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The effects of the MMIWG National Inquiry at UBC

OPINION

From then to now, LGBTQ reactions on campus

A debate on mandatory participation

New funding for gambling research

A national celebration: relishing the Raptors win

THE UBYSSEY

RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY HOW UBC PREPARES FOR ITS OWN DESTRUCTION

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juNE 25, 2019 TuesdAY

yOur GuIDE tO uBc EVENts & PEOPLE

eVenTs

2

our Campus

Dr. Ayesha Chaudhry is fulfilling her own standards of excellence WEDNEsDAy, juLy 10 uBC CHamBer orCHesTra FesTiVal WiTH JonaTHan girard 7:30 P.M. @ cHAN sHuN cONcErt HALL Girard conducts the uBc chamber Orchestra, featuring the second place winner from the VsOI concerto competition.

tHursDAy, juLy 18 THe HoT Teas 9 A.M. tO 1 P.M. @ rOsELINE sturDy AMPHItHEAtrE the Hot teas are a Vancouver-based a cappella group singing everything from pop to indie to electronic music.

juLy 17, 18, 19 BlueBerry FesT / green eVenT 9 A.M. tO 1 P.M. @ uBc BOOkstOrE PLAZA Made with love with Bc blueberries.

Featuring local, uBc Farm ingredients, cooking demos, samples and recipes

on THe CoVer CoVer By Maya Rodrigo-Abdi

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

u THE UBYSSEY

juNE 25, 2019 | VOLuME cI| IssuE II

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cOurtEsy AyEsHA cHAuDHry

“I’m old school, okay?” chaudhry said, laughing as she describes the process of writing her latest book — entirely by hand.

riya Talitha contributor

The National Research Council. The Royal Society of Canada. Harvard’s Radcliffe Fellowship. These are a few of the institutions that have recognized Dr. Ayesha Chaudhry for her academic excellence.

And she almost didn’t go to university.

As a high school senior in her hometown of Toronto, Chaudhry saw no use in studying Islam under people who weren’t what she saw as “real Muslims.” That was, until she was cornered by the only teacher of colour at her school, someone intent on changing her mind.

Her teacher put it bluntly when he told her that if she didn’t attend university, she would be “wasting her brains.”

Shocked, offended and convinced, Chaudhry decided to send out her applications and see what came of it. With acceptance letters piling up, it seemed Chaudhry was meant to go on to post-secondary, after all.

Now an associate professor of Islamic studies and gender studies at UBC, Chaudhry has learned to love every part of academia — from speaking and teaching to writing, collaboration and research.

“I’m old school, okay?” she said, laughing as she described the process of writing her latest book — entirely by hand.

Academia and the quest for tenure can be solitary pursuits, but Chaudhry says that she has been kept company by “informal networks of people … who are amazing and who I get to collaborate with and be inspired by.”

In the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, she enjoys being “part of a community of scholars,” also teaching Islamic Studies in the Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies department.

Earlier in her career she taught Islamic history and was made to teach Middle Eastern

history at a liberal arts college in New York.

Beyond the somewhat lumpedtogether feeling she had from the college telling her to teach those two courses, she discovered that the campus library had no books relevant to her discipline.

As a result, Chaudhry made extensive use of the Inter-Library Loan system to get the Qur’anic commentaries and Islamic legal texts that she needed. That was, until she received an email from the college’s librarian, saying, “‘you’re ordering a lot of books in a foreign language … it’s a little scary.’”

Chaudhry was so distraught by this encounter that she ended up using off-campus libraries despite it being a drain on her time and energy.

“I feel like now, if that happened, I would rather laugh than cry about this … because there’s something so comical that a librarian would say that the books you’re ordering are scary to her.”

Her academic experience wasn’t all bad. Her first book, Domestic Violence and the Islamic Tradition: Ethics, Law, and the Muslim Discourse on Gender, made waves in her academic community, garnering enough attention to warrant multiple print runs.

She credits her series editor at Oxford University Press with “cultivating my voice.”

He encouraged her to use her personal relationship with the subject matter and his belief in her meant that she wasn’t pressured to produce it before it was ready — even when that meant submitting two years after the deadline.

In her recent article in the Oxford Handbook of Islamic Law, Chaudhry spoke of the research methodologies of the discipline, even critiquing the way she wrote her first book.

“I was fulfilling standards of excellence that were really problematic and I did really well, but I talk about what was lost in that process.”

Chaudhry said her initial experience with academia was “learning to speak about my traditions in a foreign language, learning to answer questions that I didn’t care about … but that whiteness was interested in, because my own questions weren’t authentic or theoretically rigorous enough.”

Chaudhry has never shied away from asking difficult questions either.

From her first book onwards, she has grappled with the incredibly delicate balancing act of critiquing the practices and texts of her own community and faith, despite them being marginalized ones.

“PR Islam, public relations Islam is a flat, one-dimensional, sterilized version of Islam, that sweeps everything under the rug … and [that is] deeply problematic.”

Chaudhry believes that having “internally critical conversations in [the] community,” while hard and painful, is integral.

She prides herself on remaining active, whether that be through advising the UN on how to promote sexual health education in Islamic countries, being an expert opinion in the media or participating in local advocacy.

But, to her, what she does at UBC goes beyond all of this.

She strives to not just improve the nature of academia, but to re-imagine it by allowing her students to come up with their own discussion questions, inclass opportunities to teach and learn as a community.

Chaudhry also doesn’t believe that “safe spaces” can truly exist in a society entrenched in inequality, but that doesn’t stop her from having a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and hate speech.

“I’m not afraid of discomfort … when my students see that I’m not scared then they see that they don’t have to be as scared … running from things that make you uncomfortable doesn’t make things better.” u

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juNE 25, 2019 TuesdAY

EDItOrs HENRY ANDERSON AND EMMA LIVINGSTONE

Video learning //

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The right to a ‘bad hair day’: Will lecture recordings catch on at UBC? Jen McCutcheon is the new director of Electoral Area A

Charlotte alden contributor

Pausing, rewinding, speeding up, slowing down.

When attending a typical lecture, students have no such way to adjust it to their learning style.

But with lecture capture systems that film lectures and then publish them online and other forms of recording, students can.

Lecture recording and lecture capture became a topic of conversation during this year’s AMS elections. Nick Pang, who ran for VP Academic and University Affairs and successfully won a seat on Senate, focused his campaign on the idea of implementing lecture capture throughout UBC. Pang also works under the AMS presidential portfolio as the executive projects assistant for policy and governance.

As a student in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, all of Pang’s class lectures are recorded and then made available online.

“Getting content should be convenient to the student, if it’s just content,” Pang said.

Many other universities in Canada use lecture recording technology. At McGill University, professors can request to have their lectures recorded, and at Simon Fraser University, audio recording is available in all rooms, while video recording technologies are built in to a few specific rooms.

According to Shaun Filwok, the Senior Manager at Audio Visual Services, lecture recording has existed at UBC for ten years, but its use is limited to specific faculties and special events.

“Currently on campus there are a total of 40 media recorders installed in a variety of classrooms across different faculties,” Filwok wrote in a statement to The Ubyssey. “The Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Sauder School of Business are a few of the largest users of media capture services.”

Many of the technologies needed for expanding lecture capture are in place, but Pang’s concern is “why they [aren’t] being utilized, and what we could do to get them to start being used.”

When The Ubyssey reached out to students online, many expressed support for expanding lecture capture and lecture recordings.

Reddit user Bigmaq wrote, “It offers me the freedom to speed up the lecture if it is slow, pause it to take clearer notes, and to replay key sections so that I actually grasp the context. Having them recorded also means that I don’t immediately fall behind if I miss a day of lectures for whatever reason.”

Others echoed that it allows them to adjust the lecture speed to match their learning style and go over particularly difficult concepts.

“Lecture recordings are a godsend at the end of an eight hour day, when you’re struggling to stay focused,” user PeachBBT wrote. “Also [they’re] really good for double-checking your notes when lecturers are unclear or going too fast.”

ZuBAIr HIrjI

Preliminary results show about nine per cent of the electorate voted.

Henry anderson News Editor

MAyA rODrIGO-ABDI

Lecture recording has existed at uBc for ten years, but its use is limited to specific faculties and special events.

BasiC issues Lecture capture isn’t without drawbacks. Decreases in attendance, intellectual property rights, and the expensive costs of equipment are all causes for concern.

But Pang thinks a decrease in attendance may actually benefit the university.

