Under Fire

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FIRST PEEK

November 25, 2013 · Volume 145, Issue 13

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CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2013

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FIRST PEEK

November 25, 2013

H20 NO

Buying your own water

Every single year, Nestlé Waters Canada bottles 265 million litres of water from aquifer supplies underneath Hope, British Columbia. That’s enough water to keep a family of four thirst-free for, oh, about 70,000 years. They sell this water to us in grocery stores and coffee shops, and they do it remarkably well — according to Statistics Canada, in 2008, three out of 10 Canadian households used bottled water as their main source of H2O. So how much does this bigname corporation shell out for the privilege of plundering our most basic of resources? Nothing. Not one penny. Sure, they pay their employees and their taxes, but otherwise, the multinational corporation isn’t charged a single cent for access to these aquifers. It gets worse: they’re not even breaking the law. Unlike the rest of Canada, BC has absolutely zero government regulations on the use of groundwater. This is due to the BC Water Act, passed over a century ago, which specifies no obligation to pay for or keep track of these withdrawals. Nestlé, along with the myriad other corporate giants making six figure salaries in the bottled

water market, are taking full advantage of this opportunity. It’s not hard to see why: in our increasingly urbanized and polluted world, safe water is becoming more and more of a precious resource. The bottle water business is, as a result, becoming more and more profitable. However, it hasn’t been all peaches and cream for team Nestlé. Just last month, the company made national headlines after bowing to pressure from activist groups in Ontario to accept new terms on their renewed ownership of a large well in Hillsburgh, Ontario. Basically, they were outraged that their new rules included a mandate that, in the event of a drought, the company’s access to the aquifer will be restricted. “It’s unfair,” Nestlé spokesperson John Challinor told reporters. “But it is what it is.”

Given that grassroots environmentalists were able to take down the corporate Goliath just four provinces East, it’s a shame that we in BC have been comparably quiet on the topic of Nestlé slowly draining our province of its natural resources. The Ministry of Environment has claimed that policy changes are on the way, with vague references to a Water Sustainability Act to be implemented next year.

But these half-hearted promises are hardly enough to satisfy engaged, socially conscious British Columbians who see Nestlé’s actions for what they are: another in a seemingly endless string of corporate attempts to privatize the most basic of our human rights. This neoliberal business strategy is expressed perfectly in the views of Michael Walker, the self-proclaimed libertarian founder of the right wing BC think tank, the Fraser Institute: “We want to have the whole universe, the whole of the Earth, owned.” In the opinion of Walker and companies like Nestlé, anything can, and should, be privatized. There’s nothing in the world, not even water, that doesn’t befit a price tag. I shouldn’t have to tell you why this is problematic. I shouldn’t have to cite the same tired statistics: that overseas transportation of bottled water contributes to greenhouse gas emissions; that studies conducted in Toronto have shown that only half of water bottles consumed are being properly recycled; that bottled water plants are inspected much less frequently than municipal water sources, and are therefore more susceptible to potentially dangerous contaminants. What we should be focusing on now is making our voices heard: telling big corporations like Nestlé that we’re not interested in them stealing and selling our own water back to us. Water should be a human right, not a commodity. We all deserve to be able to drink however much we like, without having to pull out our wallets to do so.


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NEWS

An SFU professor’s newly released book critiquing African statistical data has caused an uproar across Africa, resulting in his explusion from two international conferences this year. Morten Jerven, an international studies professor who has spent four years researching in Africa, met great resistance from several powerful African officials after launching his book, Poor Numbers, earlier this year. Since then, Jerven has been called a “hired gun” of the West who must be “stopped in his tracks” before he completely discredits African governments. Poor Numbers’ main conclusion points to the lack of knowledge people actually have about economic development in Africa due to poorly collected economic data. Although issues with recording such data occur in every country, Jerven argues that there is a radical difference when you consider a third-world country because much of the important economic activity is not properly recorded or reported. Jerven explained, “Some of the economic statistics is pure guesswork. A lot of it is completely meaningless, and there is no way you can for instance download the data and pretend you’re saying something useful.” The problem with these discrepancies is that measures like GDP are used to decide whether a country is low-income or not. This data can help a country decide whether to pursue a specific policy — if it proved successful — and can also serve as a benchmark for benefactor nations or the World Bank. However, with poor statistical reporting, the data can be skewed one way or another to the country’s benefit, argues Jerven. “If a country like Southern Sudan wished to under report its income so that it continues to be classified as a poor country,

November 25, 2013

so that it continues to get support from the World Bank, it can do so at the expense of another country that could have got that money,” said Jerven.

Jerven uses the example of Malawi, which according to his findings overstated its agricultural growth for many years to the extent that maize production was assumed to be 50 to 60 per cent higher than it actually was. “That’s many many meals,”

news editor email / phone

said Jerven. “The practical implication is that we might go around thinking that someone is well-fed and that they’re going to school and they’re out of the poverty line when they’re actually not.” Jerven’s book has been praised by the IMF, the African Development Bank, and even Bill Gates, who says the book “makes a strong case” for casting doubt on official GDP numbers. However, not all feedback has been positive. Jerven’s critics, led by South African statistician-general Pali Lehohla, pressured a United Nations commission to remove him from the speakers list at a conference in September in Addis Ababa, threatening that no South African delegates would attend otherwise. Jerven was also prevented from speaking at a conference in Paris in May, where his session was moved to be behind closed doors.

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

Zambia’s central statistical office has also joined the debate. In a 13-page statement, the office accused Jerven as having a “hidden agenda” to “discredit” African officials. It also accused him of “sneaking in” to government offices and “taking advantage” of junior statisticians.

Jerven replied to these comments on the site African Arguments, saying, “The allegations that I am a ‘hired gun’ or ‘that I have not done my research’ are of course ridiculous and entirely false. With Lehohla putting his

Leah Bjornson

emphasis on “stopping Jerven in his tracks” before he “hijacks the African statistical agenda” the immediate danger is that good initiatives will be suspended and cancelled. In the long term, statistical offices in the region may struggle for survival.” Although many are still angry, it seems that tides are turning in favour of opening dialogue. In December, Jerven will attend the ninth African Symposium on Statistical Development in Gaborone to have an “open and frank discussion” to resolve his differences with some of Africa’s most important statisticians. “That invitation was written by the people who are the angriest at me,” said Jerven. “It will probably be me and nine officials on the other side of the table with their cannons aimed at me, so we will see . . . it’s going to be fun.”


NEWS

November 25, 2013

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A space program recommendation for the Student Union Building has been drafted by the architects. The board will finalize the draft on Dec. 2 and the site selection vote will take place on Dec. 4. Members elected four Board representatives to a Working Group, where they will share their input on how the SUB space should be used. Elected members include Brandon Chapman, Clay J. Gray, Moe Kopahi and Gloria Mellesmoen. The Board has also amended the Build SFU Bursary Terms of Reference introduced last week. The SFSS will now support the bursary through a portion of the Build SFU levy that will be transferred to Financial Aid and Awards via a remittance from the SFU Finance Office. The bursary will be available only to full-time undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need.

The grand prize of the competition was a $500 initial purchase order for their product from the SFU Bookstore, which includes promotion and exposure in all three campus locations as well as the online bookstore, as well as professional product photography.

SFU student entrepreneur Eleanor Li and alumna Rachel Cheng are currently drinking to success — and it’s pretty steamy. The two have won SFU Bookstore’s Next Top Product Competition with their line of hand-knitted cozies, or “Snugs,” for mugs and tumblers, meant to keep your hands cool and your beverages hot. “It all began when Eleanor had one hour of free time, some knitting needles and four colourful balls of yarn. She had seen knitted mug cozies online and got all excited,” said Cheng, one half of the business duo. The first knitted cozy went to Li’s aunt, but now that they’ve won the contest, cozies will be stocked in the SFU Bookstore as well.

“We find inspiration in our everyday lives,” said Cheng. “Maybe it’s something someone doodled on the textbook before us, maybe it’s something we saw while window shopping downtown. From there, Eleanor pulls together the perfect colour

palette for the Snug. After buying yarn, which always makes us feel like Christmas came early, Eli hand-knit cozies for either 11 oz mugs or coffee to-go cups.” Li is currently in her fifthyear in biomedical engineering at the university, while Cheng has graduated with a degree in systems engineering. In the finals of the competition, they found themselves up against two business students with their products: Joy’s Lip Balm and Hench Wallet. For Cheng, the experience of winning the competition was a chance to see their business take form. “It was an incredible experience for us as this is the first time our Snugs will be sold at a physical retail storefront,” said Cheng. “It’s a great way to increase our presence in the marketplace, and what better way to do so than right here on our own campus.” Li first started the business, which she dubbed Onana Knitted Accessories, two years ago after she posted a photo of a mug cozy on Facebook and

began receiving requests from friends for cozies of their own. She later asked Cheng to take on the social media aspect of the business, and the two are now co-owners of Onana. The cozies are largely produced by Li herself, but the two have looked for outside help in the form of three hired knitters when demand is high, as during the Christmas season. The two also have an online Etsy store that was launched this year, and have since found customers in Europe. As for the future, the two plan to look globally. “If we could find communities that [are] the right fit with our company, we would love to teach women how to knit and help them create a platform in which they can provide a fair wage income to support their families,” said Cheng. Cheng and Li will be selling Onana’s wares at the annual Simon Fraser Student Society Christmas craft fair at the Burnaby campus this week, and expect to have their mug warmers — in SFU colours — in SFU Bookstores by early December.

Board also appointed two Student-at-Large positions to the Men’s Centre Working Group. Out of the six candidates, Koju Kojwang and Karanvir Thiara were appointed. Thiara, a former at-large representative of the SFSS Board, put forward the Men’s Centre mandate during his elected term. In his application, Kojwang stated that, “gender issues are close to [his] heart” and he believes he can “bring a fresh, valuable energy to the discussion at hand.”

Board passed a motion declaring Mon. Dec. 23 to be an Office Holiday. The Society will now close for the semester break on Fri. Dec. 20. President Humza Khan hopes staff will benefit from the extended break. “We recognize the fact that our staff has been working very hard for us,” said Humza. “[So that hopefully] when they’re back, they’re full of energy and ready to go.”


6 NEWS

November 25, 2013

This year’s SFU Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented on Nov. 16 to Dr. Maryam Sadeghi, an SFU alumna who recently received her PhD in computing sciences. Sadeghi was recognized for her venture in health technology, called MetaOptima Technology Inc., and its development of the app, MoleScope, which will allow patients to detect skin cancer in its early stages at home. Each year, the SFU Entrepreneur of the Year (SEY) program gives student innovators a chance to pitch their ideas to professionals and to compete for first place and the title of Student Entrepreneur of the year. Presented by Enactus SFU, SEY is a program that, as described on its website, “inspires business ideas and

recognizes the future innovative leaders of tomorrow.” “It’s a huge problem,” Sadeghi said of skin cancer, “70 per cent of patients identify it themselves or by family members who have never had access to any imaging device to look at moles closely and find cancer early.” In it’s early stages, skin cancer is highly treatable and catching it early on can mean a world of difference. Sadeghi’s technology includes an advanced imaging device to capture potentially cancerous moles, to be used in conjunction with the smartphone app. The app will help patients keep track of their moles over time and learn how to spot the suspicious ones, as well as connecting patients with nearby specialists to whom they may send high quality images of their moles for consultation. “It’s all about health solutions and having access to digital and mobile health,” said Sadeghi. MoleScope is just one of the tools MetaOptima hopes to develop that advances towards this ideal. The MoleScope app will prove particularly useful for

those patients that must travel lengthy distances to see a doctor about their suspicious moles. Sadeghi, mentioned that she’s observed patients coming to Vancouver from Victoria and even Kelowna, just to have their moles inspected. “They could be doing this from their homes,” Sadeghi said she realized. “There’s not a lot of tests involved in the first visit, so it’s just looking at moles and saying, ‘oh, this is nothing,’ or ‘I need to biopsy this.’” Above all, Sadeghi believes the product will bring its users peace of mind. For those who are already living with skin cancer, they are faced with the challenge of tracking all the numerous moles typically accompanying the illness, something Sadeghi describes at “a huge problem.” The app should render this task less daunting as it will keep track of each individual mole and organize them to show their progression, and all from the comfort of patients’ own homes. After various stages of testing, Sadeghi is hoping to have the app on the market by summer of 2014.

