Published monthly by the University Neighbourhoods Association Published monthly by the University Neighbourhoods Association
Volume 2, Issue 8
AUGUST 23, 2011
Magician Entertains and Delights at UNA Event
Election Season Starts at UNA Annual meeting is Sept. 28; deadline for nominations in election of resident-directors is Aug. 29
Magician Ray Medway performing a few magic tricks at the UBC Botanical Garden Amphitheatre, with the help of audience members Claire Sarson and Benjamin Naimer. For story please see Page 10.
Chancellor Neighbours Knock Side-by-Side Lanes as “Senseless” Planning One lane is part of a Chancellor Place condominium complex; the other lane is part of the new law building The “senselessness” of putting two laneways side by side with at least one of them too narrow to easily navigate has become
a rallying cry for campus residents opposed to the proposed development of a 15-storey high-rise at UBC. The residents, who live in the Chancellor Place neighbourhood, want UBC to at least combine the laneways to provide faster, safer and less congested access to the proposed new tower if it goes ahead against their wishes. Thomas Beyer, chief spokesman for the
Chancellor Place residents, says the development of two lanes side by side—with one lane part of the Stirling House condominium complex and the other lane part of Allard Hall, the soon-to-be-completed UBC law building—is senseless. “Surely, a wider, joint road could be created to solve access issues to the proposed 15-storey tower.” LANES continued on Page 9.
Negative Feedback Forces UBC to Postpone Plan to Change Name of Bookstore Change to ‘UBC Central’ was to have taken place recently; in fact, ‘UBC Bookstore’ is still the name until further notice The name ‘UBC Bookstore’ remains intact for now. However, it may vanish—save from memory—in the months to come.
The University has proposed to change the much-loved name ‘UBC Bookstore’ to ‘UBC Central’ as a way of modernizing the image of this campus institution which sells more than books, and which had planned to effect a name change this month. However, a well-organized campaign opposed to the name change has forced the University to postpone its planned change pending further dialogue with the campus community, including
residents. To give a sense of this debate, we provide both the argument presented by UBC in favour of the name change to ‘UBC Central’ and the counter-argument presented by UBC lecturer Kim Snowden, who is leading the campaign for maintaining the name ‘UBC Bookstore’.
BOOKSTORE continued on Pages 6 and 7.
The election season has begun at UBC with almost 3,000 campus residents eligible to vote for two resident-directors of the University Neighbourhoods Association. The election of resident-directors will take place in conjunction with the UNA annual meeting at the Old Barn Community Centre Wednesday, September 28. Residents proposing to stand for election as directors of the seven-member UNA board must file their nomination papers with the UNA by Monday, August 29. The Campus Resident understands that at press time, one resident had already filed nomination papers, another was in the process of filing and at least two more were expected to file by the nominations-deadline. Following the close of nominations, the UNA will publish the names of candidates in a ballot to be mailed to all members. The membership will also receive biographical material about the candidates and statements outlining their platforms. The seven-member UNA board consists of four resident-directors serving two-year terms (with elections for two directors held every year), two directors appointed by UBC and one director appointed by the 44,000-member (student) Alma Mater Society. The board will take on more resident-directors as more residents arrive at UBC to live (currently about 8,000 residents live on campus). The board meets monthly (save in August) to discuss ‘civic’ business, and its directors—led by a chairperson—act much in the manner of a mayor and council meeting regularly in a municipality to make decisions of governance on behalf of the community. Among other things, the UNA board manages a $3.5 million budget with funds provided by UBC from the ‘services levies’ (taxes) it collects from residents. Over the past year, the board has faced numerous issues. Of them, the issue involving UBC construction of a hospice immediately adjacent to an apartment building in the Hawthorn Place neighbourhood likely loomed the largest. As well as cause tensions in the community, with some residents petitioning in support of UBC and some against, this issue caused tension between UBC and the UNA whose board passed a recommendation to UBC that it reconsider its choice of hospice site. The UBC board declined to reconsider and passed plans to proceed with development of the hospice. Another major issue—still faced by the UNA board—is how to get bylaws passed to effectively govern the community when UBC seems unable to get the provincial government to enact enabling regulations. In particular, campus residents have complained to the UNA about the lack of a parking law and noise bylaw.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011
Attending ‘Pre-Plays’ Adds Pleasure to Visiting Theatre
Warren McKinnon, life-long communications educator, and life-long theatre-goers Jean Mann (right) and Florence Moore prepare for upcoming season of ‘pre-plays’ held in Tapestry Wesbrook Village at UBC.
