SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 | VOLUME CII | ISSUE V SHROOMS 101 SINCE 2016 SINCE 1918
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SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY
YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE
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OUR CAMPUS
EVENTS
Dr. Lori Brotto’s #DebunkingDesire campaign strives to break sexual health stigma. FILE PATRICK GILLIN
VIRTUAL NATURE OCTOBER 7, 2020 @ 12:15–1:00P.M. UBC Botanical Gardens is hosting a free Zoom nature wellness session. If you are missing connecting with nature and others in a meaningful way, this may be a good fit for you. The event will be run by Isabel Budke who has more than 20 year experince in sustainability and education. Interested participants can register online.
COURTESY UBC EQUITY & INCLUSION OFFICE
TONYE AGANABA UBC FACULTY OF MEDICINE
OCTOBER 21, 2020
Arumann Dhillon
Aganaba is the second of four featured artists for Black Artistic Expressions in BC. They are an artist, musician and arts facilitator who will be performing their latest album, Something Comfortable. This release is inspired by their journey with multiple sclerosis and serves as a way to explore public health and identity. Interested participants can sign up online through the Equity & Inclusion Office.
ON THE COVER COVER BY Maya Rodrigo-Abdi
Want to see more events or see your event listed here? ubyssey.ca/events
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Contributor
Whether it’s because of the stigma surrounding the female reproductive system or the lack of importance placed on sexual health issues, Dr. Lori Brotto finds that sex, especially as it relates to women, is grossly under reasearched. “Funding for research on sexual health is usually embedded within other diseases, cancer or diabetes or depression. But sexual health in and of its own has not been extensively studied at all,” she said. It was because of this that Brotto first became involved in the field of women’s sexual health, and why she went on to become Canada’s research chair of women’s sexual health, executive director of the women’s health research institute, and director of the UBC Sexual Health Laboratory. Twenty-two years ago, Lori Brotto was a PhD student working in a research lab that examined the impacts of antidepressants on the sexual behaviour of rats. In 1998, Edward Laumann, Anthony Paik and Raymond Rosen published a large research study entitled “Sexual Dysfunction in the United States: Prevalence and Predictors,” detailing the vast population of women who experience distressing sexual health problems. In discovering this lack of treatment compared to the treatment that was available for male sexual dysfunction, Brotto decided that she needed to shift her focus to effective, easily accessible treatments for women with sexual health disorders.
THE NEED FOR RESEARCH The underrepresentation of women in health care research studies is “a product of decades, if not centuries, of gender bias where women's health has not been prioritized, or where
[women] are seen as just smaller versions of men,” said Brotto. Because of the “pesky influence of women’s hormones,” women were historically excluded in health care trials and studies. This, combined with the cultural taboo surrounding all things sex, has resulted in the severely underresearched field of sexual health and medicine. “The funding for women's health research is a tiny fraction of the much larger pool of funding for general health research,” Brotto explained. “So this goes far beyond research in women’s sexuality. This is a much larger systemic inequity in health research and women in general,” said Brotto. According to Brotto, approximately one third of women experience distressing sexual problems and the vast majority of them never seek help from medical professionals because they fear stigma. The majority of research around this topic is qualitative, and it suggests that many women feel that their sexual problems are invalid, unimportant or embarrassing. But the World Health Organization declared sexual health to be one of the fundamental aspects of quality of life. “We know that chronic sexual dysfunction increases rates of depression and anxiety,” Brotto said. “We know that sexual dysfunction is associated with poor health status and with chronic diseases and chronic illness. We know that sexual dysfunction can be a major reason why people don’t comply with their medications. So, for those reasons alone, it should be recognized as a legitimate health domain.”
ATTACKING THE STEREOTYPES Brotto and her team created the #DebunkingDesire campaign to set the record straight about women’s sexual dysfunction. The campaign uses social media to share key findings from research in women’s sexual health with those who need them most: women. It aims to reduce disinformation and stigma surrounding women’s sexual health. “Sexual concerns are very common,” Brotto noted. “At least a third of women have distressing sexual problems. And the vast majority of women do not speak with a health care provider about it due to embarrassment or stigma or lack of access to a health care provider and frankly, women just feel like they’re being dismissed.” Because of the lack of involvement of health care professionals, a large fraction of the information that women receive about their sexual problems comes from social media and the internet, much of which is inaccurate. Some of the most common misconceptions
regarding desire are: “Not being aroused during sex means I don’t love my partner,” or “A lack of desire is only a problem for older women, or women in menopause.” In order to counter these and other factually incorrect statements, the #DebunkingDesire campaign shares the truth via short, digestible pieces of information that help women learn about the reality of their lack of desire, how they can deal with it and what it means for their relationships.
BROTTO’S ADVICE FOR WOMEN Upon being asked about some of the things that impact desire, Brotto said, “A lot of people are worried about the outcome [of sex], the end result of the encounter, and are not paying attention and being present.” For the last 18 years, Brotto and her team have been researching the relationship between mindfulness and sex. She defines mindfulness as “paying attention on purpose, and compassionately so without judgment.” In her book Better Sex Through Mindfulness, she details the ways in which mindfulness can be used as a tool for improving relationships and sexual encounters. Brotto emphasized that “[mindfulness] works on more than just improving sexual desire, we’ve tracked outcomes on relationship satisfaction on mood and quality of life. And we see many of those different domains of health and well-being positively impacted through the practice.” Brotto encourages students to share correct information that comes from social media and to avoid sharing something if they are unsure it is true.
A VISION FOR THE FUTURE Brotto aims to expand her scope of influence to help more women. “The real next hurdle is going to be bringing our treatments out to the much larger population of women who live in geographically remote areas or who are not able to get towards our centres for any myriad number of reasons,” she explained. To tackle this hurdle, Brotto and her team are turning to new technology to create a platform for a wider distribution of their services. “We have these effective face-to-face treatments, these mindfulness treatments that we've delivered in groups,” she said. “Over the last two years, we’ve been building an online platform called eSense that delivers the same skills that we do in our faceto-face group that does it totally online.” The platform has yet to launch but has received the necessary funding to move forward. U
NEWS
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY
EDITORS CHARLOTTE ALDEN + ANDREW HA
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MONEY MONEY MONEY //
UBC changed its cash payment policies amid 2019 provincial ‘dirty money’ laundering concerns their student account and then seek refunds by cheque. “On a recent occasion, one college was faced with a student who was required to pay a charge of $150. The student attended with $9,000 in cash in a duffel bag and asked to deposit that amount minus the $150 owing,” the report reads. The excess amount, in this case $8,850, is refunded to the bank account of the depositor. According to the report, this “refund” appears to be clean money on the bank statement as it comes from an educational institution. “In effect, the institution was being asked to act as a bank,” reads the report.
UBC ANGLE
LUA PRESIDIO
UBC stopped accepting payments in cash via HSBC in fall 2019.
Maneevak Bajaj Contributor
UBC changed its cash acceptance policies in late 2019 amid what a freedom of information (FOI) request shows were money laundering concerns stemming from a letter from the BC government. Through an FOI request, The Ubyssey obtained UBC’s communications in response to the money laundering concerns laid out by the BC government. While UBC couldn’t identify any specific sources of money laundering, UBC’s treasurer called cash deposits through HSBC “a grey area.” According to the report lawyer and former RCMP Deputy Commissioner Peter M. German wrote for the BC government in March 2019, post-secondary institutions may be a pathway to bring in “dirty” money from various countries to Canada. The report states that “some students bring only cash to pay for their tuition and expenses, and sometimes attempt to pay for mul-
tiple semesters in advance.” Later, students could withdraw from the institution and receive an institutional cheque in reimbursement of their fees. Melanie Mark, advanced education, skills and training minister, sent a letter in May 2019 to all public post-secondary institutions asking them to develop or review their financial policies and share findings with the ministry. UBC VP Finance and Operations Peter Smailes responded to Mark’s letter on June 28, 2019, saying that “it would be very difficult for the situations cited in the Dirty Money Report Part 2 [by Peter M. German] to be replicated at UBC.” In a statement to The Ubyssey dated September 16, 2020, university spokesperson Kurt Heinrich confirmed that UBC stopped accepting payments in cash via HSBC in fall 2019. “While HSBC has procedures in place to protect against money laundering, the decision was made in order to provide an additional
mechanism to reduce the potential risk of money laundering,” Heinrich said. UBC also modified its cash handling policy in November 2019 to prevent large cash transactions from a single entity. “No UBC faculty or staff member may receive or process on behalf of UBC any single cash payment in excess of CDN$5,000 from any individual, company, or entity,” amended policy FM3 reads.
