October 18, 2016

OCTOBER 18, 2016 | VOLUME XCVIII | ISSUE XII DYING OF THE PLAGUE SINCE 1918

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NEWS

CULTURE

OPINION

SCIENCE

SPORTS

There may be a solution to high textbook costs

VIFF reviews: puppies, growing up and poetry

Making friends is easier in Cape Town

Shrooms 101: An intro to psychedelics

The future looks bright for the UBC wrestling club

THE UBYSSEY

AXED

AMS cuts three managerial positions as part of “restructuring,” removes over 24 years of experience.

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OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE

EVENTS

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OUR CAMPUS

CVC President David Tolentino is a kick-ass late bloomer WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 19 BEYOND THE PAPER 5 P.M. @ UBYSSEY OFFICE Tony West Li, a former Ubyssey webmaster is coming to talk about his work at The New York Times.

FREE

THURSDAY OCTOBER 20 RETHINK THE POLICY 12:30 P.M. @ IKB

Come learn more about the sexual assault policy at UBC from another expert perspective.

FREE

David Tolentino, self-professed “grown-ass kid” and CVC president.

Leo Soh Our Campus Coordinator

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 8 US ELECTION NIGHT 9 P.M. @ THE RIO THEATRE

It’s Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump in the Ultimate Showcase Showdown: The 2016 US Presidential Election.

FREE

ON THE COVER ART BY Aiken Lao

Want to see your events listed here?

Email your event listings to printeditor@ubyssey.ca

U THE UBYSSEY

EDITORIAL

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OCTOBER 18, 2016 | VOLUME XCVIII| ISSUE XII

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If you saw the Chinese Varsity Club’s (CVC) enormous entourage of executives on Imagine Day, you may have wondered, “Who’s in charge of all that?” The answer: David Tolentino, self-professed “grown-ass kid” and CVC president.

It’s not hard to see what makes Tolentino a great leader.

His unassuming demeanour and loving personality create a paternal vibe which puts those in his presence at ease. But to be fair, his father-like aura may be a product of more than just his personality — at age 26, Tolentino is much older than your average UBC undergraduate.

“I really did take my time with my journey to UBC. What my family really brought us to Canada for was a higher education and the better opportunities in life, and that was my driving force, even though it took me a while to get here,” said Tolentino.

Tolentino started at Langara College, where he “hopped between programs” trying to find his academic passion. In 2013, five years after graduating from high school, Tolentino made the jump to UBC, where he enrolled as a sociology transfer student.

“I never took more than three courses at a time and paid my way through school through work and coaching, so it was a slow process.

But I feel like getting into UBC was the prime time for me to get here. I don’t think I would have been able to handle UBC at 17, 18 or 19. I don’t think I would have been able to face [the troubles of

university] at a younger age,” he said.

In 2013, like any student coming to UBC for the first time, Tolentino was looking for a community to join on campus. While he was torn between the Greek system and CVC at first, one experience with CVC clinched his loyalty and involvement. “[CVC] had their dance and we were all drinking, having a great time, but then one girl just completely got drunk. I ended up taking care of her, and two CVC executives, I had no idea who they were, came over and helped me with her the whole night — complete strangers helping two complete strangers take care of someone. That was the defining experience that made me feel this is something I want to be a part of [and] something that I recognize with.”

According to Tolentino, CVC is much more than just the parties and ski trip that non-members have come to recognize the club for. In fact, the sense of community is so strong, the exec body refer to themselves as a “family.”

“Those events come together to create that party atmosphere, and get people to dig to see what else CVC has to offer. You develop stronger relationships through that and that’s when they discover [that there’s] more to CVC.” With 11 different departments, Tolentino believes that CVC has something to offer everyone.

However, he recognizes that with such a large established community of club executives, 89 in total, it can be daunting for non-executives to get involved.

He said, “Yes, [members] party, drink, play sports, but what else

PHOTO JOSH MEDICOFF/THE UBYSSEY

can we do on top of that? This year, our focus as a senior team was obviously to enhance that experience for each other, but also try to increase that area where we can accept more people into the club, regardless of their title.”

Tolentino hopes that by getting more members involved, he can create a stronger support system for executives and members alike.

In fact, Tolentino says he could have ended up in a far darker place if not for CVC. “[In my first year with CVC], I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing because I wanted to get into business but not sociology, which was like a second thought.

That was when I doubted my age, what I was doing, everything that I was involved with. I wanted to drop out of school. Bouncing back from that, [I reached] out to my support system, CVC, [and] they really pushed me [saying], ‘You’ve already come this far — why quit?’

