FEBRUARY 28, 2017 | VOLUME XCVIII | ISSUE XXI BUT CAIRN’S EMAILS SINCE 1918
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NEWS
CULTURE
OPINION
SCIENCE
SPORTS
Students call for change to UBC food services
How to shop for vinyl like a pro
The coffee at Loafe isn’t the only thing that’s hot
Three UBCers shortlisted as astronauts
Women’s hockey head into the Canada West final
THE UBYSSEY
s essays.
n our admissio y s e d ra g C How UB PAGE 4
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FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY
YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE
EVENTS
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OUR CAMPUS
THURSDAY MARCH 2 KNOW YOUR RIGHTS 1 P.M. @ LEV LOUNGE Join the Student Legal Fund Society and learn about your academic righs! Free food and refreshments provided. FREE
The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is more than an archive for dead specimens
FRIDAY MARCH 3 SCHOLARLY WRITING 5 P.M. @ ABDUL LADHA Join STEM Fellowship and participate in a certified scholarly writing workshop. $5 MEMBERS / $10 NON-MEMBERS
SATURDAY MARCH 4
FILE KOSTA PRODANOVIC
Beaty is home to a vast array of natural history displays and has been architecturally designed to house different exhibits.
ACCELERATING IMPACT 9:30 A.M. @ THE NEST Join the UBC Social Enterprise Club for their third annual conference on social entrepreneurship. Waitlist is online! $20 MEMBERS / $25 NON-MEMBERS
ON THE COVER COVER BY Natalie Morris
Want to see your events listed here? Email your event listings to printeditor@ubyssey.ca
U THE UBYSSEY
EDITORIAL
Photo Editor Josh Medicoff photos@ubyssey.ca
Coordinating Editor Jack Hauen coordinating@ubyssey.ca Our Campus Coordinator Design Editor Leo Soh Aiken Lao ourcampus@ubyssey.ca printeditor@ubyssey.ca News Editors Sruthi Tadepalli & Samantha McCabe news@ubyssey.ca Culture Editor Samuel Du Bois culture@ubyssey.ca Sports + Rec Editor Olamide Olaniyan sports@ubyssey.ca Video Producer Kate Colenbrander video@ubyssey.ca Opinion + Blog Editor Bailey Ramsay opinions@ubyssey.ca Science Editor Koby Michaels science@ubyssey.ca
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 | VOLUME XCVIII| ISSUE XXI
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LEGAL
Natalie Morris, Matt Langmuir, Bill Situ, Gabey Lucas, Julia Burnham, Sophie Sutcliffe, Rachel Ong, Lucy Fox, Emma Hicks, Jeremy JohnsonSilvers, Diana Oproescu, Stephanie Wu, Emmanuel Villamejor, Moira Wyton, Patrick Gillin, Mischa Milne, Sebastian Mendo, Isabelle Commerford, Katharina Friege, Hana Golightly, Lauren Kearns, Oliver Zhang, Jerry Yin, Shelby Rogers, Tristan Wheeler, Arielle Supino, Mona Adibmoradi, Laura Palombi, Jonas Ordman, Samantha Searle, Helen Zhou, Marcus Yun, Arjun Singla, Barbara Neto-Bradley
The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous, democratically run student organization and all students are encouraged to participate. Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society. The Ubyssey is a founding member of Canadian University
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Press (CUP) and adheres to CUP’s guiding principles. The Ubyssey accepts opinion articles on any topic related to the University of British Columbia (UBC) and/or topics relevant to students attending UBC. Submissions must be written by UBC students, professors, alumni, or those in a suitable position (as determined by the opinions editor) to speak on UBC-related matters. Submissions must not contain racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, harassment or discrimination. Authors and/ or submissions will not be precluded from publication based solely on association with particular ideologies or subject matter that some may find objectionable. Approval for publication is, however, dependent on the quality of the argument and The Ubyssey editorial board’s judgment of appropriate content.
Submissions may be sent by email to opinion@ubyssey.ca. Please include your student number or other proof of identification. Anonymous submissions will be accepted on extremely rare occasions. Requests for anonymity will be granted upon agreement from four fifths of the editorial board. Full opinions policy may be found at ubyssey.ca/ submit-an-opinion 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.
Malcolm Wilkins Staff Writer
The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is known for its numerous exhibits on natural history and its most striking exhibit — an 82-foot skeleton of a blue whale, hanging from the roof, right in the centre of the building atrium. However, you can’t find its own history, arguably the museum’s most interesting exhibit, by visiting in person. UBC zoology professor and acting director of the museum Dr. Eric Taylor knows a great deal about the museum’s past, its exhibits and how students can get involved with the facilities it has to offer. He discussed its founding in 1999 and the circumstances surrounding it. “The first thing that we needed to open the museum was the finance,” he said. “We received a federal grant — about 80 per cent of the total initial budget — from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.” The Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent funding body that was initially created by the Government of Canada, which has since terminated its sponsorship. Since its founding in 1997, the CFI’s principal focus has been to “ensure that Canadian researchers have the tools — cutting-edge labs, facilities and equipment — they need to push the frontiers of knowledge in all directions.” Beaty’s creation fell under what the CFI’s website describes
as “discovery and technology development.” According to Taylor, the museum is named after two alumni benefactors Ross and Trish Beaty. A mining legend, Ross Beaty is now chairman of Pan American Silver and Alterra Power, and in 1999, donated the remaining 20 per cent of the budget not covered by the CFI grant. Beaty is home to a vast array of natural history exhibits, and has been architecturally designed to cater and house different types of exhibits. However, Taylor explained that the intricate architecture is not the defining feature of the museum, but rather facilitates access to the world-class collections. “It’s more the — I would say around 2.1 million — specimens in all of the collections that we have. All the exhibits are in this public space where people can wander. The vast majority of museums have a minority of their exhibits on public display, whereas virtually all of our exhibits are on public display for all to see,” he said. Given the vast collection of exhibits and Beaty’s annual contributions to biological research, Taylor believes students should get involved in the museum’s day-to-day operations. He specified that the museum offers both professional and academic opportunities. But simply applying does not guarantee that a student is hired. “We — for a relatively small number of students — do hire every
term [through the Work Learn Program]. This happens usually at the end of the summer. We always get money from the Canada Student Works Program, which is important because it ensures that students work for pay, obviously,” he said. Beaty has a number of student jobs during the summertime or even during academic sessions, from curatorial roles to marketing and public outreach. “Students can work either in the collections department, where they’re helping curators organize and work on specimens and research and so on, or the public outreach part where they help to design programs and other things [related to museum functionality]. You can also be a guide. We have a 130 volunteers who do that too and I’m pretty sure the majority of those are students,” he said. The museum is also equipped to host a variety of academic endeavours. Taylor spoke of the many opportunities that university classes can take advantage of to enrich knowledge about biodiversity and the environment. “Student classes use the museum for various classroom exercises and they’re certainly involved academically as well,” he said. “That’s important for us — to integrate ourselves into the undergraduate teaching program and many undergraduates have done that.” U The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
NEWS
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY
EDITORS SRUTHI TADEPALLI + SAMANTHA MCCABE
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT //
RANKING //
How does Santa Ono plan to take UBC into the top 20? Candidates
for 2017 AMS elections announced
JACK HAUEN
Max Holmes is this year’s election administrator.
Sruthi Tadepalli and Samantha McCabe News Editors
At the AMS All-Candidates Meeting this evening, the students running for each category in this year’s elections were announced. Here they are:
FILE MARTIN DEE
Ono will need to take in a myriad of factors on UBC’s path to the top 20 list.
Salomon Micko Benrimoh Senior Staff Writer
In a recent interview with The Vancouver Sun, UBC President Santa Ono expressed a drive to see UBC rise from its current top-40 standing in the global universities list to the top 20. The Ubyssey spoke with Ono to find out how he hopes to do so. Ono’s first comment was that rankings aren’t the most important thing in his mind. “The only reason rankings are important is because they do reflect to some degree how an institution is perceived. I’m not going to believe that one institution is better than another because it’s ranked five or ten points higher, because it is an imperfect science.” Different systems of global university rankings vary widely, looking at factors such as the papers the institution has published, the number of students, the student to staff ratio, the gender ratio, the admissions rate and the number of international students. In ranking systems like QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Maclean’s University Rankings, UBC routinely ranks among the top two to three schools in Canada and the top 30 to 40 in the world. While rankings often have a wide disparity between both their
methodology and conclusions, they can still factor into the decisions of prospective students, as they are usually tied in with the reputation of a university. “I see no reason why UBC can’t go from being one of the top 40 universities in the world to one of the top 20,” Ono told The Vancouver Sun. According to Ono, there are measures that UBC would look into implementing that are intended to have a positive effect on the university’s global ranking. “The most fundamental thing that an institution can do is really take a look at the quality of the faculty, and to really focus on doing everything that’s possible to equip those faculties and support those faculties as they carry out their scholarship,” said Ono. “Recruiting and retaining the best faculty is really the best way that we can really validate not only research and scholarship, but also teaching at an institution.” Ono also stressed the importance of student satisfaction, noting that certain rankings — including that of Maclean’s — take more of an in-depth look into it. “The primary reason is to ensure that your faculty and students have the most nurturing and the best facilities to perform research and to learn. That’s a real driver and if you do those things, it sort of
naturally follows that you will rise in the rankings,” said Ono. A recent Times ranking placed UBC as the most international university in Canada, and 12th worldwide. “A university with a diverse student body, a diverse faculty, and representation from around the world is a positive thing and experience that the student has at the institution,” said Ono on the growing internationalization of UBC. The geopolitical and economic rise of Vancouver in recent years is also a pivotal factor because it encourages increased partnerships with universities and pushes for greater government spending and input into these institutions. As for student government opinion, the AMS is taking a more cautious outlook. AMS President Ava Nasiri pointed out that UBC needs to be very particular if it were to go about actively trying to climb international rankings. “In this rise to the top, we [can’t leave out] students who may not be able to afford attending this institution. I think that the first thing that we as students have to do ... is [make sure] that, in the shortterm, there are no increases in tuition, no further increases for international students and no additional increases for domestic students.”
