Oct. 21, 2010

The rent is too damn high since 1918

miranda martini dives into the world of erotic comics. page 9

high five: ams unveils ideas for new sub.

the ubyssey

page 3.

OCTOBER 21, 2010 • volume 92, number xiv • room 24, student union building • published monday and thursday • feedback@ubyssey.ca

GOING COASTAL

The Ubyssey ’s supplement on ocean health – Page 5

2 / u b y s s e y. c a / e v e n t s / 2 0 1 0 . 1 0 . 2 1 october 21, 2010 volume xcii, no xiv editorial coordinating editor

Justin McElroy : coordinating@ubyssey.ca

news editor

events thursday, oct. 21

Arshy Mann : news@ubyssey.ca

associate news editor

Sally Crampton : associate.news@ubyssey.ca

culture editors

Jonny Wakefield & Bryce Warnes : culture@ubyssey.ca

associate culture editor

Anna Zoria : associate.culture@ubyssey.ca

sports editor Vacant

features editor

Trevor Record : features@ubyssey.ca

photo editor

Geoff Lister : photos@ubyssey.ca

production manager

Film Fundraiser with the Sociology Students’ Association Come out to watch (500) Days of Summer, an offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn’t believe true love exists and the young man who falls for her.

Popcorn and hot chocolate will be served.

A critical discussion will follow the movie.

• 5–8pm, MASS Lounge, Buchanan D, $2 for members, $4 for non-members, contact ssa.ausrep@gmail.com for more info.

The Acorn with Leif Vollebekk Anchored by vivid songwriting and eclectic instrumentation, The Acorn produce an original brand of experimental, popular folk music that effortlessly marries modern and traditional forms. • Oct. 21–22, 9:30pm (doors open at 8pm), Biltmore Cabaret, 2755 Prince Edward, $13 tickets in advance at Zulu, Red Cat, buy tickets online at ticketweb.ca.

Virginie Ménard : production@ubyssey.ca

copy editor

Kai Green : copy@ubyssey.ca

multimedia editor

Tara Martellaro : multimedia@ubyssey.ca

associate multimedia editor Stephanie Warren : associate.multimedia@ubyssey.ca

friday, oct. 22

video editor

Matt Wetzler : video@ubyssey.ca

webmaster

Jeff Blake : webmaster@ubyssey.ca Room 24, Student Union Building 6138 Student Union Boulevard Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 tel: 604.822.2301 web: www.ubyssey.ca e-mail: feedback@ubyssey.ca

business Room 23, Student Union Building advertising: 604.822.1654 business office: 604.822.6681 fax: 604.822.1658 e-mail: advertising@ubyssey.ca

business manager

Fernie Pereira : business@ubyssey.ca

ubc tennis club: midnight madness

West Coast Chocolate Festival

The Tennis Club’s epic social event is back! There will be many different activities to keep you busy and awake through the night, including a foamball tennis tourney, dodgeball, Wii tennis tourney, speed serve contest and a doubles tournament.

Free food and drink will be provided. • 11pm–12am, UBC Tennis Center, membership card required, non-club members can sign up at the event for a membership card ($12 for new, $10 for returning).

The West Coast Chocolate Festival is a unique and innovative collection of individual high calibre chocolate-themed adult and all-ages events that occur throughout the Lower Mainland. The Festival not only focuses on chocolate, but on healthy food choices and active living. • Runs until Nov. 10, across Lower Mainland, go to chocolatefestival.ca for more information.

saturday, oct. 23

print ad sales

Kathy Yan Li : advertising@ubyssey.ca

web ad sales

Paul Bucci : webads@ubyssey.ca

accounts Alex Hoopes

contributors Eunice Hii Alexandros Mitsiopoulos Miranda Martini Helen Drost Conrad Compagna Jay Ritchlin Kasha Chang Alexandria Mitchell Austin Holm Irene Lo Lisa Danielson Mandy Ng Karina Palmitesta Brian Platt Jonathan Chiang Francis Arevalo

legal The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Monday and Thursday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous, democratically run student organization, and all students are encouraged to participate.

Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society.

The Ubyssey is a founding member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and adheres to CUP’s guiding principles.

Letters to the editor must be under 300 words.

Please include your phone number, student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and faculty with all submissions. ID will be checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey; otherwise verification will be done by phone. “Perspectives” are opinion pieces over 300 words but under 750 words and are run according to space. “Freestyles” are opinion pieces written by Ubyssey staff members. Priority will be given to letters and perspectives over freestyles unless the latter is time sensitive. Opinion pieces will not be run until the identity of the writer has been verified. The Ubyssey reserves the right to edit submissions for length and clarity. All letters must be received by 12 noon the day before intended publication. Letters received after this point will be published in the following issue unless there is an urgent time restriction or other matter deemed relevant by the Ubyssey staff.

It is agreed by all persons placing display or classified advertising that if the Ubyssey Publications Society fails to publish an advertisement or if an error in the ad occurs the liability of the UPS will not be greater than the price paid for the ad. The UPS shall not be responsible for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value or the impact of the ad.

Canada Post Sales Agreement Number 0040878022

printed on 100% recycled paper

UBC Film Society Screening: the kids are all right The UBC Film Society will be showing The Kids Are All Right, the breakout indie comedy of the Sundance Film Festival. Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their birth father into their family life. • Runs until Oct. 24, 7pm–9pm, Norm Theatre, SUB, $5 non-members, $2.50 members.

university singers and ubc choral union Enjoy this free concert featuring UBC’s own University Singers and UBC Choral Union. Highlights to include Britten’s “Hymn to St. Cecilia” and works by Haydn, Palestrina and Whitacre.• 8pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, free event, visit music.ubc.ca for more information.

sunday, oct. 24 hiromi okada piano recital Hiromi Okada is visiting UBC from Japan to give master classes to students of the UBC School of Music. In addition to his wonderful teaching abilities, he will grace UBC with his artistry as a pianist in this special concert featuring a fabulous repertoire. • 3pm, UBC School of Music Recital Hall, $20 adults, $10 seniors and students (cash only).

correction In the October 7th issue of The Ubyssey, we reported that the UBC Faculty Association bargained away the right to strike earlier this year. Rather the two parties agreed on interest arbitration as the mechanism for settling bargaining disputes over thirty-five years ago. We sincerely regret this error.

We’re looking for a new Sports Editor.

Interested candidates must submit a resume, cover letter, and relevant writing samples to coordinating@ ubyssey.ca. For more information, go to ubyssey.ca/news/ hiring-sports-editor. justin mcelroy coordinating@ubyssey.ca

Send us the events you want to advertise. events@ubyssey.ca

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U theubyssey.ca

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News

editor ARSHY MANN » news@ubyssey.ca associate SALLY CRAMPTON » associate.news@ubyssey.ca

Professor attacks Craigslist over erotic ads Benjamin Perrin says website supports human trafficking Conrad Compagna Contributor Earlier this month, Benjamin Perrin, a law professor at UBC, publicly called upon Craigslist to “shut down the online flesh market” that is its erotic services section.

Perrin, who recently wrote a book about human trafficking in Canada called Invisible Chains: Canada’s Underground World of Human Trafficking, said in an interview with the CBC that he is prepared to bring criminal charges against Craigslist if it does not comply.

“The basis of the case would be the evidence that we have obtained through our research over a three-year period that they are aiding and abetting human trafficking and the sale of minors and prostitution,” he said.

Perrin is not alone in his call.

In September, Craigslist shut down its erotic services section in the United States after 17 state attorney generals demanded that it do so. It simply replaced it with a black bar that says “censored.”

