Capilano Courier | Vol. 50, Issue 13.

VOLUME 50, ISSUE 13

JAN 29–FEB 4, 2018

FEATURES

CapU grad Kaya Dorey recognized by United Nations

SPORTS

Blues alumni reinvigorating basketball in BC

The future of ride-sharing in Vancouver pg. 12

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EDITOR'S DESK

VOL. 50 ISSUE 12 JANUARY 29 – FEBRUARY 4

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“VEGANUARY” COMES TO CAPILANO

Real recognize real

News

5 FELIX JAUVIN BRINGS THE MARKETING WORLD TO THE OUTDOORS

Campus Life 6

HAWAII’S FALSE MISSILE ALERT WAS AN ACT OF RECKLESSNESS

Opinions

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ON BEING A FEMALE SPORTS FAN

Columns

10 KAYA DOREY Q&A Feature

12 RULES OF THE ROAD

Special Feature

17 THE DOUBLE LIFE OF CULLEN HUGHES

Arts & Culture

18 ANKLE SPRAIN MAY KEEP THE BLUES’ STAR PLAYER

OUT UNTIL PROVINCIALS Sports

STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ART DIRECTOR

Carlo Javier capcourier@gmail.com

Rachel Wada artdirector.capcourier@gmail.com

MANAGING EDITOR

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Justin Scott manager.capcourier@gmail.com

Cristian Fowlie pm.capcourier@gmail.com

NEWS EDITOR

COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER

Christine Beyleveldt news.capcourier@gmail.com

John Tabbernor community.capcourier@gmail.com

OPINIONS EDITOR

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Tia Kutschera Fox opinions.capcourier@gmail.com

Andy Rice andy.capcourier@gmail.com

FEATURES EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Helen Aikenhead specialfeatures.capcourier@gmail.com

Freya Wasteneys, Annalisse Crosswell, Leah Scheitel, Ana Frazão

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

COVER ART

Rachel D'Sa arts.capcourier@gmail.com

Karla Monterrosa CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS

Greta Kooy campuslife.capcourier@gmail.com

Karla Monterrosa, Emily Rose, Wolfgang Thomo, Rachel Sanvido, Rachel Wada, Karla Monterrosa

ONLINE EDITOR

EDITOR + COLUMNIST PORTRAITS

Jessica Lio online.capcourier@gmail.com

Rachel Wada

CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

COPY EDITOR

Leah Scheitel copy.capcourier@gmail.com

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​We acknowledge that the work we do and the

contributing writers are not necessarily those of the

institution we serve happens on the unceded territory

Capilano Courier Publishing Society.

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

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VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 13

CARLO JAVIER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF “Good job.”

– no one ever

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ne of the best moments of time with the Capilano Courier was when Cristian Fowlie, our then-art director and graduate of Capilano University’s IDEA program took home the John H. McDonald award for Best Graphic at the 2016 Canadian University Press (CUP) conference in Toronto. It was a much-needed seal of approval for the entire staff as the Courier has always been praised by peers for its visual elements, but rarely actually honoured. The victory was only the second national win for the Courier since 2013, when humour editor Scott Moraes was honoured for Humour Writing. Last year in Fredericton, IDEA student and frequent illustrator Austin Legg won the award for Best Illustration, continuing a pleasant trend that started nearly five years prior.

In our run of national recognition and award-winning work, we’ve also had some content that were shortlisted as among the best in the country. Former Editor-inChief Andy Rice got one for Humour Writing in 2016. Yours truly for Arts and Culture Writing last year and Christine “got-too-many-dates-these-days” Beyleveldt for Labour Reporting just this January. While I hope that the Courier continues to get recognized by the greater community of both student and professional journalists in the country, I also hope that future rosters of the Courier don’t get caught up in recognition. Awards are terrific and are not to be taken lightly, however, a certificate or a trophy is not the only valid seal of approval – this was a pitfall that I fell into.

My problem came when recognition became the only motivation. Anyone who has ever attended a Courier pitch meeting knows that it often starts with a roundtable, icebreaker question. They can range from trivial and light-hearted queries, to more serious discussions on heavier topics. Some time ago, we had a question that was about our goals for the year. My answer then, was that I’d like to work towards getting nods at CUP’s annual JHM awards.

I ultimately did succeed, getting a nomination in 2017. But what was lost during that chase for glory was a level of dedication towards stories that really mattered. At the end of the day, we exist to write, report on and analyze stories that hold value to the members of the Capilano University community. Awards are cool and all, but if we can’t get the recognition from the very audience we deliver content to, then what are we doing really?

We are in the midst of the entertainment industry’s annual awards season, where the best performers and singers are honoured for their excellence in their respective craft. We can get so enamoured with becoming the “best” that we often forget the value of simply “having mattered.” There will never be any empirical proof that Get Out was the best film of 2017, nor will there be any solid ground to back claims that Awaken, My Love! was the best album, but I know damn well both of those projects mattered a whole lot more than most of their contemporaries.

Becoming the best is certainly impressive and commendable, but “having mattered” is an important nuance that we tend to overlook. Just having a semblance of significance in the eyes of some is enough. Sometimes it’s more than enough.

NEWS

Board of Governors finds loophole in governmentimposed salary cap PSEA board will meet to finalize implementation of transition to performancebased salaries CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT NEWS EDITOR

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–RACHEL SANVIDO

ECCE instructors receive prestigious research grant The Insight Grant will be used to look at how children interact with waste CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT NEWS EDITOR

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apilano University Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) instructors Sylvia Kind, Cristina Delgado Vintimilla, Laurie Kocher and Kathleen Kummen received a $170,076 Insight Grant as co-applicants with Veronica PaciniKetchabaw from the University of Western Ontario (UWO) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Kind noted that the SSHRC is the federal research council, and they will conduct research in the area of how children interact with waste, called "Re-thinking the Rs through arts: transforming waste practices in early childhood education."

Kind’s interest comes through the arts and prior material research. In 2011, along with Kocher and PaciniKetchabaw, Kind received an SSHRC grant that allowed them to examine children’s encounters with five material objects – paint, clay, charcoal, blocks and paper. The result three years later was a book, Material Encounters, and an exhibit that toured North Vancouver, Victoria and London, Ontario, with interest shown for possible tours in New Zealand and Australia.

CapU isn’t part of Universities Canada

and therefore is the only Canadian university that can’t hold an SSHRC grant by itself because the council doesn’t recognize the institution. Any grants awarded to CapU instructors have to be held conjointly with another school. Kind explained that they have partnered with other institutions and they’ve benefited from their prior collaborations. “We had to do everything that a SSHRC eligible institution did,” explained Kummen. “But everyone else will get the money funnelled through their institution but us.”

The same four instructors also received a Partnership Development Grant of $192,585 for a research project also led by Pacini-Ketchabaw, Climate Action Network: Exploring Climate Change Pedagogies with Children, that they’ll carry out with participants at Melbourne’s Victoria University, the Australian Catholic University, the United Kingdom’s University of Birmingham, Senecca College of Applied Arts and Technology and George Brown College.

Even though collaboration is mandatory for CapU’s instructors to carry out research using grant money from the SSHRC, they will experiment in a studio setting at the school. The four instructors have already decided to work with Vancouver-based environmental artist Sharon Kallis, and with invasive weeds growing on campus in a studio setting. They aim to help students live with the 21st Century child, who is growing up in a world where waste and

climate change are the legacies that they’ll have to contend with. “It’ll shape courses,” Kind said of their upcoming research in how children interact with waste. “It’ll be the stories that we tell in classes, it’ll be the ways of thinking with and about children.”

"Here was an event with charcoal, watching how charcoal as this active material starts to creep up onto hands; it gets a bit on your face, children look in the mirror, it becomes makeup,” Kind said, referencing an example of how experiments in Material Encounters informed her teaching.

“But what is also being played with is an idea of race in a very dramatic visual and also fairly disturbing way, and so it raises all kinds of questions about who are children, what kind of issues do they think about and how can we engage thoughtfully in these ideas with children?”

Kummen noted that in the ECCE program, instructors are always conducting unfunded research. Despite the fact that CapU is a teaching-based university with a focus on preparing students for careers, this research component is a unique aspect of the ECCE program. “Research is an ongoing part of teaching,” she said.

“It’s also learning to listen to children, creating environments to experiment together, to see what comes out of that.”

apilano University’s Board of Governors has found a loophole to get around a salary freeze that has prevented most of the University’s administrators and exempt employees from receiving salary increases for several years.

In 2011 the BC Liberal government froze salary increases for administrators and exempt employees, which affected managers and employers at CapU. In 2014, CapU, Vancouver Island University and the University of the Fraser Valley were questioned by the BC NDP about surpassing the government-imposed cap nonetheless According to the 2014 report by Vancouver-Point Grey MLA David Eby, CapU's then-vice presidents Cindy Turner and Catherine Vertesi had salary caps that exceeded by approximately $113,000 and $32,000 respectively. The University released a statement after, stating that administrators were being paid salaries that fell in line with the law.

In 2016, members of the Post-Secondary Employers Association (PSEA) met with the government and discussed a way out of the salary freeze. “The result was an agreement that we could move towards getting out of the freeze if we linked any future increases to performance as well as linked 19 individual compensation schemes to having one compensation scheme for all of the post-secondary employers,” associate vice president of Human Resources, Mike Knudson, told the Board of Governors at a meeting on Jan. 23.

“We would stay with our current compensation scheme,” he noted, and in the event that the performance-based compensation scheme isn’t approved, “which most of our admin and exempt employees have maxed out at, and would be waiting for salary increases until such time as the government permits it.”

Originally, the change over to performance-based salaries was going to be implemented by July 2017, but couldn't due to delays. The performance-based component of the change has already been implemented, and employees including administrators and exempt groups have actually been working through the new model since April 2017. In December, the Board of Governors received notice from the government that the framework had been approved, but the PSEA would need to finalize the implementation framework.

The PSEA board will likely meet during the first week of February to approve the strategy for implementation and then they can continue to push it out for CapU employees.

