Vol XXIX Issue VII - November 30 2015

UBCO’s Student Newspaper

November 30th, 2015 | Vol 28, Issue 7

Redesign since 1989

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thephoenixnews.com

//In this issue

news

UBC Apologizes p.3 UBC takes stand against terrorism p.4 BoG face backlash over tuition increase p.5

University Centre 3333 University Way Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 5N3 Office: UNC 132B Phone: 250-807-9296 thephoenixnews.com Cover and Masthead photo by Sarah James and Maggie Wilson

life

arts

sports

Social Media vs. School p.7

The Art of Science p.11

Exciting first half of season for Basketball p.18

Dating Long Distance: A New Consistance p.6

The Force is still Strong p.10

Heat Women’s Volleyball #3 in CIS p.17

Paris Tragedies: A UBCO Student’s Experience p.8

The Wild Son Story: an Experiment in Folk, Funk Fusion p.12

Coordinating Editor Alex Barberis coordinating@thephoenixnews.com

Arts Editor Jacky Deng arts@thephoenixnews.com

Staff Writer Kathryn Helmore helmore@thephoenixnews.com

Production Manager Sarah James artdirector@thephoenixnews.com

Sports Editor Grayson B. Leahy sports@thephoenixnews.com

Photo Editor Maggie Wilson photo@thephoenixnews.com

Project Manager Maranda Wilson project@thephoenixnews.com

Current Affairs Editor Mark Dreger current.affairs@thephoenixnews.com

Visual Editor Varenka Kim visual@thephoenixnews.com

Web Editor Justin Kroeker web@thephoenixnews.com

Life Editor Amithisste Multerer-Zarda life@thephoenixnews.com

Production Assistant Kelsi Brown production@thephoenixnews.com

Opinions Editor Brittni MacKenzie-Dale opinions@thephoenixnews.com

Life Reporter Tiffany Goodwein lifereporter@thephoenixnews.com

News Editor Laurence Watt news@thephoenixnews.com

Life Reporter Maria Otto lifereporter@thephoenixnews.com

Contributors L.A. Bonte, Chloe Eliott, Aneesh Goel, Dela Hini, Eric Vukicevcich, Mathew Waterhouse, Andrew Veale, Tim Horan, Harley Roquentin, and Maria Lor

opinions

A Case for Killing Gender p.13 The (Un)importance of being Ugly p.14 Containing the Smoke p.15 The Phoenix is the UBCO students’ free press. Editorial content is separate from the University of British Columbia Student’s Union Okanagan (UBCSUO) and from the 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. legalizing marijuana).

The Phoenix is published, in part, by the UBCSUO and is an active member of the Canadian University Press.

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November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | news@thephoenixnews.com | News Editor: Laurence Watt

//News

TRENDING

Black Friday craze?

Justin Trudeau meets the Queen

NASA’s Rover on Mars

SkyTrain tunnel boring machine saw daylight

Tunnel boring machine used in Ocean’s 13

//Events

Monday November 30th

Magna Carta: An 800 Year Legacy of Lucky Awesomeness 6:30PM-7:30 PM/Free/1380 Ellis Street Come learn from Dr. Ben Nilson as he argues the importance of the role of the Magna Carta in history Thursday December 3rd Santa Photos at UBCO 11AM-5PM/UNC/$2 UNICEF@UBCO presents Santa Photos at UBCO. Come to the UNC Boardroom for a special photo with Santa Tuesday December 8th The Mixer - Young People in Business 5-7/Kelowna Yacht Club/$10 Come meet some new professionals at Kelowna’s very own, award winning Yacht Club.

UBC APOLOGIZES FOR DELAYED RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULT CLAIMS Laurence Watt News Editor Last week the head of the University of British Columbia formally apologized to women who claimed that the university dismissed their sexual assault claims. According to the fifth estate, UBC took more than a year and a half to act against a graduate student despite complaints of harassment or sexual assault by at least six women on campus.

“I want to apologize to the women in these cases who feel they have been let down by our university,” Martha Piper, interim president and vice-chancellor, said in a statement that was issued on UBC’s official website.

“We admire the courage of the women who came forward to bring attention to this crucial issue.”

This story dates back to the spring

of 2014, when a formal complaint was filed by a student who alleged that Dmitry Mordvinov, a 28-year old PhD student in the history department, had forced himself on her after a night of partying. Since this initial complaint, three more women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault that date back to the Spring of 2013.

In one of these cases, a Woman claimed that UBC dismissed her claim and refused to take action because the alleged assault occurred off campus.

In another case, UBC officials stated that they attempted to respond to the issue by setting up a mediation session between the women and the PhD student. However, the women refused saying that it would be inappropriate to be in a room with an individual who had sexually assaulted them.

Last week the university quietly expelled Mordvinov, who has since

“I want to apologize to the women in these cases who feel they have been let down by our university,”

told the fifth estate that he will be appealing the decision.

Despite Piper’s apology and promise to respond more effectively in the future, former UBC graduate student Glynnis Kirchmeier plans to file a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal by the end of the year.

“UBC has a legal duty to provide a harassment-free environment,” said Kirchmeier. “UBC’s chance to do the right thing is over ... The university is going to be tried in the court of public opinion, and then it is going to answer to the BC Human Rights Tribunal, and I suspect it will be tried in civil court as well.”

Kirchmeier is also asking anyone who reported acts of sexual assault or misconduct to the school during the past 20 years to contact her at ubcsexualassault@gmail.com.

Thursday December 10th Nobel Night at UBCO 7-9PM/FIPKE/FREE Nobel Prizes will be presented to some of the world’s most outstanding contributors in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, economics and peace.

On the same evening, a panel of distinguished professors from UBC Okanagan will discuss this year’s Nobel Prize-winning contributions, exploring the what, how and why of the world’s big discoveries and ideas

Photo provided by the Vancouver Sun

//News Briefs

Trudeau Sticks With Promise To Accept Refugees

Mark Dreger - Current Affairs Editor

The attacks in Paris have not deterred Prime Minister Trudeau’s decision to accept 25,000 refugees by New Year’s, or end Canada’s bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria.

“We have a cabinet committee that is leaning in directly on these issues of how to do what Canadians expect Canada to do, which is welcome in refugees fleeing a terrible, terrible conflict in Syria but to do so in a way that keeps Canadians and their communities safe,” Trudeau said

at the G20 summit in Turkey.

Canada has accepted over 250,000 refugees since 2005 before ISIS gained significant power, but these refugees underwent a rigorous screening process that can take years.

Trudeau wants to accept 25,000 refugees before New Year’s, a timespan some fear is not enough time to impose the proper security measures to prevent potential terrorists from entering the country.

Saskatchewan premier Brad

Wall has asked Ottawa to not be driven by a deadline and instead should slow the acceptance process several months to focus on security and resettlement.

“I understand that the overwhelming majority of refugees are fleeing violence and bloodshed and pose no threat to anyone,” Wall said in his letter. “However, if even a small number of individuals who wish to do harm to our country are able to enter Canada as a result of a rushed refugee resettlement

process, the results could be devastating.”

Newly appointed Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the government is “satisfied that the process is strong and robust,” however he admitted that it is not 100% foolproof because “nothing in life is 100%.”

In response to terrorism concerns, unaccompanied men will not be accepted in Canada’s program, as only whole families, women, or children will be accepted.

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Eagles of Death Metal Discuss Paris Terror Attacks

West African Country Bans Female Genital Mutilation

News Editor: Laurence Watt |news@thephoenixnews.com | The Phoenix | November 30th 2015

Nobel Night

CHOGM 2015 - Malta

Canadian retailer pulls ‘stolen’ sacred Inuit design from stores

HARMONY: SPREADING AWARENESS AND EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES Laurence Watt News Editor

UBC TAKES STAND AGAINST TERRORISM Laurence Watt News Editor On November 13, the world stood in solidarity and distress with Paris and Beirut following a series of terror attacks carried out by ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. For France, this was the largest attack and loss of life on home soil since World War 2, and for Lebanon this was just another week.

Despite these attacks occurring thousands of miles away in other parts of the world, the UBC community made it clear that it was heartbroken by the devastation and dedicated to taking a stand against Islamophobia and Terrorism.

On Wednesday 18, Ryan Kaila along with the UBC Okanagan Harmony executive team organized an event in the courtyard to pay tribute to the lives lost in the recent tragedies around the world. The event included a minute silence, speeches from students and faculty, and a canvas where everyone in attendance could mark their fingerprints.

On the same day, UBC Okanagan’s

//News Briefs

Paris Bombing Raises Questions About Refugee Policy Mark Dreger - Current Affairs Editor

Political Science Student Association held a public discussion on terrorism and current events and their implications for Canada and the world. During the discussion students searched for answers to the pressing questions: are French airstrikes going to make the situation in Syria better or worse? What role did the media play and did they fairly report the terror attacks? How can ISIS be defeated and how can we tackle Islamophobia at home?

On Friday, the Phoenix interviewed a number students throughout the day regarding how the attacks could effect Canada and the UBC Okanagan campus. Specifically, students were asked how they thought the media reported the events, whether Trudeau was right to continue accepting refugees, and whether campus is more divided or united. Although the students interviewed expressed a variety of opinions, everyone agreed that ISIS is not a representation of Islam and that the UBC campus is overwhelmingly a welcoming

community.

Overall, it’s been a week where students have taken the time to remember the lives lost, reflect on current events, and recognize the implications for Canada and UBC. Clearly, although the university has indeed been traumatized by the terror attacks, students have never been more united in searching for answers and opposing terrorism.

The belief that the terrorists sneaked into the EU via the refugee crisis gained considerable ground following the attacks in Paris.

It began when one of the terrorists was believed to have posed as a Syrian refugee to enter Europe.

“The holder of the passport passed through the island of Leros on Oct. 3, 2015, where he was identified according to EU rules,” said Nikos Toskas, Greece’s Alternate Minister of Interior and

Administrative Reconstruction.

A couple days after the event, it was reported that the Syrian passport was a fake made in Turkey, since another copy of the same forgery was found in Serbia. In early September, Germany seized packages full of fake Syrian passports that they believe are being sold illegally to non-Syrian refugees. Syrians are considered more deserving of shelter in the EU, making Syrian passports desirable for refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan,

On Wednesday 18, Harmony UBCO in association with 10 cultural clubs organized a minute of silence to pay tribute and raise awareness to the various tragedies occurring around the globe. As well as a minute of silence, the event also featured speeches from students and faculty and a canvas for everyone in attendance to make their mark with fingerprints.

According to Ryan Kaila, the Student Union’s VP of Finance and President of Harmony UBCO, the objective of the event was not only to spread awareness and express condolences, but also to ensure recognition was given to those who have been ignored by the media.

“In light of the recent events that have transpired across the globe over the past couple of weeks, we decided that we as a campus must take a stand by spreading awareness and expressing our condolences,” said Ryan Kaila.

The event was a terrific success and caught the attention of various news outlets, including Global Okanagan, Kelowna Capital News and Infonews.

To Ryan, the event and the attention it drew meant the world.

“I had students that were directly related to some of the attacks that occurred in their homeland come

speak to me and I knew right then and there that something had to be done.

As students we are ministers of peace, and it is our duty to show our support and pay our respect to all those affected by these acts of terror.”

Harmony UBCO is made up of a group of dedicated student leaders representing each cultural student association across the university.

It’s primary objective is to expand intercultural relations in collaboration with Intercultural Programs & Services, the African Caribbean Student Club, the Arab Student Association, the Asian Student Association, the European Student Association, the Indigenous Student Association, the Muslim Student Association, the Nepalese Scholars Association, the Russian Speakers Association, the Sikh Student Association, and the South Asian Alliance.

Ultimately, not only was the event successful in both spreading awareness and allowing students to pay their tributes, it was also successful in proving to the community that UBC’s Okanagan campus is one that cares about world issues and is dedicated to taking a stand against global atrocities.

and Bangladesh. The ease of acquiring a Syrian passport was reported in September when a Dutch journalist bought a fake Syrian passport showing the face of the Dutch Prime Minister for only $825USD. Despite the proven forgery, it did not answer whether the terrorist used the fake passport to enter the EU. During the investigation, it was questioned why the attacker would carry his passport during an attack he did not expect to survive.

One suggestion was

that the terrorist held the fake passport in hopes of it being found and Europe turning away genuine refugees. If this was the intent, he succeeded.

Poland, who elected a rightwing government in October, said they will no longer accept the migrant quotas imposed by the EU, a stance shared by other East European nations.

The president of France’s far-right National Front Party, Marine Le Pen, has called for a ban on Islamist organizations and to kick

Top left: Photo by Madison Tardif , Bottom Right: Photo provided by Harmony UBCO, Next page: Photo by Kosta Prodanovic / The Ubyssey

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Novemeber 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | news@thephoenixnews.com | News Editor: Laurence Watt

@UBC @AllardLaw Prof is working to better connect #UBC with Indigenous groups in the province

‫@‏‬UBC Dr. Martha C. Piper set out her vision for #UBC in ‘Trek 2010: A Global Journey’

New Zealand Votes For New National Flag Mark Dreger Current Affairs Editor

UBC BOARD OF GOVERNORS FACE BACKLASH OVER PROPOSED TUITION FEE INCREASES Laurence Watt News Editor This year, UBC’s Board of Governors has proposed raising international student tuition fees by 50% over the next 3 years. This comes on top of a 10% increase that was approved last year. According to the Student Society of UBC Vancouver, if this tuition increase were to be approved, an average degree could end up costing international students over $150,000.

