November 29, 2016

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 | VOLUME XCVIII | ISSUE XVIII “MOSTLY FINE” SINCE 1918

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NEWS

CULTURE

OPINION

SCIENCE

SPORTS

Silence broken in Galloway case

Mohamed Fahmy’s memoir of incarceration

Mandated syllabi would solve a lot of problems

Is Trump really “the best” at Twitter?

Words by ’Birds: sixth in the 6ix

8 E G A P T N E C THE 1.75 PER

THE UBYSSEY

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NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE

EVENTS

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OUR CAMPUS

Taruni Singh feeds UBC through the AMS Food Bank THURSDAY DECEMBER 1 YOUNGBLOOD DIGITAL 5:30 P.M. @ HENRY ANGUS Come hear start-up stories and bad jokes from Gregg Sayer, the founder of Youngblood Digital and Pointstreak.

FREE

THURSDAY DECEMBER 2 ROTR 5 P.M. @ NEST ROOFTOP GARDEN Roots on the Roof is hosting a beautiful lantern festival on the rooftop. Come out for some music, food and lights!

FREE

Singh says many students don’t know what the service is for.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 3

Leo Soh Our Campus Coordinator

FAIR 10 A.M. @ ST. ANSELM’S ANGLICAN CHURCH Come visit the annual Christmas Fair! Small booths, baking and a silent auction will be available for all.

FREE

ON THE COVER PHOTO BY Josh Medicoff

Want to see your events listed here?

Email your event listings to printeditor@ubyssey.ca

U THE UBYSSEY

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 | VOLUME XCVIII| ISSUE XVIII

EDITORIAL

BUSINESS

Photo Editor Coordinating Editor Josh Medicoff Jack Hauen coordinating@ubyssey.ca photos@ubyssey.ca

Business Manager Ron Gorodetsky business@ubyssey.ca

President Tanner Bokor president@ubyssey.ca

Design Editor Aiken Lao printeditor@ubyssey.ca

Web Developer Peter Siemens peter@ubyssey.ca

Operations Assistant Aine Coombs operations@ubyssey.ca

News Editors Sruthi Tadepalli & Samantha McCabe news@ubyssey.ca Culture Editor Samuel Du Bois culture@ubyssey.ca Sports + Rec Editor Olamide Olaniyan sports@ubyssey.ca Video Producer Kate Colenbrander video@ubyssey.ca Opinions + Blog Editor Bailey Ramsay opinions@ubyssey.ca Science Editor Koby Michaels science@ubyssey.ca

Our Campus Coordinator Leo Soh ourcampus@ubyssey.ca

The New Student Union Building 6133 University Boulevard Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 Online: ubyssey.ca Twitter: @ubyssey

Office Administrator Olivia Law advertising@ubyssey.ca Copy Editor Miguel Santa Maria copyeditor@ubyssey.ca STAFF Natalie Morris, Matt Langmuir, Bill Situ, Gabey Lucas, Julia Burnham, Sophie Sutcliffe, Rachel Ong, Lucy Fox, Emma Hicks, Jeremy Johnson-Silvers, Diana Oproescu, Stephanie Wu, Emmanuel Villamejor, Moira Wyton, Patrick Gillin, Mischa Milne, Sebastian Mendo, Isabelle Commerford, Katharina Friege, Hana Golightly, Lauren Kearns, Samantha Searle, Rocio Hollman

LEGAL

The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous, democratically run student organization and all students are encouraged to participate.

Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society.

Stories, opinions, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society.

The Ubyssey is a founding mem-

CONTACT Editorial Office: SUB 2208 604.822.2301 Business Office: SUB 2209 ADVERTISING 604.822.2301 INQUIRIES 604.822.2301

ber of Canadian University Press (CUP) and adheres to CUP’s guiding principles.

The Ubyssey accepts opinion articles on any topic related to the University of British Columbia (UBC) and/or topics relevant to students attending UBC. Submissions must be written by UBC students, professors, alumni, or those in a suitable position (as determined by the opinions editor) to speak on UBC-related matters. Submissions must not contain racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, harassment or discrimination. Authors and/or submissions will not be precluded from publication based solely on association with particular ideologies or subject matter that some may find objectionable.

Approval for publication is, however, dependent on the quality of the argument and The Ubyssey edito-

rial board’s judgment of appropriate content. Submissions may be sent by email to opinion@ubyssey.ca.

Please include your student number or other proof of identification.

Anonymous submissions will be accepted on extremely rare occasions.

Requests for anonymity will be granted upon agreement from four fifths of the editorial board. Full opinions policy may be found at ubyssey.ca/ submit-an-opinion It is agreed by all persons placing display or classified advertising that if the Ubyssey Publications Society fails to publish an advertisement or if an error in the ad occurs the liability of the UPS will not be greater than the price paid for the ad. The UPS shall not be responsible for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value or the impact of the ad.

For over 10 years, the AMS Food Bank has been providing relief for hungry students. Second-year arts student Taruni Singh has taken the reins from her older brother this year and is continuing the program’s growth as its coordinator.

The Food Bank is a food relief service for UBC students, which according to its website, offers “various non-perishable foods, personal hygiene supplies and information about additional resources on and off-campus.”

Each student gets six visits per term, during which an individual can fill up one tote bag of food, and a family can take home two.

Despite recording close to 70 visits per month since Singh took over the coordinator role in April, many students don’t have a good sense of what the service is for.

As such, Singh wants to make the Food Bank’s purpose very clear.

“For the most part, when you tell people [about the Food Bank], they don’t quite understand what that is. I’ve had people come in thinking that we cook them food and give it to them. No, we give you groceries for it,” she said.

To use the service, one must be a registered student and present their valid UBC card. During the first visit, there is what Singh calls a “quick little registration process” which includes filling out one’s student number, sources of income, place of residence and number of dependants.

The personal information that people submit is kept strictly

confidential, and is viewed only when necessary by the Food Bank coordinator.

“We gather the information for statistical purposes and we don’t turn anyone away. Unfortunately, we do have to keep track of that, to make sure that students are using it and keep track of how many visits there are,” she said.

The Food Bank is located on the second floor, room 2131 of the Nest. If you have no idea where that is, it’s partially by design.

According to Singh, the location was chosen because it offers heightened privacy, so clients can have a sense of security and privacy while using the service.

“We wouldn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. In terms of our location, we keep our blinds closed so people don’t peer in and see who’s in here. When we were in our old location, we actually set up the soup cans in front of the door so if people peered through the door, it would block their face,” Singh said.

Since opening its doors in spring 2005, the Food Bank has seen visits rise from five per semester to almost 70 a month.

Despite this, Singh believes there is still a misconception about the scale of malnourishment at UBC and about the type of individuals that use the service.

“Just because UBC is located in a wealthy area doesn’t mean that everyone who goes here is wealthy or can afford certain things. And that’s a huge misconception, especially in Point Grey,” she said.

This can lead to people viewing the service as superficial.

PHOTO ZUBAIR HIRJI/THE UBYSSEY

At an event last year, Singh heard someone say, “Oh, my son goes to UBC — he doesn’t need to use the Food Bank. It’s other people who use it.”

But for these other people that use the service, Singh believes it is essential.

“We do have our regulars that come pretty often, then we have those people who will come once, just until their student loans come in or something,” she said.

The Food Bank procures its food in part through donations and partially with its purchasing budget. By partnering with the AMS, the Food Bank maximizes the efficiency of its budget.

“For every dollar we spend, it’s actually like getting three dollars’ worth of food because they get it straight from suppliers,” said Singh.

However, donations are an integral part of the supply chain.

“We try to get as much donation as possible, because if we were to purchase everything, we would go off [budget] very fast,” said Singh.

This includes student-led initiatives such as Trick-or-Eat, which partnered with the Meal Exchange to get food donations from the off-campus community, and corporate sponsorships such as the Save-On-Foods at Wesbrook Village, which donates a variety of non-perishables to the AMS Food Bank. U The Food Bank is run primarily by volunteers, and while all the coordinator roles have been filled for the year, you can apply to volunteer online at www.ams.ubc.ca

NEWS

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITORS SRUTHI TADEPALLI + SAMANTHA MCCABE

3

GOVERNANCE //

AMS set to improve its relationship with student societies Jack Hauen Coordinating Editor

In the wake of student backlash over the AUS’s recent overexpenditures and resulting budget cuts, the AMS is creating a committee to look into how they can better work with faculty constituencies.

Both AMS President Ava Nasiri and committee chair Veronica Knott stressed that it was not a direct result of recent events surrounding the AUS, but a continuation of an ongoing conversation about how to improve AMS-constituency relationships.

Regardless, recent events provide a backdrop as to why a committee like this may help.

BACKGROUND: THE AUS DEBACLE The AUS had their first Council meeting Tuesday night since a Ubyssey story was published outlining financial issues surrounding stARTup, the society’s orientation event, and the subsequent budget changes.

Dozens of students showed up to voice their concerns directly to the AUS — many from the UBC subreddit, where much of the discussion has taken place.

President Elise Mance has since issued an apology on behalf of the AUS. She declined to be interviewed for this article, but wrote in an emailed statement, “The executive team and I are working on creating a concrete

proposal and timeline to be put out as soon as possible. I would prefer to have an interview when I have more finalized plans and after more consultation with students.”

THE NEW COMMITTEE’S ROLE The committee won’t suggest specific code or bylaw changes — that will be the second committee’s job — but it will provide high-level recommendations when it reports back to AMS Council in February.

Council members have been looking forward to sinking their teeth into this issue for a while now, though, and they have some ideas.

“It would be awesome to see every undergraduate society have a governance committee,” said Nasiri, adding that “constituencywide orientations ... have taken place in an inconsistent manner throughout the years.”

“For me, it’s about making sure that if there are financial problems in the future, we can cover it,” said Knott. “Also looking into how can we improve the relationship ... because we treat constituencies like clubs most of the time.”

Knott has wanted to tackle reforming the AMS-constituency relationship since she served as EUS president in 2014.

“I was always frustrated with the relationship. I wanted more — I had ideas,” she said.

As chair of this new committee, Knott will be able to add clarity to the relationship, one of her goals for this role. She remembers the

FILE PHOTO JACK HAUEN/THE UBYSSEY

The AMS stresses that the new committee is not a direct result of recent controversy surrounding the AUS.

consultation regarding the tuition and housing hikes in 2014 — when she worked with the AMS and other constituencies as EUS president — calling it a mess and noting that “everyone was super engaged, but we had no clear processes.”

She also wants to make budgeting processes clearer for constituencies, including

how constituency budgets flow together, how they get budgetrelated permission from the AMS and how to avoid doubling-up on student money.

“That’s a big thing for me — that constituencies have autonomy, but also aren’t duplicating services that the AMS are running, or missing out on resources,” she said.

Nasiri is optimistic about the committee’s forthcoming report.

“I think it’s about time the AMS provide a more structured type of support for undergraduate societies,” she said.

The committee plans to meet once before the term ends and a few times in January before they present their findings to AMS Council in February. U

CAMPUS COMMUNITY //

When UBC Confessions gets serious

UBC Confessions is an outlet for many students on campus.

