January 28, 2013

U

WE TOLD YOU SO SINCE 1918

CAROLINE the ubyssey

UBC’S OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER | JANUARY 28, 2013 | Volume XCIV| Issue XXXVI

Wong elected 104th AMS President P3

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013 |

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS + PEOPLE

What’s on Tue 1228

OUR CAMPUS

This week, may we suggest...

FOOD >>

2

ONE ON ONE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UBC

MONDAY

Dine Out Vancouver

Can you say “om-nom-nom”? Make sure you go out and enjoy yourself before Feb. 3 at any one of a number of restaurants in Vancouver. Participating restaurants are offering special menus priced between $18-28. If you’re not up for adventuring outside of the UBC bubble, the Point Grill is one of the participating restaurants.

Tue 1229

Tue 1230

HEALTH >>

TUESDAY

GAMES >>

WEDNESDAY

Zumba: 12–1 p.m. @ SUB 212 If you are a post-doc, faculty member or UBC staffer and are interested in getting some excercise in your day, UBC HR is hosting a free Zumba class. This latin-inspired jazz workout will be the perfect way to ease into the week.

Tue 1231

THEATRE >>

THURSDAY

Rhinoceros: 7:30–9:30 p.m. @ TELUS Studio Theatre Don’t those posters around campus look intriguing? This absurdist French-Romanian classic is playing until Feb. 9, so make sure to see it soon. $10 for students.

12 1Tue

kai jacobson photo/the ubyssey

Emily Yakashiro has spent her time at UBC giving a voice to the often-voiceless.

Winning Wednesday: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. @ UBC Bookstore If the name doesn’t entice you, not much else will. If you want to play some video games and possibly win some sweet high-end stationery, swing by the Bookstore during your lunch break on Wednesday and have a go.

sports >>

FEBRUARY

Women’s hockey: UBC Thunderbirds vs. Manitoba Bisons: 7 p.m. @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena What do you have to do that is going to be this much fun? Watch your fellow T-Birds pass the puck before heading out on the town. $2 for students, free for Blue Crew members.

Got an event you’d like to see on this page? Send your event and your best pitch to printeditor@ubyssey.ca.

Video content Make sure to check out our AMS Election results videos, airing now at ubyssey.ca/videos/.

U The Ubyssey

editorial

Senior Lifestyle Writer STAFF Justin Fleming Bryce Warnes, Josh Curran, jfleming@ubyssey.ca Peter Wojnar, Anthony

Coordinating Editor Jonny Wakefield coordinating@ubyssey.ca Features Editor Arno Rosenfeld Managing Editor, Print features@ubyssey.ca Jeff Aschkinasi printeditor@ubyssey.ca Video Editor David Marino Managing Editor, Web video@ubyssey.ca Andrew Bates Copy Editor webeditor@ubyssey.ca Karina Palmitesta News Editors copy@ubyssey.ca Will McDonald + Art Director Laura Rodgers Kai Jacobson news@ubyssey.ca art@ubyssey.ca Senior News Writer Graphics Assistant Ming Wong mwong@ubyssey.ca Indiana Joel ijoel@ubyssey.ca Culture Editor Anna Zoria Layout Artist culture@ubyssey.ca Collyn Chan cchan@ubyssey.ca Senior Culture Writer Rhys Edwards Videographer redwards@ubyssey.ca Lu Zhang lzhang@ubyssey.ca Sports + Rec Editor Webmaster CJ Pentland Riley Tomasek sports@ubyssey.ca webmaster@ubyssey.ca

Activism at UBC and after Alba Ng Contributor

A feminist, personal style blogger, and recent UBC graduate, Emily Yakashiro has spent years tackling violence and gender issues on campus.

Having recently graduated from the religion and literature arts program with a minor in political science, Yakashiro spent five years volunteering and working at the Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) on campus.

“Many of my friends [and] peers were experiencing some form of assault — like through dating and public scenarios,” says Yakashiro, explaining what first inspired her work, which began during high school years.

What Emily noticed among many of her high school peers, she also saw when she arrived at UBC. “After getting into UBC, I stayed at an all-girls dorm, Kootenay, at Vanier, and it pushed me further to be more active just recognizing the similar dynamics in experience I was hearing from the people there.”

In her first two years, Emily volunteered at SASC, as well as seeking out opportunities through the Equity Ambassadors program and the university’s Wellness Centre. For her next three years at UBC, Emily worked as an outreach worker at SASC and eventually became the program coordinator, delivering workshops, training volunteers, and co-creating the peer program Anti-Violence Allies on campus.

And now that Emily has graduated, she has harnessed her interests to start a new project.

Just over a month ago she started The Closet Feminist, a style blog focusing on the connections between fashion, style, and feminism.

The Closet Feminist addresses a wide range of topics.

Recent posts include titles such as “What we wear & why: party outfits & racism” and “Inspired by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun’s ‘Madame Mole-Raymond’ (1786).”

Emily also ties her anti-violence activism to her blog. In a

JANUARY 28, 2013 | Volume XCIV| Issue XXXVI

Poon, Veronika Bondarenko, Yara Van Kessel, Lu Zhang, Catherine Guan, Ginny Monaco, Arno Rosenfeld, Matt Meuse, Hogan Wong, Rory Gattens, Brandon Chow, Joseph Ssettuba. Tyler McRobbie, Sarah Bigam, Stephanie Xu, Natalya Kautz

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do u like grammer??! cause da ubyssey is always lookin for volunters to help proof-awesome, right?

LEGAL The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia.

It is published every Monday and Thursday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous, democratically run student organization, and all students are encouraged to participate.

Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff.

They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, photographs and art-

post titled “Questioning quirky part 3”, there is a footnote providing a link for visitors to read further on the disproportionate degree of violence, social barriers, and oppression experienced by women living with disabilities.

In thinking about the website’s future, Emily hopes to expand her readership and further develop her blog into a profitable business.

“First of all, I want the blog to appeal to more ages, especially for young readers like girls in high school. There are magazines and other publications nowadays that I wish I had back when I was younger,” Yakashiro said. “And I want the opportunity to pay my writers.”

The Closet Feminist is currently seeking contributors to volunteer their time to submit articles, anecdotes, photos and editorials to the website.

Emily seeks to pursue a career in media, citing Oprah as an inspiration, and plans to eventually get an MA in religious studies. U

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Letters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please include your phone number, student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and faculty with all submissions. ID will be checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey; otherwise verification will be done by phone. The Ubyssey reserves the right to edit sub-

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Karina Palmitesta | copy@ubyssey.ca

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013 |

EDITORS WILL Mcdonald + laura rodgers

Advocacy >>

PRESIDENT >>

3

Referenda >>

U-Pass stays, extra dollar for Bike Co-op, bylaw changes pass

Bokor to focus on transit as new VP External

C.J. Pentland Sports Editor

geoff LISTER PHOTO/THE UBYSSEY

Tanner Bokor cheers after finding out he won the unopposed race for VP External.

Colin Chia Staff Writer

Tanner Bokor will be the AMS’s face to the outside world after he won an uncontested race for VP External. He emphasized advocacy for improved transit as the key part of his campaign.

The fact that Bokor ran unopposed didn’t mean he was a shoo-in, however. He still needed a majority of support from voters to be elected. Bokor ultimately received the approval of 87.9 per cent of voters.

“I was a little anxious initially, because uncontested races, you don’t know how they’re going to go.

I had a good campaign, spoke with a lot of students, presented myself as best as I could,” Bokor said.

He’s been focusing on transit for awhile, spending the past few months running the Get On Board transit-funding lobbying group as well as working as AMS associate vice-president external.

“What I ran on is transit, but we have issues with post-secondary funding, we have immigration, we need to look at childcare.... The engagement problem with the AMS is something I’m trying to address out of my office.”

Bokor said it would be a critical year for the transit issue because of an upcoming TransLink Mayor’s Council decision which could affect the fate of a potential UBC SkyTrain line and other long-term transit decisions. But there are immediate objectives for his one-year term, he said.

“We need to look at speeding up progress on the Broadway corridor, we need to look at immediate solutions to alleviate the strain, and I’ll work with City of Vancouver and TransLink to find those solutions.”

The university has been doing its part to promote the issue of transit to campus, said Bokor, especially through its own lobbying. However, he argued, it could be doing much more. “We’ll have to see how we work with them in the future to push the issue.”

Looking toward the provincial election in May, Bokor expects to push student issues while taking a non-partisan stance, regardless of the political stripes of the government in Victoria.

“One of the things we have to remember is that we can’t allow ourselves to be taken advantage of.

We don’t want to be seen as a safe bet, that we will always support a party on the basis of their history.

They’re going to have to earn votes, they’re going to have to come to this campus and they’re going to have to talk to students.”

Bokor’s approach will primarily be to lobby decision-makers and move towards activism if that fails.

