September 12, 2011 | VOL. XCIII ISS. III
Cystic Fi-BRO-sis SINCE 1918
LOOKING BACK Students and faculty reflect on the events of September 11, 2001
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THE UBYSSEY
CONVICT CLASSMATE
GROWN MAN BREAKS DOWN
PIT NIGHT
IN TEARS ON THE FIRST
P5
SASC
IS OPEN*
Student returns to UBC law school after serving time for brutal stabbing P3
*AMS promises the Sexual Assault Support Centre will remain open in a reduced capacity in the wake of ongoing staffing shortages
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What’s on 12 MON
This week, may we suggest...
DISCUSSIONS>>
Our Campus
One on one with the people who make UBC
9/11: 10 years later: 4-6pm @ Abdul Ladha Science Centre A “world cafe”-style discussion of the impacts of 9/11. The discussion will cover topics ranging from the news media’s response, to ideas of the body. Food will be provided.
13 TUE
BIKES >>
14 WED
ART>>
P&Y Volunteer Night: 6pm9pm @ the Bike Kitchen Drop in and volunteer with the UBC Bike Co-op to learn how to disassemble, paint and reassemble bikes. By doing so, you get free access to use their fleet of bikes on campus.
15 THU
TALKS>>
Rule of Law in an Age of Terror: 12:30 @ Faculty of Law This lecture from Dennis Edney is hosted by the BC Civil Liberties Association. Edney is a Canadian defense attorney representing Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen detained at Guantanamo Bay. More info at bccla.org.
16 FRI
FARM >>
GEOFF LISTER/ THE UBYSSEY
As much as she enjoyed her time working at the HMV in West Edmonton Mall, Grace McRae-Okine is much happier at CiTR.
Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition 2011 @ the Belkin Art Gallery Happy is an exhibition of work from graduates from the 2011 Fine Arts program. The exhibition examines “the dualities of art and everyday life; object and representation; real and virtual space.” The show runs until September 18.
FarmAde 3pm-8pm @ The UBC Farm Does getting organic, fair trade baked goods, delicious vegan burgers and handcrafted beer with a side of square dancing sound appealing to you? Want to pick up some farm-fresh veggies while watching performances from The Ponderosas and The 9 Pound Jammers? Then head over to FarmAde and get your farm fix.
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Got an event you’d like to see on this page? Send your event and your best pitch to printeditor@ubyssey.ca.
THE UBYSSEY September 12, 2011, Volume XCIII Issue 3.
EDITORIAL
Coordinating Editor Justin McElroy
coordinating@ubyssey.ca
Managing Editor, Print Jonny Wakefield printeditor@ubyssey.ca
Managing Editor, Web Arshy Mann webeditor@ubyssey.ca
News Editors Kalyeena Makortoff & Micki Cowan news@ubyssey.ca
Art Director Geoff Lister
art@ubyssey.ca
Culture Editor Ginny Monaco
culture@ubyssey.ca
Senior Culture Writers Taylor Loren & Will Johnson tloren@ubyssey.ca wjohnson@ubyssey.ca
Sports Editor Drake Fenton
sports@ubyssey.ca
Features Editor Brian Platt
features@ubyssey.ca
Video Editor David Marino
video@ubyssey.ca
Senior Web Writer Andrew Bates abates@ubyssey.ca
Copy Editor Karina Palmitestacopy@ubyssey.ca
CONTACT
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BUSINESS
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STAFF
Andrew Hood, Bryce Warnes, Catherine Guan, David Elop, Jon Chiang, Josh Curran, Will McDonald, Tara Martellaro, Virginie Ménard
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. 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.
Gracing the airwaves on CiTR Jonny Wakefield Print Editor
For Grace McRae-Okine, the plan was always simple: get out of Edmonton. “I’d been dreaming about it since I was yay-high,” she said, measuring inches above the news desk at CiTR radio’s office. For a self-described liberal arts girl, the resistant attitude of the most conservative province in Canada held little appeal. “The arts scene is actually fantastic. But it’s also small and you’re fighting a huge conservative majority. So eventually you kind of give up.” Grace came to UBC to escape the cold and to study some kind of journalism. But as much as she prefers the warm and liberal climes of Vancouver, Grace still thanks one of the icons of Albertan conservatism for setting her on the path to CiTR, where she is now president. “I worked at the HMV in West Edmonton Mall, and before I moved here the former music director at the [radio] station in
Victoria told me that the one thing I had to do when I got to UBC was go to CiTR, so I did.” All it took was a few hours hanging around CiTR characters and she was hooked. “The Friday of the first week I was here, I got to meet Nardwuar, which blew my skull,” she said. Soon, she started tabling at shows and now enjoys the perks of being involved in an important facet of the Vancouver music scene. “I’m a night owl, so I don’t sleep much,” she said. “I probably go to a show once a week. I feel a little bit spoiled, because writing for Discorder or tabling for CiTR, through volunteer opportunities that don’t involve much work, I pretty much go for free.” Still, Grace said the same problems that plague the Edmonton arts scene are alive and well in Vancouver. But these problems are what makes the scene stronger. “People have to work really hard to put on a show, or find a venue to put on a show that won’t cost them up the butt or have to have it licensed.”
But there’s still a community here, she said. “I like to call Vancouver the ‘City of Misfits.’ Everybody fits in somewhere and if you just find your niche and wiggle your way in a little bit, you’ll do just fine.” U
Grace McRae-Okine Occupation President of CiTR Hometown Edmonton Area of study Sociology On her favourite Vancouver band: “The Pack AD. They’re like a female, slightly more garage version of the Black Keys. It’s a two woman show. They’re so epic.”
News
09.12.2011 |
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Editors: Kalyeena Makortoff & Micki Cowan
SASC >>
SASC to resume operations with reduced services, vacant posts Jonny Wakefield Print Editor
Students looking to access the AMS’s Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) this week won’t find darkened offices and locked doors. The AMS has contracted a part-time employee to run the centre while they find someone to fill a full-time spot after a failed hiring attempt earlier this summer. AMS President Jeremy McElroy said the centre will be running next week. “We’ve already put out an
offer to a previous staff person in SASC to come in on a temporary basis to keep the office in as high capacity as possible, while we begin a reinvigorated search for a full-time SASC coordinator.” SASC outreach worker Emily Yakashiro, the one remaining employee at the centre, will step in as program coordinator to keep the centre running. The student society did not rehire for the coordinator position, which has left the SASC offices empty since June.
However, the AMS said they were unable to find a replacement for former coordinator Vicki Poulios, who left on June 1. “We did receive applications, but none of the applicants at that time, we thought, had the relevant management experience necessary to run it,” McElroy said. As a result, the centre may not be operating at full capacity until next term. McElroy did not give a firm time frame for when the centre would be fully up and running again. Poulios said the AMS should have
been able to find a qualified candidate, had proper hiring procedures been followed. “I find it really hard to believe. I did some hiring last year, almost at the same time, for the program coordinator position,” she said. “I was just overwhelmed with the number of qualified applications I had, and also the amount of overqualified applications there were.” “We were doing some awesome work for this fall, work with residences and work with some community organizations,” Poulios said.
