NOVEMBER 25, 2013 | VoLuME XcV| IssuE XXVI HAPPENING IN VEGAS since 1918
C P6 B U t The stat a p i e of censorsh
SPERM BANK SUED A class action lawsuit against UBC is in the works after a power outage destroys 400 men’s sperm
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FATAL COLLISION
Two UBC students killed in car crash en route to Whistler, two other students injured but expected to recover
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STEVE AOKI MAKES FANS EAT CAKE P8 WINTERS: SEX PROF P2 MENS’ B-BALL WEEKEND WINS P5 WHY THE NEW SUB LOOKS LIKE THAT P8 MARCH TO RECLAIM CONSENT P3 LACE UP FOR KIDS P5
Monday, November 25, 2013 |
YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS + PEOPLE
WHAT’S ON
this week, may we suggest...
OUR CAMPUS
2
ONE ON ONE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UBC
MONDAY 25 LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL ALL DAY @ UBC
The last week of term one, that is. Give the person next to you a high five for making it. It’s a mild celebration compared to LDOC, but celebrate with a Blue Chip Cookie!
TUESDAY
26
CHICKEN SOUP DAY
12:30 P.M.–1:30 P.M. @ OUTSIDE IKB
Do you need a warm boost to fuel you up for exams this winter? Look no further. UBC IT is giving out free chicken noodle soup to all of their Facebook and Twitter followers. There’s also a chance to win a $75 gift card to Starbucks through their photo contest. Free
PHOTO STEPHANIE XU/The Ubyssey
No topic is too taboo for Jason Winter’s human sexuality class.
WEDNESDAY 27 GRADUATION
9 A.M.–3 P.M. @ CHAN CENTRE
Hang around the Chan Centre and feel inspired to finish your degree. You too can one day wear a ridiculously long robe and take pictures with your weeping auntie. Or just go and eat free graduation cake. Tickets $3.75 at Ticketmaster
“The dirt on the ‘censor’ button is supposed to mean it hasn’t been used as much as the other buttons. I hope that was clear...” Illustration by Indiana Joel.
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Like us on Facebook and check out our photo galleries of both men’s and women’s basketball, Lace Up for Kids and the Steve Aoki concert. Check us out at facebook.com/ubyssey.
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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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NOVEMBER 25, 2013 | Volume XCV| Issue XXVI
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The sexy side of psych with Jason Winters Natalya Kautz Contributor
What turns you on? For UBC students looking for a deeper understanding of their kinks, fantasies and preferences, Jason Winters may be able to help. Since 2010, Winters has taught roughly 2,000 UBC students PSYCH 350, “The Psychological Aspects of Human Sexuality.” Though the class has lots of positive feedback from students online, Winters says teaching hasn’t been easy. “In general, I like activities that are a little bit scary and teaching that class is really scary ... because you’re dealing with something so personal to people. “A lot of the issues we talk about can be extremely polarizing — politically, ideologically, even from a religious point of view.” Before entering the world of sexual psychology, Winters was just another UBC undergrad student. Growing up in Victoria, he came to UBC in the early ‘90s to study science. Winters ended up in biopsychology, and while working on thesis research, became interested in forensic psychology. After some time off, Winters returned to UBC for grad school
in the forensic psychology program. His interest in sex offenders resulted in some unusual testing procedures. “[I] did some psycho-phys testing here, which people call my ‘boner-measuring’ phase,” Winters said. “[I measured] sex response in sex offenders.” After graduating, Winters was offered the opportunity to teach PSYCH 350, and was handed the course without a prescribed curriculum or set textbook. In order to facilitate open communication with his student on what can be a difficult subject, Winters started a blog to accompany PSYC 350 on which students can anonymously comment and ask questions. “It allows students to start talking about things that they probably never talked about with other people.” Winters described how the blog has allowed students to anonymously disclose sexual feelings akin to those discussed in class — and to feel more comfortable after understanding that their feelings are recognized in literature. “It’s shocking to me how many students haven’t had decent sex-ed in the first place, and how many students have come from a place where even just talking about sex makes them feel uncomfortable.
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Unsurprisingly, Winters describes himself as sex positive, and promotes a non-judgmental assessment of sexuality. “As long as people are consenting, as long as there is no exploitation, as long as there’s no long-term physical or psychological harm caused, really it is none of our business what people do for their own pleasure. “Think about food. There are some things you love eating, there are some things that just totally gross you out, and that’s fine. You don’t go around to people who eat things that you find disgusting, you don’t call them weird, dirty, sinful.... It’s simply preferences.” Winters is currently working on becoming a registered clinical psychologist, but hopes to keep teaching PSYCH 350 “as a fun side-project.” “I’m not a clinician, and the purpose of the class is not to provide therapy to students, but at least it begins a conversation. And I can tell them about the research and send them in the right direction in terms of resources.” “For me, the students that have no background, they’re the most important students in terms of providing them the information and knowledge they need to make good, happy, healthy decisions.” U
Toope, Gateman projects, current events
Arts, entertainment, sophistry email editor Rhys Edwards culture@ ubyssey.ca
Varsity sports, athletic reviews, milkshakes email editor Natalie Scadden sports@ubyssey.ca
email editors Will McDonald and Sarah Bigam news@ubyssey.ca
Monday, November 25, 2013 |
EDITORS WILL Mcdonald + Sarah Bigam
sea to sky crash >>
3
legal action >>
UBC can be sued for destroyed sperm samples
photo will mcdonald/THE UBYSSEY
Many of the 400 men affected were undergoing radiation therapy.
Will McDonald News Editor
One survivor is confirmed to be in stable condition and the other is also expected to recover after their vehicle crossed the median on the Sea to Sky Highway.
Photo adina raul/flickr
Two students killed, two injured in collision
Arno Rosenfeld Features Editor
Two UBC students were killed and two others injured in a car accident while driving to Whistler Saturday morning. The four women, between the ages of 19 and 20, were driving north on the Sea to Sky Highway in a Jeep Cherokee when the driver lost control of the vehicle going around a bend in the road. Their vehicle crossed the median and collided head-on with a Chevy pickup truck, RCMP said. The driver of the pickup was treated at the scene for minor injuries. “This is a tragedy beyond words,” Tim Shields, an inspector with Lower Mainland RCMP, told Global News.
NEWS BRIEFS UBC hosts open house on cell antenna for New SUB UBC hosted an open house last week on adding a Rogers Wireless antenna to the New SUB. UBC Development Services manager Karen Russell said the community has been largely receptive to the new cell antenna. “We actually haven’t had any concerns raised from the campus community [in terms of safety],” Russel said, adding that the open house was an ideal time for concerns to be voiced. Rogers radio systems designer Alex Corbett said the new antenna will also incorporate an in-building system. “Because there’s such demand for cellular coverage on campus, and this area was identified in a recent cellular study that we had done as having poor coverage by users ... there’s a lot of activity expected for this general area,” Russell said. This initiative aims to improve cellphone service in and around the New SUB, especially when making calls. A Rogers information package said voice calls are a major concern, as they “either cannot be made or are constantly dropped.” “I have Rogers, so getting better service is a good thing,” said Cristina Coleman, a second-year psychology major. The plan is still in development. Students or faculty can send their concerns to Development Services via their website. U
The woman in serious condition is at Vancouver General Hospital. Two friends of the woman said they were told she is expected to survive. The woman with less severe injuries is recovering at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, a friend told The Ubyssey. The second-year Arts student, 19, is accompanied by her family there, friends said. Her recovery is expected to take at least weeks and possibly months. The crash occurred around 7:35 a.m. about five kilometres north of Lions Bay. While there were reports of ice on the roads in the area, Shields told the Associated Press the RCMP were not sure if that was the cause of the crash. <em>
All four women were secondyear students at UBC, according to multiple sources who knew the women. The two killed in the crash were from California and Ontario, a source told The Ubyssey. UBC spokesperson Lucie McNeill said the university was unaware if the women involved were students at the university and said confidentiality laws would preclude UBC from disclosing that information without the families’ consent. However, she said the university would support student efforts to organize a memorial for those who died if they did, in fact, attend UBC. “I have to say it’s a terrible tragedy,” McNeill said. She said that the university does not have <em>
specific procedures in place to handle the death of current students because it is a relatively rare occurrence. On Saturday, RCMP said they were still investigating and did not know the identities of the victims, but confirmed two of the women were American and two were Canadian. Their car had Washington state license plates. When contacted late Saturday night, Squamish RCMP declined to comment on the crash. An RCMP spokesman unrelated to the investigation said information about the victims would not be released until the end of the investigation, which would likely take several days. Updates will be posted on our website at http://ubyssey.ca. U
activism >>
Students march to combat violence and reclaim consent
Jovana Vranic Contributor
On Friday evening, about 60 protesters came together to take part in the March to Reclaim Consent. The event was organized by Laura Fukumoto of the Campaign to Reclaim Consent. Her goal was to frame the march as a continuation of the conversation started at the Take Back the Night rally. “Take Back the Night was really just a space of healing.” Fukumoto said. “The March to Reclaim Consent is taking more of an educational spin and more of a proactive stance.” The peaceful event was meant to remind the campus community of the importance of eliminating a culture of sexual violence, and reconstructing a culture of consent. Protesters assembled at 5 p.m. at the statue of the Goddess of Democracy and marched through campus, stopping at Flagpole Plaza, Place Vanier, Totem Park, the Engineering cairn and the fountain on Main Mall. At each stop, protesters left stakes in the ground and tied them with blue ribbons. “We’d like to leave spaces brighter and warmer than we entered them,” Fukumoto said at the beginning of the rally. Participants maintained a positive attitude throughout the march, which was encouraged by the leaders of the march. Many
Photo Kosta Prodanovic/THE UBYSSEY
Campaign to Reclaim Consent aims to broaden the conversation about sexual violence.
