The Evolution of SFU's Mascot

2

FIRST PEEK

»

»

»

»

»

» »

» » »

» » »

CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2013

»

»

»

»

FIRST PEEK

November 17, 2014

I was satisfied because, with a camera in my hands, I felt like a photographer. To me, the value of that title was worth much more than the actual quality of the photos I took. It was as if the crown of a photographer’s title automatically gave me the ability to create amazing images.

When I was 12 years old, I received my first camera: a Ricoh single-lens reflex film camera.

In the following weeks, I became attached to this object — I couldn’t put it down even for one second and carried it around 12 hours a day, even sleeping with it strapped to my shoulder.

A month later, I had 32 rolls of Kodak Gold piled up on my father’s desk, and he told me that I could choose five rolls to develop. Because of my proficient negotiation skills, I eventually got him to double this number, and even though most of my developed photos were blown, underexposed, or out of focus, I was still satisfied with the results.

Things are much different now.

Since the beginning of the digital era, the bar for creating these amazing photos has been lowered dramatically. Specialized cameras originally cost a small fortune and could only be found in specialty stores, but nowadays, anyone can purchase a DSLR from Walmart.

To own a camera is simple, and to take great photos with it even more so. These images are

no longer exclusive to the professional photographer; everyone, with a bit of practice, can turn their creativity into amazing photos.

Another tool to create these photos is in almost everybody’s pocket. While they’re highly integrated, these power cameras are part of all of our smartphones. With features such as megapixels, backilluminated sensors, optical image stabilization, and phase-detection autofocus, these technologies make our smartphones incredibly powerful, enabling us to capture those special moments.

Additionally, internet communication and social networking allow people to share their photos with the world. Now, the capacity to spread your creativity is just one click away.

Point being, you don’t have to be a professional photographer to take great photos, as current innovations simplify the idea of photography. You don’t need a camera strapped to you for 12 hours a day, nor is there a need for 32 rolls of film; anyone with passion and creativity can create beautiful images.

3

4

NEWS

The BC Supreme Court has granted an injunction requested by Kinder Morgan to prevent protesters from obstructing crews’ access to work sites on Burnaby Mountain.

Those who are camped out at the sites have until Monday, November 17, at 4:00 p.m. to clear out of the area, or they may face arrest.

Five protesters, including three current and past SFU professors, are also facing a multimillion dollar civil lawsuit brought by the Texas oil company.

Pipeline opponents gathered this morning at Burnaby Mountain Park to express their discontent with the decision.

Various people at the blockade took turns with a megaphone, speaking and singing out against the injunction. Some speakers

November 17, 2014

news editor email / phone

Leah Bjornson associate news editor news@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

Melissa Roach

In anticipation of United Nations Climate Change Conference in France in December 2015, the French embassies in both Canada and the United States are organizing a series of events called “FACTS” standing for French Ameri-Can Climate TalkS. Held at Woodward’s on November 12, the Vancouver event considered the challenge of climate change, and the effects that next year’s negotiations will have in a post-2020 world.

indicated that they intend to stand their ground on Monday, even if they risk being arrested.

Brigitte DePape, activist and Council of Canadians representative, asked the crowd how everyone was feeling, to which one man replied, “Committed.”

DePape referred to the Keystone XL Pipeline project that was just approved today by the US House of Representatives: “It’s really frustrating to hear

the Keystone Pipeline being approved, but I think that just shows us that it’s not our political leaders that are going to make these changes. It’s going to be us, standing in front of these pipelines.”

The court transcripts outline the details of the injunction and the reasoning behind the decision to grant it.

One of the allegations made by Kinder Morgan in the injunction was that, in physically impeding workers and with snarling facial expressions, protesters were assaulting the surveyors. This has inspired a rash of ‘Kinder Morgan face’ posts on social media, where people post aggressive selfies with the hashtag “#KMFace.”

On the matter of the threat of assault, the judge concluded that it was legitimate, “given the misuse of the bullhorns, when coupled with the aggressive and threatening language, and the general and specific efforts to physically block the plaintiff’s representatives from accessing their work sites.”

The judge continued, “In other words, the plaintiff’s representatives were faced with either physical confrontation or retreat. They wisely chose the latter.”

It was noted that the ruling was not made without dilemma: “The courts must be careful not to act in ways that dissuade concerned and engaged citizens from expressing their opposition to activities which they view as destructive of the social or political good.”

But ultimately, it was concluded that, in this case, the work to be done was largely “temporary” and “minimally intrusive,” causing no irreparable harm to the defendants.

SFU professor of English Stephen Collis is one of the

defendants named in the injunction and, along with the other four, is currently being sued

by Kinder Morgan for $5.5 million in damages. He was present at the site this morning with other pipeline opponents before heading over to SFU Burnaby to teach one of his classes.

Collis told The Peak, “This is of crucial importance. It’s important locally, to people that live here, work here, go to school here.

“The threat of oil spills and of damage to this park is all very real.

It happens. It happened in 2007, here. In fact, this existing pipeline has had over 70 spills in 60 years.”

Collis also brought up the larger regional significance of the proposed pipeline project: “Here is this massive, massive project to bring the grossest, dirtiest, most carbon-producing oil in the world out of the Alberta tar sands, right under our feet. It’s ridiculous. It just shouldn’t be happening. It’s not the way anyone in this world should be behaving right now.”

He encouraged students to seek some understanding of the issue, which is taking place “literally just under our feet up here.”

Referencing the anger expressed on the mountain that morning, he concluded, “I hope that students can tap into that and feel some of that moral outrage too.”

A techie twosome came out on top in SFU Surrey’s Central City Community Engagement competition with their idea to develop an elite training program encouraging young innovators to solve health technology challenges. Sujoy Ghosh Hajra and Careesa Liu received $5,000 from Central City’s property management company, Blackwood Partners, to help implement their Surrey Collaborative Outreach and Research Experience (SCORE) project.

The importance of women’s voices in the public sphere was discussed on Friday, November 14 by Shari Graydon, founder of Informed Opinions, and the Right Honourable Kim Campbell. Although women make up 61 per cent of university grads and hold leadership posts in most arenas, the experts who are quoted or featured in dominant news media remain overwhelmingly male. The talk examined how we can change the status quo, and who is responsible.

NEWS

November 17, 2014

some reserved, and many presented two or more poems.

Hussan Riasat, ESU president, said, “I wasn’t expecting this many people, and I wasn’t expecting this many people to actually be really enthusiastic about it.”

The English Student Union (ESU) held their first annual Grand Poetry Slam on Thursday, November 13 at Highland Pub on SFU’s Burnaby campus.

The upper level of the pub was filled at the event’s beginning, with a group of about 25 sticking around until its end, including the entire ESU executive committee.

The event featured more than 10 poets from English, sociology, French, communications, and business departments.

Some were very expressive,

Current SFU students aren’t the only ones feeling a little stressed out and over-worked right now.

Although they may not have final exams to worry about, four SFU alumni are pulling all-nighters to compete in the CBC’s ComedyCoup competition.

The contest, in which Canadian comedy creators work towards developing an original show concept by advancing through a 10-week series of challenges, was narrowed down to the top 15 on November 10.

Two entries still in the running, Heir Heads and Human Town, feature creative teams comprised of former SFU students who say that the competition rivals a students’ hectic study schedule.

“Work usually goes from 9 until 4:30 and ComedyCoup goes from 4:30 until forever,”

The event featured many different types of creative writing, including more traditional forms of rhyming poetry, prosebased, and abstract poems, and at least three that were admittedly composed either on the same day or at the event itself.

The atmosphere was receptive and respectful, with supportive ESU members sitting at the front of the audience, leading applause and supportive snaps. The group told the audience to snap their fingers

rather than remain silent, if a speaker lost their place in their piece — luckily, this save was only needed once.

“We couldn’t have expected the amazing poets that came out today,” Sophia Katherina, ESU events coordinator, told the audience near the end of the event.

The group had originally planned to give out t-shirt prizes

to poets chosen by audience members or the ESU, but were so “absolutely impressed with everyone,” according to Katherina, that every poet was entered into a random draw to win the prizes.

Three poets took home luxurious ESU t-shirts, along with the pride of being selected randomly.

Vincent Mitra, who volunteered to read his writing after

“It helps just to understand characters and what makes sense for someone to be doing or saying,” Taylor explained.

“Character continuity is important in these shows.”

Kajetan ‘Ki’ Kwiatkowski and Kane Stewart, the two SFU alumni who are part of the sixheaded sketch comedy beast known as Human Town , also started their journey to the Coup as high schoolers, before continuing on to SFU’s film program as classmates.

explained Dylan Innes, who created Heir Heads along with his brother Taylor. “All weekends, all evenings, all consuming.”

Originally conceived as a starring vehicle for the two men, Heir Heads is the story of two anti-genius brothers who must make a million dollars in order to earn their deceased father’s billion dollar inheritance. As the project developed, the two decided to have their parts played by acclaimed local actors Ryan Beil and Bruce Novakowski.

For the Innes brothers, who are two years apart, comedy is something they’ve been working

on both separately and together since they were in high school.

While they’ve taken some breaks, they’re all in now.

“I did four years of dramatic films and then I graduated and said, ‘Well that’s out of my system,’” Innes explained about his time in the SFU film program.

“We haven’t done anything but comedy since.”

Taylor, on the other hand, studied towards a psychology degree at SFU, and while he laughed at it being considered a “hilarious faculty,” he says it has enhanced his writing abilities.

“We took a video course in grade 8 and made funny stuff, and it was popular enough that we decided to keep doing it,” Kwiatkowski told The Peak .

He explained that they’ve been working on their unique sketch show ever since. The show

5

coming to the event, said he saw the evening as an opportunity to talk to like-minded people.

“I think English can be a very solitary thing,” he said, explaining that writing “isn’t necessarily a group activity,” and that he was glad to see an event like this make it so. Readings like this, he said, “I imagine, are one of the only ways we can connect.”

Riasat said he hopes the poetry slam becomes something that the larger SFU community can bond over, not just those in the English department. “We’re trying to change things around” in the ESU, he said, “and we made the event open for that reason.”

He hopes that poetry can become part of a tradition at SFU, like the Fall Kickoff or Spring Sendoff.

“If writing poetry can be a bonding point, something that people from any department see as a means to go out, meet people, and have fun, [. . .], then [the event] can grow,” Riasat concluded.

features linked sketches and recurring characters, all set in the fictional world of Human Town.

When the ComedyCoup contest came along, they jumped at the chance to gain more exposure, although they too have felt the intense pressure of the contest.

“Basically you have to accept that you’re going to sleep when you’re dead,” Kwiatkowski said.

“You get home, eat and then [immediately think about] what are we going to shoot next, what props do we need, and the next day we shoot it. Then we have to edit it. It’s a go, go process.”

As for an inter-SFU rivalry, Kwiatkowski says there isn’t one and that he’s rooting for the Innes’ project just as much as his own.

“I’d be just as glad if [ Heir Heads ] won as us,” Kwiatkowski explained. “I love those guys and I think they actually have a really good idea and all their videos have been strong.”

The prize of the competition is $500,000 to create a half-hour comedy special to be broadcast on CBC prime time in the fall of 2015. The top five will be announced on Monday, November 24.

6 NEWS

Darryll Frost and his wife Lee have donated $500,000 to SFU to support research on atypical brain development and the potential for oxygen therapy to treat autism.

In 2012, when their then threeyear-old son Callum was diagnosed with autism, the Frosts scoured the internet for information about autism therapy. One of the more sophisticated and expensive therapies they tried was hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).

Coupled with a massive change in Callum’s diet, the intensive HBOT therapy had impressive results. “After three months, he started talking in sentences. He was compliant. His behaviour was really calm. And we realized that he was going to recover from autism,” said Lee Frost.

However, these hyperbaric chambers are not regulated, and some parents purchase them for private use. Because of this

November 17, 2014

high price tag, the pair decided to raise money in order to fund research to prove the science behind the treatment.

In May, Central City launched its Imperial IPA for Autism beer, with $2 from each bottle going to fund the SFU donation. Along with other fundraising initiatives, the two were able to raise $100,000 over their $400,000 goal.

The $500,000 donation will be used to establish the Callum Frost Professorship in Translational Research in Autism at SFU. Peter Ruben, associate dean of research in SFU’s Faculty of Science, explained the importance of conducting research on previously unregulated medical therapies: “Tragically, people have died from these home hyperbaric chambers, so what we’re trying to do with this research is first figure out if it works to treat autism and other brain disorders.”

He continued, “Then [we will] try to get a handle on what specifically needs to happen for hyperbaric oxygen therapy to be effective.”

Instituted in 1981, the hyperbaric chamber at SFU is the only chamber in a Canadian academic institution that can be used for research. Chambers work by filling with air at a higher atmospheric pressure and a higher oxygen concentration, and have been used to

Anywhere between 25 and 100 people come out each Friday to participate in a game of hide and seek on the University of Alberta campus.

The hide and seek club started in 2013 with just five members, but has since grown considerably and now requires a $5 fee for membership and the bandana that must be displayed during gameplay.

Club member Adam Pinkoski revealed one hiding spot of choice: tall blue recycling bins.

He conceded that while he stays hidden, the bin is “a huge sweat box.”