“From what I understand, everything has been lost.” McElroy said that the job posting might not have been as visible as it should have been, but the posting will be back up next week, when they will begin the search anew. “It really sucks that the service is closed, but at least now people are paying attention and we’ve got a whole slew of applications,” he said. “So this has been an interesting exercise, but I hope that we’ll have someone very qualified in the position as soon as possible.” U
CRIME >>
RESIGNATION >>
Student convicted of manslaughter returns to UBC
Budget committee member resigns after exec pay hike
Arshy Mann Web Editor
Like many students, Sasan Ansari will be returning to UBC after a short hiatus—two years—away from school. But unlike most students, Ansari spent those years in jail for manslaughter. In 2006, Ansari stabbed his friend, Josh Goos, 33 times in the parking lot outside of a West Vancouver country club after a dispute about money. He was charged in 2008, completed his sentence this year and has returned to the UBC law school to finish his degree. “He should still be in prison as far as I’m concerned,” Diane Goos, Josh’s mother, told the North Shore News. Ansari was admitted to law school before he committed manslaughter and attended UBC for the two years he was awaiting trial. He even won a $1000 scholarship during that time. UBC does not deny admission or expel any student for committing a criminal act off campus—even one as serious as manslaughter. “Sanctions for criminal offences are established by our judicial system and it would be not be appropriate for UBC to act on its own in adding an additional sanction—denial of access to education—to those already imposed by the courts,” wrote associate VP and registrar, James Ridge, in a statement. Students can, however, be disciplined for non-academic misconduct that either occurs on campus or is directed at a member of the university. In 2009, Amirali Mirsayah was expelled from UBC for making threats to former UBC President Martha Piper in 2002.
Micki Cowan News Editor
The Vancouver Court houses a BC Supreme courtroom where Sasan Ansari was tried in 2008.
During Ansari’s trial, his performance at law school was taken into consideration during his sentencing. In court documents, Judge Mark McEwan, who presided over Ansari’s trial, said that “nothing in Ansari’s circumstances suggest that the events of May 23, 2006, were anything but an aberration. “He is a highly motivated student who has always done well academically. He is athletic and has an impressive record of service to other people as a coach and as a tutor and mentor to learning disabled and other students.” Bijan Ahmadian, a business and
law student who takes classes with Ansari, argued that he should be allowed to attend UBC. “I met him yesterday, he’s in one of my classes [and] he’s a very nice guy,” he said. “I had a chat with him and had I not known from the news, I wouldn’t have guessed.” Ahmadian argued that law students especially have a responsibility to respect the rulings of the justice system. “[We] should take this as an opportunity to help them reintigrate back and take that as a challenge because that’s what our profession is all about,” he said.
Student at Acadia U dies from overconsumption during frosh week
UBC researcher gets large grant to study Arctic climate change
High enrolment numbers in Canadian universities
A 19-year-old student from Acadia University died earlier this week after consuming as much as 40oz of alcohol. The student was found unconscious in a basement dorm room after reportedly participating in drinking games on numerous floors of his residence. The student was taken to hospital early Tuesday morning in critical condition where he later passed away. Acadia president, Ray Ivany, sent a letter of condolence to the campus community stating, “This is, indeed, a loss shared by everyone.”
A team of researchers from ten Canadian universities, including Professor Greg Henry of the UBC department of geography, have been given a $4 million grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. This grant will fund a project called Arctic Development and Adaptation to Permafrost in Transition, which involves a study of the changing conditions in the Arctic as well as the creation of a plan for northern communities to adapt to these conditions. This study is the first of many to be funded by Discovery Frontiers.
JOE MABEL/FLICKR
Not all schools in BC take the same standpoint on prospective students with convictions for violent crime. In 2007, Paul Callow, the “Balcony Rapist” who was convicted of raping five women in the Toronto area in the 1980s, moved to Surrey with plans to attend Langara College and study videography. A severe backlash ensued against Langara, despite the fact that Callow had served every day of his 20-year sentence. The college ultimately denied him admission, arguing that they could not guarantee his safety. U
News briefs Enrolment in Canadian universities greatly increased in 2011, straining the capacity of classes, study spaces and more. The University of Regina has grown by 11 per cent this year while UBC-O has grown 12 per cent, according to Macleans On-Campus. McMaster University enrolled 400 more students than expected and has added extra classes and created more study spaces to cope. The University of Guelph had to set up a deal with the local Best Western hotel to provide dozens of students with rooms after its residences filled up to capacity. University of Alberta students have also complained
that they are unable to enroll in mandatory classes after 300 extra students signed up this year; there aren’t enough teachers to meet the demand.
Earthquake hits Vancouver Island A 6.3 magnitude earthquake was recorded at 12:41pm on Friday, September 9th, 50km off the west coast of Vancouver Island and 300km west of Vancouver, according to the Natural Resources Canada Website. The quake could be felt on Vancouver Island, in the Greater Vancouver area and as far inland as Kelowna. There have been no reports of damage. U
Days after AMS Council passed a controversial pay hike of $7500 per executive member, a member of the budget committee has resigned. Erik MacKinnon posted his resignation on his blog on Sept 8. “While I agree that the AMS execs are underpaid, this was a very poor move which optically makes the AMS Council look like what it is—a bunch of 18-21 year old politics nerds fucking around with your student fees while flaunting the oversight that is [in] place to prevent this sort of thing,” he said in the post. Mackinnon said he was particularly concerned with what he sees as the violation of a bylaw which states that any change in the remuneration of the executive members “shall take effect at the time of the Annual General Meeting.” However, interim speaker Michael Begg ruled that a suspension of code from the April 6 meeting was still valid, allowing Council to vote directly on a pay raise for the current executive. “AMS Council directly voting on a $30,000-plus spending increase to a budget that’s projecting a $200,000 deficit makes having a budget committee pointless,” said MacKinnon. At least one other member of the budget committee, Neal Yonson, agreed that the raise should have gone through the committee before being voted on at Council. After the pay raise passed, AMS President Jeremy McElroy said that the reason for the rush was that they had the resources to do so. “We have this money from the referendum, we can afford to just do the jump now and don’t give ourselves any artificial surpluses,” he said. But Mackinnon said otherwise. “While the budget committee was very conservative in our estimates and we should probably make it through the fiscal year cleanly, we’re not out of the water just yet. “Currently we have no idea how our AMS businesses like the Pendulum, the Gallery, the Pit, etc., are going to perform once the school year fires up, how moneyburning events like the Welcome Back BBQ, Firstweek, etc., are going to do, whether or not Revenue Canada is going to come asking for an income tax cheque due to our business profits. “Decisions that push us almost $30,000 deeper into an already significant deficit really should be made when we have a clear[er] financial picture.” U
4 | News | 09.12.2011
AMS to face $100,000 tax bill? UBC student loan Canadian Revenue Agency examining whether profitmaking avenues of student governments subject to taxes Robin Fan Contributor
By being registered as a non-profit organization (NPO), UBC’s Alma Mater Society (AMS) saves thousands of dollars on taxes every year. But due to their large surplus of savings, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) may ask the AMS to pay business income taxes despite NPO status—costing upwards of $100,000 annually if implemented.
