2010.12.02

Uncle Grandpa Grumpy-Wumpdiddlyumpkins since 1918

the ubyssey presents its technology supplement

page 6

hearing from the public: land use plan amendments discussed by ubc community page 3

the ubyssey

DECEMBER 02, 2010 • volume 92, number xxv • room 24, student union building • published monday and thursday • feedback@ubyssey.ca

26–10 Council approves Gaza donation

page 4

2 / u b y s s e y. c a / e v e n t s / 2 0 1 0 . 1 2 . 0 2 december 02, 2010 volume xcii, no xxv editorial coordinating editor

Justin McElroy : coordinating@ubyssey.ca

news editor

Arshy Mann : news@ubyssey.ca

associate news editor

Sally Crampton : associate.news@ubyssey.ca

culture editors

Jonny Wakefield & Bryce Warnes : culture@ubyssey.ca

associate culture editor

Anna Zoria : associate.culture@ubyssey.ca

sports editor Vacant

features editor

Trevor Record : features@ubyssey.ca

photo editor

Geoff Lister : photos@ubyssey.ca

production manager

Virginie Ménard : production@ubyssey.ca

copy editor

Kai Green : copy@ubyssey.ca

multimedia editor

Tara Martellaro : multimedia@ubyssey.ca

associate multimedia editor Stephanie Warren : associate.multimedia@ubyssey.ca

video editor

David Marino : video@ubyssey.ca

webmaster

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

business Room 23, Student Union Building print advertising: 604.822.1654 business office: 604.822.6681 web advertising: 604.822.1658 e-mail: advertising@ubyssey.ca

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Fernie Pereira : business@ubyssey.ca

print ad sales

Kathy Yan Li : advertising@ubyssey.ca

web ad sales

Paul Bucci : webads@ubyssey.ca

accounts

Alex Hoopes : accounts@ubyssey,ca

contributors Andrew Hood Conrad Compagna Lila Volkas Adriana Byrne Jenica Chuahiock Andrew Hood Martin Parlett David Elop Alex Chen Ryan Walter Wegner Steve Gullick Josh Curran Tim Blonk Karina Palmitesta Irene Lo Micki Cowan Kalyeena Makortoff

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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events classifieds WESTSIDE HOMEOWNER seeks regular cat sitter • will pay $20/day prefer quiet student seedpe@hotmail.com Press+1 (www.pressplus1. com), Canada’s leading online entertainment magazine is looking for writers for articles/ interviews/reviews.

Unpaid internship. Mentoring.

Great perks! Learn more at: www.pressplus1.com/examples/new-writers.html

ongoing events Ubyssey Production • Come help

us create this baby! Learn about layout and editing. Expect to be fed. • Every Sunday and Wednesday, 2pm.

multiversity galleries curator tours • Learn about a different

aspect of the Multiversity Galleries from a different curator every week. From the local to the global and the mundane to the arcane, let the experts introduce you to the objects that intrigue them most. Along the way, you’ll gain fresh perspectives related to collecting, consulting, researching, interpreting and exhibiting in the Museum. • Tuesdays 1–2pm, Museum of Anthropology, $14/12 included with admission, free with UBC student ID.

Auditions for Brave New Play Rites Festival • Audition: call

for actors for Brave New Play Rites Short Play Festival. Actors needed for short play festival which runs March 30, 2011– April 3, 2011. Non-union, nonpaying but great acting experience with exciting new playwrights and directors. • Auditions take place Jan. 9–10, email bravenewplayrites@gmail. com for more information.

and are fighting HIV/AIDS and in memory of those who have passed away from HIV/AIDS. • 6–8:30pm, North SUB entrance.

Memorial Service • Attend this memorial for the 14 women who lost their lives at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal as well as the countless women who have been victims of genderbased violence. Reception to follow. • 12:15–1:15pm, Frank Forward Building, 6350 Stores Rd.

friday, dec. 3 International Day of Persons with Disabilities • The Unit-

ed Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities gives people an opportunity to shine light on the achievements of people with disabilities and to glimpse the possibility of a world where everyone belongs. The celebration will include a marvellous evening of music, performances, crafts, dance, storytelling and art, performed and designed by artists, performers and musicians with disabilities. • 5:30– 9pm, Roundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews (Davie & Pacific), free, go to vancouverdisabilitiesday. ca or call (604) 608-0384 for more information.

National Day of Remembrance & Action on Violence Against W o m e n : Da n c e F u n d r a i s e r • Dance the night away at

this all-ages dance fundraiser hosted by UBC V-Day and Pride UBC. All the proceeds of the event go towards support services for women experiencing gender-based violence. • 7pm–12am, SUB Room 207/209, contact CJ Rowe at (604) 822-2415 or cj.rowe@ ubc.ca for more information. one-man star wars • A one-

jure One’s Rhys Fulber (Delerium, Fear Factory and Front Line Assembly) is concluding his North American tour at Venue on December 2, showcasing his “dirty, squelchy electronic, semi trip-hop” album, Exilarch.

• 19+ event, 9pm–2am, Venue Nightclub, 881 Granville St, $20.

hour, high energy, nonstop blast through the first three Star Wars films. The catch is, there’s only one cast member. Charles Ross, the writer and solo performer, spent too much of his childhood in a galaxy far, far away—adulthood has been similar. Ross plays all the characters, recreates the effects, sings the music, flies the ships and fights both sides of the battles. Three movies, one man, one hour!

• 8–9pm, Vogue Theatre, 918 Granville St, $27.50–29.50, tickets available at voguetheatre. com, Vogue Box Office or on the phone at (604) 569-1144.

Keep the Light Shining: Candlelight Vigil • A candlelight vigil

Amnest y International UBC W r i t e f or R igh t s • A IU BC

thursday, dec. 2 The Georgia Straight, CiTR and LUV-A-FAIR Present: Conjure One and Front Line Assembly • Con-

will be happening to remember and celebrate the strength and resilience of people who have

brings you their campus chapter of the international Writeathon! Come by their booth to

There’s not much time left to send us your final events of the semester! events@ubyssey.ca samantha martallaro coordinating@ubyssey.ca

UUtheubyssey theubyssey.ca .ca

read and sign letters regarding a number of global issues.

Free hot chocolate will be provided, and you may even hear some live music. Come down to support one of these causes and have a good time! • 11am– 3pm, south side of the SUB. M y Ne w SUB ‘Preferred Option’ Open-House • Come see

what the current design option looks like and give your feedback and comments about it.

Pick up your invitation in the Cube or at the event. Free candy canes for those who ‘RSVP,’ ie bring their ‘invitation’ back to the Cube with comments/feedback on it! • 10am–3pm, SUB Conversation Pit.

FOLK For The Holidays • Come

and celebrate with guests Hannah Georgas, The Fugitives, Roy Forbes and The Sojourners in support of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. The evening will feature concert and silent auction. • 8pm, show at 7pm, Performance Works, Granville Island, $25 tickets available at Highlife, Zulu Records or at thefestival.bc.ca.

saturday, dec. 4 Exclaim! and CBC Radio 3 Present: Fr a ze y Ford • Exclaim!

and CBC Radio 3 are bringing you Vancouver’s very own indie folk phenomenon, Frazey Ford. Formerly from the Canadian folk trio The Be Good Tanyas, Frazey has been touring the globe in support of her debut solo album, Obadiah. • 19+ event, 8pm–2am, Fortune Sound Club, 147 East Pender St.

arts Club The atre Company presents Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: The Musical • Make

your days merry and bright by warming to this unforgettable musical about love and friendship. Based on the classic holiday film, this tap-dancing delight brims with tunes—including “Sisters” and the ever-popular “White Christmas”—that will fill you with the joy of the season. • Dec. 4–Jan. 11, Arts Club Theatre Company - Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, 2750 Granville St.

‘MY COUNTRY AND ALL I LOVE’–Recital of Canadian Melodies •

The latest programme by the vocal duo France Duval and Bruno Laplante is exclusively composed of Canadian music and lyrics that illustrate 150 years of “French melodies” written on North American soil.

This significant historic trajectory begins, in the first part, with some of the greatest composers of the 19 th century. The second part is devoted to the genius of composers of the 20 th century, including the rich musical proliferation of André Mathieu’s generation. • 8pm, Jules-Verne Auditorium, 5445 Baillie Street, $18 advanced purchase at rendez-vousvancouver.com, $22 at the door.

sunday, dec. 5 Rogers Santa Claus Parade •

The first Sunday in December is the official date of the Rogers Santa Claus Parade. Now entering its seventh year, the parade will feature more than 60 marching bands, choirs, festive floats and community groups. • 11am–2pm, Coast Capital Savings Christmas Square, in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery.

thursday, dec. 9 Lance Ryan in Concert: Liederabend • UBC alumnus Lance

Ryan (heldentenor), in concert with Viviana di Carlo (mezzosoprano) and David Boothroyd, piano, presents an evening of German romantic song. Proceeds of this concert go to the UBC David Spencer Endowment Encouragement Fund.

