February 27, 2012

February 27, 2012 | VOL. XCIII ISS. XLII

Thanks for mopping the office, Jeff 2.0 SINCE 1918

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UNION

NEGOTIATIONS

HEAT

Service workers to hold strike vote

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UP

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227PE 8

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TAs lay wage demands on table, UBC doesn’t budge

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CAVE

THE UBYSSEY SLUTS

AND DINO WHORES? Ski and Board Club draws criticism over event posters

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P8 CLUTCHES OF KARMA P11 Dargani creates line of philanthropic handbags

BITTER

SWEET Volleyball moves on to nationals after losing Canada West

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2 | Page 2 | 02.27.2012

What’s on 27 MON

This week, may we suggest...

MUSIC >>

Our Campus

One on one with the people who make UBC

Wasted Talent artist balances engineering, comics Maitrayee Dhaka Contributor

UBC Composers’ Concerts: 12pm @ Barnett Hall Rather than listening to the din of Pacific Spirit Place, spend your lunchtime sampling some homegrown tunes from UBC composers. Admission is free.

28 TUE

TALKS >>

1 THU

JOBS >>

Gringo Love: Affect, Power and Mobility in Sex Tourism: 11:30am–1pm @ Anth and Soc Building A talk on Brazilian sex tourism and the intersections of gender, migration and globalization from PhD student Marie-Eve Carrier Moisan.

29 WED

DND >>

Dungeons and Dragons live: 7:30–11pm @ Rio Theatre Get your nerd on at this fantasy gaming-themed comedy performed in a theatre that serves alcohol. Attend in costume and you may win prizes. Tickets $5 in advance, $8 at the door.

2

FRI

What are my career options with my graduate degree?: 3:30–5pm @ IKB 265 Graduate students who are wondering about their career options have the opportunity to take part in this interactive workshop.

FRAT PARTY >> Six Shooter: 7pm @ DKE Delta Kappa Epsilon is hosting a western-themed party, so get your cowboy hat ready and remember to spit your chewing tobacco into a cup.

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Got an event you’d like to see on this page? Send your event and your best pitch to printeditor@ubyssey.ca.

THE UBYSSEY Febuary 27, 2012, Volume XCIII, Issue XLII

EDITORIAL

Coordinating Editor Justin McElroy

coordinating@ubyssey.ca

Managing Editor, Print Jonny Wakefield printeditor@ubyssey.ca

Managing Editor, Web Arshy Mann webeditor@ubyssey.ca

News Editors Kalyeena Makortoff & Micki Cowan news@ubyssey.ca

Art Director Geoff Lister

art@ubyssey.ca

Culture Editor Ginny Monaco

culture@ubyssey.ca

Senior Culture Writer Will Johnson wjohnson@ubyssey.ca

Sports Editor Drake Fenton

sports@ubyssey.ca

Features Editor Brian Platt

features@ubyssey.ca

Copy Editor Karina Palmitesta copy@ubyssey.ca

Video Editor David Marino

video@ubyssey.ca

Senior Web Writer Andrew Bates abates@ubyssey.ca

Graphics Assistant Indiana Joel

BUSINESS

CONTACT

Business Manager Fernie Pereira

Business Office: Room 23 Editorial Office: Room 24 Student Union Building 6138 Student Union Blvd Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 tel: 604.822.2301 web: www.ubyssey.ca

business@ubyssey.ca

Ad Sales Ben Chen

advertising@ubyssey.ca

Accounts Sifat Hasan

accounts@ubyssey.ca

Webmaster Jeff Blake

STAFF

Andrew Hood, Bryce Warnes, Catherine Guan, David Elop, Jon Chiang, Josh Curran, Will McDonald, Tara Martellaro, Virginie Menard, Scott MacDonald, Anna Zoria, Peter Wojnar, Tanner Bokor, Dominic Lai, Mark-Andre Gessaroli, Natalya Kautz, Kai Jacobson, RJ Reid, Colin Chia, Ming Wong, CJ Pentland, Laura Rodgers

Print Advertising:

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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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Letters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please include your

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

In her fourth year at UBC, Angela Melick transformed Club Mech— the mechanical engineering student space—into a disco.

The event, part of the mechanical engineers’ Bad Idea Fridays, came complete with lights, disco balls and a troupe of engineers doing the Hustle in 70s outfits. It happened to be the same day that first-year students were touring the engineering club rooms.

“The first-years entered, saw what was happening, and backed away slowly. We also ended up doing the Hustle at my wedding,” Melick said with a chuckle.

After a determined effort to have fun in her last year in university, Melick graduated from UBC with a degree in mechanical engineering. She continues to attend the annual alumni meet-and-greet, Old Red, New Red. While Melick works in the sustainability industry by day, she is perhaps most popular for her web comic Wasted Talent, which draws on her life as an engineer for inspiration. Much of her work references her time at UBC. The title, Melick explains, refers to her inability to give up either engineering or art.

“My mother was a fine artist and my father an engineer. Both of these sides of myself have been developed by either one of them.

When it came to high school, I had

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

Angela Melick balances her two passions, engineering and art.

to make a decision and didn’t make one until the last minute. I was enrolled in AP physics and math and chemistry but also the fine arts studio program. I applied to both art schools and engineering schools and was accepted to both.

When I chose engineering, I told myself I won’t let go of art,” Melick said.

First online in 2005 and still updated weekly, Wasted Talent is mostly autobiographical. The comic has shown up in dorm rooms and computer screens of engineers struggling to accurately describe their lives. It started off as a way to make her friends laugh.

“My friends showed it to their friends,” Melick said. “Soon, people that I didn’t know knew me. ‘Life of a Second-Year Mech’ was probably one my most popular ones and started showing up everywhere. What shocked me was that by the time I graduated, it had spread to other campuses.” She now has fans around the world,

and she has been featured in Reader’s Digest.

The balance between fine arts and hard sciences suits Melick.

“A lot of people dismiss [the comic] because I do downplay it,” she said of her engineering coworkers, “but it is the way that I process my emotions and it helps me achieve balance, and it has certainly helped me get better at time management. The audience is phenomenal and I’ve met engineers from across the world and it’s great.”

Wasted talent or not, she’s excited about the future and currently working on the cover of her second book, due for a March release.

“Changes are happening in my career,” Melick said. “I have plans to build upon what I learned with Wasted Talent but I’m not really sure what the future holds. I’m always working on building new things and have a few projects under development. It’s a marathon, not a race.” U

News

02.27.2012 |

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Editors: Kalyeena Makortoff & Micki Cowan

REBRANDING >>

New AMS logo under the knife, but facelift will take months Jeff Aschkinasi Contributor

For the second time in five years, the AMS logo is getting a makeover.

The logo is part of a rebranding initiative that began last November.

Local design firm Glasfurd & Walker was in charge of developing the identities of AMS businesses going into the new SUB, such as Peko Peko sushi and Boom! Pizza. As part of the rebranding, the firm was tasked with recreating the society brand as a whole.

The AMS will spend approximately $20,000 for both creation and implementation of the new brand.

Outgoing AMS President Jeremy McElroy said that a change is necessary. The AMS in 2007 “undertook a rebranding exercise to the existing setting sun with the mountains in the background,” he said.

“That process was undertaken rather quickly and the options ultimately came to the Council and people said...‘Yeah, that looks pretty good,’ so it was adopted.”

It was suggestions from some AMS councillors that moved the society to change the logo once more.

AMS Council approved the new logo at the Feb. 15 meeting. AMS communications director Demitri Douzenis said rather than happening all at once, the rebrand will be phased in slowly, starting with signage for AMS Block Party in April.

“We will receive the new logo within the next week or so and we’re going to go for a soft launch, end of April [or] beginning of May, and then we will get into a

hard launch by September,” said Douzenis.

“We’re giving ourselves four months to make sure that we do it properly.”

While the new SUB will include the new branding entirely, many signs in the current SUB still use the outdated logo that was used before the 2007 rebrand. This traditional signage will remain unchanged.

