December 4, 2018

DecemBER 4, 2018 | VoLuME c | IssuE XVII bagged wine since 1918

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THE UBYSSEY

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NEWS

CULTURE

SCIENCE

SPORTS

The AMS makes friends

blog

Synthesizing sound and colour at the Hatch

Saying no to a UBChristmas

Chocolate is older than we think

We love our veteran volleyball libero

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december 4, 2018 TUesday

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE

EVENTS

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OUR CAMPUS

Michael Korenberg rolls up his sleeves as chair of the UBC Board of Governors tuesday, december 4 securing canadian elections 6 to 7:45 p.m. @ CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL Panel on social media and fake news in Canadian elections.

FREE FOR STUDENTS

“Are we there yet? No. Am I committed that we’ll continue the evolution? Absolutely.”

friday, december 7 sasc presents: tough guise 2 7 to 9 p.m. @ AMS student nest A Friday night feminist film screening and discussion!

FREE

friday, december 7 red gate holiday extravaganza!

8 p.m. to 2 A.m. @ Red gate arts society Live music to support the Overdose Prevention Society! $10 at the door or pay what you can

ON THE COVER COVER BY Elizabeth Wang

Want to see more events or see your event listed here? ubyssey.ca/events

U The Ubyssey

decemBER 4, 2018 | Volume C| Issue XVII Contact

editorial

Staff

BUSINESs

Coordinating Editor Samantha McCabe coordinating@ubyssey.ca

Pawan Minhas, Zubair Hirji, Jack Yuan, Emma Livingstone, Jane Procyshyn, Matt Asuncion, Olivia Johnson, Candice Lipski, Marissa Birnie, Rolando Hinojosa, Lua Presidio, Salomon Micko Benrimoh, Chimedum Ohaegbu, Ryan Neale, Hannah Feodorov, Angela O’Donnell, Cat Hartt Towle, Johann Cooper, Jack Lamming, Kristine Ho, Clare Skillman, Zainab Fatima, Iain Coates, Charlotte Alben, Riya Talitha, Chelsea Dumasal, Joshua Azizi, Sammy Smart, Danni Olusanya, Shamit Rahman, Divija Madhani, Moe Kirkpatrick, Daphnée Lévesque, Benoit Dupras, Sonia Kung, Scott Young, Eve O’Dea, Andrew Ha, Anupriya Dasgupta, Aki Ota, Amy Shandro, Henry Anderson, Micah Killjoy, Sonia Pathak, Maged, Brendan Smith, Mitchell Ballachay, Negin Nia

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LEGAL The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday by The Ubyssey Publications Society.

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Land acknowledgement We would like to acknowledge that this paper and the land on which we study and work is the traditional, occupied, unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/ Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

After his first year on the UBC Board of Governors, Chair Michael Korenberg remembers thinking, “Wow, we really need to do a better job of governing the institution.”

When he was first appointed to the Board in February 2016, the university’s highest governance body was still reeling from the aftermath of former President Arvind Gupta’s resignation and was facing intense criticism about a lack of transparency in its practices. It would soon receive a vote of no-confidence from the Faculty Association.

This tumultuous experience left a mark on Korenberg’s governance philosophy, especially as the Board elected him to be vice-chair that same year and then chair in February 2018.

“Those votes of non-confidence were a challenge that I was determined to take up and ensure that the Board be responsive to the needs of institution,” he said in an October interview.

“I think maybe some of our governance practices had not kept pace with best practices and so we have tried to adopt more openness, more accountability of the Board members, more transparency to the issues that are before us … [and] more access to our materials.”

For instance, Korenberg expects that the terms of reference and meeting minutes of the re-established Housing Action Plan’s (HAP) subcommittee — whose priorities include advancing faculty housing ownership — will be made publicly available. He also calls for the university to lean toward open or hybrid models in its searches for senior executives.

But he acknowledged that more needs to be done to improve transparency.

“Are we there yet? No. Am I committed that we’ll continue the evolution? Absolutely.”

UBC alum like many other Board members — something that he “regrets.”

Graduating from York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School in 1983, Korenberg practiced tax, securities and corporatecommercial law in Toronto before moving to Vancouver for work. In the ’90s, he was recruited to the company that owns the Vancouver Canucks, then to a long-time stay at Jim Pattison Group until 2015, before moving onto a lengthy list of other management positions and board memberships.

Amidst these career changes, Korenberg committed over 20 years to UBC as an adjunct professor in the Allard School of Law — another experience he credits with informing his current work as Board chair.

“The number of students has gone up over my time and there’s an increasing number of international students in that increased mix,” he said. “Ensuring that they are getting the most out of their education, that they are made to feel part of the community [and that we’re] increasing the number of spaces available to domestic students … are all priorities that I understand from having worked as a faculty member.”

Korenberg also stressed the value of the university academy.

“I think anybody who isn’t an individual faculty can never really appreciate the breadth and strength of UBC … Ultimately, it’s the academy that drives the university and we are blessed with one of the finest in the world,” he said.

More tangibly, he considers capital allocation to support the university’s academic mission as well as student, staff and faculty housing to be fundamental decisions that will determine UBC’s future success.

“I feel comfortable that we understand the student housing need, but the clarity is also needed for the faculty and staff side of the HAP — that the university can and probably will be doing more,” said Korenberg, who is part of the HAP sub-committee.

No stranger

“Arc of the growth”

Korenberg was no stranger to the university prior to his Board appointment, despite not being a

Ultimately, Korenberg is excited to be serving at what he calls the “arc of the growth of the university,”

Alex Nguyen News Editor

COURTESY UBC

where current decisions are expected to result in long-term impacts in future years.

For instance, the Board made a big splash in April when it came out to support expanding rapid transit from Arbutus to UBC — a project that, if approved, would conclude long after Korenberg and the current Board members’ terms are done. That term, it also finalized the creation of the Indigenous Engagement Committee, which now serves to hold UBC accountable on all of its Indigenous initiatives.

“I think the university has to be committed to being somewhat ahead of the times as it relates to this priority,” he said. “It’s an ongoing dialogue … I believe it will make [our] Indigenous engagement better than we would be without the committee.”

More recently, the debate around the ever-contentious topic of tuition increases intensified at Board. At the November meeting, 6 out of 16 members of Finance and Learning & Research committees voted against increases within the two per cent domestic cap — a rare voting record in recent years.

Korenberg voted in favour of the proposed increases.

Looking ahead, he anticipates continuing to support UBC’s development as a research university and its implementation of a major system upgrade program.

“So I’m very fortunate to be here at the beginning of a strategic plan to see what the implementation objectives are for the initial spending and priority setting under the plan,” he said. UBC’s new strategic plan, “Shaping Our Next Century,” was approved by the Board last spring.

Not surprisingly, all this work requires a huge level of commitment.

But while Korenberg considers it a “challenge,” he also appreciates the opportunity to give back to a university “whose principles [he] understood and whose goals [he] supports completely.”

“It is a tremendous ask of any governor to volunteer their time, and not only volunteer the time but really roll up the sleeves and put their heart and soul into working with the university to move forward,” he said.

“But it’s a privilege. It’s a lot of fun. It’s hard work but it leads to tangible, positive results.” U

news

decembeR 4, 2018 tueSDAY

editoRs ALEX NGUYEN + ZAK VESCERA

Making friends //

3

civic engageMent //

Corruption, fees and Marxists: The AMS’s complicated history with other student societies

the report is expected to be released in may 2019.

Ruth hARtnup/ FLicKR

City Council to conduct report reviewing lower voter turnout in recent municipal elections charlotte alden senior staff writer

Joining a student association is an investment and a risk.

sonia pathak staff writer

The AMS did something unusual recently: it found some friends.

During the AMS’s recent lobbying trip to Victoria, the society partnered with the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) and the BC Federation of Students (BCFS).

This isn’t usual practice for the AMS. Student unions across the country often pool their resources to impact a wide range of issues such as budgeting, student loans and on-campus housing through their lobbying efforts.

But unlike the majority of Canadian student unions, the AMS is not a member of any formal student alliance — and the reasons for that are as rooted in politics as they are in history.

going its own way Joining a student association is an investment and a risk.

Many require annual membership fees that can range from $40,000 to $70,000, and have been associated with corruption, inefficiency and irreverence since their inception.

According to AMS Archivist Sheldon Goldfarb, Canada’s first national student organization, the National Federation of Canadian University Students (NFCUS), was founded in the 1920s. By the ’60s, it took the name of the Canadian Union of Students (CUS) and became more radical, influenced by Marxism and the anti-war movement. The CUS’s critiques on capitalism and the Vietnam War drew scrutiny, and it was accused of focusing on issues beyond campuses.

On March 1969, students at UBC voted in a referendum to leave the CUS. Several other

schools followed this decision, and the CUS collapsed the following year.

Seven years later, the AMS joined the Association of Student Councils, which later merged with the National Union of Students to create the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) in 1981.

The AMS was a prospective member for the CFS — but there were problems. The federation was already riddled with complaints of corruption and ineffectiveness. Students voted overwhelmingly in a referendum against joining the CFS that year, with a vote of 4,177 to 815. They then joined other student societies to form the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.

The partnership was rocky from the start. In 1996, the AMS withdrew from the organization over concerns of financial mismanagement, then rejoined again in 1998. A decade later, the AMS dropped down to an associate membership and eventually decided in November 2011 to leave the organization.