North of the border, Ontario cabinet ministers have demanded that it do the same.

Perrin addresses a crowd at the Chan Centre. francis arevalo Photo/The Ubyssey

This month, police arrested a Burnaby man who used Craigslist to advertise brothels staffed with trafficking victims that he ran throughout the Greater Vancouver Area. Police say that he had lured the women from Hong Kong and that he was making up to $40,000 a week selling them for sex.

Perrin thinks that Craigslist is “the new technology of human trafficking,” but many others think that banning sex ads from Craigslist might drive

prostitution furt her underground, which would place sex workers at greater risk.

John Lowman, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University, pointed out that sex workers on the street are far more likely to go missing or be murdered than sex workers indoors.

Joyce Arthur, the cofounder of FIRST, a feminist group that advocates for the rights of sex workers, said that “Craigslist offered more privacy and

control to advertisers compared to many other online venues. It acted as a buffer that allowed them to screen clients.”

This debate comes in light of an Ontario court ruling in September that struck down key laws against prostitution.

Though the ruling still has to survive appeals, it could have a lasting impact on the legal status of prostitution in Canada.

Perrin believes that “legalizing prostitution is not the answer,” but in a September opinion

piece in the Globe and Mail, he also acknowledged that many see sex workers as victims, and laws which criminalize them are “unpalatable to many.” Instead of legalization, he advocates a method of policing prostitution developed by Sweden in the late 90s, which decriminalizes selling sex but criminalizes buying it. “Without demand,” he said, “there would be no sex trafficking and prostitution.”

Perrin said that the ‘Swedish model’ has reduced the number of women being sold for sex in Sweden by 40 per cent, and that it has been so successful it has been adopted by both Iceland and Norway. But Professor Lowman is unclear on what the legal status of websites like Craigslist would be under the ‘Swedish model.’

“Would it be legal for sex sellers to advertise their services?” he asked. “If yes, why would they not advertise on Craigslist? If no, would they advertise ‘nude dancing’ on Craigslist instead? If Craigslist refused to host such advertising would it merely transfer to another site?

Attempting to ban sex advertising might be something like trying to trap a ball of mercury on a glass table top with the underside of a spoon.” U

Party of Five: AMS gets feedback on proposed SUB designs Architects to take concepts from all five options in final design of the new building Sally Crampton associate.news@ubyssey.ca On Monday and Tuesday, designers and architects showcased five potential designs for the new Student Union Building in the current SUB concourse.

According to AMS VP Administration Ekaterina Dovjenko, student unions “rarely play such an active role in the design and construction of a building.”

The project invited all undergraduates to look at the designs and submit their comments. Jennifer Cutbill, an architect on the project and a UBC graduate, said that “student participation has been great.”

“The general overall feedback is that people are very excited to have a new SUB building,” she said.

The first step in the project began in mid-September, when students were invited to participate in a two day design charrette. After the charettes, the architects drafted up five possible designs.

“After the feedback from the charettes we teased out two main sets of ideas,” said Cutbill.

“We’re hoping the new design

will be transparent, legible and visually explanatory.”

“Most of them revolve around flows of materials, ideas, perspectives,” added Culhill. “Flow and movement is a key strategy in each of the five design options.”

Students who came by the displays were happy to debate the different options.

Sara Binns, a third-year environment and sustainability student, said “I was most drawn to the grand stair design. I’m interested in sustainability, so I hope they might include features that are more visible, such as a green roof.”

“They look a lot more interesting than the existing SUB,” added Alexandra Lam, a firstyear commerce student. “This one is functional but outdated.”

Andréanne Doyon, the new SUB project coordinator, said that they are doing all they can to make sure that the project has full student input.

“The design cube (located in the SUB) is supposed to be a vehicle where students can see us working and ask any questions,” she said, adding, “We have students doing research projects

as to what could be implemented. We also attend different AMS meetings so we can see how students use their spaces, as well as things like UBC sustainability talks.”

So what’s next for the new SUB? “The next step is to tease out the most opportune elements from the five proposed designs and take the best from each to come up with a consolidated option that takes the best of all these strategies in a cohesive way,” said Cutbill.

Dovjenko seconded the fact that the five options presented are not the final five.

“They are more like concepts and there will be a sixth option that will try to incorporate what students and staff like from each option. The sixth option might not look like any of the options presented, but will be a hybrid of them all.” U

U

Online exclusives

A breakdown of the five proposed designs for the new Student Union Building @ ubyssey.ca/news.

The St Lawrence Market in Toronto—a real-life example of one of the proposed models for the SUB. courtesy of hbbh+bh

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Land use Update Metro Van, AMS President weigh in on LAND USE DEBATE

by Arshy Mann news@ubyssey.ca

AMS Conflict Ahmadian causes stir with housing speech AMS President Bijan Ahmadian stirred up some controversy at last Thursday’s All Presidents’ Dinner, when, in front of 300 student leaders, he made a speech alongside UBC President Stephen Toope that detailed some of the benefits of increased market housing on campus.

“The funding from the university endowment lands creates the largest discretionary fund in Canada for UBC [with which] UBC finances student financial aid, research initiatives and discretionary projects, such as the university’s contribution of $25 million to our new SUB,” he said.

He later said that “U-Town means creating a sustainable community on campus that brings more funding for scholarships, more housing for students and more jobs for students, and as we are going through the land use consultations, Stephen, we’re going to work closely with you to make sure those concepts are materialized.”

VP Academic Ben Cappellacci, who is in charge of dealing with the university on land use issues, walked out in the middle of the speech. VP External Jeremy McElroy tweeted during the speech that “The views of the AMS President are not those of the AMS. I cannot stress this enough.”

Ahmadian felt that his speech was misinterpreted by many people.

“The speech focused on several facts that were accurate about family housing,” he said.

“We don’t have a policy which says we are against market housing. We just want the interface to work. The AMS doesn’t oppose University Town. The AMS just says we want to make sure t he interface bet ween

students and ot hers is constructive and productive and that makes sense.

“I have heard that some people misheard it, but I’m happy to clarify and lots of people have also commented to me that they thought it was a great speech and they do agree with the concept that this is a UBC community.”

He also said he believes his relationship with the other executives is still very strong.

“We have chatted since then and I think the executives have a good understanding of each other and we are working very well together,” he said. “We still have a very strong executive dynamic here.”

Ahmadian, who sat on the UBC Board of Governors for two years before he was AMS President, has been criticized in the past for being too close to the university. Earlier this year, he clashed with AMS Council over the AMS’s lobbying document for the land use plan, which he believed was too specific on zoning issues and did not give him enough space to utilize his good relationship with the university.

He was the only person to vote against the final document. U

Key upcoming Events october Oversight committee appointed for the public hearing

November

January

Early 2011

UBC Board of Governors holds official public hearing

BoG approves Land Use Plan amendments

Amendments taken to government for approval

board of Governors student appointed to public hearing committee UBC has appointed two people to sit on an oversight committee for a crucial public hearing that will determine UBC’s land use policies—and one of them is a student.

Sean Heisler, one of two AMS representatives to the BoG, and Andrew Irvine, a faculty representative, will be part of the committee that will oversee November’s hearing.

Heisler’s appointment follows through on previous statements from the university that said

they would like to see a student on the committee.

“The committee that is created to conduct the public hearing will be a board-appointed committee and I would look to see at least one student appointed on that,” UBC VP External Stephen Owen said in September.

The creation of the committee was mandated by a ministerial order which said that it must contain two BoG members, the Chair of the University Neighbourhoods Association (UNA), the Associate VP of Campus and Community Planning and two external professional planners.