Performances include Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Richard Strauss’ selections of lieder. • 8pm, UBC Old Auditorium, 6344 Memorial Rd, $40 adult, $30 senior, $20 student, tickets available at ubcopera.com, at the Old Auditorium box office Tue-Fri, 11am–1pm or call (604) 822-6725. go global application workshop • This hands-on applica-

tion workshop will be facilitated by a Go Global staff member and will cover the key information needed to fill out the online Go Global exchange application. Students are encouraged to bring their laptops and work through their applications during the workshop. • 3–4pm, Upper Lounge, International House, go to students.ubc.ca/ global or call (604) 822-0942 for more information.

A Wachu Concert Series featuring DAVID WARD & CHRISTINE BEST • The first of a new monthly

music series in Vancouver that will be sure to blow your mind!

The Wachu concert series will showcase the amazing musical talent of Vancouver, offer great prizes from local companies and be the most entertaining thing you’ll participate in all month. The first showcases are the soulful sounds of David Ward & Christine Best.

• 10pm, doors open at 8pm, Backstage Lounge, 1585 Johnston St (Granville Island), $8 tickets at the door.

friday, dec. 10 CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF QIAN ZHONGSHU AND YANG JIANG •

Come celebrate the centennial anniversary of two of modern China’s most outstanding cultural figures. As scholars and writers, husband and wife Qian Zhongshu (1910-1998) and Yang Jiang (b. 1911) radically transformed what it meant to be a modern Chinese intellectual. Features a reading from a new literary translation, a student performance and an invited lecture by a distinguished scholar of modern Chinese literature. A catered reception will follow. • 4–8pm, UBC Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall, please RSVP for this free event via e-mail at ubcasianstudies@ gmail.com.

sunday, dec. 12 Physics of Light and Colour— 7 t h Annual Far aday Science Show • Faraday Show is the

Outreach Program’s annual science lecture, designed for children and presented by UBC faculty members and students.

This year, we will explore the subject of “light and colour.”

Learn how optical illusions work and how we can cre ate lights of different colours, compare lights in reality and in computer games and find out which type of Christmas light decorations consumes the least amount of energy.

The event is free and open to the public, but bring non-perishable food items to support the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Hebb Theatre has limited capacity (375 people), so come early! • 2–3pm, Hebb Theatre, e-mail outreach@phas. ubc.ca or call (604) 822-3675 for more information.

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News

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

UBC hearing talks concerns over land use Concerns include Gage South, consultation process, green space Arshy Mann news@ubyssey.ca On Tuesday evening, over a hundred people packed into the Ponderosa Building to fight for their often conflicting visions of UBC’s future.

The hearing, which was mandated by the provincial government, focused on proposed changes to the Land Use Plan.

This was the final opportunity for the public to have a say about the amendments.

Although some speakers were fully in favour of the proposed changes, the vast majority had grievances regarding a number of issues—although these criticisms were often at odds with one another.

Speaking on behalf of the AMS, VP Academic and University Affairs Ben Cappellacci endorsed the overall vision presented by the amendments, though he reaffirmed the AMS’s commitment to zoning Gage South, an area that includes the bus loop and MacInnes field, as “academic.”

This was echoed by every single student that went up to speak.

The amendments call for Gage South to be designated as an “area under review,” meaning that no changes can be made to it until another public hearing is held. It is currently zoned for family housing.

However, the amendments also stipulate that if Gage South is not used for family housing, space must be found for it elsewhere on campus.

VP Academic Ben Cappellacci speaks on behalf of the AMS. geoff lister photo/The Ubyssey

This “density transfer” was also criticized by students.

“We don’t understand why Campus and Community Planning (CCP) keeps saying that we need to transfer [the density] out,” said Katherine Tyson, who chairs the AMS’s University and External Relations Committee (UERC). She said that CCP was speaking of these density transfers as if they were absolutely necessary, as opposed to a choice the university was making.

Jeremy McElroy, AMS VP External, said that the university needs to consider if the money the university would receive from the 414 people originally slated for the Gage South neighbourhood was a worthwhile investment.

“[That’s] $20 million to forfeit the student heart of campus,” he said.

Many speakers also expressed dismay over how the consultations were undertaken, as well as the lack of external oversight in the process.

Cappellacci said that “there are concerns about an apparent circular feedback loop between Campus and Community Planning and the Board of Governors which has the potential to limit direct public input to the decision-making body which has limited democratic accountability.”

“I didn’t hand in my response form because it frankly seemed like a waste of time,” said Susan

Chapman, the President of the Dunbar Residents’ Association (DRA).

Chapman, along with other members of the DRA and the West Point Grey Community Liaison Group, were concerned that an increased population at UBC would create more traffic running through their neighbourhoods and also strain local facilities such as schools.

Mike Feeley, the former chair of the University Neighbourhoods Association, argued that although UBC should consider the opinions of outsiders, it should ultimately do what is best for the people who live on campus.

“Please resist t he ca ll to amend the Land Use Plan for

people who don’t live in this community to have an undue say,” he told the committee.

Some faculty members also wanted UBC to have fewer people than the amendments called for.

The amendments increase the projected population for 2020 from 18,000 to 22,500, of which 10,000 are students.

By 2040, the university aims to have 16,000 students and 22,000 residents.

“Campus is already pretty crowded,” said Barbara Dancygier, a professor in the department of English.

Most students, however, including Tyson and McElroy, spoke strongly for increased density on campus, specifically for student housing.

A variety of other concerns were raised, including a lack of green space on campus, views of buildings from Wreck Beach that would spoil the natural scenery, insufficient space for new athletic facilities and the need for better consultation with residents about construction projects.

Neal Yonson, editor of the blog UBC Insiders, said that the amount of criticism of the amendments shows that change is necessary.

“It seems as though many people from many different groups on campus and the city have a number of very legitimate concerns about the amendments,” he said.

“After this display tonight, if there are not changes to the amendments, I will be absolutely appalled.” U

University achievements recognized in Blue and Gold Review Sally Crampton associate.news@ubyssey.ca Members of UBC past and present showed off their accomplishments to a packed auditorium on Monday evening, as UBC held its annual Blue and Gold Review. The event, which drew an audience of 900 into the Chan Centre, celebrated the achievements of current students, faculty and alumni who have made a substantial difference to the UBC community.

Stephen Toope kicked off the ceremony with a congratulatory speech introducing “some of the most gifted members of the UBC community.”

“This year has been a year of wonders [and] UBC’s faculty continues to distinguish themselves as leaders in world fields.

“The people here tonight are making a difference and embodying the values of UBC‚ academic freedom, integrity, mutual respect and public service.”

The review itself was hosted by two alumni emcees, Jennifer Gardy and Duncan McCue, both of whom have gone on to have successful careers in science and journalism.

Amongst the students receiving recognition was Sachintha

Wickramansinghe, a UBC student whose contribution to community learning courses was highly commended. “I’ve taken two community learning courses,” she explained. One, titled “Postcards from the Heart,” explores issues of immigration and home identity.

Alongside Wickramansinghe, the next event of the evening saw a live scientific experiment by Veronique Lecault and Samantha Benton, both MASc and PhD candidates at UBC and founders of the children’s education program ‘Let’s Talk About Science.’ Lecault and Benton took to the stage to perform a scientific demonstration of how to make “elephants’ toothpaste,” as an example of the work they do to teach children about science. “As scientists it is our responsibility to educate the public as to what we do; this makes our experience as grad students more enjoyable,” they said.

Theatre and song provided the evening’s entertainment.

UBC University Singers performed a medley of songs, including “White Christmas,” and students Laura Lee and Laura Rosenhoff took the stage to

UBC performers at the Blue and Gold. tim blonk Photo/The Ubyssey

talk about their achievements in staging theatre workshops in Rwanda and Northern Uganda.

The purpose of the project is to help young women in Rwanda and Uganda challenge and deal with conflict through the medium of narratives.

“Three of us have been working with women in post conflict

for some time. We decided to use theatre because it built on local oral traditions,” said Lee. A narrative written by some of the women involved in the project in Uganda was then performed by students.

Of course, the ceremony also praised those who have been staff members and UBC alumni.

Alumnus Marco Marra, the “Cindy Crawford of science journalism,” took the stage to discuss his recent breakthrough in cancer cures. Marra, who has had several high-profile articles published in various science journals, said the research he has conducted has “had tangible effects on how we understand breast cancer.”

Martin Dee, UBC’s resident photographer since 1986, was also recognized for his outstanding contributions to the university.

M i ra n d a L a m , c h a i r of the UBC Alumni Association, praised the efforts of all whom t he ceremony r ec og n i z ed.

“UBC’s inaugural students in 1916 were 38 graduates,” she said. “Ninety-five years later, t here are 250,000 men and women alumni. These UBC grads have done their part to build our province, our country and our world.”

The night, however, almost did not go according to plan.