Two years later, the AMS joined the Alliance of BC Students (ABCS). They left the ABCS in October 2015 for a variety of reasons, foremost of which was that they only had one vote on member decisions even though they represented 42 per cent of the association’s students. They also paid 32 per cent of its total fees (approximately $15,000).

Making friends The AMS still occasionally reaches out to other unions. One example is the Student Union Development Summit (SUDS), a national conference the AMS hosts every year.

“This isn’t a part of any alliance, when students come to SUDS it’s in a non-partisan way,”

JohAnn coopeR

said AMS VP External Cristina Ilnitchi. “But the whole point of SUDS is to build relationships and to explore collective needs and gaps and opportunities, and to be able to idea-share and explore together to do better.”

In addition to SUDS, the AMS also joined the Undergraduates of Canadian Research Intensive Universities (UCRU) last year.

The UCRU consists of a majority of the U15 schools — Canada’s top research-intensive universities.

There are no membership fees to be a part of the UCRU, and what the alliance does is bring the schools together and lobby for their collective needs.

Most recently, the AMS went on a collaborative lobbying trip with the SFSS and the BCFS — something other unions were happy to see.

“The most important thing is that, affiliated or not, students’ unions should work together collaboratively wherever possible,” said BCFS Chair Aran Armutlu in a statement to The Ubyssey. “Having the UBC AMS participate in our lobby week helped to strengthen the position of all students on issues of affordability of post-secondary education and student debt.”

The AMS is happy to work with other unions when it works out — but given the history, the society is understandably reserved about formally committing to any larger alliances.

“The AMS currently isn’t looking for any formal partnerships,” said Ilnitchi.

“We’re focused on building meaningful and supportive relationships with other student unions and coalitions in order to empower our collective voices and asks and really be able to push our advocacy to be as strong as it can be.” U

For the average student, the recent Vancouver municipal elections were hard to be excited about. The lengthy ballot and long lines both contributed to an overall reduction in voter turnout from previous years.

Now, Vancouver City Council has directed staff to create a report reviewing the barriers to municipal election engagement, which has traditionally seen low participation from students.

Proposed by Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, the Municipal Election Review Report’s goal is to increase voter turnout — which was around 39 per cent this year compared to 43.4 per cent in 2014 — and improve overall voter efficacy. In particular, it will evaluate the “efficacy of the random ballot,” the “prequalification requirements” to run for office and “sufficiency of electoral resources.”

For some voters, logistical details made the process more difficult.

“I voted in Marpole and my station had one ballot box which got jammed … [it] wasn’t well run,” commented Reddit user headphones13.

The bigger and more widespread challenge revolved around the randomization of candidate names on the ballot to lower ‘top-of-the-ballot’ bias. “[Voters] likely still started at the top, but at least the presence of someone at the top is now the product of a random draw,” said UBC political science Professor Dr. Richard Johnston.

But the randomization made it difficult for voters to find candidates on the already long and complicated ballot.

“When you put together the scale of the ballots required with the lack of even an alphabetical cue on where the candidates might be on the ballot, it did produce a level of anxiety that I can’t ever remember feeling before,” Johnston said.

Reddit user natural_recursions agreed with him.

“I think there must be a better way we have candidates for

municipal elections,” they wrote.

“While there is great merit to the city for encouraging so many voices that can be heard, as a voter I am very confused on how to vote.”

“uncoordinated scraMBle” One reason for the high number of candidates might have been the lax nomination requirements.

Currently, a candidate must only get “signatures of 25 nominators” and pay a $100 deposit to run for a municipal position.

Johnston stressed the recent changes in Vancouver’s political landscape — especially with the fall of the Vision Vancouver party — as another factor contributing to the rise in the number of candidates.

In this year’s elections, Vision Vancouver did not have a candidate for mayor and the party was almost shut out of elected office, save for the election of Allan Wong as a Vancouver School Board trustee.

“That surge in candidacies ... has to do with these larger political questions for the collapse of Vision and a sort of an emptying out of the middle,” Johnston said. “And meanwhile, a kind of uncoordinated scramble for nominations on both the left and the right.”

When it comes to voting, Johnston said that political parties help direct people to who to vote for. For future elections, he suggested that grouping the ballot by party — rather than by office — would be an effective way to simplify the voting process for voters.

“If you’re going to have a big ballot, it’s a lot easier for voters if nominees are grouped by party than by office,” he said.

But the confusion in the parties and voting isn’t likely to last long, according to Johnston.

“Municipal politics will probably congeal into a new framework over the next couple of years,” he said.

“But 2018 was this transitional and confusing moment.”

Councillor Kirby-Yung could not be reached for a comment.

The report is expected to be released in May 2019. U

4 | News | tuEsDAY December 4, 2018 Belly-up //

UBC found guilty beyond a reasonable trout for four Federal Fisheries Act violations Samantha McCabe Coordinating Editor

UBC has been convicted on four counts of violating the Federal Fisheries Act for dumping ammonia down a storm drain that led to Booming Grounds Creek, resulting in the deaths of over 70 fish.

After the refrigeration system for the ice rinks at Thunderbird Arena broke down on September 12, 2014, a solution containing ammonia was dumped down the drain during repairs.

CIMCO Refrigeration, the company that UBC contracted to manage its ice rinks, had already pleaded guilty to all charges. UBC said that it was not responsible for the discharge of the ammonia solution since it had hired CIMCO to perform this work on its behalf.

But in a November 27 decision, Judge Bonnie Craig disputed that the university exercised its due diligence. She noted that Jeff Harley, chief engineer for Thunderbird Arena, was present when a CIMCO employee dumped the ammonia and could have prevented it.

During the protracted trial, Harley testified that he asked the CIMCO employee twice whether the procedure he was following was safe, and was assured that it was.

“I have some concerns with the reliability of this evidence [from Harley],” Judge Craig said in her decision. “... He said he assumed they were following proper procedure. I believe Mr. Harley exaggerated his evidence at trial somewhat, to protect his reputation and the reputation of his employer.”

Judge Craig also found that UBC had no pollution prevention policy in place at the arena at the time of the incident and that it failed to train its employees in the prevention of pollution and proper storm sewer disposal.

In his statements to authorities just after the incident, Harley reportedly did not know that liquid waste could not be dumped in the storm sewer and his manager at the arena, Mike Ikeda, was similarly unaware.

In his statement to investigators, Ikeda said, “Anything on the environment though, I don’t know if there’s something direct that we — we’re told to do. I don’t think

there is. There’s probably something we’re supposed to read, maybe. But as far as I know, I don’t know.”

UBC’s “Pollution Prevention Storm Water and Sanitary Sewer” procedure took effect in June 2014, but was not implemented for UBC Athletics until after the September incident. Judge Craig noted the refrigeration system at Thunderbird Arena contained about 2,700 pounds of ammonia around that time.

The procedure now applies to the athletics department.

On the fourth charge, which was for failure to notify the proper authorities, UBC acknowledged that it did not report the discharge of ammonia to the appropriate officials until September 15, three days after the incident — and that was only because Environment Canada had requested a report.

“As an educational institution, I would expect UBC to have a high level of knowledge and skill levels regarding the prevention of pollution,” wrote Judge Craig.

Sentencing is set to take place on April 29 and 30, 2019 for UBC, and on March 9 for CIMCO. U

FILE CLAIRE LLOYD

Judge Bonnie Craig disputed that the university exercised its due diligence.

PWIAS saga //

Senate to look into threats to academic freedom at Peter Wall Institute, establish research committee

“The most charitable way to put it is that the optics are appalling.”

Zak Vescera News Editor

UBC’s highest academic governing body is looking into threats to academic freedom at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies (PWIAS).

The Senate’s academic policy committee is discussing if a recent directive from the PWIAS Board of Trustees contravenes the Institute’s mandate — and what Senate can do about it.

On November 20, PWIAS Director Dr. Philippe Tortell resigned in protest after PWIAS Chair and UBC President Santa Ono directed him to move the Institute’s research under existing research excellence clusters, which are pools of funding for specific research projects controlled by UBC. “The most charitable way to put it is that the optics are appalling,” said senator and mathematics

Professor Dr. Philip Loewen.

Loewen brought the concerns to the committee following a November 21 general Senate meeting, arguing the Senate should intervene if the Institute’s independence is being threatened.

The PWIAS was established by the Senate on February 16, 1994 and endowed with the equivalent of $15.4 million from Peter Wall in the form of cash, property and shares of the Wall Financial Corporation.

It is part of the UBC VP Academic portfolio, but its governance is overseen by a five-member Board of Trustees and its interdisciplinary research is explicitly independent from UBC projects. “‘Research that doesn’t happen anywhere else’ is the Institute’s founding mandate,” Loewen added.

“And research [in clusters] is 100 per cent happening somewhere else because the university has already endorsed and funded it.”

FILE ELIZABETH WANG

At the Senate meeting, Ono asserted that the clusters would not limit the PWIAS’s scholarship.

But at a Board of Governors committee meeting on November 26, it was acknowledged that the 33 existing committees have gaps in areas they fund, particularly the humanities.

Tortell’s resignation precipitated over a hundred letters from Wall Scholars and faculty concerned about academic freedom. Earlier last week, the Canadian Association of University Teachers also called for the UBC Faculty Association (UBCFA) to gather further information.

“Our concerns, as described in the letter, are largely in relation to ensuring that academic freedom is upheld and proper governing structures are in place for the implementation of the strategic plan,” said UBCFA President

Bronwen Sprout in a statement to The Ubyssey.