The two per cent cap on annual tuition increase is something that Nasiri said the AMS would not condone losing as a means to boost the university’s reputation or rank. The shakeup at the presidential level that UBC has seen in the last five years also worried Nasiri. “Our university has been set back at least six years’ worth of strategic planning, thinking and acting because of the high level of turnover at the leadership level in the president’s office. Now, I understand that President Ono has come in and made promises, but it’s also important for us to be aware of how much we’ve lost. We shouldn’t feel the need to make up for that instantly,” she said. With stiff competition, Ono will need to take in a myriad of factors in order for UBC to climb up the ranks. U
PRESIDENT: James Cohen, Sugar Brewer, the Cairn (Alan Ehrenholz), Jesse Hooton, Julian Del Balso VP ADMINISTRATION: Pooja Bhatti, Julien Hart, Faraz Nikzad VP ACADEMIC & UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS: Daniel Lam VP EXTERNAL AFFAIRS: Dario Garousian, Sally Lin VP FINANCE: Matthew Morton, Alim Lakhiyalov UBC BOARD OF GOVERNORS STUDENT MEMBERS: Louis Retief, Jakob Gattinger, Kevin Doering, William Chen, Sneha Balani, Jeanie Malone SENATE: Daniel Lam, Simran Brar, William Chen, Kevin Doering, Jakob Gattinger, Maja Dziok, Ian Sapollnik U
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4 | news | TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2017 LEGAL //
How UBC grades your broad-based admissions essays Jack Hauen Coordinating Editor
The Ubyssey has pursued UBC’s rubrics for how broad-based admissions (BBA) are graded for the past four years. Now, provided by a person with access to the document, we have the version that UBC used in 2016 to grade applications. The person wishes to remain anonymous due to the confidential nature of the rubric. The document asks graders to look for attributes that UBC wants in its students, then to rank each attribute on a fivepoint scale. In approximately 1,000 words, the ideal applicant would display a sense of self and community, problem solving and resilience, intellectual readiness and expression, leadership and initiative and achieving goals. Each attribute gets its own page to let graders know exactly what to look for in applicants’ essays. For example, on the leadership page graders are given a list of complimentary adjectives that could describe a leader (focused, confident, influential, etc.), and some examples of situations that could demonstrate leadership ability (is the applicant responsible for the work and well-being of others?). To grade the application, each of the listed attributes are ranked on a scale from zero to five. Detailed descriptions of answers that exemplify each rating can be found on each attribute’s page of the document. Among other considerations, markers are told to take into account each applicant’s age and potential access to opportunities, and to flag areas
of concern, such as mental health or other circumstances which may require additional support. Flagging an application, according to the rubric, has no effect on the chances a student will get in. Interestingly, grammar, punctuation and spelling have no effect on an applicant’s submission. “You should be focused on the thoughts and intentions of the applicant’s responses. For instance, you should not penalize applicants for using an incorrect verb or tense,” the rubric says, noting that English dialects vary between Canadian and worldwide communities. According to UBC Director of Undergraduate Admissions Andrew Arida, the rubric is updated on a yearly basis “as the university seeks to enhance the process.” Arida said that an average of 75 to 80 per cent of the decision to admit someone to UBC is still solely reliant on grades. Somewhere between one in five and one in ten students would not be admitted without the broadbased admissions process. “It depends on the faculty and how competitive the program is and the introduction of other admission policies,” he wrote in an emailed statement.
UBC’S OPINION VS. THE BC SUPREME COURT’S One of the initial reasons the university rejected our freedom of information (FOI) request cited the section of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act that deals with “disclosure harmful to the financial or economic interests of a public body.”
UBC UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS
You should be focused on the thoughts and intentions of the applicant’s responses.
Implementing broad-based admissions cost UBC about $1.76 million, according to Arida. “There would be cost associated with amending the system to ensure it remains viable if the rubric is released. The cost of returning to grades-only would be substantial. However, the cost to the student body, to its diversity and to those who might not otherwise have a chance to pursue their studies has an impact that cannot be measured in dollars.
There is a huge lost opportunity cost because it would reduce access to UBC,” he said. Justice Loryl Russell, in the section of her BC Supreme Court decision that dealt specifically with that claim, wrote that “it is clear that the BBA process is not like an exam where a student must demonstrate their knowledge of the concepts taught by an educational institution, and where maintaining the secrecy of the questions and answers is essential to the fairness and integrity of the testing.” UBC later appealed this decision. “Even if it were reasonable to conclude that disclosure of the rubrics necessitates abandoning the BBA process ... UBC did not provide information that satisfies me that this could reasonably be expected to harm its financial or economic interests,” wrote Russell. UBC Director of Public Affairs Susan Danard wrote in an emailed statement that “it is the university’s position that releasing the BBA application scoring guides would allow prospective students to tailor their answers and exaggerate or misrepresent their experiences to meet UBC’s requirements, which would seriously harm the ability of the university to evaluate applicants fairly. “Everyone who participates in the evaluation of students’ admission applications signs a strict confidentiality agreement to protect the integrity and fairness of the application process.” The email also noted that The Ubyssey is publishing these documents “at [our] own risk.” Russell wrote: “Given the nature of the information in these rubrics, I am not convinced that disclosure would make exaggeration, misrepresentation or false information any more prevalent or harder to detect than they currently are. Therefore, I do not accept that it is reasonable to believe, as UBC does, that disclosure of the rubrics would significantly
diminish the predictive value of the BBA process, and that the only alternative is to abandon the BBA process.”
WHY ARE WE RELEASING THE RUBRIC? The Ubyssey hopes to accomplish three goals by releasing this document: 1. To “level the playing field” between high schoolers with access to university preparatory counselors who provide feedback to students and help them tailor their applications to specific schools, and those without. As it stands, a student from a lowincome family at a public school with limited resources is at a significant disadvantage to one who can afford a counselor who’s experienced in telling universities what they want to hear from applicants. Free and equal access to the rubric for all high school students should partially erase or at least lessen the effect of this divide. 2. To reduce the element of luck in admissions. Two students who have experienced the same situation and learned the same things may both choose to write about it, but since answers are only 200 words long, might place their emphasis on different attributes or qualities in their essays. If every student has access to the rubric, every student knows where the “starting line” is, so the chance of an applicant getting in based on luck should be reduced. 3. To hold UBC accountable to its legal obligations. Though the university is required to comply with FOI laws, they have sought to seriously undermine students’ right to public documents, as illustrated by their refusal to accept the rulings of the BC Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the BC Supreme Court. We see it as our duty to act as a check on the university’s authority, especially when that authority is being used illegally. U Read the full, unabridged rubric at ubyssey.ca
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY | news | 5 FOOD SERVICES //
Over 900 students call for change to UBC meal plans and dining halls Alex Nguyen Senior Staff Writer
Started by a group of first-year residents on February 16, a petition calling for “change [to UBC’s] mandatory meal plans and dining halls” has since garnered over 900 signatures. The petition was made in response to numerous posts in the UBC Class of 2020 Facebook group complaining about the price and quality of the dining halls’ food. “We are running out of our meal plan because the food is expensive … yet people found a pebble in their omelette or a cup of oil in their chow mein,” said Maria Michouris, one of the petition’s organizers. Michouris noted that while the Minimum Plan is intended for “students who dine on campus occasionally on weekends,” many students who eat on campus more frequently choose it because it is the only rate they can afford. Colin Moore, the director of food service operations at UBC, cites the pricing as necessary. “We stand by our prices because we prioritize local, organic and top-quality ingredients,” he said. “The prices that we set are also
generally at market pricing and they are impacted by the cost of doing business. We pay a living wage to everyone who works for us.” The petition also demands greater transparency from the university, stating that students are regularly being overcharged. “Within my group of friends, five of us were overcharged at least three times in one week,” said Markus Lee, another first-year student and petitioner. “They try to rush you through [when it’s busy] so you don’t want to be the person who holds up the line by asking for the receipt.” According to Michouris, students can check online to see how much they have spent, but this doesn’t allow them to see a detailed list of what they were charged for, offering no proof of being overcharged. “Unless you notice it on the spot with a receipt, there’s no way for you to complain and get your money back,” said Lee. Moore acknowledged that there has been some feedback about students being charged incorrectly. “I would encourage anybody who thinks that they have been overcharged to let the dining
halls’ supervisors know about the transaction and we can try to make it right,” said Moore. “They could also let us know by filling out our Spill The Beans survey.” The call for transparency is further motivated by the ambiguity surrounding the capital improvement fund (CIF) and the overhead fee, which together take approximately 35 per cent from the Minimum Plan. The petition’s organizers questioned whether the money is being effectively used given reports from Vancouver Coastal Health showing that both Place Vanier and Totem Park’s dining halls have incurred serious infractions. “When any critical infraction is flagged, we fix [it] immediately,” said Moore. “I would prefer that there wasn’t any infraction, but as part of running the food business, we do have some standard infractions to address. However, we have elevated our auditing standard well above what Vancouver Coastal Health offers.” Regarding the fees, the CIF is a non-refundable fee that is used to do planned upgrades to dining facilities such as building
FILE BORIS BOSNJAKOVIC
“We don’t expect immediate changes.”
Orchard Commons. The overhead fee goes towards “utility, repair, administration and management costs,” but according to Moore, students recover that overhead through the discount they get from spending their meal plan at the dining halls. Moving forward, there’s a tentative meeting between UBC Food Services and the petition’s organizers to discuss the issue in depth. The Residence Association for first-year residences has also created a survey to “gain data on how first-year students feel about [the] meal plan.”
