Volume 25 Issue 1

Page 1

UBCO’s Student Newspaper

August 29th, 2013 | Vol. 25 Issue 1

...Up all night since 1989

UBCO TURNS


Well prices go down - Page 6

Sex Column - page 9

Really, UBCO!? - Page 13

Intro to UBCO - Page 14

NEWS LIFE OPINIONS FEATURES SPORTS

Meet the Heat - Page 17

Keloha coverage - Page 20

Dave Nixon Editor-in-Chief

I haven’t slept in 32 hours.

And I’ve been in The Phoenix office for all of them. But I’m not complaining. I loved every hour of it. I do it because there’s a sense that we’re building something significant here at The Phoenix this year. It’s a vision shared by, at least, the two people you see on this page, and we hope that it’s contagious to our staff and to you. Our hope is that you’ll see the same potential for The Phoenix that we see. We’re not a paper; we’re a litmus test for university culture. We’re an observer and a reflection of campus, but above all we are an active participant in the experience of being a student at UBCO, being a student in Kelowna, and a student overall. We just happen to use print media as one of the ways we accomplish that. Editor-in-chief

Dave Nixon eic@thephoenixnews.com

NEWS

Krupa out, Kim in - Page 7

UBCO Professor in Egypt - Page 8

International students vs domestic students? - Page 12

Letter to first years - Page 15

Hang in the Hangar - Page 18

ARTS

Copy Editors

Katie Norman & Lauren Wintle copy@thephoenixnews.com

Interim Visual Editor Hanss Lujan visuals@thephoenixnews.com

Interim News Editor

Staff Writers

Room 109 University Center 3333 University Way Kelowna, BC Canada V1Y 5N3 Phone: 250-807-9296 Fax: 250-807-8431 thephoenixnews.com Cover images by Hanss Lujan

Alex Eastman ads@thephoenixnews.com

Creative Director

Cameron Welch creative@thephoenixnews.com

David Nixon news@thephoenixnews.com

Arts Editor

Laura Scarpelletti arts@thephoenixnews.com

Interim Art Director Cameron Welch artdirector@thephoenixnews.com

Interim Sports Editor

Guest Art Designers Darcie Rudyk Lucas Glenn Christina Van

Opinions Editor

Alex Eastman sports@thephoenixnews.com Matt Lauzon opinions@thephoenixnews.com

Events Editor

Janelle Sheppard events@thephoenixnews.com

Torin McLachlan Sasha Curry Stephanie Wise writer@thephoenixnews.com

Staff Illustrator Asher Klassen

Staff Photographers Ali Young Jahmira Lovegrove

Columnists

Katie Jones Curtis Tse Naughty Librarian

▼ ENROLMENT

8,346

670

international students, down from 684

Welcome to The Phoenix Our strategy is to start with our fellow students. In recognition of that, we have launched a Life section this year to carry the content most relevant to student life and lifestyle. UBCO stands out as a small, young campus with the resources of a giant in world education supporting it. As a result each of us has enormous opportunity to shape the future of the student experience here on campus. We would be honored if you found a place for us in your experience. We’ve got a place for everyone here too, no matter your level of skill or experience. On a campus with no journalism program, we’ve de facto taken on the role of an educator and skills developer. Drop by our office in UNC 109 or email us if you’re interested. Welcome to UBCO’s 8th year.

B c

full time (or equivalent) students now enrolled at UBCO, up from 8,307

Cement truck changes lanes last minute to avoid Dave biking on the overpass David Nixon

Photo by Hanss Lujan

Editor-in-Chief

A safe commute is still a distant dream for UBCO cyclists Cam Welch

Creative Director

This issue is the first and smallest step of the Phoenix redesign. Over the next several weeks you’ll be seeing new content formats that break away from telling you straightforward news stories through articles and instead represent you, your lives, and your interests in print, and online. Starting on the 9th you can look forward to a Phoenix with a totally reimagined reading experience, an increased presence on campus, and more you. The Phoenix is the UBCO students’ free press. Editorial content is separate from the University of British Columbia Students’ Union Okanagan (UBCSUO) and from the

Managing Editor

Bike overpass delayed indefinitely

t

UBC institution at large. The editorial staff encourages everyone to submit material to the Phoenix but reserves the right to withdraw submissions from publication for any reason. “Any reason” could be material deemed to be sexist, racist, homophobic, or of poor taste or quality. The Phoenix will not publish materials which condone, promote, or express actions which are illegal under current laws. This does not include articles which provide an in-depth examination of both sides of a controversial subject (e.g. legalising marijuana). The Phoenix is published, in part, by the UBCSUO and is an active member of the Canadian University Press

Jared Kesteven is caught between a highway and a hard place. Does he risk an unsafe highway ride inches away from 80km traffic, or does he bike through Curtis Road, which is illegal? “The situation right now is downright terrible,” said Kesteven, a 5th year Engineering student and regular bike commuter. He loves biking and plans to continue commuting despite the troubles, but he thinks it prevents others from doing the same. “Sure, there are instances in other roads where a bike lane ends and you have to merge with traffic. But it’s 80km along there,” he said. Kesteven pointed out that from any formal cycling point of view the level of risk is unacceptable. This dilemma affecting all bike commuters was supposed to have been solved this fall. That’s the com-

pletion date the city had previously estimated. But now they are saying they have no idea when it will be done. Andrew Albiston, city project manager, blames the bankruptcy of Kelowna Pacific Railway (KPR) on July 5. The overpass must cross the railway, so KPR must first sign off on the project. Albiston said the city’s attempts to reach KPR have gone unanswered, so they approached the Canadian National Railway Company (CN). CN was who first told the city of Kelowna to get approval from KPR. In an email to the city, CN passed the buck: “Inquiries regarding specific locations or concerns should be directed to the trustee. I apologize for the frustration you must be experiencing, however, there is some uncertainty with the future of the line that needs to be resolved.”

The trustee is a company called Boale. There has not been any progress made with them. And according to David Koslowski, an assistant professor of finance for the Faculty of Management, they shouldn’t expect to. The trustee Boale’s role is only to “extract the maximum value for the assets of the company” said Koslowski, “the trustee doesn’t normally initiate new initiatives. There’s nothing in it for the creditors, so why would they agree to it at this point.” According to Koslowski it will be a long time before any progress happens. “Typically it’s at least 6 months before the air clears on this, but they can stretch on to a year for complicated cases.” It’s also impossible to know who will own the railway when the dust settles, or how long it will take to

get approval from them. Once the city gets approval they must still go through the regular timeline of contract bids and construction. So cyclists are looking at a very long timeline. To Albiston, the whole process is very frustrating since they just need the green light. “Typically they’ll just want to ensure there’s inspections and flaggings for continued safe operation of the rail corridor.” Alex Gula, the UBCSUO External Coordinator, chose not to comment besides advising commuters to be safe if biking on the highway. In his platform he promised to speed the overpass along. But it is unlikely he or the UBCSUO can do anything to affect the timeline.

631

grad students, down from 655

UBC president profile created A candidate profile is now created for UBC’s next president. It will be used to screen prospective candidates in what is now a confidential hiring process. Both UBC campuses share a president, so a town hall was hosted at each over the summer. Only a small handful of students made it out to the Okanagan town hall. Attendence was mostly staff and faculty. The search committee was formed when Stephen Toope announced his resignation on April 3. He cited a desire to focus on international law and international relations as his reason. The new president will take office in July 2014, and Toope will stay on until that time. The profile is available at bog. ubc.ca.


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The Phoenix |

August 29th, 2013

student union ▼

Other

Ethnic food in the EME building

university ▼

Clinical Psychologist

Paramedical Practitioners: Increase from $20/visit to $30/ visit

Increase annual maximum from $300 maximum to $400 maximum

Prescription Drugs: $3000 annual maximum changed to no maximum for drugs on Fair Pharmacare Formulary (Drug exceptions subject to $2000 maximum)

Expand definition to include licensed psychologist, licensed psychologist associate, RCC, and practitioners with Masters degree in Social Work

Travel coverage added

Removed $20 per visit maximum

UBCO gets first ombuds officer

HTY

David Nixon

Extraction of impacted teeth from 50% to 80% (limit 2/policy year)

Increase endodontics and periondontics from 20% coverage to 40%

Optometry Added Eye Exams: $50/2 calendar years Added Eyeglasses and contact lenses: $75/24 months

Student health and dental plan gets a polish Students will be happy with changes to their health and dental plan, it blows last year’s out of the water. “We’re thrilled that our efforts to ensure student consultation and competitive rates over the past year have paid off in a really big way,” said Tim Krupa, former Financial Coordinator of the UBCSUO. The plan will remain the same price, but with the added benefits outlined above. Last year’s UBCSUO decided that they needed to get away from Greenshield, the old insurance provider. That outdated system forced students to pick up a lengthy paper form from the SU office and fill it out. They then submitted it to be entered in by hand to the front desk staff. An online opt-out is now available as well, making it much more user-friendly than the previous plan. Receipts can also be submitted using an app. The new company is Student Care, who also provide services to UBC Vancouver’s students. Students can now find more details online at www.ihaveaplan.ca.

On our radar

The UBCSUO is proposing a skatepark to UBC administration sometime in September. The project is headed by Alex Gula, External Coordinator. We are interested in the administration’s reaction since there is already such a long list of projects that are waiting to receive funding.

