research and presentations on fields such as fat studies, queer politics, and transgender architecture. During this virtual residency, Crawford’ goal is to “[bring] implicit gender biases in the literary industry out of the closet and to help rectify these biases by publishing reviews of literature written by women.”

The Canadian Women in the Literary Arts is a unique literary organization, in that it not only welcomes but actively encourages both queer women and transgender people to apply for the position. This is still a fairly uncommon practice, and something that Crawford feels is incredibly important in the Canadian literary landscape.

Lucas explained that in 2013, the number of men who reviewed literary pieces by other men was skewed to a disproportionate ratio of about three to one compared to the reviews of women’s literary work. By including female and transgender researchers in these residencies each year, CWILA aims to shift these skewed statistics within the Canadian literary scene.

During his time as the Critic-inResidence, Crawford plans to focus on reviewing works that are either written by or feature transgender people and styles. Crawford hopes that, from his critiques of others’ pieces in the field, people will grow to question why “we tend to regard non-transgender [cisgender] modes of life as universal or ‘relatable’ in literature, when they are not.”

Ultimately, Crawford hopes his residency gives him a chance

to “intervene in the national conversation about where our literature is headed” in what he sees as a vital time in our history

— a time when a better representation of all genders is starting to emerge in literary and societal circles.

NOTICE OF STUDENT ELECTION – SPRING 2015

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES Students have an opportunity to become involved in the governance of SFU by submitting a nomination form for positions on Senate, the Board of Governors, the Senate Graduate Studies Committee, and/or SFU Community Trust.

COMMITTEE

POSITIONS

TERM OF OFFICE

INFORMATION

Senate

SIXTEEN STUDENTS, elected by and from the student body, with at least one student elected from each faculty and at least three undergraduate and three graduate students.

June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016

Senate meets once a month and is responsible for the academic governance (all matters that bear on teaching and research) of the University. www.sfu.ca/ senate.html

Board of Governors

ONE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT, elected by and from the undergraduate student body.

June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016

The Board of Governors meets six times a year and is responsible for the business (property, revenue and policies) of the University. www.sfu.ca/bog.html

ONE GRADUATE STUDENT, elected by and from the graduate student body.

As a transgender man himself, Crawford hopes that people will gain a larger awareness of the categories of “woman” and “transgender” through his work.

According to the organization’s website, the residency aims to “foster criticism that promotes public awareness of women’s literary and critical presence in Canadian and Quebecois letters.”

For Crawford, one of the major aspects of being a Critic-in-Residence is the fact that people in the literary community who identify as “genderqueer/non-binary transgender often experience many barriers” — both in positions of writing and critiquing.

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Senate Graduate Studies Committee (SGSC)

FOUR GRADUATE STUDENTS (2 regular, 2 alternate), elected by and from graduate students.

June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016

SGSC meets once a month and is responsible for making recommendations to Senate concerning graduate programs, courses, regulations and policies. www.sfu.ca/senate/senate-committees/sgsc.html

SFU Community Trust

ONE STUDENT, elected by and from the student body.

April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2017

The SFU Community Corporation is governed by an independent Board of Directors that includes SFU stakeholders, faculty and student representatives, as well as external members. As trustee, that Board sets policy for SFU Community Trust, helping to shape the future of UniverCity. http://www.univercity.ca

Nomination Deadline: Thursday, January 22, 2015 @ 4:00 pm Campaign Period: January 23, 2015 to February 4, 2015 Online Voting: February 2, 2015 to February 4, 2015 Nomination Forms and Candidate Info: http://students.sfu.ca/elections/students.html Questions may be directed to the Electoral Officer, Senate & Academic Services at 778-782-3168 or senate@sfu.ca.

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OPINIONS

It is my belief that, now more than ever, students should hear both perspectives on what exactly occurred during and prior to the AGM, in order to make a sound judgement on a project that holds their best interest at hand at the newly dubbed Special General Meeting (SGM) on January 19.

As a former outreach assistant for Build SFU and a political science student who holds firmly to the ideals of a just and fair democratic process in which all individuals’ voices should be heard, I believe that the Simon Fraser Student Society is proceeding in a fair manner by calling a revote on the passing of the debenture for the Student Union Building (SUB) and the Stadium, as well as the bylaw amendment.

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on October 22, certain members of the Society were unable to exercise their right to vote due to safety issues in accommodating all students into the SFU Theatre where the meeting was held. This has led to questions about the merits of the outreach done by Build SFU workers, such as myself.

When we discuss the pivotal shifts currently occurring in journalism, the rapid expansion of online media and the departure of printed press is often among the first things mentioned.

While this shift is without a doubt taking place, there is another transformation that deserves just as much, if not more, attention as the digitalization of our news: mainstream news channels are no longer the leaders in reporting hard-hitting stories. This position is now being filled by a recently popularized media form: fake news.

I am sure many of you have watched or have heard of programs such The Daily Show with Jon Stewart , Last Week Tonight with John Oliver , and

Having formally done outreach with Build SFU, I can say without a doubt that the majority of students that I and my respective peers spoke to were thrilled to see the projects’ successes and the finalization of the SUB’s design, all of which were created through student-led discussion and feedback. The Build SFU initiative prides itself on engaging the student body with the project, and looks to positively promote the SUB and Stadium, each of which

The Colbert Report, the latter of which recently celebrated its finale. All of these programs mix biting satire with their presentation of real events.

This type of entertainment has proven itself popular with audiences, and has therefore led to a great expansion of the genre.

But what no one accounted for when these programs emerged was that they would replace mainstream news channels in terms of the best source for relevant and important stories.

January 12, 2015

opinions editor email / phone

Adam Van der Zwan opinions@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

house components implemented following a student feedback survey which took place last year.

To say that Build SFU or any of its members unfairly influenced the vote on the day of the AGM is misguided at the least. Our outreach aimed to promote the communal benefits of the SUB and stadium, and not once did I or any of my members attempt to bias a student to vote in favour of the project.

In recognition of attending the meeting, students were entered into a draw to win prizes, and the first 300 students received a pound of chicken wings that were granted to both ‘yes’ or ‘no’ voters. These incentives were merely meant to thank everyone who came out to voice their opinions on the project as a whole, and were never meant to force or lead individuals to favour a certain ideal.

Build SFU ensured through its outreach assistants that all pertinent information was made available to students, including the student-paid levy which was showcased daily at the table and listed per-semester the costs of the building itself. It is my belief that the large voter turnout at the AGM was

driven by a positive desire to see a success for the Build SFU project, which could only have been made possible by the majority of undergraduate students supporting the construction of the building itself.

Without this support, our outreach could not have been such a successful experience. I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to work with like-minded individuals towards the success of an initiative that I

believe will only better our university, and help us provide future SFU students with a place of belonging.

With the upcoming SGM in mind, I urge all SFU undergraduate students to hear both sides of the issue and come out to voice their opinions on a matter that will crucially decide the future of a project that, for me, has been and will always be designed for the students, by the students.

investigative journalism involves finding fringe opinions and controversial stories to create a larger picture of the global and local communities of which we are a part.

Increasingly often, national news broadcasters report on subjects that are of little substance.

Mainstream news is now more like a source for gossip than anything else — reporting on trivialized events rather than controversial, important material. After skimming last week’s headlines, I was unable to find any in-depth coverage that hadn’t been watered down to keep audiences content.

That being said, it’s not hard to imagine why fake news has seamlessly absorbed the title

mainstream media once held.

These programs pick up on the relevant and significant stories of the day, and create broad-minded editorials to provide the audience with effective and entertaining analyses of these events.

The main reason for the apparent reversal in content is that ‘fake news’ does not have to worry about offending parts of their audience for addressing these controversial issues, mainly because they are protected by their label as a satirical news outlet.

Mainstream outlets, on the other hand, do not have the same freedom to openly debate or criticize world events, as they have become preoccupied with the business side of media. If they lose their audience, they lose their revenue.

The more large-scale media corporations focus on attracting audiences, the more journalistic substance they have to sacrifice to keep said audiences happy.

I find this particularly troubling.

As much as I enjoy news-parody programs, networks should not have to compromise their reporting for any reason. After all, good

Instead of avoiding the big stories in favour of inoffensive fluff, mainstream news should reinvest in investigative journalism to try to uncover the controversial stories that they would typically shy away from.

While ‘fake news’ provides some great laughs, it should not have to replace the sources it mocks. Mainstream media must reclaim their authoritative and professional status by moving away from the safe topics that make them indistinguishable from BuzzFeed.

OPINIONS

January 12, 2015

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Are you an SFU student or faculty member who needs some relationship, student, or SFU-related advice? In 150 words or less, send your issues anonymously by visiting the-peak.ca/professorpeak. Your entry could be published in our next issue, along with some helpful advice from Professor Peak!

Help! If I drop out of university, I’ll be shaming my parents!

DEAR PROFESSOR PEAK: I feel like I’m in university to please my parents. Being an only child from a wealthy family of university graduates, my parents expect me to continue the family ‘legacy,’ graduate with some important degree, and be some important title. I’ve never really been interested in university, and I’ve told my parents this, but they insisted I attend this institution that I don’t really care about. I’m in a bachelor of arts program without a major because I can’t decide on one that interests me. Instead, I’d like to do carpentry or something similar, but I’m scared that if I fight my parents over it, they’ll see me as a huge disappointment or some dud that doesn’t have a life. Why can’t they just understand that you don’t have to be in university to be successful?

