The Runner Volume 9, Issue 17

Volume 09 // Issue 17

News

The Slow and Steady Progress of the Student Union Building

R

june 13 2017

Culture

KSA Introduces New Social Media Policy for Clubs

Opinion

Examining the Corporate Shell Game behind Pemberton

THE RUNNER

WHAT DO WE CELEBRATE? Indigenous Canadians share their perspectives on Canada 150

find us online / runnermag.ca / @runnermag / facebook.com/runnerMAG / INSTAGRAM.com/RUNNERMAG

2 table of contents

staff

04 07

News| Plans for Student Union Building Move Forward

A KSA “steering committee” for the creation of a SUB recently held its first meeting to form project plans, and according to the May 19 President’s Report to the KSA delivered

by KSA President Tanvir Singh, things are moving “very quickly.”

Coordinating Editor Tristan Johnston editor@runnermag.ca

Managing Editor

Connor Doyle managing@runnermag.ca

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culture|The KSA’s New Social Media Policy for Clubs

Production Manager

Melanie Tan production@runnermag.ca

Art Director

Nicole Kwit art@runnermag.ca

Photo Editor

Tommy Nguyen photos@runnermag.ca

Associate Editor

Alyssa Laube staff@runnermag.ca

Web Editor

Joseph Keller web@runnermag.ca

Operations Manager Scott Boux office@runnermag.ca 778.565.3801

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The policy includes a list of things clubs should do when posting to social media, like clearly separating between club and personal accounts, keeping personal email addresses private when sending mass emails, and making an effort to moderate any public discussions on club pages.

08 14

features| What Do We Celebrate?

The first of July this year will mark the 150th anniversary of Canada existing on Native land. Brandon Gabriel from Kwantlen First Nation calls this anniversary “posturing by political parties to frame Canada as devoid of any political or economic structures.”

opinions|The Corporate Shell Game Behind Pemberton

Despite already having received $6 million worth of revenue from tickets, the directors of the corporate partnership in charge of the festival set up their bankruptcy in a way that prioritized the compensation of “secured creditors” over anyone else.

#FeatureTweets

Arbutus 3710/3720 12666 72 Ave. Surrey, B.C, V3W 2M8 778.565.3801 www.runnermag.ca Vol. 09, Issue no. 17 June 13, 2017 ISSN# 1916 8241

Contributors Cover Yuta Anonuevo Justin Bige Stephanie Davies Kyrsten Downton

Ashley Hyshka Braden Klassen Nat Mussell

Nicole Kwit takes pride in being able to bring narratives to life through visual arts. A recent graduate of Kwantlen Polytechnic University from the Fine Arts BA program, Nicole is currently working as the Art Director of The Runner, as well as a Concept Designer for a virtual reality gaming company based in Australia. When not making art, Nicole is hanging out with her dog and planning her tattoos while gorging on smoothies.

The Runner is student-owned and operated by Kwantlen Polytechnic University students, published under the Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society. The Runner recognises that our work, both in and out of the office, takes place on unceded Coast and Strait Salish territories, specifically the shared traditional territories of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Sto:lo and Tsawwassen First Nations. Our name is inspired by the hun’qumi’num meaning of Kwantlen, which is tireless hunters or tireless runners. Just as Kwantlen is adaptable and changing so is The Runner.

editorial 3

From The Editors

Violence against journalists is always a problem

What’s Happening this week

jun 13 say cheese

To help celebrate Canada turning 150, KPU is inviting as many students as it can muster to gather on the Surrey campus for a photo. They’re also going to be leaving a time capsule for future generations.

1 - 2, Surrey Main Courtyard, free.

Al Jazeera’s Gaza crew and other journalists sit on the street following concerns that their media building could be hit by the military. (Al Jazeera English/Flickr)

Tristan Johnston |Coordinating Editor On the day before voting was to take place, Montana GOP candidate Greg Gianforte allegedly body slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the ground when he was attempting to ask Gianforte about the bad score by the Congressional Budget Office on the GOP health care bill that was working its way through Congress.

The incident was recorded on Jacob’s audio recorder and witnessed by Fox News reporters.

Gianforte won his election anyway, despite the right-leaning Fox News reporting on his interaction with Jacobs and the fact that Gianforte was charged with assault by Montana police.

There is a troubling trend right now that shows journalists losing the respect and influence they used to have. Violence against journalists isn’t necessarily new—ask anyone who wrote something negative about

Vladimir Putin in Russia—but it’s pretty new in the West.

Donald Trump made a habit of antagonizing journalists during his campaign, calling much of the mainstream media “fake news,” which was loosely defined as basically anything that reported on his continuous nonsense. While Republicans have been decrying “biased media” for several years, Trump took it a step further and called most of American media—including Fox News—“fake.” He was then rewarded with the presidency.

Along with this trend of antagonism is the worrying lack Wof influence of journalism. During the campaign and, of course, his presidency, Trump has done plenty of things that would have ruined presidents in the past. Nearly every journalist in D.C. is watching Trump under a microscope, but he’s still in office. In the early 1970’s it took only the continuous efforts of two Washington Post journalists to break Watergate wide

open, resulting in Nixon’s resignation within a short period of time.

It’s not going well in Canada, either. In 2015 an Ipsos Reid poll of 4,000 found that only 18 per cent of those surveyed trusted journalists.

For perspective, plumbers scored at 28 per cent.

Just in Vancouver, Sun journalist Kim Bolan was reporting on the trial of someone from a gang she was investigating and found her name come up during court proceedings. This wasn’t even the first time something like this had happened to Bolan, with a dead rat in a ziploc bag showing up at her newsroom in February 2009 with a note attached saying that she would be killed if she didn’t stop her gang reporting.

Obviously this is a unique example, as the vast majority of journalists in Canada will never find themselves in such a position. The situation is much different for anyone working in Syria, eastern Ukraine, or Mexico,

where journalism is a whole other level of dangerous.

But journalism is necessary, even with all of this abuse thrown our way, and there’s so much pressure on us to get things right. Even small typos in articles can result in a loss of trust or abuse written in emails and comment sections.

Even Gianforte, who assaulted Ben Jacobs, acknowledges that journalism is important in our democracy. Last week, long after the incident took place, Gianforte wrote a surprisingly decent apology letter. In it he acknowledges his wrongdoing, the role of journalism to American democracy, and announces that he made a $50,000 donation to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Let’s hope that slow FOI requests remain the worst that we have to deal with in the future.

KSA President Addresses Title Change

News Briefs

joseph keller | web editor There have been changes made to several KSA titles and committee names recently. The KSA bylaws state that there must be a VP Student Services, but the current holder of that position, KSA President Tanvir Singh, is using the title of VP University Affairs. In addition, the Standing Committee on Student Services has been suspended since August of last year and replaced with a Standing Committee on University Affairs.

Normally, changes such as these require a vote at the KSA’s Annual General Meeting, but Singh says that the KSA was able to make them unofficially thanks to a section in the KSA bylaws that allows for “nicknaming”.

Singh says that the changes in terminology were made to better convey what the role he occupies actually entails. He says that while VP

Student Services is still an active title as defined by KSA bylaws, there is a section that allows Council to give titles “nicknames” to better address the role that the title defines, despite remaining the same as far as the bylaws are concerned. In this sense, his title is still officially VP Student Services, but for all intents and purposes, Singh is VP University Affairs.

“That section of the regulations gives us the ability to call things by different names to kind of suit our daily needs a little bit better versus what the technical legal definition is in our bylaws,” says Singh.

Singh says that, as with his title, the change to KSA Standing Committee on Student Services was made to better reflect what the committee actually does.

At this year’s KSA annual general meeting, councilors had planned to amend the bylaws to make the title

changes official. Unfortunately, the KSA failed to get quorum—a minimum number of eligible student voters needed to change bylaws—and were unable to make the alteration.

Despite this, Singh says he is not concerned about these changes causing confusion among KPU students.

“I think one of the things that we’ve been sure to do is to keep good communications on what exactly these roles are. I think myself not using the title of VP Services, there’s fewer and fewer spots where we use that title on our website or regulations or communications. I think that’s helping a lot with making sure the students aren’t confused.”

Singh says that KSA councillors are always happy to clear up any confusion that students might have about KSA bylaws and naming conventions.

Jun 21 aboriginal day celebration

KPU is celebrating National Aboriginal Day on the Surrey campus. First there’ll be an address from the elder in residence, followed by a presentation from a dance troop and some hoop dancing.

1:30 - 3, Surrey Main Courtyard, free.

jun 21 Ramadan Iftar

The Muslim Student Association is having a Ramadan Iftar at the Afghan Chopan restaurant. Break the fast with some delicious food, and RSVP

by June 14 to be eligible for a prize giveaway.

8:30 - 10:30, Afghan Chopan Restaurant, the price of a meal.

jun 24

westham island nature hike Active KSA and Sustainable KSA are headed to Reifel Bird Sanctuary on Westham Island, and they want to see you there. They’ll also be strawberry picking and ice-cream licking.

