Just Dance

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FIRST PEEK

November 24, 2014 · Volume 148, Issue 13

News

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FIRST PEEK

My name is Alison. I’m 22 years old, and I’m just about to finish my undergrad degree. I know it seems silly to introduce myself with my name and photo right there in the byline, but I think it’s important that you know a little about me.

I’m a pretty average young adult. I have a good GPA. I have a job that I love, and that I worked hard for. I have a lot of things going for me. I also have a mental illness.

I had my first panic attack when I was 15. I didn’t know what was happening. It was incredibly frightening. My body rebelled, taking the stress I felt and turning it into very real, painful and — at its worst — debilitating physical symptoms. While I struggled through coming to terms with this new invisible obstacle, I missed a lot of school, not something that was easy to explain to my 10th grade peers. I was embarrassed.

When I told my friends about

November 24, 2014

what was going on, they would say things like “don’t worry, things will calm down after exams” or “yeah, I get stressed out a lot, too.”

Sometimes I’m perfectly fine. I’ve gone years without my anxiety causing any disruption in my life. But then it comes roaring back, reminding me that at any time my brain can overload and cause my body to effectively shut itself down, to go into survival mode.

This year, my anxiety came back with a vengeance, in a completely different way than it had in my teens. The experience was so different that, again, I didn’t recognize what was happening. Being in university and dealing with a mental illness is no easy thing. Odds are that there are plenty of people you personally know who could attest to that difficulty, even if they’ve never breathed a word about it to you.

I can’t speak for every student dealing with a mental

illness, and to do so would be presumptuous. For me, it’s been a very isolating experience. While my friends carried on doing things that university students do — going out, drinking, socializing . . . all things that I love to do, too — I started to stay home, feeling safer somewhere familiar, afraid of how my body may react in an uncontrolled situation.

It’s also nearly impossible to properly explain. Mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety have become less and less stigmatized over the past decade, but they are still incredibly difficult to understand for those who haven’t experienced them. For my friends and family who are unfamiliar with anxiety, it can be tough to understand why I’m not able to go to flag football this week when I’ve seemed fine and happy all day.

Understanding may come, but it’s okay if it doesn’t. Being able to share what’s going on inside my head — which I often don’t understand myself — has become the most valuable thing in my relationships. Listening. Caring.

You can’t always know what’s going on with the friend who’s been skipping your shared tutorial lately. But you can listen if they find the courage to reach out.

Q: Is more campus lighting at night a better alternative than using the Safe Walk program?

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NEWS

While the legal battle concerning the anti-pipeline protests on Burnaby Mountain rages on, Doug McArthur, director of the SFU School of Public Policy, has co-authored a study examining the public policy aspects of the pipeline expansion.

The study, entitled Economic Costs and Benefits of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project

news editor email / phone

November 24, 2014

(TMX) for BC and Metro Vancouver, found that Kinder Morgan has exaggerated the number of jobs that would be created by the project, both in its construction phase and operations phase, by about three times.

In McArthur’s opinion, this “changes the job profile of the project quite considerably in terms of benefits for British Columbia.”

This study comes in the midst of a political battle taking place on Burnaby Mountain. On November 14, a BC Supreme Court judge granted Kinder Morgan an injunction against protesters who have gathered on Burnaby Mountain to block work being completed by survey crews for the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project.

The protesters refused to clear the site as the Monday deadline approached, and on Thursday morning, the RCMP enforced the injunction, arresting multiple individuals.

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

McArthur explained that the disparity between the estimates of his study and those of Kinder Morgan may be due to the use of a different multiplier in each.

He said, “We did the same thing that they did, except we used the multiplier that is used as a standard in the pipeline industry,” while Kinder Morgan “used a multiplier that is about three times that and which creates this misleading proposition.”

Kinder Morgan’s president, Ian Anderson, told reporters from The Globe and Mail that, while he has not yet reviewed the SFU study, he believes that “the SFU study has used a different set of assumptions than what [our] work has,” and that Kinder Morgan’s estimates are based on “fair and reasonable assumptions.”

He continued to say that the National Energy Board (NEB) based their estimates regarding job creation on research conducted by the Conference Board of Canada, an Ottawa based think-tank. The research estimated that the pipeline construction would generate 36,000 person-years of employment.

Regarding the financial benefits to municipalities in Metro Vancouver, McArthur said that they “are quite small on the scale of things.” He continued, “Given the cost to municipalities in terms of infrastructure and other impacts, the net revenues to municipalities would be close to negligible.”

Concerning economic benefits to British Columbia as a whole, the study found that they appear to be heavily exaggerated. Kinder Morgan has stated that the project would

Melissa Roach

contribute an estimated $50 million in annual tax revenue towards BC’s $44 billion budget, but has neglected to put this number in a greater context.

McArthur explained, “The proportion of the overall net financial revenues — outside of those earned by Kinder Morgan themselves — that would go to tar sands producers is in the range of about 68 per cent [while] about 31 per cent goes to Alberta and other provinces and the federal government.”

The study found that the $50 million that would go to BC is only approximately two per cent of the total revenues.

The pipeline has also generated controversy based on its environmental implications. Kinder Morgan has estimated that a “worst-case spill scenario” would cost $350 million, well within the company’s $750 million liability insurance coverage.

McArthur suggested that these estimates are not just conservative but “widely off the mark.” Based on the costs of previous onshore spills, he estimates that the cost of a “major spill” would be approximately $1 billion, whereas the cost of a “catastrophic spill” would be between $2 billion and $5 billion.

He also cited costly environmental impacts, such as the loss of wildlife habitat and the deterioration of the quality of water.

Anderson rebutted claims that the cost of a major spill would exceed Kinder Morgan’s estimates, citing a 2007 incident in which a ruptured pipeline cost $21 million to clean up.

When asked under what conditions the NEB should approve such projects, McArthur outlined two: 1) it should provide a “substantial economic benefit, which this one does not,” and 2) it should not cause significant environmental damages.

In any event, he said that the NEB ought to consider whether the economic benefits exceed the cost by a significant degree.

For McArthur, the answer is clear: “No they do not.”

NEWS

November 24, 2014

A new study from Statistics Canada revealed that over 20 per cent of Canadian university graduates scored a two or lower on a scale from zero to five measuring mathematical ability.

The study, titled Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies , examined adults aged 25 to 65 of differing education levels on their ability to use math and literacy skills to solve common problems in the workplace.

Individuals who scored two or lower on the scale are described by the study as more likely to struggle in understanding complex mathematical information and in using appropriate problem solving techniques.

The study also indicated lower literacy levels and problem-solving skills than expected for such a highly educated population.

The worst performers were graduates of teaching programs, causing the study’s authors to raise concerns about

educational departments. Other students who scored poorly on the math portion were arts and humanities majors. Science students scored much higher and, predictably, math students scored the highest.

Peter Liljedahl, an SFU associate professor in the education department, dismissed worries about teachers’ mathematical abilities.

“The data, over all, is misleading,” he said. “Although it can be argued that all elementary teachers will teach math, and hence need to be good at math, the same is not true of secondary teachers.

“There are many topics for which math is not needed — PE, social studies, French, English, art, etc. These teachers receive their undergraduate degrees in faculties that need little to no math, and then come to us to do a one-year teacher certification program,” explained Liljedahl.

He continued, “These teachers alone account for the percentage of education students said to be bad at math. They have not done math, they do not need math, and they will not teach math.”

Liljedahl asserted that science and math teachers, who require adequate skills in math, undergo the appropriate training.

“As for our secondary science and math teachers, and

SFU held events at the Burnaby campus last week to commemorate International Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR).

Held on November 20, TDOR honours transgender and gender non-conforming individuals who have been killed out of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

There have been 81 hate crimerelated deaths reported around the world this year alone. The TDOR

website lists 717 names between the years 1970 and 2012, and it is likely that many more fatal attacks have gone unreported.

The Day of Remembrance was created by Gwendolyn Ann Smith after the death of her friend, transgender woman Rita Hester, who was murdered on November 28, 1998. The Remembering Our Dead web project, which collects names of other victims, as well as a candlelit vigil are traditions that have carried on to this day.

SFU’s LGBTQ advocacy group, Out On Campus (OOC), brought TDOR to Burnaby campus with a candle-lit display where people could share messages of remembrance or of support to those passing by. The organization also hung profiles of some of the victims in Convocation Mall to help spread awareness and honour those who have died.

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our elementary teachers, we offer very good courses for them to ensure that they have the necessary mathematics to be effective teachers,” he said.

Daniel Munro, a principal research associate for the Conference Board of Canada, which released a similar study earlier this month, told The Peak that universities cannot be solely

to blame for the low numeracy and literacy scores of graduates.

“We should also look back at what’s happening from kindergarten to grade 12, because many universities say they’re doing the best with the students they get,” he explained.

“Studies of 15-year-olds show our students have slipped a bit, and some universities say the

‘raw material’ they get is not as good as it used to be.”

To help universities cope with these results, Munro’s report offered the following suggestion: “In general we do very well, but we’d encourage post-secondary institutions to take a look at what they’re doing and maybe integrate more literacy and numeracy and problemsolving into the curriculum.”

They also hosted a workshop on how gender and sex are socially constructed. Those in attendance discussed self-identity, making mistakes with grace, and how to be an ally.

Boyle explained that the majority of names displayed in Convo Mall belong to trans women of colour.

“We continue to collect names and add photos, so hopefully next year we will have a more complete display,” said Boyle.

An important topic touched on during the OOC workshop was how to approach using pronouns correctly. “Pronouns are tricky, especially since it’s not something you can read on a person,” they said.

Boyle suggested simply asking someone how they would prefer to be addressed: “You shouldn’t assume [based on appearance] that you should only ask this person; you should ask everyone you meet.”

People can often make mistakes and misgender someone else by accident. “It’s just one

of those things with language,” explained Boyle. “You say ‘I’m sorry,’ you make a mental note of it, and you just move on. It’s not a huge deal.”

Another ongoing OOC initiative is the Trans and Gender Diversity Project, which is compiling a guide for trans people on campus to “help them access different facets of university life.”

Boyle said that this includes, “everything from how to change gender markers, about policies regarding name changes on campus, [and] transgender washrooms, which is a huge huge issue that I know various groups are looking to change on campus.”

Boyle concluded by mentioning that the OOC office is a safe space for people to come and discuss transgender issues, and they encouraged the SFU community to get informed and to get involved.

Marlena Boyle of the OOC education team said, “A lot of people were interested in discussions around intersectionality: the ways in which trans identity intersects with racism, intersects with sexism.”

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The numbers from the 2014 Fall Kickoff concert have been released, showing that the largest concert in Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) history also had a surplus of $10,992.

Zied Masmoudi, VP student services and project lead, presented his evaluation of the event to the SFSS board of directors on November 12.

“I can happily say that we have succeeded in fulfilling [our] goals [as outlined],” Masmoudi stated. He said those goals — diversity, accessibility, efficiency, and sustainability

November 24, 2014

— were achieved by featuring diverse artists, accommodating students with disabilities, and reducing the amount of energy used in terms of production, With regards to engagement, over 200 students collaborated to put on the concert. Masmoudi reported that stakeholders, including campus security, student services, and SFSS staff, were pleased with how the event went and how the volunteers conducted themselves.

Including staff and volunteers, over 1,800 people attended the concert on September 19. Of those in attendance, 30 per cent were between the ages of 16 and 18 and 65 per cent showed their SFU ID at the door.

Masmoudi explained the numbers: “Among the other 30 per cent, a lot of the attendees displayed that they are SFU students, but they did not bring their IDs. Unless students show their identification, we do not count

them. [. . .] I’m pretty sure the ratio is much higher than that.”

In the past, administration has expressed concern over non-SFU students attending the concert events. However, Colleen Knox, executive director of the SFSS, lauded the high number of SFU students who attended: “The university has a sense that non-SFU students coming to our campus do not have the same loyalty and respect for the campus, and so they really do like to see that what we’re doing is on behalf of the members.”

In presenting the financial report, Masmoudi suggested that there may have been an error in counting ticket sales, as there was an extra $300 in sales combined with a number of tickets unaccounted for by the end of the night.

Shadnam Khan, business representative added, “Some of the missing tickets weren’t actually missing tickets. I might not have accounted for them properly.”

Similar concerns around ticket sale disparities have been raised in light of the financial reports from previous SFSS concerts, but this is the first time that concern has related to a surplus, not a deficit.

In his recommendations for future events, Masmoudi suggested that the working group begin preparing for concerts sooner in order to book artists at lower expense.

Furthermore, he suggested that they reduce the number of tiers at which tickets are priced and begin

the actual concert at a later time in the evening.

At the end of the presentation, SFSS president Chardaye Bueckert brought up concerns about whether the board would continue to act as a working board — with members directly involved in event planning — or instead act as more of a governing body.

