The Runner Vol 11, Issue 11

THE RUNNER NEWS AND CULTURE FOR THE STUDENTS OF KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY VOLUME 11, ISSUE 11 | FEBRUARY 19, 2019

The Stories that Shaped Us A look back at the first decade of The Runner

NEWS

KSA Close to Signing Contract for Construction of Student Union Building

› 04

CULTURE

Clarifying Misconceptions About the Black Experience in Canada

› 09

OPINIONS

Snowfall Chaos Should Be a Wake Up Call About Climate Change

› 10

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STAFF Editor in Chief

Aly Laube editor@runnermag.ca

Managing Editor

Connor Doyle managing@runnermag.ca

Staff Writer

Braden Klassen staff@runnermag.ca

Production Manager

04 06 09

Sarah Kraft production@runnermag.ca

Graphics Editor

Kristen Frier graphics@runnermag.ca

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NEWS

KSA Close to Signing Contract for Construction of Student Union Building Murdoch de Mooy, KSA VP University Affairs, says that the current estimation for when the building will be completed is roughly four-and-a-half years from now.

FEATURES

Ten Years of The Runner With the newspaper turning 10 years old this month, we put together a retrospective of what we’ve done, who we’ve been, and which stories brought us to where we are today.

CULTURE

Clarifying Misconceptions About the Black Experience in Canada “When talking about Black history in Canada, I feel like there are so many misconceptions,” says Joy Gyamfi, a Black Canadian studying for her undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia.

OPINIONS

Snowfall Chaos Should Be a Wake Up Call About Climate Change It feels like it happens every year in Vancouver. The first snowfall that piles up more than a few inches high sends the entire city into a spiral of near-apocalyptic chaos.

Web Manager

Alex Rodriguez web@runnermag.ca

Spring Semester 2019 Student Publication Fee optouts available in person from Feb. 1 - Feb. 28

CONTRIBUTORS Cristian Hobson-Dimas Hannah Howard Kristine Hui Hala Kanan Jenna Keeble Nic Laube Jessica Limoanco Leah Rosehill Tanvir Singh Tae Whitehouse Jayne Wright

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All submissions to The Runner are subject to editing for style, quality, length, and legality.

The Runner will not publish material which the editors deem to be harmful or discriminatory.

The views expressed within the publication are not necessarily those of The Runner staff or of the Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society.

The Runner is student-owned and operated by Kwantlen Polytechnic University students, published under the Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society. The Runner recognizes 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 KPU is adaptable and changing, so is The Runner.

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EDITORIAL

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

If you’re critical of the KSA, get informed and get involved

Tanvir Singh

someone needs to supervise students while they use

the province and with TransLink to provide stu-

it, which means that people need to be paid, lights

dents with the U-Pass. If your candidate supports

Editor’s Note: Tanvir Singh has been the president,

need to be on, and maintenance needs to take place.

the U-Pass, they should also have been supporting

vice-president university affairs, arts faculty repre-

At the end of the day, this all takes up a great deal

the Vote Yes for U-Pass campaign with the KSA.

sentative, and Surrey campus representative with the

of funding. The next VP Finance or Student Life can

Limited library hours: The KSA has previous-

Kwantlen Student Association in recent years. He has

definitely make the gym more available for students

ly worked with the university library on keeping

also chaired and been a member of various KSA com-

after having conversations with the university.

it open 24 hours a day for two weeks during exam

Campus food options/cost/availability: It is

periods. This extra two weeks of keeping the build-

important for KSA councillors to be specific about

ing open ends up costing roughly $15,000. If this

Now that the recent election for the Kwantlen

what they would like to change here, and the best

cost is acceptable to the students, the university

Student Association is over, students need to keep

way to do that is through Grassroots Cafe, which is

should be held responsible to pay for it. Until then,

the elected officials of the KSA accountable by ask-

owned and operated by the KSA. The main goal of

the KSA has the ability to fund this on a trial basis,

ing the right questions. Those who think that the

Grassroots is to be a service to students, not to make

which the library has previously agreed to.

KSA charges fees and doesn’t do anything worth-

money. Be sure to talk to your KSA representatives

Health-care/Dental plan: For the health and

while to them, or have no idea how the KSA works

and get them to make the changes to Grassroots

dental plan, the KSA negotiates terms with an

but still pay hundreds of dollars per semester, are

that you want to see.

insurance provider, but its health and dental pro-

mittees This letter has been edited for length and clarity.

responsible for informing themselves and engaging

Events for students: Be wary of student politi-

more with those they elect to student government.

cians that repeatedly tell you that they want to host

Here are a few common campaign platform

and support “student events” on campus without

issues that candidates have identified, as well as my

being specific about what they want to do. Anyone

Vague promises about “issues”: If a student

personal analysis on each of them, for students to

can “ask the students what they want” but it takes

politician repeatedly tells you they will “look for

ask about.

a real student leader to be able to tell you what

solutions to the problems,” press them for a more

types of events they want to host and how they will

elaborate answer. Student politicians need to ask

achieve hosting them.

their voters what needs to be changed on campus,

Long wait-lists for courses: One of the biggest reasons for this is that the provincial government

High

textbook

prices:

viders are open to listening to student concerns.

Getting a SkyTrain to the Surrey campus: This

and if they don't have specific issues they want to

right number of teachers and support staff. There

Resources are essentially free online textbooks, and

tackle other than “fighting for issues” or “using

are ways to resolve this, such as hiring temporary

KPU is the post-secondary leader in Canada when

student money efficiently,” then they have no clue

faculty, having classes on Fridays and Saturdays, or

it comes to OER adoption. If you want to get more

what they are talking about.

even cramming more students into classes. But none

involved or have questions about OERs be sure to

of these address the fact that the provincial govern-

ask your KSA VP University Affairs for details.

Now that you are more educated on some of the issues student politicians are talking about at

Mental health support: Lots of student politi-

KPU, do what needs to be done and get involved in

Too few online classes: The number of avail-

cians throw around the term “mental health sup-

proposing solutions on campus. Complaining only

able online classes is an issue that high level KPU

port” when they don't really know how to support

works when it is solution-oriented. If students con-

administration and Senate members need to

mental health initiatives. Hold your representatives

stantly complain about corrupt student politicians,

deal with. There is a growing need for high-qual-

accountable to this particular campaign promise,

wasted fees, or a lack of representation in the KSA,

ity online education in our province and KPU will

because in my opinion, it is the most important

the only thing that's going to change is that your

need to monitor this in the years to come. At this

one. The KSA has a lot of money set aside for stu-

student council will become uninterested in dealing

point in time, this is definitely an issue that the KSA

dents events and initiatives, and any student can

with the issues that you want to see resolved. Any

Vice-President University Affairs can take on.

come forward to the KSA with ideas and make sug-

student that complains about their student govern-

gestions on how they can better support students’

ment without getting informed and involved is both

mental health.

lazy and ignorant.

ment is failing to adequately fund our institution.

Availability of the Surrey gym: This issue is one of the easiest to resolve if the KSA can cough

U-Pass prices: The KSA has negotiated with both

up the dough. One of the issues with the gym is that

NEWS BRIEF

30 “no” votes, and Victoria Kalitowski was re-elect-

Career

released. Twenty-two candidates were elected to fill

receiving 17 “yes” votes and one “no” vote.

who were re-elected.

There were 12 faculty representatives elected to positions in Arts, Business, Science and Horticulture, Academic and Career Advancement, and Health.

Advancement

Representative

Gurdial Dhindsa was elected to the International Students Representative position with 720 votes,

Henry To was elected to fill the Academic and

Student Association General Election have been positions on KSA Council, including four candidates

position,

Matthew Yorston was elected to fill the Health Representative position, receiving 42 “yes” votes and three “no” votes.

Every Campus Representative position was filled with a new candidate. Arashdeep Singh was elect-

unseating the current representative Shivam Kataria, who received 389 votes but was disqualified.

