June 28, 2016

JUNE 28, 2016 | VOLUME XCVIII | ISSUE II FAILED ORGIES SINCE 1918

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NEWS

CULTURE

OPINIONS

SPORTS

AMS guilty of unfair labour practices

CiTR airs documentaries to celebrate 100 years

Tipping in the Nest shouldn’t be mandatory

Tera Van Beilen opens up about retirement

THE UBYSSEY

FACES OF UBC WHO CAN WE BLAME FOR UBC’S TUMULTUOUS PAST? PAGE 6

// PAGE 2

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE

EVENTS

2

OUR CAMPUS

Opera star Tamar Simon on being a fairy queen

THURSDAY JULY 7 AFTER HOURS 6:30 P.M. @ VANCOUVER AQUARIUM Grab a wine and enjoy BC’s coastal critters through specialty programming and lectures.

$31

THURSDAY JULY 21 CHEF CHALLENGE 2016 4:30 P.M. @ OUTSIDE FORESTRY Back by popular demand! Five competing chefs will serve savoury morsels perfectly paired with local craft beer.

$15 for students

PHOTO SAM BARRINGER / THE UBYSSEY

Simon is finding the Titania in Tamar.

SUNDAY JULY 31

Leo Soh Staff Writer

KINGS OF VANCOUVER III @ IKB

Enjoy some Super Smash Brothers 4 and Melee! Sign up before July 14 for early bird reates.

$5 EARLY BIRD - $10 REGULAR

ON THE COVER PHOTO/ART BY Aiken Lao

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U THE UBYSSEY

EDITORIAL

Features Editor Coordinating Editor Olivia Law Jack Hauen coordinating@ubyssey.ca features@ubyssey.ca Design Editor Aiken Lao printeditor@ubyssey.ca News Editors Sruthi Tadepalli & Samantha McCabe news@ubyssey.ca Culture Editor Sam Du Bois culture@ubyssey.ca Sports + Rec Editor Olamide Olaniyan sports@ubyssey.ca Video Producer Kate Colenbrander video@ubyssey.ca Photo Editor Sam Barringer photo@ubyssey.ca Opinions + Blog Editor Bailey Ramsay opinions@ubyssey.ca

STAFF

Matt Langmuir, Josh Azizi, Bill Situ, Elena Volohova, Jeremy Johnson-Silvers, Julian Yu, Sruthi Tadepalli, Karen Wang, Jessie Stirling, Vicky Huang, Olamide Olaniyan, Henry Allan, Natalie Morris, Miguel Santa Maria, Sivan Spector, Sarah Nabila, Sophie Sutcliffe, Rithu Jagannath, Samuel du Bois, Lucy Fox, Samantha McCabe, Ben Cook, Avril Hwang, Ben Geisberg, Lilian Odera, Adam Waitzer, Avril Hwang, Lilian Odera, Emma Hicks, Ben Geisberg, Helen Zhou, Nadya Rahman, Boris Bosnjakovic, Aiden Qualizza, Jerry Yin, Arianna Leah Fischer, Tisha Dasgupta, Isabelle Commerford, Evelina Tolstykh, Mischa Milne, Julia Burnham, Gaby Lucas, Philippe Roberge, Rachel Lau, David Deng, Tendayi Moyo

JUNE 28, 2016 | VOLUME XCVIII| ISSUE II BUSINESS

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Tamar Simon is a fairy queen.

That’s not because she stands three feet tall – she doesn’t – but because of her royal stage presence and transcendent voice.

Simon, who is in the first year of her Master of Music degree in opera performance, has been chosen to perform the role of Titania in the upcoming UBC Opera production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Opera is an art form which challenges performers in various ways. Simon views it as a two-pronged challenge of simultaneously acting and singing.

And in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she has met her match on both fronts.

“This music is difficult. This is the most challenging music I’ve ever performed in my life,” she said.

The level of difficulty stems from the dissonance inherent in the music score: “You can’t hear your pitches, there are strong dissonances and you don’t get a lot.”

The role of fairy queen adds to the musical challenge. “For the fairies, there are lighter voices and lighter orchestration,” she said. “[The audience] might hear absolutely nothing.”

As a main character, Simon is tasked with the most challenging of the songs in the opera. “I sing a really challenging aria in the first act, because it sits in an area of the female voice called the pisago, which is the break between their middle voice and their head voice.”

The formula to success as a musician for Simon has been practice.

“Your pitch memory has to be there, have studied the score so much that you know what note you’re singing without hearing it.”

Slowly but surely, she is mastering the score.

“The interest in always wanting to be a better performer is what drives me. You can never have a show and do everything perfectly. I like to challenge myself to see what I can bring to the stage to make this performance better than my last,” she said.

As a stage performer, Simon believes the most important skill is synchronization with the role.

“Not being in character is what I’d consider a mistake,” she added. “Thinking too much about the music – just anything that doesn’t have to do with what I’m doing right there is a mistake to me, [because] I didn’t give and learn as much as I could have.”

Thus, Simon is studying the character Titania, or as she puts it, finding the Titania in Tamar. “I try to think, ‘What about this character scenario can I relate to?’ Even though it might be completely different, I can find something in my mind that relates.” For example, when Titania fights with Oberon, the fairy king and her husband, in the first scene, Simon references the fights she’s experienced to evoke an emotional performance.

For Simon, the difficult part in characterizing Titania was the fairy queen’s nastiness. As she got to know the character, Simon began to realize that Titania’s nastiness

was more complex than it once seemed. And in this realization, Simon found the common denominator between herself and the role. “[Titania] is a feisty and strong character, she really is,” said Simon.

“I can be that way as well – not nasty, but a strong-willed person that tries to get what she wants even though she doesn’t really get what she wants.”

There is one aspect of her role that Simon cannot get accustomed to. As with the libretto, Titania falls in love with Bottom after he has been transformed into a donkey.

“The donkey part is a challenge. I can’t find anything in my life that falling in love with a donkey can relate to.”

But while her personal flame burns brightly as ever, Simon is worried about the future of opera in general.

“It’s scary for us when we realize that all of our audience is older because they won’t be around for our full careers. It is really important that we change that.”

Despite its challenges, Simon truly enjoys opera performance, and has no qualms about continuing down her chosen path.

“People ask me: ‘Tamar, where do you want to go specifically, what’s the big dream?’” said Simon. “And the dream for me is to just keep singing. It doesn’t matter where it is, whether it’s in a professional house or not. If I can support myself with doing what I love, it doesn’t matter where and how I’m doing it; it matters that I’m doing it.” U

// NEWS

EDITORS SRUTHI TADEPALLI + SAMANTHA MCCABE

GOVERNANCE //

CREATIVE WRITING //

Appointment of “Vancouver boy” met with praise and excitement

Sruthi Tadepalli News Editor

Santa Ono named UBC’s 15th president

Santa J. Ono will be UBC’s 15th President.

Samantha McCabe & Sruthi Tadepalli News Editors

On June 13, Santa J. Ono was announced as president at a ceremony at the Peter A. Allard School of Law building to a packed room of students, staff, faculty and news outlets.

Amid the announcement of his selection, Ono received a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd.

“I see my job as working on behalf of the entire UBC community. I am working to serve you, and not vice-versa,” said Ono in his announcement speech to the crowd. “One of the things that I shall never forget is that I am a professor … and so my philosophy of leading is to lead from within the faculty.”

Ono promised to be an “accessible university president,” even to the “freshmen on their first day on campus.” He noted his strong focus on research and discovery, something that he described as fundamental to the core of UBC as a research institution.

“I am greatly humbled by the opportunity to lead one of the world’s greatest universities,” said Ono, as quoted in a press release released by the university. “I relish the opportunity to help UBC realize its aspirations and destiny as a truly global university.”

The presidential search committee was composed of 21 members, including deans, faculty, senate and Board of Governors members, and alumni from both campuses. The search began in January of 2016, and the team was looking for “a prudent record of extraordinary and diverse skills,” according to board chair Stuart Belkin. After several rounds of interviews, mostly in May, the committee recommended Ono to the Board of Governors and the board then approved this choice unanimously.

“It truly is a wonderful time to be joining the UBC family,” said Martha Piper — interim president since the resignation of Arvind Gupta — during the ceremony, welcoming Ono to the role. “[Ono] is literally the perfect person to lead UBC into its next century,” said Chancellor Lindsay

PHOTO GEOFF LISTER / THE UBYSSEY

Gordon, chair of the presidential search committee.

