November 23, 2021

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NOVEMBER 23, 2021 | VOLUME CIII | ISSUE X LENDING OUT OUR MICROWAVE SINCE 1918

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Consequences coming for those who flout COVID-19 rules

NDNs at UBC: SFE and Lauren Southern

The Dingbat: How to deter bike theft

Nature’s most infamous ‘zombie’ parasites

Canada West sweeps for cross country

NEWS

OPINION

BLOG

SCIENCE

SPORTS

THE UBYSSEY

INSIDE

HAIRCARE FOR BLACK WOMEN HAS A ‘HIDDEN COST’ // 10 AMS EXEC MIDTERM REVIEWS // 4

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NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC PEOPLE

OUR CAMPUS

ON THE COVER COVER BY Isabella Falsetti

U THE UBYSSEY

Madeline Laurendeau is suing the federal government

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 | VOLUME CIII | ISSUE X

EDITORIAL

BUSINESS

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Madeline Laurendeau has been an activist since birth.

Iman Janmohamed Staff Writer

Second-year geography and Indigenous studies student Madeline Laurendeau is suing the federal government.

She’s met Greta Thunberg, spoken to David Suzuki and planned a climate strike so large it broke records.

But Laurendeau didn’t stumble upon climate activism. Rather, her path to becoming a climate activist was built out of necessity.

AN ACTIVIST SINCE BIRTH Hailing from Treaty One territory, Laurendeau is a Métis environmental, disability and Queer rights activist.

However, as a pre-teen, Laurendeau only considered herself a social activist.

“As a kid, the environmental activism you’re presented with is confined to personal actions like recycling, eating vegetarian, which are important but this didn’t really speak to me as an activist.”

It was not until high school, when Laurendeau connected the social issues she was passionate about — like Indigenous rights — to climate change, that she became a climate activist.

Organizing climate strikes and walkouts through Manitoba Youth for Climate Action, alongside her peers, allowed Laurendeau to get her start in climate activism.

Collaborating with other youth activists is important to Laurendeau. With climate change deniers at her high school, many students were indifferent to climate issues. “It didn’t make sense how these people weren’t feeling

COURTESY MADELINE LAURENDEAU

the same way I was about climate change. The earth is literally dying.”

One of Laurendeau’s greatest feats was organizing a strike that drew a crowd of 15,000 people.

“It was the biggest strike in Manitoba since the Strike of 1919 and it was 100 years later, so that was an amazing parallel.”

That strike was different for Laurendeau.

Instead of the normal feeling of impending doom, “that week felt hopeful for climate activism.

I felt most involved with climate work,” said Laurendeau.

THE FLIGHT OF A LIFETIME In September 2019, Laurendeau signed up for an interview with the David Suzuki Foundation to speak about her experiences with the climate crisis.

The climate crisis was impacting her health. Her asthma had been worsened by forest fires and her generalized anxiety disorder and depression had been aggravated by climate anxiety.

Fifteen youth from across Canada are suing the federal government with the support of the David Suzuki Foundation, Our Children’s Trust and the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation in the case La Rose et al. vs. Her Majesty the Queen.

Laurendeau is among them.

The lawsuit, filed on October 25, 2019, argues that the government has not just “neglected to mediate climate change, but that their actions directly cause climate change like the purchase of pipelines and continued oil extraction,” said Laurendeau. This violates sections 7 and 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The plaintiffs claim that the federal government is violating their rights to life, liberty and security of the person, by failing to protect essential public trust resources and violating the rights of equality.

“My timeline being involved with the lawsuit was very quick.

They had been working on it for months and every other plaintiff had already signed on but they were looking for one more person.”

The plaintiffs of La Rose et al. vs. Her Majesty the Queen are calling on the federal government to implement a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and do its “fair share to stabilize the climate system and avert the catastrophic consequences of climate change.”

“I signed the paper five days before the press [conference].

It was a very quick turnaround.

That same day, David [Suzuki] booked me on a flight to Vancouver and I was there for the press release.”

The press conference, as described by Laurendeau, was “the craziest thing [she’s] ever been a part of.”

“I didn’t feel real, you know?

Going from organizing locally, spending hours a week on Zoom calls with people I know locally to being in front of 15,000 people had me shocked. Like what? How am I here right now?”

Since then, it’s been a slow-moving process for the 15 La Rose et al. vs. Her Majesty the Queen plaintiffs. Laurendeau described the process as court dates and appeals.

Currently, the plaintiffs are awaiting a date for oral arguments in the Federal Court of Appeals.

ACCESSIBILITY IN ACTIVISM Laurendeau had to stop actively participating in climate activism nearing the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was heavily involved with the student climate strike initiative and was involved in planning those for a long time. Right when it was peaking, in late 2019, I got sick with a chronic illness.”

The COVID-19 pandemic opened up new forms of activism to her.

“I think that, honestly, COVID[-19] has made activism a lot more accessible,” said Laurendeau. “We know that hybrid courses are possible, we know that online courses are possible.

And [these are] all things that disabled students and activists have been asking for this whole time, and were denied.”

Stepping back from climate activism was a healthy choice for Laurendeau, who has had ten surgeries since. But she is still committed to fighting climate change and educating others.

“As a geography student, I still spend most of my waking moments thinking about climate change and my role in addressing it.” U

NEWS

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY

EDITORS CHARLOTTE ALDEN + NATHAN BAWAAN

UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE //

In new year, students could be deregistered for not complying with university COVID-19 policies Elif Kayali Senior Staff Writer

UBC Vancouver Senate passed a motion on Wednesday, November 17 to make deregistration a potential repercussion of non-compliance with the university’s COVID-19 rules.

After over an hour of debate, Senate approved the motion introduced by Dr. Kin Lo, chair of the Academic Policy Committee. The motion gives faculties the responsibility to deregister students who are non-compliant with campus COVID-19 policies — but only when there are no online options available and the student does not have academic concessions.

The approved policy will go into effect on January 1, 2022. If students do not complete the university’s vaccination declaration or if those who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or chose not to declare their status fail to show up for their rapid testing appointments, they could face deregistration. A student will be able to reregister for classes once they come into compliance with UBC’s policies, if that occurs before the add/drop deadline.

This motion comes after months of concern that UBC was not properly enforcing its COVID-19 policies.

Mark Crosbie, associate university counsel, said that vaccine requirements were not new to UBC. “From the 1930s to the 1970s, the university actually did have an academic regulation that required students to provide proof of vaccination from smallpox and from tuberculosis,” Crosbie said.

Christopher Eaton, associate registrar and Senate clerk, said that under the policy, students would be dropped from their courses and have their tuition fees refunded.

“It would be basically as if they never signed up for the course to

AMS still hasn’t distributed fentanyl testing strips amid VCH delays

Bridget Meehan Staff Writer

This motion comes after months of concern that UBC was not properly enforcing its COVID-19 policies.

begin with,” he said. However, some third-party fees might not be refunded depending on what point in the term the student is deregistered.

Senator Hisham Zerriffi asked what the consequences of deregistration would be for students, especially in terms of their student employment status, study permits and academic bursaries.

Dr. Kate Ross, associate vice-president of enrolment services and registrar, said it would depend on the student, and they will be able to appeal if needed.

“In terms of [student] employment … I think we need the decision from the [Board of Governors] to know [about] employment and how to proceed with that. And with visas, we’d have to actually look at that and work through the issues,” said Ross.

Provost and VP Academic Andrew Szeri voiced his opposition to

the motion, saying that it was going “too far.”

Zerriffi voiced concern around adopting a punitive approach given that some students would be more impacted by enforcement than others. He said that Senate should indicate that the policy would be used as a “last resort.”

Student senators Dante Agosti-Moro, Eshana Bhangu, Georgia Yee, Laia Shpeller, Emmanuel Cantiller, Shaktiraj Kandola, Keanna Yu and Anisha Sandhu all voiced their support for the motion.

Senator Anubhav Pratap-Singh spoke in opposition to the motion and said the students who are persistently opposing UBC’s COVID-19 policies are likely doing so for political reasons.

“My personal opinion is that on such grounds we cannot deny the opportunity to education because these students might be inspired by

FILE ISABELLA FALSETTI

other individuals and the only way that we can change their mind in the right direction is by more education,” said Pratap-Singh.

Pratap-Singh asked how many students had not declared their vaccination status. Crosbie responded that the university didn’t have that number at the moment because there were “anomalies” in the data.

“We’re going through the student data very carefully, and until we’ve done that we don’t really have a number for you,” said Crosbie.

Senator Charles Menzies expressed his frustration with Crosbie’s response and said he was withdrawing his support from the motion.

“I have to say if we’re trying to provide a solution to a problem that we can’t even define, I really have serious questions about what’s going on,” Menzies said.

The motion passed with 48 votes for and 15 votes against. U

UBC launches Wellness Mentor program to support IBPOC students

“I really think having support from fellow students … has been very helpful.”

UBC’s Wellness Centre has launched a new program to support IBPOC students.

The IBPOC Wellness Mentors program was designed to support students who identify as Indigenous, Black or people of colour. The pilot program — which started in September — offers these students a chance to connect with fellow IBPOC students or wellness mentors and have conversations about shared

PUBLIC HEALTH //

DR. KIM SUE/NATIONAL HARM REDUCTION COALITION

MENTAL HEALTH //

Sarah Wong Contributor

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MELISSA LI

experiences and ideas.

To access the program, students can attend virtual or in-person drop-in hours where they can have individual or group conversations with trained student staff.

After reflecting on the previous Wellness Peers program, which ran for 21 years, and consulting with students, UBC determined that representation in the services offered by the Wellness Centre was important.

“What we’ve heard from students, especially those who identify

as IBPOC, is the need for spaces, and for individuals which they feel more comfortable with who share a similar affinity, specifically around their identity,” said Levonne Abshire, an interim co-director of Health Promotion and Education at UBC. Diana Jung, a health promotion specialist and the coordinator of the IBPOC Wellness Mentors program, said “[the] unit has always valued representation and diversity, but taking that targeted approach and naming it was important for us to try this year.”

According to Melissa Kimwere, a fourth-year psychology major and one of the program’s wellness mentors, students often express that the sessions help them feel validated as they are able to speak with other IBPOC students who share similar experiences as them.

“Because I identify as a Black student, I was very much for the idea because … with the pandemic … there was a lot of overwhelming stuff that was going on and students needed as much support as possible.

And I really think having support from fellow students … has been very helpful just because we all tend to

have similar experiences,” she said.