A graphic released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) depicting a Texas-sized island of debris (dubbed “Japan’s ‘toxic’ monster” by Fox News) heading towards North America sparked fear, controversy, and created catchy headlines over the past few weeks, even though this fear has been disproved by the NOAA itself. In a tweet earlier this month, the NOAA stated: “Some talk is making the rounds that there’s an ‘island of debris’ from Japan coming this way. This is myth . . . there’s no evidence of a mass!” The graphic in question depicts 5 million tons of debris, which

was released into the world’s oceans after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Fukushima. According to the NOAA’s Marine Debris Program website, after a year at sea, an estimated “70 per cent [of debris] sank off shore, leaving 1.5 million tons floating.” The graphic was created to show higher concentrations of the now far spread debris, the highest concentration being in an area roughly the size of Texas, off the coast of western United States. While it has now been determined that this supposed “51st” US state is a myth, the highly dispersed radioactive trash now peppers an area roughly three times the size of the Continental US. The first pieces of detritus are now washing up on coastlines in Hawaii and along the west coast of North America, and are predicted to continue to appear for several more years.

According to SALON, scientists have already discovered over 165 native Japanese organisms hitching a ride on the arriving debris. “We’re finding that all kinds of Japanese organisms are growing on the debris,” John Chapman, a scientist at Oregon State University’ Marine Science Center told Huffington Post. “We’d never seen [some of these species] here, and we don’t particularly want [them] here.” The Japanese government has also recently admitted that it is now clear that approximately 300 tons of nuclear contaminated water are pouring into the ocean each month from leaks within the devastated Fukushima Power Plant. According the National Geographic, Shunichi Tanaka, head of Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, has told reporters that leaks have likely been occurring since the earthquake and tsunami hit in March 2011.

SEY applicants were vetted through two preliminary rounds conducted online. The ten semifinalists then presented their businesses to a panel of judges and the pool for the final round was reduced to four. The four finalists presented to a new panel and an audience in order to

determine the ultimate winner for 2013. On her experience as a contestant, Sadhegi commented “it was great!” She also remarked on how good it was to see the passion in all her fellow contestants and that she was happy to be a part of the competition.

There is evidence to indicate that officials were aware of the leaks in June at the latest, but the announcement was made as late as July 22.

Minoru Takata, director of the Radiation Biology Center at Kyoto University, told the Wall Street Journal that the radioactive water doesn’t pose an immediate health threat, though he is concerned that the leakage could cause higher rates of cancer in Japan. Fish populations have also been under scrutiny since the leakage was affirmed, since high levels of cesium and strontium-90 have been found in fish local to the Fukushima plant. The concentration is so high that the Japanese government has banned the fishing and consumption of this local seafood, a decision which is costing local fishermen billions of dollars a year according to National Geographic. It is currently believed that the radiation will not affect local North American seafood or those who eat it, as cesium is similar to salt in it’s ability to quickly enter and leave the body.

The water is contaminated with several different chemicals, all of which affect the human body, and host organisms in different ways. Luckily for North America, the ocean currents the tainted water is riding are also diluting it to a point of safe consumption, equal to that of the background radiation we are already exposed to on an everyday basis.


NEWS

November 25, 2013

GRADUATE PROGRAM IN URBAN STUDIES

Last Tuesday, an SFU Beedie School of Business project management class held an event dubbed “Corporate Speed Networking,” which was designed as a fun and interactive way for business students to communicate with business professionals in a unique atmosphere. The event was held at SFU Harbour Centre, and all proceeds were given to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). Seven professionals from corporate giants Rogers Canada, World Financial Group, KPMG, and Affirmed Capital were stationed at tables, and approximately 20 students were individually rotated through each company for four-minute sessions. “If only dating were this informative,” commented one SFU student participating in the event. The event was the last of nine held by the project management class. This term, Beedie lecturer Kamal Masri, who taught the project management class, dedicated it to raising $25,000 for cancer research and to support individuals facing the disease. They dubbed the campaign 25toLife, a joint project between the class and the CCS. “It’s an experiment,” said Masri, “It’s the first time I’ve run this kind of project, and the idea is to have 50 students working together rather than competing against each other, which is traditionally what we see in classes at university, including SFU.” The challenge put before the students was to raise $25,000 dollars for the CCS, a goal that many students viewed as extremely difficult.

news@the-peak.ca

“Several of our teammates have already lost friends and grandfathers to this disease, while others have held the hand of aunts and mothers who courageously battled their way through,” stated the write up on the team’s website. “While each person’s story and relationship are different, we are all united by the same goal: to end cancer and celebrate the lives of all those it affects.

Learn To Make Cities Work Better! Simon Fraser University offers Canada’s most dynamic Master’s degree in Urban Studies. Build your understanding of urban sustainability Apply your insights in the heart of western Canada’s largest metropolis Gain research experience while exploring important urban issues Practice your skills in building a better city

OUR PROGRAM This program enables you to learn about planning, local politics, and urban development, earning a degree in as little as two years. It also allows you to work up to full-time while pursuing your studies. In order to fulfill their goal, the class was split into nine groups, and each group had three months to plan a fundraising event. Previous events ranged from pub and club nights, to a piethrowing contest involving SFU professors (aptly called “Pie Your Prof”), to a cancer-cut event where participants had their hair cut or shaved in the SFU Surrey Mezzanine. “It wasn’t the easy ‘A’ we were expecting,” says Aliyah Ali, a student in the project management class. “It took us the entire semester to plan this.” As it stands, the 25toLife campaign has raised $22,700 to date, and hopes to reach its anticipated goal of $25,000 by Nov. 26, just in time for the end of the semester. “Right now they’re just working really hard to hit that target,” said Masri. As far as the success of the experimental class, Masri is pleased with the end result. “In class, the semester was pretty much like a rollercoaster ride. Students were challenged, they were pushed, they pushed back, they lost motivation, then their motivation was back up again; in the end they picked it up.”

Courses are held on weekday evenings at SFU’s campus in downtown Vancouver. Application deadline: February 10, 2014. Visit our website for further information.

www.urban.sfu.ca

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8 NEWS

November 25, 2013

A new study, co-authored by biologists from SFU, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the University of Victoria, questions the sustainability of BC’s grizzly bear population management over the last ten years. Using information requested by the science-based advocacy group Raincoast, the authors aimed to determine whether BC’s alleged “sound” scientific management of wildlife actually preserved the grizzly bear population. The study, published on Nov. 6, found that the total number of kills exceeded the limits set by BC government’s biologists. Also, as the study stresses, the actual number of overkills could be even higher given the amount of uncertainty in the bear population count. Kyle Artelle, an SFU doctoral student, Raincoast biologist, and

lead author of the study, expressed concerns in a press release. “These overkills are a serious concern because the biology of grizzly bears makes them highly vulnerable to excessive mortality,” he said. “They have great difficulty recovering from population declines.”

The study reveals that grizzly bears, indeed, have biological characteristics that can hinder population growth, such as a long lifespan and delayed reproductive maturity. Sows “have small litters [that they] keep for up to two years, after which they will often go one

or two years without having any cubs at all,” Artelle told The Peak in a phone interview. This is the first independent study on the BC Ministry of Environment’s policies of wildlife management, and it was made possible after a Freedom of Information

(FOI) request that went to the Supreme Court of BC. Although the findings of the study may look grim, Artelle talked of a “hopeful” side to the study, supported by data: “even considering all other sources of kill, such as road and rail accidents, and selfdefence kills, if [the government] had eliminated or reduced hunting in the study period, they could have prevented most of the overkills we detected. So the government does have a tool to prevent this from happening.” These findings come in a time of rising mobilisation against trophy hunting in BC among the Coastal First Nations communities. A public opinion poll conducted for the Coastal First Nations in September found that four out of five British Columbians support a ban on trophy hunting grizzly bears.

Ash Parameswaran of SFU school of engineering and three of his graduate students have created an inexpensive lifesaving invention, which is on track to save the lives of millions of infants. The lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is an inexpensive microfluidic device that can quickly do bacterial tests for infantile diarrhea and determine the appropriate antibiotic for treatment. Parameswaran’s was one of the 102 research projects to receive a $100,000 grant from the federal government’s Stars in Global Health Program. With international HealthCare practitioners clamoring to lay their hands on the LOC,

the grant money will be used by Parameswaran and his team to develop the USB-sized mechanism, which will cost around five dollars and plug into a cell phone. The inspiration for this design comes from the high infantile death rates in association with diarrhea, especially in developing countries. In these countries, it may take as long as 10 days to reach a doctor and begin the necessary treatment — in most cases, this is too late. There are 10 different antibiotics available; the problem is the ability to instruct on their use and diagnose the specific vein of bacteria. Parameswaran’s design would

enable mothers to test the fecal matter themselves and administer treatment with over-the-phone aid from a licensed practitioner. Parameswaran is supervising a team of highly qualified personnel. His graduate students hold high standing academic and industrial appointments today both nationally and internationally. Parameswaran has also establishing a microfabrication and micromachining laboratory to fabricate micromechanical devices and systems here at SFU. These resources will help Parameswaran and his team to incorporate the LOC’s biology and

electronics into a desk-sized prototype for investors, followed by the final USB-sized product, assuming

further funding, which in the future could be used anywhere with access to a cell phone.

TS N A W K A THE PE NISTS! M U L O C At the SFSS Board meeting last week, President Humza brought to the Board’s attention that the SFU Outdoors Club encountered some troubles on their most recent excursion. While snowshoeing, the group allegedly discovered late in the night that two of their members were missing. The two were later found, safe and asleep. However, there seems to have been a miscommunication between the club and Board, as seen in Humza’s comments. “I don’t exactly know what the process of snowboarding is,” said Humza.”You’re supposed to be close to one another. There’s supposed to be teams and proper checks and balances.” Humza admitted that he has never been a fan of the sport.

DO YOU HAVE AN AMAZING BRAIN BABY THAT YOU JUST CAN’T KEEP CONTAINED ANY LONGER? The Peak wants you to let your inner crank out. If you have an idea that is going to take several articles to fully express, why not pitch it to your section of choice? We’re looking for columns in our OPINIONS, ARTS, SPORTS, and HUMOUR sections, and we’re willing to pay REAL CANADIAN DOLLARS for them. Send your pitches to OPINIONS@THE-PEAK.CA, ARTS@THE-PEAK. CA, SPORTS@THE-PARK.CA, or HUMOUR@THEPEAK.CA, as appropriate.