On November 22, Ono announced that Wall Scholars recruited for the 2019 program will not be expected to align with existing research clusters. He further clarified on November 27 that the Board “plans to develop a series of dialogues to explore opportunities to strengthen the distinctive nature of the Institute” over the next few months.

But as the Institute’s programs and independence are still at risk, Loewen says the Senate is obligated to act — even if the extent of its power in this situation is unclear.

“I worry about the Senate’s ability to do a formal investigation,” said student Senator Jeanie Malone, who sits on the academic policy committee. “... I’m not convinced the Senate has all the resources to make that happen and I’m not sure what it would find.”

Still, Loewen hopes that the committee can at least make the facts known.

“It would probably be rash to speculate,” said Loewen. “... We need to do a proper investigation, but the appearances as of this moment are that the university has opted to take that money and do something quite different from what the donor agreed.”

New committee, old problems Beyond addressing the situation at hand, senators are establishing a safeguard to respond to future concerns over research independence.

The academic policy committee is set to propose the formation of a Senate research committee at UBC

Vancouver — something which many feel is already long overdue.

“It seems like what ‘research’ means is enshrined in a number of different areas,” said Malone.

UBC is one of the only universities in Canada whose Senate does not have a research committee, meaning issues like this fall automatically to the catch-all committees like academic policy.

“I was very surprised that it somehow is the jurisdiction of academic policy,” said Malone.

“To which I have now learned that anything that doesn’t have a specific policy is academic policy.”

UBC’s Board of Governors — which deals with the financial management of the university — has a Learning and Research Committee. But UBC’s Vancouver Senate doesn’t, even though its Okanagan equivalent does.

“Research is a stated high priority for UBC,” said Loewen.

“For it to be such a front and centre element of our daily work and our Strategic plan and not have overview from the Senate is just strange. And that strangeness is multiplied when the Board of Governors has a research and learning committee.”

It’s unlikely that a research committee could become a reality until at least the next academic year. But Senators hope that a committee tasked specifically with research could at least prevent this from happening again.

“The Senate is slow-moving by design and it’s often very hard for any substantive changes in the committee structure or any number of things to happen,” acknowledged Malone.

Pending confirmation, these items are expected at the December 12 Senate meeting. U

CULTURE

DECEMber 4, 2018 tuEsday

Editor Bridget Chase

5

processing art //

Blur your senses and experience synesthesia with Ciele Beau’s An Early Funeral at the Hatch Gallery Tolu Amuwo Contributor

In November, the Hatch Gallery invited local artist Ciele Beau into its walls with a goal to unite colour and sound, immersing the viewer in her world of synesthesia. Beau is a 29-year-old freelance artist who translates her experience with this perceptual phenomenon into enthralling artwork.

“Synesthesia is a condition where the brain crossfires sensory information … for example, I see colour and shapes when I hear music,” explained Beau.

Her short explanation of the condition helped to provide a clearer understanding of the room I was entering. Peppered with an assortment of different colours and shapes, it was clear that I was going to be submerging myself into a very abstract form of art which relied on sensory experience as much as it did on my visual interpretation.

Beau’s exhibit showcased her two unique methods of design: chromatic forms and colour frequency. Colour frequency, as Beau described, is where she translates “sheet music into colour so it’s a whole piece of music on one canvas from start to finish.” Chromatic forms is an avenue “to express both the shape and the colour that [she is] seeing at the same time.”

These unique art forms were paired with a unique concept: an exhibit “commemorating all those artists that died too soon or too young,” which can be viewed while listening to a curated playlist showcasing a well-known song from each deceased artist.

The gallery was a collection of lines and colours that were fascinating on their own. But as I played the music, the exhibit took on a whole new lens. Beau’s hope for every individual walking into her gallery was for them to walk out “feeling like they understand what someone who has synesthesia is experiencing.” I could honestly say that as I walked around the gallery, I was beginning to develop that understanding.

An Early Funeral transported me to a whole new world where I was completely immersed in shapes and colours that paired perfectly with the music I was listening to. Just as Beau hoped, my visual and auditory senses began to blur and become one — and everything felt perfectly in place.

Walking through this exhibit was something that, much like synesthesia, you cannot truly describe — only experience. So go, put on your headphones and be entranced by Beau’s world of sound and colour. U An Early Funeral at the Hatch Gallery will be on display until December 15.

Chromatic forms is an avenue “to express both the shape and the colour that [Beau is] seeing at the same time.”

SAMANTHA MCCABE

Colour frequency is where Beau translates “sheet music into colour so it’s a whole piece of music on one can-

SAMANTHA MCCABE

LIZARD BRAIN WRITING //

Giller-nominated Paige Cooper on Zolitude, feminism and life after UBC

Working with what sparks your “core lizard brain” is key to her creative process.

Helena Zhang Contributor

If you know anything about the Canadian literature scene, you’ll know that being nominated for the Giller Prize is one of the biggest literary accomplishments in the country. UBC alumna Paige Cooper checked off that achievement with Zolitude, her first novel.

Published this past March, Zolitude is a collection of short stories exploring isolation and loneliness.

“I found an artist residency in Latvia,” Cooper said. “I got there and the [program] administrator said, ‘This loneliness idea, this isolation idea, have you gone to our suburb Zolitūde?”

Zolitūde is an apartment block

COURTESY ADAM MICHIELS

in the west of Latvia’s capital that was built during the Soviet era.

The name literally translates to “solitude.” This location inspired the collection’s title and helped Cooper to immerse herself in its theme.

“I feel like [when] I started writing [Zolitude] in 2012, there was just a shift that happened and I started being able to write about

what I wanted as opposed to what I thought CanLit had to be,” she said.

Cooper began allowing herself to embrace elements of the sci-fi and speculative fiction genres that she grew up reading.

“It’s such an embarrassing word, but I feel like ‘imagination’ is crucial,” she said, stressing that working with what sparks your “core lizard brain” is key to her creative process.

It’s easy to see imagination in Zolitude with the way that Cooper builds her world through prehistoric birds and time machines. The details she weaves tell us that even if it seems familiar, the world we see throughout her stories is not the one we know but one that’s gone awry.

Alongside elements of genre, Cooper also explores concepts of feminism. While Cooper notes that her personal feminism can be hyperbolic and sarcastic, her approach to feminism in her writing is very different.

“All of your emotions are useful, but the risk of getting didactic or moralizing is dangerous and it can really kill fiction. ... I try to approach [my feminism and politics] with a sense of curiosity, because fiction is ultimately about empathy,” she explained.

Cooper is one of many celebrated writers to come out of UBC’s creative writing program.

“I came out of that program with this kind of idea drilled into

me that if you do the work, if you write in Canada, one day, it’ll work out. You just have to avoid the temptation to stop writing,” she said.

That tactic has clearly proven successful, as Cooper was nominated for a Giller Prize so early on in her career.

To any young, aspiring writers out there, Cooper said that despite pressures to be published and seek validation, “that time in your artistic progression when you are experimenting ... is an incredibly fruitful and exciting part of your career.

“Take advantage of it, because you only get to do that for so long.” U

COURTESY VANESSA STAUFFER/ BIBLIOASIS

6 | CuLture | tueSDAY decembeR 4, 2018 reconciliation //

UBC updates Indigenous language guidelines document paloma hazel contributor

UBC has partnered with the First Nations House of Learning to update its language guidelines for referring to Indigenous peoples and cultures. As part of a larger university-wide commitment to reconciliation, the 17-page document provides guidance on a variety of language- and terminology-based topics.

“All of these terms carry connotations that can be functional or harmful, depending upon context and their usage by powerful social institutions such as universities makes a real difference,” wrote Dr. Linc Kesler, former senior advisor to the president on Aboriginal affairs.

Kesler underscored that the new guide is not a comprehensive treatment of the complex subject of appropriate language use. He emphasized that the terminology outlined in the guide will be subject to change and evolve on an ongoing basis.

“Indigenous,” “First Nations,” “Métis” and “Inuit.” Formal titles such as “Chief,” “Hereditary Chief ” and “Elder” should also be capitalized.

aBoriginal or indigenous “Aboriginal” is a general term that refers to First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in Canada, and is found in the Canadian constitution. Until recently, it was a preferred term, but many Indigenous people find it carries a negative association because of its government usage.

“Aboriginal” should only be used as an adjective, never as a noun.

“Indigenous” is also a general term that encompasses the same groups, and is a preferred term for international usage. In its connection to international sovereignty movements, it is more closely associated with activism than with government usage, thus it has become a preferred descriptor for many communities in Canada.

people vs peoples

specific coMMunity naMes

The first point highlighted in the guide is the difference between the terms “people” and “peoples.”

For stylistic purposes, “Aboriginal people” should be used to refer to a specific and distinct group, or when the scope of reference is clearly aggregated. “Aboriginal peoples” should be used in contexts that recognize multiple communities or a noted diversity of communities.

The document emphasizes the importance of being as specific as possible with language. Most reserve-based communities in Canada refer to themselves as “First Nations,” but specific band and community names should be used as much as possible (i.e. “Tsleil-waututh Nation” or “Squamish Nation”). Some groups, including the Musqueam, do not use “Nation” in their name.

Inuit and Métis people should never be referred to as “First Nations,” as they represent specific ethnic groups with their own social and cultural history.

Additionally, none of these groups should be referred to as “Canada’s

capitalization guidelines As far as capitalization is concerned, UBC now uses uppercase letters for the following terms: “Aboriginal,”

every effort should be made to be specific and use the correct word in any given context.