Emma Hicks Senior Staff Writer

UBC Confessions is intended to be an anonymous and lighthearted outlet for students to share personal stories which took place on campus. However, while the majority of the content is relatively innocent, some confessions that were posted in October worried many students.

Two particular posts were taken down after they made students feel

uncomfortable — one by a student who was told to take Plan B by another student, and the other by an intimidated student afraid to go to class because of their professor’s actions towards them.

The Ubyssey reached out to UBC Confessions, which is run by upper-year undergraduates, for their publishing policy and their stance on reaching out to students who appear to be in distress.

“Not all confessions get posted,” the UBC Confessions’

PHOTO VIA UBC CONFESSIONS FACEBOOK PAGE

administrators said in a written statement. “One of the admins had recommended that we filter out confessions that were not up to par by using a rating system, which is what we currently use.”

The administrators try to avoid posting content such as confessions which feature the names of people not in the public eye, assault, reposted topics, questions about opinions on classes and confessions that “may be overly offensive to a huge number of people.”

“The ones that do commonly get posted and get the best feedback are the hilarious and creative ones that are also related to UBC and/or student life,” they wrote. “We also favour confessions that we think would incite meaningful discussion among the UBC community.”

In explanation of the two posts in question and why they passed the content guidelines of the page, they stated that they thought it was important to get the word out about the cruelty some students face.

“We had posted them because we felt that perhaps the UBC community should be aware that this was happening on campus,” the UBC Confessions’ administrators wrote. “But we had received quite a few complaints and concerns following these submissions to take them down, which we ended up doing.”

UBC Confessions does keep the submitted confessions anonymous. However, they are aware and conscious of the troubling confessions that sometimes appear.

“We decided to provide the choice of using an anonymous submission form because we respect anonymity and want to encourage people to share thoughts that they normally wouldn’t want to share if they were identifiable,” they wrote.

“This can be a double-edged

sword, as sometimes we get really interesting submissions that you wouldn’t normally get from direct messages, but at the same time, we get a lot of low-effort or truly worrying confessions.”

These posts have clearly made an impact on students feeling uncomfortable online.

Ingrid Söchting, a UBC clinical psychology professor and the director of the UBC Psychology Clinic, noted that an online forum is not the best approach for seeking help or guidance for issues.

“As a psychologist, I am concerned about the UBC Confessions initiative,” said Söchting. “It leaves readers wondering if the person needs professional support but cannot access, is looking for an answer or advice but not getting it, or possibly just finding it interesting to post something shocking which may be of questionable veracity.

The problem with the latter is that people may believe certain problems are happening more often than may be the case.”

For students who need to talk to someone, Söchting suggests reaching out for personal help.

“If someone at UBC has a real concern about their safety and well-being, they ought to be encouraged to contact the appropriate UBC services for support and guidance instead of framing it as an ‘anonymous confession,’” said Söchting. U

4 | news | TUESDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2016 SALARIES //

Thanks to a reclassification of their role, some TAs are getting a raise

GALLOWAY //

FILE PHOTO NANCY LEE / THE UBYSSEY

Galloway and a former student both released statements for the first time last week.

Former UBC student who accused Galloway of sexual assault breaks silence Sruthi Tadepalli and Samantha McCabe News Editors

Some changes will affect pay retroactively for the term.

Alex Nguyen Staff Writer

Some students will be receiving up to a 12 per cent raise after the reclassification of certain undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants (TAs) on October 13. “[UBC] expects these changes to affect approximately 10 per cent of the more than 3,000 TAs,” said Linda McKnight, the director of HR Advisory Services, in a written statement.

This change comes as a result of an eight-month long negotiation between CUPE 2278 — the TA’s union — and UBC. According to Peter Lane, the business director of the union, this duration of time was needed to make the decision because while both UBC and the union agreed on the motivation behind it, which was mainly about fairness in pay, they needed to get consensus from and communicate the decision to different departments.

The decision reached created two new categories of TAs, changing the pre-existing structure of job responsibility and pay grade. Structures differed based on whether TAs were undergraduate or graduate students.

UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS (UTAS) The classification of UTAs has been divided into two groups, called UTA 1 and UTA 2. According to McKnight, UTA 1 comprises of UTAs whose responsibilities include

“substantial student contact.”

Those who qualify for this group will receive a 12 per cent pay increase from $15.04 per hour to $16.84 per hour starting January 1, 2017. This start date was picked for administrative convenience.

UTA 2 is for UTAs whose duties do not require such contact. Their pay will remain at $15.04 per hour, which is the current rate for all UTAs. Beside this difference, both groups will receive the same yearly increases as guaranteed by the collective agreement.

According to the Memorandum of Agreement between UBC and CUPE 2278, “substantial student contact” is defined as “direct interaction with students on more than an incidental basis, [which includes] providing classroom teaching, conducting tutorial sessions, providing feedback on assignments and exams, holding office hours or demonstrating procedures to students.”

It does not include “setting up labs, demonstrations or classrooms; administrative duties; or class or material preparation notwithstanding that incidental or transactional contact with students may occur.”

“The aim of the reclassification was to recognize that UTAs do substantially the same work as graduate TAs, but they were getting paid substantially less,” said Lane. “The problem with that is that they are not only paid less, but every time there is a pay increase, the gap widens.”

This situation was attributed to the perception that teaching assistantships are mostly reserved for graduate students. This is

FILE PHOTO STEVEN DURFEE / THE UBYSSEY

no longer viable because of the skewed ratio between the number of undergraduate students and available graduate teaching assistants. Instead, UTAs now make up a considerable portion of all TAs in certain departments such as maths, computer science and commerce.

Lane explained that to address this issue of fairness, UBC has created new positions through the reclassification that do not come under the government’s mandate.

This allows the university to circumvent the existing cap on the pay increase and give UTAs the 12 per cent raise.

GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS (GTA) While keeping the two pre-existing categories largely unchanged, UBC has added a new classification called Senior TA to formally distinguish Lead TAs from general GTAs. According to the Memorandum of Agreement, the duties of a Senior TA will be mostly the same as those of a Lead TA, which include “coordinating other TAs and providing guidance, technical knowledge and subject matter expertise.” “[Furthermore], the new ‘senior TA’ job category established in the reclassification recognizes the leadership role that TAs with significant experience play for their colleagues,” said McKnight in a written statement.

As a result, this group will receive a seven per cent pay increase from $31.33 per hour to $33.53 per hour.

This change goes into effect this term instead of waiting for January 1, 2017. U

The former UBC student who accused Steven Galloway, a creative writing professor until he was fired this June, of sexual assault has released a statement saying that her complaint was not regarding a “consensual affair.”

This statement comes in the wake of Steven Galloway’s first public statement since he was fired by the university, in which it is said that the only substantiated complaint of a sexual nature had to do with a two-year, extra-marital affair he had with a student. The statement also claims that the Honourable Mary Ellen Boyd, the former BC Supreme Court judge who conducted an investigation on the complaints the university received about Galloway, cleared him of that complaint against him.

“After an exhaustive review of the whole of the evidence, Ms. Boyd found on a balance of probabilities that Mr. Galloway had not committed sexual assault,” reads the statement released by Galloway.

“Mr Galloway profoundly regrets his conduct and wishes to apologize for the harm that it has caused. He does not seek to minimize it or to hide from it. He seeks fair treatment for all involved, and an end to the scurrilous assertions and accusations that have proliferated in the vacuum of information.”

The statement released by the former UBC student rejects Galloway’s apology.

“Mr. Galloway has issued an apology. But he wouldn’t appear to be apologizing for the finding he has admitted was made against him by Ms. Boyd, which was misconduct for ‘inappropriate sexual behaviour with a student’: conduct which is an abuse of trust and his position of power,” reads the student’s statement, according to a Canadian Press article written by the journalist to whom the statement was released.

As covered by another article published by The Ubyssey this

summer, Martha Piper, the interim UBC president at the time, noted that she remained concerned about how “consent” and “conflict” are defined in an environment where there is a power imbalance, even with the restrictions put in place by UBC. “On the one hand, we need to respect the decisions of consenting adults, and on the other, ensure that the rights and interests of students are appropriately protected,” said Piper.

“Mr. Galloway has not made clear to whom he is apologizing or what he regrets, other than presumably the consequences to him. His reference to the ‘tragedy’ of the events does not explicitly consider the devastating impacts of abuse of power on women affected,” reads the statement according to The Canadian Press.

Galloway was first suspended from the university in November 2015 after UBC received serious allegations of misconduct against him, after which more complaints were received as well. He was then fired in June for a reported “irreparable breach of trust.”

“MC [the former UBC student] has stayed silent since Galloway was suspended, out of respect for the process and the confidentiality of everyone involved. The so-called ‘secrecy’ of the investigation process has protected Galloway, perhaps more than anyone else,” the statement continued.

The way in which information has been communicated about the Galloway case has been hotly debated by the writing community, with Margret Atwood and over 80 others signing a letter affirming Galloway’s “right to due process.” The twitter hashtag #ubcaccountable has also gained significant traction as breeding ground for debate.

The Ubyssey does not have a copy of the full statement — it was provided by the woman and her lawyer solely to journalist Laura Kane. A full version of Galloway’s statement, however, is available online at ubyssey.ca. U

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY | news | 5 MONEY //

UBC to now charge 1.75 per cent fee on credit card transactions Here are some examples of what charges the credit card fee might incur on students: When paying mid-level residence (Fairview) costs for a medium room for the full year: 1.75% of $6,896 = $120.68 When paying for a minimum rate meal plan: 1.75% of $4,249 = $74.36 When paying for one year of arts undergraduate tuition, for domestic students: 1.75% of $5,936 = $103.88 For international students: 1.5% of $40,731 = $712.79

PHOTO JOSHUA MEDICOFF/THE UBYSSEY

At the additional cost of a 1.75 per cent non-refundable convenience fee, credit cards are once again an online payment option for essential services on campus.

Alex Nguyen Staff Writer

As of November 16, credit card payments are back — with some strings attached.

At the additional cost of a 1.75 per cent non-refundable convenience fee, credit cards are once again an online payment option for essential services on campus. As outlined in a broadcast email, these services include “tuition and fees, student housing and mandatory meal plans.”

According to Darren Fernandez, UBC’s associate registrar, “every credit-based course will have the convenience fee applied to it.” More specifically, there is no difference between undergraduate and graduate, full-time and part-time, or onsite and online programs. Likewise, both domestic and international tuition payments will be charged the same fee.

For student housing, the fee installment is the only payment that is affected. Other fees, such as those for a student’s residence application and deposit, will be excluded.

Similarly, the convenience fee only applies to mandatory meal plans, which are for students living in Totem Park, Place Vanier or Orchard Commons.

“In the rest of our residences, there are cooking facilities so a meal plan is not required, but some students do buy into optional plans. Credit cards have always been accepted for them and will continue to be accepted without a fee,” said Andrew Parr,

the managing director of Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS). “You can also pay for [food from the bookstore and outlets] with credit cards, without having to pay the fee.”

WHY A CONVENIENCE FEE? This decision marks the third change in UBC’s policy regarding credit card usage in the last nine years.

In 2007, UBC made the first removal of the credit card payment option against domestic tuition.

International tuition, student housing fee installments and mandatory meal plans were later cut from this service in 2015.

