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SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
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• volume 92, number iii • room 24, student union building • published monday and thursday • feedback@ubyssey.ca
ONE DAY DOWN UBC Vancouver Campus Boundary
N
Vancouver Campus Plan Area Neighbourhoods in VCP Area
Family Housing Neighbourhoods (excluded)
Current land uses remain until an academic plan for the area is complete and the density has been transferred. Refer to Campus Plan Details, Chapter 3 Campus Land Use for more information.
FOUR YEARS TO GO
0
150
300m
2010-Apr-27
2 / u b y s s e y. c a / e v e n t s / 2 0 1 0 . 0 9 . 0 9 september 09, 2010 volume xcii, no iii editorial coordinating editor
Justin McElroy : coordinating@ubyssey.ca
news editor
events thursday, sepT. 9
Arshy Mann : news@ubyssey.ca
associate news editor
how to find a work study/work learn job on campus
Vacant
culture editors
Jonny Wakefield & Bryce Warnes : culture@ubyssey.ca
Interested in working part-time on campus this year in Work Study (for Canadian students) or Work Learn (for international undergraduate students)? • 10am– 4pm, register at secure.students.ubc.ca/ workshops/careers.cfm.
associate culture editor
Anna Zoria : associate.culture@ubyssey.ca
sports editor
Ian Turner : sports@ubyssey.ca
features editor
Trevor Record : features@ubyssey.ca
photo editor
Geoff Lister : photos@ubyssey.ca
production manager
film society screening: alice in wonderland
Virginie Ménard : production@ubyssey.ca
copy editor
Kai Green : copy@ubyssey.ca
Tim Burton’s twist on a beloved classic stars Mia Wasikowska as a 19 -year-old Alice who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends, including the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). • 7pm, Norm Theatre, free screening.
multimedia editor
Tara Martellaro : multimedia@ubyssey.ca
associate multimedia editor Stephanie Warren : associate.multimedia@ubyssey.ca
video editor
Matt Wetzler : video@ubyssey.ca
webmaster
UBC’s Big Night Out Party: Here Today, Gone Today: MFA Grad Art Expo at the Belkin Art Gallery It’s time to get classy, UBC. The Belkin Art Gallery is showcasing the mind-blowing work of its Masters of Fine Arts students. Shine up those dress shoes, straighten that hair and come enjoy food, drinks and music at the world-renowned Belkin Art Gallery, right across from the Rose Garden. The art this year includes cuttingedge sculpture, photography and mixed media. Enjoy a sober night of artistic introspection before a weekend of inevitable boozing. • Belkin Art Gallery, 7-10pm, more info at www.belkin.ubc.ca/future/ ubc-mfa-graduate-exhibition-2010.
Jeff Blake : webmaster@ubyssey.ca Room 24, Student Union Building 6138 Student Union Boulevard Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 tel: 604.822.2301 web: www.ubyssey.ca e-mail: feedback@ubyssey.ca
friday, sepT. 10
business Room 23, Student Union Building advertising: 604.822.1654 business office: 604.822.6681 fax: 604.822.1658 e-mail: advertising@ubyssey.ca
ams welcome back BBQ featuring the gaslight anthem The Welcome Back BBQ is the headlining event for the first week of class and is running for its 27 th year. Gaslight Anthem takes the stage as this year’s main performance. • 2pm, MacInnes Field, free.
business manager
Fernie Pereira : business@ubyssey.ca
ad traffic
Kathy Yan Li : advertising@ubyssey.ca
ad design
Paul Bucci : webads@ubyssey.ca
dean’s debate deathmatch
contributors
Which faculty is best? Watch your dean’s (i.e. the head of your faculty) square off in this all or nothing, no-holds-barred verbal mixed martial arts event. Come cheer on your faculty and watch the others be destroyed. • 2:30pm, SUB Conversation Pit.
Ngaio Hotte Kristy Dindorf Fabrizio Stendardo Gili Rosenberg Samantha Jung Micki Cowan Andrew Hood Carima Palmitesta Kathy Yan Li Kalyeena Makortoff Nilo Tabrizy David Elop (Photo page 1)
legal The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Monday and Thursday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous, democratically run student organization, and all students are encouraged to participate. Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society. The Ubyssey is a founding member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and adheres to CUP’s guiding principles. Letters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please include your phone number, student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and faculty with all submissions. ID will be checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey; otherwise verification will be done by phone. “Perspectives” are opinion pieces over 300 words but under 750 words and are run according to space. “Freestyles” are opinion pieces written by Ubyssey staff members. Priority will be given to letters and perspectives over freestyles unless the latter is time sensitive. Opinion pieces will not be run until the identity of the writer has been verified. The Ubyssey reserves the right to edit submissions for length and clarity. All letters must be received by 12 noon the day before intended publication. Letters received after this point will be published in the following issue unless there is an urgent time restriction or other matter deemed relevant by the Ubyssey staff. It is agreed by all persons placing display or classified advertising that if the Ubyssey Publications Society fails to publish an advertisement or if an error in the ad occurs the liability of the UPS will not be greater than the price paid for the ad. The UPS shall not be responsible for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value or the impact of the ad.
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We want you to send us your events so we know where we’ll be on Friday nights. events@ubyssey.ca
U theubyssey.ca
Design Cube Launch: Celebrating the New SUB In June the AMS announced that HBBH + BH is the architect firm planning the New SUB Project. Schematic design with students will begin in September. To ensure students are engaged in the process, the AMS and HBBH + BH will be running a series of workshops and c h aret tes o n to p ic s su c h as stu d ent l i f e , s u s t a i n a b i l i t y, s t u d e n t s o c i a l s p a c es an d green spaces. In addition to this, there will be an on - site Design Cube (working office) in the south alcove of the SUB. On Friday, September 10, there will be a celebration for the grand opening of the Design Cube, including c ake fo r a ll . • 3:3 0 – 4:3 0 p m , S o uth Alcove, SUB.
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News
editor ARSHY MANN » news@ubyssey.ca associate VACANT
AUS accounts frozen over lack of budget Arts executive criticized for poor management Arshy Mann news@ubyssey.ca Last week, AMS VP Finance Elin Tayyar froze the accounts of the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) after it was discovered that they were operating without a budget. He lifted the freeze for September after the AUS promised to submit a full budget by the end of the month. The AUS, which is the largest undergraduate society on campus, represents over 12,000 Arts students and receives approximately $130,000 in fees for their annual operating budget, which is collected and overseen by the AMS. “I really didn’t think there was any problem with the budget, until I got an email from Elin saying that our accounts had been frozen,” said Interim AUS President Ryan Trasolini. “I was a little bit upset, because obviously this [was] the first time I’d heard about it.” According to Trasolini, the AUS executive had not drafted a budget by the July 30 deadline because of a later start to their term. He said this was caused by a botched election, changes in the way that coordinators were selected and the resignation of VP Internal Elysia Pyne. AMS President Bijan Ahmadian said that is not uncommon for the AMS to freeze the accounts of clubs or constituencies who are financially dependent on the AMS. “We regularly freeze club accounts,” said Ahmadian. “Freezing accounts just ensures that no transactions can be processed until
Societies recieve their funding from the AMS. Geoff LIster photo/The Ubyssey
the club/constituency has contacted the AVP or VP Finance and submitted their budget for approval.” After the accounts were unfrozen, VP Finance Michelle Yuen sent an email to AUS Council with a preliminary budget for September and asked them to vote on it via email. When some councillors expressed concern about debating a budget via email, a council meeting was called for Monday, September 6, which was rescheduled to Thursday, September 9. In that email, Yuen said that she was responsible in her handling of the society’s finances. “Trust me when I say I hold the strings to the purse real tight, and anyone who has seen
me work as the AUS VP Finance can vouch for me. I trust that you can trust me to handle your money with caution and reason,” she wrote. Trasolini said that unlike the AMS, the AUS does not have to pass all purchases through council. “We have a line item in our code that says the VP Finance has the autonomy to spend anything $5000 dollars or less,” he said. “We do anyways just because we want people to be on board with what we’re doing, because it’s a team effort here. So that’s why we sent out that email, because we didn’t have to, we just wanted to make sure everyone knows exactly what’s happening.”
