Oct. 28, 2010

But we’re from two different worlds since 1918

from horror stories on the bus to cringing at costumes, the ubyssey brings you the best of halloween. page 4

the ubyssey

OCTOBER 28, 2010 • volume 92, number xvi • room 24, student union building • published monday and thursday • feedback@ubyssey.ca

from student to teacher the ubyssey does education page 6 SDS

distance courses

home schooling

school ranking

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events

october 28, 2010 volume xcii, no xvi editorial coordinating editor

Justin McElroy : coordinating@ubyssey.ca

news editor

friday, oct. 29

Arshy Mann : news@ubyssey.ca

associate news editor

Sally Crampton : associate.news@ubyssey.ca

Halloween Bzzr Garden

hallowe’en ball

Jonny Wakefield & Bryce Warnes : culture@ubyssey.ca

The UBC Agriculture Undergrad Society presents their annual Halloween Bzzr Garden, including a contest for best costume and featuring the ever-challenging mechanical bull. • 19+ event, 7–11pm, MacMillan Building Basement in Agora, no cover charge.

One of the biggest events on campus in first term! Come to the Cheeze dressed in your best costume, and be ready for a hell of a night! Featuring three live bands, cheap beer, a ridiculous amount of people and no cover, the annual engineering Hallowe’en Ball is a party that is beaten by no other. • 19+ event, 7pm– 12am, the Cheeze Factory, no cover, bring 2 pieces of ID.

culture editors

associate culture editor

Anna Zoria : associate.culture@ubyssey.ca

sports editor

Ian Turner : sports@ubyssey.ca

features editor

Trevor Record : features@ubyssey.ca

photo editor

Geoff Lister : photos@ubyssey.ca

production manager

Virginie Ménard : production@ubyssey.ca

copy editor

Kai Green : copy@ubyssey.ca

multimedia editor

Tara Martellaro : multimedia@ubyssey.ca

saturday, oct. 30

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

Israel & Palestine: Past, Present & Future

Matt Wetzler : video@ubyssey.ca

Dr Norman Finkelstein will speak on the present situation in Gaza, the attack on the Gaza Aid Flotilla, the current stage of the peace process and the prospect of further regional conflict. • 7:30–9:30pm, Hebb Theatre, $10 students, $15 non-students, tickets available at the Outpost and Co-Op Bookstore on Commercial.

video editor 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 print advertising: 604-822-1654 business office: 604.822.6681 web advertising: 604-822-1658 e-mail: advertising@ubyssey.ca

business manager

Fernie Pereira : business@ubyssey.ca

print ad sales

Kathy Yan Li : advertising@ubyssey.ca

web ad sales

Paul Bucci : webads@ubyssey.ca

accounts

Alex Hoopes : accounts@ubyssey,ca

contributors Ginny Monaco Mandy Ng Karina Palmitesta Austin Holm Jon Chiang

Jenny Tsundu Kasha Chang Scott Orjala Colin Chia Irene Lo

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.

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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.

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correction In the October 21st, 2010 issue, in the article entitled “Party of five: AMS gets feedback on proposed SUB designs,” Jennifer Cutbill was credited as an architect when she is in fact a designer. The Ubyssey regrets this error.

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News

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

Researchers become increasingly concerned over activists VP Research Hepburn claims one scientist has been threatened in her home Arshy Mann news@ubyssey.ca A university-wide email—and the removal of rocks around Kenny—are both a part of UBC’s response to the surge of interest around their animal research program.

On Monday, UBC VP Research John Hepburn sent out a broadcast email to all UBC students, faculty and staff, defending the university against “misleading information” that they believe is being spread by STOP UBC Animal Research (STOP).

“A group of activists is campaigning to end animal research at UBC by distributing misleading information in an attempt to recruit people to their cause,” the email said. “They have succeeded in gaining some media attention and we expect to see more.

“Animal activists use shock tactics in an effort to gain public sympathy via news media.

In other parts of the world, such sensationalist tactics have escalated to violence against researchers, and in North Vancouver earlier this month a group called the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) resorted to acts of vandalism against an individual in the fur trade.”

Hepburn was referring to Eugene Klein, the operator of Capilano Furs, whose home was vandalized on Thanksgiving Sunday. His house was tarred

Douglas T. Kenny Building, where the psychology department is housed. Geoff Lister photo/The Ubyssey

and his son’s girlfriend’s tires were slashed. The ALF, a selfdescribed ‘animal liberation’ group that uses illegal tactics that include vandalism and arson, took credit for the attack on their website.

Brian Vincent, the spokesperson for STOP, said that it was unfair for the university to associate his group with the ALF. “Why throw that out there?

Clearly it’s to whip up hysteria.

He paints a broad brush that all animal advocates are this way,” Vincent said. “And for him

to imply that we are associated with those kinds of activities is flat wrong.

“However, I think [the email] shows the effectiveness of our campaign. If UBC didn’t take us seriously and didn’t think we were tarnishing the university’s reputation, they wouldn’t be sending out an email.”

Hepburn told The Ubyssey that the email was sent out in response to “researchers [who] were getting concerned that UBC wasn’t defending them.”

In addition, Hepburn said that

he knows of at least one UBC neuroscientist who has been threatened, although he only found out about the incident after the broadcast email had been sent out.

“The context of the call is important: this particular incident was a late-night ‘we know where you live’ call from an unidentifiable harasser, not a professional inquiry during office hours,” said Hepburn.

He went on to say that “It occurred after the STOP campaign was publicly underway,” and that

“a concern is that STOP’s activities, while legitimate to date, will incite people capable of illegal activities.”

Vincent, however, did not entirely trust Hepburn’s claim that a professor was threatened.