9:30 - 12:30, Westham Island, $8 for students.

jun 28 canada day event

As July 1 falls on a Saturday this year, KPU is celebrating Canada Day a few days early. Join your fellow Canadians for some frisbee tossing, dodgeball hurling, kite flying, face painting fun!

11 - 4, Surrey Main Courtyard, free.

jun 29 open mic & karaoke

On the last Thursday of every month the KSA holds an open mic and karaoke night where students can have fun and make fools of themselves with their friends. There’ll be shareable snacks and KPU Craft Brew on tap.

6 - 8, Grassroots, free.

4 news

Sedins Receive Honorary Doctorates of Law From KPU Local NHL hockey legends honoured for their leadership and community support Joseph Keller | Web Editor A pair of hometown legends were on campus June 1 to be honored by Kwantlen Polytechnic University for their contributions to the Metro Vancouver community and their leadership both on and off the ice.

Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin and alternate captain Daniel Sedin each received honorary degrees at this year’s convocation ceremony in the KPU Surrey campus conference centre.

“It was a big honour,” Daniel said at a press event shortly after the ceremony. “We’ve never been a part of anything like this and it’s a great honour for us and our families to get this.”

During the ceremony, the Sedins had the opportunity to say a few words to the KPU graduates. Henrik used his time to reflect on their careers, reminiscing about their arrival in Canada from Sweden as 19-yearold NHL rookies and learning from Canucks veterans.

“What we learned so early in our career is what I hope that you might remember from our time here with you today,” he said. “The simplest things you do for others can have a meaningful impact on their lives.”

Daniel spoke about how the

pair has found a home in Vancouver and with the Canucks organisation.

He said that it’s because they have received so much from the city and team that they feel the need to give back through the many charitable organisations and initiatives they support.

“Playing hockey here has been a privilege, and being able to give back to the community has been our great honour,” Daniel told graduates. “We have witnessed in our careers tremendous growth in the way hockey players and organizations contribute to their communities.”

Through the team’s highs and lows the Sedins have remained the heart of the Vancouver Canucks.

The twins have repaid the mentorship they received from the likes of Markus Näslund and Trevor Linden by becoming mentors to the new generation of Canucks like Bo Horvat and Sven Bärtschi. The role is more important now than ever, as the team struggles to rebuild itself into a playoff contender.

“We were in those shoes a long time ago and we learned from the best,” says Henrik. “We watched them. We listened to what they said.

It’s not so much about having to talk to [the younger players] all the time.

It’s about them learning and watching

Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin and alternate captain Daniel Sedin were presented honorary degrees at the KPU convocation ceremony on Thursday, June 1. (Submitted) the older guys.”

KPU president Alan Davis says it’s that mentorship and commitment to giving back that drove his decision to offer the honorary degrees to the Sedin twins. In addition to their leadership to the team, the Sedins are leaders in the community, supporting dozens of local initiatives including Canuck Place Children’s Hospice,

Canucks for Kids Fund, the YWCA, and B.C. Children’s Hospital through their Sedin Family Foundation.

“For them to be able to take [their success] and turn it around and say, ‘Now it’s important for us to serve the community,’ is pretty amazing,” says Davis. “They do it in such a low key way. I think they’re just great role models for anybody.”

The Sedins left some parting words of wisdom for the future graduates of KPU. “It’s about treating other people how you want to be treated yourself,” says Henrik. “Just be nice.”

The Sedins’ full speech can be found on The Runner’s Facebook page.

Plans for Student Union Building Move Forward Process of designing and building a SUB are in the early stages Joseph Keller | Web Editor The Kwantlen Student Association is beginning to move forward with plans to build a new student union building on the Surrey campus.

A KSA “steering committee” for the creation of a SUB recently held its first meeting to form project plans, and according to the May 19 President’s Report to the KSA delivered by KSA President Tanvir Singh, things are moving “very quickly.” The project will be entirely student-led and funded, although the building will remain the property of the university.

“We’re super excited that we’re going ahead with the consultations on this project,” says Singh. “We’re super excited to have this building up and running as soon as humanly possible, and about the opportunities it will provide to KPU students.”

The building will serve as the primary operating quarters for the KSA, who will use it for office and council meeting space. It will also host various student constituencies.

Singh says that the KSA is envisioning the SUB as “a community hub where we’re able to engage students and really bring the KSA to the forefront of the [KPU] community.”

Funding for the project has been collected by the KSA via student fees since 2009 when students voted in a referendum to approve a Student

Union Building Capital Fee. Singh says that there will be no additional cost to students as the project moves forward. The KSA has negotiated a loan from Vancity Credit Union to secure the remainder of the funding required for the designing and building phases. Students will continue paying the Student Union Building Capital Fee until the loan is paid off.

Thus far, the early steering committee meetings have largely focused on weighing the pros and cons of two different approaches to designing and building the facility.

The standard approach to construction that has historically been used in Canada is referred to as “design-bid-build.” If they used this method, the KSA would hire and work with an architectural firm to design every detail of the building in a blueprint. From there they would entertain bids from construction companies to build it. This process would give the KSA complete control of every detail of the final project, but each step is time consuming, and the price of materials and labour needed for construction fluctuates.

An alternative approach is referred to as “design-build” and involves the KSA relinquishing some control in favor of an expedited timeline and a flat budget. With this method, KSA organisers would set parameters rather than creating their

own design. The building companies would bring their own designs as part of the bidding process. The budget is more definitively set under this method as builders are contractually obligated to stay within the agreed upon budget, and they shoulder the risk associated with fluctuating market costs. Singh says that the latter is the

approach that he personally favors, as it’s likely the fastest way to get the building completed.

“My personal [opinion] is that we’ve waited quite a long time for this building to come up and it’s about time that we started building this building really soon,” says Singh.

Hard facts about the SUB are

scarce at this time, as it’s still very early in the planning process. A definite location for it has not been set, but a currently vacant spot of land next to the Surrey campus that was donated to the university by the Westerman family last year has been discussed as a likely possibility.

(Nicole Kwit)

KPU Access Programs Department Responds to Critical Open Letter ACCESS application is case-by-case, says administrators tristan johnston | coordinating editor In early May, Richmond News published a letter to the editor, wherein Marie Murtagh suggested that KPU’s ACCESS program for students with disabilities was less accessible than the name implied.

In the letter, Murtagh takes issue with the requirement that those in the program need the ability to navigate the school and possible worksites safely and independently, implying that students who can’t use transit wouldn’t be allowed in.

“The fact that this highly specialized ACCESS program (designed for “...adults with a permanent disability or a combination of learning difficulties that hinder scholastic success...”) screens student applications based on such an unreasonable expectation, strikes me as completely absurd,” writes Murtagh.

The KPU website says that the “Access Programs for People with Disabilities Department (APPD) offers ten-month employment programs for adults with a permanent disability or a combination of learning disabilities that hinder scholastic success.

These programs prepare students for employment, volunteer work or further education.”Jeff Prasad, a faculty member of the APPD says that ACCESS is a “ten-month program, it consists of two courses within that ten

months, it’s for adults with disability, or with a learning barrier of one kind or another. Someone could attend the program with a diagnosis of some kind or another, or, someone could self-refer themselves.”

Prasad also says that they teach employability skills, community skills, and prepare students for further academic programming.

“On the face of it, it is… silly,” says Kim McMartin, the KSA representative for Students with Disabilities. “But on account of there being people who are looking over applications, and interviewing people, then they have the final say.”

McMartin, says that she met with President’s Diversity and Equity Committee (PDEC) where “Val [Innes], who was one of the representatives of the ACCESS program, confirmed that people who aren’t transit-independent have been accepted into the program. It’s basically on a case-by-case basis.”

McMartin also says that those who haven’t been accepted weren’t necessarily denied because of transit, and it could be many other factors.

Prasad confirmed in a separate interview that APPD does indeed proceed on a case-by-case basis. “There are requirements, but we interview students [...] to find out if there’s a good chance they’ll be successful in the program.”

(Nat Mussell) “The ACCESS program is a good program,” adds McMartin. “It’s run by a lot of caring people who are specially trained, and they want people in the program to succeed.”

With regards to the letter written to Richmond News, Aimee Begalka, Associate Dean of Academic and Career Advancement, confirmed that they spoke with Murtagh.

“These kinds of things help us to do better. We did actually really appreciate the time it took to write that letter,” says Begalka. “It was a good letter. It was thoughtful, it was clear,

it wasn’t just a rant. It was really about something that we could talk about. I kind of appreciated it.”

Prasad agrees. “We like to get that kind of feedback, because if there is a barrier, or a perceived barrier, then we want to be clear on what those expectations are.”

The Runner attempted to reach out to Marie Murtagh, but was unable to find contact information before press time.

Student health care plans may soon include support for those seeking better mental health

Tanvir Singh, President of the Kwantlen Student Association, wants to change how mental illness is addressed at KPU, as he feels it “isn’t addressed in the open as much as it really should be.”

About a year ago, the KSA were approached by current health and dental provider Gallivan & Associates, who discussed the idea of adding mental health initiatives to the current insurance plan. Unsatisfied with the product, the KSA offered feedback, and has been reworking the insurance plan for the past year.

