The Cascade Vol. 21 No. 23

Vol. 21 Issue 23

www.ufvcascade.ca

September 25 to October 1, 2013

Making workshop students cry since 1993

Required Reading

Digging through the reasons some professors recommend their own works p.6

Next refendum asks to increase bus service p. 3

UFV women’s basketball gains Ukranian recruit p. 18

2

NEWS News

SUS inflation policy

Opinion

Convocation too late?

The finance committee has developed an inflation policy to combat rising inflation rates and prevent further cuts to student services. Ashley Mussbacher highlights the goal of the policy and the numbers that students may one day be paying.

Would you be willing to wait eight months after graduation to attend a June convocation?

Nadine Moedt discusses why UFV needs to lighten up and add a convocation option for near graduates.

pg. 4

pg. 8

Arts & Life

Will the real Jesus please stand up?

Reza Aslan’s Zealot, an historical biography of Jesus the man (as opposed to Jesus the Christ) was painted as scandalous by reviewers and media. What was the ‘real’ Jesus like? Check out what contributor Christopher DeMarcus has to say about Zealot.

pg. 15

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Sports & Health

You talk a big game (and so do I)

This week’s Heat column features the intrepid journalist Tim Ubels interviewing the team’s new announcer Brandon Astle. Both worship at the altar of language, but only one can scream “GOAL” into a rink-side microphone and know he’s being broadcasted by UFV’s own CIVL radio.

pg. 18

EDITORIAL

“Free” and “not for credit” course?

Save your time for an accredited instructor and a structured class

DESSA BAYROCK

THE CASCADE

I noticed the sandwich boards appear about a week ago.

It’s not a new form of advertisement on campus – twopiece painted plywood structures pop up near the library or under the breezeway on a semi-regular basis, offering information on a variety of events ranging from the annual blood drive to career fairs, community meals, and dodgeball on campus.

The sandwich boards that appeared this week, however, are different. They’re larger.

They boast a poster that looks professionally designed and printed – a far cry from the usual fare of rushed handwriting and simple arrows. These sandwich boards advertise seven nights of religious discussion, titled “God and Reason,” starting this week and running every Tuesday night until the end of November.

The difference that caught my eye, however, was a prominently-placed bubble of text at the top of the sign which read—and this wording is important—a free, not-for-credit course.

I have absolutely no prob-

lem with the content of these events; questioning, discussing, and learning about religion is a vital part of maturing and growing as a person. University exists to facilitate discussion.

What I take offense to is the fact that the organizers are advertising “God and Reason” as a course. A speaker series?

Sure. A lecture series? Sure.

But a course?

A variety of free courses are offered through community centres and in church basements year-round, but that’s another sort of course entirely – away from a university environment, the definition of “course” doesn’t indicate the same quality. A typing course offered as a community service has an entirely different reputation than a course offered as part of a post-secondary education. Placing a community course (if that’s how we’re going to look at this speaker series) on campus is nothing short of misleading; the context of a university campus lends it credibility and authority it does not have or deserve.

Attending a class in a university setting comes with a guarantee about the class, the content, and the instructor.

UFV has reams of policy that describe in minute detail how

classes are created, vetted, and eventually offered, not to mention the necessary credentials of the professor.

This is the second detail I take issue with; the posters advertise professor Dr. Doug Allen of SFU, who will lead the first event. It sounds impressive: Dr. Doug Allen of SFU. But Dr. Doug Allen is not a professor of religious studies nor even a professor of political science, a department that sometimes includes religious studies. Dr. Doug Allen teaches economics – from the look of his academic webpage at SFU, dealing largely in transactional economics. While his credentials are impressive, there is no evidence that Dr. Doug Allen has the expertise in religious philosophy necessary to teach a “course” in it.

Before coming to UFV “God and Reason” was held at SFU, organized by religious student groups analogous to those helping organize it here. The “course content” is the same – asking a central question each night the series is held.

But there is no indication either at UFV or at SFU of where this content came from or who created it. I highly doubt the lecture material was vetted by a committee, as UFV policy states course content must,

before being presented to students.

The bottom line, for me, comes down to this: “God and Reason” presents itself as a course without any credentials to back it up. The choice of instructor seems more closely connected to their personal religious views than their areas of expertise, and it’s painfully obvious that the course material (available online in Powerpoint format through Allen’s SFU page) hasn’t been critically reviewed in an official capacity by anyone other than the organizers.

If UFV students are looking to take a course in Christian material, one is available in the form of Religious Studies 303: the Christian Tradition. It was offered last year, and according to the semi-repetitive pattern of the UFV timetable it will most likely be offered again in the 2014/15 or 2015/16 school year.

Time is one of the most precious commodities at any student’s disposal; if we’re already at university, I think it’s safe to say there is no longer a need to take community courses. Save your curiosity for a course and a professor equipped to answer your questions and accredited to teach you in the first place.

UPCOMING EVENTS September 27

September 28

September 28-29

The Navy: A Century in Art

ESports at AfterMath

UFV Cascades Alumni Day

Please Do Not Touch the Indians

Bring your ethernet cables and game faces as ESports Valley hosts the first annual ESports LAN party at AfterMath. The party begins at 3 p.m. and goes until midnight, with the restaurant in full swing. The event is open to everyone, and mini tournaments will feature prizes.

Editor-in-chief dessa@ufvcascade.ca Dessa Bayrock Managing editor michael@ufvcascade.ca Michael Scoular Business manager joe@ufvcascade.ca Joe Johnson Interim online editor ashley@ufvcascade.ca Ashley Mussbacher Production manager stewart@ufvcascade.ca Stewart Seymour Art director anthony@ufvcascade.ca Anthony Biondi Copy editor katie@ufvcascade.ca Katie Stobbart News editor jess@ufvcascade.ca Jess Wind Opinion editor nadine@ufvcascade.ca Nadine Moedt Arts & life editor sasha@ufvcascade.ca Sasha Moedt Sports editor esau@ufvcascade.ca Paul Esau Photojournalist blake@ufvcascade.ca Blake McGuire News writer katherine@ufvcascade.ca Katherine Gibson Arts writer jennifer@ufvcascade.ca Jennifer Colbourne Contributors Taylor Breckles, Christopher DeMarcus, Valerie Franklin, Kaitlyn Gendemann, Jeremy Hannaford, Nathan Hutton, Ashley O’Neill, Nick Toews, and Tim Ubels Printed By International Web exPress

Sept 26 - Jan 5

This exhibition located in the great hall of The Reach art gallery in Abbotsford seeks to examine historical art and historical events from both a national and international perspective. The paintings are part of a traveling exhibition produced by the Canadian War Museum. Head out to the reach for the unveiling of this historic display.

Volume 21 · Issue 23 Room C1027 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529

Hosted in conjunction with UFV Athletics and the UFV Alumni Association, the UFV Cascades Alumni Day celebrates 30 years of UFV athletics.

All alumni are invited to bring their family out for a barbecue beginning at 1 p.m., pick up street hockey hosted by the Abby Heat, and many more fun activities. Pre-registration is recommended.

UFV Theatre hosts staged readings of Joseph Dandurand’s play. Two carved Indians sit in front of a gift shop; when tourists leave they tell stories of coyote, raven, and wolf that promise fantasy, satire and beauty. Admission is free, question and answer period to follow.

The Cascade is UFV’s autonomous student newspaper. It provides a forum for UFV students to have their journalism published. It also acts as an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Cascade is funded with UFV student funds. The Cascade is published every Wednesday with a circulation of 1500 and is distributed at UFV campuses and throughout Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Mission. The Cascade is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national cooperative of 75 university and college newspapers from Victoria to St. John’s. The Cascade follows the CUP ethical policy concerning material of a prejudicial or oppressive nature.

Submissions are preferred in electronic format through e-mail. Please send submissions in “.txt” or “.doc” format only.

Articles and letters to the editor must be typed.

The Cascade reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity and length. The Cascade will not print any articles that contain racist, sexist, homophobic or libellous content. The writer’s name and student number must be submitted with each submission. Letters to the editor must be under 250 words if intended for print. Only one letter to the editor per writer in any given edition.

Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of UFV, Cascade staff and collective, or associated members.

Cover Image: Anthony Biondi

3

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

SUS shuttle bus referendum Indian Residenlooks to increase fee and expand tial School Day of service Learning KATHERINE GIBSON

THE CASCADE

September isn’t over yet and already many students have taken advantage of the campus connector shuttle bus for transportation between the Chilliwack Education Park (CEP) and Abbotsford campuses.

A pilot project, the shuttle has had undeniable success in its first three weeks of service.

“It’s far more successful than we ever anticipated,” Student Union Society (SUS) president Shane Potter explains. “Between September 9 and 13, 1275 students rode the shuttle bus back and forth over one full week of service.”

Building on this initial success, SUS has decided to put forward a referendum asking all students to agree to an increase from the $6.75 fee to $17.75, in order to fund an expansion of this service.

This $11 raise to the current shuttle bus fee will fund the running of an additional third bus, extended hours of service, as well as full bus access during the summer semester.

Potter stated that the referendum will not address cur-

Image:Katherine Gibson

The shuttle fee would need to increase to extend service. rent issues with the service such as the liability concerns currently preventing the buses from stopping at the Park and Ride locations at McCallum Road in Abbotsford and Lickman Road in Chilliwack, as well as the lack of service to Chilliwack’s UFV Theatre on Yale Road.

However, he did suggest that it has the possibility to come later in the future.

“There’s always an option, whichever way this referendum goes, to talk about, down the road, having a bus go out to the theatre,” he continues.

“That’s the nice thing about these shuttle busses; after

hours we can pay a little, tiny bit more and use the service for other things.”

SUS plans for this referendum to start on October 25 and end October 30, giving students the opportunity to voice their views on whether the additional service truly merits the $11 fee increase.

“Basically, if this does not go through, the level of service we currently have will stay,” Potter concludes. “It’s up to the student’s voice to determine if this is something that they want to do.”

Image: Blake McGuire

Students, staff, and faculty attended the Day of Learning.

SUS overhauls clubs and associations policy BLAKE MCGUIRE

THE CASCADE

Student Life has officially passed all clubs and association responsibility to the Student Union Society (SUS). This means that all registration, room bookings, poster-stamping, and funding goes through SUS. In theory, this change, combined with the recently developed clubs and association committee, should mean a more straightforward approach to clubs and associations.

The new committee will be made up of students who are involved in student organizations. By meeting once a week and focusing only on clubs and associations, this committee will be able to process requests much more quickly and thoroughly than SUS has in the past.

However, the transition is not entirely seamless, explains University Christian Ministries vice president Nicole Vanspronsen.

“The forms take longer to go through,” she says, “but it seems like there are more safeguards.”

In order to book a room, an organization must now submit a form to SUS and wait for it to be approved, a process that

takes about a week.

Under the new model, associations are given a larger amount of money at the beginning of the semester, with the remaining budget to be distributed among associations based on the number of fulltime equivalent (FTE) students in their area of study. According to the BC Ministry of Education FTE reporting manual, an FTE is defined as what each full-time student in a full-time program should generate in each academic year.

For some groups, like Computer Information Systems Student Association (CISSA), the calculation of FTEs gives a clearer picture of their members.

“For CISSA, we say we have about 1000 members,” CISSA vice president Graham St. Eloi says, “but through FTEs, our numbers are about 400 or 500.”

However, FTEs can be ambiguous as they don’t correspond directly with head counts, explains SUS president Shane Potter.