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NEWS

“Veganuary” comes to Capilano EAP instructor poses 30day vegan challenge for CapU community ANNALISSE CROSSWELL CONTRIBUTOR

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30-day vegan challenge was put to Capilano University students and faculty at the start of 2018.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructor Nicholas Jennings, founder and chair of the Wellness Committee Louise Allison and Human Resources Advisor Divina Rattan posed “Veganuary”, encouraging members of the campus community to challenge themselves to go vegan for a limited amount of time. The challenge has started to show on social media and 75 students and faculty members have signed up. All of the organizers are passionate about the challenge eventually becoming ingrained in campus life.

Veganuary started earlier in the semester with a launch event attended

by Vancouver-based vegan cheese company, Daiya Foods, which makes its cheese-like products using cassava and arrowroot. While Daiya Foods was on campus, Jennings made sure to introduce their representatives to

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CapU’s food services provider with already had students tell him they samples of vegan food options brought gave up on the challenge due to a lack in by the company. This, he feels, was of recipes. “It’s hard to intuit how you well received by the staff and could could, if you had a favourite meal which help encourage food services providers is heavily reliant on animal products to include more vegan options in the and meat, how to replicate that,” he cafeteria for participating students. said.

The UBC’s cafeteria already boasts Jennings’ began investing in the cause a plant-based company, something and adopted a meatless diet 33 years that Jennings thinks is important for ago after he saw an Open University providing the option documentary on BBC of vegan alternatives 2. “There was one to post-secondary [documentary] about students. There will "The vision that I had the meat industry,” also be another event said, “and it just of rolling out a 30-day he later in the semester. absolutely horrified vegan challenge was that me to my very bones.”

For this, Jennings hopes to have more it wouldn’t be limited He then took his businesses that make dedication a step necessarily to one vegan products bring further and has been their produce to show vegan since 1988. month.” interested students The 1980s, for and faculty.

Jennings, were An email has also about the conscious been sent out to everybody on campus movements of punks and anarchists outlining the challenge, which includes in the United Kingdom, when the more information about veganism and government seemingly held no such reasons for going vegan. This includes a values. At this time there were link to a Pinterest page with hundreds few vegan or vegetarian products of recipes so that those who struggle available and those that could be found to come up with vegan recipes will characterize his recollections, to some feel more encouraged to try them out. degree. “A lot of people were into punk, The page is something that Jennings we used to spike our hair up with soap,” is particularly excited to see – he has he recalled. “We never used hair gel or

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anything. We used to use vegetable soap that we’d buy from Oxfam, which is a thrift store on the high streets of the UK. That was the only place I think at the time that you could buy vegetable soap.” There has been a visible change since then and what was a fringe set of ideals has become a much more prevalent and popular undertaking.

A huge focus of veganism these days is the abusive and unsustainable practices of the meat industry, but there are also other benefits to going vegan. For Jennings, it is not simply a moral issue. There are also a number of health benefits in abstaining from meat consumption, which include a less likely chance of contracting osteoporosis and diabetes.

Jennings hopes that Veganuary will last longer than just the month of January, however. “The vision that I had of rolling out a 30-day vegan challenge was that it wouldn’t be limited necessarily to one month,” he said. He believes that this is just the start and that, with growing support of the vegan challenge, students and faculty will be encouraged to begin at any time.

CAMPUS LIFE

–PHOTO COURTESY OF PAT BALADE

WHO YOU

Carving a place for business Capilano student Felix Jauvin brings the marketing world to the outdoors JUSTIN SCOTT MANAGING EDITOR

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rowing up in Whistler, it was almost inevitable that Felix Jauvin would develop a passion for the outdoors. Now in his final semester of his Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Capilano University, Jauvin has spent the last few years combining his love of the wilderness and his business acumen to find success in numerous ventures.

Jauvin writes for free-skiing website Doglotion.com, is a brand ambassador

for Black Crows Skis and most recently has taken the helm of local start-up Foehn Apparel’s marketing. However, his path to the business, and more specifically marketing, world wasn’t average.

Having developed a love affair with skiing from a young age, Jauvin had always seen himself working in the ski industry, originally planning on becoming a backcountry mountain guide.

Before jumping all in, however, he first identified the business skills required for the position. “I figured, ‘Hey, while I’m just hanging out here I should go do

"I used to be so focused on the grind" Arianne Liu, co-owner of Dyer Fitness, reflects on kickstarting her entrepreneurial career and seeing the finish line at CapU RACHEL D’SA ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR

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rianne Liu is not your average student. On top of a full course load, the Capilano University business student works at Lululemon, manages her personal website and blog, operates a fitness training service called Unfold Movement and co-owns North Burnaby fitness centre Dyer Fitness.

Dyer Fitness saw its start at a Steve Nash Fitness World and Sports Club.

Liu had already been working there for a couple of years when her current business partner, Johny Dyer, and thenpersonal trainer, began asking for her take on possible business tactics. While in her second year, Dyer proposed the partnership.

Though Liu doesn’t see the business as the be-all, end-all of her career, rather as part of her journey – even describing it as her “child.” With Dyer Fitness, she ensures that each individual experience the safe and social environment that the

recently rebranded establishment has to offer.

“What really pushes people to thrive as human beings, is having someone hold you accountable and being in an environment where they feel safe to grow, workout, make mistakes – kind of like life. The value we’ve added in that aspect has allowed us to sustain our business,” she said. While Liu looks forward to seeing the business grow, she wants to make sure that the service does not become diluted, as is the case with many other fitness centres.

Liu has managed to find and maintain a healthy balance of work and pleasure, keeping her afloat. Though she noted that during the transition of making things work, aspects of her life were bound to take a hit. She has since found the perfect lifestyle blend that guides her priorities. “I definitely realized the importance of having a support system and making time for that, and kind of nurturing that part of myself. Before, I used to be so focused on the grind,

a business degree; as a guide you end up marketing yourself and running your operation, so if I have a business degree no matter what it will be useful,” he said.

Jauvin quickly found that he thrived in the field of marketing because it allowed him to mix creativity and business. “I’m a numbers guy in a way, but what really gets me fired up is the way you can combine business and numbers with creativity,” he said. His artistry wasn’t exclusive to school either.

Since 2015, Jauvin has written for the popular freeskiing website Doglotion. com. This offered him a creative outlet that also connected him to his main passion of skiing. What he didn’t initially realize though, is just how far it would take him.

Andre Charland, co-founder of Doglotion and also involved with Black Crows Skis, asked Jauvin to take part when the company was making its jump from Europe to North America.

“When they came into the Canadian market they were looking for some local people within this area that are kind of well-known and experienced in the backcountry, so he put my name in,” Jauvin recalled. Since then, Jauvin has been what he described as a “brand ambassador” for the company, helping them with marketing and spreading the word through his own channels, including his visually stunning Instagram profile.

In true business fashion, Jauvin continued networking, landing himself his most recent position with the help of connections he made through Black Crows Skis. Last August, a Kickstarter was created for a company called Foehn. Offering clothing and outerwear designed for rock climbing, but equally as wearable in everyday life, Foehn saw

instant success. “A couple of my friends started that in August and they’re kind of all related to the Black Crows thing, which is how I met them,” Jauvin said.

Fast forward five months, and the soonto-be graduate is now their marketing manager, a position he plans to keep upon graduation.

If this seems like a lot of responsibility for a full-time student, it is. Luckily, Jauvin was able to secure a schedule this semester that allowed him to pursue both his school and skiing endeavors.

“Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed it’s like class, class, class, some work, try and go to the gym or do something active, eat then sleep,” he explained. Then, he drives back up to Whistler to ski and work on Thursday where he remains until it’s time to return to North Vancouver to do it all again on Monday.

Although backcountry skiing and business may seem like vastly different worlds, Jauvin sees them as one in the same. He used the example of leading a large group in the hostile terrain of the backcountry: “Every decision you make has a lot of implications to it, and I definitely see a similarity in business as well. You’re trying to make these strategic decisions, and a lot of business is risk management,” he said. “It’s trying to get the rewards and the returns without being too risky for the company and that’s a lot like what backcountry skiing is too, you’re balancing the risk versus the reward in a strategic way.”

Jauvin then, seems to have carved out a place for business in the outdoor activities field and focuses now on reaching the top.

you know ‘study, do this, do that,’ and I never made time for my friends and family or extracurriculars,” she said.

“What helped me, I feel, was just making time for myself, and listening over time to my body to understand what works and what doesn’t in terms of ‘is it making me happy?”

The established entrepreneur believes that she was able to build a foundation for her discipline for training and taking care of her body through her time as a competitive dancer in classical ballet. “I didn’t understand my body, when it was changing when I was younger, like ‘oh I’m getting boobs! Where is this coming from? Just being really straight – when you’re a dancer you do so much cardio that I think my body was delayed, so I didn’t really start gaining weight till I was like 15 or 16, and I had no idea what was going on, and that’s when I started getting serious about weight training and nutrition,” she said.

Throughout her journey Liu has been met with challenges, but her determination has led her to achievement with the help of a strong support system. Taking after her mother, who too was a courageous, determined woman, she acknowledges her mother’s strength as a single parent.

“I notice sometimes that I take things for granted and when I think back to

how far she’s brought us, it reminds me of where I came from, and that installed one of my values, which is practicing gratitude every day,” she said.

As a founding member of the Capilano University Marketing Association (CAPUMA), she has also been through thick and thin with her time at the University. She does, however, feel that the school has positively impacted her. “All the instructors have helped me. When I needed to do something different, it was my peers and friends at school that pushed me, and that’s how I even got into being President of the Marketing Association,” she said. “I feel like everything I am, outside of what I’ve learned from Dyer, is from Cap, and I know that sounds so cheesy, but Cap is frickin’ amazing.”

Now in her last semester, after working eight years for her degree, Liu is more than excited to jet and focus on her new goals. She just hopes fellow students can find their passion for education in post-secondary, in the same way she has.

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–EMILY ROSE

OPINIONS

Hawaii’s false missile alert was an act of recklessness But we can learn something about emergency preparedness from the threat of disaster CHRISTINE BEYLEVELDT NEWS EDITOR

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ending out a false alert and bringing an entire US state into frenzied panic is beyond irresponsible. That’s exactly what happened just after 8 a.m. on Jan. 13 when Hawaiians received a message on their cellphones alerting them that a ballistic missile was heading straight for the island chain. State Governor David Ige learned the alert was false and there was no threat just two minutes after it was sent out, yet it took another 36 minutes for Hawaiians to be updated on the situation. By the time a second

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message was sent out the damage had been done, causing at least one man to have a heart attack as a result.

