November 15, 2017

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 | VOLUME XCIX | ISSUE XIV BASKETBALL, BAND AND TRACK SINCE 1918

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How to interpret those antiabortion displays

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Fall ’Birds bow out of playoffs

THE UBYSSEY

UBC STRUGGLES TO RESPOND TO VANCOUVER’S FENTANYL CRISIS

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NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE

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EVENTS

OUR CAMPUS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16

Our Campus: UBC chaplains ‘shine a light’ on the role of spirituality in student life

LACE UP FOR KIDS 6 P.M. @ DOUG MITCHELL Everyone is welcome to join in on the big day for a silent auction, skating, food and much more!

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17 DARK SKY EXCURSION TRIP: PORTEAU COVE 7:30 P.M. TO 2 A.M. @ PORTEAU COVE PROVINCIAL PARK Join the UBC Astronomy Club in observing the night sky. $5 FOR MEMBERS Gareth Sirotnik has been a serious practitioner of Zen Buddhism for more than 20 years.

GARETH SIROTNIK

said O’Brien, the coordinator of the Chaplains Association and one of three Baptist chaplains on campus.

Kindness Week hopes to promote empathy, dignity and connection, as well as taking time out of people’s busy lives to foster these values.

The chaplains on campus each have their own histories within their faiths and with UBC, but what they have in common is their long history of involvement in their faith communities. O’Brien moved to Vancouver almost 24 years ago in order to pastor a church on Main Street. Bregman was ordained in 1975 and was the senior Rabbi at Temple Shalom for 33 years before coming to his position at Hillel. Sirotnik has been a serious practitioner of Zen Buddhism for more than 20 years and was an ordained monk at the Zen Centre in Vancouver a decade ago. The Chaplains’ varied backgrounds inform the knowledge and skills each of them bring to the UCMA. Though of course each faith has important differences, the Chaplaincy works to promote religious dialogue, discussion and acceptance on campus.

Approaching conflict neutrally and effectively “doesn’t require me to agree with you in order for us to work together … or to work for the common good,” said O’Brien.

He noted that the association’s commitment to recognizing and accepting differences, and promoting cooperation in spite of and because of these differences, is part of what distinguishes the UBC Chaplaincy from other types of chaplaincies. Bregman and Sirotnik echoed the importance of dialogue as well.

“Listening is an art,” said Bregman. “You’ve got to have a spectrum of ideas.”

While the Chaplaincy is very active on campus and already provides many services to students, the chaplains agree that more could be offered from the university’s

side. Sirotnik noted UBC’s lack of an open, multifaith space that could be used for meditation or prayers.

“Stress and anxiety is such a big issue on this campus … and there’s no quiet space where people can go that’s really designated for that,” he said, adding that many people of all faiths or no faith have interest in meditation.

Bregman also commented on meditation as a proven way to deal with stress, but he “[doesn’t] think the university deals enough with the issue of stress.”

This is another barrier that the chaplains see to religious understanding on campus — the lifestyle of business, productivity and competitiveness that is often present in a university setting.

Bregman noted the secularization of campus attitudes over time, but believes that there’s no need to make a choice between secularism and spirituality.

“I don’t think it’s an either-or.

I think that we need to be living in a number of different realms and worlds all of the same time,” he said.

The Chaplaincy hopes to advocate kindness as a touchstone of everyone’s life amid personal and academic stressors alike. “It’s not as if we’re saying, you know, in order to be kind, you have to be religious.

Absolutely not,” said Bregman. “But I don’t think you can be religious without being kind.”

Ultimately, the Chaplaincy sees spirituality as another component of a full life, one which can provide support and relief from the stress of busy modern living. “[This is] the spirituality component of ‘what does it mean to really be a human,’” added O’Brien. “We’re not trying to push people into that, but we are trying to shine a light.”

“We represent possibility.

Of what we can become,” said Bregman. “Beyond the book and the mark and the assignment.” U

Andrea Garza Contributor

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17 THE BIG LEBOWSKI BZZR GARDEN 7 P.M. @ ROOM 2301 IN THE NEST FilmSoc gets crazy.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2017 | VOLUME XCIX| ISSUE XIV

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Seeing Rabbi Philip Bregman of Hillel House, Pastor Craig O’Brien and UBC’s Zen Buddhist Chaplain Gareth Sirotnik together isn’t the start of a terrible joke. In fact, the three work together often to make religion and spirituality accessible to students at UBC as members of the University Multifaith Chaplains Association (UMCA).

With representatives from more than a dozen faith groups, including Christian denominations, Judaism, Islam and Zen Buddhism, each running their own campus communities and events, the UMCA as a whole works to make itself helpful to students, particularly international students who might not have many connections in a new city.

“For a young person to all of a sudden find themselves thousands of miles away … can be exciting, but it can also be scary,” said Bregman, the executive director at Hillel.

“We’re here to help in terms of that landing.”

He noted that for many students with a religious background, knowing that there is a community they identify with on campus can be very helpful.

“You can literally see them take a sigh of relief.”

Besides being available to all students for counselling and faith-related guidance, the UCMA participates in and organizes other events on campus as well.

The association sponsors the AMS Food Bank, and each group in the association organizes their own events as well, such as bi-weekly Zen Buddhist meditation or Hillel’s Wednesday $6 lunches.

Most recently the UCMA organized the first annual UBC Kindness Week.

“It’s a university-wide call every year to do things that increase your capacity for relationships,”

NEWS

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY

EDITORS SAMANTHA MCCABE + ALEX NGUYEN

PROPAGANDA //

Pro-Nazi posters found at War Memorial Gym, site of Remembrance Day ceremony

Residue from the posters is pictured on a door to War Memorial Gym.

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COST OF LIVING //

Food cost in first-year dining halls increases significantly, but effect is buffered by flat discount

GOOGLE

Alex Nguyen News Editor

Pro-Nazi posters were found on all entrances of the War Memorial Gym by attendees of UBC’s Remembrance Day ceremony.

Campus Security has since taken down the posters and is now working on a report of the incident.

“It was about 9 a.m. and I saw the posters and then we walked past and there were more of them and we went and checked them out,” said Chloe Rickard, a secondyear arts student. “There were lots of swastikas, websites which were like ropeculture.com.”

Since the end of WWI, Remembrance Day has been in place to commemorate the service of armed forces members and veterans from countries within the Commonwealth like Canada.

At UBC, the community has held annual Remembrance Day ceremonies on November 11 at the War Memorial Gym since 1951.

While referencing “lest we forget” — a common saying of Remembrance Day — one poster twisted this message by depicting Nazi troops as “the true heroes of WW2.”

CHLOE RICKARD

“Beyond our dividend, we’re not making profit.”

Lawrence Ge Staff Writer CHLOE RICKARD

“The posters that were discovered at War Memorial Gym [Saturday morning] are disturbing and of serious concern, particularly on a day when we collectively honour and remember all those who served in times of war, military conflict and peace,” said VP External Relations Philip Steenkamp in an issued statement.

“I would like to reaffirm UBC’s shared commitment to build respectful environments that reflect our core values of equity and inclusivity.”

This is the second time in two weeks that pro-Nazi messages have been found on campus.

On Thursday, a swastika and the words “Heil Hitler” were found on a chalkboard in the Forest Sciences Centre (FSC). The RCMP and Campus Security are currently investigating the incident, and while no leads have been found, they have stated that more patrol will be given to the area.

A similar incident at the FSC was also reported at the beginning of November.

In response to these incidents, UBC and the Forestry Undergraduate Society have both condemned the message and called for students’ support in finding witnesses.

“UBC takes incidents of hate and racism very seriously,” said Steenkamp in the same statement.

“Anyone with information about these posters is asked to call police or Campus Security.” U

The Old Sub, a student affairs blog, released a sales report for food products sold at firstyear dining halls — Totem Park, Orchard Commons and Place Vanier — from January to February 2017, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

The report contains information that includes price listings for each product, their cost of sales and their profit margins. Upon inspection, it seems that their current prices are significantly more expensive this term than last term.

For example, Totem Park’s classic beef burger is priced at $6.99, whereas it is listed as $5.56 in the report. This difference is equivalent to a 25.7 per cent increase in price.

Other notable examples include the costs of breakfast samosas — whose increase from $3.52 to $4.99 constitutes a 41.8 per cent jump — and chocolate butter croissants, whose increase from $1.89 to $2.75 constitutes a 45.5 per cent jump.

Colin Moore, director of UBC Food Services, attributed any price differences between this term and last term to the new student discount rate. More specifically, while discount rates varied based on cost of sales last term, the discount rate is now a consistent 25 per cent across all food items.

“Some prices would have gone up [and] some prices would have gone down based on that consistent discount,” he said.

When taking into account the new discount rate, independent calculations do suggest that current prices are not that different from last terms. After discounts, $5.24 would be the current cost of the classic burger, $3.74 for the breakfast samosa and $2.06 for the chocolate croissant.

Moore further stated that with the flat discount, the total food prices for a meal have decreased by approximately 70 cents or over 10 per cent in residence dining.

This was observed through the drop in cost of the average ticket.

“We knew that as we moved to a 25 per cent [discount] across the board, we were going to deliver a higher discount for students, and that’s what’s happening,” he said.

Still, some students are troubled by these price differences.

“The price deviations as described isn’t something that I view [as] positive,” said secondyear student Markus Lee after receiving the sales report. He was also part of the group of first-year students who organized a petition that expressed concerns over “the quality and cost of food” in firstyear dining halls in February.

“We have persistently attempted to outline that the price of the food products was the biggest issue for the majority of the first-year students last year, yet they chose to focus on students ‘not having enough money’ on their meal plan left.”

However, according to Maria Michouris, second-year student and one of the petition’s organizers, they have “recognized that

ALIROD AMERI

changing prices was something really difficult to do.”

When asked to describe the challenges in adjusting prices, Moore brought up a few major factors, such as the service’s dedication to locally sourced food and the rising prices for food commodities.

Furthermore, while Food Services is self-operated, it still has financial obligations to UBC. “Our values and our strategies are fully integrated with the university,” said Moore. “We’re not a third party contract operator. We have our financial commitment to our university ... and we got to meet those commitments.”

More specifically, Food Services usually has to commit around $1 million a year in dividend to UBC, which is determined in annual negotiations with the Board of Governors.