Singh and his fellow executives will be meeting with Gallivan & Associates at a conference to further discuss the proposal and finalize the details of the plan.

The mental health initiative that the KSA is researching is a product called myWellness, which is currently being utilized by BCIT.

MyWellness contains a toolbox of resources for improving one’s mental health, such as preliminary evaluation tools that can assess if a person needs to talk to a psychologist or doctor, and then directs them to a specialist that is well suited to them.

It also offers the phone numbers for crisis lines, facts about mental illnesses, mental health essentials, and stress relieving tips.

The KSA estimates that one per cent of students would utilize the mental health tool.

Singh realizes that one per cent only represents a small fraction of the total number of university students currently grappling with a mental illness, but believes that by using awareness campaigns, other students will seek treatment.

“Take a step back from your learning, your education, your home life, and other things, and other aspects of your life, and really focus on yourself,” he says.

KSA, ABCS Supportive of NDP-Green Coalition joseph keller | web editor

KSA Aims to Improve Student Mental Wellness Ashley Hyshka

NEWS 5

While there is no set deadline for the new plan’s implementation, Singh says “one of the big things that we need to ensure, and that’s kind of a due diligence that myself and the rest of the [KSA] Executives have, is that the products we’re looking at are of high enough quality and low enough cost that we’re actually able to implement them here for students.”

Singh and the Executive team are “trying to take a multi-faceted approach towards mental health,” and hope to run a campaign on the subject sometime over the next year.

Only recently has mental health made its way to the forefront of insurance plans. Lobbying by the KSA and other student associations has encouraged insurance providers to take mental health seriously, causing development for products like myWellness.

Singh became passionate about advocating for mental health when he and a couple of friends created

the Kwantlen Gaming Guild at KPU. Singh noticed how members opened up emotionally during club get-togethers, and noted a lack of mental health and wellness on campus to address some of their concerns.

“It’s something that really struck a chord with me personally,” he said.

He continues, “At the KSA we’re really excited that, in the future, we’re not only going to be taking mental health seriously, but we’re also going to be providing opportunities for students to really take a look at their mental health and wellness.

Mental health, physical health and wellness are all part of the same circle and everyone needs to take care of themselves. That’ll provide a better experience for students on campus, but also better experience for students throughout their lives.”

Write for the runner! contact: editor@runnermag.ca

Student organisations in B.C. are optimistic about what the cooperation between the B.C. NDP and B.C. Greens means for students in the province.

The two parties agreed to a partnership that will see them form a coalition government after the B.C. Liberal government failed to retain a majority of seats in the provincial legislation after the May 9 election.

The agreement between the Greens and NDP contains several provisions that the Kwantlen Student Association considers to be good news for B.C. students.

The KSA sent out a press release on May 31 expressing support for the coalition and commending several of the parties’ joint policies.

“I am extremely excited that many sections of the NDP-Green agreement are wins for youth and students,” KSA Vice President External Affairs Caitlin McCutchen wrote in the press release.

The KSA goes on to commend the coalition’s promise to restore free tuition for adult basic education, a reversal of a controversial decision to charge tuition for the service by the B.C. Liberals in 2015. The KSA did, however, express disappointment for the lack of specific promises to relieve student debt. The KSA is also hopeful that the Green-NDP government will make significant investments into job training initiatives.

“Committing to a four-year investment into co-ops, work experience and internships for undergrads will help to improve employment options and reduce the likelihood of precarious work situations faced by most new graduates,” says McCutchen.

Alex McGowan, chair of the Alliance of B.C. Students, is also supportive of the incoming government.

The ABCS has been pushing for the provincial government to reduce barriers keeping post secondary institutions in the province from building student housing facilities. Both the B.C. NDP and Greens have backed these initiatives.

“It’s fantastic and exciting that we will have a government that is committed to allowing universities like KPU to build on-campus housing,” says McGowan. “We look forward to a time in the near future when more students can live on campus while attending post-secondary education in B.C.. Our next step is to make sure that the housing built for students is accessible and affordable.”

Caitlin McCutchen could not be reached for an interview before press time.

6 NEWS

BDS Policy not Expected from KSA in the Near Future

Despite referendums at UBC and SFU, the KSA is not taking a stance on BDS joseph keller | web editor Recent discussions from the UBC and SFU student associations about the possibility of endorsing the controversial Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has stirred debate at the Kwantlen Student Association about potentially taking an official position.

The topic was brought up at a meeting of the Standing Committee on University Affairs on April 20, and although the KSA has no plans to put a policy to a vote, the BDS movement has become a subject of interest for some KSA councillors.

“BDS is definitely something that I would like to bring to the table and talk about,” says KSA Mature Students Representative and Standing Committee on University Affairs Chairperson Zahid Dossa.

Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions is a global movement that aims to put political and economic pressure on the state of Israel in response to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and to support the rights of Palestinian people through non-violent means. Due to the movement’s differential treatment of the state of Israel, BDS has been condemned by some organisations as antisemitic.

Supporters of BDS argue that the movement is only concerned with

the actions and policies of Israel in regards to human rights.

“For those who are concerned with respecting, protecting, promoting human rights, it’s a way of helping Palestinians put on that economic and political pressure against Israeli occupation and aiming to end the occupation of Palestine,” says Dossa.

“The movement stands for freedom, justice, and equality.”

Dossa says that he first brought up the possibility of a KSA BDS policy at the KSA annual general meeting this past March. Afterwards he was approached by a handful of KPU students in support of such a policy.

“There’s definitely an interest in having a conversation on it,” he says.

In April, the UBC Alma Mater Society held a referendum on adopting BDS policy that was defeated by a narrow 52 per cent. The topic stirred heated debate on the UBS campus leading up to the referendum, with opponents of the movement arguing that the policy would have made Jewish students on campus feel unsafe, according to an op-ed published by The Ubyssey in March.

“I applaud students at UBC who want to stand up for the rights of the oppressed, give a voice to the voiceless and promote justice across the globe,” writes Koby Michaels in the March 28 Ubyssey op-ed. “However,

(Nicole Kwit) BDS is not the answer. It will bring bigotry, hatred and even violence to UBC.” A similar referendum by the SFU Teaching Support Staff Union failed recently by just 51 per cent. The policy would have seen the union actively supporting and participating in BDS and, as with the UBC referendum, the topic generated controversy at SFU. An open letter was circulated urging

the union to vote “no” to the referendum and was signed by dozens of members of the SFU community.

Both referendums contributed to the discussion regarding BDS at the April 20 meeting of the Standing Committee on University Affairs.

Although this discussion was purely hypothetical, Dossa says that there is a definite possibility of more serious discussion in the future. He says he

plans to reach out to SFU and UBC student union officials to discuss their experiences attempting to enact BDS policy.

“I don’t foresee a [KSA] policy being written any time soon because, especially when you look at what’s happened at UBC and SFU, it’s something that requires a lot of discussion with students,” says Dossa.

New Sexual Assault and Misconduct Policies to promote consent Culture on Campus

KPU’s recently passed policies will focus on protecting students and supporting survivors of sexual assault Ashley Hyshka Sexual assault is an unnerving topic for many people. On university campuses, its existence and consequences couldn’t be clearer.

According to a CBC report, there were 16 reported cases of sexual assault at UBC between 2009 and 2013.

However, a freedom of information request revealed that there were actually a total of 70 cases at the university in that time. There were nine reported cases at SFU, and two reports at BCIT. Capilano University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University reported zero cases.

Last year, to address the issue of sexual assault on university campuses, the B.C. government introduced the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act, which mandates post-secondary institutions to implement a policy to deal with sexual misconduct, prevention, and appropriate responses before May 19, 2017. KPU implemented theirs on April 22.

The policy encompasses everyone at KPU from students to faculty to the administration, and covers any form of sexual violence transpiring on university property.

To UBC psychologist Ingrid Sochting, having acceptance and

support systems such as this policy on-campus is crucial for a survivor’s recovery.

“The trauma will always change you,” says Sochting. “But we can look at that event as another chapter in the whole long book of our lives … We’re gonna close that chapter, as opposed to you sort of being stuck, and never getting on to the rest of your life.”

The policy explains that survivors of sexual assault shouldn’t refrain from seeking recourse through criminal or civil proceedings. But doing so isn’t always easy, KPU criminology professor Mike Larsen says.

“A fear of revictimization” is one crucial reason why victims don’t come forward, according to Larsen.

Another reason is because they’re terrified of being interrogated, testifying in court, and recounting their assault.

Victim blaming and rape culture causes survivors to refrain from reporting; something the KPU and KSA policies seek to change.

“Pernicious, destructive rape myths [exist] throughout the process, and I think that also factors into rates of reporting,” he says.

For Natasha Lopes, the former Women’s Representative with the Kwantlen Student Association, pass-

ing the new policies is a long-awaited victory. Lopes offered criticism of KPU’s policies and wrote the KSA’s own sexual misconduct policy, focusing the document on education and awareness. She believes that advocacy is the cornerstone of changing how people view sexual assault, especially on university campuses.

“Misogynistic views hurt not only women, but men, because men are the children of women,” she said.

“In order to have a wholesome conversation about sexual assault and consent culture, you need to include men.”

