March 22, 2012

Infecting the office SINCE 1918

March 22, 2012 | VOL. XCIII ISS. XLIX

MORE STUDENT HOUSING After years of public consultations, Gage South is set to be designated “Academic” and is slated for student housing

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THE UBYSSEY

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HEART BREAK Women’s basketball comes second after 4th quarter collapse at nationals

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SWEET

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You cut half of our quintessential UBC experiences. Check out the second round bracket

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MBA MAKEOVER Sauder overhauls its flagship professional program

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What’s on 22 THU

This week, may we suggest...

Our Campus

One on one with the people who make UBC

THEATRE >>

Macbeth: 7:30 pm @ Freddy Wood Theatre

If you hadn’t noticed, UBC Theatre’s Macbeth opens today. They’re really pulling out all the stops on this one. There’s sword fighting, severed heads and a massive cast. Tickets are $7 for students. More info at theatre.ubc.ca.

23 FRI

MEDIA >>

25 SUN

REC >>

Last day to declare for Ubyssey elections If you’re running for next year’s Ubyssey editorial board, today is the last day to post your position paper. Ten full-time positions are available. Become the next Rupert Murdoch today!

24 SAT

LEARN >>

Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference: IKBLC, 10-4:30pm It is what it sounds like. Come see some of your fellow students talk about their research work, and feel insanely proud and a little bit jealous.

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GEOFF LISTER,/THE UBYSSEY

Andy White was the only person in the 2011 Storm to single-handedly climb the 12 foot wall—earning him the title “Super Iron Man.”

Andy White: Storm the Wall champ Storm the Wall: SUB South Plaza. The largest annual event put on by UBC Rec, Storm the Wall sees hundreds of teams in over a dozen different categories attempt to swim 225 yards, sprint 200 metres, cycle 2.8 kilometres, run a kilometre, and finally, scale the infamous 12-foot wall.

Registration will have closed by the time you read this, but you can still take a seat on the Knoll and watch the action all week.

MONEY >> UBC Tax Assistance Clinic for Students: International House Learning how to file your taxes sucks. The good news is, if you do them, you’ll probably get a nice HST Credit. That means money. So get help today!

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

THE UBYSSEY

Jonny Wakefield Managing Editor, Print

Andy White can climb a 12 foot wall.

There’s a video online of White completing the “Super Iron Man” category during last year’s Storm the Wall. On his first approach, he seems to soar into the air— planting a foot and getting a hand on top of the wall. But it wasn’t quite enough. Without taking a moment to rest, White makes another run. This time he gets the grip he needs. He hauls himself over the breach and pumps his fists to the crowd gathered below him, becoming the first man to complete the task since 2008.

When people hear that White was the only person to finish the Super Iron Man last year—the elite category in Storm where people have to make it over the wall on their own—they have the same question: how did you do that?

“I really have no clue,” said White with a laugh.

White is a very average 5’10”.

He’s a visual arts student in his third year, and divides his time between sports and photography.

He’s athletic, and throws javelin on the UBC Track and Field team—but he’s no triathlete, and had doubts going into last year’s Storm.

“I didn’t sign up for the Super Iron Man,” he said. “I thought there was no chance.”

White finally decided to give it a shot. He added Storm practice into his daily regimen for track and field and watched the technique of former winners. The timing started to make sense to White—who noticed the parallels between throwing a javelin and storming a wall.

“A lot of the events that are like a jump or a throw, you have a run up. I think that definitely helped my approach to the wall,” he said.

This year, White had some bad luck. In the past few days, multiple ankle sprains have compounded themselves into a serious injury and he’ll likely need surgery.

“I’ve just been going crazy,” said White. “I’ve been rehabbing my ankle, trying to get some mobility back in it. I want to compete so badly, but it’s bone on bone.”

Still, doctor opinion barring, he’s mulling giving Storm a shot.

White said it might be possible to lead on the wall with his uninjured ankle. He said it will require completely relearning the technique, but he wouldn’t mind feeling that kind of glory a second time. “[The first time] I realized I was just making up all these reasons why I couldn’t compete,” he said.

“But anything is possible if you just give up all those doubts you have in yourself.” U

Andy White Claim to fame Only person to complete the 2011 Super Iron Man Storm the Wall.

Area of Study Visual Arts Hometown North Van Varsity Sport Track and Field On making it over the wall: “I didn’t stutter or anything. It was very crisp. A good high-knees approach to the wall.”

March 22, 2012, Volume XCIII, Issue XLIX

EDITORIAL

Coordinating Editor Justin McElroy

Copy Editor Karina Palmitesta copy@ubyssey.ca

coordinating@ubyssey.ca

Video Editor David Marino

Managing Editor, Print Jonny Wakefield

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Senior Web Writer Andrew Bates abates@ubyssey.ca

webeditor@ubyssey.ca

Graphics Assistant Indiana Joel

News Editors Kalyeena Makortoff & Micki Cowan

Webmaster Jeff Blake

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

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Corrections Incorrect union In the March 19 issue of The Ubyssey, we incorrectly identified the UBC service worker’s union as CUPE 2950, when in fact, it is CUPE 116. The Ubyssey regrets the error.

Concerning the Vancouver “Cancucks” In the March 19 issue of The Ubyssey, we incorrectly referred to the Vancouver NHL franchise as the “Cancucks.” The team is in fact called the Vancouver “Canucks.” The Ubyssey does in fact intend to give lower bowl tickets to the March 31 hockey game against the Calgary “Flames” to the winner of our online drawing. We regret any confusion this may have caused. Plus we looked really, really stupid.

News

03.22.2012 |

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Editors: Kalyeena Makortoff & Micki Cowan

GAGE SOUTH >>

Students declare ‘win’ as Gage South set to be zoned academic Will McDonald Staff Writer

The heart of campus is set to remain student-centred.

The area known as Gage South is slated to be zoned ‘academic’ which requires any housing developments in the area to be reserved for students and post-doctoral fellows.

“It really speaks to how reactive and responsive [the university is] to the input that they receive from the community and students—how committed they are to having the

heart of campus be a lively place,” said AMS President Matt Parson.

The land use designation of Gage South has been under review by the university since 2010 when students expressed concern that the neighbourhood was slated for nonstudent housing.

Parson said the academic designation is proof of the value of student involvement, referring to constant pressure placed on the university administration through petitions, open houses and consultation feedback.

UBC Insiders editor Neal Yonson spearheaded a petition in September 2011 to zone Gage South as academic, but the result was better than he expected. Yonson was prepared to bring the petition to a public hearing on the zoning of Gage South at the end of April. But in the meantime, it raised awareness.

But not everyone is happy about the land use designation. “From the UNA perspective, I thought that Gage South should maybe present a more mixed idea of the university…it should not just be students that are

represented there…but I was overruled by different members of the committee,” said UNA Chair Prod Laquian “Those two sectors really need some affordable housing. If you are a junior faculty member…there’s just no way you can afford to live on campus.”

However, the non-market staff and faculty housing originally slated for that area will likely be relocated to another area of campus, which is yet to be determined. Laquian said the university doesn’t yet have

COMMERCE >>

Sauder revamps MBA program

a plan for land plots in Acadia East and Acadia West, nor a small piece of land on Stadium road, and that these may be considered for nonstudent housing. UBC’s Campus and Community Planning representatives did not respond to media requests by press time.

