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FIRST PEEK

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February 2, 2015 · Volume 149, Issue 5

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FIRST PEEK

No longer living with my parents, I’m surprised that I haven’t yet moved past the concept of having “a room.” In my entire rented suite, only my room seems suited to holding my mass collection of liferelics. It’s surrounded by countless items that only mean something when I tell stories about them. And I tell these stories to myself.

Four years ago, in a construction yard in east Maple Ridge, I found a license plate that expired in 1978. It now leans on my wall.

I used to walk my golden retriever around that huge construction yard. Her name was Buffy, and she had fear issues. You couldn’t get close to her if she was chewing anything, or she claimed a spot to lie in. She would growl and snap at us in a way that looked like aggression, but it would be better described as fear. She was taken away from her mother too early, and seemed to live in fear of anything being taken from her.

February 2, 2015

She bit my foot hard once when I was 12, and it bled from two dark red punctures.

We walked in the construction yard because the exercise would make her sleep. We also walked in the construction yard because it made me feel like I was in a novel. It seemed like the place to reflect. Buffy and I would sit in the highest hill, we would breathe in dust and cedar needles, and I would look on the hill out at the blue-grey tops of buildings, trying to guess which city was which.

Now, the license plate is a relic of Maple Ridge for me, the place that I loved as a kid, and that was like wet sand to get out of every morning as an adult. The license plate is also a relic of Buffy, the dog that our family told ourselves we could love enough to fix if we just kept her longer, if we just walked her more, or if we just got along better ourselves. It took us seven years to decide that she wasn’t right for us, and to give her to a shelter that found a family that would be right for her.

I and my whole family still feel guilty about Buffy. We’re guilty because we kept her for so long, and we’re guilty because we gave her away so soon.

I’m in a similar situation with the things in my room. If I give my old guitar away, if I erase pictures on a whiteboard, if I take down the pamphlets from the temple I visited, I’ll lose the past, and those points from which to grow. I’ll forget the calm of holding the ancient license plate, of walking home from high school dancing to Defiance, Ohio on CD, or how I used to keep an emergency kit with me everywhere. I can’t forget the few weeks in my young adult life that felt hopeless, and the drive I found to carry on despite them.

Every time I revisit the past, it’s hazier. I used to give out books and expect them back.

Now I make a conscious effort to do so without that expectation. I love the idea of passing on a story that made me happy without memorizing it, and seeing if it’s important enough that I’ll remember it.

I would love to tell you to give away your own relics, and I would to tell you that I planted my license plate in another construction yard somewhere, and that I hope it ends on someone else’s wall.

But it’s still in my room, and I’m not ready to let it go.

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NEWS

February 2, 2015

MORE THAN READY

news editor email

Leah Bjornson associate news editor news@the-peak.ca

In the upcoming transit referendum, Metro Vancouver residents will have the opportunity to vote on a transit tax that would increase the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) by 0.5 per cent.

The referendum, if passed, would allow for improvements in transportation across the region.

The funding generated by the tax increase would go towards realizing the vision of the Mayors’ Council: its Transportation and Transit Plan.

The Plan includes light rail service through Surrey and the Langleys; a 25 per cent increase in bus service across the region; a 50 per cent increase in SeaBus service; and an 80 per cent increase in nightbus service.

The Plan also intends to implement 11 new B-line routes throughout the region, add rapid transit in the Broadway corridor, and replace the Pattullo Bridge between New Westminster and Surrey.

Gordon Price, a city planner and the director of SFU’s The City Program, argues that this transit tax is needed in order to help accommodate the region’s future growth in population.

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It is projected that one million people will be coming to live in Metro Vancouver in the next 25–30 years. Price noted that, as of now, “the existing transportation system cannot accommodate them.”

In addition to accommodating population growth, Price sees the expansion and improvement of transportation as essential to the development of the Metro Vancouver in the areas of the economy, job creation, and sustainable growth.

He stated that there is widespread support for this transit tax, with a broad consensus among most of the mayors, city councils, businesses, the port of trade, environmental groups, community groups, and transportation advocates.

Melissa Roach

Mayor of Port Coquitlam Greg Moore explained that the plan would greatly benefit SFU students, with a new B-Line bus from downtown Vancouver connecting the Vancouver and Burnaby campuses. The plan also includes the expansion service from Surrey City Centre and at the SFU exchange in Burnaby at Production Way. Specific to Burnaby Campus, Translink’s Executive VP, Strategic Planning and Stakeholder Relations, Bob Paddon, assured that transit going up the mountain to SFU would be improved.

If the referendum fails, Price pointed out that “we are still going to have to pay. In fact, we are going to pay to build more infrastructure to handle the growth of automobiles.”

He continued, “Whether you measure it in the time lost by congestion or pollution, we will pay.”

Price foresees cutbacks to mass transportation, which will result in the worsening of crowds on the 135 bus or buses going to Commercial/Broadway.

Opposition to the referendum is concerned that Translink will not spend the transit tax money efficiently.

The mayor of West Vancouver, Michael Smith, wrote last week in an op-ed, “Government does not have the right to ask citizens to pay more in taxes unless they can assure them that their money will be well spent.”

He continued, “Transit has been treated for too long like a political football, being kicked back and forth between the province and the region. The proposed plebiscite offers no relief from this.”

Paddon countered this by emphasizing that there will be continual audits and reports on how much money is raised and what it has been spent on.

Additionally, the referendum has been set up so that, if passed, the PST money would go into a separate fund, not in the account that handles TransLink’s general expenses.

Paddon asserted that he does not see any reason why the public should not trust TransLink, as they have been audited several times in the past, with the most recent 2012 audit having yielded a positive report.

Ballots will be sent out on March 16, and the voting period will last through to May 29.

NEWS

February 2, 2015

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SFU Woodward’s Reel Causes hosted a screening of Dr. Cabbie on the night of Sunday, February 1. The film is the story of an Indian doctor who immigrates to Canada, only to end up driving a cab. Audience members were invited to partake in some “light-hearted humour” with this featurelength film.

Student were invited to start building their careers figuratively by literally building a lego representation of their career possibilities, ideas, or goals and posting it on social media with the hashtag “#sfucareer.” The contest concluded on Feb. 1, and prizes included gift cards to Metrotown and Surrey Central.

she said. “My timesheet mentions SGM outreach 20 plus times.”

With reference to the sentiment from some students that the SFSS had been acting as the official ‘yes’ campaign for the Build SFU project, Langmead then asked a pointed question of the executive members: Earlier this month, the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) did not receive permission from the students present at their Special General Meeting (SGM) to pursue a loan for Build SFU’s Student Union Building (SUB) and Stadium projects.

The motion only garnered 65 per cent of the 75 per cent of votes needed to pass, which means that the board cannot obtain a loan and begin construction on the SUB. Instead, the board must now consider alternative ways to move forward, as they still need the permission of the membership to obtain a loan.

At their latest meeting, atlarge representative Rebecca Langmead began the discussion by questioning the dedication of the board to the project.

“I have noticed that without me, board and executive timesheets [from January 7] only mention SGM outreach and SGM a total of 13 times. From everybody,”

“Do our executives agree that the board should be in support of a project that is their own and a department that has been created through the SFSS? And I would like an answer from each and every one of you.”

The executives voiced their support for the project, after which several members claimed that they had intended to speak on the project’s behalf, but the question was called too early.

At this point, VP university relations Moe Kopahi questioned why there had been so much confusion as to whether or not they could pass the

debenture at an AGM versus during a referendum.

“We have an entire department allocated to this. How could this happen?” he exclaimed. “I want to know whose duty was this, to do this digging and let us know, because under my impression, [. . .] the AGM or SGM was the only option.”

Marc Fontaine, the general manager of Build SFU, asserted, “I was quite surprised to hear at exec the other day that there was such confusion because I have never been confused.

“I do not believe that I ever stated that it was the only option, that it was not possible to hold a referendum,” he continued. “But it seems to have been inferred that way.”

The board then moved to a private in-camera session to discuss the matter. Upon returning, the board had made no decision as to the next steps forward.

Bueckert said they would be discussing the matter offline.

The Peak spoke with Fontaine after the meeting to hear his thoughts on the SGM. “I’m disappointed by the results of the SGM because I think there was a lot of misinformation in the weeks prior to the meeting,” he began. “I think a lot of the claims against the project were not the full story and were taken piecemeal.”

When asked what he thought about the support for NoToBuildSFU, the campaign against the project, he replied, “It’s the safe answer, to be opposed to something. Change is difficult and change costs money.”

Fontaine estimates that because of the failure to pass the debenture, the project will be delayed by at least six months, and the board will likely have to hold a referendum regarding the projects. In addition, the Build SFU team will begin further outreach this week.

“I think it’s really important that we step back at this point — the Build SFU department and the student society — we step back for a while, talk to students, and listen to students,” he said. “So that we can, if necessary, take steps to adjust the project to make it what students are looking for.”

Fontaine added, “And perhaps we will end up with a better building at the end of it.”

SFU professor Karen Ferguson presented “Domesticating Dissent in the Black Power Era: Tracing the Historical Roots of the Obama Presidency,” last Thursday, Jan. 29. The talk delved into what Ferguson calls the “central problem” in American democracy: racial inequality. She went on to explore “the historical roots of how and why Obama got to the White House.”

6 NEWS

February 2, 2015

that there has been a general decrease in the home team advantage over time.

Swartz’s research will not only assist avid sports fans with their fantasy drafts, but may also help general managers in decisions about team rosters and contracts.

Does the home team advantage exist? Can one estimate the performance trajectory of soccer players? When is the right time to pull a goalie in a hockey game? Tim Swartz, an SFU professor of statistics and actuarial sciences, gave a recent lecture on his research discussing sports analytics.

The lecture, hosted by the Faculty of Science, is a part of SFU’s Café Scientifique.

Swartz shared his recent studies on the home team advantage, assessing value of the draft positions in Major League Soccer’s SuperDraft, handicapping for the Royal Canadian Golf Association, and determining when to pull a goalie in hockey.

One of his studies focuses on the home team advantage in the NBA and NHL, and found

“A lot of professional sports teams are jumping on board and now have an analytics team working for them,” said Swartz. “Professional sports teams are always looking for ways of doing things differently in order to gain a competitive edge.”

As the world of sports has begun to track various statistics more closely, Swartz notes the importance of being able to properly analyze the mountains of data.

Supreme court case defeats UVic prolife protesters Student demonstrators at the University of Victoria are claiming that free-speech rights are not protected on campus.

The university’s pro-life club, Youth Protecting Youth Club (YPY), set up an informational booth in September that was vandalized with kitty litter. This isn’t new to the club — they have also had stink bombs and smoke bombs thrown at them in the past year. The university has also repeatedly refused to let the group demonstrate on campus.

A judge has dismissed the petition, saying that the university is not protected as a free-speech zone, but rather an autonomous zone where the university decides what constitutes appropriate free expression.

With files from Rabble

“We are now in the era of ‘big data,’ which means that sports teams have a lot of data that they may not know what to do with, so there is a real need for statisticians,” he explained. “For example, in the NBA, they have cameras that measure the location of the ball and the players 25 times per second.”

He continued, “There is a massive amount of data to analyze. More data than could fit on your laptop.”

Swartz believes that sports analytics have the potential to greatly affect sports. He explained, “Previously the focus was more on individual players and their improvement, but now there is a broader focus on the behavior of teams and their complex interactions.”

Although analytics can help sports teams gain a competitive advantage, Swartz admitted that they will never be able to

completely predict what will occur on game day.

“We’ll never be able to eliminate the chance element in sports,” he stated. “Most of the work is striving to simply do things a little bit better, to gain a competitive edge.”

As an active soccer player and sports enthusiast, Swartz plans on continuing research in sports analytics, and now plans to investigate the role of fielding in cricket.

Toronto ranks number one for most sugar babies

University creates bystander intervention program

University of Toronto was ranked number one for most new sugar babies in 2014 on the popular Sugar Daddy site SeekingArrangements.

The site helps older men seeking the companionship of younger women, who they in turn financially support. The website released their stats earlier this month, revealing University of Toronto as the first highest of Sugar Babies, McGill the second, and the University of British Columbia as the third.

The popularity of the site to universityage women is speculated to be caused by the financial strain of university debt.

The University of Ottawa has announced plans for a new bystander intervention program to train administration, students, and full-time coaches on rape culture.

This announcement follows the findings from a task force on respect and equality that made 11 recommendations to president Allan Rock to combat sexual violence.

The task force was created after criminal charges were laid against two hockey players following sexual assault allegations on a men’s hockey trip.

Rock plans on implementing the recommendations, all of which work towards long-term bilingual education on respectful behaviour, preventing sexual assault, and bystander intervention.

With files from Global News

With files from Ottawa Citizen

NEWS

At the latest SFSS Board of Directors’ meeting, the board moved to officially support the ‘yes’ vote on the upcoming Metro Vancouver transit referendum.

The referendum, if passed, would fund plans to improve transit infrastructure, including some projects that would provide better service to SFU students.

President Chardaye Bueckert noted that the SFU gondola from Production Way is no longer a part of the recommendations made by the improvement plan.

