Vol. 25, Issue 01

KELOHA MUSIC FEST

UBCO’s Student Newspaper

Photos and Interviews - Page 12

September 3, 2012 | Vol. 24 Issue 1

...rising out of a summer daze since 1989

Back To Books

Just in time for the 2012-13 school year, UBC’s Okanagan campus completes its long-awaited overhaul of the university library. The Phoenix has the scoop on the renovations in this year’s first feature.

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

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Features

Arts

Editor-in-chief: Cameron Welch

editorinchief@thephoenixnews.com

Art Director: Nadine Bradshaw artdirector@thephoenixnews.com

News

Photo Editor: Hanss Lujan

photo@thephoenixnews.com

Copy Editor: Gavin Gamache copy@thephoenixnews.com

News Editor: Tom Macauley

• BC Transit changes debut • SU plans for the school year • Info on housing costs in Kelowna

• UBCO’s library renovations • Keloha coverage

• Facebook and Google expanding • Obituaries: Scott, Crist, Sarris • Saying farewell to Weeds

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Sports

Opinions

UBCSUO

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Features Editor: Rumnique Nannar features@thephoenixnews.com

Arts Editor: Janelle Sheppard arts@thephoenixnews.com

Events Editor: Laura Sciarpelletti events@thephoenixnews.com

Sports Editor: Jesse Shopa

sports@thephoenixnews.com

Opinions Editor: Matt Lauzon

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Staff Writer: Brandon Taylor writer@thephoenixnews.com Online Editor: Amber Choo online@thephoenixnews.com Ad Sales Rep: Brendan Savage ads@thephoenixnews.com

Managing Editor: Alex Eastman

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• UBCO Heat previews • MLB’s Dodgers overspending after new owners

• Pussy Riot vs. Russia • Augusta golf accepts Rice & Moore • Ten tips for university life

• Introduction to your new Student’s Union!

Distributor: Blake Ouellet intern@thephoenixnews.com Contributors: Dave Theodore, Leah Sanford, Jess Taillon, Tim Krupa, Joel Krupa

Blake Ouellet

Cover Photo by Hanss Lujan (The Phoenix).

Phoenix Intern

The Phoenix is the UBC-O students’ free press. Editorial content is separate from the Student’s Governing Body (UBCSUO) and from the institution at large.

The editorial staff encourages everyone to submit material to the Phoenix but reserves the right to withdraw submissions from publication for any reason. “Any reason” could be material deemed to be sexist, racist, homophobic, or of poor taste or quality.

The Phoenix

will not publish materials which condone, promote, or express actions which are illegal under current laws.

This does not include articles which provide an in-depth examination of both sides of a controversial subject (e.g. legalising marijuana).

We welcome letters: Letters should be typed, doublespaced, under 300 words, and either left with or mailed to the Phoenix office. Your name and phone number must be included. Anonymity may be granted at the discretion of the editorial staff of the Phoenix.

Electronic Submissions:

Submissions on disk should

include a hard copy. We ask that you save contributions on disk in “Text Only” or “RTF” formats, or attach documents to an email.

The Phoenix is published, in part by: The University of British Columbia Students’ Union Okanagan (UBCSUO) and is an active member of the Canadian University Press

www.ubcsuo.ca

Curtis Road ruling handed down by BC Supreme Court

www.cup.ca

After a May 31 BC Supreme Court ruling, commuting to the university became much tougher for its Glenmore residents.

For several years, Curtis Road has been a popular shortcut for UBCO’s faculty and students trying to travel efficiently to the school. However, the back road that wraps around the south side of Robert Lake behind the university has become a magnet for controversy.

Four of the road’s residents fought to cut off access for the last 10 years, dating back to the days of Okanagan University College, and with the recent ruling they have finally achieved their goal.

With the ruling, the road has become a private easement, allowing only residents of the road to use it. This means that commuters, joggers, cyclists, and students on field trips no longer have access to the road.

Despite this, the ruling against the university isn’t completely one-sided.

In a press release in early June, university counsel states that “media reports

of the decision and what it means to the continued use of that road have not been accurate.” It follows by noting that some faculty and students do retain a right to use the road, saying that “employees, students and invitees who have a legitimate purpose to use the buildings or facilities on Parking Lots G, K or M; the Health Sciences and the Fine Arts/Health buildings are permitted to continue to use Curtis Road for access”.

Other than for use of those facilities, the road is not to be used solely for the purpose of university campus access. The gate is required to remain open for those who are allowed to use it.

On June 29, the university filed a notice to appeal the decision, suggesting that the move was simply a precautionary measure in the circumstance that a full mutual agreement can’t be reached.

There is nothing official in regards to an alternate route to the school.

Until the appeal process progresses, the initial May 31 court decision still stands and the rules that come with it are still in place. Despite the

inconvenience that this causes many students, the allowances in the ruling allow for a certain amount of freedom to use the road that will hopefully suffice until a concrete decision is reached.

“Unless the frequency of the number 6 bus (Glemore to UBCO) is increased, I have to go down to the mall, then back up to the university, adding an extra hour to my commute every day,” explained UBCO student and Glenmore resident Rachel Throop. The 6 only runs four times in the morning to the school, and returns through Glenmore four times in the afternoon. The city of Kelowna cut the service of the bus this summer completely, despite many complaints from students and faculty attending the university throughout the summer.

Unless changes are made, Glenmorebased students and faculty will be forced to either take transit for an extended period of time, cycle on highway 97, or pay the extra expenses that come with driving: all options that most would eagerly avoid.

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A comical review of the summer’s political highlights Tim and Joel Krupa Contributors

It’s hard to believe, but while we were spending our summers sipping over-priced martinis, increasing our risk of skin cancer, and “saving money,” the world didn’t stop and wait for our return. Here’s a brief rundown to get you caught up on recent political happenings.

As spring turned to summer, most Canadians hung up their skates and dusted off the golf clubs. Others chose to replace their skis in favour of the wakeboard. Prime Minister Stephen Harper opted for a slightly more extreme approach as he retired his gas-powered snow blower and took out a blow torch, taking aim at several critical social and environmental programs of interest to Canadians from coast to coast.

Harper’s focus centred on a massive omnibus budget bill affecting 70 federal laws and a systematic dismantling of several crucial government agencies. Environmental regulation, Aboriginal consultation processes, Old Age Security, meat inspection

regulations; few special interest groups — other than industry — were spared. Some funding cuts were particularly eyebrowraising. The Experimental Lakes Area, a world-renowned ecosystem research station and a hotbed of Canadian-led scientific achievement, will be abruptly shut down, as will the innovative non-partisan National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. This series of short-sighted actions (among others) culminated in a rally by scientists and physicians on Parliament Hill to grieve the “death of evidence.”

The Prime Minister elected not to attend the funeral.

Ottawa wasn’t the only Canadian city to experience political unrest. Quebec students kicked off summer with a bang, flooding the streets to protest tuition hikes. Students were initially objecting to a $325 per year increase over a five year period. This plan was revised, and Jean Charest’s Liberals most recent offer to students was $232 per year over

seven years. Quebec students currently pay the lowest tuition in the country— a full-time yearly average of $2,519 compared to British Columbia’s $4,852 (fourth lowest).

Several Quebec students continued protesting over the past few days as courses resumed at schools where the last winter term was suspended. Experts predict that students at UBC Okanagan and other BC institutions will take a more docile approach to education reform: learning in classrooms while simultaneously using cutting-edge technologies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Our French friends overseas also experienced change, welcoming new President François Hollande of the Socialist Party, who narrowly beat out incumbent conservative Nicolas Sarkozy. As is the hallmark of many a political campaign, Hollande’s promises were big on enticing sound bites, but short on specifics. He would like to promote ‘growth’ in the Eurozone and

Mitt Romney, the new Republican candidate for President of the United States.

shift French economic policy away from the austerity measures favoured by some of France’s creditors. However, this is easier said than done, and France will need clever governance to cope with a plethora of demographic, economic, social, and environmental problems that are certain to emerge in coming years.

While it remains unclear how he will navigate these potentially treacherous waters, Hollande has proven himself remarkably adept at another cherished French pastime — maintaining a relationship with a woman who is not his wife. A June tweet from Hollande’s newest partner took a dig at his ex. It should be interesting to see how this turns out!

Finally, in case you haven’t had access to television, radio, or internet for the past year: Mitt Romney officially emerged on August 30th as the Republican candidate for the November 2012 US presidential election.

Romney — a notorious flipflopper, former pro-choicer, and

practicing Mormon – was able to overcome initial uneasiness from the Republican evangelical Christian base and an astonishing lack of charm to assume the unenviable position of taking on the highly likeable Barack Obama.

One of Romney’s major campaign promises is to repeal ‘Obamacare’ — an interesting proposition given that Romney was the political architect responsible for the implementation of a similar healthcare model when he was the Governor of Massachusetts. Going forward, much of the debate will revolve around the sustainability of various entitlement programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — problems of particular interest to the poor, sick, and the elderly, but certainly not of utmost importance to the rich, healthy, and perennially sun-kissed former Guv (estimated Romney net worth: US$250 million).

Now, back to the world and back to the books!

Photo by VoteTimScott1 (flickr)

News

Tom Macauley

news@thephoenixnews.com

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Transit changes benefit UBCO Quail Ridge route added, 97 hours extended Cameron Welch Editor-in-chief

This semester, the Kelowna Regional Transit System will debut some significant changes, many of them directly affecting UBCO students. The 97 Express line has been extended from downtown Kelowna through into West Kelowna and its Friday and Saturday hours have been significantly extended to accommodate late-night riders. Mewanwhile, a Quail Ridge route has been added.

UBCO has been pushing for changes like these for the past several years through the UBCSUO’s role on Kelowna’s Post Secondary Transportation Committee. “The Board of Directors is incredibly impressed with the new changes to the BC Transit System in Kelowna,” said UBCSUO External Co-ordinator Sam Chang. “Even though the bus routes and schedules have improved, the UBCSUO will continue to advocate for more frequent bus service and better transit routes.”

Transit competes with other City of Kelowna services in the budget, so service additions depend on both how much the City designates for transit and how and where Regional Transit chooses to maximize that funding. Currently and in the near future, transit decisions are based around the Transit Future Plan, the master plan for improving Kelowna’s transit system. The plan calls for a Rapid Transit Network running through the city (the 97), a Frequent Transit Network of direct regular routes servicing the city’s main areas, and a Local Transit Network of community buses

branching off from the FTN to service outlying areas. Most changes to the system adhere closely to the Transit Future Plan, but outside input also factors into updates.

