Nov. 8, 2010

Flabbergasted by talent since 1918

the sex industry: how and why students are involved.

harry potter fanatics, rejoice! quidditch has arrived at ubc.

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the ubyssey

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NOVEMBER 08, 2010 • volume 92, number xix • room 24, student union building • published monday and thursday • feedback@ubyssey.ca

2 / u b y s s e y. c a / e v e n t s / 2 0 1 0 . 11 . 0 8 november 08, 2010 volume xcii, no xix editorial

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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 UPS or the University of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of the UPS. Stories, opinions, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of the UPS. 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 Please include your phone number, student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and faculty with all submissions.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. 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.

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dusk landscape painting • Robert Singley, a DMA student in music composition, will present a concert event of organ sounds and sunset images. Singley will create music to accompany several films he is creating, all based on the concept of “dusk landscape painting.” • 8–9pm, Coach House, Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, free event, contact gc.events@ubc.ca for more information.

Terry Global Speaker Series: Dambisa Moyo • Debunking the

current model of international aid promoted by both Hollywood celebrities and policy makers, Dr Moyo offers a bold new road map for financing development of the world’s poorest countries that guarantees economic growth and a significant decline in poverty—without reliance on foreign aid or aid-related assistance. A question and answer period will follow. Copies of Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and how there is a better way for Africa will be sold at the event. • 12–1:30pm, Chan Centre, ticket info at terry.ubc.ca.

introduction to adobe indesign •

In this course, you get the opportunity to design a print project of your own, with hands-on instruction in the use of this powerful layout program. At the completion of this course, you will have gained an understanding of the basics of colour management, font usage and print production, as well as a working knowledge of the layout and design tools available in InDesign.

• Nov. 4–Dec. 9, 6:30pm, UBC Robson Square, go to tech.ubc. ca for more information.

summer program offered through the Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester provides the opportunity to study with one of the top business schools in Europe, while visiting England, France, Spain and the Czech Republic. This program is open to students who have completed year three. The program includes two modules: European Business Environment and International Business Project. Participants earn six credits for the program. • 12:30– 1:30pm, Room 33, Henry Angus, go to students.ubc.ca/global for more information. purple and yellow work party •

Volunteers help maintain the fleet of community bikes. No experience is necessary and new volunteers will learn how to do repairs by being paired with more experienced volunteers. Pizza is provided. Wear something that can get dirty. • 6–9pm, Bike Kitchen, north side of the SUB.

thursday, nov. 11 remembrance day • This year’s

UBC Remembrance Day ceremony will be held on Thursday, November 11 in the War Memorial Gym. The event is open to all, and doors open at 10am. It is an opportunity to honour and remember all those who served in times of war, military conflict and peace.

• 10:30–11:30am, War Memorial Gym, go to ceremonies.ubc.ca/ remembrance-day-ceremony for more information.

the madonna painter • A play

written by Michel-Marc Bouchard, translated by Linda Gaboriau.

To avert the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, a young priest commissions an itinerant Italian artist to paint a triptych of the Madonna, an act he is convinced will ward off the plague. The painter insists on using local girls as models, and four young women—all named Mary—vie for the honour. The artist requires a virgin, but does everything in his power to render his choice otherwise. The Madonna Painter is a dark and humorous fable which plays on our notions about sex, secrets and sacred ecstasies. • Runs until Nov. 20, 7:30–9:30pm, Telus Studio Theatre, $22/$15/$10, buy tickets online at ubctheatre.universitytickets.com.

ubc film society screening: the other guys • The UBC Film So-

ciety will be showing The Other Guys, starring Will Ferrell and Mark

Wahlberg. Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city’s top cops, whom they idolize —only things don’t quite go as planned.

• Runs until Nov. 14, 9:15–11pm, Norm Theatre, SUB, $2.50 members, $5 non-members.

sunday, nov. 14 Fall Table Tennis Championships • Show off your table tennis skills

at the UBC REC Fall Table Tennis Championships. One of our most popular tournaments, both singles and doubles options are offered. Register by Nov. 8, roster due Nov. 9, waiver and add/drop deadline Nov. 12. • 9am–5pm, SRC Gyms, $10.50–$28, limited paddles available. borealis string quartet • In hon-

our of Remembrance Day, the quartet will perform Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 and other works. Special guest includes George Zukerman on the bassoon.

Please note for Recital Hall concerts with an admission charge, only cash is accepted. • 3–5pm, Recital Hall, UBC Music Building, $15, call (604) 822-5574 or e-mail concerts@interchange.ubc.ca for more information.

wednesday, nov. 17 jeremy fisher with emily brown •

Canadian folk-pop troubadour Jeremy Fisher first broke onto the scene a decade ago, and since then his career has been on a steady upward trajectory. A nomadic musician with a strong DIY ethic, his artistry extends past making music and playing multiple instruments to producing an accomplished, satirical web series, as well as creating and directing music videos for himself and other artists. • 7pm, St James Hall, 3214 W 10th Ave, $17 advance, buy tickets at ticketweb.ca. ubc film society screening: mao’s last dancer • The UBC Film Soci-

ety will be showing Mao’s Last Dancer, based on the autobiography of Li Cunxin. It is the inspiring true story of his extraordinary journey from a poor upbringing in rural China to international stardom as a world-class ballet dancer. Mao’s Last Dancer weaves a moving tale about the quest for freedom and the courage it takes to live your own life. • Runs until Nov. 21, 9:15–11:15pm, Norm Theatre, SUB, $2.50 members, $5 non-members.

Study at LMU (Germany) • Ludwig-

Maximilians-Universitat Munich is one of the leading research universities in Europe, with a more than 500-year-long tradition and over 44,000 students (15 per cent of whom are from abroad). With

degree programs available in 150 subjects in numerous combinations, the array of courses they offer is extremely wide. Founded in 1472 and originally located in Ingolstadt, LMU is now located in München (Munich) and it is the second largest university in Germany. Facilitated by an LMU staff member, come learn about international learning opportunities at LMU. • 1–2pm, Room 260, Irving K. Barber.

thursday, nov. 18 ubc symphonic wind ensemble •

Featuring over 100 musicians from the UBC band program, this concert is inspired by music of the Medieval and Renaissance periods and pays homage to the rich tradition of wind playing from those earlier centuries. Several of the works employ traditional consorts of woodwind, brass and percussion instruments, while others offer a fresh look at the source music by borrowing colours, motifs and forms. • 8–10pm, Chan Centre, tickets for free evening concerts are available at the Chan Centre ticket office on performance day starting at noon.

friday, nov. 19 ubc film society presents: the big lebowski beverage garden • The UBC Film Society will be

holding The Big Lebowski Beverage Garden! Come see the movie that defined a generation of drunk bowlers with its humour.

There will be themed drinks and cool pre-show prizes. • 19+, 7–11pm, movie starts at 8pm, Norm Theatre, SUB, $3 members, $6 non-members.

monday, nov. 22 The AMS Annual Gift Fair • One-

stop shopping for great gifts and decorations from products imported around the world to locally handcrafted items. There will be new vendors each week. • Nov. 22–Dec. 3, 10:30am–5:30pm, SUB Main Concourse.

tuesday, nov. 23 night of a thousand dinners (n1kd) • As one of IRSA’s premier

events and the largest student organized fundraiser for land-mine awareness, you will not want to miss this! Featuring a silent auction, performance by the Corpus Christi College Chamber Choir, a mouth-watering three-course dinner and a stunning art installation by V. Tony Hauser. • 6:30– 9:30pm, 3250 Commercial Drive, $40 students, $80 non-students, tickets available online at irsa.rezgo.com or in SUB 30-G.

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News

editor ARSHY MANN » news@ubyssey.ca associate SALLY CRAMPTON » associate.news@ubyssey.ca

Quidditch sweeps into the muggle realm MICKI COWAN mcowan@ubyssey.ca Quidditch, the popular flying sport from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, has made it to the ‘muggle’ world and onto our very own campus as of last week. “It was just recently approved by the AMS, which is really exciting. We have 112 people on our Facebook group but paid members are about 30,” said Verena Facundo, founder and president of the UBC Quidditch Club.

“It started off as a joke between Sebastian (executive) and I; then we started researching it. We figured out that it’s an actual sport and that over 200 colleges in the States have official ‘quidditch’ teams, and that there’s also the official International Quidditch Association (IQA). So then we realized that only three universities in Canada have teams, and we just started developing it,” she said. “It was quite easy to stir up interest because everyone finds it such a ridiculously amusing idea.”

Hill explained that, similar to Rowling’s vision, there are three types of balls—quaffles, bludgers and the golden snitch. “The chasers put the quaffle, which is a volleyball, past the goal keeper while opposing teams, the beaters, attempt to hit them with the bludgers, which are dodgeballs.”