Lopes adds that educating students on consent and rape culture is the only way to end campus sexual assault, and that the KSA is planning to help.

While she was working as Women’s Representative, Lopes unexpectedly became a confidant for many students on-campus.

“Students [were] coming up to me, disclosing that they’d been assaulted,” she says. “I don’t even think you can sum it up in words. The way I look at the world, the way I look at feminism, and the way that I look at outreach and advocacy ... everything has changed.”

In conjunction with the new pol-

icies, current KSA Women’s Representative Caitlin McCutchen is planning a consent campaign she hopes to launch in fall 2017.

“The fundamental reason why sexual assault happens on campus

is because rape is normalized,” says McCutchen. “I’m proud we have definitions of what rape culture and what consent culture are [in our policy].”

KSA Women’s Representative Caitlin McCutcher plans to continue Lopes’ work with making KPU a safe space. (Stock Photo)

Former KSA Women’s Representative Natasha Lopes worked with the KSA and University to draft sexual assault and misconduct policies. (Stock Photo)

NEWS 7

KSA Introduces New Social Media Policy for Clubs The policy sets out what clubs should and shouldn’t do on social media Braden Klassen | contributor In a Council meeting on May 19, the Kwantlen Student Association passed a new set of policies meant to regulate the content posted to social media

by KPU clubs.

The policies aim to reinforce the existing policies of social media platforms, as well as promote inclusivity and prevent online bullying and harassment. Parts of the policy also address the protection of members’ private information, and the limiting of spam or aggressive posting.

“It’s largely targeted at public club communications,” says Jay Reedy, VP Student Life for the KSA. “It doesn’t have anything to do with someone’s personal posts. It doesn’t have anything to do with non-KSA affiliated social media or anything like that. This is solely for clubs that have identified themselves as KSA, and have a lot of public posts and things like that.”

While there are some clubs that do not use social media in any official capacity, there are a few that post more regularly, such as the Kwantlen Gaming Guild, which uses Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to communicate with members and followers.

The policy includes a list of

things clubs and groups should do when posting to social media, like clearly separating between club and personal accounts, keeping personal email addresses private when sending mass emails, and making an effort to moderate any public discussions on club pages if they contravene the policy.

Clubs should not post content that is unlawful, misleading, or that contains personal information of someone without their permission.

The policy also prohibits clubs from making “posts that are threatening, harassing, discriminatory, abusive, hateful, libelous, illegal, obscene, indecent, defamatory, embarrassing to another person, or hostile towards any individual or entity.”

According to Reedy, the KSA has not had any issues with clubs’ social media posts in the past, and he describes the new policy as “more of a pre-emptive measure.”

“We just realised that there was kind of a need for something like this because we didn’t have any recourse if someone was to be harassed online,” he says. “We wanted to make sure that we had a means to be able to take a stand against cyber bullying and harassment.”

“It’s always been within the

KSA’s vision to create an inclusive space as far as student groups go, and make sure that people are free from harassing and prejudice,” he adds.

To that end, the new social media policy’s procedures mandate “that the KSA hold semesterly inclusivity training covering topics including but not limited to social media practices, cyber bullying and harassment, and fostering an online environment free of prejudice.” Reedy says this training will be similar to the inclusivity training that KSA Councillors and Executives receive.

“Note that we’re not trying to limit free speech at any point here, as long as that freedom is being expressed within the law,” he says.

Clubs are required by the policy to state that their posts do not reflect the views of the KSA, however this is not meant to prevent them from making posts that could be critical of the organization.

“This doesn’t really have anything to do with anyone making negative posts about the KSA,” says Reedy. “We certainly wouldn’t be using this policy to go after that. This is more on the individual harassment side. It’s a function of government that you should be able to complain about government.”

(Nat Mussell)

KPU, SFU Researchers Receive Grant to Help with “Clean Food” Project

More than $725,000 will go to bringing clean food and water to areas challenged by climate change stephanie davies | Contributor KPU and SFU researchers have received a three-year grant of more than $725,000 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada College University Idea to Innovation. This grant will advance their project, “From Waste to Clean Food”.

“There’ll be quite intensive work going on in the next three years,” says Deborah Henderson, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Horticulture at KPU, who’s leading the university’s contributions on the project.

Among Henderson’s team are two students who’ve been hired for their skill and dedication to the subject. In regards to the future of green technology, Henderson believes that KPU students will have a variety of

new and interesting jobs available to them.

“When we built our research greenhouse it was geothermal, and it was always meant to host projects that would improve energy efficiency in greenhouses,” says Henderson. “[Greenhouses are] very good for production but they use a lot of energy, so while we don’t have that expertise here to do that kind of work, I thought it was a really good idea to make it available and look for partners to do that kind of work.”

KPU’s greenhouse has hosted several other research projects, including one from UBC. When Henderson met with SFU mechatronic systems engineering professor Majid Bahrami, their research partnership began.

“When we met Majid [Bahrami], he was interested in the fact that we have a greenhouse that is quite good for research purposes,” says Henderson. “[We’ve] brought a lot of expertise and a facility that they don’t have at Simon Fraser. It’s a nice combination of expertise—neither of us have all of it, but together, we have quite a lot to offer.”

The SFU lab provides technology in energy efficient use, reclaiming waste energy and putting it back into energy systems. These technologies will be further developed over the course of the project. The KPU researchers are assisting with the development of these technologies, but they won’t be the engineers behind them.

“The piece that we’re going to be

Director of the KPU Institute for Sustainable Horticulture, Deborah Henderson. (Submitted)

doing is a bit of a byproduct,” Henderson explains. “And if it creates a greenhouse environment that is more cost-effective, it means you can produce more things in it. You can consider other crops.”

She continues, “Right now, we grow a limited number of vegetables in greenhouses because they tolerate the conditions and the cross-benefit analysis just works. We don’t have to cool the greenhouses for those vegetables, but we do have to heat them.

We can actually have more control over the climate in the greenhouse and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. It becomes more cost-effective to grow other things, too.”

Henderson says she will also be working with a faculty member from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture program at KPU who is knowledgeable about using herbs.

As part of the project, a student and a member of the teaching staff from the TCM program will join Henderson in screening some Asian herbs.

“If [the herbs] do function well and it’s possible to grow them in the greenhouse when they cannot grow them outside, then this project will hopefully provide the technology to make that possible for greenhouse production,” says Henderson. “It also offers to expand the number of crops that could be grown in green-

houses, especially when they’re more energy-efficient. And more crops for growers just diversifies their businesses.”

As Henderson points out, the closer one gets to a commercializable product, the more interested industry partners are. The technology in the works is a pre-commercial one, which means that the industry partners are interested in watching, but they’re not interested in contributing dollars at the moment. Instead, they’re contributing time and equipment.

“If the technology looks really good, they’ll be interested to invest in licenses and have access to that intellectual property and those products, but who knows exactly where it will end up in three years,” says Henderson. “It could end up with something ready to patent and produce or it might take longer than that, but [for now] it’s going. It’s moving.”

(Nicole Kwit)

What Do We Celebrate?

Remembering 150 years of violent colonialism through the erasure of Indigenous peoples Justin Bige | contributor Would you celebrate the existence of a culture that claims to own the land that you and your people have lived on for 10 times longer than those who colonized it? How about 100 times?

Or 1000?

The first of July this year will mark the 150th anniversary of “Canada” existing on Native land. Brandon Gabriel from the Kwantlen First Nation calls this anniversary “posturing by political parties to frame Canada as devoid of any political or economic structures.”

Indigenous Erasure The Department of Canadian Heritage is contributing $200 million for events to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Canada. The previous government allocated $150 million for infrastructure for these events to be run, and our current government doubled that amount to $300 million, according to a report from Global News. In total, $500 million has been budgeted for events and celebrations to mark the anniversary.

“I had no idea there was that much money allocated for the celebrations,” says Gabriel. Despite the fact that a portion of the money was set aside for celebrating Indigenous culture, Gabriel says that he hasn’t seen that money go back into his community. “[The money for Indigenous people] is really tokenistic—the window dressing to this big celebration,” he says. “It’s an afterthought.”

Gabriel believes that Canada’s 150 celebration contributes to the erasure of the Canadian government’s crimes against First Nations. The event will encourage people to think of a wholesome, whitewashed Canada instead of the Canada responsible for atrocities.

“Nobody will say, ‘I’m celebrating 150 years of Genocide.’ They say, ‘I’m celebrating 150 years of fur trade, free market capitalism, resettling of the land,’” says Gabriel.

The 150 celebration is just the latest Canadian effort to ignore the existence of the Indigenous people who have lived on this land for tens of thousands of years, perhaps even longer. One archaeological dig in North America found the bones of mastodons turned into anvils and stone tools an entire 130,000 years ago. Though there was no evidence of human bones, who else could create tools such as this?

What about the discovery of a 14,000-year-old village on Triquet Island, 500 kilometers northwest of Victoria, by UBC anthropology stu-

dents? And recently, The Vancouver Sun interviewed Paulette Steeves, a Cree-Metis woman who has been digging into the oral histories of Indigenous peoples in North America and discovered that they trace back over 100,000 years.

