October 10, 2013

OCTOBER 10, 2013 | VoLuME XcV| IssuE XIV WARNER BROS.: pioneers of flight since 1918

WE ARE, WE ARE, WE ARE, WE ARE,

WE ARE THE ENGINEERS UBC’s engineers are more than a chant, a jacket and endless piles of homework.

SAVING WATER Engineering students aim to help rural communities treat water and save lives

P6

BROADWAY TRAIN ON HOLD 10-year plan doesn’t include any service expansions P6 P8 TransLink’s to UBC — or anywhere else, for that matter

BICYCLE ART ON SHOW P9 MEN’S HOCKEY PREVIEW P9 SPORTS NUTRITION: ATHLETE FUEL P8 ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS P11 AMS VP ACADEMIC ELECTIONS P3 BLOGGING ABOUT FOOD P9

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 |

yOuR guIdE TO uBC EVEnTs + PEOPLE

WHAT’S ON

ThIs WEEk, May WE suggEsT...

OuR CAMPuS

2

OnE On OnE WITh ThE PEOPLE WhO MakE uBC

THURSDAY 10 GrEaT PaNcaKE racE 12:30 p.M. @ MAciNNES fiElD

Teams will compete in the fifth annual uBC united Way Pancake Race. The goal is to build community through costumes and flipping good fun.

Free

FRIDAY

11

baSKETbaLL: ’bIrdS VS. haWKS 7 p.M. @ WAR MEMORiAl gYM

The men’s basketball team take on Wilfred Laurier university’s hawks. Watch to see who is the Big Bird of the CIs. It will definitely be a slam dunk. Adults $10, youth, seniors and A-Card $5, UBC students $2, free for Blue Crew CERI RIChaRds/ThE uByssEy

When it comes to projecting films in the norm, alex Westhelle is the star of the show.

SATURDAY

12

TWO TaLES by carLO GOZZI

7:30 p.M. @ DOROthY SOMERSEt StUDiO

The Love of Three Oranges and The King Stag are both edgy, funny and sinister plays “for mature audiences only.” The double feature runs from Oct. 10 to 12.

Free

ON THE COVER

At a late afternoon shoot with some engineering friends outside the design centre, features editor Arno Rosenfeld gets his first shot at being an art director. It was prett y fun. Photo by Carter Brundage.

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U THE UBYSSEY EDITORIAL

Coordinating Editor Geoff Lister coordinating@ubyssey.ca Managing Editor, Print Ming Wong printeditor@ubyssey.ca Managing Editor, Web CJ Pentland webeditor@ubyssey.ca News Editors Will McDonald + Sarah Bigam news@ubyssey.ca Senior News Writer Brandon Chow bchow@ubyssey.ca Culture Editor Rhys Edwards culture@ubyssey.ca Senior Culture Writer Aurora Tejeida atejeida@ubyssey.ca Sports + Rec Editor Natalie Scadden sports@ubyssey.ca Senior Lifestyle Writer Reyhana Heatherington rheatherington@ubyssey.ca Features Editor Arno Rosenfeld features@ubyssey.ca

Video Producers Lu Zhang + Nick Grossman video@ubyssey.ca Copy Editor Matt Meuse copy@ubyssey.ca

Photo Editor Carter Brundage photos@ubyssey.ca Illustrator Indiana Joel ijoel@ubyssey.ca Graphic Designer Nena Nyugen nnyugen@ubyssey.ca Webmaster Tony Li webmaster@ubyssey.ca Distribution Coordinator Lily Cai lcai@ubyssey.ca

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OCTOBER 10, 2013 | VOLuME XCV| IssuE XIV

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Alex Westhelle is the man behind the screen

Jack Hauen Contributor

At the Norm Theatre, Alex Westhelle runs the show.

A fourth-year art history student, Westhelle is the man in the rafters who makes sure the movie you’re watching doesn’t burst into flames. Don’t laugh — it’s happened before.

Westhelle is the projectionist for the Film Society (FilmSoc), and as his title suggests, he’s responsible for all that goes on in the projection booth: getting the show up and running on time, fixing audiovisual problems, and keeping the assistant projectionist volunteers in line. With a contagious passion for film and its culture, he’s well-suited for the job. He loves what he does, and plans to be involved in filmmaking or film archiving after his time at UBC. Westhelle first learned to project halfway through his first year. “I saw a flyer for the Film Society here, and it said, ‘Do you want to run the show?’ I thought it was just an incredible opportunity,” he said.

Afterwards, he started to volunteer as an assistant projectionist. Before he knew it, he was going into the clubroom four times

a week. “I was so giddy,” he said.

“I feel like the first real friends I made were in the Film Society.”

After a year and a half of assisting the team in place at the time, Westhelle was promoted to full projectionist status. This meant going through the “projectionist test”: a full day of hazing and obstacle course running to set up the dismantled projector and find the pieces of film to show that night.

What do the projectionists do while the movie’s playing? “We hang out, watch a bit of the movie or play a board game,” he said.

The current FilmSoc favourite is Settlers of Catan. When he’s not volunteering at the projection booth, Westhelle can be found watching movies or playing ballin-a-cup.

The Film Society doesn’t just show films, however: they also have a monthly beer garden, where beer and cider are served – while a movie plays, of course.

In October, they’ll be showing the remake of The Wicker Man. It’s not all fun and games in the projection booth, though — sometimes, things go wrong.

“It’s important to make sure you do the prep work right,” Westhelle said. “One time, I no-

ticed the sound was a bit wonky during a show, so I went down to the theatre to check on it. When I came back up, everyone was gathered around the projector, which was spitting film all over the floor and on fire inside....

The audience that night got to see Simon Pegg’s face burst into flames. Oh, and I showed The Muppets upside-down once. I fixed it, though.” U <em>

<em>

If you’re interested in learning how to project, or if you have a film you’d like to show, contact Alex Westhelle at alex.westhelle@ ubcfilmsociety.com.

<em>

</em>

QuIcK FacTS Favourite movie: PunchDrunk Love Favourite Norm Theatre experience: Watching Groundhog Day five days in a row.

Favorite theatre in Vancouver besides the Norm: Pacific Cinematheque

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 |

EdITORs WILL MCDONALD + SARAH BIGAM

3

TRANSIT >>

TRANSLINK

AT A GLANCE

Years this plan covers Years this plan outlines spending for

3

Total predicted spending in 2014

$1.49B

Total predicted revenue in 2014

$1.44B

The year by which TransLink anticipates they will no longer be running a deficit

2020

Amount by which transit fares will increase annually, starting in 2015 Amount of trips MetroVancouver wants to make possible by walking, cycling, or transit by 2045 fILE PhOTO sTEPhanIE Xu/ThE uByssEy

10

2%

50%

SOURCE: TransLink 2014 Base Plan

Translink’s 2014 base plan says nothing about increasing service hours or adding new buses to anywhere in the city.

No increased service hours in TransLink plan

Sarah Bigam News Editor

Those hoping to see increased public transit to UBC may be out of luck for now.

On Oct. 3, TransLink released their 2014 base plan. This yearly report, which will be finalized in November, outlines TransLink’s budget for the next three years, and provides a seven-year outlook on TransLink’s future.

The report does not include increased service hours, new buses or new SkyTrain cars to anywhere in the city. The report identifies “improved capacity and reliability of the Broadway 99 B-Line” as a priority, but does not include any money to put toward a rapid transit line to UBC. “We only have existing funds to sustain what we have, so right now we’re not in a position to expand the system,” said TransLink spokesperson Derek Zabel.

NEWS BRIEFS arts undergrad Society elects new student reps The arts undergraduate society elected new representatives in a fall byelection.

The aus represents almost 12,000 undergraduate arts students. around eight per cent of arts students voted in the election.

Margot kimmel and alexandra Lee Mann won the two first-year rep spots, with kimmel getting the most votes. david Markwei won the second-year rep position against sisi Zhou.