The proposed layout of a new diesel bus loop, MacInnes Field, a new Aquatic Centre and Gage South are also heading to the Board of Governors for approval. The recommendation will be formalized by the Board of Governors on April 2. U UNION UPDATE>>

UBC poised for TA strike vote

Will McDonald Staff Writer

Sauder is changing the way they do business at UBC—or at least in their Master’s program.

Staring September 2012, UBC’s Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) program will mandate courses on creativity, leadership and ethics, require students to participate in an international exchange and choose one of four specializations.

The business school is “looking at delivering something that allows students to appreciate the interconnectedness, the integrative nature, the holistic nature of business education, as well as incorporating leadership, incorporating responsible business as a scaffolding throughout the program,” said Sauder Associate Dean Murali Chandrashekaran.

The changes come in the wake of an external review of Sauder’s MBA program, released in April 2011.

The review raised several concerns, including the allocation of faculty positions across disciplines and students’ cross-field knowledge and access to courses like finance.

But according to Chandrashekaran, the MBA revamp was in response to changes in the business world, not just the review.

Ethical issues, the global financial crisis and the growing impact of business managers all prompted UBC’s overhaul of the Master’s program, he said. “These motivations have been largely industry-wide…

I’d say we are perhaps leading the wave of trying to address all of these issues.”

The new MBA students will choose between four specializations—business innovation, consulting and strategic management,

COURTESY FLICKR

Kalyeena Makortoff News Editor

SEAN LI/THE UBYSSEY

The overhaul of UBC’s Master’s of Business Administration will have more mandatory courses and require an international exchange,

product and service management or finance—and will be required to go abroad during their degree.

And while only one third of current students go on international exchange, next year all MBA students will be required to go on a two-week exchange to one of Sauder’s international partner schools in India, China or Europe.

“If a business world is global, then the business school needs to be global as well,” said Chandrashekaran.

“Our fundamental point was to say every student has to go to another country and that visit has to be about understanding solutions that are relevant.”

The new curriculum will also feature “business clinics” where

students help existing businesses address their problems.

“Students will basically be the doctor for this problem. It will be seen as a health check, offering diagnostics, offering solution approaches as well,” said Chandrashekaran.

“It’s really an organizing platform for learning by doing, which is a theme that runs through the whole MBA program.”

While Sauder professor Darren Dahl is satisfied with the changes to the program, he thinks it needs to continue evolving. “I think you’re going to see more big changes as we move forward…That’s just the nature of education. It has to change,” said Dahl.

“You can’t pull out your old acetate slides anymore and use them for 40 years. It doesn’t work.”

UBC’s MBA program recently ranked 82nd in the Financial Times and while Chandrashekaran didn’t make a direct link between rankings and Sauder’s changes, the external review did suggest that attention through rankings should continue to be one of the school’s goals.

“There may be ways in which Sauder can make its MBA program more distinctive and garner attention and rankings on that basis.

How this might be accomplished will be an essential component of a future dean’s strategy,” the review read. U

UBC offers 20K scholarships for Aboriginal students

Land and Food Systems to offer new master’s program

Better bike system could reduce injuries in Vancouver

Rare First Nations artifact donated to MOA

UBC is introducing new entrance scholarships to help attract and support Aboriginal high school students. The $5,000 Aboriginal Major Entrance Scholarships, renewable for up to three years for a total of $20,000, will look at broad-based criteria including academic excellence, leadership and community contributions.

“These new awards will help more First Nations, Métis and Inuit students benefit from opportunities at UBC, where researchers, students and staff are engaged with issues of major importance to Aboriginal communities,” said Linc Kesler, director of UBC’s First Nations House of Learning.

UBC is introducing a Master’s of Land and Water Systems (MLWS) come September, bringing together two fields of concentration: a land and watershed program and a sustainable soil program.

According to the Senate’s proposal letter, graduates of the program will be poised to address soil degradation, water scarcity, ecological restoration and food security.

Founder of the MLWS, Les Lavkulich, said the the program will be open to graduates from all disciplines. “Every person from every discipline and every sector of society has an input on how we manage our land and water,” he said.

Initial findings from a UBC study suggests that better biking infrastructure in Vancouver could reduce cycling injuries in the city.

The study looked at emergency ward interviews with 690 injured cyclists in Toronto and Vancouver. It suggests that better infrastructure can reduce the injury rate by nearly 50 per cent, in comparison to unmodified roadways. One of the most dangerous parts of city roads are multi-lane roundabouts which lack a separate bike track.

The final results of the study are expected to be released later this year, identifying the city’s cycling danger zones.

A rare ceremonial club presented to Captain James Cook in 1778 has been donated to UBC’s Museum of Anthropology by the Audain Foundation.

Valued at $1.2 million, the club is the oldest known and best-executed example of its style and has immense cultural and historical value. It was presented as a gift to the explorer by the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation when he landed at Nootka Sound during his final voyage to the Pacific.

This will be the first time an artifact of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Vancouver Island’s west coast will be placed on public display in Canada. U

News briefs

UBC’s teaching assistants are considering job action after a year and a half of unresolved negotiations with the university.

TA union CUPE 2278 will be holding a strike vote on Thursday which, if approved, gives the union the right to strike if bargaining continues to falter.

“Nobody wants to see picket lines during the last week of classes or the first week of exams,” said Jamie Paris, VP Academic and External Affairs for the Graduate Student Society (GSS). “But the only other time that the TAs will have just as much power is the first week of school, where they could...potentially cause problems.

“It’s unfortunate, but at the same time I think it’s in the students’ best interest.”

CUPE 2278 declined comment until the result of the strike vote is released.

A spring strike would end faster, according to Paris. “Everyone’s going to be very motivated to resolve this question, whereas if a strike was called the first week of February, it’s entirely possible to let it drag out for a couple weeks and try to sort of wean out the TA union,” he said.

While the university isn’t making bets on the voting results, they’re preparing for job action nonetheless.

“Our focus…is going to be the needs of students, because we’re nearing the end of classes, the start of the exam period, and we’d be reviewing essential service levels in that context,” said director of UBC Public Affairs, Lucie McNeill. The university is preparing to communicate with non-striking staff, faculty and students about job action through their main website.

For now, though, McNeill said the university is looking to the next round of negotiations on March 27.

The GSS isn’t advocating for a vote in either direction—they’re just encouraging all TAs to vote Thursday.

“Quite frankly, if 2000 of 3000 TAs vote on Thursday,” Paris said, “you’ll see movement on this issue regardless of whether this vote is up or down.” U

4 | News | 03.22.2012 ANIMAL RESEARCH >>

CHILDCARE >>

Investigation into monkey deaths shows no wrongdoing

GSS pushes for parental accomodation

UBC cleared of animal cruelty

Lisa Anderson

Andrew Bates

Contributor

Senior Web Writer

An investigation into the deaths of four monkeys used in UBC animal research has found no evidence of animal cruelty.

“We’re clearly very pleased with being vindicated,” said Helen Burt, UBC Associated VP Research.

“There is no evidence whatsoever to support the allegations.”

The review was conducted between March 5 and 14 by the Canadian Council for Animal Care (CCAC).