The University of California, Berkeley has taken lecture recordings into consideration when scheduling space for some classes, assuming that some students will not attend class because of the recordings. Seating is first-come, first-serve and those who don’t get a seat or decide not to show up at all can watch recordings online.

Pang said by increasing lecture recording and adopting this mentality, UBC could solve their issue of academic space.

“When students are sick, they don’t have to drag themselves out of bed and show up to class and fill up the lecture hall when the university can put a class of 300 in a lecture hall of 200,” he said.

“That can save a lot of space for the university.”

But professors are also concerned about protecting their intellectual property.

“Intellectual property” is defined in UBC’s Intellectual Property Guide as “any form of knowledge or expression created with one’s intellect.”

While much of that intellectual property belongs to the university, “copyright and other intellectual property rights to scholarly and literary works — including books, lecture notes, laboratory manuals, artifacts, visual art and music — produced by those connected with the university belong to the individuals involved.” Recording lectures would therefore require the specific consent of lecturers.

French and Medieval Studies lecturer Juliet O’Brien expressed concerns about the ownership of the videos and how they’re going to be used.

“What does the university do with these videos? Are they going to take out little clips? How are they going to use them?” she said.

Privacy issues also come into play. O’Brien said that the university should respect a faculty member’s desire not to be recorded.

“People teach in very different ways. Some people are very anxious, some people teach in a very ‘here are my notes’ way,” O’Brien said.

Just like how some lecturers may not want to be recorded, O’Brien emphasized the issue of student intellectual property and privacy as well. “[If a class was being recorded,] you would need to have consent of the students, if you have a class where you’ve got more interaction,” O’Brien said.

She also expressed concerns about how recording could negatively impact student participation in class, especially in foreign language courses. “... You’re trying to make this a safe environment where they can say whatever they like, where they can make mistakes in their French, and nobody’s going to watch it afterwards,” said O’Brien.

Videos as a learning resourCe While computer science professor Gregor Kiczales doesn’t think that lecture capture should be widely implemented, he did stress the importance of using video in teaching.

“If what you mean by lecture is sort of a traditional lecture where somebody stands up and talks for a while, I’m not sure you’re adding anything by making a video

capture of that. You’re certainly not using video to make anything better than bad recording,” Kiczales said. “The real thing I think we figured out in the last five years [is that] you can do much more with video than just recorded a traditional lecture.”

Kiczales and the computer science department employ a ‘flipped-classroom’ method, where they distribute video explanations of some of the most complex topics and allow time in class for working on assignments and asking questions.

O’Brien said that video recordings can also be useful for evaluating how students speak in foreign languages.

“If you try to have an oral exam, it would take up quite a lot of time,” she said. Instead, she assigns students to film themselves speaking French in creative ways, such as putting on fashion shows or conducting cooking tutorials.

THe BoTTom line Even with much of the technology available, UBC has yet to fully expand the scope of lecture recording, and the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology didn’t comment on the potential for expansion going forward. Faculty skepticism may be a major reason.

O’Brien emphasized the need to “take care” when using this technology, and while it’s not a tool to be thrown out entirely, she does have a personal preference.

“I would much rather have audio than video,” O’Brien said.

“You have a basic right to having bad hair days.”

“I’m not against [lecture capture],” Kiczales said, “I just think that if the university is going to spend money doing something, there are much more interesting things to do with video.” u

Winning 80 per cent of the vote, Jen McCutcheon was elected director of Electoral Area A (EAA) in the June 15 by-election.

“I’m super excited and relieved,” said McCutcheon on Monday.

As EAA director, she will represent UBC, the University Endowment Lands and other rural areas on the Metro Vancouver Board and the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation. Her platform focused on the sustainability of those communities.

“I want to see my kids be able to afford to live and have a future in the region that is stable, [so] I look forward to ... having a voice at the table to look at the way that the region is growing, developing, protecting the environment and looking at climate action,” said McCutcheon.

While the results were not finalized until Wednesday at 4 p.m., preliminary results released on June 15 showed about nine per cent of the electorate voted.

“In an area where we have no governance, I think regional politics are not really front and centre on people’s radar,” said McCutcheon in an interview with CBC News.

McCutcheon first learned about the by-election when previous Director Maria Harris encouraged her to run last summer.

“This was a career shift for me. I was first approached about it last August and thought, ‘Gosh!’

That’s not something I either had time at that stage or the knowledge to look into,” she said.

Alongside past Alternate Directors Mike Feeley and Bill Holmes, Harris endorsed McCutcheon in the by-election and supported her throughout her candidacy.

“I would not be here today if it wasn’t for their support,” said McCutcheon.

Now that she’s won, McCutcheon is eager to get to work, but she doesn’t expect it to be easy.

“I’m already getting more involved ... in meetings and speaking with people to continue to get up to speed with some of the issues,” she said. “It’s going to be a steep learning curve, and I’m really excited to dive in.” u

4 | NeWs | TuesdAY juNE 25, 2019 FirsT naTions longHouse //

UBC holds conference on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls National Inquiry Henry anderson News Editor

Shortly after the release of the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), the First Nations House of Learning hosted a two-day conference that featured the inquiry’s Chief

Commissioner Marion Buller as its keynote speaker.

The event, “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: An Epidemic Crossing the Medicine Line,” took place from June 10-11 in collaboration with Georgetown University.

With Indigenous speakers from various backgrounds — elders, politicians, scholars, survivors

and performance artists — it compared the effects of MMIWG on both Canada and the United States and how each country is working to address the problem.

A member of the Mistawasis First Nation, Buller emphasized the human side of her work for the National Inquiry, thanking survivors who came forward to tell their stories.

“We’re holding a mirror up to Canada,” she said, encouraging the audience to read the report — especially its 231 actionable Calls to Justice.

“We have to know the truth before we can get to reconciliation.”

First Nations House of Learning Director Margaret Moss agreed.

“I know it’s like 1,200 pages, [but] read it! Before everybody starts with their comments of ‘too much money was spent’ or whatever the things you see. Read what’s in it,” she said.

academic and the executive director of the Sovereign Bodies Institute, followed with an explanation of her work compiling the MMIW Database. The database tracks cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people since 1900.

For Sofia Santamaria, a fifthyear double major in history and political science, the conference was raw and personal.

“It wasn’t your typical academic conference,” said Santamaria.

“It was affected family members, it was activists of communities, it was people coming forward and saying, ‘Hey, I was forced away from my family when I was six years old. I was taken and put into a forced foster care system, and after that, I saw how the violence was repeated in my family as a cycle.”

Because of its traumatic subject matter, three counsellors were available throughout the day to support speakers and attendees.

noT ‘your TypiCal aCademiC ConFerenCe’

‘Causing a disTurBanCe’

A member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota, Moss came to UBC in 2018 after spending much of her career in the US. She admitted that when she first arrived in BC, she didn’t even know a Canadian National Inquiry into MMIWG existed.

After the final report came out on June 3, Moss said she was inspired to host an event that would spread similar awareness to the US. “It’s important to recognize that it’s even happening,” said Moss.

“For instance, in the US, I could probably go through 12 states and ask people, ‘Did you know that there are missing and murdered Indigenous people?’

They wouldn’t know. I bet you the first hundred people I talk to, they wouldn’t even know.”

Another keynote speaker Ruth Buffalo, who is also a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota and the first Native American woman to be elected to the North Dakota State Legislature, shared Moss’s sentiment. In her speech, she talked about her journey to power and her struggle to make the issue of MMIWG better understood among her colleagues.

Annita Lucchesi, a Cheyenne

DAkOtA BIrD ANDErBErD

The event was temporarily derailed when a verbal altercation broke out between Franz-Edward Kurtzke, a men’s rights activist and philosophy major, and other attendees.

During question periods with the keynote speakers, Kurtzke asked questions that some audience members found disrespectful. Santamaria said that while Kurtzke’s questions may have been well-intended, it was not the proper time or place for debate. “[He first asked Chief Commissioner Buller], ‘Why are we talking about missing and murdered women, when men die too?’... right after [another] lady had cried because her sister had been murdered,” she said.

He later asked Buffalo why Indigenous missing and murdered cases deserve special attention, a question that she mentioned she often hears from colleagues, but didn’t answer explicitly in her speech. Both Buller and Buffalo answered Kurtzke’s questions without incident.

When two women from the audience confronted Kurtzke during a break, he said he was being targeted as a white man.

Moss and other event organizers then asked Kurtzke to leave, but he refused and continued to resist when Campus Security arrived.

“On June 10 an incident occurred and an individual was subsequently asked to leave by staff and Campus Security.

