March 15, 2012 (12 pages)

Controlling the squirrel population SINCE 1918

U

THE UBYSSEY

March 15, 2012 | VOL. XCIII ISS. XLVII

Examining the fate of those who allege harassment and discrimination against UBC

P6

BAGGING THE

BRONZE

BABY P9 Women’s basketball aims to take the national title

MEDICAL EXCEPTIONS? UBC Medicine faces scrutiny over admissions process

P3

RENEW OR

REDO? Friends of the Aquatic Centre oppose new pool plans

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2 | Page 2 | 03.15.2012

What’s on 15 THU

This week, may we suggest...

SPEAKER >>

Our Campus

One on one with the people who make UBC

Deb Pickman a theatre evangelist Jonny Wakefield Managing Editor, Print

What I Learned at Straight Camp: 7–9 @ Buchanan A103

Seattle journalist Ted Cox went undercover as a participant in an evangelical “gay-to-straight” program. Here, he shares his experiences in a free lecture. Sponsored by the UBC Freethinkers Club.

16 FRI

TREES >>

17 SAT

SHOW>>

Forest Ethics Talk: 3–4pm @ SUB 207 Jolan Bailey, the canadian outreach director for Forest Ethics will be giving a talk for the Student Environment Centre’s Responsible Consumption Week.

18 SUN

MUSIC>>

UBC Horn Club Concert: 2–4pm @ Music Building 112 Interested in stimulating your mind with soothing music?

Check out this afternoon concert from the UBC School of Music.

Performances of pieces by Bach, Handel, Mozart and others.

19

MON

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: 8–10pm @ Graham House, Green College “Masters, spread yourselves.”

Intrigued? Make sure to check out the Green College Players production of Shakespeare’s popular comedy. Tickets are available by donation. Email gc.events@ubc.ca to reserve.

GEOGRAPHY>>

Telling Spatial Stories— The Narrative Impulse in Historical GIS: 12:30–2pm @ Geography 214 We don’t really know what this involves, but students rave about the geography department, so why not check it out and let us know what a historical GIS was.

U

Got an event you’d like to see on this page? Send your event and your best pitch to printeditor@ubyssey.ca.

THE UBYSSEY March 15, 2012, Volume XCIII, Issue XLVII

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 Writer Will Johnson wjohnson@ubyssey.ca

Sports Editor Drake Fenton

sports@ubyssey.ca

Features Editor Brian Platt

features@ubyssey.ca

Copy Editor Karina Palmitesta copy@ubyssey.ca

Video Editor David Marino

video@ubyssey.ca

Senior Web Writer Andrew Bates abates@ubyssey.ca

Graphics Assistant Indiana Joel

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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.

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There’s a trace of the Wild West in Deb Pickman.

In her time in the theatre business, she’s played to crowded cabarets, wandered the prairies selling women’s wear and slung whiskey, all in the name of getting butts in theatre seats.

Pickman has been on the publicity side of the arts for many years now, working for theatre companies big and small. She currently acts as the communication and marketing manager for the UBC theatre and film program.

For Pickman, theatre promotion isn’t about selling snake oil. There’s an evangelical element to it.

“As I say, [theatre] is a better kind of church. There’s not punitive god. There’s just all these crazy stories.”

“I come at it from that whole ‘spread-the-gospel’ kind of mentality.”

Pickman moved west from Ontario over 30 years ago. She settled in Nelson for a while— a time she calls her “log cabin days”—before taking a job as a traveling salesperson. She sold a line of women’s wear to retailers between Vancouver and Winnipeg, but the work lacked any kind of soul. She decided to try for her BFA Theatre at UBC, and graduated in 1992.

Since then, her company Shameless Hussy Productions has toured North America. One of their most successful plays has been Sonofabitch Stew: The Drunken Life

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

“I come from this ‘spread the gospel’ kind of mentality,” says Pickman.

of Calamity Jane. Pickman played the titular character—an infamous frontierswoman best known as an associate of ‘Wild Bill’ Hickok.

The show was generally well received, except for a performance in San Francisco, where the fog machine caught fire.

“Everyone was wondering why it was so smoky,” she said. “I was yelling ‘Fire! Fire!’ but in a western accent so people thought it was part of the play.”

The show was produced on a shoestring budget, and the only crew member was no where to be found. Pickman grabbed a drink off of a patron’s table and doused the machine before returning to the stage. “It’s on with the show, right?” she said.

Pickman started thinking about publicity as a career option after attending a trade show. Turns out, she had knack for it from the start.

“We set up this booth, and for our sample we gave out those little tiny bottles of whiskey. Our poster just happened to be a modified Jack Daniel’s bottle that said all

the information of our show, so we shrunk it down and put it on the bottles.”

“And surprise, we were a hit.”

Her work at UBC is an easier sell, she said—due in part to the ages of those involved.

“If you haven’t been to a play by the time you’re 30, it’s kind of like if you haven’t had sex by the time you’re thirty,” she said. “Chances are your drive to reproduce isn’t as strong as it could be.”

“Student audiences are very open. They’re not sitting there with their arms crossed.”

Given the state of arts funding in BC, Pickman can’t help but worry for theatre students headed out onto a especially uncertain frontier.

“They have to fight for their square inch,” she said. “They’re loving it. I’ve been there—I still am.

An actor, card-carrying.”

“That’s all people are waiting for—a chance.” U —Deb reminds people to check out Macbeth, which runs March 22-31.

More info at theatre.ubc.ca.

News

03.15.2012 |

3

Editors: Kalyeena Makortoff & Micki Cowan

ADMISSIONS >>

Fairness of Faculty of Medicine applications called into question Laura Rodgers Staff Writer

Questions are being raised about the fairness and transparency of UBC’s medical school application process, but the university is insisting that the accusations are unfounded.

In a memo obtained by the Vancouver Sun, former director of admissions for the Faculty of Medicine, Denis Hughes, made a number of allegations against the integrity and openness of the Faculty of Medicine’s admissions process.

Hughes stated that allowing students to submit documents late was a “recurring theme” in the faculty, and that “we have made more exceptions in this [2011] cycle than in all three previous years combined.”

Hughes wrote the memo just under a year ago, and later resigned, citing worries about the admissions process as one of his reasons for leaving.

However, David Snadden, the Faculty of Medicine’s executive associate dean, disputed Hughes’s claims. Snadden said that in 2011

only one applicant was granted a deadline extension. As stated in Hughes’s memo, this applicant’s father was a surgeon with an affiliation to UBC. He added that the total number of students who had asked for requirements to be bent—such as submission deadlines or rules for who can apply as a BC resident—was “four or five, max,” each year.

“I think [the process] is about as fair and as equitable as it can be,” said Snadden.

After the article’s release, BC Minster of Advanced Education

Naomi Yamamoto was asked in the legislature on Monday whether she had taken any steps to ensure UBC’s admissions process was fair.

Yamamoto replied the following day, although Snadden confirmed that no one in the UBC Medicine admissions department was contacted by the Ministry of Advanced Education. “The admission to the medical school at UBC is not tied to who you know,” said Yamamoto.

“It’s not tied to who your family is.

I’m confident that the integrity of the admissions process for UBC’s

ADMISSIONS >>

Grade 11 marks for UBC admissions Micki Cowan News Editor

UBC has voted in favour of using Grade 11 marks for admissions, but not without a fight from several members of the university’s Senate.

The decision was made at the Wednesday Senate meeting, after a motion to refer the report back to committee was turned down. The temporary admissions policy, called J-52, will be reevaluated in five months.

Paul Harrison, associate dean of students in the Faculty of Science, said that the proposal was necessary if UBC is to give offers of admissions on time.

“I think we would jeopardize UBC’s ability to accept the best students if we don’t adopt policy J-52.”

Richard Anstee, chair of the Admissions Committee, spoke out against the policy at the meeting, stating that it was a manufactured crisis.

“There is no crisis. All Grade 12 students have access to interim grades, just not in the form of a report card,” he said. “I don’t see any problem.”

Prospective students have been expressing their thoughts and anxieties on the policy through social media.

“There’s a whole bunch of Facebook groups that have started up,” said Glen Hansman, second vice-president of the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF). “Some talked about report cards, others have been expressing outrage about their class sizes and lack of services for their education over the past decade.”

Sally Casey, a Grade 12 student at R.E. Secondary School in Langley, voiced her concern by starting a

medical school is intact.”

Students applying to UBC medical school aren’t happy about exceptions being made. “If you are applying to medical school, you would think you could be organized enough to get things in on time,” said Kevin Lapeyre, who is currently applying to study medicine at UBC in the fall.

“I do not agree with them allowing late submissions. While it doesn’t give them an advantage in the application process, the deadlines are there for a reason.” U CONFERENCE >>

World Model United Nations held in Vancouver

KATHERYN TISSINGTON/THE UBYSSEY

Tanner Bokor Staff Writer

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

The gates mark the entrance to UBC grounds.

Facebook group, urging both the teachers and the government to come to an agreement. Her concern was sparked when she found out that UBC was considering adopting policy J-52.

“I decided that we needed to create a side other than just the government and the teachers, and just try to let everyone know that [the students] are actually being impacted by this,” said Casey.

