March 10, 2020

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MARCH 10, 2020 | VOLUME CI | ISSUE XXIII TREES IN THE NEST SINCE 1918

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CULTURE

FEATURE

OPINION

SCIENCE

SPORTS

Letter: UBC’s tallest tree is dead

New device screens donated blood

T-Birds alumni help make Canadian history

Revolt. She Said.

Loneliness on Revolt Again. with campus affecting UBC Theatre students

THE UBYSSEY

COLE EVANS IS YOUR AMS PRESIDENT // 04

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MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE

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OUR CAMPUS

EVENTS

President-elect Cole Evans is shooting for ‘a common goal’ of common ground at UBC THURSDAY, MARCH 12–28 REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN. 7:30 P.M. This is the newest production from Theatre & Film, and you can flip to the Culture section in this paper to read a preview of the show!

Students get in for $11.50, but be mindful that the show contains violence, sexual content and nudity!

ELIZABETH WANG

“I got my ass kicked in that first election.”

Pawan Minhas Features Editor

MONDAY, MARCH 16 MIGRANT DREAMS: FILM SCREENING & DISCUSSION 5:30–9 P.M. @ GEOG 100 Co-hosted by the School of Social Work and other organizations, this event includes a film by Min Sook Lee and discussion afterwards about Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Get yourself learned at this totally free event!

ON THE COVER COVER BY Salomon Micko Benrimoh

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STAFF

Coordinating Editor Zubair Hirji, Moe Alex Nguyen Kirkpatrick, Fariha Khan, coordinating@ubyssey.ca Sam Smart, Bill Huan, Brendan Smith, Diana Visuals Editor Hong, Jordan-Elizabeth Lua Presidio Liddell, Ryan Neale, Sarah Zhao, Charlotte Alden, visuals@ubyssey.ca Andrew Ha, Jasmyne Eastmond, Tianne News Editors Jensen-DesJardins, Maya Henry Anderson and Rodrigo-Abdi, Chimedum Emma Livingstone Ohaegbu, Riya Talitha, news@ubyssey.ca Sophie Galloway, Kevin Jiang, Bailey Martens, Culture Editor Sonia Pathak, Thea Thomas O’Donnell Udwadia, Kaila Johnson, culture@ubyssey.ca Diego Lozano, Keegan Landrigan, Kaila Johnson, Sports + Rec Editor Maneevak Bajaj, Tait Salomon Micko Gamble, Andy Phung, Benrimoh Mike Liu, Anupriya sports@ubyssey.ca Dasgupta, Danni Olusanya, Campbell Video Editor Speedy, Marissa Birnie, Jack Bailey Aman Sridhar, Negin Nia, video@ubyssey.ca Alex Vanderput, Tanner Opinion + Blog Editor LAND Tristan Wheeler ACKNOWLEDGEMENT opinion@ubyssey.ca We would like to acknowledge that this Science Editor James Vogl science@ubyssey.ca Photo Editor Elizabeth Wang photos@ubyssey.ca Features Editor Pawan Minhas features@ubyssey.ca

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 xʷməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

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Since his first year at UBC, AMS VP Administration and President-elect Cole Evans has been riding the rollercoaster of student politics.

Now a third-year political science major, Evans’s first months at UBC saw him eagerly jump into governance, running for the Arts Undergraduate Society’s first-year representative to the AMS. The campaign proved less effective than he hoped.

“I got my ass kicked in that first election.”

Success in student governance wouldn’t elude Evans for much longer. In 2018, he would go on to win the arts AMS rep position, being elected by 557 of his peers — nearly 26 per cent of that year’s turnout.

“From there it, kind of took off. … I think that the next steps from there, whether it be running for VP admin and now running for pre— now getting elected as president­— always [came] down to really having a passion for helping people and really trying to make a difference here at UBC.”

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Leading the AMS’s administration portfolio this year, Evans said, gave him an appreciation for the two roles the student union is trying to fulfill: one being a multi-million-dollar organization and the other being of a union tasked with amplifying the voices of its over 50,000 members.

“Sometimes the AMS gets too focused on ‘What’s good for the organization? What’s easier for the organization?’”

Instead, Evans said, the student union should be concerned with “What’s easier and what’s good for the general student body?”

Asked what he believes the answer to that question is, Evans played the politician and talked instead about prioritizing increasing student engagement and collaboration with the union.

“The thing about engagement is that it ties in very well with every other part of a platform. So … how are you engaging the students to identify where those gaps are, but also how are you engaging students to direct them to resources?”

Student engagement was a theme of this year’s election campaign, though it didn’t always play well for Evans. Some, including presidential

hopeful and Student Services Manager Ian Stone, criticized Evans for the modest progress on creating a better bookings system for club use.

In an interview with The Ubyssey, Evans’s reasoning was the lengthy timeline would make sure they “get it right the first time.”

Evans added that diversity within AMS decision-making is a topic he’s interested in addressing, something especially important given 2020 marked the second consecutive year where no women ran for the union’s top job.

“Things like the work that we want to do with Equity & Inclusion [to understand] how are we reaching out to marginalized groups on campus to make sure that we’re doing good consultation. That we’re … creating structures that allow more voices to be at the table.”

A CAMPUS DIVIDED While engaging tens of thousands of busy students may seem like a huge hurdle on its own, this past year saw controversies contribute to campus factionalization — including issues revolving around UBC’s fraternities.

Evans currently chairs the Operations Committee, which was tasked by AMS Council to review the Interfraternity Council’s (IFC) eligibility for club status — the IFC was eventually deconstituted by AMS vote. More recently, an opinion letter penned by the Organizers of the Social Justice Forum raised concerns about, among other things, the large presence of fraternity members running and voting for positions.

In the face of a campus with a diversity of opinions, the president-elect championed finding common ground: a safe, inclusive campus.

“I don’t know whether this is idealistic of me to say, but I really do think that, in the role of president, you need to make sure [you are] emphasizing community and working together.

“And that’s not to say that everybody has to, right away, get along with each other and agree with each other. … As far as [the opinion letter] and Greek life, I think that we have to realize that we, as the AMS, need to be pushing towards a common goal, which is student safety. We need to be pushing towards a common goal, which is supporting marginalized communities, and [that] by

maintaining positive relationships, we can work towards that goal.”

COLE-ABORATION The elections campaigning period isn’t just an arena for different campus groups and candidates to air grievances with each other. It can also be a source of ideas for the elected to look back upon and adopt. “… It’d be arrogant to dismiss [my competitors’] platforms and just say ‘Yeah, I won so I’m just going with what I’m doing, I’m not pay attention to anything else!’” Evans said.

He pointed to some of the ideas brought up by Stone, such as expanding UBC’s Work Learn program and an AMS-run cannabis dispensary, though the latter has been in the works for a few years.

Evans is also interested in bridging groups which he sees as falling into common areas of interest, saying the student union should “… develop a body for more cross-campus collaboration.

“It’s [on an] … ad-hoc basis that we engage with groups,” he said.

“So why don’t we adopt a model that’s used by the university and other organizations where … you have a meeting with people from The Calendar, Climate Hub maybe a representative from the [Resource Groups Allocation Centre], and you can come together.”

The president-elect sees a potential increase in organizational effectiveness as a result. Finally, Evans expressed the work that remains to be done to support the various resource groups. “… As we are working on Indigenous issues, [we should work to ensure] that we’re engaging collaboratively with the Indigenous Committee at all times.”

This collaboration is likely to be headed, in part, by the to-be-determined holder of the newly ratified Indigenous Seat on Council.

Starting in May, eyes will focus squarely on Evans as the campus waits to see how he — and his promises — fare as the head of the union.

With another two months before he assumes the role, his closing words were more similar to a hopeful candidate’s than an elected official’s.

“I’m running because I believe in the work that I want to accomplish. … That’s what I kept telling myself during the election.

“I’m doing this because I truly care about the organization. I truly care about everybody on this campus.” U

NEWS

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY

EDITORS HENRY ANDERSON AND EMMA LIVINGSTONE

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ELECTIONS //

The AMS banned campaign posters. Here’s how it affected voters and candidates

Besides eliminating poster infractions, the ban was intended to reduce the environmental impact of elections.

Andrew Ha Senior Staff Writer

Walking through the Nest for the past few weeks, you may not have noticed as AMS Elections came and went.

That’s because this was the first campaign period after the AMS banned postering — and with changes in candidates’ campaign strategies, students are divided on how this affects their elections awareness.

“People won’t recognize your face as often,” said Chris Hakim, current AMS president and recent student senator-elect.

“With posters, I used to be able

to walk up to people and [they would] say, ‘Hey, I know your face.

Your headshot’s everywhere.’ Now, people are just going to have to recognize you [as] the guy who just constantly goes around the Nest saying hi to people and giving candy.”

STUDENTS, DIVIDED The Ubyssey polled UBC students on how the poster ban affected their ability to follow the election in three Facebook groups: UBC Class of 2020, UBC Class of 2021/2022 and UBC Class of 2023. Excluding duplicate votes from the same users across groups, students were nearly

FILE SHAMIT RAHMAN

split — out of 201 respondents, 80 said it “definitely affected” them while 94 said they were “not at all affected.” Only 27 said they were “slightly affected.”

Interestingly, students in the older groups — who presumably have experienced elections with posters all their years at UBC until now — were most likely to say the ban did not affect them.

Second-year computer science student Oscar Yu was one of those who said they were still able to stay informed. “[I]t hasn’t affected my ability to follow the election at all,” he wrote in a message to The Ubyssey. “[In] fact, I think it may be beneficial

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politically, as more educated voters will be voting for those who are more suitable for the position, rather than the one whose name is plastered all over UBC!!”

As AMS Elections Chief Electoral Officer Ahsan Sahibzada pointed out, candidates have shifted from passive campaigning through posters to a more in-person approach, especially with classroom announcements.

“In all of my classes, at least two or three candidates have come in at different times to make announcements,” said Sahibzada.

As a result, Sahibzada isn’t as concerned about decreased awareness, but Lucia Liang, who was recently re-elected as AMS VP finance anticipated lower engagement.