CASH DEPOSITS Banks need to report cash deposits over $10,000 to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). But deposits made on campus at public post-secondary institutions do not have to be reported, as they’re seen as a legitimate source used for paying tuition fees. However, German’s report noted that some international students may pay tuition and other expenses in illegitimate cash, overpay into
In a July 2019 statement to The Ubyssey, Heinrich said that UBC hasn’t directly accepted cash for tuition fees for ten years. However, he clarified that students could pay their tuition fees at that time in cash via HSBC. “While students may pay tuition in cash or by cheque via HSBC, they must provide ID and a UBC student number,” he said. Sharon Wilks, head of media relations at HSBC Canada, said that HSBC takes money laundering seriously and large cash transactions automatically trigger a report to FINTRAC. “We do apply high standards of anti-money laundering and controls across all our activities,” Wilks said in a 2019 interview. She said all normal banking procedures such as establishing customer identification apply to cash deposits for UBC students. However, according to FOI records, UBC Treasurer Yale Loh said in a June 25, 2019 email to Associate Vice-President Government Relations Adriaan de Jager that “[UBC’s] practice is to return any payments made through
HSBC (either by cash or cheque) by cheque” — something Loh and VP Finance and Operations Peter Smailes were “supportive of eliminating.” “HSBC is a little uncomfortable since the students using the service might not be HSBC customers and HSBC technically is supposed to ‘know’ all the people using their services,” Loh wrote in a May 2019 email to Enrolment Services and Media Relations. FOI records show that the university received $21.7 million in tuition payments by cash, cheque or wire transfer in 2019/20 — just under three per cent of all payments received. UBC didn’t provide data showing the number of cash deposits alone. FOI records also noted that cash payments at Student Housing and Hospitality Services, now Student Housing and Community Services, formed 0.5 per cent of total payments. According to the FOI, there were only seven payments above $5,000 and the average amount of cash transactions was $1,075. But with the amended policy FM3 in place, SHCS no longer accepts cash payments above $5,000. However, according to the UBC Extended Learning website, UBC Continuing Education still accepts cash payments directly. An email sent by Loh in November 2019 mentions that “Continuing education payments were not more than $5,000 in the sample we looked at.” The Ubyssey couldn’t find any other correspondence about it after the said date. Heinrich said the HSBC changes will have little impact on students. “Given the very small number of cash payments made to UBC via HSBC prior to the policy change, we do not expect this change to adversely affect our students,” Heinrich said. U
PLEASE MOVE TO THE REAR OF THE BUS //
Province awards Broadway Subway contract as 99 remains busiest route Jackson Dagger Contributor
The province has awarded a contract to extend SkyTrain part of the way to UBC, Premier John Horgan announced earlier this month. The Broadway Subway Project will provide rapid transit to much of the busy Broadway corridor, with construction set to begin this fall. “When completed, the Broadway Subway will transform how people get around in Vancouver,” said Horgan in a September 3 press release. “It will mean faster travel to work and school, better access to local business and fewer cars on the road.” The Broadway Subway will add 6 stations and 5.7 kilometres to the Millennium Line past its western terminus at VCC-Clark station. The new extension will connect with the Canada Line at
an expanded Broadway-City Hall station and terminate at a newly built station at Arbutus and West Broadway. TransLink has already switched trolley buses along the corridor to diesel or relocated them to accommodate bus rerouting during construction. Service for the extension is scheduled to begin in 2025. The contract, valued at $1.73 billion of the project’s total $2.83 billion budget, was awarded to Broadway Subway Corporation to design, build and partially finance the project. The Broadway Subway Corporation is a joint venture between Acciona, a Spanish infrastructure firm, and Ghella, an Italian firm with tunnel-building experience. The 99 B-Line bus route provides high-frequency transit along the Broadway corridor between UBC and CommercialBroadway SkyTrain station. However, the 99 B-Line has
become a frequent site for passups, when full buses are unable to take in passengers at bus stops. Data from TransLink’s 2019 Transit Service Performance Review shows that the 99 B-Line is both by far the busiest bus by average weekday boardings and the most overcrowded bus by annual revenue hours.
Metro Vancouver’s rapid transit network. Drews said that an extension of the Millennium Line all the way to UBC would better connect students, employees and
residents who travel between UBC and other parts of Metro Vancouver. SkyTrain to UBC is yet to be funded. U
BUSIEST BUS ROUTES “The 99 B-Line route on the Broadway Corridor is the busiest bus route in Canada and the United States, moving up to 56,000 people a day on articulated buses that run every 2–3 minutes in peak times,” TransLink representative Jill Drews said in a statement to The Ubyssey. “Even with buses running this frequently, it is also the region’s most overcrowded bus route.” Translink is also exploring the possibility of connecting UBC to
FILE T. GEORGE MCBURNEY-LIN
The Broadway Subway will add 6 stations and 5.7 kilometres to the Millennium Line.
4 | news | TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE //
Senate triennial review brings big changes, some controversial
“I think we did successfully get a lot of great recommendations out of this review. But by no means is the work finished.”
Kyle Delgatty Contributor
A recent UBC Vancouver Senate review will bring some of the largest changes that the Senate has seen in over a decade. At the end of each triennium, the three-year cycle running the Senate, the academic governance body completes a review led by faculty and student senators from its Nominating and Agenda Committees. In that process, the Nominating Committee solicits comments from senators, senate committees and members of the campus community on Senate’s opera-
tions based on a list of questions written by the committee. Based on the feedback received, the Nominating Committee drafts and votes on a set of recommendations that they will bring to Senate. Senate then passes a final vote on the recommendations before they are implemented. “This was one of the more indepth and controversial triennial reviews,” said Student Senate Caucus Co-Chair Max Holmes, who sits on both the Nominating and Agenda Committees involved in creating the review. “I think one of the reasons is this was one of those triennial reviews where students really
FILE AIKEN LAO
decided to take advantage of this process and to really point out the governing flaws of the Senate.” One of the biggest recommendations students advocated was that the Senate support an external review. Unlike the triennial review, which was internal, an external review of the Senate would be conducted by outside consultants. The last external review of the Senate was completed 15 years ago in 2005. Holmes hopes that an external review would allow for more systemic changes to be made to the Senate. “We knew out of this [internal] review process we weren’t going
to get everything that we were pushing for, because students have long been pushing for systematic change within the Senate — and we’ve often just not been heard by many of our other colleagues,” Holmes said. Many triennial review recommendations dealt with the composition and function of Senate committees. The review recommended the enlargement of the Academic Policy and Appeals on Academic Standing Committees, including the addition of a new student seat on both. “Any policy that affects students in academic life has to go through [the Academic Policy Committee], so we thought it was important to have three students on that committee as opposed to just two,” said Holmes. Other changes to committees included chairperson term limits of six years and mandated secret ballot elections. The review recommended that committees be open to other senators upon request, but not to non-senator students or the rest of the public. Of the 23 recommendations made, 10 were not unanimously passed by the Nominating Committee, such as the recommendation that members of appeals committees receive any training before hearing appeals cases. Training for appeals committee members was the only recommendation that wasn’t accepted by the Senate, after a meeting where faculty Senator Lawrence Burr asked the student caucus “not to talk so much” about the recommendation. Senator Tariq Ahmed, the chair of the Appeals on Academic Discipline Committee, said that
the committee wasn’t consulted on the recommendation. “I think the Nominating Committee really has some soul searching to do if its approach is to recommend changes to the operations of committees without so much as seeking those committees’ thoughts first,” Ahmed said at a July Senate meeting. Responding to this claim, Holmes said that every Senate committee was expected to submit feedback during the process of drafting the review, but that the Appeals on Academic Discipline Committee chose not to submit any feedback to the Nominating Committee on any of the recommendations made. While some recommendations proved to be controversial, other student submissions were not passed at all and never made it into the review. Holmes said that about half of the recommendations suggested by the student caucus weren’t accepted, and no public rationale has been given for those decisions. Some of the suggestions kept out of the review included opening committee meetings to the public, or barring Executives and Deans from committee chair positions to prevent conflicts of interest. The Senate triennial review marks the end of a three year cycle, but it isn’t the last opportunity for change to come to the Senate. Student senators like Max Holmes remain committed to working for a better Senate. “I think we did successfully get a lot of great recommendations out of this review. But by no means is the work finished,” he said. U
SEXUAL VIOLENCE //
Four years in, program treats dozens of sexual assault patients at UBC hospital annually Jackson Dagger Contributor
After four years, a program allowing sexual assault survivors to get relevant post-assault care and optional forensic exams done at UBC Hospital is still going strong. Since 2016, anyone 13 or older of any gender who has been sexually assaulted in the past week has been able to get specialized treatment and an optional forensic exam at UBC Hospital Urgent Care between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily. The treatment and exam are performed by a specialized, oncall team from BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre. Survivors can request emotional support and accompaniment from the AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) before, during and after their hospital visit. Before the program began, survivors had to travel to Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) to get an exam done at their emergency room, which continues to offer sexual assault exams 24/7. In an interview with The Ubyssey, Dr. Tracy Pickett, medical director of Sexual Assault Service at BC Women’s, said that 25 sexual assault patients were seen at UBC Hospital last year by a specialized team from BC
Women’s. The majority of sexual assault patients served by BC Women’s Sexual Assault Service, around 350, still presented at VGH last year. Ebony Swanson, SASC support & advocacy coordinator, said that SASC usually accompanies between one and three survivors a month to UBC Hospital. The actual exams conducted can involve taking the patient’s statement, collecting clothing samples, swabbing for forensic evidence, taking blood and urine samples for toxicology and conducting and documenting a physical exam. Pickett said that patients are able to choose which parts of the exam, if any, they would like to undergo. “[The patient] has their own leeway in what they want done.” When staff identify a sexual assault patient, Pickett said they move the patient to a private area, to provide individual, confidential support. Pickett noted that as a smaller facility than VGH, UBC Hospital offers the advantage of being a quieter and less threatening site for patients who have experienced trauma. BC Women’s will also store the kit for survivors while they decide whether or not they want to turn
over the evidence to the authorities. While other parts of Canada have struggled with being able to store these kits for a sufficient amount of time, no such problem exists for BC Women’s. “It has meant that we’ve had to buy more freezers and bigger freezers,” Pickett said. If the patient needs more time after a year, they will hold on to forensic samples for longer than a year.
IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC SASC had to pause hospital visits for now due to COVID-19 related
visitor restrictions. But on August 17, Swanson said the centre has restarted the service. There are added barriers to getting support that survivors face with COVID-19, Pickett said. For example, personal protective equipment worn by health care professionals to guard against the disease could have psychological effects. “People are really frightened that they might be getting exposed to COVID by going to an urgent care centre or a hospital,” she said, noting that she hoped that the quieter setting of UBC Hospital may offset some of that.
SASC usually accompanies between one and three survivors a month to UBC Hospital.
“Particularly for survivors of gender-based violence, masks can be a really scary thing.” Pickett was unable to go into specifics on convictions secured with evidence collected at UBC Hospital, but spoke to the service’s value in providing accessible support to those sexual assault survivors. “We wouldn’t be offering the service if we didn’t think it would be helpful.” U SASC can be reached for sexual assault support at 604.827.5180 or sasc@ams.ubc.ca.
FILE ZUBAIR HIRJI
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY | news | 5 NATIONAL TRENDS //
How do UBC’s pandemic plan & response stack up nationally? 53 per cent of Canadian postsecondary institutions are opting for online classes only. Another 40 per cent are going with a hybrid model. Four per cent of schools are offering classes inperson. For British Columbia in specific, about 50 per cent of all post-secondary classes will be offered online. U of T and the University of Alberta (U of A) are both offering hybrid models to instruction this fall. Classes at U of T that will take place in-person are mostly graduate courses, as they typically have fewer students. Much like UBC, more than 90 per cent of undergraduate courses are online this fall. At U of A, about 300 courses will have “in person learning experiences.” McGill University and Dalhousie University, much like UBC, are both offering an online model of instruction this fall. Courses are being offered primarily through remote/online delivery. UBC’s approach has been particularly focused on ensuring minimal in-person campus activity this coming year.
Lisa Basil Contributor
Universities both on a national and global scale have been forced to adjust their priorities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately reimagine the university experience altogether. UBC’s own pandemic response has been guided by an eightyear-old document in the process of being updated. But while the university had an existing pandemic response well before COVID-19, that plan didn’t outline how to deal with many of the unique challenges this pandemic has posed — including remote instruction and from-home staff operations. Many of UBC’s policies mirror that of universities across Canada, but UBC’s approach has been particularly focused on ensuring minimal in-person campus activity this coming year. Other schools such as University of Toronto (U of T) and McGill University are offering more hybrid instruction models and allowing certain in-person teaching activities throughout the fall, but UBC’s physical distancing guidelines mean nearly all instructional and extracurricular events will be online this year.
in the coming months to reflect on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 response. “The plan was largely followed during the response to COVID-19,” Ramsey said. “But we modified our approach and have been very nimble as we receive more information from public health and other sources and evaluate our responses.” The plan emphasizes finding ways to continue to offer necessary instruction and services in the case of a pandemic. It highlights the rights of students and faculty to remain home if they feel unwell. “Where appropriate, faculties should prioritize courses or programs and develop strategies for continuation of these core classes even during periods of high absenteeism,” the document reads. It also advises departments to plan for two to three weeks of 30–50 per cent absenteeism. However, what the document doesn’t outline is how to engage in continuity planning when
FILE JASMINE FOONG
nearly all on-campus operations have ceased. The document also notably omits any mentions of how to conduct classes and other campus operations remotely or online.
MIRRORING THE REST OF CANADA Much of the institutional-level response for UBC has therefore been a work in progress. However, UBC’s response to the pandemic mirrors much of what other universities across the country have been doing. Robert Furtado, CEO of Course Compare, a career advice firm that is tracking the fall pandemic plans of universities across the country, said that UBC’s mostly online model is not unlike what is in the works for other schools across the country.
A HYBRID MODEL, THE POPULAR CHOICE Per Course Compare, about
TUITION INCREASES NATIONALLY Tuition has also been a major topic of conversation throughout the pandemic. At two per cent, UBC is on the lower end of tuition increases for domestic students. However, many institutions have not implemented a tuition increase this year. In Ontario, the provincial government put a freeze on tuition until 2021, meaning schools like the University of Waterloo, Queen’s University and U of T all saw a zero per cent tuition increase for domestic students this coming year. However, U of A, Dalhousie and McGill all saw domestic tuition increases, sitting at between 4 and 7 per cent, 3 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively. For international students however, national trends paint a very different picture. UBC has among the lowest average tuition increases for international students with an average three per cent increase, while
many schools in Ontario have seen anywhere from a 10 to 15 per cent tuition increase for international students this year. U of T saw a 5.4 per cent tuition increase for international students. U of A and Dalhousie also had higher international tuition increases than UBC, with U of A again seeing a four to seven per cent increase based on program and Dalhousie increasing 6.8 per cent. McGill saw no tuition increase for international students.
STUDENT RESIDENCES REMAIN OPEN Student residences in Canada have generally remained open, albeit with some significant changes to adhere to physical distancing. UBC is continuing to offer residence at reduced capacity, with less than 50 per cent of first-year residence open for occupancy. U of T is also allowing students to live on campus this fall. All rooms have become single occupancy, and move-in days are staggered to promote physical distancing. McGill is offering student residence at a reduced capacity, notably closing their “dormitory style” upper residences for the fall. Dalhousie and U of A student residences are also both remaining open. At Dalhousie, residence lounges are closed and dining halls are assigned based on residence building. At U of A, rooms have been assigned strategically to promote physical distancing. Notably, UBC has run into public backlash due to a clause that essentially allows the university to remove students from residence in case of an outbreak. While there are many similarities between the pandemic plans put forward by many of these universities, specific policies vary a lot from school to school. Each university’s pandemic response must be sensitive to a range of factors, including student health and safety, Furtado said. “There’s no one-size-fits all approach.” U
UBC’S PANDEMIC PLAN While many of UBC’s physical distancing guidelines are a result of current health recommendations, the university’s emergency pandemic response plan wasn’t simply developed as a result of COVID-19. Matthew Ramsey, director of university affairs at UBC Media Relations, said that the university had an existing pandemic response plan created in 2009 for influenza, which was then updated in 2012. The plan was in the process of being updated in early 2020. When COVID-19 hit, the revision process was paused. Ramsey noted that the university hopes to return to the revision process
EISHA SHARDA
CULTURE
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY
EDITOR DANNI OLUSANYA
6
DA VINKY //
ARTIVISM 2020: Open mics, drag burlesque and sex activism trivia
ARTIVISM and its process of adjustment feels incredibly fitting for its time.
Milena Carrasco Contributor
Coral Santana dove into organizing SEX + The Unheard, a two month long digital festival that engages with the art of creative resistance and the politics of the body. Santana is familiar with the art of multitasking. Her role as director of DIVE INTO UBC, a student-run-organization, is an all-inclusive guide to the arts and culture community at UBC. The organization hosts stand up comedy shows, poetry slams, live music and one of their most popular events, pop-up shops. This year has called for a new range of flexibility for everyone, especially those holding planning and organizing positions within Arts and Culture. Santana is also the strategic communications and events assistant manager for the UBC Arts & Culture District. For her, there is a natural pull to the subject matter, as her own work in poetry and spoken word unapologetically deals with the intersections of sex, gender and sexuality. Grappling with planning a festival in the midst of a global pandemic, this summer she’s been getting comfortable in putting together the third rendition of ARTIVISM. ARTIVISM, which held its first festival in 2018, was organized to get students more deeply involved in campus culture. Typically several inperson events occur across campus but this year, as a result of physical distancing restrictions, ARTIVISM will be held online. Despite this, Santana believes that the knowledge of the digital format beforehand has been somewhat advantageous.
PLANNING A DIGITAL FESTIVAL “I had the advantage that it was always planned to be a digital festival because the planning process started in April - March,” she stated. “So when I first got the
COURTESY UBC ARTS & CULTURE
position for both director and member of UBC arts and culture district, it was always planned to be a digital festival.” For Santana, the planning process was interesting “because it was a lot of just emailing people that [she] admired and hoping for the best.” “Especially in the beginning of COVID, everybody was very responsive. Everybody just was happy to hear from someone else. So I was able to reach out to people from all over the place because, with corona [we weren’t] restricted to who was able to be in Vancouver at [a] specific period of time,” she said. Alongside local talent, speakers for the event are from San Francisco, New York and Toronto, with a more diverse audience tuning in from Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. Santana’s passion for this project is seen in the way she speaks of students, her mentors and the excitement (and fangirling) she gets from conversing with people over Zoom. But beyond planning the magic that is conversation, is something even more special. For Santana, it is of the utmost importance that minority voices were highlighted. This is ultimately who the festival seeks to serve — the unheard.
that there’s no choice in listening. Or being heard. As an artist, the line between the personal and the political isn’t drawn lightly or without responsibility. The responsibility to organize an event that is held accountable to its audience on and off screen is something Santana felt personally. “I am Dominican, born and raised and moved to Canada three years ago. I consider myself an Afro-Latina. Even though I am a very light-skinned Black person, I know that that always gives me a role where I have some sort of certain privilege that I have to use in order to heighten the voices of those that might not have that privilege in our society,” she said. ARTIVISM and the work created for it is an extension of the artist. “This festival just feels like part of my work in general. My work is very political and in your face ... and I am not ashamed of that … It didn’t really feel like I was writing for this festival specifically, it just felt like part of my larger body of work about exploring my own identity as an Afro-Latina woman,” said Santana.