Confidential,impartial assistance. That’s what students should expect from an ombuds office at UBCO. Meet Maria Mazzotta, who took the position in May after a long hiring process initiated by last year’s UBCSUO. Mazzotto firstly stressed the difference between her and the UBCSUO Internal Coordinator, Shaman Mclean. “We’re not here to advocate for students, we’re here to cultivate their own capacity to advocate for themselves and to articulate for themselves and navigate the various systems and processes that exist at UBC.” In contrast, part of Mclean’s job is to advocate on behalf of students. If a student were to come to Mazzotto, it would mirror the following script: First, they would establish if the issue falls under the ombuds office portfolio. Mazzotto expects a lot of students to visit her with questions that may fall outside of her purview. She’s been acquainting herself with all the campus services in order to help students find the correct services. If the problem is something she can help with, they will discuss the options. Mazzotto will look into what communication has already occurred between the student and the other party. If none, she will ask the student to speak

The Aramark contract is up for renewal in 2014. If it’s not renewed it could drastically change the landscape of food services on campus.

directly to that person. She can help the student craft emails or role-play an expected conversation for a direct meeting. If the student is receiving an inappropriate response or communication breaks down for another reason, Mazzotto will advise recourse such as filing an appeal or talking to a department head. The Vancouver office has another officer like Mazzotto, as well as an ombuds person who runs the department. The office at UBCO was created through the initiative of last year’s UBCSUO. They set up a hiring committee. The first person offered the job decided not to take it, and they hired Mazzotto in the second round. According to Joaquin Acevedo, VP Finance at the Alma Mater Society in UBC Vancouver, the office there has a different history. Their ombuds office was “an initiative solely paid for by the university.” He said the AMS later decided that it was important to contribute in order to maintain neutrality of the office. There is now an ombuds fee of approximately $1 per student. On a personal note, Mazzotto is looking forward to living in the Okanagan. Her mother and brother live in Kamloops, and her new home is in Vernon. “I feel very fortunate to be here.”

There has been a lot of discussion around the university being at a turning point. We’ve maxed out domestic students. Will we stay as a small campus size? Will we expand?

| The Phoenix

I G

Editor-In-Chief

Dental

E August 29th, 2013

Campus ▼

$10,000

PERCENT

Yearly contribution of student money to help pay for this position

317

Number of cases UBC Van’s ombuds office received in 2012

227B

Number of the ombuds office in the University Centre

Know something that should be on our radar? Email us at news@thephoenixnews. com

Photo by Hanss Lujan

A new “ethnic inspired” food services location is now open in EME. “We had feedback from Deborah Buszard [UBCO’s Principal and Deputy Vice Chancellor] and our clients on campus that there wasn’t enough ethnic inspired food,” said Natalie McHugh, Food Service Director for UBCO’s Aramark food services. The menu includes noodle bowls, curries, and wraps. The location is in a corner of the main floor of EME on the engineering side, which means it will replace some of the valuable study real estate that had

On the website thephoenixnews.com

been added with extra tables and chairs this year. There will be a cafeteria-type area included as well, so there will still be space available to sit, eat your food, and study. The construction was begun by Sawchuk Developments on July 9, and its soft opening was Monday August 26. The space currently lacks a name, as Aramark is running a contest to pick one. Space in Arts and Sciences 2 has been reserved for a new food services location too, which McHugh confirmed, but there are no current plans or timelines for any development

there. As per the current UBCO food services contract with Aramark, Aramark would also run that location upon its establishment. This contract is up for renewal in 2014. When asked about any other campus construction project on the horizon, Shakespeare said, “future plans are not yet determined.” A lot of the construction plans hinge on finding donors. Deborah Buszard, Deputy Vice Chancellor of UBCO, has previously hinted at another residence being a likely next step since there is a payback period for rental buildings.

Paul Evans, the controversial Residence Life Manager, has resigned. An online petition for his resignation gained over 300 signatures at the end of last year.

O F

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Don’t let eye strain interfere with your studies. We’re only 10 minutes away from campus and have appointments available on weekdays, evenings, and Saturdays. Like us on Facebook to get 15% off a pair of glasses or a year’s supply of contacts

Dr Karla Reimer & Dr Paul Rollett

www.lakecountryoptometry.ca 250-766-4240 49-9522 Main Street, Lake Country

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6

The Phoenix |

News

April 9th, 2013

News

April 9th, 2013

David Nixon

Student Union ▼

Editor-in-Chief

Well prices drop

SU FinANCIAL COODINATOR tim Krupa resigns; heads for ubc van

In response to student complaints, prices drop after last year’s increase Darcie Rudyk Guest Art Deisgner

Before

David Nixon Editor-In-Chief

| The Phoenix

Photoillustration by David Nixon

after

Tim Krupa, the UBCSUO’s Financial Coordinator and Executive Chair, took students by surprise when he announced his resignation over the summer. “I’ve really enjoyed working for and serving in the Student’s Union,” he told The Phoenix, “and because of some personal and academic circumstances…it’s just the best course of action for me to move on.”

Krupa has moved to Vancouver to pursue a Master’s degree in Political Science at UBC’s Point Grey campus. The announcement, which took effect August 18th, comes 3 months after he and the other new executive members took office and 5 months after Krupa was elected with 611 votes – the most of any candidate running in the 2013 UBCSUO election.

Krupa added that his decision to leave his position was made harder by the fact that UBCO students had elected him to it. “I think whenever your membership body puts so much trust in you and really endorses your mandate so strongly, I think that always makes it more difficult… I really don’t want to disappoint anyone, so that’s, I think, what makes me so sad to leave.” Krupa feels that although he will be leaving just under 4 months into his year-long term, he and the other executive members were able to achieve a significant amount of what they aimed to address when they took office. Krupa and the others made several new changes over the summer – including reducing Well food prices and introducing a wider range of food options in the UNC – in addition to completing projects set in motion by the previous Students’ Union. Those included hiring a long-term General Manager for the Union, hiring an ombudsperson for the Okanagan campus, and setting up a new health and dental plan for students. As a result, it’s possible that the job of the incoming financial coordinator will be centered more around day-to-day competence and team operation within the executive and council rather than the big ideas and new directions emphasized in March’s general election.

Cam Welch

Creative Director

Rocky Kim appointed new Financial Coordinator

“We’ve lowered prices across the board,” began Tim Krupa. Krupa, the former UBCSUO Financial Coordinator, saw through this feature of his platform before he left: lower well prices. “Day one we came in here and we thought we had to have a larger discussion of where The Well was going…We knew there was a lot of discontent so this was something we wanted to act on right away,” he said. The UBCSUO had received many complaints about price increases in 2012. So where is The Well going? “The Well should be here for students to go to have fun, to get good food,

to socialize…the well shouldn’t be something we look to fund other opportunities from,” said Krupa. Additionally, The Well did very well this year. At the fall AGM, students will see that The Well exceeded its forecasted revenue by over $40,000 (They forecasted $70,000 and made over $110,000). The significantly higher revenue provides solid ground to begin to address needed service improvements. Curtis Tse, last year’s Financial Coordinator, claimed that staff told the executive that prices needed to increase. The reasons they were given were the increase of labor costs (partly in anticipation of the

BCGEU collective bargaining), and increased supplier prices. Tse told The Phoenix that there were other changes made last year by the former General Manager Claude Guerette, such as removing drinks from combos to increase their profitability. But near the end of their term, the executive received a report on food markups and upon review, they felt prices were higher than necessary. According to Rocky Kim, Krupa’s replacement, the UBCSUO continues to go towards a Well that has lower cost items for students. They have enforced a 5% price cut across the board, and a little bit

more for vegetarian options. Nick Dodds, UBCSUO Services Coordinator, spoke to the concern expressed by students during elections for healthy, affordable, diverse needs. “We tried to address some of those issues as well,” said Dodds. Those efforts are reflected in the lower cost for healthy items, and by an investment in improved quality of items like the burgers and fries. Dodds acknowledged that The Well has its limitations and cannot satisfy every concern, but the executive hope to further address student concerns by being part of the discussion for UBCO’s food

services contract,. It’s currently held by Aramark and is up for renewal in 2014. Other changes include the investment of $19,200 for a flattop stove that’s approximately triple the size of the previous stove, as well as three new freezers. “What this means for students is faster, more efficient service,” said Krupa. Students will also notice uniforms being worn by kitchen staff, and the installation of electrical outlets throughout The Well.

An investigation into where UBCO students sink the most money for their study drinks. Which food services venue has the highest coffee and/or tea sales?

There has been a lot of discussion around the university being at a turning point. We’ve maxed out domestic students. Will we stay as a small campus size? Will we expand?

would break down the SU’s expenditures and food prices. ““I think all the students here know that school is not cheap,” he said during his pitch, “But if they know what they’re paying for and they know what they’re getting for it, they’re willing to pay those extra dollars. And I think […] something we should be putting a real strong emphasis on is information. Not just transparency but informing the public, and they will be happy.” UBCSUO Internal Coordinator Shaman McLean indicated that while previous meetings with individual candidates set the stage for the decision, the decision meeting brought the board together on the final choice. “ I think there was a lot of decision-making that went on while everyone was there just because of what [candidates] were saying, how they responded to questions,” he said after the verdict was announced, “I think what the in-camera ses-

Rocky Kim sion did was really bring everybody together on the same page.” McLean acknowledged that Simon Bullock’s unavailability harmed his chances, saying that they were better able to evaluate all the other candidates because they could ask them questions in person and gauge their responses.

ROCKY Kim’s Stanley Cup riot conviction

On our radar A comprehensive look at Well prices and their history. Any question you have about Well prices and their fairness will be answered by looking online at thephoenixnews.com

The UBCSUO hiring board has appointed Rocky Kim as 2013/2014 Financial Coordinator to replace the outgoing Tim Krupa. The hour-and-a-half meeting included closing statements and question responses from 5 of the 6 candidates and approximately 25 minutes of in-camera deliberation by the board. Candidate Simon Bullock was unavailable for the meeting, as he was in Vancouver. UBCSUO External Coordinator Alex Gula was also unavailable for the meeting and submitted his vote by proxy beforehand. Kim beat out Bullock, Dominique Gelineau, Matt Leung, Keaton Murphy, and Logan Schunk for the position. Kim emphasized “personal and financial responsibility” in his platform, saying that the Su’s responsibility was to serve students rather than to make money and as such revenue should be reinvested as soon as possible. He also proposed going beyond current levels of transparency by creating infographics and other resources for students that

Know something that should be on our radar? Email us at news@thephoenixnews. com

Shortly after the verdict was announced, The Phoenix learned that Rocky Kim was involved in the 2011 Vancouver Stanley cup riots and was sentenced in early to 2013 to 5 months house arrest, followed by 4 months of a curfew and 15 months of probation. Kim was filmed damaging vehicles and trying to set one on fire. His sentence also included 100 hours of community service, restitution for the damages, and a ban on consuming alcohol or being in bars. Shaman McLean and Tim Krupa had not been aware of the conviction during the application and declined to comment on it.