So what exactly is Canada celebrating with its 150 event? According to Keara Lightning, a 21-year-old activist from Samson Cree Nation, it’s “a manufactured identity for people who have given up their actual backgrounds, who feel lost and have nothing of actual richness and strength to feel proud of.” “[They’re celebrating] the usual stuff: genocide, colonialism, perpetuating the myths of Canada. It all seems self-evident but it’s really not to most people,” says Lightning.

Though the nation continues with its tradition of Indigenous erasure, the province of British Columbia has added one element to their celebration. They call it Canada 150+, hoping that the plus sign is enough to acknowledge thousands of years of Indigenous existence.

Aboriginal Students Representative for the Kwantlen Student Association, Samantha Davis, believes the plus sign used by the province to be a continuation of the colonial institution, “which goes against all of this decolonization that they like to tack onto everything that they’re doing.”

“150 years doesn’t cover everything that’s happened in so-called Canada. It’s been way over 150 years that our peoples have been oppressed,” says Davis.

Lightning echoes Davis’ frustration over the use of the plus sign.

“Some of us don’t want to be Canadian,” she says. “To take Indigenous culture and resistance, which are so many years old, and to include Indigenous peoples in that celebration is just insulting.”

Celebrating Genocide Many Canadians see their country as a long-standing refuge for multiculturalism and inclusivity. But most overlook the fact that establishing this nation required the genocide of Indigenous people.

The colonial wars of the fur trade and the germ warfare of smallpox predates the nationhood of Canada by a long shot. Later, to make Indigenous people desperate enough to sign treaties and move to reserves, the early Canadian settlers enacted starvation policies, not allowing the trade of food to their communities. When treaties were signed, the agreements were often about agriculture to recov-

er from the disease and famine that colonialists imposed on them. Instead of honouring the treaties, the government banned communities from using newer farming implements and technology.

Then there are the more recent policies of cultural genocide as noted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Much of this began with the Indian Act of 1876, which pushed an assimilationist policy on Indigenous people and forced remaining Indigenous people onto Canadian reserves.

Colonial government systems uprooted traditional Indigenous governance structures, replacing them with band councils. To ensure compliance, “Indian Agents” were dispatched to restrict Indigenous people leaving their own reserves, devastating trade and culturally important journeys.

Let’s not forgot the removal of 150,000 Indigenous children from their homes, 6,000 of which died in the Indian Residential School System. These schools were meant to “kill the Indian in the child,” according to John A. Macdonald, the alcoholic forefather of this 150-year celebration.

Are we celebrating this institutionalization and theft of Indigenous children who were violently abused physically and sexually—who were beaten for speaking their Indigenous language in institutions where there were graveyards on campus for students to bury their classmates? This system only ended 21 years ago, in 1996.

Of course, there was the strongarm assimilationist policy—the Sixties Scoop of Indigenous children into “care” in the 1960s up through the 1980s. This affected 20,000 Indigenous children who were taken from their families to be adopted or fostered.

Intergenerational trauma from both grave and despondent acts of genocide is still affecting communities today. The Canadian government has fought every lawsuit over the Residential School System and The Sixties Scoop, and the Conservatives even destroyed evidence of the Residential Schools during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Is legal power established through a court system set up on Native land also something that we’re celebrating?

“One of the things that will be celebrated will be the railroad from coast-to-coast, and it will only be the sanitized version of it,” says Gabriel.

“It won’t show entire communities that were thrown off their land and waters to make way for this intrusive governing body.”

What’s more, these communities were thrown off their land by the marginalization of other groups as well, such as the Chinese railroad workers who dealt with the Chinese head-tax.

Broken Treaties So what about the treaties? Many talk about the treaties that lent out the land in much of Canada, but what do they mean?

They were comprehensive agreements made between the provincial and federal governments with different Inuit, First Nations, and Metis people that obligated the government to assist them in terms of education, medical services, trade, and economic benefit for and from the land.

Treaty Four, for example, says, “The promises we make will be carried out as long as the sun shines above and the water flows in the oceans.”

Today, the lack of adherence to these obligations shows in Indigenous communities. The government still neglects their critical infrastructure, causing long-term boil water advisories in 98 reserves and short-term advisories in 28 reserves. Houses are condemned but people are still living in them. Schools are built on contaminated land, and go unused while alternatives are not planned. Suicide crises have impacted reserves from coast-to-coast, especially for Indigenous youth.

In January of last year, The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found Canada guilty of discriminating against Indigenous children by underfunding reserves. Although Canada continues to do this, the tribunal has no ability to force them to change.

Despite representing less than 10 per cent of the population, Indigenous children account for 62 per cent of the 7,000 children-in-care in B.C.. This happens when Aboriginal agencies are underfunded and running under confusing agreements.

There’s nothing confusing about the need to acquire Free and Prior Informed Consent for resource extraction projects on Indigenous land, as outlined by the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that Canada helped create but failed to adopt. Mining, fish-farming, dam-building, oil fracking, and anything else the “resource economy” can devour happens across the country, despite opposition from Indigenous peoples. Imperial Metals’ mine in Mount Polley Secwepemc territory, Site C Dam in Peace River Treaty 8 territory, and Kinder Morgan’s

Trans Mountain expansion have and will continue to be major issues for Indigenous people.

Kinder Morgan has a pipeline running from Alberta through the West Coast and ending in Burnaby.

It crosses through traditional unceded Indigenous territories and was built without the consent of many Nations along its path, including Kwantlen First Nation. The expansion of this pipeline will triple its capacity for transport from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels of oil a day.

When it comes to resource extraction, 150 years later, Canada has found its new gold rushes and fur trades to celebrate in the fossil fuel industry.

Dismantling Colonization So what alternatives are there?

What would be a better way to commemorate Canada 150+? For Lightning, the answer is simple.

“Dismantle Canada,” she says. “I don’t know what else there is.”

If that can’t be, the actions she would like to see would be “actually stopping extraction projects and giving land back.”

“Canada is celebrating 150 years, but all of us come from generations and generations of people,” she says.

“Don’t come here and call yourself Canadian, because what is that?

Don’t give up over six generations of who you are for 150+ years.”

Gabriel says, “I’ve come to recognize that I can’t seek restitution from the colonizer, and their colonizing ways have no respect for our position. I seek nothing from them.

I’m not seeking anything from them.

One of the things we’re doing here is starting a hashtag at Kwantlen events which is #Kwantlen12000.”

He hopes the message will connect with a wide audience. Thus, he maintains his pride in his community and wants to celebrate excellence within the Kwantlen First Nation instead.

“If I were approached tomorrow

by Kwantlen youth, as in a young person in our community, and I asked them what we should be doing in our Canada 150 celebrations—we have always been doing it. We have always been protecting our water, our spirituality and culture and we don’t need people outside our community to acknowledge that,” he says.

10 FEATURE

A Day in the Life of a Cannabis Dispensary Worker As the federal government moves towards legalisation, dispensary workers operate in limbo

Vancouver Dispensary Society in East Vancouver is one of dozens of cannabis dispensaries in Vancouver operating in legal limbo as legalization legislation is debated in Ottawa. (Joseph Keller)

joseph keller | web editor Legally, Vancouver’s medical cannabis industry is in a strange place.

The federal Liberal government announced plans to legalize cannabis last year and introduced the legislation to make it happen this April, but we still have a while to go before the green stuff is truly legal in this country. Over the past several years dozens of dispensaries have set up shop, and the Vancouver Police Department has declined to bring the hammer down on them due to public opinion being largely on the side of the technically illegal establishments.

This soft tolerance is precarious, however, and the people involved in the operation of these establishments go about their jobs every day with the looming threat of a potential police raid.

Dani Russo, staff manager at Vancouver Dispensary Society, says she and her colleagues do what they do because they believe the product improves the lives of their customers.

“I have a really strong personal connection [with cannabis],” says Russo. “I wanted to share and help other people the same way that I was helped.”

With its white walls and somewhat plain decor, the storefront at Vancouver Dispensary Society’s East Hastings location could almost be mistaken for a pharmacy, if it weren’t for that faint yet distinctive scent in the air and the whiteboard behind the

counter listing product names like Time Warp, Trainwreck, Pink Candy, Candy Kush, Rock Star, and Bruce Banner.

One thing a customer walking into the waiting area of the dispensary might notice is the establishment’s unusually strict no cellphone policy.

This is a bi-product of the legal status of the business. The receptionist will explain that other customers could be uneasy around recording devices when they are technically breaking the law. Under the current system, buying their medicine and getting recorded could potentially lose people their jobs.

Russo, the staff manager at the medical marijuana dispensary, spends much of her day like a pharmacist might. She listens to the ailments of customers that come in—after they’ve shown ID to the receptionist at the front desk—and recommends a particular strain or method of use. If a middle-aged mother says she’s looking for something to soothe her anxiety, Russo recommends a mild indica bud. If an older man comes in to treat his arthritis but he’s not interested in getting high, Russo sells him a topical cream. She is proud of her job, and sees it as providing an essential service that she credits with saving her life.