“It’s probably not the most sustainable thing to have the entire duty of organizing a huge concert fall on the shoulders of one or two individual board members,” she said.

Following Bueckert’s point, Khan recommended that Masmoudi formulate a proposal for a spring concert. “Based on what Chardaye said, board can then choose through what avenue they want to host a concert. I just want this to continue,” he explained.

Board voted in favour of tasking Masmoudi to bring forward a proposal for a spring concert to board.

NEWS

With NATO operations in southern Afghanistan scheduled to end in December 2014, New York University scholar Barnett R. Rubin led a discussion on November 19 as to what might happen to Afghanistan after NATO forces leave.

Rubin drew on his decades of experience working for both the United Nations and the United States government to present an analysis of how the future of the country might look.

Vancouver Attendees explored the connection between religion and violence at a lecture and book launch by Karen Armstrong based on her newest work, Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence, on November 17 at The Playhouse.

Hosted by SFU’s Centre for Dialogue and moderated

by Vancouver Sun columnist Douglas Todd, Armstrong spoke to the misunderstandings of violence’s connection with particular religious manifestations, and the need to recognize that religion is not the problem.

International studies students had the opportunity to mingle with professionals in related fields on November 20 at Crossroads and Connections, the International Studies Student Union’s (ISSA) fourth annual career night.

Students attended a networking skills presentation, after which they signed up for three presentations from an assortment of individuals such as Paola Lashley from Aritzia, Craig Vandermeer from Youth in Development, Gordon Marshall from the Trial and Appellate Council, and SFU professors of political science Robert Hanlon and Alexander Moens.

November 24, 2014

Concerns have been brought to the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) Advocacy Committee over the fact that students in residence are living with mould; this has been a persistent problem at the university over the past several years.

The problems are particularly concerning in the Louis Riel Building, which provides housing to graduate students and their families. Both the SFSS and the Graduate Student Society have taken a keen interest in the issue.

Students and university staff alike have raised complaints, including many reports regarding moulds growing on walls and those moulds becoming airborne.

According to Darwin Binesh, SFSS VP external relations and the Advocacy Committee chair, members from the SFSS and Student Council, as well as representatives from Teaching Support Staff Union ( TSSU), held a meeting in order to come up with possible solutions and strategies for the issues in Louis Riel Building.

The first step that the Advocacy Committee discussed was to raise awareness of the situation amongst students and to bring the matter up to the university as well.

“One thing that we have been looking to do as a society is to speak to the City of Burnaby,” said Binesh. The SFSS plans to approach municipal politicians regarding the issue to see if there is an opportunity for funding for the improvement of Louis Riel Building.

When asked what the SFU administration was doing to address these concerns, Terry Waterhouse, SFU chief safety officer, said, “We are in the process of doing a full building assessment [on a room by room basis regarding moulds and indoor air quality], and we are expecting the [building] report to be finished by January 2015.”

As soon as the report has been released, Waterhouse said that they will make a determination on what type of improvements need to take place in Louis Riel.

Currently, if a severely damaged condition is reported, they have to relocate the occupants and initiate repair for the specific room.

“We are currently relocating the students who are impacted by the bad condition, and we will continue to do that until the repair is finished, and we would not bring new students in until the spaces in residences were remediated,” noted Waterhouse.

Even though the report is due in January 2015, Waterhouse emphasized that building assessment is an ongoing process.

With regards to financing necessary repairs, Waterhouse explained that the money will have to come from the university budget, and that it would be up to the Finance and Administration department to allocate these funds.

Concerns over mould in residence have been raised over the past two decades, and are due in part to a lack of maintenance by the university. There has been an ongoing discussion surrounding the possibility of toxic mould in other buildings on Burnaby campus, such as the Education Building and Robert C. Brown Hall.

Although the university has examined some of these issues previously, the administration is now taking a closer look at Louis Riel in particular. “This is the first time that we have to look at the entire building,” said Waterhouse. He

explained that, in the past, there were some issues about moisture causing mould in other buildings, but the issues were handled on a one-by-one basis.

Waterhouse noted, “When we have reports and concerns, we respond to those as thoroughly as we can, and we have a very comprehensive set of methods that we use to determine the scope of the problem, and make sure we remediate [it]. We do not leave

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those spaces if they are problematic and we respond to those immediately whether [it is one room or the entire building].”

When asked what students can do, Waterhouse said, “We really encourage the students living in the residences to make sure that they are aware that they should be reporting the concerns they have about the quality of their rooms, especially regarding moulds, and we will be responding quickly.”

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8 NEWS

November 24, 2014

If you’re frustrated about Christmas decorations appearing in the middle of November, an SFU professor has bad news for you — the retailers don’t care.

Lindsay Meredith, SFU professor of marketing, argues that retailers would rather risk alienating a few shoppers than miss competing in the busiest shopping season of the year.

“Big ticket durables like iPads, iPhones, cars and appliances are bought in the November period or early December,” said Meredith in an interview with The Peak.

After conducting extensive research about the customerretailer relationship, Meredith

has attributed aggressive holiday marketing to three major reasons.

First, the advent of internet shopping has made markets more competitive than ever before. Meredith remarked, “Canadians compare prices on the internet [. . .] The consumer is much more knowledgeable about the price [of a product].”

This information means that

Cyberbullying in our school systems is usually understood as one student projecting their antagonisms upon another student, but what many do not realize is that cyberbullying can also be directed towards professors.

Lida Blizard, a nursing instructor who recently completed her PhD in educational leadership at SFU, conducted a study that looks at the cyberbullying of faculty staff members.

Blizard stated, “This study found that the platforms commonly used by students to target staff members were emails, end of term online evaluations, and faculty calling sites — for example, RateMyProf.”

The study also found that the most common factors behind cyberbullying incidents were a student’s dissatisfaction with grades, a student’s misconduct issues, and assignment difficulty.

The student’s retaliation would usually take the form of derogatory remarks aimed at the faculty member, or a demand for higher grades.

Blizard pointed out that these incidents had a negative impact on faculty members, including difficulty sleeping, depression, anxiety, and fear of the student.

Approximately 20 per cent of the staff members who took part in the study had thoughts of retaliation and a lower percent even had thoughts of self-harm.

Blizard explained, “The symptoms and [their] duration are very similar to the symptoms of acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Blizard reflected that many students do not realize the harm they might cause by posting hateful comments on sites like RateMyProf or on online course evaluations. In turn, many staff do not realize that their bad experience due to callous comments online is actually cyberbullying.

Furthermore, there are very few resources for faculty to draw upon to manage such conflicts.

Blizard said, “They don’t know what cyberbullying is about, and they don’t have education or training in how to manage such conflicts. Thus,

consumers are more discerning when buying high-ticket items, which forces retail stores to compete by making products available for longer.

The internet has also increased online shopping and lessened trips to established “bricks and mortar” stores by shoppers who prefer to use credit cards or Paypal.

they are left at their own ways to figure it out, which may not necessarily be effective.”

She continued that in order to stop the cyberbullying of professors, there must be support measures put in place at the institution.

Cyberbullying needs to be embedded into the curriculum and talked about in classes in order to foster an understanding of the issue.

“People respond to stress differently. [. . .] I can see how a student frustrated with the academic pressures and faced with

Secondly, Canadian retailers have to compete with businesses south of the border in Bellingham and Whatcom County. “We tend to have mark-ups that are higher than they ought to be, sometimes,” Meredith noted of the Canadian market.

By decreasing prices and marketing early and aggressively, retailers expand their window of opportunity to capture eager shoppers.

Lastly, and most importantly, Meredith explained that, in the end, it’s a competition.

Retailers are scrambling for any share of the market and thus push each other to reach out to customers as quickly as possible. This means that retailers are chasing each other in a frantic attempt to grab the attention of Vancouverites.

“So, it’s kind of like a race — who is going to get into the consumer pocket first,” said Meredith. “If you wait too long, the other guy gets all the loot and there are still consumers out there, but they’ve bought everything and you’re out of luck.”

poor outcomes might turn to online media as their preferred form of communication, rather than going to meet with their professor and trying to have a conversation about it,” Blizard said.

As the end of semester nears and final projects, essays, and exams loom, Blizard advised that everyone take a deep breathe before writing hurtful comments on online and offline course evaluations. “Consider the recipient on the other side of it, being yourself,” she said.

At the SFSS Annual General Meeting on October 22, not every student who wished to vote on the Build SFU motions was able to do so. In light of this, the SFSS board will host a Special General Meeting (SGM) on January 19 to revisit the two Student Union Building motions.

The SGM will also consider two other agenda items which require the membership’s approval: the declaration by the SFSS of an official position on the existence of Greek Life on campus, and a reallocation of funding from the Space Expansion fund to a Degree Completion fund for international undergraduates who would otherwise be unable to complete their degree due to increasing international undergraduate fees.

The Greek Life question has been an ongoing discussion at SFU, which does not support fraternities or sororities on campus. At a Town Hall held earlier this month, many students in attendance expressed their support for Greek Life. By officially polling the students at an SGM, the SFSS will have a more concrete idea of levels of support to bring to the university administration.

Science and business students voted this week on two referendum questions to establish the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) and the Business Administration Student Society (BASS) as their respective Faculty Student Unions (FSU).

An FSU represents all students in the faculty, who otherwise would be solely represented by their departmental student union.

A record turnout of 757 business students voted on the BASS question, with 697 yes votes and 60 no votes. Regarding SUS, 833 science students voted, with 768 yes votes and 65 no votes.

“I’m very relieved that students actually care about [this],” said Shadnam Khan, SFSS business representative.

Now that SUS and BASS are official FSUs, the next step is to host elections for executive positions in the spring.

OPINIONS

Before any late night exam at the SFU Burnaby campus, most instructors are required to present students with the phone number for SFU’s Safe Walk program. The necessity behind such an action should be obvious; anyone who has walked to the bus or parking lot after one of these late sessions will quickly realize just how dark the school actually is.

And if you are someone who usually finishes an exam early, there’s a real possibility that you’ll be walking to your destination alone, all the while muttering amazement at how

I don’t often have good things to say about Mr. Justin Trudeau, but I have to admit that I was impressed with him immediately following the shooting of Corporal Nathan Cirillo.

For the first time since becoming leader of the Liberal Party, I actually saw him show characteristics that one would expect in a Prime Minister, someone who could actually lead the country. Fortunately for me, this was short-lived, as Trudeau went back to his standard operating procedure — acting and speaking before thinking.

It was bad enough when Trudeau accused the government of “whip[ping] out our CF-18s [to] show [. . .] how big they are” as his initial response to Canada’s involvement in the international coalition to stop ISIS from overrunning Iraq. This statement would have been an inappropriate and juvenile comment in any case, but

November 24, 2014

empty a campus as big as SFU can suddenly become.

Having recently done this myself, it is remarkable that a school can prove to be so incapable of providing adequate lighting come night time, while simultaneously justifying the fees it charges to its students.

After all its years of existence, there are some areas of the school — such as the AQ pond — that are so dark that one feels overwhelmed upon stepping out the door. And depending on where you exit from, the darkness can be accentuated even more by trees, which seem to punctuate the blackness all around you.

But then, this is where the Safe Walk program is intended to help.

“Call the number,” the instructor will say, “and you will have someone escort you through the school.” But as well-intentioned as this is, the onus should not be on the student to ensure their safety. One reason for this is simple pride. As a young male student

his multiple follow-up comments continue to showcase his lack of understanding with regards to the situation in Middle East.

Around the same time that he made the previous statement, the ‘wanna-be’ Prime Minister was asked what Canada’s response would be if Turkey was attacked by ISIS, given our obligations under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty — the treaty that established NATO. Article 5 has been called the backbone of the alliance; it

opinions editor email / phone

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

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during my first year at SFU, I was certain that I was never going to make use of this offer.

Women are not exempt from such mentalities as well. A friend of mine thought it would have been too selfish of her to utilize the program simply for her sake, and decided to risk the lonely trek.

SFU is so dark at night that one may feel overwhelmed.

I should tell you that I’ve had two near physical altercations while walking on campus at night. The sight of me alone was enough to invite people of the worst character to indulge themselves, shadowing my every move with curses and threats, until I managed to run into a building or dissolve into a crowd of people, the unexpected sight of which calmed the haunting fears that come with being threateningly stalked.

establishes that if a NATO ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the ally attacked. Trudeau had to be told what Article 5 was before answering the question, and when he did answer, his response was that there would be a discussion before our nation fulfilled its treaty obligations.

I can assure you that at both junctures, escaping was the only thought that occupied my mind, not the fact that a dark campus lodged somewhere on a mountain peak afforded them this opportunity.

SFU has an obligation to safeguard its students. The lighting structure at SFU has to be improved. To this day, there are areas

that are pitch dark, and to manoeuvre around campus, students must walk through these areas. As dangerous as the Surrey campus is, one can at least be sure of a thick population of active people walking around it. The Burnaby campus must create a safer environment, rather than encouraging students to call a number.

