2011.03.24

We want Charles in charge of us since 1918

U

Coffee prices spike to reach thirty year highs. Grounds to kick the caffeine habit? Page 6

the ubyssey

MARCH 24, 2011 volume 92, number xliv room 24, student union building published mondays and thursdays feedback@ubyssey.ca

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events

march 24 2011 volume xcii, no xliv editorial coordinating editor

ongoing events

friday, mar. 25

tuesday, mar. 29

news editor

Ubyssey Production • Come help us create this baby! Learn about layout and editing. Expect to be fed. • Every Sunday and Wednesday, 2pm.

ubc pot tery club gallery show • The UBC Pottery club

citr rap karaoke at the pit •

Justin McElroy : coordinating@ubyssey.ca Arshy Mann : news@ubyssey.ca

assistant news editor

Kalyeena Makortoff : kmakortoff@ubyssey.ca

senior news writer

Micki Cowan : mcowan@ubyssey.ca

culture editors

copy editor

resource groups • Are you working on a progressive project, but need funding? Do you have an idea, but can’t get it off the ground? Apply to the Resource Groups for funding!

Come in, pitch your idea to us and we will consider fully or partially funding your project.

• Every Monday, 11am in SUB 245 (second floor, north-east corner). For more info email resourcegroups.ams@gmail. com.

multimedia editor

p o t t e ry s a l e at sp rou t s •

Jonny Wakefield & Bryce Warnes : culture@ubyssey.ca

senior culture writer

Ginny Monaco : gmonaco@ubyssey.ca

culture illustrator Indiana Joel : ijoel@ubyssey.ca

sports editor

Marie Vondracek : sports@ubyssey.ca

features editor

Trevor Record : features@ubyssey.ca

photo editor

Geoff Lister : photos@ubyssey.ca

production manager

Virginie Ménard : production@ubyssey.ca Kai Green : copy@ubyssey.ca Tara Martellaro : multimedia@ubyssey.ca

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

video editor

David Marino : 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 print advertising: 604.822.1654 business office: 604.822.6681 web advertising: 604.822.1658 e-mail: advertising@ubyssey.ca

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print ad sales

Kathy Yan Li : advertising@ubyssey.ca

web ad sales

Paul Bucci : webads@ubyssey.ca

accounts

Alex Hoopes : accounts@ubyssey,ca

contributors Justin Choi Elise Grieg Urooba Jamal Gordon Katic

Irene Lo Jenny Tsundu Karlson Leung Jon Chiang

legal

The UBC Pottery Club is now selling their work at Sprouts, and have donated some pieces to Sprouts in return for space.

It brings a new addition to the Sprouts atmosphere and allows potters space to showcase t h e i r p i e c e s . • M o n – Fri, 9:30am– 4pm, Sprouts, SUB basement.

thursday, mar. 24 greenspe a k sus ta in a bil i t y c a r e e r s d ay • W i t h t h e

support of UBC Sustainability, students are organizing Greenspeak, an event about careers in sustainability. They will be hosting speakers who have integrated sustainability as a crucial par t of their business vision and have also incorporated it in their careers.

• 4:30–6pm, Room 261, Irving K Barber.

environment change & darfur • S TA N D UBC presents a

discussion and presentation on regional climate change to help us understand the effect of environmental factors in perpetrating conflict in Darfur, Sudan. Light refreshments will be provided. • 5 – 6pm, Global Lounge, Marine Drive Building 1.

is having a gallery show with live music and appetizers. It’s open to everyone and is free!

• 7:30–10pm, Room 205, SUB.

Die Ritter Vom Goldenen Kalb nor th a merican premiere •

The German Theatre Group will stage the North American premiere of Hedwig Dohm’s 1879 comedy of manners, Die Ritter vom goldenen Kalb (The Knights of the Golden Calf).

This will be the group’s third public performance at UBC. • Friday, Mar. 25, 7:30–10:30pm, reception to follow. Sunday, Mar. 27, 11:30am –2:30pm, Thea Koerner Penthouse, Graduate Student Centre.

E-mail lydiajanejones@gmail. com for more information.

games night in marine drive a nd rit s • People from all

over the UBC communit y, particularly from Marine Drive and Rits, are invited to come to the Global Lounge for a games night. There will be classic North American games played as well as international games which participants are free to bring! • 8:15–10:15pm, Global Lounge, Marine Drive Bldg 1, call (604) 928-1891 or email kambolongaro@gmail.com for more information.

saturday, mar. 26 lipdub ubc • LipDub is simple:

10 0 0 s t u d e n t s , f a c u l t y, st af f and Vancouverites will sing, dance and show off their special skills while lip-synching the words of a famous song! At this time we want your help! Come and show off your amazing talent and be apart of UBC LipDub. The commitment level is up to you and the pay off will make history. All proceeds will go to charity. Be sure to sign up!

• All day, UBC campus, free.