The society also decided to endorse the Better Transit and Transportation Coalition pledge, which reads, “One of the most important decisions facing Metro Vancouver for the next generation is the 2015 Referendum on transit, transportation, and goods and people movement.

“A positive outcome is a crucial step to expand transportation options, reduce pollution, improve the health of our communities, strengthen our economy, and help make this region a more affordable place to live.”

By recommendation of the SFSS Finance and Administrative Services Committee (FASC), the board moved to increase the line item for the council’s stipend by $5075 to accommodate four additional meetings.

The funds will come out of the society’s unrestricted surplus.

VP Finance Adam Potvin suggested implementing a policy to cap the amount of council meetings in the future, saying, “There’s theoretically nothing stopping council from meeting everyday.”

February 2, 2015

This year, SFU is launching a new initiative to explore the Lower Mainland’s growing role in the craft beer brewing community.

Beginning this fall, the university will offer a certificate in Craft Beer and Brewing Essentials — a non-credit Continuing Studies program.

“It’s way out in the left field from anything else we’ve done,” admitted Larry White, director of Careers and Professional Programs at Lifelong Learning.

According to White, the university has tried to be responsive to the community and industry needs by paying attention to the labour marketing information and the interests that are growing and emerging in the community — craft beer is one of these.

Gary Lohin, the brewmaster of Central City Brewery in Surrey, commends SFU for thinking outside the box. The university has already worked with Central City in the past on a course called The Science of Brewing in the Department of Biological Sciences.

The Craft Beer and Brewing Essentials Certificate developed from that popular course, held last January, which drew many students’ interest.

The new program was developed in collaboration with SFU’s Faculty of Science and its Lifelong Learning and Continuing Education programs, along with the support and partnership of the Central City Brewery in Surrey.

“This is a natural advancement of that partnership,” says White.

“We would like to also partner with other craft brewers that have a different approach to brewing, perhaps different equipment, [or a] different methodology.”

According to White, the industry of craft brewing in Vancouver has been steadily growing over the past five years. More than 20 new craft breweries opened in BC last year, many of them situated in the Lower Mainland.

The certificate program covers five courses over a period of roughly six months, beginning in October 2015 and expected to run

until June of 2016. The program will take place at the SFU Surrey campus, and touches upon the business, fundamentals, and practical aspects of craft beer brewing.

Students can be expected to learn about the basics of brewing, and to gain hands-on training and experience working in a brewery.

As White explains it, the program is meant for those already in the industry, those striving to enter the industry, and home brewers seeking to learn more about the craft, the fundamentals of brewing, and the nuances of the brewing industry.

The program will begin by introducing simple beer styles, such as the pale ale, in order to ensure that students have a solid foundation to work from. Once they have an understanding of the basics, students will be able to take the craft into multiple directions, explained Lohin. “There are no boundaries after this. You can add whatever you want,” he said.

“We’re trying to show people that [. . .] there’s so much involved in brewing that it’s like a microcosm of a little community,” Lohin continued. “I think the door is wider open than they think it is.”

Helen Wussow, the Dean of Lifelong Learning at SFU, explained that if interest continues to grow, they could potentially expand the program to incorporate preparation for the

international brewmaster’s designation test.

She also mentioned the hope of expanding the program in such a way that people from all around the world would be attracted to come.

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Currently, the program is still in the early stages, and the team is looking for qualified instructors.

“Once we’ve got them identified, then we can start constructing the day-to-day curriculum along with them,” explained White.

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8 NEWS

February 2, 2015

By repeating this process, Dorandish managed to gain greater exposure, even succeeding in getting his work selected for couple of exhibitions in Vienna and Paris.

“It was heartwarming to see people asking me about my work,” he said in an interview with The Peak.

Do you have your artwork hiding somewhere in the dark recesses of your dorm room? Well, it’s time for your masterpiece to be front and centre at a unique location, thanks to a new startup by an SFU entrepreneur.

Alex Dorandish, an SFU communications student, has created Folion, a service that seeks out unconventional exhibition sites for artists to display their artwork. The aim is to maximize artist exposure.

For Dorandish, the idea was the result of personal frustration over being rejected from a lot of Vancouver’s conventional galleries.

His big break came when Beau Photo, a Vancouver business, sponsored one of his artwork productions, and the nowdefunct Sugar Studios in Gastown displayed it for a day. To promote his exhibition, Dorandish used social media to encourage people to come and view his artwork.

The second annual SFU Dance Marathon kicked off on Saturday, January 24, featuring 12 hours of nonstop energy, infectious songs, and, of course, a whole lot of dancing.

SFU is the first university in Canada to hold a Dance Marathon, with all proceeds raised going towards the BC Children’s Hospital and directed to their area of greatest need, whether that be purchasing new equipment or funding the construction of the new Children’s Hospital facility.

“They do so much more than just provide medical care for the kids,” said Yasamin Houshmand,

For Dorandish, this experience revealed the problem of making a name for oneself as an artist in Vancouver. “Something is different in North American art exhibition that makes it so difficult to break into,” he said. “It leaves artists exhausted and [. . .] heartbroken over the number of rejections.”

This is further complicated by the proliferation of art on the Internet. “I don’t want the art to be just a digital file,” explained Dorandish. “I want everyone in our community, especially the next generation to see, in public, out there, and understand the world through art.

Wouldn’t that be a better world?”

the event’s tech officer. “They look after their emotional and mental [well-being] as well.”

The first Dance Marathon was held in 1991 by students at Indiana University in memory of Ryan White, their classmate who had passed away from AIDS after receiving contaminated blood treatment when he was younger.

Now, over 200,000 students across North America participate in this event every year to raise funds for their local children’s hospital through the Children’s Miracle Network.

For Caitlyn Schwab, event officer of the Dance Marathon’s executive team, this issue hits close to home. “My cousin is actually being treated at BC Children’s Hospital,” she said. “He has had three open heart surgeries and he is eight years old. We wouldn’t have him if it wasn’t for BC Children’s Hospital and all the amazing work that they do.”

Prior to the event, Dance Marathon participants asked

Channeling his struggles as an artist, he decided to create a platform to help artists display their art in locations other than just galleries: Folion. The online service invites local artists to create a profile where they can showcase their artwork with the intention of getting it noticed by the community. Gallery owners can peruse the site to find unknown talent and potentially begin partnerships with the artists.

Dorandish has also made the service free for SFU students to use, indefinitely.

people to sponsor them in order to reach their individual fundraising goals. A pub night and bottle drives were also held in order to help fundraise.

The event kicked off at 11 a.m. with an opening dance number in Convocation Mall, and moved over to the East Gym in the afternoon. In addition to dancing, there were activities for kids, including face painting and a handprint banner. There were also special speeches from some of BC Children’s Hospital’s Miracle kids, who shared their inspirational stories and thanked participants for their support.

After kickstarting his initiative, Dorandish eventually expanded his team to include four other partners.

Twelve months later, the team has turned their idea and their passion for art and exhibition to a platform that can be used by artists, art lovers, and everyone in the community.

Currently, Dorandish is looking for 10 artists to showcase their art for a temporary exhibition, with Folion set to launch online on February 15.

“I think that events like this help us live out our university motto of ‘engaging the world,’” said Sophie Tsai, a member of the morale team. “When students are involved in an event like this, they are more likely to go outside and do other charity work as well.”

Houshmand echoed this sentiment, noting, “The event brings people together from a whole range of disciplines. I am an engineering student and meeting people from lots of other faculties, people I wouldn’t meet outside of my classes.”

She continued, “Being able to interact with each other brings out our biggest sense of community.”

The Dance Marathon came to an end at 11 p.m., with a grand total of $17,161.93 raised for the kids. The 12 hour-long event may have been exhausting, but for the organizers, it was definitely worth it. “Kids don’t get a break from being sick,” said Schwab, “We stand in solidarity with that.”

Provost and VP Academic Jon Driver reported on the preliminary enrolment numbers for spring 2015.

For newly-admitted students, he reported that the university is six per cent below target for international students and eight per cent above target for domestic.

Board member June Francis brought up her concerns that this may be related to the increased tuition fees for undergraduate international students, which are scheduled to rise by 10 per cent per year between 2013–2014 and 2016–2017.

President Andrew Petter replied that this was likely due to faculties failing to reach out to international students. “Is this a function of tuition increases? It isn’t,” he said.

As of December 31, 2014, SFU has raised $12,899,324 for their 50th Anniversary Campaign, which will mark SFU’s 50th birthday this September. The ultimate fundraising goal is $250 million.

The organizing committee continues to plan myriad events for the occasion, which include a ceremony and evening celebration on September 9, 2015, a week of welcome, several documentary films profiling “SFU changemakers,” and the potential renewal of the annual Shrum Bowl football match against UBC.

OPINIONS

February 2, 2015

opinions editor email / phone

Adam Van der Zwan opinions@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

The idea of having a ‘garbage police’ strikes me as a tad bizarre. That someone is now patrolling my trash, on the lookout for the banana peel I threw away last week, seems slightly reminiscent of a dystopian novel.

George Orwell, your vision for a future based on extremities seems to have further come to fruition.

What I reference is Vancouver’s new Organics Disposal Ban, which was implemented at the beginning of the month. The municipal bylaw states that Metro Vancouverites must separate their food waste from regular garbage in an effort to put restraints on greenhouse gas emissions. Our regular garbage will then be delivered to a disposal facility, where the ‘garbage police’ will survey our trash for any organic matter. If our food waste is found to

exceed the 25 per cent limit, garbage will be tagged and fines will be administered to haulers.

Let me be clear: I applaud any attempts to curb greenhouse gas production.

I understand that Canadians throw away tremendous amounts of perfectly good food, which is then left to produce methane as it decomposes in a landfill.

Our ever-melting climate is the biggest challenge we face as a planet, and if left unchecked, it will quickly worsen with time. However, this new food waste plan seems only to be a hasty, clumsy attempt at responding to our global crisis — a plan bereft of logic or realism, intent on exploiting our city’s ‘green’ image.

In other words, the plan isn’t really going to work.

Apart from criticisms from concerned residents claiming the law to be unconstitutional, or the restaurant-owners who find it to be a hassle for their businesses, I’m struggling to see how this law will be

enforced systematically enough to be effective.

As an apartment-dweller, my garbage, along with everyone else’s, is carelessly thrown into a sizeable dumpster near the basement of the complex. We do not write our names on our garbage — that would be pointless, invasive, and slightly creepy. If trash

inspectors find a violation, yes, they will know the region from which the trash was hauled.

However, to find the individual unit responsible for food waste will be virtually impossible and incredibly time-consuming without having sorted through the trash for clues leading back to the culprit.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) have a “No TransLink Tax” pledge, and have convinced over 3,000 rational agents to pledge a ‘no’ vote. The basic premise of their argument is that TransLink is a wasteful organization that would already have enough funds to finance the proposed improvements if it managed its money better.

However, as Brad Cavanagh elucidates in a blog post titled “Referendum Myths: ‘TransLink is Wasteful,’” Translink has reduced annual wasteful spending by $26 million, with only $1.9 million of wasteful spending reported in 2013.

Included in the CTF’s assessment of TransLink’s wasteful spending is the $30,000 feasibility study of the SFU Gondola, which is debatable accounting. Even if the CTF’s arguments were valid, the amount of wasteful spending amounts to less than 0.13 per cent of Translink’s annual $1.406 million budget.

Criticising TransLink’s operational costs as a justification to reject the proposed improvement tax is unfounded.

On March 16, ballots will be mailed out to registered Metro Vancouver voters, asking them to vote on an investment plan for the Mayors’ Transportation and Transit Plan. The Transportation Plan promises key transportation upgrades in the region, including extension of the SkyTrain along Broadway, 2700 kilometres of bikeways, light rail in Surrey and the Langleys, B-Line bus services to SFU, a 25 per cent increase in bus service throughout the region, and major bridge and road upgrades.

The upgrades will cost $7.5 million, and the proposed funding source will be a 0.5 per cent Congestion Improvement Tax. This tax has been deemed the most equitable and efficient method to fund critical transportation improvements by economists at HDR Consulting and InterVISTAS Consulting.

A ‘no’ vote would be a real-world example of a tragedy of the commons. Everyone wants to reduce their individual costs, despite the fact that voting ‘no’ would ultimately be harmful to the population at large because of increased traffic congestion and overburdened public transit — both of which would have detrimental effects on the economy.

Thus, the tragedy arises; avoiding small costs incurs large costs later.

Without the increase in funding gained from a ‘yes’ vote, the regional governments will be unable to meet the growing population’s needs for transportation mobility.

Rather than debating the negligible amount of wasteful spending in TransLink’s operational budget, let’s consider the amount of income that residents would be expected to pay to improve services in the region if the proposed tax were implemented. According to the Mayors’ Council Funding Backgrounder, the average expense to a household would be less than 0.2 per cent of their annual income, and even

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Which brings me to my second point. Most trash bags are not transparent, and trash inspectors will not be opening them, but simply judging by what they survey from afar — an enforcement method that seems a little less-than-thorough.

