October 22, 2024 — Food for thought, The Ubyssey's Science Supplement

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Abbie Lee, Ayla Cilliers, Bernice Wong, Corwin Davidson, Himanaya Bajaj Isabella Ma, Joyce Park, Julian Forst, Kyla Flynn, Maia Cesario, Marie Erikson, Micah Sébastien Zhang, Navya Chadha, Olivia Vos, Sam Low, Shubhreet Dadrao, Sidney Shaw, Sofia Campanholo, Sophia Russo, Sophia Samilski, Srella Griffin, Tiana Khandelwal, Vicky Nguyen, Zoe Wagner

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(Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, harassment or discrimination. Authors and/or submissions will not be precluded from publication based solely on association

Robert Komaniecki cultivates confidence and community in the music room

Quinn Macins Contributor

When UBC music theory lecturer Dr. Robert Komaniecki joined his school choir at 16, he didn’t even know he could sing. In fact, he admits music wasn’t really the motivation behind joining at all — he signed up because he had a “little crush” on one of the other members.

“[The crush] only lasted a couple weeks,” he laughed. “But then I ended up loving choir permanently.”

He still remembers his first choir room in detail: tiered choral risers arranged in a semi-circle around a Steinway grand piano, facing a mirrored wall where he and around 40 others could watch themselves sing. Narrow window slits allowed ample natural light, while a glass door, Komaniecki said, had the effect of making the room feel somewhat like a fish tank.

When he first began choir, Komaniecki struggled with matching pitch, and it took him a while to realize his voice was deeper than those of other boys in his class.

“I was pretty uncomfortable. It took a couple of choir teachers a little bit of time to explain to me what I was doing and that I could sing, and I could trust my ear.”

RECOGNIZING CRAFT

A classroom priority for Komaniecki is spotlighting music from a wide range of genres, cultures and eras. From western classical music, to video game tunes, to the “baby music” he listens to with his kids — anything might find its way into the curriculum.

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“There was this song from Peppa Pig that had a perfect musical sentence in it. And so I was like, ‘All right, well, I guess my college students are hearing this Peppa Pig song today, because that’s what I listened to this morning.’”

Komaniecki said he emphasizes these broad music styles because it helps students “recognize craft and expertise in a wide variety of genres.”

This principle also guides much of Komaniecki’s music theory research, where he studies genres ranging from video game music to hip-hop. Music theory is the field of study interested in analyzing and articulating the workings of a piece of music.

“Hip-hop always interested me because so many of the parameters that rappers are focused on are parameters that traditional music theorists are maybe less focused on,” said Komaniecki. “[I really wanted] to be able to evaluate that music based on the cultural assertions from within the things that those musicians wanted to emphasize.”

But when asked how he integrates his research into the classroom, Komaniecki was quick to assert that it’s usually the other way around — his teaching informs his research.

“That’s one of the reasons why this is such a great job … You get to talk about something that’s really

interesting to you, and you get to be in a room with a bunch of other interested experts in that area.”

“Sometimes I’ll mention something that I’m working on in my research, and a student will mention something that they want to contribute. And I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s a really interesting idea. I’ve never thought about that.’”

One particular instance stood out to Komaniecki, where a student pointed out that in Korean, the infinitive form of verbs tend to rhyme inherently.

“And that was really interesting to me, because English is not like that at all,” said Komaniecki. “How do Korean rappers make their raps sound skillful and interesting if the language is one that is relatively rhymed, just from the get-go?”

NORMALIZING MUSICAL MISTAKES

This term, Komaniecki is looking forward to a class he’s teaching about video game music.

“I think it’s really going to help me learn how to teach in different and fun ways,” Komaniecki said. “The best part is getting everybody in a classroom and then turning on a PlayStation and having them whoop each other in some game on the last day of classes. So, I think it’s going to be a really fun class. I’m looking forward to it.”

Komaniecki aims to inspire confidence in his students. And this starts on day one when, according to class tradition, he will have new students stand up and sing together.

He recounted the first time he led this activity with palpable warmth. It was in an ear training class, where students learned about sight-reading and dictating music.

“Nobody knew anybody and it was a huge class. Eighty students in a big auditorium,” Komaniecki said. “I had this bit of [four-part harmony] sight reading set up.”

He said they practiced sight reading the piece together at first before he split the students into four groups and had them sing in harmony. The piece of music was an excerpt of a Mahler symphony, arranged for four part chords sung by soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices. And, by his account, the students more than did it justice.

“It was just transcendentally good,” said Komaniecki. “We got to the last chord, and they all just

looked at each other with their eyes wide, and they were like, ‘That was awesome.’”

Komaniecki acknowledged that singing together can be intimidating for students, especially those that consider themselves instrumentalists.

He said the best way to overcome this reticence is to “normalize making mistakes.”

Komaniecki asserted that processes like sight singing, aural skills and ear training are meant to involve failure — this is a philosophy through which he tries to lead, both in theory and example.

“If the students see me attempt something and mess up, and then just shake it off and figure it out and do it again, they start to feel a lot more comfortable messing up themselves when they realize that the expectation isn’t that they’re perfect, the expectation is just that they get their hands dirty and try.”

He also noted that a sense of community between students can make the classroom feel like a safe space to take risks.

“We have this tendency … where we assume that everybody else in the classroom is an expert, except us. And that’s definitely true in music. People will just assume that everybody around them is this flawless musician that’s never made any mistakes.”

As Komaniecki said, this mindset is detrimental when it comes to confidence and can often inhibit people from speaking or singing in class.

“Once you’re used to the people in the class and you’ve seen all the people around you make mistakes or try to struggle to get through something and it not be a big deal, then things just become easier.”

Komaniecki stressed the relationships formed in class are anything but trivial.

“It’s really one of the best parts of the job, watching those little friendships bloom.”

He pointed to one of the first music theory classes he taught as a master’s student at the University of Minnesota.

“Five years after that class,” he recounted, “two of the students that sat in the front row ended up getting married to each other. It’s kind of crazy, the significance of the connections that people can form in those 8 a.m. music theory courses.” U

SAUMYA KAMRA / THE UBYSSE Y

Komaniecki started singing because of a crush.

2023/24 Investigations Office report shows increase in discrimination cases

Bridget Chu Contributor

The number of discrimination reports increased significantly, and reports of sexual misconduct slightly decreased, according to UBC’s Investigations Office’s annual report for the last academic year.

The UBC Investigations Office (IO) manages complaints from students, faculty and staff under the Sexual Misconduct Policy (SC17) and the Discrimination Policy (SC7). The IO also manages complaints under the Retaliation Policy (SC18) for concerns of alleged retaliation relating to a sexual misconduct or discrimination complaint, and under the Investigations Policy (SC8) for complaints that contain other forms of alleged misconduct.

From July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, the IO received 41 sexual misconduct reports, 22 discrimination reports and 1 retaliation report.

From the 41 sexual misconduct reports, 32 were related to UBC Vancouver (UBCV) and 9 were at UBC Okanagan (UBCO) — compared to last year’s total of 43.

Seventeen reports did not meet the jurisdiction requirements of UBC’s sexual misconduct policy. The most common requirement not met was that “the alleged conduct must have occurred in a context that has a real and substantial connection to UBC.” Since these reports

STUDENT PRIORITIES //

did not meet jurisdiction, the IO was unable to investigate.

The report also noted the UBC community urged for an expanded jurisdiction to consider incidents that impacted an individual’s UBC experience, even if it did not occur on campus in the IO’s investigations.

Twenty-two reports were referred for an investigation, and one report was referred to UBC’s alternative resolution process (ARP). According to the report, ARP is a process that allows people who report harm to express their needs in a resolution and leads to non-dis-

ciplinary accountability.

In a written statement to The Ubyssey, Director of Investigations Carly Stanhope said the “ARP is built collaboratively with the parties, and each facilitator is carefully selected based on the parties’ identified needs.”

“Facilitators are trained to practice restoratively, attend to power dynamics, and listen for the unique ways that people express harms and needs.”

Examples of ARP processes include personalized education plans, no-contact agreements and culturally-specific repair practices.

Through ARP processes, the IO seeks to “de-center our institutional and individual assumptions about what people need following harm, and provide options for response that are non-punitive, consent-based and reduce the likelihood of further harm,” wrote Stanhope.

Of the 22 sexual misconduct reports referred for investigation, 17 were investigated, with 10 deemed as breaching SC17. Four investigations remain in progress, and one investigation was closed due to a complainant withdrawing.

Of the 22 discrimination reports, 21 were related to UBCV and 1 was regarding UBCO.

Eight reports did not meet the jurisdiction requirements of UBC’s discrimination policy, and the IO was unable to investigate them. The most common requirement not met was that “the alleged conduct must fall within the definition of Discrimination” — meaning these complainants did not have enough of a connection to a protected characteristic under the BC Human Rights Code

Thirteen reports were referred for an investigation, one was resolved through a concurrent external legal proceeding. Of the investigations mentioned in the report, three were found to breach SC8 and four were found not to breach SC8. Six investigations

remain in process.

There was an 83 per cent increase in discrimination reports from last year’s 12 reports. The annual report attributes this increase to ongoing geopolitical tensions which sparked identity-based conflict on campus.

The report also noted an increased capacity of the Equity & Inclusion Office’s Human Rights team as an explanation for the increased complaints, “which supports community members in raising discrimination concerns.”

The IO conducts consolidated investigations for certain complaints of sexual misconduct or discrimination, where the alleged conduct may also violate another UBC policy.

Of the 11 complaints investigated through the consolidated investigation process, 3 investigations involved alleged breaches of the Student Code of Conduct, 7 investigations involved alleged breaches of UBC’s Respectful Environment Statement, 1 investigation involved an alleged breach of professional standards and 1 investigation involved an alleged breach of the Conflict of Interest and Commitment Policy.

“The complexity of [consolidated investigation] cases has resulted in increased timelines, which is a factor that needs to be addressed moving forward,” read the report. U

2024 Academic Experience Survey reports most discrimination based on ethnicity and gender

The AMS’s 2024 Academic Experience Survey (AES) results reveal students’ continuing concerns around affordability, mental health, access to support services and discrimination.

Every year, the AMS polls students on their thoughts surrounding the university on topics like educational satisfaction, campus community and finances.

This year’s survey received a

record-breaking 4,148 responses, surpassing last year’s record of 3,413. Among the respondents, 3,177 were domestic students and 971 were international students.

AMS VP Academic and University Affairs Drédyn Fontana credited the high engagement to better logistical planning and a strong desire from students to have their voices heard.

“This speaks to students having things to say about what’s happening to them at UBC,” said Fontana in an interview with The Ubyssey.

Seventy-four per cent of respondents were undergraduates. The majority were from the Faculty of Arts with 1,013 respondents, followed by 885 Faculty of Science respondents and 430 Faculty of Engineering respondents. Fontana said the AMS plans to increase representation from underrepresented groups in future surveys by “engaging with leaders from those groups.”

This year, 65 per cent of student respondents expressed satisfaction with their university experience, a figure that has remained consistent over the past two years.

Despite the drop in student respondents reporting mental health concerns from 41 per cent in 2023 to 34 percent this year, nearly half remain unaware of available mental health resources at UBC. Additionally, 40 per cent pointed to long wait times as a major barrier to accessing the support they need.

“We need to increase capacity,” Fontana said. “Two things that we can do as the AMS is advocate for more investment and promote the things that exist currently.”

According to the report, the highest levels of discrimination were related to ethnicity and gender.

Sixty-one per cent of Black respondents — a decrease from sev-

enty-five per cent last year — and forty-five per cent of Indigenous respondents reported racial discrimination. Fourty-one per cent of female respondents reported gender-based discrimination.

Fontana said UBC needs to address discrimination at an institutional level. He referenced UBC’s Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) framework as a foundational step in addressing discrimination.

“UBC definitely addresses a lot of this in their StEAR framework. They talk about intersectionality a lot in their approaches, and there are certain funds dedicated specifically to persistently marginalized groups,” said Fontana.

He pointed to “making [equity, diversity and inclusion] education unavoidable,” as another approach. “That’s the approach that’s being taken by UBC and is a continued commitment for them and so I will continue to support that initiative.”

Affordability remains a significant issue for UBC students, with key challenges arising from tuition, course materials, food and housing costs. Only 55 per cent of respondents felt confident in managing their finances — a 5 per cent drop from the previous year.

Course material costs continue to pose a challenge for students. While 64 per cent believe not

buying textbooks would hurt their academic performance, 60 per cent used outdated editions and 51 per cent used unauthorized access to cut costs. Additionally, 51 per cent of respondents reported feeling worried they wouldn’t be able to afford groceries, with that number rising to 64 per cent for international student repondents.

Despite there being available financial support at UBC, only 12 per cent of student respondents found UBC’s financial services accessible. Ten per cent of student respondents believe the university has made meaningful efforts to reduce financial barriers. Additionally, 22 per cent are unsure if they can return to UBC in the future due to financial difficulties.