UBC animal activists organized a scheduled protest to disrupt the ceremony at 7:20pm, ten minutes before the end. Their efforts were suppressed by security. U

4 / u by s s e y. c a / n e w s / 2 010 .1 2 . 0 2

$700 Gaza donation approved Motion passes 26-10 in front of over 200 in the Norm

Left: Supporters of the SJC were overcome with jubilation after the vote.

Below: A crowd of 200 gathers outside the norm before the council meeting Bottom Left: VP Finance Elin Tayyar Bottom Right: SPHR President Omar Shaban david elop photos/the ubyssey

Kalyeena Makortoff kmakortoff@ubyssey.ca AMS Council passed a motion Wednesday night approving a $700 transfer from the Social Justice Centre (SJC) to Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) that would fund a humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza. The decision was made after three hours of heated debate. Approximately 200 students were in attendance in the Norm Theatre.

The motion brought an end to nearly two weeks of fighting between the Israeli Awareness

Club (IAC), the SJC and SPHR over the autonomy of AMS resource groups, the legitimacy of the SJC executive and whether the flotilla would be funding terrorism.

“We’re ecstatic...They’ve decided in favour of both resource group’s autonomy and the fact that the SJC can stand for controversial critical causes as outlined in it’s constitution,” said Gordon Katic, member of the SJC and Allies at UBC. “This isn’t just a win for the people of Gaza.

This is a win for all six of the resource groups.”

Ea rl ier t h is mont h, st udents affiliated with the IAC

complained that the $700 transaction from the SJC to SPHR was not valid, as their executive failed to hold a proper annual general meeting.

“We have been responding to these attacks for two weeks,” said Katic. “It has been a tremendous personal stress [and] it has been a tremendous stress on the resource groups.”

VP Administration Ekaterina Dovjenko presented a report by the Student Administrative Committee (SAC) that disproved these allegations, and stated that an official AGM had been held in February. This meant that

Want to keep up on hack talk? ubyssey.ca/news. arshy mann | news@ubyssey.ca

SJC’s executives had not broken any AMS regulations, and were permitted to give this money to SPHR. Debate surrounded the legality of the donation, as many students suggested that funding the flotilla effectively supported terrorist groups or unregistered charities for which the AMS could be held accountable.

Questions were raised about the charitable status of the organization that SPHR would be funding. Arts Councillor Katherine Tyson alleged that a legal opinion commissioned by the AMS stated that Canada Boat to Gaza was not a registered charity. This was confirmed by AMS President Bijan Ahmadian, who had been the only member personally in contact with the AMS’s lawyers personally. This was also the only time Ahmadian spoke during the debate.

However, SPHR President Omar Shaban stated that the money is going to a registered charity called Alternatives that would then be funding the project, itself called “Canada Boat to Gaza.”

Before the motion was passed, it was subject to a number of amendment attempts. A group of councillors, led by Tyson, tried to amend the agenda so that the money would only go to a charity approved by CIDA. Another motion by Arts Councillor Michael Haack sought to force the executive to apologize to students for their original decision and for insinuating that the flotilla project was connected to terrorism. Both amendments failed.

“I feel like we wasted a lot of time. From my understanding, from the legal opinion and the findings of SAC, we didn’t even need to make a decision. It should have been a regular transaction the VPF should have done,” said Haack.

In the lead-up to the meeting, both the SPHR and the UBC Students for Students, which was opposed to the donation, distributed materials to students and councillors, in addition to circulating petitions. The IAC presented a petition of 236 students and 672 alumni, professors, parents of students and prospective students opposed to the donation. The SPHR provided a petition in favour of the donation with 547 signatures from UBC students.

Security was also present in the Norm, and students were told by AMS Council Chair Dave Tompkins that disrespectful behaviour would not be tolerated.

However, aside from a few speaker interruptions, the debates remained passionate but civil.

“If there was anyone being divisive in this debate, it was the IAC,” said Katic. “I don’t like my name linked to terrorism [and] I don’t think that it’s appropriate for the IAC to make those claims.”

IAC President Rael Katz said that Council should not have approved this donation.

“The motion that has passed was a political statement more than [for] humanitarian aid,” he said.

Julian Markowitz, former vice president of the IAC, was also disappointed at Council’s decision. “It’s shown that a small group of radicals—in this case under the umbrella of the SJC and t he resource groups at large—had the ability to override the democratic mandate of this school,” he said.

However, Katz suggested that the decision was not a total loss.

“One of our primary goals was to raise awareness. Nobody knew this was happening. It was completely under the table. And we made it public.” U

2010.12 .02/u byssey.ca / nationa l/5

national

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

UVic students to boycott Maclean’s over “Too Asian” Kailey Willetts The Martlet (University of Victoria) VICTORIA (CUP)—Maclean’s may be Canada’s magazine, but the University of Victoria Students’ Society (UVSS) is saying it isn’t their magazine after a controversial article about race was published.

The society’s board of directors passed a motion at their November 29 meeting that will ban sales of the magazine from the students’ union building if the national magazine does not apologize for the article by December 31. The motion also directed the society’s chairperson, James Coccola, and Director Jaraad Marani, who moved the motion, to send a letter to Maclean’s condemning the article.

The article, titled “Too Asian?,” discussed the numbers of Asian students at some Canadian universities and what it meant for Caucasian students.

It has sparked a nationwide controversy. “[It perpetuates stereotypes] that Asians are smarter because of culturally-enforced values that make them study harder and have less of a focus on being social and the social experience of university than white students,” said Marani. “It kind of creates a divide between Canadian and Asians, in that being non-white is not Canadian and that being Canadian is white.”

Approximately 25 students attended the board meeting in support of the motion, which was debated for two and a half hours. Coordinators from the Students of Colour Collective and UVic Pride, as well as other

One of the ten copies of Maclean’s sold at UVic this year. sol kauffman Photo Illustration/the Martlet

students, encouraged the board to pass the motion.

However, the decision was not unanimous. Five directors opposed the motion while twelve were in favour.

“I see us deciding to stop sales of Maclean’s because of one article that was a very political article as a form of censorship. The students’ society is doing what they can to stop students from having access to that publication, which is censorship,” said Nathan Warner, one of the directors who opposed the motion.

Warner said if an amendment to remove the clause about stopping the sales of Maclean’s had

passed, he would have supported the motion.

“I would have supported the letter. I think that, yes, the article was a bit touchy, maybe a bit too far, maybe they didn’t see it at the time when they published it, but in hindsight, they realized it was a bit too far over the edge,” he said. “I think a letter being sent to Maclean’s condemning the article, [saying] ‘Our members are concerned with this and we would like you to apologize,’ [would be] fine, but taking the step towards what I call censorship is not acceptable.”

“We are disappointed with t h i s dec i sion , pa r t ic u l a r ly because it was made on a

university campus, a safe spot for the discussion of ideas and issues, even if those issues are difficult, at times, to discuss,” said the editors of Maclean’s in an email to The Martlet.

“Furthermore, the [society’s] decision is not based on a fair reading of our original article, which is actually supportive of Asian students, or the editorial that subsequently ran in response to the public discussion about the article.”

On November 25 the magazine published “Merit: The best and only way to decide who gets into university,” a response to the controversy generated by the “Too Asian?” article.

“I was very glad to see the apology sort of note that they had posted on their site a couple of days later. I think it did clear up a lot of the issues and they worded it very careful[ly] to try and say [they] intended for this article to be a bit out there maybe, but not to be offensive.” said Warner.

“Maclean’s wasn’t trying to promote a system of race profiling for admission to schools.

They were just bringing up the issue and trying to get people to talk about it. I think it was an apology. Some people seem to think it wasn’t.”

Marani is one of those people.

“We are looking for a genuine apology. What they wrote was a response to legitimate their actions,” he said. “We are looking for ownership of the impact of their article, not hiding behind a non-issue of race-based admissions based on Asian students.”

The only business in the students’ union building that sells the magazine sold less than ten copies last year. Coccola, however, thinks the motion may spark a larger consumer boycott.

“The Canadian Federation of Students passed a motion last week about this, basically condemning Maclean’s for the article. At that time, a number of schools were waiting to see what [we] did before they pursued motions of their own. So in the next few weeks, it’s very likely that you’ll see a number of other schools follow the same route,” he said.

Marani hopes Coccola is correct.

“We want other student societies to stand in solidarity and to start a consumer boycott across [Canada of] Maclean’s.”

BC student loan program not meeting needs Danielle Pope Western Bureau Chief VICTORIA (CUP)—Money is getting tight for students in BC, as the effects of a weakened provincial loan program begin to show.

Currently, BC has one of the highest tuition rates in the country. Much of this can be attributed to the recently cut provincial grants program, high interest rates and low non-repayable loan options that are emptying the pockets of students across the province.

“For BC, it’s t el l i n g t he amount of pressures students have to deal with. The average tuition per semester is about $4,800, and that’s before living and general expenses,” said James Coccola, chairperson of the University of Victoria Students’ Society.

“It’s very difficult to be a student in BC right now, just because of that lack of support.