To make matters worse, the Liberal leader also seems to think that in place of airstrikes against Islamic State militants, Canada should provide its winter expertise to aid “refugees, [and] displaced peoples fleeing violence who are facing a very, very cold winter in the mountains.”

For reference, the coldest recorded temperature in Iraq is -3°C, which is warmer than it was when I woke up this morning to head up Burnaby Mountain. Somehow, I think they’re more concerned about the murderous terrorists.

His domestic policies aren’t much better. His track record was already somewhat soured by his misguided beliefs that controlling and regulating pot would make it harder for young people to buy and that “the budget will balance itself.”

Though he was applauded as champion for women’s rights earlier this year after declaring “that future candidates need to [understand] that they will be expected to vote prochoice on any bills,” this policy shows him to have no respect for the differing viewpoints that make Canada such a progressive nation.

By demanding complete adherence to his own opinions, Trudeau is setting himself up to create a party where dissention and free speech are prohibited — hardly something you would expect from a democratic leader.

As the country counts down the days until Canadians head to the polls, Trudeau continues to prove exactly what the Conservatives have been saying all along: he’s simply not ready. One can only hope that the rest of the nation realizes it before October.

Though really, we shouldn’t be surprised to get commentary like this from a man whose other foreign policy statements have included concern over Russian intervention in Ukraine due to their hockey team coming up short in the Sochi Olympics, and having a “level of admiration [. . .] for China because [of] their basic dictatorship.”

10 OPINIONS

I know what you’re thinking: why on earth is this a “woohoo?” The answer is because all-nighters are fun! All-nighters are a part of the university experience, an essential part of student life, and a kind of personal initiation into the turbulent hell-ride of stress that every student goes through.

All-nighters give you something to proudly bitch about to your friends the next day — a wonderful

web of words to brush off the fact that you were simply too lazy to write that paper throughout the week, and that your time-management skills are horrendous: “I can’t believe I had to pull that all-nighter last night. I am that hard-working!”

So live on the edge and pull more of these things; they’ll undoubtedly turn you into the biggest academic badass your friends have ever laid eyes on.

A couple weeks ago, I pulled my first back-to-back all-nighter. Yes, I was awake for 48 hours. What you all must understand is that while staying awake for 24 hours makes you cool, staying awake past the 36-hour mark is just plain stupid. But, how else was I supposed to finish all that school work? There simply weren’t enough hours in the day.

When 36 hours had passed, my vision began to blur, my brain wandered in and out of focus, I began

to shake, and there were moments when I had slight trouble breathing. The exorbitant amount of coffee I kept drinking out of desperation to stay awake only worsened my symptoms, and depressed me as I realized that I’m a relentless coffee-addict. So lesson learned: don’t be an idiot. Find some time to squeeze in at least a few hours of sleep before you go back to bragging about what a sleepless renegade you are.

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November 24, 2014

Vancouver welcomed me nearly three years ago. While I’d visited the Lower Mainland a few times previously, the gargantuan metropolis provided me with a new context — these enormous buildings, this futuristic train whizzing through the sky, the never-ending sounds of man-made movement. I felt a stirring excitement interrupted by bouts of awe and uncertainty that were expected upon moving to my new home.

After bidding farewell to the small town in which I grew up, I vowed to myself that I would never return for periods lasting longer than four months at a time. I was fed up with the neverending sea of trees, the terribly rusted pick up trucks, the horses that trot through the Dairy Queen drive-thru, and most prominently, with recognizing the same damn people every single day.

Let me paint a general picture of what living in a rural setting for 18 years can be like. The small group of people you graduate high school with are most likely those who you went to preschool with. As such, you can’t avoid learning of all the trials and tribulations in your peers’ lives.

Some of you may see the positives in this situation, but those positives are also accompanied by the sinking realization that these are the only people in

your world. There are rarely any fresh faces in the crowd, no new individuals to get to know and form friendships with.

Additionally, I’ll attest to the stereotypes of small town gossip; because everyone seems to converse with one another, it can be incredibly difficult to maintain a private life. I even remember instances where certain community members suddenly passed away, and many people in the town spread word of the tragedies before the family members of the deceased had even learned what had happened.

Generally speaking, those who have rarely left the small town in which they grew up are secluded in a dome of specific ideologies, with limited knowledge on what the world is like beyond the town’s borders.

Moving to Vancouver was overwhelming in that many of the people here had endlessly different perspectives on life, and were diverse in how they interacted with each other and even in what they wore.

I understand if it’s difficult for you to grasp my feelings — many of the friends I’ve made in Vancouver usually tell me they can’t — but the contrast between each setting surprised me upon my arrival.

Returning to my land of ignorance this past summer had me critically assessing my surroundings. Working at the local tourist

centre, I met with families from around the world who were “awestruck by the natural beauty of this tiny place,” by “how friendly the people are,” and how “everything is so close and convenient.”

Yes, a few visitors were putout that there was no Starbucks or McDonald’s, but my mindset on ‘nowhere-ville’ shifted slightly upon hearing that European families were vacationing in the area for a couple of weeks at a time.

So I spent the summer hiking and exploring some of the outdoor areas that I’d visited before but had never given much attention to while growing up. I placed myself in the shoes of a city-person, absorbing my environment as if for the first time. The conclusions I came to transformed my perspectives on rural living.

I came to understand that, while cities like Vancouver offer immense opportunity in the hustle and bustle of daily life, small secluded towns and their surroundings can offer a place of quiet, relaxation, peace, and natural beauty; mine is a place that I have a connection with and can return to should I need to unwind, breathe, and ponder my next steps in life.

Sure, visiting the grocery store is a chore, as I can’t turn an aisle without bumping into someone I know who’ll want a full report on what I’ve been doing the last three years, but I can say that I feel privileged to understand the true differences between rural and urban living.

I look forward to returning home for a quiet Christmas with my family and friends, and waking up each morning to the feelings of homey comfort without so much as the sound of a car passing by.

OPINIONS

How many times have you asked or been asked: “How can you read on that thing? I love the feel of a real book. I hate eReaders.”

Whether you’re the one hearing it or the one saying it, I understand — I am both a digital and ‘real book’ reader. I work as a bookseller and at my bookstore, we encourage those Fifty Shades and Fault in Our Stars buyers to keep reading after they finish this year’s blockbuster.

So when I read about people like Shannon Rupp renouncing digital reading on eReaders as a habit that disrespects and rushes the reading process, I want to tell her to just be happy more people are reading.

Firstly, let me educate Rupp, who seems to think her iPad counts as an eReader. An iPad is not a dedicated eReader, but a tablet with internet access, an LCD screen, and an abundance of apps. Kobo and Kindle are dedicated eReaders,

November 24, 2014

meaning they were made specifically for reading with their E-Ink screens that mimic the words on the page of an actual book. They don’t strain your eyes or give you a headache like a tablet will because they aren’t backlit; they’re ‘frontlit,’ meaning they project the light onto the screen from the sides.

New eReaders have a battery life of around two months, unlike an iPad, which will last for about 10 hours of use. The objective of an eReader is to replicate the paper-book reading experience as closely as possible, and I feel that it replicates it pretty well, if not improves it.

When the actual-brick-weight fifth book of the A Song of Ice and Fire series was released, I

said “no way” to the $40 hardcover and bought the $16 eBook.

In some circumstances, eBooks are just the better alternative.

According to Rupp, eReaders “homogenize” art like literature, making the reading experience the same for everyone. I don’t understand where they’re coming from. It’s always been the plot that sets a book apart — not its form.

Rupp insists that eBooks force the

reader to read faster rather than lingering to think as they would with a paper book. When did people become so opinionated about how other people read?

When I’m not reading for class, I’m definitely reading for pleasure.

I read the newest books that have the best reviews because all I need is a story to get lost in. I’m still thinking, but I’m not approaching a novel as a ‘learner’ because

11

reading fiction for pleasure is one of my stress-relievers. It distracts me on the elliptical machine, on a boring public transit ride, and during the tedious 15 minutes I spend drying my hair in the morning.

The fact that half the time I choose to read those books digitally doesn’t affect my reading experience, or how much I’m thinking.

Simply put, eBooks aren’t ruining our reading experience nor are they a hazard. If anything, they’re a more economical, portable, eye-friendly alternative for those of us who need slightly larger font or who pack fivetoo-many books on a camping trip.

People might assume I’m just another digital native in my generation defending the technology she’s grown up with. But let me tell you, I buy print books. I buy so many print books that I’m running out of shelf space and money for rent.

I can read both print and digital, and I enjoy having the option.

Reading is an extremely personal experience, so save your disdain about eBooks and quit bothering everyone with your print book elitism.

12 OPINIONS

November 24, 2014

over the past few decades. If we look at technological changes, the recent outsourcing of jobs, the decline in unionization, and the deterioration of societal equalizers such as public healthcare, it is understandable why the middleclass has been scrambling to hold on. We now live in a world where upward mobility is limited.

I like to think that all SFU students have at least one thing in common — that we all wish to build a life for ourselves that is better, if not equal to, the life our parents built for us. However, over the past 30 years, the income gap between the top one per cent of earners and the rest of Canada has been steadily widening and threatening our ability to move upwards on the class-scale.

What this means for us — the ones about to enter the world of full-time employment — is that we will have to work more to earn less. The Broadbent Institute reports that for every dollar increase in national earnings, 30 cents goes to the top one per cent, leaving 70 cents to be divided amongst the remaining 99 per cent of the population.

This gap, along with the list of reasons for it, has been growing

Statistics Canada has been tracking the wealth gap for over 30 years, but rarely is it mentioned by our nation’s leaders.

We often hear references to the ‘middle-class squeeze,’ which occurs when rising prices are met with falling incomes, but the numbers surrounding the wage gap are not discussed nearly as often.

The absence of income inequality on the Canadian political agenda should bother us, as Ottawa doesn’t seem

to care about how wealth has been redistributed unevenly in our country. We have the most at stake as Canada comes to a crossroads; if we don’t begin to take serious measures against the widening income gap, then Canada may no longer be a place of fair economic opportunity.

We must begin to ask more questions and put pressure on the government to address the issue.

Before the gap begins to contract, public discussion on how to resolve the issue is essential. Canadians deserve a government that works with them to create a better and more stable economic future.

If the notion that our generation (and future generations) will have to work more for less is upsetting, I suggest we think about bringing fair wages, fair taxation and strong public services to the forefront of our own agendas. If we let these things slip through the cracks, the wage gap will undoubtedly continue to grow.

I want to live in a country where upward mobility is possible, but as long as we ignore income inequality, the chances of us living in that country grow smaller and smaller.

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The physical sciences and the arts and social sciences are often dichotomized as fundamentally distinct branches of study with inherently different methods of inquiry.

The physical sciences are in the domain of empiricism and objectivity, whilst the arts and social sciences are derived from experience and subjectivity.

Though not entirely unfounded, this demarcation has done harm to the world of public intellectual discourse. Namely, the unfounded opinions laypersons have towards the arts are taken unnecessarily seriously, despite the same not being true for the sciences.

One’s opinion regarding the arts is often treated as legitimate by virtue of nothing more than the mere fact that such a thought has been ardently articulated by someone. To demonstrate this point, consider the case of an average person hearing news of a new economic recovery plan. It is entirely common to hear such a person claim that the plan is ineffective or non-sensical despite having no formal or informal understanding of the field of macroeconomics.

What is more, such people often expect their opinions to be taken seriously despite having no backing for them. Notice that such arrogance is not at all commonplace in regards to the sciences. If a new study conducted by CERN gave us reason to doubt the existence of the Higgs Boson particle, the average person would be very uncomfortable voicing an opinion on a matter of which they have little to no understanding.

Ultimately, this is because people recognize that there is an important distinction between having a right to an opinion and that opinion being intelligent. Yet, this is precisely what is forgotten in the domain of the arts and social sciences.

Whether it is political science or economics, gender studies or art, one’s opinion is expected to be taken seriously by others, regardless of their understanding of the material.

In essence, intuition regarding highly complex subject matter is arbitrarily privileged in one field but not the other.

I find that this hypocrisy is rooted in the erroneous assumption that the sciences are fundamentally objective, whilst the arts are fundamentally subjective. Put another way, in the sciences there is always a right answer, whilst in the arts there are no right answers.

This stance seems problematic to me for two reasons.

First, it is not at all obvious that such a rigid line exists between the two, as demonstrated by highly mathematical fields in the arts such as economics, and highly philosophical fields in the sciences such as neuroscience. More importantly, there is no logical reason for us to believe that academic rigor should hold any less sway in fields deemed subjective in comparison to those deemed objective.

As such, the aforementioned demarcation is at worst inaccurate, and at best irrelevant.