“The thing about FTEs is it’s not just majors,” he says. “It’s concentrations, it’s minors, it’s majors, it’s anyone [taking classes] in that program… [they] do a much more accurate job.”

One of the drivers of the changes to student organiza-

tion policies is the creation of the co-curricular record (CCR). CCR is a way of officially keeping track of extracurricular activities, allowing students to add to their resumes and prove practical skills to prospective employers. Students wanting CCR for their involvement in a club or association need to be able to prove what they did.

“We have to communicate with associations to make sure their members are eligible for that credit,” says Potter.

Though the changes are designed for accuracy and a more streamlined process, some associations have raised concerns.

Biology Chemistry Student Association (BCSA) president Jennifer Martel explains that there is still some ambiguity around the calculation of FTEs and how they affect association funding. As well, under BCSA policy some positions are applied for and presidents serve two-year terms. But under new SUS policy, all positions must be nominated and voted on each year.

Martel says there are “still gaps that need to be filled and explained,” but adds that “once they’re hammered out they [the policy changes] could be really positive.”

Emotions ran high at throughout the day.

Image: UFV/flickr

Image:UFV/flickr

Multiple events were scheduled across the campuses.

4

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

SUS pushes for inflation policy

Students to vote in future referendum

ASHLEY MUSSBACHER

THE CASCADE

According to the Student Union Society (SUS), due to funding cuts and rising inflation rates, student fees are no longer covering the cost of services.

At its September 13 board meeting, SUS’s financial committee presented an inflation policy which would allow fees to be raised to meet annual in-

flation rates no more than five per cent per year.

This inflation policy would have to be passed by student vote in referendum before taking effect.

Fees affected by this policy include the Student Union Society fee, Student Union Building fee, health and dental fee, and the Student Union transit shuttle fee.

“I want to stress that this policy does not mean there will be continual fee increases,”

representative-at-large Thomas Davies says. “The board will have the ability to adjust fees with inflation, and that decision will be made on an annual basis, based on changes in costs.”

In 2012 the inflation rate increased by just under two per cent. The new policy would allow SUS to raise fees up to that amount. Davies explains the only fee where the policy allows for the cap to be raised over the inflation rate is the

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health and dental fee. All other fees are tied to the inflation rate.

According to SUS inflation policy (section 2.3), if a fee is not increased, or is not increased by the full inflation amount, the amount may never be carried forward and added to an increase in a future year.

Even if the inflation rate rises over the five per cent allowed in health and dental services, the policy does not allow fees to be raised more than the cap.

At that point, a new policy will be drawn up.

“Over the past years, student benefits have been dramatically cut as the health and dental fee was stuck at $159, and that amount couldn’t support the level of benefits offered,” Davies says. “This policy allows adjustments to maintain or potentially increase the coverage level.”

He goes on to explain that the amount could go up anywhere between zero and five per cent; it is up to the board.

The five per cent clause in

the inflation policy is one part of the answer to maintaining the SUS health and dental plan, which was cut dramatically after a failed referendum in the spring. As well, they will be looking to increase the fee from its current $159.

“The health and dental fee is the cornerstone of this policy, as we will not stand for continual cuts to student health,” Davies says.

There is no referendum at this point, but SUS plans to run the inflation policy simultaneously with the health and dental service referendum later in the fall semester.

“SUS is stretched further each year as inflation increases costs—from food for Weeks of Welcome to insurance—while our money available does not change.” Davies says. “Frankly, it is not sustainable; we will not be able to maintain and increase student services without an adjustment to the current system.”

anxious? blue? stressed?

Sensible BC’s CannaBus nearly towed from downtown Abbotsford

depression, anxiety, risky drinking information and screenings

THE CASCADE

free, anonymous, confidential, drop-in

A group known as Sensible BC has been campaigning for a referendum on marijuana, hoping to decriminalize then legalize the substance.

In order to have a referendum in BC, however, they first need to collect 10 per cent of voter signatures for each riding – a total of 400,000 signatures.

With a three-month time limit, Sensible BC is driving a “CannaBus” around to various locations as a way to promote its cause, collecting signatures and spreading awareness.

On Saturday 21, the CannaBus planned to stop in Abbotsford on Essendene Avenue, but its stay was cut unexpectedly short by the city and police.

Dana Larsen, the campaign director, explained the situation.

“Well, we had a weird thing.

I mean, the people here [at Woolaroo Yarns] don’t like us being in front of them, and because there’s a two-hour parking limit and we’re just gone past the two hours,” he said, after which the tow truck arrived.

Further complicating things, Larsen added, the police found “an issue with our driver and his license that he’s dealing with … right now.”

Larsen was not particularly upset, however.

“It’s all worked out fine. We were planning on leaving here like around 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. anyways, because that’s what the plan was,” he said,

University of the Fraser Valley 33844 King Rd. | 10am–4pm

October 3

In front of the main cafeteria in Building B, Downstairs from Admission Records.

beyond t he blues

depression anxiety ning day education and scree

for more information: www.heretohelp.bc.ca

JENNIFER COLBOURNE

Image: Jennifer Colbourne

CannaBus was parked downtown for Abby Fest.

adding that the owner, “does not like us being in front of her place and it’s causing us some problems ... It’s been a great time here. We’ve got quite a few signatures.”

Despite the negative reaction of the store owner, Dana Larsen said he was consistently impressed by the strong support of smaller communities such as Abbotsford. As far as he is concerned, conflict is the nature of change.

“If people aren’t mad at you, you’re doing something wrong.

You’re going to piss people off when you’re trying to make change; that’s how it works, right?” he said.

5

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

SCIENCE ON PURPOSE

Study shows that small animals see the world in ‘slow motion’

ASHLEY O’NEILL

CONTRIBUTOR

Finally we know the reason why it’s so difficult to catch those pesky house flies!

Scientists have recently discovered that smaller creatures have the ability to perceive time more slowly than humans.

This is why smaller living things like bugs, small birds, and squirrels appear to move much faster than our own reflexes allow.

Seeing things in slow motion is linked to body size and metabolic rate, which is the amount of energy used in a certain period of time. The study, to be published in Animal Behaviour in October, shows that smaller animals have quicker visual reflexes that allow them to sense and process more information per second compared to larger creatures, which is why time seems to move slower for them.

This trait gives these creatures better survivability as they have an edge in getting away from big predators or our fly swatters.

“The ability to perceive time on very small scales may be the difference between life and

Image: Thomas Shahan/flickr

Scientists discovered that flies and other small creatures perceive time slower than humans. death for fast-moving organisms such as predators and their prey,” Kevin Healy told BBC News. Healy was lead author on the study from Trinity College, Dublin (TCD).

One part of the study focused on light stimulus with various species of flies. This technique, called critical flicker fusion frequency, measures the speed our eye processes different frequencies of flashing light.

The subjects underwent a se-

ries of trials, where each trial showed light flickering at different speeds. Scientists observed the gap between electrical responses of the retina’s reaction to the flashing light, and when there were no gaps between the subject’s retina reactions the scientists concluded that the subject “got confused and [saw the light] as being constantly on,” Dr. Andrew Jackson, co-author with Healy at TCD, said to BBC News.

In the trials, deep-sea woodlice had the slowest reaction time of all the flies, only seeing light turned off and on four times per second while several fly species’ eyes reacted more than four times quicker than the average human eye.

By plotting their observations on a graph, scientists saw a strong relation between body size and how quick the eye responds to the changing environment.

“This work highlights the impressive capabilities of even the smallest animal brains.

Flies might not be deep thinkers but they can make good decisions very quickly,” Graeme Ruxton of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, another co-author on the study, said.

The team pointed out a correlation between visual reaction speed among different groups of humans, like athletes. Hogenboom of BBC News reports that “an experienced goalkeeper would therefore be quicker than others in observing where a ball comes from.”

The difference between human and insect visual reaction speeds, however, is that humans can learn how to pick up certain visual stimulus like an incoming soccer ball while a creature’s reaction speed is mostly inherited and instinctive.

So remember the next time you try to Mr Miyagi your houseflies that they’re seeing you in bullet time.

Blood, Cookies, and Juice What happened at the BCSA blood drive JESS WIND

THE CASCADE/PHOTOS

The second annual blood drive hosted by the Biology and Chemistry Student Association (BCSA) with Canadian Blood Services (CBS) successfully did its part.

Despite long wait times, many students donated their blood.

BCSA president Jennifer Martel noted that students from a variety of different departments were turning up, many that she didn’t recognize.

She went on to explain that clinics have a tendency not to return because of low donations; however, UFV experienced success at their premier blood drive last year, and CBS was happy to return.

Many first-time donors took part in the drive, leading to the long wait times.

Meghan Snopek, a first-year student, made the decision to donate this year.

“I’ve always wanted to, and now is the time,” she said.

Other students were donating to support the BCSA, like fifth-year biology major Julie Kanya.

After filling out a survey and discussing the chance of bloodborne disease privately with a nurse, students were hooked up and blood was drawn.

Afterwards, students were rewarded with juice, cookies and the knowledge that they helped to save lives of others.

Plenty of information was available to donors.

Students, staff, and faculty were eager to roll up their sleeves.

The BCSA was glad to see many new faces ready to donate.

First-time donors saw the blood drive as a good opportunity.

6

NEWS

Textbook ethics

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Write it, publish it,

make your students buy it?

MICHAEL SCOULAR

THE CASCADE

Textbooks are expensive, mostly because students are a captive market. Professors and university faculty are quick to point out that they don’t set the prices, and therefore it’s out of their control. But what happens when a professor has written the textbook he or she assigns for a class? Are they making money in royalties? Is it ethical, or even in the student’s best interest?

University professors have many responsibilities, but two of the major ones are teaching and researching. A tenured position at a university can provide stability that allows professors to further research or write for peer-reviewed periodicals. Keeping up with current work then influences future choices for in-class materials. Over time, instructors can come to be considered an expert in a field and given the opportunity to write a book-length work. The end result of research is often a published work, which a professor has to decide whether or not to use in a relevant class.

Ron Dart has been teaching in UFV’s political science department for over 20 years and has come to be known as an extremely well-versed writer regarding traditions in Canadian political history obscured by the current divide between Liberal and Conservative ideologies.

Dart is using two of his own works in courses this semester: Keepers of the Flame: Canadian Red Toryism and George Grant: Canada’s Lone Wolf.

Dart explains that his writing and subsequent use of the books as texts came from a dissatisfaction with what’s typically available.

“The reason I include a lot of my books is to fill in for what I see is missing in standard texts,” he says. “A lot of books, for example in ideology and politics, they either ignore the Canadian side entirely, or, if they do [include it], it’s just standard liberal Canadian.”

In an area as subject to opinion and staunch judgment as the political sphere, a professor’s own work could be seen as problematic, potentially too authoritative, but Dart justifies his work by the way it’s presented in class as a complementary piece.

“An honest teacher will say this is, in my research, the conclusions I have tentatively come to, but these are other scholars, these are other articles, these are other books that critique my conclusions and I want you to read them so that you can come to your own conclusions,” he explains. “The task of teaching is not to create echoes of the teachers, it is to create thoughtful people who can separate wheat and chaff, gold and dross.”

Other professors have come to different conclusions about teaching their own work. Creative writing teacher Andrea MacPherson has two novels and two collections of poetry in print, with her most recent novel Beyond the Blue receiving positive reviews after its publication by Random House in 2007.