In a 2011 study, 4 of 18 macaque monkeys suffered what UBC described as an adverse reaction to MPTP, a chemical used to induce symptoms of Parkinsonism in monkeys. They had needed to be euthanized after their symptoms accelerated.

At the time, STOP UBC Animal Research (STOP) said the deaths weren’t an accident, but a result of “unnecessary, cruel and shocking” research.

But the CCAC’s investigation didn’t find evidence that the macaque deaths were preventable.

“Regrettably, a small number [of monkeys] react very badly to the drug,” read the letter, written by CCAC executive director Clément Gauthier.

“It is not possible to predict which animals are susceptible to even a very small dose.”

STOP says the result was unfortunate, but unsurprising. “We always hoped that they would see the cruelty before them but unfortunately their guidelines will allow for severe pain,” said spokesperson

The gates that close off UBC’s animal research centre.

Anne Birthistle. “They obviously don’t see the harm.”

The letter said that an inspector’s research included talking to the chair of UBC’s Animal Care Committee (ACC), the researcher and the clinical veterinarians who cared for the macaques and reported that the study conformed to the approved research protocol under CCAC standards.

Birthistle wanted to know whether there was a representative for animals on the ACC approving the process.

The ACC features representation from the public, but is not required to include animal rights advocates. UBC was ordered by the province to provide information on committee members as a part of Freedom of Information requests in February.

“They say that it’s nothing untoward, but to us we’d like to see proof,” Birthistle said.

“We would like to see the protocols...posted online so the public can have the input and it’s not kept from them.”

DAVID ELOP/THE UBYSSEY

Burt, however, said the university is doing its best to be open to the public.

“Clearly [STOP] has an agenda.

We’ve been quite forthcoming with information in recent months about animal research at UBC and we’ve engaged in public dialogues,” she said.

“You have to realize that this is not a normal process for the CCAC to be carrying out this kind of investigation based on some serious accusations.

“This is a new thing for us.” U

First person to enter The Ubyssey offices and hug Ginny Monaco wins 100 free copies of the paper.

Great for swatting flies!

COME BY THE UBYSSEY OFFICE

SUB 24, FOLLOW THE SIGNS

Graduate students are trying to revamp a rule that forces them to choose between studies and raising a family.

The Graduate Student Society (GSS) passed a new policy on March 12 advocating changes to parental leave for UBC graduate students.

The changes would allow students on leave to keep full-time status and extend the deadlines for finishing programs; the current policy cuts students off from the university. “[It] ostracizes...students who become parents, because the only alternative is to go on leave,” said Ana Vivaldi, a grad student and new mom that helped pioneer the initiative. “You’re removed from the community.”

Under the GSS proposal, students will keep their full-time status and continue their graduate program at a level that takes into account the magnitude of change in a student’s life immediately after welcoming a child into their lives.

“We can’t put graduate students in a position where they have to choose between having a family and doing research,” said Jamie Paris, GSS VP Academic & External.

Students on leave are currently cut off from university services and benefits, including access to libraries, supervisors and scholarships. “These are horrible choices and they’re unnecessary binaries,” Paris said. “We have to get to a place where we can do both.”

According to Philip Loewen, associate dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the new policy will help grad students keep up with their program.

“If you take four months off from thinking about a subject, you can’t just step back in at the current bleeding-edge of research and continue your forward march,” he said.

The new accommodation policy is headed to Senate and if passed will extend deadlines for completing the candidacy and the degree overall.

Any grad student needing parental leave will be afforded eight weeks of flexibility. Provisions such as fewer hours can be negotiated to support parents during these eight weeks. It also provides provisions for adoption and non-traditional family structures. “[These policies] are good incremental steps,” said Paris. Eventually the GSS hopes to gain paid parental leave, which they estimate will cost $500,000 annually.

Vivaldi backed this policy after taking parental leave from her graduate studies. She had been forced to return after four months because of financial necessity.

While on leave, Vivaldi was not considered a full-time student. “I really wanted to support the people that were working the parental policy, but I was not able to vote for them,” she said. “I felt really ostracized.”

Loewen said it was reassuring for students to know that there will be clear expectations around accommodation of parental leave. “We’re in the business of making the world a better place and this is a way we can do that,” Loewen said. “We can build our society and our world by affirming human beings and counting their importance in the university community.

“It’s just the humane, decent thing to do to recognize that a healthy world, a healthy society, involves babies.” U

Culture

03.22.2012 |

5

Editor: Ginny Monaco

MUSIC >>

DANCE >>

Karina Palmitesta

Chan Centre revisits Weimar era with singer Ute Lemper

Montréal group crams a big sound in a small space

Copy Editor

Chocolate bars, teacups and leather boots might not be the first instruments that you associate with Tom Waits, but for one Montréal-based musical ensemble, they’re a perfect fit.

The six members of l’Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestre will present a unique adaptation of Tom Waits’s music at the Cultch this week. Along with more traditional instruments— guitars, drums, banjos and brass— the show features a bewildering variety of household objects.

Everything from uncooked spaghetti to bibles to a baby carriage is crammed into a tiny 12x12 stage that calls to mind your battiest greatgrandparent’s attic.

The musicians tumble over, under and around their instruments and each other in a musical cacophony that performer Bruno Bouchard called “living poetry.”

Bouchard said that selecting which objects would appear in the show was a long process. “It’s really a game of looking in your [daily] life or through shops. Sometimes for the visuals, sometimes it’s for the sound...It’s a lot of little flashes, little stories that appear and disappear.”

Bouchard first began to cover Waits songs at the age of 17, when he started busking on the streets of Montréal.

He said he was initially drawn to the undisciplined, textured quality of Waits’ music. When asked to describe its appeal, Bouchard struggled to find the words. “It’s just heartbreak,” he said, then paused.

“Not a heartbreak...Some kind of spontaneous love.”

Heather Redfern, executive director of the Cultch, said that l’Orchestre’s oddball mix of music

Alanna Mackenzie Contributor

COURTESY OF THE CULTCH

and performance art piqued her interest over a year ago. “I’m always looking for something that is a little off the beaten track, maybe has some theatricality to it or dance components,” she said. “So this piece certainly fit the bill.”

Bouchard was clear that l’Orchestre adapts rather than

imitates Waits’s work. “We go into his playground...we play at Tom Waits, we don’t pretend to be him,” he said. “We use [the music] as a text is used in theatre.”

However, he acknowledged that it was impossible not to honour Waits’ iconic, gravelly voice. “Of course you have to go there. You have to take

that big voice and do a lot of texture with your voice.”

Redfern said that tickets are selling fast. “I think it’s got real universal appeal,” she said. “It’s great music, but...it’s also really fun to watch.

“You should see what these guys can do with a lamp.” U

SUBURBS >>

Surrey Urban Screen changes the landscape of arts Kirsti Alexandra The Runner (Kwantlen Polytechnic)

Looking east between the Gateway and Surrey Central SkyTrain stations stands the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre, a venue for activities, culture and art.

Its innovative, modern design reflects the daily spirit of the Surrey arts community, but its most emphatic feature won’t even be noticed until sundown. That’s when the Surrey Urban Screen—Canada’s largest, non-commercial art projection screen—lights up on the east side of the building, showcasing exhibitions from interactive installations to moving images, in conjunction with the Surrey Art Gallery.