According to AUS Councillor Michael Haack, miscommunication was at the heart of the budget crisis. Haack, who claimed that he was unaware that the executive had not yet crafted a budget, said that he “thought that the budget would have been something handled earlier in the year...so I’m fairly certain that the rest of council was not aware that there was [no budget].” “Nobody had mentioned that we need to get a budget done,” said Haack. “Rather, it was free spending for the greater part of the year.” He also said that he and other councillors intend to bring about code changes on Thursday’s meeting to require future executives to present a budget to council by a certain date. Trasolini, however, was skeptical about the effectiveness of such measures. “I think for the sake of efficiency, it’s very challenging to have every little mini-detail go through council,” he said. Ahmadian stated that the AMS is as confident in the AUS’s ability to handle its own finances as they are about any club or constituency. “[We’re] not very confident,” he said. Haack said that he did not have confidence in the AUS executive’s ability to run the society. “The biggest thing I’d like people to focus on is that Ryan doesn’t know that he’s done anything wrong. He hasn’t apologized for anything, it was just business as usual,” he said. U
NEWS BRIEFS Pep Rally Prank Foiled A plan to disrupt yesterday’s Imagine Day Pep Rally was foiled by UBC staff. Students attempted to unfurl a sign reading “Abolish Tuition Now” behind AMS President Bijan Ahmadian during his address to the class of 2014 with UBC President Stephen Toope. Student Development staff caught a few UBC students putting up the sign and promptly escorted them out of Thunderbird Arena. World’s Largest Twister Game planned for ubc In honour of Vancouver Improv’s oneyear anniversary, the troupe is attempting to break the world record for the largest Twister game. On September 12 at 2pm they hope to gather over 4160 people—the current Guinness World record—at UBC’s MacInnes Field to participate. 1150 Twister mats will be available for a minimum donation of $10 with all proceeds going to BC Cancer Research. ubc last priority when it comes to rapid transit Metro Chief Administrative Officer Johnny Carline and Surrey Councillor Judy Villeneuve have proposed focusing increased transit services in Surrey and other areas south of the Fraser, rather than a rapid transit line down Broadway to UBC. “We can’t afford to have investments going out to UBC that take away from investment in the major growth areas,” said Carline to The Vancouver Sun. By 2040, Metro Vancouver’s population is expected to increase by one million people, with one third of those living in White Rock and Surrey. Metro Vancouver will have a public hearing on the matter in November.
UBC students cross Canada in electric VW Wonderbug Ngaio Hotte Contributor
A pit stop for the E-Beetle at Queens during Canada’s first elecrical coast-to-coast journey. Courtesy of the UBc electric Car Club
Ricky Gu and Colin Mastin were jubilant as they rolled into Halifax on the evening of September 7. “It feels great,” Gu said in a CBC interview. “I can’t believe we made it without a single problem at all.” Gu and Mastin, members of the UBC Electric Car Club (UBCECC), broke records this month when they zipped from coast to coast in a converted electric Volkswagen Beetle. Their 6400-kilometre journey from Vancouver to Halifax was the first-ever unsupported trip across Canada made by an electric vehicle. The trip was planned to raise awareness about electric vehicles, and to educate the public and government officials about the viability of electric cars for transportation, t he drivers said. “We just proved there is existing electric infrastructure across the entire Trans-Canada Highway. There’s countless RV parks and campgrounds where big RV trailers go in to plug in their power,” Mastin explained. “I mean, electric vehicles are going to be the future and we can’t rely on fossil fuels forever.”
The UBCECC began working on the car in October 2009, and funded the project with grants from UBC and $25,000 in donations from individuals and private companies. The 1972 Wonderbug, dubbed the ‘E-Beetle’ by the club, was picked for its cultural significance as a symbol of transportation for all people. The car was fixed up and refitted by the UBCECC as an electric vehicle with a 50 kilowatt-hour Lithium ion battery pack. The 1000-pound battery pack charges fully in four hours, holds enough energy to drive 300 kilometres on the highway or 500 kilometres in the city, and allows the car to reach a top speed of 140 kilometres per hour. The E-Beetle can be charged using a high-power plug-in outlet, available at RV Parks everywhere, so special charging stations are not needed—an issue that has slowed adoption of electric vehicles in Canada. According to Gu, one of the benefits of the E-Beetle is how inexpensively he and Mastin could travel with the car. “It cost about $3 for every 300 kilometres. So 6500 kilometres, it cost about $64 in electricity!” While the E-Beetle runs on electricity rather than fossil fuels and causes less pollution than most other cars sold in
Canada, the amount of pollution produced from generating electricity differs between provinces. Fuelling up wit h electricity in provinces like British Columbia and Quebec, where most electricity comes from hydro power, is “greener” than fuelling up in provinces like Alberta, where electricity comes mostly from burning coal. What comes next for the EBeetle? The UBCECC hopes that the E-Beetle will take on the world at the United Nations Environment Programme-sponsored Zero Race in 2011, an 80day race across 16 countries to raise awareness about the benefits of electric vehicles. U —With files from the CBC
Electric vehicles are going to be the future and we can’t rely on fossil fuels forever. colin mastin UBC Electric Car Club Member
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Animal rights activists stage protest UBC argues animal experimentation is necessary to cure diseases FABRIZIO STENDARDO Contributor On Tuesday, STOP UBC Animal Research, an animal rights group, held a protest at the Cecil Green Park House during an alumni event to protest animal experimentation at the university. Brian Vincent, a spokesperson for the group, said he was happy with how the event turned out. “I’m very proud of how the volunteers represented the organization,” he said. “They adhered to the mission statement of being very peaceful.” He also said that UBC officials were respectful of their right to free speech. This protest was the latest action in a media campaign the group has been undertaking over the past month. STOP, which is an offshoot of the Animal Defense and AntiVivisection Society of BC, advocates for the abolition of all testing and research conducted on animals at UBC. They were inspired by an 2008 article published in The Ubyssey entitled “Cruel Intentions.” In the article, Dr. Chris Harvey-Clark, director of UBC’s Animal Care Centre, claimed the university might be “the second largest biomedical campus in Canada.” According to Vincent, STOP has upwards of 200 members, including a private Facebook page.
The group claims that one of their primary objectives is to have greater transparency when it comes to animal research. “We think that the public has a right to know how their money is being spent,” said Vincent. He said that STOP’s ultimate goal is to hold a debate between scientists on both sides of this issue. However, UBC VP Research John Hepburn said that information regarding research on animals is “the intellectual property of individual researchers.” Moreover, Hepburn worried that some of the information that STOP was asking for could be misinterpreted. Hepburn said that STOP’s objective is unrealistic, which is why the university will not engage in a dialogue with the group. “It’s important that UBC, as a major research institution, tries to find cures to major diseases,” he said. Hepburn went on to say that testing on animals is a regulatory requirement for agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada before anything can be tested on humans. “You don’t want to stop research on anima ls because there is no substitute,” said Hepburn. Recently, Hepburn sent an email to faculty and staff warning them to “remain vigilant...to help mitigate potentially unpleasant
Alumnus Wallace Ewert talks with activist Isla Kay at a protest at Cecil Green House. Geoff Lister/The Ubyssey
and violent situations” due to the increased activity by animal rights groups around UBC’s Vancouver campus. In response, Anne Birthistle, another STOP spokesperson, said that the group’s presence at UBC had been threatened. Hepburn maintained the email was a response to a YouTube video in which an unidentified person
tried to gain access to research facilities on campus, which he said was not to his knowledge associated with STOP. “[I believe that] STOP is a legitimate group that is representing the rights of animals,” said Hepburn. “I am not worried about their campaign. I am concerned with the [groups that] follow.” U
You don’t want to stop research on animals because there is no substitute. John Hepburn UBC VP Research
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culture
editorS BRYCE WARNES & JONNY WAKEFIELD » culture@ubyssey.ca
Three Days. Two Locations. One great weekend of concerts.