Poetry and prose writing both require a considerable level of debate and defense in a class setting; it comes down to story, style, and what that communicates.

The potential problem of being too close to a text and thus unable to discuss it exists on a personal level for everyone when it comes time to workshop assignments.

“I’ve never been comfortable with making my work required reading in my classes. I’m not convinced students would be comfortable critiquing the work, and this is a core component of writing classes. A bit of distance is helpful,” she says.

With creative writing, there is also a difference in what is available. The endless diversity in languages and literature is a different case from the representational gaps in Canadian political history. Where Dart is able to contextualize his work, in MacPherson’s classes it could be a distraction.

“Students often have questions about my work.

I’m happy to answer those questions, and point them to where they can find my books if they so desire. [But] personally, it would be detrimental to my classes to ask students to read my work,” she explains.

Another major question with textbook assignment is how it effects sales, revenues, or possible publicity.

Both Dart and Darren Blakeborough, a professor in UFV’s media and communications studies (MACS) department, said they stood to gain nothing financially

from sales of their respective books. But that doesn’t mean there are no effects whatsoever.

Blakeborough teaches a variety of courses, but is perhaps most well known as the instructor for MACS/ SOC 385: TV & Social Value: The Simpsons. The show’s omnivorous attitude toward culture makes it particularly ripe for a variety of readings, and Blakeborough made it the subject of his master’s thesis, looking at its depiction of aging. After his thesis was published in 2009, Blakeborough used it as a supplementary text for the course. But repeated use of the text has not gone well.

“My publisher, I think after that first slew of book orders came in the first time I [assigned it], got all excited, so they jacked the price,” Blakeborough says. “I used it one more time after that and I felt horrible about it.

It went from [about] $40 to $80.”

The combination of it being the instructor’s own master’s thesis and sold at an inflated price (for a book only 116 pages long) outweighed whatever benefit it might have had as a wellresearched text.

“It was hard to get over the price of it... I think that [students] understood that it was directly related,” Blakeborough says, adding that he will not assign the book again in the course, likely meaning the end of its circulation in both new and used copies.

While course and instructor listings stay mostly the same from semester to semester, prompting pre-registration questions of what each is like, textbooks, which can often drive a course, are subject to change as suggestions filter through the academy and new releases enter the market each year.

Blakeborough says he’s had a potential opportunity to write a Canadian version of an existing MACS textbook. Should that happen, the ethical dilemma would put the philosophy behind Blakeborough’s previous decision to the test once more: would students be comfortable challenging their professor’s ideas?

“It’s not me as an expert saying this this and this,” Blakeborough says. “It’s me moderating a debate.”

UFV’s official policy and how it could change UFV does have policy on the matter of professors assigning their own textbooks, though it is currently limited in scope. Dean of Arts Jacqueline Nolte says the policy, which was last amended in 2003 and reviewed in 2008, will soon be put through a rewriting process, which she says “realistically [will] take a year to go through the system.”

Excerpted from the Conflict of Interest (142) piece of policy, it currently it reads: Where copyrighted materials are assigned in a course, and where the faculty member stands to gain royalties or any other kind of benefit from assigning the materials, the materials must be initially pre-approved by a review committee convened by the Dean of the area consisting of faculty members familiar with the purpose and nature of the course. The committee would ensure only that the material is relevant to the objectives of the course.

The policy in its present form focuses on the financial benefits of assigning textbooks: increased sales and keeping a book in print result from a text being put on a syllabus, which benefits publishers and, potentially, writers. The policy requires textbooks that could potentially cause this to be put under formal review, which has happened once since Nolte entered the position in 2009.

There are other professors currently using their own works in classes. In their cases, the process was bypassed in part due to the absence of royalties that would result from the text being used.

Nolte has since made a departmental effort to increase awareness of the existence of the policy, and is planning to review the instructor-authored or edited texts already in use.

“I can commit to [a review process] and I think I should,” says Nolte, who will be working with the policy in its current form until a newer one can make its way through the review process.

Key parts of the policy that will likely undergo revision and clarification include the “other kind of [benefits]” and “ensure only...relevant to the objectives of the course” wordings to which Nolte says, “All texts communicate a point of view, and if students are assessed and graded in relation to reflecting that point of view, I mean that’s contrary to what we’re trying to do with an educational context...I think the review committee would have to look at how those texts are prescribed in relation to other texts.”

Recognizing both sides of textbook use, Nolte says she’s listening to comments and questions from professors in response to the issue, and that “I’d be really open to feedback from students as to further problems they might have... [as well as] recommendations.”

7

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

SNAPSHOTS

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

New mannequins, old issues

Learning from residential school day

Phone envy

I like the idea of mannequins representing different heights, shapes, and sizes. It could be seen as demonstrative of healthier attitudes toward body image and self-esteem.

However, the debate on the issue makes me think otherwise.

It astounds me how many people think size 12 to 14 mannequins encourage obesity.

Really? You could make the same argument about size two to four mannequins encouraging anorexia, but both of these standpoints are inherently flawed: humans are not homogeneous. A normal, healthy size for one person is not necessarily a normal, healthy size for another.

People are ready to believe they are wholly unique, yet immediately get their backs up when someone suggests not everyone should share their dress size.

Perhaps the problem is not with our mannequins, but with this obsessive and contradictory fixation on body image.

But I imagine the debate is not hurting the bottom line of clothing companies dressing up the new mannequins.

I would like to live in a society that doesn’t tell residential school survivors that their accounts are stories, something that happened and can be left in the past.

The majority of Canadians want to ignore this part of our history, always asking why the issues won’t go away. It’s unpleasant, but something that needs attention. The consequences of what Canadian settlers did resonate through time: rape, serialization, medical experiments, torture, and cultural censorship.

Canada has a memory problem. We all need to remember and empathize—not pity —First Nations. We must celebrate aboriginal success, not be jealous or fearful of it.

The victims of reservation schools shoulder a burden of pain, conflict, and learning for all of us. They can teach us to heal. First Nations, English, French, and new immigrants – we are a whole nation, greater than the sum of our parts.

What happened to the time when a phone was a phone? The release of the new alphabetized iPhone models last week got me thinking of my newly purchased model of the classic flip-phone, complete with camera on the back and t9 for “efficient” texting.

So, the new iPhone comes with its fancy fingerprint analysis and new operating system. Whatever. What happened to those old reliable devices that didn’t break when you dropped them and held a battery charge for a week? I’m the only person I know who still owns the flip and I feel like I’m from the Stone Age every time I bring it out in public.

Believe me, there is no app envy to be had; why do I need to be bombarded by a constant stream of social media?

It all seems distracting and exhausting to me. I choose the simple life. As long as t9 doesn’t give you trouble with mixing up ‘me’ and ‘of,’ it is always satisfying to hang up with the snap of the flip phone.

Katie Stobbart

Christopher Demarcus

Stay home, you poor sick thing!

NICK TOEWS

DESSA BAYROCK

It’s the season of crisp, cool air. It’s the season of falling leaves. It’s the season of sitting beside an obviously-ill classmate and wishing they’d stayed home.

I think it’s admirable if you want to come to class no matter what, I really do. I think you have shown great tenacity and dedication in the face of flu-like symptoms. You probably powered through four packages of NeoCitran in order to be here, fighting an uphill battle against a brain stuffed with ketchup and cotton wool. I respect that. I know how that feels. I’ve been there.

But here’s the thing: I stayed home, and so should you. You’ll feel better. I’ll feel better.

And if you really think you need to prove how sick you are, record a GIF of yourself drooling snot and attempting to follow a logical thought through to the end. You were going to come to class and give us the same display anyway – may as well deliver it through the sterile safety of the internet, so we can find it funny rather than terrifying.

New ruling hurts smaller venues and live music AARON LEVY

CIVL STATION MANAGER

When people come to CIVL and want to learn about what we do and how we do it, they often ask whether or not we have to pay for the music we play on the radio station.

The answer is somewhat complicated, and has implications on a story that’s been making the rounds lately about fees Canadian venues now have to charge to international performers trying to entertain you and your friends.

CIVL, like all radio stations, pays annual royalty fees to representative groups that license the music produced by songwriters, composers, and performers. These fees come in the form of annual percentages off the top of our budgets.

It’s not only radio stations, though.

Any venue that wants to offer some type of musical entertainment, whether in the background, as a soundtrack to an event, or for people to rock out to on the dance floor, pays similar fees to similar (and sometimes the same) organizations. Some you may have heard of include SOCAN, ASCAP, BMI, Re:Sound, and the list goes on.

Traditionally, these types of organizations are very slow on the uptake. Radio stations, music venues, and restaurants can go for years without ever hearing from

or being invoiced by one of these organizations. There’s no law that says you have to pay royalties.

Instead, there are rulings passed by the government, or regulatory bodies like the Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), that say that X and Y organizations are legally entitled to collect such and such fees from these and those types of businesses or operations when they use music as part of their standard functions.

They also have the ability, in some cases, to charge retroactively for unpaid fees.

Ultimately, this leaves certain businesses in a precarious situation. Technically, if one of the plethora of licensing bodies approaches AfterMath about paying their dues going back to as long as they’ve been having live music or an iPod playing in the background, there’s very little AfterMath can do other than ignore the invoice.

Now, imagine if all these groups decided they wanted to collect their back dues at once?

Student, non-profit, and smallbusiness budgets being the way they are, it could put a pretty solid dent into your overhead and operational capacity.

But, sure, people can keep dodging the music-tax man. Who’s going to stop them?

Well, our fine, and might I say fabulous, Minister of Employment, Social Development and Multiculturalism here in Canada

Image: Melissa Spady

American acts like The Maine will mean higher costs for venues. has decided to do something about it – kind of.

A July ruling now makes it necessary for Canadian businesses not operating primarily for the purpose of live music to pay fees of $275 for every individual travelling with a performer for the purpose of playing at their spot.

So, when restaurants and bars, for instance, are interested in getting involved with culture and providing an outlet for people in their community to get exposed to live music from somewhere outside of their own backyard, they’re going to have to pay up.

You see how we’ve really solved the problem of the greedy restauranteurs exploiting the open borders of Canada’s coveted and highly profitable music venues, conveniently located in clusters of nearly a dozen at a time within

the same 100-mile radius… well, if you can’t detect my sarcasm…

The fact is that this new ruling is a cash grab.

Somewhere, someone realized that Canadians are paying to see music that doesn’t necessarily come from Canada, and that there should be a tax on that.

Kudos to the accountant who put that together.

So, maybe for Jay-Z and JT, Foster the People and Robin Thicke, this won’t make a big difference.

But for bands like Foals, The National, and Vampire Weekend, who either exist with the help of smaller record labels or less sponsorship than your average major label tour, it might be a lot more difficult to see your favorite artists on Canadian soil.

International touring fees have always been a concern for musi-

cians in North America, trying to cross-pollinate between the States and the North like Johnny Appleseed dropping his saplings into the soil.

Does the Canadian government want to put a wrench in these artisans’ ability to proliferate their craft?

No, likely not – they just want them to pay dues where they see that dues are due.

Hey, international artists, you come make money off our concertgoing public – let’s see you pay for that right.

I suppose it’s just part of a larger financial shift in Canada, where we are showing that we’d rather be protectionist than diplomatic.

The sad thing is that Canada has made a name for itself internationally as being a place that is welcoming and enjoyable for artists to visit, and one in which it is also profitable to do so.

If venues have to pay more for the music they bring in, it means they’re going to have less to pay bands, or otherwise charge more money for entrance.