I want to clarify that I am not arguing for elitism in intellectual engagements. From my perspective, all academic pursuits are bettered within a context of open discussion and debate. Rather, I am arguing that both domains deserve equal respect as challenging fields with no easy answers.

One’s opinion as a layperson should either be considered equally important or equally un-important whilst engaging with the two, and the mere fact that one seems to have an easier answer does not mean it necessarily does.

Society is bettered when citizens take it upon themselves to become educated on the issues and debates of our time. This cannot happen if one field is ignored because it is deemed too challenging, and the other trivialized because it is deemed too easy.

Correction: In Universities must prioritize their budgets for existing students, published November 17, 2014, The Peak stated that UBC will increase tuition fees by 20 percent.

Rather UBC will increase housing fees by 20 per cent.

FEATURE

November 24, 2014

features editor email / phone

Max Hill features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

13

Who’s Kayode?

The many faces of VP Student Life Kayode Fatoba

On a bitter Spring afternoon in the West Mall atrium, one lone candidate captivated students attending the election debates for the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) VP Student Life position.

Standing among his competitors, he rapped along with the rhythmic claps of an audience enraptured. “You can vote for this,” candidate Kayode Fatoba recited, pointing to himself. “Or you can vote for that,” he chanted, gesturing to his opponents. Students chose the former.

But still, eight months later, “Who’s Kayode, what’s the motive?” still lingers. Over the past few years, Fatoba has been involved with myriad initiatives and groups on campus — the SFSS, I Vision One World (iVow), SFU Athletics, and The Peak, among others. Nevertheless, how Kayode defines himself both within and outside of these groups remains unclear.

The Peak sat down with Kayode Fatoba — the African, the entrepreneur, the animal, and the man — to attempt to peer into the mind of one of SFU’s most eccentric and outspoken figures.

The African Fatoba was born in 1991 in Agege, a small suburb in the state of Lagos, Nigeria. Scanning through photos of the streets near his home, Fatoba commented, “It’s not a super highend part of Nigeria.”

When he was six years old, Fatoba travelled with his mother and brother to Toronto, where they lived in a small apartment with several members of their extended family. After years of involvement with the local police department and a youth soccer program, Fatoba received the TD Scholarship for Community Leaders, which ultimately brought him to study at SFU. A health sciences student, Fatoba explained that his father played a critical role in determining his academic career: “He picked what I would be doing at SFU, and culturally [. . .] I felt like I have to respect my elder. That’s how I grew up.”

He continues, “I’m in a degree not necessarily because I chose it, and I keep continuing in it not necessarily because I had a choice.”

As such, Fatoba was forced to explore his true passions through his extracurricular activities, inspiring him to pursue a balance between his academic demands and his entrepreneurial spirit.

The Entrepreneur When asked to describe his career goals, Kayode says, “My goal is to build a brand that people can eat off of and believe in.”

He explains his skepticism towards non-government organizations, saying, “I don’t necessarily believe that [they] really empower a group of people to cater to themselves, to develop

businesses, to feed their families, to have a livelihood, to feel confident as members of the society.”

As such, Fatoba founded SkyNation with the intention of developing a brand that empowers people — specifically, Africans.

He tells me the story of how he and his friend stumbled upon an article explaining how the South African government had spent millions of dollars on a new website that was reportedly only worth $40.

“We realized that it was important for us to make web development and online presence affordable and attainable to Africans,” Kayode says. “That’s when we started SkyNation.”

SkyNation aims to develop unique hosting platforms which make web development easy and affordable for all African households. Unlike sitebuilders like Wordpress, it will accept alternative forms of currency in an attempt to make personal and professional websites accessible to those without credit cards.

“Our mission was to put Africa online,” says Fatoba. “At the core of SkyNation, we’re trying to be a valuable African company that [is] made out of the need to provide affordable software to aid in African development.”

But although he may be an up-and-coming businessman by day, a different, wilder side of Fatoba emerges when he steps behind the microphone.

The Animal Listing the organizations he has been involved with over the past few years, such as Alpha Kappa Psi, SFU Fashion Week, and African Students Association, Kayode mentioned An!mals, describing it as “like this random thing…” and trailing off.

But far from being just some random thing, the musical group An!mals is the brainchild of Fatoba and two of his friends, his chance to express himself the way he knows best — through rap. “I love music,” says Fatoba. “It’s part of everything that I do.”

A mix of EDM, hip-hop, and jungle fusion, An!mals, as Fatoba put it, “is just us making music and not giving a fuck.”

The group’s name originated from a discussion the three had about how everyone is, at their core, a political animal. Although the band is still in its nascent stages, Fatoba explained that the lyrics of their upcoming EP carry strong social and political messages.

The three also plan to wear masks while performing in order to provide audiences with the complete An!mals experience. Fatoba was hesitant to disclose more information about the group, including which mask he wears.

Hopefully, he’ll let the cat out of the bag soon.

The Man Despite his recent successes, Fatoba’s SFU career has not been without its challenges. In 2010, he came under fire after the Juno-winning performer K’Naan pulled out of performing as part of a World Peace Day celebration at SFU, mere hours before his scheduled appearance.

As president of iVow, the club that organized the concert, Fatoba took responsibility for the failure. He became the subject of much criticism, but he took it in stride — now he brushes off this past misstep, quipping that he’s “often hated, never replicated.”

While the scars of the past rest just beneath the surface, Fatoba has since emerged from the controversy with a fresh attitude, and a commitment to change SFU for the better.

“I don’t necessarily care if people don’t like me, because I didn’t start out having people like me,” Fatoba said. “I like doing things, and I do things.

I fail, I keep doing things, and they’re slowly becoming successful. So I’ll keep doing it.”

Ultimately, Fatoba summed up his experience at SFU best: “It’s a long journey.” And while his journey is far from finished, one thing is for sure: few are able to guess just what Fatoba will do next.

wo weeks ago, SFU Woodward’s hosted one of Canada’s greatest annual independent cultural events: Canzine. Organized by Broken Pencil magazine, Canzine West (along with Canzine Toronto and Canzine Central in Winnipeg) is a full-day event dedicated to zine culture, independent media, and small press.

With the exception of two major Vancouver groups, Geist magazine and Lucky’s Comics, Canzine West featured table after table of independent zinesters, illustrators, artists, and other independent me-

T

features of zine culture in 2014. “It’s events like this where people come together,” Lang said. Broken Pencil, which has been reporting on independent creative action since 1995, is another hub for zine culture. According to their website, “From the hilarious to the perverse, Broken Pencil challenges conformity and demands attention.”

At this point, some of you may be asking yourselves: WTF is a zine, anyways?

A zine (pronounced “zeen,” short for magazine or fanzine) is, first and foremost, a labour of love.

dia-makers from near and far, exhibiting their handmade creations.

There were well-established artists such as Colin Upton, who’s been self-publishing mini-comics since 1985, along with first-time tables like the ladies of Pizza Cola, a collective of young Vancouverites making zines about teen girldom.

In addition to the zine and small press fair on two floors of SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, Canzine West hosted four awesome events, including an hour-long talk by New York Times bestselling cartoonist Mimi Pond.

Pond’s most recent work, Over Easy, was published this year by Canada’s own Drawn & Quarterly.

There was also the highly anticipated Punch Book Pitch, in which locals were given two minutes to pitch their book ideas to a panel of judges, which included Broken Pencil editor Alison Lang.

When I caught up with Lang during the final moments of the event, we discussed the defining

Zines are self-published, handcrafted works which often resemble a magazine or chapbook, although they are never confined by conventions. They can be folded, stapled, sewn, photocopied, drawn, cut, pasted, posted online, mailed, sold, traded, or gifted.

As articulated in The Book of Zines, zines and the artists behind them are “obsessed with obsession” — often embodying the fangirl-esque mindset of those who live and breathe things like music, books, sex, movies, politics, food, and civil disobedience, zines are the product of fanaticism. Zines are not made to sell, although when people help you cover the oft minimal cost of production, big ups to them. They are intensely personal accounts of those who are bored by the glossy, ad-ridden print publications surrounding us, and an outright rejection of storytelling within a capitalist framework.

I’ve divided the story of zines into three waves in order to accommodate some trends that I’ve noticed in my research and in conversations. I’ve chosen to address this timeline as a “story” rather than a “history,” because I think that in most cases, zines have always stood in opposition to the patriarchal narrative: they aim to redefine, reclaim, and reject an oppressive, colonial presentation of history.

The first wave is what I’ll call the “pre-punk” wave. Before punk, zines can be traced back to traditions from the 18th century and before in the Western world. Pamphleteers, as they were called, would distribute their self-published works during times of political unrest. During the 19th century in America, hundreds of African-American writers and illustrators published their own pamphlets containing personal accounts of colonization, slavery, emancipation, identity and more.

Most historical accounts tend to attribute the birth of the zine to the beginnings of science fiction writing in the early 1930s. However, many other traditions that began around this time shared the DIY ethos of zinesters: pamphlets, broadsides, Dadaist art, mail art, minicomics, manifestoes, poetry chapbooks, and of course, fanzines. Another example is Russian samizdat publications, which political activist Vladimir Bukovsky described thusly: “I myself create it, edit it, censor it, publish it, distribute it, and get imprisoned for it.”

Before the 1970s and the emergence of punk, zine culture was growing its roots as the centrepiece of the counter-culture establishment. According to writer Stephen Perkins, “Drugs, rock music, the war in Vietnam, and racial inequality were just part of the volatile mix that would alienate many from the dominant ‘establishment’ culture, into the search for and the construction of, a more authentic

culture that reflected the concerns of this generation in revolt.” This culture gave way to a sort of prepunk underground press.

In addition to the social-action ethics of many zinesters, 1960s-era counterculture saw the emergences of self-publishing art books (which challenged conventions of layout and design), and underground comix (which rejected the rigid censorship of mainstream comics).

And then punk happened.

This second wave of zine culture began in mid-1970s England, and saw an explosion of new zines, many of which became key anti-establishment resources.

Zines had also become easier to reproduce, with newly cheap and accessible technology, such as photocopiers.

“The most basic ingredients of punk zines,” writes Perkins, “were the ubiquitous gig reviews, interviews with bands, record and tape reviews, personal rants, letters from readers and a healthy dose of undigested leftist/libertarian/anarchist tracts, manifestoes and pronouncements, all strewn together within a potpourri of collages, montages, ransom note lettering, and banal mass media images juxtaposed against assorted taboo imagery.”

The 1980s saw the first official zine-review publication Factsheet Five, as well as conferences on mail art and the amazing emergence of alternative comics publications such as Raw magazine.

This wave of zine culture is also characterized by the emergence of voices otherwise unheard: LGBTQ folks, women, and others who were sharing their experiences from a marginalized or minority group.

The do-it-yourself ethos had, by this point, woven itself into the

fabric of zine culture: mailing zine to friends, speaking out against vio lence and oppression within exis ing subcultures, and of course th pinnacle of zine culture’s secon wave, riot grrrl.

Riot grrrl was born betwee Washington, DC and the Pacif Northwest (Vancouver included and is characterized as an unde ground third-wave-feminist pun movement — its very manifesto wa published in a zine called Bikini Ki and was written by members of th band by the same name. The 1990 saw zines published with such title as Conscious Clits, Hangnail, Sis Butch, Hit It or Quit It, Bitch, Un skinny, Slut Magnet, Bust, and A phabitch Afterbirth.

The third wave of zine cultu is the one we’re living in now, and began with the pop ularization of the in ternet. E-zines bega to surface and gai steam at the turn the millenium, an brought with them a whole new set o tools to play with. Those privilege enough to have access to compute were able to reach people in remo communities through the worl wide web. This wave has also fostere many academic examinations an theses on zines and zine culture.

Vancouver and the rest of the Pa cific Northwest have been integr to the ongoing story of zines. On of the earliest bonafide zines I coul find from Vancouver dates back t 1957, and is dedicated to folk musi For nearly eight decades (!) local ar ists and authors have been publish ing fanzines on science fiction. I 1973, the British Columbia Scienc Fiction Association began publish ing zines, and has put out nearly 50 of them since.

Some have even attributed th birth of riot grrrl to the formation o a Vancouver two-piece rock ban Mecca Normal, in 1984 — the band lyrics, written by frontwoman Jea Smith, were riddled with femini and DIY attitudes.

So by now, you’re probably totally excited to get started making zines of your own — here are some basic tips on where to start.

If you’re not already armed with scissors and glue, then here’s some more advice from some of the best and brightest in the Vancouver zine scene.

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After all that, you’re probably wondering where you can find zines in Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories! Here are some of my personal favourite spots.

Located at the corner of Main and King Edward, Lucky’s is a haven for zinesters and lovers of comics, graphic novels, and other print oddities. This is the place to buy zines for your own collection, but be prepared to spend a great deal of time shuffling through the shelves at the back corner of the store.

