The Runner Volume 10, Issue 3

VOLUME 10 // ISSUE 3 October 3, 2017 runnermag.ca

News

Culture

Feature

KPU Campuses to Go Smoke-Free in January

Women in KPU’s Brewing Program are Fighting Gender Imbalances in the Industry

A Look at Three of the Most Interesting Courses this Fall

2 table of contents

staff 04

News|KPU to Become Smoke-Free in 2018

“Smoking and vaping will be prohibited on all KPU campuses and properties, including inside private vehicles while those vehicles are parked on KPU property,” read an email from KPU President Alan Davis.

Coordinating Editor Alyssa Laube editor@runnermag.ca

Managing Editor

Connor Doyle managing@runnermag.ca

Production ManagerMelanie Tan production@runnermag.ca

Art Director

Nicole Kwit art@runnermag.ca

Photo Editor

Braden Klassen photos@runnermag.ca

06

culture|meet the ladies who brew at kpu

When KPU Brewing and Brewery Operations instructor Nancy More began her career over 38 years ago, she never anticipated how much sexism she would have to face.

10

features|“Embers and Ashes” debuts at Vancouver Fashion Week

Sam Stringer unveiled her 2018 “Embers and Ashes” collection at Vancouver Fashion Week. She describes her new collection as being “inspired by the colours of Mars and the sunset on Mars—so lots of rusts and charcoals and teals [and] a little bit alien-esque, a little bit futuristic.”

15

columns|After Thought: Donation Caps in B.C. Politics

The Liberals were so enthusiastic about gobbling up money from non-voters that they even let people in other countries donate to them, something so biased and counterintuitive that it’s actually straight up illegal in most other provinces.

Staff Writer

Joseph Keller staff@runnermag.ca

#FeatureTweets Web Editor

Mel Pomerleau web@runnermag.ca

Use #kpu or #runnermag in your tweet, and you could be featured in the next issue!

Community Reporter

Ashley Hyshka community@runnermag.ca

Operations Manager Scott Boux office@runnermag.ca 778.565.3801

contributors Paula Aguilar Sandra Al-Hunaidi Epifania Alarcon A.J. Birtwistle Kyrsten Downton Kristine Hui Daniella Javier Tristan Johnston Sarah Sidhu Yaunna Sommersby Elenia Trimble

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

editorial 3

From The Editor

Independent news sheds light on stories that major outlets ignore

(Nicole Kwit)

Alyssa Laube | coordinating Editor The persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar has grown increasingly violent since the 1970s, but it wasn’t until last month that North American news outlets started broadcasting the significance of the problem.

The death toll for Rohingya Muslims in the Asian country is not conclusive, but it’s likely to be near 3,000, with many more people missing, since the most recent round of ethnic cleansing began last year. According to the United Nations, over 310,000 of the Rohingya people have fled to Bangladesh, with countless undocumented refugees lost at sea or in spontaneous settlements near borders with no access to services or assistance.

The United Nations human rights office made an official statement on the rape and ethnic cleansing of Ro-

hingya people in Myanmar during February of last year. The U.S. State Department responded with concern, but added that the report on the issue was not proven to be accurate and that they could not act on it for that reason. When Pope Francis condemned the Myanmar government for its actions a few days later, still, little happened in media coverage or aid.

Near the end of November, when the U.S. election was coming to a close and all of the major American outlets were busy with Trump and Clinton, an independent news source called Democracy Now! featured a story called “Rohingya Flee to Bangladesh Amid Violence in Myanmar”. The piece revealed that the national military had killed around 100 Rohingya citizens, with hundreds of others fleeing the country and over 400 Rohingya homes burned down.

It featured two powerful quotes from

refugees who had freshly arrived in Bangladesh.

“Military killed my husband, set fire to our house. As we did not get any help to save us, we fled our land and have come here,” Maryam Khatoon was quoted as saying.

Mohammed Hasim said, “As we could not tolerate their tortures, we as a group crossed the river by boat at night. Four o’clock, we entered Bangladesh.”

Google Trends shows a spike in the search for “Rohingya Muslims” at that time, but online interest swiftly fell back to near-zero until the end of August, peaking in early September. At this point, Democracy Now! was joined by big-name institutions like CNN and The Guardian in investigating the conflict. This is despite the fact that Reuters obtained a police document in March of this year which found that 423 Rohingya Muslims were detained since October

2016, with people as young as 10 and as old as 75 among the prisoners.

Finally, in August, the Kofi Annan Foundation published its official report on the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. The document was approved by the Myanmar government and confirmed that 10 per cent of all stateless people in the world came from Rakhine. It wasn’t until this point that media coverage, and thus, public attention, began to become prominent.

Even in the wake of what some are calling a genocide, it’s still outlets like Al-Jazeera, Reuters, and The Independent that are regularly publishing updates on Myanmar’s human rights violations against the Rohingya. Although this is not necessarily a failure of most North American news, it does make one thing very clear: With Trump, Putin, and Kim Jong Un dominating our daily headlines, we cannot forget to be looking for independent news in harder-to-reach places.

Citizen journalism—often found on social media and online discussion pages—is a form of independent news. If you’re using Reddit world news as a source you are also responsible for double-checking that what you read is true, but public forums can be a great place to learn about underreported global issues. Compile a list of your favourite, reliable independent news sources and sign up for their newsletters to stay up to date. If you appreciate what you’re learning, consider donating to the publications that educate you.

KSA By-Election Candidates Begin Campaign

News Brief

Alyssa Laube | coordinating Editor Three faculty representative candidates, six constituency representative candidates, and two campus representative candidates are running in this year’s Kwantlen Student Association by-election, leaving only positions for Academic and Career Advancement, Health, Trades and Technology, queer students, and the Langley campus unaccounted for.

Students will be able to vote on Oct. 17 and 18. As the only uncontested candidates, Paula Aguilar for Faculty of Design Representative, Munir-Khalid Dossa for Students of Colour Representative, and Bilan Hassan for the Langley Campus Representative are likely to be elected to their positions, though students still have the option of voting against them. All others are competing for a spot on KSA Council until the polls close.

During last year’s by-election, seats for the Cloverdale Campus Representative, Faculty of Academic & Career Advancement Representative,

Faculty of Health Representative, Faculty of Design Representative, and Faculty of Trades & Technology Representative remained vacant.

Eight nominees ran in total and five were elected: Samantha Davis as Aboriginal Students Representative, Zahid Dossa as Students of Colour Representative, Jay Reedy—who is now the KSA’s VP Student Life—as Faculty of Business Representative, Kayla England as Mature Students Representative, and Natasha Farris as Faculty of Arts Representative.

This year, in addition to Aguilar, Dossa, and Hassan, are Joseph Beland and Rabia Khan competing to become the Faculty of Science and Horticulture Representative, Bruce Ferguson, Emily Haugen, and Sarah Strachan competing to become the Aboriginal Students Representative, Manpreet Singh and Mamanjot Kaur competing to become the International Students Representative, and Landon Charney and Damanpreet Garcha competing to become the Richmond Campus Representative.

Dossa and Charney are both hop-

ing to be re-elected to their positions.

Dossa became the acting International Students Representative and Charney became Richmond Campus Representative at the KSA’s Annual General Meeting in March.

Those running were encouraged to attend an all-candidates meeting on Sept. 26. Eight of the 12 were in attendance along with Ron Laufer, Chief Returning Officer for the Kwantlen Student Association. Over the next two weeks, candidates will campaigning as part of the election process. Each candidate brings their own experience, inspiration, and goals for their future in student politics to their campaign.

During the first week of September, KSA President Tanvir Singh told The Runner that, “as soon as students get involved with the KSA, they find that [it’s] definitely a worthwhile endeavor and [it’s] definitely a great place for them to grow, both professionally and personally.” He described the ideal candidates as dedicated, confident with time management, and engaged with the KPU community.

What’s Happening this month

oct. 6

Leadership Training The KSA wants to help you make your school or workplace a more positive space for those around you.

Learn how to create inclusive events and foster a welcoming atmosphere.

9:00 am - 12:00 pm, KPU Surrey Birch 250, free.

OCT. 10

SafeTALK Workshop

SafeTALK is run by the Crisis Centre.

The event is a half day workshop that provides tools to identify persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them to resources.

10:00 am - 1:30 pm, KPU Surrey Birch 250, free.

oct. 12

Comedy Hour

Following the appearance of comedian Steph Tolev in September, the KSA’s lunchtime comedy hour will next feature “Comedian Stunt-Man Magician” Wes Barker at the Grassroots Cafe.

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, KPU Surrey Grassroots, free.

OCT. 13 Corn Maze

Join Active KSA as they wander through a massive corn maze, navigating the many twists and turns and solving puzzles to help them find the way out. Have fun, and try not to think of The Shining.

12:00 am, Bose Corn Maze, price TBD.

oCT. 14 KPU Powwow

The fifth annual KPU Powwow, like those before it, will be a celebration of Aboriginal culture and customs.

Come see the traditional attire and watch as dancers of all ages compete.

12:00 pm - 9:30 pm, KPU Surrey Gymnasium, free.

OCT. 17 KSA By-Election

The Kwantlen Student Association needs more councillors! Help them elect a new generation of student representatives by rocking the vote (rock the vote, baby).

10:00 am - 7:00 pm, all KPU campuses, free.

4 news

KPU to Become Smoke-Free in 2018 Smoking of any kind will be prohibited on KPU campuses starting in January

alyssa laube | coordinating editor Students, staff, and faculty who smoke at KPU will soon be asked to “butt out” while on campus.

The university sent students an email from KPU President Alan Davis, who wrote that he is “pleased to share the news that KPU will go smoke-free on Jan. 21, 2018,” on Sept. 28. The policy will become active at the start of National Non-Smoking Week next year.

“Smoking and vaping will be prohibited on all KPU campuses and properties, including inside private vehicles while those vehicles are parked on KPU property,” read the email. “Similar smoke-free policies are already in place at a number of post-secondary institutions across Canada.”