Kim told us that he had problems with alcohol at the time of the riot and has turned his life around since then . “I was still young, I was still naïve, I was still stupid,” he said, “And honestly if it wasn’t for that experience I wouldn’t be who I am today, and that’s a really strong point I want to emphasize.” He said that while the conviction did not come up during his application interviews, it is common knowledge on campus. “It was published on Castanet ... It was public information. A lot of people – I’m not talking 1 to 10 people, I’m talking hundreds of people that I’ve met throughout my last 3 years here have asked

me about it and all I’ve said is “hey, I’m sorry, I was young, naïve, and dumb. I’ve made a mistake. Honestly, give me 30 minutes of your time, let me convince you why I’m a good person” Kim told us that he hopes to alleviate any concerns the executive board may have, and feels he can convince them of his competence. “I think once they see me take office and the values that I put forth and what I have to offer, I think they would still consider me as a viable candidate and I still think they would have made the same decision.”

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August 29th, 2013

▼HUMOUR

LIFE

| The Phoenix

9

University launches $2.5B Kickstarter campaign

Image from UBC’s official Kickstarter page

A wandering nation

The Syrup Trap was founded by a group of disenchanted but breathtakingly talented and humble students at the University of British Columbia who were interested in writing satire. Since then, the magazine has grown into one of the most successful humour publications of all time. You can find mroe of their work at thesyruptrap.ca

Former UBCO prof in Egypt shares perspective on conflict

It’s February 11, 2011 and Egypt’s loathed dictator, Hosni Mubarak, has finally resigned and his power: a victory for human rights, democratic principles, and the people of Egypt. Soon thereafter, Mohamed Morsi became the first to be democratically elected. Blood was shed, but they people finally got what they deserved: a leader of their choice. However the celebrations didn’t last long. A national political and constitutional crisis caused Egypt’s army to remove President Morsi from office after large-scale public protests endured. Weeks later, the aftermath continues to be marred in violence as the death toll nears 1,000. Dr. Ashraf Farahat, Ph.D., is a former physics instructor at UBC’s Okanagan campus who spent the first 27 years and the past several months of this life in Egypt. There are contradicting opinions and reports on the recent developments, but here’s how a local survivor saw the calamity. Krupa: We last spoke just after President Hosni Mubarek was pushed out of power over two years ago. Looking back,

Tim Krupa Contributor

do citizens feel that Mohamed Morsi’s election process was flawed, or was he truly the people’s choice? Farahat: Like you mentioned there are lots of opposing opinions, but here’s mine. Our people were very happy when Morsi was elected as it was a fair election. Everybody wanted to cooperate with Morsi and work with him at that time so the atmosphere was positive and we were optimistic. K: What do you feel was the tipping point in Morsi’s Presidency? F: Morsi’s campaign had all the right language. They said they wanted to help people, to develop different sectors, and facilitate economic growth in the nation. But after the election, Morsi was always trying to give the Muslim Brotherhood the

upper hand in everything. A tipping point was when he started speaking poorly about our judicial system and the judges themselves. K: Can you describe everyday struggles in Egypt during this deepening resource crisis? F: We have really felt the effects of this crisis over the past 3 months. For example, we don’t have continuous water or power supply. Sometimes people wait by petrol stations for four or five hours because fuel is not available. In July 2012 he removed the judge presiding over the case for the new constitution in an effort to make his own constitution business can’t run. K: What was it like to wander through the streets during the demonstrations earlier this summer? F: The anti-Morsi demonstrations were actually very

civilized. I walked through the streets and I felt as safe as I ever have in my life. People were calm and peaceful. No one carried any weapons, not even a stick. You would just go there and share a laugh with friends. K: Was the pro-Morsi versus anti-Morsi divide as simple as religious fundamentalism versus secular liberalism, or is there a more complex divide? F: It’s important to understand that this divide is not simply a religious one, but more so the

application of religion to government. The majority of our people are Muslims so for the most part there’s no problem with Islam. The problem is with the Muslim Brotherhood itself trying to dominate all aspects of government. Egyptians are religious, but not fundamentalists. We don’t think of it as religious versus non-religious people. It’s the Muslim Brotherhood versus Egypt. I watch the CBC and sometimes our story is mistakenly reported as if it’s a coup and the military wants to take over the country. But the vast majority of Egyptians agree with the army’s course of action. We warned Morsi and asked him for an election, but he refused. This isn’t a coup; this is what the people want. K: In 2011, Mubarek supporters campaigned on economic

and social stability of the country. Is the country less stable now than it was under Mubarek’s regime? Do Egyptians regret the revolution? F: Most Egyptians never regret the Revolution of 2011. It was successful and now we are on our way to democracy. At the beginning of Morsi’s presidency, people didn’t want him to step down. But he betrayed our trust and we were approaching civil revolution. On June 30, 2013 millions and millions of people went into the streets. It was a peaceful way of asking Morsi to leave. K: What are the next steps down the road to democracy and prosperity in Egypt? F: We are trying to amend our constitution to include all citizens then elect our new parliament and president. But the economy remains very fragile as there isn’t much money circulating the country. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are currently helping to support our economy, but eventually we’ll need to improve it ourselves. K: Do you think Canadians are more apathetic than Egyptians, or would they react in the same way? F: Egyptians are very civilized, kind, well-educated, and proud of our long history, but again it comes down to economic volatility. If the same situation erupted in Canada, I would expect people to respond in the same way. If you take my bread or my gas, I will react poorly and probably aggressively. But we’re an overpopulated country so just imagine if every single Canadian gathered on the same street. K: What can Canadians learn from Egypt’s experience? F: Democracy is precious, but elusive. In Canada, I can go vote and everything is peaceful. We can elect a new Prime Minister if we choose to. This simple act is something that Egyptians are prepared to die for. Tim Krupa is reading for an MA in Political Science at UBC.

The University of British Columbia is excited to announce the launch of our new $2.5-billion fundraising campaign, which will be run entirely through Kickstarter. As a token of our gratitude, donors will receive the following rewards:

give people these M&Ms, they’ll be like, “Do these M&Ms have little UBC logos on them?” and you can reply, “Yes, actually, they do.”

Pledge $20,000 or more

matter. Also, you will be asked to sit at a different table than Mr. LaBeouf.

Pledge $20,000,000 or more

For $100,000, you also get your own bench. Your own bench. How cool is that? You could be walking around campus with some old friends, then point at the bench and be like, “Oh, look, they named a bench after me. No big deal.”

Seriously? I could give you my house. You can also have the sociology department. Think about it: your very own group of sociologists! You could be living in my house with a bunch of sociologists and having just the time of your life, drinking coffee and doing sociology. Do you like cats? I have four cats. You can have three of them. You could be sitting in a hot tub with a bunch of sociologists, contemplating the future of academia, with cats walking around. I honestly can’t think of a better way to reconnect with your alma mater.

Pledge $1,000,000 or more

Pledge $500,000,000 or more

We will stop bothering you about those outstanding library fees. Go ahead, keep those books on enviropoetics, hydrophonics and Milton’s influence in early ’90s R&B. You’ve earned them.

We have a building that needs a name. We could name it after you, or you could name it anything you want. You could even give it a funny, confusing name, like the name of a building that already exists, or a name that contains only punctuation. Students will be so confused when they’re told to meet at the {([{({:;.]&}>~*%<> Building. What a great way to grow your legacy at UBC.

Pledge $5,000 or more

Pledge $5,000,000 or more

You will receive a crate of UBCbranded M&Ms, which are great conversation starters. When you

Have lunch with Shia LaBeouf in Vancouver. How did we get a hold of Shia LaBeouf? It doesn’t

A donation at this level will help UBC researchers answer some of the most important questions of our time, like, “What does half a billion dollars actually look like?” I want you to imagine this with me: giant cash cube. Your generous donation will be stacked into a large cube of $100 bills in the atrium of the Main Library. People will come from far and wide to marvel at the cash cube. Children from all socioeconomic backgrounds will be inspired to pursue higher education and mothers will weep when they see the cash cube. You will be forever known as the person who made the cash cube possible.

Pledge $50 or more To welcome you to the UBC family, we will send you a generic thank-you email and add you to the mailing list we use to ask people for money.

Pledge $100 or more A thank-you letter will be sent to your physical address, along with an envelope you can use to mail us more money.

Pledge $500 or more You will receive a UBC T-shirt, a Faculty of Law paperweight and a framed, signed photograph of UBC President Stephen Toope holding his hands in a heart shape.

Pledge $1,000 or more

We will plant a small tree on campus in your name, with one of those little plaques. Think about it: your very own small tree. And maybe, one day, a big tree.

Pledge $100,000 or more


10

The Phoenix | DIY

August 29th, 2013

Natural lavender lip balm

August 29th, 2013

A WHOLESOME HUNGER

BETWEEN THE LINES AND BETWEEN THE SHEETS

Sunshine Juice

Ingredients

Photo by Laura Scarpelletti

It’s never necessary to use products with ingredients you can’t pronounce I’ve recently started reading the ingredients of lip balms and hand lotions I buy and realized the piles of chemicals I unknowingly put on and in my body. Fortunately, the natural ingredients for skin and hair care supplies are easy to come by,. You can make a single product for all of your moisturizing needs in your own kitchen, and find all the ingredients at health food stores like Natural Resources and Choices.

You will need: 4 tbsp. olive oil 1 tsp. honey 1/2 tsp. vitamin E oil 1 tbsp. grated beeswax 7 drops lavender essential oil 1 balm container First you will need to warm up all three oils in their own pot, as well as the honey and the beeswax in their own respective pots. Keep everything at low heat and stir often. Once the beeswax mixture is completely melted, remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the oils. After, put the bottom of the pot in a bowl of icecold water and keep whisking the mixture. Then, whisk in the melted honey. Immediately after this is mixed in, quickly transfer the mixture to your balm container of choice. I prefer to use a small mason jar. The balm should take about three hours to set. It is perfect for moisturizing dry split ends, elbows, hands and feet. And there you are, another step towards a more healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle!

