October 3, 2013 by The Ubyssey

october 3, 2013 | VoLuME XcV| IssuE XII BATMAN is welsh since 1918

ECLECTIC WEEKEND P6

UBC Music celebrates Stravinsky’s The Rites of Spring centenary while Stereophonics hit up the Commodore

SEXUAL ASSAULT MAKING GOLF GREEN RCMP issue warning after woman was Golf Club aims for sustainable practices P3 University groped in a garden on campus in a sport criticized for its ecological impact

INTERACTIVE ZOMBIE ADVENTURE P7 VP ACADEMIC ELECTION P5 TEENAGE ANGST P7 CUS ENDOWMENT PASSES P3 ATHLETES SOUND OFF ON FAVOURITES P8 UBC HACKED P3

Thursday, OcTOber 3, 2013 |

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Katie jeanes, founder and designer of helenjean dresses, holds up her latest creation.

Katie Jeanes: budding designer, entrepreneur Alina Anghels contributor

ON THE COVER The cover is a traditional violin split vertically down the middle with an electric guitar, representing the clash of music old and new. Created digitally in Photoshop. Illustration by Luella Sun.

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EDITORIAL

Coordinating Editor Geoﬀ Lister coordinating@ubyssey.ca Managing Editor, Print Ming Wong printeditor@ubyssey.ca Managing Editor, Web CJ Pentland webeditor@ubyssey.ca News Editors Will McDonald + Sarah Bigam news@ubyssey.ca Senior News Writer Brandon Chow bchow@ubyssey.ca Culture Editor Rhys Edwards culture@ubyssey.ca Senior Culture Writer Aurora Tejeida atejeida@ubyssey.ca Sports + Rec Editor Natalie Scadden sports@ubyssey.ca Senior Lifestyle Writer Reyhana Heatherington rheatherington@ubyssey.ca Features Editor Arno Rosenfeld features@ubyssey.ca

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october 3, 2013 | VoLuMe XcV| Issue XII

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Katie Jeanes was trekking through Bali in 2011 when she got the inspiration for her latest company, HelenJean. HelenJean is an online retailer that produces made-to-order dresses, taking away the fitting-room stress many women feel. The company turned one year old in September 2013, but to the 26-year-old entrepreneur, the company is only one of her many business initiatives. Jeanes finished her kinesiology degree back in 2009, where she was heavily involved with UBC REC while on campus. Halfway through her last term at UBC, she decided the physiotherapy career she had originally planned on wasn’t actually for her. Upon graduating, she started a job that was research heavy, but didn’t stick with it for long; her entrepreneurial side called, and she went on to launch A Little More Good, a digital strategy agency now in its third year. Then, she took her trip to Bali, where she bought a few tailor-made suits, coats and dresses, and the idea for HelenJean was born. “I knew there were some custom options for men like Indochino, but there [weren’t] any for women, so I thought I would start HelenJean so we could do custom clothing for women,” she said. It’s a truism for many people: once you get into the change room, the ideas you had in your head don’t always transfer onto your body. “We’re always thinking, ‘I wish this was bigger; I wish this was smaller,’” Jeanes said. Named after her two grandmothers Helen and Jean, her company’s dresses are customized specifically to the requirements of customers. Jeanes herself designs the collections, but there are also collaborative options for clients who want extra touches such as pockets. Jeanes has always loved clothes and considers herself a more “sciencey-social media person,” but

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the support from the people in the fashion industry has helped her get started. The relationship with the tailor she met in Bali helps keep her business successful. She works with a co-op, a collection of families who source the material and sew the clothes. Since starting her business, Jeanes has gone back to Bali to work with her suppliers, and plans to return in the near future. What keeps Jeanes going is seeing women transform from feeling insecure about their bodies to “super-confident, watch-out-world-I-can-do-anything,” all by wearing one of her custom-fit dresses. HelenJean dresses don’t have size numbers on their tags; rather, they have “intention tags” where customers put down how they feel when they wear their dress. Some examples include “beautiful,” “strong” and “really, really good-looking.” This summer, Jeanes started a campaign on Indigogo, the online crowdfunding platform, to raise enough money for the next six months to bring HelenJean across North America. Although it fell short of the $10,000 goal, the exposure and the $6,000 raised helped to expand the clientele. Shoppers from Georgia, Chicago and San Francisco all ordered HelenJean dresses online. HelenJean just launched their fall collection, and will soon be releasing their holiday collection. How does Jeanes keep all her projects balanced? “I don’t,” she laughs. “I’m not really good at worklife balance, but basically I just block my time. “It’s an unbalanced balancing act.” Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: “Just start,” Jeanes said. She finds everyone has this need for every piece of the puzzle to be worked out before beginning, but you’ll never be prepared enough. “You are going to make mistakes,” she said, but it is all a learning process. U –With files from Ming Wong

Thursday, October 3, 2013 |

EDITORS WILL Mcdonald + Sarah Bigam

RCMP >>

Money >>

Police issue warning after woman groped

referendum passes

Sexual assault on campus CUS endowment Will McDonald News Editor

RCMP have issued a warning after a 19-year-old student was sexually assaulted on campus over the weekend. According to an RCMP release, the woman was walking alone along the 6300 block of Biological Sciences Road on Saturday morning around 2:45 a.m. when a man grabbed her from behind, then carried her to a garden and groped her. Biological Sciences Road extends from Swing Space to the new Earth Sciences Building. The suspect fled after the woman screamed and fought back. RCMP described the suspect as “olive skinned, mid to late 20s with an unshaven face ... approximately 5’8” with a thin build ... wearing a dark blue hoodie with the hood over his head, dark pants and running shoes.” RCMP said the assault was an isolated incident, but issued a warning reminding people walking alone on campus to be vigilant. U

File Photo Charles to/THE UBYSSEY

The referendum to place $300,000 in an endowment fund passed with 472 votes.

Will McDonald News Editor

Photo Carter Brundage/THE UBYSSEY

The sexual assault occured on Biological Sciences Road.

Labour >>

COPE 378 passes strike vote

AMS administrative staff voted in favour of job action.

Will McDonald News Editor

Unionized AMS administrative staff voted in favour of job action on Monday night. The 17 AMS administrative staff, represented by a bargaining unit within COPE 378, voted 93 per cent in favour of job action at a meeting last night.

Photo Carter Brundage/THE UBYSSEY

COPE 378 spokesperson Jarrah Hodge said the union does not know what form the job action would take. She said they are waiting to hear if the AMS is willing to return to the bargaining table before they decide if job action is necessary. “I think it’s in everyone’s interest to make sure that we get a fair deal and that there’s no disruptions,” said Hodge.