Inuit” or “Canada’s Aboriginal” people. This is offensive, as it invokes a history of paternalism and colonialism.

land acknowledgeMents UBC Point Grey campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded — not turned over to the Crown by treaty or other agreement — land of the Musqueam. The city of Vancouver is on Musqueam,

Squamish and Tsleil-waututh lands. It has become common practice to formally acknowledge this at events and in official documents.

The language guidelines state the importance of territory recognitions not being proforma. The way to avoid this, the document suggests, is for people to really think about why they are doing an acknowledgment and to recognize in their statement why it matters.

yiyAng wAng

the evolution of language The document concludes with a reiteration of the ever-evolving nature of language, and also a note that people’s fear of using the wrong word shouldn’t stifle important and necessary dialogue.

“While nuances can be challenging to understand and navigate at times,” the guide says, “every effort should be made to be specific and use the correct word in any given context.” U

filM review //

Review: White Sun depicts familial struggles in post-war Nepal karolina skupien contributor

director deepak Rauniyar’s abilities as a storyteller are tested — and proven.

couRtesy ubc himALAyA pRogRAm

White Sun, or Seto Surya in Nepali, reveals the realities of life in Nepal after its civil war between the Royalists and the Maoists.

Protagonist Chandra, who fought in the war as a Maoist, must leave Kathmandu and return back to his home village in the mountains to participate in his father’s funeral.

Upon returning, he faces his Royalist brother, along with the rest of the people in his village who all have their own opinion on Chandra’s decision to fight as a Maoist.

Director Deepak Rauniyar’s abilities as a storyteller are tested — and proven — as these complex relationships and situations resulting from the war manifest throughout the film. Rauniyar specifically concentrates on how post-war life in Nepal has affected familial relations, which inadvertently raised generational differences and questions regarding Nepali traditions, like how Chandra’s father’s funeral procession should be performed.

It also tackles the role of paternity and maternity in a young child’s life and how to reconcile affinity

between those who took opposite political sides of the war.

The predominant theme of familial struggles is what made the film so engaging for the audience.

Despite the story being a depiction of post-war Nepali life, viewers could relate their own familial struggles to the characters in the film.

The camerawork and shot compositions are another aspect of White Sun’s allure. Long and steady shots often employ shallow depths of fields and feature Nepali mountain imagery. The stylization of these shots — including my personal favourite, a young boy carrying a mine through a field of wildflowers — are a critical component of conveying the poignant mood of the film.

These thematic and cinematographic techniques, in addition to the use of contrasting characters and clever dialogue, are what allow Rauniyar to gracefully and personally recount the war’s direct and indirect effects on a wide range of Nepali people.

White Sun was shown at the Vancouver Mountain Film Festival, in partnership with the UBC Himalaya Program and the Nepal Cultural Society of BC. U

PHOTOS

Editor elizabeth wang

DECember 4, 2018 Tuesday

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POLAR BEAR SWIM

PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH WANG

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FEATURES

DECEMber 4, 2018 Tuesday

Editor moira wyton

Relsea s here h ee

Canadian universities THINGS THINGS AD things

C

handra Pasma knew the fee couldn’t be right.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) researcher had been sending freedom of information (FOI) requests to every public university in Canada, asking for data for a study with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Many universities, including UBC, had already disclosed the information for free. Now, Dalhousie University was asking for $14,000 — just to know how many contract faculty the school had hired.

“They actually sent me four years of data for free,” said Pasma.

“And then they said if you want the rest, it’s going to cost you $14,000.”

She appealed to Nova Scotia’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, the province’s oversight body for FOIs — requests for information that public institutions are beholden to answer under law.

It turns out she was right, Dalhousie had miscalculated the costs. The actual fee they were demanding was $55,000, the largest in the province’s history.

Dalhousie’s exorbitant fee is indicative of a much greater problem. Canadian universities are generating more and more information of public interest — but they’re becoming less and less willing to share it.

An influx of records Universities across Canada have been receiving more and more FOIs, ranging from requests for personal medical records to details on research partnerships.

But many universities are having trouble keeping up.

“It’s sort of a Canadian trend,” said Mike Larsen, president of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA).

As more and more people are using FOI — and as campuses continue to be the subject of interest and scandal — universities are struggling to return requests within the legal timeframe, making it difficult to hold them accountable.

Larsen says that a number of journalists and other requesters have contacted FIPA with complaints about universities, often because of poor service, ignored requests or untenable delays.

At UBC, which received a recordsetting 393 FOI requests in 2017, an average request in 2018 took 151 days to close, according to UBC Privacy and Information Counsel Paul Hancock. In BC, the default time for returning a request is 30 days.

Hancock says those delays stem both from the quantity of requests and the growing “complexity” of some inquiries for records.

“Since 2012, the number of records retrieved for each request has doubled,” said Hancock.

“Locating, retrieving, preparing, reviewing, redacting and disclosing all of these records takes time.”

Larsen says this “complexity”

aha

information of public interest — b

McGill received 160 FOI requests in 2017, compared to 114 the year before. At the University of Toronto, the number of requests nearly doubled from 54 in 2016 to 101 in 2017.

The growth in requests is likely due to increasing information literacy — namely, that more people know about FOI requests, and are more are willing to use them.

The single largest category of requester at UBC behind law firms is consistently private citizens — not journalists.

“Increasingly, we’re finding that requests for information on complex topics that have traditionally been

“People are using FOI for exactly what it was intended to do, which is to see what what

institutions are up to and how they’re making important decisions.”

— Mike Larsen, president of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association

is likely related to records that the university is unwilling or cautious about publicly disclosing — like partnerships with external organizations, contracts or investigations on sexual assault and related policy.

“These kinds of requests tend to get more scrutiny, more eyes on them,” said Larsen. “FOI officers know FOIs have a clear public exposition implications for the institution.

“So these things tend to take a little bit longer, and they’re also more complex requests — none of which is an excuse for failing to return a request within the statutory time limit.”

UBC isn’t the only university seeing an explosion in its number of requests.

8

dominated by ‘traditional media’ are now being made by private individuals,” said Hancock in a written statement to The Ubyssey.

“People are using FOI for exactly what it was intended to do, which is to see what institutions are up to and how they’re making important decisions,” said Larsen.

404 not found As Pasma learned firsthand, universities aren’t willing to easily part with that information.

She sent three FOI requests to each of the 78 publicly-funded universities in Canada. The requests were for the number of full-time tenure-track, full-time contract and part-time contract faculty broken down by department. Aside from

some being filed in French, the requests were identical.

The result was “Contract U,” a nationwide report on the number of contract faculty in academia that unintentionally reviewed the state of access to information in Canadian academia. And many schools got a failing grade.

“It’s been 18 months now since I submitted all the initial requests,” said Pasma. “And I still have about 10 outstanding appeals.”

Of the 78 institutions contacted, seven charged fees that CUPE considered inappropriate, like Dalhousie’s $55,000 figure.

Another seven refused to disclose part of the information. And eight refused or failed to provide any information outright.

Pasma says that at some schools, the failure to respond was simply a lack of capacity: many of the schools don’t have an FOI department or attach their offices directly to the office of the university counsel. They couldn’t even find the files she needed.

“The argument that one university was making was, ‘Well, we didn’t keep good records for the past 10 years,’” said Pasma. “It feels like they’re just getting out of their obligation by keeping poor records.”

Larsen says universities often have to balance a huge variety of records ranging from employment files to academic records — and usually aren’t very good at it.

“I have not known universities to be the most effective or efficient in terms of record management in my experience,” said Larsen, who is also a professor of criminology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

“FOI only works if you have records that are accessible and organized in a fashion that lends itself to retrieving,” he said. “In part [the challenges are] because of a higher volume of requests coming in, but in part it’s because of a failure to properly organize files.”

At some of the offices Pasma contacted, the FOI office was only one person who held that role concurrently with other positions.

“There’s no malice or attempt to obstruct the law or anything,” said Pasma. “It’s a tiny department with people with other responsibilities or things to worry about and the request just flew by.

“And [then] there are others

where it was really clear they were going to try everything they could to get out of fulfilling this request.”

“Allergic to accountability” Pasma describes a few methods that offices used to slow or stonewall her research: dues, denial and delays.

Some requested what she called “nuisance fees” — huge fees for providing simple records, often demanded as soon as she contacted them.

“I received a letter sent right off the bat that says ‘Sure you can have the information, that’ll be $8,000,’” she said.

Others denied to provide the records outright.

“McGill University refused right out the gate, and then wouldn’t even respond to my email when I sent a response to their refusal,” said Pasma. Their argument was that the records she requested did not already exist, therefore they weren’t obligated to collect the information.

McGill University did not respond to a request for comment.

For cases like this, organizations can be compelled to release information via an appeal to the respective province’s privacy and information commission, a process that can easily take months.

It’s a second ivory tower; institutions that create knowledge, but don’t want to share it. And it’s not just a problem at universities.

“Post-secondary institutions as a whole are allergic to accountability,” said Sean Holman, an expert on Canadian FOI law and an assistant professor at Mount Royal University.

“And this isn’t surprising. A lot of institutions across Canada, both government and other kinds of public bodies, are allergic to accountability.”

Holman says delays that occur when obtaining information from universities mirror systematic issues in the FOI system as a whole, noting that a lack of interest from the federal government and a lack of pressure from the public has allowed institutions to avoid transparency.