As in Harry Potter, the golden snitch is a magical ball that rapidly zips around the quidditch field, but a few adjustments had to be made. “In the muggle version of the game, the snitch is carried by a non-partisan person dressed in gold—the snitch runner. The snitch runner should be fast and have a good attitude. In order to end the game, the seeker has to pull the sock (the snitch) hanging from the back of the snitch runner’s

Stop that pretend Quaffle! Photo courtesy carleton quidditch

pants. Seekers can’t physically touch the snitch runner but the snitch runner is free to harass and irritate the seekers, much to the amusement of the spectators,” said Andrea Hill, coach and founder of the Carleton University Quidditch team in Ottawa.

Another obstacle was the problem of flying: quidditch is played on broomstick. “We don’t have the technology to fly 50 feet in the air, but we do run around with broomsticks between our legs,” Hill said.

Carleton University’s team is almost a year old and has already grown a lot. “We have

about 40 players on our team now and 19 will be travelling to the Quidditch World Cup in New York city [from] November 13-14,” she said.

One issue seems to be finding other teams to practice with. According to Hill, “The nearest team to Carleton is St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY and next is McGill University in Montreal. We played them in Montreal in March...The University of Toronto and Ryerson University both have teams and are able to scrimmage together regularly because they are both in the same city.” Far removed from the eastern quidditch niche, the UBC

Quidditch team plans to practice against each other, as well as against high school teams that have formed in the area.

“The UBC Quidditch Club is going to arrange matches every second Saturday. Captains are in charge of their teams and the team can decide how often they want to practice, so some teams might want to just show up at games and just take it really recreationally and some teams may want to go all out.”

In terms of goals for the future, Facundo hopes to create a varsity team that can be sent to compete in international quidditch tournaments, including the Quidditch World Cup, which, according to its website, has over 60 teams currently registered for this year’s tournament.

Second-year math student Peter Salton, an avid reader of the Harry Potter books and big fan of the movies, was thrilled by the idea of muggle quidditch. “They can go around campus chasing [the seeker]? Can I be a seeker? I want to be a seeker! Two thumbs way way up, I’d totally consider joining the team,” he said.

Aside from playing quidditch, both the UBC and Carleton teams have plans of hosting other Harry Potter-themed events. For UBC, Harry Potter movie nights and field trips to the theatre for the upcoming seventh installment of the series are being planned, while Carleton University has already hosted a Harry Potter-themed bake sale, complete with chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes and licorice wands.

“Membership is $5, it’s not too late to sign up. We’re going to have another sign up day at 7pm on Tuesday at Vanier in the Commonroom,” said Facundo. “It’s BYOB—bring your own brooms.” U

Canadian university presidents on India mission Arshy Mann news@ubyssey.ca UBC President Stephen Toope, along with 14 other Canadian university presidents, is on a seven-day excursion to India in order to build ties with Indian universities.

The delegation is travelling on behalf of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). It is the largest group of Canadian university leaders to travel to India.

“Strong universities help build strong societies. They also strengthen regional economies while enhancing a country’s capacity to contribute to the world economy,” Toope said in a statement regarding the mission. “Canadian universities can build beneficial partnerships in India to create exceptional learning opportunities for students and research collaborations that improve our societies nationally and globally.”

The group will be travelling to Dehli and Pune and will be meeting with Indian educators,

members of the business community and government officials.

They will also be participating in a summit on advanced education organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

India is facing a shortage of seats for university education. In his spring convocation speech, Toope said that India would need to build around 800 new universities over the next decade, with 60,000 students each, to meet demand.

Tens of thousands of students travel to Australia, the UK and the United States for school.

However, because of stringent visa requirements, only around 4000 come to Canada.

The trip comes at a time when a bill is presently making its way through the Indian Parliament that would allow foreign universities to open satellite campuses in India. The Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill would mean that for the universities that do set up in India, students would pay domestic tuition. U

NEWS BRIEFS

geoff lister photo/the ubyssey

Totem Park competes to save energy First-year residence Totem Park will be working to reduce energy consumption in a three-week competition this month. From Nov. 1-19, residents will be participating in Do It in the Dark, UBC’s energy-saving contest, as part of Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN), an annual US-based competition. Students will be pitted against other students, residence houses and 39 other universities in North America.

UBC is the only Canadian university involved in the CCN this year, and while Totem Park is currently the only student residence on campus taking part, competition coordinators will be considering improvement and extension of the contest to Place Vanier next year.

Working at night poses health risks, UBC study shows A recent UBC study exposes night shift work may lead to unsafe working conditions, making late-night Canadian employees twice as likely to be injured on the job than daytime workers.

Data for over 30,000 working Canadians between 1996 and 2006 was examined. While work injuries had an overall decline, the injury rate for night shift workers did not decrease.

Increased fatigue and reduced alertness are cited as increasing the possibility of hazardous late-night work environments.

The study was co-authored by research associate Chris McLeod from UBC’s Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, and clinical faculty member Paul Demers from the UBC School of Population and Public Health.

Fire ravages Quebec college residence

INDIA

Will more Indians be putting on their gowns here?.

David Chen Illustration/The Ubyssey

SHERBROOKE, Que. (CUP) — Nearly 50 students at Champlain Regional College, in Sherbrooke, Que., have been displaced after a fire ripped through a residence building on Monday.

No students were injured in the blaze.

According to a press release on the Champlain website, 50 firefighters were called to the site when the three-alarm fire broke out at around 7pm. The firefighters were able to take control of the situation, which stopped the fire from spreading to the surrounding buildings.

La Tribune reported that the fire was under control by 9pm.

The Red Cross and the Champlain Students’ Association is currently accepting donations for the affected students. The Red Cross is also providing some temporary lodging and is working to collect students’ belongings.

4 / u by s s e y. c a / n e w s / 2 010 .11 . 0 8

UBC medical school diversifying admissions Looking for students from various academic backgrounds Nicola Gailits Contributor Medical schools across Canada, including UBC, are re-vamping their application process by adding new requirements and eliminating outdated criteria.

Three years ago, the multiple mini interview (MMI) replaced the panel interview. According to Dr Joseph Finkler, the associate dean of admissions for the UBC Medical School, “There was evidence that the predictive value of the [panel] interview on the performance in medical school was about zero or even negative.” MMIs give the applicants a chance to showcase a variety of skills, including their interpersonal skills and ethical and moral judgment.

“Wellroundedness was definitely an important factor in the admissions process and contributed to my acceptance.” jordan hamilton first-year medical student

Previously, applicants were asked to write autobiographical essays explaining their reasons for pursuing medicine. “Experts found that there was no validity of the autobiographical essay,” Finkler said. The essays “were hugely edited and almost fiction.”

He described a recent study

by The Times that reviewed medical school autobiographical essays. The study found a story in which the applicant’s pajamas had caught on fire when he or she was young, causing serious injuries.

According to the applicant, his or her desire to study medicine stemmed from the dedicated care he or she received from burn unit doctors. The study found this story had been used over 233 times. The essay is no longer a part of the application at UBC. To replace it, Finkler said, “This year there will be a sample writing station during the interview. They will spontaneously respond to a question, a simple scenario.” With this method, reviewers know with certainty who wrote the piece.

The reference requirement has also changed. Finkler explained that having a personal reference was of no use because no one would “say anything but superlatives.” The personal reference has been replaced with a professional or another

academic reference, along with a community-related and academic reference.

These changes are designed to recruit a better and more diverse cohort of doctors. Dr Graham Wong, staff at UBC and VGH since 2003, has noticed that “the UBC class is much more culturally diverse now than when [he] graduated,” 15 years ago.

First-year medical student Jordan Hamilton said, “Quite a few [of my classmates] were varsity athletes, have extensive research experience or have traveled abroad.” He believes that “well-roundedness was definitely an important factor in the admissions process and contributed to my acceptance.”

When asked about socioeconomic make-up, Finkler said he’s “working on enhancing socioeconomic diversity.” Ideally, admissions would like to “level the playing field and make the treating population mirror the provider population.”

Looking forward, Finkler said he “would like us to not be married to processes and procedures just because they looked good and felt good.” By incorporating studies that evaluate exactly what factors correlate with later performance in medical school, the process is refined.

“Medicine is changing, so when somet hing says ‘t his doesn’t work’...It’s time to let [it] go.” U

Artsies contemplate a medical career. Jon chiang photo /the ubyssey

Report puts spotlight on academic fraud New study calls for Canada-wide policy on research misconduct Andra Cernavskis The McGill Daily MONTREAL (CUP) — Canada needs a better way to monitor and respond to research misconduct, according to a report published by the Canadian Council of Academies.

The report, titled Honesty, Accountability and Trust: Fostering Research Integrity in Canada, was published on October 21 in response to federal government findings of 38 cases of abuse that have occurred out of 160 alleged cases of scientific misconduct in the last decade.

Paul Davenport, former president of the University of Western Ontario, chaired the panel that produced the report. According to the CCA website, the

organization is dedicated to “science-based, expert assessments to inform public policy development in Canada.”