Jung added that another benefit of having a peer-to-peer program is that sometimes it’s easier to talk with another student instead of a staff member or advisor.

Since the IBPOC Wellness Mentors program just started in September, it has taken a little while to get the word out to students.

However, as word has spread about the program, there has been an increase in traffic. Jung hopes to see more students stop by as the term moves forward.

On top of the Wellness Mentors program, the Wellness Centre offers Wellness and Chill sessions for IBPOC students every Wednesday.

If a student wants more information or is seeking help, they are encouraged to go to the Wellness Centre. “It takes courage to take balance when it comes to looking at your health and wellness while [being] a student and to take the time to do that is … really commendable and something that we hope all students, staff and faculty … make time for,” Jung said. U — With files from Nathan Bawaan

The AMS still does not have any available fentanyl testing strips, despite promising to distribute them to students earlier this year.

In September, the AMS announced that it would distribute around 250-500 fentanyl testing strips to students in an effort to promote drug safety as BC’s overdose crisis enters its sixth year.

In 2021, over 1,500 people have already died as a result of illicit drug overdose. University students and young people are at risk of overdose since common party drugs such as MDMA, heroin and ecstasy can contain traces of fentanyl — an extremely toxic substance even in small doses.

The AMS had hoped to receive these testing strips from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) prior to Halloween weekend, as the holiday usually sees an increase in partying among students, but VCH delays prevented that.

The Social Justice Centre (SJC), however, distributed 100 testing strips the Friday before Halloween. The SJC also tried to go through VCH but ultimately decided to purchase the strips themselves after VCH didn’t supply the strips fast enough.

AMS Student Services Manager Mitchell Prost said that the AMS was unable to get the testing strips before Halloween because VCH requires training for those accessing these resources.

“Within their process, in order for any group to receive [fentanyl testing strips], you’ll need to have training for how to use them, distribute them and all that. So we’re going through that process,” he said. The training has been scheduled in the next two weeks, according to Prost.

The AMS will still continue working with VCH on this, despite the delay.

Prost stressed that while Halloween sees an increase in the use of illicit party drugs, there are still high numbers every month of the year, and there is no reason to assume otherwise.

“I think it’s really important to push [for these testing strips] throughout the entire year, because while people may use heavily in October, there’s no reason [people won’t also] use heavily in November or December,” he said.

The Ubyssey reached out to VCH for comment twice, however they declined both times. U

4 | NEWS | TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2021

AMS exec midterm reviews Your AMS executives have held the reins of the student union for almost seven months now. It’s been a tumultuous year so far: from a disjointed return to campus amid the ongoing pandemic to a federal election, these five students and recent alums have taken on a large task.

During their campaigns and shortly after they began their roles, the five execs promised better communication and transparency, and declared they would work to address many issues students

face today — from affordability and housing to equity and mental health support.

The Ubyssey’s news team spoke to each executive on the progress they’ve made to fulfil their promises to students. We’re not grading the execs per se: we’re aiming to provide an analysis of how they’ve succeeded and how they’ve struggled in the first half of their term.

Here are some quick and dirty summaries of how they’ve done so far.

ISABELLA FALSETTI

Cole Evans President In the uncontested campaign for his second term as AMS President, Cole Evans prioritized COVID-19 advocacy, streamlining and improving AMS governance and developing an Equity Action Plan.

Evans has yet to deliver on a governance review. Additionally, the AMS spent $4,000 on prizes for its Annual General Meeting that didn’t get close to meeting quorum. However, he’s on track to implement a strategic plan — a project many previous presidents have failed to deliver — saw big successes around COVID-19 advocacy to the university, has overseen significant work on the Equity Action Plan and launched the first AMS Student Experience Survey.

With more to do, Evans has started off strong.

ISABELLA FALSETTI

Eshana Bhangu VP Academic & University Affairs Bhangu saw big wins with COVID-19 advocacy to the university ahead of the fall term — the university implemented a soft vaccine mandate with a rapid testing option in late August. Although the university failed to implement the AMS’s ask for a full vaccine mandate, it was much more than what was in place originally. Halfway into her term, the impact of much of her advocacy on tuition and UBC’s budget won’t be seen for months. But Bhangu submitted the AMS’s budget priorities to the university ahead of the ramping up of the budget process, something her two predecessors failed to do. Despite the long list of things Bhangu has promised students, she seems to have made progress on most of them.

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY | NEWS | 5

COURTESY LAUREN BENSON

Lauren Benson

ISABELLA FALSETTI

Mary Gan

VP Administration Coming into her role as VP administration, Lauren Benson promised to streamline communication between the AMS and students, establish a Clubs Recovery Benefit and improve the accessibility of both campus infrastructure and AMS content. Some of her accomplishments thus far include overseeing the opening of the Interactive Sustainability Centre, establishing a centralized dashboard with updates on COVID-19 and working with other executives to open a sensory room in the Nest. However, some of her promises — such as creating spaces for AMS executives to connect with students and building a Clubs Recovery Benefit — have gone unfulfilled so far.

VP Finance VP Finance Mary Gan entered office hoping to make mental health support more affordable, to ease the relationship between club treasurers and the AMS and to increase student awareness of the AMS and its operations. She has made progress on some of these initiatives, while also revamping her approach to others. One of her successes has been creating a Canvas course for club treasurers to learn about the AMS financial system and access documents in one place. On the other hand, Gan has decided to pause her push for a mental health subsidy and the elimination of certain AMS fees — two goals she outlined at the start of her term — in order to consult with students on these projects.

Saad Shoaib VP External AMS VP External Saad Shoaib has spent much of the first half of his term preparing to lobby the federal and provincial governments next semester. However, Shoaib has seen some substantive progress in his tenure thus far — from the Liberal Party promising to permanently remove federal interest rates during the election to both the federal and provincial governments promising to pay 80 per cent of the development of the business case for the Skytrain extension to UBC. Since his work is less student-facing than other execs, Shoaib committed to transparency when starting in his role.

He’s so far shown dedication to that goal, exemplified by him releasing an overview of his work on social media earlier this month.

ISABELLA FALSETTI

CULTURE

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY

EDITOR TIANNE JENSEN-DESJARDINS

SECRET HISTORY VIBES//

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DESIGNATHON //

Fall fashion: Dark academia

Campus clubs: UBC Design League

Ryan Yip Staff Writer

Social media has always been a birthplace for various fashion subcultures and has generally been a reliable source of fashion inspiration if you know where to look. Recently, with the help of the trend-creating powerhouse TikTok, the dark academia fashion trend is becoming a force that cannot be ignored.

COURTESY MAYANK GUPTA

WHAT IS DARK ACADEMIA? Dark academia was inspired by The Secret History, a novel about a murder within a group of elite students at a prestigious college in New England. It is widely considered to be the origin of modern dark academia literature.

Soon enough, this secretive but coveted setting made its way to Tumblr, where it inspired users to write short stories and produce artworks with a similar type of high-academia aesthetic.

What started as a literate setting for fictional intellectuals had soon been transformed into a full-fledged lifestyle and fashion template. To put it in to context, imagine a scenario where you and your friends are having a late-night study session in the Harry Potter room at the Irving K. Barber library. Now, try to mimic that feeling and vibe through the way you dress.

Let me show you how to add ‘I enrolled for Hogwarts but I am settling for the UBC’ vibes into your wardrobe.

The UBC Design League runs a number of workshops, both in-person and online.

Khushi Patil and Riya Alluri Staff Writer and Contributor

The objective is to look sharp, aristocratically intelligent and, of course, high-fashion.

ANDREW HA

WHAT IS DARK ACADEMIA FASHION? TikTok’s favourite subculture draws inspiration from the art of the Renaissance, Baroque, the Age of Absolutism and more. If dark academia fashion’s muses are from such sophisticated sources, the look needs to represent the story you’re telling. As the name suggests, dark academia fashion contains dark colours, mainly black, dark earthy tones and white, resembling wood and leather.

Your final outfit should be warm to look at; it should make you think of fall but, at the same time, a transfixing sense of coolness. Dark academia usually consists of tweed coats, big scarves, waistcoats, neckties, blazers, dress pants, button-up shirts, Derbies or Oxfords. Yes, it does sound like I am describing private school uniforms or the wardrobe for the Harry Potter series, but trust me. This aesthetic is anything but uniform. These elements are the basic building blocks because this fashion aesthetic is primarily associated with formal attire to reflect its academic element.

On top of completing your outfit silhouette, make sure you pattern-coordinate your outfit as well. Since the basis of dark academia fashion is mainly darker colours, there are fewer chances of colour-clashing. However, when the emphasis of the style is based on coats, scarves and suits, we need to pay attention to fabric patterns to accentuate that visual flow. Here are some basic rules to follow:

Launched in August 2021, the UBC Design League is the Vancouver chapter of the National Design League. It’s a student-run club aiming to expose students from all experience levels and backgrounds to the world of 3D modelling. The club seeks to create opportunities for students to engage with the design process and apply their knowledge of 3D modelling in a competition setting.

“Our primary goal,” Mayank Gupta, UBC Design League’s marketing rep, explained, “is to get students to feel more comfortable by hosting design competitions and creating new opportunities.”

Although events and workshops are categorized based on architecture and engineering, the UBC Design League is “open to literally everyone who is interested or just willing to learn what 3-D modelling is [and how to do it],” he clarified.

WHAT DO I DO AS A MEMBER? The UBC Design League runs a number of workshops, both in-person and online, for students with a range of experience from beginner to advanced. Beginners will be taught how to use 3-D modelling software SolidWorks and work on simple modelling.

The technical team will help you install SolidWorks to your device.

In case the software can’t run on your computer, their in-person workshops provide access to computers with SolidWorks pre-installed.

As Gupta said, “You don’t need to bring anything with you … you just need to show up!”

Advanced students can meet like-minded students to work on more complex projects.

ONE HIGHLIGHT FOR THE YEAR: THE UBC DESIGNATHON

Dark Academia was inspired by The Secret History.

•

Do not wear tartan plaid all over.

• Pairing houndstooth and stripes is your safest bet.

• Bold patterns like Ogee and Trellis are great for scarves.

• Polka dots neckties can give this aesthetic a fun twist — experiment with it.

The objective is to look sharp, aristocratically intelligent and, of course, high-fashion. Dark academia is preppy; it requires your willingness to work through

all the layers. Although complex, it is also entertaining to mix-andmatch such a sophisticated style.

A THIN LINE BETWEEN COSTUME AND FASHION Dark academia is a beautiful approach for those who are wanting a more playful formal tone.