Although the three changes differ in action, they all aim at lowering the $2.7 million transaction fees that UBC incurs yearly. Since these measures do not cover the full cost, what remains is “netted off against the revenue, which otherwise flows to the faculties in the case of tuition fee or housing in the case of student housing and meal plan payment,” according to Ian Burgess, the comptroller of the university, who is responsible for leading the Budget and Financial Reporting departments.

While it is therefore necessary for UBC to have a cost-cutting mechanism, the two mandated cuts were not well-received by students.

“Historically, over 80 per cent of students used credit cards to pay for the student housing fee installment,” said Parr. “Shifting away from credit cards was a significant change that meant those 80 per cent of students had to find other methods to pay

online, so it did take away something that was quite convenient for them.”

For tuition payments, credit cards were not the most popular choice, but “it was an option that some people really relied on for a variety of reasons,” according to Fernandez. For some international students, the cut meant that “they could not get money out of their country on time to pay for tuition, or the amount of money that could be taken out was restricted.”

As a result, individual students and groups have been lobbying for the reinstatement of the credit card payment option. For instance, Eric Douglas, the president of the Acadia Park Residents’ Association, wrote an open letter regarding the effects of the cuts. Others sent their suggestions directly to SHHS and Enrolment Services.

“Some suggested methods on how to bring it back, the convenience fee being one, [and] said that ‘you can charge me an additional x number of dollars just so I can use my credit card,’” said Fernandez. “We also received some similar commentaries from parents.”

Accordingly, both Parr and Fernandez noted that the responses to the new change have mostly been positive. “Aside from the convenience, having the individual who uses credit card pays the fee [instead of distributing the cost to everyone] also makes it an equitable solution,” said Parr.

WHY NOT SOONER? Despite the preference for a convenience fee, UBC could not have started with this policy

because of its contract with Chase Paymentech, the service provider.

It was only until the end of the contract in 2015 that the university could negotiate for the fee.

Burgess attributed Chase Paymentech’s initial unwillingness to allow for the convenience fee to the fear that this cost would reduce the volume of transactions and therefore the revenue. As indicated by UBC’s cuts to the service, however, the practice of making the merchants cover the full transaction fees is not sustainable, which the provider “has now slowly realized.”

At the same time, UBC also could not have circumvented this rule by imposing a blanket fee. Since this fee applies to all students regardless of whether they use credit cards, it would be “considered a mandatory fee, which is not allowed by the province,” said Burgess.

Beside this constraint, time was also required to merge the credit card option back into the system.

“In addition to the two months of planning and design, it took approximately four months to reintegrate the technology and test drive the system,” said Fernandez. “When I say testing, it means [people] going into a test environment within the SSC to make fake payments to see how it would look for a student and whether there would be any issue.”

WHY 1.75 PER CENT? Students are actually not paying the full amount of the credit card

transaction fee — UBC is bearing some of the financial burden as well.

As the product of the negotiation between UBC and Chase Paymentech, the number takes into account the university’s transaction fee and the service provider’s interest charges.

“We don’t have a direct relationship with VISA or MasterCard, so we work through Chase Paymentech as the supplier and the fee varies according to the type of credit card,” said Fernandez. “On average, the fee that we are charged is around 2.1 per cent, but is upward of three per cent depending on the credit card that the individual uses.”

According to Burgess, international tuition’s fee rate is also different from that of domestic tuition. Nonetheless, the average is generally 2.1 per cent. Since the provider is interested in maintaining the volume of transactions, UBC still has to cover part of the cost.

“We obviously are not trying to make money on the deal, but we would like to recover our cost if we could,” said Burgess. “Frankly, 1.75 per cent is close enough for us to make it worthwhile to bring back credit cards.”

When asked if UBC anticipates any future changes to the credit card payment option given its past record, Parr expressed confidence that this new policy has “put us in a place where we can move forward on this and make it the standard for years to come.” U

CULTURE

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITOR SAMUEL DU BOIS

6

LITERATURE //

Review: The Marriott Cell is a gripping memoir about the imprisonment of journalist Mohamed Fahmy Miguel Santa Maria Copy Editor

On Monday, November 21, Mohamed Fahmy — the nowfamous reporter imprisoned for nearly two years in Egypt on false terrorism allegations — held a talk at the Fredric Wood Theatre to promote his new book, The Marriott Cell, which recounts that experience. The event mostly served as a sort of “sneak preview” of the book’s contents, with Fahmy talking about the broad range of people he met in his experience or describing the inadequate living conditions of Cairo’s notorious “Scorpion Prison.”

However, what was very evident during the talk was that despite all he had experienced, Fahmy was a man who still held an incredible passion for journalism and, more importantly, his home country of Egypt.

“I typed freelance articles for my father as a kid. I didn’t know exactly what I was typing, [but] he got that spirit injected into my being — of just writing [and press freedom]. It grew on me and I craved the truth and helping others, making sure that

governments were accountable for what they do,” he said during the talk, but added how hard it is to report on the home he loves.

“The hardest stories happen in your own backyard. You spend a lot of time growing up on those streets and you’re seeing it all happen in front of you. It is tough and it is harder to be objective.”

These sentiments are perfectly embodied through his new book.

It is a work that effectively paints the gruelling consequences that today’s geopolitical bureaucracy can have on those who care for others by chronicling the world around them.

With the first few chapters, you get the sense that Fahmy had planned the whole thing out long before he was thrown in a cell.

Aside from his imprisonment, the book recounts Fahmy’s personal experiences all the way back to the Arab Spring of 2011 — specifically, the Egyptian protests and their aftermath. These detailed accounts present an intensely conflicted perspective only a dual-citizen would know, one that readers are given a rare insight to. It is a dilemma that is further catalyzed by the demandingly objective career of

a journalist. There’s an arguable bias to some of his viewpoints, but it becomes refreshingly introspective as the book goes on, given what he is subjected to.

That aspect can be too passionate to a fault. Fahmy regularly goes on tangents covering extraneous information related to the civil unrest in the Middle East. Mostly, these info-bites provide important context for his experiences such as the different subdivisions of radicalized Muslims he encounters or what he views as the degradation of Al Jazeera — his employer at the time of his arrest — from a respectable news outlet into a dangerously one-sided commentator that put him into his predicament. While that’s the case, the usefulness of this information depends on how up-to-date one is on current affairs. Half of it is helpful for the uninformed, but the rest can feel redundant. There were even a few times when the book repeated information.

Regardless, the real wealth of knowledge comes from Fahmy’s time as a prisoner. Throughout his time as a temporary convict, he is transferred through multiple confinements — from a

cell dominated by cockroaches and constantly bombarded by a floodlight, to the comfort of a closely guarded hospital room.

Through each account, Fahmy manages to engross the reader in a world he once thought he’d only have to imagine. There is a focus on describing every little detail he can remember which perpetually surprises the reader. And it’s not just the frustrating complexities of the judicial system he and his legal associates try to game to regain freedom, which is a fascinating sub-plot in itself.

Through the book’s execution, we see the colourful yet crude perspectives of the terrorist radicals Fahmy came to rely on, despite their unforgivable crimes.

We see the bonds he formed with some of his own captors, even if it initially began with bribery. We see how Fahmy and his family formulated new ways to cope with their situation, even if it meant joking over ice cream. We see how he regularly argued with his fellow imprisoned co-workers about ideology, as if prosecution wasn’t enough to stop debate.

We see humanity, displaying its wide array of joys as much as its greatest flaws.

Most importantly, we see it through the eyes of a man that simply — even if not perfectly — understands the people of his country as someone who was raised there.

During his talk, Fahmy discussed how while in prison, he and his co-workers concocted a fake talk show, whose only audience were cell mates and featured top-ranking personnel from various radical groups. He also jokingly mentioned that he was forced to go “off the air… again” by prison guards, despite being fake. You learn later in the book that the show went on regardless, with some prisoners even volunteering to continue the show without the journalists.

This is easily the most poignant example to take away from the novel. In light of the revealing content of Fahmy’s experience, as well as acknowledging the consequences merely reporting news entails — even here in North America — it’s ultimately a lesson that is something so easily forgotten: that a better tomorrow, no matter how liberating it is, starts by simply sitting down and listening to one another. U

SNAZZY GARB //

Review: MoA’s Layers of Influence expresses culture through exquisite, global clothing in a beautiful and unique experience

There is no glass between the viewer and the clothes, providing an extremely detailed perspective.

James Binks Contributor

UBC’s Museum of Anthropology opened their newest exhibit to much fanfare last Thursday.

Drawing from Western Canada’s largest textile collection, Layers of Influence: Unfolding Cloth Across Cultures displays 136 polychromatic, voluminous pieces selected for both the care and technique implicit in creating aesthetic beauty, as well as to

highlight the multitude of ways that people around the world present their identities.

Dr. Jennifer Kramer, the curator of the exhibit and an associate professor in the UBC department of anthropology, had to choose from both wellknown and lesser-known styles with great difficulty. Chinese Qing dynasty robes, Indian saris, Indonesian sarongs and Japanese kimonos hang alongside Maori feather-cloaks, South Pacific bark

PHOTO COURTESY MOA

cloth and pieces from across the Pacific Northwest, West Africa and Central Asia.

“My original pitch was to try to just get at the sensory experience of what we share when wrapped in cloth. And I wanted to allow visitors to just come in and be in awe at the technology of production and the incredibly beautiful types of things that are applied to cloths — the way they’re made and the colour,” said Kramer.

Indeed, walking through the “geo-cultural petals” that organize the cloths based on global location, there is the cozy, multi-sensory experience of being enveloped by the pieces which can be seen in 360 degrees, are not behind any glass and are within reach, although touching is not allowed.

Without any music that could encapsulate the diversity of belongings present nor multimedia screens to distract you, Kramer suggests that one way of experiencing the exhibit is to simply have an “embodied experience” by warping and weaving your way past gently billowing textiles like a quiet market.

If more context and information is to your liking, then each “petal” has a plaque with labels, descriptions and sometimes pictures of people wearing the clothing. There is also a table in the middle of the gallery with catalogues providing more information on each specific item.

Schematically, Kramer thought about how the four Ps apply to the displayed cloths — as pride in one’s identity, as indicative of one’s social prestige, as amplification of power, and as weather and spiritual protection. For those curious about how these patterns and symbols can mean all of these things, or how people can understand them, Kramer has a tip about culturally encoded meanings — think about the Nike swoosh.

“We know what it means, but we had to have learned that — it

isn’t biology, but somehow it seems obvious. ‘Well, it’s a swoosh — of course it means speed and running!’ But if you came from another planet and you saw the swoosh, you would think that it could mean anything.”

Perhaps more easy to spot are the cultural forces that are not always woven into the fabric solely with local or regional practices in mind, but with elements of cross-cultural influence. With a sharp eye, you might spot British lions on a Tongan tree-bark cloth, a Gujarati-influenced design found in Eastern Indonesia or an insignia from King George V’s Silver Jubilee on Yoruba indigo.