“None of this is new, and we’re going to continue to push in the same direction,” Fontana said.

Fontana said the AMS will continue to advocate for increased financial aid, funding for food security and increased housing bursaries.

However, he also said “UBC does do good work on this ... but the affordability crisis is worsening. It’s not getting better, so it needs to continue to happen. So we’re going to keep asking for it.”

“When I look at what the most important thing is for the AMS to be doing, it’s increasing agency for students.” U

Eylül Kara Contributor

The IO manages complaints from students, faculty and staff.

The survey received a record-breaking 4,148 responses

ISA S. YOU / THE UBYSSEY

AYLA CILLIERS / THE UBYSSEY

How the largest undergraduate student societies spent student fees in 2023/24

Sophia Samilski Staff Reporter

Each year, a portion of student fees are allocated to undergraduate student societies.

These funds, which typically constitute tens of thousands of dollars, are then apportioned to various initiatives for each society.

HOW WE DID IT

To break down the budgets of the largest student societies at UBC, we requested access to the finalized budgets of the AUS, CUS, EUS and SUS. The AUS, UBC’s largest undergraduate student constituency, did not provide its budget or respond to The Ubyssey’s requests for comment despite repeated inquiry.

2024/25 COSTS

According to Ubyssey coverage, the CUS fee of $291.52 has been consistent since 2022/23 and remains the same in 2024/25.

The 2024/25 EUS fee of $50.87 increased from $48.39, while the SUS fee increased from $28.78 to $31.64.

The AUS student fee of $13 remained the same according to its projected budget.

FIRST-WEEK SPENDING

At the beginning of each year, the student societies organize events for incoming first-year students to aid their transition into university life.

According to each of the constituencies’ respective finalized budgets, the CUS spent about $28,000, the same as last year, on its first-year orientation event, The Spark. The EUS’s E^0 week cost about $15,000 compared to $12,500 last year, and the SUS’s

We broke down the budgets of the largest undergraduate student societies at UBC.

Science RXN cost almost $16,000, a decrease from last year’s $19,300.

CONSTITUENCY

SURPLUSES FOR CUS AND EUS

The CUS ended its fiscal year with just over $53,000 in surplus.

Over 65 per cent of student fees went toward CUS Services, a range of initiatives aimed at supporting students.

The 3 CUS services which received the most funding were its National Strategy Consulting Conference (with just under 13 per cent of student fees), Grad Night (10.4 per cent) and Commerce Night (8 per cent).

In a statement to The Ubyssey , CUS VP Finance Davis Beauchamp said fund allocation is closely examined.

“I personally spent lots of time … during the budgeting season to evaluate all 37 of our service’s actuals to see where we had been over-allocating so that we can

move funds to … [where they would be used most] effectively,” Beauchamp said.

The EUS ended its fiscal year with about an $84,000 surplus.

EUS VP Finance Lucas Zafran said in a statement to The Ubyssey that the EUS is planning to use its surplus to upgrade spaces in the Engineering Student Centre.

“With small improvements made across the entire building, we’re slowly improving the home for all engineers,“ Zafran wrote.

A key expense for the EUS is its spirit portfolio, which most notably includes Week E^0 and E-Week. Last year, the portfolio spent over $120,000, while this year it was around $100,000.

“Student attendance and demand [for E-Week] is quite strong, driving the allocation of money to this portfolio,” Zafran said.

According to the publicly available AUS projected budget, the constituency expected to end the year with a surplus of around $2,500. The AUS did not reply to The Ubyssey to confirm.

CONSTITUENCY DEFICIT FOR SUS

SUS ended the year in a deficit of approximately $7,500.

While it had budgeted for a larger deficit, it managed to minimize it significantly by pulling about $40,000 from their 2022/23 year surplus.

SUS VP Finance Chloe Chan told The Ubyssey SUS doesn’t want to get into a habit of dipping into the operational surplus.

“At a certain point, it’ll be really hard to budget and tone down expectations if we overspend

every single year.”

The SUS spent over $100,000 in costs for initiatives in its Finance Portfolio, with around $43,500 allocated to employee salaries and expenses.

The employee salary section exceeded its budget by about $15,000. This was due to the creation of a new Projects Commission group in 2023, an initiative focused on holding larger-scale events.

“Any [time an] organization decides to book the building, someone has to be there [and get paid] for that,” Chan said.

LOOKING FORWARD

Moving into the 2024/25 year, the CUS, EUS and SUS hope to introduce new projects.

The CUS is set to launch a dashboard which would allow students to see metrics on all CUS services.

“Students [will be able] to see spending and metrics on all 37 services in real time, hopefully improving … [CUS] transparency,” said Beauchamp.

The EUS plans to introduce a new mentorship fund.

“We are really excited to be launching this fund this year and hope it will help students decide on their ideal specialization,” Zafran said.

This year, Chan said the SUS will focus on self-sustainability, setting aside $20,000 of its budget to ensure students have access to technical equipment they previously had to rent.

“[We are] really trying to use current students’ money to give back to those very same current students,” Chan said. U

How much are students paying per constituency in 2024/25?

SOPHIA SAMILSKI / THE UBYSSEY

Farewell, old friend: An obituary for Kip the Coyote

Olivia Vos Senior Staff Reporter

Kip the Coyote wasn’t just another furry friend on campus — from sunbathing on the lawns of Place Vanier to chasing squirrels down Main Mall, Kip has touched the hearts of UBC students for years.

It is with heavy hearts that we report Kip passed away sometime during the first weekend of October.

Although the passing of this beloved UBC critter has left students heartbroken, Kip’s death has helped researchers gain a better understanding of how wild creatures exist in urban spaces, including UBC.

Not only was Kip a campus icon, he was also a perfect representation of how animals and humans interact, especially in a heavily populated area such as Point Grey. His life will hopefully lead to further insight on how we can encourage wildlife protection and conservation.

“Kip will now help us learn more about how urban coyotes survive and thrive in these harsh environments,” wrote UBC’s Animal Behavior and Cognition (ABC) Lab in an Instagram post.

“His previous injury, likely from a vehicle strike, and ability to heal and survive, tells the story of how urban wildlife face both hindrance and help from life in

BOOKED AND BUSY //

Rest in peace, Kip. You will be missed.

cities.”

“His memory will live on as we use what we learn from him to better understand urban wildlife and the challenges they face.”

Kip was known around campus for his three-legged limp and for being friendly toward people. His popularity was cemented by reposts and comments from

both the official UBC and AMS Instagram pages, both paying respects to Kip, writing, “Rest in peace Kip,” and “Fly high Kip,” respectively.

Students are also mourning Kip’s death in the comment section of the ABC Lab’s post.

Instagram user @ziggycross wrote, “Your presence never

failed to brighten my day and the joy you brought to our community was infectious. You were the goodest boy and I hope you could tell how much you were loved.”

Instagram user @ aidanabramsschwartz added, “RIP Kip, we will miss you, and although you might have not known it, you left a noticeable

impact on many students and staffers here at UBC. You will be missed.”

Over 250 comments were left under ABC Lab’s post, the majority of them saying goodbye to a beloved part of campus culture.

Kip wasn’t just another coyote. He was recognized by students during their walks to class and talked about in Vanier’s dorms — he even had an Instagram account dedicated to him.

Students grew up with Kip during their time at UBC. While we went through hard classes, friendship breakups, failing finals and walking home late at night, Kip was always there to brighten someone’s day. Whether it was “making my first year so special,” as Instagram user @rachelyu wrote, or “see[ing] him out my window almost every morning,” as user @_jasminbajwa7 wrote, Kip never failed to bring a bit of extra joy to our campus.

If you take away one thing from the passing of our beloved Kip, it should be to remain conscious of your interactions with wildlife. While driving down the road at night or debating giving some of your sandwich to a squirrel, bear in mind that your actions have consequences, and we owe our wildlife the best shot we can give them.

Rest in peace, Kip. You will be missed. U

Vancouver Black Library launches BIPOC Reading Buddies

Ayesha Mridha Contributor

In a society that increasingly values diversity, some areas still lack represention of a broad spectrum of experiences — an example of this is children’s literature. Although children’s books often involve elements of make-believe, there are also lessons grounded in reality. Books can

instill an early understanding of problems you might face as you make your way through the world. However for BIPOC children, there’s often something missing — a whole other world of experiences these stories typically don’t include.

The lack of representation in media for BIPOC folks is one of the main motivators behind the Vancouver Black Library’s (VBL)

newest initiative: BIPOC Reading Buddies.

Set to launch on October 27, this will be VBL’s first program geared specifically toward children. On one Sunday of every month, elementary school students will be paired with older BIPOC buddies to read books by diverse authors together.

According to program coordinator and fourth-year gender,

race, sexuality & social justice student Sarina Virani, the program aims to foster mentorship, promote a love of reading and most importantly, help BIPOC children see their own stories being explored, studied and celebrated.

“The media and all the things that we consume really form the way we see ourselves and our self-esteem and our identity,” Virani said. “When you’re constantly bombarded by representation that doesn’t include you or doesn’t speak to your own lived experiences, it can feel a little bit isolating.”

The initiative intends to address the lack of representation in children’s media by highlighting multicultural stories and writers.

In doing so, VBL hopes to provide children with a space where they feel understood and appreciated, and where their personal histories are recognized.

“People should be able to feel seen and heard and represented in the things that they look at and know that they’re not alone.”

Children will explore books featuring topics that relate to different communities. From learning about heavier topics like the history and impacts of residential schools to the commonly shared experience of having your name mispronounced, the books are carefully selected to cover a range of stories that inspire important — and sometimes difficult — conversations while empowering young readers to embrace their identities.

In addition to feeling repre -

sented in the books they read, the program will ensure young readers are mentored by older buddies who can connect with their identities, giving them someone to look up to for guidance. But it’s not just an opportunity for younger children to find role models — the mentors are being given the chance to engage with the representation they never had.

As Virani was putting together a collection of books for the program, she thought about how beneficial it would have been to be exposed to this kind of material when she was younger.

“I never had stuff like that growing up … I feel like a lot of the characters and the stories were mostly focused on the white kids, and they wouldn’t represent some of the lived realities of children of colour,” Virani said. “It was really heartwarming to see that there’s so much of this out there now.”

“I know a lot of the people who have signed up to be big buddies have also said this is healing their inner child.”

The initiative has been received with immense interest from the community, with over 80 volunteers signing up within a week of the program launch announcement. Organizers are hopeful that the program will soon become a permanent fixture at VBL.

“The momentum so far has been really encouraging,” Virani said. “There is a community need [to] engage children in this kind of important conversation.” U

“There is a community need [to] engage children in this kind of important conversation.”

ABBIE LEE / THE UBYSSEY

ABBIE LEE / THE UBYSSEY

In the ring: Blank Vinyl Project’s battle of the bands

Julian Forst Senior Staff Reporter

Soundcheck at the Biltmore Cabaret; six bands wait their turn to set up, milling around the empty venue for a couple hours before doors. Some of them have played venues like this for years. For others, it’s their very first time.

This is Versus, Blank Vinyl Project’s (BVP) annual battle of the bands, which asks the question, “What if we gave a bunch of musicians clubs and knives and made them fight?” and then dials it down a little because that would be against AMS bylaws. In the end, BVP settled on a showcase event — six bands, fifteen-minute sets and a crowd of music lovers to vote on the best one at the end of the night.

In early September, BVP sent a call out to Vancouver bands inviting them to submit their music for consideration. Six would be chosen to face off at the Biltmore, with the winner receiving a guaranteed spot at Goosehunt, BVP’s annual student-run music festival.

The BVP team had the Biltmore in mind from the start: the venue hosted Versus last year and it has the capacity for the crowd sizes that executives expected. BVP wanted to take advantage of higher engagement at the start of term “so that the bands would be able to get the attention that they deserve,” said BVP VP Admin Jayden Emslie.

“We were really glad to see the crowd that showed up,” said Emslie. “There were a lot of people who are really engaged in the music community, people that we recognized from all over and not just BVP, which was nice.”

Around 8:30 p.m., BVP executive Apolline De Schaetzen took the stage and introduced the format of the night, the Biltmore, BVP and the voting system which had showgoers rate each band on a scale of 1–5. Now, with logistics out of the way and the crowd howling for blood music, it was time to battle!

FIRST TO THE RING: BELT!

As guitarist Julian Bailey draped a leather belt around the mic stand, De Schaetzen read a cue card explaining the name’s origin in a faulty clasp and some improvised fastening at the band’s first show.

Belt’s music is fast and technical, prog rock with some jazz influence on bassist Jack Davis’s part especially. His bass lines were rarely simple progressions, instead they danced around melodically with Bailey often holding down rhythm on guitar. This added a layer of complexity to Belt’s music, but the intricacy of the bass sometimes hurt the groove slightly.