“The Quail Ridge trial service is an example of this,” Kelowna Regional Transit representative Mike Kittmer said, “where demand for the service moved it up in the priority level.”

Kittmer went on to explain how the system will further change in the coming years. “Our priority remains on the development of the FTN core lines.

This means restructuring many routes to provide more direct, faster alignments, less deviations and loops and, over time, more frequent service.”

He specified that “We’re proposing restructuring of routes in the central part of the City (routes 8 , 11, 2, 9) as well as the addition of a new FTN route on Gordon Drive operating between downtown Kelowna and Mission Recreation Park.”

Other future plans include new RapidBus stops at 97 & Richter and 97 & Gordon, a new bus exchange in Rutland, upgrades to the downtown Queensway exchange as well as to the OC and Mission Park exchanges.

Most of these major changes are tentatively slated for 2014 and/ or 2015. The system is unlikely to see any significant changes in 2013 apart from small adjustments to key routes (similar to the minor 2011 updates to address capacity issues on the

8 and 97).

The impact of the new route changes will be examined over the next year using ridership data and user feedback. Beyond just riding the bus, students can affect the future of the system by relaying their feedback to the Students’ Union.

The new changes:

97

Most 97 RapidBus runs will now continue to West Kelowna after arriving at the downtown exchange, replacing the majority of the 21 Glenrosa route.

Previously, the 97 ran on the :12 and :42 of every hour in the morning and afternoon, then switched over to the :01 and :31 during the evening. It will now leave at the :00 and :30 in the day, and on the :20 and :50 during the evenings.

On Friday and Saturday the 97 will run until 1:50 (leaving campus) and 2:20 (leaving downtown).

In the past, the last 97 runs left campus at 1:30 and Queensway at 12:05.

4&6

After a summer hiatus, the 4 Pandosy/UBCO Express and 6 Glenmore/UBCO route are back and will run at the same times they did in 2011/2012, with the exception of the 6’s first afternoon run, which will now leave campus at 3:10 rather than 3:20.

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The 13 Quail Ridge will leave campus every half hour on weekday mornings from 7:00 to 10:00 and afternoons from 2:30 to 6:00.

The new #13 Quail Ridge route

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The 8 will remain mostly unchanged apart from the addition of two abbreviated mall-to-campus runs on weekdays leaving Orchard Park at 3:38 and 4:40, and some minor two-minute changes to the Saturday schedule.

Photo from bctransit.com

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The 23 Lake Country has added nine new runs between 10 am and 4:30 pm.

90

The #90 to Vernon has not added any new runs this semester.

Jumpstart aids international students Support programs help with adjustments to campus life Leah Sanford

Jumpstart Coordinator

With 118 participants representing more than 40 countries, UBC Okanagan’s Jumpstart program for new international students is becoming a cornerstone in the orientation process.

As approximately 10% of students at UBCO this year are of international origin, this does not come as a surprise to many.

The purpose of Jumpstart is to provide first year international students the opportunity to have a head start in their transition to a new country, city, and

culture. Jumpstart is a weeklong orientation program that provides a balanced mix of excursions that shows new students all that the Okanagan has to offer, as well as preparing them for their upcoming academic year. Jumpstart assistants are international students themselves who have gone through similar challenges that new students will face, and are a key part in providing as smooth of a transition to life in Canada as possible.

The Jumpstart program also helps students to settle into Canada by facilitating the important bureaucratic matters that always occur after arriving in a new country including a opening a bank account, cell phone, and registering for the BC Medical Services Plan.

Jumpstart offers a number of academically focused sessions throughout the week including our comprehensive four part University Success series, and Faculty Breakout Sessions,

which provide an opportunity for students to interact with peers from their faculty as well as meet faculty members. Finally, there are a number of information sessions explaining the many services that are available for student on campus that can help them in many areas of life including academics, health and wellness, and career development.

Jumpstart is also an integral part of the broader UBC strategy of Internationalization at

Home (IaH) by increasing the number of international students at UBC’s Okanagan campus and simultaneously increasing the level of interaction with domestic students. As part of our comprehensive strategy of IaH, we have coordinated our events with Kickstart ­­ — the orientation program for out-of-province domestic students — so that domestic and international students interact from their first days at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

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September 03, 2012

Summer better than others New UBCSUO makes significant changes over summer Tom Macauley News Editor

The UBC Students’ Union Okanagan has gone through significant changes over the past four months. Since Students in Action took office on May 1st, the Well Pub has been remodeled, the website has been remade, and the students’ union has teamed up with the University’s Student Life department to host ‘Create’, UBC Okanagan’s orientation for new students. Here are some things to look out for in September with the new students’ union and some things they have been working on this summer:

Transparency and UBCSUO.ca After leaving no doubt of confidence in the last Students’ Union election, the new council has high expectations going into the fall semester. According to Curtis Tse, the Financial Coordinator and Executive Chair of the UBCSUO, the council is looking to meet and

exceed expectations of students while also fulfilling promises made throughout the Students in Action campaign in March.

“What we’ve focused on primarily this summer is transparency. With the new website students will be able to access information on everything from the Students’ Union Budget to our Bylaws.” said Tse.

More money Though the budget for 20122013 has not been posted online yet, according to Tse’s projections the Student Life budget will sit at approximately $60,000. This is a major change in budgeting considering that student life last year received $25,000. Tse also said that there has been a summer budget in place to fund such projects as the Well renovation and Create.

Last year under the administration of Students 4 Students, the budget was a topic of popular debate. Student life monies are

allocated for events and activities hosted by the Students’ Union. Keep your eyes open for more frequent and elaborate events.

The Well Most of these changes of course will pale in comparison to the long-anticipated Grand Opening of the remodeled Well Pub. The grand opening is set to take place on Wednesday, September 1st. The remodeled Well is the Students’ Union’s best-kept secret at the moment and is rumored to have some major surprises including a new layout and paint job.

set of events but will contribute to an overall set of events for the opening week of school including concerts, beach days, and much more.

With the same attitude for partnership, the Students’ Union will also be partnering with UBCO.tv and our team at The Phoenix for more extensive media coverage of UBCSUO events and activities on campus.

Heading this media team is UBCSUO External Coordinator Sam Chang, who instigated the new media team as a way to facilitate the monthly SU update videos he promised during last semester’s election campaign.

“We are very excited about this project, its going to open up the lines of communication while putting all forms of media at UBCO on the same page.” said Chang.

Partnership with the institution Unlike years past, the Students’ Union is making an effort to work closer with the University. Starting with Create, the Students’ Union will no longer host its own “Big Bang”

P.E.I. eliminates interest on student loans Financial relief for students in the maritime province Jess Taillon Contributor

2013 will be a defining year for British Columbia on the issue of post-secondary education. On May 14th, British Columbians will head to the polls and vote for a new government.

With several resignations already set to take place, the current government will also be looking for a fresh beginning in May. While British Columbia decides whether or not it wants a NDP government that has promised to invest 100 million dollars in a new front-end student grant program or the current government that is wanting to get the best out of the current student financial aid program— provinces like Prince Edward Island are already making some changes.

While its neighbours in Quebec battle over tuition fees, Canada’s smallest province has now made an effort to get on the side of their students and have done away with interest rates on student loans. While Newfoundland and Labrador had already

eliminated interest rates on student loans in 2009, P.E.I. is the first province to cut interest all the way back to 2001.

The initial amounts that students receive from financial aid is only part of the debt totals that are to be repaid; high interest rates with minimal grace periods make up the rest. Student debt in Canada currently sits at $20 billion. Canadian students can see an average of $27,000 in debt upon graduation and a variation of interest rates that fall under provincial jurisdiction. British Columbian students face interest rates that sit at prime plus 2.5%.

“Charging interest on student loans is basically a tax on the poor,” said Zach Crispin, a spokesperson for the Canadian Federation of Students-BC. “If you cannot afford to pay your tuition fees up front, interest charges on student loans guarantee that you will pay thousands of dollars more than those who didn’t need to borrow.”

“Post-secondary education in BC is a debt sentence for too many families. Reducing tuition fees and eliminating punitive interest rates will help make post-secondary more affordable for all British Columbians,” said Crispin.

PE.I.’s interest reduction aims to encourage post-secondary education by making it more affordable and accessible. The zero percent interest rates take effect on October 1 of this year, but only apply to individuals who have been living in the province for twelve months.

In times where it is of increasng importance to be university-educated, provincial governments have generally been slow in moving towards affordable means of education, but P.E.I.’s bold move may spur change elsewhere in the country. For now, students with debt from post-secondary education can only hope to see this move catch on with other provinces.

P.E.I. Premier Robert Ghiz.

Photo by BC Gov Photos(flickr)

News

September 03, 2012

The Terry Fox Run starts at the Campus courtyard on the 16th.

| The Phoenix

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Graphic by Hanss Lujan (The Phoenix)

Terry comes to campus

UBCO hosts its own Terry Fox Run September 16th Cameron Welch

Editor-in-chief and TFR Kelowna volunteer

This year, the Run will be close enough to walk to: UBC’s Okanagan campus is hosting its own Terry Fox Run. Students have participated in the Kelowna event before, and the campus Run was established last year, but with a national university Terry Fox campaign in progress, and increased local awareness, the Terry Fox Run is set to make its mark on UBCO come September 16th.

While Terry Fox Run participation usually declines in university, many campuses host very successful Runs every year, and UBC Okanagan hopes to join those ranks. “When I started my undergraduate degree at the University of Western Ontario,” UBCO Terry Fox Run organizer Karen Bourns recalled, “I was ecstatic to hear the campus hosts the largest post-secondary Run in Canada as part of its Orientation Week activities. In my third year, I was part of a team of students that organized the run; it was one of the best experiences of my life.

“When I came to UBCO last year to start my Master’s degree, I really wanted to keep that spirit going. When I found

out there wasn’t a run on campus, I decided to do something about it.” Bourns felt that UBCO would make an effective site for a campus run due to the residences’ proximity to the main campus. Last September, along with fellow Health & Exercise Science grad students and the UBCSUO, she organized the first on-campus run, drawing 70 runners and volunteers and raising over $500.

Bourns hopes to double those figures this year, and that should be feasible given that last year many Run participants from residence were unaware of the campus Run and bussed down to the city run as they have in past years. Meanwhile, the Kelowna Run organizers were unaware of the campus Run as well and had advertised on campus throughout September. Of course, the proceeds all went to the same place, but the advantage of focusing on the on-campus event will be that students can more easily make it to the Run, and student participation will increase as a result.