“The members are clear that the work that they do is important and it needs to be treated accordingly. So if they have to take job action, they will.” Hodge said she is hopeful the AMS will be willing to return to negotiations. “We’re just keeping our fingers crossed right now. We’re ready to back it up with action, but we hope that won’t be necessary and that the AMS will return to the table and negotiate something,” Hodge said. AMS President Caroline Wong said the AMS was unaware of the strike vote. “From our perspective, we haven’t seen any notification of this [strike vote] yet The union has not given us any notification of their secret ballot yet. So we’ll just wait until we hear the notification,” said Wong. COPE 378 members voted 60 per cent against a proposed tentative agreement with the AMS in August. U

The Commerce Undergraduate Society passed a referendum on Sept. 29 to place $300,000 in an endowment with the university. The vote passed with 472 students in favour and 82 against. The CUS had accumulated over $441,644 in budget surplus as of May 2013. The CUS tried to create an endowment last year, but the motion failed after AMS Council raised several objections to the plan. Councillors argued that the previous agreement gave too much control of the money to the university and the Faculty of Commerce, rather than to students. Councillors also questioned whether UBC Investment Management Trust (IMANT) was the best place to invest the money. Newly-elected CUS president Sean Fleming worked on the endowment agreement as a member of the CUS Board of Directors. He said the university can still change the agreement unilaterally, but there are more restrictions on how they can change it. “The language surrounding that was originally quite vague and generic and we added in a lot more language surrounding what had to go into that alternation process,” Fleming said. “If you’re going to change it, it has to benefit students.” Fleming said IMANT is the best investment for the CUS’s

leftover money, but they also considered a few other options, including investing in the AMS endowment or using the money as a down payment for a new Commerce student space. Fleming said the money in the endowment is expected to generate around $10,000 every year in interest, which could be used to pad the CUS budget or provide additional services. Another referendum this year lowered CUS fees from $266 to $245. Once the money is placed in the endowment, the CUS will have to get approval from the UBC Board of Governors before they can take any money out of the endowment. Fleming said he was uncertain whether the CUS would ever be able to remove the money from the endowment to build a student space. “It’s better to treat it as not able to retrieved because we’re not sure ...the contract requires Board of Governors approval which can be challenging to get ... but it is possible.” According to Fleming, interest from the endowment to fund year-to-year projects or services would be the best way to use the CUS money to benefit Commerce students of the past, present and future. “I think it’s the best choice given all our constraints as a student society,” said Fleming. “All that money that’s paid in will actually do good, rather than just sit in our operating accounts.” U

INternet >>

Hackers bring down UBC sites with denial-of-service attack

Sarah Bigam News Editor

Hackers tried to shut down a number of UBC websites on Tuesday. The distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack was first reported at 9:18 on Tuesday morning. Affected sites were intermittently available throughout the morning. A distributed denial-of-service attack is a common method hackers use to take down websites. The affected areas included http://cms.ubc.ca, http://elearning.ubc.ca, http://president. ubc.ca,http://directory.ubc.ca, FASMail, CWL authentication for Wi-Fi, voicemail and other services such as the Student Service Centre and SISC. Connect

could still be accessed through an alternative link. By 12:15 p.m., the attack had subsided and the network had been restored. Jennifer Woo, communications manager for UBC IT, said that as the IT network management centre was tracing back to the source of the attacks, the attacks stopped. The incident is still under investigation. UBC also reported at 1:35 p.m. on Monday that some sites — including http://cms.ubc.ca, http:// elearning.ubc.ca and http://president.ubc.ca — were unavailable, though none of the bulletins verified that yesterday’s and today’s incidents were related. Woo said that at the moment, no connection has been found between the Tuesday attack and the issues experienced on Monday.

Although they are investigating, Woo was skeptical that the culprits would be found. “With these things, it’s difficult to trace where they come from,” she said. “Unfortunately in some cases — and this is true for all of these types of attacks — is that you never find out who it is.” Woo said that such attacks are not common, although in a written statement released on Monday night, she said that DDoS attacks are becoming more prevalent in the higher education space. “I don’t remember [in] recent times one [attack] of this magnitude,” Woo said. “Unfortunately, it’s possible for any organization to be attacked [like this] if you are connected to the Internet. We do everything we can to mitigate this type of attack.” U

Photo KN6kS/Flickr

A distributed denial-of-service attack affected several UBC websites this week

4 | NEWS |

Thursday, October 3, 2013

cus >>

Sean Fleming is new CUS president

A new working group made up of students and representatives from UBC administration aims to promote accessibility to alternatives to bottled water.

photo stephanie xu/THE UBYSSEY

UBC-wide initiative promotes tap water Amy Spence Contributor

photo stephanie xu/THE UBYSSEY

Fleming won with 71.6 per cent of the vote.

Milicia Palinic Contributor

Sean Fleming has been elected as the new president of the Commerce Undergraduate Society. In light of the recent FROSH rape cheer scandal, the previous president Enzo Woo and VP engagement Gillian Ong resigned from their positions as advised by Robert Helsley, dean of the Sauder School of Business. Fleming, a fifth-year marketing student, won with 71.6 per cent of the vote, beating out Muieen Cader, who received 11.8 per cent of the vote. Fleming served as CUS VP engagement last year, and currently serves on the CUS board of directors. Given Fleming’s experience in the CUS, he ran believing he was well-suited for the job, especially having to take over mid-year. “It’s a very challenging situation to step into,” Fleming said. “I was already part of the organization [as a member of the board of directors] basically at the same level as president, so it made sense to step in when Enzo [Woo] had to resign.” Fleming declined to comment on Woo’s resignation following the FROSH rape cheer revelation. After the cheer gained international attention, the CUS pledged $250,000 towards a new professional position aimed at fighting sexualized violence and misogyny on campus. The CUS board can approve $50,000 in unbudgeted expenditures per year. Fleming said he supports the decision to put $50,000 towards the new position. The CUS also pledged to support a referendum to give the remaining $200,000 to continue funding those counselling services. “The $200,000 of the $250,000 will be up to the students to decide whether that’s a good use of their student fees to tackle some of the problems that were uncovered during the recent media issues,” Fleming said. U

A recent and ongoing UBC initiative is hoping to change students’ views on bottled water. Springing from UBC Common Energy’s Tap That petition to ban the sale of disposable plastic water bottles on campus, the newly formed Tap Water Declaration Working Group has met regularly since last term to come up with ways to increase access to, and educate students about, the drinking water already available free of charge from faucets on campus. The working group is made up of 11 representatives from AMS Sustainability, Common Energy, Student Housing and Hospitality Services, Athletics, UBC Marketing, Building Operations, the SEEDS program and UBC Food Services. Over the past four months, the committee’s research has shifted the focus of the campaign from banning bottled water to “celebrating the tap.” “We took the flavour of what UBC really is, about getting to truth and doing what’s right, and that’s how we got to ... celebrating the tap,” said Victoria Wakefield,

working group chair and Student Housing and Hospitality purchasing manager. The group hopes to reduce the sale of disposable bottles significantly by providing access to drinking water close to all washrooms, food service locations and high-density outdoor areas, without resorting to an outright ban. Wakefield said the group will remain in existence until this goal is met. Wakefield said that to increase water accessibility, the working group has proposed several changes to UBC’s current drinking water situation, including installing a universal symbol in buildings to indicate the location of a drinking water source, creating a mobile app to help students locate the nearest source, fixing or upgrading current water fountains and making Waterfillz stations wheelchair accessible. There is currently no set date for when all of these changes will be completed, but the AMS is currently working with the supplier to develop prototypes for wheelchair-accessible Waterfillz stations, according to Wakefield. Wakefield predicts that once this infrastructure is put in place,

the demand for bottled water will decrease. “You won’t spend your money on that when you can buy beer, you can buy another burger — you won’t spend it on water which is free.”