“But personally how I see advocacy is primarily to get more people interested in voting,” he said. U

GEOFF LISTER PHOTOTHE UBYSSEY

Caroline Wong (right), overcome with happiness and surrounded by friends, upon learning she’s been elected AMS President.

Caroline Wong elected AMS president Laura Rodgers News Editor

Caroline Wong has been elected the 104th president of UBC’s Alma Mater Society.

Using the Condorcet system of ranked voting, 5,973 voters ranked Wong higher than second-place candidate Jay Shah, more than the 4,308 voters who ranked Shah higher than Wong.

6,647 voters preferred Wong to the third-place candidate Ekateryna Baranovskaya, more than the 3,277 who preferred Baranovskaya over Wong.

“Words can’t describe it. I feel amazing right now,” said Wong breathlessly after the result was announced in the Gallery Lounge.

Wong was surrounded by an ecstatic circle of friends, who brought out a surprise cake, complete with candles, and began to sing “Happy Birthday” to congratulate her. (the day she won the position was also her 21st birthday.)

Wong ran a strong campaign and many counted her experience this year as AMS VP Administration as

an asset. Late in the race, though, her volunteers committed two campaign infractions, and she had to suspend her campaign completely during the last two days of voting.

“My campaign could have been better, of course. I made several mistakes that I look back on; I wish I hadn’t done them. But overall, my supporters were there for me and that’s what really mattered.”

She said the campaign snags caused her considerable stress, and she’s quite relieved the election is over.

“It affected me mentally, of course. Luckily, I’m attending a mental health symposium tomorrow.”

Second-place candidate Shah failed to clinch the top spot, despite a coveted endorsement from the Inter-Fraternity Council and a series of sharp jabs directed at Wong during The Ubyssey’s presidential pub debate.

Shah, who currently works as the AMS executive coordinator of student services, bolted out of the Gallery as soon as Wong’s victory was <em>

</em>

announced. Soon after, he declined a Ubyssey request for comment.

Despite coming in third place, Baranovskaya was composed and optimistic about her desire to stay involved with AMS politics in other ways.

She made subtle digs at Wong’s campaign infractions, saying, “I ran a really good, honest campaign, so I’m actually really happy with [the results]. I followed all the rules I could, I stuck with my message.”

Baranovskaya, who heads the AMS’s University and External Relations Committee, said she may have been at a disadvantage due to her reluctance to work her connections within the Greek system to secure votes.

“The reason I ran was because I want to help students, so I’m not going to stop [doing] that,” said Baranovskaya.

Wong’s successful campaign centred on engaging more students with the AMS and doing heavy work on the soon-to-open new SUB. “I’m so excited to serve the students at UBC,” Wong said. U <em>

</em>

University >>

Kiran Mahal re-elected as VP Academic & University Affairs Arno Rosenfeld Features Editor

Kiran Mahal earned a second term as VP Academic, defeating challengers Anne Kessler and Montana Hunter, both AMS councillors.

“I’m really glad to be starting another term,” Mahal said in an interview after the election results were announced in the SUB at the Gallery.

Mahal said she plans to continue the projects she has already been working on in the office, including advocacy for student families living in the partially-rezoned Acadia Park neighbourhood.

“I think the amount of work that I’l be able to get done in the second term will be phenomenal,” said Mahal.

Kessler and Hunter both said they weren’t surprised to lose after a campaign where they both struggled to demonstrate why either of them were better alternatives to Mahal.

“It’s kind of what I expected,” Kessler said. “I think I would have taken the university a bit more head-on than Kiran has.”

Following his loss, Hunter re-

GEOFF LISTER PHOTO/THE UBYSSEY

Kiran Mahal hugs AMS staff member Sean Cregten after finding out shes won a second term as AMS VP Academic & University Affairs.

peated a theme of his campaign.

“I think that I’m definitely in general more personable than Kiran is, but I think she’s an incredibly hard worker. She made some wonderful accomplishments last year and is going to continue to develop them in a wonderful, wonderful way,” Hunter said.

The campaign centred on issues of student housing and mental health. All the candidates agreed housing costs should be lower, though they differed in their approaches to try and change this. Mahal championed a student housing affordability report that she had commissioned during her term, and announced plans to commission another report further examining the issue.

Kessler vowed to make aspects

of B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Act apply to student housing at UBC and Hunter wanted to end UBC’s internal loan program, wherein they expect Student Housing and Hospitality Services to pay interest on loans they receive from the university.

When it came to student mental health, Mahal pledged to bring in experts from across Canada to assess UBC students’ mental health, while Hunter planned to hire a mental health commissioner for the AMS. Hunter’s claim that he didn’t want to fund far-flung experts, like Mahal did, led to a tense moment in one of the debates. Kessler said UBC needed to address the underlying causes of poor student mental health, rather than just treat the symptoms. U

Thanks to record high voter turnout among UBC students, all five referendum questions on this year’s AMS elections ballot reached quorum and passed. In total, 22,405 students voted in the 2013 elections.

Many voters only weighed in on renewing the U-Pass, a measure which passed resoundingly. 21,181 students voted to keep the program — 96.4 per cent of those who voted on the question.

The pass will now cost $35 a month starting in May 2013, $36.75 starting in May 2014 and eventually $38 a month starting in May 2015.

If this question didn’t pass, UBC students would no longer have been eligible for the U-Pass program.

In total, 98.1 per cent of all voters voted on this question, with only 1.9 per cent abstaining.

“It’s a hugely successful program; students value saving money [and] students value sustainability,” said current VP External Kyle Warwick, who worked on negotiating the new U-Pass contract. “It’s clear that we had smart messaging, hard work [and] great volunteers, and we owe a huge credit to the candidates; all of them were pushing it really hard. I’m thrilled.”

15,592 students voted on a question about a new $1 student fee that will go toward the AMS Bike Co-op. Of them, 60.5 per cent voted yes, and the Bike Co-op will now collect the fee starting in September 2013. The fee can also be refunded to students who request it. “[The money] is going to have a phenomenal impact on our organization,” said Peter Lambert, a member of the Bike Co-op’s board of directors. “It’s going to double our budget … and allow us to provide new and exciting opportunities.”

The quorum at AMS general meetings was also lowered, meaning only 500 students are required to be in a room in order to hold a meeting where they can vote directly on changes to the AMS. Seventy-five per cent of voters needed to be in favour of this question for it to pass, and it just squeaked by with 75.4 per cent of the vote. In total, 8,924 students answered this question.

The referendum question about moving AMS executive changeover to the summer term, protecting the AMS Endowment Fund and giving voting AMS Council seats to theological schools also passed. 6,848 students voted on this question, and 85.1 per cent of them voted yes.

Currently, new AMS executives start their terms in February. But starting in 2014, they will begin their terms in May. AMS elections will also be moved to later in the year.

Also, student groups at the Vancouver School of Theology, Regent College and St. Mark’s College will gain voting seats on AMS Council.

This question also protects the AMS Endowment Fund, so the AMS can earn investment income on their savings but future AMS execs can’t dip into the fund’s principal.

And thanks to 86.2 per cent of voters supporting the “houskeeping” changes to AMS bylaws, many of the society’s rules have now been tweaked to comply with provincial law. Only 28.2 per cent of students voted on this question, but 5,450 of them voted yes, which was enough to have it pass. U

4 | News |

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013

MONEY >>

Acevedo to take control of AMS finances

SUB/CLUBS >>

Ming Wong Senior News Writer

Joaquin Acevedo is the next AMS VP Finance.

Acevedo beat out Mateusz Miadlikowski 4,274 votes to 3,046 votes. There were a record of 22,405 votes for this year’s election, but 67.1 per cent of students abstained from voting in this particular race.

“It’s unbelievable. I honestly don’t even know what I’m going to do now. I just really want to fulfill all the promises I made to students,” said Acevedo, a third-year cognitive systems student.

Runner-up Miadlikowski thinks he ran a good campaign. “I want to thank all of my volunteers, thanks to all of my managers who put effort into the campaign.… I just appreciate all the help and support that I got.”

Acevedo is sad to leave his current position as AMS international and intercultural commissioner and his work at Residence Life, but he’s sure others will pick up where he leaves off. “In the month I have to be able to transition out, I hope to finish all of the projects that I have been working on,” said Acevedo.

He attributes much of his success to his volunteers, roommates and students who supported him.

“I just hope that I can represent students as best I can and be able to satisfy them and fulfill my position as VP Finance.” U LEGAL >>

All six candidates acclaimed for six SLFS slots Andrew Bates Managing Editor, Web

The Student Legal Fund Society’s (SLFS) long-dominant slate, Students for Responsible Leadership, has returned for another year. But they’ve recruited some new, less conservative reps who may start to spend SLFS’s considerable warchest.

