The Cascade Vol. 21 No. 31

Vol. 21 Issue 31

www.ufvcascade.ca

The

November 20 to November 26, 2013

CASCADE Having registration issues since 1993

Child's Play on campus Local lending libraries

p. 3

p. 3

p. 17 Down with stuff

Two newbies at their first game

p. 10-11

What's really behind the pipeline protests?

More about SUS's board reform p. 5

Fast fashion; bad for you, quick to consume p. 13

2

NEWS News

4

Opinion

8

Arts & Life

14

Sports & Health

19

Upcoming

Events

Nov 21 South Asian Writers Fest at CICS UFV’s Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies is hosting the Ehsaas South Asian Readers and Writers Festival. Authors Raminder Sidhu, Hugh Johnston, and Ashok Bhargava will speak and there will also be readings from A Soldier Remembers. Event begins at 5 p.m. at the CICS in U-House.

Nov 24 Lighting the big tree Abbotsford will be celebrating the annual lighting of the big tree in downtown Abbotsford for the Christmas season. Attend this familyfriendly event for a chance to enjoy some Christmas cheer and spend some time with the downtown community.

Nov 25 SUS AGM The Student Union Society’s annual general meeting hits AfterMath on Monday. On the agenda is the proposed board reform, changes to the election policy, and the annual auditor’s report. Come down and have your voice heard while engaging in student politics.

Nov 26

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

UFV faculty microlectures make students think

Christopher DeMarcus covers the annual faculty microlectures and goes about summarizing a collection of two minute presentations on research currently being done at UFV.

Frustrated by this semester’s registration payment debacle?

Katie Stobbart discusses why she could more quickly pay her registration deposit manually, walking in the snow uphill both ways to the bank and fighting a Sasquatch on the way, than wait for her online payment to go through.

Feeling frustrated, Capricorn?

This is not a good time in the semester for life questions that demand answers. The weekly horoscope, predicted by Sumas Sibyl, will clear some things up for you -- or at least tell you who to go to for answers.

Recollections from UFV’s victorious golfers

Nathan Hutton talked to graduating members of both the women’s and men’s golf teams. Top-scoring Aaron Pauls and Okanagan transfer Jen Woods have reached the end of their eligibility, but HAHAHA HOW DO I END THIS REWRITE

Getting sick and philosophical DESSA BAYROCK

THE CASCADE

“Life is going to present to you a series of transformations. And the point of education should be to transform you. To teach you how to be transformed so you can ride the waves as they come.”

– Junot Diaz “Humans are bodies, and bodies are horrific and uncontrollable in a lot of ways … I can’t believe the size of the stuff that just came out of my nose, you know?”

– Cascade staffer I have been sick for the past week.

I’ve missed as many classes as I’ve attended. The lectures I attended were little more than gibberish by the time they made it through the fog of phlegm and cold medication – definitely worth the dirty looks shot my direction with every cough and sneeze. Not. It’s not exactly the best time to be sick.

But then again – is there ever a good time to be sick?

At university, not really.

The only good time to be sick—when you can really afford to take time off and get well—is when you have a solid network to support you. Sometimes it’s possible to work through an illness; the rest of the time you need someone at your back, to feed you soup and pick up notes from the lecture you missed.

Because at this point in semester—or any point of semester—missing even one class can put you seriously behind.

Missing two classes (which isn’t inconceivable, considering UFV’s love of splitting

Of phlegm and fellow students

classes between Monday and Wednesday, or Tuesday and Thursday) could result in a seriously derailed grade. (Oh, but don’t worry. As long as we’re learning, marks don’t matter. Right, guys? Right?

Hey, where are you going?)

You can’t cure the common cold. But is there a way of fixing the context, so the common cold doesn’t have to be an academic death sentence?

University is a weird setting for creating a support network. On one hand, university promotes the idea of creating free-thinking individuals, able and willing to be critical of any situation. On the other hand, university expects students to use their time here to learn how to part of a functioning community – you only have to look at administration’s PR push behind the co-curricular record to see that.

But can a university really provide both sides of the coin, praising and producing both the individual and the community member in its students?

This contrast in expectations is surprisingly highlighted by getting sick: you can’t function as an individual, because you’re a snotty, headachey, useless mess by yourself, and you can’t function as a community member because no one wants to be within a fivefoot radius of you. You’re at the mercy of your own village, a rejected cog in the machine.

Unless you had the foresight to establish a study-buddy relationship with a classmate and (here’s the kicker) actually get their contact information, you’ve left yourself high and dry.

At the end of the day, we

can expect to get well, but these issues are bound to return on a larger scale if not addressed, even after we’ve left the illness—or even university—far behind. One day (we hope) we’ll all graduate, and look smashing in our cap and gowns, and pose with Mark Evered to have a picture taken with long-sought-after degree.

But any graduate leaving university with just a degree might find themselves woefully ill-prepared for the real world. At this point the support network becomes less about who will bring you soup and lecture notes, and more about who can connect you with job opportunities, interviews, and introductions. We like to believe in the myth of the individual who can change everything with wit, verve, and sheer force of skill set – that is, after all, a model that worked for decades and still can in the right circumstances.

Equally as useful in this age is the idea that “no man is an island” (John Donne) or “it’s not what you know but who you know” (common aphorism) or “we’re all in this together” (High School Musical).

Unfortunately, perhaps the most common method of getting students to bond together is one that every student hates: group work.

The problem isn’t that group work isn’t effective. In theory (and sometimes even in practice) group work promotes the interchange of ideas – kind of a cross-pollination of plants that may never have met in the world outside the classroom.

The problem with group work surfaces when it becomes clear that not all groups are

created equal. You can’t enforce the creation of a community equal on all sides; not everyone is going to be interested, engaged, or involved in that community, especially when that miniature community is a microcosm created when the instructor randomly grouped together all students on the north side of the classroom.

Collaboration might result in a sense of community, but forced collaboration rarely does.

Ironically, maybe the answer lies with the individual. We’ve been told since high school that university is a place to “find yourself,” which is a half-truth at best. University comes down to what you take from interactions with other people, whether that’s professors or classmates. Sometimes you learn more about yourself (and the world) in conversations completely outside of class time, or in an instructor’s completely off-topic tangents – whatever the individual finds useful, rather than what the community does.

It’s hard to prescribe exactly what circumstances make an ideal university, and God knows smarter individuals than us have tried – hopefully with clearer minds than our foggy, phlegmy selves. But one thing is clear, even through the doses of cough syrup: university should be culturing an environment of ideal conditions, both for individual and community, so when we leave we know what to strive for, and are able to recreate those conditions elsewhere.

Theatre for Living A travelling theatre company comes to B101 on the Abbotsford campus on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Established in Vancouver in 1981, the troupe features no script and no actors but relies solely on the creativity of the audience and promises to be an original experience.

Volume 21 · Issue 31 Room C1027 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8 604.854.4529 Editor-in-chief dessa@ufvcascade.ca Dessa Bayrock Managing editor michael@ufvcascade.ca Michael Scoular Business manager joe@ufvcascade.ca Joe Johnson

News editor jess@ufvcascade.ca Jess Wind

Production manager stewart@ufvcascade.ca Stewart Seymour

Opinion editor nadine@ufvcascade.ca Nadine Moedt

Art director anthony@ufvcascade.ca Anthony Biondi

Arts & life editor sasha@ufvcascade.ca Sasha Moedt Sports editor esau@ufvcascade.ca Paul Esau

Online editor ashley@ufvcascade.ca Ashley Mussbacher

News writer katherine@ufvcascade.ca Katherine Gibson

Copy editor katie@ufvcascade.ca Katie Stobbart

Staff writer christopher@ufvcascade.ca Christopher DeMarcus

Production assistant production@ufvcascade.ca Kaitlyn Gendemann Photojournalist blake@ufvcascade.ca Blake McGuire Contributors Taylor Breckles, Valerie Franklin, Jeremy Hannaford, Nathan Hutton, and Tim Ubels Cover image: Anthony Biondi (with thanks to far too many hours spent playing NES.)

Printed By International Web exPress 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.

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Up all night for charity

Keeping up on

Child’s Play comes to campus for sixth annual all-nighter

KATHERINE GIBSON

THE CASCADE

U-House is usually quiet in the middle of the night, but on an otherwise normal weeknight it lit up with the sounds of geekery and gaming well into the wee hours.

Members of UFV’s Computer and Information Systems Student Association (CISSA) took over U-House on November 15 to hold their sixth annual 24hour charity gaming event.

Hosting extensive tournaments with various consoles, from the now-retro Nintendo 64 to newer systems like the Wii, the event raised roughly $2600 for Child’s Play, a charity organized by Penny Arcade to donate entertainment to hospitalized children.

For Graham St. Eloi, CISSA vice-president and founder of the event, fundraising for Child’s Play is about more than just raising money; it’s about showing that gaming students care about making a positive difference.

“It really shows that gamers care about children – that’s what Child’s Play is all about,” St. Eloi, explains. “[Child’s Play] provides entertainment to those children who aren’t having very much fun in the hospital, and this [event] shows that even though you’re a student you can still support

those people and you can still donate.”

However, not all participants of this event are active gamers. CISSA president Lizzi Klassen explains that for her it is less about the gaming, and more about her personal connection with what the charity stands for that keeps her coming back.

“Ironically, I’m not a gamer.

I help run this and I can appreciate gaming – but I don’t game,” she explains. “It’s boring enough being in a hospital for long periods of time as an adult – as a kid it’s interminable … I can appreciate the boredom and the need to do something.

“My cousin had leukemia, and he was in Ronald McDonald house,” she continues, “so it’s stuff like that keeping my support.”

Beyond raising money for children, St. Eloi believes that this event is important for pushing back against the stereotypes that surround gaming individuals.

“Penny Arcade ... made [the charity] with the purpose to show that gamers do actually care about the world – we’re not just introvert gamers who hate everybody,” he says. “It’s a very big stereotype – you say that you’re a gamer and people just shun you like you’re nonexistent.”

Student goes to Asia with premier UFV business student Theresa Coates was recommended to join Christy Clark on a 13-day trade mission to Asia.

Coates’ name was put forward by UFV president Mark Evered after MLA Michael de Jong requested a UFV business student to accompany the trip. We will be catching up with Coates once she returns from her trip.

Image: Blake McGuire

CISSA hosted 24-hour gaming event to raise money for sick kids.

St. Eloi also feels that events like these help build lasting student connections, both within the campus gaming community itself and UFV’s student community as a whole.

“It’s a community event that brings everybody and all the gamers on campus together.

In my first year I had maybe 20 people stay here, but after this event they all became

friends and all started hanging out together at U-House,” St. Eloi says. “It gives [gamers] a very good chance to connect with people. It also keeps into mind the whole university’s goal to not have [UFV] be just commuter campus, but a solid campus of people who actually want to be here.”

“Take a book, return a book”

Little Free Library comes to Abbotsford

VALERIE FRANKLIN

her love of both reading and helping others learn.

In September, she started Ever wanted a library in a Kickstarter crowd-funding your front yard? How about in campaign to raise money for your local park? her library’s building supAbbotsford resident Jacque- plies. The campaign was choline Ashby did, and as a result sen as the staff pick project of set up a Little Free Library. the day, and eight hours later As an outdoor cabinet-style the $365 fundraising goal was community bookshelf, the li- fulfilled. Her library, which is brary allows anyone to borrow currently being constructed by and return used books at their a friend, is set to be in operaleisure. tion by mid-December.

“People can take a book, Thanks to donations of used leave a book, or bring a book books from The Book Man, the back,” Ashby explains. “It of- library will be well-stocked. So fers people access to reading far Ashby has 521 books ready materials at any time of day. to go into circulation, includIt’s not limited to the hours of ing books for both adults and a library or a store or a café, children. The library’s content and there are no due dates or will also continue to grow and fines.” change as readers donate their This project will be the first own favourite books.

Little Free LiAs the steward brary in Abbots“People can leave of her library, ford, although will little notes ... say- Ashby there are over spend time each 10,000 glob- ing, ‘Hey, I read week making ally. Each one this great book ... sure the strucis uniquely deis clean, let me know what ture signed and decoin good condirated, but they’re you think!’” tion, and wellall registered stocked. She also with the online Little Free Li- plans to post photographs of brary organization. book covers on her Little Free Ashby was inspired by im- Library’s website so anyone ages of other Little Free Librar- can see what’s new and availies she saw online, as well as able to borrow.

CONTRIBUTOR

Campus

Building and tending one of these libraries is a long-term commitment, but it’s about more than just sharing good books. Ashby, who recently completed her doctorate, believes that the Little Free Library will help establish what she calls the three pillars of an informed society: connection with one’s community, lifelong learning, and literacy.

“These three things all play a role in creating a more informed society that is civically engaged and takes part in making the world a better place for others,” she says.

Literacy is an essential skill in today’s world, where much of our information comes in text format. But according to research from Literacy BC, 400,000 of BC’s working-age adults are at level 1 literacy – the lowest level of proficiency.

Another 600,000 British Columbians are at level 2, which Literacy BC reports is “still inadequate for full participation and success in modern society.”

The Little Free Library organization hopes to improve low literacy rates worldwide by increasing accessibility to books, or as their mission states: “[Promoting] a sense of community, reading for children,

literacy for adults and libraries around the world.”

Ashby notes that anyone can create a Little Free Library, and that she’s eager to see more of them pop up in the community.

“I’d like to encourage other people to explore setting up their own Little Free Library.

I think it’s a great idea,” she says.

In particular, Ashby hopes to see university students getting involved. Ashby worked for UFV’s office of institutional research and planning for three years, and feels the distance between UFV’s campuses can create a sense of isolation for students and faculty. She suggests that Little Free Libraries could help unite the various campuses as a community.