You won’t spend your money on [water] when you can buy beer, you can buy another burger.” Victoria Wakefield Tap Water Declaration Working Group chair

Wakefield said she isn’t sure if a ban on bottled water sales at food outlets is the final goal. “That’s removing an option that the community desires and needs,” she said. The group also found that an outright campus ban on bottled water would be impossible, since it is required to keep bottled water around the university as part of disaster response plans. Another large part of the initiative is education. The group found that bottled water is also popular in dorm rooms and at athletic events, and is sometimes handed out at

club events — all of which are out of UBC’s direct control. “It’s short-sighted to target just food outlets or vending that have bottled water,” Wakefield said. “We need to be addressing the purchasing and the consumer habits at all levels.” Last winter, a petition run by Common Energy asking the university to make a commitment by March 13, 2013 to go “bottled waterfree” was signed by over 3,000 students, according to Common Energy’s Campaign Team co-leader and second-year Land and Food Systems student Veronika Bylicki. Bylicki said that while last year’s campaign lobbied for the infrastructural and policy change which is now in the works, this year Common Energy will focus on behavioural change. By raising awareness about the benefits of drinking tap water through documentary film screenings and tap-versus-bottled taste tests, Common Energy aims to help educate any wary drinkers. “It’s really about changing that behaviour and making reusable bottles more of the staple item to have at UBC, and really pushing [and] spreading awareness about those water alternatives,” said Bylicki. U

Academics >>

UBC phasing out pharmacy bachelors degree Karen Wang Contributor

2018 is expected to be the last year a class of UBC students graduates with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. Pharmacy schools across Canada are transitioning to providing a doctor of pharmacy, or PharmD, program as the entry-to-practice level of training. UBC is following suit. Despite the name, PharmD is not a PhD program — it is closer to an MD. Students will enter the four-year program after completing at least two years of prerequisite coursework. Peter Loewen, director of the doctor of pharmacy program at UBC, said the reason for this shift lies in the changing roles of pharmacists in Canada’s healthcare system. Along with Glenda MacDonald, clinical assistant professor and director of the continuing pharmacy professional development program,

Loewen is in charge of the planning team for the new program, scheduled to start in 2015. Loewen said pharmacists now do many tasks formerly handled by doctors. “All these things mean that they need more training than we currently give them and more training than fits inside a bachelor’s program.” There is already a PharmD program at UBC, but the new PharmD program will place an emphasis on integrating knowledge from different disciplines — knowledge that would traditionally be taught separately. “Now it’s all being put together, so when you’re talking about certain disease states, then you’ll learn everything that will apply to that at the same time.” Another major change is a greater focus on interprofessional learning – learning to work in teams with other healthcare professionals.

The new curriculum will also have nearly twice the amount of experiential learning, where pharmacy students can apply their knowledge and learn to look after patients under the supervision of practicing professionals. This increased experiential learning component appeals to Aaron Sihota, a fourth-year pharmacy student and president of the Pharmacy Undergraduate Society. “That’s really when you apply what you’ve learned from the classroom,” he said. “I think that’s where you really get to make a difference in the lives of [others].” Carly Webb, a fourth-year pharmacy student and the Pharmacy Undergraduate Society’s Kappa Psi regent, shared Sihota’s optimism about the changes. “I’m pretty positive about it,” she said. “I think most students are. I think it will just help to have pharmacists trained a bit more, especially with all these new skills that we’re required to have.”

One of the concerns raised about the new program is its cost. “Tuition could be something that will be a point of contention,” Sihota said, “and always will be.” On the whole, however, Sihota does not see any major issues with the change. “I think that it will really provide new skill training for our students, and in general, it’s a positive direction that we’re taking with this program.” For those already practicing, UBC is also building a flexible doctor of pharmacy program to teach the skills new pharmacists will be learning. Students will be able to complete the optional program at their own pace while employed over the course of three to five years. The first phase of the program is done online and the second phase consists of 12 months of experiential learning, which can be done nearly anywhere in B.C. that has Internet access. U

ThurSday, OcTObEr 3, 2013

| NEWS | 5

STUDENT GOVERNMENT >>

Meet your candidates for AMS VP academic

nne Kessler hopes to put her AMS experience to work as the AMS vice-president academic and university affairs. Kessler’s platform centres on improving the student housing situation, and also includes a plan to start a campus-wide education program about sexualized violence. As a student senator, she is currently working on creating standardized syllabi for courses. Kessler cited Acadia Park as an example of the need for better consultation between the university and students on housing. “We need to put the pressure on the university to consult students with what’s going on and to really listen, and I think the VP academic position has a really big role to play in how vocal they are about these issues,” said Kessler. Kessler also wants to push for more rights for students as tenants on campus, since

the Residential Tenancy Act doesn’t protect students in residence. “[Students] don’t necessarily have any rights as renters, so when stuff like flooding in Ponderosa happens, they have no opportunity to say, ‘You have to compensate us for this,’” said Kessler. Kessler said the housing contract should be modified to give students more rights, while still allowing the university to have some protection. A fourth-year geography student, Kessler began her career as a student politician when she was elected as an Arts representative on the AMS Council in her first year. Kessler is currently the head of the AMS legislative procedures committee, as well as the chair of the student senate caucus. Kessler said the few months she could have in

office would be enough time to be productive. “There are a lot of things that I would like to work on that are simply too big to be dealt with during this time, but I think there’s also time to take on certain projects,” said Kessler. Kessler said that as VP Academic she will also continue working on her projects as Senator. “One of them is to create standardized syllabi so that there are certain elements that professors have to include, so students [will] succeed because they’re [not] confused,” Kessler said.

dam Melhem, a fifth-year political science and economics student, is vying for the position of AMS vice-president academic and university affairs. The key points of Melhem’s platform include affordable student housing and development of flexible

Former VP academic and university affairs Kiran Mahal stepped down on sept. 12. the position is currently filled by Mona Maleki, the interim VP. the aMs is holding a byelection to choose a new candidate for the remainder of the term. campaining runs from Oct. 2 to Oct. 8. Voting will run from Oct. 9 to 11. By Will McDonald. With files from Brandon Chow. Photos by Will McDonald. She also wants to make students aware of mental health resources such as tutoring services and the writing centre. “I think that [being a senator] will allow me to jump into the [VP] position a little bit more and work on things because I have a fairly good idea of what’s going on with the university and the AMS,” said Kessler. Kessler said in her free time, she likes to study geography. “I’m totally obsessed with maps,” she said. “The geographic information center in the geog-

learning initiatives. Melhem said the university needs to provide more affordable housing to students and increase financial aid. “Student affordability has to do with finding ways for students who are not strictly on financial aid to receive bursaries from the university, and housing is to do with simply living in Vancouver as one of the most expensive [cities] to live [in],” said Melhem. “It’s really important to make sure that the dialogue revolves around

raphy building was giving away maps and I took 50.”

housing itself as well as student affordability.” Melhem said his biggest focus as VP academic would be guiding the university as it forms new flexible learning initiatives. “Flexible learning is something I’m really passionate about. Simply being spoken at for an hour or two is simply not effective,” said Melhem. “Flexible learning is still in its baby stages, and so what I really want to do is involve the student voice in it, because it’s based on creating the best student environment. In order to create that environment, you have to have the student voice, or you’re constructing something that has nothing to do with students,” said Melhem. Melhem has previously served as the vice chair of the Student Administrative

Commission, which oversees AMS clubs, and as the president of Amnesty International at UBC. Melhem said this experience will help him take on the role of VP academic. Melhem said the few months in office he could have as VP academic would be enough time to take on new projects. “Kiran [Mahal, former VP academic,] left at a time when there were a lot of projects that were continuing, so I’ll be able to come into the role and continue a lot of these projects while also starting a lot of projects as well,” said Melhem. Melhem, whose first language is Arabic, is originally from Lebanon, though he moved around a lot growing up. He said his hobbies include playing guitar and listening to stand-up comedy. U

Thursday, October 3, 2013 |

EDITOR Rhys Edwards

It’s the weekend — what are you in the mood for?

music >>

CLASSY

COOL Stereophonics at the Commodore

image courtesy maplemusic recordings

Graffiti on the Train is Stereophonics’ eigth studio album in twice as many years.