“[Belt] is very grounded in rock,” said Bailey. “My dad was always listening to grunge rock music, like Pearl Jam and Rush. I just fell in love with those bands. And then meeting Jack, who comes from such a jazz influence — it really clicked and kind of transformed the band.”

Now Belt is split between Vancouver and their hometown on the Sunshine Coast.

“I’d say me and [Bailey] are kind of, at this point, somewhat the core of Belt,” said Davis. The pair recently moved to Vancouver for school, while Belt’s vocalist and drummer remained on the Coast. “We’re kind of still together but it is kind of like floating in the air a little bit at this moment,” Davis said.

CLIMBING THE CAGE, IT’S LIZZY DISSOLVED!

Started in January by guitarist Nick Provenzano and guitarist and vocalist Levi Robson, Lizzy Dissolved’s music is “indie, garage rock and a bit of progressive rock … motivated by the idea of getting people to dance,” said Provenzano.

By the time Lizzy Dissolved got into their set, the inevitable mid-show mosh pit was well in the making. Their music is psychedelic and rhythmic, with long, intricate guitar solos breaking up Robson’s fast-paced vocals.

“The energy was amazing,” Robson said. “When you’re on stage… sometimes the energy’s not there.

But that was not the case here.”

Lizzy Dissolved began with a one-off collaboration between Robson and Provenzano.

“I was in the cab to the Montreal airport, and I got a call from Levi saying, ‘I’m playing a solo set at The Astoria in like two days. You want to play guitar with me?’”

After releasing two singles earlier this year, Lizzy Dissolved hit the venue circuit hard, with no plans of slowing down.

OUR NEXT CHALLENGER! LAYLO!

Laylo is a local artist who describes herself as “angry pop.” Welcoming her and her band to the stage, De Schaetzen recounted their first meeting at an open mic when Laylo asked to borrow her guitar. Laylo is

a former BVP member herself, and even helped organize a previous Versus.

“It was so exciting to actually play [Versus] and be on the other side of it,” she said. “I found all my friends, really, through BVP.”

Laylo’s music is dreamy and mellow, in the vein of Clairo and Steve Lacy. The short set times of a showcase like Versus can cause some tonal whiplash, but Laylo and her band transitioned nicely from Lizzy Dissolved’s frenetic songs to their slower jams.

“I was a bit nervous that my genre of music is not as rock, or punk,” said Laylo. “[But] I think it worked just fine. Like, my song ‘Peach Pie’ is this mellow love song and I saw people head banging to it,” she laughed.

Now Laylo is now focusing on playing shows and working on a new single due for next January.

CHOPPING SPREE ENTERS THE FRAY!

Chopping Spree burst on stage ready to fuse some jazz. The fivepiece band — influenced by the likes of Cassiopeia — formed this summer, made up partly of members of sister band Reverend Ape.

A highlight of Chopping Spree’s set was their faithful and intricate rendition of the notorious Juan Tizo/Duke Ellington standard “Caravan,” complete with solos for each instrument. It was enthralling to see a jazz band with no vocalist so completely capture the audience’s attention.

HOPE SLIDE FROM THE TOP ROPE!

Hope Slide brought another change of tempo to the battle. What started as a solo project by vocalist and guitarist Calvin Jay has grown into a six-person ensemble complete with a pianist and two violinists. Their music is slow and sometimes

languid, blending elements of shoegaze, rock and folk.

Hope Slide’s set, like Laylo’s, gave the audience a break from moshing. People began to sway, staring dreamily at the stage as violins danced around a droning guitar. The songs were long and made the short set feel all the tighter — Hope Slide’s music didn’t lend itself to the showcase format like some of the other acts’ did.

The band released their first single earlier this year and is gearing up to release an EP next spring.

MUPPET BOYS WITH A STEEL CHAIR!

The crunching garage rock of Muppet Boys brought the mosh pit back to close out this year’s Versus. Their music is heavy and mostly fast-paced, a classic hardcore three-piece broken up by energetic call and response vocals between the bassist and guitarist.

The audience seemed to have something to prove. Though midnight was rolling around and the crowd was thinning, Muppet Boys managed to get them all moving as fast as they had earlier in the night.

VERSUS CHAMPION 2024!

Like Commodus on Russell Crowe, it was time to pass judgment. A hush rippled through the Biltmore as audience members scanned QR codes and filled out ballots. When the votes were in, Chopping Spree came out on top. They took the stage for an encore and went home triumphant, with the coveted guaranteed spot at this year’s Goosehunt music festival under their belt. A bloodless match, but well-fought. U

Two Ubyssey editors are members of Hope Slide. They were not involved in the publication of the band’s section.

Laylo is a local artist who describes herself as “angry pop.”

FIONA SJAUS / THE UBYSSEY

A bloodless match, but well-fought.

FIONA SJAUS / THE UBYSSEY

BC’S WILDFIRE SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE //

‘I feel like I’m doing what my body is meant to do’

The students and alum on the frontlines of the BC wildfires

Words by Sophia Russo

by Abbie Lee

Elora Van Jarrett is no stranger to wildfires. Having grown up in BC, she’s been around them her whole life. But unlike many of us who were raised in the province, Van Jarrett doesn’t just read or hear about forest fires — she’s on the frontlines fighting them.

The UBC forest resource management alum has spent summers with the BC Wildfire Service in helicopters, on intensive hiking expeditions and at the frontlines of the province’s wildfires.

In Van Jarrett’s 15-year career with the service, she has worked in almost every role — from battling wildfires with a crew of 20 people to taking to the sky as part of the Rapattack team, an initial attack crew trained in rappelling from helicopters into hard-to-access, fire-ridden areas.

According to Van Jarrett, being a wildland firefighter integrates her love for fitness, the outdoors and novelty.

“For me, what has kept me so long in it is just how much you’re constantly learning,” Van Jarrett said.

Over her career, Van Jarrett has worked in leadership and crew member positions and has seen the service grow and evolve to better support her peers.

“It’s really rewarding being part of it,” she said.

Raised in Nelson, Van Jarrett remembers looking up to the “cool” wildland firefighters. Today, she and many other UBC students and alum spend the warmer months of the year in rural communities and deep in the BC wilderness to keep our communities safe during wildfire season.

In the wake of the climate crisis, fire seasons in BC are getting worse — and wildland firefighters are taking note.

“Fire is burning differently,” said Julie Sheppard, a UBC forestry alumna and former wildland firefighter. She pointed to changes in fuel types, fire intensity and speed of growth as increasing the burden during wildfire season.

The changes in wildfires across the province have also created more arduous work in an already demanding job for wildland firefighters.

“To me, more than the fire behaviour, it’s the length of the season. It’s so crazy. We start working on wildfires in April and go straight through until October,” said Van Jarrett.

According to Van Jarrett, fire crews get a reprieve thanks to significant rainfall in June but even that has waned.

This makes new recruits and wildland firefighters committing to multiple seasons more important than ever.

As the province’s fourth-worst recorded wildfire season in history comes to a close, The Ubyssey sat down with student and alum wildland firefighters to learn more about adventures on those fiery frontlines.

HAVING YOUR OWN STORY

Fifth-year political science student

Adam Sameh Steele was first exposed to wildland firefighting during a chat with a classmate in an English class three years ago. He later joined several communities like the Varsity Outdoor Club and the Grouse Mountain First Aid Ski Patrol where firefighting was often the topic of conversation.

“By coincidence, I just had a bunch of people around me happen to do it. And the more you hang around a bunch of people doing something, at least for me, the more I got tired of hearing stories,” said Steele. “I wanted to have my own.”

The selection process of becoming a wildland firefighter is intense. Applications are open from October to February, with select applicants being invited for interviews in April. The applicants are screened based on “behavioural competencies as well as situational and technical questions related to firefighting in B.C,” according to a BC Wildfire Services statement to The Ubyssey

Fourth-year forestry student Fiona Landwehr just finished her first summer with the BC Wildfire Service and encouraged applicants to familiarize themselves with the BC Wildfire Service’s criteria in preparation for their interview.

According to Landwehr, attitude is a big part of being a wildland firefighter. She encouraged prospective firefighters to highlight traits that portray themselves as someone who would “bring up morale in a crew” and to “show them you’re a little bit nerdy about fire, too.”

After the interview, applicants are expected to meet a fitness standard and complete online courses. Top scoring candidates are then sent to new recruit boot camps, where they receive the bulk of their hands-on wildland firefighter training.

“It’s very intense,” said Landwehr. “They tell you, ‘This is where you work.

Illustration

This is where you put in 110 per cent effort — show us what you can do.’”

At boot camp, trainees learn the chain of command, wildfire basics like fuel types and the fire triangle, the lookouts, awareness, communications, escape routes, safety zones (LACES) system, attack methods, safety protocols and communication styles.

According to the BC Wildfire Service’s statement, boot camps are “a lengthy process that ensures the most suitable applicants are selected each year to become part of our fire crews.”

Despite lengthy training, Sheppard said wildland firefighting is “a nice way to spend your summer” if you are someone who enjoys fitness, the outdoors and problem solving.

“It’s a job that’s fun. If you’re outside, you get to do different things and it pays well. For anybody who likes the outdoors and even just hiking and nature, I think that’s a big draw,” she said.

As a boot camp trainer, Van Jarrett has helped many beginner wildland firefighters learn the ropes and grow into their roles, some going on to climb the ranks into leadership and decision-making positions.

“When I’m out on the fire line in the summertime with my crew, it’s always really cool seeing those people out firefighting and seeing them at this new level of competence and confidence,” she said. “It’s just really cool seeing where they’ve come from and what they’ve turned into.”

LONG DAYS AND HARD WORK

Steele completed his first season this summer as a wildland firefighter with the BC Wildfire Service on the initial attack crew in Fort Nelson. And Steele said, so far, his experiences have been positive.

“I’m a bit of an endorphin junkie. I love moving around and doing something really physically challenging that also has meaning,” he said. “So the satisfaction after a day is like no other.”

“I get paid to do what I love. I feel like I’m doing what my body is meant to do.”

There are four major wildland firefighting crews: the initial attack crew, the unit crew, Rapattack crews and Parattack crews. Initial attack crews perform early assessment on young fires and hit them early on. Unit crews are called in for bigger fires, while Rapattack and Parattack crews take to the sky and either rappel or parachute down from a helicopter to more remote fires.

The initial attack crew Steele was part of does a preliminary risk assessment of the fire, evaluating its size and intensity, as well as whether the surrounding area has houses or infrastructures at risk. His crew also did project work, which involves attending to smoldering hot spots left over from old fires, and equipment maintenance.

At the time of his interview with The Ubyssey, Steele was on standby, or “in the barn” as wildland firefighters call it. When Steele’s crew gets a call, they drive or fly to the fire location, sometimes needing to hike into an accessible spot or use a chainsaw to cut their way in.

From there, he puts out hot spots, areas previously on fire and now smouldering. These spots can be difficult to see, so they use drone scans to map out the region. Cold water is blasted onto the fires, and pressurized hoses remove any dry organic debris that could ignite.

“That’s what we’ve been doing for the past week,” said Steele back in July. “Nice and long days. It’s hard work.”

Sheppard, who spent three seasons as a unit crew member, said a lot of the work is getting “wet on hot,” clearing paths for safe accessibility to the fire, extinguishing fuel and trying to keep fire from spreading.

“It can actually be really monotonous, repetitive work,” said Sheppard. After the initial attack does their assessment, the larger 20-person unit crew is called in to tackle the fire. Wildland firefighters don’t find themselves tackling surging wildfires head-on. Instead, they focus on more contained fires and control where the bigger ones burn by hosing the fire’s edge directly and limiting fuel in its surrounding area.

While wildfire fighting by the unit crew tends to focus on larger fires, the fires encountered on mountainsides and deep in the bush by the Rapattack team are generally smaller, but carry an additional burden due to the lack of accessibility.

“The remoteness definitely increases the risk that you’re taking, because outside help is so much harder to get,” said Van Jarrett.

Once on the ground, a hose is shunted from the crew’s helicopter and they get to work, engaging in a workflow similar to the initial attack team. Parattack similarly involves helicopters, but crew members parachute down to the fire rather than rappel.

“Something that I found really interesting in coming over to the unit crew was that when you’re at [Rapattack] or initial attack in general, you’re winning most of the time,” said Van Jarrett.

She added this line of work is different from the unit crew where many of the fires they tackle have grown in size and intensity so the wins are fewer and far between, a fight that is “pretty mentally fatiguing.”

“You have a tremendous weight on your shoulders, being like, ‘You have to do this well, you must put this fire out and just take care of it so it doesn’t turn into a bigger issue for people down the line.’”

SAFETY AND RISK

Being a wildland firefighter is dangerous work. In some cases, routine fire attacks can become tragedies.