Liane Davison, manager of visual and community arts and director of the Surrey Art Gallery, said that presenting digital images in a public setting is just part of the dialogue in how digital technology is changing how we experience art.

“What kind of space do we experience art in?” Davison mused.

“In 2008, when we started on the [Surrey Urban Screen] project, that was around the time when we were saying ‘let’s envision not presenting the photographs we might create using digital technology in the old way—like printing them out,

framing them and putting them on a wall—let’s think about the idea of presenting them on a screen, outside. Let’s talk about screening them outside in the public realm.’”

Davison likened the idea of taking photography outside of the gallery, from its traditional venue to an urban screen, to the phenomena of online photo sharing.

“Artists were looking at photography now, and the idea of what photographs are, because they’re not just single images. They’re also these phenomena of the databases, like Flickr. The idea of hundred of thousands of photographs being posted and shared on a daily basis— on an hourly basis even.

“How is that connecting us, when I think of the sunrise in Surrey versus the experience of a sunrise in Borneo? Artists are really interested in how they communicate those ideas and experiences, they do it through making art but they’re also really interested in the actual venue,” she said.

That’s why she and the artists made the proposal that the east wall of the Chuck Bailey Centre be considered a projection venue.

Since its inception, the venue has been host to exhibitions like Fiction Façade, a tribute to the phenomena of arcade games and

WAFERBOARD/FLICKR

online gaming, which responds to a person’s presence by triggering artwork and creating on-the-fly compositions from stock sounds of vintage arcade games. It also hosted the Rewrite The Year project, an interactive installation that allowed participants to change headlines from the past year’s news that were projected on the screen to fit with an ideal concept of news. The screen’s most recent exhibition, Electric Speed, is a comment on media critic Marshall McLuhan’s legacy.

The Surrey Urban Screen continues to challange how we experience art and media, and Davison is adamant that the space should be kept commercial-free.

“Surrey Urban Screen is generally recognized as the largest, and it might be completely the only non-commercial, urban screen in Canada—maybe even North America. That’s a big deal. We are so inundated with advertising that have an agenda for a particular kind of consumption, and this offers an alternative to that,” she says.

Ute Lemper considers it her responsibility to keep history alive.

Lemper, a German artist best known for her sultry cabaret style songs, will be performing this Saturday at the Chan Centre, transporting audiences to the music halls and bar rooms of 1920’s Berlin and Paris by evoking the cabaret, tango and jazz traditions of that period.

A multitalented and versatile dancer, singer, actor, artist and composer—whose past work has ranged from performances in Broadway musicals to art exhibited at the German Consulate in New York—Lemper will collaborate with the Vogler Quartet, a chamber group founded in East Berlin, and Stefan Malzew, who will accompany her on piano, clarinet, and accordion.

The peformance revisits Germany’s revolutionary and decadent Weimar Era by incorporating the songs of composers such as Kurt Weill and Berthold Brecht into a highly theatrical performance.

Many of the artists whose work Lemper explores also later faced persecution under Hitler’s Nazi regime.

Political revolt, liberation from oppression, love and war are all themes present in Lemper’s repertoire.

“It’s a personal goal of hers to be an ambassador and to keep alive the music of artists who had careers in Germany,” said Joyce Hinton, co-managing director of the Chan Centre, who played a key role in programming Lemper this season.

“Keeping this piece of history alive is important to her, because of what happened in Germany subsequently to the Weimar era.”

According to Hinton, Lemper recognizes important parallels between the Weimar era and the present day. Many of the songs from that period focused on liberation from oppression, and there was also a general concern about the direction of politics, which found expression in the art and music of the era.

Hinton said that Lemper “considers the music from that time to be relevant to what’s going on in Syria, or what happened in Egypt and Tunisia.”

Although Lemper is highly committed to reviving the art of the Weimar era, her upcoming performance will also reflect other pan-European and international influences.

Her fascination with art, history and politics has inspired her to revisit the songs of French and Belgian musicians such as Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel, and her repertoire also includes songs by Latin American composer Astor Piazzolla and the Polish-born Israeli singer Chava Alberstein.

—Ute Lemper will be performing at the Chan Shun Concert Hall on Saturday March 24 at 8pm. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.ca

6 | Culture| 03.22.2012 THEATRE>>

My voice is in my sword Theatre at UBC banks on blood and blades for Macbeth, its biggest production in years Macbeth, upon learning of the passing of his wife, pronounces, “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Theatre at UBC’s staging of this Shakespearean stalwart certainly isn’t lacking in sound and fury. The final production of this season is the largest in many years, with a cast and crew over 60 strong.

Director Patrick New, a student in the MFA directing program, said the play signifies quite a bit more than nothing. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, the central figures of the tragedy, “can’t wait for the fate that they feel they deserve and when they try to take it into their own hands, that’s when the trouble starts,” he said. “There is certainly more than a few people who are consumed by ambition in today’s society.”

“A great love affair, a great power couple” is how New envisions the relationship between the two. “They are really good for each other; the problem is ambition kind of gets the better of them.

“They lose the love in that process and they lose each other, which is why I think this is a great tragedy. Outside of the murders, there is also a lost love.”

BFA student Alexander Keurvorst plays the titular Macbeth, and sees the relationship as “two normal people who are trying to do the best for each other.”

As for the perfidious murderer himself?

“He is not that different from you or I,” said Keurvorst. “He just loses it. Seeing ourselves in a monster is really essential.

“Power, ambition, a sense of longing for immortality, these are all dark desires that a lot of people have that get smothered and all it takes is the right push at the right time.”

Giving that particular prod is the trio of weird sisters. New decided to have the witches speak some of Macbeth’s lines.

“It’s the notion that the witches are a personification of ambition,” he said, adding, “Eventually, they become less and less prominent in his head, because ambition has kind of taken over his whole body at that point.”

“A lot of it does focus on Macbeth as an individual,” said BFA student Mitch Hookey, who is playing Macduff. “But this show kind of takes that and warps it to take in other facets of the original play. “[Macduff ] has an interesting arc from what he knows as normal to what he goes through to what he ultimately ends up facing in the end. [He’s] basically the best patriot there is to Scotland at this time.”

New’s vision is to “embrace the Scottishness of the story...We did really try to go for the world of 12th century Scotland, the costumes are very suggestive of that, but they are also very tribal. [The actors] have shaved heads on the side and long braids and facial hair, and are very rough, earthy.”

Giving further texture to the show is the emphasis on providing an authentic setting.

An original suite of bagpipe tunes have been written for the show and as rehearsal enters the final days, the actors are getting more comfortable with the combat scenes choreographed by PhD student Nick Harrison, who is also the fight choreographer for the Bard on the Beach festival.

Hookey is enjoying every minute of it. “We are just swinging at each other with broadswords, axes and pikes. Any weapon you can name from this time, we’ve got it covered.”

“Epic” is the word that the actor offered as a preview for the production. “You are going to get the beauty of the language from the Bard and such visual astonishment.” U

Armaments 14 10 2 3 2 11 19 23

4 1 6 6 7 1 2 1

Catherine Guan Staff Writer

swords

daggers

axes

halberds spears

prop assistants

scenic painters

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

Alexander Keurvorst plays Macbeth and says the titular character, “is not that different from you or I.”

cast members

UBC theatre is pulling out all the stops on the blood and gore for Macbeth. The run down: assistant stage managers

makeup artist makeup assistants stage crew lighting crew

piper piping severed heads

gallon of stage blood

BRAGGING DIVISION

8. THE CAMPUS IS TOO DAMN LARGE

7. BEING FELT UP ON THE B-LINE

“Cheap bars are more helping with education than an adviser. No questions asked.”