In developing the new logo, Glasfurd & Walker surveyed students, staff and community

LABOUR >>

Service staff to hold strike vote in March Andrew Bates Senior News Writer

UBC’s custodial, security and service workers will be holding a strike vote mid-March.

According to CUPE 116 President Colleen Garbe, the vote is necessary to get “a mandate from our membership for us to be able to get the job done.”

Strike votes don’t force an immediate strike, but give CUPE 116 executives permission to call one.

The union is currently in talks to renew its agreement with the university, which expired in 2010.

Lucie McNeill, director of UBC Public Affairs, said strike votes are a normal part of negotiations.

“The reason why strike votes are often taken is so that the bargaining team for the union comes back with a stronger mandate to the table,” she said.

“We understand that, and we respect that.”

It’s benefits, job security and the cost of living increases. Those are the three very important things.

Colleen Garbe CUPE 116 President CUPE 116 represents custodial services, dental assistants, labourers, other mechanics and maintainance staff, engineering and research technicians, IT Services, food services, Campus Security and other service staff, including UBC Bookstore employees.

According to Garbe, the

The election results for the Graduate Student Society (GSS) were officially announced on Feb. 17, bringing six executive members to office.

Conny Lin, who ran unopposed, will be replacing Andrew Patterson as president. Robert Klinzmann will be taking office as VP Finance, and Chris Roach has been elected GSS senator.

Jaime Paris will continue as VP Academic and External for a second term, while Victor Padilla, who ran unopposed, won the VP Administration race. Yunfei Zhang was elected VP Services.

The official changeover will take place at the GSS’s Annual General Meeting on March 28.

MEMORIAL >>

Bench for Wimble won’t be placed by his beloved chair

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

Laura Rodgers Staff Writer

CUPE Local 116 is the union that represents janitorial, security and service workers at UBC.

ANDREW BATES/THE UBYSSEY

negotiations are hanging on a few key points. “There’s three major ones. It’s benefits, job security and cost of living increases,” she said.

“Those are the three very important things.”

Earlier this month, another union—CUPE 2278, which represents UBC teaching assistants (TAs)—discussed escalating bargaining talks with the university.

At the February 15 meeting, the TAs expressed support for CUPE 116’s actions.

“I think that it’s important for us to act in solidarity with the

other unions,” said Liam Huber, a Physics PhD student who attended the TA meeting.

CUPE 2278 is negotiating for increases against the BC government’s net-zero mandate, which prevents increases in salary and benefits for 2010 and 2011.

“For most of the grads, not all, but most, they just have themselves to support,” Huber said.

“But [service staff ], a lot of them have families and stuff. Having them also have net-zero is not necessarily the greatest thing.”

McNeill said it was important

for the union to do what they felt was best for their members.

“We feel we’re working constructively to come to an agreement with all of those employee groups,” she said. Bargaining continues in advance of the strike vote next month.

“For us, what’s important is that the conversation that matters is between the university and the unions, and that has to happen at the bargaining table,” McNeill added.

“That’s where it’s going to lead to an eventual settlement.” U

Children affected by parental depression, say researchers

UBC announces honorary degrees for former PMs

UBC joins medical group

A new UBC study has found that maternal depression affects infants’ ability to learn language.

The study was one of the first to explore the impacts of maternal mental health and antidepressant exposure on the mechanics of early language development. The findings suggest antidepressant medication can increase a child’s ability to adapt to the sounds of their native language while untreated maternal depression may prolong the learning period.

“Poor mental health during pregnancy is a major public health issue for mothers and their families,” said co-author Tim Oberlander, a UBC professor of developmental pediatrics.

UBC has announced the recipients of its 2012 individual honorary degrees, in recognition of substantial contributions to society.

This year, UBC is giving honorary degrees to former Canadian prime ministers Joe Clark and Paul Martin and iconic singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie.

Other recipients include diplomat Dominic Barton, philanthropist Robert Hung Ngai Ho, ethnobotanists Memory ElvinLewis and Walter Lewis, chief of St Mary’s Indian Band Sophie Pierre, Vancouver Symphony director Bramwell Tovey and researcher Michael Wingfield.

News briefs GSS election results announced

members, asking them to share their impressions of the society and its role on campus.

First-year Commerce student Niloufar Keshmiri thinks the rebrand is a smart move.

“The new brand will provide opportunities for the AMS to recreate its image as it moves forward into the future,” she said.

Some of the students who were surveyed said the rebranding wasn’t needed, but were nonetheless interested to see the completed product. U

UBC has joined the Canadian Interprofessional Health Leadership Collaborative (CIHLC), led by the University of Toronto. CIHLC is a medical group meant to develop new models for training health professionals as well as academic curricula.

The program aims to address the uneven distribution of health professionals, the mismatch between competencies and patient needs, a lack of teamwork and insufficient leadership in the medical profession.

“We are looking forward to collaborating over the next five years to make a difference to health education globally, ” said Dr Gavin Stuart, dean of the UBC Faculty of Medicine. U

AMS Council has approved the placement of a memorial bench and plaque for Travers Wimble, a homeless man who passed away on Feb. 8. However, due to the likelihood of too much foot traffic during construction of the new SUB, the bench will not be located where Wimble’s chair is now.

“Because of the construction that’s going to go on, that’s actually going to be a main thoroughfare,” said AMS communications manager Demitri Douzenis, explaining that the vending machines next to Wimble’s old chair are going to be moved as well. “So we might have to place it in a different spot.”

Nonetheless, the AMS will find a place for the bench in the current SUB, and again in the new SUB once built.

Erik MacKinnon and Paula Samper have spearheaded the memorial bench project, and intend for it to be funded, designed and built by students.

“This is something that students should have a part in, and students should take part in designing, building and creating because the students are going to miss this guy,” said MacKinnon, who is in his third year of the UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences program.

They plan to fund the bench through student donations collected through a website, which MacKinnon was putting together over reading break. Costs aren’t expected to exceed $1500, and any additional donations over this amount may go toward a scholarship in Wimble’s name or be donated to charity.

Student involvement in designing and building the bench should also keep the cost of the memorial low.

“He was known as the man who sat in the SUB, and so leaving behind a place for students to sit and remember him by, I think that’s quite fitting,” said Samper. U

4 | News | 02.27.2012 TA STRIKE>>

No strike vote yet for TA union, negotiations continue CUPE 2278 wants UBC to match wages offered to U of T teaching assistants

Andrew Bates Senior Web Writer

Teaching assistants (TAs) at UBC have not called for a strike vote, but instead want to continue contract negotiations with the university.

In a closed meeting in the Woodward building on Wednesday evening, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2278 (CUPE 2278), which represents TAs at UBC, met to discuss negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.

“We’re pretty much in a position to wrap up all of the non-monetary stuff,” Roger Clarke, chief negotiator for CUPE 2278, said in his presentation, a recording of which was obtained by The Ubyssey. “There’s a few loose ends, we’ve told them they’re not important. What we care about right now is money.”

“Right now there’s a pause in the negotiation so that both parties are assessing how we’re going to move forward,” said Lucie McNeill, director of UBC Public Affairs. “We’re not negotiating in the media. It all depends on what happens at the table.”

The union is looking for the same wage as TAs at the University of Toronto, who earn $39.92 per hour versus UBC’s $28.42 per hour. U of T’s TAs are also renegotiating their contract, but voted against a strike vote last week.

On February 8, in the second of three bargaining sessions since the union met with members in January, CUPE 2278 presented all of its wage proposals to UBC, which also include tuition waivers and other benefits.

According to Clarke, UBC has adopted a “lecturing” tone in

In a February 15 meeting, UBC TAs decided to continue negotations instead of proceeding to a strike vote.

bargaining since the first meeting, where the union criticized the university for an increase in salaries for some staff making over $75,000 a year.

“They’re really angry,” Clarke said in the meeting. “They’re mad at the things we’ve been saying.

They’re trying to explain away some of the numbers.”

According to McNeill, the wage proposals by the union would cost $22.78 million over the four-year contract period, with $8.47 million going to tuition waivers for TAs. “What they’re asking for, the way they’re asking for it, it does not conform with the provincial

Find out whether you actually like journalism before applying for grad school. Brilliant, we know.