Naughty Librarian Sex Columnist

Sex Ed

You are probably an expert on putting a condom on a banana, and you may be able to name the parts of the female sexual organs. You might even know an STI from an IUD but there is an unfortunate Grand Canyon of information between what you learned in school and what you need to know to get the most out of your university years. Hello, I am the Naughty Librarian here to help spackle over some of the gaping voids in commonly held sexual knowledge so that my readers can have more fun, stay healthier and have significantly better stories than their roommates.

If you don’t have a juicer, no problem... Cut the watermelon up into chunks, use crushed ice, make sure there are no pits in your lemon, and omit the cucumber. This will turn out like a fruit slushy.

1 whole green cucumber 1 big lemon or two smaller ones Half medium sized watermelon 3-4 Ice cubes

Equipment

Juicer or blender

Makes

Approximately 1 litre (enough to fully satisfy two people!)

Katie Jones Contributor

Begin your morning with a fresh and fruity treat

Sex Ed 101: What you should have been taught in health class 1. Sex is fun This may seem like a fact that doesn’t need stating, but with all the mystery and misinformation surrounding this little-talked-about subject, it too often goes unsaid. SEX IS FUN. At least it is supposed to be, and yes this means for both partners. It’s also a learned skill, which means the practice is key. However, like learning a new sport, you need some familiarity with the equipment and since we only receive one complementary pair at birth (and a difficult return policy), expect it to take some time to learn the nuances of the opposite gender. Even if you’re queer and have a working knowledge of the ins and outs of your partner’s genitals, every one of us is a bit different so a good lover knows to focus on the ins and out of this partner’s genitals. For user convenience, this exciting new equipment comes with a person attached and they should be able to provide you with feedback on

what works best for their body, as you should be doing with them. 2. Oral sex is still sex So is anal, mutual masturbation, frottage (rubbing, often through clothing), fingering, hand jobs, teasing, using toys, not to mention good old fashioned rolling around making out and pretty much anything that turns you on or gets you off (centaur cosplay, anyone?). This also means that anyone who acts like these activities are consolation prizes should be viewed with extra caution. Western culture over-emphasizes penetrative penis-in-vag sex as the be all and end all, which it is not. An incredible amount of satisfaction and intimacy can be created in a relationship through any of the abovementioned sexual acts. And no one should ever engage in ANY sexual act because they feel pressured into it. So if your boyfriend is threatening to dump

you if you don’t spread your thighs, or if your girlfriend wants more than you are ready for and keeps pushing? Congratulations! These people have just identified themselves to you as neither worthy of your time, nor deserving of access to your body. 3. You should be masturbating It’s inexpressibly beneficial to communicate with your lovers, as there are very few psychics in the bedroom. But how can you provide good guidance without knowing the terrain? Spending time with your body, learning your favorite ways to be touched, teaching yourself to associate sexual touch with pleasure and orgasm, this is some of the most important self discovery there is. And bonus: it feels amazing!

Fun watermelon facts Watermelons don’t lose much of their nutritional value when cut and stored in the fridge They are a great source of lycopene and potassium

Next issue will include more of what your sex-ed instructor neglected to mention, and in the meantime, send any naughty question you’d like answered to sex@thephoenixnews.com. The fiber from your juicer makes great compost!

Katie is a full-time student who is passionate about healthy living. She believes that who we are begins on our plates, and seeks to become a naturopathic doctor in the future. As an early riser, I usually crave something sweet but light and nutritious to fuel my yoga practice or run to school. I thought I would introduce you guys to the whole juicing idea slowly but surely, beginning with a sweet pink glass of sunshine. Juicing is a great way to maximize nutrient intake and go easy on your digestive system. You might ask “why drink fresh juice over bottled juice?” Live enzymes and nutrients, which are present in fresh juice, are significantly reduced in bottled supermarket juice because of the processing it requires to keep it on the shelf. When you slurp up a fresh juice, the vitamin and mineral contents remain intact. Drinking fresh juice in the morning also acts as a cleanser for the stomach, colon and the rest of the digestive tract. It is important to drink your fresh juice on an empty stomach, allowing the nutrients to absorb directly into your cells and the bloodstream.

Directions

1 Rinse all your fruit under cold water & pat dry 2 Cut the watermelon into long slices, cut the cucumber in half, & peel the lemon 3 Juice the fruit in a juicer on low power, cucumber on high 4 Add 1-3 ice cubes & sip through a glass straw 5 Enjoy it in a mason jar with a friend!!!

| The Phoenix

11


OPINIONS Summer Streeters

What’re ya lookin’ forward to?

It’s been a while UBCO. How are things? They’re good thanks. We had one quick question: What are you most looking forward to? We got some pretty diverse answers.

▼ Roarin’ torin

▼ BOGGED DOWN

Affleck ‘batting’ out of order?

International students:

our friends or our bank?

Curtis Tse Torin Maclachlan

Ben Affleck Correspondent

Monica: Masters in Civil Engineering “This is my last year, so graduating. Just getting back into courses and everything is going to be great.”

Kajol: 3rd Year Psychology “It’s my first year in res so I’m really excited for that I can’t wait to meet new friends. And I’m working my first on-campus job. I’m working at the Well, and might be an academic assistant so it’s going to be really fun.”

Hank: 1st Year Human Kinetics. “Looking forward to the new experiences and campus life. I love meeting new people.”

So Ben Affleck is the new Batman. In a place called The Internet, the recent news from Warner Bros. is that Henry Cavill’s Superman will be reprised in a sequel to Man of Steel with Affleck costarring as Gotham City’s crime-fighting playboy. The 2015 release, tentatively titled Batman vs. Superman (BS), has met with mixed reviews. If public opinion is a salsa, the initial response to this DC Comics silver screen mash-up is a sour, doubledipped mango-carrot mess. Immediate efforts to lampoon Affleck’s Batmanto-be were spearheaded by the Twitter and Reddit communities, riffing on Ben’s Boston roots, speculating on the potential for a Matt Damon Robin (sorry; it’s Joseph-Gordon Levitt), and touting everyone/thing from Meryl Streep to a giant ball of rubber bands as a #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck. To be fair, Dairdevil went okay. Amusingly, a petition on change.org to oust Affleck from the role has now garnered 85,000 signatures, with all the derisive laughter riding waves of genuine outrage pouring from a vocal subset of comic book fans looking to prevent a potential Hollywood grand theft hero. Those who defend Affleck either cite his recent critical success as actor-director in Argo and The Town, or point to cases of the uncelebrated-casting-choice-turnedearth-shattering-performance like Heath Ledger’s Joker from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. In my opinion, I could do without another play on the Caped Crusader. For one, Nolan and Co. seemed to hit the mark with Christian Bale’s stoic, psychologically dense Batman and realistic array of supporting characters. As well, the perennially faddy film industry’s 21st-century comic book bloom is beginning to wither. Increasingly, antics behind the scenes seem to supplant the finished product. Nolan reportedly dropped out of BS following Affleck’s appointment, and Bale turned down $50 million (that’s real dollars) apparently offered him by Warner Bros. execs for the new project. Throw in a love triangle with BS director Zach Snyder, the 2nd grip, and a sexy sound tech? Action. In the end, Ben has the chin, but does he have the chops? Who knows. At least the off-screen fiction will fill seats.

BoG representative

300

positions available in Vantage College.

$5.3m

is how much the college’s is expected to earn for UBC in 2-3 years.

9%

UBCO international students

1%

annual growth since 2008.

15%

Both campuses

have 15% total

7%

of all tuition revenue from the program go towards financial aids for students of Vantage College

Curtis is the Board of Governors (BoG) Representative for UBCO’s students. He also blogs at www.votecurtistse. com, where he addresses issues that affect UBCO students) International students are about to become an even larger source of revenue for UBC. The newly established UBC Vantage College is a 12-month program with a fee of $30,000 and a supplemental term fee of $5,000. The program is similar to the English Foundation Program (EFP) here on the Okanagan campus. The EFP allows students with all the program requirements except english language to come to UBCO. But the EFP only costs $7,800 for international students, and also accepts domestics. On average a constant ~35% of tuition revenue is being contributed to central every year. I am not able to comment on the EFP financial contribution. The UBC budget contribution may seem like a lot. But the reality is that with the BC Liberals sweeping seats in the BC Legislature, UBC is facing a 2.5% budget cut over three years and a $50 million (1% of overall budget) budget cut for the BC post-secondary sector. UBC needs to find creative ways to cover shortfalls. These measures are understandable in order to ensure the financial stability of the University. But with the constant increase of international students in order to cover shortfalls, are we displacing seats of domestic students? Any administrator you talk to will argue that this measure does not displace seats, but what about the infrastructure of UBC? Won’t we eventually run out of space in the library or EME? I am not saying that we have too many international students, but how many is too many? The real question is whether UBC is increasing international student intake for revenue reasons, or simply to diversify our campus community. These students that come from around the world are aware of the cost when they arrive. They come to UBC with a five-year tuition guarantee, with reasonable increases in tuition. No surprises. These are difficult times, and I personally consider international students a part of our community. But they are increasingly becoming our financial support. It’s time we discuss this issue frankly as a community. Only then will we know how to ensure that whether domestic or international, we are all a part of the UBC family.


August 29th, 2013

| The Phoenix

13

REALLY?!

with Laura and Dave

Really?! with Laura and Dave is a print, online, and video segment inspired by Seth and Amy from SNL. Seen something dumb UBCO has done? Let us know at opinions@thephoenixnews.com

Laura Sciarpelletti Arts Editor

Dave Nixon

Editor-In-Chief

Ahhh escorts. Welcome to uni. REALLY UBCO? Now come on, we’re getting a higher education, yes. This is certainly a time of growth for us students. But “escort services” is not going to generate a mature reaction from the campus. In fact, I’m giggling right now. I know I know. Real mature. But really???? Are the security escorts named Sapphire and Roxxxy? Do we tip in dolla dolla bills? Is kissing extra? How much for touching? Really?! Change the name UBCO. Or you’re just asking for it. Really UBCO? You had to call it ‘escort servives’. Really. You thought ‘escort services’ would be the best representation of the service offered. Really. You couldn’t just use ‘cart rides’? Actually the word ‘escort’ is fine. On its own. You didn’t have to put ‘services’ right after it. No one forced you to do that. This post would have been fine if you never added the word ‘services’. All you had to do was NOT do something. I did a quick fact check and typed ‘escort services’ into google. Guess what? It wasn’t cart-related results that popped up. Oh hey, did you know that according to google Kelowna has at least four escort service? None of them are your carts.