“Our aim for now is to get as many people to sign our petition as possible,” said Michouris. “We need around maybe 5,000 signatures, which I think is possible because I have talked to upper-years and they are more than happy to sign the petition.” “We don’t expect immediate changes,” said Lee. “However, if UBC could gradually transition into something that would actually benefit us more, that’s something we are hoping for because many of us are still going to be living on residence and we need a reliable meal plan.” U
To be Gloomy ... or to be Happy? A
s you go through this phase of life, take comfort in the fact that there is nothing new under the sun. While there is never going to be anyone with identical genes who will experience life exactly as you do, your emotions, good and bad, are something that we all have. Life comes in stages, getting a college education is one stage. This is around the time in which your prefrontal cortex is getting developed, when you are becoming more aware that your behaviour affects other people. It is a time of great self-awareness, particularly awareness of a moral conscience. Up to this point your behaviour has been mostly shaped by fear of punishment. But never forget that the urges you have, and even your sexual orientation are largely part of the pre-package that you came into the world with. Don’t be hard on yourself, after all, you did not make yourself and you are not responsible for the genes that have shaped you up to this point. It is not for you to feel guilt or shame about how you were put together. What is important, is what you do about the traits that are harmful to others. With a moral appreciation of consequences, your behaviour should be shaped by a desire to pursue goodness, for goodness’ sake. This is a narrower road, but it brings peace of mind, success and happiness. It is also the surest road to wisdom. So try not to despair when the day seems dreary or the task seems impossible. Bad times never last and you will adjust like you’ve always done. Never forget that we live in our minds and so just as negative thoughts bring you down, positive thoughts will lift you up. As so, it is important to control your thoughts. Learn to shake off negative thoughts the moment they occur to you – practice makes perfect. This, by the way, is one of the triumphs in life – gaining control of what we allow our mind to dwell on. No one knows where thoughts come from, but with some effort you can learn to focus on the things that bring you happiness. Work hard, and try to remain honest, so you can keep growing in your ability. You are capable of much more than you realize. Learn self-discipline and organisation so that work doesn’t spill into play, and your play is not spoiled by guilt from work left undone. Try never to panic, instead seek help to recover from trouble. Offer good advice and don’t hesitate to seek counsel. We are all in this together. Don’t be embarrassed to embrace faith but do not become self-righteous or a hypocrite. Your friends may not tell you so, but they will respect you and admire you as a spiritual person. After all, true spirituality is about learning to love others. You will find that the more you pray, the better you know yourself and the less mistakes you make. Pray for those you don’t like and forgive others so that it is easier to forgive yourself. Overcome your shyness, not by heavy drinking or by using drugs, but by reminding yourself that we are all shy to some extent. In fact, shyness tends to be a result of self-awareness. No one is better than anyone else, we all have our warts. Through prayer you will gain more self-knowledge and understanding of how you fit into the world. The more you know about yourself, the calmer you will be and the more hopeful you will be about the future. Hope and faith are wonderful assets and they will teach you about love and laughter. You are about to come into your own so learn to pick up after yourself and hang in there. You have yet to taste the best that life has to offer, be patient.
~ Elvis & Twyla Iginla, The Compassionate Listening Society of Alberta 780.705.2289 ~ wedaretolisten.com
CULTURE CHAN CENTRE //
Review: Dianne Reeves put on a stunning performance
Rocio Hollman Staff Writer
There is a reason why The New York Times calls her “the most admired jazz diva since the heyday of Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.” Dianne Reeves really is just that good. Those lucky enough to hear the five-time Grammy award winner were treated to a night of jazz classics and retakes on contemporary songs. The concert began with her skilled quartet — Romero Lubambo on guitar, Peter Martin on piano, Reginald Veal on bass and Terreno Gully on drums, playing a mostly improvised jam which set up the lively, smooth, ambient sound that would continue throughout the night. The first song they played was Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” — yes, the players-only-love-you whenthey’re-playing “Dreams.” If you haven’t heard Dianne Reeves’s rendition of it yet, what are you waiting for? However, it was 10 times better live. For starters, the band started instrument-by-instrument, layering on the musical lines so that you felt as if you were hearing a painting being created in front of you. Then Reeves came in with an entrance fit for the diva that she is, belting out the lyrics in her powerful yet effortless manner. The crowd — initially subdued and somewhat shy — was already falling under her spell. Before the show began, the audience was introduced to them as Dianne Reeves and her quartet. But I think that a more accurate description would have been that of a quintet due to the way that Reeves uses her voice as an instrument on its own. Often foregoing lyrics for her trademark scatting, she breathed in new life into classics and bent contemporary melodies into new, beautiful jazz renditions. One of the highlights of the show was when she sang her 1993 song,
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY
EDITOR SAMUEL DU BOIS
“Nine.” Not only is this song beautiful on its own — with its delicate melody and fast-paced phrasing — but also her introduction was heartwarming, funny and really buttered up the crowd. Reeves described how she chose the number nine, as it’s “the last age where you are only one number” and then it keeps on appearing at important times in your life. This can be either when you’re 19 and excited to move onto your 20s, or 49 and feeling like “you got this.” Although it sounds cheesy, Reeves filled the room with chuckles and her personality made the lyrics even more touching. I think that the show really hit its stride after the intermission. Even though it was already late in the night, the audience was ready to have more fun. One of the best parts was Reeves’ “tour” of the ensemble, where she demonstrated her class and technical skill by introducing each member, describing how they met and their talent, all while improvising her way all over the musical scale. For example, she described how she and Romero — her “brother from another mother” — met while singing in Rio. She then went on to assemble a party the likes of those in Rio by singing and beckoning the other players on stage. The following songs definitely had a hint of Latin fusion, and had the audience busting a move or two. Towards the end of the concert was the final highlight of the night. Putting her light up in the air, she sang a transcending version of Mali Music’s “Beautiful.” Bittersweet in the current political context, Reeves managed to convince the initially timid sold-out crowd to wave their iPhone “lighters” in the air and playfully copy her riffs in a musical version of Simon-Says. She ended the song with the words “one note, one voice, one people, one world, one love” and I, along with the rest, was all caught up in the emotions of a truly stunning concert. U
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OBITUARY //
BEN FLOCK/CBC
McLean began The Vinyl Cafe series in 1994. The show continued until November 2015, when he stopped to undergo treatment.
The Ubyssey remembers Stuart McLean Natalie Morris, Samantha Searle, Moira Wyton, Jack Hauen and Samuel Du Bois
On Wednesday, February 15, Stuart McLean — writer and radio host — passed away after a battle with melanoma, for which he had been undergoing treatment since 2015. Many of us at The Ubyssey were raised listening to his show, The Vinyl Cafe, and are deeply saddened by his loss. To celebrate his legacy, we thought we’d put together some of our memories and thoughts on McLean and his increadible work.
NATALIE MORRIS In a lot of ways, Stuart McLean was my first love. I grew up with him and his stories. The Vinyl Cafe was a staple in my life. Every Sunday at noon on the dot, CBC Radio would be on and Stuart’s voice filled our home. He was there when I started to walk, when I entered school, when I had my first crush and my first heartbreak. He was with me always. Even now, when I think of home, I think of snowy Sunday mornings listening to his voice unraveling another story of Dave, Morley and the kids. I can remember sitting at the table, watching my mom in the kitchen as I held a hot chocolate, listening with her. I remember the three Christmas specials I went to with my family. I remember listening to Sam getting lost in Quebec City. I remember listening to Dave cooking that turkey and Stephanie start university. I remember sitting in Salish house in Totem in my own first year, following his stories while I worried over midterms and boys. Never have I felt so Canadian as when I was listening to Stuart McLean’s soothing tones. When he cancelled his Christmas tour in 2015, I felt like that season had lost a little bit of its sparkle. When I read about his passing, I knew Canada had lost one of its brightest. So long for now, Stuart, but you’ll be in our hearts forever.
SAMANTHA SEARLE Two years ago, I picked up a book called Extreme Vinyl Cafe. It was my first encounter with Stuart McLean and his wonderful characters, and I instantly fell in love with his stories. Every one of them made me smile and since then, I’ve gone out of my way to read and listen to more of his works. Although I am sad that he is gone, I’m happy that he has left a lasting legacy that will be remembered by so many Canadians. Stuart McLean will live on through his stories. MOIRA WYTON Stuart McLean was the most controversial topic in my family. My grandparents loved him. My parents loved him. My sister was indifferent. I was bored. When my grandparents gifted our family of four with tickets to see his live Christmas show when I was in eighth grade, my parents shot stern glances my way to make sure I said a gracious thank you. My sister and I bonded over our shared horror at the thought of dressing up to watch a man sit in a chair and speak to an audience of thousands. Despite our disagreement on listening choices, my family’s living room, our car, my room —they all became The Vinyl Cafe. I used to sit in the back of my family’s van, my dog’s muddy paws all over my thighs, listening to Stuart McLean drone on and on as I fell asleep. His voice became the soundtrack to a complete sense of familial belonging. After his death, I’m now realizing that it wasn’t his stories that mattered to us. Every laugh elicited by my parents at one of Dave and Morley’s difficulties as we flew down a two-lane highway taught me more about their marriage. My grandparents’ muted sighs when characters discussed growing old revealed to me how fragile they sometimes felt. Shared looks with my sister when the cassette went in often said more than words could Stuart McLean did not teach me about my family. He taught me how to listen to them — and I would gladly relive my pre-teen boredom
to feel that sense of wholeness again.
JACK HAUEN McLean was the sound of my childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Canada has lost a point on its maple leaf. SAMUEL DU BOIS Stuart McLean and The Vinyl Cafe were synonymous with long summer car rides and lazy afternoons spent reading the paper, drawing and playing board games. His warm, amiable voice became a character in my life whose humour and wisdom I would always go to when I needed to escape the frustrations of being a bored highschooler in a boring town. In the scalding heat of the Ontario summer, when I was working a long and unpleasant job at the local golf course, I would sneak precious minutes of his show when no one was around. His stories were a precious escape that rescued me from hours of mindnumbing boredom. Stuart was a writer like no other. He roamed across a massive, sprawling country populated by clusters of people who often times could not seem more dissimilar, and found in all of them a commonality — that intangible quality that makes us all proudly Canadian. Stuart showed me that even in the simplest and quietest towns, there can still be great stories and wonderful people. In every one of the monologues that began his live shows, Stuart observed the most poetic and deeply human parts of places that most of us would drive through without looking twice. He helped me to appreciate and love the country that I’ve spent most of my life in, oftentimes wishing that I was elsewhere and for that, I will be forever thankful. With his death, Canada loses one of its greatest talents. Stuart McLean not only observed the best of our country, but also contributed to it with a magnificent legacy of literature and radio. You will be missed on those car rides, lazy weekends and at Christmas when we cook the turkey and think of Dave trying to do the same. U
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY | culture | 7 MUSIC //
A guide to hunting for vinyl in Vancouver Salomon Micko Benrimoh Senior Staff Writer
Video killed the radio star and it would seem that most trends from the 1960s, 70s and 80s stayed in the 20th century. The same isn’t true for vinyl records. After going through a long period of descent in 1990s and 2000s as a result of the rise of the CD and digital music, vinyls have made a great comeback. As of January, the vinyl industry crept to over $1 billion in value — a huge milestone largely thanks to inexpensive record players and vintage vinyls, and exposure in large chain stores like Urban Outfitters and HMV (RIP). The vinyl industry is valued higher than most free streaming services, so the demand is obviously there. The supply is too, but shopping for records can still be a little tricky. The first thing to avoid is getting records at major stores (even Hudson’s Bay sells vinyl now) and to instead support a local record store. There are countless shops nestled into the nooks and crannies of Vancouver, so here’s a little guide outlining some of the best this city has to offer.