OPINIONS

November 25, 2013

opinions editor email / phone

Joel MacKenzie opinions@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

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Vaikunthe Bosci / Flickr

should be paid while they are in school. A common argument is, “They’re already getting a scholarship! That’s more than anybody else!” However, a scholarship doesn’t necessarily equal cash in a player’s pocket. Let’s look at how much a scholarship is actually worth. Does the name Andrew Wiggins ring a bell? If not, it should. He is the new main attraction in NCAA college basketball, and he is Canadian. Last month, not only was he featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated alongside Kansas legends Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning, but he was also the lead story for ESPN The Magazine’s college hoops preview, and had a photo shoot with GQ Magazine. Due to NCAA regulations, he has done all of this advertising without earning any compensation in return. Recently, there has been some discussion regarding whether or not college athletes

On average, a full Division 1 scholarship is $25,000 per year. That’s $100,000 over four years. This may seem like a lot of money, but it really only covers the basics. It covers thousands of dollars in university fees, tuition, housing, a meal-plan, and multiple hundred-dollar textbooks. Contrary to what naysayers believe, being a student-athlete is a full-time job. Being a NCAA

student athlete myself, on a typical day, I will wake up before classes, get to the gym at 6:15 a.m., practice from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m., try to get an extra weight or conditioning session in two to three times a week, go to class, have individual sessions with my coaches, watch films of practices or games and then study for my classes. On top of this, I work. However, once the season starts up, I can’t have a job anymore. Every two weeks, we are on the road from Wednesday until Sunday. Sometimes we are gone for two straight weeks if we make playoffs. The professors let us do our work from the road, but my job isn’t going to pay me just because I was playing basketball on a road trip. Even though the athletes make no money, the NCAA basketball tournaments, or “March Madness,” have become a huge business. As Forbes’ Chris Smith wrote, CBS and Turner Broadcasting make more than $1 billion off these student games

— due in part to 30-second advertisement spots costing $700,000 during the Final Four. Athletic conferences, as well, receive millions of dollars in payouts from the NCAA when their teams advance deep into the tournament. Same goes for the coaches of the final squads standing. The NCAA, as a whole, makes approximately $6 billion annually.

People should ask themselves, who generates this excitement? The players. And they are not allowed to receive anything from the billion dollars they generate every year while they risk careerending injuries every time they step onto the court, field, or rink. Why shouldn’t collegiate student athletes be paid? The

billions of dollars that collegiate athletics generates would be non-existent without them, on the field or on the court, performing and entertaining millions of college sports fans. Without athletes, we wouldn’t have millions of fans buying tickets for games, or people buying sports gear, jerseys, and video games, usually bearing the likenesses, and often the autographs of their favorite college players. We should re-evaluate the system as a whole. The main purpose to play NCAA sports used to be to get a good education. Now, elite prospects like Andrew Wiggins go to school for one year and make the jump to the NBA. What if an amateur league existed in which the players would get compensated, alongside the NCAA league, in which students could play college sports without missing on an education? Until then, college athletes are just like all other hard working people, who should receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.


10 OPINIONS

Jerven’s main argument is that African economic statistics are not reliable, and can misinform the delegation of funding for countries in need. In his quest to re-examine the methods used in statistics, he suggests more universal data collection techniques. He has opened up a new conversation across multiple disciplines in academia: do we have the right to stick our noses into other countries and claim their practices to be insufficient? I don’t think we do. As a high school student, I participated in many activist endeavours and even a major protest in downtown Vancouver collecting petitions to stop the practice of FGM (female genital mutilation) in third world countries. At the time, it seemed a heroic, thrilling, and controversial topic. Now, as a social science student, I cringe at the attitude and approach behind that rally. Do I have

Coming out three years ago was one of the most terrifying yet satisfying experiences of my life. The ability to express one’s identity with confidence and joy to the world is what I consider the ultimate freedom for an individual. Living in a city like Vancouver — usually regarded as a liberal and gay-friendly metropolis — it is not difficult to feel safe and recognized most of the time, in the same ways that I imagine a heterosexual person does. Growing up however, I moved around a lot due to my Dad’s career. A couple of years into elementary school, the Spice Girls dominated the pop charts, and

November 25, 2013

the right as a naive student to label as immoral a cultural practice that has been continuing for years? Although it is important to stand up for human rights and to keep an open dialogue about what should be considered universal standards of living and freedoms, it is equally important to realize that our education is Eurocentric in its curriculum and purpose, and when looking through this magnifying glass at other cultures, we do not have the lived experiences of other peoples, nor the ultimate superior lifestyle of the world. Even with seemingly superior statistics or health practices, we will never be able to replace the voices of those who live in the cultures.

became an important topic of conversation on the playground. Seeing the young boy fighting with the girls over who got to play which Spice Girl had my homeroom teacher worried. I vividly remember my father that evening insisting that my girly toys be removed from the storage box. This was the first time I had ever felt like my Dad was ashamed of me.

By high school, I was used to feeling like the outsider; the days were rare when I was not attacked verbally or found my locker decorated with homophobic slurs. Fear kept me closeted throughout my teens.

Many voices critique the “whiteness” of academia — and rightly so. There is an overwhelming number of male, caucasian scholars who write the histories of and prescribe policies for less-developed countries. The repercussions of western academics taking up the “white man’s burden” to educate people in African nations — and in doing so, treating them as children — can include ignorant policies that do not acknowledge the complications and realities on the ground. However, by viewing this complicated relationship as a fight between ‘the West and the rest,’ we are potentially solidifying a way of thinking that created this problem in the first place. This dialogue of ‘us’ and ‘them’ might result in closing off channels of information that could be potentially beneficial. For example, if Jerven is correct in his observations that certain policies pursued by governments like

Not once during my childhood did I read any books or watch any television programs that showed anyone other than straight people being treated fairly in a classroom setting. Being unable to see anyone like myself represented in my education of the world led me to fear that there was no one else like me. Acting to the best of my abilities like the other kids ensured some level of security. Moving away from the small town that I grew up in for university provided me access to the community I needed to establish my identity as a gay man. Even though the media landscape directed at youths today offers representation of teens identifying outside of heterosexuality, these images are not cohesive with the actual experiences of youth in elementary and high schools across the country. The idea that a teen’s identity issues can be dealt with through song, or that a young

Malawi are less than effective, this has vital consequences for those governments. If we discriminate and reject his thesis on the basis of his “whiteness,” then the danger is that alternative and helpful initiatives may never be implemented. What this opening of dialogue requires is easier said than done. Western policymakers have for a long time imposed their policies in Africa, many of which have been ineffective or even harmful. It follows that African officials may distrust an academic like Jerven, whose critiques could have major implications for the amount of foreign direct investment flowing into the continent. Nevertheless, it does not make sense to disallow talented scholars from investigating a particular issue on account of their race. In doing so, we only serve to reinforce this dialogue of “us” and “them” — which was the root of the problem.

gay teen can go from a bullied, closeted kid, to an emblem of the LGBT community, is not an accurate vision of men and women who must decode and place themselves within the straight world.

Instead of encouraging the ideal that waiting through grade school in fear is the solution to youth identity problems, one solution should be including comprehensive gender education programs in elementary schools. These would focus on preventing homophobic, transphobic, and heterosexist oppression at younger ages, thereby instilling a sense of pride in identities in the same ways that heterosexuality is honoured.

Efforts of such education have been made in BC with the passing of policy 5.45 in Burnaby in 2011, which provides legislation to combat homophobia and heterosexism in schools through increased knowledge of those defining outside of the heterosexual norm. However, starting education at an earlier age of those who are not heterosexual would likely reduce the discrimination caused by silencing questioning youth. Vancouver may offer a safe environment to an extent in presenting oneself as a gay person, but fear remains in many situations, which do not incite the same trepidation for heterosexuals. Non-heterosexual people must survey their settings prior to holding a partner’s hand or stealing a kiss. Fear could be eliminated entirely if these were actions we were accustomed to seeing all people as free to perform, whether in liberal Vancouver or a small-town in Alberta.


OPINIONS

November 25, 2013

Ben Buckley / The Peak

“Christmas time is here/Happiness and cheer/Fun for all, the children call/Their favourite time of year.” So begins the beloved classic A Charlie Brown Christmas. This 1965 cartoon, in which Charlie Brown tries to find the true meaning of Christmas, bears watching by the current generation, despite the near 50year gap. Charlie Brown’s depression and aggravation is exactly what one would expect from our overcommercialization and secularization of Christmas. The Christmas shopping season now starts in October, with Santa Claus taking up space on the shelves next to witches and werewolves. Santa, himself, now arrives in shopping malls in November, for whom parents stand in line for hours to give their children a chance to voice their lists of demands.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent in order to purchase the newest amusement, only for it to quickly be forgotten. The commercial spirit has infected this holiday to the point that fights regularly break out over final items in stores. The word “Christmas” itself is too often substituted. I’m not alone in being told at work that “Merry Christmas” must be replaced with the generalized, inoffensive “Happy Holidays.” This seems harmless on the surface, but we are, in fact, eliminating the very reason for the season.

We can recover the joy of Christmas only by going back to its roots. As Linus so poignantly tells us, the holiday’s true meaning cannot be found in material goods. The true joy of Christmas is in the gift of a baby, born in a manger in a cave

in a tiny little town. It is the celebration of Jesus. It was not the giant event that it is today, with lights, fireworks, and parades; there was simply the cries of a newborn baby. No matter if you believe Jesus was truely Christ, the first Christmas was about hope, something our world still needs. It was about hope that there is more to existence than a world full of problems. Hope that despite all the evil in the world, good will one day triumph. Hope for redemption, justice, and true happiness. Instead of making a list of demands this Christmas, let’s focus on giving. It is the joy of giving, not the joy of accumulating stuff that will provide a momentary boost of happiness. I cannot remember who got me what for Christmas last year, or even what I got them, but I do remember how happy people were receiving gifts, just as the early Christians were surely filled with joy remembering the gift of their saviour. So, focus not on material goods, nor candy, nor fancy light displays, but rather on the idea behind the simple gift given two millennia ago. And have a Merry Christmas.

11

I have fairly liberal opinions concerning the homeless. I know that the issue is much more complicated than homeless people being unwilling to secure jobs or preferring to be addicted to drugs — as many of the most elegant conservative arguments boil down to. People may become homeless for these very reasons, no doubt, but I prefer to view these people as people before lazy drug addicts. I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to see anyone, including myself and (doubtlessly)

our hundreds of loyal SFU student readers, as having the potential to be homeless. Even if my growing up as upper-middle-class stayed constant, a change in family, friends, love, or forgiveness could have led me down a path of addiction, or deep-set problems that emerge as financial irresponsibility. Homeless people deserve support before judgement, which is why homeless organizations, like shelters, churches, and support groups, deserve the extra financial or physical support of whomever can give it.

Handing out money to people panhandling does not solve the issues surrounding homelessness. At first, it appears to be helping someone support themselves, at least in the short term. However, there is no guarantee that the money they receive will go somewhere worthy. Many of them suffer from mental-health issues, or do not know how to spend their money appropriately. Of course this does not apply to every person begging on the street, but, doubtless, it applies to many. In the end, handing out money freely supports people living a lifestyle in which

people exist in society without contributing. The act may seem like one of the many small acts of kindness that make the world a better place. And perhaps it is. The problem, though, is that there are so many other kinder acts that require a similar sized contribution — for example, giving money to worthy homeless shelters. So the next time you’re tempted to give money to a homeless person, write a reminder to give that same amount to a homeless shelter. Better yet, volunteer time or donate food. If you really want to help, it’s the best you can do.