There is currently an informal book swap shelf near the cafeteria in building A at CEP, but it could be so much more.

“People can leave little notes in the books saying, ‘Hey, I read this great book, I’m on the Chilliwack campus, let me know what you think!’” she says. “It could be a great way to connect people.”

An Angel Tree update Back for another year, UFV Student Life is hosting the Angel Tree program. Last year they bought gifts for over 100 children and helped over 50 families. The program seeks to help UFV families that need a little extra help during the busy Christmas season. What goes on to make this rewarding Christmas program successful? We’ll have the answer (and plenty of other Christmas cheer) in next week’s issue.

Add another deadline to the pile!

Thinking about submitting your original unpublished work? There is less than one month left to submit to UFV’s literary magazine the Louden Singletree. They want your fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or visual art for the annual student-produced publication. Take advantage of the opportunity to get your work in print! The final due date is December 18.

Have a news tip?

Let us know!

Email news@ufvcascade.ca or tweet at @CascadeNews

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

SCIENCE ON PURPOSE

DESSA BAYROCK

The vortex that eats everything and refuses to die

THE CASCADE

There’s a space storm that’s been raging for centuries – and until now, no one has been able to explain why.

Jupiter’s red spot is perhaps its most recognizable feature – a pleasant visual break when viewed from space, but also a giant whirling storm in the planet’s atmosphere. Known officially as the Great Red Spot, this storm is approximately the size of three Earths and was boiling before humanity discovered fire.

Jupiter has twelve jet streams flowing in alternating directions, which are what cause the striped appearance of its surface. The Great Red Spot shoulders out space for itself between two of these bands.

These two bordering streams should resist and slow the spot’s winds, and according to current theories the spot should also lose energy by radiating heat – the Great Red Spot is colder than earth’s polar regions, but is still slightly

Image: NASA/ Wikipedia

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot should have dissipated centuries ago. warmer than its surroundings.

Among others, these factors point to the fact that the Great Red Spot should have worn itself out centuries ago.

Now two researchers think they know why the vortex appears to have no intentions of settling down.

“Based on current theories,

the Great Red Spot should have disappeared after several decades. Instead, it has been there for hundreds of years,” Dr. Pedram Hassanzadeh, a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard, told Science Daily last week.

He and his partner, fluid dynamics professor at Berkeley

Dr. Philip Marcus, built a highresolution three-dimensional model of the spot, capturing not only the horizontal winds of the vortex but the vertical flows as well.

“In the past, researchers either ignored the vertical flow because they thought it was not important, or they used simpler equations because it was so difficult to model,” Hassanzadeh told Science Daily.

Most of the energy being thrown around in the Great Red Spot is travelling in the horizontal winds, but Hassanzadeh and Marcus found that the vertical flow brings hot and cold gases into the centre of the vortex from above and below, replacing the energy the horizontal winds constantly lose.

The researchers also found their model hypothesized that a radial flow runs around the edges of the spot, sucking in power from neighboring jet streams and fueling the vortex.

Hassanzadeh and Marcus are preparing to present their work at the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid

Dynamics later this month. The research they’ve done into the Great Red Spot may also apply a little closer to home – some underwater oceanic vortices, for example, operate on the same principles of fluid dynamics. While they might not have the same lifetime as Jupiter’s spot, they sometimes can last for years at a time.

For now, Hassanzedeh and Marcus are modifying their model to include an older theory, which suggests that once in a while the Great Red Spot sucks in smaller vortexes and feeds on their energy to power itself.

“Some computer models show that large vortices would live longer if they merge with smaller vortices, but this does not happen often enough to explain the Red Spot’s longevity,” Marcus told Science Daily.

But working that into the fluid model might just be one more piece of the Great Red Spot puzzle.

Flipping classrooms and crowd vs cloud

Five-minute faculty microlectures present a taste of research CHRISTOPHER DEMARCUS

THE CASCADE

What could you do in two minutes? You could relax, or you could try to explain years’ worth of research to a crowd of students and faculty. Which is just what UFV faculty members were doing on November 13 at the Roadrunner Café on the Abbotsford campus.

With only one Powerpoint slide, professors were required to give their micro-lectures while a traffic light timer app counted down the seconds.

The point is to build bridges between disciplines and whet intellectual appetites. Thirteen professors presented their research findings starting with Darrell Fox, an instructor of social work and human services.

“Childcare based on traditional Māori techniques in New Zealand enhances children advocacy. My quantitative research project looked at internal advocates to support children,” he explained. “In New Zealand and Canada, it would be used in aboriginal communities and therefore there are some concerns.”

Darrell was quickly cut off by the red light. His time was up. Laughter erupted from the crowd. The proceeding lectures stuck to the hard-andfast rules.

Mathematics instructor Judy Larson talked about the growing popularity of the flipped classroom. The idea is that students watch lectures on their computers at home, then use the classroom for one-on-one or group learning.

“My desire is to free class

time for inquiry based, student-centred learning, which is often very difficult in a limited time-frame,” she said, “The flipped classroom model allows teachers to capitalize on advancements of technology.”

Communications instructor Linda Pardy’s research looked at students that are “at-risk” or “non-traditional,” and what enabled them to succeed. She followed the path of 2010 graduates to see if they had found full-time employment.

“I’m happy to report that they are flourishing. They are employed and they are able to support themselves; prior to their degree they were not,” she said.

But Pardy found more than employment stats in her research. She found that all students need trust to succeed at university.

“Students go to the crowd or the cloud,” she explained, “We do not have ‘traditional’ students. . . students are really slow to trust. We need authentic, real, and ongoing support that help people to learn trust.”

The next topic was a hybrid of history, communications, and English studies, focusing on the communication of Indian soldiers in WWI. “Many were sent to fight in France, their letters were censored because there was some seditious activities that were going on in Europe that were anti-imperialist,” English instructor Prabhjot Parmar said.

Parmar has read thousands of censored letters and documents from the time period in which soldiers wrote about despondency and discourage-

Faculty microlectures took over the Road Runner café. ments – not to enlist because the war was so terrible. Parmar has captured some of those voices in her book, When Your Voice Tastes Like Home: Immigrant Women Write.

Last to speak on his work with philosophical counselling was philosophy instructor Peter Raabe.

“Philosophy can prevent and cure mental illnesses,” he said, trying to give a quick rundown

Image: UFV flickr

of his concepts of internal mental illness, and how philosophy can be used as treatment in psychotherapy.

“The conventional approach is the biological; people are seen as biological machines.

The physician sees the brain as a physical entity needing brain repairs.

“On the other hand, the intentional stance sees humans as people who think about

things, experience feelings, and perceive meaning – the person struggling with meaningful life circumstances. In other words, mental and emotional suffering is not seen by a malfunctioning brain. It is seen as occurring for human reasons,” said Raabe. “Mental illness is intentional.”

“Shock and disbelief,” was how Dr. Peter Raabe described the healthcare profession’s response to the ideas in his upcoming book Philosophy’s Role in Counseling and Psychotherapy.

At the same time, it was clear that the audience needed more than two minutes to unpack the issue.

Having to cram so much information into such little time might seem counter-productive, but that afternoon, classes were buzzing with conversations about the lecture series.

More than anything, it let students hear ideas from outside their departments while showcasing the great research that goes on at UFV.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Change is coming; SUS board reform on the table

Proposed changes to SUS hierarchy, wages, and student representation KATHERINE GIBSON

THE CASCADE

Issues with the current SUS board structure Greg Stickland explains the board has a strong structure but there are ultimately weaknesses in the hierarchal system currently in place. For instance, student representatives are intended to keep the board accountable, but also report to the board in day-to-day activities.

“It’s a lot more of a pyramid. The president and the executive committee [are] on the very top. Everyone reports to the president, and they get their direct orders from the president,” he notes. “Underneath we put the representatives, and their various vice-presidents.”

“I still found that this structure was very flawed, mainly because the representatives are there to represent various student voices – they’re meant to balance out the executives,” Stickland continues. “But on our current

board structure, we have representatives being our labour – they do five hours a week and they need to report to the [executive committee]. So how awkward is that – you’re meant to be the power that oversees your boss. It’s very difficult and it’s broken, in my opinion.”

Stickland also acknowledges that SUS’s current structure makes it possible for the government to become cliquey and lacking in diverse representation – an issue he believes the board reform will address.

“There’s kind of a mentality that SUS is its own club. So there are obviously flaws in how representation is done if there’s that notion,” Stickland continues, “but if we can restructure the positions so that everyone can feel represented by at least one member of the board, that will help.”

How will the change affect students?

Although students may question how changing the SUS board structure will practically affect their everyday lives at UFV, both Stickland and Davies suggest that the new board structure will help SUS serve the student population faster and with more efficiency.

“Students often say, ‘what does SUS do for me?’ Well, we can do a lot more under this system,”

Davies explains. “I can’t tell you what new service or what new thing is going to happen next year, but I can say it will be more efficient and we will be able to do more.

“There are flaws with everything,” he concludes, “but this [reform] is the best structure for us [and our student population].”

Proposed changes to SUS board structure 1. Move towards a policy/ oversight board

2. Changes to executive and director positions

3. Changes to representative positions

One of the main changes proposed in the policy is to divide who does the practical labour within the government. Under this new plan, SUS representatives will no longer be required to do five hours of labour, which, in theory, will make them more neutral and therefore more effective in the role of overseeing SUS’s decisions. The responsibility of labour will be consolidated and given instead to four main directing positions – director of engagement, director of equality, director of finance, and the clubs and association director. “Under the old structure, everyone is a director and a member of the board – so they all contribute to the labour and they all sit on the board, but this board structure is different,” Stickland goes on. “You can be a member of the board that represents someone, but not expected to do labour – and the opposite. You can be a director that has to do labour, but not a member of the board.”

Aaron Levy, CIVL’s station manager, concisely explained what the changes will practically mean for those working within this structure.

“It’s specifically that you’re moving towards a policy or oversight board rather than a working board,” he said, and both Stickland and Davies agreed.

For executive and director members the largest change comes in the number of hours they will be expected to work, as well as how they would be paid for those hours.

Since they would take over hours that were once allocated to representatives, the executive and directing board members will now work 20 hours a week.

“The hours are going to be drastically increased, because they are a combination of the reps – so the reps got five hours a week, these directors will get 20,” Stickland says.

Davies also spoke to the efficiency this change will bring, explaining that this core team will now also be paid hourly for the time they contribute.

“It is almost always much more efficient to have, in this case, four people doing 20 hours of work, than a whole bunch of people doing little bits of work – it’s much more efficient and much more beneficial to everyone who’s involved,” Davies notes. “They will be paid fairly on a per hour rate … for the directors the plan is to do $11 an hour, and then for the executives, so the two VPs and the president, they will get $12 an hour.”

Questions were raised about where the funding would come from to pay for these new positions. However, Stickland was adamant that the aggregate total that is currently being paid as honoraria to the board will be the same amount paid out to the new positions.

The proposed board reform will also alter the representative positions that sit on the board. These members will no longer be paid or expected to work a set amount of hours.

Although many of the positions remain the same, such as aboriginal representative, the breadth of students sitting on the board will increase.

Along with adding a seat on the board for a student representative from each of the faculties, as divided by UFV, the SUS board will also have non-voting representatives from both The Cascade and CIVL Radio.

While the addition of the new positions will add to the diversity of the board, questions were raised as to whether one student representative would be able to accurately represent the diversity of students within each faculty group.

“That is something that we recognize in each of these positions – nothing is perfect. We recognize there are flaws, but we do feel this is the best we can do,” Davies notes. “We certainly hope that we do get students who are engaged, who are involved in their associations, who are leaders on campus, and therefore do have a connection with those they [will be] representing.”

Along with adding representative positions, the proposed policy will also remove some. For instance, the representative-at-large position will no longer exist.

4. Hiring director positions Due to the extensive amount of work directors will now be required to do under the proposed reform, positions will no longer be elected by the student body; instead they will be hired.

“One thing that will make the board, and the government as a whole, more productive is the director positions will now be hired by the vice-presidents,” Stickland says. “So, whereas now all of our labour is based on elections, now these ones will be hired.”

The rationale behind this decision is that directors will need to have specific skill sets in order to properly carry out their jobs. “[We’re] hiring based on skill sets and turning it into a student job,” Davies explains.

“It’s based on the skills that these students have and can contribute to the society.”

Both Stickland and Davies recognize that students may be concerned that these positions are now out of the hands of voters. However, they believe that the vice-presidents, who will be elected and have the ability to change the direction of the hired board, will give the government room to properly accommodate student voices.

“The [vice-presidents] have strategic oversight and are able to give strategic direction,” Davies says. “So yes, the vice president external and vice president internal …. have the oversight and the direction to say ‘[students] want to go in this direction, therefore I’m going to assign these tasks … for this goal or plan.’”

5. Hiring the board chair Under the proposed reform the board chair will also be a separately hired student position. Currently, the SUS president doubles as the board chair, which Davies believes does not give the president the proper ability to speak or express reasonable opinions.

“One of the key things is that it is important for the board chair in the meeting to be neutral and in the current set-up we generally have the president operating as the chair,” he explains. “It doesn’t allow the president to express fair opinions on anything that’s going on, because [they’re] not allowed to.

“The board chair is a hired position, and because it’s non-voting we can do that,” Davies continues. “The logic being a chair is an important job to make sure you can keep the meetings controlled and organized.”

Over the course of the discussion, the ability for a student to remain truly neutral was questioned. He or she will pay SUS fees and be a part of one of the represented faculties, and therefore may have a vested interest in the direction and choices brought to SUS board level.

This concern was heard by both Stickland and Davies, to be taken into account in the ongoing organization of the proposed reform.

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OPINION

OPINION

SNAPSHOTS

Adult is an attitude Katie Stobbart The transformation has been happening for some time now. I moved out on my own. Bills addressed to me arrive in the mail.