“I suspect this year it’s going to be decreased in turnout just because [last year] there was every single one of our faces literally everywhere in every corner you walked into,” she said.

DRAINING THE ‘SOCIAL BATTERY’ Although classroom announcements continue to be a staple in election campaigns, candidates like Hakim have also focused efforts on canvassing outside the classroom.

“With posters in the past, that meant your passive way of letting people know elections [are] happening is when you see Buchanan just filled with people’s faces constantly,” he said.

But a key limitation of this is human effort: not all candidates have the energy of a social butterfly and they can only have so many volunteers reach out for them.

“If you’re more of somebody who enjoys the prospect of talking to people, or have at least the social battery or the stamina to do it, it doesn’t make it too hard for you,” Hakim said.

Current VP Academic and University Affairs and recent Student Seantor-elect Julia Burnham recalled her experience putting up posters during last year’s abnormally long three-week campaign.

“I didn’t have any volunteers for my campaign last year, so I have a very vivid and painful memory of spending four hours straight just walking across campus with all of my posters.”

Part of an overall trend toward online campaigning, candidates continue to leverage social media

advertising, something that Liang did with getting her friends to repost her content and Burnham did by purchasing ads.

The ban had benefits both for elections administrators, who no longer had to deal with postering complaints, and candidates, who no longer had to keep track of their posters.

“Not having to have that stress is very nice because I think we got a lot of really petty complaints and it was really just a waste of the election administrator’s time,” said Burnham describing cases where posters were moved to cover those of other candidates.

SIGN OF THE TIMES Besides eliminating poster infractions, the ban was intended to reduce elections’ environmental impact. But Liang said that the impact was unclear given another form of campaigning: “wasteful” lawn signs. Not only are they more expensive for candidates, it’s unclear how easy it is to recycle the plastic they’re made of. “[Lawn signs are] just to be used once,” Liang said. “And then now, [mine] sit in my garage and my mom is like, ‘Lucia, why don’t you finally throw your face out?’”

Sahibzada said he approved about 13 lawn sign designs this year.

Still, students like Yu appreciate the amount of paper saved.

“I definitely agree with banning posters and I’m so happy the AMS is taking steps to prevent the negative environmental impacts that comes with printing hundreds of posters!!!” he wrote.

But with a lack of on-the-ground material, the role of the elections committee is as important as ever.

Sahibzada gave kudos to his elections teammates for their work on “one of our biggest goals”: spreading the word to students.

In 2019 only about 21.7 per cent of students voted, and it was even lower in 2020 at 11.6 per cent. In addition to the lack of posters, this difference is partially because last year’s elections featured a U-Pass approval referendum, which historically boosts turnout But regardless of the ban, Sahibzada explained that the goal of increasing voter turnout remained.

“The representatives who get elected should truly be representative of the student body.” U

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4 | NEWS | TUESDAY MARCH 10, 2020

WORDS EMMA LIVINGSTONE, ANDREW HA, THEA UDWADIA, SARAH ZHAO, MARISSA BIRNIE, BAILEY MARTENS, HENRY ANDERSON, MYLA WHITE, SONIA PATHAK PHOTOS ELIZABETH WANG, SALOMON MICKO BENRIMOH, RYAN NEALE, CLAIRE CAMPBELL, ZUBAIR HIRJI, SOPHIE GALLOWAY ILLUSTRATION VAIDEHI ASAWA DESIGN LUA PRESIDIO

THE RESULTS ARE IN PRESIDENT COLE EVANS

C

ole Evans has become the new AMS president-elect, beating out competitors Ian Stone and Harresh Thayakaanthan.

Evans, who is the current VP administration, ran on a platform of lobbying the university to commit more funding to mental health support, implementing the AMS Equity Plan and advocating for affordable housing through the creation of a new AMS service. He also won a senator-at-large seat.

“I’m really glad that UBC students put their trust in me and supported me. It was great meeting so many people and I’m so excited to get back to work for everybody.”

Evans said his first priority will be working on increasing student engagement to the AMS, citing the low voter turnout this year.

“This year we saw some very low voter engagement, so I want to really make sure that we’re engaging students and we’re making sure that students feel connected to the AMS.” U

VP FINANCE LUCIA LIANG

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ucia Liang has been re-elected as VP finance of the AMS. As an incumbent running in an uncontested race, Liang emphasized automation and digitization to modernize the AMS’s “outdated” financial systems, particularly the reimbursement system for clubs.

Her platform also included automating treasurer orientation, creating a new position for a permanent financial analyst and switching to a new ticketing platform.

“I’m so honoured to be your next VP finance of the AMS,” said Liang. “I’m going to continue to serve the students.” U

VP EXTERNAL KALITH NANAYAKKARA

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ylvester Mensah Jr has been elected next year’s AMS VP administration.

He defeated opponent Aidan Wilson in a race fought over room bookings, environmental sustainability and support for clubs.

Mensah, an AMS executive newcomer, was excited to begin his term. “I’m glad that students believed in me,” he said.

When asked what the first thing he will do in office is, he took a jab at his opponent’s platform of adding green spaces to the Nest. “[I’m going to] bring some trees so I can bring Aidan’s dreams to life,” said Mensah.

Mensah ran on a platform of student empowerment by improving consultation with undergraduate societies, supporting clubs and engaging student groups on a new sustainability policy.

During his term, Mensah will oversee the to-be-determined replacement for the Clubhouse system, as well as negotiations between the AMS and the Interfraternity Council on the future of their relationship. U

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hird-year arts student Kalith Nanayakkara has won the VP external race in this year’s AMS elections.

Nanayakkara was running in a contested race against Remzi M. Xhemalce Fuentes and Andy Wu. He won on a platform that pledged to prioritize affordability, climate action and support for Indigenous and international students.

“I’m just incredibly grateful for everyone in my life and that’s my biggest takeaway,” he said upon hearing the results.

Nanayakkara’s term will begin on May 1, 2020.

“It’s not about Kalith, it’s about everyone that supported me,” he said. “They didn’t vote for me, they voted for themselves.” U

SENATE

E

ESHANA BHANGU, JULIA BURNHAM, COLE EVANS, CHRIS HAKIM, MAX HOLMES

shana Bhangu, Julia Burnham, Cole Evans, Chris Hakim and Max Holmes are your next student senators-at-large.

During their campaigns, the nine candidates debated issues of equity and diversity, the climate crisis, accessibility and upcoming policies like the Inclusion Action Plan and Indigenous Strategic Plan.

After a crowded race, Bhangu broke through as one of two newcomers elected. With a platform based around supporting international and Indigenous students, improving Senate transparency, increasing open educational resources and streamlining mental health support access, she is excited to start her tenure. She hopes to work with the Admissions Committee in improving Indigenous representation.

“I can’t believe it. As a first year [and] as a first-year runner, I am so happy [and] so thrilled that I won alongside such experienced candidates and I can’t wait to start working with them,” she said.

Senate newcomer and current-VP Administration Evans was also elected AMS president. His platform pushed for an

eanie Malone and Max Holmes are re-elected as student representatives on the Board of governors (BoG).

This will be Malone and Holmes’s fourth and second year on the Board respectively.

In their platforms and debates, they displayed institutional knowledge that comes from having worked within UBC for several years.

Malone ran on a platform of continuing her work on inclusion as the Board’s People, Community and International Committee chair. Alongside Holmes, she is also advocating for an affordability strategic plan that will integrate the university’s separate affordability initiatives and forecast tuition increases over several years. “[I’m] delighted to be serving students,” said Malone. “I have a very long list of things I need to meet with Max about while we make our year plan.”

Holmes sits on both the Property and Finance Committees and hopes to use his influence there to build more affordable housing for students and secure funds for UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan, Inclusion Action Plan, the President’s Academic Excellence Initiative and more.

“Ultimately, I’m so excited about all the work that’s been unfinished this year — whether it’s the Indigenous Strategic Plan, the Inclusion Action Plan, the Government Business Enterprise,” said Holmes.

“I’m just looking forward to being able to advocate on how student interests are ultimately the best interests of the university.” U

external review of the Senate and better learning spaces for students. “[I’m] really glad that UBC elected me to Senate and just ready to get to work for students at the Senate and really make a difference,” he said.

All three incumbents — Burnham, Hakim and Holmes — won re-election. The three hope to continue work on their previous projects.

“I’m humbled and honoured by students that they have given me the opportunity to serve again,” said Holmes, who was also re-elected to the Board of Governors.

He hopes to help oversee the implementation of the Inclusion Action Plan and push the Senate to endorse the Indigenous Strategic Plan — goals shared by fellow candidates Burnham and Hakim. “[I’m] looking forward to the opportunity to serve for yet again another term and really make sure that we’re transparent, accessible and serving the entire university community,” he added. U

INDIGENOUS SEAT AND AMS BYLAWS

BOARD OF GOVERNORS JEANIE MALONE, MAX HOLMES

J

VP ADMIN SYLVESTER MENSAH JR

I

It was a victory for the Indigenous Seat on Council and a loss for the AMS bylaw referenda on Friday, as the former passed and the second failed to meet quorum.

4,708 students voted in favour of the Indigenous Seat referendum, meeting the two-thirds majority necessary to establish a seat for an Indigenous student on AMS Council.

Indigenous Committee VP Chalaya Moonias was thrilled by the results.

“I’m feeling invigorated,” she said. “We’re going to have so much potential to make change happen on campus now that our voices will be heard and we’ll be able to vote in the AMS Council processes.”

The AMS Bylaw changes have once again failed to reach quorum — dashing the AMS’s hopes of getting rid of Student Court, extending AMS membership to carry over to the second semester and establishing a confidentiality policy that limits the release of sensitive records. With 3,549 students voting in favour and a minimum of 4,647 votes necessary to reach quorum, the referendum fell short by 1,098 votes.

Outgoing AMS President Chris Hakim was accepting of the results.

“It happens. What it means is that we need to invest further into making sure that students are aware of the importance of passing these bylaws,” said Hakim.