Jaya Dhillon was elected to the Students with Disabilities Representative position with 801 "yes" votes and 78 "no" votes.

Jaspal Rai was elected to the Mature Students 146 "no" votes.

ed to the Surrey Representative position with 721

Amei-lee Laboucan was elected as Women’s Rep-

Gill was elected with 124 votes, Harjapleen Kaur

votes, surpassing Manthan Kaushal who received

resentative with 741 "yes" votes and 120 "no" votes.

with 142 votes, and David Piraquive was re-elect-

348 votes before being disqualified. Richmond

The Runner has requested more information

ed with 151 votes. Amandeep Singh and Koushal

Campus Representative Damanpreet Garcha was

about the disqualification of certain candidates

Charan were not elected, receiving 109 and 95 votes

unseated by Gurjant Dhillon, who received 532

from KSA chief returning officer Ron Laufer.

each, respectively.

votes to Garcha’s 315, while Paramjit Singh was

In addition to the election results, every item

For the five available positions for Business Rep-

elected to the Langley Representative position

on the referendum passed. The U-Pass program

resentative, Simranjit K. Dhaliwal was elected with

receiving 563 votes, surpassing Lincoln Saugstad

will continue and the fee will be raised after being

302 votes, Arshdeep Dharni with 292, Mayur Gupta

who received 316. Finally, Jeremy Law was elected

approved with 1,094 "yes" votes to 274 "no" votes.

with 236, and Amrinder Singh Sidhu with 309 votes.

as the new Cloverdale/Tech campus Representative,

The Battle Impark Fund fee will be removed, after the

The candidates who were not elected are Vanshi

receiving 694 "yes" votes and 100 "no" votes.

question passed with 1,028 "yes" votes and 208 "no"

Kapoor, who received 171 votes, Prabhdeep Lidhar

Sarah Strachan was re-elected to the Aboriginal

votes. The Fair is Fair Fund fee will be removed after

with 134, Bakhsdip Mann with 101, Karan Saggu

Students Representative position, receiving 716

the question passed with 938 "yes" votes to 274 "no"

with 166, and Dhruv Shahi who received 208 votes

"yes" votes and 135 "no" votes.

votes. Finally, all remaining funding for the Kwantlen

For Science and Horticulture Representative, Ravjot Dadial was elected with 201 “yes” votes and

6:30 pm,

KPU Surrey Fir 128, free.

FEB. 26

CRIME SCENE TELEVISION MYTHS Third Age Learning at Kwantlen wants to debunk some of the myths being cultivated by shows like CSI by inviting the chair of KPU’s Anthropology Department, Sabine Stratton, to speak on the matter.

12:00 pm - 2:00 pm,

KPU Richmond Room 2550B, free.

FEB. 27

REVOLUTION LUNCHEON

The Gathering Place on KPU’s Surrey campus is holding an Italian-themed lunch, complete with pasta, garlic bread, caesar salad and cupcakes. They’ll also be screening the documentary Revolution.

MAR. 4 KDOCS PRESENTS: THE TRUE COST

KDocs will be hosting an event about fashion and sustainability as part of the KSA’s ecoDAYS. They will be screening The True Cost, which explores the ethical price of the clothing we wear.

4:30 pm,

KPU Surrey Conference Centre, free.

Representative position with 720 "yes" votes and

For the Arts Representative position, Harkeerat

but was disqualified after election day.

The Creative Writing Guild is hosting a poetry night dedicated to South Asian femme poets. Enjoy the incredible lineup featuring Franz the Poet, Naaz Sidhu, Sofia Waqar, Anjalica Solomon, Kiran Kaur, and Robyn Kaur Sidhu.

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm,

ed with 98 “yes” votes and 75 “no” votes.

The preliminary results of the 2019 Kwantlen

FEB. 20

SOUTH ASIAN FEMME POETRY NIGHT

the Gathering Place, free.

2019 KSA General Election and Referendum Preliminary Results Released Braden Klassen | Staff Writer

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS MONTH

will not happen.

Open Educational

does not provide enough money to KPU to fund the

3

Bhavkaran Aujla was elected to the Students of

Public Interest Research Group will be distributed

Colour Representative position with 571 votes, sur-

into scholarships and bursaries after the question

passing Mohammed Mukim who received 254.

passed with 965 "yes" votes to 192 "no" votes.

MAR. 5

LEARNING AS AN AFFECTIVE JOLT TO THOUGHT

This presentation will examine experiences that provoke a loss of certainty in teacher candidates’ perceptions of what constitutes "good teacher practice."

11:30 am - 12:30 pm,

KPU Surrey Cedar Boardroom, free.

4

NEWS

KSA Close to Signing Contract with Construction Company for Work on a Student Union Building VP University Affairs Murdoch de Mooy says a SUB could be completed within five years Cristian Hobson-Dimas | Contributor Students who started studying at KPU this year might be able to enjoy a student union building (SUB) of their very own before they graduate, according to the Kwantlen Student Association.

Murdoch de Mooy, KSA VP University Affairs, says that the current estimation of when the building will potentially be completed is roughly 4.5 years from now.

“Hopefully a bit less, but location and permits can slow things down, and we want to make sure students have a chance to participate in the consultation process,” he adds.

The KSA has been working towards the creation of a SUB on the Surrey campus for nearly a decade. A referendum in 2009 led to the introduction of the Student Union Building Fund to “build and operate student-owned SUB buildings,” as stated on the KSA’s list of continuing resolutions. Initial plans were to begin construction in 2011, but significant delays pushed the project back seemingly indefinitely.

In 2017 students voted to authorize a SUB debenture, and soon after the KSA formed a “steering committee” to once again direct plans towards construction of the building.

Since that time there has not been significant progress towards building a SUB, and though a location for one has yet to be determined, the KSA are currently in the process of contracting a construction company for the project.

“There was an initial review of the propos-

als [for construction], and then an interview process,” explains de Mooy. “After all things were considered, the candidate that proved to be the best was confirmed as the one we'd like to work with.”

That candidate was Titanium Projects, who have previously been contracted to work on projects at UBC and BCIT. The company was responsible for the construction of UBC’s SUB Community Centre in 2015 which, according to the Titanium Projects website, provided a “living room” for students with amenities such as a climbing wall and a daycare.

De Mooy says he can not provide a specific date for when Titanium Projects will break ground on the KPU SUB, but says that the KSA will be working on a “fairly aggressive timeline once this contract is signed.”

“We have to take care of things like a feasibility study and discussions on exactly where the SUB will be placed,” he says. “During that time, the [Chief Procurement Officer] and the KSA will be going through extensive consultations with the student body on what they think should be in the building and how they think it should look.”

The cost of the SUB cannot be covered solely by student fees alone, so the KSA has made requests for loans of varying amounts as a fallback in case more money is needed to fund the project.

The most recent venture resolution request was for around $14 million, but the KSA will hold off on taking a loan until enough progress has been made on the project to necessi-

Interior of the UBC Student Union Building, which was constructed by Titanium Projects.

(Submitted) tate doing so. De Mooy believes that that time could come within the year.

“We have made more progress on the SUB in the last year alone than all other years combined,” says de Mooy. “Once the construction

contract is signed, it will be a significant milestone for the SUB process and will start the countdown until all of us students inevitably get our student union building.”

Student Rights Centre Unsure of Release Date for 2017 Report The report is a work in progress, says Advocacy Coordinator John O'Brian Braden Klassen | Staff Writer The 2017 Student Rights Centre report will likely not be released until after the Kwantlen Student Association’s Annual General Meeting in March, according to representatives from the KSA. The report, like those from previous years, details some of the cases that were brought to the centre by students with complaints about their time at KPU. SRC reports are shown to the university administration in the hope of providing feedback about how KPU can better serve its students. These reports are then released publicly on the KSA website.