The idea for the policy was initially posted on the KPU Policy Blog before the university put together a task force of representatives who, according to the email, “deliberated for more than two years over the many options and possibilities for regulating these activities on campus,” before deciding to ban all smoking on campus.

The decision has been “a long time coming,” says Davis. “When I arrived, there were some concerns and

several complaints [about smoke].

Although we were generally complying with provincial bylaws by staying away from airways and doorways, people could still smell smoke.

I could smell it in my office sometimes.”

He continues, “I think the expectation in society, certainly in B.C. but less so in other parts of Canada and internationally … is that people don’t need to be subjected to secondhand smoke in any way.”

The task force’s initial goal was to improve on the university’s existing bylaws by having smoking-designated areas, but because of the province’s harsh weather, they realized that well-covered—and thus, very expensive—shelters would need to be erected in order to create a safe environment for those who smoke and those who don’t.

“We didn’t have the money to invest in designated smoke shelters,” says Davis. He encourages members of the KPU community who smoke to drop the practice altogether rather than moving off-campus.

“We’ve given them three months’ notice, so it’s a good opportunity for people who want to butt out. People have time to think about the alternatives,” he says. “If they are addicted and really need to smoke during the

day, they can figure out where to go and how to do that.”

For the first few months that the policy is in place, KPU will be gentle with those who violate it. Student ambassadors will be hired to “go out and remind people what the regulation is, if people have missed the signage or missed the announcement to point it out … and generally, in a friendly way, remind them of the policy and point them to any resources that would help them quit smoking.”

After that point, repeated or obstinate on-campus smokers may have to face more serious penalties. The most

severe of those would be expulsion.

Kwantlen Student Association President Tanvir Singh says that he is “definitely going to be lobbying as hard as [he] can to ensure that people who need to medicate on-campus have the ability to do so.” Although Singh is opposed to regular tobacco use, he feels that “you need to have spaces on campus for people to smoke, otherwise people are just going to smoke everywhere and there will be butts everywhere.”

“I think it’s really important for us as a community that really supports both mental health and physical

health to allow for people to medicate on campus as well, to have those spaces,” he says.

In response to the argument that community members may need to self-medicate while at the university, Davis points out that “there are alternatives to [smoking cannabis as] medication.”

“You can look at how many deaths are tobacco-related in Canada and it’s compelling,” he says. “I see this as not a punishment or restriction. It’s an incentive to stop smoking.”

In an email sent to students on Sept. 28, KPU President Alan Davis announced that the university will ban smoking at the start of National Non-Smoking Week next year. (Braden Klassen)

KPU Responds to Parking Problems on its Surrey Campus Shuttle service to nearby Newton Athletic Park will run from Monday to Friday during peak hours

joseph keller | staff writer Students and staff driving to Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus were greeted with a parking nightmare to start the semester.

On top of the higher-than-normal volume of drivers that typically comes with a new semester, a construction crew is working on renovating the Spruce building in a fenced-off part of the parking lot.

The shortage of available spaces has resulted in a high number of frustrated drivers forced to either circle the parking lot until they find a spot or drive off-campus for parking.

KPU student Peter Morrison was one of the many who struggled to get to class as a result of the parking situation. On Sept. 13, Morrison sent an open letter to the university and to The Runner expressing his frustration with the situation, mentioning that he has witnessed “fender benders (hit and runs), near-misses of pedestrians overrun by cars, road-rage of frustrated drivers (horns honking, insults shouted, and violence threatened), and dozens of students and faculty late for classes and work while they circle the parking lot hopelessly.”

The university has responded to the problem by offering a free shuttle service from the nearby Newton Athletic Park, which is located on 128th St., about a 10-minute walk north of the Surrey Campus. The shuttle runs

from Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:40 pm.

KPU President Alan Davis says that the shuttle service is costing the university about $600 per day and that university administration will decide on a day-by-day basis whether to expand or reduce these hours, but he is pleased that the service is being offered.

“Luckily we have people who get on and do things. They don’t wait for me to bless it, so we reacted very

quickly. When I heard we had a shuttle bus in place in short order I was pretty impressed,” says Davis. “People just got on and found solutions so we reacted as quickly as we could to the situation.”

The shuttle service was set up about a week after classes began for the semester, though construction on the Spruce building started at the beginning of summer, leaving some students to wonder if the university should have anticipated the situation

earlier.

“I’m sure somebody had been looking at it and thinking about it so it had been anticipated, but it hasn’t been high on the executive radar, I must admit,” says Davis.

Construction on the Spruce building is expected to continue throughout the semester, with plans for the renovations to finish sometime in April. Until then, the overflow lot will continue to be occupied by the construction crew. Davis says that

there will be institutional debriefing behind the scenes to assess how the situation was handled and figure out how to avoid future issues.

“We’re going to have to think hard about what we’ll be doing in January.

That tends to be another tough period and the weather may not be so cooperative,” says Davis. “We’ll be thinking about that and learning from what happened this time, seeing what we can do to help.”

The KPU Surrey campus parking lot has been experiencing heavy congestion due to construction on the Fir building adjacent to the eastern lot. (Braden Klassen).

News 5

Walk for Reconciliation Touches the Heart of Downtown Vancouver

The event was followed by speeches from National Chief Perry Bellegarde and Premier Horgan, amongst others

Ashley Hyshka | Community Reporter Tens of thousands of people marched from the Queen Elizabeth Theatre to Strathcona Park, a distance of two kilometers, in the Walk for Reconciliation on Sept. 24.

The event was an effort to improve relationships between Indigenous people and all Canadians. The organizers of the Walk also hoped to raise awareness of the goals set out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and to honour survivors of, and those who died in, Canada’s residential schools.

Deborah Stewart, one of the lead marchers in the Reconciliation Walk, said that she hopes that the event helped people learn about healing.

“My mom went to residential school for 12 years,” Stewart said at the event. “She has a lot of healing to do.”

At Strathcona Park the walkers began taking part in the Reconciliation Expo, which hosted several high-profile speakers, musicians, Bhangra dancers, singers, and artists. Musqueam Nation Chief Wayne Sparrow and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jodi Wilson-Raybould were the first to take to the stage.

“I wish CNN was here to see what Trump’s doing to the U.S.,” said Chief Sparrow. “He’s separating them. Our government is bringing

The Walk for Reconciliation on Sept. 24 began at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Plaza and ended at Strathcona Park. (Ashley Hyshka) everyone together.”

Wilson-Raybould commented on the “substantive role” that the federal government plays in achieving reconciliation. She said that people need to steer away from conflict and protests and refocus on partnership and cooperation with their Indigenous counterparts to achieve this goal, adding that both sides “have a lot of incredible work to do.”

Afterwards, several high-profile guests took part in a traditional blanketing ceremony of the Coast Salish people. According to Chief Camp-

bell, wrapping the blankets around one another is symbolic of embracing each other with love, honour, and respect.

“No one here in Canada may have had a direct hand in that dark chapter of our shared history, and maybe no one here today had any connection at all to the residential schools, or even that Indian Act,” said National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations. “But you can all still play an important role in rebuilding our shared future.”

Chief Bellegarde encouraged at-

tendees to forget preconceived notions about First Nations people, and told everyone they can help by “challenging prejudices when you see it, racism when you see it, discrimination when you see it, and by not accepting the status quo.”

Premier of British Columbia John Horgan and Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Scott Fraser took to the stage together.

“Thousands of people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, standing together is a demonstration of true reconciliation,” said Premier Horgan. “The

new government accepts and embraces the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.”

“We have a chance to atone for past wrongs,” added Fraser. “We have the chance right now to make reconciliation a reality.”

A few of the speakers choked back tears as they addressed the crowd.

The pain of those in attendance, on and off the stage, was palpable—but more powerful was the feeling of hope.

Chief Robert Joseph, Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada, and Liana Martin, a councilor for the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, were the final speakers at the event.

“As a survivor of residential schools, I never knew that anybody cared. I never knew that … people of other colours could care,” said Chief Joseph. “We had waited, some of us, for a lifetime for somebody to validate the things we had always known.”

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson announced that the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam First Nations flags will be displayed inside of Vancouver’s Council chambers, and that Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the Vancouver Art Gallery will be renamed to honour B.C.’s Indigenous people.

The Fight to Save Surrey’s Hawthorne Park

Hundreds of protesters, including David Suzuki and members of the KFN, rallied by Surrey City Hall on Sept. 16

alyssa laube | coordinating editor Some of the protesters at the rally to save Hawthorne Park grew up playing on its fields, while others came upon it later in life as a place to birdwatch and admire nature. Advocates like David Suzuki, who has never visited the park but values it for its environmental importance, had a place at the rally too, whether it was in front of a microphone or from the crowds.

What united the protesters in front of Surrey City Hall on Sept. 16 was the desire to keep the city’s green spaces green. The municipal government voted in favour of building a road through the 22-hectare park earlier this summer, hoping to create room for light rail transit. Hypothetically, by removing the park and building the road, traffic along 104 street would become less congested, and there would be a direct route between the city centre and Guildford for citizens to use.

But it’s evident that many of the citizens don’t agree with the City of Surrey. At the rally, dozens of activists held signs bearing statements like “Parks, not pavement,” and “If

you take our trees then you take our air! Save Hawthorne.” There was a staggering diversity in the crowd as well, with a 10 year-old Surrey boy named Miguel Rodriguez from the Children’s Production Network taking the stage along with members of the Kwantlen First Nation, David Suzuki, and campaign director Steven Pettigrew.

In the crowd, retired birdwatchers advocated for the importance of saving the park’s wildlife, kids talked about wanting a green future for themselves, and middle-aged, working-class women asserted that the city doesn’t need more roads—it needs a place to raise a family and enjoy nature.

“We’re not doing this for ourselves, once again. We’re doing it for the next seven generations,” said Michael Kelly Gabriel, son of Kwantlen First Nation Hereditary Chief Marilyn Gabriel, before an audience.