The CRA is targeting how [the AMS] earns income. They would say that if it’s unrelated to what they’re doing [as a NPO] then it’s an income and can be taxed. Charles Weinberg Non-profit expert After a 2010 audit, the CRA informed the AMS that the business income tax won’t change the nonprofit status of the entire organization. Only its businesses will face extra tax. However, the AMS is strongly opposed to the CRA’s decision. “They had a lot of factual errors in their assessment,” said Elin Tayyar, VP Finance of the AMS. Registered NPOs, like the AMS, are exempt from paying income tax as long as certain criteria are met. But assessments conducted by the
CRA regarding those criteria are based on the specific conditions of each organization. “It is a question of fact,” said Maria Bender, communications manager at the CRA, “whether or not the CRA deems a NPO’s business activities taxable.” The CRA’s argument is that business income subsidizes student fees, while the AMS argues that the income is used for providing services above and beyond what the student fee can provide. “We’re arguing that by making more money we’re offering more services,” said Tayyar, “not necessarily lowering our student fees. “In fact, we’ve increased our student fees this year,” Tayyar added. The AMS student fees were raised $5 per student through the March 2011 referendum. The AMS made $811,417 in business income for the 2009/10 fiscal year, according to their annual financial statement. “The CRA is targeting how you earn the income,” said Sauder professor Charles Weinberg, an expert in NPOs. “They would say that if it’s unrelated to what you’re doing then it’s an income that could be taxed.” Generally, carrying on businesses which are directly related to the goals and purposes of the NPO will not incur taxation. And the UBC AMS businesses, which include food services, the Whistler Lodge, the copy centre and the Pit Pub, are arguably services operated for the benefit of the students—which is the AMS’s mandate.
But whether or not the CRA is in agreement is an entirely different story.
“It’s just quite confusing and complicated realistically,” said Tayyar. “I think there’s just a lot of misunderstanding from [the CRA’s]end.” The budget committee has allocated resources to change the accounting system of the AMS—to match the expenses more directly with the revenues. Business losses like the Whistler Lodge are not accounted for under business expenses, and makes the AMS business profits larger on paper than intended.
default rates among lowest in the province 2010 percentage of student loan defaults in BC schools
Precedent setting “The AMS should consider this very seriously. If they’ve been operating for a long number of years without this type of taxation, then they should be concerned,” said Weinberg, “about not only the amount of taxation right now, but the principle that’s involved.” If implemented, this tax will likely stick around and will also apply to any business expansions. The UBC AMS has not been the only student union targeted, added Tayyar. “[The CRA] has approached a couple of other student unions across Canada and said essentially the same kind of message, that they are looking to charge the taxes.” Whether or not this becomes a nationwide change remains to be seen. In the meantime, the AMS continues to be on watch. While they have budgeted for the tax, the AMS will file for 2012 according to their current tax-exempt status. Come the 2012 tax cycle, it will be the CRA’s move. U
COLLYN CHAN/THE UBYSSEY
Veronika Bonderenko Contributor
Though a quarter of UBC students rely on loans to fund their education, the majority are managing to pay back the borrowed cash. At a three per cent default rate in 2010, UBC has one of lowest student loan default rates in the province, according to StudentAid BC. Student loan default takes place when borrowers fail to fulfill repayment responsibilities over a period of 150 days. Students that go into default can be barred from receiving new loans and contacted by collections agencies. If payment is delayed for longer periods of time, collections agencies may even take students to court. “Default is most likely when borrowers are unable to find well-paying jobs upon leaving school, and even more likely if the borrowers do not make use of the interestrelief and/or repayment assistance programs available to them through their government lenders,” said Stephanie Oldford, manager of Financial Support Initiatives of Student Financial Assistance and Awards. According to Oldford, over 12,000 UBC students were making use of loans in 2010/2011 year. In the last four years, UBC has seen a steady decline in student loan default rates, moving from 4.6 per cent in 2006 to 3.2 per cent in 2010. To compare, the Prince George Sprott-Shaw Community College saw its student loan default rates climb as high as 61.4 per cent in 2010. According to a provincial policy introduced in 2006, schools whose rates remain above 28 per cent for four consecutive years could lose their student loan designation. This would mean that the school’s students would no longer be eligible to apply for government-funded student loans. In an effort to keep their own default rates low, the Vancouver Film School—whose default rate was 15.9 per cent in 2010—now requires all students to send in a comprehensive financial plan as part of their admission package. “In my opinion, our low student loan default rate speaks to the
employability of our graduates,” Oldford said. “The low default rate of UBC graduates is a testament to the training and recognition that a UBC degree and education provides. Most students who graduate from UBC find gainful employment in the work force and can therefore pay back their student loans,” agreed Katherine Tyson, AMS VP external. Oldford mentioned that UBC students also have access to scholarships, bursaries and loan repay-
Default is most likely when borrowers are unable to find well-paying jobs upon leaving school, and even more likely if the borrowers do not make use of the interest-relief and/ or repayment assistance programs. Stephanie Oldford Student Financial Assistance and ment workshops at the university. And if all else fails, “UBC is unique in that it has Policy 72, which guarantees that if a student is on a loan the university will help them meet their unmet needs,” said Tyson. Policy 72 ensures that no UBC student is forced to withdraw from university for solely financial reasons. Students that are unable to cover the costs of their education, despite taking out loans and making use of all of the other financial aid resources available to them, will be provided with additional financial support from the university. However, Tyson said that it shouldn’t be up to the institution to fill in the gaps, and that the government should be doing more to ease the financial strain. “The federal student loan program has a grant process that makes post-secondary education more affordable. Sadly, BC is the only province in Canada without a grants program. “The AMS continues to lobby the province for the reinstatement of the provincial grants program, but no progress has been made so far.” U
Culture
09.12.2011 |
5
Editor: Ginny Monaco
ON CAMPUS>>
Grown man denied entry to Pit, breaks down and cries Taylor Loren Senior Culture Witer
It was 7pm on Wednesday night when he started crying. The man didn’t appear to be injured, but judging from the tears running down his face, he’d just been devastated. “He couldn’t get into the Pit, and the guy was bawling his eyes out,” said Evan Westra of AMS Security. “That was the strangest thing I saw all night.” The first Pit Night of the year saw students waiting upwards of three hours to enter the infamous campus bar. Wednesday Pit Nights—when the Pit transforms into UBC’s pseudo-club—have a become a rite of passage that new students often clamour to experience. There’s no cover or dress code, and the only requirement to get in is a student card and a valid ID. Lineups began as early as 5pm, and moved upstairs once the bar reached capacity. Students then lined up for “Open Air Pit Night,” which was a beer garden in the SUB Party Room and adjacent patio. Inside, they were given a numbered wristband and were told to wait until they were called. Magnum Ferfpad, an exchange student from Norway, thought the beer garden experience was great. “We made a lot of friends, and for a visiting student, that’s really nice.” He may have waited for two hours upstairs, but it was worthwhile. “I really enjoyed the whole thing.” Rachel Cederberg and Celina Santeilli-Giza, both second-year students, waited in line for three hours for their first Pit Night. SanteilliGiza knew what she wanted to see. “I’m expecting dance floor makeouts from most of my fine, young friends.” U
Aficionados The September 9 performance of Aficionados was thoroughly cringeworthy, though such a response was, presumably, intended. After all, it is a product of a company named Disturbingly Brilliant. Starring Allyson McGrane, Aficionados is—at least, on a superficial level—a short piece about a theatrical artist pitching her vision to the audience. Shortly after beginning her monologue, it becomes apparent that the unnamed artist is not a specific person. Rather, she is representative of an archetype which may be all too familiar: the beleaguered 20-something BFA grad, enthusiastic and not unintelligent, desperately committed to the pursuit of their vocation and yet simultaneously aware of their ultimate mediocrity. Aficionados is an astute summary of the motivations and mindsets of young creative professionals. It is a painfully honest, humorous examination of an institutionalized creative process—one that cannot be reconciled with the business acumen required for the success our artists so desperately crave, whether they acknowledge it or not. – Rhys Edwards
D.W. Wilson conquers unexplored literary territory
COURTESY MICHAEL PRINGLE
Will Johnson TAYLOR LOREN/THEUBYSSEY
GEOFF LISTERTHE UBYSSEY
Pit patrons frantically rub against one another in a desperate, desperate attempt to forget that every living creature on this earth dies alone.