6. NO INEXPENSIVE BOOZE NEARBY

“There will always be puddles, it’s Vancouver...but the constant construction is ridiculous.”

5. CONSTRUCTION

4. GIANT PUDDLES

3. NO ACADEMIC ADVISOR TO SPEAK WITH

“is it called the 99 because thats the most people you can squeeze in it?”

2. B-LINE PASSUPS

“don’t mind walking but the rent is unreal”

1. THE RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH

8. STUDENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

7. LONGBOAT

6. MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY

5. MOCKING UBC-O

“UBC-O is like UBC-V’s younger brother who still has a long ways to go and has plenty of room for improvement. SFU on the other hand is like the family dog that gets all the left overs at dinner time.”

4. MOCKING SFU

“Wreck Beach > MOA. The water, the sand, the sunsets, the nakedness... clear winner.”

3. WRECK BEACH

“Storm the Wall: prioritizing extracurriculars over academics at the worst time in the semester.”

2. STORM THE WALL

“Imagine Day is clearly the winner. Not only is it free, how often can you say you were in a gym with 4000 other first-years? And the UBC President?”

1. IMAGINE DAY

IMAGINE-DAY

(2) B-LINE PASSUPS (6) NO CHEAP BARS

B-LINE-PASSup

NO-CHEAP-B OOZE

(1) RENT TOO DAMN HIGH (5) CONSTRUCTION

(2) STORM THE WALL (3) WRECK BEACH

STORM-THE-WALL

(1) imagine day (4) MOCKING SFU

SWEET 16

FINAL 4

ELITE 8

UBC MARCH MADNESS

LAST-N17

(2) LAST N17 TO UBC (6) GALLERY KARAOKE

THE-GALLERY

(1) PIT NIGHT (4) AMS BLOCK PARTY

(2) DON’T BUY COURSE PacK (3) PAY FOR CLASS/U-PASS

ENGINEERS COURSE-PACKs

(5) MOCK ENGINEERS (8) SLEEP THROUGH CLASS

SWEET 16

8. KICKED OUT OF PIT

7. GRANVILLE ST AT 2AM

“I’m voting Pit Night and Gallery just to see how people would vote if they come head-to-head.”

6. GALLERY KARAOKE

5. REMEMBERING ACF

“Block Party > Remembering ACF. Live in the present, people!”

4. AMS BLOCK PARTY

3. FRAT PARTIES

“I often make more friends on the last N17 than I did at the club in the first place. It’s basically a party in itself.”

2. LAST N17 TO UBC

“Pit night vs getting kicked out, gotta enjoy the greasy dance floor and shut it down at 2am atleast once in your life”

1. PIT NIGHT

“It’s annoying when people take up study space only to sleep. Go to class and fall asleep if you must, just occupy the spaces you’re entitled to.”

8. SLEEP THROUGH CLASSES

7. BUY i>clicker, NEVER USE IT

6. EXTENSIONS FROM PROFS

“Although im an engineer, i gotta admit i even make fun of them with their red jackets and constant beer drinking”

5. MOCK ENGINEERS’ 7 COURSES

4. MOCKING SAUDER’S SUITS

“For it’s UBCism you gotta go with UPass shenanigans.”

3. PAY FOR CLASS TO GET U-PASS

“I guess more classes require course packets than iClickers.”

2. NOT BUYING A COURSE PACK

1. THE 24-HOUR IKB SESSION

LEARNING DIVISION

COMPLAINING DIVISION

Are you in it to win it? Go to our website, and vote on what you think is the quintessential UBC experience. For every matchup you post a comment on (like the ones seen on this page below the first-round winners), you gain another entry into our draw. The prize? Two lower-bowl tickets to the Canucks vs. Flames on Saturday, March 31. Sounds awesome, right? The winner will be announced on Friday, March 30.

03.22.2012 | Contest | 7

DRINKING DIVISION

Sports

03.22.2012 |

8

Editor: Drake Fenton

PLAYOFFS >>

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

Fifth-years Zara Huntley and Alex Vieweg embrace shortly after losing the CIS final to the University of Windsor. UBC came within one point of Windsor in the third quarter, but fell apart in the last ten minutes of the contest.

T-Birds women’s basketball one quarter away from CIS gold

After a spectacular season, UBC fell victim to the University of Windsor 67-53 in the national title game Notes from Calgary Drake Fenton Memory is often selective at sporting events. We remember a single game, a tournament or even an entire season as a collage of moments. They are the buzzer beating shots, the incredible plays, the trophy presentations and the losers segregated to a sideline, forced to watch the jubilation of a team celebrating everything they came so close to achieving.

In Calgary this past weekend, at the CIS women’s basketball national championship, The Ubyssey’s art director, Geoff Lister captured one of these moments. In the picture above, UBC’s fifth-year forwards Zara Huntley and Alex Vieweg embrace shortly after losing the CIS final to the University of Windsor.

As UBC’s only two fifth-year players, the photo perfectly captures the finality of the scene. It was their last game as Thunderbirds and their last chance to win a CIS title. On the bench behind them sits their teammates.

Dejection is etched into their faces.

Their shoulders are hunched and their heads hung low as the realization sinks in that they came just short of claiming a national championship.

Yet for all the photo captures, it fails to provide true definition of what had just occurred. It doesn’t encapsulate the 12 months that led to the moment—the training, the practices, the adversity, the big wins, the travel and everything

each member of UBC’s silver medal team went through.

It began last February in Edmonton. In back-to-back games, the ‘Birds were defeated by the University of Alberta in the 2011 Canada West quarterfinals. The disappointing playoff exit was motivation to train harder and practice longer over the offseason.

With a chip on their shoulder, UBC began the season with something to prove. In their first game they demolished the University of Brandon 88-21—and it was secondyear guard Kris Young who blasted out of the gate, announcing her arrival to the rest of the Canada West with a game high 18 points and a game high 7 assists. She emerged as UBC’s most potent offensive threat this season and finished the CIS finals as a tournament all-star.

The ‘Birds would lose their following game to the University of Regina 77-66, a team that finished the regular season undefeated. For the rest of the season UBC would storm through the conference, finishing 15-3 with a No. 3 ranking in the country. The ‘Birds did all this with a depleted bench, having lost three players to season-ending injuries.

Entering the Canada West final four, Regina was the unquestioned favourite. After easily dispatching the University of Saskatchewan 7255 in the Canada West semifinals, UBC met Regina in the finals. They weren’t expected to win. Regina had been ranked No. 1 in the country for 14 straight weeks and had the nation’s top ranked offence, but the T-Birds weren’t fazed. In a 78-59 thrashing, UBC handed Regina their

first loss of the season and proved they were no longer the quarterfinal bust from the year before.

Despite this, the T-Birds still entered the CIS tournament as the number two seed. Regina retained their No. 1 ranking. Their loss to UBC was considered an aberration, and not indicative of how good they had been all season.