Sometimes I even speak and sound a little too much like my mom, but I still find myself wondering: when do I start to feel like an adult?

It’s mid-November, and excited whispers have begun to flurry like the first flakes in a snowstorm: winter is coming. I was once filled with excitement around this time: ready to skate, build an igloo, have a snowball fight.

All I can think of are slushy roads, jerks who purposely drive through puddles to splash pedestrians, overpriced everything, and all-day wet socks encased in sopping shoes. A snowball fight sounds messy and cold. I’ve already grumpily berated some friends and family members for cheery Christmas humming, counting down the days until holdiays, or wistfully longing for snow.

Thus, I have come to a realization: the “feeling” of being an adult is no longer wanting to be one. Someone, anyone, challenge me to a snowball fight before it’s too late.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Curtailed commentary on current conditions

Democracy was nice

One child, two child?

Christopher Demarcus

DESSA BAYROCK

Democracy looks good when the sun is bright and the flags are waving.

But our government, right or wrong, is not always going to give us democracy.

The truth is, our government will only give us what we tolerate. As long as we want cheap consumption, cheap food, cheap transportation, cheap media, and cheap spirituality, we will never have democracy.

Because democracy requires value and will.

The rule of the people has been overrun by the rule of the market. A market that sells us political ads years before an election. A market that places illusions of profit over dreams of justice.

We have a faux-democratic system that wields brands instead of leaders, logos instead of thoughts, and attack ads instead of ideas. We’ve given ourselves to media consumption instead of giving ourselves to the connection of each other. We used to vote for ideas, now we vote for a colour on a sign or a photo-shopped face on a billboard.

Our governments have become corrupt businesses, ruled by the prices of oil and gas.

Instead of saying, “That’s the way it works,” maybe we should vote “NO!” at the ballot box.

Apparently China relaxed its “One Child” policy a little bit further, and now allows parents to have a second child if one of the parents was an only child themselves.

To be honest I’ve always respected China for instituting a cap on children. Our species is expanding at an alarming rate, and China is basically the only country with the balls (and the near-dictatorship power) to institute a fire break against that. You have to respect that, at least a little.

I used to read a lot of science fiction as a kid, and Isaac Asimov—one of the greats— always said he believed a couple should have no more than two kids. It’s a one-forone equation: two people bring two children into the world. When the parents eventually, you know, kick it, the children will fill their societal hole exactly. Lose two people, gain two people.

However, I somehow doubt China has Asimov’s science fiction ideals in mind with this new relaxed policy. I think China is getting more than a little bit terrified that they aren’t going to have enough workers to replace the current ones when the current ones, you know, kick it.

Where art thou, pencil?

Anthony Biondi

Popular culture puts socks on the front line of randomly disappearing objects, but for me, pencils are the worst.

It has come to the point where I no longer purchase decent pencils because I know they will disappear almost immediately after purchase.

The pencil in question was a Staedtler sketching mechanical pencil, and my favourite in the whole world. We had a good relationship until he mysteriously disappeared.

I looked in my book bag, backpack, desk, bedside table, book shelf, under the bed, near the TV, the bathroom – you name it.

Still there was no sign of my good friend. To make it worse, it chose the worst time possible to disappear. Right when I needed to take notes in the margins of my class readings.

A few days ago I located my favourite pencil. It was exactly where I had left it and where I had also looked several hundred thousand times. Right in the pouch of my backpack with all my other pens.

I have come to the conclusion that poltergeists are responsible for this strange phenomenon of disappearing writing utensils. I just wish they would leave us all alone.

Deposit payment stress should be avoidable KATIE STOBBART

THE CASCADE

The most frustrating time of semester for me is not midterms or final exams. It’s not that eightpage paper due only a few days after a big test. It’s not even that moment when I realize there are two weeks left in the semester and there are four novel chapters, three all-nighters, two final papers, and a partridge in a pear tree waiting to be dealt with.

The most frustrating time of semester is registration.

Registration can be a little like The Hunger Games. Everyone’s gathered around the cornucopia of courses, eyeing up requirements for the next semester’s survival, evaluating which course will be the easiest to grab, or which ones every bloodthirsty student in your program will be all over. Supporting evidence: Shakespeare (ENGL 312, one of two courses offered in the winter that fulfill a degree requirement applicable to almost all English programs) has a waitlist of 21 people only a few days after registration began on November

An ordinary sign, or your worst nightmare?

12. By November 14, some courses were already almost full.

It’s a tense environment. Nobody wants to be stuck taking some lower-level course in a totally different discipline just to fill up the credits necessary to get student loan. Everyone is counting the credits until graduation, and some of us are thinking, “If I don’t get into this course this semester, I’m not going to graduate on time.”

Image: Anthony Biondi

Nobody wants to be number 22 on a waitlist.

At any bursting-at-the-seams university struggling with a lack of funds to provide extra sections of vital courses, any glitch or delay in registration is magnified.

UFV warned students in advance to pay their $200 registration deposits early. “Pay your registration deposit 72 hours before registration,” is set in large font and all

caps atop the Winter 2014 Quicklinks page. In smaller font: “Online banking payments can take up to three business days to be applied to your UFV account.” Since registration began, I’ve heard a number of frustrating stories. Some students just forgot to pay on time, some forgot Monday was a stat holiday and didn’t count as a business day, and some students who paid as early as the Wednesday before their Tuesday registration times had to go wait in line at OReg anyway and pay an additional $200 deposit if they wanted to register on time. This seems ironic to me considering that underneath that same 72-hour warning on OReg’s payment methods page, it says, “Don’t wait in line, pay online!”

It’s ridiculous that it should take three business days for a payment to be applied to my UFV account.

It’s not the bank’s fault, either – the payment shows up on my account mere minutes after sending it to the payee, UFV. Computers are supposed to be faster than people – nearly instantaneous.

In a single day, I could begin my manual registration at UFV, walk

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to my bank through a foot of snow, battle a sasquatch, reach my bank, withdraw $200, walk back through two feet of snow to UFV, climb the stairs, wait in line for two hours outside the OReg office, make my payment, and register.

But it takes three days to click a few buttons and send it over the internet?

Something’s not right here.

Maybe I’m just missing some part of the process. There are a lot of students at UFV registering, after all, and it’s not like computers can be used to process large amounts of information all at once – oh, wait.

It just seems to me the registration payment process is a lot more convoluted than it needs to be, and involves a lot of unnecessary stress for everyone involved. Surely, with the advanced technology available to us, there is a way to take the frustration out of registration.

Comment on our website or email your thoughts to opinion@ufvcascade.ca

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OPINION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Fully automatic washrooms not doing us any favours ASHLEY MUSSBACHER

THE CASCADE

Theoretical physicist Richard P. Feynman once said that for technology to be successful, “reality must take precedence over public relations.”

Under capitalism, successful technology is whatever can make the next fast dollar, regardless of the consequences it has on people, communities, and environment.

On a large scale we see propaganda for an XL pipeline. On a smaller one we notice that we no longer have to pump a lever for paper towel in public bathrooms.

Both of these are examples of money changing hands for bad ideas.

Both result in a poisoned world.

Since when did it become so important to us to do nothing? You can point the finger at Facebook and blame Mark Zuckerburg for providing us with distractions, or take a stab at internet search engines like Google in hopes of finding the perfect scapegoat for a data-overloaded society, but ultimately it comes down to empathy and our lack of it; empathy for the Earth, for our communities, and for anyone not us.

A notion coined by David Wong called the “Monkey Sphere” explores the idea of human empathy and why a good portion us just don’t give a shit. Regardless of the obvious insult of comparing us to monkeys and the fact that the article is found on Cracked, we can-

Image: Ashley Mussbacher

Are slightly better sanitary conditions reason enough to go with alkaline batteries in UFV’s washrooms? not ignore that Wong brings up an interesting point that, in the most terrifying way, makes sense.

He says, “So how many monkeys would it take… [before] you will no longer really care if one of them dies?”

Earth’s population is at eight billion.

According to Wong, you or I will only start caring if the people

within our “Monkey Sphere” are affected, because ultimately it will impact us. The bottom line is that humans are selfish, and incapable of empathy for anyone outside themselves.

It’s a cold way of looking at our species. When you throw in the environmental movement and then look at technological “advancements” like fully automated public

bathrooms, you begin to see that while Wong’s theory might not encompass everyone, it may certainly account for some.

If we focus on the minute example of human apathy for the environment, we will start to realize that what we first perceived as barely significant is actually quite detrimental. Hand towel machines in bathrooms. First off, what was

wrong with the regular hand-operated dispensers?

These not-so-new machines are fully automated with the exception that the D-Cell, non-rechargeable batteries need changing. Yes, batteries. What did you think they worked on, magic?

The first D-cell alkaline battery was invented by Thomas Edison in 1898. Call2Recycle, an international program operating in Canada and the United States for recycling batteries, was organized in 2000.

That’s over 100 years without a recycling program for batteries. We ask the question—where did they all go?—to which there is an obvious answer: in our landfills.

We don’t need to be scientists to know the chemicals—primarily mercury, cadmium, and lithium— will negatively impact the environment. But the question is how many of us are taking that extra step to make sure they don’t end up in the trash? With this new movement towards full automation, it raises the question of how many of those non-rechargeable batteries are being recycled.

If you don’t care about it now, when will you? Open your eyes and take a look around. From the large issues that grab our attention in the mass media, to the smaller ones we barely notice, if at all, when will we start caring about the place we live in enough to do something about the changes happening around us?

Harper’s hard-hearted The case for more language minors heroin ban TAYLOR BRECKLES

CONTRIBUTOR

NADINE MOEDT

THE CASCADE

The federal government’s furious ideological “war on drugs” has led to a controversial interference in the medical world. Prescription heroin and a number of other prescription drugs have been banned.

Using prescription heroin is a common and often life saving means of facilitating a withdrawal from a heroin addiction.

The ban has sparked a heated debate among heroin addicts, members of the medical profession, and the Harper government, a debate that has called attention to the extreme ignorance of the federal government’s anti-drug tirade.

The ban began as a way to close a “loophole” that allowed drug users to exploit the federal allowance for prescription drugs, according to health minister Rona Ambrose.

CBC reports that doctors are currently banned from prescribing illegal drugs—such as heroin, cocaine and LSD—as a method of addict recovery.

Ambrose stated that the Harper government does “not believe” that they would be “serving the interests of those who are addicted to drugs, or those who need our help, by giving them the very drugs they are addicted to.”

But beliefs are no substitute for

facts when it comes to good medical policy.

A 2005 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that prescription heroin is a “safe and effective treatment” for those who tried and failed at conventional treatments.

According to CBC, participants in the study both reduced their consumption of illegal drugs and avoided illegal activities. Participants were also more likely to remain in treatment in comparison to other methods. The treatment itself involves administering safe heroin in a medical setting two to three times a day. This method is supported internationally and has been offered in several countries since 1994 with positive outcomes.

The Harper government also doesn’t believe in safe injection sites. Insite, a Vancouver safe injection site based in the downtown eastside, remains the only safe injection site in Canada and faces federal disapproval.

Safe injection sites are about harm reduction; they reduce the number of people injecting in public, the number of unsafe used needles on the street and the number of fatalities from preventable overdoses. Insite’s website reports that 4,564 of the addicts who visited the clinic were referred to other social and health services for help.

In 2011, former minister of health Tony Clement attempted

to refuse Insite an exemption from Canada’s anti-drug laws. The Supreme Court of Canada blocked this attempt, stating that denying this facility would run contrary to the “life, liberty, and security of the person” section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This decision should have opened the door for more clinics like Insite and a chance for the Harper government to reassess its disregard of the people and information in their strict anti-drug policy.

Yet still Harper’s policy involves disturbingly little research. Worse yet, there is a methodic omission of empathy. According to Maclean’s, 2012 saw a reduction of $42 million in Health Canada’s drug treatment funding program for addicts. At the same time, RCMP funding for investigating marijuana growers and drug labs rose by $28 million, and support for the federal office of the Director of Public Prosecutions rose by $18 million.

The balance between tough on drug crime and compassion for drug addicts has fallen to the wayside. In their attempt to stamp out drug use in Canada, the federal government has disregarded its victims. Our focus should be on harm reduction and rehabilitation, not on prevention means that have so far failed in the ill-conceived “war on drugs.”

Recent budget cuts to the language programs at Abbotsford’s Yale Secondary suggest a diminishing interest in multilingualism. A staff member at the high school explained that the budgets for the Japanese and the Spanish programs have been cut. The French program continues to be supported. Perhaps this is only because Canada is a bilingual country. I would suggest it’s evidence that languages are viewed as less important.

Additional languages are seen as a way to get a beer in a foreign country, a means of fancily and sneakily swearing, and as easy courses to take to meet educational requirements. But they also have a greater purpose.

With the knowledge of a second, third, or eighteenth language, opportunities open up. For one, you will be able to travel with a certain amount of ease. Most students will travel at some point during their lives, whether chasing a degree, an internship, or fun, so if you do want to explore the unknown, knowing the language of the region you’re in can save you a certain amount of trouble.

Language can help you make transactions, haggle, or understand the beautiful history you are surrounded by. Also, if you

want to work in the Canadian government, you need to be able to pass a French test.

Now you may be asking yourself about how this relates to UFV, but trust me, it does.

One of the Spanish professors who teaches here, Teresa Arroliga-Piper, has a goal of bringing a Spanish minor to the school. UFV offers French, Halq’emeylem, Japanese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Russian, German, and Spanish – but you can only get a minor or extended minor in French.

Compared to the east coast, those of us in British Columbia aren’t as accustomed to French.