12 OPINIONS

Are you having rape for breakfast? The recent string of sexual assaults at the University of British Columbia may be shocking, however these assaults occur in addition to incalculable rapes and assaults happening around the world each day. In areas ranging from developing nations to Metro Vancouver, sexual assault happens at the breakfast table. Canadians are surrounded by subversive sexual assault in their bowls of cereal and their cups of coffee, because milk is a product of rape. Many people are not aware of the unavoidable connection between dairy milk and sexual assault. Just like human mothers produce milk after they become pregnant and give birth, cows also are impregnated in order for them to produce milk. The industry often uses a device nicknamed the “rape rack” to artificially inseminate female cows. Farms may opt to shove a 12 inch long “insemination rod” into their cow’s vagina, which often necessitates guiding it with their arm in the cow’s anus. When the mother cow gives birth her baby is taken away from her so that humans can drink the milk instead. Don’t believe it? Even the industry lobby-sponsored website reveals that dairy farms have a separate calf barn where the baby cows are taken after they are born, away from their mothers. Where do these cows go? Sometimes veal calves (male babies) are purchased directly from dairy farmer seven to 10 days after they are born (and, of course, are then killed before they reach adulthood). Female babies are raised until they are old enough to be artificially inseminated, and then the vicious cycle repeats. The dairy

November 25, 2013

cows themselves, when their production declines, are sent to slaughter. As children, most Canadians are told that cows “give” milk, but this explanation is misinformed. Just as women do not “give” their consent by walking alone at night to be assaulted, cows do not “give” their milk, people take it from them. Local farmer’s will try to say that their cows are happy and treated nicely, however the murder and rape of these animals is an unavoidable part of this profit based system. Organic and free range labels still have the same assaults connected with their products, not to mention the incalculable uninvited gropings and unwanted touches that happen during the actual milking process.

If we really want to be a society that says “no” to sexual violence, then we have to look at our own choices and stop supporting sexual assault, directly and indirectly. What about the nutritional benefits of milk? We can get enough calcium from spinach, broccoli, kale and other leafy greens, as well as fortified non-dairy milks, like those made from soy, rice, almond, coconut, hemp, cashew, hazelnut and flax. Next time you go grocery shopping, choose one of these alternatives. Choose not to support rape and sexual assault. Choose a vegan milk and join the movement to stop systematic rape and sexual assault. It doesn’t take much to make compassionate food choices, and it astronomically reduces the suffering of non-human animals, who just like us, do not want to give their bodies and their lives for the pleasure of a few. Got milk? Not me. And I am not asking for it.

Although fossil fuels have brought us tremendous value in the last two centuries, burning oil, gas and coal has created a serious emergency. Here, at SFU, many faculty, staff and students are rightly focused on the climate crisis. Yet, by holding investments in fossil fuel companies that are wrecking the climate, the university itself is undermining and slowing society’s transition to a safer, lowcarbon society. We should call on SFU to end its investment in fossil fuels. The global warming crisis has major implications for your life after SFU and the future of your career, health and family. Scientists — including many from SFU — are growing ever more alarmed by the damage we are doing to the climate. By burning oil, gas, and coal, we move eons of stored carbon from the ground to our oceans and atmosphere, where it stays and holds more energy. This creates the greenhouse gases that warm our planet, changing and intensifying weather patterns and contributing to more extreme droughts, heat waves, floods, and storms. Scientists also forecast water and food

shortages and increasing poverty and inequality as a result of climate change. There is still hope, though. If we hope to avoid this dangerous and irreversible global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us we can’t burn more than 921 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide. Yet, scientists widely agree that fossil fuel companies can extract at least twice as much — more than enough to cook our planet. And each day, they look for even more reserves in places like the Arctic, shale formations, and deep oceans.

Groups as diverse as the International Energy Agency, HSBC bank, and 350.org say the vast majority of proven and probable fossil fuel reserves should remain unburned if we hope to avoid runaway climate change. One report by HSBC found that these unburnable reserves could reduce the market value of fossil fuel companies by up to 60 per cent. Institutions like SFU that directly or indirectly hold investments in these companies should be

alarmed by the “carbon bubble” they face. This growing understanding, along with concern for climate justice and defence, is why SFU faculty overwhelmingly voted to create a fossil free pension fund this fall. It’s why 70 institutional investors with over $3 trillion in assets asked fossil fuel companies to examine and disclose their exposure to this carbon bubble in October this year. Over 400 other schools, churches, funds, and 16 US cities, including Seattle and Providence, have already moved to end their investments in the top fossil fuel companies in the near future. Sustainable SFU has joined this global movement for divestment and is calling on students, alumni, staff and faculty to be a part of it. We call on SFU to immediately freeze new investment in fossil fuel companies, fully end ownership in those companies over the next five years, and disclose the potential greenhouse gas emissions in SFU’s endowment and other investments. If SFU does not change course, it will find itself with a portfolio of financially worthless fossil fuel assets. These investments jeopardize SFU’s academic mission and its research and education on climate change, clean energy, and public health. Tell SFU we should be in the business of studying and slowing climate change, not funding the companies that cause it.


OPINIONS

November 25, 2013

People in North America are constantly bombarded with the ideology that they should be fitter, smaller, and sexier. There are many media sources that display idealized versions of what women and men should aspire to be, in regards to both their health and body shape. This is taken to the extreme in a section on the blogging site Tumblr. The site utilizes tags, which are attached to photos, quotes, and other material, and allow the content to be categorized and filtered. While browsing through the main page of the website, I came across a disturbing set of tags on a photo of an extremely thin young woman: “pro-ana� and “pro-mia.� “Ana� is a short and innocentsounding version of anorexia

nervosa; while “mia� is a shortened version of bulimia nervosa. Out of sheer curiosity, I clicked on one of the tags to see what would be displayed. Tumblr did warn, “If you or someone you know is dealing with an eating disorder, self harm issues, or suicidal thoughts, please visit our Counseling & Prevention Resources page for a list of services that may be able to help.� But this didn’t adequately

prepare me for what I was about to see. To my horror, a click on the tag took me to a section of the website plastered in photos of people with absolutely emaciated figures, and a frightening number of phrases such as “Keep Calm and Stop Eating,� and “I hate every inch of my body.� I am still repulsed by what I saw. I’m not repulsed by the shapes of the people themselves,

but by the fact that these people promote a mental illness, they idolize eating disorders. I came across a video from a sufferer of anorexia nervosa under the “pro-ana� tag. In it, she detailed the true realities of the disease, and her most recent trip to the hospital at a mere 98 pounds. In it, she tries to reason with those posting glamorized photos of ribcages

and thigh gaps, saying that these images are encouraging little girls to kill themselves, and that she wouldn’t wish this upon her worst enemy. She attacks the tags by saying, “I’m not ‘thinspo.’ I’m not ‘thinspiration,’ I’m ‘deathspo,’� hitting home the idiocy of these tags that romanticize diseases that claim lives. It’s disgusting that the website allows for the existence of such a section, and yet, if they were to take it away, it’d potentially encroach upon the freedom of users to post whatever they wanted. This prompts the equally important, yet enormous question: where do we draw the line? Our society must begin to tackle the tough issues of regulating speech like this, and deciding whether or not it has a place. Perhaps we won’t be able to reach a decision immediately, but the discussion is important. Personally, I find it sickly ironic that this subculture of Tumblr seems to be thriving, while many suffering from these disorders certainly are not.

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14 OPINIONS

November 25, 2013

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Real Experience. Real Results.

The library has a problem, at least that is what Adam Van der Zwan tells us in his article “We need to be watched.” A very grave and serious problem — so serious, in fact, that it’s worthy of trotting out the sort of “we must act now” rhetoric you expect to hear from a politician. Twenty thefts a week are reported at the Bennett library, yet there’s apparently only one surveillance camera. SFU has to simply kick in all the extra money it has lying around to up the surveillance. After all, video surveillance would instantaneously and overnight reduce the number of thefts to justify the cost of implementation. What Adam misses is that SFU is providing a remarkable service by declining to direct its ‘unlimited’ budget to subsidize personal carelessness and irresponsibility. It is thereby making students develop the very valuable and marketable skill of actually giving a shit about their belongings. Does that seem awfully paternalistic? Is being constantly surveyed by the depths of a blinking camera any less so? I mean, really, who ought to care more about your own personal possessions than yourself? Certainly the cameras won’t. Twenty thefts a week, that’s a fraction of the student population begging to externalize the costs of their irresponsibility onto the rest. “Save me from myself,” they seem to cry. The naïve are slapped on the wrist by being stolen from. Although it’s morally wrong for a thieves to steal students’ iPads, it’s morally better than the costs of their own naïvety becoming externalized to general society. The responsibility

they learn from having valuables stolen is becoming of post-secondary graduates. Is this the same wrongful victim shaming that you (no doubt) read on Salon.com? Perhaps. The difference here is that I’m blaming the criminal, too. It’s best expressed in the counterfactual: had you been a more astute and careful steward of your resources, you would not have suffered a loss. You violate a sense of moral responsibility by not watching your valuables, so it is good that you directly experience the consequences of such behavior.

The rate of thefts will likely generally stay constant, not because the same folks are being robbed again and again, but because there’s always a new batch of young ‘un’s who cannot take the slightest care of their own possessions, yet fancy themselves the solver of all the world’s problems. Absent-mindedness is often seen as a trait accompanying geniuses; perhaps these kids see this correlation, that allows them to blame their problems on everyone but themselves. Is this the logical result of a degree? Do we become too smart to be responsilbe for our own possessions? By the time you’ve finished at SFU — with one less laptop — you’ll be that much more able to combine your newly minted critical thinking skills with a modicum of personal responsibility, and an ability to engage in the most menial cost/benefit analyses. It’s for your own good that the library isn’t stocked full of God-tech. Think of it as SFU’s gift to you.


FEATURES

November 25, 2013

features editor email / phone

Max Hill features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

15



n the span of a single day, Bitcoin has gone from being seen as “fake online money” (as succinctly described to me by an Electric Owl bouncer), to being recognized by the US Senate as a force to be reckoned with. After recently concluding their two-day hearing on the digital, decentralized currency, government officials ultimately came forward with positive comments on Bitcoin, sending its value skyrocketing to a peak of $900 in fiat money — for a few moments, anyway. At the same time, the Vancouver Bitcoin Co-op was signing their incorporation papers, a milestone that was filmed by NHK, Japan’s national broadcasting channel. Some enthusiasts are saying that Bitcoin has reached its first tipping point. Its every move is tracked in the headlines of mainstream press, while governments around the world are acknowledging its legitimacy as a means of exchange for goods and services. The Canada Revenue Agency has elected to treat Bitcoin like legal tender in terms of how businesses and individuals file their taxes, though there has been no discussion around additional legislation yet. Germany recognizes it as legal tender, while the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said they would not regulate it. However, Bitcoin companies and entrepreneurs are still regularly being denied bank accounts. The press headlines aren’t always favourable. Still in its infancy, Bitcoin’s infrastructure is plagued by security concerns. Investor mania and shadowy acquaintances alike are cause for scepticism from the average person. Bitcoin’s reputation for being the currency of choice in online black marketplaces, particularly the Silk Road, often precedes it, even as the value of the global illegal trading system stands at $400 billion. Advocates argue that buying illegal drugs on Silk Road, which make up 70 per cent of their inventory, is the harmreduced alternative to buying ecstasy from a street dealer. Because buyers could rate and review products, it was easy to find high-quality drugs at competitive prices. Think a whole market of Walter Whites circa the first season of Breaking Bad. Big-scale cartels and drug lords aren’t the ones flocking to this particular corner of the Internet. Even the Secret Service said during the Senate hearing that high-level criminals have not moved towards using Bitcoin and other P2P (peer-to-peer) currencies. Centralized currencies continue to be the go-to choice during criminal