In the first round, the ‘Birds cruised past the University of McGill, defeating them 65-43. In the semifinals, UBC battled back against an Ottawa team that had controlled the game for the first three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, UBC dug deep and showed the resilience of a championship-calibre team. Their defence was suffocating and their offence red hot. They beat up on Ottawa in the fourth, outscoring them 19-7 and winning the game 59-51.

The game epitomized the identity UBC had created over the course of the year. Young led the offence with a game high 17 points. Fourth-year Kristen Hughes ran the offence and was dynamite from downtown when she needed to be. Huntley finished with a double double (10 rebounds and 14 points). Vieweg chipped in nine points, including a clutch three pointer, and hauled in eight boards.

And fourth-year Leigh Stansfield dominated in the low post on offence while being an intimidating force in the paint on defence.

Then came Windsor in the finals. The ‘Birds were not the team they had been all year. They were outmuscled and Windsor’s physical presence got them off their game.

They stopped attacking the rim with authority and were taking low

percentage shots. At no point in the game did they ever lead.

“Offensively we struggled as a whole,” said UBC head coach Deb Huband after the game. “We were cold from the three point line and our shooting percentage was lower than I’ve seen it in a long time. I think it was a credit to their [defensive] pressure, but we didn’t have the composure and poise to play how we wanted. We allowed them to dictate the game.”

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

But UBC showed life in the third quarter. They rallied and came together as a team. They minimized Windsor’s chances and kept them from shooting successful three balls.

With four minutes left in the quarter

Young made it to the charity stripe after getting fouled driving the lane.

She drained both of her free throws to bring the ‘Birds within one, 43-42.

It was the closest they would come.

Like Ottawa had done the previous night, UBC collapsed in the fourth. They lost their composure and played panicky basketball. They only scored six points. It was tough to watch. Not because they were struggling, but because they weren’t playing as the team they had been all year.

They weren’t that team that dominated opponent after opponent. They weren’t that team that overcame injuries and adversity all season.

They weren’t that team that had spent an entire year working to get to this point. In the final ten minutes of the CIS final, what had made UBC special eluded them.

When the final whistle blew, and the team gathered on the bench in defeat, the camera lens did not capture a moment definitive of an entire season, an entire tournament or an entire game. It captured a team that had come so far only to fall minutes short of a different history, a different story and a different photo.

Yet it is that moment the team will remember. It will be that moment that drives them this offseason, and that moment will always define this season. It shouldn’t, but in the world of sports, where selective memories create histories and a collage of moments are the only way teams are remembered, it is too bad the T-Birds will be remembered as a second place team.

They were much more than that. U

03.22.2012 | Sports | 9 RUGBY >>

T-Birds rugby prepares for Cal Berkley “Big asses, big legs and pretty damn athletic”: UBC rugby coach on the NCAA’s best team Andrew Bates Senior Web Writer

Ninety years ago, the editors of the Vancouver Daily World proposed a contest between UBC and California’s top men’s rugby teams.

They called it the World Cup. On Sunday, the Thunderbirds have a chance to win a competition almost as old as UBC itself.

The University of CaliforniaBerkeley Golden Bears come to town March 25 for the second leg of the World Cup, a home-and-away series that began in 1921. Cal took the first leg by just a single point in February, winning 13-12 in Treasure Island, a suburb of San Francisco.

“That’s the biggest game for us for the season, basically,” said UBC coach Spence McTavish. “It’s a great competition that’s steeped in so much history it means a lot to both schools. It’s just a rivalry that’s grown and grown.”

Over the years, UBC’s opponent changed from the top Californian team to exclusively UC Berkeley. Cal has won 13 of the last 15 US national championships.

“I think for young guys it’s kind of fun to be a part of something bigger than yourself,” said Cal coach Jack Clark. “This is an opportunity to participate in a traditional contest that their great-grandfathers could have participated in.”

Cal saw a 63-game winning streak end this season and won their last two games with 14 and 12 tries respectively. But whenever they square off against UBC, newspapers that cover the team write headlines like, “At last, a challenge.”

COURTESY MICHAEL PIMENTEL/ UC ATHLETICS

UBC in action versus Cal in San Francisco this past February. UBC lost 13-12. The second leg of the two game series is Sunday, March 25.

“A lot of times we play in some contests, maybe, where the result is expected,” said Clark. “What the contest really becomes about is [whether] we play well and are we an improving team.

“It’s one of those games where there’s a chance to measure ourselves.”

The first leg saw UBC take a 12-6 lead into the final minutes before giving up the game’s only try with 6 minutes left. “I think it was one of our better games. It was probably our strongest defensive effort all year,” said UBC captain Alex Kam. “Saying that, in the last couple minutes of the

SOFTBALL >>

T-Bird softball player pitches university’s first ever no-hitter Kaan Eraslan Contributor

UBC Thunderbird Nicole Day set a softball record for the university on Tuesday by pitching the team’s first ever no-hitter against Nebraska’s Hastings College at the NAIA Tuscon Invitational.

Day methodically struck out seven batters over seven innings and walked three more in a 5-0 shutout. None of the Nebraskan batters made contact with the ball.

“Coming off of two big wins yesterday, the team did a great job of keeping things rolling,” said the third-year Day. “My goal was to just keep the other team off balance and do my best to help us come out with a win. Everything just clicked and it was an all around great day for us at the park.”

Day wasn’t alone in her efforts as fourth-year Jesslyn Hodge cranked a two-run home run, giving the ‘Birds solid offensive support.

The perfectly pitched game came after Day struck out nine batters against Graceland University the previous day, leading the Thunderbirds to a 5-0 victory.

The ‘Birds had to make a comeback during their second game on Tuesday against Hastings as they were down 6-1 early in the game.

Third-year Molly Gosnell proved to be instrumental in the

comeback, batting 2 for 3 and recording a run batted in, and scoring three more to give UBC a 7-6 victory.

In their final game on Tuesday, UBC annihilated Minnesota’s Augsburg College 17-8.

Once again, Hodge demonstrated her offensive chops as she hit a home run, had four RBIs and scored five runs on a 4 for 5 hitting performance.

My goal was to just keep the other team off balance and do my best to help us come out with a win. Everything just clicked and it was a great day for us at the park.

Nicole Day UBC’s first ever pitcher to throw a no-hitter.

UBC finished off the tournament with a double header against St. Gregory’s University. They lost the first game 5-2 and the second game 8-0.

The Thunderbirds first home game of the season is on March 30 against the University of Great Falls at Richmond’s London Park. U

game they really took advantage of one of our defensive miscues.”

“It was a pretty classic game, it was back and forth,” said McTavish.

UBC punished Cal on penalty kicks, with Carlin Hamstra booting four through the uprights to establish the Thunderbird lead. “We’re pretty evenly matched so it can be anyone’s game on the weekend.”

It’s the closest score for the World Cup heading into the second leg since 1998, when the teams were tied 17-17. The T-Birds have only won the total point series three times in the last 15 years, with two of those coming from losing

positions. UBC is 5-10 over that period at home.

For Cal, they are trying to stick to routine. “It’s not the first time we’ve been to Vancouver, so we follow all of our old patterns,” said Clark. “We fly to Seattle and we jump on a coach.

We go downtown and we go to the same hotel we always stay at.”

Clark has coached in 30 World Cups. “I’ve known their coaching staff for most of my adult life and we’ve been competitors through that period.