In Quebec and Ontario, French is everywhere; on billboards, in stores, and heard regularly on the street, so having a large French program in schools is expected. In BC, however, we hear a great multitude of languages, from Punjabi to Mandarin, and yet advancement is only offered in French. I hope the Spanish minor is brought to UFV, because other languages might follow suit.

One should stop and think about the value of every aspect of life before laying a judgment upon it or casting it away as irrelevant. For after all, in the words of psycholinguist Frank Smith, “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.”

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OPINION

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

The endgame on Orson Scott Card PAUL ESAU

THE CASCADE

Hyenas nipping at the heels of Mufasa.

That’s what I think of whenever I see a reference to the campaign to boycott Ender’s Game: a swarm of mangy scavengers slowly overwhelming an old lion. Obviously, this is emotive and reactionary thinking, but it does cause me physical pain to see Orson Scott Card so demonized. I thought that being one of the finest (and most progressive) sci-fi writers of his generation would garner him more respect, but, just as Ender himself was transformed from hero to villain in the aftermath of victory, a changing society has come to revile Card.

As the boycott is all but a spent force at this point, I’m not going demand that it be defied or repealed. I have two major problems with it, one concerning accuracy and one concerning the conception itself. I’ll start with accuracy as the more pressing of the two.

Much of the web coverage of the boycott consists of a series of assumptions peppered with links both to each other and perceived evidence for those assumptions.

Most of them, whether the official “Skip Ender’s Game” page, or articles from Salon, Vice, The Huffington Post, or a dozen other pseudo-news sources, lead with titles calling Card anti-gay or homophobic. Vice, as well as a blog article featured on the official boycott page, accuse Card of being racist, and other sources marginalize him for what they consider his “neo-conservative” (read: crazy) political views.

The last two accusations are laughable, and I’m impressed at the nerve of any editor willing to put them in print. Card’s books incorporate characters from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds, and more accurate criticism recognizes him for his intelligence and sensitivity. One of the earliest heroes in Ender’s Game is a boy named Alai who is both dark-skinned and Muslim – not a combination often given sympathetic representation in 1980s popular fiction. As for Card’s political views, while he is obviously conservative, the only bigotry I find is in those trying to marginalize him by cherry-picking quotes from his blog, The Ornery American, and decontextualizing them. The most common quotes come from a recent, May 9 post titled (tellingly) “Unlikely Events” which begins with the following disclaimer: “This is the column where I predict how American democracy ends. No, no, it’s just a silly thought experiment! I’m not serious about this! Nobody can pre-

Why we should be ashamed of ourselves

dict the future! It’s just a game. The game of Unlikely Events. It isn’t my work as a writer of science fiction and fantasy that prepares me to write about unlikely events.

My job in writing sci-fi is to make impossible events seem not just possible but likely. Inevitable.”

After such an intro, is it surprising that Card goes on to construct an unlikely series of political decisions which lead to President Obama becoming the first American dictator? No. Does Card claim this series of events should be taken seriously as a legitimate threat to American democracy? No. Should anybody be treating this blog post as a serious expression of Card’s political views?

Not unless their true rhetorical goal is blatant character assassination, which, while unsurprising, is a little disheartening. The Huffington Post after all, ran this story under the headline “Orson Scott Card Outdoes Himself With Insane, Racist Rant.” No one ever accused the bloated Huffington empire of being anything more than a bread-and-circus show (with the occasional lucid hiccup), but the sheer libelous audacity is breathtaking.

Which brings me to my second problem: the concept that, in this circumstance, libel and character assassination are okay. Most of the recent posts on Card begin with a reiteration of the accusations that the author is either anti-gay or outright homophobic, before leaping into nonfactual allegations about his political or racial views. By harnessing the social condemnation of these loaded terms, by painting Card as a monochromatic villain, they’ve found a way to avoid having to be fair, truthful, or even logical in their assault. Culturally, the homophobe, like the racist, pedophile, and fundamentalist, represents the “other.” We are not them, indeed have no relation or connection to them, and therefore can engage in self-righteous hatred of them without moral qualification.

Consequently, the all-important question (culturally) becomes: “Is Card a homophobe?” This matters to those deciding whether to enjoy his work because Card, unlike other accused literary homophobes, chauvinists, molesters, sexists, or tyrants, is still alive and capable of using his profits to further his interests.

This question, unlike the others, is not absurd. Card is a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints, and has been involved in campaigns to protect a hetero-normative definition of marriage and family. The work most often cited as evidence for his homophobia is a 1990 essay called “The Hypocrites of Homosexuality,” which, eye-catching title aside, was actually an astoundingly liberal work for a Latter-day Saint to publish at the time.

In 1990, 75 per cent of Americans believed homosexual sex was “immoral” and “gay marriage was illegal in literally every jurisdiction in the world” (Noah Berlatsky in The Atlantic). Most of us under 30 were not exactly concerned with sexual ethics in 1990, and therefore don’t understand how much the world has changed in the last quarter-century. To judge Card’s essay by the zeitgeist of 2013 ignores historical and social context, as well as the intricacies of the work itself.

It also ignores the intricacies of Card as an articulate and sensitive intellectual, who added a clarifying defense to the piece postpublication: “This essay was published in February of 1990, in the following context: The Su-

preme Court had declared in 1986 (Bowers v. Hardwick) that a Georgia law prohibiting sodomy even in the privacy of one’s own home was constitutional. I was also writing this essay to a conservative Mormon audience that at the time would have felt no interest in decriminalizing homosexual acts. In

that context, my call to ‘leave the laws on the books’ was simply recognizing the law at that time, and my call to not enforce it except in flagrant cases was actually, within that context, a liberal and tolerant view – for which I was roundly criticized in conservative Mormon circles as being ‘pro-gay.’ Those who now use this essay to attack me as a “homophobe” deceptively ignore the context and treat the essay as if I had written it yesterday afternoon. That is absurd – now that the law has changed (the decision was overturned in 2003) I have no interest in criminalizing homosexual acts and would never call for such a thing, any more than I wanted such laws enforced back when they were still on the books.

But I stand by the main points of this essay, which concerns matters internal to the Mormon Church.”

Some of the ambiguity in the public interpretation of Card’s position comes from the slippage of meaning between secular marriage as defined by the state, and sacred religious marriage as defined by the Church of Latter-Day Saints.

As our society struggles to decide upon an acceptable application for the term “homophobe,” as well as the limits of “freedom of religion,” unjust attacks like the one levied against Card will occur. Still, we need to aspire to a greater level of accuracy and respect in our conversations, instead of “othering” those, like Card, whom we have decided to fear or despise.

We are humans, not hyenas, after all.

Images: Anthony Biondi

FEATURE ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Cascade Arcade

Why I’m not getting the new consoles

Photo: Alan Klim/Flickr

JEREMY HANNAFORD CONTRIBUTOR

PlayStation 4 is now out, with Xbox One following on November 22.

Many people will flock to stores to purchase these new home consoles. Judging from pre-order numbers and general reaction on internet forums, it seems Sony’s PS4 will fly off the shelves compared to Microsoft’s controversial Xbox One. Debate aside, one thing is for sure: I’m not getting one.

At least not yet.

If life has taught us anything when it comes to gaming or hardware, the best tester is the regular consumer. QA departments and play testers can find a majority of issues, one can never fully prepare for what the public will discover. This is why some big online multiplayer games like Battlefield or Halo have beta testing, where a preliminary version of the game is sent out to a small section of regular gamers. The data from the small majority who actually send good criticism (rather than just gloat about playing the game before its release date) can help improve the game. How hard can it be run before it crashes?

How long can it go before issues begin to break the game? A lot of issues can be unearthed by the larger sample size of beta.

So when I say I’m not getting a new console on day one, I say it because I learned my lesson hard the last time. When the PS3 and Xbox 360 came out

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in 2005 and 2006, they were both full of issues. Xbox 360 had issues where it melted or scratched discs when the system was standing up as displayed in advertisements. PS3 had an absurdly high launch price of $599, and had very few interesting games for months after its release. The competition between the two was badly handled by both corporations and led to both systems being released before heavy testing (the 360 especially) could work out all the kinks.

There is also the issue of which console to choose. While most people were right to go with PS4 after Microsoft announced its controversial no-used-games-allowed feature and must-alwaysbe-online component, the tables have become level over time.

After Microsoft saw the rapid decline in pre-orders compared to PS4 and garnered a lot of hate from the internet, they retracted those features of the system.

Now both boxes are very similar in terms of hardware and capability.

But since Xbox One has undergone so many changes within the last four months, it is impossible to say there will not be any “issues” with the system. The notorious “Red Ring of Death” may re-emerge to plague Microsoft gamers with broken launch systems. This is why Xbox One will have a 500MB day one patch to prevent this from happening – but even that isn’t a complete guarantee. Along with PS4 having a similar 308MB day one patch as well, these systems are

being pushed before they can be perfected. That is the main reason why I am not getting a console on launch day.

I’m going to wait and see how things play out. Early reviews of PS4 launch titles have been average, which is to be expected.

What I will regret is not getting to play games like Battlefield 4 or Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag on these new systems. It is obvious that they are chugging along on the current gen and would flourish on the more powerful hardware. But I want to be safe with my money. I want to weigh my options. I will most likely purchase my new system, whichever it is, between late March and May. I am waiting for the second wave of shipped systems so the bugs from the launch ones will be fixed.

With horrible stories of launch day acts of aggression like robberies or fights over systems which have happened for both the 360 and PS3 launches, I just feel safer waiting. I trust people will act accordingly this year, but you cannot account for everyone. For anyone who wants another example, remember how hard it was to get a Nintendo Wii after it came out? While I am not encouraging others to follow this route, which I doubt many will, I am saying as a gamer who has learned from the past: be patient and wait it out.

Dine & Dash

Sushi Nine

Photo: Sasha Moedt

32500 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford Up to $19.95 for a dinner box; $13.95 for a lunch box SASHA MOEDT

THE CASCADE

I stumbled into Sushi Nine with a girlfriend on a rainy Wednesday, tipsy on flavoured vodka and ready to feed my craving for all things sushi. I don’t make a habit of drinking on weekday afternoons, but maybe I should.

Sushi Nine is tucked between Safeway and Wok Box. It’s a little corner restaurant that doesn’t have a lot of space. Regular patrons seem to know this; while my friend and I seated ourselves, customers came in and picked up take-out. Though it isn’t roomy, the décor is tasteful, and the place is new and clean. It hasn’t been around long—less than a year—but Sushi Nine is doing well.

Our server was very friendly. She gave us green tea and menus promptly, then retreated into the tiny kitchen. It was a bit of a squeeze to be sitting at the little tables, and I was thankful there were only people lingering, waiting for take-out, because it would probably get pretty tight with more patrons sitting down to eat.

We didn’t go crazy with our ordering choices – sharing miso, sunomono, California, and a dynamite roll. I know, I know,

but I don’t have to be adventurous all the time.

While our server took our order, her smile never seemed to leave her face. She was very friendly, and made sure we had everything we needed.

The nice thing about Sushi Nine is that because it is a corner location, you’re surrounded by windows. It is very bright and cheerful. On the day we went, rain was lashing at the windows bitterly, and it felt cozy inside.

Our miso soups arrived to make it cozier. There was the perfect amount of tofu in their cloudy depths. It was flavourful, but not too salty, which tends to be the pitfall of miso soup.

Soon after, the veggie sunomono arrived. Garnished beautifully, the noodles were piled up in a perfect balance of sweet and vinegary soup. We probably looked silly, but we really slurped that stuff up.

The California and dynamite rolls were high quality. I was only disappointed with the size – they were priced normally for rolls, but considering the very small portions (however prettily presented), they were expensive by my standards. The California was $3.95, while the Dynamite went for $4.95.

All in all, Sushi Nine is an excellent Japanese restaurant if you have a bit of money jingling in your pocket. Or if you don’t have money, but you’ve consumed half a bottle of cherry vodka... Well, that’ll do just as well.

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ARTS & LIFE FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Pipelines are only part of the problem CHRISTOPHER DEMARCUS THE CASCADE / PHOTOS

“My heart is warm that you are all here. This crowd is colour-blind,” echoed the voices of Matsqui Nation elders across False Creek in Vancouver. Drums pounded out catchy rhythms as the crowd danced and sang in different languages.

Canada was host to over 80 protest rallies this past Saturday. In BC, the main theme was to stop Enbridge from building a new pipeline stretching from the tar sands in Alberta to our northern coastline. Enbridge and the provincial governments plan to have oil tankers from China pick up the unprocessed sludge at the coast, then haul it all over the world for trade.

In Vancouver, thousands of people gathered at Creekside Park near Science World. The rally was more of a community event then a protest. There was a tent full of colouring books for children, food trucks, craft booths, and lots of pamphlets.

Protest rallies have their own

kind of culture. Sculptures made of trash were scattered throughout the crowd along with a few people in token Guy Fawkes masks – probably made by a sweatshop in Southern Asia. The protest was not about politics as much as it was about counterculture expression.

Two young girls in tight clothes poured chocolate syrup over themselves while the crowd looked on with mixed reactions.

Some found it vulgar, others sexy.

“We wanted to show how the animals can’t clean themselves up,” said one of the girls, calling herself Hunter, “I couldn’t tell you what I’d like to say about Enbridge, our message is more visual.”

Behind Hunter was a middleaged mother breast-feeding her child, and next to her was a cigarette-smoking couple wearing expensive bicycle gear. The mother shot a disgusted snarl at the smokers. Meanwhile, the smell of marijuana filled the air.

It was an eclectic gathering.

Signs punched up from the crowd: “Love Not Oil,” “En-

bridge is the Real Eco Terrorist!’ and the heavily used, “#noenbridge.”

Modern protest is apparently not complete without a hashtag.

A high-school student hit the stage with a story about taking the family Prius into the wilderness to see bears. Global BC TV cameras rolled on him.