We now know that a defence worker triggered the false alarm after pushing the wrong button, but that a false alert of such magnitude could go out by mere accident and not be corrected until over half an hour later was completely irresponsible. Ige called the situation “totally unacceptable.” However, not just Americans, but Canadians and everyone for that matter can take a lesson away from this erroneous mistake. When Hawaiians were told to seek immediate shelter, they had nowhere to go and some even lowered their children into the sewers to protect them. The Cold War may be over, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be prepared for the worst possible outcome. Right now, we have nowhere to seek shelter if we are threatened with a nuclear airstrike.

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The problem with a false alert that read “THIS IS NOT A DRILL” on everyone’s phones is that it arouses skepticism. There’s danger in a false alarm of such magnitude not only because it has the potential to cause mass hysteria, but also because it’s like the boy who cried wolf, and when there is a real emergency people don’t know whether they can trust the government to give them correct information about a threat. "False alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies," Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement issued in the aftermath. The employee who accidentally sent out the signal was let go, and the state Emergency Management Agency has already changed protocol so that two employees are required to send out live alerts.

The false ballistic missile threat that loomed over Hawaii should only highlight just how bad any disaster worldwide can get. CBC reported that authorities drew ire for not issuing a mobile alert when fires raged through Northern California amid concerns it would cause hysteria. Threat or no threat, people will panic. All the same, we can’t wait until nuclear war does break out between the US and North Korea to begin preparing for it or anything else for that matter. Although we aren’t facing any such disaster at the moment, it would be wise to at least think about where we would seek shelter, how long our food supply would last and how much bottled water we’ll have on hand if one day an alert comes and it’s not just a drill.

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Begging for Trouble Why beg-packers are selfish assholes ANA FRAZÃO CONTRIBUTOR TIA KUTSCHERA FOX OPINIONS EDITOR

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h backpacking, the classic way to travel on a budget. Many young people go backpacking to visit new countries without spending too much, but recently there’s been a rising trend of young people going “beg-packing” instead. Beg-packing, for those unfamiliar, is a new term for predominantly white North Americans who, rather than work and save for their big trip, fly to their destination with almost nothing and beg in the streets to fund their trip. While this kind of behaviour has been seen in Europe and other first world countries, it hasn’t had a ton of media attention until more recently, when beg-packers have moved to South Asian countries. This created far more controversy as the contrast between people from privileged countries sitting cheerfully asking for help next to people begging for survival is quite stark. Thailand actually had to create a law to address the increasing amount of beg-packers.

Thailand instituted a law requiring travellers to prove they have at least 20,000 baht ($786 CAD) before entering the country. As of Jan. 26, 2018, one Canadian dollar can get you 25.44 Thai baht. Minimum wage in Thailand is approximately $12 CAD a day. To live comfortably in Thailand, travellers will need around $868 CAD a month according to travel-blogger Shannon O’Donnell, who lived there in January of

–JULIANA VIEIRA

2017.

Let’s not fool ourselves, Thailand and other similar countries are cheap to travel to because of a very weak economy. With all this in mind, it’s easy to see how selfish it is to beg people to donate money for your trip that you could’ve easily earned at home when people who would love to have a job are begging out of necessity.

For those considering beg-packing as

a method of cheap travel, consider how that impacts the people living in that country. If you really want to go to Asia, don’t beg. Pay for it yourself. It really won’t take too much time to save the amount to comfortably stay there, and prevents a beggar from being cheated of their method of survival. On top of that, one of the biggest incomes for Thailand is through tourism, so by arriving with money, you are actually helping boost

the economy.

Beg-packing is a perfect example of white and class privilege. When your fun trip is over and you return to your affluent country, find a job that isn’t based on begging strangers, and tell all your friends about your adventures in Asia, the people you exploited will still be begging for their lives.

A postponed sentence is mixed signals Judge allows convicted sex criminal to finish semester before serving sentence LEAH SCHEITEL COPY EDITOR

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onnor Neurauter seems to be blessed with the same luck – or privilege – that Brock Turner has in spades. Neurauter, a student at the University of Calgary and now a convicted sex criminal, is allowed to finish his semester at UofC before serving his 89-day sentence.

The charges against Neurauter aren’t small. He is convicted of “sexual interference” for an incident that occurred three years ago, involving a 13-year-old girl, while the charges of possession of child pornography against him have been stayed. What he is convicted of could mean life-long trauma for his victim – it isn’t a case of petty theft from the local Wal-Mart. He fucked

with someone’s life and now is having a hard time understanding that his actions are coming back to do the same to his life.

Neurauter’s father, Chris, said that his son, who was 18 at the time of the incident, is “remorseful” and has “learned his lesson.” But apparently he’s not so remorseful as to take full responsibility for his actions and to accept his sentence. He had the confidence and audacity to ask for special accommodations made so he doesn’t miss any school.

“He's frustrated that he's missing school," the senior Neurauter told CBC News. Okay, he’s frustrated, but his victim is devastated.

What’s so upsetting about the delay in him serving his sentence is while there has been accommodations for Neurauter’s schedule, there seems to be little for what his victim is likely going through. How much school is she missing because she can’t sit in class

comfortably without replaying this incident over and over again? How many times is she breaking down because of the heavy news cycle, with sexual misconducts dominating the headlines?

And yet, she just has to deal with it and simply get over it.

And what of the UofC? While they have publically said they have no grounds to suspend Neurauter, as the incident happened three years ago, before he was enrolled at the University, they have received ample scrutiny for their lack of action. A petition, which was started the day after his sentencing, has over 45,000 signatures, calling for Neurauter’s expulsion. Sure, the University might not have academic justification to punish Neurauter, but you would think there would be something in their handbook about allowing a convicted sexual offender to walk around campus, attending classes as if he were just any other student.

The victim’s mother, who remains

unidentified, claims this isn’t the only privilege her daughter’s assailant has received during the trial. She told CBC News that since the trial began in July 2016, many adjournments and delays were allowed to accommodate Neurauter’s hockey schedule, something his father denies. However, with the court’s decision to allow him to serve his sentence intermittently, it is easier to believe they were willing to bend the rules during the trial as well.

Allowing Neurauter to serve his sentence at a time that is convenient for him is sending the wrong message – that the convict and their lives are more important than the ones they have potentially ruined that – the courts are on the side of educated white men, even if it means they don’t have to take full responsibility for their actions. It’s a dangerous message to send.

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COLUMNS

DIGITAL HURDLES

Respawn: How games taught me to love failure JOHN TABBERNOR COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER

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he first time I played Dark Souls, I told myself I’d never play it again.

It seemed absurd, constantly bashing my avatar against the enemies, traps and bosses that proved nigh impossible to overcome. It wasn’t fun.

It was an exercise in futility. What I didn’t realize then, is that it was one of

the first games that taught me to love failure.

When I was younger, I had more time on my hands and could entertain a game’s steep learning curves and difficulty spikes. I could pick away at them. If all else failed, I’d just find some cheat codes in a magazine, or look up a strategy guide on a forum. Games for me used to be about completion.

Seeing the end of a well-crafted tale, or just getting to the end of a level. If something got in my way, I’d just give up on the experience and move on to the next game. I never completed Super Mario Bros. because six-year-old me couldn’t make it past world 8-3. I never saw the end of Final Fantasy X, because I got stuck at a late boss fight that my characters weren’t powerful enough to defeat.

Dark Souls is different. Its systems force the player to embrace failure. To learn from it. Games provide us a space

to fail that often doesn’t hold real world consequences. We’re not given that luxury in our own lives. Very rarely do we get a fresh start. When I respawn at a bonfire in Dark Souls, though I’ve been punished for my failure, I try again, armed with the lessons burned into me by dragon fire. The cycle that is learned in the Dark Souls series becomes masochistic. Move forward into the unknown to face monsters and peril, to be inevitably struck down.

Respawn. Try again. Die. Respawn.

Try again. And with each passing cycle I become stronger. Not the character, but me as the player. I can anticipate the movements of enemies. I know exactly where the traps are. The lessons learned in death carry forward with me to my next fight. The game forces me to become the player that can complete it.

This changed the way I approached games. It changed my mentality. I didn’t just want to go from start to finish,

BEATING AROUND THE BUSH

Shut up and plant

FREYA WASTENEYS COLUMNIST

M

any rumours exist about treeplanting, and most of them are true. There are people who can make $30,000 in a summer, and there are also ones who spend their season partying and end up in debt to their company. There are some who swear off planting after one week in the bush, and others who are deemed “lifers” and continue to plant well-into their 40s. If planting is anything, it’s unpredictable.

There are also issues that stem from the organization of the tree-planting industry, as many planters accept questionable working conditions out of financial desperation. There is no doubt that planting can be lucrative, but this is highly dependent on a variety of factors – some of which are beyond the planter’s control.

Tree-planting is piece work – meaning the worker is paid based off their production – so a planter’s earnings depend on the company, the land and the price they receive per tree. It’s also highly dependant on the planter’s technical ability and motivation. Veteran planters often say, “there is no bad land, only bad prices,” which is the mentality required to succeed in what is often a ruthless industry.

Still, because planters are offered the opportunity to make a lot of money fast, workers tend to accept the conditions they are presented with, despite what is often a risk to their health and safety.

Concerns are therefore silenced, as it’s assumed that planters agree to pain and discomfort the moment they put their name forward. Since many students today are simply eager to pay their

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–WOLFGANG THOMO

way through school without having to work full-time throughout their studies, problems often go unchallenged.

In recent years, the Western Silvicultural Contractors’ Association (WSCA) estimated that, with inflation taken into account, planters today are actually earning 30 to 35 per cent less then they did 15 years ago. Meanwhile, a study conducted by the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) found that tuition has tripled since the 90s, which when adjusted for inflation, amounted to a 100 per cent increase in cost. This means that planters are

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encouraged to work harder and longer hours – and at a certain point we have to question whether it is still worth it.

