Vol. 4 Issue 2

THE VOL. 04 ISSUE 02 09.27.2011

THE VALUES ISSUE

NEWS AND CULTURE FOR THE STUDENTS OF KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

FEATURE TOUGH-ON-CRIME AND ON YOUR DIME

LOCAL EYES

LEGAL FEES!

CLIMB TO A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS

A Q&A WITH CAROL COX FIND US ONLINE

ENVIRONMENT

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THE GREAT CANADIAN SHORELINE CLEAN UP

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IN THIS ISSUE

page two | September 27 2011 | vol. 4 issue 02

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FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

The Runner is student owned and operated

by Kwantlen Polytechnic University students, published under Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society.

Arbutus 3710/3720 12666 72 Ave. Surrey, B.C. V3W 2M8 www.runnerrag.ca 778-565-3801

Vol. 4 Issue no. 2 Sept. 27, 2011 ISSN# 1916-8241

EDITORIAL DIVISION: Coordinating Editor / Jeff Groat editor@runnerrag.ca / 778-565-3803 Culture Editor / Kristi Alexandra culture@runnerrag.ca / 778-565-3804 News Editor / Matt DiMera news@runnerrag.ca / 778-565-3805 Production Editor / Antonio Su production@runnerrag.ca / 778-565-3806 Media Editor / Matt Law media@runnerrag.ca / 778-565-3806

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Calvin Tiu was born August 14, 1992. At 12 months he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy which affected mostly his lower limbs causing him to roll around long distances in a wheelchair and walk with the help of crutches. Calvin grew up always striving to be the centre of attention. Dealing with bullies in school did not break him but helped him become very strong and confident. Calvin Tiu aka “Kalvonix” is a rapper/actor/singer/writer and producer fighting to make it big! Check out his review of Cram Jam on page 16.

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Sana Sohel is your average chocolate loving, crossword-solving bookworm who prefers sunny days, is grateful for the invention of couches and daydreams almost all the time – she sometimes imagines herself in a parallel universe as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She appreciates creativity, hates coffee but loves a good cup of chocolate mocha and aspires to travel around the world so she can learn to speak most languages. Read her review of the vegan cooking class on page 17.

SENIOR WRITERS: Senior Culture Writer / Chris Yee Senior Entertainment Writer / Mike Shames Senior Features Writer / Lliam Easterbrook CONTRIBUTORS: Kat Slepian, Sana Sohel, Jared Vaillancourt, Matthew Bossons, Calvin Tiu, Marco Horna, Andrea Harvey

Cover Art: Sylvia Dang

BUSINESS DIVISION: Operations Manager, Ads, Classifieds DJ Lam ops@runnerrag.ca / 778-688-3797

Funds are collected by the university and channelled to PIPS via the KSA.

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Marco Horna is a man of our town. A Canadian born son, he’s a man’s man; he’s a ladies’ man. Every guy wants to be his pal; every girl wants to be his gal. A musical savant, Marco plays instruments ranging from brass to strings. In his spare time Marco enjoys playing polo, translating poetry, and just plain being better than you …

No, in reality Marco Horna is a comic-book-loving, sci-fi-watching nerd and proud of it. Read Marco’s review of the Lion King 3D on page 17.

RIP OFF KWANTLEN

Office Co-ordinator / Victoria Almond office@runnerrag.ca / 778-565-3801

on the web

MATT LAW / THE RUNNER

Oh, the bookstore again. Seems we write a rip off every year about this: what’s up with your prices, bookstore? When students can find a book for $8 online that you are selling for $80, there is something a little backwards. We could be mistaken but we thought that universities were supposed to foster the education of young minds, not force us to take out a loan just to buy a text book.

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NEWS

www.runnerrag.ca | The Runner

vol. 4 issue 02 | September 27 2011 | page three

CAMPUS NEWS

The Runner Roundup A brief run around the latest news from the world of Kwantlen and beyond.

Musical Names KSA president Harman “Sean Birdman” Bassi continues to change his name. Over the last two months Bassi, has used multiple aliases when writing emails and signing press releases.

Besides the ubiquitous ‘Sean Birdman’, he has also referred to himself as: Diddy Birdman, Sean Pac Birdman and Sean Prince Birdman.

Now it appears Bassi’s proclivity for pseudonyms has spread to the four-person KSA executive board. A Sept. 14 visit to the KSA website listed Bobby Padda as Bob, Jaspinder Ghuman as Jazzy B., Nina Sandhu as Nina Kay Kaur and Tarun Takhar as Tommy.

Bassi, the KSA’s official spokesperson, declined to comment when contacted by email Sept. 22, but wrote about his name changes in an Aug. 17 letter.

“The President can call himself whatever he wants,” wrote Bassi. “This is a pathetic attempt to discredit the President now that his position is more prominent. You have been forewarned that the name may continue to change, without notice, in the future.”

“

“The President can call himself whatever he wants . . . You have been forewarned that the name may continue to change, without notice, in the future.”

Green thumbs up Kwantlen alumnus Travis Olson is headed to Scotland after winning the 2011 Canadian Golf Superintendent’s Association–Toro “Future Superintendent Award.” Olson recently graduated from the Turfgrass Management Diploma program.

Nominees were interviewed by a three-person panel and evaluated on their academic achievement, passion and dedication to the industry.

As winner, Olson will be traveling to Scotland to participate in a six-week training and work experience program.

“We’re all very proud of Travis’ achievements,” said David Davidson, associate dean of Kwantlen’s school of horticulture in a press release. “He’s a great representative of the high quality of students that are graduating from our programs. Travis and his instructors truly deserve all the recognition they’re receiving with this award.”

page four | September 27 2011 | vol. 4 issue 02

NEWS

The Runner | www.runnerrag.ca

LAWSUIT

Student Association sues KSA Truth website Suit alleges website is “part of a deliberate campaign to defame” the KSA.

Kwantlen Student Association

vs John Doe I

MATT DIMERA NEWS EDITOR

The Kwantlen Student Association is headed to court again, alleging that a website has defamed them.

The KSA and director of finance Balninna Sandhu filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court Sept. 1 against the unknown publisher or publishers of the ksatruth.ca website.

The suit seeks an interim and permanent injunction preventing the operator of ksatruth.ca from publishing the allegedly libelous statements online or in print and also preventing any other parties from “publishing or causing to be published any material on the internet or otherwise from the Defendant which pertains directly or indirectly to the Plaintiffs.”

The KSA and Sandhu are also seeking

general, special, aggravated and punitive damages and costs. The claim refers to the website publisher as John Doe, stating that the KSA does not know his, her or their identity.

None of the claims made by the KSA and Sandhu have been proven in court.

The claim further alleges that the website falsely accuses Sandhu and the KSA by way of innuendo of being dishonest or crooked, corrupt, thieves, incompetent and unaccountable, lacking transparency, stealing money receive from students at KPU for personal gain, mismanaging funds received from students at KPU, being outrageous and scandalous in their actions and having deliberately set out to obfuscate and hide monetary transactions for their own personal benefit.

It also alleges that the unknown publishers of the website have defamed the KSA and Sandhu in online postings, and conversa-

tions or emails.

It further claims that the website is “dedicated to lowering the way the Kwantlen Student Association and its directors, including Sandhu, are perceived by society by exposing it to contempt and ridicule.”

The claim alleges that the domain name for ksatruth.ca was registered Feb. 11, 2011. and began publishing allegedly defamatory material Aug. 22, 2011.

The suit also claims that the KSA and its directors, including Sandhu, “have been greatly injured in their character, credit, and professional reputation, and have suffered damage.”

The claim further alleges that the alleged defamation was “part of a deliberate campaign to defame the Plaintiffs to as broad an audience as possible.”

Thirteen new additional pages about the KSA have been posted to the website since

the notice of civil claim was filed in court Sept. 1.

KSA director of finance, Nina Sandhu is confident that the KSA will win in court.

“Generally the matter is before the courts so there’s not a lot I can comment on,” said Sandhu.”

She said that while defamation is often a grey area, the KSA’s lawyer from Harper Grey, Daniel Reid, has advised her that “this one of those clearcut black and white defamation cases that they feel very strongly about.”

KSA president and spokesperson Harman “Sean Birdman” Bassi refused requests for an interview, when contacted by The Runner Sept. 22.