“Some years, we’ll make a bit of a surplus ... but generally speaking, it’s not [the case],” said Moore. “Beyond our dividend, we’re not making profit.”

Overall, Moore noted that although affordability is an issue to be tackled, the top priority of his department is to “provide a meal plan that provides great value, enough food [and] in a variety of places” instead.

“There are resources at UBC for students that are challenged to pay for a meal plan, that need to get support financially,” said Moore.

“That’s not my forte or part of our department, but there are certainly resources available.” U

4 | news | WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2017 ACCESSIBILITY //

UBC evaluates accessible parking on campus with launch of new project Thea Udwadia Contributor

UBC has partnered with Canada’s only national low-power network, eleven-X, to collect data on the usage of accessible parking spaces on UBC’s Vancouver campus.

If found that the demand for handicapped parking spaces is higher than the amount that are currently provided, this project will lead to enhanced handicapped parking spaces across UBC. Eleven-X is a Canadian company that uses long range, low-power wireless technology to interact and extract data from things that could not previously be connected. The project will cost UBC $9,500 plus taxes and is expected to last approximately six weeks.

Parking sensors will be embedded in the pavement in UBC to provide real-time data on the presence or absence of motor vehicles in spots designated for disabled persons. In doing so it will provide concrete data on the usage frequency of these parking spaces.

At present, UBC infrastructure is designed to provide accessible parking within 100 metres of most buildings. One of the main

goals of this project is to ensure that there is the right quantity of accessible parking spaces provided in the right places.

“We never exceed demand across campus — you might have to walk a bit further, but there’s always a place to park,” said Brian Jones, director of parking and access at UBC, in an emailed statement to The Ubyssey. “However, where we do have some challenges is with proximate vehicle access, which is of course really important for anyone with a disability, the elderly, those with temporary injuries, etc.”

The new project would thus focus on ensuring that UBC has sufficient parking spaces to allow quick and easy access for those who need it.

“In my mind, access always trumps convenience,” said Jones.

“So, if we find that additional accessible stalls are required we’ll add more to meet the demand.”

UBC has a slightly contentious relationship with ensuring accessibility on campus. A recent Ubyssey investigation of campus accessibility found that there remain many academic and physical barriers to accessibility that have yet to be addressed.

The implementation of this

“In my mind, access always trumps convenience.”

project will allow UBC access to tangible data to determine how parking accessibility fits into this dynamic. According to the article, “students say that there are still many challenges they face, usually due to a university

that was not designed with them in mind.”

Given the smoothness of this partnership, the use of this new technology speaks to potential future development in other dimensions of UBC life as well.

ZACHARY KOURGIALIS

“We look forward to further cooperation with UBC, introducing other ‘Smart’ applications for their Smart Campus initiative,” said Dan Mathers, President & CEO of eleven-X in an emailed statement to The Ubyssey. U

GOVERNMENT //

UBC students, staff and faculty consulted on the reestablishment of BC Human Rights Commission

ZUBAIR HIRJI

“It’s a very important thing that students’ voices are heard in this process...”

Alex Nguyen News Editor

Attorney General and VancouverPoint Grey MLA David Eby came to UBC on Friday to consult the campus community on the reestablishment of the BC Human Rights Commission.

Previously abolished by the Liberal administration in 2002, the commission is now being brought back by the current NDPGreen coalition government.

Since September 20, there has been both online and in-person public engagement throughout the province to determine the structure and power of the commission.

Hosted at the Allard School of Law, the event at UBC drew dozens of students, staff and faculty.

“Students on campus [are] from many diverse communities … and I’m sure they have a lot of lessons and advice to share with me and with our government about what

the Human Rights Commission should be doing,” Eby said at the press conference preceding the event.

“It’s a very important thing that students’ voices are heard in this process and that’s why we’re on campus today.”

One common question that was brought up by both The Ubyssey and attendees was how to make the commission accessible to people with limited legal knowledge. Eby responded that across the province, consultations are being geared towards people who do not have legal training.

“What we are trying to do is make this commission relevant [on the ground] to people who have been marginalized in different ways — who may not have legal training, who may not have that kind of knowledge and they would need assistance to either bring a complaint forward or even know what their rights are in a specific situation.”

Some solutions that were discussed include creating a brick-and-mortar location for the commission, putting together an accessible information guide and incorporating education about rights into occupation training and business licensing.

Another topic was about how much power the commission should be able to have, with some students advocating for giving it enough power to set its own agenda and be independent from government turnover.

Allard Law professor Dr. Margot Young agrees with this sentiment.

“When the former Liberal government abolished the Human Rights Commission, they took away a really well regarded and often very effective institution for proactive and systemic redress with respect to human rights concern,” she said.

“It’s important that we encourage this government to make the reestablishment of the Human Rights Commission effective and powerful — that is to give it the ability to do proactive, investigative and systemic work to protect human rights in the province.”

Given the legal knowledge already possessed by the attendees, other feedback also went into the specifics of the current legal system and structures that are in place to address human rights concerns, such as the human rights tribunal and legal clinics.

The overall consultation process is expected to end on November 17. During the press conference, Eby stated that a report on it will be issued in early 2018 and then incorporated into the legislation for the commission the same year.

DOES THE COMMISSION MATTER TO STUDENTS? According to Young, the main source of human rights protection for students lies with provincial legislation — since universities can’t be viewed as the state, they are not accountable to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“The Human Rights Code has a broader applicability to

the university both as a provider of education and as an employer, so the human rights regime at the provincial level is very important to the university context,” she said.

Young also stressed the importance of the commission’s ability to approach human rights concerns in a systemic and proactive manner, in conjunction with the current case-by-case review that is carried out by the human rights tribunal.

For instance, there are two current human rights complaints alleging mishandling of sexual assault reports by UBC and UBCO that are being processed individually by the tribunal. With a commission, the broader structure of how universities respond to cases of sexual assault can be examined. “[It] can look at a pattern of cases and say that ‘look, there’s a systemic issue here around how educational institutions are dealing with issues of sexual misconduct, sexual assault, sexual harassment,’” she said. “The commissioner could then talk about what kind of legislative changes are needed.”

However, Young noted that there wouldn’t be a direct channel of accountability between the commission and UBC. Instead, the work of the commission could influence provincial legislation, which then mandates the university’s policies.

“Right now, the government is consulting on what the commission should look like and this is the moment for us all to urge the government to do this job fully,” she said. U

CULTURE

NOVEMBER 15, 2016 WEDNESDAY

EDITOR SAMUEL DU BOIS

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THEATRE //

Wives and Daughters is the epitome of a 19th century drama, for better or worse Cassandra Betts Contributor

Begin with the quest for a husband. Combine this with a meddlesome stepmother, a menacing suitor, a mischievous girl and three dashes of miscommunication and the result is a typical 19th century drama.

By adding a touch of modern humour and an overly dramatic declaration of love, UBC Theatre has created its most recent production: Wives and Daughters.

Jacqueline Firkins’s new play, which is adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel of the same name and directed by Courtenay Dobbie, has all the charms of a period piece. The strength of the play is the humour of its supporting characters. Phoebe (Shona Struthers) and Dorothy Browning (Heidi Damayo), the bumbling but lovable old maids who act as mother figures to the protagonist Molly (Sabrina Vellani), capture the stage with their witty banter and physical comedy. The character of Lady Harriet (Olivia Lang) brings a different type of humour to the show. She is strong, sharptongued and is never afraid to

offer commentary on social class issues or chide the sinister Mr. Preston (Aidan Wright) for his flirtatious behaviour.

This humour, however, is also a weakness when it comes to the play as a whole. Gaskell is known for creating works that feature complex women and challenge class and gender norms. Although Molly is a bookish girl who loves science, her intellect is only shown when she is fawning over her love interest (Louis Lin).

In the note from the director, Dobbie states that “the beauty … and emotional crux of the story lie in the relationship between the women.”

This relationship is difficult to discern because the emotions and flaws of the female leads are exaggerated to the point where the women cease to be real and become mere caricatures. The lines delivered by hypercritical stepmother Hyacinth Kirkpatrick (Natalie Backerman) filled the theatre with laughter, but there was very little character growth and only superficial evidence of the women’s evolving relationship.

Even so, the play is visually pleasing. The bright costumes

People familiar with the period’s tropes won’t find much new here.

transport the audience back to another time, especially during the ball scenes when the hugeskirted dresses fan out when the women throw themselves on the ground to weep.

The sound and lighting set the mood of the play and are

UBC THEATRE AND FILM

reminiscent of a quaint English town. The projections of pastel flowers, icy branches and pouring rain effectively remind the audience of the passing time.

During set changes, a cast member played a string instrument. While the music

was mostly immersive and acted as an emotional primer for the upcoming scene, it was sometimes intrusive, especially when the musician was standing too close to one of the actors on stage or when the next scene began with a different type of music.

For a play that explores the relevant themes of truth, honesty and reputation, Wives and Daughters fails to relate them to a modern audience. The story feels dated. It shows the mess that gossip and lies can create, but by neglecting character development, it makes it seem like these are problems that are only faced by women who are constrained by the social norms of 19th century Britain.

Despite this, the play did a good job of maintaining the novel’s charisma by pulling metaphors and lines from Gaskell’s original text. There were sweet moments and humorous lines that had the theatre roaring.

It is an entertaining production with above average supporting characters, but you should keep in mind that it is the epitome of a 19th century period drama and the clichés come along with the charms. U

ART //

Punks, witches and calligraphers: Exploring Vancouver’s underground arts culture at Canzine

SARAH PLUYS/CANZINE VANCOUVER

“Most of the people who have bought stuff are actually other vendors.”

Bridget Chase Contributor

The works of the speakers and vendors at Canzine — Vancouver’s Festival of Zines and Underground Culture — exist on a spectrum between things you might find on the shelf of Chapters to things so niche that the artists themselves may find it difficult to describe.

From doodles of puppies to handpressed calligraphy anthologies, to guides on incorporating painting into the occult, there was something for everyone at Canzine.

“That’s why I love zine culture — there is no balance,” explained Isabelle Guns, a Canzine volunteer who has seen the Vancouver zine scene explode during her 30 years of involvement.

“Even though [society is] going electronic and everyone has a blog, I still find [the zine scene] is growing and growing. People still like to draw, they still like the write, they still like the feel of paper.”