Suzuki began his speech by describing the demolition of the park as symptomatic of exponential growth, which he deems problematic.

“We’re using up [future generations’] rightful legacy all in the name of economic growth. This, I

believe, is suicidal,” he said. “We can’t change the laws of nature, but the laws we create can change. They must change to fit the laws of nature.”

In response to the push to save Hawthorne Park, the City of Surrey vowed to increase its total parkland space—including 200 trees, facilities, and habitat areas—and continue public consultations.

Still, the campaigners needed to prove that 10 per cent of the city’s electorate oppose the demolition of the park in order to save it. A total of 30,000 signatures had to be collected

by Sept. 22 in order to meet that end.

At the time of writing, it is uncertain whether or not the Save Hawthorne Park group achieved that goal, but they’re certainly passionate

enough to avoid giving up.

“If the tractors roll in you’re going to join us in front of them—there are hundreds of you who said you’re going to do that,” said Pettigrew. “This is an election issue … [Municipal politicians] represent us and they need to listen to us. They need to remember that they are elected by us.”

Shayne Olsen, Dianna Bigg, and Kim Waite display their signs for preserving Hawthorne Park at Surrey City Hall. (Alyssa Laube)

6 culture

Meet the ladies who brew at kpu

KPU women are fighting gender imbalances in brewing Kristine Hui Beer is sometimes seen as the quintessential “man’s drink,” so perhaps it’s not surprising that the beer industry is a male-dominated one. But when KPU Brewing and Brewery Operations instructor Nancy More began her career in the industry over 38 years ago, she never anticipated how much sexism she would have to face.

More began her brewing career as a technical trainee at Labatt Breweries in 1979. During that time, post-secondary brewing programs did not exist in the English language, so all large brewing companies ran their own technical training programs. People would typically spend three years in the program, learning all aspects of the brewing business and working every position available.

After graduation, More made headlines across the country as North America’s first female brewmaster.

She found opportunities to work all over the world, but encountered a lot of discrimination for her gender.

“I had no idea when I started the level of testosterone, prejudices, or disbelief that I would experience,” says More. “The funniest [instance] was in my very first year [at the Labatt Brewing Company]. I had been

From left: KPU Brewing instructor Martina Solano Bielen and two second year brewing students.

(Kristine Hui) assigned to the Kitchener/Waterloo brewery. The middle-aged men working there were genuinely worried that if I went into the fermentation cellar when I had my period, that the yeast would stop fermenting. They were quite concerned about this.”

She also remembers when men in the industry would think it was perfectly acceptable to arrange business meetings inside of strip clubs as

a means of excluding her from the business.

“I think I expected that once I got [into the industry] more women would follow, and that didn’t happen,” says More. It wasn’t until this April, when she attended The Siris Cask Festival—a celebration of women in the craft brewing industry—that she had a realization.

“There were 200 women there,

more than I ever expected,” she says.

“I looked and I thought, ‘Finally.

I didn’t think that this would ever happen, but it did happen, and it happened here with no influence from me.’”

This September, KPU’s Brewing and Brewery Operations program welcomed its fourth intake or “cohort,” featuring 23 men and four women in the first year class. Karlie

Pretty-McDonald, a first year student, is pleased with the hands-on learning style of the program, and notes how supportive and inclusive her class has been thus far.

Still, she expresses doubts about her future in the field, given the gender inequality that exists within it.

“I feel that, if I were to open up my own brewery, people wouldn’t think that it is as good because I am a woman,” she says. “People might think that beer made by a woman— because there aren’t very many of us [in the industry]—wouldn’t be that great.”

However, even with these fears, Pretty-McDonald is optimistic that she will be able to prove herself in the program, and that a rising female presence in the beer industry will encourage more women to join.

It’s thanks to women like More that Pretty-McDonald and other female students are no longer token brewers in an industry full of men. While much still needs to be done in order to close the gender gap in this industry, More hopes that female brewing students remember this advice while they continue on their career paths: “The thing I found most valuable— and this took me years to learn—was to learn to find my own voice, and to not try to be one of the boys.”

A Lesson in History from KPU’s Elder-in-Residence KPIRG event explores how the Kwantlen First Nation’s past can inform KPU students’ future

Ashley Hyshka | Community Reporter Students and eager listeners in Lisa Monchalin’s Indigenous Activism criminology course were treated to a speech by KPU’s very own Elder-in-Residence, Lekeyten, on Sept.

19.

The event, titled Our Home on Native Land, was hosted by the Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group and was part of a series called Dis/ orientation Days, which focused on on raising awareness of social justice issues.

Lincey Amora, KPIRG’s Director of Campus Life, says that the organisation decided to host the event due to their strong relationship with Lekeyten, adding that KPIRG always aims to host at least one Indigenous educational event during Dis/ Orientation. Amora also wants KPU students to understand the history between the Kwantlen First Nation and the university.

“It’s really important that history isn’t forgotten,” she says.

Through vivid storytelling, Lekeyten began the event by recalling that, before Europeans arrived in the Lower Mainland, the land was inhabited by the Coast Salish Peoples.

He explained the importance of being one with nature, living off the land, and staying involved in the local community.

The “laws of life” are a set of

teachings practiced by the Kwantlen First Nation and their ancestors before them. The first law of life is health, followed by happiness, generations, humbleness, generosity, understanding, and forgiveness.

Lekeyten said that everyone attending the speech was of “one mind [and] one heart,” telling the attendees that they would “leave … with a great deal more diversity and culture.” He emphasized the importance of education, accepting words of wisdom from elders, and sharing that wisdom as a way of broadening one’s own perspective and the perspectives of others.

The words and stories that Lekeyten passed on to the listeners on that day were passed on to him by his father who said, “Don’t hold onto your gifts for too long because you need to give those gifts away.” Lekeyten was inspired by those words.

As a child, Lekeyten attended day school where kids were taught to be quiet, even about being abused. Now his advice to new KPU students is to “never shut up, because your voice is important.”

“We need to hear your voice,” he says. “You young adults—you’re going to change law in British Columbia, in Canada, [in] North America …

You’re the heartbeat of the nation.”

Chief Joe Gabriel, Lekeyten’s father in-law, bestowed the Kwantlen name on the university in 1982.

KPU Elder-in-Residence Lekeyten speaks at KPIRG’s Dis/orientation event, Our Home on Native Land.

(Ashley Hyshka) “Kwantlen” itself translates into “tireless runner,” and Lekeyten hopes that KPU students will be inspired by the name throughout their time at the institution.

The second speaker of the night was Lekeyten’s son, Brandon Gabriel. It was clear that storytelling runs through the veins of both father and

son as Gabriel recounted his life experiences as an artist, activist, and KPU alumnus. He has participated in various demonstrations, including those revolving around preventing a condominium from being built in Downtown Vancouver and protesting the Kinder Morgan pipeline, but considers himself an artist first and

foremost.

“I don’t have guns,” says Gabriel.

“I have paint brushes.”

The upcoming Dis/orientation events are Social Justice 101 on Oct. 26 at KPU Surrey and Right to Resist on Oct. 27 at KPU Richmond.

business students encouraged to submit to the great canadian sales competition

culture 7

Video sales pitches should be submitted by Dec. 4

joseph keller | staff writer Last year, KPU student Matthew Woolin made it to the final round of the Great Canadian Sales Competition. This year, Dilsharn Kaur is trying to get as many of her fellow students as possible to follow in Woolin’s footsteps.

Kaur is an official ambassador for the nationwide competition, which sees students from 85 Canadian post-secondary institutions competing to make the best sales pitch.

Whoever wins gets $7,500 and a reputation that can help launch their post-graduation careers. Three students from KPU participated in the event last year, but Kaur is hopeful that she can bump that number to at least 35 in 2017.

Students enter by submitting a 30 to 90 second-long video sales pitch on a topic of their choice. The produc-

tion value does not need to be high, but for best results, topics should be well-researched and argued.

“Anything that you are interested in and that you think you can speak on behalf of—if you have facts to prove it, if you know that you can deliver that message to the audience— just go ahead and make a video and enter it,” says Kaur.

The competition is sponsored by major corporations like Google, IBM, Adobe, and dozens more. According to its official website, the purpose of the Great Canadian Sales Competition is to showcase the best of what a career in sales could offer to students.

Participants who make it past the first round are paired with mentors from one of the sponsor companies to make a pitch for that company.

“I think having a sponsor from a big name company always matters,” says Kaur. “That’s going to look great

on your resume, great on your LinkedIn, and that’s going to make you even cooler in front of your friends.”

Submissions for the first round of the competition are open until Dec. 4 and the finals take place in May at Google’s Canadian headquarters in Toronto. Finalists will have their travel and accommodation expenses covered by the Great Canadian Sales Competition.

Since the submission period for the first round began, Kaur has been hard at work pitching the competition to KPU students in the hope that more of them will represent their university at this year’s finals. Kaur has been visiting business classes, talking to students at a booth in the main building, and contacting student clubs like the Kwantlen Marketing Association and Enactus KPU. “Last year the winner was from BCIT, so I think if they can do it, we

can do it too,” says Kaur.

Matthew Woolin made his submission to the competition last year on an impulse. He spent a few hours researching and making his video, in which he argued that people should attend the KPU School of Business.

After his submission was chosen for the second round, he was paired with a representative from sponsor company Bunzl Distribution as his corporate mentor to make a second video promoting the company. For that work, Woolin was selected as a finalist and flown out to Toronto.

“Any time you put yourself out there, anytime you do something that’s beyond what’s expected of you or would require extra effort, that’s always an opportunity to learn and to grow and develop,” he says.

Woolin may not have won the grand prize, but he says he has already received interest from potential

employers as a result of his participation in the finals.

“This is a huge competition,” he says. “It’s nationwide, and the company who runs it has great exposure, so the second you have that on your LinkedIn or resume it’s something that people identify really quickly.”

