Capilano Courier | Vol. 50, Issue 10.

VOLUME 50, ISSUE 10

WINTER BREAK 2017-18

Skrt Skrt pg. 12

FEATURE

#PizzaPretzelGate: Explaining a recent residence controversy

SPORTS

Ashley dela Cruz Yip breaks PACWEST all-time assist record

EDITOR'S DESK

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Carlo Javier capcourier@gmail.com

MATURE STUDENTS LIAISON TO BE ADDED INTO THE CSU

News

MANAGING EDITOR

Justin Scott manager.capcourier@gmail.com

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NEWS EDITOR

Christine Beyleveldt news.capcourier@gmail.com

Campus Life

Tia Kutschera Fox opinions.capcourier@gmail.com FEATURES EDITOR

Helen Aikenhead specialfeatures.capcourier@gmail.com ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

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SOME MOVIES DESERVE THE BIG SCREEN

Opinions

Rachel D'Sa arts.capcourier@gmail.com CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

Greta Kooy campuslife.capcourier@gmail.com

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THE MACHO MINDSET IN KITCHENS GOES BEYOND SEXISM

ONLINE EDITOR

Jessica Lio online.capcourier@gmail.com

Columns

COPY EDITOR

Leah Scheitel copy.capcourier@gmail.com ART DIRECTOR

Rachel Wada artdirector.capcourier@gmail.com

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HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Special Feature

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Cristian Fowlie pm.capcourier@gmail.com COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER

John Tabbernor community.capcourier@gmail.com

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ANOTHER KIND OF COOL

Feature

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Andy Rice andy.capcourier@gmail.com

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COVER ART

Wolfgang Thomo

SO LOKI IS NO LONGER LOW-KEY

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Arts & Culture

Freya Wasteneys, Brett Young, Noah Penner, Natasha Jones CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

Annie Chang, Janice Callangan, Ryan McDiarmid, Karla Monterrosa, Valeriya Kim, Wolfgang Thomo CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

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“ACE” BREAKS PACWEST ASSIST RECORD

Sports

Smiely Khurana

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Capilano Courier Publishing Society.

territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of Musqueam, Squamish, Stó:lō and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

Carlo Javier EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

FEEL LIKE CRAP? TAKE A NAP!

OPINIONS EDITOR

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EVERYDAY I'M HUSTLING

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 10

“My greatest enemy is my inner me,” – Lupe Fiasco

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n basketball, there’s a concept called the ‘Rookie Wall.’ It is a belief that rookies, no matter how well they have acclimated to the professional level, will inevitably hit a seemingly insurmountable wall that will cause them to struggle. It is an understanding that hot starts and that excited and energetic players will always regress back to the mean. Simply put, it is a term used to identify when someone’s impressive production ultimately proves to be unsustainable.

Although the Rookie Wall seems like a sound explanation for periods of frustration and underperformance, its biggest flaw is that this dreaded phase is not exclusive to rookies. Regardless of experience, skill and work rate, everyone can and will struggle. Even the most experienced of individuals will somehow mess up. No one is impervious to a tough week, or two.

This is very much apparent in student life. For most students, November stands as among the most traumatic times within a given semester. Especially in the Lower Mainland, when rainy weather becomes near omnipresent as autumn hits. This is the season when that metaphorical Rookie Wall starts to materialize, looming over the heads of students, standing seemingly indestructible. I know it because I have seen it. I have crashed right into it.

When I was in high school, one of my teachers often warned her students about “June Brain”, a condition that students get when the impending arrival of summer break starts to really become more apparent. It was a phase where students would start to pack it in and give up.

I found that for myself, June Brain was a little more common throughout my life as a university student – and especially more concentrated in November. This is when all the work that had been cast aside finally start to manifest as demonic spawns that just can no longer be swept away. I really had to fight.

As expected, I struggled. I was a fairly

good student, even great on some occasions.

But man, I was a talented class skipper, I mastered schedules and outlines, and timed my appearances and disappearances as well as any professional student could.

Whenever I would come back to class after a missed day or two, or three, I always imagined walking back in the room to OutKast’s “Return of the G”.

When the going got tough, I was very much a firm believer in coming back strong the next day. It worked for the most part, but not everyone has the luxury of even having the choice to come back.

School-induced stress can be overwhelming, and sometimes, regrouping and planning a counterattack is not an option. You just have to stand your ground and take the hits. This is one of the perils of being a university student. Yes, I was at fault for procrastinating and skipping, but let’s be real, school is not easy. When people said time management is a necessary skill to succeed, they were not lying. The only thing they forgot to mention is that skillful time management involved prioritizing the work you really need to do and the class you really need to attend.

Students face a terribly misunderstood and misinterpreted level of expectations.

The belief is that academia is not hard work, and that because you are inside a classroom, then your struggle is not the same as the rest of the world. While this notion does hold some levels of truth, dismissing school work as an illegitimate form of hard work is a dangerous mistake that only devalues the effort and dedication of students.

As we head into a precious winter break, taking some time off from the stressful and unforgiving world of academia should be on top of any students’ priority list.

Expectations for students are incredibly high, and for better or worse, the ones who place the most pressure on students are themselves.

Wise words from a graduate: relax, you deserve it.

NEWS

CSU MEMBERS LOBBY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR BETTER SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR STUDENTS Representatives attend Advocacy Week for the first time as member of CASA Justin Scott

his week, Capilano Students' Union (CSU) Vice President External Noah Berson and Senate Representative Megan Fretz are attending the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA)’s Advocacy Week in Ottawa. Unlike other conferences, Advocacy Week isn’t a collection of workshops, lectures and keynotes, instead it is a week of dialogue between the nation’s student advocates and its most powerful politicians.

Running from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1, the event promises attendees at least four lobby meetings, but aims to let each representative attend five to seven. “The meetings are actually set up so we’re going in with a smaller group of delegates from all different associations and really getting one-on-one time with different political parties,” Fretz explained.

The CSU has sent representatives to Advocacy Week in the past, but this will be the first year their representatives will be attending the event as members of CASA. In the past, CSU attendees weren’t members of the Association and all they could do was observe. This year, however, they will have the ability to vote on issues.

CASA has prepared five requests that they will be addressing throughout the week. They would like to see better support for students with disabilities; a more streamlined process for international students looking to enter co-op programs; fair dealing for students, which will address a current political dialogue taking place in regards to the use of copyright material in academia; a greater emphasis

PURCELL WOODS REDEVELOPMENT PLAN TAKEN TO PUBLIC HEARING Two bylaw amendments needed to proceed with construction of student housing Christine Beyleveldt

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NEWS EDITOR

n order for Woodbridge Northwest Communities to make progress in its plans to build an on-campus residents for Capilano University, the real estate development company will need two bylaw amendments.

The dissolution of the strata for the townhouses at 1923-1959 Purcell Way was approved, and Woodbridge’s application for redevelopment was reviewed in July. In

Kim Rudd (Left) with former CSU Business and Professional Studies Representative Marissa Sire (Right). on Open Education Resources and a greater effort to meet Canada’s obligation to indigenous learners. Berson and Fretz believe all of these requests relate to Capilano University and its students. “I really see it as an opportunity to improve students in British Columbia’s access to education,” said Berson. “We’re going to make sure that those who want to be educated are able to come to university.”

Not just in BC but also across Canada, First Nations students and students with disabilities face financial and educational barriers that prevent them from accessing post-secondary education.

Fretz further explained that while she sees these issues affecting other students, she herself has first-hand experience with

the barriers students face. “I think that there are challenges for every student,” she said. “I’ve been a part-time student working, I’ve been a full-time student, I’ve been at a couple institutions in the province and the issues that they're [students] facing are quite universal.”

This is not the first event of this kind that the CSU has attended this year.

In October, Berson and four other representatives attended the Alliance of BC Students (ABCS)’s Lobby Days in Victoria. Similar in structure, the event, which ran from Oct. 15 to 18, facilitated meetings between student representatives and Provincial MLAs in which the students were allowed direct dialogue with the province’s policy makers. The

September, they held a public information session at CapU, and on Nov. 21 their request for two bylaw changes went to a public hearing at Municipal Hall.

District Council took input from the public on the proposed amendment of two bylaws, the first of which concerned the District of North Vancouver Official Community Plan Bylaw.

The proposed amendment of the official community plan land use designation called for a strip of land, about 1,200 square feet lining Greg Lee Way that is currently forested area, to be re-designated from residential for low density apartments to institutional, where Woodbridge intends to erect a student residence. The second bylaw proposed to amend the district zoning bylaw and rezone the lot from a lowrise residential zone to a comprehensive development zone. Architect Bryce Rositch’s rendition for the new complex shows a diverse mix of units, including townhouses, a six-floor condo and a student residence building on the fringes of the lot, facing the CapU campus.

Currently, the section of Purcell Woods

designated for redevelopment has 90 units.

In early 2014 there was a structural failure at one of the buildings. Resident Henry Brown noted that it had caused heating and buckling in their flooring and cracks in his drywall. Repairs to the entire strata complex would have put each unit on the hook for approximately $100,000 over the following five to 10 years before the cost of asbestos removal was factored in. The response to Woodbridge’s development proposal from members of the public, including members of the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU), President Paul Dangerfield and Purcell Woods residents, was overwhelmingly positive. Several residents voted to sell because they felt the exorbitant repair costs would’ve been financially detrimental. Woodbridge’s Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Johnston, told the council that they intend to provide buyback incentives for the residents who have sold their property, amounting to between $20-30,000 with six months worth of free rent and a further six months worth of discounted rent factored in.

Residents can also choose to put the value

– PHOTO COURTESY OF PATRICK MEEHAN

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MANAGING EDITOR

CSU focused its efforts on addressing CapU’s lack of housing and according to Berson, they had an impact on some of the politicians. “The response we received from MLA’s in Victoria was absolutely incredible. I felt like I was doing the most rewarding work I’ve done so far,” he said.

Berson and Fretz’s trip to Ottawa will likely cost the CSU $3,475, which they admit is substantial. “It is a significant amount,” said Berson, who doesn’t see it as a simple lump cost. “I really like the word investment. It’s not something that we’re getting to go do, we’re investing this money and going to lobby the government on behalf of students.”

Berson has attended numerous events and conferences on behalf of the CSU this year, all of which he see’s as valuable experiences that allow him to more effectively advocate for CapU students. And while the expense of the trips is fairly unprecedented for a single CSU representative, Berson identified the lowering of interest on student loans he lobbied for as one example of how it’s worth it. “The amount of money students will save from the lowered interest rates is going to be multiple times what we’re spending to go and lobby these groups,” he explained.

Finances aside, this is an exciting event for the CSU, especially as a new member of CASA. “The ideal situation is that we get to go sit down in a meeting, and we have a political member that you would expect to be really setting hardball questions and not necessarily for the things that we’re asking for, and them kind of having a moment where they’re like, ‘wow, that’s a good point,’ or, ‘I hadn’t thought of it that way’,” said Fretz. It’s something that Berson believes could quite possibly happen. They experienced two or three moments like the one Fretz described at Lobby Days in Victoria.

of the discounted rent towards buying back property.