“I don’t know if that’s true,” he said. “This is a very common tactic that universities use to deflect attention away from the real issue. And the real issue is that UBC is using taxpayer dollars to conduct experiments on animals behind closed doors with little public scrutiny. “[However] if someone did make such a call, I certainly would condemn that.”

Hepburn’s broadcast email appears to reflect a newfound fear throughout parts of the research community at UBC. In an internal departmental email obtained by The Ubyssey, Gary MacIsaac, the director of IT services for the psychology department, told faculty and students to keep objects away from the Douglas Kenny Building, for fear they could be used to vandalize it.

“A large rock has been sitting by the NE rear door of the building. With some of the issues around campus it’s been suggested we not leave rocks around where they can be pitched through windows or jam doors open after hours. So this rock will disappear...preferably not to be replaced by another.“ U —With files from Fabrizio Stendardo

A whale by any other name...

The Ubyssey tries—and fails—to name UBC’s newest permanent resident trevor record features@ubyssey.ca When The Ubyssey asked the Beaty Biodiversity Museum if they wanted to run a joint naming poll for their new blue whale skeleton, we knew the answer might be no. However, we never imagined the reason could be so awesome—whales might have names in nature. Or at least that’s what we were told.

Bep Schippers, acting education and community outreach manager at the museum, said that the museum’s board had already discussed the possibility of naming the whale. They had decided against it for the time being for two reasons. The first was that it was not scientifically professional to name specimens. The second, “rather complex” reason was essentially that whales use vocalizations in nature and that it was possible that this means they already have names.

Wayne Maddison, director of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, clarified that the right to name the whale was theirs and that the reasons stated by Schippers were secondary.

“The right to name the whale is a big asset of ours: potentially worth a lot of money (in the form of publicity),” said Maddison in an email to The Ubyssey. “We were reluctant because we scientists tend not to name specimens and because in nature the whale may have had its own name. This assessment was not based on detailed research or consultation, but nor is it final or definitive.”

Dr Andrew Trites, director of the UBC Marine Mammal Research Unit, was the leader of the project to bring the blue whale to the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. He said he was amused to hear that the museum may not consider naming the whale because it could already have a whale name.

“Someone said that to you?” said Trites between laughs. “Oh dear. Is that kind of like saying that all animals have names, and so we should not be giving them names: cats give each other names, and dogs have names for each other?”

However, Trites said that in nature, “[whales] certainly do recognize individuals.... Animals make calls, and they can

The sale of a whale’s name is a shame. Colin Chia Photo/The Ubyssey

recognize each other both visually and through sound... so they’re using their senses to recognize individuals.” However, he is skeptical whether this means whales have names.

“Now, what goes on inside an animal’s head, do they put [those senses] together and have a name, or is it an image? I really don’t know. I even wonder just with humans, when did we start naming each other? I’m sure there must

have been a time back in history when we didn’t use names.”

Laura May-Collado is an associate researcher at the University of Puerto Rico who specialises in marine mammalian acoustic communication.

“Some dolphin species, [such as] bottlenose dolphins, emit ‘signature whistles’ that are individual-specific,” said MayCollado. “Mother and calf emit these signals while separated

to keep contact and close male a llies mimic each ot her to strengthen their relationship.”

May-Collado said t hat research conducted by other scientists into orcas has shown that families of whales use unique communication sounds. Larger whales tend to use songs to communicate their locations over long distances, although these are not unique. May-Collado said that this shouldn’t lead us to assume these can be equated with the use of names, however.

“If they use these individual specific signals to ‘name’ each other is another matter. The use of names in dolphins seems to me an anthropogenic approach to dolphin communication.”

Meanwhile, Trites said that the team who recovered the museum’s whale had an unofficial name for the specimen.

“The people who dug up the whale and put her back together, on the team, we always called her ‘Big Blue,’” said Trites.

“There’s a whole human dimension to the skeleton. It touched so many people’s lives in PEI, and we began to see her as more than a specimen. She has a life story.” U

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culture

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

It came from the 99b Transit can be nasty, smelly and unpleasant. But sometimes a trip across town or a quick jaunt on the Skytrain can be downright terrifying. In honour of the scariest time of the year, Ubyssey writers have compiled these true tales of transit horror. So the next time you’re boarding a 99 B-line, just remember: when the doors close, you’re locked in.

A cut of pork?

Returning home from work, Kahan Dare received an offer he couldn’t refuse.

The first-year UBC student was riding the late bus when a disheveled man noticed him.

The stranger approached, offering to sell Kahan the contents of his bag at a very reasonable price.

The man pulled out...a package of ribs.

“I refused, of course,” Kahan assured me. Despite being a student on a tight budget, he hasn’t grown quite that desperate for

food. Qualms about sanitation aside, the origin of the meat was, shall we say, suspicious.

Perhaps it was simply a daring sales tactic. Perhaps it was a creative way to dispose of a corpse. My mind took a sinister turn towards Mrs Lovett’s meat pies. An encounter with the next Russell Williams is far more frightening than bumping into one of Mary Shelley’s creations.

The ribs were a cut of pork... or were they?

—Catherine Guan Pigeon Man “It was a real pigeon,” exclaimed Milena Stefanovic, a first-year student at UBC. Seeing a pigeon is hardly cause for excitement, but the circumstances were rather usual.

She was returning home by Skytrain after a night of swing dancing when the train came to a stop. Standing on the platform

was an unremarkable man—unremarkable except for the pigeon sitting on top of his head.

He entered the compartment where Milena was sitting with some friends.

Nonchalantly, the man donned a top hat, covering the pigeon.

Becoming aware of the curious looks, he affected a bewildered expression: “Did you see a pigeon?