He added that he was glad the Indigenous Seat referendum passed.

“That is paramount to the AMS’s priorities and we’re very, very excited to see what the future looks like and how we can continue making efforts and working with the Indigenous Committee on reconciliation within the AMS,” said Hakim. U

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY | NEWS | 5

CULTURE

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY

EDITOR THOMAS O’DONNELL

THEATRE //

6

ART //

Together, SASC and Hatch Celebrate Community and Healing

SARAH ZHAO

Aidan LeBlanc, Sloan Thompson and Ava Safai on the set.

Preview: Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. opens conversations about the everyday experience of women Sarah Zhao Senior Staff Writer

After a year of productions exploring the past, Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. looks to be a refreshingly relevant play about feminism and the specific type of rage that can incite revolution.

Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., written by British playwright Alice Birch, was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2014. Director Sloan Thompson explained that Birch was inspired by the “SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) Manifesto” that was written by Valerie Solanas in 1967, a year before Solanas shot painter Andy Warhol.

“Solanas’s solution to the problem of patriarchy was … basically just [to] shatter all the systems of the world. And the last thing that she proposed was, ‘We need to eliminate all men,’” said Thompson.

“It was that kind of rage that was so extreme, that was not satisfied with a protest march, that was not satisfied with writing a petition — that’s the kind of rage that [Birch] is specifically addressing.”

“It’s about all these systems that are put in place,” said actor Aidan LeBlanc. “It’s awful things that men do, but it’s not so much, ‘Look how bad these individual people are,’ as it is taking a step back and going, ‘Hey, this is a situation that’s really common and happens a lot. Why?’” Revolt doesn’t offer a solution to the problems that its characters face throughout the play, the situations that women find themselves in every day. Instead, Revolt is a series of self-contained, separate stories that collectively show “a much more complicated and nuanced portrait of this world,” said Thompson.

The show also invites the audience into a conversation to investigate how certain behaviours and phrases have been normalized, for better or worse. For LeBlanc, those conversations have spilled over from the production process into his own life. He’s become a lot more conscious of whether everyday language to him is genuinely respectful and nonjudgemental to others.

“Discussing language is such a

big thing in this show ... I’m much more aware of what I say,” he said. “‘What am I saying right now and how does that affect people?’”

Thompson echoed the sentiment, describing how the actors texted her asking to grab coffee to chat about their characters and the play.

“It’s infected their hearts and it’s infected their thoughts,” she said.

“This content is becoming part of who they are and it’s shaping the way they view the world.”

NAVIGATING AMBIGUITY Part of what makes this play so unique is the ambiguity built straight into it. There are no character names, nor ages, with speaking parts broken up in the script by dashes.

As set designer Emily Dotson put it, “There is no set, there is no time, there is no place.”

As a result, Thompson, the actors and designers had a lot of freedom to do what they wanted, while remaining true to the playwright’s intent.

“That can be really tricky as an actor because then you’re blurring the lines between character and actor,” said Ava Safai, a BFA student acting in the play as a part of a 12-person ensemble.

“The most challenging part was making choices really [because] with great freedom comes great responsibility.”

Thompson worked with the actors to solidify the details and figure out what felt true to the dialogue in a process she called a “radical democracy.” Despite the messiness of navigating many distinct voices through difficult content, she believed the final product was worth it.

“I really wanted to come in and say, ‘What do you guys think? What do you guys want to do? How do you guys feel about these characters?’” she said. “It was a challenge that was worth undertaking.”

That ambiguity made set designer Dotson’s life much more complicated, but also much more exciting. In fact, the script explicitly says that there is no set.

“This is such a text-important show that to try to distract the audience with other things other than what the actors are doing

is a disservice to the show,” said Dotson.

The only time the script references any kind of atmosphere is in the word “wasteland,” so she wanted to create a set that felt like “something that you can’t grow anything in.” She also wanted to “physically show the breakdown of something,” and eventually, with the help of a discerning assistant, hit upon the idea of creating a Jenga-like structure with movable boxes.

“As the show goes on, we’re throwing them or peeling panels off of them or destroying them, and instead of building something that could potentially be nice and we could use for something else, we’re breaking it down into chaos.”

Revolt also features an unusual feature for the Frederic Wood Theatre — a “thrust,” which extends the performance space into the first two rows of the audience from the normal stage. The idea for this configuration came from the discomfort Dotson said she felt while reading the play, and a desire for the actors to interact with the audience.

“A big part of the show is the shock value of taking the internal emotions of the actors and like physically seeing them,” Doston explained. “We wanted the audience members to have the ethos to understand what they were going through.

“The best way to do that is invading someone’s personal space.”

REVOLT AGAIN. What this play comes down to is not the first half of its title, but the second. The “again” is a conversation starter about hope, particularly in a time where being politically conscious can feel exhausting.

“The value of the struggle is not in its immediate success. The value of the struggle is in its endurance in picking yourself back up and going and going and going,” said Thompson.

“How do we maintain hope?

How do we not just throw up our hands and say it’s too big for us?” U Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. runs from March 12 to March 28 at the Frederic Wood Theatre.

“Raised Hands” and “Wish Upon a Star Blanket Mural”

Moe Kirkpatrick Senior Staff Writer

You’ve seen them: the signs.

Ten of them, huge, cardboard and Styrofoam, most rounded into tombstone shapes, some simple rectangles or crosses.

“COPS ROBBED MY ‘GOOD’ DEALER,” reads one; “STOP COLONIZATION,” another. At first glance, they’re an odd thing to see on the wall of an art gallery. What are they, protest signs?

Yep. The signs — a piece called “WUNISKA,” meaning “arise” — are just one part of the Hatch Gallery’s latest exhibition, Together: Communities of Healing. The exhibition was made in collaboration with the Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC). Together is the second collaboration between the Hatch and the SASC, following last March’s Healing Fires.

Together focuses on the different ways that people heal after sexual assault or other traumas and how community support can facilitate that healing. There are 18 pieces of work in Together, varying from audio poems to embroidered calendars to black and white photographs. Some of the artists have chosen to remain anonymous for this gallery showing, while others have not.

Now let’s talk about the signs.

“WUNISKA” is a collection of protest signs from a September 12 die-in at Vancouver City Hall, meant to emphasize how many Indigenous women have been affected by the opioid crisis. It is one of four pieces in Together that were previously exhibited at the SUM Gallery last December, as part of a show called Daxgyet Hanak: Strong Woman, which was brought together by Shane Sable.

Daxgyet Hanak was presented

by We Have a Voice: Indigenous Women Who Do Sex Work Speak Out, which is in turn a project by Sex Workers United Against Violence.

From the exhibit’s pamphlet, the two-year Voice project has been providing opportunities for Indigenous women who do sex work on the Downtown Eastside to “speak to their experiences in a safe and healing way.”

“WUNISKA” and the other works from Daxgyet Hanak not only directly translate community healing into direct action, but also forefront community voices, down to the very structure of the art itself.

Take “Raised Hands” for example.

“Raised Hands” looks rather unassuming at first glance. Sheets of brightly coloured paper hanging next to each other in a giant square, each printed with a drawing of a hand

ELIZABETH WANG

and a prompt. Prompts vary from: “The way I got into sex work was…” to “More police in the community would mean…” or “Things that attracted me to sex work were…”

However, it’s not always easy to read the prompts. Stickers, doodles and plain writing cover each sheet of paper. What might seem messy is actually the point — above considerations of legal entities or police come the voices of those in the community. Whatever they want to say or if they want to speak at all.

Explanations or acknowledgements or arguments — only so much as community members want to provide. Decide to provide.

So yeah, go to Together because the signs looked interesting walking up the Nest’s main stairs.

But stay awhile and listen. There are pieces that will speak to you.

There are pieces that even after contemplation, you might not really ‘get.’ That’s okay.

The true strength of Together: Communities of Healing is the community space it provides, here in the Nest, explicitly for discussions of healing from sexual assault and other traumas through art and community.

I might be off the mark here, but it feels rare to have an exhibition that centers healing from trauma while still providing artists and community members the space to share as much or as little as they want about their traumas. Sometimes it’s not about what we as voyeurs want explained or justified from the artist, but what the artist as a person and a member of our community wants to share.

As I wandered the gallery, I found myself taken by a specific painting.

“Acts of Therapy: I Document my Dismissal and my Organism Thrives,” by Stephanie Talic. It’s a big square canvas, paint or ink on top of layered vertical strips of collage. What I’ve nicknamed it in my head this past weekend is “Twine” because it looks like twine — thin, tangled lines coalescing or unraveling diagonally across the canvas.

Logically, I know why this painting stuck out to me so much.

We love paintings and lines and weird abstract lines that seem sharp or sinuous or full of action.

We, meaning me specifically. Can’t get enough of that shit.

But for that first moment seeing that painting, I wasn’t thinking about capital-A Art or what aesthetics I like. I looked at it and something in my marrow went, ‘Oh, me,’ with the same gentle surprise of seeing your reflection when you hadn’t been expecting it. U Together: Communities of Healing will be at the Hatch until March 12.

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY | CULTURE | 7 FOOD //

Homesick Cooking: Nigerian fried plantains and fried eggs in your dorm Jane Diokpo Staff Writer

Back at home, meals like fried plantains — a sickly-sweet dish of deep fried plantains that is typically served with scrambled eggs — were common, especially for lunch or dinner. There was obviously a fair mix of more Western options in our daily food choices, but cultural food was never set aside because there’s nothing more special than partaking in and enjoying one’s cultural heritage.

Since coming to Vancouver for my studies, I had yet to taste a single spoonful of Nigerian food. It’s all down to the gloomyrainy days, my infinite laziness to actually go out looking for any decent African restaurants as well as my total ineptitude at cooking… period. But alas one day, I decided to set aside my excuses and actually attempt making something simple enough, according to the recipe my parents texted me. No longer would I sit around and wait for my country’s delicacies to fall right into my lap like they used to — I would have to make them myself. So just like that, I set out to make myself a batch of fried plantains and hoped I would at least end up with something digestible by the end of the ordeal.