In March 2018, the SRC released its first two reports: one for 2015 and one for 2016.

The latter acknowledged the amount of time that had passed since the reports were initially planned to be released, stating that “statements were made about revisions to and potential release date of reports, which ended up not being accurate.”

It continues, “the KSA’s credibility to put forward students’ positions is undermined when we do not meet the deadlines we set for ourselves. As of the release of this report, the 2017 report is nearing completion and will be released in Spring 2018, with the aim of having all future reports publicly released at the KSA’s Annual General Meetings in March

each year.”

The process of creating the report is complex and requires time, according to John O’Brian, Advocacy Coordinator for the SRC. When compiling case reports, for example, the centre needs to make sure that none of the parties involved—such as students, staff, or faculty— are easily identifiable through the case descriptions. Yet the reports must still clearly explain each case with as much relevant detail as possible before being vetted by legal counsel to ensure the language used can not be construed as accusatory or libellous.

According to O’Brian, “there is a draft in progress” for the next report, though he is unable to say when it will be made public.

“Unfortunately I don’t have a timeline right now,” says KSA VP University Affairs Murdoch de Mooy. “We were trying to have everything out by the [Annual General Meeting], but right now we’re trying to make sure everything is right, and make sure that KPU knows about it and they have a chance to respond.”

According to de Mooy, there are changes that must be made to how the 2017 report will be released. This includes giving KPU more time to react and respond to the contents of the report, as the previous reports were released one day after being showed to university representatives.

“They felt it was a little unfair to give it to

The KSA Student Rights Centre in Birch 236 on the Surrey campus. (Braden Klassen) them a day before release, and I think that’s completely justifiable,” he says. “We’d like to make sure everything is non-confrontational, but still clear in laying things out, and then give them the opportunity to review it and come up with opinions on why things are the case and to give explanations.”

O'Brian says that the newer reports will

also include sections about how issues raised in previous reports were looked at and handled.

“To be honest, when it comes to a matter of helping students or doing the report, I’m more inclined to help the students first and put the report off until we have more time,” says de Mooy.

NEWS

5

Saudi Student at KPU One of Thousands Forced from Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions Omar Blwshi discusses how he had to re-plan his future due to the Saudi-Canadian conflict

Hala Kanan

choice to transfer to a different country or go back to Saudi Arabia. This decision would potentially affect the more than 16,000 Saudi students currently enrolled in Canadian universities, according to Global News.

In Blwshi’s opinion, “Canada shouldn’t have involved themselves in Saudi’s business,” adding that he feels like he and his friends are now “stuck in the middle.”

“I was going to graduate in two semesters.

This pulled me back. If I'm lucky, I’ll be able to finish in two years somewhere in America, and that is if I even go there,” he says. “Everything's so blurry now. I was so close. Now I have to spend more time away from my family because I am not willing to go back empty-handed.”

When Omar Blwshi turned on his laptop in a Vancouver coffee shop, an unexpected message from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau caught his eye. Worried about what the message might say, he hesitated to open it.

The email informed him that, due to recent political tension between Saudi Arabia and Canada, he had to leave the country and continue his studies elsewhere.

Everything about his education and his intended career path began to rush through his mind, but his main concern was for his father. Blwshi was one year from graduating, and he was hoping he could complete his (Leah Rosehill) education to make his father proud and begin taking care of his family.

The Importance of International “The direct impact was not harsh, but it is “I remember thinking that I couldn’t go Students in Canada always felt,” he explains. back without a degree,” says Blwshi. “I’ve Ferreras says that Saudi students who did been here for years and my family is expectAccording to Statistics Canada, internation- not want to leave the school were cautioned ing me to come back with a degree and a clear al students “strengthen Canada’s schools, uni- against doing so, and informed them that mind to start working. I don't want to dis- versities, and colleges, as well as the Canadian they would be treated like any other internaappoint them. I’ve been away from them for communities in which they study and live, and tional student if they stayed. such a long time; it would break their hearts they contribute to the quality of the educaThis decision was made due to KPU’s intenif it was all for nothing.” tional experiences of all students in Canada.” tion to honor their agreements with the Saudi More than 16,000 Saudi students in Canada Post-secondary institutions typically seek Arabian Cultural Bureau. received the same email instructing them to out international students to increase diverAccording to Ferreras, the university “supcontinue their studies elsewhere. If they do sity on university campuses and build inter- ports the students in whatever way [it] can not comply, they could faced repercussions national connections. Financially, interna- to make sure that they complete their edusuch as the termination of Saudi scholarships tional students benefit Canada because they cational journeys in one swoop,” even if they funding their time abroad. contribute to the economy and to filling need to go back home for a bit to re-access It began with a tweet sent out by Foreign vacancies in the job market. their plan for the future.

Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and GlobThe provost and vice-president of KPU, Dr. One thing that KPU did to help ease the al Affairs Canada criticizing Saudi Arabia’s Salvador Ferreras, adds that “international transition for Saudi students told to leave the For more information about how to get involved, contact For more information about how to get involved, arrests of women’s rights activists Samar Bad- students enrich the environment and create country was allowing those who had comeditor@runnermag.ca. contact editor@runnermag.ca. awi and Raif Badawi. Saudi Arabia respond- an interesting dynamic in classrooms.” He pleted at least two years of their programs to ed by dismissing the Canadian ambassador says that he lamented the loss of Saudi stu- leave with a diploma. Others, who were a few before eliminating the educational exchange dents at the university, partially because it courses away from graduating, were given the program with Canada, offering students the had a financial impact on tuition revenue. chance to finish their degree.

DO YOU FEEL UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE MEDIA? The Runner is looking for writers from diverse and marginalized backgrounds. Bring attention to the issues and events that you care about by contributing to KPU’s student newspaper.

For more information about how to get involved, contact editor@runnermag.ca.

For non-Saudi KPU student Victoria Valiakos, the mass exodus of students from Saudi Arabia had more sentimental implications.

“Sure, our universities were impacted financially and in terms of diversity, but that is not it. We had our friends, teammates, etcetera … taken away from us,” she says. “I don’t open up to a lot of people, but my best friend is Saudi and she had to leave, and losing a best friend is probably the worst thing that could happen.

She is the closest thing to a sister to me and was considered a part of my family, so this has personally impacted me as a non-Saudi individual.”

Valiakos remains hopeful that Saudi students will be able to return to Canada and she will get to see her friend again.

Blwshi returned to Saudi Arabia and is in the process of figuring out what the next step is for him to get an education.

“I’m back to see my family and have their opinion on what I should do. I can’t just jump from one country to another,” he says. “It’s a process and not a simple one.”

6

FEATURES

Kwinten the Eagle, KPU's former mascot, reads an issue of The Runner published in 2010. (File Photo)

Looking Back on 10 Years of The Runner Former staff reflect on the stories and staff that shaped the newspaper Aly Laube | Editor in Chief Although brief, the history of this newspaper is studded with scandal, experimentation, and change. The Runner has been reinventing itself since it published its first issue in 2009 and continues to achieve its goal of reporting, without fear or favour, on the issues relevant to students at KPU. Our first decade has been turbulent at times, but we persevered and ended up breaking a lot of scandals along the way. With The Runner turning 10 years old this month, we decided to put together a retrospective of what we’ve done, who we’ve been, and which stories brought us to where we are today.

Hold onto your hats, because the journey along this timeline might be bumpier than you would expect.

The Beginning Before there was The Runner, KPU students could read the Kwantlen Chronicle, a paper coordinated by the university’s journalism faculty. With the Chronicle, second-year journalism students were given what was often their first opportunity to get published. The Chronicle didn’t die until two years after The Runner was born due to changes in the journalism program itself, so we won’t talk about it much here, but the archives are still partially available online. Rest in peace, Kwantlen Chronicle (2008-2011).