Two first-year rep candidates, scott Lee and steve kim, were suspended from campaigning for slating during the election.

Candidates for third-year rep, general officer and aMs reps all ran uncontested.

Vyas saran was elected as third-year rep, and danny aw will serve as general officer on aus council this year. ahmed Barry, Maria Mohan, and nina karimi took the three aMs representative seats.

Barry and Mohan were elected to the two full-year positions, and karimi got the half-year position. as aMs reps, they will sit on both aus and aMs councils, and vote on behalf of the arts student population at aMs council meetings. U

Zabel said TransLink can only afford to continue with plans underway, such as the establishment of the Evergreen Line and the introduction of a 96 B-Line in Surrey.

TransLink’s total predicted expenditure of $1.49 billion for the year is spread out between operation and maintenance charges, as well as upgrades to buses, the Expo Line, SkyTrain stations, cycling paths, the Major Road Network and the BC Parkway.

The report also includes a $299-million expenditure to fix the Pattullo Bridge, up from the $150 million laid out in last year’s report, due to new information about the bridge’s condition. It also includes a further contribution of $322,141 to the Evergreen Line, an extension of the SkyTrain line from Lougheed Town Centre to Coquitlam which is set to be operational by 2016.

Capital projects, such as a rapid transit line to UBC, are included

in the annual supplemental plan, which will be released in the next few months.

TransLink is also aiming to make itself more efficient by moving transit vehicles from routes with lower demand to routes with higher demand. According to the report, doing this enabled TransLink to increase bus boardings per service hour by 3.4 per cent by shifting 56,000 hours of bus service from low to high demand times.

TransLink is predicting revenues of $1.44 billion this year, and an annual deficit until 2020. They aim to save $39.8 million over the next three years by changing bus schedules and fleet sizes, and reducing SkyTrain frequency on weekends.

“New funding sources will be needed to accommodate current demands and future growth,” the report said.

TransLink is also making less money from the fuel tax, their

second-largest source of revenue, as fuel sales have declined sharply since 2011. Current fare rates, which make up 34 per cent of TransLink’s income, will stay the same until 2015 when the new Compass Card is fully implemented, at which point they will increase by two per cent per year.

Operating the Compass program will cost TransLink $19.8 million a year for the next three years.

The report was done in line with the new Regional Transportation Strategy, which was released in July 2013. The strategy aims to make half of all trips possible by walking, cycling or transit by 2045. However, the report predicts only “limited progress toward this goal.”

The plan is expected to make “moderate progress” on cutting emissions due to the opening of the Evergreen Line, but the report predicts that in coming years population growth and an increase of jobs

outside areas currently well-supplied with public transit will work against this goal.

The report concludes that the steps it outlines “are still not enough to meet the current and future needs of the region.... Our revenue sources are insufficient to make the investments we need.”

Students who care about transit may be able to make their voices heard at the provincial referendum on transit funding scheduled for 2014. The referendum questions have not been released, but the report says the results could influence funding decisions in the future.

TransLink also plans to host their own discussions.

“We really want to have regional discussions with everybody to prioritize different transit projects and take a look at what the region can afford,” Zabel said. However, he could not provide specific details of the form these would take or when they would take place. U

ELECTIONS >>

VP Academic candidates debate housing, mental health Brandon Chow Senior News Writer

VP academic candidates Anne Kessler and Adam Melhem debated in the SUB conversation pit on Tuesday, ahead of this week’s byelection.

The two candidates debated topics ranging from student housing to mental health on the last day of campaigning for the interim VP academic position.

After brief introductions from the two candidates, the debate moderator asked what the candidates thought the most important academic issue is for the VP academic.

Kessler said student mental health is the most important issue, explaining that its longevity and extensive influence on all aspects of student life warrants its importance.

Melhem said the Flexible Learning initiative, one of his major platform points, is the most important academic issue. “Being spoken at for an hour is not an effective way to learn,” he said, adding that flexible learning will affect generations of students to come.

A series of rebuttals from both candidates ensued, debating how they should think about mental health.

“If you want to address student mental health, first of all you have to

PhOTO ILLusTRaTIOn CaRTER BRundagE and WILL MCdOnaLd/ThE uByssEy

Candidates adam Melhem and anne kessler debated at the suB conversation pit on Tuesday.

come up with a description ... as well as how you want to move forward with it,” said Melhem.

Another question addressed student housing on campus. Both candidates held similar opinions on this issue, choosing Acadia Park and Ponderosa Commons as areas of housing that they would focus on, specifically in regards to affordability.

Kessler used this question to bring up one of her platform points, which involves modifying the student housing agreement to give students more protection.

After the official questions, the moderator opened the floor to questions from the audience.

Ubyssey coordinating editor Geoff Lister asked whether Melhem or Kessler would run for the position again in the January elections.

Kessler said her decision would depend on her graduation timeline and if she liked the position during her term in office.

Melhem said he would “abso-fucking-lutely” run again. He later said he sometimes has a tendency to say things he shouldn’t, which he gave as an answer for why students might not want to elect him.

Former VP academic Kiran Mahal asked two questions: how would the candidates transition into working with executives who <em>

</em>

have been in office for months, and where they would take her on a “transition date.”

Kessler said she has previous experience working with the people who hold those positions, while Melhem said he would work to find common ground with the goals of current execs.

In response to Mahal’s second question, Kessler suggested climbing the Grouse Grind trail and then taking a “romantic stroll through the forest.” Melhem said he’d take her back to his home country of Lebanon.

Voting will last from Oct. 9 to 11, both online and in voting booths around campus. U

4 | NEWS |

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Clubs >>

Photo Society snapping back into action

CJ Pentland Managing Editor, Web

The AMS is getting one of its most notable clubs back on its feet.

The Photo Society, better known as Photosoc, ceased operations in the summer of 2013 after they failed to elect new executives. The AMS told the club in March of 2012 that they had to vacate their club space located in the basement of the SUB due to construction for the New SUB. Instead of continuing the club based out of a temporary location, the execs decided to disband it.

“In order to develop our stores and storeroom and also our loading bay, we would have to piggyback on the existing loading bay and repurpose our south side and lower level for the new storerooms there,” said AMS designer Michael Kingsmill.

“We needed an outside location [to service the airflows], and Photosoc was the space that was earmarked for this.”

According to last year’s Student Administration Commission (SAC) vice chair Adam Melhem, Photosoc was told the AMS would do their best to find a temporary club space until their new location in the New SUB was ready. Despite being provided options, Adrien Chen, the last president of the society, decided to mothball the club without telling the AMS. According to current SAC chair Nina Scott, elections for club executives are supposed to happen in March and April, and the clubs then send the results to the AMS. “We didn’t hear anything from Photosoc, and we tried several times to get in touch with them. By and large, the exec disappeared,” said Scott.

To help get the society back up and running, the AMS is holding

Photo Carter Brundage/The Ubyssey

Photosoc ceased operations as a club in 2013 when they didn’t elect new executives.

an AGM for future and prospective club members. They will act as an interim executive and ask members to run for the positions of president and treasurer, the two positions required to run a club. Those candidates will then be given two weeks to campaign, with members getting to vote at the end of that span.

The AMS also promises that Photosoc will have a make-shift

area in the old SUB. Being a purpose-built space, they will not have all the same amenities that their old space had, such as a darkroom and studio, but Kingsmill said that the old SASC office on the main floor will act as Photosoc’s temporary club space. Equipment can be stored there, and the AMS Art Gallery will act as a temporary studio during the gallery’s off hours.

“We hope we can keep it together. We would be very upset to lose any club, and I don’t think that’s going to happen,” said Kingsmill. “We’re obviously spending quite a bit of money to create a new Photosoc, but to just be able to perpetuate it over these difficult times would be something that we’re really trying to do.”