“Clearly there’s been an impact on how students can spend.

This should be embarrassing for BC—its future is having to cut spending on food because tuition is so high and rent is so high and living is so high,” he said.

“Obviously, something is going wrong here.”

This year, the federal student budget maxed out its $15 billion allowance—an amount that was meant to last until 2014. Coccola says the provincial system is under even more pressure, and is inadequate.

While financial assistance is provided to all qualifying students—except in Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, which operate their own student financial assistance programs—the federal government only funds 60 per cent of a student’s need, up to a maximum of $210 per week of study. Provinces and territories are required to provide the remaining financial assistance.

In the 2008-2009 year, over 365,363 students applied for full-time loans across Canada and 51,570 of those were from BC—second only to Ontario, which had 219,632 applicants.

With such a high borrowing demographic, many see it as surprising that BC could still be missing the mark.

To advocate for more acknowledgement on the issue, the Canadian Federation of Students has been pushing their Education Shouldn’t Be a Debt Sentence campaign this year.

“Today in BC, the average student graduates from a four-year

program wit h over $27,000 worth of debt from education alone,” said Nimmi Takkar, chairperson of CFS-BC. “That means that, unlike graduates before us, we can’t buy cars, or homes, or make investments. I think a lot of students are turned away by that.”

“I think it’s a huge problem that there is such a discrepancy between provinces when it comes to funding,” Takkar added.

“The federal government has no national vision for post-secondary education, and so students in BC are disadvantaged because if your chosen field of education—like medicine—isn’t something you can afford, it’s something you just can’t do here.

There’s a lot of talent being wasted or lost.”

Ida Chong, recently-appointed minister of science and universities in the province, said that the provincial government is committed to making public post-secondary education accessible, affordable and closer to home for BC students. Toward that goal, she maintained that BC offers one of the best student aid packages in t he country.

“Post-secondary education is an individual investment as well

as a public investment, and the government is committed to keeping the costs affordable for both students and taxpayers,” Chong said.

Meanwhile, some institutions are taking action for more financial assistance.

This year UBC has been able to offer some financial assistance to most at-need students.

AMS President Bijan Ahmadian says that due to the size of the university, this unique capability has been a welcome move to many students in the Vancouver area, but the program can still only help so many.

“We have over 46,000 graduate and undergraduate students at our institution, and no student eligible for entry will be denied access to UBC due to finances alone,” Ahmadian said.

“But the problem is that, while UBC can offset certain costs, you must apply and receive a student loan first, and that’s where the problems come in.”

Ahmadian pointed out that many students who have valuable assets, like cars, often register just above the in-need mark for student loans.

“If your name is on the title of a vehicle with your father, for example, that counts against your

eligibility for a student loan,” he said.

“Those assets can’t necessarily be liquidated, however, meaning that while on paper it might look like you’re rolling in dough, in practice you’re as penniless as a student without a car, but now the government won’t lend you money.”

Ahmadian explained that this year UBC saw an above-average number of applicants for student aid.

This, he believes, is due in part to one of the worst summer employment years the province has seen, combined with a stillpained winter economy.

Despite the grim financial forecast, Takkar maintained that BC has the ability to surge leagues ahead of the competition, and it merely requires the political will.

“We’re a province that claims to be ‘the best place on earth,’ and we have a lot of opportunities to make our education system the envy of the entire country,” Takkar said.

“But we’re at a fork in the road here, and our province is at a pivotal moment in political history. We can’t divorce students from this process. We need new leadership to make us a priority for once.”

6/ubyssey.ca/technology/2010.11.22

technology

editor TREVOR RECORD » features@ubyssey.ca

Built to break: planned obsolescence Adriana Byrne Contributor The next time your phone’s faceplate gets cracked, or your four-year-old laptop battery loses its charge in 15 minutes, you might want to stop and consider that it may have been designed to do that.

Planned obsolescence, the design of products with a deliberately limited lifespan, drives our economy by encouraging people to buy new things instead of trying to repair the old ones when they break. “[It’s] an advanced strategy of disposability invented by American manufacturers and marketers,” said Dr. Giles Slade, author of Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America. “[The result is] an entire society on a consumerist treadmill.”

Slade’s book calls attention to our current unsustainable consumer culture, tracing its origins to the early 20th century. In a system where junked items can be easily recycled, planned obsolescence is simply a part of the cycle of production and consumption—not a problem.

Unfortunately, it’s often associated with environmentally irresponsible manufacturing and disposal practices. As we buy more new cars, appliances and electronic gadgets made with plastics and heavy metals, old broken ones mostly become hazardous waste.

According to Dr Hadi Dowlatabadi, a professor at UBC’s Liu Institute for Global Issues, planned obsolescence cannot be separated from technological progress and value engineering, which involves calculating a product’s value based on the ratio of functionality to cost.

“Value engineering recognizes that we can spend more on a product and make it last longer, or make it more disposable but cheaper,” he said.

Ideally, the decision to make a product with a short lifespan should be based

Welcome to the Technology supplement Trevor Record features@ubyssey.ca The holidays are coming, and most of you will no doubt be going through our customary amassing of new gadgets. I know I will.

However, there is an increasing amount of consciousness regarding the drawbacks of our superpowered gadget-consuming habit. This year, a group of UBC Journalism students, including our former multimedia editor, Dan Haves, won an Emmy for their documentary, Ghana: Digital Dumping Group. There is an environmental and social cost attached to the way we treat technology.

The focus of the print edition of the technology supplement is the dark side of consumer goods, specifically the waste they produce. We’ll have an article on e-waste at UBC, as well as details of where you can go to recycle your electronic goods. We’ll also take a look at the practice of planned obsolescence, which engineers the life expectancy of your electronics.

Don’t care about e-waste and just want to see what the hot new gadgets and games this year are? We have coverage of that as well, online. Check out ubyssey.ca/features later this week for consumer reviews of products that are on shelves this holiday season. U

on a low replacement cost (both financial and environmental) and a resulting new product that functions significantly better than the old one. This doesn’t always happen, however. Slade places the birth of planned obsolescence in 1924, when Phoebus, a cartel of manufacturing companies, allegedly conspired to shorten the lifespan of light bulbs. There are specially engineered bulbs, such as the Centennial Bulb in Livermore, California, that were first turned on in the early 1900s and are still working today. Bulbs that needed to be replaced every few months were clearly not a technological improvement, but provided a definite economic advantage to companies that sold them.

At the same time, it doesn’t make sense to mass-manufacture an expensive product that lasts a long time when a cheaper and more environmentally friendly version could be just around the corner.

“We could make bulbs last 20,000 hours, but that would essentially mean we would have to throw away perfectly functional lights mid-way through their life if LED lights using five per cent of their energy came along and produced the same amount of light,” said Dowlatabadi. In his view, the life cycle of products needs to be made as efficient as possible, regardless of how long an individual product lasts.

Polartec fleece is Dowlatabadi’s example of a well-engineered product that incorporates deterioration into its design.

The fleece gradually loses its insulating ability, but because it is 100 per cent recyclable, it supports a whole industry for warm clothing that reuses the same raw materials, producing new clothing in new styles with very little environmental impact.

Slade has a generally positive view of technological innovation. “Every generation of technology is more powerful than

Josh curran photo/the ubyssey

the previous one, or better suited to its function,” he said. “Engineers learn by making more.”

However, he said that in its current state, our electronics industry is highly inefficient, as new models of consumer goods use up more of the earth’s natural resources and leave consumers to deal with another pile of prematurely obsolete machines that are extremely difficult to recycle safely.

“It ain’t gonna last,” said Slade. “In fact, it’s ending now.”

He sees the recent American housing meltdown as the beginning of a much larger global financial and environmental crisis. He estimates the next 10-20 years will be rocky, but his predictions were not all doom and gloom.

“Generally crises are the time when people make large adjustments...What we need is that kind of consciousness that comes from limited resources,” he said.

“I think we’re at the beginning of a great transition.” U

Why are you buying this: tips to avoid bad gift decisions Andrew Hood ahood@ubyssey.ca

many counterfeited gadgets emerge before making their way into online stores.

During the holidays, it is often very easy to get distracted by things that glitter or have an extremely low price. This guide for bad gift avoidance should make you think about how you spend your money, how much you hate the person who will receive this gift and how much your ‘friend’ may dislike you for placing this yuletide burden upon them.

Multidisfunction

Be on the lookout for rip-offs Brand names or packaging with excessive typos are common signs of a rip-off product. Even if there is perfect spelling on the packaging and the software, it can still be faked. Check by looking at the product itself. Companies that parody other products or try to pass their products off as legitimate are always in the copyright infringement game. These products are often defective, or contain dangerous levels of heavy metals due to unregulated manufacturing practices.

Such examples include BlackBerry ripoffs BlueBerry or BleckBarry, Nokla cellphones as opposed to Nokia cellphones, PCs running OS X, iPods and iPads sprouting keyboards with generic firmware or MacBooks sporting Windows keys.