‘A REMINDER AND A POKING’
While COVID-19 has uncovered many seismic changes in our society, ARTIVISM and its process of adjustment feels incredibly fitting for its time. “Art is essential for a revolution. I feel like we should all be adjusting as much art as possible during this time to be able to remember things as they were felt at the moment,” said Santana. Santana ended by discussing the importance of this festival in an uncertain time. “It’s also a beautiful experience,” Santana said. “I’m very excited to present [it]. I hope people like [it].” U
“When I say [unheard] it’s both a reminder and a poking. I want to bring to light that these voices [and these conversations] are usually stifled. ... When was the last time that you had a conversation about sexuality and physical disability or invisible disabilities? When was the last time that you had a conversation about how Black and Indigenous folks use sexuality to regain their bodies and reclaim their right to exist in their bodies?” she said. “When I say it’s poking, it’s because these experiences are happening, whether you want to deny [them] or not, whether you want to listen to them or not.” Santana makes it very clear
COURTESY UBC ARTS & CULTURE
‘ART IS ESSENTIAL FOR A REVOLUTION’
Coral Santana has been a contributor for The Ubyssey.
COURTESY UBC ARTS & CULTURE
COURTESY UBC ARTS & CULTURE
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY | culture | 7 BREONNA //
It is no secret that this year’s event looks a little different than the past years.
FILE JEREMY JOHNSON-SILVERS
Pivoting online: How Homecoming 2020 came together
Tianne Jensen-DesJardins Contributor
It’s not September at UBC without Homecoming. Yet, despite the disconnected nature of transitioning to online classes, Homecoming is here to stay. Fred Lee, director of alumni engagement at UBC, described the event as a “cherished tradition that Alumni UBC and Athletics work very closely on every year.” It is no secret that this year’s event looks a little different
than past years, and even with a planning process that had its challenges, Lee believes that it is “really important that we continue to carry on this time-honoured tradition.” The decision to go virtual came out of discussions held in the spring when other big events such as graduation and Imagine Day were reimagined. In the planning process, it was vital that a reimagined Homecoming would have to be effective at making those new to UBC feel like part of the community, but it also would
World-class musicians. Streaming live from the Chan Centre. Wednesdays at noon. Free.
music.ubc.ca/streaming
Presented by the UBC School of Music and Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
have to live up to the expectation of students and alumni who had attended before. One of the big draws of Homecoming 2020 is its performers — this year’s headliner is Canadian singer-songwriter, Scott Helman. When asked whether there had been any difficulty getting artists to sign on to the event because of its virtual nature, Lee found that artists were also finding ways to adapt to physical distancing measures. “As we went into this lockdown we noticed a lot of artists were pivoting like the rest of us and many of them were performing online to their audiences, to their fans. And when it was time to decide about musical performances, which is always a key part of Homecoming ... we pretty much got an ‘absolutely’ right away,” Lee said. Many of the performers, such as Missy D and Fraser Walters of The Tenors, are UBC alumni. Homecoming is supposed to be an event that reinforces that sense of pride from being part of the UBC community, long after graduation. So how does an event that, as Lee suggests, “culminates at the big game,” work in an online setting? For Lee, though we are unable to physically gather, Homecoming has figured out a way to stay connected and celebrate what it is that makes UBC’s community so great. With speakers such as President Santa Ono and VP Students Ainsley Carry, Lee hopes that a message of resilience in these hard times will “resonate through the show.” Of course, the transition to online events has its share of challenges, especially with the struggle of learning how to incorporate technology. Though it was, as Lee describes it, “a huge
FILE KOSTA PRODANOVIC
undertaking,” the hard work has certainly paid off: the 45-minute show invites everyone to take in the celebration of coming together from the comfort of their homes. Lee attributes this to the many participants who “volunteer to come together to put on this incredible ... show not only on the Vancouver campus but on the Okanagan campus.” “I can’t say enough about the creative minds of our staff, our faculty, alumni, coaches, ... everyone played a huge role in giving up their time coming out of the campus or delivering ... their messages from home,” Lee said. For students who couldn’t watch the event live, a recorded version of Homecoming is available online. When asked for any tips for others planning virtual events, Lee encouraged people “to continue as best they can to move
forward with their programs.” He continued by saying, “know that this is not forever, and that, if it is of importance to you, do your best to carry forward in this new reality.” As many of us are already noticing the differences between in-person and online learning, it is important to focus on the positives. Maybe that means you don’t have to wait outside in the rain for your bus. Maybe it means getting to eat during class. Or maybe it simply means wearing comfy clothes in lecture. Whatever this school year looks like for you, it is important to see the “opportunity in this challenge,” as Lee puts it, and to rise up and make the most out of this school year. Although Homecoming this year is far from the outdoor celebration it once was that we expected as Lee is trying, so is the UBC community. U
8 | Features | TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
HOUSING INSECURITY SURGES WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. I THOUGHT I WAS IMMUNE. I have struggled to reconcile my difficulties in obtaining housing with my immense privilege. I have always had friends who would drop everything to swoop in and make sure I was okay. I have never slept on the street or in a shelter. But I cannot count how many times the sun has been setting and I still don’t know where to go. WORDS BY BAILEY MARTENS ILLUSTRATION BY LUA PRESIDIO
I
had not known true disappointment until the flight attendent welcomed me to Edmonton this past April. As the airport doors closed and the plane backed up, I began to weep. Earlier, when I’d taken my seat on the nearly empty plane, “I hope you know how brave you are” appeared on my phone screen. I switched my phone off and said goodbye to Vancouver, a city I resented leaving. For the first time, I was overwhelmed with the prospect of a major solo move — this would be the ninth in five years. But the job made it worth it. I had started applying for summer internships at the end of September 2019. Six months and 27 applications later I was still empty handed. I snagged my only interview at the end of February and was offered a position at a newspaper in Edmonton. A few day’s before I was set to start, I was laid off due to COVID-19. Unable to get out of my Edmonton lease, I made the move anyways. I just had to get on my plane. I had to get there. I had to be okay. And I thought I would be. The COVID-19 pandemic has left most Canadians with an unexpected financial hardship, but there were supports in place to help lessen the blow. In early April, BC enacted an eviction ban and renter’s support to help keep people housed. Now, as the restrictions lessen and emergency benefits halt, the city is bracing for a surge in evictions as people can no longer afford rent. Edmonton did not feel like my home but I had a safe house waiting for me. The night before I left, sitting atop my kitchen counter with a steamy cup of tea in hand, all I could think about was how lucky I was that I had a stable place to live for the next few months. Making a major move in the middle of a pandemic is no small feat. As someone without a driver’s license who regularly relies on public transit and a cab to get to and from airports, I could not stop thinking about the germs in a cab. They have never felt clean but it was suddenly more than unsettling and a real danger. Was it worth it? And even if it wasn’t, did I have a choice? A friend offered to drive me instead. Equipped with masks and soaked in hand sanitizer, we made our way through the empty streets. “It will be good,” I said, trying to convince both of us I would be okay. “I have moved so many times before. I will be fine.” But this time did not feel fine. While so much felt uncertain, all I wanted was a home that felt like my own. I have been on my own since I was a teen. A few months before I was set to graduate high school, I found myself on the curb with $60 and a hurriedly packed duffle bag. Dog walkers passed, not once asking if I was okay, as I
frantically and apologetically called friends one after another. “I am fine, but I have nowhere to go,” I told them. They never asked questions and always made sure I had breakfast in the morning. Five years later, I was headed to Edmonton for the same reason. I don’t have somewhere to run back to when life feels a bit too heavy. Edmonton was a mystery to me. I didn’t know anyone there, nor did I have a favourite coffee shop to help me settle in. My closest friend was the security guard at Safeway. She always told me to have a good day and I could tell she meant it. I never knew her name but sometimes all I had to hold on to was the next grocery trip. But people love Edmonton. I had heard about how it’s supposed to be a wonderful city. It holds the North Saskatchewan River Valley, the largest inter-city park system in North America. The valley runs around the downtown core that is built up on a hill — with the historic provincial legislature at its top. BUT I DIDN’T EXPLORE THE CITY. I only drove through the city on my way to the police station. On a Monday afternoon, a middle-aged man watched my roommate walk down the block to Safeway. I was downstairs having a nap. He walked inside, took our wallets, a hammock and our identities. It took ten minutes. We did not realize until the next day but both locked our bedroom doors that night with unshakeable bad gut feelings. Standing in the Edmonton police department next to someone who could not pay their $600 fine as a result of the pandemic and was headed to jail, I couldn’t fathom how I ended up there.