The Photosoc AGM will be held on Friday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. in the SUB Ballroom. U Editor’s note: Ubyssey coordinating editor Geoff Lister is a former Photosoc executive and has been working to revive the club. Ubyssey photo editor Carter Brundage is a former member of Photosoc and is also working to revive the club. </em>

Engineering >>

UBC-based researchers develop new way to filter water

Technology aims to bring clean water to rural and First Nations communities Karen Wang Contributor

Water filtration technology being developed at UBC could improve life in rural and First Nations communities.

New technology developed by RES’EAU WaterNET, a nationwide program based at UBC, may provide a solution for the millions of people living in Canada who do not have access to clean drinking water.

RES’EAU WaterNET, which involves nine universities across Canada, aims to develop water treatment technology for rural and First Nations communities that don’t have access to clean water.

The new technology involves turning on a lamp in the water emitting UV radiation with extremely short wavelengths, which causes highly reactive components, or radicals, to form and react with both bacteria and chemical contaminants in the water.

The UV radiation generated can get rid of both the bacteria and chemicals in water.

“The mandate of this program is really to work toward solutions that are sustainable with respect to delivering clean drinking water to small and remote communities,” said Madjid Mohseni, the

scientific director of RES’EAU WaterNET and a professor in the chemical and biological engineering department at UBC. For a solution to qualify as sustainable, Mohseni looks at three factors.

“They have to be cost effective,” he said. “These people, communities [and] households are living in very remote communities — they don’t have a lot of resources.”

The second factor is what Mohseni describes as social sustainability – meaning the idea must be well received by the members of the community.

“In a small village, everyone knows each other,” he said. “They talk to each other, so they [all know] where the water is coming from and what is happening with the water, so they have a lot of say in what happens in their systems.”

Mohseni said it is also important that the water treatment system is easy to operate. “The people who live in those remote communities and the people who operate these systems are not necessarily engineers or PhDs,” Mohseni said. “They’re average people who are often volunteers ... so the systems need to be simple and user friendly.”

After nearly five years of research, they have been able to

The new water filtration method will be used in the Lytton First Nation community.

develop a water treatment system aligning with these conditions.

The first design is to be implemented in the Lytton First Nation community in B.C. “I think we hope to have a design in place by March,” said Jim Brown, the maintenance manager and supervisor for the Lytton First Nation. Brown said

they have often had to issue boil water advisories to the communities because of the high bacteria levels in the creek water.

With the new system, water from the creek will go through UV disinfection as well as chlorine treatment.

“To me, I think it’s a good idea that we work with UBC,”

photo Worldofjan/flickr

said Brown, “to have them offer alternatives to using engineering firms. It might be cheaper in the long run and they listen to comments from operators.”

So far, two other non-First Nations communities have also expressed interest in the water treatment options provided by RES’EAU WaterNET. U

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 |

EdITOR NATALIE SCADDEN

T-BIRDS 5-ON-5

EMILY WILSON

CHRIS BECK

BEA FRANCISCO

soccer

soccer

field hockey

STEVEN STANFORD

5

DANIELLE DUBE

hockey

hockey

gOaLIEs. aLL Of ThEM. 1. Why did you start playing goalie?

One game the keeper on my team was sick, so I stepped in and loved it!

Plus less running.

Our goalie was away, so I jumped in net and we won the tournament.

Been in net ever since.

I wanted to know what it would feel like to make a diving save in mid-air.

after five years of playing both I decided I was better at being a goalie.

I can’t really remember, it was so long ago. I am, what you may call, a mature student.

2. Do you have any game-day superstitions?

I always wear my rings under my gloves.

I step out of bed with my left foot first, and put my left shoe and left glove on first.

I have to put the pads on in exactly the same order every time.

I’m in my own world before games. I tape my stick, drink a coffee, and then attempt to juggle.

I usually spend my day shuttling my kids around to their sports events and suddenly realize, I’ve got to play tonight too!

3. What’s your strangest habit?

I have an addiction to subway.

I have a weird thing about making sure that all my possessions are in the right place.

There are too many.

Probably flushing toilets with my feet.

singing in the shower.

4. What reality tV show should you be on?

The Amazing Race.

hopefully, I should be on MTV Cribs one day.

Dog Whisperer

Maybe we should have an “intervention” around the lack of joy reality tv gives me.

The Voice. unfortunately, I can’t sing.

5. finish this sentence: Roberto luongo is...

...expensive!

...overpaid and under a lot of pressure.

...back for more.

...a very good tweeter.

...in for a tough season.

I wouldn’t want to be him.

HOCKEY >>

Men’s hockey revamped Team looks to continue building after best season in 12 years Jack Hauen Contributor

“Everyone knows where we want to be in March.”

When playoff time comes around this season, UBC men’s hockey head coach Milan Dragicevic expects his revamped Thunderbirds to compete for a Canada West title.

Last season was the best on record for the Thunderbirds in 12 years under Dragicevic, but it wasn’t good enough to get past the Calgary Dinos, who took the best-of-three opening round playoff series 2-1 for the second straight year.

This season, the familiar matchup will be renewed on opening weekend.

“We’ve played them two years in a row in the playoffs now,” said Dragicevic. “They’re the biggest rival we have. We’ll have to be at the top of our game.”

Dragicevic stressed the importance of special teams, especially against Calgary. “We have to be able to generate offense and gain momentum on our powerplay — that’s the biggest thing. If we do that, we’ll be successful.”

The Thunderbirds will look to build off their 14-11-3 regular season record with a different-looking squad. For starters, standout goal-

tender Jordan White is no longer at UBC. “Jordan’s a huge loss for us, [he was an] all-star for two years,” said Dragicevic.

But the goaltending situation is far from dim, as former Regina Pats starter Matt Hewitt will don the ‘Bird uniform this season. Hewitt was definitely stellar for the Pats, maintaining a .901 save percentage.

“Matt’s a proven goaltender,” said Dragicevic. “He’s been a starter in the WHL for three years, he’s one of the top goalies in the league — he’s going to get the opportunity to step right in and play.”

Competing with Hewitt for the starting job is Steven Stanford, who has played two seasons at UBC as White’s backup. He went 4-7 last season with a 2.73 goalsagainst average and a .900 save percentage.

Other notable absentees from the Thunderbirds lineup this season include captain Justin McCrae (who will be replaced by defenceman Ben Schmidt, a three-year veteran of the team), high-scoring forward Max Grassi, and defenceman Mike McGurk.

Among the new faces at UBC, however, is Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound former captain of the Vancouver Giants.

Dragicevic called him a “tough,

physical, stay-at-home defenceman” who is intimidating on the ice.

“Wes makes forwards pay the price. That’s what we want from him, to be tough in front of the net and in the corners.”

Vannieuwenhuizen will be on the blue line alongside former Giants teammate Neil Manning, who was named to the CIS All-Rookie team and awarded with UBC’s male rookie of the year award last year.

The Thunderbirds’ off-season recruiting also snatched up another former WHL captain in Luke Lockhart, who played for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Dragicevic said Lochkart is a natural leader who plays hard in all three zones.

There are four other former WHLers to wrap up an impressive list of new recruits. This includes Nick Buonassisi, a speedy centre will be crucial on the forecheck, and Anthony Bardaro, who should add some offensive spark to the team after racking up 57 points (25 goals, 32 assists) in 70 games with the Prince Albert Raiders last season.

Overall, the ‘Birds have stocked up on scoring power, along with a healthy dose of grit and toughness, during the off-season. “Hard work in our league wins a lot of games,” said Dragicevic. “If you’re ready to pay the price, you’ll be successful.”

DAVID SCOTT

PhOTO CaRTER BRundagE/ThE uByssEy

former Regina Pats starting goalie Matt hewitt is one of seven former WhL standouts who have been added to the Thunderbirds lineup this season.

UBC gave Simon Fraser a taste of their new lineup in late September, sweeping a two-game exhibition series 6-2 and 5-1. However, the team dropped their more recent two-game series in Alaska, 2-1 and 8-1 versus the University of Alaska-Anchorage and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, respectively.