Carly Sotas Contributor

More than a decade and a half after first adopting the name, Stereophonics are showing no signs of slowing down. Despite taking their longest break between album releases to date, the Welsh rock band has returned to the spotlight for an international tour in support of their newest album, Graffiti on the Train . On Sunday, Oct. 6, the tour will bring Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Adam Zindani and the band’s newest addition, Jamie Morrison, to Vancouver, where they will treat fans to a live performance at the Commodore Ballroom. Nearly three years have passed since the band last came to Vancouver to perform for the 2010 Winter Olympics Victory Ceremony. “It was an honour to be asked to play our little part in the celebrations,” the band’s bass guitarist Richard Jones said modestly, speaking to The Ubyssey from his hotel in Denver. Though the smaller size of the Commodore may not compare with the scale of the band’s performance at BC Place, Jones isn’t bothered. “It’s the variety of shows that [we] look forward to,” Jones said. “Everywhere you go, its different. A different-sized room can create an entirely different vibe.” Reflecting on his previous experiences playing at the

Commodore, Jones recalled the “really good crowd” and “excellent acoustics” offered by the historical venue.

“We want the band to be the best it can be at that period in time, whatever that looks like.” Richard Jones Stereophonics bassist

When the band released Graffiti on the Train earlier this year, it quickly rose to the number three position on the UK Album Chart. Having released over seven albums, Jones said, the band was sick of the way the music industry releases albums. “[This time, we wanted to] let the songs breathe and speak as they wanted to,” he said. “[We wanted to] go back to why we started making music in the first place.” After building their own studio back in the U.K, the band had the freedom to take a new approach to writing the album. “[We had our] own space to take time with.... We didn’t have that luxury before,” Jones said. “No pressure. “We knew as soon as we started that it was going to be different this time. It felt different, and we noticed right away.”

Though the band has been performing together for over a decade, Jones said that they’ve always had the same goals. “We want the band to be the best it can be at that period in time, whatever that looks like,” Jones said. He admits that in hindsight, they might have chosen to do some things a little differently — “I mean, we’ve all had bad haircuts and such” — but ultimately, he has no regrets. “You can’t change the past. Life is just too short.” The band made its first stop in North America in Detroit on Sept 27th, and will wrap up in London, England, after a final performance on November 28th. While the tour is based on their latest album, audiences can still expect to hear them perform their most popular songs, which, according to Jones, have “made the band what it is today.” As Vancouver fans look forward to Stereophonics’ Sunday night performance, the band looks forward to pursuing future projects, already planning the release of another album for fall next year. Even as they leave Vancouver and head back to the U.S. for a performance in San Francisco, it sounds like fans still have a lot more to look forward to from the band in the years ahead. U

Stravinsky at the Chan Centre

PHOTO carter brundage/THE UBYSSEY

The Rite of Spring is so unconventional that when it was first performed 100 years go, the audience rioted.

Reyhana Heatherington Senior Lifestyle Writer

One century ago, Igor Stravinsky’s famous composition The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris accompanying the Ballets Russes, a legendary ballet company. This Saturday, the UBC Symphony Orchestra will perform the piece at a free public concert to commemorate the centenary. UBC’s director of orchestras Jonathan Girard is a third-generation student of the piece’s original conductor Pierre Monteux, and he will conduct the performance. Girard trained with Michael Jinbo for two years at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians in Maine. “This really was a major piece, so it’s pretty neat to be able to resurrect it,” Girard said. The inconsistent metre and varying beat lengths in The Rite of Spring make it difficult from a conductor’s perspective, but facilitating cohesion among performers is the top priority for Girard. “What made Pierre Monteux so successful was that he [was] truly dedicated to the musicians, to seeing their success happen,” he said. “So in some ways, that’s [the] philosophy that I’ve been raised in as a conductor.” At the original 1913 performance of The Rite of Spring , the unique demands made of each instrument in the orchestra presented

Stereophonics are playing at the Commodore, 868 Granville Street, on Oct 6 at 8pm.

audiences with sounds they had never heard before. “It starts off in such a high register that when the piece was premiered, many people in the audience didn’t think it was the bassoon performing,” Girard said. The mentally intense piece lasts 35 minutes and is extremely challenging for musicians to rehearse and perform. “Stravinsky uses every instrument in the orchestra basically as a percussion instrument at some point in the piece, and so the players have a very demanding workload,” Girard said. “The whole orchestra have to become specialists at performing very tricky rhythms.” The student orchestra of 105 players will be the largest ever assembled for a single performance at UBC, and marks the first time The Rite of Spring will be performed by students in Western Canada. Girard said the complex Stravinsky requires many talented musicians, and few schools in North America can rise to the challenge. “It’s an enormous task to take this piece on, and it really shows the quality and the competency and the high level of performance that’s happening here in the School of Music,” he said. “It’s very exciting that we have such highly-trained student musicians here that we can mount this production.” Violinist Gabriele Thielmann is in her fourth

and final year in the UBC Orchestra. She is looking forward to the variety of the concert’s program, which also includes Maurice Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess and Mother Goose suite. “We have kind of sweet and simple Ravel, and then very complex, rhythmical Stravinsky, so it will be a very well-rounded program,” she said. The repetitive elements of Stravinsky’s work make the piece unique, as each small section is repeated in unpredictable patterns and rhythms. “That’s kind of what makes The Rite of Spring challenging to play as a performer, just because it kind of toys with everybody’s expectations,” Thielmann said. Thielmann hopes the concert will help highlight the talent of the UBC Symphony Orchestra and bring orchestra music to a broader audience. “I’ve met some people in my non-music classes that didn’t even know UBC had an orchestra,” she said. “If just a couple people attend that haven’t been before, it’s very fulfilling for me as a performer to know that I’ve reached a wider audience that way.” U

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The concert will take place Saturday Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Admission is free.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

| CULTURE | 7

ZOMBIES >>

Brains in demand on Death Island Multimedia production company launches sequel to immersive horror experience

Phoyo Kosta Prodanovic/THE UBYSSEY

The Zombie Syndrome is a synthesis of improvisational theatre, scavenger hunt, murder mystery, and fairground horror experience.

Angela Tien Contributor

The end of the world is coming — and it’s going to be fun. This October, the Virtual Stage, a Vancouver-based theatre and film production company, will launch The Zombie Syndrome: On Death Island, a roving, smartphone-enabled, site-specific, zombie-themed, theatrical scavenger hunt adventure. That’s a mouthful — but like all things original, it’s difficult to describe with just a few words. On Death Island is an interactive play staged at various locations around the city, explored by audiences numbering no more than 15 in size. Last year, The Zombie Syndrome: No Exit was nominated for several awards, and won Jessie awards for both Outstanding

Production and Critics’ Choice Innovation. With the success of last year’s production, the Virtual Stage received support from all levels of government for this year’s show, including the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council and City of Vancouver. There are also two student groups playing zombies: the senior classes of Lord Byng Secondary School and Killarney Secondary School. Two of the actors from the show, Dustin Freeland and Raphael Kepinski, are graduates of Studio 58 in Langara, along with the artistic director of the Virtual Stage, Andy Thompson. Kepinski, who plays the mad scientist Sgt. Sullivan, graduated from UBC with a bachelor of science in cellular biology and genetics. On Death

Island is Kepinski’s fifth Virtual Stage production. “I do have a science degree, so I can correct Andy’s things,” Kepinski joked. “[But] it is a zombie virus, so he doesn’t have to obey too many things. “The whole show is like seven different plays in seven different sites,” he said. “Last year, sometimes we had to slow people down while the next group moves in. There’s a lot of improv involved.” Sgt. Sullivan, Kepinski said, is the source of the undead outbreak. “[Sullivan is an] evil genius who has mutated the zombie virus and he has this kind of electrical device that can control the zombies,” Kepinski said. “[He was] responsible for the outbreak last year [in No Exit ]. The whole show is [the audience] trying to find [his] lair.”