Applause erupted from the crowd for the student’s enthusiasm of a bright future. He melted their hearts. A boy and his Prius.

It was hard to be completely cynical through the obviously positive communal vibe. After all, the rally was humanity in fine form: communing, sharing, and listening.

But at such cultural events a critical eye is forced to wonder. Was this, or was this not, a form of authentic action against the pillaging of our natural re-

sources?

A survey of the crowd made it clear that the protesters had enjoyed the benefits from oil.

Aside from the hardcore hippie, most of the audience was dressed in new and expensive Gore-Tex or Lululemon hoodies. Starbucks in one hand, protest sign in the other.

And thus comes a classic argument in environmentalism: How do we detest something we love? The sign says, “Love Not Oil,” but our society makes love with oil. Our gifts, our pleasures, our modern purpose; all of it comes from oil. The kayaks that protested from the water, the cameras that took the pictures, the cars that drove the people, the microphone of the speaker, and the asphalt under our feet: all made from oil.

The developers have called the environmentalists hypocrites because they love the products they claim to hate. The environmentalists embrace the product as long

as it comes with a relatable identity or from someone else’s polluting, “Not in my backyard!”

The protesters were taking the right step in the wrong direction.

Protesting has slid from a tool for justice into a placebo for individual ego. We need to be more creative with our intentions.

Environmentalists must realize that Earth has become globalized. The planet’s ecosystems have become violently connected. Human migration that used to take 10,000 years is now done in 12 hours. A nuclear disaster in Japan can make it to our coast in the matter of days. What happens here happens there. We are all connected.

The hegemonic nature of our economic structure is what we are battling. Environmentalists simply cannot attack one corporation or project out of millions and expect results. We have to critique and rebuild the structures of global economic capital.

We have to rethink what money means.

Doesn’t make for fun signwaving anymore, does it?

This is how the economic sys-

ARTS & LIFE FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

tem works: it needs the masses to believe that rallies and protests can shape environmentalist outcomes. The oil company likes the kid who talks about his Prius. If I was the CEO of Exxon, I’d cut him a cheque.

It’s a heartbreaking truth to know that for all our efforts, all our protests, and all the vegetarian hot dogs sold in food trucks, we have failed.

But we must accept this truth if we wish to conserve our natural world. Unlike most cultural critics, who wish to tear down the environmentalist movement, my desire is to remodel it.

Environmentalists need to separate the things they like from the things that they want.

We need to focus on what we want so we can move forward with an authentic dialogue that shifts our planet into a better state for everyone. The confusion of our likes and our wants comes from the business hustlers that want to unchain the capitalist market, letting it run free in every aspect of our lives.

Here is one of the hustler ’s

pitches: “You don’t like plastic bags, let’s get rid of those.

You like airmiles, let’s give you some of those.” Congratulations, you’ve just obliterated the carbon footprint you saved from not using plastic bags by getting on an airplane and flying to Mexico.

Or another classic bait and switch: “Buy this new iPhone case, and we’ll plant a tree.”

But in fact, the corporation pulls down more trees than it plants.

And not just here in BC, but all over the world. We don’t really want that iPhone case, we just like the idea of it.

And do we even really want the iPhone, or is it simply something we like? This is the kind of dialogue we must have with ourselves to create a functional environmental movement.

But there is an ages-old adage: People are stupid. They can’t separate their likes from their wants. If that’s true, then what we need are more pipelines, more fracking, and more catastrophic storms.

Right now we’re like frogs in a

pot on the stove. It’s slowly getting hotter and hotter. Before we know it we’ll be cooked to death.

Frogs don’t jump out of the pot because they can’t tell the heat is rising – before they know it, they’re dead.

Maybe we need to up the development, to see the temperature rise like a rocket, to know that our fun time at the protest rally is not going to be enough.

If we don’t get serious about how our economic system functions once it has been unchained from environmental law, or what the BC Liberal party likes to call “barriers of progress,” we will surely boil.

It is my humble opinion that people are not stupid. However, many people lack good ideas.

They are victims of a poorly designed socioeconomic system.

Most humans can only do what other humans do.

We don’t need to protest, or boycott. We need to have dialogue with ourselves. We need to ask, “Is this what I would like, or is this what we want?”

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ARTS & LIFE

www.ufvcascade.ca

SUDOKU PUZZLE

CROSSWORD Something shiny!

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013

by Katie Stobbart

ACROSS 1.

5.

7.

8.

10.

12.

13.

14.

These are sometimes used to add glitter to crafts and clothing. (7) Found in fancy dining rooms, this provides a certain luminescence. (10) Lover of shiny objects. (6) Usually this bathroom fixture is shiny. (6) We use these practically at mealtimes, but they are also shiny. (8) Pieces of currency. (5) The covering on your candy bar. (7) Reflective piece of glass. (6)

DOWN 1.

2.

3.

4.

6.

9.

11.

While not exactly shiny, this substance is made up of tiny crystals. (5) Often comprised of a shiny chain. (8) If you want your leather shoes to gleam, you may need this. (6) Some instruments are made of this. (5) Also called adamant, and allegedly friendly to girls. (7) A foil for baking, etcetera. (8) Emits light and heat over a great distance, as in the sun. (4)

Answer Keys LAST WEEK

sudoku solution

Across 1 INQUIRE 3 INK 5 INTERNET 7 INLAWS 8 INROADS 9 INJURE 10 INVERT Down 2 INCEST 3 INTELLIGENT 4 INCLINE 5 INFIRM 6 INSIDIOUS

The Weekly Horoscope

Star Signs from Sumas Sibyl

Aquarius: Jan 20 - Feb 18: Zombies gonna eat yo’ brain, foo.

Gemini: May 21 - June 21: Someone’s shouting timber.

You’d better dance. No… run!

Don’t dance! Don’t dance!

Run! Jeez!

Libra: Sept 23 - Oct 22: Smelly cat… what ARE they feeding you?

Pisces: Feb 19 - March 20: Screw losing weight. Eat Jenny Craig.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22: Hahaha, you think you’re poor now? Christmas is coming!

Scorpio: Oct 23 - Nov 21: Write your term paper drunk.

Your professor will respect you for it. Okay, maybe not, but it’ll be fun!

Aries: March 21 - April 19: One of the teletubbies mated with Barney, and now its offspring is waiting to jump you behind the 7/11. Preschool nightmare!

Leo: July 23 - Aug 22: You’re being stalked by your future self. That’s creepy.

You’re creepy!

Sagittarius: Nov 22 - Dec 21: Your life is about to follow the plot of a ‘70s sci-fi. Don’t even try to make sense of it.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20: Avoid oranges. They are hands down the most annoying fruit.

Virgo: Aug 23 -Sept22: Wee doggies! Granny has a real fine mess of possum belly cooking for you, why it smells just fine! Yesiree.

Capricorn: Dec 22 - Jan 19: Forget the Bible. Forget Oprah. Ellen has the real answers for you.

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ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Haute Stuff

“Fast fashion” comes at a price

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Shuffle

CHARTS

The Darcys Warring

AARON LEVY

CIVL STATION MANAGER

The Arcade Fire Reflektor

CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy hopes you’ll check out this upcoming Monday’s event at AfterMath with Atomis, GSTS, and The Alaska. This may be one of GSTS’ last shows ever, so here is a shuffle with a flurry of GSTS related bands!

Kim Wempe Coalition Casinos The Motionless Heron

Open Letters – “I Am a Fucking Misogynist”

Ghost Cousin Scotland

GSTS bassist Reuben Houweling doubles in Open Letters, whose debut EP 1-6 features this tonguein-cheek number. One of the freshest and most blistering bands currently on the lower mainland scene, you cannot miss an opportunity to see them live. These guys are likely not real misogynists at all.

Moby Innocents

The Koffin Kats Our Way & The Highway

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Kristin Witko Aquitaine KASHKA Bound ROAR roar

Recondite Hinterland

Freelove Fenner Do Not Affect A Breezy Manner

Flow My Tears I Corey Isenor Hollowbody

Kacy and Clayton

The Day Is Past & Gone

20

Everything Will Happen

MGMT MGMT

If you’re a university student, you’re probably wearing a piece of it right now. It’s called “fast fashion.”

It works like this: whenever a hot new style is sent down the runway for the upcoming fashion season, cheap clothing companies like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21 leap into action to recreate it as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Is a trendy, high-waisted leather skirt that retails for $600 at Neiman Marcus out of your price range? Fast fashion stores will sell you a lookalike—a knockoff, as suffering high-fashion designers bitterly call it—for 20 bucks. This way, we can dress like our favorite ultra-chic celebrities at a price that won’t implode our bank accounts.

But don’t celebrate yet, fashionistas. The result is inexpensive, trendy clothing that conforms to the latest fashions, but gets tossed in the garbage when it goes out of style in three months – if it doesn’t wear out first.

In short, fast fashion is the sartorial equivalent of fast food: cheap, poorly made, and instantly gratifying.

Unfortunately, while fast fashion is cheap to make and cheap to buy, there’s a different kind of price attached to it.

There are some uncomfortable questions which we have a responsibility to consider before getting sucked in by the addictively low prices and cute clothes.

First, consider the environmental impact of a system that encourages people to throw out clothing after a single season of use. Landfills are filling up with lace-hemmed tank tops, peeptoe booties, and other dead trends from recent years, quickly worn and quickly discarded – but often made of cheap mate-

Featuring, yet again, S.O.S. from You Say Party, Drew from GSTS, local folkster and singer-songwriter Franklyn Currie, also of Old Mare, as well as everyone’s favorite quiet drummer Stu Hood, Progressive Thinker is led by Champion Jack’s Jason Nicholas, one of the proud papas of the Abbotsford scene.

Two Bears North Comeocean

The Fugitives

One of the most exciting projects developed in the Fraser Valley over the course of the past several years, specifically because it not only features GSTS guitarist Drew Riekman, but also You Say Party’s Steve O’Shea, and Oh No! Yoko’s Everett Morris and Liam Hamilton. They basically no longer exist.

The Progressive Thinker – “You Are What We Like To Eat”

15 16 17 18 19

CONTRIBUTOR

Former members of Damn Fine Cop team up with childhood friend and GSTS drummer Tyler Corbett to provide this #CIVLBattle playoff contender, and one of the tightest, most frenetic, unabashedly heavy and technically impressive project this side of Iceland. It’s definitely rare for a threepiece to sound this oppressive.

Fevers No Room For Light

VALERIE FRANKLIN

Real Boys – “Wilderness”

Losses – “Give Up Your Ghost”

We Hunt Buffalo Blood From a Stone

Image: Elvert Barnes Photography / Flickr

Quick to copy catwalk fashions, but also quick to wear out; fast fashion is delicious and bad for you. rials like polyester which won’t decompose for hundreds of years.

As well, refuse and wastewater from clothing factories often contain carcinogenic dyes, hormone-disrupting chemicals, and other dangerous pollutants that seriously harm any ecosystem that’s exposed to them.

Questions have also been raised about the rights of workers who churn out fast fashion garments, often in sweatshoplike conditions. Because big fashion companies usually outsource their labour to countries like China or India, it’s often difficult to get the whole story about how their employees are being treated.

In April this year, an eightstorey textiles manufacturing facility in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1,129 workers who were ordered to stay inside and continue working despite concerns that the building wasn’t safe.

The tragedy highlighted the exploitation of fashion industry workers in third world countries, who are often underage and almost always underpaid.

If Forever 21 can afford to sell that top for $10 after mark-up, how much did it cost them to pay the worker who made it?

Also, if you love high fashion brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Alexander McQueen, you may want to think twice before supporting fast fashion.

Upscale designers are haemorrhaging money as they lose business to the fast fashion industry, which replicates their styles at a price anyone can afford.

The problem is that we’ve glamourized a wasteful lifestyle where trends come and go as quickly as we can keep up with them. Instead of trying to keep up with the latest trends, slow it down. Try investing in classic styles that don’t go “out” so quickly. Spend a little more money a little less often and

you’ll get something that will last – just like your grandma used to tell you.

If you absolutely can’t live without your fast fashion fix, though, the new H&M at Highstreet Mall is actually one of your best options. In the last couple of years, they’ve become known as one of the more ethical and environmentally conscious fast fashion companies.

In February they started their international garment recycling program: for every bag of used clothing you bring to an H&M store, including clothing from any brand and in any condition, you’ll receive a $5 voucher to spend in the store. Your old clothes will be turned into other textile products, recycled into new material, or otherwise salvaged and saved from the landfill.

But if you really want to be a savvy, eco-conscious shopper, hit up a thrift store the next time you’re looking for a pair of jeans. You’ll be doing your planet, your wallet, your wardrobe, and your conscience all a big favour – and what’s more stylish than being smart?

Image: Wikicommons

Be classic; think Coco Chanel.

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ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Discussions below the belt

Porn again: is pornography changing our view of sexuality?

tight bodies. They are directed to smile and be enthusiastic when at times I’m sure the last thing they want to do is climb

aboard a strange penis or get a messy facial. So what does it say about women who perpetuate this depravity of females by not

Justin Bieber Music Mondays / Journals Pt. 1

Andrew Bird I Want to See Pulaski at Night

Céline Dion Loved Me Back to Life

Arcade Fire Reflektor

Since kicking off his Music Monday series back on October 7, a musical advent calendar leading up to his new film this Christmas, Justin Bieber has consistently released new singles from his “journals” collection. Now in week seven of his 10-week run of new material, Bieber has so far demonstrated significant strides, and the restraint and maturity necessary to widen his musical appeal beyond that of teenage charm. While tracks like “Wait For a Minute” fit more into his traditional mould of pop-radio fodder, “Hold Tight,” “Heartbreaker,” “Bad Day,” and “Recovery” stand in stark contrast to Bieber’s standard material. In fact, they’re his first attempt at adult R&B. He pours his heart out on these tunes, with lyrics like “First I’ll acknowledge, our trust has been broken” on the soulful “Recovery,” and “Never thought a love like yours would leave me all alone” on the downbeat “Bad Day,” as Bieber begins to let the disappointment in his personal life into his music. While he may falter with his lyrics from time to time, the minimal and tight R&B productions expose an untouched emotional side of Justin Bieber. Suddenly, Monday mornings just got a lot better.