“I have a lot of respect for UBC. It’s a great school, and that means something to us here at Cal,” he said,

with regards to Berkeley’s reputation for academics. “We respect UBC for being the same.”

UBC’s preparation has involved fitness work and rest. Though they haven’t played a full game since they defeated St Mary’s College in California on February 21, they are carrying injuries into the game.

“We made the most of it and took our time to rest up some bruised and injured bodies,” Kam said, noting how last year’s contest was tight right up to the second half.

“We want to make sure we play an 80-minute game this time around.”

UBC says their plan is to work hard and jam the Cal attack.”We gave them a bit of a hard time in the set pieces so we’re going to try and do that, sort of disrupt their platform,” McTavish said. “They’ve got a number eight...who is a stud and a half, so if we can shut him down that’s probably a benefit.”

McTavish said Cal is a little bigger and UBC has a bit more flair.

“It’s funny, because you take a look at the Cal guys and it looks like they come out of a little factory because they’ve all got big asses and big legs and they’re pretty damn athletic,” he said.

The game is going to be a tough, physical affair. “You’re going to see some pretty big athletes going at some pretty high speeds running into each other,” Kam said.

This is Kam’s third World Cup, and he said the highlight is being able to lead the team in as close as it is.

“I’m really confident that this group can bring the World Cup back to UBC. It’s been in Cal for too long.” U

Opinion

03.22.2012 |

10

Editor: Brian Platt

Victory for students on Gage South Editor’s Notebook Justin McElroy

GENIE CHEUNG/THE UBYSSEY

The Last Word Parting shots and snap judgments on today’s issues The SUB concourse briefly comes alive For a brief shining moment this week, the SUB didn’t feel like a Soviet bunker harbouring refugees from a nearby nuclear meltdown, or a moribund bazaar with merchants hawking their wares. Instead of a long line of stalls offering jewellery and scarves, or a series of booths of corporate employees trying to sell us various products with student discounts, there was food and music and dancing. A K-Pop group was playing on the stage and students were smiling. It felt like the SUB was actually a vibrant centre of student life.

Planners, organizers and executives of the student union, take note: this is the feeling you want to cultivate in the new SUB. Not only is it good for morale, but if students actually enjoy coming to the SUB, they’re more likely to spend money at AMS outlets.

The Ministry of Advanced Education off to a terrible start in 2012 Any time that people are calling for a cabinet minister’s resignation, you know things aren’t going well.

Naomi Yamamoto, the Minister of Advanced Education, had to respond last week to Opposition Leader Adrian Dix’s call for her to step down over the Harry Bloy affair. Bloy, who has now resigned as the Minister of Multiculturalism, had developed a much-too-cosy relationship with the CEO of Eminata, a company providing for-profit post secondary education. Bloy was busted for tipping off the CEO about an investigative reporter’s questions that had been initially sent to Yamamoto.

Yamamoto has said her office is not to blame for sharing the questions with Bloy, who then shared them with the CEO. But this scandal comes shortly after the presidents of 25 public universities and colleges in BC signed a letter that contradicts Yamamoto’s claim that post-secondary operating budgets can be cut without affecting service

levels. And that letter was made public shortly after Yamamoto had to respond to allegations of unfair influencing in UBC’s medical school application process—allegations that included the CEO of the Vancouver Island Health Authority and Liberal MLA Ida Chong.

As we wait for any news—any news at all­—about student loan reform, it seems Yamamoto is spending much of her time on damage control. An op-ed written for the Ministry’s website by Yamamoto on February 1, the Student Day of Action on tuition and student debt, contained nothing but platitudes about how amazing BC’s postsecondary education funding is. At this point we see very little reason to expect much good news out of her office this year, which is bad news for students.

New parental leave policy achieves the right balance The Graduate Student Society (GSS) recently passed a parental accommodation policy to fill in the gaps where the current policy falls short. The Senate will need to approve it before it comes into effect.

Graduate students are right in asking the university for more help in raising a child. Under the current policy, students are asked to forgo their medical and dental coverage when they take time off to care for their new child. They also lose access to many other student services. It’s fair to assume that many of the students asking for leave are first-time parents, and don’t have another job that would provide similar benefits.

The new policy makes sense: it allows new parents eight weeks of leave, keeps their health benefits and allows access to services. It achieves the balance of being good for a new parent’s studies, but also good for their family’s wellbeing.

Students get a say on Place and Promise The university is currently accepting feedback to “Place and Promise,” the strategic plan

enacted in 2010 that guides everything the university does. The deadline for feedback is Friday.

Now, if we know anything about UBC, it’s that the university will probably do what it intended to all along—which is to make a few minor modifications and carry on with their overall plan (the turnaround on Gage South is the exception, not the rule). However, unlike most consultations, which deal with small facets of the university, Place and Promise focuses on all of UBC. And UBC takes it very seriously.

We know this because whenever they do something new, they say it’s because of a commitment in Place and Promise. And if you mention an idea that they seem confused about, they eventually mumble, “Well, we have to promote ideas that fit in with Place and Promise.”

This is essentially the only formal time this year that the university will ask all members of the UBC community, “What do you think about our goals, and should they be changed?” Students are advised to take advantage of the opportunity.

Here’s hoping more resources are coming the RCMP’s way BC, the province with more RCMP employees than anywhere else in Canada, has just signed a new 20year contract to keep the RCMP in communities and rural districts.

For UBC students, that means another two decades of having the Vancouver Police Department east of Blanca Street, and the RCMP west. The rest of Metro Vancouver has a mix of RCMP and local detachments.

The Ubyssey has long wanted to see a common police force across the region—or, at the very least, between Vancouver and UBC. The RCMP are woefully under-staffed on campus, which often means that student events with alcohol are restricted in their scope and capacity.

With the new contract, here’s hoping that more resources are given to the UBC RCMP detachment, because we’re going to be sharing space for a long time to come. U

Campus and Community Planning has decided, after two years of badgering, to make Gage South “Academic.” And if you read their report and accept it on face value— the chances you’ll do both are slim, but bear with me—they changed their mind because students signed petitions. Simple, direct, old-fashioned petitions.

In an age where technology and apathy are ever-present, the sight of authentic signatures demanding change is jarring to a university official. More than that, it’s unexpected.

Because administrators are here for decades while students are here merely for years, UBC has certain expectations. They will never change their mind, for example, because an Official Student Leader is overly critical (or complimentary) of a decision, because they know that is what Official Student Leaders always do. They will never change their mind because of an editorial in this newspaper, because they know the day a campus newspaper stops bitching about everything under the sun is the day the Maple Leafs hoist the Stanley Cup. They will never change their mind because left-wing activists yell at them to change their mind, because left-wing activists will never be satisfied.

But they will change their mind if, thanks to the combined efforts of those groups—and in this case, full credit goes to Neal Yonson, Sean Heisler, Sean Cregten, Matt Parson, Sumedha Sharma and Ben Cappellacci—plenty of ordinary

students rise up and say “enough.” It happened for University Boulevard, it happened for the UBC Farm and now it has happened for Gage South.

That the university is ultimately responsive to the people that make this university exist is heartening.

It is not, however, an endorsement of the decision-making process at UBC when it comes to land use. Congratulating Campus and Community Planning for their decision is like congratulating a six-year old who has eaten suppertime vegetables only after screaming, pouting and pretending not to breathe. They shielded information from the public, created biased surveys and generally were stubborn, arrogant and blind to acknowledging criticism of their original plan.