However, pop-culture inspired and popularized this aesthetic, so it’s important to make sure that we don’t inadvertently turn our

ISABELLA FALSETTI

outfits into costumes instead of something fashionable. Costumes are worn with a specified context by someone pretending to be something they are not; fashion is a way of self-expression through clothes.

On top of dark academia, there are so many more subcultures that were adopted by fashion aficionados, and I hope to cover each of them in the future. Stay tuned for more subculture-inspired pieces! U

The UBC Design League will be running its own Designathon competition where students will meet, face real-world challenges and use their design and 3-D modelling skills to form creative solutions.

“Students [will] have an experience of what competitions look like, what it is like to meet industry partners, what it is like to tackle real challenges that have applications to the world.”

Winners (apart from winning prizes, obviously) may have a chance to partake in the National Design League’s Designathon as part of the UBC delegation. U

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY | CULTURE | 7 INDIGENOUS RECONCILIATION //

Standoff challenges us to ‘sit in our discomfort’ Jasmine Cadeliña Manango Staff Writer

According to Dr. Bruce McIvor, adjunct professor at the Allard School of Law and partner at First Peoples Law LLP, true reconciliation requires us to sit in our discomfort, actively listen to Indigenous communities and completely reevaluate everything we have been taught about the Canadian settler state.

As McIvor demonstrates in his upcoming book, Standoff: Why Reconciliation Fails Indigenous Peoples and How to Fix It, reconciliation is more than empty promises and land acknowledgments.

Standoff is a collection of essays that breaks down the Canadian colonial legal system, how it works to oppress Indigenous peoples and the social, political and historical forces that created it.

“I think what we need is a better understanding of the basis for Indigenous rights in Canada — the history [and] the law — [and its current limitations],” McIvor said in an interview with The Ubyssey. “[And] what needs to be done to move towards real constructive reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.”

McIvor advises readers to “be open to setting aside and questioning some of [their] assumed knowledge about the law” before engaging with his book.

“A lot of us are taught different things through school, and we have an idea of Canadian history and Canadian law that doesn’t necessarily line up with the reality,” he said.

He also stressed that discomfort is an important part of reconciliation.

“Some of the essays in my book will make particularly non-Indigenous people feel uncomfortable,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”

As he states in his book, “recognition is the prerequisite for reconciliation.”

In order to understand what reconciliation is and why it is needed, readers are first introduced to the Doctrine of Discovery.

The Doctrine of Discovery is the basis of the Canadian legal system.

As McIvor explains, it is the “racist, dehumanizing and indefensible [legal] principle” claiming that European countries owned the lands they “discovered” despite it being occupied for millennia by its Indigenous peoples. Moreover, it claims that by virtue of discovery, Europeans extinguished the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples.

This doctrine was justified by the concept of Terra Nullius — the idea that any land that is occupied by non-Christians is empty because non-Christians were not considered actual people.

Throughout his book, McIvor calls upon the Canadian federal government to “repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery.” This, he explains, is just one necessary step among the many required for true reconciliation.

DUTY TO CONSULT One of the central ideas in this book is moving from consultation to consent-based decision-making.

The Canadian government is required to consult and accommodate Indigenous peoples when they consider making a decision that could potentially affect Indigenous

rights protected under Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. This obligation is called the duty to consult.

“There’s this principle [called] the honour of the crown and it invades all of Aboriginal law and the law around Indigenous rights,” he said. “It goes to the core fact that Indigenous people were here with their own laws, exercising their laws on the land, long before non-Indigenous people arrived.”

It is because of this fact that the government has a “heightened responsibility to ensure that [Indigenous peoples’] best interests are protected.”

McIvor explained that a lot of non-Indigenous people in Canada struggle with this concept because they “don’t understand that it’s not a simple matter of equality.” The duty to consult, as he states in his book, “is a constitutional duty owed solely to Indigenous people” because they were here first.

This duty to consult is part of Canada’s fiduciary duty — a legal obligation in which one party must act in the best interests of another — to Indigenous peoples.

There is a set of minimum requirements necessary in order for a consultation to be meaningful. This includes having this consultation at the earliest stages of planning and doing so in good faith “with an honest intention of substantially addressing Indigenous peoples’ concerns.” Moreover, the government officials engaging in the consultation must have the power to change the course of the project to accommodate Indigenous people’s concerns, otherwise it is meaningless.

Throughout his book, McIvor discussed how environmental assessments represent a problematic means to fulfilling this duty and how the latter should consider the cumulative impacts of governmental and developmental projects on Indigenous rights.

He went on to say that the duty to consult is often met with “frustration and cynicism” among the Indigenous community. This is because of “their first-hand experience with endless talk and little action” in terms of implementing meaningful accommodations.

This is why he recommends moving towards a consent-based decision-making model. According to McIvor, consent has two main components: recognition and respect.

Consent requires “recognition and respect for the historical and legal fact that despite having undergone centuries of colonization and genocide, Indigenous peoples have never relinquished their right and responsibility to make decisions about their lands.”

It is important to note that consent is an international standard as outlined by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which has been adopted into both international and Canadian law.

As McIvor emphasized, UNDRIP is about government accountability. “[Indigenous] rights exist both as inherent rights and rights protected under section 35 of the Constitution,” he wrote. “The point of the UNDRIP legislation is not to create Indigenous rights, but rather to hold the federal government to the international standards it has publicly endorsed.”

McIvor stressed that discomfort is an important part of reconciliation.

McIvor called upon the BC provincial government to seriously implement UNDRIP by applying it to existing projects that have already received provincial approval.

He also called upon the federal government to uphold their “historical and legal responsibilities to Indigenous peoples.” This includes resolving disputes between Indigenous communities and the provincial government.

The federal government is currently drafting legislation to comply with UNDRIP. HOW TO BE A GOOD ALLY Near the end of his book, McIvor explained how the efforts of some non-Indigenous allies — not the majority — can result in them speaking over the voices of Indigenous peoples.

During the interview, he explained some of the key components to good allyship, such as practicing active listening and listening more than you talk when engaging with Indigenous people.

“I think it’s really important to be out there not taking the lead, of course, but be in a supportive role particularly when making it clear to Canadian politicians that … for true meaningful reconciliation, there needs to be concrete change.”

McIvor encourages allies to demand politicians to “show them the deliverables.” He urges allies to make it clear that “it’s no longer acceptable to have this wide gap between rhetoric and reality.”

McIvor also explained the importance of being willing to question your existing worldviews.

“When something you hear [as an ally] is difficult to understand, doesn’t fit with your worldview, you have to question your worldview. You have to question yourself, whether you’re sufficiently engaged.

Don’t assume that the problem is with the person who’s speaking to you.”

As he wrote in his book, a critical part of reconciliation is understanding that “Canada is a fundamentally racist state.” That is the first step but it will make many people uncomfortable. But “with acceptance comes opportunity” for change.

STANDOFF AS A RESOURCE Standoff was written for non-lawyers in order to make this information and opportunity for questioning as accessible as possible.

McIvor is currently writing a second book which will be an “easyto-read explainer for Indigenous rights.” This book will answer many of the frequent questions he receives

COURTESY HARBOUR PUBLISHING

about Indigenous rights and Aboriginal law in a way that will be accessible to readers without compromising accuracy.

This book is also a crucial resource for law students. He explained how accessible analyses of Indigenous Rights and Aboriginal law are not available to law students. “[Law students] have to take the Aboriginal treaty rights requirement as part of constitutional law during first year, but the law is very complicated,” said McIvor. “If you’re simply reading case law, it’s hard to see … the historical and legal context and then, most importantly, it’s hard for students to understand how this fits into a modern-day political reality.”

McIvor hopes that Standoff will be able to help students understand how these laws manifest “on a dayto-day basis all around them.” Hopefully, then law students will, in turn, be able to help the people around them understand as well.

“As law students and lawyers, there’s an obligation on us all … where possible, to engage with non-lawyers, whether it’s family or friends [or] colleagues, to explain and answer some of those questions that the wider public are grappling with when they’re trying to understand why Indigenous people are put in a position to struggle for recognition of their Indigenous rights.” U

OPINIONS

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY

EDITOR THOMAS MCLEOD

8

WHITE NATIONALISM //

NDNs at UBC: White nationalism and denialism welcomed on stolen land Julianna Yue Columnist

UBC is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) peoples. As such, it is enriched by relationships with Elders and their knowledge of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm nation.

As a freshman student who chose UBC as my university based on its support for Indigenous students, I was appalled and distraught when I saw that a white nationalist had been invited to speak at an event on campus.

The event in question was organized by UBC Students for Freedom of Expression (SFE), a student interest group which operates as an activist organization which promotes freedom of speech and ideas. The group was slated to host George Brown, Kevin Annett and Lauren Southern in its event titled “An Honest Conversation About Canadian Residential Schools and Mass Graves.”

While the group released informational posters on Kevin Annett and Lauren Southern, they failed to share that George Brown was in fact a residential school survivor — in fact, they never shared any information on him. Not only did this downplay his experience, it seemingly forced focus to Southern — unjustly skewing the audience’s view. The most problematic part of the event was the invitation extended to Southern to speak at the university, a place which is supposed to be safe for all students.

UBC boasts its commitment to reconciliation and is even home to the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.

Southern is an alt-right speaker who is against multiculturalism and acts in an antifeminist and racist manner. Deemed an ‘expert’

by SFE, Southern was to speak on her film The Canadian Mass Graves Hoax. As the title denotes, the documentary argues that there is no history of genocide at the Kamloops Residential School. Southern also argues that the Catholic Church has not tried to cover up the events.

As many BIPOC students know, figures of authority can be threatening and a cause of

FILE KYLLA CASTILLO

great stress. For the Indigenous community, this comes from the government, law enforcement and the Church. Southern’s arguments bring up the various aspects of residential schools that have caused and continue to cause intergenerational trauma.

As the largest university in BC, UBC boasts its commitment to reconciliation and is even home to the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.

While the in-person part of the event was cancelled, it’s troubling

to see students at the university platforming views that are harmful to Indigenous students.

I came to UBC expecting a safe environment and supportive space for Indigenous students. Seeing a white supremacist welcomed on stolen land was jarring — I was at a loss for words. The shock only grew as I ‘doom-scrolled’ through the Eurocentric commentary people were leaving. As a marginalized member of society I understand the need for free-speech, but there needs to be boundaries set by the university

in order to protect its community.

several hours before intercourse so you don’t have to stop what you’re doing in the heat of the moment (though putting a condom on as part of foreplay is fun!). Just make sure you don’t double up as the friction caused by two condoms can cause them to tear, and then you’re back to square one.