“Our hands are going to be less tied in terms of spending more money,” said new rep Roshak Momtahen.

The six candidates running for SLFS’s six slots were all acclaimed in the race. Incumbents Aaron Sihota, J.J. MacLean and Jordan Stewart are returning, alongside new reps Momtahen, Dawei Ji and Barnabas Caro. Caro picked up the most votes with 4,001.

But there may be friction coming within the SRL slate, as Sihota, who was re-elected for his fifth SLFS term, wants to continue guarding the coffers as he has before.

“Students maybe trust us in terms of what we’ve been doing in the past,” he said. “I think that they just want us to build going forward and continue what we’ve been doing.”

The society plans to continue hosting Know Your Rights information sessions and other workshops. And some are seeking out students who may have big legal cases they can fund.

Ji said he wants the society to keep its workshops going. “With me, I want to just expand the Know Your Rights,” he said. “That’s one thing that we can do that helps a lot of people, rather than just do something for one student.”

Momtahen said he wants to fund a big-issue case focusing on copyright or freedom-of-information law. U

GEOFF LISTER PHOTOTHE UBYSSEY

Derek Moore gives a triumphant cheer after winning the four-way race for AMS VP Administration.

Moore put in charge of New SUB, clubs as VP Admin Veronika Bondarenko Staff Writer

Derek Moore beat out Barnabas Caro, Olivia Yung and Justin Fernandes for the role of VP Admin.

Altogether, 8,109 students voted in the VP Admin race. Moore was elated to hear he won.

“It’s a touch unexpected, since Barnabas ran such an amazing campaign,” said Moore. “I feel really good about my campaign too. I knew they [the campaigns] were really tight.”

When Moore’s term begins, he plans to jump right into the pos-

ition and continue the work that has been done in the development of the new SUB. He also wants to improve the AMS clubs policy.

“Well, right now I expect to sleep, which is probably what everyone says after a campaign like that, and then start talking to Caroline [Wong, the current VP Admin], get the transition going,” said Moore. “I’m looking forward to building that team, carrying off what’s been done before me and pitching the SUB.” Caro was disappointed about not getting the position, but he hopes to work with Moore on

BOARD >>

Parson, Silley win BoG seats

club-related activities.

“Yeah, I’m disappointed,” said Caro. “It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but I think that Derek is [as] equally fitted to do it as me and I’m really looking forward to hopefully working with him in the coming year.”

Yung, while also disappointed about not winning the position, believes Moore is a great fit for the role.

“I hope that everything that he wants to see in the new SUB — because he’s been working so hard on it — actually happens, and then Academics >>

Kessler, Mahal, Marshall, Karimi, Edgecumbe nab five student Senate spots Sarah Bigam Staff Writer

JON CHIANG PHOTO/THE UBYSSEY

Incumbent Mike Silley and newly elected Matt Parson embrace after hearing results.

Brandon Chow Staff Writer

After two weeks of hard campaigning, incumbent Mike Silley and current AMS President Matt Parson successfully clinched the two student seats on the UBC Board of Governors.

The Board of Governors is the highest decision-making body at the university, and a total of 14,917 students voted in the race between six accomplished candidates.

Parson was elected with the most ballots of the bunch: 3,530 votes, or 23.7 per cent.

Current board student rep Mike Silley received 2,860 votes, or 19.2 per cent.

Both Parson and Silley campaigned fiercely, and they were proud and relieved once the results were announced.

“It was a tough race, with lots of qualified candidates that would have done a great job,” said Parson.

He said his first step in the position would be to “reach out to BoG reps that I know person-

ally, to see if they have any advice or recommendations on how to best transition.”

Parson said he plans to read through plenty of old Board of Governors documents and minutes to make sure he hits the ground running at his first meeting in May. Despite his success, Mike Silley declined to comment to The Ubyssey .

The other candidates vying for the two positions were Harsev Oshan, Tristan Miller, Conny Lin and Erin Rennie.

Oshan and Miller were present as the results were announced, while Lin and Rennie were absent and could not be reached for comment.

Miller expressed his disappointment in losing, but recognized that he “[ran] against a field of very qualified candidates.”

Oshan said that it was very important that the new student reps worked on “engaging the student body and [getting] the students informed about what’s going on at the Board.” U <em>

</em>

hopefully he will also focus on the people going into the building, like Barnabas did,” said Yung. “I honestly couldn’t be happier for him.”

While candidate Justin Fernandes was unhappy about not winning the race, he is not worried about the future of the AMS with Moore in the role of VP Admin.

“I mean, it was a really tight race. A lot of the candidates were all really qualified and they all campaigned really hard,” said Fernandes. “I’m definitely sad, but Derek’s a great person; I’ve worked with him before. So I’m sure the AMS will do fine.” U

Out of 11 candidates, Anne Kessler, Kiran Mahal, Natalie Marshall, Philip Edgcumbe and Nina Karimi have been elected as UBC student senators.

Kessler placed highest with 2,945 votes.

Students were able to vote up to five times, and 13.1 per cent of people who voted included Kessler as one of their five choices.

Mahal was a close second, with 2,917 votes, or 13 per cent of votes.

Marshall and Edgcumbe received 2,713 and 2,815 votes respectively, although 12.1 per cent of students who voted included Marshall and 12.0 per cent of students included Edgcumbe.

Lastly, Karimi received 2,623, and was included by 11.7 per cent of voters.

The UBC Senate is in charge of UBC’s big-picture academic direction.

Mahal, who will now begin her second term as a senator, said, “I’m really happy with the results, it was a great race by all the candidates, and I’m really excited for what we do next year.”

Edgcumbe will be serving his third term on Senate.

“I know that there were six very well-qualified students that didn’t get elected and I think that that’s going to make a lot of us who were elected work harder.”

Many of the potential senators acknowledged the quality of the other candidates in the race.

“I feel crazy,” Karimi said. “I don’t even know what to think right now. I have so many people to thank for this, and the candidates who were running for Senate were so amazing and so if I [had] lost, I knew I was losing to the best.”

“I’m quite happy,” Kessler said.

“It was a good race. There were a lot of really good people.”

Marshall said, “I’m really excited to work with all the other senators this year and continue to work on the elements of my platform. And the other senators who are elected, I’m so excited to work with.”

Jeff Abeysekera received 2,250 votes (10.0 per cent), Mona Maleki received 2,221 (9.9 per cent), Elaine Kuo got 1,924 (8.6 per cent), Yaniv Pereyaslavsky had 1,804 (8.0 per cent), Armin Rezaiean-Asel received 1,814 (8.1 per cent) and Austen Erhardt received 1,401 (6.2 per cent). “I think the candidates that got elected in are very well-qualified,” said Abeysekera. “I think they’ll do a good job.”

For Kuo, who also ran unsuccessfully for VP Admin last year, this isn’t the end.

“I think I tried really hard and I really learned a lot this time around. I feel like I was a lot more confident in this race and I gave it my all, which — I think that I accomplished what I set out to do and even though I didn’t win, I’m going to try again.” U

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013 |

EDITOR C.J. PENTLAND

5

volleyball >>

UBC volleyball goes sweeping Young UBC-Okanagan no match for Vancouver counterparts Bruce Chen Contributor

The UBC men’s volleyball team earned a straight set victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday night, and they were able to continue their dominance into Saturday’s match. The ’Birds took the first set 25-19 and looked poised to roll to another sweep over their little brother from the Interior.

However, the Heat wouldn’t go away easily. After a string of strong serving by their counterparts from Kelowna, the T-Birds were faced with a quickly-dwindling lead in the middle of the second set.

But the middle of that set was to be the turning point in the match.

The great play of middles Chris Howe and Alex Russell was able to draw in the Heat blockers and force them to respect the potency of the T-Bird attack, which led to the biggest play of the day.

Third-year outside hitter Quentin Schmidt made the game look like it was still a warm-up and absolutely destroyed a perfect set from second-year setter Milan Nikic. He faced no block or defense whatsoever from the Heat, who were left helpless.

From then on, the course of the match was set and UBC was able to pull out another sweep. Even when match point arrived and it seemed that the Heat were putting up a late charge, the same stellar play kept coming from UBC. The Thunderbirds were collecting easy balls on first contact, and teeing

As for the ’Birds, they are now 12-6 on the year and sit fourth in the Canada West.

Having clinched a playoff berth they will look to solidify their spot near the top of the standings by taking on the University of Brandon Bobcats in Manitoba next weekend, before coming home on Feb. 8 and 9 to face the Mount Royal Cougars and wrap up the 2012-13 regular season. U

VOLLEYBALL

BY THE

NUMBERS

7 UBC’s current ranking in CIS

2.96 blocks per set

on average by UBC, the second most in Canada West

1.38 blocks per set on average by middle Steve Howe, the second most in the Canada West Jarrid Ireland led the T-Birds with 31 kills on the weekend.

off on the Heat defenders. Credit has to be given to Heat libero Jeremy Fosvelt for coming up with a game-high 12 digs and keeping the games close; anyone would find it hard to play defence against the likes of Jarrid Ireland and Ben Chow when the sets are flowing perfectly to them.