The order also said that the board must consult the UNA, t he Universit y Endowment Lands, Metro Vancouver, the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver School District, the provincial and federal governments and the Musqueam First Nation.

AMS Presdent Bijan Ahmadian said he was happy to see a student on the committee.

“This was a request from the AMS so we are very pleased with the outcome. The university values student engagement in this and values student input and we are grateful they responded positively to our request,” he said. U

the university needs to be more clear with their plans moving forward.

“There might be a radical change in the population plan for UBC [and] we need some clarity on what that is,” she said.

“Then we’re going to be able to understand the impact on regional transit networks, and on regional public infrastructure requirements and particularly on regional utilities.”

She also believes that the public hearing should allow for more time to comment because of these new concerns.

“Given that this key issue of population has been raised and

brought to wider public attention at this late stage, it would be really beneficial to extend the timeline for comments on the land use plan.

“To accommodate UBC, if there’s a particular type of construction or piece of construction they want to embark on that they’re being stopped from doing, I would rather see that proceed piece by piece, because I t hink we’re talking about months and not years.”

UBC VP External Stephen Owen declined comment, stating that he believes it is “premature to provide any updates at this point.” U

There might be a radical change in the population plan for UBC [and] we need some clarity on what that is.

metro vancouver Metro Van concerned over Market housing at UBC Metro Vancouver has questioned UBC’s plans to significantly increase market housing on campus over the next 20 years, citing concerns over increased pressure on nearby infrastructure.

A report produced by Metro Vancouver staff argues that the growth proposed by UBC, which would see the population of University Town expand to 51,000, is too dramatic and would put too much pressure on the roads and transit to the university.

A MS President Bijan A hmadian said that he believes

this opposition is tied to Metro Vancouver’s desire to not have rapid transit to UBC. “The key message from Metro Van is that the population that UBC is thinking about is too large for us to support it t hrough t he t ransit system that we are envisioning, which takes us back to how they don’t want the UBC line,” he said.

“They’re saying that we don’t like this plan, because we don’t have the transit system to support it.”

Electoral Area A Director Maria Harris, who represents UBC’s residents on the Metro Vancouver board, said that she believes

Maria Harris ELECTORAL AREA A DIRECTOR

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ocean health Jonny Wakefield culture@ubyssey.ca Since the catastrophe in the Gulf, many in the environmental movement have been touting “blue as the new green.”

This conventional wisdom that is Geoff Lister photo/ starting to take hold in the public the ubyssey mind as we begin to realize the damage humans are doing to the world’s oceans. But no matter what colour we choose to brand the steps we need to take to avoid the global cataclysm, one thing is clear: we still don’t know enough.

The ocean is dark and deep, so I’m told, as are the politics surrounding its management. Though many BC residents live a few blocks from salt water, few understand what we’re putting in and taking out of it. This is especially clear in BC with this year’s record salmon run—which, after last year’s distressingly low run, has left many scientists, fishermen and policy analysts scratching their heads.

These fish are fickle creatures, and we’ll be talking quite a bit about them this issue. Many agree that overfishing is one of the most pressing threats to the global ocean ecosystem: some estimate that we face a global fisheries collapse in 2048 if we continue fishing at the current rate. Among other things, we look at consolidation of fishing rights in BC and the policies that allowed this resource to fall into the hands of a wealthy few. We look at Ocean Wise, a local group that is trying to change how we think about seafood, and at the huge diversity of life in BC waters that is at stake.

If managing and protecting our aquatic resources doesn’t become a higher priority, we may live to see a world in which the diversity of sea life is wiped out. The thought of this kind of future is paralyzing. But it needs to be talked about. U

Fishy business: genetically engineered salmon Lisa Danielson Contributor Would you want to eat a genetically modified fish? You may not have a choice soon, if American Food and Drug Association (AFDA) approves the first genetically engineered fish for human consumption.

September 19, the AFDA started panel discussions on the approval of the release of the genetically engineered salmon, which is called AquAdvantage. If it goes through, t he GE salmon w i l l not be labeled any differently from its conventional counterpart in US stores.

AquAdvantage was created by Aqua Bounty, a biotech company based in Massachusetts. The company has been working on the development of the AquAdvantage salmon for 15 years with their main facilities in Prince Edward Island. The AquAdvantage is an Atlantic salmon modified with an antifreeze gene from the ocean pout species (so it can survive in colder waters) and with a growth hormone from the Chinook salmon (so it grows twice as fast as a normal Atlantic salmon).

The “advantage” of this salmon is clear: if it can grow twice as fast as a regular fish, the farming time is cut in half, meaning the production cost is cut in half. Furthermore, as the AquAdvantage can survive in colder waters than its conventional counterpart, it can be raised on landbased farms, as opposed to ocean pens.

This salmon has a significant environmental advantage; conventional oceanbased fish farms create large nitrogen deposits that then disperse and are harmful for ocean ecosystems, and have been linked to increasing sea lice populations.

Elliot Entis, cofounder of Aqua Bounty, describes the salmon to The Boston Globe as

“…a way to help feed people and decrease the footprint of aquaculture on oceans.

I know some people when they hear or read that are going to be cynical, but it’s really quite the truth.”

Aqua Bounty and the FDA both say the fish is safe to eat, but the approval of this product has met with opposition from environmental and consumer groups. The main issues brought up by groups such as the Consumers Union, the Center

for Food Safety and Food & Water Watch is that there is not enough data to disprove the potential health and environmental risks. The approval of this product also revisits the debates surrounding GE food in general.

Ronald Stotish, the Aqua Bounty Chief Executive, argued in The Vancouver Sun that without GE food, “it’s hard to imagine how we’ll meet the protein needs of the developing population over the next 20 to 30 years.”

The sa l mon i s c u r r ent l y goi n g through the approval process of a veterinary drug, instead of a food source.

The FDA says that this process means it will go through more stringent regulations than it would as a food product, but it also means that certain information is kept private to protect the company.

The FDA’s labeling protocol has also been criticized for keeping the public in the dark. Current FDA rules only call for special labels for altered food when there is a difference in the end

product. Aqua Bounty and the FDA both say that the new salmon is equivalent to the normal fish, so there is no need to label it differently.

Mark Begich, the Senator of Alaska, commented for the BBC and reiterated the opinion of many, stating, “Consideration of this gene-spliced salmon needs to move beyond t he closed doors of the FDA and into the daylight where the public can weigh in whether this risky development is desired.” U

Geoff Lister graphic/the ubyssey

Welcome to the Oceans Supplement

editor TREVOR RECORD » features@ubyssey.ca GUEST EDITOR JONNY WAKEFIELD » culture@ubyssey.ca

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Perspective: Salmon show the need for better ocean conservation efforts

Jay Ritchlin David Suzuki Foundation This year’s Fraser River sockeye salmon return is rightly being celebrated as good news. But it does not signal, as some have implied, that all is well with the salmon or with the environment we share.

Last year’s run was extremely low and followed decades of declining productivity. In addition, 2010 was an expected peak year in the salmon’s four-year cyclical returns. This year’s run tells us nature has a great capacity to pull itself back from the brink, but we still have a lot to do for the ocean and the life it supports.

We should respond to this incredible ability of nature not with misguided optimism and a return to business as usual, but rather with greater investment in scientific monitoring that allows better conservation of marine ecosystems and greater commitment to carefully managing our interaction with the environment.

We need to become allies of nature, not antagonists.

Building sustainable fisheries and aquaculture operations is one important aspect of caring for our oceans. The seafood industry, retailers and consumers all have a role to play. In Canada, SeaChoice (www.seachoice.org) assesses fisheries and provides sustainability recommendations that allow consumers and corporate buyers to make informed choices about what seafood to eat and what to avoid.