[See ingredient card and recipe card.]

THE FINISHED PRODUCT And that was pretty much it: I was done in a total of 30 minutes. I have to admit, I’m pretty proud of how it all turned out. Sure, my plantains were a bit burnt and I skipped the ‘add veggies’ part. Still, it was totally digestible and genuinely tasty. The dish makes for a really simple and awesome meal when you crave something sweet but savoury while studying for midterms.

I feel like I always took my country’s cultural foods and my family always cooking for me for granted when I was back at home.

Now I’m over here in Vancouver, thousands of miles away, I find myself slightly missing all that.

However, that can be a tough lesson for international students to learn sometimes: when in an unfamiliar environment, you try your best to adapt. And in a way, I achieved just that by sourcing ingredients and cooking a cultural dish on my own, without my family’s help. U

Ingredients Most can be found at any supermarket, like Whole Foods. If you find an African food store, that’s a bonus!

- 2 ripe yellow plantains - salt - black pepper

- 2 eggs - olive oil or peanut (groundnut) oil - ½ onion (Optional) - ½ red pepper (Optional) - Secret ingredient: garlic powder or chili powder (Optional)

Cut these out to make the recipe at home!

Recipe NOTE: Obviously, you can choose to wait till the plantains are done frying to fry the eggs with the same pan. In this recipe, I’m using two pans.

The finished recipe.

JANE DIOKPO

Cooking the eggs.

JANE DIOKPO

1. Peel the plantains. Cut them into quarter-inch thick slices horizontally. You could choose to dice them up further, it’s up to you. Put the slices into a bowl and sprinkle a bit of salt over it.

2. Shake the bowl gently so salt spreads evenly around.

3. Fry the slices in olive or peanut oil (two tablespoons) in a frying pan (at a medium heat) until they’re golden brown. Always check on them so they don’t get burnt and gently stir them once in a while.

4.Wash your vegetables. Chop and dice up half an onion and half a red pepper.

5.Put oil in a second frying pan then put the diced up onion and red pepper in.

6.Break two eggs into a bowl, sprinkle in salt and black pepper, garlic powder or chilli powder. Whisk it with a fork, then pour it into the second frying pan. As it begins to look cooked (solid and yellowish), scramble it with a spatula. It should be done in less than four minutes.

7.Dish it out on a plate.

8.By now, the plantains should be golden brown and done in under 10 minutes.

9.Dish them out on a plate. Enjoy!

WORDS :JANE DIOKPO; GRAPHICS: THOMAS O’DONNELL

FEATURES

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY

EDITOR PAWAN MINHAS

8

Words Maneevak Bajaj Illustration Rachel Cheang Design Lua Presidio

S t u d e n t s a re l o n e l y.

What can we (and UBC) do about it?

S

ofia Cardenas travelled nearly 7,000 kilometres away from home to attend UBC, es and mental health challenges can contribute to feelings of loneliness. So it goes both but soon after her arrival, she began to feel a “lack of belongingness.” ways.”

Despite numbering over 50,000, UBC students remains vulnerable to feelings Jenkins added that some research and surveys show the current youth generation is of loneliness troubling universities around the country. lonelier than the other generations.

In a survey conducted by the American College Health Association on a Canadian “There’s a few hypotheses around why that might be,” she said. “One of them is a growreference group, 69.2 per cent of surveyed university students reported feeling lonely in ing reliance on social media as a form of engagement. the last 12 months.

“And when people are reliant on [social media] as a source of connection, [these conStudents who talked to The Ubyssey had unique stories stemming from common roots nections] can be quite superficial and can leave people with [an] unrealistic sense of what ranging from difficulty in navigating life on campus and finding peers with similar interengagement and connection should be.” ests.

She also said that transition to new communities can be burdensome for students.

“My transition to UBC was very hard. I felt so lonely “In terms of loneliness among students, things that during my first year that I actually considered dropping could contribute [to a feeling of loneliness] are … relocatout of UBC,” said Cardenas, a second-year business ing to a new community to attend school or leaving a parstudent. ticular social group — and [the] connections they’ve had “I had friends but they were not really friends. How through high school — and then making new connections could I even call them friends? We barely [knew] each in a new community.” other and it was very hard to be able to find them around later.”

MAPPING OUT DIVERSITY Loneliness can be more than simple solitude.

“Unlike just being alone, feeling lonely — because of a With more than 180 countries represented on campus, lack of community or general empathy from others — was the difference between a student’s experience back home frustrating for my mental health,” Cardenas said. and in Canada can result in a greater feeling of disconA search for “lonely” on r/UBC returns countless nection. Cardenas described Canadian society to be Reddit posts of students expressing feelings of anxiety “more individualistic than collectivist Latin American and dejection. societies.”

“It’s gotten to the point where sometimes I can’t even “Coming from a Latin American society, this society do any work because of it,” wrote Reddit user Hailey172. was a complete contrast. It [feels easy] to get lost within “It’s kind of weird because I do have friends that I can [the] masses. Back home we’re more family-oriented and hang out with but I just always feel so lonely.”

I feel everyone’s just doing their own thing here,” she Cardenas highlighted the role of social media in creatcontinued. ing a person’s skewed view of their peers’ popularity.

Satyajit Bhattacharya, a first-year student from India, SE C ON D -Y E A R “Everyone makes it seem like they are living a better also highlighted the cultural differences between his life compared to yours on social media. [Comparing] hometown and Vancouver.

BU SI NE S S STU DEN T yourself with others on social media gives rise to inse“[Some] things here are antithetic to what it is in curities amongst people, so they start to feel scared to Bombay,” Bhattacharya said. “Here, everything closes approach others and feel low about themselves,” she said. at 6 to 8 p.m. … which is very new to me. It’s almost like “From Misperception to Social Connection,” a UBC coming from a huge city to a village.” academic paper on interpersonal relationships, also notes While many students are looking for personal growth that people tend to overestimate the number of friends from a ‘university experience,’ Jenkins added that comtheir peers have. “People are systematically biased to see themselves as worse off than mitments put on students such academic workload can impede this transition process. their peers,” the paper adds.

Drawing on her experience, Cardenas mentioned the “competitive spirit” among students can sometimes be detrimental, going further to say that competition can either OUR GENERATION, IN CONTEXT incentivize us to work harder or make us doubt ourselves and our own capacities.

“I have come across many people who feel like this and feel as though they are placed Dr. Emily Jenkins, an assistant professor at UBC’s School of Nursing, outlined the severity aside from the rest when they are not competing as hard,” she said. of the problem.

“Loneliness is a sense of being alone [that] can result in people feeling like they’re BUILDING ‘HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES’ isolated, unwanted, empty and those kinds of feelings,” she said.

She emphasized the strong two-way association between loneliness and mental health According to a 2019 report on community participation by the Vancouver Foundation, challenges such as depression and anxiety. even though BC residents generally feel welcomed and want to make their community a “But the relationship is such that loneliness can contribute to mental health challengbetter place to live, they face several barriers.

"I H A D F R IEN D S BU T TH EY W ER E NOT R E A L LY F R IEN D S ."

SOF I A C A R DE NA S

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY | FEATURES | 9

“Many people experience barriers such as work or school obligations, finances, and health issues that prevent them from doing more in their community but some barriers are experienced more than others depending on [a person’s] stage in life,” the report states.

“Lack of time is a common barrier to participation for all generations.”

Jenkins’s research noted that in order to live a fulfilling life, we need to create healthier communities, support positive connections and ensure emotional, psychological and social well-being.

While she described loneliness to be an intense emotional expression of feeling disconnected from others which can even lead to mental health disorders, she was quick to clarify that loneliness isn’t a mental health disorder in itself.

“I think loneliness is a type of issue I think highlights the need for us to … [take a] mental health-promotion approach, which is a strengths-based approach,” Jenkins said. “It calls for approaches that work to build community and create opportunities for people to connect meaningfully.

“This means to move away from looking at mental health challenges in isolation and looking at the positive end of the spectrum and seeing the things we can do as communities to create healthier contexts or healthier conditions for people to be living in which is supportive of their mental health.”

to the role of Jump Start in building community. As mentioned in an article published by The Ubyssey in October 2018, UBC sees Jump Start as a chance to change how it welcomes students to campus. The university found that those who attended Jump Start were, on average, more likely to graduate and had improved well-being, over those who did not.

Kiloh reinforced the importance of Jump Start, saying “Most first-year international students attend Jump Start. The first-year Collegia, in particular, have been designed to make it easier for first-year students who commute to get to know one another and access campus resources.”

Bhattacharya shared his difficulty in not being able to take advantage of residence life and Jump Start. “By the time I made my decision to come here, the residence deadline got over.

“When I arrived on the last day of Jump Start, I tried to introduce myself to everyone and I couldn’t feel any connection with anyone.”

Ravia Arora, on-campus project coordinator at Mental Health Network, said that even though UBC has great Orientation Leaders (OLs) and RAs, they can be given more intensive training on building rewarding bonds.

“Students tell me OLs who were supposed to stay in touch with them throughout the semester kind of sent one email and didn’t follow up much. I know they’re great RAs and OLs, UBC needs to [make] FINDING COMMUNITY AT UBC sure to [provide them] with mental health support training as well.”

Kim Kiloh, director of the Centre for Student Kiloh advised students to aid in building commuInvolvement and Careers at UBC, underlined the nity by staying in touch with neighbours and being university’s approach to develop positive connecapproachable. “Making eye contact, smiling, saying tions. “The fundamental approach in first year is to hello and asking others small questions about their connect students in small communities — through day are all small actions that can help minimize the orientations, Imagine [Day] and Jump Start — and awkwardness of beginning friendships.” also, importantly, through a continuing community Oscar Yu, a second-year science student, added in residence [and] Collegia. that most peers and faculty are actually more than ON- C A MPU S PROJE CT “For graduate students, orientations and dewilling to support each other.