In an email, Davenport said academic misconduct is hard to track.

“Canada, the US and other countries have no way of estimating what percentage of misconduct cases are actually reported,” he wrote. “It is not possible to state how many cases there are, what the trend in the number of cases is and in what disciplines the cases occur.”

The CCA’s report calls for the creation of a Canadian Council for Research Integrity, which would be independent from the federally-funded Tri-Council—the body currently mandated to supervise issues of research integrity.

The CCRI would “function as a much-needed educational and advisory arm on issues of research integrity. Its key role would be to build and promote a proactive approach to research integrity in Canada,” the report reads.

Cat hleen Meechan, CCA’s communications director, said the report does not tackle specific cases of academic misconduct.

“There is not any set of clear evidence that says one way or another about cases of misconduct and if there is an overwhelming amount of cases in one field or another,” she said. “There has not been enough research done on research misconduct itself.”

The report is meant to provide the federal government with information so they can

create policy around research integrity.

“We provide a diagnosis of sorts and then the government determines what kind of prescription they want to pursue,” said Meechan. “This report was requested as part of a review that the Tri-Council is undertaking on research integrity. It will help to inform that review. We think that this is a good report to spur an important discussion within the research community about research integrity.”

The report concludes that there is a need to instill a culture of research integrity in Canada. But in order for this to happen, the report says there needs to be a common way of approaching breaches of academic integrity across Canada.

“We need to have a much more systematic approach taken at the university level to research integrity,” said Meechan.

Davenport stressed the importance of creating a better system of dealing with academic misconduct.

“We live in a knowledge-based society, where research is vital to our future social and economic health, and research can only be used for public policy if it is viewed as trustworthy by citizens and their governments,” he said.

“Failure to deal with the research integrity issue ultimately will mean that even outstanding research will not have the impact on public policy that it should. All Canadians have a very large stake in this issue.”

2010.11.0 8/u byssey.ca / nationa l/5

national

editor ARSHY MANN » news@ubyssey.ca associate SALLY CRAMPTON » associate.news@ubyssey.ca

Campbell leaves divided legacy on advanced education for research-intensive universities such as UBC and SFU. “If you tour any of the post-secondary institutions in the province, you’ll see a significant new capital infrastructure in the areas of research and academic spaces,” said Blair Littler, vice president of the Research Universities Council of British Columbia. “Internationally and nationally, the research institutions have been recognized. Right now you have three—UVic, SFU and UBC—all in the top 200, according to the Times Education Supplement.

“UNBC, on top of that, has been recognized for its size as one of the top research institutions in BC,” he added.

Littler went on to say that the creation of 25,000 seats for undergraduates and 2500 for graduates, as well as doubling the number of doctors being trained, are also positive contributions that Campbell has made to post-secondary education.

Under the Liberals, six colleges became universities and two new private universities, University Canada West and Quest University, opened.

These policies, however, have done little to boost his reputation with students.

“I think if you talk to students they’re very unhappy about the increase in student tuition,” said Dawn Black, the NDP’s critic for advanced education and labour market development. “It’s more than doubled over the last ten years under the leadership of Premier Campbell and the BC Liberal party. Student debt has increased under his leadership,

Gordon Campbell is likely UBC’s best-known resident.

The soon-to-be ex-premier of British Columbia represents UBC and the surrounding area in the BC legislature as MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey. But his connections to the university reach much further back.

Born and raised just outside of campus in Shaughnessy, Campbell’s father, Charles Gordon Campbell, was the assistant dean of medicine at UBC. He was also an alcoholic who killed himself when Campbell was 13 years old.

Like many teenagers associated with UBC, Campbell attended University Hill Secondary, where he was the student body president.

Though his degrees come from Dartmouth and Simon Fraser University, Campbell did do a brief stint in UBC’s law program, deciding partway through to take a job with the City of Vancouver instead.

He has been the MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey for 14 years.

And in many ways, Campbell has played as much of a role in what UBC is today as the university has played in what he became.

On higher education, he has been a boon for universities but a bane for student finances.

Ending the NDP’s six-year freeze on tuition rates meant universities have had the funding to invest heavily on capital projects on campuses, especially

as have the interest rates that are charged on student loans, so I’m not sure he would get a passing grade on access to education.”

When the Campbell government decided to end the tuition freeze, students objected fiercely.

In March of 2002, over 400 UBC students forced their way into the Old Administration Building, many spending the night, to protest tuition increases. “’We the students of UBC have taken the President’s Office,’ began a cry that was repeated by the hundreds of students who filled the entire first floor of the building,” said a 2002 story in The Ubyssey.

“Students called on the university to conduct an inquiry into the benefits of tuition increases and demanded that the BoG and UBC President Martha Piper lobby the provincial government for increased education funding.”

Campbell also cut student grant programs in 2004 and again in 2009, and BC’s interest rate on student loans remains one of the highest in the country.

“The cuts to the BC Student grants program and the cuts to non-repayable financial aid [are] what’s put British Columbian students’ level of borrowing much higher than the Canadian average,” said Black.

Campbell’s parting gift for post-secondary education was to divide colleges and universities under different ministerial portfolios. Colleges were placed under the Ministry of Regional Economic and Skills Development, while universities now fall under the Ministry for Science and Universities.

Ida Chong, the new minister for science and universities, justified the decision by saying that “science and universities are really going to be an important part of our economic future going forward.” However, Black said that few people have understood the justification for the decision.

“I’ve met with some of the faculty associations and I’ve met with some of the student associations and nobody seems to be able to figure out what the rationale is. BC is the only jurisdiction in Canada that has done this split,” she said.

“Some people are concerned that it’s a way of hiding off the colleges and the applied programs and perhaps increasing tuition fees on the university side.”

Black said that Campbell’s legacy for students is a negative one.

“Education is restricted more and more [for] ordinary families,” she said. “[Students] fear going on to university [and] coming out with such a high debt load.” U

TIMELINE: Gordon Campbell and advanced education

Indiana Joel Illustration/The Ubyssey

Arshy Mann news@ubyssey.ca

BC premier resigns amid HST woes Danielle Pope Western Bureau Chief

2001

2002

February 11 Tuition rates are unfrozen, leading to massive increases.

2006

2005

June 5 Tuition increases tied to inflation.

February 17 $30 million grant program axed.

2007

March 13 Students occupy Old Administration Building at UBC.

2004

2003

June 5 Gordon Campbell sworn in as the 34th Premier of BC.

February 10 Campbell promises 25,000 new student spaces by 2010.

2008 September 1 Five BC colleges become universities.

November 4 Campbell announces resignation.

2010

October 26 Universities and colleges split between two portfolios.

2009

August $15 million further cuts to grant programs.

VICTORIA (CUP) — BC Premier Gordon Campbell stepped down as leader of the provincial Liberal party this week, leaving many around the province mystified— and others celebrating.

Campbel l announced his resignation in Vancouver on November 3, saying that “it’s time for a new person to lead,” and that he would be making a “smooth and orderly transition” for the next leader and premier.

“A f t er con siderable sou l searching and discussion with my family I have decided to ask the BC Liberal Party executive to hold a leadership convention at the earliest possible date to select a new leader for our party,” Campbell said in a statement released on November 4.

During his announcement, Campbell noted the fallout from the introduction of HST, which has left him with a nine per cent approval rating.

Now the BC Liberal party has less than a month to meet and must hold a leadership convention within six weeks. While the party has denied the idea that there was any internal push to remove Campbell, pundits are saying this “facelift” may come too late to recapture voter’s sympathy.

6/ubyssey.ca/advertisement/2010.11.08

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culture

editorS BRYCE WARNES & JONNY WAKEFIELD » culture@ubyssey.ca ASSOCIATE ANNA ZORIA » associate.culture@ubyssey.ca

Bulk up with Sprouts’ bulk buying club Diana Foxall Contributor When it comes to the age-old dilemma of quality versus quantity, the latter often gets pushed aside for more affordable options. This is especially apparent at the grocery store, where dinner means either Kraft Dinner (cheap) or something a tad more gourmet (not so cheap).

But what to do when your wallet doesn’t match your high standards? Head to Sprouts and join their bulk buying club.

The bulk buying club was created several years ago when a group of 400 UBC students wanted to purchase alternative food

options. It continues to offer local organic goods at reduced rates; everything from spinach to toilet paper is available to order, and can be bought at approximately 15–30 per cent less than its cost in a supermarket. Prices are low because products are sourced directly from Lower Mainland distributors such as Pro Organics and Horizons, and buying in large quantities reduces the cost per unit.

“The bulk buying club simply provides students with access to the distributors we use for all Sprouts-related programs,” said club coordinator Mandy Desautels. “We don’t gain anything from the students who use this service, we simply facilitate this program so that

students have access to food products that we don’t carry in the store.”