If venues pay less money to bands or charge more for entrance, it’s going to result in either fewer people willing to attend musical events, or fewer bands able to afford coming up here to play for you and me.

Bottom line for the top dollar.

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OPINION

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 2013

Facebook status stay-aways TAYLOR BRECKLES

CONTRIBUTOR

“Off to Hawaii, see you in two weeks!”

“I just don’t know what to do anymore…”

“What a great party – can’t wait for next week!”

Millions of people all over the world update their statuses every minute. But how many are actually worth reading? After sifting through the mess of emotional problems, bragging, unoriginal words of wisdom, and attentionseeking posts, the remains are slim pickings. Everyone is guilty of posting at least one status nobody cares about, but when do feelgood statuses become a menace

to the Facebook world? An article on waitbutwhy.com outlines the seven deadly sins—or “ways to be insufferable”—on Facebook; here are some key things to avoid when writing your next update.

Everyone has that friend – the one who seeks help with all his or her issues on a public forum. That is fine; I don’t mind helping out every once in a while. But when that friend starts pulling out completely ambiguous and what you hope are rhetorical questions, there’s a problem.

You can’t honestly expect your friends to answer: “Why would this happen to me?” And often if kind-hearted souls inquire about the issue, they receive a cold “I don’t want to talk about it.” How

does that help?

Rule one of the Facebook code: don’t post ambiguous rhetorical questions!

Another rule is not to post on a public forum about a private situation. You had a great time at the party last weekend – good for you.

But what do all your friends think when they see that? True, some might think you’re popular. But some would also wonder why they weren’t invited, or if you don’t like them as much because you never post statuses about your time with them, and spiral into a pit of selfdoubt. Private jokes also fall into this category. If nobody knows what you’re talking about except two people, why make a status about it? A definite Facebook faux

pas.

One kind of status breaks two rules: the personal expression of sadness or turmoil, matched with an inspirational and typically wellknown quote. This breaks rule number one, and another rule – don’t post a well-known quote as either an explanation to yourself or a sign that you are intelligent.

It doesn’t take a genius to use Google, so at least find something original to quote. There are only so many times a person can be told to “be the change that you wish to see in the world” (Mahatma Gandhi) or “if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you don’t deserve me at my best” (Marilyn Monroe). Yes, they are great quotes that continue to inspire thousands, but people

www.ufvcascade.ca

are not inspired by your Facebook status. If you quote something, at least explain why it is significant to you. If you explain, perhaps your words will be quoted as an inspiration.

Nobody is guiltless of these crimes, and I doubt anyone will stop committing them, but maybe—just maybe—there will be fewer statuses about emotional turmoil, rhetorical questions, and inspirational quotes without a source of inspiration. After all, “we must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope” (Martin Luther King Jr).

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Convocation lamentation

Dear Paul. I am sorry you are leaving our department. We will miss you. You were a good student and we wish you the best.

But before you go, a word or two. I am puzzled by some of your comments. Perhaps you can clarify them for me. You say your English professors were good, that the material was good, that you loved many of the classes, that taking part in them made you a better writer, that you love reading, interpreting and debating the texts, and that you are still proud of the short stories and plays you wrote. My first response is, what more do you want?

You say you got grades you didn’t deserve and that you and your classmates were victims of a system that was exploiting you. I don’t understand. How is the system exploiting you if you’re not doing the work, not reading the texts, “shoveling” as you say (and bragging about it!)

I remember you as a good student and as an exceptional writer.

I also remember you as a thoughtful student who often contributed mature insights to class discussions. But you say “I don’t want to be told how good I already am.” You never mentioned that to me. If you had, I would have pushed you a lot harder. I might have even given you a C+ instead of that B+ I gave you, even though you stubbornly resisted my suggestions for clarification of your theme. Was it at that point I should have called you on your bullshit? I don’t think so. It would have felt counterproductive to me. But if that was what you wanted, I wish you would have said it.

It’s odd that you confess trying to cheat the system and then blame the “system” for allowing you to cheat. “I was bad; why didn’t you punish me?” First of all, teachers are not necessarily trained to uncover cheaters. They tend to give students the benefit of the doubt. A bad habit, I admit, but probably necessary if teachers want to concentrate on teaching and not policing. Most of us don’t like thinking that the students are

THE CASCADE

Whip me, beat me, make me write bad essays

pulling the wool over our eyes.

Your example of the 93 per cent awarded to several students for what you considered to be inferior work is lamentable, if accurate, but it is after all only one anecdote. And it doesn’t seem to mesh with the fact that I regularly get complaints from students that I’m being too harsh in my grading.

I understand that you are disappointed in the education you have received to date as an English major and that you feel it has been time wasted. Forgive me if I appear too harsh, but the wasted time is time you wasted. You say that you should not have gotten an A- if you didn’t read the text. I agree. So you must be very good at bullshit (only using your word here). And whose responsibility is that? Surely not the professor’s.

What’s missing in your argument is the understanding that a student chooses to go to university, and that it is the student’s responsibility to make the most of that rare opportunity. The student is expected to meet the professor halfway, and that means reading the texts! Otherwise, it surely is a waste to be in a classroom; that is where I totally agree with you.

Now that it’s out—your confession, I mean—I for one am very willing to challenge you and fail you when you deserve to fail, as you request. But I guess it’s too late for that.

I wish you well in your new major, but let me have one parting shot. I argue that this article you wrote about changing your major is as good as it is–as articulate, as capable in its critical thinking–because you did spend some time as an English major. However, there are some flaws, structurally, a few logical fallacies, an insufficient amount of specific support for your argument. At present, you’re hovering around a B- or C+, but I would certainly give you the opportunity for a rewrite.

John Carroll

NADINE MOEDT

My road to graduation has been a meandering path. Now, after two transfers, an existential crisis and a late switch in majors, I’m less than ten credits away.

But I won’t be attending convocation this June.

I’m one of those students who will, come summer, have one or two courses to complete before I meet graduation requirements. I might be able to complete these over summer, if the right courses are offered. However, I’ll have to wait eight months to actually walk across the stage.

It’s kind of a let-down; all these years of hard work and dedication and the university decides to exclude you on a formality.

According to arts advisor Rhonda Colwell, students graduating over summer have the “highest number of non-attendees.”

This past year saw nine per cent of Bachelor of Arts graduates completing their degree over summer, and 27 per cent finishing up during the fall semester.

Currently there is no option to attend convocation for students who have one or two courses left to complete.

I understand that the ceremony is rooted in tradition. But practically speaking, a potential employer isn’t going to ask for the photos you took in your gown for proof that you graduated. We all know that convocation is really just a golden opportunity to pose in that snazzy gown for a new profile picture.

And more often than not, it’s your mom who wants you to walk the stage.

“Family pressure is a great motivator,” Colwell says, “regardless of the time to wait.”

For those who argue against allowing students who have not actually graduated taking part in the ceremony, think back to your high school graduation. There were more than a few students who did not receive a dogwood certificate who walked across the

Image: UFV/flickr

UFV should allow near-graduates to attend convocation. stage with no harm done.

That isn’t to say that anyone who is enrolled in UFV should be allowed to take part in convocation at any point in the completion of their degree. But I feel that there should be an option for those of us who will graduate within the next one or two semesters; why not have a separate request form that allows near-grads to attend? There could be a process in place that would assess students on their track record to judge whether they will complete their degree within the next semester.

Or an option for students to apply if they are already registered in the last few courses they need

Have an opinion about something? Share it with us.

to graduate.

Otherwise we may never get the chance to cross the stage. Eight months after I graduate I hope to have moved on, to have already celebrated and taken the next step in life, be it in employment or travel.

Convocation is a time to pause and celebrate the years of hard work you put in to your post-secondary education with your family, friends, and peers, not a time to nitpick about leftover credits.

Send your comments and questions to editor@ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

9

OPINION

What do you think of instructors assigning textbooks they’ve written?

Feel like sharing your short-andsweet opinion? Keep an eye out for our whiteboard-toting pollsters roaming the halls.

10

ARTS & LIFE

UFV a major presence at Abby Fest 2013

by Jennifer Colbourne photos by Basil Stevens

W

hile Chinese sword dancing, Latin music, belly dancing, Sun Hang Do, and fashion may not seem to have a lot in common, they were all sights to be found at the sixth annual Abby Fest this year.

Held September 21 at the Ag Rec building at Exhibition Park, this free community event brought together a diverse range of cultural performances and international foods. Also present were a number of booths from socio-cultural groups such as the Afro-Canadian Positive Network, the Scandinavian Club, and the Abby Islamic Centre.

UFV had a particularly strong presence at the festival, including a fashion and dance event put on by the International Department. Various countries were represented in a number of performances, including Japan, Brazil, China, China, Palestine, Korea, and India.

Cathren Isid, a UFV business student, was excited to model a traditional Palestinian bridal outfit, worn the evening before a wedding.

“I’m an international student mentor, so I heard about it and I joined up… [It’s important to celebrate multiculturalism] because we live in a diverse community and we can learn about each other’s cultures,” she explained, adding that she has always found Abbotsford to be “very accepting” as a community.

UFV’s student radio station was also at Abby Fest. Station manager Aaron Levy stated “CIVL has a booth here and we’re excited to promote our Abby Heat initiative—broadcasting their full

season of home and away games for the first time—and we’re giving away tickets. And we’re supporting multiculturalism because we have six different languages on CIVL that we broadcast every week: Punjabi, Hindu, Spanish, Mandarin, Polish, and, of course, English.”

At the UFV ESL booth, ESL department head Maria Bos-Chan pointed to the significance of UFV’s involvement at Abby Fest.

“I think it’s really important for UFV to be involved with Abby Fest because we’re part of the community of Abbotsford – it’s a very diverse community, and we reflect part of that diversity as well… It’s always great to come back here every year.” She noted that the event was smaller than usual, “but hopefully it will pick up again next year.”

According to Basil Stevens, vice president of the Abbotsford Multicultural Society that puts on Abby Fest, the event was reduced compared to previous years.

“This is sort of a rebuilding year, [so] it’s a bit smaller than previous years. We have a completely new core group – we’re going to sit down next month and put together a five year plan and put some things into place so that next year will be bigger and better, and we’re going to grow.”

Expanding the event is important to Stevens.

“It promotes understanding among the various cultures. It brings people together, and it’s a free event – so what’s the excuse for not coming down? I enjoy it.

This is my sixth year with it and I’ve enjoyed every year,” he said.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

ARTS & LIFE

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ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Haute Stuff

New York Fashion Week: catching on to the body acceptance movement? taken seriously. “I need to do this right,’’ Miller explained. “I want to be one of the designers at Fashion Week so that I can open the door for other designers who are valid choices to be there.’’

Although only a few decades ago the ideal feminine figure was the pin-up girl, big-hipped and wasp-waisted, today’s world of fashion is dominated by ribby, razor-thin bodies. Photographs of svelte models bombard us from billboards, television, and magazines, but there’s a huge discrepancy between these Photoshopped images and the bodies of most women in real life. According to a study performed by Plunkett Research in 2012, the average North American woman today wears a size 14 – the first size in the plussize range. In comparison, the average runway model wears a size 4 or smaller, and these are the sizes that are most easily available.

Many designers won’t give plus sizes a second thought, claiming curvier bodies won’t make their clothes look as good.