“UBC Okanagan’s Rez-Life team has, in the past, engaged students living in residence by

signing up runners, collecting pledges, and bringing residents to Kelowna’s Terry Fox Run,” explained UBCO Cross Country Running Team member and former Residence Advisor Tim Krupa. “The commute from campus to site, Mission Sports Field last year for example, strongly deterred student participation.

Having a run on campus will make the event more accessible and student-friendly.”

University is often the time that people stop participating in the Terry Fox Run; the Run is no longer a scheduled event like it is in grade school, and many first-year students have moved to a new city where Run locations can be difficult to hear about and get to. However, many students remain passionate about attending the annual Run wherever they are.

“The Terry Fox Run brings out the best in students,” Krupa said. “The atmosphere is always energetic and the experience is rewarding. Students are not only engaged physically, but also inspired. Terry remains a Canadian icon and an example for young Canadians trying to make a difference in the world.”

As the Foundation’s recent Cause On Campus initiative highlights, Fox was universityaged when he undertook his cross-country run after being diagnosed with bone cancer during his first year of kinesiology at SFU. “I’ve found that this makes him relatable to many students on a personal level,” Bourns said, “this could be any one of us, on any campus across the country.”

The Cause On Campus campaign is aimed at increasing university Run participation, with its web page (http://www. terryfox.org/CauseCampus/) providing steps to start or join a campus run alongside the slogan “At 18, Terry was a University student. At 19, he was a cancer patient. At 21, he was a hero”.

While the Cause On Campus focuses mainly on Fox’s inspiring legacy, many volunteers and supporters rely as much on selling participants on the practical benefits of the Run’s accessibility and the Foundation’s track record.

“The Terry Fox Run has no entry fee and no minimum donation,” Kelowna Terry Fox Run

volunteer coordinator Lisa Worman said, explaining why the Run is a good fit for the typically cash-strapped university student. “The Terry Fox Foundation is one of the most fiscally responsible charities in Canada, ensuring that 84 cents of every dollar raised goes to cancer research. This means that any amount you can afford to donate will go to the cause and can actually make a difference.”

This year, the on-campus Run will be held on Sunday September 16th with registration on the main courtyard from 11 until noon, and the route winding through campus roads. Runners can do 1k, 2k, or choose their own length, and the Run will be open until 4 to accommodate those who arrive later in the afternoon. For those who live in town and can’t make it up to campus that day, the Kelowna Terry Fox Run will be held on the Mission Sportsfields (behind H20) from 10am to 2pm. More information, including how to pre-register, join teams, and collect donations, can be found on the terryfox.org website. Additionally, you can text “terryfox” to 4567 to donate $5.

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The Phoenix |

News

September 03, 2012

UBCO population demographics change Tom Macauley News Editor

In the past 2011-2012 school year UBC’s Okanagan campus had a total headcount of 7,938 students, with nearly 2500 of these students in 1st year and around 1500 for each level of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students.

Last year’s increase was an influx of more than 800 students

from 2010-2011, and over the past 3 years UBC Okanagan has on average grown by more than 850 students per year.

There is no word yet on whether or not the University will change its goals for population in the future, but in the last year the University had

expressed that they are right where they want to be.

UBCO is also fulfilling its demographic mandates; as a reflection of UBCO’s desire to have a diverse group of international students, the school population of students of international origin now comprises

more than 10% of total students.

Last year at UBCO, 78 different countries were represented on campus.

Almost 60% of students are either from the Okanagan or from the Metro Vancouver while 12% of students at UBCO are from other places in BC

Dealing with landlords and regulations can make off-campus housing seem a bit intimidating.

and 21% originate from out of province.

These enrolment and demographic numbers are a boasting point for the institution, as most newer universities struggle to get such growth and population diversity in such a short amount of time.

Photo by bill lapp (flickr)

Housing agreements explained Information on how to navigate housing agreement regulations Dave Theodore Conributor

With more than 75% of students at UBC’s Okanagan campus living off-campus for the 2012-2013 school year, more and more out of region, province, and country students are running into more and more issues when dealing with renters and landlords.

When asking students about their rental experiences in Kelowna, the general response is that either they have had at least minor issues with a landlord or knew someone who did.

“Not every situation is what you think it’s going to be, but it’s important to know your rights and responsibilities going into any agreement,” said Kara Herbert, a 3rd year Political Science Student at UBCO. Kara has had a typical stu-

dent experience so far at UBCO, having lived in a few different places in Kelowna and living under different agreements and circumstances.

“A lot of the University’s focus is put on students who live oncampus because of the social challenges or other elements involved with such a living environment,” she said, “but it seems like there is not enough information and help available for students who are denied on their housing application and have to live in town. For 17- and 18-year-old kids living on their own for the first time, dealing with contracts and tenancy agreements can be daunting.”

If you are a student, chances are high that you know someone who has had a conflict with a

landlord. It’s frustrating, as a new renter, to go up against someone who’s holding all the cards.

You probably won’t want to read the whole tenancy act though, so here are the top 3 things you need to know to prepare yourself against a landlord who could be after your security deposit.

These facts are drawn from the latest update to the tenancy act of British Columbia.

1) This is new this year, so even if you knew the law, make sure you remember this: If your rent is not paid on time, the landlord is entitled to give you 10 days notice to move out. Fortunately this notice also provides 5 days to pay the amount outstanding. If you fail to pay it in 5 days, you are out of luck (this is a new law as of this

year, and could easily take you by surprise).

2) If you are deemed by the landlord to be habitually late with your rent (often deemed as >3 times), the landlord is entitled to give you one month’s notice to move out. This is a final notice, not a warning. Unlike #1 above, you do not have a buffer zone.

You will need to find a new place in a month. So if you find yourself late once or twice, begin to tread carefully.

3) Observe the landlord’s procedure when you are moving in. Do they care? Are they walking you through a move-in report to make note of any existing damage? A move-in report is often neglected, but if it is forgotten then it is your advantage. A report, signed by

you, is needed to prove that damage was caused during your time as a tenant. If this is not done, and your landlord is withholding your damage deposit, then they don’t have a leg to stand on were you to threaten to take them to arbitration (you can apply here: http:// www.rto.gov.bc.ca/). If the landlord cannot prove that you caused the damage, even if you DID cause it, then you are entitled to your money back.

If, however, a move-in report is being done, and you notice a lot of damage, don’t just let the landlord lead the tour. Be sure you inspect everything yourself, because if you miss something and it’s not recorded, you may be out of your deposit when the landlord turns around and accuses you of causing it.

News

September 03, 2012

| The Phoenix

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Yamamoto warns students about strip club recruiters Education Minister releases letter regarding adult entertainment industry scouts Tom Macauley News Editor

Looking for work? According to the office of the Minister of Advanced Education in British Columbia, recruiters for the adult entertainment industry might show up at B.C. colleges and universities this year looking for students to work as exotic dancers.

“The [adult entertainment] industry itself has a reputation of exhibiting some risky behaviour, and we don’t want our students exposed to that, especially if [it means] aggressively recruiting at our campuses,” said Yamamoto.

Yamamoto sent a letter to B.C. colleges and universities warning them that the adult entertainment industry might have its

sights set on university and college job fairs. She said the issue came to her attention through news stories about the trend in Windsor, Ont. “We wanted to be proactive on this issue,” she said. “Frankly, it’s not something we want to see happening here.”

Yamamoto said there haven’t been any reports of recruitment for adult entertainment on B.C. campuses. She added that she could not direct institutions to bar adult entertainment companies from job fairs but is “strongly recommending” that they reject any requests for space.

Curtis Tse, the Financial Coordinator of the UBC Students’ Union Okanagan said that such

a claim seems baseless but would agree with the minister on her stance.

“It seems kind of crazy to think that this type of recruitment is happening on our campus but if it were, I agree with the minister; I would be strongly against such endeavours to recruit at UBCO.” Curtis later added that the university is an open campus, so methods of informal recruitment couldn’t be stopped altogether but of course he would make an effort to discourage it.

From a different perspective, a representative of the Camosun College Student Society, Madeline Keller-MacLeod, said she would of course resist the presence of adult entertain-

We bring you a world of knowledge.

You bring the inspiration to change it.

ment industry representatives on campus, however, she added the government should look at why students would look for jobs in the adult entertainment industry.

“Our members are particularly vulnerable to any economic opportunities,” she said. “Tuition is higher now than it ever has been and is increasing [at] over twice the rate of inflation.”

The average debt for university students in British Columbia is $27,000, according to the Canadian Federation of Students.

The Canadian Federation of Students - British Columbia also addressed the situation in a press release on Wednesday. “Record high tuition fees and student

debt have forced many young women to consider the full spectrum of sex work, and the BC government should not be surprised that the industry sees campuses as recruiting grounds, say the Canadian Federation of Students-BC (CFS-BC).”

Katie Marocchi, the chair of the The Canadian Federation of Students - BC said it is disturbing to hear of people who may prey on women who are in a financial jam, but she is not surprised and said they are hearing of cases where students are stripping to pay the school bills.

“For sure this is happening,” she said. “And it is not just the adult entertainment industry, it is the escort industry as well.”

LIBRARY HOURS Monday to Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

7:00am – 12:00am 7:00am – 10:00pm 9:00am – 10:00pm 10:00am – 12:00am

Statutory Holiday Hours: October 8 & November 12 9:00 am – 12:00 am Check out our website for more Library information: ubc.ca/okanagan/library

News Feature

| 10

2012 Convocation shows UBCO settling in after years of growth Cameron Welch Editor-in-chief

On Thursday June 7th, UBC’s Okanagan campus saw its largest graduating class ever receive degrees in four ceremonies. Across the board, graduate numbers significantly jumped from last year, with elevendoctoral graduates (up from only one in 2011), 146 master’s degree graduates (a 55 person increase), and 1,149 undergrads (a 67 person increase).

However, 2012’s convocation did not boast the kind of significant landmarks and “firsts” that have marked recent years, which have seen notable milestones such as the first UBCO Ph.D and first Engineering graduating class. “We’re really at scale,” said UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Stephen Toope. “We’ve got a full graduating class in all of the different faculties at UBC Okanagan and it’s exciting to see because we’ve been building that up for the past few years and now we’re starting to see graduates at [every level].”