Many of the textiles on display are fragile, sensitive to light and rarely put on display. As such, the team at the museum is constantly working to balance bright enough viewing conditions without frying and fading the clothes. So take this rare chance to check out the ways people around the world wrap their bodies from birth, through rites of passage, to death. U Layers of Influence: Unfolding Cloth Across Cultures is open until April 9, 2017. There are specific Layers of Influence tours that the museum operates ( free with admission) weekly on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. until the end of December. There are also one-off tours by various scholars focusing on specific aspects of the exhibit and clothing in general. Admission is free for students and faculty. For timings, visit moa.ubc.ca

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY | culture | 7 THE OTHER SANTA //

GUAPO //

Ono’s inaugural concert was a highlight of the evening

PHOTO COURTESY MURRAY PATERSON MARKETING GROUP

Audience members had trouble staying in their seats once Cigala took the stage... 20 minutes late.

Review: Diego El Cigala is very good-looking Hannah Tanna Contributor

PHOTO CHOLADHORN SINRACHATANANT/THE UBYSSEY

The concert featured a wide assortment of classical works.

Hana Golightly Staff Writer

As the clock struck 7:30 p.m. on November 22, the pre-show chatter in the Chan Centre was hushed by a slow swell of strings heard tuning in unison from backstage.

UBC alumni, students, visiting dignitaries and classical music enthusiasts trickled into the concert hall and took their seats to an excited hum. Commemorating the installation of Professor Santa J. Ono as UBC’s 15th president and vice-chancellor, those in attendance braved the downpour and howling winds to hear the best and brightest of the school of music — and probably, at least in part, to hear Ono play the cello.

The UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble Brass opened the night with a rousing performance of Richard Strauss’ “Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare,” lifting spirits to the high, light-speckled ceiling of the Chan.

Master of ceremonies Nancy Hermiston — chair of the school of music’s voice and opera divisions and university marshal — elaborated on the program choice in her opening statements, saying that the tone of the first piece reflected how happy the university is about having Ono as president.

Hermiston was an ideal host for the night, making self-deprecating jokes about her mathematics skills — or lack thereof — and discussing Verdi with equal ease.

Early in the program, President Ono performed a Mendelssohn trio with violinist Edmund Chung and pianist Irene Margarete Setiawan, both of whom are students at the school of music.

“Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op.

49” had remarkable emotional and technical range, cycling through soaring joy and heartrending despair in the space of 10 minutes. The urgency and emotion of the cello part showcased the instrument’s power and inspired an immense depth of feeling in the listener.

Under the direction of Hermiston, the UBC Opera Ensemble performed excerpts from Rigoletto and Candide, and while the dancing was best seen through splayed fingers, the vocal performances were ultimately a joy to watch. The UBC Symphony Orchestra rounded out the night with performances from Brahms’ “Symphony No. 2 in D Major” and Antonín Dvoák’s “Carnival Overture.” These pieces proved to be highlights of the night and the only ones to be viewed by Santa Ono from the audience, as he was spotted sneaking amongst the front rows just as the orchestra took the stage.

The energy of Dvoák’s piece was infectious — nodding along to the first strains of the triumphant overture with its bold, staccato brass jabs, a woman in the next row hit her thigh in time to the thundering cymbals. She wouldn’t have looked out of place in a mosh pit, nearly head-banging in her excitement for the first movement — a first among my symphonygoing experiences, and likely for many sitting in the vicinity.

Henderson closed the concert with well-wishes for the new president and they shared a cute wave of acknowledgment from stage to audience. The night closed as it began — optimistic, swelling and ringing with the promise of what may come from this presidency. U

How often is the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts filled with salsa and flamenco vibes, where audience members cannot resist the urge to get up and dance? On November 20, The Chan Centre hosted the sold-out show of vocalist Diego El Cigala who is currently on his tour, Indestructible, accompanied by a talented ensemble.

Mesmerizing and powerful, Madrid-born Cigala’s voice carried, lingered and haunted throughout the theatre. His voice has been called “natural, inspired [and] drop dead gorgeous” by the BBC. The concert gave a preview of songs that are going to be on his newest album named after the tour. It was not surprising then that the show was sold out.

It is not easy to go and watch salsa and flamenco-type music. One’s legs simply cannot sit still… It’s just not natural. Combine this with an audience consisting of people from Latin-America, Spain and Portugal to name a few, and you are left with individuals who simply must get up and dance. It was nice to see Vancouverites follow suit and loosen up a little. These brave souls could be seen showing off their moves by the stage, the doors, in the aisles — and with that, Cigala’s concert came to life.

Cigala seemed to comfortably form a connection with his audience right from the start as they shouted compliments to him in Spanish, which he would acknowledge and occasionally respond to. At one point, someone from the audience shouted out guapo! (good-looking in Spanish) to which he reacted with a shy waving gesture and when it was shouted several more times, his modesty vanished and he motioned a finger to the air and said, “Damn straight I’m guapo!”

The rest of the band also had their own equally strong personalities. Daniel Diaz — who was on the congas — took over the stage several times as he went off on his own beat and tempo while the audience gazed on, captivated by the speed and motion of his hands.

Even the bass player and dancers seemed to be adding their own style and rhythm. Jaime Calabuch,

showing off his piano skills, would take over the stage during transitions or when Cigala was taking a short break and hydrating with an unusual looking, bright orange drink that he kept beside him, which was replenished several times throughout the performance. It was quite entertaining to watch — every 30 or so minutes, Cigala picked up his empty glass and waved it around, and sure enough, someone would come running onto the stage with a brand-new glass containing that orange liquid. It looked too clear to be orange juice. Maybe it was Fanta. Could Fanta be the secret to making your voice sound so captivating and strong? If so, then we should all start drinking Fanta and that is how it ought to be advertised. Cigala could promote it.

For those who are not as familiar with the music and choose to remain in their seats, the songs can begin to sound repetitive. Also, as the show was late to start by 20 minutes, the intermission was

cancelled and it was announced that pre-ordered drinks could either be refunded for the inconvenience or taken anytime during the show. People getting up throughout the performance and coming back with a drink in hand became more common as the evening progressed. Alas, the importance of an intermission is yet another one of those things that is understated and deemed unnecessary, but for a show that lasts more than two hours, it is something that one quickly learns to appreciate.

Diego El Cigala’s performance at the Chan Centre was worthwhile to the salsa-lovers of Vancouver and a remarkable opportunity for those keen to experience seeing such a performance live.

For everyone wanting a tasteful infusion of salsa, tango, flamenco and Afro-Caribbean jazz for whatever purpose, Diego El Ciagala is a vocalist you need to check out right away. U

CAMPUS CHANGES FEATURES

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY

8

SCREENSHOTS VIA GOOGLE MAPS UNLESS NOTED

2011-2016

WORDS BAILEY RAMSAY & SAMUEL DU BOIS

The campus of five years ago was a strange place. There were roads where there shouldn’t be roads and random open lawns that have since been supplanted by towering, concrete residences and fancy new lecture halls – both of which students get to fall asleep in. Has it improved? That depends. It is certainly newer and larger.

In the span of your average undergraduate degree UBC got a nice, new Main Mall, a bunch of spiffy residences, the Nest, a wooden extension to Earth and Ocean Sciences, and on top of all that, Wesbrook Village has ballooned in size at an almost exponential rate.

For you new, bright-eyed students unfamiliar with the “good old” campus that the jaded, wiser students on the cusp of graduation got their start in, The Ubyssey decided to provide you youngins a portal into the past five years of perpetual construction and the buildings that have followed. Let us take you back to a mystical time where Vine hadn’t even been invented yet, let alone killed, Lady Gaga was still doing stuff that people talked about, and we were all mildly curious about that new HBO show called Game of Thrones, but were pretty sure it would never be better than Lost.

MAIN MALL

The original plan for pedestrian corridors on campus was set out in 1914. It had a much more ambitious and natural vision which, largely due to construction complications and the increased importance of vehicle transportation, was never fully realized. What resulted was concrete and drab.

Almost 100 years later, as part of the university’s 2010 Vancouver Campus Plan, Main Mall, Memorial Road, Agricultural Road and University Boulevard became next in line for revitalization. With a project cost of $16.3 million, construction began in 2011 with an aim to be completed by spring of 2013.

The crown jewel of the project was Martha Piper Plaza. A replacement for the grungy roundabout that came before, the new plaza was intended to represent the epicentre of the campus as well as an embodiment of what was planned for future development. Benches, grass and a large fountain — which boasts some technically impressive jets and an accompanying river — replaced a largely unremarkable road.

BEFORE

Could it be improved?

Not really. Of course, the landscaping could always be touched up and there are patches of grass that seem unlikely ever to grow. But as it is, this is leaps and bounds above what existed five years ago. A boring road through the campus’ centre has been transformed into a beautiful stretch of green that is a central character in every UBC student’s life.

Is it better than it was five years ago?

By far. When you consider just how much we rely upon Main Mall as well as its accompanying roads, it seems strange to think that there was a time when it wasn’t this way. That part of campus has now become a more natural, quieter environment. Now, instead of car traffic, we just have to worry about annoying pedestrians who decide to suddenly alter their course at the last moment while looking at their phone.

AFTER FILE PHOTO AUSTEN ERHARDT/THE UBYSSEY

PONDEROSA COMMONS With 1,116 beds, dozens of classrooms and a few tasty food spots, it is easy to never stray beyond the walls of the complex for the whole term. Ponderosa Commons now encompasses the intersection of West Mall and University Boulevard.

Phase One, which were the Maple and Arbutus buildings located on the west side of University Blvd, opened in the fall of 2013. While residents will remember it for adding 590 beds to our student-housing starved campus, more will remember it for the opening of Mercante, the Italian pizza place that starving students were delighted to sacrifice all of their meal dollars to.

Despite significant elevator controversies, the tragically unknown Audain Arts Centre and the exorbitant rent prices, “Pond” has a lots of things going for it.

BEFORE

Could it be improved?

With a rent around $900 per month, students expressed valid concern about accessibility and economic diversity. To this, UBC responded to these complaints by saying that there were less expensive housing options available on campus elsewhere. By that, one can only assume that they mean camping on Wreck Beach.

Is it better than it was five years ago?

Yes, but at what cost? One treasure lost during construction was the Pond Cafe.

This charming spot felt like an extension of the Nitobe Gardens, as the building was hidden from street and shrouded with trees and gardens. It was the best place to get a coffee on a rainy day and get away from the bustle of campus life.

AFTER

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY | features | 9

THE NEST

By the time 2008 came around, the Old SUB was over 40 years old. The building is very much a product of its time and was designed with a much smaller campus in mind — the rooms are dark, the linoleum is cracked and the basement is dingy. It was far from the sort of student hub expected of a modern, world-class university.

The AMS was faced with three options: fully renovate the SUB, partially renovate and expand, or build a whole new building. It was unanimously agreed that the third option was the best and, most conveniently, there was this nice chunk of land next door known as University Square. With a budget of $103 million at their disposal — which would later increase to $106.5 million — construction soon began.

The project was not without its difficulties though. Do you see that mound of dirt in front of the Nest? Well, that little knoll there is part of a dark chapter in UBC history.

Back in 2008 when the construction of the Nest was just an idea, the knoll’s destruction seemed inevitable. A few dedicated “knollsters” decided that this was something to take issue with, but landscapers, as we all now know, rebuilt the knoll anyways.

The construction of the Nest itself was an arduous process full of delays and logistical issues. Those lovely fins on the front of the building almost cost $500,000 extra (the construction team decided to change their approach). This, along with other minor changes, pushed the Nest’s grand opening further and further back. By the time it was completed, most of those “knollsters” were long since graduated.