His advice for participants this year is to make sure to put time, planning, and effort into the pitch rather than winging it. He says that the key to a great pitch is not just listing off product attributes, but identifying a need and explaining how the product being pitched satisfies that need.

“Take that time to really think about it, practice, walk through it, and just understand how [you] can convey whatever [you’re] pitching,” says Woolin.

The Great Canadian Sales Competition annually awards Canadian students with $7,500 and a prestigious boost to their professional reputation. (Submitted)

Alycia Barker’s Story: From Cosplay to Classrooms KPU student and designer hopes break into the fashion industry through the Wilson School of Design

Sarah Sidhu In the world of fashion, finding a creative edge is not easy. While many designers can get lost in the latest trends, Alycia Barker—who is currently enrolled in Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Wilson School of Design—is more interested in working with clothing that “tells a story.”

Barker heard about the program from a graduate who is now “working in the industry successfully.” The program appealed to her because it offers business and marketing training, along with an education about the foundations of fashion design.

Barker hopes that KPU will help her get into either the theatre or film business, both of which her mother, an actress, and her father, a lighting designer, currently work in. She already has a background in costume design and previously organized her own cosplay festival in Canmore, Alberta, where she is from.

“I grew up on the sets of films and theatre productions,” says Barker, about her inspiration to explore a career in fashion. “My mum would bring me to work because there was nobody else to take care of me … so I think the seed was planted at that moment.”

Barker’s interest in cosplay fashion only grew over the years. She is inspired by popular costume designers such as Yaya Han and Jessica Nigri, who she admires for creating their own characters and costumes, rather than paying homage to characters who already exist.

Nature is also an inspiration for Barker, along with pop culture trends such as steampunk and cybergoth designs. Silks, satins, and laces are some of her favourite fabrics to work with, and she now uses them to design evening wear, dresses, and couture fashion.

In the future, Barker says she would like to expand her knowledge

by learning more about the business side of fashion and perfecting her pattern drafting and sewing skills.

“Working for companies such as Vera Wang or Chanel would also be attractive to me,” she says.

Barker grew up with a single mother, and has been paying her way through university on her own.

“I think everybody, especially artists, have their self-doubts at some point. And it’s always [a] battle to overcome that, and to just focus on the end goal,” she says.

In regards to going to school at KPU, Barker says that she is “really excited to be here” and “open to what the future has in store.” A project she is currently working on and excited about is refurbishing a coat from the 1940’s.

To see more of Alycia Barker’s designs and creations, you can like or follow her Facebook page, Alycia’s Creations.

Alycia Barker’s mythological cosplay is inspired by nature.

(Photo by: Graham Twomey)

8 culture

Kwantlen Improv Returns for its Second Season

KPU grad and local improviser Daniel Chai is back to lead this year’s workshops joseph keller | staff writer Kwantlen Improv has returned for a second season, and as any good improviser would do in the middle of a scene, the workshop’s founder Daniel Chai plans to build on what came before.

Chai, a KPU graduate and local improviser, hosts the workshop every Monday at 5:00 pm in Birch 250 on the Surrey campus. Attendees learn the art of improv, which is a form of theater where performers create plot, characters, dialogue, and comedy on the spot with no prior preparation.

Kwantlen Improv is open to experienced performers and those who are new to the craft.

The weekly sessions are free for KPU students, $5.00 for KPU alumni, and $10.00 for anyone else who wishes to attend.

“Kwantlen Improv is meant to be a fun place for people to try out new things, learn some new things, and most of all, make some new friends,” says Chai.

The first week of Kwantlen Improv’s second season was attended by more than 20 new and returning improv enthusiasts—a major improvement from the group’s debut.

When the workshop began last year, the word had yet to get out to the KPU community, and only a couple of people went to the initial event.

Since then, the group has grown every week, with new faces showing up to each session.

“The evolution of Kwantlen Im-

Daniel Chai leads new and returning participants through improv exercises at the first meeting of Kwantlen Improv’s new season.

(Joseph Keller) prov is that students who are returning obviously feel like they’re learning stuff, which is exciting,” says Chai. “Also I’m glad to see that the students are bringing friends and colleagues in as well.”

KPU student David Camparmo was one of three attendees to show up for the very first Kwantlen Improv session. Since then, he and Chai have watched the group grow into what it is today.

“It’s great that it’s grown in size so we get lots of different views because

people always react differently when put in the situations of Improv,” says Camparmo.

Among the newcomers at the first session of the new year was student Danica Alain, who was interested in checking out Kwantlen Improv because of her memories of watching improv shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?

“It’s kind of a good introduction without being too overwhelming, because I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but it started out really simple

and so that’s pretty nice,” says Alain.

Another new addition to Kwantlen Improv was student Leo Chang, who says he’s interested in improv as a way to put himself out there and work on being more extroverted.

“I’ve always been a very big introvert so whatever I do right now— talking to people, networking, whatever it is—I’ll learn. But deep inside I still have that little introvert guy,” says Chang. “So this was a little nerve wracking, being in front of people, but at the same time there’s

no judgment. Everything was good and everyone was accepting.”

Chai says that he plans to focus this year’s sessions on what he calls the “Improv Alphabet” which takes many of the concepts integral to improv and categorizes them alphabetically. The concept for the first session was “acceptance,” which encouraged performers to accept whatever their partner introduced and work with it.

Comedian Steph Tolev takes the stage at the Grassroots Her set was equal parts raunchy and hilarious

Mel Pomerleau | web editor Toronto-born comedian Steph Tolev returned to the Grassroots Cafe on KPU’s Surrey campus for a little lunchtime comedy on Sept. 21.

Her set, much like the one she performed last year at the same venue, was wild, raunchy, and hilarious. The comic told jokes about what it’s like to be the creepy aunt and her vagina’s fondness for the soothing and cleansing properties of the ocean.

If laughing at weird sexual encounters isn’t your thing, you may have found yourself struggling to keep up with Tolev’s absurd comedy, but the comic was fortunately met with laughter and engagement from her audience. Tolev’s opening act—a mystery comedian known as Pat— was also a hit. Exuding social awkwardness, his cringe comedy was the perfect primer for Tolev’s deeply disturbing, and all too relatable, humour.

“I thought both [comedians] were hilarious,” says Denzil Muncherji, a recent KPU graduate who wasn’t able to attend Tolev’s show last year but made a point to come out this time.

“You need to have some kind of entertainment along with the constant

Stand-up comedian Steph Tolev performs her set at the Grassroots Cafe on KPU’s Surrey campus.

(Braden Klassen) studying.”

Though Tolev notes that the turnout may have been a bit higher at last year’s set, she says she’s very happy with how receptive audiences at KPU are to her work.

“I always feel like the university audiences are a bit more timid,” says Tolev. “They laugh at stuff that’s gross, but I feel like, at the same time,

they’re kind of shy. You’re going through a weird time in your life and you don’t want to hear some gross woman yelling about her puss for an hour, but I find [student audiences] usually really fun and easy to talk to.”

Tolev attended Humber College’s comedy program in Toronto, and worked tirelessly to pursue a career as a comedian. After graduating, she

moved to Los Angeles, where she now resides.

“I’m out pretty much every night.

I do probably four or five [shows] a week,” says Tolev.

With a slew of awards, two fulllength sketch comedy albums, and experience at many notable comedy fests—such as the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival and both the Toron-

to and Vancouver Sketch Fests—on her resume, Tolev’s work has certainly paid off. She was celebrated as the “Best Female Stand Up” at the 2015 Canadian Comedy Awards and received a number of nominations for her sketch comedy duo Ladystache.

She’s also scored well on iTunes with her solo stand up album Hot N’Hungry, released during January of 2016.

“I think when I started, there wasn’t this whole boom of people liking female comics. I was just one of the guys and had to become funnier, otherwise I’d get, ‘Who’s this fuckin’ chick?’” says Tolev. “I don’t really ever find it hard now, but sometimes you are the only girl in the show.”

Being a female in the industry doesn’t seem to be as challenging as it once was, with an increasing number of profound and influential female comics thriving in it. Tolev’s recommendation for anyone who has told her or other female comics, “You’re really funny for a girl,” is that they “go fuck themselves.”

“I know a majority of female comics get that, and it’s so rude. It doesn’t make sense,” says Tolev.

culture 9

Slamapalooza Team Performs Poetry in the Park

KPU’s slam poets are raising funds to attend the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in October joseph keller | staff writer The poets of Slamapalooza, Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s slam poetry team, hope to recreate their previous success at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. All they need to do is scrape together enough funds to attend the festival again.

To that end, the team has been hosting fundraisers throughout the year, with the latest taking place at Trout Lake Park on Sept. 17. “[Slamapalooza is] one of the last collegiate teams at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and I’m hoping that the KSA and KPU are proud of us,” says one of the team’s poets, KPU student Justin Bige.

The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word is Canada’s largest slam poetry event. Each year, teams of artists from across the country gather at the festival to compete for their chance to become the number one slam poetry team in the nation. This year, the festival is being held in Peterborough, Ontario from Oct. 22 to 28.

“Our [team] philosophy is less

about going in to specifically win.

We want our poets to go out there and share the poems they really care about,” says Slamapalooza coach Simon Massey.

Massey has been with the team since its founding in 2014, when it was born out of the yearly KPU poetry event of the same name. In their first year at the CFSW, Slamapalooza made it all the way to the semi-finals, placing eighth in the overall competition.

Though the team’s interest in attending the event lies more in establishing an emotional connection with the audience than in winning the top prize, both Bige and Massey admit that they would like to beat UBC’s slam poetry team at the festival. As a newcomer, Bige is most excited to attend the CFSW for the opportunity to experience the best of what Canadian spoken word has to offer.

“I’m just excited to see what poetry is like across the country, and to get to hear some stories that I haven’t had a chance to hear,” he says.