Since so much of the industry, and a planter’s profit, is governed by production, the pressure to push through an injury is constantly looming.

The sticker that comes with our brand new pair of planting bags says, “Shut up and plant!” and many successful planters internalize this motto from day one. While it’s this attitude that allows planters to make money, it’s also why many planters end up with chronic injuries.

mindlessly mashing buttons until the credits rolled. Dark Souls shows that an experience is all the more rewarding as you learn from it. The literal endorphin rush that hits you after slaying a beast that has been handing you your ass for an entire week is almost incomparable.

Now, when I play games, I want to be kicked in the teeth. I’m chasing that high. Literally chasing dragons. I started as a dull instrument and was slowly shaped and honed by my failures to a razor-sharp edge. One that could cut through the challenge. I like to think that those lessons learned carry over into the real world: patience, reflection, determination, and more. Embracing failure in games helped me embrace failure in my own life. Though we can’t press the reset button to do everything over, we can learn from our mistakes and strive forward. And with each passing challenge, we become stronger.

Growing up on Vancouver Island, I always had a vague concept of what planting was. The road that leads to my family’s home is peppered with clear cuts and every so often I will spot a little figure with white saddle bags, zigzagging across the land. Despite years of fascination with the tree-planting industry, it wasn’t until I was 22 when I decided to go planting. Having left a degree after two years of financial stress, I felt the need to do something different.

I had some experience working in bush camps, a history as an athlete and was probably as prepared as I could have been. However, like many people, my first season was a write off.

In the first month a quick succession of setbacks took me out – there was some camp-wide puking, some tendonitis, some crying, some sprained-shouldering, and some heat exhaustion (in other words: the usual). But of course, early on, planters are instilled with the idea that there is never an acceptable reason not to plant, so I pushed through an injury for another few weeks until I got over my pride and realized it wasn’t worth it.

Of course, while I decided to leave my first season, and swore that I wouldn’t plant again – I have now since finished three seasons. This is mostly because I have selective memory, tend to only remember the best parts, enjoy mild discomfort and I’m broke. Every season I see people who are encouraged to push through injuries, and there is a silent shame attached to staying in camp to recover. To say that I have a love-hate relationship with planting would be an understatement.

Tree-planting may be an extreme example of companies that use workers’ financial reliance to their gain, but there are many examples of jobs that take advantage of, and underpay, their employees (as we saw recently with the Tim Horton’s franchise owners in Whitby, Ontario). Too often, our tacit agreements with our employers, and our fear of being fired, gets in the way of improving our work environments.

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/CAPILANOCOURIER

-RACHEL WADA

STAFF EDITORIAL

Open Net: sports culture is for everyone HELEN AIKENHEAD FEATURES EDITOR

I

have a very clear memory of when I first read the announcement that my favourite hockey player, Charline Labonté, had retired late last September.

It hit me hard that I wouldn't see her play any more games with Les Canadiennes or see her win a fifth gold medal representing team Canada at the upcoming Olympics.

Although I was upset in the moment, it also reminded me how remarkable it is, and how grateful I am, to have witnessed a career like hers. Labonté played a huge role in solidifying my appreciation for hockey, and I'll forever consider her as one of my all-time favourite athletes.

The weight of that announcement felt to me like something significant, so it came as a bit of a blow when the reaction from the friend I entrusted with how I felt about it was “Oh, I didn't think you really liked hockey.” The thing is, I love it, but it's reactions like that that keep me pretty quiet about my interest. More often than

not, those reactions are followed by an onslaught of interrogative questions that feel like some sort of trivia night that you didn't sign up for and that never ends.

There is no one-way to be a sports fan.

But in my experience, there is only one accepted way to be a female sports fan.

It seems to me that for you to be taken seriously you need to be involved in several fantasy leagues, defy the laws of time and space to watch every single game that's ever aired, and be able to recite all of your favourite players' stats by heart.

I'm not saying that all women who enjoy sports have had the same experience or that some women don't love the statistical aspect. I'm also not insinuating that it's only men who react this way, or that men and women are the only people involved in discussions of sport. I can only say what I've experienced, and that is a burden of expertise being a prerequisite in proving yourself as a sports fan. This is different from friendly discussions about your favourite teams or asking if you caught the last game, this is the palpable sense of being tested and having to prove yourself.

No friendly question has ever started with “Oh yeah? Well...”

For me, what I love most about sports has never been found in the stats alone, but in the culture that surrounds. In both their platform for political conversation and the community they build, sports provide some of the most poignant looks

into our society. So when your love of a game is tested, or rather, reduced to one small part of this multi-faceted universe of culture, it can be pretty damn frustrating.

I read recently that sports have such deep-seated roots in militarism and nationalism – two historically malecentred constructs – and that this is where the idea of sports being a man's world came from. And now, such a long history has made it difficult for the idea of sport and gender to be separated. If that's the case, then I can only assume that somewhere among the mess of toxic messages thrown at young boys and men is the message that they need to preserve the exclusivity of sport.

These androcentric roots are everywhere in sport. Using a modifier to say “women's hockey,” whereas men's divisions are generally just referred to as hockey is just one example and perhaps the most obvious. To some, that may seem small, but really, it comes loaded with the historical context of insinuated inferiority.

When I first started paying more attention to hockey through a cultural lens than one of athleticism, that's when I really fell for it. It was as if everything I loved about sport culture had been put into this one beautiful game and exemplified.

There is such a rich background to the development of professional women's leagues that continue today. Up until last year, the women playing in the CWHL

weren't even paid, they truly just love the game. Now that they are paid, many of them still need other jobs to supplement that pay – an idea unheard of in a league like the NHL – because the sports industry still places such disproportionate value into men's hockey.

We're going through a considerably political period, I don't need to tell you that. I also don't need to tell you that sports have, throughout history, been a part of other periods such as this, and played their roles then too. Yet, now more than ever, I really do believe that something has shifted that's allowed for sports to be taken seriously as vessels for productive social commentary.

In an Olympic year, it's even more exciting. Sports culture is amplified to unparalleled levels while everyone gets in the spirit of cheering on their favourite athletes. There's always a game or event to watch, and media dedicates more time to the conversations rising out of sport culture. And usually, there's a bit of a time-out on the interrogations in proving you're a sports fan. The national team is getting settled in PyeongChang this week and I'm getting ready to cheer them on.

And although this year it won't be Labonté guarding the net, I know there's still so much to look forward to. Because in the world of sports, there always is.

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FEATURES

Kaya Dorey Q&A w hen kaya dorey walked out the doors

of Capilano University for the last time in 2013, she was armed with a Bachelor's in Tourism Management, keen business skills and a passion for sustainability.

Back then her peers surely knew it was only a matter of time before she made a huge name for herself. After further pursuing her interests and going on to complete a sustainable leadership program at BCIT, Dorey devised her own sustainable clothing company, NOVEL SUPPLY CO. Now, the company that saw its first production run funded through Kickstarter has brought Dorey into the international spotlight, and all the way to Kenya to address a UN conference. Here, Dorey speaks to that experience and more.

BY HELEN AIKENHEAD PHOTO BY TWIST & SHUTTER

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@CAPILANOCOURIER

For anyone unfamiliar with the brand, how would you describe NOVEL SUPPLY CO.?

NOVEL SUPPLY CO. is a conscious apparel brand for the urban adventurer.

We design rad apparel made from hemp and organic cotton so you don’t have to sacrifice your style to make the more conscious choice. We’re on a mission to make sustainability cool.

What was the inspiration behind the company?

I did a project on textiles waste and learned all about synthetic fabrics and how when you blend them you can’t recycle them and they don’t biodegrade. I also learned about the micro plastics that shed off our clothing in the wash and are polluting our waters and are entering our food chain. I realized I wanted to work for a brand that cared about the impact they were making in the world but also supplying rad clothing. I couldn’t really find any brands that suited both my style and values so I decided to venture out on my own.

What makes it different?

NOVEL apparel is not only designed but also manufactured ethically right here in Vancouver. My apparel is made with hemp and organic cotton that isn’t toxically dyed. Designs are gender-neutral, minimalist, comfy and relaxed. I work with local artists to design the prints on the shirts so the designs are limited edition and ever changing. Sustainability is at the forefront of any decision that’s made even though it’s more expensive for now.

Can you explain to the readers what the UN Young Champion of the Earth prize is?

This year, six young people from all over the world won the Young Champion of the Earth prize, made possible by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Covestro. The award is in support of environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources; the prize consists of $15,000 USD seed funding, plus intensive training and high profile mentorship to help the project come to life.

How does it feel to be recognized at an international level by a group like the UN? It’s surreal! It’s really encouraging to know that a group like the UN supports the need to redesign the fashion industry.

Having their support and network is really going to open a lot of doors and opportunities for me.

What was it like travelling to Kenya to collect the award and address a UN conference?

Kenya was one of the most unique places I have ever travelled too. The people, animals and sights were colourful in all senses of the word. I got the opportunity to speak at a Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue as well as sit on a panel with Jason Kibbey from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian astronaut in space and talk about

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how to make the fashion industry more sustainable. These experiences were instrumental in making my trip life changing.

How do you prepare for something like that?

I don’t think you can really mentally prepare for something like this. I wrote out what I was going to say before and practiced in my room but when it came down to it, I had to pretend that no one knew who I was, since I get more nervous around people I know or that know me. In reality, they were environment ministers from all around the world that were well aware of who the Young Champions of the Earth were.

What are your goals for the company in 2018?

- Develop a take back program for the apparel I am making and take responsibility for the apparel I make and create a solution for the waste at the end of their life - Manufacture another production run - Design two new products - Partner with two designers - Develop two new artist collaborations - Get into three boutique stores around Vancouver

What are your goals for the company looking even further ahead?

Research composting solution for fabric and research automated manufacturing

What is something you wish more people would understand about sustainable clothing?

I wish people would understand that the price of a garment isn’t really the true cost. Someone or the planet is paying the price to make it that cheap. I also wish people would consider the end of life of products when they go to buy something.

If it can’t be recycled or there’s no way to break it down then you shouldn’t buy it.

Straight up.