Excitement and praise for Ono’s appointment goes beyond the search committee. Mark Mac Lean, the president of the faculty association — which has expressed a lack of confidence in UBC’s governance — was also pleased with the new president and his initial words.

“I’m encouraged by both his past experience and actions at other institutions and by the language at the address today that he is sincerely aware of the level of governance crisis that we’ve had at UBC and he is going to help engage with faculty to try to strengthen collegial governance at the university. So I’m maybe hopeful by what he’s saying and what these early days will actually have a hope at playing out into change at the institution,” he said.

Ono has extensive experience leading a university, as he was president of University of Cincinnati since August of 2012 and held various other positions before that in administration and teaching roles at universities throughout the United States.

During his announcement speech, Ono expressed his love for his old university and acknowledged that he will be sad to leave, but that he feels they are on solid footing and is excited for the opportunities that UBC presents him.

“I am committed to making UBC a better institution,” said Ono. “I will be a strong promoter of diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Ono will officially begin serving as the president of UBC on August 15 for a set term of five years. In the meantime, a UBC press release said that “Dr. Dave Farrar, previous UBC provost and vice-president academic and senior advisor to the current president, has agreed to take on the role of interim president after June 30 and prior to Dr. Ono’s arrival.”

“Thank you for your enthusiasm and passion and love for the University of British Columbia. I will work hard every day on behalf of this great university, the province, and the country.” said Ono to the crowd.

“Thank you for making it possible for this Vancouver boy to return home.” U

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

3

Steven Galloway fired after “irreparable breach of trust” Steven Galloway has been fired by the University of British Columbia after facing “serious allegations of misconduct.”

Galloway, an acclaimed author, was a tenured associate professor and the chair of UBC’s creative writing program. He was first suspended with pay in November of 2015 after UBC received serious allegations of misconduct against Galloway. According to a written statement released by the VP External Relations Philip Steenkamp, more complaints were received throughout November and December of 2015.

On November 20, 2015 the Honourable Mary Ellen Boyd, a former justice of the BC Supreme Court, was engaged to conduct an investigation. Her report was given to the Dean of Arts — Dr. Gage Averill — on April 25, 2016.

When Dean Averill reviewed the report with Galloway, Galloway did not dispute any of the critical findings. Allegations in addition to those considered by Boyd were also taken into account.

President Piper met with Galloway, reviewed Dean Averill’s recommendations and the investigative findings of the Honourable Mary Ellen Boyd before coming to a decision.

“The president concluded that there was a record of misconduct that resulted in an irreparable breach of the trust placed in faculty

FILE PHOTO NANCY LEE / THE UBYSSEY

Steven Galloway was a tenured associate professor at UBC.

members by the university, its students and the general public,” said Steenkamp.

After Piper made her recommendation to the Board of Governors on Tuesday June 21, Galloway was fired.

However, Mark Mac Lean, the president of the faculty association, has issued a statement citing serious concerns with the “University Administration’s misleading public and private comments regarding Professor Galloway.”

“We wish to clarify that all but one of the allegations, including the most serious allegation, investigated by the Honourable Mary Ellen Boyd were not substantiated,” said Mac Lean in a written statement.

The faculty association will not be commenting further on the matter at this time out of respect for the “fair and due process,” which is ongoing.

UBC is currently not responding to the statement.

“We have a relationship with the UBC Faculty Association, and will respond to their concerns directly with them,” said UBC managing director of public relations, Susan Danard, in an email to The Ubyssey.

The university has not provided further information on the nature of the allegations due to legal and privacy constraints. However, the Canadian Press has since spoken with five people involved in the investigation and reported that they alleged sexual comments, threats and bullying.

“The university acknowledges the community’s need for information and assurance that its processes have been applied fairly.

At the same time, the university must balance the need to respect the personal privacy of both complainants and respondents and to provide them with a safe space in which to bring forward their concerns and perspectives,” said Steenkamp in a written statement. U

4 | news |

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

STUDENT GOVERNANCE //

AMS found guilty of unfair labour practices, told employee to vote no to unionization Sruthi Tadepalli News Editor

The BC Labour Relations Board has found the AMS guilty of unfair labour practices after a manager in their Catering and Conference department texted an employee to vote against the unionization process. The board also found it likely that they paid two employees to increase incentive and reward to vote — hoping that the employees in question would not vote for unionization.

On August 31, 2015, a group of servers and banquet captains working in the AMS Student Nest on the UBC campus had a vote regarding whether or not they would join moveUP, a union which already represents the AMS’s administrative and security staff. The Labour Relations Board found the proposed bargaining unit inappropriate for collective bargaining and the vote was dismissed without the ballot box being opened.

In February 2016, the union submitted an application to include a group of servers and banquet captains working in the Nest into an existing bargaining unit of security employees. The application was dismissed in the AMS’s favour, as was the union’s alternative application for a standalone unit of servers and banquet captains in the Catering and Conference department. Before the final verdict was delivered for this previous case however, a second application was filed by the union citing the AMS’s unfair labour practices surrounding the vote.

The union submitted this second application after they were approached with information surrounding the circumstances of the vote.

“It’s the typical brown paper envelope under the door,” said acting president of moveUP, Lori Mayhew. “We were contacted with some information and then a little bit of detective work that led to finding out about this. So

FILE PHOTO GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

The AMS was recently found guilty of unfair labour practices after an employee was told to vote no to unionization.

“We submitted the mistake text [to the Labour Relations Board].

We have nothing to hide. As soon as we found the text — and it was an accident — as soon as the text was found we acted immediately to submit it to the labour board,” said AMS President Ava Nasiri.

The Labour Relations Board, after reviewing the messages and receiving testimony, declared that the AMS has committed unfair labour practices under Section 6(1) and 6(3)(d) of the Labour Relation Code.

Following this declaration, they ordered the AMS against committing further violation of the code and told them to pay damages to the union so as to equal the union’s legal costs. They also ordered the AMS to e-mail copies of this decision to the employees on the voters list.

VIA BC LABOUR RELATIONS BOARD

we brought an application to the board that it was unfair labour practices.”

As soon as the application was brought to the attention of the AMS, they engaged in a factfinding process. This is when the text messages implicating the AMS in unfair labour practices were found.

As a part of this decision, the Labour Relations Board noted the following: “The pattern of all of the evidence before me leads me to make the finding that it is more likely than not that the Employer paid Sangha for a shift not worked on the day of the vote in order to provide Sangha with an incentive

and reward to vote, hoping she would vote against the Union.

While there was no evidence that Boutrin had tried to specifically enlist Sangha to vote against the Union as she had with Doyle, I find the Employer’s payment of Sangha for work not done was also improper and in violation of Sections 6(1) and 6(3)(d).”

However, the AMS has been very clear in noting that the final verdict of the proceeding relates to a single text sent by the manager.

“To be very clear, the final verdict here (Section 5) is pointed very specifically to the one text message that was sent from the manager to that one single employee and that is the main objective of this proceeding,” said Nasiri. “With regards to the rest of the dialogue surrounding payment of employees and compensation for hours worked, that is not something that was further explored with regards to the final verdict of this proceeding.”

Nasiri also noted that the AMS has the opportunity to appeal and emphasizes that the document detailing the Labour Relations Board’s decision does not accurately represent what happened.

“The reason that the AMS did not appeal the decision was purely out of fiscal responsibility and spending of student fees. We were advised by our legal team that it would result in more expenses. An appeal would have allowed more of the AMS side of the situation to be portrayed in evidence of all documents that have been made public,” said Nasiri. “However, we decided for the time being not to proceed with an appeal for the decision made, which results in the documents that you see not quite painting the full picture.”

In terms of the actual declarations and orders delivered by the Labour Relations Board, Nasiri said the AMS is still in talks with their lawyers.

“In terms of the legal fees, that is a conversation that is still happening with our lawyers and that is something I can’t comment on at the moment.

However, I would like to be very clear in noting that all of this is surrounding one text in which a manager asked an employee to vote in a particular fashion,” said Nasiri.

When it comes to the question of whether Doyle and Sangha were paid by Christine Boutrin — the manager that documentation refers to — to vote against joining the union or to motivate them to vote against joining the union, Nasiri insisted that that was not something that would ever happen within the AMS.

Perhaps it may be painted by other groups that there was something else going on, however the shifts were scheduled and those employees showed up,” said Nasiri.