RCMP were contacted when that individual refused the request,” wrote Acting Director of Campus Security Ali Mojdehi in a statement to The Ubyssey.

Kurtzke said his refusal was based on principles of “civil disobedience,” and that he was expelled because he questioned the MMIWG narrative. “[They]’re ganging up on me.

[They]’re bullying me, because [they] don’t like what I’m saying.

[They] don’t like the things I’m asking as a trained philosophy student in university,” said Kurtzke in an interview.

When RCMP arrived and told him to leave, Kurtzke refused.

RCMP then handcuffed him and walked him out of the building.

“He was causing a disturbance and there was also mischief involved, so his stated goal was, he told us, to be arrested. He wanted to make a point,” said Constable Ian Sims, an officer on the scene.

Kurtzke claimed he had been charged with mischief by the Crown, but the RCMP said no charges were filed.

“He said, ‘I don’t have any intention of going back. I just wanted to make my point,’ which he did, and we said, ‘We don’t anticipate charging you if you’re going to agree not to go back’ and so it worked out well,” said Sims.

To distract from the disruption, a group of Indigenous dancers began to perform as Kurtzke was handcuffed and walked out of the Longhouse.

Cherrah Giles, a legislator on the Muscogee (Creek) National Council who was invited to speak at the conference as a panelist, said Kurtzke is a distraction that Indigenous people need to learn to ignore.

“We’re going to keep having those distractions, we need to let them go, our energy needs to be with our sisters,” she said.

“Because we know the stories, we know our sisters, we know our aunties, but now we have to put it into numbers and prove it to these officials. There’s just not enough of us to do this alone.”

The First Nations House of Learning declined to comment on the altercation. But overall, Moss said she was pleased with how the event went.

“I am [happy]. It went off pretty well,” she said. u

juNE 25, 2019 TuesdAY | NeWs | 5 indigenous sTraTegiC plan //

How the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Women and Girls will shape UBC Kevin Jiang contributor

After more than three years of truth-gathering and testimonials from community members, knowledge keepers and experts, Canada’s National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) released its final report and recommendations in early June.

And UBC is heeding its Calls for Justice.

The roughly 1,200-page final report titled “Reclaiming Power and Place” features nearly 1,500 testimonies, from both survivors and family members of those affected. In total, over 2,300 people participated in the Inquiry.

The report was commissioned in 2015 after Indigenous peoples urged the federal government to take action against alarming statistics for many years.

For example, according to Canada’s 2004 General Social Survey (GSS), homicide rates among Indigenous women were roughly seven times higher than that of non-Indigenous women.

Additionally, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) found that “only 53% of murder cases in NWAC’s Sisters In Spirit database have been solved, compared to 84% of all murder cases across the country.”

The report also lists 231 “Calls for Justice” — steps the Canadian government and people must take to end the violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

CHanging poliCy According to Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot, senior advisor to the president

on Indigenous affairs from the Lake Superior Ojibwe Band, the Inquiry’s Calls for Justice will be incorporated into UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan.

The new plan builds upon UBC’s Aboriginal Strategic Plan and responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which investigated the systemic impacts of Canada’s residential school system on Indigenous children and families.

The TRC concluded that the system amounted to cultural genocide, but the National Inquiry found that the Indigenous genocide is not just cultural, but violent. The systematic murder of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people is its most stark example.

Lightfoot, who at the time of publication was still reading through the final report, said she found nothing inconsistent between the 231 Calls for Justice and the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action.

“In fact, there are elements [of the National Inquiry’s final report] that build on, broaden and add some enhanced specificity to the TRC’s Calls … the two sets of Calls seem to go hand in hand, and both with an eye toward deeply transformative change,” she wrote in an email to The Ubyssey.

The Inquiry’s most relevant section to UBC is Call for Justice 11.1, which recommends “postsecondary institutions and education authorities to educate and provide awareness to the public about [MMIWG] and about the issues and root causes of violence they experience.”

It adds that “all curriculum development and programming” must be written in partnership with Indigenous peoples and

DAkOtA BIrD ANDErBErD

jaime Black, a Métis artist based in Winnipeg, installed hundreds of donated red dresses across canada as part of the rEDress Project which serves as a reminder of “the women who are no longer with us.”

include “historical and current truths” about genocide, colonization and Indigenous history, law and culture.

While she did not include specifics, Lightfoot said she will be discussing action steps with UBC President Santa Ono and other decision makers in the coming weeks.

But Dr. Linc Kesler, the former senior advisor to the president on Aboriginal affairs, believes there is “nothing more critical” students can do than become knowledgeable about the systemic nature of violence facing Canada’s Indigenous peoples and take that knowledge with them into their “future lives and professions.”

“The action to take against [violence] is to become informed,” said Kesler.

‘a CulTural sHiFT’

DAkOtA BIrD ANDErBErD

Both Kesler and Dr. Sarah Hunt, a Kwagiulth associate professor in First Nations and Indigenous Studies, called attention to initiatives already taking place at UBC. “Look at what’s already happening. There’s already been

a lot of events. There’s a lot of publications, there’s research going on. There are people at this university that are doing that work, students that are doing that work,” said Hunt.

“That’s the kind of culture shift that I’d like to see in all universities, in all communities.

To value the longstanding grassroots resistance, the work that people have already been doing.”

In particular, UBC’s First Nations House of Learning hosted a conference to address “issues of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls on both sides of the Canada-US border” shortly after the report’s release. The conference featured a keynote speech by the Inquiry’s Chief Commissioner Marion Buller and guests including North Dakota state representative Ruth Buffalo.

Kesler agreed, adding that UBC’s leadership on Indigenous issues extends more than a decade.

“I think UBC is quite different than most other universities in that for more than ten years now, we have had a very sustained

and defined plan to Indigenous initiatives at the university, which is comprehensive,” said Kesler.

But both Kesler and Hunt warned that addressing this issue will require a serious and sustained approach. “[These inquiries] focus people’s attention very briefly, and then most people go on with their lives,” said Kesler. “These things will not change without sustained following and without a really well-delineated approach.”

“Instead of seeing [the final report] as a door that’s closing on an inquiry, we should see this as an opportunity that’s been started to finally create widespread change around this issue,” said Hunt. “We still have a lot of work to do to even begin to grapple with what this violence looks like ... There’s still a lot of work Canada has to do as a country.” u The Ubyssey is committed to reporting further on this topic, especially from the student perspective. If you re interested in sharing your thoughts on the report and/or how UBC should apply it, contact us at news@ubyssey.ca.

CULTURE

june 25, 2019 tuesday

Editor Angela O’Donnell

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Comedy //

Ed Hill’s new album is full of heart but falls prey to comedy tropes Tristan Wheeler Blog and Opinion Editor

In his newly released album, Son of Smiley, comedian Ed Hill joyfully provides the audience insight into his life as a TaiwaneseCanadian and the tense, but absurd, relationship with his father with hilarious tact, but does not avoid the classic pitfalls of over-wrought joke structure and concepts.

The Taipei born comedian has been a part of the Vancouver comedy community for his whole career, releasing two albums in the last decade, called Canasian and Weirdo Whisperer respectively.

While also being a staple of the Vancouver comedy community, he has toured across Asia, the United States and Canada.

Son of Smiley is evidently filled with love for its subject matter. Hill’s delight in showcasing to his audience the emotionally distant relationship he has with his father, the eponymous Smiley, are some of the most entertaining and poignant parts of the album. Hill’s material kills its audience when it shines a light on the absurdity of Hill’s experience in a Taiwanese family. Many of the bits garner audible laughs, even if you’re listening with headphones on.

A highlight of the album was an account of Smiley’s reaction to a young Ed’s concert.

However, Hill has a penchant for over-exaggeration. Of course all comedians exaggerate, but in Hill’s case it comes off as forced, obvious and unnecessary. There are stories that are noticeably stretched to facilitate outdated jokes (for example, a hacky ‘have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too’ absentee black father joke).

On top of this overexaggeration, it seems that Hill is bogged down by old-school comedy ideas that are trite and overused. A groaner of a response to “every grain of rice you leave on the table plate will become a pimple on the face of your future wife” is “I have pimples on my ass, so what the hell did my wife do with her rice?” This style of humour would not be missed from the album.

In Son of Smiley, Hill’s best material is when he gives us personal, truthful anecdotes of his upbringing. His style of humour is perfect for extracting the strange and outrageous stories from growing up and this is, obviously, where he gets his comedic accolades. Hill is an amazing storyteller and he knows it. But, when one listens to Son of Smiley, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the album should be more personal and story-driven, and not bogged down by cheap vyings for laughs with hacky, over-wrought ideas. u

courtesy CAROLYN LUHNING

Hill’s best material is when he gives us personal truthful anecdotes.

so many puppets //

MOA’ s new puppet show a wonderful delight to all

courtesy MOA

The exhibit features 15 different types of puppets.