The BC Wildfire Service saw its first death in decades in July 2023 when Devyn Gale, a 19-year-old volunteer firefighter and UBCO nursing student, died battling a wildfire. The community responded with a memorial service at the anniversary of her passing.

“It did hit the community really really hard,” said Van Jarrett. In the aftermath of Gale’s passing, Van Jarrett felt a shift in the attitude on the job.

“In the past it was pretty easy to think of this job as summer camp. But since that happened, the mindset has changed [to], ‘This is a serious job with some very serious dangers.’” Now, Van Jarrett said safety is even more heavily scrutinized.

In its statement to The Ubyssey, the BC Wildfire Service described safety as its “top priority.”

“The BC Wildfire Service philosophy is that safety is mandatory in all fire operations and should be given first priority in the planning and implementation of all fire suppression activities,” it wrote.

Still, tragedies happen on the job. An August report from WorkSafeBC found there were “multiple violations” leading up to Gale’s death.

Specialized crew members called dangerous tree assessors routinely inspect trees in fire-ridden areas to make sure crews are safe from toppling trees.

Unstable trees are flagged for other specialized workers called “fallers” who chainsaw them down. But, as the WorkSafeBC report explained, a dangerous tree assessment was not completed following concerns about a suspected cedar tree — which fatally fell on Gale while carrying out her duties.

According to an August Global News article, the BC Wildfire Service is working to address observations from the report.

“We are taking action on all the findings from WorkSafe BC and building on our commitment to safety and support for all crew members,” said Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston, who oversees the BC Wildfire Service, in the article.

As a supervisor, Van Jarrett emphasized the safety of her crew is of the utmost importance.

“In a leadership role, you’re responsible for the safety of your crew. That’s certainly not something to be taken lightly because it is a dangerous job. I think that’s something that’s always in the back of your mind,” she said.

She also pointed to experiences where she felt the risks to her crew were too high and chose to step away from the blaze.

“To me, the reward wasn’t worth the risk, and I was supported in that decision,” she said.

Sheppard, Landwehr and Steele said they generally felt safe on the job.

“I never feel like there’s an undue risk taken. I mean, right from the get go, safety is the name of the game,” said Steele.

Crew members generally look to their supervisors and more experienced wildland firefighters for guidance and decision-making, but are encouraged to communicate any and all concerns. Sheppard felt well looked out for.

“There is danger associated with it, and it is a risky job to be doing. But I always felt pretty supported by the decisions the leadership around me were making regarding safety,” she said.

LEANING ON EACH OTHER

Community was a common theme touched on by wildland firefighters.

“The closest people in your life, all summer, is your crew,” said Van Jarrett.

Sheppard pointed to the “strong friendships” she developed with her team that helped her to feel safe on the job.

“You become really close really quickly, in a way that is different from some of your regular friends,” she said. “We spent a lot of time together and in situations where we had to have each other’s back, and it was dangerous.”

“I think that also was part of what made me feel secure … I trusted the people I was with.”

For Steele, the connections he has made with his peers have singled out this community as one made up of “very admirable and impressive people.”

“When you’re doing such physically demanding work … that’s so potentially dangerous, you form really strong bonds with people, you see what people are made of when you’re in a stressful situation,” he said. “So it’s really conducive to making friends.”

According to Steele, safety is the number one aspect of wildland firefighter culture, but that sense of community is next on the list.

“A close second is the atmosphere created between co-workers — looking out for each other, lifting each other up, taking care of each other, helping each other out — it’s selfless service, really.” U

OOD FOR THOUGHT science supplement

F

Indigenous forest gardens: A tradition of nourishing

words by Vicky Nguyen illustrations by Ayla Cilliers

As the air cools down, signalling the arrival of autumn, BC’s coastline is covered by a majestic show of foliage. Wandering under the canopy of dark red maple trees and golden oaks glimmering in the sunlight, you may think these wonders are created by nothing but nature — but you would be wrong.

For millennia, Indigenous communities have maintained forest gardens, a type of historically managed ecosystem, along the Pacific Northwest coast.

Forest gardens typically include perennial fruit, nut trees and shrub species, with swaths of land offering abundant resources for surrounding fauna and Indigenous communities.

“We're fortunate [to have] these biologically diverse ecosystems that we're finding out were really managed,” said Dr. Morgan Ritchie, a postdoctoral researcher and anthropological archaeologist at SFU specializing in Indigenous history, culture and landscape use in the Salish Sea and Northwest Coast.

HISTORY OF FOREST GARDENS

A study Ritchie co-authored illustrates how long before European colonization, Indigenous Peoples shaped natural landscapes and managed plant species by controlled burning, fertilizing and weeding.

Recounting his first work with Indigenous communities on the Salish Coast years ago, Ritchie initially thought the vast lands were completely natural.

“As I started doing more archeological work and learning a little bit more about ecology, I realized that there was a cultural landscape because people changed all the soils … built up the landscape… changed the soil chemistry and nutrient load.”

“So [when] you look at a landscape, and it looks natural, what I've learned is it's probably been modified by Indigenous People in a way that's beneficial,” said Ritchie.

ENCOURAGING NUTRIENT RECYCLING

According to Dr. Jean-Thomas 'JT' Cornelis, an associate professor of applied biology (soil science) at UBC, forest gardens contain elements that improve ecosystem resilience thanks to their biological cycle, which optimizes nutrient recycling.

“Because of the controlled burning, [Indigenous Peoples] have been able to create this black-ish topsoil that's the best type of soil … to use in your garden,” said Cornelis. “By maintaining this carbon in the topsoil, [there is] improvement of the soil properties, to maintain the nutrients in the soil-plant system.”

edited by Gloria Klein

Cornelis also highlighted some examples from the forest gardens he investigated in the territories of the Kitselas and Sts’ailes Nations in BC, where nutrients get recycled between local rivers and forest gardens. The input of fish bones into the soil act as fertilizer and contribute to a carbon and nutrient-rich environment.

CHAMPIONING SUSTAINABILITY

As modern agriculture practices have caused considerable loss in biodiversity and resilience in ecosystems, examining Indigenous practices in forest gardens can provide valuable insights into current methods.

In addition to controlled burnings, other traditional management practices include

biodegrading leaf matter and planting comple mentary species like crab apples and hazel nuts to facilitate nutrient exchange through soil.

“When you have a very multifunctional and diverse system like a forest garden with berries, rice roots, hazelnuts, crab apple, you have plenty of different root systems and [and] types of molecules that are executed by the roots, so the microbial community is way more diverse,” said Cornelis.

Increasing microbial biodiversity in soil has been proven to enhance soil nutrient cycling as well as improve plant access to nutrients, leading to more bountiful gardens.

By facilitating nutrient recycling through these prac tices, Indigenous communi ties reinforce sustainability in forest gardens, as there is no eutrophication — a process where a body of water becomes overly filled with nutrients and depleted of oxygen — or contamination of local bodies of water with phosphorus and nitro gen like some modern fertilizers cause.

UPHOLDING INDIGENOUS VALUES

Some challenges face the future of main taining food forests, such as Indigenous land ownership. Since Indigenous communities have never ceded their traditional and an cestral territories throughout history, they still can have some impact on shaping these landscapes. But not owning the land presents limitations.

Ritchie also mentioned issues with convincing forest managers of the benefits of learning from Indigenous knowledge, as priorities would have to shift from maintain ing the logging industry — a major contributor to BC’s economy — to regenerating ecosystems.

“To understand how these systems work [and] how they might be benefi cial to the people of the land and to the animals and to the health of the ecosystem … you have to talk with the people of the land: the Indigenous people” said Ritchie.

Similarly, Cor nelis emphasized the importance of building a trust ful relationship with Indigenous communities as researchers are working on their unceded terri tories.

“We're gonna take our backpack and … go into the communities and the forest system … hanging out over there, discussing, exchanging … That’s a challenge but also a very nice opportunity to learn.” U

Bacteria, viruses and mold, oh my! How foods make us sick and how to avoid it

words by Lauren Kasowski

illustrations by Ayla Cilliers

Navigating food safety can be confusing to say the least — what’s considered cross-contamination? Is the five-second rule real? Will raw cookie dough actually give me salmonella?

The Ubyssey spoke to Dr. Siyun Wang, a professor of food safety engineering in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, about what makes food safe — or unsafe — and how we can prevent ourselves from getting sick.

HOW DOES FOOD MAKE US SICK?

When you think about food safety, you might think of additives or genetically-modified foods. But those aren’t the most pressing concerns, according to food scientists.

“The major issues we are facing are usually associated with foods that are contaminated by food-borne pathogens,” said Wang.

pending on the density of the food the mold is on.

“In general, if the food is porous enough for the mold to penetrate through, we should toss them. But if the molds are just presenting on the surface, then there's a chance that we can just cut that part of food off and eat them,” she said.

The US Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends cutting off at least one inch around the mold on non-porous and low moisture content foods, such as hard cheese or firm vegetables and fruit, since mold does not spread easily in these conditions.

SO… WHAT’S SAFE?

The main way to improve food safety is to cook your food all the way through, since heat is effective at killing bacteria — but Wang said it’s not about how long you cook it for.

Food-borne pathogens are a broad class of bacteria, parasites and viruses that can cause illness. The Government of Canada estimates one in eight Canadians are affected by a food-borne illness every year, with immunocompromised people being at higher risk.

The most common pathogens are bacteria — think E. coli or salmonella. These pathogens can spread through poor food handling practices, contaminated water during the growing stage of produce or the processing of raw meat.

Most illness and hospitalizations in Canada are caused by norovirus — commonly known as the stomach flu — which causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines. Norovirus is most commonly found in shellfish and salad ingredients.

WHAT ABOUT MOLD?

Mold is a type of fungus that grows in groups of multicellular fibres called hyphae. It thrives in warm and high moisture environments and reproduces via spores. Because of this, molds are common on spoiled food — but sometimes they are used on purpose.

For some soft cheeses, such as brie or blue cheese, specific strains of molds are purposely used to break down the cheese’s fat or protein cells and develop its flavour. In these cases, Wang said they are safe to However, when mold grows unintentionally, Wang said we should be cautious before consuming foods with it, de -

“It's about, especially for animal-derived food products, what kind of internal temperature that we are reaching.”

Internal temperature is the temperature reading at the centre of the thickest part of whatever is being cooked. It ranges between 63ºC for items like medium-rare steaks to 82ºC for whole poultry.

It’s also important to regularly wash your hands and surfaces, keep raw meat or seafood cold and separate raw meat, poultry, fish and seafood from other foods in your fridge.

Although counterintuitive, Wang noted the importance of not washing food items that might carry pathogens and will be cooked, such as raw chicken.“By washing these products, you're essentially disseminating the potentially harmful bacteria.”

Most foods have a best before or expiration date, which can be a tricky concept for consumers, as it isn’t an indicator of how safe the food is to eat.

“The best before date is actually an indicator of how fresh the food is,” said Wang. “So basically, if you're eating it past the best before date, the freshness, the flavour, the nutritional value might not be the same.”

She said food past its best before date may still be safe to eat, while eating a food before its best before date may be unsafe.

In contrast, expiration dates will only be found on specific foods that have strict nutritional requirements, such as infant formula or meal replacements. Once they have passed their expiry date, the nutritional requirements may not match up and cause harm to those specific, compromised populations.

But at the end of the day, Wang said it’s important to remember that Canada’s food supply is fairly safe and researchers are working on ways to make it even safer.

“People have been making efforts in trying to get rid of these pathogens from our food supply, and that's why we need innovative solutions to figure these out.” U

More than the bean: Bell Living Lab turns coffee skins into sustainable leather

words by Fiona Sjaus

illustrations by Emilia Onar

Semeru

Gita Lestari and Arka Irfani are adventurers at heart. As biologists, they spent a lot of time observing and appreciating the nature of their native Indonesia on expeditions where it quickly became apparent that, even in the depths of the nation’s jungle, plastic had integrated itself into the natural environment.

The leather industry is a significant contributor to the worldwide plastic problem. Indonesia is a major manufacturer of leather products.

With worldwide demands for leather growing every year, lots of big brand names have made the switch from natural cattle leather to synthetic plastic-based substitutes for a more efficient yield and to reduce the production of the material’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. This has opened up a whole new slew of sustainability-related issues, in Indonesia and beyond.

Many synthetic leathers are made of fossil fuel-derived plastics. And they’re not biodegradable, turning up in the eco-systems Gita Lestari and Irfani have spent time studying.

“In the production [of plastic] itself, we produce toxic chemicals,” said Irfani. “So we want to create an alternative material that is non-toxic and uses less plastic.”

The answer to this alternative lies no further than the local coffee farm.

To get to the core of Gita Lestari and Irfani’s mission, you have to start with coffee cherries and their anatomy. The cherry consists of the seed — commonly known as the bean — which is roasted into coffee grounds and the pericarp, or outermost layer.