All of these products, often available for hundreds of dollars less than the original product they ape, are counterfeit. A popular name in the electronics world for such sketchy products is Shanzhai, the name of the city in China where

Multifunction items are a big draw, especially when they combine the equipment for two tasks into one handy electronic. Yet many of these are often redundant (trackpad on a mouse, anyone?) or preposterously useless when combined. Examples largely include computer mice with an integrated calculator for you to do math on instead of the computer you’re using or a scale to weigh things in between coded emails to customers. See also: those “ergonomic” mice with the large red trackballs built into them that power users so vehemently claim aid their computing efficiency. Other strangely cobbled together items include novelty USB hubs involving solar-powered fans (odd because they run off of USB already), as well as a whole array of clock radio, dart cannon, refrigerator and microwave oven-based accoutrements to clutter up your desktop space. A word to the wise is to think about how much you actually need these functions and how likely you are to use them.

Not all that glitters is gold Ah, the beguiling effects of the Bedazzler: a contraption that manually presses rhinestones—little fake gemstones— onto clothing, making the perfect ensemble for your disco dance contest or

a trip down memory lane. While clothing is the perfect thing to fuse rhinestones to, they most certainly do not belong on electronics. Giving the gift of a rhinestone-encrusted appliance or peripheral lets the recipient know that you are fully willing to shell out extra money for plastic diamonds that will inevitably fall off. For instance, a wireless mouse encrusted with pink rhinestones may cost $35, while a barren mouse with similar features may cost $25. Thus, you are paying $10 for some glittery jewels that would have cost you around $1.50 at any arts and crafts store. By simple economics, you are stating through this gift that you’d rather buy a mass-produced piece of junk rather than personalizing a massproduced piece of junk yourself.

Please, choose wisely this holiday season and hold onto those receipts like your life depends on it. If your gifts match any of the descriptors above, your relationships surely will. U

2010.12.02/ubyssey.ca/technology/7

Is UBC’s e-waste service underutilised?

Conrad Compagna Contributor The pace of technology has hit its stride, and our species rushes to keep up with it. According to one UN study, the world throws away millions of tons of electronic garbage, or e-waste, each year. Most of it goes to developing countries where it ends up in endless vistas of broken monitors and tangled wires, and where the poor pick it apart for its elemental components, many of which are highly toxic.

In Canada, shipping electronic waste overseas is illegal, but according to UBC Waste Management’s website, over 80 per cent of it ends up there anyway. That’s why UBC Waste Management offers an e-waste recycling program, where departments can call to have their computers, monitors and accessories picked up, shipped off and recycled ethically by Encorp Pacific (Canada), a federally incorporated non-profit organization that specializes in responsibly recycling plastics and electronics.

The recycling is free as long as the items are computer-related, but Christian Beaudrie, outreach coordinator for UBC Waste Management, said that it might only process a third of UBC’s e-waste.

“Any department can use any recycling program they want. There’s no schoolwide policy on that,” he said. “A significant portion of the departments were calling anyone out of the phone book and not using our program.”

UBC Waste Management commissioned a study under the SEEDS program, a student-led Sustainability Office initiative, to find out what barriers were keeping departments from using it. Then they launched a pilot project in collaboration with the IT Department to find a way to get rid of those barriers.

Lou Maznik, superintendent of municipal services at UBC, said that although

Geoff Lister photo/the ubyssey

some smaller departments may not be using their system, he believes the departments creating the most e-waste are using the UBC services already.

“The vast majority of large e-waste producing departments, such as electrical engineering and computer sciences, continue to use our services,” said Maznik.

“I haven’t seen any documentation saying that there’s a particular UBC department using a disreputable service provider...Given that you have a very informed student body and administration, I have a hard time believing they would make those choices, and no one has ever showed me they have.”

Beaudrie, however, argued that there are other companies that are willing to pick up e-waste for free, which is not the case with UBC Waste Management.

They have a labour charge that departments must pay to get electronics from

other buildings to the waste management building, although Maznik said that this can be avoided by dropping off e-waste personally.

“It’s just under fifty dollars an hour per person for labour, so a truckload might cost you a hundred dollars,” said Beaudrie.

Jessica Mason-Paull of Free Geek Vancouver, a non-profit computer re-use and recycling centre, explained why other, less reputable services are willing to pick up for free.

“There’s platinum and gold in computers,” she said. “There’s also the copper in the wires—it’s worth quite a bit of money.

So if you don’t recycle the really toxic stuff in the most ethical manner you can actually make a bit of money out of recycling.”

The Port of Va ncouver rout inely fines recycling companies for illegally exporting e-waste and a recent CBC

documentary found several Greater Vancouver Area recyclers who had built their business models on doing so. Still, Beaudrie said another problem was that it was hard to convince decision makers at UBC that the problem with e-waste recycling is widespread.

“The assumption is that these recyclers say that they handle it responsibly so they must be handling it responsibly, but in fact without strong standards and third party auditing there are just so many loopholes,” he said.

UBC Waste Management is putting up a new website in 2011 that will make it easier for departments to call to have things picked up. At the same time it’s also putting together information that will go out to different departments and clarify why it’s important to use the program. Maznik said that there are also a number of pilot programs being implemented to increase e-waste disposal services. He mentioned that the IT department is investigating the possibility of drop-off sites across campus to make pick-up easier.

The next step, Beaudrie says, is implementing a policy.

“What we need is for all the departments across campus to contact UBC Waste Management to have their e-waste picked up rather than contacting others out of the phone book,” he said. “It’s too important of an issue to take a gamble.”

Maznik, however, thinks that it is better simply to encourage e-waste service, rather than enforce it.

“UBC, whether it’s the board or supply management, could mandate that everyone use [UBC’s e-waste system],” said Maznik. “But there’s no compliance officer rummaging through the garbage, and that’s just not an environment that the university has, anyways.” U —With files from Trevor Record

Electronic Waste: where do I take it & what do I do with it?

Where Can I Bring My E-Waste?

If you are on campus, UBC Waste Management accepts certain items and helps send them off to Encorp for further processing. If the items that you provide are still useable with a bit of refurbishing, they send it off to FreeGeek Vancouver, a non-profit organization that operates a computer thrift store as well as a grant program to offer computers to other non-profit organizations. You can drop off your e-waste at UBC Waste Management, at the loading dock behind the University Services Building (Lower Mall and Agronomy Road) in Room 0150, Monday to Friday from 8am to 2pm. Currently, they accept the following items: desktop and laptop computers, monitors and TVs (LCD and CRT), computer accessories (mice, keyboards, cables) and printers and fax machines.

They also accept larger items such as microwaves or stereo systems. However, these items must be from a UBC department. For students, they suggest that you bring these items to a local Encorp Return-It store. The easiest e-waste recycling depot to reach from campus is located at 12th and Main, blocks away from the 99 B-Line stop at Broadway and Main. Other locations can be found online at encorp.ca.

Josh curran photo/the ubyssey

Encorp first looks at the e-waste to see if it can be reused. If so, they donate it to FreeGeek or a similar organization. If the e-waste cannot be reused and must be taken apart, Encorp organizes the materials and sends it off to three main downstream recyclers: E-Cycle Solutions, Sims Recycling and Teck Cominco. Those recyclers process the e-waste according to Electronic Product Stewardship Canada’s (EPSC) Environmental Recycling Standard (ERS) to make sure that certain metals, glass and plastics can be recovered and that other hazardous materials do not end up in a landfill.

The typical recycling process involves dividing the e-waste into three main categories sorted by hazardousness of the products for recycling: non-hazardous materials, electronic scrap and materials of concern. Non-hazardous materials include ferrous materials (steel, aluminum, copper), other metals (brass, bronze), wood and non-leaded glass. These materials are removed from the e-waste, usually by hand, and then sold to smelters or other manufacturers as raw material. Electronic scrap includes printed circuit boards, hard drives, cables, wires and other computer chips. These scraps go through a more complicated grinding and smelting process to get raw materials as well. Materials of concern include cathode ray tubes (CRT), leaded glass, batteries (alkaline, lead acid), mercury-bearing lamps and ink and toner cartridges. These materials are usually sent to the United States for further processing to be crushed, smelted, distilled and ground for raw materials. U —Alex Chen

geoff lister photos/the ubyssey

How Does Encorp Process E-Waste?

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culture

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

Black Mountain coming `round

Music

Jonny Wakefield culture@ubyssey.ca After four months on the road, Black Mountain is home. Their relentless tour in support of their third album, Wilderness Heart, wrapped up Tuesday with a pair of sold-out shows at the Commodore Ballroom. We reached keyboardist Jeremy Schmidt a few days before the show, as the band trundled north along the I-5 somewhere in California.

“This tour is kind of on the home stretch now,” said Schmidt, with more than a hint of relief coming over the line. Schmidt provides the organ riffs that have earned Black Mountain more than a few Zeppelin comparisons. Together, Schmidt, grizzled song writer Stephen McBean, vocalist Amber Webber, drummer Joshua Wells and bassist Matt Camirand form one of Vancouver’s heaviest (and most well-known) musical exports.