Fringe reviews VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL>>
BOOKS>>
Stay Away From My Boat, Asshole Stay Away From My Boat, Asshole is primarily a novelty. The entire spectacle takes place within and around a one-man rubber dinghy floating on the shallow waters of False Creek. Audiences watch from a nearby dock. On this alone, the production commands significant technical merit, and permits visual and comedic gestures not otherwise available on that familiar theatrical territory of “dry land.” The narrative elements of Stay Away are relatively understated. It is a simple parable about the vindictive nature of a man when his circumstances become desperate. Infused with innovative visual humour, it’s a generally pleasant experience. Acoustic guitar accents, tuxedoclad characters and overt references to Vancouver all hint at a commentary on West Coast society and its idle hedonism in the face of overwhelming social disruption and decay. –Rhys Edwards
Yum/Yuck Ingrid Nilson is deceptive. She is slight, with a wide smile and a soft voice. But in her
COURTESY THE ARTIST
Yum Yuck is a one-woman show starring UBC student Ingrid Nilson at the Fringe festival.
one-woman show Yum/Yuck, Nilson—a UBC theatre student and co-president of the Player’s Club— displays an unexpected strength of both body and spirit. In Yum/Yuck, directed by Ryan Swanson, Nilson divulges the secrets of her work as a yoga instructor, exposing the ugliness of “commercialized bliss,” as yoga tends to be packaged on the West Coast. Mixing postures and movement, Nilson buzzes around the stage like a caffeinated fairy. Though the intention of her movements is not always clear, Nilson is always entertaining to watch. Her contortions are beautiful and bizarre—at
one point Nilson, smiling, crawls towards the audience in a backbridge. The image is hilarious or creepy or some combination of the two. Nilson’s frantic physicality can be polarizing, though; audiences will either be drawn to her otherworldly energy or dismiss her as needlessly twee. To her credit, Nilson never feels forced or dishonest. Her enthusiasm and lack of cynicism is genuine and unironic. Yum/Yuck cements Nilson as the Miranda July of UBC: constantly adorable and unexpectedly controversial. U – Ginny Monaco
Senior Culture Writer
When D.W. Wilson first decided he wanted to be a writer, he didn’t plan to write about his hometown. He started out with science fiction and fantasy inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien. But partway through university, he decided to take the old adage “write what you know” seriously. “I remember joking with my professor that I was going to write about the Kootenays because nobody else had, that it was unexplored territory,” says Wilson, who was born and raised in small towns throughout the Interior. “Incidentally, that line has served me well on grant applications.” Wilson recently released his first collection of short stories, Once You Break a Knuckle. All of the action takes place in Invermere, a town largely untouched by Canadian literature. According to Wilson, his target audience is the people he grew up with. “My goal before I ever started university was to create a piece of work that ‘regular Joe’—for lack of anything else to call him—would read and enjoy. Which isn’t to say that trades-types don’t read, more that I wanted the stories themselves to be the kind of stories those guys would like to read,” says Wilson. Wilson’s stories are occasionally violent, and often deal with the darker side of humanity. In one story, two adolescents sabotage a rope swing with tragic results. In another, a heartbroken youth refuses to warn his friend about an incoming car. But Wilson’s stories also reveal a dignity in his characters’ day-to-day lives. Wilson has been on a roll in recent years, receiving nods in literary contests and getting nominated for numerous National Magazine awards. His second book, a novel titled Ballistics, is due out in 2012. Though he has spent much of the last few years studying in the UK, where he is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of East Anglia, Wilson still considers himself a proud Canadian. “Canada punches above its weight, basically. Even after all the arts cuts and people death-knelling culture and literature, if you look at what’s going on south of the border or across the Atlantic you’d be hard pressed to find a better place to be a writer,” he said. When asked about his plans for the future, Wilson’s answer was simple. “Write another book.” U
Sports
09.12.2011 |
6
Editor: Drake Fenton
Men’s soccer team destroys opponents on opening weekend From the pitch Andrew Bates
DAVID ELOP/THE UBYSSEY
UBC’s Gagandeep Dosanjh challenges for the ball against Victoria defender Gavin Barrett. UBC crushed the Vikes 4-0 in their CIS opener.