C O OR DI NATOR , MEN TA L partmental events are effective ways to meet fellow “Whenever I might feel lonely, I know I have the H E A LTH NET WOR K students.” students and faculty at UBC to support me and be She said most departments offer social and acathere for me.” demic activities such as journal clubs and to help new Yu said that if used well, social media can actually graduate students form friendships. be an effective mode to meet friends. He believes that “Many graduate students also participate in comfor people who aren’t very vocal, connecting on social munity-based research and volunteer opportunities — such as Let’s Talk Science — which media can be a boon. help to connect research interests and community needs,” Kiloh said.

“It’s less frightening and nerve-wracking, since you can think before you type,” Yu She highlighted the resources available at UBC to support students. “When we [feel said. “Just make sure those online conversations turn into something.” lonely] — there are people at UBC to turn to for help: Residence Advisors (RAs), Collegia He encouraged people to join clubs to meet people with similar interests.“I have met Advisors, Speakeasy [and] Wellness Peers are some key peer-to-peer contacts.” some really awesome people in different clubs. And you could meet your next best friend,” In a written response to The Ubyssey, AMS Speakeasy Coordinator Puneet Sidhu Yu said. mentioned that the program’s peer support volunteers are trained to tackle such mental Kiloh also mentioned some social activities that could help students feel less lonely. health challenges.

“Other good practices include participating in a group activity … such as a fitness class “The AMS understands that loneliness is a major factor to mental health issues, and or a student club meeting, reaching out to neighbour or classmate to see if someone might at AMS Speakeasy Peer Support, we train our peer support volunteers to be equipped for like to join you for a joint study session,” she said. supporting peers dealing with loneliness.

Arora also emphasized the importance of checking in with people around you. “While “Additionally, we do outreach events on a weekly basis to promote our service and let it’s obviously integral to check with those who are struggling, I think the way to avoid such the UBC community know that we are available every weekday to support anyone dealing situations is checking in with all your friends. with loneliness, or any other issue,” Sidhu said.

“A lot of people are available to help, but sometimes people just need to be reminded of Addressing the concerns of loneliness amongst international students, Kiloh pointed that.” U

“A LOT OF PE OPL E A R E AVA IL A BL E TO H E L P , BU T SOMETI ME S PE O PL E JU ST NE E D TO BE R EMI N DE D OF TH AT.”

R AV I A A ROR A

OPINIONS

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY

EDITOR TRISTAN WHEELER

11

DEFORESTATION //

Letter: An obituary for UBC’s tallest tree

FILE ELIZABETH WANG

“Before UBC ever existed, the forests of this region had grown for centuries.”

Ira Sutherland Contributor

UBC has lost a very special member of its campus community.

A local tree known as the Wesbrook Sentinel, germinated from seed circa 1910 in Sty-WetTan, Musqueam territory — a land now known as UBC. It would grow its whole life there until being tragically cut down at the age of about 110 on February 20 so that UBC could make way for more market condos.

The tree belonged to the Douglas-fir species, or Pseudotsuga menziesii in Latin, which is native

to the UBC campus and can live for over 1,000 years. This tree was the tallest, and possibly, the oldest living organism in the UBC campus at its time of death.

The Wesbrook Sentinel grew up in a troubled environment.

It was born from the seeds of its parents — the remains of which are still visible in the form of large rotting stumps nearby. Its parents, which were several hundred years old at the time, were cut down for lumber during an era when little concern was given for forest stewardship, which means to take care of the forest. Forest stewardship is practiced by making

careful assessments of the forest to identify important values — i.e. things that people care about, such as superlative trees — and then developing strategies to ensure that those values can be safeguarded and maintained into the future.

When good forest stewardship is practiced, development can occur while impacts to forest values are minimized.

But, despite its rough start to life, the Wesbrook Sentinel grew to become one of the tallest trees in the area. In fact, it was pinpointed as the tallest tree on campus following a search in 2014 by the website www.vancouversbigtrees. com. The search was aided by sophisticated technology, including a spatial search using Google Earth and then ground laser measurements. The Wesbrook Sentinel stood at a striking 60.5 metres (200 feet) tall or seven metres taller than 18-storey UBC Brock Commons, one of the tallest wood building on Earth.

By its centennial year, however, the forest in which this tree watched over had begun to be chipped away at.

In 2012, a study of the UBC Urban Tree Canopy documented that 11 hectares of tree cover had already been lost to make way for development at Wesbrook Village.

The Sentinel witnessed all of this,

but it seemed safe. It was vigorous and solid. Also, it was tucked away at the corner of the development, where it could have likely been spared even as development encroached.

In a strange twist of fate, the year that this tree germinated was the same year that the Point Grey Peninsula was selected as the future site for the UBC campus.

This decision laid the path for the demise of the Wesbrook Sentinel.

To this day, UBC does not do enough to protect its trees, especially when considering the following: 1) the community deeply cares about its trees and forests; 2) UBC is a leading institution in urban forestry research with extensive in-house expertise and 3) UBC exerts bold claims to be a leader in sustainability.

Yet, UBC lacks a rigorous tree protection bylaw and is lagging when it comes to urban forest stewardship. For instance, had the Sentinel been incorporated into the City of Vancouver rather than UBC, that tree would have never been cut down due to the rigour that the City of Vancouver applies to identify high-quality trees and then work to ensure they are retained throughout development.

Let the untimely death of the Wesbrook Sentinel remind us

of the need to think long term when it comes to our trees and forests. Before UBC ever existed, the forests of this region had grown for centuries but then were quickly laid to ruin by a forestry industry that prioritized short-term economic gains over long-term forest integrity. The Wesbrook Sentinel and the nearby stumps of its parents remind us of this legacy. To prevent enduring losses, UBC must commit to stewarding the campus trees and forests. UBC must undertake the proper planning to ensure that short-term dollars and cents don’t trump the long-term health of our campus environment.

An informal celebration of life took place for the Sentinel.

It was joined by friends from the Faculty of Forestry and campus community on March 4 at 3:30 p.m. at Khorana Park, Wesbrook Village, UBC. In lieu of donations, please send a letter to the UBC administration to demand proactive planning and protection of our campus trees. While this tree has been lost due to shortsightedness, let us rally to ensure that its legacy lives on. U Ira Sutherland is a PhD student in the faculty of forestry and the chair of the BC Big Tree Committee.

LOVE AND ANGER //

Mind Your Mind: Emotions are adaptive, so let’s celebrate them!

Daphnée Lévesque Contributor

What would a world without emotions look like?

I can imagine that life would be dull, very dull indeed. Emotions are what makes us human, so I’m guessing that without emotions, there would be no music, no art, no drama and culture. We’d all be living like robots, unaware of how we impact others and unable to savour the little moments that make our lives worth living. In other words, our bodies would not give us any clues or signals that we need to protect/feed/take care of ourselves in the moment. So, we could very well end up dead.

As someone who experiences strong, intense emotions, I recognize the fact that a lot of the time, experiencing emotions can be a painful process. Sometimes I wonder why my emotions hurt so much, but ultimately, experiencing emotions is a necessary evolutionary process that helps ensure our survival.

Simply put, emotions are fundamentally adaptive, which means they are helpers. They are useful because they help us navigate the world, so we are able to adjust to the conditions of our ever-changing environment. When you take into account the evolution theory, everything makes more sense.

The main point to remember, though, is that without emotions, none of us would be alive today. Sometimes when I am experiencing an uncomfortable emotion (anger, fear, shame) I try to remember that. And if I’m

feeling particularly accepting that day, I will even thank my emotions, as unpleasant as they are.

Here are a few examples.

Anger: Anger is adaptive because it primes our body to attack and defend ourselves. Many years ago, our ancestors needed the ability to feel anger, so their body could prepare themselves in case a giant tiger jumped out from behind a tree. Anger tells our bodies it’s time to protect ourselves. Anger motivates you to pursue your goals, and in some cases, fuels people’s passion for social justice. Anger is what motivates you to stand up for yourself. You might also feel healthy anger when someone you care about gets hurt by others — and this anger is a natural result of you caring deeply for that person.

Disgust: I don’t know anyone who likes the emotion of disgust, but disgust is adaptive because it’s an emotion that used to help you avoid diseases/contamination.

So, in the past centuries, disgust would tell your brain, “Ew! Stop!

Don’t eat these berries! They’re poisonous!” Then you’d probably make a silly face and spit them out.

It’d be an unpleasant experience, but at least you’d still be alive.

Love: Love is a pleasant feeling for a lot of people, and it’s adaptive because it not only enhances your quality of life, but also because love between certain partners can push them towards creating a family. If our ancestors never felt the urge to reproduce or had no desire for sex, none of us would be here today.

Since there are different types of relationships, love can also bring all sorts of people closer together,

like friends and family members.

Human bonds and building relationships are crucial, because if we didn’t have interpersonal relationships, we wouldn’t take care of each other. Mothers would not have the maternal instinct of protecting their babies, and it has been demonstrated that social connection and a sense of belonging has a big influence on human beings’ mental health.

Guilt: Guilt is adaptive because it motivates you to live by your values. Guilt is the emotion that tells your brain, “You did X and Y and you need to apologize.” Guilt can motivate you to make amend or repair strained relationships.

Think of guilt as a built-in moral compass.

Sadness: Sadness is a vulnerable emotion, but it is also an important part of grieving. In turn, grief is adaptive because it allows you to cope with losses in a healthy way.

Fear: Finally, fear is adaptive because it alerts your body when you find yourself in a dangerous situation. When you feel fear, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode. In the old days, this was more than necessary because it helped our ancestors decide whether they should flee, hide or attack their predators, depending on the circumstances.

I can only speak from personal experience, but I grew up in a society where I was taught that emotions are either ‘good or bad,’ ‘positive or negative.’ For example, some people believe that negative emotions like anger or fear are ‘bad, dangerous and irrational.’ Why is this so?

Without emotions, none of us would be alive today!

Our beliefs about emotions are different and largely depend on our upbringing. What’s funny is that emotions, by definition, are a stream of constantly changing sensations and urges, continuously passing through the body.