“Maybe [this year’s] ‘first’ is that we don’t have as many firsts anymore,” added outgoing UBC Okanagan Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal Doug Owram, “because we now have six years of graduation behind us. PhDs

take five or six years to complete […] so you’re starting to see students complete their cycle. Now that we’re beginning to level off, the ceremonies are becoming more part of the established tradition on the campus and not something new.”

That levelling off was seen in this year’s reduction of the convocation period from two days back to one. While UBC Vancouver’s graduation ceremonies last a week, the Okanagan campus’s numbers hover right around the one-day/two-day cutoff.

Owram explained that the single day of ceremony is more practically manageable in terms of co-ordinating schedules, but added that while the domestic enrolment is at its cap and will not continue to grow dramatically as it has in previous years, international student numbers may still increase. Increase in international students (and the tuition they bring in) may allow for a raise in capacity, and ultimately the event planners will determine whether a second day will be necessary given the number of seats needed, the time it takes for all the students to cross the stage, and the potential addition of a

fifth faculty ceremony.

Meanwhile, Toope felt that the single ceremony highlighted and facilitated the more intimate and communal atmosphere of the smaller Okanagan campus. “I think it’s really quite nice actually, that everyone is around the same day, and they can overlap and see friends that may not be in their own faculties so yeah,” he said. “It’s not too big it still remains intimate for each of the ceremonies and yet we have it all done on the same day and everyone’s here together.”

Arts Valedictorian Liam Randhawa made this sense of community the main focus of his speech during the ceremony. “There’s definitely, especially in comparison to UBC Van, a great sense of community here,” he said, “not only in terms of the relationship you can have with your friends and the UBCO community at large, but also the relationship you develop with your profs.

You’re not a number at UBCO, and your profs really care about you academically and in your personal life. I really hope that that intimate education I experienced here in my first year sticks here no matter how big the

school gets.”

That sense of close community was also seen in the awarding of posthumous degrees to Jessica Eaman, Scott Lawler, Daniel Lovegrove, and Coby Cross. “It’s a pretty emotional moment,” Owram said. “At the last ceremony, the students stood up and gave the parents a standing ovation.” “[To have] the parents had come out, or siblings and girlfriends, and to recognize and honour those people was really important to us,” Toope added. “It’s part of being in a community— it’s not a nice part, but it’s a very moving and important part.”

Cross graduated from the Faculty of Management, and the other three posthumous degrees were Bachelor of Arts: Eamon received a Bachelor’s degree in Geography, Lawler a Bachelor of Political Science, and Lovegrove a Bachelor of Psychology.

The convocation also featured the first father and son to graduate from the Okanagan campus at the same time. Paul Stephenson received his Ph.D in Interdisciplinary Studies on the same day that his son Brian completed a

bachelor of arts in honours history. The elder Stephenson’s Ph.D work combined History and Economics to examine the failure of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway under B.C. Premier Richard McBride almost a century ago. “[UBCO] has built a very good community,” Brian said. “My whole family went to UBC, actually: mum got her Master’s here recently, my sister got her BA in English, and I’m going on to law school at UBC Van, so it’s a pretty important institution for our family.”

While UBCO allowed the Stephenson family to remain in Kelowna together, the convocation of course marks the breaking up of the family students have built in their years here. “Everyone seems to be really excited and in a way super sad that we’re leaving,” Randhawa said of the graduates on convocation day.

“A lot of us are leaving Kelowna, parting ways, some are going to Master’s or entering the workforce right away, so it seems like when we say to keep in touch with each other a lot of us won’t be able to... so it’s kind of a sad day in a way. It’s a little bittersweet but still pretty exciting.”

Left: New couches in the library.

Above: Librarian takes a look through the database.

Opposite top right: Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card.

Opposite bottom right: Hard to imagine all that space in the UBCO library.

Opposite left: Construction equipment next to the fireplace in the new quiet room Photos by Hanss Lujan (The Phoenix)

September 03, 2012

| The Phoenix

11

Reno 000-999

Campus library completes summer renovation Cameron Welch Editor-in-chief

The first floor of the library underwent a long-desired major renovation this summer, converting about one third of the floor from staff space to student space.

Library staff spent much of last semester moving into the secondfloor offices vacated by the Faculty of Education last year, and over the summer months construction crews expanded, rearranged, and rebuilt the first floor of the library.

The information desk and the circulation desk at the back right have been combined into one central circular desk. Behind the main desk a self-checkout desk has been added alongside relocated printers and express stations. Overall, 75 new seats have been added to the library, along with new all-in-one Optiplex computers with updated software.

Students may be disappointed to learn that no new computers were added, but the library already had more computers per capita than most universities in Canada.

“We have 114 student computers, which is a lot for a library of our size,” said Learning Services Librarian Sarah Stang. “About one-third of the main floor is computers. Even with the renovation we are completely full.”

“It’s a case where some times of day it’s packed but then later it’s empty,” Aaron Heck of UBCO IT Services explained. “If we added a hundred computers they would be packed [at those times] too, but then they would be empty for 80% of the day. So do you spend an extra $80,000 on adding 60

computers and it’s better for a few hours of the day, or do you spend that money somewhere else, since libraries also need books and other resources too?”

To increase computer access without adding library computers, IT decided to install new security features in the underused computer labs in other buildings so that they could be accessible by students in any program whenever the building is open and no class is using the lab. The new lab times will be rolled out as updates are completed, beginning in late September. By the end of October the lab updates will make a total of 231 computers available. IT services will be posting updates on labsupport.ok.ubc.ca during the installation project.

With the circulation desk and a wall removed, the fireplace area has been pushed back and expanded. The opened-up space has been filled with soft seating in the form of curved couches complete with laptop plug-ins.

The far end behind the fireplace has been converted into several bookable study rooms, along with a large quiet room similar to the glass-walled Field Reading Room. The new quiet room will be refurbished in mid-September with wood furniture similar to Field. The addition of this second quiet room is mainly a result of the focus groups and Student Library Advisory Council that provided student input for the library renovation. “One of the things we heard from students that we specifically responded to

with our design is the need for more quiet study space,” Stang explained. “We have heard from students that they really like the Field Reading Room, and it is always quite full, so we have modelled our second study room on it.”

“The other thing we hear a lot is that students want connectivity so we extended our study bar along the window and added plugs everywhere we can, including in the base of some of the soft seating.”

Because the library is in use the entire school year, the renovation had to be condensed into the summer months.

Even so, the construction still affected student library use and staff had to work to minimize the impactof the ongoing renovation, moving collections and equipment to make room for the construction crewsand working at the edge of a construction zone for much of the summer.

“The library was really noisy this summer with construction happening right behind the desk,” Stang said. “Staff moved their offices and shared work spaces to the second and third floors to accommodate opening up the space for students.” Overall, the library was closed for less than a week the whole summer (August 20 th-26th, after summer school’s second semester finished).

The renovation is now complete except for alterations to the soft seating and the return of some collections and equipment that were moved into temporary storage during construction.

“Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card.”

- Arthur

Arts Feature

| 12

Keloha 2012 Weekend of music provides true summer festival experience Cameron Welch Editor-in-chief

From July 7th to 9th, Waterfront Park became an “escape to music and art” as the Keloha music festival took over downtown Kelowna. The festival hit almost 11,000 total visits over the weekend, growing in attendance each day and peaking at 4,150 people for Sunday’s finale.

Organized by Centre Of Gravity’s Wet Ape Productions, the event was geared toward indie and local bands and featured two music stages, local vendors and artists, an “instrumental petting zoo”, and a live art mural.

“We wanted to target a different demographic and branch out from Center Of Gravity,” said Keloha founder Scott Emslie. “We had a very successful year last year at COG and we were looking to take it out to Wasaga Beach in Ontario and we spent a couple months on the approval process and right at the end the Ministry of National Resources came in and denied it.”

In late October with time ticking

down to plan a summer event, the Wet Apes brainstormed for two weeks and came up with a plan to host another festival in Kelowna.

With team members and relationships already established in the city, planning a second Kelowna event was easier than creating a totally new event. The organization received preliminary approval before the end of 2011 and was able to book several of the headliners and expand from there.

While presented as an indie music festival, Keloha included barrock, ska, singer-songwriter, and even some more electronic acts.

The lineup featured well-known Canadian acts like The Sheepdogs, Tokyo Police Club, Illscarlet and Dan Mangan, international bands like Cold War Kids, Awolnation,The Joy Formidable, Graffiti6, and The Limousines, and BC bands like We Are The City, Said The Whale, Hey Ocean!, and The Dudes.

“This is the first year so it’s the

big year for branding,” Emslie said. “That’s what will set the tone. We didn’t book one band just to sell tickets; we didn’t look at who’s being played on the radio and say let’s book them.

All of these guys were chosen because they put on a great live show, or we’ve heard they have great energy.”

Like most festivals, the aim of Keloha was not just to create a music festival in the city but to create a distinct festival world within the city and to convince both locals and out-of-towners to come participate in that world. “I think it’s cool that a lot of these people have never seen us,” said local act Devon Coyote, “a lot of these people are tourists so it’s not the same as just playing at Doc’s.”

With the Island Stage enclosed by a moat and the Sandbar Stage right on the beach, location was a major part of the Keloha expe-

rience for both festivalgoers and musicians. “It feels like the right place for us to be, down by the water,” said Hey Ocean!’s Ashleigh Ball. “I jumped off the stage and into the water after I played and it was the best.”

Separated from the rest of the city, Keloha’s vibe became more like the typical festival atmosphere than a Kelowna concert.

“With festivals you can throw in a soft song in the middle of your set and it doesn’t have to be a rocking dance song every time,” said Devon Coyote.

“There’s a little bit of relief, less pressure when you’re not the headlining band and people haven’t paid just to see you,” reflected Ben Worchester of Said The Whale, “not that that’s a bad pressure, but it’s nice to be able to just get up there and do your things and hopefully win some new fans.”

Some of the larger touring groups, like The Joy Formidable

Photo by Janelle Sheppard (The Phoenix)

and The Sheepdogs, are seasoned festival bands whose sound is already ideal for the festival atmosphere. “You could kind of deem [our style] good-time rock and roll,” explained Ryan Gullen and Sam Corbett of the Sheepdogs, “and at festivals people are kind of letting their inhibitions go... it’s a relaxed atmosphere and I think our music goes well with that.”

Festivals also let bands experience a show as both fans and performers. “We remember what it’s like to be at a festival and looking at someone you really admire play music,” said Ashleigh Ball just after her set. “There was this moment today where there were all these girls singing lyrics to a song we wrote and it was like wow, this is incredible.”