passers-by offered encouragement. Three onlookers shouted for silence from windows in Marine Drive, but the response was civil. Protesters shouted a collective “no,” and continued chanting, “One, two, three, four, we won’t take it anymore! Five, six, seven, eight, no more violence! No more hate!” Participants took the issue seriously. “I’m here tonight because I think that UBC consistently fosters a culture of complicity when it comes to rape and sexual assault,” said Madison Slobin, a second-year Arts student participating in the march. “This campus has never been safe for a lot of people who go here, but it’s been continually not recognized that this is so.” When the activists reconvened back at the statue of the Goddess of Democracy, they were addressed by members of Women Against Vio-
lence Against Women, the Sexual Assault Support Centre, slam poets, and Rachel Sullivan, a UBC sociology professor. In a debriefing following the march, organizers and volunteer coordinators discussed the night’s success. It was agreed that the conversation started by the rallies needs to be continued. “It can’t be just [that] we get together one day, we go, ‘Rah rah rah, everybody enact consent in your relationships,’ and then go back to our lives,” said Fukumoto. “That’s not how people learn, and that’s not the extent of the conversation.” Members of the Campaign to Reclaim Consent are currently considering applying for AMS club status. Their goal, according to Fukumoto, is to create an inclusive environment to broaden the conversation about sexual violence and the absence of consent in everyday relations. U
A court recently issued a ruling that could hurt UBC in an ongoing class action law suit involving over 400 men whose sperm was destroyed due to a power outage in a UBC sperm bank. On Nov. 20, Justice Bruce Butler ruled that UBC could be sued for the destroyed sperm, despite a clause in an agreement UBC previously argued would have prevented the men from suing them. “It’s a significant blow to UBC’s position that was their primary defence throughout that no matter what, they were weren’t liable, and the court has now held otherwise and we’re confident that we’ll be able to prove that UBC is negligent,” said Sandy Kovacs, a lawyer representing the men in the class action suit. “UBC is studying the reasons for judgment carefully and will consult with counsel for the other parties involved in this litigation along with UBC,” said UBC spokesperson Lucie McNeill in a statement. “As of this date, no decision has been made regarding an appeal.” Legal action related to the destroyed sperm has been ongoing for several years. UBC is named along with several other parties in a class action suit related to a sperm bank that suffered a power outage in 2002. Around 400 men, the majority of whom were undergoing radiation therapy for treatable forms of cancer that effected their fertility, were encouraged to donate their sperm to a UBC-operated facility. On May 24, 2002, a circuit breaker tripped, resulting in a power outage in one freezer holding sperm samples. The freezer thawed, then refroze, destroying the samples. Kovacs alleges that UBC didn’t store the sperm in the proper way. “The gold standard for storage of crowd-preserved semen has always been storage in liquid nitrogen, at least in those days,” said Kovacs. “They weren’t using, we say, the proper storage method and having chosen the method that they did choose, there was no uninterruptible power source.” Kovacs said he isn’t aware of any similar cases to set legal precedent for how much the men should be awarded in the suit. However, he said cases involving loss of fertility in women have resulted in settlements in the range of $100,000 per person. “We’ve looked at cases where women have lost the ability to have children and we’re drawing an analogy,” said Kovacs. “We say there shouldn’t be a differentiation between men and women.” Kovacs said the litigation process will likely drag on due to the number of parties involved. He said he hopes to go to trial to issue a ruling on negligence within the next year. U
4 | NEWS |
MONDAY, NOvEMBER 25, 2013
ACADEMIA >>
Corporations limit UBC’s academic freedom, report alleges
Sarah Bigam news editor
A recent report on university-industry collaborations in Canada determined that UBC is limiting academic freedom in their agreement with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, but those involved in the collaboration disagree. The report, released by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), examined 12 collaboration agreements, including two collaborations in which UBC took part. One was a collaboration within the Vancouver Prostate Centre (VPC) between UBC, the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA) and Pfizer Inc; the other was the Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU), a collaboration between UBC and the mining industry. “UBC has bound itself to the interests of Pfizer,” the report read. “The donor is able to exercise a veto over the research plans of UBC academic staff.” Pfizer gave $9 million to a research team from UBC, the VPC and the BCCA from March 2009 until April 2012. “The report from the CAUT is incredibly naive and ideological,” said Martin Gleave, director of the VPC. “Academics partner with industry all the time. You can’t work in isolation and be globally competitive. Our partnership with Pfizer is one of many partnerships with industry around the world.”
The agreement, intended to research new targets for cancer therapy, does not mention academic freedom. Since the VPC is a separate legal entity from UBC, the report expressed doubts that researchers will fall under the UBC faculty association’s collective agreement on academic freedom. Gleave said the agreement allowed “complete academic freedom” for faculty involved. “[When] we bring our skill sets together with their skill sets, that ultimately creates new tools to treat diseases for public good,” he said. Decisions on research funding are made by a committee of representatives from UBC, the BCCA and Pfizer. Each of these three parties has veto power over any decisions on research. Under the agreement, proposed publications must be presented to Pfizer for review at least 45 days before submission to a third party, and this may be extended by an additional 30 days. According to CAUT’s report, any material found objectionable to Pfizer must be removed, and UBC and the BCCA must wait six months to publish this information if it is turned down by Pfizer. “[Pfizer] can effectively take something that’s really timely and suppress it long enough that it may become less relevant,” said James Turk, director of CAUT. “A partner should not have a right to object to the content
FILE PhOtO hORIa aNDREI VaRLaN/thE uByssEy
the caut believes uBc’s deal with Pfizer gives the company too much control.
of what an academic has done,” he said. “[Research] is not shaped to serve a corporate end, but rather a straightforward evaluation of the scientist.” Intellectual property generated by UBC and Pfizer is owned by UBC, but Pfizer has an exclusive license to commercialize any UBC material during the partnership. Gleave said no issues have arisen from this part of the contract. “What Pfizer owned, they continue to own,” he said.
According to Gleave, the contract with Pfizer is now complete, though collaborations with other companies continue. The MDRU is a partnership between the UBC Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences and the mining industry. “In terms of [a] comparison of the two, the Mineral Deposit Research Unit does a lot better,” said Turk. Half of the MDRU’s budget is funded by membership fees from mining companies, and half by rev-
enue from seminars it holds. UBC commits no money. Corporations can purchase membership annually, and with their membership receives a spot alongside six UBC and government representatives on the Research Generative Group, which identifies which programs will be researched. As of January 2013, 59 corporations were members. “The strategic direction of the MDRU is set by a majority of industry representatives,” the report read. “In our view, the MDRU occupies a grey area when it comes to the role of the public university and the required separation between academic functions and private interests.... There do not seem to be any direct threats to academic freedom, institutional autonomy or academic integrity that arise from this collaboration.” Faculty involvement in both of these collaborations is voluntary. “In both of them, the university does assert that it controls academic matters. That’s absent in most of the [other] agreements,” said Turk. “It’s a fatal flaw.” The report examined 12 research and program collaboration agreements between universities and outside donors. They obtained the agreements through freedom of information requests and are currently waiting on requests related to eight more collaborations. According to Turk, none of these involve UBC. U
LAW >>
Appeals Court overturns decision
Student with alleged plagiarism history to article
FILE PhOtO gEOFF LIstER/thE uByssEy
arun Mohan has been suspended for two and a half years of his academic career.