In February 2008, a Kwantlen Student Association referendum question brought us into this world. It asked students,“Do you support creating an independent, freely distributed, year-round, multicampus, student-owned, student-run news and campus culture publication (e.g. a magazine, news-

paper, news magazine) at a cost of $0.75 per “Our first few issues were a little rough credit per semester, provided every student around the edges; people didn’t submit will be able to opt-out?” things, others wrote overlapping stories, layOf all the votes cast, 194 were for “yes” and out had to be decided upon, etc,” he wrote.

65 were for “no”, meaning that there were “However, as we slowly gained our footing, officially student funds available for the cre- and began surveying the various students of ation of a paper. That fee is still how we get our campuses, we began to fill our pages with our funding today. things that students wanted to see.”

The first issue of The Runner hit stands on What he and the rest of the founding team Feb. 24, 2009. The coordinating editor was didn’t know was that, just a year or two down Steve Smysnuik, whose tenure only lasted the line, the paper would break a story that eight months before Denny Hollick was elect- would shake both the publication staff and ed editor in September 2009. the entire KPU community: RAF 2.0, the Chris Yee, who was at the newspaper’s sequel to one of the biggest scandals to ever first contributor meeting in 2009, remembers hit a student association in Western Canada. watching the first issue of the first volume come together. He stayed in the Runner newsroom as RAF 2.0 a contributor and bureau chief for six years and still works in student media today, as the public Our coverage of RAF 2.0 was by far the relations coordinator for SFU’s radio station. most contentious, and the most interesting, He recalls one anecdote from when he ran time in The Runner’s history. Before we existfor election as the arts and culture bureau ed, coverage of the original RAF—a group of chief for the paper that he feels encapsulates students who were elected to the Kwantlen the energy of the early days in the office.

Student Association back in 2005 and later “There was a tie that came down to a dance- taken to court for allegedly defrauding stuoff, which I lost,” he laughs. “I guess we were dents of over $2 million in fees—was unfortusmall enough that we could get away with nately limited. The story was being reported something like that, an absolutely informal by national publications like Maclean’s, but way of breaking a tie.” there was no coverage from anyone at KPU. “It’s still dear to my heart,” he adds.

When the scandal suddenly flared up again, Back then, there was no space for us on The Runner was just celebrating its second campus. We rented our own office in Surrey, birthday, bidding farewell to its third (and where the team would put together stories first female) editor Abby Wiseman and welon many of the same issues we’re covering coming the tenure of Jeff Groat, the paper’s today: U-Pass referendums, issues between longest-running editor so far. the KSA and the CFS and BC-CFS, missing In June of that year, things started getting KSA Council minutes, and so on. Nine years shady in the Kwantlen Student Association, ago, for the paper’s first anniversary, Media and then-news editor Matt DiMera noticed.

Editor Christopher Poon reflected on the first First, the KSA fired their legal counsel and year of the The Runner’s lifespan. put the lawsuit against the former RAF direc-

tors on hold. Then they banned electronic recordings at their council meetings. In July, DiMera identified that some of the new KSA councillors and executives had ties to former RAF leader Aaron Takhar, and discovered in August that one of the associations’ directors had provided an incorrect address in her official documents with the association.

In October, The Runner published an article authored by DiMera titled “Kwantlen Student Association Settles RAF Lawsuit”, which opened with the words, “After more than three long years in court, the fight is over.” In February 2012, he wrote “KSA Signs Secret Deal with Impeached Former Directors”, which explained how the KSA paid for legal costs and signed an out-of-court settlement with impeached RAF members. When one of said impeached members hired a private investigator to follow Runner reporters around, the paper wrote about that too.

Perhaps the most famous products of The Runner’s RAF coverage were two videos, posted in November 2011, of the KSA’s special general meeting to “impeach their current council and bring in new bylaws to reduce the chances of corruption occurring within the society,” as written in the description for the first YouTube video posted on Dec. 4. “The meeting was impeded at all costs, including by pepper spraying students, and pulling fire alarms,” the description reads. A week later, another video depicted Aaron Takhar and other members of the original RAF slate protesting the SGM. The man behind the camera was Matt Law, who is still on KPU campus today as a digital media specialist for the university. At the time, he was technically the web editor, but could often be found taking photos, writing, and editing as well.

FEATURES

KPU President Alan Davis addresses a forum of students, faculty, and staff criticizing a memorandum between KPU and Trans Mountain in 2015. (File photo) “The whole KSA debacle was a pretty defining moment of my time there. It was pretty intense,” he says. “We had media attention from outside the university interviewing us, and we had contacts for other stories saying, ‘Oh, jeez, I just saw this story in The Runner and I recognized your name.’”

“It was exciting, it was fast-paced, and I still don’t know that we knew what we were doing, but we were trying to cover it to the best of our ability,” he adds.

Matt DiMera won awards for his coverage of RAF 2.0 and later became the editor of the paper when Jeff Groat left in April 2013. He remained the editor until January 2015.

A good deal happened during that time, and by the end of his tenure, despite his award-winning coverage of RAF, The Runner was suffering.

The Paper's Near-Death Experience Between September and October of 2013, the paper’s news, culture, and media editors all resigned and were replace with former Capilano Courier editor Samantha Thompson, according to issue mastheads.

Between March 2014 and October 2014, The Runner didn’t post a single news story to its website, and was rarely updated at all. Issues began getting slimmer, some consisting of just two broadsheets offering four or five articles in all, though many included important stories. Most of these were written by DiMera—for example, his coverage of allegations of workplace assault and harassment against interim KPU President John McKendry. Still, throughout the summer, The Runner began missing important publishing deadlines.

When asked about the loss of staff and the atmosphere in the office during this time, Law said that, while he did not witness the decline firsthand, he recognizes that covering RAF “took a huge toll” on the team he worked with.

“It was very stressful. I think a lot of us were

7

KPIRG Directors Jagdeep Mangat and Simon Massey speak during a 2018 AGM, after news broke that KPIRG had filed a notice of civil claim against its founder. (Tristan Johnston)

burnt out through that experience, and even that would funnel the project’s money into his “magnum opus” as editor because of the just trying to run the newspaper—not just the scholarships. However, after receiving scath- challenges his team had to overcome to get RAF thing but trying to run the newspaper, ing criticism from the community, the univer- interviews before press time. Later, during my because we weren’t just focusing on that— sity withdrew from the MOU. tenure, Johnston would help break yet anothtook a lot out of us,” he says. “This industry, er fraud scandal at KPU, this time about the Junos not only covered the initial MOU even at a student newspaper, it takes a toll on announcement and much of the follow up, Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group. people. I think when a lot of people left The but also moderated the subsequent open mic That piece, published in March 2018, Runner, we were done with it.” between KPU President Alan Davis and sever- brought to light that KPIRG had filed a On Oct. 16, 2014, the paper’s lack of staff al angry students, staff, and faculty. notice of civil claim against its founder and and regularly published issues resulted in a “That was important for The Runner, I think, former executive director, Richard Hossein, threat from the KSA to withhold its funding. because it was a great example of how we for allegedly defrauding the organization of The letter, written by then-Vice President Ser- were able to report on something very rel- $111,521.33 in student fees. This month, a vices Steven Button, stated that The Runner’s evant to our community that a lot of peo- referendum question asked students if they publisher, the Polytechnic Ink Publishing Soci- ple cared about, and showed that we’re an wanted to redistribute all remaining KPIRG ety, was in breach of its autonomy agreement important institution on campus,” he says. fees into scholarships and bursaries, in part for failing to provide annual audited financial “We were there to tell people the story and because the KSA determined that KPIRG statements as well as failing to publish a min- that’s what we’re supposed to do.” breached its autonomy agreement due to the imum of 18 issues in a calendar year, with at Junos spent much of his time as editor alleged fraud. The question passed with 965 least one coming out per month. working on internal documents for PIPS “yes” votes to 192 “no” votes on Feb. 15.

