On Hold

2

October 21, 2013 · Volume 145, Issue 8

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FIRST PEEK

Ten days ago, the 2013 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize was announced. This year featured a record number of nominations for the award, and the committee was no doubt hard-pressed to choose a winner among so many deserving people and organizations. When the decision was announced, many were shocked to hear that the winner of the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize was the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

While it is hard to say that this award wasn’t deserved, it is equally difficult to see the justice in giving an award to an organization that is literally performing the task it was created to accomplish: to verify both the prohibition and elimination of chemical weapons by the signatories of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

It is an important goal, but the work seems less than equal to the reward — an award whose recognition would be better afforded to many of the other nominees.

October 21, 2013

Take, for example, Malala Yousafzai, a voice for women’s right to education in her home district of Swat in Pakistan. For taking a stance, she was targeted by assassination and shot by Taliban gunmen. When she first started speaking out, she was 11 years old; at the time of the assassination attempt she was 15.

Contrast her story with that of the OPCW. While both espouse ideals that appeal to our Western frame of mind, Malala’s story carries with it the weight of someone who stuck to her beliefs and principles despite threats and action taken against her. So far, it has cost the OPCW nothing to oversee the dismantling of Syria’s chemical weapons, it has just brought the organization publicity as the world focuses on the nation’s ongoing civil war.

No one has threatened to dismantle the organization, nor have the members of the organization become targets for assassination.

But Ms. Yousafzai nearly paid for

her principles with her life at an age when most of us are thinking about getting a driver’s license.

It seems to me that the Peace Prize has become a political award.

Were it not for the conflict in Syria bringing the issue of chemical weapons to the forefront, it is doubtful this organization would have been recognized, as they have yet to pressure either the United States or the Russian Federation to destroy their stockpiles.

When Barack Obama received the prize, he had been in office for less than a year, and won for the peace processes and demilitarization initiatives he intended to accomplish (and still hasn’t). Since winning the Peace Prize, President Obama has ordered numerous drone strikes, and even violated the territorial sovereignty of the nation of Pakistan in order to capture Osama Bin Laden, something that could technically be construed as an act of war. Yasser Arafat also collected a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the Oslo Peace Accords, despite having used violent terrorist tactics against the State of Israel for decades.

Parties such as these are not worthy of recognition by such an august body as the Nobel Committee. It’s time they stopped awarding these prizes based on politics, and reward those who take great risks for the greater good of humanity.

NEWS

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On Friday, Oct. 11, an incident occurred in the SFSS’s Maggie Benston Centre office that has environmental representative, Monique Ataei, calling for the resignation of member services officer, Moe Kopahi.

Ataei claims that Kopahi lent her his phone to place a call, and when he changed his mind due to privacy concerns, Kopahi grabbed the phone from her hand, inadvertently striking Ataei in the face as he pulled the phone away.

Kopahi stated that he asked Ataei repeatedly to return his phone to him because he “did not feel safe nor comfortable” with the person Ataei was calling having his personal contact information.

“I got out of my seat, and grabbed my phone from her hand, which on the way . . . touched her lips,” Kopahi wrote in a statement.

Ataei stated that Kopahi didn’t seem to notice that he had struck her, and was yelling and cursing.

While Ataei said that she received no apology from Kopahi, he claims that he told her that his phone hitting her lips was not intentional, apologized, and offered her a hug, which she did not accept.

news editor email / phone

October 21, 2013

According to Ataei, the cell phone struck her on her jaw and upper lip, not damaging her nose or cheek. SFU Campus Security was called by a friend of Ataei’s, who she told immediately of the incident.

Kopahi left the campus before Campus Security arrived at the SFSS office. SFU Campus Security confirmed that they responded to an incident at the date and time in the MBC area, but can confirm nothing else due to privacy policies.

Ataei claims that she stayed in the SFSS office until 1:30 a.m.,

icing her face. Her biggest concern, however, is the lack of action from other SFSS board members following the incident.

“The IRO did not contact me,” said Ataei, referring to internal relations officer, Kevin Zhang. “I waited three days for an email from the IRO.” According to Ataei, Zhang and president Humza Khan were both aware of the incident, but did not contact her until after the weekend. “They didn’t know to what severity it [was] . . . They didn’t

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

know anything. They just knew that I got hit,” said Ataei.

The following Tuesday night, Zhang sent Ataei a text message apologizing for not handling the situation sooner.

He continued, “Lying is wrong regardless whether you win or not. Once you lie and twisted the truth, you can hurt the people around you and you will regret it for the rest of life. I sincerely hope to speak to you asap and I hope that you remain faithful to your morales[sic] and integrity.”

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Another concern of Ataei’s is the office environment that allowed this conflict to take place. “This incident that happened is not something that would occur in an environment that is safe and supporting and comforting,” Ataei stated.

The Peak first learned of the incident when Ataei sent out an email to board members and other university stakeholders stating that she would not be returning to the SFSS board office, due to a “lack of safety.”

Leah Bjornson

Ataei wrote, “I will not be setting my foot in the SFSS office, for I have seen the lack of response incidents receive from the majority of the executive.” In response, science representative, Brandon Chapman, replied: “This email is unacceptable. You are supposed to be a professional. Stop acting like a child.”

The underlying problem, according to Ataei, is one of a hostile work environment. Throughout her interview with The Peak, Ataei repeatedly stated that she did not feel safe in the SFSS office. “This isn’t the first time I’ve felt scared in the offices,” she said.

In his statement, Kopahi criticized Ataei for her handling of the situation. “Monique Ataei has created an unsafe space for male board members of the SFSS by sending a mass email . . . claiming false accusations.” Kopahi went on to say that he now feels unsafe holding his office hours, and is fearful that someone who has heard fragments of the incident will come to his office with “negative intentions.”

Ataei has requested that the remainder of her voluntary stipend for her year-long term be paid out, a sum of $6,125, after which she plans to resign, as she said she no longer feels she is able to carry out her due diligence in the position.

Ataei is also calling for Kopahi’s resignation, and for Zhang to be disciplined within the SFSS and to be stripped of a month’s worth of his stipend. Kopahi has no intentions to resign, and stated that he will continue in his duties as MSO. Ataei said she chose to make the incident public because she hopes to change the environment within the SFSS offices. “I’m bringing this externally because nothing happened internally,” said Ataei.

She continued, “I don’t want a student to go through what I did . . . The fact that this could happen appalls me.”

On Friday, the SFSS released an official statement, saying, “The assistance of external parties is being pursued to investigate the incident further and reach a resolution. Meanwhile, other options are being pursued to ensure all Board of Directors members have access to a safe work space to continue with their mandate of serving SFU students.”

“The Simon Fraser Student Society continues to take the safety of its members, staff, and Board of Directors very seriously.”

NEWS

staff members from SFU Enrollment, and a representative from the SFSS. The search kicks off on Nov. 4 with a community consultation, where, according to Rahilly, community members and stakeholders are welcomed to “identify the characteristics and traits of someone who should be in this role.”

The committee will then decide whether there are sufficient candidates for the position internally, or if they would like to look externally as well.

“There’s not a lot of people, nationally.” said Rahilly. “The pool is not deep. It’ll be a lot of work for us to find suitable candidates. We’re a big school, we’re a diverse school, and British Columbia is not an inexpensive place.”

During the search process, committee members will be able to gather feedback from the community, but will not be able to give back any information beyond the point at which they are in the search. “What we’ll share is, we’re searching, we have candidates, we’re shortlisting, they’re coming to campus, decision pending, board accepted, we have a registrar. So if you see a puff of white smoke, it’s like a pope, we have a registrar,” said Rahilly.

Once the search committee has selected a candidate, that candidate will need to be approved by the VP academic, Jon Driver, recommended to president Andrew Petter, and then recommended by Petter to the Board of Governors. Rahilly hopes to have a candidate found by May. During the interim, Rahilly and various staff members will be stepping in to fulfill the various duties of the registrar.

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“It’s with very mixed emotions that I see Kate go,” said Rahilly. “I’m delighted for Kate that she is progressing in her career and has the opportunity to go up a step in terms of rank, and UBC offered that opportunity. I personally think she would have been foolish not to have taken it.”

Ross declined to be interviewed for this piece.

5

R U O Y

E C FA FEARS

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Dr. Kathleen Ross has left her position as SFU registrar and executive director of Student Enrolment for the position of associate vice-president, Enrolment Services and registrar at UBC. On Nov. 1, Ross will begin a five-year term at UBC as the new associate vice-president, Enrolment Services and Registrar.

The appointment was announced in a UBC broadcast email on Aug. 30, and the completion of SFU’s fall convocation ceremonies marked the end of Ross’ time at SFU. Ross had been in her position at the university since 2007.

UBC advertised globally for this position and selected Ross from the applicant pool which included candidates from across North America. According to Randy Schmidt, associate director of Public Affairs, Ross was selected because of her outstanding leadership in similar roles, her strong student focus, and her experience with student information systems.

Schmidt says that UBC expects Ross “will help ensure UBC continues to be a leader in the provision of outstanding student services, will help attract outstanding students to UBC’s two main campuses, and will move our student information system to the next level.”

During her time at SFU, Ross completed an EdD in Educational Leadership, and was awarded the Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal for Academic Excellence in spring of 2011.

The SFU registrar is responsible for overseeing student records, such as registration requests, class lists, and grades, as well as academic integrity issues, strategic enrolment management, and acting as the secretary to Senate.

Dr. Tim Rahilly, SFU associate vice-president, students, is now leading a search committee to fill the registrar position. The registrar reports to Rahilly, who will act as chair on the search committee for the new registrar. Also included on the committee will be two deans (including one faculty dean), the president of the faculty association, two elected faculty at-large members, two

October 21, 2013

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6 NEWS

With his term scheduled to end on Aug. 31, 2015, President Andrew Petter is asking the SFU board of governors to reappoint him for another term.

At the time of his appointment, Petter’s primary goal was “to build on SFU’s incredible diversity and combination of strengths as one of Canada’s leading universities.” With his reappointment up for discussion, Petter reaffirmed his goals in a speech to the SFU community last Thursday in the SFU Theatre.

“When I became President, I made it very much my priority upon coming to SFU first to get to know the institution, to get to know the students and faculty and staff, the culture of the institution,” said Petter. “There was a pent up desire within SFU for a dialogue around who we are and what we wish to do going forward in the future.”

After outlining some of the successes of his term — which included greater national and international recognition, improved student services and community outreach, greater fundraising and research grants, and a vision of sustainability — Petter continued with his thoughts for SFU’s future.

“First of all, a major priority from my point of view is to continue to build, based on the vision, goals, and principles,” said Petter. “In terms of engaging students, I have on this year’s goals for myself and the university that we really need to tackle the issue of course access.

For students who aren’t able to access the courses they need to complete their programs, I know this is a great frustration.”

During his speech, Petter also expressed his desire for greater teaching support, the creation of blended courses, more support for ESL students, an online education strategy, and further efforts to increase student engagement on campus.

On the research front, Petter hopes to find a new vicepresident of research, as Mario Pinto’s term is coming to an end. He also hopes to bring

October 21, 2013

more funding to the university and update the strategic research plan to meet needs of the community.

Petter continued his speech, speaking to the Burnaby campus specifically. “I think one area of priority that I see is this campus.

This campus’ connection with the Burnaby community is not nearly as strong or as dynamic in my view as it should be, and maybe that’s because we’re on top of a mountain. Maybe a Burnaby skybus as I call it, or gondola as others of you call it, would be helpful in that regard, and certainly I think that’s something we should push for.”

After his speech, Petter opened the floor to questions from students, staff and faculty.