Go to ubclipdub.com for more information.

UBC’s first ever rap karaoke drops on Tuesday, March 29 at UBC’s Pit Pub. This is your chance to slay all the classic rhymes you’ve been rapping to yourself in the shower and show off your mad skills for the adoring crowd. DJ Relly Rels from the Crimes and Treasons radio show is going to be spinning the beats, keeping the p ar t y going b et ween karaoke sets. Please note: this is not an opportunity for amateur rappers to demo their work, and no freestyling! • 8pm–1am, Pit Pub, SUB. $5 at CiTR (SUB Room 233) or The Outpost, $8 at the door.

To ensure that the DJ has the instrumental you want to rap over, performers need to email citrRapKaraoke@gmail. com with their request.

Prof Talk with Dr Jeffrey Byrne • On UBC CiTR Radio’s Prof Talk,

with host Farha Khan, Dr Jeffrey Byrne from the Department of history will discuss his research on revolutionary Algeria in the 1960s in the context of some of the North African uprisings today. • 3pm, live programming at citr.ca.

wednesday, mar. 30 br av e n e w p l ay r i t e s 2 0 11 f e s t i va l • T h e U B C

Creative Writing and Theatre depar tments present their 25 th annual Brave New Play Rites festival. Students from both departments stage a risktaking and wildly inventive festival of original one - act plays. • Mar. 30–Apr. 3, 8pm, matinee at 2pm on Apr. 3. $10/$15, call (604) 822-2678 for ticket information, and go to bravenewplayrites.wordpress. com for a list of plays and schedules.

thursday, mar. 31 discover dance: JC dance co • Vancouver’s JC Dance Co

showcases the glamour and skill of ballroom and Latin dance for the March edition of The Dance Centre’s popular Discover Dance! series. Directed by former ballroom champions Joel Marasigan and Clara Shih, the company’s performance team will be joined by competitive ballroom dance students in a selection of classic dances including the waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, cha cha, samba, rumba and jive. Throughout the show, JC Dance Co will explore three different forms that ballroom and Latin have taken in the past decade: social, competitive and performance.

There will also be a questionand-answer session with the dancers. • 12pm, Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St, $10/$8.

friday, apr. 1 fun raiser! • Theatre at UBC

is holding their first annual Fun Raiser! which hits the stage with roller-skating, stilt soccer, fire juggling (poi), stand up comedy, live music, singing and dancing. Featuring the talents of both theatre students and facult y, this event is destined to become the stuff of legend. • 7:30pm, Freddy Wood Theatre, $15 regular, $10 student and senior.

Buy tickets at ubctheatre. universitytickets.com or call (604) 822-2678.

saturday, apr. 2 spring fever softball • Spring

is in full swing, so dust off your mitt and get ready to play some softball. Bases, game balls and catcher’s masks will be provided.

Players must bring their own bats and gloves. CoRec teams of 12 to 15 participants only.

Close out the school year in style as this tournament is a surefire home run! • Register by Mar. 25, roster due by Mar. 28.

10am–7pm, UBC Thunderbird Park, $51–$100, equipment not provided, go to rec.ubc.ca for more information.

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.

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News

editor ARSHY MANN » news@ubyssey.ca assistant editor KALYEENA MAKORTOFF » kmakortoff@ubyssey.ca SENIOR WRITER MICKI COWAN » mcowan@ubyssey.ca

Wage hike helps students, hurts AMS Arshy Mann news@ubyssey.ca With the BC minimum wage set to rise from the Canadian low of $8.25 per hour to $10.25 over the next two years, many have speculated that this will lead to fewer jobs—and fewer jobs for students.

David Green, a UBC professor of economics who specializes in labour economics, said that isn’t the case: research shows that minimum wage hikes do little to hurt those in the job market.

“The biggest question is always whether [minimum wage increases] lead to lower employment rates—whether it makes it too expensive to hire,” he said.

According to Green, while minimum wage increases often have a small negative effect on employment rates for teenagers, the effect on most university-aged students would be almost negligible. “[However], what it does do is affect the nature of the jobs and how the terminations and hiring are handled,” said Green.

“What seems to happen is t hat lay-offs go down somewhat, but hirings also go down.

So the net impact is that your probability of being employed doesn’t change very much, but when you’re on a job you tend to stay on it longer. It’s just harder to find [jobs].”

Green made clear that although significant research

Minimum wage since 1965. geoff lister infographic/the ubyssey

has been done on the effects of changes to the minimum wage in Canada, this is much larger than most increases studied.

“This large an increase, basically a twenty-five per cent increase, is bigger than any we’ve seen in any jurisdiction in Canada, as far as I know.”

The restaurant industry has been one of the fiercest critics of the new minimum wage increases, with owners arguing that between a slow economy, rising food costs and HST,

restaurants are already being squeezed out.