Andrew Arida, associate director of enrolment at UBC, said that he sees most of the student concern

arising from a lack of information.

“I can certainly appreciate that post-secondary admission and the admissions process is very stressful on Grade 12 students,” he said. “We found that generally the students who are most worried don’t have all the information, and once they do get all the information, that stress is greatly alleviated.”

Arida sees the policy as a positive.

“We’re hoping that by being able to use the Grade 11 grades, we can get the bulk of our decisions out in the first round, while still making

sure that nobody who would have been admissible on Grade 12 grades doesn’t get an offer,” said Andrew Arida, associate director of enrolment at UBC. Still, Anstee said he was horrified that the policy passed.

“There’s a certain number of students who won’ t get admitted to UBC as a result. There won’t be a large number, it will be about 100,” said Anstee. “There’s a lot of anxiety in the school. I feel for them, for them being anxious about the situation. I feel for the teachers.” U

UBC students place first in engineering competition

UBC gains three new Canadian Research Chairs

Immigrants face housing problems in Canadian cities

Methadone costs more than heroin-assisted therapy

This past weekend, UBC hosted the 27th Canadian Engineering Competition, “From Sea to Sky.” Engineering teams from all over Canada competed in several categories. Both UBC teams placed in the top three of their category.

Dan Came and Hans Seidemann came in first place for the debate category. The innovative design team which included Chandan Delo, James Haryett, Samim Safaei and Patrick Tsai placed second in the design category.

“Aside from UBC’s performance in the competition, the competition itself was a huge success too,” said Seidemann.

Three UBC professors have been appointed to newly created Canada Research Chair (CRC) positions this week.

Physics and astronomy professor Gary Hinshaw was appointed the CRC in observational cosmology.

Anthropology professor Shaylih Muehlmann was appointed the CRC in language, culture and the environment, and Asian studies scholar Christina Laffin was awarded the CRC in premodern literature and culture.

“The Canada Research Chairs Program has helped to transform research at UBC and across Canada,” said John Hepburn, UBC’s VP Research and International.

A UBC study found that new immigrants to Canada have trouble finding adequate housing in Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal.

Half of the immigrants surveyed reported living in crowded, damp or mouldy buildings with broken plumbing, insect infestation or inadequate heat. The study also found that the incomes of new immigrants are below the national average.

“For this group, there is a persistent need for affordable housing,” said UBC geography professor Daniel Hiebert. “This goes contrary to the myth that all immigrants do better over time—that...things get better for them.”

According to a joint study between UBC and Providence Health Care, medical heroin is a more cost effective treatment for heroin addiction than methadone.

The study found a connection between medically prescribed heroin and reduced criminal activity and health care costs.

“The question I get most about heroin-assisted therapy is whether we can afford the increased direct costs of the treatment,” said coauthor Martin Schechter, a professor at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health. “What this study shows is that the more appropriate question is whether we can afford not to.” U

News briefs

Over 2000 university students from around the globe are gathered in Vancouver this week for the 21st World Model United Nations (WMUN), marking the first time Vancouver has hosted the conference.

WMUN is a series of simulated sessions modeled after the structure of the United Nations system.

Individuals take on the position of an assigned country and attempt to build consensus to pass mock resolutions on current real-world issues.

The largest student conference ever to be held in BC, WMUN was awarded to UBC in a bid two years ago after being held in Taipei in 2010 and Singapore in 2011. This year’s theme is “Come together, go beyond.”

UBC organizers said they were looking forward to the week ahead.

Lena Raxter, a first-year student in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and a vice-chair for the simulated UN Security Council at WMUN, was first involved in Model UN in sixth grade. “It was the first...after-school activity I was ever involved in, and I fell in love with it. It’s an absolutely incredible experience.”

Students also see the conference as a training ground. Raxter said she plans to pursue a career within the UN after graduation.

Delegates from 65 countries and 203 different universities are attending this year’s conference to debate current world issues, including the conflict in Syria, Afghan Spring in the Middle East and diplomatic issues in China.

WMUN was founded in 1991 by students from Harvard University looking to create a broader and more diverse Model UN experience. Harvard continues to manage the conference and moves to a new city every year. The conference runs March 11-15 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. U

4 | News | 03.15.2012 GAGE SOUTH >>

DESIGNS COURTESY OF CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY PLANNING AND FRIENDS OF THE AQUATIC CENTRE

Left: plans by Campus and Community Planning. Right: the alternative option pre.sented by Friends of the Aquatic Centre.

Campus group opposes new UBC Aquatic Centre Veronika Bondarenko Staff Member

For at least one group on campus, old is better than new.

Friends of the Aquatic Centre (FAC) is a recently established group that is protesting UBC Campus and Community Planning (CCP)’s proposal for a new Aquatic Centre. They’ve said that renovating the current centre would be more sustainable and cost-efficient than building anew.

One of the first members to join was Doug Aldridge, who was AMS president when the original Aquatic Centre referendum was passed in October 1972. Together with FAC, they’ve presented CCP

with a “renovate and expand” project proposal.

“The Friends Plan avoids the environmental cost of large amounts of rubble being sent to landfills, which the MacInnes Plan would create by destroying the existing indoor pool,” said Aldridge.

“It also leaves room for the drastically needed additional space required for the Student Recreation Centre. The savings represented by the Friends Plan could make a significant contribution towards the planned expansion of the SRC.” But it doesn’t look as though CCP has been convinced.

“UBC’s existing aquatic facilities are reaching the end of their useful lives,” said John Metras, CCP’s

managing director of infrastructure development.

“The Aquatic Centre no longer meets the needs of UBC’s highperformance athletes, nor does it provide appropriate facilities for leisure and community users. The new Aquatic Centre is being designed to strike a balance between a high-performance competition facility and a leisure facility.”

Preliminary plans for the new Aquatic Centre include adding family change rooms and three new pools, one of which would have a movable floor allowing pool depth adjustments. The new centre will be located across from the UBC bus loop where MacInnes Field now sits.

Members of FAC are concerned that CCP’s plan would not actually meet the needs of the community.

They think that the new facility would lose some of the centre’s most widely used aspects, such as the diving towers and deep water tank that are now found at the UBC Empire Pool, but will not be included in the building plans of the new Aquatic Centre.

Tera Van Belen, a UBC swim team member, is in favour of a new facility.

“Building [new] is definitely a better choice,” said Van Belen, who is currently training for the London 2012 Olympics. “A new pool will benefit swimmers now and in the near future, but by renovating, it

won’t meet the needs that a new, better established facility would.”

A final consultation—whose date is to be decided at the next Board of Governors meeting—still needs to be performed by CCP before the new Aquatic Centre could move onto its design stage. But it’s not likely that the Friends’ concerns will be addressed.

“The university has concluded that renovating and expanding the existing facility is a less viable option than building a new facility,” said Metras. “We appreciate the ongoing interest of the Friends of UBC Aquatic Centre and MacInnes Field and welcome their participation in the development of the new facility.” U

DEBATES >>

UBC professor debates CCBR founder Jose Ruba on abortion Catherine Lai Contributor

UBC’s pro-life club held an abortion debate on Monday, highlighting the intractable differences between the pro-life and pro-choice argument.

“Tolerance doesn’t mean you don’t believe in anything, it means you accept different views, so just because we have a position doesn’t mean we’re disqualified from hosting a debate,” said Lifeline President Shawn Miller.

Scott Anderson, a UBC professor who was invited to represent the pro-choice view, said afterward, “I think that the intention of the organization is less to have a debate…and that its intention is to have an airing of a particular view that they wish to forward and that my role here is to allow them to do so in the guise of an exchange of views.”

The pro-life argument was presented by Jose Ruba, co-founder and professional speaker for the Canadian Centre for Bio-ethical Reform. “[There are] 300 Canadians killed every day and that should concern all of us, whether we’re pro-life or pro-choice, to be able to say: ‘What is actually being killed?

What is it that we’re actually doing?’ And that’s the kind of discussion that moral, intelligent, decent Canadians should be having, because it’s one that affects all of us.”

Anderson said that he felt compelled to argue on behalf of what is essentially the legal status quo in Canada.

“Access to legal and safe abortion is crucial for women’s equality in a society like Canada, and because someone has to make a decision about each and every potential abortion that takes place, no one is better placed to make that decision than the woman who is pregnant,” he said.

The debate was stalled on the question of where life begins, which neither side was able to agree on. To Ruba, this is a question that must be answered before discussing other aspects of the issue, such as women’s rights.

The club, as well as the two debaters, hoped that the debate would help convince people who haven’t made up their mind about abortion.

However, when asked if they saw themselves leaving the debate with a different view, not a single one of the audience members raised their hand.

After the debate, Ruba said that he was glad to have had the chance to speak to the 50 or so people in the audience. “And maybe they had already made up their minds, maybe, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t examine their facts or the information.”

Anderson was not so optimistic.

“If I managed to change anybody’s mind in the direction I was hoping to, that would be a miracle.” U

Culture

03.15.2012 |

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Editor: Ginny Monaco

THEATRE >>

e r p f e a c t g n c i i t r n c i le a P

Senior Web Writer

think about it as the community that’s inside this big circle.”

Le first came across circle painting while at a leadership conference when she was a high school student in Vietnam.