The Headliners: Gaslight Anthem U: What’s your favorite song to
play live?
AR: A lot of the new songs I’m
still not terribly comfortable playing yet, but that being said, I’d say “Spirit of Jazz” (off American Slang, their latest release). Couldn’t really tell you why though.
U: Do you guys ever have any time off from touring and recording? What do you do when you’re not playing? I think a lot of people imagine you driving muscle cars. AR: I’m constantly playing, even when we’re not. That’s when I get to delve into some of my more guilty pleasures. And I drive a 2004 Nissian Sentra. I believe the color is ‘champagne.’
U: You said in reference to Sink One of the few bands that pulls off the tough—but sensitive—thing. Photo courtesy of Ashley Maile or Swim that you were at sort of at a turning point, whether to go MacInnes Field at the Welcome headlong into Gaslight or drop Jonny Wakefield Alex Rosamilia: You would unBack BBQ. The Ubyssey got in it and get normal jobs and settle culture@ubyssey.ca derstand if you were from Jertouch with guitarist Alex Rosadown. How do you feel now when sey...Sometimes an accent difmilia to talk Bruce, muscle cars, you look back at that time in With all the negative press foferentiates a people, and someand American Slang. your lives, considering the succused on New Jersey these days, times, I guess it’s just a matter cess you’ve had with the band? what with the rude housewives of actually liking where you’re and the drunk Italians with stufrom. Ubyssey: West coasters are someAR: When we recorded Sink or pid names, it’s nice to see the times confused by the love that Swim, we all had jobs. We startreemergence of that old Garbands from New Jersey have U: The obligatory Springsteen ed touring and got to the point to den State archetype: the homefor their home state. You’ve question: can you describe the where as long as we stayed on the grown rock ‘n’ roller with a chip said in interviews that The ‘59 first time you met him? road, we’d be good, so we never on his shoulder and his heart on Sound is loosely based on growleft the road. It’s kind of been the the sleeve of his leather jacket. ing up in New Jersey. Why do AR: Everything happened so fast same since...looking back makes On Friday, the finest band from you think that bands coming that I didn’t really get a chance me nostalgic, but then again, it the state whose motto is “Liberty out of New Jersey are so fierceto truly comprehend what was does that to everybody, right? U and Prosperity,” will be playing ly New-Jersey-an? going on until it was over...
Opening Act: The Menzingers Jonny Wakefield culture@ubyssey.ca
Scranton’s finest. Photo courtesy of the menzingers
Scranton, Pennsylvania is the perfect model of a seen-better-days Rust Belt town. “Everybody knows everybody,” says Tom May, singer and guitarist of The Menzingers. “It’s like Pittsburgh, but way smaller and more Italian. “It’s definitely a great place to be a punk band.” The Menzingers formed following the break up of several Scranton ska bands, shortly after May graduated high school. “We stopped smoking so much weed and got into punk,” says May of the shift. The members, who now include Joe Godino, Greg Barnett and Eric Keen, bonded over their love of The Clash and Against Me! May says growing up in Scranton presented him and his future band mates with few options for entertainment. They grew up playing veterans’ halls and house shows until they were shut down, at which point another venue would spring up. “There’s nothing to do if you don’t want to go to some jerk off football game, which makes for a cool punk scene,” he says.
Scranton bred this kind of usversus-them antagonism into the Menzingers, which formed in 2006. This is evident when he talks about a song called “Alpha Kappa Fall Off A Balcony.” In the song, May equates the crackdowns on civil liberties following 9/11 with the good old boy-ism associated with many fraternities. May admits the song, written when he was 19 and studying music theory at Penn State, seems a little “black and white” in retrospect, and quickly adds that some fraternities “give a lot back to the community.” It’s more than a little strange to hear an old punk suddenly say nice things about the Fraternity system. “Bros will be bros,” he concedes. Musically, The Menzingers’ weak point is songwriting that can be over the top and melodramatic. Woah-ohs, gang vocals and minute long instrumental builds are common, and lose their emotional effect when you’re bludgeoned with them for too long. Some songs break through the wall of sound, like the single “I was born,” which departs from these pop punk staples. All in all, not a bad band to be drunk in a field to. U
Saturday @ pit: Born Ruffians & Fine Mist Born Ruffians Born Ruffians will be playing at The Pit this Saturday, September 11. The band started in 2004 and consists of three members: Luke LaLonde (guitar/vocals), Mitch Derosier (bass) and Steven Hamelin (drums). All three hail from Midland, Ontario but have since seen international success, touring with the likes of Hot Chip, Peter Bjorn and John, Girl Talk, the Hold Steady and Caribou. The trio’s most recent album, Say It, takes the band into a different, more sophisticated direction, and proves that these guys are more than a “show band.” Though the album, released this summer, lacks the catchiness and accessibility of their original hits “Hummingbird” and “I Need a Life,” it displays a more mature approach to songmaking. —Anna Zoria Fine Mist Vancouver’s own Fine Mist are a pop band with some singing, some synthing, and a beat machine. Their debut album, Public Domain, is out September 14. On stage, Fine Mist have a kind of nonchalance which alternates between charming and a little grating. They often perform with glasses of white wine. Jay Arner, the beat and synthesizer, gets stuff going on the machines and sort of wanders around stage, occasionally singing some harmony or doing some keyboard magic. The beat plods forward. When the lines get especially catchy or warrant a singalong (“Fuck that, you’re leaving for Europe/Fuck that, you’re leaving forever”), vocalist Megan McDonald does some bouncing. And so it goes. Maybe you’ll be intrigued by their on stage chemistry, or maybe you’ll decide to clean out your wallet instead. —Jonny Wakefield
Sunday @ pit: JFK Jesse F. Keeler (JFK) was involved with music long before he started MSTRKRFT in 2006 with Al Puodziukas, aka Al-P. JFK’s roots lie in punk and hardcore bands, based in his native Toronto. His best-known early projects are Black Cat #13 and Femme Fatale, the latter produced by Al-P. At the beginning of his DJ career, JFK was better known as the bass player for Canadian dance-punk duo Death From Above 1979, with his roommate/vocalist/drummer Sebastien Grainger. However, after an exhausting four-year touring schedule, DFA 1979 took time off, giving JFK the opportunity to finish building MSTRKRFT’s studios in East York, Toronto. Shortly after their yearlong break, DFA 1979 broke up, making MSTRKRFT JFK’s full-time music project. —Nilo Tabrizy
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freak out at the Fringe Anna Zoria associate.culture@ubyssey.ca I know what you’re thinking: theatre? Yawn. That’s for squares. Well hold up, young buck! Check your preconceived notions at the door for the 2010 Vancouver Fringe Festival. Fringe shows are more likely to include penis jokes and cuss words than your average high school musical. And most of them present perspectives and narrative styles far spicier than the warm, mealy porridge dished out by more mainstream theatre. Mamma Mia! this ain’t.