If there was ever any worry they couldn’t live up to the hype, the Thunderbirds’ opening weekend was a statement of intent. UBC shot to the top of the crowded Canada West conference this weekend with six points from a 4-0 win against the University of Victoria and a 4-2 win against the University of the Fraser Valley. In the process, we learned a lot about these Thunderbirds. This is a team that won the Canada West championship last year, en route to a second place finish at nationals. Replicating last season’s success will be no easy feat for the ‘Birds. To qualify for nationals this year, UBC will be vying for the only available berth in the Canada West conference. Victoria automatically earned the other berth, as they are hosting the tournament. For the ‘Birds, the difference between six or three or two points from the opening weekend is huge. The T-Birds—ranked first in the conference and second in the country based on a preseason poll—managed
to set a competitive precedent for the other teams in the Canada West. Teams like the University of Alberta and the University of Saskatchewan both picked up 3-0 clean sheets but only played once. In order to match UBC’s pace, they will be forced to keep winning. UBC’s two wins spoke volumes about the team. They proved UBC is immensely skilled and when they are focused, they are rampant. This is a team with a massive amount of technical skill and talented players. The switches of attacking lights like Gagandeep Dosanjh, Sean Haley and Navid Masinchi are now firmly fixed to the “on” position. On defence, Tyson Keam and Jason Gill anchor a strong unit that allows the team to emphasize a consistent offensive attack. Keam, on multiple occasions, also showed he is capable of joining the offensive rush. And if the defence finds itself disorganized, they can rely on goalkeeper Richard Meister to keep them in line. In both games this weekend, Meister exhibited his ability to stabilize the back end and was very adept at issuing directions on the fly. But the wins also showed that UBC is not really a systems team— they beat you through hard work and a focus that facilitates a lightning quick offensive game. And this
weekend, when their focus waned, the Thunderbirds had a tougher time of it. The first half against Victoria saw UBC on the back foot until the final five minutes, and the pretty goals didn’t come until they were established on the scoreboard. The UFV game, as well, highlighted that the big challenge is going to be strapping all of those offensive rockets together and getting them to fly straight. UBC, who scored early and rode a 2-0 advantage into the second half, were taken by surprise when UFV pulled back a goal. UBC showed an admirable ability to wake up; they immediately went on a tear of an offensive rush that ended in a penalty kick. But the challenge they had in dealing with a team they were beating 3-1 and then 4-1 in the second half showed that their ability to dominate is entirely reliant on their ability to stay on task. If Fraser Valley hadn’t conceded two penalties, it could have been a different game. Still, UBC is on top, and they are on top in the best way possible— through attractive soccer and beautiful goals. “Get upset,” a UBC player was heard yelling to another one on Saturday night. If the Thunderbirds can stay upset, they may be able to do something amazing this year. U
09.12.2011 | Sports | 7
Game recaps MEN’S BASKETBALL >>
FOOTBALL >> ‘Birds lose to Dinos in fourth quarter heartbreaker
On Friday night at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, UBC’s football team conceded a touchdown in the final seconds of the game to lose 3025 to the fourth ranked University of Calgary Dinos. After upsetting the University of Regina Rams on the road last week, the Thunderbirds came painstakingly close to pulling off another road victory upset. With just over ten minutes left in the fourth quarter, and losing 24-11, UBC quarterback Billy Greene orchestrated a masterful nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive that resulted in a Ryan Couper touchdown reception. Then with 2:38 left in the game, Greene hooked up with receiver JOSH CURRAN/ THE UBYSSEY
UBC proves they’re NCAA-worthy against Santa Clara Doug Plumb (right) battles with a Santa Clara defender for position under the net. This past week the UBC men’s basketball team split a two-game exhibition series against the NCAA Division II Santa Clara Broncos. UBC defeated the Broncos in front of 2500 fans Thursday night with a 98-85 overtime victory. UBC lost a tight defensive battle Saturday morning 68-63.
Jordan Grieve on a 53-yard touchdown strike. That completed the comeback effort, and gave UBC a 25-24 lead. Unfortunately, on the ensuing drive, the UBC defence was unable to contain Calgary’s power rushing. The Dinos drove from their own 25-yard line down the field, with running back Steven Lumbala capping off the drive with a nine-yard touchdown rush, giving Calgary the lead with only 18 seconds remaining. During that final drive Lumbala gained 80 yards on the ground, and his success against UBC’s defence was a consistent trope throughout the night. Lumbala rushed for 204 yards on the night and Calgary, as a team, rushed for 351 yards against the ‘Birds.
“It was a game that we could have easily won,” said UBC head coach Shawn Olson. “We didn’t tackle well enough and took too many penalties. Those are the things that cause you to lose. “Our guys battled hard but it’s tough to overcome when you take seven points off the board because of penalties, and have 300-yard plus rushing game from the other team, that really ends up being the difference I think.” UBC now holds a 1-1 record and will host their first home game of the season September 17, when the University of Alberta Golden Bears (0-2) come to town. U —Drake Fenton
TEN
8 | Centre | 09.12.2011
UBC students and facu
YEARS LATER Brian Platt
Graphic by Jonny Wakefield
Features Editor
T
he September 11 attack took place on the other side of the continent, but affected those at UBC deeply and permanently. Dr Allen Sens looks back on his initial reaction to the event and examines how his understanding of it has evolved over the decade. Qudsia Karimi reflects on how the attack changed her identity as a Muslim and an Afghan refugee. Former Ubyssey news editor Douglas Quan and former AMS executive Michael Warner recalls being in New York City when the towers fell. On the Opinions page, Justin McElroy assesses the generational effects of 9/11 while Brian Platt picks through the ideological aftermath.
Sens: 9/11 not the seismic shift many were expecting Brian Platt Features Editor
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Dr Allen Sens was awoken by his radio alarm clock. As usual, it was set to CBC. “The first thing I started to hear was the reports coming in from New York, and so I bolted upright and turned on my television. And I watched the towers collapse.” In the first issue of The Ubyssey published after the attack, Sens, a senior lecturer in the political science department who has worked with the United Nations, shared some of his thoughts and predictions. We caught up with Sens this week and asked him to reflect on the comments he made back in 2001.
What was your initial reaction to the attack when it happened? Have your thoughts changed significantly over the decade? Like many other people, I was shocked and stunned—not surprised that the United States was attacked,
but shocked and stunned at the scale, the audacity and the sophistication of the attack. But I didn’t believe then, and I still don’t believe now, that 9/11…was something that was going to remake the international system. I think of historical evolution in terms of what I call geopolitical earthquakes. These are really major events that fundamentally change the patterns of activity and the relations in the international system. [After the attack] the Americans drove a lot of the transformative discourse until people started to accept that things fundamentally changed after 9/11, when in fact they didn’t. They fundamentally changed after World War One, after World War Two and after the Cold War, but not after 9/11.
no free and open society is ever secure. We’re never going to be invulnerable.”
In your 2001 comments, you argued that free societies were inevitably susceptible to this sort of attack. You said, “[If] a group is well-funded, well-equipped and there are individuals who are willing to die to fight for their cause,
History tells us that whenever there’s an attack and you have domestic scapegoats, those people usually suffer, for no good reason at all and for no security advantage either. I felt very strongly about that at the time, and I still stand by that. I was disappointed in the Bush administration’s initial response. The president tried to make amendments pretty quickly, he visited a
Yeah, I stand by that today. But you know, in many ways [9/11 was] not the nightmare scenario. It was not what so many security experts were fearing. The real dark, gothic fear was a chemical and biological or nuclear weapons attack. This used instruments that were essentially akin to the suicide attack phenomenon already well-established in terrorist circles.
