Kickoff Kicks Ass

FIRST PEEK

September 28, 2015

“Enjoy your time here. You get what you put in, so work hard, but enjoy yourself. And first year doesn’t really matter.”

Nicole Doucette Fifth year political science

“Take whatever courses you want to.

Find out what you like. I wish I did that.”

Kiana Bartz Fourth year philosophy

I probably sucked at design during the beginning of my freelance career. I did need the experience they were offering. But once I began to get into the groove and understand what I was doing, it became apparent that this system of getting paid with experience was a load of crap.

I’m not necessarily sure why this is such a common theme amongst most budding artists around my age, but more often than not, we are asked to offer services for free in exchange for ‘experience.’

Employers and patrons devalue the work it takes in order to create, believing that providing ‘work experience opportunities’ is an acceptable enough payment for art. In one way or another, society has drilled into their minds the notion that art, or design, or anything remotely creative isn’t really ‘work’ in the traditional sense, and paying little to no money for it is normal. But it’s our fault, young artists. Because even when we’re offered piss poor compensation for our work, we do it anyway. Why? I can barely begin to tell you the amount of times I’ve been approached to do huge graphic design projects — productions that would amount to tons of hours of work — for free. And I hate to admit it, but I did take on quite a few of these projects in the past. Graphic design is a field that requires work experience to get hired. Every time I would get an offer, I would think of it as another notch in my belt, another portfolio piece. And in the beginning, it was.

Years of practice, training, schooling in my craft, thousands of dollars spent on my post-secondary education, and I’m still getting sleazy offers encouraging me to take on jobs ‘for the exposure’ or ‘the promise of future paying jobs.’

Artists, if anyone ever tells you either of these things, get out while you still can. Otherwise you’re simply reinforcing the idea that creative work isn’t worth the dough, and that all the time, blood, sweat, and tears you’ve channelled into developing your skill are worthless. If you’re not going to place value on your work, who will?

Obviously, sometimes we make art for the love of it. That’s how the whole career in art starts, right? You get inspired by the beauty of the things around you, you develop an eye for the

curiosities of life. You want to make art for yourself. This is an amazing, glorious feeling. But it also feeds into the whole ‘artists shouldn’t get paid’ ordeal.

Because if you’re an artist, you do it for the love of art.

People who will try and squeeze free services out of you will assume that you want to do it.

That creating art is it’s own reward, so really, why pay you? Aren’t we making you happy, because this is the thing you love doing?

This has never made sense to me.

A doctor can love what she’s doing, she can love healing people and solving the human body’s problems, but it doesn’t mean she is going to give you a carotid endarterectomy out of the goodness of her own heart. No, she is a professional, and professionals get paid. End of story.

If you want to be a professional artist, then you have to stop handing out free art like it’s candy on Halloween. Once you’ve honed your craft, doing free work will only make you negative money and dig your career an early grave. Bottom line is, if we all start to place value on our art, whether it be visual, film, design, music, or any other variety of creative media, then we can hopefully alleviate the stereotype of the starving artist and set a better precedent for future creatives.

“Eat healthy and go to the gym. You gotta make sure you take care of yourself first!”

Lauren Rietchel Fourth year kinesiology

“It’s about finding that balance between having fun but still getting things in on time.”

Michael Jonasson Graduate health sciences

“Know what you are doing and always ask yourself why you’re doing it. Once you figure out your purpose then everything else will come easy because you know why you’re doing it.”

Musaab Ahmed First year undeclared

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NEWS

September 28, 2015

news editor email

Melissa Roach news@the-peak.ca

associate news editor

Jamal Dumas

SFU Woodward’s will play host to a town hall meeting on Sept. 30 on the topic of “The Legal System and Drug Users.” The event will be from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre.

There will be a panel of experts and attendees will hear the perspectives of community members from our own Downtown Eastside.

After a year of uncertainty regarding how the Build SFU project would proceed, SFU students voted “yes” to both the Student Union Building (SUB) and Stadium projects at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in the West Gym on Tuesday, September 22.

The motions to approve a loan — also known as a debenture — for both the Stadium and Student Union Building were separated by the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) board of directors in response to criticism directed towards the Special General Meeting this past January, where a previous attempt to approve the project failed by a 10 per cent margin.

In contrast, students voted 86 per cent in favour of the SUB. The Stadium was approved by a slightly smaller margin, with 81 per cent of voters casting a “yes” vote.

The votes were preceded by nearly an hour and a half of debate between those advocating for the project and those opposing it. John Noonan, a registered Parliamentarian who was chosen as an external chair for the meeting, struggled to keep many of the students on topic throughout the discussion.

Colin Young, an SFU student, raised concerns over the meeting, noting lack of accessibility for students at satellite campuses and an inability for some to obtain accommodation from professors to attend the meetings. “Due to the fact that not every student is able to properly express their opinions on the topic, I don’t think that [the motion] should pass right now.

“Or ever,” he added.

Other criticisms raised by students included the cost of the student levy for the project, as well as what some felt was an undemocratic voting system. Peak contributor Tamara Connor echoed concerns over the financial burden on students. “I just don’t think this is in the realm of students’ affordability,” she argued.

VP Student Services Darwin Binesh, who was criticised by several students for his handling of both the AGM and the project itself,

The Vancouver International Film Festival is coming to SFU Surrey. “Deepa Mehta and Indira Prahst in Conversation” will feature an interview of Toronto filmmaker Deepa Mehta, who is known for “her rich, complex explorations of the cultural taboos and tensions at play in the society of her native India.”

The event will take place on Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the SFU Surrey Cinema.

was very frank in his defence of the motion. “We worked our asses off [on this project], and I’m sorry if it’s not good enough,” he said. “The people coming forward with concerns are the reason this project is better now than it was last year.

“There is more to university life than going to class, doing your readings, and going home,” he concluded.

Another notable supporter of the project was Anthony Janolino, a visually impaired SFU student who has advocated for increased accessibility on campus. Noting his role on SFSS Council as a representative of Students United for Disabilities Support, he defended Binesh as well as VP University Relations Brady Yano: “I gave them a hard time for months, and I respect that they did their best. I believe they have our best interests at heart.

“People are scared to embrace community [. . .] but the thing is, we need community,” he added.

After an hour of debate, former VP Student Services Zied Masmoudi motioned to call the question. Apart

from several abstentions, 405 of 472 students voted in favour of the SUB. As the votes were counted, Noonan shifted discussion towards the proposed Stadium, which would provide a 2,500 seat venue for the SFU Athletics program as well as for other recreational activities. Colin Woodbury, one of the founders of No To Build SFU, spoke against the motion, arguing that students should not be expected to pay for the project.“The Stadium will be university infrastructure.

Students have no business funding it, and the SFSS has no business making us,” he said.

One SFU student advocating for the Stadium project noted that it would serve more than the school’s sports program. “The Stadium is not just for athletes, it’s a chance for students to come together,” she argued.

Roughly 20 minutes into the debate, Masmoudi again motioned to call the question. Of the 428 votes cast, 347 yes votes were counted.

A proposed bylaw, which would ensure the SFSS could not rescind the Build SFU student levy, was also approved by 97 per cent of voters.

“A lot of students know this was anything but a representative vote,” a member of No to Build SFU said in a statement reflecting on the AGM. “The SFSS has utterly failed in their mandate to promote democratic participation in the interest of, as they themselves stated, ‘push[ing] this project forward.’”

SFSS President Enoch Weng noted that, despite the project’s approval, his feelings about the AGM were mixed. “I do feel happy, because this is history made. We are advancing the project, and addressing student concerns that have been raised over decades. [. . .] But at the same time, I’m aware that students have problems and concerns.”

Weng noted that the board is committed to addressing students’ issues with the SUB and Stadium.

“We always want constructive criticism,” he added.

Speaking to the immediate future of the project, however, Weng expressed optimism. “This is actually when the consultation for students amps up,” he said.

“Now we get to ask students what should go into this building, what they want.”

As a part of the SFU History Department’s “1965: Reflections on 50 Years of History” lecture series, SFU Vancouver is holding a talk by Tariq Ali, called “Critical Uprisings, Crucial Events: The Significance of 1965” at the Segal Building downtown.

Ali will discuss the cultural tumult of SFU’s birth year at 6:30 p.m., and will also be signing copies of his written work.

Reserve your space to this free event online.

NEWS

It was reported by Finance and Administration Committee chair David Poole that for 2016 and 2017 the monthly residence fees will be raised by 2.1 per cent.The university conducted a market analysis that looked at factors such as the location and condition of units to help arrive at this number.

Noted Poole, “This is line with market rates and The British Columbia Residential Tenancy Act that has set the allowable rent increase for that period as inflation, plus two per cent.”

Later on in the meeting, the August closure of the Louis Riel House residence was discussed in VP Academic Jon Driver’s report to the board. Said Driver, “I have not heard any concerns expressed since the formal closure of that building, so I think that people are satisfied with what we did, even if they’re not particularly happy.”

President Andrew Petter added later on that UniverCity may be considering the development of low-end market rental housing that “would be built with needs of graduate students and students with families in mind.”

In the report from the Responsible Investment Committee, which just had its third meeting, it was noted that the last session featured a presentation

by Raj Chatterjee and Leena Hasan of SFU 350, a student group devoted to advocating for the university to divest from fossil fuels.

The presentation prompted “robust discussion” in the committee and included information such as a history of the divestment movement. Concerns were expressed about shareholder engagement as a strategy by the group and using a negative screening strategy was instead encouraged by SFU 350.

Petter noted that no decisions were made at this session: “This information was taken to help inform the committee’s ongoing deliberations to better understand what the [strategies] are, so at future meeting we may be in a better position to consider some options to make recommendations back to the board.”

September 28, 2015

An estimated 1,850 students crowded the Convocation Mall on Friday night for the largest Fall Kickoff yet, and one of the largest concerts the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) has ever hosted.

“We almost sold out,” said VP Student Life Deepak Sharma. “We’ve never done that before, where we have no hard tickets left, no online tickets left. That’s the largest number we’ve had in history.”

A short time after five o’clock, the show opened with local DJ NuBe, followed by fellow DJ Guiliano Rascan at 5:30 p.m.

For most of the first two acts, there was not a large crowd. However, people started to file in during the third act, Sleepy Tom, a Squamish-born DJ who charmed the audience with a laidback presence and some shocking revelations.

“I was here for one year, but dropped out,” Sleepy Tom shared with the slowly growing crowd. “Good to be back.”

“I feel like I didn’t party enough,” he said of his time at SFU. Earlier in the day, the SFSS announced that there would be no “beverage garden,” due to “circumstances beyond [their] control.” For some, it was a deterrent, including one anonymous student on Chitter who remarked, “Wait so no beer at fall kickoff? Maybe I’ll pass.”

Sharma explained, “This morning, unforeseen circumstances took place where we weren’t in the position to have a beverage garden.”

He continued, “I was very upset about it, because it adds to the experience of the event — SFU students here are very responsible, it’s not like they’re going to go into the beverage garden and be a bunch of hooligans.”

However, judging by the free-flowing smell of liquor in the air, and a few overly happy dancers, the last minute change did not appear to be much of a hindrance to a good time.

“If you go out there, and you see still, lots of people having the times of their life. We just

news editor email

Melissa Roach news@the-peak.ca

threw the biggest concert in SFU history, it didn’t hurt the event,” said Sharma.

The fourth act was Botnek, a Montreal-based duo who describe their musical genre as “mp3.” Among the songs they played were “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” the Rocky theme song, and the always crowd-pleasing “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which allowed the audience to join in on the “galileos.”

The fifth performer, Big Data, brought a welcome change of pace with a Brooklyn, NY-based electropop and indie rock band.

The group kept with the electronic theme of the night, but brought some quality instrumentation and high-powered vocals.

“We always end up doing electronic dance music or DJs, just because they’re a lot more inexpensive than someone like Hedley or Coldplay, or even nearby bands that would add variety to it,” Sharma said.

“It was different than what we’ve done before [. . .] it’s [a] right step towards changing and diversifying our membership, and accommodating all membership, I don’t want to accommodate just one niche or group, I want to accommodate everyone.”

The concert wrapped up with Vancouver-based DJ Felix Cartal. The crowd, at this point, was jumping up and down, playing with the multiple balloons in the air.

However, the night didn’t end with the concert. An after party held at 10 p.m. featured an encore Botnek, marketed as a top secret mystery guest.

associate news editor

Jamal Dumas

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6 NEWS

SFU IT Services (ITS) is currently working to implement PaperCut, a card-less system, to all of their printers in the libraries and computer labs.

This will replace the current print card system which has been in place for 20 years.