The Board have stated that the reason for the increase is to match the fees charged at schools like the University of Toronto and McGill. By doing so, the Board of Governors believes it will increase the value of a UBC degree and bolster UBC’s standing as a prestigious university that’s better recognized on

out illegal immigrants.

31 US states, 30 of which have Republican governors, oppose accepting refugees; however, the federal government has the constitutional power on the issue and President Obama plans to accept 10,000 refugees.

The most the states can do is limit funding to resettle refugees, and make them feel unwelcome.

The attacks have not stopped Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s decision to accept 25,000 refugees by New Year’s,

the world stage.

However, the proposal has sparked fierce backlash from the UBC community, with students demanding greater clarification over vague words like “value,” the precise details of where the increased fees are going to be spent, and how the increases could effect diversity on campus. Furthermore, the Alma Mater Society (AMS) at UBC has organized a number of protests in which students have been holding up signs reading “Place of mind? Place of money,” and “UBC drop the fees.”

Although there hasn’t been nearly as much opposition to the proposed increases on the Okanagan campus, the Student Union has expressed it’s thoughts on the matter. In a statement released on the UBCSUO Facebook page, the Student Union stressed they will be asking UBC alumni to vote against the international tuition fee

and the Scottish government said the attacks will have “no effect whatsoever” on their plans to accept refugees.

After days of investigation, French prosecutors reported that the remains of the terrorist who attacked the Stade de France stadium matched the fingerprints of an individual that Greek authorities registered as a refugee in October, further swelling fears that terrorists can pose as refugees.

It was reported that all eight of

“It’s not safe. We had a large lumber truck roar by us, which fortunately for us, cooperated and changed lanes for us, because we had a big group,” said Basran, describing the Highway 97 overpass to a CBC news reporter.

increases.

“In Partnership with the UBC Alma Mater Society - AMS, the UBCSUO has decided to fully endorse the position

the terrorists had EU passports, supposedly discrediting the claim of them posing as refugees; but it was not immediately reported that the terrorists had been to Syria in recent years. Of the named terrorists, four of them raise serious questions.

Abdel Hamid Abaaoud joined ISIS in Syria in 2014.

Samy Amimour managed to travel to Syria and join ISIS while under judicial supervision, but before a warrant for his arrest was issued in 2013. Bilal Hadfi was being

that a move by the Board of Governors to significantly increase international tuition fees would be a major detriment to our UBC community for multiple reasons but most significantly, that it would end UBC’s standing as one of the most accessible research institutions in the world.”

At the moment it’s unclear whether the motion to increase international fees will pass or not. However, what is clear is that if the motion passes and international fees do see a 50% increase, UBC will undoubtedly see a drop in international student enrolment. A great achievement of UBC throughout it’s modern history is that it offered education and opportunity to students not because of their wealth or country of origin, but because of their desire to learn and work hard. Do the proposed tuition increases jeopardize this legacy? Only time will tell. watched by Belgian security services, but he recently fought with ISIS in Syria under different aliases. Omar Ismail Mostefai was born in France, but Turkey labeled him as a terror suspect and warned France about him in Dec 2014 and June 2015. Turkish authorities recorded him entering Syria, but there is no record of him leaving.

These reports change the situation entirely. If these men were known to have fought in Syria, how were they allowed

On November 20, New Zealanders began voting on five potential flags that could replace their blue Union Jack flag that has waved in the country since 1902.

The referendum has voters rank the five potential flags in order of preference and the winning design will face the existing flag in a one-on-one referendum in March 2016. Voting will last until December 11.

Three of the five options show the fern, a cultural symbol of the nation’s identity equivalent to Canada’s maple leaf. Of the fern flags, one is black and white, another red and blue, and the third black and blue, two of which contain the Southern Cross constellation that’s still displayed on the current flag. The fourth is a black and white spiral koru, another New Zealand symbol; and the fifth a triangular design of red, blue, black, and white called the “Red Peak.”

After receiving over 10,000 entries, some very comedic like a kiwi with laser vision, 40 designs were selected in August by a government-appointed panel of 16 people.

In September the panel reduced the list of 40 to four flags, three of which contain the fern symbol that Prime Minister John Key publically prefers.

The process has stirred controversy because the panel selected the 40 and four designs without consulting the public. The Red Peak design was added to the final shortlist after three weeks of public criticism of the flags’ similarities and low quantity. It was also revealed that one panel member sits on a government board that promotes one of the designs that made the final four.

The two referendums are estimated to cost $26m NZD ($22m CAD), which will be wasted if the public chooses to keep the current flag over the alternative.

New Zealand is one of five UN member states, including Australia, which still has the Union Jack in the canton of the national flag.

back into the EU? What methods or connections allowed them to bypassed security?

ISIS has claimed that this attack is the “first of the storm.”

Whether it’s a warning or a fearmongering bluff, it suggests that other terrorists may still be traveling the continent.

November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | life@thephoenixnews.com | Life Editor: Amithisste Multerer-Zarda

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//Life TRENDING

Fast Foods Companies develop Robots to Replace Workers

Hunger Games, Mocking Jay Part 2

Justin Bieber March 11 Rogers Arena

DATING LONG DISTANCE: A NEW CONSISTENCE

Long distance relationships are more and more common in University life

Amithisste Multerer-Zarda Life Editor Photo by Maggie Wilson/ The Phoenix News

Recently, it’s come to my realization that more and more young adults are in long distance relationships. Sometimes, it seems as though there are more students that are in long distance relationships then in relationships with someone in their own city. I set out to discover if people in long distance relationship maybe even prefer to date long distance, and if so, how come.

Today, your great-grandparents might tell you stories of how your great-grandpa was drafted in the war in Germany and wrote love letters to your great-grandma in Ukraine to keep their love alive. Today, people rarely write letters with a pen and paper, and use texting, skype, face time, and snapchat, for example, to keep in contact with loved ones from across the province to over-seas.

Some students at UBCO are in long distance relationships with their high school sweet hearts. Others meet someone special in the summer and continue their romance into the fall. Some students meet their significant other at university and then date long distance during the summer. Others meet their significant other on vacation or while they’re boy/ girlfriend are vacationing in Kelowna.

The perks of having your loved one in your own town seem pretty obvious.

Need help fixing your tire? Call your boyfriend. Can’t pick a gift for your mom? Take your girlfriend to the mall with you, just remember to get her frozen yoghurt while your there. Getting to know someone and their friends just seems way easier when you live in the same vicinity as them. Arguments can be solved with face to face conversation and affection.

It might seem confusing why people chose to be in long distance relationships instead. “I could never be in a long distance relationship. I had a thing with a guy for 3 months that lived in Vancouver.

//Christmas in Kelowna Christmas in Kelowna It’s time to get Festive! Here’s a rundown of Christmas events happening in the community Tiffany Goodewin Life Reporter

December 3 Tiny Tim Charity Toy Breakfast, Coast Capri Hotel, event starts at 6 :30 AM Do you love to give back to the community? Do you enjoy a gourmet breakfast? Bring an unwrapped toy to the Coast Capri Hotel on the morning of December 3rd and you will receive a hot breakfast in exchange for your kind gesture. All toy donations from the event, will be distributed by the Salvation Army to

I had these expectations or characteristics of him in my head and then when we were actually together it was so different,” said a French major student that prefers to be anonymous.

If it is so much easier to be in a relationship with someone in your own town, then why are more and more people committing to long distance romances? When you meet that special someone, is the connection between you two really strong enough to endure the

“During school I could really focus and spend my time on homework and studying, and then I could take minivacations when I really needed them!”

suffering of not seeing and feeling each other as often? Are there more benefits to dating someone that doesn’t live in your own city? I interviewed a few UBCO students about their long distance relationship experiences.

Sarah James, a Fine Arts UBCO graduate was in a long-distance relationship for almost 4 years. She loves dating long distance because it gives her the right amount of space that she needs in a relationship while having the comfort of knowing that someone is still there for her. On top of that, she had fun traveling to California to see him and is now currently in another long-distance relationship with someone else.

Jessica Henke, a second year psychology student, was in a relationship with someone who lived in Seattle for 8 months. She enjoyed having her alone time and thinks that it is easier to date long distance while in school because she can really focus on school. “During school I could really focus and spend my time on homework and studying, and then I could take mini-vacations when I really needed them!”

Kelsi Brown has dated her high school sweet heart for 2 and a half years, one of which was long distance. They would send each other packages in the mail to keep their romance heated, and would drive as far as 7 hours to see each other. “…I wouldn’t give that love up for anything. No distance could take that away from us… the toughest was just not being able to be with him when I miss him more than words could describe.”

She prefers seeing him every day, but when they were long distance she still remembers feeling the butterflies and excitement of seeing him after being so long apart.

A fourth year UBCO student who prefers to be unnamed is currently dating her boyfriend long distance while he is on an exchange, and during the summers while they are in their home towns.

“Across the world communicating can be a hassle although we are lucky to live with the technology we have today.” She said. She also admits that little arguments easily turn into big arguments, lack of physical contact and trust can become an issue. On a positive note, they grow as a

underprivileged kids in Kelowna.

December 3 Santa Photos by UNICEF, UBCO Campus , TBA , TBA

your tree this year and support small businesses in the Kelowna area. There will be over 50 vendors in attendance.

December 4 “The Happy Elf” musical, Mary Irwin Theatre, 12:15 PM and 7:00 Presented by Studio Nine School of the Arts, come watch Eubie the Elf’s mission towards spreading Christmas cheer to a town pegged on Santa’s naughty list. Tickets are $12.50 and available at www. selectyourtickets.com

December 5 Kelowna Light Up, Downtown, 11AM-5:30 PM Come down, de-stress from exams and enjoy the 27th annual Kelowna light up. Go skating on the outdoor skating rink, listen to joyful Christmas music and don’t forget to sit on Santa’s lap. If Santa is not your cup of tea they will also have wine tastings for all you wine lovers.

December 9-17 “Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer “The Musical, Rotary Center For the Arts, 7PM: Dec 9th-12th , 16th ,

December 4-5 The Christmas Artisan Gift Shop, East Kelowna Hall, 4-10 (Fri ) 9-4 (Sat) Put local handmade gifts under

Glitter Beards

“…I wouldn’t give that love up for anything. No distance could take that away from us…” couple by facing problems and not being dependent one another.

A fourth year human kinetics student that prefers to be unnamed was in a long distance relationship with a girl he met at summer camp, who lived in Vancouver, for three years before the relationship fizzled. He tried sending love letters but stopped when he realized she got upset because he wasn’t very good at it, so they would use video chat and phone calls.

Distance was really hard for him when they got in arguments. Instead of facing the problem he would chose to just forget about it because he had weeks until he had to see her next. He admits that distance definitely played a part in the break up, perhaps because they brushed away potentially serious problems in their relationship. “As one year turned into two and so on, these questions were still not being asked which made for a pretty superficial relationship.”

Dating long distance is not an easy endeavor and requires trust, patience, effective communication and above all love. Although it does not seem that most people prefer to date long distance, it is perhaps easier today then ever with todays cyber communication platforms, which could be a main reason why more and more people agree to maintain long distance relationships. Those that do prefer long distance relationships enjoy taking mini-vacations to see their significant others. They appreciate the time they have with one another and don’t get rattled by insignificant conflicts, and enjoy their alone time and get their stuff done, such as homework, much easier. And hey, if you are in a long distance relationship, it never hurts to try writing a letter the old fashion way, assuming you can afford a stamp!

17th, 2 PM: Dec 12-13.

It’s a classic Christmas story that is a delight for all ages. Performed by the New Vintage Theatre, it is a fun, festive, light-hearted play, perfect if you are wanting positive escape from exams. Tickets are $25.00 December 12-13 Craft Culture Holiday Market , Prospera Place, 10:30 AM If you love crafts , live music , the holidays, look no further then the Craft Culture Holiday Market . This one-of a-kind two day event will have over 150 local vendors, live cooking demos , a photo booth and tons of prizes. Tickets are only $5.00 at the door .

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November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | life@thephoenixnews.com | Life Editor: Amithisste Multerer-Zarda

Rhianna Anti Tour April 23 Vancouver Rogers Arena

No, that Military Rocket was not a UFO

Trudeau Accepts only women and families as refugees from Syria

Donald Trump wants to go to war with Canada

Facebook help manage accounts after breakups

SOCIAL MEDIA VS SCHOOL UBCO students come together in protest of rape culture

Amithisste Multerer-Zarda Life Editor Photo by Maggie Wilson/ The Phoenix News

While studying or while in class, students are often distracted by what’s going on in their phone. For most students, study breaks mean surfing through Instagram, checking snap chat stories, or cruising your news feed on face book. When a lecture is boring, your phone is an easy escape into the cyber social world. Some students might even spend hours on Facebook instead of studying. (God Forbid!) Social media is arguably the easiest medium of procrastination. I set out to discover whether social media has positive or negative effects on a student’s learning, engagement, and grades.

There is not much substantial research on the effects of social media, however research shows that there are negative and positive effects. Carolyn Szostak, an associate psychology professor at UBCO, who researches media and mental health stigma and teaches pop culture and mental health, answered a few of my questions regarding social media and its effect on students’ academic performances and mental health. Szostak told me that there was research done on social media use and grades, and

there is a negative correlation between using social media and your grades, but that has to do with multi-tasking, and the study is about first year students.