I didn’t.”

Getting off at his stop, the man removed the hat and strolled away with the pigeon on his head.

Evidently, the Skytrain is the perfect place to go for those seeking some nighttime thrills. I can’t promise vampires or werewolves, but you are bound to run into some interesting characters on the night train.

—Catherine Guan “Lost Trains” It was the train ride from hell, or so my sister insisted. After the incident, she came home still a little

dazed and pissed off. Here’s what happened: The day began like any normal day. She was riding the Skytrain to get to her school all the way up in Renfrew. Morning rush hours were the worst, so she and a hundred other passengers were crammed like sardines in that little train compartment. Only halfway through a dark tunnel, the train suddenly stopped dead in its tracks. The claustrophobia and tension grew as the seconds ticked by. From the overhead, a voice suddenly announced: “Attention all passengers: we have lost a couple of trains.”

People started to scream and panic, scrambling, pushing and shoving everywhere.

They banged the windows and doors, and repeatedly punched the emergency button. The mass hysteria was sickening. What’s worse, that day was September 10. Everyone was imagining some kind of terrorist attack.

Fortunately, the overhead sounded again, this time rephrasing

Geoff Lister Photo Illustration/The Ubyssey

In honour of All-Hallows-Eve, The Ubyssey presents these spine-tingling tales of transit horror...

the original message: “Attention all passengers: we just lost contact with a couple of trains.

Please remain calm.”

It turns out that some drunks had thrown beer cans over the tracks, which, when dragged by the train, disrupted the communication mechanism. Naturally, trains can’t move without knowing each others’ exact location. It took another hour for the train to move again, but days for the passengers to shake off the hysteria.

—Jenica Kim Yu Chuahiock The Bad Man I should know by the ring of empty seats around him on the at-capacity 99 that the man in the center of the bus is... off. I sit down beside him anyways.

Not my wisest decision.

From the corner of my eye, I see him turn to face me. I feel his warm breath as he hisses in my ear. It’s just a low, toxic sound at first, like a gas leak, and then slowly the sounds form words.

“I hate you,” he whispers. His face is inches from mine. “You motherfucker. Motherfucker.” He drives the point home by slamming his fist into the open palm of his hand.

“I’m going to stab out your eyes and piss in your daughter’s mouth.” He spits on the ground in front of me.

I’m too afraid to move when my stop is announced. As the bus slows down, there’s the sound and glow of a police cruiser from behind. The doors open and I rush to hide in the group of people heading for the exit.

He grabs my wrist and squeezes hard enough that I think it might break.

He only lets go when a distracted, hurried woman RedRovers my arm free. I run.

From across t he street, I watch the cops escort the man off the bus. His eyes lock with mine as they lead him into their cruiser. U —Ginny Monaco

Bull vs Cheeze: we break down The annual Halloween parties

Agriculture Undergraduate Society MacMillan Building Basement GO IF: Your balance is god-like.

AVOID IF: You’re personally offended by topless women and/or country music.

When asked why students should attend this particular event, student senator Erik Hilmer included “mechanical bull” and “novelty mugs” as just some of the reasons for why this should be your obvious first choice. The Bzzr Garden will be hosted by the Agricultural Undergraduate Society and promises to have great music and a fun atmosphere as well as prizes for the best costumes. Just remember to wear something you won’t be able to easily remove when the urge to take your clothes off whilst riding the mechanical bull takes over.

Halloween Ball Engineering Undergraduate Society The Cheeze Factory GO IF: You prefer to be hit on in ways that don’t involve physical contact.

AVOID IF: You’re claustrophobic. The Cheeze hits capacity fast.

Oh, those engineers and their drinking. The Halloween Ball is hosted by UBC Engineering and promises to be the “biggest and best Halloween event on campus.” It’s free and will feature live band performances, a costume contest and a chance to win a free trip through S-Trip. There will also be a barbecue from 5pm to 7pm, so you can make sure there’s food in your belly before you commence your wild night of alcohol consumption and bad decision making. Best part about this one? $2 drinks.

virginie menard graphics/the ubyssey

Halloween Bzzr Garden

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Costume ideas for the lazy and the esoteric Bryce Warnes culture@ubyssey.ca Hardly anyone dresses as something scary for Halloween anymore. It used to be that the standard roster of outfits revolved around supernatural terror—devils, ghosts, witches and for some reason, hobos. Now you’re more likely to see a Halloween party filled with dead celebrities and sexually promiscuous service personnel (nurses, police, prostitutes) than spectres from beyond the realms the living.

A lot of this has to do with the prolonged childhood in which so many currently in their early-to mid-twenties see fit to indulge.

Halloween in North America was originally a children’s holiday. By adolescence the candy and costume rituals were abandoned in favour of plainclothes hooliganism, the “trick” half of Halloween’s dual nature. The fact that, at present, people well past their teens continue to dress up every October 31 has resulted in a growing market for adult costumes and a shift in what, exactly, constitutes an appropriate alter-ego.

If you feel pressured by your peers to wear a costume this Halloween, but don’t really relish the idea of buying or constructing one, you may be inclined to take the easy way out. Plenty of guys will be dusting off their funeral/interview/wedding suits this year and going as characters from Mad Men. For females, the same theme serves as an excuse to wear lipstick and an updo. But when we’re at the point where dressing up as an uppermiddle class fictional business

this costume is a flashlight. Keep it in your pocket, and whenever someone asks what your costume is, shine it unrelentingly into their eyes. Do your best to approximate the voice of a dead relative, and say something like, “OOooo, joooin us,” or “Your tiiime has coooome. Go into the liiight.” Watch as a mortal terror of the Unknown washes over your victim’s face. Success!

THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF A LOVED ONE

This year, go as a near-death experience. Geoff LIster Photo Illustration/the ubyssey

person from the early sixties qualifies as a costume, we must ask ourselves: what is a costume, anyway?

The lines have become blurred to the point where almost any identity—fictional or otherwise — can be taken on during Halloween. So why not experiment? Why not push the idea of a costume to the very limits of its definition?

Why not—to use the common parlance—”blow” a few minds?

Here a re some cost u me ideas—seeds of inspiration—to help this year’s revellers expand Halloween beyond its traditional boundaries.

GUN VIOLENCE Firearm-related violence kills or wounds millions of people every

year. Its effects are felt in our own communities as well as those on the other side of the globe. This tyranny of lead and steel robs adults and children alike of their lives. It’s a terrifying subject to meditate on—which makes it an ideal Halloween costume. When was the last time a vampire actually killed somebody? Gun violence easily beats out Dracula, Cullen and L’Estat’s collective body counts.

For the costume, print out some pages with statistics on firearm-related deaths. Maybe include some maps of major trade routes for illicit weapons. Then staple them to your shirt. In fifteen minutes or less, you will have put together a bone-chilling costume. If anyone needs proof of your powers, point to the relevant

statistics on your torso and make sound effects with your mouth.

“Ra-ta-ta-ta-tat!” works. So does “Blam! Blam!”

A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE You’ve heard it before. Someone is on the operating room table, or trapped in the wreckage of a totalled car. Their surroundings fade into obscurity as a bright white light beckons them towards the afterlife. Some believe a supernatural entity is to blame for these experiences.

Others say it’s simply the result of depleted oxygen flow to the brain. Either way, a brush with the afterlife is sure to have a profound effect on anyone who experiences it.

The only item you require for

“I’m not angry, just disappointed.” Five words delivered by a parent or significant other have enormous power. Along with a woeful expression and refusal to make eye contact, this phrase becomes an emotional combo move. Tap into others’ deep-seated fears of failure by dressing up this Halloween as The Disappointment of a Loved One. There are a few different approaches you can take. For one, try dressing as an experienced hunter and carry a fake rifle.

Wear a hardened, paternal expression, and shake your head ruefully at anyone you meet.

“That doe was pregnant, boy. You should know better than that. I taught you better than that. I’m so disappointed.”

Or dress as a weeping bride.

“She’s my sister! My own sister.

Why now? Why, on this day? Oh God, I’m so embarassed. Today is supposed to be the best day of our lives, and you’ve destroyed it.

You bastard! You horrible, cheating bastard!”

No matter what method you choose, this costume is sure to hit home. U

6/ubyssey.ca/education/2010.10.28

education

editor trevor record » features@ubyssey.ca GUEST EDITOR Scott Orjala » sorjala@ubyssey.ca

Welcome to the Education Supplement Scott Orjala Guest Editor The practice of education has commonly evoked traditional symbols, such as libraries, textbooks, classrooms, lecture halls and professors. While we recognize that this iconography is linked to learning, there exists a growing sense of disparity between the usual methods and how we actually seek out knowledge on a daily basis.

For instance, all inquiries great and small are now answered instantly by the myriad of results we get from search

engines. The rising prevalence of online courses and general information coupled with increased technological access demonstrates a clear and rapid shift in preferential and practical methods of educating ourselves. We can use technology to access information faster than any lecturer can deliver it. Research, for years now, has been conducted via online sources, and blogs have quickly become the preferred forum for discussion.

Amidst all of these changes, we are left to consider the implications that are presented for current educational

institutions. How will the format of education change? Will online education champion the physical, interpersonal experience of education? What is certain is that we are now able to have a greater degree of authorship over the education we receive. However, what remains unknown is how we will continue to conceptualize both education and learning in the future.

In this supplement, we take a look at some of the technology that is changing the way education occurs. In addition, we examine some issues with teaching at UBC and in the province. U

Private, public and home schooling Jenny Tsundu investigative@ubyssey.ca

SCOTT ORJALA illustration/THE UBYSSEY

When I entered high school, I tried to avoid telling people that I had been homeschooled the year before.

Most students my age didn’t understand how it worked and I never really felt like explaining it. To do so would mean I’d have to get into the details of why I’d chosen to do it, how I’d tried both public and private schools in the past and how I hadn’t been able to find the right kind of academic environment in either. The majority of other kids in my class had gone to the same elementary and middle school their entire lives, and I didn’t know a single person there—the last thing I wanted to do was stand out.

There is a point to this lengthy story.

The public school system is supposed to serve all types of students, but it lacks the flexibility to do so effectively. More and more students leave for alternatives each year.

It’s a problem not only because the needs of students aren’t being met, but because this trend contributes to the disintegration of the public school system in general. Schools benefit from having a diverse student population, but declining enrolment means further budget cuts and less funding for special programs.

My decision to try homeschooling was a very spurof-the-moment one. I made the decision just a few weeks before I was supposed to return to school for Grade 7 in September; my tuition had been paid, and my uniform was pressed and ready to go. It’s one of the most

impulsive things I’ve ever done, and I did it out of desperation to find the motivation and enthusiasm for school I’d been beginning to lose.

Like many other UBC students, I’ve always liked and done very well in school.

But at my public elementary school I started to find that the amount of new information we learned each year wasn’t enough to keep me interested. When I was in Grade 4 or 5 the school created an “Individual Education Plan” (IEP) for me, a program custom designed to keep me challenged academically. In short, when everyone else did their daily grammar lesson, I got to sit at the back of a class and do a typing program on a computer. Apparently, my school counsellor had decided that I didn’t need grammar lessons, so learning to type would be more beneficial.