“The question that I’m now fielding, which is coming from the business community, is how do you pay for increasing your wage cost when you’re in a market that’s flat and/or losing sales?” Ian Tostenson, president and chief executive officer of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, told The Globe and Mail.

Green said that restaurant owners are likely to overestimate

problems with a wage increase because they don’t realize that their competitors are under the same sort of pressure.

“The minimum wage tends to be a bit player in determining the main employment prospects that students are going to face,” he said. “What’s really going to be important is whether the economy, wherever they go to find a job for the summer, whether that economy is doing well.”

While students across BC are getting a bump from Clark’s proposal, the AMS is expecting to take a big hit.

VP Finance Elin Tayyar said that the minimum wage increase will likely mean at least an extra $200,000 in unforeseen costs over the next two years.

“We definitely did not take this into account when we went into the referendum,” he said.

“The effects are quite massive, but it’ll all depend on the choices we make in t he next few weeks.”

Tayyar said that the AMS will likely have to redo their entire pay structure because of the minimum wage bump. He went on to say that no decisions have yet been made, but the AMS is beginning the discussion process.

“We’re not necessarily for or against this. We’re just going to obey the law and accommodate the increases and we’re definitely looking at redoing our wages as a result,” he said. U

Budget brings breaks for part-time students emma godmere National Bureau Chief OTTAWA (CUP)—Education and training were of particular importance in the 2011 federal budget, entitled “A Low-Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth,” and unveiled this Tuesday, March 22.

“With the next phase of our economic action plan, our government is focusing on securing and completing our economic recovery,” Finance Minster Jim Flaherty told journalists in advance of his speech in the House of Commons.

“Our government continues to invest in innovation, so Canadians can prosper in the global economy. This will mean more investments in world-class research, higher education...as well as an enhanced Canada Student Loans Program for full- and for part-time students.”

One particular item that Flaherty highlighted in his speech was the government’s pledge to forgive student loans of up to $40,000 for new doctors and $20,000 for new nurses and nurse practitioners who plan to work in rural and Aboriginal communities. The initiative is set to launch in 2012–13.

The government will also invest some new money in up-front grants for students. An ongoing $2.2-million yearly investment will allow more part-time students to be eligible for Canada

PM & Flaherty day of the budget. alex smyth photo/The fulcrum

Student Grants, thanks to changes made to income thresholds.

Currently, about 4000 part-time students benefit from this grant of up to $1200. The changes are expected to benefit roughly 1600 more part-time students once they are fully implemented.

Additionally, part-time students will no longer having to pay interest on their Canada Student Loans while still in school. More changes to the Canada Student Loans Program will also allow part-time students to have higher family incomes without seeing their loan eligibility change, and will increase full-time students’

in-study income exemption from $50 to $100 a week.

In terms of research, an additional $37 million in annual funding has been earmarked for the three federal granting councils. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada in particular will benefit from added investments to support climate change and atmospheric research, its Ideas to Innovation program, and 30 new Industrial Research Chairs at colleges across the country.

The government will also pledge $53.5 million over five years to create ten new Canada

Excellence Research Chairs on campuses from coast to coast— some specifically involving digital innovation, a field quite prevalent in the 2011 budget. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada will reallocate $60 million in its existing budget to promote enrolment in studies related to the field, such as science, engineering and mathematics.

The topic of commercialization of research was also present, in the form of $80 million in new funding to be distributed over three years to a pilot program that supports collaborations between colleges and small businesses on projects relating to information and communications technologies.

According to this year’s budget document, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada— the department responsible for the Canada Student Loans Program—will be seeking to slash $80.5 million from its spending in 2011–12, up to $140.7 million from its spending in 2012–13, and up to $273.9 million from its spending in 2013–14. No details have yet been released on what specific programs will be affected by these cuts.

While this year’s budget predicts a deficit of $40.5 billion for 2010–11, the government hopes to reduce it to $0.3 billion in 201415, and is projecting a surplus of up to $4.2 billion in 2015–16. U

NEWS BRIEFS Trinit y Western ta x scheme nixed by courts

An elaborate house of cards collapsed last week for parents looking to offset the cost of their child’s education at Trinity Western University through charitable donations.

The Christian university, located in the Vancouver suburb of Langley, BC, is a private institution and thus does not receive the same level of provincial and federal funding as public universities. Because of this lack of government funding, tuition costs between $16,000 and $20,000 per year.

The university invited parents of current students to donate money to a registered charity called the National Foundation for Christian Leadership. In return, donors would receive a tax receipt, allowing them to deduct their donation from their taxes paid, and their children would receive a scholarship or bursary to help offset the cost of their education.

This method became popular with parents looking to offset the cost of their children’s education until the Canada Revenue Agency determined the donated funds were not really “gifts” as reciprocation in the form of lower tuition was expected.