You also expressed concern at how American Muslims were going to be treated in the wake of the attack. Did those fears bear out?
mosque not long after the attack, but too little, too late by that time. The discourse in America was already going off in a really hateful direction. That really bothered me. I think that the mass violent retaliations didn’t happen on the scale that they might have. That’s a testament, a positive spin, but nevertheless there were clearly a lot of retaliations and a lot of frustrations and anger pointed at the Muslim community. And I think we still see echoes of that.
You made a few predictions about how 9/11 may affect Canadian security, saying that Americans “see us as a Trojan horse or a weak link in terms of security,” and, “it’s a very difficult pill to swallow to change policy because of American pressure.” I think so much has happened to vindicate that statement. The United States’ obsession with continental security and forward defence has clearly impacted Canada. Successful [Canadian] governments have scrambled to try and ensure
that our border still remains relatively free for trade and personal traffic, while at the same we’ve enhanced our cooperation across a whole range of areas.
Finally, looking back on the decade, what are your thoughts on the foreign policy reaction of the American government? I was very worried about the use of the phrase “War on Terror.” Whenever you use that word you militarize the issue, and the military is only a very small part of the counter-terrorism effort. But I actually thought the United States government proceeded on a very level-headed direction [after 9/11]. They worked with their allies, they had a groundswell of foreign support for trying to catch the perpetrators. They had what can only be described as a perfect window where virtually every intelligence agency, virtually every police officer around the world was working for the United States. But all that was squandered in Iraq. U
09.12.2011 | Centre | 9
ulty reflect on the post-9/11 world
Former AMS executive was across the street when the planes hit Brian Platt Features Editor
Michael Warner’s first day on the job was September 9, 2001. His office was in the World Financial Centre, directly across the street from the World Trade Centre. In 2000, Warner had worked at UBC as the AMS VP Finance. When he graduated from UBC in 2001, he accepted a job offer from Merrill Lynch and left for New York City. He has lived there ever since, and The Ubyssey reached him by phone last week. “I didn’t experience the nightmare that some people did when the towers fell,” Warner said. “The planes hit shortly after 9am, and right after that is when they told us to evacuate the building. We all walked down the stairs, and at that point it was actually very calm because nobody knew what had happened. We knew both towers had been hit, but we couldn’t see the damage from where we were. “There just wasn’t a lot of information out yet. I mean, there were parks nearby and mothers were still walking with strollers. We just walked away.” His apartment was at 21st Street and 8th Avenue, which is about a 20-minute walk from Ground Zero. “I couldn’t see the buildings from my place, but that’s where we saw
them fall on TV.” For weeks after that, there was a brown haze in the blocks surrounding the wreckage. Because of concerns for the safety of its workers, Merril Lynch relocated Warner to a Jersey City office. He finally returned to his original workplace in mid-November. Warner is happy that the memorial on Ground Zero is ready to open after years of delay. “Today they’ve got it all light up red, white and blue. It looks pretty nice.” In the decade since the attack, Warner says the United States has changed its attitude. “Ten years ago, America was less humble than they are today. There was a point when everything was just going their way, and they became less aware of anything international. Today they’re much more aware of what else is happening in the world, and more culturally sensitive, which is certainly an improvement over where they were ten years ago.” While reporters have descended on the city for the tenth anniversary, Warner says that he’s not finding it too troublesome. “Fashion Week [happening right now] is actually much more annoying. But for the anniversary, it’s mostly under control. I think everyone is pretty reflective. And at some point, you know, we want to take back this day and be able to enjoy it again.” U
A former Ubyssey editor on the toughest assignment of his life Brian Platt Features Editor
Karimi: life as an Afghan refugee in Canada Qudsia Karimi Contributor
I came to Canada in 2005 as an Afghan refugee, though I have hardly ever lived in Afghanistan. I grew up in Iran and have lived in many other countries. Though it isn’t perfect, I love Canada and its values. This is the first country I have lived in without feeling systemically discriminated against. In Muslim countries, I was defined by others—and defined myself—as being first and foremost an Afghan refugee girl. But in Canada, because I wear the hijab, I’m seen first as a Muslim, not an Afghan. In that way, Islam became a bigger part of my life. September 11 was a defining moment for me and my whole family. I still remember that day, when I was in a hospital in Asia taking care of my sister who had stomach pains. The doctor came to check on my sister, and he casually asked where we were from. When I said Afghanistan, he said, “Did you see what happened to America? They deserved it!” I was shocked, and didn’t know what he meant. The attack also gave me a reason to be more aware of my religion. When I saw the news and heard that Osama bin Laden was likely responsible, all that was running
through my mind was that Muslim organizations should condemn this vicious act. War, destruction and terrorist acts are things I am totally against and will never support. In the Quran, God states that suicide is prohibited and killing others is a grave sin. Most Canadians realize that you cannot judge the Islamic faith by the actions of a few misguided Muslims. Yet I know there are people who flag Muslims as terrorists outright. These people have no information about Islam itself and end up measuring it through
When I was in Europe in 2004, a police officer on a train, before even seeing my passport, asked me if I had a bomb in my suitcase. the horrible acts of a few confused Muslims. We hear of many fighters blowing themselves up in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the world, but people forget that suicide bombing is still relatively new in Muslim countries. Like many Muslims living in the
West, I have experienced racist incidents because of September 11. When I was in Europe in 2004, a police officer on a train, before even seeing my passport, asked me if I had a bomb in my suitcase. The most recent one was this year, when I was in Niagara Falls for Canada Day. I was in the parking lot waiting for a car to pull out, and suddenly another car came and took my spot. When I told the driver that what he did was very rude, the passenger came out of his car and said, “You terrorists come here and talk too much!” This was the most humiliating experience I have ever had in my life. I calmed myself down and parked elsewhere. But these incidents do not make me hate Canada. I am happy I live in a country with democratic values, where women’s rights are guaranteed, not taken away. I think life may still get more difficult with new discriminatory laws that are intended to be security policies, and we need to try to stop this from happening. However, I am positive about the future. Above all, I know that my religion and my adopted country do not conflict, because you can’t be a good Muslim without also being a good Canadian. U Qudsia Karimi graduated from UBC in May with a BA in political science.