Wet processing is the most common method of coffee processing. The pericarp is removed using water and the cherry is pulped to remove the outer skin and fruit, leaving behind the seed to be further processed. But what about that outer layer?

“When we produce … one kilogram of beans, we also produce one kilogram of the coffee waste,” said Gita Lestari. “So we have a lot of coffee waste that the farmer usually just throws away. We want to absorb that waste and enter it into something more valuable.”

Indonesia is the third largest producer of coffee in the world, outputting 774,600 tons annually, according to a Statistics Indonesia report.

So Gita Lestari and Irfani linked the

production of coffee and the manufacturing of leather together and developed M-Tex, a leath er-like material made by converting organic waste into sustainable materials using bacteria.

The team uses the biodegradability of their materials to their advantage in a process called bio-weaving. It involves feeding harvested cof fee skin waste to bacteria, which form the skin into sheets of cellulose — a type of fibre — that are later used to produce the lab’s products.

Bell Living Lab stems from there.

The website’s catalogue looks like a col lection of products traditionally made with leather using M-Tex such as wallets and chairs, but it’s so much more than that. From seed to store, behind every piece is a team of agricul turists, researchers and product designers.

The initiative has become a source of income for a group of around 100 farmers in Indonesia. They harvest the beans and are taught how to prepare the coffee skin for the lab’s processes and receive helpful agricultural resources such as solar domes. Gita Lestari and Irfani purchase the farmers’ leftovers that would have been thrown away. It’s the team’s way of contributing to a circular economy.

Bell Living Lab has gained traction in Indonesia, and has already worked with big brands such as Kia and Nestle. Now, collab orations with students from UBC’s Sauder School and business ventures into local fashion have solidified Bell Living Lab as an up-and-coming grassroots business to look out for in Vancouver.

The demand for a solution to reinventing leather as a fashion staple is international. Through clothing, Gita Lestari and Irfani are experimenting with the possibility of M-Tex becoming a more mainstream vegan leather alternative, a proposal that has been welcomed by designers at Blanche Macdonald. M-Tex durability is comparable to traditional leather — and cheaper.

“We are a research-based company so our goal is to purchase more bio-mate rials that can be used by everybody, not just some people or some market,” said Gita Lestari. “We want to make it inclusive.” U

UBC research suggests fats could trigger insulin production

words by Isha Dau illustrations by Matthew Chan

Research from the UBC Laboratory of Molecular Signalling in Diabetes suggests insulin pathways could be more diverse than previously thought. The results have the potential to inform personalized nutrition care for the management of diabetes.

The findings of the ongoing study were published in Cell Metabolism in July. They showed variation in individuals’ insulin responses to the three macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats and protein. The study found fats could stimulate insulin release for some people, challenging the current consensus that fats have a negligible effect on insulin levels, unlike carbohydrates or some proteins.

Insulin, the hormone responsible for moving sugar from the bloodstream into cells for energy, is secreted by clusters of cells in the pancreas called islets. Consuming carbohydrates alters blood sugar levels, generally prompting a spike in blood sugar followed by an insulin response.

“When most labs study islet function — how much insulin these islets release — they just look at glucose,” said Dr. Jelena Kolic, the study’s lead author and research associate at the Laboratory of Molecular Signalling in Diabetes.

Researchers collected islets from deceased donors and each sample was exposed to a different macronutrient one at a time.

The majority of islets secreted the most insulin in response to carbohydrates. Nine per cent responded more strongly to protein than either carbohydrates or fats. However, eight per cent responded most strongly to fats, opposing

the idea that fats have little to no effect on insulin secretion.

“We were really shocked with the fatty acid responses,” Kolic said.

The first time one of the study's co-authors saw a high insulin response to fats, the research team rechecked the solution to make sure it hadn’t been confused with a high-glucose solution. It took several more instances for the team to recognize the discovery they had made.

A key factor behind this breakthrough was the study’s scale.

“This was, to our knowledge, one of the biggest studies done when it comes to looking at human islets,” Kolic said.

The study, which began in 2016, examined islets from 140 donors. With fewer samples, the islets that responded most strongly to fats might have been missed completely or dismissed as an outlier.

Researchers also found correlations between the abundance of some proteins and insulin responses. But they also found hundreds of novel, unexplored proteins. In the future, Kolic hopes to further study these proteins and how they affect insulin release.

They are expanding the study to investigate glucagon, another hormone secreted by islet cells which has the opposite actions as insulin.

“Science is hard,” said Kolic. “If you're really interested in an answer, there's a way to figure out what the answer is. It just might not always be a direct line.” U

Who got (lab-grown) beef? The science behind alternative proteins

words by Gloria Rahgozar

If a food is highly processed, does that mean it’s bad for our health?

At UBC, researchers are working on advancing food technology by improving the nutritional value, flavour and environmental impact of these products. Amir Amiri, a PhD student in the Food Process Engineering Lab, is one of them.

Amiri is working on a project to create plantbased wagyu beef. He shared the three main options for creating protein alternatives: plant-based protein, single-cell protein and culture protein.

Single-cell protein comes from microorganisms such as yeast, while culture proteins come from animal cells grown in labs.

According to Amiri, the “future of protein alternatives belongs to culture [proteins].” Culture proteins come from lab-grown meat, where stem cells are collected from a live animal, grown in a nutrient-rich environment and arranged to hold cells together, replicating the texture of meat.

The most difficult part of Amiri’s research involves manipulating the structure of proteins so lab-grown meat replicates the texture and flavour of animal meat.

Animal proteins have a fibre shape (think: muscle fibres), but the proteins Amiri works with have a globular shape (like a sphere). He uses a process called extrusion, which unfolds and refolds the proteins into the desired, meat-like structure.

“We use high pressure and high temperature to open the structure of the protein,” said Amiri. “In the second part, which is cooling zone, the open and denatured protein will make the shape of animal-like fibres.”

It might seem like alternative proteins require a lot more effort and processing than their animal-based competitors. But how do they stack up nutritionally?

Felicia Tsam, a registered holistic nutrition-

ist, compared traditional meat and plant-based options.

“The big differences we are going to see is in the cholesterol,” said Tsam. Plant-based proteins don’t contain cholesterol unless they also have animal-derived ingredients in them, such as eggs.

Another point of distinction is sodium content, as most plant-based meats come with added sodium, unlike traditional meat, where consumers add their own salt during preparation. Despite these differences, she emphasized her literature review found no significant change in blood pressure between those eating plant-based meat versus traditional meat, as people tend to salt their food regardless.

In terms of vitamin and mineral content, plant-based alternatives may offer more consistency than animal meat.

“Most plant-based alternatives … today are fortified,” said Tsam. She said specifically nutrients like iron and vitamin B12 that are more difficult to get on plant-based diets are added.

These fortifications can sometimes make plant-based options more nutritionally balanced, especially when compared to individual cuts of animal meat, which can vary in their nutrient profile, according to Tsam.

As researchers have turned their focus to plant-based and alternative proteins, so has the government. The latest iteration of Canada’s Food Guide emphasizes choosing plant foods as often as possible, citing their high fibre and low saturated fat content.

Tsam said this is a good first step and highlighted the importance of making these plantbased foods more accessible.

“I actually think that the biggest thing we can do is move toward changing policy to subsidize things like fruits and vegetables and whole grains and beans, legumes, to make them cheaper.” U

illustrations by Aliza Hertzog

What’s eating you? Debunking nutrition myths

words by Gloria Klein illustrations by Abbie Lee

Nutrition information online is often inaccurate and can leave people more confused than when they started their search. Is it better to graze throughout the day or eat fewer large meals? What vitamins should I be supplementing? Where do the people on TikTok even get their information from anyway?

The Ubyssey sat down with Celeste Bouchaud, registered dietitian and PhD student in human nutrition, to answer some of our editorial’s most burning nutrition questions.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

DO MULTIVITAMINS WORK? ARE THEY NEEDED FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON?

CB: Multivitamins usually give a dose that meets the recommendations for all vitamins and minerals required in the diet for most people [of a given demographic]. There are multivitamins for children, for adults, for older adults, with different dosages depending on the life stage.

Usually people will be able to meet most of their needs through nutrition alone and will only be needing to go to multivitamins in certain cases — such as veganism or if someone is diagnosed with anemia or any other conditions — [where] you would then consult with [a] doctor and dietitian to be able to determine [which] supplements could be right for you, and it may not be a multivitamin. It might just be specific supplements, like iron or calcium.

There are supplements that are recommended in general. In Canada, vitamin D is often something we recommend. People don't eat enough of [it] and there's not much sun in Vancouver, unfortunately.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH INTERMITTENT FASTING? IS IT BENEFICIAL AND CLINICALLY BACKED?

CB: Intermittent fasting is essentially when you restrict your eating time. One of the very popular [types] is fasting for 16 hours and eating over a period of eight hours. [It] can look like skipping breakfast or skipping dinner or … eating for smaller periods of time throughout the day.

Intermittent fasting has been researched a lot in disease states such as diabetes, heart disease and has also been researched in weight loss. For diabetes, heart disease, etc., there can be beneficial effects to intermittent fasting depending on the person, on their state and depending how realistic it is for them to follow that over time.

For weight loss, it will really depend on the person. It can be beneficial to help reduce the amount of calories that we're having overall because we're restricting time. But it can also backfire on people. If they're super, super hun gry, they might end up eating more calories than they would have otherwise. So overall, it really would rather depend on your hunger cues.

cultures, such as Ramadan [and Lent]. [There are] plenty of different cultural and religious reasons to fast, and that's not problematic for health. There are ways to do it properly, just to make sure that you’re meeting your nutritional needs, but fasting in itself is not problematic.

RELATED TO THE TIMING OF EATING, IS IT OKAY TO EAT AFTER 8 P.M.?

CB: We want to have a bit of a fasting window overnight. If you're a student going to bed at 1 a.m. … maybe [stopping eating at] 8 p.m. is a re ally long time … and you'll be hungry at or later than 8 p.m. — totally fine to eat after 8 p.m. if that’s the case.

Usually, we want to aim to stop eating about two hours before bed, just to avoid any digestive discomforts. Because when you're lying down, your body hasn't had the time to digest what’s in your stomach and things like that can cause some reflux and discomfort in that space.

You're also thinking about the fact that sleeping [uses] less energy, so it may be worth having more energy earlier in the day when you're able to actually use it to do things, to learn, to study, to do exercise, etc. So having a massive meal in the hour before you're going to bed isn't necessarily going to be the most useful.

DOES DRINKING WARM WATER OR LIQ UIDS IN GENERAL BEFORE MEALS AID DIGESTION?

CB: There’s no evidence to say so, it's really anecdotal. Some people sometimes find that works [and there are] no issues with that, [but] there is no scientific evidence to back that up at the moment.

Staying hydrated [in general, with hot or cold water], however, is really helpful for digestion, for making sure that your bowels are working properly, so hydration [is] really, really important for digestion [but] hot water [is] not necessarily more beneficial than other things, but not problematic at all to have.

WHERE CAN STUDENTS FIND CREDIBLE NUTRITION INFORMATION?

CB: Ideally, [you’re] looking for someone who studied nutrition, so registered dietitians are a great place to start.

There is a dietitian on campus that you can take an appointment with as well, if that's pertinent for you. There are also dietitians available in Vancouver that you see with or without a referral for more personalized advice.

Generally on the internet, again, [you’re looking] for blogs that are ideally by dietitians or reviewed by dietitians. Dietitians of Canada has

to potentially be article.

Eating empathetically: How food literacy and sustainability intersect

words by Yomna Bedaiwy illustrations by Emilija V. Harrison

Probiotics, intermittent fasting, collagen supplements — we're constantly bombarded with the latest wellness trends on social media claiming to transform our lives. Let’s be real: most of us don’t have the time or patience to fact check every piece of information on our feed (pun unintended), much less to research the impacts of each of these trends.

What do we need to consider about our food, beyond our own nutrition? Who and what is being impacted by the food on our plate? The framework for understanding the environmental, social and nutritional impacts of food is called food literacy.

Dr. Kerry Renwick, a professor of home economics education in the Faculty of Education’s department of curriculum & pedagogy, defines food literacy as “reading the world, not the words, through food.”

According to Renwick, there are three components to food literacy: cultural, operational and critical literacy.

Cultural literacy is learned from other people, both consciously and subconsciously. Operational literacy is about how to do things — how to shop, prepare food and purchase just enough to sustain you while avoiding waste. This can be learned through experience or marketing.

But what about questioning what we know? That’s where critical literacy comes in, which can be further broken down to focus on nutrition, sustainability and ethics.

NUTRITION: THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL

The sheer volume of information online about nutrition, diets and sustainability can be overwhelming, and at times, confusing.

“There's a long history of nutrition information evolving over the last 120 years, moving from a vitamin era through to a protein era, through to what I currently call the fat-free era,” said Renrick. “So then the advice comes back to what is pretty consistently known.”