THE UBYSSEY OFFICE IS IN SUB 24, FOLLOW THE SIGNS.

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government’s net zero mandate,” she said, referring to the fact that the province has set a 0 per cent increase in pubic sector employee wages.

“They came to the table knowing full well that we’re held by that, so all I can tell you is that our negotiating team was surprised by that,” said McNeill.

The union now is in the position of continuing to escalate until they have something they can bring back to their members. No bargaining sessions are scheduled before February 29.

The Graduate Student Society (GSS) has had an eye on the

ANDREW BATES/THE UBYSSEY

situation, according to Jamie Paris, VP Academic and External. “From the GSS perspective, we walk out of this feeling like this is a very cautious union who is not going to rush people to strike.”

CUPE 2278 refused a request for comment. “We’re in the middle of bargaining, and bargaining is really tight right now. So we don’t want to comment,” said Peter Lane, the union’s general manager. “They [UBC] have actually said to us that we should not be talking to the media.”

McNeill would not confirm that claim. “I don’t have any information on what exactly was requested of them, in what terms exactly,”

she said. “What we don’t talk about in the media is we don’t negotiate in the media because not much is gained by that. You really want to have things happen at the table.”

TAs in the audience seemed supportive. “I have a feeling that the guys here in the front know where they want to get to,” said Carmen Emmell, a PhD student in atmospheric science.

“They want to put more pressure on the employer, they want to get some more money for us, and I have the feeling that people in the room were very enthusiastic about doing something about it. They’re going in a good direction.”

McNeill said she was optimistic about the situation. “At the end of the day, there is going to be an agreement, people are going to have to sign on the dotted line and shake hands, and they’re going to have to work together and be part of a similar enterprise,” she said.

“That’s what we keep in mind, right? Wise people on both sides of the table, that’s what they have in their minds when they’re there.” U

By the numbers

$28.42 $39.92 $22.78m

Current hourly wage for UBC TAs Current hourly wage for U of T TAs

Overall cost of implementing the wage proposals over the four-year contract according to UBC Public Affairs

02.27.2012 | News | 5 CLUBS >>

“Cavesluts and Dinowhores” poster raises ire

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

The UBC Ski and Board Club was told to take down all remaining event posters.

Kalyeena Makortoff News Editor

After complaints about inappropriate content, one AMS club has been asked to remove all posters advertising a beer garden.

Created by the UBC Ski and Board Club, the poster advertised a prehistoric-themed beer garden called Cavesluts and Dinowhores.

The drawing on the poster was of a busty, scantily clad woman leaning against a dinosaur skull.

A complaint about the poster came from a permanent staff member of the AMS. The Student Administrative Commission (SAC) said the staff member asked for the posters’ immediate removal.

“The posters were offensive, but by the time we got the complaint the event date had actually passed, so we weren’t actually able to get them to change the name of the event,” said SAC vice-chair Alannah Johnston.

It wasn’t meant to be at all degrading, but I guess we didn’t think it through enough.

Charlott Johansen Ski & Board Club President “We just said, if you’ve got any remaining posters, please take them down…Be considerate of the variety of people and students that come through the Student Union Building every day.”

While SAC has the ability to go as far as disbanding a club for

misconduct, Johnston said that it’s very rare since most clubs follow the rules.

“Generally I find that student organizations and AMS clubs are very considerate with their wording on posters and socially conscious and politically correct, so this is quite rare.”

Ski and Board Club President Charlott Johansen said this is the first time a complaint has been made about an event poster they’ve made in her four years on the club’s executive.

“I think the exec team got a little too excited,” she explained. She said the intent was to have a dinosaur party, and the details were hashed out two weeks before the February 3 event.

“Our execs got a little excited about ‘dinowhores’ and ‘dinosluts.’ I don’t know, we sort of just came up with some funny names for it,” said Johansen.

“It wasn’t meant to be at all degrading, but I guess we didn’t think it through enough…Then we made a poster with a woman, barely clad.

“But honestly we didn’t mean to offend anyone, and I understand why they’d get offended but that wasn’t our intention at all. I understand, in retrospect,” she said.

The event went off without a hitch, Johansen explained, and hosted about 300 people in the SUB Ballroom. “[At] this point there isn’t any further actions,” said Johnston, adding that the file was closed.

“It’s sort of a warning, respect it in the future. It’s on record, so if something like this happened again, they’d know it wouldn’t be a firsttime event.” U

U NEWS.

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Contact news@ubyssey.ca to get involved.

Sports

02.27.2012 |

6

Editor: Drake Fenton

BASKETBALL >>

‘Birds start playoffs with a bang, eliminate U of A After being ousted by Alberta the last two years, UBC prevails in Canada West quarterfinals Colin Chia Staff Writer

The UBC Thunderbirds women’s basketball team erased two years of elimination pain at the hands of the University of Alberta Pandas with a two-game sweep in their best-ofthree playoff series, booking their place in the Canada West final four.

A dominating 85-51 win in game one on Thursday was followed by an intense Saturday afternoon game where UBC fell behind in the first half but came out on top 82-71.

The Thunderbirds stormed out of the gate on Thursday, grabbing an early lead and dominating both ends of the court. Alberta never posed a threat all night as UBC’s stifling defence stymied the Pandas from gaining any momentum.

Alberta responded to the tough loss by coming out with a big start of their own on Saturday. After UBC fell behind 17-13 with 1:10 remaining in the first quarter, Kristjana Young rescued the ‘Birds by scoring 2 layups in quick succession to tie the game at 17 going into the break.

A three-pointer from Alberta’s Sally Hillier set the tone for the second quarter and UBC fell behind 28-22. But with 5:33 to go, a monstrous block by UBC’s Leigh Stansfield helped stem the tide.

Young carried the team again with some big plays, including a

JOSH CURRAN/THE UBYSSEY

UBC’s Cassandra Knievel streaking down the court on Saturday night at War Memorial Gym. UBC swept Alberta, winning 85-51 and 82-71.

spectacular hook shot with three seconds left to keep the game close.

UBC went into halftime trailing 34-33.

The third quarter started off scrappy and UBC’s Zara Huntley went down from an elbow in the neck area with 5:28 left in the quarter, prompting a stoppage in play as she was helped off the court. The

HOCKEY >>

Game three playoff loss ends men’s hockey season Snap Shots Alison Mah The weekend began with a bang, but it was all for naught.

In their first playoff appearance since 2009, the UBC Thunderbirds men’s hockey team split the first two games of their best-of-three quarterfinal against the Calgary Dinos before dropping the rubber match by a score of 3-2 Sunday afternoon at Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary.

UBC began the series opener by eking past Calgary 4-3 on Friday in a spirited back-and-forth affair. The Thunderbirds scored two shorthanded goals and added another power play marker to fight off a furious rally from the Dinos, who outshot UBC 12-1 in the third period alone.

Captain Justin McCrae added two goals, including a shorthanded one-timer that tied the game 1-1 midway through the first and added another tally to give UBC a 2-1 advantage.

Saturday’s match was a complete turnaround from the tightly contested atmosphere of the night before. In what shaped up to be a costly habit in the final stretch of the season, UBC gave up the first goal of the game for the fifth straight time, after a shot from Tyler Fiddler found the back of the net 5:30 into the first period.

The Dinos would then go on

to score three more unanswered goals, winning 4-0 to even the series at one game apiece. Calgary managed to pot two goals on five power play chances, while the Thunderbirds were an abysmal 0-7.

Sunday’s series tiebreaker remained scoreless after 20 minutes, until Calgary’s Luke Egener netted a loose rebound at 9:18 into the second frame to open the scoring. Three minutes later, the Dinos pulled ahead 2-0 after Brett Bartman wristed a shot past UBC netminder Jordan White.

The Thunderbirds would finally get on the board after Ilan Cumberbirch ripped a shot from the left point to pull UBC within a goal with 2:43 left in the second.

Midway through the third period, Marc Desloges jumped on a loose puck and snapped it past Dustin Butler to even the game at 2-2.

However, only minutes later, Brock Nixon stole the puck just inside the blue line and whipped it by White to give Calgary a decisive 3-2 advantage. The goal stood as the game winner.