This is not an album you listen to while working. It evokes—requires— contemplation. It is an intense, rhythmic journey with a high clear voice of violin shifting from euphoria to melancholy, from love to longing. The music is highly emotional and multifaceted, with the tracks flowing into one another. Bird’s EP has clear narrative threads despite its primarily instrumental nature. Whimsical whistles meander hand-in-hand with lower, more urgent rhythms. “Lit from Underneath” was my favourite song aside from the title track. “Logan’s Loop” was a contender with a catchy beginning and strong build-up, but ended abruptly at just over a minute, leaving a dissatisfying void. But the album flourishes with “Pulaski at Night.”

This is where the narrative woven throughout the album culminates, and the vocals do not diminish the instrumentals; rather the experiments from previous tracks blend with the unique tenor of Bird’s voice, creating a kind of poignance. It ends on a note of melancholic hope to be carried through “Hover I” and “Hover II.” However, the end of the latter and the last track, “Ethio Invention No. 2” seemed superfluous, in the first case wrapping up too tidily and the second sounding too similar to “Ethio Invention No. 1” with only some strange variations. But overall, an intriguing instrumental album that leaves the ears and the mind feeling satiated.

It’s hip to slam Céline Dion. As a contrarian to sub-popular culture I gave her new record a spin. Wow. I never knew something could sound so technically right, but feel so goddamn wrong. The first track, “Love Me Back to Life” sounds like burnt popcorn.

Like, when you were really hungry and you over-cooked the bag by just 30 seconds, so the office smells really good – making people jealous, but angry because it stinks like burnt chemicals. For the life of me, I could not understand what was happening with the melody on the first four tracks. Surely, this was not a person singing, it must be a computer. Céline has brought auto-tune to a whole new level of horrible. I tried to imagine myself in a minivan, driving my daughter to soccer practice. Maybe we could sing along with this, an allout sonic holocaust, melting the teeth out of our skulls. But thank Jebus, Ms Dion asked Stevie Wonder to show up on the ninth track, “Overjoyed.” And I’m not gonna lie, that shit pulled me in. I didn’t know if it was some sort of sick trick, but I could feel some sweet ‘90s soft jazz-style PBR&B pumping through me like a picture of the New York skyline in Ikea. At the end of the day, this record is kind of good—in that high-waisted jeans kind of way we can all relate to. My advice is to skip the tweeny first half and start listening with the track “Save Your Soul.”

Not content to take the Divine Fits route of adding synths to shuffle rock, Reflektor sees Arcade Fire, true believers in The Album, recycling concepts (see the stagnation from “Keep the Car Running” and “Ready to Start” to “You Already Know”) but with the fireproof producer’s touch of James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem). Arcade Fire “don’t know if [they] like rock and roll music,” and don’t know if they like their audience, offering up the insult of “Normal People,” American Beauty style, stuck between their mass appeal and wanting to preserve their outsider point-of-view. What emerges over the hour and change (not counting 20 minutes of tapedeck “hidden tracks”) is that, for all their Greek-tragic allusions, this is still one simple brokenlove narrative from the suburbs, for all their Black Orpheus-pasted videos, it’s Resnais’ version they might want to pay attention to, and for all their 80s rock narrative attempted groove, this hangs closest to contemporary worship, hence the (accurate) comparisons to U2. Win Butler wants to speak to a generation, or for someone, but the less attention paid to the embarrassing techno-colonial warnings of “Flashbulb Eyes” and “Here Comes the Night Time” the better. Even if the calls of “Afterlife” (“when love is gone/ where does it go?” “can we work it out?” “I’ve gotta know!”) come close to a Beach Boys b-side in naive fervour, Reflektor most resembles the beginning of a mid-life crisis.

TIM UBELS

KATIE STOBBART

CHRISTOPHER DEMARCUS

MICHAEL SCOULAR

SEXPERT

Mini Album Reviews

SoundBites

Is watching porn a good thing or a bad thing? Can it be beneficial or does it only lead to depravity? Here’s the consensus I reached after polling a group of UFV students: pornography is both good and bad. The group was roughly half male, half female, and of various sexual orientations. They agreed that the benefits of watching porn slightly outweigh the drawbacks.

Watching porn as a couple, for instance, can be an exciting and useful tool in spicing up an otherwise declining sex life.

Porn also allows you to research what turns you on. Watching it may change your outlook on what you once thought was taboo, easing fears that you are the only one who gets turned on by…whatever.

But is it possible that pornography is making sex too fantastical? Women in much of the porn made today have big, perfect breasts and completely hairless,

by “vanilla” sex – sexual acts that don’t involve “colouring outside the lines,” so to speak.

Dangers aside, porn is alive and well in our oversexed culture. It flashes on our screens while downloading media and sneaks into our Friday night movie lineup, sandwiched between Viagra commercials and diet infomercials. We can’t escape it. We either have to take it in stride and ignore the flashing images of nude or scantily clad women in sexually suggestive poses that litter our media, or embrace it and hop on the party bus; throw out our granny panties and take a pole-dancing class.

Whatever you decide, make sure it’s your decision and you’re not falling victim to the power of suggestion and pressure from the media. Sex can be a fun and dispassionate activity, but it also holds power and can be extremely special and life altering. Don’t be afraid to try new things, but don’t let its ever-present nature desensitize youd.

only watching but embracing this style of love-making? Have women submitted to behaving only in ways which turn men on and fulfill their fantasies?

Of the handful of women I’ve talked to about this issue, two thirds said they watched porn a few times but weren’t into it.

They found the storylines, or lack thereof, cheesy and phallocentric. The other third proclaimed their love for watching porn and said they felt empowered by watching porn with their partner and behaving like a porn star in the bedroom.

So I guess the mantra “to each his (or her) own” is appropriate in this discussion, but what about the dangers associated with watching pornography?

The surreal nature of pornography can lead to dangerous behaviour and unrealistic expectations. Additionally, watching too much porn can change an intimate and loving act into exhibitionism. There is also the consideration of whether or not watching too much porn makes it more difficult to get aroused

XTINA

Photo: FailedImitator

Watching porn can spice up a sex life or put pressure to be perfect.

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ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Book Review

Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family

JEREMY HANNAFORD CONTRIBUTOR

Halfway through this graphic novel, there is a single dark panel with the Joker smiling in the shadows. The menacing smile on his stretched and rotting face of the Joker is chilling to the bone.

Once you somehow turn away from that face, you can see quote boxes of Batman trying to convince himself that the Joker is just a man, and that those beady eyes are those of a regular human being. But when you turn back to Greg Capullo’s sketch, it is nearly impossible to believe.

After having his face literally sliced off and disappearing for a year, the Joker returns to reclaim his face and execute the ultimate act of horror and inhumanity against the Dark Knight and his allies. Writer Scott Snyder weaves an intense as well as ridiculous plan. From re-enacting his original crimes to publicly announcing the death of the entire “Bat� family, the Joker has truly lost anything resembling childish jokes or a playful demeanor and become a true force of evil. That’s not to say he wasn’t already evil before, but the Joker really takes it to a whole new level in this comic.

To be honest, everyone will

read this just to see the Joker return. Wearing his old face via staples and surgical wire, every single panel containing him is horrifying to look at. Yet the horror is what draws you in. With Capullo’s detail of colour and human anatomy along with additional work from Mark Simpson (a.k.a. Jock), the artwork is stunning on almost every level.

But there are some inconsistencies at times. While Simpson is a great artist (having helped break Snyder in with The Black Mirror) he seems to have been misinformed on colour textures.

As the story progresses, Capullo begins to deteriorate the Joker ’s face and rot begins to set in. But whenever Simpson takes the artistic reins, the face returns to white. While this is really the only issue of the comic art-wise, it can break the progression at times and brings into question how this major factor of the Joker wasn’t brought up in production.

Snyder has had a great run so far with the Batman series. Writing a story that overlaps all other Batman comics as well as partners like Nightwing and Batgirl can be a heavy burden and Snyder has handled it pretty well.

Now, with the return of the Joker, the tale of Death of the Family encompasses the entire Batman-

By Scott Snyder, illus. Greg Capullo

related universe. But a certain aspect of Snyder ’s recent writing appears just as before. His ideas aren’t entirely original.

Granted, his “court of owls� idea is intriguing, it is also heavily borrowed from works like The Cult, Hush, and his own graphic novel, The Black Mirror. He also has a tendency to reveal something at the end of his novels that was completely unknown up until that moment. For this novel, while it is obvious that some events hearken back to the Joker ’s debut, it sometimes feels more like a rough rehash rather then a new take. While it is impossible to come up with new ideas all the time for the Caped Crusader, this lack can be a little tiresome.

But that doesn’t stop him from writing a heck of a page-turner.

Batman repeatedly fails to foil the prince of crime as the chaos begins to focus purely on the relationship between the two.

Delving into the idea of the Joker ’s obsession with the hero as a form of psychotic affection, Snyder digs deep into the psyche of the Joker. And while there are some absurd Batman moments as well, like punching out a horse, most of the book is entertaining.

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ARTS & LIFE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Film Reviews

12 Years a Slave MICHAEL SCOULAR THE CASCADE

Steve McQueen, with 12 Years a Slave, has now made three films that take on large, pertinent, and political topics (the Irish hunger strikes, sex addiction, and pre-Civil War American slavery), only to pare away elements that would most easily mark them as ideologically bent, instead taking under consideration a single subject, with all the limitations of perspective that come with this approach.

That hasn’t stopped people (mostly reviewers and festivalgoers) from blowing McQueen’s work up into ever-escalating claims of importance. In the case of 12 Years a Slave, some would have you believe this is a movie of unparalleled greatness, to the exclusion or replacement of all previous attempts to make a film on the subject of racism and violence in segregated America.

Part of this comes from the film’s degree of believability.

While there are countless stories tied to slavery, Solomon Northrup’s is an uncommon case of a detailed, personal account.

As he was not born into slavery but kidnapped and illegally sold into it, Northrup’s educated literacy gave him the ability to write a document from a black perspective. McQueen’s method, turning biographical detail into physical reaction, a sort of word made flesh (with all that implies – upon the release of McQueen’s Hunger the word “transcendence” was liberally used), then takes over. This means elegant framings, slow push-ins on tableaux stagings, and, not shying away from, but an intentional encounter with brutality at every possible moment.

Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofer), we can assume, has known little violence against him as the film skips to the beginning of his sto-

ry, but he is quickly immersed in it. There is no point past the first minutes of an early flashback where beatings, lynchings, the injustice of impossible orders, or any conceivable atrocity does not seem possible. John Ridley’s scenario never leaves the power relation that places Northrup and other slaves in misery out of sight – there is always a plantation, trader, or the general anxiety of work without relief to live in fear of.

Performances, locations, and dialect give each sweep and hold of the camera a well-considered tactility, so long as realism is valued, and McQueen weaves in small looks, edits, and lines that reveal additional layers of complicity with racism. Different levels of status afford some slaves the ability to act as overseers, imitating the dealing out of punishment while thinking they can work within a system that thrives on their disposibility, Northrup’s blindness to the status of other African-Americans while he lived as part of

educated society is brought up, and the traders that appear to be not as bad as the villain that dominates the film’s second half (Epps, played by Michael Fassbender), recognizing Northrup’s thoughtfulness or talent, are not let off the hook simply for offering a kind word.

Because 12 Years a Slave is committed to fact and unrelenting in its portrayal, where a movie like Django Unchained allowed the release of laughter from the cognitive dissonance of seeing violence carried out along racial lines, here there is portrayal that sternly accuses by its very existence. 12 Years a Slave is, basically, a horror movie set within a prison. Northrup is its protagonist, but the thought common to the genre (pitting audience desires against the wills of onscreen characters) is connected to all of its cast, white and black.

Different ways of dealing with power (Michael K. Williams, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alfre Woodard, Brad Pitt) show up, and each provokes a different

take on what is an adequate response to what is taking place.

Do any of them make sense? McQueen leaves this only slightly open for interpretation.

These points give 12 Years a Slave all of its clarity and immediacy, but they do not form the entirety of the film. What sets McQueen apart from many other directors is that he does not have an entertainment background. The influence of his past installation art, which often connected to cinematic ideas, is recognizable throughout his movies. While this often informs the shocking images in McQueen’s work (Northrup’s first beating takes place in an expressionist void, slaves are often lined up in confined, camera-defined spaces, a hanging and a flogging scene discard any idea of patience and stretch out time), these are action scenes codified as artistic. Moving from gallery art to studio filmmaking, McQueen has mostly adopted the methods of other “artistic” directors tweaked to an extreme

Bad Grandpa ASHLEY MUSSBACHER THE CASCADE

The fourth installment of the Jackass film series, Bad Grandpa, upholds the series’ expectation for dumb humour and vulgar content. It stars creator and cast member of MTV’s Jackass, Johnny Knoxville, and his nine-yearold co-star Jackson Nicoll in a crude yet hilarious public experiment. Director Jeff Tremaine takes Jackass films to a whole new level with the inclusion of unsuspecting bystanders, letting the ultimate experience of the movie swing from one extreme to the other in terms of hilarity.

No one in the movie aside from the main cast and crew knew they were a part of the movie until after the prank or scene had happened. This lucky—or unlucky, depending on how you look at it—person would ultimately have a genuine reaction, caught on camera and delivered to the cinema for our viewing pleasure. Fortunately for Jackass films, this makes the movie fascinating for a first-time watch – how do people react and will we

sympathize with them or not?