“Pretty much from the time I was 14, cannabis has helped me in some way,” says Russo.

She was told in those early years that cannabis use was a problem and something that she needed to quit.

She never saw it that way. Even in her adolescence, she credits it with improving her focus and helping her get through school.

When Russo fell into hard drug use, she knew that was a problem.

She tried recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, and was mandated to stay in them by the courts system. When none of this worked, she says it was cannabis that helped her get clean and get her life back.

“The only thing that helped in the end was really just smoking a lot of cannabis, and sticking to that,” says Russo.

The upstairs, staff-only section of the dispensary has a very different vibe from the storefront below.

The white walls are replaced with a playful purple paintjob adorned with psychedelic artwork. There is office space set up with employees working on administrative tasks at their desks.

On a counter in one corner sits a high-end microscope used to test the quality and sanitation of products. In another corner is a coffee table covered in an assortment of bongs, along with an ashtray full of roaches and a container of fresh bud. As Russo sits in a chair by the coffee table she doesn’t pretend to be ignorant of the legal status of her job or the potential for consequences.

“In all honesty I try to not put too much thought into it,” she says.

“There are certain stressors and anxieties coming into this kind of job, so you try to think as little forward in that way as possible as far as security

is concerned.”

Russo says it’s not the threat of being charged with a criminal offence that has her concerned about the prospect of a police raid. Rather, it’s concerns about how the people who have come to depend on the dispensary would have to adjust to the sudden closure. She says that many of the dispensary patients have built personal, almost familial relationships with the staff. Many of these people rely on their product for relief of chronic pain, and Russo worries about what might happen if they were forced to return to the black market.

“What I’ll always remember most is all the people we’ve helped,” she says. “All the letters that we’ve received to say ‘thank you’ or ‘my tumor has shown reduction and no further growth’ or from the ones that have completely beat their cancers and are now cancer free. Those are the stories that I’ll never forget and will always take with me.”

Russo recalls an older couple coming into the dispensary. The husband had been coming in regularly for some time to buy cannabis suppositories to help with pain relief for a broken back that he had sustained many years earlier. Russo remembers the man telling her that before trying cannabis, he could barely get around on his own.

This particular visit wasn’t exclusively for the husband, though, as the wife had seen how cannabis was helping her husband and wanted to try it for her own issues regarding

sleep.

Russo says that the dispensary was able to help both of them with their respective issues. What struck her about the couple was how youthful they both seemed. She recalls the woman telling her that “all she wanted was to see her husband chase her again.”

“To be that age and to actually see your husband be able to walk with you still, and you can still walk with each other, and she’s ultimately getting her wish—to me that was one of the more heartwarming experiences that I’ve had at the store,” says Russo.

“It might seem simple, and it is, but it’s those simple things that you hear about every day that I’ll remember.”

A group of likeminded people work at the East Hastings branch of the Vancouver Medical Cannabis Dispensary Society. While they cultivate a professional atmosphere downstairs, in the part of the building that customers see, the decorated lounge upstairs is a home for the the staff and plays host to weekly staff dinners, parties, and after-work smoke outs.

“We’re all a big family here,” says Russo. “We have strong relationships with each other. You’ve got to have each other’s backs. It’s really important that you’ve got a really strong team dynamic.”

12 culture

KPU Prof Talks Diet and Climate Change at Science World

Mike Bomford discusses the importance of dietary choices and their impact on the environment braden klassen | contributor As part of the Speaker Series partnership between Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Science World, KPU Professor Mike Bomford delivered a lecture that addressed the links between people’s diets and their greenhouse gas emissions. Citing Danish researcher Sonja Vermeulen’s work, Bomford said that agriculture food systems account for between 19 and 29 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“The climate is already changing,” said Bomford, in the introduction to his lecture. “It’s scary. It’s caused by people, and the way we feed ourselves is a big part of the problem.”

The first part of Bomford’s presentation discussed some of the current research into how modern agricultural practices are affecting climate change.

“If we want to slow carbon dioxide emissions associated with farming, we have to stop logging rainforests, plowing grasslands, and converting peat bogs into farmland,” he said. “But cutting carbon emissions isn’t enough. We also have to pay attention to methane and nitrous oxide, which together account for most of agriculture’s impact on the climate.”

Bomford said that the best way to do that is to consume less meat— especially meat from ruminants like

cows, goat, lamb or bison—because the process of feeding these animals generates more emissions than chicken or pork. Eating more fruits and vegetables is also a good way to reduce your dietary impact on emissions.

“Production of fruits and vegetables tends not to generate a lot of greenhouse gas emissions, unless we grow them in greenhouses heated by fossil fuels like natural gas or propane,” said Bomford.

What you choose to eat matters, as does how you go about getting it.

According to Bomford, “Hopping in the car to drive a few kilometres to the grocery store to pick up a single bunch of bananas consumes much more energy, and emits more greenhouse gas per banana, than shipping that same bunch of bananas from the Central American farm where they grew...If we must drive, it’s best to fill the trunk.”

Another thing to watch out for is food with unnecessary packaging, like individually packaged fruits and vegetables. The amount of energy that goes into preparing and packaging foods like this produces more emissions and produces excess waste.

“I want to be able to make informed decisions,” Bomford says, after his lecture ends. “I make a lot of decisions in the grocery store about what I’m going to eat and I want to know, what are the impacts of those sorts of decisions?”

Professor Mike Bomford begins his lecture “Cool Eats: The City Slicker’s Diet for a Warming Planet” with a territorial acknowledgement. (Braden Klassen) He cites KPU’s involvement with the City of Richmond’s plan to develop the Garden City Lands as an example of something that could have potential consequences in raising greenhouse emissions, due to the land use change.

“About half of that land—it’s about 140 acres—will be dedicated to bog land restorations, and the other

half will be farmed,” he says. “I talked about replacing peatlands with agriculture and all of the emission associated with that kind of thing. So here I am talking about it, and we’re in the process of perhaps doing something like that.”

Bomford also commented on Sodexo’s procurement of food for KPU cafeterias.

“I do think there’s movement in the right direction, and I think that they will respond to student decisions and student pressure in that regard. If students demand sustainably sourced food, I think Sodexo will recognize that their contract depends on being able to deliver that,” he says.

KPU Alumna Self-Publishes New Book

Amrita Lit’s Chasing Kismet follows a young woman challenging the expectations of her community Kyrsten Downton | Contributor Growing up, Amrita Lit struggled to find accurate representations for South Asian people in mainstream media. Instead of continuing to wait for that to change, Lit created her own role model in her newly self-published novel Chasing Kismet: the journey of an indo-canadian girl who sets out to discover her roots, but becomes uprooted instead.

Lit, a graduate from the psychology program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, spent two years writing her novel. She says that the inspiration for the book was the frustration she felt at the lack representation of ethnic minorities in mainstream media.

“I decided to create a story that was extremely relatable and engaging, but it still had a real message,” says Lit. “I didn’t want to create an empty fairytale of a story that didn’t add value in the end.”

The story follows Tara Sidhu, a young indo-canadian woman who is struggling to understand and challenge the social expectations in her family’s culture. Lit explains that she wanted her novel to mostly be a story

of resilience and independence and was careful to not fall into any tropes often seen in similar novels.

“It’s always that cookie-cutter story of you meet a guy and you fall in love and you live happily ever after,” she says. “I didn’t want her happily ever after to be found in a relationship. I wanted her to find her own way and really become something through her trials and tribulations.

That’s what defined her character.”

While there are several light-hearted moments throughout the story, the novel tackles serious issues such as gender inequality, alcoholism, and mental health.

“I wanted to shed a light on those topics because they are usually swept under the rug in our community, and even in other cultures. It happens in all cultures and all backgrounds, but I could only speak to what happened around me,” she says.

During her time at KPU, Lit admits that she did not have the confidence to voice her strong opinions or speak publicly. However, she does credit former KPU English instructor Cecilia Martell for helping her learn to think critically.

“She was a huge influence for me

whether she knew it or not, because I was too shy to talk to her,” says Lit. “She taught us to form your own opinions and to speak up.”

Lit credits the birth of her first child as the catalyst for her full participation in social change. She began writing articles and blog posts that focus on the social issues specific to the South Asian community. More recently, she also began doing a podcast called The Lit Life.

“I used to dread presentations,” she says. “If you had said to me at that time that you are going to be back doing a student talk, I wouldn’t have believed you. Life experience changes you.”

Now, Lit hopes she can inspire people from all types of backgrounds to broaden their horizons and learn new perspectives different from their own.

“My goal was to always spark the mind of the next individual to create some concrete change,” she says. “I just wanted it to be influential and the messages to remain in the reader long after they are done the book.”

KPU alumna and Chasing Kismet author Amrita Lit. (Submitted)

It’s Time for the Creep Catchers to Chill

opinions 13

The group has become more and more reckless, so it’s time to rein it in braden klassen | Contributor Ryan LaForge, the president of the Surrey Creep Catchers, was recently charged with assaulting a man who believed he was meeting an underage girl. The assault is just the latest event in a string of unruly actions by the Creep Catchers.