There is some evidence that suggests that there is a negative impact on first year students’ grades, but not so much towards the fourth year. Multitasking may be more of a critical component versus the use of social media. Web surfing in class while paying attention in class is associated with weaker grades. If your really focused just on studying, that is going to allow you to be more effective, but if you have even your email open or you get a text, that takes you away from your studying. Szostak concludes that social media and studying should not be done at the same time. Regarding selfesteem, social media can create a sense of isolation, and a lot of it comes down to how its being used. “The research hasn’t been done yet that really allows us to see how social media is really being used, so it could hinder isolation but could also keep us connected [emotionally], but we don’t know what comes first. I think we are just starting to really be aware of the prominence of social media… to an extent it is kind of scary.”

Aryn Karpinski of Ohio State University surveyed 219 undergraduate and graduate students in Ohio and found that students who used facebook got a significantly lower grade point average then those who don’t. They also

discovered that 79% of people who used facebook did not think that their grades were affected by the use of Facebook.

Notably, the study states that there is no direct link between the use of facebook and students’ grades, however there is a relationship. An article from the Brown Daily Herald described a study that found a negative impact on women’s student grades, but also did not find a direct link.

On a positive note, social media does have some beneficial effects, like building networking skills or establishing identity.

Netherlands psychologist Paul A. Kirschnera of the Centre for Learning Sciences and Technologies at the Open University of Netherlands discovered that students who use social media while studying end up getting 20 percent lower grades then students “who don’t have the social networking site in visual range,

or even running in the background on their computers or mobile phones.”

Kirschnera concluded that students are not very good at multitasking and that it is detrimental to student performance.

According to Rick Nauert, a media professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, “The desire to stay connected actually plagues us.” Although there may be lots of evidence that show the negative relationship between social media and a student’s grades, a study done at the University of New Hampshire shows that there is no direct relationship. Evidence suggests that students who spend more time on social media have low confidence or identity issues, therefor potentially directing the root cause of poor grades as psychological or social issues. If social media is used while in class or studying, it could be detrimental, however if social

media is implemented into classrooms as learning strategies there is a positive effect. “twitter can be used as an educational tool to help engage students and to mobilize faculty into a more active and participatory role,” states R. Junco, G. Heiberger, and E. Loken from the Wiley online library. Evidence shows that students are highly engaged in learning when social media platforms are used in the classroom.

In conclusion, most evidence suggests that, you might have guess it, social media use while studying does not help your grades! However, the relationship might not be from your social media use, but from personal psychological or social issues. Furthermore, if social media was used in classrooms students’ grades may improve. And no, you won’t have to add your prof on Facebook.

HOW TO GET ALONG WITH THAT FAMILY MEMBER YOU CAN’T STAND Tiffany looks at the realtionships that students have with their degree

Tiffany Goodwein Life Reporter Illustration by Varenka Kim/ The Phoenix News

Tis the season for big family gatherings, the smell of shortbread, laughter, joy , and DRAMA, and lots of it . Now that I am a year older, and dare I say wiser, there is a reason why my parents would resort to having Baileys in their coffee for the morning, and glasses of wine at night during the holiday season. For a time of year that is supposed to be about coming together in unison and catching up with family and friends, this time of year is also the perfect breeding ground for criticism, cries of tears, and a cockfight.

With that said, here are a few simple tips

to get along with those family members you absolutely can’t stand this Christmas season.

The first tip is to respect each others boundaries. As the song goes “all you need is R-E-S-P-E-C-T “. If you have a ton of family, all cramped up in the house it is imperative that you respect each others boundaries both space wise and personally. Don’t go trampling through their room when they are trying to sleep, or steal food off of their plates without asking. Also, if you know that a family member is going through a hard time, such as a break up, a loss of a family member or friend, or a job loss, for goodness sake leave the jokes that you find funny regarding that subject behind.

If you don’t, be prepared to have your weapons and armour ready. People are extremely sensitive during the holiday season and bringing this up could turn it into a not so holy night.

If you are like me and you have a relative, whether it be an Aunt, a Grandma, or your own Mother who takes the opportunity to use holiday gatherings as a way to criticize you for the amount of weight you’ve gained, your career choice, your boyfriend or girlfriend and frankly anything else they can possibly think of, know that you have the power within you to turn those hurtful words back into a positive mindset. Don’t allow the negative words of your family

members cloud your thinking and ruin your Christmas holidays.

Just keep thinking to yourself that the person that is saying those hurtful things are probably hurting themselves. Take a deep breath, give yourself space from the person you may want to strangle and don’t let them ruin your day. Instead of completely writing the holidays off and embodying Scrooge, set the stage on a positive note by giving people compliments. Everyone loves compliments. Compliments can be a great way to break the ice between you and that cousin you fought with last summer at your family’s cabin that almost ended in an all out blood bath. It opens the conversation and persuades to the other person that you would like to be civil and perhaps put the past in the past ….at least for the holidays.

My next tip is oh-so crucial it is sadly overlooked way too often and that is, if you get a gift you don’t like from someone, smile and say thank-you, seriously. Let’s face it, some people are better at giving gifts than others. Even though you may have put in more effort and spent more money on the other person’s gift, that person still got you something. Don’t act like a spoiled brat and throw the gift on the ground and stomp into your room.

Maybe that person who got you that gift is feeling the pinch financially, or maybe was so busy with work that they could not get you your ideal gift. Chances are

once they receive your gift, that you put a lot of effort into, they probably will feel a little guilty about the gift that they gave you, so don’t make them feel worse.

Bottom line: No matter what you receive this Christmas season, always, ALWAYS, say thank you. As the saying goes, it’s the thought the counts, at least you got something.

My last tip is to help the host. Hosting the whole family can be very stressful and a lot of work. If you are not the host, and simply a guest, do your best to help the host in any way you can such as by doing the dishes, taking the garbage out or sweeping the floor once and a while. Everyone deserves to relax over the holidays, including the host. Having everyone do something to help the host will prevent the host from lashing out at everyone. Plus, if you are a good house guest, you are more likely to get invited for future festivities, instead of having to spend Christmas alone in your pj’s .

You can have a great Holiday season, no matter how annoying your family gets. Just follow these simple steps , smile , be courteous, and if worst comes to worst , know that nothing is perfect and if nothing works out there is always festive music, Wine, Rum and Baileys. They don’t spike the Christmas chocolate for nothing.

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Novemeber 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | life@thephoenixnews.com | Life Editor: Amithisste Multerer-Zarda

@youbc @BARKUBC therapy dogs cheer up #UBCO students each week, and the results are adorable

‫@‏‬PawsitForward Paws It Forward loves the BARK program at UBCO! Did you know 60% of their dogs are rescue dogs

TAKE A LOOK AT B.A.R.K AND THE PET ADOPTION CENTERS IN AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS B.A.R.K is a reletivley new program at UBCO and focusses on reducing stress in students and awarness in pet ownership Maria Otto Life Repoter

The common case is that when adopting or buying an animal, people want a young puppy or kitten, and not an older pet and that’s why they turn to breeders or a pet store. The reality is that many pet stores get their animals from puppy mills or breeders. Millions of animals are put down at adoption centers and shelters every year because they were not adopted, shelters have many puppies and kittens that have been rescued from off the streets, bad situations, or owners surrendered them, and they all need a good home. Many pets that end up in a pet shelter are domesticated adult dogs or cats that have already been trained, which make the perfect companion, and there are animal health care providers at shelters such as the BCSPCA that ensure the pet is in good health before you take it home.

Now that you know that the animals in shelters and adoption centers are just as adoptable the same as the ones in the pet store, you can decide what industry and initiative you would rather support.

The pets at the adoption shelters are scared, lonely, probably missing their previous owner and human companionship, and just want to go to a good home. There are too many perfectly healthy, adoptable animals that are being put down every year because of ‘massproducing’ animals. If you are searching for a particular type of dog there are shelters and rescue centers for certain types of animals, and databases where you can search for your perfect fit.

On campus we are lucky to have the

option to interact with dogs if we aren’t able to have one of our own or are missing yours back home. You’ve undoubtedly seen Dr. John-Tyler Binfet and his lovely dog Frances around campus. Dr. Binfet is the Director of a program here at UBCO called B.A.R.K. and is a faculty member in the department of Education. B.A.R.K. stands for Building Academic Retention through K9’s, and Dr. Binfet’s research examines the effects of animal-assisted therapy on stress and homesickness. He is also known for his research on kindness, and works with local school districts to better understand how students and teachers enact kindness in schools.

I was able to interview Dr. Binfet about his thoughts and experiences, and the responsibilities that come with owning a dog. When asked his thoughts about taking home a pet by adoption versus breeder/pet store, Dr. Binfet answered, “My views on this topic are strong and are informed by years working with dogs and regular trips to high-kill shelters, where perfectly adoptable dogs are euthanized because homes are unavailable. Many folks make assumptions around behavior, and think buying a purebred or designer dog will ensure fewer behavior issues. That’s certainly not the case in my experience, and one of the things we’re doing at B.A.R.K. is showcasing the wonderful temperaments of mutts, many of whom were rescued rather than purchased”.

Dr. Binfet conveys that sharing your life with a pet favorably impacts individual’s physical and mental health, as well as their social ‘connectedness’. He has seen this in the randomized controlled trials done in B.A.R.K. where, from pre-topost-test, students report significant reductions in stress and homesickness and significant increases in their ‘campus

affinity’.

I asked Dr. Binfet if he would recommend students adopting a pet of their own, and he answered, “This is a tough one. I always had a rescued dog and cat as a student, and it was not always easy I’ll admit. Though the rewards can be pretty fantastic, the responsibility for students, especially financially, can be daunting. Certainly a pressing challenge would be to juggle one’s schedule, as long hours in classes and the library isn’t conducive to having a pet. The solution isn’t to bring your dog to campus either or leave them in your vehicle while in class.”

If your lifestyle isn’t appropriate just yet to adopt a dog, B.A.R.K. offers time for students to interact with dogs without any of the commitment. The B.A.R.K. dogs here at UBCO, seen wearing their red therapy vests, have all undergone assessments to ensure that their temperament is well-suited to public work.

Here at UBCO, we are fortunate to have upper administration who support innovations such as B.A.R.K. “When I arrived from Los Angeles and pitched that I wanted to bring 40 therapy dogs to campus, you can imagine that I was met with not just curious glances, but outright opposition. B.A.R.K. is now in its 4th year, employs undergraduate and graduate research assistants, draws over 45 community members and their dogs to campus each week, and provides support to students seeking to reduce stress and feel more connection to the campus community” answered Dr. Binfet, when asked how B.A.R.K. was started.

Last year, over 2,500 students made use of the Drop-In and BARK2GO programs. “I regularly hear from students ‘How can I volunteer with B.A.R.K.?’,

PARIS TRAGEDIES: A UBCO STUDENT’S EXPERIENCE Maranda Wilson Project Manager During this difficult moment in history, UBCO students have come together to reflect and mourn the tragedies happening around the globe. Here at UBC, our Interim President and Vice-Chancellor, Martha Piper, has released a statement in regards to the recent events in France and Lebanon. In it, she accounts for the 100 UBC students currently on exchange with Go Global in France (14 of whom are studying in Paris).

Out of the 14, we got a hold of Madison Tardif, a 5th year UBCO student majoring in International Relations with a minor in French, who left for her exchange on August 26th to study at Sciences Po in Paris. Here is what she has to say about the recent events: Q: Where were you during the attacks?

A: I was home in my apartment getting ready to go out for some drinks.

Q: How did you find out what was going on?

A: A friend texted me asking me if I was home and if I was safe. Right away, I knew there was something wrong so I looked online to see and noticed that the explosion

had just happened at Stade de France.

Q: When did it occur to you that an event of this magnitude was occurring? What was your thought process in that moment?

A: I didn’t really realize how bad it was until the news sites were constantly updating on more and more attacks around Paris. I was especially shook up once I realized a majority of the attacks were happening in a popular area for students like myself.

Q: How was the situation managed in the moment? Were you receiving any instructions from police/military/ etc.?

How were you getting your updates on the situation?

A: I was constantly checking Facebook and multiple news sources in French and English.

Q: How has contacting your family/friends back home been? (I heard there was little reception during and after the attacks).

A: It was fine. My family was very worried, but I was home. My friends who live near the attacks came over since they couldn’t get back home due to the roadblocks.

Q: Has UBC or Go Global reached out to you since? What is their protocol for students abroad in situations like this?

A: UBC and Go Global have both reached out to me and the other UBCO student here in Paris. They checked to make sure we were safe and gave us information as to who we can talk to for emotional support.

Q: Will you be returning home (or even forced to return home) any time soon or are you planning to continue your exchange until the end?

A: I will continue my exchange. To be honest, the atmosphere here is understandably mournful, but I feel very safe with the extremely heightened security measures.

Q: How have the attacks influenced your studies? Have any classes been postponed?

A: Classes and exams are all the same as usual. I have found it hard to stay caught up this week due to the stress of the weekend and the overall change of routine.

Q: What is the general feeling/atmosphere been like on the streets in the last couple of days? How are you coping?

A: Sunday a group of friends and myself went to a couple of the attacks sites to leave flowers, light candles, and to pay our respects. Everyone was crying, and seeing the bullet holes and the crime scene was very overwhelming. There was a woman

Photo by Maggie Wilson/ The Phoenix News

and as the director of B.A.R.K. I realize how fortunate I am to have simply outstanding student volunteers who give countless hours to helping organize and run programs.” The best way to become a volunteer, Dr. Binfet explains, is by attending B.A.R.K. sessions, getting to know folks in the B.A.R.K. community, and to let your intentions to join the team be known. “B.A.R.K. is a great launching pad with volunteer students moving on to honors work, graduate studies, and medical school. One of B.A.R.K.’s former volunteers is interviewing this week for entry to veterinary college!” The best way to find out about B.A.R.K. is to follow them on Facebook, BARK UBCO,

and to visit their website barkubc.ca for updates.