“After five years...I thought to myself, I really want to do something to engage the community more,” said Le, who helps coordinate community projects required by Sauder courses. “I thought circle painting would be the perfect avenue to do that here.”

Le secured booking through the Gage Residence Association and the Vietnamese Student Society, and $2000 for the event came from the UBC Global Fund. In addition to UBC students, the UNA and a number of high school students from the community were involved.

Donations are being collected at the event for Operation Smile, a charity that helps fund cosmetic surgery for cleftlipped children in Vietnam. The murals will be auctioned to raise funds for the charity.

Painting took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with events at Buchanan, Gage and the Global Lounge at Marine Drive. The paintings are on display Thursday at the Old Barn community theatre.

According to Ng, people who get involved enjoy it.

“At first they might seem shy,” she said.

“But once they get into it, you can tell from what they have drawn that they actually put [in] ef fort and they actually loved it.” U

Will Johnson Senior Culture Writer

The story of Spinning You Home, a new play by Canadian playwright Sally Stubbs, started with a dead body.

“My partner and his sister are descendants of [prospector] John Cariboo Cameron,” said Stubbs.

“We received a copy of Bill Gallaher’s book, The Promise for Christmas, a few years ago. I was blown away by the story of the journey John Cameron undertook to honour the deathbed promise he made to his wife, Sophia. “ Cameron’s wife Sophia, dying of typhoid, hated the Cariboo country—the mountains, the weather, the filth associated with mining, all of it—and begged him to get her body back home to Glengarry County in Ontario.

Stubbs read Gallaher’s book, then later traveled to Barkerville, a gold rush town in northern BC, for research. She also got her hands on some notes written by her partner’s grandfather, Duncan Cameron.

“He wrote about the opening of Sophia Cameron’s coffin in Glengarry County nine years after her burial. Sophia had been preserved in over-proof alcohol and when revealed was still very much intact,” Stubbs said.

Stubbs was amazed at the description of Cameron being faced with his wife’s preserved body.

“That image–the beautiful and intact corpse coming face to face with her husband again–stayed with me, haunted me. I began to imagine how she must have haunted him always,” she said.

Stubbs originally started writing the play as a one-woman show for a character named Sarah. But then a second character, Sarah’s grandfather, “appeared” during the writing process.

“When ‘Grandpa’ appeared I found my way into this twohanded version inspired by my own family history, as well as the Cameron tale. It’s essentially a celebration of storytelling and a love story filtered through the lens of a very different love story,” she said.

Stubbs said she’s had some trouble finding a niche for Spinning You Home.

“The script revolves around the relationship between a 14-year-old girl and her grandfather. That’s been a challenge. Artistic directors who like the play say they don’t know where to ‘slot it.’,” she said.

“They say it’s not TYA [theatre for young audiences] because of the grandfather. They say it’s not for general audiences because the protagonist is a kid. This drives me nuts.

Despite that, she’s been thrilled with the feedback.

“It’s a play about love, loss and storytelling. It’s a play about human beings. And it’s often funny.

The audience in Winnipeg ranged from teenagers to octogenarians and the response was great.”

Andrew Bates

Sometimes you need a big event to bring people into the circle.

Circle painting is a collaborative art event where passersby are invited to add themed illustrations to a banner. UBC’s “love and charity”-themed event, which ran Tuesday and Wednesday, was spearheaded by a commerce student looking to build a sense of community at UBC .

“I feel like UBC is too big. We have 45,000 students,” said My Le, a third-year marketing major. “I want to bring students together to work on the same masterpiece.”

According to artist Hip Nguyen, who pioneered circle painting, the idea came to him while he was practicing meditation.

“Nowadays even though we have all the technologies and we connect on Facebook, actually what I find is that people are even more isolated in their own space,” he said. “The idea is to go beyond our own space and connect with others through art and making some thing meaningful.”

Participants added conceptual shapes to a continuing mural while receiving some direction from Nguyen, like adding defining lines and coordinating brushstrokes with the painters’ breathing pattern. “[It] is not only about the circles, you can draw any kind of shape you want,” said Amanda Ng, a thirdyear commerce student who volunteered with Le. “The pro cess of it, of adding onto other peoples’ shapes, that’s what makes it so special. “ With a circle, there’s no be ginning, there’s no end. The circle’s a huge shape, and you can

Playwright mines for gold in family’s prospecting past

Photos by Yara De Jong

—Spinning You Home is playing at Havana Theatre from March 21-24 and 27-31. Student tickets are $15.

6 | Features | 03.15.2012 The University of British Columbia has responsibility for and is committed to providing its students, staff and faculty with an environment dedicated to excellence, equity and mutual respect; one that is free of Discrimination and Harassment; and one in which the ability to freely work, live, examine, question, teach, learn, comment and criticize is protected. Academic Freedom and freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression carries with it the expectation that all Members of the University Community will conduct themselves in a responsible manner so as not to cause, condone or participate in the Discrimination or Harassment of another person or group of persons. The University’s commitment to maintaining and respecting human rights at every level of the institution is central to this Policy. The fundamental objectives of this Policy are to prevent Discrimination and Harassment on grounds protected by the B.C. Human Rights Code, and to provide procedures for handling complaints, remedying situations, and imposing discipline when such Discrimination or Harassment does occur. Concerns regarding discrimination or harassment that do not involve any of the grounds prohibited by the B.C. Human Rights Code are not covered by this Policy. Such concerns may be addressed by other University policies or procedures, including the UBC Statement on Respectful Environment for Students, Faculty and Staff, collective agreements, employee handbooks, and student codes of conduct, and should be taken to the appropriate Administrative Head of Unit, student or employee association, union or human resources office. 1. General 1.1 The University and all Members of the University Community share responsibility for ensuring that the work and study environment at the University is free from Discrimination and Harassment. The University regards Discrimination and Harassment as serious offenses that are subject to a wide range of remedial or disciplinary measures, including dismissal or expulsion from the University. 1.2 Although concerns regarding Discrimination or Harassment can be brought to either Administrative Heads of Unit or to the University’s Equity Office, Administrative Heads of Unit bear the primary responsibility for creating and maintaining a study and work environment free from Discrimination and Harassment. Administrative Heads of Unit have the authority and the responsibility to address concerns regarding Discrimination or Harassment, whether or not they are in receipt of specific complaints. When addressing a concern or complaint, Administrative Heads of Unit are encouraged to consult with the University’s Equity Office.2 1.3 The University’s Equity Office is responsible for providing information, advice and assistance in a fair and impartial manner to anyone who has a concern about Discrimination or Harassment related to the University, including those who may have experienced Discrimination and Harassment and those alleged to have perpetrated it. The Equity Office is also responsible for providing education to Members of the University Community and other offices on the prevention and remediation of Discrimination and Harassment. The Equity Office is also responsible for addressing concerns or complaints of Discrimination or Harassment that have been made to it directly using the procedures set out under this Policy, and has the authority to initiate complaints itself under those procedures. 1.4 The University will not tolerate any retaliation, directly or indirectly, against anyone who, in good faith, complains, gives evidence or otherwise participates in a process under this Policy. The University considers retaliation to be a serious matter because it prevents potential complainants, witnesses, and administrators from acting on their concerns. 1.5 Academic Freedom is a fundamental tenet of the University. Academic Freedom ensures the right of all Members of the University Community to engage in frank discussion of potentially controversial matters and to make statements, assign readings or use instructional techniques that challenge and may even offend the sensibilities, ideas and beliefs of others, provided that they conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the B.C. Human Rights Code. All Members of the University Community, in exercising their Academic Freedom, shall respect the human rights of others and not engage in actions that would deny equality to, or harass, individuals or groups on grounds protected by the B.C. Human Rights Code. 2. Scope 2.1 This policy addresses Discrimination and Harassment on grounds protected by the B.C. Human Rights Code. The grounds currently are (actual or perceived) age, ancestry, colour, family status, marital status, physical or mental disability, place of origin, political belief, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and criminal conviction unrelated to employment. 2.2 The grounds under this Policy will be interpreted in the same manner as they are interpreted by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. For example, the ground of “sex” has been interpreted to include gender identity, gender expression, sexual harassment, sexual assault and the actuality or possibility of pregnancy, breastfeeding and childbirth, and will be so interpreted under this policy. 2.3 Concerns regarding discrimination or harassment that do not involve any of the grounds prohibited by the B.C. Human Rights Code are not covered by this Policy. Such concerns may be addressed by other University policies or procedures, including the UBC Statement on Respectful Environment for Students, Faculty and Staff, collective agreements, employee handbooks, and student codes of conduct, and should be taken to the appropriate Administrative Head of Unit, student or employee association, union or human resources office. 2.4 Addressing systemic issues of discrimination and harassment is a shared responsibility across the institution and may include addressing complaints that fall outside of the grounds prohibited by the B.C. Human Rights Code. Offices such as the Equity Office and Human Resources at UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan, Access & Diversity and The Office of the Ombudsperson for Students at UBC Vancouver, and the Disability Resource Centre and the AVP Students at UBC Okanagan, are positioned to provide leadership in identifying and addressing these issues. 3 2.5 Discrimination or Harassment can involve individuals or groups; can occur during one serious incident or over a series of incidents including single incidents, which, in isolation, would not necessarily constitute Discrimination or Harassment; and can occur on campus or off-campus in a University-related context, during working hours or not. 2.6 It is the impact of behaviour on the complainant, subject to the reasonable person test, and not the intent of the respondent that defines the comment or conduct as Discrimination or Harassment. The reasonable person test refers to an assessment of responsibility that takes into account not only what the complainant and respondent actually experienced, knew, or understood about one another or the situation, but also what a reasonable person in each of their circumstances would or ought to have experienced, known, or understood. 2.7 Neither this Policy in general, nor its definitions in particular, are to be applied in such a way as to detract from the right and obligation of those in supervisory roles to manage and discipline employees and students. 2.8 The fact that a complaint is being pursued under this Policy does not preclude the complainant from pursuing a process outside of the University, such as filing a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. If a complaint is being pursued outside of the University, the party conducting the University process (the Administrative Head of Unit or the Equity Office) may elect to continue with the University process or may elect to suspend the University process until the outcome of the process outside of the University is determined. 3. Definitions 3.1 Academic Freedom is defined in the UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan calendars. 3.2 Administrative Head of Unit is any of the following: Director of a service unit; Head of an academic department; Director of a centre, institute or school; Principal of a college; Dean; Associate Vice President; University Librarian; Registrar; Vice President; Deputy Vice Chancellor & Principal; or President. 3.3 Discrimination is intentional or unintentional treatment, which can be individual or systemic, that imposes burdens, obligations, or disadvantages on or limits access to opportunities, benefits and advantages to specific individuals or groups as defined by the B.C. Human Rights Code and for which there is no bona fide and reasonable justification. 3.4 Harassment is comment or conduct that one knows or ought reasonably to know is unwelcome, that creates a negative impact for the recipient, and that is related to one or more of the prohibited grounds of discrimination as set out in the B.C. Human Rights Code. 3.5 Member of the University Community is a student, a member of faculty, or a member of staff. 3.6 Systemic Discrimination is any pattern of behaviour, policies or practices that are part of the structures of an organization, and that create or perpetuate disadvantage related to one or more of the prohibited grounds of discrimination as set out in the B.C. Human Rights Code. 4 PROCEDURES Approved: January 1995 Revised: September 2011 Pursuant to Policy #1: Administration of Policies, “Procedures may be amended by the President, provided the new procedures conform to the approved policy. Such amendments are reported at the next meeting of the Board of Governors.” Note: the most recent procedures may be reviewed at http://universitycounsel.ubc.ca/policies/index/. 1. General 1.1 These Procedures apply to concerns relating to matters of Discrimination or Harassment that are brought to the attention of the Equity Office. Concerns brought to the attention of the Administrative Heads of Unit will be dealt with in accordance with the usual practices and procedures of the University.