The team has been working hard

to secure funding to make the trip happen. Most recently, the team hosted a fundraising event at Trout Lake called Poetry in the Park. For a donation of $5.00, attendees were treated to an afternoon of poetry from the Slamapalooza team members.

Bige says the event raised just over $200.00 towards funding the trip, and

they will be asking the university and student association to provide additional funds.

Massey says he is fairly confident that the team will be able to make it to Ontario for the festival, but he’s less sure that he will be able to go with them.

“Ideally I’d also like to go, but our

priority is getting the team there,” says Massey. “They’ll get to go there and do their thing and they’ll make us proud.”

Note: Justin Bige, who was interviewed for this article, is a contributor for The Runner.

KPU’s Slamapalooza team sits with fans at Trout Lake Park during their Sept. 17 fundraiser.

(Alyssa Laube)

KPU Students Organize Health and Wellness Convention

Members of the Biology Club and the Health Science in Action Club came together to plan the event braden klassen | photo editor Keeping track of your health is an important part of life, especially for students who are prone to neglecting their well-being when their priorities draw them towards schoolwork.

Fourth-year KPU students Rimi Afroze, President of the Health Science in Action Club, and Maria Santelices, President of the Biology Club, decided to help their fellow students take care of themselves by putting together a Health and Wellness Convention on Sept. 15.

The convention, which was held on KPU’s Surrey campus, took months to plan. Doing so came naturally to Afroze, who originally pitched the idea and has experience with hosting a variety of health-related booths, displays, and guest speakers.

“I like [collaborating] within a community because I believe you can do so much more with a diverse group of people who are interested in health science,” says Santelices. “We couldn’t have done it without the organizing committee members because these students are key in making a difference as well.”

“A change can start from a group or from an individual,” adds Afroze.

“So we initiated this as a group, but we want everyone to continue off that.”

The convention addressed many aspects of healthy living such as physical health, nutrition, sexual health, psychological and social health, and even financial health.

Guest speakers included Health Sciences graduate Paula Littlejohn and Nick Inglis, a KPU Biology profes-

sor. Representatives from KPU Peer Support, a group comprised of students dedicated to supporting other students’ mental and social health, were also present at the event.

“Social health is important, especially for students at this stage in their education,” says Santelices.

“It’s healthy to speak to people, to talk to people about whatever problems you’re going through.”

Presenters from Fraser Health invited attendees to write messages of hope on painted rocks that would later be sent to patients suffering from eating disorders. Options for Sexual Health—also known as “Opt”—were at the convention as well to educate students and hand out novelty paper penises made in the likeness of historical figures like Mozart or Henry the VIII. The Health Science in Action Club also had a booth where they handed out healthy snacks and educational pamphlets on nutrition.

“You should just try and be aware of your diet,” says club member and Health Science major Sydney Gloanec. “Try to eat fruits and vegetables, educate yourself on what vitamins you need, and then realize, ‘This is what I’m eating. This is what my diet is lacking. I should try and go out of my way to bring more of that in.’”

Afroze is hopeful that the convention helped students make healthy changes to their lifestyle.

“You can [make] a change at any stage in your life,” she says. “It’s never too late.”

KPU Health Science graduate Paula Littlejohn gives a speech on personalized medicine at the Health and Wellness Convention. (Yaunna Sommersby)

Student members from the KPU Biology Club and the Health Science in Action Club shared information about health and wellness with attendees at the event. (Braden Klassen)

10 features

“Embers and Ashes” unveiled at Vancouver Fashion Week KPU alumna Sam Stringer debuted her new collection at the prestigious event Ashley Hyshka | Community Reporter Backstage at Vancouver Fashion Week a soft violet glow envelops the models as they prepare to walk the runway.

Sam Stringer, graduate of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s fashion design program, has been waiting for this night for a long time.

Stringer unveiled her 2018 “Embers and Ashes” collection at Vancouver Fashion Week, which was held from Sept. 18 to 24. This was her second time at VFW, and she describes her new collection as being “inspired by the colours of Mars and the sunset on Mars—so lots of rusts and charcoals and teals [and] a little bit alien-esque, a little bit futuristic.”

Prior to the unveiling of “Embers and Ashes” Stringer felt anxious but also “really excited to see the collection actually on bodies on the runway.”

“I’m working with some incredible women, and I’ve been working with them one-on-one for months, so finally seeing it go down the runway is really exciting,” she says.

“I definitely felt like a warrior queen walking down there,” says Rachel Sargeant, one of the models who debuted Stringer’s collection at VFW this year. “I haven’t been this excited and nervous for a runway show in a long time.”

The crowd was buzzing with energy during the show, which implied heavy themes of female empowerment. Another of Stringer’s models, Justine Felizarta, says wearing Stringer’s designs made her feel “empowered” and attractive.

Stringer’s success derives from a blend of natural talent and perseverance, but her beginnings were quite humble. Hailing from Victoria, B.C., she had childhood dreams of becoming a fashion designer that led her to start sewing at the age of eight. Eventually her grandmother taught her how to use a sewing machine, and Stringer sewed her classmates graduation dresses.

When she was ready to attend post-secondary school, Stringer scoured various fashion design institutions across Canada and interna-

tionally before eventually deciding to go to KPU. Now she says that attending KPU was the best decision she ever made for establishing her fashion career.

“I wanted something hands-on and I wanted something marketable and something that I can actually make a career out of,” she says. “This program really appealed to me because it’s a four-year degree program. It’s the only degree-granting program of its kind in Western Canada.”

In October of last year, Stringer began working at KPU as the program assistant for the fashion department, allowing her to teach the newest generation of fashion designers while still working within the industry.

“The connections that the program has to the industry really helped—especially with my business, because my business is a lot of networking and meeting people and meeting women in Vancouver who need gowns and evening wear,” she says.

Stringer described the fourth and final year of the program as “intense,” noting that, the day after she did her KPU graduation fashion show in April 2016, she was approached by Vancouver Fashion Week about sponsoring her to appear in the fall event.

“I spent that entire summer sewing—like a little sweatshop in my apartment—and I made an entire collection and showed last September,” she says. “I got a great response from that show.”

Stringer was approached again by VFW in 2017. While brainstorming ideas for her new “Embers and Ashes” collection, she studied the forecasted trends for 2018, which rely heavily on a monochrome colour palette and metallic style. She blended these elements with her unique aesthetic to create pieces that are “quite fiery and elemental, but also a little bit more subdued.”

She also chose to design pieces for women of all different shapes and sizes—from size 2 to size 14. Stringer says that one of her goals is to “celebrate the diversity of shapes in women.”

As a photographer, Stringer began

shooting professionally when she moved to Vancouver and was hired

by VFW. She covered the event for eight seasons both in the pit and backstage.

“It’s a good fusion for me,” she says. “It’s very handy to be able to shoot my own campaigns.”

In addition to her work in Vancouver Fashion Week, Stringer designs evening wear with a focus on “highend, luxurious evening gowns.” Her

pieces are often floor length, black tie, bridal and graduation gowns for women, but she says that, in the future, she’d like to design evening wear for men as well. Silks, draping, and comfortable fabrics are also a staple of her brand, and she typically includes embroidery and embellishments which she calls “artistic and ornate pieces.”

Following the show, Stringer could be seen backstage beaming as, one by

one, her models congratulated and hugged her.

“I came back for a couple very special people this season, and Sam’s one of them,” says Sargeant. “She’s an inspiration.”

KPU Design School graduate Sam Stringer walks down the runway with model Rachel Sargeant after debuting her collection at Vancouver Fashion Week. (Braden Klassen)

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12 features

The Weirdest Courses at KPU: Fall 2017 Three of the university’s Anthropology courses are offering an out-of-this-world approach to education this semester joseph keller | staff writer Anthropology and archeology are both studies of humanity, and since time immemorial, one thing has always been true about humans: we are weird.

It’s not surprising, then, that some of the strangest courses being offered at KPU this semester come from its Anthropology department. This is The Runner’s run-down of the three strangest anthropology courses being offered throughout the fall 2017 semester.

ANTH 3503: Frauds & Pseudoscience in Archaeology Did you know that aliens built the pyramids? Or that the Vikings built a city on Vancouver Island? No? That’s good, because neither of those things are true.

Offered this semester as a special topics course, “Frauds & Pseudoscience in Archaeology” is about giving students the tools to separate ideas with a basis in real evidence from compete fiction being presented as fact.

“The underlying fundamentals are that if we have opinions on the world we should base them on evidence, not what someone tells us, not faith or whatever, but with evidence,” says course instructor Brian Pegg. “Then we apply that to archeology and anthropology.”

Pegg says that it’s common for unsubstantiated ideas associated with archeology to be presented as fact.

Students in his course look at some of these ideas, along with the pieces of “evidence” commonly used to mask them as legitimate, and the

missing information that can be used to debunk them. Students in “Frauds & Pseudoscience in Archaeology” specifically examine the myths of ancient aliens, psychic energy in Stonehenge, Sasquatch, psychics, crop circles, and more.

“If you read through some of this stuff superficially, it kind of makes sense. But when you dig into it a little more deeply, it starts to not make a lot of sense,” says Pegg.

Largely thanks to the History Channel, the idea of ancient aliens has become pervasive and several television shows attempt to make the concept seem plausible. As one might expect, this topic attracts plenty of discussion in Pegg’s class.

Pegg says that the appearance of what looks like technology such as tanks and helicopters in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs is often used to support these claims. However, as students in the class discover, hieroglyphs weather away and are often re-carved by new artists many times over centuries, giving them a new and often radically different appearance than what was originally depicted. These images can be wrongfully interpreted as familiar technology to the modern eye—a fact that’s usually conveniently omitted on the History Channel.

Another example of myth used in the class is the famous “Starchild” skull, a malformed human skull that was presented as an alien-human hybrid by paranormalist Lloyd Pye. He claimed that tests showed evidence of non-human DNA within the skull but never released his lab results.