DANDELION RECORDS — 2442 MAIN ST. Dandelion Records may not have the biggest location, but they take advantage of it. Columns upon columns of records take up almost all of the floor space, except at the front where you can buy different artisanal goodies ranging from ornaments to locally produced candies and honey. The shop has been around for around eight years, making it one of the oldest shops on its street, with an extremely convenient location on Main Street, right near Broadway and a 99 B-Line stop. The best part about Dandelion is the variety. If your musical tastes range outside the most popular genres and regions, then this is the place for you to shop. There are rows upon rows of records of every type of music that you can name, from just about any place on Earth. When I went the first time, I picked up a vintage Iggy Pop record that was in great shape, as well as an old copy of Blizzard of Oz. I got both for $20, which was surprising considering the fact that punk and metal records are way harder to come by than other genres from the time. It’s kind of hard to comprehend how they’re able to fit thousands of records into such a tight space, but they find a way. In fact, there are so many records that not all of them have been catalogued and priced. This isn’t anything to worry about because the owners at Dandelion will give you more than a fair offer. RED CAT RECORDS — 4332 MAIN ST AND 2447 E HASTINGS ST. Red Cat Records is one of the more recognized names in the Vancouver vinyl market, having two stores and being independently owned since its founding just over a decade ago. Both locations offer great variety in terms of new releases and vintage records. Each location boasts a sizable collection of both Vinyls
Pictured above, Zulu Records features a diverse collection of vinyl, including a nice selection of older records, which they are constantly adding to.
and CDs (for all you 90s lovers). Red Cat also sells concert tickets for any midsize show in the city, so basically anything that isn’t at BC Place or Rogers Arena. Going and picking up the tickets at the store actually lets you skip on certain fees and charges depending on the venue and artist. Back to vinyls, Red Cat is the perfect shop if you’re a newbie to the whole trend. They sell a variety of turntables, and tend to keep a solid collection of the foundation records that every collector needs such as old Zeppelin records or Hotel California. Another plus to this shop is how neatly the records are organized and how the vintage vinyls are kept in incredibly good condition. Some of the records that are over 30 years old look like they’re almost new — something that still flabbergasts me. The prices are also incredibly fair, with most vintage records priced around the $8–10 range. Plus, the newer releases are never marked up from their original price, which is something you tend to see in other shops and especially department stores that try to sell a handful of records.
ZULU RECORDS — 1972 W 4TH AVE. Zulu Records is probably the oldest name when it comes to record stores in Vancouver. The shop has been around for the last 35 years, having opened in 1981, and features a diverse collection including a pretty good range of smaller seveninch discs. There is a nice mix of new releases and older records of which they are constantly buying. There’s also a huge discount section where you can pick up a ton of records for a low price. They might not be the most well-known artists, but it’s a good way to
discover something new and save money. They also have an extensive CD and DVD collection for you to browse. The best part about Zulu has to be the way everything is organized by genre. The systematic approach the shop owners took leaves you finding what you’re looking for in no time. The prices are fair too and you’re bound to find some hidden gems for under $10. Like Red Cat, Zulu also sells concert tickets for most shows across the city. It’s also a great place to go if you’re just starting a collection, as they do sell some good vintage vinyl players and equipment at fair prices.
VINYL RECORDS — 321 W HASTINGS ST. When going to Vinyl Records on Hastings, one must bring two things. The first is a stuffed wallet, and the second is a bucket to carry your brain which exploded when you first walked in and saw the store. This place is no joke and it carries over 50,000 pieces of vinyl at its Gastown location. It’s one thing to have a shitload of records, it’s a whole other thing to have everything you could possibly be looking for. There are so many records that owner David Jones had to not only have a Beatles section, but also a separate section for every damn album the Beatles dropped. There are so many copies of classics that some are put into a sale section in the front of the store just to make room. To put it in perspective, it took me at least a year to find a vintage copy of Dark Side of the Moon. This place had at least five on the shelves. There is even variety in the pressings — the first visit to this shop yielded a Japanese copy
of The Clash. Punk records are hard to find, The Clash’s records are very hard to find and good conditions of Japanese pressings on this side of the Pacific are incredibly hard to find. Add all three of these things together and you can get why I said to bring your wallet stuffed. This is the place to go to if you are really having a hard time finding a certain record. It’s also great if you’ve just started because you’ll be able to stock up on some of the classics and necessities that any good collection needs.
SALOMON MICKO BENRIMOH
A plus is that David Jones has a show on CiTR called African Rhythms, which has aired every Friday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. for the last 23 years. There you have it — a guide to some of the best vinyl shops that Vancouver has to offer. Now get out there and start collecting because let’s be honest, a vinyl collection is that last thing separating you from being the inevitable Vancouverite hipster that you’re bound to become. Happy vinyl-hunting. U
OPINION
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY
EDITOR BAILEY RAMSAY
ADVICE //
8
SEXY BASTARDS //
Ask Natalie: I think my friends are secretly hooking up — why won’t they just tell me? Natalie Morris Advice Columnist
“Dear Natalie, It’s the second term of school but I still haven’t made any friends (I’m a freshman). My dorm is okay, but I’m not really clicking with anyone and the clubs I’ve joined aren’t really working out either so I’m not sure what to do.” Don’t give up hope! There’s no time limit on when friendships can be made. Join other clubs you’re interested in (check out The Ubyssey too!) and try to go regularly. Going constantly is how people get to know you and people getting to know you is how friendships are made! You won’t always hit a home run with friendships, but you will one day! Sometimes you just stumble into the best friendships. One of my best friends just happened to be an assigned roommate. I know it sucks now, but if you keep looking for friendships, you will find them! Don’t limit yourself to just the university either. Our campus may hold 40,000 people, but Vancouver has 600,000 more. Do something that takes you outside campus, or at least your room. You can do it! “Is it okay to miss a friend’s birthday party if I have a lot of homework? I know it sounds
shitty, but I have a lot of stuff on my plate and I can’t really bring myself to go.” You 100 per cent don’t have to go. We all just can’t manage everything sometimes. What’s always most important is your mental health and well-being. If you’re too busy or stressed to go, I’m sure your friend will understand. One thing that you might think about though is how much going out might help with your stress. Doing the same things over and over can really grate on how much you can do. Taking a brain break can really help your studying. If it’s only an hour or two, your friend’s birthday party might help both your mood and the quality of your work. Of course, if you just need to pound out an essay or some readings as a one-time, due-tomorrow, I-onlyread-my-syllabus-five-minutes-ago kind of thing, then missing one party shouldn’t be too much of a big deal on your friendship. Friends understand when friends need to get some shit done. “I’m pretty sure that two of my friends are hooking up behind everyone’s back. I don’t really care (it’s not my business who sleeps with who) but I’m a little bummed that they’re hiding it from us. I think we’d all be supportive of them together if they did tell us. The only thing would be if/when they break up. It will be awkward
FILE KOSTA PRODANOVIC
FILE KAI JACOBSON
“Friends can be lovers and lovers can be friends. Let them figure out their own stuff.”
then, but they shouldn’t let the fear of the unknown future stop them, right?” Whoa, slow down there cowboy. One reason they might not be telling you is because you seem to assume hooking up is equivalent to dating. Unless they have the “going steady” talk, they’re not dating. They could have had this talk already and decided to want to keep it casual. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does make it awkward when your friends start coupling the two of you up all the time when you decided against that. Or maybe they’re just really flirty. It’s happened to me a few times where people have assumed I was with someone because we were getting along so well. Maybe their
friendly banter looks like flirting. Maybe they view each other as siblings. Hell, maybe they are together and they just don’t want to tell anyone for some reason. This is valid too. Maybe they will soon, but they need to figure out some things first. Leave them be, and if or when they come to you with this piece of information, you’ll know it’s because they wanted to and not because someone shouted it out over sushi one night. Friends can be lovers and lovers can be friends. Let them figure out their own stuff. U Need advice? Contact Natalie anonymously at asknatalie@ubyssey. ca or at ubyssey.ca/advice and have your questions answered!
STUDY ABROAD //
Their Campus: Making fast friendships in East Anglia
“First-year me had this picture in her head that some of the best times in school would be made somewhere else.“
Margarita De Guzman Contributor
I always knew that studying abroad was something that I wanted to do. First-year me had this picture in her head that some of the best times in school would be made somewhere else. It’s not that I didn’t like UBC, but that first year was lonelier than I initially thought it would be. I regret that I hadn’t joined any clubs, associations, sororities, sports or rec teams that
year. I was part of UBC Collegia — the supposed “home away from home” for commuter students like myself — but unfortunately my timetable didn’t allow much time for me to visit as often as I would’ve liked. Flash forward to me now in my third year — happy with my major, dedicated to the UBC A Capella club, involved in a rec volleyball team and working a job on campus. Since it took me longer than I thought to develop a solid network
MARGARITA DE GUZMAN
of relationships at UBC, I suddenly became nervous about going to the UK for six months where I would have to start from scratch all over again. Thankfully, I ended up having nothing to worry about. Orientation week for all the study abroad students at the University of East Anglia provided plenty of opportunities for us to socialize with each other, which everyone was desperate to do. By the end of that first week, we were all able
“Buying coffee from Loafe is like walking by an Abercrombie and Fitch store.”