1.2 The Equity Office is made up of the AVP Equity and staff, including Equity Advisors who report to the AVP Equity. 1.3 The Equity Office will exercise its author ity and discretion under these Procedures in conformity with the principles of procedural fairness in the university context. 1.4 The complainant and the respondent ma y have a representative or support person present at any time during the process outlined under these Procedures. Members of unions and employee associations have all rights to representation that their collective agreements confer. 1.5 I f the AVP Equity or an Equity Advisor acting under these Procedures has a conflict of interest in a particular matter, or there is a reasonable apprehension of bias, then that person will not participate in the process any further. If an Administrative Head of Unit has a conflict of interest, or there is a reasonable apprehension of bias, then the person to whom that Administrative Head of Unit reports will act as the Administrative Head of Unit under these Procedures. 1.6 The Equity Office respects the sensitive nature of the information that individuals may provide. Such information will only be accessible by those within the University who need such information to properly deal with the matters raised under these Procedures, or if required to do so by external agencies such as the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal who are dealing with the matters raised by that individual. All records are maintained by the University in accordance with the B.C. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and other applicable laws and orders of the Courts, and other bodies having jurisdiction over such matters. 1.7 Members of the University Community involved in a case are expected to maintain confidentiality, particularly within the work or study area in question and in shared professional or social circles. 2. Consultations 2.1 Members of the University Community, or those with concerns relating to a Member of the University Community or to a University sanctioned program, event or activity, may consult with the Equity Office for information, advice, support and referrals relating to matters of Discrimination or Harassment. 5.2 Such individuals may consult with the Equity Office anonymously. However, any information provided to the Equity Office anonymously or in a consultation-only capacity will not be independently substantiated, further investigated, or acted upon by the Equity Office unless the AVP Equity determines that it would be appropriate to do so and initiates a complaint under section 3.3 below. 3. Complaints 3.1 Complaints made to the Equity Office relating to matters of Discrimination or Harassment pertaining to University work, studies or participation in life on campus may be lodged by any Member of the University Community against other Members of the University Community and/or the University. 3.2 Non-Members of the University Community who are directly affected by the conduct or comment that forms the basis of the complaint may lodge a complaint against any Member of the University Community and/or the University, at the discretion of the AVP Equity. 3.3 Complaint proceedings may also be initiated by the AVP Equity based on information that has been given to the Equity Office or that the Equity Office becomes aware of, if the AVP Equitydetermines that it is appropriate to do so in the circumstances. In such cases, the AVP Equity will act as the complainant and will delegate the AVP Equity’s authority under these Procedures to someone with the necessary experience and expertise. 3.4 Complaints must be made within one calendar year of the date that the conduct or comment that forms the basis of the complaint occurred or, in the case of a series of events, within one calendar year of the date that the last event in the series occurred. The AVP Equity has the discretion in exceptional circumstances to extend this one-year time limit. 3.5 Complaints must be made in writing, although the AVP Equity has the discretion in exceptional circumstances to waive or defer this requirement. 3.6 An Administrative Head of Unit who initiates a complaint will act as the complainant. In such cases, the person directly affected by the conduct or comment that forms the basis of the complaint, and/or the person who is the subject of the complaint, may be called upon as witnesses in any subsequent proceedings. 3.7 Complainants may withdraw from the complaint proceedings at any time. However, the University’s responsibility to provide an environment free from Discrimination and Harassment may obligate the University to proceed regardless of the complainant’s withdrawal. 3.8 At any time, the Equity Office may take any action deemed appropriate in the circumstances, including staying or terminating the proceedings, or taking interim measures to preserve safety or efficiency while a complaint is being investigated or resolved. 3.9 When a written complaint is received by the Equity Office and it is determined that the Policy applies, the Equity Office will review the written complaint and may do any one or more of the following: 3.9.1 refer all or part of the complaint to the unit involved for internal investigation and resolution, including a referral to the appropriate Administrative Head of Unit;6 3.9.2 address the complaint under section 4 below; or 3.9.3 dismiss or decline to proceed with the complaint. 3.10 If it is determined that the Policy does not apply, the complaint will not be accepted by the Equity Office and no further action will be taken under these Procedures. 4. Complaint Management 4.1 If the Equity Office decides to address the complaint, the relevant Administrative Head of Unit will be notified and a copy of the complaint will be provided to the respondent, who will be invited to respond to the allegations contained in the complaint. 4.2 The Equity Office ma y manage the complaint using any means deemed appropriate in the circumstances, subject to the principles of procedural fairness in the university context.

Such means ma y include, but are not limited to, the following: 4.2.1 interviewing or requesting written submissions from the complainant and/or the respondent and/or any other parties with information that may be useful; 4.2.2 consulting with other University offices or employees; 4.2.3 gathering documents relevant to the complaint; and/or 4.2.4 referring the matter for internal or external investigation, or mediation. 4.3 Both the complainant and the respondent are expected to participate in the complaint management process outlined above in a timely manner. In cases where the complainant and/or the respondent fails to participate within a reasonable time without appropriate justification, the process may proceed without their participation and an adverse inference may be drawn as a result of their failure to participate. 5. Resolution 5.1 After addressing the complaint under section 4 above, the Equity Office may resolve the complaint or make recommendations as deemed appropriate in the circumstances. Such resolutions or recommendations may include, but are not limited to, the following: 5.1.1 resolving the complaint by consent of the complainant and the respondent, through mediation or any other means; 5.1.2 recommending such measures as may be appropriate to remedy the effects of discriminatory conduct and restore the complainant’s and/or respondent’s unit to effective functioning 5.1.3 recommending such measures as may be appropriate to remove systemic barriers and/or prevent discriminatory conduct; 5.1.4 recommending to the appropriate Administrative Head of Unit the imposition of discipline on the respondent or, in cases where the AVP Equity determines that the complaint was made in bad faith or was frivolous, vexatious or malicious, on the complainant;7 5.1.5 recommending other remedies to the appropriate Administrative Head of Unit; and/or 5.1.6 dismissing the complaint. 5.2 The Equity Office will communicate in writing any resolution or recommendations made under these Procedures to the appropriate Administrative Head of Unit. Where appropriate, the communication will include a finding whether on the balance of probabilities

UBC’s equity gap?

The UBC Equity Office’s independence and integrity has been questioned by a few faculty and staff who are trying to settle complaints of discrimination— but the office’s proceedings are confidential. An upcoming BC Human Rights Tribunal hearing may give some answers.

BY JONNY WAKEFIELD

Is UBC one of the most inclusive workplaces in Canada? It depends on who you ask.