This in turn creates market pressure for better practices and a base of support for needed regulatory changes.

UBC, urged on by informed students, improved its seafood menus and deserves credit for that. Changing the fish we eat is crucial, but must be tied to larger efforts to protect and manage marine ecosystems as a whole, not as individual

activities in isolation. As with all natural systems, the health of the whole depends on many interrelated factors. Everything is connected.

Salmon demonstrate this because they range from inland freshwater spawning grounds to the open ocean and interact with the human activities, plants and animals they pass. Low salmon populations mean bears, eagles, and other animals have less food. Forest health is affected because those animals fertilize the magnificent coastal rain forests with the salmon that they drop or excrete. Salmon, in turn, are affected throughout their journey by the number of predators they encounter, fishing, pollution, sea lice from fish farms and by climate change.

Ocean ecosystems are complex, but we know enough to support strong action. We know that our health and economy depend on healthy oceans. Oceans give us oxygen and food and they protect against climate change by storing carbon. We also know that ocean ecosystems are at a tipping point, with pollution, resource extraction and industrial impacts contributing to declines in fish, mammals and other marine life. Add

temperature and acidity variations linked to climate change and the need for cautious, whole-ecosystem planning and regulation becomes even more urgent.

A credible plan for any ocean region must include an increase in protected areas with restricted industrial activity. Canada has the longest coastline of any nation on Earth, yet has less than one per cent of that in marine protected areas. On the Pacific Coast, we have finally started an integrated planning and protected area process in the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA), from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska panhandle. This hopeful step, unfortunately, lacks the resources it needs to succeed.

It is essential that we increase efforts to protect our oceans. So please, choose your seafood wisely and urge your political leaders to give efforts like PNCIMA the resources they deserve. Maybe then we will truly be able to celebrate the return of the salmon.

—Jay Ritchlin is the director of the David Suzuki Foundation’s Marine and Freshwater Conservation program.

Federal Inquiry into BC’s sockeye draws criticism Alexandria Mitchell Contributor As British Columbians were becoming increasingly aware of declining sockeye salmon stocks, 2010 ended the trend with the inundation of the Fraser River in what Mark Hume of The Globe and Mail described as “the biggest sockeye salmon run in nearly 100 years.”

The salmon issue, while having become highly political over the past few years, is essentially about fish farms and their relation to sockeye and the overall health and vitality of these Fraser River resources. Salmon farming and sea lice, in addition to climate change, are possible causes of the previously declining stocks. Prime Minister Harper last year described it as “a serious matter.”

After three consecutive years of closed fisheries in British Columbia, a federal inquiry into sockeye salmon stock declines was commissioned by the federal government in November of 2009. Under BC Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen, the Cohen Inquiry is meant to identify the reasons for the decline, make long term projections and determine the necessary policy direction to ensure salmon sustainability.

Then, approximately 34.5 million sockeye returned to their spawning ground for this year’s run. A significant advantage though this may be, there is frustration amongst a wide cross section of the fishery community, concerned with DFO’s (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) lack of capacity to accurately predict salmon returns.

Pending the final report, a movement to protect natural resources in BC has begun. Alexandra Morton, a known voice on salmon issues, led the “Get Out Migration” from the Ahta River to Victoria in April, calling for Norwegian salmon farming companies to ‘get out’ of the region, or move to closed containment.

“Government is a l lowing Norwe gian salmon farmers to continue denying even the most basic issues, like sea lice and ISA virus introduction,” said Morton. “If we let this play out, our wild fish simply will not survive.”

Spawning sockeye salmon. courtesy of the david suzuki foundation

While a federal inquiry has been indentified as long overdue and essential to BC’s salmon sustainability, thorough support for the process is distinctly sparse. In this battle over BC salmon, the very nature of the Cohen Inquiry is being challenged by the broader community. Rafe Mair, BC minister of environment from 1978-79, has suggested that the inquiries are politically motivated. “....while the Commissioner Bruce Cohen may not be political, his boss, Stephen Harper—a man whose only demonstrated interest in the environment has been to let corporate friends destroy it— sure as hell is,” said Mair in a column last month.

Criticism is coming from those who are not convinced about the validity of the Cohen Inquiry, given some appointed members of the Commission.

“Cohen ought instinctively to know that a full-fledged judicial inquiry into the department’s management of the salmon fishery should not, indeed must not, employ people who had in any way advised the department or those who had relied on departmental funding for their work,” wrote John Cummings, MP, Delta-Richmond East, in a press release.

Public forums have been taking place since August 2010, having featured conflict from commercial fishers to salmon activists. Following the Forum in New Westminster September 20, Don Staniford of

Salmon First said, “There’s no need to wait until the Cohen Commission’s report in May 2011. We must remove open net cages from BC waters now. Taking immediate action to get disease-ridden Norwegian-owned salmon farms out of the path of migrating wild salmon is an easy first step to putting wild salmon first.”

The co-founder of Greenpeace International, Rod Marining, also went on record to explain his view that with the loss of smolts, one farmed Atlantic Salmon costs $650,000 to produce and that much political willpower is needed to shut down coastal salmon farms. The last public forum is in Kamloops on October 21. Cohen’s final report is to be released in the spring of 2011. U

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Is your seafood Ocean Wise?

Vancouver Aquarium starts sustainability program Irene Lo Contributor At the current rate that we’re taking from the ocean, there may be no fish left by 2048.

It’s this startling figure, taken from a 2006 study from Dalhousie University and the University of Washington, that underlies the mission of Ocean Wise, one of the pioneering ethical consumption certifiers for seafood.

It’s a very simple equation, says Ocean Wise manager Jaye Russell. “Overfishing is taking more fish out of the ocean than the ocean itself can sustainably produce.”

Overfishing poses a number of ecological threats to overall ocean health.

Large scale fishing operations are marked by bycatch (catch that is thrown out) and habitat damage. Currently, the diminishing population of the blue fin tuna and west coast salmon has conservationists worried about whether they might turn out like the eastern cod, a fish that was once plentiful but is now endangered.

The Ocean Wise program certifies restaurants, retailers and suppliers based on the sustainability of the seafood items they serve. They provide consumers of seafood with information about the most sustainable species.

Ocean Wise oversees that fish are caught sustainably in adherence to strict regulations established by the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program.

These regulations are: 1) Before a species of fish may be harvested, it must be abundant in stock.

2) The species stock must be consistent in number.

3) The harvesting method makes sure of limited bycatch.

4) The harvesting method makes sure of limited habitat damage.

Russell says that individuals can help by making healt hy choices, looking

for the Ocean Wise symbol and asking shops if they serve or sell sustainably caught fish.

Based at the Vancouver Aquarium, Ocean Wise is a nat iona l program.

“We have close to 400 locations across Canada that make up close to 2800 locations when you look at our partner restaurants.”

Ocean Wise has been growing with more restaurants (Cactus Club, Earls), suppliers (Marketplace IGA, Thrift y Foods) a nd i n st it ut ion s becom i n g members. Currently, universities have started jumping on t he bandwagon as well. UBC Food Services, SFU and McGill, among others, are all recent members. U —With files from Jonny Wakefield

7 pacific west coast tidbits Helen Drost Contributor 1. In our backyard lies the world’s first regional-scale underwater ocean observatory. Called NEPTUNE, the observatory connects the ocean directly to the Internet. The NEPTUNE website promises to enable people everywhere to surf the seafloor, allowing ocean research to be conducted from landlocked labs anywhere in the world. Neptune Canada has collected $100 million in funding to date. www. neptunecanada.ca/dotAsset/7985.pdf 2. The designation ‘BC status red’ includes any ecological community, indigenous species or subspecies that is extirpated, endangered or threatened in British Columbia. Coastal creatures at risk include sea otters, northern fur seals, marbled murrelets, peregrine falcons (anatum subspecies), short-tailed albatrosses, white pelicans, western grebes, leatherback turtles, green sturgeon and northern abalone. If you see any of these creatures, consider yourself lucky.