With this year being Canzine Vancouver’s biggest yet — it featured two panels and over 100 vendors — it’s hard not to believe her.

What classifies as being a part of the zine and underground culture community?

Jonathan Valelly, editor of Broken Pencil magazine and one of the coorganizers of the event, explained that there has been a “shift in the last 10 years towards illustration and more art-based zines rather than the classic cut and paste ones.”

Surveying the tables, there were plenty of vendors selling prints, posters, doodles and a whole lot of comics. While some comic vendors passed for classic zine-makers with hand-stapled and photocopied pen drawings on display, others were selling publications that could have sat in any mainstream bookstore.

One such vendor, Jeff Ellis of Cloudscape Comics, explained that the independent comics community still fits well into zine events, because “[they’re] still in that same spirit of selfpublishing. We’re not beholden to any publisher or editorial whims outside of the ones within our own organization. Our work is a little more polished, but the spirit is the same.”

Comics seem to be one of the bigger niches within the hodgepodge of the city’s independent arts, but it’s only one of many.

“There’s a lot of niches in the Vancouver zine-land,” explained Carmen Bright, a local artist.

“There’s high-brow, low-brow, the crafty scene, the awesome tattooed arts scene, the pervy and the hilarious. It’s a big [domain] but there are pocket communities.”

This is largely attributed to the different artistic backgrounds that each artist comes from.

“You’ve got folks who come out of the literary and chapbook community, folks who come out of comics and illustration, folks who come out of art books and folks who come out of cut and paste political zines,” said Valelly.

Canzine’s content unsurprisingly ranges as widely in subject matter as its art does in style.

Whereas artists like Bright may focus their work on daily musings, others like zine publisher Dana Kearly explore relationships with chronic illness and horror films.

Panelist Caitlin French is a self-defined painter, writer and wildcrafting witch who speaks about the loss of fertility and her father figures through her work.

Guns wanted to write concert reviews because she didn’t like what she was reading in Rolling Stone. “[My zine] is my experience, not the corporate experience,” she said, “I don’t care that I’m a goth punk, I’m going to see Lionel Richie.”

Panelist Cole Pauls, whose piece Dakwäkãda Warriors II won the 2017 Best Comic/Art Zine and Best Overall Zine awards from Broken Pencil, centres his work around the topics of pizza and Southern Tutchone language revival.

All of the artists seemed to collectively agree that the overarching theme in zine culture is that there is no theme, other than a passion for expression through independent arts.

To an outsider, some of the work displayed on the tables may look pretentious. However, speaking to the artists makes it clear that everyone is just doing what they love. Sarah Walker, who produces cheap, fun comics had previously applied to other comic festivals and didn’t receive the support she had hoped for. Here, she said that Canzine “takes in and really supports everyone.”

“Everyone here is an artist who is buying art from other artists, which is awesome,” said Carli Boisjolie, a vendor. “Most of the people who have bought stuff are actually other vendors.”

This was apparent just by looking under most vendor tables, where you could see a small pile of zines, prints and comics that had been purchased throughout the day. While the people who strolled around the venue all looked like they had stepped out of different social circles, everyone seemed genuinely interested in each other’s work — punks in studded denim jackets chatted passionately with fine arts students in oversized sweaters along with the witches in floppy bonnets.

Valelly characterized this collective spirit as the fair’s ethos.

“I think my ideal zine fair is where … everyone is invested in a sort of do-it-yourself ethos, and in claiming a sort of autonomy of voice and autonomy of publishing. That’s the ethos that we want to preserve.” U

6 | culture | WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2017 BOOKS //

Stephen King’s On Writing: How to kill your darlings so you can kill your essays

SAMUEL DU BOIS

Plot, King says, is like a jackhammer. The writer’s job then, is not to create the story, but simply to uncover it.

Kristin Lee Conrad Contributor

The person who recommended that I read Stephen King’s On Writing was the editor of a website I wrote album reviews for. He responded to a draft I sent over with the book title and a reply appropriating its famous quote: “Have you ever heard the advice, ‘Death to adverbs’?”

I was so embarrassed that I downloaded the audiobook that very evening — this was slightly before the days of Amazon Prime.

I soon encountered another, oftrepeated gem from the book, that I’m sure most students have heard misattributed at least once: “Kill your darlings.”

King is quoting Faulkner here, and what he means is that every writer is going to write sentences that they like but which need to be removed anyways. These are sentences that the writer will overlook during the revision process.

These are sentences that will become invisible because they seem perfect.

These, King says, are the sentences you need to watch out for.

“Killing your darlings” requires a ruthless commitment to your message. The next time you’re trying to get under a word count or find yourself stuck during the writing process, try identifying the sentences you may have left in because you favour them. Do they still directly relate to what you’re talking about?

A thesis can change over the course of writing a long paper. A phrase you wrote at the beginning may not actually be saying what you intended it to. If there’s a sentence that seems just too good to be true, it probably is.

On sentences, King says that “words create sentences;

sentences create paragraphs; sometimes paragraphs quicken and begin to breathe.”

We all know the feeling of good writing, when words and meaning connect and flow easily.

We certainly all know the feeling of reading good writing (I hope).

Sometimes writing only seems “good” in retrospect, when you read back and begin to get excited. And sometimes you can tell good writing as you’re actually writing it. This relates to something important King says about inspiration.

“Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we?” he begins. “There is no idea dump, no story central, no island of the buried bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.”

Takes some of the pressure off, right?

King’s focus here is on creative re-combination, something that is becoming increasingly relevant as interdisciplinary education gains popularity. If you read something in philosophy class that kind of relates to your English class, chances are your prof will love to talk about it with you, and that’s a great reason to head to office hours with an intelligent question.

My personal takeaway lesson from this was that too much pressure to find an idea can be discouraging.

It’s daunting to try and think of an innovative thesis that can contribute to the academic conversation.

One of my favourite UBC profs, Sheryda Warrener, said to our

CRWR 201 poetry class last year, “You have enough experience in your life to make beautiful poems.”

I think that stands for King’s ideas, too. You have good ideas in your interesting and curious brain.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself and let your experiences float to the surface and combine with each other. That’s where the real innovation happens.

A metaphor that King makes and carries through the first part of his book (and that I’ve carried through my life) is of a toolbox.

A writer’s toolbox, he says, contains the mental tools needed to get the job done. And just like a real toolbox, this one has layers. On top are vocabulary and grammar, which I’ll talk about shortly. Below that are form and The Elements of Style — yes, the Strunk & White classic you can find at the UBC Bookstore. Hint: Canterbury Tales on Commercial also has about five copies at any given time.

This second layer also includes description, dialogue and theme.

I’ll let you read his book to find out more about those because what I want to talk about is a related metaphor King draws when he talks about plot. He says that stories are like fossils which the writer uses tools to uncover. Paleontologists uncovering dinosaur bones start with large tools and work their way to the finer brushes. One always want to use the most delicate tool available to brush away the dust from their story.

Plot, King says, is like a jackhammer. The writer’s job then, is not to create the story, but simply to uncover it. The editing process is like using smaller and

smaller tools with each revision, tweaking less and less as you go.

Back to the first layer of the toolbox for a minute — King says grammar should be studied and used as a tool to sharpen all of your other tools. Vocabulary, however, is completely different and should not be studied.

A writer should be, first and foremost, a voracious reader. Read enough, and your vocabulary will improve naturally. King favours using simple words instead of complex ones and insists that the first word that comes to mind is probably best.

In academic writing, this applies to the discourse of the student’s chosen subject. The best way to write a good paper in your discipline is to do all of the readings — required or optional — and engage in extra reading and research to become fully versed and confident in the lexicography of your major.

Remember walking down the hall in first year and not being able to understand what fourth-years were talking about? Soon, you won’t even notice how naturally you’ll be using words that once seemed foreign and awkward.

While it doesn’t have the same dramatic effect as “kill your darlings,” the lesson I learned from On Writing that has helped me out the most in university, actually, has nothing to do with the book. I mentioned earlier that I started by listening to an audiobook. While I did get a copy out from the library shortly after, that was really my introduction to absorbing audio information.

Listening to audio was, for me, a skill I had to acquire. Over the years, I’ve improved and honed

this ability and now learn much better by listening because I continually re-focus my attention on what I’m listening to. I use a free online program to complete some readings which reads text out loud while I follow along with a written copy. This has greatly improved my reading comprehension and information retention. It’s especially helpful for struggling through dense upper-year philosophy papers when words begin to swim before your eyes. I’ve passed this hint on to some peers who have also found it helpful. Nothing will ever replace the feeling of a book, or reading things on a page, but as a student who spends an inordinate amount time reading, it’s nice to have a break every once in awhile.

Each professor has a different way of teaching and a different way of writing. The same goes for books about writing. No matter what the author says about the art of writing, what they are ultimately explaining is their personal style, beliefs and lessons. The key word here is personal. Every writer and every student is unique. That’s what gives a writer their advantage.

Your personal voice and style are just as important as following the conventions of your discipline.

King acknowledges that writing can fill one with despair upon the realization that it is impossible to put what is your mind and heart on the page.

Writing can also be exciting, hopeful, revolutionary and nervewracking. Whichever way you come, says King, “Come to it any way but lightly.

“Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.” U

FEATURES

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY

EDITOR MOIRA WYTON

Nobody Knows UBC struggles to respond to

Words by Zak Vescera Art by Jade Olaniyan + Jordan ByRum

Vancouver’s fentanyl crisis

Y

ou’re at a party, and suddenly someone falls to the ground.

It’s an overdose caused by drugs laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 10 to 100 times stronger than heroin.

Depending on the dosage, there might be mere minutes before the damage is permanent — or even fatal.

The solution is naloxone, a powerful opioid antagonist administered via injection or nasal spray that can offset the effects of an overdose for 30 to 90 minutes.

But does anyone have a kit?

Sampath Satti is a biomedical engineering student at UBC. He’s part of a team developing a wearable device that detects the initial symptoms of an overdose.

“What our device does is — in a

very non-invasive way — look at pulse rate and calculates the respiration rate, an early mark of onset of an overdose,” he explained. The device then connects to the user’s phone, using GPS capabilities to call for help.

The speed of Satti’s device is crucial. Fentanyl was designed for use in palliative care and we have little idea how long it takes for the drug to cause permanent damage in the real world.