UBC was 4-1-1 in the regular season against Calgary, including a road series sweep, but the Thunderbirds could not stop a Dinos power play that converted at only 17 per cent in the regular season, but was 5 for 16 against UBC’s penalty kill in the playoffs.

The Thunderbirds end their season sputtering down the stretch, struggling on special teams and registering just 2 wins in their last 11 games, playoffs included. U

incident—which went uncalled by the referees with the score 44-40 in Alberta’s favour—lit a spark for the T-Birds and they responded with a 17-4 run. Cassandra Knievel nailed two clutch three-pointers during the run and UBC exited the third quarter with a 57-48 lead.

UBC was able to hold off Alberta in the final quarter and Young

came up huge again with 5:51 left, scoring a smooth turnaround jumper to beat an expiring shot clock and put the score at 59-54.

Kristen Hughes added some big three-pointers in the final quarter, finishing with 21 points while Young led the team with 26.

UBC head coach Deb Huband was pleased with how the team bounced

back after being on the back foot in the first half. “I think they came out with a lot of intensity and they set the tone. It took us out of some things, our timing was off, we struggled with handling their pressure initially, and then I think we adjusted to that in the second half and did a much better job executing and scoring some points.”

The momentum shift when Huntley caught an elbow played a role too. “Any time you see one of your all-star type players go down, it’s certainly going to draw some attention and people are going to want to rally around her and step up their game,” said Huband.

After beating the team that eliminated them the last two consecutive years, Huband said it was fantastic to get over the hump.

“This team’s a special team, the chemistry’s outstanding. It started the day after we got eliminated last year with the commitment, dedication and hard work the girls have put in. It’s very fitting and rewarding that we got to the final four.

“Today we had to work a lot harder for it and find different ways to get it done. It’s the sign of a good team that you can find ways to win regardless of what the situation is on any given day.”

The Thunderbirds will travel to Regina for the Canada West final four next weekend. U

02.27.2012 | Sports | 7 VOLLEYBALL >>

T-Birds lose Canada West final Volleyball loses in five-set battle, heads to nationals next week Drake Fenton Sports Editor

GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

Lisa Barclay playing defence in Saturday’s Canada West final. UBC would lose in five sets.

Momentum is a funny thing. One bad serve or one missed dig can change the course of a game. You can’t predict when it will happen, but it’s inevitable in any victory.

Momentum swings in favour of one team. You can see it in the posture of the players—crouched low, muscles tense, ready to strike with kinetic physicality. They patrol the court with confidence, and even from the nosebleed section, that confidence almost seems tangible.

At the Canada West women’s volleyball championship, momentum eluded UBC when it mattered most.

“In the fifth set…we were up at [technical timeout] 8-5 and then we were down 10-8. We gave up five straight points, so if you do that in the fifth set you don’t give yourself a lot of time to come back,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer.

UBC lost the Canada West championship to the University of Alberta Pandas in five sets (25-18, 21-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-13). While the win was a heartbreaker for the ‘Birds, they did clinch their spot to nationals the previous night with a three-set sweep of Trinity Western (25-17,25-12,25-20).

In the first set of the final, momentum was decisively in UBC’s favour as they jumped to an early 19-7 lead. The ‘Birds dominated at the net, with the tandem of Canada West MVP Kyla Richey and last year’s CIS

MVP Shanice Marcelle blasting kills through Alberta’s blockers.

Yet Alberta refused to succumb to UBC’s offensive assault. In a preview of things to come, the Pandas rallied and closed the gap, going on a 12-4 run to bring the score to 23-19. The T-Birds managed to retake control as a Richey strike was hit with such velocity that Alberta’s dig attempt sent the ball skyrocketing all the way to the ceiling, touching the roof to give UBC the point. An ensuing attack error by Alberta clinched the set for UBC. In the second set, UBC began to slip and Alberta went on an 8-2 run to start the match. The T-Birds battled back into the set, but the Pandas were playing with a confidence UBC couldn’t match. “[Alberta] came to play, battled back when they had to and they got us out of rhythm a little bit in the second set,” said Reimer. “I think as a group they played very well.”

After losing the second and third set, UBC came out flat in the fourth.

But the T-Birds’ experience in pressure moments became a factor, and they slowly began to take control of the set. Outside hitter Rosie Schlagintweit came off the bench with the game tied at 18, giving the ‘Birds an offensive spark by providing multiple ferocious kills en route to the 25-20 decision.

After starting strong in the final set, UBC’s offence stagnated and Alberta took control of the game, dictating the action and forcing

the T-Birds to react to them. While UBC looked dejected when Alberta claimed the final point to claim the Canada West title, Reimer was not only impressed with his team, but was able to find the silver lining in the defeat.

Alberta came to play, battled back when they had to and they got us out of rhythm a little bit in the second set.

Doug Reimer UBC volleyball head coach “I was really impressed with the amount of battling and fight [we showed]. I think it was a great match and you don’t always come out on the top end of it, but we’ll have to make a couple adjustments next week,” Reimer said. “I think it is very good to have this match the week before the national championships rather than in the [CIS] semifinals.”

UBC will be travelling to Hamilton this week for the CIS finals, which begin Friday. They go in ranked No. 2; Alberta goes in ranked No. 1.

If the stars align, UBC will meet Alberta again with CIS gold on the line. Undoubtedly UBC will do everything they can to play with momentum in their favour. U

BASKETBALL >>

Men’s basketball exits playoffs early, swept by Alberta Rocking the Rim CJ Pentland If the UBC men’s basketball team played all their games at home this year, they would have undoubtedly been in serious competition for the CIS title. They were a perfect 9-0 at home during the regular season.

Playing on the road has been a completely different story. The change of scenery turns the T-Birds into a completely different team, one that often struggles to keep up with teams below them in the standings.

This resulted in a 4-5 record on the road, and ultimately led to the ‘Birds having to play their opening playoff round in Edmonton against the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

If UBC wanted any chance of making it to the Canada West finals and nationals, they were going to have to put their road woes behind them.

But even when it mattered most, they weren’t able to reverse the trend.

The Thunderbirds were overmatched this past weekend by aggressive sharp-shooting from the Golden Bears. They were swept in a best-of-three series, losing 79-69 and 91-68.

Apart from a few scoring runs on Friday night, UBC was never able to get much going on offence during the series. Alberta played a tough perimeter defence that the ‘Birds struggled to break down. UBC failed to get to the rim for layups or create open shots from the outside.

Nathan Yu was the only T-Bird on Saturday to really get anything

going, scoring 23 points in the loss.

On Friday, Kamar Burke did his best to carry a team that was hampered by foul trouble, but his 17 points were not enough to help pull out a victory.

Alberta’s tough defence also forced 20 turnovers in each game.

It is not uncommon for UBC to commit that many turnovers during a game, as they averaged about 19 turnovers per game during the regular season. However, it was common for UBC to play stifling defence to make up for it.

COURTESY DAN MCKECHNIE/THE GATEWAY

But this past weekend, the T-Birds had no answer to Alberta’s sharpshooting. The Golden Bears shot 49 per cent from the field over the weekend and drained 18 three-pointers in the process. Even switching to a zone defence because of foul trouble provided no relief from the barrage of threes.

It was a disappointing weekend for UBC, as a season with so much potential ended abruptly when their strong play failed to make the trip with them to Edmonton. U

8 | Sports | 02.27.2012 SWIMMING >>

UBC reclaims their throne, takes CIS gold After a five-year break, both T-Bird swim teams national champions at the same time of both [of our] teams….It was a memorable experience. Our school has a storied history in swimming and all the credit goes to the athletes who gave everything they had to win the two titles.”

Drake Fenton Sports Editor

“I can assure you if you blink once you will lose that championship, and that is what happened in 2007– 08. They didn’t lose it by much, but they have been second ever since.”

That is what UBC swim coach Stephen Price said earlier this season about the program’s historic ten straight CIS title victories coming to an end.

But this past weekend, UBC didn’t blink.

At the University of Montréal’s CEPSUM Pool, the T-Birds men’s and women’s teams won CIS gold and swept the MVP awards.