Shortly after the second plane hit the World Trade Centre, Douglas Quan received a call from The Ottawa Citizen telling him to get to the site as quick as possible. Quan, a former UBC student and Ubyssey news editor, was enrolled in the journalism program at Columbia University in September 2001. He had previously worked as an intern at the Citizen, which is why they put him to work that day. Quan’s classmates had already gathered with their professor, and they all got on the subway. “The subway actually stopped around 14th Street, which is dozens of blocks north of Ground Zero. So we then had to leave the subway and start running to get close to the site. One of the things I most vividly remember is how quiet 7th Avenue was—I mean, this is normally a very busy thoroughfare, and it was just silent. The only sound you could hear was people cranking up their car radios, and crowds of people were standing around these cars to try to hear what the news announcers were saying.” The second tower fell while they were standing on 7th Avenue. “We were far enough away that we weren’t impacted, but we saw it. And from where we were, it was… very graceful, almost. I know that’s a weird description, but that’s how it looked to me: this building just gracefully falling to the ground.” Quan spent the rest of the day interviewing as many people as he could. Office workers fleeing the scene described seeing people jumping out of windows to escape
the flames. Two women were sitting on the bumper of a van, their backs to the carnage, holding each other and crying. He remembers one man who was sitting on a car’s trunk, sobbing because he had an uncle who worked in the towers. “Journalists are supposed to be these neutral observers of events, but one of my classmates just embraced him, tried to provide comfort in whatever way she could.” For the next few days Quan filed pieces for the Citizen, but also called in a report with his cellphone to The Ubyssey that ran in the September 14, 2001 edition. “No kidding,” he said when first told this. “I have no recollection of doing that.” It was a chaotic time, to say the least. Quan finished his degree at Columbia and moved on to jobs in Florida and California before returning to Canada. He now works as a reporter with Postmedia News, and is back in New York City to cover the tenth anniversary of the attack. Having talked to many New Yorkers, including some of the same people he spoke with on that day, Quan says that the mood in the city is mixed; for some, this is a time of reflection, while others are tired of the hype surrounding the anniversary. As for himself, he says it’s been somewhat cathartic to relive the events through these conversations. “If I had to describe what my feelings are [about having experienced the attacks], when I see footage from that day, it leaves me sort of feeling hollow. Not a feeling of anger or sadness… just a feeling of emptiness, hollowness.” U
09.12.2011| Advertisement |11
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*We get really excited about our staff meetings. It’s the best time to talk to our editors and pick up an assignment. But there are a lot of them, so it’s best to know when they happen. Clip out this handy guide, post it to your fridge and never miss an exciting meeting ever again!
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12 | Games | 09.12.2011 Sudoku by Krazy Dad
Last issue’s solution
Opinion
09.12.2011 |
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Editor: Brian Platt
The politics of 9/11 Editor’s Notebook Brian Platt
VIRGINIE MÉNARD/THE UBYSSEY
The Last Word Parting shots and snap judgments on today’s issues Put your toys away before the students arrive A new school year, a new set of firstyears, and a clean, pristine campus ready to greet the 47,000 students who paid good money to make UBC their place of learning—and occasionally home—for the upcoming year. Well, except for academic areas under construction. But that’s always the case because you have to build to remain competitive. And also the condos going up around Fairview. But that’s necessary, because UBC needs more money, and they promised to build that condo years ago. So they have to now. Don’t you understand? Oh, and we forgot about spaces like the new Law Building or the Sustainability Centre which were meant to be fully ready by September, but aren’t yet. But these are big projects, construction delays are inevitable, and we should be patient. Please be patient. Still, some would complain about Main Mall being ripped to shreds to make the grass prettier, and to that we say, “Hey! Making grass pretty takes time, okay? And it’ll be nice eventually! So cool off!” Finally, there are those who complain that Gage Towers is still a construction zone; a construction zone and concrete cube that lacked electricity for a day last week during unbearably hot temperatures. And to them, we politely respond... yeah, you’ve got a point. The fact that UBC is still doing make-nice maintenance work in September is annoying at best, and shows poor management at worst.
tragic situation. We don’t want to see this ever repeated, which is why we are wary of how Acadia University officials will react. Universities in Ontario have already started banning liquor in all residences during Frosh Week. This is a policy sure to backfire, as it drives drinking farther away from the public light and makes it much less likely that a student who needs medical help will get it in time. We are happy that UBC seems to recognize this, and keeps its drinking policies in residences reasonable. If you encourage students to drink in common areas where they can be checked in on regularly, tragedies such as the one that occurred at Acadia University will hopefully be prevented.
Hey Sauder. Your school spirit crosses the line. Imagine Day is a day of celebration. Students chant, cheer and generally raise a ruckus. But there is still an etiquette that applies to a rowdy group of students, and the Sauder School of Business tramples right over it. At the Imagine Day rally, Sauder became that kid in class who asks too many questions; it cheered through speakers, over other faculties and against the flow of the rally. While a healthy dose of school spirit is welcomed within the generally apathetic confines of UBC, cutting off the President’s speech is crossing boundaries. From day one, Sauder alienated itself from the student body as an elitist group who think themselves too good for even the Chancellor. Just shut up already.
Let students drink where we can see them
We were right about White Spot
Last week, a first-year student at Acadia University died after being discovered passed out in a basement dorm room. It was reported that he had been playing a drinking game and consuming straight hard liquor. It hardly needs to be said that any time a student dies, for any reason but especially one as pointless as drinking too much, it’s a horribly
Eleven months ago, this paper boldly proclaimed that the White Spot on Main Mall was so bad that “finding out what new and horrible way our dining experience was going to be inconvenienced became the reason to go.” Admittedly, we were slightly hyperbolic in our snarkiness. But this summer our criticisms were
addressed when, citing “operational challenges”, the White Spot was shut down. In its place, a Triple-O’s has opened. Being connoisseurs of all campus food (mostly due to our 14-hour work days and hatred of cooking), the writers of this paper have tested this new outlet several times. And we can proudly give the Triple-O’s a Ubyssey stamp of approval. As a burger joint, it resides in the sweet spot between the quality yet expensive patties of Vera’s, and the cheap yet only barely satisfying slabs of meat served at the Burger Bar. Its central location and $14 pitchers have also delighted us. It will not blow you away, but you get the quality and convenience you expect from a Triple-O’s. And in a campus hungry for more cheap sit-down food options, that is a fact worth celebrating.
Keep us in the loop on new copyright fees In August, UBC joined a number of other Canadian universities—including Queen’s, Waterloo, Athabasca and Saskatchewan—and opted out of the new agreements with Access Copyright (AC), a Canadian licensing organization that facilitates compensation from universities to publishers. What has this meant for students? While the university is scrambling to figure it out themselves, the rest of us are left with hardly any information. Our interview requests have gone unfulfilled. Instead, in classes we just hear the professor’s preamble: we can’t provide the same readings as before, we can’t necessarily provide them free online, you now have to buy a costly course pack in their place. Now we’re also hearing that students and professors who use readings inappropriately will be personally liable. UBC said they would have had to pay $2 million to stay with AC, and experts have said this likely would have been passed on as student fees. But we’re seemingly paying the price anyway. At least tell us more about what’s happening, UBC, so we can criticize you accordingly. U
The moment the second plane hit the World Trade Centre, 9/11 became political. This was no horrible coincidence; this was an attack. Going back and reading the columns written right after 9/11, I’ve never been very impressed with those who were more concerned about the United States’ reaction than with the fact that a clearly well-financed organization had just executed the most spectacular terrorist attack in history. I noticed with some regret, but not much surprise, that The Ubyssey’s first editorial comic after the attack depicted soldiers shooting a dove flying out of the World Trade Centre wreckage. I guess this was meant to symbolize the American military murdering the peace and harmony symbolized by 9/11, or something. Then again, with the catastrophe that was the Iraq war, those who first worried about the American response can claim some vindication. At any rate, a few observations can be made about the political movements that came out of the attack. Large factions on the right and left made the terrible error of identifying all Muslims with the ideology of al-Qaeda. On the right, this led to a vicious form of Islam-suspicion and even Islam-hating—the sort of nonsense that created the outcry over the so-called Ground Zero mosque. But on the left, this led people to equate an attack on al-Qaeda and the Taliban with an attack on Afghans, as if Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar represented some “authentic” aspect of Muslim culture.