Desktop Services manager and PaperCut project manager Allen Murray explained that rather than constantly replacing and repairing the old card readers and dispensers — which can cost between $1,500 and $2,000 each — ITS made the decision to upgrade the entire system.

“PaperCut is used by many universities all over the world and it seemed to be [. . .] the best product out there at this time for an online type of system,” said Murray.

One of the main differences between the old system and PaperCut

September 28, 2015

is the option to pay for printing using a credit card through an online account. This part of the system was “soft-launched” this month, and so far approximately 200 to 300 students have set up accounts.

Students will also have the option to add cash to their PaperCut printing accounts at a “loader” machine, which will function in a manner similar to the old card dispensers.

The printing process will be similar to the current one, as students will still enter their account credentials at a print terminal to release their documents.

“It’s a pretty nice little system,” said Murray. “It shows you what you’ve printed. When you put money into your account there’s a transaction history and a print job history that lets you see exactly how much you’ve spent.”

ITS hoped to have everything set up by the start of the semester so that new students wouldn’t have to purchase print cards.

However, the cash payment side of the system was not ready due to a last-minute decision to change the specific model of the loaders that will allow students to add cash to their accounts.

Murray explained that they are currently testing a new loader model manufactured by the

[WEST VANCOUVER] — The Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) has established a new program called Change the Conversation. This program aims to focus on the more positive aspects, news, and successes of the campus.

The Capilano University’s student society started this program in order to move past issues between faculty, staff, and Capilano administration, which have been occupying the news’ mainstage. In addition, students will be able to participate in Change the Conversation by contributing their own content.

CSU Student Senate Representative Ben Glassen, who is spearheading the initiative, explained, “We realized that any effort to bring back positive news coverage to Cap should be a grassroots student led initiative.”

With files from Capilano Courier

Canadian company ITC Systems prior to installing them for student use. The goal is to have the cash loaders in place at all three campuses and in the libraries for the start of the Spring semester.

Murray noted, “One of the hassles of this [transition] is going to be phasing out the card, obviously.” ITS plans to stop selling print cards by January once all of the cash loaders are in place.

The library and ITS are working out a way to reimburse the $1 deposit for the cards — however, any additional funds on the card will not be transferable or refundable.

The card reader system will remain running parallel to PaperCut in the labs and libraries for at least two additional semesters to give students an opportunity to use up any remaining funds on their print cards.

“Two semesters should accommodate most people, but even at that point if we get feedback from students that [. . .] there’s still cards out there, we could leave one printer somewhere with a card [reader] on it, so that they could still use it until we know that it’s all cleaned up.”

Murray referred to the PaperCut FAQ webpage as a

[WATERLOO] — Waterloo Regional police are investigating cases involving pedestrians being shot at with pellets from a BB gun near the University of Waterloo campus, possibly for the fourth time.

On Sept 14, two pedestrians heard the sounds of a pellet gun but police were unable to find any pellets or a gun. The first reported attack, on September seventh, resulted in a student suffering a serious injury to the eye.

Further incidents were reported, though fortunately no one was injured. The police reminded the public to “be cautious in the area and to be aware of their surroundings.”

With files from The Imprint

primary resource for students, which outlines the system in detail and is frequently being updated as they work out specifics and receive new questions and feedback.

All SFU’s computers have shortcut links on the desktop leading to the FAQ page, as well as to the Moneras page that allows students to add funds to their account using a credit card.

Regarding the transition process in general, Murray said, “There’s going to be a little bit of pain, just like starting anything new.”

[CALGARY] — University of Calgary (U of C) is in dispute with the Students’ Union over who rightfully owns MacEwan Hall (“MacHall”), a concert hall on U of C campus.

Negotiations over the management started two and a half years ago, with the agreement expiring on December ninth.

“We have a pretty strong set of facts on our side as far as ownership goes and we think it’s fair that students know about it,” said Students’ Union President Levi Nilson. U of C Provost Dru Marshall expressed disappointment with the union’s position, adding “The U of C will continue to negotiate with the SU in good faith, and is committed to achieving a fair and equitable agreement for the operation of MacHall.”

With files from The Gauntlet

[FREDERICTON] — Thirty professors at St. Thomas University are trying to raise money to sponsor a Syrian family of refugees to live in Fredericton.

“There’s enough support coming in that I’m pretty sure that we’ll be able to support one family,” said sociology professor Sylvia Hale. “It’s not someone else’s problem. [. . .] We have some sort of direct responsibility to help people whose lives are being ruined.”

With files from The Aquinian

NEWS

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September 28, 2015

POLI-TALKIN’

Democratic reform, voter participation, and the environment took centre stage in a town hall with Green party candidates SFU professor Lynne Quarmby, Claire Martin, and environmentalist David Suzuki.

The meeting on Wednesday night, held in Images Theatre on Burnaby Campus, was organized to allow the crowd of about 150 students and voters to ask the candidates questions directly.

As part of the developing campaign story, the town hall sought to foster conversation between voters and the parliamentary hopefuls.

Quarmby is running in Burnaby North — Seymour,

Jamal Dumas Associate News Editor SFU’s second annual Indigenous Day was celebrated on September 24 by Aboriginal peoples from all over BC in a day filled with music, food, and culture.

The event was organized by the First Nations Student Association (FSNA), which began planning in May, and was sponsored by the FNSA, the Office for Aboriginal People, CJSF 90.1 FM, and the SFSS. FNSA Treasurer and event organizer Laura Forsythe explained how the event almost didn’t go ahead: “Unfortunately, [the] SFSS had decided that they also wanted to have their kickoff party the day after our event, which almost ended the annual indigenous day.”

However, after negotiations the event went ahead as

and Claire Martin is running in North Vancouver. The election is on October 19.

To begin the event, Suzuki offered a passionate call for young voters to act because “youth has everything at stake in this election.” Although he describes himself as nonpartisan, he plainly stated his opposition to the current government by telling the audience, “I just want Harper to get the hell out of office.”

As his speech went on, Suzuki grew more candid. While retelling a story of how he had met Harper in the late 1980s, he let slip that he told the politician, “Mr. Harper, you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

Martin jested later in the evening, “I didn’t know we could swear!”

Distrust of politicians and distaste for the current state of affairs in Ottawa was a common theme as the candidates described their thoughts and why they decided to run for the Green Party.

Quarmby expressed that if politicians were doing their job

faithfully, she wouldn’t have to leave science and run. She continued to say that the Green Party was the only party she could run for, being “the only party that can freely represent their constituents.”

Quarmby’s decision to run has had an effect on the campus

over the course of this election.

Her campaign signs and buttons can be found all over campus, some even hanging from faculty office name-plates.

Michael Vegh, co-president of SFU Greens and Quarmby’s campus campaign organizer

said that student support has been strong since the SFU Greens was founded in Spring 2015 and added, “Week by week [support] keeps growing.”

The town hall ended with a question and answer period.

The topics ranged from tuition fees, unemployment, and the contentious subject of strategic voting. Several times, attendees also referred to the Green Party’s election platform.

The document, released on September 9, promises an end to tuition, the repealing of Bill C-51, and a bold action on climate.

Quarmby expressed confidence in these promises: “I know what I offer is what people want.”

The recurring theme that overshadowed all others was voter participation. Martin explained that by not voting in the election, citizens were in effect casting a vote on the status quo.

She concluded that in acknowledgement of candidates’ effort to inform voters with events such as this, she asked that participants “[do] us the honour and vote.”

planned, and featured a sixhour program accompanied by 44 vendors selling items ranging from clothing and jewellery to salmon and artwork.

A highlight of the day was the 14 different performing groups from all over Canada, including hip-hop artists and dancing groups who performed in front a 32 foot longhouse set, specially constructed in Convocation Mall for the event.

Significant effort was made to engage educational institutions in the day’s festivities.

Seven school districts and three universities and colleges were in attendance. In the morning a catcher workshop taught nearly 600 students and others how to make dreamcatchers.

Forsythe commended the fact that the day grew from last year, which saw 2,000 individuals in attendance. “We had twice as many vendors, we had two additional hours for the performers, and we had numerous schools [in attendance],” said Forsythe.

Planning of the event began through the FNSA Indigenous Day committee, composed of 15 students, including Forsythe herself. “We basically put

together contacts and put a call out to the indigenous community and said, ‘This is something we want to do here on campus. Do you want to be [a] part of it?’” said Forsythe.

Special attention was paid to respecting indigenous culture.

Forsythe noted that the planning committee in addition to all the performers and vendors were indigenous. She added, “We respected our own culture, by simply being ourselves and being proud of our culture.”

Forsythe remarked, “Four years ago, when I joined this university in 2011, we didn’t have this type of event. We had one teepee and one elder in the AQ for the afternoon and we sat there.” She further acknowledged that while a lot of work still needs to be done, “there has been a lot of work to reconcile and to be more respectful of the indigenous community here on campus.”

Forsythe succinctly broke down what the day’s celebrations added to the SFU community.

Said Forsythe, “for the nonindigenous community I think it gives them the opportunity to have a glimpse of [. . .] the diversity that there is in the indigenous community especially

when you’re having Cree, and Mohawk, and Tlingit, and Kwakwaka’wakw performers and vendors.”

She elaborated on what this event did for SFU’s indigenous

community: “It allows us to share our culture, but also to have pride in our culture and express that we’re still here and very much alive and very much thriving.”

TUESDAY

OCT 6

VANCOUVER VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE 2 pm - 6 pm

SEMINARS start at 1 pm

www.studyandgoabroad.com

8 NEWS

September 28, 2015

A study co-authored by SFU biology professor Wendy Palen, a long-time researcher of amphibians in the region, has developed and demonstrated a new method

to project climate-induced changes in the mountain wetlands — and the projections do not look promising for the future of these delicate ecosystems or our amphibian friends.

The study collected data from 121 wetland sites and measured multiple environmental variables to learn more about the types of mountain wetlands that were sampled and the variety of life that they sustain.

Palen explained, “This year we’ve seen that the lack of winter snowpack and high summer temperatures have resulted in massive breeding failures and the death of some adult frogs.” While the ecosystems provide habitats for a wide range of plant and animal species, amphibians are one of the hardest hit groups because of their life cycles.

Mountain wetlands are categorized by how much water they lose throughout the year.

This is because changes in the

New research from SFU has demonstrated that the nervous system is continuously optimizing energy use, taking a ‘lazy’ approach in order to be more energy efficient.

SFU professor of biomedical physiology and kinesiology Max Donelan with his colleagues conducted experiments testing certain theories about how people learn how to move.

One theory they have generated is that the nervous system doesn’t move as accurately as it could. Instead, it is constantly monitoring movement and will often compromise accuracy in order to save energy.

Jessica Selinger, an SFU PhD candidate and lead author of the paper, described how the team tested this theory. Selinger’s research was published in Current Biology this month.

“We asked participants to wear a robotic exoskeleton that made certain abnormal ways of walking energetically easier than walking in a ‘normal’ way. They accomplished this by applying high energetic penalties to ‘normal’ ways of walking, and much smaller penalties to specific abnormal way of walking.”

The researchers found that soon after participants were exposed to the robotic exoskeleton, they changed the way they walked. They noted that the characteristics of walking are well-established in individuals, and that the speed at which participants changed the way they walked was very quick. They concluded that this indicates that the nervous system is constantly trying to optimize energy use.

Selinger spoke to the practical implications of her researcher: “The

Research out of SFU has shown that hot and dry summers with minimal snowpack are putting pressure on the wetland ecosystems among the Pacific Northwest mountains.

water level will influence the way the environments are used in the ecosystem: as watering holes, breeding grounds, and permanent habitats.

Based on the projections from the study, 58 per cent of wetlands that are currently only dry in the late summer are expected to become ephemeral (seasonal) wetlands; these do not stay wet long enough

drive to continuously seek energetic optima presents challenges and opportunities for rehabilitating and augmenting human movement.”

She explained that rehabilitation of those who suffer from gait disorders (disordered walking) could, instead of focusing on

during the year to sustain animal populations.

Therefore, many fast-growing species of amphibians that depend on these climate-vulnerable ponds will be put at risk.

According to Palen, “More years like 2015 do not bode well for the frog.” The Cascades frog is at a particular risk and is currently being evaluated for listing under the endangered species act.

These projection models will serve as a first step towards filling a gap in wetland research, conservation, and assessment. Using the new techniques developed for this study, land managers will be able to gather important information to track and predict the impacts of climate change on not only the amphibians, but all the other life that depend on these oases in the mountain to survive.

restoring symmetric movement, focus on “reshaping underlying energetic landscapes” by using technology to make a symmetrical gait that is energy efficient.

Selinger added, “Our findings also have important implications for the recent and

exciting push to design and build robotic exoskeletons to improve human performance.”