Justice Campbell J. Miller, who presided over the case when it was in the tax courts, called it “disturbing” as “80 per cent to 100 per cent of monies they donated would go to cover the education cost of those students who solicited the funds— primarily their offspring.”

The current president of Trinity Western University declined to comment on the issue, stating that it predated his time at the institution and he didn’t “fully understand the issue.”

Former University of Manitoba students wanted on terrorism charges

Two former University of Manitoba students, Ferid Ahmed Imam and Maiwand Yar, have been criminally charged for terrorist-related activity.

In 2007 the two men fled to Pakistan, after which they severed contact with their family and friends. Their whereabouts are unknown, and the Manitoba RCMP has laid the charges in absentia.

The RCMP did not elab orate on the exact details of the terrorist-related activity for which the two men have been charged.

Canada-wide warrants have been issued and the RCMP is collaborating with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada Border Service Agency, and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with other international law enforcement, in their search for Imam and Yar. “We are going to be working with our partners again across the world to, if they are located and we do become aware that they’re in a specific country, to bring them to justice,” said Sgt. Line Karpish, a spokesperson for the Manitoba RCMP.

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Final essays for sale?

Justin Choi Elise Grieg Urooba Jamal Karlson Leung Irene Lo Jenny Tsundu investigative@ubyssey.ca Want to buy yourself a passing essay? It may be easier to commit academic fraud than you think.

Last term The Ubyssey’s investigative team contacted 16 essay revision services which advertise around campus. Posing as desperate students, we asked if they’d be willing to write a first-year science essay.

Of these 16 services, six immediately agreed to do so, knowing they’d be taking part in academic misconduct.

One particular service, EssayExperts.ca, referred us to their website—where we found the company provided custom-written essays, research papers and even theses and dissertations at high prices. To test its claims of originality and high quality writing, The Ubyssey bought an essay. And with the cooperation of Earth and Ocean Sciences (EOSC) Professor Michael Lipsen, we proceeded to submit it under an assumed name for grading with his TA. We also ran it through Turnitin.com to check for recycled content. If it was this simple to plagiarize an essay, would it be just as easy to get away with it?

What is plagiarism?

Purchasing an essay and submitting it as your own is considered a form of plagiarism. Other forms of plagiarism include using improper citations, copying published sources, copying other students and even copying your own work from a different course without prior consent from the professor.

“I don’t ever buy the idea that students didn’t understand they plagiarized,” said Dr Janet Giltrow, associate dean of students in the Faculty of Arts. “The very

fact they chose the other person’s words as opposed to their own, shows that they know value’s added.”

From cottage to corporate industry Companies who make it convenient for students to plagiarize, often referred to as essay mills, are numerous. Bestessays.com, custom-essays.net, and primewritings.com are just some of who come up when you Google “custom essay writing.” Unlike individuals offering tutoring services that may be willing to write essays for clients, these companies have based their entire business model on essay writing.

For the most part, they also position themselves as research assistants that can help students with figures, sources and examples on how to write a quality paper.

“Our papers are designed to HELP you write your own essay,” states EssayExperts.ca on their FAQ page. “It is completely legal to buy a completed paper from a research service, whether prewritten or customized. Plagiarism means you sign your name to a paper you haven’t written, or take credit for ideas without indicating where those ideas came from. Buying an essay from a research service IS legal, and is often the best way to learn about writing quality essays or term papers.

“EVERYONE NEEDS HELP at some time

or another. Essay writing services are designed to provide you with personal assistance in writing your own papers and essays.”

EssayExperts.ca, which has corporate offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Los Angeles, provides an online application form that allows students to specify the topic, length and other details about the assignment. Prices range from $27$40 per double-spaced page, depending on how quickly the essay is needed. The company’s website guarantees original work, and each writer possesses “at least a Master’s degree.” In its mission statement, EssayExperts.ca boasts that it’s the “leader in custom academic writing in North America… well versed to be able to deliver a superb document.”

The Ubyssey ordered our own three-page EOSC essay seven days before it was due for submission, to get the lowest rate of $27 per page. The next day, an “academic advisor” called us back and told us the fee would be raised to $32 per page, because it was a science paper. $116.14 later, our essay was assigned to a writer.

Screening for fraud There are automated plagiarismdetection services which claim to detect fraud. For many classes, student papers are screened using turnitin.com’s originality check. Calling itself the “world’s #1 most used and most effective plagiarism prevention tool,” the online tool compares student papers to a database of publications, indexed web content and previously submitted student papers. Naturally, these

services are unable to detect plagiarism in original essays.

“Essays from essay writing services often contain extensive material cribbed from online sources as well as material from banks of standard essays that have been recycled many times over,” said Katie Povejsil, VP of Marketing at iParadigms, creators of Turnitin and WriteCheck. “Students who purchase so-called custom-written essays may not be getting as original work as they think,” she said, adding “Turnitin is likely to flag content in so-called custom essays as unoriginal.”