That support and love pushed me through.”

Finally, after eight years in postsecondary education, Tolentino is in his graduating year. What he’s learned during his time at UBC is not only that he has what it takes to succeed, but above all, he loves to help others succeed.

“With graduation, especially with an arts degree, it’s really how I sell myself to anything that I want to apply myself to. Ultimately, I think working as an RA, being CVC president, making the connections I’ve made have really shown me that and put me at ease. [In my career] I want to be able to help people because I feel that that’s my strength and I want to thrive in that because I do enjoy it very much.” U

NEWS STUDENT FINANCES //

External review leads to creation of new campus security position

PHOTO JOSH MEDICOFF/THE UBYSSEY

Open educational resources may help students with textbook costs “Students are just not purchasing their textbooks because of the costs of them,” said Erin Fields, flexible learning coordinator at the UBC Library. “If it’s a choice between being able to live and to have food, or spending thousands of dollars on textbooks for one term, the choice becomes really a simple one for a student to make.”

The financial burden placed on students is nothing new. Living expenses, tuition and textbooks all contribute to students’ concerns about being able to afford their education. When the bills pile up, required readings can seem like an optional expense.

“There’s no way that this escalation of prices, especially on academic sources, journals and resources, can increase,” said Jenna Omassi, former AMS VP Academic in an interview with The Ubyssey near the end of her term. “At a certain point, everyone’s going to have to say no or find something else to rely on and that something else could be and should be open.”

The “something else” that Omassi is referring to are open educational resources (OERs) — educational tools that use a creative commons licensing approach in order for the content to be remixed and republished to suit the unique needs of a course.

This creative commons license allows for a free distribution of otherwise copyrighted work.

Some faculty at UBC have been trying to alleviate financial pressures on students by leveraging technologies to help make learning more flexible. According to Loch Brown, a geography professor, open educational resources and open textbooks are a very easy way to do this.

For Brown, utilizing open educational resources was a no-brainer when it came time to update some of the courses in the geography department.

“We were building a lot of interesting course materials and educational resources, and we decided quite early on that we would just share these with everybody,” said Brown.

Brown has made the resources available through open.geog.ubc. ca. The geography department also currently offers three different open education textbooks, which can solve the costly problem of publishers frequently printing new editions.

“With open textbooks, you have the ability to use a textbook that doesn’t cost the students money, but also has the ability for the

3

CAREER //

Textbook costs have left many students in a tough spot.

Julia Burnham Staff Writer

OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITORS SRUTHI TADEPALLI + SAMANTHA MCCABE

instructor to take it, modify it and use it outside of the course. You’re not bound by a new edition coming out and students now having to pay for it,” said Fields.

However, it’s easier said than done for open textbooks to completely replace physical copies for a number of reasons.

“Textbook companies do a really good job of packaging a book itself for automatic use,” said Fields. “The decision then to look outside of those resources is harder to make for people because they are getting something delivered directly to them.”

Issues can arise because many professors aren’t equipped with the tools or knowledge to make their textbooks accessible openly.

“It’s not easy because you have to make the infrastructure to put things online,” said Christina Hendricks, an open education fellow and philosophy professor. “I think there are people who would be willing to [make their textbooks open], they just don’t have the time or the knowledge of how to do it.”

According to Brown, another large setback for the open movement lies in the mindset of fellow faculty members.

“The whole incentive system that’s set up kind of encourages faculty to hold onto their intellectual property and their courses as well. They don’t share their courses with the world — they guard them. I think we need to shift our mindset around that,” said Brown.

“If they write an open textbook, they’re not going to get recognition for it. If they write a published textbook with a publisher, they get a lot of recognition for it. When they’re putting together their files for promotion, it makes a big difference.”

Despite these obstacles, various groups are working hard to keep the open education movement moving forward. Fields credits the student advocacy of AMS groups and their campaigns around the major drive currently seen in the movement.

Although discussions on open education started happening on campus last year, the complete transition will be a long time coming. Omassi estimates it will be a generational shift and won’t be realized approximately 40 years from now, but she’s hopeful that it can be accomplished sooner.

“Thinking about the tiny move in one year is actually really great.

People are talking about it,” said Omassi. “And that’s how we have to keep going … so that we can make open a little bit better known and change the culture surrounding academic publishing.” U

PHOTO CILLIAN DAVENPORT/THE UBYSSEY

UBC hopes that someone will fill the position in early 2017.