The women’s team stormed through the three-day meet, dominating from beginning to end.

They finished the competition with a championship record of 811.5 points, outstripping the defending champion, the University of Calgary (605.5), by a remarkable 206 points.

UBC Olympian Savannah King was spectacular in the pool, winning five medals: gold in the 800m and 400m freestyle, silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay and bronze in the 200m backstroke and 200m freestyle. Her performance in the 400m set a new Canadian record, finishing with a blistering time of 4:02.76. Her 8:25.68 time in the 800m freestyle also set a new CIS championship record.

King’s record-breaking performance garnered the female swimmer of the year award.

“I’m on top of the world,” said King on Saturday. “Winning a team title is even more thrilling than

I’m on top of the world.

Winning a team title is even more thrilling than winning an individual gold medal.

Savannah King UBC swimmer and CIS female swimmer of the year

COURTESY JAMES HAIJAR/CIS

Savannah King was the star of the women’s team this past weekend, winning five medals and the female swimmer of the year award.

winning an individual gold medal.

To experience something like this with all my teammates, I’ll never forget this moment.

“Of course, winning swimmer of the year is very nice as well. When you look at the list of athletes who have won the award, it’s an honour to be part of that select group.”

UBC’s women also swept the rest of the individual awards. Tera Van Beilen earned top rookie honours, Price was voted coach of the year and Hayley Pipher won the

student-athlete community service award.

While the women thoroughly dominated, the men’s side had to scrap through the final day of the competition before claiming gold.

Midway through Saturday night, the University of Toronto moved ahead of the T-Birds in the standings. But in the 100m freestyle, UBC catapulted back into the lead with flair, placing four swimmers in the top six spots, including gold and silver.

In the final event, the 4x100m medley, UBC and Toronto were still neck and neck, with the ‘Birds leading by only seven points (524-517).

With the championship on the line, Toronto blinked. They finished the medley in fourth and UBC’s second place finish was good enough to secure the national championship.

“All we needed to do going into the [medley] was execute. We knew the title was right there, and our four swimmers did what they had to do,” said Price. “I’m really proud

Fifth-year Tommy Gossland led the men’s team with five gold medals and was named male swimmer of the year. He finished first in the 50m, 100m and the 200m freestyle, and helped secure victory in the 4x100m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relays.

“I couldn’t have imagined a better way to wrap up my university career,” said Gossland. “Our teamwork was impeccable and that’s the result of hard work by everyone, including [Price], who really helped us throughout the season.

“As for the MVP award, I wasn’t expecting it, so it’s a nice surprise.”

It took five years and a lot of blinking for UBC to reassert itself as the dominant swim program in Canada.

They last swept the competition in Gossland’s freshman year, and he summed up the feeling of once again being the nation’s best succinctly.

“This is epic.” U

COURTESY JAMES HAIJAR/CIS

On the men’s team Tommy Gossland dominated, winning five gold medals and one silver.

02.27.2012 | Sports | 9

The Sports Panel With playoff season upon us, The Ubyssey answers pressing questions about UBC teams on the hunt for CIS gold.

Who’s been a surprise? Who’s been a letdown? Our esteemed panel of scotch-drinking, chewspitting intellectuals has the answers.

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Drake Fenton

Bryce Warnes

Ubyssey Sports Editor

Ubyssey Stallion

Justin McElroy

Ubyssey Coordinating Editor

Jonny Wakefield

Ubyssey Print Managing Editor

Sports Knowledge:

Sports Knowledge:

Sports Knowledge:

Sports Knowledge:

Washed-up athlete

Sports games expert

Former sports editor and general man of knowledge

Now 3 episodes into season 5 of Friday Night Lights

The swim team brought home gold this weekend. Can we expect a CIS title from anyone else?

Well, women’s volleyball should, but the dark horse is women’s basketball. I wouldn’t be surprised if they came out of nowhere to win.

I think all the other sports teams are doing really good, and probably every one of them will win gold at CIS Titles.

There’s this women’s volleyball team you may have heard of.

They’ve won four straight national championships. Yeah, let’s go with them.

I will build a time machine. Make the football team win. Then get Billy Greene to sign the poster hanging on my fridge.

Biggest surprise of the playoffs so far?

That the men’s basketball team didn’t make it the final four. I would have bet $10 million that they would have qualified.

I was really surprised by how, like, athletic the sports teams’ players were. They were really fast and strong, and lots of them got good scores at the sports games.

The women’s basketball team has gelled together better than anyone could have foreseen, and are now a legitimate title threat.

The spread on the volleyball teams in the February 16 issue of the newspaper. I skipped way too many classes to make that.

Biggest disappointment of the playoffs so far?

I was disappointed men’s volleyball didn’t advance. They deserved to. As they say, “Class is permanent, but form is temporary.”

My biggest disappointment was how some of the sports teams’ players weren’t as fast or strong as I would like. But everyone made a good effort and effort is important.

The men’s basketball team had six seniors, a No. 3 ranking, and first place in the division just three weeks ago. Now? They’re gone.

Would have loved to see the men’s basketball team crush Alberta in game one of the quarterfinals. Yu and Burke lit it up, but too little, too late.

1973 Californian pinot noir is to a crystal decanter.

Doing your best and believing in yourself are to sports games!

Jennifer Aniston is to the front cover of tabloid magazines.

The Royal Navy was to British imperialism in the 18th century.

Kris Young on women’s basketball and Shanice Marcelle and Kyla Richey on women’s volleyball are the biggest x-factors right now.

I think some teams probably have high-calibre sports players but I think that Billy has lots of calibres so it’s like hard for other sports players to compete, you know?

UBC does not have a student of Billy Greene’s calibre.

Kyla Richey on the women’s volleyball team has been absolutely killing it. SPORTS JOKES!

Women’s volleyball is to UBC as...

Billy Greene was the most dominant player in CIS football last semester. Do any of UBC’s playoff teams have a player of that calibre?

Don’t play sports. Drink beer and write about them.

SPORTS.

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Drake Fenton sports@ubyssey.ca

10 | Feature | 02.27.2012

Know Your Presidents Did you know that 100 years ago this month, the provincial government installed UBC’s first president?

It’s true! But despite the importance of these leaders, their accomplishments are generally unknown to the public. Coordinating editor Justin McElroy, determined to rectify this situation, explored the annals of The Ubyssey’s archives and UBC: The First 100 Years, to compile little-known but fascinating facts about the 12 people who have led UBC.

Frank Wesbrook 1913–1918

For an annual salary of $10,000, this son of a Winnipeg mayor was tasked in February 1913 with turning the provincial government’s dream of a university into reality. He successfully hired all of the faculty and led UBC for its first three years of classes. His term was cut short by his death in 1918, which was caused partly due to exhaustion from overwork.

This former dean of Agriculture spent his first year on the job in 1915 living in a tent on UBC’s future campus, conducting research. Succeeding Wesbrook after his death, the government regularly refused his pleas for more money, the Senate once gave him a vote of non-confidence, and he once suspended a Ubyssey editor for publishing true but unflattering information about the university. Few loved him, but he survived two decades during a time of great uncertainty for UBC.

Leonard Klinck 1919–1944

PM Doppelganger: Mackenzie King— Not an exciting leader, but integral to the building of this university .

PM Doppelganger: John A. MacDonald—for it was he who started it all.

NA

WESBROOK

MacKenzie gave an admissions guarantee to veterans, drank with students and was named one of the “Ten Best Dressed Men in Canada” in 1951. During his term, student enrolment jumped from 2500 to 18,000. He loved both the practical and symbolic duties of his job. His ashes were scattered on the waters next to campus in 1986.

Norman MacKenzie 1944–1962

KLINCK

PM Doppelganger: Wilfrid Laurier— A statesman who oversaw tremendous growth for his time, but has faded into history.

MACKENZIE

1908: The University Act is enacted by the provincial government, establishing how a provincial university should be governed. UBC began offering classes and admitting degrees in 1915, but they were located at buildings which previously housed McGill University

Recruited from Harvard, Macdonald wrote a report advocating the creation of UVic and SFU. He pushed UBC to adopt more rigourous entrance requirements and emphasized graduate research. He was so devoted to academic pursuits that he took out the bowling alley in War Memorial Gym.