Die Roten Punkte Fringe has something for you music lovers out there. Die Roten Punkte is a German hard rock parody duo made up of two siblings, Astrid (drums) and Otto (guitar) who run around the stage belting out their own versions of indie-rock songs in thick German accents. The two have some serious musical talent to back up their ass-foolery. Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright Street
Wicked Shorts The best part about the Vancouver Fringe Festival is its DIY feel, which is exactly what Wicked Shorts is all about. Four short, locally submitted plays have been chosen for the occasion by Alley Theatre and will be presented in your not-so-average theatre setting, the coffee shop Wicked Cafe. The underlying theme of the evening will be relationships, love and secrets. Take a date along and win brownie points for being interesting and cultured. Wicked Cafe, 1399 7 Avenue West
A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup Miss Hiccup is a white-painted, flowerbedecked, red-gloved Japanese mime who takes you along for a ride through her adventure-filled day. From dance to absurd music to songs which accompany her daily routine, this is one play that is sure to leave you smiling and giggling. One reviewer described it as a “Japanese cartoon character on acid.” Performance Works, 1288 Cartwright Street
What You Want Andrew Templeton, the writer and director of What You Want, describes his creation as a Vancouver sex comedy. The play is loosely based on Templeton’s own experiences upon his return to Vancouver after a fifteen-year absence. It centres around four characters who explore their desires, secrets, relationships and notions of home. Among the team behind this play are four UBC alumni, including Templeton himself. Havana, 1212 Commercial Drive
Poison the Well Two childhood friends are brought back together after being separated by war. The setting of their reunion? A hostage crisis in Russia. Good for those looking for something heavy, tense and possibly heartbreaking. Playwrights Theatre Centre, 1398 Cartwright Street
Were we right? Check out our Fringe reviews in the coming issues. The Vancouver Fringe Festival runs September 9-19.
Fucking stephen harper Journalist Rob Salerno’s Fucking Stephen Harper: How I Sexually Assaulted the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada and Saved Democracy is based on the time he was assigned to interview the PM and actually ended up getting arrested for sexually assaulting him. Sure the title is a cheap trick, but even if everything goes wrong at this show, you still get to hear about Stephen Harper’s balls. You can’t lose! Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright Street
52 Pick-Up 52 Pick-Up is an audience favourite, with no two performances ever exactly the same. The play is a romantic tale, spread out over 52 scenes. The order of the scenes is determined at the beginning, when a deck of cards is tossed into the air. The cards, each of which has the title of a scene written on it, are then picked up and acted out. Water front T heatre, 1412 Car t wright Street
Images courtesy Vancouver Fringe Festival
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It’s all nice on ice
Is your fridge running?
Crevasse-hoppin’ at Garibaldi
Enjoy your cold beer, leftovers
VOC members on the ice. Photo Courtesy of Gili Rosenberg
Gili Rosenberg Varsity Outdoor Club “Jump!” I shouted to Maya. She was standing on the edge of a deep crevasse, a long wide gap in the glacier. Peering down into the depths, all she could see was darkness. Looking right and left, the crevasse extended dozens of metres to each side. We had no choice but to cross it. Finally, Maya threw her hiking poles over to the far side, and with one easy stride made it across. Crossing the Garibaldi Neve in summer is a challenge. We went in knowing that finding a route through the maze of icefalls and gaping crevasses might be impossible. In winter the crevasses are filled with snow, making routefinding much easier. Nevertheless, Christian, who organized the trip through the Varsity Outdoor Club, led about 20 enthusiastic hikers through the endless sea of ice ravines. Our trip started just past Squamish, at the Diamond Head parking lot. We followed the immensely popular hiking trail to Elfin
Lakes. There we left the beaten track, crossed a mountain stream and hiked past Opal Cone, an extinct volcano. Snow and ice began to build up until at last we set foot on the actual glacier. We put on crampons, which are spiky contraptions that allow one to walk safely on hard snow and ice. For many of us, this was our first time on a glacier.
Outdoors with the varsity Outdoor club When we reached a section of the glacier where the crevasses were covered by snow, we roped up in small groups. That way, if one of us fell into a hidden crevasse, the rest of us would be able to pull him or her out. For the steeper parts we held ice axes, which we would use to hack into the ice if we happened to fall and hurtle down an icy hill. At the end of the first day we camped in tents on snow, right below Mt Garibaldi and Atwell
Peak. After a long day in the sun, we were exhausted and looked forward to a hot dinner—noodle soup followed by pasta. Christian played his ukulele, and the group sat huddled together, sang some songs and gazed at the stars. The next day we woke up early, had a hasty breakfast and watched the sun rise up like an orange fireball through skies hazy from forest fires. The hardest part of the route lay before us. In the distance I could see a menacing maze of an icefall, which we would have to cross. One group went ahead to look for a good route. If we couldn’t find one, we would have had to turn around. No one was looking forward to retracing our steps. The call came that we should follow the intricate route found by Roland, which involved going right through the icefall, hiking down and back up on narrow bridges of ice. A bear appeared on a small ridge up ahead, saw us, and scampered off. I imagine he was quite surprised to see people in such a forlorn place. Finally we were back on firm ground on Brohm Ridge, but my thoughts raced back to the icy world we had left behind. U
This trip was organized by the Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC) of UBC. The club organizes outdoor activities, such as hiking, scrambling, rock climbing, kayaking, backcountry skiing and mountaineering. You can find them in the VOC clubroom, located in the basement of the SUB, or at ubc-voc.com.
and how we would never bear children, but luckily the lack of oxygen in the room meant I could barely register him.
For every fridge we rented, we were mistaken for the registration desk three times.
Life with kristy dindorf Last weekend, I did something so far from my projected career path, it’s barely even in the same universe: I became a mini-fridge salesperson. Those of you currently navigating the sparse job postings on Craigslist will understand the source of my frustrations—the never-answered email resumes; the desperation for a job, any job. As a mini-fridge salesperson, I have inhaled copious amount of bleach, been yelled at by numerous angry parents, and witnessed the first freshman Walk of Shame. Your first priority as minifridge salesperson is to clean your product so it’s fit to rent. Having known freshmen last year whose fridges grew happy little civilizations out of the milk they spilled at the beginning of the year, I knew some heavy duty Windex and bleach was necessary. For hours we toiled away in a dark room. At one point the manager of the storage unit next door walked by and gave us a lecture about the perils of inhaling bleach
Then came the set up. I found myself sitting behind a table in the commons area during Freshman Move In day at 8 am. It made for good people-watching: highlights included a toga-clad girl skipping through the commons, presumably still intoxicated from the night before. Sadly, she didn’t stop to rent a fridge. Many people seemed confused by the whole idea of fridge rental. For every fridge we rented, we were mistaken for the registration desk three times. I can’t begin to count the number of times we were asked for directions to the washroom. The most important part of the fridge rental game is to convince people (or parents) they need your product. This is where the angry parents came through in force. They were unhappy about their kid leaving them, and even unhappier they were footing the bill. Walking around with a scowl on their face, they sniffed around the fridges with fierce intensity, demanding only the finest. Meanwhile, various mother hens asked with worried eyes if their child was going to starve without one. I hadn’t the heart to tell them most people just store beer. Thanks to our efforts, the freshmen population will remain fed, their stomachs full of cold beer. Just try not to spill any milk. U
Come to the Ubyssey’s Open House on September 16th from 1-5pm and meet the editors. We’re in room 24 in the SUB Basement. justin mcelroy coordinating@ubyssey.ca
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Drop by for our general meetings every Tuesday at noon.