activity, because every transaction conducted in Bitcoin is recorded in the system’s public ledger. It is a common misperception that digital currencies can be completely anonymous and private. “Bitcoin is not anonymous and cannot offer the same level of privacy as cash. The use of Bitcoin leaves extensive public records,” the FAQ of Bitcoin.org states. Forbes staff writer Andy Greenberg has also documented the ease of connecting his “experimental” purchases of marijuana through three separate markets. “On Silk Road […] our online drug buys were visible to practically anyone who took the time to look,” he writes. This is certainly true for the average user, though — like cash — there are more sophisticated ways to launder bitcoins. Yet precisely because of its decentralized nature, Bitcoin can never be completely untraceable and anonymous, though it still retains a reasonable measure of privacy compared to credit cards. If someone hacked into the transaction records of a merchant, they would have access to enough information on your credit card to use it. But because your Bitcoin wallet’s private key — which is required to gain control of the wallet — does not get recorded in the same system, your currency remains relatively safe. The largest threats to the legitimacy of Bitcoin are the security loopholes and inefficiency of trading the currency. At this point in time, the quickest, easiest, and safest way to buy and sell Bitcoins is in person; ironic for a currency that is prized as being the high-tech way of the future. In the last month, there has also been a rash of trading platforms around the world being compromised, as well as the Chinabased GBL shutting down and taking $4.1 million in user money with them. To be fair, it’s more accurate to call this an outright scam than hack. Bitcoin advocates say that the users involved could have easily prevented this snafu by immediately transferring their currency to an online “wallet,” created by a service explicitly for the purposes of storing bitcoins, such as Blockchain, or to a wallet created on their personal computer. After all, Bitcoin exchangers — like banks — have the power to move currency around in whichever way they please, and are not necessarily a secure way of storing your money. However, even large-scale, reputable exchanges like Mt. Gox and Canadian Virtual Exchange have been taking inordinately long times to process user verifications and cashouts, leaving money vulnerable for longer than necessary.

For now, Bitcoin is still largely a playground for those with disposable income, much like the stock market. It would be a poor move to invest any money in Bitcoin that you couldn’t afford to lose. While general consensus is that digital currencies are an inevitable part of our future economy, it’s not a guarantee that Bitcoin will be the choice cryptocurrency that becomes adopted in the mainstream. Since its inception, rival currencies (or hopeless clones, depending on how you see it) have been established, such as Litecoin, Peercoin, and Namecoin. Though less popular than Bitcoin, each of these currencies have their own advantages. Litecoin, like its name implies, allows for shorter transaction times, making it more feasible for transferring microtransactions. The difference between buying Bitcoin and buying shares on the stock market is that you don’t have to buy one entire Bitcoin. Like fiat money, it can be broken down into millions of parts, and you can convert any dollar amount you want into the cryptocurrency. So, in the end, the Electric Owl bouncer was right. Bitcoin is fake online money. But after all, Canadian dollars are fake money, too — they just use paper instead of code. Both currencies only have as much value as the people who use them think they do. Both can be easily lost or stolen. Government policy may never get to a point where you can pay your taxes in bitcoins, but the widespread adoption of a secondary currency in a country is not unheard of. Peru, Uruguay, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Afghanistan accept US dollars as easily as if it were legal tender, and it may well be a developing country that finds itself at the forefront of the worldwide Bitcoin revolution. The more unstable the national currency and the less a people trusts its government, the more visible the benefits of Bitcoin become. For example, the Cypress government wouldn’t be able to confiscate the money from a citizen’s Bitcoin wallet, because there is no one central power to influence and exert power over. Citizens can rest easy knowing that their money is relatively safe inside their digital pocketbooks. As Gavin Anderson, the chief scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation, told Forbes magazine: “Bitcoin is designed to bring us back to a decentralized currency of the people.” The greatest success of digital currencies will be to keep the powers that be in check and allow people a way to gain more control of their finances. So where “real” money has failed us, I say, let cryptocurrencies lead the way.


18 FEATURES

November 25, 2013

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November 25, 2013

COMMUNITY PHOTOS November 25, 2013

photo editor email / phone

Mark Burnham photos@the-peak.ca

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LABOUR STUDIES PROGRAM ƌŝƚŝĐĂů dŚŝŶŬŝŶŐ͕ EĞǁ WĞƌƐƉĞĐƚŝǀĞƐ Spring 2014 Course Offerings

> ^d ϭϬϭͲϯ /ŶƚƌŽ ƚŽ >ĂďŽƵƌ ^ƚƵĚŝĞƐ > ^d ϯϬϭͲϯ >ĂďŽƵƌ DŽǀĞŵĞŶƚƐ͗ ŽŶƚĞŵƉŽƌĂƌLJ /ƐƐƵĞƐ > ^d ϯϬϴͲϯ >ĂďŽƵƌ WƌŽĐĞƐƐ͗ tŽƌŬ ĂŶĚ dĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ > ^d ϯϬϵͲϯ >ĂďŽƵƌ ĂŶĚ ŽůůĞĐƚŝǀĞ ĂƌŐĂŝŶŝŶŐ > ^d ϯϭϬͲϯ dŚĞ WŽůŝƚŝĐƐ ŽĨ >ĂďŽƵƌ > ^d ϯϭϭͲϯ >ĂďŽƵƌ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ > ^d ϯϯϬͲϯ ĂŶĂĚŝĂŶ >ĂďŽƵƌ ĂŶĚ ŵƉůŽLJŵĞŶƚ >Ăǁ > ^d ϯϯϬͲϯ hŶĨƌĞĞ >ĂďŽƵƌ ĂŶĚ DŽĚĞƌŶͲ ĂLJ ^ůĂǀĞƌLJ > ^d ϯϯϬͲϯ >ĂďŽƵƌ ŝŶ ŚŝŶĂ > ^d ϯϯϬͲϯ ^ƚƵĚLJŝŶŐ >ĂďŽƵƌ dŚƌŽƵŐŚ &ŝůŵ ;^ƵƌƌĞLJͿ &Žƌ ŵŽƌĞ ŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƚŝŽŶ ŽŶ ĐŽƵƌƐĞƐ ĂŶĚ ƐĐŚŽůĂƌƐŚŝƉ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚŝĞƐ ǀŝƐŝƚ

ǁǁǁ͘ůĂďŽƵƌ͘ƐĨƵ͘ĐĂ


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ARTS

The highly anticipated Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is scheduled for release later this year. In a conference call with The Peak and several schools across North America, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd were pretty tight-lipped about the details. “There aren’t any specifics that I want to get into,” Carell said, concerning scenes in the movie. “Trying to explain something always is a little difficult.” Explaining funny takes to his wife, he says, “definitely loses something in the translation.” They’re apparently trying to increase anticipation, not that they have to. The original movie became immensely popular immediately following its release, and retained a strong following long after. Its irreverent lines and silly humour made it a household name, and helped launch both Rudd and Carell’s mainstream comedy careers in 2004; Rudd has since starred in I Love You, Man, Carell in The Office, and both in The 40-YearOld-Virgin, among other hits. Unsurprisingly, the line recited to Carell most, he says, still comes from his Anchorman character Brick Tamland: “I love lamp.” On whether Sex Panther, Rudd’s character’s infamously terrible cologne, would return in the new movie, Rudd only offered, “I can’t really give it away.” He wants people to be

curious to the point of frustration going into the movie, a feeling reminiscent of 2003’s Lost In Translation: “Remember when Scarlett Johansson whispered into his ear and no one knows what she said? . . . I want that level of frustration.”

BAWA SINGH’S GARDEN A poem 2630 lines long

By

Dr. Gurdev S. Boparai An e-­‐book at Amazon/Kindle for $5

arts editor email / phone

November 25, 2013

Part of the draw of the first Anchorman , according to Rudd, was how “it felt like an indie movie. It just felt like a very small, kind of quirky comedy . . . that did not seem particularly commercial.” And the

indie spirit “still [exists] this time around,” he says. This is reflected in the extreme irreverency in the first movie; the premise is, after all, 1970s newsmen competing for the number-one spot on network television, dim-wittedly drinking, assaulting, and sexually discriminating in the process. I don’t think I need to exhaust its slew of ridiculous lines to prove this point. Just look at Brick’s explanation of killing a man in a comically violent brawl between the rivaling anchormen: “There were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.” Or Ron, threatened by Veronica’s determination, suggesting that she go “back to her home on whore island.” In both movies, many lines were improvised. Carell said the new release didn’t necessarily call for improvisation, but the actors couldn’t resist.

Daryn Wright arts@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

“On any given day,” Carell said, “we or Adam [McKay, director] or Will [Farrell] would come up with . . . as much material as was on the page. I mean, there were scenes that were supposed to be about a minute and a half that ended up being 10 minute scenes.”

“Everything that [Adam McKay] says,” he added, “is kind of golden . . . There were just so many fertile lines working, we ended up with way more material than we needed.” The premise is so admittedly silly that the second movie was

originally pitched as a broadway musical, according to the actors. Rudd said that he “liked the idea that . . . at that point in time, enough people had been clamoring for an Anchorman sequel and the idea of doing it as a musical on Broadway . . . was funny and annoyed people.” The two comedians both laughed in agreement. Rudd and Carell agreed that the fun they had doing the first movie was reason enough to make another. Rudd said, “Mainly it was like working with these guys again, who I love;” the fun of the first one made him “jump at the chance to come back and beat a dead horse.”Carell added, “Even if there was no film in any camera, we would have come back and done it.”


ARTS

November 25, 2013

After her time at SFU’s The Writer’s Studio in 2009, Saklikar discovered the words to describe her intimate connection to Canada’s traumatic history. With the loss of her aunt and uncle, who were among the passengers during the bombing of Air India Flight 182, Saklikar looked further into the event’s details to make sense of it all. From her early beginnings as an undergraduate, BC poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar’s journey began much like that of many in the arts: hard work compelled by nothing but passion. Saklikar earned a BA in English Literature and, in the late 80s, an LLB at UBC. She then began working with “three remarkable people at SFU”: Jerry Zaslove, Stephen Duguid and Michael ManleyCasimir. It was here at SFU that Saklikar began planting her own artistic seed, studying social justice, the humanities, and education programming. Years later, she has tended to that seed and it has grown into a collection of poems, offering a revealing commentary on one of Canadian society’s most traumatic events. Children of Air India: un/authorized exhibits and interjections is Saklikar’s first work, and judging by the packed room at its launch at SFU Woodward’s Campus, the poems have touched many.

Of her research on the subject, Saklikar remembers two things distinctly, “[Firstly], the persistent haunting of the voices of those 82 children under the age of 13 who died in the bombing; and secondly, the discovery that the bomb was developed and tested in the woods outside a beloved heritage country: Paldi, BC, located near Duncan on Vancouver Island.” Having learned that her home was so closely tied to Flight 182, the

82 children “spoke” to Saklikar and compelled her to write an ode to them in a way that is close to her heart: poetry. The poems are based on — and contain excerpts from — actual records and the resulting work is artistically haunting and unsettling to read, as if the reader is privy to very private material. She says that “[a] kind of aphasia descends in contemplating [the poems].” To Saklikar, the action of breath is essential to reading poetry, how it connects to rhythms, sounds, and the beats of lines. In the case of her book, breathing plays a critical role in allowing the reader to feel the raw emotion of the bombing of Flight 182. “If we think of the breath as related to a poetic line, then in this book length sequence, the breath wrote itself out, jagged, interrupted, curtailed, compressed at time, and, at other times, strung out, disconnected, disintegrated,” she says. In the tightly packed room of the launch, it was as if our own breathing synced with Saklikar’s as she spoke passionately about her writing process. Saklikar says that talking and writing about the experience made her realize how truly important sound was in the exploration of trauma. “The deeper I

ventured into the Air India archive, the more sound became

paramount, rather than meaning: through that process of

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listening, I jettisoned many earlier iterations of the work.” Drafts and drafts later, the premiere of Children of Air India, in her home province, is certainly an experience all on its own, bringing up memories of inspiration for Saklikar. “The influences I channel come from all over. The Fraser River is a muse, for sure, having grown up in New Westminster. Also, the fact that I take Skytrain everywhere . . . what comes through are the sound and rhythm-motion of the train, the inside architecture of the individual cars, the way the body experiences a journey on the line, east to west and back again.”