Program is held in Tapestry Wesbrook Village at UBC with public welcome to attend; experienced educator and life-long theatre-lover Warren McKinnon is host The theatre so attracts some campus residents that attending organized ‘pre-play’ sessions before going to see the actual plays becomes an important part of the theatre-going. For example, some of those looking forward to seeing The Tosca Project at the Vancouver Playhouse in October may seek to enhance their enjoyment of the play by attending a pre-play session about The Tosca Project September 29th
at the Tapestry on the campus of the University of British Columbia. The same applies to some of those looking forward to seeing La Cage Aux Folles at the Vancouver Playhouse in November or December. They may seek to enhance their enjoyment of the play by attending a pre-play session about La Cage Aux Folles November 9th at Tapestry. Warren McKinnon, the experienced educator and life-long theatre-goer who is the spark behind the pre-plays program called ‘Dramatic Discoveries’, says he engages program participants in exploring the ideas and issues of the plays (and movies) beforehand as a way of enhancing the pleasure of attending the actual plays. “If you know some of the history of the play or some of the issues the playwright is trying to raise, it makes the experience of attending a performance so
much more significant,” says Mr. McKinnon, who is a contributor to continuing studies at UBC and who has taught communication studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. A member of the Vancouver Playhouse Researchers Advisory board, Mr. McKinnon—a UBC resident—came up with the idea of Dramatic Discoveries some years ago. However, he got it off the ground only in January of this year after becoming aware of Tapestry as a possible venue for his program. “I brought the idea to John Fleming, Tapestry general manager, and the first thing John said to me was, ‘That’s what I’m looking for.’” The first-class facilities of Tapestry (it has a state-of-the art ‘Learning Centre’ as well as a 25-seat video centre) make it an ideal venue for Mr. McKinnon to present his pre-play sessions. Meanwhile, it
gives Tapestry another in-house learning activity to offer its residents. This said, Mr. McKinnon emphasizes his offering of nine pre-play presentations (five for plays at Vancouver Playhouse and four for plays at UBC)—is open to members of the public as well as Tapestry residents. “It’s for the campus neighbourhood (and neighbourhoods around),” he says. The pre-plays, which begin September 29th, conclude at the end of March. The Movie Clips & Scripts program Mr. McKinnon has also prepared offers participants a preview of ten monthly movies shown September to June, in Tapestry’s movie theatre. For more information about Dramatic Discoveries, contact Mr. McKinnon at 604 709 0920, or wkmckinnon@shaw.ca
Volunteer at the
Beaty Biodiversity Museum! The Beaty Museum at UBC is currently recruiting volunteers for two roles – Museum Educators & Events Assistants. The descriptions of both of these roles can be found online at www.beatymuseum.ubc.ca/volunteer Currently our volunteer program has members of many backgrounds & ages, though the common thread is that everyone has a passion for biodiversity & nature. It would be members who are deeply interested in biology who would likely be the best fit for us. Recruitment closes on Sept 9. For more information, contact Lindsay Burlton, Lead Interpreter & Volunteer Coordinator at Beaty Biodiversity Museum, 604.827.4809
THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011
page 3 Published by: University Neighbourhoods Association #202-5923 Berton Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6S OB3
Editorial Page Did Directors Drop Ball On Polling Stations? Was this good UNA idea given time to prove itself? Cost of organizing the polling stations could hardly be called prohibitive The directors of the University Neighbourhoods Association have decided to go without polling stations at the September 28th election of two resident directors of the board, which may be unfortunate. They might have decided better to go with the polling stations, as they did last year. The directors say they chose not to go with polling stations this year because their introduction last year did seemingly little to increase the chronically-low turnout of UNA members at the annual election of resident directors. They also decided to go without the polling stations because of the extra cost incurred in organizing and manning them on election day. In fact, the cost of $14,000 for professional advice and assistance in setting up four municipal-style polling stations does not seem excessive since it includes costs that are incurred every year in organizing elections of directors, such as mailing out UNA election materials to almost 3,000 members. Mike Feeley, who chaired the UNA board last year, explains why the UNA board decided to try polling stations in 2010. “The goal was simple. We wanted to increase voter turn out, which as you know, is really quite low and has been since the UNA started. Of course there may be many reasons why people don’t vote, but I think part of our challenge is simply awareness; both of what the UNA is and of what voting means. Our governance structure is unusual, but it is meant to be the municipal “government”. “People generally understand what governments are and they generally understand what voting means in that context. But, if people think of the election as being for the board of a neighourhood association instead of for a mayor and council as in a municipal election, they may not fully understand the importance of the vote and thus may not vote. The UNA is, as people know, much more than a neighbourhood association and does in fact have most of the responsibilities of a municipal government --- importantly including controlling tax revenue. There are many things we can do to improve people’s understanding of the UNA. One of them, I think, is to treat our elections as seriously as they would be treated if we were a municipal government. People generally expect that polling stations are one way they can vote in elections in our democracy. And so, it seemed reasonable to me to think we should try this too. I expected that people would notice the “Poll” “Vote Here” signs and that would at least raise their awareness. “This may or may not get them to vote in that election, but I think it might at least get them to ask some questions and to think about what’s going. “I believe that there is tremendous potential up-side it treating our elections more like what they really are and there is very little downside. There was some initial, onetime expense to hire an expert in municipal elections to develop our guidelines for how we would run the election, prevent double-voting, count ballots etc. But, having paid this cost once, we’d be able to follow the guidelines for subsequent elections at no additional cost. There is also an on-going cost of paying people to staff the polling stations. But, really this is a small price to pay for democracy --- and its really a small price overall. “And, adding the polling stations only increased the flexibility people had in how they would vote. It was still possible to vote by mail, as it was before. Voting at the poll, was optional.” “The last thing I would say is that I do not know whether our experiment last year was a success. We did have somewhat improved turnout, I think, but not nearly as high a turnout as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I think it is hard to know whether this strategy is a good one after having only tried it for one election.”
Reader Reminds Us to Wash Blueberries The anonymous Campus Resident reader who called to complain about us not advising people to wash blueberries before eating them in a story about British Columbia blueberries in our July issue (Page 11) makes a valid point. People should wash all fruit grown anywhere before eating it. In this case, the reader seemed to be referring to the risk of people eating fruit that may have been contaminated by radiation from the Japanese nuclear reactor damaged in the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. We heard mention from this reader in a Voice Mail message of British Columbia
blueberries (and other fruit) being possibly contaminated with an isotope (presumably Iodine-13) through contact with rainwater. The test results achieved by Simon Fraser University a week or so after the Japanese earthquake indeed found Iodine-13 in samples of rainwater taken in the Lower Mainland. However, SFU nuclear scientist Kris Starosta said that while he was confident the afflicted (Fukushima Daiichi) nuclear power plant was responsible for the recent test results, there was no immediate danger to the public.