However, no red flags came up when the essay was submitted to Turnitin.com, suggesting that EssayExperts.ca did indeed hold up to its promise of originality.

Apart from Turnitin, professors and TAs rely on their prior knowledge of the student’s capabilities to check the originality of their student’s work. But Giltrow acknowledges it’s harder to detect plagiarism when a student has used a service that sells original work. “I think it’s harder to prove services because they’re not ready made; they’re not up there on the web to be bought off a shelf…[but] essays that are produced to order very rarely fit the assignment.”

The TA did not detect that the investigative team’s plagiarism, although the pa-

per was given a low grade for poor content quality.

Getting caught Giltrow interviews students who have been accused of plagiarism, and determines whether or not they’ll be sent to the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Discipline (PACSD) for further judgment. Once cases have been have been heard by the PACSD, the consequences can range from no penalty to suspension to expulsion from the university with a permanent notation on one’s record.

Dr Charles Slonecker, chair of PACSD, explained that rules on reviewing plagiarism are reviewed by the course instructor, department head and dean’s office before the PACSD. Giltrow interviews all Arts students suspected of academic misconduct and determines whether or not each particular case should be sent to the president’s committee for further judgement. She said that usually, the case is resolved without the involvement of PACSD. “Most of these cases are solved between student and instructor,” said Giltrow. “The student gets another chance, or takes a very low mark for that essay, or a zero, or gets to rewrite and the grade is discounted or cut in half…Sometimes students will also be referred to the head of the department who will speak to the student and the department will decide how t hey w i l l handle it in the department.”

A s such, t he disciplinary reports reflect on l y t hose cases which were not resolved within a faculty.

If an issue does make it to

2011.03.24/ubyssey.ca/investigative/5

PACSD, it will often be for plagiarism of some form. During the 2008–2009 academic year, 13 of 32 academic violations at UBC were attributed to plagiarism. The punishment can range from a failing grade in the course to a suspension of 1-12 months, depending on the circumstances of the incident.

However, students are rarely caught and fully prosecuted for submitting papers that they had some one else write for them. In most of the PACSD cases, students were caught when they inserted material from online sources into their papers. In the 2008–2009 academic year at UBC, only one student was brought to PACSD for allegedly submitting a final paper that was suspected of being written by someone other than the student. The allegation was dismissed due to lack of proof.

Who Plagiarises?

It is difficult to determine realistic numbers for how many students engage in plagiarism, and estimates tend to vary—one 1995 study entitled Undergraduate Cheating: Who Does What and Why? claimed that as many as 60 per cent of students have engaged in academic misconduct, including plagiarism, copying of others’ work or inventing lab results.

Giltrow said that students who commit academic misconduct are likely “alienated from their experiences or studies.”

“There’s a number of different ways that might happen,” said Giltrow. “They might have just not been going to class because they feel quite separate from the class and the coursework. They usually don’t talk about having close friends in the class [either].”

This alienation from the class could come about from disinterest, as well.

“It is completely legal to buy a completed paper from a research service, whether prewritten or customized.”

EssayExperts.ca FAQ page

“[If] it was a course they were disinterested in, they [feel] they [don’t] need to have responsibility for doing their own work.

It’s not a very grown-up attitude,” Giltrow remarks. “Maybe it was their parents’ idea that they come to UBC. However, I don’t think it’s retaliation or resistance.”

Still, people who plagiarize and buy ready-made essays aren’t always disengaged with academia.

“I have seen a case where an extremely conscientious student ended up turning in an essay where he finally said it wasn’t his, but it was the product of tutoring and he just wanted to do the best he could,” explained Giltrow.

Can essay mills be fought?

UBC RCMP confirmed that as long as essay mills are not violating any copyright laws, they are legally within their rights to operate as a business.

A company like EssayExperts. ca, which sells original work to students, can continue to do so despite the fact that students may be using them to commit academic fraud.

Slonecker stated t hat t he PACSD is trying to combat academic fraud by “establishing a level playing field for all UBC students based on academic integrity.” This is enforced by investigating allegations through three different levels of the university. The President’s decisions are published annually on the PACSD website.

Giltrow believes the key to undermining plagiarism is to “engage students in their studies and make them a part of a community of young scholars who are exploring an area of their discipline, and then the

last thing [they] do is download something from the internet.”

“Students as part of a community of scholars…it’s all about

“I don’t ever buy the idea that students didn’t understand they plagiarized.”

Janet Giltrow Associate Dean of Students, UBC Arts

you, and what you can do, and what you can say. I guess that’s a broad mission.”

Additionally, academic support is available at UBC. Unlike self-advertised tutoring or essay writing services, these programs have a system of checks and balances to ensure that no misconduct occurs.