Large amounts of food waste, concealed behind plastic, are liable to slip under the radar, and render this bylaw impotent.

So, what’s the alternative to this hastily inefficient plan of action? While it would cost more time and money, it would be much more practical to set up facilities that can detect organic matter and separate it from our other garbage. It’s unrealistic to assume that every Vancouverite is going to comply with this food waste ban — yet another example of a law that’s blind to human nature — and it’s even more unrealistic to think that this current system will be efficient enough to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Good effort, Vancouver, but you’ll have to iron out the crinkles in your food waste management before my garbage becomes completely climate change-free.

less for lower income families. This means that the typical family will pay less than $125 annually, and students will pay less than $30 annually. If the referendum is rejected, the Mayors’ Council will be forced to use other fundraising methods to meet growing transportation needs.

As students, a ‘yes’ vote is essential. According to a 2011 SFSS report, nearly 70 per cent of SFU students use transit to reach SFU, and these students will benefit from a positive referendum result. For those who drive, it would mean major road upgrades and reduced congestion.

Improving regional transportation is beneficial to the economy, our standard of living, and our health. If you have not previously voted in a provincial election, go to the Elections BC website and register. Vote ‘yes,’ and let’s bring our regional transportation system into the 21st century.

10 OPINIONS

It’s that time of year again.

The spring semester is in full swing, and the warm fuzzy feelings left over from the holidays have fizzled out to make room for the dread that has begun to settle in the pits of our stomachs.

The pressure is on, and we are faced with the impossible task of maintaining a healthy balance between school, work, and friends. In order to stay relatively sane during this stressful time, it’s important to develop healthy habits that help us unwind or de-stress.

Not all of these rituals work for everyone, so it’s important to find what works for you.

Firstly, you’ve got to get some sleep. This one may seem obvious, but it might be the most important advice there is. According to

research at Brown University, 73 per cent of university students claim to have sleeping problems. Though most of us know the importance of a good night’s sleep, many are not achieving the rest we need in order to excel in our daily lives.

If you have trouble sleeping, my advice would be to avoid your cell phone and other technology 30 minutes before bed. The light from these devices inhibits melatonin production in the body, which is a hormone that regulates your internal clock. Another way to score a good night’s sleep is to maintain a semi-consistent sleep schedule. Try going to sleep and waking up around the same time every day. This allows your brain to know when to release the right hormones that either wake you up or make you feel sleepy.

Now, sleep is extremely important, but there always will be times in the semester when the mere thought of a good night’s sleep seems laughable. I’m talking about the times when you have several assignments due, a couple midterms in the near

February 2, 2015

future, and a boss who just asked you to take a few extra shifts at the coffee shop.

When things begin to seem overwhelming, it’s helpful to take a break and, in the words of Taylor Swift, “shake it off.”

Go for a run, walk around the park, or drive to the nearest Dairy Queen and order a Blizzard. To momentarily create distance between you and your problems often puts things into perspective, and allows you to deal with your stress more objectively.

Another way to feel better is to let out all your pentup emotions. That’s right: remember, it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to call a friend to vent about how stressed you are.

It’s okay to do both simultaneously. Give yourself a few

minutes to be upset, and then pull yourself together to figure out an action plan for getting back on track.

Finally, it’s important to schedule routinised personal time. Even if it’s only for a couple of hours a week, make sure to fit in some consistent downtime for yourself. Whether you enjoy reading, watching Netflix, going for long runs, or having a drink with friends, allow time to relax and enjoy yourself. Scheduled downtime is different from procrastinating — it’s an allotted time you’ve dedicated to an activity of your choice, not a distraction you’ve spontaneously indulged in.

While this all might seem like common sense, I find it’s helpful to be reminded every now and then. Oftentimes, students become so stressed while consumed with important tasks that the solutions for escape lay forgotten. In that respect, I hope these suggestions help you during this busy semester, and remind you that we are only human — we all need to unwind at some point.

OPINIONS

Universities often compete with one another for the brightest students and the best athletes.

This has led to an era of university branding, where each school tries to sell you their campus life and academic prestige. Understandably, controversy has arisen over the years about what constitutes appropriate content in these campaigns.

Most recently, a 30-second promotional video from the University of Moncton (U of M), which has received more than 180,000 views since being uploaded to YouTube in mid-January, has found itself under fire.

February 2, 2015

The president of the university’s Association of Professors and Librarians, Marie-Noëlle Ryan, has gone as far as to call the advertisement “pathetic,” suggesting that the video resembles a beer commercial.

These harsh comments are all related to one specific scene, in which the camera cuts to two attractive students exchanging saliva between the stacks of the school’s library.

Personally, I am not bothered by the kiss, as it was not the clear focus of the ad, but rather an example of campus life. Selling the college lifestyle can be an integral part of good university marketing. Most students are looking for more than just degrees out of their college experience, and it is okay to acknowledge that. The video tried to strike a balance between working and playing, which is exactly what most of us in university do.

When criticism surrounding the ad began to surface, Marc Angers, the university’s director of communications and marketing,

defended the ad by saying that the research they conducted showed that post-secondary students considered lifestyle a factor when selecting an institution to attend in the fall. Despite its critics, Angers stands by the ad.

It should go without saying that no ad will ever please everyone.

This fact, in turn, makes trying to regulate these campaigns useless. U of M wanted to grab our attention, and it worked. When given full creative control over the ad, the school was able to generate something that would get college applicants talking.

Ads that try to please everyone are boring and ultimately forgettable.

By letting universities advertise themselves as they want, we allow for a one-of-kind ad that will speak more to the actual university, and the experience of attending it.

All in all, it seems university branding has become an integral part of the recruitment process.

Despite all criticism, the University of Moncton should stand by their ad. Universities should always have the ability to market themselves as they wish. If some institutions want to create youthful ads that break norms, more power to them.

NOTICE OF 2015 GENERAL ELECTION Nominations: Nominations open Monday the 23rd of February at 9:00 AM and close on Monday the 9th of March at 12:00 Noon.

Nominations Papers can be picked up in MBC 2234 or found on the elections website at elections.sfss.ca. They must be physically handed in to MBC 2234 to a member of the Independent Electoral Commission. All petitions and referenda must be submitted to the IEC by March 18th.

Campaign Period: The Campaign period opens at 12:00 noon on March 9th and closes at 11:59PM on the 23rd of March. Campaign expenses are limited to 50$ per Candidate.

Positions Available: There are 16 vacancies for the Board of Directors, these being: Executives: President, VP Finance, VP External Relations, VP University Relations, VP Student Services, VP Student Life, Non-Executives: Two At-Large Representatives, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Representative, Faculty of Science Representative, Faculty of Applied Sciences Representative, Faculty of Business Representative, Faculty of Environment Representative, Faculty of Education Representative, Faculty of Communication, Art & Technology Representative, and Faculty of Health Sciences Representative.

Rules and Regulations: Elections are governed by the SFSS Constitution and Bylaws, SFSS Policy Manual, and IEC Guidelines, which can be found on the Elections Website: http://elections.sfss.ca

Voting will occur between March 24 and 26 Inquiries can be made to Oscar A L Sanchez, Chief Electoral Officer at ceo@sfss.ca

Twitter: @SFSSElections Facebook: facebook.com/SFSSElections

11

12 OPINIONS

February 2, 2015

This past Christmas, I finally bit the bullet: I bought myself an Xbox 360 and embraced my Dorito-loving, Mountain Dew-chugging, heavy metal-blasting inner tween. And I gotta admit — it rocks. I’ve been bumping Skyrim and Half-Life 2 like there’s no tomorrow for weeks now.

I used to think my video gaming days were over, but there’s something about immersing yourself in an imagined world, brimming full of possibilities, that never really seems to get old. (Plus, slaying dragons all day totally beats writing essays.)

Actually, past me may have had a point.

Video games are fun and all, but they’re a pretty major time suck. And with four courses, a full-time job, dishes to do, rent to pay, internships and scholarships to apply for, TV shows to catch up

on, exercise to eventually get around to, friendships and a long-term partnership to keep up, books to read, music to listen to. . . well, you get the idea.

Guess saving the virtual world will have to wait until the weekend.

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+0*/ 4'1*3( 4 #0"3% 0' %*3&$5034 /PNJOBUJPOT 1FSJPE 'FC UI UP UI Get  active  in  social  and  environmental  justice!

Gain  experience  leading  a  non-­profit  organization!

Learn  about  governance,  finances,  HR  &  more!

Help  support  a  vibrant  student  organization!

Interested?  Want  to  learn  more?  Check  our  website  for  notice of  the  info  session  to  take  place  during  the  nominations  period.

To  receive  a  nominations  package  or  for  further  info, email  our  Independent  Electoral  Officer  at  eo@sfpirg.ca.

SFPIRG  is  working  towards  diversifying  its  membership  at  all levels,  including  at  the  Board  level.  Both  grad  and  undergrad students  are  welcome  to  apply.  We  encourage  those  from under-­represented  groups  on  campus  as  well  as  those with  a  strong  anti-­oppression  analysis  to  put  forth  a  nomination.  We  are  looking  for  between  3  and  9  candidates.

If  we  receive  more  than  9  nominations,  we  will  hold  elections.

As we draw closer to the next federal election in October, most of the political conversation in the nation is now focused on how to defeat the Harper Conservatives, who will be vying for their fourth consecutive mandate. One of the more radical ideas concerns a progressive alliance between the NDP and the Liberals, in which they would run together as a single entity.

However, this kind of government is unlikely to happen.

At first glance, the idea makes a lot of sense. After all, it was the successful union of the Progressive Conservatives and Canadian Alliance that led to Stephen Harper’s first electoral victory in 2006.

Furthermore, a united left would have led to the loss of the Conservative majority in the last election, assuming that all Canadians voted the same way. So why, then, is this proposed coalition such a poor plan?

For starters, there’s a problem of ego.

As the Leader of the Opposition, it would be assumed that Tom Mulcair would be the head of the coalition, but with more popular support in the polls, it is unlikely that Trudeau would yield the first seat.

Trudeau also rejected a coalition plan less than a year ago when proposed by Mulcair, stating that he plans “to pursue a winning Liberal strategy [. . .] for 2015.�

Because both want the Prime Minister’s job, it appears unlikely that these two men will be able to put aside their differences and unite the left.

Additionally, one has to take into consideration how difficult it is to unite two parties, even ones who share similar political viewpoints. Currently, we have less than nine months before we head to the polls — not a lot of time to bring together

two parties and choose a leader. Uniting the right was an idea that was first talked about in the late ‘90s, and took until 2003 to become a reality. Even then, it was not until the following year that Harper was chosen to be the party’s leader. The Liberals and NDP simply do not have the time to make this change happen.

In any case, one also has to question whether this proposed coalition is the right choice for our country. Coalition governments are notoriously unstable, simply because the two parties that form the government often do not see eye to eye on every issue. As is the case with a minority government, coalitions often have difficulties getting things done, and a failure of the government to pass a bill can be embarrassing in the least. This could lead to the dissolution of the government, and a new election, if the vote happens to be on a confidence issue.

Finally, it may still be too soon to utter the word ‘coalition’ in Canadian political circles. The last time there was a serious proposal of a coalition between the NDP and the Liberals was mere weeks after the Conservatives had won their second minority in the 2008 election, and then-Liberal leader StĂŠphane Dion had allied with the late Jack Layton and the Bloc QuĂŠbĂŠcois with the intention to go to the Governor General and have themselves declared the government.

This was little more than a vain effort to gain through backroom deals what the parties could not win in an election, and it continues to leave a sour taste in the mouth of many Canadians when they hear talk of a coalition. October’s contest will be a three-way race.

February 2, 2015

COMMUNITY PHOTOS February 2, 2015

photo editor email / phone

Brandon Hillier photos@the-peak.ca

13

14

FEATURE

Every day thousands of students flood the hallways outside of the SFU Art Gallery at the Burnaby campus. Over the years, the exhibits inside, which have held the works of many brilliant artists, have been glanced at by countless young eyes who briefly look over them before rushing to class.

Although the Gallery may not receive even close to as many visitors as the much more popular (and compulsory) lectures taking place across from it, art remains an important fixture of all three of our campuses. Even if the majority of SFU students have never set foot in any of our art galleries, expressions of creativity are unavoidable at our school.

In particular, the Academic Quadrangle is filled with many paintings and sculptures located on its many walls. While most passersby rarely stop to take a good look at them, there are some pieces that make everyone take notice.

“Portrait of a Woman in a Renaissance Costume with Cadmium Middle,” located at the bottom of the stairs in the south-west corner of the AQ 4000 level, may just take the cake when it comes to grabbing your attention. Whether your reaction is one of confusion, wonder, or fear, the 10 foot tiled depiction of a regal female figure with a facial tribal tattoo has

February 2, 2015

become one of SFU’s most notable campus characters.

While it may now proudly hang at SFU, its origins trace back to the 1980s and New York City, according to its creator, Graham Gillmore, who spoke with The Peak about his career as an artist and about his nowfamous SFU painting.

“The piece reminds me now of Mike Tyson!” Gillmore exclaims while trying to recall the details behind a painting he hasn’t thought about in years.