“There is no information on this,” said Satti. “It’s always been done in a controlled setting in operating rooms … there’s naloxone right beside you if something happens. No one has figured out the pharmacology of fentanyl in the black market.

“No one knows how long you have.”

The BC Coroner’s service reports that over 1,200 people in BC have lost their lives to fentanyl this year alone — more than suicide, motor vehicle accidents and homicides combined. A recent survey from InSite, a harm reduction centre in the Downtown Eastside, found that 40 per cent of cocaine in Vancouver is tainted with fentanyl. The numbers are similar for MDMA. Getting naloxone where it needs to be has now become the top priority of health services throughout the province — but it’s easier said than done. Student Health Services, the AMS, drug users and campus associations are using their own methods of harm reduction to curb the threat of fentanyl.

This is the health crisis that UBC confronts — and it’s one that traditional health services aren’t prepared to face.

TOXIC STIGMA When The Ubyssey spoke to Student Health Services (SHS), it had only handed out 61 naloxone kits over the course of 18 months on a campus of 54,000 students.

Why have so few kits been handed out?

It’s not for lack of trying. Even before the fentanyl crisis was declared an emergency by BC Health in April 2016, SHS was distributing naloxone kits for free.

But for several months, nobody wanted one — because getting a kit

7

8 | features | WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2017

meant signing a form stating that you use or planned to use substances.

John, a third-year student at UBC, has been using MDMA and cocaine occasionally since his teens. He said he isn’t keen to publicize his drug use — especially with university staff, regardless of their assurance of confidentiality.

The Ubyssey agreed to use only his and others’ first names due to the illicit nature of their activities.

“I’m not going around telling people in classes, ‘Hey, I did cocaine this summer,’” said John. “If it was like an official record saying that I had a drug kit or that I knew users, I don’t think I’d feel comfortable giving the university that information.”

As directed by the BC Centre for Disease Control, SHS is meant to hand out kits “to people at risk of opioid overdose” — they can’t simply give kits away for free.

But if owning a kit identifies you as a user or requires filling out a form, users automatically feel stigmatized.

Dr. Lindsey Richardson, an associate professor at UBC specializing in medical sociology, said that while stigma we attach to substances can sometimes reduce usage, it can also cut off users from seeking help.

“Stigmatization in some instances prompts reductions in use,” she explained.

“For example, tobacco smoking is down because it’s been stigmatized in a widespread way.

“However, stigma [can also] have significant negative consequences … often related to people’s willingness to seek out care and treatment for what they are dealing with.”

When it comes to drug use, Richardson indicated the latter is more common.

“Stigma will often remove people from treatment systems and services because they don’t want people to know,” she said.

Aside from the mental barrier of stigma, users were concerned that revealing their drug use would result in consequences from UBC itself.

Stephanie Lake, a PhD student at the UBC School of Public Health and the chair of the Vancouver chapter of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Use

(CSSD), said that UBC students can face severe penalties for drug possession from the university as well as legal authorities.

“When you’re a student, there are added things you have to worry about,” said Lake. “If you’re in residence and caught with an illicit drug, that could lead to a number of consequences ... including expulsion.”

Dr. Marna Nelson, the current director of Student Health Services, said that any information given to SHS won’t be shared with UBC Housing or other UBC services.

“It’s completely confidential,” said Nelson. “We have arranged with [BC] public health so that we don’t actually have to record this in a student’s chart.”

Nelson stressed that concerned students could either phone or visit the clinic anonymously. There, they could arrange to be trained and pick up a kit without providing information — but this process isn’t advertised online, and very few have taken advantage of it.

In the winter of 2016, Nelson changed SHS’s policy around naloxone kits. Now, interested persons only have to indicate that they know someone who uses or plans to use substances.

But even for students willing to sign the form, the road to getting a naloxone kit has been long.

Getting a kit from SHS requires taking two training sessions — the first on how to recognize an overdose, the second on how to administer naloxone. While the sessions are simple, booking them isn’t.

When Satti went to SHS, he met a backlog that forced him to leave empty-handed.

“To get a kit you need training, and I think they only give it to you if you’re at a risk of overdosing,” said Satti. “But the training slot was over the course of two weeks, and they didn’t have any slots available when I went in.”

Will Shelling, the vice president of risk management at the UC chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity, also had difficulty procuring a kit. When word spread last year that a shipment of fentanyl-laced drugs was arriving on campus, his predecessor immediately prepared for the possibility of an overdose at a DKE party.

But when Shelling himself tried to get a kit, the process took him a month.

“After I officially took on my position, I contacted the Vancouver Board of Public Health,” said Shelling. “I was referred down the line over and over — when I finally got it, it was a month later.

“The system isn’t intuitive.”

Since then, Nelson said the process has sped up significantly — training can usually be given within the course of a week.

But many users have already been turned off by the service. Those interviewed expressed concerns about confidentiality and an unwillingness to jump through bureaucratic hoops.

More importantly, many of them didn’t know the service existed at all.

NO QUESTIONS, NO ANSWERS How many kits is enough, and how many students are at risk? No one knows, and no one seems to want to talk about it.

Dr. Michael Krausz is an addictions specialist at the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences at UBC. He said assessing drug use in student populations is difficult because of its association with mental health — and the resulting stigma around it.

“University is a time of great transition,” said Krausz. “Young people are under enormous pressure and stress … they need to make big decisions and are not really prepared for it. “[Drug use] is not really a topic which is openly discussed as a problem.”

And data on student drug use is incomprehensive and incomplete.

Simply put, there is no information on how many UBC students are using drugs, at what frequency they’re taking them and why.

“We are not measuring the amount of people who have severe problems at UBC who are getting support, what the waiting times are or how many are dropping out,” said Krausz.

“We can only rely on international and national data and guess the numbers will be similar.”

The most recent national survey on substance use among students was published in 2011 by the Canadian

Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, a government-funded project aiming to assess the severity of drug use across the country. It reports that 7.1 per cent of BC students have used ecstasy, and that 3.9 per cent have used cocaine.

These statistics indicate that more than 2,500 UBC students have used cocaine and close to 4,000 for ecstasy.

These numbers are likely rising.

Krausz said rising rates of anxiety and stress among students are causing more to “self-medicate” with substance use. What might seem like “blowing off steam” can quickly develop into addiction and dependence.

Jeremy is a third-year student. For the past two years, he has been dealing cocaine on campus. He said a large number of his clients are often people working high-pressure jobs — whether that be in Vancouver’s nightlife industry, in kitchens or as full-time students.

“Slowly, the drugs are being more and more accepted, and people are starting to use early,” said Jeremy. “A lot of people are finding [drugs] in their workplace because they’re surrounded by people who’ve deemed it okay.

“It’s sad to see kids who are 16 starting to think it’s okay.”

Dr. Krausz said this is a hybrid health problem that UBC simply isn’t prepared for.

“There is counselling and Student Health Services — but they’re not really prepared for anything substance-use specific,” he said.

NO HARM DONE? In the absence of a comprehensive university-run initiative, student organizations and users are taking harm reduction into their own hands.

Marium Hamid is the AMS Student Services Manager. This year, one of her standout services has been AMS VICE, a student-run addiction support service that has distributed over 200 naloxone kits in the the fall of 2017 alone.

Hamid said the idea behind VICE is to make participants feel welcome, avoiding barriers of judgement or stigma that discourage them from accessing other services.

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY | features | 9

“Going to places where you don’t feel like a peer is connecting to you is often one of the biggest barriers to accessing a service,” said Hamid.

Rather than treating substance use as a problem, VICE tailors its services to help users “find their balance” with substances — no matter where, what and how much they’re using.

“One good thing that Alexander [Dauncey, VICE’s coordinator] said is, ‘Meet people where they’re at, not where you want them to be,’” said Hamid. She added that no matter their community, the fentanyl crisis could affect any student at UBC. “UBC consists of a large number of commuter students,” said Hamid.

“This crisis is not centred towards one population ... it’s a problem that people in our campus will take back to their own communities.”

In the past month, VICE has hosted two naloxone “training parties” with roughly 120 and 80 participants, respectively.

There, participants received simultaneous naloxone training from Karmik, a partner harm reduction organization operation in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. After two to three hours, each participant leaves with a kit.

Lake, who was a speaker at VICE’s first event, said “low-barrier” events like training parties are key to helping at-risk students access their services.

“They can see there are other people who are concerned about this issue, who care about their neighbours,” said Lake. “It breaks down barriers.”

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for AMS VICE. In September, UBC barred the service from directly discussing substances at Imagine Day in September to keep the event “family friendly.”

Hamid said this came down to a misinterpretation of the service.

“The interpretation regarding VICE not being able to booth with their materials was the result of [UBC’s] guidelines written years ago,” she said.

“There’s an ongoing relation between us and everyone at UBC.” While VICE aspires to hold more events in the future, it’s not likely

they’ll be able to equip every at risk person with naloxone.

Instead, it might be enough to make sure naloxone is where it’s most often needed.

LIFE OF THE PARTY The BC Coroner’s Service reports that over 80 per cent of fatal overdoses in BC this year happened when the victim was using alone. But at UBC, users seem to be using substances in small groups, often in social settings.

“You do them because you go out, whether you’re going to a party or a club,” said John. “I doubt there are that many people doing MDMA and cocaine hanging out in their apartment alone.”

Clubs and organizations have caught onto this. Gradually, UBC’s party scene — including Greek societies, AMS events and Campus Security — are equipping themselves with naloxone.

But UBC has yet to pick up the pace.

While Nelson confirmed that Campus Security have been trained to recognize an overdose, talks to outfit them with naloxone are still ongoing.

“We’ve been meeting with [Campus] Security this fall for what form of naloxone they want to carry — they’re leaning towards the naloxone nasal spray,” said Nelson.

But the logistics are more complicated than simply giving a guard a kit. A single dose of nasal spray in Canada costs around $135 and it’s currently only widely carried by the RCMP and other professional first responders.

In comparison, DKE’s UBC chapter has had naloxone kits in the house for over a year. Of the 61 kits distributed

by SHS, DKE holds three — or roughly five per cent.

“We have brothers living in the house or who come out for parties that are also trained in using a kit and first aid,” Shelling said.

But even though organizations like DKE have shown initiative in preparing for a potential overdose, Shelling and other trained naloxone carriers can’t be everywhere. This leaves the better

part of harm reduction up to those most directly affected — the users.