But as the number of overweight Canadians increases, more and more women are struggling to find larger clothes that are flatter-

ing and stylish. Local student Jen Maarsman, who currently attends Capilano, sees an opportunity here that she hopes to turn into a niche business: tailor-made lingerie for plus-size women. Maarsman, who has worn a plus size herself for most of her life, has experienced the difficulty of finding attractive fashion firsthand. “If you can’t get clothes that flatter you and fit properly, you’re hooped. You can’t go to a job interview in a t-shirt,” she says. “The fashion industry lets larger women down.”

Too often the only fashion advice has been to avoid horizontal stripes, wear lots of black, and hide under layers. Now, at the same time as splashy, eye-catching fashions like Eden Miller’s brightly printed dresses are breaking all of these rules, an online movement for size acceptance is beginning to rumble.

Tumblr is teeming with overweight teenagers grouping together to reclaim pride in their bodies after years of bullying and selfharm. The Fourth Trimester Bodies Project features tasteful black and white photographs of mothers with heavy breasts, stretchmarked bellies, and joyful smiles,

embracing their new bodies along with their new babies. And Denise Jolly, a 34-year-old California woman proud of every one of her 311 pounds, has just finished a month-long photography project in which she shared daily photos of her nearly-naked body posed in public places with the words “be beautiful” scrawled across her skin in black marker. It’s a fierce attitude of self-love and celebration – and it’s catching on.

“There should never be a stigma about clothing sizes,” Maarsman says decisively. “Everyone should have the right to feel beautiful and feel good about themselves, big or small.”

Will NYFW continue to include plus-size designers in future seasons? If the wave of positive publicity they’ve received from featuring Cabiria is any indication, we’re going to see much more size variety in future shows. Maybe then we can get over this tired conversation about whether curvy bodies or skinny bodies are better, and just love ourselves – lumps and all.

Nine Inch Nails Hesitation Marks

Elvis Costello & The Roots Wise Up Ghost

Julianna Barwick Nepenthe

San Fermin San Fermin

Angsty industrial-rock veteran Nine Inch Nails has returned from a fouryear hiatus with Hesitation Marks, its eighth studio album. As always, frontman Trent Reznor delivers dark slashes of emotion as heady and selfdestructive as a shot of heroin. Themes of inadequacy, longing, and self-disgust run deep, but Hesitation Marks has forsaken the crunch and growl of Nine Inch Nails’ old industrial work for a sleeker electronic sound that explores elements of techno and trip-hop. On the plus side, these new tracks are undeniably melodic. Dissonant notes and glitchy distortion are softened with sweet, catchy guitar hooks on tracks like “Came Back Haunted,” and the delicious chord progression of “All Time Low” disintegrates into sweeping layers of sound that shimmer like oil rainbows. Unfortunately, the production quality is patchy. The computer-generated fingersnaps of “Disappointed” and the awkward fade-out at the end of “Copy of a” sound disappointingly amateurish, as though produced in someone’s basement. These matte techno beats can’t hold a candle to the lush, gritty orchestration of Nine Inch Nails’ old hits. Enjoy this album for what it is, but don’t expect it to compare to their glory days – it can’t. Reznor sums it up: “Wave goodbye, wish me well. / I’ve become something else.”

Whether it’s Aerosmith and Run DMC breaking down the walls between rock and rap with “Walk This Way” or David Bowie and Mick Jagger boogying their way through “Dancing in the Streets,” history has shown us that unfair odds face the duo who dares to challenge cross-genre collaborations. Despite these odds, British new wave singer Elvis Costello and iconic US hip-hop act The Roots boldly joined forces for the release of Wise Up Ghost. No stranger to collaborations, Costello has released music with the legends like Allen Toussaint, Tony Bennett, and Paul McCartney, and knows how to embrace the talents of others. Thankfully, Costello hasn’t gone hip-hop; he sticks to what he knows best – hard-lipped and bitter lyrics. The two acts know how to listen, embracing the stylistic discord between them as the dense and jagged instrumentation of The Roots’ taut grooves sound absolutely dreamy paired with Costello’s raspy voice.

Costello’s elaborate melodies and high-flying lyrics remain grounded in The Roots’ backbeats, and outside of a few low points on the record, particularly “Stick Out Your Tongue” and “Wake Me Up,” Costello sounds relaxed with his late-night backing band.

The Magic Place is still an album full of new sections to discover, Julianna Barwick’s uncommon combination of worship song upbringing and multiplied, delayed technique making an album of vocal range not one of simply talent but freespun imagination, to the point where the idea of Barwick’s songs having been written seems absurd next to them still unspooling in unpredictable ways. On Nepenthe, Barwick records in-studio and with the assistance of admiring group Sigur Rós, which adds in some ways to Barwick’s evolution but also makes for an easier, more familiar listen. There’s nothing like the curious use of guitar on “Bob in Your Gait” or the drowned Beach Boys vocals of “Prizewinning.”

Instead there’s the band’s identifiable piano, tuned to the same depth, and an album-wide wave approach to Barwick’s vocals, repetition that doesn’t leave much room for spontaneity, building as it must. That’s not to say Nepenthe isn’t any good – though it takes until “Pyrrhic” to really get started, moments like the modified recitation of “All Creatures Great and Small” chorals on “Labyrinthine” or the single, enigmatic line on “Crystal Lake,” briefly suggesting the grief in which the album was conceived, are still unmistakably Barwick’s own.

I first picked up this this album because the cover featured a man wearing horn-rimmed glasses, so it was surprising to me the real star of the album is the chorus of female voices that take over approximately a third of the songs. This is especially true in “Crueler Kind” where tight female harmonies pair with a brass backing, bringing to mind an era of jazz clubs and big-band musical numbers. On other tracks (for example, the first song, “Renaissance!”), the attempted soulful bass lyrics by Ellis LudwigLeone, who ostensibly runs the oneman project, continually fall flat. Now that I mention it, the opening song is a little bit of a let-down altogether – the spare vocals alternating with firm piano chords is more cheesy than effective, with contrived crescendos.

Soundwise, San Fermin falls in the same gentle-hipster-brass-and-strings category as Of Monsters and Men and any number of other semi-popular indie bands of the last five years – unsurprisingly, considering the prominent horn-rimmed glasses. On one hand, it’s an album I have no problem listening to several times as I work or read.

On the other hand, it belongs to a saturated genre; since none of the songs of the album are really striking, there are much better options. San Fermin might have the requisite hipster references to biblical allegories and literary figures, but unfortunately lacks a real spark.

VALERIE FRANKLIN

TIM UBELS

mICHAEL SCOULAR

dessa bayrock

VALERIE FRANKLIN CONTRIBUTOR

Mini Album Reviews

SoundBites

In photographs from New York Fashion Week 2013 (NYFW), a tall, leggy model poses imperiously in a black and white dress belted with a strap of red leather. With her dark hair slicked down and a hip carelessly thrust out, she’s glorious. And she weighs more than 150 pounds.

NYFW made history last week when it debuted clothing designer Eden Miller’s new line for plussize women. It’s the first time a plus-size model has strolled down the catwalk in NYFW’s 70-year history.

Miller’s collection, Cabiria, is noted for its bold and vibrant prints, including wild florals, layered chevrons, and interwoven black and white stripes. These clothes aren’t meant to hide a large, curvy figure – on the contrary, they draw the eye irresistibly.

“When women wear my clothes, I want them to feel gorgeous,’’ Miller told Al Jazeera. ”Like they’re the most luxurious women walking down the street and so empowered that they can have any-

Image: Curvily/Tumblr

thing they want.”

Although smaller fashion events have often featured plus-size models, Miller’s line being shown at an event as internationally famous as NYFW is a step forward for the burgeoning world of larger women’s fashion. The movement to send a greater variety of body types down runways has often been met with condescension, scorn, or, at best, an exploitative sort of acceptance – a fashion designer may create a few token plus-size pieces to show how progressive they are, but plus-size fashion is rarely

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ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Q&A

Handsome Distraction

Victoria rock band talks touring, social media, and the Canadian music landscape CHRISTOPHER DEMARCUS CONTRIBUTOR

1 2 3 4 5 6

CHARTS

Paper Lions My Friends Jordan Klassen Repentance John Reischman Walk Along John Deafheaven Sunbather

James Blake Overgrown

Chvrches The Bones Of What You Believe

7 8 9 10 11 12

Nikki Hill Here’s Nikki Hill TV On The Radio Mercy (single) Dinosaur Bones Shaky Dream Hollerado White Paint

Said The Whale Hawaiii

Mount Kimbie Cold Spring Fault Less Youth

13 14 15 16 17 18

Kids Henley The Brains The Monster Within The Stepkids Troubadour Thundercat Apocalypse Papermaps Darker Lights Lab Coast Walking On Ayr

Shuffle AARON LEVY

CIVL STATION MANAGER

Mission metal band Anciients is a Fraser Valley success story that has toured with some of the biggest acts in the genre. Here’s a shuffle of bands they have played with in advance of their tour kick-off this Saturday in Mission.

Harma White – “Sean Peters” A song about my favourite member of the UFV facilities staff, and Abbotsford’s favourite roadie. With riffs and guitar tone that make it perfect for a video game theme (think Megaman music with lyrics), this song is the perfect tribute to a guy who tirelessly supports this local phenomenon.

Lamb of God – “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For” From their trend-setting album Ashes of the Wake, LoG have been the prevailing monarch of modern metal for over five years (by conservative estimates). Supposedly its social politics diverge from its foreign politics, with sections of the album calling out the American war machine, and some less progressive ideals too.

Sepultura – “Roots Bloody Roots” Saw this on top of a best Sepultura songs list. It’s kind of like asking hipsters for their favourite Radiohead song. The Miles Davis of metal, Sepultura and its members have been on the cutting edge of developments in metal for decades, and Anciients’ turn on the road with them is a watershed.

Kataklysm – “Blood in Heaven” Kataklysm was my first-ever metal show, at Club Rockit on Church St. in Toronto. This Montreal institution, 20 plus years strong and counting, embodies the essence of metal.

Heavy thrash, hair banging, and blistering riffs are what it’s all about. I did NOT take my chances in the pit, which is probably for the best.

Handsome Distraction has set out on its first cross-national tour, going all the way to New York for the CBGB music festival and then back to BC. The Cascade was able to sit down outside the band’s RV and talk with lead singer-guitarist Devin Perfect before the band’s tour kick-off show in Abbotsford. If you’re a fan of rock and roll, this is a band you want to see live. Think of them as a mix between British indie rock and Canadian punk. Lots of energy packed into potent tunes. Their latest EP, A Mighty Roar, was released this past May, and is available on their Bandcamp page.

The CBGB festival looks like a great gig. How do you feel about playing to a US crowd?

We are really excited to be playing in New York and to be a part of CBGB Fest; it was a surprise and honour to be asked to come down as only a handful of Canadian bands were invited. We feel the crowd and the scene in New York will be very responsive to our live show and music; it’s a city and culture that embraces music of all kinds and New York is known for its nightlife so we’re sure the place will be buzzing.

Do you expect any trouble at the border?

We got our passports together and made sure we filed the proper papers to cross without issue.

We’re crossing our fingers that we did everything required!

Are we going to get a fulllength LP from you soon?

I doubt we will ever release a full-length album, unless we could bunker in a studio for a year with a stack of cash and a fridge full of beer! We like to pick a small collection of songs at a time that we really want to record and put more time into each one. In this day and age it makes more sense to have content releasing on a regular basis than trying to survive on one full-length album for a year or more. This way we can put out more music more often that’s more fulfilling and not filler.