“The KSA is also concerned that, to its and crafting the paper’s mandate as “a place “I am proud of that one,” says Johnston, knowledge, a practice has developed whereby where journalism students or any students about bringing the KPIRG tip to The Runner. the position could learn journalism skills.” He also start- “I feel like I was sort of doing classic journalof Co-ordinating Editor is no longer elect- ed some long-running initiatives like lives- ism in the sense that I got that heads up from ed by student Contributors, as required by treaming the annual KSA debates. talking to an inside source.” the PIPS “The paper kind of came to life again. PeoI won’t talk too much about what I’ve done bylaws (see in particular bylaws 40 – 43). ple were flocking to it and really interested as editor over the past year and a half, mostly If correct, PIPS would also be in breach of in writing. Myself and the executive editor at to avoid embarrassing self-indulgence, but our clauses 20 the time, Samantha Thompson, really worked team has made a lot of great progress together and 32 of the Agreement,” reads the letter, together to build the paper,” he says. “Those since 2017. In that time, we have changed our which also requests proof of the most recent issues before we started curating a staff—they policies and bylaws, redesigned the paper and editor election. were paltry. There weren’t many pages in its website, and published a number of pieces In response to this, an election was called them. The paper has really come a long way that deserve recognition. One such piece, “No and Kier Junos was elected on Jan. 1, 2015, since then.”

More Stolen Sisters”, an article by our former putting an end to the DiMera era.

On July 1, 2015, former staff writer Tristan community reporter Ashley Hyshka, explores Johnston was elected editor of The Runner. He the impact of the Murdered and Missing Staff Resurgence and the MOU remained in that position until June 30, 2017, Indigenous Women Inquiry on Vancouver. It when I was elected into my position as editor has won both an Amnesty International CanWith the election of Junos, and with in chief. ada award and a John H. MacDonald Award Thompson hiring half a dozen new staff memfor Indigenous Reporting since being printed bers within a short period, the paper started The Runner in Recent History around this time last year. getting back into a healthy rhythm. After just There have been too many other notable a few months, The Runner was busy covering During his tenure, Johnston focused on giv- stories to list here, but our coverage has been another scandal, the proposed signing of a ing the paper a Globe and Mail-style editorial consistently impressive and only seems to be memorandum of understanding between the approach. He put together The Runner’s 2015 getting better. Hopefully, by the time this paper Trans Mountain Expansion Project and KPU federal election issue, which he describes as turns 20, we’ll have more good news to share.

The Runner's original staff pose for a photo around Halloween 2009. (File photo)

The current staff of The Runner pose around a makeshift Christmas tree. (Kristen Frier)

8

CULTURE

Member of Kwantlen First Nation Named Vancouver Public Library Storyteller in Residence Poet, playwright, actor, and archeologist Joseph Dandurand will be filling the role through 2019

Jayne Wright According to Kwantlen First Nations member Joseph Dandurand, everybody is born with a gift. His just happens to be storytelling.

Dandurand has been many things throughout his life—among them, a poet, playwright, actor, and archeologist. Most recently, he has been granted the position of the Vancouver Public Library’s Indigenous storyteller in residence for 2019.

Dandurand says it is an “honour” to be appointed to the position, and considers the storyteller in residence program, which was created in 2008 and was the first of its kind in the province, a wonderful opportunity “for native writers to have the time to sit down [and] write.”

Though he is a proud storyteller today, Dandurand says that his journey to becoming one hasn’t been easy. Dropping out of school in grade nine led him to alcoholism at the age of 19 and drug addiction by 26.

It wasn’t until he was in recovery that he enrolled in college and found his path in writing. When a short story of his received high praise from his teacher and classmates, Dandurand began to recognize that he had a gift. He was encouraged to keep writing by his instructor and has never stopped.

Dandurand’s work has taken him all over the continent. After traveling for years with his plays, he “was on [his] way to live in Mex-

ico and write bad poetry on the beach” when Kwantlen Chief Marilyn Gabriel asked him to stay and work at the local Kwantlen Cultural Center, where he now serves as a director.

He has a unique way of letting his stories come to him. Dandurand says he does not believe in writer’s block, but simply knows “when not to write.” He waits until the story is ready to be told through him, and says that they often come to him through visions or via inspiration from specific objects.

He got the idea for one of his most renowned plays while he was travelling from Texas to his then home in Toronto. When his bus stopped at a Greyhound station, Dandurand couldn’t help but notice two wooden figures outside of a gift shop with a sign around their necks reading, “Please don’t touch the Indians.” This later became the title of his play.

Nowadays, Dandurand says that his life is very different from his youth. “Three kids, a mortgage, broken marriage, [and] not going to Mexico real soon,” he adds.

A dedicated father to his children, Dandurand explains that one of his main concerns has been how to raise his kids in a safe environment free of alcohol and drugs.

His best advice for success in life, wherever it may take us, is to keep going and allow the beauty of life’s simplicity to reach us, as it has the power to calm us down and keep us grounded. Being able to reconnect with his

Joseph A. Dandurand wants people to know that "it's a hard life, but a good life."

(Vancouver Public Library) background in the Kwantlen First Nation has allowed him to realize what he calls one of the most profound teachings of his culture: “It’s a hard life, but a good life.”

Dandurand has been the author of 12 books of poetry, including I Want (Leaf Press, 2015), Hear and Foretell (Bookland Press, 2015) and

The Rumor (Bookland Press, 2018). His latest title, SH:LAM (The Doctor), will be released by Mawenzi Press in April 2019. Anyone interested in visiting him in his capacity as VPL storyteller can consult a list of upcoming events on the VPL website.

Hop on the Contemporary Art Bandwagon to Chinatown The centres and galleries you’ll visit as part of the Surrey Art Gallery’s bus tour are run by local artists

Kristen Frier | Graphics Editor For only $39.00, a contemporary art bus tour hosted by the Surrey Art Gallery can whisk you away to studios around Vancouver’s Historic Chinatown.

Your day begins at 9:00 a.m., Feb. 27, with a probably much needed coffee before SAG Curator Jordan Strom and Interpretive Programmer Cecily Nicholson guide you around the city until 3:00 p.m.

“Initially we were looking at Chinatown and some other galleries around the EastSide of Downtown Vancouver because there are so many galleries between Gastown and Commercial Drive and throughout the downtown core, but we decided to focus right in on Chinatown because there's so much going on there,” says Strom. “The historic neighborhood of Chinatown is so important to the history of where we live and it’s so important culturally as well.”

The first leg of the tour is around the BC Artscape Sun Wah building, which strives to provide affordable rental space to cultural organizations and artists who are engaged in the surrounding communities. The tour will swing by SUM Gallery, the heart of the organization behind the Queer Arts Festival.

Next up is Centre A, the leading public art gallery for Asian art. Canton-sardine will follow, and finally, the tour will take you to 221A

Gallery and the Pollyanna Library.

According to Strom, mitigating and contributing to gentrification will be a topic of discussion between tour-goers, gallerists, and curators. He says that galleries like 221A have been “very conscious” of the influx of art spaces popping up around the neighborhood.

“It's certainly part of the conversation and we hope to hear more about what is being done to be part of the solution rather than be part of the problem,” he says.

The demographic for these events tends to be people who are retired or working part-time and, as such, available during the day. The experience, however, could prove valuable for post-secondary students, even outside of the faculty of fine arts. It offers a chance to network with others who share a passion for the arts and a curiosity for the community, or those who just want to get to know the culture of their city in a safe space.

The program was encouraged by the Surrey Art Gallery Association, which is the non-profit partner of the SAG. “We really liked the idea because it encourages people to be curious about art and, by extension, the world around them,” says Strom. “We are very interested in fostering interest and supporting people's interest in contemporary art. That's part of our mission.”