That Keloha set was reminiscent of another memorable Hey Ocean! outdoor show - their performance at last year’s UBCO Create concert. “We were playing the song ‘Alleyways’,” Ball recalled, “it’s a

Cam interviews Said the Whale (left) and Hey Ocean! (below).

Photo by Janelle Sheppard (The Phoenix)

September 03, 2012

swaying song and then kind of of their own volition they formed a circle and started swaying.”

“They formed a heart, actually,” Ball clarified, “because there was sound equipment in the middle so from our perspective it looked like a heart.”

“It was like Whoville,” said bandmate David Beckingham.

Despite their enjoyment of the festival, Said The Whale and Hey Ocean! were disappointed that they had been scheduled at the same time on Sunday and wouldn’t be able to catch one another’s shows. The bands have toured together in the past and have a similar vibe and fanbase, so many festivalgoers were migrating between stages on Sunday while the two bands played.

“We’re from the same city, we’re buddies, and if nothing else we’re fans,” said Hey Ocean’s David Verseti, “we wanted to check them out and I know they wanted to check us out.”

Said The Whale’s Ben Worchester echoed his tourmates’ disappointment at being counter-scheduled. “It’s the first year of the festival so maybe someone will notice and they’ll change it. We’re not complaining, we just hope everyone gets to come and see everyone they wanted.”

There were also scheduling issues with on the second day of the festival, with both stages dominated by similar reggae-rock bands for much of the afternoon. At one point, Illscarlett finished playing a Beastie-Boys-ish cover of “Paper Planes” on the Isand Stage just as USS began a Beastie-Boys-ish cover of “Hey Ya” on the Sandbar Stage. The Boom-Booms, Illscarlett, and Daniel Wesley lineup on the one stage would have been fine, but a clear alternative wasnt available on the Sandbar Stage to keep people from getting saturated on the same sound.

Saturday’’s heavy ska vibe and

the radio popularity of headliners like Awolnation and Cold War Kids, highlights the fact that for Kelowna’s “indie festival”, Keloha was not really all that indie. In comparison to Center of Gravity it definitely was, but when compared to larger indie-geared festival the lineup was about as mainstream-friendly as it could be. Said The Whale and Hey Ocean! are some of B.C.’s more well-known indie bands, but are also probably the province’s most upbeat and accessible indie bands “Our sound caters to all ages,” STW’s Jaycelyn Brown said, “we encourage our parents to come to our shows and bring their friends.”

Meanwhile, the blue-eyed blues of Saturday headliners Cold War Kids is definitely populist and radio-friendly, having more in common with Train or Gavin Degraw than with The Black Keys or Jack White, and also leans towards generically uplifting Kings-Of-Leonlite arena rock. The point of Cold War Kids is to inoffensively rock a big crowd of people swaying or half-dancing while white lights shine out from the stage, and that’s what they did at Keloha.

Beyond that, the majority of acts - whether bar-rock or indie rock were upbeat and catchy enough to entertain a wide range of people.

In the context of Kelowna this mainstream accessibility was a strength, even a necessity there simply aren’t enough artsy 24-year-olds here to sustain a 3-day festival by themselves, so creating an event that appeals fairly well to average people and people of all ages hugely expands the potential base of ticket-buyers.

Emslie emphasized that the festival was intended to draw in a wide range of people from the city who weren’t necessarily familiar with the bands and then win them

| The Phoenix

13

over. The size, proximity, and price also shifted Keloha away from direct competition with larger indie-centric summer festivals like Washington State’s Sasquatch.

“Sasquatch can sell 50,000 tickets a day whereas we’re working with 5,000 tickets a day, so here it’s an experience where fans can get up close with the artist - for example in Kelowna I know there’s a ton of Dan Mangan fans, so they’re able to get close to Dan here.”

Keloha was also clearly intended to reach the side of the market uninterested in the DJ-musicheavy Center Of Gravity “We wanted this to be completely separate from COG,” Emslie explained, “we don’t want the electronic crowd to take over the festival so even though we had the opportunity to book some really big DJs we decided no, we want to keep it about bands. Especially in the early years we want people to know this is what the focus is.”

Currently about half the size of COG, Keloha is at the start of a tentative three-year timeframe to establish itself and gain popularity. Future additions to the festival may include more venues spread over the city, increased partnership with Vancouver’s Peak Performance Project for emerging bands, and a film competition.

“This festival has just has mega amounts of success,” Devon Coyote said. “Because a lot of festivals don’t do well at first. Kelowna’s really embraced it and I would love it if Keloha came back for the next fifteen years, because Kelowna hasn’t had a good three-day music festival, and they did it this weekend and they pulled it off.”

Top: AWOLNATION. Middle: Said the Whale.

Below: Graffiti wall.

Photos by Janelle Sheppard and Cameron Welch (The Phoenix)

Check out more Keloha coverage and photos at our website: www.thephoenixnews.com

Arts

Janelle Sheppard

arts@thephoenixnews.com

| 14

Social media superpowers fight for internet property

Mergers, acquisitions, and the war to own the whole web Janelle Sheppard Arts Editor

The tangled knots that are so appropriately called “The Web”, have become such a complicated mess of connections that it is difficult to keep track of who owns what, or which organizations are in cahoots with whom. The past decade has been marked by small battles in the virtual world. World wars have been replaced with the shifting of large sums of money from the pockets of men like Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page to the hungry pockets of talented people who have created innovative social media products.

It goes without saying that the major contenders on the Internet are Google, Facebook, and maybe Twitter (just a little bit). There have been several mergers of social networking platforms throughout the last few years that have contributed to the successes of these superpowers.

In 2010, Facebook bought the domain name fb.com for 8.5 million dollars, allowing more efficient access for Facebook users. One of Facebook’s most recent mergers

includes the acquisition of Face. com, which is a facial recognition platform. Facial recognition technology will be used on Facebook to more efficiently tag photos.

Of course, everyone and theirgrandmother heard the news about Facebook buying Instagram for one billion dollars earlier this year. This move was analyzed by Internet users (so…everyone) as a defense against the threat that Instagram posed to Facebook’s photo sharing experience. In 2010, Instagram reported having 1 million users, and since Facebook bought it in April 2012, it has been announced that there are 30 million Instagram accounts. Instagram also became available on Android in April of this year, which contributed to this boom in usership. Instagram has experienced very little changes in its operation since the merger. The only notable change is that Instagram users can no longer “Find friends via Twitter”.

Instagram is not the only substantial acquisition that Facebook

has made this year. Facebook also acquired the developing team for Lightbox, which was the Android equivalent of Instagram. This was an example of what is known as an ‘acqui-hire’. Facebook moved to acquire the talents on the development teams of rivaling social media platforms, not only swallowing the competition, but converting them to Facebook’s means.

The other superpower, which seems to sometimes be the basis of all Internet navigation, is Google.

Although everyone uses it, Google has lacked the loyalty that an account with a social media platform provides. This was one of the reasons behind creating Google+, which despite the stink it created in 2011, has created little impact in the usership of Facebook. Facebook still has the power of users who have been committed to using Facebook since the day of signup.

Though Google has not received the same publicity in their endeavors lately, it is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the online war.

In 2006, Google acquired Youtube for over 1.6 billion dollars. Now, Youtube videos are featured in Google searches, and it is necessary to have a Google account to log into Youtube. Through this integration of major social media platforms, Google was able to force users to join Google+, and increase their user population.

Because of tricks like the Youtube/Google account, Google+ user interface continues to increase.

However, the practicality of the interface does not exceed the current practicality of Facebook. Therefore, Google+, in its current state does not pose any particular threat to Facebook, other than through Google+ Hangouts, which does offer group video chats; something that neither Facebook nor Skype has yet integrated.

Another noteworthy merger involving Google includes the acquisition of Sparrow, a Mac email application that has now been integrated with Gmail. Also, Google’s most significant ‘acqui-hire’ was

the integration of Kevin Rose and the Milk, Inc. team. Rose is known as an Internet entrepreneur among web-folk, and joined Google in early 2012 as a venture partner.

Twitter’s largest move was an ‘acqui-hire’ involving the blogging platform Posterous, whose team reports via their company blog that they “couldn’t be happier about bringing our team’s expertise to a product that reaches hundreds of millions of users.” Twitter has spent much of their acquisitions adopting apps for Twitter users in order to regulate the Twitter experience.

Overall, there have been heaps of alterations in ownership of Internet properties over the last few years, resulting in power shifts among the Internet superpowers.

As some acquisitions do not seem to align with the direction of these ‘powers’, we can be sure to expect more changes and shifts in social media. The ‘acqui-hiring’ trend among the larger web presences foreshadows more revisions on the faces of these platforms.

Arts

September 03, 2012

| The Phoenix

15

Saying goodbye to

After eight seasons, Showtime’s crime comedy comes to an emotional end Laura Sciarpelletti Events editor

Weeds’ Nancy Botwin has come a long way from being the pot dealing soccer mom from the suburban town of Agrestic. After her husband died of a heart attack. Botwin began her small illegal business as a means to keep her children in the life they were used to. The Botwin family lived in one of many suburban “little boxes,” seemingly far away from crime and danger. What began as a way to ensure financial security for her family quickly turned into a passion for Nancy.

For most of its seven seasons, Weeds appeared to be a program about the greed and selfishness of a woman who lost sight of what she originally wanted for her children. By season six, discussion boards and articles were littered with complaints about Nancy’s character: an impulsive, loose-legged woman with a magnetic attraction to anything and anyone illegal. Many fans have also shown negative reactions to the show as it has changed over

the years in both characters and plotline patterns. But Weeds also has a very loyal following which has allowed it to stay on the air for so long and experiment with story directions.

Nancy went from selling pot to city council members in Agrestic to dealing for thugs to marrying the leader of the Mexican cartel.

It is almost exhausting watching Nancy make the same mistakes over and over again, becoming unable to hide her real life and decisions from her sons Shane and Silas. Their mother’s decisions certainly took their toll on Shane and Silas, prompting the former to murder a woman who threatened his family and the latter to explore his love for growing marijuana. It seemed to the viewers, and even to Nancy, that both boys would be very damaged in the end as Nancy let them down time after time and consistently moved them around the country. Both Silas and Shane missed out on childhood innocence and

were instead flung into a world of drugs and being on the run. After finally landing in jail last season, and restarting her marijuana business nearly immediately after release, it seemed that Nancy had come full circle. However, creator and writer Jenji Kohan had other things in mind for the fast moving, caffeine addicted weed queen.