EMOTIONS ARE SIMPLY EMOTIONS. We try to get rid of ‘bad’ emotions because we’ve been taught that they are unpleasant and want to get rid of them as soon as possible. But, ‘bad’ emotions can also be helpful in certain situations — like the examples mentioned above!

Uncomfortable does not equal ‘bad’ either. Some people have a hard time tolerating intimacy and experiencing love is terrifying for them. Does that mean that what they might be experiencing, ‘love’ is inherently bad? And if fear is a

FILE STEPHANUE WU

‘bad’ emotion or a sign of weakness, why do people love horror movies, suspense novels or seek thrilling rides at amusement parks?

The key point is this: without emotions, none of us would be alive today! Let that sink in again.

Emotions are vital for our survival because they incite us to react to our environment and changing circumstances. In my personal life, I try to accept my emotions as best I can, but I’d be lying if I said it was easy. Emotions are so complex, but I choose to believe that, ultimately, they can help me lead a rich, meaningful and fulfilling life. 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

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY

EDITOR TRISTAN WHEELER

12

DEADLINES //

The slow disintegration of trying to write an essay the day it’s due Anupriya Dasgupta Senior Staff Writer

I am your typical arts student. I have idealistic dreams of changing the world by contributing to the dismantling of capitalism, no job prospects after graduation and hundreds of essays to write. I’ll be honest, I was excited to write my essay about Michel Foucault, as is every other arts student who is acquainted with this man at least once (probably twice) in their university careers. But I wouldn’t be a typical arts student if I didn’t leave this essay until the very last moment.

So, to procrastinate even that, I am documenting my hourly stay at IKB as I potentially probably lose my mind.

Noon: I have the entire day to do this. I am ready. I am prepared.

I take out my laptop, my textbook, my notes, a pen and a pencil, and the picture of my whiteboard that I couldn’t carry from home that has the scribbles of a genius on it: a mind-map of my A+ essay. I put down my coffee on the desk that isn’t a coffee but a hot chocolate because the kind lady at Tim’s messed up my order. I am not going into battle

caffeinated, but it is okay. I have faith that I will survive, sans drugs. I flip open my textbook, I begin.

1 p.m.: My laptop battery is already beginning to wane. To be fair, I haven’t charged it in about three days. Personally, I would give out a lot earlier. I untangle my charger so it can breathe some life into my laptop.

I am still reading my textbook and underlining things that don’t really make any sense to me.

2 p.m.: I have spent an hour on Instagram. I am now very knowledgeable about celebrities who will never know me. I am also very knowledgeable about their dogs, who also, will never know me. Tragic.

3 p.m.: I have deleted Instagram.

4 p.m.: I have finished making stars next to all the lines I want to quote, despite not having a clue as to how to string them together. I consider myself to have accomplished something. It is time to take another break. I ask the person sitting next to me to watch my stuff because I’m in desperate need of a break. She looks over with what one can only imagine is a mixture of pity and disdain, sighs, and motions me to go. At last, I am able to make my way to Ike’s, get some food and buy a

coffee. A real caffeinated coffee this time. I return to my seat, tell myself I am ready and open my laptop, ready to type out my A+ essay.

5 p.m.: Procrastination has taken the form of altruism. I promise my friend I will read his essay and give him feedback. With my brain on overload, shaking too much from the caffeine, I decided I will spend my precious time going over his already-completed perfect essay instead of focusing on starting mine. I spend the next hour giving ‘genuine’ feedback, while completely aware that my brain has halfway turned into mush, and I can’t actually understand most of his essay.

Nevertheless, he is grateful. As he should be.

6 p.m.: Like my laptop that is running hot and making unearthly noises, I have also started fuming and breathing too much. My feet are shaking too much and I can feel chemicals running up and down my body. I have too much nervous energy. I decide to go expend it on something else. I don’t bother asking anyone to watch my stuff now, no one wants to touch my cursed textbook, let alone my asthmatic laptop. I run down without my jacket

I have deleted Instagram.

and go out to get some fresh air, not considering that I will probably freeze to death. After pacing enough, I run back inside, doing a Rocky Balboa-esque run up and around IKB. By the time I get back up to the fourth floor, I am done with my monthly workout and ready to focus on my essay again.

7 p.m.: I run into a friend I’ve only met once before, at a party, while we were both very out of it.

I love this guy. I’m very excited to see him and I imagine he is excited to see me. However, at hour seven I can only respond with a slightly perky, mostly dying, “hi.” He comes over and we spend 20 minutes chatting. He then says that I should finish my essay so he will leave me to it. Greater disappointment and

FILE ZUBAIR HIRJI

dread has not been felt.

8 p.m.: Am I making progress?

My brain is rotting, so I can’t really say. I give myself an ultimatum of two more hours to leave the library.

I don’t think my brain catches that but I think it knows that it can’t handle anymore.

9 p.m.: A surprise: I am done! I am finished. I am actually through.

I have put together words that somehow make sense. My brain is on fire, and not in a good way. As I save my file and close my wheezing laptop, I wonder if I have enough brain matter to walk me home.

I find myself jittering from the caffeine, the anxiety and the lack of competence.

As they say, you live and you learn. U

BLUNDERS //

A definitive list of mistakes you will make in your first year at UBC NOT USING RESOURCES (LIBRARY, OFFICE HOURS)

I’m truly sorry if you live in Place Vanier.

Jonathan Harris & Harshit Kohli Staff Writers

Your first year at UBC is hard — really hard. Here is a definitive list of the biggest blunders that most of you will make in your first eight months in Point Grey.

LIVING IN VANIER/EMAILING THEM TO ASK FOR TOTEM I’m truly sorry if you live in Place Vanier as a first-year (not for those in one of the newer houses that were built in this century).

You deserve to see the sun and hopefully you made friends with the basement bats. And it’s just sad if you emailed them to ask for Totem Park. I mean you might as well have asked for Orchard.

Reddit failed you didn’t it?

NOT KNOWING WHICH CLASSES YOU’RE SIGNING UP FOR

FILE JOSH CURRAN

If you’re gonna spend four months in a class, it is worth it taking a day to really understand what you’re taking. Spending a mind-numbing day staring at ratemyprofessors.com and four-letter class codes will pay dividends in the long term. As a first-year, you’re gonna see some tired-looking person in your class who’s only there since they didn’t know they needed this class four years ago — don’t become that person.

SLEEPING THROUGH A MIDTERM It’s hard to keep your sleep schedule healthy, especially as a student. Your work schedule is also probably no breeze. But even with all that, please, use a calendar or an alarm. In addition, if you have a midterm the next day, over four hours of sleep can’t hurt, right?

There are people on campus working tirelessly to help students and, like children not eating their broccoli, we students adamantly refuse what is good for us. There are going to be things you spend hours fretting about that your professor can explain in 10 minutes during office hours. The libraries host valuable workshops daily and academic advising is an absolute godsend. And, although the lines are long, UBC has counsellors for a reason. If you’re going to pay tuition you might as well take advantage of all the free stuff that comes along with it.

BUYING TEXTBOOKS YOU DON’T NEED I live by a rule called ‘there’s no way I’m buying textbooks’ and it’s been working really well so far. If you look hard enough, you really can avoid buying all that printed paper you don’t even want to read, but you have to pay for those pretentious access codes anyway.

CHOOSING ENGINEERING (AND 8 A.M. COURSES) Let me take a moment to say “lol.” Just laugh at your misery, you’re probably regretting it, but it’s better to laugh than cry. The

authors of this article may be willing to hear you rant (we accept PayPal).

FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOUR FIRST LAB PARTNER Just don’t. I mean, go for it if you feel like there might be something but, otherwise, please just don’t.

NOT ENJOYING UBC TO THE FULLEST You’re going to remember your time at UBC for the rest of your life. Make those memories great.

Join a club. Go to that party. Take that course you think sounds cool.

Jump into the fountain. Sleep in past your 8 a.m. classes. Okay, maybe don’t do that last one.

THINKING YOU’LL HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE It’s good to have dreams — they say aim for the moon and you’ll land among the stars. Well, if you aim for a good social life, you might just be able to plan studying together with friends and then you’ll get those nice, shiny grades!

GOING TO THE WRONG UNIVERSITY/PROGRAM Many students are in a program they don’t want to be in. Many of those had pressure from their

parents or were told that they weren’t good enough to do what they want. If you have to piss your parents off to get yourself out of some miserable degree, do it.

SPENDING ALL YOUR MONEY AT STARBUCKS Dear fellow students, one piece of Ubyssey advice for you: control your Starbucks addiction. I know it’s nice and it makes you not feel dead on the inside but, if you do the math right, you might be able to pay for a flight to the moon in a few years.

PROMO-ING YOUR LINKEDIN AT PARTIES/AGGRESSIVELY PLUGGING YOUR INSTAGRAM Dear Sauder people, it’s a party, come on. Okay, and others, plugging your IG is okay to an extent, but please don’t randomly add people you don’t know. It’s weird and it’s going to ruin your follower-to-likes ratio.

BUYING OVERPRICED UBC MERCH After getting into a university, being eager to flex about it natural.

School pride is great, but spending $65 on a grey sweatshirt with ‘UBC’ on it is just not the right play.

Does that UBC sticker really add $10 of value to your water bottle? U

Are you looking for close convenient storage?

We have two locations available minutes from the UBC campus and offer student discounts year-round.

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SCIENCE

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY

EDITOR JAMES VOGL

13

DONATION CHECK //

New device may help screen for blood ‘super donors’ Arveen Gogoani Contributor

New research at UBC has provided the possibility of identifying high-quality blood donors that can provide longlasting red blood cells to sensitive recipients, a finding with the potential to improve the outcomes of blood transfusions.

The study was conducted by Dr. Hongshen Ma, a professor in the department of mechanical engineering, the School of Biomedical Engineering and the Centre for Blood Research.

Alongside Ma were research students Emel Islamzada, Eric Lamoureux and Kerryn Matthews, as well as Dr. Mark Scott at Canadian Blood Services.