Despite ending the preseason on a poor note, Dragicevic is optimistic for the regular season.

“We’re very excited with our hockey team,” he said. “We feel that we have the pieces in place, and the roles and expectations are set.” U UBC will begin their regular season with two games this weekend in Calgary. They’ll return to Thunderbird Arena for their home opener on Friday, Oct. 18 against the Regina Rams.

david Scott, a senior receiver on the football team, hauled in seven passes for 170 yards and one touchdown in uBC’s victory over the no. 10-ranked Manitoba Bisons this past saturday. amongst these was a 58-yard completion that put uBC inside the 15-yard line. greg Bowcott would go on to complete the touchdown and give uBC a 7-3 lead early on. The T-Birds finished the game 28-24, and with the win improved to .500 on the season.

6 | FEATURES |

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Words by Lawrence Neal Garcia and Jenny Tan Photos by Carter Brundage

A

n egg-shaped race car zooms by the Engineering Design Centre — or EDC, a breath-saving acronym engineering students are grateful for — and executes a fluid U-turn. The rumbling motor breaks the Saturday slumber and the typically sleepy air of an empty campus is notably absent from the cluster of buildings on Point Grey’s south end.

A disposable water bottle, perhaps a fuel tank of some sort, is attached to the back of the race car. The driver whoops as she zooms back through the alleyway. A teammate watches in satisfaction and follows the car along the lane, exchanging congratulatory remarks with the driver.

Building a community The EDC bustles with activity. Its concrete floor and whitewashed walls lend a raw industrial feel to the building, preparing entrants for the nature of the work within.

Machines line the inside of the “competition space,” the area where vehicles in various stages of completion await hours more of sweaty wrenching. The tall glass windows and high ceilings add an air of sophistication and the soft red cushions and communal tables create a comfortable sense of welcome — quite the achievement for what is essentially a factory.

A student in a forest-green shirt sits by himself at the edge of a wooden table at the atrium’s centre, but he’s not alone for long.

A friend comes by and soon they are talking about what they’ll be majoring in. In the next few hours, he’ll be joined by a stream of familiar faces — an occurrence typical of the space, even on a weekend.

Articulate and confident, Rory Smith is perhaps not what some would think of when they picture a typical engineer. As a second-year

mechanical engineering student — “I’m in Mech 2,” he explains to fellow engineers — the concrete applicability of the field had him hooked early.

“I don’t need to have a hammer and a nail and hand tool,” Smith said, “but I wanted to do something ... tangible and physical”.

Smith hints at another draw of the program that engineers only find when they enter it.

“I’ve seen the same 30 people for the last four weeks, nine hours a day. It’s very easy to build relationships.” He laughs and adds lightheartedly that such a situation is “not necessarily negative or positive.”

The sheer amount of time engineers spend working with the same group of people is remarkable. Smith will continue to see the same 30 people nine hours a day for the duration of his time at UBC. The community bonding from that much time with a small group of peers is not insignificant.

Social dynamics Chelsea Scheffel and Janice Savage, second-year electrical engineering students in the biomedical option, know something about spending a lot of time with the same people. With only 24 students in their biomedical option, they will have the majority of their classes with the same cohort for the entirety of their degrees.

Women in engineering are a

rare breed. The men interviewed for this article estimated that the female-to-male ratio in engineering is one to 10.

But Scheffel and Savage both saw the gender makeup as more balanced.

“About one to four,” Savage guessed. Scheffel nodded.

Perhaps their answer is indicative of the equitable treatment they say they receive in the faculty despite the gender ratio. When asked whether the gender makeup had any impact on their degree experience, both women said it didn’t.

“Engineers are welcoming,” Savage said.

When asked if they were ever reluctant to ask males for help with assignments or vice versa, there was a long pause, as if the possibility had never even occurred to them.

“Well, guys ask for help too,” Scheffel answered. “Different people need help in different subjects, so you balance each other out.”

As with any faculty, stereotyping engineering is inevitable. But the generalizations engineering students say they face aren’t necessarily negative.

In fact, Scheffel joined Engineering partially because she felt that she fit the mould of a stereotypical engineer.

“The engineers, we kind of have this stereotype that we’re really quiet and focused, and I kind of

feel like I fit in with that stereotype.”

But, as good sense would predict, engineers can be found all along the spectrum of personalities.

“We have the extremes,” Scheffel said. “We have the people who are party animals, and then we have the people who study all the time, and there’s the middle ground where there’s half and half.”

What remains consistent, however, is the strong sense of community.

So what is it about the engineering faculty that cultivates this sense of community that UBC as a whole tends to lack? Standard timetables, more common in engineering than in other faculties, certainly help. The proximity of the engineering buildings and seeing familiar faces during classes and in hallways is also another key.

Various social events for students, a regular occurrence around the engineering faculty, may be part of the answer too.

After two weeks of frosh and a slew of barbecues and socials throughout the year, many engineers look forward to E-Week or, as the Engineering Undergraduate Society website puts it, “the only week that really matters.”

With everything from E-Ball soccer to the annual engineers’ ball, the week is perhaps the most important social event in the faculty. In addition, the academic

workload of the degree offers a surprising amount of insight into the cultivation of community.

Studying in groups is a common occurrence, lending the engineering common spaces a bustling sense of purpose. Shared classes required for engineers in different departments or even different years also help cement a sense of camaraderie.

Scheffel thinks nothing of asking upper-years in the hallways for help with homework. Engineers seem to tackle school together, collectively pushing through the barriers of school.

These aspects can only explain so much. Even for Scheffel and Savage, there’s still another community bond they can’t quite put their finger on.

“It’s just this feeling,” said Scheffel. “Maybe because we all have that small piece of geekiness — some people have a bigger piece.

And that just matches with all of us. Maybe it’s like we just gel. We have that piece of the puzzle.”

Getting technical Despite the importance engineers attach to their community, other students associate engineering mostly with its infamously heavy and technical workload. But for some, it simply comes with the territory.

“In order to properly be a qualified engineer,” Smith points out matter-of-factly, “there are

Thursday, October 10, 2013

| FEATURES | 7

We have the extremes. We have the people who are party animals, and then we have the people who study all the time, and there’s the middle ground where there’s half and half.

Chelsea Schefel Second-year electrical engineering student

things that you need to know, and whether or not they’re hard is immaterial.”

The necessity of the technical focus of the degree may be indisputable, but the view of an engineering degree as less well-rounded and lacking emphasis in the arts and other fields of study has some grounding in facts. Outside of 18 “complementary studies” credits in the degree, little room is left for non-technical courses.

“But I think [the lack of well-roundedness] is the same on the reverse side,” points out Edwin Chen, a fifth-year engineering physics student. He noted that other faculties aren’t expected to study engineering courses either.

He makes a good point, as the minimum science credit requirements of other faculties, such as in Arts, are what their title suggests: minimal.

“I don’t think there’s any way around [the lack of course diversity],” said Chen, who will have reached over 180 credits when he graduates in May, almost all of them from technical engineering courses. “It’s inevitable because as an engineer you need to know so much technical stuff, that you can’t ... study everything.”

With all this classroom time dedicated to technical study, this brings into question the availability of opportunity for engineering students to engage with philosophical questions common to college twenty-somethings.

For Chen, personal reflection is not a matter of being in a particular faculty.

“I think as a human being you will just think about it,” he said.

“It’s inevitable. You will just think about who you are, and what you are doing and what the meaning of life is. These are questions that everyone will somehow have to think about and answer in their [lives], and I think that this is true to every engineer.”

Chen talked about the environments in which he tends to reflect: on his travels, during his alone time, listening to music — not necessarily in a classroom.

But if all these questions can be answered outside of the classroom, what then does that say about the value of a non-technical degree such as a BA? Chen paused, reflecting on the question.

“I have total respect for people who are really doing serious things in Arts programs,” he said. “I think they are contributing to this society, there’s no doubt [of that].”