––– CONFLICTED CARPENTER DEAR CONFLICTED: You’re the one who has to spend eight-plus hours a day (at least) doing whatever job you end up in, so you’d better darn well enjoy doing it!

But I suspect you already know that. As for your parents, remind them success comes not from your fancy job title or your impressive degree, but from your accomplishments and how you make an impact on the world.

In other words, success comes from what makes you happy! It wouldn’t hurt to let them know the opportunity prospects for trades jobs (carpentry included!) are ranked extremely high in BC,

and trades tend to pay quite well.

Sure, you may have a few tough conversations with your parents right now, but it’s safe to say the rest of your life is worth those momentary rough patches. ––– PROFESSOR PEAK

Darn! SFU just isn’t evil enough for me!

DEAR PROFESSOR PEAK: I am a 22 year-old science student. Believe it or not, I’m in my fourth year. However, the last few months I have become worried that I’m not getting the best out of my education at SFU. It’s not that I don’t study hard — it’s SFU itself. In all my time here, I have not handled one death ray.

There are no classes on how to use neuroscience to brainwash people to do my bidding. How will I become a mad scientist if I have no experience in these essential areas? Does UBC have death rays? I just have a feeling I’d be getting a better education in evil elsewhere. ––– ASPIRING MAD SCIENTIST DEAR ASPIRING: Well, it looks like you’re in a bit of a pickle, as SFU doesn’t (for legal reasons) overtly offer any courses in mischief or merrymaking, let alone evil-doing or world domination. But fear not: there are workaround ways to learn sinister skills at our hallowed institution! Engineering Science 470: Optical and Laser Engineering Applications will give you a great way to develop your death ray building skills! Just work on that evil laugh and you’re set. ––– PROFESSOR PEAK

We’ve now entered the year 2015: federal election year.

On October 19, Canadians will once again have the chance to choose the people who will govern our nation for the next four years. That date is now about 40 weeks away, so it’s time to start thinking about what our plan is for that seemingly-distant date. Will we bother to exercise our democratic freedoms, or will we sit at home and complain endlessly about the results of an election we opted to take no part in?

I know most of our readers hope that the Conservative government will taste defeat this year, if for no other reason than to believe it will stop me from singing their praises. This result, however, is far from certain, as early polls show all three major parties (sorry, Elizabeth May) are scoring relatively tight numbers overall.

Based on the numbers, it appears that we university

students may have the power to influence the result of this election and the future of our nation. While the Big Three remain neck and neck in most areas, there is one demographic that is overwhelmingly Liberal: 18–29-year-olds, many of whom are university students.

And yet, as a member of the Conservative Party, I am not concerned by this. You may wonder why this is, but the answer is really quite simple: this age bracket, where Trudeau appears to be receiving the majority of his polling support, has repeatedly been the one with the worst voter turnout come election day. According to Elections Canada, the previous federal election featured a mere 38.8 per cent turnout for those aged 18–24, and a slightly better but still terrible turnout of 45.1 per cent for the 25–34-year-olds.

While the Conservative in me is content with the election win, the rest of my 29-year-old brain wonders what the heck is going on, especially since those two demographics tend to be the ones from whom I receive the most comments about how Harper is ruining this country.

I understand that many Canadians justify their lack of participation in democracy with the claim that politicians don’t care about youth issues.

While I won’t dispute this claim, this turns into a bit of

a cyclical argument, especially because youth tend not to have much of the standard currency that gets politicians to listen: actual currency.

The only thing we have is our voice, and if we don’t bother to use it on the one day when it really matters, politicians have no reason to listen or care about youth issues. By failing to participate, we give our elected officials justification for not listening, as such a small turnout is hardly going to influence the results.

Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw once famously noted that “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” If you think you deserve better, it’s up to you to follow the political decisions made this year, and to participate and elect the government you think we deserve.

Otherwise, you and all those who failed to do their democratic duty are to blame for the results.

I know what I’ll be doing on October 19. Do you?

10 OPINIONS

It’s an incredibly valuable and genuine thing to truly feel sorry. What’s even more genuine is when you express these feelings with sincerity to another person.

Sincere apologies build connections, mend close relationships with loved ones and friends, and help one to develop both personally and interpersonally. Many times, giving a sincere apology can be a difficult

task, but imagine what a terrible world we’d live in if no one felt apologetic towards one another.

Those who give sincere apologies are put at odds with their own beliefs — they must examine and reflect on their actions, and then internalize their situation so that they can learn about it for next time. I find that this is one of the most valuable lessons a person can learn.

A couple days ago on a fairly crowded bus, I accidentally brushed up against someone — and by “brush up,” I mean I barely touched her as I shifted past. She immediately turned to me and said “sorry!”

Returning from a restroom on campus yesterday, I opened the door just as another person approached. He stood to the side and waited for me to exit.

“Sorry,” he said.

I find myself a little frustrated by how we tend to apologize to other for really no reason at all. No

harm was done in either of these situations, so these instant apologies aren’t justified and seem, frankly, a bit ridiculous. I find that anxiety propels our “sorry” culture, as people are afraid to come off as rude while in public.

The use of “sorry” now occurs so often that it’s been ingrained into our psyche to use in even the most meagre of situations.

So please, folks, give an apology when the situation actually requires one, and when you say “sorry” to someone, make sure you mean it.

January 12, 2015

While climate change is likely our world’s greatest threat, pipelines are not at the crux of the problem, and protesting their construction is not a solution to alleviating climate change.

Oil is mined or pumped from underground. After being extracted and sometimes upgraded, oil is then transported via rail or pipeline to a refinery, where it is refined into various products ready for consumer use.

Pipelines are a conduit in this cycle. They’re also somewhat replaceable. Without them, crude-by-rail has grown exponentially over the last decade, as a lack of pipeline infrastructure has led to increased rail infrastructure. Companies like CN Rail and Canadian Pacific Railway have thrived as they continue to carry increasing amounts of oil.

In other words, whatever does not get transported by pipeline will eventually get transported by rail, and crudeby-rail carries many of the same risks as transportation by pipeline — spills often occur.

In order for pipeline protesters to achieve their goal of ceasing oil spillage entirely, they ought to successfully block locomotive travel — and for that matter, oil tanker trucks and ships — in addition to pipeline

construction, which is clearly not a sensible solution.

But even more important is the demand for oil that triggers its transportation in the first place. We should really be lying down on runways to protest air travel, or blockading major intersections to protest driving gas-fueled vehicles. If we weren’t so reliant on oil for our day-to-day activities, there would be no need for Suncor to pump oil out of the ground, and no need for Kinder Morgan to transport it.

So how can society advance into a greener future? Given the capitalist framework of our modern world, the private sector needs to be the engine of this electric car, and the government its driver.

Socially conscious consumers are a minority. We therefore need a renewable energy source which is less expensive than fossil fuels and which people will actually use. In order for this to happen, we need more capital to invest into research on the development and infrastructure of a clean energy system.

Such a system can then expand, and will cost less to produce and consume. This can occur through government

subsidies and creating investor-oriented tax incentives for clean energy, in addition to organizations taking it upon themselves to invest directly in clean energy companies.

For many developing nations, oil is cheaper than investing in clean energy; it may seem unfair for these nations to forego economic prosperity in the name of preventing climate change. However, as clean energy technology improves and becomes cheaper, and as the price of oil trends ever upwards, it may be economical even in the short-term for these nations to to invest in renewables over oilfields.

In North America, two excellent examples of clean energy advancement have come from the least likely of people.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund recently replaced about $50 billion of its oil and gas holdings with clean energy investments, and back in 2013 Stephen Harper gave big Canadian oil and gas companies $400 million to subsidize development in wind, biofuels, and carbon capture storage technology.

This is the type of activity that will lead to a renewableenergy world. Rather than blockading pipeline construction in an ineffective attempt to reduce the flow of fossil fuels that we ourselves demand, we should be looking for proactive strategies to help our population seamlessly transition from fossil fuels to clean energy without drastically hampering economic activity. The science behind renewable energy is nearly there; now it’s all about the financial capital.

ARTS

arts editor email / phone

January 12, 2015

Tessa Perkins arts@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

11

CINEPHILIA

Many movies of 2014 pondered the meaning of life and brought up explicit existential questions.

Does it really matter whether you live nobly or criminally, whether you are full of pleasure or pain, whether you continue to live or die? These films seem to suggest that everything you do ultimately comes to nothing; you are not special, and you are not valuable. But can we live consistently and happily with such beliefs?

“This is the worst day of my life. I knew this day would come, except why is it happening now? First I get married, have kids, end up with two exhusbands, go back to school, get my degree, get my master’s, and send both my kids off to college. What’s next? My own funeral?” These poignant comments from Boyhood come from Mason’s mother after he has grown up and is about to move out of her house.