The most common problem with obtaining FOIs are delays, according to requesters.

In 2017, the University of Alberta

DECEMber 4, 2018 tueSDAY | features | 9

redacted

a hey

are generating more and more but they’re becoming less and less willing to share it.

Words Zak Vescera Design Chelsea Dumasal

received a slap on the wrist from the province’s privacy commissioner for the staggered release of FOI records.

That same year, UBC was

that could harm its reputation.

Joey Hansen, executive director of the Association of Administrative and Professional

“Post-secondary institutions as a whole are allergic to accountability,

and this isn’t surprising. A lot of institutions across Canada, both government and other kinds of public bodies, are allergic to accountability.”

— Sean Holman, expert on Canadian FOI law and assistant professor at Mount Royal University the seventh most-complained about public organization in BC according to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, a public oversight body that ensures the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act is properly applied.

“It does seem that UBC is in a particularly bad place,” said Larsen.

There are a number of reasons why UBC has been particularly impacted. Unlike provinces that charge fees such as Ontario, filing FOIs in BC is free. “I have no doubt that default fees, even nominal ones, would reduce the number of requests we receive,” said Hancock.

UBC is also the largest university in BC in terms of student enrolment, international ranking and endowment, which means that it’s of interest to media and the public and that it occasionally sees its fair share of scandal. The office has tripled its number of FOI staff since 2013 — but in the same period of time, the number of requests has quadrupled.

Some say that UBC is exploiting the number of requests it receives to avoid releasing files

Staff (AAPS) at UBC says the bogged-down FOI office meant he couldn’t obtain records AAPS members needed to file human rights complaints against UBC. Because the BC Human Rights code requires complaints to be filed within six months of an incident, the AAPS had to file eight requests without the potentially vital records.

“I believe it was the university using the fact that it broke one law to protect it from the fact it broke a second law,” said Hansen in a October interview with The Ubyssey.

“That’s not how the law should work.”

UBC maintains that it processes all requests in the time it takes to file them and that it has won a majority of cases before the OIPC. But Pasma noted during her research that it was often smaller institutions that were the worst at returning information.

Some offices, she said, barely acknowledged her request or required multiple follow-ups to get the information.

As of the writing of this article — 14 months after she submitted

her initial round of requests — Pasma has yet to hear from several schools.

There are multiple good reasons for barriers to access.

Some information, like personal medical records, isn’t meant to be released.

But FOI experts like Holman say these exceptions are being taken advantage of — not just by universities, but by public institutions as a whole.

He says that a lack of scrutiny from media and the public creates a vicious cycle: institutions aren’t pressured to release information, so they never get in the habit of doing it.

“One of the reasons they’re allergic to accountability is that no one is holding them accountable,” said Holman.

“If members of the news media and members of civil society are not holding those secondary institutions to account, are not asking questions of post-secondary institutions on a regular basis, the result is more resistance to that kind of questioning when it does arrive.”

2017 — but the number of files closed barely shifted.

That might be because it took measures to muzzle its most frequent requester — the student newspaper.

In January 2018, Jack Denton, the then-news editor of The Varsity, was called into a meeting the University of Toronto President’s boardroom with the school’s information officer. He demanded that Denton withdraw over 40 FOI requests The Varsity had submitted the previous year — or else.

“We were intimated with litigious language,” said Denton, the paper’s editor-in-chief.

“They discussed that if we didn’t withdraw our requests and acquiesce with making our requests in a staged manner, they would reject our standing requests, and if we appealed that through the [Information and Privacy Commission], they believed that the commissioner would actually rule in favour of them.”

Since October 2017, Denton has submitted 43 FOIs to U of T, which he says stemmed from a lack of

"Being sneaky about making FOI

requests does not seem to be the spirit of access.”

— Jack Denton, editor-in-chief of The Varsity

"Frivolous and vexatious" On the surface, nothing seems wrong with the University of Toronto’s (U of T) Access to Information and Privacy office.

The only irregularity is that the number of requests submitted suddenly doubled from 2016 to

transparency from the university and a desire to do more critical, investigative reporting.

The university didn’t share his enthusiasm. It sent a letter later that year with an ultimatum: The Varsity would have to withdraw all of its standing requests and agree to a ‘cap’ of five requests at a time.

The university cited a previous IPC order at the University of Ottawa (U of O), where an individual who had submitted dozens of requests to the school was forced to withdraw their requests and agree to a cap of one at a time.

Denton said U of T implied the requester had been a student paper — but neither The Fulcrum nor La Rotonde, the two official newspapers at the school, have such an agreement in place with the school. The IPC also confirmed that the appellant in the case was an individual, not a newspaper.

The grounds in the decision were that the requests submitted to the U of O were “frivolous and vexatious”: or essentially, that they were made in bad faith and didn’t actually request pertinent information.

Earlier this year, the Association of Canadian Journalists condemned the school for rejecting a request for an interview from a journalist at The Ubyssey on the grounds that U of T does not speak to student media beyond its own.

U of T isn’t the first school to attempt to block its student journalists from filing requests, either.

In 2014, McGill requested permission from Quebec’s privacy commissioner to disregard FOI requests from students altogether (the commissioner declined and McGill never enacted such a policy, a media representative confirmed).

U of T declined multiple requests to be interviewed for this article.

Denton insists his requests were valid, but said The Varsity agreed to the agreement because they couldn’t afford a legal battle with the school and feared it would affect their ability to report. “[Fighting it] was not really something we were in a position to do,” said Denton.

Since then, The Varsity has informally agreed to only submit five requests at a time. Denton says their staff finds ways around the strict cap.

“We have to be really sneaky about it,” said Denton, “and being sneaky about making FOI request does not seem to be in the spirit of access.” U

OPINIONS

DECEmber 4, 2018 Tuesday

Editor TRISTAN WHEELER

10

ACCOUNTABILITY //

Letter: Why we voted against the proposed tuition increases Shola Fashanu, Jakob Gattinger & Jeanie Malone Contributors

We, the elected student members of the UBC Board of Governors, voted against the proposed 2019/20 tuition increases. We understand that tuition is critical to the university’s function — it represents a majority of the revenues in our discretionary operating budget. But we disagree with this proposal on several grounds.

Firstly, we do not believe there has been a sufficient case built that these increases are necessary. As governors, we understand the need to keep up with inflationary pressure and unionized pay increases.

However, we have not — as we have requested throughout this process as early as May — been shown what the alternative would be.

We understand that it may be best to undertake such an exercise among the Board and executive only, and then report the fact that we have done so publicly. We are concerned that not regularly performing a zeroincrease assessment does not allow the Board sufficient information to properly assess this decision.

Secondly, we and past student governors have raised a number of concerns about the consultation process and communications over the years. The manner in which we conduct this consultation, the questions we ask our students and the answers we receive shows that students believe this body does not listen to their concerns. To help

”We do not believe there has been a sufficient case built to prove that these increases are necessary.”

alleviate this perception, governors requested a formal response from the administration to the students after the last consultation cycle.

Student governors suggested this include a timely formal response sent to students after the consultation 2018/19, to demonstrate that we hear their concerns, communication of financial aid alongside the consultation and a possibility of differentiating annual increases across programs, particularly for professional programs.

Although some attempts on other components have been made,

we find the communications of the response to be lacking (it was only made available on the consultation website in a secondary menu, on March 29); no financial aid resources were mentioned in the emails students received on the consultation and we cannot find any exploration of differentiation for increases per program in this year’s proposal. We find this inadequate.

Thirdly, we recognize the AMS and Students’ Union Okanagan’s submissions and concerns, and the 1,357 students who submitted comments.

Lastly, we do recognize that the university will require more funding to operate. There is the expectation that the Integrated Renewal Program (IRP) — an upgrade of finance, HR and student service IT infrastructure — will deliver some cost savings in the long run, particularly when the associated capitalized expenditures have been paid off.

Other universities have made serious commitments and launched disciplined, enterprise-wide costreduction efforts. We encourage a similar activity here, particularly one that can coexist with the IRP

FILE JOSHUA MEDICOFF

and the implementation of the IRP deliverables. We need to make sure that the cost structure benefits the academic community above all else.

We would be happy to work with the administration to establish first steps and a policy framework for this kind of initiative. U Jeanie Malone, Jakob Gattinger and Shola Fashanu are all student representatives on the UBC Board of Governors for the 2018/19 year. Malone and Gattinger both represent the Vancouver campus, while Fashanu represents the Okanagan campus.

MINDfulness //

Mind Your Mind: How to cope when having a panic attack on the bus Paced breathing

I had to use internal coping strategies rather than external ones.

Daphnée Lévesque Mindfulness Columnist

The other day, I was on my way home from work when I had a panic attack on the bus. To be fair, it was raining outside, I was sleepdeprived and I was also stressed out about meeting an important deadline.

For me, the signs of an incoming panic attack include shortness of breath, increased

heart rate and racing thoughts.

Sitting on the bus, my body slowly started feeling numb and then my muscles tensed up. I began feeling dizzy as obsessive thoughts and worries took over in my mind, and I started biting my nails in an attempt to distract myself.

The unfortunate thing about having an panic attack on the bus is that you have nowhere to run.

My social anxiety prevented me from hyperventilating in front

FILE STEPHANIE WU

of everybody. Instead, I sat there frozen, like I was about to faint.