Op-ed: We suspect that Loafe hires from a Ralph Lauren catalogue Samuel Du Bois Culture Editor
to form our own circles: bonding over playing tourist in the city, going to pubs and planning nights out. Since we’re only staying here for half a year, we all seem to be putting extra effort into creating close friendships right away as compared to back home where I took my time to develop the same closeness with people. It has, however, been harder to make friends with the students who are locals. Since programs are much smaller and focused here, most have already made their established group of friends. Just like it is in UBC, it’s a bit difficult to make friends during a lecture too. My flatmates have been nothing but lovely to me, inviting me out with them a couple of nights, but there is still a sense of being on the outside since I have a harder time relating to their British experiences. With my a cappella background from home, I decided to join the Glee Showchoir on campus. But again, I have only been able to make friends with the other new kids to the group. The obvious pattern seems to be that most of us tend to make friends with those whom have similar life experiences to us. The tricky bit that I’m hoping to overcome is getting to know the people who are more different from me. U
We here at The Ubyssey are avid coffee drinkers. Almost every day is punctuated with a “want to get coffee?” when we get bored and need that sweet, frothy fix. Usually we go to Uppercase, but on those occasions when we really want to treat ourselves, we go to Loafe. Sure, the coffee is great and the food delicious, if also overpriced. Yet, there is also the significant plus of being served coffee by what surely must be the most attractive gathering of people on campus since Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively stopped by for coffee and a stroll. Shout out to that guy with red hair, whose chiseled jaw and well-combed hair belong on an advert for an Irish singles website. Also a shoutout to the blondehaired lady who never has to ask, “what was your order again?” Buying coffee from Loafe is like walking by an Abercrombie & Fitch store with far more doughnuts and without the sleazy objectification. So congratulations, employees of Loafe. You are all beautiful people whose warm, attractive smiles and genuinely pleasant personalities help to brighten our long, sleep-deprived days. Keep being the unreasonably perfect human beings that you are, but maybe lower the price of that food. My wallet can only take so many breakfast sandwiches. U
Margarita De Guzman is a third-year arts student who is studying abroad at the University of East Anglia.
Samuel Du Bois is a fourth-year arts student and culture editor for The Ubyssey.
SCIENCE
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY
EDITOR KOBY MICHAELS
9
SPACE //
Three UBCers shortlisted to become CSA astronauts Neha Sree Tadepalli Contributor
In June 2016, for the fourth time in Canadian space history, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) launched a call for potential astronauts. Of those that applied, three UBC faculty/alumni were selected for the 72-person shortlist. Four thousand applicants answered this call for two spots to join the next class of Canadian space explorers. However, the requirements were numerous and this vast group of applicants was slowly whittled down. Here is an overview of some of the basic requirements. The applicant must have permanent resident status in Canada, be proficient in English or French (having both is an asset), a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in STEM or a doctorate degree in medicine/dentistry, three years of professional experience, as well as an indicated proficiency in various scientific and/or technical tasks. There are also various physical requirements with very specific restrictions in regards to height, weight, blood pressure and more. Of course, there are also some of those keywords that are thrown around for everything from university applications to coffee shop job interviews — integrity, judgement, resourcefulness and motivation. After a battery of exams, physical test and aptitude exams, three UBCers made the cut.
DR. RICHARD FEDERLEY (PHD, CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA — OKANAGAN) “It’s really just about exploring” said Federley, a chemistry professor at UBCO when asked about why he decided to apply to the astronaut selection campaign this summer. “Growing up, I would always ask myself these questions — ‘I wonder what that is like, I wonder what it feels like, I wonder what you could do with it’ and of course the ultimate question, ‘I wonder if I would be able to do it.’” Federley said that as many children do, he always dreamed about one day becoming an astronaut and kept a continuous eye on the CSA. When the timing lined up well both career-wise and life-wise for this recruitment campaign, he knew he had to take this chance. Federley is a licensed pilot, avid skydiver, mountaineer and rock climber. He attributes his ability to engage in these activities while maintaining a successful professional life to opportunities provided by UBCO. “I kind of refer to this area (UBC) as an astronaut training facility because … we have this phenomenal opportunity to seek out and actually engage in those exploratory activities on a daily basis,” said Federley. This love of exploration and adventure, combined with his scientific interests and his interest in educating, cemented his decision to apply. “Everything has been incredibly well-organized and
All three UBCers are medical doctors though you do not need a medical degree to become an astronaut.
very well-informed, and they have done an absolutely phenomenal job putting this whole process together,” said Federley. He described being selected for the shortlist as an amazing experience. “I really feel very honoured, and it’s a tremendous feeling to just to even be put on that list with these extraordinary individuals. It has been a surreal time in my life,” he said.
DR. MICHAEL KOEHLE (MD/ PHD, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, PRACTICING SPORT AND EXERCISE MEDICINE — ALLAN MCGAVIN SPORTS MEDICINE CLINIC/DIRECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY) For Koehle, a practicing physician-scientist and associate professor at UBC Vancouver, becoming an astronaut isn’t something he ever expected to happen. “As a kid, it’s kind of up there with mermaid and NHL hockey player,” he said. However, planned or unplanned, Koehle’s career lined up well with the recruitment specifications. He was a scientist studying the impact of stress on human bodies in various environments, a sport and exercise physician who had practiced in many rural and remote areas with limited resources — such as the Arctic, the Himalayas and remote areas of Africa — as well as an avid scuba diver and pilot. “When the call went around and basically said, ‘Hey, we’re looking for pilots, scientists and doctors,’ I thought, ‘Okay, well I can check those boxes and it was certainly of interest to me [so let’s] see what happens here,’” said Koehle. That sentiment is still evident in Koehle. When asked what the most surprising or interesting part
of the selection process has been so far, he semi-joked that he hasn’t “been kicked out — yet.”
“When the call went around and basically said, ‘Hey, we’re looking for pilots, scientists and doctors,’ I thought, ‘Okay, well I can check those boxes and it was certainly of interest to me [so let’s] see what happens here,’” —Dr. Michael Koehle
He also said one element that is continually stressed during the process is the importance of communication and teamwork. “It’s not so much about leadership as it is about ‘followership.’ You’re being given instructions, and you and your team are meant to follow them to the best of your collective ability — you are not supposed to take charge and be this bright visionary scientist.” Koehle also mentioned that the experience has been “fascinating,” but one of the highlights so far has been meeting the other candidates. “It has been really great to meet [the other] shortlisted candidates because they are all,
kind of in their own way, rock stars,” he said. Another highlight has been that the whole process has been a huge learning experience and that is one of the key things that actually drew him to apply.
DR. GAVIN TANSLEY (MD, GENERAL SURGERY RESIDENT, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA; UBC BSC AND MD GRAD) “It is something that I never really stopped thinking about,” said Tansley. “I think most people grow out of it when they are about six. You no longer say it out loud because you don’t want to be that guy that’s an adult and still wants to be an astronaut.” Tansley began his career at UBC, first obtaining a bachelor of science in cell biology and genetics, and then attending UBC’s Northern Medical Program for his medical degree. He then began his general surgery residency at Dalhousie, but always “had an interest in remote and rural medicine and resource health care for rural and remote areas.” He then took dedicated research time that involved those fields, achieving two master’s degrees in the process. He is currently finishing his general surgery residency. Tansley recalled being in high school and flipping through astronaut profiles online. “Astronauts just seemed to always be these really well-rounded, diverse individuals,” he said. Tansley took inspiration from this. While his professional research interests were “elated to delivery of healthcare in austere settings,” his recreational interests were back-country exploration such as mountaineering, rock climbing and long distance running. Although, this meant that finding ways to merge his recreational interests with his academic interests was always a bit
CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY
of a challenge. Being an astronaut was just an interesting way of doing it, as it combines his love of discovery and exploration with scientific and technical elements. “I made sure to look at it as an amazing experience regardless of the outcome because that is sort of the thing that you have to do when you are dealing with this kind of situation,” said Tansley in regards to the selection process. “You meet some of these [candidates] and you feel further away from being an astronaut than you have ever been before. It is the most humbling group of individuals I have ever had the privilege to meet.”
“I think most people grow out of it when they are about six. You no longer say it out loud because you don’t want to be that guy that’s an adult and still wants to be an astronaut.” —Dr. Gavin Tansley
Federley, Koehle and Tansley all share a similar message of working hard and taking chances. “I think that the main thing that I have learned through this — meeting these people — is that if you work hard and there is something that you want bad enough, it is entirely manageable to obtain,” said Tansley. U
10 | science | TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2017 EDUCATION //
BIOTECH //
Magnetic sponges could be the future of drug delivery
The implants can give the right dose of the right drug at the right time.
Sean Wong Contributor
Having trouble keeping all of your medication straight? Your worries could soon be a thing of the past. Researchers have developed a magnetic implant that is capable of delivering drugs to very small and specific parts of the body. This technology could offer an efficient alternative for those who struggle with a number of different pills or injections on a daily basis. The device is composed of a silicone sponge reservoir and magnetic iron that is wrapped in a thin membrane. Drugs are loaded into the sponge and the device is surgically implanted into the treatment area. How does it work? “You bring a magnet up to the device and [the sponge] deforms, and it spits out a little bit of drug loaded solution into the local tissue area,” said Dr. John Jackson, a researcher scientist the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences. This device is especially relevant for patients with conditions that may require variable drug dosing and timing. For example, after surgical removal of a tumour, chemotherapy drugs are often administered to eliminate any remaining cancerous tissue. This device could allow physicians to easily alter dosage in response to a patient’s progress. “That’s the objective,” said
UBC PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Jackson. “To have an on-demand, controlled release system.” This technology is particularly alluring, as it has the potential to minimize toxic side effects of chemotherapy drugs while improving patient outcomes. “The advantage of that is that you’re not giving a cytotoxic [toxic to cells] drug intravenously to a patient with all the toxic side effects. If you can locate the device right at the site of action, you can release enough local drug — but if any of that disperses through the bloodstream, it will get diluted so much [that] it won’t cause any toxic side effects to the body,” said Jackson. There are similar implants currently being developed that are triggered through alternative methods such as temperature, electricity or light. However, it seems that this unique magnetic activation method has multiple advantages. “It’s completely safe, you can do it remotely and you don’t need power,” said Ali Shademani, a PhD student in the biomedical engineering program and co-author of the paper. “You can still precisely control the dosage that you want to be introduced.” The device was tested in animal tissue with docetaxel, a chemotherapy drug that is often used for prostate and breast cancers. While this technology is still early in development, it may be a huge asset to healthcare in the future. U
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Some channels aren’t afraid to cover heavy topics — from erections to drug use.
ASAP SCIENCE/YOUTUBE
Nerdy YouTube channels that’ll make you really fun at parties Koby Michaels Science Editor
they describe as “science with a social conscious.”
Sorry, Bill Nye — it’s time to move over. (Just kidding. I love you Bill). A few week ago, we published a list of nerdy books that would make you an annoying know-it-all at parties. We forgot that it’s 2017 and no one reads anymore. So in the spirit of your 21-st century, goldfish-sized attention spans, we put together a list of our favourite nerdy YouTube channels. Make us proud and annoy everyone at your next party with these facts.