With files from The Edmonton Journal

treat diving disorders such as decompression sickness.

Although there has been some research done on the effects of HBOT on ‘normal’ brains, there hasn’t yet been a careful casecontrol study of the effects HBOT on autism.

“We don’t really know how it works or, for that matter, whether it works,” Ruben said. “One could hypothesize that HBOT increases the amount of circulating oxygen in the blood and therefore increases the amount of oxygen going to the brain.”

The hypothesis is that this would have a positive effect on tissue that has been damaged through traumatic brain injury or has not developed normally. “We can only guess that this increased oxygen concentration would help that brain tissue function more normally,” Ruben explained.

The newly established professorship will allow the university to add a faculty member who will specialize in studying brain disorders in general and autism in particular.

Ruben said that he hopes to finalize the employment search soon, with

A group of graduate students from the University of Saskatchewan have put forward a motion of non-confidence against the president of the Graduate Students’ Association, Izabela Vlahu.

As reported in The Sheaf, “The group’s areas of greatest worry appear to be those concerning the spending of GSA finances, including the costs associated with U-Pass implementation and executive travel, and general allegations of poor governance.”

The time frame for U-pass pick-up was decreased from four weeks to nine days and Vlahu has allegedly been paying staff out of the U-pass line item. Other concerning allegations include a lack of government transparency and the bullying of dissenting GSA councillors.

the newly hired researcher beginning sometime in the next year.

Ruben emphasized how grateful he was for the support from the Frost family: “I think it’s going to be a really neat opportunity to put SFU on the forefront of this in terms of research.”

For the Frost family, they hope the research will support other families who are living with the daily challenges of autism. “We’re hoping that it enables other children to have the treatment and make the same progress as Callum,” concluded Lee Frost.

On October 29, over 170 files containing students’ sensitive financial information were sent out to the wrong recipients.

Various University of Toronto students received an email from enrollment services to inform them that they had been granted needbased funding through University of Toronto Advanced Planning for Students (UTAPS). Recipients noticed that they had also been sent the information of fellow students.

The files sent out “contained students’ names, street addresses, award amounts, student numbers, and faculties of study.”

With files from The Varsity

With files from The Sheaf

NEWS

SFU’s Faculty of Environment (FENV) launched Canada’s first Bachelor’s of Environment program, which aims to create environmental problem-solvers and decision-makers capable of making a contribution to mitigating climate change.

A balance of the social sciences and the natural sciences, the degree program will begin in January 2015.

Dan Burns, manager of curriculum and planning in the Faculty of Environment said, “We are trying to produce the graduates who can address and understand environmental issues in its broad context.”

Burns emphasized that many employers are looking for candidates who have an understanding of contemporary environmental challenges and who know how to interact and work well within a group with people from different backgrounds. The courses offered within the program are meant to prepare students for these types of roles.

One such course, to be offered in Spring 2015, is called ENV 2223: Environmental Controversy.

Environmental controversies are complex since they require thorough understanding of social sciences such as policies, laws, and ethics, but also require a foundation in natural sciences such as biology and ecology.

In ENV 222, students will have to explore the complexity of specific environmental issues and assess their potential effects.

Burns explained, “The idea [of this course] is really trying to be unbiased. This is teamtaught; students take command in a third of the course, work with a faculty member, and organize the field trip and debate.

It is not lecture based.”

Burns said the course should provide a good footing for students regardless of their

November 17, 2014

knowledge base: “If you want to be involved in environment and don’t know where to start, start with taking ENV 222.”

Just as students in ENV 222 will have to combine their knowledge of social and natural sciences, SFU’s Bachelor’s of Environment is considered an interdisciplinary degree, as it combines different courses from other departments as well as core environment courses.

For example, students have three options for majors: global environmental systems, environmental resource management, and sustainable business — a joint major offered collaboratively by FENV and SFU’s Beedie School of Business.

Environmental resource management relates to fisheries, forests, fossil fuels, and mines.

This major will focus on coming up with a resolution for how to take environmental action in the community, as well as awareness of laws and regulations on a regional and local scale.

Global environmental systems is broader in that it looks at different environmental problems internationally. It also examines social systems, such as the global health system.

Sustainable business is a joint major in the environmental sciences and business program. This is a degree for people who hope to work for companies in environmental mining and forestry. Students will gain knowledge around environmental protection, environmental risk assessment, and corporate environmental management.

As more and more companies become concerned with sustainability, Burns speculates that this joint major could bring huge benefits.

SFU’s third annual Faculty Smackdown Debate appealed to fans of smack talk and non-profit organizations alike, as professors battled it out in the SFU Theatre on Thursday, November 6.

Teams of professors were pitted against each other to debate high profile topics such as: “The frying pan is better than the fire,” and “Debates don’t actually resolve anything.”

The debaters were nominated by students based on their sense of humour, ability to talk about anything, and spirit of volunteerism. Organizers received almost 300 nominations, but narrowed these down to four teams of three.

The debates included arguments about everything from firemen, to sociopaths, to 4chan, and even SFU professor of English Paul Budra’s chili pepper rating on RateMyProfessors.

Gwynne Roseborough, chair of SFU’s United Way Campaign and an organizer of the event, said, “[The professors are] such unique characters in themselves, it’s just so great to see a different side of them outside of classroom.”

A big fan of CBC Radio’s The Debaters, Roseborough wanted to use humour to encourage faculty, staff and students to engage with a more serious cause: United Way. United Way acts as an umbrella organization, Roseborough explained. They partner with institutions like SFU to hold events and fundraise money, which is then distributed to local charity organizations.

Roseborough said, “One of the nice things about the United Way is that the money goes back to the community we live and work in.”

United Way anti-poverty organizations are funded mainly by donations, and all proceeds from the Smackdown and partial proceeds from a Post-Smackdown Debrief at the Highland Pub were donated to the cause.

Roseborough applauded employee generosity in donating to United Way but said, “I think we can be even more generous.”

SFU’s partnership with United Way is about to enter uncharted territory, however, as this is Roseborough’s third and final year as chair. She said that a lot of SFU employees and long-time contributors will be retiring this year.

7

Roseborough hopes that events like the Smackdown — as well as upcoming events such as book and bake sales at the Burnaby and Harbour Centre campuses, and Market on the Mez at the Surrey campus — will help increase United Way’s profile on campus and make it easier for students and faculty to become involved.

“I’m trying to focus on a way that we can all give a little to give a lot,” Roseborough said.

The winning professors were presented with a garden “Gnome It All” trophy and the satisfaction of raising awareness for United Way. The audience applause determine the winning teams with their applause, coming to the following conclusions about the debate topics: fire is better than frying pans and debates really do resolve something.

THE PEAK IS HIRING!

WE’LL BE PUBLISHING NEWSPAPERS IN THE SPRING, AND WE NEED PEOPLE TO PUT THEM TOGETHER! GET PAID TO WORK ON THE NEWSPAPER AND THE WEB SITE IN A FUN, FLEXIBLE WORK ENVIRONMENT! CONTACT EIC@THE-PEAK.CA APPLICATIONS DUE ON NOVEMBER 21ST

YOU COULD FILL ANY ONE OF THESE AMAZING POSITIONS: > PRODUCTION EDITOR! > COPY EDITOR! > NEWS EDITOR! > ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR! > FEATURES EDITOR! > ARTS EDITOR! > OPINIONS EDITOR! > HUMOUR EDITOR!

> PHOTO EDITOR! > MULTIMEDIA EDITOR! > MULTIMEDIA ASSISTANT! > SPORTS EDITOR! > PROOFREADER! > LAYOUT ASSISTANT! > WEB EDITOR! > SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR!

CONTACT EIC@THE-PEAK.CA FOR THE DETAILS!

8 NEWS

November 17, 2014

According to a new SFU study, the majority of British Columbians are uninformed about provincial climate policies — and that’s all right.

Authored by Jonn Axsen and Mark Jaccard, SFU professors of resource and environmental management, along with PhD candidate Ekaterina Rhodes, the study suggests that widespread knowledge and well-informed citizen support are not necessarily required for implementation of effective climate policies.

In an online survey, 475 residents of British Columbia responded to questions aimed to identify four factors: their awareness and knowledge of climate policies; their support for different climate policies; the relationship between citizen knowledge and policy support; and the

effect of information provision on policy support.

Most respondents — 73 per cent — could not name one BC policy. Of the quarter that could name one, the majority identified the carbon tax.

The study points to negative media coverage of the carbon tax and the fact that it was a major talking point in the provincial elections of 2008-2009 as reasons for vast knowledge of the policy. Almost all other policies are unknown to residents of BC. In addition to the initial questions, there was a second, educational component to the research where respondents were made aware of the various policies and regulations currently implemented by the BC government.

With this new information, over 50 per cent of survey participants responded that they ‘somewhat support’ the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), Clean Electricity Standard (CES), and a carbon neutral government.

The research not only gathered information about participants’ knowledge of provincial climate policies, but also what this lack of knowledge means for

policy-making. Jaccard said in a press release, “It appears that most people are not interested in becoming technology and policy experts, even if they are concerned about environmental threats and expect government and industry to address them.”

The study hinted that other strategies may be helpful in inspiring citizens’ interest in and support of climate policy-making. These include cultivating

public trust in government, industry and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and creating arms-length regulatory agencies that have a sustainability policy mandate.

Nevertheless, Axsen said, “Maybe it is better for some policies to do their work in the background, shifting us towards a low-carbon economy, while citizens go about their normal lives.”

Students, instructors, faculty, and members of the community gathered at SFU’s Surrey campus on November 6 to learn about how they can spend their way to happiness.

Lara Aknin, an SFU assistant professor of social psychology, gave a lecture titled, “Doing Good, Feeling Good,” as part of the President’s Faculty Lecture series. The lecture focused on her research, which looks at the emotional consequences of generous behaviour.

“Much of the research I have conducted examines people’s perceptions of the money and happiness relationship,” said Aknin. Her findings indicate that we feel happier when we spend money on others rather than on ourselves. During the talk, she described how there seems to be a “positive feedback loop”

between generous behaviour and happiness.

Aknin and other researchers found that people from around the world gain emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others.

She suggested, “Consider spending your extra disposable income on others instead of yourself. Our research suggests you’ll be happier for it!”

Aknin noted that this runs contrary to many preconceived notions about human nature: “While many perspectives of human nature argue that people are selfish, a growing body of research suggests that, when we help others, we experience a boost in happiness from doing so.”

Her research also indicates that benefits stem less from the actual gift than the act of giving.

“Spending as little as $5 on others as opposed to yourself can have a measurable impact on your happiness,” said Aknin.

Aknin and colleagues found that even children experienced positive effects when they engaged in generous behaviour.

Their research found that children as young as two years old were

happier when they gave their treats away instead of keeping them.

Aknin’s research has been featured on CNN and quoted in Forbes Magazine and The New York Times. She has done over 300 interviews, and Yes Magazine quotes her research as “one of the top 10 things that science has taught us about happiness.”

SFU president Andrew Petter explained that the lecture series plays a crucial role in SFU’s commitment to being Canada’s most community-engaged university: “The President’s Lecture series is dedicated to highlighting our internationally recognized researchers and sharing their research with the community.”

A proposal came to board to invest a portion of the SFSS general fund in clean energy.

The SFSS plans to buy 1,000 shares from iShares Global Clean Energy ETF, totalling approximately $12,000.

This investment may be sold at any time.

“This investment is a tiny fraction of the society’s net worth,” said Potvin. “It’s just using the cash that’s sitting there as an asset now, so it doesn’t affect the budget whatsoever.”

Board carried a motion to accept the proposal, including in the motion that no further investments will be made “until such time as an investment policy has been approved by board.”

The SFSS’ Annual General Meeting held on October 22 was the first to make quorum since 2008, however the SFU Theatre where the meeting was being held quickly met capacity — approximately 60 students who were left outside were unable to vote on two motions related to the Build SFU Student Union Building and Stadium projects.

SFSS president Chardaye Bueckert sought legal advice as to whether or not the society could hold another AGM to allow everyone’s voices to be heard. However, an AGM must be held between September 15 and October 31 in any given year. Therefore, the SFSS voted to hold a Special General Meeting (SGM) on January 19 to allow all members who were unable to vote to do so.

“We want to make sure that everybody has a fair opportunity to vote,” Bueckert said. “I’m really confident that the motions will pass if revisited given the overwhelming support.”

The SFSS will also host a Town Hall to allow students to discuss any concerns in a less formal setting.

2014 SFSS FALL REFERENDUM Question 1 Do you approve establishing the Business Administration Student Society (BASS) as the Faculty Student Union (FSU) of the Beedie School of Business as of 2015-01-01?

Question 2 Are you in favour of the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) being established as the Faculty Student Union (FSU) for the Faculty of Science as of 2015-01-01?

Polling Electronic ballots will be sent out to students who are eligible to vote for these questions

Voting Period Wednesday November 19 at 12am to Thursday November 20 at 11:59pm.

ONLINE VOTING WILL TAKE PLACE ON NOVEMBER 19 & 20 http://elections.sfss.ca elections@sfss.ca

10

OPINIONS

The past few months have been eventful. A prominent Canadian radio personality has been publicly condemned for sexual abuse and violence; a group of female celebrities’ personal photos was leaked and quickly spread across the web; a vaguely formalized community rallied against the changing tide of video game culture under the guise of an ethical crusade.