However, not everyone was satisfied with his answers.

“Petter completely dodged two crucial questions, one about sessionals another about labor relations,” said TSSU member Killian Kleffner-Canucci in an email to The Peak. “Petter provided false information about what sessionals gained from the last round of bargaining . . .

The major problem, is that his response suggested SFU admin worked for those changes, when in reality they worked as hard as they could to prevent those meager improvements. This insinuation from Petter is an outright lie and very insulting to the TSSU bargaining committee who were the ones fighting with admin (including Petter) for those changes.”

Kleffner-Canucci was similarly upset about Petter comments on budget tightening: “Something doesn’t add up. Budget aside, there are many nonmonetary improvements that can be made to the collective agreement in order to improve working conditions for sessionals in particular, which their bargaining team rejected last year. It would be nice if Petter followed up on claims he has made that he wants to provide more for sessionals in the upcoming bargaining (if reappointed).”

Petter was unavailable to respond to these comments before time of press.

Petter became SFU’s ninth president and vice-chancellor in 2010, replacing Michael Stevenson after an international search. Following Petter’s declaration of interest in a second term, the board has established a Committee to Review the President Prior to Reappointment, as authorized by board policy B10.06.

Members of the Committee include Brian E. Taylor, chair of the board of governors, Jon Driver, VP academic & provost, John Pierce, dean of the faculty of environment, and additional representatives from the board of governors, the student body, and staff members, among others.

The review process will include the Committee meeting

with Petter and consulting with the vice-presidents and deans across the university, and with “appropriate external constituents,” according to the policy. Although Committee members Taylor, Driver, and Pierce declined to comment or failed to reply, as deliberations are confidential, Judith Osborne, university secretary, said that students, faculty, staff and some external stakeholders have been asked to provide the committee with their views.

If the committee is satisfied with the results of the review, it will recommend reappointment.

If the review does not find Petter to be a suitable candidate, a Presidential Search Committee will be formed as provided in the same board policy that governs the review.

For Petter, the reappointment process is one he welcomes with open arms.

“I really welcome the opportunity both to reflect upon where we’ve come in the last few years at SFU and where we’re headed in the future, and to explain a little bit about why I would welcome the opportunity to continue to play a leadership role in the future development of what I regard as a truly extraordinary institution,” said Petter.

NEWS

Ever since his explosive response to a journalist during the October Crisis of 1970, the fanaticism surrounding one of Canada’s most influential political figures can be encapsulated in three simple words: “Just watch me.”

Sunday Oct. 13 marked the 43rd anniversary of Pierre Trudeau’s famous quote and provided Elise Chenier, associate professor of history at SFU, the perfect opportunity to launch her newest campaign: the Trudeaumania Project.

An energetic, nonconforming politician during the 1970s counterculture movement, Trudeau was treated like a pop star by the Canadian public, who avidly followed his private and political life.

“He had charisma, I don’t think there’s any question about that,” explained Chenier. “No matter where you stood on the political spectrum, his charisma as well as his intellect was undeniable.”

The Trudeaumania Project — put in motion via a Trudeaumania Facebook page last Sunday — aims to reinvigorate the excitement surrounding Trudeau by collecting memorabilia from the era.

Chenier, who teaches a course on the Trudeau era, explained her interest in the subject to The Peak. “I’m of course interested in the politics of the era, which is probably what initially attracted me to that topic. I’m also a child of that era . . . I have memories of his image being everywhere, memories of one of the elections in the 1970s, and my own parents’ and grandmother’s excitement about him being elected to office. I grew up surrounded by that,” said Chenier.

With Pierre Trudeau’s son, Justin Trudeau, now involved in politics and an early front-runner for the next federal election, Chenier feels the “inevitable” comparisons being made between father and son will spur a renewed interest in the issue. Additionally, with the amount of time that has passed since Trudeau’s Prime Ministership, Chenier sees this moment as an important time to collect these artifacts before they are lost.

“This generation of people who were Trudeaumaniacs,

October 21, 2013

they’re all downsizing in their life right now, and I was thinking ‘What’s going to happen to all of these really cool artifacts?’ They’re probably, a lot of them, going to get thrown out,” said Chenier. “So I thought, why not let’s put the word out and say, ‘Hey we’re interested in them, we’re interested in your stories, your memories . . . let’s collect them and see what we come up with.’”

Chenier hopes that beyond “just watching,” the public will search their old attics and albums for any memorabilia related to the Trudeau phenomenon. She

has already received a photograph of a friend’s aunt, smiling in front of a huge poster of Trudeau, and a portrait of the former Prime Minister. Initially, the portrait had been of Pierre and his wife, Margaret, but after their divorce the owner of the piece had Margaret painted out.

Although Chenier has no clue as to what she might discover during this project, there are several objects she is hoping — but not expecting — to acquire.

“I will tell you one of the things I would really love to get my hands on, but I doubt I will because they’re so rare,” said Chenier. “During the 1968 convention when [Trudeau] first was elected the leader of the Liberal party, somebody came up with the idea to print his image on these paper dresses and hand them out to women who were convention hostesses . . . if one of those dresses came into our hands that would be just spectacular.”

These paper dresses were launched as novelty frocks in 1966, but became political propaganda as photo-print portraits.

Although initially spurred by curiosity, Chenier hopes to ultimately use the material she collects to produce a coffee book and perhaps to host some kind of exhibit, “I would really love to bring this to the public and share it with [them]. I think it’s an incredibly fascinating era in Canadian history.”

Looking back at this era, questions arise as to whether Trudeaumania, like Beatlemania, might have simply been a facet of a time when society was less fragmented. When asked whether or not a similar phenomenon could happen again today, Chenier answered, firmly: “[Trudeau] is a unique person and he’s a unique type, but it certainly could happen again.

There’s no reason why it couldn’t happen again.”

7

8 NEWS

VANCOUVER — The AMS gave 75 clubs eviction notices on Wednesday.

Thirty-one of these clubs are being evicted from their offices, with the remainder losing their locker space in the SUB. The list of clubs evicted from offices included prominent clubs like the Ski and Board Club, the Sailing Club and the Surf Club.

October 21, 2013

Student Administrative Commission vice-chair Nina Scott said these clubs received notice because they failed to turn in their tenancy agreements for 2013-2014. “We had a deadline and it passed,” Scott said.

The locker tenancy agreements and office tenancy agreements are two-page agreements that grant clubs space, with the commitment that the club will maintain the safety and cleanliness of their space.

“We have over 380 [clubs], so it’s a small fraction,” Scott said.

She said a “good chunk” of the clubs who received the notice were clubs that either have been inactive or already dissolved.

Peter Wojnar, president of the Ski and Board Club, said he turned in his tenancy agreement one day after the Sept. 30 deadline. “We were assured at the time that it would probably be fine [so it] kind of came as a surprise,” he said.

Wojnar said that he received an email reminder of the deadline in the monthly AMS clubs newsletter in September, but then not again until one hour before the deadline.

The College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan has been put on probation by its accreditors for the second time. The Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools/Liaison Committee on Medical Education has placed the undergraduate medical program on “accreditation with probation.”

Reasons for the ongoing issues with accreditation are attributed to an outdated curriculum and a lack of student diversity. The university’s president addressed concerns, saying students “will be graduating from a fully accredited medical school that happens to be on probation.”

Clubs can appeal the notice by emailing the Student Administrative Commission, according to Scott. “They give a good reason why they didn’t [send the form in], and just explain to us why they need the space.”

Although the original email made no mention of appeals, Scott said that an email was sent out on the following Thursday to all clubs who got the eviction notice, telling them that they had 10 days to appeal. She said there is a large waiting list of clubs who want the space if any of the clubs who received the notice fail to appeal before the deadline.

Wojnar sent in the Ski and Board Club’s appeal on Friday,

Trinity Western University’s Alumni Association recently introduced a new celebration event, their first annual alumni weekend. The event was geared towards welcoming new alumni and creating a sense of unity between alumni, old and new. The weekend included a pancake breakfast, a kids’ zone, alum reunions, soccer games and the “Hey! Ho! Alumni Show.”

The AA’s new direction has the purpose of strengthening the network of alumni, working in conjunction with its other programs like the mentoring program in which working alumni are paired with current TWU students in order to provide them with career opportunities.

With files from The Sheaf With files from Mars’ Hill

and said they have no plans to move out. “[I think] what’s happening is that this year the AMS is really tired with the fact that nobody is taking them seriously and is just trying to get us to take them seriously,” said Wojnar.

“I wasn’t too surprised to see it coming to us . . . but I was surprised to see things like UBC Cancer Society [get the notice], and sorts of clubs that are actually providing really important services to students.”

Scott said that in the meantime, clubs who are appealing can stay where they are. “For now, they can stay. We’re not going to come with pitchforks and torches and say, ‘Pack up now.’ That would be ridiculous.”

The Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Student Union (MUNSU) is imposing an audit of all the student resource centres they fund. Each centre receives $1,000 from the MUNSU, which with be withheld until all the audits are complete. This is a problem for the Disability Information Support Centre, which is resisting the audit on the grounds that the centre deals with confidentiality.

The Student Parent Assistance and Resource Centre also takes issue with the audit since the MUNSU refused to help the centre in past financial situations. Travis Perry, director of finance and services for the MUNSU says the student union will continue to discuss the matters at hand with the various resource centres since the audit is a “practice that [they] want to implement across the board.”

With files from The Muse

OPINIONS

October 21, 2013

As of this issue’s print, the US Senate has reached a deal that, with luck, will end America’s government shutdown and forestall a default on US debt. Along with the evasion of a global recession, the air is unmistakably thick with fellowship: markets are stabilizing, panda-watchers are rejoicing, and in this climate of magnanimous concessions

even cats and dogs have reached a shaky truce.

Best of all, another Festival of Settlement is planned for early February, when Republicans and Democrats will once again face off over tactics of brinksmanship and bluffing, before once again hugging it out and planning another game of chicken for late spring. See you at the party!

Over time, the dispersal of matter will reduce the amount of mechanical energy performed in the universe, the end result of which is a cosmos incapable of any kind of activity whatsoever, least of all life. Eventually, existence will reach a thermodynamic equilibrium, a balance wherein physical reactions become impossible. As entropy comes to a grinding end, time

will cease to pass in any meaningful way, and that will evermore be that.

On the bright side, it’s estimated that we have at least a googol years (that’s a one followed by 100 zeroes) before nothing starts to happen forever, meaning we still have a little time to enjoy the endless near-disasters of intractable political institutions. See you at the party!

email / phone

opinions@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

9

How to be courteous to trans* people

A trans* person is anyone whose gender identity does not align with that which they were designated at birth. A cis person is anyone whose gender identity does align with the one they were assigned at birth. Often, cis people are very insensitive to trans* people, which hurts them in ways that cis people cannot comprehend.

This is not usually intentional, in my experience, but due to ignorance. That doesn’t let cis people off the hook; they are responsible for educating themselves. The following is a primer on basic trans* etiquette.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is not to out a trans* person to anyone without explicit permission to do so. As we all remember from high school, word of a person’s supposed deviancy can travel quickly.

There is no way to control who gains access to that information once it is out there and, as in the case of Brandon Teena, this can lead to horrific consequences for the person in question.

The cis world is fundamentally hostile to trans* people. At the very least, it is rude to out someone, even to another trans* person.

I have had to lie often to conceal that a person is trans*, and I have no problem doing so. Most frequently, I have to pretend that the person has always been living as the gender that they live now. For example, I have to pretend that my childhood friend was designated male at birth.

This involves pretending experiences he had that are specific to girls did not happen, and ones that are specific to boys did.