Selinger commented on whether the ‘laziness’ or energy efficiency of the nervous system could also apply to other characteristics such as thinking, talking, or decision making.

“We think that minimizing energetic cost is a principle that guides most of our movements. While it may play a particularly big role in walking, we suspect that the nervous system is always concerned about it, even for lower cost tasks like reaching or standing.”

Selinger hinted that the ability to optimize movements to reduce energy use may have been an important survival strategy.

While we live in a culture where calorie heavy foods are widely available, that certainly wasn’t the case for our prehistoric ancestors. She speculated that the nervous system’s goal of reducing energy expenditure may have helped stave off starvation.

NEWS

The curator for The UnmaskED Project at SFU Vancouver is so involved in her art, she is literally part of the exhibit.

Clare Sieffert, an international studies student at SFU, has put together the UnmaskED Project. The “ED” is purposely stylized as such to stand for ‘eating disorders.’

The photography collection is being displayed at the entrance to the SFU’s Harbour Centre campus. It is made up of strikingly intimate portraits of people who have a history with eating disorders.

The exhibition is designed to show viewers that eating disorders can affect anyone, regardless of how they look. Sieffert aims to help tackle the stigmas surrounding the issue.

Included in the eighteen subjects for the display is Sieffert’s own portrait.

“I really do think it was a double standard, like absolute hypocrisy, to not be willing to put myself and my relationship with food out

SFU’s LGBTAQ+ interest group Out on Campus (OOC) welcomed students to the new school year with an Open House on Wednesday, September 23.

The event featured an informational session about the space and the upcoming events, and gave students a chance to mingle with others whom they might be volunteering alongside in the future.

OOC is a part of the Simon Fraser Student Society that works to reduce discrimination and oppression of LGBTAQ+ people within the university and greater community

September 28, 2015

there,” said Sieffert. “That’s very self-centered to think that my relationship with food is more complex and more difficult than other people’s relationship.”

She continued, “If I’m asking people to put themselves out there, then I should be willing to do the same.”

At first glance, the portraits can blend into the background — a striking metaphor for those who are silently suffering, Sieffert explained.

For those who take the time to observe the large faces displayed at the entrance, they’ll notice the prompts directing them to UnmaskED’s website, where all participants have answered the same three main questions: what role food has in their life,

through a variety of programs, resources, and events.

Within the space, there is a library connected to the SFU Women’s Centre and the Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group with over 2000 resources, as well as a variety of safer sex supplies available. The staff offer peer support and crisis referral.

This fall, OOC staff member Marion Roberts is running three workshops as part of the Positive Space Network. These workshops are open to anyone, free of charge, and designed to educate individuals on gender and sexuality topics, especially those relevant to the LGBTAQ+ community.

The safe space, free from oppressive language and behaviour according to staff member Firas Al-Tahan, is open to everyone within the SFU community.

Regardless of whether or not you were able to make it to the Open House, the staff encourage students to come out to their

future events and consider getting involved with their work.

Interested students can get involved through their volunteer programs. All new volunteers go through a volunteer orientation and training day, and find the volunteer commitment that fits best with their interests and availability.

From volunteering in the OOC lounge, liaising between the different Rotunda groups, and volunteering in Surrey, there are a variety of options for students to get involved this semester.

Another opportunity for students to get involved is through the decision-making body called the collective. OOC Volunteer and Program Coordinator Devyn Davies explained that there are no stringent guidelines or time restrictions in regards to joining the group that makes decisions about the space. “If you are interested in collective, there: you are a member of [the] collective now.”

[Sieffert] calls her relationship with food one that is love/hate.

how people saw eating disorders in their life, and what advice would help best if they were currently struggling.

The photo exhibition features people from all over the world, with four continents and nine different countries represented.

Everyone featured has experience with eating disorders, but has not necessarily suffered from one themselves, and so it gives a fairly complex spectrum of the views associated with these issues.

Sieffert was first diagnosed with an eating disorder as a teen,

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and in her responses on the website calls her relationship with food one that is love/hate.

She said that she volunteered to undertake this project because of the empathy she has towards anyone who is experiencing what she first went through, from how it shapes her patterns in everyday life to how she sees the world.

“I hope to reach out to the broader community,” she said.

“It’s not just saying ‘Here are these faces,’ [instead] it’s ‘Here is myself and people I know, and we want to talk about eating disorders.’”

She continued, “It makes it more of an open invitation for people to engage with the project because they can connect with somebody. [. . .] It further helps to humanize the project by incorporating someone who is so close to the community.”

Sieffert’s is just one of the 18 stories featured, and the exhibit provides a learning experience for those who are unaware of what life with an eating disorder can mean.

The UnmaskED Project will be at the Harbour Centre from now until Oct. 5 and is being put on with the support from the Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre, SFU Health and Counselling, and SFU Vancouver Administration.

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OPINIONS

Maybe it’s a good thing I’m currently unemployed, or else I might have my bosses monitor me while I’m writing this article.

That is probably a tad hyperbolic, but it might not be within a few years, depending on companies who are pioneering 24-hour employee monitoring.

As first reported by CBC in May, businesses like Buffer in California and The Outside View over in the UK are providing their employees with wristwatches that allow them to monitor things like sleeping habits, exercise, nutrition, and happiness (which would be interesting to see how they quantify). That information is then shared for purposes of increasing productivity and efficiency, and other reasons you’d likely hear your ex say when you catch them creeping on your life when it clearly isn’t appropriate.

Vameesha Patel, president of the Human Resources Student Association at SFU, ultimately believes that it is okay for our employers to find out more information about us, but said that she wouldn’t like being monitored, and that this can be detrimental to workplace efficiency.

“This is harmful to overall company morale, which as a student studying Human Resource Management, is crucial to the success of an organization,” said Patel through email correspondence. “Without company morale amongst the workers, there can’t be trust, and if there is no trust, then how efficiently and effectively does the company accomplish its goals?”

There needs to be a very solid line between your corporate life and your private life, unless you want to totally give up those boundaries personally. Despite how preachy he came off, Karl Marx was more or less right in The Communist Manifesto when he suggested that defining ourselves by our labour’s worth is to alienate ourselves as an individual in an ultimately capitalist society.

Some folks do, as you can see by incredibly dedicated artists, performers, and — to a lesser extent — professional athletes. However, many of them chose to go into those professions, and don’t have direct employers with whom they have a relation.

If you think this whole thing comes off as creepy and overbearing, you’re not alone. There are also huge security risks associated with this.

Since that information is being collected and stored, it is also available to be uncovered without consent. Just ask people who have had their nudes leaked or their Ashley Madison accounts exposed what

“Blood, it’s in you to give.” We have all heard this advertising pitch from Canadian Blood Services before, but what we don’t hear is the invisible asterisk for the fine print regarding who can and cannot donate blood.

There are two specific groups of people who are unable to donate blood — not due to any underlying medical reason, but due to sexual

orientation. Any man, which they define by their “current anatomic sex,” who has had sex with another male (MSM) within the past five years is banned from donating blood, due to this being an act that allegedly places those people at a higher risk of infection from HIV. While HIV/AIDS is a bloodborne infection, the new testing that Canadian Blood Services implemented in 2001 can detect HIV in the blood as early as two weeks after infection, yet the ban is still in place after five years. While this is better than the ban that is in place in the US — where the ban is for life — it is significantly worse than Australia, where the ban is only for a year.

The length of the Canadian ban prevents males and trans women, who are otherwise healthy, from donating blood based solely on

September 28, 2015

opinions editor email

Adam Van der Zwan opinions@the-peak.ca

having your personal information ripped away from you feels like.

One foreseeable future is that people who don’t have typical eating or sleeping habits could become exposed. Not a big deal if you’re neurotypical, but that becomes an incredibly large risk if your company or

hackers find out your struggles with mental illness or anything else by monitoring the data on your personal life. Despite what we’d like to believe about ourselves, we human beings aren’t progressive enough to move past the stigmas surrounding mental health to let it affect job

security, much less how we actually treat one another.

Maybe down the road, we’ll be able to perfect this technology so it doesn’t come across as invasive and stalker-ish, but for now the working class just isn’t ready to be subjected to employers monitoring who we are through constant vigilance.

those with whom they have sex.

This ban, which seems to be based completely on the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and was reduced to five years from a lifetime ban in 2013, does not seems to acknowledge other groups who may not be included in the high-risk HIV/AIDS category, but are still engaged in high risk sexual practices.

friends pointed out, “A girl could go and have sex with the whole hockey team and then give blood, but because I’ve had [healthy] sex with someone I’ve been in a monogamous relationship with for the past year I won’t be able to give blood just because we are both men.”

This comment has always struck me; what makes one group of people allowed to engage in high-risk sex and still donate blood while another group cannot?

Other activities, such as getting tattoos, piercings, or having acupuncture with non-disposable sterilized needles — all of which carry a high risk of hepatitis C infection — only have a sixmonth ban attached to them.

Canadian Blood Services needs to reassess the length of the ban that they place upon men and trans women who have had sex with men. It seems grossly unfair to place one group of people who engage in high-risk sex activities under a long-term ban when others are still able to donate blood.

The testing that is currently in place should be more than enough to prevent any infected blood from entering into the system, and to keep those receiving blood safe. A new policy should state that MSM individuals simply be tested for HIV and AIDS before donating blood, or, at the very most, reduce the ban to one year, as it is in Australia and the UK. It’s upsetting to hear of such discrimination in medical practice, and it makes me reconsider just how fair or progressive our country really is.

For instance, a female who has had multiple sexual partners is allowed to donate blood as long as there was no exchange of money or drugs for sex. As one of my gay

OPINIONS

The date was 2011, in the heyday of the Occupy movement which called for an end to social and economic inequality. In a knee-jerk reaction to a protest, police forcibly removed a group of Occupy protesters in Montreal who handcuffed themselves to an outdoor kitchen outside a public square.

Without being charged of any crimes, the protesters were detained, then released shortly after without charge, bearing a number marked on their hands in invisible UV ink, penned without their consent or foreknowledge. This month, the Quebec Court of Appeal concluded

September 28, 2015

— wrongfully, in my opinion — that the rights of these squatters had not been violated.

Beyond being ethically questionable, this method is a dehumanizing yet increasingly familiar experience in the Western world of ubiquitous surveillance and antagonistic policecitizen relations.

I can attest to a human application of this method in history: notably the slave trade in colonial United States, where they branded slaves to signify ownership and control, and more recently the Holocaust, where those in Nazi death camps were similarly branded.

This procedural method for future identification has implications of control, highlighted in this very grim history.

While our freedom of liberty and security is guaranteed in the Canadian Charter, unfortunately, marking citizens with invisible ink skirts a loophole in the law. As Quebec court judge Sylvain Coutlée pointed out in the trial, this process neither harms the person, nor explicitly contravenes any legal rights. As a matter of analogy, he compared the process to ‘being stamped’ upon entry

to a nightclub; an innocuous process for easier individual identification.

There are obvious holes in his analogy. Contextually, a public square fundamentally differs from a nightclub in that the public space is open for wider citizen benefit, whereas a nightclub is in the business of making money from clients.

The nightclub entry-stamp functions to differentiate paying clients from non-paying; in the police procedural, the intent is to differentiate innocent citizens from demonstrators.

Police tag identification stresses power relations between state and citizen, and has covert suggestions of threat as a message.

This method becomes even more ethically questionable when the question of consent enters the discussion. The body is personal property in the strictest sense of personhood.

The police have therefore little right to violate this property.

As police require a warrant for access to private property, and to administer DNA tests, the non-consensual marking of the protestors indicates a level of distrust and power abuse. Especially so when the purposes are for future identification on charges of suspicion.

Since the ink is clearly visible at the right moments — the moment of inspection by authority — the mark plays part in a dehumanizing

process that reduces the person to a possible offender. What makes the mark worse is its durability. According to the news website Salon, one protester stated that the mark would not wear off with extensive rinsing and soap. The mark persists, both physically and mentally.

While I feel these protesters were indeed violated, encouragingly, I have not read testimony of further usage of invisible UV ink. However, as a one-time method introduced in the context of our surveillance society of NSA revelations, radical Occupy movements, and cop-community tensions, this procedural misconduct fits our constantly surveilled time period like a piece of the puzzle.

Justin Stevens Ah, the compass; the oldschool equivalent to an iPhone and the number one choice of swag for the ever-so-extravagant pirates and buccaneers of the seven seas. Who would have thought a little magnet adrift in a small saucer of water would become so intrinsically

valuable in the fine art of navigation? What started as an occultist contraption dating as early as 206 BCE has now become the saving grace of novice hikers everywhere.