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governance UBC is a UniverCity Justin McElroy & Samantha Jung What is UBC? The short answer is a university. But it’s also a community. And therein lies the tension. When a bus heading west passes Blanca Street, it leaves the City of Vancouver and enters the unincorporated area of Electoral Area A. There are bars, grocery stores, condos, parks, salons and everything you would expect in a city. Except UBC isn’t a city. It has no mayor and no council for all citizens. Instead, the Board of Governors reigns supreme. The Board grants power to different groups to make decisions, but a majority of the board is appointed by the provincial government. If it sounds confusing
and somewhat unaccountable, it’s because it is. We served as the news editors of this paper for the last two years, and we can tell you that virtually every major issue on this campus is influenced by the unique governance structure at UBC. Lawsuits about parking tickets. Conflicts with permanent residents. Food options in and around campus. Complaints against the RCMP. They are dealt with and resolved in a way that is unique to UBC and seems strange to most students. That may be changing. Tired of the lack of clarity, the provincial government has asked UBC to oversee a process that would see the university lands incorporated into...something. What that will be is hard to foresee. How much formal power would
UBC have? What sort of governance structure would be set up? Would students who live on campus be given the same rights as permanent residents? We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we are sure of two things. First, whatever form of government comes into practice at UBC will affect everyone on this campus, from permanent residents to students. Second, that students need to have a say in the decision-making process. We have yet to find a way to give direct input to the governance of this campus. But this is a university. It operates for students, and it’s up to us to be a part of plans that could affect us. So read all that you can, and educate yourself on the past and present, so that you know what to expect for the future. U
Who makes up my government? The following groups have a say about what goes on in your campus UBC: The university has tasked
itself with the zoning and construction of all developments on campus. It conducts its zoning through a body called Campus and Community Planning, which creates and updates a Land Use Plan (formerly Official Community Plan) for the UBC campus, and UBC Neighbourhood Plans for residential housing. Formerly, residential zoning occurred with the cooperation of Metro Vancouver, although tensions between the two parties arose on occasion. Construction on campus and in residential areas follows what is laid out in the Land Use Plan, and is conducted by Properties Trust, a private company held entirely by UBC.
Board of Governors (BOG): The 21-member board is responsible
for all affairs of the university, including administration of property, revenue and business affairs. The Board meets formally five times per year, and has several subcommittees that meet periodically. Along with the president and chancellor, eleven members of the board are appointed by the provincial government, three are elected by faculty, three are elected by students (two from UBC Vancouver and one from UBC Okanagan) and three are elected by non-faculty staff. UNA: The University Neighbour-
hoods Association, founded in 2002, represents residents living in the various “neighbourhoods” created by UBC, including Hampton Place, Hawthorn Place and South Campus. As a self-described approximation
of a municipal council, they seek to represent the 7500 permanent residents of UBC as well as administer bylaws in the area. Although not officially a municipal government, their representatives are elected, and the university grants them de facto jurisdiction over municipal-type bylaws such as noise control. Electoral Area A: The current municipal designation of the UBC area, as defined by Metro Vancouver. UBC and the University Endowment Lands are included in this area, whose citizens can only vote for the Director of Electoral Area A. The director, who sits on the Metro Vancouver board, is the sole elected official representing members of UBC and the UEL at a municipal level.
Top: An aerial view of the parking lot-filled UBC Campus in 1974. Bo
Now T h e n
Timeline: UBC Governance 1890–1906: Vancouver College Passed in 1890, legislation entitled An Act Respecting the University of British Columbia leads to the establishment of Vancouver College in 1899. Later renamed the McGill University College of British Columbia, the institution is governed by Montreal’s McGill University, and would later become UBC. Located in the Fairview area of Vancouver, only first and second-year courses are offered to Arts and Science students.
1907–1908: The University Acts In 1907, the University Endowment Act allows for the sale of up to two million acres of land, mostly in the Cariboo region, for funding a provincial university. It is followed by the University Act the next year, which grants the university autonomy from McGill.
1915: UBC begins
1921: UEL lands are created
Point Grey is selected as the building site for the University of British Columbia. Meanwhile, on September 30, 1915, the first session begins, with classes taking place at the McGill University College buildings in Fairview. Construction at the Point Grey campus does not begin until 1914, and is quickly halted after the outbreak of WWI.
The University Endowment Act, which had failed to generate revenue due to a lack of land sales in the Cariboo region, is amended. Roughly 30 0 0 acres adjacent to the Point Grey campus, where construction is still halted, can be sold to finance the school.
May 2010: Bill 20
November 2009: Metro Vancouver vs. UBC
October 2009: UBC Development Handbook
2008: UBC Far
This bill makes the BC Minister of Community and Rural Development responsible for local and regional land use planning on the UBC Point Grey campus. The UBC Board of Governors will create land use plans, which the Minister will be able to adopt. Metro Vancouver continues to be the regional government and provides services to the UEL, but will no longer hold land use powers.
Metro Vancouver introduces a zoning proposal for the use of academic land on campus, noting that UBC is in a conflict of interest as the planner and developer of land on campus. Current UBC President Stephen Toope issues a press release and email to students, staff and faculty informing them of the university’s concerns with Metro Vancouver’s announcement. The email claims that Metro Vancouver could potentially endanger the academic freedom of the university.
As UBC is not located within an incorporated municipality, the university uses this guide much like municipal zoning. It sets the requirements for obtaining development approvals in areas with neighbourhood plans. Metro Vancouver argues that UBC lacks the authority to outline such measures. The university believes the document is in accordance with managing its own land for both institutional and non-institutional development.
Campus and ning puts for for the camp clude the UB a farm of sig size. The pla and resident Vancouver v for keeping t in its entiret
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Guest editors JUSTIN MCELROY » coordinating@ubyssey.ca SAMANTHA JUNG » sjung@ubyssey.ca Features editor TREVOR RECORD » features@ubyssey.ca
Bill 20 opens new chapter at UBC Samantha Jung sjung@ubyssey.ca New legislation recently passed by the provincial government will not only have an impact on how UBC governs its land, but on how students experience campus. Bill 20 outlines the transfer of land-use planning oversight from Metro Vancouver to the province’s Ministry of Community and Rural Development. This would essentially give the university more control over campus, something that it has been advocating for months. The university is pleased by the legislation. “I think it’s going to be a very exciting period,” UBC VP External, Legal and Community Affairs Stephen Owen told The Ubyssey in May. The legislation is a “two-stage process” that UBC and the province are in the midst of, according to Owen. Both groups will now be working together towards a governance model— considered a long-term solution—for UBC. UBC and Metro Vancouver have not always seen eye to eye. Although the two governing bodies have agreements in place regarding land-use planning, such as the Official Community Plan enacted by the two groups in 1997, they have had disagreements in the past. In 2005, Metro Vancouver intervened during a dispute between the Wreck Beach Preservation Society and UBC over t he proposed Ma ri ne
Who Is getting left out?
ottom: An aerial view of the UBC Campus in 2009. courtesy of UBC archives
Drive Residences, which forced UBC to curtail the number and height of the towers. In November, the university accused Metro Vancouver of overstepping their boundaries when they proposed further zoning guidelines for the university. Metro Vancouver responded by saying that the university needed firmer guidelines around governance of land development on campus. Owen was blunt about Metro Vancouver’s input on how campus is governed. “They’re a 27-person board of Municipal politicians from all over... they have very little to do with issues that come up here, local issues,” he said. However, not everyone is pleased about UBC’s increase in power. “UBC’s mission statement says it is ‘preparing students to become exceptional global citizens, promoting the values of a civil and sustainable society,’” Colleen Garbe, president of CUPE Local 116, told The Georgia Straight in August. “These values have failed to translate into an exercise of democracy. UBC has taken on the dual roles of both regulator of property development and developer.” Lois Jackson, Chair of the Metro Vancouver board, also raised concerns over the province’s decision. “Situations where UBC acts as proponent, developer and approver for development projects have been cause for concern for some time,” she said.