NEWS

www.runnerrag.ca | The Runner

vol. 4 issue 02 | September 27 2011 | page ďŹ ve

LEGAL

KSA legal spending passes $250,000 mark Student assocation pays out an additional $112,000 on legal and professional fees line item since Aug. 23.

MATT DIMERA NEWS EDITOR

Over the last month, the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) has spent more than $112,000 on legal and professional fees.

Since Aug. 24, the KSA’s total legal spending has jumped to $253,497.17 from $141,420.58.

The KSA originally budgeted $55,000 for 2011 in their legal and professional fees line item. As of The Runner’s deadline, they have spent more than four-and-a-half times the budgeted amount.

KSA director of finance, Nina Sandhu, admitted that legal and professional spending is higher than normal. “That’s obvious to anyone who’s seen the budget,� said Sandhu. “We have been consulting lawyers for a lot of reasons, there’s been a lot going on

elsewhere with accounting and stuff,� she said. “When you consult lawyers they’re going to charge you, it’s just the way it is and we have a lot of ongoing stuff.� “It’s all happened in the span of six months for us so in the beginning when all this stuff happened, we had to invest time into it and the money unfortunately,� said Sandhu.

Since Jan. 1, the KSA has paid money to at least eight different law firms, six of which were engaged after the KSA’s current board took office April 1. “As opposed to hiring ten from the same firm, we just go with firms that specialize in the different directions we want to take,� explained Sandhu. “There’s no difference in cost, if anything it would be cheaper.� “We’re working on it the best we can to figure out how we’re going to finance this, what’s going on, where can we cut from

where can we not cut from.�

Sandhu hasn’t yet figured out where the money will come from, but she’s looking at the KSA’s options. “We’re trying to really cut down on spending elsewhere, we have been trying to move in whatever excess money we have to legal and professional but as of right now I’m not going to give you a definitive answer of where it’s coming from. Obviously the KSA is going to have to cover its cost somehow and I am working with accounting.�

While council is ordinarily responsible for legal decisions, at the Aug. 31 KSA council meeting, a motion was passed granting the executive board “absolute authority over all legal matters.�

There is no conclusive official list of legal matters or disputes the KSA is currently involved in. Legal issues are typically dis-

total legal and professional fees (and climbing)

cussed in secret in camera sessions. However some cases have been discussed publicly.

In late August former general manager Desmond Rodenbour filed a civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court against the KSA for wrongful dismissal, breach of employment contract, and for defamation.

The KSA and Sandhu also recently filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court against the unknown publisher or publishers of the ksatruth.ca website, alleging defamation.

Earlier this year in an interview with The Runner, then-director of operations Justine Franson expressed concerns about the amounts of money past boards had spent on legal fees, saying there seemed “to be a lot of frivolous spending.�

KSA 2011 $253,497

I

page six | September 13 2011 | vol. 4 issue 01

NEWS

The Runner | www.runnerrag.ca

KSA

KSA by-election and referendum canceled

KPU registrar Robert Hensley refused to hand over the student voters list, citing interference from KSA President Harman “Sean Birdman” Bassi. MATT DIMERA/THE RUNNER

A KSA by-election notice. MATT DIMERA/THE RUNNER

University accuses KSA president of interfering in student election.

I

MATT DIMERA NEWS EDITOR

Kwantlen senior administrators put an indefinite hold on this week’s student association by-election and referendum, alleging that KSA elected officials had compromised the independence of the chief returning officer (CRO) and that the KSA’s own election rules had already been broken.

In a Sept. 16 letter sent to the KSA’s chief returning officer Jagjeet Kaur Gill, KPU registrar Robert Hensley and associate vice president students Jody Gordon refused to allow election polling stations on university property and refused to turn over the list of eligible voters.

In the letter they accused Gill of “capitulating to the direction of an elected official and carrying out the election despite the concerns raised to you by the University and now several students.”

According to Hensley and Gordon, on Sept. 14 Gill agreed to act on several of the university’s concerns by changing the dates of the election, but backed down after receiving directions from KSA president Harman “Sean Birdman” Bassi.

“You have allowed your independence as CRO to be compromised by the interference of an elected KSA official, Mr. Bassi, into the elections process,” they wrote.

“It is the position of the University that you as CRO cannot carry out an election process that you know is in violation of the KSA’s own by-laws and regulations, violates fundamental democratic processes and interferes with your independence as the CRO. The University expects you to carry out your duties as a CRO in a manner that is consistent with a fair and democratic election.”

In a Sept. 19 letter sent to council members, KSA president Bassi disagreed with

the allegations, accusing the university of interference. According to Bassi, the university had agreed one month earlier to hand over the voters list but then refused to comply.

“Jody Gordon has now refused to deliver the voters list to the KSA. Therefore, the byelection and referendum are cancelled. This has resulted in damage to the KSA and our students,” wrote Bassi.

He advised in his letter that all questions should be directed to Gordon, as the KSA would “not be commenting until a final report on the process is complete.

He further explained that the KSA would be developing its own “separate student voting registry” to “absolve the University of any reasons to interfere in future Student Association elections.”

KSA official spokesperson Bassi refused requests for an interview, when contacted

by The Runner Sept. 22.

Hensley and Gordon also expressed other concerns about the scheduled Sept.

21 and 22 by-election in their letter, alleging that proper notice of nominations for the by-election had not been posted as required

by KSA regulations. According to the university, notice of nominations should have been posted by Aug. 23.

They also raised the issue of the lack of a campaign period before polling and were concerned that a final voters list would not be ready until after the scheduled election.

Before being appointed as chief returning officer this month, Gill previously served as president of the Graduate Students’ Association at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto from 2009 to 2010. She also was a deputy returning officer for Elections Canada in 2007 and 2011.

Gill did not return Runner phone calls before deadline.

www.runnerrag.ca | The Runner

ENVIRONMENT

vol. 4 issue 02 | September 27 2011 | page seven

SHORELINE CLEANUP

EPT students cleanin’ up Kwantlen students take on Barnston Island for the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

I

MATT LAW MEDIA EDITOR

Students in Kwantlen’s Environmental Protection Technology program moved class outside on Thursday, Sept. 22 to take part in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

The class, titled Solid Waste Management, or more affectionately, “the garbage class,” was a mix of 18 first- and secondyear students cleaning up and gathering data about the types of solid waste on the shores of our beaches.

“It’s a fun program because you have an opportunity to make a difference,” said Paul Richard, the course’s instructor.

While the tidal shoreline of Barsnton Island was relatively garbage free, within the first 10 minutes students had found several garbage dumps along the road. For a longer article on the shoreline cleanup and more photos, visit runnermag.ca

Kwantlen’s Solid Waste Managment class stands over their prize after cleaning up garbage on Barnsten Island on the Fraser River. The class removed the garbage and recorded what they picked up, which they will report to the City of Surrey and the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

Students march through the marshy grass on the beach.

Environmental Protection Technology student Camillo Costa examines a hand full of garbage while taking part in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup during his Solid Waste Management course. The class spent the afternoon cleaning up and recording the types of garbage they found on Barnsten Island.

Brian Berry rolls a large truck tire out of the bush alongside the road on Barnsten Island. Groups all across Canada helped to clean up beaches last week as part of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

page eight | September 27 2011 | vol. 4 issue 02

NEWS

The Runner | www.runnerrag.ca

KWANTLEN

BBQ draws attention to First Nations culture For more photos and a video of the Aboriginal club’s bbq, visit runnermag.ca

First Nations hiphop artist Chief Rock performed a mixture of traditional music and modern rap.

Hundreds of Kwantlen students lined up for a free salmon barbecue at Kwantlen’s Surrey campus last Thursday. The 15 salmon were donated by the local Kwantlen First Nations.

I

MATT LAW MEDIA EDITOR

Kwantlen students got a taste of First Nations food, music and culture last week at the Aboriginal Students Club salmon barbeque held at the university’s Surrey campus.

Hundreds of students lined up to try traditional bannock, rice and barbecued salmon. The Kwantlen First Nations donated 15 salmon, a mix of spring and sockeye, to the event. The goal of the barbecue: to raise awareness of First Nations culture.

“Basically that’s what it was for, to make awareness to the other students who travel from other countries that might not know about the First Nations teachings,” said Lekeyten, a First Nations elder who opened the event with a speech and a traditional song, but not before ensuring the other elders had arrived. He stressed the importance of elders in First Nations culture and their role as teachers.