As curator, Strom is particularly excited about the bus tour. He’s looking forward to

Installation image of Lam Wong's Mind Transition at Canton-sardine. (Submitted) meeting with and discussing the work of artists and gallery directors who may be outside the SAG’s usual scope. It is his opinion that hearing directly from these institutions may be stimulating enough to for participants to encourage them to return.

“Chinatown is an exciting place for art right now, so I think our guests and people who join us on the tour will really like it,” he says. “Come out and visit. Meet other people who are interested in art!”

CULTURE

Surrey Pilgrims Show Solidarity in the Snow

Organizers of the Surrey Interfaith Pilgrimage share how harmony can strengthen a community Jenna Keeble A diverse group of pilgrims trekked through the Surrey snow on Feb. 3 as part of the fourth annual interfaith pilgrimage.

The event—a partnership between Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Multi-Faith Centre, Surrey’s Bahá’í Community, and the Surrey Interfaith Council—brought people of various religions together to promote cooperation and unity.

Participants walked a total of 16 kilometres throughout the day. They stopped at Christian, Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim places of worship to meet community members and join in prayer. Brookside Gurdwara, a Sikh temple on 140 Street, even hosted the pilgrims for lunch.

The pilgrimage ended at the KPU Surrey campus, where the pilgrims were addressed by the university’s Elder in Residence, Lekeyten.

“The event today is a chance to explore other religious traditions,” says Ethan Vanderleek, a Christian Chaplain at the KPU Multi-Faith Centre, who co-organized the event. “It’s an expression of cooperation and solidarity across lines of division.”

Vanderleek says that, while we all come from different backgrounds and worldviews, this should not limit cooperation with each other.

He believes that by finding common ground, we can work together to create a better world.

The theme for this event was neighbourliness, or being more “open and hospitable and less fearful and suspicious,” according to Vanderleek.

He also makes it clear that non-religious people have a place in the pilgrimage and at the KPU Multi-Faith Centre. He says that they are welcome to participate in their activities and be exposed to different faiths and reli-

Participants braved the snow for Surrey’s annual interfaith pilgrimage on Feb. 3.

(Submitted by Ethan Vanderleek) gious traditions.

“If one person believes in God and the other doesn’t, it shouldn't be a barrier to friendship and cooperation,” says Vanderleek.

Above all else, he emphasizes finding common ground in areas like social justice and peace and urges people to “resist the fear that comes from not knowing each other.”

Connie Waterman, who has been on the Surrey Interfaith Council since 2011, also co-organized the pilgrimage and describes it as “a great way to know the community.”

In just five days she was able to organize the first inaugural pilgrimage as a response to terror attacks in Beirut and Paris. The pilgrimage is now hosted every year in celebration of the United Nations World Interfaith and Harmony Week.

Waterman says she enjoys hearing people

talk about their lives and perspectives while walking, and that her heart is warmed by the hospitality that the community continues to show the pilgrims. She views the worship sites as homes, so she believes that it is “quite special” for communities to welcome strangers into their spaces.

Waterman is a follower of the Bahá’í religion, which embraces all faiths.

“God has provided guidance to mankind all over the world at different times in history, which results in the different religions we see today,” she says.

For Waterman, the interfaith pilgrimage is a concrete step towards global peace.

“When the world continues to live in silos and be separate, we can’t solve the world's problems together,” she says.

As a Black woman, Joy Gyamfi expresses her thoughts on what it means to be African-Canadian

The story of Rosa Parks is commonly known in the context of the American Civil rights movement. Less commonly known, even among Canadians, is the story of Viola Desmond, an African Canadian arrested nine years before Rosa Parks for refusing to surrender her seat in a segregated movie theatre in Nova Scotia.

Desmond’s image would eventually appear on the Canadian $10 bill in 2018, after Nova Scotia granted her a public apology and posthumous pardon. However, her long-standing absence from the general public’s awareness acts as a testament to the ignorance and erasure of African-Canadian history, even when compared to knowledge of Black history in the United States.

“When talking about Black history in Canada, I feel like there are so many misconceptions,” says Joy Gyamfi, a Black Canadian studying for her undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia.

“A lot of our history isn’t included in school

Brewing Students Craft Unique Beers for Graduating Projects Kristine Hui | Contributor

Clarifying Misconceptions About the Black Experience in Canada Cristian Hobson-Dimas | Contributor

9

curriculums or anything. It’s shocking to me as a Black person myself, only recently learning that the Atlantic Slave Trade existed in Canada as well, because I bothered to take a class that specialized in Black history,” she says. “I feel like so many people must not realize that.”

Gyamfi, who was born in Ghana but grew up in Canada, explains that she didn’t get the chance to talk to a lot of Black people during her youth. It wasn’t until she moved from Surrey to Vancouver and started going to university that she was able join a Black community.

Gyamfi disagrees with the notion that Canada doesn’t have a problem with racism the way that the United States does, saying that Canadians need to set higher standards for themselves.

“Maybe the racism here isn’t as overt and in-your-face, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” she says. “It’s subtle, its sinister, it’s below the surface. And that kind of racism, those microaggressions, they’re still painful.”

One racist issue that Gyamfi mentions by name is the practice of carding, whereby police

officers profile minorities as criminals by asking for their information and checking to see if they have any arrest warrants to their name.

Last November, a journalist and anti-carding activist from Toronto named Desmond Cole was stopped by police in Vancouver, allegedly because of the colour of his skin.

“I feel like we often think of Canada as a multicultural and multiracial place, as some kind of utopia where everyone is equal,” she says. “But I didn’t really think of Black Canadians in that sense.”

Gyamfi says she is pessimistic about what the future could look like for Black Canadians. Where she finds hope, however, is in the supportive communities she surrounds herself with.

“Now I feel like I know a lot of Black people, and I know a lot of Black people who share the same intersections as me, as in I know a lot of queer Black people now, which is different from when I was growing up.”

At the start of the spring semester, graduating students in the Brewing and Brewery Operations program were assembled into 10 teams. Each team was tasked with creating their own signature brew, a level of freedom that in the past has inspired such far-ranging flavours as jalapeno and kimchi beers.

Once the teams had developed their recipes, they had to brew it, package it, and sell it. This is a highly involved process, as groups must come in each day to manage their beer’s fermentation and perform any necessary control tests to ensure its quality.

Essentially, these beers are the culmination of a year and a half of studying in the Brewing program, and students are excited to share their hard work.

Every Friday until April 5, a new team’s beer will go on sale at the KPU Brewery.

One such beer, which will be made available on Feb. 15, is the “Norwegian farmhouse” Punsch ale, brewed by Alexander Szymanski, Levi Loree, and Paul Osborne.

Their beer pays homage to the traditional Punsch, a popular drink in Europe during the 18th century.

According to Difford’s Guide—one of the world’s largest online drink-related reference websites—Punsch is a liqueur traditionally made with spirits, water, sugar, citrus, and spices. In order to add their own unique spin to the classical recipe, the group’s Punsch-inspired ale is infused with lemon, clove, cardamom, tea leaves, molasses, and other spices.

For those who enjoy a nice IPA, Wesley Bain and Daryl McDonald’s “Fruity and the Yeast” IPA goes on sale on Feb. 8.

“It’s kind of a mix between the New England IPA style and the Belgian IPA,” explains McDonald.

“We added coriander and used Belgian Yeast instead of American ale yeast, so you’re getting all the haziness and fruitiness and low bitterness of the New England IPA style beer, but with the Belgian yeast estery business,” adds Bains.

The high ester levels give the beer its fruit-forward character, featuring notes of mango, banana, pineapple, coriander, and citrus.

As a member of the graduating class, I took part in the process and contributed to the creation of “Gingerbread Dunkelweizen”, which went on sale on Feb. 1.

The beer was made with 50 per cent wheat malt and freshly grated ginger. The ginger was thought to pair well with some of the yeast-derived flavours in the beer.