Will McDonald news editor
The B.C. Court of Appeals has overturned a ruling that prevented UBC law graduate Arun Mohan from articling due to an alleged history of academic dishonesty. The Law Society originally ruled Mohan was fit to article in February 2012, but a second review board overturned that decision in July 2013. However, the Court of Appeals ruled on Nov. 13 that the first review board was more qualified to assess Mohan’s credibility, and overturned the decision preventing him from articling. “Given that this was a factual issue that rested on an assessment of credibility, it was a pretty conventional reasoning to say that the one that gets to make the call is the one that actually saw the witness testify and that’s the first tribunal,” said Mohan’s lawyer Craig Dennis.
Articling: it’s a sort of formal apprenticeship process in which law graduates work under the supervision of a qualified lawyer. Mohan graduated from UBC with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2000, a bachelor’s of law in 2006 and master’s of law in 2010. The Law Society had originally decided that Mohan was credible to article despite the fact that during Mohan’s time at UBC, he had an alleged history of academic dishonesty. Mohan was accused of cheating on a math exam in 1995. His TA alleged that Mohan changed the answers on his exam after it was returned, then tried to ask for a higher grade. Mohan said it was just a misunderstanding resulting from a language barrier. In response, Mohan was given a failing grade and suspended from UBC for one year. Mohan was also accused of plagiarizing a law paper in 2002. The university suspended him for 18 months before he was allowed to complete his degree.
In the first ruling, the Law Society found what they believed to be another case of academic dishonesty. They obtained his honours sociology thesis which contained what they alleged to be plagiarism. Mohan admitted there was plagiarism in the paper, but said it was not the final copy he submitted for a grade. He said UBC had the wrong version of his paper on file. “The applicant’s elaborate explanation around [the sociology thesis] demonstrates that the applicant did not discharge the onus of proof that he is now ‘of good character and repute and is fit to become a barrister and a solicitor of the Supreme Court,’” read the report from the July 2013 hearing overturning the decision allowing Mohan to article. In a ruling issued Nov. 18, the Court of Appeals ruled that the first review board that allowed Mohan to article was more fit to assess his credibility than the second review board that overturned the ruling. “I would set aside the decision of the review board, and restore the disposition of the appellant’s application by the majority of the hearing panel, and award the appellant his costs before the hearing panel, the review board and in this court,” read the ruling. The court also ruled that Mohan be reimbursed for the $8,271.12 he was ordered the pay the law society after the previous ruling against him. Dennis said Mohan plans to pursue a career in law. “He certainly has impressive references that were considered by the Law Society from people he’s worked with in the past. So hopefully prospective employers will look at that,” said Dennis. Mohan was contacted by The Ubyssey and declined to comment. U <em>
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Monday, noveMber 25, 2013 |
EDItOR NATALIE SCADDEN
5
Lace Up for Kids raises $45,365 for charity UBC REC hosts community skate-a-thon in support of BC Children’s Hospital Reyhana Heatherington Senior Lifestyle Writer
A velcro wall, face-painting stations and balloon arches were all part of the child-like atmosphere at Thunderbird Arena Thursday night as students had a chance to relive their youth during the Lace Up for Kids charity event. “I remember when my daddy would tie these for me,” one student skater reminisced as she struggled with her white figure skates. The volunteer-run fundraising event organized by UBC REC aims to raise money for the BC Children’s Hospital supporting rare disease research. Fifty-five teams signed up and skated laps, collectively raising over $45,000. The UBC marching band played pop hits and the UBC Dance Club also performed for the crowd. The UBC Thunderbirds men’s varsity hockey team brought in the most donations, raising over $6,400. Kids from the BC Children’s Hospital took the first few laps to thunderous applause and cheers, skating out to John Lennon’s “Imagine.” all We do is
WOMEN’S X-COUNTRY NATIONAL WIN
Win
the uBc women’s cross country team successfully defended their NaIa national title on saturday morning in Lawrence, kansas. Only three other schools have won consecutive championships. the t-Birds were led by third-year standout Maria Bernard, who captured an individual bronze medal in the five-kilometre race with a time of 17 minutes and 18 seconds. the uBc men’s side finished eighth, enough to give the thunderbirds the combined team championship for the second-straight year as well.
BIRD DROPPINGS Women’s basketball (6-2) Friday vs. wIN: 81-75 W saturday vs. MaN: 62-45 W Men’s basketball (4-4) Friday vs. wIN: 95-93 W saturday vs. MaN: 67-65 W Women’s hockey (10-3-1) Friday @ MaN: 3-2 W (sO) saturday @ MaN: 3-2 L Men’s hockey (3-10-1) Friday vs. MaN: 6-3 L saturday vs. MaN: 6-4 L Women’s volleyball (9-0) saturday vs. caL: 3-0 W sunday vs. caL: 3-0 W Men’s volleyball (6-3) saturday vs. caL: 3-1 W sunday vs. caL: 3-0 W
PhOtO caRtER BRuNDagE/thE uByssEy
Fifty-five teams skated laps at thunderbird arena on thursday.
In 2007, the first Lace Up for Kids took place after only a few months of planning, and the event has grown steadily each year. Kirsten Larsen, UBC REC’s event coordinator, said the student-driven event is a way for students to come together and take initiative.
“We basically host it,” she said. “The students just take it and go with it.” Rosemarie Rupps, a genetic counsellor in the provincial medical genetics program at the BC Children’s Hospital, was volunteering at the event for the fifth time.
“I’m really passionate about this. I’m excited to see so many people here,” she said. “It warms my heart of hearts.” Rupps said the proceeds go to the hospital’s micro-grant program which gives families amounts under $4,000 for costs associated with treating and researching rare diseases. “Rare diseases are defined as those that affect less than one in 2,000 people,” Rupps said. She added that most people will know someone within their sphere of family and friends who are affected by some rare disease, and charity events like Lace Up are crucial for treatment. “Research is really the only way to deal with rare diseases ... because there is no magic formula,” Rupps said. Shaun Car, a third-year mechanical engineering student, skated for the Alpha Delta Pi team. He said his involvement in the Greek system was part of the reason he skated. “It’s a good cause, and as fraternities and sororities we try to get involved in fundraisers, charities and things like that,” he said.
“And, I used to play hockey and it’s a good opportunity to skate with all our friends here.” Some groups used the fundraising process as an opportunity for internal competition. Amrit Jhajj, a third-year BIOSOC executive, said his, Team Ex Why, and the female executives, Team Ex Ex, turned the fundraising into a battle of the sexes and raised the stakes. “We are having a fundraising battle and whoever loses gets a punishment,” Jhajj said. The women’s Team Ex Ex was ahead partway through the night and Jhajj anticipated a potential loss. “Rumours are going around that they’re going to make us shave our Movember [moustaches] and wax our legs,” he said. Whether or not the executives are spared the pain of hair removal, the event was a success. Joe Price, a fourth-year civil engineering student and floor coordinator at the event, said lacing up is a welcome break from studies. “It’s a good opportunity to give back, because we get so wrapped up in school,” Price said. “I definitely enjoy it.” U
Basketball weekend warriors score two wins Mehryar Maalem Staff Writer
In an intense fourth-quarter showdown, the UBC men’s basketball team edged the University of Manitoba Bisons 67-65 on Saturday night in their final home game of the 2013 calendar year. After winning a closely contested game against the Winnipeg Wesmen on Friday night, UBC head coach Kevin Hanson was worried that fatigue could hurt his team in the second half of their back-to-back games. “We had a couple of missed assignments,” said Hanson. “Our focus wasn’t there as much as it was from last night.... Some guys logged a lot of minutes last night.” Right off the bat, it was clear that UBC’s game plan for the night was to beat the Bisons inside. The ’Birds started off strong, constantly trying to take advantage of the Bisons’ poorly executed transition defence. But despite the pace and the pressure inside, the ’Birds were not able to convert their chances. The team looked deflated and the exhaustion from the previous night was evident in the team’s effort on the defensive end, with shooters being left wide open. However, the Bisons shot a dismal 29 per cent from the field, and UBC finished the quarter up 17-14. “The group that started didn’t play very well,” said Hanson. “We really struggled to score [in the] first five minutes of the first and the third, and we lost our confidence a little bit.” Despite allowing Manitoba just 11 points in the second quarter, UBC could only put up 14 themselves, finishing the half with a six-point lead. The third quarter, however, was the one the T-Birds most likely want to forget. It seemed like they were not on the same page offensively or defensively. For the first time in the night, the Bisons were converting the open shots the ’Birds gave up. Manitoba’s Yigit Ozsayiner dominated
in the paint and on the perimeter, scoring 10 points in the quarter, matching the total points UBC scored in the same frame. The Bisons headed into the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead, up 50-41. All night long, it seemed like the ’Birds could not find a way to work together. Hanson was trying all sorts of combinations throughout the game to find a way to spark some chemistry. At last, in the fourth and final quarter, the ‘Birds came out like a new team, energized, focused and playing in harmony. Tonner Jackson displayed unmatched hustle and effort, forcing two fourth-quarter turnovers that worked in favour of UBC’s momentum and got the crowd going. “He brings a lot of experience, a lot of toughness,” said Hanson of Jackson, who finished with 13 points and five rebounds. “He certainly makes plays when we need them.” Tommy Nixon also showed his experience and veteran leadership throughout the game — especially in the fourth quarter, in which he scored eight points to help UBC rally. He finished with a gamehigh 20 points as well as eight boards, and shot 11 of 14 from the free throw line. UBC went on a 9-0 run to tie the game and took the lead with four minutes left in the quarter. Their aggressive defence forced eight crucial turnovers that helped them take the lead with four minutes left in the game. Both teams traded baskets for the rest of the game, and it seemed like every time it looked like UBC might pull away, the Bisons would answer with second-chance points or three-pointers. With 20 seconds left on the clock, Kadar Wright’s dagger from the corner made it a two-possession game for UBC, up 64-58. But after a turnover, a few missed free throws and two clutch threes by the Bisons, it was back to a one-point game at 66-65. Then, with just a second left on
tonner Jackson scores Friday night with a beauty of a lay-up.