John Macdonald PM Doppelganger: Lester Pearson—Five incredibly influential years as leader.

1962–1967

Like Gage, Kenny was a mild-mannered university insider.

Formerly the Arts dean, he established the modern administration structure at UBC. Much of his time was spent ensuring that cutbacks by the government would not overly harm the educational experience for students.

Douglas Kenny 1975–1983

A student in 1921, Gage returned to teach math a decade later, and stayed for four decades. He was known as “Mr UBC” for his many roles on campus, and was even known to personally give money to students tight on finances.

PM Doppelganger: Louis St Laurent— Everybody’s favourite uncle, and a man who safely steered UBC for many years.

MACDONALD

HARE*

GAGE

Walter Gage 1969–1975

David Strangway 1985–1997 KENNY

PM Doppelganger: Paul Martin—An altogether unremarkable era where the status quo reigned.

Strangway dealt with decreasing provincial funding by selling off land for market housing, pushed the university to become more research intensive, oversaw the raising of hundreds of millions of dollars, and initiatied the internationalization of UBC. He once told McElroy one of his biggest regrets was not building a high-class hotel on campus.

Martha Piper 1997–2006

Stephen Toope 2006–Present

Aside from telling students about her imaginary friend “Bort” (Google it), Piper largely continued Strangway’s development policies, and pushed UBC’s efforts to new heights on the international stage.

PM Doppelganger: Pierre Trudeau—UBC is what it is today because of his stubborn vision, but it’s one that some people decry.

PM Doppelganger: Jean Chrétien—steady, albeit uninspiring, growth.

Toope has continued Strangway and Piper’s path of growth, while looking to improve UBC’s record on sustainability, Aboriginal student outreach and the undergraduate learning experience.

PEDER- SMITH* SEN*

STRANGWAY

PIPER

PM Doppelganger: TBD

TOOPE

College of BC, which provided students the first few years of study towards a McGill degree. Only in 1922 was money advanced to build the university at Point Grey.

*SHORT-TERM PRESIDENTS Kenneth Hare (1968–1969) was president for just eight months and was away on sick leave for half of that time. He resigned because he didn’t feel he had the temperment for the job during an era of riots and student unrest. George Pedersen (1983–1985) was the president of five different Canadian universities, but resigned at UBC in protest of the provincial government’s cutbacks to post-secondary education. And Robert Smith (1985) spent six months as interim (or “pro tem”) president, overseeing the gutting of a number of departments to make due with UBC’s reduced budget.

Culture

02.27.2012 |

11

Editor: Ginny Monaco

FASHION >>

UBC student clutches onto her fashion dream

Andrew Bates Senior Web Writer

Pia Dargani dreamed of a career in fashion in high school, but opted to study a more mainstream discipline.

Now a fourth-year Asian studies student, Dargani is trying to make her mark by designing a label of luxury handbags with a philanthropic twist. Launched in November, Clutches of Karma mixes Dargani’s eye for accessory design with charitable donations.

Dargani has designed a series of clutches (handbags without handles or shoulder straps). Her bags, which are made of snakeskin, mother-of-pearl and other materials, are priced between $45 and $100 on her website.

Dargani spent last year on an exchange in London and was able to attend events like London Fashion Week. She said the idea to design her own bags came to her out of necessity.

“I wanted a particular clutch that I couldn’t find, so I decided to see if I could design it,” she said.

“A lot of people liked it, and I just decided to go from there.”

The clutches are designed by Dargani and sent to a contact who manufactures the bags. Her father helps her with the economics and

her mother helps her with sourcing environmentally sound materials from the Philippines, where she grew up.

The designs are inspired by her surroundings and experiences traveling. “It depends on the day, the mood, the weather,” she said. “It’s very versatile. Different types of shell come up with...such a unique look, and you don’t find bags like that here.”

In addition to an outlet for her creativity, Clutches of Karma tries to emulate the social-business theories of Muhammad Yunus, whose ideas Dargani discovered in a first-year sociology class.

“I just started reading his books, and I ended up attending a lecture of his...and I really liked the whole idea,” Dargani said.

Yunus’s model involves starting companies to address a social objective. Presently, Dargani donates 15 per cent of every purchase to the Divine Mercy College Foundation, a private Catholic college in the Philippines.

But Dargani said she is looking at changing beneficiaries. “I have gotten in touch with a few other organizations that are a little more secular and a little more my style,” she said, noting she still wants to fund education opportunities.

“It’s more what exactly they

JOSH CURRAN/THE UBYSSEY

Pia Dargani’s Clutches of Karma initiative donates 15 per cent of its profits to charity.

do with the money and how they spend it.”

Dargani is currently marketing solely online, rather than in stores, because of the time commitment of running the business on top of a full courseload and her job as a

research assistant.

“I just want to feel out what people like and what materials I should continue working with,” she said.

Her goal is to reach 25- to 30-yearold women, offering a more refined alternative to globally conscious

brands like TOMS shoes. “I feel like they don’t have that for more luxury goods,” she said.

“I’d like to see it go in that direction, people of higher class who can afford it to be making these purchases.” U

12 | Culture | 02.27.2012 ARCHITECTURE >>

Students attempt to define Vancouverism

Maitrayee Dhaka Contributor

What makes Vancouver the city it is? Is it the mountains, yoga mats, bike lanes, Gastown, the 99 B-Line, Davie village or the Japadog food cart around the corner? Who defines Vancouverism?

Beginning March 2, Tangential Vancouverism, an experimental project curated by two UBC Master of Architecture students, will prompt you to do just that. Inspired by their studies in Japan with the UBC School of Architecture, Alexandra Kenyon and Alex Buss began an initiative to figure out how and why Vancouver has changed over the past 15 years.

Kenyon explained the motivation behind the project and their use of the term “tangential,” saying, “The word ‘tangential’ implies a divergence from the accepted definition of Vancouverism toward something more fringe, centring

the discussion on what are often considered peripheral topics.”

In development for over a year, the experiment culminates in a

For me, Vancouver is a study in contrasts: the landscape is either near or far, rarely with middle ground.

Alexandra Kenyon Masters of Architecture student

COURTESY OF TANGENTIAL VANCOUVERISM

two-month-long exhibition at 221a Artist Run Centre in Chinatown, in addition to a website documenting the project and a series of talks by participants on March 24.

Ian Ross McDonald, a licensed architect with Bruce Carscadden

Tangential Vancouverism uses models to examine Vancouver’s growth.

Architect and instructor at UBC’s School of Architecture since 2005, is one of the writers participating in the project and was closely involved in its development.

“Any settlement is defined by

its geography—Winnipeg’s cold, Toronto’s ravines, Vancouver’s peninsula—but there are aspirational aspects that require deliberate intent, and that requires conversation and debate,” he said.

“Tangential Vancouverism is a platform for those conversations and questions: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?

“For me, Vancouver is a study in contrasts: the landscape is either near or far, rarely with a middleground. Similarly, the severe poverty of the Downtown Eastside practically abuts Yaletown and figures in almost everyone’s life somehow.”

“This city is booming,” Kenyon said. “Development is starting to occur at an increasingly smaller scale. When units that are 200 square feet come onto the market, it means that the city has something else to offer to you. You have to have a new infrastructure for activity that happens in the economic, market-driven side of things.

You talk about cafés and how they thrive.

“It’s an alternate to having large living space, to having a backyard.” U

FOOD >>

Company proves all olive oil is not created equal

GEOFF LISTER/ THE UBYSSEY

Tyler McRobbie Columnist

With the talk of pipelines and supertankers invading BC to service the demonized oilsands, it’s hard for many liberal-minded UBC students not to cringe at the mention of the word “oil.”

Burdened with such a negative connotation, it was all the more refreshing when I stumbled upon a delicious and innovative reminder that not all oil deserves the bad rap it’s been given.