A stone’s throw away from Lucky’s, the Regional Assembly of Text is the shop with the typewriters in the window, and is owned and operated by two Emily Carr grads. Here you’ll find the lowercase reading room: a storage closet-turned-library that is home to hundreds of zines and art books. Also, there’s a free letter writing club event at 7:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month (free cookies and tea, typewriters galore) to stretch your mail art muscles.

That’s right! The VPL boasts a (pretty impressive) collection of zines at both their Central and Mount Pleasant locations. You can browse by topic and if you get inspired, plop yourself down on a computer, print your zine and photocopy it, all under one roof!

Spartacus Books In the first year at its new home near Trout Lake, Spartacus Books has survived its renoviction from the DTES. Here you can find anything and everything radical: zines, anarchist books, comics, music, patches, and awesome people. It is a hub for alt culture and runs on a steady foundation of amazing volunteers who are sure to know their way around the zine scene.

All this considered, zines have never been confined to one postal code, and there are simply too many great organizations to mention them all here. If you are reading this on or near a web browser, though, I highly encourage you to check out the Broken Pencil website for its wealth of information, archives, and resources. Also, theQueer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) and their website is an amazing example of the work being done to support and maintain the amazing world of underground queer communities.

I also highly recommend checking out local zine fairs like Canzine or Short Run Festival. Getting out there and seeing zines, meeting zinesters, trading, chatting, laughing, and learning is the best way to get involved. During my time at Canzine West, the founder of Vancouver’s own paper innards distro, Sarah Thompson, gave me some solid gold advice: “If you can’t find a zine that you want to read, write that zine. You can do that. You can be a part of that conversation.”

“I choose a different type of paper or colour to be able to present the mood or the topic or what the story’s about. Some of it is nice, printmaking paper and sometimes it’s just office supplies, so just whatever I find and can run through my inkjet printer.”

ne s be “I re al ly love zi ve to ha n’t ca us e th ey do tr ue ly al re be edited. It’s a ha t w of re pr es en ta tio n th e d an e ak I w an t to m write about. things I like to un ed ite d Zi ne s sh ou ld be ho th e pe rac co un ts of w ing the zine son who’s mak ey w an t to is an d w ha t th orld.” share with the w

“You’re connecting with people on the basis of not only the work that you’re putting out, but the fact that you’re putting it out in this format.”

Find your voice. What matters to you? Are you telling fact or fiction (or a bit of both)? Some common starting points for zines are to write a story, start doodling, or brainstorm a topic and send out a call for submissions to your friends and circles.

Find your tools. Is your zine going to be online or print? What do you want your zine to look and feel like? For print zines, I recommend starting off with some basics like scissors, writing instruments, images/stickers/colours to collage with, and paper. The first thing to do is map out how your zine will be assembled. Will it be bound by staples, thread, glue or consist of one sheet of paper? My first zine was a no-staple mini zine with eight pages out of one sheet of printer paper. This is an excellent place to start!

Find your audience. You’ve completed your first zine — props! Now it’s time to get it out into the world (if that’s what you’re into). One way is to make bunch of copies at your local photocopier, then number the copies and give or mail them off to friends, strangers, distros, libraries, tuck them under doors, or host a table at a zine fair.

n ed“You are your ow ntrol co ve ha n ca itor. You nt to say of what you wa in the work.”

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ARTS

Foxcatcher , the latest film from director Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball), is a true crime story set in the world of wrestling. A cauliflower-eared Channing Tatum plays 1984 Olympic gold medalist Mark Schultz, who several years after his win finds himself depressed, broke, and unsure of where to go next. His brother, Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), is a fellow 1984 gold medalist, and Mark continues to train in his brother’s gym but doesn’t seem destined to compete professionally again at the upcoming 1988 Seoul games.

Enter multi-millionaire John Du Pont — played by an eerily unrecognizable Steve Carrell — a wrestling enthusiast who recruits Mark to train at his luxurious, huge Foxcatcher estate. Du Pont begins a mentoring relationship with Mark, attempting to train him to win gold at the upcoming world championship and the 1988 Olympic games.

What begins as a typical coach-sportsman relationship slowly evolves into something more sinister, as Du Pont’s obsession with winning grows and his strange motives are explored.

There is a lot going on in the film. It’s incredibly ambitious, using the frame story of Du Pont and Mark’s relationship to explore incredibly lofty themes of patriotism, power, privileg,e legacy, capitalism, and pride. The script,

by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, examines all of these themes to essentially paint a critique of the 1980s, and

arts editor email / phone

November 24, 2014

in a sense, modern America.

These ideologies and themes, emblematic of a certain vision of America, are a lot to explore in one film.

This leads to plenty of overwrought, clumsy imagery. An American flag is seen in almost every scene. Du Pont refers to himself as “The Golden Eagle,” and his home is adorned with grandiose portraits of famous American leaders of the 19th and 20th century. The film fades to black with a chanting of “USA, USA” by an enraptured crowd.

With an exploration of themes as broad and unwieldy as patriotism and legacy, the film does not find enough time to focus on its characters. Surely, the film is character-driven, but they exist only to clumsily outline the story’s themes, from Du Pont’s constant monologues on America, power, and honour to Schultz’s obsession with competition and victory.

We do not get full portraits of the characters’ real personalities or psyches, which becomes crucial as the film progresses. Any potential tension that could have been built is lost, because it’s difficult to really connect to or care for the characters.

However, the actors certainly try their best. Steve Carrell is captivating as the wealthy, powerful Du Pont.

His hushed delivery, and nervous stuttering brings a welcome sense of subtlety to a film that is lacking in this area.

Channing Tatum is also shockingly good, convincingly playing an athlete who seems to be past his personal and professional peak — the relationship between the two is the film’s most interesting aspect. There is a truly captivating story there, one that the film should have focused on, rather than clumsily framing it as symptomatic of America as a whole.

Quidditch is a sport that had its beginnings in a fantasy world, but it is now played by hundreds of teams around the world. Directed by Farzad Sangari, Mudbloods: A Film about Quidditch is a documentary centred around the UCLA quidditch team and their journey to qualifying and playing in the Fifth Annual Quidditch World Cup in New York City.

Providing a window into the world of quidditch as a college sport, and as a space where athletic prowess meets a passion for the books, it not only captures days in the life of quidditch players, but also highlights the struggles they face in trying to be accepted as real athletes.

As a sport where players run with a broom between their legs, and the snitch is a tennis ball tucked into a sock and attached to the snitch runner’s waist, quidditch may be easily misconceived as child’s play, something fun but not serious enough to be a collegiate-level sport.

But quidditch is a fullcontact sport, and the fact

Tessa Perkins arts@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

that players have to run with a broom between their legs means that they must play the game effectively with only one hand. That takes skill.

Ironically, the people who misunderstand the sport are generally other athletes. While it’s easy to see players as nerds and geeks when you’ve never played, as one UCLA quidditch player puts it, “Once you interact with it on an athletic level, you understand.” That is the main goal of the documentary, to spread awareness about the sport and to encourage its acceptance.

On a stylistic level, the documentary symbolically and smartly incorporates graphic art, reducing and inflating real three-dimensional, colourful characters into two-dimensional, black-and-white figures. Not only does this add a fun, artistic edge to the film, but more importantly, it represents the adaptation of an idea on a page into a real sport, as Sangari intended.

I think the film sends across a brilliant message: the end of a good book should not mean merely closing it, but lifting

ideas right out of its pages and adopting them in your life.

The documentary is inspiring because it follows the struggle of the underdog. At the time of filming, quidditch players were a pretty marginalized group, on the fringe enough to have people videotaping them on the field as if they were doing something completely foreign and weird.

Incorporating the perspectives of the Commissioner of the International Quidditch Association, Alex Benepe, and Katie Aiani, the #1 Harry Potter fan as voted by Box Office Magazine in 2010, the documentary sheds light on the game of quidditch from a variety of angles, and captures the hard work and hopes of people who are passionate and driven enough to achieve their dreams.

It is a very uplifting film, the kind that makes you want to get up and found your own club, take your life into your own hands, and not let yourself be defined by people who don’t understand you.

At the end of the movie, the viewer discovers that Benepe brought quidditch to the London Olympic Games — I let out my own little cheer because, by then, I had come to think of quidditch as something worth fighting for, for all the things it represents.

I recommend checking out Mudbloods, and if you’re looking for something closer to home, consider joining SFU’s very own quidditch team.

ARTS

November 24, 2014

A smash hit in 2013, Broken Sex Doll returned to The Cultch for another phenomenal run this November. A sexy, hilarious ride from start to finish, this musical breaks down conventional theatre with brilliant irreverence.

The writer and director of this “sci-fi musical sex comedy,� Andy Thompson, spoke to The Peak about the show’s creation and its latest revival. Founder of the theatre company The Virtual Stage, Andy also directed the The Zombie Syndrome and Cruel & Unusual.

Andy explained that in 2011, The Virtual Stage was invited to participate in Theatre Under The Gun, a challenge to create a theatre piece using limited resources to prompt inspiration and the imagination.

Andy described their inspiration material: “[It was] an essay, and the

essay had a description of a futuristic world in which people could record and exchange their actual sensory experiences.�

He brought this concept to life in 2011 with a short version of the musical, but it was not until 2013 that the full length Broken Sex Doll debuted. Thompson describes the piece as an examination of the current trend of “advancing technology at an unparalleled rate, and the other flip side, where the human race is at socially, morally, ethically, and how these things are not advancing at the same rate.�

Discussing the controversies around Broken Sex Doll, Andy said, “I think I understand feminism, but the feminist reaction is split,� as he explained that some love the show and some leave offended. Andy stated that this is due to how he addresses pwatriarchy in the show. “I am taking misogyny and going further with it. Men being in control is the normal,� explained Thompson. The show makes this statement with an intriguing use of symbolism: “Women get tossed in the trash, men are looking at women in society as goods and chattel, not people. The sex dolls are a symbol of that,� he said.

Despite the mixed reactions to the symbolism of the show, I found the musical to be a wonderful allegory for the struggle women face to find equality.

However, the main attraction of this production is its grandiosity. Interesting staging, mesmerizing audio-visual effects, stunning musical numbers, and an impressive cast created an awe-inspiring musical. The plot and dialogue took the audience on a ridiculously hilarious journey through a sex and technology crazed world.

Chelsea Rose Tucker who plays Ginger, the star of Broken Sex Doll, said that being in the musical has been “amazing, scary, and just the most fun I’ve ever had!� Her performance was absolutely stellar, and she shared excellent chemistry with co-star Benjamin Elliot.

In all, this production was absolutely hilarious, deliciously entertaining, and an amazing way to spend an evening. It questioned society, creating an engaging and wonderful commentary on stage. Broken Sex Doll is a triumph for The Virtual Stage and all those involved. It’s truly successful in it’s goal to make the audience laugh.

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18 ARTS

November 24, 2014

examining the writing or plot, you know it’s good because you just can’t put it down.

As kids and young adults, our parents frequently rope us into doing things we don’t want to do — things like looking after our younger siblings, unloading the dishwasher, or vacuuming the living room. So when your mother is a co-founder of a literary magazine called Pulp Literature, you get roped into helping. At least, that’s what happened to Elizabeth Pieters, a second year engineering student at SFU. “A lot of what I do is called working in the slush pile,” explains Pieters. “I essentially get to be the first person to read new incoming stories, and I provide a recommendation to the editors based on the quality of the story.

I also do copy editing, which is checking the final manuscript for any typos or errors.”

Pulp Literature is formatted like a paperback book, and has a genre-bending focus. Genre fiction — such as sci-fi, speculative fiction, fantasy, and horror — is often denigrated as low-brow literature, but the founders of Pulp

Literature magazine believe that genre fiction can also be literary.

Featuring everything from short stories to novellas, poetry, illustrations, and graphic novels, the magazine bends the confines of these various labels.

For Pieters, being roped in isn’t so bad, as she actually likes what she’s doing. “I’ve always been interested in writing and stories, so this was a perfect opportunity to get involved in the writing industry. I think it’s really cool to actually be a part of a magazine and actually see how the selection process for each story works.”

Most people would associate these traits and this knowledge with an English major, not an engineer, but Pieters insists the skills she’s using and learning are essential for any professional.

“Having to evaluate other people’s stories has made me a lot more aware of what to avoid in my own writing, and how to make my own stories stand out.

Writing and communication is one of the things that engineers stereotypically struggle with, yet it is a key component of engineering. Volunteering at a magazine like Pulp Literature really rounds you out.”

The nature of the slush pile means that it ranges from hidden gems to completely unsuitable submissions. “I truly dislike very few; most are fun to read, and once in a while you strike gold. It’s a great feeling to not only read a fantastic story, but to share it with other people too,” she says. Of course, that also means delivering rejections.