However, the density of the lot would more than double, going from 90 units to 184 with the student residence included. James Lewis, a resident of the neighbouring strata, questioned how the flow of traffic would be affected on a narrow road like Purcell Way with a bus turnaround at the end.

Furthermore, the proposed residence will only be able to house 60 students, even though Woodbridge proposed making eight of the 10 house units have lock off units, which can be divided into more than one section and made available to students.

CSU Organizer Patrick Meehan prepared a business analysis with the Alliance of BC Students (ABCS) for the "Where’s The Housing?" campaign, which estimated a minimum of 520 students could actually be housed on CapU property.

District Council will deliberate, taking into account what members of the community said during the hearing, and expects to return with their conclusion on Dec. 11.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 10

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NEWS

CapU RESPONDS TO GROWING LOCAL INTEREST IN BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING kálax-ay Sunshine Coast campus introduces Accounting Assistant program Jessica Lio

apilano University’s kálaxay Sunshine Coast campus is preparing to introduce an Accounting Assistant Certificate program for the first time in the spring.

Applications for the new program are now open, and according to program convenor Lydia Watson, the University is looking to enroll between 15 and 20 students in the first cohort, beginning in 2018.

“We do a lot of work in the community to find out what the educational needs are, and this is something that we’ve heard people asking for,” explained Watson, adding that the demand had been clear for the past 10 months.

The kálax-ay Sunshine Coast campus has enrolled business administration students for the past 20 years. With a number of recent graduates from the program and local business owners expressing interest in learning more about accounting, the University took steps to introduce a program that mirrored the Accounting Assistant curriculum offered at the North Vancouver campus.

Watson also heard from a number of “non-traditional” students who are over the age of 35 and looking to start a new career. Many of them were ready to enroll in a program that would equip them with the skills they need to look for new work opportunities in less than two years.

After consulting with community members and current students, the campus developed a delivery model

– PHOTO COURTESY OF TAE HOON KIM

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ONLINE EDITOR

Students participate in workshop at Capilano University's kálax-ay Sunshine Coast campus that would allow students to balance course work with their jobs and family responsibilities. “What we heard loud and clear was ‘we want this to be evenings and delivered on a part-time format,’ so we worked with that,” said Watson.

Students will attend classes two evenings per week for a total of six hours in the classroom, and some of the course material will be delivered online. This program structure, which features three courses each term, also allows student to apply and qualify for financial aid.

The new program will equip students with the business writing and interpersonal communication skills to thrive in business environments. It will also teach practical knowledge of business computer applications and popular software such as Quickbooks and Sage 50, which allow users to keep basic accounting records, send invoices

and track a company’s cash flow. Upon completion, students will be able to apply for entry-level accounting and bookkeeping positions.

The Sunshine Coast is seeing a trend of burgeoning interest in entrepreneurship, so this program comes at a suitable time for locals who are ready to take the necessary steps toward developing the knowledge that will allow them to make informed business decisions.

Watson also expressed that applicants are not required to have prior business or accounting experience. “As long as [applicants] have graduated from high school and attended one of our information sessions, those are the only requirements for the program,” she said.

In total, the program spans four consecutive semesters and features a two-week work practicum at the end, preparing students to enter their chosen

fields. “We’ve had some interest from the Sunshine Coast Regional District and the District of Sechelt, and we hope to also connect with small businesses,” Watson added. Given the region’s strong tourism industry, she believes both local businesses and students will benefit from practicum placements, which the first crop of students entering the program will complete in Summer 2019.

With the University in the midst of conducting an environmental scan to determine educational priorities for the kálax-ay Sunshine Coast campus, the successful introduction of the Accounting Assistant program could mark a new direction of growth for the changing community. Although the new program is not yet underway, Watson is optimistic that students will go on to work in their chosen industries, bolstering the local economy on the Sunshine Coast.

MATURE STUDENTS LIAISON TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE CSU Governance will present bylaw changes at semiannual general meeting to introduce new position

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Christine Beyleveldt NEWS EDITOR

ature Capilano University students could soon gain representation. On Nov. 17, the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU)’s board of directors voted to allow their governance committee to draft bylaw changes to incorporate a mature students liaison. Currently, women, queer, First Nations, international and students of colour are represented by liaisons, who organize events for their collectives and advocate on their behalf.

“We’d most likely be seeing the formation of a Mature Students Collective,” said Owen Sigurdsson, vice president equity and sustainability. The liaison would be responsible for overseeing their cohort, regularly meeting with students in that cohort, advocating for them and organizing events. Preliminary

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THE CAPILANO COURIER

discussions took place on the Social Justice Committee and the proposition of incorporating a new liaison position was well received, with a few concerns about how it would affect the structure of the committee. Sigurdsson as well as the liaisons are mandated to sit on the social justice committee, which at nine members is currently bigger than any other CSU committee.

CapU recently lowered the minimum age a student must be to qualify as a mature student from 20 to 19 years old, and also removed the requirement that mature students be out of high school or post-secondary for at least two years.

In order to qualify as a mature student at registration, a student needs to be at least 19 years old and lack the minimum admission requirements to the program they wish to study.

The CSU, however, recommended their mature students liaison be of any age, as long as they consider themself a mature student. Sigurdsson explained they made this suggestion to the governance committee because not all students who have mature status will consider themselves mature students.

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 10

“Essentially someone who’s not fresh out of high school,” he said of the CSU’s ideal candidate, “Someone who’s been around for a little while and at least experienced the world for a little while or done other things to sort of feel that they can look at it from a more mature perspective.”

Elizabeth Meek, a Communications student in her 40s, believes that having a liaison to help older students navigate post-secondary would be beneficial. Even though she didn’t enroll at CapU as a mature student, she knows the feeling of returning to school after spending years away. At the time she wasn’t aware that she could apply as a mature student and by the time she found out she had already spent one semester back at school and no longer qualified. The difference between applying as a mature student and as a regular student, she said, was that as a mature student, the University wouldn’t have looked at her high school transcript and would have forgiven any prior low grades. “I know for me personally going back [to school] meant I had [kind of] failed at adulting and now was going to try and get it right,” she said.

The CSU’s Board of Directors

recommended a mandate for the liaison to advocate for and support students who have children, who often have a hard time finding affordable daycare options or babysitters to watch their children while they attend class. Sigurdsson explained that it was not feasible to incorporate two new liaisons, but both demographics – mature students and students with children – could be represented by one liaison. “We decided that we would like both of those constituents to be represented within that group and as such, because that will be within the definition, we hope that it would encourage student parents to run,” he said. “Obviously not everyone who identifies as a mature student is a student parent, but I also think that heavier levels of maturity do come along with being a parent.”

The Governance committee will draft the necessary bylaw changes to incorporate a new liaison. At this point in time they hope to present these chances at the CSU’s semi-annual general meeting in the spring.

CAMPUS LIFE

WHO YOU: CHARLES CAMPBELL A man of truth Justin Scott MANAGING EDITOR

–ANNIE CHANG

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FEEL LIKE CRAP? TAKE A NAP! A public service announcement for sleep-deprived students Freya Wasteneys

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CONTRIBUTOR

t this time of year, most students are burnt out, tired and counting down the days until the end of the semester. Those with long commutes and big breaks between classes often find themselves with an awkward amount of time to fill, but no energy to fill it.

If you don’t wander off the beaten track at Capilano University, you may feel an overwhelming sense of despair at the lack of napping spots. Before you resort to curling up in a ball on the floor, make sure you check out some of the hidden nooks around campus.

Sure, studying would probably be the most ideal way to use that time, but as a general rule, most people find it difficult to write essays and read textbooks when they can’t keep their eyes open.

While some people who value constant productivity view napping as a weakness, you will be happy to hear that new research proves otherwise. In fact, New Zealand’s Occupational and Environmental Health Research Center shows that being sleep deprived is actually similar to being drunk. Yes, that’s right, drunk. The study was focused on the effects of sleeplessness and driving performance, and showed that sleep exhaustion slows reaction time, decreases awareness, impairs judgment and increases your risk of a car crash. Tell-tale symptoms of sleep deprivation include difficulty focusing, wandering or disconnected thoughts, restlessness, irritability and trouble remembering simple details. Oh, and you’ll probably have extreme difficulty writing that essay too.

Next time you find yourself in a perpetual state of yawning, don’t feel guilty. Instead, do yourself a favour and have a little power-nap. According to Sara Mednick, PhD, a sleep expert at the University of California, just 15 to 20 minutes of snoozing can help give you a boost of alertness and improve your motor functions. If you’re embarrassed to be seen in public in your fleece onesie, or if you drool in your sleep, fear not – sleeping is proven to make you instantly more attractive, that’s why they call

it “beauty sleep” (not entirely factual, but probable).

To assist you in your quest, several of CapU’s resident napping connoisseurs have shared their favourite spots; some are obvious, while others more obscure.

The Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) lounge in the Maple building is probably the most obvious spot – it often has spare couches, and is rarely completely full.

With its pastel colours, it is reminiscent of a nursery and may help you regress back to a childhood state (you know, when it was still acceptable to nap all the time).

Less obvious is the Treehouse. As CapU’s eco-design project, it provides a cool, zen-like alcove and is often unused. Just make sure it hasn’t been booked, and it’s yours to snooze in.

For self-identified women, there is the under-utilized Women’s Center in LB 137. It provides a quiet safe space, which is ideal for relaxing and studying, and all you need is your student card. Another spot you may not have considered is the office of Sue Dritmanis from the Communications Department. If you’re extra nice to her, and are up to the challenge of braving five flights of stairs (her office is located on the fifth floor of the Fir building), she claims she has a blanket and pillow in her office. Remember, it pays off to have friends in (literally) high places.

Wary of official spaces? There is also a quiet hallway at the top of the stairs just inside the library entrance with two couches. While there can be a rush of students when classes start and finish, it is usually a relatively silent hallway. Other coveted locations? Anywhere with warm air vents.

So, to the countless sleepless students who roam the campus like zombies, before you down another cup of coffee (which, according to Mednick, actually decreases memory function), make sure you utilize one of CapU’s unofficial siesta-spots. And if none of these locations appeal to you, then it’s time for you to do some sleuthing, and get to know the campus a little better. Your cognitive functioning depends upon it.

lthough Charles Campbell has a storied and influential past in Canadian media, he now finds himself splitting his time between writing and editing, as well as teaching the next generation of journalists and communicatons professionals at Capilano University. Even though Campbell may not have a degree in communications, his experiences in the industry over the span of his career have left him possibly overqualified to teach journalism and writing classes.

For Campbell, journalism wasn’t always the plan.

He can still remember the day when he was walking to a philosophy class at Langara College and a pamphlet caught his eye. “I picked up a pamphlet for the journalism program there and they described the personality traits of a journalist and I thought, ‘Oh! A dilettante, I can do this,” he recalled.