So how does one make a purchase? “First, check out the catalogues available online and in Sprouts. Then place an order by simply filling out an order form which can be found in Sprouts, and submit it, along with payment, to the store volunteers,” explained Desautels. Bulk products range in quantity from 2 kilograms to 25 pounds, but if even the smallest quantity is too much for your liking, you are able to split the order with other members of the community.

For cash-strapped foodies, the bulk buying club is manna—or parsley, chard, or shallots—from heaven. U

What’s on offer at sprouts’ bulk buy?

•Eggs, large, 15 dozen - $75

•Pinto beans, 11.34kg – $433

•Basmati brown rice, 11.34kg - $5

•Banana chips, 6.36kg - $36.50

•Unbleached white flour, 10kg - $30

•Organic concord grape Juice, 8/1.36L - $6.09

•Oats, quick rolled, 2kg - $7.30

•Carbonated spring water, 8/2L - $1.20 each Bulk buy boss Mandy Desautels. Geoff lister photo/The Ubyssey

Sex, Catholicism and Italian fresco

Get ready for Flu Season

JONNY WAKEFIELD culture@ubyssey.ca

Andrew MacIsaac Contributor

The UBC Theatre’s latest production wraps up sex, Catholicism and Italian fresco painting in a sex-stained bedsheet and places it teetering on the brink of apocalypse.

The Madonna Painter, by famed Quebecois playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, takes place at the end of the First World War during the Spanish Flu scare.

When the flu reaches the small Quebec village of St Coeur du Marie, many suspect English– Canadian soldiers of spreading the flu deliberately to sicken French–Canadian deserters. The town seems ready to implode.

Into t his situation walks a young Catholic priest (Eric Freilich) who proposes a peaceful solution: he will hire a painter to create a triptych of the Virgin Mary.

Holzschuh assures us that The Madonna Painter will raise eyebrows.

“He’s under the impression that if he commissions this fresco, then the flu hopefully will avoid the town,” said director Craig Holzschuh, a UBC Theatre grad and the head of Theatre La Seizieme, Vancouver’s French theatre company.

The situation spirals out of control when the hired artist insists on using a local girl as the model. The town’s four

A scene from the Madonna Painter. David marino photo/The Ubyssey

Marys—Mary Francis (Barbara Kozicki), Mary Anne (Christine Quintana), Mary Louise (Claire Hesselgrave) and Mary of the Secrets (Megs Chenosky)—are manipulated by the painter Alessandro (Jameson Parker). Each of the Marys has a haunting, otherworldly quality.

“One of them can read people’s futures in their bedsheets,” said Freilich. “Another can release people who are suffering in their lives. She allows them to die.”

The play deals with sexuality and religion in a frank way, and Holzschuh assures us that The Madonna Painter will raise eyebrows.

“Some people think that thematically, it’s a little too risky for maybe some more conventional

theatres in town,” he said.

In the end, The Madonna Painter is interesting for Bouchard’s sometimes inflammatory take on religion, said Holzschuh. “Bouchard obviously has some very strong ideas about the Catholic religion and the idea of faith generally.

There are many people who blindly put their faith into faith.

“You get to see some wonderful, risky work and you get to see a debate of ideas, which is what university is about.” U UBC Theatre’s The Madonna Painter runs November 11-20 at the Telus Studio Theatre.

—With files from Tara Martellaro and David Marino.

[in auditions] and there’s only 6 in the cast‚“ said Cochrane at one of the show’s rehearsals in the basement of the SUB. “We saw a lot of Over the past few weeks, Brian talented people, and so for me it Cochrane, a second-year in the was kinda nice, because I didn’t UBC MFA directing program, know what to expect.” has worked with a diverse cast Some members of the cast andcrewpresent at the rehearsal had been with the Players’ Club for other productions,yetremain pleasantly surprised by these sorts of enthusiastic reactions.

Danielle Bourgon, veteran of three shows, mentioned how t he produc Spreading the bug. Jess Landing Photo /The Ubyssey tions also meet favourable responses from audiences. “I always consisting of first-year underget surprised at how many people grads doing theatre as a hobby, come out for Players’ Club shows. recent BFA grads bent on pursThere’s at least 30 people a night ing theatre as a career and evand they’ve been known to have a ery variety of theatre-lover in couple sold out runs as well, includbetween. The reason? To put toing matinee performances, which gether a production of The Flu doesn’t really happen all that ofSeason, a play by Will Eno centen at UBC.” tred around a love story set in As for the play itself, Cochrane a mental health institution and billed it as “funny and tragic and the creation of a play. absurd.” There seemed to be a conThe vehicle that brought this culsensus among the cast as to the mination of amateurs and aspiring humour in the script. When asked professionals together, aside from what her favourite part about the a love of the stage, is the UBC Playplay was, actor Rachel Johns simers’ Club. The club, created in 1915, ply said, “The lines. There are was the first constituted club at UBC some very entertaining lines, esand has continued to put on amapecially the doctors. I would recteur theatre productions to this day. ommend coming to the play just “When we announced this play for the doctors.” U I think we saw at least 40 actors

8/ u bys s e y.c a /c u lt u r e /2 010 .11. 0 8

Dan “the dude” Mangan

Woodhands no Laptop jocks

Ginny Monaco gmonaco@ubyssey.ca

Ashleigh Murphy Contributor

It’s been a n “ex haust i n g a nd amazing” affair,taking Mangan across North America and Europe. “It’s really easy to burn out on the road, when you just collapse, but we’re “Sometimes nostalgia grows in the image of slowly learning how to take care of ourselves.” things that never actually existed,” says Dan Mangan joked about the collective peer presMangan. It’s a lesson the singer-songwriter sure for band runs. “Like, nine or ten in the has learned after spending the better part of morning, as soon as you wake up, you’d see five years on the road and rediscovering his other people in the hotel hometown of Vancouver. getting ready to go for a Mangan’s 2009 record run and all of a sudden, Nice, Nice, Very Nice (titled Dan Mangan you feel bad. So you put in reference to a Kurt Von•w/ The Burning Hell on your sneakers.” negut calypso) earned him •November 11 and 13 Following two sold out rave reviews, loyal fans •Vogue Theatre shows at the Vogue Theand XM Satellite Radio’s •Sold Out atre, Mangan will finish $25, 000 Verge Award. his lengthy tour with a Earlier this month, Manhandful of shows in the western provinces. gan took home three Western Canadian Music For now, Mangan is home in Vancouver.

Awards, including ‘Songwriter of the Year.’ He “It’s kind of amazing how quickly this city had to text in his acceptance speech. “Wouldn’t has changed,” he says. “[The last record] you know it? I’ve been to the WCMA the last four was just coming to terms with the changyears, been nominated and almost won, and the es going on in the city, becoming an adult year I win I’m not there. It’s as and slightly jaded towards my own nostalironic as a black fly in your gia. You have that place in your heart for chardonnay!” how the city was and it’s not going to be In August Nice, that way now.

Nice, Very Nice was “The way that I pictured the city released in the US by when I was a kid was simultaneously indie label Arts and the way that someone who’s older than Crafts. Mangan’s me, for them that’s the tarnished vercurrent Peculiar sion. That’s kind of what it is to grow Travel Suggestions old and think ‘Oh, that’s not the way Tour (again, named it used to be.’” in reference to VonFor all his talk of the way things negut) was launched used to be, Mangan is looking in support. ahead. In December, he will begin recording the follow-up to Nice, Nice, Very Nice. “I’m really excited to move on and make this next album.

I’m so lucky. I’ve just got the most incredible musicians playing with me and I’m feeling really good about the material. I think it’s some of my stronSamantha Bullis Illustration/TheUBYSSEY gest writing yet.” U

Interested in sex, news and rock and roll?

Ubyssey culture meetings are at 1pm on Fridays, SUB 24. All are welcome.

BRYCE WARBES | culture@ubyssey.ca

U theubyssey.ca

less inclusive. “What got me at the time was there was a lot of territorialism. It didn’t seem like bands were really supporting each other.” When he began making music in Toronto While Dan Werb of Toronto’s Woodhands may in his early 20s, he was struck by the commulook like he works at an IT help desk, don’t misnity of musicians living take him for just another and working there. Since electro-pop laptop jockcomingbacktoVancouver, ey. He showed up to our Woodhands however, Werb said this interview sporting jeans, •w/ Maylee Todd and Analog Bell has changed. “The things glassesandabrowncordu- Service I love about Toronto are reroy blazer—not exactly the •November 9, Pit Pub ally starting to take off in wardrobeofarockstar.Yet Vancouver. There’s a lot of when he and bandmate really awesome committed people, like great viPaul Banwatt take the stage, their performancsual artists and great musicians.” es are over the top, sweaty and raucous.