However, not all sex is penetrative — even if mainstream media might make you believe it is.

Unfortunately, there are still risks associated with non-penetrative sex, but very few conversations around the protection of people with vulvas.

Oral sex with an external condom for the penis is safe for the condom-wearer, but those can’t really be used on vulvas. It’s not the most flattering name, but dental dams are a thin piece of latex used to cover the vulva or anal region to prevent direct exchange of fluids during oral sex. One can be easily made from a regular external condom by cutting the base, the tip and along the length.

I’ll be honest and say they aren’t the sexiest thing in the world, but thankfully we are in a day and age where other options are available.

Certain companies have created latex panties (and non-latex options) that can be worn during oral sex and serve the same purpose as dental dam, offering great external protection with a much sexier flair.

MATERIAL

LUBRICATION AND COATING

Latex is the most common material for condoms, but it’s not the only one. Non-latex condoms are great alternatives for people with latex allergies or sensitivities.

They are also an opportunity for experimentation with different types of lubrication — non-latex condoms are compatible with oilbased lubes that cannot be used with latex condoms. Just make sure you know what material your condom is made of and use the appropriate lubrication for it.

Proper lubrication is one of the most important factors for an enjoyable sexual experience. Most condoms already come with some form of lubricant, but don’t be scared of adding more. There are three main types of lube: water-based, siliconbased and oil-based. Each type of lube comes with its advantages, but regardless, proper lubrication is the difference between mediocre/ painful sex and an incredibly pleasurable experience.

Condoms can also come with different types of coating such as spermicide, ‘hot-n-cold’ or some form of increased sensitivity lubricant. A lot of condom brands market those heavily, but they can have mixed effects and success in actually creating a positive sexual encounter. Don’t be scared to try things out, but don’t worry too much if something just isn’t for you.

This is in no way a comprehensive list, but hopefully an intro into your own exploration.

Now go forth with your newly acquired confidence, Google what you think you need, and have no fear of ever looking lost in the condom section of the university Shoppers again.

Julianna Yue is Chinese and CreeMétis, born and raised in so-called “Vancouver.” She is in her first year, pursuing a sociology major and a First Nations and Indigenous Studies minor. Her interests include social justice and diasporic representations.

NDNs at UBC is an open-form column written by Indigenous UBC students. If you’re interested in getting involved, submit pitches or completed articles to opinion@ubyssey.ca. U

SEX ADVICE //

Tuum Sex: Condoms

Tuum Sex is The Ubyssey’s new(ish) sex column!

FILE RAINA CAO

Lua Presidio Coordinating Editor

Navigating your sexuality, gender expression and sexual experiences in general can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. And more importantly, you’re likely not alone in your experiences. After a hiatus of a few years, we are bringing an important column back to our paper: Tuum Sex (formerly known as Positively Sex). This is a space to talk about a number of sex- and relationshiprelated topics with no shame.

Hopefully this column will help to answer some of your questions, entice you to spice up your sex life or just push you to think of things in a different light. Like I said, there is no shame — especially no shame in not knowing — but maybe this will save you from some awkward googling in the middle of your first date with the sexy kin student you’ve had a crush on all year.

So let’s start with the basics and talk about safety.

Sexual safety goes so much further than simply preventing STIs and pregnancies. Yes, those are incredibly important, but people often overlook the connection between safety and pleasure.

Having safe sex also has to do with communicating needs and comfort levels. It has to do with exploring things in a way that won’t harm you or your partner. It is also about knowing which options work for you.

I could go on and on about a number of different aspects of safe sex and safe sexual exploration.

But, for the purpose of keeping this column short and sweet, today I’ll focus on the world of condoms.

You might be asking yourself, “But Lua, didn’t you just say that safe sex is more than just preventing STIs and pregnancies? Aren’t condoms a bit basic?” Yes, they are a bit Sex 101, but at the same time, they just aren’t talked about enough.

So, on to the very diverse world of condoms.

TYPE You’re probably familiar with external condoms, but there are also internal condoms, dental dams and even latex panties.

Internal condoms can be used either in the vagina or anus. For vaginal use, they are safe to be put in

SIZE AND SHAPE Regular sized condoms will fit most penises. They should feel tight without preventing blood circulation — that’s what cock rings are for. Yet, condoms can vary significantly in shape for different sexual experiences.

Ribbed, studded or textured condoms have raised patterns that can increase sensation — or at the very least, change the type of sensation felt. Many people with vaginas enjoy the extra texture on their inner soft tissue, and the same applies to people with penises (though externally).

Using textured condoms can be a very low-effort way to start experimenting with different sensations during your sexual encounters.

If you have any questions, or something you’d like us to discuss next, send us an email at sex@ ubyssey.ca! U

FROM THE BLOG

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY

EDITOR THOMAS MCLEOD

HEY, THAT’S MY BIKE //

The Dingbat: Creative ways to deter bike theft at UBC Tova Gaster Contributor

Vancouver is one of the most bikeable cities around, and a bike is a huge advantage for getting to class on time. However, bike thieves at UBC are lurking behind every rack.

From lock-cutting to wheel-lifting, how can you feel sure that your vehicle is safe?

Bikers, don’t worry. The Ubyssey is here with fool-proof, fail-proof and freak-proof suggestions for keeping your transportation on lock.

WEA CULPA //

You asked, we answered: Four sudokus

THOMAS MCLEOD

Is this even functional? What is one Video Editor Josh McKenna’s head worth in sudoku?

MAKE IT SMELL WEIRD What’s that putrid stench by the Sauder building? It’s not the mouldering dreams of failed startups. It’s your bike! Deliberately engineering a foul odor for your vehicle will provide a great incentive for bike thieves to cut a different lock. Some ways to cultivate a nastier aura: Axe Body Spray has been used by incels to repel women for thousands of years, so it’s a tried and true technique to repel bike thieves.

The only potential flaw in this method is if the aspiring thief is also an Axe-enthusiast — so to be safe, I would recommend combining this method with another on the list.

Unscrew the seat and pour your leftover soup into the bike frame.

Clam chowder? Butternut squash?

Red curry? All will slide nicely into your bike’s hollow crevices, and will smell awful after a week or so.

Learn to secrete your own musk. Let’s be honest, biking to class already makes you a little sweaty.

Enhance your natural aroma by exclusively wearing polyester and thinking extreme negative thoughts.

Your bike will absorb your rancid energy, which will subconsciously

9

Thomas McLeod Blog and Opinion Editor

FILE ELIZABETH WANG

Unscrew the seat and pour your leftover soup into the bike frame.

deter every sneaky bike-liberator on campus.

COAT IT WITH LUBE The Ubyssey recently covered how lube is a key ingredient to enhance pleasure and decrease friction in any sensual encounter. It’s also a great way to make sure thieves can’t get a firm grip on your bike, let alone steal it.

Silicon and oil-based lubes stay slippery for hours, so you just need to apply a thick coat a couple times a day. That’s right, really slather it on. The hands of would-be thieves will slide off your handlebars like water off the backs of so many ducks. Plus, it makes for a smoother ride (if you know what I mean).

NEVER LET IT LEAVE YOUR

SIGHT Can’t steal your bike if you’ve got your hands on it at all times!

Cling to its metal frame like the prehistoric squirrel from Ice Age (2002) neurotically clinging to that acorn.

Bring your bike upstairs to all your classes and put it in a seat next to you. Give it a little name tag, so it feels included. The nearsighted overworked engineering professor will probably just think it’s a quiet, lanky, metallic new student.

BREAK IT EVERY TIME YOU PARK IT AND FIX IT EVERY TIME YOU RIDE IT This one is self-explanatory. Put it in the bike rack, then cut the brake cable, bend the spokes, or bang up

the frame. Nobody’s riding away on that bad boy, except for you — once you repair it, in several short hours, with $60 worth of replacement parts.

You’ve heard of UBC’s beloved Bike Kitchen Women and Queer Night, where our friends of marginalized genders can build both bikes and community? Well, I’m not supposed to talk about this, but the break-and-fix method is what Evil Bike Kitchen teaches you at their secret Men Night: Fight Club Bike Bash Demolition Derby.

Grab a jackhammer and pretend your bike belongs to your worst enemy — because in a way, it does.

The Dingbat is The Ubyssey’s humour section. You can send pitches or completed pieces to blog@ ubyssey.ca. U

We get it. You look forward to one thing every two weeks in our print issue: it’s not our award-winning journalism, our vibrant culture section or our questionably funny humour writing.

It’s sudoku.

With all the pain and suffering in the world, sometimes the number box is all we have to get us through the day.

As a UBC Confessions commenter recently pointed out, taking out the sudokus constitutes pure, uncut cowardice on our part, and we want to take this opportunity to apologize and correct this injustice, following which the entire editorial board will resign outright.* We have included four (count ‘em, four) new sudokus in this issue to make up for our egregious mistake — see page 19.

Peace and love, The Ubyssey Editorial *This statement is not approved by our coordinating editor. U

SURVIVAL //

The Dingbat: How to survive the coyote uprising by climbing to the one place they (probably) won’t be able to climb?

Chances are you’ll get a sick photo of campus from up there… but you may also get pecked at by the government’s notorious aerial agents (otherwise known as ‘birds’).

DRESS UP AS A BEAR

FILE STEVEN DURFEE

Sounds like an invader-free fall to me!

Shanai Tanwar Senior Staff Writer

You’ve heard about them. If you live on campus, you might’ve seen them too. They come from the Magic Forest, but have also been spotted around the infamous Vanier Commonsblock now and then.

Mysterious, elusive, dark and

brooding… no, I’m not listing the qualities of your latest Tinder boy, but the coyote gang that’s been prowling around campus all semester. Somehow it seems that Stanley Park’s infamous Good Boys have traveled all the way out to the coast to meet us, and have become an interesting addition to the usual gaggle of seagulls and raccoons on campus.

Needless to say, we’ve got you covered on how to survive this unprecedented coyote uprising!

CLIMB THE FLAG POLE This is the true test of calisthenics for all the gym rats who have spent half their life’s earnings at Body Energy Club and Birdcoop. What better way to beat the big dogs

You know what’s scarier than a regular-sized predator? A bigger predator.

There’s no better survival route than to embrace the true Canadian spirit and dress up like a grizzly for the winter. Firstly, you’ll definitely be warm for the upcoming chill (brr!). Secondly, you’ll probably become a hot topic on UBC Confessions. Thirdly, no human would even want to come around you, let alone a coyote.