“They’re our book of knowledge. We lose an elder, we lose sometimes four generations of knowledge in one person, it’s sad so we’ve got to find a way to make sure they always bring it out, let them speak,” he said.

For Melinda Bige, an organizer of the event and Aboriginal liaison at Kwantlen, the barbecue was about giving First Nations culture a presence on campus.

“The purpose of this was to bring the campus cul-

Kwantlen students Roxanne Charles and Cody Lecoy displayed some of their artwork and cedar weaving at the event.

ture, as well as to let people know that we are here and that we identify and that we’re everywhere,” said Bige. “The Aboriginal students decided that enough is enough and that we needed to bring some campus culture and we did and it turned out really well.”

Also in attendance was Chief Rock, a First Nations hip hop artist who performed a mix of traditional First Nations music and rap, which is heavily influenced by the problems affecting First Nations.

The event had been in the works for the past year and Bige was thrilled with the attendance of both students and local First Nations elders.

“We invited them out to come and attend, which is amazing, and then Lekeyten, the elder from Kwantlen First Nations came out and was able to present, so it’s pretty incredible,” she said.

While the event was a success for the day, Bige says she hopes people will be inspired to find out more about First Nations and their history.

“I encourage people to look up residential schools, the history of the First Nations and the culture and see how much of a loss of culture there actually is,” said Bige.

Lisa Monchalin, one of Kwantlen’s newest professors, who is also a mix of Algonquin, Metis and Huron Nations hopes to have more events on campus and plans to create an Aboriginal drum group and host drum making workshops for students.

In the fall of 2010, over 25% of post-secondary students in Canada took at least one online course and the number is growing every year. We offer a flexible alternative to in-class course-taking with easily transferrable credits.

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Lekeyten, A Kwantlen First Nations elder, welcomes students and First Nations members to the Salmon BBQ with a traditional song on Thursday, Sept. 22, at Kwantlen’s Surrey campus.

The ease of combining online courses with her on-campus studies enabled Meaghan to complete her degree at her convenience.

Meaghan, Student of the Future Over 550 courses and 55 programs. Online or distance. Learn anytime, anywhere.

www.runnerrag.ca | The Runner

NEWS

vol. 4 issue 02 | September 27 2011 | page nine

STUDENT LIFE

Social justice space launched in Surrey University gains a positive, physical space for Pride Kwantlen and student-run clubs; faculty feels elbowed out of its employee lounge.

I

KRISTI ALEXANDRA CULTURE EDITOR

Student clubs have found themselves situated in a new home on the Kwantlen Surrey Campus.

An official open house took place on Thursday, Sept. 15 in the campus’ Birch building, where an employee lounge space has been rededicated for student club use.

The space partially came as a result of a staged overnight sit-in by Pride Kwantlen – Kwantlen’s group for queer and trans students and their allies -- in March, which saw several students and supporters camping out in the then-employee lounge. The sit-in was just one event in the Positive Space Campaign, which aimed to see all of Kwantlen campuses become a safe, inclu-

sive environment for all students – including queer and trans students.

Several club advocates—including members of the Aboriginal club, Japan club, Grey Matters philosophy club, WOOW (Women Organizing Opportunities for Women) club, and of course, Pride Kwantlen—came to show their support and appreciation for the new dedicated space on Sept. 15.

Jody Gordon, Associate Vice President, Students, also came to oversee the open house. She said the securing of a positive club space on campus was a long anticipated goal.

“In a conversation that [David Atkinson] and I had, we were talking about the lack of space for students – especially a lack of space to gather and connect and engage,” she said. “That came through in our nation-

al student survey very clearly. Students said they need more social space and they need more space to gather in groups; in particular, clubs.”

According to Gordon, the employee lounge was underutilized and so rededicating the space to students seemed a natural solution for the lack of club space.

Terri Van Steinburg, president of the Kwantlen Faculty Association, said losing the employee lounge came as a surprise.

“I think there might have been a misconception that people didn’t use that employee lounge. That space was very well utilized,” she said. “We found out [about the club space] when our members came into our employee office and said ‘where did our employee lounge go?’”

While students and club activists are ex-

Students and advocates of the club space attended an inclusivity training seminar in their new space on Sept. 23. MATT LAW/THE RUNNER

cited about their new space, Van Steinburg is wondering if the KFA employee lounge will be replaced.

“It’s not an issue about the student space versus our space, but it’s that there was no alternative space provided,” she said.

Van Steinburg maintains that she is happy that students have acquired a space, but losing the employee lounge also means losing a place to eat, clean and relax.

“The biggest issue for members, I would say, is that we lost the sink and the fridge.

Those are the two key elements of it all – the space is one thing but access to the sink and fridge … the only other sink up here is the sink in the washroom, and no one wants to wash their dishes in the bathroom sink,” she said.

Meanwhile, Gordon and the university have resolved that a positive space on Surrey campus is just step-one.

“We’re still in dialogue about positive space because we still have Langley, Richmond and Cloverdale,” she said. “From our perspective, we’re excited that we’re finally here and this is definitely a beginning, not an ending, for us. Now we’re looking towards the other campuses and asking ‘how do we support club space?’”

A note left on the office of the KFA. MATT LAW/THE RUNNER

FEAT

www.runnerrag.ca | The Runner

BILL C-10

Conservative values: crime is mon I

JEFF GROAT COORDINATING EDITOR

A

t 11:08 p.m. on Sept. 21, the State of Georgia declared Troy Davis dead.

With an IV in his arm, a worker from a for-profit company injected him with a lethal cocktail, executing him after he had been found guilty of killing an off-duty police officer in 1989. Despite seven of nine witnesses recanting their testimonies (eyewitness accounts being pretty much the only evidence against Davis) the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-minute stay in his execution. Many people believe an innocent man was executed that night – the Twitter hashtag #toomuchdoubt was said to have been trending globally.

Bill C-10, known as the Safe Streets and Communities Act and better known as the Tory tough-on-crime legislation, is now before Parliament.

According to a speech given by KerryLynne Findlay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, “the safe streets and communities act fulfills this government’s commitment … to reintroduce law and order legislation to combat crime and terrorism.”

While capital punishment is an extreme example today, Canada outlawed the death penalty in 1976, it’s the idea that Canada is headed down the path of American-style justice that scares certain people.

Since the federal Conservatives gained power in 2006, a thread of tough-on-crime politics has permeated Ottawa. Now that Prime Minister Harper led his party to a majority government in last May’s election, his party has talked of drastic changes in crime policy, promising tough-on-crime legislation in the first 100 days of the new session of parliament.

As committed to the tough-on-crime approach the Tories are, there are critics to the

legislation. Joe Comartin, the NDP’s justice critic, disagrees with the punitive-mindedness of the Conservative bill. In an interview with The Runner, he said, “if you take the punitive-deterrent approach, you end up incarcerating people for a longer time.

“They learn how to become better criminals and they tend to become more violent criminals as well when they eventually get out,” he said.

Comartin points out that over the last five years, Canada has increased its prison population from about 12,500 people to 15,000, which doesn’t jive with an overall trend of falling crime rates nationwide. He attributes this rise in the prison population to the previous crime legislation that the Conservatives have introduced since taking power in 2006.

Mike Larsen, Kwantlen criminology professor and co-managing editor of the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons, sees this as formulated political policy. He sees the Conservative approach to crime policy as neglecting a wide net of research that mostly refutes the need to get tough on crime.

This policy, he argues, is completely de-

tached from reality and the evidence base surrounding responsible and effective solutions to social problems.

“It’s disastrous economically, it’s disastrous in terms of its impact to communities,” he said.

He attributes the Conservative’s crime legislation apparent popularity to a certain brand of political populism that appeals to society’s emotions, but doesn’t make a whole lot of sense as a real answer to crime.

“There is what I would say legitimate concerns and dissatisfaction with the justice system,” he said.

He said that it then becomes easy for politicians to see this sentiment as a political opportunity.

“And as a politician offering tough on crime as a solution is political cache–it’s very easy to do.

“It seems almost taken for granted that there’s a certain legitimacy to saying ‘we have a problem and we need to have tougher punishment and more prisons and so on,’ – it plays into this idea that you are the tough masculine politician doing

TURE

vol. 4 issue 02 | September 27 2011 | page eleven

ney this,” he said.