Unlike many of their contemporaries, WoodAsforwhattypeofvenuetheyprefertorockout handsareversatileintheir performance: they’re at, Dan assured me that they “like good crowds, free of laptops, back-ups and pre-recorded samso wherever the good crowds are, that’s what we ples. It’s just live drums, synths, and a keytar. like.”Andwhenaskediftherewasanything else “Everything we play, even though it’s eleche wanted to say to all the Woodhands fans tronic music, we make live on the stage,” said at UBC his message was clear and simple: Banwatt in an interview at the Ottawa Blues “Come out and party with us!” U Festival. “Although we might loop things, everything we loop, we play first.” Looping has the downside of replaying a flubbed riff over and over but Werb has said that “he’s gotten really good at covering up [his] mistakes.”

Werb said he craves this freedom to improvise. “What I love about being just two people is that you havethefreedomtoreact to the moment in a way that bigger bands sometimes don’t.”

Werb grew up in Vancouver but relocated to Toronto at 18, where he met Banwatt. At that time, he said, Vancouver’s muI ndiana Joel Illustration/The Ubyssey sic scene was much

We want you.

We want you so bad.

Write for the Ubyssey, SUB 24.

JONNY WAKEFIELD culture@ubyssey.ca

U theubyssey.ca

2 010 .11. 0 8 / u bys s e y.c a / f e at u r e / 9

feature

editor TREVOR RECORD » features@ubyssey.ca

UK study: 16.5 per cent of students consider sex work Money is the leading motivator for students who would think about entering the sex industry

“I hope it is different now, but in 1998, the average ‘feminist’ student in university was very much anti-sex work.”

Trina Ricketts

students engaging in prostitution could be greater than the number of those involved in sex work in Canada.

SFU prostitution researcher Tamara O’Doherty said that it “remains difficult for the public to understand” why adults would choose to work in the sex industry without coercion or financial stress, but explains that attractive factors include a flexible work schedule, high pay and anonymity. “Sex work” is a broad term that can describe jobs such as erotic modeling, web cam work, stripping and erotic massage—which may or may not involve physical contact with clients. Benedet said the

people who need work, especially in less privileged circumstances, merely legalizing prostitution does not mean that everyone that [is employed by it] believes that it is a really good [job] to do.”

However, the anonymous Kitsilano student escort said that safety is a top concern for him and that the most important way to stay safe is to work indoors.

“Even though I’m worried about being arrested for technically running a brothel, in-calls are much safer because I have more control over my work environment.”

As additional safety precautions, the student escort only agrees to work with clients after a telephone screening process, does not see clients late at night and makes sure his roommates are aware of what he’s doing—and would recommend that other students do the same. Ricketts said that students who are considering sex work need to be extremely conscious of their safety. Besides the potential for sexual harassment or rape, top student concerns regarding sex work include encountering social stigma and other repercussions even after they are no longer engaged in sex work.

O’Doherty warns against students revealing their real identities if they choose to enter into sex work.

“I know a few people who have been very open about their involvement in sex work,” said O’Doherty to The Ubyssey. “The stuff they’ve been t h rou g h i s qu it e hellish.”

Not everyone who enters sex work “has made a big mistake,” Anderson explained, and noted that some kinds of sex work may be better than many other forms of employment for some. However, he is skeptical of whether anyone could ever make an “informed decision” to enter sex work.

“There’s certainly some aspects of the industry that are worse than almost anyone can imagine if they haven’t done it, so.... some people who end up doing that as a way of making money are making pretty serious mistakes.” U —With files from Trevor Record

16.5 %

Stripping

11.1 %

non-Internet pornography

7.3 %

4.8 %

Internet pornography

6%

3,5 %

What kinds of sex work would UK students consider?

Pole/Lap dancing

Escorting or prostitution

Any type of sex work

Geoff lister photo illustration/the ubyssey

“After doing massage therapy for a while, I am now working as an escort full-time.

I see two to three clients a day. Seventyfive per cent of my clients are kinkier and twenty-five per cent want vanilla sex or massage with orgasms.”

This is how a male student, who wishes to remain anonymous, described how he started to consider sex work earlier this year to raise funds to attend a midwifery school in New Zealand. As a massage therapist working in Kitsilano who identifies as “sex positive” and sexually experimental, he found the transition to working as an escort “pretty natural.”

“The work is what you make it,” he said.

“I find it really rewarding to help clients explore their sexuality.”

He is part of a number of students who have taken work in the sex industry as a source of income. “Participation in sex work: students’ views,” a UK study published in May 2010 by the journal Sex Education, found that 16.5 per cent of undergraduate students would consider working in the sex industry and that 93 per cent identified money as one of their main motivations. The same study found that 11 per cent would consider taking a job as an escort.

Janine Benedet, a UBC Law associate professor who researches laws relating to sexual violence against women, including laws on prostitution and pornography, said that a “more lax legal regime” in the UK may mean that the number of

term “sex work” is a politically contested one, because it “de-genders the practice of prostitution, which is overwhelmingly about men buying and selling women and girls,” many of whom are poor and using it as a last resort.

Benedet said that she believes that students are misled into thinking nonprostitution forms of sex work are safer.

“Many of [the types of sex work in the study] involve no direct physical contact and may appear to students who know little about the abuses in such industries to be relatively harmless ways of making money,” said Benedet. “I suspect that if they sat down and talked to some women who had left these sectors of the industry they might see it differently.”

Trina Ricketts worked as a stripper to fund her studies at SFU and Kwantlen University. As the founder of the online community nakedtruth.ca and as an organizer of events such as the annual Exotic Dancers for Cancer Strip-a-thon, she is now one of Canada’s most recognizable sex worker advocates. But when Ricketts was a student, she was not comfortable telling her classmates about her work.

“I majored in English and women’s studies, and I felt very much like an outsider in my women’s studies classes,” said Ricketts. “I hope it is different now, but in 1998, the average ‘feminist’ student in university was very much antisex work. I never disclosed that I was a dancer. I was still learning how to use my voice back then.”

“As more sex workers come out of the closet,” said Ricketts, “I hope that more people will be forced to face the fact that we are not all degraded, violated victims.”

O’Dohert y a g rees that the public image of prostitution is harmful and has said to The Georgia Straight, “We need to take a few steps back and look at how we are structuring the experience of sex work to be one of victimization.”

The UK study came just before a September 28 Ontario judge decision to strike down key provisions of the province’s anti-prostitution laws. This may eventually lead to the decriminalization of “brothels” nationwide if the decision is upheld in the Supreme Court of Canada.

“There are certain advantages that people hope will occur by legalizing prostitution, which I think won’t occur,” said UBC philosophy Assistant Professor Scott Anderson. “...Unless you make sure there are many other good options available to

Based on percentages from “Participation in sex work: students’ views” in Sex Education, Volume 10 Issue 2 (May 2010). Trevor Record Graphic/the ubyssey

Joanna Chiu Contributor

10/ubyssey.ca/advertisement/2010.11.08

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sports

editor VACANT

Soccer T-Birds flying to nationals justin mcelroy coordinating@ubyssey.ca It was a November weekend to remember in Edmonton for both UBC soccer teams, as both the men’s and women’s squads did well enough in the Canada West playoffs to advance to the CIS National Championships next weekend.

The women, who eked into the playoffs on the final weekend of the regular season, were ranked fourth in the conference with a 8–5–1 record and needed a victory over top-ranked Alberta in the semi-finals to continue.

And they did just that, with a 2–1 overtime victory over the Pandas, thanks to a goal by allstar Lisa Furutani in the 12th minute of the bonus session.

Though they followed the win with a 2–0 loss to the Fraser Valley Cascades Sunday, the second place finish gives them a quarterfinal match against the Ontario champions, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawk’s, on Thursday afternoon at the nationals.

Women’s field hockey team finishes second at nationals Marie Vondracek Contributor

UBC poses after their conference championship. matt hirji Photo/The gateway

Meanwhile, the men (8–3–3 going into the playoffs) defeated the Calgary Dinos in the semfinals and the Saskatchewan Huskies in the finals by identical 1–0 scores to gain their spot in the men’s national championships.

Gagandeep Dosanjh scored in the first minute to give the Thunderbirds a lead they would never give up.

“I was really happy with the performance this weekend. The result tells a lot, but I thought the performances across the board were excellent,” said head coach Mike Mosher after the victory.

“It’s the first step. It’s always good to win trophies,” said Dosanjh, a Canada West All-Star, after the game, “but we’ve got a long ways to go.” U

Entering as the reigning national champs, UBC women’s field hockey captured the silver medal this weekend in Guelph, Ontario, losing 2-1 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues yesterday afternoon and ending UBC’s quest for a record 13th CIS championship.

Led by western conference leading scorer Victoria Pearson t he T-Birds opened t he tournament with a huge upset against the top ranked Guelph Gr y phons 2-1 in round-robin play.

This hard-fought win handed the Gryphons their first loss of the year at home, and only their second of the year overall. Later that day, UBC beat Waterloo handily 6-2.

