November 3, 2011

THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA’S INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 3, 2011 • VOLUME 64 • ISSUE 13 • MARTLET.CA

GRANT MCLACHLAN ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL 4 TOM WAITS’ NEW ALBUM

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NEWS

It’s reading break coming up, but when we come back there’s a municipal election! So pay attention to martlet.ca and remember to vote!

Occupy movement persists in Victoria The Peoples Assembly of Victoria movement has gained momentum since early October > CHRISTOPHER DEVOS Centennial Square in downtown Victoria now houses approximately 63 dedicated protesters who represent the “99 per cent” who have hopes of abolishing a system accused of making the rich richer, and the poor poorer.

The People’s Assembly of Victoria (PAOV), is a movement originating from Occupy Wall Street. So far the Occupy movement has spread to more than 1 500 cities across the globe, including 100 cities in the U.S. It all began after Liberty Square, New York, became populated by a large group of frustrated yet peaceful protestors who all fought for one thing — change.

Along with the PAOV’s growth have come new ideas. ‘‘We are providing for ourselves 100 per cent without the use of currency, and yet we are still getting donations,’’ says Simon Magus, a current protest camper and leader of the PAOV logistics team.

The PAOV movement has continued to gain momentum since it’s debut on Oct. 3, as well over a 100 diverse people including students, seniors and parents have shown up for these organized events.

More people are asserting the issue of our struggling middle and lower classes, and are looking to put an end to corporate greed and power over our government.

The movement asserts that the contrast between the “99 per cent” and the the one per cent who control most of the wealth represents the outstanding and obvious wealth disparity.

For many years now people in the middle class have been complaining about massive debts that resulted from the pursuit of the

Approximately 63 dedicated protestors have taken up camp in Centennial Square.

‘‘American Dream.’’

People aren’t satisfied with their loans and mortgages, and feel cheated after having realized the interest that the bank makes supasses the face value of the original investment by large amounts.

During the Victoria People’s Assembly, participants suggested multiple ways to benefit

the people rather than corporations. Occupy followers are advised to support and purchase from local agriculture and businesses, as well as transfer their funds to a local credit union in order to send out a statement to the big corporate banks.

Participants also introduced the idea of a law that would prevent the Canadian govern-

TESS FORSYTH

ment from having to pay $170 million daily to service the debts.

Instead, those at the People’s Assembly of Victoria suggested a new law that would allow the government to borrow money from the Bank Of Canada at no interest.

IN MY HONEST OPINION

What do you think of the CRD bylaw against tanning beds for minors?

Zoey Weideman Social Science, First Year

Carling Gradley Social Science, First Year

Lucia Dahlby Social Science, First Year

Evan Leib Comp. Sci., Phys., Second Year

“I don’t think it would be a bad rule. I think it’s totally unnecessary. Tanning. In a bed … Tanning salons are quite a bit worse than sunlight, aren’t they?”

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”

“I guess there’s like prom and stuff. I mean, I didn’t go tanning, but I know a lot of people who did like to go tanning and it was for the prom, and a lot of them weren’t 18 then.

I don’t know, maybe 16?

When you turn 18, you’re in control of you’re own body. You’re allowed to get tattoos and whatever.

You’re allowed to do horrible things, a lot worse than tanning.”

“I think it’s bull crap.

Sunlight also causes skin cancer. There are also skin lotions and chemicals that can cause cancer. Are we going to say to kids, ‘Sorry, you can’t go outside until you’re 18’?”

November 3, 2011 MARTLET

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DOWNTOWN DEMOCRACY

B.C. Transit: who benefits from their Future Plan? > JENNY BOYCHUK

Grant McLachlan has been door-knocking to make his presence as the youngest CRD candidate known.

PROVIDED

Young candidate looks for seat on council > BRANDON ROSARIO Grant McLachlan is fresh out of high school and onto the campaign trail, though he’s still not able to legally buy a case of Corona at the liquor store.

The 18-year-old Belmont Secondary graduate is now entering his third week of campaigning for a seat on Langford city council.

Since announcing his candidacy on Sept.

13 for the upcoming municipal election, McLachlan has spent his weekends knocking on doors and putting up signs in hopes of becoming the youngest elected councillor in the Capital Regional District (CRD).

“Age isn’t really a factor for me,” says McLachlan. “I’ve got a wealth of experience in both politics and volunteering [in areas] like environmental preservation and working with the mentally disabled. I don’t think it’s an issue.”

Going up against incumbent councillors like former federal Liberal Party candidate Lillian Spzak, McLachlan is optimistic about his chances — basing his platform around progressive labour policies, environmental sustainability and youth representation.

A member of the NDP since 2009, he’s gained experience in both provincial and federal politics, having recently worked on the campaigns of local MLA John Horgan and current MP Randall Garrison — both of whom he cites as his major inspirations alongside NDP juggernauts Jack Layton, Tommy Douglas and Dave Barret.

“I’ve been interested in politics for about six years,” says MacLachlan. “I learned a lot during John Horgan’s 2009 campaign about how to engage voters and keep them interested, though you definitely learn a lot more when you’re the one who’s doing it.”

McLachlan, though he may be somewhat of a political anomaly in his municipality, is by no means the first young Canadian to aspire toward public office.

Pierre-Luc Dusseault — elected earlier this year during the “orange wave” as an MP for the NDP in Sherbrooke, Quebec — was only 19 years old when he beat 61-year-old Serge

Cardin for a seat in the House of Commons.

Like Dusseault, anticipated criticism against McLachlan is centred around his age and relative inexperience in policymaking.

But politics, says Horgan, transcends age and must have its roots somewhere.

“You don’t gain experience unless you seek it,” says Horgan. “Having [MacLachlan] and other young people seek experience is a good thing, not a bad thing.” “[MacLachlan] is a bright young man who has a lot of passion for the community,” he says.

In terms of voter apathy, which is traditionally more noticeable in municipal politics, where turnout in communities like Langford hovers around 23 per cent, both Horgan and McLachlan feel that a young candidate can rejuvenate democratic participation. “[As a youth], I’ve been involved in politics at a provincial and federal level, I joined the NDP and was part of the executive and election planning committee and I’ve lived in Langford for the past 18 years through all its major changes,” says McLachlan. “I think with a young person running a lot [of potential voters] will be interested in getting out and voting.”

At a general meeting on Oct 19, the Victoria Labour Council (VLC), comprised of nearly 25 000 affiliated members, gave McLachlan their formal endorsement.

“We are interested in supporting those candidates whose values mirror our own and those who support the interests of all working families,” says the VLC on their website.

He has also received an endorsement from current federal MP for Esquimalt–Juan de Fuca Randall Garrsion.

“I’ve known [MacLachlan] for some time as a strong young advocate for human rights and progressive values. He is hard-working and will be pragmatic in working with other councillors to get things done for Langford,” says Garrison.

Look for more municipal election coverage online at martlet.ca.

[MacLachlan] is a bright young man who has a lot of passion for the community.

John Horgan NDP MLA

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MARTLET November 3, 2011

There’s been a lot of “transit talk” in the past six months and some of the questions that many riders are asking are: where is Victoria transit headed?

Are students ever going to stop finding themselves passed up? Who is being prioritized here? Or, better yet, should certain demographics be prioritized over others?

Take a close look at Victoria’s Transit Future Plan (which includes Light Rail Transit) — students aren’t at the top of the priority list. In fact, it seems as though the riders of interest aren’t actually riders at all, but rather higher-income people who currently drive their cars as opposed to taking transit.

Under “Visions and Goals,” the first mentioned vision is that “Transit is an attractive alternative to the private vehicle,” and that it will be “fast and direct, convenient and reliable, easy to use, comfortable and accessible to everyone.”

Of course, this is a vision and not a reality at the present time. As students, we are current riders, but the system is sometimes anything but attractive — there are times students would rather walk in the pouring rain.

UVic and Camosun students pay into the transit system through the UPass program; we’re one of the greatest stakeholders and contribute $4.8 million to transit each year. That number is expected to increase to more than $5 million by 2012.

The Transit Future Plan aims to: “Make transit more competitive with private automobile travel” and encourage “community growth factors (e.g., community development and shifts in demographic factors)”.

Congestion is a major issue in getting from A to B in Victoria, and a decrease

in the number of vehicles on the road would improve the time it takes to get somewhere. However, some of the worst congestion can be found right in our very own UVic bus loop, which the Transit Future Plan describes as “over ideal operational capacity”.

The UVic Exchange isn’t part of the first priority for the Implementation Plan; it’s part of “Priority Number 2 — Establish critical transit facilities.”

The plan states, “B.C. Transit and UVic have initiated a Campus Transit Plan that will identify the most appropriate location and design for a new or upgraded transit facility.”

While the plan suggests UVic is one transit facility that should be given “top priority”, attracting new customers is essentially “Priority Number 1 — Existing initiatives and network efficiencies.”

“The existing customer Park & Ride facility at Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre is at capacity during peak times, which limits the ability to attract new customers to this segment of the transit system,” reads the plan. “The Transit Future Plan has identified the need for additional Park & Ride capacity located along the planned West Shore RTN corridor in order to attract new transit customers.”

Of course, we are talking about a particular demographic here — but it’s another example of trying to get people out of their cars before addressing the needs of those already using transit services. Are students going to have to compete with more people to get on the bus before their issues are solved? Will it get worse before it gets better?

The Transit Future Plan suggests that “opportunities for increased capacity need to be found prior to growing the transit network” — so there won’t be an increase in the number of routes available before capacity issues are solved, but increased ridership is still sought after.

TESS FORSYTH

The UVic bus loop is an area of congestion, but not the numberone priority for Victoria’s Transit Future Plan.

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Film explores gender identity disorder > KAILEY WILLETTS Three key myths have been central in producing laws, policies and decisions that adversely affect trans* populations, according to Dean Spade, assistant professor of Law at Seattle University. Spade, along with 12 other people of diverse backgrounds and gender identities, address these myths and other problems faced by trans* people in the documentary Diagnosing Difference.

A free screening of Diagnosing Difference, followed by a panel discussion, is being hosted at Cinecenta on Thursday, Nov. 17, three days before the International Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR).

“Diagnosing Difference is a documentary that consist of interviews with 13 people who have different gender identities, so there’s transgender people, transsexual people, etc.; of different races and ethnicities who also have had different amount of contact with the health care system in regard to transsexual care,” explains Ariel Tseng, one of the event’s organizers. “So it’s really interesting because you get a lot of perspectives.”

The documentary engages with trans* people’s experiences with the health care system.

“Diagnosing Difference focuses a lot on gender identity disorder, often referred to as GID, and how gender identity disorder has developed, and the history of it, and how it affects, and how it has affected, the way that transgender and transsexual people are viewed and how they’re taken care of in the health care system,” says Tseng.

A diagnosis of GID is a trans* person’s primary point of access to many health services, something Tseng says can be extremely problematic.

“GID infers that there is something wrong with being trans. Also, the power is put into the health professional’s hands,” he says.

“Trans people need to be diagnosed with GID in order to access services, but the definition of GID is so limiting and rigid that many trans people are forced to lie to be diagnosed, perpetuating stereotypes about trans people by affirming a problematic definition.”

Tseng is hoping the film will help challenge some of those stereotypes and misconceptions.

“I decided to screen the film because I

watched it in the Vancouver Queer Film Festival two years ago, and when I saw it, I saw it with one of my friends who didn’t know anything about genderqueer or trans people at all,” says Tseng. “It was just a really accessible film for him; it was really interesting. He learned a lot and I also learned a lot.”

Tseng says the film’s accessibility is part of what makes it so important.

“It’s really frustrating for me because many people just have very little knowledge about ‘what is a transgender person?, what is a transsexual person?’ and it’s really difficult to find material and films or books or anything like that, and even to find the language when you’re talking to someone to explain to them the basics of gender identity disorder and trans people in the context of our society,” he says, “and I think this film does a really good job of it.”

While Tseng encourages everyone to see the film, he says it is particularly important for current or future health care practitioners.

“This film is really, really encouraged for people who are in or considering going into the mental or medical health care system because it has a lot to do with the health care system,” says Tseng. “A lot of doctors and nurses who are training to be doctors and nurses don’t really think about the fact that they’re going to encounter trans people when they will probably, and it is a very good educational tool.”

The film’s timing is no coincidence.