Freeland, who plays Sgt. Benjamin Allan, met Thompson through the Virtual Stage’s workshops, graduating three years ago from Studio 58. He was featured in another recent Virtual Stage production, Broken Sex Doll. “Sgt. Benjamin Allan is new to The Zombie Syndrome, and I’ve always imagined that these two,” Freeland said, referring to his relationship to Sgt. Sullivan, “were always the best of friends until the huge treason, and now, [Allan has] a personal vendetta against [Sullivan].” In On Death Island, audiences are charged with avoiding a massive hoard of raging zombies and outwitting the lunatic Sullivan while also completing unique roles assigned to them. Audience members play various characters in the story; this year, the audience is a group of elite soldiers, with people playing individual roles such a biologist, an engineer, a psychologist and even a ninja. Thompson, the writer, producer and director of both Zombie Syndrome productions, has over 20 years of experience in the field. He’s studied as a filmmaker, a playwright, a theatre producer, an actor and a director. He discussed how the Virtual Stage emphasizes technological innovation in their productions. “We require the audience to bring their smartphones, so we send a preparatory email out to people,” said Thompson, mentioning that they would be used to scan QR codes, watch film clips and find GPS routes. “We’re mandated with investigating new technologies, so we’re specifically interested in technologies that are just becoming more feasible for people on low budgets, like a smartphone.” Audiences are not told the location of the show until shortly before it begins. “You buy a ticket, and we don’t tell you where it is,” said Thompson. “We give them the coordinates and time.”

“It’s a mixture of in and out doors, we ask people to dress for the weather,” he added. “There’s walking around. There’s a unique form of transportation I will not disclose. There’s some really cool surprises I won’t give away.” Thompson’s inspiration for The Zombie Syndrome comes from several sources, including the films 28 Days Later and I Am Legend, among others. “I went to England and then saw this show called The Accomplice and I thought, this is such a great way to do theatre — like, having the audience roaming around specific sites in real time, blending fact with fiction. Someone [called] this show ‘The Amazing Zombie Race.’” Thompson plans to continue The Zombie Syndrome with a new story line every year, and he hopes to see adaptations of it in other cities, too. “My hope is that it’s something that people get excited about doing every October, [a] Halloween fun thing. It’ll be a real gift [if] this [became] something the general public would be really excited and anticipating about on an annual basis,” he said. In Thompson’s opinion, the best part of his work on The Zombie Syndrome has been the response from the Vancouver community. “We have community partners we’re not even advertising because it would reveal where the show is. I’m excited about the challenge of doing it again and doing it bigger and bolder.” “The show ... involves [the audience] so much,” said Kepinski. “There’s a real payoff when people are really all in the show. They really want to know what’s going to happen, and they’re part of it — they affect the outcome.” U

The Zombie Syndrome: On Death Island runs from Oct. 3 to Nov. 3. Tickets can be ordered online from the Virtual Stage’s website. A smartphone is required in each group. Attire should be both indoor and outdoor appropriate.

theatre >>

American angst inspires UBC alumni in Speech & Debate Kaidie Williams Contributor

Photo courtesy jessica van elk

Alex Rose, Claire Hesselgrave and Scott Button star as a group of adolescents in search of an identity.

Confusion, discovery, experimentation and ambiguous self-identities mark the years of adolescence. Speech & Debate, a play written by Pulitzer Prize nominee Stephen Karam, embodies these elements of adolescence through the lives of three teenagers in Salem, Oregon. The cast includes Howie, an openly gay boy; Solomon, a geek; and Diwata, an unfashionable young woman obsessed with music. From Oct. 3 through 12, these characters will grace the stage of Studio 1398 on Granville Island, under the direction of UBC alum Brian Cochrane. The Twenty Something Theatre production explores the distinct worlds of the three teenagers as they attempt uncover a sex scandal while trying to understand their transition from adolescence to adulthood. They are both curious and uncertain about their sexual and intellectual

desires. The Internet also figures heavily in the plot, exposing each character to possibilities beyond their small town. Speech & Debate is a journey of self-discovery as the characters struggle to be seen as adults. The production, which also stars several graduates from the UBC theatre program, poses two central questions: when do you become an adult, and how do you know that you are one? Cochrane described it as a coming-of-age story. “We were all teenagers once, and we are all able to recognize elements of ourselves in each of the characters,” said Cochrane, who received his MFA in directing in 2011. Although the play is no High School Musical or Glee, it does incorporate singing and dancing in order to ease the tension and loosen up audiences. However, integrating these technical aspects of the play together in just under four weeks proved to be the most challenging task for the cast and

crew. Cochrane also described the naturalistic dialogue as another challenge faced by the actors, since it required perfect timing. The director was originally enticed by the play’s sharp script and youthful vigour, which were appropriate for young actors and young audiences. This fits perfectly with Twenty Something’s mandate to produce contemporary theatre that is both provocative and relevant. “The audience should expect to have a really good time. It’s a lot of fun,” said Cochrane. Speech & Debate is a faithful examination of what life is like for teenagers and young adults growing up in a world where technology is moving as fast as their hormones. “It is full of surprises, and flips whatever expectations you have,” said Cochrane. U

Speech & Debate runs from Oct. 3–12 at Studio 1398 on Granville Island.

Thursday, OcTOber 3, 2013 |

edItor NATALIE SCADDEN

T-bIRDS 5-ON-5 sePteMber stars

ALLY WILLIAMSON

PAUL CLERC

JACK WILLIAMS

Women’s soccer goalkeeper

Mens’ soccer defenceman and leading scorer

cross -country runner

BRANDON DESCHAMPS

QUINN VAN GYLSWYK

Football running back

Football kicker

1. what’s your favourite pump up song?

anything with a fast beat that I know all the words to so I can sing along.

“Levels” by avicii.

“hotel room service” by Pitbull.

“Wind” by brian crain.

“tsunami” by dVbbs and borgeous.

2. Favourite sports movie?

Friday Night Lights.

The Replacements.

Air Bud 3.

Friday Night Lights.

The Replacements.

3. which TV show character are you most like?

I’m spinelli from Recess. always been into sports more than most girls.

apparently chandler, laughing at my own jokes.

cookie Monster!

that’s tough, but I’m going to go with jd from Scrubs.

harmon tedesco.

4. Athlete you look up to most?

andrea neil — one of the best female soccer players of all time.

ryan giggs. Played his entire career loyal to [Manchester united].

[canadian triathlete] simon Whitfield.

rod smith [denver broncos] — undrafted and never compained.

[oakland raiders kicker] sebastianjanikowski.

5. Name a random item oﬀ your bucket list.

swim with sharks!

Windsurfing.

go fishing in the Vedder river with my buddy and roommate jack bruchet.