Michaelanne Buckley is the purveyor of the Vancouver Olive Oil Company and Tasting Bar (VOOC), the latest attraction to join the Kitsilano neighbourhood. With its grand opening less than a month behind it, the palates of curious customers and foodies alike are already being entertained by the enthusiastic team at VOOC and their impressive inventory.

The staff, all family of Buckley’s, explained the concept of a tasting bar. Customers are encouraged to try any and all of the 40-odd selections of extra virgin olive oils, as well as dark and white balsamic vinegars infused with exotic flavours and expertly-mixed ingredients.

As the owner of one of only a handful of tasting bars in Canada, Buckley has taken on the responsibility of educating Vancouverites about the merits of olive oil. She insists on only the best product, importing the purest olive oils from the freshest sources around the world. But, according to Buckley, quality is about

more than the place of origin. “The most important thing is the crush date,” she said, referring to the period of time from when the olives are first pressed to when they end up on her shelves. For Buckley, shorter is better. And to emphasize the health benefits of the oil, the bottles are labelled not only by their country of origin, but also their polyphenol count.

Generally associated with superfoods like acai berries, polyphenols are renowned for their antioxidant capacity. Olive oil, especially when fresh, is also a significant source of these healthy compounds.

Buckley warned that not all olive oils are created equal. “The most important thing is that people are drinking a pure olive oil that isn’t a blend of different types of oil,” she said.

But if you can’t be sold on the quality and you’re not interested in a lesson on your health, the VOOC still has one ace up its sleeve: sheer brilliance of taste. Try the butter-infused olive oil, a healthier alternative to butter next time you pop popcorn or whip up mashed potatoes.

Buckley’s favourite product du jour, the cinnamon and pear dark balsamic vinegar, pairs nicely with the Persian lime-infused olive oil.

Try it on a spinach, strawberry and chèvre salad with red onion and black pepper to impress a crowd.

Buckley and the VOOC offer a delicious reminder that, with a fresh-is-best mentality and an eye on quality, it’s best to take time to smell the oil. U

02.27.2012 | Comics | 13

Ubyssey Elections

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Think you have what it takes to run this newspaper?

This March, The Ubyssey will begin elections for next year’s full-time editorial staff.

Applicants must be Ubyssey staff members and plan to be a registered UBC student during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Applicants must complete a test and answer questions from staff members at The Ubyssey’s Annual General Meeting in April.

The following positions are up for election: •Coordinating Editor •Managing Editor, Web •Managing Editor, Print •News Editor (x2) •Culture Editor •Features Editor •Sports & Rec Editor •Video Editor •Art Director For more information, email coordinating@ ubyssey.ca.

Sazaemon by Meiki Shu

Comicsmater by Maria Cirstea

The Daily Snooze by Jacob Samuel

Opinion

02.27.2012 |

14

Editor: Brian Platt

The precarious health of the high achievers Editor’s Notebook Justin McElroy

DAVID MARINO/THE UBYSSEY

The Last Word Parting shots and snap judgments on today’s issues UBC’s worthy contribution to fighting homophobia Last week it was announced that UBC will be taking part in a $2 million, five-year study to examine the effectiveness of anti-homophobia policies in schools. The study will look at how measures can stop LGBTQ students from being bullied and the bullying of heterosexual youth who are presumed to be gay.

It is very good that UBC is taking this project on. Not only does it show that the university is doing its part to combat the tragic problem of bullying in schools, but it will hopefully ensure that the policies being instituted are actually capable of achieving their goals. Many schools are now recognizing the need to do something to keep LGBTQ students safe, but that doesn’t mean that all policies are equally effective.

Metro Vancouver gets serious about UBC’s governance Regular readers of this rag will know that if you live at UBC or in the Village, you live in the most populated urban area in Canada without any form of municipal government.

Regular readers will also know that we find this to be a problem.

So we were quite pleased last week when Metro Vancouver announced they were going to poll campus residents about the need for local governance.

As you may recall, two years ago the provincial government took over control of UBC’s lands, and said that a long-term governance plan needed to be addressed. UBC couldn’t go on being the regulator, owner and developer of all land on campus without some form of democratic accountability.

Except now, the provincial government says that the so-called “interim” solution is working fine, mainly because the people in charge of the existing institutions at UBC don’t want a change.

But as a rule, people in charge of institutions live by two credos: they

don’t like change they can’t control, and they don’t like their influence being reduced. Which is why all existing institutions with power like the status quo.

UBC is one of the fastest growing regions of the Lower Mainland, with unique transportation, policing and demographic issues. When it comes to non-academic issues, it needs to be part of an integrated regional strategy—not operated as a fiefdom by certain UBC bureaucrats.

We know that’s a message the university doesn’t want to hear.

We know that’s a message that the UNA doesn’t want to deal with right now.

But it’s a fact abundantly clear to most who live or study here. We hope that Metro Vancouver will work hard to uncover that silent majority and give them the voice they deserve.

Block Party lineup has something for everyone The lineup has been announced for this year’s AMS Block Party, and there is good news and bad news.

The good news is that we will get to see some live music, as opposed to a steady lineup of DJs armed with computers. Two local bands will grace the stage at this year’s event: Maria in the Shower, a jazzinfused cabaret folk group, and Mother Mother, a five-piece indierock band.

The move to DJs in recent years has been partly due to their increased popularity with students, but it has also been a cost-saving measure as the AMS tries to break even on its outdoor shows. So for those of us who prefer to see actual instruments being played, this year’s lineup is refreshing.

But don’t worry: Block Party will still have DJs. The highlight is MSTRKRFT, a well-known Canadian electro house duo that people seem excited about—though one of MSTRKFT’s members, JFK, has played the Pit before.

While we appreciate Block Party’s more diverse lineup, we still lament the fact that our university, one of the largest in the country, is apparently incapable of bringing in big bands to play for students. You don’t have to resurrect Arts County Fair in order to host a band that’s not a smaller local one—but after the AMS lost over $100,000 on Block Party two years ago, nobody on the student life committee is willing to think big anymore.

In the end, what will ultimately determine the success of Block Party is the weather. Last year was a miraculously beautiful afternoon; when that happens, it doesn’t matter what music is on the stage, students will be happy to drink and dance outdoors.

But without a big name to keep students’ attention, here’s hoping that the weather isn’t rainy—otherwise it may be a long time until we see rock and roll back at UBC.

Wimble’s memorial will be a fitting one At the last AMS Council meeting, the AMS approved plans to create a memorial bench and plaque for Travers Wimble, a homeless man who had been a fixture in the SUB for years until he died two weeks ago.

After a few rather execessive ideas were floated—such as bronzing his entire chair—students and the AMS seem to have got this exactly right.

The funds for the bench will be raised through student donations and, hopefully, the bench itself will be built by Forestry students.

This means that Wimble’s memorial will be a student initiative, paid for by the students who cared the most for him, and will be a subtle and non-instrusive presence in the new SUB for years to come. One imagines that Wimble, who never liked to draw attention to himself, would approve. U

“Wouldn’t it be nice,” said a UBC executive to me once in his office when we were discussing school spirit, “if we could be like that?”

He pointed to a picture of students of Stanford University, wildly cheering on their Cardinals.

Now, this vice-president was specifically talking about athletics.

But if you’re looking for a school that UBC would like to be one day, it’s Stanford. West coast, academically rigorous, internationally focused, a strong athletic program, an Ivy League reputation—UBC would like elite high school students from around the world to think of our university in the same way.

You look at the $1.5 billion fundraising campaign UBC has embarked upon, you look at this campus becoming the first major school in Canada to make full use of broad-based admissions, you look at the increasing efforts to branch out internationally, and it’s very clear that our university wants to start admitting a more elite level of students.

This is good. Students who strive to continually push themselves in areas outside of academics are, for the most part, more well-rounded people.

But there’s a catch to all this.

Those students, the ones UBC is trying to woo, are increasingly giant baskets of anxiety and stress before they even get to university.

The culture of high school students who spend their days fretting over university applications, SAT scores and whether they have enough extracurriculars to satisfy admission officers has exploded in the last decade. A rise in cheating, illegal use of prescription drugs and depression has followed.