Michael Choi Contributor

Following an external review of UBC’s Campus Security released earlier this year, UBC will be creating a new position — Head of Profession of Campus Security. The position is expected to be filled in early 2017.

The external review published this summer acknowledged that senior leaders in UBC departments are skilled and able to contribute to board safety and security aims, but noted a lack of leadership.

“On the Vancouver campus there is a lack of leadership in bringing those skills and abilities together for the common good of community safety,’’ read the Campus Security External Review.

In order to help fix this, the review recommended the appointment of a Head of Profession to not only connect the various existing safety resources on campus in a more effective way, but also “take personal responsibility for managing the University’s relationship with senior stakeholders, in all matters related to community safety.”

“Charge the Head of Profession

with bringing together and leveraging the resources and goodwill of stakeholders in all matters related to community safety and security,’’ said recommendation 13 of the external review.

The hiring committee for the new position will include VP Students Louise Cowin, Debbie Harvie — the managing director of university community services, Managing Director of Student Development and Services Janet Teasdale, UBC law professor Ben Goold and a member of the original external review committee.

“What we’re looking for ideally is someone who not only has that background in security but also comes with very finely tuned emotional intelligence,’’ said Cowin. “[Someone who sees] security is not about locks and keys and kind of hardcore policing, but ... [as] much more of a community policing-type model.’’

“This person has to be a compelling leader who can also engage the entire community in terms of helping direct a vision for how we all can engage in creating the community that we want to study,

work, live and play in,’’ she said.

“The way in which that position has been carried out over the last little while has been much more just operational,” said Cowin. “So it’s a new focus.” She went on to say that the new position will interact with students by soliciting students’ input on campus security issues, creating opportunities for discussion between students and administration, and encourage safe practices among the entire UBC community.

At this point it is uncertain exactly what the administrative structure below the new position will be — and much of that structure will be left up to the person hired to create — but the position will report directly to the executive.

“Right now is we’re figuring out the structure underneath this person,’’ said Cowin. “But really, we don’t want to pre-empt the decisions that the new person is going to make.

So we want to hire a leader who has the strengths and the relevance of background to be able to create that structure.’’

However, Cowin said that through this position, the university will be soliciting much more student opinion.

“We’ll be creating tables around which students will also have membership to discuss and reflect on safety on the campus and so I think that this is a new tone,’’ she said.

“The creation of a safe community is something that we all have responsibility for and I think that’s very much the active message that this person is going to be a very visible leader in articulating,’’ said Cowin. U

4 | news | TUESDAY OCTOBER 18, 2016

AXED

The AMS cut three managerial positions as part of a “restructuring,” removing over 24 years of experience. Why? WORDS JACK HAUEN & SAMANTHA MCCABE

I

n early September, three managerial positions were removed as part of an operational restructuring that cut more than 24 years of AMS experience, including the position most closely responsible for overseeing executive actions. Since then, multiple people have reached out to The Ubyssey to voice their concerns, both anonymously and on-record.

Three people no longer work as staff within the AMS — Daniel Levangie, former senior student services manager; Anna Hilliar, former programming and events manager; and Tessie Sy, an assistant manager in the conference and catering department. “[There] was a necessity for some restructuring of our organizational chart and reporting structure,” said AMS President Ava Nasiri on the reasoning behind the restructuring.

She did not elaborate on the specific changes that this year’s executive felt needed to be made after the original restructuring, but did note that they were not influenced by performance or financial need. However, as part of the original restructuring, Levangie’s role was tweaked — Nasiri noted that if his new position was “not working out,” the executives would not be “completely opposed to potentially changing that in the future.”

This restructuring was the second of two, the first of which took effect in mid-April. Previous to that, a restructuring within the AMS had not been done since 1994.

The first took place as a result of more than two years of planning and an external governance review conducted by the consulting firm MNP.

ONE PHASE OR TWO? One of the core recommendations of MNP’s report focused on aligning the AMS’s business and governance operations to create a greater coherence of the student society as a whole. The last two presidents had different ideas of how that recommendation would be implemented.

“Early on this year, we decided not to do all of the restructuring in one go, but rather to break it off into phases in order to allow us to … make the most wellthought out decisions as we could — but also in order to maintain a stability within our organizational structure,” said Nasiri.

But Aaron Bailey, last year’s AMS president, said that to his understanding, the plan was to complete the restructuring entirely in one phase during his tenure as executive — the year that Nasiri served as VP Administration.