Has winning the award changed anything for you in terms of future plans for the company?

A big part of this award is actually the mentorship and network that we receive.

Now that I have a lot more resources and people at my fingertips, it’s going to allow me to develop new opportunities for collaboration and connect with experts in the field that are already implementing circular economy models that I wouldn’t have had access too.

Do you have any plans of expansion?

I am planning on more collaborations this year and getting into a few boutique stores in Vancouver as well as entering 20 per cent more markets.

Do you have any more projects in the works?

Were you inspired by anything at the conference that you would like to incorporate into NOVEL SUPPLY CO.?

At the Sustainable Innovation Expo tent, there were some really interesting projects that stood out to me. One booth was upcycling plastic bags into totes and there was another that was turning waste into biogas. It gave me motivation to get going on this take back program and really develop new and innovative solutions for the textiles waste.

You had already graduated from Capilano University by the time you launched the company, but had you already started thinking about starting it while you were here?

I hadn’t conceived the idea of a sustainable apparel line, however, CapU is where I developed a passion for sustainability and the skills to start my own business. I took two environmental stewardship courses, a course in climate change and a course on policy and planning. These courses are what inspired me to become a change maker in sustainability.

Did anyone or anything from your time at CapU help inspire you to start the company or put you on that track?

A few of my teachers: Greig Gjerdalen, Joe Kelly and Kim McLeod, were instrumental in putting me on this path. They’re the ones that truly walked the walk by biking to school, taking public transit or bringing their reusable mugs without fail. They showed videos like The Story of Stuff, assigned projects related to climate change and brought us outside to appreciate nature. These experiences and people are the reason I chose to further my education in sustainability and ultimately start NOVEL SUPPLY CO.

What advice would you give to the students at Cap who want to start their own business?

- Take advantage of the networking opportunities while you’re a student because when you’re done, they are much fewer and harder to get to - Choose electives based on what your passionate about not what will be the easiest to pass - Search for events around Vancouver and just go and you’ll find what you do and do not like and either is good - Have informational interviews with people in fields that interest you (come prepared with questions, don’t ask for a job, always follow up and be very professional in your e-mails – download Grammarly on your computer) - Do projects on things you’re passionate about not just what’s easy – you’ll get a lot more out of it and likely a better grade - Go to Small Business BC and get as much information as you can - Look into Futurepreneur - Get a mentor

I am working on a rad collaboration with another artist named Tori Swanson right now. She will be designing a limited edition print and a percentage of proceeds will go to an organization that aligns with both our missions.

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FEATURES

Uber drives forces of change, for better or worse

BY FREYA WASTENEYS ILLUSTRATION BY KARLA MONTERROSA

In recent years, ride-hailing or ridesourcing services such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar have exploded in popularity around the world. Well known and well loved for offering a unique combination of convenience and affordability, without the hassle of investment on the part of the drivers, these services have become a hot topic of conversation between regulators, taxi drivers and consumers.

Uber is the fastest growing ride-sourcing service, and is active in 662 cities. As the last big city in North America to welcome ride sourcing, Vancouver is under pressure from the public to get with the times.

While the BC government has finally relented to the idea of these ride-sourcing services, the debate around what regulations will be imposed continues. Currently, the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations is under pressure to release a report underlining the conditions of these services by Feb. 15, 2018. The government’s commitment is to have ride sourcing in place by the end of the year, but there is some concern that these regulations will have a negative effect on some of the more attractive aspects of ride sourcing, such as price.

Not to be mistaken with ride sharing, which is defined legally as not-for-profit carpooling, ride sourcing is set apart from taxis by connecting private vehicles with travelers through the convenience of a smartphone app.

“I know a lot of consumers are very grateful for the Uber and Lyft style app, but there’s nothing actually preventing a taxi company from having the same thing,” said North VancouverLonsdale MLA, Bowinn Ma. “In BC, we don’t regulate that technology, we don’t regulate apps. So for example in Richmond it was revealed that half a dozen Transport Network Companies (TNCs) already operate. The app is not illegal – they’re free to operate,” she explained. “What is currently illegal is driving passengers around for money in personal vehicles without the proper insurance.”

But according to Uber’s public policy

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manager, Michael van Hemmen, the issue of insurance is less complicated than politicians are making it seem.

“Uber would purchase insurance from ICBC that would cover every trip from when the driver accepts a trip request to when they drop off the last passenger,” said van Hemmen in a meeting held in Vancouver on Jan. 8.

Essentially, what the regulators are trying to determine through conferences held this month is how to allow personal vehicles to provide commercial services while maintaining driver and consumer safety, a level playing field for taxi companies and a high level of labour standards; a tall order to fill.

There is no doubt that taxi companies have every right to be concerned.

Around the world, taxis have taken a hit as companies like Uber become the transportation of choice for many commuters. In 2016, Yellow Cab in San Francisco filed for bankruptcy protection, and other companies appear to be facing similar prospects. Uber’s “predatory” pricing scheme means that they continue to operate at a loss in order to drive out competition, so they can achieve a dominant position in the global market, and eventually drive up their prices.

Of course, as a highly regulated service, taxis are at a disadvantage. In order to ensure a high level of safety, the government regulates criminal record checks, driver training, rates, and insurance, which result in high overhead costs for taxi companies.

“The government has imposed all of these regulations on ride hailing already on taxi companies,” explained Ma. “So it would not be fair to that industry that has worked within these rules for us to create a whole new set of rules that ignored all of the reasons why we implemented those rules in the first place.”

In a recent report by Global News, Carolyn Bauer, president of the BC Taxi Association addressed that taxis are not currently meeting the needs of the public, but proposed that the use of an app like Kater might be a viable option. Kater is an existing app which

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would dispatch the nearest vehicle, be it a taxi, Uber, or another ride-hailing or ride-sourcing service. However, Global News also reported that Green Party leader, Andrew Weaver, is worried that this would limit the competition in the industry and could mean that ridehailing services have no incentive to improve.

In consultations, taxi drivers and owners have said that they would simply

“I know a lot of consumers are very grateful for the Uber and Lyft style app, but there’s nothing actually preventing a taxi company from having the same thing.”

– bowinn

ma

like to be given the same advantages that Uber drivers are given, but this too introduces a bit of a dilemma. Either the licensing and insurance standards for Uber will have to be raised, or taxi standards will have to be lowered.

Users, however, benefit from having both economical and regulated options available, so by creating a “level playing field,” there is a concern that we are compromising the desirable aspects of both amenities.

If the government imposes more arduous licensing requirements on services like Uber, it would potentially cut down on the number of casual or part-time drivers who are attracted to working for these services. Additional regulations could also drive up the price, which may not be welcomed by consumers. Many people who use Uber are aware that by doing so, they are taking a small risk, but often deem it to be worth it for the cost and convenience.

However, both the rating system and

the ability to see the driver through the app helps to give them a sense of control.

“I’ve been in a few not so great Ubers, but I was able to offer feedback, to which Uber responded to,” said Katie Welsh, an Uber user in Guelph, Ontario. “With a taxi company I feel like it’s much harder to do that, and I wouldn’t expect any response.”

However, not all Uber customers felt their concerns were addressed, and issues with security have some users troubled. Shaelyn McNamara, a flight attendant for Air Georgian, has been a frequent user of Uber in the past due to her ever-changing and unpredictable work schedule. “I have had multiple issues with Uber, with no options to ask for help beyond the limited options available on the app,” McNamara said. “When my account was hacked in Orlando, and an unknown person was ordering rides with my credit card information, I was unable to contact Uber for support. The company has no phone number to call and speak to a live representative unless you are an Uber driver, or if you find one of the few Uber-hubs to visit in person.”

McNamara said that the customer service she experienced through Uber made her feel unsafe trusting her credit card information with them, especially a company with a track record of dishonesty. Former CEO Travis Kalanik’s cover-up of the 2014 and 2016 cyber attacks, which left 57 million users vulnerable to having their personal data stolen, were just two instances among several that have left users feeling insecure. Overall, McNamara said she felt unvalued as a customer, and was unlikely to use Uber again if other options were available. While customers do use the service at their own risk, the company appears to be more focused on their own rapid success than on the needs of their customer base.

Ma stressed that she did not want to focus on Uber as a business, and that the regulatory regimes would not be created in the interest of certain companies.

“These regimes are created for certain trends in the marketplace or new services,” she said. “But we don’t want

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to create a regulatory regime that is created to benefit a specific company.”

While certain issues may have simple solutions, there are aspects that require more thought. In addition to worries

“The government’s commitment is to have ride sourcing in place by the end of the year, but there is some concern that these regulations will have a negative effect on some of the more attractive aspects of ride sourcing, such as price.”

surrounding industry standards, public safety and a level playing field for taxi companies, the other unanswered question is whether we actually want more cars on the road, since many commuters who would normally bus readily admit that they are inclined to use Uber several times a week because it is a more convenient option. According to an article published in Craine’s Magazine based out of New York, the lack of regulation around Uber has led to increased congestion on the city’s roads, equating to longer hours and lower incomes for all drivers.

There are also some environmental concerns – according to the BC Passenger Transport Board’s EcoFriendly Taxi policy, all conventional taxis are required to be eco-friendly vehicles in urban areas of the province.

This would be hard to police with private vehicles and there are already huge issues with congestion in Vancouver,

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not to mention existing concerns about reducing emissions in BC. Overall, the issues brought forward by the recent conversations surrounding ride sourcing have shown that the public would like more affordable and convenient transport options. Currently, the needs of the public are not being met, especially as traffic on the road increases, but the implementation of Uber may not bring the relief that is so fervently hoped for. What we do know however, is that the area in which people tend to be the most concerned is price, and that they want their service to be easy and efficient. Most of all, we know that people are desperate for an immediate solution.

In 2016, the Tyee reported that the Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister, Peter Fassbender, said the government was intent on taking “a long-term view on the issue.” Vancouver may

be one of the last big cities to hop on the bandwagon, but they also have a lot more information to consider, and can hopefully learn from some of the issues ride sourcing has caused in other big cities around the world. While it’s certain that the public just wants the government to make a decision, their hesitation is warranted.