If adopting a pet is something you are seriously considering, and want to support a rescue or adoption centre, Dr. Binfet has some organizations he recommends.

“We’re fortunate in Kelowna to be home of a wonderful rescue group called Paws it Forward, pawsitforward.org, who facilitate the adoptions of countless atrisk dogs from high-risk situations e.g., neglect, and high-kill shelters. Many of the dogs who work in B.A.R.K. were adopted through Paws it Forward and the BCSPCA. Students thinking of adopting a dog might consider starting with these groups.

at one restaurant and she was bawling and yelling out “pourquoi (why)?” I’m certain she lost someone; it was heart wrenching and I don’t think I will ever forget that.

As you venture further away from the attack sites, it feels like the rest of Paris is still the same. People are on the streets playing pianos and singing. I think a lot of people just wanted to pay their respects to the victims by showing that they are stronger than fear. You can tell people are in mourning and feel drained from the stress, but everyone is with loved ones and you can

really feel a sense of unity and community.

Q: Do you feel safe?

A: Yes, but everyone is on edge. It’s very stressful. However, I wouldn’t say that I personally feel unsafe.

Q: How will having experienced this event affect you once you return home to Canada and UBCO? A: I think it is too early to tell. I hope that I will grow from this and continue to follow my passion in human rights-based work.

Photo by provided by Madison Tardif

November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | life@thephoenixnews.com | Life Editor: Amithisste Multerer-Zarda

9

‫@‏‬UBCOProblems I’m excited to see all the fuzzy dusters in MOvember #ubco

CLUB SPOTLIGHT: UBCO CAR CLUB

Evening falls upon the UBCO campus, with waves of orange and pink bursting across the late autumn sky. Classes are done for the day, but something is stirring just around the corner. Over in F-lot, a gathering has begun. It’s Thursday night, and all of UBCO’s car enthusiasts are coming out in what will be yet another exciting cruise around town. The cause for the commotion can be credited to the UBCO Car Club!

Pioneered by co-founders Jerry Xiao, Charlie Sun and Kieran Hughes, the Car Club is a place where car enthusiasts can come to share in their love for all things auto related. Since it’s launch in the past year, the club has seen tremendous growth, with over 100 students signed up on club day and multiple hits on social media.

At its core, the Car Club exists as a network and escape from the stresses of academia. No background knowledge in cars is required, in fact you don’t even

need a car to join! Whether you drive a Mustang, a Prius, or bus wherever you go, you too can be a member. “[It’s] different from other clubs on campus”, exclaimed Car Club exec Nikita Taylor. “[The Car Club] is a community and resource- if you need a jump, or if you’re stuck in a snowbank, someone can help. Plus there’s always a DD if you need one”.

Most Thursday nights, you’ll find club members meeting in F-Lot for the club’s weekly cruise. Students without vehicles are welcome to attend and tag along with a driver for the night! The relaxed and open environment which the Car Club promotes, has made it into a successful and fast growing social hub. Through the club, students can network with other enthusiasts, share their knowledge and attend local conferences and auctions.

Also, depending on the season, the club hosts off campus BBQs and Scandia recreation nights.

The Car Club, however, wasn’t always the booming success that we see today.

“It was more of an underground operation before, where first years would

meet every now and then to discuss cars”, explained Sun. “As word of mouth helped the club grow, and as security became suspicious, it was decided that we should reach out to UBCSUO to make the club official”.

Now in its prime, the Car Club has received sponsorship from Red Bull and local companies in Kelowna. The club hopes to continue its partnership with local sponsors, grow in its numbers and partner with other clubs on campus.

“Someday we want to buy an older vehicle for the club”, explained Taylor. “[This will be] something everyone can work on, so that they can learn how to build, fix and customize a vehicle”.

If you’re having car trouble or you’d like inspiration for your next ride, check out the UBCO Car Club Facebook page, where members upload the best of car tips and articles. The winter season is setting in the valley, however once spring arrives weekly cruises will be back on, so come out and enjoy the ride! The UBCO Car Club welcomes you!

Every November, Canada becomes blessed with a portion of the male population’s best attempts at sprouting hair from their upper lips. It is a tradition, fondly dubbed Movember, which we have accepted and embraced — and for good reason, as the meaning behind it is substantial. The Canadian Movember Foundation states, “We seek to make a global contribution to men living happier, healthier, longer lives. It is the driving force behind our campaigns, funding strategy, and vision for the future.”

Movember started because the CMF believes that men are dying too young — 6 years earlier than women, on average — and that poor mental health affects men more than women since 510,000 men die from suicide globally each year. The leading issue with men’s health for CMF is the presence of prostate and testicular cancer. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, and the number of affected males is expected to almost double by 2030. The main goal of the Movember Foundation is to fund breakthrough solutions that can

make a positive impact on those affected by prostate cancer, testicular cancer, poor mental health and physical activity.

Our VP Services at the UBCOSUO, Layne Richardson, is taking on his 5th year of fundraising and advocating for Movember. Richardson got inspired to get involved with Movember when he heard about ‘The MOfficials’. Based out of Vancouver, the MOfficials are a group of hockey officials from across Canada that are directly affiliated with the Canadian Movember Foundation (you can find more information on their website!). When asked what Movember means to him, Richardson responded, “I have had a few relatives pass away from cancer, so all cancer research means a lot to me personally. For the month of November, I am able to attempt to grow a moustache and support such a great cause, while others get the joy of laughing about my questionable facial hair!” He continued, “The most important thing about Movember to me is that the month isn’t just about cancer research. It

brings together every aspect of health, from focusing on mental health, to your overall health, encouraging people to eat healthy and get active all month, while fundraising for research towards Men’s health as well!”

The MOfficials are hoping to raise $56,000 this year, and Layne has already reached his personal goal of $300, and is now aiming to reach $600 by the end of the month. When asked what he recommends for students who want to get involved with fundraising, Richardson replied, “Basically, no idea is a bad idea. There are always people in the Students Union office that are here to help you succeed and have your fundraising efforts succeed so don’t be afraid to ask for help or direction!” Layne will continue attempting to grow a moustache, and fundraise for the cause, for as far as he can see in the future. Additional information about the MOfficials and Movember can be found on their website, https:// ca.movember.com.

Dela Hini Contributor Photo by Maggie Wilson/ The Phoenix News

Photo by B.A.R.K Our Production Manager and Photo Editor visiting with the dogs at the Club Shawcase

MOVEMBER AT UBCO

VP Services Layne Richardson speaks about his fundraising efforts and participation in promoting men’s health this Movember Maria Otto Life Repoter

Photo provided by Layne Richardson

November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | arts@thephoenixnews.com | Arts Editor: Jacky Deng

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//Arts TRENDING

Paris and Beirut: Activists paste messages of solidaity on walls

Captain America: Civil War

THE FORCE IS STILL STRONG

An analysis of the cultural phenomenon that is “Star Wars” Jacky Deng Arts Editor

Having been inspired by the space adventure comics of Flash Gordon, 27-year-old filmmaker George Lucas had an idea for a space fantasy film based on the entertaining, albeit terrible, comic series. “I especially loved the Flash Gordon serials… [and] I began to wonder what would happen if they were done really well,” Lucas said. After six years of conceptualizing, writing and re-writing, filming, and ridiculous overspending, the final cut of “Star Wars” premiered on May 25, 1977 in 32 theatres across the United States. Despite harsh criticisms from those who had seen the film prior to its debut — minus Steven Spielberg, who is said to be the only person to have enjoyed the film during earlier screenings — “Star Wars” became the biggest box office success of its time.

Thus, it effectively became one of the first blockbuster films in history, and also

//Show Review “Medicine” by Craig Thompson

Aneesh Goel Contributor TJ Dawe is a Canadian playwright, director, and performed who is currently based in Vancouver, having graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1997. Several days prior to TJ’s one-man show, “Medicine”, a show based on TJ’s experiences with stress, addiction, and childhood development I had the opportunity to hear TJ speak about “The Enneagram”, a concept that describes the seven

one of North America’s most prized and worshipped pop-culture products. To this day, George Lucas’ “Star Wars” franchise has built an unmatched American legacy upon profitability, critically acclaimed trilogies (thanks, prequels), expanded universes, and memorable characters that have been adopted by the general public. But what makes “Star Wars” so compelling that it’s been able to persist across multiple generations and cultures?

Photo by legOfenris/ Creative Commons

“Lucas decided to use [The Hero’s Journey] to create a humanized tale of good against evil, of Jedi against Sith, of the Light Side against the Dark Side.”

Part of the answer to this question is that Luke Skywalker’s Journey is the embodiment of what is known as “The Hero’s Journey”. Coined by American mythologist, Joseph Campbell, “The Hero’s Journey” is a theory based on the observation that a common pattern exists beneath the narrative elements of most great myths, regardless of their origin or time of creation. While Campbell used the concept of “The Hero’s Journey” to find identical narrative elements within the world’s religions, Lucas decided to use the concept to create a humanized

tale of good versus evil, Jedi versus Sith, and the Light Side versus the Dark Side. The patterns described by “The Hero’s Journey” are easy to find in “Star Wars” — the stage, “meeting the mentor” encapsulates Luke’s

deadly sins in conjunction with the nine personality traits. The enigma that floundered from TJ’s mouth when he spoke during “Medicine” was quite telling.

A man came out from the curtains with a bottle in his hand - a queer, but a refreshingly unique opening. The lights shone upon him as he squinted and looked out to the audience. TJ had told us that he was an individualist in “The Enneagram” when he had come to talk to our class about it. Based on the aura that TJ emitted on stage, this individualism was clear. His sense of humor was hit the audience perfectly, including repetitive enactments of puking as he tried a medicine named ayahuasca, and resulted in moments where the audience just could not stop laughing.

Vancity Buzz has been quoted as saying, “TJ Dawe is something special… we need more of his kind of performer on the Vancouver stage.” I

believe that TJ’s genius doesn’t come from the way his stories are acted out – it comes from how he tells them.

In “Medicine”, the background music would play when he would make reference to a person who used to sing in his old therapy sessions. Changes in lighting were used to symbolize the temporal jumps between periods of his life, and the use of the medicine, ayahuasca, produced hallucinations which further allowed TJ to recall his youthful history.

TJ also had moments throughout the play where he had the entire audience in his control. Through very limited movement and subtle, important use of the voice and the body, TJ was able to manipulate the emotions of the audience beautifully.

“Medicine” was a story that was both emotionally gratifying and emotionally turbulent, and a means for TJ Dawe to express himself in his own, albeit strange, way.

The Underground Art Party

Adele’s Album: 25

interactions with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, while “ordeal, death, and rebirth” is demonstrated by Luke’s struggle, and ultimate victory against his father, Anakin Skywalker. Even concepts like “The Force” have characteristics that parallel basic principles of Zen Buddhism.

By falling upon this ubiquitous and universal narrative, Lucas was able to compose a story encompassing themes of knighthood, chivalry, democracy, technology, and religion that resonated with the viewer’s emotional core while also creating one of film’s first technical spectacles.

Before “Star Wars”, special effects were considered to be nothing more than a gimmick by both audiences and film critics alike — they were silly, forgettable, and could often inhibit the abilities of a film to convey its message. Though many, including Lucas’ own cast and crew, initially criticized Lucas’ gluttonous overspending to bring the world of “Star Wars” to life, no one could have imagined what Lucas was truly attempting. Entire planets like Tatooine and Hoth were created through reimagining the deserts of Tunisia and the glaciers of Finland. The plethora of alien species and creatures created through both practical and computer-generated effects throughout the films encompass the greatest array of fictional cultures and societies ever brought to film. Futuristic scientific technologies that once only existed in the mind of Lucas and his team have since inspired real-life innovations — which we now take for granted as we drown in technology. Even the sound design of “Star Wars” has become a phenomenon of its own. How often has a friend of yours shot a blaster at you, pretended to fly as a TIE fighter, or shown you their best Wookie impression? Yeah, too many times.

But perhaps the most important part of “Star Wars”, and the part that will leave the greatest legacy, are the characters.

The adventures of the Skywalker siblings, Han Solo and Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO, Obi-Wan and Yoda, and Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader are so fiercely embedded into our cultural

“The pressure is immense, not just to create a great film, but to broaden and strengthen an incredible universe that is already so rich, so dense, and so ingrained into our personal lives.”

consciousness that they have transcended their place on the silver screen to inhabit a platform within our culture. In short, the characters of “Star Wars” have become what Lucas always hoped they would be: great, relatable heroes and terrifying, threatening villains that have achieved the ideal of myth. One can only hope this trend continues.

As “The Force Awakens” is due to release in just over two weeks, the hope is that Episode VII will continue the history of innovation founded by its predecessors. The pressure is immense, not just to create a great film, but to broaden and strengthen an incredible universe that is already so rich, so dense, and so ingrained into our personal lives.

Though intended to be simple tale of good and evil, “Star Wars” has clearly become something greater than a film inspired by Flash Gordon. It has become the shared story of various generations and cultures, the bridge that has united the pop-culture of the 20th and 21st centuries, and the inspiration for onceunimaginable technologies that have since been brought to reality.

To put it simply, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the magic of “Star Wars” changed the world.