AMS tutoring services has a month-long hiring process involving interviews, reference checking and diagnostic skill testing. Hired tutors have to attend a mandatory training session where it is made clear that plagiarism is not allowed, and tutors are supervised by more experienced tutors. Head tutors monitor both drop-in sessions and appointments at the Chapman Learning Commons in IKBLC. At

the end of online sessions, transcripts of the sessions are sent to the AMS tutoring coordinator.

The grades come in The essay that The Ubyssey investigative team submitted was not detected as being plagiarized.

However, the company’s claims of producing high quality work seemed to fall through: the essay only received a mark of 58 per cent. Additionally, our essay was sent to us six days late; the first writer assigned to our essay abandoned the project without notice and the company scrambled to find another one. Coupled with the 30 per cent late penalty (5 per cent per day), the assignment received a failing mark of 28 per cent.

When we called in to complain about the poor quality and service, EssayExperts.ca offered credit and the promise that our next order would be of higher priority. We filed a request for a refund and a month later, it was granted.

When we called the company again revealing we were student journalists, the company refused to comment. U

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culture

editorS BRYCE WARNES & JONNY WAKEFIELD » culture@ubyssey.ca SENIOR WRITER GINNY MONACO » gmonaco@ubyssey.ca ILLUSTRATOR INDIANA JOEL » ijoel@ubyssey.ca

UBC LipDub to film this weekend Ginny Monaco gmonaco@ubyssey.ca Only one event can bring together the young, the old and the Chewbaccas.

On Saturday, March 26, filming for UBC LipDub will take over campus in what is sure to be a strange assemblage of over 1000 people out to promote school spirit. “We have a whole lot of people with crazy costumes signed up,” said Andrew Cohen, the event’s organizer. “People come up to me saying, ‘Can I be a Chewbacca on rollerskates?’

And I’m like, ‘Yes, that’ll be fantastic.’ I don’t need to say no to anything.”

In its purest form, a lip dub is a single-shot video in which participants lip-synch along to a song while trying to act as outlandish as possible.

The songs chosen to represent UBC are Marianas Trench’s “Celebrity Status” and Pink’s “Raise Your Glass.” Cohen feels that the latter encompasses the best parts of campus and of lip dub as a form. “It’s got a really great message. It’s about being who you are, it’s okay to be different and to enjoy what makes us different,” he said.

Besides the traditional singleshot path of a lip dub, the video will end with a choreographed flash mob dance sequence. If the weather cooperates, the scene will be filmed partly from a helicopter. Part of the lip dub will

be shot at the pool using an underwater camera and the band Marianas Trench will also appear in the video. It’s high production values for a five-minute Youtube video. “Almost everything has been donated to us because we’re trying to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation,” said Cohen. “We want to make it the best video we can and the more cool stuff we can throw in, the higher the chance of it going viral and the more money we can raise.”

On the same day flash mobs take over the Point Grey campus, UBC-O will be filming their own lip dub to Mika’s “We Are Young.”

According to Cohen and organizers from UBC-O, it would have been difficult to integrate the videos as they came into being at different times.

Despite the fact that they are standalone pieces, the simultaneous production speaks to the appeal of lip dub. Cassandra Paterson, volunteer coordinator for the Vancouver video, feels the project is a good way to foster a sense of community. “It took me my third and fourth year to start getting involved on campus. It’s going to be an exciting day, and it’s taking a lot of work, but I think it’ll pay off.”

Cohen agrees. “Ever yone wants to have a positive experience, do good for the community, and raise money for Make a Wish. It’s about togetherness, really.” U

Organizers hope slick promos and aggressive recruitment will yield YouTube gold. Photo Courtesy of UBC lipdub

Coffee prices expected to reach 30 year highs Ginny Monaco gmonaco@ubyssey.ca It might be time to consider becoming a tea drinker.

Over the past several months, coffee prices have risen to levels not seen in 30 years. Facing lower than expected crop yields, retailers like Ethical Bean—which supplies much of the coffee served at UBC— have been forced to raise their prices.

“Part of the problem is that inventory of coffee is low right now until the picking season begins later this year,” said Professor Werner Antweiler of the Sauder School of Business.

According to a New York Times video from March 11, Colombian farmers have been facing endemic crop loss due to heavy rains that damaged early plants. Warmer temperatures have also made the crops more susceptible to pests.

Colombian coffee production has fallen 30 per cent over the past five years and crop losses for 2011 are projected to be almost 70 per cent for some farmers.

Sara Elder, a PhD candidate who researched the impact of Fair Trade certification on Rwandan coffee growers, expressed the difficulty of predicting coffee prices. “It gets complicated because a lot of coffee is traded on the futures market and it’s not always dependent on actual supply and demand,” she said.

It seems unlikely that, even after the upcoming harvest, coffee re-

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to save consumers from these prices, as the situation seems “temporary.”