“I chose this date, Thursday, Nov. 17, because I wanted the film to be close to November 20, which is Trans Day of Remembrance, TDOR,” says Tseng. “Its remembering people who have been murdered for their gender identity or gender expression.”

Every TDOR, a long list of names of those lost to transphobia is read out. Tseng hopes that, through understanding, stereotypes and misconceptions that lead to transphobia can be addressed.

“We need to be educating people and people need to be educating themselves about trans people,” he says.

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November 3, 2011 MARTLET

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Is there a future for mining in B.C.? > JANA J GEE If government and industry had their way, B.C. would be experiencing another gold rush.

Looking to find a balance to the rush was “The Future of Mining in British Columbia: Co-operation Not Conflict,” a public panel hosted by the First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM) and the Environmental Law club in early October.

Representatives from First Nations, the mining industry and academia were present and the panel went ahead even though the government representative cancelled earlier that day.

Panelists were Chief Bev Sellars of the Xat’sull (Soda Creek) First Nation and FNWARM, Chief Ed John of the B.C. First Nations Leadership Council, Gavin Dirom from the Association for Mineral Exploration in B.C., Zoe Younger from the Mining Association of B.C. and Professor Bonnie Docherty of the Harvard International Human Rights Clinic. Moderator was Andrew Bell from the Business News Network.

“We’re not looking to block mining; we’re looking for responsible mining and in order to do that you have to work with First Nations people,” said Sellars. “Virtually all mining projects — abandoned, existing and proposed — are on our traditional lands where we live.

They are far away from towns and cities, and most British Columbians do not get to see them. Yet, our positions should not be so hard to understand. Who would want a massive open pit mine and toxic tailing ponds in the midst of their own communities?”

Dirom spoke to the number of mining projects ongoing in B.C. “Right now there are over 300 projects active in B.C. with about 20 mine projects underway and that represents the beginnings of a modern day gold rush,” Dirom said. “We are challenged by land access and use policies.”

It was evident from the panel that new mining standards are required for everyone involved. Consultation, free entry reforms, stronger environmental protections and

250.595.6044

industry accountability are some areas pinpointed as needing improvement.

“Work that needs to be done are these land use plans with First Nations,” added John. “[Land use plans] not developed simply by government and industry and municipalities but agreements between the First Nations and the government.”

Docherty spoke about her clinic’s 2010 report, Bearing the Burden — Effects of Mining on First Nations in British Columbia.

“First Nations have borne an unfair burden of mining in B.C. and this occurs at every stage of the process: from claim registration to exploration to production and to clean-up of abandoned sites,” she explained. “First Nations have the right to decide what happens on their land and what happens to the resources of their land.”

Docherty pointed out that domestic and international laws are designed to protect indigenous rights yet need improvement.

She summarized the report’s recommendations as a need for law reform in three main areas. First, involve First Nations more in decision-making. Next, increase the protections regarding the health, environment and cultural practices of all First Nations affected by mining.

And, finally, encourage better balancing of the many benefits of mining.

Vancouver is hosting the second Indigenous Assembly this weekend, including a Nov. 6 march, “No Mining on Native Land,” starting at 3 p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Interested in hearing more from this recent panel on mining?

Check out the National Community Radio Association’s Program Exchange at exchange.ncra.ca for a condensed version of the panel along with the entire, unedited opening statements and discussion. Look for Oct. 20 date and “The Questions of Mining” title, then select any of the three programs and follow the prompts at the bottom of page.

For information on mining struggles, check out fnwarm.com, teztanbiny.ca, miningwatch. ca and landkeepers.ca.

Lecture calls for social re-evolution > MARK WORTHING

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MARTLET November 3, 2011

Michael McGonigle has a weathered critique of dominant culture and capitalism, but last week he took a swing at environmentalism — an ideology that he has contributed to and heralded for most of his professional life.

“We need a new transformative idea, a new logic,” he told the audience at a social justice studies lecture titled ‘Exit Environmentalism’.

This may have come as a surprise for those who know McGonigle as an environmental lawyer, founder of Greenpeace and conservationist. But he’s had enough of mainstream environmentalism’s inability to address systemic problems ultimately resulting in widespread environmental degradation.

“The occupiers understand this. They are beyond specificity. The issue is the logics of capitalism,” he said, referring to the Occupy Wall Street movement’s critique of dominant culture.

McGonigle’s frustration is with liberal environmental reformism. And he is proposing an exit of this environmentalism in order to refocus on three systemic problems: capitalism, the contradiction of the state and the reproduction of a culture of apathy and consumerism. “‘Exit environmentalism’ is about not resisting and reforming, but resisting and replacing,” he said.

McGonigle posed the question, “Why is it easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism?”

There was a feeling of thankfulness in the crowd of about 250 people, many of whom

were refreshed to hear someone speaking to root causes of politically ecological problems, instead of green-washing campaigns that fail to address the root causes of ever-eroding socio-environmental relations.

“The best environmental law can do is mitigating the damage that state and industry projects . . . And the state is the biggest developer around,” he said. “Democracy is a fossil-fuel mode of governing.”

He calls the culture that is produced through not questioning dominant culture and industrial civilization “The Big Hush,” whereby through the reproduction of cultural norms and values, we do not allow ourselves to creatively move beyond our perceptions of the politically left and right.

In this way, says McGonigle, we limit ourselves from ways and modes of being that allow co-operation, and authentic respect for the carrying capacity of earth, economic degrowth and co-dependence with a biodiverse planet.

Ultimately, McGonigle is oscillating between a politics of end times and a politics of re-imagining our collective existence on planet Earth in new iterations yet to be seen or produced. It’s no green-wash, that’s for sure.

“We need to move beyond liberal reformism,” he told the crown. “We need a social re-evolution.”

Check martlet.ca to watch video coverage of the Exit Environmentalism lecture.

NEWS

This week in Martlet history > SAMANTHA BATE

SOL KAUFFMAN

Pro-choice chalking surrounded promotion chalking for the Youth Protecting Youth event “Echoes of the Holocaust” last fall.

Controversial ‘Choice’ Chain display may come to UVic > SHANDI SHIACH UVic’s pro-life student group, Youth Protecting Youth (YPY), is expected to host a “Choice” Chain demonstration event in the university quad Nov. 16 and 17.

Police arrested students at Carleton University in Ottawa for trespassing after they refused to move a similar event indoors in October 2010.

“The abortion debate is often clouded with rhetoric,” says Cameron Côté, vice president for YPY, “and ‘Choice’ Chain graphically exposes abortion for what it really is, and for what its consequences are for pre-born children.”

“Choice” Chain involves the display of large photos of aborted fetuses with the text “Choice?” across the top. YPY has applied for booking through UVic’s Student Services, which is still in the process of reviewing the request. In YouTube videos, the Carleton University Director of Student Affairs can be seen debating with demonstrators over whether the right to show graphic material, which many described as harassing, on campus falls under jurisdiction of free expression or private university property. As of August this year, a judge struck the Carleton anti-choice students’ claims for breach of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms but upheld their claims for wrongful arrest.

“We’re prepared to deal with any opposition or questions that arise,” says Côté, “but we expect to be able to hold our event just like any other group on campus.”

NEWS

YPY has faced similar questions and opposition to the Carleton group in the past.

Just as the Carleton University group behind “Choice” Chain had its club status revoked

We’re prepared to deal with any opposition or questions that arise.

Cameron Coté Youth Protecting Youth by their student association in 2010, so, too, did YPY. The UVSS reinstated YPY club status in an out-of-court settlement after YPY filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court. That was

the culmination of a long and rocky history between the UVSS and YPY, and the “Choice” Chain demonstration has potential to be yet another bump in the road.

Students for Reproductive Justice (SRJ) is a UVic club that provides a pro-choice voice on campus. In the past, the club has held resistance to pro-life events in the community.

SRJ held a collective meeting on Monday to discuss the demonstration at UVic. “Our main concern and conversation has been the way in which we can promote [Anti Violence Project] services and other services,” such as counselling, says SRJ Facilitator Lucia Orser. “Students are likely to feel a spectrum of things. That’s why it’s important they’re aware — leading up to, day of and following — of support available.”

The contention surrounds whether or not the graphic images of “Choice” Chain constitute harassment and discrimination. UVic previously received complaints over photos used as part of YPY’s “Echoes of the Holocaust” event in Oct. 2010.

“We hate looking at them,” Côté says of the images, “but we can’t deny the effectiveness and also the necessity. We didn’t know what abortion was until we saw it.”

Both SRJ and YPY say they hope to mitigate any emotional damage from “Choice” Chain.

In an email from YPY, co-ordinator Lauren Kyfiuk wrote, “If you yourself have had an abortion, or support abortion, please understand that although we strictly and uncompromisingly condemn abortion, we do not condemn you as a person.”

OCTOBER 31, 1963 “FINAL EXAMS DROVE STUDENT TO STABBING” This week in Martlet history, a student took studying to a whole new level. Every student can understand the overwhelming feelings midterms can bring, and the stress they create. Midterms are a time when all of us begin to really focus and crack open the textbooks.

In the 1960s, however, UVic student William Kobluck, became overwhelmed with exam anxiety and took his stress out in the wrong way. Kobluk stabbed Elizabeth Watson in the chest with a hunting knife after Watson allegedly slapped Kobluk during an argument.

Medical examiners determined Kobluk became temporarily insane during his time studying for final exams.

Kobluk was tried at the Supreme Court on a charge of attempted murder but was acquitted based on a verdict of not guilty, due to temporary insanity.

OCTOBER 31, 1961 “PANTIE RAIDS NOT ENOUGH” Back in 1961, the Martlet published a concern for a lack of creative practical jokes occurring around Canadian campuses.

The concern was that creativity was becoming scarce and practical jokes were not as unique as they once were. For instance, a particularly extravagant stunt occurred at Cal Tech during the 1920s after a student returned home from a party.

He arrived home in time to find his bed covered in cement. Later generation’s hoaxes included the abduction of notorious benefactor’s statues, which then were returned to the local pub.

Another prank invited local exotic dancers to the convocation platform to perform. The 1961 Martlet bemoaned a lack of such pranks in their current time.

However, today UVic can still take pride in the fact that we have our fair share of practical jokes occurring throughout the school year. Probably the most infamous and reoccurring stunt is the “bubble bath fountain” where the main fountain gets filled with suds.

Overall, college humour has transformed rather than disappeared by spreading through online media, such as lipdubs and sites that share funny photos.

While our humor has become more cyberbased, UVic students of the 1960s can rest assured that 2011 students will continue to goof off and lighten the mood around campus.

November 3, 2011 MARTLET

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University residences counter drinking pressures > COLIN MCPHAIL — CUP ATLANTIC BUREAU CHIEF FREDERICTON (CUP) — Trashed Tuesdays, Wasted Wednesdays, and Thirsty Thursdays.

For Nicole Pozer, a third-year student at St. Thomas University (STU) in New Brunswick, one thing was clear when she moved into Rigby Hall residence in 2009: alcohol was going to be a big part of university life.

“Every day of the week had some kind of alliteration to ‘let’s get loaded,’ ” she says.

Pozer, who is the 2011 STU Orientation Week chair and a residence advisor, remembered the pressure she felt entering a residence known for its drinking and partying.

From the intricacies in creating new relationships to the exclusion of upper-year residents who were eligible to drink, her first few weeks had their share of difficult moments.

That is why hosting a dry welcome week is so important, she says.

“It’s so the first-years can get used to their own home without feeling that pressure, because there are so many others they have to deal with already,” Pozer says.

“The first week is kind of an environment where people don’t have to worry about alcohol and that’s a huge stress reliever on those who don’t drink.”

Implementing a dry Orientation Week at STU, a student initiative developed in the early 2000s, is just one of the measures introduced by Canadian universities to counter excessive drinking in residence.

Most methods are focused on social norming techniques in order to discourage the common perception that university students are consistently binge drinking.

According to Dr. Rice Fuller, director of counselling services at the University of New Brunswick, dictating the norm is a pivotal step in stemming the increased consumption

of alcohol. He says peer influence is the most prominent environmental factor associated with alcohol use in young people.

“Adolescents and young adults learn drinking behaviour from their peers and this can lead to some serious problems because their

Drinking rates tend to increase substantially in the transition from high school to university.

Dr. Rice Fuller UNB peers aren’t tending to model ‘responsible drinking behaviours,’” says Fuller.