BEFORE

Could it be improved?

Sure. The Nest is certainly nice, but it lacks a lot in the way of character. There is a slightly clinical feeling to everything. Especially since we are now dealing with a shortage of club spaces, the fact that half of the building’s footprint is a massive, empty void seems more and more like a bad decision. The Nest has also faced financial issues with its food venues — the Perch bombed, and Lowercase was replaced by P.H. Tea due to lack of profit.

Is it better than it was five years ago?

Of course it is. Have you seen the Old SUB? It looks like the kind of place that even heroin junkies would be afraid to visit. All the Nest had to do was let daylight in and serve good Blue Chip cookies to make older students forget any nostalgia for their old and somewhat greasy haunt.

AFTER

WESBROOK VILLAGE

It doesn’t really count as part of the campus, but Wesbrook Village is nonetheless a key factor in most students’ lives. You have to cross an endless expanse of sports fields to reach this strange utopia where everything is nice, clean and expensive.

We know it today as the place to buy alcohol and groceries when you are too lazy to leave campus. The people who live there tend to drive Mercedes, Porches and have children who wear the latest in the Brooks Brothers baby catalogue.

Back in 2011, it was a fraction of the size with far fewer of those six-storey apartment and condo buildings that line the other streets. They also got a new secondary school, a baseball diamond, soccer fields and a Menchies for when you’ve been day-drinking.

Furthermore, that BC Liquor Store that currently consumes most of your spending money used to be beside Staples. Its new location compliments Wesbrook just fine, but means that we now have to trek immense distances across campus just to find out that the liquor store closed at 7 p.m.

BEFORE

Could it be improved?

Sure. Make it less bland and more student-centric, and you might have a place that we will go to for things other than booze and food. But that isn’t what Wesbrook is for. If developers have their way, it will have pushed its gentrified borders further into the trees of Pacific Spirit Park over the next five years.

Is it better than it was five years ago?

Wesbrook has become what it has always planned to be: a nice-looking place near campus that attracts those with money. That being said, with rent that easily exceeds $1,200 a month, most of what Wesbrook has to offer is far out of reach for most students. It also looks pretty boring.

AFTER

TOTEM PARK

Totem Park has been around since 1962, but the new buildings opened in September 2012. While the original six heritage houses have shared washroom facilities on each floor, həm’ləsəm’ and q’əleχən have private or semi-private washrooms in each suite.

During construction of these two new houses in 2011, T-Park was plagued with complaints concerning loud noise in the early hours of the morning which was disruptive to students trying to study or sleep. Totem offered all of the residents complimentary ear plugs.There was also the hot water scandal that went on from 2011 to 2012 that finally ended in the reimbursement of $200 to each student affected.

Could it be improved?

BEFORE

With weighted doors that automatically close, the main complaint of həm’ləsəm’ and q’əleχən was that the social climate was severely lacking compared to the other six houses, which allowed residents to have their doors wide open. However, this can easily be remedied by a nifty 1878 invention called a doorstop.

Is it better than it was five years ago?

When your baseline is the equivalent of a 1960s demilitarized zone, of course the new residences are an improvement. Individual bathrooms (with water) and walls that aren’t primarily made from black mold and asbestos make these downright inhabitable.

AFTER

ADVERTISEMENT

AMS campaigns for student housing rights: sign the petition Thousands of student tenants, living in post-secondary housing, have no rental rights because of their exemption from the BC Residential Tenancy Act (RTA). Provincial legislation is needed urgently in order to protect BC post-secondary students’ on-campus rental rights.

The AMS of UBC recommends that legislation mandate the following: 1. Housing contracts explicitly list the rights of tenants, along with corresponding responsibilities of the tenant.

2. Housing contracts include an outline of a clear and specific process for tenants to report problems in their residence.

3. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the institution must provide a posted notice of entry, which must also include the window of time in which the entry will occur, to a unit at least 24 hours prior to said entry.

4. Transfers between housing units are only permitted for reasons of safety, extended repairs, or as requested by a tenant. Unless the move is requested by the tenant or the tenant’s conduct is the reason for said transfer, the tenant should not be required to pay new residence or meal plan fees.

7. If residents believe that an outage has not been adequately addressed, they can file a complaint and request for compensation with the institution.

Further disagreements can be brought to the Community Standards Appeals Committee.

8. For continuing tenancies, rent increases can be no more than that year’s inflation rate + 2% and can only happen once every 12 months. Tenants must receive 3 whole months’ notice of any rent increases.

9. Housing contracts must explicitly list a calendar date as the start and the end of the tenancy agreement.

5. Tenants must receive at least one month’s posted eviction notice regardless of the violation. The notice period can be shortened if the tenant did not pay their rent or if the safety of other residents’ is at risk.

Sign the petition to request that the BC Legislature re-evaluate post-secondary tenancy rights and pass legislation to protect BC post-secondary students in campus housing.

6. All post-secondary institutions must establish a transparent appeal body for all appeals. The committee should consist of students with the option of also having faculty.

Petition is located at the Speakeasy counter on the main floor of the AMS Student Nest.

ADD AMS_UBC ON SNAPCHAT AND LOOK OUT FOR THE DAILY FREE PIZZA SNAP ALL WEEK LONG!

FREE SLICE OF PEPPERONI OR CHEESE PIZZA TO THE FIRST 25 PEOPLE WHO SHOW THE SNAP SCREENSHOT, NOV.28- DEC 2

OPINIONS

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITOR BAILEY RAMSAY

SOLUTIONS //

Letter: How to fix the AUS budget debacle

11

SMART IDEA //

Will Zhang Third-year Commerce Student

I’ve probably spent far too much time in the past few days on the UBC sub-reddit. But as it stands, there seems to exist a real disenchantment among arts undergraduate students toward their undergrad society and its executives which has, in the past week, been accused of a plethora of charges ranging from incompetence to “low-key embezzlement.”

The AUS council will be holding their bi-weekly council (wait, what?) on Tuesday, November 22 at 7 p.m., during which at least some of these immediate and specific concerns should be addressed. But to reiterate this op-ed, the society as it stands does not adequately serve the greater arts population as it is funded to. The major corollary of this conclusion­— which I shall reach with the following three arguments — is that it is prudent for the AUS to restructure their expenditures or reduce its student fee collection.

THE VOTING POOL AND TURNOUT ARGUMENT First, let’s look at this empirically.

During the 2016 AUS spring general election, out of 13,095 eligible voters, 752 voted for any of the 10 elected positions. That translates to a voter turnout of 5.7 per cent. For reference, the CUS, KUS and SUS turnouts were 31.6 per cent, 25.8 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. Of these positions, four candidates ran unopposed — the VP Administration, VP Student Life, VP Finance and Arts Student Senator — and four more positions featured only two candidates — President, VP Internal, VP External, VP Communications.

From this alone, it should be damn difficult to conclude that the 12,500 students this year who pay AUS fees are well-represented by this society and its executives. If they are not well-represented, they cannot be well-served.

THE “PAYING FOR NOTHING” ARGUMENT This argument can be broken down into two parts — the first dictates that a significant proportion of students are paying largely for expenditures on services/ events which provide them with no direct benefit. Much of the spending is for events attended by mere fractions of the AUS membership. Grants given to departmental clubs amount to $30,000 spread across 20 clubs and $10,000 is budgeted to a single retreat attended by only 50 council members and club reps — the benefits of having representatives from clubs that have little to do with each other attend an event to “bond” is suspect. The academic development portfolio, which includes professional development, is more relevant to more members of this society — virtually nothing is actually spent on it despite its large budget, which implies nothing happens there.

The second half of this argument is that students are paying for quite literally nothing.

This shouldn’t be the case this

FILE PHOTO CHERIHAN HASSUN/THE UBYSSEY

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimized by an unclear syllabus.

Op-ed: Mandated syllabi is an awesome idea PHOTO COURTESY AUS/THE UBYSSEY

year, but in the previous two years, the AUS ran surpluses of $17,500 and $25,500. It started this year with an operating surplus of $162,000. Evidently, some of this money is being used now to cover the loss incurred at stARTup. But considering annual student fee revenue of $157,000, these surpluses are large and signal that a good proportion of student fees aren’t being put to use at all. And if that’s the case, why bother collect it?

THE INCOMPETENCE ARGUMENT It is immensely difficult to understate the confidence I personally have in the notion that some AUS executives have any clue what they are doing.

They may be great people with noble intentions, but this does not preclude systematic incompetence and knowledge deficit. One look at the budget spreadsheet and it is immediately clear that the VP Finance has no background in accounting — the sheet itself is an utter mess and some of the budget vs. actual differentials are comical. In fact, I will go as far as call for the resignations of this VP and the VP Student Life who oversaw stARTup because nobody should be given the opportunity to continue in these positions after the colossal failures involved with that event and what followed. For instance, it was rationalized that they did not forecast poor ticket sales because previous years had sold out. The problem with that is they forecasted $50,000 in ticket revenue for stARTup last year and only received $33,000. Anybody with any accounting sense would adjust and not re-forecast $50,000 in sales again. To do so would be a massive gamble and they apparently took it with the utmost confidence.

They have no idea what they’re doing. For the benefit of the arts students population, please find somebody that does.

The immediate response of the executives to The Ubyssey article criticizing their budget cuts and decision to not cut their executive retreat budget was terrible. To summarize: • Their justifications for why they cut everything else • “The AUS still strongly stands behind our decision

to not cut council retreat” • A justification for this which was later refuted by a released itinerary.

• Self-back-patting to the tone of “we work hard, many hours for free so we deserve to reward ourselves” • More self-back-patting and fishing for sympathy Essentially, they decided that they deserved a reward for doing a job they signed up for at the expense of the people they signed up to serve. If their campaign rhetoric is to be believed, they signed up to better the UBC arts community. This outcome — as well as a position title on their resumes, some recognition, experience and learning which, judging by their response, they are clearly not doing — is all they are entitled to as their reward. If other undergraduate society executives must pay fees to attend their retreats, why do AUS executives deserve a free three-day trip?

SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Aside from my calls for resignations, I propose some ideas to increase the AUS’ utility to arts undergraduates.

Reduce spending on events, increase department club grants: Events such as stARTup and the Great Arts Send-Off, while entertaining, are ephemeral experiences for the few that attend. Prioritizing these events in the budget does not reflect a holistic understanding of the student body.

The Commerce Undergraduate Society’s equivalent of “department clubs” organize the majority of events and services that exist in the school.

Why? Because they are able to better cater to students. Many department clubs in the faculty of arts have very little to do with each other being specific to a major. Thus, they would be able to better provide specialized or more relevant services, whether academic or events, to their members than the AUS can.

Cut the budget for retreat: It is frankly extravagant and unnecessary. For comparison, the EUS collects a student fee revenue of $191,000 and budgets their executive retreat at $1,000

— 1/10 that of the AUS. Given the very limited AUS budget, BYOT (bring your own tent) seems more appropriate for such an endeavour.

Or better yet, just do planning at UBC using UBC facilities. The “reward” justification is entirely invalid.