Photo by Aneesh Goel

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November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | arts@thephoenixnews.com | Arts Editor: Jacky Deng

Mockingjay: Part 2

Jennifer Lopez stuns at AMA’s

THE ART OF SCIENCE

Painting nature with nature Jacky Deng Arts Editor

Dr. Fred Menard is a professor of art at UBC Okanagan, but his canvas is not lathered in a spectrum of paints nor is it sculpted into a magnificent figure for the world to admire. In fact, his canvas is far from what most would define a canvas to be. Dr. Menard studies the art of organic chemistry or, as acclaimed organic chemist R.B. Woodward would put it, “the art of organic synthesis.” His artistry is defined through the tools he uses. Menard’s canvas is a laboratory filled with radiant glassware and intricate instrumentation, and his spectrum of paints is a vast array of molecules and compounds he uses to manipulate the laws of nature.

Though he is a scientist by definition, Dr. Menard has always held the arts close to his heart. Menard drew constantly while growing up, and his artistic pursuits culminated in a brief period of time as a sound and light engineer for theatre productions in college and across Europe.

“My goal [as a sound and light engineer] was to create an ambience and

to play with subtleties that enhanced the message of the show.”

Following his travels, Menard fell in love with organic chemistry and began to pursue a career within academia. Today, Menard’s chemical research remains among the most fascinating at UBC Okanagan, with his work having possible implications for the treatment of a plethora of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease. But despite the layman’s view of chemistry as a definitive science, Menard recognizes art as one of the primary factors for his decision to pursue a career in organic synthesis.

“I chose organic chemistry as a field of research because, at the end of the day, it’s about drawing structures. You have to understand the visual aspect of these structures to understand how things work.”

“Art, to me, is something that is created by someone out of pure thought or emotion and has somehow taken shape in our physical, tangible world. It could be words, lights, music, sculptures, and molecules, and these creations will have an effect on an observer or the artist themselves.” “[In research], I’m constantly trying

FINDING ART IN EXPLORATION A Go Global student’s journey through history and art Chloe Eliott Contributor I am standing on the illuminated floor of a cubed room wearing fleece covers over my shoes. I look down, and it feels like I’m on top of the world — it’s the city of Ghent, Belgium, illuminated in a real-life, aerial photo.

In the middle of the cube room, there is a model of the city, and every wall is illuminated. On one wall, there are four circles projected as time lapses, encompassing four areas of the city: the Friday market, the city square, the city park, and the Belfort Tower. This is

the final room of the STAM History of Ghent Museum.

There are 9 rooms in the museum, each detailing a phase in the city’s history, and the city’s medieval origins, which is characterized by great stone architecture and how it evolved into one of the largest trading ports for textiles in all of Europe. The museum merges history with modern art. There are photos of modern-day Ghent on the walls, and across the hall of the photos are benches that speak to you in Dutch, English, French, or Italian.

There are laminated newspaper articles blown up to life-size and fanned out in a display that you can flip through, like when you’re shopping for posters.

There are televisions re-playing loops

Arrow/The Flash crossover episode

JUST ART

to look for patterns and tease out trends, and I always try and think about what’s never been done and how I can create something that’s never been created…

That’s what research is. You have an idea of where you want to go, but you also have to be comfortable with the idea that it may lead to nowhere at all.”

How did this perspective of an “artistic

science” first develop in Menard’s mind?

To put it simply, Menard thinks it’s been a perspective he’s always had, ever since he was a young boy becoming fascinated by the cosmic playgrounds of astrophysics and astronomy.

“When I looked at the sky, I saw the beauty of it all, and that’s what was attractive to me. In the end, I learned that it was math that explained the trajectories of a comet or a planet, and that, to me, showcased the use of science to produce a powerful explanation for something in nature that just so happened to be tremendously beautiful.”

Unfortunately, the poetic language that Menard uses to describe his fascinations with the scientific process is a language that is notably absent from modern scientific classrooms. From an outside perspective, it would be difficult to agree that the general public’s perception of science is one of creativity, fluidity, and methodological poetry rather than rigidity, sterility, and objectivity. So what has created this discourse between these two perspectives? Why don’t today’s students see science as an art? Menard points to the education system, claiming, “Early on, you take a course that’s called math and another course that’s called art, and they are, by definition, dissociated.

Unfortunately, as time progresses, people who have been so deeply engaged in one discipline have forgotten where they started as children. They’ve been so entrenched in one way of learning within that discipline that they forget that maybe there is more than one way of doing things.”

“The most creative scientists are usually artists at heart, because their brains are wired to look at explanations or ideas that are outside the box.”

It is this ability to attack a problem from various angles and trajectories that Menard believes to be the most valuable contribution of the traditional arts to organic synthesis.

“You’re putting nature into a context so that it does your bidding. You’re using the laws of nature to let the molecule construct itself. You do need the scientific principles to make it happen, but the magic of putting it together is the artistic part.”

“Everyone will see different paths

of old news casts, and attached are telephones that you can put to your ear to hear the news cast.

Being in Europe, I have been dazzled by the heaps of history that are embedded in the land across the Atlantic. While in Ghent, my fellow UBCO student, Zoe Bigwood, and I attended a mass in a church that was built in the 1300s. I remember going to museums when I was younger — the Royal Ontario Museum or the Ontario Science Center, to name a few. I looked at statues of mummies, and Asian kitchen artifacts, and I just didn’t get it.

I couldn’t comprehend the notion that MILLIONS of people had lived before I had. They each have had their own struggles, their own families, their own triumphs, routines, and objects that made them happy, and the only way

that we know that now is because their remnant lasted longer than they did.

It’s an eerie feeling to stare at a painting that’s stretched across the ceiling of a church 200 feet in the air and wonder: how did they do that? How long did it take them to paint this? How did they even get up there? These questions are ones that I have only been able to produce by being in the presence of these ancient works of art.

Being in the STAM museum and watching the year-long time lapse flash before within a two minute span left me in a particularly reflective mood.

As cliché as “life is short” is, and as much as the thought of being in our fifties seems like it’s really far away, there is still some truth to it all. If all we remember these people by is the objects that they left behind, how will

Photo by Dr. Fred Menard

“Menard’s canvas is a laboratory filled with radiant glassware and intricate instrumentation, and his spectrum of paints is a vast array of molecules and compounds he uses to manipulate the laws of Nature.”

City and Colour coming to Kelowna: June 2nd

to construct the molecule — it’s like building a house. All houses have doors, windows, and roofs, but there are millions of options to how these pieces are put together to create the house. For molecules, every chemist will have a different approach. There are approaches that are more efficient than others and others that are less efficient. In terms of art, there are approaches that are more elegant than others, and in organic synthesis, elegance is associated with hidden transformations. We are very impressed by someone who can see a transformation that was not initially evident. There is the art, and that is the creativity of the mind coming into play.”

In a culture so fascinated with absolutes and extremes, Menard’s perspectives provide a refreshing reminder: most constructs do not exist within dichotomies but rather within continuums. Dr. Fred Menard is a modern Renaissance man, and his choice to pursue a career within the art of science is peculiar, as it seems ill-fitted

“The most creative scientists are usually artists at heart, because their brains are wired to look at explanations or ideas that are outside the box.” for somebody who expresses such a strong infatuation for the traditional arts.

Simply put, it’s all a matter of perspective.

“When most people find something beautiful, they can’t tell you why it is so, but they know that what they are experiencing is something beautiful.”

“My entire life has been dedicated to trying to understand what makes these things we experience beautiful.”

we be remembered? How will you be remembered? As frightening that thought might be, being in Europe and traveling outside of the country has exposed me to the vastness that is our Earth. In a way, it’s made me happier to know that things like financial stress, what I ate last week, or how the heck I’m going to finish that essay for Thursday aren’t the only things that have happened, that are happening, or that will happen. There are greater things in life that are out there, and most of them are hidden from our view, like awe-inspiring art. The only way to discover them is to be brave and to take a leap of faith. Only then can you see something new.

November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | arts@thephoenixnews.com | Arts Editor: Jacky Deng

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@wearewildson 2 weeks away y’all! @HabitatKelowna @ MyKindofKarma #stoooooked

THE WILD SON STORY: AN EXPERIMENT IN FOLK, FUNK FUSION Kathryn Helmore Staff Writer Imagine a sound that fuses folk and funk. Does that titillate you? Well, for more excitement, throw in some Reggae, Jazz and elements of Punk Rock. Now you’re starting to imagine Wild Son, a young, fresh, genrehopping local band. With their debut album release on the 4th, I meet with Mitch (Violin), Eric (Piano), Cam (Drums), Aaron (Bass), and Kieran (vocals) to learn more about their music and upcoming album.

So, you’re a folk-funk band. Tell me more.

Eric: Well if I had to describe us, I’d say that we’re an instrumental band that builds on refinement and technique to break the rules with style.

We want clean and part orientated music which fuses styles.

Mitch: Yeah, when people ask how we’re funk/folk, it’s not an easy answer.

But I think it’s cool that it’s not an easy answer.

So successfully fusing genres necessitates refinement and technique. How did you acheive this?

Mitch: I’ve studied classical violin for 10 years. Alongside Cam, I got a

//Comic Section Filbert Cartoons L.A. Bonte Cotributor

performance degree from Brandon Manitoba. Yet, I’m not limited to the classical genre. In fact, when auditioning University of Victoria the admissions officer told me to choose between classical and fiddle. Instead of choosing between these genres, I choose not to attend University of Victoria.

So do you guys have a story behind the songs? Is there a particular writing process?

Kieran: There are always stories behind my songs. But they aren’t traditionally inspired. For example, the opening line of “Truth and a Lie” was inspired by Mitch playing video games. He was sat and screaming at the TV screen “it doesn’t matter if you run!” So I incorporated this into a song about knowing you’re gonna make a decision which hurts someone but doing it anyway.

Would your 15-year-old self enjoy your music?

Mitch: Absolutely. It’s been my life goal to stretch the boundaries of the Violin. So if a jazz pianist and classical violinist can sound not like a jazz pianist and classical violinist that would have inspired me greatly.

Eric: I think 15-year-old me would have been into us. I’ve always been

“We’re stoked to be producing something clean.

Something that our fans can hear.

We’re a live band achieving something bigger. ”

passionate about the piano. Yet, I wouldn’t trust my angsty teenage self.

I also listened to some awful stuff. Like I went through the Lincoln Park stage.

Honestly, that reality really makes me wanna do bad stuff to myself.

So tell me about your new album “Wild Son”.

Aaron: So, as a performance band, we’ve only ever produced one EP. Cam: Yeah, we’re stoked to be

@HabitatKelowna [Just Announced] December 4, 2015 - Wild Son Album Release Party: Wild Son Album Release Party

producing something clean. Something that our fans can hear. We’re a live band achieving something bigger.

We’ve started to find our sound and for once we have a tangible product which shows our goal. We’re leaving a permanent mark.

Aaron: On this album we have new stuff but we’ve also chosen three of the tracks from the EP and put them on an album. Songs are living things that are constantly being molded and changed. We’ve rearranged them for a purposeful sound. A polished sound.

Mitch: Basically, this album is about sharing what we should have shared a long time ago.

So, typical to your music, I would expect this album to be a diverse fusion of different sounds. But this stands the chance of being out of sync.

So what ties your album together?

Kieran: Its arrangement. The album is a continuous progression. It starts with mellow tunes like ‘Hello Sunshine’ and finishes with ‘Whipped Cream’ where I’m screaming into the mike.

Eric: It’s also about instrumentation.

Obviously our instrumentation isn’t conventional but we’re certainly an instrumental band, we don’t branch out into weird electronic sounds. It’s just us playing our instruments so every song sounds sonically similar.

Aaron: The album also comes in vinyl with a download card. The download card isn’t a simple Mp3 but includes the waves. So you get awesome, tangible artwork with the vinyl, plus a much higher quality download then Itunes and lyrics lovingly written in Kieran’s chicken scratch.

If you’re interested in listening to Wild Son’s sound you can visit them on facebook, their website http://wildson. ca/ or download their music online (for free!). However, if you’re really interested in Wild Son, or a great night out, come to their free debut album release party on the 4th. Habitat.

Eric: Sonically similar.

Pictured: Aaron DeSilva, Eric Disero, Kieran McCaffrey, Mitchell Howanyk and Cam Wilks.

Photo provided by Wild Son

//Events December 2nd

Last Well Wednesday Presented by UBCSUO & VOCO - Headlined by The Dead South.

Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door December 3rd Santa Photos at UBCO UNC Boardroom between 11AM and 5PM, pictures are a $2 minimum donation, with all proceeds going to UNICEF December 4th Wild Son Album Release Party At the Habitat Set Times: 8:00pm - Doors open 8:30pm - 9:30pm - My Kind of Karma 9:45pm - 10:30pm - Wild Son 11:00pm - 12:00am - Wild Son (Album Set) December 5th THE UNDERGROUND Art Party 2015 A party dedicated to showcasing student work from visual arts, creative writing, performance, music, video, and so much more!

Tickets sold at the door $10 student, $15 general All proceeds go to the Theatre Course Union December 12-13th Prospera Place Craft Culture Holiday Market Two day show will feature local crafters and vendors selling soaps, pottery, clothing, woodwork and goodies

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November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | opinions@thephoenixnews.com | Opinions Editor: Brittni Mackenzie-Dale

//Opinions TRENDING

Nazi insignia on the NYC subway

Anti-muslim is not antiAmerican?