When it comes to the consequences of the issue, the two parties — once again — diverge hugely on scope.

“The immediate consequence is that they have to pay us money for all the work that we had to do around this unfair labour practice.

But the ultimate price they’re paying is that the AMS is fighting students with their own money.

The fallout from that could be huge for them,” said Mayhew on behalf of the union.

Nasiri, however, states the consequences to have more to do with opportunities for learning and making sure that the AMS’s values are clearly communicated.

“In response to that, I feel that the short-term implications are that we look at this as an opportunity for learning, particularly for our newer managers that are not familiar with these types of situations. When they are given the opportunity to act in a role of leadership — and ensuring that as we have always done our best to do — the expectations of the labour board are exceeded and the AMS remains an upstanding employer within our community. In terms of long-term impacts, I think it’s important for us to be able to very clearly articulate the type of organization that the AMS is as a non-profit student society, ultimately here to serve students. In that, there may be attempts to paint a picture without the full context.

“We never plan for accidents,” said Nasiri.

While the AMS fully admits to the sending of one mistaken text, Nasiri also emphasized that the AMS supports anything that serves students — including unions.

“Ultimately, the AMS is here to serve students and we strive to ensure that all of our studentstaff have as much flexibility as they need to have an enriching

VIA BC LABOUR RELATIONS BOARD

“Personally, she wouldn’t do that. The manager in question has been a wonderful employee of the AMS and she made a mistake, but her mistake had to do with the one particular text message that was sent. We are not the type of organization that will pay employees to vote in a particular fashion. These text messages sent and submitted were simply sent and submitted to display the two types of conversations to admit the mistake and to provide background on a regularized conversation.

The shifts that were worked and the shifts that were scheduled, all employees that came in were paid for the shifts that were worked.

experience — both as students on this campus and as employees of the AMS. If any students or any departments within the AMS sense that they can better achieve that flexibility, then ultimately that’s their choice. We really do depend on positive relationships with quite a few of our external partners that are unions,” said Nasiri.

The group of Catering and Conference staff is still in talks with moveUp about joining the union.

“They’re still working with us, they’re still strongly on our side and we’re in constant contact with them,” said Mayhew. U

// CULTURE

EDITOR SAM DU BOIS

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

5

RADIO //

CiTR airs documentaries to celebrate UBC’s 100-year legacy

n eo los t. s c igh ion dn iss mi bm at Su ly 15 Ju This month, The Ubyssey is holding a poetry competition to draw attention to the countless talented writers on campus looking for publication.

The documentaries cover eveything from hip-hop battles to how media affects people with disabilities.

Olivia Law Features Editor

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, I just wanted to be involved.”

So said Rohit Joseph, producer and writer of one of the 10 radio documentaries produced by CiTR to mark UBC’s 100-year legacy.

More than 890 reel-to-reel audio tapes from over 60 years of the Student Radio Society of UBC have been digitized over the past year, making a total of 406 hours of historic audio available to the public.

These recordings include music programs, radio documentaries, campus and community news, and events broadcast on CYVR/CiTR and its affiliate stations from 1949 to the late ‘90s.

Joseph’s documentary, CiTR’s DJ Sound Wars: Hip Hop Battles in the 90’s marks a significant hip hop competition from the 1990s.

“A lot of the tapes we have don’t even cover a whole day of the competition, but there’s maybe only two or three hours, so you have to speak to people to really find out what was going on at that time and to really relive those memories,” he said.

CiTR celebrity interviewer Nardwuar proved to be immensely helpful in setting up meetings and contacting Joseph with CiTR alumni who were involved with the competition.

“Nardwuar is super helpful, he’s just a music nerd,” said Joseph.

“He gave me the email of Adam Sloan who was one of the DJs in the competition.”

Sloan’s sister, under the name Terror T, won the rap competition in DJ Sound Wars.

“That to me was like, ‘Hold up — Terror T — that person’s name who was in the old Discorder magazines, who came first in a rap contest in 1990, that was a woman!’ and he’s just like, ‘Yeah, that’s my sister.’”

For Joseph, tracking people down was just a matter of CiTR connections — through a few degrees of separation. He ended up interviewing four people for his documentary: Terror T, Don Chow, Renny Foster and Níel Scobie.

“Vancouver doesn’t get any love for [its] hip hop scene,” said Joseph.

“People have just become cynical and think that Vancouver isn’t a hip hop city. But when I came across these tapes it made me realize that actually we do have a history.”

CiTR’s DJ Sound Wars was the only competition of its kind — a unique event in not only Vancouver’s hip hop history but in the entire west coast.

“When I started listening to it I was just amazed,” said Joseph. “This was a massive competition — you can hear the cheers of hundreds of people in the background, you can hear rap groups spitting in the oldschool, almost Will Smith way, but you also hear people with crazy fast rhymes, people from all over.”

In contrast, another of CiTR’s documentaries, Inclusion of the Underrepresented: The Beginning of Diverse-Ability in Media, by Deepi Leihl, Dama Correch and Estephania Solis was the first documentary to air in the series, discussing the impact that production and consumption of media has on people with disabilities.

Correch, a first-year Arts student, has been involved with CiTR as soon as she arrived at UBC, volunteering

and hosting her own radio show with UBC FilmSoc. She started working on the documentary after an email from Leihl, one of the coproducers looking for people to help her produce a documentary about accessibility.

“We couldn’t find any archives on accessibility initially, so we had to change the whole topic around quite a few times,” said Correch.

“We ended up settling on media effects on youth, which is such a huge topic. Eventually I was able to convince Deepi [Leihl] that it was possible to keep her original idea and merge it with the new idea — so the effects of media specifically relating to disability and accessibility.”

The guidelines for the documentary projects were simply to use the CiTR and UBC archives, so Correch spent time going through pages of archives finding a narrative to base their documentary on.

“We were supposed to work a lot more with the archive, but I really wanted to bring the accessibility angle in there because it’s something that Deepi is really passionate about and something that I’m really passionate about,” said Correch.

Leihl had already produced two radio documentaries, and was also the subject of major interviews throughout, documenting her experiences with metatropic dwarfism, an extremely rare disorder that affects skeletal development.

Like Joseph, Correch began her interviewing process before deciding on the structure, narrative or format of the documentary.

“I sat down with Deepi in a room, just asking her stuff I was curious

PHOTO COURTESY CiTR

about and knew I’d be able to find something interesting from that,” she said. “I just started working off of the archive and the questions that they were exploring and asking her questions to do with that, but also asking her questions to do with her life. Deepi has been through a lot, so we just talked about how she’s producing radio documentaries, how she has a show and is a good example of how media has helped someone with disabilities empower themselves.”

“We’re not trying to complain about how media doesn’t talk about people with accessibility,” she continued. “It’s supposed to be about how people with disabilities can still do so much.”

In total, the documentary is almost an hour long. Correch had 40 minutes of interview time with Leihl and 20 minutes with the two producers of the All Access Pass show — two students at UBC who have shows about accessibility.

“It has to be interesting and relevant — especially relevant,” said Correch. “I was talking to Deepi and the interview went on for so long because I’m so interested in her life so I talked to her a lot, but I had to go in and savagely cut out these huge blocks of things that were very interesting but they just don’t fit in the documentary.”

The documentary series is a non-academic history of UBC, with topics ranging from the Thunderbirds to sexism in the 1980s to the peace movement. U All ten documentaries are available in podcast form at citr.ca/ citrdocs.

Beyond a limit to 30 lines, we have put no other restrictions on your poems.

Submit your most wild experiments or traditional sonnets. We will read all of them and keep open minds. Be as creative and fearless as you can be!

We hope that this will be one of many writing competitions to follow and are very excited to see the work that is submitted.

The Rules Are As Follows: You may submit one poem no more than 30 lines in length. Or if the poem involves images, one printed 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper. We do not care which font you use as long as it’s not Comic Sans.

Submissions close on July 15 at midnight.

The winners will be announced on July 22.

There will be one grand prize winner and five second place winners.

The grand prize winner will have their poem published in The Ubyssey along with an interview.

All winners will have the opportunity to read their work at a poetry night in the Ubyssey office.

Prizes will be awarded when we know what they are.

You must be a student to enter.

Submit your work as a pdf. to culture@ubyssey.ca with the subject heading “July Poetry Competition” For more information, including the full terms and conditions, visit us online at www.ubyssey.ca.