Either actually invest in the academic portfolio, or cut it and give the money to department clubs: I question the need for the existence of the VP Academic portfolio. In 2014–2015, the AUS budgeted $800 and spent $83. In 2015-2016, they budgeted $15,600 and spent $1,300. Does this VP do nothing all year?

Perhaps appoint an ad-hoc committee instead of a single VP, for it is difficult to start something from nothing, especially without resources and support. Create a writing centre replacement or something, hire tutors, do anything!

Restrict the AUS to only a figurehead organization that hosts a handful of events: Here’s an interesting thought — the AUS is inherently incapable of serving the majority of arts students in any capacity beyond hosting frosh orientations and the Great Arts Send-Off. The faculty is too broad and programming for students would be better organized by department clubs as a result.

The reality is that any event hosted by the AUS is largely pointless because most arts students don’t share classes or, theoretically, interests. By the same reasoning, students don’t feel connected to or a part of the AUS — hence, low voter turnout and calls for the ability to quit society membership.

Essentially, the value to students lies in department clubs — not the AUS. If the AUS were to necessarily exist, the ideal dynamic is that the society merely represents these clubs to the AMS and funds them, but it cannot not hold any power over them. The society should not be directly involved in the planning of any programming beyond frosh orientations and the Great Arts Send-Off — this should be left to clubs. Such a restructuring should necessarily reduce AUS spending across the board as they take on a smaller role requiring fewer council members.

Will Zhang is a third-year student studying commerce.

Samantha McCabe News Editor

UBC’s Senate is working on a policy that would mandate concrete syllabi for every course while also creating some guidelines and regulations for what specifically should be included within a course syllabus. As of right now, there is a policy in place that requires instructors to submit a syllabi when proposing a course but after that, there are no regulations — that syllabi may not even make it to the classroom.

Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by an unclear syllabus. Almost every undergraduate student has been there — you enroll in a course that sounds really interesting, only to quickly become frustrated by the lack of clarity regarding what is expected of you as a student. That’s why having mandated syllabi for each course is a great idea. We’re paying to learn at this awesome university, so UBC owes it to us to make that academia as accessible as possible — and those steps begin with the syllabus of a course.

It should be easy for professors to prepare a simple document outlining each week’s materials, a general topic and important dates throughout the term. This works in everyone’s favour as students know what to read and when, while professors get students that are prepared... or at least students that know what they should have been reading. This doesn’t mean that there needs to be a Microsoft Word template as to what syllabi should look like, but there are certain categories that would be really helpful for a professor to include all in one place.

I’m tired of hunting through self-built websites that look like they were pulled straight out of 2004, trying to find out which section of the course I should be preparing for and which readings even correspond to that section.

I’m tired of getting to class and barely understanding the lecture because I did the wrong reading.

These problems won’t be wholly solved by mandating clear, detailed syllabi for every undergraduate course, but it will definitely help.

This one is a no-brainer. U Samantha McCabe is a third-year political science student and the web news editor for The Ubyssey.

12 | opinions | TUESDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2016 EXPRESSION //

POLITICS //

Letter: Want to strengthen your ideological opponent? Try silencing them

ILLUSTRATION AIKEN LAO/THE UBYSSEY

That idea that poltical groups on campus are feeling silenced is problematic.

Alexis Wolfe Fourth-year Sociology Student

If you are paying attention, you may have noticed that the current hyperbolic and divisive political climate is reaching into the UBC campus. In a mess of ad hominem, emotion and condemnation, the nuance of political discussion has been thoroughly hollowed out.

Pronounced polarization between artificially opposing groups sees political discourse on university campuses reduced, limited and at times, altogether silenced. The rhetorical climate suffers because of this.

The reaction to this is, of course, the formation of UBC’s newly established Free Speech Club.

Emerging from the ruins of botched attempts to engage in critical dialogue, the idea of free speech attempts, in theory, is to address gaps in sociocultural and political discourse, and at the very least, hear the “other side.” While the notion of free speech often elicits images of ultra right-wing conservative pundits, perhaps it is worthwhile to consider free speech an issue transcending of the left/right divide.

After experiencing the fallout and shock enabled by social media and university campus echo chambers on November 8, it could be time to engage rather than demonize or dismiss one’s ideological opposite.

Collectively, the election results should signal an absence of dialogue in an institution intended to house contentious and disruptive competing ideas. If you are not paying attention, universities across Canada and the United States are being confronted with reactionary measures taken by those who feel their right to free speech is impeded upon.

We are seeing a collapse in dialogue between increasingly intolerant political opponents as a narrative of “martyrdom” on behalf of free speech proponents remerges alongside the narrative of “bigotry” expressed on the left. UBC is not removed from this context and while the campus has not been as visible as the University of Toronto in this regard, measures are now being taken to address the growing dialogical gap.

On November 8, members of UBC’s newly formed Free Speech Club sold “Make America Great Again” headgear outside the Nest. The red hats are regarded by some as a symbolic marker of

racism and xenophobia, and thus sparked passive condemnation from observers.

While club members distributed a hat imbued with support for the most political diverging ideologies in American political history, the group itself claims to be apolitical.

How exactly does this work?

According to a club executive, members themselves did not fully understand how this could be possible. The answer lies in the distinction, or lack thereof, between culture and politics. Noticeably, the United States election was one of the most culturally-significant events in history. Every political position available within the political discourse occurring in the election is simultaneously loaded with cultural implications.

Therefore, the Free Speech Club sees their existence as apolitical, but not acultural. The distinction is drawn from their overarching opposition to “political correctness.”

Keeping in mind that the debate on the merits of political correctness itself is indeed polarizing and subject to oversimplification and moralistic ad hominem attacks, the PC vs. anti-PC discourse is still a field for prejudice to be given a platform.

However, opposition to political correctness has been ritualistically dismissed as a desire for the right to public displays of ignorance which, in the light of recent events, can only be understood as strengthening resentments towards PC culture.

The UBC Free Speech Club defines itself as “apolitical and committed to cultivating an open dialogue on campus, where arguments are made with wit and reason rather than rhetoric and personal attack. We cherish a diversity of opinions and seek to promote an open debate stage where political correctness no longer holds sway.” So is it that radical that students spanning the political spectrum wish to seek intellectual refuge from the rigidity of PC standards?

Concerns about the club being a space of refuge for right-wing conservatives clouds the possibilities for their aim in facilitating reasoned political debate, unimpeded by the restraints of political correctness. It is not untenable to suggest that the club could in fact disrupt the homogeneity of opinion being entertained on university campuses.

While it is unlikely that conservative beliefs are in fact being silenced on

campus, the very idea that discourse is being stifled should concern all of us.

There is so much to be gained from constructive, challenging discussion. One thing I have discovered in my time at UBC is that you are only truly confronted with the integrity of your position once you have been adequately challenged on the fundamentals of your beliefs. You learn the most about what you believe when you are asked to support your ideas in the face of opposition. While students may feel they are opposed in their beliefs on a nearly constant basis, I think the benefits for challenging and uncomfortable political discussion outweigh the drawbacks. If you are at university to self-actualize, as I presume many of us are, there is value in embracing and interrogating the nuances of political discussion that fit less neatly into conveniently constructed left/right borders.

If a free speech club on campus intends to facilitate a discussion between diverse ideas, to see which beliefs hold weight and which argument is structured coherently, it is both dangerous and necessary. I say this because it is more dangerous to stifle or ignore divergent perspectives, as we now know this only bolsters resentments and heightens extremism.

Perhaps it is time to rethink reductionist categories like “right and left” as they are used to create silences in communication and regulate discourse. UBC’s Free Speech Club could in fact work to reconfigure political lines or strengthen tired and discriminatory groupthink, but the point is that a university campus donning the slogan being “a place of mind” should be open to the former.

In a letter to the community in 2009, former UBC president Stephen Toope wrote, “For a university, anything that detracts from the free expression of ideas is just not acceptable. Forms of speech should not be banned simply on the grounds that they are ‘offensive.’” And thus, judging by the social conscience exhibited by the majority of students on campus, the latter possibility — discriminatory groupthink — would in fact be thoroughly exposed and extinguished should it occur.

Infusing the political discourse on campus with nuance and critical examination may in fact lessen the tension between oppositional groups, and provide space for the complex and messy arena of ideology to undergo reconstruction.

Our ideological commitments deserve interrogation. That is, in part, why we are here.

The worry that this letter when it is read will either be interpreted as right-wing apologetics or a willful left-wing mischaracterization of the club, depending on which prism one chooses to view the world through, is a symptom of the very problem that needs to be addressed.

Whether or not UBC’s Free Speech Club is the correct way to go about addressing it, is another question. U Alexis Wolfe is a fourth-year student studying sociology.

Allowing anti-abortion protests is important for free speech Chase Kelliher Second-year Arts Student

Have an opinion? opinion@ubyssey.ca

PERSPECTIVES //

UBC shouldn’t be a safe space

Recently, the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) staged their annual anti-abortion protest at UBC. The protest causes controversy Ranil Prasad throughout campus every year First-year Arts Student with many strong dissenting voices among students and I welcome your letter on safe faculty. However, a worrying spaces at UBC, but I must reject trend has begun to take root. the premise.

Rather than presenting You may believe that the counter-arguments and opposing Genocide Awareness Project is views, some members of our hateful — and that is your right. community have advocated that However, hate has an extremely the GAP should be banned from specific legal definition and it staging their protest. This is doesn’t include views that are nonsense. Not allowing the GAP disagreeable. Graphic content or any other organization with exists in our movies, TV shows controversial views to protest and 24-hour cable news networks would be a direct assault on all of — it’s something we deal with as a our rights to free speech. society, not ban outright.

I believe anyone should Your example of UBC seeking be permitted to express charges against a student who their thoughts without fear burned a pride flag is irrelevant of censorship from their in this case. They were charged government. with “mischief causing damage Recently, groups like Black of property with a value of under Lives Matter have been tarred by five thousand dollars” — not a the Republican Party in America hate crime. Although I disagree with labels like “thugs” and with the actions of the student “terrorists.” If the Republicans who burned the flag, I welcome — poised to assume to control in anti-LGBT speakers on campus. I Washington — act as some would have faith that the overwhelming have our government/university majority of students will act against the GAP, then BLM’s simultaneously speak-up against right to protest would be under hate and protect freedom of serious threat by being labeled as speech. “offensive.” We must not establish I’m a pro-choice student and the precedent in our own country I think this protest is disgusting. that opens the door to a situation However, UBC is a leading like this. university and we didn’t get there We all attend one of the best by banning viewpoints that are in universities in the world. So I say opposition to ours. As a society, let them bring their distasteful we are committed to free speech, and deplorable ideas to UBC so no matter how controversial or that we may crush them under the “triggering” the topic is. UBC combined weight of our superior isn’t a safe space — it’s dangerous. intellect. U And that’s how it should be. U These letters are in response to a previous article published by The Ubyssey called, “UBC fails to make campus a safe space in allowing graphic antiabortion posters.”

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SCIENCE

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITOR KOBY MICHAELS

13

PROFILE //

On the origin of scientists: Science historian Jessica Wang Nivretta Thatra Senior Staff Writer

For some, politics is something people either choose to engage with or not. For others, engaging in politics — thinking about how governance affects people, communities and professions — is not a choice but a necessity.