“It is important to note that there is no political party arguing whether or not we should allow ride-hailing services,” said Ma. “The question now is simply how we do it in a way that ensures public safety, that protects consumers, that ensures a high level of labour standards and is also respectful of existing ride hailing services in BC.” As is life, the desire to please everyone has nobody thrilled.

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13

SHORTS

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CALENDAR

JAN.-FEB. 29

2

BRENT BUTT

FRI

RICKY GERVAIS: HUMANITY QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE 7:30 P.M. / $89

MON

Like every other comedian on tour these days, you will have to sit through the obligatory Trump jokes at the start of the show. Look, I’m not saying Trump isn’t hilarious, but can we do one comedy show without alluding to him? Other than that, Ricky Gervais is one of the funniest comedians out there. It’s a show worth seeing.

TRADITIONAL SHAOLIN KUNG FU MOBERLY ARTS AND CULTURAL CENTRE 6 P.M. / FREE

I think everyone at CapU could use a little brushing up on their Kung Fu skills. It’s a lot more interesting than that karate class your parents made you do as a kid. The place is called Immortal Dragon for crying out loud, it doesn’t get much cooler than that.

30 TUES

LIGHTS

RIVER ROCK CASINO 8 P.M. / $39

VOGUE THEATRE 7 P.M. / $40

The River Rock Casino is an appropriate place to see Brent Butt. The star of Corner Gas is still doing comedy. You’ll probably hear lots of anecdotes about small town Canada. How exciting.

The girl that every scene kid had a crush on in middle school is in Vancouver, touring her 2017 album Skin & Earth. According to Wikipedia, Lights lives in Mission. Why someone who makes over minimum wage would purposely choose to live there is beyond me.

THE SPACE BETWEEN: MICROCOSM, MACROCOSM

THE HARPOONIST & THE AXE MURDERER CENTENNIAL THEATRE 8 P.M. / $28

FERRY BUILDING GALLERY 6 P.M. / FREE

I gave this band a pretty bad review a few years ago. Their music isn’t bad by any stretch, but once you hear one song, you’ve pretty much heard them all. The Nickleback of blues. That said, if you like the White Stripes style of gritty blues music, you will enjoy this show.

Lynn Greene will have a selection of art on display at the gallery.

Her paintings are accented with 24K gold, which is pretty cool and explains why they’ll inevitably cost so much.

31 WED

PALM HAZE / INDIGO INDIGO / LATE NIGHT TAKEAWAY LANALOU’S 7:30 P.M. / $10

If you Google “famous musicians from Burnaby,” you’ll get Matthew Good and Michael Bublé, but if you Google “famous musicians from North Burnaby,” you’ll get zero hits. That’s because the hottest band from North Burnaby has patiently been taking their time before taking over. If you see Indigo Indigo at Lanalou’s, it won’t be long before you get interviewed about this legendary, star-making performance.

3 SAT

This event pretty much sells itself. Comedy and strippers, can there possibly be a more entertaining way to spend your Saturday?

Anybody who’s had the misfortune of working with me knows there are few things in life I enjoy more than going to the Famous Warehouse for chicken wings. The truth is there are a lot of places where you can get better wings. What you can’t get anywhere else, however, is 40 wings for $10. That’s a price you cannot beat.

1

THURS

The amount of support we received for hosing these awards last year was humbling. It’s sometimes too easy to be cynical about the school spirit of a commuter campus tucked away on a mountain. Last year taught us that there are people who care about the University and I hope this year will be the same.

Nearly $170 to see someone who has written exactly one good song is absurd. You may ask why I’ve included it in the calendar, and that’s a good question. The truth is because I really like that one song.

YORK THEATRE 8 P.M. / $40

FAMOUS WAREHOUSE ALL DAY / $0.25

CSU MEMBERS CENTRE 6 PM

COMMODORE BALLROOM 7 P.M. / $159

THE COMIC STRIPPERS

WING WEDNESDAY

BEST OF CAPILANO

MILKY CHANCE

4 SUN

SUPER BOWL

UNAVOIDABLE 3:30 P.M. / A SIX-PACK

Nobody cares about the Super Bowl, we just want to see the commercials. All I know is that the Patriots are in it. That was the only thing I knew about last year’s, too. Tom Brady is going to win his 20th Super Bowl ring or whatever and become the greatest

HARDWIRING HEALTHY HABITS

ELEPHANT REVIVAL

I write this after eating an entire bag of sour peaches. Maybe I’m putting this in the calendar as a reminder that pizza is not a food group and going to the gym is not supposed to be a punishment.

A folk group from Colorado that sounds exactly like every other folk band you’ve heard since Mumford & Sons made it big. I like folk music though, so I would probably have a good time here. Just be aware that at some point there will be a banjo.

BIRCH BUILDING, BR203 11:30 A.M. / FREE

THE IMPERIAL 7 P.M. / $25

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 13

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ARTS & CULTURE

Climbers flock to the North Shore Hive for Provincial Bouldering Championships FREYA WASTENEYS CONTRIBUTOR

O

n Jan. 27-28, up to 150 people gathered at the North Shore Hive for the BC Bouldering Championships. For the athletes in attendance, the Saturday event was a chance to compete against some of the best youth and adult climbers from around the province. On Sunday, the citizen’s competition also gave less experienced climbers a low-pressure opportunity to participate and test their mettle.

While most of us probably imagine climbers as lanky, muscled individuals with long hair, Bell sets us straight.

“We get people from all different walks of life,” said Kate Bell, the Hive’s community and events coordinator.

“We get students, we get climbing and travelling bums, we get doctors, lawyers, and everything in between.”

She described the community as unique, supportive and diverse. “It’s really a wide spread of individuals,” she said.

“But you get all these people together in the same room, and their passion for the sport takes over anything else.”

Bell herself started climbing 10 years ago, after her friends encouraged her (unrelentingly) to join them. For her, it was love at first climb, though she admits that she was never particularly into sports during her time in high school.

“It’s a good way to trick yourself into being active,” she said. “Climbers,

or boulderers in particular, are exceptionally lazy for how fit they are – we often try to figure out how to put in as little effort, and as little movement as we can to get to the top of a climb.”

Because of this aspect of climbing, Bell explained that it is often a very social activity, since climbers tend to work together to solve route problems.

While Bell admitted that it can seem intimidating at first, she stressed the non-judgmental nature of most climbers.

“Everybody who climbs will tell you that there are definitely ‘high gravity’ days,” she said. “Nobody is really great at climbing when they first start, but every person is trying their best at whatever level they’re at, so we’re all sort of failing together - and that’s okay.”

While not everyone is interested in competing, for most people climbing is an excellent way to find a sense of community, and push themselves in a low-pressure environment. Robbie Hébert, a third year student in Capilano’s Performing Arts program, joined the Capilano Climbing Club a year and a half ago, and participates in the club’s weekly meet ups at the Hive. “I love that it pulls people from all different programs,” said Hébert.

“There’s a bunch of people who I wouldn’t have otherwise met. It often puts me in a better mood, and helps end my Wednesdays on a really positive note.”

Since the club receives Wednesday night discounts from the Hive, Hébert finds that the meet ups are an affordable and social way to blow off steam, and an escape from the pressures of school and work. “I love that it’s not connected to my work in any way,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier to have fun, and

-PHOTO BY SCOTT BARKEMEYER

Feats of anti-gravity

that’s a big part about why a lot of us go.

It’s nice to connect with people through that.”

For Bell, the beauty of climbing is that it teaches people to approach problems in constructive ways, and encourages patience, problem solving, and emotional management. “When you’re trying

the same thing over and over again, and you’re not getting anywhere, it’s the definition of insanity,” she said.

“Learning to step back, process, and manage your frustrations is probably the most important thing I’ve gained from climbing.”

there’s lots of moments that really lend themselves well to singing and dancing.

done to do a service to the script.

The original film that this production evolved from is so iconic, and stands as comedy-filled, women-empowerment resource. How have you personally connected to the character and her scenario of being undermined as a woman? How do you connect to the film on a basis of feminism?

She goes through a journey of feeling like she can have everything she wants and then learning that you actually have to work for some things, but she does, she puts her mind to it and she gets what she wants. I think that that’s a good message for women in general, or girls perhaps, that people might tell you that you can’t do something, but if that’s what you really want, you can.

Bend and Snap Julia Ullrich talks about playing Elle Woods in the stage production of Legally Blonde ANNALISSE CROSSWELL CONTRIBUTOR

J

What led you to pursue this role?

ulia Ullrich was already a professional before she even knew it. Her parents put her into acting at a young age, but like any child Ullrich had starkly different priorities. “I just want to play with my friends,” she recalled saying, “I don’t want to have to learn lines.” Though she wound up dropping out of acting, she ultimately found her way back to the stage in high school and this time, she fell in love with the craft. Eventually, Ullrich moved to Capilano University, where she completed the intensive three-year musical theatre program in 2013, before supplementing her education and skills with further acting studies at UBC. Starting Feb. 2, Ullrich will lead Align Entertainment’s stage production of the

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popular film Legally Blonde, playing the role of the iconic Elle Woods. Ahead of the show’s launch, the Capilano Courier caught up with Ullrich to talk about landing the role and what it’s playing such a memorable character.

I went to the auditions and honestly, I didn’t think that I was really well suited for the part. So, I went and I thought, ‘Oh it’s such a fun show maybe I’ll be one of the friends or maybe I’ll be Vivan’.

I got a first call back and I said, ‘Sure.

Okay. Going to go for it’, and it went really well and I started to feel invested.

It’s a lot different than I think what people might be expecting.

Because of the film’s massive success, do you feel it was difficult to translate the film to the stage?

Actually no. I think the writers and the music writers did a really awesome job of making it into a musical. Yeah, it’s not exactly the same as the film, but I think the story works really well as a musical. It’s larger than life, it’s so pink

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 13

What has working with the cast and crew been like?

It’s really fun. Everybody there is so nice. It’s a lot of women in a room there’s not very many guys in the show. I had never worked with this company before and I had heard that working with them was a lot like working with a family and you feel really connected to everybody and I definitely get that now. They’re so kind and it feels like a team for sure.

Has the role taught you anything new about acting that you may not have thought it would? In the film Elle Woods has a large personality, so how did you match that on the stage?