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November 25, 2013


ARTS

November 25, 2013

23

DO YOU WANT TO MAKE MONEY FILMING?

It is, perhaps, a little alarming that the most notable launch title for the newly-released Playstation 4 is Resogun: an indie release from Housemarque, the studio that developed the PS3’s addictive asteroids-clone Super Stardust HD. Like Super Stardust HD, Resogun is extremely simplistic, yet also increasingly difficult. Its addictive qualities culminate in one of the few launch titles for the PS4 that will have players compulsively returning, over and over again. In many ways, Resogun is an exemplary showcase of the power of the PS4. A plethora of voxels fill the environment when each enemy is destroyed by the ship, which players pilot, and an abundance of particle effects are displayed as massive amounts of numbers flood

It’s never too cold for ice cream. So says the newly opened ice cream parlour, Rain or Shine, and so say I. The ambitious parlour, located at West 4th in Kitsilano, is serving up delicious flavours like spiced apple sorbet and stout beer!! Plus, everything is made in the back of the store, without anything artificial added. And, nearly everything is locally sourced or organic and fair trade. Test drive their ice cream taco, a delectable taco-shaped waffle cone contraption that is definitely making the list — despite the cold weather.

the screen. The goal is simple: maneuver through the barrage of bullets and debris, shooting anything that comes into sight until enough enemies have been decimated for the boss of each level to show up. What makes Resogun slightly more engaging than its spiritual predecessor is that it adds the extra objective of trying to save all 10 humans in each mission. This is completely optional, and many will skip it because of how challenging the game can become later on, but saving a human will give the benefit of a weapon upgrade, extra bombs, more points, or even an extra life — all of which will come in handy on a very frequent basis.

The game also consists of online co-operative play, allowing users to play with each other to try and get through the unrelenting waves of enemies. The major

Looking for something festive and classy to do this week? The SFU Chamber Choir is holding their Winter Jubilee Concert on Nov. 30 at 7:00 p.m. The student-run club, comprised of a small but diverse group of musicians, plays a wide range, from classical pieces to film scores and popular standards. The group holds several concerts throughout the year, but the Winter Jubliee is, by far, the most popular. Admission is by donation, and all proceeds will go to Typhoon Haiyan relief.

complaint that Resogun warrants however, is that it does not have local co-op, which would have been great for those players who play together offline. The game is also extremely short, with only five levels to enjoy, and the environments themselves are not extremely memorable. However, having had the game for a couple days now, it is the one title that I keep playing, despite having beaten it a couple of times already. Replaying it on different difficulties, with different ships, and also trying to save all the humans gives a longevity to the game that is welcoming and maybe a little destructive to one’s social life. Resogun is so great that it actually makes the rest of the PS4’s line-up feel inferior in quality. While it may not be the graphic powerhouse of a game like Killzone: Shadow Fall or Battlefield 4, its gameplay is above and beyond those titles. After boosting through an onslaught of enemy ships and dealing incredulous amounts of damage with your overdrive — a fancy name for “laser” — addiction becomes an inevitable reality.

Ascension 2013 is an interdisciplinary performance of new contemporary music and dance, entirely organized and created by students at the School for Contemporary Arts. Taking place Dec. 6 to 8 at 8:00 p.m., and Dec. 8 at 2:00 p.m. The performance features seven unique works of contemporary dance and live music. Each work is the culmination of ongoing collaboration between student choreographers and composers. Taking place at Studio T at SFU Woodwards, the performance is $5 for students/ seniors and $15 for general.

The Peak is looking for a videographer! The successful applicant must know how to operate a camera and mic rig, and must be available to work on Fridays. The term of employment is the Spring semester, and the successful applicant will be paid $150 per week. Sound like you? Send your cover letter and resume to jobs@the-peak.ca, or see the-peak.ca/2013/11/videographer for more information.

This week, the English department is hosting Literary Gimmicks: Sianne Ngai, in the World Art Room at SFU Woodwards. Ngai’s lecture will discuss the nature of “gimmicky” work and how we are able to “see through it.” She will explore the reasons why we are repelled by the gimmick, and why it is essentially a paradox, as the aesthetic appearance that would seem to undermine its own aesthetic. The event is free, and doors open at 7:00 p.m.

Make It! The Handmade Revolution is back in Vancouver, running from Thursday, Nov. 28 to Sunday, Dec. 1, and this time, the venue is bigger and better than ever. Taking place at the PNE forum, the fair offers one-of-a-kind handmade items from over 250 Canadian artisans. Check out the selection of clothing, jewelry, accessories, art, home decor, and more. There will also be food carts, a licensed bar, and music to accompany your shopping experience. Tickets are only $7, plus you’ll be supporting local artists. It’s a win win.


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November 25, 2013

simple message of “Strong” are about as good as corporate assembly line boy band fodder gets — which, admittedly, is not very good, but certainly much better than this band has any right to be.

So, I listened to an entire One Direction album in a single sitting in the quietude of the Bennett Library. I obsessively monitored the volume of the music coming through my headphones so that no one would know what I was doing. Once I was finished, I was left with three distinct observations. Observation One: Some of these songs are good. That’s right, I said it. On Midnight Memories, the British quintet tries so many times to create the perfectly manufactured pop song that a couple of them were bound to turn out right. The infectious juvenilia of “Best Song Ever,” the mug of cocoa vocal harmonies of “Don’t Forget Where You Belong,” the puritanical bubblegum pop of “Happily” and the

Some records, you love because they’re classic. You love them because that’s what you’re supposed to do. They’ve

Observation Two Most of these songs are awful. For every step forward, the impeccably coiffed teen heartthrobs of One Direction take three steps back. Many of the songs on this record are musical wallpaper — meaningless verse chorus verse nonentities that aren’t even worth mentioning. Others are so bad that they warrant further comment: the faux Freddie cock rock of the titular track, the paper thin sentimentality of “Diana,” the auto tuned aural assault of “Little White Lies,” the laundry list of lyrical clichés that is “Something Great.” Ultimately, listening to an entire One Direction album did little to dissuade my apathetic dislike of the group. Sorry, Tumblr. Observation Three: This album is indistinguishable. One Direction’s success story has become inescapable: their discovery on the British reality show The X Factor, the whirlwind success of their problematic “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful” single, the chorus of yeasayers announcing the second coming of the British Invasion. After having finally listened to an album by these wide eyed ragamuffins, it’s become clear that the group’s success is distinctly a right place right time phenomenon. Nothing about One Direction differentiates them from any of the facsimile groups that have preceded, and will inevitably succeed, them.

crawled through the tunnel of critical appraisal and come out in one piece on the other side — your Revolvers, your Kind of Blues, your London Callings. These are the untouchable, the canonical crème de la crème of popular music that have reached the point where one might consider unironically referring to them as “legendary.” Then there are those records you can’t help but love. They might be underappreciated indie label debuts or obscure back catalogue picks, but each one of us has that one record that we love in spite of ourselves, and in spite of their relative lack of mainstream approval. For me, Interpol’s Turn on the Bright Lights is that record. To be honest, I expected the LP to have aged less gracefully when I picked it for this week’s throwback. My relationship with this album has faded from the passion of romance to the solemnity and security of companionship — listening to it, I feel as though I’m sitting in a carefully woven rocking chair on a sun soaked patio, sharing a mug of watered-down

Are we living in a post-Death Grips society? Whether you like their music or not, it’s hard to argue that the industrial hip-hop trio’s us against the world attitude to the music industry has turned more than a few heads. Just last year, the band was dropped unceremoniously from Epic Records for leaking their sophomore album, No Love Deep Web, onto the web weeks before its release date. Oh, and the cover art was a picture of drummer Zach Hill’s erect penis. I’m serious. Look it up. Though rumours of Death Grips’ triumphant return have been passed along through comment sections and internet forums ever since the group launched its own label, Thirdworlds, no one expected Government Plates to drop so soon. I learned about its spontaneous

coffee with an old friend. I have a lot of feelings about this record, okay? I could go on and on about the music on this thing — Carlos D’s selfconsciously swaggering bass lines, Daniel Kessler’s far away guitar tones, Paul Banks’ arcane lyrics, Sam Fogarino’s spring wound drums — but I don’t want to bore you. The appeal of Turn on the Bright Lights goes beyond its music, anyway: from the album cover

leakage through the band’s Facebook page, and quickly backtracked, thinking I must have missed an announcement, a blog post, a tweet, something. But ultimately, this is exactly the kind of thing Death Grips is all about. Echoing the guerilla spirit of its release, Government Plates is a puzzling, schizophrenic record, full of choppy electro beats, deranged yelps and enough musical about-faces to make your head spin. Fans of the group will likely be unphased: after all, no one would choose to listen to these guys if they weren’t fully prepared for this sort of thing. The album’s first track (who’s Bob Dylan-referencing title, at 26 words long, I refuse to type in full) opens with the sound of a glass shattering, followed by vocalist MC Ride yelling “It’s so fucking dark in here/Come come fuck apart in here,” and shrieking. In the post-Death Grips world, this is easy listening. Despite the album’s unapologetic abrasiveness and complete lack of formal structure, it’s a remarkably easy LP to like. Maybe it’s because its frenetic pace and abstract expressionism feel purposeful, like they’re passages from some sort of radical manifesto on the state of our society that I haven’t quite decoded yet. Like Death Grips’ best material, Government Plates leaves its listeners frightened, confused, infuriated and clamouring for more.

to the quartet’s perfectly pressed suits, Interpol’sarts@the-peak.ca debut LP was all about creating a mood. That mood may include, but is not limited to: flickering street lamps, thick industrial fog, vintage neon signs, cheap foreign beer, abandoned train stations, molasses thick dollar store coffee, cigarette smoke, and hair gel. Not quite autumn, not quite winter, but certainly cold enough to button up your jacket.


SPORTS

The SFU women’s wrestling team, already having found success this season, kept up the momentum with a strong showing at the Missouri Valley College Open on Nov. 16. Seniors Justina DiStasio and Jenna McLatchey both won their respective weight brackets, while two other Clan wrestlers, juniors Nikkie Brar and Darby Huckle, finished second in theirs. DiSatsio went undefeated through four rounds to lay claim to the 170-lbs bracket title. Her first win came at the expense of Wayland Baptist University’s Brenda Mendoza, before beating Menlo College’s Solove Naufau in the second round by technical fall. She tossed aside Missouri Valley College’s Brittany Jones in the third round before besting Ruth Leger from Lindenwood College in the final round for a dominant title win. McLatchey also won all four of her matches, but three of the four were won by decision. Her only non-decision victory came in the first round against Alana Jimniez, wrestling for New Jersey’s Bearcat Wrestling Club. She then topped Justina Luafaleman of Northwest Tech to move on

sports editor email / phone

November 25, 2013

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

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to the third round, where she’d face — and defeat — another Wayland Baptist Wrestler, Angela Vyborny. In the final round, she beat Malexsis McAdoo of King University to claim the 191lbs title. Brar, meanwhile, won her first four matches to move onto the final of the 116-lbs bracket, but lost a close match by decision to Jessica Fresh from Waldorf College and was forced to settle for second.