Unfortunately, this was really all the film had going for it.

The movie opens with a scene of Nicoll sitting at a doctor ’s office between two strangers, who have no idea they’re being caught on hidden camera. Suddenly, Nicoll starts a one-sided conversation with one of them about how his mother smokes

crack and her breath stinks. The audience watching the movie can feel the tension in the room between the two strangers and the child. It is this awkwardness that makes certain scenes in the movie successful.

A common theme that ran throughout the film was things people are discouraged to do or say in public. I’m sure we can

delve into a social commentary on this, but I don’t think Tremaine’s intention behind Jackass films was to produce intense philosophical discussions on political correctness or cultural etiquette. If you’re looking for a few cheap laughs, however, Bad Grandpa works.

Though most of the content is funny, it eventually falls into the

here or there, arriving late but with the same game of long take one-upmanship that thrived in the 80s (Scorsese et al.).

12 Years a Slave is a cinema of confrontation with suffering as its most frequently used method, and while the case can certainly be made that previous attempts to tell this story have been inadequate, relying on white protagonists or more open-and-shut narratives, nothing dominates conversation around minorities like modern crime or historical grievances, and McQueen does nothing to topple this notion or detail it in a new way. He makes its emotional translation more unavoidable, but, as was the case in the political prisoner story of Hunger, is completely uninterested in any political context or follow-through, save in postfade-out title cards.

There is no way this film should be a once-and-for-all telling – to do so would forget the work of more inconsistent and less acclaimed, but no less vital filmmakers like Douglas Sirk, Spike Lee, Samuel Fuller, and Charles Burnett. Perhaps what is meant is simply that McQueen’s is the best of movies that occupy the setting of southern American slavery, but the subject—of allowing and indirectly aiding injustice—stays the same. What can change, and what McQueen has not with 12 Years a Slave, is the technique of following a character an audience more easily identifies with. While this is a story of slavery, its first injustice is that Northrup is a free, educated man, a victim of kidnapping, and it is only through this Northrup sees what people are capable of, what is going on in the world. He’s an exceptional case, and finds little bond for most of the movie with the other slaves around him. His story is told because he’s the one who wrote a book about it.

trap of being repetitive. There are only so many times we can watch an old man hit on young women—and in the most vulgar way possible—before the women’s reactions become predictable. After we’ve reached the half-way point, the jokes get boring and the movie’s success hinges on the storyline.

Basically Nicoll’s eight-yearold character cannot stay with his mother, because she’s going to jail. He’s ditched, with his grandpa to look after him, but Grandpa doesn’t want to look after the child either. So, they make a cross-country trip to drop him off with his dead-beat, drug-using father. Even from the beginning, we all know how this simple storyline will turn out.

Jackass isn’t known for its complex plotlines.

That leaves us with a movie whose only redeeming quality is that it can make the audience squirm uncomfortably at times, laugh hysterically at others, be utterly grossed out, or bored the rest of the way through.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

17

SPORTS & HEALTH

Varsity Sports

Of ignorance and ball and basket ASHLEY MUSSBACHER KATIE STOBBART THE CASCADE

Editor’s Note: This week we sent two of our most intrepid reporters to Friday’s basketball games between our own UFV Cascades and the Mount Royal Cougars. Think of it as just like our usual coverage, except that while both Ashley and Katie are wonderful people, they know absolutely nothing about basketball.

What does basketball look like to those absolutely innocent of its rules, conduct, and traditions? Well, we’re about to find out. (Some parenthetical definitions have been added for clarification).

Game On!

After a confusing interaction with the man guarding the door to the gym, Katie and Ashley discovered that students do not, in fact, have to purchase tickets to enter the game, and found seats inside the gym. To their disappointment, no foam fingers were available.

Ashley: We should probably have figured out who the teams were before coming.

Katie: Well. One is the Cascades.

Ashley: The other shirts say Mount…something.

Mountains?

Katie: The Cascades are also mountains. Whoa… UFV has a real announcer? Also, apparently athletes (and spectators) don’t sing during the anthem, but they clap afterwards.

Who are they clapping for? The radio?

Ashley: This may be offensive, but I didn’t know short people could play basketball.

Katie: Go stand next to one of those “short people.” We’re both probably shorter than all of them. So, first the players are introduced and then they all highfive each other.

Ashley: And we don’t clap for the opposite team because… it would be bad manners?

The game begins with the tip-off.

Ashley and Katie watch intently.

Katie: Everyone’s running and shouting all at the same time… how can they tell what they’re saying? Somebody scored… somebody fell over.

Ashley: [loudly] Was that our team that scored? [Other audience members stare.]

Katie: Um. I think so? Oh, yes.

The scoreboard says “2 Home.”

Ashley: So home is us, and guest is…

Katie: Yes, because we’re home. Back and forth, back and forth… someone else fell over. A lot of bruising in this sport. And everyone’s got bandages on their fingers and arms and wrists.

Those aren’t bracelets …There’s a countdown on the boards – the net boards.

Ashley: Does it count down the whole game, or?

Katie: Only if the game lasts 24 seconds.

Ashley: So, does that buzzer mean time out? Also, I think the green space [the key] is a no-contact zone.

Image: Anthony Biondi

Katie and Ashley: Tons of enthusiasm, scads of school spirit, crazy competitiveness… which team is ours again?

Katie: I don’t know… there’s been a lot of contact going on in there.

Ashley: Does the buzzer mean stop or start or foul? Because it seems to happen with all of those things.

Katie: (Oblivious) Did you see that? She was like a ninja!

Ashley: What happened? I missed it!

Katie: Everyone was running backward across the court, then that girl threw the ball, and that girl caught it while running backward and all of a sudden was running forward and it happened super fast. They just got a goal! A score? A basket.

Basketing?

Ashley: Basketed. They basketed.

Katie: So, I think they get two points for that.

Ashley: But the ball only went in once. Don’t tell me it’s worth two baskets.

Katie: I think that’s how it works.

Ashley: Hey, the ref stopped the game! What happened?

Katie: I don’t know. The referees seem to blow the whistle on a whim, and then everyone started cheering and pointing, and I’m like, “what just happened?” I would hate to be a referee… they run back and forth the entire game and don’t even get the satisfaction of basketing.

Ashley: What does that hand signal mean? Did you see that?

He just did some weird dance move.

Katie: It’s like they have their own language.

Ashley: Yeah, and when the players hold out their arms to stop the oncoming team, I’m reminded of those hissing dinosaurs from Jurassic Park that poof up when they are trying to be intimidating.

Katie: That other girl just ran into that girl’s stomach. She’s gonna need more bandages.

Ashley: Why do we have a sasquatch mascot?

Katie: Is that what that is? I thought it looked like a really hairy Teletubby.

Ashley: Look! The mascot’s banging those noisy sticks [inflatable noisemakers] against the door. I think he’s trying to get the audience to follow.

Katie: That or he’s trying to knock on the door, because his friend is locked inside. What’s that? Timmy fell down the well?

Nobody seems to care.

Ashley: It sounds like drums… [laughs] Drums in the deep!

Katie: Lord of the Hoops!

The second quarter begins.

Katie: By the way, there’s totally contact in the green zone.

Ashley: Is there a reason the green zone is painted a solid colour, instead of just lines?

Katie: Because… it looks nice?

Ashley: When they all line up like that, around the green zone, you know what it reminds me of?

Katie: [joking] The Hunger Games!

Ashley: Actually! It’s like in the beginning of the Games when that mountain of supplies

is in the middle—that would be the hoop—and they all stare intently at it until the moment the whistle blows. Then they foul each other.

Katie: I don’t understand why they do this shot whenever there’s a foul—everyone makes this shot. No one misses it. And if they do miss it, they get a second try. Maybe that’s why those are only worth one point? Are they only worth one point?

Ashley: So, if our team gets the foul, is it our team that makes the shot? That would be like rewarding us for the foul, right?

Katie: I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around… Oh, apparently not everyone makes that shot. Jinxed it – my bad.

We’re creaming the other team, though. 37-20. That’s almost twice as many points.

Ashley: Where are the Cougars from?

Katie: Your mom’s house. Just kidding – it says on their shirts they’re from Mount Royal.

Ashley: Is there a cap on scores? I feel like there should be a cap, like, at 60.

Katie: I think they just play for two hours and see how many points they get.

Ashley: That was a nice pass.

I think I remember from high school that there are three different types of passes you can make. One is like a fast-ball pass, that hurts the hands when you catch it. The second is a bounce pass, and the last is some beautiful curved pass that just lazily arcs.

Katie: I always thought you just threw the ball at people and hoped they would catch it.

I didn’t do so well in the basketball part of gym class. I always just kind of jogged along the side and hoped I wouldn’t get a ball in the face… glasses.

Ashley: That’s what I did too, except I would just run back and forth with the team to look like I was actually doing something, and when I got the ball I always passed it to the wrong people.

The third quarter starts.

Katie: Did we switch hoops?

Nets. Hoops?

Ashley: Whoa… I think so.

That’s confusing. Why would we do that?

Katie: It seems counter-productive to me. What if you score in the wrong one?

Ashley: If they had anyone like me on their team, I’d be throwing it in the same hoop the entire game.

Katie: That’s why we’re up here annoying the audience with our ignorant commentary.

Ashley: Ignorant? It’s enlightening. Although I feel like I am more confused now than I was coming in. How many rules are in basketball in total?

Katie: Too many.

Thus, not knowing all that much more about basketball, Katie and Ashley left the gym at 8:00 p.m.

They believe the Cascades won by a score of 77-35, but they could be wrong.

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SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

UFV Legends

Aaron Pauls This year saw fifth-year UFV golfer Aaron Pauls finally

For these kids in their first year, winning one isn’t a big deal, but for me it was a really satisfying feeling knowing that we had won it. You get a ring after all, and you’re going to have that for the rest of your life.

accomplish his goal of winning the coveted national championship. In the following interview with The Cascade, Pauls discusses his relationship with coach Chris Bertram, the tailwind of emotions during that final day, and what it meant to him to finally accomplish his dream of a national championship.

NATHAN HUTTON CONTRIBUTOR

Talk me through the tournament and how you felt knowing UFV had a legitimate chance of winning the whole show?

Well, going into the tournament we knew that we had a pretty good shot at winning it this year. Not only was our team pretty solid but the [Cascades] team that had previously won it a decade before us were not quite as strong as us.

After the first day we were tied. We had [had] a pretty solid day, we shot five under … the second day was much tougher, it started raining a bit and me and our other top player were even.

Then our fifth guy came in at two under so that was probably the biggest thing that day; we were up six shots.

Then the last day we had a “go out there and beat the other guy” mentality – if everyone could beat their guy that day then we would win it …

We kind of know what [is] going on across the course. You have five guys in a row in five different groups, so you see another guy on the tee and he sees you ... you know what is going on.

On the front nine we were pretty close, then on the back nine we pulled away a bit. Coming down the last few holes was pretty easy; we knew that we had the lead.

On the last day did you feel motivated to beat teammate Darren Whitehouse so you could finish with the lower individual score?

Yeah, there is always a little bit of that. I obviously wanted him to play well too, but you always want to be the top guy on your team. I really wanted to catch the other guy [Colton Kalkanis from Georgian College]. I had a lot of good chances on that back nine and I thought if I got a few more I could come close to him, but when I came in I saw that he shot a 65. I came second but I

Height: 6”0 Major: Kinesiology Favourite movie genre: Comedy Favourite comedians: Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler laughed in a way … You always want to beat the other guys on your team. You’re also cheering for them, but there’s always that little bit of competition.

Was there a sense of “finally!” after four years of coming close, but not being able to beat the superpowers like Humber and Georgian?

Yeah, we went out for dinner that night with one of the vicepresidents and Rocky [Olfert], the athletic director, and Coach [Chris] Bertram. Chris talked a little about what it meant as far as winning a national championship after nine years of being a coach … Even I said how it meant a lot for me too, after five years of playing in these tournaments, to finally win one.

How was it special for you and the team to see Chris win Coach of the Year?

I have known Chris for five years now and I see the work that he put in for the last five years to make our program what it is, in finding guys and finding gear for us to wear, all the different aspects of running a program. He has been a finalist a couple of times since I have been here, but to see him win it is really cool. We won every event in our regular season, and then he wins Coach of the Year, and we win the national title. It was pretty fitting.

With the women’s team being ranked number one all year, did that add any pressure for the men’s team to win it as well?

Yeah, a little. We felt in a way ripped off a little bit because we felt that we shouldn’t have been ranked third. It wasn’t as much that we were attached to the girls, but that there were two schools ahead of us that we felt really shouldn’t have been ranked ahead of us. That was kind of a motivator too, when the rankings came out it was a “we shouldn’t have been ranked here” thing, so let’s do some-

thing about it.

This summer your team lost one of its own in Connor Richey (who passed away in August).

Can you just talk about how the championship was in a way meant for Connor?

We had Connor’s initials put on all of our shirts this year. At the beginning of the year Chris told us, “when you feel like school’s not going your way or you’re a little upset or depressed or whatever on the golf course, just take a look at the initials on your arm and think about what you still have and where you are in life. Hopefully that can bring you back to more positive things.” We felt like we almost had another teammate with us.

Winning it for Connor in a way was another satisfying moment after such a tragic loss.

What is next for you?

I still have a year and bit left of school … then I am probably going to be doing some more schooling at a master’s program and trying to play some more golf on the pro circuit. I’ve hopefully got some opportunities coming here that will be very tough to pass up, and after that I would love to play some pro golf.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Jen Woods This year was the first year of competition for the UFV Cas-

portunities I had with UBC-O and the achievements we’d made towards building a great golf program. My former golf coach and family were instrumental in helping me realize how much I want to keep learning about the competitive golf world.

cades women’s golf program. The squad dominated all year, finishing with an undefeated record and a national championship. Sixth-year player (and one third of the team) Jen Woods spoke to The Cascade about her game and her journey.