It wasn’t aca-

demically motivating, and all I remember is my friends asking me at recess why I got to play on the computer when they had to learn stuff.

In Grade 6, I switched to a private school in Vancouver. Information was taught at a slightly faster pace, and my smaller class of 13 students meant the teacher was able to spend more time with each of us. I was nervous because I’d heard the common misconception that private school kids were snobby and mean, and I found that to be largely untrue. Private school students are very aware of the stereotypes about them; at the end of our class camping trip to Galiano Island, our teacher explicitly told us that we had to make an extra effort to strike up conversations wit h students from ot her schools at the same campsite in order to dispel the stereotype that private school kids were unfriendly.

Because homeschooling is a less popular choice, it’s the one that seems have the strongest stereotypes. My parents faced a lot of tough questions from their friends, who strongly believed homeschooled children were socially deprived and would become awkward adults. Some kids I knew really did fulfill that stereotype, and one parent told my mother that she chose to teach her child at home in order to protect them from the “dangerous influences” that lurked in public schools.

Homeschooling was an interesting experience because it gave me the flexibility to pursue subjects that I liked at a higher level than would ever have been possible in a traditional school setting. I knew kids who had chosen to work through certain subjects, like math or science, at a slower pace. I also knew kids who were taking courses way beyond their age levels.

Not all students have the financial capability to go to a private school, and not all parents can take the time and effort to homeschool and monitor their children’s education. The parents who choose to avoid sending their kids to public school do so because they don’t trust it to provide a quality education for their children; a lack of trust in the system further worsens the situation in public schools.

It’s a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle—and as students, taxpayers and perhaps even parents, it’s an issue that affects us all.

At the end of the yea r, I decided that I was going to go back to public school. Homeschooling brought t he academic c h a l len ge t h at I’d been seeking, but I wanted to go back to school with other kids.

Luckily, I found a program at a public high school t hat allowed me to experience both socialization and academic challenge. U

2010.10.28/ubyssey.ca/Education/7

Try it out: Student Directed Seminars Justin McElroy coordinating@ubyssey.ca What if I told you that UBC, this university, allows students to create their own courses that people can take for three credits? And that these courses can be run with no professor ever entering the classroom? And that, in a hilarious lapse of judgement, the university has allowed me to coordinate one of these courses, and they could very well make the same decision with you?

It’s all true. It’s been true for for over a decade. They’re Student Directed Seminars (SDS) and it’s the best UBC program you’ve probably never heard of.

Here’s how it works. You have an idea for a class: Physics of Hockey, History of Beards and Assorted Facial Hair, Cultural Legacy of Video Games, or what have you. You find a professor who agrees to sponsor the idea and do any marking or administrative work needed. You then pitch your idea to the university—how it will run, why it has academic value and why you are trustworthy enough to run it.

Then, you wait. A month or two passes.

If you’re lucky, UBC approves the course, leaving you to work with your faculty sponsor to set up a syllabus, find a date/ time/location that works for your class, register students—you know, like an actual course.

I’m not a professor and I don’t mark papers. As soon as the class begins, I’m just another student like anyone else. Nonetheless, I do get to design a syllabus for a course, find amazing guest speakers from across the Lower Mainland and provide a learning opportunity for a few students that wasn’t available on campus— and that’s cool.

Oh, and as for my seminar? Journalism in the 21st Century. Or, in SSC terms, “ASTU 400M.” Spaces are running out, but feel free to register if you’re looking for something to do Tuesdays and Thursdays

next term from 4–5:30pm. It’s being run as a joint partnership between The Ubyssey and the Graduate School of Journalism, which means a few things. First, there will be some amazing guest lecturers. Second, it’s a chance for students to see their assignments end up on these pages. Outside of a special program for a few first-year Artsies, there are no journalism courses for undergraduate students, and I’m hoping this course will help entice UBC to make a change. Even if it doesn’t, though, I get to take direct control of my educational experience— at least for one course.

The other great thing about the SDS program? You can set it up pretty much however you want. Do you think the class should be self-evaluated, or be full of guest lecturers or have plenty of field trips? You can do that. Each seminar is completely unique, and predicated on the idea of 15 students, the maximum number allowed in an SDS, working and learning together to explore a topic and broaden their horizons. It’s directed studies on steroids, and it’s emblematic of what a university is, or at least should be, about.

Despite the fact that the program was started at UBC in 1999, the number of SDS courses available in any year never exceeds a couple dozen. Margot Bell, the student development director who oversees the program, said she thought the relatively low numbers were due to the time commitment and ambition required to coordinate a class, which most students simply don’t have. However, I think the real reason is due to a larger problem at this university: the disconnect between what UBC offers and what it communicates to students.

Efforts are made all the time to improve student engagement, and despite this, UBC still languishes near the bottom on most surveys on the classroom experience at Canadian universities.

Point this out and UBC will cite all the wonderful initiatives being done to

Scott Orjala illustration/the ubyssey

ensure that students get an ultra-modern, dynamic, sustainable, interactive “Place of Mind” experience “From Here.”

While it’s true the university is trying, it’s just that the information doesn’t often reach the masses.

Students will complain that they get 20 emails a day from ten different accounts, their professor hasn’t marked the midterm yet, and that WebCT is broken for the eighth time this semester. This is perhaps natural in a giant,

decentralized yet horribly bureaucratic university. It is a pain and a paradox: a place often criticized as an impersonal degree-factory is often on the cutting edge of teaching.

That’s UBC for you, though. Our motto is Tuum Est. That means “it’s yours,” but it also means “it’s up to you”—a wonderfully true split meaning. This university is here for the taking, if you know how.

There’s no better example than Student Directed Seminars. U

Do you have a lead on a big issue on campus, but don’t know who to talk to?