So, how did I cope? Well, usually I deal with panic attacks using self-soothing or distracting strategies, like going for a walk outside. In this instance, I didn’t have many resources at my disposal, so I had to use internal coping strategies rather than external ones. My goal today is to share the skills I used that helped reduce my anxiety.

As I started to panic, the first thing I told myself was, “Just breathe.” Of course, if you’ve ever had a panic attack, you know how difficult that can be; you are sweating, having chills or feeling dizzy. I usually hate breathing exercises, partly because I’m an impatient person who wants to feel better now. The one advantage with paced breathing, however, is that you can do it anytime, anywhere. What works for me might not work for you, but usually, I do paced breathing using counts of four. Inhale four times, each time holding my breath for four seconds and exhaling for four seconds.

One thing that’s important to note is that for paced breathing to work, you have to give it a few minutes. More than once, I’ve tried paced breathing and given up after about 10 seconds. Calm breathing is a skill like every other and a difficult one at that.

Mindfulness The second skill that helped me was being mindful of my thoughts and surroundings. Since my panic attacks are often associated with obsessive, racing and intrusive thoughts, I find it beneficial to observe and describe my thoughts without judging them, suppressing them, or acting on them. One of my favourite tricks is to label my thoughts and remember that

they are just thoughts, nothing else. After all, thoughts are just a combination of the 26 letters and they don’t have to control your behaviours.

Sometimes I will practice mindfulness by changing the tone of voice inside my head. For instance, I will take negative or self-hating thoughts, then restate them using a different voice, like a cartoon character or celebrity. It seems silly at first, and admittedly, I’ve cracked myself up doing this more than once. Can you imagine saying, “Oh my god, what am I going to wear to my job interview in two months?” in a high-pitched voice? Or, can you imagine singing your worries away? Thoughts are not reality, and they don’t necessarily tell the truth, either.

The good news? Having a panic attack on the bus turned out to be an opportunity to practice some healthy coping skills. As soon as I got home, I put on some soothing tunes and slept, as my body felt exhausted from the surge of adrenaline. I’m sure that I will have to face many more panic attacks on public transit in the near future, but I’m also a bit more confident in my ability to cope with them. U The authors of this column are not mental health professionals. If you need additional support, please contact Student Health Services, Sexual Assault Support Centre and/or the Wellness Centre. In case of an emergency, call 911.

FROM THE BLOG

DECember 4, 2018 TUesday

Editor TRISTAN WHEELER

like it’s hot //

11

festive food //

Where to get holiday treats to Fun places to stress-eat your way through finals carelessly dump your Dropbike when you run out of time Olivia Johnson Staff Writer

With stress and finals, there’s nothing like a good holiday treat to keep your spirits high. Winter break is just around the corner, but you can try out some of these baked goods right now to help get you through these last few weeks.

Blue Chip Cookies A landmark on campus for notoriously yummy baked goods and to-die-for cookies. Their usual selection is still readily offered, but some festive classics have recently appeared too. Try a shortbread cookie or a pumpkin treat next time to spice things up. The shortbread is a personal recommendation as it’s always fresh from the oven and the perfect size. Mix one of these with a delicious eggnog latte and it’s almost as if you’re transported away from the stress of school momentarily.

Starbucks They dominate the holiday-ready cafes on campus. Even though it may seem outrageous to pay upwards of $5 for a little latte any other time of the year, for some reason those bright red cups get you feeling like you deserve the daily splurge. Not only will the right cup complete your aesthetic outfit

FILE KOSTA PRODANOVIC

A landmark on campus for notoriously yummy baked goods – Blue Chip.

during your library study sessions, Starbucks also offers the most holiday treats so far on campus.

They have cranberry sweet bars, little snowman shortbread cookies and of course the cake pops covered in snowy sugar. If you can make it through waiting in their line, you definitely deserve one of these too.

The bookstore They offer gifts, Christmas decorations and various types of chocolates and pre-packaged desserts that nowhere else on campus offers. Who would have thought? With the decor guiding you along to the numerous tables of chocolate, students can relive their childhood with little advent calendars or score on those special

Santa wrapped chocolates to destress during finals.

Loafe Loafe offers the best donuts and cozy atmosphere on campus.

Though not directly in the busy and crowded Nest, it’s mere steps away and even has a warm fire if students are lucky enough to grab seats. At this time of year, one can’t go wrong with a little donut and coffee before class. Holiday donuts are soon to appear too, not that anyone is too picky.

Though they may not all be Martha Stewart-certified, these treats are well deserved and can help bring some homey comfort to students during finals season.

Seasons eating! U

mulled wine //

Live your dreams at the Vancouver Christmas Market Lua Presidio Staff Writer

courtesy dropbike

Shake things up when your time is up and place that bike in a fountain.

Tristan Wheeler Blog & Opinion Editor

Dropbikes are wonderful. They provide us the opportunity to get around campus in a quick and sustainable way. As soon as that bike starts beeping, though, you need to ditch it fast. We’ve figured out some great places to ditch that velo without regard for the bike or those around you.

In the middle of a major walkway Give those foolish pedestrians a bit of a challenge for once! If your hour is up, you might as well just prop that baby right along Main Mall for everyone to walk around. Eventually someone will come by and need it, so it’s hardly even inconsiderate.

white branded bicycles strewn around. Using the kickstand is unnecessary. The best thing to do is to find somewhere that has been beautifully cultivated by hardworking gardeners and just toss that bad boy right onto the ground.

In a water feature Shake things up when your time is up and place that bike in a fountain. While the Martha Piper Fountain has had a brutal time recently, what are a few rented bikes going to do? Show off some finesse by getting in the fountain yourself and setting it up with the stand – people all over campus will be enamoured and think, “Why would anyone do that?”

Laying down in a campus green space

At a bike lock or any other place where people keep bikes

The Rose Garden – repeat after me – needs more orange and

Why did I include this? This is dumb and no one should do this. U

The Vancouver Christmas Market is back at downtown’s Jack Poole Plaza until December 24 with extended hours from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Inspired by the the German tradition of Christkindlmarkts, the market creates a welcoming European Christmas village environment that is a feast for all the senses. There will be over 80 vendors selling a variety of handcrafted Christmas gifts ranging from glass ornaments to artisanal soap, and food that will leave your mouth watering.

The house favourite is Glühwein, a traditional mulled wine, but there are also selected German and Austrian beers and sweet and savoury treats for all tastes.

The market also features a carousel, a walk-in Christmas tree, nightly entertainment from atop the Christmas Pyramid and a gorgeous ‘Winterdeck’ to view the water and snap pictures from. The carousel functions daily for $3 a ride or $10 for a day pass for adults and children alike. If looking for something more mature, there is always the Wunderbar where you can enjoy festive cocktails and holiday bites. However, the Wunderbar has limited capacity and works through reservation, so book your seat early to be sure to enjoy a free cocktail drink, a charcuterie board or German dessert and a souvenir Christmas market mug all included in the separate entrance fee.

For those in love, take a moment in Lover’s Lane and Love Lock

Installation where you can take your own lock or buy one on the spot. More importantly, for those in love with food, venues will be selling smaller portions at smaller prices of all the regular delicacies on December 4, giving you a chance to

try everything without exploding.

The entrance fee is $12 dollars at the door or $10 online. With an extra dollar it’s possible to purchase a season pass; or with $5 extra to purchase a non-transferable FastPass for the entrance and carousel. U

12 | FROM THE BLOG | TUESDAY DECEMBER 4, 2018 tradition //

The Dingbat: Our UBChristmas wish Tristan Wheeler Blog & Opinion Editor

After years of traditional UBChristmas, it’s time we ditched the old-fashioned traditions.

While it is transgressive to stray so far from UBCMas, it has become far too exhausting for the people of Canada to revolve the entire holiday season around a university campus in Vancouver, BC. No longer should young, urban couples have to drag themselves to the Yuletide Martha Piper baptismal fountain every year in order to be given gifts under their own personal Shadow art installation. It’s just not economical!

Going to the midnight mass readings in the Nest of Santa Ono’s medical research on inflammation in the eye is just not feasible when there are stocks to follow and cryptocurrency to accrue — not to mention the 99 is too packed at this time of year. Everyone should be able to have a normal UBChristmas this year, full of what makes the season beautiful: mass consumerism, excessive alcohol consumption and getting doctor-approved cigarettes in your stocking.

Remember when you were a child? It was comforting to have the rituals of UBChristmas; going from faculty building to faculty building, singing such UBCarols as

‘Do I want to be basing my entire winter around the second-best university in Canada?’

“We Wish You A Merry Buchanan” and drinking Liu Institute of Global Issues-nog. But now, it just feels antiquated. UBCarols play in

the Henry Angus Starbucks and you feel nothing!

People and their many children across the nation should know

ANGELA O’DONNELL

that you can have a December without feeling they need to put up a Sauder-tree to do it “according to the gospel of Trek

Magazine.” We don’t need to live to its exact word anymore! It just doesn’t make sense to buy every one of your loved ones a UBCbranded hoodie and then receive a UBC-branded hoodie from each of them. This abundance has led to UBC-branded hoodies being the most popular fabric to use as rags in this country.

While there are things that are beautiful about UBChristmas — the tuition increases are something that many have integrated into their family traditions — it will be impossible for a lot of readers to fully divorce this time of year from UBChristmas. So, don’t go throwing out all the UBC-branded hoodies you bought for your daughter! It is time that we as a society slowly let go of some of the more obsolete practices. Hopefully we can all live in a world where you don’t feel obligated to wish people a “peace of mind” every time you finish an interaction or get off a bus.