Boyhood follows protagonist Mason over the course of 12 years and a series of milestones. The movie’s narrative is not based on the cause and effect of traditional storytelling, and often feels as though each individual sequence throughout the 12 years depicted is ultimately meaningless. The scene with Mason’s mother ends, and his life continues; he goes to college, meets a couple of new friends, and gets high.

Boyhood seems to propose that all we can do is live out the rest of our milestones.

There is no way out except duping ourselves into believing in some overarching meaning.

What if you had cancer and only months to live? Augustus Waters in The Fault In Our Stars falls in love with a girl in his last days. At the beginning of the film he talks about how life

is meaningless, but his character shifts when he finds meaning in love. Late in the film he says, “I am in love with you. And I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed.

And that one day all our labour will be returned to dust. And I know that the sun will swallow the only Earth we will ever have.”

Augustus passes away near the end of the film, and his labour does indeed “turn to dust.” We’re left wondering if love can truly conquer nihilism.

But the boldest attempt at addressing the ultimate meaning of life of all films in 2014 was The Zero Theorem.

Qohen Leth is a computer hacker who is called “a man of faith” and yet lacks wholehearted faith in God. His name is an allusion to Koheleth, the preacher in Ecclesiastes who uttered “Everything is meaningless.”

Qohen is working on proving the ‘zero theorem,’ an equation to demonstrate the meaninglessness of life. Qohen unsuccessfully waits for a phone call from God to instruct him on his life’s meaning. Outwardly, he looks like an impressive fortress of faith, but inwardly he is depressed, broken, and unfulfilled, all because of one question: what is the meaning of life? Only after he falls in love with a blonde call girl, adopts an existentialist philosophy, and forgets about God’s call does he really begin to experience life to the fullest.

All three films agree that we cannot live happily without meaning. Their implicit or explicit assumption is that God does not exist and, by consequence, neither does any inherent meaningfulness. They suggest that we should create our own meaning, but this raises an even more pressing question: can we really make meaning in a meaningless world?

If you’re ever in need of a quick summary and analysis of a classic piece of literature, Thug Notes has your back. Hosted by character Sparky Sweets, PhD, watching this web series promises to turn you into one well-read balla. You can refresh yourself on why Hamlet is “cray cray,” why Holden Caulfield needs to “get his shit together,” and why 1984’s Winston should stop “talking smack about Big Brother.”

With the tagline “classic literature, original gangster,” how can you go wrong? Visit thug-notes.com to educate yoself.

Daniel Craig is back as James Bond this November in the 24th installment of the popular spy series.

Spectre was officially announced in a live broadcast from Pinewood Studios on December 3. Director Sam Mendes shared some details of the film and was joined by the principal cast: Christoph Waltz will play the villain, Léa Seydoux and Monica Bellucci will play the Bond girls, Ralph Fiennes will be M, Naomie Harris will play Eve Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw will return as Q. Filming will take place in London, Rome, Mexico City, Tangiers, and the Alps. You’d better get started if you want to rewatch all the Bonds before November.

The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival presents a diverse mix of shows each winter, and this year the festival is bigger than ever. It will include mainstage shows, Club PuSh with more intimate performances, a film series, and a workshop series, PuSh Assembly. Whether you’re interested in circus, theatre, dance, music, visual arts, or experimental art in general, you’ll surely find something to cure your winter blues. Artists come from all over the world to present their works at PuSh, and the festival is a great opportunity to see some highly acclaimed artists that would otherwise remain unknown to us.

The festival runs from January 20 to February 8. Visit pushfestival.ca to browse the program guide.

Maybe you’ve never even thought to venture inside the SFU Gallery on the Burnaby campus, just off the south concourse of the AQ, or maybe you didn’t know that SFU has two other galleries — the Audain Gallery at Woodward’s and the Teck Gallery at Harbour Centre. All three galleries present dynamic exhibitions that are sure to inspire, or at least get you thinking about something other than the depressing weather. SFU Galleries has over 5,500 works in their permanent collection, including many significant regional and national artworks spanning the last century. So next time you have a break between classes,

indulge in some artistic enlightenment to pass the time.

Didn’t get a chance to watch all the great Canadian films from 2014? Now’s your chance to catch up. The Pacific Cinematheque is presenting the Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival from January 8–18.

The festival includes featurelength films, shorts, and student films, and the selection was chosen by a panel of filmmakers and industry professionals from across Canada. 2014 was a great year for Canadian film, including Xavier Dolan’s Mommy, David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars, and Stéphane Lafleur’s Tu dors Nicole (You’re Sleeping, Nicole).

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“The MBB seminar this afternoon is cancelled. The speaker has been arrested.”

It was an email that the biochemistry department at Simon Fraser University will likely never forget. The message explained the absence of Dr. Lynne Quarmby, which prevented her from giving a seminar on November 21, 2014.

Her arrest, along with those of over 100 others, was a part of a struggle against Trans Mountain, a Kinder Morgan-owned company conducting surveying work on Burnaby Mountain in preparation for the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

To understand why Quarmby and the other protesters thought the cause was important enough to be arrested for, we must go back to the beginning of the process, starting with the pipeline itself, and understand the different organisations that have fought for or against the project.

The Trans Mountain pipeline, in operation since 1953, transports crude oil, semi-refined, and refined products from Strathcona, Edmonton, through the interior of British Columbia to terminals in Burnaby, Westridge, and Puget Sound. The 1,150 km pipeline currently transports 300,000 barrels per day of product, 26 per cent of which are destined for the Burnaby terminal.

Although Trans Mountain states on their website that “no spill is acceptable,” they also list a fairly extensive history of spills. Their website details 81 spills of various oil products.

According to their website, the company’s spill reporting criteria has also grown less stringent over time — until 1988, any leak, break, fire, or explosion would be reported, whereas a threshold amount of hydrocarbon or gas is currently required order for the spill to be recorded.

A major spill occurred in July 2007 when construction crews working on the Barnett highway punctured the Kinder

Morgan pipeline. Over 1,400 barrels of crude oil were spilled onto nearby properties and eventually into Burrard Inlet. The British Columbia Ministry of Environment website reports that 50 homes and properties were affected by the 30 metre “geyser” of oil that sprayed for about 25 minutes. The oil affected approximately 1.2 km of shoreline and cost $15 million to clean up.

Due to the spill and the risk of future incidents, the City of Burnaby is now officially opposed to any increase in oil transport. The city takes issue with the significant risks that moving more oil poses to the city and its communities, as well as the surrounding environment.

The City of Burnaby was given intervenor status during the Public Hearing process that was a part of Kinder Morgan’s application last October.

The proposed expansion to the Trans Mountain Pipeline would nearly triple its capacity, enabling it to transport 890,000 barrels a day. It would cost $5.4 billion and involve the construction of 994 km of new pipeline and the reactivation of a further 193 km. However, concerns remain that the increased transport of oil and resulting traffic in the Burrard Inlet could lead to serious environmental damage, something the National Energy Board of Canada is required to consider before approving such projects on behalf of the federal government.

The National Energy Board of Canada was established in 1959 by the Canadian government. Comprised of engineers, auditors, legal staff, and various other professions, the NEB acts as Canada's energy and safety regulator.

The organisation received the application from Kinder Morgan to expand the Trans Mountain pipeline in December 2013. The project page on the NEB website lists 12 issues that it would consider in the hearing process, which included risks to the environment and economic benefit. However, the NEB also notes several issues that it would not consider.

It states that “the Board does not intend to consider the environmental and socio-economic effects associated with upstream activities, the development of oil sands, or the downstream use of the oil transported by the pipeline.” The NEB only considered the direct effects of the pipeline and its construction, rather than the increased tanker traffic, consumption of fossil fuels, and the development of the tar sands.

The final stage of the project entails the construction of a pipeline that will traverse Burnaby Mountain.

Trans Mountain requested permission from the National Energy Board to do surveying work on Burnaby Mountain in order to determine if it was feasible to build the pipeline directly through the mountain. However, municipal bylaws protected the proposed worksite as a conservation area.

In September 2014, the City of Burnaby filed civil action against Kinder Morgan, claiming that its operation in the conservation area would violate those civil bylaws. The city’s suit was eventually dismissed by the BC Supreme Court, although the city will appeal the court’s decision.

In response to the City of Burnaby's opposition, Kinder Morgan delivered “dear neighbour” letters to Burnaby residents in October 2014. The letters explained that the surveying work was in preparation for the expansion of the pipeline through Burnaby Mountain, rather than through the streets of the Westridge neighbourhood.

Later, Trans Mountain posted a video on its website in which the president of Kinder Morgan Canada, Ian Anderson, acknowledged the concerns of Burnaby citizens about the surveying work.

“We are being respectful to the environment, and when we are done, we will leave the mountain as healthy as we found it,” Anderson assured the community. He also explained in a post online that by routing the pipe-

line through the mountain, the project would cost $40 million more than previously expected.

In late October, Kinder Morgan filed a lawsuit against five important members of organisations opposing the pipeline project.

Lynne Quarmby, Alan Dutton, Stephen Collis, Adam Gold, Mia Nissen, and Burnaby Residents Against Kinder Morgan Expansion (BROKE) were sued for $5.6 million in damages.