From there, Campbell made his way to UBC for their creative writing program, where one of his professors encouraged him to join the Ubyssey, the school’s student newspaper. “As soon as I walked in there I knew that, these were my… these were my kin.”

Since then the communications professor has worked on staff at the Vancouver Sun on multiple occasions, The Canadian Press, The Georgia Straight, The Tyee and has freelanced for a number of publications and organizations, as well as completing personal projects.

Campbell also has a history of post-secondary instruction, having taught at both SFU and UVic. However, there’s a reason he has been found in the classrooms of CapU and not atop Burnaby Mountain or on Vancouver Island for the past five years. “I like the culture of Capilano,” he explained. “I think once you get over about 30 students, you can’t relate to students individually in a way that I think is essential to being a helpful instructor.”

And in Campbell’s eyes, there’s maybe never been a more important time to take one of the classes he teaches. CMNS 235: Understanding News, for example, emphasizes a skill Campbell believes many of today’s students are lacking and need more than ever before. “I think that there’s not enough education in media literacy,” he said, “There are a lot of journalism schools training people for jobs that no longer exist, but there’s not a lot of education for people who are users of media that help them better understand what it is that the media does and on what terms, and when they should be suspicious, when are you being lied to.”

Writing is another emphasis of Campbell’s classes.

“Clear writing is married to clear thinking,” he said.

Campbell judges his success as a professor by the improvement he sees in his students. He believes that improving as a writer transcends one’s ability to get good marks on essays, and leads to a stronger mental analysis of one’s thought process and therefor values and beliefs.

Whether it’s as a writer or an instructor, it’s clear that there’s one thing Campbell values above all else – the truth. “I just want people to engage with the world and understand that decisions are being made on their behalf all the time, and if they don’t put their hand up in a way that connects them to the broader publication, they won’t have the opportunity to be a part of those decisions.”

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 10

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OPINIONS

FAST FASHION IS SEW SHADY Zara employees attempt to reach out to the world through hidden tags n the US, over 10.5 million tons of clothes are found in landfills every year. Most of that clothing is cheaply priced, cheaply made and not meant to last so customers will continue to buy. As for the clothes themselves, we try not to think about where they were made and in what conditions. We all know and often ignore that small, fine print tag on the inside of our clothes that reads “Made in Bangladesh”. We know this means we’re partially contributing to the disgusting truth behind fast fashions and where they come from.

According to a Nov. 3 Business of Fashion article, Zara shoppers in Istanbul discovered tags found in garment pockets that read, “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it.”

A Fast Company article on the same topic explains that Bravo Tekstil, the Turkish manufacturer company these Zara employees worked at closed its doors in 2016 after the fraudulent disappearance of the factory owner. The workers had not been paid for at least three months, nor did they receive severance allowances. The workers are now trying to spread the word and gain support for their campaign for fair wages and improved labour conditions.

This is not the first time Zara has been accused of abysmal working conditions. The Spanish fashion giant has previously been sued for the working conditions and slave and child labour of young Syrian refugees.

As customers, it’s always alarming to hear such disturbing stories about brands we love. Yet we continue to shop at stores like Zara, H&M and Forever21. Where

–JANICE CALLANGAN

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Brett Young CONTRIBUTOR

we choose to spend our money is a show of support, no matter how unconscious.

But this doesn’t make customers solely accountable. Zara is more than profitable enough to afford proper factories with fair working environments, and frankly, if you can’t afford to pay employees and keep them safe you shouldn’t be in business.

It’s an uncomfortable situation exacerbated by the declining economy. Not everyone can afford high quality fashions from fair trade areas, although most people would want to. Zara capitalized on this a while back by launching a “sustainable” collection made of organic materials to give the appearance of lowering their environmental impact to cater to concerned patrons. However, this campaign was a greenwashing tactic— their strategies for

business remained the same. They may talk the talk but Zara is far from walking the ethical walk.

Customers who want to make a statement could boycott fast fashion altogether, but in this day and age it’s impractical at best yet financially and pragmatically impossible at worst for everyone to do. A more reasonable solution would be to shop second-hand, buying affordable clothing and not adding to the clothing landfills. But again, a billion dollar company is far more responsible for ensuring proper working conditions for employees than customers will ever be.

The company isn’t always directly at fault. Sometimes the manufacturers further outsource their work to other factories who have poorer conditions

without the clothing company’s knowledge.

But the company is directly responsible for more stringent policies and follow-ups to stop and prevent this from happening.

This fast fashion vicious cycle may never completely end, but it can improve. It should start with clothing companies being held accountable, improving the working conditions of their manufacturers and ensuring they actually get paid for the work they do.

Consumers can do their part by staying aware. If you’re conscious of where your clothes are coming from, you’ll be more likely to question your urge to buy those $5 tee shirts.

SOME MOVIES DESERVE THE BIG SCREEN The CSU’s North of 49 series isn’t doing homegrown talent justice Noah Penner

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CONTRIBUTOR

his fall, as part of an effort to foster unity between the Bosa Centre and the rest of campus, the Capilano Students' Union (CSU) has teamed up with Telefilm Canada to present the North of 49 series of film screenings. The name is new, but the idea isn’t – similar screenings were held in previous years.

Unlike those screenings, which took place in the Bosa Centre theatre, this new series is showing at the Members Centre in the Library Building. According to a CSU Board Meeting Report from Oct. 20, the change was “to get students to get engaged with these movies and the artists, the directors, etc., and because it was in Bosa, not only the Bosa students

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THE CAPILANO COURIER

felt isolated, they were the only ones watching it, but everyone else at school didn’t get as much access. In other words, the reason for the change in venues is in order to attract a larger student audience.”

Fair enough, as the Members Centre is pretty much as central on campus as you can get. The tradeoff, though, is a tiny and poorly lit screen with cheap speakers that are impossible to hear over the rush of lunch hour. A larger audience means nothing if no one is paying attention.

Sure, there are a lot of students who casually drop in, some of whom sit down and stay for a while, but not all actually watching the movie.

Now, it’s great fun to pick a random movie off Netflix and give it a watch with your friends. These aren’t those kinds of movies. These are local independent films that probably won’t turn a profit, and they almost certainly won’t be picked up for a wide release. They’re made by filmmakers who fought hard to make

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their dream project happen and it’s kind of underselling their work to have them screened like this. They deserve a better presentation. In a relaxed public place like the Member’s Lounge, it’s all too natural that people talk to their friends and check their phones.

Nobody is left feeling any sense of attachment, or any sense of joy that local stories from a variety of voices are finally getting the attention they deserve. Nobody will applaud and cheer when the credits roll and their names, and their friends and instructors names appear. Although the Bosa Centre isn’t centrally located on campus, the audience will surely experience the film with their full attention. The cinema was invented for a reason. Sure, most people down the line will probably watch the movie on their smartphones with cheap ear buds, but this should be the place that treats someone’s personal project with all the dignity and respect they never thought they’d get. If it takes more advertising

and some messing around with screening times, so be it.

It would be easy to dismiss all of this as artistic snobbery. After all, film students haven’t traditionally done the best of job of dispelling that cliché. While it’s not the goal of the CSU to disrespect anyone’s effort, or undercut anyone’s accomplishments, that’s how this change is feeling.

In a local industry dominated by American stories reflecting American cultural values, it’s important to pay attention to those here at home who dare to dream and actually do pull off making a Canadian movie through thousands of hours of dedication. Isn’t it worth giving them two hours of your time, and a round of applause when the show’s over?

Because unlike your average Hollywood blockbuster director, these people might be in the same room, seated close by, nervously listening for your feedback.

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@CAPILANOCOURIER

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NOT THE WAY TO GO

O

Laura Melczer CONTRIBUTOR

n Nov. 3, Donald Trump vanished from Twitter for 11 minutes.

Unfortunately, it was not because he had seen the light and decided to change the way he utilizes the popular social media platform, it was because a Twitter employee decided to take down the account on his last day of work.

Although many deemed the action to be one of heroism, the employee’s decision to deactivate the president’s muchmaligned account is an inappropriate use of power and an ineffective way of addressing Trump’s head-scratching use of social media.

Trump’s use of Twitter throughout his presidency has sparked considerable controversy. Criticism has been directed at the content of his account, which The Verge described as “insults, boasts, odd syntax, or misinformation about terrorism.” Some of his tweets have also blurred the lines with calls to violence that goes against Twitter’s rules.

While the way the president uses Twitter is questionable at best, and irresponsible and reckless at worst, it does not mean the Twitter employee had the right to deactivate his account. Even on their last day, the employee’s decision to

play God crossed a workplace boundary.

There are certain times when bringing one’s personal politics into the workplace is acceptable and encouraged – like in a respectful discussion during lunch – but utilizing a seemingly omnipotent ability to eliminate the very existence of an account is not only an abusive use of power, it is also an ineffective way of addressing Trump’s social media use.

This is not to advocate for the way in which Trump uses Twitter. His account is made up mostly of disrespectful remarks and official announcements coming from the Oval Office. His use of Twitter borders on belittling and he routinely uses the platform to make petty and unnecessary comments on seemingly minute issues that have very little relevance to his presidential responsibilities. Yet the employee’s decision to silence Trump’s account only succeeded in acquiring 11 minutes of internet notoriety. Trump was back to tweeting the same mind-numbing content that he always does, just minutes after Twitter reinstated his account.

More dangerously, the actions of the employee could lead to a domino effect that can compromise Twitter’s integrity.

If a Twitter employee has the power to shut down the president’s account, imagine what the social media giant

–RYAN MCDIARMID

Addressing the president’s questionable use of social media will have to come through professional means

can do to other vocal users. Regardless of whether a user leans right or left, if a Twitter moderator who happens to disagree with them has the power to remove their voice, then a dangerous precedent is being set.

Yes, Trump’s tweets are almost always nonsensical, and often border on the vile and vitriolic spread of fake news, but reprimanding him should come from the

hands of the powers that be. If Trump is routinely violating the social media platform’s rules, then action must come from the top, not from some employee. If anyone within Twitter’s operational team can silence the President of the United States of America, then popular social media platforms are a lot more powerful and dangerous than imagined.

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COLUMNS

THE DOUBLE-EDGED KNIFE

Aki Guomundsdóttir COLUMNIST

I

t's quite hard to refute the oftenheard claim that kitchens are pretty sexist work environments. But I've worked for enough female head chefs to realize that old-fashioned gender discrimination is just one ugly offshoot of a multi-headed beast. What do you call it when a male head chef is abusive towards male subordinates, or a female head chef is abusive towards her female subordinates? What do you call a pervasive discrimination towards vegetarian and vegan cooks in meat-heavy kitchens, or more widely, discrimination based on lifestyle choices?

What about the unspoken rule not to hire short and overweight people because kitchens are narrow and vertical storage goes pretty high? Unfortunately, I don't think there's a catchall term that we can start picketing against. But I fear the root of these problems is a delusion that must be killed.