TO EACH THEIR OWN At UBC, users blocked from or unaware of other resources often count on each other and their dealers to keep their substance use safe.

Despite fentanyl having been found in nearly every substance in Vancouver save for cannabis and alcohol, none of the users interviewed for this article regularly used a test kit. Instead, they have specific dealers who they trust to sell them a clean product — although that’s not always the case.

Zach is a third-year student at UBC. For two years, he has used MDMA on a recreational basis. In all that time, he has never used a test kit, but said that he trusts his dealers’ products simply because his friends do.

“If a lot of friends use it and trust the dealer, and if they’ve been using his drug for a while, that’s my ‘test kit,’” he said.

“If my friends already trust the person, then I’ll probably trust them too.

“It’s a little stupid on my part,” he admitted.

Some dealers claim to go the extra mile to keep their product safe.

Jeremy said that his group tests their product before selling, knowing that an overdose could mean both police trouble and an end to their business.

“It’s a small environment of people we’re selling to,” said Jeremy. “It all gets back. You might as well sell a very clean product rather than an unreliable one.”

Just in case, Jeremy said designated members of his group carry naloxone kits to the point of sale — an extra security measure for the dealers as well as an emergency measure for the customer.

But even if dealers do test their product, that test’s accuracy is questionable. Most commercially available drug tests available online, or so-called “dip strips,” will identify fentanyl but might not be able to identify the drug’s 44 known “analogues” — slight variants of the original compound that are often much more powerful.

Richardson emphasized that no matter what a dealer says — online or in person — it might simply be a lie.

“It’s very difficult for dealers to guarantee that there isn’t fentanyl in the product that they’re selling,” he said. “The degree to which they are able to accurately test the drugs that they are selling would be something that I would ask about.”

At the end of the day, the trust between dealers and users is precarious at best. No matter what a dealer claims, there’s no way to know what they’re actually selling — something users are aware of.

“No matter what they [the dealers] tell you, you often both know it’s bullshit,” said Zach “The kids I buy it off of — they’re not the ones making it. They don’t know what’s in their own stuff.

“Nobody knows.”

QUESTIONS UNANSWERED When it comes to addressing the overdose crisis, UBC’s traditional health services have done little — but is it too late? In a nutshell, it’s complicated.

In an ideal world, every at-risk student would carry a naloxone kit, and UBC has admittedly done better than most Canadian universities in offering naloxone on campus. But getting those kits is challenging, both in terms of the stigma attached and the logistical feat of booking the appointment.

“Our drug policies are all based around prohibition,” said Lake.

“Prohibition is what leads to things like fentanyl being found in our drug supply — we have no way of regulating and managing what people are taking.”

Ultimately, traditional health institutions aren’t prepared for a crisis of this size or nature, especially when its causes run deeper than simply preventing drug use or regulating the supply of recreational drugs.

“We do not really have a functioning mental health system that is integrated for university students,” said Krausz.

“What I think the overdose crisis tells us is that our treatment system is not equipped to deal with additional challenges.” U

OPINIONS

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY

EDITOR EMMA HICKS

10

MEN’S HEALTH //

ADVICE //

Letter: Moustache motivation — the perks of being a Mo Bro and Mo Sista

Ask Natalie: I’m thinking of taking a break from UBC Natalie Morris Design Editor

“Dear Natalie, I’m now in my final year and just don’t feel like doing courses anymore. It’s not like my courses are difficult but the interest seems to be seriously lacking.

Should I go for a break for a term in order to reignite my passion again? I’m just afraid that if this idleness persists, my grades will eventually suffer.”

It’s my last year too, and trust me, the desire to sleep through all my classes is very real. Take a break if you can afford to, but know this is probably more to do with being able to see the finish line rather than this particular term itself.

I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t really want to go to grad school right away so I’ve hit the new issue of realizing that most of my grades won’t matter. But focus on the fact that this is the last time you’ll be getting ready for the holidays while in school. This could be your last rainy fall at UBC. Plus if you fail out of your classes now, you’re really not going to like having to take another term.

“Movember is far from a men’s only club.”

Kevin Boland Contributor

It is not a rarity to hear that big things have small beginnings. No axiom has spoken truer to not just myself but to millions of Mo Brothers and Sisters.

The Movember movement and its goal of “Changing the Face of Men’s Health” is no small challenge.

But from its small beginnings, 15 years ago with two guys in a tiny Australian pub, to its present community of five million people raising over $800 million, it’s fair to say the ’stache has been good for men’s health.

But there is so much more to be accomplished — and we here at UBC can help.

Movember has pledged to halve prostate and testicular diagnoses and stop the increase in suicides among men by 2030 by raising awareness and using newly found resources towards men’s health. At UBC, all of this is possible through friendly chats and maybe even a few dollars!

As a fourth-year Mo Bro, fellow UBC student, male, brother and son, I share the values of the Movember Foundation as if they were my own.

To tackle the issues surrounding men’s health, all I need is myself.

My frontman (my ‘mo) is only the beginning of a forum set to disassemble the stigma of “men don’t talk about their feelings.”

To this day, whether it is in society or on campus, the potential we have to make a difference has been limited only by our unwillingness as individuals to be vocal — even though, as students, we are in a unique position where we can take that first step to raise awareness through our Movember platforms.

FILE ALEX NGUYEN

Although cancer and mental health research has leapt forward recently — in regard to men’s health — the numbers are still far from optimal.

According to Movember’s website: • On average, men die six years earlier than women • Testicular cancer has doubled in the past 50 years • Prostate cancer will double in the next 15 years • Three out of four suicides are male Whether you can grow a moustache or not, we hope to achieve the same outcome: a fundamental shifting of men’s behaviour to educate themselves on the health risks and take action early by seeking help when they need it.

Early detection is everything!

As a student body of more than 60,000 strong, we can most definitely help fathers, brothers and sons live longer, happier lives.

This is also by no means a task we can achieve alone — Movember is far from a men’s only club. The support of mothers, daughters, sisters and girlfriends is just as essential to this mentality of simply asking, “Do you want to talk?” for it may just save a life.

I believe that as men we need to be strong, not just for others, but also to show ourselves that however scary it is we are all in this together as brothers. Never doubt what a small conversation between two fellows can achieve.

Even then, without a word our Mo’s — physically and/or figuratively — can raise the all-important, all hairy question, “Have you checked yourself?” U Kevin Boland is a geology student and the Movember UBC campus rep.

“Dear Natalie, I have been getting calls in which no one is speaking at the other end of the line. This happened even more than once per day. Should I get suspicious? How do I make sure that other people are not cutting into our own phone line?”

When I first read this question, the first thing I wondered was if anyone actually had a landline anymore. The second thing I wondered was if you could check

your phone bill to see what number is calling you so much. Then I was worried that only my phone company offered that and I asked around to see if my co-workers could see their phone bill.

My co-workers were immediately concerned about a stalker.

So your problem probably falls somewhere in between a cold-calling marketing firm getting their lines mixed up and a stalker. I do think one is more likely than the other.

First things first, try to find out who’s calling you through your bill or by calling your phone company.

If it seems like a random number, plug it into Google and that might point you to the right company.

If it’s a company, see if you can block the number or try calling them to get on their no-call list. If it’s someone you know, still see if you can block the number.

I wouldn’t worry too much.

Chances are some marketing firm is trying to sell you a heater or something and they’re having just as much trouble as you. But remember: if you ever fear for your safety, the police are a much better resource than the student newspaper.

“Hey Natalie, I identify as an asexual. I find it extremely hard to make connections with people (in a romantic sense), and when I do get attention, I always suspect that it will ultimately have to end with sex. Is there any place where I can meet fellow asexuals, where I can genuinely meet people and form connections without having to get physical?”

I’m not asexual myself, although I believe it’s a spectrum, much

“Should I go for a break for a term in order to reignite my passion again?”

like the rest of sexuality. No two people will be alike in their experience, even if they are both ace. Some people who identify as ace also identify as aromantic and aren’t even interested in a romantic relationship without anything sexual. Some love the romance.

Unfortunately, asexuality isn’t very well known or represented (see: Riverdale’s Jughead), even within queer communities — and some ace people don’t consider themselves “queer” — so people who are asexual can sometimes feel excluded from “traditional” queer meet-ups.

That is also a double-edged sword for asexual folks often have to explain what that means to people who aren’t familiar with queer terminology. The best thing you can do is be open and honest with your partners — if you feel comfortable with that person.

Don’t ever feel like you have to justify who you are to other people — just because asexuality isn’t as well known as being gay doesn’t mean it’s any less of who you are.

If you’ve tried UBC Pride and find it’s not really your taste, asexuality.org and MeetUp. com both have local meet-ups specifically for those who consider themselves ace.

I know I’m not being overly helpful, but I’m not very familiar with the ace community in Vancouver and I don’t want to point you in the wrong direction.

Try to find online communities you’re comfortable with because many meet up in real life, especially in big cities like Vancouver. U Need advice? Contact Natalie anonymously at asknatalie@ ubyssey.ca or at ubyssey.ca/advice and have your questions answered!

FILE CARTER BRUNDAGE

FROM THE BLOG

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY

EDITOR EMMA HICKS

11

SOCIAL MEDIA //

BEYOND SERIAL //

Skip Spotify and listen to these podcasts instead Separate social media HIDDEN BRAIN

ZUBAIR HIRJI

The recommended listens are key.

Zubair Hirji Staff Writer

Finding a new podcast is time consuming and difficult, especially if you’re just getting into the genre.

You’ll likely listen to the top-rated ones like S-Town or Serial, but once you get through the popular ones, you’ll be left wondering which story you should listen to next.

Here are six podcasts that will entertain you until to no end on every bus ride, gym session or walk across campus:

PLANET MONEY Produced by National Public Radio (NPR) and hosted by a plethora of great story tellers, Planet Money is a staple in any podcast listener’s collection. Despite its name Planet Money explores more than just money. They talk about hard work, IKEA, North Korean politics and so much more.

Recommended listen — Episode 791: “Tips from Spies”

Hosted by Shankar Vedantam and also produced by NPR, Hidden Brain tells the stories that lead to fascinating phenomena, biases and human behaviour. Each episode dives deep into a specific idea and often includes expertly recommended tips for achieving particular and peculiar goals.

They also discuss ideas you’ve always wanted to know about but don’t really know how to Google.