“We, for a long time, have been interested in the question of how do you measure the quality of donated red blood cells because right now, all donated red blood cells in blood bags are considered to be identical, but blood bankers have known anecdotally that some of the red cell units seem to last longer in recipients,” said Ma. The researchers developed a device to measure how the deformability of red blood cells from different donors degrades over time.

Red blood cells are pushed through microscale structures on the device and the microscales sort the cells

based on their deformability.

“One of the things that the blood cell has to do is to be able to deform [or] squeeze so it can remain in circulation and if you store blood, over time the red blood cells will lose their ability to squeeze and they will get more rigid, and so this mechanical feature of red blood cells is considered … a predictor for how long red blood cells will last,” Ma said.

The researchers found that red blood cells from some donors did not degrade in deformability as fast as red blood cells from other donors and speculated that the device can be used to test for “super donors” that can provide their red blood cells to especially sensitive recipients.

Up until now, research on red blood cells in relation to transfusions has been unsuccessful in finding a practical and definitive way to identify high-quality units of blood.

“Donated blood is used for different purposes — sometimes it’s used to treat acute trauma blood loss, in which case you only need blood for a short amount of time, but other times it’s used to treat chronic conditions and in those situations you want the transfusion blood to last as long as possible.”

Testing for super donors would allow blood banks to further benefit recipients by reserving samples that cater to the specific needs of

The researchers developed a device to measure how the deformability of red blood cells degrades over time.

individuals. This means that blood transfusion procedures could be altered so that if a recipient requires frequent transfusions, blood banks can accommodate this by providing blood from a super-donor containing red blood cells that remain viable in circulation for a longer period of time.

The researchers hope that this could lead to an overall more

successful and efficient red blood cell supply and allocation system within Canada, and perhaps worldwide too.

The study involved blood stored in test tubes — an artificial environment — since test tubes provide a more predictable and accurate degradation of blood cells. Currently, the researchers are working on developing the findings

FILE KRISTINE HO

further in a study that uses the device to test donated red blood cells stored in blood bags.

“The situation becomes more complicated in a blood bag because it’s really optimized to make the blood last as long as possible … in future studies … if we track those blood bags as they go through recipients, we can confirm how long they last,” Ma said. U

GUT CHECK //

Common diseases may be communicable through microbiome, says UBC researcher

Among the contributors to the Science piece was UBC’s Dr. Brett Finlay, of the Michael Smith Laboratories.

Stepahnie Blain Contributor

Many of the most common diseases in Canada and around the world, including cardiovascular disease (i.e. heart attacks and strokes), type 2 diabetes and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), are considered to be non-communicable. This means that unlike infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases aren’t believed to be transmittable from person to person. A new perspective piece, published in Science by UBC’s Dr. Brett Finlay and collaborators, questions whether or not this is

true. They hypothesize instead that non-communicable diseases may be communicable via the human microbiome.

The human body, and especially the human gut, is populated by diverse communities of microbes.

Many of these microbes are beneficial, as they are necessary for important processes like digestion. However, the presence and density of certain microbes in those communities have also been associated with a wide range of diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, obesity and IBD. Finlay and his

FILE DIEGO LOZANO

collaborators suggest that these microbial communities may not just be correlated to such diseases, but they might act as a mode of transmission for them.

They developed this hypothesis by synthesizing evidence that microbiome composition plays a role in causing certain diseases with evidence that in mice these microbes can be transferred between individuals. They connect this to research demonstrating associations between disease incidence and social factors, such as elevated rates of IBD among people married to another person

with IBD. Connecting these different lines of evidence led to the idea that microbes might transmit non-communicable diseases between individuals.

In order for microbes from the human microbiome to transfer diseases among people, the microbes themselves have to play a role in causing the diseases.

Dr. Bruce Vallance, a researcher based at BC Children’s Hospital who was not involved in the study, said “are microbes involved in these various diseases that we don’t think of as being infectious, so IBD, asthma, multiple sclerosis, etc.? I think the evidence out there is pretty good, particularly in animal models.

But the data is coming out that they do play a role in human disease.”

This represents a relatively recent shift in thinking regarding the causes of such diseases. The presence and severity of non-communicable diseases is traditionally thought of as being influenced by interactions between a person’s genetics and their environment.

“It’s a good idea to highlight that microbes are playing a role in these diseases that people hadn’t thought of before. And we need to do more work on that,” Vallance said.

However, this paper goes beyond arguing that microbes play a role in causing non-communicable diseases to suggest that those microbes may transmit such diseases from person to person.

Testing this hypothesis will be difficult. People in close enough

proximity to be potentially sharing microbes tend to share other facets of their environment as well. A person’s environment impacts both their microbial communities and their likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Decoupling the contribution of each shared microbes and a shared environment will therefore be a challenge.

Further, more work needs to be done to pinpoint how and when microbes actually move between humans.

Vallance cautioned that “we don’t want to get to the point where people are going to be afraid of interacting with someone who has asthma or has obesity because they’re afraid of catching their microbes. I don’t think the evidence is there that that’s something that’s catchable ... from just regular interactions.”

If there turns out to be evidence supporting this hypothesis, or even parts of it, then there may be implications for the way in which non-communicable diseases are treated.

Vallance said, “I think within five to ten years, certain hospitals under certain circumstances will do gut microbiome profiles for people with diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.

And further down the road, it may be that we could intervene in families where they’re more predisposed to certain diseases like asthma.” U

SPORTS+REC

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY

EDITOR SALOMON MICKO BENRIMOH

14

RUN FOREST RUN //

Recreating Recess: Reliving high school while running at Rashpal Dhillon Brendan Smith Senior Staff Writer

Not many people like high school gym class.

The mosaic of uncomfortable bodily changes is exposed with your gym strip and your athletic ability is put out in the open for all of the school to see.

But no one likes the track and field unit. It was always in the spring that you started to get cold sweats knowing that in the next few weeks you and your classmates would endure one month of athletics that would basically determine your grade for the class.

And the one part that kept you awake at night was running that dreaded mile.

I remember my high school gym teacher, a former Canadian Football League player, liked to say “dropping like flies” when describing everyone who was ‘absent’ or had an excuse for not taking part in the event.

However, dropping like flies could just as easily describe high school students after running a mile because, let’s be honest, running in high school is reserved for those who actually play sports.

But eventually you move on from high school gym class and go to university so that you can earn a degree that will give you a job (maybe) so you can move out of your parents house (probably not) and make good money (not a chance).

Soon you find yourself halfway

Let’s be real, running in high school was the literal worst.

through your degree and your favourite exercise is now watching a Netflix series that makes your heart race.

Then suddenly, there comes a day when you decide that you need to break a sweat and find yourself with the urge to, dare I say, run.

How did you get to this point?

Maybe the tip-off was the fact that you are starting to appreciate Garfield comics and Homer Simpson.

Or maybe it was because you are

fed up with spending Valentine’s Day staring into the dark abyss that is an empty box of chocolates.

But whatever the case may be, you feel the need to run.

And so there you are in your dusty running shoes ready to pound pavement and wander into the great unknown.

If this does sound anything like your experience, the good news is that you are not alone. Before starting to run, you should know that running does not come without risks.

FILE MAYA RODRIGO-ABDI

As someone who runs to stay fit, I can suggest some tips for avoiding injury. Yet as someone who is not a doctor, it is best to take these tips with a few grains of salt.

The first is to buy a good pair of running shoes. Running shoes will vary between people so it is best to go to a running store and get some fitted appropriately.

The second is to not try running a marathon on your first outing. It is best to gradually increase your distance over time so that your

body can adjust accordingly.

The last tip is to not forget tips one and two. Although it is tempting to do your best Usain Bolt impression and keep running in your old shoes, from my personal experience it is better to run like you did in high school and invest in new shoes if you want to avoid returning to your Netflix workout.

There is obviously lots more to learn about running, such as pace and running routes, but avoiding injury is by far the biggest challenge with this form of exercise.

And if you are looking for a nice route to start running, try the Rashpal Dhillon track and field oval.

While it may bring back memories from those forgetful high school days, the oval is great for beginners because it is easily accessible on campus and you can count your distance in laps.

Most times the track is busy with other runners and walkers of different ages, different goals and different abilities that makes it an inviting place to run.

When I went recently, there was a kid-and-adult pairing that caught my eye. It appeared that the adult was leading the kid through a series of workouts that included hurdles and sprint intervals. It was also clear that the kid was new to this sort of training, but that still did not prevent him from finishing each exercise standing upright. He was definitely not a fly. U

NATIONALS //

T-Birds rebound to beat Western and claim U Sports Bronze Bill Huan Staff Writer

The UBC men’s basketball team kicked off their quest for the U Sports championship against the Bishop’s University Gaiters Friday afternoon, cruising to a dominant 103–66 victory.

For the second straight game, the Thunderbirds got off to a fast start and led 15–0 less than five minutes into the first-quarter. Bishop’s finally got on the scoreboard when Connor Kelly converted two free throws after getting fouled by UBC guard Manroop Clair.

The Gaiters took advantage of some Thunderbirds fouls by scoring their first five points from the free-throw line, energizing the Bishop’s favouring crowd. However, the quarter would finish with UBC leading 31–13 thanks to a buzzerbeating three from Grant Audu.

The second quarter was more evenly contested as UBC appeared to lose their focus which led to a few threes from the Gaiters, cutting the lead to 10. The Thunderbirds would luckily regain some composure and lock down defensively as halftime arrived with them leading 41–28.

Unlike the Canada West final against Alberta, the Thunderbirds managed to keep their foot on the pedal and build on their lead in the second half. After a quiet start to the game, UBC sharpshooter Jadon Cohee exploded in the third quarter with 12 points and a couple of assists.

Both squads exchanged a flurry of buckets in the final few minutes of the quarter, as the two teams hit seven combined threes in the final three minutes of the third.

UBC claimed U Sports Bronze by beating the Western Mustangs.

With the Thunderbirds leading 75–49, both teams played at a very relaxed pace in the final frame.