I would love to take a road trip where there is no destination.

skydiving.

TRIAThLON >>

Two UBC triathletes conquer the Ironman

Photo courtesY oF FInIsherPIX.coM

It took him 13 hours, but chris hart still found the energy to leap across the finish line at Ironman canada.

Seth Bluman contributor

Three years ago, UBC grad student Brendan Naef found school interesting, but felt that he “needed a bigger challenge.” The answer? Long-distance triathlons. Without knowing exactly how the sport worked, he decided to jump right in. After three years of swimming, biking and running, Brendan now competes professionally in Ironman races. An ex-competitive skier, Brendan trains during the year with the UBC Triathlon Club to stay fit and motivated so he can accomplish these epic races. “For Ironman, there is no Team Canada,” said Naef. “You’re pretty much on your own, that’s why being part of a club like UBCTC is so important.” In late August, Naef represented UBC at Ironman Canada (IMC) in Whistler. He was proud of his effort through the 10-hour performance, despite having trouble on the bike. “IMC wasn’t a great race for me,” he admitted. “Time-wise, it was one of my worst, besides the swim. I pulled myself back from the dead on the bike and dug deeper than ever to run a decent marathon. This gives me the confidence to go hard on the bike in

future races. Not proud of my time, very proud of my effort.” Triathlon involves a wide range of race distances, but the Ironman is on the longer side of the spectrum. Ironman races consist of a 3.86-kilometre swim, 180-kilometre bike ride and a marathon run — 42.2 kilometres. With the amount of training required, you would expect time to be a major limiting factor those who strive to accomplish this feat. Yet Naef somehow managed to complete five Ironman races this past year, all while holding two part-time jobs and working on his law PhD. Naef said these triathlon experiences have had an immensely positive impact on both his confidence and lifestyle, and have helped him learn more about himself. “You learn that your personal limits are way wider than you thought they were — it’s actually kind of scary,” he said. “Your focus becomes much narrower. You become more disciplined and organized in general.” Naef also noted how his dedication to the sport has changed his lifestyle, especially when it comes to healthier eating habits and alcohol consumption. “I cannot see myself going back to the type of life I had before getting involved in [the] UBC Tri Club and endurance sport.” Like Naef, Chris Hart started his undergrad never having imagined himself doing an Ironman. Before coming to UBC just two years ago, Hart was an avid soccer and tennis player. Looking to challenge himself with a novel experience, he joined UBCTC and tried out a few races. “I switched to [triathlon] to do something new and to do something more rewarding,” Hart said. “I saw a TV recap of Ironman Canada. Seeing the expressions on the finishers faces was just something I wanted to experience myself.” Hart completed his first Ironman during the summer following the first year of his undergraduate degree. He now volunteers as VP athletics for the UBC Triathlon Club to help support and coach others toward their triathlon-related goals. After focusing his time during the past school year to train others, Hart took on his second Ironman Canada race in August, coming back from a longterm injury. Both Hart and Naef say that triathlon is a sport for all ages, body types, and fitness levels.

“Almost anyone can do [an Ironman] if they stick to a well-structured training plan for at least most of a year,” said Hart. “[Triathlon requires] strong mental, physical and nutritional discipline, but mainly just time.” He also pointed out that there are plenty of inspirational stories of cancer survivors, amputees and 250-pound finishers who have

persevered to get themselves to the finish line. “If you’re cool with having your first workout of the day done by the time most people are waking up, then you’ve likely got what it takes,” added Naef. While some may not feel quite up to the challenge of an Ironman, both Naef and Hart say those just starting the sport can

experience immense satisfaction in completing shorter triathlon distances that still offer a significant challenge. “Find your passion, challenge yourself, and enjoy the work it takes to improve at what it is you love — whether that be an Ironman, a much shorter triathlon distance or some other sport that you value,” said Hart. U

Thursday, October 3, 2013

| SPORTS + REC | 9

GOLF >>

The University Golf Club is hoping to get certification from the Golf Environment Organization, a comprehensive sustainability designation that would be the first of its kind for a Canadian golf course.

Photo mab coates-davis/the ubyssey

Greening the greens at the University Golf Club Reyhana Heatherington Senior Lifestyle Writer

How did a self-described environmental activist end up working for a golf course? “As a passionate environmentalist, I was told by one of my teachers: ‘Instead of pointing your finger, go get it dirty,’” said Scott Morrison. “To me, that meant go be part of the solution.” Now based in Toronto, Morrison, who studied sustainability management at UBC, works with golf courses around the world and has been guiding the University Golf Club (UGC) toward reaching their sustainability goals since 2012. As the environmental movement has gained traction over the last several decades, the golf industry has also seen an increase in popularity. There are now three times as many golfers in the U.S. as there were in 1970, and 5.7 million golfers in Canada alone. Corporate environmentalism and practices of “greenwashing” — that is, superficial environmental changes to appease consumers — have become concerns in various industries, and golf is no exception. Now, golf courses like the UGC are meeting ecological concerns with practical changes. And indeed, the golf industry has some very real environmental concerns to address. Brian Wilson, a professor at UBC, co-authored an article called “Super Intentions: Golf Course Management and the Evolution of Environmental Responsibility” that recently appeared in The Sociological Quarterly. He said that when golf first gained a mass audience in the 1960s, the immaculate Masters course set an unrealistic standard for golfers who watched the tournament on television: the so-called “Augusta National Syndrome.” “When people saw this image on television they thought, ‘Oh, I’d like to play on a course like that,’” Wilson said of the pristine, verdant course, located in

Georgia, U.S.A. “The concern that people have about this is that Augusta National was viewed by many as sort of an unrealistic course to try and aspire to look like.” Wilson said much of the current debate around environmental practices on golf courses stems from these idealistic aspirations. “That’s where the use of pesticides and excessive water is sometimes an issue,” he said. Phil Bunting is the UGC’s superintendent, whom the club’s general manager Michael Mather calls a “steward of the environment.” He has worked at the UGC for 25 years and has seen many changes over his time at the club — including the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM), a set of practices and techniques that are becoming increasingly popular in the industry. Bunting monitors pests and tries to minimize the use of pesticides. Bunting said he targets only about three acres — two per cent of the 140-acre property — with fungicides, and favours landscaping and other non-chemical techniques instead. These techniques include vertical mowing, venting greens, topdressing and using a moisture metre, which determines how often greens are watered. “Watering used to be kind of an art,” Bunting said. “Now we’re getting a little bit of help from science.” The average 18-hole golf course uses between 3,000 and 5,000 cubic metres of water per day — enough to meet the daily consumption needs of approximately 15,000 people. The UGC’s total usage is much lower, thanks in part to its shaded location and Vancouver’s heavy rainfall. Bunting said the UGC uses 850 cubic metres on a hot day. However, Morrison acknowledged that water use will be a central challenge for the course going forward. “Water [will] continue to be their big thing, because they are

currently on a municipal supply of water, so they’re looking at reducing that drastically,” he said.