Get this

mattress for

$200

Brand New Queen Mattress. Still in plastic, Mfg warranty.

Call Kelowna Sleep & Save 250-870-2562

Oh really UBCO? You heard that students wanted informal recreation space. So you got them a beach volleyball court. Here you go, winter session students, play beach volleyball! Really? How many students are here in the summer? You know, when beach volleyball is played. Really UBCO?! A report says we’re way behind in athletic space on campus. And you choose the one sport that can’t be played for the majority of the time that 8,300 students are here for. Really. Down the line it’ll be cool. When the summer semesters are busy. And I’m a big fan of long term planning too. But wait, where was that long term planning before our infrastructure fell way behind our population? Try prioritizing sports and recreation space that can actually be used by the students that are asking for it.

Dave Nixon

Editor-In-Chief

Laura Sciarpelletti

Arts Editor

Really UBCO? Outdoor volleyball courts? Really? All I can think about is those volleyball babe video games from back in the day with the animated bouncy boobs and the giggling blondies. Kelowna is freezingFREEZING-in the winter. While we have great summer weather (for the most part), orchards and vinyards, which remind many of California, we are not California. Nevermind that the weather is cooling off extra quickly this year, that court is going to be in use for a small fraction of the year. So really UBCO? Why not use that money for weather orientated facilities? Maybe on the island where the weather can allow year long outdoor volleyball, but just barely. Awesome UBCO. Awesome.


14

The Phoenix |

Features

August 29th, 2013

A note to first years

August 29th, 2013

| The Phoenix

15

Why your first year of university is essentially the freest you will ever be

Sasha Curry Contributor

How would you sum up your first year at UBCO in three words? “Social, Intoxicated, Carefree.” – Shevek Anderson (4th year management student) It’s sunny September in Kelowna, and your parents leave the UBCO campus at last. They leave you with a meal card, some “grocery” money, and a few words of wisdom. “Don’t forget to call home.” “Don’t forget why you’re here.” An hour later, you’re buying a twelve pack of beer with the $100.00 fake ID that you bought FOR THIS DAY, and celebrating awkwardly with your foreign floor mates because after all, you’re a grown-up now! So, what’s all the buzz about first year being so memorable and important? Why not second, or third year?

FREE-dom of Finances The first semester of your first year at UBCO, you have accumulated no debts, and have not yet made a dent in your college education fund. You seem to be afloat financially, and you probably haven’t quite grasped the concept of salads being priced by weight in the cafeteria (You will eventually adapt by nixing cucumbers, carrots, and other heavy foods out of your diet). Enjoy, because university is expensive, and living the “college life” is even more expensive. Appreciate the money that you’ve saved, before your expenses become a burden – live it up, but somewhat wisely. If you create a rough budget, it will allow you to understand how much money you have and how long it will last, making it easier for you to enjoy your funds.

Move over OUC, UBCO is here Over eight years ago, the Provincial government heard from the Okanagan valley. The professors at the Okanagan University College (OUC) were lobbying to get more provincial funding and interest in the area. The Provincial government approached UBC with the opportunity to expand into the Okanagan valley. UBC accepted. It has often been called a hostile takeover, as this campus used to be OUC. It shifted to UBC Okangan, and is now officially referred to as UBC’s Okanagan campus. We at The Phoenix continue to affectionately refer to it as UBCO. UBCO opened in 2005 with 3,000 students. 80 were international and 44 were graduates. It started out as more of a liberal arts campus, but has since grown through various phases and is moving more towards a research intensive university.

is fresh faced, naïve and eager to make new friends, with a hint of the stereotype in mind that university is where you make lifelong friends, and possibly meet your significant other. Do be wary of new friends though, as not everyone is as trustworthy as they seem.

“My first year at UBCO, I spent too much money on things that were for pleasure, and had trouble affording things that I needed. I had to work a lot the next summer, which was stressful.” – Morgan Mowatt (3rd year Human Kinetics student)

“I became close friends early on my first year with a girl on my floor. We agreed to live together second year, and after a month I realized that she wasn’t someone I could trust in regards to guys, or paying her half of the rent.” – Anonymous (3rd year student)

A Social Slate Wiped Clean “You can be any version of your self and try things you found you could never try before due to previous reputations…” – Janaina DeAlencar (3rd year student)..

A Free State of Mind

With no prior judgments established, everyone has the opportunity to be who they want to be, as opposed to who they used to be. Leave your demons behind and take advantage of the opportunity to start fresh, sans high school reputations. Everyone on campus

Gone are the high school days of set schedules that you have no control over. First year is generally the only time during your university experience that you can choose courses with absolutely no career focus in mind. Keep an open mind and take courses with the intention

of expanding your mind, instead of getting a job. YOU WILL REGRET IT IF YOU DON’T! I took “Rock & Roll History” with Dr. Bob my first year. Needless to say, it’s not a course that I can note in a resume, or take practical office skills from, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Most importantly, I took away knowledge that I value personally, and it helped free my mind, lift my spirit a little, and look outside the box, which ironically are all valuable career skills.

First year goals: “Find a group of friends I can be myself around and pass school.” – Jace Anderson (Third year) “My main goal of first year was to meet as many people as possible and live to the fullest. Honestly, school came second.” Shevek (Fourth year)

“Friends, experiences, memories.” – Jace Anderson(3rd year student) “University’s golden year. Do you need an explanation as to why I picked that?!” – Janaina DeAlencar (3rd year student) “Social, Intoxicated, Carefree.” – Shevek Anderson (4th year management student) “My main goal of first year was to meet as many people as possible and live to the fullest. Honestly, school came second.” – Shevek Anderson (4th year management student) “Live it up.” – Shomari Powell (4th year engineering student/RA) “Enlightening, Refreshing, Free.” – Brooklyn Tracey (3rd year student)

Fipke

University Centre / UNC

Arts and Sciences 2

Health Sciences

EME

UBCO today

Real name: the Charles Fipke Centre for Innovative Research Cost: 31.5 million Size: 6545 square metres Began operating: Fall 2008

Real name: J. Peter Meekison Student Centre Cost: 33 million Size: 7300 square metres Began operating: Fall 2009

Real name: Arts and Sciences Centre Cost: $41.4 million Size: 7,800 square metres Began operating: fall 2011

Health Sciences Real name: Reichwald Health Sciences Centre Began operating: Fall 2011 Cost: 32.7 million Size: 4266 square metres

Real name: Engineering, Management and Education building Began operating: early 2012 Cost: 68 million Size: 186,000 square metres

Peter Meekison was the public administrator the BC government appointed to oversee the transition from OUC to UBCO and OC.

The ASC’s four storeys house research labs, lecture theatre, offices, and a grad collegia, providing more space for the Barber school and Faculty of Health and Social Development. In 2011 it received 5 Green Globes from the from the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada for its sustainable design, which includes “radiant slab” heating and cooling and efficient fume exhaust and heat reclamation systems. It includes several significant labs and initiatives including:

UBCO has come a long way in a very short time. That is both a triumph and a failure, as it has caused some growing pains for students. In contrast, this year UBCO has 8,346 full time or full time equivalent students enrolled, 670 of whom are international and 631 are graduate.

The Health Sciences building houses the Southern Medical Program (SMP). The SMP is the Okanagan branch of UBC’s medical program. The medical program has four branches, including the Northern Medical Program at UNBC and the Island Medical Program at UVic. With the addition of the SMP, the number of medical students in the province rose to 288 – double what it was in 2001. The lecture theatres in the Health Sciences building have videoconferencing capabilities that allow professors to lecture to all four programs simultaneously and answer student questions via videolink and the microphones equipped to the desks. The Health Sciences building also houses the Human Kinetics faculty The SMP also makes use of the Clinical Academic Campus at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) for the clinical skills training component of the program.

The EME houses four faculties: the School of Engineering, the Faculty of Education, Faculty of Management, and the College of Graduate Studies. The BC Government contributed $40 million toward its construction. The facility has numerous green innovations including a geothermal energy system that uses groundwater to heat and cool the building. In 2010, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Seal program used the EME as its showcase.

The Fipke centre was funded with $26.5 million from the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, a 5 million gift from Charles Fipke’s foundation (plus 2 million more for equipment). Fipke was the first laboratory building in Canada to receive five Green Globes for its sustainable design (ASC went on to receive five GGs of its own shortly after). The Fipke Centre is also the first building to use UBC Okanagan’s geoexchange groundwater energy system for heating and cooling -- a system that will eventually provide heating and cooling to every new and existing academic building on campus. Fipke includes a large lecture theatre as well as computer teaching labs; dry labs for ESC, geography, and anthropology; and wet labs for chemistry, biology, hydrology, ecology, and soil research. Charles Fipke graduated with an Honours geology degree in 1973 and went on to found the CF Mineral Research company in 1977 and discover the first diamond pipe in North America in 1988.

The UBCSUO contributed 3 million towards the building, and a group headed by Peter’s brother Jim Meekison contributed 2 million. The UNC contains all the UBCSUO operations and services including the 100-seat student theatre, the Green Text bookstore, the Well pub, and the Green Bean coffee shop. The second and third floors contain university services such as Academic Advising, the Health and Wellness Centre, Campus Life, and the Writing Centre, as well as three collegia for off-campus and Aboriginal students.

Centre for Advancement of Psychological Science and Law Centre for Optimization, Convex Analysis and Nonsmooth Analysis The Centre for the Study of services to children and families The Interprofessional Clinic, where the psychology, social work, and nursing faculties provide health services to locals


16

The Phoenix |

August 29th, 2013

THE HANGAR

Break a sweat:

Alex Eastman Sports Editor

Towel Service: $50 (year) Lockers: $50 (year)

Student staff Term: $80 Year: $120

The freshly built Hangar, seen from the outside.