“Drinking rates tend to increase substantially in the transition from high school to university, but then decrease pretty steadily after the first year — perhaps because students are becoming more mature.”

Fuller says first-year students who enter university already as heavy drinkers tend

Grad Class AGM! Monday, November 7th at 2:30pm in Cinecenta.

At the AGM, we will be electing the executive council which includes the President, VicePresident, Treasurer, Secretary, Communications Director, and the Social Coordinator. These people, with the help of volunteers, will plan and undertake initiatives such as the Grad Party and the Grad Legacy Project.

This is a great way to get involved and meet new students in your last few months at UVic!

to seek heavy-drinking environments and heavy-drinking friends. The result is misconception of the amount alcohol consumed.

“They get the idea that most people at university drink as much as they do, which is not true,” he says. “They just happen to have surrounded themselves with people who drink a lot.”

A 2004 Canadian Campus Survey, conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, reported students at Atlantic Canadian universities are 14.5 per cent more likely to encounter problematic drinking than the rest of the country.

James Brown, executive director of Residential Life, Campus & Conference Services at UNB, said it is imperative a balance of responsible drinking in residence is struck.

Last year at UNB, there were concerns over a campus pub potentially losing its liquor licence after the owner discovered an alarming number of intoxicated, underage students were showing up at events.

However, after three deaths as a direct result of excessive alcohol consumption over the past three years at Atlantic universities, more dangerous consequences are becoming part of an inevitable reality.

“We try to minimize the chance that it can happen, but, of course, it can happen,” Brown says. “No one guarantee that there couldn’t be an alcohol poisoning death in a residence.”

Like the majority of Atlantic Canadian universities, the UNB residence system has its in-house staff and student leaders, including other upper-year residents who have already moved in, sign pledges to not drink during the orientation week.

Students over 19 are permitted to drink in most university residences. STU is an exception, however, not permitting any alcohol, open or not, on the premises until the week-

long drinking ban has been lifted.

When the ban is lifted, the delicate balancing act begins. While not condoning underage drinking, universities typically do not police it. Instead, student leaders attempt to create a safe and comfortable environment for first-year students to be introduced to alcohol for the first time or the first time away from home.

“You try to create a set of norms that people recognize and correspond to that limit the extreme behaviours as much as possible,” Brown says.

He said enforcing too strict of measures often has an opposite result of the desired effect.

“We’re not going around unlocking closed doors looking for people drinking underage,” he says.

“It’s an attempt to strike a balance between providing leadership in a positive environment, but not be so restrictive you inadvertently create other kinds of dangers where people, fearful of the penalties, will hide their drinking so effectively someone could run into serious health problems.”

For Pozer, ensuring the residence teams or event organizers can control the atmosphere around a wet event is the first step in setting the norm.

On April 6 and 7, STU residences participate in annual traditions which involve excessive drinking — the most famous being April 6th Day at Harrington Hall. Last year, Pozer, who was president of Rigby at the time, opted for an event less focused on alcohol.

Pozer was met with a strong resistance. But despite the initial opposition, she said the changes were well received and, this year, STU residences are moving towards toned down events on April 6 and 7.

“In order to ensure everyone is happy, healthy and safe, maybe tradition needs to be changed sometimes,” Pozer says.

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Learn about student research taking place in the Biology Department!

Biology Graduate Student Symposium All Welcome, Free Admission David Strong Building Room C103 November 9th – 10th 8:30 – 17:00

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8

MARTLET November 3, 2011

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NEWS

UVic sessional instructor releases controversial book Terry Glavin stirs up debate at annual Harvey Stevenson Southam Lecture > BRANDON ROSARIO During the Oct. 19 Harvey Southam Lecture, author, journalist and sessional writing instructor Terry Glavin stirred up some controversy.

During the question period, Glavin was asked why he had chosen to begin his address with a moment of silence for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan rather than for the Afghan people themselves.

“It was one of these dirty insinuations,” says Glavin about the incident, “framed in the most passive-aggressive way in the form of a virtuous question.”

The award-winning writer’s recent book, Come From the Shadows: The long and lonely struggle for peace in Afghanistan, has been slammed by critics on campus and nationwide for its overt pessimism toward what Glavin says is the Canadian left’s embarrassingly short-sighted and extremely vocal “troops out” mentality — which is, in his view, a dangerous political phenomenon.

“This dodging, this subject-changing, this self-flattering proclamation of virtue,” says Glavin, “this is dementia, this is what happens before brain death, this is what happens before flat-lining . . . Spare me your pleadings, there’s nothing left wing about what you’re saying; there’s nothing progressive or anti-unilateral and promultilateral about telling the UN to go fuck off.”

Glavin says the subject matter he engages with in his book, and during the lecture, is not going to feel pleasant.

“This book is going to hurt, it’s going to sting,” he says. “A lot of people in this country, who set the parameters of the public debates . . . pundits, columnists, opinion

makers and trend setters, who whine about reporters [that are] embedded with the military in Afghanistan, are themselves embedded up their own ass.”

Come From the Shadows is an unabashedly personal account of Glavin’s journeys outside the wire of a country that he says has been falsely portrayed by the mainstream media as a type of “Absurdistan” — an imaginary nation that has been collectively built up by Western audiences as an apocalypse of bombs, bodies and constant fear.

Its major criticism, one that Glavin admits has made the book so controversial, lies in the implications of this fraudulent paradigm on Canadian left-wing activism — which he says has been destroyed by both cultural relativism and widespread antiAmericanism.

Yet, points out Glavin, it is a typical, Canadian form of anti-Americanism coinciding with anti-war sentimentality that’s used almost exclusively with American inflection.

“The [political] language that we speak in Canada, the words that we use, are the same words that Americans use,” he says.

“They’ve taken on American meaning.”

“It is a bit pathetic that all we’ve managed to be able to do to iterate or enunciate a radical politics of our own is to copy the lifestyle choices of American hipsters.”

Glavin says Canadians have been telling themselves a “comforting narrative.” “ ‘We are peacekeepers, the Americans are warmongers, we had Trudeau they had Nixon’— all of this self-flattering, disgusting, bourgeois narcissism is really hard to penetrate. And that’s why this is the most difficult book I’ve ever written,” says Glavin.

“It’s about our culture as much as it’s about Afghan culture,” he says, “the coun-

try that we imagine doesn’t exist in the real world . . . where we mark the beginning of the war in Afghanistan — shortly after Sep 11, 2001 — the overwhelming majority of Afghans mark the beginning of peace.”

The story Glavin tells is of an Afghanistan that exists beyond the confines of Kandahar and the wholly militaristic focus that the area brings. It’s an autobiographical account of his travels with fellow Vancouver journalist Abdulrahim Parwani to places like Kabul, Balkh and Daste Barchi to speak with the locals about their views on the West.

What he reports is not hateful, anti-Western spite perpetuated by 10 years of war and civilian casualties, but a sense of tentative optimism — a better-than-before place where the people are beginning to find solace in an environment of peace brought by foreign soldiers.

Glavin says the positioning of mainstream media can affect their perception.

“If you’ve got a degree from the Columbia school of journalism and you’re working for CNN, you’ll have a crew and you might even have a makeup artist,” he says.

“If you’re standing on a veranda on a Friday as the sun is going down and the muezzin prayers are coming from the minarets and you can hear helicopters in the distance and maybe what you think is the sound of gunfire and an Italian diplomat is whispering in your ear about how horrible things are [while] you’re sipping your cocktail . . . it can feel like you’re looking at Phnom Penh before the Khmer Rouge rolled in.”

“But if you’re down in the streets with the people, it doesn’t feel like that at all.”

The misconception of Western audiences toward Afghanistan — built up from years

PROVIDED

Terry Glavin is this year’s Harvey Stevenson Southam lecturer.

of increasing political unpopularity on the home front — is irresponsible and dangerous, says Glavin.

Glavin’s experiences outside the wire in Afghanistan may surprise readers who might sensationalize the region as an inherently dangerous place.

“I don’t want to present myself as some brave person,” he says. “If you’re embedded with the people it doesn’t require much bravery.”

“I could have interviewed [the Taliban] anytime I wanted . . . but that’s something I won’t do, I confess, I am a partisan,” says Glavin. “If I had the opportunity I’d call in the fucking drones, make no apologies for it.”

University of Winnipeg moves to gender-inclusive washrooms > JOANNA GRAHAM — THE MANITOBAN (UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA) WINNIPEG (CUP) — As the University of Winnipeg pushes to have gender-neutral washrooms on campus by the end of the academic year, awareness about the issue has been raised by student leaders at the University of Manitoba.

The U of W Students’ Association (UWSA) and the LGBT* Centre had a meeting on Oct. 17 with U of W administration to discuss the issue.

“It was a very positive meeting and we’re incredibly lucky that administration here understands how important it is to make sure that all aspects of the university are inclusive,” says Lauren Bosc, president of UWSA. She says that since the UWSA board of directors made gender-neutral washrooms one of the top goals for the year, the executive and the LGBT* director have moved forward with making it happen.

Bosc said that the students are currently working on proposals to outline the needs of the washroom.

“We also want to make sure it is wheelchair accessible,” she adds.

According to Bosc, the issue of genderneutral washrooms had been raised in 2007, but because of student leader turnover the conversation had “quieted down.”

Bosc said that her goal was to have the implementation of gender-neutral washrooms complete by the end of this school year.

Debra Radi, the U of W executive director of the office for the vice-president academic, said the U of W administration is involved as a collaborator in exploring how gender-neutral washrooms can be implemented.

“If students identify as transgendered, they need to have a safe space where they feel comfortable in terms of meeting a basic need like going to the washroom,” says Radi.

Radi has been working with colleagues in the physical plant department to identify potential locations for the washroom.

Of course, labeling is an important issue for the gender-neutral washrooms.

NEWS

“I’m in favour of something very discreet such as ‘washroom’ because that’s what it is,” says Ro Mills, director of the U of W LGBT* Centre.

“There’s a need, just in terms of inclusive spaces,” Mills continues. “Not everybody falls within the binary of male or female . . .

Everybody should be able to use the washroom with ease and accessibility.”

University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) president Camilla Tapp says she thinks the U of W’s push for gender-neutral washrooms is great and UMSU is happy to support the organizers.

Tapp says gender-neutral washrooms have been a long-standing issue on campus. She said UMSU has heard from individual students, the LGBTTQ* representative on UMSU council and from the Rainbow Pride Mosaic (RPM) that the issue needs to be resolved.

“I think it’s definitely worthwhile to have all future construction include gender neutral washrooms, and we would like to see the U of M commit to that,” Tapp says.

The co-ordinator of the RPM, David Vo, explained that the U of M has unisex washrooms but they aren’t the same as genderneutral washrooms because the unisex washrooms still have signs that indicate the male and female gender.

“In order for it to be truly gender-neutral, there must not be any signs that indicate males or females,” he says.

Vo said there is only one such washroom on the U of M campus, and suggested the U of M should pursue more gender-neutral washrooms so that students can access them in a variety of places.

“It will allow people to be more open-minded,” he says. “It will also attract more people to the university as that will make it more of an accepting place.”

SIDEBAR: The UVic Students’ Society (UVSS) took a move toward gender-inclusive washrooms last January when then-Director-at-Large Tara Paterson forwarded a motion to investigate the feasibility of designating two washrooms in the Student Union Building (SUB).

In September, UVic Pride conducted a

JOSH THOMPSON

The washrooms in the basement of the SUB went gender neutral during the 2010 Canadian University Queer Services Conference hosted at UVic. survey of the student population, which demonstrated overwhelming support for multigender washrooms (washrooms that are not gender-segregated). Almost 20 per cent of respondents said they would go out of their way to use a multi-gender washroom, and an additional 77 per cent said they would use it

if it were the nearest washroom.

UVic Pride has proposed the multi-stall washrooms across from International Grill in the SUB be repurposed as multi-gender washrooms, and is currently working with the UVSS to determine the feasibility of this proposal.

November 3, 2011 MARTLET

9

OPINIONS

The King of Hearts spent so much time shaving, he forgot to get his regular checkup! Poor old King of Hearts.

EDITORIAL

Free speech or harrassment?

CHEWBACCA FOR COUNCIL

On Nov. 16 and 17, the anti-choice club Youth Protecting Youth is bringing a demonstration called “ ‘Choice’ Chain” to campus. What do they do? They hold up three by four foot signs of aborted foetuses in the middle of campus.