“I’ve never really thought of us as ‘home-town heroes’ or anything,” said Schmidt with a laugh.

But it seems Vancouver is ready to claim them as a success story. In their Best of the Decade list compiled last year, Discorder magazine put “fuckin’ Black Mountain” at number two, and few local acts could manage to sell out the Commodore two nights in a row.

There was no “Aha!” moment when founding the band about

Last week, we looked through the varied and ever-changing world of which alcoholic beverages to keep in your house. In today’s, we look at your miscellaneous materials. that extra something Now that you have your basic liquors assembled, you’ll need a few extra ingredients to turn them into cocktails. Two essential items will prepare your bar for anything you (or your guests) throw at it.

“Everyone needs to have orange liqueur in their house,” said Ryan Boyd, who manages and teaches courses at Fine Art Bartending School. Orange liqueurs come under two wellknown brand names: Triple Sec (cheap) and Cointreau (expensive).

If you stock orange liqueur in your home bar, you can expect to use it often. From cosmos to crantinis, Triple Sec or Cointreau show up in cocktails across the board.

The hint of citrus that orange liqueur adds increases the complexity of flavour in a drink. “It’s not that you say to yourself, ‘Oh, this Cosmo tastes like orange,’” said Boyd. “It just adds a layer of depth…The orange doesn’t hit you in a Mojito, but it’s there if you look for it.”

The second essential liqueur?

Bitters. Originally alcohol infused with aromatic blends of herbs and spices and used for medicinal purposes, bitters became popular in cocktails early in the 20th century. The most well-known brand is

UBC Theatre’s Jade in the Coal lacks polish Martin Parlett Contributor

Black Mountain enjoy rocking out and growing hair. steve gullick photo/courtesy of black mountain

five years ago, said Schmidt. He said Black Mountain formed “kind of a little haphazardly,” as a group of musicians to back McBean on the band’s eponymous first album. “We sort of made contributions to this recording without really knowing how it was going to manifest itself as a live, operating band.”

The band is now split between LA and Vancouver. McBean found a nice lady in LA

and settled down, said Schmidt.

He still calls Vancouver home, however. When not touring, he and two other band mates work at Insite, a supervised injection site in the Downtown Eastside. A graduate of Emily Carr, Schmidt also does the band’s artwork. The cover of Wilderness Heart is Schmidt’s work, an enormous shark flying out of a building. “[There’s] nothing really behind it,” said

Resurrection of the liquor cabinet: part two Bryce Warnes culture@ubyssey.ca

Theatre Review

Angostura. It’s available in most supermarkets in their homebrew section. Many classic cocktails — including Don Draper’s go-to beverage, the Old Fashioned—rely on a few dashes of bitters to give them spice and complexity.

Squeeze my lemon Three essential garnishes deserve your focus: lemons, limes and olives. The latter only really show up in classic martinis, which, as suggested before, don’t hold a large share of today’s popular drinks list among twenty-somethings. But they’re worth keeping for nostalgia’s sake—and because it would be absurd to have a home bar and not be able to prepare martinis.

Lemons and limes don’t really need justification. Even the ice water you get in restaurants usually features one of them. They’re an easy go-to for a twist of flavour, and can be served either as slices or as ingredients, using their juice or their zest (peel).

“You can get as fancy as you feel like,” said Boyd, in regard to garnishes. “If you’re making an apple martini and you have apples, you should put an apple in it. It doesn’t mean you have to put an apple in it, you can get away with a lime. If you have fresh or frozen cranberries, pop them in your cosmo or martini. …It’s as elaborate as you want to get.”

A few additional items you might consider: maraschino cherries, which bring frivolous flair to almost any beverage, and oranges, which can give drinks an

exotic twist. It helps, as well, that their vitamin C serves, however marginally, to prevent hangovers.

Mixing it up The foundational mix for all drinks is soda water. “I always have a six-pack of soda water in my fridge,” said Boyd. Opening a two-litre bottle of soda water is wasteful. It will usually go flat before you have time to use all of it.

Your second most essential mixer is simple syrup. Combine equal parts water and sugar in a pot. Bring to a boil. Stir until the mix is perfectly clear. Refrigerate. You now have everything you need to sweeten drinks. This is a syrup that lives up to its name.

Your collection of mixes, like garnishes, will depend on what drinks you plan to mix on a regular basis, and how elaborate you want them to be. Fruit juices show up in tropics-themed drinks.

Clamato or tomato juice is essential for Caesars and Bloody Marys, respectively.

Nice equipment You’ll need short glasses, tall glasses and martini glasses. Fish bowls and tiki mugs are tempting additions, but for economy’s sake it’s best to stick to the basics.

A good cocktail shaker is worth the investment. Boyd says that most of the shakers available in housewares and department stores are sub-par—the tops tend to jam on them.

“I would probably go to a food equipment store, like Dunlevy in

Schmidt of the cover, with a chuckle. “Just sort of a flight of fancy, I suppose.”

For now, the band’s time back in Vancouver will be but a brief repose. In February they will hit the road again for a tour of Brazil and Australia, and continue touring into the summer. Half a decade into their career, Black Mountain is still hungry, still busy and still (mostly) Vancouverites. U

Food & Drink Kitsilano,” he said. “Buy a proper cocktail shaker set, with the glass that goes in the top of the stainless part. And then, separately— they’re like three dollars—you should buy a strainer.”

These are the basic items you’ll need. Possible additions include an ice bucket (with tongs and/or a pick), decanters and stir sticks. Check the housewares sections at thrift stores like Value Village or visit the Vancouver Flea Market to pick up vintage pieces.

A legacy—and a friend Your collection of alcohol is small, and will require periodic upkeep to replenish its stores. But don’t be afraid to explore. As you discover new cocktails and liquor, you can add them to your bar.

Consider it an ongoing project— a museum of blurry memories, with yourself as curator.

Situations where your bar will come in handy: weddings, funerals and wakes; when your parents come to visit; when your significant other’s parents come to visit; when you bring someone home from the bar for a “nightcap”; when you need to celebrate acing an exam; and when you need to numb the pain of failing one.

No matter the circumstance, by assembling the beginnings of a liquor cabinet, you will bring leisure back to where it belongs: your living room. Turn off the TV, invite some people over and put Ol’ Blue Eyes on the turntable. Then, get shaking, daddy-o. U

Jade in the Coal, playing at the Freddy Wood Theatre, is the world premier of Paul Yee’s chimera of Cantonese opera and Western drama. Imagine a weak performance of The Phantom of the Opera with Mandarin subtitles and you’re halfway there. It’s quite painful to witness a glorious repertoire of international talent and a worthy subject being abused onstage by writing which should still be on the cutting room floor. Between Pangaea Arts and the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Academy, it might be more of a betrayal than a collaboration.

Yee and Director Heidi Sprecht take as their inspiration the forgotten history of Cantonese opera in the mining town of Cumberland, BC. The year is 1900, and the community awaits the debut performance of a troupe of musicians at the newly built opera house.

The problem: the star performer, Evergreen (Ruqing Wen) is possessed by ghosts (of dead miners, of course) and neither Western nor Chinese medicine seems to be doing any good as opening night approaches. This narrative is in constant conflict with the more interesting, but less well-defined, relationship twists of Sally (a Chinese-Canadian trainee nurse assistant) and the man she was forced to marry, Wu Kwun. It’s as if Yee wanted to be a librettist and a playwright simultaneously, and the play spasms between these two like Jekyll and Hyde.

This reviewer quickly gave up on attempting to empathize with a particular character or position. As a collection of intriguing theatregrams, musical interludes, mock jousting and Cantonese spectacle, this play approaches interesting, but as a dramatic whole I almost glazed over.

The Guangdong Cantonese Academy certainly carried this play a long way. Whether it was Peng Mun Aw Yeong’s enchanting operatic transvestitism as Crimson, Little Wong’s (Jiading Chen) turn as the troupe jester, the wise warmth of Lihao Yang as Master Dragon or the quiet intensity of the forever unconscious Evergreen, it was difficult not to will this production to be opera alone. The composer and the on-stage sextet deserve particular praise too for the creation and delivery of a transporting score. The operatic choreography is expert—the players’ graceful hand movements alone were distracting for all the right reasons.

The production has been in the works for a number of years, and involves collaboration and investment across three countries. While it may not be perfect, Jade in the Coal offers a theatrical experience which few other plays can match. Go for the spectacle. Go for the opera. Forgive the rest. U

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Camilla d’Errico: from fandom to fame Jenica Chuahiock Contributor Anime began as Japanese cartoons and has ascended to the status of art form. This phenomenon is evident in the popularity of local artist Camilla d’Errico and her works. Known for her paintings of anime girls adorned with outlandish helmets, animals, bugs and machines, d’Errico has achieved world-wide fame as an artist in pop surrealism. Her client list includes big names like Dark Horse, Random House, Tokyopop, Disney, Sanrio, Hasbro and Microsoft Zune. She has also worked with popular writers and comic artists like Neil Gaiman, Joshua Dysart, Selena Valentino and Bryan Talbot, while promoting her own self-published manga comics.