Editor & Business Manager John Tompkins 604.827.3502 JTompkins@myuna.ca
A director of the University Neighbourhoods Association explains how serving as a volunteer will help both the UBC community to grow and you to become more firmly rooted in it
Erica Frank, UNA volunteer and director
Why do I choose to serve? By Erica Frank First, the selfish reason: because there are few better ways to become part of a community. When we arrived in Canada in 2006, I knew practically no one and practically nothing about how to be a part of this new society. As I volunteered for committees like the one designing the Old Barn Community Centre, and the subcommittee picking the playground equipment, I found a chance to meaningfully work with my neighbours, the UNA staff, and UBC administration, and to positively influence my beautiful new community. I was able to apply the knowledge I had gained from being a Professor of Preventive Medicine and Population Health, and from living in co-housing, and from being on boards. I’ve been able through my directorship to apply the principles of social, financial, and environmental sustainability that prompted us to move to Canada. Socially, I feel like we have a remarkable opportunity to build a caring community, and that much of that opportunity is fulfilled, but there’s still more to do, and all of us can work on that by talking with our neighbours, sharing food from our kitchens or gardens, or picking up pieces of trash. Financially, it’s been fascinating to learn how our small, relatively nimble, quasi-
municipality can benefit in so many ways from our relationship with UBC, and to negotiate the ways in which we’re constrained. We have access to so many resources that would otherwise never exist in a community our size (and that drew a lot of us to live here), but it’s a complicated relationship with UBC that we’re still working out. And regarding environmental sustainability? We are working on turning this campus “bright green” (maybe even brilliant green). Our Sustainability Manager (Ralph Wells, rwells@myuna.ca), BC Hydro and UBC-cosponsored Community Energy Manager (Kyle Reese, kyle.reese@ ubc.ca), UBC’s Sustainability Office, and I (as Sustainability Chair, erica.frank@ubc. ca), along with many others, are working hard to make sure that we’re providing housing, landscaping, food, water, waste, and transportation options that allow us all to create the smallest carbon footprint we want, and I hope you’re checking the Sustainability Page of The Campus Resident each month for Ralph’s update on this. So try volunteering through the UNA (you can contact our Executive-Director, Jan Fialkowski, janf@myuna.ca to do so) – there are many places where your expertise and generosity can help our community grow, and help you become more firmly rooted in our wonderful ecosystem and community.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011
UNA Board Backs Action Plan to Have Residents Prepared if Natural Disaster Hits Campus Are You Ready for the Big One? By Prod Laquian, Vice-Chair, University Neighbourhoods Association As a Vancouver resident, you probably know you live alongside a seismic fault that can trigger an earthquake any time. But how prepared are you in case a calamity hits? Do you have an Emergency Preparedness Kit containing food, water, flashlight, battery-operated radio and a first aid kit, among other essentials? Will you be able to care for yourself and your family for at least 72 hours before help arrives? If you live in a condo, do you know how to turn off the gas, electricity and water supply in an emergency? Do you and other family members know where to meet after a disaster if you get separated? Some residents of UTown@UBC may know that in case of emergencies, UBC has an office of Risk Management Services (headed by Ron Holton, Chief Risk Officer), that can offer help. However, the UBC program is mainly designed to look after students, faculty and staff. The 7,600 or so residents in the five UNA neighbourhoods may be assisted by UBC but it would be most helpful if they have emer-
gency preparedness plans of their own. The UNA has a Volunteer Emergency Preparedness Committee but it has been inactive for some time. The UNA Executive Director (as a member of the UBC Disaster Preparedness Program) and her staff are charged with coordinating actions during an emergency. However, almost all of them do not live on campus and may find it difficult to come, especially if the emergency occurs at night and the roads are blocked. A few Strata councils may have disaster preparedness plans but most of them probably don’t. The main question then remains -- how prepared are UNA residents if an emergency occurs? According to Ron Holton, UBC is currently updating its Disaster Preparedness Program. It will be helpful if the UNA can discuss with UBC Risk Management Services how the UNA Disaster Preparedness Program can be dove-tailed with the UBC system to gain synergy and complementarities. Ideally, a joint UNA-UBC program will treat the whole of UTown as one cohesive unit. For example, there may be a common warning system for alerting residents, students, faculty and UBC staff when an emergency occurs (wailing sirens, email blast, cell phone messages). It may designate assembly areas, places where food, water and other necessities will be available and evacuation routes if they are needed. It may coordinate the activities of UBC staff and UNA volunteers and staff so that residents, students,
Wheelchair Program Puts Trails In Park within Reach of Disabled Program is run by volunteers out of former headquarters of Pacific Spirit Park on 16th Avenue; specially-designed remote access wheelchairs called TrailRiders are available The trails of Pacific Spirit Regional Park have become accessible to people with physical disabilities. Credit for this goes to a new program made possible by volunteers working out of the former park headquarters on 16th Avenue and a specially-designed onewheeled, remote-access wheelchair called a TrailRider. The volunteers work for the British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society (BCMOS), an independent non-profit society dedicated to enriching the lives of people with significant physical disabilities through wilderness recreation. In cooperation with Metro Vancouver parks department, BCMOS opened its new ‘Hiking Trailer’ in Pacific Spirit Park August 18th Formed in 1985, BCMOS conducted 120 guided excursions for physically-disabled people in the province this year with many conducted in Pacific Spirit Park, hence the importance of the new centre for annual operations and housing BCMOS TrailRiders in the park. With one wheel, and volunteer ‘sherpas’ back and front, the TrailRider can tackle any terrain. A society spokesperson said BCMOS
work was made possible through the devotion of “great volunteers.” For those interested in volunteering, either complete an online application at www.bcmos.org or contact Eric Molendyk, BCMOS Program Coordinator (604-688-6464 x117, eric@disabilityfoundation.org).