Playing by their own rules Increased public awareness of environmental issues has put the industry in the crosshairs of late, but golf courses want to preserve environmental standards on their own terms, according to Wilson. “The industry has expressed a clear interest in maintaining control over how it does its environment-related work,” he said. In a 2012 report on cosmetic pesticides, a legislative committee recommended that the B.C. government “ask the golf industry to develop a province-wide certification process, or to modify an existing one, that will ensure a high standard of pesticide use by all golf courses in B.C., including the use of IPM principles.” Since the UGC — a public course — leases land from the Musqueam First Nation, it is required to send its records to the province annually. Wilson said that while practices have changed over time, the history of golf courses’ environmental impact warrants a discussion. “It is worth attending to when you’re going to a place that has a history of ... not being the most environmentally-friendly [of ] places,” he said. Wilson added that attention to sustainability in the golf industry has followed an arc seen in many other industries. “There was denial at one point in time, [then a shift] to more of a compliance piece, to now a leadership piece. This is the normal trajectory that a lot of industries take, and the golf industry is no different than that,” he said. While most Vancouver courses, including Langara Golf Course and Point Grey Golf and Country Club, are certified by New York-based Audubon International, the UGC is

aiming for Scotland-based Golf Environment Organization (GEO) certification. Bunting said this certification appealed to the UGC for its focus on comprehensive sustainability. “That’s just the way our business is going,” he said. “We just think [GEO] is one step above Audobon because it incorporates the clubhouse.” The UGC hopes to be GEO-certified by the end of next year. This designation would be the first of its kind for a Canadian golf course.

a zero waste future A number of golf courses around the world now operate under a “zero waste” model — that is, reusing their own organic waste, sending as close to nothing as possible to landfills, and reducing their use of resources in the first place. For Morrison and the UGC, this is the way forward. “Golf courses have got so much opportunity to be self-sufficient,” Morrison said. “Instead of viewing their waste as a liability, [courses should] view it as an asset.” In his analysis of the UGC, Morrison found that the club already uses a high percentage of local materials. Out of 650 suppliers and service providers, 54 per cent are located within 25 kilometres of the course — twice the industry average, according to Morrison. By 2015, organic waste — including food scraps and food-soiled material — will be banned from the garbage in restaurants and homes in Metro Vancouver. Morrison is confident the UGC will meet its zero waste goal before this bylaw takes effect. “We’ve got some hurdles, but we’re going to be able to do it without a doubt,” he said. Bud Fraser, water and zero waste engineer at UBC Sustainability, said much can be gained from aligning with surrounding

groups, and he would be happy to collaborate with the UGC. “It would be great if places like the golf course had similar programs in place or similar messaging,” he said. “All the players in Metro Vancouver have the same challenges and are trying to achieve the same thing, so there’s a lot of collaboration.” So far, the UGC has used old pavement from University Boulevard for cart path construction, as well as fill material from the University Hill school construction to build tees. Looking ahead, Morrison is optimistic that the golf club can further collaborate with UBC and the local community. “Golf courses have the ability to use a lot of materials that would otherwise likely go to [a] landfill,” he said. “You’ve got to look into what the neighbourhood needs are and what your needs are, and sort of balance them out.” U

Thursday, OcTOber 3, 2013 |

student VoIce. coMMunItY reach.

A letter from America Learning to love apathy and despise a Canadian senator’s ilk

Photo gage sKIdMore/FLIcKr

We’ll keep the maple syrup, but you can have back calgary-born goofball senator ted cruz.

ILLustratIon IndIana joeL/the ubYsseY

LAST WORDS

Upon hearing the phrase “symphony orchestra,” some students may be incited to immediately collapse into a boredom-induced stupor. As far as they’re concerned, anything made before 1988 is completely irrelevant to their own life, and although The Rite of Spring is unconventional even by today’s musical standards, they categorize it as a “classical” abstraction anyway. Orchestras don’t perform for niche specialists, or old, pretentious sycophants — they’re for everyone, regardless of age or background, to enjoy. And given that our own Symphony Orchestra is performing for free this Friday, at an outstanding venue, you owe it to yourself to at least try listening to something that doesn’t come out of an earbud or amplifier.

The CUS elections have always been a great place for those who want to push something through the Commerce student body, and this year is no exception. The relatively uncontroversial-looking topics and a big name on the ballot meant that it was easy to predict the final result. New CUS president Sean Fleming’s dirty laundry was never aired: Fleming sat as last year’s VP engagement and was in charge of FROSH. Students seem not to have taken a deep look at their endowment fund as they passed another $300,000 into the university’s hands, assured by their student union that it won’t disappear into the ether. While it was high time the student fee took a cut, the eight per cent drop still means that commerce students pay more than twice that of engineers, the other highly active student society, and more than eight times their fee if you include the Commerce student building fee. While it’s great to see referendums make quorum, it would be even better if their was an ounce of critical thought in the CUS underbelly.

ubC has an orChestra, anD it’s great In our coverage of the UBC Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, one violinist lamented that some of her friends don’t even know the orchestra exists. This is a sad state of affairs.

by arno rosenfeld

PartIng shots and snaP judgMents FroM the ubYsseY edItorIaL board

no DeeP thought in Cus eleCtorate

ARNO LAND

The thing is that the majority of students who really care about golf have memberships elsewhere, because other courses are more affordable. With the University Golf Club not offering memberships, there’s not much incentive for a student to golf there, as the good players will stick to their own club and the newbies will not want to pay that much. If the newbies do go, they won’t exactly be well-received by the plaid pant-wearing regulars who give passive-aggressive looks to the student who has to putt five times before getting the ball in the hole. The University Golf Club is a beautiful green space on campus, but for most students, it’s just some scenery that passes them by while on the 99. There are junior and senior deals here — why not a student one as well? It may not bring out a whole lot more students, but it definitely wouldn’t turn them away.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — There's something rather strange about travelling around this city. Looking out the window on the bus, you see the headquarters of the World Bank, the CATO institute, Gallup, and suddenly these amorphous purveyors of policy and insight — normally just words in news articles — are made strangely real. But aside from the giddiness you get from seeing a sitting senator jog by on the national mall — hey, there's Pat Toomey, sweat pouring down his workout clothes, legs protruding at odd angles from shorts far too revealing for a man of his age, as he heaves his way past tourists — you face a realization that this is where politics happen. Then, in a moment of darker realization, it occurs to you that that senator, along with some of the other various suits scurrying from one government building to the next, occasionally stopping into pricey lounges for noon drinks, are the people responsible for the current shutdown of the federal government. In the last issue of The Ubyssey, we ran an article about the problem with political apathy at UBC. Students, it seems, are too busy, too distracted, too uncaring, too priced off of campus and out of the community to organize protests, vote in elections or stage the acts of civil disobedience that characterized campus protests on the Vancouver campus in years past. We portrayed this "death of the activist" as a problem. But being back in America, I realized that political action run amok is almost as problematic as its absence. The shutdown of the American government has consequences that are both blunt — no more inspections of imported food and drugs — and more abstract — as in, it could force the United States and possibly the rest of the world back into a recession. And the government was driven to this point by legislators who, simply put, care too much. Legislators elected by voters who, likewise, care too much. These legislators — one a dentist who suddenly decided to run for congress — are so passionate about gutting America's measly attempt at creating affordable healthcare that they have no qualms about destroying the rest of the country in their quest to eliminate it.

golfing still for the riCh, eVen on CaMPus Want to go play basketball or badminton on campus? Just show your student card and you can go up to the gymnasiums and play for free. Want to go swimming? Once again, just scan your student ID card and the pool, along with their weight room, await you. But want to go golfing? That’ll be about $60, thank you very much. Yes, golf is a luxurious sport and isn’t cheap anywhere. But despite being on campus, there are no discounts for UBC students at the University Golf Club unless you join the UBC Golf Club and even then you just get a handful of discounts. You can get the $49 senior rate on Mondays to Fridays before noon — because it’s not like students have class during that time — and the senior rate on weekends, too. Awesome. There are a few more deals regarding lessons and the driving range, but they aren’t exactly Boxing Day savings. To the average student, they really don’t help much.