“We opted to restructure in one step to avoid prolonging the process and creating additional instability within the organization,” he said in a written statement.

“The intended structure was to have a managing director, with a senior manager business operations and senior manager student services reporting to them, as outlined in the MNP governance review report,” said Bailey.

Instead, the senior manager of student services — Daniel Levangie’s former position — was cut, in the biggest change in overall AMS reporting structure from the secondary restructuring.

The communications and events departments, both of which reported to Levangie, will be combined over the next two months and now report to Keith Hester, the AMS’s managing director.

“I don’t think Aaron [Bailey] and ... the team at that time had enough foresight to be able to say like ‘this is the be-all and end-all and there should be no changes after this.’ You can’t necessarily say, ‘We’re going to make these changes and this is exactly what the outcome is going to be like,’” said Nasiri in response to Bailey.

WHICH POSITIONS WERE CUT, AND WHY? Bailey and Jenna Omassi, last year’s VP Academic, feel that the previous restructuring already “[redrew] the organizational structure and reporting lines,” as MNP suggested in the review. So why were these three positions removed?

Senior manager of student services (Daniel Levangie) Levangie had been with the AMS since March 2014, working closely underneath Hester. His role was widely varied and included the following responsibilities: • Managing the AMS archivist • Managing the AMS Communications team • Managing the AMS Events team • Managing the AMS Services team • Managing the student services manager (a role responsible for overseeing all of the services that AMS provides for students, including Vice and Safewalk) • Overseeing the manager of the Sexual Assault Support Centre • Managing the policy advisor • Working closely with executives to provide oversight, guidance and support • Transitioning new executives and student staff into their roles, and working with them on goal-setting • Working with the university in a de facto capacity to ensure good relations, due to the number of responsibilities the position held Levangie was widely beloved in the AMS, and was often relied upon for advice and guidance. Bailey speaks highly of him, noting that he “learn[ed] a ton from him and he was a huge asset to me in my role [as president].”

In an effort to streamline the business and governance sides of the AMS, according to Nasiri, Levangie’s responsibilities now fall to the managing director.

Programming and events manager (Anna Hilliar) Hilliar was responsible for

SCREENSHOT VIA AMS GOVERNANCE REVIEW

overseeing and managing the entire AMS Events department.

According to Nasiri, her position was cut in an attempt to maximize efficiency between the conception of programming ideas and the carryingout of those ideas by Craig Levito, the AMS’s operations manager, and the newly-created position of events coordinator.

Nasiri hopes to hire someone for this position in January — likely a recently graduated student — to take on this “hybrid role” with the responsibilities of Asad Ali, programming and events coordinator and Hilliar. The role will be called the “events coordinator.”

The restructuring will also have the effect, in Nasiri’s opinion, of making the communications department “more prominen[t]” by folding the AMS Events portfolio into it and ensuring that the department reports directly to the managing director.

Hilliar was also in charge of organizing Block Party. With her position gone, that task falls to Ali, but will be taken up in January by the events coordinator.

One of the main issues that made last year’s Block Party a financial disaster was a shortened planning timeline — ideally, discussions begin early in the academic year, whereas 2016’s Block Party began planning several months later than that, in late 2015. Although this year’s budget has already been approved, the AMS is still determining where it will take place.

Assistant conference and catering manager (Tessie Sy) Sy was an assistant manager in the AMS’s Conference and Catering department, with a significant role in bookings, and had worked in the society for almost 17 years. According to Nasiri, her position was cut because the AMS is now focusing on external sales, rather than on renting out space to external companies that would use catering services.

Nasiri also noted that often external jobs brought in through Conference and Catering would take up rooms that students could have otherwise booked — something that the AMS is trying to turn away from.

“There is no longer as much work for that position to do,” said Nasiri.

SCREENSHOT VIA AMS GOVERNANCE REVIEW

“I thought we had been in line with the governance review and what we were doing.

So I thought that we had reached a place where ... a cohesive society could move forward.”

- Jenna Omassi, AMS VP Academic 2015/2016

OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY | news | 5

te ster, In eith He K ; t n e S Presid

OUT OF THE BLUE In an interview with The Ubyssey, Nasiri stated that her understanding of phase one was that it would follow a process of “see how it goes, see what further changes are necessary and then accumulate those, analyze them … and then carry out a phase two.”

According to a previous AMS executive who wishes to remain anonymous, however, executives were told to let staff know that the first phase would be the only round of cuts.