Term: $140 Year: $240

affiliate others Term: $150 Year: $280

Term: $160 Year: $300

Jed Anderson and Cole Mosychuck using some of the new equipment. Photos by Hanss Lujan

After a year of construction, UBC Okanagan has opened The Hangar, its new athletic facility. Featuring a more pleasing aesthetic experience, brand new equipment, and studio space for recreational programs, The Hangar promises to be a vast upgrade on the UBCO Gymnasium, which doubles as a home court for The Heat Basketball and Volleyball teams. “We’ve known for a very long time that the campus would benefit from a multi-purpose fitness centre. The space that we’ve been using was designed as offcourt storage when the facility was originally built,” explained Rob Johnson, Director of Athlet-

ics at UBCO. “We did our best in there, because that was the only space we had but it was pretty challenging because it wasn’t designed as a fitness facility. So air handling, light, space, it was all pretty challenging. It’s been on my list for a long time to try and improve that.” The funding for the expansion came about from a philanthropic donation of $3.5 million from Barry Lapointe as a part of the Start an Evolution campaign. Lapointe’s donation made up the vast majority of the funds used to build the facility, with the university also coming up with $600,000 in support. As Johnson points out, the construction of The Hangar pre-

sented a unique set of opportunities: “The contract was really quite interesting. The donor had a couple of conditions around the gift, and one of them was that the building has to have an aviation theme, which makes complete sense, so if students are wondering about the design of the building, it’s styled to look like an aircraft wing, which is why it’s called The Hangar. [Lapointe] has been very successful in the aviation industry, and he’s generous enough to share some of his money with our campus, so he wanted an aviation theme and I think that’s a great decision.” The second condition for The Hangar concerned the materi-

als used in the building process. “[Lapointe]is a big promoter of a new technology called crosslaminated timber,” said Johnson, “ and this building is built almost entirely with that technology, so there’s a concrete floor and concrete retaining wall on the west end of the building, and the rest of the building is wood. Crosslaminated timber has been used a great deal in Europe, but is just catching on here in Canada. The Canadian Wood Council actually used the construction [of The Hangar] as a case study in the use of cross-laminated timber, including a video project and a document explaining how it works.”

Johnson went on to explain how the process benefits local businesses: “Cross-laminated timber panelling that were used in this facility were all made in Pentiction, and a bunch of the wood that’s used is beetle-killed wood so it’s a sustainable kind of thing, and it’s providing local jobs for not just the Okanagan Valley but other areas in the province, so it’s a fantastic thing that way. Plus, the fact that it’s wood is very sustainable in terms of carbon-dioxide sequestration, the wood captures the greenhouse gases and helps protect us from climate change. It’s a whole new way of thinking about construction in North America.”


SPORTS Meet the Heat Quick hits about UBCO’s varsity sports teams Alex Eastman Sports Editor If you’re new to UBCO, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the varsity teams that sport the blue and, well, sport gold jerseys--those are the Heat. As the campus has grown up, so too have the teams from cleaning house in the British Columbia Collegiate Athletic Association (BCCAA) to entering stiff competition in the Canada West conference of Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS). For those of you returning Heat fans, there’s plenty to talk about. For the Soccer teams, this will be their last year of BCCAA competition, so you can bet that the recruiting process is already well underway, meaning that current team members are putting out their best in an effort to prove that they can contribute at the CIS level. For the Golf team, change is in the air after the graduation of star talents such as Jen Woods and Alana Kent. A new head coach is in town by the name of Cass Hritzuk, and the team’s younger players will shoot for some of the titles and accolades collected by their now-graduated teammates. In Volleyball, the men’s team will aim to improve upon two developmental seasons as the new kids on the CIS block. With strong recruits supporting an already solid core, the team is set to make some noise this season. The women’s team, on the other hand, are out to prove that last season’s 15-7 record was a precursor of things to come rather than a flash in the pan season. If any teams were surprised by the upstart team last season, that advantage is certainly gone this season, as their success has made them a target for teams wanting to move up in the standings. For both the men and women’s basketball teams, the hope is to get on the winning track, much like the men’s v-ball squad. An influx of new recruits balanced with players who’ve been around long enough to provide leadership will be key to either team’s rise up the rankings. Read on for some quick facts about the Heat including their coaches, mascots, and team records. In-depth coverage of the Heat teams can be found throughout the season at thephoenixnews.com, as well as schedules and scores from our site or ubc.ca/okanagan/athletics.

Towering Presence Julian Asselstine probably has to duck through a fair bit of doorways - he was the Heat’s tallest player in any sport last season at an impressive


18

The Phoenix |

August 29th, 2013

Heat Quick hits

Coach’s Manuel - Heat Women’s Vol-

Mascot Matching

Heat mascots Scorch and Ogi.

Which of these is not like the other? The Heat share the Ogopogo-style mascot with the Kelowna Rockets, leaving many fans from outside the Okanagan to wonder what an elongated aquatic serpent monster has to do with either heat or rockets.

leyball coach Steve Manuel took home the CIS coach of the year award for the 201213 season, after he led the team to the postseason and a home-court-advantage finish in the Canada West CIS conference. Manuel joins Volleyball coach Greg Poitras (men), Basketball coaches Heather Semeniuk (women) and Pete Guarasci (men), Soccer coaches Dante Zanatta (men) and Claire Paterson (women), and, new for this season, Golf coach Cass Hritzuk.

Heat CIS Records (2 seasons):

10-31

21-21 Women’s Volleyball

Men’s Volleyball

8-32 Men’s Basketball

8-32 Women’s Basketball

The Big Leagues - The Heat Volleyball and Basketball teams are entering their third season of CIS competition in the Canada West conference. The Soccer teams have been approved for competition next year, making this season their last of BCCAA play. As is to expected of newcomers, the Heat teams have struggled overall, a notable exception being the 2012-13 Women’s Volleyball team, whose 15-7 record was good enough to draw their CIS win percentage to an even .500.

Heat Reporter Become UBCO’s trusted source on all things Heat--report on game results, do player interviews, and follow the team.

Sports Writer Love sports? Love writing? Dream job? Compose a column for the Sports section of the paper! Adobe Creative Suite experience an asset. Apply to sports@thephoenixnews.com.

Photos from UBCOHeat(flickr)


▼HUMOUR

University launches $2.5B Kickstarter campaign Affleck ‘batting’ out of order? Image from UBC’s official Kickstarter page The Syrup Trap was founded by a group of disenchanted but breathtakingly talented and humble students at the University of British Columbia who were interested in writing satire. Since then, the magazine has grown into one of the most successful humour publications of all time. You can find mroe of their work at thesyruptrap.ca The University of British Columbia is excited to announce the launch of our new $2.5-billion fundraising campaign, which will be run entirely through Kickstarter. As a token of our gratitude, donors will receive the following rewards:

give people these M&Ms, they’ll be like, “Do these M&Ms have little UBC logos on them?” and you can reply, “Yes, actually, they do.”

Pledge $20,000 or more

matter. Also, you will be asked to sit at a different table than Mr. LaBeouf.

Pledge $20,000,000 or more

For $100,000, you also get your own bench. Your own bench. How cool is that? You could be walking around campus with some old friends, then point at the bench and be like, “Oh, look, they named a bench after me. No big deal.”

Seriously? I could give you my house. You can also have the sociology department. Think about it: your very own group of sociologists! You could be living in my house with a bunch of sociologists and having just the time of your life, drinking coffee and doing sociology. Do you like cats? I have four cats. You can have three of them. You could be sitting in a hot tub with a bunch of sociologists, contemplating the future of academia, with cats walking around. I honestly can’t think of a better way to reconnect with your alma mater.

Pledge $1,000,000 or more

Pledge $500,000,000 or more

We will stop bothering you about those outstanding library fees. Go ahead, keep those books on enviropoetics, hydrophonics and Milton’s influence in early ’90s R&B. You’ve earned them.

We have a building that needs a name. We could name it after you, or you could name it anything you want. You could even give it a funny, confusing name, like the name of a building that already exists, or a name that contains only punctuation. Students will be so confused when they’re told to meet at the {([{({:;.]&}>~*%<> Building. What a great way to grow your legacy at UBC.

Pledge $5,000 or more

Pledge $5,000,000 or more

You will receive a crate of UBCbranded M&Ms, which are great conversation starters. When you

Have lunch with Shia LaBeouf in Vancouver. How did we get a hold of Shia LaBeouf? It doesn’t

A donation at this level will help UBC researchers answer some of the most important questions of our time, like, “What does half a billion dollars actually look like?” I want you to imagine this with me: giant cash cube. Your generous donation will be stacked into a large cube of $100 bills in the atrium of the Main Library. People will come from far and wide to marvel at the cash cube. Children from all socioeconomic backgrounds will be inspired to pursue higher education and mothers will weep when they see the cash cube. You will be forever known as the person who made the cash cube possible.

Pledge $50 or more To welcome you to the UBC family, we will send you a generic thank-you email and add you to the mailing list we use to ask people for money.

Pledge $100 or more A thank-you letter will be sent to your physical address, along with an envelope you can use to mail us more money.

Pledge $500 or more You will receive a UBC T-shirt, a Faculty of Law paperweight and a framed, signed photograph of UBC President Stephen Toope holding his hands in a heart shape.

Pledge $1,000 or more

We will plant a small tree on campus in your name, with one of those little plaques. Think about it: your very own small tree. And maybe, one day, a big tree.