However, the most underrated aspect of Saturday’s win proved to be the blocking. Howe and Russell combined for a healthy eight blocks despite many of them coming on solo efforts against the Heat middles. UBC is quickly establishing their game as a team that blocks well.

geoff lister photo/the ubyssey

Combined with a strong serving game, this historically is what ensures stability and consistency for a CIS team. The Heat, meanwhile, have just two wins on the year and are left in a tough spot, searching for an identity as they try to expose their younger players to the tough level of CIS play.

194 kills by Jarrid

Ireland this year, the most on the team

678 assists this year

by setter Milan Nikic, the third most in Canada West

Sixteen straight wins for T-Birds C.J. Pentland Sports + Rec Editor

geoff lister photo/the ubyssey

Lisa Barclay leads the ‘Birds in kills per set this season with 3.4.

Heading into this past weekend’s games, the UBC women’s volleyball team was on what some might call a roll.

They were in the midst of a 14-game win streak, and the last seven of those wins were straight set victories. In total, they had only dropped five sets all season. “Dominant” may not be a strong enough word to describe the Thunderbirds’ play so far this year.

But some tougher competition was heading into town on Friday and Saturday night, as the CIS no.

8-ranked UBC Okanagan Heat (11-7) took on the T-Birds in a weekend home series. If the ’Birds had become complacent thanks to all their winning, they could have easily been knocked off their high perch.

But true to form, it was another weekend sweep for UBC (17-1).

They didn’t drop a set the entire weekend, and never gave up more than 20 points in a frame. In other news, grass is green and the sky in Vancouver is grey.

“I don’t think [UBC-O] got off to the best start in set one, and I was pleased with how we just kept pushing,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “They play good defence and they scrapped hard, and it required us to stay patient. I’d agree that for us to be 3-0, 3-0 this weekend, and for today to keep it under 20 points, is solid.”

UBC’s offensive attack up the middle proved to be effective all weekend, with Mariah Bruinsma and Jessica von Schilling both

playing well in Saturday’s victory.

They combined for 10 kills and three blocks on Saturday, a performance which helped complement the typical strong performance from outside hitters Lisa Barclay and Shanice Marcelle. Barclay and Marcelle have the third- and fourth-most kills in the Canada West, respectively.

“That’s a good sign for us to have that balance, and I thought that most people hit the ball pretty well,” said Reimer. Despite UBC-O recording some impressive digs, the T-Birds still managed to record a .280 hitting percentage on Saturday night.

Overall, UBC has by far the best hitting percentage in the Canada West; their .282 percentage dwarfs the .228 percentage of Calgary, who has the second best. They are also tops in several other key offensive categories, including assists, kills and service aces. They also boast the second-best opponent hitting percentage, as they have limited the opposition to a .093 clip.

It can be easy for a team playing at such a level to get complacent and take those victories for granted, but that doesn’t appear to be the case for this squad. Even though they haven’t had to face adversity in the form of a loss as of late, Reimer said that his team stays focused on the task at hand and makes sure they are always the first team to 25 points in every set.

“What’s more important is that we had sets this weekend where we had to make sure that we fought through some things [and] had to recover from mistakes and come back, and not feel that it was auto-

matic,” he said. “This group is not overconfident; they’re training well, they’re staying focused. I’m sure [adversity] will come, so we have to be prepared for that.”

With only four more games left in the regular season, UBC is in prime position to lock down a first round bye in the playoffs and the right to host the Canada West final four in late February. Next weekend sees them travel to Manitoba to take on Brandon University, and they will close out the regular season on Feb. 8 and 9 at home against Mount Royal. If they can continue their strong play and finish the year with a 20-game win streak, then the ’Birds will most definitely be in the mix for a sixth straight national championship. U

VOLLEYBALL

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1 UBC’s current CIS ranking 5 weeks UBC has been

ranked number one in the country

10.22 assists per set on average by setter Brina Derksen-Bergen, the most in the Canada West 3 players have recorded more than 100 kills this year: Lisa Barclay, Shanice Marcelle and Rosie Schlagintweit

6 | SPORTS + REC |

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013

HOcKEY >>

No such thing as road woes

Weekend split proves that UBC’s best play continues to come away from home C.J. Pentland sports + Rec editor

A week after they took three of a possible four points on the road from CIS no. 5-ranked Saskatchewan, it seemed as if the UBC men’s hockey team was poised to make a late season run before they headed into the playoffs.

But despite taking on the seventh-place Mount Royal Cougars at home this past weekend, the ’Birds weren’t able to keep the ball rolling, as they only managed a split against the team from Calgary.

Friday night saw the Thunderbirds get out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Jessi Hilton and Michael Wilgosh, but three unanswered goals from Mount Royal gave them the lead in the second period. Cole Wilson responded to tie the game up at three, but a Cougars goal with 37 seconds left in the second put Mount Royal up for good. UBC outshot Mount Royal 43-14 in the contest, but Cougars goalie Dalyn Flette repeatedly came up big to stymie the T-Birds and prevent them from coming back.

The ’Birds were able to exact some revenge on Saturday afternoon, as they came back from a 1-0 deficit to take down the Cou-

gars 2-1. Jordan White made 22 saves for the win, his ninth of the year, while Wilson and first-year Brad Hoban added powerplay markers. It was Wilson’s 14th goal of the season, which has him tied for the most in the Canada West. And with his goal, Hoban is now tied with Max Grassi for the team lead in points with 23 and is the conference’s top rookie scorer.

It was a solid bounce-back win for a team that currently sits in fifth place in the conference, but the performance wasn’t one that would suffice come playoff time. UBC head coach Milan Dragcevic, however, remains confident that his team can put this weekend behind them and finish the season with efforts like the one they put forward against Saskatchewan, and there’s one key reason for it.

“We’re a road team; we’re 7-3-2 on the road,” said Dragcevic after Saturday’s game. So despite UBC travelling to take on second-place Manitoba next weekend — a team that the ’Birds have already beaten twice this season — the coach believes his team will come out strong over the final four games.

“I like the way some of our

lines are playing, I liked the way [White] played today,” he said, acknowledging that Mount Royal’s goalie stole the game for them on Friday night. “Today was a better defensive effort by our guys.”

It appears that home-ice advantage doesn’t really apply to the Thunderbirds. So far this season, their most dominant games have been on the road, and it has been reflected by the fact that they are 7-3-2 away from home.

They currently hold the best road record in the Canada West, and one of the best away records in all of Canada.

As it sits now, the T-Birds would be traveling for their first round playoff series. While it would appear to be a blessing in disguise, Dragcevic stressed that his team will continue to push to finish in the top four in the conference and therefore earn the right to host a playoff game.

“We want to finish fourth, that’s the whole [thing]. We want to finish third; we want to finish as high as we can.”

With four games to go — two against second place Manitoba and two against first place Alberta — the ’Birds are only one point back from fourth-place Calgary, four back from thirdplace Saskatchewan and five behind Manitoba. However, they are also only two points up on sixth-place Regina, meaning that their position in the conference is anything but solidified.

It has been a mantra in the Canada West all year: nothing is a guarantee. With the exception

GEOFF LISTER PHOTO/THE UBYSSEY

First-year defenceman Neil manning has 17 points this year.

of last-place Lethbridge, each team has been able to beat any other on any given day, and the standings have been changing every weekend. UBC has beaten every team in the conference so far this year except Alberta, but the T-Birds will have two more games against the first-place

Golden Bears.

The T-Birds can play well on the road, have shown that they can compete with the conference’s top teams and have balanced scoring on most nights.

With those assets, the T-Birds may prove to be a pretty dangerous team come playoff time. U

SWiMMiNG >>

T-Birds are Canada West champs UBC women’s swimming finishes first for fourth straight year, men finish in second C.J. Pentland sports + Rec editor

For the fourth straight year, UBC has won the Felstad Memorial Trophy as the top women’s team at the Canada West Swimming Championships in Victoria. The men’s team also picked up a silver medal at the event, finishing 56.5 points behind the University of Calgary.

The T-Birds swimmers also took home two individual honours. Savannah King was named female swimmer of the meet thanks to the five gold medals that she won on the weekend, while Coleman Allen also won five of his own and was named male swimmer of the meet. King’s medals came in the 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 200m backstroke and 4x200m freestyle relay, while Allen’s came in the 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 200m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relay. The duo also set some Canada West records: King’s came in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyles, and Allen’s was in the 100m and 200m butterfly.

“I am pleased with how our teams battled, both the women and the men,” said UBC Thunderbirds head coach Steve Price.