I guess maybe to trust my gut a little bit more. Sometimes I struggle with making big choices and with this character I really need to go for it and make big choices. So, I guess I’m just learning to trust myself a little bit more and not worry so much, just do what needs to be

Legally Blonde will be on stage at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby from Feb. 2 to Feb. 17. Tickets range from $27 to $39 and are available at Align Entertainment’s website.

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/CAPILANOCOURIER

The double life of Cullen Hughes even starts off with a sample of a scene from Death Note. “I like that VHS, 90s look,” said Hughes. “I feel like lo-fi with the vinyl static fits that look.”

Part of what makes Hughes’ production so gravitating is how he combines his skill with a digital audio workstation with his knowledge of classical instruments. “You hear a lot of the newer people, they’ll find some weird jazz song they’ll hear on YouTube, download it, put a couple of drums over top and throw it on Soundcloud,” he said.

“I like to add my own layers to the song

“It’s weird releasing music, because it is almost personal. It’s weird saying, ‘Ooh I like this, I made this’ and then putting it out there, it feels kind of almost exposing, so it's nice having people out there saying, ‘It's good, we like it, it sounds good’.”

Meet the student behind LUCID, SoundCloud's lo-fi hip-hop extraordinaire CARLO JAVIER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

C

ullen Hughes is not hiding anything, but you could say that the 21-year-old, fourthyear Capilano University Business Administration student lives a double life. On any given day, he could pass as any regular university student. He loves hip-hop, works a part-time job at North Shore Community Resources and learned to play the piano in the third grade before switching over to trumpet in high school. But there’s a duality in Hughes that does not always manifest itself in your everyday student. When the sun goes down and night sets in, Hughes tidies up his room, prepares some green tea and gets to work. While his classmates and peers may refer to him simply as “Cullen”, on Soundcloud, Hughes is known as “LUCID”, a lo-fi hiphop extraordinaire.

In the near two years since he started

releasing music under the moniker of LUCID, Hughes has amassed over 2,000 followers on Soundcloud, been a part of online music collectives within both the electronic and the lo-fi hiphop community and as of last summer, started working with United Common Records (UCR) and is due to release two albums under the startup label.

It was a serendipitous moment at a previous job that gave Hughes the idea for the name, LUCID. In what seemed like just another routine shift, Hughes noticed something unusual in the pet store’s latest shipment haul. He had grown accustomed to seeing brands like Jamieson’s and Super Pet, that when he saw “Lucid”, he could not help but comment on how out of place it was.

“That’s way too cool for a pet food name,” he recalled.

While his takeoff into music started in the third grade, his production work only began just around two years ago. A long-time hip-hop fan who taps Madlib, J. Dilla and Flying Lotus as his biggest inspirations, Hughes found he needed a way to satisfy his creative desire – one that a trumpet just could not achieve on its own.

His first productions centred on experimental electronic music.

“JUNGLE”, the first track uploaded on his SoundCloud is reminiscent of the ‘intelligent dance music’ (IDM) that Flying Lotus popularized. “Dark Forest” channels a similar electronic feel, even almost breaching towards the ominous atmosphere of Until the Quiet Comes.

Soon, Hughes branched out of electronic, and found his niche in the lo-fi hip-hop community. “Most of the music that I do listen to is pretty laid back and relaxed,” he said. “The sound that I come out with reflects a little bit of the sound that I listen to.”

These “laid back and relaxed” tunes are evident in the music Hughes has released. “Proceed” is a keys-driven track that features the dexterous rapping of Spokane-based emcee, Xander. In “Before You”, another collaboration with Xander, and beatmaker Kasper, Hughes calls back to his jazz roots, offering a lush environment for the impressive rapper.

His other inspirations are also evident in the overall aesthetic and presentation of his music. Tracks feature anime and cartoons as art and the song “Over”,

as well, so I’ll put in my own bass line, synths that I have, do all that kind of stuff myself.”

While his work as LUCID has given him a creative outlet to prosper his passion, there is a bit of dissonance that looms. “It’s weird releasing music, because it is almost personal,” he said.

“It’s weird saying, ‘Ooh I like this, I made this’ and then putting it out there, it feels kind of almost exposing, so it's nice having people out there saying, ‘It's good, we like it, it sounds good’.”

The latest song on Hughes’ Soundcloud is the aptly-titled “Things will be better soon”. The track is a dreamy adventure that samples Chet Baker’s “You’re Mine, You”, looping and layering the song’s haunting jazz guitar intro with a simple drumbeat. Hughes’ modifications may seem innocuous, but the little details he added completely transformed Baker’s melancholic tune, to a lush, cozy and relaxing song.

Hughes admits that he was not in the best of places when he mixed the song.

His girlfriend had been away travelling, and the song’s somber feel perfectly captured his gloomy mood. Released six months ago, “Things will be better soon” essentially marked a potentially massive shift in Hughes’ young career. After its release, UCR reached out to him with an opportunity. LUCID has been silent as of late, but this could very well be just a momentary blip. With two albums on the way, things just might indeed be better soon.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 13

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SPORTS

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MEN'S BASKETBALL WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL place

record

position change

2 8-6 �

place

record

position change

4 11-9

place

record

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1 11-3 -

position change

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

1 17-3 -

place

record

position change

Faster breaks to the bucket Three-point shooting and uptempo offence are boosting the Blues to a strong regular season finish GRETA KOOY CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

D

espite a rocky start to their season, the Capilano University Blues men’s basketball team is beginning to see the results they’ve been working towards. Though their record stands at eight wins and six losses, they still hold the second seed in the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST), trailing only the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners who are ranked second in the country. The team’s reinvigorated offence should allow them to finish strong and make a solid push in the PACWEST playoffs.

Bouncing back from three straight losses to the Langara Falcons, the Camosun Chargers and VIU at the beginning of the season, the Blues finished the year off winning games against the Douglas College Royals and Columbia Bible College Bearcats.

In January, the team started strong, winning back-to-back games against CBC but then dropped a pair of games against VIU the following weekend.

Winning their next two games against the Quest University Kermodes, however, could get the ball rolling for the team. “We had a chip on our shoulder from last weekend, losing two games at home,” said fourth-year transfer forward, Denver Sparks-Guest.

The talented player has been one of the team’s key factors on offence this year, putting up the second most points per game in the PACWEST, at 21.4 per contest. “A lot of us were pretty motivated to get up there and work our hardest against Quest, and it showed and paid off,” he added.

With only four games left to play in the regular season, the Blues will be looking to their key offensive players to end their season successfully. “I score a lot, but the offence is meant to get everyone a touch and an option, an opportunity to score,” said Hassan Phills, the Blues’ co-captain.

“It starts with Wowie [Untalan] and then Brenden [Bailey] and CJ [Campbell]. Those three guys… do a tremendous job at getting the ball up to the two-man and three-man right away,” said head coach Cassidy Kannemeyer.

Playing a faster game over last season, the Blues rely in part on the quick decision making of various players. “Our post players all have the ability to take multiple dribbles and asses the defence

in front of them and make plays based on that defence,” said Kannemeyer, adding that the ball is moving much quicker up the floor thanks to the altruism of the team’s key players.

As it stands, the Blues are ranked third in the PACWEST in points per game, averaging 86.9, and third in field goals made per game at 31.9.

“Offensively… it’s a lot of continuity, which means we basically cycle through the offence with a bunch of options,” said Phills. “We like to get [the ball] to the second side of our offence as soon as possible.”

Although the team’s offensive strategies remain similar to last season’s, Kannemeyer has simplified things. “The guys are thinking less and sort of reading the defense more, which is good, they’re just reacting,” he said.

This “proactive reaction,” as he calls it, means faster responses from players and more shots at the hoop. “Communicating is one of the biggest things,” said Phills.

“We echo our sets so that everyone’s on the same page,” he added.

The Blues are ranked fifth in total rebounds per game, with 14.6 per game coming on offence and 30.7 on defense.

“I think we do a good job at handling our defensive glass most nights, but I know that teams like Camosun and VIU and Douglas have very good offensive

rebounding numbers,” said Kannemeyer.

Where the Blues are finding their most solid numbers, however, is beyond the arc. With an average of 10.4 threepointers finding the basket per night, the team is ranked first in the PACWEST in three pointers made per game, and second in attempts (31.4) and percentage (33.2).

Many frontcourt players on the team have the ability the move the ball up the court quickly as well, most notably cocaptain Niko Mottus, Nathan Bromige and Denver Sparks-Guest. “When they get the rebound, they can just go.

That’s a tremendous advantage for us,” said Kannemeyer. “Our offence and everybody on our team is pretty fast…

We get the ball moving quickly. The faster you go, the quicker you move, the more shots you get to take,” added Sparks-Guest, “I’ve been lucky enough to hit a few of them,” he said humbly.

With back to back games against Camosun this past weekend, the Blues exhibited their offensive prowess.

Falling behind early in both games they fought their way back twice with a combination of tight defence and impressive scoring, splitting the series.

Playing the third-ranked Langara Falcons next weekend, the Blues will have to keep their pace up to see the results they want.

Captain Tyneille Neufeld sidelined with injury Ankle sprain could put star hitter out of commission until the playoffs JUSTIN SCOTT MANAGING EDITOR

T

wo weeks ago, the Capilano University Blues women’s volleyball team looked as though they may never lose again. They had won six games in a row and were on roll.

However, one fateful practice proved how fragile a winning team can be. “We run the play, it’s a tight set so I go in and I’m reaching for it,” said team captain, Tyneille Neufeld. “I reached for it a little bit too much, I came down wrong and my momentum carried my foot over.” Just the day before their match against the top ranked Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners, Neufeld had suffered a high-ankle sprain in practice.

“We were just starting to get in a pretty good groove,” said head coach Cal Wohlford. “We were on a six-game win

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THE CAPILANO COURIER

streak and had a great weekend over at COTR [The College of the Rockies]. It was a good groove practice that we were having, everyone was in a good mood and then all of a sudden we see her crawling across the floor, crying.”

More frustrating, is that this wasn’t the first major injury to affect the team this season. Third-year middle Meghan Koven also injured her ankle earlier in the season and had just started to get back into the team’s rotation when Neufeld went down. “It’s part of the game,” Wohlford said.