Tension surrounding the power dynamics of gender — especially on the internet — is generally par for the course, but in the second half of 2014, it’s hard to avoid just how much this dynamic structures our lives online.

Amid these seemingly constant crises, a new pejorative term has cropped up in online communities like Reddit and 4chan: the ‘social justice warrior,’ or SJW. From what I’ve gleaned online — and there are literally hundreds of blogs devoted to this archetype — SJWs are generally young, white, and spend their time on social media condemning those who fail to live up to their own moral and ethical standards. This reclusive specimen is either hypocritically unaware of their own privilege in society, or overly general in their condemnation of an entire group of people, usually white men.

There are, predictably, plenty of memes and jokes to go along with the SJW figure.

Most popular among them is Social Justice Sally, an affluent white woman and ad hominem abuser meant to stand as a symbol for SJWs everywhere — her relentless requests that you “check your privilege” are portrayed as cloying and generally hindering of meaningful online discussion. Other memes spoof the concept of checking one’s privilege entirely, or portray feminists as hateful, draconian

banshees unwilling to engage in any critical discussion they can’t win.

It’s worth noting the many forms that SJWs supposedly take, if only to tear down each thinly imagined straw man one by one.

Problems that social justice advocates have been stressing for decades are finally finding themselves in the spotlight — issues of sexual abuse and coercion, objectification and sexualization, gender imbalance in the cultural industries — and this has forced those who cling to tired, oppressive ideologies to find an insult for those who dare to challenge the systems of oppression that have kept white, straight, able-bodied men on top of the heap. Hence, the social justice warrior.

We’re led to believe those who hold ideologies which fit under the umbrella of social justice — feminism, LGBTQ rights, body positivity — are attempting to dominate what should be a conversation and are forcing

November 17, 2014

themselves into discussions in order to parrot rhetoric they don’t fully understand.

But what’s really going on is that those who do dominate the conversation are reacting with fear and confusion to the shifting tides of cultural acceptance and values. Female, non-white, LGBTQ, non-binary, disabled, low income, and other formerly silent voices are slowly gaining a foothold in our society, and those who openly express support are vilified and deprecated for their “hypocrisy” and “shallowness.”

The occasional overly pedantic Tumblr user targeting white men in power is dwarfed by the thousands of racist, sexist, and homophobic tirades which flood online comments sections every single day. Who’s the real problem here?

So, yeah, maybe not everyone who posts about social justice online gets every single detail right. But these ideologies are built to be open to the exchange of ideas, and evolve along with those who are a part of them. At the very least, the rise of the SJW shows that people are interested in advocating for a more egalitarian and open society in which power is shared rather than consolidated — and that’s a start.

opinions editor email / phone

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

Dear editor,

Dear editor,

Re: “Why your environmentalism is nauseating”

Re: “Why your environmentalism is nauseating”

People protest pipelines not because they want to stop one from buying an umbrella, nor to stop one from buying shiny new boots, jackets, and laptops, but to stop the building of infrastructure that is not in the public interest.

What this argument is about is that people simply recognize that it is not worth risking Indigenous and human rights, environmental contamination, and the enabling continued acceleration of global warming.

A spill could threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs in tourism, hospitality, fisheries, and construction. It could also lower property values and impact real estate, and who would want to invest in that economic climate?

So yes, this is about the environment, but it is also about human rights and the economy. Do we currently need oil to sustain our way of life? Yes, of course. However, what we truly need is a shift away from a parasitic economy and towards one that is mutualistic, and benefits all people of both current and future generations. This means no more pipelines to profit multinational corporations at the expense of many of our community values here at home.

Previously, in The Peak , Ms. Lozynsky was disgusted by the “rainbowcoloured vomit” pouring out of the mouths of her environmental peers who dare support the environment without recognizing the massive influence of oil and gas in our lives.

Clearly, the real way an industry moves a block of people is by moving politicians to align with their interests. It comes as no surprise then, to hear that four of the five most active companies soliciting provincial politicians are in the energy sector, according to the Vancouver Sun .

But before you “roll your eyes,” it should be stated that we’re not trying to cleanse ourselves of oil tomorrow.

Rather we are trying to make a gradual shift to renewable energy sources which produce more jobs, and a more stable energy flow with a very low production cost after creating facilities, which stand in contrast to the substantial price swings offered by oil and gas. It’s time to open yourself up to reality, because sometimes true power comes from letting go.

Cody Wicks, SFU Student

Jonathan Catliff & Koen van Greevenbroek, Sustainable SFU

OPINIONS

I’ve written before about the educational gap that exists between clueless-yet-prospective male feminists and established female feminists, which is why the now viral video posted by Hollaback (in which a woman, while walking New York’s streets for 10 hours, is verbally harassed by male bystanders over 100 times) is so revelatory.

I cannot speak to the universality of the subject’s experience, but there is no escaping the nakedness of the abuse via context. Seeing is believing, and the nauseating, concussive nature of the abuse bordered on suffocative.

In his now infamous interview on CNN, self-proclaimed ‘cat-calling expert’ Steve Santagati trotted out all the tired justifications of boorish male behaviour. While he was (quite rightly) castigated on air and in the public domain, Santagati’s bizarre protestations are illuminating of the adolescent mindset numerous men remain mired in.

‘Mansplaining’ is oft-quoted shorthand for the inability of men to relate to issues uniquely experienced by women, one that is regularly linked to

Author Karen Le Billon believes in “taste training” — that we should condition children to enjoy healthy foods, rather than those loaded with sugar and fat.

She elaborates on this concept in a book entitled Getting to Yum: 7 Secrets For Raising Eager Eaters, where she also examines the impact of junk food advertisements on children and their

November 17, 2014

Feelings of shame, guilt, and fear of reprisal are commonly documented in victims, but are poorly understood because those who are unaffected simply cannot fathom how victims could not stand up for themselves.

This is particularly prevalent in men. The cult of masculinity is

defined by physical and sexual prowess — “I can beat you up and get all the girls.” Men outside this mold are belittled as effeminate and fragile, ‘lesser’ traits that are not cohesive in the temple of maledom.

This is manifested in the squarejawed, monosyllabic action hero — the paragon of masculinity — who always gets the girl.

Thus, men often deal with women through a prism that is entirely governed by sexual politics. From an early age, men are conditioned to view women as physical objects to be appraised; this mindset tends to persist into adulthood, permeating every

social relationship we build from that point.

A woman is not a person, she’s a W-O-M-A-N: an inanimate object that satisfies sexual desires and elevates one within the social order.

The male identity is enormously anchored to such relationships, inasmuch that women now become property: baubles to be owned, ogled, and paraded. When women rebut sexual advances from men, they undercut their fundamental connection to masculinity, embarrassing them and precipitating careless, aimless anger.

So when Santagati says (and I’m paraphrasing) “admit it, you wouldn’t mind if the dude catcalling was hot,” he’s not so much missing the point as arguing something else entirely — acknowledging someone looks good makes that person feel good. But the context of such admonitions is key. Coping with relentless come-ons that run the gamut from mild to provocative to sexually gratuitous is a form of abuse alien to prototypically hetero men.

The male belief that “if some dude on the street harassed men, I’d kick his ass,” is a toxic and totally unrealistic fantasy.

Santagati re-iterates this fantasy when he says “Well, if [women] don’t like it, [they should] do something about it.” Forget the threat of physical harm and “stand up for yourself!”

Though, standing up for yourself is not that easy.

really? It certainly isn’t the fault of junk food advertising, which Le Billon and many other parents are all too quick to blame.

I know that advertising can have a profound effect on a young child’s mind, but it isn’t the demon that people make it out to be. Instead, the fault lies with the parents. Parents buy and cook unhealthy food, and then blame the food industry for making their children overweight.

Sure, these parents are quick to say that they must buy Kraft Dinner to prevent their child from throwing a temper tantrum, but that excuse is simply unreasonable. Parents have to lay down the law in terms of what their children can and cannot eat, and they should not be concerned

with losing face if their child throws a tantrum in the store.

Instead of using advertising slogan strategies (this broccoli is magically delicious!) to counter the effect that junk food advertisements have on their children, parents should consider saying “no” to their kids when it comes to unhealthy food.

If parents are that concerned about advertising, then they should discard their cable television — something my parents did when I was born.

I understand that, in this day and age, communication technology is much more ubiquitous than it was 21 years ago — due to the internet and mobile handhelds — but parents can easily download apps such

as Adblock for free, as well as limit their child’s access to certain games that may contain certain advertising.

Moreover, there are many websites that parents can use as educational resources to teach their kids about advertising. Many of these websites even have recipes for cheap and healthy meals that kids will enjoy. Parents should simply teach children what is unhealthy, limit their child’s access to ads, and watch which foods they purchase.

Parents do not need influences from the food industry to help them raise their kids, and we certainly do not need to read Karen Le Billon’s book, which merely reiterates the obvious.

presumptions of male privilege.

This diagnosis does not entirely excavate the psychosocial root of the issue. Mansplaining is borne from a pan-gendered perspective — an individual’s sense of invincibility. The belief that “that wouldn’t happen to me.”

When the allegations against Jian Ghomeshi surfaced, the expected backlash rose against several of the women who continue to remain anonymous (with good reason): “Why didn’t they go to the police?” “Why didn’t they file a complaint?” It is extremely presumptuous for an outsider to place themselves in a victim’s shoes,

particularly survivors of sexual or physical violence.

families — she feels that similar marketing slogans could be applied by parents to entice their children to eat healthy.

This is all well and good, but do we really need to use Le Billon’s strategies for a parenting tactic that should already be common knowledge in the 21st century? Yes, picky eaters can be difficult, but whose fault is this

11

12 OPINIONS

Last month, graffiti artist Casey Nocket was caught by federal officials after painting on rocks in several national parks across the United States. Although popular opinion and the law suggest that Nocket is an awful person for having destroyed the natural beauty of these sacred national parks, I say that these parks are anything but natural because they are pristine, perfect, and require preservation.

Annually, hoards of tourists from across the globe take planes, cars, and mobile homes to vacation in national parks. Before arriving, they stock up on essentials at Costco, Walmart, or some other supermarket. To make the most of their trip, they purchase camping equipment, gas, stoves, shoes, clothes, communication technology, and more.

After they arrive, they visit designated spaces for camping, parking, swimming and eating. Days are spent hiking on pre-planned routes with man-made bridges and stairs.

When you look at national parks from this perspective, they don’t seem so natural anymore, but are in fact, a reflection of a society based on domination, hierarchy, and consumption. These parks are so artificial that we don’t even allow them to extend their borders to grow naturally.

Even wildlife population is controlled — like everything else, national parks are planned spaces that support big businesses and serve as vacation getaways. These parks become playgrounds for the global elite; the experience of nature becomes a commodity and a privilege.

In such a controlled space, it’s ironic that when a person places his or her artwork (a natural human phenomenon) on a rock, society then silences this person.

It’s easy to direct the blame and frustration we feel about the environment toward a single person who has defaced something we have been cultured to hold sacred. Although this feels right,

November 17, 2014

we must ask the broader questions about what nature and real environmental concern are. Nature is not only in these national parks, but everywhere.

It’s hypocritical to be angry at a woman who paints on a rock while we live in a society that is detrimental to the entire world.

Almost every square inch of this earth is accounted for by someone or something; domination

MORE THAN READY GENERAL INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

has plotted its territory across the globe.

More people should reconsider whether or not Nocket deserves punishment, especially in light of global events like the Mount Polley mining disaster, Fukishima, and the BP oil spill which lasted for 87 days. These events were true acts of environmental degradation. In combination with the amount of fossil fuels burned and

the garbage we throw into landfills daily, one person who draws on a rock is insignificant.

Real environmental concern is a difficult issue to tackle. To criticize a person for painting on a rock is easy and feels good, but the real criticisms lie in pointing blame at ourselves, the corporations we support, and the economic system that plunders our daily lives.

Sure, this is the year that the Berlin Wall fell, the year the first text message was sent, and the year of The Little Mermaid. But as with any year, it had its downsides.

An Exxon Valdez tanker hit a reef off the coast of Alaska in March, spilling up to 11 million gallons of crude oil into the water — the effects of which are still present

today. This year also saw the Hillsborough disaster at an England football stadium, where 96 people died due to overcrowding. During 1989, the world also lost the talents of Salvador Dali, Laurence Olivier, Mel Blanc, Gilda Radner, Graham Chapman and Lucille Ball — all truly commendable personalities that we should never forget.

The latest release from everybody’s favourite kitschy, not-quite-a-teen queen is, according to Swift, her “first documented pop album.”

1989 is upbeat, fun and innocent — a little like Swift herself. As always, her songs are about broken hearts and new loves, about youth and finding oneself. The lyrics are by no means amazing or excessively

clever, but you just know you’ll be inadvertently mouthing each chorus on the bus this time next week.

1989 has also sold almost 1.3 million copies in the first week, and is the first album released in 2014 to go platinum. Do yourself a favour and listen to “Blank Space” and “New Romantics,” or you know, the whole album.

When you’re driving, on vacation or even renting out an event space, almost everything you do or see is protected by insurance.