6 | FEATURES |

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

PRESIDENT WHO? A LOOK INTO WHO THE PAST PRESIDENTS OF UBC WERE AND WHAT THEY DID. WRITTEN BY SRUTHI TADEPALLI & OLIVIA LAW

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

PRESIDENTIAL BEGINNINGS

In 1913, when UBC was still at its Fairview campus on the site of today’s Vancouver General Hospital, Frank Wesbrook became the university’s first president after a long, judicious selection process. A Winnipeg native, he was the dean of medicine at the University of Minnesota before moving back to Canada to become UBC’s president. He spent the first years of his tenure working with the provincial government to lay the foundations for the establishment of UBC. Before the outbreak of the First World War, Wesbrook was promised by the government almost unlimited funding, with the intention of making UBC a worldclass facility for learning.

“Unfortunately, a little thing called the First World War got in the way,” said UBC archivist Erwin Wodarczak. “There was no money, no resources, no workers — and any company that would have bid for the work to build the university were brought elsewhere or were enlisted in the armed forces.”

Money was tight and financial markets were finding it hard to get the adequate funding to follow through on their plans.

Eventually the government contributed the bare minimum required for the university’s construction, and thus UBC was born.

“Wesbrook was unique in that he came in in the very beginning,” said Wodarczak. “His public profile was very high, as his situation was that he was building the framework of the university.”

President Wesbrook was an excellent diary-keeper. Wodarczak’s project for UBC’s centennial included tweeting Wesbrook’s daily entries as though they were occurring in real time.

“He was incredibly busy,” said Wodarczak in reference to his documents. “I always find it amazing that he found time to sleep — his diary pages are almost always full of engagements, things to do. Sometimes what he writes for a particular day will go for five, eight or 10 messages of 140 characters each.”

The Twitter entries detail Wesbrook’s hectic work schedule — meetings, travel and professor recruitment — but also his chronic health issues.

“Wesbrook suffered from chronic gum disease during his entire tenure here,” said Wodarczak, noting one circumstance in particular where Wesbrook delivered a speech just hours after having multiple teeth pulled.

“He didn’t think twice about going and doing his work as a university president as he saw it — which was growing and leading the university, and building its connections with the wider community.”

President Wesbrook passed away in 1918, shortly before the WWI armistice. His presidency was succeeded by his long-term friend and colleague Leonard Klinck, who had been a professor at UBC since 1914 and remained as president until 1944, shortly before the end of the Second World War.

UBC AND THE GREAT WAR

The Great War had a huge impact on UBC’s development. The economic boom that had lasted in British Columbia for a decade collapsed with the outbreak of war in 1914, and work on the new campus (to replace Fairview) was suspended. Students and faculty became involved in the war effort, with 697 members of the student body enlisted in the armed forces over the entire course of the war. Seventy-eight died in service.

Several UBC presidents were involved in the wars. Wesbrook was Officer Commanding in the Officers’ Training Corps in addition to his UBC activities, and Norman MacKenzie — UBC’s third president — fought in WWI and earned the Military Cross and Bar before beginning his own tenure as president. In 1915, military training was included in UBC’s curriculum for the duration of the war, and again in the 1940’s for WWII. This training included proper gas mask use, physical fitness

training and weapon handling. Students and faculty who were part of the army waived their army pay over a 15-year period to support UBC’s war effort. This money was used to build the UBC Armoury.

The Armoury was constructed in 1941 and extended into 1943 during Klinck’s tenure, costing the university a total of $79,000. Before its demolition in 1994, the building was used for registration, sessional examinations, AMS assemblies and graduation ceremonies. After its demolition, materials were recycled and used in the C.K. Choi building’s construction.

As Canada declared war in September 1939, president Klinck wrote in a statement: “From the day of the declaration of war, the university has been prepared to put at the disposal of the Government all possible assistance by way of laboratories, equipment and trained personnel, insofar as such action is consistent with the maintenance of reasonably efficient instructional standards. To do less would be unthinkable.”

President Klinck was present at UBC for portions of both World Wars, and fulfilling his duties as president was not easy. The chronic shortage of funds following the First World War combined with a severe reduction in the university’s governmental grant after the Great Depression made his work consolidating the university more difficult than usual.

“He was president during the Depression when funding was cut again, then was here for the beginning of the Second World War,” said Wodarczak on Klinck’s drawn-out struggles during his 25-year tenure. “A lot of construction that was done at the time — the Old Gymnasium which was on the site of what is now Buchanan Tower, the original stadium which is where the old SUB is now and Brock Hall — that was all under his watch.”

UBC’s input in both wars was substantial, and affected the university both positively and negatively. While the post-war years resulted in an influx of veteran students, the financial impact the university suffered was significant.

Archives of The Ubyssey from the period show students’ appreciation of Klinck’s leadership. By 1939 the university had its own 548-acre site, hosting 121 faculty and 2,520 students, and had taken a leading position in the intellectual life of BC. The high standard of the faculty, which was reflected in the scholarship and eminence of the students, was widely recognized as due to the leadership of Klinck.

MOST POPULAR PRESIDENTS

The qualities of a great leader are debated thoroughly when selecting a new president for the university, and according to Wodarczak, the most successful presidents were those who interacted closely with students.

“Gage was one of the most popular presidents because he was here as a student, he was a professor, he was an administrator, he was a dean. He held just about every administrative position that you could think of, including that of president,” said Wodarczak.

“He was well-known among the student body and was very generous with his time even as president. Even during his tenure as president he would always take the time to teach firstyear mathematics.”

Although the task of teaching a full course might today be too much for a university president, UBC’s 15th and current president, Santa Ono, has hinted that he’d like to guest lecture across a number of faculties.

“It’s one way that I can remain active as a teacher,” he said in an interview with The Ubyssey. “If you don’t teach you get rusty.”

“Wesbrook was, of course, at the very beginning and he was very well-respected among students,” said Wodarczak, acknowledging that the university was so small in its earliest days that Wesbrook was able to get to know almost every student personally. “He also made a point of keeping in contact with students who went overseas as soldiers to fight in the war, and he was

always remembered for that as well. He was remembered, loved and respected for the time he took and the interest that he took in the welfare of the students under his tenure.”

SUSTENANCE AND GROWTH

The role of the university president has remained largely unchanged over time.

According to UBC’s website, the role of the president is said to be, with the framework and directions provided by the Board of Governors and the senate, to provide oversight and direction for the operation of the university.

The University Act makes a president a requirement — someone who must be the chief executive officer and generally supervise and direct the academic work of the university.

Presidents are high-profile figures — prominent not only in the university bubble, but in the community that surrounds it.

Wodarczak notes though that while their standing might be fairly steady, he finds their roles usually alternate between building and expanding the university, and consolidating past work.

“Wesbrook established the university, he was very involved, very high-profile — president Klinck was more of a consolidation and overseeing and guiding the university as it grew gradually over the 26 years of his tenure,” said Wodarczak.

He identified the other major periods of growth as during Mackenizie’s presidency near the end of WWII, John B. MacDonald’s time at the university, and David Strangway’s tenure — all of which involved either major expansions on campus or high levels of involvement in the community, leading to increased fund raising for research and development.

“In terms of high profile and involvement with the community it depended in part on the personality of the president and also on the times,” said Wodarczak.

Their high-level responsibilities mean that presidents generally are quite distant from the majority of campus. While Wesbrook may have been able to have a relationship with all members of the then quite small faculty and a rapport based on direct interaction with the student body, the president of UBC’s now 40,000-strong campus would have a much harder time.

The student-presidential connection is one that has been aided by social media in recent years. Within 24 hours of the announcement that Dr. Santa Ono would be taking over as UBC’s president in August, he had Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts where students could contact him.

Despite this, when looked at with a wider lens, the president is an impersonal figure to most members of the university community.

“The president is sometimes a very distant figure. So students aren’t necessarily dealing with the president — they’re dealing with various administrators at a lower level,” said Sheldon Goldfarb, AMS archivist.

BIGGEST CONTROVERSIES

However, as distant as UBC’s president may seem from everyday student life, in times of conflict and controversy they are central as the bridge between the university and the wider community. Whether the issue of the day is a battle for funds with the provincial government or students protesting their lack of representation in university governance — the president has been fundamental.