Stories such as hookup culture on college campuses, the links between food stamps and academic performance, or even how we classify terrorist acts based on religion are talked about regularly.

Recommended listen — “Hookup Culture: The Unspoken Rules of Sex on College Campus”

99% INVISIBLE Hosted by the brilliant Roman Mars, 99% Invisible talks about the unnoticed architecture and design that influences the world we live in and how we interact with our surroundings. Mars’ phenomenal descriptions pull you in and explain the minute details that one may leave unnoticed but satisfy an inner curiosity for design characteristics.

Recommended listen — “Kowloon Walled City”

UP FIRST Produced by NPR and hosted by Rachel Martin, David Greene and Steve Inskeep, Up First is a tenminute daily podcast that promises to keep you up to date with the world’s latest news and ideas. Topics are short and sweet but give enough detail for you to be able to talk about

them with some knowledge. It is probably one of the best ways to stay informed on an early morning bus ride or a long walk across campus, if you’re sick of The New York Times’ The Daily.

Recommended listen — it’s a news podcast. Listen to the podcast that was released on whatever day you’re reading this.

and academics this exam season to see better results

HARDCORE HISTORY This self-produced podcast hosted by Dan Carlin will educate you enough to edit a Wikipedia article. The long form style packs oodles of detail while still being interesting enough for you to keep awake. Each episode works as a general introduction to the topic at hand and is a must listen for any history buff.

Recommended listen — “The Celtic Holocaust”

RADIOLAB RadioLab sets and raises the bar for great podcasts week after week. Each episode breaks down a philosophical, human or scientific experience while still discussing the nuance of each topic.

Their episodes on “CRISPR”, “colors” and “words” are extremely insightful and thought-provoking as they delve into the human experience and our understanding of the world around us.

Recommended listen — “Parasites” Finally, I’d like to stroke The Ubyssey’s ego and recommend CULT, a bi-weekly podcast that talks about culture at UBC. Hosted by Olamide Olaniyan, CULT explores topics from fashion and feminism to fish and fried rice. U

A UNIQUE JOB AN ICONIC LOCATION AN UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER

Mischa Milne Contributor

We’ve all been there: we have a big paper to write or an assignment to do, only to realize we’ve spent two hours scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and failed to get anything done.

Having notifications going off on your phone as you try to delve into literary theory or lab reports is obviously distracting, but does it actually affect the way that you study?

It turns out there’s a pretty strong correlation between lower grades and heavy social media use. Some professors have implemented outright bans on laptop use in class after studies have shown they negatively impact academic performance.

It doesn’t just affect you if you’re sitting on Facebook during class — it also affects the people around you, with one study finding that students surrounded by laptops scored 17 per cent lower on a test they were given due to the fact that they were distracted by the actions of their peers.

So what are some ways to avoid getting distracted by social media when you need to study?

MAKE YOUR FRIEND HOLD ON TO YOUR PHONE

Become a PARLIAMENTARY GUIDE Applications due January 12, 2018 This summer, be part of the action at the Parliament of Canada.

Find out more and apply online at

lop.parl.ca/guides

NATALIE MORRIS

Try going offline entirely.

This may seem simple, but having someone else hold on to your phone while you’re working can help stop you from checking Snapchat while you work. No one needs to see another photo of your textbook.

Make a rule that you can’t get it back for an hour — or however long you need to work for. Even if you tell yourself that having it next to you won’t be a distraction, you might not realize the amount of time you spend just “quickly checking” various apps.

COLD TURKEY I’ve personally used this app since my second year and it really helps. It’s free and allows you to

block certain webpages on your laptop like Facebook and Twitter for a customizable period of time.

You create a list of websites you find distracting, choose how long you want access blocked for and focus on your work. It’s perfect if you need the Internet for assignments and don’t have the option of going offline entirely.

SELF CONTROL Similar to Cold Turkey, this is is an open-source app that you can download to block websites, but it’s only available for Mac computers.

DO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN OFFLINE Though not possible for everyone, keeping your laptop off and just reading from your textbook or novel can help keep social media from distracting you. You can also download PDFs and then turn off your WiFi to get readings done.

DELETE APPS OR DEACTIVATE SOCIAL MEDIA This is a more long-term solution, but I’ve had friends that have deactivated their Facebook accounts for the duration of finals season or deleted Snapchat from their phone to keep them from wasting time and then downloaded it again once their exams are done.

Most social media channels have the option to temporarily deactivate your account in order to take a break. If you’re spending eight hour days in the library, do you really have anything exciting to update your Instagram with?

At the end of the day, finding a balance between productivity and fun is difficult for everyone.

Not everyone finds social media to be a huge distraction. However, if you’re one of those people that finds themselves scrolling through pictures of dogs instead of writing their papers — which I’m guilty of — then hopefully some of these methods can help. U

SCIENCE

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY

EDITOR NIVRETTA THATRA

12

RAT STUDIES //

Urban rats disproportionately affect Downtown Eastsiders Madeleine Link Contributor

If you’re very lucky, you’ve never seen one. If you’re very unlucky, you might have moved into your new place before realizing they surrounded you. Rats are a classic feature of life in a port city, and Vancouver is no exception — as many unfortunate UBC students have discovered.

You might never want to think about rats, much less study them, but that’s exactly what UBC graduate students are doing in the Downtown Eastside with their Vancouver Rat Project. To help explain why anyone would want to spend time with these creepy rodents, UBC’s School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) held a talk on rats and public health in Vancouver as part of their Grand Rounds lecture series.

An archived livestream of the talk can be found on the SPPH’s YouTube channel.

ONE HEALTH First, UBC’s Dr. Jennifer Gardy, an assistant professor in the SPPH, explained the concept of One Health.

This public health framework emphasizes the interconnectedness of people and their environment, especially animals. This is important, Gardy explained, because many modern disease outbreaks emerge when diseases from animals make the leap to humans.

In the One Health approach, something called “holistic monitoring” is used — meaning research and observation are done across disciplines and biomes, where animals and humans are observed.

Some scientists believe this type of monitoring could predict the next major pandemic, but others like Gardy disagree, citing the complicated web of factors that combine to create pandemics.

All scientists agree that it helps to catch pandemics early so they can be addressed and hopefully stopped. Gardy describes the One Health approach as similar to the classic Bob Marley song “One Love:” Let’s get together — by implementing holistic monitoring programs — and feel all right, as opposed to all sick and wrong.

Next up was Dr. Agatha Jassen, the head of the BC Centre for Disease Control’s Virology Lab program, to explain in appropriately gory detail how exactly people get sick from rats.

A big factor is rats carrying ticks and fleas, which then might infect other animals like rabbits and cats. Another is rodent urine and feces, which can contaminate food and water and even aerosolize into the air we breathe.

Does this mean pet rats are a concern? “Every once in awhile there is a case of a [pet] rat having a bacterial pathogen,” explained graduate student Kaylee Byers in an interview with The Ubyssey, noting that pet rats aren’t usually a cause for alarm.

“I would say: if you’ve been in contact with a rat and you realize you’ve come down with a flu-like illness, it might be worth going in to the doctor.”

RAT SAFARI Kaylee Byers and Michael Lee — both members of the Vancouver Rat Project — then presented their

“Every once in awhile there is a case of a [pet] rat having a bacterial pathogen.”

research and some early findings based on studies they conducted in the Downtown Eastside. This area was chosen because of its proximity to an international shipping port, as well as the high rate of homelessness, which increases people’s risk of getting infected by a rat.

In phase one of the project, conducted in 2011 and 2012, the Vancouver Rat Project collected data on what diseases, if any, the rats of the Downtown Eastside

carried. Results showed that these rats did indeed have pathogens and that incidents of infection appeared in clusters.

Following these results, Byers and Lee had more questions: first, would pest control practices affect these pathogens at all? And second, how did the ubiquity of rats in the Downtown Eastside affect residents’ experiences?

The first question was approached using something called a “Rat Safari.” At 7 a.m., Byers and Lee would set out to check rat traps, using bite-proof gloves to catch the rodents in order to collect samples. The students were looking for two diseases in particular, MRSA and leptospira.

Although MRSA can be detected with a simple swab, leptospira testing requires a urine sample, which is much harder to obtain.

After several initial strategies failed, the two came up with the solution of putting the rats in cages over plastic bins and waiting for them to pee — a process Byers described as “very depressing.”

The results from the MRSA tests showed pest control ­— consisting of culling infected rats — had no effect on that disease. In the case of leptospira, however, pest control actually seemed to increase the incidence of the bacteria — definitely not ideal. With this research, scientists are now aware that indiscriminate culling might harm more than help. This is crucial information for preventing a possible pandemic.

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE ‘HORROR STORY’ For their question about how rats affect the residents of the Downtown Eastside, Byers and Lee partnered with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users in order to conduct a series of 20 interviews with community members. What they found was striking — nearly every resident interviewed had at least one “horror story” of a traumatic encounter with rats

JADE OLANIYAN

and many expressed a sense of exhaustion at how commonplace rats were in their lives.

The interviews reflected residents’ concerns about rats.

Some residents were worried about rats biting children and some lost sleep out of a need to “guard” their partners from rats on the street at night. Despite these notable psychological impacts, Byers said the issue of rats is a relatively unimportant one for Downtown Eastside residents — their primary concerns are larger, like the problem of homelessness.

Some residents were also fairly engaged in the project, and Byers and Lee even overheard them telling other community members about the rat traps and the research being done. In the future, there will hopefully be more opportunities for engagement in and beyond the community.

Lee is developing a broader monitoring program for rats — it “will involve things like citizens contributing and letting us know where they see them, so hopefully at some point you can participate by letting us know where you see rats, and how often,” Byers explained.

How does all this information affect UBC students, and how justified is a fear of urban wildlife?

Byers said that it is possible that animals like squirrels and raccoons could carry diseases, since rats do. Lee explained that the main concern with raccoons is a roundworm they carry, which becomes concentrated in their communal raccoon toilets.

“They’re quite vicious,” added Byers, advising students not to try befriending the garbage-obsessed animals.

The bottom line concerning urban wildlife, however, is not to be driven by fear. “Don’t seek out interactions, but otherwise just go about your day-to-day,” said Byers.