The BCIT General Insurance and Risk Management program prepares you to be more than ready for employment with 100% placement of all of our graduates in the local, national, and international marketplace. Make a real difference in someone’s life at home or abroad with a career in insurance.

Attend one of our information sessions and learn how to get started.

bcit.ca/insurance

OPINIONS

November 17, 2014

For those of you who don’t know, UBC has decided to pull $127 million out of its shrinking pocket to build the new Vantage College — an institution that will not be open to domestic citizens or permanent residents. The campus will contain housing with over 1,000 rooms, and will cost students over $50,000 per year to attend.

Last week, I stumbled upon an article that discussed UBC’s plans to construct an expensive new college that will cater only to wealthy international students.

While I’m aware that the university has a colossal budget, I’m also aware that post-secondary budgets are shrinking, and that there is still an ironic division between the wealthy and the poor with regards to university costs.

I also understand that by chastising UBC’s blind economic decisions, I’m further perpetuating the long-established rivalry between between SFU and UBC. Though, in this instance, I feel a bit of ridicule is necessary, as our radical campus could probably learn a thing or two.

This comes as quite “a slap in the face,” as one UBC student so justly told CBC last week. The university has blatantly ignored the housing needs of their domestic students: some 5,000 individuals are waiting impatiently to get in on the presently limited number of housing spaces offered by UBC. Adding insult to injury, because of this project, domestic students will soon face an over 20 per cent increase in their already abysmally high tuition fees. As

While modern medicine is effective in treating many serious illnesses, I feel that traditional, native medicine can often be as powerful, and should be taken into account when looking for ways to cure these illnesses.

Modern antibiotics are usually seen as having a quicker effect, but traditional medicine aims to restore the long-term balance of one’s body. Because they both have their advantages, I feel justified in suggesting that we combine the two, thus integrating traditional medicine into the modern healthcare system.

Traditional medicine can be used to innovate the development of modern medicine, which can be highly effective in treating many illnesses and in allowing people to live much longer lives than in past generations. However, there is one major drawback to modern medicine: because most clinical medications are manufactured using synthetic chemicals, using them can often result in unwanted side effects.

Often, one may be forced to take drugs in order to counter the side effects of the original treatment. Modern medicine may seem more effective, but in fact, it often treats symptoms using direct methods, which usually further harms our bodies.

Among the 300 types of traditional medicine around the globe, Chinese medicine in particular has garnered increased attention from researchers.

Traditional Chinese medicine treats the body as a collection

an SFU student who has lived in residence the past three years, I’m all too accustomed to the frustration and anger that accompanies learning that tuition and housing fees will be slightly higher than they were the year before.

I feel for these UBC undergrads — a 20 per cent increase will surely (and unnecessarily) place a hefty financial burden on a great number of students, many of whom are undoubtedly far along in their educational careers.

Current students also worry about the creation of an elite presence on campus. Vantage College will not only sequester these wealthy new individuals and discourage them from mingling with the Canadian student body, but will provide these people with preferential treatment over their domestic counterparts — after all, they’re the ‘50,000 dollar elite,’ they deserve to be pampered, right?

Sure, Angela Redish, vice-president of enrollment, can tout what is apparently the primary reason for this project: the college will “better support international students whose second language is English.”

But anyone with a brain can see that Redish hides an ulterior motive

of interconnected systems, and thus has great potential to treat more complex illnesses such as cancer, AIDS and Alzheimer’s.

Traditional remedies usually use ingredients that come from the natural environment, and are therefore much less harmful to our bodies. Consequently, modern scientists can use traditional cures as a starting point from which to produce more effective, less harmful medicine.

For example, qing hao su , an herb that has been used to treat fever for over 2,000 years in China, was scientifically proven to contain anti-malarial properties and its active compound,

13

behind her words. The institution sees enormous profit in prospective international students, so much so that it carelessly ignores the needs of existing students who deserve to be prioritized.

Thankfully, this discussion allows an opportunity for SFU and other institutions to learn from UBC’s mistakes, and critically examine where they allocate their own resources. While it’s important to entice future

students to SFU, hopefully this institution has the sense to use its money to help better the experience of its current students, both foreign and domestic.

In other words, SFU: please treat your students with respect and don’t spend our money on exclusive bullshit. Place the focus on your current students, the thousands of us who are easily accessible, need education, and will benefit far more from your financial aid.

artemisinin, was then isolated to make medicine.

One of the biggest concerns with traditional native medicines is that they have not been scientifically vetted. Unlike modern medicines, which filter through various tests before being mass produced, people usually doubt the trustworthiness of traditional remedies because the knowledge of their effectiveness only comes from cultural experience.

In this regard, it is important to adopt a more scientific approach to prove the effectiveness of traditional medicine. Chinese medicine, for example, is a system of traditional medical techniques that have been gradually incorporated into modern Chinese medical practices.

Outside of China, many researchers in Europe and the US are also becoming increasingly interested in using Western techniques to analyze complex biological systems, as part of the Chinese ideology that sees the

body as a networked whole. They do this by studying how genes and proteins interact throughout the body when a disease develops, instead of just examining a single gene or molecule.

For many years these traditional medicines have been part of conventional academic teachings, and many universities in China offer degrees in traditional medicine. Many native cures do work; however, they lack the formal and systematic explanations for how they work.

While traditional medicine has so much history to support its use, I, like most people, turn to modern medicine more often than not. But when it comes to treating the root cause of certain illnesses, I feel that traditional remedies are the better answer. With more systematic study, it would be easier to integrate traditional medicine with the modern healthcare system — a move that would be beneficial for everyone.

d e m u t s o C e Th I

think the mascot is dead.”

That’s all the opposition’s radio announcer could say about what he had just witnessed. It was a timeout in the first half of a Clan basketball game in the spring of 1996, and the gym fell dead silent as one of SFU’s central figures was injured. Yes, laying unconscious on the ground was the dilapidated, ratty, smelly, yet beloved SFU Gorilla.

His clearly unrehearsed attempt at a trampoline slam-dunk — resulting in his head connecting directly with the rim, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground — was a sight the crowd had never seen before.

The idea of a crazy costumed character causing a ruckus on campus, however, is a scenario that is all too common at SFU. SFU’s mascot didn’t die that night.

In fact, he wasn’t really even an official mascot. However, the moment is indicative of this school’s bizarre costume culture, which seems to see a constant rotation of strangely dressed figures taking up residence on Burnaby Mountain.

For almost 50 years, creatively costumed individuals have roamed SFU’s halls, revved up our sports fans, and even occasionally dated our presidents.

SFU may be a “commuter school,” but if you stay long enough, you might just notice that it’s also a “costumer school.”

The need for a mascot at SFU was recognized almost immediately. Unfortunately, recognition is far from realization.

The very first issue of SFU’s original student newspaper, The Tartan, printed in September 1965, included an exciting announcement for a contest to choose a campus mascot. Although the ad promised a prize that

was “too fabulous to put in words,” the editorial staff seem to have never determined a winner, and the contest was never mentioned again as the paper folded within six issues.

The early years at SFU certainly weren’t an ideal time to have a mascot. The radical nature of the school’s formative years made pretty much everything fair game for mockery and dissent. The few costumed individuals who turned up in the first decade of SFU’s existence were far stretches from the big, cuddly dog we have today — most were pranksters looking to raise a little hell every now and then.

It would take more than a decade before any costumed character would truly win the hearts of the student body.

In comparison to most schools, the number of yearly visits SFU receives from bears is relatively high.

While the usual suspects have always been black bears from the surrounding forest, beginning in the summer of 1976, the school would become a frequent hotspot for an entirely different sort of ursine guest, native to a local fast food chain.

In 1974, popular restaurant A&W first introduced their large, cuddly orangesweater-wearing brown bear mascot, the “Great Root Bear,” in a series of TV commercials featuring a catchy tuba jingle. Within two years, the Great Root Bear was already ‘Ba-Dum, Ba-Dum’-ing his way up to SFU, and soon found himself fraternizing with some very prominent people on campus.

At an event that took place near the swimming pool in March of ‘76, a photograph was snapped that showed the Root Bear holding hands with SFU’s then-president Pauline Jewett.

It was the beginning of a nearly year-long love affair.

Of course, it wasn’t a real ‘love affair’ but it would be reported as such in the campus’ pesky student newspaper The Peak, whose editors used the photo to create an elaborate longrunning joke about the pair. Inspired by the wacky antics of Monty Python and a burning curiosity about the personal life of their ‘spinster’ president, co-editors Lee Rankin and Brian

McDonald published stories in the newspaper throughout the summer chronicling Jewett and the Great Root Bear’s ‘relationship.’

It was a rocky romance to say the least, with the couple constantly breaking up and denying their involvement with each other. The two apparently disagreed fervently on a campus strike taking place, and the Root Bear is quoted by The Peak as dumping Jewett due to her “bleeding heart liberalism.”

The prank finally came to a dramatic climax in the fall of that year when the editors of The Peak took advantage of A&W’s promotional services and had the mascot come to a council meeting to present the president with a bouquet of red roses.

Jewett was good natured about the entire event and jokingly expressed some reservation about making the relationship so public before taking the

flowers and denying the bear a kiss.

While at the time the story was determined worthy enough to make the cover of the November 10, 1976 issue of The Peak, Rankin looks back on the whole thing as “pretty adolescent.”

SFU students would continue to make use of A&W’s mascot — the Root Bear appeared at a variety of functions in the late 70s and early 80s, but as far as the public was concerned, he kept his paws off the president from that point on.

Since its inception, SFU has had a strong Scottish connection.

The school is named after scottish explorer Simon Fraser, the first ever gift SFU received upon opening was a broad Scottish claymore, and the Athletics nickname “Clan”

has its roots in the of people from Sc the mid-1980s, the piece of the puzzle: Wait, what?

While the origin rilla — the Clan’s mascot for more t aren’t very clear, it’ speculated to be d someone happene suit. But whether i loween costume or deal, when the suit of Athletics market rison, a legend was Its cloudy origin of a mascot that ha so many different years, that almost it swears that they first. Beginning a plain, ratty gorilla

term for a kinship cotland. Finally, in ey added the final : a gorilla mascot.

ns of the SFU Gounofficial official than a decade — ’s most commonly due to the fact that ed to own a gorilla it was an old Halr a Salvation Army got into the hands ting head Rod Hars born. n story is befitting as been played by t people over the everyone who did y were one of the around 1985, this suit with holes in

its knees was used sporadically. For years it was mainly worn at the corner of Gaglardi and Burnaby Mountain Parkway, and only occasionally at important games.

In the early 90s, the suit was still being shared by a number of different performers: some game recaps describe a Gorilla sometimes capable of doing backflips, but other times barely able to stand without falling on his head.

In 1993, the costume passed to a young business student named Victor Tamm, who accidentally became the first regularly performing mascot in the school’s history.

Two weeks into his new job as assistant to head of Athletics marketing Rod Harrison, Victor Tamm

was given a rather odd job, even for an intern.

Harrison happened to be on vacation at the time, and when the Clan faced off against UBC in an early preseason basketball game, Tamm was told that “someone normally gets in the gorilla suit.” He happily obliged, but didn’t quite understand that he wasn’t expected to fill in for every game.

Tamm borrowed a jersey from men’s basketball head coach Jay Triano, put on a headband, bought a $20 drum, and showed up to every single game cheering his heart out. Both Triano and women’s coach Allison McNeill were so delighted by the life he brought to the crowd that, upon his return, Harrison told the intern he “now had a full-time job.”

Tamm developed a routine which saw him banging his drum

along to Queen, air guitaring on his back like Angus Young, and giving away t-shirts to the crowd, all of which helped evolve the Gorilla into a real mascot.

He also helped promote SFU sports by running around campus in the suit, showing up in residences and around the AQ, and urging people to go to games. His efforts were a huge success, and the Clan soon saw double the attendance to their basketball games.

The Gorilla was a star attraction, especially to elementary and middle schoolers who attended the games in droves at the time. Tamm printed out a few photos of the Gorilla in action and soon he was facing hordes of tiny followers, asking for his autograph at every game.

The Gorilla would even take a few trips off the mountain, travelling

with the basketball team to a playoff game in Washington where American fans made Tamm fear for his life, attending Vancouver Grizzlies press conferences, and appearing in a Canucks game intermission show.

At the Canucks game, Tamm had a run in with the UBC Thunderbird.

Before their scrimmage hockey game, Tamm told the T-bird to take it easy on him since he’d thrown his shoulder out.

When the UBC mascot didn’t listen, the Gorilla beat him up in front of the entire Pacific Coliseum. Tamm says it was easy to get the best of the mascot — his lack of a big-head freed his movement, so he could make it look like he was wailing on him with abandon.

16

FEATURE

As Tamm’s successor would soon learn, being inside the Gorilla costume had its advantages, especially when it came to UBC attacks.

While Tamm would secure a job with SFU Athletics at the termination of his internship, his legacy as sports marketing intern created a brand new requirement for the position.

According to James Phillips, who took over Tamm’s job in the

fall of 1995, one of the main interview questions was: “do you fit into a gorilla suit?” Phillips did, and was immediately thrown into the fire with a novel challenge: he was a first-time mascot going to the Shrum Bowl.