Admitting human emotions such as exhaustion, frustration, doubt, hunger, thirst, or longing for a vacation should not be tantamount to career stagnation or suicide, but in professional kitchens, they are. There is nothing inherently exclusive to kitchens that make it impossible to apply a regular 40-hour work week to all staff, or to treat people with respect, or to allow meal breaks, sick days, vacations.

The only thing exclusive to kitchens is the delusion that your life is simply destined to be way, way harder than everyone else's. Because you are tough.

Until this past summer, I had a senior non-management position at a very busy, popular restaurant. The head chef was a truly tragic case: a textbook example of an abusive alcoholic with no innate or acquired leadership skills, very poor mental and physical health and very little to show in terms of culinary skills, talent, or business and management acumen. Unable to earn respect, she resorted to the destructive method of constantly demanding it: a daily, hourly, non-stop aggressive nagging and hopeless scapegoating of staff for her faults in maintaining a painfully inefficient workflow. A guarantee to drive staff away, which happened so frequently that the owners' failure to notice the problem and act on it was terrifying to me.

A few of my co-workers believed she only behaved like that because that is how she was treated her entire professional life. Talked down to, harassed, ridiculed, told that a woman doesn't belong in the kitchen. Of course, women belong in the kitchen if they wish to belong, and like any other job, they deserve equal opportunities to succeed based on merit.

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But she had gotten a head chef position for reasons other than merit: maybe sheer perseverance, luck, or shortage of options. That much was clear to everyone.

I wasn't willing to accept either that any past abuse she might have suffered should serve as a justification for her behaviour.

So, I felt compelled to be vocal to everyone that, irrespective of her gender, she was by far the worst head chef I'd ever worked for. I was as objective as I could be, fearing that management and front of house staff may mistake my sharp criticisms as sexism, and might belittle the cooks' unanimous complaints.

It's a kitchen, after all. Abuse is the norm, we should all bend over and just accept it.

Most of the staff was on board, and I decided to stand up to every single instance of her bullshit. I didn't fear getting fired, and I didn't want her fired.

I wanted her to acknowledge her need to change and seek medical attention: stop fucking up the orders, stop tightening the schedule, stop blaming new cooks for how poorly you trained them, stop showing up late every morning with alcohol on your breath... baby steps.

If I needed time off, say, for nonemergency reasons such as going on a honeymoon, or spending time with my ageing parents who I see every four or so years, I'd be either ridiculed and belittled or be expected to “repay the favour later on.” Each time, I explained why I was claiming time off, rather than requesting it and awaiting approval. It drove her crazy. Obviously, to those deep in the selfdestructive toughness mindset, I should live my life in their footsteps: alone, miserable, burnt out, malnourished, aggressive, constantly drugged and with nothing but gin and Netflix to soothe my sorrows at the end of the night. I'd get up in the morning, consume enough caffeine, sugar and cocaine to wake up Daenarys' dragon back from the dead, and get on with the downward spiral to hell, bringing along whomever I can sweep up along the way. Because I am tough, right?

I tried for months, my horns always out, ready for battle and no results came from it. It started to affect my personal health, so for the first time in my career, I walked out of a job without notice and I had to draw a line in the sand: I will not any more, under any circumstance, adapt to or connive with abusive behaviour at work. Nor I will put that much effort into someone else's massive health issue that only the best doctors can attempt to cure.

You see, for a while, I actively looked for work for female head chefs because I was certain they'd be less overbearing than most male head chefs with their pride and arrogance and their heads all the way up their asses. If you have heard rumours that most female head chefs are pretty “butch”, I'd counter that though that seems to be generally true,

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–KARLA MONTERROSA

The macho mindset in kitchens goes beyond sexism

"Admitting human emotions such as exhaustion, frustration, doubt, hunger, thirst, or longing for a vacation should not be tantamount to career stagnation or suicide, but in professional kitchens, they are." that “butchness” is probably more of a workplace personality, a Darwinian adaptive trait to a macho environment, rather than a previously held trait that they brought into their professional lives.

This happens to pretty much everyone: however meek your personality may have been before you entered a professional kitchen, soon you start inserting swear words in every sentence, sometimes racial slurs become accepted by all as harmless quips, and a general “bro” attitude comes over you. At times you look in the mirror surprised that you're not a wearing a baseball cap and drinking 12-packs of warm Budweiser out of the back of your rusty pickup truck. Head chefs with decades in the business usually behave like full-blown grab-'em-by-the-pussy rednecks, and if the industry suffers from the stigma of widespread sexism, they're hugely at fault, because their raunchy

talk and put-on macho “charisma” has made kitchens basically inhospitable to women, who are still in the minority.

But as I've tried to point out, it's worse than only sexism. All types of discrimination are facilitated when your job demands you to appear tough at all times and not show fear, concern, or anger at co-workers or people in charge.

Hard work does not need to be – should not be – self-destructive. For as the long as this culture of self-harm for the sake of hollow “toughness” continues, you cannot hope the abuse issue in kitchens to go away. These issues – sexism, substance abuse, mental illness – all go together because they are a forcible denial of our natural human tendencies and vulnerabilities.

We are not tough. We are just human.

That's the slogan kitchens really need.

@CAPILANOCOURIER

YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?!

Namaste home next time

Andy Rice ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

I

’ve never been much for peace and tranquility. Silence, yes. Naps, yes.

Mindfulness and meditation, not so much.

I downloaded Headspace a few months ago, that trendy new meditation app where the British guy whispers a bunch of instructions into your ear for 10 minutes every day. That lasted for all of a week, until I started to become so acutely aware of my own leg hair that I had to stop.

Seriously, it felt as though every follicle from my waist down was flapping in some imaginary breeze like a bunch of drunken sports fans trying to do the wave. Not a good scene.

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So, when it came time for my final column of the semester – or maybe ever, (your move, Courier editors…) I decided to head to one of Vancouver’s 28,000 yoga studios to see how uncomfortable I could make myself within the confines of an hour.

That began almost immediately.

I entered a dimly lit room with fluffy ceilings and bamboo walls, the faint scent of essential oils and feet lingering in the air. I was clutching the yoga mat my girlfriend bought me for Christmas last year, still tightly cocooned in its original plastic shrink-wrap. I also happened to be wearing the Lululemon shirt my girlfriend bought me for Christmas the year before that, looking rather tightly cocooned in my own right.

After signing a waiver at the counter and taking my shoes and socks off (remember, I’d come straight here from the pedicure covered in last week’s column) I headed downstairs to the changing rooms to store some belongings before class began.

I entered the men’s lounge just in time to find a bald 40-something in the tightest yoga pants I’ve ever seen, leg tucked effortlessly behind his head,

enthusiastically misting his groin region with what smelled like a carefully selected essential oil blend.

I nodded, shimmied past him, and put my belongings into a locker. As I took the shrink wrap off my yoga mat and tossed it into the waste basket, I heard a disapproving sigh.

“Heyyyy, aren’t you going to recycle that?” asked this shiny human pretzel.

“Plastic is killing us all, maaaan.”

I gave him a silent glare that said “Shut it, lavender nuts. Nobody likes you” and left the room.

“Namaste,” he shrugged, and went back to his work.

Class was still a few minutes from starting so I went upstairs to the “Sky Room” to set up my meditation area. As I pulled open the door I was overcome by a thick cloud of heat and humidity.

There were six or seven people already in the room, completely silent in their shavasana pose (which I learned later is just yoga speak for “lying there like a dead person”) and I tiptoed over to a faraway corner to unfurl my new mat.

As I peeled the first few inches off the roll, I realized this was not going to be a subtle exercise. New foam coupled

with blistering heat made for a squeaky, sticky cacophony that I’m pretty sure was audible from across the street.

Even with my eyes focused on the task at hand, I felt more than a few stares adding to the already-climbing temperature of the room.

Finally, after I’d gotten my mat rolled out into a passable flatness, I sat down to attempt my own shavasana. For 10 minutes, I laid motionless with my freshly shellacked toenails glistening under the light of an Ikea paper lantern, wondering if it they’d make everyone hate me more or less.

Finally, the instructor arrived and introduced herself, explaining that this was a yin class, which would move slow and easy with a series of long, deep holds to relax the muscles and rejuvenate the joints. The first pose involved laying flat with a piece of foam tucked under my hips.

I awoke 55 minutes later to find her ushering me out of the room so that they could start the next class.

I love yoga. Yoga’s the best!

leave the shelf. For that reason, Orwell determined the lending library was where people’s real tastes were revealed. He said it was easy to sell Dickens because he was one of those authors people were always meaning to read, but never did.

It looked pretty on a bookshelf and as long as it was in their possession, there remained the chance they might one day read it. In contrast, when someone borrows a book, they have a limited time to go through it, so they pick something they know they’ll read.

Many of us, when we’re feeling particularly reflective, will admit that we’re not doing everything we can to become the person we’d like to be. We know when we get home from work or

class we should pick up that book that’s been lying on the coffee table for months, or put on those running shoes that are still in their box. Yet, we end up watching the latest TV show on Netflix instead. We understand exactly what Orwell meant.

The problem occurs when we talk about subjects like we’re the well-educated authority we wish we were instead of the uneducated student we are. We are so damn ignorant, even on subjects we’re passionate about. There’s no other way to change that than to read, write, listen and ask questions. We’re all on the wrong end of an argument from time to time, what defines us is our ability to admit our ignorance and change our position.

In an earlier column, I wrote that

society needs to argue instead of talk.

On reflection, I don’t believe that’s entirely the right prescription. A debate implies that one side wins. This leads to debating styles and the idea of getting at the truth is quickly tossed aside in the name of victory. The idea that one side is always unequivocally right and the other irreparably wrong is part of the issue.

Instead we should make a deliberate effort to replace brazen certainty with a desire for truth. Have your opinions and argue the best you can in defence of them, but don’t talk with people you disagree with, so you can win and prove your intellect. Do it to learn.

DIVIDED WE STAND Understanding Our Ignorance

Gabriel Scorgie COLUMNIST

–VALERIYA KIM

I

f Socrates was correct and true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing, then it’s no wonder university students are so opinionated. It’s a trap that myself and many people I knew fell into during our first years of university. Having had our first taste of knowledge we thought we’d already drank the bar dry, not realizing we hadn’t even had a proper sip. As Donald Rumsfeld would’ve said, we didn’t know what we didn’t know.

When the late journalist, Christopher Hitchens was asked if he’d ever encountered an argument in a debate that he didn’t have an answer for, his reply was no. Having spent much of his professional life reading, writing and talking about religion, he was educated enough on the subject that there wasn’t an opposing argument he hadn’t heard before. Hitchens only applied this to religion however, admitting that for almost every other subject there were questions he wouldn’t begin to know the answer to. His advice was that, “If there’s something where there is doubt, don’t claim you’re certain. It’s amazing how relaxing it is to not pretend to know more than you do.”

In 1936, George Orwell spent his days working in a second-hand bookstore.