Even after eight seasons, Weeds is still a great source of pride for the Showtime network.

The thirty-minute dramedy has earned lead actress Mary Louise Parker an Emmy and numerous other nominations, while drawing in a large group of both pot-supporting and nonpot-supporting fans. There has certainly been scrutiny over the years, but Weeds has managed to hold its own, passing the one hundred-episode mark. After being shot in the head in the season seven finale, Nancy has changed her priorities in season eight and realized that she cannot keep

making the same mistakes. Her youngest son Stevie, who she did not get to see for the beginning of his life, has inspired her to put her family first. While she has finally earned the forgiveness of Silas and Shane, Nancy is determined to raise Stevie differently.

In essence, season eight is about what Botwin originally started selling pot for: family. However, she now realizes that her decisions injured her family, rather than helped them. “[Weeds is] ultimately about family,” said Kohan in an interview with the TCA network in July.

As the series finale approaches, the show’s creator promises that the end will be emotional and a deep contrast to the darkness that Nancy originally pushed her family into.

According to Parker, the last episode is “beautifully written.”

“I just cried when I read it,” Parker said about the finale. “I think it’s beautiful. I don’t know

if [Kohan] brought things together in a way that was really satisfying because it’s an end. But she managed to bring things together in a way that’s not a total happily-ever-after thing, but there was hope in it, and some sort of benediction.”

After all the wrong turns Nancy Botwin has made during the duration of Weeds it is uncertain if she will be able to escape the guilt and repercussions of her decisions. But season eight has shown her journey to try to earn forgiveness and change her bad habits. Weeds officially comes to an end on September 16th, and the fates of the Botwin family members look hopeful, as they try to remove themselves from the crime world. Weeds has been a fan favorite because of its cliffhangers and its sometimes subtle but dark humor, and strong Sunday night ratings show that it still hasn’t lost its touch and will most likely draw new fans in even after the series finale.

16

The Phoenix |

September 03, 2012

OBITUARIES

Arts

Director Tony Scott Rumnique Nannar Features Editor

Above: Tony Scott.

Photo courtesy wikipedia

Below: (left) Judith Crist, (right) Andrew Sarris.

There was a frenetic energy that set Tony Scott apart from his counterparts, and which he brought to each one of his films: that same zippy editing, that rare balance of popcorn fare and thoughtful drama that he honed from The Hunger to Unstoppable. It was these qualities that garnered love from fans and disdain from critics. Scott jumped to his death from Los Angeles County Bridge on August 19th. His jump was “without hesitation”, witnesses said, and he had left his contact information in his car and a suicide note at his LA office.

This is a saddening blow to the film industry, which has lost one of its leading popular filmmakers. Scott, younger brother to esteemed director Sir Ridley Scott, was one of Hollywood’s most reliable action directors.

Scott started with commercials and then turned to TV work before launching into movies.

His debut film, The Hunger, revealed an art-house slant that surprises in comparison to the rest of his oeuvre. It was the failure of this visually stunning film that made him, albeit with hesitation, approach the genre that would define his brand of cinema. In his next move, he

teamed up with producers Jerry Bruckheimer and the late Don Simpson—lovers of style over substance films—who hired him straight after seeing a Saab ad that Tony had directed.

The result was Top Gun, one of the biggest hits of the decade and the game-changer for action films to come. Of course the film has aged in an awkward way with its rabble-rousing patriotism and raging bromance, but it had a certain slickness and balance that ultimately paid off.

Scott’s advertising background certainly added a visual flair to the film, and that would characterize all of his films. After Top Gun, action films soon adopted the same energetic editing and amped-up stunt work that defined the Bruckheimer-Scott partnership. Scott made films almost every year with top stars, making four films with Denzel Washington, often with a simple pitch (“We can’t stop this train” from Unstoppable to “they’ve kidnapped her!” in Man on Fire).

This packaged and glossy look in each of his films won no favours with the critics who pointed out the mediocrity in them.

What critics seem to take for granted is that while Scott’s work

may have been the usual Friday fare, it had a signature stamp of thrills and tension that was uniquely his own. That slick and sheen look in each of his blockbusters paved the way for the entire onslaught of Michael Bay movies. It’s often overlooked that Scott took chances on great writers. His favourite film, True Romance, was written by Quentin Tarantino, which serves as a better example of managing a Tarantino script than the subsequent Natural Born Killers. Even the rousing and archetypal Days of Thunder was written by Chinatown’s Robert Towne. For me, it’s often his smaller gems like True Romance, The Hunger, and the loopy Domino that show a different side to Tony Scott’s action roots.

Tony Scott’s death is extremely saddening and haunting, yet his cinematic legacy shall live on in his movies and the ones to come that will bear that same influential stamp. Scott was not a mere schlock-meister. His films provided simple and good old fun at the movies; sure they were not in his brother’s league, but they provided true entertainment for their two hours and in the action films they inspired.

Film critics Judith Crist and Andrew Sarris Rumnique Nannar Features Editor

She was the Queen of Mean, and he was king of the auteur theory.

However, Judith Crist of the New York Herald Tribune and Andrew Sarris of the Village Voice—who passed away on Aug 7th and June 20th respectively—couldn’t be more influential for the state of film criticism today. Truly the Golden Age of film criticism of the 60s and 70s has come to an end with the loss of these literary icons.

Judith Crist was the first fulltime female film critic for a huge newspaper, and from her debut in the 1940s, shaped so much of the world for the film critics to come. At one point you could say she was the most widely read, listened to, and watched film critic around, with her appearances on the Today Show, her reviews at

the Tribune and her huge 17-million readership from her stint at TV Guide. Yet she is best known for ushering in a blunt and forthcoming style of film criticism that was slightly apparent in fellow critic Pauline Kael. Crist went to town on the budget-bursting epic Cleopatra (1963), lambasting Elizabeth Taylor as “an entirely physical creature, no depth of emotion apparent in her kohl-laden eyes, no modulation in her voice, which too often rises to fishwife levels.”

She was quick with her putdowns and swift with her acerbic insults, which often led her to be banned from preview screenings.

On the other end of the spectrum is Andrew Sarris who certainly benefited from Crist’s leadership. While movie reviews were

often left at the back of the newspaper, with someone as gutsy and well-written as Crist, movie criticism developed into a serious literary form. Sarris was one of the most eloquent critics of that Golden Age of the 60s and 70s.

Where Judith was more populist and straightforward, Andrew elevated film criticism into a school of theory. Sarris was influenced by the New Wave critics at Cahier du Cinema, and fashioned the auteur theory. The muchmisunderstood term was used by Sarris when looking at older Hollywood directors like Hitchcock, Nicolas Ray, and Stanley Kubrick who worked as contract players, but whose characteristic style and personal vision shone through their studio trappings. The new

era of movies was punctuated by young and energetic filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Steven Spielberg, who displaced the studio system, and in Sarris’s eyes were authors to their films.

While Crist and Sarris had diverging tastes and styles during this period, they set a career path that would define film criticism.

With Crist, there was a love for a revenge drama like Death Wish, and an appreciation for Federico Fellini. She knew what the public liked and catered to it, and was deemed too populist alongside the weightier critics. In spite of her feared status and negative reviews, Crist had a great balance of appreciating the popcorn fare and championing directors like Woody

Allen and Steven Spielberg. As she explained in her motto, “If you’re going to be a movie fan, you take Bond as seriously as you do the grand auteurism of Bergman.”

Sarris often changed his stance on his auteur theory, but he subsequently revealed a great love for enjoying movies-as-movies, and not bogged down by theory and lofty psychology.

Both Judith Crist and Andrew Sarris taught at Columbia University, imparting their differing styles to many journalism and film students, pushing them to keep those zingers and wit alive through their endeavours. In their passing, you can still feel their influence on the fluctuating state of film criticism that has benefited from their historic work.

Sports

Jesse Shopa

sports@thephoenixnews.com

The UBCO Heat Men and Women’s volleyball teams from 2011-12. For info on games and schedules, visit www.goheat.ca

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Photos from goheat.ca

Canada West Volleyball Schedule is Set Heat will enjoy home in 2012 and the road in 2013 Jesse Shopa Sports Editor

Along with their basketball counterparts, the Heat volleyball teams will be playing in a newlook Canada West conference this season. The addition of Mount Royal University to Canada West has led to an even twelve teams in the conference, translating to a new 22-game regular season schedule.

The Heat will begin the season in a home-and-home series against Thompson Rivers University; first in Kamloops on Friday, October 26th, and then at home on Saturday, October 27th. All UBC Okanagan friday home games will begin with the women at 6 p.m, with the men following at 8 p.m. On

Saturdays, the Heat women will begin at 5 p.m, and the men at 7 p.m.

The second half of the season will be quite a journey for the Heat, as they will only enjoy home cooking twice in the final six weeks of the season. The Dinos from the University of Calgary will travel to Kelowna to

face the Heat from January 18th19th, and the season will come to a conclusion when the Brandon Bobcats face the Heat at The Furnace from February 8th-9th.

The Canada West playoffs will feature the top seven teams from the conference, with the top seed enjoying a first round bye. The reaining six will play a

best-of-three elimination format to determine which three teams will join the top seed in the Final Four. Canada West playoffs will wage on from February 15th to the 17th, with Final Four semi’s set for February 22nd, and the gold and bronze medal matches will be held on the 23rd of February.

Canada West Basketball Schedules Released Heat will play 22 games against 15 teams in 2012-2013 Jesse Shopa Sports Editor

A new year, a new season, and a new regular season format. It’s a fresh start for UBC Okanagan heading into the 2012-2013 season, with both the men and women looking to improve upon their first season of CIS basketball.

To accommodate the addition of Mount Royal University and the University of Northern BC to the CIS, Canada West adopted a

new 22-game schedule and split the conference into two divisions: Prairie and Pacific. The Heat will compete in the Pacific division against UBC, Thompson Rivers University, Trinity Western University, University of Fraser Valley, and the University of Victoria but will also face teams in the Prairie division to round out the 22 game schedule.

The playoff scheduling for this season has also undergone a significant change. The top four teams from each Canada West division will now qualify for the playoffs; a change that could benefit both UBC Okanagan teams. There will also be an expanded number of weekly games this season, including games on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings.

Both the men and women from UBC Okanagan open the 2012-2013 season on Friday, November 2nd when they travel to Vancouver Island to faces the Vikings from the University of Victoria.