Given the results for being untruthful or truthful — exist comfortably in a society, or be ostracized by it — I am more than willing to tell a small lie for my friend.

Obviously, this necessitates consistently calling that person by their preferred pronouns and name. To develop this habit, it helps to genuinely think of them as their authentic identity. If you have to stop mid-thought and correct yourself, then do it. It will only make it easier to talk about them

without slipping up and potentially exposing them to violence.

Consistency is the key to avoiding accidents, which may cause gender dysphoria, the medical affliction that transitioning treats.

If you did not know the person before they began transitioning, and you have only just learned of their trans* identity, do not ask them for their “real” name or if they have had surgery or hormone therapy. They do not all choose to undergo hormone therapy, and even fewer undergo surgery.

Given the common expectation within and without the trans* community to appear cis, asking such personal details contributes to already enormous pressure to fit in with the cis world. Very few cis people would appreciate questions about their genitals, anyhow.

Finally, I cannot stress enough that you ought to treat trans* people as equals. If you find it especially difficult to interact with someone who you know is trans* because of their gender, that is your problem and not theirs. If you are a cis person and found this article too educational in tone, you may not have acknowledged your privilege.

This article is instructive because most cis people I know require instruction in this matter. But when it comes to implementing these tools to avoid hurting trans* folk, it’s up to each one of us.

10 OPINIONS

Through my relationship with Facebook, the site acted as a passive watcher, aside from the regular reminders of ironic “pokes” or suggestions to “be the first to like this page.” It was witness to my superior twoline status updates, my “liking” of important pages concerning hugging or peppermint tea, and the creation of an alter-ego, consuming minutes from almost every waking hour.

But during our last few moments together, it was far from silent; Facebook kicked and weeped, asking “are you sure?” reminiscing about our history that will be deleted forever, and trying to entice me with pictures of “friends” that would “miss me” if I left.

Let’s dismiss the arguments that everyone has already heard about social networking sites, but ignores: they’re time-wasters filled with dull, lifeless information. I imagine that many people don’t let the sites consume their lives, and have enough self-control to not wade through the ab pictures, “spiritual” status updates, and ironically-capitalized

I hate schedules. Lord, do I ever hate them. I’ve always been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda guy, and it’s worked out alright for me so far. Planning just delays the more important stuff; schedules just get in the way of my freedom.

There are very few things I mark on my calendar. Exams,

comments. They get in, find kernels of vital social data (or at least birthday dates), and get out.

Maybe you are such a spiritually enlightened, well-rounded person. You still support an egotistical, antisocial society.

Take Facebook’s “Like” system for instance. “Liking” asks users to measure their personal wealth by the quantity of approvals accorded a given posting. This

deadlines, and birthdays? Let’s hope I remember them. But I have a few traditions, and I’ll be dead before I mess with those.

Two years ago, for the sake of my sanity, I needed to get out of Vancouver. So, my parents forfeited a romantic weekend in Whistler and donated it to two friends and me for my birthday in November (the chocolates and wine on the bed pillow were a nice touch). Since then, those Whistler trips have grown from three people to 12 to 17.

Just about a year ago, I went out for beers with a couple of friends from this publication, and little did we know it was the start of a weekly gathering, which became something of an institution that we called Wednesday

October 21, 2013

discourages clever observations or significant events in real life, which rarely receive such instant audience approval and gratification, in favour of posts designed for mass appeal.

Rather than signifying a mutual interest between two people, “Liking” enforces popularity and, by extension, an egotistical attitude. Pictures and clever comments are not appreciated for

Friendsday. It took some 16 months — and them moving out of Burnaby — for it to end.

One year ago, over Thanksgiving, another two friends and I threw some junk in a car and drove north. We didn’t have a destination, just a direction. This Thanksgiving, we did something similar, the only difference being we headed west — and planned a little tiny bit.

their own merits, but as a means to the popular end.

Facebook users are even given a physical means to track their ego — timelines. This too becomes more than it seems: beyond a personal scrapbook, timelines are a public display of one’s life.

Yet, in spite of promoting faux-popularity, the site encourages antisocial behaviour. The most obvious example of this is

This isn’t a nose-up, eyesdown article telling you my way of life is the only way of life. It’s an attempt to show the value of establishing tradition in your life.

Pe r h a p s We d n e s d a y Friendsday is the best example: every Wednesday night, I knew where I was going to be, and who I was going to be with. The people I shared those 70-odd Wednesdays with are, without a doubt, some of my closest friends, ones I might not have seen on a regular basis otherwise — but I never had to worry about that. It became incredibly important to us; it was borderline sacrilegious to miss a week, no matter the reason.

That may seem extreme — it’s just one week, you might say

the network of user postings and profiles. The ease with which one can scour personal information from others’ profiles means that Facebook users need never ask anyone direct questions about themselves. This is stalker-esque and, despite being termed “creeping,” it is the purpose of the network.

By foregoing personal questions and conversations, people miss opportunities to develop the trust required for such sharing. They share only what they are comfortable sharing with their wide list of acquaintances — who Facebook, of course, lovingly dubs as “friends.” Disclosure, a vital aspect of social behaviour, is lost.

Maybe it takes an extreme case to make such negative conclusions about the site. Maybe some personality types work with Facebook, and some just don’t.

But those who remain on the site are fostering an egotistical, antisocial, arguably stalkerish and generally weird social environment, even if they personally steer clear of those traits. These traits will only continue to develop with prolonged use of the site.

No one can avoid it or discourage it except for those who belong to the online society. If that’s you, it’s time to call it off, to end your dependence on Facebook, and to talk to friends (and acquaintances) in real life.

— but establishing that tradition was essential to the survival of the event, and maybe even our friendships.

The road trip is a way for me to, again, spend some time with close friends, but also to get out of my comfort zone, disconnect from the digital world, and introduce a little adventure into my life (fishing in grizzly country!) Whistler is a time, amidst midterms and dreary weather, to let loose and celebrate.

None of those three events require much thought anymore; they’re embedded in my routine. It’s no longer a question of “if,” but “when.”

Traditions can keep you close, no matter how far they take you.

ARTS

October 21, 2013

Seattle’s six-piece indie-folk group recently released their sophomore album Let’s Be Still, moving away from their heavily themed self-titled first album, The Head and the Heart. The new record does not have one theme as such, but rather, serves a variety of familiar emotions, making the album very comforting.

Let’s be Still revolves around new sound avenues: bouncy and vibrant synthesizer beats are mixed with nostalgic lyrics.

Record opener “Homecoming Heroes,” features a catchy chorus and beautiful violin fills. Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting tragedy, the band sat down and wrote their reflections down, thus creating “Another Story.” The song is not meant to be commemorative, yet the lyrics and progression of the tune are strikingly sentimental.

Unlike their Manchester brethren The Smiths, the four raincoat-clad members of

Charity Thielen’s mellow but striking voice shines in “Springtime” and “Summertime;” the abrupt transition from the hauntingly sweet harmony of the former to the boppy basslines of the latter is a charming touch. The vocal style and harmony arrangements of “Summertime” hint at the band’s influential close friend from the road, Thao Nguyen of Thao & The Get Down Stay Down.

Imagine this: you’re slow dancing under dim lights with that special someone, not wanting the song and the moment to end. This feeling of halted time comes through in Thielen and Josiah Johnson’s placid vocals in “Let’s be Still.”

The guitar, piano, bass, shakers and tambourine harmonies in “Shake” succeed in making you want to dance, yet the powerfully evocative lyrics about past loves aren’t suppressed by this energy: “I can’t forget your face / even if it was just a day, you won’t forget the one who’s making you shake.”

The familiarity of heartbreak hinges on the record’s powerful closer “Gone”: rhythmic drumming and an understated intro builds up slowly to create this passionate and heartfelt outro, mimicking the feeling of being left high and dry.

The record poignantly encapsulates the bitterness of life while celebrating it, bringing contentment to the listener. Let’s Be Still delivers with every song.

the influential post-punk outfit Joy Division made no attempts to euphemize their slow descent into hopeless, aching depression.

Instead, they let their twisted, angular film noir post-punk set the scene while lead singer Ian Curtis, the saddest man in rock and roll history, exhumed his own emaciated mental state.

Closer, the band’s final album — released roughly two months after Curtis’ now legendary suicide — is a harrowing and extraordinary listening experience.

As with any work of art released posthumously, it’s hard to listen to the LP without wondering where the band might have gone next. Sure, Joy Division’s three remaining members went on to form the fantastic synth rock trio New Order, but the absence of Curtis’ acutely melancholic lyrics and impassioned, grave delivery continues to hang around the band’s neck like an albatross.

Indeed, Curtis’ performance on Closer’s nine immortal tracks is among one of the most bracing and engaging in rock history. It’s as though you can hear him

arts editor email / phone

Daryn Wright arts@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

The Juno-nominated folk singer takes ownership of the darkness with her third album, Tall Tall Shadow. Like many before her, Basia Bulat went on a quest to find unconventional recording venues in order to achieve Tall Tall Shadow’s raw sound. Her pilgrimage paid off: her rich and full-bodied voice is exquisitely complemented by a 60year old dance hall in Toronto.

Compared to her past two LPs, Oh, My Darling and Heart of My Own, this record is mature and modern — owed in part to her experimentation with a pianoette, synthesizer and a charango. Arcade Fire’s Tim Kingsbury and engineer Mark Lawson may deserve some credit; their inspiration drove Bulat’s metamorphosis from her traditional folk-sound to a more developed

slowly disappearing over the course of the album — the distant, understated tone of “Heart and Soul”, the frenetic apology of “Isolation” and the deathbed plea of “The Eternal” are heartbreaking and riveting in equal measure, the brilliant flame of a singular talent burning out.

Closer is also the band’s musical apex: Peter Hook’s economic basslines are beautifully understated, Bernard Sumner’s guitar work is jaggedly erratic, and Stephen Morris’ drums are propulsive and obsessive.

Though the surviving members of the band

11

instrumental rendering of each song, like the drum machine and synthesizer in “Someone” and “Wires.”

In “It Can’t Be You,” Bulat relies on the bold sound of plucking the charango, an Andean instrument, and her stirring voice — which is a strong reminder that she hasn’t completely moved away from her traditional acoustic-folk sound.

“Promise Not To Think About Love” provides an upbeat and hand-clappy tune to a cynical take on love.

Her poetic lyrics and powerful singing voice still resonate in Tall Tall Shadow, reminding us just why Oh, My Darling and Heart of My Own were so appealing in the first place. Memorable tracks include “Never Let Me Go” and “From Now On,” which feature Bulat’s trembling vocals delivered with fragility — a reflection of her vulnerability during the recording of this album.

Bulat came out of the dark and conquered the creative process to make an outstanding record. Tall Tall Shadow branches out from her first two LPs, but doesn’t lose sight of her signature folk minimalism.

would go on to create more music — some good, some not so good, some brilliant — they never surpassed their work on this LP. That Joy Division were able to convey so much sadness and poignancy in two studio albums and a handful of singles is one of the greatest artistic achievements of their (or any) era. This may not be easy listening, but it’s essential listening.

12 ARTS

Colourful leaves cover the ground and the air is crisp; autumn is here, and with it comes the annual Vancouver Writers Festival. For six days at the end of October, Granville Island buzzes with writers and readers of all sorts, sharing their stories and the written word.

Now in its 26th year, the festival is host to authors from around the world, gathering to discuss their work with enlightening moderators and rapt audiences. More than 80 events from October 22 to 27 will attract approximately 15,000 attendees ranging from school children to senior citizens.