During his time there, he noticed that while the classic English writers such as, Dickens, Thackery and Austen were always quick to sell, if he put them in the lending library, they would never

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FEATURES

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With its first semester in the books, CapU Residence looks to build off its initial struggles and continue building a community

BY CARLO JAVIER & GRETA KOOY PHOTOS BY SMIELY KHURANA

W

hen Capilano University announced its first ever student residence early this past summer, the only thing more surprising than the news itself was that “CapU Residence”, located off-campus on 2420 Dollarton Highway, would be ready to welcome students by fall.

With its inaugural semester now complete, it seems like that quick threemonth turnaround from announcement to launch was more than just an impressive and difficult feat – it was also foreshadowing of how CapU Residence might struggle and of its prosperity.

Though the establishment of student housing for CapU was a success in itself, there were bound to be growing pains that would come with its launch. For Chad Johnstone, student affairs officer, some of those shortcomings can be chalked up as inevitable aspects of a trial run. And in the grand scheme of things, CapU Residence has admirably addressed one of the chief concerns of CapU students – community.

“I think we have a unique opportunity to sort of create something from scratch,” said Johnstone, “And the students have been a huge, huge part of that. They’re the backbone of the community here.”

O

ne of the biggest challenges with CapU Residence was established early.

Johnstone alongside Residence Life Facilitator, Bailey Kew, and the rest of the Residence Life team had limited time to prepare the residence for its fall semester launch, thus delaying some important elements, which were intended to be initiated early on. “I think this term has been obviously one of building,” Johnstone said. “We had three months to get everything ready in the summer, so there are obviously some projects that have trickled in this term.”

These projects include improvements to key social spaces such as lounges and the dining hall. New seating was recently introduced, and more furniture is slated to arrive this December, but one of the biggest delays has been the installation of a 50inch Smart TV in each of the lounges.

Through his own independent operation, Andrew Willis uncovered some residential shortcomings that students have complained about. Late in October, the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) Vice President Academic spent some time on site to survey and speak with the students living on residence. “They’re a little bit disappointed that they’re coming

in and the lounges don’t have very warm, happy, friendly, comfortable furniture,” he said. Apart from an already established community feel, Willis is concerned that the students’ living environment doesn’t translate the same way. “They’re kind of dissatisfied that they don’t have games to play with them – there’s no board games.

They don’t have ways to really personalize it and make it a home.”

Although Willis did learn of issues he deemed to be concerning, one of his more telling findings was about his own work. Willis admitted to having been disappointed about the lack of effort and work he has been doing for the students at CapU Residence. “I was disappointed on how I did,” he said. “I’m a very critical person, I’m not afraid to work. I’m not afraid to go the extreme, so I was just really frustrated – I just feel like we need to listen to students more.”

In conversation with many students, Willis felt that the CSU members, especially himself, need to be doing more in terms of reflecting the needs and wants of the students living in residence. He found that students were actively looking for more events, as well as ways to be engaged and entertained in the premises of CapU Residence.

One of the ways Willis intends to improve CSU-presence on Dollarton is through the Residence Relationship Committee, a branch of the CSU that is slated to be properly launched this January. The Committee will include four CSU members, including Willis who intends to run for chair, as well as three student residents. On top of the committee, Willis has earmarked the remaining $10,108 from the CSU’s residence budget to be put towards improving amenities, particularly ones that would enhance student experience within residence. “We need to get them projectors, we need to get them game stations, Xbox, PlayStation and board games,” he said, “We have to support them and create events for them.”

Moving forward, Willis is aiming to better integrate CSU projects for the residence, something he hopes will foster a better and more engaging relationship between the residents and the student executives. He is not only planning a more concrete schedule of events next semester, but also the increased presence of CSU board members on site. Hoping to be as immersive as possible, Willis has come up with a radical plan that could help bolster the CSU’s presence at CapU Residence.

/CAPILANOCOURIER

“I want to have a sleepover down at that residence,” he said. “I want to get our board members the hell out of our offices and in with those students, so we’re going to do a sleepover if I can coordinate that.”

As for amenities, Willis is focusing on ways for students to better personalize their experience. He’s planning on organizing a book drive to fill the shelves in the study areas and is adamant on improving the lounges. “I want to make sure that we purchase and get some games, so we can make sure that the area above the cafeteria is being utilized.”

T

hat area being one of the most recent developments at CapU Residence – opening study lounges in the mezzanine area above the dining hall. Complete with a private study room, the mezzanine space not only provides students with a quiet sanctuary for independent work, but it also unlocks a key new caveat of the facility. “The dining hall building, though the food services close at 7:30 p.m., is actually open until midnight now,” said Johnstone. “Students can continue to sit, study and hang out – there’s a screen and projector in there and we run events in there.”

Despite the fact the dining hall area is now available to students from 7 a.m. to midnight, questions about convenience remain when it comes to meals. The cafeteria offers three main meal periods: breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. On weekends, food service follows a slightly altered schedule, opening at 10 a.m. and offering brunch until 2:30 p.m. with dinner still offered during its regular hours. Although the cafeteria’s morning and lunch service seem to fit well with student schedules, the 7:30 p.m. closing time does not help students with classes that extend past 9 p.m. The issue, which Johnstone said has been brought up several times, is particularly pressing with CapU Residence, as Johnstone estimated that about a third of their population comes from the night class-heavy fine arts programs, namely Motion Picture Arts (MOPA).

Although concerns regarding the service hours have been brought up, Johnstone said that students have generally been able to get back to the residence in time for dinner service. If that’s not the case, then students are also able to use a $500 dining card on campus that was implemented as part of their $2,130 meal plan. “We knew that because of the location of the residence, students wouldn’t necessarily be able to eat all their meals in the dining hall here, so we included a $500 dining card in that so that students could eat on campus,” Johnstone said.

D

ue to the residence cafeteria’s “All You Care to Eat” system, students are forbidden from taking food out of the dining hall. This rule is not designed to keep students from accessing food, but rather works to prevent unnecessary food waste and ultimately keeps the price point for the meal plan down. “There’s other advantages to it as well,” said Johnstone.

“The dining hall tends to be a pretty social space. That’s where students from all of our buildings come together when they have meals, so I think that’s where a lot of our friendships are formed,” adding, “I

think students now see the value in eating their meals in the cafeteria.”

As straightforward as it may seem, this particular nuance has actually become a point of confusion and miscommunication for some students, namely Hriday Jotsinghani.

In the past few weeks, news spread around the residence that the first year Digital Visual Effects student had been reprimanded for taking food out of the dining hall. There were rumours that Jotsinghani had taken a bagel or two, or a muffin, some people even suggested that he took several pizzas.

“The unique experience that I had, it was actually just a miscommunication gaffe, a huge one that should not have been there,” Jotsinghani explained. “The first thing I did wrong was I took a couple of pizza pretzels, actually, like six or seven of them.”

Jotsinghani and some friends were headed to watch the movie Mother when he had decided to take several pizza pretzels for his friends, not knowing it was against the rules. A server who had seen him take the pretzels told him that what he was doing was prohibited, and after their quick talk, he apologized and left. Later on, Jotsinghani fell into a heated discussion about the movie. “I was speaking in my native language, Hindi, and I was speaking with a friend who was a fellow filmmaker,” he said. Jotsinghani recalled saying, “Michelle Pfeiffer’s a bitch!” multiple times, and much to misfortune, the server overheard him and misinterpreted that he was referring to her. “That’s where it started from,” he said.

Feeling the tension, Jotsinghani wrote a letter to the staff member apologizing for the miscommunication, explaining in his own words what had happened. “After all, it’s our home away from home, it’s like a family,” he said. “And especially my momma didn’t raise me this way.”

Continuing his unlucky streak, Jotsinghani, as well as a couple other students, fell victim to the crimes of a bike thief. According to Jotsinghani, 10 bicycles at CapU Residence were locked outside, and one early morning, the security guard saw CCTV footage of an elderly woman stealing bicycles. “Somehow she managed to take two bikes, and my seat was a bit wobbly, so she managed to take it,” he said.

C

urrently, there are just over a hundred students living at CapU Residence. With Seymour Hall and an entire floor in Cypress Hall almost ready to open, the possibility of the residence reaching its capacity of 293 within the next couple of semesters is high. “I think that the fact that we managed to get this ready for students in a three month period is a point that the institution should be very proud of,” said Johnstone. “I think we really did this so quickly to meet a need and as a result we’ve got a really fantastic culture here and I think that’s something to be proud of.” While the basic foundations of a community have already been somewhat established, those who reside on Dollarton continue to grow a residence culture unique to CapU. With a little more time, the CapU Residence could soon truly be a home away from home.

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FEATURES

s cross-country skiing fanatics will attest, there are few feelings comparable to careening down a hill on skinny skis in tight-fitting Lycra. In fact, a weird pleasure can be gained from climbing to the top of a grueling hill, only to push over it with speed. It provides a sense of fulfillment and pride that can last the rest of the day.

For those who are wary of spandex and speed, they’ll find that there is more than one way to enjoy the sport, and that just as much satisfaction can be gained from a slow morning ski through a mountain meadow.

Unfortunately, in Canada, crosscountry skiing will likely never hold the rock-star reverence it claims in Scandinavian countries. While crosscountry skiing is seen as almost a rite of passage in places such as Norway and Sweden, here it is classified as a fringe sport. To quote an unnamed high school classmate from 2009, “it’s a sport for nerds and old people.”

Generally, when a person without a cross-country skiing background is asked to describe their impression of the sport, they tend to come up with one of two stereotypes — a senior wearing wool knickers, suspenders, knee-high socks and toting vintage gear, or an elite racer sporting a heart rate monitor, clad in a spandex suit and the latest carbon-fibre equipment. That is, if they’ve heard of cross-country skiing at all. Yet, sometimes these images may be accurate, they by no means encompass the whole picture.

Really, part of the beauty of cross-country skiing is that it is so multi-faceted. There is a wonderful diversity and a freedom within the sport, which allows you to shape your experience according to your own desires.

“One of the great things about crosscountry skiing is that it is a lifelong pursuit,” said Anders Bjorklund, owner of Sigge’s Sport Villa. “I know people who have been cross-country skiing since they were toddlers, and continue to do so well into their nineties, so that’s a pretty diverse range. There aren’t many sports where you can say that.”

Exploring the lesser known wonders of cross-country skiing

BY FREYA WASTENEYS ILLUSTRATION BY WOLFGANG THOMO

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Founded in 1971 by Sigge Bjorklund, Sigge’s Sport Villa is a specialty crosscountry ski shop located in the heart of Kitsilano. After immigrating to Canada from Finland in 1956, Sigge played a major role in promoting the sport locally.

In 1962, he founded the Vancouver Skiers Club, which later gave way to the Nordic Racers in 1980 —both clubs continue to thrive today. Now in his 90s, Sigge has passed the baton to his son, Anders.

Alongside his wife, Jodie, Anders has developed an intimate knowledge of the ski community, and strives to share his on-going passion for the sport. For him, the joy of the sport is not just in the ability to be on the mountains in the winter, but also in the spirit of the community and the camaraderie within it.