A common feature of the food guides globally is an emphasis on a varied and balanced diet of grains, fruits, vegetables and proteins. Some food guides also consider sustainability by encouraging greater consumption of plant-based proteins and fewer animal products.

SUSTAINABILITY: THE PLANETARY LEVEL

Sustainability in a food context can include minimizing carbon fuels used to transport food by eating locally and seasonally. Growing certain crops out of season in a cold climate may require the use of heated greenhouses, which can produce high amounts of carbon dioxide.

“I find it really useful to use the seven generations reference in that particularly thinking forward, 'What if I eat like this now? What will it mean for seven generations to follow me?'” said Renwick. The Seventh Generation Principle is based on an ancient Haudenosaunee philosophy that suggests the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven

generations into the future. Renwick also emphasized considering what happens to the food we don’t consume.

“Where does it go? Is it leftovers, or does it become waste? Does it become compost? Does packaging add to waste in a way that is not sustainable?” said Renwick. 2021 UN statistics show that every Canadian household throws out on average 176 pounds of food waste per year.

ETHICS: THE GLOBAL LEVEL

How can we know whether the food we are purchasing is sourced ethically, from farmers in non-exploitative working conditions who are paid a fair wage?

“In many ways, we rely an awful lot on trust. We trust the signs that say a particular canned good is being sourced ethically. There are some safeguards in place around labelling, but they're not always foolproof, and … we need to do

some homework ourselves.”

Some distributors are working on making this “homework” more accessible to consumers, such as Left Coast Naturals, by being transparent about their farms and partners on their websites, but these companies are in the minority.

Ethics can also include thinking about food as a basic human right to which everyone is entitled. Research by the University of Toronto found that 22.9 per cent of Canadians in the ten provinces lived in a food-insecure household in 2023.

According to Renwick, discussions around food insecurity in Canada are “muted” and not getting the attention and space they need.

“This is in a country that experiences long periods of peace, that has huge resources available to them, including social networks. But nevertheless, there are children who do not … have enough food to eat on a daily basis.”

FOOD LITERACY AND EDUCATION

The World Health Organization describes wellbeing as encompassing “quality of life and the ability of people and societies to contribute to the world with a sense of meaning and purpose.” According to Renwick, individuals have the power to do this within their food system.

“We have great capacity for action. We have great capacity for compassion. We have great capacity for care and love. It's just that some people choose not to exercise it quite so readily. And I think that's unfortunate.”

Renwick provided a suggestion for individuals to develop their food literacy and become more engaged with the choices they make around food.

“Think about food as being more than just something that you shovel in because you think you're hungry or you have a craving for something. How do you engage with food in a way that does add to well-being, both your own and community and planetary wellbeing?” U

EDUCATIONAL JOURNEYS

UBC researchers emphasize inclusive education in 2024 SPICE lab report

Mayako Kruger Contributor

In January, the Supporting Progressive Inclusive Child-centered Education (SPICE) Research Lab published a report on the educational experiences of over 68,000 BC students with disabilities and learning exceptionalities.

Principal investigator Dr. Jennifer Baumbusch and lead author Dr. Jennifer E. V. Lloyd aimed to describe the experiences of students in the 12 inclusive education designations tracked by the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care (MECC) which include students with autism and physical and intellectual disabilities.

The study followed students from kindergarten to high school completion and, if in BC, public post-secondary education and collected data about whether or not students remained in the K–12 school system, the type of high school credential earned and the kind and timing of post-secondary education pursued.

The anonymized and population-level data for this report was taken from public databases from MECC’s Student Transitions Project, which uses personal education numbers to track BC student data “across both K-12 and public post-secondary

education systems,” according to its website.

The purpose of the report was “not necessarily to make comparisons between the designations because it’s a large variety of different designations, so we don’t feel like it would be fair to make comparisons,” said Lloyd in an interview with The Ubyssey.

Researchers wanted to “look at discrete patterns in children’s journeys over time, but also to look at inequalities and inequities, across the assorted designations,” said Lloyd.

“We wanted to make a resource that parents and educators and advocates and other researchers could use if they were interested in one of the designations, or all 12 of the designations.”

When looking at other studies about inclusive education, many use small samples of children or only focus on one particular designation, according to Lloyd. The SPICE report, however, looked at over 68,000 individuals over about 20 years.

This report was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and is also part of a larger program of research done by the the council.

The SPICE lab partnered with various advocacy groups, such as Inclusion BC, BCEdAccess and Steps

Forward to help disseminate the results, which has led to “traction” with people who are working on the frontlines with students, according to Lloyd. The report has also been shared with all school districts in BC to help inform them about how to create programs for children with disabilities.

When dealing with data as large as 68,000 students, it’s easy to get lost in the numbers. However, Lloyd emphasized that these are individual students who are being tracked forward through time.

“We hope that from the data, people can see that these educational journeys are being humanized. They’re real kids who are following these trajectories.”

These trajectories have the potential to impact students’ lives beyond K–12 schooling.

“Early educational experiences are a potent and very strong social determinant of health throughout the rest of the life course,” said Lloyd.

According to the World Health Organization, education is one of the social determinants of health.

“It behooves us to better understand these early experiences, so we can make adulthood as productive and engaging and fulfilling as possible.” U

Introduced bumble bee species thrives, causing concern about native pollinators in Lower Mainland

Gloria Klein Science Editor

To the untrained eye, bumble bees may all seem the same: striped, fuzzy and charming. But ecologists in the Lower Mainland have observed a potentially concerning change in the types of species found in the area.

Recent research from UBC’s

Plant-Pollinator and Global Change (PPGC) Lab revealed notable decreases in the local western bumble bee population, with a non-native species dominating the area. The common eastern bumble bee — or Bombus impatiens — was first introduced to the region in the 1990s to pollinate in greenhouses. Melissa Platsko, a recent MSc graduate from the PPGC Lab, said

recorded sightings started in 2003.

Since then, B. impatiens has become one of the most popular species of bees in the region, making up as many as “about 40 to 50 per cent proportionally of the bees” Platsko and her team catch in surveys.

Part of what has allowed this species to thrive is its generalist nature. Its home range spans from

Nova Scotia all the way down to Florida, meaning B. impatiens is able to thrive in a wide range of temperatures and climates, including the Lower Mainland.

Although a close relative of the native western bumble bee, the common eastern bumble bee has a few key differences. They have a unique biological rhythm to other bumble bees in the region that has allowed them to thrive, with their population peaking in around mid-August.

“This late peak in abundance means they’re probably using resources the other bumble bees really can’t access or use themselves,” said Platsko.

New bees can introduce new pests and pathogens that could overwhelm local bees’ immune systems. They also compete for resources, which include flowers and nesting space.

Platsko’s thesis is about the types of flowers and plants that the different bumble bees in the Lower Mainland pollinate. Using a classification of invasive plants in BC, Platsko found B. impatiens tends to pollinate weeds and other invasive species more often than other bumble bees, leading to potentially widespread consequences on local floral communities.

More research is still required to unpack the change in bumble bee population. Unlike honey bees, bumble bees have colonies instead of hives, which makes them more difficult to track down.

Platsko highlighted BC’s Com-

munity Bumble Bee Project, which is working towards characterizing the bees in BC and identifying endangered species, with the help of volunteers.

“It’s really important that we do this research so we can track where these endangered bees are, what habitats they’re in, if they’re preferential to specific native flowers,” said Platsko. “If anything, my life would have been made a lot easier if we had a lot more historic surveys like this.”

Zooming out, BC is home to around 600 different species of bees. Most are part of a large and diverse group called solitary bees, which are also important pollinators but get less attention than bumble bees or honey bees.

“People really love pollinators,” said Platsko. But, there aren’t many places for people to learn about BC’s specific ecosystem so they can protect it.

In terms of ways to get involved, Platsko encouraged individuals to go to local pollinator events, such as UBC Farm’s Pollinator Walks and Bee Safaris, to learn about bees in the Lower Mainland as well as to native garden events where people can learn about and plant local flowers that can support all pollinators in the region.

“Just becoming more knowledgeable about these bumble bees and other bees that are around you is widely beneficial, more than people realize.” U

— With files from Khushi Anand

Education is one of the social determinants of health. ANDRA CHITAN / THE UBYSSEY

B. impatiens is able to thrive in a wide range

Living the Institutions: Reading breaks aren’t actually breaks

Living the Institutions is a column about the institutions and norms that impact undergraduate students at UBC.

This article reflects the author’s personal experiences and views individually and does not reflect the views of The Ubyssey as a whole.

Contribute to the conversation by visiting ubyssey.ca/pages/submit-an-opinion.

Marie Erikson Columnist

Marie Erikson is a fourth-year student in the philosophy honours program and author of the column

Living the Institutions. In her work, she aims to mix theory, experience, policy and norms through clear and nuanced writing. She enjoys an engaging conversation about cats, coffee or whatever event or philosophical conception is deeply bothering her at the moment.

In just a few weeks, students should feel the sweet relief of reading break, giving them a week of real, well-deserved rest. But in reality, students get a brief two days to try to catch up on all their work before being launched into final exams and papers.

The first known call for a fall reading break was made in a 1991 Ubyssey editorial, but the first break didn’t happen until 2021. It is, of course, good that students get a couple extra class-free days in addition to a federal holiday in the fall (or a full week in the spring). But reading break, as its title implies, can only loosely be considered a break when its functional purpose is giving students time to catch up and work ahead on coursework and having them spend time, you know, ‘reading.’

As the 1991 editorial understood over a decade before I was born, students are always expected to work. We’re expected to work late nights, and we can’t clock out of the job — school — we pay for. With our increased awareness of student mental health, the ‘break’ aspect of reading break is discussed, but the obligation to work through the break remains. I have even witnessed professors strongly encourage their students to rest and take care of themselves during the break, only to have a midterm on the first weekday after we return or set a project deadline on one of the break days.

Recovering from intense academic work and stress is rather difficult, if not impossible, while obligated to work on that exact intense academic work and under that exact stress. Because that obligation continues, reading break is not a time where students can truly take care of themselves and recover before plunging back into their studies. The proposal for the two-day break may have referenced improving “student spirits,” but it was intended to provide more studying time in advance of final exams and the vaguer goal of responding to surveys of faculty and staff. Reading break is not designed to give students a

break from academics.

Students also tend to have other responsibilities such as jobs, volunteering or family commitments that continue during the break. While students get to choose whether to take any particular available job or volunteer position, many students need to work to fund their studies or gain experience needed for working post-graduation. With tuition, housing and other living expenses, working as a student is generally not a choice — unless you have a welloff enough family or hundreds of thousands in savings covering your costs. The problem is worse if you are an international student who pays more in tuition while being less eligible for UBC aid.

Even students who can afford to get through their degree without work often need to work or volunteer to afford to live after their degree. True ‘entry-level’ jobs, ones that require no previous experience, can seem rare nowadays, meaning that if a student wants to work in a field after graduation, they likely need to have already worked before completing university. And unless that student did not start their degree straight out of high school, working through university is required to meet this expectaction. Work experience also extends one’s network, which opens many more opportunities.

No person, department or policy at UBC is individually responsible for the economic difficulties that force students to have work experience before graduating. They also

cannot single-handedly eliminate their sources. These facts do not, however, render the university or its academic and non-academic units incapable of lessening the burden on their students.

For example, the Senate could implement a measure that prohibits any assignment due dates on holidays or during midterm breaks, similar to the existing ban on holding midterm exams right before the final exam period. Passing a Senate measure is a lengthy endeavour, but such a rule could significantly improve student health without remarkably disrupting the flow of a course — or at least any course I have taken in my years at UBC.

The university could also implement guidelines on how much coursework should be expected per credit received for a course and its distribution across the term. Even within the same discipline, expectations can vary wildly for a standard three-credit course. Though such a project would require some research, it could give students consistency and help them make educated decisions. Since syllabi are rarely, if ever, available in advance, more consistency would help students decide whether to take a full courseload ( if their financial situation affords them that opportunity).

Professors individually can also lessen the problem by uploading their syllabi in advance and being mindful of the amount of time that their course will demand outside of

class. From my observations, they may have distorted ideas about healthy workloads from the workaholism entrenched in academia, yet planning courses with student academics and wellbeing in mind could lead to balanced course loads and ultimately better student learning.

Finally, departments could consider adding more upper-level, project-based research courses that would give students opportunities to work as a team to accomplish a task while learning more in their field of study. Such courses could combine elements of a seminar and an honours thesis, allowing students to produce a final product they can both learn from and use as evidence of collaboration, project management and other skills related to their discipline and that are applicable outside of academia.

A group of students, for example, could produce a work for a general public under the guidance of a professor working in that area. This project could require not only skill and knowledge in the field but also the ability to collaborate, reach outside academia and bring a project to a conclusion. With these sorts of courses, students could gain experience and continue their studies simultaneously.