“The really good ones and the really bad ones are easy to decide on,” explains Pieters. “The really good ones grab you right away and don’t let go; it’s not even a question of

Are you a Tim Hortons voter or a Starbucks voter? Are you a Dougie, or a Jane, or a Zoe? Whether you have the answer or not, the nation’s major political parties are hard at work trying to place you into one of their micro-targeted categories of the voting market. Susan Delacourt is a senior political writer at the Toronto Star, and in Shopping for Votes she outlines the way marketing and consumerism has pervaded Canada’s political landscape.

When did ‘citizens’ get reduced to ‘taxpayers,’ and when did voting start to be seen as less of a civic duty and more of a consumer choice? As Canadians became 24/7 consumers, we began to demand similar things of our government as we do from businesses. Politics is no

longer viewed as a public service where elected officials work to improve the overall well-being of society, but a business in which there are clearly defined deliverables and the target market is people who will potentially vote for you.

Moving from the 1950s to present day, Delacourt guides the reader through the defining stages of political marketing in Canada and explains that in the current political climate of constant campaigning, parties must place their main focus on marketing and branding. They focus on swing voters, who essentially shop for their vote each election and cast their ballot to support the party that will save them more money at the cash register. There is an emphasis on simple language, emotional imagery, and memorable guarantees that will win over Tim Hortons voters.

Advertising has become a constant priority of the Harper Conservatives, and they have spent more than any other government on advertising for programs such as their Economic Action Plan, while aiming to paint their party in a favourable light. And let’s not forget the

“The really bad ones, likewise, are the ones that you have to force yourself to finish and that you never want to read again. Ever. It’s rating the ones in the middle that are more difficult, the ‘meh’ stories, the ones that might have potential or might just tank.”

The magazine seeks contributions from writers, poets, and graphic artists that fit into any genre fiction category, or crossover genre, or those that haven’t found a home elsewhere. After their first successful year of publication, Pulp Literature is now fundraising for a second year.

Backers can get editorial feedback on writing, attend a writing retreat on Bowen Island, or receive a year’s subscription. Pieters insists that there’s something entertaining in every issue, and that you’re supporting local writers and artists in the process.

attack ads that would never work for a consumer product, but seem to be fair game in the world of politics. This difference has raised some important questions about advertising standards and whether they should be applied to political parties as well as businesses.

It is very interesting the way Delacourt directly links marketing and data analysis to the Liberal Party’s dramatic defeat in the last federal election. Their vision of broad policies that apply to Canada’s middle class did not work in an age of targeted campaigning and boutique tax cuts that appeal to small segments of the population.

Anyone interested in politics will find this an enjoyable read, and it will leave you with plenty to ponder as we head into a federal election next year.

ARTS

Award-winning author Rawi Hage is the new Writer in Residence in the English department at SFU. He recently finished a year-long residency with the Vancouver Public Library (VPL), which he says “was great because [he] was dealing with the public.

“It will be different [here], where it’s mostly graduates or students,” Hage says, “but because [the VPL is] open to the public, you get the whole spectrum. From the homeless guy who does some writing to the academic, the spectrum of people who aspire to writing is very very wide, so you get a broad view.”

These types of chance meetings seem to shape Hage’s writing — working as a taxi driver provided ample fodder for his latest novel, Carnival.

Having lived in several countries over the years, Hage has seen a broad array of people and events. Growing up in Beirut and Cyprus, he lived through the Lebanese civil war with his family, and his debut novel De Niro’s Game was deeply influenced by these experiences. “[It] was inspired by living through the war,” says Hage, “I use experiential as a starting point usually. I find something that I have experienced,

November 24, 2014

but then the book often takes different tangents.” Published in 2006, De Niro’s Game was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

His second book, Cockroach , was written from the perspective of an immigrant in Montreal, which is where Hage established his Canadian roots. After leaving Lebanon, he arrived in New York in the late 80s, and experienced loneliness, lousy jobs, and overt racism.

However, he did perfect his English and discovered he had a talent for photography. Hage moved to Canada in 1992 to study photography and visual art at Concordia and was encouraged to settle in Quebec because he is fluent in French (English is his third language after Arabic and French).

Although reading had always been a big part of his life — his Jesuit-trained father was well read and their home was full of books — he happened on writing in an unplanned manner, similar to his discovery of photography.

While writing notes for a photography exhibit, the curator was impressed by his story

telling, and encouraged Hage to explore writing fiction.

“I started writing short stories, and they kept growing, they became novels,” Hage explains. He submitted a manuscript to House of Anansi Press, “and it was picked up from the slush pile,” which is a rare occurrence.

Now living in Vancouver, Hage is working on his fourth novel. But don’t ask for any details: “I don’t talk about it,” he states bluntly. But he does say that being a full-time writer is frequently a question of finding time to write.

“I like to write in the morning. No conversation, a lot of coffee, and a laptop. That’s all.

Geography is irrelevant,” Hage states. “I can’t write in cafes or with loud music or if someone is constantly opening the fridge. I require that [quiet], so the magical time is maybe 5 o’clock in the morning — I’m an early riser,” he laughs.

As the Writer in Residence at SFU, Hage will work on his secretive fourth book as well as mentor students.

“My priority is to work on my book, and that is part of the deal of the residency. About 70 to 75 per cent of my time should be concentrated on my own work. The rest of the time, I’m meeting with students.

Eventually I will probably organize a public reading event, or something like that.”

At this time of year, as finals approach in tandem with a big slap in the face from below freezing wind chills, you may feel compelled to burrow inside a snuggie and your friend’s stolen Netflix account, ready for a marathon. This picture of course, isn’t complete without a beloved heart- and bodywarming beverage — vino.

First up, etiquette. Think getting cozy under the covers with a bottle and your momma’s tacky mugs is going to cut it? Not today and not ever! Let’s get some basic wine etiquette down before setting off on our adventure of wonderful winterready wines.

For starters, the glasses. Red wine glasses should be full and round in the base of the bowl, and like a ripe large pear, the glass should gently taper to concentrate the sensual aromas of the wine. For white wines, the bowl will be a bit more shallow and the tapering will not be as drastic. Wine glasses should be used always when drinking good wines because they allow you to taste the wine fully.

Now, many of us have seen someone open a bottle of wine, only to let it ‘air out’ and have thought to ourselves “just drink the damn thing!” Well, this is a process called aerating, and it is key to enjoying young red wines. Opening a bottle up, pouring it into a decanter, and letting it take a big old breath loosens up the aromas and flavours. This is especially important for young wines, say under seven years old.

Now that we’ve dispensed with the pomp and circumstance, it’s time to drink! This winter, we are crushing on two excellent wine varietals: Riesling and Pinot Noir. Rieslings are a lighter-bodied wine (think

19

a light snowstorm in the depth of winter covering your lawn in magic). It will cover your tongue in its refined structure — its ravishing delicacy made all the better with flavours of ripe melon, apricot, and peaches. This is a great pairing for your big family butterball dinner or for a nice secret santa with friends and copious amounts of baked goods!

Another lovely partner for a turkey-ham combination is the supple and silky Pinot Noir.

This wine will entrance you with its flavours of baked cherries, warm plums, and chocolate. Pinot Noirs, like Rieslings, tend to have a lighter body, making them a good match for turkey and stuffing.

Wait a second...Cherries?...

Plums?!...Chocolate?!? This sounds like the perfect wine for getting out of your snowsuit and getting warm with your special someone!

Indeed, Pinot Noir is also a very sensual wine and provides a perfect transition from the cold to fogging up the windows.

Not in the mood for a cup of straight vino? No matter!

Nothing says ‘exams are over’ quite like a pot of mulled wine.

Mulled wine is wine that has been heated and reinvented with cinnamon, oranges, honey, Grand Marnier, and whatever else gets you going. It is a European tradition, and the best part is that whole snobbish thing about momma’s mugs doesn’t apply here. Bring out those tacky mugs you made for her in elementary school, or the ones your neighbour brought you back from Hawaii. Or just sip right from the pot! No judgement. We’ve all been there.

Get out your leopard print snuggie, sip from a friendly pot of mulled wine, and drift off into what winter break is all about.

See you all back in the spring!

(P.S. when we mentioned the tacky mugs your neighbour gave you, we were kidding. Throw those out. Like now.)

20

SPORTS

School can be a grind in and of itself, aside from whatever job, sport, or extracurricular activities you may have. We all complain about the workload — or at least make selfdeprecating jokes about how our time management skills have led to numerous all-nighters. But when all’s said and done, university provides us with a pretty clear schedule, and delays our entry into the real world for a few years. It’s really not a bad setup.

After four and a half years of hard work, outside hitter Kelsey Robinson finds herself about to graduate, and facing the unknown.

“Up until this point, I’ve had everything so planned out for me.

For the past five years, you know it

November 24, 2014

was, ‘These are the courses you are going to take, this is what time the practice is at,’ everything was so set.

Now I’m actually graduating at the end of this semester,” she said.

As the leader in kills (scoring) and second in digs (defence) on the team, and part of the original NCAA recruiting class, Kelsey has seen her share of ups and downs. She played during multiple seasons when the team only achieved one win, but this year, under second-year head coach Gina Schmidt, they finally saw a winning season in the NCAA. Now, she looks back at how those experiences have shaped her.

“In my first few years, volleyball-wise, I learned a lot about myself, just because we didn’t have such a great record, so you really have to search deep, ‘Is this something you really want to do?’

I mean it’s a lot easier to come to practice with a winning record but you really learn a lot about your character when you have to work hard day-in and day-out when you’re not getting those results.”

She added, “In my first year, [I learned] how dedicated and passionate I really was about volleyball. And then [. . .] to end on a really good season, it’s really rewarding to know that all the hard work we put in during

the five years I was here really paid off.”

Her experience playing on a struggling team made Kelsey, along with her fellow seniors, wellequipped to lead the team: “Because we had been there when things weren’t so well, we knew how to deal with adversity.”

However, the only reason Kelsey saw the team’s first winning season is because of ‘luck’ — if you can call it that. Normally, a player can only play four years in the NCAA, but she tore her ACL in year three and redshirted. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as she returned right after SFU hired a new coach — Schmidt — which is when things started to take a turn for the better for the volleyball team.

“It’s hard to think an injury could be a good thing, but it ended up being the best thing that could have happened, because I got to re-evaluate where I was and rekindle that

sports editor email / phone

Austin Cozicar sports@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

passion for volleyball, that maybe was missing after two years.

“It was just the best feeling to be able to play again. Even doing stupid drills that before I would have hated doing [. . .] were just so much fun because I was able to do it again.”

Kelsey’s focus wasn’t just on the court, however, but also on her academics — one of her motivating factors for choosing SFU in the first place.

“If we had a huge win, we’d go home and realize that winning a volleyball game doesn’t mean that I don’t have to hand in my paper tomorrow. I’m still a normal student, my prof doesn’t care we won last night.”

It’s this focus that sets Kelsey up for a bright future.

She is applying to medical school, hoping to use what she has learned in her studies to help people: “My drive from the beginning has been to use my science background and knowledge to help people, it puts the two things in life I would want to do together.”

Now, at the end of both her bachelor’s and her volleyball career, is she ready?

“I don’t know if I’ll ever say that I was ready, as I loved it so much [. . .] but it’s probably good to move on when I’m still wanting more than the other way, where you’re ready to be done.”

SPORTS

You may not have heard of them, but SFU’s dance team is already making waves. They are poised to represent SFU at the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) 102nd Grey Cup hosted in Vancouver on Sunday, November 30.

Despite the fact that they are performing as part of the Grey Cup festivities, the club was only founded earlier this year — in March — by dance major Allison Sidnell and secondary education student Caitlin McMahon. Sidnell, who graduated from the University of Guelph with a bachelor of arts, was shocked at the lack of opportunities for dancers at SFU. “I went to a basketball game last year sometime, and I realized we don’t have a dance team, then I looked into teaching classes,” explained Sidnell. “[But] there wasn’t really much offered for dancers [at SFU].”

She continued, “There is a lack of opportunities for dancers outside of the dance program and those that aren’t majoring in the dance program don’t have an outlet for dance. That’s why Caitlin and I started the dance team — to offer a way for dancers with experience to dance and perform in the [non] professional world.”

Sidnell and McMahon proposed their idea for the creation of a dance team to SFU Athletics and got it approved. When the time came to actually get the group up and running, 40 students auditioned, with 17 making the final cut. Sidnell and McMahon had to turn away 15 more students because they were too late to audition — clearly, there was plenty of interest.

McMahon points out, though, that the level of experience is varied on the team: “It’s a range of dance experience within our team, which is what we wanted when we started this.

We wanted it to be something that everyone with different dance levels could be a part of.

“We have people who have been dancing since they were three, [and people] who have been dancing for a year or two.

So there’s a great range and it’s a great opportunity for people to just come in and harness their dance abilities,” she added.