Huckle, however, needed just two wins to move onto the final round of the 101lbs bracket, but ultimately lost to Oklahoma City University’s Emily Website to fall just short. Also wrestling for the Clan were senior Gina Carpenter and freshman Mallory Velte, who each finished fourth at 130-lbs and 136-lbs, respectively. Velte’s fellow freshman Laura Anderson finished seventh at 123-lbs, while Jilliane Vina and Minika Podgorski also hit the mat for SFU. Already having had plenty of success so far this season, the Clan women will get a month to prepare for their next event, the Southwestern Oregon Duals on Dec. 16.

The year 2013 was supposed to be the season it all came together for the Clan football team. Despite a promising 2–0 start to the campaign, the team laboured to a 3–7 record; on Tuesday, SFU Athletics announced they were letting head coach Dave Johnson go, as well as members of his coaching staff, including defensive coordinator, James Colzie III. Johnson spent seven years at the helm of the football program, but struggled to find wins. In those seven seasons, Johnson compiled an 18–46 record overall, including a 12–29 record since joining the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 2009. “After carefully reviewing all aspects of our football program, we have decided it is time to seek a new leader for Clan football that will achieve the goals we have set for the program,” said Milt Richards, SFU’s senior director of athletics and recreation in a press release.

“I want to thank coach Johnson, his family and his entire staff for all of their hard work. We all wish him and his family the best as they begin the next chapter of their life,” he finished. Looking at wins alone, the move may not come as a complete surprise, but Johnson was a players’ coach who managed to keep the locker room in good spirits despite the on-field struggles. His players, who were informed of his dismissal via email, were shocked, and were vocal in their opinions of the matter. “Clearly someone isn’t thinking about the program when he fired all the coaches,” said Dylan Roper, a defensive end who finished his Clan career this season. Roper wasn’t alone in his sentiments.

“They fired the whole coaching staff? You gotta be kidding me smfh,” tweeted running back Chris Tolbert, who finished third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in rushing. In another tweet, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference

(GNAC) newcomer of the year added, “Honestly don’t even know the AD [Milt Richards] but he obviously doesn’t care about us or this program either.” Tolbert, along with quarterback Ryan Stanford, were among a slew of newcomers who were poised to lead the Clan offense that last season led the GNAC. But injuries to Stanford and superstar wide receiver Lemar Durant derailed the Clan’s early season momentum, and Johnson was unable to find a way to get it back as SFU stumbled toward the season’s finish line. Colzie III, meanwhile, was brought in to fix a defense that had perennially been at the basement of the GNAC rankings. However, the Clan’s defense also stumbled after a hot start, and finished second last in the conference, giving up over 425 yards a game. Four years removed from their first foray into the NCAA, the Clan was expected to make significant steps forward. They had finally begun to attract star players on both sides of the ball, and were coming off a breakout year where they upset a number of teams. But in a year that had so much promise — and was even highlighted by nine players earning all-conference honours — it was Johnson and his staff’s inability to deliver that, fair or not, ultimately cost them their jobs.


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It’s early yet, but so far in 2013, West Gym has proven to be home sweet home for the SFU men’s basketball team. After hitting the road for two exhibition games against elite NCAA Div. I squads, the Clan traveled to California for the first two games of their own NCAA season, winning one and dropping the other. But since returning home for their first game on the hill this season on Nov. 12, SFU has caught fire, winning three straight at West Gym. The most recent victory came against the Douglas College Royals, a dominant 104–76 win. Senior guard Elijah Matthews led the Clan’s scoring efforts with 21 points in just 19 minutes of play — including hitting on all five of his three-point attempts — but five SFU players all hit double-digit point totals. “Matthews played through some of our goofiness to lead

November 25, 2013

the team,” said head coach James Blake after the game. “Other guys then jumped on that and earned the win.” As a team, the Clan hit on 58 per cent of their field goals, and hit threes early and often, shooting an incredible 52 per cent from beyond the arc. Fittingly, it was Matthews who opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but SFU couldn’t hang on to the lead early. The Royals, aided by an 8–0 run midway through the first half, climbed ahead and took a 22–15 lead early. But shortly after, the Clan went on an 8–0 run of their own, to pull ahead 28–23, a lead they would not relinquish.

SFU led by 10 at the half, 49–39, but pulled away in the second, stifling the Royals attack while having their way offensively. Forward Keegan Dunlop put the Clan above the century mark with almost four minutes left to play.

“Everyone gets to play a lot and we mould as a team in these types of games,” said senior guard Taylor Dunn, who lead the team with seven rebounds and chipped in with 16 points of his own. “We have a lot of new guys so its good for us to just get out on the court, that’s the best way for the team to get comfortable together. “The teams we’re playing are very competitive, so it’s good for us to come up against that,” he added. There’s an old saying in sports, that you can only beat the team put in front of you. Even if the competition the Clan have faced hasn’t been of the highest caliber, they’re still winning the games they’re supposed to, and the win over Douglas improves SFU’s record to 4–1 on the year. “We need to get up for everybody, whether it’s conference winners or a community college. I like to evolve and learn from these games,” said Blake. With two more games against non-conference opponents, and five more at home before hitting the road, Blake’s squad will have plenty of learning opportunities, and are in good shape to keep up this early season success.

The SFU men’s hockey team took to the road over the Nov. 15 weekend for back-to-back games against the Eastern Washington University Eagles and Selkirk Saints. The latter was a marquee matchup between two of the BCIHL’s best teams, but SFU could not afford to look past the Eagles. And they didn’t: SFU dismantled EWU 7–1, but showed fatigue against Selkirk, falling 9–5. The first period of the Eagles’ game was quite even. SFU got on the board first with an Aaron Enns tally, but EWU responded just over a minute later when Uriah Machuga evened things up. Then SFU opened the floodgates in the second period. After Nick Sandor gave his team the lead 2:38 into the frame, SFU potted four more goals in just over four minutes, ending opposing goaltender Jason Greenwell’s night prematurely. This game was essentially over after 40 minutes, but Taylor Piller added a late powerplay goal in the third for good measure.

The story was quite different when the Clan hit the ice against the Saints. Selkirk came out flying, controlling the boards and winning battles for the puck all night. Saints Cody Fidgett and Beau Taylor gave Selkirk and early two-goal lead off of two quick shots that found their way past Clan netminder Andrew Parent. Taylor Piller’s goal

would keep SFU within striking distance before Fidgett restored the Saints two-goal lead as he cashed in off of a SFU turnover at their own blue line. Graham Smerek then muscled home SFU’s second goal, and Jono Ceci displayed all sorts of patience in finding the trailing Nick Sandor on an odd-man rush to tie the game at three. Sandor’s goal would result in SFU chasing their second goalie in as many nights, as backup Chris Hurry replaced James Prigione. Unfortunately for SFU, Saints’ head coach Jeff Dubois’ move of pulling his netminder seemed to spark the home side. The second period highlighted Selkirk’s speed and determination, as they out-muscled and out-skated the Clan for three goals in the period to gain a commanding 6–3 lead. SFU could not muster much offense as they had difficulty navigating through the neutral zone, and were forced to dump the puck in and chase it around. In the third, Cody Fidgett registered his fifth point of the night in style, skating end to end and right around the Clan’s defense, eventually finding a wide open Thomas Hardy in front for the easy tap in. Each team would add two more goals in the frame, but SFU had their great early season start halted by a 9–5 loss, their first of the season. Graeme Gordon is the unquestioned number one goalie for the Clan, and forward Trevor Milner had been a fixture on the top line much of the season, so it was curious to see both out of the lineup for the Saints game. SFU boasts a deep squad so, regardless of personnel, surrendering nine goals will not sit well with the Burnaby side. The Clan is back in action next weekend with a homeand-home against the surprising Trinity Western Spartans. TWU sits above SFU in the standings with two more points, but the Spartans having played four more games, so next week’s contests could go a long way in determining SFU’s spot in the standings.


SPORTS

The SFU men’s soccer team took to the pitch on Friday, in nearfreezing Denver, CO weather to face off against the University of California-San Diego Tritons. The winner of the game was to be crowned the NCAA Div. II West Region champion, and would punch their ticket to the final three rounds of the tournament. Trailing 1–0 late, three minutes from a heartbreaking end to their season, the SFU men’s soccer team orchestrated a comeback in the dying minutes to eke out a win — and a trip to the Elite Eight. The Clan entered the game with 69 goals on the year, leading the entire NCAA Div. II. But the Tritons, who had scored just 27 goals on the season, potted the game’s first goal. In the 26th minute, Triton Alessandro Canale fired a shot past SFU keeper Brandon Watson, forcing the Clan to play catch-up for the rest of the game. SFU’s attack came in waves, outshooting UCSD by a 2–1 margin, but the Clan couldn’t find the back of the net. As time ticked away, it looked like the Sweet 16 would be the end of the road for the Clan. But in the 87th minute, Jovan Blagojevic fired home a ball off a throw-in to knot the game at one apiece.

Blagojevic is making a name for himself by scoring big goals. Earlier this month, he scored a double overtime goal to clinch the Clan’s spot in the tournament and win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. This goal saved the Clan’s season — but he wasn’t the only hero on the night. After 90 minutes of regulation ran down, the two teams were headed for Golden Goal overtime. The two 10-minute

November 25, 2013

halves were representative of the game as a whole: the Clan got most of the shots, but couldn’t bury their opponent. After 110 minutes of play, the West Region champion would be determined by penalty kicks. The shootout wasn’t for the faint of heart. The teams traded goals, posts, and saves, and after the first five shooters, everything was even at three goals apiece. In the sudden-death sixth round, UCSD’s Will Plesko pushed his shot wide left, setting the stage for SFU’s Jules Chopin to clinch the win for the Clan. Chopin stepped up to the proverbial podium, and fired a shot low to the left corner that got behind Triton keeper Josh Cohen. And just like that, the Clan, off the foot of Chopin, had advanced to the Elite Eight, and were crowned West Region champions for the second straight year. SFU has had its fair share of dramatic victories this year. From Blagojevic’s goal against Seattle Pacific to win the conference, to Basso’s own double overtime goal in the round of 32, and now this, the Clan are playing memorable soccer. But, the biggest moments of the season are still to come.