As an independent newspaper, the Martlet values freedom of speech. But that’s not what this is. This is harassment. People have no choice but to be confronted with graphic images. Many of these people are women who have had abortions. Many are women who may be considering having an abortion, or may have one in the future.

A campus is a place to engage in dialogue and engage with complex ideas. But it is also a place to do so in a safe, respectful environment.

So, the question is this: what will the university do to ensure campus remains the “safe, respectful and supportive learning and working environment for all members of the university community” it supposedly promotes, as stated in its Policy on Human Rights, Equity and Fairness? We understand anti-choice groups frequently take legal action when their graphic presentations are prevented from being set up in the middle of campuses — such as the group Lifeline who displayed the Genocide Awareness Project at Carleton University. However, having the financial ability to take legal action shouldn’t allow a group to create a hostile campus.

We are calling on the university to demonstrate that its human rights and discrimination policies aren’t there simply to make the administration feel good and pay lip service to students, staff and faculty who experience discrimination. It’s time for the university to show it’s actually committed to these policies.

Last fall, Youth Protecting Youth brought an event to UVic called “Echoes of the Holocaust.”

This event was held in the evening in an auditorium. UVic’s department of Equity and Human Rights (EQHR) received more than 75 email complaints. The university did nothing.

This time, the hostile and harassing environment is being taken from behind closed doors and into one of the busiest locations on campus. The UVic Policy on Human Rights, Equity and Fairness continues, “The University fosters an environment characterized by fairness, openness, equity and respect for the dignity and diversity of its members. The University strives to be a place that is free of discrimination and harassment, injustice and violence.” Graphic imagery that targets women who have had an abortion does not create space for dialogue. It shames and harasses.

The university also has a duty to protect marginalized groups from “abusive or demeaning” behaviour. What is more abusive or demeaning than implying women who access a legal health service that allows them to make decision about their bodies and sexualities are murderers?

If we are truly going to value free speech, we need to create environments where everyone can speak, not environments where we shame and harass. We need to create environments where people enter respectful dialogue willingly, not environments that polarize. And, most importantly, we need to create environments where people are safe to explore, learn and share ideas.

This demonstration does not do that. It is a violation of university policy on human rights and discrimination. It is time for the university to prove its policies are more than words, and that it values the safety of students on campus.

RYAN HAAK

LETTERS I AM INDIGENOUS

RIGHTS IN THE RIGHT PLACE

My peoples and my lands have been occupied illegally for decades by a government and society which try to rob me of my identity and lands. They have attempted genocide on my people and culture in order to control, dominate and exploit my lands for profit in order to fund their attempt to control, dominate, and exploit the human species.

My people have a suicide rate 10 times the national average. My people make up 40 per cent of the prisoners incarcerated and only three per cent of the population in what is now called Canada. Over 100 communities of my fellow Indigenous people in Canada can’t drink the water that comes from their taps because it is toxic.

I am subjected to racism and stereotyped as being lazy, stupid, inferior, ungrateful, hostile, drunk, don’t pay taxes and I get everything given to me.

My lands are being occupied by a public, which largely remains ignorant or silent about the injustice I live with every moment of every day. I am silenced or minimized in the “Occupy” movement frequently as my issues of injustice transcend mere financial concerns.

I am Indigenous and I am the “un-per cent.”

Re: “Questionable Plan B ad placement,” Oct. 20

Ian Caplette VIU Student

Editorial topics are decided on by staff at our weekly editorial meeting at 1:30 p.m. every Friday in the Martlet office (SUB B011). Editorials are written by one or more staff members and are not necessarily the opinion of all staff members.

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MARTLET November 3, 2011

I was surprised by this article. Due to inconvenient biological circumstances, the consequences of unsafe sex often do place the burden (literally) on women. When I see these ads, rather than being offended I feel empowered with the knowledge that in Canada women have successfully fought for the means and rights to counteract this biological power imbalance, and take control of our bodies and futures. These ads in a public washroom are a sign that such rights are entrenched in our society. In many countries, even victims of rape do not have the right to terminate a pregnancy safely, often resorting to risky back-alley abortions. Obviously it is better to practice safe, responsible sex when you have the choice, but it is comforting to know that if — heaven forbid — something unfortunate should happen tonight, as Canadian women we have the right to a plan B. That right to choose definitely belongs in the female domain, so why not the girls’ washroom?

Georgina Nicoll Grad Student

Happy? Sad? Enraged?

Tell us: letters@martlet.ca The Martlet has an open letters policy and will endeavour to print every letter received from the university community. Letters must be submitted by email, include your real name and affiliation to UVic, and have “Letter to the editor” in the subject line. Letters must be under 200 words and may be edited.

Zombie fiction: let the outbreak happen Volume 64, Issue 13 Editor-in-Chief Erin Ball edit@martlet.ca Managing Editor Kristi Sipes maned@martlet.ca Production Co-ordinator Glen O’Neill proco@martlet.ca Advertising Director Marc Junker ads@martlet.ca News Editor Kailey Willetts news@martlet.ca Opinions Editor Shandi Shiach opinions@martlet.ca Features Editor Sol Kauffman feature@martlet.ca

> TARYN BROWNELL The first time a professor brought up the issue of literary fiction versus genre fiction in workshop, I was confused. When I first started in the UVic writing program, I didn’t realize that it mattered what kind of fiction I wrote. It was all fiction, wasn’t it? Apparently not.

Year after year professors have started the first few classes by discussing the differences between literary and genre fiction and what was considered appropriate to write here at UVic. The general consensus (unless you’re fortunate to get an open-minded prof) is that literary fiction is the way to go. In fact, the common theory is the majority of genre fiction is poorly written and not worthy of praise of any kind. Not only does this opinion restrict students in their writing options (nobody will risk a bad grade just because they want to write about zombies), but it also creates a stereotype regarding genre fiction that is not entirely true.

Genre fiction is classified as pretty much anything that isn’t literary fiction. This includes romance, science fiction, fantasy,

horror and anything in between.

There are a few issues with lumping all of these genres together in one category. Genres like romance and science fiction should never be categorized as the same thing (unless it happens to be a romance story set in a science fiction world, which is an entirely different situation). It would be like saying that blond hair and red hair are the same just because they’re not brown. Romance and science fiction are both genres, yes, but they aren’t the same genre, so why should they be called the same thing?

Another issue with lumping all the genres together is that the number of genre fiction novels far outnumbers literary fiction. It’s obvious that more genre fiction than literary fiction is going to be bad purely because of the numbers. The fantasy genre alone far outnumbers literary fiction. I’m not arguing that there is no bad genre fiction, just that there is far more of it and therefore far more chances for it to be bad.

Categorizing all of these genres as the same seems to also help to make “genre fiction” the

enemy of “good fiction.” It’s easier to make something into the big bad wolf if you don’t have to explain every single part of it. Many people don’t even seem to understand that the term “genre fiction” refers to anything more than sci-fi or fantasy. Some students don’t understand what they’re trying to avoid writing.

Is it really fair to categorize all genres as just genre fiction? What makes literary fiction stand out from the rest? After years in the program, I’m still back where I started on this issue. Literary fiction is a genre, so why is it not considered genre fiction? I believe that in UVic’s quest to produce good writers, they cut out genres that should not have been excluded.

In today’s society, most readers want to escape real life when they read. Many of the top selling books are fantasy or sci-fi. I believe that writing students should be allowed to write whatever pops into their heads. Why restrict us? Ernest Hemingway once said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is just sit at a typewriter and bleed.” Why not let us write what’s in our blood?

Make Jack proud on November 19

Culture Editor Vanessa Annand culture@martlet.ca

> UVIC NDP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Sports Editor Tyler Laing sports@martlet.ca Science & Tech Editor Alan Piffer scitech@martlet.ca Graphics Editor Ryan Haak grafx@martlet.ca Photo Editor Tess Forsyth photo@martlet.ca Web Editor Adam Bard web@martlet.ca Web Content Editor Brad Michelson newmedia@martlet.ca Copy Editor Jon-Paul Zacharias Distribution Ivan Marko, Michelle Wright, Jon-Paul Zacharias jp@martlet.ca

We’ve been subtly taught almost from our first civics lesson, assuming we were fortunate enough to benefit from one, that federal elections matter most. Next in line are provincial elections and these are followed in importance by municipal elections. At the bottom of this supposed political food chain reside school trustee campaigns.

This bigger-is-better view of politics is reinforced from an early age by our parents who, according to the numbers, are far more likely to turn out to vote in a national or provincial election than in a municipal one. The truth is, local government provides a number of opportunities to make a difference most of us can only dream of when it comes to federal or provincial government. It’s time we stopped viewing small and close to home as an indication of weakness or ineffectuality and started to see it for what it is: more accessible, more accountable to the people, and more responsive to public pressure. A small group

of people who probably wouldn’t even be noticed in Ottawa can create the equivalent of a political firestorm in city hall or at a local school board meeting.

The essential services we most take for granted tend to be provided by local government. While the federal government is responsible for distributing a huge amount of money around the country, garbage collection, housing, sewage disposal, clean water and transportation, just to name a few, are all primarily local concerns — and the partnership that matters most tends to be between the municipal and the provincial, not the provincial and the federal. Yet federal elections generate the most excitement while it’s all municipal candidates can do to get out a couple of hundred yard signs and generate turnout above 25 per cent.

On Nov. 19, UVic students will have an opportunity to create the equivalent of local tsunami. They can defy expectations and turn out to vote for the next mayor of Saanich or Victoria, or really shake up local municipal councils. They could rock School District 61’s

world by showing up to vote for candidates who support greater funding for education and are willing to lobby the province hard to get it. Given the expectations are so low due to past turn out numbers, especially among university students, it wouldn’t take much for UVic students and faculty to make themselves noticeable on Election Day. With land use planning, homelessness and education funding among the many issues local government has the ability to significantly affect, the UVic NDP urges all faculties and their student associations to actively promote the upcoming elections among university staff and students. In his final letter to the people of Canada, Jack Layton delivered this message to youth: “Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.” We don’t need to wait for the next national or provincial election to prove Jack’s faith in us was not misplaced.

We can do it Nov. 19.

Staff Writers Jenny Boychuk, Brandon Rosario

Editorial integrity keeps news unbiased

Investigative Reporter Mark Worthing

> KRISTI SIPES

Contributors Samantha Bate, Taryn Brownell, Marcie Callewaert, Christopher Devos, jana j gee, Maurice (Felix) Giannelia, Daniel LaBaron, Gordon Lee, Blake Morneau, Pat Murry, Kailey Olsen, Kim Profili, Dylan Toigo, Josh Thompson, Kaitlyn Rosenburg, Adrienne Shephard, Cara Spangler, Leana Temoana, Quincy Thomas, Dylan Toigo, Haley Wilson, Michelle Wright

Imagine for a moment that we lived in a world with no newspapers. Since many people no longer read newspapers, this may not seem like a very big deal. But consider that 85–95 per cent of original news reporting is still done by newspapers.

Without newspapers, we would have hardly any source for reliable reporting in our communities — resulting in uninformed decisionmaking and ultimately, the corruption of democracy.

Because of this role, newspapers are often accused of bias in their reporting. Such charges can be political (the laughable accusation that mainstream media in the U.S. is “leftwing”) but sometimes such charges have merit (the well-documented failures of the New York Times coverage pre-Iraq war). If journalists are to be trusted, it’s in every journalist’s self-interest to make sure their biases aren’t reflected in their reporting — but it’s not just up to them.

Why are newspapers reliable? After all, journalists are people with ideas and viewpoints like everyone else. How do newspapers ensure that reporters’ and editors’ personal biases don’t taint newsgathering?

The answer is multilayered. It includes the use of editorial procedures and codes of conduct, and a culture of integrity in the newsroom. It’s the responsibility of senior staff to implement and enforce this, and model behaviour and expectations for junior staff.

At the Martlet, the most basic policies pre-

Volunteer Staff Stuart Armstrong, Brontë Renwick-Shields Cody Willett Cover Illustration/Photo Glen O’Neill The Martlet Publishing Society is an incorporated B.C. society and a full member of Canadian University Press (CUP). We strive to act as an agent of constructive social change and will not print racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise oppressive copy.