Born in North Vancouver in 1963, Gillmore created “Portrait of a Renaissance Woman” in 1989 as a part of a series he did for a group show at 49th Parallel, a non-profit Canadian gallery located in the heart of Soho at 420 West Broadway in New York.

The Emily Carr graduate (1981– 85) moved to the city in 1986, after already having established himself as one of Canada’s brightest young artists. He says that the vast amount of time he was forced to

spend waiting for subway trains served as a key part of the painting’s inspiration.

“Have you ever had a close look at those tiled walls at the older downtown stations?” he asks, explaining that “over the years, tiles fall off or are damaged and replaced by new ones with slightly different colours or sizes.”

It was this kind of “additive and reductive editing” that really intrigued Gillmore and he became fascinated with the “gradual evolution of surface through some kind of modular process” including “the shapes of graffiti that have been painted out, over and over again.”

He decided to explore this idea in combination with another source of inspiration, one that he discovered in another somewhat atypical place.

“I found several prints of etchings, images of portraits of Queens at a flea market,” he explains, saying that he wanted to incorporate a newly discovered engraving technique and use them as a reference. “The series really came together when I decided to incorporate the tattoo onto an engraving [. . .] this tautology paved the road for the entire series.”

Linking the two concepts, Gillmore explored the idea of “the Queens series as though they were engraved onto the tiled walls of

features editor email / phone

Brad McLeod features@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

the NYC Subway,” and through this process, the AQ’s most talkedabout portrait was born.

While Gillmore said that he does not know Michael Precious, the man who donated the painting to SFU, he believes he is a very generous person and that there is no better place for it to hang than in a university.

The placard beside the painting, on the other hand, isn’t quite as perfect. According to Gillmore, the word ‘Cadium’ in the title “Portrait of a Woman in a Renaissance Costume with Cadium Middle” is not a word he invented, but he says it is simply a misspelling of the word ‘Cadmium.’

As for the piece’s subject matter, while Gillmore admits that he finds it difficult to recall where his mind was at so long ago, he says that his focus on ‘the Queens’ “stemmed from an early interest in female personality types.”

He says that he was particularly interested in “women in positions of power, or at least women who perceive themselves to be influential.” As for the inclusion of “Maori tribal tattoos” upon them, he says that he believed that they “seemed to both glorify and subvert their identities, complicating our notions of ‘public’ and ‘private’ identity.”

In the years following his creation of the painting, Gillmore has continued to cement his stellar reputation across Canada, the United States, and Europe. His work can be found in numerous private, corporate and public collections across the globe.

Of his process, he says that “art has always been a vehicle for escape and self-reflection,” and that his “practice has evolved through trial and error, repetition, revision, back firings and a hands-on, in the trenches kind of bone-headedness.”

While “Portrait of a Woman in a Renaissance Costume with Cadmium Middle” is just one of many brilliant creations Gillmore has given to the world and a distant memory for its creator, at SFU it will continue to serve as one of our most beloved works of art and be silently appreciated by many who, like Gillmore, often find themselves in the trenches of bone-headedness.

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Create a topical roundtable, interview a community member, produce news, record events and edited audio for broadcast! What could be more fun? Stop by CJSF 90.1 FM and lend your voice to a worthy cause. Join the CJSF Spoken Word department! Email cjsfpa@sfu.ca

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he stark concrete architecture, the ominous fog, the spotty WiFi — if you ever wanted to recreate the feeling of North Korea in the greater Vancouver area, SFU would be a prime candidate.

Though for obvious reasons, transforming our mountaintop campus into a totalitarian, extremist republic will never be a popular idea, the possibility of turning SFU into North Korea has been talked about. . . for a movie, at least.

When Vancouver natives Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg came back to their hometown to film their new North Korea-based comedy movie The Interview in 2013, they had their hearts set on filming at SFU. While the dispute that eventually led Rogen and Goldberg to recreate North Korea elsewhere in Vancouver certainly wasn’t the biggest struggle the duo faced in releasing their highly controversial movie, even when it came to shooting scenes at our school, their refusal to play by the rules caused problems for the film.

“We wanted to film more at the SFU main campus and they wouldn’t let us.”

This was the message that Evan Goldberg wrote in reply to a fan during a live tweet of The Interview on December 28.

The comment was in response to a follower named ‘Judy Geek’ (@thepopcultural), who commented that “the grey expanse of stairs perfectly encapsulate the totalitarian regime of NK & SFU’s design.”

Even after all that happened with the movie — the reported threats of “merciless” retaliation against the United States if the film was released, allegedly from the North Korean government; the Sony Pictures hack which legitimized the possibility of violence; the cancellation of the film’s theatrical release which had relegated it to streaming services like YouTube and Google Play — The Interview filmmakers were still upset about not getting to film at SFU. From an outsider’s perspective, Goldberg’s complaint seems reasonable. SFU is rarely featured in any big movies. Instead, the campus only shows up in episodes of sci-fi television shows such as Battlestar Galactica and low-rent CW shows like Hellcats. How could SFU possibly refuse the call of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars?

The answer, according to SFU, is quite simple: they didn’t refuse anyone.

“We never did say they couldn’t film here,” John Briggs, Supervisor of Client Services at SFU’s Facility Services told The Peak in response to Goldberg’s tweet.

“The door is open. They were perfectly welcome to film here. It was their choice not to come here.”

Anything that has to do with filming at SFU, whether it be feature films, television shows, or student projects, goes through John Briggs’ office. According to Briggs, who has been in his position for the past seven years, a member of The Interview’s team first contacted his office in late July 2013 to inquire about filming on campus.

The initial inquiry came when Briggs was off on sick leave, and a now-retired building technologist took the first phone call. Although he was not coming into work, Briggs followed the early conversations through email.

“There was a whole lot of back and forth, and it’s very confusing,” Briggs explained concerning The Interview’s request to film at SFU. While he did not go into specific details, Briggs made it clear that the problem came down to the filmmakers’ refusal to sign SFU’s film location license agreement.

“SFU’s policy is that this is our licensing agreement for you to come on our property and film here. It protects our interests. We make no changes to the agreement,” Briggs stated. He explained that this situation happens occasionally with requests from feature films.

“I tell them that up front, in the initial phone call. I make that very clear.

And they say, ‘okay, I understand,’” Briggs continued, explaining the routine process. “Nevertheless, when it [goes to their] lawyers, the lawyers often will say, ‘I want to change all these things,’ and we’ll get a copy back with a bunch of red pen marks with things they

want changed. And we just say, ‘no, we don’t do that.’

“In this case, they decided to make a big issue out of it,” stated Briggs. “[They] essentially refused to come here unless t hey could make changes to the agreement. It’s that simple,” heexplained. “And SFU’s policy is that we don’t make the changes. We can’t be making changes for everybody that wants to film here.”

While Briggs could not recall any of the specific changes that were requested by The Interview filmmakers, he said that they were “such minor, insignificant things” that he couldn’t understand why they would be an issue. He explained that it is not worth SFU’s time or effort to make a different agreement for every film, and it’s rare that anyone ever has a problem with.

“If 98 per cent of filmmakers can come here and sign it without any question and go on and make their film, then what’s wrong with you guys? Why do you have an issue with it?” Briggs questioned. “There’s nothing in here that threatens the film. So why is there an issue?”

“Some people want to make it sound like SFU is, I don’t know, somehow confrontational with the film industry, and it just isn’t,” Briggs told The Peak during his interview. He said that SFU has a simple agreement which is based on 50 years of films being made on campus, and that it simply protects the university’s interests.

Based on the finished product, however, The Interview was clearly able to come to agreements to film at other public institutions in Vancouver. Scenes of the movie were filmed at both the Robson Square Court Houses and the Vancouver Art Gallery, although the details of these agreements are kept closed by the City of Vancouver, who do not disclose this sort of information.

While not used as a filming location in this particular movie, the University of British Columbia also does not seem to keep as stringent of a policy as SFU. According to UBC’s Events and Film Liaison, Arlene Chan, although “a standard UBC Contract for Filming is required for all commercial and documentary productions,” she told The Peak that “from time to time, requests are received for minor contract changes.”

“Protocols have manage the requests with UBC Legal Cou proved changes to t as UBC’s interests are Chan explained.

Briggs, on the oth his belief that the bene as a location is not big sider making even mi lywood productions.

“We charge $2500 pus,” he said, explain tional institution, SFU of making money off has been our charge f been here. I think it’s back 40 some years ag

Whether it be a to or a potential Oscar-w treated the same, acc publicity behind a mo level star-power is not “SFU doesn’t get movie. We don’t want “The only way SFU film is, people who kn recognize it.”

While Briggs adm has changed their ch undetected, this porti result of past mistakes “The reason we do is, it goes back years a here that people misr they turned out to be and SFU was dragged want that.”

Briggs also said t for a script of all m filmed on campus, th acceptable choices w subject material.

“We’re making su like pornography,” h have been pornogr here. They weren’t int we knew . . .This goes Really, that can’t happ

been established to s, and in conjunction unsel, UBC has apthe Contract so long e not compromised,”

her hand, was firm in efit of films using SFU g enough to ever coninor changes for Hol-

0 a day to be on camning that as an educaU is not in the business f movies. “That $2500 for longer than I have the original price set go.”

oothpaste commercial winner, everyone gets cording to Briggs. The ovie with Seth Rogent an incentive, either. t recognition in the t that,” he explained. is identifiable in the now SFU, they might

mits that social media hances of remaining ion of the policy is the s. on’t want recognition ago [to] movies made represented [. . .] And e controversial issues d into it, and [we] don’t

that while SFU asks movies that are to be here are very few unwhen it comes to the

ure it’s not something he explained. “There raphy movies made tended to be, as far as back a long time ago. pen here anymore.”

“And that’s why we have these agreements now. So that if something does happen after the fact, SFU has a recourse with the filmmaker.”

So, while Goldberg’s tweet may be interpreted as SFU being against the film because of its controversial nature, according to Briggs the only issue was the license agreement.

Since the changes that were requested were apparently so minor, for Briggs, the refusal to sign the standard license agreement was the result of one simple issue: ego.

“If you’re going to take a few words and sentences in this agreement and insist that they must be changed to suit you, that makes no sense. From a practical business point of view, it just doesn’t make any sense,” Briggs explained. “Some people in the film business [though] have really big egos, and if they don’t get what they want . . . let me tell you, in the film business, ‘no’ is not a word in many people’s vocabulary.

“They’re not easy people to deal with, in a lot of cases [. . .] they believe, probably, in their mind, that we told them that they can’t film here, and that’s just not true.”

Briggs later explained the situation more clearly.

“He really, really wanted to come here and film at SFU. But for some petty little thing that people wanted to make changes to, he wasn’t getting his way. He being Seth Rogen,” Briggs said. “He has a pretty big ego. There’s lots of newspaper articles where he was being interviewed and quoted at the time he was making the movie here.

“So he wasn’t getting his way, so like always, it was ‘what is it going to take to make this happen?’ And he kept going up higher and higher and people were being told ‘go up higher and higher and higher until you find that person who’s going to say, never mind the agreement, you can come here and make the movie.’”

While the situation should not have been dragged out at all, according to Briggs, instead of signing the agreement or just moving along The Interview filmmakers tried to push their changes by going over his head, but to no avail.

“It even went to the President’s office and the President said, “well, is there something wrong with the agreement?’”

As a relatively new president, Briggs said that Andrew Petter had never encountered this situation before. “[Petter] said, let’s get the legal department, the outside lawyers that they use, to take a look at it and see if there is something wrong with it. And they took a look at it and they replied back with ‘No, there’s nothing wrong with it.’”

Apparently, this was as far as Rogen and his team got. According to Briggs, they finally sent a note cancelling their plans to film at SFU on November 17, 2013.

While Briggs says that all his contact with Rogen and his team was through phone calls and emails, tweets and photos posted on Twitter show that Rogen did make some visits to SFU at the time, although what he was doing here cannot be confirmed.

Twitter user Steven Hoang (@stevenvhoang) tweeted about Rogen being at SFU on July 30 2013, which coincides with their initial request time. He posted again on October 1, just prior to the start of principal photography on The Interview, with a picture of himself and Rogen near the water fountain in Convocation Mall.

Another photo of Rogen taken on that day by student-athlete Alex Iezzi created a fair amount of buzz — it was retweeted by the SFSS’s official Twitter, and a couple of local celebrity sightings websites.

Although Iezzi told The Peak via Twitter that he was too starstruck to ask why Rogen was on campus, his story implies that the comedy star was not trying to be secretive.

“One of his crew saw me and my teammate in awe of being 20 feet away from Seth Rogen, so he asked if we wanted a picture,” Iezzi remembered. “After the photo, that was the end of that. Though I heard through some friends or others, that I think he may have been looking for a location.”

Although Briggs says he was not aware that Rogen had visited campus, he told The Peak that “he may have come on campus to try and knock on somebody’s door to do a drop-in, and maybe try and talk somebody into making the change.

“He may have done that, I don’t know.

I didn’t even know he was here. It doesn’t surprise me that he would show up to do that — like I say, he’s got a big ego,” Briggs speculated.