This is evidenced in UBC’s latest presidential scandal — the abrupt and debated resignation of President Arvind Gupta. Gupta was hired in hopes that his entrepreneurial experience and unique background would allow UBC to grow more than a more academically-based hire would allow. Instead, a little more than a year later Gupta resigned and the university was embroiled in a crisis that led to the intense scrutiny of the system of governance and academic freedom more generally.

| FEATURES | 7

Arvind Gupta’s resignation wasn’t necessarily the biggest controversy to ever embroil the university. As Wodarczak argued to The Ubyssey, that occurred in the 1930’s.

In the 1930s, the university’s budget was cut progressively deeper until 1932 when the entire university’s budget was $250,000. While that amount was still substantial (about $4 million in today’s dollars, accounting for inflation), it was not enough for a post-secondary institution with a student body that numbered several thousand, with numerous budding major research programs. The distribution of those limited funds left Klink, who was a former dean of agriculture, with accusations of favouritism with some arguing he was biased towards his own field.

In 1932 both the Alumni Association and the Board of Governors gave a vote of no-confidence in the president. After a government enquiry, Klink was overall vindicated.

Unity was brought back to UBC when another government commission was launched to look into the university. That commission recommended that UBC shut its doors, and the money saved be used to provide students bursaries to study in other Canadian universities.

“That was probably the best time for that to happen to the university because ... it unified the whole community against that proposal and against the government and it brought everybody back together,” said Wodarczak.

Klink remained as president until 1944.

Not all of UBC’s other presidential controversies ended with the president staying on. Two presidents in the 1960s firmly resigned in relatively quick succession. Goldfarb noted that presidents Macdonald and F. Kenneth Hare left prematurely because of problems dealing with student activism in the 1960s.

Before the 1960s there were was next to no student representation on academic bodies such as Senate, business affairs such as the Board of Governors or student input in the evaluation of teachers. Students created teaching evaluations and pushed for a voice on campus.

“Students were for the first time saying, ‘In a democracy, majority rules — we should run the university,’” said Goldfarb. “Well, some of them — I mean the radicals.”

Both Macdonald and Hare were sympathetic towards students, but found it difficult to handle the pressure that they were facing from all sides.

For example, shortly after Macdonald’s appointment, calls were being made for more funding for the university. The students were (unsurprisingly) very supportive and launched what was known as a Third Great Trek — marching around campus holding up signs saying “Back Mac.” Given their new president’s commitment to raising more funds, Goldfarb noted that students quickly felt quite close to him, despite the fact that he was quite new and students didn’t really know him. Students saw him as so properly representative of them and their concerns that they asked him to come speak at their rally — alarming Macdonald.

“The students thought, ‘Hey, we’re going to support you — don’t you love that?’ and he’s like, ‘Don’t get too wild here,’” said Goldfarb.

While Macdonald made it through a five-year term (which was considered very short at the time), Hare quit after less than a year, saying he wasn’t cut out to be a university president.

UBC moves into its 15th presidency with a history of complex and diverse leaders. Its presidents have led us both into and out of troubled times as over the years, they fought through complete lack of support from the provincial government, student uprisings and two world wars. As we move out of another controversial time, UBC moves forward once more. U

8 | culture |

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

THEATRE //

The Merry Wives of Windsor is hilarious Sam Du Bois Culture Editor

On June 24, Bard on the Beach debuted its second production of the season, an amazingly entertaining version of The Merry Wives of Windsor that kept the audience in hysterics throughout the entire show.

Shifted from its usual British setting, this play has been set in 1968 Windsor, Ontario. The stage is an old bar, complete with taxidermy heads and a spot for open mic performances with the band.

Speaking of which, there is a band, complete with a guitarist who looks like he just finished touring with the Grateful Dead and a drummer who channels his inner Brando like a champ. This band is no gimmicky, single-gag band, but rather a key component to the show. The play opens with the cast all performing a rendition of “These Boots Were Made For Walking” during which you could practically hear those in the audience who had not read the program going, “Wait, this is a musical?”

Yes, not only is this rendition modernized, it is also full of catchy, thoroughly dated songs that come complete with a disco ball. It makes for a fantastically fun and lively experience from start to finish, without feeling totally out of place.

In fact, the songs are even used to help progress plot and they provide a nice accompaniment to the dialogue.

Bard on the Beach’s production brings the play into 1968 Windsor Ontario to great effect

There is an unbridled madness to everything that happens, with actors going for full ridiculousness.

Andrew Chown, who played Doctor Caius, reached newfound levels of absurd hilarity with his moustache, lime-green corduroysuit, flamboyantly combed hair and a raised eyebrow that could cut through stone.

Yet all of this still felt thoroughly Shakespearian, with actors such as Ashley Wright as Sir John Falstaff taking the centre stage as a bumbling, would-be womanizer

who filled every scene he was in with a crisp, reverential delivery of his lines and great physicality. But he was amongst a cast of talents all of whom had their moments to really shine. It was also quite impressive to watch actors regularly switch between acting, singing and playing instruments throughout the show, entirely without flaw.

It was a remarkably well executed play with impressively thought out and detailed physical comedy that showed a willingness to bring fresh ideas of humour to

PHOTO COURTESY DAVID BLUE

the play as opposed to just relying on Shakespeare’s words to bring their own levity. It made the play feel rich and inspired. The audience was carried swiftly from start to finish with unending, unrelenting laughter and not a trace of boredom.

The show was well worth its standing ovation and all were sorry to see it come to its close. U The Merry Wives of Windsor will be running till September 24. Tickets available online at bardonthebeach.org

Wave III is coming to Koerner’s Pub

Sunwave offers deep techno music in a beautiful garden aesthetic.

Sunwave is an annual series of openair parties at Koerner’s Pub featuring an impressive lineup of 32 local house and techno DJs this summer.

Attendees have the opportunity to experience lush deep house, bouncy melodies, and the accelerating textures of techno, amplified by Koerners’ beautiful garden aesthetic and an immersive array of speakers and lights.

The atmosphere of the space that a DJ performs in drastically alters the listener’s experience of the music being mixed. Koerner’s has a two-level outdoor tiled

Midsummer Night’s Dream is stunning Olivia Law Features Editor

NIGHTLIFE //

Luc Briede-Cooper Contributor

OPERA //

patio with picnic tables lined up above stairs leading to the main dance floor and small stage. The warm evening sun peaks through the canopy of surrounding trees that rise up countless meters behind the dance floor and by sunset the stars are visible above. In this space, the music is entrancing but it still accommodates casual conversation by strategically having speakers placed both in the lower and upper patio floors Sunwave lets dancers freely drift between losing themselves in a groove and befriending others while enjoying drinks served in Koerners’ staple hipster mason jars.

PHOTO COURTESY ED NG PHOTOGRAPHY

On rainy days, the DJs are moved inside, which somewhat diminishes the appeal of the event but nonetheless the DJs and the dancers don’t stop until the pub closes at 1 a.m. The lower attendance on rainy days might even make it feel more intimate.

The current crowd of Sunwave enthusiasts includes members of Vancouver’s underground electronic music community, many past students, a few wanderers from Wreck beach and some outof-town visitors but not as many current students as one might expect.

Roughly one tenth of the approximately 200 attendees at the

sunny Wave I and one tenth of the 50 attendees at the rainy Wave II were current students. This is expected to change since the organizers noted that student groups such as the UBC Electronic Dance Music Club are reaching out to the organizers of Sunwave.

For UBC students, Sunwave is a unique chance to interact with Vancouver’s underground house and techno community on our home turf.

The location is ideal for students living in residence and it appeals to people interested in parties off the beaten path of pop-EDM and top 40 remixes.

So far, Waves I and II proved Sunwave to be a fun, unique series of events that delivers exciting house and techno music from professional local DJs in a beautiful — but weather-dependent — location tucked away on campus.

The organizer of Sunwave is DJ K.A.S.H. who is performing at several of the shows alongside Rennie Foster, Jay Tripwire, Joel West, Howl Sound, Iain Howe, Myte, Oliver Nickels and more.

Coming on Saturday, July 2, the third of the six bi-weekly events, Wave III, will be bringing Vancouverites to the far corner of UBC. Sunwave is summarized on its website as: “electronic music + sun = waves of pleasure.” U You can view the line up for Waves III through VI at sunwavebc. com and can watch a live stream of the events at deradio.ca.

The year was 1960. Elvis Presley returned to Hollywood for the first time since coming home from Germany to film G.I. Blues.

The Beatles played their first ever tour as backup for Johnny Gentle on a tour of Scotland. Édith Piaf’s recording of “Non, je ne regrette rien” is released in France. Benjamin Britten wrote his opera libretto A Midsummer Night’s Dream with his partner Peter Pears.