Unless UBC fundamentally restructures its undergraduate student program, students will never be free from the pressure to study and work on assignments until the term ends. Grades do im-

pact student futures, especially for students who may want to apply to graduate school or a scholarship. And for students who hope to have an income after graduation, responsibilities will continue through reading breaks and summer break. UBC can’t fix the economy or bring us back to a time where entry-level jobs were widespread. It can nonetheless alleviate the problems students face when studying in its own programs.

One of the best solutions may even be the oldest. The Senate needs to pass a motion extending reading break to a full week. It would certainly support students, but the change would also allow faculty to better prepare for their comparably busy end of term work. Faculty could therefore better support students and produce the research that UBC loves to use in asserting its status as a top university. Students would also get better value for their tuition, as professors would not have reason to cancel or heavily modify classes on the days after reading break to account for low attendance.

No one is reasonably expecting UBC to single-handedly change our society and economy, but it is expected to do the best it can for its students. But they need not take 30 years to make small changes happen.

And to Senate, how long will it take to pass a motion extending fall reading week to an actual week? A change that would be so widely popular need not take 30 years. U

Because the obligation to continue working through reading break persists, reading break is not truly a time to recover, writes Marie Erikson. EMILIJIA V. HARRISON / THE UBYSSEY

Commentary: Second year on a not-so-silver platter

This article reflects the author’s personal experiences and views individually and does not reflect the views of The Ubyssey as a whole.

Contribute to the conversation by visiting ubyssey.ca/pages/submit-an-opinion.

Ava Cervas

Contributor

Ava Cervas is a second-year student majoring in psychology and minoring in journalism and social change. A co-director of a youth-led wellness blog, her passion for writing focuses on reconstructing the narrative surrounding mental health.

When you first learn how to ride a bike, there are a few skills to tackle before being able to go out on your own: balancing on two wheels, steering properly, using the brakes… with these basics, you’ll become a pro in no time! But sprinkle this situation with a little less convenience: no training wheels or guidance — just the bike and yourself to figure it out. Now how difficult is it to move on as a beginner, especially not knowing what to do next?

This was the position I was in when I parted ways with Place Vanier and all its first-year memories back in April. As I was finally gaining some confidence in conquering adult life, it was like having an instruction manual suddenly ripped out of my hands.

Advancing to second year meant that it was entirely my responsibility to navigate the rest of this UBC journey, and somehow I’m expected to reach success in the process. In

this sense, was the fact that I now had some seniority in university overwhelming, daunting and unforeseeable? One hundred per cent.

I let the ominousness of second year linger over the summer, mostly out of my own fear. Over those few months, the same question remained: how could I continue at university if I didn’t know what to expect or the best next steps to take?

When it came time to register for courses, going from the SSC to Workday was something, to say the least. While figuring out this new system, having a last-priority registration date was another struggle in and of itself. It seemed like the same cycle repeated over and over again: finding a required course, but seeing that it didn’t fit my schedule, then trying another section, but seeing that it too was full and so on and so forth.

A last-priority status came with its consequences — especially prominent in the my struggle searching for student housing. I’ve heard the horror stories of fellow second-year roommates-turnedcommuters, complaining about the fact that they’re still among the thousands on housing waitlists with limited off-campus alternatives. Miraculously, I ended up on the better side of this situation, but obtained my dorm in a rather ungraceful way.

Accidentally delaying my winter housing application left little hope for a positive response. Down a panicked rabbit hole of Facebook groups and Craigslist postings, I went about to accept anything with a bathroom that didn’t burn a hole in

my wallet. But once I did exactly so, student housing notified me — two weeks before school started — about my offer in Walter Gage. On the first floor. With seven roommates. My few days of satisfaction ended up with terminating my sublet agreement and scrambling to prepare for another year of residence life.

While I’m more than grateful to have such a living situation, being on campus is much different from before. From my own experience, there’s a significant void where the social convenience of first-year dorms once was. It’s especially hard to meet up with friends, having shifted from being next-door neighbours to entire bus routes apart. Even finding the time to have dinner with one another now has to factor in transit time, which can take away from study time, which can take away from free time and furthermore hours of sleep. A multitude of factors can snowball into one big inconvenience, which wasn’t even a concern when dining halls were an option last year.

With such differences between the ease of guaranteed housing to this survival-of-the-fittest situation, I had zero clue where I’d end up in the mix. And where I am now was just a matter of luck.

Academically, the looming pressure to set myself up for success was the most significant push by far. Being a prerequisite to enroll in many of my courses, declaring my major was supposed to be exciting — but ended up being weirdly scary. An accurate comparison I can think of is from the Bee Movie, where Barry discovers that his honey

production job of choice would be permanent for the rest of his life.

Despite psychology and journalism — my own areas of study — existing outside of an animated hive, the same skepticism remains: what if I made the wrong decision, and only came to this realization too far into my degree? I was terrified of a process that only took two clicks of a mouse. Once this choice has been settled, it’s time to start applying to co-ops, internships and other teams to gain experience and set yourself up for post-graduate life. Unaware of this expectation, I couldn’t help but feel as though I was a step behind.

It’s so easy to fear this rapidlyfired set of new responsibilities and realities, especially having been spoon-fed for an entire year prior. Now being left to fend for myself intimidated me. A lot. Having the mindset that I wasn’t handling this transition properly made me question my abilities not only as a student but as a person.

While I’ve been viewing these changes through a negative lens, acknowledging them in the first place — flaws and all — is admittedly a step in the right direction. After all, growth can only start with a challenge, which involves going outside of your comfort zone.

Having lived in Gage for about a month now, I’m really starting to love it. The chaotic process to get to this point was well worth the sacrifice. Especially considering the two-minute walking distance to just about anything — most conveniently, my classes in Buchanan. Plus, living with a bunch of roommates has truly been a blast,

and a sense of community is finally coming into shape.

Workday, while it’s hard to admit, maybe isn’t so bad anymore. The system definitely has its negatives, but also has its benefits, which I can see now that I’ve finalized my schedule and my rage has simmered down. Especially in the sense that it lets me track my degree progress, ensuring that I’m checking off requirements for my major and minor eases any overarching stress about falling behind. Seeing what I’ve completed thus far, and the work that still needs to be done, gives me a sense of purpose and guidance. And with this rough academic plan to work toward, I can find opportunities that best fit my schedule and allow me to gain experience.

Imagine the bike example. The only thing for certain is that you’ll eventually reach the ability to cycle on your own, one way or another. Like learning how to pedal for the first time, it’s definitely been wobbly and frustrating. Maybe I’ll even fall or take the wrong turn on my path to post-grad, but finding the silver lining within these second-year struggles is the tactic that’s helped me most during this semester. Now about a month in, I can definitely see the bright side of the challenges I once despised.

Three more years in university is a long time to gain the experience and skills I desire. And the best part is, there’s never an expiration date to this, nor rules to follow. So theoretically, you can learn to ride a bike with no instructions. You just have to enjoy the bumps in the road. U

Was the fact that I now had some seniority in university overwhelming, daunting, and unforeseeable? One hundred per cent, writes Ava Cervas.

CHERIHAN HASSUN / THE UBYSSEY

Eight reasons mouth pipetting can save STEM education at UBC

Sophia Russo Senior Staff Reporter

After many years toiling in the depths of the Life Sciences Institute as a graduate student, my post-defence clarity has me reflecting on ways to improve STEM education at UBC. Science is getting way too good, and we need to do something about it. Because technology is constantly evolving and improving, people are losing sight of the past — the old ways, fueled by pure human curiosity and a stark disregard for standardized practice.

The solution? Bring back mouth pipetting.

You’ve probably heard whispers of this technique during your studies, whether it be from a prof reminiscing about their younger days in a lab coat or co-op students swearing they saw a senior researcher do it “that one time.”

Skeptics might dismiss the method — using a glass pipette to measure liquids by treating it like a giant straw — by calling it “archaic,” “stupid” or “potentially harmful.” But any competent scientist will tell you that there’s only one way to determine if there’s merit to my hypothesis: and that’s to test it. And what better place than our very own labs at UBC.

It’s time to take notes from history’s greatest scientists and embrace tried-and-true methods for regular lab use. Here are eight reasons why mouth pipetting is a perfectly feasible technique that should be explored in labs right here on campus.

1. SUSTAINABILITY

We’ve all felt that tinge of apprehension after you finish a long day in the lab and toss out what feels like a shameful number of pipette tips. The beauty of mouth pipetting, with its application of a reusable glass pipette, lies in its sustainability. So sign into Quartzy, put in a one-time glass pipette order and you’ve just helped make this campus a little more sustainable. Plus, they double as reusable straws — and only for a few extra hundred dollars than regular reusable straws! Goodbye plastic, hello planet-conscious alternative!

2. NUTRITION

Now, I’m not saying that you should go out of your way to consume lab goods. That would be madness. But if you find yourself sampling a bit of media with five per cent fetal bovine serum while mouth pipetting, consider it a hidden benefit of the craft. There’s a ban on eating food in the lab space, after all. Plus, if you find yourself regularly skipping meals due to your experiments, some extra nutrients could probably do you some good. And if you do want to sneak food into the lab, blend it up and suck it straight into your mouth via pipette. It will just look like any other toxic substance you ingest

during the process. Life hack!

3. PRECISION

According to a recent study from the TrustMeBro Institute of Technology, mouth pipetting is more precise than standard pipettes by 69 per cent. The sample size was limited, but the results suggest mouth pipetting may be a promising alternative compared to standard pipettes. Since UBC is known for integrating research into its teaching practices, the institution should explore mouth pipetting as an evidence-based practice in a classroom setting. It would get some Canadian Journal of Higher Education pubs too.

4. AESTHETICS

From bell-bottoms to vinyls, retro is back in style. Those cool vintage photos of scientists on your Pinterest board can easily be translated into reality: Just add a sepia filter to candid lab shots of you practicing mouth pipetting in a lab coat, and you’ve got the perfect aesthetic pic for your next photo dump.

5. YOU’VE GONE METHOD

Sometimes when tackling complicated experiments in the lab, imposter syndrome rears its ugly head and makes you feel less like the badass scientist you were born to be. The best way to cure imposter syndrome? Focus on the facts of all your success and reframe your negative thoughts. Just kidding! You should become someone else.

In times of uncertainty, taking inspiration from historic role models in STEM is a great way to remind yourself of the end goal and what can be accomplished through determination and creativity. But why limit yourself to gazing at that photo of Rosalind Franklin on your bench top when you can emulate scientists of that time instead? Get into the headspace of trail-blazing researchers of a bygone era by fully committing to their process. Copying your role model’s style, philosophy and lab protocols might just be the key to getting into the genius headspace that you need to finally make your assays work.

6. RELATABILITY AND NETWORKING

Fledgling scientists might find it tricky to connect with established researchers. Networking is challenging and intimidating due to generational gaps, which have only been bridged thus far by moderate joint pain. By embracing a technique familiar to many senior principal investigators, you’ll be far better equipped to find common ground.

7. FOCUS ON YOUR BREATHING

What’s better than a perfectly valid method of measurement?

That’s right — a perfectly valid method of measurement that

allows you to reconnect with your breathing. Breath control developed from mouth pipetting is a transferable skill that will also help you to relax, practice mindfulness and even try out for your local wind instrument ensemble!

8. IMPRESS YOUR PI AND PEERS

Being a student researcher takes grit and resilience. To impress your PI and colleagues, mouth pipetting is a sure way to blow them away. Is there a risk of infection? Yes. Chemical burns? Sure! But you’re built different. Mouth pipetting is a powerful tool to show off your dedication and willingness to commit to protocols that get things done, however detrimental they may be to your health. So suck it up, UBC, and embrace mouth pipetting. It might just be what you need to finally finish your thesis. And maybe a smoothie. U

COMIC //

Halloween spirit

My post-defense clarity has me reflecting on ways to improve STEM education at UBC.

LUA PRESIDIO / THE UBYSSEY

THEY TURNED THE WATER BLUE

Sam Low Web Developer

This is NOT a joke! The water is blue. Fucking blue! It’s been blue for weeks. Go out and check! The Martha Piper fountain, the little puddle outside IKB, probably other expensive displays of liquid … THEY ARE ALL BLUE!!!

And not normal blue — we’re not talking about a natural reflection of selectively scattered sunlight here. We’re talking B.O.B. from the 2009 animated comedy Monsters vs. Aliens blue. We’re talking, “My pen exploded in my pocket and now I’m branded by BIC for life” blue. We’re talking, “What if Eeyore collapsed dead from a chronic silver intake problem, was eulogized by the Blue Man Group and then teleported through space in the TARDIS to be cremated on a neutron star?” blue. It’s a dangerous blue! A problematic blue!