Held almost annually until 2010, the Shrum Bowl was SFU Athletics’ premier event. It was the one time a year SFU played football against UBC, but what occurred on the field was often a sideshow to what took place in the crowd. Alcohol consumption was high, mustard and ketchup bombs were always on hand, and mascots were clear targets for mischief.

In 1993, the Gorilla’s head was stolen by some UBC fans during a game held on SFU turf, so when Phillips made the trip out to Thunderbird stadium for the ‘95 instalment, he knew he was in for a treat.

It only took a single snap before the UBC Thunderbird ventured over to taunt SFU’s fans. In an ill-advised choice, he specifically targeted the SFU wrestling team. Apparently, the mesh fence separating them was nothing for 10 wrestlers, all of whom broke through and gave the UBC mascot a good pounding.

Phillips, the opposing mascot, was soon charged by a number of vengeful UBC fans.

He tried to swat them away with his drum but was eventually overwhelmed.

Pulled out of the dogpile by security, both mascots were escorted from the stadium. Even

November 17, 2014

away from the game, Phillips said that the Thunderbird continued to challenge him to a personal fight because his drum had allowed him to avoid the injuries the Thunderbird had sustained.

Phillips’ job settled down after that, although the Shrum Bowl incident did help inspire him years later when he co-produced and co-directed a documentary entitled Behind the Mascot, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2004.

After Phillips was hired as head of marketing, the costume was passed on to a rotating group of athletes — after all, it seemed

through a rebrand because, well, they were all stolen.

The Clan’s primary logo at the time was a exact replica of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers’ interlocking “SF,” slapped in front of a maple leaf instead of an oval. The Gorilla also posed problems, not only because the NBA’s Phoenix Suns already employed a similar mascot, but also because Dinning agreed that it made absolutely no sense.

Dinning and a committee, which included formerGorilla Phillips, started working with graphic designer and SFU alumnus Clay Yandle to design

wrong to have a prominent professional staff member continue to wear the Gorilla suit.

A young track athlete named Hidayet Arslan wanted to take the Gorilla’s basketball routine up a notch. He asked if he could perform a slam dunk off a trampoline during the game’s first time-out, and Phillips said “great,” without thinking twice.

He showed up to the game and witnessed what is still the most talked-about mascot blunder in school history, banging his furry head against the headboard.

Although Arslan did return to the game after slamming his head into the baseboard, the first ever rule for SFU’s mascot was instituted: no trampolines. This didn’t turn out to be an issue, as developments were already underway for the creation of new mascot, that would not only be incapable of dunking, but would hardly be able move.

a new mascot. Finally taking the school’s Scottish tradition into account, a Scottish Terrier was chosen in 1996 as the unanimous choice for the new mascot; his name was McFog the Dog. The perfectly rhymed name was suggested by SFU Athletics staff member Margaret Jones, who borrowed the nickname of Patrick McTaggart-Cowan, SFU’s inaugural president. McTaggartCowan earned his nickname during World War II as chief meteorologist for the RAF Command. After an extended period of poor weather, aviators started to call him “McFog.” Combined with the tonguein-cheek reference to Burnaby Mountain’s normal state of clarity, Dinning loved the name; Yandle submitted two separate McFog designs, one aggressive and angry, and the other one more child- and family-friendly.

Dinning chose the latter, but while McFog’s image was being

In 1995, a major shift occurred in SFU’s Athletics department when inaugural director Lorne Davies retired after 30 years on the job.

New athletic director Mike Dinning came in with a desire to break down the barrier between varsity athletics and recreation.

He sought to remove the exclusivity of Clan Athletics apparel and make it available for purchase by any student.

Before Dinning could open his new sports shop, however, SFU’s logos and image had to go

sold on everything from water bottles to t-shirts at the new sports shop, students were less than impressed by him. Many felt that the new kilt-wearing, mustachioed terrier was simply not intimidating enough.

One Peak writer claimed to have seen McFog “taken down from behind and mugged by

features editor email / phone

Max Hill features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

three pre-teenagers” and lamented that he wasn’t forced to enter into a cage match against the Gorilla to earn his place.

Another source of ridicule and difficulty for performers was McFog’s enormous head. It was so large that it caused the person inside it to frequently tip over, rendering “McFog the Log” almost immobile.

While McFog was also treated to a Shrum Bowl assault in his first year, keeping up with tradition, his need for a handler and difficulty moving didn’t allow him to pump up the crowd like the Gorilla did. By 2003, McFog was gone.

While there are a number of rumours about what happened to McFog in 2003, lack of popularity and waning interest in mascot maintenance are the most likely factors in Athletics’ decision to discontinue McFog at the time. The Dog would not be put down for good, though — he soon returned with a brawnier physique, a fresh attitude, and an extra ‘g.’

In an attempt to strengthen community spirit at SFU, Student Services acquired the rights to McFogg’s image in 2008. Yandle was once again tasked with updating McFogg, keeping his family-friendly vibe while making him more ferocious with a more muscular frame.

Student Terry Forst, an active member of orientation and student life at SFU, would be the first person inside the new McFogg suit. He rotated mascot duties between a group of students, bringing new consistency to McFogg’s exaggerated movements by teaching movement classes

acutely aware of the fact that he was skinnier than the recommended waist size of the costume as his velcro kilt slowly started to slide down to his knees.

While trying to let his handler know of the situation without speaking and ruining the illusion that McFogg was a real giant anthropomorphic dog, SFU’s mascot flashed the crowd.

Suspenders were added to McFogg’s look following the incident, and he has avoided exposing himself ever since.

After a successful run under the watch of Student Services, McFogg returned to Athletics in 2010 and can be seen at most varsity sporting events as well as any student event that requests his presence. However, the McFogg costume still doesn’t allow for the most agile of performances.

A handler is required, the person in the suit can’t stay in the suit for over 20 minutes without a long cooling break, and the head still contains a rather bulky fan, but McFogg has finally found a place in the community’s heart.

While his technical challenges have contributed to McFogg being an ‘inside dog’ that isn’t allowed out much for football games, he does keep up with his duties and even has his own Facebook and Twitter pages.

McFogg isn’t alone on campus these days in the crazy-costume game. While they may not realize it, many students have continued the traditions pioneered by the Gorilla and even the Root Bear.

The most notable of these are the SFU Power Rangers, a group of students joyfully mixing promotion for student government with 90s nostalgia and supertight spandex. Besides promoting EDM concerts, passing out

with a friend from the theatre department.

The new costume was not without its problems, however, and Forst found himself in a bit of an embarrassing situation at an open house event in May 2008.

As he started to walk through Convocation Mall, Forst became

candy and unintentionally giving freshman girls lessons on the male anatomy, they’re joining a long, costumed battle against SFU’s ‘no-fun’ reputation.

So before you dismiss SFU as a concrete prison, maybe just pick up an odd costume, put it on, and embrace everything this place has to offer.

ARTS

arts editor email / phone

November 17, 2014

Tessa Perkins arts@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

17

Urinetown

Ballet BC No. 29

Flashdance

Grilo in Concert

November 1 – 29, Firehall Arts Centre

November 6 – 8, Queen Elizabeth Theatre

November 11 – 16, Queen Elizabeth Theatre

November 8, Vancouver Playhouse

What if there comes a time when water shortages are so severe that it becomes a privilege to pee? Urinetown is back at the Firehall to explore this possibility with hilarious characters and songs, while playing with established musical theatre tropes.

Unique to this show is the narrator who breaks the fourth wall to welcome us to Urinetown , “the musical not the place,” and explain what we’re about to see. His conversations with the inquisitive Little Sally throughout the show explain what is going on, and as he explains in detail what we’re about to see, he says things like, “too much exposition can kill a show,” while Little Sally asks “what kind of musical is this?”

As the citizens count their pennies and line up to pee at the public amenity, Caldwell Cladwell discusses his plan for higher fees and his trip to Rio de Janiero.

Bobby Strong works at the public amenity and after meeting Cladwell’s daughter, Hope, finds the courage to let people pee for free and stand up to the corporation, Urine Good Company. Officers Lockstock and Barrel try to calm the crowds as Bobby leads the rebellion and Hope is torn between supporting her father or her newfound love, Bobby.

While self-aware and verging on cliche in its mimicry of common musical theatre devices, this show manages to be fresh and inspiring.

Anton Lipovetsky’s performance as Bobby was particularly impressive, along with Tracey Power as the precocious Little Sally who never broke her childish persona, and Andrew Wheeler as the headstrong Cladwell.

Ballet BC’s 29th season opener was another triple bill of bold contemporary ballet. The show’s title, No. 29, also refers to their 29th new creation since renewing the company in 2009.

A.U.R.A. (Anarchist Unit Related to Art) by Jacopo Godani was first presented by Ballet BC in 2012, and this stark, minimalist work was worth seeing a second time. The lines of bright fluorescents hanging above the stage moved up and down to create very different moods throughout the piece. This work provided beautiful partner work between two of the male dancers and had a strong, aggressive tone that was emphasized by the blunt music of 48nord.

My favourite piece of the evening was Fernando Hernando Magadan’s world premiere of White Act. Inspired by La Sylphide and the romantic era, when tutus were long and ballets were lengthy love stories, this work dealt with the idea of the unattainable and temptation of the unknown. The desire to find true love sometimes leads us down dangerous paths, and this idea was represented through stunning emotional choreography, as the dancers seemed to embody and break free from the tropes of classical romantic ballets.

The final piece, An Instant, was a world premiere by Lesley Telford that had a beautiful, cinematic quality. It was inspired by a poem called “Could Have” by Wislawa Szymborska that was recited as the dancers represented the themes it contained. The cinematic quality of this work was emphasized in the way the choreography seemed to pause, rewind, and move in slow motion, as some sections were repeated or slowed down for emphasis. We were left with a haunting image of one dancer backing away from another as if in slow motion, and the poetic words, “It could have happened. It had to happen. It happened earlier. Later. Nearer. Farther off,” ringing in our ears.

Everyone can picture the iconic scene from the film Flashdance, when Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) drenches herself in water, but unfortunately this iconic image was missing on opening night. Alex did the dance and arched her back over the chair, but the water was a blatantly missing element that everyone was expecting. The image used to advertise this show involves the main character on a chair with water spraying off of her hair as she puts her head back, so it was too bad that this iconic moment was missing on opening night.

This technical malfunction may have been out of their control, but my other complaint is that the role of Alex Owens, while dance heavy, should still require a stunning singing voice, yet that element was also missing. Once you get over these issues, however, it is a really enjoyable show, and the classic songs from the soundtrack, “Maniac” and “What a Feeling,” were performed with the right amount of passion.

Alex is a steel worker by day and exotic dancer by night, but her dream is to be a professional dancer and attend Shipley Academy to receive formal training. She ends up falling for Nick Hurley, son of the steel mill’s owner, and their relationship is stormy as Alex struggles to accept his help to get her an audition at Shipley. Alex’s best friend, Gloria, is a fellow dancer at Harry’s Bar, but she is convinced by C.C., a competing bar owner, to dance on his Chameleon stage instead.

While the girls at Harry’s pride themselves on “putting it on,” Chameleon is all about taking it off.

While the story itself isn’t realistic and some of the technical aspects of this show left something to be desired, it was still a hugely entertaining show that will please Flashdance fans.

Joaquin Grilo is a powerhouse of flamenco talent. His fiery footwork and ability to embody the music was simply magical. His whole body was used to translate the flamenco guitar playing of Juan Requena and singing of Jose Valencia into fluid, precise movement. As the headlining show of the Vancouver International Flamenco Festival, Grilo showed why flamenco is so powerful.

Grilo has won many awards, and his traditional flamenco technique is superb — this is what allows him to take that knowledge and add his own personality to his work. This show was full of Grilo’s sense of humour as he slyly looked at the audience or paused for comedic effect. The crowd loved him.

Flamenco isn’t just about the dance though, it’s about the relationship between the dancer and the music. Valencia and Requena were on stage with Grilo as the music and dance became one entity, and they also had solos which showed off their tremendous talent.

Shouts of “Ole” could be heard from the audience throughout the show, and Grilo, Valencia, and Requena didn’t get away with a simple bow, the crowd clapped and cheered until the curtains opened again and they treated us to an improvised jam session of pure flamenco passion.

18 ARTS

Divinity: Original Sin, which was released back in June, follows two heroes, or Source Hunters as they’re known in the game, on a quest to save the world from Sorcery. Larian Studios started a Kickstarter campaign for the game, and after successful fundraising, they brought us this delicious, old-school, classic RPG. The thing that struck me right off the bat was how the game looked, played, and felt like an AAA game rather than a Kickstarter project. The lush and beautiful graphics consisted of detailed environments, beautifully designed monsters, and a vibrant colour palette that took my breath away.

Harking back to the old days of Fallout 2 and Wasteland, the game is rife with

November 17, 2014

deep lore, fleshed out characters, and a high level of deep customization. The combat is unlike the traditional RPGs that we’re so used to playing these days (think Mass Effect or Dragon Age) in the sense that the combat is a turnbased affair. You initially control two party members, but you can extend your party to a total of four characters.

The game allows you to choose a specific predetermined character class from a list of classes — such as Knights, Battlemages, Wizards, or Rogues — depending on your play style, but your choice is not binding. If you choose to start the game as a Fighter, you can easily turn him into an Archer/Cleric later on in the game.