BROKE is an organisation of concerned citizens, founded in July 2012.

The group is non-profit and run by over 200 volunteer members. Its goal, as stated on its website, is to “prevent the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, tank farms and tanker traffic through science, education, advocacy, and partnerships.” BROKE has held various events in Burnaby, including a Town Hall meeting, environmental movie screenings, and public talks.

BROKE and other defendants have decried the suit as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), meant to intimidate the accused into silence and mire them in unexpected legal costs.

Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan responded to Kinder Morgan directly, including delivering letters to Burnaby residents on October 13, and making a public statement on November 20. The statement details that the City of Burnaby is opposed to the proposed pipeline expansion project and is “determined to stop Kinder Morgan from carrying on destructive work in the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area.”

Simon Fraser University also weighed in on the project. In early November, SFU’s Centre for Public Policy Research published a report on the economic benefits of the Kinder Morgan expansion project. The report found that “the employment, property tax and fiscal benefits of [the project] are very small in the context of the overall provincial economy and significantly overstated by [Kinder Morgan].”

On October 23, 2014, the National Energy Board of Canada issued an order that granted Trans Mountain access to sites on Burnaby Mountain, despite municipal bylaws otherwise preventing it. This was the first time the National Energy Board had issued such an order to a municipality, and it remains a contentious issue.

Later that month, work crews arrived on Burnaby Mountain, along with protesters. In a striking display of devotion to the cause, an 18-yearold demonstrator chained himself beneath the vehicle of a surveyor.

Many members of SFU became intimately involved in the protests, with two professors actively participating and one, Quarmby, eventually being arrested. Other faculty, staff, and students showed their support by signing various petitions and circulating them via email. One email-based open letter gathered 450 signatures, and a petition on Change.org currently has over 1,700 signatures.

On November 14, Kinder Morgan was granted an injunction by the BC Supreme Court, declaring that anti-pipeline protesters had three days to dismantle their encampment on Burnaby mountain. Over 100 protesters remaining at the work site were arrested and charged with civil contempt.

One of the first and most notable people arrested was Dr. Lynne Quarmby, a tenured professor at Simon Fraser University.

In an emotional speech to the media just before her arrest, Quarmby explained that she felt that the Harper government had made a “sham” of the National Energy Board Act. She went on to explain that civil disobedience is a recourse for engaged citizens, and a responsibility of being a Canadian citizen.

However, involving herself personally in protests was not new for Quarmby.

In 2012, she was arrested for impeding the progress of a train transporting coal to Tsawwassen, along with 12 others.

Quarmby explained to The Peak that her motivations for being involved directly in the protests were fostered long ago. “I grew up in a very rural area and I spent my entire childhood out of doors,” Quarmby said, describing how being a biologist allowed her a deeper appreciation of humanity’s relationship with nature.

In particular, the controversy over the pipeline stirred her to action because she “felt very much betrayed by [her] federal government in the

way that they’d rewritten the laws so strongly in favor of these oil companies and so much against the citizens of Canada.” She went on to explain that she had faith in Canadians, and believed they “were not going to let Kinder Morgan ruin [her] life.” All this contributed to her decision to cross the police line, which led to her arrest.

It may seem highly unusual for a tenured professor to be involved in civil disobedience. However, Quarmby explained while that being a professor and the molecular biology chair at SFU is her biggest time investment, every Canadian should feel that they have the freedom to make personal commitments to a cause like environmentalism.

Quarmby also explained that the events are a First Nations issue, arguing that Kinder Morgan has “totally disregarded [the] constitutional rights” of the First Nations involved.

The survey site, as well as SFU, is on unceded Coast Salish territory. In particular, Burnaby Mountain is shared between the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam peoples. “Their culture carries a sacred responsibility to take care of the land,” said Quarmby. “We need to respect that.”

The injunction against protesters expired on December 1, and Kinder Morgan’s application to extend it was rejected.

Kinder Morgan’s charges against protesters were also thrown out due to

the inaccuracy of the GPS data given as part of the injunction. The coordinates, it was proven, were up to 30 metres off.

Due to surveying data from the studies conducted on Burnaby mountain, Kinder Morgan has concluded that the pipeline must be routed through the mountain with a tunnel or redirected along the streets. Thirteen trees were cut down to clear ground for equipment, and Burnaby Parks Forestry Department’s report on the damage concluded “the impact of this action will be felt for many years to come, and will extend much further than the direct area of intrusion.”

Although Burnaby Mountain is now quiet, protesters have since set up a camp just outside the current Kinder Morgan Westridge Marine Terminal. Established at the end of December, the camp is currently occupied 24/7 by protesters who intend to continue promoting dialogue about the pipeline expansion project.

Dr. Quarmby is emphatic that regular citizens’ opinions on the pipeline matter and are, in fact, critical. She believes that there are many ways people can get involved in stopping the pipeline on Burnaby Mountain.

Quarmby offered a few strategies to influence this particular issue in Burnaby, saying that “spreading the word” is the number one way people can get involved. She also stressed that citizens should “educate [themselves] and talk to people about it.”

Unfortunately, in this particular situation, Quarmby said that the information available on the National Energy Board website is not an honest depiction of the environmental risks.

She also suggested that those who are interested could speak with protesters to learn about grassroots protesting, or support them with donations of hot food or coffee.

At the policy level, Quarmby suggested that while “turning off the tap on fossil fuels” would be “absurd,” a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects would be reasonable and responsible. She also noted that there needed to be a better understanding on how continued use of fossil fuels is affecting the environment.

With the back and forth between the city, Kinder Morgan, and protesters, there doesn’t seem to be any guaranteed future for the pipeline.

Many NEB critics are calling attention to its ability to ignore municipal laws; this situation could prove to be a test case whose ultimate outcome will be the foundation of future legal battles.

The pipeline itself stands to transform the Lower Mainland if it progresses. Increased tanker traffic in the inlet and construction on Burnaby Mountain might well become part of the Burnaby’s scenery in the near future.

However, whatever the outcome, many parties have made it abundantly clear that this pipeline and what it represents is very important to them — perhaps important enough to continue to be arrested over.

layout & illustrations by: christy lum

14 ARTS

January 12, 2015

oodward’s atch

“Art tests things,” Melanie O’Brian, director of SFU Galleries and curator of its upcoming group exhibit, Geometry of Knowing, explained to The Peak . “It pushes on the unanswerable and unstable. It shifts, and it can make people uncomfortable with space.”

From January to May of this year, SFU Galleries will explore the ways in which more than 30 local and international artists have opened up or recovered spaces in time and knowledge via processes such as “witnessing, being with, querying, and generating,” according to the project’s description.

The exhibit’s theme of emerging and recovered knowledge also creates a space for SFU Galleries to explore its own engagement with the production, dissemination, and acquisition of knowledge while approaching an important milestone. Geometry of Knowing marks not only SFU Galleries’ celebration of the university’s 50th anniversary, but also the culmination of a project to rebrand the Audain, Teck and SFU Burnaby galleries in tandem as ‘SFU Galleries.’

“When we were thinking about the exhibit’s concept, we thought about the interstices that connect the SFU Galleries with the university and the community — how we create and spatialize knowledge,” said Amy Kazymerchyk, Audain curator and assistant curator for Geometry of Knowing.

When SFU was established as a space for knowledge production in 1965, the Burnaby campus’s ideas of knowledge were based around introspection and focus. In contrast, the school’s newer campuses in Surrey and Vancouver have developed a view of knowledge as something integrated into all aspects of life.

From of these early explorations, O’Brian and Kazymerchyk produced the first group exhibit of its kind at SFU. Their desire is to use SFU Galleries as a space in which to re-examine how the visual and material languages of contemporary art generate experiential, emotional, physical, environmental, and intuitive intelligence.

Geometry of Knowing presents diverse works, some new and others featured from SFU’s permanent collection.

These pieces span multiple

generations of artists who have engaged the tactics of fieldwork, embodiment, and materiality, in a manner that reveals or instigates a process of knowing.

“SFU’s collection of art, which now stands at 6,000 works, began roughly in 1965 and coincides with the advent of contemporary art,” O’Brian explained. “We have a lot of paper and print editions. We also have work from Vancouver artists like Carole Itter, who explored art as lived experience back in the ’60s and ’70s — how we understand our bodies and space in relation to it.”

Itter’s 1979 photographic series, Euclid, is a good example of the diverse art on exhibit at Geometry of Knowing.

It documents musician Al Neil tracing Euclidean geometric theorems in the sand at Cates Park in North Vancouver.

These images were projected as part of a collaborative live performance with Al Neil on piano, and later used on the cover of Neil’s 1980 album Boot & Fog. “Geometry is a convergence of lines in a free way,” O’Brian said, referencing the exhibit’s vision and title. “It creates a new context that allows things to happen at SFU Galleries that don’t take place elsewhere.”

In the current exhibition at the School for the Contemporary Arts (SCA) office at SFU Woodward’s, Pretense on Curation, second year MFA candidate Jaime Williams uses the location as both the setting and the subject.