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY | features | 9
The officer told us that the intruder would likely be back (we were such an easy target) and to give them a call when — not if — it happened. We spent the afternoon calling government agencies and banks trying to stop the intruder from stealing our identities. Two days later, in an empty house, I caught him opening the front door. I did what any adult in a city alone would do — I blasted the TV and pretended I was in Home Alone. He eventually gave up. He came back once more and we had to call the police four other times for unrelated domestic violence in our front yard. What do you do when you move to a city but still feel like you haven’t arrived? With every creak of the floor or door handle turn, “I am not a murderer” appeared on my phone from my roommate in a desperate attempt to reassure me that for the moment we
were safe. As startling as being thrust into a new city with no connection was, I left just as promptly. I was unable to get medical clearance to fly back to BC and hitched a ride from a friend of a friend. I only had a few day’s notice but it was the much-needed ticket out of Edmonton. We had never met but she stopped to show me her favourite lookouts in Banff and Yoho National Parks. She called her dad to tell him about the train tunnels and how the waterfalls looked that day. But I didn’t have anything waiting for me back in BC. I once again found myself unsure of where I would live for the next few weeks. I spent nearly a month sleeping on friends’ couches, asking to move in for a short while as COVID-19 was facing an uptick. Asking someone to invade their space is hard in the best of times. This time, I felt like an extra burden. Even still, I have struggled to reconcile my difficulties in obtaining housing with my immense privilege. I have always had friends who would drop everything to swoop in and make sure I was okay. I have never slept on the street or in a shelter. But I cannot count how many times the sun has been setting and I still don’t know where to go. According to Homeless Hub, a Canadian research instituite, an estimated 35,000-40,000 young Canadians experience homelessness annually. I did not realize that I was one of them. Friends were exceedingly kind. They met me where I was, drove me to my new temporary home and once again offered me a warm cup of coffee in the morning. Still, I was terrified. They weren’t always as careful about physically distancing as my compromised immune system and I would have liked. Their bubbles didn’t exist and they had friends over for dinner. It is probably the reason they were comfortable with me staying. I was facing the possibility of ending up with nowhere to go but knowing if I stayed in some of these living situations I was likely to catch COVID-19. It was an impossible choice. On my first night at the last temporary stay, I walked 20 minutes to the Buy-Low Foods. The fancy pasta sauce was on sale and for a moment I felt like I could breathe. I was able to step outside survival and have a moment of preference. Halfway home, I realized I did not know where I was or where I was going. I had not looked at the address when I left and all the streets were beginning to look the same. I put the bag down as I began to cry. The pasta sauce shattered as it hit the pavement. The tears fell with more urgency. My phone had 12 per cent battery. I eventually called enough people who knew someone who knew someone who knew where I was supposed to be. I made it back to the house but I am still not sure where I belong. I did not need someone to break into my house and attempt to steal my identity to know I had already lost my own. I lost my job and favourite city and was left with a home that did not feel like a refuge. Perhaps one of the greatest casualties of the pandemic is that it forces our community to stay at an arm’s length when you need them most. My first night at a friend’s all those years ago, she wouldn’t let me sleep on the couch and held me as we cried falling asleep in her double bed. We didn’t talk but I knew I would be okay even if I didn’t feel okay. I am still that kid who wants to be held. Only this time, close contact could be life threatening. So, I stood on opposite sides of the room and knew they wanted to close the distance too. U
OPINIONS
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY
EDITOR SAM SMART
10
YOU KNOW, LIKE THE OFFSPRING SONG //
Mind Your Mind: How do you build self-esteem? WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF CHANGE AND BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM?
Daphnée Lévesque Mindfulness Columnist
Today, I am going to talk about self-esteem. The reason I chose this topic is because I recently bought The Self-Esteem Workbook, 2nd edition, written by Glenn R. Schiraldi, PhD. My goal is to build more confidence in myself, so I thought I could use some guidance. Self-help workbooks are a great starting point for some of us, so if that resonates with you, I encourage you to give them a try!
WHAT IS SELF-ESTEEM? There are many ways to define selfesteem, but this particular book defines self-esteem as “a realistic, appreciative opinion of oneself.” Note that self-esteem is different from self-defeating shame or humility (feeling like the dust of the earth) and self-defeating pride (arrogance, narcissism). Selfesteem, then, is walking the middle path. People with self-esteem “are deeply and quietly glad to be who they are.”
WHAT ARE THE FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS OF SELF-ESTEEM? The three main components required for building self-esteem include unconditional worth, love and growth. There are specific
There are many ways to define self-esteem.
sets of skills that can help you build that strong foundation, and I will explore them in subsequent articles.
WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD BUILDING SELFESTEEM? The first step if you want to build self-esteem is to check in with yourself. Try reflecting on the following questions: • Do you think you are worthwhile as a person?
FILE STEPHANIE WU
• Do you consider yourself as valuable a person as anyone else? • Do you have qualities about yourself that you enjoy? • Mostly, are you happy to be who you are, or do you feel like a failure? Regardless of what happens, people with self-esteem love and support themselves, even in the face of rejection. A good indicator of self-esteem is whether you respect yourself and don’t wish to be someone else.
Some people can be hesitant when it comes to building self-esteem, including me. I find change to be scary and uncertain, so it’s normal to be anxious about the overall process. The book suggests doing a cost-benefit analysis. List the pros and cons of disliking versus liking yourself. Examples from the book on the advantages of self-dislike that resonated with me included: • No risk. I have no expectations of myself, nor others. • It keeps me from developing self-defeating pride. • The world is predictable. I understand when people don’t accept me because I don’t accept myself. I understand not having to try. On the other hand, the disadvantages of self-dislike cited in the book include: • It is very painful. • Life is no fun. • It creates a vicious cycle: because I have low expectation of self, I don’t try. Then others treat me poorly. They interpret my pessimism and apathy as indicators of incompetence. Their poor treatment confirms my low opinion of myself. Those examples above
resonated with me, and I came to the conclusion that despite the challenges, there are several benefits of emotional change. Right now in my life, I think that disliking myself is a problem that I would like to solve. I hope that once I build more self-esteem, I will be less driven by fear, and instead be happier, more motivated and more comfortable making mistakes. The benefits for me also include worrying less and cultivating healthy relationships. If you feel stuck right now and wonder if self-esteem is a problem for you, I invite you to do a selfesteem check up. Be honest with yourself. If you’re still unsure, try making a list of pros and cons. What are the benefits of building self-esteem and how would your life be different? At the end of the day, it’s up to you whether you want to change. But I do believe that everyone has what it takes to make an inner commitment and follow through. We all have the capacity to make wise choices and choose what’s best for us. Stay tuned for more articles on skills for building self-esteem! The authors of this column are not mental health professionals. If you need additional support, please contact Student Health Services, Sexual Assault Support Centre and/ or the Wellness Centre. In case of an emergency, call 911. U
CLIMATE JUSTICE //
Letter: Fossil fuel divestment is not enough – UBC must restructure its endowment fund to promote environmental justice Astitwa Thapa Contributor
After years of advocacy, UBC finally agreed to divest from fossil fuel companies in December 2019. Before people start getting complacent, one must understand that fossil fuel divestment is not an end, but rather the first step towards a more socially and environmentally sustainable endowment fund. For starters, UBC has an endowment fund of approximately $2 billion, one of the largest among Canadian universities. The endowment fund plays a crucial role in funding scholarships, bursaries and research opportunities at UBC. UBC agreed to divest from fossil fuel companies after pressure from activists, student groups like Climate Justice UBC (formerly known as UBCC350) and strongly worded opinion letters from Allard law professors like Dennis Pavlich and Jocelyn Stacey, and Stepan Wood. Many students and environmental activists welcomed UBC’s fossil fuel divestment pledge. There is no doubt that fossil fuel divestment is a huge step in promoting environmental sustainability. It is now time for UBC to revamp its endowment fund and explain to students how it will actively invest in co-ops and renewable energy companies. UBC’s Declaration on the Climate Emergency explicitly states that
meaningful climate action must amplify Indigenous peoples’ human rights. To further that goal, UBC must actively invest in Indigenous businesses that promote renewable energy — it will help promote environmental justice and economically support Indigenous communities. UBC should apologize for the harm it has caused by investing in fossil fuel companies and be a leader in promoting sustainable investment options. It is an absolute shame that the university has still not explicitly denounced the fossil fuel industry. UBC must explicitly state that its investment practices were harmful. UBC cannot be a sustainability leader or claim to promote reconciliation with Indigenous peoples unless it acknowledges that its investments in fossil fuel companies and pipelines have contributed to the destruction of sacred Indigenous lands. Instead of spending millions on flashy marketing campaigns that speak about UBC’s achievements, we need meaningful changes. One of the many ways UBC could promote reconciliation and environmental sustainability is to dedicate at least 10 per cent of its endowment fund towards renewable energy and Indigenous organizations. UBC needs to understand that systemic changes do not come from token diversity gestures, but rather substantial changes that directly support Indigenous people.