This game harks back to the traditional RPG roots and reminded me a lot of Baldur’s Gate in that there is no hand holding.

It does not tell you where to go, what to do next, or who to talk to.

You have to talk to anyone and everyone to progress through the story, and you can take up many side quests along the way in

order to increase your level and improve your gear and armour.

The combat is complex and addictive, and the environment plays a huge role. You can use a fire spell on an oil barrel to make it explode, and if the enemy is standing on a puddle of water, you can use lightning spells on the water in order to electrocute them.

A great deal of effort has gone into the soundtrack as well, and I can safely say it is one of the best I have heard in quite a while, with slow, soft melodies playing in the background while you’re exploring a city and rising to a crescendo when in combat.

Perhaps the only drawback I found is the inventory system, which can be a chore as it is both frustrating and timeconsuming to transfer items to another character.

This is not an easy game, but once you start playing it, it can be difficult to stop. New players are invited to get lost in this game’s hugely detailed world, but it also welcomes old players with open arms. If you’re an RPG fan, do yourself a favour and go get this game.

Are you comfortable knowing that someone is reading your personal emails? Do you dismiss the paranoid crazies who holler about Big Brother watching you? Is national security a priority that trumps other concerns?

Before you answer these questions, watch Laura Poitras’ Citizenfour — an alarm clock for some people’s ignorant slumber.

THE CDM’S

MASTER OF DIGITAL MEDIA Industry – Focused Program Startup Business Support

4 Major Canadian Universities Competitive Scholarship Opportunities

13th SSION AT CDM NOV SE FO IN E TH R FO REGISTER info-session thecdm.ca/ 28th NE WEBINAR NOV LI N O T EX N E TH JOIN ars thecdm.ca/webin a collaboration between thecdm.ca

One colleague in the media business said, “It’s all conspiracy theorist garbage.” Another person told me she had no problem with the government spying on her as she had nothing to hide. If you hold either of these views, or don’t even know anything about Edward Snowden and the bombshell revelations of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) excessive abuse of power, then Citizenfour may be the most important thing you will see in years.

This documentary primarily takes place over eight days in the confinement of a hotel room in Hong Kong, where Snowden and other journalists (including Glenn

Greenwald) sort out how they are going to release the classified NSA documents in their possession.

Although Poitras contributes nothing aesthetically grabbing — the shooting is standard with on-the-fly framing choices and intuitive cuts — the flow of her editing melds together a plethora of material including encrypted messages, dishonest statements from both Barack Obama and the director of the NSA, and testimony from Snowden.

This creates a spy thriller made from real life with a fascinating and heroic protagonist at the centre.

Snowden is charismatic and intriguing as we witness the surveillance of him and his partner.

Citizenfour shows the intimate struggles of Snowden and the results of the NSA’s lack of transparency. The portrayal of American security agencies’ search for Snowden cuts to the heart of the problem: the unconstitutional actions of the NSA and the lack of concern from the president who is trying to condemn Edward Snowden while also attempting to brush the issues under the rug. Sure, Citizenfour looks at the proceedings from a one-sided perspective, but I’m not sure there is any other honest way to approach this material.

The NSA has access to people’s personal emails; politicians try to minimize the extent of these crimes and deceive you into thinking that it is absurd to believe that things are as bad as they seem. National security is being used as an excuse to surveil millions of people who are not a threat. Citizenfour must not be seen for its artistic achievements, but for its informative condensing of recent history.

If we hit the snooze button and sleep through this alarm, the consequences will be far graver than missing a day of work.

ARTS

From Rationing to Ravishing, currently on display at the Museum of Vancouver, shows key couture pieces from the pre-war, post-war, and wartime eras, and focuses on how designers’ creations changed during these eras. While this may be the description given by the museum, we feel that the exhibit is not a story about the clothes, but a story of the rise of the fabulous independent woman.

The exhibit begins with a brief introduction to the ’30s, when outfits were practical and sentimental, just like the women wearing them. Having had their roaring ’20s truncated by the Great Depression, these women opted for slim waists, pouffed shoulders and a flattering and sensible Aline skirt. However, as World War II rolled in without caution, this one-toned reality of fashion for women was pushed away.

Out the door went sentimentality and soft shoulders; the woman of the WWII period embodied power and capability. As men went off to war, women seized their jobs in factories and became more empowered and independent than ever. Structured shoulder

November 17, 2014

pads replaced puffed sleeves and pants replaced flowing skirts, creating the figure of an independent woman. However, femininity was not completely thrown out with the extra fabric. Slight accessories still adorned their necks and fancied blouses were worn in moderation.

The war did not only have an effect on the women wearing the clothes, it also had a profound effect on the people making them.

As German forces stormed through Europe, they occupied many of the most fabulous places to shop. The undisputed capital of style at this point was Paris and during WWII the City of Light was firmly under the tight grip of the Nazis.

Madame Gres was a famous couturier who loved whipping up pleated full skirts and dresses with revealing cutouts. One particularly fabulous Gres dress in the exhibit was a black wool and satin number. The story goes that, to keep her seamstresses out of trouble with the Nazis, Gres replaced time-consuming pleating and fabric volume work with intricate cutting and complex construction. The dress had almost 80 pieces to it and was all done within the limits of fabric rationing mandates.

Times were tough, but so were the women! Wedding gowns that

had previously been large and loufa-like affairs were slim and trim with an austere elegance and grace.

For women of the day, frivolousness was unpatriotic. One such wedding gown from the exhibit was made out of an old parachute!

After much struggle and heartache, the exhibit moves into the post-war period. The war was over, frugality was thrown out, and with it, the fabric rationing laws. In short, women were sick of austerity and it was more than time for a rediscovery of fashion. Enter Christian Dior and his collections elegantly coined the “new look.” This way of dressing was a full-bodied alternative to the masculinity of the war years and matched the feelings of the women of the day.

Our favourite room of the exhibit showed off all the evening wear from this period. Full skirts, tight bodices, and an intense amount of beading and feathers, dresses in this section were a treat for the eyes.

This exhibit, while small, is full of fascinating experiences and stories brought to life through the garments that illustrate how women’s clothing paralleled the times. It gives the observer a good look at women in the different eras and how their clothes changed, but more importantly who they changed into. For any lover of fashion, textile, or beautifully made garments, this exhibit is a must see.

Secular humanists groan when movies such as God’s Not Dead and Son of God gross millions at the box-office. “They’re preaching to the choir,” they scream in their own choir-like unison. These movies infuriate them to the bone. Why? Perhaps it is for the same reason that I detested The Theory Of Everything (admittedly, this biopic is nowhere near as alienating as the formerly mentioned films; however, its agenda lies deceptively in the background). It is unbearably maddening to see your worldview trashed in order to prop up a contrary one.

Although worldview analysis is a legitimate tool in the critic’s hand, it should not be decisive, as a film is more than just ideology.

From a technical standpoint, this is not a dreadfully made film. The production design is authentic as it recreates the mid 1900’s; compositionally, the visuals are conventional but effective at highlighting the physical aspects of Eddie Redmayne’s admirable performance through close-ups. The film excels at visually capturing Stephen Hawking’s slow progression of being healthy to becoming wheelchair bound.

It is the writing and storytelling that make this film the worst kind of kitschy schlock.

Stephen Hawking is a humanistic hero who is glorified as a patriarch of atheism, thus puffing up the atheistic spirits of the chorus already singing Hawking’s praise.

As this is a biopic, ask yourself, was his divorce from Jane Wilde done without any confrontation in the light of his demanding need for care due to his physical decay? Why is

19

the abuse by Hawking’s second wife glossed over?

Conveniently, Hawking’s rumoured nights out at strip clubs are excluded. It seems a little too suspicious that the events the story skips over are the very ones which would make us see flaws in Stephen Hawking or those around him. Even in a scene that identifies his objectification of women through a pornographic magazine is played off as humourous. Everything feels fake and too nice.

Evidently, film critics such as Mike McCahill who cried, “ban this sick film,” in The Guardian regarding God’s Not Dead, will not say such things of this movie. Why? Because their worldview is being propagandized on-screen. I have no problem with banning abysmal Christian movies if they are abysmal, but equally I also have no problem banning The Theory of Everything because of its poor storytelling.

From a worldview standpoint, my main objection is that Hawking’s atheism is seen as rational (with no evidence given) and the theistic beliefs of his wife (Jane Wilde) irrational. There is an interesting exploration to be delved into here about a wife and husband with contrasting views on the natural and supernatural, but since this film leans so far to one side there is no struggle to be had.

The film thinks it’s nice that she has her own beliefs, but that she is most definitely wrong and it never explains why. Jane is a smart woman, just not when it comes to her faith.

At the end of the film, even after Hawking preaches one of the most cringe-worthy speeches in recent memory — telling us the meaning of life — his ex-wife’s faith still has not been refuted nor has any evidence been marshalled for denying supernaturalism. Yet the choir will sing.

20 ARTS

When looking at Antonia Hirsch’s exhibition at the SFU Gallery, John Carpenter’s 1987 film, Prince of Darkness, came to mind. Satan is portrayed as infectious green ooze imprisoned in a jar and kept hidden from the world by a secret Catholic brotherhood, so that he may not call forth his progenitor. This “father of Satan” or “Anti-God” resides in the realm of antimatter and is summoned through a mirror acting as a portal.

The film’s characters believe that this anti-being will bring about the end of the world through its negation of our universe. Hirsch’s exhibit brought to mind this realm of antimatter, represented as a space of negation accessed through mirrors.

Under sombre lighting, the first reflection encountered in the exhibition is the viewer’s own. Framed in a three-part, room-dividing screen, an oblong glass makes the viewer aware of themself in the space, similar to the feeling of seeing

November 17, 2014

oneself reflected in a street window while walking, but also allowing the viewer to see beyond the reflection.

The second instance is that of a black and white still image in a circular frame, reflected on a similar monochrome moving image on the far wall. The former image taken by NASA is of an asteroid, specifically 433 Eros, whereas the latter is a stop-motion-like succession of images taken of a withered potato in rotation. An outline of a shape (is it of an asteroid? a potato?) painted on the standing screen glass ostensibly connects these images.

Projected onto an anamorphic black shape painted on the far wall of the gallery, the potato resembles an asteroid, just as 433 Eros is potato-like in its shape. The asteroid refers to a space beyond that of our phenomenological experience, while the potato is terrestrial, literally from the earth.

The convex frame around the asteroid alludes to portraiture framing, but it also refers to the

sign-shaped sculpture positioned next to the tuber video.

Claude glass is a black mirror that was used by landscape painters before the widespread use of photography. Normally convex-shaped, it was carried in a pocket or in a satchel and positioned in such a way that the painter would have his back to the scene he was painting. Dozens of black mirrors, in the shape of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, cover this sculpture that resembles a standing sign.

This work can be read as a comment on the prevalent and pernicious use of mobile devices in the contemporary moment, as most of us are constantly looking at the world reflected in our personal black mirrors.

Through social media, we project our narcissistic selves into the internet; a negative space that connects and distances in equal measure. If we are gazing into this void, who, or what, is looking back at us? Nietzsche states that “if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” What happens if we gaze into the abyss and only see ourselves?

Mother Mother’s latest album, Very Good Bad Thing, showcases the juxtaposition of dark songs and upbeat tempos that fans of the local-bred band have come to expect. Much like their 2012 album The Sticks, VGBT shows off Mother Mother’s ability to produce both high-energy aggressive songs, and slow, slow songs that are like lullabies.

Lead vocalist Ryan Guldemond can take much of the credit for this. As Guldemond’s aim in creating Mother Mother was to create a band based on vocallydriven pop songs, his vocals are a key in every song, be it upbeat or slower moving.

The opening track on the album, “Get Out The Way,” is a jolting start: it opens with a blunt synth beat that continues through the song. The melody is bold and aggressive, just as the title suggests.

While “Get Out The Way” is in no way Mother Mother’s most lyrically inspired song, Guldemond and back-up vocalists Molly Guldemond (his sister) and Jasmin Parkin still help to make the song high energy.

The band does this type of song well, as shown throughout the album, including on the title track.

“Very Good Bad Thing” has a great dance beat (if you are into that sort of thing), and like the previous song, is very up-tempo. However, it differs from “Get Out The Way” in that its lyrics do not match

the upbeat melody. It is really about control and an addiction to power that the narrator cannot give up, thus giving it a contrary nature as the lyrics clash with the melody.

The song “Reaper Man” takes the point of view of the Grim Reaper. As noted by Ryan Guldemond and drummer Ali Siadat, it is a “victorious song about being the misfit, the underdog.” The song’s narrator states at one point, “Oh, yeah, I’m an ugly mess/ Not in the face but in the head.” At face value, it is a self-deprecating song, and so it is interesting that the band perceives it as a victorious song. The combination of a slower melody and bleaker lyrics makes for a very dark pop song.

Mother Mother pulls the style off just as well as they do with the more upbeat songs.

Their style is vocally-driven pop, and this latest album does not break from that. If you like high-energy, check out “Monkey Tree” or “Shout If You Know;” if slow is more your speed, I recommend “Alone and Sublime” or “Have It Out.” They master both the bleak and the (seemingly) cheery songs.