the clock, Nixon went one of two from the line, giving the Bisons one last chance to tie or win the game, but Amir Ali’s half-court shot bounced just off the rim. “We worked in the fourth quarter. We finally found some chemistry,” Hanson said. “It took us a lot of time to find the right guys playing together.” With their two back-to-back wins this weekend, the T-Birds are back on track at 4-4 after
PhOtO wILL McDONaLD/thE uByssEy
losing three straight games going into the weekend. UBC will look to continue their winning streak on the road next weekend at Fraser Valley.” U
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6 | FEATURES |
Monday, November 25, 2013
Free to speak your mind?
Counter-protesters gather across from the Genocide Awareness Project display outside the SUB. Reproductive rights have been a hot button issue on campus since the GAP first began their graphic displays in 1999. file photo geoff lister/ the ubyssey
Though many activists say UBC does a good job of maintaining a safe environment for students while allowing controversial voices to be heard, as Sarah Bigam reports, questions remain about what can’t be said and why
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n 1997, 1,500 activists came out to protest UBC’s hosting of dictators in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, held on campus that year. RCMP arrested 49 protesters and were criticized for their heavy-handed response, which included pepper-spraying students. Nothing so extreme has happened in recent years. Today, issues of free expression centre more on how students can engage in controversial debates while maintaining a safe space for all students on campus. “[It’s] a constant conversation and a constant balancing act,” is how UBC President Stephen Toope put it. Toope and the university, along with the Alma Mater Society (AMS), maintain most of the control over what can and cannot be said on campus. However, activists on both sides of nearly every issue seem happy with their decisions. Shortly after taking over as president, Toope released a statement on campus speech making clear that the university backed debates of a political nature. “I wanted to just put a marker down in a sense to say that as president, I thought it was important that the institution have a very
robust sense of free speech,” Toope said in an interview. In an age where university campuses are increasingly bowing to concerns over hate speech and political correctness, UBC seems to be winning accolades from the right and the left for their approach. The libertarian Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has UBC tied for first this year in their annual ranking of campus free speech. But while John Carpay, the man behind the JCCF report, believes in entirely free speech, others see certain limits as appropriate. “The notion of free expression must also be exercised in conjunction with and tempered by other important central values in our society, like equality,” said Margot Young, a UBC law professor who focuses on constitutional law, equality and social welfare.
abortion and the genocide awareness project
One of the most controversial speech issues on campus began in 1999. That was the year the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform — an outside group that advocates against abortion — first teamed up with UBC Lifeline, the campus pro-life club, to put on the Genocide Awareness Project. The project involved displaying large, graphic posters on campus that depicted photographs of aborted fetuses next to photos of the Rwandan genocide, Nazi concentration camps and other genocides. In the early years of the display, Lifeline was hit with demands of $15,000 per day in security costs by the university. They were banned by the AMS from setting up in the SUB and had their posters torn down by three AMS council members. “We have, in the past, had issues both with UBC administration and the AMS, mainly over opposition to our graphic display,” said Lifeline president Kiera van der Sande. As late as 2010, Carpay said, the university was not doing enough to protect the GAP display. Counter-protesters were able to cover their display and used megaphones to shout them down. “The pro-lifers, they’d get shouted down, they couldn’t even
get their own message [out],” said Carpay. “It’s pretty simple: we all have a right to express our views and nobody has the right to silence somebody else.” Since then, UBC’s request of up to $15,000 a day in security fees has been abandoned and they follow a policy of providing free security to any UBC group that requires it for any event. For the last three years, the GAP has taken place relatively uneventfully. Van der Sande said now the group faces smaller restrictions. For instance, UBC limited the number of signs to four and asked the club to turn their signs inward so people would not have to see them. “When there are very strongly held opinions and displays that some people might see as inflammatory, we try to ensure that people are not being forced into position where they’re dealing with issues that are really troubling to them,” Toope said. In 2012, the university dropped those restrictions after Lifeline retained Carpay as their lawyer. Van der Sande said Lifeline has not encountered any issues with UBC or the AMS since she took over last year. “In the past couple years ... we have found that our right to speech
has been tolerated and upheld,” she said. In fact, last year it was the prochoice advocates who suffered a bit of censorship. A student protesting the GAP display disrobed to protest Lifeline’s demonstration and was threatened with charges of non-academic misconduct by UBC, although none were filed. Young criticized the university’s response to this. “It’s difficult to justify [this protest] as a legitimate reason for restricting speech,” she said.
Animal research protests make progress Another group that likes to peddle their message on campus is STOP UBC Animal Research, founded in 2008. Director Laura-Leah Shaw said that in the group’s early days, some members were chased off campus by UBC for leafleting around and inside the SUB, which UBC policy forbids. However, she said this had not happened in the past two years since they started leafleting in designated areas. In addition to tolerating their presence, UBC has also responded to some of the
Monday, November 25, 2013
group’s demands for transparency by releasing more information on their animal testing. “I will say UBC is increasing [the release] of information, but it’s still being censored,” Shaw said. “They’re not being open and candid about things.” She also noted that when she took a tour of the new Pharmaceutical Sciences Building, they insisted that she remove her STOP UBC T-shirt before going inside.
a geopolitical showdown When it comes to issues of global politics, debates can get heated — especially on a campus like UBC that attracts students from around the world.
| FEATURES | 7
our event, but the voices and the protestors [aren’t] shut down.” UBC has been especially tolerant of controversial speakers in recent years, illustrated by their refusal to ban Srdja Trifković — a Serbian nationalist often accused of Islamophobia — invited to campus by the Serbian Students Association. While he was found acceptable by UBC, the Canadian government turned him back to the US for being a senior official of a country in violation of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act.