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27


28 DIVERSIONS / ETC

Across 1. Subcontinental prefix 5. Head scratchers? 9. _____ and desist 14. A raised structure supported by pillars 15. “Losing My Religion� trio 16. Ancient Mesoamerican empire 17. A monophylum of large primates 18. The Golden State (abbr.) 19. Second word in the radio alphabet 20. Counterpart to stereo 22. Killer, humpback, and blue 25. Author and explorer Bancroft 27. Bowie’s fictional astronaut Major ___ 29. Vice president and An Inconvenient Truth star Al 30. A guardian deity in ancient Rome 32. A friend in France 33. Graveyard acronym 34. 19th century French author Zola 36. Adviser 38. “Hope There’s Someone� singer Hegarty 40. Black and white squawkers 42. Sherlock Holmes author, to his friends 43. To tell a falsehood 44. An Indigenous people based in Utah and Colorado 45. M*A*S*H star Alan

November 25, 2013

47. A division or unit of a drama 48. Satellite navigation system 50. 1980 musical starring Olivia Newton-John 53. Formal martial arts training place 55. Old school video game giant 58. The middle of the month in the Roman calendar 60. Andre the Giant’s graffitied command 63. September Zodiac sign 64. Illmatic rapper 65. Doctor Who companion Tyler 66. Capsized corporation 67. Workers union you’ve heard too much about 68. Aquatic Beatles single? Down 1. Hoppy beer style 2. ___ it in the bud 3. To judge or consider 4. Citizen Kane director Welles

6. Yo La Tengo guitarist Kaplan 7. Along with “door,� the most beautiful phrase in the English language 8. British record label, as sung by the Sex Pistols 9. Taxi 10. Vampire Weekend vocalist Koenig 11. Standing __ _ crossroads (two words) 12. Numeric cannibal 13. Tree hugger prefix 18. “_______ in the Sand,� 1969 Neil Young and Crazy Horse track 21. Domestic abode 23. Boisterous bounce 24. Spiderland rockers 25. The pigmented area around a human nipple 26. “Almost!� 27. Shakespeare’s The ______ of the Shrew 28. Legendary jazz double bassist Charles 31. College rock, abridged 33. Fancy wristwatch brand

35. Goes plundering in Harry Potter fashion 37. Funky teenage pharaoh 39. Mononymous Chelsea Girl songstress 41. A saint in Spain 42. Ritalin-countered ailment 46. Ed Wood actor Martin 49. Shirtless Russian ruler Vladimir 51. Icelandic singer-songwriter 52. Jason’s mythological ship 54. Double-reed woodwind 55. Street synonym (abbr.) 56. Pirate’s exclamation 57. An atom with a positive or negative charge 58. Corporate abbreviation 59. A sixth sense? 61. Foreign students take this 62. Casual affirmation Hope  to  see  you  there!


HUMOUR

November 25, 2013

humour editor email / phone

Brad McLeod humour@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

29

1st Place Winner of the Peak Humour Caption Contest


30 HUMOUR

TORONTO — Thanks to the overwhelming popularity of the recently instated month of Movember, massive reforms are on the way to ensure that the rest of the calendar keeps up with the current renaissance of growing silly hair styles. According to a press release from the International Calendar Committee, in order to maintain consistency with the newly replaced ‘November,’ the remaining 11 months of the Gregorian Calendar will have their names changed to reflect other forms of hair growth. “Everyone seems to get so excited by Movember and we just wanted to bring some of that enthusiasm to our other months,” explained ICC president Bill Franklin in a press conference this week. “Now instead of people having to feel sad about the end of Movember, they can forget about it and immediately start growing their Decemburns.” Although they are still in the planning stages, the new Gregorian calendar has been rumoured to also include the thrilling new months of Fullbearduary, Junefrow and Soulpatchember. “I think this will be a great opportunity to get people to identify with some of our less popular months,” Franklin told reporters. “I mean the ‘Movember’ label

instantly skyrocketed those 30 days to the top . . . who’s to say the same thing can’t happen to ‘Marchonchops’?” Although the news of the new calendar has been very well received by the public, eager to have more legitimate reasons for not shaving, the process is moving very slowly due to a number of debates raging at the ICC. According to sources close to the ICC there have been a number of quarrels between committee members over the naming of the months including a very heated argument over the new name of the twelfth month. “I’d probably hold off a little on those Decembeards, this calendar is still a long way from completion,” explained committee member, John Samos, before being interrupted by another member insisting that it was “Decembrow . . . hold off on your Decembrow!” Samos was then overheard screaming at the man about how “no one’s going to want to grow out their brow that close to Christmas” and then arguing with another man about how “Decemburns was too derivative of Marchonchops, not to mention Chinstrapril!”

Members of the ICC have also said that several other months are still being finalized as they have found it very difficult to come up

November 25, 2013

with eleven different hairstyles that kind-of sound like months. “It seemed easy at first, we came up with Soulpatchtember in a couple minutes, but a lot of them are really tricky,” explained ICC vice-president, Hal Krakow. “I mean, why does every goddamn month start with ‘j’?” Krakow explained that the original intention was to have every month in the new calendar’s name reflect a different form of facial hair but the idea was deemed “too difficult” after the month of “Goateectober” was a legitimate candidate to replace October. “I think going away from just facial hair might have been a huge mistake,” Krakow said regretting

ever taking a job at the ICC, which he’s not even sure is a real thing anymore, “Now it seems like everything is up for grabs to be changed, recently I’ve been hearing people say we should just eliminate the month of July because no form of hair growth fits nicely with it, isn’t that crazy?” This lack of respect for the current calendar was not met with resistance by everyone though, although some suspect that the fervent supporters of a lengthen ‘Junefrow’ are receiving kickbacks from hair salons who make a great deal of money from their “perm” sales. “I’m just saying, what if ‘Junefrow’ was 62 days?” argued ICC

president Franklin. “I mean, who knows the difference between June and July anyway? It’s like Nebraska and Iowa, what’s the point of separating them?” While the ICC is struggling to deal with all their problems, they maintain that the new calendar will be instated eventually and that they haven’t lost sight of the big picture. “Really, just like Movember this whole thing is just about doing something good for charity,” Franklin said, in a brief moment of calm. “We really believe that this calendar could help put an end to Malaria . . . I mean, world hunger? What is this for again? Prostate cancer? What the hell is that? And what does it have to do with moustaches?”


HUMOUR

VANCOUVER — A continuing decline in the sale of trenchcoats has left industry insiders befuddled. Though once popular among private detectives and all around cool people, now trenchcoat sales have reached an all-time low. “Trenchcoats have just not been selling,” stated Fred Sandersgaard, CEO of Trenchcoats and Cigarettes R Us, “I quite regret opening a store that sells only trenchcoats and cigarettes. There just does not seem to be a market for chain-smoking private-eyes these days.” Although its usage for looking cool while smoking was once a necessity for being hired by any detective agency, they were perhaps most known for their versatility. “They look so cool and are so multi-purposed,” said Turner Trenchcoat, a once successful trenchcoat salesman and a man so convinced of their greatness

November 25, 2013

31

that he changed his last name to Trenchcoat, “whether you’re solving cases, going to a porno, or just going for a good flash, you can’t leave your house without one!” Trenchcoats did suffer a decline for a brief period in the 60s, after chain-smoking no longer seemed as cool. But out with the cigarettes, came two new growing trends, public masturbation and flashing. But now, trenchcoat use is down amongst masturbators and flashers. In a National Perverts Society survey, only 40 per cent of flashers use a trenchcoat while a mere 10 per cent of masturbators continue to use them.

“Things just go out of style . . . it’s like once everyone wore suit and ties, and now everyone wears hoodies and stuff, no more fancy stuff, those pervs are just the same” said Scott Stewartson, an SFU student who was

quick to point out that he is “totally not a perv” and became defensive upon questions of his plans for his night. A flasher who wanted to remain anonymous but were just going to go ahead and tell you, it’s respected member of the community, John Fredrick, stated, “It’s hard to get anything done wearing a trenchcoat. I mean if I wear a trenchcoat it sends a signal that I’m a creep, never mind the fact that it’s late at night and

easy to fright anyways. You know, I got to be more subtle.” Despite giving a reason to the decline in trenchcoats, he refused to elaborate on how “he went about business” as he claimed that he would be giving away “trade secrets.” Perhaps, that is the problem, the target audience is too much of a secretive bunch. Though some are opposed to change, such as Mr. Trenchcoat, others are more receptive to the possibility of

change. A sales rep for Cheap Thrills Inc. was quoted as saying, “If we knew what they want, we’d give it to them . . . Those perverts are just too hard to market for.” Unfortunately, some are ultimately doomed to failure. “I haven’t had a sale in months,” Sandersgaard added, “Soon, I’ll have no choice but to fold up shop. Maybe after this is done I’ll go back to selling top hats and monocles, now that’s where the money is.”


32 LAST WORD

features editor email / phone

Max Hill features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

avid Guttenfelder, a photographer for the Associated Press, has sparked what might be one of the most illuminating glimpses into everyday North Korean society. Guttenfelder, cell phone in-hand, has been uploading photos of realtime Pyongyang straight from his phone to his Instagram account, while on an assignment in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Prior to January 2013, all visitors and tourists were prohibited from any type of cell phone use — upon arrival into the country, all cellular devices were initially confiscated at customs, making it nearly impossible for foreigners to have any contact with the outside world while in North Korea. This, however, has changed. The bigwigs of the Democratic Republic recently changed their policy on cell phone use in the country, enacting a relatively lax policy for visitors to the country with cell phones. They even flipped on a visitor-only 3G network that is allegedly not state-run or filtered in any way. This service is, predictably, inacessible for the North Korean population. This has made it easier than ever for visitors to utilize social media platforms while in North Korea. Through his simple, untreated photos of North Korean streets, statues and homes, Guttenfelder has begun to expose the nature of everyday life in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, through the use of his iPhone.

corners of the nation remain shrouded in mystery. By uploading photos of everyday Pyongyang and surrounding areas, Guttenfelder is opening not only his Instagram followers, but also the rest of the world, to a new perspective of North Korea. What really gets me, though, is how Guttenfelder has used such a simple and ubiquitous tool to this great an effect. It seems so effortless — many people in the Western world, myself included, use Instagram on a daily basis. The fact that Guttenfelder is able to expose the daily minutiae of arguably the most repressed authoritarian regime in the modern world through a free iPhone application is nothing short of mind-boggling. One question remains, though. Why? Why is the North Korean government — no stranger to repression, both political and social — allowing visitors to the nation to do this? Why is the notorious Party of the DPRK, enforcers of state-run internet as well as highly state-controlled tours of the country for foreigners, allowing Guttenfelder and others to come into the country and document everyday life for the world to see? The Party is obviously aware of what Guttenfelder is doing. They have eyes and ears all over the country. Why, then, is no one coming forward and stopping him? Though the vantage point of visitors to the DPRK remains limited, the freedom to use cell phone photography in the country offers us an absolutely unprecedented view of the nation. So, what gives?

Through the global platform of social media, Guttenfelder has been able to reveal images such as dismal, dark mornings in Pyongyang after widespread power shortages; candid photos of the North Korean police force going skating at a local ice rink; and, most shockingly, daycare centres playing military propaganda cartoons. What the photographer is ultimately doing, with the help of Instagram, is painting a more detailed image of North Korea, one that challenges our usual conceptions of the nation as a repressed, industrial wasteland. Amid the snapshots of indistinct concrete and empty shopfronts, there are also images of vibrancy and humanity: colourful folk dances, rollerblading children and a marriage. The fact that Guttenfelder is also able to “check in,” or tag his location on Instagram, is helping create a more defined and attuned image of what was once the blank slate of our North Korean map. Though many areas of North Korea have been identified by such services as Google Maps, many

In my eyes, there is only one explanation as to why the North Korean Party, with its intense media regulations on both domestic and foreign media content, would allow for everyday life in the capital to be released into the world via social media: they must be getting something out of it. What “it” is, we have no way of knowing — still, it seems naïve to suggest that the DPRK government is offering this personal agency to tourists for selfless reasons. This real-time Instagram exposure of North Korea is beginning to paint a more detailed and defined picture of the nation and its inhabitants. Though I am more than a bit skeptical as to the motive behind it all, one thing is for sure: things are slowly, but surely, changing in North Korea. Though these snapshots may not be enough to spark a full-scale uprising, I am excited to see the inevitable changes they bring about on a national and global level. Just look at the Arab spring — these days, an iPhone is more than enough to start a revolution.

November 25, 2013


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