A challenging opera to say the least, Britten’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s play features Oberon, the fairy king — played in UBC Opera’s production by Darin Grant as a regal countertenor, Titania (Tamar Simon), Puck (Justin Chen) — a non-singing role — and the mechanicals (Scott Brooks, Stephen Duncan, Kurt Haunsperger, Liam Robertson, Kevin Ching Guiman and Brandon Shapiro), a mismatched collection of performers.

UBC Opera’s production was a stunning affair, featuring a beautiful forest backdrop painted by students from the University of Montana. The rest of the set — a series of floral-adorned trees and branches — were constructed by the performers themselves.

Stylistically of Britten, the sound-world is not strikingly dissonant, but full of subtle atmospheric harmonies and tone painting. Unusually, the lead male role of Oberon is composed for a countertenor voice, played ethereally by Darin Grant in a tall blue wig. His aria, “I know a bank,” was a notable highlight of the production, leaving audience members in awe. Certainly, Grant was one of the standouts of the production.

The libretto was close to Shakespeare’s original text, with recognizable speeches played out in aria or chorus settings. Isabella Halladay as Helena delivered the character’s famous “spaniel” scene relentlessly pitiful, showing her acting skills were just as strong as her vocal talent.

Scott Brooks was a wonderful Bottom — a juicy, obnoxious attention-stealer in the most adorable manner. His voice was never overshadowed by his exaggerated movement, even when sporting an enormous donkey head in the second act.

Another notable mention must go to Liam Robertson as Snug the Joiner, whose timid character was hilarious in every stuttering solo line.

The production was traditional in appearance, but by no means did that mean it was boring. To the contrary, the fairy-chorus, including a cast of seven children, were nimble and ethereal in both voice and movement, and the principals were sound both vocally and in their character performances.

With such a beautiful score played by the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the performance could not fail to amuse and move its audience. U

// OPINIONS

EDITOR BAILEY RAMSAY

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

9

MENTAL HEALTH //

Ask Natalie: Mental health privacy and support Natalie Morris Staff Writer

“Dear Natalie, I was recently diagnosed with generalized anxiety order and depression. I confided in my significant other because I often have anxiety attacks and he’s become my anchor. I haven’t told anybody else because I don’t want other people to treat me differently. However, I learned he told one of our mutual friends to vent and ask for advice because it’s apparently become a strain on him to always be my emotional pillar. I don’t know what to do or whether I can confront him about it because he didn’t tell me.

I understand his good intentions, but I feel so betrayed.”

I understand how hard this must be for you. You had a personal and private conversation with your significant other and you not only expected privacy, but also asked for it. He did betray the trust that you placed in him. I also understand why you wanted to keep your diagnosis private.

However, I also understand how hard it is to be in a relationship where you feel like you have to act as an emotional pillar without one of your own.

I’m not saying what he did was

okay — because it wasn’t — but in my experience, when you have that much emotional strain in your life, you’re going to bend at some point and it’s just unfortunate that he bent the way he did.

What he should have done was talk to you, say that he needed his own emotional support and ask you if it was okay to talk to his friend. It’s hard to be someone’s significant other and their support system. Just like how you need an emotional pillar outside therapy — which I’m assuming you are in. If you are not, please consider going — so does he.

As for what to do now, you have to talk to him about this.

This is not negotiable. I know it may be awkward and you don’t think you can do it, but you have to. You must be okay with talking to your partner about issues you have. Communication is the single greatest part of a successful relationship. Tell him you know he that talked to his friend and how that made you feel. Tell him you understand his intentions, but that you did ask him not to tell anyone about it. Try to make it sound as unaccusatory as possible if you can. You want to open a dialogue — not a witch hunt.

You also have to come to terms with the fact that this breach

Anxiety and depression are easier to overcome with a strong support network.

of trust did happen and decide if you’re okay continuing in a relationship with him. I’m not telling you to break up over this, but I’m telling you to find out what your hard lines are. At what point is too much for you? If this was a hard line that was crossed, do not feel bad about leaving the relationship. A bad relationship

with no trust or communication is worse than being single.

Finally, try to not be afraid of expanding our support group.

Even if you don’t feel comfortable telling anyone about your mental well-being right now, you can always talk to your friends without mentioning it explicitly.

Everyone — even those people

ILLUSTRATION JERRY YIN/THE UBYSSEY

with “perfect” mental health — go through highs and lows, and friends should be there to help you anyway.

Best of luck. U Need advice? Contact Natalie anonymously at asknatalie@ ubyssey.ca and have your questions answered in an upcoming issue.

THE NEST//

WELL-BEING //

Mind your mind: Practicing gratitude is about noticing the small things Last Words: Tipping

Give your mental health a warm and fuzzy hug with Mind Your Mind.

Daphnee Levesque Contributer

“What are you grateful for?”

I like to ask this question and guess the answer. So let’s see, are you thinking about your friends, your family or being privileged enough to live in a war-free country?

Those are the kind of things I thought about when I initially started practicing gratitude.

Then I realized that those examples were so commonly cited at too many Thanksgiving dinners, that they eventually lost

their meaning. So without even realizing it, I started to notice the small things.

And when I say small, I mean it.

Now when someone asks me what I’m grateful for, I say that I’m grateful for cherry flavoured lip balms, drinking cold lemonade on a hot day and fuzzy socks. I say I’m grateful for hair elastics because the best way to make friends in this world — especially if you’re a girl — is to always carry an extra hair elastic around your wrist. I say I’m grateful for thick, lined sheets of paper because

ILLUSTRATION STEPHANIE WU/THE UBYSSEY

although they’re expensive, they are so worth it. They make solving math problems less frustrating because when you start to erase, they never rip apart.

Of course, I’m incredibly grateful for my friends, my family and the privilege of living in a war-free country. I’m lucky and happy to have all of those things and more. But to me, practicing gratitude is about paying attention to the small things I often take for granted. After all, it’s the little things that matter and the little moments that make life worth living in the end.

Cultivating gratitude is a vital component of every major religion on earth and seems to be accepted as a universal human value. And let’s make one thing clear — practicing gratitude is not about comparison or ruminating over people who have it worse than you. It doesn’t involve invalidating the negative parts of your life. It simply means accepting the circumstances and then actively trying to notice the positive in every situation, even the shitty ones.

Focusing on what you don’t have or reminding yourself that you’re not sick or starving might not invite a warm sense of appreciation. Instead when practicing gratitude, you’re supposed to feel good. There’s a difference between knowing and feeling, so recognizing how fortunate you are is not the same as absorbing this information.

Being grateful for a healthy mind and body is not the same as feeling relieved for not being terminally ill.

Practicing gratitude is about cherishing your life experiences, saying, “Thank you,” to the people close to you and celebrating yourself — your achievements, your qualities and even your failures. Focusing on things you appreciate in your life does not only lead to a shift in perspective, but also helps you embrace the present moment.

Among many benefits, it has been proven to increase physical health and reduce emotional suffering.

I can promise you that a daily expression of gratitude will lead you to achieve a greater state of overall happiness. U

in the Nest should be my choice

PHOTO SAM BARRINGER/THE UBYSSEY

Tipping should be a choice, not an olbigation.

Ubyssey Staff

Students who visit the Nest regularly this summer might have noticed that the food services — such as Pie R Squared, Peko Peko, Noodle Emporium and Blue Chip — have now abolished the optional tipping screen on their card readers, which used to prompt a choice between “yes” or “no.” Instead, the machines now jump to the tipping method screen of either paying in dollars or per cent. If you don’t wish to tip, you have to type in “$0.00” or “0%”.

Other food services across the UBC campus still provide the option to tip, so why should the AMS change this? The politics of tipping are highly debatable in terms of who deserves what in the service industry, but even in restaurants where you’re expected to tip, there is still the option of “yes” or “no.”

Tipping should be a choice and not an obligation imposed by a manipulative card reader screen. No doubt the food service employees in the Nest work hard, but tipping them should be my choice — not the AMS’s. U

// SPORTS+REC SOCCER //

EDITOR OLAMIDE OLANIYAN

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

10

BASEBALL//

Jesse Symons appointed as soccer head coach

Three Thunderbirds drafted by the MLB Bill Situ Staff Writer

PHOTO COURTESY WHITECAPS FC

Jesse Symons has begun his tenure as the women’s soccer head coach.