Unions feeling the pressure
An area where some activists have had more mixed feelings regarding their free speech is labour relations. Fall 2012 saw job action from CUPE 116, the union representing university workers, For a university, anything and CUPEservice 2278, the union representing teaching that detracts from the Both striking free expression of ideas is assistants. unions picketed outside buildings on campus. just not acceptable. “Expression covers not just spoken words but UBC President Stephen Toope, in a 2009 also actions that convey or letter to the campus community attempt to convey meaning,” Young said. “Strikes are absolutely a form of communication about particular messages.” The Israeli-Palestinian debate Michael Stewart, spokesperson is one that has provoked intense for CUPE 2278, has mixed feelings controversy at universities around about the extent of expression perCanada, sometimes escalating into violent demonstrations, the banning mitted by UBC. of speakers and other censorship by While Stewart said UBC never universities and student unions. directly told the union there was At UBC, Solidarity for Palestinanything they couldn’t do or say, he said they made “intimations” about ian Human Rights (SPHR) has been the legality of the union’s job action holding an annual Israeli Apartheid throughout the strike. Week, an event promoting the Stewart said the enormous assertion that Israel is an apartheid resources that UBC has in comparistate, since 2005. Conflict between SPHR and the son to the union influenced what Israel Advocacy Club, now known they said during the strike. as Israel on Campus, resulted in “[UBC] has the ability to bring on the publication of a 2009 letter full-time human resources people from Toope detailing what could to scrutinize the statements that be considered his doctrine on we make publicly,” he said. “Even campus speech. if we’re right and we haven’t made “For a university, anything that any mistakes, that kind of threat detracts from the free expression of causes us to self-censor in a way.” ideas is just not acceptable,” Toope Stewart added that the university wrote. “Forms of speech should not can marshal its resources in other be banned simply on the grounds ways to affect the debate, including that they are ‘offensive,’ but if the sending out broadcast emails and speech is designed to preclude any using other methods to communispeech in response ... a line will cate the entire student body. The have been crossed.” union, meanwhile, is left to smaller In her three years of involvement outlets like The Ubyssey and CiTR. with the club, SPHR president Stewart also said that for a long Haneen Karajah says they’ve never time, the university held an email experienced any issues of censorlist of the union’s members, which they refused to share with the ship with either UBC or the AMS. union until last fall. “Whenever we encountered “On the face of it, it seems bafany problems or someone would complain about some of our events, fling that they wouldn’t allow us to the university would always stress communicate with our members,” and emphasize the fact that they are Stewart said. “But credit to them — very serious about free speech,” said they provide us with the lists now Karajah. and they seem to be as accurate as Karajah said that SPHR seems possible, so I think it’s just one of to enjoy a greater level of tolerance those things that you have to fight at UBC than similar organizations for before you’re allowed to have it.” do in American or other Canadian universities that her friends attend, where clubs have been asked to reconsider their choice of speakers or to cancel events entirely. “When I share this experience with some of my friends who are also involved in this kind of Writing the free work, they’re actually surprised,” speech rulebook Karajah said. Daniel Rosengarten, serving his first year as president of Israel UBC's Academic Freedom policy on Campus, agreed that UBC has states that “behaviour that obdone a good job of permitting free structs free and full discussion ... expression. [even] those which may be unpopu“There’s bound to be some lar or even abhorrent, vitally threatopposition whenever a speakens the integrity of the university’s forum.” er comes or whenever an event However, in 2011, that policy happens on campus,” he said. “But was made subordinate to the UBC as a whole is very supportuniversity’s Discrimination and ive in protecting our right to Harassment policy, which states express ourselves. that no member of the university “Security allows us to have that community can “cause, condone or balance where we’re able to hold <em>
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Photo mackenzie walker/the ubyssey
Margot Young, a law professor at UBC, argues that it is important to take into consideration the harm some speech can cause when making decisions about freedom of expression on campus.
participate in the discrimination or harassment of another person or group of persons.” “If someone says that they are writing something hateful because they have academic freedom to do so, we don’t want them to hide behind that when it’s potentially harassing someone,” said Gurdeep Parhar, associate dean of equity and professionalism. The JCCF report was critical of the university holding their anti-discrimination policy to this standard. “If you have an anti-discrimination policy that says, ‘Look, we’re in the workplace, everybody has to be respected,’ that’s one thing,” said Carpay. “But a normal part of a free society is that you do feel uncomfortable sometimes listening to somebody else’s speech.” Young disagreed. “The value of free expression and the value of equality are equally important and must be exercised in ways that are consistent and give recognition to both,” she said. Young said she supported the 2011 change. “I think what it recognizes is that speech can be very harmful.” AMS policy is made by the Legislative Procedures Committee (LPC). The Student Administrative Commission (SAC), which governs clubs, makes its own policy. AMS VP Academic Anne Kessler, who until several weeks ago chaired the LPC, said that the committee generally does not have time to look through their policies, and only investigates issues when they have been reported by somebody. SAC gets the final say over which clubs get constituted and which clubs get deconstituted. It has a list of reasons why it would do either of these things, but in the end, the final decision is up to SAC’s discretion. “It’s really hard to develop a comprehensive list of all these potential offenses,” said AMS president and former SAC chair Caroline Wong, which is why policy leaves so much up to SAC’s determination. “We have the right to refuse if we see any sort of hate crime or terrorist action — if people are actively oppressing another group,” said Nina Scott, vice-chair of SAC. Both Scott and Wong said SAC has rarely had to take action against AMS clubs. The university also has a very strict policy about signage. All posters must be approved and put up on official notice boards only. Under AMS policy, leafleting is prohibited inside and within 15 metres of the SUB, but groups can book tables to promote their cause.
“Imagine yourself going through the SUB and everyone at the tables is trying to hand you a leaflet. It’s really hard to get from one side to another,” Wong said. “We installed a rule in the SUB that everything needs to be passive.” In March 2012, half a dozen students were threatened with arrest by AMS security for leafleting in the SUB. AMS security does not actually have the power to arrest anyone, but they can call the RCMP.
Are some groups more equal than others? UBC has been host to Trans* Day of Remembrance events since 2005 and has had resource groups, which provide advocacy for certain groups on campus, since 1996. January and February of this year saw events on campus for Idle No More. This fall, Take Back the Night and March to Reclaim Consent demonstrations were staged on campus without any interference from the university other than a request not to obstruct traffic. Resource groups, which include groups like the Women’s Centre and Pride UBC, don’t have to apply for space in the SUB annually, which all other clubs do. In fact, this year 75 clubs were handed eviction notices for forgetting to do this. Resource groups also get sixth priority booking for space in the SUB, while regular clubs get eighth priority. The JCCF’s report was critical of this preferential treatment. “[This] in effect promotes the speech and ideology of clubs whose message the SAC agrees with (or considers more important), while putting other clubs at a disadvantage for high-traffic space and AMS resources.” Young disagrees. “Groups that represent disadvantaged groups certainly should be given resources appropriate to the different position they hold in society,” she said, referring the concept she termed “substantive equality” — that is, the notion that the views of the majority do not need protection because they will by definition be tolerated. “Some expressive content is damaging and actually undermines the very reasons why one might protect expression in the first place,” said Young. In 2009, the Arts Undergraduate Society published an article intended as satire in its newspaper The Underground , entitled “Campus rapist just exploring his sexuality.” This ultimately led to the shutdown of the paper. In February 2013, eight student athletes were given warning letters <em>
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or game suspensions after being found to have been involved in the Dime Watch Twitter account, which posted voyeuristic photos and commented on the appearance of women around campus. In one of the biggest speech issues this year, 84 Commerce Undergraduate Society (CUS) FROSH leaders were ordered to undergo community service and CUS President Enzo Woo and VP Engagement Gillian Ong were forced to resign following an offensive cheer recited during Sauder School of Business orientation. “The chant at Sauder was a form of hate speech — misogynist hate speech — and has no place in a community that values equal dignity, equal respect [and] equal participation of women,” Young said. Toope agreed there is a need for a balance between allowing speech and causing direct harm to individuals. “That’s the question: is it the case that you can make a really credible argument that people are going to be harmed by the speech?” Toope said. “If you can, I think you set the balance differently.”
Lines in the sand Prevention of discrimination and harassment is highly prioritized by the university. For the most part, people seem to agree with this. “We know there are inevitable limitations on expression. It’s about having a conversation about what issues are legitimate and what other kinds of values need to be given recognition,” Young said. The JCCF report says anti-discriminatory policies can easily be abused, but it appears that such abuses of power have not yet occurred. That doesn’t mean it could never happen. “I think we can always improve our policies and our actions as well,” said Wong. Toope said the state of free expression at UBC is similar to that of other campuses he’s been at in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., and that as a social ecosystem of their own, universities have to find where they fit on the questions of free speech. “Not every country comes to the same conclusion on where the balance is between free speech and the potential for social disruption and the potential for harm to others,” said Toope. “It’s just a very difficult line to draw, and it’s one that I think universities have to draw all the time.” U
Monday, November 25, 2013 |
EDITOR Rhys Edwards
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architecture >>
music >>
How the new SUB reflects our campus
Aokify America concert
Designing the student lifestyle Vancouver raves for last Aurora Tejeida Senior Culture Writer
If the New SUB were a person, you would probably describe it as “eccentric.” Or at least according Michael Kingsmill, the AMS’s new SUB project manager. Kingsmill has participated in many building projects on campus and over 50 renovations in the current SUB. His role in respect to the New SUB is to complement the two firms in charge of designing it — Dialogue and HBBH — by acting as an “expert on student life.” Besides his 20 years of experience working for the AMS, Kingsmill has helped integrate what students want into the design of the New SUB through different forms of student involvement, such as with the Design Cube in the old SUB, and with surveys. Some of the proposals that were well received in surveys were not surprising, like the request for a climbing wall and a vegetarian and vegan food section. Other proposals, however, surprised him.