A handful of the authors have connections to SFU, such as critically-acclaimed author Shaena Lambert, who was a mentor at SFU back in 2011. Lambert has just published her third book, Oh, My Darling, a collection of ten short stories that, according to Lambert, explore the “secret streams that run through families — love and loss, aches and desires — that we only acknowledge to ourselves.”

This theme emerged slowly: she worked on the stories intermittently for six years, finding inspiration from different places and experiences. Lambert explains that her process involves writing down seeds of ideas and bits of inspiration in a little book and then looking at it later.

“Sometimes it’s nothing, other times it grows into a story.”

Published as both a short story author and novelist, Lambert likes each genre for different reasons. “A novel is like a marathon; you have to train and can’t just expect results. A short story is like a bit of DNA: it illuminates a piece of life, and then it is over.”

These little life illuminations are the focus of EVENT #77: Celebrating 25 Years of Journey. Lambert is one of four authors on the panel including local writer Théodora Armstrong and moderator Timothy Taylor. “[The Journey Prize anthology] launched a lot of careers including mine,”

October 21, 2013

admits Lambert, who is also a writing mentor.

As a mentor back in 2011, Lambert participated in SFU’s Writers’ Studio, providing feedback for budding writers, one of whom was Janie Chang. Chang published her first novel, Three Souls, this fall and will also be participating in the Vancouver Writers Festival.

Chang initially graduated from SFU with a Computing Science degree, and gradually

found her way into marketing communications. After a while, she realized that part of her was being neglected, and that it couldn’t be ignored any more.

She enrolled in The Writers’ Studio, a move that has paid off.

“It was the best decision of my life in terms of getting started writing,” Chang admits. “The Writers’ Studio accelerated the learning curve at least ten years.” During the year, she produced the manuscript for Three Souls, which Lambert called “a brilliant novel.”

Prior to enrolling in TWS, Chang had taken only one continuing education course in writing, but had been recording her family’s oral histories, passed down through the generations, for years. Her grandmother’s story inspired the core of Three Souls, which is narrated by a woman’s spirit. “[My grandmother’s story] haunted me all my life — I knew her story would be the first told.”

Chang says her grandmother was from a wealthy family and was highly educated, but she was rebellious and was married off as punishment. “Chinese women had very little choice and destiny, but they could influence things in an indirect way,” — thus the idea for a ghost narrator.

“A short story is like a bit of DNA: it illuminates a piece of life, and then it is over.”

Shaena Lambert, author Chang will be participating in EVENT #59: As the Past Comes to Life, exploring historical fiction and how the real world shapes a story.

“I’ve always been sitting in the

audience, so it’s amazing to be on stage, but it’s a little intimidating,” admits Chang.

What sounds even more intimidating is Chang’s personal attempt to “read all the books by the other authors on the panels.” For her event at the Vancouver Writers Festival that’s four novels, but she is also participating in the Surrey International Writer’s Conference the same weekend and will then be heading to Toronto for the International Festival of Authors. “It’s slightly delusional,” admits Chang.

The Vancouver Writers Festival takes place October 22 to 27 at various venues on Granville Island. Tickets and the schedule of events are available at writersfest. bc.ca.

ARTS

The School of Contemporary Arts brings you Ubu Cocu, SFU theatre’s fall mainstage production. Directed by Nicole DesLauriers, Ubu Cocu is about a sometimes-king named Ubu who invades the home of an old scientist and discovers that his wife is cheating on him.

This isn’t Ubu’s only problem, though: his kids are running amok, his conscience is a constant nag, and he can’t get any pie. That’s right — pie.

The play is by French absurdist playwright Alfred Jarry and is part of a trilogy, which included Ubu Cocu (Ubu Cuckolded), Ubu Roi (Ubu the King or King Turd), and Ubu Enchaîné (Ubu in Chains).

Only Ubu Roi ever ran during Jarry’s lifetime, and Ubu Cocu was never finished, but the presurrealist work was considered an influential classic of French theatre. The three works were all originally conceived to viciously satirize greed, religion, royalty, and stupidity.

“This is my favourite of the Ubu plays — it’s short and to the point, the characters are extremely intriguing, it’s hilarious and it has a chorus of sorts,” DesLauriers explains. She translated the play herself from

October 21, 2013

French, creating a contemporary adaptation of the script with Tyler Nichols. “We’ve tightened up bits that seemed long and drawn out in translation and tried to freshen it up.”

The play seems an unlikely choice, with its many poop jokes and a set that features a sewage hole, but these unexpected aspects make it all the more fun and challenging. “This play is very close to my heart, and it is exciting to see how the show grew from the seed that it was to what it is today,” says DesLauriers. The absurdist nature of the play means that it does not follow the structure of a traditional production; what happens will be unpredictable.

“I think that if you know how to handle it, absurdism is not really that absurd at all. My approach is to find the logic of the world . . . and then direct it with a ‘realistic’ approach. As long as the audience doesn’t try to place too much ‘real world’ logic on it, it’s totally relatable!” DesLauriers says.

The original Ubu character acted as a biting critique of the French bourgeois society and its evils during the late nineteenth century, but his stupidity and fumbling ineptitude seems to translate well in a time when relationship statuses become public domain. Despite its subject matter, Ubu Cocu is an original and entertaining production.

“There is original music, singing, romance, puppets, comedy, gender bending, hints of relationships for all sexual orientations, characters you love, characters

13

you hate and those that you love to hate,” DesLauriers says.

Students have been working hard on this production since the beginning of the fall semester. Auditions were held during the first week, and since then the cast has been working at least six days a week. Because of the show’s character-driven nature, much rehearsal time was spent developing characters and reworking the script. DesLauriers is a self-professed “collaborative director,” so working off of actors and designers helped to shape the final production.

The play has afforded students the opportunity to incorporate their own ideas into the pproduction. One of the actors says, “The show goes where we haven’t gone before in other acting opportunities; it pushes our boundaries.”

IT’S PEAK ELECTION SEASON ONCE AGAIN! DID YOU KNOW THAT THE PEAK IS MADE BY REAL LIVE STUDENTS JUST LIKE YOU? The editors are chosen in elections held once per semester and if you’ve paid your student fees this semester, you’re eligible to run!

To apply, simply fill out the appropriate form at the-peak.ca or visit The Peak offices at MBC 2900.

EDITOR applications are due at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6, and SUPPORT applications are due at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13. The voting period lasts one week in both cases.

“The Peak pays editors? That’s enough money to take my girlfriend somewhere nicer than McDonald’s!”

WEEKLY STIPENDS NEWS EDITOR $300 PRODUCTION EDITOR ASSC. NEWS EDITOR $225 COPY EDITOR OPINIONS EDITOR $300 MULTIMEDIA EDITOR FEATURES EDITOR $300 WEB PRODUCER ARTS EDITOR $300 PHOTO EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR $300 LAYOUT ASSISTANT HUMOUR EDITOR $225 PROOFREADER

THE PEAK ALSO NEEDS DIRECTORS!

$300 $300 $300 $225 $300 $150 $100

Three At-Large positions on our Board of Directors are vacant and need to be filled. If you have paid your student fees this semester, you are eligible to run.

As a Peak Board member, you will attend monthly meetings and participate in major financial decision-making. This is a by-election, and your term will last until March.

For more information about nominating yourself, go to the-peak.ca/at-large or contact david@ the-peak.ca.

A cup of Joe; rocket fuel; an early morning pick-me-up. Whatever you call it, chances are you drink coffee pretty regularly — in fact, the average Canadian drinks almost three cups daily. As university students, we tend to depend on a fresh mug of java more than most to get us through those late night study sessions and eight-in-the morning lectures. But have you ever thought about where this magical beverage comes from, or how it’s made?

Look no further, folks. The Peak has got you covered.

You probably already know that coffee is made of ground beans, harvested from the seeds of a plant named Coffea. The caffeine in coffee beans actually evolved as a defense against predators — thankfully, death by coffee is reserved for animals a heck of a lot smaller than us. These plants tend to grow close to the equator in an area we refer to as the Bean Belt. Nations in Central Africa, South America and Southeast Asia are the main exporters of coffee, although India and Hawaii are also notable bean growers.

Once harvested, usually on plantations, coffee beans can be divided into two categories. Arabica is the most common variety of coffee bean, making up roughly 80 per cent of the world’s coffee. Originally indigenous to Ethiopia, these beans have a soft, sweet taste with hints of fruit and a high acidity.

Robusta beans, on the other hand, are less common than arabica, and tend to be considered inferior. The beans have almost double the caffeine, and the taste is generally harsh and grainy with a hint of peanut. However, some of the best brews in the world are made with robusta beans — they just tend to be few and far between.

Once they’re processed and ready to go, coffee beans are exported across the globe. The biggest coffee drinkers per capita might not be the countries you expect: Finland, Norway and Iceland make up the top three coffee consumers, with Canada coming in ninth place — 17 spots above our neighbour to the south.

The word “coffee” can actually be traced back to the Arabic qahwa, a term originally applied to wine. European coffee drinkers even came to know the drink as “the wine of Islam.” The story goes that this Abyssinian guy named Kaldi noticed one day that his goats were jumping and dancing — what a sight that must have been! Being the Sherlock he was, Kaldi decided to investigate the reason for his goats’ strange behaviour. This led him to discover some red berries the goats had consumed.

After giving them a try himself, he noticed their energizing effects and rushed to tell his wife, and the rest is history. So the next time you drink coffee, make sure to thank

A cafè latte is similar to a cappuccino, although it cuts down on the foam by about half. This drink is almost always an essential part of an Italian breakfast.

One fun fact is that many people nowadays spell it incorrectly as latté or lattè. If you’re one of those people, please stop making the Italians mad!

A cafè mocha is a variant on the standard latte: it’s topped with a healthy dollop of whipped cream, and a layer of chocolate syrup separates the espresso shot and steamed milk. The name “mocha” can be traced back to a Yemeni town named Mocha, formerly a famous exporter of coffee. Who would have known that the cafè mocha you ordered from Starbucks the other day got its name from a tiny Arabic village?

Kaldi (or maybe his goats) for their amazing discovery. As it usually happens with myths, no one really knows if this story is true or not, however, this is only one of the many incredible stories behind the history of coffee.

Another version of its discovery credits Sheik Omar, a Yemeni recluse who could cure the sick with prayer, for discovering the coffee bean. He was exiled to a desert cave and was starving to death when he discovered the same red berries as Kaldi’s goats. Since they were bitter to the taste, he roasted them and found they hardened. He then decided to boil them down to their liquid form, which led to him discovering coffee as we know it today.

It is said that he then took his “energy drug” back to his hometown, where they made him a Saint.

Whether you believe the myths or not, history suggests that the Arabic people were the earliest coffee drinkers. One of the reasons may be that Islam, the most widely followed religion in Arabia, prohibits the drinking of any alcoholic beverage. As any university student will tell you, coffee is about the best alternative there is to a stiff drink.

Another amazing invention the Italians came up with is the affogato, which is basically an espresso shot poured over the top of a scoop of ice cream or gelato. People recommend vanilla ice cream, since it mixes well with the flavour of the espresso — but if you’re really a badass, try strawberry or mango gelato.

A cafè Americano, on the other hand, is one third espresso mixed with two thirds hot water. American soldiers in the Second World War would add hot water to their espressos, finding straight espresso shots too strong. They were mocked by British and French soldiers, and the name “Americano” stuck.

The first type of coffee is, naturally, the father of all others: espresso. (Not expresso.) I’ve always wondered what the difference between drip coffee and espresso was — turns out that espresso is made by forcing hot water under high pressure through powdered coffee beans, whereas drip coffee is made from more coarsely ground beans brewed with less pressure. Due to the concentration of the brew, espresso shots tend to be quite small. Don’t let the size fool you, though: pure espresso packs a punch.