On the more extreme ends of the spectrum, the right and the left again made strange bedfellows in the preposterous conspiracy theories that sprung up within hours of the towers collapsing. Blowhard fringe libertarians joined loony leftist activists in positing that the Bush government manufactured the attacks to justify imperial wars. I’d like to just ignore that this movement even exists, except that they still claim a troublingly high number of followers in North America and around the world. Meanwhile, among the reasonable folk, a serious discussion started over how to change the dynamic that produced terrorism in the Middle East and Asia. Some argued that using the world’s most powerful military to overthrow brutal dictators and install democracies in their place was the right way to channel discontent into politics rather than violence. Others responded that democracy cannot be forced through the barrel of a gun (though these people fall silent when asked to name major democracies that weren’t born through violence.) It’s clear now that we should have been more worried about whether the West, and George Bush in particular, could achieve these goals in practice. Fortunately, democratic movements in Middle East countries have scored amazing successes in the past few months, picking up the slack where our efforts have failed. The Arab Spring is an enormously uplifting way to enter the tenth anniversary of the attack. Yet with the global economy tanking and democracy-promotion tarnished by the stumbles of American foreign policy, there is a danger of an isolationist mindset taking hold. If the 9/11 decade results in us turning our backs on Middle Eastern democrats, then this will be a sorry legacy indeed. U
In the end, not much changed Editor’s Notebook Justin McElroy
Media have a weakness for anniversaries. We don’t need to conjure up resonant images, because they already exist. By their very nature, anniversaries aren’t breaking news, so we reporters can plan weeks or months in advance. The public is understandably eager to look back. This isn’t meant to minimize the impact of September 11. Anniversaries also allow for a sense of closure, and for the thousands that lost loved ones in the worst way possible, this weekend gave some measure of healing. But there has been a tendency with these retrospectives to find some greater truth, to ask “What does this mean?” and for the answer to reveal itself. And in this, we miss the point. There have been practical changes in all of our lives. Airline and border security is stronger, more annoying and still imperfect. Civil liberties have been curbed—and in the case of Maher Aher and hundreds of others, horribly breached. The world’s largest undefended border is now defended. Among other things. Incoming UBC students born in 1993 have grown up completely in a “post-9/11 world.” Whether they like it or not, they’re fully used to the fact
that we have troops in Afghanistan and scanners at airports. But as for a world-wide change, a sense that our lives have been immeasurably changed? Well, for those viewing the world exclusively through the lens of the 90s—where we had reached The End of History and a president lying about having sex nearly took down a government— much had changed. Peace and prosperity was gone, and since 9/11, it’s not as though Western CivilizationTM has had a great run. But if you take away the unique transitory period of the 90s, then what is happening today is nothing new. Governments are flexing their muscles at the expense of their own citizens. Countries are at war. People in privileged countries are paranoid of “the others,” whomever “the others” may be. Religious extremism is openly part of our discourse. Tensions over the fate of the Middle East are concerning leaders thousands of kilometres away. These are basic forces which have shaped our world for centuries, and will continue to do so in the future. To look at 9/11 as a historical turning point, rather than inflection, is to wish for a utopia that was further away in 1998 than we might like to admit. Today marks a new high point in attempting to understand our world through the events of 9/11. Future anniversaries will in all likelihood focus more solely on the tragedy of the fateful day and our resolve to prevent such actions in the future. As it should be. U
Scene
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Pictures and words on your university experience
LIFESTYLE>>
Confessions of a recovering Angry Birds addict Melodramatic Musings Will Johnson
I recently deleted Angry Birds from my iPhone. It started out innocently enough, with the standard variety cartoon avian terrorism. I knocked over some shoddily built structures, blew up some bombs and generally massacred a number of smug-looking green pigs. I’m still a little hazy on the backstory, but this is how I understand it: these puke-green villains stole some eggs from our heroes and I had to help the Angry Birds rain down vengeful retribution. For a long time I didn’t even have an iPhone, so my only chance to play was when I borrowed it from someone else. I usually targeted my roommate Spencer. “You’re obsessed,” he would complain, before handing it over and shaking his head in amusement. Later I preyed on my friend Gemma, who would regularly hand over her phone during our lunches together. Our conversations were a lost cause. I was too enraptured by my mission. In the beginning it was just a quick ten minutes here and there. On weekends I would spend a lazy
half-hour playing. I’ve always been attracted to simple games, the type that put you into a pseudo-trance while you perform basic tasks. Sudoku puzzles, for instance, or Tetris. But there was something different about Angry Birds. Something sinister. Once I bought myself an iPhone, one of the first things I did was pay
There are days when I still look longingly at the screen, and see the empty spot where their icon once proclaimed the birds’ existence. the 99 cents to download the game. With my newfound access to the birds, all of a sudden I was logging multiple hours a day. (We could chalk this problem up to my unemployment at the time, but that may be over-simplifying the issue.) I should have known there was a problem when they introduced the monkeys. Instead of killing pigs, all of a sudden I was slaughtering these dopey, wide-eyed primates. It made me uneasy, seeing as they looked almost human, but I soldiered on.
Through lush jungles, sunny beaches and into the depths of industrial warehouses I followed the Angry Birds on their insatiable, violent quest. The satisfying snap of the slingshot gave me a sense of purpose. It soothed me. One day I complained that my iPhone battery hadn’t even lasted the entire day, only to be informed that Angry Birds was sapping the energy from it. My friends started to worry. I took any excuse to return to the Angry Birds’ world: a long drive, a break in conversation, even a few minutes on the toilet. My friends never staged an intervention, but perhaps they should have. It had become clear that I had a problem. As I prepared to begin my studies at UBC, I decided I needed to banish the birds from my life cold-turkey. I ejected them from my daily routine the same way I sent them screaming at their targets: with a few taps of my finger against my phone’s touch-screen. There are days when I still look longingly at the screen and see the empty spot where their icon once proudly proclaimed the birds’ existence. But then I remind myself they’re still out there, continuing their mission without me. And I think to myself, at least I got my 99 cents’ worth. U INDIANA JOEL/ THE UBYSSEY