Though we live in an age of google maps and GPS, it is hard to deny that this meager and

archaic device is still pretty damn cool. While camping and hiking gear becomes more and more high tech, a certain level of nostalgia will always be prevalent for the historically invaluable piece of technology we have come to know as the compass.

From the same corporate nitwits who brought you inopportune track maintenance times and putridly prolonged commutes to university, I present to you the Compass Card, the most worthless piece of plastic since your maxed out credit card.

Behold TransLink’s ductile blue travesty, guaranteed

to make tumultuous travel all the more odious and nonsensical. Prepare yourself for the caterwaul of conspiracy theorists as they moan that Translink is monitoring their prosaic movements throughout the lower mainland.

And accumulate a lovely grab bag of bacterial sediment as you

swipe your unprotected compass card on a turnstile that has been tapped more than a promiscuous bongo drum. However, there is one bright side to all of this: you are now in the possession of something that will make your Rattata Pokémon trading card seem like a treasurable gem by comparison.

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Tuesday veggie lunch Wednesday Thursday 11:30 - 2 :30 At Forum Chambers

12 OPINIONS

As a busy student, one must explore various avenues that can aid in taking the edge off of university life. If all else fails, however, you can always count on a Facebook confessions page to release your frustrations.

For some time now, the SFU Confessions Facebook page has offered solace to students wishing to express major grievances as well as lighter sentiments, such as ‘bae goals,’ anonymously. Recently however, an alliance from various Canadian universities consolidated the demand for anonymous posting by producing a new app called Chitter.

Having used Chitter for about two weeks so far, I couldn’t help but question whether this new development would maintain

In hindsight it’s all so clear, but looking forward, it’s as cloudy as a November morning in Vancouver. University is somewhat of a big deal, and as you go through it you become better at it. But for the newcomers who are scared or hesitant, I have some advice on how you can conquer it.

First things first: majors. Deciding on a major is a big deal, but it doesn’t have to eat away at you during your first year.

While all of your credits ‘count’ in university, you can spend a little time figuring it out at the start. Since you’ll have to complete 120 credits regardless of your major, and since most majors only consume roughly 80–90 credits, you have some leg room for other courses.

the experience many students seem to yearn for on confession pages. Is introducing Chitter pointless? Or are there aspects that will enhance the juicy experience of university chatter?

The new application boasts merits such as a self-moderated forum via a voting system, ensuring only the posts appealing to the majority of the users appear. This implies that users don’t have to send their confessions to a moderator, instead they can go straight to the Chitterverse for approval. I personally find that this feature happily democratizes the experience of anonymous posting.

Secondly, it helps that there are different sections for different

This isn’t to say you should just write your first year off by taking every random course there is. But you shouldn’t sweat those first two semesters.

For your first year, take some courses towards what you think you might major in, and take a few outside that particular field. Also, remember that no

September 28, 2015

interests on the app. This particular feature is reminiscent of Reddit, making the app organized and relatable. With the various sections also comes a separate window where the top anonymous posts from the involved Canadian universities are highlighted — of which the University of Alberta seems to lead often, given that it was created there.

Overall, I find that the app is a more unified way to foster a Canada-wide sense of solidarity among university-goers who can now see just how similar their struggles are compared to other campus dwellers.

Despite these positive aspects, think about the larger picture. The app is not SFUcentric, so it gives a sense of detachment. Furthermore, despite different universities not being able to comment and vote on each other’s pages, students from different institutions could be inclined to compete with eachother, rather than be genuine.

one ever said you could only have one major.

Secondly, how do you snag all the As? Before I flat out say “work your butt off,” I want to address this: there is more to getting great grades than endless studying. I’ve found through my own studies that what is most important is studying strategically.

In addition to all this, the selfmoderation feature of the app now gives a platform to an excess amount of mundane posts crowding the space, sometimes trolling or otherwise. This waters down the value people may place on posting via Chitter. SFU Confessions, on the other hand, provides a platform for a select number of posts which subsequently catches the attention of hundreds, maybe even thousands of eyes to each post.

Although I stand firm in my skepticism, I acknowledge that it is indeed just that — skepticism. My views are also based on only two weeks of usage. There is no telling what Chitter will do for the wider student community in the long run.

Currently, the SFU Confessions page still exists so students now get the best of both worlds.

With time we shall discover how much ‘chit’ we’ll get into. Until then, chit away!

In regards to this, there’s a hard and fast pointer here: go to every single lecture and tutorial. No if, ands, or buts. Not only do you learn the material, but you’ll always gain subtle hints about the test through lectures and tutorials. Professors, TAs, and sessionals usually drop hints about certain aspects of the tests, assignments, or papers that aren’t specified on the syllabus or handout. Do otherwise and you’ll end up studying the heck out of some minute details which, in lecture, the prof had excluded.

interests of the profs or TAs. Wrong.

And some of you science majors may think, ‘well, science professors don’t insert their own interests into their tests.’ Wrong.

While there are always going to be reoccurring questions based on the course fundamentals, profs and TAs can put more or less emphasis on certain aspects. So, ask a lot of questions, probe your TAs, and basically know as much as you can about your instructor’s interests and what they find important about the material.

Lastly, become involved. As much as course work can drag you down, it’s in your best interest to be engaged in extracurricular activities. Join clubs, get involved with a laboratory or with Build SFU, or write for the student newspaper. The more you throw yourself at university, the more you’ll get out of it.

Thirdly, get to know your professors and TAs. You’d think that university tests would be highly standardized and would not reflect the

OPINIONS

September 28, 2015

SFSS AGM - An Open Letter to Enoch Weng Dear Enoch Weng,

Last week, an issue was hastily slathered onto the news involving a trans woman’s troubles while she — Shadi Petosky — went through security at an airport in Florida. As she made her way through the full body scanner, labelled as ‘female’ by the electronic system, security afterward took her aside to gruffly explain that they found an “anomaly,” or a security threat, in her genital region — also known as her penis. Needless to say she felt incredibly discriminated against while having to explain her genitalia to security.

After detaining her in a room for a short while, security then released her, but not before Petosky saturated social media with her situation, pictures and all. Since then, there has been an abundance of controversy over the reasons for a ‘male’ and ‘female’ setting on airport scanners, as this discriminates against anyone from trans communities.

This issue is tough one. It’s multi-faceted, and incredibly sensitive, so I’ll tread carefully.

Firstly, there’s no doubt in my mind that airport security guards could do with extensive sensitivity training. I’ve definitely heard my fair share of security horror stories which involve sexual misconduct, invasions of privacy, and verbal and physical violence. The way Petosky was treated was probably far more harsh and emotionally damaging than it should have been. To top it off, security

demonstrated their utmost ignorance by demanding that Petosky return to the scanner “as a man or it would be a problem.” The whole encounter was, without a doubt, insensitive.

However, I’m cognizant that security was maintaining protocol — that is, to be suspicious of practically everything! The unfortunate truth is that airport security takes precautions based off of concrete, physical truths. In this case, the truth was that male and female anatomies look physically different from each other.

Both sexes have their own distinct shape; there are visible, unchanging lumps, bulges, or curves in different places, and these are what scanners check for.

Gender, however, is a social construct. The typical traits that we associate with a ‘man’ or ‘woman’ are a cultural creation, and when a culturally constructed woman has a penis, it defies the stereotype and confuses the system.

Point blank, airports scanners don’t take into account the cultural traits that we humans associate with ourselves, they scan for the sex binary — the blatant differences in biology between males and females.

If a person of one sex arrives at an airport with the attributed traits of the opposite gender, security believes they could be hiding ‘weapons’ in the regions where the lumps and bumps of their sex exist. This is why Petosky’s genitalia was so confusing to security guards, who were suspicious of what might be hidden down there.

The guards do not insert their personal views regarding someone

who is transgender. In fact, most of them surely don’t care, and some probably support and sympathize — as I do — with those who feel they were born in the wrong body.

Having said all this, the question looms: Should airports get with the times and create a body scanner that disregards the male or female anatomy? Would this make it fair and comfortable for everyone? Yes, absolutely. Though I have trouble picturing how this would make for thorough security checks, as the system would technically be attributing both male and female body parts to every individual.

Though, unless everyone underwent a physical pat down, passengers would be able to sneak in undesirables.

Before the current system came into place, a previous scanner did full x-rays, providing explicit detail of a passenger’s body — but people complained it was too invasive. The new system, while more respectful of the body, is also overly specific and insists on stereotypical body types.

Perhaps scanners should include a ‘male to female,’ and a ‘female to male’ setting? Of course this idea would be bombarded with criticism regarding why this distinction should even matter.

Trans people shouldn’t have to feel labelled or separated from the rest of society. I agree! But in a world where biological sex is considered fixed, to scan based off the sex binary may be necessary for maintaining proper security.

I sincerely hope that security devises a system that thoroughly scans people while completely disregarding their sex, but until then I’m afraid airports will continue to be a hub of discomfort and embarrassment.

I am writing to you to express my extreme dissatisfaction at your participation during the AGM on Sept, 22, 2015.

You are the elected president of the Simon Fraser Student Society. You were elected by the membership to represent nearly 30,000 undergraduates. You failed to represent the voices of thousands of SFU students who were unable to attend and vote on the $65,000,000 debenture for the Build SFU project.

You sat at the front table.

You were silent for the debate. You only made jokes about your bowtie or quoted disney movies. [. . .] You let them defend excluding Surrey and Vancouver students from participation because of a $40,000 price tag. You did not make your voice heard when it was revealed that there was a consensus by the board to avoid an online referendum as a tactic to ensure the approval for the debenture would succeed.

You speak great volumes about community at our university. Yet as president you’ve failed to steward

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the participation of all individuals to be a part in the decisions we make as peers. We all have a voice, and the actions made by the board to keep the Build SFU debenture from being a referendum question are nothing short of voter suppression.

“The most important thing about this meeting [The AGM] is that it’s going to be the best way to move this project forward.” Darwin Binesh VP Student Services The most important thing about the AGM should have been that the students of SFU all had an opportunity to make their voices heard, regardless of the outcome.

Sadly, that wasn’t the case.

This project has been controversial. We are not only making a decision for ourselves but also for students of the future. A precedent has been set under your leadership that the membership of the SFSS have no right to participate. You took the voices of thousands of students away.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, Darien Lechner

September 28, 2015

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COMMUNITY PHOTOS June 29, 2015

photo editor email

Lisa Dimyadi photos@the-peak.ca

September 28, 2015

CLUBS EXPOSURE June 29, 2015

photo editor email

Lisa Dimyadi photos@the-peak.ca

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ARTS

arts editor email

September 28, 2015

Tessa Perkins arts@the-peak.ca

In honour of SFU’s 50th anniversary, Hidden Pasts, Digital Futures: A Festival of Immersive Arts, a collection of groundbreaking interactive exhibits, comes alive at the Westbank Woodward’s Atrium and SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts from September 18 to October 16, 2015.

In partnership with the National Film Board of Canada, the Vancouver International Film Festival, and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs, the five-week project will feature work by internationally renowned artists Stan Douglas, the NFB Digital Studio, Sarah Kenderdine, and Jeffrey Shaw.

Howard Jang, Director of Woodward’s Cultural Unit, calls the collection a “good example of what art can do and how it can truly engage the community.” He also notes the appropriateness of the project in celebration of SFU’s 50th birthday: “This anniversary encourages us to look back on our history and provides a glimpse of our community.

SFU has always been identified as

the radical campus, and this work lives out that disruptive dialogue.

[The exhibit] reflects the type of school that has been, and shows how the arts can really play a role in engaging and shaping the world.”

The festival is comprised of three experimental pieces, each of which transports participants into a richly unique multi-dimensional world. The first, Circa 1948, is an interactive storyworld co-created by the National Film Board of Canada’s award-winning Digital Studio in Vancouver and internationally acclaimed artist Stan Douglas that tells the story of post-WWII Vancouver.

In Circa 1948 you, as the sole participant, step into a modest room, which transforms before your eyes into an interactive space where you explore two vastly different communities straight out of 1948 Vancouver. The first, the original Hotel Vancouver in the prosperous west, is contrasted by the second (now extinct) location, the culturally diverse, working-class Hogan’s Alley in the east. Complete with exceptionally detailed visuals that you can walk right up to and an intimate soundscape of the time, the experience is truly delightful. It’s like a historical video game come to life — it’s immersive and unforgettable.

According to interactive producer and creative technologist for

the National Film Board of Canada Dana Dansereau, the exhibit is a “wisp of the past.” He notes the project hinges on the “idea of communicating these two neighbourhoods of Vancouver at a time that matters, using technology. [It is an] architectural documentary of parts of our history that have been eradicated, telling an important story spanning multiple mediums.”

Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang is an immersive installation created by Jeffrey Shaw and Sarah Kenderdine. As described on the Woodward’s website, the animated 3D experience immerses vistors in the heritage of ancient Buddhist grotto temples.

The artwork features the Dunhuang Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that marked the gateway to China on the ancient Silk Road.

Visitors step into a room surrounded by a large 360-degree panoramic 3D projection theatre that puts them inside a cave temple, where they view magnificent Buddhist wall paintings.

Place-Hampi, created by Sarah Kenderdine and Jeffrey Shaw, is an embodied theatre of participation in the drama of Hindu mythology focused at the most significant archaeological, historical, and sacred locations of the World Heritage site, Vijayanagara, South India.

The 360 degree display (created from analog footage) of the World Heritage site brings to life the history and breathtaking scenery of the location, and the narrative events enrich the adventure through computer-graphic characters representing protagonists of the Hindu mythologies including Ganesha, Lord Shiva, and Garuda.

The landscape that takes you from one sacred site to the next is mesmerizing and transformative.

These three core exhibitions are complemented by companion installations Fragmentation (Richard Castelli & Volker Kuchelmeister, directed by Robert Lepage), Fall Again, Fall Better (Jeffrey Shaw), and UnmakeableLove (Sarah Kenderdine, Jeffrey Shaw). As a whole, Hidden Pasts, Digital Futures draws us in and encourages us to ask important questions about, as Dansereau said, “what does immersive arts mean for artists and what does it mean for public experience?

“Immersive arts is something you can’t ignore,” he added.

The festival, much like SFU, is rooted in history, possibility and wonder. Jang acknowledges that SFU’s Woodward’s Cultural Unit, as well as this project, “have the opportunity to be a place for, and present, dialogue and engagement.

“We’re heading off into the a brave new world, one that puts arts on the front burner.”

Afternoon Tea: A Timeless Tradition is so much more than a recipe book — it’s a narrative. More than half the book is a flashback to Muriel Moffat’s personal fond childhood memories and the historical formalities of afternoon tea. This process of getting to the set of simple and darling recipes in the back of the book makes them that much more special: they show the nostalgic symbolism that these recipes carry.

Although the story is charming as well as compelling, parts could

easily convince readers that the book is directed towards an exclusive audience: English traditions for English families. This misunderstanding comes from Moffat’s description of what “being English” visually looks like and her emphasis on the little “English” quirks that her grandmothers had and how it set her apart.

That being said, following the second chapter, Moffat proceeds warmly to close this gap by expressing her longing to teach others about the delicate practice — so that the English tradition of afternoon tea is accessible and kept alive in all of Canada.

Moffat’s writing style is dreamy and sophisticated — so much that I can visualize her experiences at the Empress and imagine the delicacy of the fine bone china. She describes things in such a naturally focused way that the visuals lingered with me and the elegance

of the tradition she so adores almost floated off the page. It might make you feel compelled to go on an immediate flight to England just for the little lemon tartelettes and cucumber sandwiches featured in the pages, or at least put on a white pinafore dress and have your own afternoon tea with the traditional recipes provided in the back.

One of my favorite quotes from this book would have to be “appreciate the surroundings and the opportunity to go back in time to when we had time and took the time!”

What a lovely reminder in such an immediate, technological, mass-produced world. It’s a piece of advice to take a breather. Sometimes it is worthwhile to spend your time just drinking tea, eating miniature delicacies and chatting away with your friends. I think this quote brings up what I love most about this book: it unwinds

time to when we weren’t always in a rush but just took time to sip tea, instead of chugging it on the speed walk to your bus stop.

There are a set of contrasting themes in the book: the immediacy

of seizing this English tradition before the opportunity escapes us, and the need to just slow down and enjoy life through the smallest of pleasures. Enjoying a good cup of tea allows us to do both.

ARTS

September 28, 2015

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COMIC CONNOISSEUR

In 2001, The Dharma Punks debuted on New Zealand newsstands and found overnight success. In a short but illustrious eight-issue run, the comic outsold the X-Men and other mainstream works before fading away into obscurity as a lesser-known indie gem. After 14 years in limbo, however, Ant Sang’s cult classic has finally been collected in a slick new trade paperback.

The Dharma Punks takes place in Auckland, New Zealand in 1994. It follows a group of anarchist punks who put in motion a plan to level a corporate fast food chain on the day of its grand opening.

The story focuses on a young Chinese punk named Chopstick, who is tasked with placing the

explosives in the building the night before. In the process of doing so, however, Chopstick’s night takes a multitude of unexpected turns which lead him to face the paradox of his spiritual beliefs and his anarchistic tendencies. Skinhead Neo-Nazis, a mute girl hanging dangerously on a bridge, and the ghost of Kurt Cobain await Chopstick in one long dark night of the soul.

The Dharma Punks is a story with equal parts drama and philosophy. The two aspects of the narrative work harmoniously to make a highly enjoyable experience for readers. The plot is paced provocatively with interspersed flashbacks and flash-forwards, which entice the reader to find out what happens next.

Moreover, the world and experiences of Chopstick are immersive. It features an abundance of close-up panel shots, allowing an intimate connection with the story’s lead.

Sang’s artwork for the series fits like a studded leather jacket on a punk rocker; it has a style all its own. The use of a black and white palette instead of coloured artwork contributes successfully to the story’s dark tone.

Sang’s character designs are as rich as his narrative and add layers upon layers to his already dynamic cast of characters.

Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of the series is Chopstick’s interactions with the ghost of Kurt Cobain. Unlike Jiminy Cricket, Kurt Cobain’s astral presence takes the role of a blunt guardian angel who is not afraid to speak his mind. Interactions between the characters are darkly hilarious, but also poignant and thoughtful. They are among just some of best scenes in the whole comic.

There have been a fair share of punk-inspired coming-of-age tales over the years, yet the market never feels oversaturated with their presence. Furthermore, I say that they are some of the finest allegories for growing up that exist — with The Dharma Punks as one of the best ever created. Sang proves that while fashion and attitudes may take different shapes over each generation, the same questions of existence, purpose, and spirituality are still destined to pop up.

The Dharma Punks is an engrossing cult masterwork which continues to be just as relevant today as it was 14 years ago.

Two adversaries, one a kid from the Bronx and the other a product of Soviet propaganda, glare violently into each other’s eyes.

The sound of a ticking clock echoes as the two combatants carefully make their moves.

One gracefully attacks as the other shuffles into defense. This is not an action sequence from a spy thriller, but a description of a table game stereotypically played by eccentrics: chess.

Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire), regarded by many as the greatest chess player in history, rose in fame during the ’60s as the Cold War and Watergate were boiling over. After dominating the US championships the previous years, Fischer’s last challenge was to become World Champion and defeat his Soviet rival, Boris Spassky.

It’s a classic tale of underdog and champion, good and evil, poor and rich, USA and USSR. The stakes should arise from the socio-political climate and the subtle impacts of the physically lethargic game, but a couple of tense and stylized sequences aside, Pawn Sacrifice fails to overcome the fact that it’s primarily a humourless look at two weird guys strategizing

in ways we’re unable to understand.

Like in a sports film, the chess isn’t as important as the relationships, characters, and politics that surround them. As a lot of games are played out through unremarkable montages, and the chess sequences are clearly influenced by Rocky and Chariots Of Fire. Edward Zwick’s film is best compared to sports films rather than standard biopics of historical figures.

If Pawn Sacrifice had to be described as a chess piece, it would be the queen — she moves every which way, yet no one is really certain how she should be used. A strong lead performance from Tobey Maguire is in service of a film that sporadically shifts from one conflict to the next. Mental and mommy issues are mostly abandoned to be picked up in the climactic match as Zwick intercuts all the forgotten relationships with a climactic duel between Fischer and Spassky.

There’s little development; only a forced resolution.

Visually it’s also all over the map: constant shifts from black and white, ’70s news footage, and glossy imagery — all with no thematic throughline. Pawn Sacrifice is a lawn dug up by groundhogs; there might be depth beneath the surface but all we see are the little mounds left on top. You won’t leave feeling like you lost, yet the film is never able to express the thrill of a checkmate. Pawn Sacrifice is a bland statement. It’s hard to get anything out of it.

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September 28, 2015

Van Damsel, a band from Kamloops, kicked off the show

with a high energy vibe. The crowd was just beginning to move, with more people flowing into the venue throughout their set. As the set progressed, Van Damsel’s lead singer, Sebastien Ste Marie, kept the audience engaged. About mid-set he asked, “who here is from Kamloops?” and the crowd roared, a response the band didn’t seem to expect as they followed with, “is anyone here actually from Vancouver?” As a lesser known band, they really started the night off right, maintaining their high energy with pulsing beats and heavy bass lines.

The last time I saw Tokyo Police Club was shortly after they released Elephant Shell in 2008. It had been a while, and I had recently been getting back into some of their older albums and EPs. I was ready to hear some of their new songs; I was ready to hear them live.

As the band made their appearance on stage, people pushed

With the federal election campaign in full swing, this musical couldn’t be timelier. I had high hopes that this show, based on Terry Fallis’ novel, would poke fun at our democratic institutions and political parties all through engaging song and dance, but I couldn’t help but feel there may have been a rush to get it on stage before the election, leaving it a bit premature.

I also had high hopes because of the creative team behind it. Benjamin Elliott and Anton Lipovetsky teamed up for the show’s music and lyrics, and I have been impressed

by their work numerous times, but many of these songs fell flat. The humorous premise and performances by Andrew Wheeler and Nick Fontaine carried the show.

Wheeler previously played Stephen Harper in Proud at the Firehall, and in this production he plays Angus McLintock, the unlikely Liberal candidate for Cumberland-Prescott — a sleepy Conservative-dominated riding near Ottawa. Daniel Addison (Fontaine) is a speechwriter for the Liberals who is tasked with finding a candidate for the unwinnable riding, and when he moves in with McLintock, they make a deal that he’ll be the candidate if Addison teaches his dreaded English for Engineers course at the university.

Addison’s plans never seem to go smoothly, and what ensues is a wonderful satire of our electoral process.

One of the best scenes involves David Cameron (Gordon Roberts)

Upon walking to The Imperial, I saw the line for Tokyo Police Club — people buzzing, excited to be with their friends for the show. I had never been to The Imperial before, as it is hidden away in the East Hastings area; it featured two bars, pumping music, adequate seating, a subtle green glow from the stage, and a large Tokyo Police Club banner on it.

their way into the main standing area. Continuing Van Damsel’s high energy, Tokyo Police Club danced along to their music as they played.

As an indie rock band with an underlying pop tone, they certainly knew how to keep the crowd moving. Most of the setlist were songs I didn’t recognize, but from what I can tell they’ve kept up with their pop

giving a press conference about family values that turns into an erotic rock ‘n’ roll performance.

He is later caught in bed with his campaign manager, wearing a diaper and soother while she sports a dominatrix outfit. ‘Diapergate’ was

synths and off-beat melodies.

The vocalist, David Monks, is the factor that differentiates the band from others in the genre.

His oddly catchy flat tone works well with their sound.

With a good mix between old and new songs, Tokyo Police Club surely managed to please all of their fans. Their set featured songs like “Nature of the Experiment” and “Be Good” in

between newer songs, and kept the lively crowd going.

As part of the encore, the band covered Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” as nothing more than a crowd pleaser. I wouldn’t say it was the best cover of the song, but it definitely caught everyone’s attention, as the room echoed with the crowd singing along. To finish off, they played “Your English is Good,” one of their most well-known songs.

the perfect counterpoint to the recent ‘peegate’ scandal, and goes to show that this story isn’t as farfetched as we might think.

Aside from the political antics, the characters have typical personal lives. Addison is the

quintessential misguided fool who almost falls back in love with the woman who cheated on him before coming to his senses. McLintock is a sensitive widower who is building a hovercraft in his spare time — all run-of-the-mill plot devices in terms of rounding out these characters and giving them material for emotional songs.

The two characters who did stand out and add something different were Kris and Qris (Steffanie Davis and Hal Wesley Rogers), two gender-neutral best friends who work on McLintock’s campaign.

I also enjoyed the addition of the senate chorus who were dressed in sequined jackets and showed up to advise Addison, and of course the jabs at omnibus bills and scandals were wonderfully relevant.

For anyone who enjoys political humour, this show will be entertaining, but I have a feeling it could have been even better given a bit more time to come together.

ARTS

Flamenco Rosario proudly presented the 25th anniversary edition of the Vancouver International Flamenco Festival this year. The festival is dedicated to presenting innovative international, national, and local artists and fostering the evolution of traditional and contemporary forms of flamenco.