Hannah Feodorov Contributor

The Museum of Anthropology’s (MOA) hallway grows dimmer as curator Dr. Nicola Levell leads us past scattered red lanterns and towards the looming figure of the 12-foot puppet guarding the entrance of the new exhibit.

The exhibit she curated, Shadows Strings and Other Things, contains more than 250 puppets from all over the world, some made specifically for this exhibit.

The exhibit opens up into a dark room and immediately transfers the viewer into a carnival-like atmosphere of magic

and storytelling. Each selection of puppets is carefully staged as if during a live performance, with theater chairs and even a green lawn provided for the ultimate immersive experience.

“Puppetry unites us all,” explained Dr. Levell as the reasons behind the cultures and traditions behind the collection.

The collection includes puppets from 15 different countries, with pieces coming from Asian and Indigenous Canadian cultures as well as puppets from various European regions such as Sicily and the UK. The exhibition features 15 different types of puppets and

utilises a lot of the objects already with in the museum’s collections.

According to Levell, the history of documented forms of puppetry can be traced back at least 2000 years. She also cites current trends of puppet rediscovery, which reflect a returning artistic interest in analog ways.

“There is this idea that perhaps we are going through a return to hardware theater [and] hardware performance.”

This artistic shift focuses on physical rather than electronic visuals and effects, falling in line with increasing curiosity in different forms of analog

production and materiality. An example of this can be found in the popularity of stop motion animation, a form of puppetry which can also be found in the MOA’s new exhibit.

When asked what she hoped students will get out the new exhibition, Levell highlighted her own students’ involvement in the creation of the show, describing how her own students worked with her on the project. “[They] look[ed] at different puppetry traditions around the world as a means to engage with school groups.”

For visitors to the exhibition, Levell encourages the audience

to see the puppets not just as objects, but as a cast of different characters from around the globe.

Remembering that each story and puppet serves as a means of storytelling, communication of histories and conversation starters. To challenge visitors, Levell said she wants people to “... reflect on our own engagement with puppets …

[W]hat is it that still captivates us about puppetry?” U Shadows, Strings and Other Things: The Enchanting Theatre of Puppets is on exhibition at the Museum of Anthropology May 16, 2019 to October 14, 2019.

jun 25, 2019 TuesdAY | culture | 7 Anger //

Memories //

At ‘Get Connected’ event, students Revisiting ‘Being air grievances to administration different isn’t wrong’

UBYSSEY ARCHIVE COURTESY OF UBC LIBRARY

Meissner’s letter, along with a long subtweet to engineers.

Angela O’Donnell Culture Editor “What we’re trying to do is create connection in our community.”

Katrina Martin Contributor

“Who here is angry?”

There is a rustling in the Lillooet Room of Irving K. Barber as students and faculty shuffle paper plates and plastic cups to raise their hands.

“Who here is heartbroken?”

More shuffling, more raised hands. They are gathered for Get Connected: Queer, Trans, & Allies Community Night, an event put on by the Equity and Inclusion Office (EIO). Dr. Aftab Arfan, EIO’s director of dialogue and conflict engagement says the purpose of the Get Connected events is simply that: connection.

“What we’re trying to do is create connection in our community because we know that queer and trans students who come to UBC often [find] it takes a while for them to find each other,” Arfan said.

This is the third time EIO has hosted the Get Connected event for queer students. In the past EIO has hosted the event focusing on other underrepresented groups as well. They have held Get Connected for Black, Indigenous, Person Of Colour students as well as transfer students.

Usually, the event helps to connect students not only with each other but also with faculty and staff.

But despite the tables overflowing with food and murmur of chatter, the mood of this year’s event was far from festive.

“This is a difficult time for the queer and especially for the trans community,” Aftab said.

At UBC, there is currently tension around a talk by anti-

trans activist Jenn Smith on “The Erosion of Freedom: How Transgender Politics in School and Society Are Undermining Our Freedom and Harming Women and Children!” The talk took place at UBC on June 23. Many students and faculty are upset about this event taking place on campus.

On June 14, UBC Provost and VP Academic Andrew Szeri released a statement saying that the event is an external booking, and is not sponsored by UBC. But unlike Trinity Western University and Douglas College, which have already decided to cancel Smith’s talks, UBC will allow the event to proceed as a commitment to free speech.

“On behalf of the University, I want to assure all in the UBC community that the university is deeply committed to the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and maintaining a respectful environment, both among students, faculty and staff and in our commitment to educating future leaders …” said Szeri.

This support for members of our own community, and work in education and research, can be regarded in balance with the institution’s commitment to freedom of expression. As a public academic institution, UBC also places a paramount value on the free and lawful expression of ideas and viewpoints.”

Many students are upset about the talk taking place on campus and UBC’s decision to allow the event. These emotions played as the backdrop to this Get Connected night.

Darcy Bandeen, a first-year Arts student and Pride Collective representative, believes students need to take a stand.

ZUBAIR HIRJI

“Because if we’re not, we’re being complicit and letting this kind of bigotry and hateful speech happen on campus,” said Bandeen.

But they also acknowledge that responding to events like these can be complicated and tiring.

“It’s lose-lose. We remain silent and they win, or we react against them and stand up for what’s right, and somehow, you’re also losing because they predicted it … like, ‘Oh, look at these angry queers,’” Bandeen said.

Other students feel that action towards these events should not be the sole responsibility of students, but of administration. “[Students and faculty should] protest those speakers and pressure the administration to actually take a stand. The fact that they are sitting on the fence without doing anything when they do have the power to do something,” said Louis, a fourthyear arts student and member of UBC’s Students Against Bigotry group.

In the end, it all comes down to support. At the back of the room there is a piece of white Bristol board with colourful writing: How can UBC better support its queer and trans students? Beneath it is three words, in large, purple block letters: CANCEL JENN SMITH. “Any sort of activism is good activism,” Miles Justice, another representative from the Pride Collective said. “There are so many ways to show support.”

A student who attended the event offered administration a simple plea: “Actually do something.”

EIO plans to host more Get Connected events in the coming school year. U

On February 10, 1977, The Ubyssey published a letter by Natasha Meissner. The letter describes her frustration after the posters that she put up for an upcoming dance put on by the Gay People of UBC club were torn down. In the closing paragraph she says, “I look forward to the day when people will be mature enough to realize that ‘different’ is not synonymous with being ‘wrong.’”

42 years later, we spoke to Meissner (NM) on her motivations behind the letter and how she feels now: Angela O’Donnell (AO): So what prompted you to join the Gay People of UBC club?

NM: I was 17 years old, I had just finished high school, I was in my first year at UBC. And what primarily prompted me to join the club was simply to make friends.

You have a social context to meet other, hopefully like-minded people on campus.

AO: In your words what was the sort of reaction to the club on campus, if you can speak to that?

NM: It’s difficult for me to speak to that. I don’t know sort of what the more general reaction was. I do know that as my letter indicated, there was clearly some antipathy amongst some part of the population on campus at the time towards the gay people of UBC, just as indicated by the removal of all of those posters, when we were trying to advertise dances.

AO: Do you remember writing this letter?

NM: I don’t remember writing the letter. When you sent it to me and

I read it, I did remember.

AO: And then I guess the flip side of that is like, how do you feel reading your own words? Like, 50 years later?

NM: I think I was struck with a sense that I was quite courageous at that time for my age, and in that context. When I read it, I was glad that I was as outspoken as I was, at that time. And it reminds me of the person who I was then. You know, being someone who didn’t want to be told by others what it was okay to be or not to be.

AO: Do you feel like you still have that sense of yourself now? Do you think that you would write this letter now?

NM: I think in today’s climate and society in Canada, I think it’s a very different environment than it was back in 1977. I would say that if I was similarly placed today as I was, then yes I would write that letter. But I think we live in that, I’m glad to say [...] what I feel is [a] more, open and tolerant society in many ways now than it was in 1977.

AO: Do you feel that currently, we live in a day and age where people realize that ‘different’ is not synonymous with wrong?

NM: I think in some parts of the world, that may be the case. But I also fear that there’s a lot of back slippage, towards less tolerant views. And I worry about that. I certainly feel that, of course, there are many parts of the world in which there is very little tolerance for people who do not conform to whatever the societal norms of that part of the world are.