“We have a young men’s team, and [I] was really impressed with Coleman Allen stepping up and Savannah King’s performance, but we still have a lot of work before CIS nationals.”

Several other T-Birds managed to swim their way to the top of the podium. Sunday saw UBC’s 400m medley relay team set a CIS record as the team of Erin Stamp, Tera Van Beilen, Grainne Pierse, and Heather MacLean finished with a winning time of 4:03.19.

As for individual medals, Van Beilen was victorious in the 200m breaststroke, MacLean won the 100m freestyle and Stamp touched the wall first in the 100m backstroke. On the men’s side, Kelly Aspinall took home gold in the 100m freestyle.

In total, 11 Thunderbirds were named to the Canada West all-star team: King, MacLean, Pierse, Stamp, Van Beilen, Allen, Aspinall, Brittney Harley, Patrick Cowan, Sergey Holson and Luke Peddie.

Laura Thompson, who is president of the Thunderbird Athletic Council, also took home the Student Athlete/Community Service Award, while Price won Canada West Female Coach of the Year.

This was the 24th Canada West championship for UBC women’s

swimming, tying them with UBC women’s field hockey for the most Canada West titles in school history. Both the men’s and women’s teams will be advancing to CIS nationals in Calgary, where they will attempt to defend their national titles from last year. The championships begin on Feb. 21. U THUNDERBIRD WINNERS Gold medals: Coleman Allen: 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly; 200m freestyle savannah King: 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle; 200m backstroke tera Van Beilen: 200m breaststroke erin stamp: 100m backstroke Heather MacLean: 100m freestyle Kelly Aspinall: 100m freestyle Women’s 400m medley relay

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013

| Feature | 7

Can you spot the differences?

EMPLOyMENT >>

Both of these employees do similar work for UBC Athletics & Recreation, but only one is protected by a union. What gives?

KAI JACOBSON, STEPHANIE XU PHOTOS/THE UBYSSEY

Student employees at the Aquatic Center (bottom) are part of CUPE 116. But aside from the T-Bird Arena icemakers (also CUPE 116 members), unionization is unique within UBC Athletics & Recreation facilities. Employees at the Student Recreation Center (top), for example, are not members of unions. Some student employees have complained that because of the lack of unionization, job expectations are pay vary widely across UBC Athletics facilities.

Alexandra Smith Contributor

U

BC Athletics and Recreation is one of the largest employers of students on campus, providing jobs for over 800 of them. This is unsurprising given that Athletics controls nearly all the sports facilities on campus, from running tracks and playing fields to arenas and stadiums.

Jobs at Athletics range from instructors to cashiers to intramural referees, and students are employed across the facilities.

There are also a number of permanent employees, including a sizable management staff that oversees the department’s diverse set of facilities.

But within each facility the structure and terms of employment vary greatly, resulting in a wide range of experiences for student employees. This is due in part to the diversity of positions students hold, but it is also an outcome of the history of the organization.

UBC Athletics has periodically acquired facilities with pre-existing management structures, absorbing those structures instead of imposing uniform policies across the board. The Aquatic Centre, for ex-

ample, joined Athletics in 2006 and brought along its unionized staff — unique among the department’s facilities. Most student employees are not unionized, meaning job expectations, pay scales and management styles lack consistency across the various facilities, according to interviews with current and former employees.

“Often the specifics with any facility are so specialized that it’s really the broad strokes that are required facility wide for student employees, and then individually each facility has their own operational practices,” explained Kavie Toor, associate director, facilities and business development for UBC Athletics.

But Toor added that Athletics and Recreation has a standardized approach when it came to employee agreements and training.

As for the unionized employees, they’re members of one of the largest unions on campus: CUPE 116. There are currently over 130 CUPE 116 staff employed at the Aquatic Centre, who are part of a bargaining group separate from the other service staff members of CUPE 116 at UBC who participated in job action in the fall. A

quirk in the system has resulted in the only other unionized UBC Athletics employees being the icemakers, also members of CUPE 116.

One place where student employees find some consistency within UBC Athletics is in the Work Study &amp; Work Learn program. Given that the university contributes to the salary of students employed under the program, Toor said UBC Athletics tries to standardize the 256 positions that form part of it.

“We basically try to line up similar functions and jobs across all of the facilities and put them in the same job category,” Toor said.

For students not employed through Work Study & Work Learn, there is more variation in pay schedules and responsibilities.

A former employee of the Tennis Centre, JoAnna Rickard, complained about conditions there. “[I] did the work of like three people and got paid the same amount as anybody else,” said Rickard.

When Rickard requested a raise, she said one was given, but after a two-month delay.

Even after getting the raise, the former

employee noted, at $15 an hour she was still making less than her unionized colleagues at the Aquatic Centre.

Kyle Cupido, manager of the Tennis Centre, said he tries to make job expectations clear to all employees before they are hired.

“We would generally try to speak to that in the interviews and just let them know that things might come up that they would do different things here and there,” Cupido said.

He also added that despite the lack of a union at the Centre, the management took pride in good communication with the staff.

“Usually we have a very open door policy,” Cupido said. “The staff know that they can come to myself if they ever have any issues.”

Mike Tan, Associate Director of UBC Rec, echoed Cupido’s sentiments. “We try to encourage an open dialogue with respect to concerns that may come up,” Tan said of management-staff relations.

But for Rickard, the former employee at the Tennis Centre, pledges of open communication didn’t satisfy her. “All of us, including the coaches, are confused why we’re not in a union,” she said. U

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013 |

EDITOR ANNA ZORIA

8

mohsen mahbob photo illustration/seven stories press

When the ivory tower falls Last March, several Occupy activists protested against ECON 101 courses outside of the Sauder building.

Adbusters Magazine takes on economics departments with new book Rhys Edwards Senior Culture Writer

textbook,” said Lasn, “but to have [ Meme Wars ] as a sort of supplementary textbook, something that says,... ‘Is it really true that there’s a possibility of a fundamental shift in the theoretical foundations of economics science? Is it possible that this is actually happening?’ It will be a nice curveball into the system that could then get the ball rolling, and it could be the beginning of something.”

Lasn, as well as senior Adbusters editor Darren Fleet, will be visiting the Norm Theatre on Feb. 5 for a book launch and public talk. According to Lasn, the impetus for publishing the book came from his observation of activists during the global Occupy movement, which he helped spearhead with Adbusters in 2011.

“Occupy said to me, well, maybe the professors and those people don’t get it, but the young people of the world, they get it, they understand that the future doesn’t compute, and that there’s something fundamentally wrong with our economic system.”

Faculty members of UBC’s Vancouver School of Economics, however, disagree with the premises of Lasn’s book on several accounts. They assert, for instance, that economists in the School do not work only with mathematically abstract paradigms.

“Our department is actually very diverse, and it includes scholars who are involved in very applied, policy-oriented work,” said Caroline Douglas, a lecturer on the economics of poverty and inequality.

“Our department would not have come to be regarded [as the best] in Canada, and in the top twenty in the world, by remaining stuck to some particular, narrow, theoretical framework. It has actually been innovative and engaged, and its recognition comes about because it is active, changing, and wanting to solve problems rather than protect a view.”

Patrick Francois, a specialist on development economics and political economy, similarly notes that economics departments must continually innovate, or risk obsolescence.

“Any place that’s stuck to dogma, that’s stuck to particular conclusions in the face of methodology showing them ... conclusions pointing the other way, would become a very bad place overnight and lose all its good people,” he said.

“There’s huge incentives to be able to demonstrate that an existing model performs poorly and that I’ve got one that does better.

There’s huge incentives, that’s how it works, so that kind of idea of ‘lock-in’ doesn’t really work that way.”

Douglas stressed that while it is true that neoclassical principles inform teaching in the school, they are not treated as totally unassailable by professors. Rather, they provide a theoretical background which economists can use to create data assessment models. If these models don’t work, they have to be changed.

“That’s what good economists do, is actually test their theories, and take into account <em>

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If you learned that your courses were teaching you misinformation, would you still take them?

A new textbook proposes that one major educational field is being disingenuous to its students. According to Meme Wars: The Creative Destruction of Neoclassical Economics , a new textbook published by the Vancouver-based Adbusters Media Foundation, economics departments the world over are teaching fundamentally flawed theories to their undergraduate students.

“The neoliberal economic paradigm is a social construction,” said Bill Rees, a world-renowned ecologist and UBC professor emeritus featured in Meme Wars. “[It’s] a set of beliefs, values and assumptions based on Newtonian analytic mechanics to a very large extent, or at least on ideas derived from it.

“For a hundred years, it’s worked, on a very limited level. It’s been successful in creating enormous wealth, and moved us forward in various ways, but it’s now achieved such a scale that it’s coming up against the biophysical reality that it ignores. In other words, we’ve reached the point where the model is failing the test of reality.”