Dear reader, it wasn’t always this way. I remember a time when I could see my reflection in that pool. When I didn’t question if I had wandered into the Minecraft v1.0.0 alpha every time I walked between classes. There was a time when inquiries such as, “Did they fill up the Martha Piper Plaza Fountain with Cool Mint Listerine?” would reflect insanity on the inquirer. But those times are over.

DID THEY FILL UP THE MARTHA PIPER PLAZA FOUNTAIN WITH COOL MINT LISTERINE?

This is a very popular theory, the “Listerine hypothesis” they call it. Believers will tell you that the university’s water features are secretly

doubling as mouthwash reserves exclusively for fatigued students signed up for 8 a.m. classes. Just woke up and have no time to brush your teeth? Simply dunk your head into the fountain, gargle, spit and continue rushing off to your groggy, under-attended, miserable lecture hall!

When asked why UBC would be keeping this hygiene solution secret, believers noted that what they are describing is “totally gross” and “might be bad for the school’s reputation.” Although there is admirable logic and many have been convinced, I remain a skeptic. Cool Mint Listerine just isn’t the correct hue.

IS IT FOR FLAVOUR ENHANCEMENT?

My first thought upon noticing the newly blue water was, “In a just world, those responsible for this atrocity shall receive punishment by the awesome power only acknowledged in association with the almighty gods of ancient times.”

The second thought I had was, “Am I supposed to drink this?”

Gazing upon the unnatural hue, saturation and opaqueness of UBC’s blue water features, I felt a sickening tension. I knew these two things in my heart:

1. Fountain water is not drinking water

2. Blue is usually a decent slurpee flavour

A fierce battle erupted. “IT MIGHT BE BLUE RASPBERRY!” I lunged towards the basin, salivating. “NO! Think of the filth that thing is collecting! It must be a soup of disease!” I restrained

myself for a moment but my thirst roared a second time, “BUT BLUE RASPBERRY!!!”

I bounded forward, my mind captured by the pursuit of manufactured flavouring. But then — “Remember that time in first-year when you couldn’t figure out how

to soak your feet while wearing flip-flops in the residence shower so you covertly dipped them in the fountain thinking that might be a sustainable solution?” At the last moment, I diverted my neck away from the water’s surface. I lost balance, hit the concrete and once

again narrowly avoided giving into the temptation of lapping up one of UBC’s upsettingly blue open water features.

As of press time, I can’t answer whether the fountain is blue for flavour enhancement. I hope I never can. U

We’re talking “B.O.B. from the 2009 animated comedy Monsters vs. Aliens” blue. SAM

Women’s rugby Canada West championship Bowen Island is a timeless and freeing escape

Lauren Kasowski Sports + Rec Editor

The UBC’s women’s rugby team won their fifth consecutive Canada West (CW) championship on Sunday evening in Calgary. After defeating the University of Calgary Dinos 81–7 in the semi-finals, they faced the University of Victoria Vikes, where they walked away with a 51–22 victory.

In the semis, the ‘Birds faced the Dinos and quickly got on the board. Savannah Bauder found a mid-field gap to put the T-Birds up 7–0 in the third minute.

UBC played a physical game with good line pressure that stifled any Dinos offence. Although they did take a lot of penalties, the ‘Birds continued their momentum, scoring three more tries in the next 20 minutes.

Although the Dinos had short bursts of momentum, they couldn’t capitalize and the T-Birds added two more tries to their lead before half.

Mya Koleba opened the scoring in the second half, and from there, six different ‘Birds scored tries to increase their margin to 81–0.

Dino Willow Beyea got a try with six minutes left, but the team’s deficit was too large and the game ended 81–7.

The Thunderbirds were now

SETBACKS INTO SUCCESS //

facing their rivals: the Vikes.

The T-Birds kept possession for the first 20 minutes and used it to their advantage. Bauder earned both afield goal and try for a 10–0 lead.

Both teams played a kicking-heavy defensive game. After a series of kicks, UBC’s Charity Williams picked up the ball and sprinted along the sideline, outpacing Victoria for a try.

UVic didn’t roll over easily

though. They earned two tries by running hard through defensive gaps, cutting the lead down, but another Thunderbirds try gave a halftime score of 32–12.

Williams scored just a minute into the second half, but the Vikes soon started to pick up momentum. After a try and field goal, the ‘Birds started to feel the pressure. Rucks got a little messier and turnovers were abundant.

But the Vike couldn’t capitalize and UBC scored two more tries, having a 51–22 lead with nine minutes left. The Vikes then became more desperate, but UBC held onto their lead and became five-peat champions.

UBC will now look toward the U Sports Championship hosted by the University of PEI from October 30–November 3 where they will vie for an elusive national title. U

Sam Davenport’s rise in UBC football

“I think the Canadian game, in my opinion, helps my type of play style,” said Davenport.

Nik Thakker

Contributor

Eighteen months ago, then-secondyear wide receiver Sam Davenport’s fast-blossoming football career was cut short.

His then-university, SFU, announced the termination of their football program — without consulting the players — after not being invited back to the NCAA at the end of the 2022/23 season. This marked the end of any Canadian college presence in the league, and for football athletes, it was crushing.

However, time heals and upon reflecting on his time at SFU, Davenport had more constructive takeaways than hard feelings.

“One of the big things that SFU had that UBC didn’t was the level

of competition,” said Davenport.

“That level of competition was a tough step coming from a Canadian school out in Abbotsford. So knowing that I had to put in the work really shaped [me] in[to] the player I am today,” he said.

Fortunately, Davenport got a new beginning at the start of the 2023/24 season, when he joined the Thunderbirds, a U Sports team.

On paper, a switch in regulations from American to Canadian rules spelled potential for an uncomfortable adjustment period. This wasn’t quite the case for Davenport.

“For the most part, I found it was a quite easy turnover. Coaching staff really helped me out with that,” he said. “I think the Canadian game, in my opinion, helps my type of play style.”

U Sports plays under CFL rules

and is a faster-paced game on a wider field compared to the NFL rules played by NCAA schools. CFL rules also include the rouge — a way of scoring one point by kicking the ball into the end zone or if it goes out of bounds in the end zone. Davenport thrived in this environment, notching 745 yards and 5 touchdowns in his debut U Sport season.

“One of my favourite rules is probably the rouge ... I feel like it actually was a rule almost designed for me,” he said.

It wasn’t just Davenport’s work ethic that brought him to U Sports excellence. He said the transition to UBC was helped by the collective hunger and camaraderie among the entire squad.

“I think my teammates really helped … they’re just great guys,”

said Davenport. “It’s so helpful to succeed on a team when we’re all close together, and especially with them being so welcoming.”

He has linked up particularly well with quarterback Garrett Rooker, who he has partly to thank for his success.

“[Rooker] and I are really good at thinking pretty similarly when it comes to on the field, and even off the field,” he said. “It’s a really cool thing to have, as a wide receiver, to have that connection with [the] quarterback.”

The prolific pair were instrumental in the T-Birds success last season. For the first time in eight seasons, the football team made it to the Vanier Cup — the national championship game. Despite being on the receiving end of heartbreak at the expense of the University of Montréal, Davenport learned from the experience and is bringing that knowledge to this season.

“We made it all the way to the Vanier [Cup] … it’s hard to get back to where we were. So major takeaways was just being thankful for what we were given and what we were able to accomplish as a team. I think because of these lessons, we’re in a great spot for what we can do this year.”

Right now, the T-Birds sit second in the conference and are looking strong, winning their last five games. At the time of print, Davenport leads the team in yards with 481 and 33 receptions. With only one game left before playoffs, Davenport’s success with the Thunderbirds is far from over. U

I consider myself a simple person. I love the ocean. I love the sun. But what I love the most is the ocean and the sun. Now, I know I could find those in various places around Vancouver. However, trust me when I say that you haven’t truly seen the sea and sun in all its glory until you make a trip across the Burrard Inlet to Bowen Island.

Dwindling conifer trees overlook the mystical steep hills. The sparkling ocean lapping gently against the rocky shore. Bountiful grass stretching further than you could imagine. Have I said enough? I clearly haven’t seen enough, because I’ve been to Bowen Island three times and counting.

Whenever I get off the ferry at Snug Cove Terminal, the familiarity of the salty air comforts me and instantly washes away the stress I brought from the mainland. An inexplicable aura of homeliness is forever warped around the island.

The first thing I usually do at Bowen Island is rush to Tell Your Friends Cafe, a staple food daydream that I salivate over a few times a week. With soothing oceanic music, the smell of freshly baked goods and a quaint window overlooking the pier, my sandwich experience is always heightened. The staff are so cheerful and welcoming, mirroring the aura of the island.

After my belly is filled to the brim, I usually hobble over to the lush grass field and watch the boats anchored at the pier sway gently. It is picturesque and quiet, a rare combination in today’s world.

Moreover, this field just awakens my inner child. Having all this open space triggers an urge to run and be free of all my inhibitions. I remember the first time I was here. My friend and I balanced on the logs and skimmed rocks and there was something so indescribably healing about it.

The grass field is right near the Dorman Point trail, which is a beginner-friendly hike. The trail is stunning, with the towering trees and sunlight peeking through. Other than the fact that there is an abundance of slugs around, this is probably one of my favorite trails.

To me, the top of the trail is the best part of Bowen Island. The view always leaves me at a loss for words.

A Sunday at Bowen Island is the perfect day for me. With the sun and sea in all of its glory, this is definitely a place to be. U

RHEA KRISHNA / THE UBYSSEY

Dwindling conifer trees overlook the mystical steep hills.

SAUMYA KAMRA / THE UBYSSEY

The UBC Thunderbirds with their championship banner.

COURTESY DAVID MOLL / CALGARY DINOS

In Photos: Intergenerational March 2024

NATALIE CHOO / THE UBYSSEY

SAUMYA KAMRA / THE UBYSSEY

SAUMYA KAMRA / THE UBYSSEY

TIANA KHANDELWAL / THE UBYSSEY

TIANA KHANDELWAL / THE UBYSSEY

TIANA KHANDELWAL / THE UBYSSEY

NATALIE CHOO / THE UBYSSEY

ACROSS

1. Digging the music

5. Box office failure

9. Elatedness; ignorance

14. Tonnes (of)

15. LxW=__

16. One of prevention is worth a pound of cure

17. Cherry’s or Steve’s hound

18. Glasgow’s girl

19. Citizen Kane director 20. Tea, gossip

23. Ramsey, Cook, Daring, Disick

25. Easterly, but mostly southern direction, abbr.

26. Maiden name notation

27. Apple, Levi, Nalgene, Moleskine, etc

28. TSP’s friend

30. The alligator does not eat

1. Vaccine poke

2. For the musketeers, its ___ for one, one for ___

3. Greek eggplant dish

4. Some Twitter freaks are always telling women “____ __ me, mommy”

5. Golf, croquet, tennis and cricket all use these

6. DJ Khalid won’t do this 7. STEM anagram, scientology acronym

8. Hates on 9. Idiots, birds

Bait 11. In the membrane, in the brain 12. Spot of tea pairing 13. Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste 21. Stupid fucking job app 22. Catch sight of, spots, sees

this number

31. Cartoonish shout; Regards, appreciation, abbr.

32. Many a citation’s closer

34. Egyptian minor goddess of milk

36. Phrase to stick legs out to

41. One of 5 major groups of Lipoproteins, abbr.

42. “I finna be in the pit.”’s pit

43. Also, as well, additionally

45. Slaps, bangers

48. American sporting channel, owned in 80 per cent majority by Disney

50. What you do on down the road, according to Jackson and Ross

52. Kills Bill

23. First president of Gabon 24. Triomphe, Triumf, and Triomf are all this piece of architecture

28. Sin cos subsequent 29. Hindenburg vehicle

30. Written direction (You’re reading it)

33. Pixie Hollow’s fairies all have this.

35. Close behind; where to find the sole

37. Be kind, rewind 38. Dash; anime; comic; santa 39. Sympathetic remark 40. Many are, and don’t even know it 44. They can be to joy, nightingales, or really anything you like. 45. Bubble destruction 46. You gotta break a few eggs

53. Otorhinolaryngologist

54. Voters of no confidence

55. Subject of an Isaac Asimov short story

59. Fanfiction genre

60. Norse god of thunder

61. Honey, you ____ auburn big time!

64. Beat speed

65. They’ve got international banks and American bikes

66. Draw, standoff, impasse

67. Boneless corsets

68. American rapper Kaliii’s got them in different area codes

69. Lyncus was turned into this big cat by the goddess Demeter

51. Electric

53. American (mis)spelling of an acoustic phenomenon (phenomenon… omenon.. omenon…)

54. Wentz and Joel rhymed this with ‘Prince and The Queen

47. Jim-jams, PJs, nightclothes

49. Lilo’s friend

Mayhem’s drummer

dies’ in 2023 56. Cyber-espionage

57. American state 58. They’re passed 62. Cos tan preceder 63. Cowboy nickname