The following weekend, November 9-10, the Heat will open up at home for the first time this season against the Mount Royal

Cougars. UBCO will wrap up the regular season on February 16th, when they host the Wolfpack from Thompson Rivers.

All friday home games for the Heat will begin with the women at 6 p.m, with the women following at 8 p.m. On Saturdays, the Heat women will begin an hour earlier at 5 p.m, and the men at 7 p.m.

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The Phoenix |

Sports

September 03, 2012

Heat soccer season previews Jesse Shopa Sports Editor

Women First place in Group B. First place in the PACWEST. Provincial Silver. It was a successful season in 2011 for the women from UBC Okanagan to say the least. A team that has dominated the PACWEST landscape for the past two seasons looks to keep the ball rolling into 2012, and it’s safe to say that anything short of provincial gold will be disappointing to a hungry Heat squad.

The Heat women will enjoy the return of all but one player for the 2012 season and are anchored by a phenomenal striking tandem in Kirsten Dodds and Lindsey Briggs, both PACWEST all- stars in 2011. On the back end, Sabrina Gasparac begins her fifth and final year for UBCO. Posting a 0.51 GAA and six clean-sheets last season, the first-team PACWEST all-star

should continue her strong play in 2012 and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if she posts even better numbers this year.

Something to keep an eye on will be how Coach Paterson integrates her six first-year players who redshirted in 2011. All of them should enjoy significant playing time for first-year players, and it will be interesting to see if any position battles emerge

throughout the year between teammates old and young.

The new regular season format that has replaced the old pool play system should be a non-factor for the Heat in 2012.

If anything, it should benefit the team as they will now be able to face the weaker teams they otherwise would have not played before when the league was split into two groups. However, every

team in the PACWEST will be gunning for the Heat, and seeing how the women from UBCO handle an added intensity by their opponents should provide some exciting soccer throughout the season.

UBC Okanagan women’s soccer kicks off the 2012 campaign at 1:00 PM this Saturday, September 8th at Nonis Field against Kwantlen College.

ue their ascent to the top of the PACWEST pile.

Fortunately for Coach Zanatta, he will see the return of all but three players from the 2011 season; a luxury that should prove extremely beneficial to the team this year. Last season, first year forward Alex Pinguelo led the Heat attack, notching five goals in eleven games, and will be depended on for much of the

scoring in 2012. Fifth year midfielder/defender Sean Causier should provide some scoring as well, but his ability to quarterback the middle of the pitch is where his true value to the Heat lies. On the back end, the goalkeeper position remains a question mark, as Spencer Brown has left the fold. A keeper for five years at UBCO, Brown’s presence both on the field and

in the locker-room will be hard to replace.

A new PACWEST regular season format in 2012 should have UBC Okanagan chomping at the bit for another playoff berth.

With the UNBC Timberwolves departing PACWEST soccer, pool play was scrapped in favour of a fourteen-game schedule in which each team plays each other twice: once at home, and once

on the road. This should allow the Heat to pick up significant wins against the weaker teams of the PACWEST. A second consecutive playoff berth, with a higher playoff seeding should not seem unattainable to a rising Heat squad. UBC Okanagan Heat men’s soccer kicks off it’s season at 3:00 PM this Saturday, September 8, when they host the Kwantlen Eagles at Nonis Field.

Men Fresh off of a roller-coaster 2011 season, the Heat men head into the 2012 campaign looking to build upon the success of last season. After sneaking into the PACWEST Provincial Playoffs for just the second time since 1998, the men from UBCO eventually secured a third place finish and a bronze medal for their efforts. Fast-forward to 2012, and the Heat seem poised to contin-

Heat Soccer medalists from 2011-12. Check them out on Nonis field this season.

Photos from goheat.ca

Sports

September 03, 2012

| The Phoenix

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All That Glitters is Not Gold Why troublesome spending in the past should worry Dodger fans now Jesse Shopa Sports Editor

Remember Frank McCourt?

He was the savvy businessman from Boston who purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers from NewsCorp in 2004 for $430 million dollars. He was deemed the saviour with the large chequebook that was going to restore the Los Angeles Dodgers to their former glory. For too many years Angel red had dominated the Los Angeles landscape, and McCourt promised that Dodger blue would rise again.

But then the Dodgers signed J.D Drew for five years at $55 million, and Derek Lowe for four years at $63 million, while letting Adrian Beltre depart due to contract demands (he ended up signing a five year contract for $64 million in Seattle). Then, a few years later, the Dodgers signed Andruw Jones and Manny Ramirez to big money deals; deals in which the amount spent did not equal the return performance on the field.

Frivolous spending from 2004 to 2011, coupled with horrible management and scouting, sunk the Los Angeles Dodgers, and on June 27, 2011, the Dodgers filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection.

In 2012, a new ownership group emerged with talk of a new

era, and this time it was actually more believable than in 2004. The ownership group, led by former NBA star Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim Partners, purchased the Dodgers for $2 billion dollars.

Everything was butterflies and rainbows again in Los Angeles, and Dodger blue was back on the rise.

After bearing witness to the outlandish and extremely questionable spending of the McCourt era, one might have believed that new management and ownership would heed the lessons from 2004 to 2012, and perhaps take an alternate route to rebuilding the franchise. This would have been both a fair and correct assumption, but when an ownership group buys a team for a record-setting $2 billion, well, money ain’t no thang.

It should be, but it wasn’t on August 25th, 2012, when the Dodgers made one of the most expensive trades in MLB history.

To L.A: Josh Beckett, Nick Punto, Adrian Gonzalez, and Carl Crawford, at a price of $262.5 million.

To Boston: James Loney, Rubby de la Rosa, and two solid minor leaguers at a price of nothing compared to a quarter of a billion dollars. Los Angeles, a team that

has been mired in financial uncertainty due to frivolous spending for years, went out and spent a quarter of a billion dollars on: 1) An over-the-hill utility player in Punto 2) A speedster that can’t run anymore and has never hit for power in Crawford 3) A pitcher that could prove beneficial come playoff time due to experience, but has underperformed this season in Beckett, and 4) Adrian Gonzalez

What is most interesting about this trade was that it was not met with the usual fervor and pandemic excitement that a blockbuster is usually met with; showing how aware the Dodger fanbase is of its troubled past.

In the short-term, this trade certainly props up the franchise to a certain degree; it will put people in seats and it will build excitement around the team. However, it should raise concern regarding the long-term sustainability of the franchise.

Could this trade, in ten years, be seen as one of the first dominoes to fall in another ousting of a Dodgers ownership group? Don’t be surprised if it is.

Below: Adrian Gonzalez takes the field for the Dodgers.

Photo by dizzy-eyed (flickr)

Opinions

Matt Lauzon

opinions@thephoenixnews.com

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Women golfers rejoice Your kind now welcome at Augusta Matt Lauzon Opinions Editor

Don’t be a pussy, riot!

In wake of Russian band’s unjust arrest, use your freedom Matt Lauzon Opinions Editor

Three members of the Russian punk-rock collective ‘Pussy Riot’ smiled as they were found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred August 17th, after voicing disapproval and dissent against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pussy Riot performed an “AntiPutin Punk-Prayer,” to the Virgin Mary at the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in February this year. Pussy Riot’s 40-second performance— featuring statements such as “drive away Putin!” and “Gay pride sent to Syberia in chains”— resulted in the arrest of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina on March 4th, and the arrest of Yekaterina Samutsevich on March 15th. Moscow Judge Marina Syrova sentenced them to two years in prison, and as a public response, protest groups gathered in many cities such as Washington, Paris, and Berlin to show their support.

Pussy Riot’s prison sentence caused many political and musical activists to speak out and raise questions regarding freedom of speech. Madonna expressed her contempt against the ruling at her concert performance in St. Petersburg, saying “the sentence is too harsh and is in fact inhumane.”

Paul McCartney told band members to “stay strong.”

In societies that are regarded as free, the ability to freely voice opinion—whether it be popular or unpopular—is always of the utmost of importance. Countries that observe freedom of the press and declare a lack of institutionalized censor-

ship cannot ignore the freedoms they grant. Mark Feygin, lawyer to Tolokonnikova, said that “the verdict is lawless.” Many supporters of Pussy Riot have been arrested.

Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion turned political activist was arrested in a Pussy Riot support protest outside the court in Moscow, along with opposition politician Sergei Udaltsov and approximately 20 other protestors.

While the arrest of protestors is far too common, the support given to Pussy Riot from artists, politicians, and people around the world shows that popular opinion has turned against Russia this time.

According to Freedom House, an organization that “supports democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights around the world,” the Russian government owns roughly 60 percent of newspapers across the country, and nearly all national television stations. For a government that publicly encourages freedom of the press and expression, Russia’s ruling party has been extremely eager to use its power to shut down any news stories that may jeopardize its image.

Russia has implicitly denied these freedoms through various techniques such as blacklisting Putin’s opposition from Russian TV and encouraging changes of management in private television news programs towards including only news from state-powered television channels. Ingushetia.org editor and outspoken critic of the

region’s administration, Magomed Yevloyev, was murdered by a gunshot to the temple while in police custody. The atrocities committed against the population of Russia have made their government comparable to regime.

In Canada it is all too easy to forget the freedoms we have. With a voting turnout of only 61 percent during our last election, it almost comes across as pitiful to see countries around the globe fighting for the right to vote. Our population is more interested in tuning in to watch the engagement between Chad Kroeger and Avril Lavigne, or photos of an undressed Prince of Wales than to actively take part in ever-changing politics of our world.

A world that chooses the wonder of stars over acknowledging its follies will no doubt fail. Freedoms need to be utilized, voices need to be spoken, and truths must be heard.

When freedoms are viewed more as privileges than rights, their legitimacy is increasingly difficult to prove. Communist Russia has a long history of oppression, and the democratic society they aim to project is a heavily distorted vision of reality. If people do not stand for their rights, the oppressing power has every opportunity to tread on the common people. Pussy Riot’s arrest is but one example of the atrocities committed today, and if people stand idly by and let their and others’ freedoms be stripped, there is no telling how far our freedoms will be pushed and outright ignored.

The Augusta National Golf Club, home of the famed Masters Tournament, accepted former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore, named one of the 50 most powerful women in business by Fortune magazine, as official members. First opened in 1933, the Augusta National Golf Club has a history of discrimination, having only admitted its first black member to its ranks in 1990. This marks the first time the prestigious golf club has invited women to the membership, and shows the results of the push for progress by gender equality activists everywhere.