A cappuccino has an espresso shot or two at the bottom, topped with equal parts steamed milk and milk foam. In the first half of the 20th century, cappuccinos were made differently all over Europe; however, in the post-war era, espresso machines became more widely available and baristas worldwide began to make them with the recipe we know today.

Last but not least — considering many of us drink one at least once a week — is the macchiato. There are two types of macchiatos. A cafè macchiato is an espresso shot with a little bit of steamed milk added to “stain” the shot. A latte macchiato, on the other hand, is basically an upside-down latte, with the steamed milk first and an espresso shot on top. Caramel macchiatos are the most popular variant of this drink, but maple, chocolate and vanilla macchiatos are equally tasty.

Humans consume about

We may be “no fun city,” but we sure know our Joe. There are many different brewers of coffee in Vancouver who provide us with amazing coffee, day after day, late night study session after late night study session.

One of these brewers is Forty Ninth Parallel, who use custom roasted coffee beans which are produced all over the world.

This is my personal pick for the best coffee that Vancouver has to offer — it’s tasty, packs a punch, and it’s available pretty much everywhere in the city.

The company also practices fair trade, which is awesome. I hope you’re listening, SFU. Matchstick coffee roasters, on the other hand, are the new kids on the block. Their coffee is sold in shops across the city, and their main location is in a particularly cozy corner of Mount Pleasant. The shop itself is on the small side, but it makes up for its size with a generous helping of quirky charm. It’s a little out of the way

The

lethal dose

if you don’t live in the city, but if you’re in the area, make sure to check it out.

JJ Bean is worth a visit, too.

Originally one of many small, adorable coffee joints on Granville Island, the shop has since expanded to Main Street, Commercial Drive, Yaletown, and even the Downtown Eastside.

This coffee is basically gasoline — if you’re new to the brew, you might want to avoid JJ Bean, as they boast one of the strongest cups in the city. If you’re feeling adventurous, though, this place is among the best stops in the city. And their muffins are heavenly.

With locations on Broadway Street and another in the heart of Kitsilano, you can’t go wrong with Elysian Coffee. Their baristas are some of the most talented in Vancouver, they’ve always got great music playing, and their coffee prices won’t break the bank. If you’re a film buff, head to their Kits location before catching a flick at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas.

of coffee is about

Arabica beans make up

80%

of the world’s coffee beans, and have a soft, sweet taste

100 cups

Caffè Artigiano also deserves a mention, if only for how cool their place actually is. It’s an Italian-style cafè that has great artsy stuff on their wall that would definitely want hanging up in your living room. There are lots of locations around Vancouver, so do drop in — not just for the coffee, but for the ambiance.

One of my favourite lesserknown spots is Innocent Coffee. Even though I’ve only been there once, the way it’s designed reminds me of a special cafè back home in Karachi, Pakistan named The 2nd Floor. They have great coffee, and are located a stone’s throw away from Granville Island.

The last place you’ll definitely want to check out is Little Mountain Coffee on Main Street. A few of my friends are regular customers there and, not only does this place have outstanding coffee and baked goods, it also boasts one of the friendliest staffs in Vancouver. If you stop by, let them know how awesome they are, for me.

There are two camps when it comes to the issue of health benefits and coffee: either it’ll stunt your growth and offset your sleep schedule, or it’ll prolong your life and stave off depression. Though most people seem to fall into one camp or the other, the truth is that coffee, like anything else, has its upsides and downsides.

Oddly enough, the health risk that coffee has most often been associated with — heart disease — can be either increased or decreased by coffee consumption. It all depends on a gene called CIP1A2. This gene tells your liver how to wuickly process caffeine. If you metabolize the caffeine quickly, studies have shown that your risk

Robusta beans make up

20%

They have a harsh, burnt flavour and double the caffeine.

1600 million cups of coffee everyday The average Canadian drinks

2.6 cups per day or

949 cups every year

Coffee The average Finnish person drinks about

12 kg of coffee per year

of heart disease can decrease.

If your CIP1A2 tells your body to process the caffeine more slowly, however, your risk of heart disease can increase.

Coffee can also be damaging to the lining of your intestines and stomach, and doctors advise patients with ulcers, gastritis and colitis to keep their coffee intake to a minimum. High consumption rates of coffee — we’re talking six or seven cups in a single day — can lead to restlessness, insomnia, anxiety and irritability.

Pregnant women generally keep to a two-cups-a-day maximum, as high levels of caffeine intake have been linked to miscarriages and children with low birth weights.

But the news isn’t all bad.

Because caffeine blocks the

Brazil

is the biggest exporter of coffee They produce

5

over

billion pounds

of coffee every year

1

is the second most popular drink in the world, after water

2

Adenosine neurotransmitter, it leads to increased neuron firings in the brain, which might actually increase your memory, vigilance and general cognitive function.

Coffee has also been linked with lower rates of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. It’s also got its fair share of essential nutrients and antioxidants — in fact, in the Western world, it’s our number one source of antioxidants, beating out fruits and vegetables combined.

The takeaway? Coffee can be both good and bad for you, depending how you drink it and how your body processes it.

T.S. Eliot once famously quipped, “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” It turns out most Canadians can sympathize: coffee plays an important role in our mornings, afternoons and nights, whether or not we spend much time considering it. As any seasoned coffee snob will tell you, a cup of Joe can bring people closer together, and help them achieve anything they set their mind to.

This is the way the world ends: not with a bang but with an espresso shot.

16 FEATURES

October 21, 2013

SFYou

With the weather getting colder and more people heading up to the slopes every day, SFU’s Ski and Snowboard Club is the foremost winter sports club the school has to offer. The Peak sat down with Aurelien Sudan and Matthew Wiebe, who hold the positions of president and vice-president, respectively.

“It’s just a really good way for people on campus to interact with each other and do a lot of fun activities,” begins Sudan, a Communications major and avid snowboarder.

“We have people from every level . . . people that are experienced riders, and people that have never been put in a pair of skis or a snowboard before,” he adds. “We have a lot of interest, but we can always go bigger, and that’s what we are striving to be: a bigger community.”

The pair tries to keep the club ski- and snowboard-

related, developing friendships and “getting the legs ready,” as Sudan puts it, before they head out to the mountains. As it turns out, the club is about more than just promoting an active lifestyle. “It’s really about getting a community of people to ride in the mountains and have some fun together,” explains Wiebe, a Business major with a minor in Geography.

The club is also able to offer many discounts to their members using the connections they have made throughout BC. “It’s an expensive sport,” as Wiebe says, and not everyone has the money to do it on their own.

That’s why, as Sudan explains, “we try to increase the amount of people from SFU that may want to go to get gear for cheaper at [local sports shops] . . . We also have some connections with many

different resorts around the area . . . we promote the resorts as much as we can and, in exchange, they give us discounts.” These sponsors give club members the opportunity to grab gear and transportation on a student budget.

For Sudan, the club means more than just a place to socialize. He moved here four years ago from Switzerland,

and credits the club with his success at SFU. “The club has definitely impacted my life a lot,” he laughs. “The semester had already started when I got admitted, and I was not even living on campus. It was hard to network, but one of the first things I did when I came was got involved with the Ski and Snowboard Club.

“My whole network of friends expanded because of this club. All of those friendships are still strong today and it’s been great.” Sudan is just one example of the many members that have been impacted by the friendships they have made in the club.

In Wiebe’s case, he takes pride in his ability to provide a community to students at SFU just like he did for Sudan four years earlier. “It’s been an awesome way to be involved on campus and meet people and network, being able to provide

this experience to people who might not feel like they have an opportunity to meet people.”

At the end of the day for these two, developing a community at SFU is the most important and fulfilling part of being involved with the club.

“We are trying to develop a community, so we try and hold a range of events that are inclusive to everyone. Anyone can be a part of it. Whether it’s gymnastics nights, barbecues, gear tuning nights, gear swap or our trips — they all allow people to come out and have a good time,” Wiebe says.

ARTS

“Hormones suck,” Tavi Gevinson writes in the introduction to Rookie Yearbook Two, “But being a young person doesn’t always.”

Like its predecessor, Yearbook One, this edition compiles the greatest hits of the 17 year-old wünderkind’s online magazine Rookie, with a few exclusives limited to the print edition.

Clocking in at over 450 pages, the collection features articles, interviews, illustrations, photo diaries — even stickers. If you’re a regular Rookie reader, you’ve probably already picked up a copy.

But what about those of us who aren’t a part of Rookie’s target audience? In Gevinson’s first Rookie article, she described the magazine as “a place to make the best of the beautiful pain and cringe-worthy awkwardness of being an adolescent girl.” Most of the publication’s regular writers, illustrators and contributors actually are teenaged girls and young women, and regular columns focus on makeup tutorials, fashion howtos and feminine hygiene tips.

So what does Rookie offer for those of us who don’t fit into the mag’s main demographic?

FYI, quite a lot. Even more than its predecessor, Yearbook Two climbs down from the “No Boys Allowed” treehouse. There are articles about racism, atheism, safe sex, honesty, self love, friendship, confidence and (sigh) puberty, that I wish I had read when I was in high school. Even the quote-unquote girlier entries shine with enough wit and warmth to invite even the most hyper masculine readers. Each page is beautifully and meticulously laid out, featuring collages, illustrations and photographs from a variety of young, up-andcoming artists.

There are also interviews with some seriously cool people — Morrissey, Chris Ware, Carrie Brownstein and Emma Watson, to name a few. Gevinson and co. are clever conversationalists, and their dialogs read like educated late-night gab sessions.

October 21, 2013

In between articles, Yearbook Two also includes handdrawn mixtapes, each one custom made for activities like road trips, study sessions or hanging out with fictional characters. As an adamant mixtape maker myself, I have the utmost respect for Rookie’s musical taste — an eclectic mix of alt-rock pioneers, cheesy eighties synth jams and the occasional Taylor Swift single.

Apart from its readability and nonstop awesomeness, Yearbook Two also offers valuable insight into the teenage girl state of mind. I would highly recommend this collection to parents raising young women: the articles are illuminating, insightful and empathetic, and might help mom find common ground with her sweet sixteen daughter. Men young

and old are equally likely to find something here to enjoy; whether it’s the mixtapes, the illustrations or the articles that help shed light on the mystery of the opposite sex, Rookie can function as a field guide to teenagehood regardless of your gender.

I was introduced to Rookie by my partner, who has been a fan of the magazine since day one. Though I was skeptical at first, I quickly fell in love with Rookie’s DIY ethos and its earnest approach to the universal woes of adolescence.

I bought my sister Yearbook One, read every interview with Gevinson I could get my hands on, and promoted the publication tirelessly to friends and family. Since then, I’ve seen the magazine’s popularity balloon — young girls are making zines, building flower crowns and listening to records, all while reading the thrice-a-day updates of Rookie’s online blog. I have hope for a bright future.

Above all, Rookie’s biggest success is that it’s empowering

to young women without speaking for them. So many products and publications targeted at the female tween demographic are either laden with advertisements or attempts to keep young women firmly inside established gender roles. Rarely do teenage girls get a chance to speak for

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themselves — even in school or at home, they’re often overshadowed, belittled as over-emotional or outright ignored.

Rookie, apart from being one of the most inventive, clever and downright awesome online mags around, gives young women a chance to speak up. Turns out, they have a lot to say.

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Alfonso Cuarón has never been a filmmaker known for his thematic subtlety — a fondness for overly eager and heavy handed metaphors separates his work from his more eloquent forebears.