In line with this criticism, Meme Wars takes aim at several principles of neoclassical economic theory which, it claims, have caused wealth disparity, ecological devastation, and social injustice. In particular, it argues that certain concepts — such as the causal relationship between wealth and growth, the belief that human beings behave in instrumentally rational, predictable ways, and that wealth can be measured in terms of gross domestic product — are largely theoretical, and have no place in real-world economic policy. Yet these same concepts, according to the text, are treated as irrefutable truths by most economic departments and institutions across the world — including UBC. “For a while at UBC ... the department could not prevent [economics students] taking my course in ecological economics,” said Rees. “But at one point I was told by one of the students, if they did take it, they couldn’t get credit toward their degree. Because it wasn’t like ‘real’ economics. That’s not uncommon, that kind of absolute disgust over the notion of an ecological economics.”

Kalle Lasn, editor-in-chief at Adbusters, wrote the introduction to each chapter in Meme Wars and formatted its design. He intends the book to serve as an alternative to the popular educational textbooks traditionally used in undergraduate economics courses.

Specifically, he is critical of the work of Grigor Mankiw, whose Principles of Economics is used in several ECON 101 classes at UBC. “I’m hoping that many professors around the world will still perhaps give people Mankiw’s Principles of Economics as the main <em>

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those exceptions to the rule, where actually they are not just exceptions to the rule, they’re the way things really are,” he said. “They start out with this basic model, then you bring in more and more of reality.”

Francois and Douglas are also critical of Meme Wars’ claim that neoclassical economic models are politically motivated. They argue that models and ideologies are actually distinct from each other.

“Neoclassical economics is a methodology. It’s not a set of dogma,” said Francois.

“It’s a way of doing things, it’s a way of doing social science ... there is a set of rules that we follow, and that the reason we do that is those rules check that you can’t just push a political agenda.

“It’s kind of ironic that we get the criticism for our political agenda when I think we’re kind of doing more than anyone to try to make sure that we’re not infusing too much of our own politics into our conclusions.”

Douglas, meanwhile, suggests that economic data becomes political only when it is manipulated for ideological purposes. “My understanding of neoclassical theory and methodology would enable it to be used for policies and arguments that would lead to both injustice and justice,” she said. “[Lasn] is correct to observe that certain policies are legitimized with recourse to economic arguments that come from that neoclassical [background]. But ... this is about who is actually making the decisions as to what kinds of evidence they want to bring to their arguments.”

Nevertheless, Lasn himself insists that politics are endemic to the entire economic field, from the educational to the institutional level.

“Economics have huge political consequences,” he said. “Professors had better get used to that, and realize that there is a huge, powerful political component to what they teach, and that the students they send out into the world to implement political strategies ... affect all seven billion of us in the most visceral way.”

For Lasn, “the creative destruction of neoclassical economics,” in which university students would play a vital role, isn’t a pipe dream — it’s the only way to avoid a future catastrophe on a global scale. Though he understands that it won’t be easy, he believes that, soon enough, we won’t have much choice.

“I have a feeling that we can have another 1968, and this time it’s going to work, because the stakes are way higher,” he said. “My own gut feeling is that I can’t think of any other scenario for veering this human experiment of ours on planet Earth back on the rails, I can’t think of any other viable scenario except that young people revolt.”

Only time will be able to show whether Lasn’s predictions prove correct. In the meantime, Douglas recommends that students always treat their education critically.

“It’s always good for students to have a

critical approach to their education, at whatever level they’re at, whether it’s introductory or further on down into their degrees and graduate degree, and then when they get out into the world they should always have a critical approach,” she said. “And that is what I tell my students: I want them to be critical of whatever it is I’m doing, but at the same time, I want them to understand what it is I’m presenting.

“So wherever they see that there may be room for debate, then that is what I recommend. As long as they are informed.” U

IMAGES COURTESY SEVEN STORIES PRESS

Pages from Meme Wars, from top: Max Temkin; Ian Spriggs, ‘Subversion of Capitalism;’ Istvan Banyal, ‘Addicted to Profit’

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013

| culture | 9

fine art >>

Classiness without the cost

Five art galleries that won’t break the bank Laura Dixon Contributor

formative exhibitions, such as FIN , which showcased the harvesting of sharks off the coast of Canada through the medium of photography. <em>

The Vancouver Art Gallery, housed in one of the most prominent buildings in the downtown core, is a no-brainer when it comes to exploring local art culture.

However, after the $12.50 student admission, lunch at the Gallery Café and an extended stop at the Gallery Store, the student budget can take a beating. Though the VAG is the best-known art space in the city, there are plenty of other local galleries that will provide you with a more rounded experience of the city’s art scene.

Here’s a list of five of the most intriguing (and free) galleries within Vancouver.

4. Equinox Gallery 525 Great Northern Way

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Just last year, Equinox Gallery transitioned from a small location on Granville St. to a massive exhibition space in an old industrial building closer to the east side. This extra room has given Equinox the ability to show much larger exhibits, which are consistently fresh and equally captivating. Currently, Equinox is showing From Nature , which illuminates the artist as the crossroad between self and the natural world. The exhibition includes work from world-famous artists such as Vija Celmins and Gordon Smith. <em>

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3. Ayden Gallery 88 West Pender St. This contemporary art gallery exhibits street-, graffiti- and tattoo-inspired fine art. Ayden is currently showing The Primacy of Consciousness , featuring Vancouver-based artist Steffan Quong as well as a cohort of supporting artists, until Feb. 3.

Ayden Gallery’s programming is eclectic, with three upcoming shows highlighting diverse players in Vancouver’s street-culture art world. The gallery’s opening receptions are also not to be missed — these licensed events boast free admission and live music, with artists always in attendance.

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2. Satellite Gallery 560 Seymour St. JONATHAN DY/FLICKR

1. Positive Negative 436 Columbia St. Positive Negative Gallery was recently given the title of one of Vancouver’s “Best New Indie Galleries” by the Georgia Straight. If that’s not enough to spark your interest, the gallery is currently home to Stuffed and Hung until Feb. 2.

This exhibition is a collection of Kuh Del Rosario’s newest work, consisting of found objects and everyday materials that constitute compelling and organic structures through mistake and correction. This artist-run gallery has also hosted in-

The Satellite Gallery is not far from home, so to speak. Two of UBC’s cultural spaces — the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery and the Museum of Anthropology — share Satellite with the Presentation House Gallery. Aside from its ties to UBC, Satellite Gallery boasts a variety of mixedmedia exhibitions. Its most recent exhibit showcases Vancouver’s local art and music scene between 1978 and 1980 through images and video projections shot by the late Lenore Herb. Its next exhibition, News, promises a rare glimpse into the history of photojournalism through the lens of the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers.

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5. Smash Gallery 580 Clark Dr. Smash Modern Art’s 2013 season begins Feb. 1 with Kellie Talbot’s solo show American Landscape . Her hyper-realistic paintings reflect the gallery’s commitment to compelling yet entertaining artwork that appeals both to popular taste and informed collectors. However, Smash is not afraid to push the envelope and verge away from traditional fine art; in addition to interesting exhibitions, Smash also designs custom neon signs, adding to its unique vibe. U <em>

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theatre >>

Stampede on stage: Rhinoceros review Kaavya Lakshmanan Contributor

Upon first glance, the stage at the Telus Studio Theatre looked deceptively simple: only two tables and four chairs are placed across from each other, leaving plenty of open space.

However, the set design in Theatre at UBC’s Rhinoceros proved anything but simple.

From trapdoors on the floor that double as bedroom doors to the balconies that roar with the marching of savage beasts, the production cleverly uses its setting to explore the spread of Nazi Fascism in a small town in France. Written by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco and directed by MFA directing candidate Chelsea Haberlin, Rhinoceros is an insightful and witty analysis of the ideas of will, responsibility, logic and absurdity in a bourgeois setting.

The narrative centers on the characters of Bérenger (Matt Reznek), Jean (Joel Garner) and Daisy (Georgia Beaty). From the opening scene, Jean presumes himself to be the stark opposite of Bérenger — a cultured and rational man who puts logic and reasoning above everything else, contrasting with the latter’s drunkenness and apathetic attitude towards life. Bérenger

ously apathetic and determined, is similarly strong, and skillfully conveys Bérenger’s true colours in the face of the epidemic. Beaty stands out in her portrayal of Daisy; her high-pitched voice and intonation of words have an Audrey Hepburn-esque sound to them, evoking a 1940s bourgeois woman. All three have excellent stage presence, and aren’t afraid to fluidly interact with the set. One of the most delightful aspects of Rhinoceros is that it features a true ensemble; from the main characters to the townsfolk, every single person on stage brings something to the play. Other cast members that stand out include the Logician (Xander Williams), Botard (Kenton Klassen), and Dudard (Alen Dominguez).