We will be back in the studio this late fall to finish some more music set for a release in January or February.

How does social networking affect your band?

We’ve often been told that our

F

Image: Christopher DeMarcus

Handsome Distraction performs at Gators Pub in downtown Abby. social media presence is one of the best fans have seen from an unsigned band. We have a good understanding of social media and know how to develop engaging content for our fans. We respect the new age of music promotion and fan engagement and use it to our advantage rather than talk of the “old days.” We think there has to be a limit to how many platforms a band should be on, too many gets overwhelming and unmanageable. Fans will follow you where you are if they love you enough – ours do!

What kind of road-side distractions do you like while touring?

Kyle would hit up every golf course along the way if he could, he even owns a golf outfit ... uniform? Devin demands the band hit up every Tim Hortons he sees – it’s an addiction, we’re sure.

Joey is one of those weirdos that can read in a moving vehicle; not much distracts his Never-Ending Story imagination. Weaver is a big man; any chance we can stop and let him stretch his 6’4 stature is enough – he keeps himself occupied with a shake weight and V8s.

Are you guys all from Victoria?

We are based out of Victoria BC. However, Devin is from Toronto, Kyle is from Windsor, Weaver is from Poole, England, and Joey is from Seattle, US.

What’s going to be the longest drive on this tour?

Longest drive will be Kamloops to Edmonton (nine hours over a few days), but that won’t match our straight 19-hour drive from Regina SK to Tsawwassen BC at the end of our Canadian tour last year!

Do you think that rock is on the decline, while there is a rise in electronic dance music?

Absolutely not! Perhaps the west coast isn’t pumping out a lot of rock music these days (though many may call themselves by that genre), but the rest of Canada is still very much in love with rock music and [we] experienced that first hand on tour last year. Rock music has always and will always be one of the primary genres and we see the hunger growing for an era much like the 90s where natural talent, sweat, raw energy, and great fist-pumping rock music ruled.

Is there any type of venue you haven’t played yet?

A large stage in a stadium or festival with a massive sound system would be a dream come true.

We would love to hear our music blasting at a whole other level!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Film Review

The World’s End

SASHA MOEDT

THE CASCADE

The first time I watched Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in action was in their 2007 film Hot Fuzz. It was screamingly funny for me, so much so that I don’t want to watch it again because I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed. I’ve always enjoyed films that are essentially satires of overdone genres; although these days, it seems that these genresatires are overdone themselves.

But anything directed and written

by Edgar Wright (and co-written

by Simon Pegg) is safe from boring moments, cliché, and predictability.

So when I saw that the dream team—Wright, Pegg, and Frost— were back with a comedy, I was ready for a couple hours of good fun.

While Hot Fuzz satirizes cop movies, and Shaun of the Dead zombie flicks, The World’s End isn’t quite as easy to pinpoint. It’s a coming-home film, about five middle-aged men reuniting with one another and going back to their old stomping grounds. Of course, the reunion wasn’t a result of their own free will, as they were coerced by the troubled protagonist, Gary King (Simon Pegg). The return trip will be a pilgrimage – to attempt a pub crawl left unfinished when they were 18. The final pub is

called The World’s End, and Gary King is determined to finish the final pint there.

Gary King is pushing 40 with the gloriously self-interested brain of a 17-year-old. With his sagging face, jet-black (dyed) and thinning hair, cigarette consistently hanging out of his mouth, and long black trenchcoat that was only cool on a rebellious high school student 20 years ago, Gary King seems like a character we should feel sorry for.

And sometimes we do – but Pegg coaxes it out of the audience only to throw it back into our faces in the next line.

This is the style of The World’s End: seeming cliché or predictable, then BOOM! Turn it on its head.

This of course means that Gary King doesn’t have a heart of gold as most at-first-unlikable protagonists have. And this is the weakness of The World’s End – the characters aren’t incredibly compelling. Each of them is dominated

by Simon Pegg’s character.

They have the stereotypical personalities found in a high school gang: the leader (Gary King), the best friend and side-kick (Andy, played by Nick Frost), the shy bullied guy taken under the gang’s protection (Peter, played by Eddie Marsan), the wannabe ladies’ man (Steven, played by Paddy Constantine), and the competent smart guy whose homework everyone copies (Oliver, played by Martin

Freeman). Of course, the film plays with these characters—where do these high school personalities end up?—but they never seem to be fully formed and made memorable. It’s not the lack of strong acting, it’s the script. Pegg’s character is constantly given the spotlight when a more appealing character might be a better choice.

As they arrive in their old hometown of Newton Haven, we feel

The Cascade is hiring a new online editor!

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If you’re interested, send a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to michael@ufvcascade.ca Experience with Wordpress and social media is an asset.

the small-town creepiness, and coming home to a place that feels no longer like home – things are not what they seem. And, yes, the overdone things are not what they seem theme had fun poked at it.

But of course, Wright doesn’t stop there – his plots are always taken two steps further than I expect, and The World’s End is certainly no exception. At some points it felt like I was being yanked along

pell-mell, but in a satisfying and unique way comedies don’t often have. If you’re a stickler for logic, perhaps this isn’t for you, but if you’re up for some excitement peppered with Pegg and Frost’s clever comedy, it is.

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ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Cascade Arcade

Grand Theft Auto V: a violent character sketch

Psych Talk

Video gamers skilled… at walking backward?

JENNIFER COLBOURNE The Cascade

JEREMY HANNAFORD CONTRIBUTOR

Rockstar’s characters have always been far from normal, often parodies of popular fads, social icons, or demented representations of inner human rage. Tommy Vercetti from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was an homage as well as exploitation of ‘80s Florida.

Claude from Grand Theft Auto III was a mockery of the silent protagonist characters that were everywhere in the gaming industry at the time (i.e., Gordon Freeman).

Its antagonists have also set gaming standards: Officer Tenpenny (voiced by Samuel L Jackson) was a crooked African American police officer who exceedingly abused his power to harass and threaten Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’ protagonist CJ. The recent addition of the violent yet apologetic John Marston from Red Dead Redemption adds to the cultivated group of individuals Rockstar has given to the world.

Grand Theft Auto V’s Michael, Franklin, and Trevor are unique characters with skewed views of themselves and others. Michael is a former thief who gave up the life to try to raise a family that hates him. Franklin is a former gangbanger who wants to climb

the ladder in the criminal world but still lives in a rancher with his aunt. Finally, Trevor is the worst of the worst, every sick, evil, twisted idea Rockstar has ever had rolled into this one maniac.

Michael lives with a family of selfish, stubborn individuals who take him for granted. His son is a mockery of the Call of Duty multiplayer world, threatening his online opponents with ridiculous homophobic insults and curses but completely lacking in selfrespect. Michael’s daughter is a horny spoiled brat, and his wife is a yoga fanatic who deals with the fear of her husband’s violence by sleeping with a tennis coach. Michael tries to escape his family by drinking whiskey and imagining his life as an ‘80s movie. This combination is hilarious, entertaining, and an amazingly honest representation of some upper-class western families – I think I have finally discovered why people like reality television.

Franklin may be the most normal of the three but still has an unhealthy high opinion of himself. Everyone he used to roll with is now scum in his eyes, but he feels obligated to help them because he needs to prove he is superior. These people are a constant reminder of his ‘low-life’ past. Franklin has an admirable

ambition to succeed, not in legitimate business, but in crime.

Much like Goodfellas’ Henry Hill, Franklin represents the American youth who turns to crime instead of trying to find a job in a tough economy.

Trevor is a sexually deviant narcissistic sociopath and the most violent, twisted character I have ever seen in gaming, even compared to the snuff-like qualities of the infamous Manhunt. In the first 10 minutes of his introduction, he asks another gangbanger to have casual sex with him, breaks a criminal’s head with his boot, then proceeds to speak with the piece of brain matter still attached to it while confronting the man’s associates. This deranged cracksmoking hillbilly is in love with violence and its outcomes. While striking a deal with Chinese officials, he professes that from childhood he always wanted to be a drug-dealing, weapon-smuggling entrepreneur.

Each of these archetypes is basically moulded from previous Rockstar characters, and they have turned out to be the best it has ever offered. While violence and video games will always be subject to concern for those unaccustomed to their nature, Rockstar always matches the violence with quality games and characters.

Gamers for years have liked to think they have developed special skills, and a study is showing this actually may be true – unfortunately, these skills are only useful if you’re walking backward.

In an experiment conducted by psychologists at the University of Leicester, two groups were given a motion detector test. One group consisted of 16 action video gamers who played more than 10 hours a week, and 16 other participants who played less than one hour a week. The test consisted of 400 dots moving on a grey background, and the participants were to detect various movements, such as movement upward or inward.

Both groups did equally well at detecting motion, with the one exception for the gamers of “contracting radial motion,” which is the effect you get when moving backwards (the motion of the background shrinking into the distance).

In the press release for the research article, entitled “Selectively enhanced motion perception in core video gamers,” researcher Dr. Claire Hutchinson states, “Our study suggests playing a lot of action video games does not really have much effect on motion perception.

“I probably would have expected people who play a lot of games to do better at these tests – but if you think about it, when you walk and drive a car you experience the same movements in daily life.”

The researchers believe that the improvement in radial contraction perception developed in devoted gamers because games often require moving backward, either for a better view or for fighting. However, in the real world, people usually don’t walk backward (and it’s especially not recommended for fighting!)

Even though this particular ability may have limited use in

everyday life, this study still indicates that video games do have cognitive value; as Dr. Hutchinson states, “The fact that gamers were significantly better at radial contraction does show that games to have the ability to train your visual system. The next step will be to look at the effect of other games.”

Another study from McMaster University in 2011 found that video games can improve eyesight.

Adults with bilateral deprivation amblyopia played 40 hours of an action game (Medal of Honor), and it was found that their visual perception actually improved – a major finding, since it was previously thought there could be no adult recovery from deprivation amblyopia.

Typically, studies have been focused on video games and their potential negative effects. A lot of research has been done on the correlation between violence and video games, and just recently another connection has been made between playing video games and engaging in behaviour risky to health (Kastenmüller, A., Fischer, P., & Fischer, J. “Video Racing Games Increase Actual Health-Related Risk-Taking Behavior”). In the wake of Grand Theft Auto V’s release, it’s encouraging to see more than just negativity connected with video games.

Then again, perhaps the abilities to walk backward and improved eyesight aren’t the best if violent sociopath gamers go on a shooting rampage.

But in all honesty, though there is a connection between violence and gaming, there’s still a question of whether violent people are attracted to violent video games, or violent video games make violent people. At the end of the day, people don’t actually play video games for self-improvement, nor do they avoid games for fear of becoming violent – gamers play purely for entertainment. But it’s fascinating to see the new uses that can be found for this relatively new platform.

Book Review

Zealot by Reza Aslan

CHRISTOPHER DEMARCUS CONTRIBUTOR

Will the real Jesus please stand up?

Believers and non-believers alike have been hell-bent on gathering authentic information on the historical Jesus, a contest that started as early as 60 BCE. Zealot is touted as another book of answers for curious readers: what was the “real” Jesus like?

Reza Aslan’s book got a lot of attention on social media, thanks to an awkward Fox News interview where he pushed one simple message: “My book is about Jesus the man, not Jesus the Christ.” Aslan’s point is key to understanding his new book. There are two different

concepts of Jesus of Nazareth: one is a spiritual entity, the other is an empirical person.