“The hefeweizen yeast that was used imparts notes of clove and banana, which together with the ginger and wheat creates a flavour reminiscent of a gingerbread cookie,” says Daniel Hoffman, one of my brewing team members.

Check out the program's website or Facebook page for more details.

10 OPINIONS

Homeless in Langley Left in the Cold Without Adequate Shelter Hannah Howard

The “Polar Vortex” has taken over the Lower Mainland, leaving the homeless population in Langley scrambling to find any place to stay warm in freezing temperatures. According to an article in the Surrey Now-Leader, some have even turned to committing crimes in order to be given a warm jail cell for the night.

The article states that the Langley Gateway of Hope has been at maximum capacity for days. It goes on to report that “there isn’t room to accommodate everyone who lives on the City of Langley’s streets, which is estimated to be around 200 people.”

This begs the question: where do the rest of them go? Those that cannot get into a shelter locally either stay out in the cold or are driven by police to neighbouring emergency shelters such as those in Surrey.

As more and more homeless leave the streets of Vancouver looking for better opportunities, they are heading into Langley, making this lack of accommodation potentially devastating. Emergency shelters are only open during harsh winter conditions, and even then, only a limited amount of people can fit into them.

According to a Langley Times article from last year, Langley City Council spent up to “$12,000 toward the cost of installing a higher, sturdier fence to keep homeless people from camping out next to the Arbour Lane condominiums” in 2018. The city council also wants to add “an extension [to the fence] … to prevent people from rolling shopping carts into the area to camp out.”

This is appalling to me, because the Langley City Council is using taxpayer money to deprive the homeless of finding shelter. Why not use the $12,000 to build another homeless shelter rather than using it to restrain them from finding a place to take refuge? The citizens of Langley need to put more pressure on city council to spend money in ways that will support the homeless population, rather than ways that will make life harder for them.

It’s the responsibility of the city to keep its homeless population safe. Economics aside, this is a social problem within our community that needs to be addressed.

Of course, a homeless shelter won’t provide a permanent solution to the homeless crisis all over the Lower Mainland, considering the opioid epidemic and other prevailing causes.

The process of reducing the homeless population and getting people back on their feet is an issue on its own, but we should at least help them stay safe along the way. Rather than building fences to keep out the homeless, building more homeless shelters will give them somewhere to sleep at night, which is especially important in these winter conditions.

“Toxic” and “Justice” Make Perfect Sense for Words of the Year We saw a lot of the former in 2018; this year, let’s seek more of the latter Tae Whitehouse | Contributor Trigger warning: The following article makes reference to police brutality, genocide against Indigenous people, and sexual assault and violence.

The Oxford Dictionary and Merriam-Webster have decided that the words of the year for 2018 are “toxic” and “justice” respectively.

Ironically, 2018 seems to have given us far too much of one and not nearly enough of the other. So why make them the words of the year? Why not one of the runners-up, like “big dick energy” or “orbiting”?

While “toxic” and “justice” seem to be diametrically opposed words, they complement each other surprisingly well. Who can say they didn’t feel a sense of justice while watching the mass male hysteria surrounding the Gillette ad condemning toxic masculinity? And who isn’t in support of justice for those calling out toxic work environments and relationships made public through the #MeToo movement?

The word “toxic” has grown from meaning something literally poisonous to include something broader and more meaningful. We now use it to talk about forces that are damaging to ourselves and to society. Toxicity within friendships or romantic relationships has become a hot topic of discussion, urging people to not only recognize the harmful effects of other people’s behaviour, but of their own as well.

We are entering a time of unprecedented self-awareness. Society is beginning to condemn willful ignorance and casually destructive behaviour, and the expectations for how we conduct ourselves are beginning to climb.

Sexual harassment, emotional abuse, and

(Nic Laube) overall self-serving behaviour is now often labelled “toxic”, whereas only a few years back, such practices were socially acceptable.

Naturally, after defining the bad behaviour, we want to eradicate it. This is where “justice” comes into play. Toxicity seems to be what we have, while justice is what we want.

Where is the justice for Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanaugh’s rape victim? Where is the justice in not only allowing him to go unpunished, but to place him at the apex of America’s Supreme Court? Where is the justice for the countless people of colour murdered by police officers, the children being slaughtered in school shootings because of America’s non-existent gun control legislation, the murdered and missing Indigenous women of Canada; the victims of sexual assault having their clothing paraded around in court rooms to prove their fault in being

raped? The irony of expecting justice from such an intrinsically flawed system seems overwhelming.

Personally, I think that “justice” has earned its place as Word of the Year for being a rallying cry that can no longer be ignored. The outcry for justice is reaching a peak in movements of people coming together to push back against social or political systems, systems which have chosen to ignore the needs of citizens for too long.

Justice is what we need to rectify the state of toxicity that we are stuck in. We need to move on from recognizing toxic behaviour to attaining justice for those who have been hurt by it.

In 2018, we finally began to understand what the word “toxic” means to us, and how to recognize it in the world around us. Now, 2019 is an even better time to figure out what “justice” means to us, and how to make it not only fundamental in our society, but accessible to everyone.

Vancouver’s Snowfall Chaos Should Be a Wake Up Call About Climate Change With more unpredictable weather in our future, we need to be better prepared than we are Braden Klassen | Staff Writer It feels like it happens every year in Vancouver. The first snowfall that piles up more than a few inches sends the entire city into a spiral of near-apocalyptic chaos. Road accidents skyrocket, services like electricity begin to fail, and worst of all, transit all over the region shudders to a halt.

When the weather outside turns frightful, the commute becomes not-so-delightful.

If you’re one of the thousands of KPU students who commute using transit, you know this routine all too well. Those who were unlucky enough to brave the overcrowded and beleaguered SkyTrain service this past Monday or Tuesday were able to witness firsthand the impact that a small variance in weather can have on the infrastructure of a city and the lives of its inhabitants.

One of the reasons why the SkyTrain service was constantly delayed is that falling snow kept triggering the track intrusion alarms along the rails and at the stations, according to a Daily Hive article.

It became such a problem that Translink had to turn off some of the alarms and assign employees to manually drive the trains along

their routes. This means that an element of the transit system that tens of thousands of people rely on everyday is fundamentally designed in a way that stops it from working properly during heavy snowfall. Even though this happens almost every year, we are still unable to stop the snowfall from creating major disruptions in people’s day-to-day lives.

This, along with all of the other problems that the weather caused, points to one scary fact: the city is vitally underprepared to function during a prolonged or unpredictable weather event.

As our climate changes and these kinds of episodes become more frequent and intense, we are going to have to make changes to the way we live. As the adage goes, whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot, we'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not.

The effects of unpredictable weather changes are slowly becoming harder to ignore. Our winters will more frequently feature things like the windstorm in 2006 that wiped out a bunch of Stanley Park, the recent storm that scuttled the pier at White Rock, or the flood at Columbia station in December from heavy rains.

Our summers will have lengthier forest fire

seasons and droughts which will have more immediate impacts on us. Even this year, Vancouver doctors reported a surge in asthma-related hospital visits in the summer during the longest recorded air quality advisory on record due to the smoke.

These kinds of events are going to happen more often, and judging from our current capacity to adapt to extraordinary weather, it seems like we are not going to be able to successfully deal with them unless we focus on developing a more robust system of disaster preparation and prevention. Perhaps this is something Vancouver City Council was considering when it voted to declare a climate emergency on Jan. 17, which allows it to re-work emissions reduction targets and strategies in the shorter term.

It’s nice to be thinking about reducing emissions, but it looks like it’s coming to a point where we should be thinking about how to more effectively adapt to the changes that we will unquestionably have to face. It doesn’t seem like we’re sufficiently prepared for what we have to deal with now, let alone anything worse down the line, and there’s snow time like the present to worry about the future.