While it’s plausible that the skull would contain unknown DNA, that’s

not at all unusual for ancient human remains, and certainly not evidence of its alien origin, according to Pegg.

He says that the point of the class is not to tell students where to stand on any specific example, but to learn how to look critically at evidence that is presented and to identify when support for a claim doesn’t add up.

“The intent is to introduce tools [so students can] evaluate this stuff for themselves, not to tell them what to think,” says Pegg. “One of the messages of the class is that, if people tell you what to think, you shouldn’t listen to them. You should evaluate for yourself what to think.”

ANTH 2133: Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft The myths, legends, and folklore of a society are far more than just fiction to an anthropologist. Instructor Sam Migliore’s “Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft” is about what those elements can reveal about cultures and communities.

The course examines popular myths throughout history, how they have evolved over time, and the circumstances that inspired them.

Vampires, being the pervasive entity of folklore and literature that they are, get plenty of attention in the class. Students study the blood suckers from their first appearances in ancient myth to the modern depiction in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and its integration into modern day popular culture.

Migliore says that vampiric myth from the days of Vlad the Impaler is of particular interest to the course because of its link to religious conflicts

of the day between Roman Catholics and followers of the Eastern Orthodox church, which led to accusations of vampirism from both sides.

Students also look at witchcraft, studying its origins, how it was used as persecution against pagan religions by early Christians, and the depiction of witches in modern film and literature.

Relatively new to the class is the studying of zombies. Migliore looks at early rituals and drugs used to create “zombies” as mindless laborers in Haiti as well as the more recent representation of the undead hordes we know and love from the works of George Romero and on shows like The Walking Dead.

“One of the reasons that zombies are so popular is that there’s this notion of infection,” says Migliore.

“We see things about ebola and other infections and how it could easily spread around the world, and there are these fears in society about that happening. So through these myths and legends, we can actually get at current issues, current fears in society.”

ANTH 2310: Archaeology of Death Ernest Bumann, the instructor teaching “Archaeology of Death” this semester, says that how any given culture approaches the subject of death tells us a lot about its nature.

“Burial remains are usually considered some the most sensitive and also most resilient indicators of how a society lived and how they saw themselves,” says Bumann. “Often, how they portrayed themselves in burial

was very similar to how they lived in real life.”

Students taking “Archaeology of Death” explore the burial rights of a range of societies all over the world and throughout time, from the Incas—who plastered and displayed the heads of dead family members in their homes so that they would remain a part of their daily lives—to the Wari’in tribe in South America, who used to consume part of the body as a form of compassion to the deceased.

The class explores how funeral rituals change as a society develops, and how some societies, like many of those in Mesopotamia, kept their dead close to everyday life while others, such as many of those in Ancient Egypt, kept the dead well-separated from the living. The course also asks students to look at what the differences in graves across social classes tell us about social stratification. Other topics, such as human sacrifice, are examined to show what such practices tell us about what a society believed in or valued.

“We, of course, come from a civilization that often tries to avoid death,” says Bumann. “We don’t really want to talk about it until it happens, and even then we deal with it very efficiently. It’s interesting to see that some societies wanted to live with the dead.”

(Nicole Kwit)

14 features

Reconciliation Through an Academic Lens The Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society begins its first semester of Reconciliation Studies this fall Mel Pomerleau | web editor As the nation continues to pursue reconciliation between Indigenous people and other Canadians, post-secondary institutions seek to add to the conversation by discussing and re-examining Canadian history.

“There’s a number of things and different angles you could use to approach reconciliation as a study,” says Greg Younging, an instructor of Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus. “Some of the models I’ve heard [include] trying to get back to a place where the relationship [between Canada and Indigenous people] was based on justice and fairness and equity and equality.”

He goes on to explain the importance of the treaty era, when models of coexistence were in effect. He cites the Haudenosaunee’s Two Row Wampum, a treaty and symbolic representation of coexistence between European settlers and the Indigenous people of Canada.

Younging was also appointed as the Assistant Director of Research to the federal Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

“In working at the TRC I had some valuable discussions with Dr. David MacDonald, who was looking into doing a lot of writing and studying on reconciliation, and we came up with this idea that one way to look at reconciliation was to try and imagine what it would be like today if that model of coexistence was followed and if there was no colonization,” says Younging. “You’d be looking at an era where the treaties were respected and Indigenous people would have had the opportunity to build their own civil societies and institutions. Indigenous peoples would have had the opportunity to incorporate or reject Western-European models and epistemologies.”

Decolonization is getting the colonizing institutions out of our way, and Indigeneity is, in many ways, going back to the institutions that our ancestors lived by and developed,” he says.

Incorporating these topics into regular studies is a vital step in fostering a community of people who can admit that colonization has occurred and continues to occur today. It also helps to recognize the damage that colonial institutions—such as residential schools and the Indian Act— have caused Indigenous peoples for centuries.

“There has to be some sort of Indigenous perspective with Indigenous studies, ideally taught by Indigenous peoples or their allies,” says Younging. “We basically have to throw out all the history books about Indigenous peoples and let Indigenous peoples rewrite the true history of colonization and decolonization.”

The Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society’s Reconciliation Studies This fall marks the first semester of The Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society’s Reconciliation Studies program, which was accredited by and created in partnership with the UBC

Faculty of Forestry. The program is interdisciplinary and intended for third and fourth year undergraduate students from across Canada and beyond.

Planning for the program began in May 2015. A mix of Haida and other First Nations representatives met with scholars from SFU and UBC, as well as a few people from the provincial government, to build the framework for it. According to Carlos Ormond, Executive Director for HGHES, the meeting was “a three night, two day workshop where we answered these questions: what is reconciliation and post-secondary education? And what does reconciliation look like in professional development?”

Five main themes emerged from the workshop—First Nations and Canada (Re)Writing History, Law and Governance: Indigenous and European Traditions, Perspectives on Reconciliation, Reconciliation and Resource Management, and Reconciliation and Communities—each of which is now a course in the Reconciliation Studies program.

“Each course was developed by either a Haida or First Nations scholar and an individual that is not from First Nations or Haida heritage, but a scholar in their own right in that sub-

ject area,” says Ormond.

Funding for the program was provided by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development as well as Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada’s Post-Secondary Partnerships Program. The funding allows the Reconciliation Studies program to continue regardless of whether or not it reaches its 20 student maximum.

“This program resonated with students across Canada and we now have a group of 18 students, which is fantastic,” says Ormond. “These are students from across Canada, both students with First Nations background and those that are not from First Nations background—students from journalism to anthropology to sciences.”

HGHES offers a few other semester-based programs in partnership with UBC, each touching on reconciliation in its own way. Student interest in exploring reconciliation on a deeper level is what led to their development.

Whether a student has First Nations ancestry or not, studying reconciliation provides them with an opportunity to gain perspective on Indigenous history and carry that perspective with them through their

personal or professional lives.

“One of our students in the program who is of Haida heritage has said his hope is that this program will help provide him with the foundation to be in a leadership position with the Council of the Haida Nation,” says Ormond.

Building off of the support they’ve received, the HGHES hopes to offer a second semester of the Reconciliation Studies program, either as a continuation of the first semester or as a stand-alone. It also plans to create a professional development program for individuals working in industries or businesses that are looking to address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to share Indigenous history.

“This is by no means a ‘best practice’ technique. This is, in fact, a four month discussion on reconciliation with each course being a topic to talk about [regarding] reconciliation,” says Ormond. “The term ‘reconciliation’ has even been discussed as to whether that is the best term to be using for this program. There are many different perspectives and understandings of what encompasses reconciliation.”

UBC Okanagan’s Indigenous Studies Approach Students enrolled in the Indigenous Studies program at UBCO look at three aspects of reconciliation— colonization, decolonization, and Indigeneity—as “three separate strands that don’t have any overlap,” according to Younging.

“We know what colonization is.

The Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society’s Reconciliation Studies students and staff in front of the classroom in Gaaw/Old Massett.

(Submitted)

EAGLE LENS

A group of people march proudly into Strathcona Park after completing the 2 km Walk for Reconciliation, Sept. 24.

(Kyrsten Downton)

The starting line is packed with colourfully lit bikes ready to compete at Bike the Night Vancouver, Sept. 16. (Elenia Trimble)

National Chief Perry Bellegarde delivers his keynote speech to thousands of people after the Walk for Reconciliation, Sept. 24. (Kyrsten Downton)

Organizations, people, and students all show up in their best outfits for Bike the Night Vancouver, Sept. 16. (Elenia Trimble)

Vancouver bike enthusiasts entheusiats arrive brightly dressed and ready to ride during Bike the Night Vancouver, Sept. 16. (Elenia Trimble)

16 opinions

Advanced Directives Help Dying Canadians Control Their Future Mel Pomerleau | web editor Bill C-14 is an Act passed by the federal government last May which legalized medical assistance in dying.

Though it was an important accomplishment for Canadian legislatures, the bill fails to address the availability of advanced directives for patients seeking a medically assisted death.

Advanced directives are documents which specify what steps should be taken to save or end a person’s life once that person is no longer able to consent to those actions for themselves. They serve as a living will, and allow people who would like to receive medical assistance in dying to “plan ahead” for a time when they will not be able to communicate their wishes to a doctor.

However, as written on the Government of Canada’s website, federal law currently requires informed consent “at the time of your request” and “immediately before medical assistance in dying is provided.” As advanced directives can only provide prior consent, they cannot be accepted under the law.

That means that patients with, say, dementia have no way to consent to medically assisted death ahead of time, when their mental faculties have left them, even though they know that they would not like to continue hanging on. This is despite the fact that, if a patient meets all of the requirements and gives their consent for medical assistance with dying, they have every right to rescind that consent until they have passed on.

The process to request and receive medical assistance with dying is extensive, requiring a written submission and constant communication with the physician or nurse practitioner who will be administering the treatment. Eligibility requirements state that the patient must have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” and “be in an advanced state of decline that cannot be reversed.”