naMe the new sub The AMS was supposed to have had a name for the New SUB a long time ago. Since they can’t seem to come to a conclusion, we took it upon ourselves to offer some suggestions: BOOM SUB: The AMS thought it was a good idea for the new Pie R Squared. Why not apply it to the whole building? AMSterdam: The new student union building will be a haven for students looking to avoid UBC’s draconian drug laws. The Next Obsolete Building (NOB): Let’s face it, construction will never end on campus. Soon enough, students will be sick of the new SUB and will want some other shiny new building. The Ubyssey Center for Children Who Can’t Read Good and Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too: If the New SUB gets this name, we promise to teach students to read good and do other stuff good too. U

Frankly, we'd all be better off if conservative Americans and their elected representatives were a little more apathetic about this whole Obamacare thing. Sure, some low-income Americans won't be bankrupted by unexpected surgeries or diseases, and that makes your blood boil. But hey, instead of forcing millions of government employees and services and the full faith and credit of the United States of America to ride on whether or not you can bring this new entitlement to its knees, maybe you should just return to ATVing, loading up on credit-card debt and washing your fried cheese balls down with a few cold ones. Yes, a (somewhat) liberal president — and a black one at that! — scored a legislative victory, ensuring that tens of millions of American citizens will be forced to fork money over to private corporations, but hey, Larry the Cable Guy is telling fart jokes on one of your 700 television channels — life ain't so bad after all.

Political action run amok is almost as problematic as its absence. There's tremendous reason to encourage political activity, especially on college campuses. It would be awesome to see passionate students standing up for good causes. It's quite a shame that, while the Ubyssey archives are chock-full of photos of students marching around with signs, braving the rain to make their voices heard, such protests have been few and far between in the last several years. But there's a danger in the masses mobilizing, or even small groups mobilizing. In my role as the token American on this newspaper of (mostly) poutine-eating, hockey-loving, over-friendly Canucks, I feel some responsibility to warn my North American brethren that unless you're knowledgeable, reasonable and advocating for a just cause, maybe you should stay out of the political realm. All those who advocate for increasing voter turnout and political activity without qualifying that said voters and populace be well educated on the issues and learned in the ways of not destroying your federal government over a pet peeve political cause are dead wrong. (continued on p. 11)

Thursday, OcTOber 3, 2013 |

PIctures + Words on Your unIVersItY eXPerIence

COMIC >>

Myths

by tubey

10 THINGS we miss about september

Fascism and stupid action both bad (continued from page 10) After observing the rise of the Tea Party, which follows in a long line of horrible American political passion — the genocidal settlers of the American West, the Confederacy, the KKK, America Firsters, the anti-bussing movement of the 1960s, evangelical anti-gay activists, gun rights advocates, those insisting on inserting creationism into textbooks, those still trying to block minorities from voting and women from getting abortions, to name just a small few — and their ability to destroy my government from within, I'm increasingly convinced that Canada's toned-down political culture has its merits. Take the Wild Rose Party in Alberta, the conservative fringe of Canada's conservative fringe. They want to privatize the provincial healthcare system in Alberta, the Texas of Canada. Even in the right-wing bastion of Canada, that position is seen as radical. Yet there's a portion of mainstream America

that refuses to support the expansion of privatized healthcare. A portion of American politicians are shutting down the entire federal government to oppose such an action. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who was born in Calgary and spent the early years of his life with his parents in the Alberta oil fields, is the main crusader behind the current government shutdown. He holds positions that would presumably get him (rightfully) laughed off the stage even at a Conservative Party event in his native province, and yet us suckers down south have embraced him with open arms. America's founders were onto something when they tried to limit the country's democratic elements to an elite (they were wrong in confining that elite to white, landed males, but I digress). They recognized that telling children reared on rotted moral values and uneducated in the ways of government and history they could be

TUESDAY. 1 P.M. SUB 24. UBYSSEY GENERAL STAFF MEETINGS. BE THERE.

anything they wanted might have disastrous consequences. And if we take that dentist-cum-congressman as any example, it looks like they were right. Since then we've reformed the founders' limited democracy in ways good (you don't have to be a landed, white male anymore) and not so good (we've opened the political system to the Fox News-watching, government-hating American masses) and are now reaping what we sowed. I explain all this by way of warning. If any of you Canadians are thinking of adopting any of the looney ideas espoused by us Americans — giving guns to the blind, privatizing the education system, banning poor people from voting, removing all environmental regulations — and are willing to bring Ottawa down unless you get your way, do all of us living in your country a favour: keep it to yourself, at least until Washington has gotten back on its feet. U

the feeling of sun on our skin

orange popsicles outside the bookstore

that one day where it smelled like school spirit

back to school parties and shindigs

Labour day

Free stuff outside the sub by companies who want our business

Free stuff in the sub by clubs who want us to join their cult club.

classes where all we did is discuss the syllabus

shorts, sundresses and ﬂippyﬂoppies

stalking george clooney on campus ait! ,w rge eo away olate ,g no ke meis de s ta m th f r o c e! pla

MORE ONLINE Blogs, videos, photo galleries and so much more at ubyssey.ca.

12 | GaMES |

ThurSday, OcTObEr 3, 2013

PuZZLe courtesY KraZYdad. used WIth PerMIssIon.

this week at the norm Wednesday oct. 2-sunday oct. 6 Despicable Me 2: 7 p.m. Iron Man 3: 9:15 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students, $4 for FilmSoc members. Learn more at UBCﬁ lmsociety.com!

aCross 1- Mar. honoree 6- cowboy’s tool 1- actor Vigoda 14- use a soapbox 15- Freeze over 16- Part of unLV 17- Fanatical 19- cIa forerunner 20- reached 21- excite 23- Monetary unit of japan 24- Forsake 25- native Israelis 29- brag 30- More or less vertical 31- actor calhoun 32- bleat of a sheep 35- In spite of 39- hot tub 40- Parks on a bus 41- Liquid waste component 42- dull 44- entertains 45- Place of extreme torment 48- bind 49- Mistakes 50- having a notched edge 55- guadalajara gold 56- Pretend to be 58- hi-___ monitor 59- Wispy clouds 60- complete reversal 61- Mdse. 62- siouan speakers 63- Fills to the gills

Down

25- Without 26- For one 27- second letter of the greek alphabet 28- uncooked 29- domineering 31- role for Valerie 32- Prejudice 33- start the pot 34- Matures 36- dispatch 37- Many 38- actress joanne 42- summer sign 43- Physicist Fermi 44- broadcasts 45- conductor solti 46- Messed up 47- ___ Perot 48- garr and hatcher 50- shrivelled, without moisture 51- architectural pier 52- tense 53- French 101 verb 54- bears’ lairs 57- Paid player

PuZZLe courtesY bestcrossWords.coM. used WIth PerMIssIon.

recycle me if you don’t want me anymore.

1- Pop 2- horse’s gait 3- deal 4- ___ boy! 5- japanese dish 6- Fabric woven from ﬂax yarns 7- Mil. school 8- cinque follower 9- seaport on ne java 10- Musical dramas 11- For all to hear 12- ezio Pinza, for one 13- ruhr city 18- supermodel sastre 22- toronto’s prov. 24- It comes from the heart

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COME BY THE UBYSSEY OFFICE SUB 24, FOLLOW THE SIGNS