Martlet (SUB B011) P.O. BOX 3035 University of Victoria Victoria, B.C. V8W 3P3 martlet.ca Newsroom: Editor: Business: Advertising: Fax:

OPINIONS

250.721.8360 250.853.3206 250.721.8361 250.721.8359 250.472.4556

vent reporters from covering stories in which they have a personal stake. If possible, another reporter covers the story. (However, because we rely heavily on volunteer staff, there is not always someone available.)

Ethical expectations are explicitly laid out: upon hire, all editorial staff sign contracts and are trained to fact-check and avoid libel. Violations of journalistic ethics or code of conduct result in progressive discipline, which in my experience is a very effective tool that rarely requires going beyond the first intervention.

Section editors and writers generate story ideas and angles in consultation with the editor-in-chief. The editor-in-chief always has the final say about which stories get covered.

This keeps section editors from focusing too much on their own areas of expertise, and helps to ensure a wide range of coverage in their sections.

When it comes to gathering the story, journalists use specific methods to correct for their own biases. From Principles of Journalism by the Project for Excellence in Journalism: “When the concept of objectivity originally evolved, it did not imply that journalists are free of bias. It called, rather, for a consistent method of testing information — a transparent approach to evidence — precisely so that personal and cultural biases would not undermine the accuracy of their work.”

“The method is objective, not the journalist.

Seeking out multiple witnesses, disclosing as much as possible about sources, or asking various sides for comment, all signal such

standards. This discipline of verification is what separates journalism from other modes of communication, such as propaganda, fiction or entertainment.”

Once stories are written, they go through two content edits, including fact-checking, and a copy-edit before publication. Additionally, potentially controversial stories are vetted by a legal consultant before publication.

Finally, like all reputable news organizations, the Martlet maintains a firewall between advertising and editorial content: we do not allow advertisers to buy or influence editorial coverage. This is why we have a managing editor (for business/advertising) and an editor-in-chief (for editorial), and why the editor-in-chief has the final say over all content including ads. Ads must conform to our organizational mandate as an independent, non-profit, student-owned newspaper.

I hope that this has illuminated the standards we follow as we gather the news for you, and helped to illustrate why newspapers are still relevant, valuable, and necessary resources even in the age of blogs and social media.

Commentary, while necessary, is no substitute for newsgathering.

Whether in print or online, newspapers are a vital component of democracy because they produce reliable information of value to communities. Anyone with further questions about ethics in journalism or concerns about the Martlet’s reporting should contact me or EIC Erin Ball, or stop by the office. See journalism. org for further reading resources.

November 3, 2011 MARTLET

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s ’ e l p o Pe y l b m e s s a a i r o t c i v of

Photos: h t y s r o Tess F s a i r a h c JP Za

: s w e i v Inter s a i r a h c a JP Z

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MARTLET November 3, 2011

FEATURE

STAR

ANUSHKA NAGEJI

SIMON MAGUS

DONOVAN MACLUOD

We’re sort of hoping to let people see the fact that, as it stands, the corporations are sort of running things, and a lot of the working class is getting pushed back down to minimum wage. Like, for instance, a woman that I spoke to earlier on, she was working in hospitals, and she was making over 12 bucks an hour, as a union; and then they privatized it, and then she was making nine something an hour; and she lost her job, she lost her house; it was really hard for her. So, this could show people that there’s something wrong.

What’s made me believe that it won’t disappear altogether is the fact that every day there’s more and more tents. Every day there’s more and more people getting together and getting in on this. So I think it’s bigger than a lot of people think it is.

I’m here because I want to be part of something better. And I think that this is it. I think that this is the forefront of activism and of social justice and of all sorts of things, and all sorts of change. As close as we’ve seen to it anyway.

We’ve grown 300 per cent in the number of tents since our first day here. We’ve gone from 17 tents to 55. So it is growing. It’s continuously growing. And we are not getting smaller. We are only getting more resistant, and resilient. And [learning how to] deepen our roots.

This is the welcome reprieve from the weirdness and craziness that is my life. This is awesome! It’s nice, like after a long hard day at work, or at all your different jobs, to come into a community where people are serving you dinner, and bringing you hot chocolate and asking you after your day; you have just like this welcome space to be in, right? Everybody knows your name, just like in Cheers.

There are people here all the time having public dialogue, discussions, talking about politics and finances and the environment and social and justice issues, and whatever issues they want to talk about; that’s exactly what we need. We need people to talk and we need people to listen . . . I think that a lot of us have the goal of changing the world right now. Yet I think we’ve lost track of the fact that we can’t change the world without first looking at ourselves to change ourselves; then building our small community; then building our larger community; then building our province; then building our country. We don’t have a hope of changing everything unless we first learn to listen to each other and help each other out. And stop this homelessness and stop the poverty and stop the starvation that’s going on right in front of us, before we even start looking at Vancouver or the rest of Canada.

In Victoria it’s just been chaos. There’s no leader, and everybody’s so afraid to get some kind of thing going, that it’s just not working. There needs to be people that are really behind this movement and have something valuable to say. We’re going to be stuck here not doing anything. [When] we went to the legislature, it felt like a really powerful movement because there were thousands of people. And when I was standing on the legislature steps, there wasn’t a patch of grass clear. It seemed like there was a clear direction. The days that followed, though, there was a lot of arguing at the meetings. Things are going: we’re getting a lot of donations in, there’s a really good team, but when it come to actually projecting why we’re here, and what Occupation is all about, and why we’re doing this worldwide . . . There’s just people coming up on the microphone, and it’s mindless. I mean, I don’t know; it hasn’t really been representing what we’re all about. That’s the one thing I can say: there needs to be some kind of leadership, because without it, it’s just chaos.

FEATURE

November 3, 2011 MARTLET

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CULTURE

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Choose your own moustache adventure

Très jolie! Those baroque curlicues on your face?

They say, “Yes, I’m a sensitive man who sheds a single tear every time I read Dr. Zhivago, and yes, I get seasonal allergies when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. Still, I’m a mercenary when meeting with monarchs, a renegade when dealing with royals and an asshole when hosting aristocrats. I tell it like it is — even if that means telling you that your prized Degas is a fake and your black-tie ball is blasé.

Congratulations! You get to open your own coffee shop. This ’stache gives you the cool, calculating power to walk to the Starbucks next door to your fledgling café and negotiate who gets to have tables on the sidewalk. If they won’t play ball, grab the closest venti latte and pour it all over the Nora Jones compilation CDs by the till. Just do it will panache and don’t break eye contact.

Uncanny! You are Salvador Dalí incarnate. Better throw all the clocks in your house into a frying pan and watch them melt so you can truly appreciate “The Persistence of Memory.”

Go to the seafood section of Safeway, get a lobster and make your own lobster telephone. Oh! And befriend a dictator.

This is becoming harder because they keep getting overthrown. Check in with your friend who’s rocking “The Diplomat” ’stache. He may be able to help.

Keep this hush-hush: you’re a private investigator. Sure, most of your job consists of following jealous husbands’ wives to scintillating locales like yoga class and the Pottery Barn. But hey — if you get your own punch pass for yoga, you can maintain that Tom Selleckesque physique and still do your job. Added bonus: your ’stache catches all that Bikram-induced upper lip sweat.

Heads up: you’re the captain of an Ultimate Frisbee team. This ‘stache stops opponents in their tracks and keeps the naysayers from sneering, “Is that even a sport?” Even those perky German Shepherds in the dog park who catch Frisbees in their mouths skulk away when you roll in with your tube socks and short shorts.

And fun fact: an upsidedown Frisbee makes the perfect serving dish for Ramen noodles when you haven’t washed dishes for a month because you’ve been too busy watching Miami Vice re-runs.

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MARTLET November 3, 2011

Film producer returns to alma mater > CARA SPANGLER On Oct. 22 and 23, a Sony feature film crew shot scenes of Ring Road for an untitled thriller (formerly The New Girl). The film is directed by Michael Greenspan and produced

by Kyle Mann, a UVic alumnus.

Mann says he pushed the idea of filming at UVic on distributors.

“They wanted to set [the film] at a sorority house,” Mann says. “I already know what that movie looks like.” He remembered the UVic campus to be very cinematic. “Look at those sight lines,” he says, pointing to the row of trees along the quad.

This is the second film project Mann has brought to Vancouver Island. In 2010, Mann produced his first movie, Wrecked, which is also Greenspan’s first movie as director and stars Adrien Brody.

“I like to bring projects to Vancouver Island — it’s untouched,” he says.

The crew of 125 filmed scenes for 24 days in Chinatown and at Craigdarroch Castle, Black Swan Pub in Shawnigan Lake and a Cowichan Valley farm.

Growing up in Vancouver as one of three brothers, Mann says he arrived at UVic in ’91 an “utterly immature male with a very narrow perspective.” He was struck by the skewed ratio of men to women and remembers the number of “open-minded, mature women” on campus, in his classes and on the field. The women’s rugby team impressed Mann.

“I had never seen strong, empowered women working together before.”

On Oct. 22, the current women’s rugby team allowed the crew to film their practice.

These shots are part of Mann’s effort to create a female-centric world in the film. The movie stars Katie Cassidy and Tracy Spiridakos as roommates who make a “Faustian pact” to eradicate abuse from each other’s lives

MARCIE CALLEWAERT

Kyle Mann set part of his film at UVic, even though distributors envisioned it taking place in a nondescript sorority house. through murder.

Mann admires the “out-of-the box, creative thinkers” schools like UVic mould through arts and humanities programs.

“Liberal arts universities are such a gift and yet are not properly funded,” he says.

His filmmaking career did not start until after he completed a BA in History at UVic and a law degree at UBC. Mann liked law school because

it required both creative and logical sides of the brain, but abandoned his law career in 2001.

“I felt like I was going in the wrong direction,” he says. “Films and books were always my passion.”

Mann then got in touch with William Vince, a friend of his wife’s family, and got a job as associate producer of Capote in 2005.

Although Mann uses logistical skills to make

complicated business deals and contracts, he still maintains his artistic thinking when dealing with actors and writers.

“I’m considered to be a fairly creative producer,” he says. “Filmmaking always gets you to explore your past, and this is one part I have very fond memories of.”

The film will be released sometime between April and June 2012.

ARCHIPELAGO Canadian university press national ConferenCe 74

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January 11-15, 2012 · Harbour Towers HoTel & suiTes VicToria, bc KeynoTe speaKers: alan Cross, the ongoing history of new musiC Chris Jones, esquire magazine and More to be aNNouNced sooN! oTHer speaKers include: Jo-ann roberts, CBC · Jason Chiu, the gloBe and mail

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UVic club to host fashion show > DANIEL LEBARON On Friday, Nov. 4, UVic’s Graphic Interior Fashion and Architecture Design Club (GIFA) will host a fashion show at Touch Lounge.

This show, chicly dubbed Urban Woman, Metropolitan Man, will be the fledgling club’s first major event.

Before September 2010, students interested in design and fashion at UVic had few outlets through which they could share their ideas and explore mutual passions. This changed when UVic student Mika Ishizaki established GIFA at the university last September. Sure, the full name is a lot to swallow, but that is only due to the diverse group of people that this club attracts. Ishizaki says that club membership comprises nearly all faculties at UVic as well as alumni.

Last year, GIFA built up the club’s membership and planned for the future, but this didn’t keep the club static by any means. The design enthusiasts were active in community events including the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s “Modern Eye” exhibit and the international design forum “Pecha Kucha,” which helped raise funds for victims of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.

Establishing the club and participating in community events last year was an important beginning for GIFA, but this year is going to be decidedly different for Ishizaki and her colleagues. The transformation from a small, diversified UVic club into a larger, more significantly followed one will begin with Urban Woman, Metropolitan Man. The event will highlight sundry urban styles, and door prizes from several local businesses will be on

offer. Ticket holders will have free entry into Touch after the show concludes. Tickets can be purchased at DalyCo Boutique and Vixen Hair Studio.

With this event and many sure to follow, GIFA will almost certainly establish itself as a trendy, modern club at UVic. It will also prove its mettle as a club with strong values.

The net proceeds from Friday night’s show will go to the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children, which provides an early development mental health program for children.

Door prizes are donated by local businesses anxious to support this great cause and participate in community-related events, ultimately bringing Victorians closer together.

Clothing has been donated by regional boutiques including DalyCo and Mangos and will be modeled by UVic’s own students.

This event was created to unite a group of design-savvy people that have long existed at UVic, but have rarely been heard or joined in a public forum. Ishizaki realized this unfortunate truth when she established GIFA last year, and she continues to work on changing this reality. When asked why people should attend the event, Ishizaki smiles and says that her main goal is to “raise awareness around the fact that there are very few classes, programs, clubs or otherwise at UVic dedicated to design of any kind, although we encounter all facets of design on a daily basis.”