The Board of Governors at UBC has faced criticism from students, professors and the community for the lack of transparency of its investment practices. It took almost a decade of activism to get the university to divest from fossil fuel companies. Even though UBC has agreed to divest, the Board continues to face serious questions about transparency while dealing with their investment practices. Moreover, the legal community still has questions about why the university was continuously citing “fiduciary duty” as a reason to not divest for years. It also raises questions about whether the university was receiving poor legal advice, or ducking the issue by blaming its legal counsel. Needless to say, students deserve an answer. To be fair, the university has seen significant changes in the past few years. Under Santa Ono’s leadership, UBC has committed to divestment, invested in environmental research and has made substantial commitments toward Indigenous reconciliation. However, much more needs to be done. UBC needs to revamp its endowment fund to be a leader in sustainability. Dedicating a portion of the endowment fund toward renewable sources of energy will play a crucial role in promoting environmental sustainability. When it comes to sustainability, UBC should be encouraging students
FILE ELIZABETH WANG
“UBC needs to revamp its endowment fund to be a leader in sustainability.”
to promote environmental leadership proactively. There is no doubt in my mind that the stars have aligned in terms of progressive activism at UBC. UBC has extended Ono’s contract by five more years. If one closely examines the background of the Board of Governors, they can see that many come from not-for-profit backgrounds or have actively led social justice campaigns. Most importantly, organizations like Climate Justice UBC have dedicated student leaders who are committed to seeing substantial change. However, UBC needs to stop relying solely
on its internal legal team; its legal advice on fossil fuel divestment was perplexing and downright wrong. UBC’s legal team needs to apologize for misleading students for years. UBC owes it to future generations to promote environmental sustainability. We must show strong environmental leadership if we want to live harmoniously with Mother Nature. Astitwa Thapa holds an undergraduate degree in environmental sciences and is currently a Juris Doctor candidate at the Allard School of Law. U
FROM THE BLOG
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY
EDITOR SAM SMART
11
PERSONALITY TEST //
What your Zoom camera angle says about you Tait Gamble Contributor
While the transition to online classes has been overwhelming for many students, faculty and staff, it’s important we remember that much about classes remains the same. Students can still show up late, tutorials and discussion groups can still be awkwardly silent and students can still peruse the internet while ‘in class.’ We should also note the wonderful world of potential that online classes have opened up for us. This is best demonstrated by how people position their cameras during class. Since classes started, I’ve had the privilege of seeing up noses and seeing many side profiles. I’ve had a look into kitchens, met cats and even overheard a heated family debate. And we’ve only just begun this online learning adventure! In a world where our face in a tiny rectangle, amid many other faces on tiny screens, is all our peers will see of us for the foreseeable future, it’s important that we, as students, think critically about what our camera angle says about us (if we care to).
THE SIDE VIEW The side view says, “I’ve got two monitors. I work on one, and I engage with my peers on the other. I’m a multi-tasker AND a professional.” The side view, when compounded with a professional mic or headset only emphasizes these attributes further.
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL Maybe this angle isn’t so much about what it says, but what it shows. Is it a wide view of your forehead? Up your nose? A seemingly headless torso? When I see this, I worry, do they know their camera is on?!
SAM SMART
This says “I’m taking a break from my roommates and watching this lecture from my basement.”
STRAIGHT ON, EYES CLEAR, CAN’T LOSE
and sit upright. People might even assume you’re taking notes!
my roommates and watching this lecture from my basement.”
This is by far the most common angle I’ve seen yet. We get a nice, 45 degree, straight-on view of the face, the head, the shoulders, the artsy photowall background. You want people to know you’re professional, you’re focused, you’ve managed to get out of bed for this 10 a.m. lecture
GREAT LIGHTING
NO CAMERA
This says, “I have beautiful, natural lighting in my house.”
While in reality, you might be camera shy or living with poor connection, this suggests, “I’m in my pyjamas, in my bed or maybe even, I’ve loaded this lecture URL and walked away.”
BAD LIGHTING This says, “I’m taking a break from
ONLY PERSON IN A 200-PERSON LECTURE WITH THEIR CAMERA ON To me, this screams, “I’m keen to learn and foster community, people. Have some courage. Join me.” These are bold, friendly students, and they are also typically quite active in the class group chat. U
ZOOM FATIGUE //
The top five excuses for when you don’t want to go to a virtual group project meeting I’LL NEED THE ENTIRE WEEK TO MENTALLY PREPARE MYSELF FOR THE EXPERIENCE.’ Difficulty: Intermediate Don’t we all? The beauty of this excuse is that you are guaranteed to punt your unwanted meeting seven or more days into the future. FILE JOSHUA MEDICOFF
Meeting? What meeting?
Edith Coates Contributor
With the new semester starting, our schedules are filling up and our daily lives are no less virtual, with all of the associated challenges. How do we stay focused in lectures? How do we remain active? How are we able to worm ourselves out of that annoying group project meetup now that our usual go-to excuses
have suddenly become useless in a world of Zoom meetings, asynchronicity and sheltering in place? The best place to start grappling with these questions is by reading this article, which you’re already doing, so congratulations. Here are some sure-fire excuses that you can use to get out of virtual meetings.
‘I CAN’T, I HAVE TO STUDY
THEN.’ Difficulty: Beginner A classic — works just as well in the new normal as it did in the old normal. Open-ended and unfalsifiable — a perfect formula for getting people to believe whatever you say.
‘I’M GOING GROCERY SHOPPING THIS THURSDAY.
‘MEET YOU GUYS ON [INSERT PLATFORM HERE]?!? NOT ON [INSERT PLATFORM HERE]! USING PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE OF ANY KIND WOULD GO AGAINST MY RELIGION.’ Difficulty: Advanced Make sure you know a thing or two about open-source software. Try telling the other person(s) that you are a passionate Linux user. That’ll take care of your
having-too-much-socialinteraction problem. I can speak from experience.
‘MY COMPUTER AND ME, WE HAVE A SPECIAL KIND OF CONNECTION. I KNOW IT, AND IT KNOWS ME. AND I KNOW THAT THE OLD FELLA WON’T MAKE IT ’TIL THEN.’ Difficulty: Boomer Add a layer of credibility and reverence to your excuse with some wistful personification.
JUST DON’T REPLY TO THE INVITE EMAIL/TEXT/MESSAGE Difficulty: Master Meeting? What meeting? You never knew about any meeting, you tell them. It’s not like they can prove that their email/text/ etc. didn’t go to your spam folder (wink, wink). U
SCIENCE
ALL IN THIS TOGETHER //
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY
EDITOR MYLA WHITE
12
SCIENCE L K E E W ITERACY
Celebrating biodiversity through the eyes of graduate students Sophia Russo Contributor
Science Literacy Week, which ran September 21–27, is an opportunity for Canadian research to be showcased and celebrated. Researchers under the umbrella of biodiversity — this year’s keystone theme — often find that their work transcends the typical lab experience. Grey whales, land use and sucking up insects with a Ghostbusters backpack are a snapshot of the topics we encountered as The Ubyssey spoke to UBC graduate students about this year’s theme.
DEFINING (BIO)DIVERSITY
COURTESY STÉPHANE POIRIER/MICROFICHES, THE NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA AND THE CANADIAN WILDLIFE FEDERATION
“Biodiversity really represents the natural world as a whole.”
Graduate student Lauren Smith of the department of geography spent her summer wearing a modified vacuum pump mounted on a backpack frame. With the long tube sprouting from it, collecting herbivorous insects for her thesis project, she felt like a Ghostbuster. “Biodiversity really represents the natural world as a whole,” she said. Smith explained that insects are foundational to many ecosystems, as they bridge the transfer of nutrients and energy from plants to higher in the food chain. For Selina Agbayani, a graduate student studying grey whale energy consumption, biodiversity means resilience. “I guess if you think about biodiversity from my project’s perspective, that aspect would come in with their prey,” Agbayani said. “Grey whales are really special in that they scoop up mud and eat whatever invertebrates are in the mud, but they are also able to feed on some of the bottom pelagic, swimming invertebrates as well. “In terms of biodiversity, it is super important that there
is enough prey for them — that there’s a variety of prey in case certain prey sources become inaccessible.” Adrian Dwiputra is a master’s student studying human-induced landscape change, which is a major source of biodiversity loss. He added that the concept of biodiversity has broader applications for humans as well. “In genetic diversity,” he said, “our recent political circumstance challenges us to really accept genetic diversity within the human species.”
NICHE TOPICS, INVALUABLE APPLICATIONS At its core, Science Literacy Week is an opportunity for students to get passionate about topics that are intimately tied to the world around them. “It’s not just biodiversity for the sake of those species existing but also the functions that they serve,” said Agbayani. Aside from an organism’s ecological purpose, the cultural significance — particularly among Indigenous peoples — of certain species adds to the importance of their preservation, explained Agbayani. Understanding and respecting biodiversity is especially important in the wake of the climate crisis. “The very short answer is that humans cannot survive into this day without biodiversity,” said Dwiptura. “For example, we need our food [and] our important medicine from biodiversity.” Though he recognized the utilitarian aspect of biodiversity, he stressed a deeper outlook. “The other thing that I hope UBC students can appreciate is that biodiversity — the species, the different genes within the species — they all have their intrinsic value. They have life.” U
FROM FORESTRY... //
Dr. Agni Boedhihartono is helping her students lead with openness and curiosity Sophia Collins Contributor
“You have to come in with your eyes open, your ears open and your mouth closed.” This was a sentiment Dr. Agni Klintuni Boedhihartono has often felt throughout her lengthy and varied career. With her research requiring her to travel to and work with remote villages around the globe, Boedhihartono, an associate professor in the department of forest & conservation sciences, has learned to lead with openness and interest first.
Much of this was facilitated by her father, a medical doctor and anthropologist. As a child, Boedhihartono was brought on excursions in rural Indonesia and taken to committee meetings to better understand people’s cultures. Despite this early involvement, a career in anthropology wasn’t always so clear cut. Her various roles have taken her across the globe before finally landing her here at UBC. As a young adult in Indonesia Boedhihartono faced the difficult choice of what to study from her
array of interests. She landed on her strongest passion, art, and enrolled in the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France, on a scholarship from the government of France. “Because everybody knows that if you want to be an artist you have to go to Paris right?” she said. The city, she explained, had a wealth of knowledge and expertise. After finishing art school and a brief stint in cinematography, she completed several degrees, culminating in a doctorate at the Paris Diderot University in visual anthropology. She describes the
field as a combination of art, cinematography, ethnology and technology. “Imagine being in Paris, you have all these great anthropologists; really well known people like Claude Lévi-Strauss … It’s a living library.”