If a patient’s ailment is irreversible, an advanced directive would serve to give them a chance to live out the rest of their cognizant lives without worrying about how their deteriorating condition will affect their loved ones.

Patients deserve the right to control their future. Let them enjoy what cognizant time they have left with their loved ones and administer treatment when they’ve requested it, rather than prolonging a life of suffering because they have lost the ability to consent to medical assistance with dying.

Pull the Plug on Animal Retailing Surrey is urged to enact a bylaw to stop the retail sale of animals

Daniella Javier | Contributor If you are planning to buy an animal at a pet store—particularly a dog, cat, or rabbit—you may want to consider a few things first.

According to an article by Maple Ridge News, Kathy Powelson, Executive Director for the Paws for Hope Foundation, wants to see Surrey enact a bylaw to stop animal retailing in stores. She presented her request to Surrey City Council at their meeting on Sept. 11.

Other municipalities such as Richmond and New Westminster already have such bylaws in place. Vancouver is the latest city to enact a ban, and Surrey would be next if it were to follow suit. Although Powelson asked Burnaby to ban animal sales, nothing happened.

In her interview with Maple Ridge News, Powelson said that there’s a pet overpopulation issue in Surrey because selling animals increases the chance that they’ll end up in a shelter.

While Surrey doesn’t sell puppies, Powelson wants the bigger pet store chains to stop selling cats and rabbits as well.

If people were only able to get their dogs, cats, or rabbits through an animal rescue and shelter or respectable breeder, it would decrease a pet’s chance of ending up alone. There are many heartless pet owners out there

who would do that to their animals, and the proposed bylaw would decrease the chances of them being able to purchase an animal carelessly.

At the Surrey Council meeting, Councillor Bruce Hayne brought up the concept of banning the irresponsible breeders or puppy mills, instead of the pet stores. That idea may seem promising, but Powelson said it wouldn’t stop the stores from bringing animals in from outside of B.C. and Canada. In fact, in the Maple Ridge News article, she stated that provincial breeding regulation “wouldn’t touch the import issue,” and that importing animals is a largely federal issue.

Potential pet owners would be better off getting their pets through responsible breeders and animal shelters because they would be dealing with trustworthy people. SPCA’s chief enforcement officer, Marcie Moriarty, told the CBC that most breeders don’t want their pets sold in a store because they’d like to be in contact with the potential pet owners before they take an animal home. She also said that The Canadian Kennel Club doesn’t even sell through pet stores, whereas animals from unethical breeders and mills suffer a lot of neglect and abuse. They live in terrible conditions, so those who buy them are not receiving healthy pets.

If the proposed bylaw is passed,

animal rescue operations and ethical breeders will still be able to sell or give people animals for adoption.

The important thing to remember is to be more aware of where your pets

are coming from. You never know what happens to the animals you see in pet stores before they’re put up for sale.

(Epifania Alarcón)

Mindfulness Helps Manage Student Stress How to holistically handle anxiety in school Sandra Al-Hunaidi If you already sense the imminent stresses of being a student, the best way to start a successful semester is to acknowledge the need for selfcare.

To control stress, it’s crucial to understand where it comes from. Solutions come more easily once you understand the fundamental issues you are facing.

In his book, Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What You Can Do About It, Dr. Gabor Maté talks about the interaction between psychological states and neurochemistry of the frontal lobes. He writes, “Modern psychiatry is doing too much listening to Prozac and not enough listening to human beings; people’s life histories should be given at least as much importance as the chemistry of their brains.”

Whether you suffer from depression, anxiety, ADD, ADHD, or simply everyday worries, organic de-stressing is a practice for everyone, and there are holistic ways to attack and prevent stress without a prescription.

Mary Kathryn is a homeopathic specialist at Finlandia Pharmacy & Natural Health Centre in Vancouver.

Having been in the industry for over seven years, Kathryn feels that using holistic remedies makes her more

mindful and addresses the root cause of a problem. According to Health Care and Consumer Choice: Medical and Alternative Therapies by Kelner Merrijoy and Beverly Wellman, a key element to using organic therapy is “the belief in the value of alternative care,” and that element of holistic wellness is integral to the healing process.

After doing research and collecting tips from homeopathic practitioners in Vancouver, I put together a list of holistic practices to use if you’re in need of self-care and de-stressing.

Essential Oils - Aromatherapy is a natural remedy commonly known to relieve anxiety. Lavender, rose, and peppermint are used to decongest the buildup of stress. It’s most beneficial to use pure essential oils that haven’t been diluted with chemicals or additives.

Rosemary - Rosemary can be found in a loose leaf or tincture form.

It is taken orally, primarily as an antioxidant. It promotes memory and other cognitive functions.

Oat Seed - Milky oat seed can be soaked and squeezed or found in a tincture. It is used to treat nervous debility, stress, issues with the nervous system, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and general fatigue.

Sudarshan Kriya Yogic (SKY) Breathing - This practice entails making sounds created by gentle con-

tractions such as the “Ujjayi,” also known as “ocean breath”. It mentally and physically soothes those who use it and will contribute to a restful sleep. Combined with yoga postures, SKY breathing influences psychologic and stress-related disorders.

Magnesium and Minerals - Extreme stress or anxiety could be caused by a magnesium deficiency.

Magnesium relaxes the nervous system. Try staying away from caffeine, alcohol, and excessive salt and sugar and eating foods rich in magnesium such as soybeans, kelp, leafy greens, avocado, almonds, and brown rice.

Epsom Salt Baths - You can find

Epsom salts, which can be dissolved in a warm bath, at any drug store.

Light candles, meditate, and simply relax with the salts in your bathwater.

Though all natural treatments are beneficial, be careful not to self-diagnose without confidence. Everything with a pulse holds chemistry. Take caution when mixing foreign compounds with your own, and if you’re unsure of what you need, go in for a consultation with a homeopathic specialist such as Kathryn.

Essential oils like lavender or peppermint can play a central role in some holistic health practices. (flickr/Your Best Digs)

opinions 17

Conservatives Should Forget the “Goldilocks Zone” and Commit to Opposing Bigotry “Can gay people enjoy low tax rates?” ask Tory and GOP Senators

Tristan Johnston | Contributor Both in the United States and Canada, the dominant conservative parties (the Republican Party and the Conservative Party of Canada, respectively) keep bigotry at a peculiar distance—not so close that the party becomes inseparable from it, but not so far that they lose a reliable voting block. The line between conservatism and bigotry has been crossed time and again in the United States, but it has also proven to be relatively thin in Canada several times since 2015.

During the last federal election, the Conservatives left the narrow “goldilocks zone”—where they are not bigoted enough to turn away mainstream voters but just bigoted enough to keep racists and xenophobes—with the niqab debate and “barbaric cultural practices” helpline.

Later, shortly after the events in Charlottesville, Ezra Levant of The Rebel released a video in which he denounced the Alt-Right, saying that it had twisted into something vile.

This was also around the same time that Andrew Scheer, new leader of the Conservative Party, said that his party wouldn’t do interviews with Levant’s publication.

Before Sheer’s denouncement, CPC parliamentarians would speak

(Nicole Kwit) with The Rebel quite often, and it made sense to do so. As a Conservative you want to at least pretend to listen to the social right-wing of your voting base, but not necessarily do anything for it.

If the Republicans and the Conservatives dropped their bigotry towards immigrants, Indigenous people, and the LGBTQ+ community, they’d lose the bigoted part of their base, but would gain the support of people who just want lower taxes.

The CPC is already moving in this direction, with an asterisk. Before the leadership election was finalized, Maxime Bernier was viewed as highly likely to win the Conservative leadership race. Bernier was considered somewhat of a libertarian, and would have solidified the party as being pro-marijuana legalization and anti-“citizenship test”. Of course, he didn’t like the idea of supply management, but that’s libertarianism for you.

It’s not like believing in small government and lower taxes is incompatible with social progressivism. PragerU, a right-wing Youtube channel, surprisingly blamed the social injustice faced by Indigenous Americans on the federal government. Just like Canada, the U.S. treats Indigenous people like children, giving them no control over their own land and generally attempting to control their lives.

It makes sense that a right-winger would frame this as symptomatic of

a too-large government.

Before Ronald Reagan became President of the United States, religious groups didn’t pay much attention to politics, so parties did not have to pander to them as the Republicans and the CPC do now. It wasn’t until the Roe v. Wade decision that their interest started to materialize, and even then most Christians still had to be convinced to engage with politics.

Much of this resulted from the work of the Moral Majority organization, which was mobilized in 1979 for the election of Ronald Reagan. Even George H.W. Bush was, at the time, considered a “social moderate” who had to be brought around to adopt an anti-abortion stance.

If the Republicans and the Conservative Party of Canada want to expand their potential voting base, they should just drop the bigotry. The GOP have backed themselves into a corner with this stuff, making their ideology inseparable from racism, anti-intellectualism, and sexism. The CPC is doing a much better job, removing opposition to gay marriage from their platform and hopefully maintaining the practice of dropping nutjobs from their party roster.

The Politically-Motivated Censorship of Chelsea Manning is Wrong

The American whistleblower has lost multiple speaking roles and now is being denied entry into Canada

braden klassen | photo editor Chelsea Manning is one of the most polarizing figures of the last decade.

She’s been the target of both adoration and hate from the public because, in 2010, she leaked hundreds of thousands of classified military documents to a the controversial watchdog organization WikiLeaks.

Manning believed she was doing the right thing because a lot of the documents contained evidence that U.S. soldiers had been breaking laws, killing civilians in the Middle East, and covering it up in their official reports. She was branded a traitor by the American government—one who endangered the lives of military personnel—though there were advocates in the public who believed her to be a martyr.

She was arrested in 2010 and charged in 2013 with committing serious crimes under the Espionage Act, serving seven years of her 35 year sentence—mostly in solitary confinement—until Barack Obama commuted her sentence during his presidency. She was released in May of this year, and soon after was scheduled to

deliver a speech at Harvard University, though the school was pressured into rescinding the invitation.