UBC science historian Jessica Wang is happy to fall into the latter camp. As an undergraduate at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Wang originally was a double major in chemistry and biology. But Wang laughed as she described her early experience doing organic chemistry labs.

“When we did the Dilantin Synthesis, my yield was about nine per cent or something. And it was so impure!” she said.

In the history department, Wang’s forays were much more rewarding.

“I did well in my science courses, but I gravitated much more towards history. I enjoyed the creative aspects of doing the historical research, tracking down materials in the library, thinking about them and writing,” she said.

Wang found encouragement from her undergraduate advisor, renowned historian Walter LaFeber, and other professors in the history department to examine the past to better understand current events.

“[It] was the 1980s. It was just as relations with the Soviet Union were starting to warm up, but the Cold War was still on. It was the heyday of the nuclear age and there were fears that if war ever did break out, it would be total war with nuclear weapons,” said Wang.

As the general populace around her grappled with the idea of nuclear war, Wang’s interest in science motivated her to understand the generation of scientists who created nuclear weapons under the Manhattan Project. She quickly found that while major political attacks on professions such as Hollywood stars had been explored, no one had yet written similarly about scientists.

In her PhD dissertation, Wang brought attention to the creators of the nuclear weapons themselves, and how the US government either supported or attacked these scientists in the 1940s and 1950s. Some scientists on the liberal end of the political spectrum were politically vulnerable, such as Edward Condon, while others benefited from the massive federal investments in science that allowed for career opportunities far beyond what had been possible during the Great Depression.

Wang continues to find and

Science is about more than cell cultures and physics equations.

write about unexplored scientific stories in American history. “Even though I still do some work on Cold War science, I’ve moved away from that — for example, by writing this idiosyncratic book on the history of rabies and moving into the history of medicine, urban history and animal studies,” she said.

The continued accumulation of experience, changing political landscapes and the changes

in history as a discipline are influential variables in Wang’s work. She finds that she thinks differently about her research than she did as a young student.

“As a historian, I’m able to write in a bigger and broader way than I would have dared when I was in my 20s and 30s. Part of that is just accumulated knowledge and the confidence that goes with that. But I also didn’t have the analytical vocabulary to think in those big

PHOTO PATRICK GILLIN/THE UBYSSEY

ways yet. It’s taken me a longer time to develop that,” she said.

For Wang, responding to a political landscape by telling untold histories is now a carefully honed skill. By allowing ourselves the time to accrue proficiency in professional discourse, as Wang allowed herself to do, young researchers can learn to examine their own political or scientific environment to produce timely, relevant work. U

PSYCHOLOGY //

How Donald Trump speaks (and tweets) was crucial to his success in the Republican primary

Research needs to be done on other elections to see if other politicians are similarly successful.

Joshua Azizi Staff Writer

A new study by researchers from UBC’s psychology department argues that president-elect Donald Trump’s distinct communication style was a factor in his success during the

Republican primary elections.

The paper analyzed the speech style and Twitter accounts of nine different Republican candidates and predicted that Trump would score the highest on six variables — grandiosity, first-person pronoun use, informal language, high Twitter usage, a low voice

ILLUSTRATION MAIA BOAKYE/THE UBYSSEY

and vocal pitch variability — that have been proven to appeal to audiences. In the end, Trump scored the highest in all of the variables except for voice depth.

“The present study reveals that a populist communication style — grandiose, dynamic and informal — may have ‘trumped’ a

carefully-reasoned platform,” the paper stated.

In order to measure the grandiosity of the candidate’s speeches, the authors transcribed three early speeches by each candidate and gave them to coders who were instructed to count the number of boasts that a candidate made. To minimize any possible biases from affecting the study, the coders were under the impression that they were reading transcripts from the recent British election — all of the information specific to America, such as cities or names, were replaced with British equivalents or other substitutions.

The authors also used a text analysis program to measure the use of first-person pronouns and informal language in the transcripts. Likewise, a program that analyzes human vocals was used to measure the depth and variability of the candidates’ pitches.

Sara Ahmadian, the first author of the study and an undeclared UBC student, said that she took interest in Trump’s speaking style after being surprised by his success.

“All the experts said that he’s not going to file his taxes, he’s not going to be in the debate, [that] there’s no way he’s gonna win the nomination. Then, all of a sudden, everybody who’s meant to be an expert on this was wrong,” she said. “That just sort of sparked my interest in ‘why?’ Why are

we all wrong? What is it about Donald Trump that makes him so unique?”

Although it wasn’t quantified or measured in the study, she pointed to Trump’s tendency to over-exaggerate as another communicative styling that may or may not have made him appealing to voters.

“It would be interesting to see how this over-exaggeration had an effect on his success.

Whether it does or it doesn’t, I’m not a hundred per cent sure,” said Ahmadian.

However, the study acknowledges that it only looked at the Republican primary election and that similar research studying the Democratic primaries or other elections ought to be carried out to see if a similar pattern might occur in other elections. Ahmadian also predicted that the context surrounding a nation’s political state might determine whether or not leaders with grandiose or informal speaking styles can gain more traction in other elections.

“I think in times of war [or] uncertainty, [certain speaking styles] really come to stand out and they really come to be dominant in the political world,” she said. “You can see that with Brexit right now in England and you can see that even in Australia.

So depending on the context and how much uncertainty there is, people will prefer someone who they can relate to more.” U

SPORTS+REC

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITOR OLAMIDE OLANIYAN

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL //

’Birds strike down Victoria Vikes in OT

PHOTO BEN GEISBERGTHE UBYSSEY

The Vikes fought hard into double overtime, but were overwhelmed by the T-Birds.

Arjun Singla Contributor

After beating the University of Victoria Vikes in Victoria, BC on November 25, women’s basketball played host the next day for a highenergy game at the War Memorial Gym. UBC were looking comfortable for most of the first half and headed into halftime with a 23-point lead.

Despite this, the Vikes forced double overtime, but eventually ended up on the losing side to the home team.

Victoria’s comeback was extremely special. Not once did

they give up — they fought until the very last second. It takes a certain team and special commitment to do something like that. The Vikes were brilliant, but didn’t play consistently throughout the game, especially in the first half which saw them eventually on the losing side.

Victoria won jump ball and were extra tight on defense to start things.

Still, it was a sluggish first quarter for both teams. Victoria committed a lot of fouls towards the end, which helped UBC end up with a threepoint lead at 15-12.

The next quarter, the Vikes were completely demolished by UBC. This

was the ’Birds’ strongest quarter in the game, scoring 32 points. Secondyear guard Maddison Penn started heating up and made her presence felt throughout the whole game. She finished with 36 points, 10 rebounds and three steals while playing for 32 minutes, and made some free throws to seal the game for UBC. At the start of the quarter, Victoria constantly attempted threepointers and consistently missed them. They hadn’t scored for the first four minutes of the quarter. Then, with under four minutes remaining till halftime, Victoria began their surreal comeback. Although whenever Victoria did score, Penn would come up with an answer of her own. The score at halftime was 47-24 in favour of UBC. After the break, the Vikes were a completely different team out on the floor. They got their fighting spirit back and put up back-to-back buckets in quick succession to slowly narrow UBC’s mammoth lead. The teams switched identities — it was UBC this time who hadn’t scored for the first four minutes in the quarter.

And with just under five minutes remaining, the Vikes cut UBC’s lead to just 10 points. The ’Birds responded well after this and found their rhythm once again, finishing the quarter 60-45. Victoria outscored UBC 21-13.

The ’Birds were up 15 points heading into the fourth quarter, but Victoria managed to force overtime — not once, but twice.

It was entirely the Vikes’ show until the end of regulation from here. With five minutes remaining, Victoria narrowed UBC’s lead to 10 points once more. With 38 seconds

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL //

left, the game was tied 69-69. The match went into its first overtime.

For the first minute and twenty seconds, no team had scored.

That’s when Maddison Penn decided to take matters into her own hands, and won UBC the lead at 75-71 with under three minutes left. The Vikes were not ready to go back with a loss and ended up tying the game 77-77 with under four seconds remaining. The game then went into its second overtime.

UBC was leading by two points 80-78, with just over three minutes remaining. Victoria was very much in the game until that point. The ’Birds, however, were determined to get their sixth win of the season, which led them on a scoring run that eventually saw the end of the game, 93-85.

The ’Birds shot 34.2 per cent from the field, while the Vikes shot 31.7 per cent. Victoria was surprisingly better from the three, converting 40.0 per cent of their attempts whereas UBC only made 30.4 per cent of their tries.

The ’Birds were better in the free-throw department, converting 79.1 per cent of their chances, while Victoria made 71.9 per cent of their attempts. UBC had more second-chance points with 17 — while the Vikes had 10 — and had a more productive effort from their bench than Victoria did, with UBC’s bench scoring 20 points compared to Victoria’s 11.

The Vikes did have more points in the paint at 30 whereas the ’Birds had 10, and more points off of turnovers at 20 while the ’Birds had 17. U

Coming off of a split against the Thompson River Wolfpack, the UBC women’s volleyball team dropped two games against Canada West’s second best team — the Trinity Western University Spartans (TWU) — at home and on the road.

In the first game on Friday, the ’Birds suffered a 3-0 sweep by the Spartans on the home court, losing by scores of 25-23, 25-18 and 25-12.

Fifth-year left side Danielle Brisebois — UBC’s leader in kills per game — again took the lead with eight kills against the Spartans.

After the loss at home, the ’Birds headed to Langley the following day to play the second game, this time losing three sets to one. The Spartans took 25-19 victories in the first two sets before UBC responded with a 27-25 win in the third. Still, the Spartans came back strong in the last set to beat the T-Birds 25-18 for the 3-1 win.

“We got off to a poor start again in the first set, so our consistency of play and consistency of competing hard wasn’t good enough,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer after the game.

In Saturday’s game, it was Maggie Li who provided much of the firepower for the ’Birds, producing a total of nine kills to lead the team.

“I thought Li offensively did a good job for us, and we had different

The ’Birds suffered a 3-0 sweep on Friday, and lost in four sets on Saturday.

people come in and be able to make contributions,” said Reimer.

The Spartans were noticeably the more dominant team at the start the game, leading throughout the entire first set. Fourteen of the Spartans’ points in the opening set happened on service and attack errors by the T-Birds.

The ’Birds then showed some stronger momentum to open the second set, leading by as much as 5-1 before giving up five straight points to the Spartans.

The remainder of the frame then became a close contest between the two teams, but it was eight

unanswered points at the end of the game that turned the tide and gave the Spartans the victory.

In the third period, the Spartans looked to sweep the ’Birds for the second game of the weekend. TWU held the initial lead, but the momentum turned in UBC’s favour when the team responded with a streak of six points after a kill by Katelyn Devaney that put TWU up 21-18.

The Spartans then managed to follow up with four points of their own, but it was the kills

by Victoria Behie and Laura MacTaggart and an error attack

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL //

T-Birds drop series to TWU Jia Farner Contributor

The ’Birds faced off against the Trinity Western University Spartans this weekend. Although they fell 3-1 on November 25, the ’Birds showed they could keep up by playing very close sets.

The Spartans — undefeated so far this season — maintained their momentum by taking the first set decisively. Despite help from outside hitters Irvan Brar, Cam Fennema and Mat Guidi — who led the ’Birds in kills by the end of the game — the team was unable to take a lead at any point in the first set, which ended with a score of 25-16.