A CAREER IN CONSERVATION The main goal of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Boedhihartono’s employer for many years, is to conserve biodiversity around the globe. Yet this is not a simple task,
considering the amount of people depending on ecosystems and their bounty to survive. “People are living in this landscape … you need to be able to engage them and understand their views about biodiversity and conservation, and about sustainable development because whether you want it or not, development is coming,” she said. She specializes in forestdependent communities: groups of people who have traditionally been nomadic hunter-gatherers and rely on forests for survival. Many of these forests are now
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY | science | 13 under siege from governments and corporations hoping to profit off of natural resources. Boedhihartono doesn’t necessarily see the industrialization of ecosystems as a black-and-white issue. She suggests that it’s a multifaceted issue, and one that it is important to withhold judgement on until all sides of the problem are presented. In many developing areas, such as the Congo Basin in Africa, a lack of jobs can make the opportunities industrialization brings appealing. “[When a] logging company arrives, it gives [the] possibility of getting a job and then by having a company in the area, that means that the road will be made ... and the logging company will maintain the road,” she explained. “And they have also schools because having all those infrastructure made means [the community is] opening up to different kinds of possibilities … “If you want to preserve biodiversity you have to take into account the people who live there.”
ON OPPORTUNITIES “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” This is a quote by Thomas Edison that Boedhihartono believes encapsulates the importance of taking
opportunities whenever they are presented, to grow both your career and your mindset. She attests to the value of learning by doing and praises the ways that real-world experiences can expand students’ views and strengthen their empathy. Since coming to UBC, Boedhihartono has been an associate professor for the Master of International Forestry program, teaching forests and society. The degree attracts students from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. “In my class I always try to ... get students from different countries, different disciplines, different backgrounds, because that’s how you learn the most and … [open] up with different ideas, different visions.” She believes that forestry is “not just trees,” and tries to imprint this upon her students, stating “it is people and behaviour of people and the culture around it.”
ART AS A BOUNDARY TOOL For many years, Boedhihartono has been facilitating mural paintings at large international conferences, bringing together a range of people on a common platform. The murals are a harmonious medley of different abilities and perspectives, a perfect representation of the more than 150 people who contribute to each one. “I think art is a really
COURTESY DR. AGNI BOEDHIHARTONO
Dr. Boedhihartono’s, second from right, various roles have taken her across the globe before finally landing her here at UBC.
rich tool to use to be able to communicate with others and to understand each other,” Boedhihartono said. She describes art as a boundary tool — an interdisciplinary approach to bridging gaps in communication and understanding between various groups, such as different stakeholders, scientists, communities and Indigenous peoples. She now utilizes her artistic background to facilitate visual
methods of discussion. “People have different priorities, and they have different ways of looking at the same landscape. The multidisciplinary background I have … becomes very useful.” Presently, Boedhihartono is working on a project in conjunction with Emily Carr University and the New Frontiers in Research Fund. The initiative’s goal is to utilize art as a boundary tool in depicting
sustainable landscapes. She describes a landscape approach as “trying to understand in a holistic way, how we can have a sustainable landscape culturally, economically and socially.” Boedhihartono is tasked with tying the work together, like a weaver of loose ends. It’s a fitting role for a woman who has managed to combine conservation, anthropology and art into a successful and meaningful career. U
... TO FISHES //
Dr. Rashid Sumaila is saving the world’s oceans one fish at a time the University of Bergen. “In Norway you cannot get away from the ocean or the fish, so that’s really where I focused my research on fish,” he said.
GOING GLOBAL
“‘Rashid, who would’ve thought fish would take you this far?’”
Zainab Fatima Contributor
Dr. Ussif Rashid Sumaila is a professor and director of the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. Sumaila has received numerous awards for his research on fish trade, sustainable development and environmental and resource economics and has publications in multiple journals. Yet the path to this success wasn’t always so straightforward. Sumaila’s interest in the environment began at a young age, when his grandfather would tell him and his siblings to be mindful of how they walk on the earth. “‘You walk on the ground so hard! You should walk on the ground of the Earth as if it feels pain,’” he said, recalling his grandfather’s chastising. “That was my first encounter with environmen-
SOPHIE GALLOWAY
tal sensitivity and environmental consciousness.” Alongside his grandfather, another prominent familial influence for Sumaila was his father. Sumaila’s parents were progressive in that they didn’t force him to pursue a career in a specific field. Instead, he recalls, they advised him to follow his interests as long as he committed himself to them and did them well. Sumaila points to this support as a motivator for him to pursue his research in fisheries, despite having people around him who, at the time, didn’t see any value in that career path. “But these days they say, ‘Rashid, who would’ve thought fish would take you this far?’” said Sumaila, laughing. Along with influences from family, Sumaila also drew inspiration from Norway, where he received his PhD while attending
One of the great challenges that Sumaila experienced while advancing in his career was making the transition from working on small projects to global problems. But once he became used to the change, Sumaila found that he was able to thrive in this new environment. It was especially rewarding, he explained, because the interdisciplinary nature of the research allowed him to work with experts from various fields — from lawyers, biologists, geographers and social scientists to even philosophers. To work in such a diverse and interdisciplinary environment, Sumaila emphasized the need to be patient and open minded. Aside from bringing expertise from one’s field, researchers also have to be mindful of ethics and different cultures. “Many of my fellow economists — when they come into the discussion, they insist that profit maximization is the only thing they care about,” said Sumaila. “If you are like that, you cannot work in an interdisciplinary setting. “You have to learn the language of each other — I have to learn ecology to some extent, and they also have to learn economics to some extent.” Sumaila’s career has also allowed him to travel across the globe, visiting almost one hundred countries. Since he has
worked on multiple projects and in many locations, there have been numerous memorable moments. He recalled one of these events during our interview, from a time he did a feature for the documentary End of the Line in Senegal. On one of the days, Sumaila and the film crew were following a big trawler fishing for shrimp off the coast of Senegal. Fishers on the trawler were high grading the shrimp, where the best quality catches were harvested and the rest were dumped. In turn, many fish were tossed back into the ocean — dead or alive. Seeing this, the people on Sumaila’s small boat started collecting as many fish as possible. “We came back to the coastal village, and we [had] a barbecue with the village and they enjoyed it. We fed so many people,” said Sumaila. “It touched me a lot because the waste — the food for people being thrown out — was messing with the ocean because [the trawler was] just interested in grabbing the profit.”
BRINGING IT ALL HOME To Sumaila, the well-beings of wildlife and the human population are entwined. However, balancing both is not a simple task because often, Sumaila is faced with governments who are resistant to implementing change, specifically on the subject of overfishing. “My goal is to do research to help us make sure that we don’t take too much — kill the fish and
kill the source — and we don’t pump too much waste, because that is also dangerous,” he explained. “ ... You have to get these benefits and make it available to as many people as possible, not just the one per cent running off with everything.” Although it is a stressful job, he adds that the positive impact his work has on people makes the struggle worthwhile. In recent days, Sumaila has been busy with multiple projects, including working alongside the World Trade Organization to target overfishing. They are doing this by attempting to redirect governments’ usage of taxpayer money to ensure that it does not go towards overfishing. Sumaila is also working on an OceanCanada partnership, where he’s collecting current ocean sustainability research into a book to make it easier for future researchers who want to expand research in the field. The mention of perseverance and resistance came up a lot in our discussion, and it came up again when Sumaila reiterated the power that UBC students — and young people across the globe — have. “The key thing is to first of all have a trained mind, a trained mind that is open. And if you have that, you can do anything, no matter your discipline. … Just put your heart in whatever — even fish can do it! “And don’t think you are too small to do anything, because many of the good things in the world are started by an individual.” U
14 | science | TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 OVERCOMING BARRIERS //
Scientists in ecology and evolutionary biology divided on navigating academia as BIPOC
In Canada and the United States, the field of ecology and evolutionary biology is overwhelmingly white. UBC’s Faculty of Science is no exception.
Mandy Huynh Contributor
In Canada and the United States, the field of ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) is overwhelmingly white. UBC’s Faculty of Science is no exception. According to Ninan Abraham, associate dean for equity and diversity in the Faculty of Science, 16.7 per cent of faculty members identify as visible minorities and fewer than 1 per cent identify as Indigenous, based on a selfidentification response rate of 74 per cent of the entire faculty. Currently, statistics are not collected specifically for Black faculty, although upcoming revisions to the survey may allow the gathering of more detailed race-based data. In comparison, the 2016 census shows 22.3 per cent of Canadians identify as visible minorities and 4.9 per cent identify as Indigenous. In response to these inequalities, six scientists in EEB penned a letter directly to students who identify as Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC), offering advice based on their lived experiences within academia.
The article, published in the scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution this July, outlined ways whiteness permeates the field and gave tips to current BIPOC EEB students and researchers for easier navigation of academia. “‘What advice would I have wanted to hear?’ That’s how we tried to craft it,” said Michelle Tseng, UBC assistant professor in the departments of botany and zoology and lead author of the letter. For instance, Tseng and her coauthors advised BIPOC students and researchers to “speak up, strategically.” The paper asserts that, in majority-white spaces, BIPOC can feel unheard or unable to speak out at times. The paper also acknowledged that constantly having to assert oneself can be draining, and suggested seeking support in allies and defining oneself on one’s own terms. “Speaking up only works if you are being heard,” reads the paper. “I think that diversity is really the strength of the article,” wrote Diane Srivastava, professor in the zoology department and coauthor of the article, in an emailed statement to The Ubyssey. The article is written with the
lived experiences of researchers from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi to Paris, France. Every author involved is currently at different stages in their career and embodies different intersectional identities such as race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, wrote Srivastava.
DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCES AMONG BIPOC Yet the exact path to overcoming the barriers within academia as BIPOC is a topic of debate. In August’s issue of Nature Ecology & Evolution, Samniqueka Halsey, an assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri penned a response. In it, Halsey and co-authors share advice from a differing perspective for EEB’s BIPOC demographic. After reading the original article, Halsey and colleagues wanted to highlight their voices and experiences as Black women in academia in the United States. “I felt like we needed to write a response because this is their perspective. But it’s not the only perspective,” said Halsey. Each of Halsey’s colleagues picked a section to respond to that
resonated with them most. Halsey responded to the advice to speak up strategically, suggesting instead to “speak up, every time.” As a tenure-track professor, she noted that she often gets advice warning her to be careful about what she says, or risk not getting tenure. “I’m not afraid that I won’t get tenure because of my research or my teaching. I’m afraid I won’t get tenure because I’m a Black woman,” said Halsey. “So I need to speak up, I need to do things diversity related to make sure that I do have a chance to get tenure.” To Halsey, staying quiet only works to sustain the status quo. Tseng said that it was a worry from the beginning that “not everyone was going to think that it was good advice.” “And some people thought it was terrible advice. And so then they let us know. And I respect that.” During this experience, Halsey reflected on her long journey to becoming more racially aware, having grown up in an environment that promoted a certain path to find success in American society. “Ten years ago, if someone had told me that I was assimilating, I probably would have felt some
YSABEL GANA
discomfort. I would have been like ‘No, I’m not [assimilating]. I’m just trying to do what’s right … be [a] good person, get good grades.’ “I think a lot of people are on [this] journey and at various stages, and I just say, ‘Lean into the discomfort’ ... I still make mistakes, and I just try not to get defensive and try to learn from them,” said Halsey.
BIPOC SUPPORTING BIPOC Two contrasting sets of advice are presented in these two articles. In the end, it’s about BIPOC supporting each other in a system designed without them — as Tseng tweeted, “Let’s do our best, gradually educate ourselves, & give each other the benefit of the doubt.” To the students reading these articles, Halsey suggests reading both pieces. “I would want [students] to take whichever advice that feels more comfortable to them, that’s more authentic to themselves,” she said. “I think one of the hardest challenges as an early career BIPOC researcher is the feeling that you struggle alone … So if our article has helped them feel less alone, then it has succeeded,” wrote Srivastava. U
SPORTS+REC
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 TUESDAY
EDITOR DIANA HONG
15
VIRTUAL CELEBRATION //
Homecoming 2020 clicks off the new year online Diana Hong Sports Editor
One of the UBC’s biggest school spirit events, Homecoming, looked different this year due to COVID-19. It was held virtually on September 25 alongside many activities throughout the weekend. Before the event, Kavie Toor, UBC Athletics managing director, shared a few insights on how the event would look. “It’s a very exciting and dynamic 40-minute program. There is a lot of diversity in the program that’s being presented, including some fantastic musical acts, inspiration and words from some sport alumni, as well as from some UBC dignitaries. So it’s going to be a really fun event,” said Toor. Some of the alumni who took part in this celebration include Raptors 905 head coach Jama Mahlalela, former Major League Baseball pitcher Jeff Francis and three-time Olympic rowing gold medalist Kathleen Heddle. This free celebration was open to the public and those interested could register for reminder emails to be notified when Homecoming activities became available online. Typically, Homecoming is an event where students celebrate school spirit among crowds of 10,000 students filled at Thunderbird Stadium. This was one of UBC’s most highly anticipated events. Replicating the spirit it draws
FILE KOSTA PRODANOVIC
“I think we’re all trying to find unique ways to build school spirit on campus.”
seemed to be no easy task. “I think we’re all trying to find unique ways to build school spirit on campus. And this is one of the ways to do it,” said Toor. With most sports cancelled this fall term, Toor said a great number of adjustments had to be made. “It’s recreating all our programs, operational plans and registrations. So it’s been a massive undertaking and I’ve been really proud of the team in
terms of the work that they’ve been able to do in a very short [period of time].” Although in-person events will not be taking place anytime soon, Toor anticipates that there may be exhibition games that students will be able to stream online to support their T-Birds. Toor also shared that along with this virtual Homecoming event, there will be events available for students to stay connected while
physically distancing. “We’ve got a number of inperson programs that are taking place almost in all our venues. This could be swimming and skating. We’re [also] launching a virtual escape room concept and sports league … to find a way to do some in-person components,” said Toor. There are digital initiatives by UBC Recreation, such as the Lunch + Lift workshop on Instagram Live,
provided for students to stay active during the pandemic. Toor said the team is constantly creating ways to get students connected to the campus experience while keeping everyone safe, including the athletes. “There’s a significant effort that goes into each of these program plans to ensure that we’re getting people healthy and active by competing again, as well as keeping them safe.” U
SOCCER //
Adapting to the new normal: from no contact to full contact
“It’s awesome ... We still social distance when there are rest spots.”
Charlene Chiu & Diana Hong Contributor & Sports Editor
As the defending national champions, UBC’s women’s soccer team is taking a different approach to training due to the cancelled season.
In compliance with BC health authorities, head coach Jesse Symons had to implement physically distanced training. This meant that there was no contact at all during training sessions. All players taking part in
ELLA LEWIS-VASS
training sessions had to complete BC COVID-19 assessments before attending each session. Another policy that Symons mentioned was the “hand sanitizer for the players, pre- and post-[training], and sanitizing the equipments with [disinfectant] spray bottles.”
Recently, the team went back to full-contact training starting September 16. “It’s awesome ... training sessions are normal [now]. We still social distance when there are rest spots [and] moments where we’re gathering in a group, but otherwise, there’s no more social distancing during the actual activities,” Symons said. While Symons has acknowledged that it is “a difficult situation with the habits of the players over the years having contact when [they] compete,” he believes that there have been positives such as giving the team opportunities to settle down and create more technical, tactical goals. Both T-Birds midfielder Katalin Tolnai and goalie Emily Moore agreed that they adjusted to the new policies smoothly. “I feel like it’s been fine. It’s kind of annoying wearing masks everywhere, [but] just an adjustment,” Tolnai said. “It’s [a] little bit of adjustments, but I feel like if everyone wears their masks, we can get by it pretty easily,” said Moore. Moore was named tournament all-star at the national championships last year and reflecting back at the experience, Moore said, “I felt really good to be considered for that all-star tournament for nationals. I felt like finally being noticed.”
Moore discussed the immense pressure she feels as a goalkeeper. “If [the ball] goes in on us, it’s not our fault, but it feels like our fault.” Moore believes that to combat this pressure, most goalkeepers need to exhibit a good amount of mental strength and stay resilient. When Tolnai first joined the team, she tore her ACL, a crucial knee ligament. While she was unable to play her first year, she took the time to adjust without being fully committed. The following year, she performed like a veteran and scored the only goal against Montréal at the opening game of nationals. For the time being, while physically distanced training is still in place, Tolnai hopes to work on the little things, like “touches, passing, shooting, and [we’ll] see where it goes.” When asked about winning back-to-back titles, Tolnai and Moore acknowledged the perpetual pressure, but recognized that it was always going to be there. “I remember when I came in my first year, they just won [the] year before that … we made it to nationals that year and we came second,” said Moore. Although there were many adjustments being made this ‘season’ with COVID-19, Tolnai and Moore look forward to their next season. “We have a good shot,” said Moore. U
16 | games | TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Demonstrate 5. Israeli seaport 10. Teri of “Tootsie” 14. Household 15. Regular course 16. Hawaiian outdoor feast 17. Years in old Rome 18. Silvery fish 19. Samovars 20. Elevations 22. Error 24. Yes, in Yokohama 25. Fulfilled 26. Fashionable 30. Airbrush 34. Fine and delicate 35. Relaxes 37. Egypt’s river 38. ___ bin ein Berliner 39. Shoot the breeze 40. PBS benefactor 41. Smell ___ 43. Healing plants 45. Not much 46. Depreciate 48. Collection of books 50. Ltr. addenda 51. Auction unit 52. Lie 56. Pertaining to the fingers 60. Mower brand 61. Piece of history 63. A bit 64. Switch back? 65. Minute Maid Park player 66. Like the Sahara 67. Brown-bag stuff 68. Burdened 69. Zip COURTESY BESTCROSSWORDS.COM
DOWN 1. He ran from Iran 2. Sharpen 3. Old Dodge model 4. Ponderous 5. Not friendly 6. Prepares for battle 7. May ___ excused? 8. Thin layer 9. Occasionally 10. Chowhound 11. Distinctive quality 12. Social standing 13. Subterfuge 21. Cut and dried grass 23. Collection 26. Greek epic poem 27. Mother-of-pearl 28. Chilled soup 29. Specimen of genus Aquila 30. Insurgent 31. Utah’s ___ Mountains 32. Lucid 33. Intoxicating 36. ___ Paulo 42. Dandelions have a deep one of these 43. Southern 44. Nonmetallic element 45. Craftsperson 47. Baton Rouge sch. 49. Wet spongy ground 52. Western Native Americans 53. Standard 54. Drop ___ (moon) 55. For ___ Jolly Good Fellow 56. Dreadful 57. When said three times, a 1970 war movie 58. Among 59. Moon of Jupiter 62. Inc., overseas
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