What’s more, her paintings are featured in the Vancouver Ayden Gallery as well as the Opera Gallery in New York, while her other works are lighting up art shows in Los Angeles and Milan.

D’Errico’s ambition to become a manga artist began when she attended the 1998 San Diego Comic Con, an event she considers life-changing. “If you have ever experienced the clouds parting and the angels singing, that’s what it was for me,” said D’Errico. “It was comics [and anime] everywhere. I couldn’t believe it, that there was actually a world out there that was so viable [and] real. It wasn’t just a nerdy comic bookstore experience. For lack of a better word, it was epic. I realized then that was it. That was it for me.”

Camilla D’Errico is popular at conventions. Photo courtesy camilla d’errico

But the dream didn’t come easy, as d’Errico had to overcome frequent discouragement. It took a while to convince her parents as well as others that she was meant for the manga and comics industry. “[It’s] mostly because I’m obstinate,” said d’Errico.

“When someone says I can’t do something, I automatically try to do it, [and] also the fact that I know what makes me happy. I realized that I was trying to do something that wasn’t easy. But at the same time it wasn’t hard, because my passion was in it. So long as I was passionate, it felt like the right thing to do.”

There was also the question of whether or not anime, manga and comics were considered art. This uncertainty became

an issue for d’Ericco. “Teachers were telling me that comics and manga were not art,” she said. “Luckily for me, my teacher at Capilano University came around. He went to France, and they had this huge culture of graphic novels. They had libraries of [comics and manga]. So he went there when he went to Paris, and when he came back he apologized. [My teacher] said to me, ‘You know, you’re right and I owe you an apology. I had no idea.’” After that, d’Errico was more confident than ever. “Comics and manga is art, and it is a culture,” said d’Errico. “Once I tapped into that, I wasn’t about to let go.”

Aside from committing to her paintings, d’Errico is also

dedicated to her self-published manga comic books, Tanpopo.

D’Errico independently published Tanpopo with the hope of starting something new in the manga and comics industry. “I like to call them graphic mangas. It’s the cross between a graphic novel, a manga and a poem,” said d’Errico. “[The Tanpopo series] is all based on literature, and it takes what I think is lacking in comics.”

The Tanpopo series has published three issues. The first issue of Tanpopo, which was based on Goethe’s Faust, sold out 100 copies in the first two conventions. Its success inspired d’Errico to combine literature with manga, two things that seemingly don’t mix.

Art

“I did [the first issue of Tanpopo] after I watched Faust in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and it was so amazing. [When] I left there, I just started sketching out ideas,” said d’Errico. “This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like that. So afterwards people loved the characters so much that they wanted a longer story.

[That’s] when I developed a narrative, and I gave the characters a lot more personality. Now each issue that I publish is based on a different literature.” The second issue of Tanpopo is based on “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Coleridge, and the third combines tales from Pu Songling’s Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. The fourth issue, which d’Errico is still working on, will be about the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Combining manga and literature is unusual, but d’Errico has high hopes for her project. “I’m trying to have Tanpopo published by Boom! Studios, and they said I was a pioneer [in mixing literature and comics]. That’s never been done before, and I’m sort of like the first one,” said d’Errico. She is also seriously considering the possibility of literary manga in the comics industry. “I’m so excited. I hope so, [because] I would love to see way more interpretations of classics. It’s going to be a bit tough, but afterwards it’s going to open the gates to more of these kinds of books.” U Camilla d’Errico’s third annual release party is happening on December 10, from 7pm to 11pm at the Vancouver Ayden Gallery.

10 / u b y s s e y. c a / g a m e s / 2 0 10 . 1 2 . 0 2

games & comics crossword

Across

Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission.

1. Milo of “The Verdict” 6. Potato preparation 10. Wise 14. Dandruff 15. Burn soother 16. Gillette brand 17. Grecian architectural style 18. Carbonized fuel 19. Eldest son of Noah 20. Break off 21. Person who detests cats 24. Determine 26. Tantalizes 27. Form of poem, often used to praise something 28. Merrily 30. Flip out 33. Take away by force 34. Latin 101 word 37. Bothers 38. Heat unit 39. Applaud 40. Indian holiday resort 41. Handle 42. Prescribed amounts 43. Traditional portion of Muslim law 44. Wreath of flowers

45. Don’t bother 48. Give off 52. Negligent 55. Edge 56. Manner of walking 57. Film spool 58. Winged 60. Busy place 61. Cube creator Rubik 62. Lute of India 63. Corner 64. Specks 65. Black-wooded tree Down 1. Bendable twig, usually of a willow tree 2. Biscuitlike quick bread 3. Clock pointers 4. Actor Wallach 5. Mayor having judicial powers 6. Twinned crystal 7. Baseball family name 8. Fly 9. Serfdom 10. Walk nonchalantly 11. A Musketeer 12. Diving bird 13. Chair designer Charles

22. “____ had it!”

23. Skin 25. “My fault!”

28. Actress Scacchi 29. Dynamic beginning 30. Rocker’s show 31. Guadalajara gold 32. Alias letters 33. At what time 34. Capp and Capone 35. Fannie 36. Goddess of fertility in Roman mythology 38. Offered 39. Coconut-husk fiber 41. Hard fatty tissue 42. Die 43. Small sofa 44. Monetary unit of Bulgaria 45. The dark 46. Broadcasting 47. Green 48. Grain stores 49. Muse of lyric poetry 50. Saturn’s largest moon 51. Abrasive mineral 53. Emperor of Rome 54.68 54. Canvas shelter used on camping trips 59. Women’s ____

sazaemon, by meiki shu sudoku (very easy)

solutions

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

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letters Re: Pro-life posters cross a line We share in Coco Knight’s outrage of the lack of sensitivity of the pro-life group, Lifeline, in bringing graphic images of supposedly aborted fetuses to our campus on November 12. The signs were designed and funded by the Centre for Bioethical Reform, the religiously based anti-choice organization responsible for the “Genocide Awareness Project” (GAP).

In t he past, Lifeline has brought the GAP to campus.

This is a graphic display of images and messages that compare abortion to genocide such as the Holocaust and Rwanda. It’s a very triggering display that has the potential to ignite violence,

which is why UBC Security (paid for by the university) monitors the display. The university also needs to prepare by notifying counselling services and other support resources. Students for Reproductive Rights (SRR) is notified so that the inevitable counter-protest can be carried out peacefully according to pre-arranged guidelines. Part of the GAP guidelines include an agreement to display warning signs on all sides of the display to warn passers-by of the graphic nature of their display.

The November 12 display by Lifeline (while not officially the GAP) showed the same images shown by the GAP and involved distribution via pamphlets of the same “abortion is genocide”

It may be the end of the year, but we’re always open to receiving letters. Send them to us before our last issue on December 8. justin mcelroy | coordinating@ubyssey.ca

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argument. The difference? No campus organizations were given any forewarning, no warning signs were posted to prevent children or other non-consenting people from viewing the imagery and no security was present. SRR was able to assemble a sizeable band of last-minute counter protesters only after we received numerous complaints from students who were upset

by Lifeline’s behaviour.

We hope that Lifeline listens to the concerns of the community and remembers that UBC is a place where we should all feel safe. Viewing these graphic images should be by informed consent only.

You rs i n sol ida r it y a nd respect, —Students for Reproductive Rights UBC Re: Pro-life posters cross a line Dear Coco Knight, In showing the images and voicing the pro-life message we are not condemning post-abortive

women, rather we seek to acknowledge their pain by recognizing that they have indeed lost something.

On November 12, these pictures exposed to UBC the humanity of the unborn. Students were given pamphlets discussing abortion and its parallels to other human rights violations, and women were provided with information on crisis pregnancy centres and post-abortive resources.

Coco, I agree with you that these pictures are absolutely horrible; after all, they depict the slaughter of innocent lives and therefore it’s only logical that they would make us uncomfortable. I urge you to take into consideration the “choice” being made when abortion is chosen, and please honestly ask yourself, if abortion is so horrific we don’t want to see it, should we be allowing it?

These pictures are not shown to ostracize women who have had abortions; rather they expose the truth of abortion and depict exactly what is permissible in Canada t hroughout all nine months of pregnancy.

Are women not deserving of the truth?

Women have a right to know exactly what abortion is, and to deny them this right is insulting to their strength. Even Naomi Wolfe (a well known pro-choice activist) states: “The pro-choice movement often treats with contempt the pro-lifers’ practice of holding up to our faces their disturbing graphics, but how can we charge that it is vile and repulsive for pro-lifers to brandish vile and repulsive images if the images are real? To insist that truth is in poor taste is the very height of hypocrisy.“ Coco, these pictures bother us for a reason: there’s no way that terminating the life of an innocent unborn child could carry any positive connotation.