Other noteworthy aspects of the production include the costume design, the lighting, and deft use of the theatre’s acoustics. The yellows, blues and soft purples worn by the women of the cast, as well as the sharp pinstripe coats and blazers of the men, balance between theatricality and historical accuracy. The careful manipulation of light also adds to the play’s poignancy. U <em>

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stephanie xu photo/the ubyssey

UBC theatre students let out their wild side in Eugéne Ionesco’s Rhinoceros.

shows little interest in anything other than his love interest, Daisy, and is chastised by Jean for his indolence.

However, Jean’s critique of Bérenger is interrupted by a series of loud noises and grunting, whereupon he discovers that a monstrous creature — half human, half rhinoceros — is charging across town. Soon, the town is engulfed by a contagious

rhino epidemic, and Bérenger changes from a slovenly, disinterested man into one of the few who is able to resist it. Towards the end of the play, however, his resistance is questioned, as he remains the only human in a town full of rhinos.

An allegory for the idea of conformity, the rhino epidemic shows that even the most rational people can be made to conform to

a practice they might otherwise find abhorrent.

Garner does a fantastic job portraying Jean’s arrogance and ego. His projection and comic timing, coupled with his engagement with the stage and props around him, make for an enjoyable performance. His transformation into a rhinoceros is one of the highlights of the show. Reznek’s performance as Bérenger, vari-

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Rhinoceros will be playing at the Telus Studio Theatre until Feb. 9.

For information on times and ticket prices, visit theatre.ubc.ca/rhinoceros <em>

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013 |

STUDENT VOICe. COMMUNITY REACH.

LAST WORDS

Rebuilding the mental health safety net Perspectives

by Joshua Beharry

Kim Pringle illustration/the ubyssey

“We’ve tracked the mysterious 3.6 per cent of students who voted ‘no’ on the U-Pass to their lair, a large concrete edifice filled with vehicles that look like miniature B-Lines...”

The last thing we’ll say about endorsements — until next year Every year The Ubyssey endorses candidates in the AMS elections, much as newspapers everywhere endorse candidates running for races in their communities. But this year many of the candidates running for AMS positions who weren’t endorsed by The Ubyssey took to social media to blast this newspaper for being “mean” and showing bias.

Such accusations demonstrate a lack of understanding of what newspaper endorsements are, but given that fewer and fewer young people actually read newspapers, we thought it prudent to explain our rationale for publishing endorsements and the process behind issuing them.

In general news coverage, our reporters and editors do their best to present all sides of the issues we cover in an even-handed manner. These stories that we work to make as objective as possible take up over 90 per cent of a standard issue of The Ubyssey. But on one page, we devote a few inches to publishing our opinions on the issues our reporters are covering.

We do this in keeping with our mission as a campus institution that seeks to inform and engage members of the community.

We cover a lot of issues, and in our Last Words section we seek to explain why you should care about the issues and, as people who have spent a long time following them, our opinion on what ought to be done.

Often it is possible to weigh the pros and cons of a given issue, and such reasoned equivocating keeps accusations of horrible “bias” or “meanness” at bay. But in some cases, like AMS elections, it is more of a zero-sum equation.

Only one person can be elected to most positions, and as a group of people who spend hours on end covering your student society and the candidates who want to run it, we feel offering our two cents provides a valuable service to the campus.

For those of you wondering, here is how we come up with our endorsements: We assemble the reporters and editors who have spent the past week or two covering the AMS

elections campaigns, including attending debates, interviewing candidates and reviewing their platforms, and the past few months or years covering the AMS as a whole, in one room. We then go through each position and debate the merits of each candidate. What are the big issues they’ll need to handle if elected?

What ideas have they put forth for dealing with them? Have they been successful in their current positions, and would those skills transfer over to the position their running for?

Once we settle on the best candidate for a given position, we go over our qualifications for the endorsement and make sure to include positives for candidates we aren’t endorsing. Our agenda is not to pick favorites in the election, but rather to ensure our university runs well, and in the case of the AMS, that people are elected who will do good jobs furthering good ideas.

Topsy-turvy turnout The AMS elections are extremely low-information. Not knowing — or caring to know — much about the names on the ballot, many voters take shortcuts and use highly questionable criteria in making their decisions: whether the candidate’s in a frat, if they have a good Anglo-Saxon name, if they seemed chill at that house party and also have this awesome video, or if they were endorsed by The Ubyssey.

With the U-Pass driving a record turnout, we could have seen the student politics applecart being completely upset by a huge number of normally disinterested voters. By and large, however, they scrolled right through the ballot making a beeline for the juicy U-Pass question. The abstention rate in AMS executive races (with the exception of president) meant that turnout there only marginally improved, although four times as many students voted compared to last year.

So UBC students are as disengaged from the AMS as ever, but this election does show that they aren’t somehow incapable of being motivated and mobilized. Talk of student disengagement tends to assume the AMS’s problem is in getting messages through, but it seems it’s the messages them-

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selves that are uninspiring. We’ve just seen that UBC students do pay attention and will care if it’s something that matters and is of practical importance to them. It’s up to the newly elected student leaders to show that they’re as relevant as the U-Pass.

From the “more things change” file...

A few days ago, we decided to dig through our archives to see what kind of things the AMS of yesteryear was concerned with. The parallels in this piece from September 1970 were particularly juicy. See anything familiar?

Unfortunately, when it comes to being relevant, AMS people can’t figure out why they ain’t.

Thus they come up with dazzling solutions to their problems like knocking down the walls of the executive offices and putting glass partitions in their place.

The idea is to get the hierarchy closer to the students.

What these timeless thinkers fail to grasp is that a really first-rate student government could operate from a one-room shack on the edge of campus and be “relevant.”

In this way, AMS representatives turn to structural changes in the hope that these will clear up the problems.

Not only do they think about revamping the walls of SUB to turn it into a glass palace of communication, but every year they engage in great debates about the AMS constitution.

Every year, they make a few changes in this sterling document in the hope that one day, one year, they’ll arrive at The Perfect Constitution, and the relevance question will be solved for all time.

This year will be no exception. President Tony Hodge hopes to call a general meeting in October to approve more constitutional revisions. If these are passed, the result will be a student council operating on “a modified commission system.”

The new proposals are based on analysis of a study conducted last year among students by the AMS. It cost several thousand dollars. The results had better be good. U

On Jan. 17, 2010, I stood atop the Oak Street Bridge and waited for a break in the headlights of passing cars. I had been diagnosed with depression four months earlier and was unable to experience joy, happiness or even halfway-decentness with any regularity. For several months, thoughts of suicide followed me as I waited for SkyTrains and walked along busy streets. I had gone to emergency at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) a couple weeks earlier to see if I should be admitted, but after being assessed, I was sent home. Eventually, I decided on a way to end my life. When a break in the headlights came, I turned and leapt over the railing.

For years, I lay in bed at night regretting missed opportunities.

I wished the courses I was taking would lead somewhere. I wished I had made more friends. I wished I had asked all the girls I ever liked out. Four months before the attempt I became more severely depressed and began to wish I was dead. I felt heavy, gross and tired. I lay on my couch, tried to eat small servings of yogurt and cereal, and trailed around the block with my parents for exercise.

Anyone who has lost a close relative or friend, or seen the end to a once-loving relationship, knows the pain that sadness can induce.

I didn’t need these reasons to feel terrible. I couldn’t figure out a way to get better, and as the weeks and months piled on, I was no longer able to bear it.

Before I jumped, I had texted my brother. Fortunately his phone was within reach and he saw the message right away. Hitting the water was the most physically painful experience I’ve ever felt.

When I woke up floating in the water, I was shocked to be alive. I felt doomed and pathetic. I did not want to be awake to feel myself drown. As adrenaline flooded my system, I looked for a place to swim and saw a platform under the bridge.

Once I had taken a few strokes I was determined to survive and I dragged myself out of the water. I cried out for help and it wasn’t long before I heard sirens answering my calls. An

emergency crew came on boat and picked me up.

I spent the night in the intensive care unit at VGH and woke up to find myself barely able to move, with a tube draining fluid from my chest.

I had six broken ribs, five hairline fractures in my vertebrae, one punctured lung and I’m not sure how many mild contusions in my brain.

No spinal cord injuries.

In the hospital, I felt sadness, anger and hate but also love, happiness and amazement to simply be alive.

Distorted and fleeting as these positive emotions were, the ability to still be able to feel them convinced me recovery was possible.

Today, I continually work on ways to manage my illness. I’ve talked about my mental health with my family, visited my doctor, started taking anti-depressants and sleep medication, and improved my diet.

I was assessed by the VGH Outpatient Clinic, read depression workbooks, attended counselling sessions, talked about my mental health with my friends, started physiotherapy for back injuries, developed stretching and exercise routines, saw a psychiatrist weekly on a long-term basis and read about others with mental health issues.