It’s best explained in Alexandra Robbins’ book The Overachievers, which goes over the litany of ways our culture forces high-achieving teenagers into being the best and brightest without any regard for their long-term sanity. They get into elite universities—but once there, they are faced with the

pressures of continuing to overachieve, without the safety net of long-term friends or supportive parents.

Let’s go back to Stanford for a moment. There, in 2006, the university created the “Student Mental Health and Well-Being Task Force” to address the growing problem of mental health. They issued a report two years later that The Stanford Daily, the student newspaper, said was met with a “chorus of disappointment.” In 2009, National Public Radio did a story that focused on Stanford being emblematic of universities failing to fully meet the challenge of caring for their students’ overall wellness.

Late last year, the Daily reported that there had “been a steady increase in the amount of students using Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and other similar services offered by the University, which [was] attributed to a decreasing stigmatization toward mental health on campus.”

The administration at Stanford must be gratified. But it’s important to note that a university with an endowment 15 times the size of UBC’s has spent 5 years seriously combatting the issue of mental health, and only now is really starting to see its work pay off.

That’s the challenging news.

The good news is that UBC is saying the words “mental health” and “student well-being” almost as much as they say “sustainability,” which means that it’s something they truly care about. It’s outlined as a priority within the university’s strategic plan. As Stanford indicates, it takes a long time to go from strategic plans to tangible results at any university, regardless of the initiaitve. But UBC deserves credit for the start.

Earlier this month, the university rolled out a series of initiatives to better respond to short-term and long-term wellness concerns students face. Incoming AMS President Matt Parson has pledged to work with the university to increase awareness of the issue and resources for students.

What UBC is starting to do now is a welcome step. But as the university continues to evolve and attract more overachievers, the odds of students needing these services will only increase. U

Caring for our own Letters I was disappointed recently to see an older woman who collects bottles and cans on our campus (many students may recognize her as a regular fixture here), treated with what I took to be undue harshness by a staff member in the SUB. I understand that UBC Security generally allows this woman—whose name, I’m somewhat ashamed, I haven’t tried to discover—and others to collect recyclables, though strictly speaking does not allow them to do it inside buildings on campus.

While they have a right to their policies, I happened to notice this week that she was told to leave the SUB by a security guard who

then followed her to an outdoor garbage can, ran ahead of her and removed a plastic bottle from the rim, throwing it into the can, presumably to stop her from taking it.

He was visibly frustrated—perhaps even for good reason—but I hope this sort of incident is an exception rather than a rule.

We saw an outpouring of love for Travers Wimble, who passed away earlier this month. I hope we can offer the same respect, dignity and kindness to other members of our community who, while perhaps marginal, are for many of us no less a part of UBC than its faculty, staff and students.

—Joel Heng Hartse PhD candidate, Department of Langauge and Literacy Education

Scene

02.27.2012 |

15

Pictures and words on your university experience

HUMOUR >>

Rebranding: necessary evil, or evil by necessity?

The AMS will spend a huge pot of money on rebranding. What does it mean for you?

Warnes World Bryce Warnes

The AMS just rebranded itself. The Bookstore rebranded itself in July.

And it was recently announced that certain beloved institutions—including Pi R Squared and Blue Chip Cookies—will be rebranded when they are put in the new SUB. At this point, you are probably asking yourself, “What the heck is rebranding?” Well, it is a good thing you are reading this column!

I am even better at corporatetype stuff than (Arctic explorer and ladies’ fashion guru) William “Billy Boy” Sauder, founder of UBC’s School of Business. Imagine his snow-chiseled face smiling benevolently as I explain rebranding for you.

Rebranding is how a company tries to trick people. Sometimes a company/brand like the Hudson’s Bay Company (est. 103 AD) has been around a long time. It gets boring and old, because young people just don’t “get it” any more! Or, a company like British Petroleum

makes a mistake, like getting oil all over a bunch of super cute animals, that they wish everyone would just forget.

That’s where rebranding steps in!

It starts when the company hires some Creatives. Creatives are office people who wear comfortable shoes to work and participate in boardrelated sports and know who Lana Del Rey is. These Creatives get together and reinvent the company’s identity by changing its logo, marketing plan and “message.”

This costs a lot of money, because Creativity isn’t like building houses or carrying heavy stuff.

Creativity takes a lot of work! Also, most Creatives only wear jeans from Japanese boutiques and are currently installing solar panels on their “cabins,” and this costs crazy benjamins.

That’s why the AMS paid $20,000 to make their business cards and stationary look different.

(For comparison, $20,000 is how much it cost for those two big blue boxes in the SUB that convince people tap water is safe to drink.) But that’s money well spent, because we can expect students’ perception of their union to change pretty quick.

The old AMS logo was a sun

The new AMS logo includes a now unobscured celestial orb.

partially hidden by some mountains. The blocked sun symbolized how the goals of the society—representing students—were obfuscated by its members’ petty rivalries, personality cults and

JONNY WAKEFIELD/THE UBYSSEY

resumé-insulation. The geologically limited rays of the sun symbolized how the workings of the AMS were interesting only to a small cabal of social media-dependent obsessives who desperately wanted, deep

down, to be loved.

Enter the new logo. That setting/ rising sun has been replaced by an unimpeded celestial orb surrounded by spiky rays that resembles nothing less than a bullet hole.

What does a bullet hole represent?

Action! Revolution! Stylized violence! This is a bullet hole in the heart of the Old Guard. This is a call to arms! Did the AMS just get sexy and exciting? I sure think so!

Also, the whole thing is wrapped in this rounded-off heraldic shield thing. First, this appeals to the iPod generation’s fear of points/sharp edges. Second, it symbolizes the bluntness of reality, a reality which everyone enrolled at UBC is hiding from beneath the occupational designation of “student.”

I hope, despite all this corporatetype talk, that I have managed to fully explain rebranding. It is important for all of us, as consumers, to understand rebranding, so we can make the right choices for ourselves and the world.

Here is your meditation for the week: imagine what a wonderful place Earth would be if everyone changed their personal brands to “Not Being Such an Asshole All the Time.” Just try it! U

16 | Games | 02.27.2012 51— Family card game 53— Carved female figure used as a column 58— Regular course 62— Celebrity 63— Norse god of thunder 64— Author Calvino 65— Not much 66— Mandlikova of tennis 67— Glossy fabric 68— London district 69— Bouillabaisse, e.g.

70— First name in cosmetics

52— Racket 53— Roman censor 54— Eastern nanny 55— Fix up 56— Actress Skye 57— No—win situation 59— Inner layer of a quilt 60— Netman Nastase 61— Accent 62— Scale notes

Down

(CUP) — Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission.

Across 1— Accumulate 6— Blind as 10— Dirty Harry’s org.

14— Smooth transition 15— Lecherous look 16— “…countrymen, lend me your ___” 17— Common person of ancient Rome 18— Ethereal: Prefix 19— Civil disturbance 20— Swagger 21— Norm 23— Aussie hopper

25— Thrice, in prescriptions 26— Swedish auto 29— Thick cord 32— Bridge positions 37— FedEx rival 38— Insult 39— Capital of Zimbabwe 40— Hallucinatory 43— Land, as a fish 44— Ages and ages 45— Aardvark morsel 46— John of “The Addams Family” 47— Diary of Housewife 48— Black cuckoos 49— “As if!”

1— Cairo cobras 2— Dissolve 3— Antiquing agent 4— District adjacent to a city 5— Handle 6— Exclamation to express sorrow 7— Sugar source 8— Add fizz 9— Triple 10— Antitoxins 11— Free from bias 12— Goad 13— Summer hrs.

22— Visions 24— Synthetic fiber 26— Above 27— Church areas 28— So far 30— Escape 31— Introduction 33— 100 square meters 34— Old Nick 35— Singer Lopez 36— Religious offshoots 38— Simple variety of hockey 39— Caste member 41— Second—century date 42— Extinct bird, once found in New Zealand 47— Besides 48— Main arteries 50— Vows

Use words like electro-pop and haute couture without any sense of irony

WRITE FOR THE UBYSSEY Ginny Monaco culture@ubyssey.ca