’Life’ outside engineering Chassis of cars from previous years line the walls. The UBC Formula team’s workspace is surprisingly neat, given the sheer amount of equipment in it. A xylophone of wrenches, arranged according to size, hang against an oceanblue tool board. Like an overseer, a straw doll in a red-blue dress perches up top on a high corner, her bonnet shading her eyes from the fluorescent glare. A sleek black race car shell is the focal point of the room surrounded by the 10

or so students bustling around the workspace.

Eric Thibault absentmindedly runs his hands along a steering wheel. It will find its home on the car the Formula UBC team will race at an international competition in Nebraska in June 2014.

Marko Lolic explains that the paddle-shifting mechanism on this year’s steering wheel allows the driver to clutch in and shift gears without taking her hands off the wheel. Given that Formula One cars can easily reach up to 320 kilometres an hour, it’s a feature that anyone who has driven a standard transmission vehicle would appreciate.

The fourth-year mechatronic engineers look at each other when asked how many hours they spend working on the car each week on top of schoolwork. “25 to 30?”

Thibault guesses.

The easy camaraderie between the Thibault and Lolic is clear as they expand on and finish each other’s thoughts almost seamlessly. The two are asked point blank: do they have a “life” outside of engineering?

Thibault laughs.

“We do and we don’t,” he said.

Lolic interjects, clearly disagreeing with the image of the one-track engineer.

“Well, it depends on what you mean by ‘life,’” he says. “I think we do this because we’re committed to what we do.”

Lolic expanded on this point.

“Some kids may go home and learn how to program a microcontroller on their own time, as nerdy as it is, but still, that’s what they like to do,” he said. “[Engineering] is one of the more easily applicable degrees.

“It’s not like [if] I’m a doctor,” Thibault said with a laugh, “I’m going to go carve up my cat.”

Engineers: made, or born?

Chen paused when asked if he would choose the 180-credit engineering physics if he had the chance to do it all over again.

“I really like having a general sense of what society ... is built on,” he said, referring to the knowledge of the engineering principles of modern technology.

“Of course I survived ... and I’m happy with the result. [But] if you’d shown me the typical day I would have for the next three, four years, I probably wouldn’t do it.”

Lolic, his hands resting lightly on the workbench behind him, addressed a similar point.

“There are some kids who don’t like engineering even though they’re in the program ... but I think most of us are here because we love what we do.”

Did he know that he was going to be an engineer when he was growing up? Lolic laughed.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do after high school ... but now I know that engineering is exactly what I want to do. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.” U This article is the third in an occasional series on academic issues and culture at UBC.

Top to bottom: first-years get the tour of engineering buildings; Edwin Chen, a fifth-year engineering student, will graduate in May; ERTW is a modest acronym for Engineers Rule the World.

8 | SPOrTS + rEc |

ThurSday, OcTObEr 10, 2013

SPORTS NuTRITION >>

Eat to win: how UBC athletes fuel for success Nutrition is the key for improving performance and proper recovery following exercise Adrienne Hembree Contributor

On each race day after weigh-in, UBC rower Julie Sheppard eats a bowl of oatmeal with a banana and chocolate protein powder.

This go-to race day meal will fuel her body throughout the intense two-kilometre event while ensuring that she maintains her “lightweight” status, which for female rowers means no more than 130 pounds. Since larger, taller people have a significant physical advantage in rowing, the lightweight category gives average-sized athletes the ability to compete and adds more universality to the sport.

For athletes like Sheppard, excellent nutrition habits and competition are inseparable. Not only must she maintain a healthy weight at all times during the season, but she must also balance school and rowing at optimal performance levels.

“I put a lot of emphasis on nutrition,” Sheppard said. “I compete in a weight class and have to keep up with two practices a day.”

Like Sheppard, UBC swimmer Heather MacLean — who competed at the London 2012 Olympics as a member of the Canadian women’s 4x100-metre freestyle relay — strives throughout her season to maintain an “ideal” body weight at which she and her coach feel she performs best.

“My coach wants to make sure I stay within my optimal weight and that I am recovering properly so I can continue to make improvements in training,” said MacLean.

nutrition for Performance and recoVery The advantages of sports nutrition go beyond simply maintaining an ideal weight. Sheppard, MacLean and Nordic skier Rob Ragotte closely monitor what they put into their bodies in order to continually

increase their performance, recovery and physical and mental focus.

Ragotte has been Nordic skiing for seven years, and he competes in everything from sprint distances to the grueling 50 km race.

“A big part of nutrition for my sport is how to eat during a race or workout,” he said. “You're going to need to take a few ‘feeds’ ... to make sure you can make it to the end of the race.”

Sarah Cuff is a registered holistic nutritionist and coach at Eat 2 Run, an organization she founded in early 2012. “When we change the way we eat, we can absolutely change the way we benefit,” she said.

After completing nine marathons and failing to meet her goal of finishing in under four hours, Cuff was about to give up. Instead, she developed a different philosophy about how she was going to train and eat. In her 10th marathon, she smashed her personal record, shaving 25 minutes off her previous time.

“I was pretty pumped,” she recalled.

Cuff puts huge emphasis on recovery nutrition, which is key in allowing the body to build muscle and become stronger with each workout. The goal of recovery nutrition is to rebuild worn-out muscles, reduce lactic acid buildup and help the body to become stronger after each workout.

“If you are able to get a recovery shake within 30 minutes of completing your workout, it can cut your recovery time in half,” Cuff said.

BreaKing it doWn UBC women’s rugby coach Maria Gallo urges her athletes to eat plenty of protein and carbohydrates within 30 minutes of a game. Protein contributes to muscle development and allows the body to build lean muscle and, when combined with training, cut down on excess fat.

Carbohydrates provide energy, and complex carbohydrates provide long-term benefits. While simple

NUTRITION TIPS

PhOTO BECCa WILLIaMs/ThE uByssEy

Oatmeal is a staple of many athletes’ diets, including uBC rower julie sheppard’s, who combines it with bananas and protein powder.

carbohydrates and sugars — think cookies, white pastas, white bread, etc. — provide a quick boost of energy because the body processes them very quickly, complex carbohydrates like whole grain rices, pastas and breads break down more slowly, allowing the body to rely on the energy created by those sugars for a longer period of time.

A former rugby player and trainer for the Canadian national team, Gallo majored in biomedical sciences in her undergrad and quickly discovered a passion for proper nutrition and its connection to sports performance. “[Nutrition is] what’s going to sustain you throughout your sport,” she said. “Most athletes should eat six to eight times a day.”

Gallo wants her athletes to have basic knowledge of what proper nutrition looks like. She

FOR EXERCISE LOVERS

Even if you’re you’re not these tips to to getget thethe most outout of your workout.

Even nottraining trainingat atthe thevarsity varsitylevel, level.take Take these tips most of your workout.

Follow the “golden window” rule: Recovery is key to performance, so eating within

30

improve.

Practice makes perfect: When you are training, be sure to also practice your nutrition. to that plan.

Variety is the spice of life: Don’t eat the same foods every day. Especially when on a meal plan, variety will help you obtain the calories you need while providing your body with necessary vitamins and minerals.

Say no to burgers, fries, and cookies: While fried, fast foods are high in fats and unhealthy calories, sugars also cause inflammation that will slow down recovery time and cause your body to age faster.

Take a break: While you shouldn’t go crazy, it’s ok to allow your mind and body to relax. Remember to balance, but continue to choose the healthiest options available for your favourite treats!

Customize your nutrition: Choose a plan or foods that work for you, and don’t get too caught up in the details or the nutritional breakdown of every food you put in your body.

Source: Sarah Cuff, Maria Gallo gRaPhIC nEna nguyEn/ThE uByssEy

understands that less-than-ideal residence meal plan options and the stresses of adjusting to school and social life make focusing on nutrition difficult, mentally draining and time-consuming — not to mention expensive. Gallo encourages her team to use Costco as a good resource for cheap and healthy snacks.