Briggs was adamant, however, that SFU stood its ground no matter what happened.

“[Rogen] was willing to go an awful long way with this. And the president of the university wasn’t enough,” he explained. “He still didn’t get his way. And so I’m not surprised that there’s comments coming out in places like Twitter saying ‘SFU refused to let us film here,’ and that is not the truth of it.

It just wasn’t. But I get that that’s how they see it. People see things different ways, from whatever agenda they live by.”

The Peak also reached out to both Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg for statements regarding the situation and the tweet, but at press time have not received any replies.

However, Shawn Williamson, who worked as an executive producer for The Interview, was able to provide a brief comment.

“Evan is correct, and so is the university, but the university’s contract was the problem,” Williamson explained in a phone call on Friday. “SFU made it clear in a meeting we had with them that they were going to decide whether [ . . . ]they were going to become a film destination or not. And if they were going to they would have to change their contract, and they obviously didn’t, so I don’t think you’ll see many studio movies filming there.”

While Williamson said that SFU’s film location license agreement included “a major legal issue with all film studios in Hollywood,” and that he “knew every detail [of the changes which were requested]”, at press time he stated he could not get into any further details before talking to Sony publicity.

Briggs however made no-indication that SFU was the source of the problem.

“We welcome [filmmakers] to come here and make [their] film[s]” Briggs said.

“We aren’t in the business of filmmaking, we are in the business of education, so we comply with peoples’ requests to film here when we can.”

At one point, Briggs even extended SFU’s openness to the film industry even further.

“If he wants to come film a sequel here, he’s welcome to come . . . we’d be happy to work with him,” Briggs said near the end of his interview. “It’d be the same thing though, [Rogen] has to sign the agreement.”

While a sequel to The Interview is fairly unlikely, it seems as though our campus could still be featured in a Seth Rogen movie someday. It just won’t be Hollywood’s North Korea anytime soon.

18 ARTS

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February 2, 2015

ARTS

February 2, 2015

arts editor email

Tessa Perkins arts@the-peak.ca

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ON STAGE

Louise Lecavalier is a powerhouse. In So Blue, her pulsing, persistent choreography was mesmerizing from the moment she began to move. As she shuffled nimbly across the stage, she was totally entranced in her movements, like a runaway train gaining momentum.

Lecavalier is the rare performer who dances with their entire body. Even her hair was dancing, an asymmetrical swath bouncing and swaying in sync with her. Her body was an intricate tool of precision, and she completely embodied the music as it flowed through her to emerge once again translated into movements that seemed to perfectly interpret every sound.

Her athletic, fast-paced dance was accompanied by the percussive, driving beats of Mercan Dede. The runaway train came to a halt after a lengthy opening sequence, as Lecavalier stopped to slowly bring herself into a handstand. The strength and control that she displayed was astounding, and she stayed in a handstand for quite some time, her legs dancing above her.

The tone became a bit heavier in the following sequences, as Lecavalier worked on the floor and Frédéric Tavernini joined her on stage. The two of them performed some very impressive partner work, with detailed intertwining of their bodies. They became completely connected through the choreography and music, moving as one being.

The entire piece had an incredibly smooth, effortless quality to it, and at 56, Lecavalier’s experience and maturity showed. The stage was bathed in dim rectangles of light, turning to blue at the end, and this simple staging kept the focus on her movements.

Lecavalier is a fierce performer who commands the stage and gives it her all.

She was utterly compelling, and the audience agreed — they gave her a unanimous standing ovation.

The artistry and skill of the eight acrobats of circus troupe Les 7 doigts de la main is breathtaking. With a variety of circus acts, humorous commentary, and brilliantly staged sequences of acrobatic choreography, this show had the audience gasping and holding their breath at the circus acts and laughing hysterically at the clever commentary in between.

For example, after two of the acrobats performed on the seesaw, they each spoke in French giving their interpretation of what the scene represented. One said that it represented the yin and yang of life, and the other said that it was simply two men going up and down. As the acrobat playing the role of the commentator summarized what they had said in English, he explained that the two of them went out together to a restaurant to discuss their act with two people named Yin and Yang.

These interludes of witty commentary took the place of the comic relief clowns found in Cirque du Soleil shows, and the content often had the audience was roaring with laughter.

Each of the performers specialized in a different acrobatic feat, whether it was jumping through a hoop in unimaginable ways, hanging off a vertical pole with just one hand, or performing on the Russian bar, trapeze, and aerial hoop. I also loved the mesmerizing, free-flowing segments of choreography that featured all the performers leaping, flipping, and tumbling across the stage.

What set this production apart from other circus acts is the attention to detail, narrative, and pure artistry, along with an incomparable sense of humour. That, along with a combination of simple staging, captivating music, and stunning performances, made this a rare show that deserves endless praise.

Everyone has secrets, and millions have felt compelled to write one of their own on a homemade postcard and anonymously send it to Frank Warren. Warren is the founder of PostSecret, a hugely successful blog that began as a community art project.

What is the most common secret people have mailed to Warren? “I pee in the shower” is the winner. But not all of the secrets are funny or lighthearted — the show is a rollercoaster of emotions, as it shares hilarious secrets about farts, pranks, and guilty pleasures alongside tragic admissions about death, suicide, and depression.

The show’s tagline urges you to “Free your secrets and become who you are,” and it gives the audience plenty of opportunities to do just that. Everyone is given a blank postcard with the text from Warren’s original call for secrets, reading “Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession, or childhood humiliation.” The cards were placed in a mailbox, and in act two, a few were included in the show.

Some secrets that have been sent in and posted to the blog have begun larger movements, such as the Please Don’t Jump campaign that began as a response to a secret from someone who wanted to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. Others have elicited small acts of kindness among strangers, such as the single mother who wrote PostSecret to say that she was ashamed Santa wouldn’t be bringing her son the gift he desperately wanted.

Covering topics such as religion, death, love, childhood, abuse, and redemption, the show had a very hopeful tone as it shared these slices of humanity. As Warren said after the show, “Secrets are the currency of intimacy.” So, if you want to get close to someone, spill your guts.

Who would have thought men in tutus could put on such a sensational show?

With slapstick humour, impressive technique, and incomparable parodies, this all-male ballet troupe provided a hilarious, extremely entertaining show that had the audience in fits of laughter the whole way through. With character names like Tatiana Youbetyabootskaya and Ida Nevasayneva in the program, many were laughing even before the curtain went up.

I died laughing while watching the cygnets of Swan Lake bumble across the stage, and thinking of my own experiences dancing Swan Lake in my ballet school show. The revised choreography mocked the original perfectly, and the separate scene of the slowly dying swan was equally brilliant as, limb by limb, she dropped to the stage in a feathery heap.

Go for Barocco was a standout, a contemporary ballet piece that featured the dancers in simple black leotards and skirts.

It was reminiscent of so many ballet school performances I’ve seen and been a part of, and that the hilarity factor was multiplied as they performed simple, repetitive choreography with the utmost concentration.

The final scene was Paquita, a Spanish ballet about a girl who has been abducted. In terms of costumes, this was the most stunning act, with bright, colourful tutus. One of the best unexpected moments of the show was when Paquita screamed as the prince came on stage behind her.

Many of the dancers had the same grace and technique as their female counterparts, and they all performed spectacularly. I think it helps to have an understanding of the classical ballets when watching this show, but if not, it will still be a Trockin’ good time.

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traditional stories of the people engraved in the windows overlooking the river delta, giving a narrative to the land and highlighting its connection to the Musqueam peoples.

The final portion of the exhibit is at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC, with a focus on the voices of the people and the sharing of cultural knowledge. This experimental exhibit has no belongings, only the oral tradition of the Musqueam written on the walls, and interactive multimedia centres to encourage learning. The entrance of the exhibit is styled like a contemporary longhouse, inviting all who enter to learn about the connection between past and present, and “what it means to be Musqueam,” according to Jordan Wilson, cocurator of the exhibit.

This series of exhibits is a breathtaking example of cooperation between museums, and a triumphant return of autonomy for the Musqueam First Nation.

A learning experience like no other, these exhibits display the historical and ongoing struggles and successes of the Musqueam peoples. As Guerin says, “we are very much a sharing people. Welcome, with arms open wide.”

A joint project between the Museum of Vancouver, the Musqueam First Nation, and the Museum of Anthropology, cշ ΩVQDҌΩP, the city before the city is an exciting and important series of exhibits. An exploration of the historical and living culture of the Musqueam peoples, this three-site project is a groundbreaking exercise in cooperation between the academic and First Nations communities.

The continuity and uniqueness that each of the sites brings to the overall project is astounding. Each site by itself plays an important role in the community, showing the belongings, the voices, and the experiences of the Musqueam peoples.

The portion of the exhibition at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV ) primarily shows the ancient artifacts of the Musqueam First Nation. In an attempt to dismantle the cultural barrier, the belongings have been organized by the Musqueam, with each artifact identified by its use along with its name in the Musqueam language, KԥQ¶T¶ԥPLQ¶ԥP¶.

At each display, an interactive screen with the faces and voices of living Musqueam peoples discuss the belongings in the case and highlights the importance of oral history in their culture.

The use of multimedia in the MOV exhibit adds to the exhibit’s visual and cultural appeal, with an animation projected on the back wall depicting the Musqueam founding story.

This modern-day portrayal of the ancient story is only one example of the seamless joining of the present and the past in the exhibit, showing that, as asserted by Councillor Morgan Guerin, spokesperson for the Musqueam First Nation, the

“Musqueam are not gone; we never went away.”

The MOV display also depicts the region’s history of colonialism, and the part the museum itself played in this history. A series of maps, a detailed timeline, and community photographs show the effect of colonialism on the Musqueam First Nation.

Before this exhibit, the museum had a history of claiming First Nations artifacts, and displaying them without the permission of these groups — in some cases, misrepresenting them. Susan Roy, co-curator of the MOV exhibit, says the museum is now attempting to “bring back objects that are in

different museums around North America and the world.”

At the Musqueam Cultural Centre Gallery, the display focuses on the comparison between ancient and modern knowledge, and the continuation of the culture into contemporary times. Councillor Guerin led the tour, saying “there is a connection between past and present, a working knowledge of how it was.”

This connection can be seen in the displays, shaped like Coast Salish looms, with ancient belongings in the top of the case and their contemporary equivalents at the bottom. The collection is completed with the

This brings a sense of authenticity and freshness to the play that is rare in the world of theatre. Director Ryan Gladstone spoke to The Peak about the production.

rehearsing the day of. Repeats in casting will make it less fresh.

P: Do you feel this play speaks to couples of all ages?

P: Was it difficult to find and cast four couples?

RG: Yes, because of the beauty of it. The act of love is the same for all ages. When hormones take over, you become a child again no matter your age. You experience the same emotions, the same feelings, and the same fears.

Staircase Theatre is presenting AR Gurney’s play Love Letters this February as a Valentine’s Day special. According to the playwright, it is “designed to be read aloud by an actor and actress of roughly the same age, sitting side by side at a table.” The play covers 50 years of communications between

Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III. Through a half-century, the couple shares passion, tragedy, and heartbreak. More than half the play takes place before the two reach adulthood, and invites the audience into a written journey of the lifelong friends.

The choices of casting and rehearsal style make this play unique and guarantee its authenticity. There are few things more touching than a handwritten message, and this play sounds like an ideal date for Valentine’s Day. This production by Staircase Theatre is unique in that different actors will be used for every performance — each pair of actors are also couples in real life.

The Peak: Since the play is set at a table with the script, how different was it for you to put together?

Ryan Gladstone: We will be doing rehearsals the day of the performance. This is instead of being highly rehearsed over a long period of time like a normal play. It’ll be very raw.

P: Why did the company choose to switch players each night?

RG: It’s part of the idea of

RG: All were previously known

by Maryanne Renzetti [Staircase Theatre Artistic Director]. They are all working actors so finding four was not easy.

P : Which love story, if any, would you compare Melissa and Andrew’s to?

RG: Maybe Forrest Gump, because they are friends as kids, they have a special connection, they come in and out of each others lives, and they face their hardships separately.

P: Will singles be able to enjoy it, too?

RG: Yes, for the performance alone. It’s worth it.

ARTS

February 2, 2015

Vancouverites tend to have an eclectic palate for cuisines; Mexican-style eggs for breakfast, sushi for lunch, and homemade Indian food for dinner is not abnormal here. Reading break is fast approaching, and if you can’t afford a trip to Europe for the week, here are a few gems in Vancouver that offer a European vibe, even if just for a few hours.

Both of us have been fortunate enough to visit Europe a couple of times, and it’s hard to argue with the fact that walking down a cobblestone street in the morning into a quaint bakery with the fresh smell of bread and pastries is the best thing in the world. The combination of

fresh gluten-laden goods and crisp espresso is a perfect expression of the slow-paced European lifestyle.

In Vancouver, Faubourg is the quintessential Euro bakery, and they’ve got the artisanal goods to prove it. Their ambiance takes this place over the top: it’s stylish and open, while maintaining a casually European feeling. We recommend it for a relaxed preshopping fuel-up, or if you’re in the mood for people watching.