An extraordinary festival lineup was bolstered by the centerpiece show Cadiz de la Frontera, which was choreographed and performed by the renowned Spanish flamenco dancers Andrés Peña and Pilar Ogalla to the accompaniment of Inma Rivero’s vocals and guitar by Juan Campallo.

Pilar and Andrés, partners in both life and dance, have garnered much international acclaim for their mastery of flamenco dance. Cadiz de la Frontera is their second collaborative piece, and their collective devotion to traditional flamenco forms shines throughout the performance.

Cadiz de la Frontera portrays the juxtaposition of earth and sea elements symbolic of the Andalusian cities of Jerez and Cadiz. The lively seaport city of Cadiz, open to diverse external cultural forces, was the birthplace of Pilar. Flamenco forms from Cadiz are more expressive, fluid, dramatic and invigorated, reflecting the characteristics of the city and its people.

The inland city of Jerez, where Andrés hails from, is more conservative and inward-looking, a place where hard work in the vineyards and a connection to the land prevails. Flamenco forms from Jerez are more rough and rooted yet deep and rhythmic,

September 28, 2015

mirroring the ways in which the inhabitants live.

The duet performed by Pilar and Andrés deftly embodied the entwinement of these two lives from these respective cities and showcased the distinct ways that flamenco forms are interpreted and expressed in the flamenco capitals Cadiz and Jerez.

The story, emphasized by the minimal backdrop of coloured lights and blackened silhouettes, was interactively conveyed through the dancers, singer, and guitarist. Three wooden chairs placed close together on the center of the stage reflected spaces where conversations, observations, and relationships unfold.

Throughout the performance, the dance, song, and guitar moved among the melancholic, somber, and mellow, and the animated, elated, and uplifting. I was immersed in the melodic fingerpicking and strumming of guitar and the perfectly emotional tones of the song.

The oscillating rigid to fluid body movements, facial features and hand gestures of the dance were synchronized to rapid-fire footwork, and rhythmic palmas (hand clapping) and pitos (finger snapping). As the story unraveled on stage, it caught in my throat. It was beautiful to ears, eyes, and heart.

The artists seemed incredibly proud to showcase their roots. There was much celebration and adoration for these talented artists in the room, and this was all too evident in the raucous cheers and comments coming from the audience. Cadiz de la Frontera was an exceptional performance of raw, passionate emotion and energy, which consistently left the audience captivated.

Welcome to our brand new foodie corner of The Peak!

This column is a collaboration between two friends with opposing diets: a meat-eater (Jess) and a vegan (Gems). This serves as a way of critiquing food from opposite lifestyles, and we will be focusing on local, culturally diverse eateries in Vancity as well as unique recipes to bring you feisty reviews that we hope you will find useful and enticing.

This week’s recipes: spicy Mango & Avocado Rice Bowl from Love and Lemons, Rainbow Spring Rolls from Minimalist Baker, and Citrus Fennel & Avocado Salad from Foodie Crush.

Preparing a vegan feast means one thing: chopping all the vegetables. All three recipes required a sharp knife and even sharper wits to avoid the mind-numbing boredom of chopping vegetables for over an hour. That being said, don’t let the long ingredient list scare you from trying these simple recipes.

The meat-eater (Jessica) Of the three recipes, the most surprising was the Spicy Mango and Avocado Rice bowl, not only because I was initially skeptical of the idea of just

things piled on rice, but also because of the baked tofu.

As a meat-eater and tofuhater, I was prepared to hate the texture, flavour, and pretty much everything about it. I was pleasantly surprised by the transformation of texture and flavor of the tofu. I ended up not missing the meat in this dish at all, and that is something that I never thought that I would say.

The Rainbow Spring Rolls were incredibly fresh-tasting and the perfect side to accompany the rice bowl — however, the peanut dipping sauce included in the recipe was somewhat disappointing when compared to the coconut peanut sauce of the rice bowl. This one was too thick and pulled the veggies out of the roll when dipped. The freshness was emphasized by the fact that there was no rice vermicelli in the roll, which I appreciate as the vermicelli can overpower the rest of the roll.

The citrus fennel and avocado salad was somewhat disappointing, due to the addition of the avocado. I really enjoy the slightly licoricey flavor of fennel combined with oranges, but the avocado overpowered this combination with its heavy creaminess. The dressing also prevented the two flavours from melding properly in the salad, so while the bare bones of the salad were strong to begin with, the extra additions prevented it from being a truly enjoyable experience.

The vegan (Gemma) The rice bowl was my personal favorite because it

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completely overthrew my expectations. The dish was unbelievably tasty and filling.

The soy sauce baked tofu had a chewy texture and did not taste as bland as tofu normally tastes — the sauces from the tofu greatly complimented the fibrous texture of the brown rice. For something that we anticipated to be quite dull and mediocre, it was bursting with flavour, extremely filling, and nutritious. The coconut peanut sauce was simply beautiful: smooth and perfectly balanced between spicy and nutty.

The vegan spring rolls were fresh and light, but I couldn’t help but miss the usual heft and texture of the vermicelli noodles.

I feel that as a side dish, though, it was better that it didn’t contain the noodles. The peanut sauce was really the main struggle to get the right consistency and taste, but we eventually settled on the coconut peanut sauce from the rice bowl, and it greatly animated the salad rolls.

I did not enjoy the fennel and avocado salad. I think this was mainly because the various juicy citrus fruits clashed with the attempt to make it a savoury dish. The juice from the oranges accumulated at the bottom of the bowl and when tasting it, it wasn’t necessarily impressive. I don’t even know what the avocado was doing in there. It became lumpy and strange in the juices from the salad. We did however make the salad the night before, so perhaps making it fresh would help it from ending up closer to orange fennel soup.

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SPORTS

On a rainy Saturday night at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, SFU’s football team (0–2) played a tight defensive game. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to translate that effort onto the offensive side of the ball as they dropped their home opener 16–10 to the visiting Azusa Pacific Falcons (2–1).

“I was very proud of the guys’ effort,” said head coach Kelly Bates after the game. “I’ll never question their effort [. . .] they stuck in there with the 17thranked Division II team before last week.

“Is the result what we want?

No,” he continued. “But it’s a process right now. Everybody wants to win. But we’re also

September 28, 2015

trying to lay a foundation, and I feel we’re starting to do that.”

SFU received the ball to start the game, but quickly went three and out. On APU’s opening drive, the defence appeared to bring down APU running back Kurt Scoby. But Scoby was never ruled down by the officials and promptly got up and ran 85 yards down the field to score, giving the Falcons a quick 7–0 lead and stunning the crowd.

Another three and out for the Clan came after APU sacked Quarterback Ryan Stanford, which would become a common theme that night. Later on in the quarter, SFU held APU to only a field goal. After a couple of false start penalties by SFU, the quarter ended 10–0 for APU. The start of the second quarter was terrific for SFU. Stanford threw a bullet into double coverage, and redshirt freshman Sam Nadon hauled it in for the touchdown. “I heard the play being called, I was waiting for it [in the end zone],” said Nadon after the game. “Perfect ball by Stanford, and really good blocks

by the guys. I’m very happy to get my first touchdown in the NCAA.” Later on in the quarter,

Justin Buren made a fantastic 44 yard catch with a defender draped all over him. That led to an SFU field goal, and the game was tied. Near the end of the quarter, Scoby led APU down the field and within field goal range. On the last play of the half, APU kicked the field goal but was blocked by SFU’s Jordan Herdman.

The opening of the second half was marked by an SFU interception, off a poorly executed fake kick from the Falcons. Unfortunately, any momentum the Clan seemed to gain from the play was short-lived. A pass

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intended for Justin Buren was tipped right into the hands of the waiting APU defensive back; APU marched the ball down to the SFU yard line, but went for it on fourth and goal and did not convert.

Buren once again made a huge reception to take the Clan within field goal range. But, like before, SFU shot themselves in the foot. Quarterback Stanford fumbled the ball, and an APU player quickly recovered it.

The big event of the fourth quarter was the winning touchdown for APU. Tight end Joriah Thropay was left wide open in the end zone to make an easy catch. However, the extra point was missed, so SFU had the opportunity to win the game if they could get a late touchdown.

They couldn’t get it done. The offense was forced to punt with around five minutes to go, and APU promptly marched down

the field and killed the time remaining on the clock. The final score was 16–10.

The main thing for the Clan to clean up while they continue in GNAC play is mental errors, particularly penalties. Too many times during the game, SFU’s drives stalled after a false start penalty, turning manageable third downs into tricky third and longs.

“You don’t ever pretend the problem isn’t there, you deal with it [. . .] We’ll address it in practice this week,” said Bates.

Another area to for the Clan to improve upon is the offensive line. SFU did not adequately protect their quarterback on the night, as Stanford was forced to scramble out of the pocket and take a few shots throughout the night. He finished with -23 yards on the night, an indicator of the amount of times he was sacked and taken down behind the line of scrimmage.

The “process,” as Bates likes to refer to, is now officially underway this season. Only time will tell if it ends in on-field success.

SPORTS

September 28, 2015

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The men’s hockey team is heading out on the road.

They’ll be travelling to the east coast to play the Providence Friars, the reigning NCAA Division I champions on October 3. They will then play the Northeastern Huskies, another NCAA Division I program.

The SFU Women’s Volleyball Team is now 2–0 in conference play after defeating Seattle Pacific three sets to two on Thursday, September 18, and Saint Martin’s University three sets to zero on Saturday, September 20. The latter game was actionpacked, as the Clan won two close sets 25–23 and 28–26 before pulling away 25–14 to seal the victory.

In last Thursday’s victory, Christine Howlett (Delta, BC) and Devon May (Robert’s Creek, BC) led the attack with thunderous hits that the Seattle Pacific frontline were unable to handle. Howlett had 18 kills and six blocks, and May added 17 kills. In Saturday’s game, May led the way with 12 kills and four blocks.

Part of the reason the team was able to win such close games is due their pre-conference play experience in Hawaii. On the impact of this experience, head Coach Gina Schmidt stated that “it was very beneficial. We also did a team trip to Whistler earlier in our preseason, just to spend time together and get to know each other. [. . .] The biggest thing is we got some really great competitions

Last year around this time, I started contributing to The Peak, and one of my first articles was covering a men’s soccer game. Growing up playing and watching soccer from a very young age, I was very excited.

I felt that I could write an excellent article and tell a great story.

As I got there and set up, I looked up at the scoreboard and noticed that it was set at 45 minutes. At first I thought it was a mistake. But no, the game started with the clockgame counting down from the 45 minute mark. This caused all sorts of problems for me marking chances and goals. I was used to just looking at

The Clan are looking to build off their best ever season last year.

Hamed Yaghoubi Shahir / The Peak

there. Three of our four matches went to five sets, and what helped us on Thursday night was just those experiences of being in fifth sets and close games.

“Just the weekend before, we had a match against Hawaii Pacific that went 39–37 and 34–22.

We’ve been in these long battles before and those experiences helped us on Thursday.”

The atmosphere at Thursday’s game was electric. There was a large group of shirtless football players with their chests painted who were chanting, singing, and stomping. Coach Schmidt described the atmosphere at home games: “We were lucky. It was our Red night and we had a good crowd on hand. It wasn’t a typical

crowd; that group was the football team. Across the athletic department the teams try to support each other.

“We appreciated the support and the noise and we always have Cedric [who leads the chorus], a loyal SFU supporter of all sports who is always good for some energy in the gym.”

The Volleyball team is on the road its next four games with a match against Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho on Thursday, September 24. This is followed by Central Washington on Saturday the 26th and Western Washington on the 28th. The latter two games are really going to demonstrate how far the relatively inexperienced Clan have

developed their team cohesion.

“We play two of the teams picked to finish at the top of the conference,” Coach Schmidt noted. “Last year we did a good job of beating all the teams below us but we couldn’t get over the hump against the three above us including Western Washington who we have not beat in my time here. One of my goals is to get over the hump against some of those teams. Central Washington we split with last year, but they are strong and have the exact same team coming back. We lost five starters [. . .] we have a solid core of returners but not who have played together a ton.

“The question is how fast we can gel together as a team.”

the time and writing down the minute, but now I had to do math (and who likes that?). Later on in the half, the team substituted three players at once. The coach used all three substitutions in the first half, which I thought it was quite odd; it turned out, though, teams are allowed to make 11(!) substitutions per game.

I panicked. Did I miss something? Was this some sort of playoff game? As the overtime came to a close and the game finally ended in a 3–3 draw, I half-expected it to go to a penalty shoot-out to decide it.