Urban Woman, Metropolitan Man: An Urbane Fashion Show November 4 @ 7 p.m.

Touch Lounge $12

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MARCIE CALLEWAERT

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Elliott BROOD broods > DYLAN TOIGO Toronto-based trio Elliott BROOD, who will be at Victoria’s Sugar Nightclub on Nov. 8, have recently released their third full-length album, Days Into Years, a heftier record than long-time followers of the band may have been expecting.

“We’re changing our sound a little bit,” says drummer Stephen Pitkin, pulled over in his car on a rainy Toronto afternoon. “It sounds thicker.”

Elliott BROOD clawed their way onto the Canadian music scene in 2004 with the release of their raw and raucous EP, Tin Type.

Fuelled by banjo-driven barn-burners like “Cadillac Dust” and “Oh, Alberta,” the album garnered recognition for the band from coast to coast. Those songs, however, would be hard-pressed to find a home on the band’s latest release.

Days Into Years, which is Elliott BROOD’s first release on new label Paper Bag Records, marks a significant shift for the group musically. Perhaps most notably, the band has incorporated instruments like the electric guitar and keyboard into their sound for the first time and, as Pitkin notes, the boys of the BROOD “got into harmonies for once.”

A good example of the band’s heavier new sound is the tune “Will They Bury Us?” Singer and guitarist Casey Laforet uses electric guitar to beef up the song with long, ringing, distorted chords and sharp guitar fills. The piano breaks in around mid-song and provides the track with added depth and a languished reprieve from the song’s heavy main riff.

The new album shoulders heavy lyrical content as well. The band creates intimate stories against the historical backdrop of the

First World War, a theme that was inspired by visits the band made to war memorials and battlefields while on tour in France.

“Well, everyone kind of writes about breakups and love songs, and we’re not that kind of band, really,” says Pitkin. “The thing is, we’re more situational and we’ve always had a fascination with history. Sometimes you can just stand in a place and it has power, you know? Like you can stand there and say, ‘Wow, someone has died here.’ There’s just so much that has happened and you can feel that . . . you can imagine being in their place and I think we had that kind of a moment.”

“If I Get Old,” for example, is an upbeat head-nodder that deals with the unavoidable loss of innocence in war. The song’s protagonist fantasizes about making it home alive and finding some quiet piece of land to grow old on. With lines like, “When we got here we were young men, what we’ve done has made us old,” and, “If I live to see the end I’m going to make a brand new start, but I’ll never be the same again without my youthful heart,” the song acknowledges both the physical and psychological costs of war without being trite or overly sentimental.

Despite the strides the band has made musically and as songwriters, Days Into Years remains a quintessentially Elliott BROOD record. Singer, guitarist and banjo player Mark Sasso still belts out songs with a tangible and textured desperation (check out the track “Owen Sound”), there is still plenty of banjo plucking strewn throughout the album, and, even though this record is more accurately described as rock than the band’s former tag of “death country,” it still maintains Elliot BROOD’s well-loved dusty lilt.

QUINCY THOMAS

Hernande’z Cocina on Yates Street.

Hola, Hernande’z > KAITLYN ROSENBURG You’ve probably walked past Hernande’z Cocina on Yates Street before — maybe when you were rushing to The Lion King 3D (be honest, you saw it). It’s not your fault that you didn’t notice this hotspot for Central American cuisine. Aside from the occasional sandwich board, Hernande’z Cocina doesn’t trumpet its presence on Yates Street. I’ve rushed by too, as it doesn’t even have a storefront.

Hernande’z Cocina is in a strip mall, tucked away from the bustle of Victoria.

I’d compare this restaurant to a permanent food truck. Orders are paid for in advance, customers can sit at tables with plastic tablecloths or take their food out, and plates are optional.

Three amigos and myself ventured to Hernande’z for an authentic Central American feast and had little to grumble about.

True, the fluorescent lighting and stiff metal chairs made it difficult to initially relax, but soon the auburn walls bounced with the recorded melodies of Spanish guitar.

Hernande’z is not licensed to serve alcohol, but is a great jumping-off point for any adventure. I recommend the homemade hibiscus iced tea ($1.98).

The highlight of Hernande’z Cocina is its menu. Relatively small, it is divided into “fast” and “slow” items. Burritos are considered fast. My vegetarian friend who ordered the burrito de calabacita ($8.95) was the

first to receive her food. Packed with slowcooked zucchini and black beans, she was hard pressed to finish her meal, but licked her fingers with each bite.

Don’t be scared by the word “slow,” as my slow huarache de puerco ($8.95) arrived moments after the burrito. Handmade tacos ($6) are also “slow” and always delicious.

My huarache was a thick handmade corn tortilla topped with slow-cooked pork, black beans, rice and wild greens. The beans were an earthy blue-grey hue and the warm tortilla carried a nutty, smoky flavour with each bite.

The tender pork and the bright, fresh salsa delighted.

My other two friends had variations on my huarache, one choosing chicken ($8.95), and the other the vegetarian option ($6.95). My only criticism is of the wild greens, which serve no purpose other than adding a pop of green to the plate.

All dishes are available spicy or with regular heat. Sides of salsa ($0.75), sour cream ($0.75) and cilantro ($0.25) are always available.

As we left, my friend said, “I like paying beforehand — feels like we ate for free.” It may not be free, but anything authentic for less than $10 is a deal to me.

Hernande’z Cocina 735 Yates St. 11:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. Mon – Sat Second location at 1600 Bay St. 5 – 9 p.m. Tue – Sat

Inmates chill crowd in Gormenghast > SHANDI SHIACH Some 40 inmates of William Head Institution have teamed up with director Ian Case and actresses Kate Rubin, Ingrid Hansen and Michelle Chowns to present the haunted and thrilling production, Gormenghast. It’s the 50th play by the 30-year-old, inmate-run company, William Head on Stage (WHoS).

The performance boasts percussion, projection, sword fights, pop-bottle puppets, a moment of pyrotechnics and one inmate in drag.

“He’s hilarious,” says Hansen, “and it’s a very brave move on his part, I must say.”

The play is an adaptation of the books by Mervyn Peake. The castle residents, whose doctrine is “No change,” can only ever go deeper into the living castle Gormenghast, and never leave. This story centres on the life of Steerpike, who begins as a scullion boy but will stop at nothing to seize power.

Gormenghast’s historical and sociological appeal shines in its prison setting. It’s worth the trip just for the scenic drive through Metchosin’s coastal, fir-tree wilderness, where owls cross your path after dark — just as owls mysteriously cross characters’ minds CULTURE

throughout the play.

Hansen’s character, Fuchsia, is Gormenghast’s very own Ophelia. She says the inmates work very hard on the production.

“I’ve been very honoured to work with [the inmates],” says Hansen. “They’ve shown a level of dedication and professionalism that you don’t often get from professional actors.”

James Makokis is a student whose family medicine residency is in Victoria. He returned for Gormenghast after enjoying last year’s WHoS offering.

“It’s amazing that untrained people can put on such a performance,” says Makokis. “It looks really realistic. The visuals are really neat.”

He’s glad institutions offer positive outlets of expression, and he notes that WHoS supports an AIDS charity. Ten per cent of ticket sales from the Remembrance Day show will go to the Royal Canadian Legion. The rest pays for next year’s play, since WHoS has few sponsors and is mostly self-supported.

WHoS is unique in that it gives the audience a chance to mingle with the crew. It had its origins in a 1981 government initiative offering university courses to inmates. UVic theatre students conducted drama workshops at

William Head to improve the institution’s integration with the community and help inmates practice skills, commitment and teamwork.

“I think every prison in Canada should have a theatre program,” says the current president of WHoS. “It just enriches people.”

The actors, most of whom have never done this before, were largely off-book, meaning their lines were memorized, by the time the director was ready to start working on characters and blocking with them.

The production value of Gormenghast is even greater than some plays at the Belfry Theatre.

The president of WHoS explains this simply: “If there’s one thing we’ve got, it’s cheap labour.”

Hansen designed the WHoS production of Animal Farm in 2008.

“It’s really fun designing out there,” she says of William Head Institution, “because the set design team says, ‘What do you want? We’ll make it.’”

The inmates have no need for blueprints or schematics — a drawing on a napkin suffices — and they’re skilled builders. The gaunt castle Gormenghast, which currently takes up a good portion of the William Head gymnasium-turned-theatre, will be dismantled after

the final show. Instead of storing components for reuse, next year’s WHoS set crew will start fresh. Hansen notes, “We should have kept the risers last year.” The inmates scoff at this.

Whether from the setting, acting or story, a strange sympathy arises in some viewers for the ambitious, compelling character Steerpike, whose actions alone would not normally inspire confidence.

“We brought a little bit of humour to this dark production,” says the actor who plays Steerpike. When he learned WHoS was going to produce Gormenghast, he read the books and found the story relates to the experience of inmates.

“The themes of the piece are very well-suited to the environment,” agrees Hansen.

After all, this is prison.

The WHoS president hopes more people come to check out the performance. He says it will be something they will remember.

As the countess calling out to her lost heir, Kate Rubin’s majestic intonation echoes through the make-shift theatre: “Everything returns to Gormenghast.”

Just as many viewers will return to William Head.

November 3, 2011 MARTLET

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Can’t get enough Don’t wait to try of that crisp cash latest from Waits Grant gives musicians 15 minutes of fame MUSIC RAGS

> BLAKE MORNEAU

> JENNY BOYCHUK Are you an aspiring musician trying to jumpstart your career? If you’re serving coffee just to try to get a little studio time, you might be able to get out of that, real fast.

“The First 15” music grant program was launched on Oct. 17 by Post Sugar Crisp (yes, the cereal), Girth Music and a few talented artists. The winner of the grant will receive free recording time with Girth Music in Toronto (as well as a trip to Toronto if the artist doesn’t live in the area), producer support and a $5000 cash prize for the artist to get their career rolling.

All you have to do is upload your track to Facebook by Dec. 9. That’s it.

“This grant is open to any Canadian artist or band, and it’s not genre specific — it can be any style of music,” says UVic alumnus and artist Jay Manara of Toronto band Broken Sons. “After everyone submits their music online, there will be a shortlist decided by [online] votes.”

From there, a panel of judges will look at the list and decide on a winner. Judges will include songwriters, reps from different major labels, producers and reps from Post Foods.

“It’s a diverse panel,” says Manara.

Manara was asked to organize the grant and get word out to his music industry network.

“An artist named iSH actually approached Post, asked them for support and showed them his demo — which used ‘Can’t get enough of that Sugar Crisp’ mixed into one of his tracks,” says Manara. “That kind of got

their interest.”

Manara notes that this approach was not a traditional one, but an effective one.

“It was funny because usually you see this being done by a label, but Post started supporting this artist, putting him in studio and paying for studio time,” says Manara. “The traditional way of an artist going to a record label seeking funding doesn’t really work anymore — there isn’t a lot of money in the industry. Artists have to be creative, and I think this is a good story where an artist said, ‘You know what? I want to take my future into my own hands and do whatever I need to do,’ and he’s doing it.”

One winner will be chosen this year, and the company and panel are looking to continue it each year from now on.

Manara says the program aims to give artists “a little bit of financial backing; enough that they can kind of get a jump-start on getting in the studio — maybe do a photo shoot or have a developer redo their website — something that is a tangible marketing launch pad to give them a start.”

Manara says that he knows $5 000 will not put an artist on a global scale, but it will give an indie artist a fair start.

“You have to change with the times and try to be an artist in today’s society — it’s harder than people think. If you’re an indie band and you don’t get paid to write songs or play at shows, you’re serving coffee trying to pay for things,” says Manara. “It’s all about opportunity for the artist.”

Check out facebook.com/thefirst15 to submit or to vote.

Bad As Me is the latest album from the legendary Tom Waits, and his first in seven years. It is a career-spanning record that touches on many of the bases that have informed his sound and style over his 30-something year career. Dissonant jazz, swampy blues, rockabilly shuffles and a few of Waits’s trademark ballads permeate this lively album. It is a minor masterpiece that gathers the many sounds in Waits’s catalogue into a concise, cohesive statement. To those unfamiliar with the master’s work, I submit this column. It is a short primer on the storied career of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Thomas Alan Waits.