COLUMNS

11

Artist Spotlight: Biawanna

As a queer woman of colour, Ash Weis wants to keep her art both progressive and personal Aly Laube | Editor in Chief It wasn’t until Ash Weis found herself watching Janelle Monae in concert that she knew she wanted to start Biawanna, a project informed by her identity as a queer woman of colour with Indigenous Fijian and German heritage.

Equal parts neo-soul, synth pop, and R&B, Biawanna’s sound is at once soft and provocative, recognizable by Weis’s smooth tone and simmering electronic melodies that ascend to tranquil, sugary refrains.

Monae, a pop sensation known for her advocacy as a Black pansexual woman, gave Weis the opportunity to see parts of herself reflected on stage—an experience that she says is hard to come by in Vancouver’s predominantly white, male, heteronormative music scene.

“She’s fearless. She does everything. She’s representing people of colour, and being in that crowd was electric,” says Weis, about the Monae show. “I found hope. I was really hopeful for the future when I was in that crowd, and I found acceptance.”

Weis overcame her anxiety and introversion to present herself to the world as Biawanna, an artist firmly rooted in confidence, culture, and community. Her mother’s Indigenous Fijian background is what inspired the title of the project, as Biawanna is the name of “a very strong woman in the South Pacific” who gave birth to the chief that Weis and her mother are descendants of. Through that

figure, she taps into the strength she uses to thrive as a performer.

“When I say Biawanna can say and do things I can’t on an everyday basis, it’s like I’m kind of using my ancestral spirit to be able to release these things to the world, harnessing that energy,” she says.

Her goal as a musician is to use the positive energy behind Biawanna to create waves in the various communities she belongs to.

As a songwriter, she’s open in her exploration of queer love, sex, and experience and has already had fans reach out for support with issues like coming out to unsupportive parents. Being there to hold a mirror up to her audience, and to help them succeed as best she can, is important to Weis, who says her future releases will have “more specific lyrics about queer relationships” than what she has put out in the past.

Two of those tracks will be available soon, and each is a collaboration between Biawanna and well-liked local acts from similar genres.

On March 8, she’s dropping a song she wrote with electronic artist Des Hume, and in the late spring she’ll be releasing a single with the frontwoman of R&B pop band I M U R— marking the first time she’s written alongside another queer woman.

She’s also breaking new ground with the Des Hume track, which she says dives into intimate subject matter she has never shared publicly before. Themes like living in a broken home, mimicking toxic behaviours learned

Although Biawanna has only been around for five months, the project will soon feature collaborations with well-known songwriters in Vancouver. (Submitted) in youth, and struggling with mental health issues will all be covered through the lyrics on the Des Hume collaboration.

Biawanna is performing on March 16 with Kimmortal, JB the Firstlady, Missy D, and

Tempest as part of a charity benefit at The Rio Theatre. For more information, stay tuned to Biawanna’s social media on Facebook and Instagram.

Afterthought: Stay Critical of Cause Marketing Corporate social responsibility efforts deserve more public scrutiny Braden Klassen | Staff Writer Everybody likes to buy things. Everybody likes to feel moral validation. Why not do both at the same time?

Lucky for us consumers, there’s cause marketing, the practice of combining corporate promotion with the advancement of social causes. As it has become more commonplace for people to give their money to companies who commit to ethical practices that they agree with, corporations have increasingly turned to cause-related marketing to maintain their brand and goodwill with the public.

However, unless we as consumers take it upon ourselves to look into a company’s cause marketing efforts within the context of their general business practices, it can be tough to discern whether their dedication to curing cancer or solving world hunger comes from a genuine desire to improve people's lives or cynical self-interest in maintaining a positive public image.

For example, Walmart donates to numerous food bank programs through the Walmart Foundation while simultaneously paying employees wages below the U.S. federal poverty line, oftentimes forcing them to rely on food stamp programs across the country.

The President’s Choice Children’s Charity contributes money to food programs for children in school, even though its parent company Loblaws was caught participating in an illegal price-fixing scheme that increased the cost of bread for over a decade.

The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation’s Literacy Fund grant, which the company proudly describes as a $1.5 million investment in high-needs elementary school libraries, was distributed across 30 schools in Canada. One of those institutions was Surrey’s Bridgeview Elementary school, which was granted $30,000.

Now, the basic description of this grant sounds like an impressive philanthropic effort in the hopes of improving child literacy.

The catch is that Indigo pays each school 10 per cent of the grant over three years, and the other 90 per cent comes in the form of a corporate account which schools can use to purchase books from Indigo, Chapters, and Coles at a 30 per cent discount. That’s a discount that, by the way, did not exist prior to a 2015 CBC investigation that criticized the Foundation for a lack of funding transparency.

We should question the motivation behind these initiatives and hold companies to account rather than freely giving them the public license they’re trying to buy through cause marketing. Instead of retweeting platitudes about de-stigmatizing the conversation around mental health, people should use Bell Let’s Talk Day as a time for self-reflection.

When’s the last time you had a conversation about mental health without being prompted by a hashtag sponsored by a multi-billion dollar corporation?

Are you really putting effort into trying to change society for the better? Or are you more interested in the feeling of self-gratifi-

(Jessica Limoanco) cation that comes from donating five cents to a cause through a campaign of commodified virtue signalling?

It’s important to scrutinize these kinds of things instead of letting ourselves be convinced that we’re being ethical people when we donate a dollar at a grocery store check-

out. If you want to donate to BC Children's’ Hospital, it’s easy enough to do that through their website. You gain eligibility for a charitable donation tax credit. And best of all, you don’t have to subsidize a corporate public relations strategy.

PROCRASTINATION HOROSCOPES

Sagittarius

Capricorn

Aquarius

At this point, you don’t even care if Bigfoot is real. You just hope that, whatever he is, that son of a bitch is living his best life.

You will be kicked out of your hometown, your parents will disown you, your ex-lovers will all consider you a tragic mistake, but to the FBI you will always be a “Wanted Person.”

You were concerned at first when your toaster began burning messages into your bread like “The End is Nigh” and “Satan Lives”, but now all it says is “Jesus, Mark, get your life together.”

Pisces

Aries

Taurus

If you’re not waxing up your handlebar moustache and challenging motherfuckers to fight you Marquis of Queensbury Rules, can you even call yourself the surliest rusty-guts in all Northumberwitmanshire?

The governments of the world agree to limit the parameters of acceptable human thought after reading your Spock/Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory slashfic on fanfiction.net.

If you awaken at night to a cowboy standing at the foot of your bed, do not panic. Find out if you have traveled back in time by asking the cowboy “Is this cowboy times?” If he says “no” then this is a bad cowboy, and you should deploy anti-cowboy measures.

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

You’ll be disappointed to learn that the book Ducks: How to Make Them Pay is an instructional manual in the craft of duck husbandry and not, as you’d initially hoped, a guide to making them suffer for their unconscionable crimes against humanity and God.

Birds do it. Bees do it. Not exclusively or anything. Sometimes they do it with each other. How do you think we got all those Birdbees flying around? It wasn’t from playing Uno I’ll tell you that much.

And I’d like to take a minute / just sit right there / I’ll tell you how the inevitable heat death of the universe will distribute energy in such a way that the lowly photon will be master of an empty cosmos until the last flicker of light is snuffed out like a candle in the winter rain.

Virgo

Libra

Scorpio

You will repeatedly baffle christendom by your instance on being alive.

You still remember when maps used to say dope shit like “Here Be Dragons”, not the boring shit it says now like “Portugal.”

If you try hard and believe in yourself, your family drama can ruin a continent.

Nov. 23 - Dec 21

Dec. 22 - Jan 20

Mar 21 - Apr 19

Feb 20 - Mar 20

May 21 - Jun 20

Jun 21 - Jul 23

Aug 24 - Sept 23

Sept 24 - Oct 23

SUDOKU

Look for the answers in the next issue of The Runner.

Jan 21 - Feb 19

Apr 20 - May 20

Jul 24 - Aug 23

Oct 24 - Nov 22