The NCAA’s soccer rules are idiotic. They are offensive to anyone who enjoys the beautiful game, and are an affront to God. They are also incredibly confusing, weird, and foreign to fans who are watching their first NCAA soccer match. The rules are, quite simply, a terrible attempt to ‘Americanize’ soccer.

This attempt to Americanize soccer was ventured by Major League Soccer in its early days, and it failed miserably. The rules in the early days of MLS were similar to the ones now used in the NCAA.

They used a countdown clock starting from 45:00 and ending the half at 00:00. They also used a shootout to decide tied games, with the winner only getting one point instead of the customary three.

What the MLS realized is by using these rules, they were alienating not only traditional, European soccer fans, but were also failing to draw out new soccer fans. Suffering from poor attendance, the league scraped the rules following the fourth season, and MLS learned a valuable lesson. People want to see the soccer they see on TV from Europe, not a weird variation.

The NCAA could learn a valuable lesson from this. Americanizing soccer does not work; it has been tried before and it failed. If they simply used rules that are intuitive to the average soccer fan, they could improve what is already a pretty good product on the pitch into an even better one.

While the game was quite exciting, the rules made it hard to watch. SFU took a 3–1 lead into the second half, but surrendered two goals and the game ended 3–3. Or so I thought. As I got up to go home and write the article, I heard over the speakers “We will now start overtime!”

Clint Schneider’s men lost 1–0 to the University of Mary Thursday night. A late goal

by James Liddiard in the 89th minute was the only goal of the night. The Clan have yet to win in GNAC play, and are 1–2–2 overall on the season.

Sophomore Chris Crisologo finished in a tie for second at the 44th annual Viking Men’s Golf Invitational in Bellingham. Crisologo shot back to back rounds of 68, and has had a great start to the season, averaging 69.5 strokes per round.

The Clan lost their first game in GNAC play Thursday night, dropping the game in straight sets to Northwest Nazarene University. Christine Howlett led SFU with 14 kills on the night, and defensive specialist Alison McKay had 22 digs to lead the team.

22 SPORTS

A new hockey season is now upon us, and with that means some intriguing new storylines to pay attention to. From off ice issues to rule changes, it has been an offseason of change, good and bad, for the NHL. There are plenty of them, but here are just five things to look out for this upcoming season.

The Patrick Kane investigation With Kane being allowed to take part in training camp for the time being, it will be interesting to see how long this arrangement lasts. As of now, he is being investigated for sexual assault, a result of an incident between himself and a woman back on August 2. If this case goes to trial and doesn’t get settled, will Patrick Kane still be allowed to play?

Three on three overtime The last few season, too many games were going to shootouts.

The NHL decided back in June that they way to solve this problem was with three on three overtime. The thinking is, with more open ice, there will be more opportunities for players to score, and this will end more games before they go to a shootout. It remains to be seen if this theory will play out, as there is still no incentive to end a game in overtime rather than in a shootout.

September 28, 2015

Eichel vs. McDavid This season will have two of the most talked-about prospects in Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid play their rookie seasons.

Not since Crosby and Ovechkin have two rookies caused so much hype with hockey fans around the world. McDavid in my mind has serious potential to break the point per game mark as a rookie, something we haven’t seen since Crosby and Ovechkin. Buffalo and Edmonton’s first meeting of the season Sunday, December sixth will be must see TV. The Central Division This division will probably be the most tightly contested of all the divisions this year. With St. Louis, Minnesota, Winnipeg, Nashville, an improved Dallas, and, of course, the defending champs Chicago, we could potentially see five of these teams in the playoffs come season’s end. As of now, it’s too close to call who will be on top come April. St. Louis is always a contender, but don’t count out Chicago or Nashville.

Babcock Mike Babcock arrived in Toronto with much fanfare and a few extra dollars in his pocket (50 million extra, to be exact.) Now comes the challenge: living up to all the expectation. Babcock will try and do everything in his power to make his team as competitive as possible.

But after trading away Kessel, the Leafs probably won’t be a very good team again this year. How quickly will the fickle fans in Toronto turn on their prised acquisition?

Austin Cozicar Peak Associate Women’s soccer kept their unbeaten season alive Thursday night with freshman forward Christine Dickson scoring the only goal in a 1–0 contest against the Central Washington Wildcats in front of 147 fans at Terry Fox Field.

Going into the game, SFU had two wins and two ties, with their only conference game being a 0–0 tie last week against Seattle Pacific. There was some concern considering the women’s team jumped out of the gate last season with two straight wins early in the season, only to lose every other game of the season.

“First and foremost, we’re super happy we got a win,” said assistant coach Anna Picarelli.

“We were really scared we would have a two-win block and that would be our forever-most wins in a season, but we got the win, the girls fought it out, we get the clean sheet so we can’t be anything but happy with the result.”

Despite solid chances for both teams, the first half was a scoreless affair. A well-timed tackle by junior defender Teagan Rae Sorokan to force a corner 20 minutes in helped SFU keep the game 0–0. For much of the half, the Clan dominated possession; however, a few defensive lapses gave the Wildcats solid breakaway chances.

It would be SFU’s leading scorer Christina Dickson who ended the standstill with just over 24 minutes left in the second, tapping in a rebound.

Dickson is the team’s leading scorer with three goals and an assist in five games in her inaugural season. Her twin sister, Allyson, is second in team scoring with a goal and an assist.

“When we were looking at [Christina] as a recruit, we knew that’s what she had to offer already and now we’re just happy to see it transition into playing

here,” said Picarelli. “She’s just a competitor. I mean, this girl’s not going to stop at anything.

We love to see that she’s getting in on the end of goals, and hopefully [she] just gets more and more every game.”

SFU held the lead for the rest of the game, but not without a few scares. Central Washington seemed to take it to another gear, nearly tying up the game, if not for the work of second-year goalkeeper Priya Sandhu.

Christina Dickson nearly had a second goal in the 84th minute; however, it was comfortably palmed away by the Wildcat goalkeeper.

Picarelli believes that despite the solid start to the season — the third win is the most for the women’s soccer season since 2010 — the team still has a lot to work on.

“I think they’re still getting used to staying composed no matter what the scoreline is,” she said. “The other thing they need to work on is, judging by our score lines, is getting more goals, getting a bit of an easier win as opposed to, ‘Oh my gosh, two minutes are left, are we still going to hold it out?’

“I think that’s going to be our big focus — putting things away.”

DIVERSIONS / ETC

September 28, 2015

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24

HUMOUR

On September 18, the American House of Representatives voted to defund Planned Parenthood for one year, in order to investigate alleged wrong-doings. For those of you unfamiliar with the organization, Planned Parenthood is one of the largest murder clinics currently operating in the States (according to several trustworthy Internet sources). They claim to be a non-profit organization that provides reproductive health, as well as maternal and child health services, but if you ask me, those are just flashy, nonsensical buzzwords.

Of course, the feminist agenda wasted no time in making a scene about this decision, but the only right choice is supporting anti-Planned

There are many whimsical constants in the academic microcosm that is SFU; little idiosyncrasies which help make our engaged university the scholastic paradise we have all come to love. Whether it is the watered-down Starbucks coffee atop Burnaby Mountain or the cacophonous laments of wayward mall folk reverberating into every classroom of Surrey Central, like any good lover, it’s their flaws that make us fall head over heels for them. Sadly, SFU administrators have it on their mind to fix a long-gestating kink that old and new students have come to affectionately expect in their lecture halls: classroom delays via techilliterate professors.

Starting in spring 2016, all SFU professors will be forced to attend a mandatory workshop designed

September 28, 2015

Parenthood sentiment. Why, you might ask? Here are the top five most justified reasons why Planned Parenthood losing its funding is another step in making America great again.

Women now have fewer opportunities to get an abortion: Planned Parenthood is responsible for approximately 300,000 abortions per year, which, if you ask me and the big guy in the sky, is about 300,000 too many! If women don’t want to be mothers like they’re supposed to be, they shouldn’t be having premarital sex. And if you want to tell me that some women get pregnant not by their own choice, former congressman Todd Akin debunked that fairy tale several years ago with his knowledge on how the body shuts out legitimate rape. He was a white, male, US Representative, so he probably had his facts straight.

Pro-life and pro-choice are actually the same argument: There’s a large divide between the two pro- sides, and Planned Parenthood was often viewed as a pro-choice facility, but how

by tech support staff on all three of the campuses. The workshop will consist of teaching professors the basics of turning on a computer, working lecture hall lighting, and how to work the volume on their microphones. Along with this, professors will also be taught strategies to help mask their struggle in front of students and will be given extensive flowcharts that might allow support staff some peace and quiet for a change.

concrete are either of these terms really? Wouldn’t you say that all pro-choicers are a bit pro-life as well? For example, if you were to hold up a prochoicer by gunpoint and ask them if they wanted to live or die, they would undoubtedly be pro-life; who wouldn’t be pro-life if given a choice? I’m definitely 99 per cent sure this scenario could be expanded to apply to everyone else, too.

No emphasis on paternal resources: Fathers are people too. I can’t believe we’ve let an organization receive millions of dollars from hard-working Americans without helping out the men. . . oh, Planned Parenthood actually has a lot of educational resources on men’s sexual health? Well, they are still giant execution chambers for God’s precious unborn gems and the best chances for some men to vicariously live out dreams they couldn’t live out themselves.

We’re already facing a population decline because of gay marriage: As sad as it is true, same-sex marriage became legal in the once-great country of

The Peak caught up with the university’s administration in regards to the workshop and reasons for its implementation.

“Technological ineptitude contributes to on average five to 10 minute delay in lectures,” said a spokesperson for the university. “Students are losing close to 80 minutes of time in each of their classes. Now, normally we wouldn’t give a shit about this — but someone gossiped about us to

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America back on June 26. Now that we have less of a chance to make them pray away the gay, it means that even less people will be natural parents. However, this is actually a double bonus: since pure-bred straight people are the only ones having babies, the babies are guaranteed to be straight and the gays will wipe themselves out. It’s science.

You don’t need a plan to become a parent: Margaret Sanger, the first president of Planned

Parenthood, figured she could make money by helping people “plan” on being parents. Fun fact: you actually don’t have to plan on becoming a parent at all. Wake up, sheeple! Several children are born every year whose parents weren’t expecting them and, regardless of how much they wanted that child and how the child’s life will be affected, they were definitely born. Thus, the whole concept of “Planned Parenthood” is contradiction and a huge scam.

UBC, so now we have to do something about it.”

Since the announcement last Friday, belligerency on the topic has only escalated. Many SFU staff have already cited the workshop as the highest form of condescension ever issued to a paid educator. A meeting between the two parties is said to move forward later this week, as soon as SFU professors work out how to use the email account.

“Pardon my Parisian discourse, but this is the highest form of Bolshevism I have ever regarded,” cited one world literature professor. “Just because I show some technological deficiency from time to time does not grant the university the right to treat me like an erudite muttonhead!”

While professors and admin continue to squabble over the controversial workshop, contention among the SFU student body has led to a surprising schism. The Peak asked for the thoughts of students across the three campuses’ regarding the upcoming workshop. Of those interviewed, a noticeable majority were in opposition to it.

“Look, man. I’m going to level with you,” said a first-year, who wished to remain anonymous. “I’m totally cool with lectures starting late and shit. Like honestly, I don’t want to even be in half my classes.

Introduction to Egyptian Literature and Poetry? I’m on the basketball team. If prof wants to waste time flicking the lights, fine by me.”

With the new semester less than three months away, time will tell if this workshop does indeed move forward. The workshop is prepped to go ahead in the first week of January.

HUMOUR

September 28, 2015

25

If an ethical crisis occurs at roughly the same time each year, and no one chooses to address it, does that crisis make a sound?

Close the other tabs on your Internet browser, put your phone on silent, and tell any strangers chatting nearby to shut up, because I’ve got a truth bomb armed and ready, and modern society is in my cross-hairs. It’s time we talked about the autumn delicacy of pumpkin spice and the glaringly questionable ethics involved in its mass production.

Pumpkin spice, that sweet seasonal scent currently infiltrating every product and surface in sight, is quite possibly the most problematic food product since McCain’s orphaned baby seal frozen nuggets. Propaganda would have

you believe that pumpkins live in great sprawling, scenic patches and enjoy peaceful lives amongst their pumpkin kin, but this is far from the reality. What the pumpkin spice industry doesn’t want you to know is that it takes a special kind of pumpkin to create the flavour people know and love.

Once pumpkins have reached a particular stage in development, usually around the two-month mark, they are forcibly removed from their patch and brought to a nearby industrial pumpkin factory. You see, regularly healthy pumpkins have a bland and squashlike flavour to them — a flavour that’s not profitable to big corporations looking to exploit these playful, intelligent pumpkins for all they’re worth.