“The [residence] meal plan makes it incredibly challenging to eat healthy without breaking the bank,” said Ragotte.

In their freshman years, both Sheppard and MacLean relied heavily on the salad bar at UBC for their meals. “I knew what was going to be in my meal when I prepared it myself,” Sheppard said.

Gallo said the main concern is that athletes are eating enough calories, and making good choices.

“Athletes are beasts of routine,” she said, but she instructs them to obtain vitamins and minerals through a varied diet.

Athletes need to consume more calories than non-athletes to maintain the physical and mental stamina required for competition. But depending on the sport, calories aren’t always the best measure of good nutrition.

Cuff said it’s not all about set nutritional components, or specific percentages of fats, carbohydrates and proteins. “The biggest area we get stuck in is trying to break down our foods," she said. She encourages athletes to focus more on the foods that work specifically for them, and to avoid sugars and alcohol, which slow recovery and break down the body faster.

no one ‘BeSt’ diet Athletes are encouraged to develop a game-day eating plan and stick to it. For Ragotte, his go-to pre-race meal, oatmeal, can be prepared in a hotel room coffee maker. “That's the other catch of nutrition for races — you're often in a hotel without a kitchen. You have to be creative,” he said.

MacLean has success with “carb-loading”, or eating large quantities of complex carbohydrates in the days before a big swim meet.

The adrenaline, metabolism boost, and energy output needed to perform at high levels of competition

means that the body burns through its calories more quickly. Carb-loading before a race allows the body to build up a store of fuel that can be relied upon for sustained energy and endurance.

“During a competition, I eat quite a lot, I think from all the racing my body really needs the fuel,” she said.

Gallo also emphasizes that nutrition varies depending on the sport. For women’s rugby players, weight is not a restriction. “You’re not really dealing with a lot of individuals that are afraid to be a certain size,” she said.

Gallo teaches a first-year kinesiology course, and uses it as a chance to talk about nutritional goals and body image, making sure that students — especially women — understand that health is “not about the number on the scale.”

Balance iS Key MacLean, Ragotte and Sheppard follow a structured diet when training, but they tend to give their minds and bodies a break during the off-season.

“My off-season diet is way different than what I try and keep during season,” admitted MacLean, who indulges in sweets and fast food and enjoys the break from thinking about food all the time.

Ragotte’s constant need to maintain endurance during the season contrasts starkly with his off-season diet. “It's weird to go from being constantly hungry to never thinking about food,” he said.

Cuff believes there are mental and emotional benefits to relaxing a diet during the off-season, within reason.

For her part, Gallo knows that student athletes are 18- to 22-year-olds. “They are going to eat their burgers, drink their alcohol,” she said, “[but] the offseason is meant for improvement, [and] that also means improved nutrition.”

Cuff said it’s easy to get caught up in the ideals that the media sets in terms of nutritional goals.

While it is important to consume healthy foods that have plenty of nutritional benefits, nutrition is not a one-size-fits all concept — especially for student athletes. U

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 |

EdITOR RHYS EDWARDS

9

ART >>

AMS Art Gallery goes locomotive

cuLTurE VuLTurE Theatre Two Tales by Carlo Gozzi: The Love of Two Oranges and The King Stag, directed by Mfa alumnus Chris Mcgregor, will run from Oct. 10–12 at the dorothy somerset studio on campus. admission is free and performances start at 7:30 p.m.

Both of these one-act plays will feature uBC Bfa acting students who, in the true spirit of the Commedia dell’arte, will all be wearing elaborate masks to portray outrageous characters.

The show, intended for mature audiences, guarantees comedy throughout the sinister plots, love interests, fantasy and overall ridiculousness.

Bike Co-op launches second edition of community art showcase an art out of it, you can learn the names [of the bicycle parts], learn how it looks, without having any pressure,” said show curator Veronika Khvorostukhina as she touched a black chandelier made up of wheel rims and portage straps.

“Bike art is not intended to be precise and perfect. It’s meant to be kind of messy, kind of weird.”

Spare pArts emphasizes audience engagement, a value shared

by Norbeto Mantik and Rebekah McGurran of local print shop The Hive Printing. “We are both cyclists, so that’s what inspired us to make bike art,” said Mantik. “It connects us to other cyclists and with Vancouver.”

Mantik also created a deployable candle holder. “The idea was to interact with the community so that just like a bike, you make something you can play with and move around, so in a way you transfer your energy to it as well,” he said.

Hungarian artist Brigitta Kocsis takes a very different approach to bike art. Her collage combines magazine cutouts <em>

The show includes pieces made in a variety of styles and media.

Ruby Chen Contributor

How do you celebrate cycling with art? The AMS Bike Co-op is presenting the Spare pArts exhibition at the AMS Art Gallery in the Student Union Building until Oct. <em>

</em>

PhOTO aLVIn TIan/ThE uByssEy

18, showcasing artwork created by students and local artists that combine bicycle parts with this year’s theme, outer space.

“The purpose of the bike art is to engage people with bicycle[s], the bike culture. If you can make

</em>

with drawing, markers, and acrylic paint.

“Once these images are removed from their original meaning, they become fragmented to the point of abstraction, with a suggestion of mechanical component,” she said.

So how did the outer space theme factor into the show?

“The idea is the freedom of movement, the idea that your bike can take you where ever you want to go,” said Khvorostukhina. “A bicycle is just a bunch of metal parts — it’s the way you put them together that makes it an art, a transport, or anything you want it to be. It’s the bike parts plus imagination.”

The exhibition will end with a 19-plus closing gala on Oct. 18, where all donated art pieces, including three adorable yarn bikes and a golden vintage-style chandelier, will be auctioned to raise funds for the Bike Co-op. U

awards The uBC cultural precinct was awarded “Best Reason to go to uBC Outside of Classes” in the annual georgia straight “Best of Vancouver” issue. Editors referred to the quality programming of the Chan, MOa and both the Opera and Theatre programs.

The Dick Knost Show, starring uBC alum Tom scholte, won “Best BC film” at the Vancouver International film festival. U

Visit the Bike Co-op in the SUB for more information. The Hive Printing will be selling their bike T-shirts and other designs in the SUB with East Side Flea on Nov. 8. <em>

</em>

FOOD >>

Student blog sells high-class cooking on a no-class budget FOOD WITH...

jessica Christin-hametner

IMagE COuRTEsy aLIsOn fung

alison fung’s meatball and broccoli flatbread pizza is a tasty dinner that’s easy to make.

You won’t normally find the phrases “gourmet food” and “student budget” in the same sentence, but one intrepid student is working to change that.

Alison Fung, majoring in computer science and biology at UBC, created a food blog, My Secret Recipe Book, two years ago for students and food connoisseurs alike, sharing some of her bestkept secret family food recipes.

“I created My Secret Recipe Book while working at Hazelmere Golf Course restaurant in White Rock, where I learned a lot about how to make food and prepare it from the chefs working in the kitchen,” Fung said.

However, brilliant master chefs weren’t the only source of cookery inspiration for Fung.

“The name of my blog was definitely inspired by my mom, who loves to cook,” she said. “Most of the foods she cooks are her

own recipes or recipes that her grandma passed on to her, so that’s why I named my blog My Secret Recipe Book — because I share my family’s recipes, which my mom has taught me to make.”

According to Fung, My Secret Recipe Book is the “ultimate blog for homemade food.” Ravenous students can find a variety of diverse yet easy-to-make and affordable recipes to recreate at home, which includes everything from mouth-watering exotic Asian cuisine and the humble chocolate cookie to inviting gourmet salads and delectable tiramisu cups.

Although a student herself, Fung has plenty of kitchen wisdom to share. With tips and tricks at hand to help cook for almost any occasion, she creates many of her own recipes even when she has next to nothing in the fridge.

“I think cream puffs are a good treat for students,” Fung said.

“Usually they’re quite expensive to buy, but it’s actually really easy and affordable to make.”