For years women have been allowed to work, to vote, and to express themselves creatively. Women are among the greatest authors, company CEOs, athletes, and politicians. Women have continually proven themselves to match, and oftentimes, exceed the abilities of their male co-workers in any job field. Augusta’s pattern of discrimination should have ended in the 1970s when the women’s liberation movement was in full force.

Golf is viewed as a game of class, sport, integrity, and wealth.

From its inception, the game was dominated by rich white men, with very little prospects for women or non- whites who wanted to play. Augusta National Golf Club has made significant progress for equality since its troublesome, white-male only tradition. In 1975, Club founder Clifford Roberts said “As long as I’m alive, all golfers will be white and all the caddies will be black.”

Considering the long-standing tradition of men-only at Augusta, Roberts is spinning in his grave at the idea of Condoleezza Rice, a black woman, being accepted into Augusta’s highly prestigious and exclusive club.

For many years women suffered discrimination and had to fight for the rights they have today. Augusta’s acceptance of women to their ranks not only represents a victory for feminist supporters everywhere, but alludes to the progress of racial and gender equality.

But it’s hard to applaud such a delayed and reluctant advance.

Martha Burke, the chair of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, wrote to Augusta in 2002, urging the club to reconsider its all-male membership policy.

Not only was the plea ignored, but Augusta acting president “Hootie” Johnson declared a war against feminism. “There may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership,” Johnson wrote, “but that timetable will be ours and not at the point of bayonet.” In one sentence, “Hootie” Johnson insulted feminist supporters everywhere and established the club’s backward ideology and refusal to step into the 21st century.

Given their history against nonwhites and non-males, it could be said that the old acronym of golf—“gentlemen only, ladies forbidden”—is the unofficial motto of the Augusta National Golf Club. One imagines a golden placard of the acronym hanging above the desk of the current supremacist club president. While the invitations of the two superpowerful women to the club shows the club’s compassion and dedication to displaying itself as a leader in equality, it sounds far fetched for the club to invite more women into its ranks anytime soon. For Augusta’s PR, the invitation of both Rice and Moore was just the right number. Inviting one woman to represent the gender is segregation in itself: she would be an island, a single, silent voice among the crowd of men (and hey, women don’t even go to the bathroom alone half the time – surely a lady needs some company on the links, right?). Three women is far too many: bringing in three gives the impression the club is trying too hard at giving itself a good image, and they need to keep the crowd under control (after all, who ever heard of a golf club having at least 1 percent of members female?). Bringing two tokens to show off and say “of course we allow women” will temporarily halt the stigma against the club.

However, what lies ahead will undoubtedly uncover more prejudices against women.

In their own way, Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore join the ranks of trail blazers such as Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space; Mary Kies, the first woman to receive a patent; and Juanita Kreps, the first woman director of the New York Stock Exchange and first United States Secretary of Commerce. But their appointment is so long overdue that while they should be congratulated, Augusta should not.

Opinions

September 03, 2012

Some tips to help you adjust to school

| The Phoenix

21

Photo by UBC Library(flickr)

It’s not an official guidebook, but...

Matt Lauzon with Danielle Thorton Opinions Editor

Contributor

With classes coming in full swing, we need to adjust our lifestyles, and get stuff done. Whether it’s your first year, or you’re in a graduate program, those back to school jitters are no doubt affecting you. You’ll be tested and tried, and you’ll get pretty stressed out over it. Don’t worry though, that’s not for another four months. If anything you can slack, crack open a beer, and let the good times roll.

In the spirit of getting back into things, Danielle and I made a list to prepare you for what lies ahead, how to face what’s going on now and make the 2012/2013 year the best that it can be. It’s the article so nice, we wrote it twice.

ing home, the last thing on your mind should be to head to work.

Keep your work elsewhere, and your personal space, your personal space. Especially during the exam crunch, the worst thing to do is get up, rack your brain for hours, and fall on to bed. Changing your scenery does wonders for prioritizing your mind.

10- Just explore. Taking a walk around campus can clear your head of stress. You’ll find your favourite study spot, run into somebody you know, and get some fresh air if you haven’t been out. Just because the campus is a little smaller, doesn’t mean there’s nothing you haven’t seen before.

7- Try something you’ve never tried. Take that class you think sounds interesting. You’re only here once. Maybe you’ll find your new passion, maybe you’ll find out you hate something.

Better you find out now. There are many opportunities, either through classes, clubs, or just hanging out with a new crowd.

Find yourself.

9- Find a study spot. Your dorm, apartment, house, or cot is a sacred place. When com-

8- Meet people. You only better yourself by meeting other people. Regardless of who you are, the odds meeting somebody who shares similar interests are ridiculously high. Get out there and have fun! Besides, you may meet a billionaire in the making.

Ride those coattails.

6- Exercise. I could tell you that exercise makes you feel better,

relieves stress, and releases dopamine in your brain, but that’s been done to death. Just get out there, go for a jog, lift some weight, or get together with friends and head to your favourite medieval war reenactment battle. Remember: the “fresh 15” can easily turn into the “fresh 20” or even “fresh 30”. Having a meal plan makes eating way too easy, we don’t get the health benefits of foraging and chasing a kill.

sion is good for the mind and the soul. There’s a really cool student union that makes decisions for all of us. Are you up for it? If not there are tons of activities that peer mentors, residence RAs, and various clubs organize. Just don’t overextend: joining clubs, going out, socializing has its ups and downs. Remember your priorities before you’re stressing out about all of your commitments.

5- Get drunk off your ass. I mean, come on, you’re free from the shackles of home. Have some fun. Nothing relieves stress and calms you down more than the world’s most popular depressant. Just be smart. Having fun and drinking is another part of the atmosphere at university.

Save money doing so, however.

Bars put on college nights and drink specials. The Well puts on tons of stuff too and it’s only a stroll away.

3- Read this newspaper! If you made it this far, thanks! This paper is run by a bunch of cool people that not only want to tell you important things, but want to hear from you. We’re interested in providing accurate information, and we like having fun.

Write in if you think we’re doing a good job, write in if we’re doing a bad job (that’s not gonna happen, though). If you’ve always wanted to try writing an article, send an email to our editors, we’re always looking for help.

4- Become involved. You have a voice, you have an opinion, and you’re pretty smart. Say something that you think other people agree on. Say something that will get other people angry. Discus-

2- Be proactive. Everyone procrastinates, leaving assignments and studying to the final nights before the due date. Creativity, inspiration, and memory don’t come when you want them to. 30

minutes of studying per day relieves you of that stress that comes with cramming, makes 70’s into 80’s, and makes you look like a legitimate student. Give yourself your own deadlines: distractions such as Facebook and the entire internet won’t go away the night before projects are due.

1- Join Clubs. Ever wanted to star gaze? Astronomy club. Like chess? Chess club. Rock and roll? Rock and roll club. Drinking beer? Beer tasting. If there’s something you’ve ever wanted to try, there’s always a club that can do just that. Unless it’s like, basket weaving.

0- Get to class. It’s too obvious to include as a top ten. Always attend your lectures, labs, and tutorials. I know it may seem hard to get out of bed, nurse that hangover, or the classes seem endless but attendance will always benefit you in the future.

Take care in what you do.

Make the most out of your year, it’s going to be filled with fun, and tears. If you can dream it, you can do it!

ubcsuo pages The UBCSUO offers many great opportunities for students to get involved on the UBC Okanagan Campus. We will be striking the Student Affairs Committee, Services Committee, and Financial Committee. This year, the UBCSUO will be striking two brand new committees, which means more opportunities for students to get involved on and off campus with the Community Outreach Committee and the Student Life Committee. Make sure to check back for updates on when you can sign up for a committee of your interest.

POLICY AND BYLAWS COMMITTEE Co-Chair: Sabrina Tihomiroff and Sarah Smith Internal Coordinator | 250-807-9286 | internal@ubcsuo.ca The objectives of this committee are to ensure that the UBCSUO has sound governance to function efficiently, structure and reevaluate policies to ensure equity and fairness in the organization, and create dialogue amongst the student population and council to evaluate all constitution, policies, and by-laws.

The UBCSUO Policy and Bylaws Committee strives to continuously review and evaluate the efficiency of these governance documents. Through continuous democratic review, the Policy and Bylaws Committee aims to put forward recommendations for amending and creating new policies and bylaws.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH COMMITTEE Chair: Sam Chang External Coordinator | 250-807-9283 | external@ubcsuo.ca This committee will be used to benefit the community and it will be used to show that we really do care about our community. It can be used to attract volunteers that have a passion for non-profit work, and fill a void of volunteers in the city. We as a board, representing the 8,000+ student population, can really help our struggling community when it needs it most. Some objectives include fostering the link between community non-profits, and engage our students in community activities through the SUO. STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Chair: Sam Chang External Coordinator | 250-807-9283 | external@ubcsuo.ca The goals for the committee are raising awareness for certain campaigns such as Boycott the Bottle, More Accessible Transit, and Where’s the Funding campaign, discuss student issues on the UBC Okanagan campus and professionally search for a temporary solution and eventually a permanent one, and to deal with certain students problems and help advocate for their issues.

SERVICES COMMITTEE Chair: Jesse Baxter Services Coordinator | 250-807-9285 | services@ubcsuo.ca The objectives of this committee are to ensure that there is regular discussion between council and the student population to see whether or not the services of the students union matches the needs of the student body, to communicate the committee recommendations to the executive and the General Manager of the SUO, to conduct student surveys about student services at least twice a year, to explore the possibility of new services on campus, and explore how to improve the existing services.

STUDENT LIFE COMMITTEE Chair: Jesse Baxter Services Coordinator | 250-807-9285 | services@ubcsuo.ca This committee is a vision of advancing the focus of the Students’ Union and the University to Student life’s well-being and welfare on campus. Student life includes the needs of students, and also moral and most importantly school pride and spirit. This committee will create and develop initiatives by both the UBCSUO and UBC to further develop school spirit and student life on campus. Furthermore, it will foster cooperation between all student groups on campus with this exact vision.

FINANCE COMMITTEE Chair: Curtis Tse Financial Coordinator | 250-907-9281 | financial@ubcsuo.ca Goals of this committee includes ensuring that the UBCSUO has an inclusive budgetary process, which includes council and the general student population and examining a budget laid out by the Financial Coordinator to ensure the budget is focused around students and student needs at UBCO. This process is to happen twice a school year, once in the beginning of September and once in the beginning of January.

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