The ‘Birds took this momentum into their game on Saturday.

They beat season rivals UVic 1-0 in the semifinals to earn chance to play for national gold.

In preparation for Sunday’s final, UBC head coach Hash Kanjee said, “We’ll try and get our heads around what tomorrow brings. I think Toronto is a well-balanced side, they have strength all over the pitch and I think we’re going to be hard pressed so we’ll just have to go and regroup now and make sure we’re ready for tomorrow and do the best that we can.”

However, it was not to be for UBC on this given Sunday. Toronto opened the scoring 15 minutes in, to which the Thunderbirds’ All-Canadian forward Victoria Pearson responded 13 minutes later. Toronto’s Katherine McNeill notched what ended up being the winning goal at the 66th minute.

Although UBC had a goal called back, they had many chances.

However, in the end their efforts were not enough. But with five tournament all-stars and Natalie Sourisseau named CIS rookie of the year, the future is just as bright as the present for the women’s field hockey team. U

rookies already making their mark on the court Natasha Egan

Contributor

This year’s rookies on the women’s basketball team, Alyssa Binns, Kristyana (Kris) Young, and Zana Williams are ready to make a difference in the 201011 season. Head coach Deb Huband is confident and realistic about this year’s recruits.

“They all come from highperformance, competitive programs…they have a strong understanding of the game,” she said.

Kris Young Young made her presence felt when she played on her senior team for four years at Handsworth Secondary in North Vancouver. She was named MVP for

all five of the tournaments her high school competed in during the 2009-10 season.

Young has already made an impact this season, scoring a teamhigh 23 points Saturday night against the Alberta Pandas, and averaging 17.5 minutes of action per game.

Coach Huband described Young as well-rounded and tough, with a knack for scoring. Expected to play shooting guard, she has no idea what she wants to study at UBC, but she’s beginning in general Arts. She chose UBC in part because of the T-Birds’ good coaches.

Zana Williams “I’ve known Deb and Carrie for a pretty long time now and

they’ve known me as a player and the issues I’ve had with my knees,” said Zana Williams. “So that just made UBC an even a better place for me to start playing basketball again.”

Huband tried to recruit Williams, a 5-foot-8 guard, straight out of high school. Instead, the Kitsilano grad went to Utah State University. However, after battling recurring problems with her knees throughout t he 2008-2009 season, which forced her to sit out many games, Williams took a year off from basketball and came to UBC. Williams said the year off has allowed her knees to feel better and is determined to make good her comeback this season.

Alyssa Binns Huband described Binns as “a strong student and hard worker.”

Binns who has just turned 17, is fresh off a summer playing on the U17 Provincial team who plays guard or forward. She is also a member of a basketballplaying family with her sister also played for the Gleneagles team. Currently studying Human Kinetics at UBC, she’s considering going into therapy.

If early results are any indication, Huband’s hope that the three recruits would bring depth to the team has come true.

“Their commitment to themselves as athletes will support them in taking the next step. They bring lots to the game and the school, both as people and as players.” U

Standout rookie Kris Young.

Jon chiang/The Ubyssey

The Ubyssey will not be publishing this Thursday, due to the Remembrance Day holiday. We’ll be back with a new issue on Monday, November 13.

justin mcelroy | coordinating@ubyssey.ca

U theubyssey.ca

1 2 / u b y s s e y. c a / s p o r t s / 2 010 .11 . 0 8

Men’s hockey team saves Bright future for UBC face with 5-0 victory women’s rugby program

David Elop photo/The Ubyssey Marie vondracek Contributor Matches of pride were played this weekend at the Doug Mitchell Arena, as last place holders Lethbridge came to take on the second-to-last place Thunderbirds. Separated by only two points, UBC was in danger of ending the weekend at the bottom of the heap.

Friday’s game was a backand-fort h batt le, which was drawn out into an overtime that ended 49 seconds in when Lethbridge’s Winston Day Chief scored the winning goal. That loss tied the two teams in last pl ac e, wh ic h m ade Sat u r day’s match a fight to regain position.

“There is pressure entering every game,” said Coach Milan Dragicevic. “We need to be prepared and in a league as tight as ours every game counts, so absolutely we felt pressure entering today’s game. ”

The motivation to not be last seemed to propel the Thunderbirds through the first period, out-shooting their opponents 17-7. But the ‘Birds could not get past Lethbridge keeper Reese St. Goddard until 5:50 into the second period.

“We had a great week of practice, the team was battling and scoring goals,” said Coach Dragicevic.

And scoring was just what UBC did on Saturday night. Even without injured team points leader Justin McRae, the T-Birds knocked in four more to win 5-0.

“I heard the guys on the bench halfway through the third period saying, ‘Let’s do this for Whitey,’” said Dragicevic, referring to ‘Birds goalkeeper Jordan White. “When players are saying that, you know it’s a team thing. And it was also a great job on Jordan’s part.”

This teamwork displayed by the T-Birds to help White complete his first shutout of the season will be essential as they move further into the season. Saturday’s win was crucial for UBC in order to stay in playoff contention. Only six points separate first-place Alberta and UBC, now in fifth place, making every single game count. The Thunderbirds showed they can control a game. They outshot their opponent 36-26 and controlled the majority of the play.

They will now work to continue and build on this with each subsequent game.

“Only because we won one game does not make us content,” Dragicevic reiterated. U

Jon Chiang file photo/The Ubyssey

COLIN CHIA Contributor The UBC Thunderbirds women’s rugby team wrapped up its season last weekend with a 26-10 win against University of Victoria to take the Canada West bronze medal, a repeat of last year.

“I’m not disappointed,” said head coach Lesley McKenzie, a lt houg h she felt t he team could have done better in the regular season to earn an easier semi-final matchup. “They did quite well in making sure they took care of a physical team like UVic in the bronze medal final. All of that factors into a strong team one season, definitely two seasons down the road, and that’s the important thing to look at.”

UBC had a 1-3 regular season record, with a 19-0 win over the University of Calgary and losses against Lethbridge, Alberta and Victoria. They were beaten once more 36-7 by defending national champions Lethbridge in the Canada West semi-final.

Full-back Darcy Patterson was named to the conference all-star team and described it as a “great honour.”

“There is such an abundance of talent in the west it was quite amazing to be included among the top,” she said.

Commenting on the team’s season, Patterson said, “I think everyone felt good about placing third. You have to look at the bright spots.

“The competition in the west is very fierce, the teams in this conference are closer in talent than any other conference across Canada, so placing third was an achievement. It was especially sweet because we were victorious against UVic who had beaten us a week before.”

Joining Patterson on the allstar team was Megan Hamm, who was also named Canada West rookie of the year. It gives Patterson optimism.

“Each and every one of the girls has a tremendous amount of potential and improved so much t hroughout t he short season. The team will be head and shoulders ahead of where we were this year,” Patterson predicted.

Their head coach shares the same view. “The bulk of players are first and second-year, which bodes incredibly well for the next few seasons. This is a program that’s going to do more in the next couple of seasons and I’m looking for them to develop as players and students of the game.”

Armed with all this potential, to challenge conference and national titles in the next few years is “realistic,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie was also bullish about the general state of women’s rugby in the province, despite the stranglehold of the Albertan universities in Canada West. Although the BC provincial team is very strong, Alberta hasn’t been able to translate their university-level success to the senior representative levels.

Many players from BC are also lured over the mountains by better recruiting efforts and scholarships, McKenzie said.

“Lethbridge is doing a really good job of recruiting. They actually have a lot of BC players and they do have an advantage in being able to offer a bit more in scholarships. It’s tough when you’re limited by your players either being able to get into UBC or not, and that’s a factor that some of the other schools in CIS competition don’t have to deal with.” U

bird droppings women’s volleyball team ends two-game losing streak with sweep against alberta UBC’s women’s volleyball team has gotten back into its groove.

Still missing two of their top players, the Thunderbirds swept the University of Alberta Pandas this weekend at War Memorial Gym. Led by Shanice Marcell, the TBirds set themselves straight and back on track for a successful championship defence.

“It was a really good team effort, and it’s easier when you start well,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “You don’t even have to look at the stats to know how well Shanice played. It was a tremendous response from last week by the whole team, led by Shanice, and I am very encouraged by that result.”

On Saturday, a well-rounded effort with contributions from all parts of the floor allowed the Thunderbirds to come out of the close and difficult match victorious.

“One of the best signs for our team was the balance we showed tonight,” said Reimer.

Lethbridge Keeper too much for UBC UBC women’s ice hockey dropped their wo games to Lethbridge this weekend by scores of 4-2 and 5–3. Pronghorns keeper Crystal Patterson was forced to stand on her head stopping 33 of 35 UBC shots. Although outshooting their opponents 35 to 18, the Thunderbirds struggled with their usually outstanding penalty kill.