However, the ancillary group is in the midst of a price review and consumers might see an increase come May 1. “We trust and work with our suppliers to source us the best pricing possible,” said McGowan. “However, we can only absorb so many price increases and coffee is just one aspect of what we buy.” U

Cost of beans reaches 30 year high. Source: International Coffee Organization. Geoff Lister graphic/The Ubyssey

serves and prices will return to normal levels. In a statement posted to their website, Ethical Bean president and CEO Lloyd Bernhardt explained that the company’s price increase is a reflection of global markets.

Pointing to a weakened American economy and subsequent food speculation, Bernhardt said, “Those with beans are reluctant to sell, hedging their bets for even higher and higher prices. In its most serious form, commodity

speculation on food has driven up such a high price increase on food goods that some global communities can’t even afford the basics, let alone coffee.”

UBC students shouldn’t expect to see an immediate increase in the cost of a cup of coffee. According to Director of Food Services Loriann McGowan, UBC-contracted wholesalers (including Ethical Bean) are required to give 30 days’ notice before implementing a price escalation.

“They haven’t given us any indication that they’re going to be raising their wholesale prices within the next 30 days,” said McGowan. “But we are anticipating that’s something that’s going to come down the line.”

For several weeks, Food Services has been absorbing a rise in produce costs, following unfavourable growing conditions in Mexico, Florida and California.

McGowan said that menus and recipe quantities were modified

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editorial Sustainability fund requires scrutiny Any university student knows that it’s easier to receive a giant pile of money than actually spend it.

That’s what the AMS will have to deal with in the aftermath of the student fee increases narrowly passed by referendum. One of the new funds that deserve extra scrutiny is the “Sustainability Projects Fund,” to which all students will pay $2.25. This sort of fee isn’t without precedent in Canada—UVic, SFU, Ottawa, McGill and Concordia (among others) have a dedicated fund that students can apply to if they have a project that promotes sustainability on campus, paid through student fees.

The only problem is that, at this point, there are no details on how it will be managed. This gives the AMS the flexibility to talk with other student societies about what works and doesn’t with their sustainability funds, ensuring that whatever is created at UBC is structured in a way that will give maximum value to students. However, since they haven’t outlined any of that yet, there is plenty of ammunition available for those who believe the sustainability fund will be a slush fund for mismanaged events.

The opportunity for great projects that could be launched by this is significant. Future initiatives could include projects to remove plastic bottles from the SUB businesses, install solar panels on UBC buildings and so forth. There is also the danger that this fund will be a way for hacks to squander their money on other hacks. Imagine an endless train of AUS councillors asking for funding to do surveys on “sustainability engagement,” organizing “go-green” parties, filing meaningless UN complains about UBC paper cups... you get the point.

Given the amount of money UBC is putting into their own eco-friendly projects, students should have their own opportunities to make sustainability initiatives. If you know how the AMS will actually set up this fund, then we congratulate you on inventing a time machine. But for those of us whose hot tubs are missing the “time travel” function, we’ll be keeping an eye on where this money ends up.

Essay mills have us reminiscing about the days when we too wrote these “term papers” Today’s essay-writing services story carries one ray of hope for Masters students: it looks like you can always settle into a job helping people plagiarize if you can’t find other employment.

In truth, we don’t really know the exact number of students that are using these various essay mills and tutoring services to put out fraudulent papers.

But neither do your teachers. And judging by the number of businesses that are available online, it’s a lot. Which leaves us with the question: how easy is it to actually buy your degree?

We were told several times that professors and TAs learn their students’ writing habits, which helps them sniff out plagiarism. But at a school like UBC, where some classes have hundreds of students, that approach is bound to have plenty of misses and false accusations. There’s also technology available to help detect cheating. But technology also brings greater ability to find ways to cheat, and the gap between cheating options and plagiarism detection will only widen with time.

Better efforts at catching students cheating could help as well. And there is room for improvement there—at SFU, 113 cases of plagiarism were taken to their student court in 2009, compared to 13 cases at UBC during the 2008/2009 period. Despite the easy pot shot at SFU, we are fairly certain students at that august institution aren’t 12.5 times more likely to plagiarize.

However, ultimately the solution should be a reshuffling of the importance given to take-home essays. Without getting rid of them entirely, it should be possible to put more importance on making sure students are getting a better quality of education, then testing them on this in a way that is difficult to cheat with. From exams, to in-class essays, to presentations and group projects, there are plenty of methods used to gauge a student’s proficiency within a subject that can’t be manipulated through paying for an essay.

What is at stake here is the value of your university degree. The easier it gets to “buy” yourself a passing grade, the less valuable your education becomes. This is something that happens at an alarming rate, now more than ever, so it’s also the time that we start thinking about what should be done about it. U

virginie ménard graphic/the ubyssey

opinions

Katic: No need to support Middle East wars Brian Platt has written a series of articles in this paper regarding our intervention in Afghanistan. He argues that the West must build schools and ward off “gangs of religious death cults,” because “this is about keeping our promise to the Afghan people.” Rather than acknowledging that more Afghans blame the United States than the Taliban for violence and insecurity (36 per cent to 27 per cent, according to an ABC poll), Platt perpetuates the lie of Western benevolence and gives a veneer of legitimacy to a disastrous and immoral war.