Sounds like an invader-free fall to me!

START PARTYING AT WRECK Sadly, our creepy canines have become regular attendees at campus forest parties and have made appearances all over, ranging from the Magic Forest to Pacific Spirit Park.

The one place where they haven’t been spotted yet is Wreck Beach. Looks like they’re not too hot about the 500 stairs either... which, I mean, fair.

So if you’re looking for a coyote-free Friday night with your first-year pals (who you’ll forget in a few months), perhaps it’s time to move the party to the beach.

SHOWER DAILY WITH THE SOAP FROM BUCHANAN D Any, and I promise you, ANY kid in Arts can attest to the fact that the bathrooms in Buchanan D (and everything in them) are made of stuff that could survive the zombie apocalypse. Heck, it already smells like the apocalypse in there.

If Buchanan D’s soap is enough to scare Miss Rona away, the coyotes should be no big challenge. All it takes is a few spritzes of the 90-per-cent-water10-per-cent-soap concoction and you’re practically coated in bear mace.

The Dingbat is The Ubyssey’s humour section. You can send pitches or completed pieces to blog@ubyssey.ca. U

FEATURES

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY

COORDINATOR PALOMA GREEN

10

HAIR CARE FOR BLACK WOMEN IS A ‘HIDDEN COST’ article by MARIETA-RITA OSEZUA

W

hen Hazel Chongoti was growing up in Kenya, she was never worried about where to get her hair done. She could easily get her hair braided every two weeks for school.

But that changed when she moved to Vancouver in 2018. Suddenly finding places to get her hair taken care of was challenging.

“I feel like there are not enough hairdressers, or they’re not used to the texture of our hair or they don’t know how to handle it,” she said.

“It’s very rare to find someone who actually does [our] hair. If they do, it’s all the way in Surrey which is so far from where I am,” Chongoti, a fourth-year electrical engineering student said.

After three years of struggling to find ways to maintain her hair in

Vancouver, Chongoti made the difficult decision to cut her hair off.

“The main reason is because it’s been really hard to maintain it. I started noticing that I was getting a lot of breakage, my hair was constantly dry or [I was] spending a lot of hours doing my own hair, or if someone else would do it, I would spend a lot of money,” said Chongoti.

Wamaitha Kinothia, a fifth-year political science student, has a similar story to Chongoti. Like Chongoti, Kinothia moved to Vancouver from Kenya to attend UBC. Since she moved to Vancouver, she has found it much harder to find affordable hair care options.

“So I just usually keep my braids in for a really long time and then when I take it out, I’ll spend maybe a couple of weeks with it natural,” she said.

Tanya Hayles, founder of Black Moms Connection (BMC), a non-profit organization based in Toronto that connects Black moms to resources, echoed a similar sentiment.

Hayles said if the price of getting hair her done at the salon was cheaper, she would go more frequently, rather than going only on special

occasions. She added that hair care is one of the top three topics of conversation in BMC. “I don’t think people really understand the costs of Black hair,” she said. “It’s one of those secret hidden costs of being a Black woman that most people don’t think about.”

‘NETWORK OF BLACK BEAUTY’ According to Cheryl Thompson, author of the book, Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada’s Black Beauty Culture, lack of access is the biggest barrier for Black women to care for their hair, especially for women who live in smaller cities without big retailers and Black hair salons. “This can make access not only to products but knowledge about Black hair difficult,” she wrote in an email to The Ubyssey.

Tanya Hayles agrees.

“Black hair stores are only located in neighbourhoods that only have a high population of Black people but not everyone lives [in those neighbourhoods],” she said.

In Kenya, where the majority of the population is Black and there are multiple hairdressers, Chongoti did not have to think about caring for her hair herself.

“It’s easier to [confer] with other people, easily get tips and see how people take care of their hair and maintain it. There are always hairdressers available [in Kenya] at a good price who can help you take care of your hair,” she said.

“I wish I learned how to take care of my hair when I was back home because, honestly, I never really gave much thought to it. I just [assumed] someone else will do it for me,” she added.

Community networks and engagement are “intimately” connected to Black beauty culture, which makes it unique, according to Thompson.

“The network of Black beauty supply is often via word of mouth and while newer businesses make use of digital advertising, the old-fashioned referrals, walk-ins, and word of mouth still define the industry,” she wrote.

Jessica Hayles, an actress and a project assistant with Black Women Connect Vancouver, moved to

Vancouver from London in January 2020. She described the process of finding a hairdresser in both places as trial and error.

“When you find these people, you find the right person, you stick to them. And so it was tough to leave those people and then find new hairdressers here,” she said. “You just want to have your services that you trust, that you like, that matches your price range and then just keep going back to them.”

When she lived in London, she could go door-to-door to talk to hairdressers in specific Black neighbourhoods which made the process easier. Moving to Vancouver meant she had to leave the established hairdressers she had in London. But as Vancouver does not have dense Black neighbourhoods, finding new hairdressers was more difficult.

“In London, there’s a lot of Black areas and neighbourhoods so the trial-and-error can be a bit more physical,” she said. “But I think there’s not so much of that in Vancouver so it feels a lot more kind of looking online.”

Kinothia expressed a similar sentiment when it comes to finding a salon in Vancouver.

“Every time I have to do my hair, I have to go to [a place] like Burnaby or some woman’s apartment that I found on Facebook or Instagram,” she said.

A CANADA-WIDE PROBLEM Black women in Vancouver are not the only ones who face this problem. Across Canada, the challenge persists.

Black hair in Canada has a long and storied history beginning in the 19th century, explains Thompson.

“The history goes back to the 19th century when Black women and men laboured as barbers and hairstylists,” she wrote in an email to The Ubyssey. “In the 20th century, these individuals became “beauty culturists” — individuals who made their own products and developed a distribution and sale system that was locally based.”

The history of Black beauty in Canada is very important to Simone Wright who runs an non-profit focussed on education around Black hair history.

In 2017, Wright was at a workplace diversity, equity and inclusion training session. The woman facil-

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY | FEATURES | 11

itating the session was discussing covering — a term that describes when people hide their true identity at work. She said that an example of covering is when Black women straighten their hair to hide their appearance. Wright was upset by this statement because the woman did not provide any context.

“After slavery, Black people, we had to compete in a world that wasn’t created for us and one of the ways that we competed is altering ourselves which is straightening our hair,” Wright said. “She wasn’t sharing our story accurately and I decided that you know what, I need to take this opportunity to educate people not just non-Black people but Black people as well.”

So in February of that year, she opened the Instagram account @partingtheroots not only as an educational tool but also to celebrate Black History Month.

Today, Parting the Roots is a non-profit organization based in Toronto that educates about Black hair history and does annual exhibitions.

WHY IS FINDING A HAIRDRESSER SO HARD? In addition to a lack of Black hair salons, the lack of stylists who know how to do hair in non-Black hair salons exacerbates the problem Black women face in accessing hair care.

Beauty and cosmetology schools in BC are not required to teach how to take care of Black hair.

“If you go into a salon that isn’t necessarily a Black hair salon, you as a Black person most likely can’t get your hair done because they wouldn’t know how to work in your hair, versus when you go to a Black hairstylist. They know how to work both in non-Black and Black hair, hair texture[s],” Wright said.

Tanya Hayles said this puts an extra burden on the Black women to ensure that a salon actually does their hair type before going there.

“The onus is now on me as the Black person to ask, or even go to their Instagram page to see if they posted Black clientele,” she said. “If they haven’t, then I know that Black people don’t go to those salons and that I’m not going to be able to get the proper hair care experience that I need or want.”

She added that the reason some hair salons do not do Black hair is not necessarily due to not wanting to, but not having knowledge or the awareness.

“Most businesses, if they’re doing fine enough with their clientele that looks like them, then they won’t see a need to say, ‘Oh, we should learn how to do Black hair,’” she said.

Moureen Spence owns Mou Jam Beauty Salon in Surrey which specializes in Black hair care and styling. It’s been operating for over 20 years.

Spence said that Black hair is a “specialty” and people need training to be able to take care of it properly.

She added that her salon is like a family and people who come to the salon are repeat customers who continue to return year after year.

Trinay Brown opened her salon, CRWND, in August 2020 amid the pandemic. She acknowledged that finding places for Black people to get their hair done in Vancouver is difficult, but because her salon is in downtown Vancouver, her prices are higher than average. Brown charges an average of $120 for a style.

Jessica Hayles said the prices for hair care in Vancouver were a shock to her compared to London.

“Sometimes my price can be too high for people. So if it was lower, I would have a lot more clients,” Brown said. “Also, living in Vancouver is expensive and I do pay two rents so I have to keep everything in mind when doing my business.”

She has been doing hair for about eight years, learning through practice on herself and from YouTube and Instagram. She added that she’s still looking for ways to improve her skills and learn about different hair textures.

Hairstylists in BC are required to learn how to cut, colour and chemically treat hair, work on extensions and learn the business fundamentals of hair salons. They learn these skills in schools and obtain licenses after they pass the industry red seal exam.

The industry traing association requires that hairstylists “cut diverse textures of hair using cutting tools” but does not give any details on the types of textures students are required to know. Nowhere are they specifically required to learn how to work with Black hair or coilier textures.

Louise Danhaumer, department leader of the hair design, skin and body department at Vancouver Community College (VCC) said that students in the foundation program get ten weeks of training on hair theory with mannequins in the foundation program before moving on to working with clients based on their skill level.

“We address whatever hair comes in the door to us,” said Melanie Burke, a hairstyling instructor at VCC. Students get training on whatever hair textures come to the salon.

She added that the school is expanding the types of mannequins they use for training students through a company called Pivot Point so that the students can gain experiences with different textures before working with clients.

“Rather than waiting for those

textures necessarily to walk in the door, and make appointments with us, we can intentionally use them in our curriculum day-to-day so everyone gets their hands into curly textured hair,” she said.

Danhaumer added that the school is planning to introduce “micro-credential courses” to enable people to focus on specific skills and included in those courses specifically tailored towards textured hair and Black hair that will be taught by experts.

LOVING YOUR CURLS Though there are challenges when it comes to caring for black hair, Black women are embracing their natural hair as part of their identity in all its shapes and twists.

“I do wear my hair in its natural state and I do wear my hair [in] more traditional hairstyles, and it’s a way for me to express myself and really showcase that, I am a Black woman and I am representing my African roots,” Wright said.

Jessica Hayles added that the conversation about Black hair across all industries should be more open, positive and accessible.