However, Audu limped off to the bench after landing awkwardly from a layup attempt just over three minutes into the fourth. A disappointing end to the night for the UBC guard after scoring a season-high 25 points. For the final few minutes of the game, both coaches elected to rest their starters as the Thunderbirds moved on to the U Sports semifinals with a 103–66 victory over Bishop’s.

Unfortunately, after scoring at least 70 points in every game so far this season, the Dalhousie Tigers limited the UBC offence to a mere 55 points en route to an 84–55 blowout victory.

Contrary to the final score, the opening quarter was tightly contested. Clair was the first to get on the scoreboard with a three just over a minute in, as both teams limited opportunities by playing great defence. The two squads employed opposing playstyles, as the Tigers scored most of their points in the paint while the Thunderbirds patrolled the perimeter and took lots of three-point attempts, with Clair hitting two more before the end of the quarter. The first came to a close with Dalhousie up 16–14 in one of the lowest-scoring quarters of the tournament.

The floodgates opened in the second as the Tigers continued to score in the paint while playing stifling defence on the Thunderbirds.

COURTESY U SPORTS/ VALERIE WUTTI

On a few possessions, Dalhousie double-teamed UBC’s ball handler before they even crossed halfcourt, resulting in turnovers that led to easy baskets for the Tigers. With Audu playing on a bad ankle and Shepherd struggling to find his rhythm against the physical Dalhousie defence, the Tigers dominated the second and led 41–29 at halftime.

The game didn’t get any easier for the Thunderbirds in the second half. After Clair hit his fourth three of the game a minute and a half into the third, both teams started to get physical as numerous charges were called. The Tigers’ defence continued to suffocate UBC, forcing them to take contested shots with only seconds left on the shot clock.

After hitting back to back threes

to end the third, Dalhousie’s lead grew to 61–48 going into the final frame. Not willing to give up, UBC pressured the Tigers early in the fourth but continued to struggle to generate offence. Instead of protecting their lead, Dalhousie continued to press, hitting threes and dominating the paint as they cruised to an 84–55 win and advanced to the U Sports final.

Even though their hopes of being national champions were crushed, the Thunderbirds managed to defeat the Western Mustangs 99–82 in a spirited bronze medal game.

Cohee opened the scoring just seconds into the match by hitting a three. The two teams traded quick possessions in a fast-paced first quarter. Luckily for UBC, Grant Shephard was able to regain some confidence after a rough game against Dalhousie as he scored back to back buckets to help the Thunderbirds jump out to a 24–17 lead. However, the following quarter would prove to be a different story, as Western went on a 11–0 run to start the second and hit a few threes in the final minutes to lead 45–41 at halftime.

The game would get more testy in the third and fourth quarters, as both Shephard and Cohee were forced to sit for large portions of the half due to committing too many fouls. Thankfully for UBC, Clair caught fire and finished the game with a season-high 38 points, making six threes on nine attempts. Western struggled to generate offence for the remainder of the game as the Thunderbirds emerged victorious to win the bronze medal at the 2020 U Sports championships. U

MARCH 10, 2020 TUESDAY | SPORTS+REC | 15 BIG WEEKEND OUT //

Former Thunderbirds power Canada to bronze at Vancouver Sevens

Robert Ford Staff Writer

Saturday and Sunday saw the Canadian men’s rugby sevens team reach their best ever Vancouver Sevens result with a bronze-medal performance at BC Place. In front of just over 74,000 spectators over both days, the national team had the help of some crucial UBC alumni.

Veteran national team member and former T-Bird Harry Jones was a reliable force on the pitch, scoring frequently and playing high minutes. The 30-year old was Canada’s leading try scorer along with two others: Justin Douglas and fellow UBC alumni Theo Sauder.

With less minutes than some other players, Sauder was able to put up four tries, including two crucial tries in an upset against a strong Fiji side on Saturday.

The 23-year-old also generated turnovers using his athleticism to create smart ball-jackaling opportunities.

Add to that list Andrew Coe and Phil Berna and you are faced with a sizable chunk of UBC alumni talent.

Going into Vancouver Sevens, Canada appeared to have a dangerous pool. The ever-talented Fiji and recently hot France left just Wales as the only team Canada seemed favoured to beat.

The first game on Canada’s schedule was against the French.

The final score of 31–21 was made possible by two tries from former UBC Thunderbirds. One from Jones followed up by another from Berna just over a minute later. With Blue and Gold alumni leading the charge, the Canadians were able to extinguish the surging French.

Canada’s second game of the

SALOMON MICKO BENRIMOH

T-Bird rugby alumni pushed the men’s national sevens sqaud to a best-ever performance at the Vancouver Sevens.

day was against Fiji, a strong side whose signature is a combination of hard running and offloading.

Canada, up against a heavily favoured Fiji, would need every point they could get.

Sauder’s first Vancouver Sevens try would be the match’s first.

The fast-running and smart balljackaling Sauder had put up tries for his country at other stops in the HSBC Sevens Series, but this was his first in his hometown.

Fiji regained the lead but Sauder would strike again with another try to take it back. Fiji led at half but trailed by the game’s end, a final score of 26–21 giving Canada their second win of the day.

Post-game, Sauder provided insight into the team’s mindset: “Sevens games [are] a bit crazy.

Anyone can beat anyone and every time we come out on the field we have the confidence that we can do the same [and] beat anyone.”

To guarantee they would not

place second in their pool and be forced to play powerhouse New Zealand, the Canadians needed to beat Wales.

Luckily, a victory would come.

Jones and Sauder would record tries in the first and second halves respectively and Canada outplayed Wales for a final score of 29–7. It capped off a successful Saturday for the Canadians, who secured place in Pool B and a spot in the Cup playoffs of the tournament.

In the first Cup elimination round, the Canadians were set to clash with Spain.

When team captain and former University of Victoria Vike Nathan Hirayama was told his side would be facing off against the Spanish, the captain commented, “Spain have been playing fantastic. They smashed England last weekend.

You can’t take anyone lightly in this sport.

“Spain have beaten us before and we’re going to show up,” he added.

Canada’s win against Spain was a convincing 21–0. Canada solved the Spanish attack and put up three converted tries of their own.

The last Canadian try came once more from Sauder.

The next hurdle the Canadians would face was Australia. Jones would score right away with Hirayama making the conversion.

Australia would equalize in the first half to set the halftime score at an even 7–7. The second half saw the game start to slip away from Canada for the first time in the tournament. Two consecutive Australian tries put Canada into desperation mode.

Canada attempted to mount a comeback. Mike Fuailefau got Canada a try, making it 19–14.

Inside a tense BC Place, the ball found the hands of Sauder once more.

The former T-Bird had a good run, appearing to ground the ball on the tryline. Unfortunately for

the Canadians, the ball was found to be just short of the tryline after review. With the ball not grounded on the tryline going forward after hitting the turf, the call was a knock-on and proved to be the final play of the exhilarating game.

The final score was 19–14 for Australia. Canada would play for third in yet another uphill battle against a South African side, fresh off of a win at Los Angeles Sevens last weekend.

The battle for bronze was set to be a big game for the Canadians.

Any outcome would have been historic but the crowd wanted a medal. Canada scored first going up 7–0. South Africa would score second and third.

Canada looked poised to go into the second half trailing, but Jones dotted down the ball for another try and Hirayama converted. The halftime score was an even 14–14.

The South Africans would suffer another two tries at the hands of Canadian players, Douglas and Hirayama.

Immediately after the Hirayama try a bounce put South African Kurt-Lee Arendse through to the Canadian tryline. The score became 26–19 for Canada. South Africa was within striking distance of forcing overtime but Canada held on.

For the rest of the match no one would score, granting Canada their highest ever Vancouver placement at third in front of a more than appeased Vancouver crowd.

After the historic game, Sauder commented on his team’s ability to rebound from their team’s heartbreaking loss to the Aussies.

“Once you run out the tunnel with the flames and the fans roaring, you’re ready to go. So it doesn’t matter what happened before.” U

16 | GAMES | TUESDAY MARCH 10, 2020

COURTESY BESTCROSSWORDS.COM

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1.Scorch 5.Delighted 9.Land map 13.Architectural pier 14.Lend ___ 15.Hindu music 16.Nourishment 17.Kama ___ 18.The wife of Geraint in Arthurian lore 19.Spots 21.Dip in liquid 22.Injectable diazepam, in military lingo 23.Bellicose god 25.Campbell of “Scream” 27.Synopsis 31.Conundrum 35.Vivacious 36.Dosage abbr.

38.Strange and myste-

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60.Virgin 64.Raines of film 65.Try 67.Estimator’s phrase 68.Expel gas or odor 69.Go into 70.Drop of water expelled by the eye 71.Prescribed amount 72.Cheer (for) 73.1998 Sarah McLach-

lan hit DOWN 1.Securely confined 2.Slaughter of baseball 3.On 4.Shining 5.Bearded grazer 6.Permits 7.Biblical brother 8.Dealer in cloth 9.Go before 10.Actress Turner 11.Not “fer” 12.I did it!

14.Maintains 20.Division of geologic time 24.Agave fiber 26.Go head to head 27.Swiftness 28.Big fiddle?

29.Uneven

COURTESY KRAZYDAD.COM

30.Pertaining to the eye 32.At the bottom of the barrel 33.Hosiery thread 34.Conger catcher 37.Vends 41.Vegetable appliance 44.Set apart 45.Wind up 47.The tiniest bit 49.Move unsteadily 51.Doc’s bloc 53.Joe of “Hill Street Blues” 55.Attention 56.Ticklish doll 57.New Haven students 59.About 61.Historic Scott 62.Morales of “NYPD Blue” 63.“A Doll’s House” heroine 66.Hanoi holiday

U did you know that . . .

COURTESY KRAZYDAD.COM

After the first two moves of a chess game, there are 400 possible next moves.

In go, there are close to 130,000.

— Pawan M.

Send your best facts to visuals@ubyssey.ca to be featured in next week’s issue!

welcome to our new board of directors Ashley Bate Bruno Teixeira Naya Mang Olga Unigovska Ress Pillizzi RYAN MATTHEWS

COURTESY KRAZYDAD.COM