They have a different sound than their contemporaries in the pop music world, and it continues to be endearing. If you have not had the privilege to check them out, Very Good Bad Thing is your chance to do so — it shows the band at their very best.

SPORTS

sports editor email / phone

November 17, 2014

Austin Cozicar sports@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

21

While nobody is claiming that any position in soccer is an easy one, not every position is known to be reserved for the “crazy,” like that of goalkeeper.

In terms of responsibilities, this position requires 90 minutes of focus, courage, bodily sacrifice, vocal directing, and consistency.

There is constant pressure to do your job properly, because you’re simply not allowed to make mistakes. Any takers?

Leave it to Surrey native Priya Sandhu — she agrees that you need to be a little bit crazy to stand between the woodwork and shoulder the duty.

“Yeah, you have to be crazy to be a goalkeeper,” said Sandhu. “You have to realize that not everything is your fault, shake things off, and have that tough personality [. . .] it gets easier with time.”

The freshman goalkeeper was thrust into the action immediately after arriving at SFU, appearing in every game of what was a difficult season for the Clan — they went 2-16, and 10 of those losses were shutouts.

Despite the baptism by fire, Sandhu persevered with

a passion for the game that stems from her very first year of playing; even then, she set her sights high.

“I was five years old and already wanted to be in the World Cup!” said Sandhu, with a laugh.

“My mom played soccer when she was younger and so did my brother, so I wanted to be a part of it too.”

Much like other players in this unique position, the role essentially chose her, albeit assisted by a little push from her mom and then-coach.

“Everyone didn’t want to play in net when the team would rotate, so my mom kept putting me there and eventually I made a save at some point. So I stayed there, I couldn’t say no to my mom.”

Driven to succeed, Sandhu began to compete at higher levels, playing with the Whitecaps prospects program, the provincial U-13 team, and eventually winning gold at the 2013 Canada Summer Games.

Quite simply, the Clan are in capable hands, and the young keeper feels that the added challenge of Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) competition has helped her

grow. “At first it was overwhelming and a hard adjustment, but next year we know what to expect,” she said.

The 17-year-old explained that the opportunity to play at SFU was a great relief and affirmation of her goals as an athlete, and this was coupled with a dream invitation to make her first international appearance training with the Canadian U-20 team in February.

“When I finally got to commit [to the game] it was a relief and I was really excited,” said Sandhu.

“The prospect program that I had played in when I was little was held at SFU, so I made a pact with a friend at the time that we would go to SFU together.”

Playing with the Clan has also benefitted Sandhu through the valuable coaching staff, which Sandhu believes can take her game to a higher level.

Even though it was a transition season for the players and the

philosophies introduced, the rewards are sure to follow soon.

“The coaching staff we have are really great,” said Sandhu, who found a mentor in assistant coach Anna Picarelli, herself a former goalkeeper.

“Anna helped me so much because she’s a smaller goalkeeper [like me] and has taught me a lot of things that other coaches haven’t been able to.”

Despite her short time with the team, Sandhu is already a leader on the pitch, requiring that she develop the vocal aspect of her game in order to guide the outfielders in front of her.

“I’ve been a part of teams where they didn’t bring that out of me, but it was good and I felt really challenged.”

Vocal development will surely aid in Priya’s career goals as well, which are equally as daunting as her playing aspirations. The Surrey native has zeroed in on studying criminology in the hopes of eventually becoming a lawyer.

“I feel like I will do well in that area, so I plan on getting high marks and getting into law school. Sometimes it’s hard to focus on school, but it’s something I’ve always wanted.”

A goalkeeper is constantly facing challenges head on, both mentally and literally on the pitch. For Sandhu, who made an impressive 76 saves over her 18 appearances for the Clan, educational challenges will surely be met with the same fortitude that was shown in her first campaign in the net for SFU.

22 SPORTS

November 17, 2014

w

Last year, the women’s basketball team made nationals and finished in the top 32 of NCAA Division II play. This year, they’re jumping right into the fire — head coach Bruce Langford made sure that their opening non-conference games would challenge his team.

“We wanted to have as tough a schedule as we could,” said Langford.

After opening the season on the road against the Notre Dame de Namur Argonauts and the Academy of Art Urban Knights, the Clan will play their home opener against the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos, who were ranked first nationally in the pre-season rankings.

And it won’t get much easier when Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play begins.

The Clan will open up conference play at home against the Western Washington Vikings, who are a favourite to sit atop the conference, and finished second last year.

“They were the pre-season favourites in our conference to win, so we open up against the best right

For their final home game, the Clan gave fans something great to remember until next year, sweeping the Saint Martin’s University (SMU) Saints.

It was Senior’s Night — the last time that Brooklyn Gould-Bradbury, Madeline Hait, Amanda Renkema, and Kelsey Robinson would suit up for the Clan in the West Gym. Robinson and Renkema lead the team in kills, while Hait is fourth on the team for kills.

Despite the sweep, it was actually the Saints who opened up the scoring on an SFU attack error. However, fitting for Senior’s Day, Robinson and Hait opened up the Clan’s scoring with two straight kills.

Throughout the first set, the Clan looked dominant, putting up two separate five-point streaks

off the bat,” explained Langford.

“They’re physical, they’re big, they have a couple of kids who really shoot the ball, they are very competitive, intensely competitive, so it will be a tough start too.”

The tough start is meant to get the Clan accustomed to a higher level of play from the getgo, elevating their level of play

and a four-point streak, culminating in an 11-point lead. However, Saint Martin’s battled back with their own five-point streak.

Still six points up, SFU wrapped up the set quickly with Robinson notching the final kill.

The momentum from the first seemed to carry into the second, with the Clan scoring 10 straight points as the set opened. After that, the offence balanced out with both teams taking turns notching points, but for the Saints it was too little, too late. With the help of an additional five-point streak, SFU easily won the second 25-13.

The Saints had the quick start in the third, taking three straight points. However, SFU would prove too much, and thanks to six- and seven-point streaks, the Clan won 25-14, thus completing the sweep.

Robinson led the team with 10 kills along with sophomore Devon May. Renkema also put in a solid effort, netting nine kills on her final night in the West Gym. While libero Alison McKay led the scoresheet in digs, seniors made a great impression here as well, with Robinson

throughout the season. The team will need to do this in order to make nationals once again — their ultimate goal.

Although Langford admits that he doesn’t think the team is quite ready to win a national championship, he knows that the key is to make it and get in a position to win: “Our goal is to get to nationals and see what happens,” he said.

The coach hopes that the team can advance past the west region semifinal, where the Clan finished their season last year — he believes the mix of new and returning talent will help them achieve that goal.

“We are hoping to better that. We are excited about some of our incoming prospects, and we’re very happy with the people returning,” he said.

and Gould-Bradbury taking second with nine digs each, a total matched by setter Danielle Curtis.

“I was very proud of how the girls stayed focused tonight,” head coach Gina Schmidt told SFU Athletics. “There are always lots of emotions with it being Senior’s Night but the team stuck to the game plan and executed well on a big night.”

With this win, the Clan bring their record to 16-8, and 10-6 within the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Each win marks a new

Erin Chambers, who led the team in scoring with 692 points and averaged 23.1 points per game last season, returns as one of the team’s two seniors. Chambers was named the GNAC preseason player of the year.

Katie Lowen, the other returning senior, is second in team scoring.

Fellow returner Meg Wilson led the team in field goal percentage — the only Clan player able to notch a percentage over .500 at .612.

Although the team lost key senior players — including MarieLine Petit, Rebecca Langmead, and Chelsea Reist — Langford is looking forward, not back. With the help of new players such as Ellen Kett, who plays on the point, and redshirt-freshman Elisa Homer, Langford hopes that this team will be better than last year’s.

“This season’s team will hopefully shoot the ball better as a whole than last year,” he explained. “I think that Ellen Kett and Elisa Homer are going to really add some shooting to our team this year. I think [returners] Ariana Sider and Alisha Roberts are both going to be able to hit some shots, so we have a good number of kids who can shoot the ball.”

w

SFU hockey lost last weekend’s series against the Selkirk Saints. Having traveled to Castlegar to face the Saints, they put up two goals in both games, but fell 4-2 and 5-2.

Jared Eng, Jesse Williamson, Saylor Preston, and Trent Murdoch all had tallies for the Clan.

With the loss, SFU now sits at fourth place in the league.

Clan football lost their second-last game of the season against the first placed Azusa Pacific Cougars 21-6. Despite an offensive no-show, the Clan defence played a great game, keeping the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) undefeated Cougars scoreless in the first quarter. Running back Stephen Spagnuolo also continued his tear with 146 all-purpose yards.

Read the full recap online at www.the-peak.ca.

Clan volleyball came up with a loss to the University of AlaskaAnchorage Seawolves Thursday night in their second-last game of the season. The Seawolves jumped to 2-0 lead winning the first sets by scores of 25-13 and 25-20. SFU battled back and prolonged the game, winning the third set 25-23.

However, Anchorage would close the game winning the fourth 25-17. Kelsey Robinson led the team in kills with 12.

height for the team, as their previous high in the NCAA was 11 total wins, with only six in the conference, achieved last season.

Men’s basketball wrapped up their exhibition season with a loss to the Division I University of California - Irvine, by a score of 128-92. Sango Niang, Justin Cole, and Roderick Evans-Taylor led the team’s offensive charge, notching 52 of the Clan’s points. “In the first half we didn’t put out a great performance but I was happy with the way the team adjusted and refocused in the second half,” head coach James Blake told SFU Athletics.

SPORTS

On the surface, things have worked out for Marcus Lattimore.

Hailing from Duncan, South Carolina, where the median household income is below $30,000, the running back received a $1.7 million insurance payout after the second of two devastating knee injuries he suffered playing at the University of South Carolina ended his NFL hopes.

The second was so catastrophic that Lattimore — a guaranteed first rounder — slipped to the fourth round in the 2012 draft. After trying to rehab the knee for over two years, Lattimore called it quits without seeing a single snap. Due to his injury status, he didn’t collect his salary from the 49ers, but was awarded a $300,000 signing bonus. A cool two million for five years of work; not too bad for a kid now returning to college to finish his degree.

You could fill a book nobody would ever read with manipulative, draconian NCAA tactics and its practice of modern indentured servitude. The biggest problem with the organization and its supporters is that they have embraced the ultimate capitalist impulse — the commodification of its workforce.

Thursday afternoon, the men’s soccer team was in Seattle for the first game of the west regional tournament, with hopes of reaching the Final Four. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as the Clan lost a hard fought game 1-0 at the hands of the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders.

“Obviously it’s disappointing,” said head coach Alan Koch after the match. “We played well, and created scoring chances. We dug ourselves a bit

November 17, 2014

23

When Lattimore retired on November 5, the university and his former head coach Steve Spurrier were lauded in the press for offering him a job with the program if he so chooses, citing the cherished memory of Lattimore’s bruising running style that made him so popular on campus.

But how noble is a program that drives its athletes to their collapse while hiding behind the nebulous curtain of amateurism?

Supporters of the NCAA have a rote response to charges of exploitation: a) nobody told these kids to play football and b) they get a free education out of the experience. But these arguments simply deflects from the severe inequalities innate to the system.

Consider the University of South Carolina before Lattimore’s arrival. In the five years that Spurrier was head coach before Lattimore, the program never won more than eight games. USC was considered a fallback option by college recruits who failed to make it into the bigger programs and divisional powerhouses — Alabama, Georgia, Florida.

of a hole in the first half, but we created chances in the second.”

Indeed, the Clan dug themselves into a hole by conceding an early goal in the first half.

In the 22nd minute, Northwest Nazarene forward Marshall Hartley took a through ball, dribbled it past SFU keeper Brandon Watson, and scored from 15 yards out to give the Crusaders an early 1-0 lead. This turned out to be the only goal they needed, as they held the Clan scoreless during the rest of the match.

In the second half, the Clan went into desperation mode.

After being subbed off in the 35th minute, newly crowned Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) player of the year Jovan Blagojevic started in the second half. He immediately made his presence felt, with two

After Lattimore, the team immediately vaulted into National Championship consideration. Quality recruits rolled in, sales of Lattimore’s jersey (with his number but no name) at $60-a-pop skyrocketed.

Williams-Brice Stadium was renovated and Spurrier’s income jumped from $1.75 million to $4 million annually in a five year time span (2009-2014). All this occurred while Lattimore was the team’s thoroughbred, carrying the ball up to 40 times a game. Everybody involved makes money except those creating the product.

Athletics have never been about the individual players — they’re eminently replaceable cogs in a machine. As fans, we’ve become conditioned to ignore the very real human costs of gladiatorial sports. We are far too desensitized to catastrophic injuries that bring games to screeching halts before the player is removed from the field and the important stuff continues. We don’t see the hours, weeks, and months of rehab, or the persistent pain that shadows athletes throughout the rest of their lives.

So why do we adamantly substantiate the NCAA’s absurd claim

chances to tie up the game, one of which was blocked, and the other sailed left of the net.

a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat. Despite the improved effort in the second half, the Clan weren’t able to tie up the game.

“Their goalkeeper played great and made a lot of great saves,” said Koch. “We needed composure in front of the net, and weren’t able to find that quickly enough to tie the game up.”