Jackson referred to Campus and Community Planning, a wing of the UBC administration that plans land use development on campus. The university also employs Properties Trust, essentially its own private developer, to construct most buildings on campus.
UBC Students: There are over
Metro Vancouver: The governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, which includes the University Endowment Lands. They administer services that span the region, including transit, sewage and transportation, as well as housing. They also provide oversight to unincorporated areas in the Lower Mainland, such as Barnstrom Island and—for now— Electoral Area A.
45,000 students who go to UBC Vancouver, and they are allowed to elect two members to the Board of Governors and engage with the university through the Alma Mater Society (AMS), UBC’s student union. However, students who live in UBC Housing or the UEL have no municipal representation, other than voting for the Electoral Area A director.
Situations where UBC acts as proponent, developer and approver for development projects have been cause for concern for some time.
Lois Jackson Metro Vancouver Board Chair
As for what will happen now, Owen said there will be two phases. “[Phase 1 will be a] whole long series of public meetings, webbased commentary, some more workshops and public hearings in the fall,” he said, adding that the Board of Governors will then make recommendations to send to the Minister of Community and Rural Development. “Phase 2 is, what does UBC w a nt t o be when it g r ow s up? What does t he province want?” U —With files from Arshy Mann
By Trevor REcord & Samantha Jung Graphics By Trevor Record 1922: The Great Trek
1988–1989: University Town
1992: UBC Main Campus Plan
1997: Official Community Plan (OCP)
Growing frustrations with the crowded Fairview campus and failure to resume campus construction in Point Grey leads to the “Great Trek.” The result is a $1.5 million loan from the government to resume construction, which is completed by 1925. This loan makes the leasing of endowment lands for residential housing unnecessary, and by the Great Depression in 1929, no longer feasible.
Under UBC President David Stangway, the leasing of university lands for funding of the school begins anew. Properties Trust is created for the purposes of developing and managing real estate assets for the university. The first residential neighbourhood on campus, Hampton Place, is created in 1989.
This plan applies to the academic core of the university, designates which areas of the campus are academic space and outlines areas for future development. It is the vehicle which enables the construction, maintenance and preservation of buildings and landscapes. The current Campus Plan consultations are intended to create a new plan to replace this document, which will be in effect until 2030.
The university’s OCP is enacted as a bylaw by the GVRD Board of Directors and establishes generalized land use and provides policies and other criteria for development of UBC Vancouver as well as part of Pacific Spirit Regional Park. Prepared for UBC as part of the GVRD Livable Regions Strategic Plan, this land-use document established eight neighbourhoods for further planning. This would lead to a number of “Trek” plans, community plans and agreements between Metro Vancouver and the university.
arm
d Community Planrward a set of plans pus which do not inBC Farm, or include gnificantly reduced ans upset students ts alike, and Metro voices their support the 24-hectare farm y.
2008: The University Neighbours’ Agreement This document formalizes the relationship between the UNA and UBC, quasi-legitimizing the semigovernmental functions of the UNA.
2004: Marine Drive Residences UBC is stong-armed by Metro Vancouver to cut two stories from the original plans for Marine Drive residences because of backlash from the Wreck Beach Preservation Society, and has to reduce the number of floors by two and the number of towers from six to three.
2002: The UNA emerges In response to the municipal needs of UEL residents, the UNA is created. Although elected, it is not a legal institution so much as a group of representatives which advises the university, exerts power over resident strata chairs to enact bylaws, provide municipal services, and represent residents of the university.
2000: UBC/GVRD Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) & Comprehensive Community Plan (CCP) The MOU outlines responsibilities that Metro Vancouver must deliver to the university and its endowment lands. Metro Vancouver has control over the development and planning of family housing property, while UBC has control of the development and planning of academic or institutional land. The CCP provides more detail on the eight local areas designated in the OCP. The CCP allocates density objectives for each local area neighbourhood.
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UBC Farm: In the Official Community Plan (OCP) enacted in 1997, the UBC Farm was marked as a “future housing reserve.” As the years passed, calls for the university to protect the area increased. UBC argued that while they no longer intended to develop the farm, rezoning individual parts of the OCP was not allowed. As Bill 20 grants UBC the power to create a new landuse plan to replace the OCP, the university has proposed that the Farm be rezoned as “green academic.” Friends of the Farm has advocated that the Farm simply be zoned as “UBC Farm.” Ultimately, the university will decide how it is zoned after consultations with the public.
RCMP: Our mounted police force has local jurisdiction in all areas that are unincorporated municipalities, including UBC. The university’s detachment is run by Staff Sergeant Kevin Kenna, who oversees a force of less than 20 people. When large events happen on campus, the RCMP frequently has to request the services of other police detachments.
Bill 13: In November 2009, the government amended the University Act to give post-secondary institutions in BC more jurisdiction over their campuses. Interestingly, it granted UBC the ability to regulate noise and parking on its campus.
Parking Tickets: In March 2009, the BC Supreme Court ruled that UBC had to pay back $4 million worth of parking fines, and that for years they had been illegally issuing parking tickets. The decision came as a result of a class-action lawsuit launched by Daniel Barbour in 2005. The decision stipulated that while the university could tow and impound vehicles, they could not issue and collect parking tickets. The decision was appealed by UBC, and in July of that same year, the Appeals Court decided to stay the decision—meaning that UBC could continue to collect parking tickets until the appeal was resolved. Upon the passing of Bill 13, the issue was laid to rest altogether. Bill 13 allows universities the power to regulate parking and noise on their campuses‚ allowing UBC to avoiding repaying the $4 million in fines.
Our news meetings are Mondays at noon. Come by to pick up a story. news@ubyssey.ca
PASSING T KNOW THE
THE GATES? HE LINGO
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University Endowment Lands (UEL): The parcel of land which includes the UBC campus, Pacific Spirit Regional Park, and all university neighbourhoods. These lands are unincorporated, which means as an entity outside of any municipality, their bylaws are created or approved directly by the province, which also collects residential and commercial taxes.
War on Fun: A term popularized by Tyler “Che” Allison when he ran for AMS President in 2008, the “War on Fun” is a catch-all term for the crackdown on beer gardens and concerts over the past decade on campus. Proponents of the term blame the RCMP for limiting the number of Special Occasion Licenses they give out, and UBC for building up market housing at the expense of a greater student-oriented campus community. The RCMP argue that because UBC is unincorporated, their resources are limited and to have too many events happening at once would overextend their resources.
Fraternity Village: Ever wondered why the frat houses are so close to each other? In 2003, seven out of eight on-campus fraternities moved into the current Fraternity Village located at 2880 Wesbrook Mall. At the same time, the fraternities signed a 99-year lease with the university. The remaining fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, stayed in its current location. “We think the current location is better compared to where they’re being moved to,” Beta President John Fang told The Ubyssey in 2002. The Fraternity Village is close to the campus RCMP detachment. It’s also next door to Greenwood Commons, a residence for researchers and mature students with families. The university’s East Campus Plan resulted in the construction of Greenwood Commons, and the result has been tension between the fraternities and the residents of Greenwood. “I’ve woken up to people pissing in our yard,” James Fitzmorris, a resident of Greenwood Commons, told The Ubyssey in 2008. “We pay a lot of money to live there. It’s overpriced. Why should we be taking [this] from our neighbours?”