Just ask yourself, ‘Do I want to be basing my entire winter around the second-best university in Canada?’ You might just surprise yourself with what you come up with. U The Dingbat is The Ubyssey’s new humour column. You can submit completed pieces or pitches to Angela O’Donnell at a.odonnell@ubyssey.ca.

building things //

A review of the best and worst construction sites on campus like before? What will it look like afterwards? Here’s hoping we won’t all graduate without finding out.

MacInnes Field Parkade: 9/10 If you’ve ever taken a bus from UBC in your life or even just walked to the Aquatic Centre, you’ve seen the big pit in the ground. The pit itself isn’t bad — it can be fun to look down and see what’s going on. However, the thin pathway from the Aquatic Centre to the Life Building is not great, especially when you’re running to catch a bus and they’ve blocked the path to let some dumb truck through.

Hebb Seismic Upgrade: 2/10 Like the name suggests, this one is pretty boring. Nothing new is even being built, it’s just some reinforcements and restoration.

If you’re a science student and use those buildings, maybe it’s important to you, but it doesn’t really matter to the rest of us.

Gage South Student Residence: 1/10

FILE CHERIHAN HASSUN

What will it look like afterwards?

Natasha Gregg Contributor

Even if you’re not up-to-date on all the events going on around campus, there is one thing you must have

noticed: the constant construction.

If you miss the months-long restoration on the fountain like I do, you’ll want to check out these other fun sites, helpfully rated for your convenience.

Biological Sciences Building: 5/10 Everyone knows this construction site, situated across from Neville Scarfe and stretching down

University Boulevard to the bookstore. This is one of those construction sites that seem like it has gone on for time immemorial and will continue until the sun explodes. What did the building look

If you take the 84 or the 44, you may have noticed this construction site by the Student Recreation Centre. This appears to be the closest to completion of all the projects on this list. This beautiful new residence building stands over you as you’re waiting for the 44, reminding you of the email you got when you applied for housing in second year and were number 1,650 on the waitlist. U

SCIENCE

DECEMBER 4, 2018 tuesday

Editor JAMES VOGL

13

Sweet sweet science //

Study: The origins of chocolate may be up to 1,500 years earlier than previously thought

CLAIRE LLOYD

Going forward, the study also acts as an eye-catching pivot point with regard to future studies on Indigenous tree crops worldwide.

Lucy Fox Sports Editor

It’s one of the world’s favourite holiday treats and, thanks to a team of researchers including some from UBC, we can now date its origins back 1,500 years earlier than originally thought: chocolate or, more specifically, cacao.

The research team also discovered that cacao was originally domesticated in South America, a little farther below the equator than previously suggested.

“Today we all rely, to one extent or another, on foods that were created by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas,” said the Head of UBC’s Department of Anthropology Michael Blake in the study’s press release. “And one of the world’s favourites is chocolate.”

Prior to the study, entitled “The use and domestication of Theobroma cacao during the midHolocene in the upper Amazon,” in Nature Ecology & Evolution, archeologists estimated that cacao use dated back 3,900 years and was domesticated in Central America.

Researchers, including Blake, managed to redate Theobroma cacao — more commonly known as the cacao tree — back between 5,300 and 2,100 years ago thanks to three specific lines of evidence

in ceramic artifacts found in Santa Ana-La Florida, Equador.

These lines of evidence were the presence of cacao tree starch grains in pottery from their investigated area, residue of theobromine — a bitter alkaloid found in the cacao plant but not its wild relatives — and fragments of ancient DNA sequences unique to the cacao tree.

The site where the artifacts were found is the earliest known site of Mayo-Chinchipe culture, and was occupied as early as 5,450 years ago.

Dr. Sonia Zarrillo, the study’s lead author and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Calgary, said in the press release that the findings represent a methodological innovation in anthropological research.

“For the first time, three independent lines of archaeological evidence have documented the presence of ancient cacao in the Americas: starch grains, chemical biomarkers, and ancient DNA sequences.

“These three methods combine to definitively identify a plant that is otherwise notoriously difficult to trace in the archaeological record because seeds and other parts quickly degrade in moist and warm tropical environments.”

Cacao itself was a culturally important crop in pre-Columbian

Mesoamerica — a historical region and cultural area in North America that extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica. Cacao beans were used both as currency and to make the chocolate drinks consumed during feasts and rituals.

As some of the artifacts from Santa Ana-La Florida have links to the Pacific coast, though, the researchers suggested that trade of goods, including culturally important plants, could have started cacao’s voyage north when explorers and traders latched onto it and brought it into the European eye.

“From there it took off and became a phenomenally important drink and commodity and eventually a confection, flavouring, that we more or less take for granted around the world today,” Blake said.

Their results surrounding the starch grains within the pottery also identified that the populations in South America were grinding the cacao seeds for things like beverages.

“The chances of finding starch grains in the pottery would be pretty limited if people were just, say, breaking [the cacao] open and

taking the pulp,” Blake said.

“So that gave us a clue. The theobromine, we wouldn’t know whether necessarily it was just coming from the pulp or the seeds or a combination of both, but finding the starch grains means that they for sure were using the seeds.”

All told, the study represents another important milestone in dating the history of one of the world’s favourite treats.

“Knowing how our human ancestors interacted with plants over thousands of years, maintaining forest diversity without destroying the forests is something we want to learn about,” Blake said.

“We want to learn how they interacted with plants, not just crops like corn or potatoes … but how they interacted with animals in these environments and tree crops.

And since we are all very interested in chocolate today, it’s one where not only do we find some interesting information about this really crucial and economically and culturally important crop to people all around the world today, but it also tells us about its origins and its history, and how might that help us understand better our long-term history of human interaction in these tropical forests that might in some way contribute to their better protection or understanding.”

Going forward, the study also acts as an eye-catching pivot point with regard to future studies on Indigenous tree crops worldwide.

By researching a crop that will be of interest to many, the study allows for further research surrounding those that may not be as ‘sexy’ of a story for the masses.

“We know that there are many many species of plants and animals in places like Amazonia. If we think about some of the key tree species, scientists are discovering what many Indigenous societies and cultures have long known, that these various species have huge importance and implications,” Blake said. “[Their chemicals] can be useful for humans in all sorts of ways including treating diseases and allowing us to understand the chemical compounds that have yet to be discovered that might do a lot of good in all sorts of aspects of modern medicine.

That’s just one dimension where we can say, ‘That makes it worthwhile trying to understand as much as we can about the genetic, chemical and bioecological diversities of these environments,’ and knowing their history is part of it.”

Sometimes, science is incredibly sweet. U

sports+rec

decembeR 4, 2018 tueSDAY

editoR LUCY FOX

14

sport science //

UBC researchers among several investigating concussion prevention through NFL-funded initiative Brendan smith staff writer

It’s one of the hottest topics in sport currently, and UBC researchers are getting support to study the controversial issue thanks to National Football League (NFL) funding: concussions.

The three-year program involves researchers from nine Canadian universities, including UBC representatives and led by kinesiology researcher Carolyn Emery from the University of Calgary, and will investigate concussions in youth sport with the goal of developing strategies to properly prevent, diagnose and treat the notorious injuries.

The initiative, named the SHRed (Surveillance in High Schools to Reduce Concussions and Consequences of Concussions in Youth) Concussions program, was recently granted $12 million in funding by the scientific advisory board of the NFL. “We are very grateful to the NFL for funding this unique groundbreaking project that brings together the best of Canada’s concussion researchers toward a comprehensive strategy in concussion prevention, diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr. Cheryl Wellington, a professor in UBC’s faculty of medicine who is leading the national blood biomarker network for the program at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, in a press release.

The three-stage program will evaluate Canadian high school athletes in sports like ice hockey and football where concussions are prevalent. The researchers will be tasked with assessing symptoms of concussed athletes to better understand the nature of the injuries so more effective diagnostic methods can be created.

“Concussions are difficult to diagnose and treat,” said Dr. Paul van Donkelaar, a professor at UBC’s Okanagan campus and one of the researcher involved in the program, in a press release.

“Our research has shown that they can disrupt the flow of blood to the brain, altering the supply of oxygen, glucose and nutrients.

This can affect the brain’s ability to function, causing symptoms like headache, dizziness and blurred vision.”

The program announcement comes on the heels of several legal cases involving concussions in professional sports.

Recently, the National Hockey League (NHL) reached a tentative settlement with retired players who sued the league over how it dealt with concussions. The athletes accused the NHL of withholding information about the consequences of repetitive brain injuries and failing to provide the necessary resources to prevent them.

The retired players who filed the lawsuit will each receive a share of $19 million to help cover

Home

Score

the medical costs from the side effects of their concussions.

This is nowhere near the $765 million that the NFL gave its former players for medical treatment back in 2013.

The NFL is especially a lightning rod for criticism on the topic. Since Dr. Bennet Omalu first discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the brain of late Pittsburgh Steelers centre Mike Webster, the league has been defending its sport as the evidence continues to suggest that football is one sport where concussions are particularly prevalent.

According to the SHRed's press release, although professional sports do receive most of the publicity around concussions, youth sports are annually responsible for more than half of the concussions diagnosed in Canada and the United States.

The goal then will be for the researchers to gain a greater understanding of the nature of concussions not only to help professional athletes, but also to make youth sports safer. Statistics Canada estimates around half of children between the ages of 5 and 14 annually participate in sports.