UBC Harrasment Policy

Bulletproof blanket for kids at school

A CASE FOR KILLING GENDER Gender can be an oppressive and restrictive role we take on—but is it necessary to do so?

Harley Roquentin Contributor “On n’est pas naît une femme, on le devient.”

Gender has a complicated relationship to subjectivity. The universal binary genders are a restriction — a limitation on the level of subjectivity imposed. “Man” and “woman” are titles that impose an identity to conform to in various ways. This idea is harmful and must be done away with if a person is to realize their freedom as an individual.

The binary itself is divided into two camps: Subject and Other. Throughout history, man has taken the role of Subject, and as such the male identity has come to be synonymous with “human”, though to their detriment. Man’s role is rigid, his subjectivity mutilated by his pride. When we look at a vast majority of masculine archetypes — the technocratic geek, the sports enthusiast, the entrepreneur, the Freudian father, and so on — they are cold, stoic, removed from general expression of qualitative feeling.

They placate their emotions through superficial interactions with the herd (the ‘squad’ or workplace). Since male is attributed to human, to act otherwise is to move towards subordinance, to become something other than human. This is why women performing the masculine is normal — they are merely taking on the attributes of their species — but when men perform the feminine, it is a call for concern. It is seen as moving towards the Other, and as such moving toward taking on weakness.

Women are in a much better position to express subjectivity. Their role as Other has made it more-or-less acceptable to choose whatever mode of dress or character they choose. A woman can play Margaret

Thatcher and conform to the male concept of human, or else engage in full-blown histrionics, and anything in-between.

Sweat-pants and hoodies are as normative as miniskirts and dresses, a single woman can engage with a masculine herd without being assumed homosexual, and so on.

Ironically, by being placed outside of humanity, women have the potential to become themselves by assuming their subjectivity in nearly all of its worth. There is, however, a fundamental detriment to this position. By taking the title of woman, a person accepts their place as Other, thus of being less than human. They contribute to the cycle that makes masculine behaviour so absurd and cowardly.

To be neither man nor woman, to assume subjectivity without contributing to a complex and dangerous power structure, is essential for the free spirit. To move forward, we must take what is good in the feminine as well as the masculine. In other words, we must both assume and assert subjectivity.

By working with these two seemingly antithetical concepts in conjunction, the free spirit is able to transcend the binary and exist independently of gender. Here we have an advantage to the free spirits that came before; language and culture has developed so that we may exist. Language has become more inclusive with the introduction of new pronouns, such as the singular ‘they’ and ‘ze.’ Social pioneers have set precedents with new forms of parenting and literature.

We, the free spirits of today, can use these as weapons against the binary, to manufacture what is currently obscure into the norm via their propagation. We strive towards a future where the terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’ are archaic, and where their restrictions on subjectivity are reduced to figments of the past.

THE VACUUM OF THE LIBERAL BIAS With increasing political correctness in both intellectual and online spaces, how can opposing opinions be heard?

Brittni MacKenzie-Dale Opinions Editor

In his most recent podcast with Douglas Murray, Sam Harris asks a timely question: “Something is very strange on the left right now — what the hell is going on?”

It’s no secret that universities are growing increasingly politically correct.

By and large, I believe this to be a good thing. As a society, we are producing healthier and safer language, and thus less violent environments in which students can learn. In fact, it’s sort of trendy to be PC. It’s more and more the norm, and people — especially young people — are quick to point out when someone is falling out of line. Using homophobic slurs to insult someone is not just uncool now, but is often met with expulsion.

The same trend is occurring in terms of current news, particularly surrounding the terrorist attacks in Paris.

You can see it on Twitter, on Facebook, and on Reddit: if you are not apologetic about terrorists who also happen to be Muslim, you are a racist. In this sort of macabre social media echo chamber, there are only two option available to us: you are either for Islam, or against Muslims as people.

We need to honestly ask if any ideas are sacred? This is a complex question, and one that I hope an answer to can be obtained with serious and earnest thought.

Can a non-Muslim question Islam? Can an atheist critique Christianity? Within this framework — are any ideas sacred?

— we can work to separate truly racist and stereotypical thought, and one that is more interrogative, more scientific, and more skeptical.

If the only thing known about a person — whether or not the claims are true, and the consequences are much more

dastardly if they are not — is that they are a racist, they quickly become ostracized.

A person is suddenly and wholly damned by that label. This is not to say that I condone racism by any means, but it’s unfortunate that labelling someone a racist is just about as effective, socially, as that person actually being racist. It’s enough just to potentially be a racist, even if your ideas are only questions.

The recent trouble at Yale University comes to mind. As Harris recounts: “These [Yale students] are among the most privileged kids in human history and they became moral and psychological invalids in response to a polite email about Halloween costumes.”

“We should eagerly accept moral and intellectual nuance into our conversations, even—perhaps especially—if the remarks offend.”

Here, we see a case where the liberal bias essentially folds in on itself. Often, these PC packages are bought wholesale with little critical thinking within the framework of the liberal progressive compendium. This is unfortunate for many reasons, not the least being that Professors Erika and Nicholas Christakis were unfairly ostracized for daring to bring a little more nuance into a heavily policed conversation. What they were hoping for was more dialogue, and what they were met with was bullheadedness.

We are applauded for reaching the same conclusion without even knowing the premises. They were merely echoing

ideas they had heard again and again and again. To be fair, they appear to have misunderstood the email. But that’s a problem too: should we not be taught how to think, instead of what to think?

Almost always, we need an opposing voice. Not simply to take up the role of devil’s advocate, but because if we are not able to hold a contrasting view in our mind, how are we even able to confirm that our views are right? It is a necessary and vital practice to hold debates, whether on the micro or macro level, otherwise we perpetuate a circle that sometimes collapses into itself.

We should allow and, I would argue, eagerly accept moral and intellectual nuance into our conversations, even if the remarks offend us. The same revolutionary thoughts that make one generation gasp are often the very same ones that the next take for granted. So I encourage us to stay curious, openminded, and critical of everyone’s ideas, including our own. Let us not box any one idea off as sacred or untouchable, because not being able to talk about something is a frightening society to live in. We must permit ourselves to be upset.

Someone like Ayaan Hirsi Ali can contend that Islamophobia is not real, but her voice will not get heard because it does not match the dominant cultural rhetoric. This is unfortunate not because she is necessarily right, but because she is not allowed to be publicly wrong. This phenomenon creates an odd and boring conversation if we are all just cawing at each other, sneering as we label so-andso “bigot” or “racist” at the first wrong word.

Photo provided by Hasibul Haque Sakib

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Miss World Canada banned from reaching China’s pageant

November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | opinions@thephoenixnews.com | Opinions Editor: Brittni Mackenzie-Dale

White supremacist trolls or racist students?

Canada commits to climate change

THE DANGERS OF OVER-SENSITIVE POLITICAL CORRECTNESS Why all forms of free speech, even the offensive, need to be protected Mark Dreger Current Affairs Editor Nothing has angered me more this month than watching the privileged students at Ivy League institutions whine about their hurt feelings because someone didn’t agree with their beliefs.

There, now that I’ve said those words I’m going to try to calmly and coherently explain the problem of this modern political correctness.

In a now infamous video of Yale students confronting Professor Nicholas Christakis, Christakis asked the students, “Who gets to decide what’s offensive?”

Two students reply, “When it hurts me.

When it’s offensive to me,” to which Christakis responds, “What if everybody

says, ‘I’m hurt,’ does that mean everyone else has to stop speaking?”

Christakis addresses an important question: Who decides what is offensive?

Some entitled people may answer the question like the two students above, but it needs to be clear that being offended is subjective: what offends you may not offend me and vice versa. People today, especially the younger generation, want to restrict anything that may be racially

THE (UN)IMPORTANCE OF BEING UGLY A societal bias towards the attractive often has us convinced this is innate

Brittni MacKenzie-Dale Opinions Editor

As kids, we learn quickly that physical attractiveness, or unattractiveness, carries with it a moral bias. This message begins in the stories our parents read to us in which the hero is often a pretty young girl or a dashingly handsome prince. The villain nurses big, oozing warts, a hooknose, and scraggly hair. We turn this into a false but prevailing dichotomy — good-looking equals good and physical anomalies equals bad.

We’re promised that we are these heroes, but if we are these heroes, the next logical step is to conclude that we will one day be beautiful too. Kids with crooked teeth dream of straight pearly whites; those with mismatched eyes or breasts or limbs romanticize being ‘fixed’; teenagers with sunken chests or heavy jaws imagine growing bigger or at least growing into their looks. It’s a damning and harmful narrative, though, and one that confuses children. It’s not only dishonest, but destructive. Sometimes, you don’t grow into your looks; sometimes you stay the ugly duckling. And that’s okay.

It would be naïve to pretend that, as a whole, society does not favor the lucky ones who were born with symmetrical bone structure, thick hair,

and proportionate bodies. But instead of convincing everyone that they are equally beautiful, let’s accept the truth: some people are more attractive than others.

This is not meant as a callous statement, but rather a hopeful one — bear with me.

In a classroom, children are allowed to be bad at mathematics. It is a ‘permitted’ failure. Some people fare well with statistics, graphs and numbers, while others experience panic attacks during an algebra exam. When a child complains about being bad at math, we do not try and change their mind. It would seem rather absurd to tell them “no, no, you’re good at math! Just in a different way!” while they are pulling 60s on exams.

Yet we do this very thing to those who complain that they are unattractive.

However, there is no need to redefine the word “beautiful”; we just have to stop putting it at the top of our list of desired qualities.

I can appreciate how this concept

“Instead of convincing everyone that they are equally beautiful, let’s accept the truth: some people are more attractive than others.”

“There is no need to redefine the word “beautiful”. We just have to stop putting it at the top of our list of desired qualities.”

Child free spaces

Aamir Khan

AMS Council

insensitive, classist, sexist, ageist, or some other ‘ist’ word the PC world can create.

In context, these are often reasonable concerns, but what about those offended by vulgar language, skin-revealing outfits, religious criticism, distasteful humour, feminism, or an ‘opposing side’ of the abortion debate? Should their concerns be heard as well and acted upon, or should they simply look away and cover their ears? The world is not a safe space of continuous comfort; it is a safe space for free speech.

In Erika Christakis’s ‘controversial’ email, she said that “American universities were once a safe space not only for maturation but also for a certain regressive, or even transgressive, experience; increasingly, it seems, they have become places of censure and prohibition.”

Erika is defining a “safe space” properly. A safe space should be defined as “a space where people have the freedom to express themselves without fear of discrimination for their ideas;” but some are defining it as “a space that disallows free expression to prevent offence or discomfort.” No longer is it freedom of speech, but freedom from speech. Those that use the latter definition may be wellintentioned individuals, but such an intolerant ideology is anti-democratic and extremely dangerous.

You cannot regulate what people say and still call your country a democracy.

Countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, and Eritrea rank terribly on the Press Freedom Index every year because when freedom of speech is reduced

and regulated, the less free and more totalitarian a nation becomes.

The Canadian Charter guarantees us the “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression” with “such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” The moment these freedoms get threatened, we need to unite and defend the right to free speech, even if it’s offensive and detested content.

I’ve been offended on campus. Heck, I’ve been offended reading articles from this very newspaper, but do I do anything about it? Of course not; I don’t care. They have their freedom of speech just as much as anyone else; it’s the very foundation of a democracy. If you’re offended, then be offended; nothing happens. But if you have to, discuss it with your peers and settle the dispute yourself. Don’t call for administrative intervention; university students are adults and should act like it. In Erika’s email she says “if you don’t like a costume someone is wearing, look away, or tell them you are offended. Talk to each other. Free speech and the ability to tolerate offence are the hallmarks of a free and open society.”

Freedom of speech, whether one agrees or takes offence, needs to be protected within the constitutional regulations. I will conclude with a nursery rhyme I heard when I was little and I still hold it close to my heart: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

might seem disheartening, but the reason an idea like this might cause offense is because we still do associate attractiveness with moral goodness. It is this outrageous problem we must fix, not our bodies.

We should encourage our children to accept and love themselves no matter what they look like. There are numerous other qualities in life that are much more respectable, desirable, and yes, attractive: determination, honesty, curiosity, gratitude, kindness, bravery, selflessness,

creativity, wit, and discipline, just to name a few. I do not say this to dismiss the very real pain of being bullied for our looks; I have been on the receiving end of many taunts. But our fairy tales can be re-written every day to show a myriad of different bodies and faces cast in familiar heroic roles. We should remain hopeful in the face of discrimination, and teach the simple truth that it is absolutely and morally okay to be unattractive.

Photo provided by the Warwick Department of Economics

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Novemeber 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | opinions@thephoenixnews.com | Opinions Editor: Brittni Mackenzie-Dale

CONTAINING THE SMOKE Why regulation of e-cigarettes is necessary for minors and public harmony Tim Horan, The Capilano Courier

Illustration by Natalie Murray./ The Capilano Courier

As we push forward through the 21st century, technology continues to advance at a staggering rate. This constant progression has allowed for innovations in fields that really did not need them. Breakthroughs have allowed for the digitalization of products that never really needed to be, like the highly controversial e-cigarette.

Electronic cigarettes or “vapes” are an electronic nicotine ingestion device that operates by heating a liquid made up of vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, nicotine, and flavouring, until it becomes vapour which is then inhaled through the mouthpiece. This liquid, called “juice,” is sold in vape shops that are becoming increasingly commonplace, and comes in a myriad of flavours ranging from Dr. Pepper, to strawberry, and even coffee. This juice also contains varying levels of nicotine, from ridiculously large concentrations to none at all.