In her video installation, shot in the SCA office after hours and incorporating props and costumes that adorn her body, Williams enacts atypical movements within the space. Whether crawling over and under a desk or writhing around on the floor under an overhead shot, Williams’ actions within the six videos stimulate specific areas of the office. The movements are suggested by the props, as well as by directives from the curator, Curtis Grahauer. They activate areas of the space using a performative and humourous approach.

In this interview, Williams and Grahauer discuss the methodological framework used to execute Pretense on Curation and reveal the philosophical concerns of Williams’ working process.

Curtis Grahauer: Pretense on Curation uses the SCA office both as a location and a subject. What was your interest in using the office in this body of work?

Jaime Williams: I am interested in what is happening in the present, and working site-specifically allows me to respond immediately to energies and aspects of the space.

CG: The videos are playing on a screen above a filing cabinet, with another video hidden inside the drawer. It is discretely installed yet reflects the space back onto itself as the backdrop to your performances within the videos. Do you see this project as an intervention and commentary on the space?

JW: Results of my investigation indicate that manipulation of the

office space in combination with the philosophical concerns of the artist and curator creates a loop in thought and action that folds back on itself and contradictorily leads to something new — something beyond the original combination of philosophical concerns and the immediacy of working in the site.

It is through engaging in the space — consciously and with a sense of presence — that my philosophical concerns become new, which subsequently imprint themselves on the space, becoming a record of the past. The videos capture the process of imprinting.

CG: How do you see the props functioning within the video? Are they highlighting certain aspects of your body? Do they create differences as they change from video to video?

JW: Your questions relate to the body in space in the present, which carries the debris of philosophical concerns and also past traumas.

The past becomes present through physical and psychological scars.

I examine and then exploit these scars through body-mind stylings, i.e. costumes, props, states of consciousness, psychosocial ‘games,’ and experimentation. The stylings relate to these scars and allow for a deeper engagement with them.

CG: What was your interest in disturbing the boundaries between the artist and curator during the production of the videos?

JW: Your scars, similar to my own, become evident in our joint engagement with the space. The results of our work together manifest as a critique of space, but in reality scars are somewhat independent of the space — insofar as anything can actually be independent.

Fortunately, spaces seem to critique themselves, and perhaps because of shared content, this critique exposes itself when juxtaposed next to the scars of the artist and curator.

Dear Campus Community, The SFSS will be holding a Special General Meeting (SGM) on Wednesday, January 21st.

Event Details Wednesday, January 21st, 2015 Registration opens at 12:30 pm Meeting starts at 1:30 pm Location: West Gym, Burnaby Campus For the full meeting agenda please visit: sfss.ca/sgm

agreements and such other security instruments charging all or any portion of the real or personal property of the Society, all on such terms as the Directors may from time to time approve, without further authorization from the Members.

3. Any two Directors or officers of the Society are hereby authorized to execute on behalf of the Society, under seal or otherwise, any agreement, debenture, mortgage, security agreement or other instrument that such person deems necessary or desirable to effect any borrowing by the Society or to give and perfect any security granted by the Society.

2. SFSS Bylaw Creation

Agenda items for the Special General Meeting include the following special resolutions: 1. Build SFU Project Debenture a. Whereas The Simon Fraser Student Society (the “Society”) and Simon Fraser University (“SFU”) have agreed to enter into a project (the “Project”) for the construction of a new student union building and stadium on SFU’s Burnaby campus. b. Whereas a referendum was passed by the members of the Society (the “Members”) on March 22, 2012 in favour of the development of the Project.

Be it resolved that the following By-law be created and accepted as presented: The Society may not revoke, reduce or otherwise cancel a duly approved student society fee that has been implemented for the purpose of repaying a loan made to the Society or on the basis of which a loan has been made to the Society if the effect of such revocation, reduction or cancellation would be to cause the Society to be unable to repay the loan as it became due.

The agenda will also include the following non-binding questions:

c. Whereas the Society will need to borrow money from third parties to fund the development of the Project and is seeking such financing on the best available terms. In order to obtain such funding, the Society may be required to grant or issue security, in the form of a debenture, promissory note, mortgage, general security agreement or other security instrument, for the repayment of any amount so borrowed.

3. Greek Letter Organizations

d. Whereas the Society’s by-laws (the “By-laws”) provide that its directors (the “Directors”) may, for the purpose of carrying out the purposes of the Society, borrow, raise or secure the repayment of money and may authorize the issuance of security on the whole or part of the property or assets of the Society, present and future, including Society fees now or hereafter due or payable, except that no debenture shall be issued without sanction of a special resolution.

Whereas the SFSS cannot house Greek Letter Organizations as clubs due to policy and insurance restraints;

e. Whereas the Society Act (B.C.) similarly requires that any issuance of a debenture by the Society be approved by the Members by special resolution and permits the Members to grant a general power on the Directors to issue debentures for a period of one year from the date on which such resolution was passed. f. Whereas it is expedient for the purposes of facilitating the Project that the Members exercise the authority conferred upon them under Society Act (B.C.) and the By-laws by giving the Directors the authority to borrow such amounts as may be required in order to pursue the Project and to secure the repayment of such borrowing in the manner that the Directors see fit.

Be it resolved by special resolution that: 1. The Directors are hereby authorized, for a period of one year from the date hereof, on behalf of the Society, to borrow from such persons, firms, corporations, societies, co-operatives, credit unions, trust companies, banks or other lenders as they deem desirable, such amounts as are determined reasonable or necessary by the Directors for the purposes of the Project, on such terms as the Directors may from time to time approve.

2. The Directors are hereby further authorized, for a period of one year from the date hereof, on behalf of the Society, to secure repayment of any and all borrowing in such manner as the Directors consider to be in the best interests of the Society, including, without limitation, by the creation, granting and/ or issuance of debentures, promissory notes, mortgages, general security

Whereas in 2008 a non-binding plebiscite question was posed asking if students were in favour of Simon Fraser University rescinding its ban towards on and off campus Fraternities and Sororities; Whereas the question passed with 56.95% in favour,

Whereas since 2008 five Greek Letter Organizations have been established at SFU under the SFSS club Greek Representation and Interest Development (GRID); Whereas the established Greek Letter Organizations have been working with the SFSS in order to communicate with the membership, Whereas the November 6th, 2014 town hall constitutes an open dialogue venue between the general membership and students involved with Greek Letter Organizations; Whereas Greek Letter Organizations seek the opinion of the general membership; Are you in favour of having Greek Letter Organizations at Simon Fraser University?

4. SFSS Food and Beverage Service Whereas the Food and Beverage Services (FBS) is comprised of the Highland Pub, The Higher Grounds Coffee Shop, The Ladle vegetarian restaurant, and catering services; Whereas this is a nonbinding opinion poll; Whereas the SFSS is interested in seeking the membership’s opinion; Are you in favour of continuing to operate the Food and Beverage Services?

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Zied Masmoudi (VP Student Services) at vpservices@sfss.ca.

16 ARTS

January 12, 2015

market, it’s difficult and competitive [to attract an audience].”

Les Trocks, as they are affectionately known, seem to fill a niche in the ballet market, as no other company offers a show like theirs. “There is one company in Russia that is similar, but not on the same level,” said Dvoretsky.

What would have once only been considered fodder for variety shows or slapstick comedy, men dancing en pointe has become big business for Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. The all-male ballet company was founded in New York in 1974, and has performed in over 500 cities worldwide since.

“They’re not very easy to get.

They are so busy — one of the busiest companies in the world,” explained Svetlana Dvoretsky, president of Show One Productions, who will be presenting the company in Vancouver this month at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

The company tours extensively, including an annual trip to Japan where they have a cult-like fan base, but they haven’t performed in Vancouver since 1985. “They’re lucky,” said Dvoretsky. “In today’s

“It feels like happiness. It feels like remembering faces and words. It feels like water. It feels like electricity. It sounds like a humming fridge.” What is the girl who utters these words after every chapter of Violent describing?

In the film’s twist ending, we finally discover what is lying beneath the surface of this emotive film’s plot. However, Violent is aiming for an effect that is more visceral than intellectual; it’s how the film goes about achieving this feelings that makes it so fascinating.

Violent, currently being featured in Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival at the Pacific Cinematheque, is structured like a musical composition. This makes

The success of their show comes not only from their comical parodies of classical ballets, but also from their impressive technique. “The show is very accessible,” said Dvoretsky. “Some people think it’s just a gay show or for gay people who like ballet, but it’s for all kinds of people.” Ballet aficionados will appreciate the quality of the technique and the references to classic ballets; others will appreciate the humour and dedication, and many more will be attracted by the show’s drag element.

sense given that Vancouver band We Are the City are behind it.

Drummer Andrew Huculiak is credited as director, but he insists that this was a collaborative work with other members of the production company Amazing Factory. The band went to Norway to make an album and an accompanying short film. They came back with their 2013 album, also titled Violent, and this feature film which is spoken entirely in Norwegian — a language none of the band members understand.

All the company members are ex-principals from professional ballet companies, and they all love what they do. “I think they’re very honest and sincere in what they do,” said Dvoretsky. “They don’t cut corners.” Their dedication is evidenced by the fact that the company has class every day unless they are travelling — even on performance days.