Anthony Bourdain once said, “if you’re not eating well in Spain, there is no hope for you.” We’d have to agree. Life in the Costa del Sol, the southern Spanish coast, is all about eating, drinking, and siesta-ing, the three pillars of the good life. Thankfully, tapas, one of Spain’s most famous culinary creations, can be enjoyed right here on the West Coast.

Espana is a Spanish-style tapas restaurant on Denman street in close proximity to English Bay. They boast seasonal market picked dishes — think warm vegetables, marinated meats, and addictive cheeses

with a divine wine menu. Going with a few friends and sharing about 10 different small plates with some sherry or wine would make the Spanish proud.

Via Tevere is a true homestyle Italian pizzeria. Although there are many mouth-watering, wood-burning pizzas cooking in this city, this is our fave. The owners, who grew up in Napoli, imported their oven from the homeland and made a new home for it on Victoria Drive. The vibe inside feels like you’re in a small Italian village. When you’re there, order your pizza of choice and the arugula salad; if you’re a pro, wrap them up together.

Looking for a place that screams old country and ‘I just won the lottery’ at the same time?

Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill is the spot to see and be seen at.

Frequented by stylish Vancouver magnates like Joe Segal, Cioppino’s is a family business headed by master chef Pino and managed by his older brother.

The kitchen is populated with various relations of Pino’s, and both the Tuscan-style ribeye and the rack of lamb earn our highest

praise. This place also has arguably the best wine menu in Vancouver — if you can afford it.

But Brix may just be the best-kept secret in the city. Walk through the wine red-coloured curtains into an oh-so-European piazza. With exposed brick, high ceilings, and green draping vines on the walls, this restaurant will transport you to the French courtyard of your dreams. Aptly named after the unit of measurement for the sugar content of

grapes harvested and turned into wine, Brix is all about just that — the wine.

With one of the best selections in Vancouver, Brix has everything from stern Super Tuscans and sultry pouty Borolos to bouncing Bordeauxs and lavish Burgundians. To eat, we highly recommend the maple bourbon duck breast, which is packed so full of flavours you’ll spend the first bite falling in love and the last wishing for more.

HELP WANTED PAID POSITIONS AVAILABLE The Simon Fraser Student Society seeks students for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC):

Four (4) Commissioners The IEC is responsible for administering student society elections and referenda.

Those interested must be able to serve for the duration of the Spring 2015 semester Please submit your cover letter and resume to Oscar Sanchez - Chief Electoral Officer at ceo@sfss.ca Application deadline: February 6th 2015 noon (12pm)

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22 ARTS

Peer through the curtain and watch as a young stud moves in next door. In the distance, you catch a glimpse of his six-pack abs and underwear bulge. He’s muscular, perfectly toned, and drives a giant truck. When he’s not taking care of his ailing uncle, he spends his spare time repairing dirty, oily cars and broken things around your house.

The women in the audience ask themselves: “Could he be any more perfect?”

Claire Peterson ( Jennifer Lopez, in a horrendously hilarious performance) is a middle-aged woman living in the suburbs as a single mother to her awkward teenage son.

Her husband, Garrett, had an affair with one of his workers in San Francisco. Just as Garrett is trying to patch up his marriage, Noah, the quintessential ladies’ man, moves in next door. Claire becomes enchanted with the handsome young man, despite him being 20 years old and still in high school.

Claire has a lapse in judgment after a few too many glasses of wine, and sleeps with Noah. Afterwards, she ignores that it happened, but Noah becomes obsessed with her and begins to stalk her.

What begins with female fantasy ends with female fears.

In The Boy Next Door , Claire is a complex character, while the men that surround her are objects to be looked at; she is the driving force of the narrative, and the men are horny scoundrels who can’t control their libido.

Feminist extremists like Laura Mulvey and radical Marxists like John Berger have proposed the Freudian idea of the male gaze, which satisfies through scopophilia

February 2, 2015

— obtaining pleasure from voyeurism. According to this train of thought, whenever a (heterosexual) man looks at a woman, there are sexual motives and superficial judgments behind the gaze. Mulvey and Berger use this concept to analyze mainstream movies and classic nude paintings. They conclude that women in these art forms are merely objects to be looked at, while the depth and driving of the plot is left to the men.

Certainly there is some truth to what Mulvey and Berger are getting at (think of the women in James Bond movies), but their problem is they take their ideology too far and they forget to recognize the flip side — movies designed for the pleasure of female viewers.

Depending on how you choose to interpret it, The Boy Next Door is either really stupid or a clever reflection on its own stupidity, a cheesy B-movie or a fascinating critique of voyeurism and female fantasy, a family melodrama or a satire on the collapse of suburban life. The material may be trashy, but its unexpected profundity is oddly fascinating. It might even be viewed as a female version of Vertigo , wrapped in the clichés of cheap exploitation films like those of Russ Meyer.

Smartly, the film may be unabashedly using the tropes I think it’s criticizing to manipulate the target audience — certainly the shoddy camerawork and preposterous plotting would naturally lead to this interpretation, yet it may be poking fun at audiences’ willingness to gobble this up.

Whether it’s a clever subversion or a cheesy exploitation film, I was most certainly never bored during The Boy Next Door. Perhaps the best way to describe it is to borrow Michael Dare from Film Threat’s description of a similar film, Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls: “simultaneously the best and worst film of all time.”

Never before has a film so thoroughly captured the essence of life itself. Based on Roger Ebert’s memoir of the same name, this biographical documentary is directed

by Steve James, a personal friend of Ebert’s. Well-researched and emotional, Life Itself brings to life the different chapters from Ebert’s autobiography, and captures the nature of who he was as an individual.

Ebert, who passed away in 2013, is among the most influential film critics of all time. He began writing at an early age; “I can write, I just always could,” he later said.

He became a reporter, then the editor-in-chief of The Daily Illini during his time at the University of Illinois.

Later, he landed a job at the Chicago Sun-Times; when the paper’s longtime film critic retired, Ebert was given the job, and this became his entrance to the world of film criticism. He appeared with fellow critic Gene Siskel on the television programs Sneak Preview and At the Movies, and near the end of his life became an avid blogger.

Ebert had a way with words that, coupled with his extensive knowledge of films, allowed him to see the details of films and the intentions of their directors. He also had a heart that seemed to accept everything, including life as it is.

The film’s footage from Ebert’s 2013 hospital stay showed how, despite losing his lower jaw to cancer, he maintained a positive outlook.

The film spends much of its running time on Ebert’s love-hate relationship with Gene Siskel. The two were polar opposites of each other; Ebert was a control freak, and the disorganized Siskel was his source of madness.

Siskel also knew how to push his buttons, and their arguments were well-known among their friends to go on behind the cameras. For example, the order for their names on the show — Siskel and Ebert or Ebert and Siskel — was decided by the flip of a coin, a common compromise between the two.

However, they eventually grew to respect each other. The day Siskel died, Ebert spent the day tweeting shared memories between the two. “I’ve never felt closer to a man,” he said. His relationship with his wife, Chaz, is also a prominent aspect of the film. “Chaz really liked him for who he is, not what he is,” says Siskel’s wife. “[Meeting Chaz] was life-altering for Roger; she changed his life and his personality dramatically.”

Ebert is portrayed in the film as intelligent and talented, but also

a flawed human being. As one interviewee says, he was nice, “but not that nice.” He was known for socializing with the artists he criticized, and this behaviour elicited controversy for how it might influence his reviews.

Ultimately, the film maintains that Ebert was able to balance his professional and personal relationships, without challenging his writing.

The films depicts Ebert, with all his passion and dedication, trudging on despite the physical limitations caused by his cancer; it’s an inspiring portrait of courage. “People are interested in what you have to say, not how you say it,” Chaz tells him.

The documentary is well put-together, and does, in essence, capture life itself. While it is about Roger Ebert, Life Itself also reflects the conditions of life in general — what it means to live, to have lived, to die, and to be remembered.

Near his death, Ebert posted a blog entry titled “A Leave of Presence,” and the movie ends with this quote from the entry: “on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me.

I’ll see you at the movies.”

Life Itself is available on Video On Demand and iTunes on February 3, and on DVD and Blu-ray February 17.

For more information, visit ebertmovie.com.

SPORTS

sports editor email / phone

February 2, 2015

Austin Cozicar sports@the-peak.ca / 778.782.4560

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“During Christmas, it’s weird because there’s not as much snow,” muses London, ON native Rachel Fradgley about her new home in the Lower Mainland. “But the weather here is so much nicer than Ontario. It feels like spring.

I really like that.”

The 6’2” forward seems to have adjusted to her new surroundings quite well. Only in her first year, she is already a starter on the women’s basketball team — often playing with senior star Erin Chambers. Notably, she led the team in scoring once this season, in a game against Saint Martin’s University.

However, despite her strong start in SFU athletics, it was tough for the young athlete to make the trip across the continent. “First semester I was really homesick — I didn’t think I’d be as homesick as I was,” she admits.

It took a trip home to give Rachel the perspective she needed. “Once I went back for Christmas and I came back, I just felt a lot better because

I realized that this is where I want to be.”

Being so far from home was hardly the first hardship that she had to endure, and overcome. In her grade 11 year, Rachel tore her ACL, which some thought could be career-ending for the high school junior.

“It [was] a challenge,” Rachel says about having to watch her teammates play without her.

“It made me really upset a lot of the time, but my teammates were really good about it. They all tried to include me and they tried to make it a super positive experience, rather than a negative one.”

Her injury did end up having a silver lining — it gave her time to think about the sport she loves, and what it means to her.

“I learned a lot about myself, tearing my ACL. I think you learn

how much you like the sport and how much adversity you’re willing to go over to get back.”

The idea of turning this negative into a positive, and persevering through it, also influenced Rachel academically, causing her to study the mind. “When I got injured [. . .] there’s a big mental part about it, so I think getting over that mental aspect drew me into psychology.”

In truth, she admits that she’s still “keeping her options open” academically and “trying to explore a bit.” But athletically, there is no question — basketball is her sport. Having started playing in grade five, Rachel says she initially chose basketball because of a family friend.

“One of my dad’s friends ran a basketball program in London, and I have always been really tall, even as a kid. So he noticed that and was like, ‘You should come out to our house leagues and just see what it’s like,’ and I just really enjoyed it.”

However, it wasn’t until later that she became a fulltime basketball player, having initially split her time between two sports.

“For three years I was doing both dance and basketball,” she

explains. “Then in grade eight, I decided to quit dance and focus solely on basketball.”

Was it a tough decision to quit dancing?

“No,” Rachel says bluntly. “Towards the end of my dance career, my heart wasn’t in it anymore.

I wasn’t practicing. I wanted to focus more on basketball.”

This focus on one sport soon paid off for Rachel. Her talent was quickly recognized, and even though she missed a significant portion of prime playing time with her injury — missing the initial tryouts — she made

the Canadian national team in her senior year.

She represented Canada at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women held in August 2014, facing international teams from both North and South America. The team finished with a silver medal.

Although she struggled with the distance away from home, her international experience made the transition to university basketball relatively easy.

“The jump from high school to national was a big jump, [but] from the national level to university was a bit of a smaller jump, because I was already used to playing at a bit of a higher level,” she notes.

Still in the midst of her first year, Rachel is looking forward to where she — and her team — can grow. “I think there have been points where we can be a little bit better, but we’re a young team.”

24 SPORTS

February 2, 2015

too much uncertainty in where he will be drafted, but now I’m almost certain he will be in the top five.

Popular consensus was that defenceman Photo courtesy of John Quackenbos Noah Hanifin would go third. in the World Juniors (WJCs). Unfortunately, he missed the tournament due to injury, so he wasn’t able to make an impact on a Swedish team that was eliminated in the semifinals. Now he risks being buried under a strong crop of US defencemen. Kylington has regressed; however, I figure he’ll still go in the top 10.

Back in October, I pointed out some players to watch out for (not named McDavid and Eichel.) These two players were positioned to battle it out for the top two spots, and that hasn’t changed. Now with the season at the halfway point, it’s time to re-evaluate our draft predictions and see how right — or more likely, wrong — I was.

Back in October, I said his draft stock would depend a lot on his performance

Saturday night at the Bill Copeland Centre, the Clan served the crowd a now-familiar sight — after netting the first goal of the game, the University of Victoria (UVic) Vikes took control, winning 4–2. But unlike SFU’s last game, where they outshot the competition with a whopping 44 shots, this time they were only able to get 16.

The Clan got off to a good start; after a nice blocker save less than a minute in by SFU goaltender Jordan Liem, forward Matthew Luongo put up the first goal on the scoreboard.

However, just after the 10-minute mark in the first period, UVic defenceman James Tindle buried the puck past Liem — a hard one-timer off a won faceoff. UVic

Playing on a line with McDavid, the question was: can he score without McDavid?

Well, McDavid’s injury may have been the best thing for Strome, as he was able to show he is an elite talent in his own right. Even with McDavid out, he was able to produce a pace of over a point per game, and sits on a ridiculous 85 points in 45 games. I said in October that there’s

wasn’t done there, as forward Shawn Mueller scored on the powerplay only 38 seconds later to give the Vikes a 2–1 lead.