Billed as an alternative to smoking, electronic cigarettes have become rampant in society. Anytime you’re walking around downtown you’re bound to run into some dude sucking on a vape, and subsequently voiding his lungs of a massive nicotinelaced cloud that smells like vanilla or strawberries. While this may kind of be off-putting sight to non-“vapers”, it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere any time soon.

The vaping industry is expected to gross

$3.5 billion, and since 2012, use of these devices has almost tripled.

As a response to the rising popularity of vapes, anti-vaping legislation has begun pop up in jurisdictions across Canada. While vapers insist that the smoke produced by vapes is not harmful to public health like that of cigarettes, there hasn’t been any significant research into what long-term health risks e-cigarettes could possibly pose to users and those around them. However, when looking at the ingredients present in the vape juice, it’s pretty easy to tell that they are, in fact, much less harmful than smoking. Aside from nicotine, there really isn’t anything too harmful in the juice.

Propylene glycol might sound gnarly, but it’s the same exact substance released by the fog machines at a concert. With this in mind, I find it incredibly difficult to find credibility in anyone who claims vapes should be regulated in the way cigarettes are.

However, I certainly don’t think people should be able to vape wherever they want to. Those who insist on vaping inside just because they don’t view it as harmful are borderline dicks. I’ve seen vape users on the bus, in the movie theatre and even in restaurants. While vaping may not pose the same health risks as cigarettes, this doesn’t mean there aren’t any. Also, aside from the potential health risks, vaping inside is pretty obnoxious. No one pays to see a film to have some douche flute blow clouds in their face.

Just because it smells like artificial fruit and doesn’t contain the same poisons as cigarette smoke doesn’t make it any less obnoxious.

Outside, who cares? But inside, everyone breathes that air and no one consented

for you to vape at them. That makes you a vapist.

Another issue facing the use of e-cigarettes is that they are being marketed and sold to teens not yet old enough to buy actual cigarettes. While I understand that if teens want to start smoking they’re going to find a way to do so, I don’t think it should be legal for them to obtain products containing nicotine. This is certainly a way in which I believe vapes should be legislated. It doesn’t make sense to allow kids to be introduced to products like these, especially when it is known that people don’t only get addicted to nicotine, but to the physical act of smoking.

We don’t need that to be introduced to our youth, especially when the specific health risks surrounding vaping are currently unknown.

Vaping has become an increasingly popular alternative to smoking. You can find people using them pretty much everywhere, and vape stores in Vancouver are popping up almost as fast as dispensaries. While I think that there should be legislation preventing sale to minors and indoor use, vapes do seem to provide a more effective way of helping wean smokers away from cigarettes, which is definitely something any city and province should get behind when considering the hindrance tobacco addiction is to our health system. And although research on vaping is still relatively narrow in scope, e-cigs seem to possess fewer negative side-effects than smoking.

It’s apparent that vapes are providing people with a safer alternative to cigarettes and personally I think that is enough to legitimize them. They may be the “fedora of smoking,” but they are easing pressure on our health system, which is positive for any city..

CHILD-FREE WOMEN OF THE 21ST CENTURY Brittni MacKenzie-Dale Opinions Editor

Though feminism has played an invaluable role in giving women the right to choose, there are still many obstacles to overcome. One of these is the decision to become a mother—and what deciding against it does for your reputation. While some readily accept this choice, many will not take any answer (especially “I just don’t want to”) as a satisfactory reason to deny motherhood.

Holly Brockwell, of London, has the following to say: As a woman, there are four little words I can say that invite more condescension than almost any others: “I don’t want children.”

But why? people ask, as if there’s a simple answer to why you viscerally, instinctively reject something that’s considered a fundamental part of humanhood.

Even in 2015, there is still a deeprooted stigma surrounding women who do not want children. They are allowed to not want children, but only to a certain point. In a world riddled with over-population, this seems an absurd reaction to an individual choice. But even in telling my own mother that I don’t want children, she happily conceded, saying: “of course

you don’t want children… yet.”

Despite the prevailing stigma, childless women are on the rise.

In light of these recent findings, we caught up with UBCO students and alumni to ask them a couple of questions: “Do you see children in your future? Do you think this will affect your career path?”

Lauren Harrison – PPE major: “I don’t see children in my future.

I am passionate about my career path — although I want to be careful here, because I do not think it’s necessarily vital to pick one or the other — and for me, personally, I don’t see myself achieving the level of success I want for myself while bearing and raising a child or two. I’ve also never thought of myself as maternal; although I strive to be compassionate and empathetic, when I see a small child I sort of go into panic mode.”

Cherie MacDonald – English major: “Absolutely no [to children]. I don’t want to be pregnant, I don’t want to nurse, and I don’t want to change diapers. Sure, there’s more to kids than that but I can only handle an hour or so of my niece before I’m desperate for my brother to take her back! I’m quite firm in this decision and my fiancé knows this and respects it.”

Kelsey Boyd – English major: “I kind of hate this question because I think it perpetuates a false binary. I think woman can, and do, make having children and having a job work all the time. But, yeah, it’s silly that women are still expected to have children or something’s considered… off… about them. For me, I have no idea if I will want children. Right now, yes, but who knows in three years when I’m graduated?”

Kate Eggleston – visual arts major: “I do see myself having children; however, when that will happen is still in the works for me. I feel that I still have a few years where there are so many things I want to do, and once I’ve completed those things, I feel the next step will be to become a mother. I want to be an artist, and I believe that can still be achievable even if I have children one day. The best course of action? If you want children, and you want a job wherein you are content, choose a situation where both can be easily accommodated. When you are ready to be a parent, you shouldn’t have to choose between one or the other.”

Graph provided by the UN Fertility Report 2013

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Opinions Editor: Brittni Mackenzie-Dale |opinions@thephoenixnews.com | The Phoenix | November 30th 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: SPEAKING UP FOR INCOMING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Eric Vukicevcich MSc. student, Biology Contributor If you haven’t heard, the UBC board of governors will be voting on a drastic increase in tuition fees for incoming international students. Beginning in May, depending on the specific program, the increases for new international undergraduates would increase up to 23.5% for 2016/2017, another 23.5% for 2017/2018, and an additional 15% for 2018/2019. For non-thesis based graduate programs, the increases for some programs will be up to 100% for 2016/2017, and 57.7% for both 2017/2018 and 2018/2019.

As an international student in a thesisbased program, I am unaffected directly by this proposal. However, as part of a (currently) vibrant graduate student community full of hardworking and for the most part financially-strapped individuals form all over the world, I feel I must weigh in. First of all, to argue that UBC must increase tuition drastically enough in the next three years to more closely resemble the (average) tuition costs associated with other leading universities in Canada and the US is faulty at best. Firstly, to compare us with leading universities in the states in terms of finances is to compare apples to oranges because the proportion of government funding is far less in the states, necessitating higher tuition costs.

If you are to compare only against the only two universities in Canada ranked higher than UBC (McGill and Toronto),

you find that our international tuition for undergraduates is a bit lower than that of Toronto, but about double that of McGill.

If you look at the international tuition for the other leading Canadian universities, you find variable international student tuition costs, mostly lower than the current level of UBC. This means that each university sets its tuition for international students based not on their ranking or perceived value of the education offered, but on any number of factors unrelated. So the argument given to us by the board that UBC is worldrenowned and thus should cost more must be thrown out. To argue this way is to say that a more expensive education is necessarily a better one and I really hope there no one who sits on the board of a publically funded University believes that to be the case. Furthermore, what would happen to international enrollment if the cost was drastically higher as proposed under these increases?

What makes a world-class university anyway? I, along with many others, would argue that learning at its most fundamental level happens through interaction between people: professors and students, students and students, TAs and students. UBC is known (and appreciated) worldwide as having a large international and diverse student body.

The proposed increases to international tuition will likely cause one or more of the following: a) select for an international student body based more heavily on socio-economic status; b) decrease international student enrollment; or (and) c) create serious financial

Graph provided by the University of British Columbia

hardships for international students. It is the diversity of our student body here in Kelowna, as well as in Vancouver that makes UBC the world-renowned institution of learning and innovation it is and this approach to increasing revenue would likely undermine this.

But what would they do with all that money anyway? Would this revenue benefit students? As you can see from the pie chart found on the consultation webpage, the majority would go into a ‘strategic investment fund’ which is described as vaguely as you might expect, even including the word ‘nimbleness.’

This probably isn’t fair, but I can’t help but picture jazzercise class at a place called Sunset Acres. They should at least have

a concrete plan for investing the money they will be taking from these students.

To me this is further evidence for this tuition hike as what it is: a money grab.

To quote “Vision and Values” from the UBC website: “As one of the world’s leading universities, The University of British Columbia creates an exceptional learning environment that fosters global citizenship, advances a civil and sustainable society, and supports outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada and the world.” Would this unprecedented tuition increase on international students help UBC foster global citizenship, advance a sustainable society, or serve the people of Canada and the world? Current students

need to speak up for those who follow in their footsteps and provide feedback to help UBC make the right decisions.

The danger is that those who make the decisions will never hear the students’ voice and will treat this university more and more like just another international business with profits and unsustainable and undirected growth as the goal.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: A RESPONSE TO THE FEE INCREASE Matthew Waterhouse and Andrew Veale Contributors

Currently the UBC Board of Governors UBCO is ‘proposing’ dramatically increased fees for international students of around 50% to “levels that reflect UBC’s standing as a global university and the value of a UBC degree”. I went to a meeting scheduled to discuss these proposed changes with the student body.

They explained that the rational for the proposed fee increases are that UBC would like to grow, create more courses, and hire new faculty – all noble desires.

Domestic students are heavily subsided by the provincial government, and fee increases for them are capped at 2 – 3% per year. International students already pay the full price of tuition without this subsidy, plus some extra on top that is pure profit that the university makes beyond what they get from a domestic student.

Unfortunately current projections predict that domestic enrolments will not increase greatly, nor will government subsidies or grants. If we want growth, we must increase international student numbers, or increase their fees. Luckily, they explained that there is no protection

for international students. These students do not pay taxes or vote therefore there is no political will to protect them. The Board of Governors have looked at price elasticity for tuition at UBC, and they believe that any loss of profit from any decrease in international enrollment would more than be offset by the increased fees paid per student. Thus the financially prudent thing to do is to milk international students for what we can.

The Board of Governors then invited feedback on this proposal, both online and at the university. This is where the dishonesty lies. The meeting at the university was scheduled late on a Friday afternoon, on a week where the university was shut on Wednesday and Thursday for holidays. If you really don’t want to consult students, this is precisely the time to schedule a meeting at university.

This makes it appear the university did everything required to discuss the proposed changes with students, but sadly no-one came, because no-one is interested obviously. At the meeting, which was attended by only a handful of students, many concerns were raised, and we were advised that we should submit these concerns on the website. This website had already been taken down as the consultation period had finished.

I have several problems with this series of events. First, I find milking international students for as much money as possible, treating them primarily as an income source to provide for university growth abhorrent. If the university isn’t naturally growing, why should we force growth by increasing fees? Along with this I feel that international students have a social value to our campus that goes far beyond the monetary value that we can obtain from them. Universities are, by the very definition of the word, cosmopolitan meeting places of the brightest minds in the world. Thus a happy healthy international student body is an important prerequisite for a prestigious university and not a source of extra revenue when other avenues have dried up. In Kelowna, the university bringing international students adds diversity to an otherwise sorely vanilla society. Any decrease in diversity means we all lose what university is meant to provide – varied prospective. Lastly but most importantly, I feel the process for making this decision was deliberately covert. If, as a society we chose to increase fees for international students, then I would accept that. This wasn’t our choice though, and the consultation process was an obvious box-ticking exercise for

those in power in order to push through a decision that was already decided upon.

No this will not affect your fees as this fee increased will be staggered so that only future international students will bare its onerous burden. But, as Voltaire said, “il est coupable de tout le bien qu’il ne fait pas” - “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do”. We should have the power to do good in this instance, and we as a student body should feel the injustice of this. Or at the very least, I would expect a world leading university

to be driven by the ideals of intellect not the cold calculation of the free market.

Photo by Charles To / The Ubyssey

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November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | sports@thephoenixnews.com | Sports Editor: Grayson B. Leahy

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HEAT MEN’S VOLLEYBALL STRUGGLING Our men’s volleyball look to turn their season around in the new year Grayson B. Leahy Sports Editor

On Saturday, November 21, we saw all four of our active Heat teams come out victorious.

This is only the fourth time this has happened since the Heat transitioned into the CIS, and the first time since November 24, 2014. The men’s volleyball team, despite coming away with a win on Saturday, is the side struggling the most out of the four. Each of the men and women’s teams in both volleyball and basketball may have won, but not all are winning consistently.

While the Heat men’s volleyball program has been arguably the most successful and most popular over the last few years, their start to the 2015/16 season has left something to be desired, both for the team and for those who actively cheer them on.

With an overall record of eight wins and eleven losses, including a conference record of two wins and eight losses in Canada West, the men’s squad is not having its best year. Until their win on Saturday, the Heat had been on a seven-game losing streak with their last win being their first of the conference season on October 17th. During the seven game slide, the men suffered three clean sweeps and only took matches to a full five sets twice.

Two of the losses happened here at UBCO against Winnipeg, and while the set scores in both games were close, the losses left the home crowd disappointed.