Gravity, in part due to its quick characterization and on-the-nose visualization of re-birth in the face of adversity, is quite possibly Cuarón’s best film — a title arguably belonging to the socially and sexually conscious Y Tu Mamá

The Museum of Vancouver is hosting the final event for the Sustenance Festival on Oct. 22 at 6:00 p.m. From Here to There 4: Cultivating a Lighter Footprint is an interactive evening of presentations on the future of food in Vancouver. The evening encourages community members to come together and think about our local circumstances and how we can change the way we think about food in Vancouver. The Greenest City Lighter Footprint “Feet to the Fire” committee has contributed the top five biggest potential footprint-reducing solutions, and From Here to There will work to explore these options.

Check museumofvancouver. ca for more details.

October 21, 2013

También. But in Gravity, with all reservations aside, Cuarón has delivered a mesmerizing and pulsepounding instant classic.

The film clocks in at a lean 90-odd minutes that unfolds at a feverish, nightmarish pace — despite featuring camera work that is often relaxed and prosaic throughout. But it is in the visual dynamism of the film that Cuarón has stamped his authoritative label as one of the great storytelling artists of the last decade.

In Gravity, Cuarón showcases the entire repertoire of his considerable talent. His bravura filmmaking long went unnoticed and only grabbed attention for the gripping and impossibly complex single-take in Children of Men, in which the director fluidly juggled

five actors within the cramped confines of a car during a bloody roadside ambush. The shot is a marvel, and features extraordinary sleight-of-hand, being simultaneously unobtrusive and perversely close to the action.

A night of drone-y synthesizers and atmospheric reverberations may be just the trick to ease those midterm blues. The China Cloud, located at 524 Main St., is hosting a night of performances by Sinoia Caves, Sisters of Seance, and White Umbrellas on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

All three groups ascribe to the hazy, cultic, and eerie sounds suitable for temples, or, you know, a secret clubhouse art bar. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and tickets cost $8.

Start your Halloween movie warm up with Rio Theatre’s presentation of John Carpenter’s Halloween on Friday, Oct. 25. The iconic horror flick follows an escaped psychotic murderer who has been institutionalized for the murder of his sister and is stalking bookish teenage girls in the streets. The Rio has a bar, so come with ID and a readiness for themed cocktails or cheap-as-dirt beer.

It’s a late one: doors open at 11:00 p.m. Tickets are $6 if you’re coming in costume for late-night Friday movies, or $8 for you regular folk.

Gravity features a plethora of extraordinary shots; the opening — a 17-minute long opus in itself — is arguably one of the greatest single takes in cinema.

Created almost entirely digitally, Cuarón’s visionary achievement

is at times playful, comedic, aweinspiring and utterly harrowing, while introducing us to the relevant leads and the calamity that sets the movie in progress, all the time floating over a stunning view of the Earth below. It is a magnificent and utterly captivating cinematic experience.

As in Children of Men, the single take as used by Cuarón seeks to be totally immersive, drawing the audience into the world of the film and the plight of its characters. With respect to Gravity, Cuarón often inserts the audience into Sandra Bullock’s space suit, floating between a first and third person view of the action, ensuring we squeamishly feel the entirety and hopelessness of her predicament in a way

Oct. 26 marks the first major exhibition of Charles Edenshaw’s work at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Working in the late twentieth and early nineteenth centuries, Edenshaw has been recognized as an outstanding Haida artist and remains an iconic figure in Northwest Coast art. He used wood, silver, and argillite, combining traditional Haida design with his own innovations and experimentations. The exhibition will feature over 200 pieces of his work, in all forms of media, from collections from around the world.

For more details, check out vanartgallery.bc.ca.

the cookie-cutter script could never communicate.

There are countless stunning shots in the film, with the most referenced being the opening to Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, thrilling in its sharing of an imminent and hidden threat that breathlessly sets off its plot.

However, despite the innate subjectivity of such a claim, Gravity’s opening is a league apart.

While setting a technical standard for the advancement of digital film as an art, Cuarón’s storytelling prowess and gut-churning ability to drop his audience into an alien and impossibly hostile environment — to actually make us feel the physical constraints of his world — is an unrivalled artistic achievement.

The Stanley Park Ghost Train is starting up again! This year, the ride features classic ghouls from the silver screen, including Dracula, the Wolfman, and the Phantom of the Opera.

Running until Nov. 2, the train isn’t just for kids! Grab a hot apple cider, brush up on your classic horror cinema, and pay a visit to the park (which is gorgeous this time of year).

Adult tickets are $11.

SPORTS

After playing to their first loss of the season and dropping from first to ninth-place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Div. II rankings, the SFU men’s soccer team was determined to reassert themselves.

For the most part, they’ve been successful in doing just that.

The Clan have gone unbeaten in their last three matches since their 2–1 defeat against Seattle Pacific, including two wins.

The first was a 2–1 win over Saint Martin’s University Saints, and the second was a defensively dominant 2–0 shutout over the Western Washington University Vikings.

sports editor email / phone

October 21, 2013

Facing the Vikings, Clan newcomer Alex Kleefeldt, a junior defender out of Frankfurt, Germany, shone. He opened the scoring with a header in the 12th minute, and was a key member of the Clan’s defensive strategy that completely nullified the WWU attack. For his efforts, he was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Red Lion defensive player of the week.

“Alex has done a great job of solidifying our defence,” said head coach Alan Koch in a press release. “He has now adjusted to the North American game and also comes up with some timely goals for us.”

Efforts like Kleefeldt’s have pulled the Clan back up into third-place in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA rankings. Kleefeldt has helped his team to four shutouts this season and, while there’s little doubting the Clan’s defensive prowess, this season they’ve been

unable to put teams away offensively as they have in past years — especially on the road.

More than a few times, the Clan have had to play catch up, as they did on Thursday against the University of Mary Mauraders. The game ended in a 2–2 double-overtime draw, but SFU trailed twice in the game, something they were unaccustomed to doing in seasons past.

If not for a flurry of goals late — three in the final 12 minutes, including two from the Clan — the outcome could likely have been another defeat, and another drop in the rankings. For a team that demands perfection, two losses on the season would’ve been unacceptable.

A draw isn’t exactly the desired outcome either, but the Clan will likely take the result happily after trailing by 1–0 and 2–1 scores in the final 15 minutes. But, as it stands, the Clan have made the necessary adjustments after that

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

loss to rival SPU Falcons to make another climb in the rankings.

Draws won’t necessarily help their position there, but their ability to consistently fight back is laudable — though the less

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they have to rely on it, the better.

They’re still comfortably in firstplace in the GNAC and, as Koch will say, winning the conference is the first step to bringing home an NCAA Div. II championship.

performance,” said Howieson after the match. “With injuries, we really had to piece together our line up and the players gave a great effort.”

The results are still short of what the Clan would hope for, but amidst this difficult transitional season, the SFU women’s soccer team is showing no signs of quitting.

After a winless five-game home stand at Terry Fox Field, capped off by a 7–0 lambasting at the hands of the secondranked Western Washington Vikings, the Clan women hit the road, where the competition didn’t get much easier. Still, in two games away from home last week, the team refused to pack it in.

Against the Central Washington Wildcats, ranked 10th in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II field, the Clan lost 4–1. Head coach Shelley Howieson’s team trailed 3–0 at halftime, but put together a better second half, tying the Wildcats with a goal apiece in the final 45.

Sophomore midfielder Karm Jawandha was also forced into goaltending duties midway through the second half after starting keeper Simone Tessler, who had just returned from injury the game prior, was knocked out of the game.

Dealing with these sorts of injuries has been quite an issue for the Clan this season.

Said Howieson after the 7–0

drubbing against the Vikings at home: “When you go up against the number-two ranked team and don’t have all hands on deck it’s tough, and that showed in the result.”

It’s tough no matter the opponent, and as tough as it has been for the team, and as much as it has cost them, it has been somewhat of a rallying point for them as well.

In the second game of their three-game road trip, the Clan dropped a 2–0 result to another top-10 ranked school, the Western Oregon University Wolves.

Tessler was able to return from her injury and make the start, and made four saves in the loss, but there were still plenty of missing pieces.

“The result is frustrating because we gave a really spirited

There are positives for the Clan; in a year that started with so many question marks, Howieson and her staff are able to see what some of her players are capable of, players who might not have had a shot if it weren’t for injuries. Of course, the counterargument is that, in a year that Howieson would be one to build upon, there has been little opportunity for cohesion and development.

Just past the midway mark of the season, there are still plenty of questions surrounding the SFU women’s soccer team. But one thing isn’t in question: no matter their opponent, and no matter who’s in the lineup — or out of it — the Clan won’t quit.

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October 21, 2013

handily, 25–16. But the SFU ladies stormed back, taking the next three sets with scores of 25–20, 25–18 and 25–21. The sets were relatively close, but in past years Clan teams have struggled to win the close, competitive matches.

Call it a wash. Last week, the SFU volleyball team earned its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference win of the season, only to drop their next contest. After defeating the Western Oregon University Wolves in four sets on Oct. 10, the Clan lost their next game, a three-set sweep at the hands of the Saint Martin’s University Saints, just two days later.

Two 1–1 weeks, after dropping their first two conference games of the season are a welcome improvement, but the Clan still have much to prove.

Nevertheless, there is a foundation to build on, evidenced in the win over Western Oregon.

The Wolves actually took the first set of that match

This game showcased the upward progression in both morale and play that new head coach Gina Schmidt has brought into the roster. “The team did a great job of staying patient,” said Schmidt after the game. “We were able to make adjustments as the match went on and we had consistent performances from everyone on the floor.”

Consistency must be one of the main focuses for the Clan going forward. Four SFU players — Devon May, Amanda Renkema, Mackenzie Dunham and Kelsey Robinson — reached double-digit kill totals in the game against WOU, and both Robinson and junior Alanna Chan had 14 digs in the contest. But in the game against SMU, the team struggled to match those totals.

Only Robinson would reach double-digit kills — and just barely, tallying 10 — while the Clan averaged only 18 points over the three sets . “SMU competed very well,” said Schmidt, succinctly, post-game. “We weren’t able to match their intensity.”

The loss dropped the Clan’s conference record to just 2–4, but a 7–5 overall record and two wins in their last four games are promising. The ladies have already doubled their conferencewin total from a year ago, and have shown clear improvement over last season. Now, it’s all about keeping that pace up.

The Simon Fraser University men’s hockey team opened their 2013-2014 BCIHL season on Saturday, Oct. 12 against the Thompson Rivers University Wolf Pack. Coming into the game with four straight preseason losses, the Clan, playing on home ice at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre, looked nothing like the losers of four straight.

The home team got off to a slow start, however, as the Wolf Pack controlled much of the first period. SFU’s defense was having trouble making the first pass out of their defensive zone, turning the puck over to TRU, which resulted in the away team hitting three posts.

Without an effective breakout, the Clan were unable to mount much offense until they caught a break — a TRU defenseman made a bad pinch giving Nick Sandor and Trevor Milner a two on one as the period was winding down.

Sandor, SFU’s player of the month for September, kept the puck himself and fired a laser into the short side top corner. SFU was fortunate to be up 1-0 after one.

The second frame featured the turning point of the game. A miraculous save from SFU keeper Graham Gordon while lying on his back helped his team kill off a five-on-three powerplay. SFU was then given a five-minute power play after a crosschecking infraction from the Wolfpacks’ Daniel Higgs.

On the ensuing man advantage, SFU’s Jesse Mysiorek was left all alone in front of the net and made no mistake.