Fung’s approach is to think big: the bigger, the better.

“Make food in batches and then freeze it, because then you don’t have to go out and buy groceries that often. It’s very convenient,” she said. “Usually when you buy bigger sizes, it’s cheaper too.”

Fung’s multicultural background has influenced her cooking, but so has travelling across the world. Her journeys served as the catalyst that sparked her gastronomic creativity.

“Because we’re Chinese, my mom cooks Asian food a lot — Chinese food, mainly, but she also likes cooking Thai, Korean and Malaysian food, which she has taught me to make. And as for travelling, if I go to some place and I really like the flavour of the food, then I want to try to make it back home.”

As a self-confessed food lover, Fung is a true gourmet with a discerning palate. But why exactly does she love to cook?

“I’m happy to see people enjoy the food that I make, especially making food for my friends and family. It gives me a sense of achievement,” Fung said.

Hoping to expand her blog into a professional website in the near

PhOTO CaRTER BRundagE/ThE uByssEy

alison fung’s culinary expertise comes from a mix of exploration and experimentation.

future, gastronomy is to Fung more than just cooking or nourishment; it is about discovery, and being eager to try and taste new foods the world has to offer, loving every mouthful. U Check out Fung’s recipes at mysecretrecipebook.tumblr.com, or try her cream puffs at the UBC Jazz Cafe event this Friday October 11 at 6:30 p.m., with student-friendly pricing between $1-$2.

<em>

</em>

10 | CULTURE |

Thursday, October 10, 2013

FILM >>

Drivers, dancers and drugs With two days left, there’s still time to catch a cool independent film at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Don’t forget that some of the most popular films in the festival, including several majoraward winners, will receive repeat screenings at Vancity Theatre, SFU Woodwards and the Rio Theatre. In the meantime, check out our latest reviews. images courtesy of viff

the future

leap 4 your life

heli

Directed by Alicia Scherson, The Future is a quirky commentary on the purpose of life with a dash of surrealism on the side.

The film revolves around a recently orphaned girl named Bianca and her brother Tomas. They spend their days mindlessly lounging around in their apartment in the tragedy’s aftermath, struggling to make ends meet financially. Things take a strange turn, however, when two of Tomas’ “friends” abruptly move in with them and propose to burglarize a blind, washed-out English movie star by having Bianca form a relationship with him. Simultaneously, both siblings try to tackle their own inner struggles and personal desires.

Although the plot seems straightforward and rather predictable, it is the content of The Future that makes it fascinating. Many scenes contain interesting dialogue and surreal visual arrangements alluding to philosophical ideas like existentialism and pessimism; these ideas are conveyed in the form of a normal argument, as well as strange sequences involving non-existent sunlight and even sexual wrestling scenes. However, the execution of these scenes makes it very obvious what subtext the film is trying to convey, and sometimes it’s rather nonsensical. Also, the narrative abruptly comes to a halt in the end, and only feels half-resolved.

Overall, The Future is an interesting parade of symbolism and metaphors, albeit a messy one.

–Miguel Santa Maria

Sexual confusion, family dysfunction and narcissistic high school students dominate the plot of the comical dance mockumentary Leap 4 Your Life.

Inspired by her experiences growing up as a competitive dancer, Taylor Hill began working on the script while finishing her undergraduate degree at Simon Fraser University.

The film follows the lives of four senior dancers from Sashay Dance Studio as they battle it out to win the trophy at the 10th annual Leap 4 Your Life Dance Competition (hosted, incidentally, at UBC’s favourite study space, the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre). Though based on the cliché storyline of every dance competition movie, the quirky characters, lighthearted jokes and unexpected twists make this movie into a laughable family affair.

That isn’t to say the film doesn’t contain some serious dance moves and talented performers. With dance routines created by choreographers featured on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, and original songs from Canadian country singer Mackenzie Porter, this Vancouver-based independent film is anything but amateur. As the winner of this year’s Must See BC Award at VIFF, Leap 4 Your Life has also scored an additional red carpet screening in the festival later this month.

–Carly Sotas

As audiences left the last screening of Heli at the Rio Theatre, one comment could be heard over and over again: “That made me sweat.”

The film, which garnered Amat Escalante the award for best director at the Cannes Festival, is unremitting in its naturalism. Set somewhere in the depths of the Mexican wilderness, Heli presents audiences with a brief insight into the ravages of corruption, drugs and the sex trade that have mired the country for years.

The eponymous Heli, a teenager responsible for taking care of his father, sister, wife and child, gets accidentally caught up in the drug trade; murder and rape ensue. Though the trajectory of the film is apparent before the end of the first act, Escalante’s attention to nuanced cinematography shows that his concern is always the way in which the story is told, rather than the plot itself. To this end, some scenes are excruciatingly difficult to watch.

Escalante’s vision of contemporary Mexico is largely bleak, though interspersed with moments of beauty as the camera pans over immense deserts and bleached fields. If there’s one problem with Heli, it’s that it doesn’t do much to counter preconceptions of Mexico.

–Rhys Edwards

Playing at the SFU Woodwards Theatre on Oct. 10 at 11 a.m.

Playing at Pacific Cinémathèque on Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. Red Carpet Screening at VanCity Theatre on Oct. 12 at 6 p.m.

No longer screening.

bends

fifi howls from happiness

down river

Bends is a film as concise and understated as its title.

Two individuals on opposite ends of the social spectrum share equal measures of anxiety in this drama about the deteriorating life of a Hong Kong socialite, Mrs. Li, and her poor mainland Chinese chauffeur Fai. What sets this drama apart from the numerous other films that portray social class relationships through driver-boss juxtapositions is its utilization of a physical border — the border between Hong Kong and mainland China — which ultimately serves as a metaphorical device.

The elegant Mrs. Li, portrayed by Hong Kong veteran actress Carina Lau, strives to keep up appearances after her husband disappears, while the financially hapless Fai, played by famous mainland Chinese actor Chen Kun, struggles to find ways to have his second child born in Hong Kong to avoid the hefty second-child fee. Neither character discloses their personal anxieties to the other, perhaps thinking that due to their differences in social status, the other will not be able to relate.

The film’s ending implies that, had the two characters conveyed their troubles to the other the ending would have been better for one of them. Despite its slow pace and minimal dialogue, Bends is a gripping drama that captivates its audience with its relevance to real-life emotional struggles.

–Alice Zhou

Fifi Howls From Happiness, directed by Mitra Farahani, depicts the last months of Iranian artist Bahman Mohassess.

The documentary serves a dual purpose: it attempts to create a portrait of Mohassess while forming an understanding of why he left Iran permanently in 2006 to all but completely disappear from history.

Farahani, in allowing Mohassess to continuously talk about his artwork, not only provides context for him as an artist; the interview-based format of the film enables viewers to see Mohassess through his own eyes, and to understand his rejection of Iranian culture.

With the use of moving classical music, Farahani successfully captures Mohassess’ desire to be a part of history, and the obsessive, destructive nature that ultimately led to his own undoing. While the subject matter often borders on depressing, Farahani’s slick, in-your-face narrative drives the movie forward.

Set and filmed almost exclusively in the Rome hotel room Mohassess lived in, Farahani contrasts its white walls with the artist’s paintings and sculptures. This creates a sense of loss, allowing the audience to clearly see a man who is almost lost within himself.

Fifi Howls From Happiness provokes thought and discussion on what it means to be an artist, and carve a place in history for yourself.

–Kari Lindberg No longer screening.

Written and directed by Ben Ratner, Down River is an stirring story of three women — an actress, a singer and an artist — balancing on the edge of personal breakdown and creative breakthrough, and their relationship with an older woman on whom they rely for hope, inspiration and support.

Written as a tribute to VIFF veteran actress Babz Chula, who passed away in 2010 at the of 63, Down River effectively captures the emotions of heartbreak, pain and joy as it follows the lives of the women. Each is incredibly different, yet they are similar in their own ways. Although focusing on adult characters, elements of a traditional “coming of age” tale are apparent in the growth and realization not only of the characters’ experience, but that of the audience’s, too. As the film progresses, each of the young women must learn to face up to their fears. Whether it is religion, marriage, work, art or music that draws one’s passion, Down River engages in them all.