Tell The Ubyssey about it. features@ubyssey.ca If you want to slam, then welcome to the jam: The Ubyssey.

U theubyssey.ca

8/ubyssey.ca/education/2010.10.28

http://www.ubyssey.ca

education alternatives

Distance education: behind the scenes Jonathan Lopez Contributor

Scott Orjala illustration/the ubyssey

be taught in the same time as a regular oncampus course. Whereas a student in a traditional lecture course gets three hours a week with a professor, an online student easily has the same level of accessibility at the interval of their choosing across a whole week. Jeff calls this similarity in timelines “cohort pacing” and it is one more factor that allows students to seamlessly mix distance courses into their schedule.

But can an online course replicate a classroom experience? Dr Tom Stork, associate dean of external program & learning technology, says replicating a lecture-style course isn’t the issue. “[A] distance education course may be a different experience. A sense of community can easily be established with a good design of a course,” he said. Stork added that there is definitely a lot of value in classroom learning, but blending distance and tradition is what yields the best results. It’s not a matter of which is better, but how well the courses are designed. U

Online universities challenging traditional schools Claire Eagle Contributor With online schools such as the University of Phoenix experiencing a boom in recent years, well-established universities are feeling the need to keep up with the competition. Online institutions are currently drawing many students with promises of lower tuition fees, more course options and increased flexibility.

A recent study done by City University of New York suggested that students participating in accelerated online courses perform better academically than students in semester-long classes. However, students in online classes expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of teacher and peer contact they received. Success in online universities requires strong time management skills and many students soon find themselves falling behind. Beyond this, some students feel that peer-to-peer and student-instructor interaction is equally important.

“Online school isn’t personal,” said Arts student and future Education hopeful Leslie Thomson. “You lose so many important social and interpersonal connections. And

to succeed at a job, you need to understand teamwork. You just can’t get that online.”

A growing number of informal online learning forums such as Wikiversity aim to remedy this by sharing independent learning exposure with students who are too shy to sacrifice their ‘traditional’ university experience.

“Wikiversity was created after Wikipedia to help build material and information specifically focused on education and curriculum,” says Jay Walsh of the Wikimedia foundation. “Wikiversity is still a young project, [but] the potential for Wikiversity to grow in new languages and to reach more users is quite high.”

Another education-enabling online source is iTunes U, where lectures from top universities can be downloaded for free by anyone.

The institutions receive no payment for participation in the program, yet it has expanded rapidly. In 2007 it had only 16 schools, while now it has over 600 participating universities and 350,000 free lectures. These examples of independent learning demonstrate the future of online schooling—no longer just institutions, but an entire open network of resources. U

UofT UBC 31st 37th

TOP 100th

The department running it has changed from the Office of Learning Technology (OLT) to the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT). But a main service they provide, distance education, remains the same.

UBC has been offering distance education courses for over 60 years. While they were once called correspondence courses, they are now mostly in an online format. Students can now pick from about 130 courses in just about every faculty at UBC. According to distance education statistics from the CTLT, in 2009 8414 students opted to take courses in a distance education format. Of these students, 79 per cent resided in the GVRD area.

Paul Poole, Program Manager for CTLT, says that “most [students] are also taking courses on campus.” The reason for taking distance courses, he says, is increased flexibility. Poole added that all these distance courses “are taught by experienced UBC professors,” giving students the same quality of education as if they were in a traditional lecture format class.

Jeff Miller, senior manager for Distance and Blended Learning at CTLT, said that the involved process of developing a course may take anywhere from 8 to 18 months of working with the teaching faculty. During this time the instructor, along with designers at CTLT, develop resources that will best facilitate student learning. The online format increases the potential resources for students and makes it easy for instructors to communicate via online discussions.

As a result of the increased communication and accessibility made possible by the course development, these courses can now

McGill 49th

UofA

83rd

How does UBC Rank?

This graph shows the average world rankings of UBC, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Alberta and Simon Fraser University, some of the top-ranked and largest universities in Canada. The circles’ distances from the top demonstrate their average rankings among Ranking Web, Times Higher Education, QS Top Universities and SCImago Institutions Rankings, whereas the sizes of the circles are their relative sizes to each other.

—David Chen graphic & text

SFU 216th

2010.10.28/ubyssey.ca/education/9

UBC Education grads face difficult job market The role of

instructors is changing Scott Orjala Guest Editor

Scott Orjala illustration/the ubyssey

Trevor Record features@ubyssey.ca Thinking of becoming a teacher? You may want to wait a few years. Graduates of UBC Education are having increasing difficulty finding jobs in BC schools, forcing many to leave the province or work abroad.

“I have always known that an amazing, full-time teaching position in the city I want to live in probably wouldn’t await me at graduation from UBC Ed,” said recent UBC Education graduate Nadine Bouliane. “[But] I do question the integrity of UBC’s policy of taking as many tuition dollars as possible to churn out professionals where jobs don’t exist. Entering teaching was my decision, but I wonder if our certifying institutions don’t have a responsibility to acknowledge the realities of the job market in the number of teachers they qualify each year.”

UBC Faculty of Education Director of Teacher Education Sydney Craig says that the trend has been growing over recent years.

“We’re quite aware this year that the graduates of last year are having quite a difficult time,” said Craig. “Certainly for many years we’ve been telling our students that they would most likely begin their careers as teachers on call. And that’s been the case for more than five years...I think that what you’re hearing now is that even those part-time positions are not as available.”

Craig claims that there are a number of contributing factors to the decline in available positions. Declining enrolment,

linked to a low birth rate, is one factor.

Lower funding given to public schools is another.