The group’s response to the charges has been to announce that they are putting some of their members through security training and providing them with handcuffs for making citizen’s arrests—which, all things considered, is a step in the right direction. If they’re not going to go away, they may as well take the time to educate themselves on how to administer “justice” without physically assaulting people.

The group’s method of luring potential pedophiles into public spaces and mocking them on video or social media is primitive and unconventional and could hardly be considered justice, at least in the eyes of the law.

Of course, making this type of judgement depends on your sense of what justice truly is. In the most basic sense, the concept of justice derives from a general desire for equilibrium and fairness among members of so-

ciety. When it comes to acting justly, the defining characteristic of the vigilante mindset is circumventing conventional methods of enforcing the law, which allows them to resort to using tactics that are meant to personally hurt the accused in some way through shame or violence.

Engaging in pedophilia is one of the most predatory and despicable things a human being can do, and the idea that the punishment for that behaviour should be proportionally severe does make a certain amount of sense. If watching reruns of To Catch a Predator has taught me anything, it’s that there truly is a kind of medieval element to entertainment, especially when witnessing the humiliation and suffering of someone you know is guilty of something as hideous as pedophilia.

It’s not corrective. It’s vindictive.

Malice as a motivation for vigilantism is not only common—it’s required, and LaForge’s recent assault charges are a testament to that. There have also been multiple defamation suits aimed at the group for implicating innocent people with serious crimes.

The way that the Creep Catchers call out people on social media and

(Yuta Anonuevo) create a spectacle makes it very difficult for the implicated people to exonerate themselves in any meaningful way, even if they are completely innocent and have been wrongfully accused. In 2016, a woman in Edmon-

ton killed herself after a video of her was posted on the website.

Perhaps the Creep Catchers are just ignorant and incapable of coming to terms with the potential consequences of their actions, or perhaps

they really do factor these mistakes into some kind of cost-benefit analysis and have determined that furthering their noble cause is worth ruining some people’s lives. Neither of these possibilities is very comforting.

B.C. Needs to Protect its Bears, Not Just its Campers

Leave Yogi alone alyssa laube | associate editor

Watch any promotional video for B.C. tourism and you’re likely to see a grizzly bear with a salmon in its mouth. According to recent events, that’s no more than a marketable symbol for the province.

When it comes to keeping bears alive and healthy in B.C., it seems that citizens and authorities are more concerned with keeping their camping trips comfortable than respecting our native wildlife.

Due to recent sightings of “aggressive bears,” a string of hot springs near Pemberton have been closed. Keyhole Falls, which is about four hours away from Vancouver, has been shut off to visitors because food and garbage left around the site has led to more human-bear interactions than usual. Officials have even warned the public that people could die if they venture into the area.

Although these animals have been deemed aggressive, the reality is that they have no apparent desire to harm or eat the campers that have intruded on their territory. The dangerous behaviour that has been frightening the public is no more than bears

charging humans, who then drop their food, leaving the bears to snack on s’mores and granola bars. No one has been attacked by them in the Pemberton area this year, and prior to them getting smart enough to realize they can get free and tasty food from jumpy humans, bear sightings were often considered a spectacular privilege to exploring the B.C. wilderness.

Talk has already started circulating about the possibility of being forced to kill the bears if they get too confrontational. An alternative would be shutting down the campsites permanently, allowing them to live in peace.

It should be obvious for any animal lover that losing camping privileges in the wild parts of Pemberton is worth saving multiple families of living creatures who, if left alone, won’t do any harm and will continue to reproduce in peace. Invading ecosystems that flourish without us— and suffer when we clear forests to make campgrounds—is already damaging to the environment. What right do we have to kill the creatures who have called those forests home long before we found them?

The simplest solution to bear-human confrontations is for people to

start being more responsible with their belongings. The only reason why the bears have any interest in humans is for their backpacks, which are loaded with goodies. And the only reason why bears want human food is because people have been leaving their snacks and trash around for long enough that they’ve developed a taste for it.

When you go camping, put your food in sealed bags, put your bags in

your backpack, and keep it zipped and in your car or tent. When trash starts piling up, do the same. The less aware the animals are of you, the more they’ll leave you alone, especially if you have nothing to offer them.

If Pemberton bears were mauling innocent campers, being scared would be reasonable, but all they’re doing is taking free food from people who don’t know how to act around

wildlife. Bears might get aggressive if you’re near their cubs or territory, and justifiably so, but B.C. campers don’t have anything to worry about if they do their due diligence in being responsible in natural spaces.

B.C. bears shouldn’t be seen as a threat by those who camp responsibly.

(RayMorris1/Flickr)

DRAW for the runner!

Contact: Art@Runnermag.ca

14 opinions

The Corporate Shell Game behind Pemberton’s Cancellation

Thousands of ticket buyers left twisting in the wind after Pemberton Music Festival bankruptcy BRADEN KLASSEN | CONTRIBUTOR The Pemberton Music Festival has been cancelled due to bankruptcy, and the head festival organizers have decided not to issue automatic refunds to the thousands of people who paid for tickets. Instead, the majority of the revenue generated by ticket sales is going to end up in the pockets of the four festival directors who cancelled the event.

Ineptly running a high-profile company into bankruptcy is one thing, but using bankruptcy laws as a shield to hide behind after defrauding thousands of people out of millions of dollars is something else entirely, and these people need to be held to account.

Despite already having received $6 million worth of revenue from tickets, the directors of the corporate partnership in charge of the festival set up their bankruptcy in a way that prioritized the compensation of “secured creditors” over anyone else.

The corporate partnership consists of Pemberton Music Festival L.P. and 1115666 B.C. Ltd. On paper they owe unsecured creditors $13.2 million dollars, while the secured creditors get almost $3.6 million.

Suspiciously, directors Amanda Girling, Jeremy Turner, Jim Dales, and Stéphane Lescure decided that

the only companies that had qualified to be considered secured creditors were Janspec Holdings Ltd.—of which Girling is listed as CEO—and 1644609 Alberta Ltd. What’s more is that 1115666 B.C. Ltd. is directed by Lescure, Girling, and Dales and was only incorporated on April 19, replacing PMFLP’s previous general partner Twisted Tree Circus. The three directors then left their positions on May 12, less than a week before the company declared bankruptcy.

Perhaps the most implicating fact about this whole situation is that, while the directors were busy coordinating this slippery corporate shell

game, they were still selling tickets until the day they filed bankruptcy.

The deceit of cancelling Pemberton without issuing refunds has been compared to the now legendary failure of the Fyre Festival in May, the organizers of which have become the target of multiple class-action lawsuits and a federal investigation.

Hopefully, those behind Pemberton’s cancellation will share a similar fate.

Since their bankruptcy declaration, PMFLP and 1115666 B.C. Ltd. have chosen accounting firm Ernst & Young Inc. as their trustee in handling this mess. They are currently

suggesting that ticket holders issue a chargeback on their credit card or fill out a lengthy file of claim and submit it to the firm. However, if you’re one of the thousands of people who have been screwed over by this ordeal and you don’t feel like jumping through Ernst & Young’s legal hoops or waiting for your chargeback to be approved, your situation might not be entirely hopeless.

There have been a few instances of outside parties stepping in to help refund or otherwise compensate those who purchased Pemberton tickets. Vancity Credit Union announced that they would be refunding people

who purchased tickets with Vancity or Citizenbank Visas. People who purchased their tickets from The Meadows golf course in Pemberton are also eligible to receive refunds.

The Tall Tree Music Festival in Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island has said that they would admit the first 250 Pemberton ticket holders that attend their festival, as did the WayHome Festival in Ontario.

It’s nice to see that there are some people out there who are trying to make things right with disappointed would-be festival goers. It’s just a shame that it’s not the people in charge of the festival itself.

Directors of the failed 2017 Pemberton music festival voted to use ticket proceeds to pay back creditors over refunding ticket holders. (Brian Marks/flickr)

Canada Doesn’t Have an Anti-Christian Bias

Accusations of Liberals being intolerant of Christian groups are unfounded and offensive alyssa laube | associate editor A small number of Canadians are calling foul against the federal Liberal government, which they allege is full of anti-christian bias. Meanwhile, the world is reeling from unprecedented and widespread Islamophobia, and conflicts motivated by religious beliefs and values are raging in other countries around the world.

A piece published in The Globe and Mail on May 29 from columnist Andrew MacDougall slams the Liberals for attacking newly elected Conservative leader Andrew Scheer about “his Catholic beliefs,” which include “pro-traditional marriage and life, and opposition to transgender rights.”

He points to statements from Liberal MPs criticizing social conservatives after Scheer’s election to support his beliefs.

“This kind of anti-Christian sneer is nothing new for the Liberals, and it comes from the top,” writes MacDougall. “It was Justin Trudeau who declared in 2014 that no candidate could run on the Liberal ticket in 2015 if they opposed abortion…So much for tolerance.”

What MacDougall is proposing is that tolerance of intolerance is the only true form of fairness—that re-

stricting women’s, LGBTQ+, and non-Christian religious rights should be encouraged in politics, because discouraging discrimination is discriminatory against old-fashioned Catholics.