“Phase two was [the current executive committee’s] idea, but it wasn’t completely ruled out [last year],” said Nasiri.

An email from Bailey to all AMS employees that came after the first restructuring does not mention the potentiality of a second phase.

When asked to comment on the concerns Bailey raised, Nasiri said, “A lot of this was at the end of Aaron’s term, and he wasn’t around to see the effects of those changes were.

“He didn’t even look into what the spirit or the motivation was behind phase two ... so obviously his perspective is very much centred around the time that he was involved,” she said.

When asked whether she anticipated that a second round of position cuts was on the table, Omassi said that, in her opinion, “I thought that we had been in line with the governance review and what we were doing [with our first round of changes]. I didn’t necessarily think that this year’s executive would have to make any changes following that.”

“A lot of this direction was given from the governance review and our understanding of the governance review,” said Nasiri.

“You can’t necessarily directly consult someone when you are considering getting rid of their position. It’s a very sensitive topic.”

Since she was not in the office when the second phase was implemented, Hilliar was notified that her position would be cut via a phone call while she was on vacation.

WHO REPORTS TO WHOM? While the changes are intended to lead to greater ties between the business and governance halves of the AMS, the reporting structure of employees is now changed such that several employees are now reporting to different positions, mostly due to the position of senior manager student services being cut. For example, Student Services Manager Hussam Zbeeb used to report to Levangie, but will now report to Keith Hester, managing director of the AMS, directly.

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CONFIDENTIALITY

THE FINAL ROUND

The AMS has not made the governance review public, as MNP’s contract with the society notes that the final review cannot be published in order to keep the firm’s specific reviewing strategies from competitors and potential clientele.

“Phase two” of the restructuring signifies a wider shift towards a more closely linked governance and business sides of the AMS, although at the cost of years of experience and three employees, including a guiding figure for current and future executives in Levangie.

However, according to Nasiri, “any student on this campus paying AMS fees has the absolute right, and is totally welcome to stop by and take a look at the governance review” — a fact that has not been widely publicized by the AMS. The Ubyssey has been provided a copy by an anonymous source, but has chosen not to publish it since MNP could sue the AMS for leaking it, costing students money in the end. As such, students are also able to view the report in our office — room 2208 in the Nest.

We will continue to report on the review and the ongoing process of its implementation.

The review goes in-depth about the deficiencies and confusion surrounding AMS oversight, objectives and reporting structure, and details a number of proposed changes to solve them — all of which have been accepted by Council, but not all of which have been implemented as of yet.

One of the main reasons for the original restructuring was reduction of financial overhead, but Nasiri said that the “phase two” staff cuts were solely about streamlining.

“There isn’t a huge difference [financially]. There is a small difference, but I wouldn’t call it overly [significant], but the efficiency that results is huge,” she said.

According to Nasiri, this “phase two” will be the “final completion phase” — but she also noted that she can’t guarantee that there won’t be future changes once the AMS looks at how the recent changes have affected structure. U -With files from Sruthi Tadepalli

Nasiri said that the review was to be conducted in two stages to “maintain stability” within the AMS, while Bailey notes that last year’s exec completed it in one stage to “avoid … creating additional instability.”

CULTURE

OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITOR SAMUEL DU BOIS

VIFF 16 PHOTOS COURTESY VANCOUVER FILM FESTIVAL

MOONLIGHT IS A POWERFUL MEDITATION ON IDENTITY AND ADOLESCENCE

WORDS JOSHUA MEDICOFF

Moonlight hurts and it shines.

Writer/director Barry Jenkins’ second feature details the life of Chiron, a young man searching for identity over the course of three distinct acts — “Little,” “Chiron” and “Black.” As painfully insightful into what it is to be black and gay in North America as it is about the anxieties of adolescence, Jenkins’ film is a remarkable exercise in empathy that resonates in more ways than one.

Connected through a series of vignettes, Jenkins suggestively chronicles Chiron’s childhood, adolescence and young adult life with understanding and care.

Audiences observe how Chiron becomes Chiron less by clear-cut example and more by indication, demonstrating Jenkins’ powerful grasp on the subtlety required in such layered storytelling. For instance, we meet Chiron’s mother (Naomi Harris) only a handful of times throughout Moonlight’s 110 minutes, but Jenkins deftly communicates the impact her absence has because we innately feel the lack of her presence.

Chiron never states that he has an abusive or absentee mother, but the traces she leaves on him during the film’s duration still make this clear.

Moonlight has little fat.