Comartin pointed out that all MPs in the House of Commons would like to be able to say that they have the policy that can eradicate crime, that they have the answer to creating a crime-free and safer Canada.

“We all say the same thing, ‘one violent crime is one too many,’” Comartin said.

Larsen argued a tough-on-crime approach doesn’t make a lot of sense. He pointed out that the debate in the United States has shifted away from the traditional American tough-on-crime approach, mostly because it’s an expensive set of policies to operate and is becoming too big a burden for cash-strapped states to fund.

“These things have intuitive traction even though they don’t work,” Larsen said.

He said that this approach is a vote-getter. It mobilizes a specific segment of the political spectrum and it allows politicians to position themselves as political problem solvers. It’s a rhetoric of effectiveness and it’s a rhetoric of political responsibility, he

said.

“There’s this lashing out, and its almost kind of an expressive thing, it’s emotionality, it’s the idea that, ‘this we can control, this we can respond to,’” he said.

Comartin said it’s, “very much following the U.S. model that is very much out of date.”

“It’s based on fear, it’s based on ‘our society is collapsing around us and we’ve got to get tough on crime’ – flying completely in the face that our crime statistics show very, very clearly that our crime rates are decreasing,” Comartin said.

In an interview with The Runner, Findlay explained that statistics show a “modest decline,” but in certain regions of the country like Nunavut, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, and that this legislation is meant to help tackle these crime problems. She also pointed out that there are certain types of crime that have risen as well, like sexual assault, child pornography, firearms and drug offences.

“We’re taking a very targeted approach for the very reason that we want to get at

those areas that are actually on the increase and the ones that particularly worry the public the most,” she said.

According to Comartin, the NDP is also concerned with the money that this legislation will cost Canadians. He said that certain parts of the proposed legislation would cause an increase in provincial prison populations. Most of which, he argues, are already at capacity or over capacity and that most provinces can’t afford to expand their prison systems.

According to Comartin, the estimated costs from already-implemented crime legislation since 2006 total about $2.2 billion, but he said that the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates it at around $9 billion-$13 billion. He said that this proposed omnibus bill could cost Canadians an additional $10 billion over the next five years once this bill is fully in place.

Larsen pointed out that lumping these bills together into one omnibus bill, the Conservatives run the risk of losing out on valuable debate for each component bill, as would normally be the case in a piecemeal

approach to the legislation.

“You have an evidence-based perspective that’s informed both by morals and ethics but also by a sound research base, its not like it’s pie in the sky research,” he said.

“And then you have this entirely politically oriented criminal justice policy which is coming from the Conservative camp, so debate would almost be a moot point anyways.”

Larsen said that real, reasoned debate has been lost to a war of sound bites, which give equal weight to otherwise unequal arguments.

Findlay said that the parliamentary process ensures that the large bill will see proper debate and second-thought as it passes from the floor to the Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

“That committee’s task is to go through any and all legislation before it, literally clause by clause,” she said.

“That’s going to take a little longer in a comprehensive bill like this than something that’s shorter, obviously, but the process is the same,” she said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MROACH FLICKER

page twelve | September 27 2011 | vol. 4 issue 02

EDITORIAL

AMERICAN ECONOMY

The Runner | www.runnerrag.ca

ASBESTOS

Why the Conservatives are bullying a widow I

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAN LIGHT FLICKR

A Winsor McCay cartoon from 1930 shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same. In 2011, the powerhouse American economy is looking almost as precarious as it was 80 years ago while globally, things aren’t looking good either.

MULTIPASS

Opinion: basic U-pass a better deal for students I KAT SLEPIAN

The Kwantlen Student Association Multipass would have been better without all the extra baggage.

The only useful thing that the KSA has added onto the basic U-Pass is the intercampus shuttle, and even that is absolutely pointless to the Richmond students.

Instead the Richmond students are forced to rely on the 301, which doesn’t always line up well with class schedules, especially since the last bus leaves Surrey campus at 8:40 p.m., leaving those with night classes with no convenient way to get back to Richmond.

It’s also worth noting that the KSA took almost two weeks to get the schedule online, relying on campus posters for the first half of September.

The Langley Park & Ride system might

be useful, but Langley is not a well-populated campus, so it’s debatable just how valuable the Multipass is for Langley drivers.

The Richmond Gold’s Gym membership is nice in theory, but in practice the gym is in the middle of nowhere.

Two things keep gym goers motivated; not wanting to waste their money and a convenient location. Gold’s Richmond offers neither.

The Car Share program could cost you almost $13 a trip if you’re using it to get between campuses, which is a little pricey for the average university student. It would have also been nice to see the rates on the web site the KSA made expressly to promote the Multipass.

Is the Multipass still worth it? Yes, but only to the students already taking public transit who would have loved it more without the $10 per month bells and whistles.

ALEX REINHART THE CORD (WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY)

WATERLOO (CUP) — “Canada is the only western country that still exports deadly asbestos.”

Disturbing, isn’t it?

This rallying cry comes from Michaela Keyserlingk, the widow of an asbestos-related cancer victim. Keyserlingk has recently been caught in a Conservative government firestorm regarding her anti-asbestos campaign. So what’s the official reason the Conservatives are giving to justify their attempt to end Ms. Keyserlingk’s campaign?

A claim of trademark infringement.

But why the government would draw attention to the issue at all if they refuse to engage in a discussion about the issue itself.

Since spring of 2011, Keyserlingk has been using the aforementioned statement in an online banner ad alongside the symbol of the Conservative party. Keyserlingk’s husband Robert died in 2009 of mesothelioma, a cancer that is linked to asbestos inhalation. She wants to see the industry shut down for good, noting the 100,000 deaths that occur per year because of asbestos. She is devastated by the lack of response she has received from the Canadian government.

The only response she has received is a complaint that she is infringing on the trademarked party logo. The Conservatives have contacted Keyserlingk and demanded that she “cease immediately.” Apparently, a “failure to do so may result in further action.”

The Conservative assertion that this is about their logo is only part of the story. It seems likely that this is simply the way the party would like to spin this issue. While Conservative staffers would argue that they are protecting the party brand, to the outside viewer, it looks more like an attempt to bully the asbestos widow into submission; to scare her and make her feel like she should stop her campaign.

There are numerous pitfalls within the Conservatives’ decision to attack Keyserlingk. The attack shows a lack of empathy and compassion for a hardworking Canadian. Rather than launching a campaign against Keyserlingk, the Conservatives

should work with her to promote awareness of the dangers of asbestos.

The Conservative position on this issue is very puzzling. They have drawn attention to an issue they don’t want to have a debate about. They have elevated Keyserlingk’s position into the media spotlight. If this is an attempt by the party to drive the anti-asbestos argument under the bus, it has failed miserably. It has had the opposite effect. That being said, I’m not surprised — I have never given the Conservatives much credit for being clever.

But the issue of Conservatives attempting to end Keyserlingk’s campaign is not my biggest problem with this story. The biggest concern is the fact that Canada continues to export asbestos.

While asbestos has been a problem for years within Canada, in recent years there have been enormous efforts to remove any remaining asbestos from homes, schools and businesses. Despite this, the Conservative government has no problem exporting deadly asbestos to countries which cannot afford alternatives.

I would attribute the continued mining and exportation of asbestos to a general lack of compassion for low-income populations. Within Canada, it is the miners who will suffer — those who work for low wages in an attempt to make a living. On an international stage, it is also low-income families that suffer. Developing countries are the ones that import asbestos. These are countries where the Conservatives have little foreign interest, other than the fact that such nations will continue to buy our cancer-causing asbestos.

That fact that the Conservatives have attacked Keyserlingk is a disgusting facet of Canada’s political stage. Regardless of her unsolicited use of the party logo, Keyserlingk is making an impassioned case for her husband’s memory. From a policy perspective and a humanitarian perspective, the Conservative party should listen. Perhaps the Conservatives should tell their lawyers to focus on corporations which damage Canada’s international reputation and the world’s environment, rather than attacking a widow who is just trying to fight for a cause she believes in.

www.runnerrag.ca | The Runner

CULTURE

vol. 4 issue 02 | September 27 2011 | page thirteen

POP CULTURE

Culture Roundup Your biweekly revue of pop culture – from the amusing to the irreverent

“

Hakuna Matata”

If there’s anything stoners love, it’s getting high and watching cartoons. Let’s be honest, how many of your “green” friends aren’t lounging around in teddybear print PJs with a bowl full of froot loops watching Teletoon on Saturday morning?