Saving the knoll “I thought that the knoll, which is a piece of the landscape that had a very prominent position and attached memories to it, would fare better in the survey,” said Kingsmill. The knoll has been a point of controversy in the last few years. When the new bus loop was first proposed in 2006, before construction began on the new SUB, plans for an underground bus terminal would have required the demolition of the knoll. In 2008, students fought to save it. But the last time the students were polled, only two years after rallying to save it, many of them didn’t even know what the knoll was. The survey asked if the knoll was important, to which many students replied: “What is a knoll?” “It was originally what was dug out to build the swimming pool, but it became a place to sunbathe, socialize [and] watch Storm the Wall,” said Kingsmill. “It drains quickly, so it’s usually dry, and it was a symbol of a lot of student protests.”
The knoll has since become an integral part of the New SUB’s design, and proof that the liveliness of a student union building resides not just in what happens on the inside, but what goes on outside too. Unlike the buildings on the edge of campus that commonly overlap with the surrounding forest, the New SUB’s design is influenced by the fact that it is surrounded by man-made structures. Other buildings on campus like the Chan Centre also have designs that play with the outside-inside interconnection. The trees surrounding the current SUB and the New SUB are what Kingsmill calls “ornamental trees.” This means the connection to the landscape is not as intimate, but there are still many playful aspects. For instance, part of the knoll is going to be inside the building. “The outside knoll will be natural — it’s got worms, bugs and trees,” Kingsmill said. “But the inside is artificial, and our knoll on the backside of this mount will be bisected in half by the building.” Both sides will be tiered, creating amphitheaters. The exterior side will face the square, while the interior side will have seats and face the inside of the new building.
Colouring in But the knoll isn’t the only way the New SUB will interact with its surroundings — colour selection is important, too. Most of the colour of the exterior building is on already, or is currently being applied. Chocolate brown was eventually decided after consultation. “We had to go through a process to select the colour,” said Kingsmill. “It was a consortium of people such as the students, the university’s campus planning and design office, and there were also people from the professional community that came in.” The team also looked at light brown, salmon and terracotta before settling on chocolate brown. “A lighter colour makes buildings fade more, [and] a deeper colour makes the building stand out,” Kinsgmill said.
Colour can sometimes be an issue at UBC, as the campus is structured into different zones. The colour palette for academic buildings is very limited — they tend to be white brick — but more liberties can be taken with the SUB. “The question is whether the goal is to make the building strong and dominant or subdued and quiet. The students wanted it to be loud, so we wanted a building that would be strong, that would reflect students, ” Kingsmill said. But what does it mean to reflect students when there are almost 50,000 of us, and we don’t all like the same things? According to Kingsmill, there are many things we share, and there’s a way to express it through a building. “Students generally seek more progressive things. They are more active. They wanted a building that was not just perceived as a university building, like the library. They wanted it to be a statement about the students and their identity.” The new building will be five stories high, but it sits on a more confined piece of land than the current two-story building. The current SUB, which was built in 1967, has what Kingsmill calls “a big base footprint,” measuring 265 by 235 feet. The new building is 300 by 150 feet.
Going green? The emphasis on sustainability also reflects the demands of students. The New SUB will be a elite platinum building, the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standard. Green features include solar energy collectors and displaced ventilation, where ventilation is zoned and can be shut off in sections. Kingsmill added that students’ desire for a building that would still look contemporary in 10 years was a key element in coming up with a design. But times change, and with changes come new necessities, sometimes faster than expected. “I bet 10 years into this building we’ll do a renovation in some way, shape or form.” U
PHOTO Courtesy Dialog Designs/HMMH + H
With any luck, the stark tones and environmentally-conscious design of the new Student Union Building will generate a sense of campus community among students,
PHOTO KOSTA Prodanovic/THE UBYSSEY
Steve Aoki’s concert on Saturday was filled with screaming, champagne and cake.
Quinn Aebi Contributor
On the bus heading to Thunderbird Arena, the driver hollered out: “Next stop for Steve Aoki!” His utterance signaled the city’s buzz for Aoki’s Aokify America tour. This was no ordinary tour; Aoki’s lineup featured an unexpected yet perfect blend of music genres, ranging from Borgore’s filthy basslines to Waka Flocka Flame’s high energy hiphop to Aoki’s own chart-topping house anthems. The combination brought UBC students and Vancouverites alike to the Thunderbird Arena this past Saturday for an evening that had everybody raving. EDM-hungry fans started lining up at the door and were all funnelled through the security and ticket checkpoints, running up the stairs in giddy excitement. Taking advantage of every possible second of the night, people filled the arena quickly and started grooving to the opening DJ, Botnek. A soft start to the night was not in the cards. The energy in Thunderbird Arena continued to rise as Waka Flocka took the stage. Following his act, Borgore was released, keeping everyone in the crowd more than entertained by performing tracks with Waka such as “Wild Out.” It seemed only fitting that these huge tracks were played in such a massive arena as Thunderbird. The spectacle on the dance floor was a blur of colourful flashing lights, and the crowd seemed to move as one. When Borgore ended his set, the crowd surged forward in anticipation, and all eyes in the stadium were on Aoki as he made his way over to the decks, set up under a light display spelling his name in massive letters. His mix started
slow, with a low robot-type voice repeating the word “Aoki” in a buildup that lasted minutes. When the beat finally dropped, the whole stadium seemed to leap in the air, but no one in the room was moving as wildly as Aoki himself. The DJ was as much into his performance as his fans were, jumping off everything he could and popping champagne bottles into a wild crowd. Using the microphone frequently throughout his set, he put most of the energy into the crowd himself, screaming along to “Warp 1.9.” The highlight of his set came when a certain beat starting creeping into his mix; a beat that everyone instantly recognized from his recent hit song, “Boneless.” The stadium was practically shaking, with everyone in the pit and in the stands dancing with an electrifying energy. Aoki’s set extended into the night with a continuous string of aggressive yet melodic tunes, and cakes being thrown into the faces of front row fans. Yes, you read that correctly. Borgore and Aoki have been obsessed with smashing crowds with cakes, and have maintained the tradition on every stop on the tour. The night had to end somewhere, however, and Aoki thanked Vancouver for hosting and left the stage with an exhausted crowd still wanting more. The stage presence of the artists on the Aokify America tour was truly impressive. Although Vancouver was the last stop of a long tour, Aoki performed as if it were his first. Approached after the show heading back to his tour bus, Aoki’s voice was so far gone that all he could respond with was a fist bump. But after hearing him belt out the high pitched screams in “Warp 1.9,” that is only to be expected. U
MONDAY, NOvEMBER 25, 2013
| CULTURE | 9
Seedlings sprouts out of Sprouts Pride and Prejudice charms THEATRE >>
the Freddy Wood Theatre
JESSICA CHRIStIN-HAMEtNER
Food
I hastily climbed the three floors step-by-step, eager to reach the penthouse. Following the enticing aroma of food lingering in the air, I was greeted by a large open space and friendly, smiling faces at the top. Around the room, I saw a lengthy bookshelf with an assortment of aged books, scattered comfortable seating and hushed students sipping on fair trade coffees and artisan teas. Seedlings, located in the Thea Koerner Graduate Centre, is a vegan café extension of Sprouts, located in the SUB, specializing in raw vegan cuisine. Volunteer run by students for just under a year now, Seedlings offers food that is green, sustainable and healthy — the kind that tastes good, but is also good for the body. Seedlings operations manager Lianne McRadu explained the inspiration for the café. “We’re trying to promote healthy, sustainable health systems and food options for students on campus,” she said. “It’s more of a café and eatery than Sprouts, as we have our own kitchen in here, and a broader menu and food options.” Initially beginning as a bulk buying initiative, Seedlings has quickly carved out its own philosophy: to provide students with affordable, healthy food options on campus. Catering to an audience that likes variety, Seedlings sells gluten- and dairy-free snacks, organic coffee and raw vegan entrees. And the food is every bit as lovely. The chai spice bars have sold out already, but the raw
Katia Fawaz Contributor
PhOtO kaItLyN tIssINgtON/thE uByssEy
Volunteers at seedlings work together to offer raw vegan cuisine to the uBc populace.