Pledge $100,000 or more

Torin Maclachlan Ben Affleck correspondent So Ben Affleck is the new Batman. In a place called The Internet, the recent news from Warner Bros. is that Henry Cavill’s Superman will be reprised in a sequel to Man of Steel with Affleck co-starring as Gotham City’s crime-fighting playboy. The 2015 release, tentatively titled Batman vs. Superman (BS), has met with mixed reviews. If public opinion is a salsa, the initial response to this DC Comics silver screen mash-up is a sour, double-dipped mangocarrot mess. Immediate efforts to lampoon Affleck’s Batman-to-be were spearheaded by the Twitter and Reddit communities, riffing on Ben’s Boston roots, speculating on the potential for a Matt Damon Robin (sorry; it’s Joseph-Gordon Levitt), and touting everyone/thing from Meryl Streep to a giant ball of rubber bands as a #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck. To be fair, Daredevil went okay. Amusingly, a petition on Change.org to oust Affleck from the role has now garnered over 85,000 signatures, with all the derisive laughter riding waves of genuine outrage pouring from a vocal subset of comic book fans looking to prevent a potential Hollywood grand theft hero. Those who seek to defend Affleck either cite his recent critical success as actor-director in Argo and The Town, or point to cases of the uncelebrated-castingchoice-turned-earth-shattering-performance like Heath Ledger’s Joker from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy. In my opinion, I could do without another play on the Caped Crusader. For one, Nolan and Co. seemed to hit the mark with Christian Bale’s stoic, psychologically dense Batman and realistic array of supporting characters. As well, the perennially faddy film industry’s 21st-century comic book bloom is beginning to wither. Increasingly, antics behind the scenes seem to supplant the finished product. Nolan reportedly dropped out of BS following Affleck’s appointment, and Bale turned down $50 million (that’s real dollars) apparently offered him by Warner Bros. execs for the new project. Throw in a love triangle with BS director Zach Snyder, the 2nd grip, and a sexy sound tech? Action. In the end, Ben has the chin, but does he have the chops? Who knows. At least the off-screen fiction will fill seats.


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ARTS

Keloha 2013 In early July , Laura and Cam covered Keloha, a local musicaand arts festival. Here’s what we saw going down while we were there.

FRIDAY

The first band we saw was Cults. Cults are a band from New York but they sound like they’re from LA. They have a girl singer and a guy singer and a popular song called “Go Outside” and another popular song called “Abducted”. The girl singer has a cool voice and is very cute and I was only like 15 feet away from her when she sang songs). It was great. Possibly even as good as when I was only 20 feet away from Chvrches girl at Sasquatch. The folks at Keloha wisely invested in a set of 3 video screens that stand behind the performers on the Island Stage. So unlike last year, when there was

Cam Welch

Creative Director

just electrical equipment behind the bands, the shows were set to light shows and various colours and images. The backing screen effects often just looked like those screensavers where light trails zoom around to the beat, but it still made the shows more visually interesting. Nextup were The Trews, a barrock band from Nova Scotia that used to be played on MuchMusic all the time when I was in middle school. In the mid-2000s theyhad 6 hit songs that hit the top 3 on the Canadian Rock charts. They still pop up on rock stations, but in the past 5 years only their 2010 single “Hope and Ruin” neared

the success of their previous hits. Still, The Trews have the name recognition to draw a substantial crowd and the experience to effectively rock said crowd. Not only did they have a strong backcatalogue to weave in, their sound lworks well live to begin with, so even the less-well-known tracks Just outside the beer gardens there was a small karaoke stage set up. When I went by, there was a 3-year-old girl aimlessly wailing “I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I looove you I looove youuuu I looooveeee yooouuuu” to the beat of Selena Gomez’s “Love You Like A Love Song.” Her mum was trying to

coach her to sing other lyrics, but she didn’t know any and couldn’t learn any new ones from the karaoke screen because she was 3 and couldn’t read. At one point the small crowd that had formed chanted the actual chorus while the little girl continued to repeat “I love you” monotonously while looking increasingly panicked. It ended up being a really good remix to be honest. Later, a young Scottish guy who was volunteering there recited the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” as if it was a Robert Frost poem. I don’t think anyone was there watching.


DIY

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SATURDAY

On the second day the Sandbar stage opened, where acts like Humans, Rococode,and Shad entertained audiencs on the ebachand in the water. When Shad’s mic cut out, Max of the Arkells came to the rescue by performing a tortured rendition of Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson while Shad provided BigBoi’s parts and a few freestyles of his own. Security tightened up on day two, with more thorough bag searches. The “No Profanity” sign in front of the stages didn’t seem

Laura Scarpelletti Arts Editor

to work for the bands, and neither did the searches, as it was almost impossible not to smell pot somewhere in the Island Stage vicinity during Matt & Kim’s sweaty and energetic performance. Drummer Kim seemed Amazonian and on fire, pushing the duo’s set forward at a manic pace. The Brooklyn-based partners in music (“and doin’ it!” as Matt told the crowd early on) spent the majority of their set jolting the crowd with frequent burst of Acehood and Future’s “Woke Up In A New

Bugatti” and climbing on every available surface from the drums to the lighting fixture. Matt fell off said lighting fixture and into the moat, but powered through. One of the funniest moments happened later that night at the Yukon Blonde show at Fernando’s Pub, when the bar doorman accidently turned away MGMT due to capacity, not knowing who they were. After some time angrily protesting, the doorman was properly informed of their fame, and the band was admitted.


August 29th, 2013

| The Phoenix

“MGMT DIDN’T PLAY KIDS !!!!!!!! :( :( :( :( :(” Cam Welch Creative Director As the festival drew to a close, anticipation was high for headliners MGMT. But the mood began to sour when the band opened with newer and lesser-known tracks. There were murmurs of “MGMT sucks” and “this is boring.” After a few minutes of awkward stage banter met with lukewarm reactions from the crowd, lead singer Andrew VanWyngarde sighed and launched into Time To Pretend. The crowd was palcated by that and “Electric Feel” but little did they heed the lyrics, which promised to “shock you like you won’t believe.” As the set finished, the fine people of Keloha were not quite ready to go gentle into that good night. They chanted “One More Song! One! More! Song!” for a couple minutes. Foolishly, though, they forgot to specify which song. MGMT returned to the stage. The crowd cheered. The audience forgave the band for noodling around playing

psychadelic stuff from their 2nd album. The band forgave the audience for only wanting to hear the 1st album. All that was needed to seal this renewed friendship was a spirited performance of MGMT’s smash-hit “Kids.” MGMT thanked the crowd. They took up their instruments. They started playing one! more! song! But it wasn’t “Kids.” The crowd stood in stunned silence as MGMT finished, packed up, and left. Then all hell broke loose. They yelled. They chanted “KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS” But to no avail. As Power 104’s Tim Allen took the stage to shut the festival down, the crowd pelted the stage mercilessly with bottles and other debris. Tim Allen dodged the projectiles, scolding the crowd for becoming unruly and trying to persuade them to go home.

Call Kelowna Sleep & Save 250-870-2562

All this heartbreak and angercoudl have been avoided if only the crowd had read the article rom earleir this year in which MGMT vowed never to play “Kids” again because they don’t like what’s becoem of the current geenration of current generation of kids didn’t deserve to hear it. Over the past 4 years, MGMT have gone out of their way to deliberately distance themselves from the crowd they attracted with their first hits. Keloha was exactly that kind of crowd: a bunch of neon-attired party kids who for the most part weren’t familiar with any MGMT songs except those hits from the late 2000s. They came for 2008/09 MGMT and were absolutely blindsided by 2010-2013 MGMT. Ina sense it’s their own fault for not being familair with the band. But it’s still dickish of MGMT to not play the obvious crowd favourite, especially when the reason they didn’t is because of a policy that basically boils down to “people don’t deserve to hear

us play their favourite song of ours.” However, the largest share of the blame should probably fall on the festival promotion. Whoever booked MGMT for the Keloha presumably knew them well enough to know they weren’t 2008/09 MGMT anymore, but also knew that the name recognition of 2008/09 MGMT would sell tickets. Moreover, the Keloha radio commercials used “Kids” as the backing track, even after the article in which MGMT disowned it came out. On one hand, yeah, it’s kind of funny that people got so choked that a band didn’t play a song they’ve publicly refused to keep playing. But on the other hand, they were deliberately led to believe that that song would be a defining part of their festival experience. Check out thephoenixnews.com for our storify of the angry MGMT reaction tweets.

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KELOHA ISN’T ALT Cam Welch Creative Director

What the MGMT uproar really drove home to me was that Keloha is not an “alt” festival. It’s a festival for normal people, maybe even for party-minded local teens and day-drinking enthusiasts in their mid 20s. I don’t really know why anyone thought of it as especially alternative or hip, but I suspect that it’s because Center of Gravity is one of the most bro-y/chotchy events that has ever existed, and as a result anything will look alternative in comparison. The MGMT debacle only confirmed the suspicions of Normalness we’d had since the end of the first day. Laura and I went there to try to snap some street style shots, and there were such slim pickings we didn’t even bother making a gallery. Last year, there were some tumblr-y teens who brought decent style game, but

this year festival-goers wore what white people always wear when it’s hot outside: tank tops and cargo shorts for the gentlemen, crop tops and short shorts for the ladies. The difference between how folks looked at Keloha and how folks looked at Sasquatch was night and day (and it’s not like Sasquatch is super alternative either – the headliners were Macklemore and Mumford for hck’s sakes!). Speaking of Sasquatch, though, that Washington State festival’s new second weekend on July 4th 2014 is poised to either steal the few hip people who go to Keloha or maybe even drive Keloha to find a new date. Last year when I interviewed Keloha founder Scott Emslie he explained that Sasquatch wasn’t a huge concern. “I don’t see us

being in competition with Sasquatch,” he said, “Sasquatch can sell 50,000 tickets a day, where we’re working with 5,000 tickets a day, so here it’s an experience where fans can get up close with the artist.” Emslie’s right that Keloha-Sasquatch comparisons are apples to oranges – but then why was Keloha so into calling itself “Canada’s Coachella” this year? Coachella attracts 90,000 people every day over two 3-day weekends, making it literally 20 times the size of Keloha. Coachella’s headliners are some of the biggest acts in the world – folks like Jay-Z, Madonna, Radiohead, and Hologram Tupac. Keloha’s headliners are the Sheepdogs and Mutemath (no offense, Sheepdogs and Mutemath). The scale and vibe are drastically different. The only connection I see is the

whole “Kelownafornia” thing, which is pretty tenuous link. So what’s Keloha’s vibe then? The “summer” part conveys fun, heat, hedonism; the “island” part conveys escapism and relaxation. Compared to the jacked-up, drugfuelled COG, Keloha is just a nice time when regular folks can drink some Big Surf brewskis and listen to some pleasant, mostly-Canadian tunes that are slightly outside (but not that far outside) radio Top 40. Keloha isn’t especially alternative because it doesn’t need to be and it probably shouldn’t be. With increased scrutiny on the negative side of COG this year, what Kelowna – and Wet Ape – needs is an accessible, positive, low-key festival, and that’s what Keloha seems to be able to provide.