Our general staff meetings are Tuesdays at noon. Come by to help decide what we do. It’s just that simple. news@ubyssey.ca
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Wanted: Democracy and local government for UBC-area residents
Lois Jackson Metro Vancouver Board Chair When will the rapidly-growing residential community at UBC have its own democratic and accountable local government? A family with a farm on Barnston Island and a professor who lives at UBC have at least one thing in common: they both live in one of the unincorporated areas that are collectively known as “Electoral Area A.” Every three years, instead of voting for a mayor and council, these Canadians elect one person as their representative. That person becomes one of the directors on the Metro Vancouver Board, which represents communities with a total population of almost 2.5 million people. The UBC campus and the University Endowment Lands are the only urbanized lands in Metro Van without their own municipal councils and local government. An estimated 16,000 residents and students now live there. By 2020, that residential population is projected to grow to 24,000. Until recently, Metro Van oversaw land use administration on the UBC campus. Situations where UBC acts as proponent, developer and approver
for development projects have been cause for concern for some time. The inherent conflict of interest contributes to a lack of accountability in the burgeoning UBC campus on Point Grey. Metro Van attempted last year to introduce land use development provisions that would have made progress toward increasing accountability. This was by no means unusual, given that every other major Canadian university situated within a heavily urbanized metropolitan area operates under a zoning bylaw. However, introduction of a zoning bylaw was opposed by the university. In November 2009, UBC President Stephen Toope called Metro Vancouver’s proposal “an attempt to intervene in the governance of UBC in a way that could be devastating to our academic freedom.” Metro Vancouver agrees that academic freedom is one of the hallmarks of a democracy. Another is a citizen’s right to have a democratic and accountable local government. In May 2010, the Province enacted Bill 20. That law contains a provision that makes the BC Minister of Community and Rural Development responsible for local and regional land use planning on the UBC Vancouver campus. The UBC Board of Governors will be responsible for development of a land use plan as well as the process of public consultation associated with it. Under the new authority, the Minister will be able to adopt a local land use plan prepared by UBC. Metro Van will continue to be the regional government and will supply regional utilities and services. With the transfer of Metro Van’s local and
regional land use planning responsibilities, future plans for accountability remain unclear. However, this is not a viable long-term solution since it does not address the long-standing Board priority of finding an alternate governance system for UBC. The Metro Vancouver Board asked Victoria to initiate a new governance system for UBC. The Board never asked for, or expected, the bill now passed by legislature. UBC has grown into much more than a university. It is a vibrant and diverse community with expanding scope, a growing population and international recognition for innovation and sustainability. The Metro Vancouver Board supports governance reforms that will lead to greater accountability at UBC and will provide access to formal democratic avenues found in other Metro Vancouver municipalities. The Minister of Community and Rural Development and UBC have agreed that it is time to explore a more representative form of local government for its Vancouver campus. The speed in travelling this road to democracy will depend on the interest and involvement of the university and residential communities. Metro Vancouver would hope that the province will work with area residents and UBC to develop democratic and accountable governance structures, because sustainability and accountability go hand in hand. UBC residents and students deserve no less. Let their voices be heard. Let them have their own democratic and accountable local government. U
Up is not down, and the una does exist
Mike Feeley (& Jim Taylor) Present and founding UNA Chairs We read with surprise Delta Mayor and Metro Vancouver Chair Lois Jackson’s recent opinion piece decrying the lack of democratic governance in UBC’s residential neighbourhoods. We were particularly surprised since we live at UBC and have been involved in providing democratic governance for the past nine years. Neither Ms Jackson, nor anyone else from Metro, contacted anyone involved in UBC residential governance before writing her piece. How can she write about our situation without talking to at least one of those involved? How could she show so little regard for the views of the people for whom she claims to speak? She ends her article with “Let their voices be heard.” Couldn’t Ms Jackson have asked for the residential voice before she wrote decrying what she describes as the dilemma we face? We are the current and founding chairs of the University Neighbourhoods Association (UNA). The UNA was established by agreement between UBC and Metro in 2001 to provide municipal governance for the residential neighbourhoods UBC had been developing on its campus.
The UNA delivers essentially all municipal services to residents and receives all of the residential or related commercial tax-like monies raised from residents. We use them to maintain parks, operate a community centre and repair roads—just like any municipal government. The UNA has the power to enact and enforce rules for matters like noise and parking. We also do a couple of extra things; for example, we help UBC run a composting program for our multi-family housing. Ms Jackson inaccurately describes the situation on the UBC campus as like “every other major Canadian university.” This is wrong. UBC has developed a market residential community within its campus—creating in effect a true university residential town. And a town like this presents some unusual governance challenges that the UNA and UBC have been working hard on for nearly a decade. The UNA Board is actively and continually involved in consulting with our neighbours on the question of governance and other matters. Through public meetings and surveys one view has been clearly and overwhelmingly expressed: UNA residents cherish the local character and ambience afforded by our current model. There are changes that could improve our current model of governance while retaining local control. We welcome a fair, informed and respectful discussion on this topic. But, please, can Metro stop pretending that up is down and that the UNA does not exist? We do exist. We provide governance. We are democratic. And we do not need the Mayor of Delta to come to our rescue. U
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our campus Justin McElroy coordinating@ubyssey.ca UBC brands Imagine as “the largest annual one-day orientation event in North America,” which is a really fancy way of saying 5500 students get a campus tour at the same time. There is one undeniable highlight, though, and that is the Pep Rally. The colours, chants and cheers are the things movies are made of, and trick even the most cynical 18-year-old into thinking that this campus is a unified whole. No doubt, Imagine is all manufactured hype, and if you want proof, consider the number of times each year Thunderbird Arena is packed with students (hint to first-years: the answer is zero). But for one day, UBC feels like we imagine a campus should—wide-eyed teenagers, duelling chants by faculties and a President trying to appear “with it” by rhyming in rhythm (yes, it’s as awkwardly hilarious as it sounds). david elop photo/the ubyssey
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games & comics sudoku
Across
We may not have room for comics this issue, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want you to send us some! production@ubyssey.ca
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1. Injectable diazepam, in military lingo 5. Cotton thread used for hosiery 10. Dog-powered snow vehicle 14. Ancient Greek coin 15. Bandleader Shaw 16. Abominable snowman 17. Monetary unit of Lesotho 18. Customary 19. Entre ____ 20. Clouded 22. Assisting the memory 24. Pilfer 25. Was merciful to 26. Ink spot 28. Pond insect 32. First name in scat 35. Craze 37. Dowry 38. Become an ex-parrot? 39. Ice cream substitute 41. Lennon’s lady 42. Yearly records 45. Drag 46. “____ the night before Christmas ...” 47. Island in the East China Sea 48. Coconut-husk fiber 50. “Hundred,” to non-military types 54. Locations 58. Deception 61. Canal site 62. Autobahn auto 63. Birthplace of Muhammad
65. One way to run 66. Bloodsucking insect 67. Men 68. Network of nerves 69. Blue hue 70. Crackerjack 71. Belgian river Down 1. Young male horses 2. Close to 3. Dame 4. Arabian Nights hero 5. Extol 6. Apr. addressee 7. Stub 8. Woody vine 9. Conger catcher 10. Pertaining to a church council 11. Boxer Spinks 12. Sewing case 13. It may be compact 21. Sick 23. Office note 25. Celestial body 27. Rubs out 29. Arab sailing vessel 30. Actress Rowlands 31. Archer of myth 32. Dutch cheese, wrapped in red wax 33. Director Wertmuller 34. Fast time 36. Speck 37. Fast-food option 40. Expression of disgust
43. Not sociable 44. Good fortune 46. Consisting of three parts 49. This ____ stick-up! 51. Helping theorem 52. Mountain nymph 53. Recurring series 55. Domesticates 56. Chew the scenery 57. Brown and white Eurasian falcon 58. 27th president of the US 59. Dominion 60. Brain wave 61. Gone by 64. Brown - c apped boletus mushroom
solution
Make your voice heard on campus! Send us your letters and opinions. feedback@ubyssey.ca
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opinions
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editorial We need better bus service It’s happened to all of us. On a drizzly Vancouver morning, you wait on Broadway for the bus. And you wait. Then a glimmer of joy lights within you as you see two headlights and a sign that says “99-B Line” in orange lights floating through the haze. And then it passes by you. As does another. And maybe even another. Overcrowded buses are a daily reality for students who commute to UBC, the secondlargest transit hub in BC. And for many years, talk of a rapid transit line along the Broadway corridor was a dream that students longed for. That dream has now become a little bit further from reality. Last Friday, the Metro Vancouver Board drafted a regional growth strategy that downgraded a UBC line to the bottom of their priority list. The status quo is unacceptable. The three-hour commute that many students have to endure every day makes them less productive, less engaged and generally miserable. But rapid transit isn’t the only solution. Even if the SkyTrain were to be extended out to UBC, it likely wouldn’t be ready until at least 2020, and students need a better way to get to school now. The obvious answer is to house more people on campus and the university’s goal for having 50 per cent of students living at UBC is a step in the right direction. But no matter how many rooms we have in residences, there will always be a large number of students who find it more affordable to live with their parents. There are numerous ways that we can make commuting to campus a better experience in the short term. A dedicated bus lane, like the city employed during the Olympics, would be a fairly simple way to shorten commute times. This would require building more parking off of Broadway itself so that shops don’t suffer. Buses should be given priority signaling at traffic lights so that they only have to stop at major intersections, something that is common in cities across North America. Most importantly, TransLink needs to increase bus service to campus. We need to start looking at all solutions, both long term and short term. Rapid transit is necessary in the long term, but we need to be able to get to class on time now.