“It was a pretty disappointing loss in that we gave up three power play goals. Our penalty kill has been so good during the year but tonight it was just not sharp,” said UBC head coach Nancy Wilson.

Veteran leader Tamara Pickford was the first to crack the wall built by Patterson, but was equalled a minute later by Lethbridge. Playing without powerforward Lisa Bonang, whose speed and tenacity helped propel them in the past, the Thunderbirds allowed three more goals. Tatiana Rafter responded with a feeble screech late in the game but could not bring it any closer.

The Birds lost 5-3 on Sunday afternoon. Kaitlin Imai gave UBC a lead late in the first period. It was soon topped with two goals by Lethbridge forward Shelby Ballendine. Rafter added her second goal of the weekend to even it up. Rookie Sarah Casorso scored her first CIS goal putting UBC back in the lead. This lead was once again given up., something the team has shown to do often this season. The defeat puts the Thunderbirds in sixth place, two points behind a two-way tie for fourth place.

UBC Cross-country captures silver and bronze at Conference Championships On Saturday in San Marcos, California the T-Birds were not soaking in solar rays lying on the beach, but instead were gutting it out on a Cross-country running course at the A.I.I. conference championships.

Teammates Luc Bruchet and Jordan Smith took fourth and fifth leading the 8th ranked male Thunderbirds to finish 2nd, while the number 10 th ranked UBC women lead by fifth placing Nelly Amenyogbe finished 3rd as a team. Both teams qualified—and are preparing—for the N.A.I.A National Championships on November 20th. U

2 0 1 0 . 11 . 0 8 / u b y s s e y. c a / g a m e s / 1 3

games & comics comicmaster, by maria cirstea

crossword

philosphrenic, by rachael freedman

puzzles provided by bestcrosswords.com. Used with permission.

Across 1. Bring to mind 6. Malfunction 11. Capp and Capone 14. Nigerian city 15. Path 16. Back muscle, briefly 17. “MASH” name 18. Motherhood 20. Boxer Laila 21. Bunches 23. Golfer Calvin 24. More pleasant 26. Delicate net 28. Absence of passion 30. Insurgent 31. Cavalry weapon 32. Spiral 33. Where some vets served 36. Foot part 37. Be silent, musically 38. Fresh-water fish 39. Driving aid 40. Dispute 41. Crowbar 42. Facial expression used by Elvis Presley 43. Separate 44. Muslim opponent of the Crusaders 47. Fundamental 48. Nicholas Gage book 49. Offers a price 50. Actress Merkel 53. Cut up 56. Lowermost deck 58. Hail, to Caesar 59. Bridget Fonda, to Jane 60. Castle water pits 61. After taxes 62. Small nails 63. Causing goose bumps

Down 1. Poet Pound 2. South African river 3. Decree 4. Sportage maker 5. Otalgia 6. Defense covering 7. Cover 8. Boy king 9. Salt Lake City athlete 10. Confuse 11. Extra-terrestrial being 12. Starbucks order 13. Eye sores 19. Singer Sedaka 22. “Conquest of Space” writer Willy 25. Need a scratch 26. Donnybrook 27. Slightly 28. Came down to earth 29. Sheet of stamps 30. Happen again 32. Broadway actress Uta 33. Boat-shaped 34. Served perfectly 35. Nothing more than 37. Corner 38. Hindu mother goddess 40. Aged 41. Supple 42. Lacking 43. June honoree 44. Four-door 45. In play 46. Adjust to zero 47. Waits 49. “Loser” musician 51. Words of denial 52. Church recess 54. The Company 55. Gumshoe 57. Fish eggs

solution

Submit your comics to our website at ubyssey.ca/volunteer/ submit-a-comic. virginie menard | production@ubyssey.ca

U theubyssey.ca

14 / u bys se y.c a / l e t t e r s/2 010 .11. 0 8

letters The Pit’s inappropriate attitude In the November 4th issue of The Ubyssey there was a letter written by Melle Nikkels regarding the line ups and an arrogant attitude.

We do not intentionally create a line up to give the appearance that we are busy. We want you in the bar, we want you to be having a good time, we want you to enjoy yourself responsibly and we want you to be spending your money, which in turn is giving money back to the AMS. We are no different than any other bar or club in Vancouver, or British Columbia for that matter; we have very strict rules and regulations that must be followed and adhered to. The Pit has an operation capacity of 406 people.

On a Wednesday evening there are generally 16 staff, along with myself and the assistant manager, which would leave space for 388 patrons.

While that may seem like a large amount of people to fit into the Pit, there is another catch.

When the dance floor is not in use the number of guests is lowered to 360 people allowed in the space, bringing the actual number of people permitted into the pit down to 342— not including the number of employees that are working in The Burger Bar. Our priority is to ensure that you are safe while having fun and enjoying yourselves. We must remain diligent in adhering to the laws, regulations and our operational capacity so that

we can, if need be, evacuate you as soon as possible and keep you safe. As was the case on the October 27th when the fire alarm was set off and everyone was immediately required to leave the building. We have worked very hard to form great relationships with the RCMP, liquor inspectors, fire department and both AMS security and campus security.

Having been to numerous bars and clubs over the years, I have been on the other side of the “velvet rope”, and I have felt your frustration, Melle. Here are a few suggestions for you and your crew of friends: 1. Come early, have a bite to eat at the Burger Bar and you will most likely score a place to sit.

2. Take the opportunity to actually meet some new people in line— time flies when you are making new friends.

3. We also have the Gallery; you can hang out up there, have a few beverages and then come down for the last part of the night.

Melle, I hope that this gives you a little more insight as to why the Pit has line ups and I hope it dismisses your idea that the Pit has a “wannabe Fancy club attitude.” Have you seen the place? I believe we are as laid back and normal as we can get. After all, we are named the Pit, not Le Pit. —Andrew Watling AMS Beverage Manager

List of contributors in this issue Colin Chia Karina Palmitesta Indiana Joel Micki Cowan Nicola Gailits Diana Foxall Andrew MacIsaac

Brian Platt Marie Vondracek Kalyeena Makortoff David Elop David Chen Samantha Bullis

U theubyssey.ca

Agenda for Staff Meeting 1. Introductions 2. New Members 3. NASH Campaigning 4. Retreat Plannering 5. New Business

U theubyssey.ca

AMS Resource Groups fighting for students The Ubyssey’s recent article “AMS resource groups off to slow start” brought up specific concerns about the organization of the resource groups and about the availability of contact information. Although each resource group operates largely autonomously and with its own organizational structure, we would also like to offer a joint response.

The resource groups continue to work to make our contact information available. Information about individual group meeting times has been widely distributed in pamphlets, posters, alternative media, at Clubs Days, in the SUB concourse and outside our offices. A website pride ubc: all resource groups are not the same The Ubyssey’s recent article “AMS resource groups off to slow start” paints an inaccurate picture of the resource groups in general, and Pride UBC in particular.

This article attempts to paint the resource groups as a unified collective, which is hardly the case. Each resource group is almost completely autonomous from the others, though efforts are made to work together whenever possible. Rather than making the blanket statement that “AMS resource groups off to a slow start” The Ubyssey might have investigated what the respective groups have done, as there have been varied levels of activity. To insinuate otherwise is unfortunate and misleading.

Following from this, the treatment of Pride UBC in this article speaks only to a complete lack of preparation and proper investigation. Reference is made to “repeated attempts” to reach us for comment. My fellow

designer was hired over the summer and a Resource Groups website will be launched shortly, along with websites for those groups currently lacking one.

We have adopted a different organizational structure this year by rotating the coordinator position and by making it an un-paid position. This way, we are able to cut administrative costs and provide more services for students. By sharing the job of coordinator, we are building the capacities of our members and encouraging cooperation between groups.

Fundamentally, our priorities lie in providing resources for students and in challenging oppression. Our goal is not to educate our members about the technicalities of our

constitution, but to provide safe spaces for them to discuss, explore and mobilize. We have already had many successful speakers, get-togethers, film screenings and discussions this year. We are also excited about fighting the record-high tuition fees, working towards a sustainable world, and addressing recent sexual assaults on campus – to name a few initiatives. We hope that The Ubyssey will focus more on these important issues in the future, and we encourage students to come to our open house to meet us, learn more and get involved.

The open house is taking place on November 10th from 5-8pm, in SUB 245.

co-chair and I received a single e-mail on the Thursday before a Sunday deadline, the Pride UBC email received no such notice, and no Ubyssey representative made any effort to attend any of our five weekly meetings, including our Monday executive meeting, where both co-chairs are available for comment. Excepting a single, unannounced visit to the Pride office, there were no other attempts to contact us.

It’s no wonder then how many errors this article makes. Contrary to the insinuations made by this article, the contact information for all Pride executives is available on our website, along with our constitution and executivemeeting minutes.

Excepting three one-hour slots, Pride UBC’s office is open Monday through Friday from 10am to 3pm.