While the company is comprised of only male dancers, their shows usually have both male and female roles; you’ll be sure to see a ballerina with a hairy chest wearing a tutu. “You have to relax right

The film has verses linked together by a chorus, and a melody that ends the film where it began. It opens with an image of a car driving over a bridge with a power plant in the background — a visual motif that appears in every movement of the film, linking it all together.

The film’s five verses focus on five different people remembered and loved by a young woman named Dagny, who is stranded in a small town. The chorus is the visual depiction of the girl’s subjective experience during pivotal events that

away and not take it too seriously,” laughs Dvoretsky.

The company sets the mood for the show before the curtain is up by making a comical announcement about casting changes to warm up the audience. As Dvoretsky explained, “It helps the audience overcome expectations.”

The show in Vancouver will include the company’s signature interpretation of Swan Lake, a section of various pas de deux from modern works, Go for Barocco (a Balanchine satire), and the Russian classic Paquita. “It does help if you know the history of

classical ballets,” said Dvoretsky, but for those who need to brush up, a thick program is provided with synopses of all the ballets.

Included in these programs are biographies of the dancers and their alter-ego characters based on famous ballerinas.

Slapstick humour, hilarious interpretations of the classics, and impressive technique all make Les Trocks fabulous and unforgettable.

cause her to remember the narrative portions of the film.

The movie is less interested in telling a story than evoking a feeling, and often focuses on mood rather than plot. Through this mood, we learn about the experience of the protagonist. The film’s choruses resembles the experimental works of filmmaker Stan Brakhage, while the verses it appears to be inspired by the narrative realism of films such as Oslo, August 31st. The melding of these two styles of filmmaking makes this a staggering directorial debut.

what she chooses for us to see tells us about her inner thoughts. The film’s naturalistic tone and unobtrusive direction shows us her behaviour before we experience her perception through the discontinuous editing and abstract choruses of the visuals — this includes surreal floating objects, and what appears to be a combination of light and scratch marks on film.

Instead of being purely reflexive like most experimental works, Violent uses its abstract imagery (with some staggering visual effects and an ominous musical score) to explore a subjective feeling. Admittedly, this has been done before, such as in the hyperdrive sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey; however, it has never been such an integral part of any film’s storytelling that I’ve seen.

Violent effectively captures a certain feeling by using experimental techniques without sacrificing its conventional narrative style.

Through sights and sounds Violent does what few films could hope to achieve: it gives us a gateway into an experience we could have never felt without a white screen, a projector, and surround sound.

The visual style of Violent shifts from the typical wide compositions and lengthy takes associated with narrative realism to the enigmatic imagery typical of experimental works. The film is told through Dagny’s point of view, and

SPORTS

January 12, 2015

sports editor email / phone

Austin Cozicar sports@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

17

18

SPORTS

January 12, 2015

sports editor email / phone

Austin Cozicar sports@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

“Everything has changed here over the years,” cross country and track head coach Brit Townsend reflects on her time at SFU. “The facilities have changed. I would even say the students have changed, the type of students.”

Townsend has had a firsthand view of the changes over the years, having begun at SFU not as a coach, but as a student — she graduated in 1986 with a degree in communications and kinesiology.

“It was pretty small when I went here,” she continues. “It was pretty easy to get in, and now it’s one of the best in the world. It’s kind of neat to be a part of that.”

Now, as coach, she has the chance to give students the opportunities and guidance she received here as a student.

“I came from a family with no money at all,” the longtime coach

explains of her humble beginnings at SFU. “The head coach at the time, Hal Warner, was watching me run at a meet and came up to me and said, ‘How would you like to come to SFU? I’ll offer you a scholarship.’”

At the time, Townsend had already committed to UBC — but the lure of a scholarship proved too much to resist, and the rest is history.

“I didn’t know anything about university. I was the first kid in our family to have gone to university, so I said sure.”

As time went on, Townshend became an established runner. At one point she held the Canadian records for seven different events, and was invited to compete for Canada in the Olympics — she suited up for the 1984 Olympics and ultimately made the team in 1988, but missed the event due to an injury.

“I feel that I’ve had a really successful career, but it’s really motivating to help others enjoy that same experience.”

She got her chance to do just that when she was named the new head coach of the cross country team in 1998. At the time she was hesitant to take the job, and was hired on an interim basis.

“I was asked to be the head coach, and I was sort of torn because I was working in real estate at the time, and I had a three-year-old and a one-year-old, but I ended up

taking the job and said I would try it for six months. And now I’ve been here 17 years,” she says.

“I always wanted to coach, I just didn’t know if I wanted this kind of commitment that early,” she recalls.

“But you start recruiting really good athletes, and then they become a part of your life.

Here at SFU, she pushes students to succeed both on the track and in the classroom.

“I want to have a high-performance environment up here — academically and athletically — and make sure that we give every opportunity for the kids to succeed in both.”

However, the job is certainly not without its challenges. The nature of university athletics means that the team is constantly changing, and that the coach has to find new runners to fill the gaps of those who graduate or become no longer eligible.

“I find that to be the most challenging part of the job, recruiting. You spend a lot of time

recruiting the athlete to come here and they have a lot of options — a lot of options south of the border, we lose a lot of kids there — and find it challenging to replace my stars,” she notes.

“You develop them for four years, and they’re fantastic — and they’re gone.”

Townshend is also limited in who she can recruit.

“The challenges are always financial. Being able to offer scholarship money to kids and keep them in Canada [is a challenge],” she adds. “Academics are a challenge. The academic level at the university is tougher and tougher, and you get high school students that have been great in community service and have been working really hard at their sport, [but] sometimes they don’t have the level of academics they need to get in here.

That’s a shame.”

The school’s transition from the NAIA (a lower-level American college athletics league) to the NCAA has also proved a challenge in recent years.

“Transition is hard but good,” she says. “However, we’re not going to win the championships that we did in the NAIA. We won five consecutive national titles in cross country [. . .] we hold so many records in the NAIA. “The level of competition is so much higher and so much tougher.”

However, this year was a milestone year for both the men’s and women’s cross country teams. The women’s team captured the conference and regional titles — both firsts — while the men qualified for the national champions for the first time while in the NCAA. While five straight national titles might not be in the cards, both teams seem destined for continued success under Townsend’s leadership.

SPORTS

January 12, 2015

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With the annual World Junior Championship at a close — Canada having captured gold once again — it’s time to take a look at some of the standout performances of this year’s tournament. It is a great chance for young players to showcase their talents, and in some cases even to catch the attention of an NHL team (Denis Godla, anyone?). Here are the best players of the tournament in each position:

Last Thursday, January 8, the men’s basketball team played a home game against the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) scoring defence leader, the Seattle Pacific Falcons — who have not allowed 100 points in a game since 2010.

Unfortunately for the Clan, the Falcons were in fine form, keeping SFU to only 81 points, the lowest point total all season for the NCAA Division II scoring leaders. “We’re not flying around, we’re not getting threes, there’s only a couple of runs where we really got to see that action happen,� head coach James Blake commented after the Clan’s third straight loss. “A lot of people know how good this action can be, and our guys got to remember how good that action can be and get back to what we were doing.�

The Falcons opened the match by jumping to an 11–4 lead. Initially, it looked like Seattle Pacific might run away with the game, as they were

Nic Petan’s always been known as a scorer. In his draft year, he had 46 goals and 120 points, more than either Nathan MacKinnon or Jonathan Drouin.

The knock against him is and has always been that he is too small, which was the reason the Winnipeg Jets were able to draft him in the second round, 43rd overall in 2013. I think those worries can be put to bed now, as he has — in my mind — been Canada’s best forward in the tournament, scoring 11 points in seven games. He also had a hat trick in the semifinal match against Slovakia, and could have had two or three more if not for the sensational goaltending of Denis Godla. The Winnipeg Jets have a good prospect in Petan, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the team out of training camp next year.

shutting down all of the Clan’s offensive attempts.

The Clan countered by shooting seven straight points — five of them notched by SFU scoring leader Sango Niang — and though they ended the first half down 52– 42, they played a relatively close game in the first.

But the wheels fell off for the Clan in the second half, when their field goal average went from 56.2 per cent in the first to 34.3 per cent.

The high-octane offence that served the Clan so well in December gave way to a sloppy defence which allowed the Falcons to rack up the points. In the end, a 10point lead became a 34-point victory for Seattle Pacific, with a final score of 115–81. “Our guys didn’t really pressure them and make them put it on the ground,� reflected Blake. “We didn’t get them to turn the ball over, so they were just able to move the ball around. It was like playing organized keep-away. “It was almost like we wore ourselves down running around rather than having our technique down when we controlled the ball,� he added.

Aside from just the loss, Clan forward and guard Roderick Taylor-Evans went down with an injury in the second half. Taylor-Evans scored six points in the game before the injury.

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While the men’s basketball team has been struggling offensively in the new year, SFU’s women’s basketball just broke 100 points for the very first time since they joined the NCAA. The Clan beat the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders 103–86 in Nampa, ID. Seniors Erin Chambers and Katie Lowen led the team in scoring, with 28 points each.