MediaCorp, publisher of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, lauds UBC’s equity policies. MediaCorp’s annual rankings take into account an organization’s initiatives to promote workplace diversity and inclusiveness. In the six year history of the Best Diversity Employers award, UBC has been among the winners every time.

On paper, UBC’s commitment to ending harassment and discrimination is almost beyond question. But how does that system look from the point of view of a person who feels they have been harassed or discriminated against?

The picture looks different when examining the complaints against UBC that have found their way to the BC Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) over the past few years. Faculty and students who have made complaints— either through the university’s own internal procedures or by other legal means—claim the deck is almost always stacked in the university’s favour.

Since 2006, there have been more than a dozen complaints brought against UBC to the BCHRT. The tribunal is a quasi-judicial body that was created to enforce BC’s human rights

code—the set of laws implemented to this verbal abuse turned into physical prevent discrimination and provide aggression as his mental state deteredress for people who feel they have riorated, and that he developed severe been discriminated against. anxiety and depression.

That a complaint is filed with the “He could not sleep, he was getting BCHRT is, in and of itself, anxious, he was afraid not particularly noteworof people and going thy. Last year, the tribunal into public,” state the received 1163 complaints. tribunal documents.

Of those, 71 per cent were One professor’s “He could not stand loud accepted for filing—meannoises, lost weight, had complaint has ing they met the minisevere panic attacks and survived numermum threshold for the became fearful of darkcourt’s consideration. ness. Due to his health ous attempts by But the BCHRT cases he stopped coming into the university to do provide a window into the lab.” have it thrown UBC’s equity process, Tribunal documents because when a case is out. The hearing, allege that the student brought to the BCHRT, brought his concerns to scheduled this details of the allegations the AVP Research, who summer, will be made in each complaint promised to intervene become part of the public on his behalf so that the one of the very record. professor would not confew times that In a 2011 case, for extact him again. Still, the ample, a Dentistry gradu- the university professor continued to ate student of Persian contact him, and he was has had to deal ancestry alleged that his not assigned a new PhD with a complainPhD supervisor spent supervisor. ant in a public years blocking his progIn November 2009, ress, tampering with his the student was inforum. experiments and repeatformed that he had been edly telling him that his removed from his PhD. Caucasian classmates were better at The student appealed this decision their jobs than non-white lab technito the UBC Senate. The Senate has a cians. The complainant alleged that committee in place for hearing such

“

complaints. In this case, the committee unanimously determined that no wrongdoing had occurred and the student was dismissed from his PhD. The BCHRT declined to hear the case, stating that the Senate procedure had appropriately dealt with the essence of the complaint.

Over the past several months, The Ubyssey has conducted interviews with many of the people who have laid similar claims of harassment and discrimination against the university and its employees in the past few years.

Some have taken their cases to the BCHRT, while two more faculty members plan to file complaints in the near future. Some opted to leave the university entirely. Several have formed something of a small support group and have taken to their concerns to MPs and the Canadian Association of University Teachers.

Most have tried to deal with the problem through the UBC Equity Office or other internal processes, but they found such methods unsatisfactory. For the most part, staff and faculty who are involved in complaints against the university will not speak on the record about their experiences, either because of legal issues or because they still work at the university and fear retaliation from colleagues.

Many felt it was hard to get public

03.15.2012 | Feature | 7 support for their position. As one put it, it’s hard for the general public to feel too bad for a tenured professor. Others have had their complaints brushed off as a case of particularly nasty academic politics.

It is difficult to gauge what is really happening with these cases. Is it a bunch of disgruntled professors, as UBC argues? Or does UBC simply want to avoid admitting that maybe discrimination does happen on its campus?

• • • The threshold to dismiss a complaint at the BCHRT is low. Since 2006, it appears that no cases against UBC have gone to a full judicial hearing.

But one professor’s complaint has survived numerous attempts by the university to have it thrown out. The hearing, scheduled this summer, will be one of the very few times that the university has had to deal with a complainant in a public forum.

That discrimination complaint came from Jennifer Chan. Chan is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education. In May 2010, she filed a complaint of racial discrimination with the BCHRT, naming the university and four employees—among them senior administrators—as respondents. Chan, who is Chinese Canadian, alleges she was not selected for a prestigious research chair in part because of her race.

That appointment was to the Lam Research Chair in Multicultural Education. Chan was shortlisted for the chair in October 2009 and when it was announced that another candidate—a white woman—was given the appointment, Chan started to make complaints about bias in the process.

In short, Chan said the search committee of five members from the Faculty of Education broke every hiring rule in the book. It failed to keep any records of its procedures, including how the search was conducted and what criteria were used to determine merit. The committee also failed to consult Chan’s references, which included former Lam Chair holders. The Ubyssey contacted Chan’s references independently and confirmed that they had not been contacted regarding her application.

“A lot of my students would ask for references for their part-time summer jobs,” she said. “This endowment chair is a very prestigious position. Why were external references not contacted? Was it because the candidate was predetermined?

Or was it because of some other factor?”

One of those factors, she argues, was her race.

• • • When someone has a complaint of this nature, one option is to take legal action against the university.

But such action is costly and usually a last resort.

Faculty or students who feel they have been harassed or discriminated against have another option open to them. They can take the complaint to UBC’s Equity Office. Because UBC receives federal money under the Federal Contractors Program, it is subject to certain equity requirements. Any large organization that makes bids on government contracts must have an employment equity program that fulfills a number of criteria, which include establishing an office to combat discrimination against women, Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and visible minorities. The program must include an employer-side investigation for complaints.

The UBC Equity Office is located on the second floor of Brock Hall. Its calm, utilitarian atmosphere belies

the fact that it was created during one of the most sordid affairs in the history of the university.

• • • There’s no real consensus on what to call the period ranging from June 1995 to November 1998, when UBC was the locus of a vitriolic national debate on identity politics and academic freedom. Some call it the political science affair; others call it the McEwen controversy, for the author of the report that found a “basis” for claims of “pervasive racism and sexism” in that department.

In June 1995, UBC announced that it would close graduate admissions to the political science department after the results of the university-initiated “McEwen Report” were publicized.

The investigation was carried out by Vancouver lawyer and labour arbitrator Joan McEwen. It was struck in response to a 1992 letter sent to the Faculty of Graduate Studies from 12 graduate students in the department. It alleged that “female students, both white and of colour, [were] being marginalized, demeaned and silenced in the classroom.”

David Strangway, UBC’s president at the time, said that admissions to political science would be suspended until the department cleaned up its act.

Allegations ranged from serious to spurious. In one instance, a female graduate student of colour had just handed out her first marks to a class when a professor told her, “Yeah, now they probably think you

“

If [people] feel that the internal process isn’t sufficiently distant from the institution, they can choose another process...Whether things become controversial or not, it’s not in the control of this office.

TOM PATCH, ASSOCIATE VICEPRESIDENT EQUITY

are just one big, bad black bitch.” In another instance, a female professor (one of five in the 25 person faculty) was allegedly told that feminism was “a Jewish-American Princess conspiracy.”

While the media initially focused on these allegations, the focus turned to the more trifling parts of the 174-page report. Some professors were apparently prejudiced because they criticized students for making Marxist arguments. Another professor mocked a female student, telling her “even an undergraduate would understand” material she was having difficulty with.

But a bigger problem quickly emerged with McEwen’s findings.

In the terms of reference for the report—set by a committee including the deans of Arts and Graduate Studies—McEwen was simply asked to conclude if there was “any basis” for the student’s allegations. The university had moved on claims that had not been proven, which sparked outrage across Canada. An editorial in the Globe and Mail exemplified the anti-McEwen stance: “Laced with Orwellian euphemisms, reeking of the worst forms of political correctness, lacking the slightest respect for due process, Ms. McEwen’s report is a cowardly, disgraceful thing. A strong university president would have said as much.”

Over the next few months, any mention of UBC was invariably tied to the unfolding scandal. The dean

of Arts condemned the university’s actions. Professors in the faculty of arts voted 97-52 on a resolution urging Strangway to reopen admissions to the program. A member of the Board of Governors stepped down in protest. Public opinion turned further against UBC when it was revealed that the administration accepted the report’s $246,000 price tag without question, and that several of the students who had written the original letter were demanding that the university pay their tuition as compensation for their distress.

UBC lifted its ban on admissions in October of 1995. Though the incident had only lasted five months, everyone agreed that the healing process would take years.

Some argued that all this could have been avoided if the complaint had been handled from the start

by UBC’s Equity Office. In a postmortem on the incident in the Globe and Mail, one columnist argued that the whole incident could have been nipped in the bud if the dean of Arts had followed procedure and taken the complaint to the Equity Office.

What the column failed to point out, however, is that the complaint was received in 1992, and the Equity Office wasn’t created until 1994.

The university quietly apologized to the political science department in 1998. Then-UBC President Martha Piper promised policies that would prevent another such scandal.

“In 1994 the ad hoc procedure devised to deal with complaints against your department was inadequate and in part explains the flawed report that emerged and the university’s subsequent, inappropriate action,” she wrote. “To ensure better procedures for dealing with allegations, the university instituted its Policy on Discrimination and Harassment and established an Equity Office charged with the responsibility to administer it.”