After some ice issues delayed the start of the second period, SFU seemed to get off on the right foot, controlling the play for a brief period of time. But this was shortlived, as the Clan were badly outshot for the rest of the period. The animosity between the two teams grew throughout the game, and the post-whistle scrums became more frequent.

UVic extended their lead to two in the third, as Carsen Willans tipped the point shot past Liem.

But the Clan weren’t about to give up, and defenceman Tyler Basham scored from a below the goal line pass from forward Mike Sandor — his third goal in two games — to give SFU team a chance to comeback.

The Clan pulled their goalie with a minute left to try and muster at least a point, but Vike forward

Marner is putting up incredible numbers so far this season, with 93 points in 45 games for the London Knights.

In fact, since the end of the WJC, he has actually outscored Connor McDavid in the OHL. This season, Marner has had plenty more ice time, and has shown no sign of slowing down his torrid scoring pace. Marner is an elite offensive player, and will surely make it in the top five this year.

Konecny may be the player whose draft stock has dropped the most since October — so much so that TSN expert Craig Button has him ranked 30th. One year after winning the OHL rookie of the year, Konechy has had a rough season, and is on pace to end up with fewer points than he had last year. However, he did have a good Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, which is usually a good indication of future point production. He had six points in five games, and while he probably won’t be a top 10 pick, I don’t believe he will drop as far

Shawn Mueller scored an easy empty netter, putting the final score at 4–2. SFU were badly outshot by the end of game, having only 16 shots on net compared to UVic’s 33.

“I thought we battled hard, and we played well enough I thought to at least earn a point,” head coach Mark Coletta said after the game.

“But sometimes when you’re in a rut like we are, it’s going to take a little extra to get out of it.”

The Clan are still in fourth place, and are now 14 points behind Trinity Western and five points behind UVic. Coletta knows that his team needs to improve down the final stretch of the season.

“I think the energy level and the work ethic is good, but I think we just need to get some bounces, and we need to find a way to score goals,” he said. “Two goals a game isn’t going to win when you’re giving up four. We’ll fix what we have to fix and hopefully next week start that trend with a win.”

as Button is predicting. He could be a good consolation prize for a team bounced out in the first round of the playoffs.

October Prediction: 5th to 8th Overall Mid-season Prediction: 16th to 22nd Overall

Hanifin has had a great start to his collegiate career, with 14 points in 24 games for Boston College as a defenceman; he also had a solid WJCs. Originally thought to be the bona fide number three pick, his position may have fallen because of the solid play of Marner and Strome.

He could slip to fourth or even fifth if a team has a more pressing need for a forward than a defensemen.

Crouse wasn’t included in the October list, but he deserves to be discussed this time around.

One would think his 6’4” and 220 lb frame would transfer nicely into the NHL, but his relatively low point total (23 points in 32 games) leaves some questions.

He should be a quality NHL player, but not good enough for him to be picked ahead of guys like Strome or Marner.

SFU Matthew Luongo (2) (Preston, McKissock) 16:48 UVic James Tindle (2) (Willans) 9:43 UVic (PPG) Shawn Mueller (11) (Hykawy, Somerville) 9:05

SFU Lacrosse will open their season at home on the Terry Fox Field on Sunday, February 8 at 2 p.m. The team is coming off a year where they went undefeated in their division — the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PCNLL) — and won the PCNLL championship.

Though they lost to the Colorado State Rams in the first round of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) national championship, they appear once again posed for success with key contributors returning including team goal scoring leader Tyler Kirkby — who ranked seventh in the whole MCLA with 65 goals.

Last week, the men’s wrestling team competed in two tournaments. The first — the Boxer Open — was held Sunday in Forrest Grove, OR, and resulted in a Clan victory, with Josh Kim claiming first in the 184 lb weight class. Then, on Wednesday, the team team traveled to Oregon, City, OR to compete in the Clackamas Open, where both Kim and redshirt freshman Ben Smyth achieved a fourth place finish in their respective weight classes.

On Thursday, the women’s basketball team fell to the Seattle Pacific Falcons 89–76 on the road.

The Falcons opened up the scoring with an early three-pointer, and the Clan were unable to catch up — with the Falcons at one point gaining a 21 point lead.

Guard Katie Lowen led the team in scoring with 19 points, while Erin Chambers, Meg Wilson, and Alisha Roberts all put up double digit point totals. For the second consecutive game, forward Rachel Fradgley did not play.

-No ScoringUVic Carsen Willans (4) (Tindle, Bell) 14:44 SFU Tyler Basham (6) (M Sandor, Callegari) 13:09 UVic (EN) Shawn Mueller (12) (Smerek, Horswill) 0:07

Jordan Liem (SFU): 41 Saves/ 44 Shots .906 SV% Scott Legault (UVic): 14 Saves/ 16 Shots .875 SV% SFU : 16 UVIC : 44

1st: UVic #7, Carsen Willans 1G, 1A 2nd: SFU #29, Matthew Luongo 1G, 0A 3rd: UVic #11, James Tindle 1G, 1A

The Vancouver Whitecaps announced Friday morning that they have hired Clan men’s soccer head coach Alan Koch to coach the Whitecaps FC 2 — their newly formed USL Pro affiliate, which will serve to develop young Whitecaps talent. “[Leaving SFU] was not an easy decision,” Alan Koch said in an SFU Athletics press release. “But I’ve always wanted to coach in the professional game, and to do that without having to relocate is an opportunity I could not pass up.”

SPORTS

25

February 2, 2015

3

Following a difficult 2014 season, the Clan softball team has set their sights on improved results and strong team unity.

The women will put a tough campaign where they finished with only four wins in 39 games behind them, but will take the experience and adversity into a fresh start under head coach Mike Renney.

Injuries hampered the entire campaign for the Clan, often forcing young players into unfamiliar positions in order to play for survival. Despite this, the coach is confident that his younger players have benefitted from this playing time and versatility for future games.

“Last year was a perfect storm, said Renney. “We had some unforeseen injuries, and had lost some key veterans we were relying on. That, combined with the losing a good graduating class from the year before meant we were really young. [. . .] The flipside of that is that a lot of the young athletes who normally wouldn’t have got the playing time were battle-tested, and certainly should be better for it with experience moving forward.”

Returning for the Clan is key pitcher Kelsie Hawkins who will surely provide some much needed veteran presence

— Hawkins was redshirted last season because of an offseason injury. The Victoria native led the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) in shutouts during her 2013 season, eventually being named a GNAC first team all-star.

Also returning from an injury-shortened season is starting shortstop and team captain Danielle Raison, who was given an honourable mention for the 2014 GNAC all-star selections. “[Danielle] went down with a key injury halfway through the year, and she’s returned to form for her starting position,” added Renney. “But we’ve got added depth now because of the players that have had experience. [. . .]

More time in different positions for certain players has given them more of a repertoire and versatility off the bench.”

Just two wins in conference play during 2014 spells another challenge on the horizon for the Clan, but recent additions to the team will surely bolster their available options. Samantha Ruffett (Brampton, ON) and Jessica Tate (Georgetown, ON) will join the Clan from the Brampton Blazers as catcher and lefthanded pitcher, respectively.

Also among the Clan’s new faces are the local talents of outfielder Sierra Sherrit (Richmond, BC), and power hitter and utility infielder Brooklyn Smith (North Vancouver, BC).

Renney believes that minimizing runs against the Clan will be crucial to their goal of reaching the top four and ultimately the playoffs.

“Our conference is a very competitive one, and there are no games you can take lightly,” he said. “We have to climb a bit to get into the top four, and everything is up from here on out.”

The year 2015 has not been kind to the men’s basketball team — their last game was just their first win of the year. However, Thursday night against the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks, the men’s basketball team were able keep up the positive momentum, putting up their second straight win.

The Clan came out firing on all cylinders. Guard Sango Niang scored the first basket, and his team then managed a quick 10–1 run. Midway through the first, Alaska was able to cut the lead down to 7, but the Clan answered back, this time by going on a 9–2 run and restoring their big lead.

The half ended 45–37 SFU, led by strong performances by both Niang and guard Hiddle Vos.

The second half started with a commanding lead for SFU, who were up by 17 just two minutes in.

But after that, the team’s offence dried up and the shooters began missing the mark. This allowed the Fairbanks to slowly get back into the game, eventually cutting the lead down to two points. Ultimately, the Clan were able to restore a bit of a lead, and the final score was 79–71 SFU. The win was SFU’s lowestscoring victory this season — their only win while scoring under 100

points — as well as their secondlowest score.

Despite the lack of offence and sloppy defence that plagued the Clan’s second half, head coach James Blake was pleased with the win — their second in January, a feat the team has not accomplished since joining the NCAA. “I’m very proud of how my team has responded,” said the coach. “This team has responded to a tough January, and now they’ve got two wins in the month of January, which my teams in the past haven’t done.”

With the win, SFU moved out of a four-way tie into sole possession of seventh place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), one spot short of sixth place — the final playoff spot. Though tied with Western Washington for conference wins, they have the edge because of more overall wins.

An NCAA playoff appearance would be a first for the Clan.

Niang was a key contributor to the Clan’s impressive performance in the first half. Near the end of the half, he assisted on a highlight reel alley-oop to Roderick Evans-Taylor, which sent the crowd of 245 into a frenzy.

Always the crowd-pleaser, Niang nabbed the ball again a few seconds later, and stepped back for a long distance threepointer. He finished with a game-high 23 points, including going perfect from the line and three assists.

TRANSFER

TO QUEEN’S Learn more: queensu.ca/transfer

26

HUMOUR

February 2, 2015

humour editor email

Jacey Gibb humour@the-peak.ca

HUMOUR

On January 21, the students of Simon Fraser University decided to reject giving a debenture to Build SFU for the construction of a Student Union Building (SUB) and stadium. The vote was close, but Build SFU fell short of the 75 per cent approval rate needed, with only 65 per cent of voters in favour.

For many, this was considered a relief from what was seen as needless expense for students; for a select few who knew the truth, it may have saved the human race from enslavement by reptilian aliens.

“I was leaving a Build SFU meeting late one night when I realized I’d forgotten my car keys in the office,” a secret informer, who formerly volunteered on the Build SFU committee, told The Peak. “I ran back to get them and there they were in full-lizard form. It was then that I learned the dastardly truth about Build SFU’s inner leadership circle.”

The informer described how, by listening in on Build SFU’s conversation, he learned that their key

February 2, 2015

figures were of a reptilian species known as the Anunnaki. According to the informer, the Anunnaki were the original hidden rulers of Babylon and have, over the years, infiltrated human society — with figures ranging from country superstar Willie Nelson to current US President Barack Obama.

“Weirdly enough, if I hadn’t been there, we would have surely been enslaved and wouldn’t even be having this conversation,” said the informer.

Build SFU’s proposed stadium was to be the landing site of the reptilian fleet’s invasion, while the SUB would have been used as a broadcasting station and as a transmitter of a radio wave-based mind control device that would have enslaved humanity. With the ugly truth of Build SFU revealed, the informer reached out to the remaining human student leaders on campus and told them what he’d learned.

“We realized we could not disseminate the complete truth to the students,” said the informer. “It would have caused mass panic, and could have instigated a premature attack by these reptilian bastards.” Student leaders, under the guise of trying to stop ludicrous student expenditures, formed the

coalition “No To Build SFU” to save the planet.

“We launched a really tough political campaign to halt the damn thing,” said one such SFU freedom fighter. “Thank God the expenses were so high, and that students are apathetic enough that they never turn out in droves to support anything concerning SFU.” The strategy seems to have paid off, as the campaign ended with Build SFU losing by 10 per cent — though the informer is still uncomfortable with how close the proposal came to passing. “That small of a margin was a little too close for comfort if you ask me. But hey, at least we aren’t slaves.”

Unfortunately for the informer and other members of No To Build SFU, the reptilians have launched a reprisal.

Cryptic and threatening messages have been sent out to the informer and his compatriots, with no return addresses. The informer is assured that it is indeed the Anunnaki, and hopes that with this publicity people may rise up against the reptilian powers that be: “As long as Build SFU keeps bringing forth construction proposals, we have a long way to go before we can end this extraterrestrial menace.”

America: World Police,” and “Jonah Hill weight loss.”

Amongst Franco’s recent Google searches were: “Why do people hate my films,” “How to build hype for a terrible movie,” and “Where can I buy a selfie stick.”

Hollywood actors James Franco and Seth Rogen are the latest victims in a series of online security scandals.

The same North Korean hackers who allegedly breached Sony Pictures Entertainment back in November of 2014 have been credited with this latest incident. According to reports, the hackers were dissatisfied with Sony’s online release of The Interview, and have reacted by launching a direct attack on the stars of the film: as of last Tuesday morning, both Franco’s and Rogen’s recent online search histories were made publicly available on popular Internet forum 4chan.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Rogen, who also wrote, directed, and produced The Interview, tweeted after the information had been leaked. “You can’t just release a person’s

27

search history. That shit is private, man. My grandmother saw those things.”