With final scores of 3-1 and 3-0

HEAT WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL #3 IN CIS The UBCO ladies have lost only one match all season, and have now won four in a row Grayson B. Leahy Sports Editor Up until Hallowe’en, our UBCO Heat Volleyball Women were ranked number one in the CIS Top Ten. On Hallowe’en they lost their first match of the season to the University of Winnipeg, in the second of two contests that weekend. Since then, they’ve won every game and are sitting strong at the number three spot on the Top Ten. The Heat have faced the University of Calgary (Nov. 13 & 14) and Brandon University (Nov 20 & 21) since losing to Winnipeg, and in those four matches

they’ve only dropped a single set. Playing on the road against both teams, they haven’t seemed phased by the travel or the unfriendly crowds.

Playing against Calgary, whom the Heat had already beaten in an exhibition match back on September 18, neither match was all that close in the end. With final scores of 3-1 and 3-0, both matches were won handily. In the first match against the Dinos, the standout statistic was the Heat’s 68 kills to Calgary’s 40.

Of those 68 kills, outside hitters Megan Festival and Brianna Beamish recorded 20 and 16 respectively.

The second match in Calgary was an even more dominant performance, with the Heat winning by a clean sweep of the first three sets. They shut down the Dinos’ hitters, holding them to a kill

in favour of Winnipeg, the Heat fans were not treated to the show that they’ve grown accustomed to when the Heat play at home.

The most recent win, though, may hint that the Heat men are moving in the right direction.

Splitting the weekend series with the Brandon University Bobcats in Manitoba, the second game was by far more impressive.

Winning the game by a score of three sets to two, the Heat were not necessarily dominant, but they walked off the court with a W. The road win could signal a turnaround for the Heat, as they have a home-and-home series against Thompson Rivers University coming up for their last two matches before the winter break. The rivalry rarely disappoints, and the Heat have traditionally played up to their competition, especially when it comes to their rivals at TRU. The season picks up again for the Heat volleyball men on January 8 and 9 in Manitoba against the University of Manitoba, and then they come home for a four game stand against the Universities of Alberta (Jan. 15 & 16) and British Columbia (Jan. 29 & 30). With the break between semesters followed up quickly by four games in front of friendly (and hopefully a little rowdy) home crowds, the New Year has the potential to mark a new beginning for this season’s team. With their final game not coming until February 20th, there is time for the Heat to turn their season around for the 2016 portion of this CIS season.

Photo by Sarah James/ The Phoenix News

percentage of .042 for the match. Middle Katy Klomps led the team’s impressive defensive effort with seven total blocks for the match.

The momentum from the back-toback wins against Calgary picked up in Manitoba, where the Heat ladies earned themselves a pair of clean sweep victories against Brandon University’s Bobcats.

The November 20th contest saw the Heat win three sets to none, with set scores of 25-17, 25-21, 25-19. The team looked to be on a roll with Beamish and Klomps leading the team once again, with 12 kills and 6 total blocks respectively. With team totals of 45 kills and 16 blocks, to the Bobcats’ 29 and 5, the contest was sufficiently one-sided.

The second of the two matches at Brandon was another three-set win for the Heat, with much more one-sided set

scores of 25-19, 25-7, 25-18. Improving on their last performance once again, the Heat recorded an even more impressive victory statistically against an outmatched Brandon team. Five players on the Heat recorded 6 or more kills each, for a team total of 38 kills to the Bobcats’ 21. Defensively, the Heat were a wall; the Bobcats finished the match with a -.059 kill percentage.

With four wins in a row following their first and only loss so far this season, the Heat women look to be on a mission to keep it the only one. Their play has been steadily more impressive, and with two final games in a home-and-home series against rivals Thompson Rivers University to close out the 2015 half of the 2015/16 Conference season, the team could put themselves on a track to ride

into 2016 on a very respectable winning streak.

With only one loss and a string of consistently dominant performances so far this season, the Heat look as if they could make this season one of their best ever. Their schedule isn’t overwhelming during the second half of the season, and their core group are quickly becoming some of the most intimidating players in the Canada West Conference. If they keep going the way they’re going, we’re going to have ourselves a hell of a second half as spectators and fans.

November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | sports@thephoenixnews.com | Sportd Editor: Grayson B. Leahy

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EXCITING FIRST HALF OF SEASON FOR HEAT BASKETBALL UBCO Men’s Basketball showed us they know how to go out in style Grayson B. Leahy Sports Editor

Our men’s basketball team is off to a good start this season. As of November 24, they’ve managed to earn themselves an overall record of seven wins and five losses, and a .500 record in their conference contests, with three wins and three losses against Canada West teams. With their two home games against Mount Royal University on Friday November 20 and Saturday November 21, the Heat closed out their schedule of home games prior to the winter break.

In order to end up with a three-

and-three record so far, our Heat men have won three games in a row against Canada West opponents.

Heading into their final pair of games on the road at MacEwan in Edmonton before the end of the semester, the team looks great. Their first three games of the season were losses — the first two were on the road against the University of the Fraser Valley (Nov. 6 & 7) and the third at home against the University of Northern British Columbia (Nov. 13). The turnaround started with their second game against UNBC (Nov. 14), with the Heat men earning their first win of the season by a score of 78-57 over the Timberwolves.

The win was the first of three home wins in a row at UBCO, with the Heat winning both games

against the visiting Mount Royal Cougars (Nov. 20 & 21). The first game against the Cougars ended with a somewhat lopsided final score of 73-58, in favour of the Heat. The team led by a 23-point performance from guard Aldrich Berrios, who made six of fifteen from the floor on top of three scores from beyond the arc, and pulled down seven defensive rebounds for good measure. Forward Dean Johnston piled on as well with 18 points of his own and an impressive eight made shots on eleven attempts.

As a team, the Heat shot a respectable 45.6 field goal percentage on the Friday night game against Mount Royal, as well as 33.3% from behind the three-

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point line.

The following night, the Heat men made their final home game of 2015 one to remember. The November 21 contest was arguably the most exciting of the season so far, with the Heat just barely pulling out the win by a final score of 87-84.

The last home game of the calendar year, and it was a hell of a show.

At half-time, the Heat were trailing the Cougars by ten points 45-35. With the resumption of play after the half, the game started to go the Heat’s way, with the team scoring 26 points in the third quarter, led by 11 points from reserve guard Randall Mosca. The Heat didn’t miss a free throw in the quarter, sinking all eight attempts.

Defensively, they started to buckle down, holding Mount Royal to 22 points.

The fourth quarter started with the Heat down to the Cougars by a score of 67 to 61. In the final quarter, the Heat did not miss a single shot from the three-point range, with guards Aldrich Berrios and Randall Mosca taking and making two threes apiece. Mosca was on a tear in the final ten minutes of the game, scoring 18 points in the final frame.

He also didn’t miss any of his free throw attempts.

The heroics, though, came from Aldrich Berrios. With just under twenty seconds left in the game, forward Dean Johnston scored off his own rebound to pull the Heat within 83-81. The Cougars then made one of two free throws following a personal foul against the Heat, with the first attempt missing to a raucous cheer from the Heat fans in attendance. Following the successful second free throw, the Heat quickly inbounded the ball to Berrios, who raced up the floor, stopped two feet short of the three-point line, and promptly tied the game up at 84 apiece with 0.8 seconds left on the clock.

Coming out a timeout following

Photos by Greystoke Photography

CANADA WEST THREE STARS OF THE WEEK: NOVEMBER 24TH, 2015

Female First Star: Claire Colborne, Calgary Dinos Basketball 5th year Guard

Male First Star: Ryley Barnes, Alberta Golden Bears Volleyball 4th year Left Side/Right Side

the score from Berrios, the Cougars immediately tried an alley-oop right off the inbound, but the ball went out of bounds untouched with no game time elapsed. Retaking possession with 0.8 seconds left, the Heat had to inbound the ball from the sideline of their own half. With a quick inbound pass from Mosca, Berrios had barely enough time to step on the half-court line and let it fly. In one of the most incredible moments of Heat basketball I’ve ever seen, the buzzer sounded, and then the half-court hurl hit nothing but net, and Berrios put the Heat up with a final score of 87-84. The Heat bench cleared as everyone rushed to meet the game’s last-second hero just in front of bleachers full of awed Heat fans.

While the second-year guard was the one getting mobbed at the end of the game for his last-second bucket, in his post-game interview he made it clear that he didn’t win alone. “A lot of credit has to go to Randall [Mosca] and the rest of the team for fighting and clawing our way back into that game,” Berrios said of the stunning Saturday night win. He continued, “That was our game to win, our game to take, and we did it.”

The selflessness from a star on the team is indicative of the type of basketball the Heat men have been playing this year, and it’s one of the big reasons they have a winning record thus far. The team finishes up the 2015 portion of the season with two games against MacEwan, whom they look in good position to beat, especially following a game like Saturday’s. The season will pick up after the winter break with two home games for the heat against Thompson Rivers, on Friday, January 8 and Saturday, January 9.

It looks like it could be an exciting year of Heat basketball to watch.

Female Second Star: Kylie Gavelin, Regina Cougars Hockey 4th year Forward

Photos by the players Athletic Departments

Male Second Star: Austin Vetterl, UBC Thunderbirds Hockey 1st year Forward

Male Third Star: Aldrich Berrios, UBC Okanagan Heat Basketball 2nd year Guard

19

November 30th 2015 | The Phoenix | sports@thephoenixnews.com | Sports Editor: Grayson B. Leahy

Our cover models: Kate DeJong and Brianna Beamish Kate: “We love dinosaurs, especially pterodactyls so we tend to make a lot of pterodactyl noises at each other. We frequently break out in song or dance and are always in sync.”

Brianna: “We get called twins or sisters all the time. I’m obsessed with penguins. Kate is basically a grandma (knits, cooks, ect.) Big Nick Jonas fans. We are basically an old married couple- we finsh each other’s sentences, I have to open all the jars in the house because she has zero grip strength and we do a lot of the same things.”

UBCO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ON A ROLL Heat women look set to win most games in a season since joining CIS Grayson B. Leahy Sports Editor

With only one loss so far in the Canada West Conference season, the UBCO women’s basketball team has had an impressive start. After losing their first game of the conference season against the University of the Fraser Valley, the Heat have won every game since. With an overall record for the season of eight wins and six losses, and a conference record of five wins and one loss, our women’s team has been on a tear through the stretch heading into the Christmas break. Over the five game winning streak, the Heat have scored a collective 334 points while giving up only 260.

The first victory for the Heat women this season came in their second game, against the University of the Fraser Valley, in Abbotsford.

After losing their first game against the Cascades, the Heat bounced back to earn their first win with a final score of 63-58. The five-point margin is the smallest of all the Heat wins.

After two games in Abbotsford to start the season, the Heat came back to UBCO for a four game home stand, hosting first the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves (Nov. 13 & 14), and then the Mount Royal Cougars (Nov. 20 & 21). In the first game against UNBC, the team saw some improvement upon their performance against UFV, winning by a final score of 67-61. After that, the Heat seem to have stepped it up a notch, and have won each of their three games since by at least twenty points.

The Heat’s second game against the

UNBC Timberwolves saw UBCO forward Shenelle Tamminen come off the bench to lead the team in scoring with 12 points. Tamminen’s points came on 3 of 7 made field goals, two three-pointers, and a perfect four-for-four night from the free-throw line. As a team, the Heat had 34 rebounds and 11 assists on the evening. Defensively, the Heat held the Timberwolves to a shooting percentage of only 37.5%, with starting guard Claire Elliott leading

The Heat’s most recent game to date was also arguably their most impressive, and the most definitive in terms of margin of victory.

the team in forced turnovers with three steals. The Heat went on to win the November 14 contest by twentyone points, with a final score of 7049.

Playing at home again the next weekend, the Heat started their first game in a dominant fashion, outscoring the Mount Royal Cougars 20-7 in the first quarter. They kept up the energy, and beat the Cougars in every quarter of the game. The leading Heat scorer in the contest was starting guard Emily Kanester, with 13 points on 5 of 9 made field goals, one three-pointer, and 2 of 2 from the free throw line. Claire Elliott

once again led the Heat with six of the team’s impressive fourteen steals.

The Cougar’s shot a better percentage (39.6% over the Heat’s 35.8%) but the Heat forced 31 turnovers and pulled down 42 total rebounds in another dominant victory. The November 20 final score was 70-50 in favour of UBC Okanagan.

The Heat’s most recent game to date was also arguably their most impressive, and the most definitive in terms of margin of victory. The final score on November 21 was UBCO 64 - MRU 42. Every single player, starters and reserves alike, got in on the scoring. The team had an outstanding sixteen total assists, leading to seven of the twelve dressed Heat players scoring more than five points. Starting guard Claire Elliott, and reserve centre Robyn AulinHaynes led the team in scoring with nine points apiece. Starting guard Emily Kanester led in steals with five, reserve forward Jordan Korol led in rebounds with ten, and Claire Elliot led her second team category with five assists. The Heat defense was impressive again, forcing 36 turnovers and holding the Cougars to a low 28.8% shooting (16.7% from three-point range).

The general trend for the Heat’s play is definitely heading in the right direction, with their offensive and defensive performances looking more dominant with each game. With only two games left before the midseason winter break, the Heat look to be working towards a powerful start to 2016. They travel to MacEwan in Edmonton to face the Griffins on the annual ‘Shoot for a Cure’ weekend, with the games starting at 5:00PM on Friday, November 27 and at 4:00PM on Saturday, November 28.

Photo of the week by Nikos Schwelm A photo taken on a VOCO trip to Smith Rock this November