I don’t doubt that he has noble intentions. However, school-building is plainly not the nature of our intervention. For the price of one soldier, we can build 20 Afghan schools. Yet Obama has sent a surge of 30,000 troops, only emboldening the Taliban and creating an alarming rise of violence.

I’d like to see a piece on the fact that a majority of Canadians, Americans and, most importantly, Afghans oppose the war. I’d like to see a piece explaining how our endeavour in Afghanistan is destabilizing

the nuclear-armed nation of Pakistan.

Most importantly, I would like to see Platt recognize that the war has created more than five million refugees and exacerbated hunger in one of the most impoverished nations in the world.

While it is encouraging that students have genuine humanitarian impulses, we need to be cautious that these are not exploited to justify wars that only serve to cause further suffering and bloodshed.

Over the past months, many students have come to support popular uprisings in the Middle East, to sympathize with the people’s democratic ambitions and to condemn the violence of savage dictators. In particular, the debate around intervention in Libya has cited the slaughter of innocents and the behaviour of Muammar el-Quaddafi as justification for a US-led invasion. When I read war-mongering editorials in the New York Times saying Quaddafi is “erratic, widely reviled, armed with mustard gas and has a history of supporting terrorism,” I wonder if they didn’t just take an old editorial and swap out the name Hussein

for Quaddafi. Clearly, our good intentions can be exploited.

The answer is not Western intervention in an area where we are particularly reviled. In Egypt, America supported a dictator for over three decades, resulting in 92 per cent of the population seeing America as the “greatest threat to their security,” according to a Zogby Poll. Moreover, the White House continues to support violent regimes in Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Why should we believe that the American government cares for the plight of the Libyan people, when they enable the suffering of people elsewhere?

When students assess the appropriate course of action in Libya, they need to consider the lessons learned from past experience. Western military intervention, though rationalized through the rhetoric of humanitarian concern, has proved to be disastrous.

Instead of feeling good about our humanitarian efforts, as Platt does, we should critically evaluate the real impacts and motivations for war in the Middle East. U

letters Sullivan’s role monumental at UBC I first heard of Brian Sullivan in the summer of 1999 when I was a MUG Leader. One of the emails asked us to keep an eye out for a guy in a bow tie looking lost on campus—our new VP Students.

My first thought was that he seemed cool for daring to be different and sounding down-to-earth. Having had the pleasure of working with him closely for many years now, I know that students across campus appreciated his unique style of leadership and that we are going to miss him.

Vice President Students is a truly unique position in Canada since, in other Canadian universities, the student-affairs responsibilities are usually handled by an associate or deputy vice president. As the first person filling the position, Brian took the leadership in truly shaping it.

During his tenure, the student affairs at UBC were reimagined. Whether it was the Trek or the Place and Promise strategic plan, Brian’s role in making the student learning and

experience a priority was always evident.

His leadership was instrumental on improving the quality of student space on campus, on increasing affordable housing, on diversifying learning options outside the classroom and on creating a more robust social life. But things he dealt with weren’t always glorious. For example, he also led many heated consultations with students, including an intense one after the tuition freeze was lifted.

Regardless of the issues involved, Brian’s principled approach built trust with students. He was always genuinely engaged with us whether he was being thrown into a dunk tank, attending a beer garden or running a consultation. He will be missed for being an ally, a mentor and a friend and I wish him all the best as he moves into his new role in Alumni Affairs.

—Bijan Ahmadian 101st AMS President

For BSull—A Warm Farewell I would like to extend my gratitude and pleasure at having been given the privilege of working for you during my undergraduate years at UBC. I will be graduating this May—and I suppose both of us will be ‘graduating’ in a way, moving on to something new. I would like to thank you for being courteous and friendly while I was donning whatever “hat” I happened to be wearing. Whether we were eating lunch together during MUG Leader training, or I was asking you some (probably tough) questions about the university in my role as news editor of The Ubyssey, I enjoyed your company and professionalism. More importantly, I enjoyed your devotion to the students of this campus.

I won’t make a joke about bow ties here—I imagine you are extremely tired of them by now. Good luck at your future post in Alumni Affairs, and I will definitely return to my alma mater to pay you a visit.

—Samantha Jung Arts 5

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our campus

Virginie MÊnard production@ubyssey.ca You may have seen the giant mound of dirt being spread in front of the SUB last week. That means that it’s Storm the Wall season, folks. This year the large wall has been spray painted to give it a new look, and possibly to give people something to look at as they attempt to climb it.

The paint job was done by artist Vince Dumoulin. You can find a video of his initial sketch for the painting on his website at vincedumoulin.wordpress.com. U

jon chiang Photo/the ubyssey

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