Examples of Rogen’s recent Google searches include: “Boobs,” “What is satire,” “Script for Team

While the complex reasons behind these searches have led to speculation on this new information, The Peak reached out to a professor of psychology at New York University, Edward Shrinkton, to analyse the leaked data.

“The search history reveals a lot about the individual,” suggested Shrinkton. “Rogen predominantly uses the Internet for pornography and to look for

creative inspiration, indicating a very basic, almost cavemanlike persona. Franco, on the other hand, is a deeply selfconscious individual trying to find his identity in an industry notorious for being artificial and lacking sincerity.”

The incident has since sparked widespread panic, as most people were seemingly unaware that this kind of cyber-crime was even possible. Google has noted a considerable rise in the use of the “incognito” tab in Chrome, as Internet users scramble to eliminate the digital trail of cookie crumbs tracing back to their most personal data.

In addition to the leaked information, Rogen’s personal computer was also wiped clean, destroying five primilinay scripts — including one for The Interview 2: Big Trouble in Little Korea.

Because of this, the US government has decided to not retaliate against the other attacks.

28 HUMOUR

Have you ever looked up at the stars and thought, “I wish I could be a part of an intergalactic space exploration, and hopefully live long enough to tell my folks back home about it?” Do you thrive in stressful situations where others might falter? Does the thought of weekly danger excite you? Then you might have what it takes to become a member of our team.

The Starship Enterprise is now accepting applications for the position of junior redshirt to help with upcoming, low- to mediumstakes missions to strange and exciting new worlds. No prior experience is required for this position; just show up on time, and

February 2, 2015

Please note that some travelling for work is required with this position. A travel allowance will be allotted in addition to the regular salary.

The successful candidate will be soft-spoken, not very memorable, and will excel at existing almost entirely in the background. Applicants should be able to work independently or as part of an away team.

Preference will also be given to candidates who aren’t afraid of making sacrifices for the sake of the greater good.

be ready to learn and not overly attached to this corporeal world; we’ll take care of the rest.

This is a dynamic, fun position in an inclusive and welcoming environment. The redshirt is an important part of our organization, which is always expanding.

Responsibilities for a redshirt include tagging along on missions without clear intent, maybe scanning some plants or something in the background while our more senior staff engages in expository dialogue, and mostly just standing around until shots are inevitably fired at someone.

of other colours. The poster is perfect for someone in pursuit of uniqueness in life and who isn’t interested in being just another cog in the machine.

Did you notice the Imaginus poster sale on Burnaby campus a few weeks ago? Yeah, you did.

Did you impulsively buy a $12 Game of Thrones poster, thinking it would really make your room more you? Probably. Semesterly poster sales are like the traveling salesmen of the post-secondary world: by the time you realize how frivolous and stupid your purchase was, they’ve already moved on to the next group of suckers-to-be.

But not all mass duplicated posters are created equal. You can learn a lot about a person by making snap judgements based on their wall décor. Take, for example, that Andy Warhol poster you bought. With so many iconic prints readily available to students, we thought we’d break down for you what each totally unique poster says about the person who owns them.

1) Brooklyn Bridge: With its vibrant greens, reds, and blues, a person who owns a poster of this 1983 classic can rest assured they’re authentic; a real one-in-a-million kind of person that stands out in any crowd.

2) After the Party: Depicting the aftermath of a pleasant soiree, the “After the Party” poster is a playful take on black and white art, complemented with light use

Unfortunately, people leaving behind any loved ones, on the off chance that the hired candidate will be pulverized by an enemy phaser or

4) Banana: People probably ask you, “Who are The Velvet Underground & Nicos?” and you aloofly reply, “Oh, you’re referring to my vintage Andy Warhol poster? They’re just this indie rock group from the ‘60s and ‘70s that I listen to occasionally.”

You’re aloof because people who own a “Banana” poster are used to these sorts of compliments about how genuine and original they are as human beings.

3) Sunset: While the sun in this Warhol classic may be setting, you’re probably in the sunrise of your life. The purple background informs people of your realness as an individual, and the blistery yellow sun at the centre of the poster is a real attention-grabber — just like you!

5) “Wasting money puts you in a real party mood”: When the astute philosopher Donald K. Glover was quoted saying, “Yeah, they say they want the realness,” he was referring to how other people envy your inimitable poster. Though you can be a bit of a loner at times, that’s only because people are jealous and wish they were as novel as you.

accidentally mauled to death by a space monster, will not be considered for the position.

With that said, please remember that no previous experience is necessary. We would be more likely to hire someone who fits the above description than someone who has a lot of experience and might even be bold enough to try and take away valuable screen time from any of our series regulars. This is an entry-level position with little room for advancement within our particular organization.

A work uniform is mandatory and will be provided, though we require a small, nonrefundable deposit.

An opportunity as exciting as this only comes around once in a lifetime. Don’t miss your chance to become a part of Starfleet history and play a role in space exploration — even if that role is inconsequential and primarily relegated to the background.

This is a full-time temporary position with an end date TBD.

6) A poster with Andy Warhol and some bullshit quote: Forget for a moment that most Warhol quotes sound like something a small child would say.

Forget that he’s often just giving definitions to basic words. (“The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting”? You’ve just described the word anticipation.) None of these things matter because you have an original, mass-printed, widely available, 100 per cent replicated Andy Warhol poster hanging in your living room and everyone’s going to see it and they’re going to think you’re a really cool guy or gal because only really cool guy or gals are cool enough to stop and buy a poster when they’re walking in the hallways between lectures.

HUMOUR

February 2, 2015

29

30 DIVERSIONS / ETC

Across 1- Donkeys 6- Actor Romero 11- Droop, sink 14- Smidgen 15- Sheeplike 16- Application 17- Compassionate 19- HBO alternative 20- Born 21- Unstable particle 22- Chocolate cake 24- E.g., e.g.

25- Marketing 26- Gossip 30- Having wings 31- Back muscle, briefly 32- Female horse 36- Albanian coin 37- Natives of the Middle East 41- Attach by stitches 42- Notion 44- Monetary unit of Bulgaria 45- Stickum 47- Seesaw 51- Failure to attend 54- Architect Saarinen LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

February 2, 2015

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Research interviews, focus groups, field notes. Personal and direct service with reasonable rates and turnaround times. Contact Duly Documented Transcription Services at 778-970-1264. Web: www. dulydocumented.com f8 SFPIRG Fee Refunds. Jan 2629, 12-4pm in the SFPIRG Office, TC326 in the Rotunda. Bring your student card, proof of payment & registration for the semester. More info at www.sfpirg.ca.

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Competitive rates, extensive experience and great past reviews! scottc@alumni.sfu.ca f13 EDUCATE AND BE INSPIRED! **CALL FOR ABSTRACTS** REGISTER NOW for the Third annual 2015 TOXTALKS SYMPOSIUM happening on February 7, 2015 at IRMACS Centre. The event aims at engaging discussions among stu-

55- Say again 56- Flesh 57- Proverb ending?

60- Sister of Zsa Zsa 61- Incompatible association 64- Rainy 65- Like Humpty Dumpty 66- Urns 67- Golfer Ernie 68- Marry again 69- Wear down, physically or emotionally Down 1- Org. 2- Hebrides isle 3- Unspecified in number 4- Clairvoyant’s claim

5- Scene of destruction 6- Accomplice 7- Square 8- Canine command 9- Sweet liqueur 10- Remember 11- Japanese dish 12- Gray 13- Conductor Solti 18- Pipe 23- Skelton’s Kadiddlehopper 24- ABA member 25- Sports figure 26- Anklebones 27- ___ Three Lives 28- Grasp 29- Not dead yet 33- Gal Fri. 34- Nerve network 35- Decorative pitcher

38- Optional 39- Dole (out) 40- Playful 43- Suit to ___ 46- From ___ Z 48- Captivate 49- Staggered 50- Blue hue 51- ___ there yet?

52- Cut at an angle 53- Tiffs 56- Spouse 57- Not ___ many words 58- Breezed through 59- ___ majeste 62- Spotted 63- Swiss river

dents, other academia, and industry reps. Grad students are strongly encouraged to present their research at this fun event! To attend/ present please visit: http://www.sfu. ca/conferences/toxtalks.html/ f5 CJSF Radio is seeking a MEMBER EXPERIENCE COORDINATOR to research and develop new and improved volunteer processes. Parttime, 10 months, 18/hour. More Info: http://www.cjsf.ca/volunteer/ work.php CJSF Radio is seeking a PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR. A great opportunity to gain career related experience. This a is a volunteer position that includes a monthly honorarium. More Info: http://www. cjsf.ca/volunteer/work.php Are you Gay, Bi-sexual or just not sure? Need a safe place to talk?

HOMINUM is an informal discussion and support group to help gay, bi-sexual and questioning men with the challenges of being married, separated or single. We meet every Monday Evening in locations around the Metro-Vancouver Area.

For information and meeting location, call Don: 604-329-9760 or Art 604-462-9813.

CLASSIFIEDS@ THE-PEAK.CA

32 HUMOUR

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32 LAST WORD

features editor email / phone

Brad McLeod features@the-peak.ca

February 2, 2015

T

he two Valentine’s Days I remember best were when I was not in love. They bookend my first serious relationship, the first Valentine’s Day I was in a couple, and the first Valentine’s Day I was single.

For the majority of my life, Valentine’s Day meant my parents’ anniversary, a wedding all of my family attended except for myself. My mother, previously married, did not place much faith in the institution.

She married again for my father’s sake. To drive the point that the legal union was out of romance and not necessity, they went to the courthouse on February 14.

My oldest brother and sister attended, with my other brother also (quite noticeably) attending in utero. I came to know Valentine’s Day as an occasion for couples, where one person acquiesces to the wishes of the more romantic half.

In 2007, I had my first ‘real’ job at The Bargain! Shop (the “!” was mandatory, and sometimes pronounced with a click of the tongue) and on February 14 I went to my shift after high school, donned a red polyester smock and nametag, and sold half-price discounted Valentine’s Day bargain!s.

It was also the year I had my first “real” boyfriend, but I was not expecting anything for Valentine’s Day. I had only celebrated

by sending sweet text messages on the hunk of cracking plastic that was my Nokia flip phone.

Still, I suspected that I was the more romantic half of our couple, and every time the bell on the door to The Bargain! Shop jangled I would greet the entering customer with a fleeting look of disappointment followed by a forced smile.

When I arrived home I had come to terms with my lacklustre Valentine’s Day. I consoled myself by rationalizing that it was largely an invention of Hallmark — or The Bargain! Shop’s version, Hallnote — and to spend it working in a store was the most appropriate way to celebrate something so commercial.

I was shocked to walk in to my mother’s smiling face and a huge bouquet of wildflowers. I called my boyfriend to thank him, girlishly twirling the long spiral cord of the home phone around my fingers.

He had intended to just drop them off, but my mother demanded that he come in, choose a vase, and trim and arrange them himself. We had only been dating a few months, and I was more impressed that he would spend a half hour alone with my intimidating mother. I didn’t love him yet, but I would by spring.

And I did, for five years. Our calm, easy relationship ended with a dramatic, difficult breakup.

High school sweethearts either grow together or, more often, grow apart. February 14, 2012 marked my first adult Valentine’s Day single. I don’t really remember the Valentine’s Days in between; they passed with the standard flowers and meals and cards.

In 2012 I had three new roommates: Sarah, a PhD candidate, and her two inbred cats, Stanley and Phoebe. I lived in my home

province of Prince Edward Island at the time, where many barn cats with twisted family trees ended up at the Humane Society.

Kind-hearted Sarah adopted two of them: small, grey tortoiseshell Phoebe and greasy, dark, golden-eyed Stanley. Under her gentle attention they became healthy and confident, though they still had their quirks. Stanley tripped over his large paws, and his snaggle teeth protruded past his bottom lip. When he was pleased, his chin would be slick with drool.

That was how I found him outside of my bedroom door on February 14, making his sick seagullsounding squawks of joy. He was sitting next to a box of chocolates.

“Sarah,” I texted her, “I think your cat is trying to woo me.” I was touched by her thoughtfulness.

The requirement of any surprise is a lack of expectation. This is difficult to achieve on Valentine’s Day, where expectations are the engine of how it is celebrated.

This Valentine’s Day, I will be at a long-term care residence.

I’ve worked there as a research assistant, conducting a critical ethnography for the past year. I’ve spent time with husbands and wives who care for their spouses with advanced dementia.

One man visits his wife every day for lunch. When she looks away she forgets he

is there, but he always beams when she looks back. He knows how she likes her food cut up and presented, what music she enjoys listening to, what clothes she prefers to wear.

When she looks back, she seems pleased and surprised that things are just so. Her husband lives between the spaces of her attention, though soon even her recognition and wonder will be gone.

Giving usually entails some element of taking. As givers we collect recognition, thanks, and praise, even if it is after the fact, over the phone, or attributed tot a cat. The two Valentine’s Days I remember best were when I was not in love, when my expectations were subverted.

This Valentine’s Day I will be with couples who are not split by those who are more romantic, but by those who remember.

And their partners will give all the same, anonymously, without thanks or witness, without possession or ego.