Being on the red list does not mean they are protected.

There are 83 plants and animals (land, sea and lakes) listed as red in BC, yet only 4 species are legally protected: the Vancouver Island marmot, the American white pelican, the burrowing owl and the sea otter. www.env.gov.bc.ca/ wld/serisk.htm 3. Oxygen minimum zones are expanding and moving closer to shore. “In the past,” said Frank Whitney, a BC-based oceanographer with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, “there was enough oxygen in the ocean, so fish could find refuges when upwelling caused local hypoxia. But that may be changing.” It is also a very big problem in most of the lakes in BC. You can help—refusing to use soap with phosphates is one way. www.nature.com/news/2010/100811/ full/466812a.html 4. Salmon provide nutrients to forest ecosystems. The transport of nutrients is called ‘salmon-derived nutrients.’ This flow of nutrients is limited by the fact that 90 per cent of returning salmon are harvested annually. Bears rely on salmon to increase their bulk before hibernation; 80 per cent of a bear’s body mass is due to consuming salmon. www. zoology.ubc.ca/.../Adrian%20MacKay%2035809052.ppt 5. When it rains heavily in Vancouver (as it is prone to do), untreated sewage and industrial waste enter coastal waters through storm drains. findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1594/ is_n1_v6/ai_16551320/ 6. Enbridge wants to put in a pipeline that would end at Kitimat, although many residents of BC do not want Calgary Tar Sand Oil piped over to the BC coast. The dispute is heating up: www.tarsandswatch.org/union-b-c-municipalities-oppose-oil-tankers-oil-pipelines-and-offshore-oil-development 7. Canada has the world’s longest coastline. http://atlas.nrcan. gc.ca/auth/english/learningresources/facts/coastline.html U

Throwing the fish to the fat cats Jonny Wakefield culture@ubyssey.ca BC’s quota fishing was once hailed as the cure-all model for fisheries around the world. But now critics are lambasting the policy, arguing it has failed to promote sustainable fishing practices and allowed one of BC’s most precious resources to fall into the hands of the wealthy, such as Vancouver-based businessman Jim Pattison. “[We] don’t want to see Jimmy Pattison or any other multi-millionaire owning a resource that thousands of people used to benefit from,” said Dennis Brown, a third-generation fisherman and author of the book Salmon Wars.

Brown says the quota system has privatized the fish swimming in BC’s waters. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) introduced the Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) in 1989 as a reaction to the increasing competitiveness of fishing in BC, which led to overfishing.

According to an analysis by Ecotrust Canada, the ITQ is a percentage of the Total Allowable Catch, the ceiling on catch weight. As transferable quotas, they can be bought, sold, leased or traded. According to that study, 74 per cent of BC fisheries are managed in this way.

Brown said this capitalization of the fishery was meant to reduce the number of boats on the water, making the fishery more sustainable. “Fishermen that can’t compete or don’t want to compete or are not viable sell their quota to somebody who is ostensibly more viable. And this means there are fewer fishermen,” he said.

This, in theory, takes pressure off the resource. In an interview with Business Edge, Ecotrust Canada President Ian Gill said ITQ has had the side-effect of creating an unregulated quota trading system.

“The old adage is that there are too many boats chasing too few fish,” said Gill. “That’s what we’ve always been told. So the logical conclusion to that is, if you take out the boats, you somehow re-order the balance.

Well, right now, there’s too much capital chasing too few fish—and that’s the real problem.”

A former representative for the United Fishermen and Allied Worker’s Union, Brown fought this consolidation. Over the years, he has seen family fishers from communities up the BC Coast hang up their hats.

“The people who made the sacrifices for those cut backs weren’t the taxpayers of Canada, not DFO-salaried people,” he said. “It was poor working fishermen, who have really been pushed to the wall.”

Brown argued t hat t he ITQ has made fishing a viable source of income for a wealthy few. “The average black-cod fisherman is a multimillionaire,” he said. When quotas were introduced, 48 fishermen received quotas from DFO. Half of them don’t actually fish their permits—they lease them. Brown and others call them armchair fishermen. “ W hat happens w it h t he quot a fishery is you start to see the participants in the actual fishery drop,” said Brown. “[Investors] end up buying quotas not because they want to fish them, or bring benefits to a coastal community like we used to have in the old days. They sit on the beach.”

Jim Pattison’s Canadian Fishing Company is well positioned in terms of quotas, said Brown. Pattison is sole owner of the Jim Pattison Group, and the wealthiest man in the province— Forbes places his net worth at $5.5 billion. Brown estimates that Pattison owns up to 60 per cent of the seining fleet ITQs for the salmon fishery, a fleet that takes about 40 per cent of the total catch. “He’s a major player,” said Brown. “And there’s nothing stopping over the years ahead for more and more concentration.”

Brow n argues t hat t he root of the problem is the transferable nature of the quota, which allows for consolidation.

“Over the last 20 years, we did everything that the critics said. The commercial salmon fleet has been reduced to about a third of what it was in the 1980s. You have a fraction of the fishermen fishing a fraction of the area.

“There’s been a huge curtailment in fishing effort, but there’s been no consequential improvement in the stocks.” U

8 / u b y s s e y. c a / o c e a n s / 2 010 . 10 . 21

On the oil-blackened shores of the Gulf

New Orleans slowly recovers in the wake of the BP oil spill

Alexandros Mitsiopoulos The Cord (Wilfrid Laurier University) NEW ORLEANS, La. (CUP)—It’s been just over five years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the southern coast of the United States. The anniversary was met with the ramifications of another catastrophe—this time man-made.

Facing the aftermath of the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill, caused by an explosion on the BP rig Deepwater Horizon, President Barack Obama’s administration pledged stringent fiscal measures in order to jump-start recovery following the disaster.

“I’ll not be satisfied until the environment has been restored, no matter how long it takes,” Obama said in Panama City Beach, Fla., on August 14.

Many, however, simply cannot wait any longer. Life along the Gulf has become a balancing act of survival. For small fishing communities, recovery programs following Katrina have progressed slowly. The floods and destruction claimed more than $100 billion in damages, along with the lives of over 1500 people in New Orleans alone.

Revival of the region was progressing until the recession flattened economic advancements in 2008, when unemployment rose to almost six per cent in September, compared to 3.7 per cent the previous September. The BP catastrophe seemed to deliver the final blow to the people and region of the Gulf of Mexico.

Following an explosion that took place on April 20, which claimed the lives of 11 workers on the drilling platform, millions of gallons of crude oil were released into the Gulf.

The weeks that followed the initial disaster saw varying levels of success in capping the spill. The leak was eventually capped on July 15, but not before releasing what the BBC has reported as 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Atlantic Ocean at a rate varying from 53,000 to 62,000 barrels a day.

What it means for wildlife A Coast Guard operator from Tennessee, who wished to remain anonymous, said that crude oil regularly leaks from slits in the ocean floor, allowing the region to have the capacity to absorb oil via bacterium naturally occurring in the water.

Weather patterns have also aided in dispersing the oil into low-threat regions. In addition, the clean-up responses of both BP and the federal government have had an integral role in greatly diminishing the impact of the spill.