The political science department accepted the university’s apology.

“On behalf of my colleagues who were so damaged by this whole episode, I accept your sincere apology on behalf of the university,” wrote the department head. “We want nothing more than to move on.”

• • • UBC’s stance on Chan’s case is that the university’s equity policies have functioned adequately. A press release stated that “UBC takes complaints of discrimination extremely seriously and has processes, including a Discrimination and Harassment Policy to address such complaints.

“Both processes found no discrimination and the University has accepted those conclusions.”

Those processes are complex. In the first phase, an aggrieved member of the university community can meet with an advisor from the office to discuss the situation and any available options. Then, if the situation demands it, Equity will contact the complainant’s head of unit to discuss next steps. At this point, the respondent may be informed of the allegations. The most serious cases, though, move to a level called a “formal complaint.”

If the Associate Vice-President Equity (AVP Equity) deems the situation appropriate, the office will retain an investigator—either from the university or external to it—to investigate the allegations. These investigators generally have experience in human rights law.

Chan has problems with how her formal complaint was handled from the start. Others interviewed by The Ubyssey have seconded her concerns.

They can be summed up by the following question: is a university-administered process to investigate the university a conflict of interest?

The current AVP Equity is Tom

Patch. He has held the position since 2005, but his work in human rights goes back much further. Patch has worked for the BCHRT as well as the Canadian Human Rights Commission. “[UBC has] an internal process,” says Patch. “And there is no way to create an internal process that isn’t in some way connected to senior management. And senior management has never interfered in any way in our internal complaints processes.”

Chan was concerned that one of the respondents in her case—VP Academic David Farrar—is Patch’s boss.

“I’m not trying to say that all employer investigative mechanisms are ineffective,” said Chan. “But in my case, I think it really raises the question of impartiality. The AVP Equity reports to VP Academic, and the VP Academic is one of the respondents in my case. Right off the bat, you really question to what extent is this an impartial, independent mechanism for any employee to go through.”

She also had issues with the AVP’s ability to set the terms of investigation. The merit of herself and the other candidate for the chair was not included in the terms of reference. This means that the most basic question of the entire episode was still not considered: was Chan in fact more qualified for the job?

• • •

“ In my case...you really question to what extent is this an impartial, independent mechanism for any employee to go through.

JENNIFER CHAN, COMPLAINANT

In other documents obtained by The Ubyssey, a professor—who allowed these comments to appear only on condition of anonymity—alleges that his investigation was repeatedly tampered with by the office. He says that he was denied access to an Equity Advisor and to documentation about the investigation of his case. He also alleges that when he tried to object to this, the AVP Equity “repeatedly threatened to terminate the investigation.”

Patch was unable to comment on any of these allegations, because cases that have gone through the Equity Office are bound by confidentiality.

He was also unable to comment on tribunal cases, because they are part of an ongoing judicial process.

“If [people] feel that the internal process isn’t sufficiently distant from the institution, they can choose another process,” said Patch. “It is not a goal of this office to prevent controversies. Whether things become controversial or not, it’s not in the control of this office.”

• • • Chan’s complaint was dismissed by the Equity Office after the findings of an investigation were given to the office 16 months after her initial filing. The investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of UBC. The Ubyssey has tried to obtain copies of this report through Freedom of Information requests.

Despite having filed in August of

2011, this report has still not been produced.

Chan decided to press on with her complaint. She found pro bono legal assistance and submitted her complaint to the BCHRT in May of 2010.

Since then, as Chan’s complaint has worked its way through the BCHRT system, UBC has twice asked to have her case thrown out.

The BC Human Rights Code provides a number of conditions under which the Tribunal can decline to hear a case.

The respondent can argue that there is little possibility of the complaint succeeding, or that the complaint was not made within six months of the alleged offence. Most often, though, UBC’s lawyers will argue that the complaint has been adequately dealt with by another proceeding—usually by the UBC Equity Office.

“Bodies like the [BCHRT] will [suspend a case] if someone hasn’t gone through the internal process first,” said Nancy Langston.

Langston is head of the UBC Faculty Association, and is familiar with some of the BCHRT complaints. “They will make that person explain why it’s so important not to complete the process.”

In January, the BCHRT decided to let Chan’s complaint have its day in court. The hearing is set for this summer. Tribunal member Norman Trerise reasoned that “to allow UBC to set out an appeal process in its policy and then deny it through an application to dismiss, on this basis, essentially pulls the rug out from under that faculty member.”

Chan’s free legal assistance has since dried up. She will have to find another firm willing to work pro bono, or self-represent at her hearing.

This will be the first time UBC has had to defend itself in the BCHRT in at least five years. It will be a strong test of whether the concerns by multiple complainants about UBC’s equity process are justified or not.

• • • UBC has a lot riding on equity.

Being nationally recognized as a diverse and inclusive place to study and work is vital for a university on the drive towards becoming one of the best in the world.

In 2010, the VP Academic office commissioned a review of the Equity Offices on UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. The report found deficient equity practices at UBC Okanagan, stating that the Equity Office there consists of a single person without permanent office space. It highlighted the problems this could have for international recruitment.

“We were told that external community homophobia is common, to the point that hiring of preferred candidates is compromised, and students have been physically threatened,” the report said. “International students seem to be at particular risk of abuse. Yet UBC-O has far fewer resources to address such issues.”

The report concluded by saying that UBC will have to redouble its efforts in the Okanagan if they intend to continue their plans for international enrolment.

In comparison, the Vancouver equity program has received generally positive reviews from the administration.

“I don’t think there have been many cases which at the end of those processes, UBC has been found to be in breach,” said UBC President Stephen Toope, when asked about these issues during the 2010 Town Hall meeting. “So the fact that people might be unhappy doesn’t necessarily mean that there has been, even objectively pursued by a tribunal, an equity violation.” U

Sports

03.15.2012 |

8

Editor: Drake Fenton

HIKING >>

BC SUMMITS

North Peak Centre Peak

N

South Peak

KYLE PEARCE/FLICKR

A view of Howe Sound and the Stawamus Chief. The Chief is one of the most popular hikes and climbing destinations in the Lower Mainland and can be accessed much earlier in the season than other trails.

W

hen the clocks turned forward an hour last week, all of campus rejoiced. For lo! Spring and summer are upon us. Perhaps not everyone rejoiced; some of you may have been in bed curled up in a death ball, cursing whiskey and women and wishing you had another hour of sleep.

But for those of you who did praise the end of the days of darkness and are inclined to spend your extra hours of sunlight outdoors, we at The Ubyssey, in conjunction with the Varsity Outdoor Club, have compiled a list of hiking spots you can’t miss. Illustrations by Collyn Chan.

Trail Head

The Chief

North Peak Centre Peak

Mount Gardner

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At a glance...

Bluewater Trail

South Peak N

South Peak North Peak

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN THE CHIEF 605 M MOUNT GARDNER 719 M LYNN PEAK 731 M THE LIONS

1280 M GOLDEN EARS 1521 M

Trail Head

WHERE: The Chief is located in the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park just outside of Squamish.

HOW LONG: Most people take around two to three hours to complete the hike.

Trail Head

Mount Gardner Road

WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT: The view from the peak is a spectacular Bluewaterand Trail the surrounding panorama of Squamish Valley, Howe Sound N mountains.

Also, since this is a lower elevation hike, you can tackle it earlier in the year than most of the other hikes on this list.

South Peak

The Lions Lynn Peak North Peak

WHERE: The Lions can be reached from either Lions Bay (accessible by public transit) or from the Cypress Mountain parking lot.

WHERE: Lynn Peak can be accessed from Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver, which is easily accessible by public transit.

HOW LONG: You should give yourself a full day to complete the trip, as it can take more than eight hours round trip.

HOW LONG: This isMount a shorter Roadby hike and can be Gardner finished Trail Head most in three to four hours.

WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT: The Lions is a tough hike. At some points it can feel like rock climbing.

Yet the view from the top is well worth it, as you’ll be standing at one of the highest points in the Lower Mainland.

WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT: It’s a pleasant hike through a forest and requires a minimal time commitment. It offers a very nice view from the summit.

People also walk their dogs around the area. A must for the dog deprived university student.

DISTANCE FROM VANCOUVER LYNN PEAK 15 KM MOUNT GARDNER 25 KM THE LIONS 40 KM GOLDEN EARS 60 KM THE CHIEF 65 KM

WHERE: Gardner is on Bowen Island and requires a 15-minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay. HOW LONG: If you factor in all of the travel time, prepare for a long day.

WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT: As the hike only goes 700 metres above sea level, it is accessible earlier in the year. It also offers a very nice view of Vancouver from a different perspective.

The Golden Ears WHERE: The trail can be accessed from the West Canyon parking lot of Golden Ears Provincial Park, north of Maple Ridge.

HOW LONG: This is a long and challenging day hike that can’t really be attempted until summer.

The snow usually doesn’t melt until June.

WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT: It’s probably the best place to get a large encompassing view of the Fraser Valley. As a bonus, you can take a dip in Alouette Lake after you finish your hike.