This interview was conducted for an upcoming article on the history of the Pride Collective. U

FeaTures

juNE 25, 2019 TuesdAY

EDItOr PAWAN MINHAS

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After the the Quake: Quake: After UBC’s Plan Plan for for the the Big Big One One UBC’s WORDS BY ZAK VESCERA ILLUSTRATIONS BY MAYA RODRIGO-ABDI DESIGN BY LUA PRESIDIO

No one knows when the big one will come.

In the worst case scenario — a magnitude 9.0 earthquake on the Richter scale — the damages to campus could threaten the existence of UBC itself.

If it happens during an afternoon in the winter term, as many as 80,000 people could be on campus; if it happens on a summer evening, it could be a quarter of that. It’s estimated 153 people would die — but depending on the timing, it could be as high as 1095.

Regardless of when it happens, the plan will swing into action.

The Tennis Centre will become an operations centre. Emergency generators will activate to address the power shortages. Filtration systems drawing water from local streams will come into effect as the main water line collapses. Phone centres will be set up across campus to address the flood of calls from worried parents. If the lines are down, the internet will be used.

“We organize in such a way that allows us to be a lot more responsive, a lot more flexible to be able to respond to what’s going on,” said Danny Smutylo, UBC’s director of emergency management.

There could be complications. If the ammonia tank in the Doug Mitchell Sports Centre explodes, there’s a 2.41 per cent chance the harmful chemical could spill into the Tennis Centre, depending on the wind velocity and the amount of vapour released. There’s a 27 per cent chance it could reach the Robert Osborne Centre, and roughly 6 per cent chance of it reaching student residences.

We know this because UBC has designated an earthquake as the largest long-term security risk to its campus.

With help from external auditors, the school has been collecting and responding to every scrap of data it can since the 1990s. It knows how likely a building is to collapse in each earthquake scenario, how many people will be in it and which direction the wind will blow if toxic chemicals leak into the air. It even knows which building’s collapse will cause the most fatalities: the Museum of Anthropology.

As the unseen clock continues to count down, the university faces two challenges: how to maximize the number of lives it can save, and how to plan for its own destruction.

a House oF Cards no longer In 2014, The Ubyssey reported that dozens of buildings on campus were liable to collapse in the event

of a very rare earthquake — the kind that comes around approximately every 2,400 years.

Since then, the school has upped efforts to retrofit and repair its highest-risk structures. A 2017 report from Arup, an external design firm, found 29 buildings were in “Tier IV,” meaning they had a 50 to 100 per cent chance of collapse in the case

“RESILIENCE IS ABOUT NOT JUST

LOOKING AT HOW YOU SAVE THE LIFE IN THE EVENT, BUT HOW DO YOU RECOVER THE INSTITUTION? — JENNIFER SANGUINETTI

”

“Resilience in this context is not just looking at how you save the lives in the event,” said Jennifer Sanguinetti, the managing director of infrastructure development. “How do you recover the institution? How do you look beyond the earthquake?”

Arup estimated that a “very rare” earthquake would leave less than 1 per cent of UBC’s total floor space useable and that it would take over 10 months for half of campus space to be operational again.

In addition, utilities like water, electricity and gas could likely cease working and take months to restore.

“How do you eat this particular kind of elephant?” said Sanguinetti. “What’s the best bite-bybite strategy?”

The result is a wide-spanning approach, to safety involving minute-by-minute evaluations of safety in every part of campus.

“The mantra is ‘What else can we do?’” said Smutylo. “Knowing we’re at the end of a waterline, what’s the likelihood you’ll have potable water after that?”

Part of Smutylo’s job is devising ways to source life-saving resources after the quake hits. UBC has been experimenting with drawing drinking water from nearby streams, for example, and invested in generators to power its expansive grid.

“Does the event happen in the middle of the night when campus is not as populated, or does it happen in winter term when we have a more full student population than in the summer?” said Chief Risk Operations Manager Ron Holton. “All of this has to be taken into account.”

But the school’s efforts are complicated by its governance structure. While the school has a lot more discretion than a municipality to upgrade buildings, it also owes a larger duty of care to its residents.

“The code is really the baseline,” said Sanguinetti. “When you’re an institution, you’re not looking at the baseline — you’re looking at the absolute best you can do.”

uneXpeCTed ConTenTs of a “very rare” earthquake. In total, 328 buildings had some chance of collapse.

UBC has allotted funding to upgrade 18 of those buildings over the next 20 years at a cost of over $1.4 billion — small change, considering Arup’s estimation of the damage an earthquake could cause was over $2.4 billion.

But the school isn’t just looking at massive repairs. In recent years it’s embraced the concept of resilience — not only surviving the earthquake, but making sure there’s still a campus at the end of it.

UBC’s biggest priority has and is preventing loss of life. But that’s not the only thing on campus that can never be replaced.

UBC buildings contain vast amounts of research materials, rare collections and historical artefacts — all of which could be destroyed in the case of a rare quake.

“Those are people’s work. They have cultural and intrinsic value that’s significant — obviously people are well above that,” said Sanguinetti. “We also have animals of which we are the stewards.”

juNE 25, 2019 TuesdAY | FeATures | 9

Arup’s report estimated that the value of the materials inside the Life Sciences Building is over $121 million. Collectively, UBC’s collections were valued around $6 billion.

Many of those buildings also contain hazardous materials like chemicals that present an additional risk for planning staff, often in unexpected places.

The Doug Mitchell Sports Centre’s ammonia tank, for example, has the potential to create a toxic cloud that could reach other parts of the campus — depending on which way the wind blows.

“There wouldn’t necessarily be an ammonia discharge following a seismic event because of various protective devices, and quite likely any escape would be contained … but if it was something larger, there would have to be an evacuation from the Thunderbird area,” said Holton.

“Ammonia disperses very quickly. The greater concern could be a discharge into storm water.”

Since 2013, UBC has been part of a provincial insurance program to recover costs from destroyed buildings and materials. Its current insurance costs, according to Arup’s report, are $45 million for each period.

Holton said the shift to the provincial insurance plan saves the institution over $2 million a year that goes towards upgrading work.

But the coverage isn’t consistent. The policy administered by the Ministry of Advanced Education places a premium on “non-core” buildings such as things like student residences and cultural spaces like the Museum of Anthropology and the Chan Centre.

Holton said the premium costs on those buildings in the 2018 year was around $2.9 million.

The magnitude of the project and the school’s But while the vast majority of UBC buildings limited resources have pushed them to look at would survive a quake, a few exceptions still more micro-level repairs in recent years — up- have exceptionally high risk. grading the part of a building, for example, that The Music Building, for example, has a 54 to is most liable to collapse.

70 per cent chance of collapsing in the case of a medium level earthquake, the kind that occurs every 975 years in BC. The building’s design, which includes precast floor joists, means it’s difficult and slow to retrofit. It would cost $78 million to renew, which is enough money to retrofit multiple other buildings on campus.

But that’s not a lot of comfort for the building’s staff.

“I’m reluctant to tell people to drop and cover — I think I should be telling them to try to get the hell out of the building and possibly not die by being crushed,” wrote one concerned staff member to the Risk Management team.

Holton, Smutylo and Sanguinetti acknowledge the pressure they’re under — whether the big one hits tomorrow or decades from now.

“That’s the motivation,” said Sanguinetti. “We want to keep people safe. That’s our number one area focus. It’s something that I think drives all of us to not just do the work, but do our best to inform the campus community about what we’re doing so that each member of the campus community recognizes their own responsibility in this situation.” u

“WE WANT TO KEEP PEOPLE

SAFE. THAT’S OUR NUMBER ONE AREA FOCUS. IT’S SOMETHING THAT I THINK DRIVES ALL OF US TO NOT JUST DO THE WORK, BUT DO OUR BEST TO INFORM THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT WE’RE DOING …”

— JENNIFER SANGUINETTI

opinions

juNE 25, 2019 TuesdAY

EDItOr TRISTAN WHEELER

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BaCK //

Letter: Mandatory participation leads to vapid discussion and excludes introverts lorraine shen contributor

“Participation will account for 10% of your grade this term.”

That’s the standard line of any Arts class syllabus, as jarring as it is to an introvert.

Silence as participation — outright rejected.

More often than not, discussions about what a literary work is really about, actually implies or covertly suggests are encouraged and lauded as critical thinking.

Analyzing literature, especially verbally on cue, comes naturally for some, but painfully so for others.

I often sit there watching silently, listening attentively and nodding quizzically at the conjectures that I suspect the writer him/herself would be surprised to learn.