The masterminds behind the revamp of The Lion King to be rescreened in 3D knows their audience – and it’s no longer made up of 8-year-olds.

There’s nothing quite like procrastination to kick off the new school year – and seasonal television is exactly where it’s at.

Homework? I’ll do it after my show. This time around, that show might just happen to be Community, which premiered its third season on NBC on Sept. 22. Every Thursday at 8 p.m., you’ll be watching your fave characters do homework... that’s kind of like homework, right?

Procrastination station?

Roast of Sheen I know what you’re all thinking, so I’m just going to go out and say it: the Roast of Sheen was outrageous. Funny? Yes. Insulting? Yes. Could it have been worse?

Probably – but it was still pretty bad. Amy Schumer was the biggest blunder of the night, poking fun at the death of Ryan Dunn in front of his close friend Stephen Gilchrist Glover, better known to Jackass aficianados as Steve-o. Too far, too soon.

By the end of the evening it became clear Sheen and his meltdown have learned to live with each other. Although I think most can agree; we haven’t seen the end of Charlie Sheen.

Depp plays Hunter S. Thompson. Again.

First it was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – which we’ve got to admit was one of few good film adaptation – and now it’s the Rum Diary. It seems like Johnny Depp might have a bit of a man-crush on gonzo journalist/novelist Hunter S. Thompson – which is sweet.

But it’s also a little selfish. Depp, you’re totally monopolizing the Thompson role. You’re to Thompson what Pierce Brosnan is to Bond, or what George Clooney is to Batman. Which is all well and good, but eventually those roles had to be passed over. So, when ya gonna pass the torch?

McDonalds tries oatmeal When you crave McDonalds, it’s pretty selfexplanatory. You’re hungover, you crave salt, or you’re just a straight-up fatty. Get serious. No one’s being fooled here. The multi-billion dollar fast food chain is trying its hand at “healthy eating,” despite the fact that healthy eaters aren’t exactly in the fast food lovin’ demographic. Nice try, Ronald.

Nice try.

page fourteen | September 27 2011 | vol. 4 issue 02

CULTURE

The Runner | www.runnerrag.ca

LOCAL TALENT

LocalEyes: Carol Cox draws from the divine Carol Cox, local pop-artist and music enthusiast, recently gave Jay Sean a run for his money at Kwantlen’s annual Cram Jam. Cox proves she’s no pop-tart as she discusses philanthropy, spirituality and her own kick-ass taste in music with reporter Lliam Easterbrook.

Carol Cox: Working with Tony was such a creative, sacred experience. He’s just so spiritually in tune, but just as a soul his path when he came here was to create art, and collaborating with someone who has no ego, it’s amazing—it’s like you’re building this incredible mansion together. I’m very happy with what we created with “Wasted.”

tors and other musicians, growing up listening to Freddy Mercury of Queen. I wish he were still alive! Definitely a kindred spirit of mine! [laughs] Just all the greats: Janet Jackson, George Michael, the sixties, the seventies. The list goes on…

TR: I know having talked to you before that you’re a very spiritual person—both in your life and your art. How does your spirituality help your music?

CC: Wow—a year! That’s a long time from now! . . . Well I don’t know when it’s going to manifest, but I want to reach every single soul around the world with my music. Not everyone necessarily has to like it—we all have our tastes—that’s what makes us so different and so human—but [my music] does have messages. It’s not just pop that’s talking about “bling-bling” and materialism. It’s about creating unity and community worldwide. My other vision is to start the charities and amnesties and foundations that I know I was born to, and help my brothers and sisters who might not necessarily be able to help themselves.

CC: It definitely helps me as an artist. I believe we are all divine sparks, and, in essence, creative beings, so my purpose and my path is to share my music and channel what flows through me and help my brothers and sisters around the world through my music as well as the prosperity that comes from it. I think if you create from within, you can make art that truly resonates…

TR: Who or what has been your biggest influence? Who inspired you to choose a path in music?

TR: Nice. So what are your plans for the future?

Where do you see yourself a year from now?

TR: Last question! What would your top 5 “desert” albums be?

CC: Can I say greatest hits?

Carol Cox’s music is both sultry and spiritual. Photo submitted by Cox & management.

I

LLIAM EASTERBROOK SENIOR FEATURES WRITER

Vancouver’s own Carol Cox is rising fast.

You may have seen her recently performing Kwantlen’s Cram Jam 2011, where she gave Jay Sean a run for his money as crowd favourite. Her recent single, “Wasted”, has aired on Kiss FM Seattle and Virgin 95.3 FM and she’s currently co-writing and producing upcoming singles with Graham Gomez of Noisyhouse Music Productions.

Now, having received the Best of B.C. Artist award for “Wasted,” she’s also made

a video for the single, tapping Vancouver Film School graduate and award winning auteur Tony Dean Smith as director.

One could say Cox is ready for world domination, but for her, it’s not in the way you might think.

In a discussion ranging from pop-music with a conscience, to seminal ‘80s pop-rock band Queen and her affinity for Tool, The Runner recently caught up with Cox for a friendly Q and A. The Runner: Carol, what was it like working with Tony Dean Smith on your new video “Wasted”?

CC: That’s a tough one. First I would say that I chose this path before I came here from Dubai. Even growing up, with my parents not being supportive of me fully, I just had to keep pursuing it, no matter what the consequences, no matter how many rejections—none of that mattered in the grand scheme of things. I just woke up with this knowledge and this drive to create music and to do what I feel I was born to do. In terms of influences, my spiritual men-

TR: Of course!

CC: Okay, well definitely the greatest hits of Queen! (I love you, Freddie!). Also the greatest hits of George Michael, the greatest hits of the Spice Girls, and I would say Tool—the albums that have “Stinkfist” and “Sober” [Aenima, Lateralus respectively]—those are both great albums.

Need a reference for a

scholarship ❃ job ❃ program? ❃ be come a contributor and get paid! and ideas! ❃ We need your words, pictures, attitudes ❃ editor@runnerrag.ca

CULTURE

www.runnerrag.ca | The Runner

vol. 4 issue 02 | September 27 2011 | page fifteen

SONIC ARCHAEOLOGY

Vinyl Dust-off: Wooden Shjips’ West Lliam Easterbrook – sonic archaeologist – brings you his latest finds from excursions into ancient record bins.

Every week, only on Vinyl Dust-off.

I

LLIAM EASTERBROOK SENIOR FEATURES WRITER

4/5 records

The flower power melodies that used to be a staple of the San Francisco music scene of the late ‘60s is all but a distant murmur of some bygone age. What was, at its peak, a torrential movement burning as bright as new star became an exhausted and wilted relic of a generation who tried to change the world but stretched itself too thin. With a disorganized and unnourished ideology based on love, sex and drugs, it didn’t take long for the fiery scene to slowly burn itself out, like a lit cigarette dropped on the pavement as people walk by — they could pick it up, inhale deeply, keep it going, but no one wants it anymore. Its time has passed.

And, at any rate, the Nixon Administration’s rhinoceros-like political agenda was ready to charge in, full speed, head down, to stamp out any spark at any given second, just to be sure.

So the hippies are old now, their ideological dynamo nothing but a rusted out chasse in the backyard. Their kids, for the most part, are embedded in the great dryrot state apparatus that won. What’s left in the Bay Area some 40 years later is a small

but budding music scene, where psychedelic sensibilities still dress the rock and roll skeleton, but the image has changed significantly.

Three full-length albums in, San Fran’s Wooden Shjips has never been a band about crafting the perfect pop song. And they are definitely not about flower power.

In fact, they usually aren’t even about vocals. On West we see the Shjips move ever so slightly away from the spaced-out disjointed and extended jams of their previous albums, and into a much more coherent and, dare I say, linear style. This is not a bad thing, for they’ve managed to craft a handful of songs that still rely heavily on

fuzzed riffs, distortion and cascading solos, yet are just a tad more fine-tuned than anything they’ve done before. Tracks like “Black Smoke Rise” and “Flight” show influences of Joy Division and Velvet Underground, whereas the organ-tinged “Looking Out” shadows the Doors at their psychedelic best.