I’ve also helped to create the Kaleidoscope (a peer-led support group at UBC) and co-founded the UBC Mental Health Network. I’ve given over a dozen public speeches about my experiences with mental health to students, staff and faculty at Douglas Collage, Kwantlen, UBC and Vancouver Community College. I’ve completed my degree, began part-time work, hiked up the Grouse Grind and provided feedback as a patient voice for outpatient services.

Several times since my attempt, I have felt hopeless and beaten, but part of managing and recovering from a mental illness is learning to be strong when I am weakest. It’s allowing myself to sometimes feel like shit while remembering that these emotions, though exceedingly painful, will pass. In the days and weeks before I tried to kill myself, I believed I was past recovery.

I am lucky to know I was wrong. U For more information on mental health support at UBC, visit the-kaleidoscope.com.

Equity Office revamp needs independent perspective

LETTER

In December 2012, UBC called for “input and advice from the UBC community on what organizational changes are needed to build inclusion into the structure of the university so inclusion at all levels and in all forms becomes the norm.”

One of the two co-chairs of the consultation, Ms. Nitya Iyer, who is a practicing lawyer and a former faculty in the UBC Faculty of Law, had been involved in at least two UBC equity complaint investigations. Former Associate Vice-President Equity, Tom Patch, who retired at the end of December 2012, had hired Ms. Iyer as an external investigator for these cases, both of which she dismissed.

Patch and Iyer were former colleagues at the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. By all appearances, this posed conflict of interest for the investigations. Now, asking Ms. Iyer to co-chair a university-wide consultation on organizational structures that she has been involved in also

raises issues of impartiality and vested interest.

She is asked, among other things, to review the UBC Equity Office for which she worked as an investigator. Further, former and/ or current equity complainants may be unwilling to come forward in the consultation due to the fact that the person who headed and dismissed their investigation is now co-chairing that process.

Similarly, Dr. Gurdeep Prahar, who is the current acting head of the UBC Equity Office, was asked

by Tom Patch to be a member of an investigative panel in at least one equity complaint proceeding.

For the consultation process to be credible and seen as independent and fair, a new co-chair who has never worked with/for UBC equity organizations is preferable.

Otherwise, it risks being seen as compromised. <em>

Jennifer Chan Associate Professor Faculty of Education

</em>

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013 |

PICTURES + WORDS ON YOUR UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE

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BiTS + piEcES >>

The mystery of the disappearing pubic hair SEXY TEACHER

a hairless vulva is a recipe for more and/or better orgasms, particularly during oral sex and heavy petting.

“This is about trying to get in touch with one's own sexual possibilities,” said Ross. “Why whack through the bush, if you will, if you can get there on a slightly smoother path?”

Although much of literature and discussion around pubic hair removal is female-focused, men do partake in genital grooming. A 2008 study by Australian researcher Yolanda Martins et. al. found that more than 82 per cent of homosexual men and 66 per cent of heterosexual men remove their pubic hair at least once in their lives.

Ross said men are likely removing their pubic hair for the same reasons as women: to feel sexually empowered or more attractive, or simply to have better sex. But certainly not to remove public lice. U

by Elizabeth Hames It was death by Brazilian.

After exerting its dominance over human genitalia for millennia, pubic lice weren't killed by insecticides or chemical balms — they were killed by our own vanity. Bloomberg announced earlier this month that in reaching for the wax en masse, we had effectively eliminated the bloodsuckers' natural habitat. With nowhere to live, they rarely show their microscopic faces in health clinics these days, doctors say.

It's not the first time genital grooming has worked to fend off pubic lice. In the Middle Ages, affluent men and women depilated their sexy parts to do just that. The only difference is, this time, we did it by accident.

Today, the approximately 80 per cent of college students who remove some or all of their pubic hair rarely do so for hygienic reasons. The number one reason women trim, wax or shave is because they want to look good in a bathing suit, reports a 2010 study conducted by UBC researchers Lenore Riddell, et. al.

According to the Bloomberg report, “ever-shrinking bikinis” are indeed to blame for the Brazilian, the wax treatment that removes all but a thin strip of pubic hair. As legend has it, a beauty salon run by seven Brazilian sisters was the first to turn New Yorkers on to the hot wax technique. The “Brazilian” later gained international attention after it was referenced in an episode of Sex and the City .

Although they may like to view themselves as trendsetters, <em>

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PUZZLE COURTESY BESTCROSSWORDS.COm. USED WITH PERmISSION.

cROSSWORD

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kIm PRINGLE ILLUSTRATION/THE UBYSSEY

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“Why whack through the bush if you can get there on a slightly smoother path?” asks UBC Sociology professor Becki Ross.

all those Brazilian-loving New Yorkers were preceded by their neighbours to the west: Los Angeles porn stars. A full bush was common in 1980s Playboy , and exotic dancers reportedly performed wearing pubic wigs called merkins to comply with laws banning full nudity. But it is rare to find even so much as the Brazilian's signature “landing strip” in today's Internet porn.

It's a phenomenon that has led some researchers to theorize that women who remove their pubic hair are striving for a “porn aesthetic.” In her 2009 article "Pubic Hair and Sexuality: A Review," <em>

</em>

Scottish researcher Sara Ramsay suggests that the link between complete pubic hair removal and pornography “has led to a perception that bare genitals are more erotic.”

Becki Ross, UBC sociology professor, said the popularization of pubic hair maintenance can be compared to genital piercing, labiaplasty (surgically altering the vaginal lips) and vajazzling (bejeweling the vulva or pubic area).

“Behind it is this ideology of self-improvement,” Ross said.

Although such body modification treatments have often been criticized as promoting

objectification and misogyny, Ross suggests pubic hair removal can be sexually liberating for many women.

Today's bare vulvas represent a “symbolic shift” in how society perceives this body part, she said. Whereas it was once seen as a source of a fishy smell best douched with Lysol (true story), it is today seen as a site of beauty and honour.

“If somebody can work their vagina to make it appear beautiful to them and they feel beautiful about it, aren't beautiful things then going to accrue?” she said.

Moreover, many women say

Across

43— Eggs 44— Hype 47— Third day of the week 51— Achievement 54— Flexible tube 55— Like ___ not 56— Villainous character in Shakespeare’s Othello 57— Conclusion 58— Wine sediment 59— Sports figure 60— Battery pole 61— Scottish Gaelic 62— Created 63— meanies

1— Renaissance fiddle 6— ___ noire 10— Not fem.

14— Bridge bid, briefly 15— Bereft 16— Official records 17— Slow, to Salieri 18— Single entity 19— Pi followers 20— ...___ saw Elba 21— Variety 23— Drunken 25— Wears away 26— meadow 27— Belief 29— Go into 32— Free of frost 33— Shad delicacy 36— Not so much 37— Gift of the magi 38— Poses 39— Equinox mo.

40— Caterpillar rival 41— Overact 42— Chip dip

Down 1— Actor’s parts 2— Diciembre follower 3— “John Brown’s Body” poet 4— Gives a right to 5— Dove sound 6— To redden 7— Ages and ages 8— The Stooges, e.g.

9— Establish firmly 10— Burrowing rodent 11— Felt sore 12— Rock 13— Throws

PUBIC DEPILATION COMES IN MANY FORMS • Brazilian (sometimes “Boyzilian” in men): removal of all but a thin strip of hair extending up from the vagina/penis • Hollywood: complete pubic hair removal, including hair extending back to the butt • Sunga or Bollywood: complete pubic hair removal, including follicles on the testicles and butt region • Bikini: pubic hair removed from along the bikini line

21— Al Jolson’s real first name 22— Corner 24— Comparative suffix 27— ___ firma 28— Green land 29— Overhead trains 30— Word used to precede a woman’s maiden name 31— Recipe abbr.

32— Changes color 33— ___ Grande 34— Giant mel 35— Legal ending 37— Dark pigmentation 38— Wonderful 40— mustachioed artist 41— Adam’s madam 42— Few and far between 43— Not in 44— ___ Selassie 45— Aquatic mammal 46— Siouan speakers 47— Govt. security 48— Giver 49— Digression 50— Affirmatives 52— First name in spydom 53— Old-fashioned exclamation of surprise 57— ___ Schwarz

12 | GAMES |

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013

PUZZLES COURTESY kRAZYDAD. USED WITH PERmISSION.

kakuro puzzles are like a cross between a crossword and a Sudoku puzzle.

Instead of letters, each block contains a digit between 1 and 9. The same digit will never repeat within a “word” (a blank column or row). If you add the digits in a word, the sum will be the number shown in the clue. Clues are shown on the left side of “across” words, and on the top side of “down” words.

LOCKING CAMERAS pHOTOGRApH FOR THE UBYSSEY KAi JAcOBSON | ART@ UBYSSEY.cA