After the young pumpkins arrive at the factory, they’re stored in cramped, inhumane living conditions, often being forced to live on top of each other for the rest of their short lives. There is no natural light in these rooms, a deliberate condition because sunlight can reduce the spiciness of a pumpkin by up to 50 per cent.

Undercover video footage from activists posing as workers have also revealed a

behind-closed-doors world of physical abuse, as pumpkin spice farmers toss pumpkins around without thinking twice.

Just YouTube “pumpkin spice

farming truth,” and you’ll know the inconvenient reality. Would you be able to pretend like everything’s normal after seeing a storage locker, filled nearly to

the roof with young pumpkins awaiting spice extraction?

Biologically, humans aren’t even supposed to consume pumpkin spice other than during early the early stages of childhood development. Think about it: what other animal continues to drink pumpkin spice after that same animal has matured? The prolonged process that humans have adopted is unnatural and is a direct result of large-scale pumpkin spice production.

We were raised to think that pumpkin spice is good for us, and even part of a balanced diet. But what if I told you that there’s no evidence of correlation between healthy bone development and ingesting regular amount of pumpkin spice?

It’s all a cog in the machine of misleading information.

So please, I beg of you: think twice before “treating” yourself to a decadent and flavourful pumpkin spice latte this season.

You might think that you’re off the hook because you’re not directly harming the pumpkins, but you’re just as guilty for supporting the industry and enabling them to commit the atrocities. Sugar and pumpkin spice make everything nice, but denial and lies make an unpleasant surprise.

Starting last Monday, in a surprising move by the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU), teaching assistants began locking students inside of tutorial rooms in a way to further negotiations with the SFU Board of Governors.

The TSSU has been on strike since the start of summer semester, with many TAs withholding grades until an agreement is reached with the university. While students can

apply to receive their grades under special circumstances, many have been left unable to graduate or apply for financial awards without their grades.

An apparent stalemate between the university and the TSSU is being viewed as the main reason behind the recent heightened, somewhat extreme job action.

“The students need to know we care about them, and that if they refuse our care they’ll need to be dealt with harshly,” stated TSSU head member Mike Shunt. “In order for our students to understand the unfairness we’re dealing with from the Board, we plan on locking all our students in their tutorials.”

All tutorials in session during

the announcement were immediately locked in by their respective TAs, with students reportedly assuming it was all an elaborate prank; any such illusion has since worn off, after an undetermined number of students spent a whole night inside.

“I don’t even want my grades at this point,” a student pleaded behind closed doors after the first night. “We’re running out of food and water.”

The TSSU promised regular rations of bread, cheese, and water, however the rations seemed small in quantity.

During a press conference at the end of last week, SFU president Andrew Petter said he was shocked by the questionable

bargaining tactics and was stymied at what to do. According to Petter, his first thoughts were to call on the Burnaby police forces, but opted not to: “They’ll label me a unionbuster and I’ll look like a wagestealing dick. My Admiral Ackbar senses tell me it’s a trap.”

With even the school’s governors refusing to act, the situation has only worsened for students trapped in their tutorial rooms. Reports from grainy cellphone footage show Lord of the Flies -style scenarios in which students are viciously fighting each other for food and water. Feces and blood smears windows with messages reading “First our grades, now

this!?,” “How is this helping me?,” and “I don’t even know what TSSU stands for, leave me out of this!”

TSSU rep Hughe DuSchnozzle ignored the pleas, stating, “These complaints show the students still don’t understand how much our job actions are for their benefit. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind, I suppose.”

Remnants of the Simon Fraser Red Cross Club who weren’t trapped are preparing an aidsmuggling program into the tutorial rooms. This aid, while appreciated, still does not solve the lock-in which, much like the current strike, seems like an unending struggle.

26 HUMOUR

September 28, 2015

Being an accomplished anything at 21 years old is a big deal, which makes the reputation that comedian Sophie Buddle has all the more impressive. A Vancouverite of three years — and a stand-up comedian of six — Buddle is a staple at several local comedy shows, even when she’s not the one performing the jokes. The Peak chatted with Buddle about the satisfaction of writing material for other people, her first foray into stand-up at 15, and what advice she has for anyone starting out in comedy.

How did you first get involved with comedy?

My mom won tickets to Absolute Comedy in Ottawa and we went and had a really good time, and then we started going every week as a mother-daughter date. I asked her, “Can I do that?” and she said “Sure.”

We went on amateur nights and I’d think, “It looks like people don’t really know what they’re doing, and I don’t know what I’m doing.” It wasn’t like I thought I was better than those people; it was more that I wanted to be part of the struggle.

Do you mostly perform stand-up, or have you done other forms of comedy?

Before I did stand-up, I was a child actor. I was in a couple of independent horror movies, no blockbusters. I did improv in high school, but I’m not that good at it.

When was the first time you performed at a comedy club?

I lied about my age for the first two years of doing standup, because I was really young, around 15. I wanted to do stand-up but there were laws basically preventing me from living my dream, so I would just sneak in. It’s not that I looked old, but if you say that you’re on a show, they assume you’re not 15. Sometimes they’d ask for my ID and I’d say, “No, I’m late! I’m on the show, I have to go onstage,” and they’d let me in.

Finish this dream quote: “Sophie Buddle, official spokesperson for blank.”

“Michelle Obama’s arms.”

What’s been your most humbling experience while on stage?

Performing anywhere in Vancouver is really humbling, because the scene here is so insane. The talent in this city always makes me feel bad, because I’ll be on a show with some of the best comedians in the country, and they’re doing the same amount of time as me.

Do you think there are any advantages or disadvantages to being a younger comedian?

I think there are both. When you’re not old enough to enter the clubs, that’s a disadvantage, but that problem solves itself eventually. Advantages. . . Really good comedians are always older because they have so much life experience and they know more references. It’s always easier to be a comic if you’re older. But if you start young, it’s a big advantage because you’ll have that age at some point, plus more years of experience.

You hear that it usually takes six to eight to 10+ years for someone to figure out their style or voice. . .

Totally. I’m at six years now, so people accept that I’m a comedian.

For the first four or five years, you’re not a comedian. If you’ve been doing it for four years, people still think, “Oh, they’ll probably quit.” I think five is the point where people accept that you’ll be part of the community.

Do you have an ultimate goal in comedy that you’re working towards?

I don’t have a goal to have my own television show or anything. I’d like to write for a show at some point, but I’m always happy doing stand-up. I’d be happy to do stand-up until I die.

Do you have experience writing things outside of your stand-up?

I love doing roasts. I judge a roast show every month at the Little Mountain Gallery, so I get to write roast jokes. And then my ex-boyfriend has a Lettermanstyle talk showcase and I write all his monologue jokes. I like writing little jokes for other people.

What’s the most satisfying part of writing jokes for other people?

Just sending them off and then someone writing back, “Oh my god, this is so funny,” and people getting excited to tell your jokes because they know it’s going to go well. You get that feeling of saying something and then a group of people laughing, and you didn’t even have to say anything.

What’s something you’ve always wished someone would ask you in an interview that you haven’t been asked yet?

I don’t know, I don’t have a message that I want to get out there that no one’s asking me about. My advice for female comics: stand up for yourself if someone introduces you poorly or is sexist in any way. I’ve been introduced onstage so terribly, even recently.

There was twice in one week, and I won’t say any names because they’re both nice guys and they didn’t mean to do this, but I’d just gotten back from Just for Laughs and it’s the easiest credit to give. The two people before me had also just gotten back from Just For Laughs and he introduced them properly,

and then for me he said, “Your next comedian is a female,” and that was it. Even saying I was new on the scene, which isn’t good, would’ve been better. Anything but that. For him to say nothing about comedy is so offensive.

This has happened a lot. That same week, someone introduced me by saying, “Your next comedian hasn’t been doing stand-up very long, give it up for Sophie Buddle.” It’s such an uphill right away. Everyone makes jokes and a lot of the jokes will be about you.

Remember that everyone gets made fun of when they start, girl or guy, but after you’re part of the scene, you decide what jokes are being made of you.

My advice for newer people is to watch as much stand-up, live and online, as possible. Get on stage as much as possible too, and just be nice and fun to hang out with on shows. It’s easier to get stage time if people like you, and it encourages you to get out more if you want to hang out.

As far as writing goes: just be original, say what would make you laugh. It doesn’t make sense to write for anyone but yourself.

HUMOUR

September 28, 2015

27

28 LAST WORD

ast season was one of mixed opinions for Canucks fans such as myself. New General Manager Jim Benning and President Trevor Linden revamped the team, trading Ryan Kesler for Nick Bonino, a first round pick that ended up being Jared McCann, and much-maligned defenceman Luca Sbisa. They also traded away Jason Garrison at the draft for a second round pick, which they flipped for Linden Vey. Forsling for Clendenning was an interesting trade, and acquiring Sven Baertschi from Calgary may turn out to be a great move.

The Canucks finished second in the division last year with 101 points. It looked like Benning and Linden were geniuses, and built up a lot of good will with fans after most pundits picked them to miss the playoffs. Unfortunately this was short-lived, as the team lost in the first round to a vastly inferior Calgary Flames side, including blowing a 3–0 lead in game six to be eliminated.

With a new season, though, comes new expectations and fresh optimism. Let’s take a look

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at each facet of the Canucks team and see whether they have improved or gotten worse.

The forwards and the entire team once again will be led by the Sedin twins. They had another strong season last year, with Daniel finishing with 76 points and Henrik with 73. The reason for the points-increase for the twins was the addition of Radim Vrbata to their line. His 31 goals boosted a Canucks offense that looked anemic at most points during the Tortorella regime. The team will have to make a decision at the trade deadline though, as Vrbata is on the last year of his contract. Do they trade him away and perhaps get a pick and prospect from a contending team? Or keep hold of him for the potential playoff push and lose him for nothing in free agency?

The trade for Brandon Sutter is extremely hard to justify any way you look at it.

He’s never scored more than 50 points in the NHL, despite playing on an offensively gifted Pittsburgh Penguins team for the past three seasons. A better choice for second line centre would have been Bo Horvat. He has a lot more upside than Sutter, plus played very well down

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the stretch run and in the playoffs. Trading away Zack Kassian and giving up a fifth round pick for Brandon Prust is highly conflicting, considering Benning’s messages about making the team younger.

Forwards such as Chris Higgins will still have a place, but will have to battle youngsters such as Jake Virtanen, Jared McCann, and Sven Baertschi for playing time now. As well, the loss of Shawn Matthias and Brad Richardson in free agency may severely hurt the scoring depth if none of the aforementioned players can step up and contribute.

The most noticeable loss from a fan’s perspective was Kevin Bieksa getting traded to the Anaheim Ducks. From the team’s perspective, it’s not that big of a loss. Kevin Bieksa and Luca Sbisa were a terrible defensive pairing last season. Replacing Bieksa with free agent Matt Bartkowski and getting a second round draft pick from the trade was good business,

September 28, 2015

but having Luca Sbisa for three more years still scares me. The untimely turnovers and terrible defensive coverages were the only “highlights” of his first season in Vancouver, and the Canucks stand to give up a significant amount of goals when he’s on the ice.

On a positive note, Alex Edler and Chris Tanev are looking like a solid pairing that can go up against the opposing team’s top line.

Tanev in particular, while not great at putting up points, is a great shutdown defenceman and has great underlying advanced stats, such as his 55.4 Fenwick for percentage, a statistic that measures the percentage of scoring chances a player is on for. Frank Corrado will hopefully be given more of a shot, and with Yannick Weber and potentially Jordan Subban at some point, the defence looks like it will be able to produce at the same level as last year at the very least.

By far the biggest question mark heading into the season will be in net. The trade of Eddie Lack angered many in the fanbase, including myself. Not only was he

proving himself to be an excellent goalie, his personality was perfect for this market. Lack’s fate was sealed though, when, after a poor game four, coach Willie Desjardins decided to start a not full fit Ryan Miller for the next two games.

Miller at his age is now an average starting goaltender in the NHL, making six million dollars a year. Without Lack, there is no safety net if he falters or gets injured like last year. While the Canucks believe in Jacob Markstrom, I frankly don’t. True, he has been an outstanding goalie in the AHL, but in the NHL his numbers are not so great, and his three goals on four shots performance against San Jose last season is still fresh in my mind. ...

“Change is coming” has been this regime’s mantra, and indeed there have been big changes to the team, but they haven’t been positive. From the resigning to Luca Sbisa, to the trades of Eddie Lack and for Brandon Sutter, it’s hard to see where the team has improved over the offseason. With LA, Edmonton, Calgary, and Dallas all getting better, the Canucks will be in tough to have a good of a season as last year. I’ll be surprised if they make the playoffs this coming season.