Where West falls short, it does so literally. At just over 40 minutes, the album is rather brief — especially when the last track, “Rising,” is merely a muffled and incoherent 5 + minute gyre. I mean, the song is neat enough at first listen, but once you’ve realized it’s just being played backwards — and maybe you’ve also realized you’re out of pot, which was the case with me — you don’t really need to hear it again.

The Golden Gate Bridge has been a symbol for many things. Most significantly, it is a symbol for the west coast, for San Fran — like ‘Hollywood’ for Los Angeles or Che Guevara for all those chameleonic, carboncopied trendoids I see everywhere. For Wooden Shjips’ West, the bridge is a passageway away from San Fran’s star-child past, crossing over into dark psychedelic tones, fuzz, distortion and melodic repetitions that drone and drone and drone and drone the sonic blur of a band focused not on tending the soil from which flowers might grow, but rather plodding through the muddled mire left over from a roily rainwash. Enjoy, and: Play it loud. Play it proud.

Exclusive Online Content

Kat Slepian’s article why you should brown-bag it Sana Sohel’s fashion article on fall jeans Matt Law’s article on the environmental club, S.A.F.E.

runnermag.ca

page sixteen | September 27 2011 | vol. 4 issue 02

CULTURE

KWANTLEN

The Runner | www.runnerrag.ca

COMEDY

Cram Jam fails to live up to the hype

GIANTS comedy group debuts at Cultch

KSA SUBMITTED PHOTO

I CALVIN TIU

“Vancouver!!! Are you ready for Jay Sean!?,” exclaimed the DJ excitedly as the crowd gathered around the stage at Royal King Palace for Cram Jam 2011. Hundreds of Kwantlen students anxiously screamed back while I thought to myself: “I do not believe we are in Vancouver at this particular moment.”

Security was top notch on Thursday, Sept. 8: frisking people as they came in; police cars and big tall men wearing shades creating the impression that this was going to be a concert to remember.

Having created catchy hits like “Down”, “Do You Remember”, and “2012”, Jay Sean has a legitimate fan base. Let’s not forget he’s also signed to Lil Wayne’s label Cash Money Records, which guides big artists like Drake and Nicki Minaj. All of the above promise a good show, but what’s a promising show when the host couldn’t keep its own promises?

I understand opening performances are not always going to be to be as good as the main event and are there only to build anticipation. But that in itself was the problem.

Not only were the beginning acts off point, they hurt the overall vibe of the night. Several artists like Pretty Boy – though cheered on at first – failed to keep the crowd patient.

Jay Sean was back stage. One act after another, the host desperately struggled to hold the crowd by promising that Jay Sean was to appear next, only to be followed by yet another lesser-known performer.

Overheating from all the bodies in the room and bored by what I had seen so far, my friends and I decided a cold beverage

would be great before Jay Sean hit the stage.

As we approached the food stand, two security guards, standing bold and proud, commanded us to step away. Only people 19-and-over were allowed to purchase anything. Any students 18-years-old and younger were restricted from using any snack money at Cram Jam – a nice “welcome to Kwantlen” for students straight out of high school.

Perhaps the 19-and-under food-and-water ban would have made sense if we were allowed to leave the Royal King Palace to purchase something somewhere else, but because of a strict “no ins and outs” policy, my friends and I were deprived of any food and water. Now that is not right at all.

By the time the main artist himself came out, I was hungry and tired. People still cheered, however the audience would have had enjoyed the performance more if Jay Sean didn’t take over two hours to take the stage. As I looked around me, people seemed unimpressed. Jay Sean demonstrated charisma and powerful stage presence yet he seemed to scream his way through his songs. He jumped mindlessly while his original vocals crooned through the booming speakers. Being on crutches, I found it hard to stand so long. Security could have been more considerate in assisting me with finding a good place to watch.

As the show came to a close and I left the building, I was exhausted. Not from yelling and having a good time, but because I was accepting this was an average performance and event that was overhyped and terribly executed. Maybe at next year’s Cram Jam, drinking water will be legalized.

COMEDY GIANTS SITE

I

CHRIS YEE SENIOR CULTURE WRITER

Vancouver’s comedy scene is bursting at the seams with talent – but as the organizers of the upcoming late-night live comedy showcase GIANTS note on their website, Vancouver’s comedy venues are decidedly “low-brow”.

“Good spaces run by good people,” they add, “but not spaces meant for polished, theatrical comedy.”

And so GIANTS, debuting at the Cultch on Oct. 8, came to be. Its organizers hope that the series, being set in a venue with bigger stages, better lighting and more suitability for putting on performances than a dive bar or coffee shop, will provide “high-level opportunities for comedic projects of all sorts” in Vancouver as it runs in the Cultch’s 2011-2012 season, according to a statement on the GIANTS website.

The series debut, appropriately titled GIANTS I, will feature as its centrepiece Kevin Lee and Sean Devlin’s Townhall: Attendance Mandatory, where audiences are encouraged to voice their opinions on whatever issue the duo can think of (or make up) in this mock town hall meeting.

Lee and Devlin have collaborated on a number of projects, including the live

sitcom/video podcast The Living Room, performed at the 2006 Vancouver International Fringe Festival, the Vancouver International ComedyFest and, more notably, ShitHarperDid.com.

In addition to the centrepiece, GIANTS will have a number of regular segments, including two showcases of other local comedians, The Heavy Hitters and The Wild Ones. Headlining as a “Heavy Hitter” on Oct. 8 is Graham Clark (of Stop Podcasting Yourself and CBC’s The Debaters) while the other showcase, The Wild Ones, will include, among its mix of local comedy talents, one Andrew Barber, who is best known for his six-part YouTube series A Boston Bruins Fan in Vancouver.

Other attractions are Emmett Hall’s News Around Now, described on the GIANTS website as a “one-man absurdist news show,” and Delicious Things, a segment where comedian and Cactus Club souschef Nik Bunting serves up delicious appetizers and delicious comedy in one performance. Tying the whole event together are video segments by comedy/ art/karaoke collective Weekend Leisure and an open bar with $4.25 pints, courtesy of Whistler Brewing.

GIANTS I debuts on Oct. 8 at 11 p.m., at the Vancity Culture Lab at the Cultch (1895 Venables Street).

CULTURE

www.runnerrag.ca | The Runner

FOOD

vol. 4 issue 02 | September 24 2011 | page seventeen

FILM

Vegan cooking class shines

Lion King 3D redux roarin’ great I MARCO HORNA

To see The Lion King in theatres again, was an experience I thought I would never have. The movie, now 17-years-old, is still every bit as good as it was in 1994.

So for those who didn’t see it in 1994, the movie is about an evil lion named Scar (Jeremy Irons) who kills his brother Mufasa (James Earl Jones) to become king of the Pride Lands. Scar then tricks his nephew Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) into exile (with the hopes of killing him) by telling him Mufasa’s death was his fault.

After coming face to face with the ghost of his dead father, a now adult Simba (now Matthew Broderick) must return to the Pridelands and take his place in the Great Circle of Life. Watching this movie again was a nostalgia explosion.

The plot is well written, and borrows several

elements from the classic Shakespearean play Hamlet. The movie combines light hearted comedy, with its more serious plot and both sides get great moments.

The cast itself is filled with the amazing voice talents of James Earl Jones (Darth Vader), Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller), and Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Mary Clarence) to name a few. However, the music is what really sells this movie; scored by Elton John, you’ll find yourself humming the songs long after the movie. So what about the 3D? While not many scenes are in 3D, the 3D adds a nice layer of depth to the 2D cell drawings. While there are a few plot holes in the movie and Scar becomes less interesting in the third act, The Lion King 3D is a fun time for all and I highly recommend you go see this movie in theatres or on Netflix.

Kari Michaels and Lauren LeClair cooked up falafels and a fluffy tofu scramble on Sept. 16. ANDREA HARVEY/THE RUNNER

I SANA SOHEL

It’s not hard being a vegan, and as Kari Michaels and Lauren LeClair proved last Friday, amidst chopping vegetables and joyfully conducting a cooking class, it can be quite an experience.

It is a trend that is slowly developing as more and more people adopt a vegan lifestyle. But does everyone know why being a Vegan is not just a healthy lifestyle choice but also a moral one?