Their first test as a team with Neufeld out came two weekends ago in backto-back games against VIU – both of which VIU won. “Our passing was good, our defense was good,” Wohlford said.

“It’s just that we weren’t getting any kills and were making more errors than earning points.” The team’s lack of kills was not all that shocking as Neufeld is second in the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) in the category with 217 on the season and third in points per set with 3.8.

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 13

However, all is not lost for the young team. Although Neufeld is one of the squad’s key players, they have a wealth of left side hitters. Wohlford is expecting rookie standouts, Sarah Curleigh and Emma Schill, to step into Neufeld’s shoes while she recovers.

Although the team dropped both games that weekend, they came away with a positive perspective. “Curleigh stepped in Saturday and played really well,” Neufeld said. “I’m not overly worried,” Wohlford added.

For now, all the team can do is continue to fight and hope Neufeld’s ankle heals quickly. “I’m hoping for four weeks,” she said, targeting their game against the Douglas College Royals as a potential return date. Until then, she’s trying to contribute to the team in any way she can. Neufeld plans on watching lots of film to scout opponents and see what the Blues need to work on.

Encouragingly, she’s already back in the gym. “I’ve already been passing against the wall and setting against the wall, so little movement with my feet but still

getting the contact with my hands.” She also plans on trying to be as active as possible from the bench during games and practices. “I’m trying to be a voice from the bench for sure. I’m going to try to be the eyes and the voice and help out my fellow left sides and the team,” she said.

With Neufeld’s target return date coming just a week before the PACWEST’s provincial tournament, she won’t have much time to get back into a rhythm. “Obviously it would be nice to get her back before provincials, so that she can play a little bit,” Wolhford said.

So, while the team is hoping to get their star hitter back as soon as possible, they’re also aware that injuries are unpredictable. Luckily for them, while they may be young, they’re also deep, which they proved this past weekend splitting their games with the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades. With a bench full of talent, they’re hoping to find success no matter who’s on the floor as the regular season comes to an end and playoffs begin.

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-PHOTO COURTESY OF KEANI PRATT

-PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS RAESIDE

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Demitri Harris initiates the offence at a Vancouver Knights game

Yoni Marmorstein attempts a layup in traffic at the Capilano Men's League

Vancouver’s basketball knights A pair of Capilano University alumni are playing professional basketball in Vancouver while working in the city’s basketball communities JUSTIN SCOTT MANAGING EDITOR

P

rofessional basketball is back in Vancouver and it’s the latest sign of the city’s growing basketball community. Now home to the Vancouver Knights, a member of the North American Premier Basketball (NAPB) league, Vancouverites can finally once again cheer for a hometown hoops team.

While their home court, the Olympic Oval in Richmond, may seem like a world away from Capilano University, the team in fact has multiple ties to the school. Starter Demitri Harris and reserve Yoni Marmorstein are both alumni of the Capilano Blues basketball program. And although playing for a team donning 'Vancouver' on the front of the jersey may seem like an adequate way of representing the city’s basketball community, playing for the Knights only scratches the surface of what the two contribute.

This time last year, Harris was playing for the Island Storm, Prince Edward Island’s National Basketball League (NBL) team. While this seemed like the perfect opportunity for the downtown east side native to finally showcase his game on the pro-level, Harris unfortunately struggled to find playing time. Nonetheless, he did find himself thriving in the organization off the court. Harris slowly got

involved with the Island Storm’s public relations team and began to realize his personality was perfect for the field.

After going on the team’s injured reserve to allow room for another player on the roster, the 6’6 guard eventually returned home to Vancouver. While he had put his professional basketball dream on hold, the game remained a major player in his life – only now he was the one coaching rather than being coached. “That’s everything to me,” he said. “I was given so much as a kid growing up in the downtown east side you’d think it would be a hinderance to me, but no. They have great programs and they’re building and building.” Harris regularly works with the Vancouver-Strathcona Basketball organization and helps with Britannia High School’s basketball program, where he won a provincial championship in 2008. He’ll help wherever else he’s needed though, constantly finding new ways to give back. “I’ve gone all the way out to the west side, even up north and done camps and stuff like that,” he said.

Marmorstein is equally active. “I wanted to keep my hands in basketball in any way I could,” he said. He works at the North Vancouver Basketball Academy, a program that goes to high schools in North Van and teaches students who have registered as an alternative to PE class on a daily basis. Additionally, he coaches a Grade 7 basketball team, works with club basketball programs in the off season and offers private training sessions as well.

Marmorstein doesn’t stop there. “The other side of what I’ve been doing is just using my videography and editing skills to make kids highlight videos,” he said.

Marmorstein discovered his passion for

videography a few years ago. He was in South Africa with Hoops for Hope, a program that provides basketball and life skills coaching to kids in South Africa and Zimbabwe. “I lost my photography camera on my trip so I had to buy a new camera.” He explained.

“Instead of buying just a regular photography camera – this was before iPhones – I bought a little camcorder.

Then, because I had the camcorder, the guy asked me to make a video for Hoops for Hope and flew me to Zimbabwe from South Africa and I went with their national team to kind of video their trip through Hoops for Hope.”

Fast forward to today and Marmorstein has just changed the name of his videography business from Hoop Reel to Sport Reel, now making highlight videos for kids in any sport.

His videos allow student athletes to showcase themselves to schools who may not have scouted them, boosting their chances of recruitment. “My videos are a little different than the average highlight videos because they’re close up,” he said. “I want to show the kids personality and character on the floor, and I think in the basketball videos I made last year, you could kind of tell what kind of kid you were getting just from watching his highlights.”

Marmorstein has taken basketball from a passion and turned it into a career, both on and off the court – something that Harris is also doing himself. “I know these knees aren’t going to last forever,” he said while grinning and knocking on a wooden table for luck, “I’ve been delving into the PR, community relations and marketing areas, trying to get the word out to people that there is high level basketball in Vancouver.” By doing so, he is setting

himself up for the future.

Upon joining the Knights, Harris was quick to show that he’s more than a player to the organization. “I’m definitely a figure in the organization as far as it being my city,” he said. “I’m definitely learning that exposure is the name of the game these days.”

Although the two former Blues are putting the work in for their local communities, they’re also doing so for their city. The Knights have only played six games so far in the NAPB and hold a three and three record, good enough for fifth place. However, the team is still young and coming together. The Knights are just the latest example of how deep the love for basketball goes in Vancouver, and Harris and Marmorstein are wearing the name on their jersey with pride. “I think there’s going to be a big rising of basketball in Vancouver, if there hasn’t already been,” Harris said.

But at the end of the day, basketball is far more than a simple game with 10 players, a ball and two hoops. “I think any program that’s offering good coaching is teaching the kids work ethic, discipline, team work, how to take instructions from a coach, how to be a good sport, all that stuff,” said Marmorstein. “And that’s all going to translate into your everyday life.” What the team represents is a community coming together for something they know they deserve, be it a professional basketball team in a city once robbed of theirs, or a different community need.

The Knights are just the latest example of how strong basketball culture in Vancouver is and how much it continues to grow.

THE CAPILANO COURIER

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 13

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CABOOSE

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CAPILANO CONFESSIONS

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HOROSCOPES

THE VOICEBOX with Justin Scott

Would playing smooth ambient jazz by my fish tank encourage them to breed?

Your parents don’t know how old you are anymore

ARIES (MAR. 21 – APR. 19)

You’re going to be a parent sooner than you’d like.

Hey! Are you coming on Wednesday?

–

TAURUS (APR. 20 – MAY 20)

What’s on Wednesday?

“It's getting ridiculous I had to make a spreadsheet this morning to keep tracks of when I have dates.”

You can’t gain weight if you can’t afford to eat.

Indigo Indigo’s break out gig.

I think I’m busy. I can’t remember with what, but it’s definitely important.

GEMINI (MAY 21 – JUN. 20)

If you can’t sleep, try running head first into a wall.

Well it’s at Lanalou’s if you can make it.

–

CANCER (JUN 21 – JULY 22)

I can’t.

“That Ladybird movie was good but the makeout was better.”

It doesn’t get much better.

LEO (JUL. 23 – AUG. 22)

The Voicebox is back! If you have any questions, concerns or any other bitchin’ to do, text it over to our boy Justin at 778-873-7288. “Please text me,” he says. “No one else does.”

–

It can’t get any worse.

VIRGO (AUG. 23 – SEPT. 21)

Don’t forget to sin today .

“I chipped my tooth having sex yesterday. ”

123456

LIBRA (SEPT. 22 – OCT. 23)

Don’t be stressed, be afraid.

SUDOKU

– “I was in the bathroom the other day and this girl in the next stall, I'm pretty sure she was moaning.”

Puzzle 1 (Easy, difficulty rating 0.31)

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9

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4 2

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“I don't have any confessions for this played out shit, plus I'm an open book.”

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If only you could forget all those embarrassing moments as easily as you forget what you learn in class .

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“Did he mean to say 'she's bad' or 'she bad'?”

SCORPIO (OCT. 24 – NOV. 21)

Difficulty: Easy

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CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 – JAN. 19)

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 – FEB.18)

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PISCES (FEB. 19 – MAR. 20)

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TO ADVERTISE in the Courier’s pages, please contact us by phone at 778-995-4388 or email John Tabbernor at community.capcourier@gmail.com.

We are proud to offer discounts to non-profit organizations and North Shore customers. A full media kit with sizes, rates and deadlines is available on our website, CapilanoCourier.com. Classified advertisements up to 50 words are free for students.

VOLUME 50 ISSUE NO. 13

The stars do not want to hear about your problems .

The storm outside is an accurate representation of how your life is going .

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku on Sat Jan 27 01:40:00 2018 GMT. Enjoy!

Read more and submit your own confession at capilanocourier.com/confessions

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 – DEC. 21)

You’ve earned a nap.

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THE CAPILANO COURIER

IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK:

I’m no scientist, but it sounds fool proof to me.

“I think they need to give out sticks of deodorant in the Maple Lounge.”

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/CAPILANOCOURIER

Get ready for a week of sympathy hugs.