“It shouldn’t have any tenseness coming along with it from other people and it should be something that is able to be talked about in workplaces in a positive way so it doesn’t feel like a weight,” she said.

Though her hair is shorter, Chongoti said she does not let it define her.

“I feel like cutting it also brought out a different side of me, and I was even feeling more confident, and just more myself,” she said. “I don’t let it affect how I see myself. Either way, I feel beautiful the way I am — long hair or short hair.”

For Kinothia, it is about embracing one’s curls and not striving to achieve beauty ideals.

“I think it’s just about embracing yourself and how you consider yourself to be beautiful and focusing less on Western ideals of what you’re supposed to look like,” she said.

“So just being like, ‘this is my hair, I’m taking charge.’ I’m not gonna do a style because it’s what’s more acceptable. I’m gonna let my hair be the way it wants to be.” U

design by RAINA CAO

SCIENCE

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY

EDITOR SOPHIA RUSSO

12

CREEPY CRAWLIES//

The Last of Us IRL?: Nature’s most infamous ‘zombie’ parasites Eashan Halbe Contributor

A minuscule parasite attaches to a host and cages it to their whims, before bursting out from its body ready to infect the next unsuspecting target. Though this might sound like something from The Last of Us series, some organisms have evolved to do just that as part of their natural life cycle.

To explore some of the most infamous parasites who take control of their hosts, The Ubyssey sat down with local mycologists and entomologists, including a UBC team who discovered one of these critters. From fungi to insects, these organisms may feel like the stuff of science fiction but for the experts, these organisms’ unique strategies for survival are both real and exciting.

WELCOME TO ZOMBIELAND To ants of the species Camponotus leonardi, the parasitic fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is the stuff of nightmares. This fungus, which infects individual ants and subverts their behaviour in drastic ways, has quite the infamous reputation in pop culture, having been the inspiration for the zombies in the cult video game The Last of Us. The parasitic action of this fungus is a part of an intricate life cycle, according to Dr. Kent Brothers, a self-described amateur biologist, senior member of the Vancouver Mycological Society and former lecturer at UBC. It all begins when the fungal spores find themselves on the body of a potential host. “The spores attach themselves when they fall onto an ant. It then proceeds to send out hyphae [extensions of the fungus] that penetrate the ant’s body,” he explained. The fungus can then “generate chemicals which affect the ant’s behaviour,” according to Brothers.

The ant then ventures away from its colony and climbs up to an elevated spot, before clamping its

An ant having been infected by a parasitic fungus.

mandibles down on some vegetations to root itself in place. It is in this position that the ant soon dies.

This process, Brothers explained, fulfills a reproductive purpose for the fungus at the expense of its ant host. Once it has infected its host, “the Ophiocordyceps fungus proceeds to digest the innards of the ant,” he said. Ultimately, the fungus sends out a reproductive structure known as a sporophore which releases spores down onto the hapless ants below the original host, thus perpetuating the cycle of infection.

Brothers also said that every ant species is infected by a different species of Ophiocordyceps, demonstrating the high level of specificity involved in these interactions.

Ophiocordyceps can also engage in interactions that complicate how they may be classified by biologists.

The parasitic fungus, Ophiocordyceps, helped inspire the cult video game, The Last of Us.

ANDREAS KAY/FLICKR

The genus Tolypocladium was initially included within the Ophiocordyceps group but has since been split off into its own. This genus is marked by fungi with the unique ability to parasitize other fungi rather than insects.

Brothers highlighted that much of what we know about these parasites is relatively new and “evolving very rapidly” as genetic analyses continue to emerge. For example, evidence supporting that each ant species is infected by a specific species of Ophiocordyceps is quite recent ­and there is still more work to be done.

“There is a lot that isn’t known in this field,” said Brothers.

UBC’S OWN PARASITIC WASP Another parasite capable of trans-

KYLLA CASTILLO

forming its host into a mindless automaton is the Zatypota wasp, first observed by entomologist and UBC alum Philippe Fernandez-Fournier, alongside a team of researchers that includes Samantha Straus, Dr. Ruth Sharpe and Dr. Leticia Avilés.

Fernandez-Fournier is the lead author of the 2018 paper first describing this wasp and its parasitism of social spiders. Currently, he is a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University.

Zatypota’s host, Anelosimus eximius is a species of social spider native to the Lesser Antilles and regions from Panama and Argentina.

The social nature of these spiders in itself is “interesting” and distinct from typical spider behaviour, explained Fernandez-Fournier, as spiders are generally solitary creatures. In turn, Zatypota’s success as a parasite is rooted in subverting this aspect of the spider’s life style.

“This parasitoid wasp targets [the spider] and controls their behaviour [making] the spider not social anymore so they become solitary and leave the nest,” he said.

He described how the social spiders live together in the thousands in colonies ­— often leading to the emergence of what he described as “a whole tree full of spiders.”

Speaking to the wasp’s life cycle, Fernandez-Fournier described a process deeply intermingled with the spider host. “The wasp lays an egg on one of those spiders [and] the egg hatches and then becomes a larva,” he said. Once attached, “the larva pierces a hole in the abdomen of the spider to start sucking its [blood-like hemolymph] as food,” he said. He highlighted that “subadults” are often targeted, which are equivalent to “teenager” spiders.

The larva goes on to grow in size to cover the spider’s abdomen in just a few days and injects as-ofyet unknown hormones to control the spider’s behaviour.

The usually gregarious and social spider soon becomes a recluse, skulking off to a distance of about a foot away from the colony and building a cocoon around itself that is basically “one big mesh of web.”

“So when it’s done building [the cocoon], the larva eats the spider and makes its own little cocoon inside the web that the spider built and is now protected from the elements.”

The cocoon acts as a safe environment for the larva to grow into an adult wasp and burst out to continue the cycle of parasitism on other many-legged victims.

Fernandez-Fournier emphasized the strangeness of the social spiders themselves, stating that the spiders “literally never leave the nest except if the conditions become really bad.” This makes the infected spider leaving the colony particularly notable. He also added that the immobility of the nests make it possible that the new wasps can come back to parasitize the spiders from that same colony over and over again.

The parasite’s strategy is not without risk for the parent wasp, however.

“If they get too close to the colony, they might get caught as prey … egg-laying is probably very risky,” said Fernandez-Fournier. “We believe they target spiders that are on the outside of the nest.”

The other spiders seem largely unperturbed by the appearance of a large parasite on the abdomen of one of their fellow residents, according to Feranadez-Fournier.

The infected spiders “go about their normal business with a larva on their abdomen and nobody notices.”

The spider’s transformation is quite speedy, happening in a matter of around two weeks.

“I think why it’s interesting for everybody is because of how weird it is,” said Fernandez-Fournier. U

13 | SCIENCE | TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2021 FALLING FOR FALL//

Making sense of scents: How your brain makes fall smell like fall Corey Morrell Contributor

For many of us, the autumn season brings with it a ‘hallmark’ set of scents and sensations, ranging from pumpkin-spiced-anything to our favourite seasonal treats.

These associations can vary between people. For example, when first-year science student Delaney Webber thinks about her favourite fall smells, her mom’s freshly baked pumpkin treats come to mind, as does the smell of clove-scented pine cones that decorate her home this time of the year.

“Every time I smell that, it takes me back to [fall],” she said.

Webber isn’t alone. Many scents can be associated with the autumn season in part thanks to each individual’s lived experiences. The Ubyssey sat down with UBC professors and students to explore how our brains can create associations that govern how fall can smell like fall — and why you might have a hankering for pumpkin spice as you read this article.

FROM NOSE TO BRAIN Our sense of smell is closely intermingled with emotion and memory, and is “one of the quickest ways” to change our emotions and mood, while also triggering recall of memories, according to an interview with Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, director and founder of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation.

Given how tightly emotion,

memory and smell are intertwined, it should be no surprise that past experience plays a crucial role in how we respond to certain smells, as was explained by Dr. Mike Gordon, associate professor in the department of zoology. “A lot of our responses to smell are based on experience. So, while there are smells that produce innate responses that you don’t have to learn, a lot of what we perceive and the feelings that we get from smelling different things are from past experiences.”

The piriform cortex is one brain region that plays a crucial role in processing this information, according to Gordon. He explained that it is thought that chemicals, or a combination of chemicals, denoting a particular smell ultimately activate a combination of neurons in this brain region.

“And it doesn’t necessarily really even matter what that unique combination of neurons is, as long as that is a reliable representation of that smell,” he said. “And then the activity of neurons gets associated, and then can take on values … or [elicit] specific memories.” Thus, associations are believed to be based on the way an odor was represented in the piriform cortex.

Similarly, a 2017 study in Cerebral Cortex suggested that the piriform cortex is involved in the process of encoding smells as short-term and long-term memories, emphasizing the role of this brain structure in building associations between odor and experience. Other brain regions are essential for creating these smell-

based memories too. For example, in Hirsch’s interview, olfactory-associated nostalgia is described as the result of the combined efforts from the olfactory, limbic and hippocampal systems.

SMELLS LIKE HOME For students, the smells characteristic to the autumn season are personal.

To first-year science student Melanie Dean, the smell of fall is the “smell of rain probably [and] pumpkin spice.” But her favourite smells have more to do with memories linked to specific events, like baking pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

Webber described a similar experience. “[My mom] does a lot of baking with pumpkin and stuff around this time of year,” she said.

To her, traditions like Thanksgiving create these associations and certain smells take her back home.

Dr. Frances Chen, an associate professor in the department of psychology, emphasized that smell is intertwined with memory and emotion. “Olfaction is a very primal kind of sense ... it is able to sort of bring up and trigger emotions pretty automatically [and] pretty quickly. It is associated with our memories in a very automatic way as well.”

Scent associations are likely developed early in our lives and increase as we age, creating stronger responses, according to Chen.

These scent associations serve as an example of the plasticity in

“Every time I smell that, it takes me back to [fall].”

our brains. According to Gordon, it used to be thought that the neurons activated following exposure to a certain smell did not change, but new research has suggested otherwise. Recent evidence has shown that the neurons associated with a given smell “actually change dramatically over time, so that a month later, the pattern of activity in the piriform cortex is essentially unrecognizable,” said Gordon.

According to Chen, the context that surrounded the exposure to the scent is also an important component to consider. “[Smells can] just have that very strong association due to that built

FILE MAYA RODRIGO-ABDI

up repeated experience of being associated with something that was fun or comforting or just associated with something positive,” she said.