Enforced participation is discrimination against the reticent — to further marginalize the silent. It is a regrettable case that active participation is only accepted in the form of flamboyancy and theatrics. In our country, the silent majority’s vote, ultimately, still weighs the same as that of an outspoken advocate’s, though discrepancies in influence do exist as a result — so one may counter that the silent ought to reap what they sow. Fair enough.

But hold up, those who don’t or can’t speak up in class have

already gotten their fair share of punishment. Professors seldom get to know them well enough, meaning little to no chance of reference letters will ever come to pass.

Come on, that is sad enough — no need to deduct more marks off hard-earned grades that may just be the only redeeming feature of introverts flailing in our frenzied society of thirsty networkers.

A common answer I hear when students question professors’ competency in teaching is that their value really lies in their research. If that answer is fair, then university students’ active involvement in the class material should be evident enough through quizzes, tests and papers — and therefore, not necessarily vocal input. After all, we aren’t in speech and drama class.

Those who are diligent, but reticent; insightful, but not vocal; or want grades, but care not, all simply end up raising their hands to either say they agree and proceed to parrot others or spew out anything at all to make it look like a contribution.

Incentivizing students to talk with supposedly “easy marks” when there is nothing to be said only provides a fertile breeding ground for vapid commentary followed by seamlessly courteous duets of affirming one another.

Communication is certainly crucial, but there is a time, a

place and a personality for it.

Introverts, like me, would prefer to sit at the back of the class and mimic others, but only insofar as bobbing our heads in sync.

“Video et taceo (I see and remain silent).” The foremother of the British Empire, Queen Elizabeth I, often governed so — yielding when necessary: a delaying tactic instrumental in letting the English-speaking world gain its initial foothold.

As above, so below — why not let inclined minions follow suit?

Non-action is not necessarily being inactive, but merely not untimely forcing something. To keep silent also gives space and lends an ear to the expressive ones who ought to have an audience. Is that not active participation?

Remember, we can’t all be the prime minister. The spotlight is designed for the ones who have a penchant for performing, for those who relish public speaking.

Such a person would be one of those who helps the instructor sustain a long-running dialogue in the classroom, effectively rendering it a student-centred environment that is very much in vogue nowadays, though I have my objections, but that is beyond the point. Regardless, the rest of the students should also be recognized for taking part in the picture just like how commoners, who mostly keep mum, all the

FILE LuA PrEsIDIO

“Introverts, like me, would prefer to sit at the back of the class and mimic others, but only insofar as bobbing our heads in sync.”

while remain active participants in society by simply being critical listeners.

Reflective silence is, however, penalized time and again in an academic setting that is purportedly inclusive. In this day and age where progressiveness

entails embracing everyone for who they are and want to be, care to let the ostensibly mute rightfully join the band of peoplekind? u Lorraine Shen is a fourth-year English literature student.

and ForTH //

Letter in response: Mandatory participation is integral to university education

“Vocal students recognize that classroom dialogue is often awkward and uncomfortable, but we engage in it regardless.”

madeleine link contributor

Letter-writer Lorraine Shen, who recently criticized mandatory classroom participation, might be surprised to learn that most of us who regularly participate in class don’t consider ourselves particularly gifted orators.

Vocal students recognize that classroom dialogue is often awkward and uncomfortable, but

we engage in it regardless because we have accepted that university is supposed to push us outside of our comfort zone. I’m sure that I’ve said many stupid things in my four years of undergrad, but I hope that in the process I’ve become better at expressing my own ideas and critically responding to others. After all, this is ostensibly the purpose of an arts education.

It’s also worth noting that for those who actually are

enthusiastic performers, classroom participation may be the one area in which they excel — the writer feels that being assessed on something that doesn’t come naturally to her is unfair, but fails to consider that some students may feel the same way about written assessments.

The thing about classroom discussion is that the more people who participate, the less awkward the entire enterprise is. Those who

ALEX VANDErPut

keep silent aren’t doing those who speak a favour; they’re only forcing the type of “vapid commentary” that Shen derides. If more people say more concrete and useful things, there’s less reason for others to say anything in order to fill the silence. Silence, however appreciative, does not make for a productive dialogue — thoughtful questions about the ideas that your peers have presented are much more useful.

Additionally, not everyone who speaks up in class is spontaneously composing their thoughts. One of my profs, who recognized the challenges quieter students might face in classroom settings, encouraged us to write down our thoughts before speaking. Writing down notes in advance is a great way of preparing for class, but there are many more. Personally, I’ve also found talking to my friends or even to my parents useful when I need to clarify my own thoughts.

Professors are useful resources in this respect. They want students to succeed, and are often willing to help you, as long as you ask them. Part of the reason they hold office hours is so that students can approach them with questions about the material, and taking advantage of this to develop what you might say in class later can make speaking up much easier.

Another benefit of this is that you get to know your professors better — classroom participation isn’t the only way to develop the kind of academic relationships that can result in good reference letters.

Mandatory participation does not “marginalize the silent,” nor is it a sign that UBC is being insufficiently progressive, because being anxious about speaking in class is not an oppressed identity.

Inherent identities that people are actually persecuted for can’t be diminished or transcended — classroom anxiety can, as long as you’re willing to work on it. u Madeleine Link is a fourth-year religious studies student and previous contributor to The Ubyssey.

From THe Blog

juNE 25, 2019 TuesdAY

EDItOr TRISTAN WHEELER

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ConCerTs //

Get drunk and sunburned at these great music festivals around Vancouver this summer sophie galloway contributor

With the warm weather comes the arrival of festival season and no matter what you have on your summer playlist, there’s a festival or concert series for you. So get that cooler stocked with beer (and maybe food), pack your Tilley hat and grab some friends, because these festivals aren’t going to attend themselves.

puBliC disCo laneWay series ONGOING Groundwerk Vancouver’s Public Disco has collated their summer offerings with their brand-new Laneway Disco and Cabaret series.

Running from 2-10 p.m., the street party will take place in three laneway locations across the city in Alley Oop and two locations in Mount Pleasant. The Laneway Disco and Cabaret events promise a host of talented local DJs, dancers, art and a bar to get your drink on.

It’s hard to miss Alley Oop between Pender and Hastings Street, next to Waterfront Station — the alley has been doused in pink and yellow paint with eye-catching murals and decor. The event is all ages, so even if you aren’t legal to drink just yet, you can still enjoy the party!

KHaTsaHlano sTreeT parTy JulY 6 Running so close to campus, there’s no excuse not to go and enjoy the

tIFFANy Wu

With names like these dotting the lineup, one would expect this year’s FVDED to live up to its reputation as a crazy weekend.

annual Khatsahlano Street Party, which takes place on West 4th Avenue in Kits. The street fair, which runs the ten blocks between MacDonald and Burrard Street will feature beer gardens, food stalls and over 50 musicians, with Vancouver local rarities Old Man Canyon, Motel Mira, Harlequin Gold and Hey Ocean! making an appearance, amongst many others. And better yet, the event is

absolutely free, so there’s no excuse not to hop on the 4 and scope the action.

FVded in THe parK JulY 5 - 6 Although it’s located a little further out of town, Surrey’s notorious FVDED in the Park hosts an exciting lineup for a local midsized festival. The festival focuses

mainly on rap and EDM artists, such as Khalid, Tory Lanez, French Montana, RL Grime, Joyride and Yultron. With names like these dotting the lineup, one would expect this year’s FVDED to live up to its reputation as a crazy weekend.

sQuamisH ConsTellaTion FesTiVal JulY 26 - 28

Acting as an antidote to the Pemberton-shaped hole in our hearts, Squamish Constellation features an all-star indie lineup of acts such as Bahamas, Dear Rouge, Half Moon Run, Peach Pit and A Tribe Called Red. The festival fills the shoes of the Squamish Valley Music Festival which folded alongside Pembyfest in 2016. This unique little festival looks like one to watch! u

Boredom //

Try these activities to spice up your long, boring, jobless and courseless summer days mental map of every single building so come fall you can transform yourself into a human version of Google maps. Maybe even make some kind of career out of it lest your degree comes to no avail. Trust me, it’ll look great on a résumé.

go WildliFe-spoTTing Find raccoons at night who look like they want to give you sidequests you can complete to unlock UBC secrets. It is also possible that they just want food since they just are, after all, trash pandas.

Seriously though, don’t get rabies or something.