November 24, 2014

Sidnell notes that many of the team members are from outside the dance program: “It’s a good mix, we’ve got some dance majors, and then we’ve got a lot of first years who don’t have time to be in the dance program for whatever reason, but they’re really committed, dedicated dancers in their high school years, and they come to university looking for dance experiences and that’s where we come in.”

come our way, especially in the first year, so it’s a great opportunity and we’re really excited.”

The dance team will participate in the Fan March, which takes place before the game, as the Grey Cup is carried from Jack Poole Plaza to BC Place.

The amount of practice required to pull off such a performance couldn’t come at a worse

time of year, with papers and finals right around the corner, but Sidnell emphasized the dedication of the team: “We’ve got quite a few practices going and it’s the busiest time of the semester, so we’ve got a really committed group that comes to every practice.”

Sidnell hopes to see some SFU students at the celebration. “We’re really excited for

the Grey Cup. We’re encouraging students to come and support us at the performance.

“We hope for SFU students [. . .] to participate in the march or some festivities at the Grey Cup this year,” McMahon concluded.

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The team did not take long to gel together, as Sidnell explains, “Within a couple of practices, they were already very close and a lot of them made friends with each other.”

Since then, the dance team has performed at many of SFU’s varsity games, including the homecoming football game and at both men’s and women’s basketball games this season.

The team’s most recent crowning achievement, though, is their being recruited to perform in the pre-game festivities for the Grey Cup. “We just got an email one day, saying [the CFL] were just looking for some university involvement in the kickoff event,” said McMahon. “It was amazing to be asked to go to the Grey Cup because Allison and I never thought anything like this would

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22 SPORTS

November 24, 2014

w

When eight points are scored on an opening drive, it’s considered a great offensive start. However, those points usually go to a single team; this wasn’t the case last Saturday.

The Clan looked to be headed for a promising start — a rarity for SFU — on Senior’s Day against the Central Washington Wildcats.

Quarterback Ryan Stanford threw a 40-yarder to Lemar Durant, right after tossing one for 15 yards to running back Stephen Spagnuolo, bringing his team to the goal line on their first drive.

Although the Clan have a tendency to miss opportunities in the end zone, this time they followed through, putting up a six-point lead, with Spagnuolo finishing the drive.

Normally, six would become seven with the extra kick point, and the Clan would have actually started with positive momentum.

Instead, the Wildcats blocked the kick and ran it into the other endzone, a rare occurrence worth two points for Central Washington.

SFU was still in the lead — by four points — but all that positive momentum for the Clan dissipated.

A great initial push turned into another flat first half, with the Clan unable to put another point on the board until the fourth quarter — and allowing 37 points before then.

Spagnuolo, who was among the seniors playing their last game at SFU, said, “We came out flat and we didn’t play well in the first half.”

However, despite being down 30-6 at the beginning of the fourth quarter — which 15 seconds later became 37-6 — the Clan did not go quietly. They put up 21 points in the fourth, and allowed only 10 in the whole second half.

Spagnuolo, whose 136 all-purpose yard performance was a key contributor to SFU’s final stand, explained, “If you would have told me that I’d come out of here with a 40-27 loss [feeling happy], I’d probably think you’re crazy.”

In a game that looked poised to become a blowout — much like

the Clan’s first loss to the Wildcats with a score of 63-7 — the defence tightened up, not allowing a single score by the Wildcat offence in the third quarter.

In the second quarter, when starting quarterback Stanford went down with a clavicle injury, backup Tyler Nickel was pulled in favour of third-string quarterback Mitchell Rushton. However, Chapdelaine put Nickel back in for the second half, where he played a key role in SFU’s resurgence, throwing two touchdown passes and running one in himself.

With 13:08 left in the game, Nickel put SFU back on the score sheet with a 25-yard pass to senior wide receiver Bobby Pospischil.

The last touchdown of the game — and a great closer to a less-thanstellar season — came with only 30 seconds left. The drive, which included a last 28-yard pass to senior Pospischil, ended with Nickel throwing it one last time to Spagnuolo for the game’s closing touchdown, concluding the game at 40-27 for the Wildcats.

“Every time you go in and you meet with a little bit of adversity [. . .] we learn something from it.

I think we displayed that in the second half, we learned and we responded,” said Chapdelaine.

Although SFU could not manage the full comeback, they sent off the seniors with a great fourth quarter performance, and ended the season on a high note.

Now, Chapdelaine has a heavy task ahead of him: filling the spots left by the 19 departing seniors. Listing both the offensive and defensive lines as focuses of recruiting, he explains that he has already begun the process.

Said Chapdelaine, “We’ve already made eight offers [. . .]

We’re very aggressive in what we’re doing, and we’re looking forward to getting some great student athletes into our school.”

While the team looks to fill his spot, Spagnuolo looks ahead to his future after the Clan.

“I’ve got to plan out my life now,” explains the 5’9 Vancouver-born running back. “I’ll try and pursue the CFL draft, if that doesn’t go well I might try and play football in Europe, and if not I’ll be a teacher.”

Last Saturday, four volleyball team members played their last game for SFU, capping off their time with the Clan properly with a 3-0 sweep.

Brooklyn Gould-Bradbury, Kelsey Robinson, Madeline Hait, and Amanda Renkema all played their final Simon Fraser game against the University of AlaskaFairbanks Nanooks, who only had three wins on the season.

Despite the sweep, it was a close game with SFU winning by only two in each set.

The Nanooks jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first set, but the Clan battled back thanks in part to a five-point streak which included

two kills by sophomore Devon May. SFU would win the first by a score of 25-23.

The Clan scored first in the second set, but once again Alaska-Fairbanks would take the lead — this time they would hold it for much of the set. It looked as though the Nanooks would split the series, as they were up 23-21 and only needed two points to seal the deal.

SFU once again responded, however, with Robinson notching two straight kills (in a three-kill streak) to claim the lead, before May made the final, ending the set 27-25, putting SFU up 2-0.

The third set was truly a back and forth effort for both teams.

After the Nanooks put the first point on the board, SFU put up four straight points — only to have the Nanooks score four right after.

In the end, the Clan were too much for the Nanooks, winning

the third set 25-23, and completing the sweep.

The win further solidified SFU’s season to remember, putting their record at 17-9 total, and 11-7 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).

They nearly doubled their previous best in conference wins (six), notched last year. This is their first winning season since joining the NCAA. For the Clan, one of the most significant challenges during their final game was keeping their emotions in check, however, head coach Gina Schmidt felt the team accomplished this.

“I think they did a good job of staying composed,” she said.

Robinson, who finished the game with 12 kills and 12 digs, was pleased with her final game, saying, “We ended up with a win and that’s probably the best thing you can ask for.”

For Robinson, the realization that this was her last game began to sink in as the game came to a close: “In our very last set — it was very close — so I was like, ‘This could be my last set.’

“I’m definitely going to miss it,” she added.

While the seniors move on, the Clan will have to replace the holes left by losing four starters.

“We’ll definitely look for our returners who didn’t get as much playing time this year to step in because they’ve now had one, two, three years to know what I’m looking for,” said Schmidt. “I think you’ll see some of those players step up and fill in those roles.

“We also have a very good recruiting class coming in and they’ll compete for those roles as well. My job is to put the best six or seven players on the court regardless of the year they are.”

w

SPORTS

When the Clan met their nonconference provincial rivals, the Douglas College Royals, on Tuesday night, it was not expected to be a close game — nor was it. The score sheet displays a 90-point victory for SFU, 147-57.

However, the Clan were held off the scoreboard early, and despite clearly dominating the play from the first second, they couldn’t net one until about two minutes in, when freshman Patrick Simon scored twice in a row to put the Clan up 4-0.

“We [need to] shoot the ball a little bit better than we did in the first 10 minutes,” said head coach James Blake.

Once the vault opened, however, SFU started racking up the points.

It took star guard Sango Niang just over nine minutes to score his first of the game, but he finished second in scoring with 20 points, and first in assists with 11.

Simon would be the star of the first half, putting up 15 points, but slowed down in the second half, only notching two more.

Although the Royals were clearly outmatched, the game was a back and forth effort, featuring blink-andmiss-it action. The Clan controlled possession more often, Douglas’ main weakness was an inability to put the ball in the net, despite an abundance of chances.

In particular, 6’9 Douglas forward Reng Deng was a pain in SFU’s backside, leading the Royals in scoring with 17 points.

The Clan went into halftime up 76-31, already a sizable lead,

November 24, 2014

and a higher score for SFU than the final of many of last season’s conference games.

Douglas actually gunned to the quick start in the second half, taking their point total to 35, before Niang put in a threepointer to open up SFU’s scoring in the second. The Clan would score another two threepointers immediately, including another by Niang, to once again take control of the game.

At one point, SFU scored 25 straight points, showing off the fastpaced Clan offence at its finest.

Guard Justin Cole led the Clan in points with 21, and tied with Niang and Roderick Taylor-Evans for field goals, making eight of 15 attempts.

Forward Michael Harper led the team in total rebounds with 13.

With the win, SFU remains undefeated (not counting their Division I exhibition matchups). They have yet to be tested in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), however.

Coach Blake was pleased with the team’s effort, noting that he was unhappy with the team’s previous game despite the fact it was a 135-103 victory.

“We responded, I thought Saturday night we were really sloppy and we just kind of took the game for granted,” he explained. “We worked on [. . .] attitudes: attitudes on the bench, attitudes pressuring the ball and not giving up on possessions.

“It doesn’t matter the level of competition, [. . .] you play the same way,” he concluded.

Before returning to the West Gym, the Clan will travel to California to face four different teams. On Saturday, December 6, when SFU returns, they will face their first GNAC opponent, the Western Washington Vikings, who finished second in the conference last season.

Over the past few years, there has been a vast amount of ink spilt over the place that fighting has in the modern game of hockey. This never-ending debate is heating up again, after top prospect Connor McDavid broke his hand during a fight. He’s expected to miss five to six weeks, and his participation in the annual World Junior Championships is now in doubt.

As a kid growing up watching hockey, I used to love fights. I would get all excited when a player like Brad May would square off against the opposing tough guy. But now, it seems wrong to root for a guy to eat punches after all we’ve learned about concussions and head trauma.

The demons it creates for these types of players is no secret as well. In the summer of 2011,

noted enforcers Derek Boogaard, Wade Belak, and Rick Rypien all tragically took their own lives.

Even ‘old school’ media personalities and ex-players such as Mike Milbury — who according to hockeyfights.com has participated in 76 NHL-level fights himself — have come out and stated their displeasure over fighting.

The biggest reason that fighting is still around is the mythical ‘code,’ an ambiguous set of rules that is supposed to take the ‘rats’ out of the game.

This is what the enforcer’s job is — to police the game, because apparently the referees on the ice can’t do that.

But more often than not, these enforcers end up fighting amongst each other, not really doing any ‘policing.’ I wouldn’t call Shawn Thornton sucker-punching Brooks Orpik policing, I would call it disgusting. Fighting has lost its significance in the game.

Thankfully, the NHL won’t have to go to any drastic measure and ban fighting, because it’s already on the decline. According to hockeyfights.com, in 2011-12 there were a total of 423 games which featured a

23

fight. Last season, that number dropped to 366, a decrease of nearly five per cent.

With the exception of the 2012-13 lockout shortened season, fights have been steadily decreasing since 2008-09, with the percentage of fights per game dropping from 41.38 per cent in 2008-09 to 29.86 per cent last year.

Noted enforcer Shawn Thornton was let go by the Boston Bruins and signed with the Florida Panthers, and tough guy Colton Orr has been buried in the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate and has yet to play a single game in the NHL this year. Teams would much rather use a roster spot on a guy who can score goals than on a guy whose only skill is brawn and whose sole purpose is to skate around for eight minutes.

I understand the NHL is in the business of entertainment, and I do get that a lot of people enjoy watching fighting. But fighting has simply lost its importance in the game; it no longer serves a purpose and the cost is too high. It’s time to focus on the skill and speed — the hockey — and not slow it down with knuckle-dragging enforcers.

24 DIVERSIONS / ETC

November 24, 2014

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HUMOUR

NEW WESMINSTER (NUW) It seems innocent enough, at first: you’re surfing the net and a curvy little dish catches your eye. It looks so hot — you want to see more; before you know it, you’ve been cruising the web for hours, feasting your eyes on juicy, juicy porn. Food porn. Seems harmless, right? Wrong.

Surprising new research from the Institute for Morality and All Things Well and Tame (IMATWAT) reveals that the type of images people commonly refer to as “food porn” — which, according to Wikipedia, is a “glamourized spectacular visual presentation of cooking or eating” — is having an adverse impact on our society and culture.

“Most people think that there can’t be any harm in just looking at pictures of food on Tumblr,” says lead researcher, Jonsey McGee. “It feels like a victimless crime, and it can satisfy their cravings. But, unfortunately, our data cooks up a very different and dark dish.”