“It’s hard to define exactly, but there’s a kindred spirit amongst skiers,” said Anders, “one of the most common things I hear people asking when they come back

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from their first time cross-country skiing is ‘how common is it that everyone says hello when they’re skiing by you on the trail?’ – so I think cross-country skiers are generally pretty friendly folks.”

Capilano University Human Kinetics student and accomplished cross-country skier Katie Weaver has made the same observation, “It’s a very welcoming community, and within the clubs there are big ranges in ability, but there’s always a lot of encouragement,” she said.

Weaver, now 20 years old, has been skiing since she could walk, and has many fond memories of tagging along with her older brothers to ski races. As a member of the 2016 Junior National Ski Team, Weaver now has her sights set on the World Cup circuit.

Weaver may be an elite racer, but she still loves to ski at her home mountain, Cypress. “I know some people get sick of it,” she said. “But it’s definitely one of my favourite places to ski.” Weaver, who still trains with Hollyburn Ski Club, loves that she continues to feel like part of the community. “It’s great that there can be people with different ages and abilities and goals, who can still compete for themselves in an individual sport, but also get together and ski as a team,” she said, “I think it’s really special that that can happen.”

Vancouver winters are well known to be wet and dark, and for many people it is hard to maintain the same level of outdoor activity and fitness enjoyed during the summer months. “It can get really sad and gloomy when it’s getting dark at 5 p.m. and it’s raining,” said Weaver, “but it’s such an escape and a relief to just drive 20 minutes and be in the snow.” For her, cross-country skiing is a long-term passion, and a lifestyle that she hopes to maintain throughout her life. “In skiing there’s a level for everyone, even competitively,” she said, “You can do loppets [community ski races] at any age, and ability, and it’s purely a celebration of skiing, fitness and winter.”

Part of the diversity of the sport comes from the choice of two disciplines — skate and classic. Classic skiing provides more versatility in terrain, and is the traditional style of cross-country skiing.

It is possible to classic ski in gentle, untracked terrain, or in tracked ski areas by using a parallel gliding motion in the two grooves that run along the side of the trail. Classic skiing is more akin to running or walking in its motion, and is often the first choice for beginners who want to use skiing as a way to get outside and enjoy the scenery.

Skate skiing, on the other hand, is a more recent addition to the sport, and requires a set trail or a hard packed surface. This discipline mimics the motion of, well – skating. For people who desire speed and fitness, this is often the first choice. Skate skiing is also a common cross-training activity for summer endurance athletes.

Depending on your objectives, there

is a wide range of terrain, and varying levels of difficulty to be found on one of the many established ski areas in and around Vancouver. Cypress is an easily accessible option, and can be a bustling hub of activity, especially on weekends.

Whistler Olympic Park, the site of many official 2010 Olympic events, provides a little more variety in terrain offering 86 kilometers of groomed trails. Similarly, though sometimes overlooked, Manning Park provides 64 km of tracked, gorgeous and remote terrain. While slightly farther away from Vancouver, Manning Park has an abundance of cozy accommodations that can be rented out for the weekend.

Or for people who feel like having a bit

of a more daring winter adventure, there are campgrounds to enjoy.

Andres Bjorklund recommends that people interested in getting into the sport rent equipment and take a few lessons with a trained instructor to develop proper technique and get a feel for their preferred discipline. “I’ve been fighting this notion for years,” he said, “the idea that if you can walk you can cross-country ski. To a certain extent that statement is true, however there is quite a bit of technique to good cross-country skiing.”

Despite being accessible to all ages and abilities, there is a wide range in the needed technique between those who just want to get out in nature, and those who want to go fast.

Lou Dahl is a resident of Vancouver and has been casually skiing for the past 20 years. Like many people, skiing is a way for her to get a nature-fix while also getting some cardio in. Part of the draw for Dahl is that it’s accessible,and more affordable than downhill skiing. Being naturally athletic, she sometimes feels frustrated and limited by technique.

While she picked up skate skiing

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fairly quickly due to her rollerblading background and tree-planting fitness, Dahl admits that it has been hard to progress past the intermediate stage.

“I’ve never had a lesson, other than a few unofficial tips from my brother in-law,” she said, “I’m likely missing all sorts of technique advice that would help with my speed, control, and may influence my desire to go more frequently.”

To get the most out of cross-country as possible, Andres believes it is important for individuals to have as much information about the sport as they can. “We want people to have a positive experience,” he said, “I know folks who have gone out and borrowed

friends’ gear that didn’t fit them very well, and then been given a lesson by the same friend that was maybe sub-par. If you rent equipment, and have it fit for you correctly, and if you actually take a lesson from a professional ski instructor or coach, I think that’s going to give the best opportunity to like the sport.”

Renting gear can also help an individual decide which discipline will best fit their aspirations, as it gives them a chance to try them both.

Weaver suggests that those looking to take up cross-country skiing try it with their friends, or join a club. To her, the diverse community of quirky people brought together by the sport is a part of its appeal. “I stayed in skiing because of the people. I think initially it might seem intimidating, but it’s really not,” she said.

“Everyone out there is in such a good mood and happy to be out, so there’s no judgment if you’re just getting started.”

As a recreational skier hailing from Vancouver Island, Kirsty Pederson also appreciates the sense of community, and believes that cross-country skiing has a much different vibe than riding the lifts.

“It feels like there’s less pressure because you’re not waiting in lifts or more worried about getting your money’s worth,” she said. “I also find I run into a lot of friends on trails, which doesn’t happen as often when racing down hills.” Coming from a snowboarding background, Pederson appreciates the easy-going atmosphere of cross-country skiing. What started as a casual hobby 10 years ago has now become something Pederson and her partner can enjoy doing together. “Learning to slide on two planks is still a challenge,” said Pederson, “But for me, skiing is just as much about enjoying the scenery and the fresh air as it is about getting exercise.”

While still labeled as a fringe sport, crosscountry has certainly gained popularity amongst particular crowds, especially with young families. Andres has seen a surge in interest from parents who want to make healthy lifestyle choices for their children, and are deterred by the incredible expense of downhill skiing. As an added bonus, it is a sport that parents are able to do with their children, rather than watching from the sidelines. “Skate skiing has also had a big boom of interest from the cardio crowd,” he said, “We are seeing a lot more interest from anyone over the age of 20, from people who are looking to replace a run or a hard bike ride.”

As touted by physiologists, crosscountry skiing is possibly one of the best full-body workouts, and helps individuals stay fit for life. Alex Hutchinson, an exercise research blogger, likens crosscountry skiing to natural interval training, which can be both effective and time-efficient. In the long run, research has found that lifelong skiers in their eighties tend to be 40 per cent fitter than other endurance athletes of the same age bracket, and they are placed in the lowest mortality rate category.

Unsurprisingly, the one demographic cross-country skiing struggles to attract are teenagers. “That’s historically the hard segment of the market to try and keep cross-country skiing,” Andres said, “They drift away a little bit in their teen years because cross-country skiing in North America still struggles with a bit of a negative stigma. It's not as ‘cool’ as some kids might like it to be, so they tend to be more inclined towards alpine skiing or snowboarding.”

With or without the cool-factor, it’s hard to deny the array of benefits crosscountry skiing has to offer. For many people, it is an easily accessible and a welcome escape into the mountains, and a great way to maintain both physical and mental health. While it may never quite enjoy the fame and fortune of more popular sports, most people who are drawn to cross-country skiing seem to like it that way. “It’s a pretty select group of people who walk through our door,” Andres sail, “But they are all typically in a good mood. I guess that’s sort of a snapshot of the personalities we’re dealing with.” After all, sometimes being cool is overrated.

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An Open Letter to Capilano University President Paul Dangerfield We the undersigned members of the Capilano University community support a Living Wage and Health Benefits for all direct and contracted workers on our campus. As an institution that prides itself for its “commitment to our communities” and an “ethic of fairness,” it is the university’s responsibility to ensure that these core values begin at home; right here on campus.

There are over 700 employees working at Capilano University, yet many are earning wages at bel the poverty line. We believe the university should implement a formal policy that or below addresses poor employment standards on campus and as such, call upon all stakeholders at Capilano University to adopt a Living Wage and Benefits policy through the“Justice for all Campus Workers” initiative.

Over 50 stakeholders at Capilano University have signed including: Andrew Ledger

David Black

President, CUPE 1004

President, MoveUP

Sarah Rose

Brent Calvert

Duncan Davidson

Spencer Nash

President, Pen and Paper Club

President, Yoga Club

Editor, The Liar

Sheila Ross

On Behalf of the Department of English

Ahmed Alghamdi

Johanne Quirk

President, Capilano Faculty Association Capilano Faculty Association Chief Steward President, Arabic Cultural Club

John Fairlie

On Behalf of the Department of Legal Studies

Lou Milner

Capilano Faculty Association Administrator

David Kirk

First Nations Advisor

And Representatives From: The English Department The Sociology Department, The Physics Department The Psychology Department Creative Writing English for Academic Purposes Indigenous Independent Digital Film Making The Department of Textile Arts The IDEA School of Design The School of Business The Capilano Review The University Library The Health Care Assistant Program The School of Motion Picture Arts

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CALENDAR

14 THINGS TO DO OVER WINTER BREAK ROBSON ICE SKATING

FIRE AND ICE SHOW

Skating is one of the classic ways to spend a winter evening in Canada. People in Vancouver might not know this, but in many parts of Canada, ice skating is a reasonable way to get to work.

For extra brownie points, there’s a chocolatier shop right by the ice rink where you can get some designer hot chocolate.

The show itself is just an excuse to go to Whistler. That place is a winter wonderland and every holiday season not spent there is wasted in my eyes. Constant snow, delicious food and drinks and everyone is in a good mood because they’re on holidays. It’s like Mexico for people who love winter.

ROBSON SQUARE DEC. 1 – FEB. 28 / FREE

THE PEAK OF CHRISTMAS GROUSE MOUNTAIN NOV. 25- JAN. 2 / $45

No amount of Christmas lights can compete with seeing the whole city lit up from the top of a mountain. There will be ice skating, sleigh rides and even a gingerbread village. There’s also a 100 per cent chance there will be snow up there, so you don’t have to celebrate the holidays in the rain.

WHISTLER VILLAGE EVERY SUNDAY IN DECEMBER / FREE

IMPROV AGAINST HUMANITY: HO HO HOLIDAY SPECIAL RIO THEATRE DEC. 21, 7 P.M. / $10 - $12

It’s improv with a holiday twist. There’s not much else to say – you either like improv or you don’t. Get ready to hear all the dirty Santa and inappropriate stocking stuffer jokes you can bear to listen to.

BRIGHT NIGHTS CHRISTMAS TRAIN

NAT BAILEY’S WINTER FARMERS MARKET

Between the Halloween train and this one, I fully think the Christmas events are the way to go. To be honest, it couldn't be any worse than the alien theme they had for Halloween this year and even that was a decent time. The ride is fairly short, so there will be plenty of time afterwards to wander around the plaza.