“Certainly in BC right now, the governments are not providing boards with a lot of financial resources,” said Craig.

Officials from the recently-disbanded Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development declined to comment. However, they did send employment statistics showing that the number of teachers employed in public schools has stayed relatively the same over the years; there were 33,704 total teachers in 2004–2005 and 33,692 in 2009–2010 (although the number of full-time teachers dropped by 300). Further, the majority of education graduates are listed as “in the workforce,” though this number includes graduates who are simply searching for work or have found employment in other sectors. They do not have statistics for the number of new teachers who are being employed.

Craig says budget cuts have meant the loss of many programs, which means that teachers from disbanded programs are also in competition for teaching jobs.

“If the special education classes or resource rooms [are cut], those are the teachers that move into the classrooms,” said Craig. “If the music program is cancelled, and that is happening everywhere, then those music teachers become regular classroom teachers. In some cases they’re even closing libraries.”

Meanwhile, some Education graduates are looking for teaching jobs in other countries where their degrees are highly valued. Bouliane recently took a

job at a girls’ middle school in Mokpo, South Korea.

“I was hired through a recruiting agency I encountered at a UBC career fair last year,” said Bouliane. “If I had plentiful work in Vancouver, I would still take the opportunity to be teaching abroad while I have no mortgage and child-rearing obligations. For me, working overseas is a big part of my professional practice as a teacher....

It helps me understand what kind of teacher I am and what kind of teacher I want to be.”

Craig pointed to Canada’s strength in exporting educators to schools abroad.

“There are many provinces in Canada that have developed a partnership with schools in Asia,” said Craig. “Many have chosen the BC curriculum, possibly because we’re on the Pacific Rim, but also because it’s fundamentally a very good curriculum. So naturally enough, they’re happy to get grads from BC university teacher education programs.”

Craig says, however, that here in BC there are only a few areas looking for teachers, including kindergarten, and subjects such as French, math, science and home economics.

There may be some hope for graduates specializing in other subjects soon, however. Craig said that a large number of baby boom teachers are expected to start retiring soon, which will occur near a time when a larger number of students begin entering schools.

“There is talk of a renewal by 2015,” said Craig. “Quite a significant renewal.” U

As our ability to access information increases, we find ourselves less reliant on the testimony of instructors. The guidance of instructors will remain a part of our school experience. But as all other aspects of education change, so will that of the educator.

Traditionally, the role of the teacher has been that of the gatekeeper of knowledge. The instructor essentially determines what knowledge is relevant for their pupils to elicit the highest rate of success for this large group of individuals within a specific subject area. It is the subject knowledge, experience and success of the instructor on which students have been dependent.

This critical role as a primary source of knowledge is now challenged by advancements in our ability to access, create and share knowledge online. Given that the majority of students in any lecture hall can access any information they desire on their smartphones, it seems only necessary to consider the impact this will hold upon how education is structured in the near future. Technology has immense potential for personalized learning and the accessibility and academic rigour of online information sources is rapidly advancing. Professionals can use online tools to participate amongst peers in the process of collectively developing information and thought in their respective disciplines.

Of course, this comes with dangers.

Access to information alone—some of which is dubious—does not amount to an education. So what will the place of the instructor be? The instructor will continue to be a key component in making education work, but the way in which this is facilitated will require some changes.

Pedagogical theories, such as those outlined by Paulo Freire, have been inserted into teacher education programs for years now. Freire argues that perhaps the student-instructor relationship may become less of a top-down transmission of information and more of a cooperative exchange.

The role of the instructor enables students to share their own experiences and interpretations of material, taking greater authority in the path to and formation of knowledge to satisfy one’s own purposes. The instructor would then assist the student in navigating the field of knowledge, using their own expertise while remaining open to the idea of being an active and objective learner alongside their students. This potentially broadens the existing knowledge of the educator as well.

For years now we have been witnessing these changes take hold. Initiatives such as Student Directed Seminars, where the material of the professor is extrapolated upon or supplemented by student interpretations of course content, have further been abstracting the notion of what teaching is.

Certainly the line between teacher and student is not as defined as has historically been the case, but perhaps identifying the instructor purely as thus has always been a somewhat misguided convention. U

10 / u b y s s e y. c a / g a m e s / 2 0 1 0 . 1 0 . 2 8

games & comics sazaemon, by meiki shu

sudoku (medium)

last ditch effort, by john kroes (lde-online.com)

blundergrads, by phil flickinger (blundergrads.com)

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

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2010.10.28/ubyssey.ca /opinions/11

opinions

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

editorial fail whale “The time has come,” The Ubyssey said, “to talk of naming whales. Of cetaceans and vocalizations; of stadium christening tales. And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether publicity fails.”

We recently entered into conversations with the Beaty Biodiversity Museum about holding a poll or contest to name their recently acquired blue whale skeleton. The museum’s director, Wayne Maddison, said that at the moment they are not interested in holding a contest and did not want The Ubyssey to hold one either. Officials in the department made three parallel, semi-contradictory arguments: (1) that as owners of the whale they hold the rights to the whale’s name, (2) that it was not scientifically professional to name specimens and (3) that it is possible the whale already had a name in nature, given to it through cetacean vocal communication.

We don’t feel that it follows that specimens should never be named by unprofessional nonscientists and have found that argument three is lacking in scientific evidence. This leaves us with their primary argument. What are names, and what grants the right to bestow them?

“As you know from sports stadiums and UBC buildings, the right to name something can cost a lot of money,” Maddison said in his email. “Insofar as we prepared the whale, it sits in our museum and is under our care, we believe that we are the current ‘rights holders’ with respect to naming the whale.”