Volunteers with British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society (BCMOS) act as ‘sherpas’ taking physically disabled persons for hikes in Pacific Spirit Park in remote-access wheelchairs called ‘TrailRiders
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faculty and staff can act in a pre-planned way to save lives and minimize harm to individuals and damage to property. In developing the UNA Disaster Preparedness Program, the designers (who will be mainly from volunteer residents assisted by a Consultant) may consider including information on what items individual households can include in an Emergency Kit, how to turn off electricity, water and gas lines in an emergency, how to use fire extinguishers, who will look after handicapped neighbours, what to do with pets, where to find safe areas for refuge, etc. It may include preparation of emergency plans for residents who live in high-rise towers, medium-height condos and ground level residences. It may also include briefing sessions, training programs and drills to prepare residents for emergencies. The activities mentioned above, of course, should be carried out mostly by prepared, well informed and trained residents and volunteers. Disaster preparedness can reduce deaths and suffering during calamities. Realizing this, the UNA Board has decided to set up an Emergency Preparedness Program to help residents in case of disasters. It is also hiring a Consultant who will help formulate the Disaster Preparedness Program and recommend specific activities to implement it. The UNA is seeking volunteers to join a revitalized Emergency Preparedness Committee. It is also looking for volunteers to
join neighbourhood Emergency Response Teams, composed of representatives from the five neighbourhoods who will help coordinate activities during emergencies or disasters. It is important for the UNA Emergency Preparedness Committee and the Emergency Preparedness Teams to be composed of UNA residents living on campus to achieve a quicker response when disasters strike. Residents who are interested in volunteering for the Committee or the Teams are urged to contact Jan Fialkowski, UNA Executive Director, at janf@myuna.ca and/or Prod Laquian at alaquian@shaw.ca.
Prod Laquian, Vice-Chair, University Neighbourhoods Association
THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011
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page 6 BOOKSTORE continued from Page 1.
UBC Argument for changing name of its bookstore to UBC Central Earlier this month University Community Services proposed a name change for the UBC Bookstore to recognize the changing identity of the store, which now serves a wide variety of the academic and other needs of the university community. Some of you have expressed concern about the proposed name change, maintaining that books are inherently linked with academia; therefore, the UBC Bookstore name should remain. Some of you have told us that you understand and support the idea of a name which reflects the changing nature of our business. In light of this feedback, we are postponing the name change to collect more input from you - our customers and the UBC community at large. This will build upon input that we have already collated over the past year from certain departments and students across campus. Let us be clear: regardless of what it is called, the UBC Bookstore will continue to sell books. We know the importance of the book for learning and scholarship and will continue to ensure books thrive by improving our book systems and pricing policy. This strategy will include a wider choice of course materials at competitive pricing both in-store and online. We are also working hard to improve our ordering processes for faculty. But, like most bookstores across North America, we are facing the challenge that book sales are in decline. In order to ensure we can meet our customers’ needs for the growing variety of teaching, learning and research resources in addition to books, we have diversified our offerings over the last several years so that we may meet our obligations to the University and continue to be a successful business. We believe a review of our name is timely in order to better reflect the changing range of products and services we offer the university community, as well as to capture the spirit and energy of our university. The concept behind “UBC Central” is that we are central to UBC’s academic needs, central on campus, and a one-stop shopping and services destination. It’s a place where students can obtain IT services, the UBCcard, and knowledge of every kind, as well as guidance and technical support. However, we do recognize the necessity of having a further conversation with the university community about this name change. We’ll keep the UBC community updated on opportunities to participate in interactive consultations over the next short while. These will commence with open houses—the first two of which were held at the Bookstore on August 4th and August 11th. We will repeat these when everyone is back on campus at the end of September. You can also find further information on our website: www.bookstore.ubc.ca.
THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011 ing which will make more “effective” use of the space. They also claim that the name “bookstore” is confusing to customers and visitors to campus which is absolutely ridiculous. While they say that they are still committed to selling books, their decision to rename the store is part of a UBC “rebranding” initiative that will see the space sell “fewer traditional books” and focus more on other services such as UBCcard, IT help desk and a “technology recharging system.” It seems to me that they are rebranding the store at the expense of selling books and, despite their claims, this will no longer be a bookstore. Their website describes it as a ‘one stop shop’ that will also sell text books and course materials. Not a bookstore. To suggest that a bookstore on a university campus is not a sustainable or effective use of space or that the word “bookstore” is somehow confusing is outrageous. By changing the name to UBC Central, UBC is effectively eliminating the presence of our campus bookstore and is contributing to the demise of bookstore culture in Vancouver in general. The bookstore is an integral part of our academic community, not because it makes money but because it sells books. Changing the name is a mistake. UBC should be committed to maintaining bookstore culture and upholding the tradition of having a bookstore as a fundamental part of campus life.
Comments in support of maintaining the UBC Bookstore name made to The Campus Resident by Kim Snowden, a UBC lecturer. I didn’t expect the petition (against changing the name) to be so effective or to gather so many names in such a short time (and during the summer with most faculty and students gone). My initial plan was to reach 100 signatures in order to go to my meeting with Debbie Harvie, (managing director, University Community Services). I wanted to show her that people were starting to take notice and raise concerns and that the number would likely grow. I went to the meeting with over 700 signatures only a week after getting it started. I am very happy that it has been effective - how much of a difference this will make in the long run remains to be seen as Debbie Harvie and the bookstore are only half the battle here - UBC executive still stands behind a name change. But, the bookstore has been very open to this discussion and that can only be beneficial as, at the very least, it will allow for a discussion about what we actually need out of a bookstore on campus. My hope is that we can keep the name as it is or come to some kind of compromise that includes the name. Yes. as has been mentioned, many of the petition signers came from the arts
Should name be changed? UBC wants it changed to UBC Central. Not everyone agrees.