JusT lay THere

FILE ZuBAIr HIrjI

Are you running out of things to keep yourself busy this summer and need a hit list of things to do so you don’t collapse and crumble under the weight of your boredom?

anupriya dasgupta contributor

Have you become just another cog in the machine that fills its life with monotony and structure? Has university life made you immensely dependent on schedules, deadlines and timetables to preserve your sanity? Or are you just running out of things to keep yourself busy this summer and need a hit list of things

to do so you don’t collapse and crumble under the weight of your boredom? You’re in the right place because we made a list of random things you could try if internships and summer jobs did not work out for you during these holidays.

TransiT iT up Get on a bus and keep switching buses and trains until you’ve reached

a completely unknown place and explore. Don’t leave any bags unattended though.

sTudy maTH Count the number of steps it would take for an average-heighted person to walk from the university flagpole to the totem poles near the Forestry Building and back. Make sure you conduct enough trials for the

experiment to be credible.

sTudy maTH and name THings Count the Koi at Nitobe Garden and name them all after your favourite uncles and great aunts.

sTudy geograpHy Walk around campus making a

Lie somewhere in the grass under the sun contemplating your future until crows come to caw at you to remind you of your distant family members who pester you to tell them about your successes, plans and how and when you’re going to continue the family line.

So, there you go! Instead of doing anything productive with your time this summer like developing hobbies or finishing summer courses, we dare you to take on this list of random things to do on campus so you can kill your boredom, in case university killing your dreams was not enough killing business. u

SCIENCE

june 25, 2019 tuesday

Editor James vogl

12

Under the sea //

SUBC design team gearing up for international submarine races Eashan Halbe Contributor

Like many design teams, UBC’s SUBC design team is comprised of engineering students drawn from departments ranging from the electrical to mechanical and chemical disciplines.

Unlike any other design team, its aim is to design and build human-powered submarines from scratch.

These “wet” submarines, built to be powered by trained divers that dwell within the hull during races, are entered into international races requiring the subs to navigate “large complicated courses” at top speed, according to Allysia Lam, the team’s mechanical steering lead.

“We spent hours designing and actually manufacturing all of the components that go into the final product,” said Lam. “We have about 60 active members who are actually engaged and make stuff going towards this project,” added Stella Oh, the team’s safety officer.

Part of one of the oldest design teams on campus, SUBC members work to leverage specific skill sets and create sub components that can be put together to create a high-performance functional product.

One of the goals of the team, according to Lam, is “to provide members with a good experience regarding the whole design

File Zubair Hirji

The team’s current project has a teardrop-shaped hull and will be used in competitions the team enters within the next few years.

process.” The team’s ground-up approach — with almost every component of their projects being created by the team — is enabled by collaborations with bodies such as the UBC Aquatic Centre and student clubs that train sub pilots. The lifecycle of one project

is typically around two years, from conception to testing to usage and finally reclamation.

The team’s current project has a teardrop-shaped hull and will be used in competitions the team enters within the next few years. The first is the International

Submarine Races in Maryland, happening this week. Facing off against the projects of around 20 teams hailing from several universities, the sub will compete in several performance evaluations with awards being based off a number of criteria, such as speed

and design creativity. The teams will also present a comprehensive technical overview of the project to judges.

The second competition is the European International Submarine Races in the UK, occurring in July. It entails a more “complicated course where there is a U-turn required, against around 12 other teams,” said Lam. The team has a storied and, at times, tumultuous past. While select projects retired by the team have been placed on display around UBC locations, the team has undergone “ups and downs and apparently some dark ages over five years ago before it was basically rebuilt,” according to Oh. The team has since made a comeback from its neardisappearance.

In line with a policy of minimizing waste, many retired projects of the team are often stripped of components for reuse and used for the training of new and current members. Plans to develop a new “manta-like design inspired by manta rays instead of a conventional shape” are being built for future competitions, according to Oh. She added that this new design will better serve the team’s purpose of “building better engineers through naval technologies.” “[The design process] gives us really great perspective, I believe, and in the end produces really good, well-rounded engineers,” said Lam. U

Slots //

Renewed funding for gambling research will allow for further study of new gambling tech

MICHELLE Ursino/flickR

“Everybody should be aware and engaged in this discussion, both the positive and the negative sides of gambling.”

Hà Lu’u Contributor

Founded in 2014, the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC has established collaborations with other UBC departments such as psychology, psychiatry and the Center for Brain Health on research about gambling issues in British Columbia, as well as worldwide trends.

With $1.36 million of renewed

funding from the BC government and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, the centre will further concentrate its research on slot machine games, new addictive technologies like online gambling and gambling video games, as well as the neuroscience of gambling addiction.

Research into new technologies is currently of great interest at the centre, as scientists investigate the unclear relationship between

mobile phone gambling and the increased prevalence of gambling problems. More scientific research is needed to conclude whether portable mobile devices and convenient payment through credit cards make the public more prone to gambling addictions.

One of the main research concentrations in the first phase of the funding focuses on emotional reaction of gamblers at slot machines, aiming to explain their

addictive nature. Researchers will focus on specific features of slot machines, such as their fast speed, the presence of flashing lights and loud noises in the games in order to identify the components behind the addictive nature of the games. A more recent alternative explanation is that the immersive environment, called the “slot machine zone,” is created by the combination of all components.

The centre is also making an effort to improve gambling policy and gambling regulation backed up with scientific evidence in order prevent the development of gambling problems. Gambling problems are caused by risk factors similar to those related to the development of substance addictions, involving brain systems of reward processing, risky decision making and impulse control.

Dr. Luke Clark, an associate professor in the department of psychology and the director of the centre, believes that gambling should be more broadly recognized as a behavioural addiction and a public health concern, which will help dissolve the stigma around seeking professional help related to gambling. While the centre has yet to conduct studies in the Downtown Eastside, more research into the effect of gambling on employability, financial stability, mental health issues and substance usage of the residents in the neighborhood

would be very important, said Clark.

Within the student population, the centre has also conducted experiments with undergraduate groups at UBC as non-experienced gamblers in order to analyze their reactions to different features of the games. The risk of developing gambling problems for university students is relatively high, as young adulthood is the age at which addictions generally tend to develop. Academic pressures can further push students towards negative stress-coping mechanisms, said Clark. He highly recommends that students with gambling issues connect with BC Problem Gambling as well as oncampus counseling for support.

The study of gambling has increasingly garnered the attention of undergraduate students through the establishment of a third-year psychology course called Gambling and Decision-Making. Students can learn about the foundation of decision making, behavioral economics and the relationship between the science of addiction and public policy.

Beyond the scope of research on campus and within the field, Clark hopes to see an increase in public awareness and encouragement for people with gambling issues to reach out to professional help. “Everybody should be aware and engaged in this discussion, both the positive and the negative sides of gambling,” he said. U

SPORTS+REC

june 25, 2019 Tuesday

Editor Salomon Micko Benrimoh

13

against the current //

Off the beaten wave: Hau Li Fan leads the way for open water swimming at UBC Ryan Neale Contributor

His coach pulled him aside one practice, and told him to keep up with an Olympic medalist. Before long, he himself medalled on the world stage.

Now competing for Canada at the World Swimming Championships, open water specialist Hau-Li Fan has his sights set on the Olympics.

“The unpredictability about open water is what I think makes it interesting, because not every race is going to be the same.”

However, Fan’s ascendance in the little-followed discipline of open water swimming (races vary in length, but the Olympics feature a men’s and women’s 10-kilometre distance swim) wasn’t always so streamlined.

Originally from Burnaby, Fan figure skated as a child, but later chose to dedicate his time to competitive swimming.

“Maybe when I was around 12, I decided that I would switch to swimming just because I had more [of a] skill set in that sport.

It also helped with the asthma.”

While attending high school in New Westminster, he raced with Hyack Swim Club before transferring to the Canadian Dolphins at UBC. Staying local to pursue his post-secondary degree in biology was a straightforward choice for Fan. “Well, UBC has a really rich history with swimming, producing a lot of Olympians and national team members. It just seemed like a great place to go … It’s also academically very up there in Canada and even in the world.”

At UBC, Fan was new and nervous. The Thunderbird swimming program had enough prestige to humble even the best in the world, with dozens of men’s and women’s Canadian University titles to boast from the last few decades. So when he first arrived, Fan’s coaches decided a nickname would help with his initiation into the team. An old teammate coined a nickname that can be heard around the UBC Aquatic Centre most training days: Howler.

Despite having a knack for distance events, Fan continued racing a variety of sprints and medium distance. But then, Canadian open water swimmer and London 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Richard Weinberger came to work out with the team in preparation of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.

Head coach Steve Price devised a plan to put Fan’s strong stamina to the test.