Pride’s AGM is held every April, where the executive for the upcoming year is selected.

As a result of this, Pride is able to participate in events over the summer and hit the ground running in September. We held our

executive retreat before classes began and from the first full week of classes all of our five weekly groups were held, as they’ve been held since. We’ve also hosted two beer gardens and all ages events, with more events planned for the term.

None of the above is reflected by the article in question. Instead, the less active of the resource groups are put forward as reflective of the whole. By attempting to reflect the state of some resource groups in the state of them all, this article misinforms the public and simplifies a complicated situation, much to its detriment, and to the detriment of Pride UBC’s reputation.

—The AMS Resource Groups

—Daniel McGraw Pride UBC Co-Chair Editor’s Note: The Ubyssey sent emails to both Pride co-chairs and left a phone and in-person messages with volunteers in their office. The article in question also specifically credited Pride UBC for having an up-to date website.

2010.11.08/ubyssey.ca /opinions/15

opinions editorial

do you care? WRITE US A LETTER » feedback@ubyssey.ca

opinions

If you want to call yourself a resource, act like one Imagine the following scenario: You are a visible minority attending this school who feels discriminated against by a TA in one of your classes. You hear of an organization, paid for by your AMS fees, meant to provide support and information in this sort of situation. But when you attempt to contact that group, you find out that their website is not updated. Your phone calls are never answered or returned. Finally, frustrated, suppose you go to their office only to find no one there. In the end, the only way to get in contact with the group is to put your name on a pen-and-paper ‘email’ list—and pray.

This isn’t a hypothetical situation. It’s exactly what happens when you try to contact Colour Connected Against Racism, one of the AMS Resource groups. In fact, it’s much like what happens when you try to contact the majority of the groups. We covered this problem in a story titled “AMS resource groups off to slow start” in our last issue. The resource groups have already responded to the article by sending us an angry letter. Good, so you can respond to student comments. Now it’s time to act like a group that is paid by student fees and start responding to student inquiries.

The resource groups claim that their priorities lie in providing support for students and challenging oppression. It’s almost impossible to measure what degree of success they’ve had with the latter. However, for the former the ways in which they are lagging are clear to anyone. It is completely inappropriate for student-funded groups to be submitting their budgets and executive lists in the middle of the semester. Having visible email addresses and phones that you answer during peak hours is a completely reasonable request. Launching a group-wide web site to help students get in contact is a great initiative; launching a website in November is too little too late. And staffing an office space with even semi-experienced volunteers, let alone executives, should be a higher priority than is evidenced at the moment.

To be fair, some of the resource groups are much better than others, and are able to hold events we are aware of and respond within reasonable time frames—Pride UBC specifically has a strong campus presence and is a recognizable support group.

But face the facts: one effective group can’t salvage the reputation of all. Resource groups aren’t supposed to be insular clubs, they are supposed to be resources for students. Instead of responding with anger, we’d like to see the resource groups take well-intended criticism as a push to move forward and improve their important services. U ubc outreach to india long overdue President Obama is in currently in India arranging business deals, engaging in diplomacy and pushing America’s interests on the subcontinent.

And although their paths are unlikely to cross, Obama isn’t the only president visiting at the moment. In fact, there are fifteen others.

UBC President Stephen Toope and fourteen other Canadian university presidents recently departed for a seven day trip to Dehli and Pune to discuss increasing ties with Indian post-secondary institutions.

It’s an important step that is long overdue. It’s the next frontier for higher education. Already, hundreds of thousands of Indians leave for educational opportunities abroad, but only 4000 come to Canada, with 40,000 choosing Australia, 50,000 the UK and 80,000 the US. With one of the top Asian studies departments in North America and a large number of people of Indian ancestry in Vancouver, one would expect UBC would have well-established connections with our Commonwealth brethren.

However, UBC has only two exchange opportunities to India, one of which is restricted to engineers. And the number of courses taught about India pales in comparison to those about Japan or China. Considering that UBC sees itself as a ‘global’ university, it needs to push for a stronger relationship with places like India.

In more ways than one, UBC can’t look at India as just an international cash cow. U

brian platt photo/the ubyssey

Back from Kabul: what I’ve learned BRIAN PLATT bplatt@ubyssey.ca At some point during my trip through Afghanistan, it fully dawned on me what a unique opportunity this was.

Unlike most Canadian journalists, diplomats, aid workers and soldiers who go over, I had absolutely no restrictions on my movement. I could, and often did, just hang out in the streets of Kabul. Alongside my many planned meetings with local residents, I also had plenty of random encounters. One day I spent an hour just window shopping on Chicken Street, a collection of shops and bazaars that was a mustsee for travelling hippies in the 60s.

Yet I also had dinner in the soldiers’ mess hall on a NATO base, a night that ended with me shaking hands with the commanding officer, Brigadier-General Dave Neasmith (a Canadian). The Governor of Kandahar, who lived in Vancouver until two years ago, offered me a meeting. I received an unsolicited invitation to a function at the Canadian Embassy, which I couldn’t attend because it was the day after my plane left Kabul. And then, of course, there are all the incredible Afghans I met with: lawyers, teachers, school principals, news editors, female MPs, museum curators and the guy who runs the only contemporary arts centre in the country. This trip was the perfect mix of freedom and access.

Much of this was because I was travelling with Lauryn Oates, an indefatigable activist for education and women’s rights who first visited the country in 2003 (as a 21-year-old blonde girl in ravaged Kabul, she turned a few heads.) She’s been going back three times a year ever since, and her connections made everything easy. Some of it was also simply due to me being Canadian; Afghans like Canadians, and foreigners in the city look out for each other. However, most of credit goes to the amazingly hospitable culture of Afghanistan, despite 30 years of war. The hardest thing I had to do was turn down offers to stay for a meal when I had to be moving on.

You could spend weeks in Kabul and never know there was a foreign military presence in the country. The only giveaway is the constant pace of helicopter flyovers. It’s the other things that catch your notice: the police and security guards on practically every block in the city, the ubiquitous construction crews, the giant wedding halls, the stray dogs and most of all, the insane traffic.

But the reminders of the war, when you get them, are bracing. I was invited to an Afghan wedding and one of the men at my table had his hand covered with a cloth. He’s a police officer, and on a recent prisoner transfer operation down the Kabul-Kandahar highway he was ambushed by the Taliban and shot in the hand and the head. The only reason he’s still alive is because of swift medical attention at the Canadian military hospital in Kandahar.

Ah, Kandahar. The original capital region of Afghanistan in 1747, the place where Taliban militias first seized hold in 1994, and the last place they hung on to before scampering off through the hills to Pakistan in 2001. The Taliban have never denied the symbolic importance of Kandahar City and have been making a concerted campaign to retake the city since 2006. Today the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan is taking place in the districts around the city, and you can tell from the moment you leave the airport. I spent barely 24 hours in the province and saw more armoured convoys, fighter jets, helicopters and drones than I could keep track of.

Though again, the foreign presence was dwarfed by the number of Afghan military and police units patrolling the streets.

The day I arrived, a small bomb went off in Kandahar City. Large suicide bombs have been mostly eliminated since the police began enforcing a multi-layer checkpoint system around the city, but less deadly explosions still occur almost daily. More worrying are the targeted assassinations of government officials and secular Afghan educators; the evil persistence

of Taliban hit teams has successfully instilled a constant fear across the civil society of the city.

Afghanistan is a complicated place.

Always has been and always will be. A so-called “peace council” is aiming to achieve peace in Afghanistan’s time by—what, exactly? “What are we seriously going to give them to stop fighting? A ministry?” I asked a researcher from the respected Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. He told me he wasn’t sure either.

Shagul Rezai had just finished running for parliament when we talked to her (no results are confirmed, but early indications look good for her). You should have seen the fire in her eyes when asked what she thinks about negotiating a power-sharing deal with the Taliban. And, well, can you blame her?

When you speak to Afghans, you quickly realize how little Canadians actually know about the country. I understand why our media leads with explosions and dead bodies, but this makes it so easy to forget that Afghanistan is, like anywhere else in the world, filled with mostly good people who are just trying to get by. They understand exactly what democratic and accountable governance is, and I’d argue they care more passionately about it than us complacent Canadians do.

“The biggest danger,” Farida Nekzad told me, “is that the international community will just get bored or tired and go home and ignore us again.”

Nekzad is the news director of Wakht News Agency and a pioneering force for female journalism in Afghanistan.

For her, there is nothing rhetorical about this. Her apartment has been bombed twice by Taliban members trying to kill her, and she has a newborn daughter.

Most Afghans I met felt very pessimistic about the current state of affairs, but they agree about two things.

First: the way forward for Afghanistan is democracy. Second: they need our help, and will need it for a long time, to build it up in defiance of their tormentors and murderers. U

16/ubyssey.ca/advertisement/2010.11.08