Bill Situ Staff Writer

The Thunderbird women’s soccer team has hired Jesse Symons as the new head coach, replacing Marisa Kovacs, who resigned back in March.

Symons describes the feeling of joining UBC as “a dream come true” and hopes to continue the legacy of the team. The T-Birds captured their sixth and most recent CIS National Championship title last season under Kovacs, who won it in her first and only season with the `Birds.

“It’s always been success. The players on the field have always shown a willingness to win … I’m looking forward to continuing that focus as we progress through the 2016 season,” said Symons.

Before receiving his appointment as T-Birds head coach, Symons served as the technical director and head coach of the North Shore Girl’s Soccer Club. There, he established the first Canadian franchise in the Women’s Premier Soccer League.

Prior to that, Symons had spent 10 years as head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s W-League and Girls Elite teams.

Although Symons has never coached a varsity team in the past, he is no stranger to the teams in the CIS Western Conference. During his time with the Whitecaps, Symons had encountered these teams on various occasions, which he will again be doing regularly with the `Birds.

“I have a good grasp not just knowing the coaches from all those teams very well, but the players on a lot of the teams too. I think overall there’s a very good sense of the conference,” said Symons.

The hiring process for the new head coach was a competitive one.

According to Gord Hopper — UBC Director of Athletics, Performance and Team Support — close to 20 other candidates applied for the position.

“We’re very excited to be bringing Jesse Symons on board.

He’s a strong coach and he’s got a proven track record working with female athletes,” said Hopper.

Hopper believes that on top of Symons’ extensive coaching experience, his connections with various players and coaches in the soccer community will be especially beneficial when it comes to recruiting student-athletes to the university. “[Symons] has a very positive reputation in the community, so that should open the door with keeping the absolute best elements here in Canada,” said Hopper.

The new coach is also a familiar face for a number of the current players on the women’s soccer team.

Some of them have won national championships for the BC Provincial U-18 team with Symons as head coach.

Symons will be putting his skills to the test when the T-Birds’ regular season kicks off in September. U

After their successes in the 2016 baseball season, Thunderbirds Alex Webb, Curtis Taylor and Bruce Yari have been drafted by Major League Baseball (MLB) teams.

Taylor was the first of the three to be drafted, landing with the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round. The third-year pitcher’s selection into the MLB was the second highest of any player in UBC history. The highest was UBC Baseball legend Jeff Francis who was ninth pick overall in 2002.

“It’s been the best experience in my life by far … The day was crazy and it was the happiest I’ve ever been,” said Taylor.

On the same day that Taylor received news of his draft, fellow pitcher Webb received his entry to the Cincinnati Reds as a ninthround pick. It wasn’t long before Yari found out he would be joining his UBC teammate with the Reds.

“I was hoping this year that I would get drafted in the top ten rounds and I was able to do that, so I’m pretty happy with where I ended up,” said Webb, who is a right-handed pitcher for the `Birds.

Yari and Webb got their first taste of professional baseball at training camp with the Arizona League Reds — a minor league

Alex Webb, Curtis Taylor and Bruce Yari have received drafts by Major League Baseball.

affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.

Having spent their varsity careers in temperate Vancouver, both have had to adjust to the dry desert heat of the region. Taylor is yet to find out which team he will be practicing with at this time.

As Webb, Taylor and Yari move on to their professional careers, it would come time for them to bid farewell with the T-Birds. They all agreed that playing for UBC was an unforgettable experience.

“I’m just really thankful for my teammates and my coaching staff for everything they’ve done for me to get me from an average high

school player into a pro player. It was the time of my life. I’m going to cherish it forever,” said Webb.

For Webb — who completed his four-year eligibility at the end of the 2015-16 season — his draft into the Reds was the second one that he had received. Webb’s previous MLB draft came the year before with the San Diego Padres, but he declined it to play his senior year at UBC. Taylor and Yari have another year of eligibility remaining with the T-Birds.

“Choosing to go to UBC was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life … but I’m

GRAPHIC SAM BARRINGER AND UBC ATHLETICS

very excited to get to move with the new chapter started in my career,” said Yari, who averaged .400 all season.

As the players part ways with the T-Birds, they hope that their varsity team will be able succeed without them. Webb and Taylor combined for some exceptional pitching performance the entire season, averaging ERAs of 1.38 and 1.96 respectively.

“I feel like the coaching staff and the incoming pitchers and the guys that are still there will do a more than adequate job to fill our shoes,” said Taylor. U

TRACK AND FIELD //

Primeau’s T-Birds shine at NAIA Championships

Second year Arts student John Gay won the 3,000 metre steeplechase.

Julia Wong Contributor

Marek Jedrzejek was the legendary head coach of the UBC Track and Field team since 2001 and had much success in his role. Last year, Laurier Primeau — who served as assistant coach for the Thunderbirds from 2001-2009 — was asked to return as head coach following Jedrzejek’s retirement.

“I didn’t recruit this team,” said Primeau. “To be fair, a lot of these athletes wouldn’t have asked for me as their head coach. Some people really enjoyed their time under Marek’s program, but he retired and they were stuck with me.”

This season, Primeau built a program with emphasis on injury prevention, along with making changes to the staffing on the team.

“Instead of trying to fix athletes when they’re broken, we put therapy track-side and introduce warm-ups to the team that enhance mechanics,” said Primeau.

The program has proved successful for athletes like Natalia Hawthorn, whose performance has been up and down with injuries during her time at UBC. Hawthorn led the women’s 4x800 relay team to victory at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Championships (NAIA) in Gulf Shore, Alabama this season.

“One of our girls, Kirsten Lee, got a muscle rupture in her foot and was unable to run the relay.

So one of our alternates, Camille Van Tassel, stepped up to run the heat and ran the finals with us,” said Hawthorn. “We were coming up to it as underdogs, because

PHOTO COURTESY UBC ATHLETICS

we lost a lot of our girls from last year’s team, but we ended up finishing second, which was a really awesome surprise.”

“I was really happy with the success of the team in Alabama under some fairly challenging conditions,” said Primeau. “We arrived the night before the first day of competitions, and we needed to get [accustomed] to humidity, the time zone, travel fatigue and jet lag.”

“The biggest thing is the humidity — it’s pretty close to a hundred percent humidity on most days. Coming from the West Coast of Canada, it’s a real shock to the system. But a lot of those issues were remedied by the coaches, and they brought me into this race prepared,” said John Gay, who finished his second season with the Thunderbirds and took first place

in the 3,000 metre steeplechase final.

“It was definitely a real change in the coaching style, as Merrick was both the head coach and the endurance coach, so he fulfilled both those roles. But I saw a lot of improvement with Laurier at the helm with Chris Johnson and Norm Tinkham guiding the distance athletes. It’s been successful for a lot of people,” said Gay. “Organizationally, Laurier is incredibly talented, and his strengths really lie in coordinating the team and ensuring training and travel times work together to elicit the best performance from the team. He sets the bar quite high, which develops a culture of excellence that he wants to build here,” said Gay. This year’s NAIA showed surprising performances from athletes far surpassing their rankings— Enid Au finished fourth of a projected 17th place in the 5,000 metre finals, and Bogdan Pavel finishd seventh in the 110 metre hurdles final, of a projected 21st.

The upcoming track season will see the return of many of this season’s athletes, as well as an addition of 39 freshmen.

“We will continue to excel in our performance, especially in the next two or three years — once the freshmen become third-year students, we’ll really see them shine,” said Primeau.

“This place feels like home, and I’m in it for the long term,” he said.

“I’ve really enjoyed my experience, and hope that the athletes feel the same way that I do.” U

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

| SPORTS+REC | 11

RECREATION //

Places to be: Canoeing adventures on Indian Arm Claire Lloyd Contributor

Our fleet totalled six boats. We were advancing on open water. Deep Cove was behind us. The sun was pitiless. There was steep forested rock on both sides of the wide channel. This was Indian Arm, a fjord less than an hour’s drive from UBC. We were canoeing across this expanse of water, camping cargo stored in our boats. We had stopped to take a break, drifting, and one of the guys in our group started yelling. He was screaming words like “incredible” and “awesome” and “amazing.” He was pretty loud, but his voice didn’t reach far. He encouraged us, too, to find adjectives for the landscape. I tried to think of one for a while, but ended up saying nothing.

“Beautiful” just didn’t cut it.

Several kilometers north we heard a waterfall. We stopped there, at Silver Falls, to explore.