NATHAN HUTTON CONTRIBUTOR

What school did you attend prior to coming to UFV? UBC Okanagan.

What led to the decision to spend your sixth year at UFV? I plan on becoming a lifelong university student … I’m only kidding, but I really did enjoy the past semester at UFV. The timing to start planning toward graduate studies, and play golf as well was an opportunity that’s too good to pass up.

How big a part did golf coach Chris Bertram play in your decision?

Coach Bertram is doing all the right things to build a really great golf program and the team respects him and the expectations he has for us. Chris has helped me in understanding what it takes to play golf at a higher calibre.

Did you have a relationship with anyone on the team prior to coming to UFV? Back in September I was meeting most of the team members for the first time. They are all a great bunch of people so it

Height: 5’5” Favourite movie genre: Romantic comedy Age you started playing golf: Eight years old Favourite food: Japanese didn’t take long for us to get acquainted with each other.

How tough was the decision to leave UBC-O? I’m grateful for all my past op-

When you decided to leave how did your former teammates feel? What was it like to play against them this season?

Actually, the experience was mutually positive. My former coach and teammates have known my aspirations to continue playing golf after university, and they encouraged me to do what was necessary to take my game to the next level.

It must have been a magnificent feeling when you found out that you won nationals.

Can you describe that?

The entire experience has been personally rewarding and humbling. It’s also affirming in realizing what each of us can be

capable of, when matched with the right mind set.

Both you and your teammate Dani Shap are amazing golfers.

Was there ever any friendly competition between the two of you for podium positions?

We both play to win golf tournaments. Even though we play an individual-based sport, the motivations of the UFV golf team and the team setting of college golf comes first and foremost. Dani, Kelley, and I are highly competitive. And that’s okay because we all have big hearts and strong mental games.

I feel that our competitive mindsets and the desire to grind out our best golf every time we play is what separated us from the rest of the competition we faced this year.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sad day for UFV Athletics: David Kent departs for Kwantlen Twenty-five-year industry veteran David Kent is spending his final days as marketing and communications coordinator for UFV Athletics after accepting the position of athletics director at Kwantlen University. Kent, who has spent the better part of three years helping UFV build a reputation in the CIS and CCAA, was the vision behind the 2011 exhibition basketball games at the AESC, as well as UFV’s annual athletics tailgate parties. He has worked tirelessly to create community ties to other athletics programs and document UFV’s Athletics teams’ success in print, on the web, and across the country.

A replacement has not yet been announced, and someone of Kent’s calibre will be hard to find. The Cascade would like to thank Kent for his work over the past three years, and his unselfish help to our editors and writers in their pursuit of sports journalism.

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SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Notes on a schedule

Comments from Canada West directors

Two weeks ago The Cascade ran an article on the current Canada West basketball schedule for 2014-2015, a schedule that seems to demote UFV and five other CIS schools to a second tier division. Here are some perspectives from athletics directors of other Canada West universities, both on the schedule and on UFV’s complaints.

With files from Atta Almasi of The Gateway (University of Alberta) and Mike Davies of The Omega (Thompson Rivers University).

Kenneth Schildroth, MacEwan University (to The Gateway) On being placed in the Explorer division: “In regards to all sports, we knew when we were going from one association to another that when you go to the other association, they’ll put you where you need to go. We don’t really have a position [regarding] ‘Explorer’ or ‘Pioneer’ ... we’ll go where the league wants us to go. We want to play in the league and that’s part of the deal.

“In any organization right across the country at university sport, when you first come in you’re a probationary member and you don’t have rights or responsibilities other than to upgrade your program so you can play at that level.”

On whether the current divisional structure will be permanent: “I don’t think this division is forever. I know that the Canada West—and I can’t really speak for them—they’re going to go through a strategic planning process. There’s been unprecedented growth and any organization has to adapt to that growth and they’re going through that process. So in that strategic management process, or strategic planning, it’ll develop structures and they may look at things in a different way ... [and] we’ll just see how that shapes out.”

Ken Olynyk, Thompson Rivers University (to The Omega) On recruiting for Explorer division schools: “I do not believe it impacts recruiting in a negative way at all.

When recruiting our job is to sell the city, the university, and our athletic program. If we do our job then we are not being impacted in a negative alignment in any way.”

Dr. Ian Reade, University of Alberta (to The Gateway) On the 2014-2015 schedule: “Well I think the schedule wasn’t really made on benefitting us. The scheduling process is a process where you have to get two thirds of the schools to agree on a schedule. So, at the end of the day, sometimes you end up with a schedule that nobody really completely likes, but it’s something that two-thirds of all (schools) agree to.”

“Over the course of, let’s say, six months, there had been something like 40 different basketball schedules that were developed and went through various groups that look at the schedule ... Then it went to a sport committee and then it eventually went to the Canada West Annual General Meeting. And by the time it got to that stage, we couldn’t agree on anything, really, so it ended up that this schedule was the only one where we seemed to be able to get enough votes to actually pass or we wouldn’t have had a schedule at all ... It really had nothing to do with whether it benefitted us or disadvantaged somebody else or anything like that. And I know that seems a bit strange, but having to try and get two-thirds of 14 people to agree on a schedule is extremely difficult in basketball and soccer—in hockey and football it’s easy—but in those sports it’s very hard.”

On the accusation of tiering: “I think that’s a bit ridiculous actually. The definition of ‘tiering’ is when one level of a tier has certain rights and privileges that the other level doesn’t have. And in this case … both of the divisions have equal opportunity to get to nationals.

“There’s about six schools that are in the [Explorer] division ... schools that are very good actually. So I’ve heard them complain about their schedule, but in many ways the six-team division is actually a better place to play, in some ways, than the other division … To be in a division with 11 schools and a lot of the stronger

schools is going to make it harder for us to get to nationals.

“There’s schools in that division with the six teams that actually voted for it and wanted it because they felt like if they could stay away from U of A and UBC for a couple of years it would actually be better for them. So, at the end of the day, that schedule is virtually there because it was the only one where we could get agreement.

“And their concern that it’s becoming tiered, I just completely disagree with that. I think its inappropriate language in terms of saying it’s tiered.

“It was never, in my view, ‘Let’s take those six schools that are smaller and newer members and throw them into another division’.

That wasn’t my thinking. That was just, ‘Here’s the schedule, there’s 11 in one and we’ve got 11 people who are willing to vote in favour of this right now.’ And by the time that came up I said, ‘Okay. There’s nothing better on the table right now.’ I don’t particularly like it that much (but) maybe in another iteration we’ll have a different schedule.

“Fraser Valley’s made a lot of fuss about this and so has UBC Okanagan and those schools.

What I said to them face-to-face is, ‘You guys don’t like the schedule that you have. Every single schedule that I’ve ever seen in my 23 years being around this business has at least a couple of people who didn’t like it. Every schedule.

There’s never been one where everybody says “Whoa, it’s great for me this year!”’ There’s always a couple who don’t like it and they throw all kinds of reasons out and in this particular case it’s throwing reasons out like ‘tiering’ and ‘they’re trying to push us off somewhere else.’

And there could be two or three people who voted for it for that reason, and maybe there’s a whole bunch of people like me who voted for it because there wasn’t anything better to vote for.”

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Heat Report

Arsene named Heat captain TIM UBELS CONTRIBUTOR

The Abbotsford Heat players voted, coming to the conclusion that Dean Arsene will be the one to have the “C” stitched on his jersey for the 2013-2014 season.

Chosen in the middle of a five-game winning streak, it was clear that the players were finally familiar enough to make a decision on their leader. The team wasn’t in any rush to name a new captain at the start of the season, contenting themselves with the choice of forwards Paul Byron, Carter Bancks, and Greg Nemisz as alternate captains.

But before the Heat hit the ice against the Marlies on Saturday, they announced that the 33-year-old Arsene would serve as the fifth captain in franchise history, with Bancks and Byron as permanent alternates. Arsene is the first Heat defenceman to be given the honour.

If you haven’t been paying attention to the Heat this season, you may be unfamiliar with Arsene, as he is a new addition to the roster. What does he bring

to the lineup in terms of leadership, character, and stability?

On a team chock full of rookies and new acquisitions, Arsene stands out as an obvious choice with his veteran prowess and tough style of play. He’s known for his ruggedness and for keeping the game simple on his own side of centre.

The stay-at-home defenceman landed a tryout with the Abbotsford Heat during training camp, after the two-time Calder Cup winner decided he wanted to return to his hometown of Abbotsford. However, due to the Flames’ rebuilding plans, Arsene had to wait until training camp was about to start before he got a 25-game professional tryout contract from the team.

Needless to say, he’s earned his keep and will play a pivotal role stabilizing the team’s young defensive players. He knows the Heat are in need of solid, veteran experience, and Arsene offers that and more with strong play in his own end.

Being voted captain by his teammates demonstrates the tremendous confidence the club has in the newly acquired Ar-

sene to represent them both on and off the ice. “It’s huge. It’s a dream come true just playing here in Abbotsford,” Arsene explained to the media after the win against the Marlies on Saturday. “To have the C, it’s just the cherry on top.”

“He’s been a leader on most every team he’s been around,” Coach Troy G. Ward explained.

“I think he has a good feel for the temperature of his teammates and how he plays.”

This is already the fifth time he’s been named a captain in the AHL, wearing the “C” previously for the Hershey Bears (200608), Springfield Falcons (200910), Peoria Rivermen (2010-11), and Portland Pirates (2011-12).

Ward noted Arsene’s 12-year AHL career, adding that Arsene is a “consummate leader.”

The Heat are currently on a seven-game road trip, but will return home to play back-toback games with the Utica Comets at the end of November. Until then, you can tune into CIVL 101.7 FM to catch the Heat in action.

Photo: Clint Trahan

Heat players have picked defenseman Dean Arsene to be captain.

20

SPORTS & HEALTH

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 www.ufvcascade.ca

Photos: Blake McGuire

The UFV Cascades took on the Mount Royal Cougars over the weekend in a spirited doubleheader. The women collected two easy wins for the sweep (79-35 on Friday and 77-46 on Saturday) and remain at the top of the Pacific division with a perfect 6-0 record. The men split, falling 62-60 on Friday, before rallying for a 79-66 victory on Saturday; they are in a three-way tie for third with TWU and Mount Royal.

Rowing squad travels to nationals with smaller crew and little funding, but star effort PAUL ESAU

THE CASCADE

UFV rowing has wrapped up competition for the semester after a competitive performance at Canadian University Rowing nationals in Montreal. Eight athletes took to the water on November 3 and 4 to test their mettle against some of the best university athletes in the country.

The rowers competed against representatives of 25 other schools, and participated in five events. The women’s team fielded Bethany Tait and Kaitlyn Block in the lightweight women’s 2x (double, female rowers <59.5 kg), and Raquel Martinez and Stephanie Shoenberger in the women’s pair. The men’s team consisted of Scott Micona and Ryan Tucker in the men’s pair, Caleb Davisson in the men’s single, and Emmett Campbell in the lightweight men’s single (<72 kg).

After a seventh-place finish nationally last season, hopes were high for the men’s pair.

Unfortunately, one member of last year’s team was dry-docked by eligibility issues, catapulting sophomore Ryan Tucker into his first nationals appearance. Despite a costly “crab” stroke in their Saturday heat, the pair rebounded to a respectable ninthplace finish in their final to finish ahead of Ottawa, McMaster, Guelph, and Dalhousie.

“Both my worst moment and my proudest moment [of the

Coast so it was easier to go to … it was probably the smallest crew I’ve ever gone to nationals with.”

The small crew also limited the number of events UFV athletes could compete in.

“Last year I had three races, three time trials, and then three heats afterwards,” said Campbell. “This year I only had one so there was a lot more emphasis on my one race. Everyone else was the same way.”

Campbell, a fifth-year who has captained the men’s team for the last two seasons, admits that most students aren’t aware of the work UFV’s rowing team puts into practice and competition throughout the year.

“When we have a race it’s the entire weekend,” said Campbell, “because you have to load your boats, you have to rig them all, and you have to get them all home. Every morning except for two days a week we’re on the Photo: Liz Chisholm / UFV Stephanie Shoenberger and Raquel Martinez made it to nationals, but as part of a smaller team than usual. water for an hour-and-a-half to two hours. We’re in the gym season] happened in Montreal kept at it all the way through, well as qualify in their event at for an hour-and-a-half to two because of what happened on and they overtook them in the the October 20 Western Region- hours every day, except for one the time trials,” said coach Liz last 250 metres. Their excite- al Championships in Burnaby). or two days a week … and then Chisholm. “[Micona and Tucker] ment at what they had done … Some, like Campbell, were able on top of that [rowers] are staywere deflated, upset, embar- changed it completely for them.” to find sponsorship, while oth- ing on top of school; they have rassed … I gave them half the The men’s team finished tied ers were unable to attend be- to stay eligible. And there isn’t day afterward just to walk away for 18th overall with zero total cause of cost. a lot of recognition to our sport from it.” team points. The women’s team “This year was a bit differ- so it’s very, very self-motivated.

“The way they came at their finished tied for 15th with seven ent because of the cost and They’re not doing it for anybody [Sunday] race was incredible to team points: four from the light- funding,” said Campbell. “We but themselves and their teamsee,” Chisholm continued. “They weight women’s 2x, and three in brought a really small crew, we mates.” came at it with a positive spirit. the women’s pair. brought four girls and four guys [I] watched them race bow ball All the athletes had to pay or ... Last year we brought 12 guys to bow ball, and the other crew fundraise for their flight, ac- and 11 girls, but it was because was in front of them, but they commodations, and food (as last year it was on the West