In the mass media sphere, Reza Aslan has been criticized for being a Muslim and not a Christian. This is inconsequential to his book. What needs to be made clear is that Zealot is not a work in Christian theology; it is a history of Christian—and pre-Christian— theology.

As booksellers and mass media often do, they have painted Zealot as scandalous and revolutionary.

However, there are no dramatically new or offensive ideas in Aslan’s work. What we have here is a high level of scholarship about the political and cultural history of Jesus’ time, rather than the specific

man himself. The goal of the book is to understand the era in order to understand the man of whom we have so little evidence.

This is where Zealot runs into trouble with most of its eager Christian readers. The proof of Jesus—as a purely historical man—relies on very few historical documents. Aslan writes in his introduction, “Jesus (the one they call Messiah) probably existed.”

What Aslan argues is that Jesus was as much of a political leader as a spiritual one. His crucifixion was acted out by the Romans in order to stop a full-on rebellion against the state.

Aslan doesn’t move much into the theological field because his mission is to focus on what schol-

ars know rather than what they believe. That makes for an informative political history – not the best summer beach reading.

For those familiar with Christian scholarship, there is very little in Zealot that hasn’t been discussed before. At times, it’s fun for Aslan to point out that Jesus probably wasn’t a carpenter, his mother wasn’t a virgin, and he couldn’t read or write. That kind of trivia is useful at cocktail parties, but it also serves to show how a narrative of a man—not the facts—can serve to illustrate a greater truth.

It’s easy to draw comparisons with the socio-political state of the Jewish people during the time of Zealot and how we utilize neoMarxist thought today. However,

Reza keeps critical language on the neutral side, favoring the tone of an historian. Aslan spends a lot of time showing us the contradictions of the canonized gospels, which—while interesting—never leave us with a concrete perspective.

Ultimately, Zealot is about power. Aslan’s historical Jesus is a symbol of power for the oppressed. It’s about how revolutions get traction and the power of myth. In that way, Zealot is about faith. Not faith in Christianity, but faith in human revolution. Zealot makes it clear that both stories of Jesus (as a man and as a god) have power in their own way.

16

ARTS & LIFE

CROSSWORD

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Staples of the digital age

by KATIE STOBBART

ACROSS 2.

These are intentionally put in space for specific purposes, like GPS. (10) 5.

This device makes Mario run and could potentially cause carpal tunnel syndrome. (10) 6.

Many of us use this daily. It’s something type-writer users might have called… well, a sheet of paper. (4, 9) 7.

Because keyboards are overrated, and you should be able to fit a computer in your purse. (6) 9.

With living spaces getting smaller, who has space for a library? In this form, you can read all you want. (5) 10.

If you’re not in a service area, you may have trouble getting this. (9)

DOWN 1.

A popular program used to alter images. (9) 2.

This virtual tool probably wiped out door-to-door encyclopedia salesmen. (6, 6) 3.

Enables the user to change the settings on an electrical device without getting up from his or her couch. (6) 4.

Not exactly what the cat dragged in, but it does have a long tail. (5) 6.

The great and mighty conqueror who mercilessly smote dial-up, making its high-pitched wails virtually obsolete. And it’s cordless. (4) 8.

You can take it with you almost anywhere, and it keeps your thighs warm if you don’t have it on a table. (6)

LAST WEEK’S Answer Key Across 4 UNSCREW 6 VULNERABLE 7 UNLOCK 8 UNZIPS 9 FORTHRIGHT Down 1 UNFOLD 2 UNPEEL 3 AJAR 5 SLICE 7 UNTIE 8 UNHOOK

The Weekly Horoscope Star Signs from Sumas Sibyl Aquarius: Jan 20 - Feb 18:

Gemini: May 21 - June 21:

Libra: Sept 23 - Oct 22:

Your future? Virgo might know.

You’ll probably figure it all out, but you’ll have to corner Scorpio first.

Don’t help anybody. Taurus is running the show.

Pisces: Feb 19 - March 20:

Cancer: June 22 - July 22:

Scorpio: Oct 23 - Nov 21:

You only know the questions.

Leo has the answers.

You can solve all the world’s problems, if you consult Saggitarius.

Watch out. They’ve got something on you. Find out what Capricorn is hiding.

Aries: March 21 - April 19:

Leo: July 23 - Aug 22:

Sagittarius: Nov 22 - Dec 21:

Your manipulations are successful, but Gemini is onto you.

The answer is 42, but that won’t do you any good. Only Aries will do you any good.

Ask Aries.

You’re really hopeless at math. You need help from Libra.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20:

Virgo: Aug 23 -Sept22:

Capricorn: Dec 22 - Jan 19:

You’re just a puppet. Pisces knows what’s going down.

If you don’t kill Aquarius, the world will end. Unless you defer to Cancer.

Only you know your past.

Aquarius holds your future.

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ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Dine & Dash

Original Joe’s in Abbotsford 101-2649 Trethewey Street, Abbotsford 604-504-5690 Sunday – Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Friday – Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

example a seven ounce steak and prawns with two sides is $17.75 on Friday, rather than the regular price of $29 (the prawn skewer adds $4 to the $25 steak). Glasses of wine are discounted on Thursday, and bottles of wine are offered at half price. Pints run between $5.50 and $7.75.

Also, keep in mind that we entered the restaurant starving and neither of us was able to finish our plate – so we got two meals out of the overall price of food. We were, however, disappointed that we didn’t have room for dessert, as Original Joe’s offers crème brulée.

Overall, Original Joe’s was a good casual dining experience.

Service was consistently good, staff members were friendly and helpful, and the food was very good. I’m eager to try more of the menu in future!

KATIE STOBBART THE CASCADE

My friend and I seated ourselves at a corner booth and were pleased with prompt service.

After a brief look at the drink menu, we decided on margaritas – one lime and one raspberry.

We were forewarned that the lime margarita would be tart. It was at first, but after a few sips I came to appreciate it. However, I think what the drink was really lacking was salt which to me has always been the make-or-breaker of the margarita. The raspberry was good, but not remarkably so.

We took our time with the menus, which featured a number of tasty-looking options. My friend decided to have the beef dip with a side of deviled egg potato salad and a side caesar. I opted for the five cheese tortellini with grilled chicken and garlic toast, and we decided to split the bruschetta.

Original Joe’s does have a gluten-ensitive menu available; however, they do note that some items (such as fries, wings, and ribs) are cooked in a deep fryer which may contain gluten, and the restaurant is not a gluten-free facility. Also, my friend noticed that this menu, separate from the main menu, does not include prices. We were later informed by our server that there is a surcharge for most items from the gluten-sensitive menu, but these were not listed. Also, glutenfree pasta was not available.

While we waited for the food, we had a chance to chat and observe the atmosphere. I appreciated that most of the seats in the res-

The entrees at Original Joe’s were enough for lunch the next day. taurant were comfortable booths, and our spot by the large windows ensured a warm glow of sunlight.

The brick-like detailing on the back wall and exposed red ductwork in the high ceiling gave the restaurant an open and urban feel.

Our meals looked delicious. The baguette piled with beef, mushrooms, onions, and melted swiss cheese was almost too big for my friend to pick up, let alone dip in au jus and eat. The pasta looked equally delicious framed by the two wedges of garlic toast.

The whole wheat tortellini was a taste bud pleaser, stuffed with five cheeses as promised. The grilled chicken was perfect. I expected the cream sauce to be creamier, and while it wasn’t a poor combination of flavours, the dish might

have been more successful with a creamy garlic sauce rather than tomato-based.

My friend loved the beef dip, saying, “it’s all in the sauce, and the sauce was amazing.”

The bruschetta was the highlight of my dining experience at Original Joe’s. The near-sweet bite of red onion paired with notes of balsamic vinegar made a perfect harmony with the fresh tomatoes, and the house-made starter was topped with shaved parmesan and served alongside crostini covered in mozzarella.

The prices of food are moderate to high for the student budget, most items ranging between $11 and $16 with the exceptions of steak, ribs, and salmon. However there are a number of specials: for

image: Katie Stobbart/The Cascade

image: Katie Stobbart/The Cascade

Prices are reasonable for the amount of food that is served.

Discussions below the belt

Who let the gays out?!

XTINA

SEXPERT

Recently I took a date to a wellknown steakhouse here in Abbotsford. We were seated at a table in the back corner. We ordered a nice bottle of wine and relaxed into some great conversation and affectionate hand-holding. Another couple were seated at a nearby table in our corner at the back of the restaurant – they had only just settled in when the staring and giggling started.

It was subtle, but definitely within earshot. This did not sway us; our flirtiness and hand-holding only increased as the bottle of wine emptied. This got them going.

From what we heard (taking sporadic breaks from our exhilarating conversation to stimulate our other senses with fabulous food and vino) the couple was on their first date. I’m sure this was the high-

Image: Philippe Leroyer/Flickr

light of their date and something they bonded over, would eventually share as part of their first date story.

At one point Mr First-date got in trouble from the Ms for staring too much. His response is what

spurred this article. He defended his gawking by saying, “it was an anomaly,” as in, we were both ultra femme, attractive, and gay.

This issue seems to confuse people, especially men. I mean, why would we not want him, right?

He’s a real man with real ‘hardware’ he doesn’t have to pull out of the bedside drawer. Clearly we just haven’t met the right man; one night with him would set us ‘straight.’

When we left, we passed Mr and Ms First-date outside smoking. Unsurprisingly, they continued to gawk as we walked to my car. I opened the door for my date to climb in and heard the Ms announce that I was ‘the guy.’

So here’s my problem with this: I am not a guy or ‘the guy.’ I am a girl who dates girls, particularly femmes. This automatically puts me in the guy role? There is a whole group of us out there. We exist. The Sapphic lesbians. We have long hair, short skirts, and at times may be brandishing a strapon in our lacy panties. Is it such an anomaly?

I should give Mr and Ms Ignorant a break, because this is actually confusing to members of the

LGBTQ community too. Earlier this month a new friend of mine who is a boi (a lezzy who presents herself as very boyish; think Justin Bieber) said she was shocked to learn I date femmes. We were talking about flowers and I mentioned this great flower shop in Abbotsford that sells rainbow roses; I shared that I like to give these and other less gay flowers to special girls. This confused her because to her, my obvious femmeness meant I must date bois. She gushed about how nice it was that I was sending flowers to a boi – her realization that these flowers were for the femmes was a shock to her.

So we may be a small formation of femmy females, but we’re here and we’re queer. We will be eating dinner at your favourite eateries while we play footsies with our girlfriends and confuse you with our Sapphic display.

18

SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

New voice in the box

Interview with Heat play-by-play announcer Brandon Astle Astle will be calling games for the Heat this season, broadcasting live on CIVL (101.7 FM).

Some of my fondest memories as a sports fan have come not

When you attend sporting events in your free time, do you find yourself still calling playby-play?

Honestly, I don’t really do that anymore. When I was younger I would kind of do it in my head to get the hang of it and see where I was at, but when I attend a game I am just like any other fan inside the venue and just want to enjoy the event. From time to time friends or family say, “Brandon, start doing the playby-play,” which I decline to do 100 per cent of the time.

while I was attending a sporting event in person, but rather while sitting in a car listening to a radio broadcast or lounging on my couch watching a game on television. The main reason for this is the electrifying way a broadcaster can make you feel like you’re actually at the game, even if in reality you’re driving east down the Trans-Canada Highway after an evening class. This summer Brandon Astle, former play-byplay broadcaster for the Langley Rivermen, landed his first professional hockey league position as announcer for the Abbotsford Heat in the upcoming season. I recently spoke to Astle about becoming the voice of a professional hockey league team.