I’m aware that this letter probably won’t change your mind on abortion, but I’m hoping you take time to seriously consider both sides of the argument. Don’t just take my word for it, explore both views and honestly ask yourself which side makes more sense. As a woman, you owe it to yourself to get the whole story.

Sincerely, —Ania Kasprzak Psychology 4

2010.12 .02/ubyssey.ca /opinions/11

opinions

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editorial cooling the temperature on resource groups Enjoying another student politics scandal over something relatively minor?

Good for you. But after SAC finishes their investigation and the much-debated $700 is transfered (or not) to the SPHR, there will still be a larger elephant in the room. And that is the future of the Resource Groups in general. Not whether they should continue to exist—only the most fervent zealot would argue that. But it would take an equally fervent zealot to argue that they aren’t in need of some serious structural reform.

When students are trying to “take over” a resource group, as it’s alleged the Israeli Awareness Club tried to do two weeks ago, that’s a problem.

When many groups, despite receiving guaranteed money from students, aren’t displaying any public information about meetings or contact information, that’s a problem. When being a supporter of Resource Groups is no longer something all students generally see the value of, but rather a political belief, that’s a problem.

The resource groups need to be protected, make no mistake. And as groups dedicated—for the most part—to advocating for social minorities, to subject their decisions to the tyranny of the majority would be grossly unfair. Yet at the same time, they also need to be held accountable, open to differing perspectives on social issues and seen not as a bastion of self-perpetuating ideology, but as an effective advocate and resource for students to participate in.

So what to do? First, the trust between resource groups, students and AMS Council needs to be restored. Each group should be required to make a quarterly update of their activities. Such a move would not only ensure accountability but, if done before Council, would probably give each group more publicity than they currently receive—something we doubt they would complain about.

Second, perhaps it would be prudent to make the changes necessary to allow students to opt-out of funding them. It’s a practice allowed for a number of student fees (including The Ubyssey’s), and would provide a reasonable way for people who don’t like the actions taken by Resource Groups to show their discontent. The financial loss would be minimal, but it would create a needed valve for inevitable criticism.

Having student-funded special interest groups is something common to many universities. It need not become a political hot potato here. At this point, though, that would require a proactive desire by all parties involved to throw more than just a rallying cry or a two-word insult. While some may want to kill them and others will insist everything is fine, the appropriate thing to do— as with any patient in this situation—is to nurse them back to health. U of wikileaks and double-edged swords The world has been turned upside down. It will take years to fully comb through Sunday’s Wikileak of over 251,287 US diplomatic cables. And it will take decades to fully determine its ramifications for US foreign policy and how the world’s last superpower feels about the world, and vice-versa.

Without a doubt, the ability to anonymously reveal information to the world is unprecedented.

And some of this information is vital. The leak has revealed information about illegal wars conducted in supposedly “neutral” countries: in an unbelievable scene, the president of Yemen and General David Petraeus joke about US missile attacks against Al Qaeda in that country. “We’ll continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours,” the president says. The deputy PM chimes in that he just ‘lied’ to Parliament.

But in a profession that relies on a certain level of secrecy, are we better served by diplomats who can’t talk to each other? Of course, there are those dedicated to complete openness of information, no matter the cost. Yet the openness we have in our daily lives, in our democratic society, is due in part to the freedom and anonymity our diplomatic core has in negotiating with countries and assessing potential threats. It’s at the heart of wikileaks’ mission to rip apart this fabric. We would do well to remember this when assessing the value of Assange’s document dumps in the future. U

bryce warnes graphic/the ubyssey

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McElroy: after many years, UBC Sims are rising Justin McElroy coordinating@ubyssey.ca It was a scene out of a Frank Carpa movie; the same small-town setpiece that has played out dozens of times over the last 20 years on this campus.

The town is changing, and people are nervous. A row of pseudo-politicians, board members and community planners listen as person after person says they’re concerned the place they call home is being taken away from them. They want to be heard, and they want UBC to consider that maybe their perfectly crafted utopian future isn’t all that utopian in practice.

Of course, the reason this scene repeats itself is because nothing really ever changes. The university decides to increase the value of the endowment by building market housing, the real estate signs go up, more people join our community and a few years later there’s a new thing they want to add to their wish list.

So it was at Tuesday’s public hearing dealing for the Land Use Plan, as the public had their say on UBC’s desired amendments to zoning regulations on campus.

Overall, the changes proposed— some density and building-height regulations, a “Green Academic” designation for the UBC farm, a formal goal of 6000 extra residents by 2021—are not those that will compel people to get

their protest signs out. But what was noticeable is that the group that came out this time to voice their concerns was different. Larger, yes, as around 100 people were there for the beginning of the meeting. But more diverse too, and more emblematic of what this community is, and is becoming.

UBC can—and does—often dismiss the concerns of students, arguing they don’t represent the greater populace.

They dismiss and demonize groups from outside campus, because they just don’t understand what’s good for the university.

What happens, though, when students and residents come in droves (well, the dozens) to the meeting in general agreement? And what happens when the main criticism isn’t what UBC is trying to do, but how they’re not treating consultations with respect?

There were some who complained of the explosive population growth that is set to occur under this plan, that green space is disappearing and the land from Wesbrook to Marine will soon be inundated with ugly skyscrapers. However, the truth is UBC has been working for over 20 years to bring this vision, a real “University Town,” to reality. Trying to stop the completion of that now is akin to breaking an 80 on a final after skipping class all semester; a lowering of expectations is required. UBC is growing into a full-fledged city. The

only question is what form it takes and how much communit y members—and not the university—take ownership of the process.

It made a certain perverse sense for UBC to carefully plan out its development into a small town, zoning and building roads as though it were playing a game of SimCity. But at a certain point, the people living here have to have greater autonomy, or at the very least, a bigger role in decisions about the land they live on. Anyone who has lived in student housing or a fraternity for several years knows that the level of bureaucracy for such a small area is astounding. The time to allow greater autonomy of its neighbourhood is fast approaching.

And yet, there was Associate VicePresident of Planning Nancy Knight, her lips pursed in disapproval the entire night, annoyed that the little Sims didn’t care for some of her best laid plans. One would hope that the university looks at how she consult with tenants a little differently in the future. An even larger consultation over governance is upcoming, and it would be nice if UBC’s point person on the issue started acting less like a community planner and more of a community facilitator. Because while a continuation of the status quo was expected, and even a little bit acceptable this time around, it certainly won’t be next year. U

Beyond a self-imposed curfew—which is out of the question as it would preclude my ability to go to classes, extracurriculars and my job—I find myself with limited alternatives. I don’t have a car, and while Safewalk works, they generally only have one team on duty, meaning most walks will, in my experience, have a roughly ten-minute wait, but it can be as much as half an hour, all for a measly 15-minute walk that is often for me the sequel to a much longer bus ride. The later it is, the more eager I am to just get home as quickly as possible and the less patience I have to deal with what is starting to feel like Rube Goldberg’s route home from the bus loop.

I realize this is not a perfect world.

It is valid to advise women to be cautious, but it is the attacker, not the victim, who is responsible for any assault that takes place. These posters remind us of the real culprits, and meanwhile give voice to the frustrations of women who are starting to feel like this fear is supposed to run our lives. They’re a perfect example of free speech put to good use. Taking them down silences this voice and thus contributes to the oppression of a group that already feels under attack.

letters Dear Ubyssey, I would like to thank Krissy Darch for her column “RCMP shouldn’t be the only ones talking about groping” in Monday’s issue. I was appalled to read about the RCMP and Campus Security taking down posters they call offensive to women being hung around campus.

I have come across several of the posters in question, and have found them to be not offensive but empowering, also quite obviously satirical and making a valid point.

It is extremely belittling as a grown woman to be told constantly by family and friends that I should not be walking home after dark—that is, 5 PM.

Sincerely,

—Carolyn Nakagawa

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our campus Bryce Warnes culture@ubyssey.ca A man was walking along the beach with Jesus Christ. Looking back, he saw two pairs of footprints. But in some parts, there was only one pair. The man asked Jesus why this was the case.

“Those are the parts of your life when I carried you,” Jesus said.

“Wait,” said the man. “You’re saying these footprints symbolize my life?”

“Yes.” “I thought we were just going for a walk,” said the man. “After dinner, you remember when I said, ‘Christ, let’s go for a walk at Wreck Beach, we should be able to see the sunset, it’s clear out?’ We were at The Keg.” “No, I don’t remember.”

Then the man realized he’d been wandering around Wreck Beach for three hours on acid, and the person he was talking to wasn’t Jesus, just a guy who camped on the beach and had a black lab named Ace with an eye infection.

“What,” said the man, looking at his hands. The sun opened its mouth and started singing in Ella Fitzgerald’s voice.

“Do you have any money for the bus?” Jesus said.

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lila volkas photo/the ubyssey

See that photo above? It looks nice, eh? You should take some too. geoff lister | photos@ubyssey.ca

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