I get it, the holidays aren’t for everyone. Maybe instead of going skating at night you just want to find a place that sells homegrown beets at a reasonable price. If that sounds like you, then learning about this place is probably better than Christmas and Hanukkah combined. They even have hot chocolate vendors to help you deal with the cold.

STANLEY PARK NOV. 28 - JAN. 1 / $12

VANCOUVER CHRISTMAS MARKET JACK POOLE PLAZA NOV. 26 - DEC. 31 / $8

For Christmas fanatics, this is pretty much like making a pilgrimage to Mecca. People from all over Metro Vancouver will flock to this giant beacon of holiday cheer. With live music and plenty of vendors for food, drink and presents, going to this should be made a priority.

VANDUSEN FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS VANDUSEN BOTANICAL GARDEN DEC. 1 - JAN 1. / $18.50

VanDusen does light shows right. I tried to go to the Halloween one this year, but it was sold out. Who knew so many people wanted to pay to stare at lights! They are really pretty lights though. Humans really aren't that smart, half of all holiday events are staring at the same colours arranged in different ways.

SHIPYARDS CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL

NAT BAILEY STADIUM EVERY SUNDAY, 10 A.M. - 2 P.M. / FREE

VANCOUVER SANTA CLAUS PARADE VANCOUVER ART GALLERY DEC. 3, 12:00 P.M. / FREE

Sure, it sort of breaks the illusion for children that there’s only one Santa after they see hundreds of them walking down the street, but it’s still funny to see. The parade ends at the art gallery plaza where there will be a Christmas market. I’d expect this to be a good place to get a picture with Santa.

SINGING CHRISTMAS TREE BROADWAY CHURCH MULTIPLE DATES / FREE

It looks as amazing as it sounds. This event is celebrating its 50th year and it looks like an absolutely great time. They will have a 100+ voice choir, ensembles, orchestra, actors, dancers and acrobats. If that doesn’t sound appealing at all, then I can’t help you.

SHIPBUILDER’S SQUARE DEC. 2, 4 P.M. - 7 P.M. / FREE

YULE DUEL

KENNY G. HOLIDAY SHOW

Yes, this is essentially competitive caroling. It will be happening all over Gastown, so pedestrians will get the opportunity to hear and see the best carolers Vancouver has to offer. Carolers will face off, head to head in a battle to the death. Well, maybe not to the death, but I'm sure some of them will take this far more seriously than they should.

The reason this made the cut is because there’s going to be a Ferris Wheel! I mean, c’mon, the event practically sells itself when it includes an attraction like that. The Vancouver market might be better, but you can’t get high there unless you stop at a dispensary on your way.

QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE DEC. 3, 7:30 P.M. / $173

No, I don't really expect anyone to go to this. However, if someone does, please tell us all about it. You will go down in history of the Courier as a hero. If you find the ticket price too expensive, just get stuck in an elevator with some eggnog.

BROADWAY CHURCH MULTIPLE DATES / FREE

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

STANLEY INDUSTRIAL ALLIANCE STAGE DEC. 7 - JAN 13 / $97

It’s a holiday classic so good not even modern remakes have been able to ruin it. The tickets are selling fast, so if you want to see singing teapots and candles you better hurry. Everyone wants to see this show. It makes sense considering it is, after all, a tale as old as time.

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SO LOKI IS NO LONGER LOW-KEY The Vancouver rap duo is “looking to win” Justin Scott MANAGING EDITOR

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ast November, Discorder magazine held a showcase of Vancouver’s up-and-coming hip hop talents headlined by So Loki. As they took the Media Club stage, an energy filled the room. The night had already seen a diverse selection of artists, but none had the presence that the duo of Sam Lucia and Geoff Millar carried.

Midway through their set, Lucia’s mic cut out in the middle of their best-known song at the time, “Birthday”. While other performers may have been shaken, Lucia thrived in the moment. Dropping the mic, the bar-spitting front man ascended one of the stage’s monitors, grabbed and hung off a pipe attached to the ceiling, and belted out the rest of the lyrics as loud as he could. As memorable as this moment was, it wasn’t surprising for the duo. Lucia and Millar have made a name for themselves by being more than just a talented group – they know that to find success they can’t let anything get in their way, and in their eyes, they have no other option.

Approaching the two-year anniversary of their debut mixtape SUPERMANIC, the two have had a whirlwind 24 months.

Before So Loki, there was Natura, Millar’s previous electronic project, while Lucia was releasing solo records under his name. Then, after a chance encounter at an Indian sweets store and bonding over Kanye West’s prolific album Yeezus, they entered the studio together.

“I think what Yeezus kind of stood for at the time was a really interesting one for us because we both like so many genres of music, but never really had that kind

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of trifecta of this triumphant, angsty, electronic something, and that’s all we knew how to do at the time. So really I think that fit the skillset,” Lucia explained.

From that point on, the pair dedicated their creative output to what is now known as So Loki, a dynamic rap group with Millar producing and Lucia providing the lyrics. Their name’s origins however, are a little uncertain. “I don’t even know. I think he (Lucia) said low key Jesus, but like l-o-w k-e-y Jesus, and I was like, ‘no man,” Millar recalled.

Since then, So Loki has gone on to release a number of EPs, singles, mixtapes and on Oct. 6, Shine, their debut studio album.

“Shine was the album where we knew we were doing a huge level up right after it,” said Lucia. “We wanted the album to be something that could resonate with people for a while, so that in the meantime, while we’re trying to do this level up, people have something to take in.”

Shine did just that, and the two didn’t take long to “level up.” The duo sat down outside Breka on Robson Street to enjoy one of Vancouver’s last beautiful days before its notorious winter engulfed the city, to discuss their album and future.

The night before, their recently released video for “Bet,” a single off Shine, had been covered by Hypebeast.com and had since been receiving thousands of views. The trendsetting website covered the video, partially because it had been shot solely on an iPhone 7, something that speaks to the creative process of the group. “People started saying, ‘oh my god, everything you guys are doing seems planned.’ It’s planned a few nights before, or the night of, and that’s how a lot of it works,” Lucia admitted. “So the idea of working on our feet works like that.”

And work on their feet they did. The video for “Bet” wasn’t planned, but was a spur of the moment production. Lucia

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and Millar were at a wedding in Manning Park when they decided it would be the perfect location to film the video. Lucia can remember Millar coming up with the idea and how quickly it came together. “The first night Geoff was like, ‘Let's just shoot a video,’ and he starts filming on the phone, and we did that for three straight days, morning and night.”

However, don’t let So Loki’s casual demeanor fool you. While individual happenings may be planned last minute, they have not found the levels of success they’re currently enjoying without a vision and hard-ass work. In fact, after only collaborating for a few days, the two had already planned years in advance. “It didn’t take more than a week of us working together for us to get to the point of asking ourselves, ‘Okay, where do we want to be 20 years from now?’” Lucia said. The two conjured up plans far greater than a simple rap group -- they wanted to create a community. First, they started Owake Records, their own label. The duo looks up to collectives like Top Dog Entertainment (TDE) for their work ethic and in-house production style, something that they’ve come to embrace themselves. And through a mixture of talent, vision and a combined work ethic, So Loki has gone from a project to a career.

Lucia can still remember the moment things changed for the two. “We ended up playing FVDED (In the Park) and we had this big decision on what the hell do we do next? So, we both ended up leaving our jobs.” Prior to that, Lucia and Millar worked day jobs, rehearsed and wrote seven days a week and had time for nothing else. And as much as they have more time for their music now, they allow themselves very little free time. “It’s actually hilarious because we don’t do anything else,” Lucia said. “What’s crazy is that I see Geoff seven days a week.”

–PHOTO BY EMILY ANNE STEWART

ARTS & CULTURE

It’s been less than a month since Lucia and Millar sat outside Breka, and they’ve only seen more success since. They released a new single, “HBO”, as well as have been featured on other local artist’s singles.

Additionally, they gave a guest lecture at the Nimbus School of Recording Arts and as usual, are constantly teasing upcoming projects across their social media.

Not only are the two excited about their own successes, as Millar explained, they’re excited about the current state of rap in general. “It’s like with rock when punk came in, I feel like it’s a very similar feeling. I love what all the new artists are doing too, like I love Lil Pump. As much as I don’t really like it, then I’m like, ‘ok, I fuck with it, this shit’s pretty cool, I get what it’s doing.’”

“You have to appreciate it because, Lil Pump, I see in the same way as Britney Spears,” Lucia further elaborated. “Britney Spears came out at such a young age talking about such adult content, and the old people are sitting like, ‘What is going on?’ but the young people are like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Britney bitch.’”

And the youth is something that So Loki see as invaluable. “They’re the future,” said Millar. However, Lucia and Millar see younger artists making mistakes as they attempt to find similar success. “You are smoking too much weed and you’re not working hard enough,” Lucia said with a laugh. “And no one cares that your friend likes your music, you have to make something that your friend wants to hand to another person which a lot of the time means that you have to work all the time.”

Millar had words of the same sentiment.

“Don’t get too comfortable. Don’t look two months from now, look at what you can do today. And don’t do lean,” he said.

The duo plans to soon take their electrifying live show from the 19-plus venues of Vancouver, to all-ages venues, where all their fans, no matter what age can enjoy their performances. “We’re going in knowing that someone’s going to pay us good money tonight so that we make people want to come back, and not come back to the venue, or come back for the programming, but come back for us,” Lucia affirmed.

Once this vision comes to fruition, the two’s status of Vanguards of Vancouver will only be confirmed. But, as much as vancouver is undeniably a large part of the duo’s music, they have a love-hate relationship with the glass city. “We’re living in the most glorified ghetto ever and it’s sick.” Lucia said. “I think we all kind of know what’s happening and that’s the inside joke, that’s why we’re able to win right now is because everyone is saying, ‘yeah, I’m paying way too much for nothing,’ but at the same time, it’s beautiful and we’re all smoking weed, so really what do we have to complain about.

So, you have to be able to go back and forth, and some people really hate that we change our opinion.”

For now, So Loki is focusing on their future and working harder than ever and in Millar’s words, being fearless. “I think mostly for us, it’s just about being fearless and being yourself, you know? Being fearless to do anything you want to do, anything’s possible. Some people will say that, but to what extent will you actually do that?”

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MEMORY. HISTORY. STORY. A walk through North Vancouver’s newest art exhibit, celebrating Indigenous culture Natasha Jones

T

CONTRIBUTOR

his year, the Gordon Smith Gallery presents Memory. History.

Story., a celebration of Indigenous tradition and culture, working to support teachers in the indigenization of the curriculum, through which they explore the First People’s Principles of Learning. This overall echoes a holistic and respectful approach to the learning experience.