In all, it is a tough way to end the year, with many predicting that the team would duplicate last year’s highly successful campaign. And while making the playoffs is no small feat, much more was expected of this team. With five seniors graduating, one of whom is stand-out forward Jovan Blagojevic, the team will try to improve next season and once again compete for the GNAC title that fans expect.

The Clan were able to draw nine fouls by the end of the game, and the shots taken near the end were in their favour, 15-8. But the good guys weren’t able to put one in the back of the net, and the game ended in

to amateurism, reverting to talking about tuition and living costs?

Consider that in many sports leagues, there is a union mandated minimum salary — $420,000 per year for a rookie in the NFL, a compensation that reflects the dangers of the sport and the limited lifetime earning potential of athletes.

For a college system that is every bit as profitable, is a $40,000 annual ‘salary’ (in terms of cost covering) a sufficient repayment for the sweat, equity, and hazards these athletes invest and experience?

Not in the least.

24 DIVERSIONS / ETC

November 17, 2014 FREE CLASSIFIEDS are available to SFU students for personal use. 30 words maximum. Drop by The Peak offices in MBC 2900 to submit your ad, or go to our website: www.the-peak.ca or email: classifieds@the-peak. ca. One ad per person. All others: $12 + GST per week, prepaid, for 30 words. Each additional 10 words: $1 + GST. Five ads or more for the special price of $8 + GST per ad. Cash or cheque only please.

Make cheques payable to: Peak Publications Society, mail with the ad, attn: Business Manager.

around the Metro-Vancouver Area.

For information and meeting location, call Don: 604-329-9760 or Art 604-462-9813.

Are you Gay, Bi-sexual or just not MATH GOT YOU SCARED? sure? Need a safe place to talk? WORRIED ABOUT THAT UPHOMINUM is an informal discus- COMING FINAL? Contact Scott sion and support group to help gay, Cowan for all your Math/MACM bi-sexual and questioning men tutoring needs. Competitive with the challenges of being mar- rates, extensive experience and ried, separated or single. We meet great past reviews! scottc@ every Monday Evening in locations alumni.sfu.ca f13

CLASSIFIEDS@ THE-PEAK.CA

Across 1- Rotisserie part 5- Daredevil Knievel 9- Longfellow’s bell town 13- Hokkaido native 14- Thorn 15- Coconut-husk fiber 16- Ladder step 17- Folded food 18- “Tosca” tune 19- Line on a weather map 21- New Haven collegian 22- Medicinal amount 23- Not a dup.

25- Top-flight 27- Nickname for New York City 31- Nominating 35- I smell ___!

36- Gutter locale 38- Start 39- Romanian coin 40- Fear greatly 42- Brian of Roxy Music 43- Come afterward 46- Gaelic language of LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Ireland or Scotland 47- Gossip bit 48- Lean against 50- Precedent setter 52- A party to 54- Italian bread?

55- Small mountain 58- Extinct bird 60- Allow as a discount 64- Actor Morales 65- Up ___ (trapped) 67- English public school 68- Mock 69- Packing heat 70- Actor Calhoun 71- Dagger of yore 72- Untidy condition 73- Actress Gershon Down 1- Dress often worn by

Hindu women 2- Name of 12 popes 3- ___ uncertain terms 4- Harbor helper 5- Ecol. watchdog 6- Bad habit 7- ___ Gay 8- Wound 9- Professoriate 10- Mower brand 11- Reformer Jacob 12- Dies ___ 14- Like barber poles 20- Dadaist Jean 24- Stare angrily 26- Arrest 27- Farm machine 28- “Goodnight” girl 29- Unit of magnetic field strength 30- Tennis champ Chris 32- ___ Kick Out of You 33- Dressed to the ___

34- Garden figure 37- Stand used by painters 41- Wanted 44- Put to use 45- Ages 47- Floating mass 49- Polite refusal 51- Quattro minus uno 53- ___ Dame 55- “His and ___” 56- This ___ outrage!

57- Take it easy 59- Upper limbs, weapons 61- Yours, in Tours 62- Ripped 63- “Only Time” singer 66- Some MIT grads

Hope to see you there!

HUMOUR

November 17, 2014

A press release by H.A.I.R reports that “bearded men are continuously being ignored by directors when it comes to roles where the character isn’t circling down a drain of depression.” Instead, H.A.I.R. suggests these parts are being reserved for actors without facial hair so the audience can more easily discern if the character is someone to be pitied.

A new organization based out of Los Angeles, California is calling for an end to the fetishization and negative representation of bearded men in pop culture media.

“It’s time that people start recognizing men with facial hair as more than just a stereotype,” pleaded Joel McScruff. “For decades, we’ve been nothing but follicled meat, only needed when the audience has to know immediately that a character has recently experienced trauma or loss. We’ve had enough.”

The new coalition of Handsomes Against Ill Representation (H.A.I.R.) was founded last month

by McScruff and several other bearded actors who claim they are being discriminated against by studios for their fuzzy faces.

As McScruff explains: “The problem is that most people are unaware that this keeps happening because it’s become the norm. Take Breaking Bad, for example. Walter White starts off the series all la-deda and bare-faced as the moon, but when he’s diagnosed with cancer and slowly metamorphoses into the dark and moody anti-hero, he grows a mean-looking goatee.

“And I know Lost is still a sore spot for everyone to talk about

— and believe me, after that finale I hate bringing it up too — but there’s another clear example of using beards to portray misery. They need to show that Matthew Fox is an alcoholic after leaving the island?

Here’s a simple solution: give that man an off-putting, sort-of-full-butnot-really-looking beard.

“Men with beards are more than just people who’ve lost their families or relapsed addicts. For Pete’s sake, Santa Claus has a beard and he’s one of the jolliest icons of all time.”

Instead of deliberately seeking out actors without facial hair, McScruff and his organization are suggesting that audiences might be able to recognize when a character is feeling melancholy by portraying emotions and actions that align with this. But McScruff says that before the issue of misrepresentation can be resolved, the public needs to be aware that the problem exists in the first place.

“We live in a culture where men are subjected to these unrealistically high expectations that we can’t act beyond our facial hair. Well take a look, world. I am a man with a beard and I demand the same respect you would give to a man who’s committed to shaving daily, even if razor burn is the worst.”

humour editor email / phone

Jacey Gibb humour@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

25

26 HUMOUR

November 17, 2014

Against all odds, a recent SFU graduate has shown the world how to make an arts degree work for him.

After graduating with a degree in English (minor in liberal studies), 23-year-old Monay Maker struggled with one major roadblock: he was lost as to how to actually utilize his degree in the corporate job market. Already in debt with $20,000 in student loans, Maker knew he had to make a move.

“As someone with a BA, I’m all about making big money,” said Maker. “But at first, the big money I was after elluded me.”

Formerly a full-time barista in Coquitlam, Maker began voicing his desire for quick cash and better employment to his customers. A regular at the coffeeshop, known only by the name of Dr. Iceman, offered Maker a job helping him ship high quality pharmaceuticals to the less fortunate and mentally ill.

“I was ecstatic when Iceman offered me a job, as he seemed to only ever pay for his coffee in $100 bills. I felt like this was my out,”

explained Maker. “Other employees always spelled his name ‘Icemen,’ and that’s the reason he loved me. I was the only one who spelled it right. I knew my English major would open up a world of opportunity for me.”

After quitting his barista job on the spot, Maker began working full-time for Iceman, helping to conceal pharmaceuticals for international shipments.

“Having the chance to read so many wonderful books during my degree led me to suggest the perfect way to smuggle drugs across the border,” said Maker. “We would cut out the middle part of the book, place the product inside, and then just close it back up again.

The Bible makes a great door stopper, but it’s even better for shipping dope.”

After paying off his student loan and making enough money to support himself, Maker shifted careers and made a bid for the entertainment world.

It was during this time that he wrote all of the songs that appeared on his debut album, Get Cash or Die Tryin’.

“Having taken multiple poetry classes, I was already familiar with some of the basic rhyming patterns,” said Maker.

“Like I already mentioned, I knew my degree was gonna get me that cash.”

Released back in June of this year, Get Cash or Die Tryin’ debuted at the top of the US billboard charts and has enjoyed seven hit songs, including Maker’s first single, “C.U.N.T.” Standing for “Chosen Ultrahip National Teacher,” Maker’s song has been particularly praised for its honest and inspiring chorus: “I don’t know what you heard about a fee / But a bitch can’t not respect my degree / No student loans, no debts, you can see / I’m just a motherfuckin’ C.U.N.T.” But instead of basking in his absurd wealth, Maker recently began to give back to the academic world that helped make him the success he is today.

Using the profits from his album sales, Maker is currently funding the construction of several colleges across the country in hopes that future generations can enjoy similar successes.

Only offering a single course, students attending Maker’s college will graduate with a degree in “Monay Making,” which will prepare them for a life of incomparable stardom, burgeoning popularity, and, of course, big big money.

HUMOUR

November 17, 2014

27

28 LAST WORD

features editor email / phone

My continously growing list of unreasonable fears — including sharks, sink holes, stray bullets, black holes, and death by accidentally tripping and hitting the pavement with my teeth in a way that they go up into my brain — all share the noticeable theme of beLQJ GHDWK RULHQWDWHG ,¡OO DOVR EH WKH ÀUVW WR DGPLW WKDW MXVW WDONLQJ DERXW GHDWK WHUULÀHV me. Few things in life are as guaranteed as the fact that we’ll all one day be dead, and that fact is simultaneously unsettling and reassuring in equal measure.

So why am I deciding to share all of this personal and otherwise useless information with you? Because I want you to know how uncomfortable the subject makes me, so that hopefully you’ll recognize just how strongly I feel about assisted dying.

There are a multitude of terms for it — assisted dying, assisted suicide, euthanasia — but they all result in the same thing. According to National Health Services, euthanasia is “the act of deliberately ending a person’s life to relieve suffering,� whereas assisted suicide is “the act of deliberately assisting or encouraging another person to kill themselves.� Both become options for consideration when a terminal patient is seeking a way to accelerate their death.

Why would someone want to end their life any sooner than they have to? There are many reasons, actually, but some of the most common are if a patient knows they’ll be in considerable pain and is against prolonging the process; the sheer cost of maintaining proper medication and treatment to delay the inevitable; or — one of the biggest points of contention for assisted dying supporters — wanting to reclaim control of their life and end it on their own terms.

Max Hill features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

Quite bluntly, the practice of assisted dying is illegal in Canada, and anyone who commits the offence could face up to 14 years in jail. The issue is currently in front of the Supreme Court of Canada, where the BC Civil Liberties Association is arguing in favour of “doctor-assisted dying only, and not assisted suicide at the hands of just anyone.�

By lessening restrictions on the practice and awarding it more legality, the BC Civil Liberties Association hopes that fewer illegal assisted suicides will take place and that there will be a reduced chance of said suicide attempts being botched or leaving the patient in even worse shape. Quebec is the only province in Canada to successfully pass right-to-die legislation back in June of this year, meaning that terminally ill patients over the age of 18 who are in constant pain and stand no chance of improving can submit a request for a doctor-assisted death.

A 2014 poll conducted by national charity Dying with Dignity (DWD) found that 84 per cent of surveyed Canadians agreed that “a doctor should be able to help someone end their life if the person is a competent adult who is terminally ill, suffering unbearably, and repeatedly asks for assistance to die.�

Even more surprising is that 80 per cent of Christians and 83 per cent of Catholics polled showed support for assisted dying. The poll’s scope is admittedly limited in that only 2,500 Canadians were sampled, but DWD still calls it “the most comprehensive Canadian survey ever undertaken on the public’s perception of dying with dignity.â€? ,Q %ULWLVK &ROXPELD VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ D IXOO per cent of people surveyed were found to be in support of assisted dying.

Aside from the legality of assisted dying, a large chunk of opposition comes from various religious groups who entirely oppose the taking of another per-

November 17, 2014

son’s life. The Death with Dignity National Center dedicates a large part of its website to listing which religious groups are against assisted dying, as well as specific reasons as to why it conflicts with their beliefs. Among these is the view that the “killing of a human being, even by an act of omission to eliminate suffering, violates divine law, and offends the dignity of the human person.�

However, some religions acknowledge that a person’s suffering and the need for compassion in terminal cases is important.

The Mormon Church, for example, acknowledges that “when dying becomes inevitable, death should be looked upon as a blessing and a purposeful part of an external existence. Members should not feel obligated to extend mortal life by means that are unreasonable.â€? Again, we encounter the issue of set rules and beliefs coming into conĂ LFW ZLWK ZKDW PLJKW VHHP WR EH WKH PRUDOO\ right thing to do.

No one wants to hear they have a limited amount of time left to live — but when you factor in the hopelessness that comes with knowing your illness is terminal and that your quality of life will only worsen going forward, it’s no wonder people are rallying behind the right to assisted death.

As someone who’s not in a situation where I have to choose whether or not I want to pursue assisted dying, it seems condescending to comment on if it should be allowed or not. From the outside, it’s easy for me to weigh in on the topic and say what I personally feel is right or wrong. In reality, the decision should fall in the hands of those who it affects most: the patients themselves.

No one has a say in whether or not they will die one day, but assisted dying helps people reclaim some control over their lives. Dying is inevitable; having no say in how you die doesn’t have to be.