The following petition saying ‘No to Renaming UBC Bookstore’ was created by and written by Kim Snowden, a lecturer in women’s and gender studies at UBC: UBC claims that the name UBC Bookstore does not adequately reflect the products and services that the store provides and that the word “bookstore” is limiting and restraining to their business and to the changes that they are propos-
Kim Snowden, a UBC faculty member and author of petition to save name of UBC Bookstore
UBC stall at entrance to bookstore where members of staff engage shoppers on the name-change issue.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011 - this is likely due to the fact that I relied on the petition going viral through my own email contacts initially and, as I am in arts, this is where most of my contacts lie. I did send the petition to as many departments that I could including medicine, science, engineering, Sauder etc. Many of these faculty members have signed (there were a fair few from Mathematics for example). I think that, yes, sciences do rely less on books than the arts but in general, those who did sign from these disciplines understand that the bookstore symbolizes something to our academic community that is important for all of us, regardless of discipline. There was an article in the Vancouver Observer where Roy Hsu of Creative Writing at UBC said that the idea of “the book”, something that academics have to produce and publish, (he called it the
holy grail of academic careers) is much more of a focus in humanities and the arts whereas ebooks and other means of producing work with other technologies are important for other departments. This might be true but as the Dean of Arts, Gage Averill pointed out to me in an email of support - ebooks are still books and expanding the bookstore to include new and innovative ways of publishing and producing work is part of what makes it a great bookstore, not something that is limited by the word bookstore. You may sign this petition opposing a change of name and/or review comments of those who have signed at www.petitiononline.com/UBCBook/ You may also add to this debate in a letter to the editor
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los dorados mariachi band ∙ centro flamenco jorge alfaro pan flutes ∙ sangre morena flamenco food & drinks ∙ paws squad ∙ triumf ∙ dunk tank fiesta games ∙ face painters ∙ go green & bring a water bottle! The
sponsored in part by UBCPT and Mahony and Sons
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011
UNA Community News Sustainability Corner Water Conservation at Home With our stretch of recent nice weather, Metro Vancouver is entering into its annual period of highest water demand and lowest rainfall. In fact, according to Metro, the region’s water consumption nearly doubles over the summer months, precisely when precipitation is lowest. The UNA is also participating in the development of UBC’s Water Action Plan (a topic I’ll cover in a future column). As such, I thought it would be timely to focus this month’s column on water conservation at home. Metro estimates that much of the increased summer demand comes from water used for home landscaping and gardening. Since 1993, Metro has instituted summer lawn sprinkling regulations to help manage this demand. The regulations restrict sprinkling to early morning hours to reduce evaporation and specific days (see the the Metro notice posted in this issue). The regulations apply to strata proper-
ties and UNA stratas can do their part by ensuring their landscape contractors operate sprinklers according to the regulations (which apply to lawns, but not flowerbeds or shrubs and trees). Stratas can also work with their contractors to ensure that sprinklers are not overwatering and are not operating on rainy days (e.g., by using moisture sensors). Stratas can also consider using drip irrigation in planter beds and switching to drought resistant plantings (see www.metrovancouver.org/about/publications/Publications/WaterwiseGardening.pdf for more information). In the home, three areas account for 85% of water consumption. According to Environment Canada, showers and bathing account for 35% of consumption, toilets account for 30% and clothes washing the remaining 20%. Since 2006, most UNA buildings have been built to UBC Residential Environmental Assessment Program (REAP) standards and have low-flow
The Old Barn Community Centre Runs a Series of Evening Concerts Four well-attended concerts are held outdoors in parks on campus The groups played cool music which was warmly received by residents at a series of four evening concerts in parks at UBC through July and August. The Old Barn Community Centre organized the series, called ‘Evening in the Park’, and representatives of the centre said the series was successful in bringing families and friends together to enjoy sunshine, music and picnic dinners. The music ranged from jazz to classic rock, and from African world music to indie folk. Residents from neighourhoods serviced by the University Neighbourhoods Association set up blankets and lawn chairs in the various beautiful parks to enjoy live music. The first concert was held Friday July
8th, in Jim Taylor Park outside The Old Barn Community Centre with about 70 people in attendance enjoying the jazz sounds of the Paul Keeling Quartet. On Friday July 22nd, around 70 people were in attendance in Iona Green Park at Chancellor Place where Dan Hare provided classic rock. At this concert, Save on Foods provided a BBQ with donations going to the Children’s Hospital. On Friday August 5th in Michael Smith Park at Wesbrook Place around 80 people attended a concert of African/World Music by The Rhythm Collective Finally, on Friday August 19th in Jim Taylor Park, a great turnout of over 100 people enjoyed the indie/folk sounds of musician Skye Wallace. A member of staff at The Old Barn said the Evening in the Park series will be held again next summer, so residents should mark their calendars now in anticipation of enjoying this successful campus event.
shower heads and toilets installed. If you live in an older building, you can install an inexpensive low-flow shower head, which can reduce water use by 50% or more (look for models that use 8.5 litres/min or less). Low and duel flow toilets also can significantly reduce consumption (choose a model that uses 6 litres or less). An inexpensive option is to add some bricks or a plastic bottle filled with water or sand in the tank of a conventional (13 – 20 litre) toilet. Front load washing machines can reduce water use by 35 – 45% compared to a conventional top loading washer. Regardless of technology, you can have a large influence on water consumption at home by ensuring you have full laundry and dishwasher loads, avoiding leaving taps running and long showers. A look at UNA water consumption suggests that UNA residents are having a positive influence - we consumed an estimated 203 litres/day per person in 2009-2010 compared to 329 litres/day used by the average Canadian (Environment Canada). However, we were only about 8% lower than consumption found in a 1999 CMHC study for multifamily homes, suggesting that there is still room for improvement. There is one area Metro would like you to increase your water consumption - by
Ralph Wells, UNA Sustainability Manager. drinking tap water instead of bottled water. Drinking water represents a very small amount of household water use, and we have some of the cleanest municipal drinking water in North America. By drinking tap water you can save money and avoid impacts associated with manufacturing and shipping bottled water, and disposing of the bottles (recycling plastic also has environmental costs). To find out more about reducing water consumption at home and other great sustainability tips for condo dwellers, be sure to check out the Eco-Strata Guide at www. eco-strata.com.