Indeed, IMATWAT’s study — which was funded by a coalition

November 24, 2014

of non-photogenic foods including oatmeal, stroganoff, and barley — shows that prolonged exposure to food porn images has a long-term impact on humans’ ability to appreciate real food. In fact, that study shows that people who view food pornography more than 13 times per week were 89 per cent less likely to give their compliments to the chef and 59 per cent more likely to skip dinner for dessert out of pure boredom.

“Even worse, when habitually exposed to food porn, people are finding themselves unable to commit to lunch, because they know they can always go home and look at yummier-looking lunches online. What they don’t realize is that those pornographic lunches are heavily photoshopped and just aren’t realistic ideals of lunch,” says McGee. “They’re waiting for this unrealistically luscious lunch to walk into

their lives and satisfy them, and it just isn’t coming. As a result, people are getting really hungry!”

Men, according to the study, are especially susceptible to succumbing to the negative influences of food porn.

“More and more, we’re noticing that men are starting to treat their steaks just like pieces of meat,” explains McGee. The easy access and abundance of food porn online may also be contributing to a weird, privileged attitude amongst eaters. The study shows that food porn-consumers tend to be bad cooks, and are often lazy and entitled in the kitchen.

“We see this amazing food online, and we just get so used to seeing it there looking amazing and perfectly lit. As a result, when we’re at home cooking, we expect our food to magically get to a really delicious place without putting in much effort. In the end, few people are satisfied with this approach. We talked to a number of people that just sort of ‘faked it’ in the kitchen, and then retired to their rooms to watch video clips of cheesecake on their own.”

So, is there a solution to this food porn depravity?

“Turn off the internet and go back to basics in the kitchen,” says McGee. “I suggest making a lovely casserole. Sure, it might not be perfect — but at least it will be real.”

humour editor email / phone

Jacey Gibb humour@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

Let’s do it. Let’s throw a 90s teen movie party.

This will be our last chance to throw one. Maybe we’re all graduating from high school and going off to college soon; maybe we’re graduating from college and we’ll have to get real jobs and stop getting obliterated every other Tuesday night. Whatever the milestone is, I just know that a 90s teen movie party is the only way to commemorate it.

First, we’ll have to get an absurd amount of alcohol. For whatever reason, this will consume a lot of our initial time and efforts. What, do we only know one person who’s of legal drinking age? That doesn’t even seem probable. There will be a lot of exciting hijinxs and buying alcohol will never look so adventurous again because in reality it isn’t because all you’re doing is buying alcohol but it will be for us because we’re throwing a goddamn 90s teen movie party.

Onto the evening’s guest list: I’m really hoping that word accidentally gets out about our medium-sized get-together and the house is absolutely decimated by the end of the night. I mean, the meteor from Armageddon is going to have a nuclear Jughead attached to it and they’re going to crash into the property, rendering the house a complete wasteland.

Then Godzilla is going to stop by just to make an appearance,

25

play some beer pong, and then leave for a different party. The place will be utterly destroyed but that’s okay because there are never any long-lasting consequences when you have a 90s teen movie party.

We also need to invite the girl of one of our dreams. She has a boyfriend who’s probably an asshole — some jock type that has no redeemable qualities and no discernible IQ, but will likely face some form of poetic justice by the night’s end. I mean, that would never happen in real life.

But it will happen tonight.

Maybe one of us will get to kiss romantically in the pool because it’s totally not freezing cold and doesn’t smell like chlorine and it’s not like either of us had our phones with us before spontaneously jumping into the pool fully-clothed.

Extemporaneous make out sessions in the pool are only romantic if we’re both fullyclothed. Everyone knows that.

This is going to be the biggest night of our lives, despite still being young enough to not be fully-functioning adults and feeling the need to celebrate big events by trashing a house and playing King’s Cup with people we don’t know and will never see again.

Somehow, tonight will be the culmination of everything else. I just know it.

We’re going to make grand gestures in the name of young love that would appear borderline psychotic if performed in the real world. We’re going to drink with a bunch of other 20-year-olds pretending to be much younger than they actually are. We’re going to get a feeling of finality the next morning through voice overs and cliched realizations.

We’re going to throw a mother fuckin’ 90s teen movie party.

26 HUMOUR

With Christmas still over a month away, the crunch is already on for some people trying to get their holiday shopping done before crowds take over the mall.

Though data is still emerging on what retail items will be the hottest sellers this December, a few early front-runners have already got parents fighting over limited supply: according to Business Sales (BS) magazine, the ‘it’ gift for 2014 just might be a tie between gift cards and slightlyworn $20 bills.

“It’s a definite departure from the Tickle Me Elmo and Buzz Lightyears of previous years, but it makes sense,” reports Steven Roy, one of the chief analysts for BS magazine.

“Instead of wasting money on material goods and things we’ll lose interest in as soon as we actually own them, people want to participate in the thrill of direct consumerism themselves.”

Unfortunately for any lastminute shoppers, businesses everywhere have already started selling out of gift cards weeks ahead of Christmas.

“Just because the demand is up doesn’t mean the supply will adjust accordingly,” warns Roy.

“Most businesses start preparing for Christmas around the summer time, so even if there’s a jump in popularity around October/November, there isn’t a lot retailers can do except try to avoid making the same mistake next year.”

Many parents have begun turning to eBay in hopes of finding a gift card for their child to open on Christmas Day, but reports say that prices online have been inflated by up to 300 per cent of their retail value.

“My five-year-old daughter wrote a letter to Santa months ago asking for a Dollar Giant gift card and the cheapest one I can find online is for $75,” an exasperated parent commented on Dollar Giant’s Facebook wall. “What am I going to tell her on Christmas morning when she unwraps all of her presents and none of them are a gift card? She’ll lose faith in Santa completely.”

Similar concerns are being voiced about the season’s other most-popular gift, a $20 bill. Demand for the increment of money has spiked over the last month and the Bank of Canada is saying they’ve had trouble keeping up.

“I’d say early November all the way into January is our busiest time of the year,” says Bank of Canada employee Maria Yoshida.

“We implemented an annual preorder system back in 2012 so people could order their $20 bills in October and have them guaranteed before Christmas but we always run out of stock regardless. I just wish there was something we could do to help people who are going to have to face Christmas without $20 bills.”

The Bank of Canada has begun a registry for people still interested in $20 bills, but they are unable to guarantee any new shipments between now and December 25.

November 24, 2014

Amidst a sea of protesters and environmental activists this week, skateboarding icon Tony Hawk has publicly announced that he is in favour of the proposed half-pipeline extension through Burnaby Mountain.

If approved, the Kinder Morgan half-pipeline will be the largest outdoor skateboarding half-pipe in British Columbia and the third largest worldwide.

“I’m not supporting this halfpipeline just for me,” a teary-eyed Hawk told reporters this past Monday. “I’m supporting it for my children and for my children’s children. This half-pipeline is for future generations.”

A professional skateboarder from 1982 until his retirement in 1999, Hawk’s pro half-pipeline stance is hardly surprising, but could prove beneficial to energy giant Kinder Morgan, as opposition is ramping up and some take a neutral stance.

On November 7, SFU president Andrew Petter released a statement expressing neutrality on the issue, saying he was really “more of a rollerblades kind of guy.”

Last week the BC Supreme Court granted an injunction to Kinder Morgan to forcibly remove any skater haters or protesters who might prevent further survey work

being conducted in preparation of the half-pipeline.

Strongly opposed to the halfpipeline are many environmentalist groups who worry about what impact the project will have on Burnaby Mountain’s ecosystem.

Several moms have also expressed a disinterest in the project, wondering why their teenagers couldn’t find a nicer, less dangerous hobby.

“You know, his second cousin Jane broke her arm skateboarding when she was eight,” Travis Bell’s mom, who is against the halfpipeline, told reporters. “Why can’t you just read a nice book or play

checkers with your sister instead of skateboarding all over the place?” she asked her son in exasperation.

While Kinder Morgan has yet to make an official statement on Hawk’s endorsement, a press release from earlier this year suggested that the halfpipeline backlash is largely unwarranted and “more of a kneejerk reaction.”

“People see the world’s ‘halfpipeline’ and they immediately assume the worst,” said a representative from Kinder Morgan.

“The reality is that they’re one of the safest means of carrying skateboarders across large distances. If you’re against half-pipelines then you’re against skateboarding. Can you live without your skateboarding? No? Then we have to invest in half-pipelines.”

“I won’t wake up tomorrow in a world completely independent from half-pipelines,” Bell’s mom retorted, “but it’s time we started investing in cleaner, safer hobbies for our children.”

HUMOUR

November 24, 2014

27

28 LAST WORD

Yeah, that’s right. SFU has a bike tool co-op.

Located in TC319 Rotunda on the Burnaby campus, the Bike Tool Co-op (BTC) is stocked with a whole variety of new tools and parts to help you keep your bike healthy. They’ve got Burnaby bike maps and other information about the bike trails at SFU — and it’s all free to SFU staff, students, and anyone using our school’s bike trails.

Pretty sweet, huh?

The story of how I came to be involved with the BTC is a long one. I was traveling around Europe after a field school in Prague this summer and, inspired by Scottish cyclist Mark Beaumont, I decided to spend 10 days in the Irish counties of Cork and Kerry, biking along 448 kilometres of amazing coastline.

features editor email / phone

Max Hill features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

I’d gone biking plenty of times before, but I was hardly a serious cyclist. Now, I was attempting 10 straight days on the road. I’m the kind of person who is undeterred by a lack of preparation and experience — and the kind that doesn’t check the weather report. I undertook this journey in the only two weeks of the summer that it rained in Ireland, with little knowledge about how to fix a bike and without waterproof clothes.

By the end of my journey, my brake pads were shot and my chains were so rusty they had practically disintegrated.

It was a miracle, or a testament to good Deutsch inner tubings, that I didn’t have a puncture on top of that. I survived by being careful within the confines of recklessness — which is to say, by sheer dumb luck.

I now want to bike across the great span of Canada, and the BTC has become a place

November 24, 2014

for me to learn some necessary practical skills for such an odyssey. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or someone who can’t ride a bike without training wheels, the BTC is a great place to learn more about the ins and outs of serious cycling. As long as you’ve got a keen interest and a willingness to learn about bikes, you’ll be fine.

Biking provides an honest-to-goodness beautiful way to see the world. You move at a different pace from the rest of the walking and driving population; fast enough to feel your heart pounding, but slow enough to immerse yourself in the moment. You’re completely exposed to the elements, which is only something you can truly appreciate after experiencing it yourself.

The rain in Ireland pinched my skin a million times over. The wind passed

through me like a ghost in a rage, and cycling along winding, narrow roads in the thick fog stirred a wicked disquiet within me. You’ll never realize how small you are in such a big, big world like you do in those hours on the seat of a bike in a hounding storm. Despite the obvious discomfort, I’d do it again in a heartbeat; it was the most alive I’d felt in a long time.

Cycling in the winter inspires those same feelings and experiences. If you’re willing to spend the time learning to fix and maintain your own bike, you’ll save money and time, and gain a serious amount of confidence as a cyclist to boot. So, without any more babbling on my part, here are a few tips on how to keep your bike in tip-top shape for the upcoming merry season.

I know what you’re thinking — why the macaroni and cheese would anyone want to bike in this weather, especially when we all have U-passes, or even the luxury of a heated car? But winter is no reason to stop pedalling — especially in Vancouver. Whether you’re biking to school (which, if you are, I congratulate you because Burnaby Mountain ain’t no easy feat) or for recreation, you’ll save money, stay healthy, and bypass nasty traffic jams.

(immediately after riding, whenever possible) Don’t do what I did. I didn’t care enough to invest in waterproof clothes, and spent countless days looking like I’d just wandered out of a sewer. When riding in the winter, layer your clothing and wear a windbreaker. Because of how fast you’re moving, the wind around you will wick heat away from your body faster than you can say “bacon grease.” Your grandma will also appreciate you wearing earmuffs and a scarf.

Winters in Vancouver are very wet, and rusty chains make for a lot of pain. As the chains are one of the most expensive parts of a bike, regularly maintaining the chains and getting rid of rust will keep them working more efficiently and for much longer, and save you money in the long run.

Bikes accumulate a lot of dirt and muck, so it’s best to give yours a wash while it’s still wet, rather than after the muck dries and hardens. Salt-sprinkled roads lead to rust, which is the parasitic fiend of the bike. So wash your bike! It’s always more fun hosing it down with warm water than vigorously taking a rag to it.

In the winter, the roads are generally more slippery, which means that brake pads will likely wear out more quickly. Of the 10 days I spent cycling in Ireland, half of them were in the rain; by the eighth day, my brake pads were completely shot and it became very dangerous to go downhill. So make sure to keep an eye on those brake pads!