TIM UBELS

CONTRIBUTOR

You must be thrilled to land the position of play-by-play commentator for the Abbotsford Heat. How does it feel?

It is an unbelievable feeling to say the least. Having a chance to join a great franchise like the Abbotsford Heat and call games at the professional level is a dream come true. Not many people get the opportunity to still live at home and continue to work in the Fraser Valley, so I am thankful for that and how everything worked out.

How did you get into broadcasting?

Broadcasting is a line of work I have been interested in since a young age. I remember growing up and listening to Canucks games and saying that I want to be the next Jim Robson. At around 10 years old I started commentating street hockey games with neighbours in my cul-de-sac and they really would get a chuckle at some of the things I would say and it just took off from there.

What was your first play-byplay gig?

My first play-by-play gig was with the Coquitlam Adanacs Junior B lacrosse team. It was during the 2007-2008 season and it was set up by my broadcasting school (Columbia Academy) ... It was only the home games that I did and it was streamed live on their website. It was not the best lacrosse in the world, but it was nice to get my feet wet a bit.

How would you describe your broadcasting style?

I would like to think my broadcast style is entertaining.

When I work a game, I want the fans to feel like they are inside the building watching the action. Hockey is a fun game and I want everyone who listens to my broadcasts to be on the edge of their seats.

How much preparation goes into each game and how much work do you have to do on the fly?

A lot of preparation goes into every game. It is all about credibility in this business and you have to know what you are talking about or people won’t take you seriously. A lot of time and work goes into knowing all sorts of stats on players and their teams and that does not entail just sitting at a computer

Photo: Clint Trahan

Astle started out by calling plays in street hockey games as a kid. looking things up all day before the puck drops. You have to be proactive and take the time to watch practices, morning skates, talk to players and coaches, etc.

As for remembering names, I will be the first to tell you my memory is not the greatest, but for some reason when I see a player play one shift, I will remember them instantaneously when they are out on the ice.

A lot of prepara-

“

tion goes into every game. It is all about in

this

credibility business

and you have to know what you are talking about or people won’t take you seriously.

Do you have any favourite broadcasters?

Jim Robson was a guy I grew up listening to and is a big reason why I wanted to get into broadcasting. John Shorthouse, Jim Hughson, and Rick Ball are other guys I look up to and try to model myself after as well, but my all-time favourite has got to be Bob Cole. He may be long in the tooth, but he is very entertaining to listen to and has the uncanny ability to bring every fan out of their seats and [make] you shout at the television in excitement. There will only be one Bob Cole, and I know his days on CBC might be numbered, but I hope he gets at least a few games next season.

What’s the most difficult aspect of your job?

The most difficult aspect of my job is not saying the same thing too often, which makes for a stale broadcast. Hockey fans are smart and they know when you repeat the same thing over and over. Coming up with other ways to say things can be a challenge sometimes, but re-listening to broadcasts after games and taking notes helps a lot.

How do you see the season shaking out for the Heat?

That is the unknown right now and even the coaches will tell you that. We do know that the team is going to be very young and you will see only a few veterans. I think it will make for exciting hockey because with young players these days it seems like most of them are very skilled, which makes for an exciting brand of hockey.

They will take more chances and we will see a lot more mistakes than usual, but with the young core that we are going to have, it is the only way they will learn the pro game.

Are there any match-ups you’re especially looking forward to calling this season?

Definitely the Utica games.

We will play them six times at home and another six on the road. The Canucks affiliate always draws a big crowd to the AESC and that makes for a great atmosphere and those are the best games to call. Plus one of my childhood friends Zach Hamill signed with the Canucks this summer and if he doesn’t make the big club, he will be in Utica. Calling his name during a game will be a special feeling.

You can hear Brandon call Heat games this year on your local campus radio station, CIVL Radio, 101.7 on your FM dial. The home opener is set for October 11 at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

19

SPORTS & HEALTH

Local transfer creates waves for men’s basketball Name: Kevin Ford Number: 3 Hometown: Seattle, Washington Last School: CBC Position: Combo guard Favorite Food: Cheeseburger NATHAN HUTTON CONTRIBUTOR

Photo: Blake McGuire

Ford practices his game face.

After spending the last two years of his collegiate basketball career with the Columbia Bible College (CBC) Bearcats, guard Kevin Ford decided to bring his talents to UFV this summer and join an already talented Cascades squad. Ford has been a strong part of the Bearcats’ success the past two seasons and is ready to extend this success into the CIS. I had the opportunity to spend some time with Kevin this week and in the process got to question him about his upcoming role and how his time in the PACWEST prepared him for the jump to CIS.

What made you come to UFV? Well there was a cancellation of a program at CBC called the early childhood education program, [and] that was one of the draws that made me come out here. Since they cancelled that it was like all my credits were leaning towards being a pastor or doing missionary work and that was something that was really not convincing me to stay there, so switching here to UFV [and] having more opportunities in the stuff I wanted to do was really a draw.

How did your two years at Columbia prepare you for the CIS? It was good because during the summer I would play against the UFV guys and [CBC] had an exhibition game against UFV [both years] I was there. That was really the game that got me ready to play the rest of the season, that was the game that got me in shape. The transition to playing CIS was pretty simple.

Growing up, who inspired you to play basketball?

It was my uncle. He was the guy who actually taught me how to play, taught me how to use my body, and how to get in certain places.

Can you describe your game?

I like to get people open shots, I like to put pressure on the defense, I like to guard everybody out on the floor and make my teammates’ game easier for them. I do the damage work to get open shots for them.

What are your personal goals for the season?

I would say, because this team was fourth in Canada [in 20112012], I want to improve on that.

I’m not here to take anyone’s shot, I’m just trying to progress as the season goes on and do what I can to help the season and the team.

From Ukraine with love

Women’s basketball gains some international help Name: Natalia Gavryliuk Hometown: Vinnytsia, Ukraine Last School: Odessa College, Texas Number: 11 (for 17 years until this year) Position: Guard Favorite Food: Seafood Strangest thing about Abbotsford: the smell of cows.

PAUL ESAU

THE CASCADE

You’ve been out of high school for a while. Where have you played basketball after high school?

I went to university in the Ukraine. If we continue to play after high school we have to sign a contract because it’s official and professional basketball. So I signed for five years with my team in the Ukraine. I played there, finished university, and then I decided to get another education, more serious, because in the Ukraine I can be a coach, but I didn’t want to be that. So I moved to the United States and I also got scholarship there. I was supposed to stay in the USA and I got invitations from Duke and Florida universities. The problem was my age and that I’d already played in the Ukraine. If you play professionally it’s just not fair; it’s against the rules in the NCAA. So I checked Canada’s level of basketball, whether they had a good university program. I also checked out Regina and Windsor, but I like UFV.

There are a lot of universities in the area, so why UFV? Yeah, but I know that this team is on the top, that’s why I chose UFV. I couldn’t go to a very bad team … I like to play with girls who understand the game [laughs].

Are you excited about playing with this team so far? Are you excited about UFV? It’s good. I like the coach, I like the practices, that we are always playing five on five … hopefully we can win a championship this year.

How are you adjusting to playing in Canada, playing on this team? Are the players different? Are they sillier, more professional?

Well, they’re not silly [laughs]; they’re smart, and they are family. In Ukraine it’s more like a job. You come to practice, you do your job, and you go home … to compare this team to Odessa College, this team is more friendly.

The difference between Canadian basketball and European basketball is that in Europe it is more of a thinking, techniquebased game. In North America it is more physical, you have to run and you have to push. With my experience I hope I will help.

I love shooting the three and assisting people.

When did you arrive in Canada? Is this your first time being here?

Yes, this is my first time in Canada. I didn’t know nothing about this Canada. Some people told me it was just like the US …

I arrived three weeks ago, and they actually lost my bag in the airport.

Well, if the only thing you can complain about so far is the smell of cows, then you must be a very positive person.

Maybe I don’t know much yet [laughs].

What are you looking forward to this year, playing with this team and studying at this university?

To finish this year as a good student and help the team win a championship. I’m a winner.

In the Ukraine, all five years we won the championship. I love to win.

So you are used to winning [laughs].

Yes, that’s why I come here: to help if I can.

So what skills do you think you bring to this team?

Gavryliuk participates in a classic weave drill.

Photo: Blake McGuire

20

SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

SCORES SOCCER MEN’S

Sept 20 UFV vs UBC L 0-3 Sept 22 UFV vs TWU W 4-2 WOMEN’S

Sept 21 UFV vs Alberta L 1-4 Sept 22 UFV vs MRU W 3-0

Photo: Wilson Wong/UBC Thunderbirds

Ethan Clairbourn-Collins prepares for a tackle during the September 20, 3-0 loss to UBC.

Green tea: lose stained teeth, gain EGCG Love Volleyball?

Come write for us!

SASHA MOEDT

THE CASCADE

I am an amateur green tea addict.

The friendship of coffee left a bad taste in my mouth (quite literally), and regular black tea ... Well, my dentist looked in my mouth and said, “Aha! We have a tea drinker!” I guess dark tea stains teeth. Point taken. He also made a comment about popcorn, but there’s no way I’m giving that up.

So I started drinking green tea, and I did some reading up on it. According to Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, in his book, Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life, drinking green tea a few times a day does wonders as a body detoxifier. Green tea contains polyphenols called catechins, notably one called—now try to say this one aloud—epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Yeah, I couldn’t either. Now, EGCG is one of the most powerful nutritional molecules against the development of new blood vessels by cancer cells. Black tea doesn’t

have it because it’s destroyed in the fermentation process needed to make black tea.

The David’s Tea website tells me that green tea is, after water, the number one most consumed drink on the planet! Want to get in on this?

There are a few basic things I didn’t realise when I first started making it. I was very turned off because of the heavy, bitter taste. But you can avoid bitterness in the preparation of your tea.

Make sure you steep the tea in hot but not boiling water – that’s what made my tea so bitter at first. Steep it for a good eight minutes to get all the good stuff (or, whatever that word is. Episomething). Add some sweetener – sugar doesn’t feel right for green tea, but I’m a big sweet tooth. Try agave nectar or stevia (recommended by Servan-Schreiber as substitutes to sugar) or honey, though make sure it’s unpasteurized. Pasteurized honey is honey that’s been put through a heating process. This process kills all the nutrients in honey – its enzymatic components.

Image: Martin/Flickr

Drink the tea within the hour, because the beneficial catechins diminish over time.

Finally, if it’s still not tasting up to par, make sure you’re getting the good stuff. There are many different brands, some really good, and some awful. It’s not a great deal if you buy the cheap stuff but never drink it because it’s so terrible. I like to go organic loose leaf, or it feels like I’m drinking steeped pesticides. For that I go to David’s Tea, but for bagged Superstore tea, I reluctantly buy the Kirkland or Lipton brand.

There are tons of varieties of green tea to experiment with.

For Chinese tea, the most popular are jasmine, dragonwell, or silver needle. Japan’s most popular are sencha, gyokuro and matcha. There are various blends, flavourings and brands, and of course not only Japanese and Chinese.

Point is, you have a lot of tea tasting to do. Now go get your daily dose of epigallocatechin gallate!

The Cascade is looking for writers who have an interest in covering varsity athletics.

Just drop by our office in C building or attend one of our writers meetings every monday morning at 8am in room C1429