AVERAGE GRADE GOLDEN EARS 6.2% MOUNT GARDNER 8.5% THE CHIEF 11.0% LYNN PEAK 16.2% THE LIONS 17.1% TOTAL DISTANCE OF HIKE LYNN PEAK 9 KM THE CHIEF 11 KM THE LIONS 15 KM MOUNT GARDNER 17 KM GOLDEN EARS 24 KM

NOTE: The Varsity Outdoor Club and The Ubyssey would like to remind all hikers that this list contains suggestions of places to go and should not be used in place of traditional guide books. Any person or group heading out for a hike should be properly prepared, and seek out information beyond that included in this article before departing for a fun day hike.

03.15.2012 | Sports | 9 BASKETBALL >>

Blue and Gold want nothing but gold Women’s basketball ready for CIS championship and chance at the CIS trophy, the Bronze Baby

Drake Fenton Sports Editor

Going into this weekend’s CIS women’s basketball national championships, the UBC Thunderbirds are ranked No. 2 in the country.

Despite smashing the No. 1 ranked University of Regina 78-59 in the Canada West finals, the ‘Birds failed to capture the number one seed.

And that’s exactly what they wanted.

“We actually quite like the number two seed,” said UBC head coach Deb Huband. “In 2004, 2006 and 2008 we went in as the two seed and won the [CIS title] each year.”

Fifth-year forward Zara Huntley was a freshman when UBC won in 2008 and she said things are coming together this season in a fashion eerily similar to 2008.

“We won our Canada West final against [No. 1 ranked] Regina and we went down to California at Christmas [for an exhibition tournament] like we did this year,” she said. “It’s a good feeling having all those things kind of in place again.”

UBC wound up facing Regina again in the finals that year. They dissected them 67-46.

If the stars align this season, UBC could once again face Regina in the finals. But for that to happen, they’ll have to get past the No. 7 ranked McGill University on Saturday.

While McGill may not be considered a serious contender, one thing they do bring is a stingy defence.

JOSH CURRAN/THE UBYSSEY

Fifth-year Zara Huntley driving the lane. The experience and leadership of Huntley and fifth-year Alex Vieweg will be key at nationals.

They finished the season ranked sixth in the country in points allowed (58.1) and fifth in opponents’ field goal percentage (33.8).

Yet putting up points on McGill isn’t something that concerns the ‘Birds. “Our offence isn’t a problem,” said Huntley. “We can put up the points and get things going, but it’s playing defence [that’s important]. If we don’t take care of that, our game won’t be there.”

Like McGill, UBC’s bread and butter is tough defence. They look to suffocate teams and force them into taking low percentage shots.

The combination of Huntley, Alex Vieweg and Leigh Stansfield, all over six-foot-one, clogs up the paint and limits teams from getting easy points.

“We prioritize defence, we believe that strong defence is the backbone of success,” said Huband.

YOU COULD RUN THE UBYSSEY NEXT YEAR!

“It all starts with solid team defence and responsible individual defence as well.”

And that should worry McGill.

Their offence was far from potent this year, finishing in the bottom half of the nation in points per game (65.6).

While UBC is focused on McGill right now, they know the structure of the CIS tournament forces teams to adapt quickly. The road

to CIS gold is three games in three days, and Huband said having two fifth-year players like Huntley and Vieweg will be paramount in providing UBC with the leadership they need to get through the three day grind.

“Having two team leaders that have been to a national championship and won a national championship brings that added experience of people who have walked in those shoes,” she said. “They understand what the stage is like and what the stakes are like and what it requires to be successful at that level.”

Being in their final year, the significance of a chance to finish their careers as CIS champs isn’t lost on Huntley or Vieweg.

“It’s a pretty big moment for me and the rest of the team is excited as well,” Huntley said. “[Vieweg] and I coming through our five years, starting with a national championship and kind of having a lull the past three years, and then coming back to nationals, it’s a pretty big deal.”

“This is our last year and last chance to bring home the banner,” added Vieweg. “It would be great to end it all with a perfect season.”

If history is any indication, UBC has a good chance of obtaining that perfect season.

The CIS championship begin Saturday in Calgary. The Ubyssey will be courtside for the whole weekend, check www.ubyssey.ca/ sports for updates. U

Interested in taking few classes, working a full-time job that pays little, and working in a basement shut off from all natural light? I know, it sounds too good to be true. But if you submit a nomination form to elections administrator Colin Chia at cchia@ubyssey.ca by March 23, you can run in our elections for an editorial position. The positions, below:

Coordinating Editor Managing Editor, Web Managing Editor, Print

They oversee the Ubyssey’s editorial team, act as spokesperson, chair staff meetings and generally do the “big vision” stuff

They oversee our operations on the website and our social media platforms, while managing webadded content and videos

They make sure the newspaper comes out, manages Page 2 and 11, decides what goes where, and oversees our design team

News Editor (x2)

Culture Editor

Features Editor

We elect two of these, and they decide what UBC news is fit to print

Art Director

They make sure what we do looks pretty. Also responsible for photos, illustrations and graphics

U THEUBYSSEY.ca

justin mcelroy | coordinating@ubyssey.ca

Like News, except for events of cultural importance. Plus, all the free CDs in the world.

Video Editor

They oversee the features section, and if they so choose, the opinions page, supplements and the investigative team

They film events, edit the Weekly Sports & Rec. Editor Show, and love Adobe Premiere Sports! And non-sport athletic stuff

Opinion

03.15.2012 |

10

Editor: Brian Platt

Playhouse’s demise part of larger struggle Editor’s Notebook Karina Palmitesta

DAVID MARINO/THE UBYSSEY

The Last Word Parting shots and snap judgments on today’s issues Broad-based admissions will need transparency The hubbub and hoopla surrounding the allegations of unfair influencing in the medical school applications process are certainly disheartening if true. However, when you have an admission system that has elements of subjectivity, it leaves more room in the process for accusations of tampering. Medical school admissions include an algorithm that weighs, for example, how well prospective students work with others.

UBC’s move to broad-based admissions for undergraduates also leaves room open for exploitation.

Currently, medical admissions are highly regulated with a points system that determines who gets in. If UBC wants to keep the process fair for undergraduates, they should also be clear and open about the specifics of how decisions are made.

Our women’s teams kick ass, and you should know about it This weekend, our women’s basketball team head to Calgary. They’re aiming to win their first national championship since 2008. And unless you read our paper front-to-back every issue, none of you know about it.

That’s slight hyperbole. But the women’s basketball team is one of the strongest athletic programs at UBC, with three national championships in the last ten years, and it gets very little institutional cheerleading or marketing. Sort of like the worldclass women’s swim team or the women’s field hockey team.

Hey, remember how much you heard about the men’s football team?

Alright, that’s not entirely fair.

Men’s sports is a bigger draw than women’s in nearly any comparative case in North America. And the women’s basketball team plays in a season when seven other varsity programs are all competing.

But there are things UBC could do. They could create a rivalry series against the SFU program and market the heck out of it. They could schedule other high-profile games against NCAA teams like the men’s program

used to. Or, they could start playing more games after the men’s team, instead of before them.

The point is this: women’s sports are habitually ignored wherever you go, and UBC is no exception. And if that’s ever going to change on this campus, it will be due to the efforts of the university administration.

UBC deserves a better athletics reputation About that women’s basketball team: They’re really good. They destroyed the No. 1 ranked Regina two weekends ago in the Canada West finals.

It’s safe to say the Thunderbirds have a serious chance of taking home gold.

If they do, it will be the fifth time this year a UBC program has won a national championship.

The University of Guelph has won two national titles this year. They are the only other school to have won CIS gold more than once.

UBC may be known for being an academic school, but this year it’s also hands-down the strongest athletic university in the country. This is all the more impressive considering the high academic requirements needed to play for the Thunderbirds.

Yet where has all the press been?

The only team to get substantial coverage in the Vancouver media this year was the football team.

While their season made for a compelling story, they didn’t make it out of the Canada West playoffs and were blown out in their final game.

Yes, we know our student body is ambivalent about almost everything, but it would be nice if someone other than us recognized UBC as the top flight athletic school it is.

Clubs should get ambitious with their conference ideas The World Model United Nations conference is taking place this week.

At 2000 students and 500 volunteers from around the world, it’s the largest student conference ever held in the province. (You going to take that, Student Leadership Conference?)

Although much of the conference is taking place off campus due to a

need for hotel space, UBC is still the official host and will gain a lot of benefit from this. It gets many of our students involved in a huge international conference that will help with networking and resume-padding.

It also further establishes UBC’s reputation as a place that can handle such large logistical endeavours.

We hope this plants a few ambitious ideas in some of the student clubs on campus for conferences that they could host. Here’s a little tip: UBC administrators will give you tons of support in doing this. If you supply the energy and volunteer time necessary, the money and bureaucratic assistance will flow quite easily.

Yes, hosting events at UBC involves a fair amount of red tape to get through, but all you really need is a bit of determination. When large conferences and other events are pulled off successfully, it’s a win for both students and the university.

Dual UBC student unions might finally work together UBC’s Vancouver and Kelowna campuses might be part of the same university, with students receiving the same degree, but as anyone who has tried to transfer from one to the other knows, they aren’t exactly linked in practice.