Yet the incident has still taken a toll. Eight US national parks are threatened by oxygen depletion and petroleum toxicity. More than 400 species of animals are at risk in the Gulf region and more than 5000 dead animals have been recovered thus far.

Crews work on cleanup around the BP Oil Spill. Courtesy of Kris Krüg

that cannot be seen, caused by underwater plumes of dispersed oil, such as long-term disruptions in the food chain.

In layman’s terms For the people of New Orleans, the oil spill has become the primary determinant of their livelihood, whether good or bad. Many in and around the fishing communities of Louisiana endure a lovehate relationship with BP. Some quietly tolerate the presence of the oil giant; some refer to it with disdain; still others live by the company.

The quality of life for Robert Jefferson, a commercial fisherman living in Covington County, La., has increased exponentially at the hands of BP. “We love BP,” Jefferson said. “They put me and my ship back to work right after the disaster.”

As a facet of BP’s clean-up response efforts, captains and their fishing boats were employed to help clean up the spill.

“They’re paying me $1500 a day for my boat, they’re paying me $800 as a captain and they’re paying my wife $600 a day to continue work as my first mate as she did before,” Jefferson continued.

Many fishers, like Jefferson, were hired to deploy and collect containment booms to absorb oil in the water.

“I’m receiving an exorbitant amount of money to continue working at a rate that none of us ever expected. Above and beyond that, I’ve been instructed that I can still sue for damages, even after all the money I’ve been paid so far,” he added.

However, Jefferson represents a minority of fishermen in the area who were selected to continue with the assistance.

Many workers in the industry were ordered ashore due to the presentation of a variety of health risks.

As a result, some individuals do not share Jefferson’s enthusiasm. For those like Peter Jenning, a fisherman living near Lake Pontchartrain, La., extensive damage has already been done.

“We are unsure exactly how badly the spill would affect our lives. The oil may be cleaned up, but the spill area has become a dead zone, maybe for decades to come,” said Jenning.

“Katrina took away most of what I had and BP came along to claim the rest.”

“Katrina took away most of what I had and BP came along to claim the rest.”

Peter Jenning fisher

The spill has also taken a toll on an animal preservation program close to the hearts of Gulf natives. Louisiana has the largest alligator population in the US, due in part to an alligator management program launched by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in 1972. The program has since grown to become one of the most successful of its kind in the world; Louisiana’s alligator population is over three million, up from 150,000 in 1972. However, the spill threatens to diminish the population and destroy this work.

A Consolidated Fish and Wildlife Collection Report released on September 7 by the US Fish and Wildlife Service placed the number of dead birds, sea turtles, mammals and other reptiles collected on the coast as a result of the spill at a staggering 6372. Some 2512 visibly oiled live organisms had been collected by the service since the disaster.

Reuters has reported that scientists are expressing concern about effects

Many feel alienated and forgotten by BP. Those in the fishing communities are unsure to what extent the company will be prosecuted and held responsible.

For now, it is a struggle for many to even become eligible for BP’s $20-billion compensation fund. A number of families are confronted with the challenging decision between enduring years of litigation or accepting a settlement without being sure of the damages sustained. The existence of a controversial clause that establishes eligibility by proximity to the Gulf and the spill has complicated matters. Fishers or boat operators whose businesses have been directly affected by the spill should have no difficulties submitting claims.

However, out-of-state companies, whose business contracts are held with partners in the affected region, for example, will be hard-pressed to make a case.

Ron Abellard, the owner of a bait and tackle shop in Meridian, Miss., said his store has been supplying fishermen in the Gulf for nearly a decade.

“My business has suffered a lot after the spill. My lawyer has told me the outlook for claims is grim,” Abellard said.

“But it’s not over, and we’ll keep pushing.”

Open season As New Orleans is experiencing some newfound buoyancy, the state of Louisiana turned its attention to the start of shrimp fishing season. Typically set on the third Monday of August, few shrimp docks actually opened at that time.

Since the spill began, certain areas of state water were kept open to harvest brown shrimp, but it was only recently that the larger, more desirable white shrimp were deemed safe for human consumption by the US government.

However, it has proven difficult to convince consumers.

John Morin, a restaurant employee in the French Quarter, explained the difficulties in finding suitable seafood to serve.

“We do not sell Gulf products here,” he said. “We simply can’t do it. The customers would never eat here.”

“As trivial as it may sound, folks here were given a boost when the Saints won the Super Bowl.”

That NOLA optimism While recovery has been difficult, the people living in and around the Gulf area have proven their resilience.

According to the Brookings Institute, more than 90 per cent of New Orleans residents have returned to the region since Hurricane Katrina and 85 per cent of the jobs had been re-established as of June 2010. Neighbourhoods and communities have banded together in civic duty, which the Wall Street Journal has attributed to grassroots organizations rather than government intervention.

“The people are very optimistic,” said Judy Leonhard, a chef in the city’s French Quarter. “As trivial as it may sound, folks here were given a boost when the Saints won the Super Bowl.”

Leonhard explained that the team’s victory symbolized how the city could transcend the ruin they faced and truly believe that success was possible.

“I feel like the Saints almost had to win to give this city the wake-up it needed,” she said.

Judy Leonhard chef

The majority of the Gulf of Mexico fisheries in US federal waters were shut down following the spill. Overall, Louisiana accounts for 72 per cent of the seafood that is collected from the Gulf region.

According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, 17 million kilograms of seafood were caught last year.

This year, the catch stands at just over six million kilograms. The department has estimated that it will be more than five years before consumers will trust the Louisiana brand again.

Looking ahead For the population of New Orleans, the next few years present an interesting scenario. The spill has thrust the city back into the spotlight. Many residents are optimistic that this exposure will help expose some of the lingering needs that remained unaddressed from Katrina, such as stimulating economic diversity and rebuilding the region.

“Everyone’s focused on all the negatives here; I like to think of it as more of an opportunity,” said Jefferson.

“There’s a lot of unfinished business here.” U

2 010 .10 . 21/ u bys s e y.c a /c u lt u r e /9

culture

editorS BRYCE WARNES & JONNY WAKEFIELD » culture@ubyssey.ca ASSOCIATE ANNA ZORIA » associate.culture@ubyssey.ca

Margaret Trudeau on changing her mind Eunice Hii Contributor Margaret Trudeau gave the first Main Stage Lecture at the Chan Centre this past Sunday to promote her latest book, Changing My Mind. The memoir is an honest look at the author’s personal struggle to overcome bipolar disorder. Sharing all the details of her life and t hen some, Trudeau delivered a clear message of hope to those suffering from the condition.

It is easy to see why Pierre Elliot Trudeau fell for her. She speaks as if she were singing, barely pausing to catch her breat h and emphasizing all t he wrong syllables. “I love marijuana. I took to it like a duck to water...I was a hip-eee,” Trudeau recalled of her youth.

When dwelling on her encou nt ers w it h The Rol l i n g Stones, she held nothing back: “I didn’t like Mick much. He was too full of himself.” Her narrative was open and infectious, and she admitted, “I totally misbehaved,” but pausing, added, “I have no regrets.”

You wouldn’t guess that this woman continues to battle bipolar disorder. Her journey has been a long, arduous one filled with misinformed doctors, misdiagnoses, mis-prescribed drugs and enormous tragedy in losing both her son and beloved husband.

The bipolar condition is characterized by extreme mood swings, from deep depression to elevated episodes of mania.

In her deepest bouts of depression, Trudeau said, “Nothing’s funny. Not hing’s beautiful.

Children’s eyes are just eyes.”