The Thunderbirds found redemption in the second set.

The team had momentum of their own, coming from a three-game winning streak. They took an early lead, helped by kills from Guidi, middle Jordan Deshane and setter Byron Keturakis, falling behind only momentarily in the middle of the set due to service errors. The Thunderbirds took the second set, also 25-16.

The third set featured a battle of kills between the teams, with the Spartans holding a slim lead for most of the set. Brar showcased his reliability in this set with five kills and Guidi followed not too far behind with three kills of his own.

Both players were helped by strong sets from Keturakis, who made 37 assists overall. Despite this strong showing, the Spartans took the set 25-23, with the T-Birds ending it with service and attack errors.

The Thunderbirds continued to keep the game tight in the fourth set. Both teams struggled to take a lead in the beginning of the set, but the ’Birds edged away in the middle of the game, holding their lead until they made service errors while the Spartans dealt aces and made kills.

The Thunderbirds and the Spartans each took a turn edging ahead, with neither team unable to take a twopoint lead until after 30-30. The set ended 30-32 after an ace from the Spartans.

UBC head coach Kerry MacDonald, knowing that the Spartans are the number one team in the country, also knew that the T-Birds would need to play some of their best volleyball to win the match, which he acknowledged they did not do on Friday.

“They didn’t play their best, we didn’t play our best. It wasn’t the cleanest volleyball ever, but we’re definitely progressing as a group,” he said at the end of their first PHOTO BILL SITU/THE UBYSSEY game against the Spartans this weekend.

by TWU’s Elizabeth Wendel that “I think we are getting better. secured UBC’s win.

I’m not sure today was really “I give credit [to the team] in the representative of that, but I think third set for hanging in there and we’ll play better tomorrow.” coming back. We were down and The second game saw the came back,” said Reimer.

Spartans maintaining their Looking to even up the game winning streak, but only after and force a fifth set, the ’Birds bringing the game to a fifth set. again fought hard in the fourth, but The ’Birds managed to take an ultimately lost 25-18 as the Spartans early lead, taking the first and picked up five straight points to cap second sets 25-19 and 26-24. Brar of the weekend. U again led the team in kills with 10, followed by seven kills from Guidi UBC now holds a 5-3 record and sits and five from Fennema. However, in the fifth place spot in Canada West. the Spartans came from behind and Their next set of games will be against took the next three sets at 25-17, 25MacEwan University on the road.

20 and 15-7. U

Thunderbirds fall hard to Spartans over weekend Bill Situ Senior Staff Writer

14

NOVEMBER 29, 2016 TUESDAY | SPORTS+REC | 15 FIELD HOCKEY //

Words by ’Birds: Sixth in the 6ix and finding home at UBC Stephanie Norlander Contributor

Six was a lucky number that day.

There we were, lined up against our Canada West rivals — the University of Victoria Vikes — for what became a battle of blood, sweat and tears that went beyond the final whistle. The first half seems like a blur. It was physical, as expected, but things were going okay. We had chances and they had chances, but no one could put the ball in the net.

Ten minutes into the second half, they scored. The Vikes were up 1-0.

The amazing thing? We didn’t get down on ourselves and we didn’t get frantic. The trust we had in each other, in our coaches and in our game plan was clearly evident. The game went on and the clock ticked down.

Finally, with about eight minutes left to play, we earned a penalty corner. For those unfamiliar with the game, a corner is a set piece and an attacking opportunity that can often lead to a goal. So this was it. We all knew it was our opportunity to capitalize and score the tying goal.

Our coach made the call. A 2C — a play we had practiced and executed hundreds of times at training. Gabby Jayme, all-star tipper and all around awesome teammate, was up to take it.

She nailed it. Duh. Running back to the halfway line I was thinking, “This is it. A tie game — we’ve got the momentum and there are eight minutes left. Let’s go win this national championship!”

So we battled it out for eight more minutes and let me tell you, there were opportunities. I hit the post but we just couldn’t put it away.

The whistle blew. We were headed to a shootout.

I was up first, and my shot was saved. The Vikes went, and their shot was saved. Next shooters, same thing. Finally, our own senior Rachel Donohoe put it in the back of the net. The Vikes’ next shot was saved.

Back to us, Sarah Keglowitsch had an incredible finish. At that point, it was do-or-die for them.

So there I was, arms linked with my teammates, yelling, “Let’s go Gabby, you got this!” with fingers crossed for what happened next.

Saved! Our goalie, Gabby Switzer — player of the game and Canada West goalkeeper of the year — had just won us our national championship.

Going through my mind: “She saved it! We did it, we won!

Shoutout to goalkeeper Gabby Switzer. She is awesome.

Let me take you back to the beginning of this championship journey and tell you a bit about my story of joining this amazing team. This was my first semester at UBC. I am a transfer student from the University of Iowa, where I played three seasons on a full-ride scholarship. I want to tell you it was awesome and all that, but something was just missing.

Don’t get me wrong, it was an incredible experience down there that I am so glad to have been a part of. Playing field hockey at an NCAA Division I school, not to mention in the Big Ten conference, is something significant in and of itself. The perks we got were endless — more clothing and gear than I knew what to do with (we called it Nike Christmas), world class facilities, a

learning centre devoted to athletes (stocked with food) and a football team whose stadium held 70,000 fans and was always roaring at maximum capacity.

It was awesome. Being an athlete at a Big Ten school makes you feel like the biggest fish in the sea. As for field hockey, we were consistently ranked in the top 20 and our coaches ran one of the most prestigious programs in the country.

I bet you’re starting to wonder why I would ever choose to leave before my time was up? Well, it was not an easy decision. I felt like I was letting down my teammates who had also become my best friends, my coaches who had invested time in me and breaking a four-year commitment I had made.

Saying it was hard is an understatement, but I knew it was time and the right decision to make. My commitment to the Canadian National Team had grown immensely that past spring and summer. At the time, I was considered part of the senior development squad, and I was fortunate enough to have made the tournament teams and competed in both the 2015 World League 2 in Dublin and World League 3 in Valencia. These tournaments were qualifiers for the Rio 2016 Olympics that happened this past summer.

Although we did not qualify for Rio, it was an experience like no other and it ignited my Olympic dream even more. I knew the next step in my Olympic pursuit was to commit full-time to the National Team, which entailed me moving to the National Training Centre that happened to be in my hometown city of Vancouver.

I knew immediately I wanted to finish my undergrad at UBC and lucky for me, I had eligibility left to play two seasons with the UBC Thunderbirds.

Skip to September 2016, where my story with this team began. Sure I was new, but I already was friends with a bunch of girls on the team, including my national teammate, Hannah Haughn. Hannah and I go way back — like elementary school!

My transition to this team was seamless. Everyone was welcoming and open, and I immediately knew I had joined something so special.

Our season went on to be full of great moments and I made everlasting memories with every single person on our team. I truly am lucky to be surrounded by such an amazing Thunderbird family. The endless support our team receives from alumni is incredible. It is so inspiring to be a part of a program, and I know that the memories I make today and all the friendships I have now will still be with me for years and years to come.

One of my highlights from the season was playing the University of Calgary Dinos against my younger sister, Meghan. It was a unique opportunity that brought a whole bunch of my friends and family out to the turf to watch the Norlander sisters battle it out. Another highlight was becoming Canada West champs, and seeing teammate Rachel Donohoe get awarded Canada West player of the year and U Sports co-player of the year.

Even though it really was a short season — September to the end of October — it flew by way faster than

I could have ever imagined and I found myself all of the sudden on a plane to Toronto for the national championships. Sitting there, 30,000 feet up in the air, I began to think about how crazy winning five straight national championships is, and here we were, ready and prepared to win a sixth.

In that moment, I felt proud and honoured, excited yet nervous, and was in the mindset that I was about to go to battle with 15 of the finest hockey players by my side. How did I get so lucky?

All of our hard work throughout the season paid off.

Winning a national championship in the sport you love, with the best of friends by your side, is indescribable. You get goosebumps when thinking about it.

I will cherish the memories we made this year for the rest of my life. I want to extend the biggest thank you to every single person who helped me along the journey to becoming a Thunderbird.

To my teammates, thank you accepting me into your team this year. Coming away with a national championship and the memories and friendships I have made is everything I could have dreamed of and more! U Stephanie Norlander is a fourthyear UBC student who transferred from the University of Iowa. The women’s field hockey team won their sixth national championship on Sunday, November 6 in Toronto.

PHOTO JEREMY JOHNSON-SILVERS/THE UBYSSEY

Stephanie Norlander was named a Canada West all-star along with UBC and national team teammate Hannah Haughn.

PHOTO JEREMY JOHNSON-SILVERS/THE UBYSSEY

PHOTO JEREMY JOHNSON-SILVERS/THE UBYSSEY

16 | GAMES+COMICS | TUESDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2016

COURTESY BESTCROSSWORDS.COM

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1- Indian state; 6- Prolonged unconsciousness; 10- Doll’s word; 14- Game of chance; 15- Rat-___; 16- Blame; 17- “Oklahoma!” aunt; 18- Apparatus for weaving; 19- Whistle blowers; 20- One who arrives tardy; 22- Slow, to Salieri; 23- Actress Laura; 24- Stupid; 26- Sheep talk;

29- Help in a heist; 31- Accelerate; 32- CD earnings; 33- The Beatles’ “Back in the ___”; 34- Plant swellings; 38- “Beetle Bailey” dog; 40- Isr. neighbor; 42- Funny Foxx; 43- Transgressor; 46- Gilbert of “Roseanne”; 49- Author Le Shan; 50- El ___; 51- Nervous twitches; 52- Sound of disapproval; 53- Ladies of Spain; 57- Emit coherent light; 59- Make ___ for oneself;

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60- Stinginess; 65- ___ but known...; 66- And ___ bed; 67- Rocky debris; 68- Pack ___ (quit); 69- Mex. miss; 70- “Lovergirl” singer ___ Marie; 71- Glacier’s “calf”; 72- Collar fastener; 73- Tennis’s Monica; DOWN 1- The third man; 2- Actress Ward; 3- Preservative; 4- On ___-to-know basis; 5- Morsel;

6- Composure; 7- Oklahoma Indian; 8- New Zealand native; 9- PIN requester; 10- Besides; 11- Concerning; 12- Civilian clothes; 13- Org.; 21- Globes; 22- Fibbed; 25- Rapping Dr.; 26- Life stories; 27- Opponent; 28- Envelope abbr.; 30- Romantic rendezvous; 35- Bump into; 36- Puts two and two together;

37- Neb. neighbor; 39- Approaching; 41- Locomotive track; 44- Dublin’s land; 45- Cereal box abbr.; 47- Some VCRs; 48- Aids; 53- Indian term of respect; 54- Maternally related; 55- Low point; 56- Recreation; 58- Show host; 61- Aleutian island; 62- Hurler Hershiser; 63- State bird of Hawaii; 64- Votes for; 66- Conscription org.;

COMIC ANTHONY LABONTE/THE UBYSSEY

COURTESY KRAZYDAD.COM

COMIC PATRICK MURRY AND MIKE PAROLINI/THE UBYSSEY