We could hardly hear each other over the falls. After tying our boats to protruding branches and rocks, we walked barefoot on wet stones to a log that had fallen over the plunge pool.

We didn’t stay long. Soon we were back on the water, heading to our first and furthest campsite: Granite Falls, almost 17 kilometers

from Deep Cove. We set up our tents — temporary waterfront property — and climbed up Granite Falls in the evening. There’s a rock staircase to the immediate right of the waterfall, where you can hike up high and sit with the sound of the water.

From Granite Falls, we canoed South to Bishop Creek for our next stay, and further, the next day, to Twin Islands. Soon after our departure on the third day, the Buntzen No. 2 power plant rose on our left. This structure is about a hundred years old, is remote controlled from Burnaby, and is still functional, apparently.

Windows boarded, green walls — it doesn’t look like anybody works there — and I can see why. It’s truly intimidating, especially from the water.

There are signs everywhere warning people not to approach the power plant. So of course, we docked there for a while (arrest me now). Some post-trip Googling tells me the currents released from the plant can be dangerous. I’m not sure why there’s a dock there.

Twin Islands was not far from the plant. It is the closest campsite to Deep Cove, and this must be what makes it popular. This, and that it’s heavily wooded. There were probably forty people there on the night we camped. Less cozy than

PHOTO COURTESY BARRY SKLLIN

“Beautiful” just doesn’t cut it.

crowded. Beware the outhouses.

I was brushing my teeth that night when our camp leader, Barry, called us down to the dock. It was dark and the water was black.

Stars and the distant glow of Deep Cove barely lit our way. Barry was kneeling next to the water. We crouched by him. He put his hand in the water and stirred it around.

The water lit up — blue and

glowing and luminescent before petering out into black. Barry stuck a paddle in the water and we saw this momentary phosphorescence again. This was some Life of Pi stuff.

In the morning, we loaded the canoes for the last time and set out for Deep Cove.

I would say we took the scenic route back, but pretty much any route is the scenic route on Indian

Arm. We paddled by Racoon Island and around Jug Island, becoming well acquainted with the wildlife of the area. A seal, baking on a bed of barnacles. Starfish on rock walls.

Sea gulls.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time or resources left to visit everything along Indian Arm. I’m kind of glad, though — it gives me an excuse to go back. U

UNDER THEIR FEATHERS //

Tera Van Beilen talks her career, the Olympics and retirement

PHOTO JEREMY JOHNSON-SILVERS/THE UBYSSEY

Tera is currently finishing up her kinesiology degree and hopes to hit the pool again sometime soon for a bit of swimming.

Madison McCord Contributor

A young girl walks across the deck of a pool in Oakville, Ontario. She’s eight years old, in that chubby phase every kid goes through, swimming her first novice swim practice ever without any goggles.

When she finishes, the first thing she says to her mum, after asking to get some goggles, is when the next swim practice is. All it took was one swim practice to get her hooked, and she hasn’t looked back since.

Tera Van Beilen is an unbreakable force in the pool. In

a solid 15-year career, she’s made waves in the world of competitive swimming. She has been a part of four CIS championship teams with the UBC Thunderbirds, participated in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010 and won a pair of silvers at the 2011 and 2013 Universiades. Most notably, she qualified for her first Olympic Games in 2012 in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events.

But after 15 years of furious training and competing, Van Beilen has decided to hang up her suit and goggles, and retire from competitive swimming after

missing the qualifying standard for the Rio 2016 Olympic games.

This can be a heavy hit for most athletes, but Tera was smiling and positive when she spoke to us.

“I’m a little shocked to be going through as much joy as I am now. I love the sport so much, and I will miss it … Swimming teaches you how to deal with these situations and making the best of what comes about and I think that’s been really important in this transition phase,” Van Beilen said.

This was not an easy decision either. After devoting years of her life to this sport, she reflects on her career and has no regrets.

“I didn’t want to go into Olympic Trials thinking ‘If I don’t make the Olympics, life is over’. I wanted to go in with confidence that I could potentially make it, and at the end of the day I actually swam the fastest that I ever had in four years and I have no regrets about the way I swam and the training and the last year. It’s just the other girls were faster.”

Van Beilen isn’t unfamiliar with this change in dynamics and “passing the torch”. When she qualified for the Olympics back in 2012, she beat out reigning Canadian champion and record holder Annamay Pierse for the gold medal and the elusive spot on the Canadian team.

“Making the Olympics was something that I actually didn’t think I would realistically do in 2012, I thought it would be more of a 2016 goal and ended up doing it. In the moment after touching the wall, it was still something that was so surreal. Now, looking back on it, I will forever be an Olympian.”

You could argue that she owes a bit of her success to the time that she’s spent in Vancouver, especially at UBC. Despite receiving offers for full-ride scholarships from many American colleges, Van Beilen made the “hardest choice of her life.” She decided to attend UBC to pursue her Olympic dreams.

“The head coach of the Vancouver [High Performance] Centre flew to my house for dinner, and told me everything about UBC, and I was like it’s a no-brainer. I need to come to this

school. I would be training with Joseph Nagy, who’s one of the best breaststroke coaches in the world, and putting myself in a tough environment where most of the members of the team had qualified for international competitions, all while earning a degree. Really, there’s no other choice that seemed as perfect as UBC,” said Van Beilen.

After five years of gruelling high-performance training — including 10 two-hour swim practices a week alongside five hours of dryland training and balancing full-time schooling — Van Beilen feels blessed to have had this opportunity.

“I came [to UBC] because I wanted to make the Olympic team, that was my dream since I was a little kid. So I said whatever is going to get me there, I’m going to do. To get a degree at the same time too? It was tough, but I’m glad it did it,” Van Beilen said.

As she heads into her final months at UBC, Van Beilen is finishing up her kinesiology degree and hopes to hit the pool again sometime soon. More importantly, she’s looking towards the future with bright eyes, a positive attitude and some valuable life lessons under her wings.

“There are flips and flops in swimming, and that’s what is so exciting. You win and you lose. Here I am now, happy and excited,” said Van Beilen.

Who knows what’s next for this Olympian, but we’re sure it won’t be the last we see of Tera Van Beilen. U

12 | GAMES AND COMICs |

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016

COURTESY BESTCROSSWORDS.COM COURTESY BESTCROSSWORDS.COM

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1- Lasso; 6- Kind of radio; 10- Take a breather; 14- Preminger et al.; 15- Part of TLC; 16- Canyon comeback; 17- Tiny particles; 18- Amazes; 19- ... ___ saw Elba; 20- Time being; 21- Terrible; 23- Cool ___ cucumber; 25- Exploit; 26- Med. school subj.; 29- File; 32- Teases; 37- Not neg.; 38- Bach’s “___, Joy of Man’s Desiring”; 39- Papal ambassador; 40- In spite of; 43- Infuriate; 44- Bumpkin; 45- Hosp. readout; 46- For ___ (cheap); 47- Rolling in dough; 48- Ask for divine guidance; 49- Chou En-___; 51- Lennon’s mate; 53- 12th month of the year; 58- Lubricated; 62- Icicle site; 63- Some;

64- Ridiculous; 65- Watched intently; 66- Muscle quality; 67- Rock; 68- Fail to win; 69- Supermodel Sastre; 70- Curved letters; DOWN 1- Speckled steed; 2- Sock ___ me!; 3- Like ___ of bricks; 4- Male domestic feline; 5- Beasts of burden; 6- Mil. school; 7- Bryn ___ College; 8- Make available; 9- Flat-topped hills; 10- Coral habitat; 11- Sandy hue; 12- Cartoonist Silverstein; 13- French pronoun; 22- Expose as being false; 24- Narrow mountain ridge; 26- Sleep disorder; 27- High times?; 28- Minute Maid Park player; 30- Tree used to make baseball bats; 31- Japanese dish; 33- Not to mention; 34- More frigid; 35- Fungal infection; 36- Soaked; 38- Move up and down; 39- Tortilla topped with cheese;

COURTESY KRAZYDAD.COM

41- Pallid; 42- Personal quirk; 47- Typewriter tape; 48- Indicates a direction; 50- Stradivari’s teacher; 52- Din; 53- Belafonte bellow; 54- Nights before; 55- Yield; 56- Mozart’s “___ kleine Nachtmusik”; 57- Hwys.; 59- Asian country; 60- Feminizing suffix; 61- Poor grades; 62- Long fish;

COURTESY KRAZYDAD.COM