cookie bites are just as utterly rich and succulent, a series of small thrills. I savoured the cocoa as it softened in my mouth, greedily craving more with each bite. Selling for just a mere dollar, these tangy treats are certainly a lavish delicacy for the chocaholic on a budget. While I do love chocolate, there are many other options on offer. “The menu is very seasonal and the flavour is spicy,” McRadu said. “Most of our products come from three organic suppliers in B.C. For example, right now we have a lot of winter root vegetables. We have staples like our seasonal stew and the chickpea burger, but the ingredients vary week to week, even month to month. .” As Seedlings is a volunteer-run café, students prepare and cook food week after week, which has, over the course of two terms, shaped a tight-knit community. Volunteers at Seedlings are bubbly and down to earth, and enjoy providing food for the UBC commun-
ity. The café also runs workshops once a month for students to put their culinary skills to the test. “We did a free pizza-making and pickling workshop, and there’s also a kombucha workshop coming up,” said McRadu. “We like to interact with other people and do free food related things, educating students about healthy eating.” Menu expansion, and improving efficiencies in the kitchen for volunteers are essential for the eatery too. “We really appreciate everything our volunteers do, so we want to make sure that they feel they’re enjoying being in the space,” McRadu said. And this is what makes Seedlings stand out from other cafes. It’s not just another eatery to order your latte and leave. It’s a community dedicated to providing wholesome food that is as healthy as it is hearty. As I wander back outside to the winter cold, I know I’ll be back, and I mean it — but next time, to sample a chai spice bar. U
FILM >>
The Dude abides at the Norm for a decade Jenica Montgomery Staff Writer
Sometimes there’s a man who — well, he’s the man for his time and place. This man is the Dude. He’s a regular man who was pulled into something bigger than himself, coming out as an unlikely hero. The Big Lebowski, released in 1998 and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, chronicles the extraordinary adventures of the world’s laziest man. Last Friday, the UBC Film Society hosted it’s annual Big Lebowski beer garden event, which has been a staple of campus culture since it first started 10 years ago. “It’s in that canon of movies where a dude — well, literally the Dude — stumbles into this plot that’s way bigger than them and ends up being this hapless hero that makes it to the end,” said Tim Fernandes, UBC alumni and Film Society member. “[It’s] super identifiable to people because everyone is a regular guy who wished that some crazy adventure happened to them.” Over the 15 years since the movie has been released, The Big Lebowski has garnered the status of cult classic. The movie has become a household name; everyone can relate to the Dude on some level, but much like any cult classic, it’s difficult to pinpoint how or why it managed to gain traction. “You can’t really explain what it’s about, and that’s what makes it attractive. Any cult film is a cult film because you watched it once, and, yeah, it’s OK, and then you watch it more and it gets better,” said Fernandes. <em>
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white Russians are aplenty at the annual Big Lebowski beer garden at the Norm theatre.
According to the Film Society, the laid back lifestyle the Dude leads is particularly appealing to the students of UBC. “UBC is a West Coast campus so it’s associated with that West Coast mentality. Everyone has this association and it captures something about life,” said Quincy Arthur, UBC Film Society’s club room administrator. As a cult classic, The Big Lebowski is in a unique position to illustrate the merits of laziness. The Dude and his laid-back lifestyle have inspired the film’s fans to take a new, relaxed view on life. “He appeals to the lazy side of all of us,” said Alex Westhelle, the Film Society’s operations manager. Indeed, the Dude’s lazy attitude and approach to life could very well be the solution for students, and adults, who live an overly stressed
life. Los Angeles resident Oliver Benjamin has gone so far to found a religion, Dudeism, inspired by The Big Lebowski and the Dude’s relaxed way of life. “People spend way too much time worried about health risks like bacon and booze when the greatest risk to our well being is stress,” Benjmain said. “Cultivating a disciplined laziness may be the greatest health remedy around.” Now more than ever, people are taking on a greater amount of stress — working longer hours, sleeping less and eating nutritiously bereft foods. For its fans, The Big Lebowski shows that to get by in life, sometimes you just need to, you know, chill out, man. “It’s a righteousness in laziness,” said Fernandes. And lastly, remember: the Dude abides. U
“The more I see of the world, the more dissatisfied I become of it, and the more I realize the inconsistency of its nature.” So says the vivacious Elizabeth Bennet, played by Kat McLaughlin in UBC Theatre’s Pride and Prejudice. Playwright Jon Jory’s rendition of Jane Austen’s classic text proposes a reconciliation between romanticism and rationalism, and concludes with harmonious balance between the two. Pride and Prejudice speaks of a world foreign to the average university student, where young adults aren’t bound by tight schedules and don’t need coffee to cope with fastpaced living. Rather than job prospects occupying the mind, there is time to entertain the thoughts of love — unless you’re like Bennet, who’d much rather find amusement in the preoccupations of others. Her stubborn disdain for Victorian England’s social norms and familial duty, as well as her lack of passivity, make her ever-eager mother want to strangle her. But as Bennet caustically remarks, “What are men to rocks and mountains?” The set is consistent throughout the show. In the form of an oversized, antique bookshelf, it compliments scenes ranging from the Bennet’s unruly household
to a gossipy-aired ballroom and animated carriage ride. In the absence of background music, excessive lighting or tech tricks, director Lois Anderson conducts raw show business. The dialogue in the play isn’t overly flamboyant, nor is it difficult to extract meaning from. Instead, it conveys a sort of quirky insight decorated with a dainty touch, while easily evoking the atmosphere of the Victoria era for a more contemporary audience. Dashing suitor Mr. Darcy (played by Matt Kennedy) and Bennet quarrel at every encounter, sparking much amusement in the audience. When all the play’s reverence is absent, their disdain for one another is the only thing that remains; they are unwilling to make a remark to each other unless it’s one of satire or intellect, infused with a dash of realism. Toward the end, Mr. Darcy must tone down his ego to win the mind of someone who sets high standards for her heart. The story goes as you’d imagine, though the beginning of Darcy’s famous proposal remains outstanding: “May I inquire about your health?” In its articulate wit, Theatre at UBC’s Pride and Prejudice urges audiences to embrace inner eloquence and to remember: mind over matter. U
Monday, November 25, 2013 |
student voice. Community reach.
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UBC: We know Connect has issues to the new system. For nearly a year, course conversations went fine and the system performed well. This September, however, when we converted the final load of courses, the new system unexpectedly started to buckle. In September, we experienced several outages and very poor response times for the whole community. We worked with the software vendor to diagnose the problem, apply immediate remedies and consider longer-term solutions. Over the past two months, we updated and tuned the software several times and added more hardware to increase the size of the engine. Consequently, October was better, with four shorter outages and many groups of students and faculty reporting acceptable response times. These difficulties with Connect have surfaced at a time when the university is encouraging and investing in more flexible learning options that call for an increased use of online tools, making the situation particularly challenging for everyone. We realize the difficulties that students and faculty have experienced and appreciate your patience as the IT team continues to work on making the system fully stable.
letter
illustration luella sun/the ubyssey
How long until the fancy New SUB will be outdated?
LAST WORDS
PArting shots and snap judgments from The ubyssey editorial board
A better march for consent Last Friday night’s March to Reclaim Consent was held to foster discussion about sexual violence and the importance of consent. Their message, embodied in one of the protestors’ four chants, was clear: “Whatever we wear, whatever we go, yes means yes and no means no.” This march has been in the works since late October, when word broke of the third and fourth sexual assaults on campus. Somewhat in contrast to the Take Back the Night march several weeks ago, the March to Reclaim Consent was organized. It even ran on time. The atmosphere of the march remained peaceful and inclusive throughout. There was no vandalism and no internal division. When, on three occasions, residents of Marine Drive leaned out of their windows and told the protestors to “shut up,” they just kept marching. Unlike the rally held last month, this protest did not dissolve into ideological fragments. This time, it seemed like everybody was on the same side. This is key in any sort of activism; no progress is made when people are paralyzed by their differences. Overall, the march sets a good precedent for further activism on this important issue.
Questioning UBC corporate partnerships In an ideal world, all academic research would be funded by neutral parties. But that isn’t the world we live in. That drug companies pay for UBC research can be seen as impinging on academic freedom, but it can also be seen as providing funds for medical research that would otherwise not be conducted. UBC should continue to monitor their corporate partnerships and make sure their professors’ work is held to the highest ethical standard. But we should not, and indeed cannot, automatically write off all research funding as inherently tainted.