CRASH COURSE “Learning should be fun,” or so brothers John and Hank Green think. The brothers behind everything from SciShow (which is next on our list) to vlogbrothers and The Fault in Our Stars comes Crash Course, a YouTube channel with almost 700 educational videos. Crash Course breaks down their videos into playlists of different topics — from history, to science, to literature, to philosophy. While some of the videos are high school focused, they can definitely help out with 100 (and maybe some 200) level courses.
TOM SCOTT Okay, maybe this one isn’t purely science, but it’s close enough. Tom Scott travels to places around the world and tells short, often historical, stories about seemingly unimportant things. From the origins of the Bluetooth symbol to a town without wifi, Scott will tell you all about things you might not know (but should). MINUTE PHYSICS I know you hated physics in high school — it was boring chalk equations on a blackboard. MinutePhysics is neither. With a whiteboard, some markers and a little animation, creator Henry Reich explains concepts in physics, astronomy and engineering in easily digestible and interesting three(ish) minute videos. ASAP SCIENCE In the same vein as MinutePhysics, AsapSCIENCE creators and power-couple Mitch Moffit and Greg Brown take on science concepts from hallucinogens to how to wake up without coffee. AsapSCIENCE isn’t afraid to take on more, um, adult topics like orgasms and whether you should shave your pubes or not. They also have a second channel, AsapTHOUGHT, which
SCISHOW Another John Green endeavour focusing on education and science, SciShow explains science’s news and concepts. While they focus on new and noteworthy research, the channel also dispels science myths and answers science-y questions, sometimes even from viewers. VSAUCE While Vsauce isn’t strictly about science, it’ll definitely give you things to talk about (and bore people with). Host Michael Stevens takes big ideas (think human extinction and the moon kind of big) and works through them, explaining the science, philosophy and thoughts behind these topics. It’s a channel full of thought experiments, in-reallife experiments and the occasional guest. Just be ready to have your mind blown. KURZGESAGT — IN A NUTSHELL I have a love-hate relationship with Kurzgesagt. On one hand, their videos are gorgeous, amazinglytold and super interesting. But you have to wait so long for the next one because the videos are so meticulously produced, they take forever to come out.
As much as I love to hate the channel, you can’t really stay mad at it. Their videos cover topics across the scientific perceptive and while they aren’t unified in theme or built into curriculum like Crash Course, it doesn’t matter. Pick one at random and find yourself sucked down an (educational and colourful) YouTube black hole.
THE BRAIN SCOOP Women are underrepresented in science. Unfortunately, this problem seems to have been transmitted to the YouTube science community and this list (yup, we suck). That’s not why I picked The Brain Scoop — I picked it because it is awesome. Emily Graslie hosts the show, works for the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and has a masters in museum studies. Graslie and Brain Scoop focus on biology, conversation and ecology (and use museum specimens as props), but the show covers everything from the origins of humans to how to deal with periods on field expeditions. NUMBERPHILE Think math is boring? I agree. Well, I did until I saw Numberphile. The channel is all about numbers (duh) but in a way you’ve never seen before. Whether it’s printing out a mile of pi or explaining how to tie your shoes really fast, Numberphile is unlike any math you’ve seen before. SMARTER EVERY DAY How hard do you think it is to ride a bicycle that has its controls backwards? Doesn’t sound so hard right? Wrong, and engineer and Smarter Every Day host Destin Sandlin proves it. Sandlin explores the world around us through science, explaining concepts with experiments and demonstrations. Plus, watching people fall off a backwards bike repeatedly is hilarious. U
SPORTS+REC
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY
EDITOR OLAMIDE OLANIYAN
11
THUNDERBIRDS //
The Ubyssey’s esteemed sports panel
Sports + Rec editor
Coordinating Editor
News Editor
Olamide Olaniyan
Jack Hauen
Samantha McCabe
Science editor
Culture editor
tackles playoff season Read the full article online at ubyssey.ca
Koby Michaels
Samuel Du Bois
1. What has been the best team of the semester so far?
No question, it’s women’s hockey. Their 15-game winning streak had me shook.
Actually a tough choice! Women’s hockey is beast, as always, but men’s basketball has rebounded as a top-tier competitor. Gonna have to give it to the boys.
The Thunderbirds!
Men’s basketball is hard to beat with a 26-4 overall record except maybe if you’re the women’s hockey. But then basketball dropped the ball and my University of Manitoba friends shoved it in my face. So women’s hockey.
Frankly, my favourite team of the season is Team Edward ... it is clear that Robert Pattinson won at the long game by actually having an acting career after the Twilight franchise.
2. Despite all winter semester teams making the playoffs, were there still teams that disappointed you?
I really thought men’s hockey could rally in the playoffs, pull off some huge upsets and be real league contenders this year ... it’s just not the Cinderella story I was expecting.
As someone who got their start at The Ubyssey by covering men’s hockey, I am used to perennial disappointment on that front. But they finally pulled off the Winter Classic win!
Men’s hockey.
I’m still disappointed that we didn’t win back-to-back Vanier Cups.
The greatest weakness of the ’Birds is when they fuck up passing the old pigskin down centre-field in violation of all-purpose yardage through a faulty pass attempt ...
3. Give some words of wisdom that will help them next year.
Don’t let go of Butenschon. Have faith in him and the team he is trying to build. Trust the process. The team would really benefit from a little stability.
Chip ’n chase. Don’t let Hewitt get signed by the Canucks.
You don’t tell me how to do my job, I won’t tell you how to do yours.
Win the Vanier Cup so The Ubyssey can cover it and have people read the sports section again.
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought his act. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar ... Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!
4. In the darkest timeline, when you’re not participating in this noble profession we all know as journalism, what sport would you play?
You know, before my career-ending injury of 2012, I was breaking ankles and serving some sick handles on the court. I’d probably be a non-starting power guard in the NBA D-League.
Calvinball.
Soccer is a great stress-reliever.
Hotdog-eating. It’s in my blood.
I am an aggressive and highly competitive practicer of the sport known as billiards.
5. Who is the coach that you respect the most and why?
Doug Reimer led his team to six consecutive national titles between 2008 and 2013, and made the team a perennial contender in the U Sport nationals. I have so much respect for that guy.
Deb Huband. She’s been here forever, she’s a winning machine and her players have the utmost respect for her. I can think of no one better for the Basketball BC Hall of Fame.
Any coach that can corral hungover university students into athleticism is alright in my book.
Brian Crowley. MHS shoutout.
Coaches remind me of my traumatic past as someone who was terrible at gym. They are the scourge of the Earth and when the fires of reckoning come, they shall be the first that I cast into the abyss!
Visit ubyssey.ca/volunteer for more information.
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THE UBYSSEY
12 | sports+rec | TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PHENOMENAL //
HEARTBREAK //
UBC beats Huskies in Canada West semi-final
JEREMY JOHNSON -SILVERS
By winning the series, the ’Birds earned a berth to the U Sport national championship.
Bill Situ Senior Staff Writer
The UBC women’s hockey team won two games against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West semifinals. The first game of the weekend ended in a 2-0 win for the ’Birds, with goals from Mathea Fischer and Madison Patrick in the first and final frames respectively. Fourteen saves by UBC’s goaltender Amelia Boughn secured the team’s seventh shutout of the season. With UBC leading 1-0 in the series, the Huskies equalized in the second game with a 1-0 win, forcing a third game. The goal happened a little over two minutes into the game when Saskatchewan’s Rachel Johnson buried a rebound off of teammate Bailee Bourassa. Despite UBC’s loss, shots on goal were 23-17 in favour of the ’Birds. “We thought it was going to be easy, and we took the foot off the
gas and just relaxed a bit. We came out a little flat and [Saskatchewan] jumped on us,” said UBC head coach Graham Thomas. After a win and a loss, the ’Birds’ moment of triumph came on Sunday night with a 3-1 victory. UBC was first to get onto the scoreboard a little over four minutes into the first frame, when fifthyear forward Haneet Parhar put it home on a sharp-angle shot after a deflection off of teammate Kathleen Cahoon. Eight minutes later, the ’Birds doubled their lead to 2-0. This time, the goal went to Kelly Murray. She managed to shoot the puck past traffic in the attacking zone and beat Huskies goalkeeper Cassidy Hendricks. As the period winded down to the final three minutes, the Huskies’ Alyssa Dobler cut the ’Birds’ lead in half with a shot from the slot. After three goals in the first frame, the game went scoreless until the final five seconds.
Desperate to make up some ground, Saskatchewan pulled Hendricks from the net for an extra attacker. But Nicole Saxvik — who led UBC in scoring during the regular season — was able to find the empty net and secure the 3-1 win. “We talked about … battling and competing hard, and that’s what we did,” said Thomas. “I give the Huskies a lot of credit. They played really hard and they played really well.” Thomas was especially proud of his senior players and the amount of leadership they displayed over the weekend. “I’m just really proud of our senior group. We really relied on our seniors and our veteran group. Our leaders were just phenomenal, so that carried us through and we’re really proud of them,” said Thomas. U UBC will now face the University of Alberta Pandas in the Canada West finals which begin on March 4.
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Men’s basketball falls to Manitoba in 98-96 loss
KOBY MICHAELS
The ’Birds came close to keeping their hopes alive, only to lose it in overtime.