Kari dutifully explains, “First and foremost being vegan doesn’t mean my love and compassion for animals overshadows my interest in furthering human rights. On the contrary, my circle of compassion is expanded from human suffering to include animal suffering. One of the values I love the most is the community that vegans develop. We can be community activists, stay at home moms, corporate CEO’s but we can all come together and relate to each other through our compassionate lifestyles.”

As she and Lauren cooked up some appetizing falafel and fluffy Tofu Scramble, they explained how cost effective being a Vegan is.

“Life as a vegan was a struggle at first.

I grew up eating microwave dinners and other types of prepackaged meals so when I became vegan I didn’t exactly have excellent cooking skills. I had to learn how to buy ripe fruits and vegetables and make meals from scratch.” Kari informs us, “When I

finally acquired cooking/baking skills it got a lot cheaper because I built up a good pantry and cut down on the expensive premade meals. Vegetables aren’t that expensive when you know what is in season and where to shop.”

She asserts that in order to get proper nutrition “it’s important to remember to include at least 2-3 servings of beans, lentils and nuts” along with a healthy bowl of fruits and vegetables.

She mentions her favorite dish, “Macaroni Hates Cheese,” and while sympathizing with mac and cheese lovers, she clarifies that the “nutritional yeast which is a seasoning packed with vitamins and minerals,” which is an excellent choice for Vegans.

As people become more aware of other food choices, there has been an increase in restaurants accommodating a Vegan menu to satisfy the customers.

Some places you can frequent are: Naam, East by East, The Templeton, Urban Masala, and Grass Roots Café.

Furthermore, Kari mentions “Meatless Mondays is a growing trend across North America. More and more people are starting to realize that meat is contributing to the degradation our planet through water consumption and pollution. There is plenty of information out there that isn’t espousing radical, militant animal rights ideologies that normally turn people off of the whole idea.”

DISNEY SUBMITTED PHOTO

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page eighteen | September 27 2011 | vol. 4 issue 02

CULTURE

The Runner | www.runnerrag.ca

TRAVEL

The Dempster highway: a highway to the world’s end

Just another beautiful mountain vista as seen from the headwaters of the Klondike River. MATTHEW BOSSONS/THE RUNNER

I

MATTHEW BOSSONS CONTRIBUTOR

When the pavement turned to dirt, and the truck began to rumble, it was official – we were on the Dempster Highway, the final frontier of highways.

I had heard many horror stories; that this road will beat a vehicle, or worse yet, beat the driver. In retrospect I’m not entirely sure how true these stories are, but they intimidate even the most confident drivers. Travel on gravel isn’t for everyone.

The Inuvik Attraction and Service Guide calls the Dempster, “both a challenge and adventure, especially for tourists that visit during the summer months.”

The Dempster Highway runs from just south of Dawson City, in the Yukon Territory, across the Arctic Circle and onward to Inuvik, in the Northwest Territories.

My father and I had been planning this trip for some time and a surreal feeling hung over the first few minutes of the drive north. This feeling was quickly replaced by excitement as I realized that we were venturing into one of the most unique ecosystems on our planet.

We started our drive passing through the majestic and awe inspiring Tombstone Territorial Park, famous for its mountain vistas, vast tundra and abundant wildlife. We stopped for lunch within the park,

along the Blackstone River, where I had the chance to cast my fly rod – with epic success: two arctic grayling.

After lunch the drive continued north, along the Ogilvie River and to the Eagle Plains Plateau, where we spent the night at a simple campsite behind the rustic restaurant and motel located there. Since it was mid-August, and because we were just below the Arctic Circle, darkness came late – very late. This was also the first night it became apparent how cold it could get this far north.

The next morning our party awoke early and headed back onto the road. Our next stop was the Arctic Circle for a photo-op next to the sign marking this remote destination.

We had barely made it five minutes down the road before spotting a large male grizzly bear grazing on a nearby hillside.

This would be the first of three grizzlies we would see along the Dempster.

When we stopped at the sign and exited the truck we were met with a view like no other. Vast tundra stretched out in all directions, meeting rolling hills and mountain peaks, wide valleys and frigid creeks. Small shrubs are the dominant vegetation here, at least until you reach the Mackenzie River delta.

After taking the obligatory photo at the sign proclaiming the Arctic Circles longi-

tude and latitude, it was back into the truck for another push north.

Our white truck carved its way through the tundra, cruising along the gravel highway towards the end of the world. Fascination had gripped me the whole drive, what would Inuvik look like? Would it be worth the long, bumpy drive? The answers would have to wait.

We realized the home stretch was in sight when a large white-and-blue sign became visible on the horizon. “Welcome to the Northwest Territories.”

Only two towns, two ferries and 272 km stand between the border and Inuvik. Almost there.

We crossed the Peel River ferry in early afternoon and continued up the road to the town of Fort McPherson. It’s a small town, and our only reason for stopping was to pick up fishing licenses from the local government office – new territory, new licenses.

Next, our drive north from Fort McPherson took us to the banks of the Mackenzie River, at its confluence with the Arctic Red River. Here we took a ferry past the town of Tsiigehtchic and on to the other side of the river, where we continued up the Dempster towards our next stop – Inuvik.

We drove a short distance up the road to stop for dinner. Like so many stops before this one, my father and I suited up to go for a quick fish while my mother prepared din-

ner. My girlfriend accompanied us down to the bank of a small river where we made a concerted effort to catch some more grayling, unfortunately we had no success this time.

As we sat in the camper and ate our dinner we watched out the side windows as lightning lit up the evening sky to the south. Thunder echoed over the tundra and we could see rain falling in sheets only minutes away.

The four of us rushed through our meals and got back in the truck, we had to stay ahead of the storm because it would turn the dirt road into a muddy mess. The race began with the storm right on top of us, but as we pushed north it seemed to dissipate and we made it to Inuvik safely, shortly before 10 pm.

The town was completely different than I had imagined. It was small, but modern and full of colourful houses and apartments.

The locals were friendly, and the Inuvialuit culture was visible at every turn.

I had a great time in Inuvik, but that’s another story.

The Dempster Highway is a drive like no other. Its difficulty is often exaggerated, at least as far as I’m concerned, but its beauty is unsurpassed. It’s a landscape that few people see, and it’s truly a shame because it’s arguably one of the most impressive landscapes that Canada has to offer.

CREATIVE

www.runnerrag.ca | The Runner

vol. 4 issue 02 | September 24 2011 | page nineteen

SCI-FI

Unexpected Results I

JARED VAILLANCOURT CONTRIBUTOR

“Your name is Alex,” the Elder was saying.

“It’s one of the rarer neutral names.”

Alex, better known by the Elder as Ip’xujl (Determination), and to its friends as Zh’a’a’re’i (The Curious Person Of Flesh And Hair), took a nervous breath and clicked its tongue. The Elder clicked back, thus acknowledging Alex and offering support. Both stood up as the opaque, featureless sphere that was the shuttle trembled, their final touchdown to the planet Alex had been told so much about growing up finally complete.

All throughout Alex’s life it had been raised by the Q’ji’ki’lai (People Of The Darkened Sun And Murky Land), a species to which Alex bore little resemblance. The Elder had raised it nonetheless, dressing Alex in the uniform garments of ceramic-iron fabric that protected one from swamp fauna and dissipated summer heat. The clothing was practical, with joints where they were needed and a high collar that obscured the nose and mouth, and also the breathing mask Alex had to wear on K’ru’lu’t’n’ak (The Planet From Which All Things Tend Generally To Originate).

Alex watched the Elder place a breathing mask on under its collar. The cool wind of an unfamiliar gas toyed with the long braid of black hair down Alex’s back, tasting quite familiar when Alex’s mask was removed from its face.

“I’ve never breathed before,” Alex told the Elder. “It feels good.”

“This is a day I have dreaded and dreamed of,” the Elder replied. It ran its long, spindly finger back across its scaly scalp, retracting the secondary eye stalks at its temples in a display of nerves. “You’ve been practising your languages?”

“Yes,” Alex replied, repeating the word in seven different dialects.

“And how will you greet the Gy’chi’k’ju’sa’d?” (Dwellers Of The Mostly Blue And Sometimes Green Rock).

Alex extended a hand, wincing at the offensive gesture. The Elder shook Alex’s

outstretched appendage, a smile sending its eye stalks wide. Alex had known how to do such things, the last ten years spent in intense classes where younger and more adventurous Q’ji’ki’lai learned a great deal about their new-found celestial neighbours. Alex was told its participation was mandatory, especially having been named Zh’a’a’re’i.