“Steve [Price] thought I had an opportunity to just do open water as well, because I seemed to keep up with him pretty well in most workouts.”

Still unsure of his ability in the open water, Fan went into his first meet — a World Cup race in Lac St. Jean, Quebec — with an open mind.

“Going into that race, I didn’t really have an expectation just like, you know, try to finish because it’s a long race, and I had never done one before ... When I touched that pad and finished it I thought I did a pretty good job,

Fan in action at May’s Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN) Open Water Swimming Cup event in Lac du Causse in Brive, France.

being like top 10. As it turns out, I came third.”

Since then, Fan has bolstered his résumé, competing in several other high-end international meets. He points out one of the perks of the job is where he gets to swim, including “exotic lakes and oceans.”

Yet travelling to tropical locations is the easy, enjoyable part of the gig. The training regimen, on the other hand, is brutal — especially for a full-time student.

Fan typically starts his day around 5 a.m. for morning practice, which lasts a couple hours. After replenishing his fuel reserves, he heads to classes until the early afternoon when it’s time for his second practice. A second

workout consists of a couple hours of laps — not including dry land training. By the time he showers and does his homework, Fan is home by 9 p.m. And because he needs to repeat this cycle, bedtime is no later than 10 p.m. most nights.

At the moment, Fan is prepping with his Thunderbird teammates Markus Thormeyer, Josiah Binnema, Alexander Pratt and Emily Overholt for Team Canada at the 18th International Swimming Federation (FINA) World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.

The open water events will actually be held about 100 kilometers outside of Gwangju in the southern coastal town of Yeosu at the Yeosu EXPO Ocean

Park. It will be one of his biggest tests so far in the discipline of open water swimming. While an important race, it won’t be his first taste of international competition.

Fan swam at the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN) Open Water Swimming Cup in Lac du Causse in Brive, France last month and walked away with a silver medal as part of the Canadian quartet that placed second overall in the event and included Kate Sanderson, Chantel Jeffrey and Jon McKay. The Canadian Open Water Trials, where Fan first qualified for this summer’s World Championships, were also held abroad in the Cayman Islands in May. Beyond that, he hopes to

Fan (far right) battles the crowd around a corner during an open water race in Lac du Causse in Brive, France.

COURTESY SWIMMING CANADA

ride his wave into the Olympic year and represent Canada at the next Olympic games in Tokyo, a childhood dream of his. Eventually, Fan talks about becoming a teacher and paying it back to the community.

As for the Thunderbirds’ future in open water swimming?

Fan hopes his coaches continue to explore and push swimmers’ capabilities and consider trying out the marathon swimming events more often.

“I think Steve [Price] is also pushing for some of these younger varsity swimmers to maybe try open water swimming as well because I mean, if he didn’t really ask me to try this, I never would have gone for it in the first place.” U

COURTESY UBC THUNDERBIRDS

14 | sPOrTs+rec | TuesdAY juNE 25, 2019 We THe norTH //

Why the Toronto Raptors’ championship is important for UBC steffani grondin contributor

It’s 3 a.m. and I’m elbow-to-elbow with two million people. The air is still thick from fireworks and the flailing of a man sitting atop a traffic light equally hypes up and concerns the crowd at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto.

Screams, cries and laughter get drowned out by the loudest rendition of “O Canada” I’ve ever been a part of. Because right now, for the first time in history, a Canadian team has just won the National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship.

I have to preface this story by saying that I’ve never really been into basketball. To be honest, the only Curry I ever cared about came in the form of a take-out container from my favourite Indian restaurant in Dunbar.

But a new summer internship just happened to land me in the 6ix right during the 2019 Toronto Raptors’ NBA playoff season. With the opportunity to make my brother (a devoted and diehard Raptors fan) moderately jealous, I decided to brave the torrential downpour and head to Jurassic Park — the infamous viewing area outside of Scotiabank Arena — to watch a semifinals game.

The crowd was so big the group of us had to watch it in not the first, or even the second, but the third designated alternate viewing area. I stood among a sea of red; fans yelling, crying and chanting “SPICYYYYY” whenever number 43 (Pascal Siakam) made a basket.

My hype for the Raptors was instantly piqued.

Excitement for the team only grew when a couple days later, after six hours of waiting in more rain, we made it into Jurassic Park proper for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Although, I will admit that a large portion of the excitement was the chance of a potential Drake sighting, as he celebrated with fans in the previous game.

But when the Raptors won the Eastern Conference Finals, we, alongside the entire city of Toronto,

raptors fever swept across the country during the team’s historic championship run.

exploded. Somewhere between highfiving a two-year-old and watching a man do pull-ups on a street sign, I knew that I was going to see this series to the end. And almost two weeks later, just as the Looney Tunes

once beat the seemingly unstoppable Monstars, the Toronto Raptors triumphed over the Golden State Warriors and won it all.

But why did I care? More importantly, why did all of us UBC

stEFFANNI GrONDIN AND GAurAV sANDHAr

students join together in cheering on a team on the other side of the country that many of us didn’t even know existed in the months before?

Simply, this historic win changed the way so many of us interacted

with each other — in particular, it gave us something to collectively root for.

With classes, clubs and commitments galore, we students often get so busy that we have no time to watch athletic events. In turn, UBC has been criticized as a university that lacks school spirit.

Although we have some of the country’s best university sports teams training and competing right on campus, many students just don’t seem to care.

As a result, students often remain divided — separated by our faculties and majors. Our opportunities to come together and root for a common goal seem to be few and far between — which is why this historic win was not only important for our country, but also our UBC community too.

Sure, the City of Vancouver didn’t organize a viewing party, but how many of you went to a bar, hung out with friends or casually watched the game while eating your sushi roll?

And in those cases, what did the situation look like?

For me, it was the person in an expensive car that honked to the beat of the Raptors cheer while highfiving young fans running past them on the street.

It was the couple dancing to an impromptu brass band while kids break danced to Drake less than ten feet away from me.

It was devoted fans and bandwagoners alike who gathered together to celebrate not just a basketball game, but a moment in time where no matter who you were or where you came from, the impossible could be achieved. I imagine that your experience may have been similar.

Moments like these seem to be fleeting and it’s impossible to say when another major championship will be won by a Toronto team, or any Canadian team again.

But in the meantime, support your student athletes or just go to a sporting event on campus that you thought you didn’t really care about before.

Let’s continue to come together, UBC — it feels pretty good to be We The North. u

From the archives

taking a look at 101 years of ubyssey history

june 25, 2019 Tuesday

15

16 | GAMes | TuesdAY juNE 25, 2019

CrossWord puZZle aCross

doWn

1. Hindu ascetic; 6. Delineated; 10. Honoraria; 14. that is to say...; 15. Dynamic start; 16. radius’s partner; 17. Give guns again; 18. city on the truckee; 19. Neeson of “rob roy”; 20. Make beloved; 22. consecrate; 24. O.t. book; 26. Few and far between; 27. kneecap; 31. ___ little teapot...; 32. Fresh; 33. Muslim teacher; 36. uh-uh; 39. Breakfast chain, for short; 40. Wigwam; 41. texas city on the Brazos; 42. Puncture sound; 43. Make less tense; 44. It beats rock; 45. transgression; 46. Ailment; 48. Area with coin-operated games; 51. Large body of water; 52. Agreeable; 54. Graduated; 59. crowd sound; 60. Minn. neighbor; 62. Have ___ to pick; 63. chip in; 64. “unforgettable” singer; 65. related to the kidneys; 66. some votes; 67. Fancy jug; 68. God;

1. Father a foal; 2. solemn assent; 3. six feet under; 4. tortoise’s rival; 5. Effeminate; 6. ___ es salaam, tanzania; 7. saxophone part; 8. sea eagles; 9. stack of firewood; 10. supports for a lever; 11. sewing machine inventor Howe; 12. Maternally related; 13. Matching; 21. Fam. reunion attendee; 23. ___ camera; 25. Veronica of “Hill street Blues”; 27. Pitchfork-shaped letters; 28. Exclamations of relief; 29. General ___ chicken; 30. Psychic’s claim; 34. Put ___ fight; 35. ___Nexis; 36. Neck part; 37. High cards; 38. ___ de combat; 40. Attention; 41. Pallid; 43. Narrow inlets; 44. Poster; 45. Frightens; 47. Guitarist Paul; 48. Isolated; 49. rodeo rope; 50. Equip; 52. say grace; 53. yarn; 55. Have ___ in one’s bonnet; 56. Actress Anderson; 57. Med. school course; 58. Depend (on); 61. Plop preceder;

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