In search of a cure, she remembered how limited t he knowledge about her disorder was. Doctors did not know how to help or even classify her: “I was put into an executive suite with people who had erectile problems.”

Since t hat first visit to a doctor, there have been many br ea k t h r ou g h s i n ment a l healt h studies and Trudeau spends much of her time traveling from engagement to engagement to spread the word and advocate for research in mental health.

Now, she is making her illness public in order to raise awareness of a condition that so often claims lives.

“We have to get the tools to live the best life we can with the hand we’ve been dealt...In the beginning I was on a tightrope. Now I’m on a boardwalk.”

Though you can never truly be cured of the condition, Trudeau stated, “I have been cured of the fear of my bipolar disorder...To think, I just about lost my life.”

When asked why she continues to tell her story, Trudeau replied, “Just gratitude.” U

Margaret Trudeau struggled for years with bipolar disorder. Photo courtesy of the Chan Centre

Pornographisticated: smart comics get sexy comics with miranda martini Miranda Martini Columnist

A while back, a friend asked me to recommend some sexthemed comics that aren’t terrible. As a person with bot h a column about comics and astronomical knowledge of sexy comics, I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone and use this month’s column to make recommendations. Now that I’ve started, however, I’m worried I can’t do justice to the subject in 400 words. Comics and smut have a long and glorious history together, from depictions of the liaisons of gods and demi-gods right through the French Libertines’ satirical pamphlets featuring Marie Antoinette letting them eat cake (among other things).

Easily the most historically relevant smut comics in more recent times are Tijuana Bibles, pamphlets running eight pages and printed on cheap paper featuring popular characters like

Betty Boop or Popeye in sexy situations. They peaked in popularity around the Depression but were made up until the ’60s. Tijuana Bibles are fascinating time-capsules of cultural trends and often unintentionally hilarious to boot.

However, if—like most people— you don’t have a burning desire to see poorly-rendered versions of Jughead or J. Wellington Wimpy in their full glory, they may not be your thing. In fact, artistically relevant erotic comics could be said to have dropped off the map almost entirely in the last century. We of the internet generation are no strangers to cartoon smut, but it’s only very recently that anyone has attempted to make changes in the way comics reflect our sexual culture.

Almost all of the best erotic graphica to emerge in the last few years have been written and drawn by women, giving the comics scene a much-needed push towards more multifaceted depictions of female sexuality. Probably the best known is Jess Fink’s sepia-toned steampunk love story Chester 5000 XYV, which is available in full online but due to be released in book form by Top Shelf in 2011. It seemed to become everyone’s new favourite comic overnight when it started running last year, and it’s not hard to see why: no graphic work for a long time has been simultaneously so beautiful, funny and sexy. But the real magic of Chester is that the sexiness comes first—it’s a “smut

comic” that also happens to have clean artistic lines, sharp characters and a real beating heart behind it. Just knowing it’s possible to combine those things could mean huge leaps and bounds for sexual liberation.

Another up-and-comer in the erotic comics milieu is Oglaf, an online comic (I know, I know, another one) that follows, among other things, the adventures of a manservant-intern to a libidinous femme-fatale dictator.

While author/artist Trudy Cooper has no qualms about calling her work porn, the elegant artwork and impeccable comedic timing present a challenge to the already-flawed working definition of the word.

Sex isn’t a back room deal anymore. Kids have access to sexual images the second they develop the motor skills to open a browser and society still seems to be working out what this will mean for the new reigning generation. Comics like Oglaf and Chester represent the hope that easier access to erotic art (or, to use Cooper’s translation of this phrase, “porn that works for me”) could mean a more sex-positive society, rather than a society of overwhelmed, oversexed, ill-adjusted berserkers.

Or, you know, maybe not. But the sheer numbers of terrific sexy comics out there make it difficult not to see this as a real trend. There are so many good ones that I feel compelled

Image courtesy Jess Fink / Chester 5000 XYV

to mention them all: Curvy, I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space! and the now-ended (but still available in full) Girly and DAR are a l l wort h a peek—for stor y, for art or just for the cartoon boobs and dicks. You might find yourself sticking around for all three. I can guarantee Popeye doesn’t appear in any of them. U

U

Online exclusives

Profiles of Music students Jocelyn Lai and Roydon Tse, plus video of the AMS Art Gallery’s latest exhibit, I’m a Debaser. www.ubyssey.ca/culture

1 0 / u b y s s e y. c a / g a m e s / 2 0 1 0 . 1 0 . 2 1

games & comics crossword

Across

puzzles provided by bestcrosswords.com. Used with permission.

1. McGregor of “Trainspotting” 5. It’s a wrap 10. Panama and bowler 14. Curse 15. Designer Simpson 16. Drug-yielding plant 17. Bubonic plague 19. Widespread 20. Brief brawl 21. Precious metallic element 23. Commercials 25. Divert 26. Culture medium 29. Graph prefix 31. Beginning 35. Where it’s at 36. Financial institution 37. Arm cover 38. Argent 40. Cervus elaphus 41. Soap ingredient 42. Single 43. Hosp. workers 44. Old Finnish money 45. “She turned me into a ! ...I got better...”

46. “___ quam videri” (North Carolina’s motto)

sazaemon, by meiki shu

solution

Submit your comics to our website at ubyssey.ca/volunteer/ submit-a-comic. virginie menard | production@ubyssey.ca

U theubyssey.ca

grocer’s convention, by Sean Macdonald (the golden ram)

comicmaster, by maria cirstea

suscomic.com, by mike bround

47. Farewell 49. “You’ve got mail” co.

51. Young girls 54. Hired parker 58. “The Time Machine” race 59. Not moving 63. Hindu lawgiver 64. Conger catcher 65. Faucet problem 66. City near Provo 67. Ribbons 68. Japanese rice wine

Down 1. Declines 2. Fabric ridge 3. Med school subj.

4. Drink of the Gods 5. Downcast 6. Summer drink 7. Actor Stephen 8. Nissan model 9. First prime minister of India 10. Inveterate 11. Et ___ 12. Beancurd 13. Appear

18. Down for the count 22. Wagner heroine 24. Surplus 25. Biblical beast boat 26. Author of fables 27. Duplicity 28. Senator Specter 30. At all 32. Prophets 33. 2, 4, 6, 8, etc.

34. Curt 36. Happen 37. Actress Berger 39. Rare element 40. Rank 42. Monetary unit of Romania 45. Lipton competitor 46. African antelopes 48. Atlas feature 50. Egg head?51. Office note 52. Banned apple spray 53. Actress Skye 55. Zhivago’s love 56. Actor Estrada 57. Class 60. High mountain, as found in central Europe 61. Driving aid 62. Apr. addressee

2010.10.21/u byssey.ca /opinions/11

opinions

do you care? WRITE US A LETTER » feedback@ubyssey.ca

editorial wanted: university that speaks to students like adults We’re sorry if you’re bored with our coverage of the land-use discussions. We understand that it’s a dry abstract process which won’t really impact any current student. But UBC was built, and has evolved, because students cared what this campus would be for future generations. Which is why the land-use consultations deserve your attention.

For the past few months, the university has “consulted” with the public about changes to zoning on campus. For the first time in 13 years, land use designations at this university will be changing. For the first time in decades, UBC can decide long-term land uses without negotiations with any local democratic body. This is a big deal. It will affect what this university will look like for generations to come.

And during these consultations, students have been suckered, snookered and skunked. Again.

Thus far we have seen show-trial open houses asking us how much we love sustainability (a whole bunch? or the mostest ever?), feedback forms with questions that even a third-rate pollster wouldn’t ask for fear of appearing too sleazy and a glossy promotional blitz. Oh, and an AMS President who has stood in support every step of the way. What we haven’t seen is an honest debate about the benefits of UBC wanting maximum flexibility for land use in the future without any real accountability.