ALL CANDIDATES MEETING Wednesday September 14, at 7:00 pm Tapestry Wesbrook Village UBC - 3338 Wesbrook Mall
UNIVERSITY NEIGHBOURHOODS ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A meeting for members of the UNA and residents of the “Local Areas” as defined in the Comprehensive Community Plan including Hampton Place, Hawthorn Place, Chancellor Place, East Campus, and Wesbrook Place Wednesday September 28, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. at The Old Barn Community Centre (6308 Thunderbird Blvd., UBC)
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS In accordance with the UNA Constitution, there will be an Election for 2 UNA Resident Directors to take place at the UNA Annual General Meeting.
Eligibility Requirements: To be eligible for nomination a person must be a resident of the “local area” (those five areas currently identified for non-institutional development in the Comprehensive Community Plan and Hampton Place) and otherwise meet the requirements of our By-laws. The UNA Constitution and By-laws requires that no more than three (3) directors may come from a single area and at least one (1) director must be elected from the Faculty / Staff or Co-Development housing. To read the UNA Constitution and Bylaws and recent amendments to the By-laws, please see the UNA website www.myuna.ca. Two (2) directors to be elected this September will initially hold office for two (2) years. Directors may be re-elected (subject to being eligible) for up to two (2) more terms. Nominees for the UNA Board of Directors may contact the UNA office by phone, fax or email to be sent nomination forms or may print a copy from the UNA website www.myuna.ca. To be eligible, nominations require the support of 10 members of the UNA. Nominees are requested to submit a 1 page biographical sketch and photo with the completed nomination form to the UNA office. Biographical information will be posted on the UNA website and / or the UNA publication The Campus Resident.
Deadline for Nominations: The deadline for nominations under the UNA Constitution is 4:30 pm on Monday, August 29, 2011. Completed nomination forms should be mailed or delivered to the UNA office, #202-5923 Berton Avenue, Vancouver BC V6S 0B3. The names of persons nominated for election as Resident Directors shall be published in a ballot and delivered to the membership with the notice of meeting and related material by September 7, 2011.
UNA residents enjoy the jazz music of the Paul Keeling quartet on July 8, 2011. Photo courtesy of Markus Heller.
Should you have any further questions, please contact Cathie Cleveland UNA Administrative Manager 604.827.5540 or email Cathie@myuna.ca
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011 LANES continued from Page 1 The UBC development permit board has approved construction of the residential tower on land leased from St. Andrew’s theological college in principle. However, in an unprecedented move, the permit board has ordered Concert Properties and St. Andrews, joint developers of the tower, to amend their plan to resolve several outstanding construction issues, one of them
being the access issue. So far, the developers have held an Open House on the project, have presented their plans to the permit board, and have attended an August 10th workshop to discuss possible amendments with residents. Concert and St. Andrews have also learned they may continue their application for a permit in September. In response to claims by Mr. Beyer that ‘two lanes side by side’ is “senseless plan-
ning,” UBC director of planning Joe Stott says that as discussed with Mr. Beyer at the August workshop, “the character of the two ‘lanes’ is significantly different.” Mr. Stott says the access lane on St. Andrews land (shared with Stirling House) is for vehicular traffic accessing underground parking and, in the future, access and loading for the new 15-storey residential tower, while the other lane on the Allard Hall site is a pedestrian route with
emergency vehicle access only. Mr. Beyer, a businessman who has announced he is running for position of resident-director at the University Neighbourhoods Association annual meeting in September, says he understands this, “but exceptions (variances) can always be made.”
SIDE BY SIDE LANES. Left lane provides difficult access to residential building(s), right lane services Allard Hall, the new Law School at UBC.
Advertisement UNA Director Candidate Thomas Beyer Chancellor Place Resident Telephone: 604-564-7673 Address: 6063 Iona Drive Vancouver, BC V6T 0B1 E-Mail: thomasbeyer3000@gmail.com My name is Thomas Beyer. I am a businessman and business owner, trained as a software engineer with a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the Technical University in Munich, Germany (1986) and an MBA from UofA in Edmonton, Alberta (1988). I came to Canada as an immigrant from Germany in my mid-twenties 25 years ago and became a Canadian citizen in the mid 90’s. I worked 8 years for IBM’s software division, in Germany and mainly in Canada, and then worked for and co-owned an IBM business partner called Lightyear Consulting in the mid 90’s to 2004 - selling, marketing and implementing database, Internet to mainframe connectivity software and services. I founded Prestigious Properties (www.prestprop.com) in the year 2000 to invest in affordable rental properties in Alberta, initially by myself, later with others. As the president of Prestigious Properties and chairman of the board of the property management firm Fireside Property Group (www.firesidepropertygroup. com) I am the chief steward for now close to 2,000 rental apartments in W-Canada and Texas, co-owned by 500+ investors, managed by a team of approximately 25 employees. Responsible governance, cost control, revenue improvements, property enhancements, and customer/tenant/ investor/employee satisfaction is my daily bread. My wife Lynda and I moved here two years ago to escape the cold winters of Alberta, to enjoy a vibrant city close to water and mountains and to return to a place we called home 20 years ago. We have 2 young adult children who live and study in Edmonton, AB. UBC is a small village, close to a big city, surrounded by forests, parks, beaches and water. UBC is changing from a purely academic educational facility to a mixed-use “place of mind” with currently 15,000 and soon, 30,000+ residents, some temporary during their years of study but many full-time. While it is acceptable for UBC to sell leases and collect taxes from an ever increasing number of residents, directly, or indirectly through expensive water, for example, its governance model needs to reflect that. It does not today. If 30,000+ people live in an area that is called a community, a village, a town or a city, and an appropriate representation of its taxpaying residents has to be established. I am independent of UBC in that I have no ideological or natural ties to the academic institution UBC – my wife and I happen to like to live here as full-time residents. We love the fairly car-free environment, the views, the parks, the beaches, the international mix of its residents and the closeness to bright academic people.