Dreadful water machine music As SUB-dwellers, we at The Ubyssey frequent the WaterFillz machine in the basement — a lot. We love the non-copper taste <em>
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PHOTO KOSTA PRODANOVIC /the ubyssey
The March to Reclaim Consent was, in our eyes, more organized than Take Back the Night.
of filtered water, but we have qualms with the AMS propaganda — er, advertisements the machine plays. We’ve gotten over the fact that there is a tiny screen on an oversized water fountain in the first place. But just when we were going to write an angry editorial about the “sustainability melody” the WaterFillz machine plays on infinite repeat, the AMS took the ad down. Yes, we are happy that we no longer have to hear it, but after continuous exposure to the gentle guitar jingle inviting us to be sustainable, we don’t know what to do with ourselves. It’s as if we have been conditioned to hear the jingle first, then proceed with our urination. They shouldn’t have gotten rid of the ad all in one go and made us quit cold turkey. They should’ve made that ad more infrequent to transition our bladders to life without the song. We’re a picky bunch.
Balancing the New SUB design The design of the New SUB, according to the people who made it, will reflect the needs and interests of students. They claim this design was hashed out through community consultation and engagement, but the question of whether this consultation accurately represents these needs and interests is a moot point. A hive mind of 50,000 people is unlikely to make recommendations reflecting anything beyond the most basic of its values — which are usually handed down to it from a limited group of in-
stitutions anyway. This being the case, the architects for the New SUB are obligated to find a common mean, which lies somewhere in the field of “being progressive” and “sustainable.” We’re going out on a limb here, but it’s likely that the current SUB was also built to reflect the interests of students, which probably lay somewhere in the field of “being progressive” — though, admittedly, less in the field of sustainability. As architects undoubtedly know, one of the problems with their discipline is that the meaning of what they produce may be bankrupted by contingent social circumstances beyond their control. This makes the task of trying to create an effective building very difficult. It's easy to imagine future UBC governors eventually deciding that the nownew SUB is dated before launching into another multimillion dollar enterprise. If the old SUB is infrastructurally and spatially unsuited for the current generation of students, it would be remiss to criticize UBC for not replacing it. And HBBH should be lauded for taking on an extremely difficult task while producing a sustainable building. But it’s regrettable that the discourse surrounding the entire business is so superficial. The reality is the AMS could build damn near any shape or size of building, and students would still adapt to it. We only hope that the architects succeed in creating the community space we are (apparently) looking for — that way, future generations of students might care more about their living space. U
To the editor: We share the concerns over the Connect problems written about in The Ubyssey and would like to assure you that finding solutions has been given a very high priority. UBC IT staff have been working diligently with the software vendor to fully understand and remedy the problems. When the makers of our old WebCT Vista Learning Management System (LMS) decided that they will no longer provide support and eventually withdraw WebCT Vista from the market, UBC had to look for a new solution. To make a well-informed decision, we led an extensive examination of options, looking at functional requirements of the academic community; fit with other existing UBC IT-supported platforms that need to connect to the LMS; practicality and ease of transition; what was known at the time about the quality and reliability of available products; as well as the cost of investment relative to what the system would offer. Following a review process in 2010-2011, our academic community selected Blackboard’s Learn, which is the software behind Connect and which was also the choice of several other universities, including the University of Toronto. We began to introduce Connect in 2012, gradually converting courses
Anna Kindler, Vice Provost and Associate Vice-President Academic Oliver Grüter-Andrew, Chief Information Officer
Do we care less about male-on-male violence? letter Dear UBC Community: The response to the stabbing attack on the male student near Totem Park is intriguing to me. There is clearly recognition that the incident was terrible and should not have occurred. However, certain quotes from students in The Ubyssey ’s article seem to take a different tone than the opinions surrounding the recent sexual assaults on campus. The responses to the sexual assaults have all been justifiable, as no one deserves to have their personal safety and rights violated in any way — and sexual assault is nothing to be taken lightly. It is the quotes by students speaking about the attack on the male student that are of interest to me because there appears to be an acceptance of the aggression by and against males, whereas the violation of a woman’s rights are (rightfully) responded to with outrage. Quotes such as: “With all the assaults recently on campus, it makes you wonder what more the police and Campus Security can do to clamp down on this.” And: “The police can’t be all places at all times and you really can’t use one incident to generalize the <em>
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entire campus.” I am a woman, and I find it concerning that such an aggressive violation of a male’s rights, based on these statements, does not spawn the same outrage as the violation of a female’s rights. There is nothing I see in the quotes suggesting that the police aren’t trying hard enough, but rather, it appears reasonable to expect that one’s safety must be, to some degree, in his own hands, and that the police cannot always be there to protect each individual student. Is this incident timed with a general realization that security measures cannot guarantee that every student has a set of protective eyes on them? Or is there perhaps an implicit acceptance of aggressive events when it comes to males in general? This may be one example of an implicit societal expectancy that men are going to be aggressive and violent, and therefore such events are not as outrageous as a sexual assault against a woman may be. Perhaps I am wrong, but I believe there is a strong likelihood, as uncomfortable as it may be to acknowledge, that I am right. I hope the community will challenge its conception of both sides of events such as these. Kaitlyn Tissington is a third-year psychology student. <em>
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Correction: On the Opinions page of our Nov. 21 issue, the main byline on the op-ed regarding evangelical students and science by Ryan Slifka incorrectly identified him as Chris Slifka.
PIctuREs + wORDs ON yOuR uNIVERsIty EXPERIENcE
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CAtCUltY
COMIC >>
Stupid questions
Monday, noveMber 25, 2013 |
SAUDER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
by tubey
watch for our video later this week about Puppies on Campus, a pet therapy initiative by uBc to help students reduce stress — and of course, to let them play with pups.
K SNEA PE E K
ILLustRatION LuELLa suN/thE uByssEy
PIC OF THE WEEK
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the men’s soccer team holds up their makeshift trophy of a strainer stacked on top of a cariboo 12-pack after they lost their actual trophy in the Pit Pub.
12 | GAMES |
MONDAY, NOvEMBER 25, 2013
Crossword
across 1- actress helgenberger 5- Drinking cup 8- Baking chamber 12- ___ about (approximately) 13- Legendary ruler of crete 15- string tie 16- Brouhaha 17- Dominant 18- Bakery worker 19- One who carries out a death sentence 22- Descartes’s conclusion 23- that, in tijuana 24- Foliage unit 26- Bullfighter 29- Less fresh 31- Dallas player, briefly 32- chart anew 34- trims 36- Just ___! 38- star in cygnus 40- california wine region 41- Razor sharpener 43- Forget it! 45- Negative vote 46- Resounds 48- Insufficient 50- head-cover 51- ___-Magnon man 52- Lyricist gershwin 54- Rigidly austere
61- achy 63- ancient linear unit 64- Electronics giant 65- as a result 66- steak order 67- “what I am” singer Brickell 68- Baby blues 69- Fast flier 70- cong. meeting
doWn 1- speck 2- strong as ___ 3- got on 4- Dealer in foodstuff s 5- start of something small? 6- golden Rule word 7- continue 8- kimono accessory 9- clamorous 10- zeno of ___ 11- Cheers regular 13- traveled by car 14- European wheat 20- Manipulator 21- cut the crop 25- king of comedy 26- Flavor 27- charge too high a price 28- Portents 29- Erupts 30- settle a loan 31- Barker and Bell
PuzzLE cOuRtEsy BEstcROsswORDs.cOM. usED wIth PERMIssION.
The red arrow is a nasty piece of work who said some really offensive stuff about the green arrow’s family. The green arrow wants to give the red arrow a piece of her mind. Help the green arrow confront the red arrow by finding a way out of the maze.
33- year abroad 35- Express 37- small salmon 39- Berrylike 42- Inside info 44- aggregate of fibers 47- something drawn out 49- sounds 52- got it 53- actor calhoun 55- applies friction to 56- Native Nigerians 57- hue 58- Message symbols 59- Black cuckoos 60- caustic substances 62- aurora’s counterpart Nov. 21 answers
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Write Shoot Edit Code Drink
COME BY THE UBYSSEY OFFICE SUB 24, FOLLOW THE SIGNS
Sudoku
PuzzLE cOuRtEsy kRazyDaD. usED wIth PERMIssION.