Although they could not stop us from holding an independent contest, they would not have to consider the name legitimate. Essentially this amounts to a causal theory of reference for naming, as expressed commonly by Saul Kripke. When an infant is born, it is given a name by its family or caregiver in a process Kripke refers to as a “baptism.” In this case, the parents would be the museum. However, since Andrew Trites, the project lead from the whale’s excavation, informed us that his team already informally ‘baptised’ it as ‘Big Blue.’

Obviously, the Museum should adopt a linguistic school of thought such as Bertrand Russell’s descriptivist theory, which holds that an entity can hold multiple names which funtion as synonyms. The natural drawback to adopting such a philosophy, however, is that if we or anyone else ran a contest to come up with our own name, they would have to hold this name as also legitimate, as would ‘Big Blue,’ or anything else it might be popularly referred to. Names for things are inevitably what the public wants it to be. And your drunken nicknames for landmarks on campus— from stadiums to whales—may have more legitimacy than you once thought. U

michael thibault photo/the ubyssey

too sexy

peta protest leaves a bad taste in our mouths

Dear Too Sexy,

Okay, Anonymous,

Last week, local animal advocacy group Stop UBC Animal Research seemed to be a rather charming example of the way in which protesting can effect change. By drawing consistent and (mostly) respectful attention to their issue, they have succeeded in creating a fair amount of interest.

Local and provincial news outlets were reporting fairly regularly on the story. The university was provoked enough to have sent out a few mass emails responding to their claims.

So it was, in public, a fairly low-key campaign.

But it was also working. On Sunday, STOP joined forces with animal rights megagroup PETA for a protest in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Activists braved intemperate weather to make their case for animal rights. There were the usual paraphernalia: sandwich boards, signs, slogans, volunteers in matching parkas. And then, there were the women in underwear and body paint pretending to be research animals.

Setting aside the mind-bogglingly shitty optics of naked women in cages, these new tactics and partners seem like a bad decision. PETA may be a Great Big National Organization, but their tactics often fall short of the mark. When you’re trying to engage a group of scientists—people by and large perceived as rational, educated and sensible—in debate about their methodology, “Hey, look! Naked chicks!” may not be the best approach. These ‘controversial’ protests attract attention but it is, as our mothers would say, the wrong sort of attention. U

So there’s this girl; but I wasn’t initially attracted to her physically. Instead, I am attracted to her personality. She’s intelligent, kind and nice. But, I’m just a little hesitant making the first move, not because I’m nervous or anything, but because I’m afraid it’ll interfere with my studies.

I’m aiming for a particular graduate school that requires an 84 per cent average across the board, so I’m not sure how good a boyfriend I’d make under these studious circumstances. I’m hesitant about getting involved in a “potentially” serious/committed relationship if I “can’t commit” as much time to her as I can to my studies.

Here’s the problem I’m asking you, Too Sexy: Should I give it a try and see what happens?

If it does go anywhere, should I make it very clear to her that I’m not looking for anything serious/committed early on? Is this an instant turn-off? What would a non-serious relationship even be like? I’m not looking for a relationship that isn’t exclusive, serious or not serious.

There’s so much shite to deal with in your letter that I don’t think we can do it in 200 words. But here goes.

Point the first: In our humble opinion, being too busy is always a stupid reason to eschew relationships. This is how you end up 48 years old, with a million degrees, a sweet job, but no friends and no love life. Life’s triumphs are made sweeter when you share them, Anonymous.

But point the second, you’re not really into this girl. Personality is the most important factor in choosing a relationship partner, but attraction is important too (to most people). There are girls out there who are intelligent, kind, nice and attractive to you. Wait for those girls. The girl you’re writing about deserves to be in a relationship with someone who thinks she’s attractive.

Point the third: Declaredly uncommitted relationships are fine, as long as you’re not a jerk about them. Tell potential partners of your situation as soon as you start seeing them–don’t wait to see if it’s “going anywhere”. Also, uncommittedness isn’t a get out of jail free card.

You still have responsibilities, emotional and physical, to your partner as you would in a serious relationship.

Yours truly, —Anonymous

At the end of the day, Anonymous, relationships determine their own seriousness based on how much you like someone and want to spend time with them.

It’s hard to keep them from getting serious if they just are. And if you like someone so little that you are able to constantly give them the brush-off for studies, then why bother?

To answer your question about what an “uncommitted” relationship looks like, that’s really up to you. We propose the following: Anon: Hey girl, I’m finished my exams/paper/boring crap, wanna get a drink and bone like til daybreak?

Girl: Sure, after I finish my exam/ paper/boring crap. I’ve got another midterm in a week, so let’s get all the fucking and emotional intimacy out of the way so I can study without feeling like I haven’t had sex in three weeks.

Anon: Awesome, see you at nine.

Ta-dah! Now, it’s just like you’re actually dating, except you have a busy schedule! Who knew it could be so easy?! U That’s it for this week. As always, if you have any questions for us, send as an email at toosexy@ubyssey.ca.

12/ubyssey.ca/our campus/2010.10.28

our campus Justin McElroy coordinating@ubyssey.ca The beginning of the basketball season brings with it the return of beer gardens at War Memorial Gym. For $4 a glass, students with two pieces of ID can cheer on the basketball and volleyball teams throughout the year with a little more gusto than usual. In 2005, beer gardens were cancelled at UBC home games for over six months after a number of fans attending a Trinity Western-UBC men’s basketball match wore “pope hats” and shouted derogatory chants throughout the game. U jon chiang photo/the ubyssey

When you enter our office, Boom goes the dynamite. these eyes catch all mistakes in our paper. if you want to help catch mistakes too, email copy@ubyssey.ca

Yeah, we’re all about five-year old internet memes www.ubyssey.ca