The exhibit showcases various forms of artwork of Aboriginal and Inuit artists, including George Littlechild, Jane Ash Poitras, Xwalacktun, Kenojuak Ashevak, Robert Davidson and Beau Dick, among others. The works include paintings, weavings, textile, sculpture and carvings, along with unique stories backing each work, from the Arts for Kids (AFK) permanent collection. Together, these pieces belong to a collection of stories, each expressing a range of emotions through different mediums.

Some pieces depict peaceful landscapes and highlight the harmonious connection that Indigenous communities had with the natural world, while other works capture much more distressing experiences such as the memories of those in residential schools.

One of the many aspects that make Indigenous artwork so special and significant is the traditional, organic processes in which the art is created – much of the artwork incorporates natural elements such as wood or soapstone. The

'Ambleside Park Swa’y’wi' by Xwalacktun. textile pieces, each intricate and unique, were handmade and by looking at them, viewers can get a sense of the amount of time and care put into each item.

When entering the gallery, the first thing that catches the eye is a large, elaborate cedar carving, also known as a welcome pole, crafted by artist Darren Yelton. Traditionally, these works have been placed in front of First Nation longhouses as a sign of welcome.

Across from the pole, a wall displays a diverse range of masks in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colours, symbolizing various spirits. As a part of Indigenous culture, these masks assumed their roles during earlier theatrical performances that retold stories. Naturalistic elements played a role in the creation of these works through the use of traditional materials, including caribou and horse hair.

Aside from earlier works, the exhibit also features the work of many

contemporary artists. Though differing in style, the more modernistic pieces examine similar themes - identity being one of them. Beyond the brush strokes lies a voice of the past, and the paintings runs heavy with emotion, as if they speak on behalf of the artists’ ancestors - those that were unable to express their feelings and heritage, in a time of colonizing government-enforced policies such as the Indian Act. Patricia Singer, an Art History professor at Capilano University specializing in textiles, finds herself fascinated with the way in which past traditions play into modern culture. Traditional pieces like intricate weavings are not limited to the walls of art galleries and museums. She notes that such works of art are presented in other places as well, like the Vancouver airport. “One of the first things you see is the 20-foot salish weavings,” she said.

“The designs are colourful, distinctive and eye catching.” She also notes that a

part from being pleasing to the eye, these weavings remind us that we sit on the traditional and ancestral territory of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, Lil'wat and Sechelt Nations.

Textiles have been around for 40,000 years and are not merely body coverings, but in fact, wearable works of art. Singer describes fashion as being our “second skin.” Much like body language, fashion is a form of communication, which can be a very powerful tool. In the past 30 years, there has been a revival of Indigenous artwork, however traditional artwork and textiles have not always been celebrated. In the Pacific Northwest during the 50s and 60s, traditional works of art were at an all time low, but now, “young Indigenous people are interested in making traditional blankets which is a means of announcing identity,” said Singer, noting that art work often causes her to think about her own identity and heritage.

Singer added that art is successful at telling stories, serving many cultural purposes, especially “when you want to tell a narrative that speaks to everybody.”

She also noted that universal art forms such as art or music are great forms of communication, as they are timeless, therefore remaining relevant and preserving history and culture for present day viewers and generations to come.

Memory. History. Story. will be running until April 28 at the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art, at 2121 Lonsdale in North Vancouver. Admission is by donation. For further information on the exhibit and to read about upcoming exhibits visit Gordonsmithgallery.ca Singer calls those interested in the Humanities to take the newly announced Art History course, “Fabric and Society,” (AHIS 260). This course examines the role of textiles within society and explores the way fashion allows us to communicate.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN WRITE A NOVEL? Book writing challenge inspires future authors to put pen to paper, but that’s only half the battle Christine Beyleveldt

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NEWS EDITOR

licia Neptune writes in the morning on the SkyTrain during her commute to work. It’s rarely enough to hit her target word count each day, especially when her be-all and endall is to write 50,000 words before the end of November. The Communication student is currently taking the semester off to complete her practicum at Western Living and Vancouver Magazine, but she also makes time to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) every year.

NaNoWriMo evolved from a group ​ of friends who wanted to motivate themselves to write, dating back to 1999. Today, it’s a non-profit community

that helps would-be novelists untangle complicated plots and provides inspiration when writer’s block sets in.

Even though the premise is simple, write 50,000 words in 30 days, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Neptune noted that participants fall into one of two categories, planners, like herself, and pants-ers, who fly by the seat of their pants through the month armed with nothing more than an idea at the start. Neptune typically starts plotting in mid-September or early October.

“If you give yourself six to eight weeks it’s usually enough time to get some character notes together,” she said. “It’s also enough time to scrap your idea and chose something else."

She brainstorms bits and pieces of her plot, but spends more time developing her characters and settings, usually printing pictures so she can visualize them better. She totes a notebook with her everywhere, and counted on her fingers the number of notebooks she had in her backpack currently weighing her

down. “In my bag right now I think I have one book, my journal, two notebooks plus my NaNoWriMo notebook, so my bag's really heavy,” she said, with a laugh.

This year, Neptune chose to write about modern witchcraft, upon finding her inspiration in a Tumblr thread during the summer, involving a community of practicing witches. “I tend to follow a lot of writing prompt blogs,” she said, “And there was controversy because someone had not ethically sourced their bones for their spells.”

NaNoWriMo prompts participants to ​ avoid the temptation to edit as they write, because they need to write over 1,600 words every day on average if they hope to succeed. Neptune has participated every year since 2011, only completing the daunting challenge twice while she was still a student in high school.

After crossing the finish line on Nov. 30, Neptune sets her project aside for several weeks, and when she goes back to look at her work, that is the first time she gets into her own mind. On the first round of

editing she takes longhand notes, decides whether or not the structure of her novel works for her, and fills in the holes in the plot. “I have a beginning, and then I have lots of middle-ish bits and then I have a sort of vague ending that might not be my actual ending,” she said.

In the first novel she wrote in 2011, she describes as being the closest to a completed manuscript after having done three major revisions over the years.

“If I was going to finish any of them it would be that one, because sometimes you find characters that just stick with you,” she said. “If I finish NaNoWriMo and don’t think about those characters anymore, it’s probably not meant to be a novel.” But she doesn’t expect to produce a finished product without extensive revision. Despite the possibility of not reaching her goal at the end of the month, Neptune considers herself successful if she writes more than she would have written otherwise, and plans to continue tackling the challenge each year that it presents itself.

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Ulf von Dehn Founder

2017 Grant Recipient

development

we

set

2016 Grant Recipient

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aside

all

team

$20,000

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2015 Grant Recipient

members.

provide

It

funding

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one

towards

of

2015 Grant Recipient

our

advancing

core

the

values

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to

and

have provided over $50,000 to our team members and their family members.

At Capilano University, we have given 5 grants worth over $3,000 to team members since 2014. Thank you to all our team members who have applied for the von Dehn Grant!

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“ACE” BREAKS PACWEST ASSIST RECORD Blues star point guard etches her name in history books Justin Scott MANAGING EDITOR

As Ashley dela Cruz Yip dribbled up the court of the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners' gymnasium on Saturday Nov. 18, she threw the pass that would put her in the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST)’s record books.

Crossing the half court, the team captain saw teammate Emma Cunningham running up the right side of the floor and cutting towards the rim.

Dela Cruz Yip then threw a beautiful one-handed cross-court bounce pass between three Mariner defenders and found Cunningham perfectly in stride.

As Cunningham’s layup bounced off the glass and fell through the net, dela Cruz Yip secured her PACWEST assist number 318, which placed her at the very top of the conference’s all-time assists leaderboard.

As monumental as this play was, the Blues floor general had no idea that with that pass, she would surpass former Douglas College Royal Adelia Paul as the PACWEST’s all-time assist leader.

In fact, she didn’t find out about her achievement until a week later, when Head Coach Ramin Sadaghiani broke the news to the team. “Hey, there was a record broken this past weekend,” dela

Cruz Yip recalled him announcing. “Ace broke that record of the most assists in the league, ever. That goes back to when the league had more teams and more players, and it’s gone back through all the years. That’s a big accomplishment.”

For those familiar with dela Cruz Yip’s game, the record breaking news should come as no surprise. For Assistant Coach Chris Weimer – who’s coached dela Cruz Yip’s all four seasons – the development she’s made over the years has been tremendously impressive. “It’s awesome.

I’ve been coaching her since she started.

It’s her fifth year, I’ve seen her grow as a player, I’ve seen her become a leader,” he said. “Her game’s grown leaps and bounds.” But in Weimer’s eyes distributing the ball isn’t dela Cruz Yip’s greatest skill, facilitation is. “It’s not just her ability to find the open player, it’s her ability to create the open player,” he said.

Being surrounded by some of the best shooters in the conference has also been helpful for dela Cruz Yip’s distribution.

“I always know where my shooters are,” she said. “On the starting lineup, we have three really amazing shooters, Sherrie [Errico], Rei [Reiko Ohama], and Emma [Cunningham]. All three I completely trust, so I just know where they are on the floor.” Ohama has the fourth most three-pointers in the PACWEST and Errico and Cunningham are both known throughout the league for their silkysmooth shots.

Dela Cruz Yip also happens to be teammates with last year’s PACWEST

Player of the Year and Canadian well as scoring.”

Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Dela Cruz Yip believes that if the team All-Canadian Carmelle M’Bikata. “She’s can improve their defence, this should be just a beast, I should be getting five or six their year. “Defence wins championships assists to Carm a game,” dela Cruz Yip right, it’s not the other way around. So, if said. our defence is crap, then we can score as However, as exciting as individual many baskets as we like, and it doesn’t accolades are, dela Cruz Yip and her really matter,” she said. And although teammates have their eyes on a far CapU was known for their defensive greater prize – the prowess last season, PACWEST gold it’s true that they medal that has haven’t been as eluded the team “It’s not just her ability to dominant on their for two seasons in of the court find the open player, it’s her end a row. To achieve this year. However, ability to create the open dela Cruz Yip has this, dela Cruz Yip worked on her no doubt that the player,” game over the offteam will get back season, rounding into a defensive out her skill set. groove, and find – Chris Weimer, While she’s always nothing but success assistant coach been known for from there. “This is her court vision the team, this is the and passing abilities, opposing teams championship team, this is the one,” she haven’t always treated her as a major said. scoring threat. This season however, Even though a gold medal is the things are different. She worked on her team’s number one priority, dela Cruz pull up jumper and is attacking the rim Yip isn’t done dropping dimes quite yet. more. “I’ve focused on being an offensive She finished last season with a total of threat and not just being a playmaker,” 99 assists and hopes to reach 100 this she explained. This evolution has made year. “I’d be going out with a bang,” she her even more dangerous, but she’s said. Whether or not she will reach her mindful of not allowing it to detract from goal remains to be seen, but either way, her distribution. “This year, I’m scoring a she’ll keep passing and her teammates lot more, I’m focusing a lot more on being will keep scoring. “I’m just looking to be aggressive to the basket and taking my the all-time assist leader for the next shots, so I just have to find a balance of however long.” distributing and being a play maker, as THE CAPILANO COURIER

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