New sub needs your Harebrained ideas A discrete room in which casual marijuana use is permitted. A miniature golf course on the roof, accessible through the AMS offices. Wicked “jam spaces” for students to chill out with some folks and kick out some Phish. A shark tank. These are some examples of things that, regrettably, will probably not make it in to the new student union building. But since we intend on submitting them, they will be the only suggestions that are considered unless you go out to the design cube and put forward what you want in the new Student Union Building. While the general outlines of what will be in the SUB have been decided, this year will be the crucial planning phase where the architects decide how it will look. And they want your help. The design cube, which opens on Friday in the south-east section of the main floor of the SUB, will be accepting student input. We suggest that you come forward with yours. We don’t know yet if anything you suggest will actually be used. If you suggest the installation of a 20-foot tall fountain depicting Chuck Bukowski using a kitchen sink as a toilet, then probably not. But if you have good ideas and concerns, they just might be heard. There are many problems with the current SUB, as well as possibilities for the next one. Whether you want more outlets in lounge areas, or better internet access in the basement, there are plenty of ideas you can come up with that are so practical that the architects would be fools not to take them into consideration. And the best part is that since some of you will actually be around when the new SUB opens, you are in a unique position to see your ideas used. Or at least, to be really ticked off when they aren’t. U
KAI GREEN illustration/the ubyssey
too sexy Riotous Readership, Too Sexy is officially back for the year! We know you’re all effulgent with the semierotic glow of anticipation for more of Too Sexy and we don’t blame you. We’ll get into today’s letter, a saucy little tale about the mutual stroke and poke, in just a bit, but first we wanted to take the time to remind you how you can celebrate your favourite sex advice column’s return. Having sexy parties, using a mutual love of Too Sexy to seduce a lover, and writing your scarlet letters to toosexy@ubyssey.ca are all acceptable ways to celebrate. Starting a riot using condom water balloons, screaming ‘Too Sexy is baaack’ from the top of Gage, and referring to yourself as a gentleman pervert are also acceptable ways to celebrate, in our minds at least, though perhaps these methods are less endearing to your neighbours and should be refrained from unless you hit truly divine heights of rapture during a Too Sexy session. Now let’s talk about mutual masturbation and people as porn. Hey Too Sexy, Sometimes—not all the time, but sometimes—I’d rather masturbate to/with my partner than have sex with them. Is this normal and healthy, or am I getting too removed from the sexual act itself? I know there’s a lot of levels to what goes on in the bedroom, but I just worry about what my sexual activities say about myself… I li ke to t reat my part ner li ke they’re super-hot porn. But is that… weird? Shouldn’t I just enjoy the person for the situation we’re in, and not need to apply a bunch of meta-mental techniques just to enjoyably toss a semi-liquid load across their lusciously golden-hued epidermal layer? -—Just Expressing Randomly Known Officially Fictional Facts Hi-de-ho, JERKOFF. The short answer to your question is, as tends to be in these ‘weird’ situations: if both you and your consenting adult partner are into masturbation as a dyadic sex act, then go for it. Enjoy. Knock yourselves out (although not literally; that’s a different fetish).
Spray unto him/her as you would have him/her spray unto you. Make your partner your canvas. Whatever floats your boat. That said, here are a few troubleshooting splatters you (and anyone reading this) may want to consider: 1. Is It...Weird? No. What JERKOFF is describing is basically a two-part pickle. First off, we’re talking about mutual masturbation and some cum play. Now, admittedly, this is the kind of behaviour that, when practiced in public, can cause a mild fuss. That being said, as long as everyone is having a good time and no one calls the cops after, this is not the kind of behaviour that we would call weird. The second part of this is the objectification of your partner into a porn analog. Like most sexual practices, a little objectification in a healthy, consenting relationship/fuckbuddyship/ whatevership is totally fine. Objectification is negative only when you do it to someone a) without their consent and b) in such a way that it results in negative emotional, psychological, or physical consequences for that person.
Sometimes—not all the time, but sometimes— I’d rather masturbate to/ with my partner, than have sex with them. Is this normal and healthy, or am I getting too removed from the sexual act itself? Treating your aware, consenting partner like they’re super-hot porn isn’t abnormal, unhealthy, or weird: in fact, it just shows that you are physically attracted to them. Ever get distracted by your partner’s heaving bosom/beautiful eyes/heroin-chic shoulder blades in the middle of a sentence? Bam! You just objectified ‘em. The bottom line is, don’t objectify your partner all the time, as this may make him or her feel as though he or she is just a fuck toy
to you. If the entirety of your connection to someone is as an impersonal, objectified porn-thing, you might be better off just getting an impersonal porn-object. Fleshlights are cheap and inter-porn is as good as free.
Mutual masturbation makes pleasant late stage foreplay and as long as you’re willing to compromise, you may find that your interests are fairly conducive to a great and flexible sex life. That being said, the odd vacation into objectified lust-land with a partner can become an intimate experience. As long as it’s a mutual fantasy and done in moderation, it can be fulfilling for both of you. 2. Mutual Sexual Satisfaction In brief, remember that while expelling geysers of sexiness all over your partner may be enough of a sex life for you, your partner may require something different. It’s okay to have specific sexual interests of your own in a relationship; just be certain to tend to your partner’s sexual interests as well. Mutual masturbation makes pleasant late stage foreplay and as long as you’re willing to compromise, you may find that your interests are fairly conducive to a great and flexible sex life. 3. Safety While the tossing of semi-liquid loads across lusciously golden-hued epidermal layers poses very few pregnancy and/or health risks, make sure to play safe. Avoid fluid contact with your partner’s eyes, mouth, nostrils, genitals, or any open cuts. Alternately, if you and your partner both feel comfortable, get tested and then, well, cum as you are. Anyways, that’s it for this week. Send in your letters and you could feature in our next article. U
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