I am running as a candidate for UNA to advocate four main issues: 1) Taxation without Representation: The current representation of its citizens by UNA needs strengthening and a strong voice independent of the institutional, traditionally academically focused university. “Taxation without representation” should not continue indefinitely. UBC needs a body that resembles that of a city council with an elected mayor and councillors-equivalent so it can speak with a strong voice. UNA also needs a blend of resident Canadians, recent and past immigrants to reflect its variety of viewpoints. It is a great community but it needs a better representation to the current academically focused governance. 2) By-Laws (or lack thereof): One example of this lack of representation is the lack of by-laws for noise, pets and/or roads and appropriate enforcement. All those by-laws exist in draft format, written quite a few years ago, but they have not been passed into law. What is required is an order-in-council by the BC Parliament. Current enforcement of these draft by-laws, therefore, is legally difficult if not impossible. 3) Rail-Link to UBC: Given the size of Vancouver, the current volume of commuters and the expected growth, UBC needs a rail link, likely along/below 10th and Broadway/University Blvd. The current buses are frequently overcrowded, quite slow, not environmentally friendly and not in line with the projected growth and density targets for UBC or Vancouver in general. It is no wonder professors, employees or students who are living in N-Van, Surrey or E-Van commute by car. UBC is not an island, but a fast growing suburb that needs fast and environmentally friendly connectivity into the wider GVRD area, even with add’l local housing. 4) Affordable ownership for UBC personnel: With the planned expanded rental housing, one overlooked aspect is affordable housing ownership for people who currently work at UBC, 10,000+. Not everyone wants to rent, or commute. Affordable options, likely with a significantly reduced purchase price but also an inflation-indexed sales price, need to be established so academically minded people and world class talent can continue to be attracted to UBC despite modest wages. These are just four of many issues UNA needs to lobby for. There are a few others such as sustainability, lower taxes or green space (UNOS). Vote for me, because I believe I can contribute to this complex governance process through life and business experience, forthrightness, proven stewardship principles, vision and independence. Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any comments, suggestions or questions! Yours Kindly,
Thomas Beyer
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011
Ray Medway, Wizard from the Land of Hogwarts
The audience at the UBC Botanical Garden enjoying the magic of Ray Medway
Magician Ray Medway teaching audience member Tomer Zait a few magic tricks.
The Old Barn Community Centre
Fall Program Guide & Shopping Week 2011
The
Monday September 12 7am 7:30am
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday September 13 September 14 September 15 September 16 September 17 September 18 Bootcamp 7-8am
Bootcamp 7-8am
BREAK 9am
Hatha Yoga 9-10am
9:30am 10am 10:30am
Fit4Two Stroller Bootcamp
10-11am
Nia 10-11am
Fit4Two Stroller Bootcamp
Nia 10-11am
10-11am Fit4Two Stroller Fitness 11:15-12:15pm
11am 11:30am 12pm
10-11am
12:30pm
Yoga Fundamentals
9-10:15am
Yoga Fundamentals 10:30-11:45am
Yoga Fundamentals
12:15-1:30pm
1pm 1:30pm 1:30-2:30pm
2pm
1:30-2:30pm BREAK
4:30pm
Children’s Yoga
5pm
4:30-5:30pm
5:30pm 6pm 6:30pm
Hatha Yoga 6-7pm
Tai Chi 6-7pm
Mandarin Conversation Club 7:30-8:45pm
Community Social Fitness 7:30-9pm
Vinyasa Yoga 5-6pm
Hatha Yoga 6-7pm
7pm 7:30pm 8pm 8:30pm
Vinyasa Yoga 8-9pm
Try these classes for free! www.oldbarn.ca
604.827.4469
See the Fall 2011 Program Guide for more details!
The Old Barn Community Centre and the University Neighbourhoods Association held a magical evening at the UBC Botanical Garden on August 16, 2011, in which around 140 adults and children attended. Before entering the Amphitheatre, families also took a quick tour of the Physics Garden, where a Botanical Garden volunteer explained the different types of medicinal plants healing powers and myths. Participants were also given a special “potion” which included a mixture of plants and herbs such as lavender, Chrysanthemums, lemongrass and rosemary. Amongst the beautiful setting of the Garden’s Amphitheatre, Ray Medway, a wizard from the land of Hogwarts (based on the successful Harry Potter movies) entertained and delighted the audience with magic and humour. By bringing in
engagement with audience participation, the younger attendees were able to yell out answers to ‘magical’ questions, and interact with the magicians humour. The adults in the audience were just as entertained, and even participated in some of the tricks. Some of the magic shown included card tricks, items appearing and disappearing, and objects combining and splitting. The UNA and The Old Barn have stated that this show at The Botanical Garden was the first of what will hopefully be an annual event, each to be a different theme. Residents of the UNA Community are able to show their UNA CSC card for free entry into the UBC Botanical Garden at any time, and all that is required is to fill out a form at the garden in order to gain access.