Set entirely in British Columbia, the landscapes are both familiar and beautiful. Comprised of a small, largely female cast, Down River allows audiences to sense the close, familial bonds between the characters, both on and off screen.

This is a film that provokes discussion on the values of life; as such, it’s entirely deserving of its honourable mention in the BC Spotlight VIFF category. U –Olivia Law

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No longer screening.

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No longer screening.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 |

sTudEnT VOICE. COMMunITy REaCh.

LAST WORDS go Vote, PleaSe The AMS is your voice on campus, and the VP academic has a direct line in to the bowels of your university. Your vote does matter, and it is important that you exercise your opinion. While a student council election may seem trivial, it has real-world effects on your education. It determines who will be advocating for you, how your money will be spent and what sort of events will happen on campus.

It takes seconds to vote and only a few minutes to get informed. As the old saying goes, you don't get to complain if you don't vote, and we like it when you write us angry letters.

engineering good Engineers do a lot of projects in their spare time: building soccer-playing robots, developing fuel-efficient cars to race in Texas, and planning to crossing the Atlantic in a robotic sailboat are just a few of their activities that we've written about recently.

They also have a great internal community, as discussed in our feature this issue. But sometimes they get knocked for not having a broad enough outlook on the world. This is understandable when you have to take so many credits associated with technical engineering skills, and when those courses take up so much of your time studying.

That said, it's great to see RES'EAU — led by an engineering professor at UBC — apply their engineering knowledge in a different way: to help people in remote communities, who frequently get bacteria warnings about their water, have access to clean water.

film feStiVal Syndrome' StriKeS again In light of our coverage of the Vancouver International Film Festival, it's about time we took a step back and addressed one of the main problems with independent film production today: Film

11

PaRTIng shOTs and snaP judgMEnTs fROM ThE uByssEy EdITORIaL BOaRd

Festival Syndrome.

FFS is frequently contracted by young directors eager to decorate their titles with coveted laurel wreaths — no matter how backwater the award jury. Works directed by individuals with FFS are characterized by any and all of the following:

Abrupt presentation of the title card (extra distinction if the title is in a sans-serif font)

Opening credits with no background footage or music

Miserable German narrator

No soundtrack to speak of

Entirely superfluous nudity

"Realistic" sex scenes

Footage of children riding bicycles (extra distinction if in monochrome)

Footage of children playing in a street (extra distinction if one of the children looks at the camera and smiles)

Footage of an empty field shot from a car window as it drives by

Long shot of a person/bicycle/car making their way across a field/desert/beach, crossing from one edge of the frame to another

Incredibly dull footage of desert landscapes, rocks in fields, trees blowing in the wind

Agonizingly long shots of characters looking wistfully out of a window/at the camera/at a desert landscape

Abrupt ending

Neutral color Films with these elements tend to pick up a lot of awards at festivals.

However, if these festivals are meant to encourage innovation, then such accolades are counter-intuitive; they reinforce stereotypes while creating a culture of homogeneity under the pretense of auteurship.

Not all film festival film directors have FFS, but these tropes are becoming increasingly standardized.

For the sake of a vibrant film culture in the future — mainstream or independent — we encourage current film studies students to immunize themselves as soon as possible.

BUT WAIT – THERE’S MORE! Did we mention that we have a blog? Visit ubyssey.ca/theblog to read our blog. Read about our Vancity Buzz story, the ponderosa letter and round-up of UBc social media.

BOUNTY Proof of Vancity Buzz plagiarism

100 copies, HuffPoBC COME BY THE UBYSSEY OFFICE SUB 24. FOLLOW THE SIGNS. TALK TO FEATURES EDITOR ARNO ROSENFELD.

ILLusTRaTIOn IndIana jOEL/ThE uByssEy

Whoever wins the election for interim VP academic will only serve for a few months before new elections are held for the full term.

melhem for VP academic We endorse Adam Melhem for the AMS VP academic position.

Melhem will be an effective voice for students. He has clear goals and he seems like he won’t let university administrators push him around. He gave strong answers at the debate and wasn’t afraid to challenge his opponent.

Melhem chose to make flexible learning the most important part of his platform. While this can be a vague topic, it is an important one, and one that he has realistic goals for.

At first blush, Anne Kessler may appear to be a better candidate, at least on paper. She’s served on Council and the Senate. Her platform points such as better student "mental health" and more rights for students in housing sound nice. But without concrete plans for implementing them don’t have much meaning.

We weren’t impressed by Kessler’s debate answers. She didn’t sound like a candidate who had the level of experience that she has.

Many of her answers were just repeating or agreeing with Melhem.

Kessler also said she wasn’t sure if she would run for office again

for a full term as VP Academic.

Goals like rewriting the housing contract will take far more than three months to accomplish, and ambivalence about running again calls into question her seriousness.

We do have some reservations about Melhem. He has experience dealing with students as SAC vice chair, but he doesn’t have much experience dealing with UBC administrators. While we liked his answer that he would “abso-fucking-lutely” run again for a full term as VP academic, we hope he will have a more professional manner when dealing with the university administration. U

12 | GaMES |

ThurSday, OcTObEr 10, 2013

acroSS

PuZZLE COuRTEsy BEsTCROssWORds.COM. usEd WITh PERMIssIOn.

1- ancient semitic for “Lord” 5- European capital, in song 10- Wise 14- Religious practice 15- Bedeck 16- ___ Bator, Mongolia 17- Weaponry 18- Merry-go-round 20- frighten 22- diners 23- One’s husband or wife 25- River in central switzerland 26- Taken care of 27- Orch. section 28- sgts., e.g.

32- Covers 33- gentle ones 35- Challenge to complete a task 36- nabokov novel 37- fur scarf 38- Moving vehicle 39- you can’t catch fish without them!

41- Rich cake 43- sardine containers 44- Merriment 45- hail, to Caesar 46- sullage 48- Identical

50- Clothes 51- Black sea port 54- Build 55- forgivable 57- Baby powder 61- Pianist gilels 62- seraglio 63- Perpetually 64- Traditional passed-down knowledge 65- at ___ for words 66- Tirade

doWn 1- Breast-supporting undergarment 2- Broadcast 3- PIn requester 4- Teachings 5- umbrella 6- go gaga over 7- Womanizer 8- East ender?

9- Makes beloved 10- Occur beneath 11- drug-yielding plant 12- Massive wild ox 13- Tolkien tree creatures 19- swiss river 21- sever

23- Large beer mug 24- Resembling a foot 25- Ready to hit 26- jargon 27- Campfire treat 29- Roe of sturgeon 30- Citrus fruit 31- have a feeling 34- Overhead 40- Permanently attached, to a zoologist 41- Old entertainment 42- Values highly 43- Chatter 47- Catchall abbr.

49- Pompous sort 50- City on the Rhone 51- Pitcher hershiser 52- floor model 53- Bahrain bigwig 54- spanish river 56- Proverb ending?

58- actress gardner 59- author deighton 60- PC monitor Oct. 7 answers

Yes, devoted Ubyssey crossword fanatics — wordies, for those in the know — we now provide answers to last issue’s crossword! this week at the norm Wednesday Oct. 9–sunday Oct. 13 This Is the End: 7 p.m., 9:15 p.m.

While attending a party at james franco’s house, seth Rogen, jay Baruchel and many other celebrities are faced with the apocalypse.

Tickets are $5 for students, $4 for FilmSoc members.

Learn more at UBCfi lmsociety.com.

U

PuZZLE COuRTEsy kRaZydad. usEd WITh PERMIssIOn.

Write Shoot Edit Code Drink COME BY THE UBYSSEY OFFICE SUB 24, FOLLOW THE SIGNS