This situation is all the more pronounced within the student unions themselves. Ever since the Kelowna campus became part of UBC in 2004, the student union has been governed by the same slate. They’ve had many names, but generally have protested against high tuition, promoted student activism and haven’t had any interest in working with the AMS. They’re also part of the Canadian Federation of Students, which AMS politicians literally compare to Lord Voldemort.

However, earlier this month that slate was unanimously dumped in the student elections. With it comes an opportunity for the two student unions at UBC to work together.

We hope AMS President Matt Parson picks up the phone, and engages in a new partnership. U

At a press conference last Friday, the Playhouse Theatre announced that due to an overwhelming amount of debt, it would never see a 50th season.

Within 48 hours, the theatre’s doors were shut and the box office closed; their season wasn’t even finished, leaving three shows hanging in uncertainty.

Speaking as a student of UBC’s BFA acting program, the Playhouse’s closure is a terrible blow to the Vancouver theatre scene. It’s one less place for Canadian artists to find work, one less place for Canadian stories to be told. My acting class has had two guest speakers in the past week, and both of them brought up the Playhouse almost apologetically during pep talks that now seem hollow and unpromising.

Last year, the City of Vancouver gave the Playhouse a bailout of over half a million dollars, as well as forgiving another half million in debt. It still wasn’t enough to lift the strain.

The City’s support could be seen as admirable, although it was understandably contentious within the arts community at the time. But more and more, it seems like a Band-Aid solution slapped over a much larger problem, one that’s more important than a single regional theatre going bankrupt: theatre in Vancouver is unsustainable.

Especially in independent shows, audiences are usually filled with fellow theatre artists, many of them living below the poverty line. It’s

become a recycling pattern: I’ll give your show ten bucks today, and you’ll hand it straight back to me when I put on a show tomorrow.

Too many theatre artists head to London, New York, LA, even Toronto, or else languish for months in Vancouver without work. Feelgood musicals and endlessly repeated classics rake in older, wealthier subscribers, while young companies putting on risky new shows are snuffed out after one bad season.

How is it possible that such a vibrant community is barely hanging on by the skin of its teeth? What are we doing wrong? And if the government-funded Playhouse can’t make it, how can smaller indie groups?

There are struggling companies all over the city. The most recent example that comes to mind is Fighting Chance Productions, one of the more prominent companies in Vancouver’s indie theatre scene.

They have put on over 20 productions over the last five years, many of them critically acclaimed. Last month, Fighting Chance announced a fundraising campaign that would save them from collapsing under a deficit of $20,000. Their fundraising goal was $5000—which means that even if there was an outpouring of generosity that doubled the company’s expectations, they would still be $10,000 in debt.

The many protests following the Playhouse’s closure demonstrate that theatre in Vancouver is passionate, scrappy and wide awake. But something needs to change—something deeply rooted in how our society acknowledges the arts and how we support artists. Otherwise, this mad, tail-chasing cycle will never be broken. U

A disappointing budget Letters The AMS calls on the BC government to propose bold new measures to improve and increase support for post-secondary students and institutions. Quite simply, the February 21st provincial budget falls short.

In its pre-budget submission to the BC Legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services last fall, the AMS asked for improved transit, more childcare funding, and student financial aid reform. This winter, the AMS partnered with several other student associations, representing over 160,000 post-secondary students in BC, in asking for reduced student loan interest rates, increased core funding and the restoration of needs-based up-front grants. In each of these areas, BC students and universities lag behind their peers in other provinces.

We were disappointed that the budget tabled last month by the BC government did not set out any plans to increase support for students, post-secondary institutions or other services of interest to students. On the contrary, student support programs (loans and bursaries) will be frozen to current levels until at least April 2015 and the government is asking post-secondary institutions to trim their administrative costs by 2.2 per cent over the next three fiscal years. Given the additional impact of inflation,

it is difficult to see how this belt tightening will not reduce services to students.

The AMS believes that improved funding for transit, child care and post-secondary education is not only good for the province’s students, it is good for its economy. Indeed, various experts have shown that well-targeted investments in these sectors can lead to a more robust and sustainable economy, increased wages, reductions in unemployment and increased tax revenue.

The recently released Drummond Report in Ontario recommends significant budget cuts in most government programs—but in order to help create a sustainable economic recovery, it calls for more support to post-secondary education, including a modest annual budgetary increase of at least 1.5 per cent until 2017.

Our province has the potential to create one of the best higher education systems in the world. Although a better deployment of resources can achieve these aims in part, the AMS believes that increased longterm investments in several sectors are also essential. We welcome the opportunity to continue working constructively with the provincial government and other stakeholders, so that we may find viable solutions to better meet the challenges faced by students at UBC and other post-secondary institutions across our province.

—Kyle Warwick AMS VP External

Scene

03.15.2012 |

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Pictures and words on your university experience

STUDENT BODY>>

Managing your willpower reserves

Daily irritations deplete your ability to resist bad habits. Here’s how to hold ‘em off.

Happy Healthy Horny

Raeven GeistDeschamps Suffering from senioritis?

In my basement apartment, most every night is filled with conversations about the future. So far, my roommates and I have decided we might: disappear from the surface of the planet, roam Canada in a camper van, become festival vendors, start a colony of matriarchs who use WWOOFers as sex slaves, become conflict mediators, generally fuck with the system or explore Siberia on horseback.

With the last few credits (Unless it’s for medical school, I sincerely wish to NEVER return to do another undergraduate degree), there’s an inverse relationship of increasing anxiety.

A choice must be made, says the part of my brain attached to security, plans and goals. In the many ways in which we discover, articulate and immerse ourselves in the beauty of our own identities, the Eden within does not always find its mirror within the material world—especially the professional identities we may choose to adopt. As my father once told me, what’s amazing about this life is that you have all the possibilities in the world, but you can’t have a life without making choices. In the meantime, I’m dabbling in

Confused by columns?

U

Jonny Wakefield printeditor@ubyssey.ca

uncharacteristically nervous brain spaces.

In an effort to sift through some of my intense anxiety, I’m currently reading Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney. Their thesis is that willpower provides the drive behind anything we do, and this willpower is finite. As you use it up for various tasks, like doing homework or studying for exams, its reserves lessen (they call it “ego depletion”) and your ability to resist negative behaviours (like overeating, spending, etc.) is severely decreased.

Willpower is finite. As we use it up on things like homework, its reserves lessen, and your ability to resist behaviours like over eating and spending is decreased.

He quotes a study on how the better students did on exams, the more likely they were to have unwashed socks. In other words, their willpower was so caught up in studying that things like hygiene and cleaning went out the window.

The book goes on to suggest a bunch of ways to deal with this, but the underlying idea is to work on

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

Ubyssey editors are a hard working bunch. As a result, they sometimes find themselves given to the baser pleasures.

one thing out at a time. You have to follow the thread of possibility until its endpoint, when you notice that it no longer fits you in the way that you want to work or be involved in the world. The same applies to changing one behaviour you no longer find useful. Focusing the bulk of

your attention on a single project or change will help you actually make a decision and change your behaviour because you won’t be distracted by all the other possibilities.

Part of the uncertainty in this inner dialogue is about losing control.

If you can embrace, for once and

maybe just for a time, not having control over the outcome of your actions but acting out of a love of life, then you can derive meaning from anything you decide is worth investing time in.

Best of luck with your late term musings. U

12 | Games | 03.15.2012 48- Contrive 52- Sterile 55- Enervates 57- Treasure Island monogram 58- Black-and-white treat 59- Inflammation of the skin 62- Actor Epps 63- Chopper topper 64- Pro or con 65- Cookbook amts.

66- Brewer’s need 67- Hammer end Down

(CUP) — Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission.

Across 1- Beer buy 5- Organization abbrev.

10- Thick slice 14- Literary work 15- Birth-related 16- Circle at bottom, point at top 17- Mixture that has been homogenized 19- Feminine suffix 20- Sun Devils’ sch.

21- From the US 22- Armed guard

24- Kathmandu resident 26- Taylor of Mystic Pizza 27- Largest ocean 33- Disconcert 36- Charged 37- kwon do 38- Network of nerves 39- Standard for comparison 40- Metallica drummer Ulrich 41- Schwarz 42- More delicate 43- Quotes 44- The act of superseding 47- Interpret

42- At liberty 43- Seashore 45- Mistakes 46- Disclose 49- Bandleader Shaw 50- Move effortlessly 51- Ruhr city 52- Rubber overshoe 53- Upper limbs, weapons 54- Gather, harvest 55- Mex. miss 56- Author Oz 60- Fair-hiring abbr.

61- AOL, e.g.

1- “Over There” composer 2- Strike 3- Add together 4- That, in Tijuana 5- Weak 6- All there 7- Celestial body 8- Bran source 9- Pertaining to an office 10- Attractive route 11- Protracted 12- Actress Heche 13- Ale, e.g.

18- Australian cockatoo 23- Bunches 25- Basilica area 26- Passenger ships 28- Decreased?

29- Loses color 30- Coup d’ 31- Bern’s river 32- Capone’s nemesis 33- Pound sounds 34- Boyfriend 35- At the apex of 39- Hostility toward men 40- Waterfall

WriteShootEditCodeDrink COME BY THE UBYSSEY OFFICE

SUB 24, FOLLOW THE SIGNS

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