This trend is also likely true for “strong, negative emotion” as these feelings get encoded into our memory “quite easily,” she explained.

There is still much to learn about how we interact with scent, but UBC’s best are on top of it.

“I really love the mystery of how the brain processes information,” said Gordon. “Fundamentally, how the brain works and how you’re producing these emerging properties like consciousness and perception is really very mysterious.” U

STEM CAREERS //

‘There’s always an interesting job’: A day in the life of UBC’s resident scientific glassblower

Brian Ditchburn is currently employed as UBC’s resident glassblower.

Christina Asia Contributor

Hidden deep in the department of chemistry’s basement lies the workstation of UBC’s only in-house glassblower.

Since the late 90s, Brian Ditchburn has worked as a scientific glassblower and currently resides at UBC as the sole expert on campus. The Ubyssey sat down with Ditchburn to learn more about a day in the life of a glassblower and the inner workings of his career.

Being a morning peron, Ditchburn said that a typical day

starts “stupid early in the morning to avoid heat.” After arriving, he works on repairs or new manufactures, depending on what graduate students or faculty need.

“They’ll place an order, they’ll bring their broken glassware to me, and then I’ll plan my next day,” he said.

Recently, Ditchburn has been making a lot of a specific apparatus: vacuum lines. These “vac-lines,” as Ditchburn calls them, isolate airsensitive materials using a vacuum to create a controlled environment that often consists of an atmosphere of nitrogen, according to ChemViews magazine. “I have ... a bunch of new faculty who are asking for more

CHRISTINA ASIA

vac-lines, so I’m making a lot of those right now,” he said, “and I’m repairing a lot of vac-lines because they break.”

One of the reasons a university may hire its own resident glassblower is cost saving. “Instead of throwing out stuff as it breaks, they bring it to me. I will repair it and put it back into service,” explained Ditchburn. “[It’s] cheaper than buying a new one.”

Another added benefit of an in-house glassblower is the streamlining of the process and the capacity for the production of equipment tailored to a particular user.

“If it’s a manufacturing apparatus that they need, if they have an artboard or drawing for it and they know all the parts, I can assemble it for them,” said Ditchburn. He explained that assembling one inhouse is usually faster than ordering from elsewhere.

What makes scientific glassblowing fulfilling for Ditchburn is the dynamicity of the role. “It’s never the same,” he said. “There’s always an interesting job. It’s a lot of fun to do [and] it’s technically challenging.”

He also highlighted the sense of accomplishment that accompanies his profession. “I enjoy the parts of the job where I help students and faculty get to their goals in research,” he added. “So if I can do something that makes that goal more easily achievable, it’s perfect.”

But being a scientific glassblower does not come without its own set of challenges. “Don’t like heat?

This is not the job for you,” said Ditchburn. Heat is an essential part of glassblowing. Unlike art or “soft” glass, scientific glassblowers usually only work with borosilicate glass and quartz which have higher working temperatures, according to the Scientific Glassblowing Learning Center. Different torches are used to heat glass, such as a multi-port flange top, four jet lathe burner, hand-held glass blowers and bunsen burners.

Scientific glassblowing is also technically challenging, which is both “good and bad,” according to Ditchburn. “You have to grow with the job, grow with the tasks that come into the shop,” he shared.

“And you have to be honest with yourself,” he said. “If I can’t physically do that job, I’ll tell the faculty … and we’ll find another source for it.”

“But I’m always going to try because nothing’s impossible.”

For those itching to try their hand at glassblowing, Ditchburn offers a course for chemistry students. “It’s just an introduction to cutting glass, making a very simple apparatus, so they have some experience with glass,” he said. The only prerequisite is an interest in glassblowing. He also prefers to accept grad students for the course.

This course is a valuable asset to students interested in scientific glassblowing as opportunities in this field are limited. “There’s only one school in North America that teaches [scientific glassblowing] and that’s in New Jersey,” said Ditchburn.

Apprenticeships can also be hard to come by, he explained.

Though a recent article by the Los Angeles Times has pegged scientific glassblowers as a “dying breed,” Ditchburn chooses to stay optimistic about the future. “There’s a lot of positions being cut, but there’s also positions being created,” he said.

“They’re few and far between, but they are being created.”

“And your generation, for example, are very motivated for learning this trade,” he said.

So what does he advise prospective glassblowers? “You have to have the skillset [and] you have to be willing to open your mind to try new things,” said Ditchburn.

“But that’s life.” U

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SPORTS+REC

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY

EDITOR DIANA HONG

15

PAUSE //

Once more with feeling: UBC women’s soccer aims to defend national championship title as 2019 memories stay in mind Brendan Smith Contributor

Danielle Steer ran hard toward the ball. A cross from her teammate landed the ball in the six-yard box, and the UBC forward dashed to the ball while the opposing players closed in.

The players surrounded Steer near the net. When Steer tried to make contact with the ball, she fell onto the turf and was taken out of the play. Yet the play was over because while Steer lay on the turf, the opposing goalkeeper stepped off their line and the ball managed to evade the sea of jerseys. Once Steer saw the referee make the signal, she fell down onto the turf again and her teammates rushed over.

This goal gave UBC women’s soccer its seventh national championship, the most in U Sports women’s soccer history.

This weekend the T-Birds returned to nationals, and despite missing the 2020 season due to the pandemic, the team tried to repeat as champions for the first time since 2003.

Yet for a program that previously went a decade without winning a national championship, and failed to qualify for the 2018 Canada West Final, the gamewinning goal seemed to be a turnaround moment. In May 2020, The Ubyssey reached out to players and coaches from UBC women’s soccer team to find out more about the last goal the T-Birds scored at nationals.

The 2019 championship game pitted the T-Birds against the University of Calgary Dinos, who beat the T-Birds in a very physical Canada West Final, which saw key players leave the game due to

injury.

“We actually used the Canada West final as a sort of learning opportunity,” UBC head coach Jesse Symons recalled over the phone. “That was a big turning point to understand that playing in a certain structure against Calgary was and what spaces were kind of available.”

Before the championship rematch, Symons approached forward Sophie Damian. Damian, who knew Symons from her days playing at the Whitecaps elite program, switched from fullback to attacking midfielder at the start of the season at the coaches’ request.

During warmups her coach asked another favour.

“Before the game, Jesse [Symons] watched a whole bunch of footage and was like ‘Hey, you need to get the ball into this certain spot — this is where their weakness is,’” Damian told The Ubyssey.

“This is where we could really hone in and win the game.”

Symons asked Damian to practice crossing the ball into the six-yard box, an available space identified during film study.

Soon after, Damian started kicking balls into the box.

“I’m crossing it and I’m hitting the 18-yard box every time,” Damian said. “Jesse’s kind of like ‘Sophie, it’s just like a cross, you can do this’ and I’m like ‘Why can’t I do this right now?’”

After more missed attempts, Damian grew frustrated and her teammates took notice. “[UBC defender] Sabrina [Anderson] actually, one of [my] teammates, [said] ‘Don’t worry Sophie you’ll be able to do it. It will just come off in the game.’’’

Although it remained a scoreless game in the first half,

The team attempted to to repeat this weekend as champions for the first time since 2003.

Damian gained possession of the ball later in the second half and attempted another cross into the box. “[Head coach Symons] is like ‘send the ball in,’” she said. “So I cross it in, don’t hit the spot he’s talking about, which is the six, but I hit it at the 18 and then that’s when [UBC forward Natasha Klasios] headed the ball and it bounced in front of the six.”

“That was just kind of like a moment where I was like, I looked at my bench and was like ‘Holy shit! Sabrina told me I could do it and I did it!’”

With the ball at the six, forward Steer then started sprinting.

“I remember it felt like slowmotion,” Steer explained. “I could see the keeper, I could see the defenders, I already saw the ball up in the air — you can’t do

anything until it’s coming down to you.”

“I was just like ‘I need to get something on the end of this ball. I don’t care if I get hurt, I don’t care if I get injured.’”

As the Calgary goalkeeper was off her line, Steer got mixed up with the Dinos defenders and ended up on the turf, watching the ball move towards the opponents goal.

“I know it bounced really slowly into the net,” Steer said.

“I watched the video a few times and I think I fell on my stomach because I’m trying to get something on it to go into the net.

When I stood up the referee called it a goal.”

While Damian and Steer could see the ball in the net, a strange series of events created confusion among the rest of the T-Birds, who

COURTESY RICH LAM / UBC THUNDERBIRDS

were running downfield towards the Calgary net.

“When you score, a way of validating the goal is the linesman will sprint back to centre and she had slipped,” UBC forward Anisha Sangha explained.

“But then she got up and started running so then I realized it was a goal.”

Although two years removed from the championship game, Symons, Sangha, Damian and Steer remain on the T-Birds roster and will lead the team into their opening game against Acadia University with hope of reliving the same emotions they experienced that one night in November 2019.

“When we celebrated,” Steer recalled fondly, “there were girls already crying because we knew at that point we had done it.” U

FUNDING //

UBC Recreation announces new funding to support recreational activities for students

UBC has $170,000 to UBC Recreation for intramurals.

Miriam Celebiler Contributor

UBC has allocated $170,000 to UBC Recreation to support greater access to recreational

ISABELLA FALSETTI

activities over the next two years.

Director of intramurals and recreation Michael Tan explained that the funding will be split between helping restart intramural programs and a new

free equipment rental initiative on the MacInnes Field.

He said that there has been more interest in recreational activities this year than was initially anticipated. As a result, the “intramural program was actually over capacity and oversubscribed.”

Second-year student and participant in the intramural soccer league Ziyaan Virij found it “relatively harder than expected” to join a team. Virji also mentioned that he knew quite a few students that were not able to join intramural leagues.

In an attempt to meet the increased demand, 156 new intramural team spots and two new leagues will be added to the program next term.

In addition to the intramural programs, UBC Recreation plans to launch the new Moves on MacInnes initiative, which will provide free equipment rentals to students.

While MacInnes Field

is already a popular hub for students, Tan noted “as much as the interest was there, the supplies and equipment weren’t really around to help support.”

As the weather begins to warm up in the spring, UBC Recreation intends to rent out supplies such as Spikeball, frisbees and balls free of charge from the Student Recreation Centre to be used by students on the field.

“I definitely would use whatever equipment they have. One thing I really enjoy about being a student here is that a lot of physical activities are accessible,” fourth-year marketing major and an active intramural league participant Afkar Fazil said.

Tan emphasized that UBC Recreation is about community.