Before the tournament started, it was clear that Darnell Nurse, last year’s sixth overall pick (for the Edmonton Oilers), was going to be a big part of Team Canada. However, before the final, Swedish defenceman and Canuck fifth round pick Gustav Forsling was the probable standout, leading the tournament in scoring as a defenceman. But after the gold medal game against Russia, there’s no choice but Nurse.

He was instrumental in holding the lead in the third with a couple of great shifts, and was very physical, not just during the final but the whole tournament. He was not on the ice for a single five-on-five goal against the whole tournament, an unbelievable achievement. While he didn’t put up many points in the tournament — finishing with only one assist — Nurse stood out with his solid defensive game.

Denis Godla has been passed over the past two NHL drafts, but I think this is the year he will finally be drafted after his performance in this tournament. He was named both top goalie and MVP of the tournament, and was given a standing ovation after both the semi-final and bronze medal game by the crowd in Toronto. He finished with a .926 save percentage, and while that wasn’t the highest in the tournament, he made a total of 224 saves during the event, by far the most of all the goalies. His performance against Canada in the semi-final was simply incredible, making numerous highlight reel saves throughout the game. While Canadian goaltender Zach Fucale had the better numbers, he had the benefit of having a much stronger defence playing in front of him.

Among the positives for the Clan were a 27-point performance by Sango Niang, as well as a 14-point

performance by freshman Patrick Simon — 10 of which were scored in the game’s second half.

The women’s wrestling team participated in two tournaments last weekend. The first of which, the Menlo College Open in Atherton, CA, featured SFU winning three classes.

Wrestlers Laura Anderson, Francesca Giorgio, and Alyssa Wong all won in their respective weight classes. Freshman Abby Loy captured silver and bronze medals at the Nordhagen Classic in Calgary, AB on Sunday, January 4. Teammate Darby Huckle also participated — however, she lost to Loy.

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20 DIVERSIONS / ETC

Across 1- 1970 Jackson 5 hit 4- Cook just below the boiling point 10- Examine, search 14- Andy Capp’s wife 15- Prima ballerina 16- ...___ saw Elba 17- Outer edge 18- Secondary meaning 20- Uncommon sense 21- Small children 22- Call 23- Runs through 25- Bothered 28- Three sheets to the wind 29- German Mister 30- Scoff 31- Criticize with scathing severity 32- Rebirth of the soul in a new body 35- ___ es Salaam 36- Seminary subj.

37- Meaning 44- Circle at bottom, point at top 45- Slack part in a rope LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

January 12, 2015

ISTER NOW for the Third annual 2015 TOXTALKS SYMPOSIUM happening on February 7, 2015 at IRMACS Centre. The event aims at Are you Gay, Bi-sexual or just not engaging discussions among stusure? Need a safe place to talk? dents, other academia, and indusHOMINUM is an informal discus- try reps. Grad students are strongly sion and support group to help gay, encouraged to present their rebi-sexual and questioning men search at this fun event! To attend/ with the challenges of being mar- present please visit: http://www.sfu. ried, separated or single. We meet ca/conferences/toxtalks.html/ f5 every Monday Evening in locations CJSF Radio is seeking a MEMBER around the Metro-Vancouver Area. EXPERIENCE COORDINATOR to For information and meeting loca- research and develop new and imtion, call Don: 604-329-9760 or Art proved volunteer processes. Part604-462-9813. time, 10 months, 18/hour. More MATH GOT YOU SCARED? WOR- Info: http://www.cjsf.ca/volunteer/ RIED ABOUT THAT UPCOMING work.php FINAL? Contact Scott Cowan for all CJSF Radio is seeking a PUBLIC your Math/MACM tutoring needs. RELATIONS COORDINATOR. A Competitive rates, extensive ex- great opportunity to gain career reperience and great past reviews! lated experience. This a is a volunscottc@alumni.sfu.ca f13 teer position that includes a monthly EDUCATE AND BE INSPIRED! honorarium. More Info: http://www. **CALL FOR ABSTRACTS** REG- cjsf.ca/volunteer/work.php

46- Indigo source 48- CD forerunners 49- New Hampshire city 50- Prince Valiant’s wife 51- Betel palm 53- Unwritten 55- Apr. addressee 56- Threaded fastener 59- ___ Tafari (Haile Selassie) 60- Not tricked by 61- Slanted 62- “Lord, is ___?”: Matthew 63- Optimistic 64- Move unsteadily 65- Bee follower Down 1- Anew 2- Air bubble 3- Liken

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10- Adam’s third son 11- Native 12- Eternal 13- Degrees in a right angle 19- Fitting 24- Structure spanning a river 26- Dusk, to Donne 27- Turkey’s highest peak 30- Writer 31- Pert. to a son or daughter 33- A Bobbsey twin

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HUMOUR

January 12, 2015

It creeps up faster every year.

On January 11, Canadians everywhere will be coming together to celebrate the most magical holiday of the season: Sir John A. MacDonald Day. Since its inception in 2002, Sir John A. MacDonald Day has grown into a time of festivities and traditions as cherished as the politician it was dubbed after. Since many of you will find yourselves throwing parties on or around this holiday, we at The Peak have compiled a list of several tips and tricks meant to help you survive this Sir John A. MacDonald festive season — and maybe even start some new family traditions along the way!

humour editor email / phone

Jacey Gibb humour@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

First question goes to Bachelor #1: If I were an ice cream cone, how would you explain the rise of and crisis surrounding ISIS without resorting to racism or overgeneralizations?

The feast People always think that they have to do all of the holiday cooking the day of, but a lot of the prep work can be done the night before a party. The more you can cross off your list ahead of time, the less you’ll have to worry about when guests come over. If you have the foresight to do so, pickled watermelon rinds just scream Sir John A. MacDonald Day and can be served as either an appetizer before the meal or during dinner as a side dish.

As for the most contentious of holiday dishes, nothing can bring down a Sir JAM Day feast like an overly dry boiled eggplant salad. If it’s done right, this festive dish should be served moist and (if possible) right out of the pot, so the eggplant makes the lettuce wilt from the heat. Try letting the eggplants marinate overnight to really kick up the flavour.

The decor Is it old-fashioned to think that part of the Sir John A. MacDonald Day magic comes from the decorations people

put up every year? If you’re on a budget but still want to help bring the festive spirit into your home, holiday lava lamps and stacks of gently used Solo cups are relatively inexpensive and can make any room feel like a Sir John A. MacDonald wonderland.

The question I get asked the most: should I buy a real Canadian actor and comedian Colin Mochrie for the living room, or should I get a fake one? Growing up, my father always insisted that it wasn’t Sir John A. MacDonald Day without a real Colin Mochrie, but getting a new one every year can be costly — plus a lot of apartment buildings don’t allow real ones because of the mess they make and the potential fire hazard.

The phrase “fake it until you make it” never sounded so clear when it comes to festive Colin Mochries: if you go with a fake one, your guests will hardly be able to tell the difference underneath all those ornaments and tinsel anyway.

The activities Okay, so the festive atmosphere has been set and you’ve rocked the feast — now what? It can be difficult finding something to do that’s fun

for everyone, regardless of age or religious beliefs.

Thankfully, whether you’re a six-year-old celebrating Sir John A. MacDonald Day or an 89-year-old who practices Trudeau-kuh, there’s one tradition that transcends age and religion during the holiday: singing! The festive season is the perfect excuse to gather around the piano and be merry with some carols, with old classics like “The 12 Days of Parliamentary Debate” and “John A. the Red-Nosed Prime Minister.”

Sing, laugh, and be merry!

The message With all the hustle and bustle of Sir John A. MacDonald Day, it’s easy to forget about what the early-January season is truly about. Aggressive commercialization be damned, this holiday is still about spending time with your loved ones and being thankful for what you have.

So on Sir John A. MacDonald Eve, when you’re hanging ripped pantyhoses by the water heater for the ghost of Canada’s first prime minister to bring toys and unsalted almonds for children, take the time to remember what’s really important. Happy Sir John A. MacDonald Day, everyone!

Bachelor #3, you’re up: It’s the night of our one-year anniversary and you forgot to make reservations for dinner. Would you agree that the gender pay gap is clearcut evidence of an inequality between sexes, or is the argument skewed because of disparity between the work fields in which men and women generally gravitate towards?

21

My next question is for Bachelor #2: If you were stranded on a desert island and you could only bring three items with you, how would you propose we shift the world’s food industry away from the unsustainable trajectory it’s on without causing a drastic loss in jobs for the agriculture sector or requiring people to completely change their eating habits?

Back to Bachelor #3: Say you’ve just won a million dollars.

Is Plato’s Allegory of the Cave meant to embody the potential consequences of mankind’s ignorance or can it be dismissed as an anti-pragmatist’s wet dream?

Bachelor #2 again: It’s your first time meeting my parents.

How would you unbiasedly discuss the principles of the black hole information paradox?

And we’ll end where we started, with Bachelor #1: Do you think it’s acceptable to kiss on the first date, and how can proportional representation in Canadian politics help to provide fair and accurate governance of the population?

22 HUMOUR

It’s no secret that white male privilege is problematic. But what exactly is privilege? What does it mean to be a white male? And why is all of this so problematic? While many authors would answer these questions with a buzzword-filled thinkpiece devoid of content, I would like to get to the bottom of white male privilege and explain why it’s so problematic in our society.