August 29th, 2013

SUNDAY Local favorite The Boom Booms brought their Caribbean funk style and choreography to the Sandbar stag in the early afternoon. Although their set started slow, with overly mellow and Jack-Johnson-y jams, they soon brought out the crowd-moving Boom Booms live show they’re known for. The Magic Finegr emerged, and it directed the crowd to first jump to the left, then jump to the right, and within ten minutes the entire audience had been driven into Okanagan lake by the power of the magic finger. Over on the main stage Current Swell held down the afternoon, packing more than a few genre surprises in their performance. After Current Swell, Capital Cities took the stage just as the day ebgan to wind down. As they layed, the late-afternoon sun beamed through

Laura Scarpelletti Arts Editor

the trees, across the audience, and onto the gentlemen on stage in matching black varsity jackets. The Cities played at the ideal time, and their mix of upbeat originals, hit song “Safe and Sound”, and covers of jackson 5and Madonne classics got the crowd all pumped up. So much has been said about the closing act, MGMT, that I almost feel I should be silent. I will say, however, that the psychedelic band starting off their set with “Of Moons, Birds and Monsters” was a subtle shout out to fans of their instrumental and core style. While their performance lacked energy—which by the way has always been their style—the sound was spot on and the screen-projected visuals were phenomenal.

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Tune in next time when we bring you interviews with the team of UBCO students, UBCO alumni, and local artists who created the distinctive Keloha pyramids.


UBCSUO pages WELCOME BACK UBCO! And welcome to all of our new students. The UBCSUO (University of British Columbia Students’ Union Okanagan) has been working hard all summer to improve your student experience. Before I get started with those changes, let me briefly explain what exactly this thing is that we call the “Students’ Union”. First of all, who is the Students’ Union? The Students’ Union is every single student at who paid UBC-Okanagan tuition, which includes your Students’ Union fee. If you are one of those students then you are a “Member” of the Students’ Union. But why do all these Members want to Unite? For you new students, you will quickly realize that being a student is full of a number of obstacles from balancing paying the costs of living, making time for academics, and staying sane; to being treated fairly by profs and accessing the resources you need.

Not surprisingly, students at the same school run into the same obstacles, so we pool our resources like fees, as well as talent and our collective student voice, to better be able to address those common concerns. The next questions then are usually “who are those people that sit in the offices in the UNC?” or “how does it all work?” Well the answers to those questions are the same. The Students’ Union uses the world’s most successful decision making strategy: representative and deliberative democracy. Basically what that means is that students are elected to represent the student body in decisionmaking, and those decisions are made through a process of discussions, questions, and approval through voting. Specifically the people voting are elected members of the board of Directors. They are the people who sit in the office, along with Staff who keep the gears turning.

Four positions make up the Executive of the Board of Directors. Each of these positions requires a minimum of 25 hours of work on Student Union Business per week (and it’s almost always more than that). It also requires a cap on course load of 3 classes per semester. Executives are compensated a maximum of $1350/month in honoraria and hold a vote in Board of Director and Executive meetings. Those positions include:

Internal Coordinator: Shaman McLean

External Coordinator: Alex Gula

Services Coordinator: Nick Dodds

Financial Coordinator: Rocky Kim

Executive Chair: Nick Dodds

is responsible for advocating on behalf of the student body to the Institution (UBCO) and our Union. This role includes taking student complaints about internal issues, keeping the Board of Directors up to date on the activities of the Institution, assisting students with grade appeals and other disciplinary committees, and ensuring that the student voice is heard by both the board and the Institution.

is responsible for advocating on behalf of the student body to bodies outside of campus. This role includes taking student complaints about external issues, keeping the Board of Directors up to date on the activities of municipal, provincial, and federal government as they relate to students, addressing students needs with regard to eternal bodies, and to build relationships that benefit students with external organizations.

is responsible for addressing student’s needs that cannot be met by internal or external bodies and must be provided through a Student Union Service. This role includes coordinating events, assessing and improving current services, overseeing Clubs and Course Unions and working on their development and success, and developing new services to address unmet needs.

is responsible for overseeing all financial matters of the Student Union. This role includes drafting the budget for their term, maintaining that budget throughout the year, oversee the financial operations of our services, develop strategies and practices to most efficiently use student’s money, and work with the internal and external coordinator to develop partnerships.

is resposible for ensuring that the will of the Excutive Committee and Board of Directors is carried out by the executive. Their duties include chairing executive meetings, deligating tasks to executive members, follwing up on progress in the UBCSUO’s projects, and reporting to the board of directors on the activities of the Executive Comittee.

Nine other members complete the Board of Directors, each of which is in one of 4 possible positions. Each of these positions requires a minimum of 5 hours of work on Student Union Business per week (and it’s almost always more than that) and hold a vote in Board of Directors meetings. There is no cap on course load and Board of Directors member are compensated a maximum of $155/month in honoraria. Those positions include:

Meeting Chair: VACANCY is responsible for chairing all Board of Directors meetings (what a surprise!). Their duties include collecting agenda items, drafting agendas, establishing meeting times, and preside over Board of Directors meetings.

Grad Representative: Robyn Giffen is tasked with advocating for the interests of graduate Students on our campus and working on projects and events to address their needs.

Director at Large: Sarah Wahedi Alejandra Garcia Layne RIchardson VACANCY are tasked with assisting the Services coordinator with projects and events. Their duties include managing projects and events that are delegated to them, assisting in the execution of all UBCSUO projects and events, developing projects and events to address student’s needs, and a wide variety of miscellaneous task for the Union.

Advocacy Representative: Oliver Eberle Sarah Rylander Thomas Macauley are tasked with ensuring that all student voices are heard. Their duties include working with the resource centers, developing projects to address the needs of minority groups, soliciting the input and feedback from students about our student community, assisting the internal coordinator, and receiving and addressing student concerns.

FILLING VACANT POSITIONS: Vacant positions will be filled by an appointment of the Board of Directors. Persons interested in being considered for these positions should email a resume and cover letter to info@ubcsuo.ca. These positions are great opportunitties to learn more about the Students’ Union and the University as a whole, as well as develop a knowledge and skills to work in a dynamic and democratic organization that are invaluable for future pursuits in almost any field.


UBCSUO pages NOW FOR THE EXCITING STUFF

Improvements You Can Look Forward to Seeing

SO WHAT’S NEXT Improvements Moving Forward The executive have identified 5 top priorities for this year that, upon approval of the Board of Directors, will be the focus of the Board and executive’s efforts.

HEALTH AND DENTAL INSURANCE: The UBCSUO has Changed Insurance plan and now uses “I Have a Plan” to Broker their insurance policy. The New Insurance becomes effective for all students on September 1st and for those that do not require this insurance plan, you can opt out ONLINE. Go to www. ihaveaplan.ca.

LIBRARY EXPANSION:

NEW FOOD SERVICE CONTRACT:

THE WELL STUDENT PUB IMPROVEMENTS: The Well has undergone a number of improvements including Infrastructural upgrades in the kitchen, a few new items on the menu, and a %5 reduction in price across the board, and outlets along the bench in the bar for those of you who like to study with a brew.

To address the need for greater study space, the UBCSUO has been in discussions with the University about teaming up to use student investment to prompt investment by private donors and the provincial government.

At the end of this year UBC’s Food service contract with Aarmark expires, opening up the opportunity for significant student input in changes to the Food Service that’s provided to us on our campus. The UBCSUO will bring forward the concerns of students in discussions with a consultant hired by UBC to make recommendations for the new contract. The UBCSUO will be pushing for lower prices, greater variety, and food catered to special dietary needs. Feel free to provide input by emailing any suggestions on improvements to Rocky Kim at Financial@ubcsuo.ca. STUDENT ASSOCIATION STRUCTURES:

GREEN TEXT AND MORE USED BOOKSTORE: All returning students will notice a complete face lift of the store, and it’s not just aesthetic. A new point of sale system has been installed to make purchases faster and more efficient, saving you time and saving your union money. And a merchandise section has been added, as well as expanded text book/lab manual and stationary selection.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTINUITY:

CLUB POLICY REVISION: An extensive revision of club policy has laid out a clearer structure for clubs, as well as a explicitly stating responsibilities and privileges for clubs. We hope to see this empower clubs to achieve their potential. A similar revisions for Course Unions will be drafted in September.

Beyond the completed Club policy revisions, Revisions to the Course Union policy will follow, along with the development of a structure, which will allow Course Unions at the Faculty level to easily collect fees and have a closer relationship to their faculty. This is in order to empower course unions to put more weight behind their advocacy for students academically and better address the needs of students in specific faculties.

In stepping into these new roles in May, the executive quickly realized that very information was available to orient them to the new positions. Though every executive comes in with a mandate that is likely different from their predecessor, there are often many things that are the same and without adequate information we found ourselves vulnerable to making the same mistakes that have been made in the past. To avoid this in the future our Internal Coordinator will be working on creating procedures and documentation from the current executive for the future executive so that the sustainability of the UBCSUO is not dependant on institutional memory of re-elected members.

PROPOSED BUDGET CHANGES:

EVENTS:

This year the executive of the UBCSUO have continued to look for ways of saving money in the UBCSUO’s operations in order to provide more funding directly to students. In the budget to be proposed to the Board of Directors for Recommendation to the Annual General meeting, the General Student Life Budget has been increased by 45% and the Club and Course Union Budget has been increased by 29%.

Every bodies favourite. We’ve increased the General Student Life budget line by 45%, and developed incentive programs for Student Associations to host events by providing sponsorship for events that meet our specific stipulation (Meet booking deadline, advertise in advance and in an effective manner, agree to a specific price point for tickets or cover). In addition we have developed a Well events committee structure that should prove to produce events that will appeal to the full diversity of students on the UBC-Okanagan Campus.


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