Fitting in to school and work had not been as big a challenge as Alex’s gut had warned it would be. Other Q’ji’ki’lai regarded it as a being of intense curiosity, and were always asking questions about it; what is that stuff growing out of your head? Is it hard to have to consciously control more than three fingers? How do you walk with such short legs? Can you see clearly out of only two immense eyes? Alex had been wary of such questions at first, but the others were merely curious, and once their curiosity was satisfied they accepted small Zh’a’a’re’i as a funny-looking Q’ji’ki’lai and talked about their schooling and did you get the answer to yesterday’s question three?

“I am not certain I wish to leave just yet,” Alex muttered to the Elder. Its strong hand came to rest atop Alex’s head.

“You knew as well as I this day would come,” the Elder explained.

It was true: When Alex was first figuring how to tie back its ever-lengthening hair to form a functional (if supremely strange) braid, the Elder had explained that Alex had been born and left orphaned on the world of the Gy’chi’k’ju’sa’d. Alex was technically what was called a Human (Gh’uu’me’a’an, damn their languages were so guttural and harsh), and as such would only be surrendered by its people in fair exchange for a true Q’ji’ki’lai. The Elder, once the wise and truthfully rather frightened of space travel operator of an orphanage itself, agreed to an exchange program of sorts; one of the infants under its care would be raised on the Human’s distant world, while Alex would grow up and take the title of Q’ji’ki’lai. It had thus become a parent, and ensured that Alex never had any illusions of what awaited it in the future.

The only problem was, the future had

become the present.

“You are Ip’xujl, Alex.” The Elder said reassuringly. “No challenge is to great for you. These Gy’chi’k’ju’sa’d have agreed to greet you favourably, and I know you will make me proud.”

“You mean that, Elder?”

A blink of the eye stalks. “No one who hunts the biggest K’tch’a’th (Ugly Yet Tasty Swamp Monster) and bakes such delicious pies from its meats could ever leave me ashamed.” At this, Alex smiled up at its Elder, and walked towards the wall. The shuttle’s materials responded to its approach and morphed, opening like an orifice to form a ramp down to the painfully bright world beyond.

A chorus of sound flared up and died down almost as quickly.

“Hey, you must be Alex!” The creature that rushed forward and grabbed Alex’s hand did not seem Q’ji’ki’lai at all. It wore... such bright colours! Fabrics of pinks and reds and blacks that assaulted Alex’s still watery eyes. “I’m Yuri. I’m the Bugger you swapped places with!” Alex looked up and winced away from Yuri’s uncovered lower face, mindful of the tendril-like genitalia that drooped freely around its lamprey-like mouth. Yuri smiled, inhaling from the tubes that ran up into its nostrils from the pack on its back.

“I greet you with kindness,” Alex offered. Yuri laughed.

“Hey, sorry, I don’t speak that crazy talk,” Yuri said with a hard slap to Alex’s back. Alex looked back at the Elder, who was doing everything it could to avoid gazing in Yuri’s direction. Alex got angry and shoved Yuri back.

“I made the effort to learn seven of your languages!” Alex shouted. Throughout the crowd, people started to chatter away into cameras and microphones, commenting on Alex’s accent and arguing about – gender? What was that? “Ih. You couldn’t be bothered to learn proper Q’ji’ki’lai?”

“Life’s too short!” Yuri made a gesture with its hand, as if Alex’s comment was a fly it swatted away. “My people are way too uptight, I mean, look at them! Look at you!” it pointed excitedly at Alex’s clothes. “You going into battle, Alex my main mammal?

Get some colour on you!”

“Cover your mouth,” Alex bit back. “Do you know what those are?”

“My moustache?” Yuri replied. “Ain’t nothing but a thing, Alex-san.” Alex stood there furious, barely registering Yuri’s arm

as it went around Alex’s shoulders. “You’ve got to fly around this world, babe. Get to all the parties! See the cameras? See the crowd?” Yuri waved, enticing another uproar of... ugh, they had to be cheers. “You took one step and became a celebrity, Alex.

Don’t you want that?” Yuri asked.

Alex looked back at the crowd, across so many uncovered faces intently focused on it.

“I want,” Alex began, “to go home.”

It wretched itself from Yuri’s arm and stepped back towards the shuttle. “You are not Q’ji’ki’lai. Yuri – Ja’ja’ku’i’i’g’i’lai’sa’d!”

Alex and its Elder ascended back into the shuttle and were already a thousand feet up when the translator computers in the crowd finished announcing “The One Who Looks And Smells Like A Kindred But Has The Heart Of A Not Very Intelligent And Honestly Quite Vain Person Who Others Should Probably Regard With Contempt And/Or Pity”. The computers then apologized in case “Contempt” was confused with “Suitcase”.

“That was not fun,” Zh’a’a’re’i told its Elder. The Elder grunted and removed its mask.

“At least we confirmed something about the Gy’chi’k’ju’sa’d,” it replied.

It was another lifetime before Ip’xujl learned what that something was.

PROCRASTINATION

page twenty | September 27 2011 | vol. 4 issue 02

The Runner | www.runnerrag.ca

CANUCKS SEASON 2011/12 - JEFF GROAT

HOROSCOPES

VIRGO Aug. 24 - Sept. 23

PISCES Feb. 20 - March 20

You will be taken in by the glamour and glitz of online poker and develop carpal tunnel syndrome.

LIBRA Sept. 24 - Oct. 23

Tell that person you love them. You know who we’re talking about. Wait! No, not him! Stop you fool!

ARIES March 21 - April 19

SMART ZONE No one makes eating noises quite like you.

SCORPIO Oct. 24 - Nov. 22

The receptionist is reading your mail.

TAURUS April 20 - May 20

Your usually dominant manner is replaced by a coy submissiveness today. Go with it.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 23 - Dec. 21 Every time you lay your head on the pillow, a luminous red dot appears on your forehead.

You will suddenly understand both particle physics and empathy.

GEMINI May 21 - June 20 All your furniture has moved one inch to the left.

(CUP) — Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22 - Jan. 20

CANCER June 21 - july 23

It’s probably just a big freckle. No worries.

AQUARIUS Jan. 21 - Feb 19 You thought everyone forgot about it, but they didn’t.

Today is what life’s all about. Go get ‘em tiger!

LEO July 24 - Aug. 23 Work out. Then again, why bother?

Across 1- _ were; 5- Legal rights org.; 9- Harvests; 14- Zilch; 15- Crowd sound; 16- Everglades bird; 17- In debit; 19- Drench; 20- Trouble; 21- Thick-skinned charger; 22- Beg; 23- Dues; 24- Cabinet dept.; 25- Cuban dance; 28- Bunches; 31- Waterfall; 32- Campaigned; 34- Swerve sharply; 35- Glossy; 36- Skater Lipinski; 37- Shoebox letters; 38- Director Kurosawa; 39- Kitten; 40- Hard to define; 42- Prefix meaning “beneath”; 43- California wine region; 44- Skill; 48- Dens; 50- Masculinity; 51- African language group; 52- British lower-court lawyer; 53- Chip maker; 54- In _ of; 55- French military cap; 56- Buy alternative; 57- Probability; 58- “_ quam videri” (North Carolina’s motto); Down 1- Battery terminal; 2- Eurasian juniper; 3- That is, in Latin; 4- Salt of tartaric acid; 5- Debt that remains unpaid; 6- Seashore; 7- Rules; 8- Coffee container; 9- Radiance; 10- Self-centered person; 11- Make _ for it; 12- Cancun coin; 13- Sault _ Marie; 18- At the bottom of the barrel; 21- Answer; 23- Animal life; 25- Congo, formerly; 26- Ages; 27- Crew needs; 28- Half a fly; 29- Peter Fonda title role; 30- Combustible matter; 31- The Hindu Destroyer; 33- Negative vote; 35- Passes over; 36- Fistulous; 38- Generally; 39- Perfidious; 41- Combines; 42- The Dog Star; 44- Put away papers; 45- Locations; 46- Halts; 47- Eagle’s nest: var.; 48- Alley; 49- Organization to promote theater; 50- Empty; 51- Puppeteer Baird; 52- _ -mo;