Manning has been through so much, and must have such a unique perspective as a whistle-blower and an advocate for Trans rights, having transitioned during her imprisonment. It’s easy to think of how illuminating and interesting her speech would have been for students if the university had not caved in to the pressure of Manning’s opponents at the last minute.

This is an overt act of institutionalized censorship, and the people who made the decision to bar her from speaking should feel ashamed.

Just because someone has a controversial reputation doesn’t mean that they deserve to have their opinions silenced in order to appease the masses. They invited her in the first place, so obviously somebody thought that her speaking would be beneficial for students. The fact that they later denied her right to share her story with others very clearly outlines where the school’s priorities lie. Manning later accused the school of being manipulated by the “police state” in America.

She’s right to call the university out for disinviting her. Bending to the will of political pressure and censoring individuals who have been demonized by the state was an act of cowardice, and was in no way made with the wellbeing of students in mind. It is a sorry example of how deeply embedded America’s political system is in otherwise free-thinking

institutions, and how much control the government has in silencing dissenting voices like Edward Snowden or Julian Assange.

To make matters worse, Canada recently denied Manning the right to enter the country, citing her criminal past as a reason to not let her in. This isn’t the first time that the Canadian government has banned people try-

ing to enter the country as a means of censorship. Eminem was barred from entering the country because of the offensive content in his rap lyrics.

That decision wasn’t even based on legal grounds like it was for Manning, but it demonstrates the same point: our government is not above censoring individuals out of political motivation.

Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison after being convicted under The Espionage Act for leaking classified documents that exposed U.S. military cover-ups. (Flickr/Exile on Ontario St.)

18 columns

After Thought: Reigning in The Corporate Spending in B.C. Politics B.C. NDP will limit the amount of influence that corporations can buy from the government

braden klassen | photo editor The word “capital” refers to an accumulated wealth of financial or other assets. While money and politics are inseparable, capital can take different forms, and for politicians, the “other assets” category can sometimes be more important.

One of these other assets—something that pundits call “political capital”—is a nebulous sort of currency that politicians and policymakers need to use in order to get things done. Some people call it suction, or clout, or integrity. There are numerous ways to cultivate it over time, like demonstrating loyalty to a political party, exchanging favours, or taking advantage of social or family ties. In politics, this kind of currency is extremely valuable and is often the deciding factor in separating the more significant power players from their lowly backbencher colleagues.

B.C.’s previous party donation policy allowed corporations and other groups to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to the provincial government, exchanging money for political capital which they would use to advance their agendas. This is referred to as “pay-to-play” politics, meaning that the government is implicitly obligated to accommodate the interests of big businesses and donors. And when push comes to shove, politicians are likely to prioritize these interests over

the concerns of the common proletariat.

The Liberals were so enthusiastic about gobbling up money from non-voters that they even let people in other countries donate to them, something so biased and counterintuitive that it’s actually straight up illegal in most other provinces.

If international businesses are not allowed to vote in B.C. or Canada, and are not affected by the legal decisions that our governments make, why on earth should they be allowed to participate in our politics? There is absolutely no way these kinds of donations were made with altruistic intentions. People were quick to see through the façade of impartiality and disinterest that the Liberals hid behind and call it out for what it was: bribery.

Unfair practices like this were common for the party; tens of thousands of dollars in “bonuses” paid to Christy Clark on top of her salary.

Exclusive private fundraisers attended only by the wealthy elite. Taxpayer-funded kickbacks to private contractors so they could “accelerate” the construction of massive infrastructure projects. A feckless and last-minute election promise to institute an “unbiased” internal ethics panel to regulate donations. The Liberal Party’s greed and hubris drove each and every one of these coffin nails deeper, and their chances of holding on to a majority

in parliament dissolved, ending a 16year long regime.

But it’s not over ‘til it’s over. Despite putting these troubling issues to rest by banning all corporate, union, and foreign donations, and putting a $1,200 cap on individual donations, the NDP are now facing stark criticism for their plan to use taxpayer money to soften the blow of transitioning from the old ways. The parties will need money to compensate for having their arterial sources of funding severed, and it looks like we’re footing the bill.

Taxes will be used to fund parties on a “per vote” basis, initially starting at $2.50 per vote, shrinking to $1.75 in 2022. For now, this gives the NDP a small financial advantage, but that is subject to change in the future. It’s a pragmatic solution, and the fact that it almost looks like proportional representation is appealing, but it has done little to distract critics from the elephant in the room—that John Horgan explicitly and repeatedly stated that he would never use taxpayer money to subsidize party funding.

This is a damnable flip-flop for the NDP fresh out of the gate, especially considering the fragility of their position in parliament, and it will limit their political capital in the future.

Somehow, the NDP decided that their political integrity was worth $2.50 a vote, but the thing about integrity is that once it’s been sold, it’s almost

(Elenia Trimble) impossible to buy back.

This mistake could haunt the NDP for the remainder of their term, and moving forward, they should take heed of the lesson that the Liberals

had to learn the hard way: it’s not always about the money.

Artist Spotlight: Fake Fruit

The New York band is sharing introspective post-punk in Vancouver

alyssa laube | Coordinating Editor Conceived in New York and raised in Vancouver, Fake Fruit has its roots in two artistically vibrant communities.

Frontwoman Hanna Amato moved to Canada for a nannying job and brought her music with her, picking up Jess Lebenburg on lead guitar, Tom Waelen on drums, and Gabe Ragel on bass to keep the band going strong.

“Vancouver is a lot smaller, which has its ups and downs, but after coming from New York I’m really appreciating how closed-knit it is,” says Amato. “I felt like I was more of a spectator than a participator in New York. I was dealing with a lot of anxious stuff and I was really into a relationship with a partner and wasn’t putting enough value on what I was making. The move gave me a lot of confidence and lit a fire under my ass.”

Amato left a lot behind in the States, but reflecting on that part of her life inspires most of what she writes about today. Many of those songs will be included in Fake Fruit’s first LP, which will be released by this time next year. The album is set to be self-titled and about 10 songs long, encapsulating the band’s fuzzed out,

emotional style.

“There’s a lot of different stuff going on [thematically,]” says Amato.

“A lot of it is fun. A lot of it is talking about anxiety. A lot of it is about gentrification. It’s a lot of angst. I’ve never been an angsty person, but the move stirred up some of those feelings, and I realized this city is just as fucked up as the other ones.”

Witnessing the heavy toll that gentrification is taking on the lower and middle class in Vancouver struck a chord with Amato. The record for her, is a “scream into the void” to cope with injustices such as seeing “people getting shoved out when there’s not enough resources.”

“It’s really clear that Trudeau isn’t really doing anything, and back in the States everybody [loves him]. I came here thinking it would be like that,” she says. “There are some things that hint at that lyrically, but they’re more of undertones.”

She also noticed a difference in the way she’s treated as a female musician in this city. She feels that Vancouver is “really accepting” compared to the experience that she had in the U.S. “I dealt with a lot of sexist bullshit in New York, like the sound guy touching you in weird ways or say-

ing, ‘Where’s your boyfriend?’ when I’m setting up my pedals,” she says.

“I feel like most of the bands I see out here are female fronted, but of course there are never enough.”

Although Lebenburg, Waelen, and Ragel weren’t available to be interviewed, Amato says that they are becoming an increasingly important

part of Fake Fruit’s writing process.

After their debut LP, the band’s next album will be their most collaborative work yet, with all of the songs completed between the four of them in the same room.

Until then, they’ll be playing as many shows as they can. On Oct. 6, Fake Fruit will be performing on

a Mint Records bill with Shitlord Fuckerman, Winona Forever, and Jay Arner.

“We just want to play a bunch of shows and have a good time,” says Amato. “I love the people that I’m in a band with.”

From left to right: Jess Lebenburg, Hanna Amato, Gabe Ragel, and Tom Waelen, the members of Fake Fruit, with honorary fifth member Dax the Dog. (Alyssa Laube)

PROCRASTINATION HOROSCOPES Sagittarius Nov. 23 - Dec 21

Capricorn Dec. 22 - Jan 20

Aquarius Jan 21 - Feb 19

Sagittarius are very emotional. It’s true. I’m one, and I cried at least four times over the stress of trying to come up with this horoscope.

Don’t buy that camera you saw on Craigslist. Seriously, I know that dude and he can’t be trusted; he’s a Capricorn.

Alliteration ain’t an ally, amigo. Avoid any and all amounts, as achievable.

Pisces Feb 20 - Mar 20

Aries Mar 21 - Apr 19

Taurus Apr 20 - May 20

If your CD starts skipping, it may be a sign it’s finally time to upgrade to an MP3 player.

You’re feeling so good about yourself, I almost don’t want to tell you about the... nevermind.

Challenge the devil to a fiddle contest, but do it in Richmond. He holds less power there. I think it has to do with his fear of airplanes.

Gemini May 21 - Jun 20

Cancer Jun 21 - Jul 23

Leo Jul 24 - Aug 23

Geminis are very kind and considerate souls. So could I please borrow forty bucks?

You’ll be a movie star some day. I know you’re shy in front of the camera, but I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.

Pose for the camera. You’re a tiger! Or lion. Whatever.

Virgo Aug 24 - Sept 23

Libra Sept 24 - Oct 23

Scorpio Oct 24 - Nov 22

Have you ever said “Virgo” over and over a bunch of times? It sounds really weird after a while. Virgo. Vir-go. Viiirrrgggoooo.

Oh crap, I just remembered I need to return that book to the library! Thanks.

Your virtuous attitude brings out the best in others around you. What, you were expecting something funny? Horoscopes aren’t a joke, Scorpio!

SUDOKU

THE DOODLE BOX Last issue’s answers.

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

We’ve merely started the creation, you get to finish it!

Tweet a photo of your drawing with #runnerdoodles and you could be featured in the next issue!