Because it must tell a cohesive story spanning 20 years in under two hours, Jenkins strings scenes together by theme in order to avoid to a padded out running time. Moonlight jumps months

ahead within each act and Jenkins, paired with editors Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon, effortlessly finds a structural rhythm. The result is a film that organically builds climaxes which subtly but effectively indicate their effect on Chiron’s life and personality — serving character and theme in one. In minutes, Moonlight can leap comfortably from Chiron’s first introduction, to father figure Juan (Mahershala Ali), to a scene in which he comfortably eats a meal at their house as if it is routine — treating Juan and his girlfriend, Paula (Janelle Monáe), like surrogate parents.

A scene on an empty beach under the moon’s soft glow illuminates the film’s technical mastery. It is a pivotal scene and is shot accordingly, with Jeremy Laxton’s lyrical photography warmly caressing a wrenching, scary and exhilarating moment between Chiron and Kevin (Jharrel Jerome). The way in which Laxton and Jenkins capture the fear between Chiron and Kevin as they share a tender, intimate moment displays the empathy with which Jenkins views his lost, searching young characters — the camera often an extension of his layered understanding of the struggle for identity. Shot in a blue tint — both boys softly gleaming in the light — the moment is electric and plot-defining.

Attention must be paid to the incredible performances by Jenkins’ cast. None of the three

actors cast to play Chiron in each act of the film (Alex Hibbert as Little, Ashton Sanders as Chiron, and Trevante Rhodesas Black) look alike, which ends up serving the work well. Each iteration of Chiron is different, both literally and physically, with only trickles of our first exposure to him in “Little” visible by the time we reach “Black.”

Special attention must be paid to Trevante Rhodes, who communicates 20 years of abuse, struggle and resilience with a flicker of his eye. Harris, who has little screen time, never trapezes into the well-worn stereotypes of absentee motherhood, and deepens her character whenever on screen. Each performance reveals one of Moonlight’s greatest traits — that in spite of shaky moral characteristics, Jenkins never judges his characters — an approach that importantly humanizes the traumatic burdens of each character.

With Moonlight, Jenkins has triumphantly crafted a tender and immediate film. Chiron’s struggle for self is laced with light and dark, with the line between melancholic and hopeful often blurred. He aches as his search for identity surfs across the overlapping, crashing tides of black masculinity and queerness — as do we. Though the quest for personhood is often a fraught experience, the optimism and warmth with which Jenkins imbues Chiron is beautifully, agonizingly human. U

IF YOU SAW PRISON DOGS AND DIDN’T CRY, YOU’RE A HEARTLESS WRETCH

WORDS JACK HAUEN

This movie had all the ingredients necessary to make you bawl — puppies growing into dogs, prisoners earnestly working toward a second chance, veterans with PTSD desperate for a way to better their lives, a lovable cast of characters and the heartbreak of saying goodbye.

The film opens with the members of the Puppies Behind Bars program — all inmates of Fishkill Correctional Facility —

receiving the puppies they’ll train for the next 12-20 months. Seeing their faces light up when they’re introduced to their new best friends is enough to melt the heart of even the staunchest cat person.

A major strength of this film is in its cast of characters. Gloria, Puppies Behind Bars’s explosively animated headmaster, rules the inmates with an iron fist. The program is her pride and joy, and god help you if you don’t respect

its importance. On the other hand, those who buy in are handsomely rewarded with access into her inner circle.

The inmates are immensely engrossing to watch in their own right. What is perhaps most fascinating is what the dogs represent to them — a chance to prove themselves, a chance to raise the daughter that grew up while they were inside — a chance to “do something right.”

6

OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY | culture | 7 We also get a personal look into the lives of veterans suffering from PTSD, who were — to say the least — worse for wear after their tours. Some struggled to cope with venturing outside their own home.

Though they all had serious issues to deal with, the documentary took care to paint the veterans as multi-

faceted human beings — not objects of pity.

It’s easy to understand that service dogs benefit those suffering from serious disorders, but the before and after glimpses that the documentary affords its viewers paints a stark contrast. The dogs are so much more than their commands

— turn off the light, call 9-1-1 — they’re a constant source of comfort and confidence in every respect.

Seeing it firsthand is a rare and incredibly striking opportunity.

If you have a chance to see this film and you’re okay with a lot of emotions all at once, I can’t recommend it enough. U

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA IS A PROFOUNDLY HUMAN LOOK AT LOSS AND RECOVERY

WORDS MIGUEL SANTA MARIA

Manchester By The Sea is not just a movie that can be described as one of the best new films of 2016. It is also one that can be quickly summarized with just one word — human.