Rather than claim “the system works” and “consultations are a good substitute for an accountable local government,” UBC should look at why this two-year boondoggle happened and how to rein in the planning department which wasted two years defending ideas which had no support.

Oops, I’m griping again on a day when students should celebrate.

The area around Wesbrook and University Boulevard may be an unholy mess right now, but in theory it will be a beautiful entrance into UBC. One with a new student union building, a new alumni centre, a field for parties, a swimming pool that isn’t ancient and a bus loop that doesn’t flood.

And residences that only students and post-doctoral fellows can live in.

It’s pretty sweet that, when all is said and done, everything in that area will be geared towards people who study here. It’s even sweeter that students made it happen. U

Grad students and the TA strike vote Letters Graduate student leaders are always in a bind when it comes to labour issues. We respect the collective bargaining process and the right of the parties to strike or lockout.

We, however, sincerely hope a labour dispute will not occur and that both sides continue to negotiate to achieve a new collective agreement.

Taking a strike vote is a normal part of the bargaining process, especially when the process goes on for a year and a half without a new collective agreement.

The Graduate Student Society (GSS) has lobbied this year on many of the same issues that the TA union is bargaining for. We would like to see tuition protection. We would like to see fifth-year funding. We would like to see all funding rise with inflation. We would like to see improved completion times.

Nonetheless, the issue of the strike has to be placed into a larger context. UBC has to deal with budget cuts this year and we must ensure that those cuts do not come out of graduate student funding. The issue is not that UBC does not want to properly fund graduate students.

Nor is the issue that UBC does not want to provide a full spectrum of student support systems. The issue is that the provincial and federal governments are not fully funding universities.

It is easy to look at how much members of the university executive make and to assume that they are somehow taking advantage of the system. However, the real issue is that the university is asked to make a dime a dollar. The GSS supports President Toope and the AMS in calling for the province to seriously reconsider its upcoming budget cuts and to move toward fully funding post-secondary education.

I will not and cannot tell people how to vote in this strike vote.

After all, it is simply not the job of a student leader to lobby students on how to vote. It is, however, my job to lobby students to vote. At this time the best way that the GSS and other student organizations on campus can get involved in the strike vote issue is by spreading the information on the strike vote from all sides of the issue and encouraging people to get out and vote.

—Jamie Paris, VP Academic and External of the Graduate Student Society

Scene

03.22.2012 |

11

Pictures and words on your university experience

HUMOUR

How to improve Peeked Interest

The popular photo stalking site needs a virtual currency. Let’s call them Peekbux.

Warne’s World Bryce Warnes Peeked Interest is a website for people who are afraid of talking to people they are attracted to. This is how it works: you sign up, and then you post pics you have covertly taken of strangers you want to fuck.

The strangers will go on the website and see that someone they don’t know wants to fuck them. Then they will contact that person. Hopefully, in the end, everyone gets fucked.

Peeked Interest was invented by a UBC student named Darryl McIvor. Right now, the site’s scope is limited to UBC and Uvic campuses.

I have been spending a lot of time on Peeked Interest lately, checking out pics of my fellow students as they rush around campus, busy not knowing they are being photographed by strangers who want to fuck them.

Peeked Interest is totally groundbreaking, but it isn’t perfect. I’ve spent enough time studying the site in depth that I know exactly what it needs to achieve true greatness.

One thing that’s absolutely essential is some sort of virtual currency, perhaps called PeekBux, which you can purchase through Paypal with

real-world money, but also accrue through online activities.

Say you really like this one person. You could earn extra PeekBux by taking lots of photos of them.

This will encourage people to keep tabs on their crushes, and develop the sort of micro-celeb web-cults that Gen Y is all about.

The website would be more interesting if you could track certain individuals and see pics of them doing various activities, i.e. hanging out with friends, going on night-time jogs, visiting their families, toweling off after hot showers, etc.

Once you’ve earned or bought PeekBux, you can spend them on special services, like “VIP Access” to certain crushes, which lets you find out where they live, their phone numbers or what types of medication they’re on.

I understand, though, that having people snapping pics of you all the time could begin to feel intrusive. That’s why, if you catch someone photographing you, you can report them online, and they will be fined some of their PeekBux. This will encourage your fans to take pictures while behaving tastefully and concealing their activities, maybe by hiding in bushes near your first class of the day, or installing a surveillance system that is rigged to take a photo of you every time you leave your house.

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

“Once you’ve earned Peekbux, you can spend them on services, like ‘VIP Access’ to crushes, which lets you find out where they live.”

Alternately, some people will find that they are not getting enough attention. For instance, when I first went on Peeked Interest, I expected approximately half the photos to be of me, with comments like “hey sexy luv ur sexy walk its sexy” and “you have amazing hair.”

To make a long story short, I was disappointed.

That is why, with PeekBux, you will be able to hire others to snap pics of you. That way, you get the attention that fuels your will to live, while skilled mini-paparazzi will be able to make PeekBux on the side when they are not busy following attractive people.

These changes should not be too hard to implement, and I really believe they will make Peeked

Interest a legit game-changer.

In the shining new world of the future, we will all be able to take our first world problems to the next level, forcing us to tweet and update our statuses about the paparazzi following us to the grocery store, laundromat and public washroom.

Only then will we, Generation Y, reach our highest point. U

U

Disagree with Bryce’s ideas on Peeked Interest?

Let us know. feedback@ubyssey.ca

12 | Games | 03.22.2012 Across

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

1- And so on 4- Falafel sauce 10- Annoyance 14- At a great distance 15- Humbles 16- Architectural pier 17- Law enforcement agency 18- Divided into four parts 20- “Slippery” tree 21- Goya’s The Duchess of 22- Slow growth 23- Actor Romero 25- Author of fables 28- Vane dir.

29- New Mexico art colony 30- Bay 31- Breezed through 32- Absolute 35- Baseball stat 36- Howe’er 7- Pertaining to a congress 44- Immense 45- Roman god of the underworld 46- Primordial giant in Norse myth 48- Classified items 49- Holder 50- Appliance brand 51- Film composer Stevens 53- Career golfers 55- Court call 56- Incapable

59- Moo goo pan 60- Arthur Ashe’s alma mater 61- Think 62- From Z 63- Bump into 64- Living room 65- Adult males

Down 1- Result 2- Picture 3- Incarnadine 4- Golden Horde member 5- Biblical brother 6- Ribbon about the crown of a hat 7- Sharon, e.g.

8- PBS benefactor 9- Belief system 10- Constituent 11- Proclaim 12- Rendered senseless 13- Sampled 19- Uncommon sense 24- Climb 26- A collection of articles 27- Inflammation of the ear 30- Lined up; 31- Assumed name; 33- Assn.

34- Cry of discovery 37- Rhythmic flow of sounds 38- Small bone

39- Directional ending 40- King’s staff 41- Fantastic 42- Dental filling 43- Striped 44- Brand of diazepam 47- Allotted amount 49- Resistance unit 50- Fall bloomer 52- Exactly 54- Aware of 57- Lulu 58- Writer LeShan

DINOSAUR MAZE (YEAH).

Maze by KrazyDad.com. Printed with permission.