Qingsheng Qiu Contributor
The UBC men’s basketball team lost game one of the Canada West quarter-finals against the University of Manitoba Bisons on Friday night. After the close 75-79 result, the ’Birds had been backed into a corner in their own home. The team had to win the second game on Saturday night to avoid elimination. They came so very close to keeping their hopes alive, only to lose it in a ridiculous overtime shootout. UBC’s A.J. Holloway drew a foul to open the game but missed both free throws. Bisons’ Justus Alleyn caught fire early and scored half of his team’s points in the first quarter. Conor Morgan — Canada West’s leading scorer this season — committed early fouls, and was out of the game for most of the first half. The ’Birds’ offence centred around post-up and attacking the basket throughout the game. Offensive rebounds gave the UBC tons of second chances as well. But free-throw woes continued for the ’Birds in the first half, as they only made 8 of 15 attempts from the charity stripe. Ilarion Bonhomme’s quickness and playmaking gave the Bisons an edge. Still, they found it hard to counter the size and athleticism of the T-Birds. It was a tightly matched game with Manitoba leading by two going into halftime break. The second half was even more competitive, as both teams went over foul limits within the first five minutes. The ’Birds kept attacking the basket and wreaking havoc on the glass, while the Bisons moved the ball beautifully and created easy buckets. Jordan Jensen-Whyte dominated in the paint by steamrolling opponents, and went to the line five times. UBC forward
Patrick Simon filled the void left by Morgan’s absence by putting up 21 points, and was deadly beyond the three-point line. The Thunderbirds overcame a four-point deficit in 35 seconds. This came after a stretch that saw five field goals scored by both teams, including four three-pointers. The game went to overtime. Bonhomme’s buzzer beater was waived for being one millisecond late. Overtime was an emotional roller coaster with the momentum swinging like a pendulum. Morgan tied the game at 95 with a clutch three-pointer, and proceeded to make a free throw to put the ’Birds up by one. When everyone thought the victory was almost certain for UBC, Basi made his way over multiple screens, got open and drilled in the dagger that ended the T-Birds’ playoff journey at 9896. The entire War Memorial gym sank into disbelief and sorrow. The Bisons completed the sweep behind Bonhomme’s 26 points and nine assists. Basi knocked down the final threepointer with nine seconds left to clinch the victory or the visiting team. Jensen-Whyte finished the game with a game high of 33 points and 10 assists for the T-Birds. His performances sent the game to overtime and gave the ’Birds a one-point lead with 19 seconds left in overtime. Every player gave it their all. Although it was gut-wrenching to watch UBC players choke on tears, shrouded in disbelief and anger, this was no doubt a great game. “It’s tough man. It’s a great year. Couple of things didn’t go our way,” said Jensen-Whyte. “For a couple of our guys, this is their sophomore year and Manitoba is a great team. “I have nothing but respect for my coach and the players. I have nothing but love for this place.” U
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY | sports | 13
ONE NIGHT AT THE LONE CONE MOUNTAIN HOSTEL WORDS & PHOTOS SALOMON MICKO BENRIMOH
H
ow do you go about traveling when you’re a broke college kid? You get creative. Being a fresh-faced UBC student in my first year of university, I definitely wanted to explore as much of Vancouver as possible. I also wanted to explore the surrounding national parks, and of course, Vancouver Island. My Gage apartment does have quite the impressive view, but it wouldn’t cut it. I actually needed to get out there and experience what British Columbia has to offer in person. After some consideration, a couple of roommates, friends and I decided to plan a weekend getaway to Vancouver Island. The best part of going there was that it was dirt cheap. Any hotel or hostel won’t cost you more than $35 a night. After planning our trip, we came up with a long weekend itinerary that consisted of one night in Nanaimo and one night in Tofino. Nanaimo is a quaint coastal town, but it’s nothing compared to what the rest of the island has to offer in terms of sights and adventure. At a point, we thought Nanaimo was all we were going to see. This was after we had been denied a car by at least three different rental
agencies. We needed one to get across the island from Nanaimo because bus prices are downright astronomical. Luckily, we managed to get ourselves a vehicle, and thank the heavens for that. The drive from Nanaimo to Tofino is a breathtaking experience. The narrow road paved into the mountainside overlooking Kennedy Lake in the last stretch is beyond amazing. Finally getting to Tofino delved us into the world of the small surf town. As pretty as it seemed, exploration would have to wait as our accommodations for the night lay across the strait, just off Mears Island at the Lone Cone Mountain Hostel. We had to take a water taxi to the island where the hotel is. The price of using it is included in the price of stay (about $30 per night), so don’t worry about paying extra. After finally reaching the furthest point of our trip and seeing the grounds of the hostels, we all had one instant regret — why in the world did we book only one night at this place? We rushed to throw our bags away in our rooms so that we could catch a sunset that was nothing short of majestic.
That night, we were treated with freshly caught Dungeness crab caught by some of the staff at Lone Coast. The fresh meal was a much needed change from a college diet of pop-ramen and Nutella. After stuffing ourselves, we relaxed in Lone Cone’s hot tub — a key amenity to the place. Later, we sat around a campfire with a guitar and beers. To cap off the night, we stood and looked up into the sky in complete silence, marveling at the cluster of stars above. The next morning, we all woke up fairly early. We had to leave early if we wanted to visit Tofino and make it back in time for the 6 p.m. ferry back to Horseshoe Bay. We all still managed to take advantage of at least one or two of the activities that Lone Cone had to offer — a list that includes scenic hiking, kayaking, stand-up paddling and more. Eventually we had to leave, but none of us wanted to. But a long weekend is only so long and it’s not like we wanted our professors to hate us more than they already did. As we took the boat back to Tofino, with the hostel slowing fading in the distance, all I could think about was when I was going to plan my next trip back. U
14 | SPORTS+REC | TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2017
WORDS BY TIFFANY WU PHOTOS BY SAMANTHA MCCABE, JOSH CURRAN
:
/ 9 CLUBS THE UBYSSEY’S DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE UBC DANCE SCENE Here are the different dance groups and styles available to students to sign up for on campus.
UBC DANCE CLUB The UBC Dance Club is one of the oldest clubs on campus. The club was originally part of the UBC Music Society back in 1919, until it branched out to be its own club in 1949. Their primary focus is Latin and standard international ballroom dancing. The club has boasted around 200 to 300 dancers each year for the past five years, but its heyday was back in the 1980s, when its membership was around 1,600. According to club president Theresa Bonardchuck, that period was the club at its peak. However, due to the amount of clubs that have sprouted up since then, its popularity has waned. The club’s dynamic has also varied throughout the years. In some years, the club was more competition-focused while in other years, it focused more on the social side of things. “This year we took the social approach,” said Bonardchuck. “We really focused on making sure there were enough social dances that people can come out to.” Two of the largest events that the club hosts are the team match and the holiday ball. “Team match is held sometime in October [or] early November, and has several different teams who come together to build a silly dancing skit,” said club social coordinator Ezra Parker. “Usually there’s a certain theme to team match — we usually have the teacher come to judge and it’s lots of fun,” said Parker . “You have people doing absolutely ridiculous things. We had some dancing zombies last year and this year, we had people dancing with horses.” According to Parker, the holiday ball acts as “really big wrap-up event of the year.” The event takes place in November or December. “There’s dinner, there’s dancing, usually there’s some silly performances or different kinds,” said Parker. “It’s a great way to get together, semi formal event in the evening.” Dance Club will be hosting Dance Conventions, an event where members get to learn new styles of dance such as Paso Doble and Viennese Waltz. They will also organize the gala ball. This is their annual dance competition that has been running since 1962.
Dance Horizons was founded as Danceworks UBC in 1983, a theatre project from Ballet UBC jazz club. The club’s name was re-branded to Dance Horizons in 1984. They currently have around 140 dancers. Dance Horizons prides itself on offering a large number of dance styles and different levels of dance classes. They are especially open to beginners, and also welcome dancers who have more experience. “We’re always open to new ideas and we’ve been opening up to new styles rather than just ballet and hip hop,” said club president Caitlin Lee. “Voguing was something we introduced this year. We’ve never had that before.” If you’re looking for something more challenging, Dance Horizons offers three dance teams that vary in style and difficulty — DHCo, DHC and DHX. “DHCo is our contemporary team, catered more towards beginner dancers,” said Lee. “DHC is the hip hop team. Some of the more experienced dancers are in there and they help out the beginners. “DHX is the performance team. It combines contemporary, jazz and hip hop. Some of the dancers are stronger in one of the styles more than the other, but they are willing to take on the challenge of another style.” According to Lee, the club organizes gatherings like flash mobs to promote arts and culture on campus throughout the year. In addition, they team up with other groups on campus to put together dance week in February. During that week, each dance club hosts a class of their own. The club’s mid-year and year-end shows are also a big deal. A portion of the ticket sales are usually given to charitable clubs on campus like the Dollar Project and the Heart & Stroke Foundation. However, the club dealt with unforeseen costs this year. This was because The Norm Theatre, where they normally used for their shows and which was free to rent, is being renovated. They thus had to rent the Frederic Wood Theatre. “It was an expense that we weren’t expecting,” said Lee.
DANCE HORIZONS
UNLIMITED DANCE CLUB In 2009, a group of Korean breakdancers — also known as Bboys — searched for a club at UBC that would reflect their dance style. They came away empty-handed. In their disappointment came the inspiration to start a movement at UBC that is still growing till today. The Unlimited Dance Club (UDC) was born. “When we first started, we had too many classes. They weren’t really popular enough and people didn’t come out that much, which was financially hard for us,” club president Carson Shi said. “There were like 20 people when I joined and [our] competitive choreography team had like 10 to 15 people.” Through hard work and plenty of promotion, UDC now has about 150 dancers. “Dance classes are doing so much better and they are finally breaking even financially,” said Shi. “We sold a lot of our class packages. We are able to pay off the teachers and average class size went from four to five in previous years, to 15 to 20, which is a big improvement.” UDC’s competitive choreography team was first named NUera. But after finding out about a dance crew in the US that was named similarly, the team was re-branded to Project U&G. “They won CVC Super Skillz last year, and also last year they did World of Dance, [which] was all the way in Edmonton,” said Shi . “It was the first time that they ever performed at something so big and in the future, they wish [to] get to the point where they get to go to larger scale competitions like HHI (Hip Hop Internationals).” The biggest event of the year for UDC is the Unlimited Styles competition, their yearend dance battle. It usually takes place at the end of second term. “We’ve hosted it about three times now,” said Shi. “The first time we hosted it was about six years back. It was really, really good.” According to Shi, the clubs falling popularity two years ago meant that the event’s reception was not as good. But it has gotten better. “Last year, when we hosted it, it was when our club had actually gotten really big and that’s when it really stood out.”
The UBC Ballet Club is the latest addition to the UBC dance community. Founded three years ago, the club now boasts about 30 members — many of which are new to the club. “Last year was the year that the club started to get big because the execs really put in effort to promote the club and make events,” said club president Shirlei Ishizaki. “That was the time when we had the greatest amount of members. That’s also when we started the recreation team,” said Ishizaki. “This year we’re having a hard time getting members, especially for the recreation team.” The club is run entirely by students. There are no outside teachers, and members help teach and choreograph routines for competition and performances. In addition, it has classes for both beginners and dancers with more experience. They also have a competition team for dancers looking for something more challenging. “Last year, we went to Vancity Project and we also went to the Surrey Dance Festival, where we danced in the adult division and placed first,” said Ishizaki. “This year, we’re going to Surrey Dance Festival again and another competition in late January.” One of the events that Ballet club hosts is the annual calendar photo shoot. Anyone is welcome to attend and it is a chance for dancers to have fun. They also have a yearend show in March. “Ballet is the base of every dance style. It’s the technique part of the dance,” said Ishizaki. “I encourage people to do ballet even if they do hip hop, or contemporary, or even figure skating.”