Lee held the same view: “I would never advocate for not crawling around in the woods.” U

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY | SCIENCE | 13 ACCURACY //

Anti-abortion images use embryonic age as opposed to medically preferred obstetric age Allison Gacad Contributor

In mid-October, campus antiabortion club UBC Lifeline set up its annual protest in front of the Nest, equipped with large poster boards and pamphlets to hand out to passing students.

UBC Lifeline is known for its use of graphic images in their stance against abortion.

Despite calls against the use of such images by the AMS and various student groups, UBC Lifeline continues to display these graphic images, courtesy of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform. But what exactly do the images depict and how effective are they in communicating their stance?

The images used depict different stages of development accompanied with the apparent age at which the photo was taken.

They range from young embryos — medically defined as “an entity ... that has not yet reached eight weeks of development since the first mitotic division,” according to a 2007 publication in the scientific journal Human Reproduction — to premature infants.

The setting of the photos varies with some being taken via embryoscopy in the uterus, while others can be a snapshot following the abortion.

Using size and developmental stages as references, Dr. Claudia Krebs, anatomist and professor in UBC’s faculty of medicine, commented that the photos used by UBC Lifeline are “quite accurate.”

In one image of a 10 week aborted

fetus, the image uses a dime as a size reference and demonstrates that “the major organ systems have developed, the limbs have developed” appropriate to the age.

Krebs expanded on why the medical definition of the embryo ends at eight weeks, explaining that, “all of the major organ systems have been assembled in their place — they are in the place where they’ll finish their development and grow into the fetus” at the eight-week embryonic mark.

Another set of photos depict the edge of viability, which is defined as the embryo’s ability to survive beyond the womb. A side-by-side comparison of two 24-week premature infants are displayed, with one attached to a set of breathing tubes. The other infant, one that has been labeled as aborted, is dead.

The goal of these photos are a bit murky. Contrary to standard practice, the UBC Lifeline photos use the embryonic age, which is less common and is calculated from the moment of fertilization. When referencing pregnancy, most women and medical professionals use the obstetric age, which is calculated from the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period.

As a result, the embryonic age is two weeks less than the obstetric age.

The 24-week premature infant — presumed to be labelled with its embryonic age — would also be a 26week premature infant in obstetric age. This is a particularly sensitive assumption because anytime before

U

24 weeks in obstetric age, “there is no possibility of respiration, there is no intervention you can do [for survival] — they haven’t matured enough yet,” said Krebs.

“It’s really only after 35 weeks that you’re comfortable that the baby is able to breathe on their own without too much intervention.”

It’s true — making the viability call between 22 to 24 weeks is a tough issue.

But if the images are actually depicting two 26 week-old infants in obstetric age, the photos’ intents are unclear. There is little argument at 26 weeks; these infants can survive with medical intervention and medical professionals. Most supporters of abortion do not condone aborting 26 week-old infants.

In BC, for example, “abortions are rarely done after 24 weeks of pregnancy,” according to HealthLink BC, a source for medically-approved information from the Canadian government.

Is it necessarily wrong for UBC Lifeline to use the embryonic age rather than the obstetric age?

No — “it’s just not what most people would consider. That’s not necessarily nefarious. It might just be a lack of knowledge … a lot of people don’t know the difference [between obstetric and embryonic age],” said Krebs.

Overall, the images used by anti-abortion groups on campus are indeed accurate.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that accurate data can be used in a myriad of ways, including manipulation

The embryonic age is two weeks less than the obstetric age.

to communicate any social or political stance. When walking by these protests, it’s clear that large, graphic images with few words attached are tactics to encourage swift consumption and interpretation of the data.

The tactic itself is not evil — infomercials with wounded animals and sick children frequently use the same strategy to incite an emotional response for a good cause.

Still, the average UBC student doesn’t have the knowledge of a highly trained anatomist.

With this in mind, an accurate understanding of the images and

FILE JACK HAUEN

ages shown is highly unlikely in the few moments spent glancing over at the protests and graphic images of infants don’t encourage viewers to consider the situation of the mother.

Arguably, this isn’t an efficient way of communicating an issue as complex as abortion.

Every year, the anti-abortion protests on campus are signals for students to continue being skeptical of what they are being presented, to question the validity of sources and to understand the full story before coming to a conclusion. U

The Ubyssey’s award-winning website now features an events page.

Make sure your event reaches our 450,000 online readers.

It’s free.

It’s for students.

It’s for you.

Submit your event at ubyssey.ca/events.

SPORTS+REC

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY

EDITOR LUCY FOX

14

SOCCER PLAYOFFS //

Comeback kings fall short: Thunderbirds finish fourth at nationals after penalty shoot-out loss Scott Young and Lucy Fox Contributor and Sports Editor

After another Canada West battle with the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack on Sunday morning — this time for national bronze — the UBC Thunderbirds men’s soccer team headed home on the losing side of the draw, leaving the championships empty-handed after an unfortuitous 3-2 loss in a penalty shoot-out.

As expected, it was close throughout the 90-minute game.

The ’Birds seemed the likely suspect for scoring initially, as forward Kristian Yli-Hietanen caused some trouble for the Wolfpack back line from the get-go.

His first shot, a header towards the right post, would be steered away by TRU keeper Allan Connor.

Another Yli-Hietanen shot in the 21st minute would breeze just outside the post.

In the 23rd, the Wolfpack would finally break the stalemate. TRU striker Ryan Glanville — a UBC Thunderbirds alumni, who played

with UBC from 2005 to 2007 — drove through the Thunderbirds back line on the counterattack and into the top of Chad Bush’s box. His shot would deflect through the legs of central defender Manraj Bains and bend just past Bush’s fingertips before finding the bottom right corner of the net.

Even though the ’Birds seemed the more likely team to get on the scoreboard, the Wolfpack would take advantage of the counterattack and gain the upper hand while also running the clock down, taking them into the intermission with a one-goal lead.

TRU would open the second half on the attack, with Glanville pressuring UBC’s defence. In the 61st minute, a breakaway from the striker would force the T-Birds to pull out all the defensive stops. Guilherme would be the first to face Glanville’s attack, stopping the initial shot at the top of the eighteen-yard box.

Bush would smother the second attack on the play.

Just three minutes later, the former UBC player would place a through ball to fellow UBC

TRU keeper Allan Connor makes a diving save.

PATRICK GILLIN

alum Mitch Popadynetz, who snuck between the Thunderbirds central defenders. Popadynetz and Bush would showdown at the top of the box, with Popadynetz coming out on top and finding the back of the net.

As usual, the ’Birds kept to their comeback ways, scoring two in the last 20 minutes to take them to a shoot out. The T-Birds would score their first in the 69th minute, with a penalty call going in their favour inside TRU’s box. Striker Kyle Sohi would step up to take for the ’Birds, blasting the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to narrow the Wolfpack’s lead to 2-1.

In the 82nd, UBC would get just inches away from evening up the score as a free kick was bent into the box from just outside the eighteen-yard box. Rookie defender Patrick Metcalfe would get a touch on the ball, but it would go just outside the right post with Ryan Arthur lurking for the rebound off the post.

The Thunderbirds’ momentum would even things up in the dying minutes of the match, again on a set piece. As has been the trend this season, a Zach Verhoven corner started the play in the 86th minute.

The ball lofted over TRU’s defence and found the foot of Arthur at the back post. His low volley would find the back of the wide open net, equalizing the game and sending it to penalty kicks.

Their positive end to regular time would not continue into the shoot-out, as UBC would miss three of its penalties while TRU would convert three of their first four to hand the home side the bronze medal. For Thompson Rivers, it’s the men’s soccer program’s first win against UBC and their first U Sports medal.

With that, the ’Birds end their season with a fourth place finish

UBC’s Kyle Sohi wonders what went wrong after his penalty miss.

at the national level and with a Canada West title under their belt. Even though they head home without any U Sports hardware, it was a strong showing for the young ’Birds side throughout the last half of the game.

“We’re definitely really proud of the guys for stepping up in the second half — I thought it was mostly us in terms of possession and in terms of chances,” team captain Karn Phagura said. “It’s been the story our whole season: showing the fight to get back to 2-2 and ... penalties is pretty much a toss-up, so definitely proud of the guys.”

The captain also praised some of the team’s veteran players for their performance in the match.

“Our striker Ryan [Arthur], he put in a shift definitely, he did really well ... Kyle [Sohi] had a good game as well ... everybody put in a good work rate.”

Though they faced a tough loss this afternoon, the ’Birds will

PATRICK GILLIN

look to bounce back next season as they are set to host the nationals tournament at Thunderbird Stadium. A young side, the T-Birds have the luxury of keeping most of the 2017/18 roster intact, and using this year’s tournament as a learning experience.

For UBC head coach Mike Mosher, that will be the biggest takeaway this year.

“I think we questioned the character of this group right from the beginning and I think with all the big wins, the dramatic wins, the comebacks over the last couple of weeks, they came a long way,” Mosher said of his team postsemifinal on Friday. “They found out how to grind and battle in Canada West and get results. So I think that’s maybe the biggest learning opportunity for the year, is just the grind that is Canada West and coming to play every single game, double-headers every weekend.” U

VOLLEYBALLIN’ //

T-Birds sweep Wolfpack, still need set consistency to stake claim to Canada West Elizabeth Wang Staff Writer

The UBC Thunderbirds completed the sweep of the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack on Friday night with a win in straight sets at War Memorial Gym. Although the ’Birds were able to close out the game in a quick three sets, things didn’t go as smoothly as the score-line indicates.

The game was full of up and downs and switches of momentum. The T-Birds started out perfectly, with left side Anna Price pushing the team to an early 4-0 lead with her service aces.

The game continued in UBC’s favour until they hit the 10-3 scoreline.

After calling a timeout, the Wolfpack came back to the court reinvigorated, while UBC started to lose their offensive consistency.

With the tables turned, TRU

reduced the Thunderbirds lead to 10-8. This would be the trend through the set, as a similar situation happened later in the frame when the Wolfpack caught up once again to 22-20. Even with the tight margins, the T-Birds finally ended the set with a two-point lead.

The next set was just as thrilling and tight as the first — the two teams were in a head-to-head battle. Neither side could take more than a three-point lead. The deadlock continued throughout the set until first-year Kiera Van Ryk made a kill, assisted by veteran Alessandra Gentile, that took the team to 20 points.