Mysiorek’s tally came 3:06 into the five minute major, so SFU was still had two minutes of powerplay time. Clan defensemen Jared Eng capitalized on the opportunity, as his floater of a shot from the point found the mesh, rippling behind TRU goalie Mark Menicucci. SFU’s special teams were winning the game for the home side after 40 minutes.

With a 3-0 lead heading into the third, the Clan were looking to close out the game with strong defense and goaltending. Quite the opposite happened as both teams exploded for a total of eight goals over a ten-minute stretch; four goals for each side The prettiest goal of the bunch came courtesy of SFU’s Jono Ceci, as his one timer from Aaron Enns went bar down and landed right in the back of the TRU net. The wild third period ended with SFU walking away with a 7-4 opening night victory.

SFU may not have finished the game the way they would have liked to, but they finished with a win nonetheless. The Clan did what good teams do: they capitalized on the opportunities they were given — in this case scoring four powerplay goals over the course of the game — to leave victorious.

The SFU hockey team now will hop on a ferry and head over to Vancouver Island to play the University of Victoria Vikes for a weekend of backto-back games. SFU will look to keep the offensive momentum going to hopefully open the season with three straight victories.

SPORTS

After the first 2–0 start of the SFU football team’s time in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), things have been anything but perfect for the Clan.

The team has dropped three straight games since their win over Central Washington on the road — all in different ways.

The Clan had a shot in their 30–9 home-opening loss to Western Oregon University in late September. The score was tight until late, but big penalties and mental errors plagued the team all game long, and finally caught up with them in the second half, as the Wolves added a few late touchdowns that the Clan couldn’t answer.

Already missing star receiver Lemar Durant, starting quarterback Ryan Stanford was forced out of the game with a shoulder injury, compounding the Clan’s offensive woes in the game.

Stanford would miss the team’s next game, on the road against Dixie State, a game in which the Clan were simply swept away by the Red Storm. A team that SFU has traditionally had some success against in the past led the Clan 39–0 before the third quarter was done.

The final would be 39–12 after a couple of late SFU scores and, while there’s no doubt the offence struggled, the defence allowed 344 yards rushing and another

October 21, 2013

251 through the air — it likely wouldn’t have mattered if the offence had been on fire.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Clan lost a heartbreaker at Azusa Pacific. There were positives: Runningback Chris Tolbert

had a monster game, rushing for 172 yards and four touchdowns.

Stanford returned from his injury, and helped the offence get back on track. He built a 23–3 lead for his team at halftime, and put up 36 points total — but the Cougars scored 41 second-half points to steal the game with a 44–36 win.

But head coach Dave Johnson isn’t about to let the blame fall on his players’ shoulders.

“We made some adjustments and called some different things in the second half,” said Johnson.

“Personally, I did not handle playing with the lead very well. I felt the effort and execution our players gave was outstanding and we

(the coaches) did not do a good job playing with the lead.

“We let them back in and the next thing you know the wheels are turning and we couldn’t get them stopped.”

What Johnson and his team accomplished in the first two games of the season — knocking off the top-two ranked teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in consecutive games — lends hope to the idea that he and his staff can stop those wheels from spinning before they get out of control.

The Clan will have returned home for just their second game at Terry Fox Field this past Saturday, and the result of that game will go

21

a long way in determining the outcome of the season. The team is a commendable 2–2 away from its home field, and their only home game, a loss, was played in some of the worst weather Metro Vancouver has seen all year.

If they can get on the winning track at home, and keep up the competitiveness on the road, the Clan will survive. If they can get fully healthy, with Stanford continuing to heal and if Durant can return soon, the team could prosper. But if the Clan can’t find some consistency and find a way to slow down other teams’ offenses, it won’t matter who’s under centre or catching passes.

THE PEAK’S 48th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IS COMING! FREE FOOD - FRIGHT NIGHT PASSES TO WIN - DRAMATIC ELECTIONS - PLEATHER COUCHES

Every SFU student in good standing is a member of The Peak Publications Society, and is invited to the 2013 Annual General Meeting, to be held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 30 in The Peak offices at MBC 2900.

The meeting is expected to last until 4:00, and will incude an auditor’s report and election of At-Large members of the Peak Board of Directors.

FREE FOOD for all that attend, and 11 FRIGHT NIGHTS PASSES will be available as door prizes!

NOTICE OF BY-ELECTION Three At-Large seats on the Peak Board of Directors are currently vacant and will be filled with a vote at this year’s AGM. If you are an SFU student in good standing, you are eligible.

Successful applicants will attend monthly meetings and participate in major financial decision-making for the Peak Publications Society.

To nominate yourself, see the-peak.ca/ at-large, or contact david@the-peak.ca.

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October 21, 2013

finishing in 10th place, just 11 seconds behind Allen.

Freshman Rebecca Bassett and sophomore Emma Chadsey finished just one second apart, in 20th and 21st respectively, with times of 22:45 and 22:46. Sarah Sawatzky would round out the Clan’s top-five and scorers, finishing with a time of 22:50.

With a second-place finish for the women’s cross-country team at the Western Washington University Invitational last week, and a fifth-place finish for the men, the two teams are nothing if not reliable.

Both sides have shown steady improvement over the course of the season, and have produced consistent results in each event; and after a week off from competition, the rest proved valuable as both sides impressed.

Senior Kirsten Allen led the way for the women’s side, finishing the 6km race in just 22:10, good enough for sixth overall.

Captain and fellow senior Lindsey Butterworth was not far behind,

Though the team finished second overall, the women actually finished first among collegiate teams at the WWU event — the only squad to finish higher was the Greater Bellingham Running Club.

The men’s side, despite trailing their Clan counterparts, still had a solid event. Junior Austin Trapp was the team’s top runner, finishing the 8km race in 30th

place, in 33:08. Finishing just one spot and four seconds behind him was teammate Cameron Proceviat, while Brendan Wong, Oliver Jorgensen, and Stuart MacDonald also scored for the men’s team, coming in at 41st, 43rd, and 59th, respectively to round out the Clan’s top-five.

Last week, the Clan were ranked regionally by the US Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) with the men making their USTFCCCA rankings debut since entering the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The men were ranked ninth in the West Region, while the women came in third — the women are also ranked seventh nationally.

Their impressive showings at the WWU Invitational won’t hurt those rankings and, after another week off, the team will hope to improve on them in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship on Oct. 26, in preparation for Nationals later this season.

It’s been a successful fall season for SFU’s golf teams and, while the men’s side’s 2013 play comes to a close, their women’s team counterparts are still swinging away with one competition left in their 2013 schedule.

The women finished fifth out of seven schools at the University of Victoria Vikes Shootout, an event that wrapped up last Tuesday. Senior Nicky Jordan and promising freshman Erin Farner led the way for the Clan, with the two finishing tied for 13th place on the final leaderboard with two-day scores of 162.

Farmer recorded the best total for the Clan on Day 1, with an opening round of 80, while Jordan went from shooting 85 on day one to just 77 on Day 2.

Sophomore Jennifer McTeer finished third for the Clan — 23rd overall — with a two-day score of 171; Rochelle Rozensoff and MacKenzie Field rounded out the Clan’s scores with totals of 173 and 175, respectively.

The Clan women have a bit of a break before returning to the links, as they’re back in action on Oct. 27 for the University of Hawaii Hilo Invitation, where they’ll look to improve on their fifthplace finish.

The men, meanwhile, are sitting pretty until their season resumes in early 2014.

In the Chico State University Wildcat Classic, the team’s final event of the fall, the Clan finished fourth overall. Capping of a very successful season, and marking the third time this year that the Clan have finished as the top school from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).

Moreover, the Clan’s Bret Thompson was named the Red Lion Golfer of the Week in the GNAC, marking the second consecutive week an SFU golfer has earned the award — captain and senior Mike Belle got the nod last week.

These types of trends bode well for the 2014 portion of the season — the Clan have plenty to look forward to, and to build on in what will likely be another successful portion of their season.

DIVERSIONS / ETC

October 21, 2013

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

Across 1- Cook 5- Anklebones 9- Why you want a course 14- Crazy 15- Two words: goes with a chip 16- Windows predecessor 17- Like oats 18- ___ Three Lives 19- Butler’s love 20- Chief character 23- Barbie’s counterpart 24- Beaver house 25- Capital of Calvados, in NW France 27- Influential person 31- Ancient Semitic for “Lord” 33- Greek peak 37- Places of contest 39- Genetic messenger 40- Neighbor of Saudi Arabia 41- In spite of 44- Treater’s words 45- Carnival site 46- One who grinds

grains 47- Christmas song 48- Hotels 50- Distrustful 51- Jets captain Andrew 53- Modern address 55- Enzyme ending 58- Commemorate 64- 4th letter of the Greek alphabet 66- Toast topper 67- Shrinking sea 68- Alleviates 69- River sediment 70- Hawaiian goose 71- Blind parts 72- Playthings 73- ___ sow, so shall...

Down 1- Hoof sound / terrifying internet subculture 2- Rime 3- Prefix with plasm

4- Four-time Indy 500 winner 5- Coniferous evergreen forest 6- Self-confidence 7- Legal claim 8- Sign or symptom 9- Ham it up 10- Volcano output 11- Minn. neighbor 12- Days of ___ 13- Slippery ___ eel 21- Opponent of Ike 22- Low bow 26- Dried strip of egg dough 27- Massenet opera 28- Maine college town 29- Understand?

30- Ill 32- Favored crime of pyromaniacs 34- Look happy 35- Less loony

36- Wrathful 38- Big step 42- Last 43- Nabisco’s ___ Wafers 49- Unerringly 52- Accumulate 54- Mob scenes 55- Summer coolers 56- Marine mammal, secure something 57- “Born Free” lion 59- Potpourri 60- Archer’s colleague with Truckasaurus hands 61- Ticks off 62- Madcap 63- Gen. Robert ___ 65- Asian holiday

Hope to see you there!

October 21, 2013

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COMMUNITY PHOTOS October 21, 2013

photo editor email / phone

Mark Burnham photos@the-peak.ca

HUMOUR

October 21, 2013

humour editor email / phone

Brad McLeod humour@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

25

NEW YORK — Making the natural leap from print magzine to

BURNABY — According to sources, university student Jordan Pitre is unwavering in his belief that tomorrow will “definitely” be the day that he hits on girls he sees on campus.

Although the student’s confidence is self-described as staunch and self-assured, when asked about why he didn’t just do it today, Pitre summed up that he was “feeling kind of hungry,” and that his “shirt is kind of old,” and that his “cell phone battery was a little low” and therefore was “not really feeling it.”

Pitre, who is reportedly so lonely he sometimes asks people for directions even though he already knows where he’s going, has thought a lot about how he will approach the women.

“I’ll just walk up to a cute girl and introduce myself and ask them how it’s going” he told The Peak, “it’s such an easy thing to do . . . tomorrow.”

He explained that he already has a variety of ideas locked and loaded for starting conversations withPEAK -JORDANO TONIAL, THE girls like, “Hey, it’s totally random, but I thought you were cute and I had to come and say ‘hi.’ Hi .” He even thought about trying the line “Ever wanted to start a conversation but didn’t know what to say? Well this is what I came up with.”

He also brilliantly came up with a false time-constraint like “I’m just on my way to class,” so they won’t think he will linger.

“I mean, what’s the worst thing that could happen? They blow me off and think I’m creepy?” Jordan concluded. “There’s like 30,000 people at this school, that’s not such a big deal.”

Immediately after saying this, two stunning Asian girls walked by, and when asked why he didn’t hit on them, he said “What? Like right now? No, no, I can’t do that. I kind of have to go to the bathroom right now so it wouldn’t be good. Tomorrow, man.”