This is how UBC has always conducted these issues—not as an actual debate, but as a necessary step needed to get to the desired outcome. There are open houses. There are discussions. There are feedback forms. And yes, these are all parts of an open consultation.

But a fundamental part of consulting is a willingness to consider options and to enter in with an open mind. And in that, the university has failed.

Consider Gage South. Currently, the land where the bus loop sits is slated for market housing. To any sane observer, having market housing in an area dominated by student life makes no sense.

But rather than defend why they think Gage South makes sense, UBC talks in general terms about why market housing is a good idea.

The university did the same thing for almost a decade with the UBC Farm—rather than talk about future plans for the area, they talked about the need to grow their endowment, without ever bringing up the farm directly. It took 16,000 signatures and concerted media pressure for them to adjust their thinking.

Or consider the maximum height of buildings on campus. Right now, it’s capped at 18 stories.

The university wants to remove this cap, in the name of sustainability. Don’t want to have 30-storey towers on campus? You obviously don’t understand UBC’s long-term needs.

When previously criticized, Campus and Community Planning Head Nancy Knight or VP External (and lobbyist-in-chief) Stephen Owen have argued that we need to grow University Town. But few are arguing that. Most understand the need to build market housing, but what remains under debate is the rate, the size and the location of construction.

As we said though, this is nothing new. It is a bad joke that repeats itself over and over again: UBC has an idea. They consult without ever entertaining the possibility that their idea may be flawed. The consultation happens in bad faith.

And unless thousands of people rise up against the plan, UBC does what it always wanted to do in the first place. If thousands rise up and UBC is forced to change their public stance (as they did with the UBC Farm and University Boulevard) they cite it as proof that the governance structure works. Either way, UBC argues the system— essentially, a system without democratic government and where the university is the owner, developer and regulator of land—works.

Stephen Toope has said repeatedly that consultation with students doesn’t mean agreement with students. But no one is asking for that. What we are asking for is a frank, adult conversation about what UBC’s plans are for increasing market housing, the points for and against changes to how the campus is zoned and an acceptance that opinions not already formulated by UBC have merit. We’re still waiting. U

BRYCE WARNES graphic/the ubyssey

column

Why Afghanistan matters, and why I’m going there brian platt Contributor On October 27, I’ll disembark from a plane at the airport in Kabul. This will pretty much be the most exciting moment of my life.

I am making this ten-day trip with a friend and colleague of mine, Lauryn Oates. Lauryn signed up with the organization Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan as a teenager in 1996, a time when most of the world had forgotten or just didn’t care about the plight of Afghans. She now works for them as projects director, and I couldn’t be prouder to be traveling with her.

I’ve been thinking, writing and arguing about the struggle for democracy in Afghanistan for years, and it eventually took me into the orbit of another organization Lauryn works with, the Canada Afghanistan Solidarity Committee. CASC is an alliance of feminists, humanists, journalists and ordinary Afghans and Canadians of all

political stripes who adamantly call on Canada to stand for a democratic state in Afghanistan, and nothing less.

From the beginning, I’ve supported Canadian participation in the international project to fight off the Taliban and build up democracy in a country that has been absolutely devastated by three decades of war. To be frank, I don’t care much about the argument from national security. I understand why it’s a serious discussion, but unlike most of the world’s population, we live in one of the safest, freest, most prosperous societies in the history of humankind. It embarrasses me when we’re constantly wringing our hands.

What I care about is the defense of democracy and human rights against the brutality of clerical fascism. This is a just cause and I’m proud of the work Canada has done, as difficult and depressing as that work sometimes has been. Without question, grievous mistakes have been made by the international coalition in pursuit of this cause.

But let’s keep things in perspective.

Afghanistan’s social fabric has been completely destroyed since the violent Soviet-backed coups of the 1970s.

Yet today, in a country notorious for endemic and horrific levels of poverty, corruption and illiteracy, and with a complete lack of modern infrastructure, and with gangs of religious death cults running around threatening to cut off the ink-stained thumbs of voters, turnout in elections in many areas of Afghanistan is not far off from that of posh, comfortable Canada. On this alone, I recognize it as a state of affairs worth fighting for.

I will be filing a series of stories for The Ubyssey based on conversations and experiences with the people Lauryn and I will be meeting with—Afghans on the front lines of this struggle. I will also be blogging regularly on The Ubyssey’s website during the trip.

This will no doubt generate a strong reaction from my fellow students at UBC. I look forward to it. U

If it takes your partner longer to orgasm, you may want to think about stimulating him in other ways before initiating penetration. Your penis, while a perfectly legitimate and enjoyable avenue to sexual gratification, isn’t the only tool you can use to satisfy your partner. Your hands and mouth are also pretty good bets. As well, the introduction of toys, if seen as a fun and non-threatening penetrative alternative, can add a lot to any sex life.

Aside from that, thinking of something else is a common method some men use to delay ejaculation. We’d recommend thinking of something pleasant and non-stressful, like not being in a hurry, rather than something that puts a damper on your sexual enjoyment.

It’s a cliche to think of something mundane or horrific to delay orgasms (like baseball scores or Robin Williams taking a dump), but you’re probably better off on the whole (no pun) just doing what you do best and going with the flow.

As well, a method called the stopstart technique is often used to lengthen ejaculation time. If your partner is willing, have him manually stimulate you to the point of orgasm, and then tell him to stop and wait for your erection to go away. Repeat twice more. The fourth time, don’t tell your partner to stop and allow yourself to come. This may help you become familiar with feeling aroused and not ejaculating, which in turn could give you more control. You can also tell your partner to squeeze sharply (but not painfully) at the spot where the head of your penis ends and the shaft begins. This has the effect of delaying orgasm. You can practice these things yourself if your partner isn’t willing to help you.

Lastly, as tricky as it can be in sexual situations, try to relax. Feeling anxious or depressed will only make a sexual issue worse. Don’t be afraid to tell your partner if you need to take a break during sex, and please remember that you have tons of other qualities that make you a good sexual and relationship partner. U

too sexy Hey Too Sexy: I’ve been having a problem with premature ejaculation. No matter what I try, two condoms, masturbation beforehand, anything, I still end up ejaculating too soon and am unable to satisfy my partner “Jeremy.” How can I help myself and save my relationship?

“Ben Parker” Hi Ben, Thanks for your letter. First of all, this isn’t an uncommon problem; 24 per cent of Canadian men identify themselves as having this issue. That said, “premature” and what defines it is in the mind of the ejaculator (and sometimes his partner). Ejaculation times anywhere between 2 and 20 minutes can be totally normal. If, as you say, your partner isn’t getting off, however, there may be a tendency to assume that’s a result of the length of time it takes you to come, when in fact there may be other factors involved.

12/ubyssey.ca/our campus/2010.10.21

our campus

Geoff lister photos@ubyssey,ca Ninety-four teams of two took October 8 off to tackle Campus Chase, an annual event started at UBC in 2008 that has since spread to nine major universities across Canada. Participants raced to locate unknown “Chasepoint Challenges� to complete tasks aimed to challenge participants physically and mentally. Chasers finished eight challenges before racing to the finish line. Top team Roko Tigers, made up of Malcom Tan and Jeremy Withers, clocked in at 1:51:28, a full 20 minutes ahead of second place. Campus Chase grew out of the wildly successful City Chase, which started in Toronto in 2003 with 250 participants and had over 20,000 worldwide participants last year. U jon chiang photo/the ubyssey