Directed by Kenneth Lonergan, the film revolves around the dreary, middle-aged Boston janitor, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck). Lee is an unsociable character and has no interest whatsoever in anyone else’s life. Unfortunately, his dour lifestyle is shaken up one day with the death of his brother, Joe (Kyle Chandler), prompting him to return to his hometown of Manchester, Massachusetts to settle arrangements.

To Lee’s dismay, he then finds out that he is designated as the legal guardian of his brother’s teenage son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), with the assumption that he is to move back in town.

This presents a severe dilemma for Lee, not necessarily because of his inexperience as a family man, but rather, because of the tragic past that he shares with Manchester that he is still trying to forgive himself for, as is everyone else in the town. Nevertheless, he attempts to try his best to improve Patrick’s life however he can and see if he can personally reconcile with the place he used to call home.

For a film that deals heavily with the loss of family in quite a depressing tone, at times this is a shockingly charming work.

Even with the difficulties that both characters face, half of the film focuses on life’s morbid awkwardness in the aftermath of tragedy. Examples can be as small as Patrick requesting to see his dad’s body, but leaving immediately after entering the morgue – turning away with a quick “Nope, I’m good.” A more significant one is Lee fumbling at consoling Patrick during a midnight breakdown — he needlessly kicks open Patrick’s bedroom door, but not before awkwardly bantering with him about whether or not he should. There are many other similar scenes throughout the film, but what is important to note is that none of them feel like they’re solely played for laughs. It always feel genuine and relatable both in terms of writing and execution.

As a whole, this works thanks to the consistently great performances of the cast. Each actor delivered a nuanced portrayal of their character, as well as all-around great chemistry with each other. This is especially the case with Hedges and Affleck, who play off each other extremely well. In fact, it is even more impressive when Affleck discards any chemistry

with his fellow actors in order to raise the tension and social isolation of his character. He never comes off as an overly-broody, ham-fisted “Batman” archetype.

He is just someone who has lost all hope for himself and is completely apathetic towards others, but still tries his best to manage this for their benefit. Affleck manages to perfectly convey all of this with his performance. The only notably problematic acting comes from Michelle Williams’ as Lee’s ex-wife, who is a bit too melodramatic in some of her scenes.

That aspect aside, the best part about Manchester By The Sea is that it does not thematically bullshit you. Thanks to the clever writing and acting, very little of the film feels overdone. There’s no easy way to describe it without spoilers, but by the end, the film humbles you. It was refreshing how realistically this film dealt with its subject matter given how similar works tend to stray too far to the side of optimism.

Manchester By The Sea is not necessarily saying that there is no light at the end of the tunnel – just that it is far more complicated to get there than most people think. U

ENDLESS POETRY IS FANTASTIC BUT NOT FOR THE UNINITIATED

WORDS SEBASTIAN MENDO

Endless Poetry continues the latebloomed productivity of one of the most creative and controversial minds in the world of cinema.

Cult directorial legend Alejandro Jodorowsky achieved popularity in the 1970s underground cinema scene with El Topo and The Holy Mountain, two films often considered amongst the greatest in the art house genre. In 2013, he released The Dance of Reality — his first film after over 20 years of inactivity. The work was a surrealistic reflection of his childhood in a small Chilean town. In what is now a series of films recounting his own life, Endless Poetry continues exactly where The Dance of Reality left off. This time, the plot explores Jodorowsky’s life in the poetic underground scene of Santiago and his own path towards both creative and sexual maturity.

Jodorowsky has a very particular style of filmmaking. He essentially takes the concepts behind magical realism — pioneered by author Gabriel Garcia Marquez — and translates them into film. Most scenes are set up in their own unique style, with actors using faceless masks, towns and props represented as carbon cutouts, waiters at a bar

being boring and monotonous, etc. It all reflects a very literal perspective towards what real life objects represent, and fills the background of this film with constant ambiguity.

The story itself is extremely fascinating. The whole idea of going against your family and attempting to live as a poet in the streets of Chile sounds insane today, yet somehow Jodorowsky managed to get away with doing it. His own success wasn’t really due to money or fame, but more of an artistic satisfaction.

There are some scenes that show him living in poverty and through terrible scenarios, but somehow the excitement behind all of this manages to provide him with a more memorable life than what studying to become a doctor ever could have.

The editing at times does seem off, especially in the context of a few plot devices that could easily have been fixed with an extra scene.