The T-Birds then regained control with a service ace from Van Ryk and kills from Ciara Hanly and Victoria Behie, which closed out the second set at 25-21 in favour of UBC. The final frame was another difficult one for the ’Birds. The

T-Birds captain Alessandra Gentile tries to keep the ball in play.

Wolfpack once again worked their way back from an 8-2 deficit and went on a five-point streak which put added pressure on the hosts.

However, the T-Birds refused to have any déjà vu from the last set, and dug deep in the final points.

With a 7-1 run in UBC’s favour, the team successfully found their tempo in the final frame and secured the

ELIZABETH WANG

straight set victory 25-18 in the third.

“It’s a little frustrating that we didn’t continue to push through the leads,” said UBC Head Coach Doug Reimer of closing out the sets. “Look at the third set as an example, where we’re up 8-2 and then it becomes 8-8. That’s just some errors, and we can’t be satisfied with that and letting teams back in.”

In terms of an overall look at the team, Reimer also spoke to working on a more consistent game for his team.

“We don’t have to be great, we have to be good for a long period of time,” he said. “Being great doesn’t matter if you give it all away.”

Individually, Van Ryk led the team with 13 kills on the night, followed by Gabrielle Attieh with nine. Friday’s game was also a memorable one for team captain Alessandra Gentile, as the senior player was awarded the annual Ray Lepp scholarship presented by Volleyball BC. “I felt very honored. The list of people that received the award are all very great volleyball players. I’m glad to be part of them,” said Gentile post-game.

Up next, the Thunderbirds head to Edmonton to take on the University of Alberta Pandas starting on Friday, November 17. U

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WEDNESDAY | SPORTS + REC | 15 PLAYOFFS //

Hardy Cup hopes dashed as Dinos defeat UBC in devastating fashion Bill Situ Senior Staff Writer

Coming off of the 28-21 victory against the Regina Rams in the Hardy Cup semifinals last weekend, UBC football’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday against the Calgary Dinos in the Cup final — with a last second field goal to push the Dinos ahead 44-43.

Three seconds into the game, Calgary took the first lead with a rouge point before UBC star running back Ben Cummings answered with a 54-yard touchdown two minutes later. The Dinos then responded with a team safety, touchdown and another rouge to take an 11-7 lead by the end of the first frame.

At the start of the second quarter, Calgary kicker Niko DiFonte picked up two field goals to increase the Dinos’ lead to 17-7.

With three minutes remaining before halftime, T-Bird star receiver Trivel Pinto made a 51yard play to reach the Dinos’ end zone before DiFonte successfully kicked the ball through the posts again in the final seconds.

With the 20-14 lead, the Dinos continued to show dominance in the third quarter, with receiver Richard Sindani picking up a touchdown before the team collected another rouge point seconds later on the ensuing kickoff.

Fixtures Sport

Home

Score

Away

Thursday, November 9 Soccer (M)

UBC

2-1

New Brunswick

Volleyball (W)

UBC

3-1

Thompson Rivers

Volleyball (M)

UBC

3-0

Thompson Rivers

0-2

Montreal

Friday, November 10 Soccer (M)

Dinos quarterback Adam Sinagra stands up to a UBC’s defence.

The ’Birds caught up by a touchdown with a little over a minute left in the third, again on an impressive play. This time, T-Bird receiver Alex Morrison made a 40yard play, narrowing Calgary’s lead to 28-21.

The fourth quarter was a highscoring affair that saw a total of eight scoring plays.

DiFonte recorded his fourth field goal of the night to start, followed by two touchdowns from UBC’s Marshall Cook and Cummings in response. Cummings’s touchdown put UBC in the lead for the first time since the first quarter.

Still, the ’Birds’ lead didn’t last long as Dinos receiver Hunter Karl caught a 28-yard pass from Adam Sinagra before DiFonte completed another field goal in

RICH LAM / UBC AHTLETICS

the final two minutes, claiming a 41-35 lead for Calgary.

Intensity peaked in the final seconds of the game when Morrison picked up his second touchdown. The ’Birds also had a team rouge, which put them back in the lead at 43-41. Still, a 59yard field goal by DiFonte on the ensuing Calgary possession gave the Dinos the 44-43 win in the end — it was the longest successful field goal in U Sports history.

With the victory, the Dinos have won their eighth Hardy Cup in the last decade. The game was also the highest scoring Hardy Cup final in U Sports history, with a total of 87 points.

The ’Birds, on the other hand, head out of the playoffs and end their season in unceremonious fashion. U

UBC

Ice Hockey (M) Saskatchewan 4-3

UBC

Volleyball (W)

3-0

Thompson Rivers

Basketball (W) Northern BC

75-65

UBC

Ice Hockey (W) UBC

0-2

Saskatchewan

Volleyball (M)

3-0

Thompson Rivers

85-100

UBC

44-43

UBC

Ice Hockey (W) UBC

1-2

Saskatchewan

Field Hockey (M)

3-2

UBC

79-61

UBC

UBC

UBC

Basketball (M) Northern BC Saturday, November 11 Football

Calgary Burnaby Lake FC

Basketball (W) Northern BC

Ice Hockey (M) Saskatchewan 5-2

UBC

Basketball (M) Northern BC

72-104

UBC

3-2

UBC

Sunday, November 12 Soccer (M)

Thompson Rivers

HEALTHY EATS //

Fueling the ’Birds: UBC Athletics provides online resource for UBC to eat right Paul Xu Contributor

Thunderbird athletes train hard.

From practice to hours spent in the gym to game day, it’s important for them to get quality food to fuel their bodies and recover. They have trainers to give pointers around healthy eating, but now they have another tool at their disposal: the Go Thunderbirds Nutrition website.

Emma McCrudden is the website’s creator and editor.

She is also the lead dietician for varsity athletes on campus and an instructor for Sports Nutrition in Kinesiology and Food Nutrition and Health. Her motivation for starting the site was to have a detailed and easily-accessible resource for athletes.

“There are over 600 athletes in the Varsity Program here at UBC,” McCrudden said. “Within my first six months in the role, I was seeing a lot of repetitive questions, students struggling with the same problems and it became pretty obvious that creating a website was going to solve those issues, and be a bit more efficient with my time.”

With as much inaccurate sports nutrition information there is on the internet, having a reliable, comprehensive guide to nutrition information for high-

level sports was at the forefront of McCrudden’s thinking. She tailored the site with the campus in mind, with one section dedicated to different restaurants at UBC and another one for eating healthy in residence.

“It bridges the gap between basic, low-level layperson language and high level scientific peer reviewed journals and tries to fall somewhere in the middle,” she said.

According to McCrudden, feedback from the athletes has been positive and Go Thunderbirds Nutrition has grown greatly since it was launched, doubling in hits in the last 12 months.

To promote the site, McCrudden hosts cooking classes for a team every second week throughout the year. Nearly 300 athletes get hands-on training on how to turn the science of sports nutrition into living it out practically with eating and grocery shopping. McCrudden does an education piece at the end of every session to remind them of resources on the website and uses the UBC Instagram account as well.

“We also use the Thunderbird Athletes Council Newsletter,” she said. “Every two weeks we have a media story that goes out within that newsletter that says, ‘You

Information on GoThunderbirds isn’t just for athletes, but the entire UBC community.

know, it’s exam season coming up, have you checked the ‘Eating for Exams’ information sheet on the Go Thunderbirds Nutrition Website?’ So we try as much as we can to promote it through as many avenues.”

But the information on the website is not just limited to varsity athletes.

“There’s lots of good information

there that’s suitable for non-athletes as well,” McCrudden said. “We get questions on gluten-free diets and protein supplements, and fruit and vegetables, lots of things other people can access.”

McCrudden’s goal is to promote not only the website, but also the overarching mission of a healthier UBC campus with not only nutritious but also delicious

KYRA GRAHAM

choices. Her favourite smoothie on the site?

“I am a massive chocolate person,” she said. “So anything with chocolate or cocoa powder or a chocolate whey protein is what I would use as a substitute for actual chocolate. And I think bananas add something sweet, creamy and delicious to smoothies as well.” U

16 | GAMES | WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2017

COURTESY BESTCROSSWORDS.COM

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS

DOWN

1 “Barton Fink” director; 5 Genius; 10 Salamander; 14 Initial stake in a hand of poker; 15 Wingless insect; 16 Melville novel; 17 In spite of; 20 Lock of hair; 21 DDE’s bailiwick; 22 Large artery; 23 ___ jongg; 25 Some horses; 27 Ceremonial suicide; 31 African fly; 35 Cooking appliance; 36 Parish officer; 38 “Michael Collins” actor; 39 Greek letters; 40 Covered vehicle; 41 Actor Holm; 42 Mag. staffers; 43 Samuel’s teacher; 44 Shrewdness; 46 Hourly rate; 47 Pertaining to Denmark; 49 Outmoded; 51 Hot stuff; 53 Earthlink competitor; 54 Be silent, musically; 57 Cool ___ cucumber; 59 Gumbo pods; 63 Direct; 66 Sleep like ___; 67 In ___ (unborn); 68 Juan’s water; 69 Starchy food grain; 70 Sheer fabric; 71 Pull abruptly;

1 Pessimist’s word; 2 ___ about (approximately); 3 Kitchen add on?; 4 Reporter; 5 Diner order; 6 Architect Mies van der ___; 7 Republic in central Europe; 8 Playground retort; 9 PBS supporter; 10 Jointed or knobby at intervals; 11 Bahrain bigwig; 12 Habit; 13 Forum wear; 18 Author Dinesen; 19 Norwegian arctic explorer; 24 Small charcoal brazier; 26 Capital of Georgia; 27 Wished; 28 Walled Spanish city; 29 Gum; 30 Bausch & Lomb brand; 32 Pay for; 33 Marsh plant; 34 Alleviated; 37 Mon ___!; 40 Queen of Ahasuerus; 45 Dampen; 46 Passage for walking; 48 Glacial period; 50 Entrance; 52 Actress Christine; 54 Winter Palace ruler; 55 King of the Huns; 56 Gator’s kin; 58 Bushy hairstyle; 60 Hindu music; 61 Give ___ for one’s money; 62 Minn. neighbor; 64 Firearm; 65 Suffix with ball;

COURTESY KRAZYDAD.COM

U

Nov 7 Puzzle Answer:

THE UBYSSEY would like to join the meme war.

ANTHONY LABONTE