The Heart of Saturday Night (1974) This was only Waits’s second record, but he’d already begun to dig into the trenches of society’s outcasts, immersing himself in a world of fast love, fast cars and late nights, forsaking romantic love for a life of debauchery and solitude.

The music is romantic, filled with lush orchestration and warm, supple piano lines that accentuate both sides of Waits’s emerging character: hopeless romantic and crotchety old beatnik.

least accessible. Still, it is an immensely rewarding album — an in-depth, passionate portrait of a man at the crossroads of life, preparing to move forward but struggling with his fears and grim outlook.

Mule Variations (1999) Mule Variations is a dark, ominous slice of country blues. Waits comes out of the gate screaming with his disciples, the alt-rock champs of Primus. The result is the funky, downright danceable “Big in Japan.” Waits quickly slows down the pace with sleek blues music. The feeling of skulking at midnight in the swamps and fields of the southern U.S. seeps through every pore of the record. It’s soaked in the musical traditions of blues, bluegrass and avant-garde jazz.

Waits’s trademark humour makes some triumphant returns here, especially in the hilarious ode to our modern paranoia and suspicion of the people around us, “What’s He Building?”

This was the record that got me into the vast sea that is Tom Waits, and it still stands as my favourite of his albums.

The feeling of skulking at midnight in the swamps and fields of the southern U.S. seeps through every pore of [Mule Variatons]. It’s soaked in the musical traditions of blues, bluegrass and avantgarde jazz.

Rain Dogs (1985) Rain Dogs might be the most chaoticsounding record in Waits’s catalogue — a real accomplishment. The sounds come from every direction, augmenting Waits’s dreamlike tales of a tragic, fatalistic underworld.

The album sounds incredibly organic despite being made in the synthesizer-heavy ‘80s.

Congas, marimbas and throbbing horn sections bombard listeners. It can be coupled sonically and lyrically with his prior release, Swordfishtrombones, but Rain Dogs tends to be the more accessible record, as Waits makes connections to his jazz and folk past. Perfect for the beginning Waits listener.

Real Gone (2004) An incredibly underrated album, Real Gone floats on a river of deep grooves as Waits unleashes genuine rage upon the world. Throughout his career, Waits rarely, if ever, made political statements until this album. Released during George W. Bush’s presidency, Real Gone directly deals with the failed politics and aftermath of a lame-duck administration in the blistering “Hoist That Rag,” the long and winding “Sins Of My Father” and the heartwrenching anti-war ballad “Day After Tomorrow.” The whole album runs on experimental percussion, and Waits is influenced by his son’s love of hip-hop. This is a benchmark in Waits’s vast catalogue.

Bone Machine (1992) Few albums are titled as fittingly as Waits’s Bone Machine. The sound here is primitive, based entirely around skeletal percussion and stripped of all weight. The lyrics are almost exclusively about the brutality and cruelty of life and the escape that death offers. It is an unceasingly dark record, and by far Waits’s

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SPORTS

A sad week draws near Keep this paper close at hand Sports are always there

Vikes women’s soccer claw into playoffs, aim for nationals > TYLER LAING

The women’s soccer team hopes to keep the celebration going at the Canada West playoffs.

HUGO WONG

It took until the final game of the regular season but the UVic women’s soccer team has officially aired out last year’s dirty laundry.

After winning their final three games of this season, the Vikes managed to qualify for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Canada West playoffs — by a single point. Which is more than they accomplished in 2010.

“Last year after missing playoffs it was really upsetting for us,” says CIS fourth-year goalkeeper Stephanie Parker. “We felt like it was a letdown. But this year I thought we came back well. It’s been very relieving.”

Head coach Tracy David isn’t as quick to breathe the deep sigh of relief. “For me that’s never the only goal. The only goal is winning the [CIS] championship. Getting to playoffs is just one step along the way.”

And while a national title might seem like a lofty goal for a team that only just scraped its way into fourth place in the conference, the Vikes are better off than their season record indicates. Each of the team’s four losses were decided by a single goal. According to David, the team was unfortunate to have tied three times as well.

“It’s important for our team to realize that we are in every single game we play,” she says. “Sometimes if luck had gone the other way, maybe we would have been successful in the games that we lost or that we tied.”

CIS second-year midfielder Jaclyn Sawicki has seen the team’s growth in her two years on the team. “The teams we tied or lost to by one this year were killing us last year overall.

We’d lose by four goals sometimes.”

A concern at the beginning of the season was that UVic’s entire four-person defence graduated after last year. The fact the Vikes never got blown out is a testament to the new, and admittedly inexperienced, faction’s work ethic.

“I’m very happy with the four ladies in front of me,” says Parker. “Sometimes we had little

lapses in focus for say a minute or even 30 seconds, and that cost us a game. Our biggest issue this year has been playing 90 minutes — not in a fitness sense, but in mental focus.”

“It seems like when we make a mistake it’s disastrous, and good teams will punish [us],” says David. “Maybe the first mistake is a loss of focus, but then it’s non-recognition of the trouble that we’re in. We have to get it in our repertoire to realize, oh boy, we are in trouble and now we all have to work hard to defend.”

The Vikes play Trinity Western University on Friday night at Trinity, who is hosting the Canada West playoffs. Trinity finished first in the west with a 12-1-1 record — good enough for a second place national ranking. And yet the Vikes are optimistic about their chances.

“If any team can beat and knock off Trinity Western, it’s our team,” says David. “We play well against Trinity, so that’s what I’m excited to see.”

Sawicki’s eager for a chance to defeat Trinity on their own turf.

“Our team really likes playing Trinity,” she says. “A lot of heart shows and we usually play our best soccer against them.”

Not only is a spot in the Canada West finals on the line Friday night, so too is a place at the national tournament. Since the top two teams from the west earn a berth in the championship, Friday night is a win-andyou’re-in scenario.

Parker likes her team’s odds, especially if the women can cut down on the lapses that hurt them during the season. “We only have one game. If we can focus for 90 minutes I think we have a very good chance against Trinity.”

“We are the fourth seed going in,” says David, “so there shouldn’t be any pressure on us, theoretically. When you’re the underdog there’s no expectations — and I like to be the underdog.”

Visit the Vikes website (govikesgo.com) for more information on the womens’ soccer team.

New-look men’s basketball squad takes aim > JENNY BOYCHUK UVic men’s basketball is entering a new generation as the Vikes add nine players to this season’s squad.

For a team composed of only 15 players, that’s basically a renovation.

“It’s quite an extensive overhaul, especially in basketball because we don’t carry 20 or 25 people on the team,” says assistant coach Craig Behan.

“It’s been good, it’s been a learning process for our team — it’s kind of a big turnover,” says Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) fifth-year guard Ryan MacKinnon. “The guys are kind of just getting used to our offence and defence, and just being a part of the team.”

Behan says the pre-season has been promising in terms of the team’s progress, but they still have a battle ahead of them.

“They’ve improved on a week to week basis, even though the results haven’t been maybe where we want them [to be],” says Behan. “I think the guys understand how we need to come together and play together and where we need to be as a team.”

“The biggest thing is lack of experience,” says MacKinnon. “I think it’ll be a learning curve with our new guys just getting through the season and learning that there are ups and downs.”

Behan says it’s a learning process for everyone.

“We’re trying to teach new guys new things and also trying to teach old dogs new things — we’re just trying to get everybody on the same page,” says Behan.

MacKinnon and Behan agree that this year’s

team dynamics couldn’t be better, though.

“I like our team — we’ve got some athleticism in the back, and our young guys are really good too, a lot of young talent,” says Behan. “It should be exciting to watch this year.”

“We went up to Comox for a team building trip and that was really good — guys were starting to get to know each other and we’re really starting to come together as a team,” says MacKinnon. “We’re all kind of buddies on the team, so that works out.”

The Vikes are still raising the bar in terms of expectations.

“Our ultimate goal is to win a national championship, and we believe it is possible.

We also want to make sure that we’re getting into playoffs at Canada West this year — it’s a pretty competitive division,” says Behan.

“My biggest personal goal is make nationals.

It’s coming to the point where it’s my last year so it’s kind of my last go [at it],” says MacKinnon. “Anything individual doesn’t really matter anymore, it’s just about the team success.”

The Vikes will see their first test in the regular season against Trinity Western University (who placed 2nd at nationals last season) this weekend.

“It’ll be exciting to finally play league games and I think it’ll be a good test for us because Trinity has lost a couple of their key players, but they also have a couple of [key] guys back [from last year],” says MacKinnon.

“They’ll be a strong opponent — it’s going to be a pretty important next four practices for us,” says Behan. “Right now our biggest opponents are ourselves, we’re good at beating ourselves and that’s something we’re going to have to get over.”

Stiff-arming 101 with Ryan MacKinnon (left).

MacKinnon is ready to pass the torch.

“It’s my last year, so I kind of want to go all out and have no regrets in finishing my basketball career,” says MacKinnon. “I think it’ll be good to show the younger guys what it’s about to play for the Vikes — and you know,

GORDON LEE

there’s a big tradition here and I just want to show the guys what it’s like to play.”

Do you like sports? Write to us! sports@martlet.ca November 3, 2011 MARTLET

19

UVic men ride wave of glory into soccer playoffs > TYLER LAING

MARCIE CALLEWAERT

Cam Hundal is making a claim for Rookie of the Year.

After losing the first two games of the 2011 campaign by a combined score of 6-1, it would have been easy for UVic’s men’s soccer team to write off the regular season.

The Vikes are hosting this year’s national championships after all; they automatically hold a place in the post-season regardless of their standing. But did the guys capitulate in the face of early-season adversity? No. They pulled their socks up and started kicking ass.

“I think those two losses at the beginning of the season were the best thing that could have happened to us,” says freshman Cam Hundal. “You learn from those mistakes and we were all just totally rattled. We learned you can’t have any mental lapses.”

A rough 20-minute spell that saw UBC score three times en route to a 4-0 win, and a 93rd minute goal against Trinity Western to lose 2-1 was all it took for the Vikes to drop their first six points.

“It’s something we talk about a lot,” says head coach Bruce Wilson. “We only really had, in the whole season, 20 minutes in the second half against UBC where we were bad, and we were bad.”

Since then, however, the team hasn’t lost.

Ten wins and two ties — including a current seven-game win streak to close out the regular season — was enough to seal the Vikes top spot in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Canada West conference and earn a top-five nation-wide ranking.

Miguel Romeo, CIS fifth-year midfielder and team captain, wasn’t about to let that first weekend determine the team’s future.

“After that we said to ourselves, you know what? This is the last year for most of us. Let’s get it done.”

Along with Romeo, seven other CIS fifthyear seniors came back to try and win a national title at Centennial Stadium. Many of the guys had already graduated but decided to give varsity soccer one final kick.

“Everyone really wanted to do it right and

8 launch

put aside things like partying or going out,” says Romeo. “We really toned it down and concentrated on the job.”

But while Romeo recognizes the experience the seniors provide, he also acknowledges the younger players.

“The new players have been a huge help,” he says. “Other years you have [established] subs and starters. This year it doesn’t really matter who goes on. It’s been good all round.”

Hundal is one of those rookies. Along with fellow freshman and local product Craig Gorman, the two have been providing most of UVic’s offence of late. Hundal has three goals in the last five games, including the Oct. 16 game-winner against UBC. Gorman has seven goals on the season, two of which came in the final two games — both, incidentally, assisted by Hundal.

Like Romeo, Wilson is pleased with their contributions. “They’re players. They’ve stepped up and are doing what’s needed at this point.”

Hundal isn’t letting his good form go to his head though.

“I’m doing okay I guess for my first year,” he says. “I think I’ve been able to come on and make an impact, but there are always some things that I can improve on.”

And this type of level-headedness is something Romeo says of all the players as they prepare for Canada West playoffs this weekend. “[Winning the conference] is only the first step,” says Romeo. “Everybody’s like, ‘congrats, congrats,’ and we’re saying ‘thank you,’ but not yet. We still have to win this weekend and we still have to win next weekend, more importantly.”

Because they finished first in their conference, the Vikes host Canada Wests this weekend. Regardless of their result, they’ll be hosting and competing in nationals a week later. The fact they play the rest of their games at home bodes well. Aside from a Sept.

17 draw with Alberta, the Vikes have so far won all their games at Centennial Stadium.