FiLe eLLA chAn

Fortunately, the program appears to have the brain power to dive into the issue.

“This project brings together leading sport and injury prevention researchers across Canada to educate children, youth and their families about concussion,” said Dr. Ian Pike, director of the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit at BC Children’s Hospital and professor in UBC’s faculty of medicine, in the press release.

“This work will not only save lives, but keep our kids active and healthy.” U

Notice of Development Permit Application - DP 18048

Fixtures Sport

the study will look at sports where concussion is highly prevalent, like football and ice hockey.

Away

Friday, November 30

Public Open House

TRIUMF - Institute of Advanced Medical Isotopes (IAMI)

Volleyball (M)

Mount Royal

3-1

UBC

Join us on Tuesday, December 11 to view and comment on the proposed 3,400m2, 5-level (2 levels below grade) Institute of Advanced Medical Isotopes (IAMI) at TRIUMF, Canada’s National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics.

Ice Hockey (W)

Lethbridge

2-1

UBC

Date: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 Times: 4:30 - 6:00PM Place: Reception, TRIUMF Administration Building, 4004 Wesbrook Mall

Basketball (W)

UBC

101-67

Mount Royal

Ice Hockey (M)

UBC

0-3

Lethbridge

Basketball (M)

UBC

94-77

Mount Royal

Saturday, December 1 Volleyball (M)

Mount Royal

3-0

UBC

Ice Hockey (M)

UBC

4-3

Lethbridge

Ice Hockey (W)

Lethbridge

0-3

UBC

Rugby (M)

UBC

26-27

UBCOB Ravens RFC

Basketball (W)

UBC

95-72

Mount Royal

Basketball (M)

UBC

113-83

Mount Royal

Plans will be displayed for the proposed IAMI building to accommodate a new TR-24 cyclotron and integrated lab and office space. IAMI will support medical isotope production and research into next-generation medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals.

Representatives from the project team and Campus + Community Planning will be available to provide information and respond to inquiries about this project.

For further information: Please direct questions to Karen Russell, Manager, Development Services karen.russell@ubc.ca 604-822-1586 This event is wheelchair accessible.

Can’t attend in person? Online feedback will be accepted until December 18, 2018. To learn more or to comment on this project, please visit: planning.ubc.ca/vancouver/projects-consultations

DECEmber 4, 2018 tueSDAY | sports+REC | 15 NAMES TO NOTE //

November’s Athlete of the Month: Women’s volleyball libero Sam Patko

Scott Young Staff Writer

As the women’s volleyball team took to the floor on November 9, a familiar face was welcomed back by her teammates. Fifth-year libero Sam Patko brought her veteran presence to the hardwood in a 2018/19 mid-season debut, inspiring greater confidence in the team’s defensive play that continues to have lasting effects a month on.

That night, UBC dominated the first set, only conceding 15 points. It wouldn’t be a great return without a little adversity, though — the ’Birds would drop the second set in extra points.

The team’s defensive play recovered in the third and the Thunderbirds squeaked out the fourth, clawing out the team’s third win of the season which marked the beginning of its ascent to the 7-5 record it holds going into the winter break.

It was a successful return for Patko, too, with 18 digs to open her campaign. Since then, she has climbed up in the stats quickly as she looks to lead the team in digs for the fourth straight year.

Patko led the team in digs her first four games back and continues to lead the team in digs per set. Her veteran presence has settled the back of the court for UBC, giving opposing teams less court to strike.

Before Patko returned, the ’Birds were struggling at 2-4. With her back in the lineup, they have gone 5-1.

A competitive, driven individual, Patko initially declined a return for a fifth and final T-Bird season to focus on her grades to apply for nursing school. After watching UBC’s first few games this year, though, she knew she couldn’t stay away.

“It took me coming to a game and seeing it live to realize how much I missed it. It was weird, I felt myself — especially with the liberos — ... going for balls with them or [thinking], ‘Oh no, read that the other way. What are you doing?’ Even from the sideline, I felt like I was in the game and that I wanted to be in it,” she said.

Hard work is the name of the game for the East Vancouver local, who admittedly didn’t think she was even going to play postsecondary volleyball to begin with.

She received a text from Katie Crawford — a former libero (a defensive specialist) for the ’Birds — about coming out to a practice and initially didn’t process the invitation as a tryout.

“It was definitely a big surprise for me. I always of course dreamed of it, but being smaller and coming from a small high school in East Van, I never thought that I would be here.

It was a big surprise, definitely something I’ve been blessed with — to come to such an awesome program, awesome school, that has the record it does and the people involved that it does.”

With Patko back in the lineup, women’s volleyball has coasted on a 5-1 November record.

After UBC brought her in for a practice, she knew she wanted to stay.

In her rookie year, her game grew with help from her teammates. Now, Patko is in the role she once idolized. She also

feels a sense of leadership in her defensive role, which only adds to her skillset.

“As much as [the other liberos] learn from me, I also learn from them. We all have different experiences to come in

This will be Patko’s fifth and final year with the Thunderbirds.

RYAN NEALE

and share,” Patko said, while also acknowledging her role in helping bring the new girls through the ranks. “Those little things that probably took me until third year to figure out, it’s nice to be able to help them out with little things

FILE ELIZABETH WANG

... I think that we have gained the relationship of being able to talk to each other. So that’s been super awesome so far.”

Patko is a “hard work pays” type of person — she’s worked for every success she has had.

Being the shortest player on the team at 5’ 6,” she thrives on pushing herself and showing her worth. Self-described as “small and feisty,” she grew up in in a competitive sporting world. Her passion for volleyball came from her sister’s love for the game, being around her sister’s games fetching balls and idolizing her older sibling as many do. Her own volleyball career began at five years old, with her club involvement beginning in Grade 9.

Those years of competitive play ingrained her into the volleyball sphere, but it wasn’t her only athletic endeavour in high school. In fact, her other pursuits could have been part of her other university options.

“In high school I played basketball until Grade 11, I also played soccer until Grade 10, [and] I actually wrestled until Grade 9. I think that if I didn’t play volleyball, I would probably be wrestling still,” Patko said. She enjoyed the technical aspects and the toughness of the grappling sport, though the quickness of volleyball and the team atmosphere are what swayed her to the court.

In terms of academics, Patko’s inspiration to pursue nursing came from spending a lot of time around her grandparents as a kid.

When they moved into a home, she continued to visit them frequently.

“I love old people, I think they are way cooler than everybody else. They just have such amazing stories to tell you,” she said. “Just to see them grow and the little joys that you can bring them to make their day — even if you bring them a cup of tea and you know exactly what they want in it — the light that shines on their faces is amazing. I love the joy it brings me.”

Patko started as a volunteer at a senior’s home in December 2017 and was offered a job after just a few months. As busy as she is today, balancing school, work and volleyball, she wouldn’t have it any other way. And, as always, she has set high expectations for this year, both for volleyball and for school.

On one hand, she hopes to continue her studies in the UBC nursing program going forward, once she completes her current requirements. On the other hand, Patko hopes to help the ’Birds to the Canada West finals and back to nationals — something she whole-heartedly believes her team is capable of. In her previous four seasons with the ’Birds, she has never missed a nationals tournament and has no plans to alter that tradition now.

“Even seeing the growth of the team in the last three weeks, I think it’s totally doable and our team has the ability to get there.” U

16 | GAMeS | tueSDAY decembeR 4, 2018

couRtesy bestcRosswoRds.com

crossword puzzle across 1- box office hit; 5- opponent; 9- surrealist salvador; 13- Rent-___; 14- Join in wedlock; 16- dentist’s request; 17- comin’ ___ the Rye; 18- this is only ___; 19- 1492 vessel; 20- before long; 21- mighty ___ a Rose; 22- deceive; 24- hard work; 26- cracker topper; 27- gaze intently; 29- Keeper of the holsteins; 33- christian writings;

34- south American country, famous for machu picchu; 35- stuffing herb; 36- game with skip cards; 37- poisonous fluid; 38- watchdog warning; 39- Ladder step; 41- ___ go bragh!; 42- walk-on role; 44- stuttering; 46- pond scum; 47- Adjective-forming suffix; 48- Juan’s water; 49- 1992 wimbledon champ; 52- south American tuber; 53- wall st. debuts; 57- Very dry champagne; 58- try to bite; 60- tree house;

mAged

61- “Venerable” english monk; 62- stare angrily; 63- garage event; 64- not “fer”; 65- corrida cheers; 66- 1982 disney film; down 1- cave dwellers; 2- cuatro doubled; 3- gambling game; 4- A lobe or full type of assault; 5- charlotte ___, Virgin islands; 6- birth-related; 7- difficult journey;

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8- Apr. addressee; 9- Asses; 10- ...baked in ___; 11- director Riefenstahl; 12- ___ instant; 15- Rare metallic element; 23- televise; 25- mined mineral; 26- member of the nobility; 27- nasal cavity; 28- steak order; 29- Fabric of jeans; 30- molten material; 31- be of one mind; 32- Adopted son of claudius; 33- dinner faux-pas;

34- As such; 37- A thin net for veils; 40- sparkle; 42- Actor gulager; 43- contrary to; 45- barbell abbr.; 46- playing marbles; 48- without ___ in the world; 49- “dancing Queen” group; 50- golfer norman; 51- bmw rival; 52- Aussie gemstone; 54- Fleshy fruit; 55- capital of norway; 56- type of gun; 59- un agency;

U

happy holidays!

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