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011
Eating Green at UBC’s newest café
The newest café at UBC will sit inside the new Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) on West Mall. CIRS is designed to be the greenest, most innovative and high-performance building in North America.
The food outlet in the new CIRS building is set to be energy neutral—100% offthe-grid. Which poses some unique challenges for UBC Food Services. By Scott Steedman “Smell that!” says Victoria Wakefield, Purchasing Manager for Student Housing and Hospitality Services (which includes UBC Food Services). “Isn’t that delectable? So much flavour. It’s their chai.” She’s holding open a box of organic, fair trade tea from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea. Food Services began providing this tea in all 17 of its food and catering units in January, and it will be front and centre at the new food outlet set to open in September, in the new Centre for Interactive
Research on Sustainability (CIRS). CIRS has been designed to be the greenest, most innovative and high-performance building in North America, a living laboratory for cutting-edge research and sustainable practices, products, systems and policies. This poses some challenges for the food outlet, which aims to be energy neutral, or as close as possible. For a start, there will be no bottled beverages, so instead they are creating some tempting alternatives, including Italian sodas, fresh-brewed iced teas and infused water. “We’re not even having carton milk!” adds Loriann McGowan, Director of Food Services, who has been leading the CIRS café project in vision, development and design. “We decided early on that we wouldn’t cook on site, as there is no gas supply in the building, and we operate a full production centre only a block away. Entrees and menu components will be prepared at the production centre kitchen
and delivered fresh daily. There is water and electricity, and we will be metering usage, which we don’t do elsewhere. This café will serve as a benchmark for Food Services to measure the amount of electricity and water that a café uses, to help us set standards at our other units.” That includes restricting themselves to a single, centralized cooler with a series of well-insulated doors. And pursuing some creative, non-traditional options, such as investigating the use of large cubes of ice in the iced tea and soda containers, rather than running separate cooling elements for hours on end. The menu items will be dominated by local, seasonal products. “We have a protocol for our purchasing and menu decisions,” explains McGowan. “We will use whatever the UBC Farm has available for purchase, then we will source within 150 miles of campus. After that, we will support Canadian farmers before moving outside of Canada. But that is complex as well —is an Ontario product, for instance, really a better choice than one from Washington State if you are measuring food miles?” Sam Wellman—Manager, Retail Units, and the person charged with the day-today running of the new outlet—is developing the detailed menu options. She expects to offer seasonal menus—spring, summer and fall/winter—with salads, hot items, daily soups and stews and desserts. “We will have traditional weekly specials,” Wellman says, “like pasta, udon noodles or tacos. And we may offer a bread bowl for the soups and stews instead of paper. Either you eat it, and there is no waste at all, or else you put it into the compost.” Guests will be able to customize the salads, though some items available elsewhere will not be on the menu. “There will be kiwi fruits, but no mangoes or coconuts—if we are counting food miles, they’re just not sustainable.”
That said, you can expect to see a lot of Food Services’ signature items, such as cinnamon buns, Ponderosa cake, granola bars, muffins and scones. Plus, a fair trade donut from Ethical Bean Coffee that has already been beta-tested in Place Vanier residence. CIRS is meant to be a place of learning and research, and this philosophy will extend to the food outlet. Food Services will have access to one of the digital displays in the foyer, where they will tell the stories of suppliers like the tea company or a farm in Chilliwack that provides rhubarb. Food Services will also be working with graduate students on projects such as calculating the food miles of menu items, the debate over paper versus china, energy and water consumption and other topics that will help UBC plan future food outlets and improve menu items. There will also be opportunities for community outreach. Food Services will be inviting partners such as local suppliers, the UBC Farm and the University Neighbourhoods Association to give talks and connect with students and other diners. They will also feature weekly products and have recipes from local vendors—some of whose products, such as honey, will be for sale in a retail outlet attached to the café. “Seasonal food is great for that,” says Wakefield. “It connects the community so that they’re closer to their food; where it’s grown, what it looks like, what you can do with it.” So will the food be more expensive than the fare at other UBC outlets? “Stay tuned!” replies McGowan. “Local and organic options do tend to be more expensive to purchase. But there are ways to mitigate that. And part of the educational aspect is encouraging smaller portions, emphasizing high quality, nutritious food, whole grains, that sort of thing. You can still eat a balanced meal that isn’t supersized.” “It’s been a learning process, not just for us but for our suppliers too,” says Wellman. “Even in the tendering process, we’ve been asking everyone, ‘What’s the best, the greenest, the latest and greatest?’” Food Services bought $1 million worth of locally processed or grown produce in 2010, says Wakefield, and will be above that number when they tally up the total for 2011. That buying power allows them to put pressure on suppliers to improve their practices. They have been encouraging coffee roaster Ethical Bean, for instance, to deliver their beans in reusable containers. “And don’t forget, we also have to be fiscally sustainable,” says McGowan. “It’s a great learning lesson for Food Services, with repercussions for our 17 other outlets. With every proposed item, we’ve been asking, what is the return on investment?” “How do you do a food outlet in an energy neutral building?” asks Wakefield. “And be profitable, too? That’s the question we’ve been working on for more than a year now, and we’re just beginning to find some answers. This is just the beginning of the journey. Where we start is nowhere near where we’re going to end.” The new food outlet at the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS), 2260 West Mall, will open to the public on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. Reprinted from UBC campus and community planning newsletter, July issue
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THE CAMPUS RESIDENT AUGUST 23, 2011