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VIKES MENS’ SOCCER PLAYOFF SCHEDULE CANADA WEST PLAYOFFS at Centennial Stadium, UVic Saturday, Nov. 5 (semifinals) 12 p.m. – UBC vs. Trinity 2:15 p.m. – UVic vs. Alberta Sunday, Nov. 6 (championship round) 12 p.m. – Third place round 2:15 p.m. – Championship match CIS NATIONALS CHAMPIONSHIPS at Centennial Stadium, UVic Nov. 10–13 Times and matches TBA

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Mark Cristante was a member of the 2004 Vikes — the last men’s soccer team to win a national title. As with this year’s team, the 2004 squad had several seniors on the roster and a few who had come back just for that run. He believes this team has the necessary tools to claim another banner. “Absolutely I think they can do it. So much depth off the bench and the fact they’re at home is huge.”

Another thing the two teams share — an element Cristante can’t credit enough — is the coaching. “[Wilson] just knows how to win. He’s a great coach. He pushes all his players and really knows how to get the most out of them.”

Wilson recognizes that, although the Canada West competition is important, the games this weekend mean nothing next to nationals. “It’s important we play well, but to be honest, winning Canada Wests versus losing two or three players to injury I don’t think is our goal.”

Wilson’s a competitor though. Whether the games mean anything or not, he doesn’t like to lose. “What we want is to make sure that we come out and dominate from the opening whistle. Just like we’ve done.”

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MARTLET November 3, 2011

SPORTS

GORDON LEE

Debbie Yeboah (centre) leads the charge.

Women’s Vikes basketball team optimistic despite personnel overhaul > BRONTË RENWICK-SHIELDS The Vikes women’s basketball roster has experienced some changes in the past year.

They recently lost a number of senior players including former Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) player of the year Kayla Dykstra. With a new head coach and a team comprised mostly of first- and second-year players, the team is working through growing pains. However, fourth-year player Debbie Yeboah and head coach Rich Chambers are both optimistic for the coming season.

The team has a steep learning curve ahead of them with five new players and only two

SPORTS

seniors. However, Yeboah stays positive.

“We are young but everyone is really energetic and really skilled,” she says “It’s just different. We all get along well. We all have really good chemistry overall. I think it will help.”

This is not only Chambers’ first time coaching at UVic, but it is his first time working as a fulltime head coach.

“It’s very nerve-wracking, in a good way,” he says. “All the girls have been wonderful.”

Regarding his team’s style, Chambers says he’s “not sure we even know what our style is” and adds that it is “still emerging.” Being hired late in the year Chambers says he “did

not know the girls strengths and weaknesses,” adding that he’s “still trying to figure out what works best for them.”

But Chambers says he’s enthusiastic about the season and adds, “The girls have a great attitude and a great work attitude.”

The team played a game against Western Washington this weekend, which Yeboah says had its ups and downs.

“It ended on a good note . . . it was good for us,” she adds. “We got to try out some of our new defensive stuff and see where we are at.”

However, Chambers is less positive. “We were horrible, we got absolutely pummelled,” he says. “There was no reason for us not to

perform. Basketball-wise we are still very inexperienced.”

Yeboah stays hopeful, however: “we will do better than we are expected to.” The season begins this weekend with a double-header at provincial rivals Trinity Western.

How do you feel about sports at UVic? Have any ideas that you’d like to see covered?

Drop us a line at sports@martlet.ca and share your thoughts!

November 3, 2011 MARTLET

21

SCIENCE & TECH

If you’re just joining us, we’re speaking with Jimmy Fallon, which begs the question . . .

Drinking beer and talking about science > ALAN PIFFER While some may equate a discussion about biology with a dull lecture, it can actually be quite fun and interesting. Especially if it’s held in a pub.

Café Scientifique, a popular series held once a month in venues like the Strathcona Hotel, Swan’s Pub and the James Joyce Bistro, provides a means for professors and scientists at UVic to talk about their work with the general public.

Dr. Paul Zehr, the director for UVic’s Centre for Biomedical Research, started the Café series, which is now in its fourth year.

“I really wanted to increase the engagement of this research centre with the community on many different levels,” explains Zehr.

“And to help raise our profile, as far as people being aware of the Centre being here and the researchers being here . . . there’s a lot

of really good people working on biomedical problems here.”

For Zehr, Café Scientifique represents a way to reach people in a comfortable pub environment.

He focuses on the Café’s teaching approach, based on a more casual group discussion than a standard PowerPoint-driven lecture.

“For this particular example of people just in a room, we’ve tried to really focus it on having a narrative, and just talking, and removing the barrier that the screen creates where we now are going through the screen to talk to each other,” says Zehr.

While being hosted by the Centre for Biomedical Research naturally led the Café to discussions on biological and biomedical issues, other UVic departments, such as Physics and Astronomy, have since contributed their own topics.

Zehr says Café speakers find they have to

change their typical approach to discussing issues, partly through providing frames of reference for people regarding their work.

“I think the trick is getting people to think about their own work in the context of how it fits in the bigger picture,” says Zehr. “If it’s molecular biology, about sequencing a certain genome, how does that relate to human biology in general? So there’s that issue of extrapolating beyond what you do, which we’re normally not asked to do in research papers.”

Zehr says Café speakers enjoy the opportunity to reach a wider audience.

“People who have done these cafés for us, find it a really great experience, typically,” explains Zehr.” It’s a really feel-good experience to just be out there in front of the general public, and answering their questions. It really does make you feel a lot more connected to society, in a different way than

your ordinary work does.”

Zehr says Cafés often generate a lot of energetic discussion from audiences, including ethical concerns they have about scientific issues, and other questions based on their own experiences.

“I think it’s a way for people to be able to participate more in understanding the process that they see shaping their world,” says Zehr. “If there’s one thing that comes back to my own philosophy, it is really demystifying science — talking to people about how it works, and why we do it.”

The next Café Scientifique is on Nov. 7 at the James Joyce Bistro. Dr. Jon Willis from UVic’s Department of Physics and Astronomy will talk about the search for life in the universe.

Got an interesting science-y story idea?

Email scitech@martlet.ca.

Growing new body parts with stem cells An evening with Dr. Stephanie Willerth and Café Scientifique > MICHELLE WRIGHT Is it possible to grow a new set of breasts from our own fat? Can we engineer entire organs and transplant them into animals?

Are scientists attempting to renew and rewire neurons by injecting stem cells into damaged spinal cords?

Dr. Stephanie Willerth, assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering at UVic and guest speaker at Café Scientifique “Engineering replacement organs: From stem cells to reality” says yes. Yet she’s also quick to acknowledge that the research currently underway can be difficult to comprehend or even believe.

“People are doing this right now. It’s happening,” says Willerth. “There is so much information out there, so many articles, it can be hard to tell fact from fiction when it comes to stem cell therapies.”

Armed with a black marker and flip chart, Willerth begins with a quick overview of stem-cell basics before launching into regenerative medicine’s most recent source of excitement, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and the 3D matrix. iPS cells are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem (eS) cells, and are valued for their potential to differentiate into one of the more than 200 cell types found in the human body.

Because iPS cells do not require the harvesting of embryos, they have become an alluring alternative to their controversial eS cell cousins.

In addition, because iPS cells can be derived from a patient’s own body, they have the added therapeutic value of providing patient-specific cell lines that eliminate the need for immunosuppressant drugs.

Willerth’s main research focuses on the growth of eS and iPS cells in 3D matrices, which provide a biomaterial scaffold that closely mimics the cells’ natural environment. This 3D environment allows scientists to direct cell growth and differentiation far more effectively than more traditional 2D culture methods.

“Where I see my work fitting in,” says Willerth, “is in encapsulating these cells in a 3D matrix to, not only enhance cell survival, but encourage them to grow into the appropriate type of cell, such as neurons, in order to help restore the function lost to spinal cord injury.”

Passing around a sealed test tube showcasing the protein-based gel, Willerth explains that its use has seen the post-transplantation cell survival rate skyrocket from 5 to 90 per cent.

While regenerating breast tissue has already seen success in Japan, growing neural tissue has the added complication of ensuring neural pathways not only re-grow, but re-grow properly.

“If we do make it to the next step of putting it into people,” says Willerth, “I don’t know how easy it is going to be. Everyone is just waiting to see if this can be tolerated by people.”

Working in a field rife with controversy hasn’t hindered Willerth’s ability to field difficult questions. When one audience member peppers her with repeated questions about how to harvest stem cells from human brain tissue, Willerth elicits laughter with her quick-witted response.

“Are you thinking about trying this at home?” says Willerth. “I do not recommend that.”

STEM CELLS 101 Adult stem cells, found in some tissues such as blood, can generate new cells, but only the same types of cells as in the tissue in which they reside.

Embryonic stem (eS) cells must be harvested from embryos that are no larger than a collection of 64 cells and can grow into any type of cell.

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, discovered in 2006, are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to behave like eS cells.

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MARTLET November 3, 2011

DIVERSIONS & comics

People tell me that my personality is divided. I don’t think so, but maybe it is.

SEEING STARS

EVENTS

HOROSCOPES FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 3 – BY CANDACE O’NEILL Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19): Now is the time to dream big, Capricorn, even if some of those dreams aren’t entirely realistic. Your bigger-than-life aspirations will provide you with the ambition to push yourself further than you have in recent months.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22): If you’ve been waiting for a fresh start, you will get your opportunity this week when a sort of ‘end-of-era’ transition will set you in a completely new direction. Take full advantage of this opportunity to start with a clean slate.

Aquarius (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18): Be wary of sacrificing your personal life in the hopes of advancing forward in your career. All of those long hours and extra assignments may not result in the success that you might have been promised earlier.

Leo (July 23 - Aug. 22): It might be time to distance yourself from a certain individual or a certain situation in order to gain some clarity as to what to do next. Keeping the status quo is simply not an option this time around.

Pisces (Feb19. - Mar. 20): Try your best to avoid playing the blame-game this week, Pisces. You must recognize that sometimes things just happen, and no one is to blame. However, wrongly pointing the finger at someone will come back to haunt you in the near future.

Virgo (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): What isn’t helping you achieve your goals right now might very likely be hindering you. Try and eliminate anything this week that is standing in between you and your ability to achieve any of your short-term goals.

Aries (Mar. 21 - Apr. 19): If you’re worried about the state of your future, it might be time to sit down and really think about what you want. Once you have some concrete goals hammered out, you will be able to more clearly define how it is you can achieve them.

Taurus (Apr. 20 - May 20): You are on the top of your game this week when it comes to communication. Everything you say comes across clearly and eloquently, so use it to your advantage, especially if negotiating or asking for that long-overdue raise.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20): Be wary of casting things as ‘too good to be true’ before you take the time to really examine them. Applying caution or skepticism this week, where none is needed, may lead you to miss out on an amazing opportunity.

PHILOSOPHERS CAFE Time: 7–8:30 p.m., every 2nd and 4th Wednesday Location: James Joyce Bistro (1175 Douglas at View) For topics see http://www.meetup.com/ philosopherscafevictoria

PEER HELPING MOVEMBER BAKE SALE Peer Helping Movember Bake Sale Thursday November 17, 2011 Clearihue 11-2 and DSB 11-4 All proceeds to Prostate Cancer Research

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Victoria Chinatown Community Care Foundation Fundraiser Nov 9, 5:30p Golden City Restaurant Tickets $60 (incl $33 tax receipt) More info: gaylechong@earthlink.net

Peer Helping Food/Clothing Drive Thursday November 17 to Friday December 2 Donations to Women’s Transition Center (WTC) of Victoria More info: brenda.mcphail@gmail.com

“DIAGNOSING DIFFERENCE”

Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): Now is the time to come clean, Libra. Confessing a wrongdoing isn’t always easy, but it will be necessary this week to move forward with life. Just remember, timing is everything.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): People may be catering to your every need and demand as of late, but don’t get too used it, Scorpio. You are going to have to start compromising in situations you ordinarily get your way in.

Free film screening & panel: “Diagnosing Difference” Thurs, November 17, 7p Cinecenta, UVic Student Union Building Donations (socks & blankets) accepted for Out of the Rain Youth shelter Contact UVic Pride or diagnosingdifferencescreening@gmail.com

CLASSIFIEDS

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21): Your attention has been scattered and unfocused as of late, causing you to fall seriously behind in several aspects of your life.

But don’t worry, Sagittarius. Your organizational skills will help pull you through and up to speed this week.

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