This argument doesn’t make a lot of sense. At its foundation, it suggests that being a bigot and being Christian are intrinsically linked, and that hate speech and oppressive policy-making should be allowed in federal politics because, if Christians are doing it, they deserve to practice their beliefs.

If Scheer is being pressured to avoid pushing anti-abortion or gay marriage, it’s because Canada has been moving forward as a progressive and accepting nation for years, and the days of telling marginalized groups what they can and cannot do with their own lives should be over by now. That’s one of the reasons why Harper was voted out in the last election, and why Trudeau put his foot down on abortion opposition.

In reality, Scheer isn’t being picked apart because he’s Catholic.

It’s because he’s a traditional, farright social conservative. Regardless of who was elected, the Liberals would have had something skeptical to say about the party’s new leader.

That’s just politics.

(Nat Mussell) MacDougall, and others like him, are blinded by their own privilege. In his piece for The Globe and Mail, he writes, “In today’s Canada – and in most Western democracies, for that matter – you can get away with criticizing a Christian far more readily than you can for criticizing a Muslim, even if you’re talking about the same social beliefs,” which couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s absurd and deeply offensive to those who have

been hurt, killed, or otherwise abused for being Muslim.

According to a 2014 Statistics Canada report, anti-Muslim hate crimes more than doubled over the previous three years, and that’s taking into account that many instances of abuse and assault go unreported.

In 2016, Statistics Canada reported that, while hate crimes in general decreased in frequency, more of them targeted Muslims between 2012 to

2014.

To those who needlessly bemoan the plight of the Canadian Christian, consider spending your energy on a more important cause. While there are surely Catholic-hating people somewhere in our country, there are truer causes to dedicate yourself to than those that hardly exist.

(Yuta Anonuevo)

columns 15

artist spotlight: Mellt New EP takes a critical look at human nature

Runner Run-Down: The Paris Agreement

alyssa laube | associate editor Dreamy pop cushioned in high-quality production is at the heart of Mellt’s new Visions EP, which explores modern society’s relationship with technology and intimacy.

The record is smooth and captivating. Some tracks revolve around strong bass lines and gentle falsettos, and others are warm and layered.

U2-inspired riffs, Radiohead-esque production, and other inspiration plucked from bands like Glass Animals and Foals are clear inspirations for the trio, who identify as an indie or alternative group.

The band—which is James Porter, Chris Smith, and Jamie Turner— spent a year and a half fine-tuning Visions. They recorded it themselves in Smith’s basement and got help from mixers to polish it before publication, but learned enough about producing music to create something that they feel is “way more rich, creamy and colourful” than their past releases.

“We worked really hard to make something that was good lyrics-wise and meant something, and music-wise too,” says Porter. “We also went a different way with how it sounded anyways, so it was a big difference. I feel like, with a lot of the songs … you’re looking at the role technology is playing in terms of how it divides people, but it also brings people together.”

The themes of division and unity are particularly noticeable on tracks like “Keep Us Apart,” which explores

BRADEN KLASSEN | Contributor

Kristina Emmott’s most recent EP, Thread & Tape, is a testament to vulnerability, change, and healing. (Submitted) Mellt’s new record, Visions, takes a critical look at technology and humanity. (Thomas Kelly) “things like climate change and stuff that we’re not paying enough attention to.”

“We could potentially do something about it but if we keep going and not paying attention to it it’s going to keep us apart,” says Smith.

The band describes the track “Oceans” as “four billion years in a song.” It comments on the theory of evolution and “if you could remember every life you lived though” from the origins of life to today.

They’re heavy concepts, considering that Mellt has such a light sound, but it’s the band’s influences

that draw them towards catchy refrains and riffs.

“I really like things that take a little more digging to fully get into, but there’s so much to be said for something that’s instantly kind of hooky and just feels good,” says Smith, adding that bands like Tame Impala, Tycho, and Chet Faker left their mark on Visions.

“If you come to our live shows, it’s a bit different than that EP because it’s more focused in a way, but we like the dancey tunes, we like the chill and spacey tunes, and we like the hard tunes,” says Porter. “It’s a

good mix and we like to put a little bit of all of that into our songs.”

Mellt will be writing and recording for the remainder of 2017, but are hoping to have a new release ready by the new year, and plan to solidify their sound even more over 2018.

“I think it’s going to be more upbeat, more groovy and dancey,” says Turner. With luck, their next record will be “more in the direction that [the band is] going for in terms of a complete sound.”

Going Global: qatar

Why are neighbours shutting the lights off? tristan johnston | coordinating editor Qatar has lost diplomatic ties with many nearby Arab countries such as Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The small state of Qatar, which juts out of the side of the Arabian Peninsula, has been accused of seemingly everything relating to terrorism. Saudi Arabia claims in a recent statement that “Qatar has also supported the activities of the Iranian-backed terrorist groups in the Qatif province of Saudi Arabia and in neighboring Kingdom of Bahrain. It has also financed, adopted and is harboring extremists who seek to destabilize unity at home and abroad. It has used the media that seeks to fan internal strife.”

The House of Saud also makes the accusation of Qatar supporting the Shia Houthis in the Yemeni Civil War, despite the fact that Qatar is working as an ally with Saudi Arabia in fighting them. Saudi Arabia themselves have also been highly suspected of funding Wahhabist terrorist

groups such as ISIS. Another source of tensions has been Qatar’s relationship with Iran, as Qatar is the quietest voice when it comes to criticising Iran’s support of a Shia uprising in Bahrain in 2011.

Iran and Qatar work together in harnessing the same natural gas field in the Gulf, as well as on shipping. Because Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have been in a “cold war” with Iran for decades, Qatar has had to tread carefully between their relationships with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries and Iran for years, trying to eke advantages out of both.

This seems like a lot of opposition to such a small country, but Qatar is more powerful than they seem.

While the nation’s military is a modest size, having 11,800 men in all, the country is exorbitantly wealthy. Qatar has the highest per-capita income in the world, having a small population relative to their massive natural resources in oil and gas. The ruling Qatari family, the House of Thani, is

also the primary owner of Al Jazeera, which can be thought as the “BBC of the Middle East,” and has expanded throughout the world. You might already have it at home as part of your cable subscription.

Qatar has issued statements saying that they find the whole ordeal to be ridiculous, but their citizens are going to feel it much more than the government. Almost 80 per cent of food in Qatar is imported from nearby states, namely Saudi Arabia. Flights have also been suspended, with the other Gulf states allowing a 48 hour grace period for their own citizens to get out of the country. Qatari citizens living in the other Gulf states have been given only a few weeks to pack their things and leave.

While saying stupid things isn’t anything new for Trump, he has already laid some blame on Qatar for funding terrorism, despite hosting a U.S. central command and a few critical U.S. military bases in the country.

Trump has also taken credit for causing this mess, given that this crisis

took place two weeks after Trump returned from his first overseas trip to a few Gulf states. However, some political writers such as Joyce Karam of Al Hayat have said that the recent Trump visit might have emboldened Saudi Arabia to initiate the halt to diplomacy.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the GCC states to “sit down together, and address these differences.” Iran, Russia, and Turkey have issued similar statements.

With such a sudden diplomatic cutoff taking place, it’s hard to predict what could happen next. GCC countries affect the rest of the world when it comes to oil prices and the fight against terrorism. Of course, even more complicated will be the effect this has on the ongoing cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, especially when Syria is the current staging ground.

In 2015, delegates from 195 countries convened in Paris to contemplate how to prevent global climate change from progressing to the point of no return. This point is generally understood to be when the global temperature increases by two degrees Celsius above what it was in the pre-industrial age.

At the end of the conference, the countries signed a treaty under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that later became known as the Paris Agreement. Since then, 148 countries have ratified the treaty, meaning that they have formally and legally committed to the terms of the agreement. Each country has committed to it by individually setting targets for their contribution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are generally proportional to the amount of emissions that the country generates.

For example, Canada is currently ranked tenth in the world in terms of its contribution to global carbon emissions, and has pledged to reduce these emissions by 30 per cent (of emissions measured in 2005) on a national scale by the year 2030.

Under the directive of President Trump, the United States of America will withdraw its commitment to the treaty in June 2017. It can now be assumed that the approximate 14 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions which the country is responsible for will continue to rise.

America, Nicaragua, and Saudi Arabia are now the only countries that will not be participating in the treaty, and although America signed in 2016, the withdrawal process will not be finalized until 2020. This is because of Article 28 of the Paris Agreement, which stipulates that any countries that withdraws from the treaty must wait for three years after the treaty has already taken effect in the country. The withdrawal itself comes into effect one year after the UN depositary is notified, which means that the US will not officially be withdrawing from the agreement until 2019.

Incidentally, the earliest that this date of withdrawal could occur is Nov. 4, 2020, which will be the day after the 2020 U.S. election. This leaves room for the withdrawal decision to be overturned by the incoming administration.

If Trump is re-elected for a second term, however, it is more likely that America’s withdrawal from the agreement will come to fruition.

, s r e g Sin , s r e t i r w g n o s , s n a i music , y r t e po , p u d stan e k o a r a k d n a l l a s r love ! e m o welc

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