“I just think it comes down to this idea that recreation is amongst many avenues that students are looking to get involved in. And it’s really about making friends, it’s about

connecting with others and it’s about trying activities in a way that works for you,” Tan said.

As an international student who experienced his first year at UBC online, Virij explained that “playing intramurals has definitely helped [him] find a greater sense of community.”

Fazil was happy to hear about the new funding for recreational activities for students. “I use physical activity as a way to destress and really take care of both my physical and mental health.

And so the fact that they see us doing that, I think it’s a good thing.”

The funding put forth toward the intramural programs and free-for-use equipment rentals aim to accommodate students wishing to engage in both formal and informal recreational activities.

“What [the funding] is intended to do is essentially help enhance the student experience,” Tan said. U

16 | SPORTS+REC | TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2021

Courtesy Josh Schaefer/Saskatchewan Huskies

CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS SWEEP CANADA WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS article by MIKE LIU

Running is a lonely sport. From early mornings to late nights, enduring wind and rain and howling cold, athletes are often accompanied only by their own shadows and beating hearts. UBC’s cross country team challenges that solitary image with camaraderie and cheer, celebrating each other’s accomplishments while pushing each other to be the best they can be. The proof is in the pudding: the men’s and women’s teams have swept their way to Canada West banners, racing past their competition in Saskatoon.

It’s been a long time coming after a 2020 season that saw only one meet. As our teams return to a full competition schedule this September, winning the Canada West title has been an important milestone. “It’s just pretty exciting that we can show what we’ve been working towards so far this season,” rookie Glynis Sim said about the win.

There was lots of individual success to go along with the team.

Sim finished third in the women’s event along with Joanna Brown and Lauren McNeil were able to make three T-Birds in the women’s top 10 as they finished in seventh and tenth place finishes respectively. Thomas Hobbs was able to claim first place in the men’s event, as well as Tyler Dozzi placed second with Josh Kozelj and Spencer Hardy finishing fourth and fifth.

“We are a group that should be reckoned with across both teams,” Hobbs said. The men’s team had come close before and finally were able to claim the CanWest crown, while the women’s side completed the threepeat. “I think it’s pretty special just to get to this point, after all the troubles and challenges and COVID[-19].”

The repeating theme for Hobbs and Sim was winning as a team.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have

really, really good, understanding coaches, and then also just really supportive, fun teammates,” Sim said. “It’s just a lot of fun to be able to train with all those good people.”

2021 was the first year that Hobbs was able to compete for UBC, as in 2019 he was not able to race. “I was going through some issues dealing with small little injuries,” Hobbs recounted, having been part of the cross country team for the past three years.

These previous struggles pushed him as he returned to action. “That was a huge motivator to try to push myself, to find what I needed to do to be a team leader and contribute and give back to the team.”

With both the men and women’s sides wrapping up a successful Canada West campaign, the focus has now shifted to the last two events of the year, arguably even more important. The U Sports Cross Country Championships

took place last weekend, and the Canadian Cross Country Championships happen this week.

The team heads into these events while running with the wind. Despite their excellent results, there still was a chip on their shoulders to prove themselves on the national stage. “I honestly think that even throughout the season, no matter how we raced, we’ve been fairly overlooked especially going into CanWest,” Hobbs said. “I’m shooting for the team win, I’m still going to race with the same intensity no matter what with whoever on the start line.”

For Sim, it’s a similar mindset, but enjoying the ride along with striving for the win. “I think our biggest goal is just to be out there and have fun,” she said.

“Be healthy, run well and follow through with our plans.”

“We do have fairly high expec-

tations, but we don’t want to be unrealistic.”

The U Sports Championships are being held in Quebec City, with the course already set out on the Plains of Abraham. It’s not going to be easy, but that’s just part of what makes it worth pursuing. “That’s what cross country is about,” Hobbs asserted. “It’s about being tough and prevailing through those challenges.”

“I think from what I’ve seen in this group, and especially with travel squad, I think we’re ready for basically anything.”

And as UBC’s cross country team flies across Canada, it’ll be a team that arrives in Quebec to chase after the national title. In a sport where individuals compete alone, the Thunderbirds will take flight together. U Josh Kozlij has contributed to The Ubyssey.

Courtesy Josh Schaefer/Saskatchewan Huskies

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY | SPORTS+REC | 17

HOW THE STARS ALIGNED FOR SPENCER HARDY

Canada West Championships Rookie of the Year article by RAVNOOP BADESHA When junior year of high school rolls around, most students begin to prepare themselves for the application process to the post-secondary institutions of their choice. Though Spencer Hardy had aspirations to continue his cross country career, with his profile wasn’t standing out. But one state championship later “the stars truly aligned” for Hardy as the Thunderbirds varsity cross country team presented him with an opportunity that was too good to turn down.

Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Hardy was what he calls an “all around athlete.” He didn’t really have the passion for one specific sport but began to focus on cross country around the fifth grade.

For Hardy, it wasn’t the actual running that intrigued him, rather the friendships he was forming through the sport. The summer prior to his first year of high school really set the tone for Hardy, as he was introduced to a community centred around sports. It was something that really brought them all together.

His respect for the sport was inspired by Coach Frank at Central Catholic High School who pushed his career in the right direction. This is where Hardy got the foundational training.

The state championship from his junior year is a race he will never forget as he was able to place 18th overall and his school ended up winning in a tie breaker. “This was a huge accomplishment compared to the year before where I came 56th; it was a big jump,” he said.

This ultimately landed him a spot at UBC Vancouver where he fell in love with the beauty of the city. “The trails around campus are impossible to beat,” he said.

One would hope to have an easy and smooth transition from high school to university as there are already a lot of nerves that come with this big life change. For Hardy, this is where things took a turn as the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on his first year as a T-Bird.

“In this sport, confidence is key and you have to go into every race feeling like you are ready to go,” Hardy said. But with no races for an entire season, self-motivation is what drove him to continue pushing himself.

Although not having races was not an ideal situation for Hardy to help him transition into the university lifestyle, he was able to still train with his

team getting in some gym work and tempo practices — tending to keep a pace of 3:20–3:25 per km — not knowing what could possibly happen over the next year.

“There was a huge amount of excitement. With the amount of young guys, we are all just going in there with no expectations. We know we can do something special,” Hardy said.

Additionally, this year allowed Hardy to find his love for the sport. “I used to not like running to be completely honest.” This past year, where people were trapped in their homes, showed him how running was his outlet, leading him to develop a passion for it. He mentioned that he “even forgot that racing was a thing.”

“The first race of the season almost felt unnatural … but there was a moment where I forgot we are doing this to get faster. It was more therapeutic.”

After a season off this year, “definitely has exceeded expectations.” Hardy didn’t shy away from boasting about his team’s performance, mentioning how it continues to be extremely impressive. The team began running their tempo pace at 3:10–3:15 per km — which really stood out at the Canada West championships.

He mentioned his teammates Thomas Nobbs and Josh Kozelj and how they both played a big role in his accomplishment of placing fifth overall. Nobbs set the pace, for the race and Hardy discussed how Kozelj and him knew that they needed to sit back in the beginning because “[Kozelj] was fitter than any of us.” Slowly picking off those who fell off the pace Kozelj and Hardy motivated one another with encouraging words, pushing through the final lap of the race. The realization hit when he noticed that four of the top five spots were occupied by his UBC teammates. It wasn’t just the top five that was dominated by his teammates were able to make it into the top 20.

He discussed how having Kozelj by his side was beneficial for his race technique and he felt that if it had just been him on his own out there, this achievement may not have been possible.

He said it’s about “ just realizing the power of having a teammate next to you in a race.”

When he learned about being named rookie of the year, Hardy said, “I didn’t really know it was a thing”

However, he knows he can’t let this get to his head as there are still bigger things ahead like the national championships this weekend.

“Staying excited is the biggest thing. We have no idea about what we can do. The sky is the limit. If the stars align, we can do something special.”

Hardy hopes that running stays a part of his life. Although he may not get faster, he wants to see how far he can push his body and hopes to stay apart of the running culture for as long as possible. U Josh Kozlij has contributed to The Ubyssey.

Spencer Hardy Courtesy Josh Schaefer/ Saskatchewan Huskies

18 | GAMES | TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2021

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

WORD SCRAMBLE Use the 7 given letters to make as many words as you can. Words must contain the highlighted letter and be at least 4 letters long. Letters can be used more than once.

10 words 25 words 40 words

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H

E

R

I

M

A

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Stuff 5. Greet the day 9. ___ kwon do 12. Yes ___?

13. Clear the boards 15. German Mister 16. A great deal 17. Divinity 18. The Emerald Isle 19. Remains of any organism preserved in rock 21. Removal of charged atoms 23. Poker declaration 25. Break, card game 26. Mil. rank 29. Aeons 31. Avaricious 35. Stutz contemporary 36. Series of metal rings 38. Rocky debris 39. Restless desire 41. Woody inhabitants of forests!

43. Sets of equipment 44. Book after Jonah 46. Twisted expression?

48. Bee follower 49. Magazine VIP 51. Contributes 52. ___ longa, vita brevis 53. Long poem, such as those attributed to Homer 55. Takes a load off 57. Shootout 61. New Orleans university 65. Son of Isaac and Rebekah 66. Part of Hispaniola 68. Rat-___ 69. Singer Young 70. Trunk 71. City on Norton Sound 72. Part of ETA 73. Witnessed 74. Rail supports

1. Ball game 2. Switch back?

3. Farm dwellers 4. Martini’s partner 5. Signal to stop 6. Wrath 7. Stated 8. Adlai’s running mate 9. Polo of Meet the Parents 10. Nev. neighbor 11. Sea-going eagle 14. Checking out 15. Domineer a husband 20. Apple product 22. Long objects used to row a boat 24. Approaches 26. Of first importance 27. Stinking 28. Spherical bacteria 30. City in Tuscany 32. All My Children vixen 33. Inhibit 34. Approvals 37. Food and water 40. Malevolent 42. Incitement of rebellion 45. Snake dancers 47. Queue after Q 50. Bingo!

54. Pandemonium 56. Slope 57. Actress Rowlands 58. Addict 59. Neet rival 60. Make weary 62. Yours, in Tours 63. Appoint 64. French summers 67. Cats monogram

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Visit ubyssey.ca/volunteer for more information.

U

U

What smells better than it tastes?

— Melissa L.

send your best riddles to visuals@ubyssey.ca to be featured in our next issue!

A: A nose.

NOVEMBER 23, 2021 TUESDAY | GAMES | 19

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To the person who posted UBC confession #13836: We see you.

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