We’ve all seen it, in our classrooms, in advertising, and in social media. The privilege possessed by white males is problematic. Some males (usually white males) claim

that their privilege doesn’t exist, or that it’s not problematic. To them, I say: just look around you. It is clear that white males are in a privileged position, and I, for one, think that that is problematic.

As a male, I know that I am privileged. And as a white person, I know that I am even more privileged. So it is problematic to me that, as a white male, I have more privilege than someone who is neither white nor male. This is why it is so important that I, and all white males, work hard to recognize how privileged we are.

It would be problematic for me to claim that white males are bad people for having privilege. This isn’t what I’m saying at all. There is a problematic misconception among white males that privilege is something to feel guilty about, which isn’t always the case. There is nothing inherently problematic about being white or male; nobody

seem safe to have a tree in your house for this long. Just toss it and be done with it.

December: You must really hate Christmas — and happiness in general. Did you even get a chance to look at the tree before you tore it down?

January: The holidays are a busy time for everyone, so makes sense that you wouldn’t get around to taking your tree down until January. You’re only human.

February: Either you’ve just awoken from a two-month coma or you really need to work on your time management skills. There’s nothing festive about spruce needles on the living room floor in February.

March: Really? I guess trees are green and so it’d be appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day — except there’s no way anyone’s tree is still alive at this point. It doesn’t even

April: April showers bring roommate glowers, am I right? But seriously, there’s no plausible reason why anyone would still have their tree up in April. You’re lying.

May: Is this part of a bet or something? What are you trying to prove? That you can keep a decaying tree in the house longer than anyone else can? Better get Guinness World Records on the phone because we have a winner for them.

June: Good work! It’s been six months since the last Christmas so the next one’s only six months away; your tree can only become more relevant from here on. You’ve successfully crossed the threshold from being slobbish to overly eager.

Congratulations, weirdo.

January 12, 2015

how privilege affects them and their loved ones, including white males themselves. That is why it is necessary for every male, white or otherwise, to educate themselves about the nature of privilege and how problematic it is.

chooses to be white or male, and thus nobody is allowed to choose their privilege. However, white males, like myself, still benefit from having privilege, and that is where things become problematic.

When white males deny their own privilege, it is problematic for society. It is problematic for our schools; it is problematic for our workplaces; it is problematic for every individual who cares about

We, as a society, need to come together and have a conversation about white male privilege and what we can do about it. Even if we can’t get rid of the influence of white male privilege entirely, perhaps we can at least find ways to make it less problematic.

First off, I’d like to congratulate everyone on doing a stellar job.

Without your unrelenting disdain and vocal opposition, Comic Sans wouldn’t be the almost-universally hated font that it is today.

I remember how some of you were worried when that curvy young whippersnapper came onto the scene back in ‘94. “All of our favourite fonts are done for,” some of you panicked. “It’s casual but fun, and works with almost every kind of situation. How will they ever compete?!” Can you remember what I said that day?

“We will make it through this. Because we are the Typographic Secret Society, and we never give up.”

Ostracizing Comic Sans was the most successful propaganda blitz we’ve run since Wingdings.

Convincing people that these nonsensical hieroglyphs left behind by a now dead-and-gone alien civilization were deserving of their own font was both hilarious and brilliant. A skull and crossbones standing for an “n”?

No one else in the world would think to come up with this stuff.

It’s genius — or should I say NL P , if you catch my drift.

I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: thank you all for your hard work and dedication. Without it, the Typographical Secret Society wouldn’t be the internationally successful organization it is today.

Okay, now we need to ask ourselves: What font are we going to pummel into the ground next?

I know that some of you are still wondering why we had to knock Comic Sans down so many pegs. I had someone ask me if we’d been a bit too harsh on the font, but let’s remember the whole mission statement of our secret society: to protect, curate, and dictate the typography world for the rest of the design-impaired population and for future typography enthusiasts.

What do you mean, maybe we shouldn’t gang up on any font? Do you realize how crazy that sounds?!

Without one font out there attracting all of the negative attention, being the butt of every typography

joke and acting as a go-to for moms just learning how to navigate Microsoft Word, people won’t know where to direct their slander. Font hatred would become anarchy; people would start developing original, more objective opinions about fonts that maybe aren’t Comic Sans or whatever other campy font we decide to throw under the bus.

There’s a natural order to the typography world and it is our duty to preserve it.

No one is more passionate about fonts than us. People are going to hate whatever font we want them to hate.

Now, I know we’re not deciding on which new font to bully until next month’s meeting, but I would personally like to put forward Tahoma for consideration.

It has everything we’re looking for: no one’s crazy about it in the first place, it’s ugly, and the name sounds like an accidentally racist alias Homer Simpson would come up with. It’s perfect.

HUMOUR

January 12, 2015

23

24 LAST WORD

y foot squished with water when I stepped into the shoe repair shop.

I was looking for waterproofing spray. My shoes were old leather ones that I had bought second hand, and I didn’t think they’d be half as spongy as they were in wet weather.

Holding a can of mink spray, I asked the friendly owner if it was made of real mink. He jutted his head out. “Of course,” he said, and delved into the many benefits of real mink.

I shouldn’t have said it.

“Hmm, I don’t really like using animal products,” I admitted, in a store that smelled like leather to a man who smelled like leather. He looked down and shook his head very slowly and deliberately, like I had told him he worshipped a false prophet.

“The artificial stuff is made from chemicals,” he said. “It’s not good for the Earth. Sure, the mink spray isn’t too good for

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the minks, but it’s natural. It’s . . .” he went on. I was now one of the many hippies who had confronted him to belittle his cruel and unusual business.

It really had nothing to do with him. Vegetarian ethics have been a part of my life for the last six years; it’s something that’s about myself, not anyone else. It’s been a process that’s helped define who I am, even if my eating habits are continuously changing.

I still can’t decide on exactly the best diet, one that blends health and ethics. With the same thought process I had as a teen, I am still upset at the fact that we have to kill to exist.

At the same time, I recognize that this is true for every living being, vegetarians included.

“I’m gonna keep looking.

Thank you!” I said. The tanner turned around fast enough for me to see.

When I was a teenager, ethics were simple. If I didn’t eat meat, I wasn’t killing or harming anything, I was consequently allowing more food to be produced, and I would be the healthiest I could possibly be. If everyone did the same, we would probably have less health issues, less global

hunger issues, and less animal abuse. I didn’t expect everyone to do the same right away . . . but I kind of expected everyone else to do the same, eventually.

After years of consideration, I’ve realized that these ethics aren’t so simple. I’m not perfect, and no one else is, either.

Also, the more I judge and try to control others, the less they want to listen to me.

For myself, I was able to eat only plants, and it did good, so I did it. I stepped up to a vegan diet for about three quarters of a year a while ago, which felt even more in line with my beliefs.

But I didn’t do it properly.

I mostly ate beans. Gratuitous amounts of beans. Eventually, I felt so unusual that I went back to eating a meat-based diet, to try to feel healthy again.

What’s funny is that most often I hear people say they do the opposite: they try vegetarianism to feel healthy. Usually because they’ve watched some documentaries. There’s a good chance that vegetarianism can lead to good health, and there’s a good chance that one can find an overwhelming number of writers or speakers who

support this idea. But the same goes for eating a healthy meatbased diet. It’s pretty easy to make your claim either way.

“Are you eating this now?” is the standard line of questioning I hear from my mom every time she brings out a platter of cheese. Last time, she held oysters. Every time I visit, she’s tried to guess what new restriction or allowance I’ve created for the season.

I currently eat pescetarian, which is vegetarian except for the inclusion of fish; I’ve found reasons for justifying eating this way. I feel healthiest eating higher amounts of protein and fat, with lower amounts of carbs.

I’m also more convinced that the fact that humans have evolved while eating meat-based diets has made our bodies best suited to doing so.

But, I still prefer to not eat animals that have the high cognition level of pigs or cows, along with the damage to the Earth that often comes with raising such large animals on a large scale, if I can avoid it.

Of course, there are problems with the pescetarian rationale, as well. The food that we eat now is not the same that prehistoric humans ate. There are high lev-

January 12, 2015

els of mercury in fish, and there are hormones, steroids, or genetic manipulations in them and other animals; the fruit we eat is sweeter than it ever was before; we have plants and chemicals that never before existed. We live in a different world, and we eat different food.

But what else can we do, other than try our best? I feel healthiest eating my current diet, perhaps due to biological factors, but also maybe due to psychological ones. Still, I feel like I boycott many of the problems of large-scale, factory farming. My diet is not perfect, but neither am I. I hope that people can eventually work together to make a better world through diets, but to make a better world would mean agreeing on what a good diet entails. I can’t even agree for myself which path is best.

But we don’t have to agree on eating ethics. What we do need is to keep talking about these issues, and adapt ourselves to what feels right without closing our minds to new or old ideas. Let’s not stick with an idea because we’ve told ourselves we have to, even after it’s stopped making sense.

Let’s listen to each other, to our bodies, and to our ethics.

Eating will always be a personal experience, but it can also be made a personal journey.