-BRAD MCLEOD, THE PEAK

PHILIPPINES — People across the world were shocked last week by reports that Earth had been struck by yet another devastating earthquake but according to sources close to the planet it was just a “seismic event” and nothing to get worked up about.

The “quake” in question took place at 8:12 a.m. on Oct. 15, as Earth was relaxing from a long day of orbiting the sun and making tides go in and out, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere it was struck in the central Philippines island of Bohol.

“It was a shock, there’s no doubt about it,” said Fred Evancio, upon hearing the news, “I mean, I knew the Earth wasn’t in great shape but you never expect to hear about something like that.”

Despite the concerns of Evancio and others who expressed fear for their beloved planet’s safety, according to scientists who work closely with the Earth, this is nothing to get in a tizzy about.

“Everyone has to just calm down, itTONIAL, was just -JORDANO THEa PEAK minor seismic event, they happen all the time,” explained earth scientist Kenneth Wrigley. “Trust me Earth isn’t even going to miss an orbit!”

While Wrigley did admit that Earth’s climate change lifestyle did factor into the “event,” based on the signals he’s getting from his planet, it’s going to work on itself and recover but would prefer if everyone didn’t make a big deal out of this thing.

“Of course it’s a wake-up call, sure, but there’s no reason to be too alarmed,” Wrigley said on behalf of the planet. “Earth will bounce back, I know it, our ol’ planet’s not going anywhere, it was just a little seismic blip — that killed 93 people and counting — so just breathe easy, Earth is fine!”

Wrigley went on to say that Earth doesn’t want anyone to change their life because of this and that they should take their mind off the whole thing by driving around in their Escalade or burning some fossil fuels.

26 HUMOUR

2008. For a lot of people this might just be a year like any other year. Or maybe it seems like an arbitrary combination of numbers. Or may be it’s the addres your friend’s apar s of tment in that high -rise on the corn of 12th and Willia er ms. listen I don’t know your life, bu for me, 2008 was t the single greate st year I ever lived It started like any . other year, with January followed

by February and then March. I wa s just a kid at the time, listening to rock and roll mus ic on my transist radio and dream or ing of someday be co ming a star. And then, out of nowh ere, probably arou nd mid-Februar I got a call from M y, ick Jagger, a reco rding artist from United Kingdom th e . He told me that he was forming supergroup calle a d “The Rolling St ones” and asked was interested in if I joining them on their year-long wo tour. Apparently rld he had heard ab out my talent in school band and the thought I would be a perfect addi to their lineup. tion At first I was a lit tle sceptical abou t the call. Some of the tour dates he mentioned co nflicted with my responsibilities as a member of my school’s recycling club and I wasn’t sure if Mr. Peretti would be too thril about me missin led g any more mee tings. After mullin over for a while, g it though, I decided it was an opportu nity I couldn’t pa ss up and sent a m essage to the personal e-mail addr ess that Mick ha d given me (mick gersuperstar69@ jaghotmail.com) an d said “I’m in.”

Now, a lot of peop le might not rem ember the Stones ’08 “An Ev en Bigger Bang” Tour or their 15-y old clarinet play ear er, but that 178-da te concert junket an experience th is at I don’t think I’l l ever forget. I go travel all over the t to world and every day was the craz wildest time of m iest, y life, but here ar e a few of the mos memorable stops t …

October 21, 2013

The ho

tel in P aris had HBO! What a wild rid e this t our was!

This was my first day on the tour and even though I was a bit jet lagged, I still managed to get up in time for the hotel’s complimentary breakfast service. Although the line for the omelette bar was a bit long, with over six different toppings to choose from, it was totally worth it!

as a is w tel h T ... e ho a h a y d i d t h Fi H ! y l Bab Not on free Wi the Rio e h y. v c a a n d h u wild yed at but at l me for a t e we s r y room o charg inks! t dr ve in e r forgot itional tes! e d t Sp r i d i a n e wa y v of m e se any had lik I And

I had an IN SANE nigh t staying up Mick and K late playing eith Richar triominoes ds (one of th hotel manag with e guitar pla er might hav ye rs). I think e been a litt ordered a p the le upset wit izza at 11 p h us when .m. but Mic didn’t kick w e k apologized us out. and, luckily, they

HUMOUR

October 21, 2013

I we n the t out f o ban d at r dinne re s t aur a r wi nea an t Ro c k Ca t c a l l e t l o c a l h d “H inte fé”.

It w r a rd a and esting a n d s a re a they lly uni mem had qu u s e o ra b i l i a l l s o r e s p o t d a ts o f g o t by r e a t h a t h ad b l life to e at a een sitti rock h n awa g only ambur stars! I g a fe y fro w in er whi actu ma le che ally j a c s k Bu r ton been w et that ,t o h play e r f h e o r i g r n by C a d or M inal liff etal b lica ass !

27

Mick and K eith went to go see The L our hotel an ove Guru at d asked me the theatre if I wanted to feeling a littl near join them, b e under the ut since I was weather I ju as I was at fi st stayed in. rst, there en As bummed ded up bein marathon p out g a Fresh Pri laying on TV n ce of Bel-Air tr opolis and ev favourite sh en if I would ow, it was st n’t call it my ill fun to wat ch it from th e beginning.

The hotel we stayed at here had its own Ping-Pong table in the rec room so some of the band decided to hit a few balls around. I wasn’t as good as some of the other guys but I still had fun playing and joking around, even if I didn’t get all the lines they were quoting from The Love Guru.

I tried the Filet-o-Fish at McDonald’s for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I don’t think I’d ever choose it over something like the Big-N-Tasty but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.

This was actually just my school’s winter formal dance and not part of the tour. I had a great time dancing the night away and the decorations that the parents had organized looked great! My tour had ended the night before in Calgary and Mick had dropped me off on his way to the Okanagan where he was hoping to go on a few winery tours. It was tough to say good-bye but I’ll always have the memories of my year with the Rolling Stones Band!

I think I might have seen Tobey McGuire in the lobby at the hotel we were staying at. I really wanted to go up and tell him what a big fan I was and how I had seen most of the Spiderman movies, but I was too nervous and ended up just going back to my room and hung out with Mick and his friend Elton.

e e Lov d Th y of e h c t d ome ly wa final he best c a . . .

I t a h th st ha day it wa alls!” ha s the s right, b a y w T h i s Mi c k w a Sh a r i f , m ! r Guru ar! “Oma e y the

The Who ended up being in town during the final leg of our tour and I was able to score a few front-row tickets to their concert from a local radio station. Being that close to Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey was definitely the most surreal experience I’ve ever had. I was so close to the stage that I almost felt like I was in one of the greatest rock bands of all time!

Some of the details of this account may be slightly exaggerated. No, I didn’t actually play the clarinet for the school band and no, I wasn’t really a member of my high school’s recycling club. Even though I would frequently sit in on their meetings, I wasn’t an official member and there’s no way Mr. Peretti would have cared or even noticed if I stopped coming.

28 LAST WORD

On Sept. 2 of this year, friends and acquaintances of James Franco such as Aziz Ansari, Bill Hader and Seth Rogen gathered to share playful jibes and bon mots at the actor’s expense on broadcast TV. The Comedy Central Roast series, in which polarizing celebrities are made to endure faux-insults and backhanded tributes in lean, has been a mainstay on the network for over a decade.

Though the program’s previous choices have been easy targets — Charlie Sheen, Donald Trump, William Shatner — Franco is the most left-field subject yet: an Oscar nominated PhD candidate who stars in stoner flicks and directs artsy documentaries that screen at film festivals. After a series of hit-or-miss barbs about Franco’s writing and his air of pretentiousness, he ended the roast by boasting, “This isn’t a roast. This is my greatest art installation yet.”

Why do we, as consumers of media, feel like Franco is denying us something? As a public figure, he’s impossible to pin down. After star-making turns in the high-school dramedy Freaks and Geeks and in the Sam Raimihelmed Spider-Man series, Franco took a role in the popular ABC soap opera General Hospital as Robert James “Franco” Frank, a character he helped

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originate (and one that he’s legitimized as ‘performance art’). Since then, he’s published short stories, taught classes in literature, and been named Salon’s Sexiest Man Alive.

At this point, there’s very little he could do that would surprise any of us.

Best friends with Marina Abramovic?

Of course he is. Directing two featurelength literary adaptations, both due for release this year? Wouldn’t put it past him. Just released his new novel, Actors Anonymous, that may or may not be autobiographical? Sounds reasonable. But the secret behind Franco’s buzz-worthy status — and the reason he was chosen to be roasted this year — is that he defies our expectations of what a celebrity should be, and what the nature of celebrity is.

In the Western world, we tend to cling to public figures that espouse certain moral, social and cultural values we may or may not realize that we have. We idolized Marlon Brando because he was rugged, good looking and masculine; we idolize Michael Fassbender today for essentially the same reasons. Young, freshfaced actresses are admired for their purity and scorned for their promiscuity.

Celebrities — especially movie stars — tend to be white, thin, young, cisgender and straight, and those that don’t fit into that narrow box are tokenized for their differences. Some of them gain popularity by virtue of tumultuous personal lives, scandalous sex tapes or outspoken political views, while others climb the ladder by way of acting talent or good looks.

The popularity of tabloids, talk shows and celebrity snapshots tend to contribute to experiences we place under the umbrella of the Dark Side of Fame, one that’s been fictionalized and mythologized to the point of

self-parody. We know that being a celebrity requires constant performance, not just in the sense of acting but also in the sense of creating an image: the “real” Matt Damon, the “real” Jennifer Lawrence, the “real” James Franco.

Of course, these are as much performances as anything on a film reel: as Franco’s recent comedy This Is the End satirizes, the gap between the personal lives of celebrities and the personas that they create through interviews, public appearances, Instagram profiles and Twitter accounts is a wide one.

The latter media have fostered a sense of personal connectivity — and a new means of promotion — between artist and consumer: each tweet is calculated and micromanaged in order to support a carefully crafted image, a euphemized version of an actor’s self.

It’s clear why so much attention is paid to these representations. Anyone who’s sat through an episode of Entertainment Tonight knows that even the slightest deviation from the status quo can earn you enough bad PR to sink your prospective film career. Word gets around.

Fatty Arbuckle, the silent film comedian who inspired Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, never recovered from the accusations of rape which ruined his career, even after he was acquitted and offered a formal apology by the jury; Michael Jackson, whose accusations of child abuse ended in ambiguity and an out-of-court settlement, suffered a similar fate. The truth is obscured by good copy, and talented performers fall into obscurity because of tiny, insignificant misdemeanors.

Why, then, is James Franco still so popular? Surely he’s broken enough rules by this point. His low-culture appeal clashes with his high-art

October 21, 2013

aspirations. Fans of his popcorn flick fodder decry his art installations as snobbish, while his high class followers see his big screen pursuits as banal.

The actor doesn’t fit into any established box, and any attempts to put him into one — his Academy Award nomination, his Sexiest Man Alive moniker — have only hardened his eccentric resolve.

Whether or not you think that James Franco is a misguided idiot or an avant-garde genius — and it’s entirely possible that he’s both — it’s hard to argue that his envelope-pushing public image raises some valuable questions about our culture of celebrity. In lieu of an omnipresent religious figure (or set of figures), our Western society casts its eyes towards the rich and the famous: cookie cutter archetypes in the shape of human beings, held up as the prime example of what it means to live a successful life.

If nothing else, maybe Franco’s greatest art installation yet is himself, arguably one of the strangest celebrity figures in Hollywood, and one that makes us question why “celebrities” exist in the first place. Like his bestie Abramovic in her installation The Artist Is Present, Franco looks our modern society straight in the eyes. Guess who’ll be the first to blink?