UBC BALLET CLUB
FEBRUARY 28, 2017 TUESDAY | SPORTS+REC | 15
UBC JUNOON UBC Junoon is a Bollywood fusion team that was founded four years ago. Its focus has changed largely from the Raas Garba team that it originated from. Raas Garba is one of the dances from the state of Gujurat in India. “Ever since then, we’ve been competing in what we like to call a ‘Bollywood circuit,’ so basically we compete against other universities teams that have both co-ed and single gender teams,” said Sarina Prasad, one of the club’s co-presidents. “The goal of the competition is to take it to the Bollywood championship called Bollywood America.” Bollywood America is the biggest competition in North America. It’s where all the best teams from the US and Canada go to compete against each other. To get there, teams have to go through smaller competitions and accumulate points by either winning or coming second or third. If a team gets enough points, they will enter Bollywood America, which usually happens around the end of March. “That’s basically the goal of the team. Since we’re a fairly new team, we’ve never made it that far to Bollywood America. But we’ve been competing so far at this competition in Toronto called Bollywood Dance Canada,” said Prasad. This year the team is going to a new competition in San Antonio, Texas called Sitara. “It’s the first time that the team is competing in the states. So it is a pretty big milestone for our team,” said Prasad. A big challenge that the club has overcome is membership. When UBC Junoon first started out, the team had about 12 dancers and due to it being a large commitment, the turnout was low. “Since then, we’ve had more and more commitment. This year, we are 25 large,” said Prasad. “That’s basically the capacity that we can reach for these competitions.” As a Bollywood fusion team, UBC Junoon incorporates a lot of different styles into their dance. These range from Bollywood dancing, bhangra and other classical Indian dancing, to hip hop and contemporary dancing. “Our dances tell a story. Sometimes they recreate the story of a movie that has come out or a Disney fairytale,” said Prasad. “We come up with a story and then we have an intro video to our dance, which is usually a two-minute long video where we just lay the ground out for the story. “Then we go into our dance which tends to be an eight-minute dance.” The club sometimes organize samosa sales around campus, either bi-weekly or once a month. They also do club fundraisers, which happen both at the pit and downtown. A new thing that club started doing this year was a movie night where they play an Indian movie. In November, they watched a movie called Three Idiots. “It’s a very famous movie that kind of resonates with the entire community,” said Prasad.
The Thunderbird Dance Team (TDT) was originally founded as a part of varsity athletics. Since then, it has transformed into a performance-based dance group. The team performs at different venues on UBC’s campus as well as off-campus. Its members celebrate their love of dance and express it through hip hop and jazz. The TDT consists of approximately 15 members each year. Interestingly, the group rarely brings in guest choreographers to help out. “I’ve done a number on my own. Martina’s contributed a lot as well, but we leave it open to all members. If someone has an idea, then we’re totally open to letting it happen,” said the team’s vice president external Rebecca Moug. “It’s a good way to encourage each other creatively.” “We’re not a competition-based team, so a lot of the performances that we do are mainly showcases, not actual competitions,” said Martina Knappett, the vice president internal. According to TDT’s club president Vanessa Bermisa, there aren’t many competitions for older aged groups. “There are so many festivals and dance conventions when you’re younger, but once you get a little bit older, it’s kind of like your options are narrowed.” TDT’s event of the year is called Get Schooled. It is an allstyles, all-level dance off. “It’s just held in the Agora, so it’s open to everyone. It’s totally free. It’s for people to come watch or even just look over the railings and hang out for a little bit,” said Bermisa. “That’s like our main event where we try to bring the community together,” said Knappett. “It’s so much fun to see all the talent out there ... like that one guy in your computer science class — maybe he can spin on his head!” During the event, there’s an amateur round where people in the crowd are invited to show off. “We have people who have never danced a step in their life come up just to goof off with their friends,” said Moug. “We make it entirely inclusive to everyone in UBC, not just the dance community, but anyone who wants to participate and have fun.”
THUNDERBIRD DANCE TEAM
UBC BHANGRA UBC Bhangra started in 1992. The club was created to show culture through Bhangra — a traditional dance from the Punjab region in India. It was also created as a social club where people could hang out. Currently, the club has about 60 members. “We have three teams [which are] the co-ed Bhangra team, the ladies Bhangra team and we also have a Giddha team which is just girls as well, but a different kind of dance — it is more like folk dance,” said co-president Anmol Toor. “None of our teams compete right now. Back then, the girls Bhangra team won a lot of titles. They were the first girls team to win at an all-male competition, but now it’s more of a showcase of talent.” According to Toor, the club’s large events usually bring about 700 attendees. One particular event called Fusion tries to blend Indian culture — particularly Punjabi — and western culture. “As students, we’re kind of halfand-half, so it’s nice to have an event which includes both of our cultures,” said Toor. “I feel like that attracted a lot of students.” They also have an event in March called Formal and as the name suggests, it’s a bit more formal. “There’s dancing and a dinner. It’s basically more large scale. We also wear Indian attire whereas to the other events, we just wear western attire,” said Toor. “It’s official name is called Nach for the cause. Nach just means dance.” UBC Bhangra is involved in charity, so every penny earned at their events goes to a charitable foundation. “The reason we put on these events is because we want something that students can attend at UBC, but every single dollar that we collect goes to charity,” said Toor. “We always try to surpass our previous year’s donations,” said Avneet Athwal, the club’s treasurer. Harpawantaj Toor, the club’s other co-president of the club, mentions that the club donated about $30,000 from its collected funds. Past recipients of donations have been the BC children’s hospital and the Make-A-Wish foundation. “Every year we choose a new charity. This year is Khalsa Aid and we’re also giving some funds to Kids Play, which is a local charity,” said Anmol Toor.
You almost never see UBC Rueda members promoting their club due to their large amount of members. Sometimes it’s to the extent where they can barely handle the numbers. At one point, the club had around 1,200 active members and even now, they have 40 to 50 people show up to classes every week. It is strange that the only way people hear about it is through word of mouth from friends who went and had a great time. “Our club started when two law students, Sam Turcott and Martin Ferreira Pinho, wanted to share their passion for dance with everyone back in 2011,” said club treasurer Adi Steif. “The club actually split from a club called ALAS (Association of Latin American Students at UBC) because it got too big.” Every week, UBC Rueda holds classes at the International House where advanced members teach complementary lessons. Classes consist of three circles — beginners, intermediate and advance. At the end of class, everyone gathers around in a giant circle and dances together, usually in basic steps so that the beginners can join too. “We didn’t charge anything to the members until we became an official club of the AMS,” said Steif. “Then we charged the minimum $1 for students of UBC and $1.5 for nonUBC students.” UBC Rueda also hosts various events throughout the year. “Last year we fundraised $600 for Directions Youth foundation by holding dance lessons,” said club president Diana Ihnatovych. “One of our members also participated in an art competition with the with the topic ‘heart art’ by having the Rueda club dance in the shape of an heart, which won first place!”
UBC RUEDA
UBC DANCE TEAM Founded in 2009, the UBC Dance Team focuses on styles such as contemporary, jazz, ballet and tap. They are a performance-based team and you can catch them at a number of events. Past events include UBC Recreation’s Lace Up For Kids and the Wesbrook Village Festival. One of the highlights of their year is the year-end show. “Having a recital at the end of the year to showcase all the different routines that we’ve been working on is definitely really fun,” said club president Allie Stephen. “We also partner with World Vision for our year-end show and the proceeds of the ticket sales go to them.” According to Stephen, the team is comprised of former competitive dancers. “It came out as a club because dancers wanted to continue [dancing] in their academic studies,” said Stephen. “Not necessarily at the same level, but in some capacity because it’s hard to let go of once you’ve gone through that intensity for however long in your life.” The team has grown in size. When it started in 2009, there were about eight members. Now the team boasts approximately 16 members and has been that size for about five years. “Having a larger team, we’re able to have that dynamic and there are more types of dances that we can do,” said Stephen. “We can do a large group, or we can split into a couple different groups and have different styles in each group. “We’re able to do more in that sense.” U
16 | GAMES+COMICS | TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2017
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CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1- Ancient Semitic for “Lord”; 5- Eureka!; 8- Mrs. Dithers, in “Blondie”; 12- Passion; 14- Make ___ for it; 15- Bedouin; 16- River of Tours; 17- Like custard; 18- Musical McEntire; 19- Back-and-forth; 21- Pulsates; 23- ___ Paulo; 24- Bashful; 25- Sprechen ___ Deutsch?;
26- Tried out; 30- Sarcastic; 32- Foil maker; 33- Reconciliation; 37- Fluff egg whites; 38- Conductor Solti; 39- ... ___ saw Elba; 40- Visual signaling apparatus; 42- Brush a horse; 43- Sierra ___; 44- Whatever person; 45- Turkish honorific; 48- Hung. neighbor; 49- Andy Capp’s wife; 50- “Fiddler on the Roof” setting; 52- Cartographer; 57- Legal wrong;
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58- “___ She Lovely?”; 60- ___ a customer; 61- Fortuneteller’s start; 62- Foot covering; 63- Drat!; 64- Hwys.; 65- Short flight; 66- Deuce beater; DOWN 1- Latvian, e.g.; 2- Suffix with buck; 3- 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit; 4- Forsaken; 5- Jason’s ship; 6- Embrace; 7- Any unnamed object; 8- Singer Vikki;
9- Cream-filled cookies; 10- Temple leader; 11- Put down; 13- It had a part in the Bible; 14- Dynamic start; 20- Craze; 22- London’s ___ Park; 24- Night noise; 26- Bar bills; 27- Waiting for the Robert ___; 28- Swindle; 29- Bottom line; 30- Mall unit; 31- Board for nails; 33- Ages; 34- Switch ending; 35- Element #10; 36- Duration;
38- Monstrous; 41- ___ moss; 42- Raised part of a sundial; 44- Swiss peak; 45- Moving; 46- Wraith; 47- ___ Grows in Brooklyn; 49- Destiny; 51- Hot times abroad; 52- Queue before Q; 53- Work without ___; 54- Actress Deborah; 55- Kitchen add-on?; 56- Optimistic; 59- HBO alternative;
Anthony Labonte
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PATRICK MURRY AND MIKE PAROLINI