Regardless, the flow of the film persists through these moments and manages to render them fairly inconsequential.

The performances were all phenomenal. Adan Jodorowsky plays his own father (Alejandro) when he was 20 and Brontis

Jodorowsky plays their grandfather. Essentially, the film is a gigantic family project mixing a great assortment of talents into its realization. The love and determination Alejandro had for the project is obvious, overcoming any limitations that might have arisen from the film’s small budget, which was mainly funded through Kickstarter.

Despite its quality, it is not necessarily recommended to anyone who hasn’t seen The Dance of Reality, or any other Jodorowsky film for that matter. The work feels and acts like a sequel. Even though you can still understand what’s going on without seeing the previous installment, it is highly recommended that you do so in order to adapt to Jodrowsky’s style of storytelling, as it is a lot harder to grasp at times than most other films.

Overall, Endless Poetry is a great continuation to the exploration of Jodorowsky’s past and it shows that at 86, age is not something that will get in the way of him making movies.

The film doesn’t have a Canadian release date at the moment, but that will likely change now that VIFF has ended. U

8 | culture | TUESDAY OCTOBER 18, 2016 ART //

DATING //

The challenges facing contemporary art

PHOTO MAXIME VAN DOORN/THE UBYSSEY

Art history professor John O’Brian weights in on contemporary art and what makes it relevant.

Maxime van Doorn Contributor

Art’s relevance is regularly questioned and it is usually one of the first areas to suffer budget cuts.

Art — whether it’s photography, painting, performance, installation or sculpture — is nonetheless significant in its examination of past and contemporary issues.

It does not only inform us about stylistic movements, but also about society — allowing us to better understand social, political, historical, cultural and economic matters. According to art history professor John O’Brian, art might not change anything directly, but “art keeps open a conversation … a space that permits discussion and often debate that allows us to rethink things and change our minds.”

THE RIGOURS OF MAKING GOOD ART The art scene is growing as well as its curators and audiences. Not only are there more art galleries and museums compared even to several years ago, but there is also a constant growth in artists. The art world might seem like a small circle, only accessible to insiders and somewhat self-fulfilling, but it

has more of an impact than many think. Throughout the ages, artists have critiqued issues in society, making a stance when others were too afraid of the political consequences that might follow.

O’Brian quotes Marshall McLuhan, who said that “art at its most significant is a distant early warning system that can always be relied on to tell the old culture what is beginning to happen to it.”

Art’s relevance can be seen in the message or meaning of an artwork in question.

This unfortunately in turn puts into doubt the role that aesthetics can play in a work. The result is that some artists are currently overlooked or outright rejected.

Though in that case, O’Brian said that “it may be that aesthetically the work hasn’t reached a level of execution that attracts audiences — it still has to be compelling work for anyone to be paying attention to the message.”

This doesn’t mean that the art currently being made is irrelevant — recognition can come at a later stage, as was the case with Van Gogh. O’Brian says that some artists can be considered more relevant than others, not because their art is modern or contemporary, but because some

art “is just more rigorous in the way that it is produced, the kind of thinking that has gone behind it, how it engages audiences and the way it opens up discussion.”

A figure who O’Brian considers relevant is Allen Sekula, whose focus is on global marine life.

“His work is entirely relevant in that he is thinking about global exchange, capitalist exchange, movement of goods, the movement of people, migration, immigration, resistance to that and giving us a representation of that [through] photographs, language, articles and books,” he said.

Quoting from his upcoming book Breathless Days — coauthored with Serge Guilbaut — O’Brian reads, “Works of art are always submerged in the political and social-antagonisms of their time. They emerge from a cauldron of disagreement on high boil and are capable of crystallizing historical issues while addressing the culture that produced them.”

THE COMPLICATIONS OF COMMERCIALISM Commercial aspects of art institutions seem to be coming more into play nowadays, especially when dealing with funding. Currently, there is an increased focus on local artists, which likely stems from concerns about receiving funding from art councils. On one hand, it could be argued that this has made local art more relevant, but on the other hand, it limits the freedom of art galleries and museums to extend their scope particularly far.

“If you’re funding local artists around a particular topic that’s of interest to a minuscule arts council, then you’re bringing that to people’s attention. So yes, it’s getting more relevance, but maybe it’s not what should get more relevance — maybe it’s not where the most interesting and rigorous work is happening,” said O’Brian.

Current financial situations might also affect the relevance of art. Though O’Brian said that perhaps one can say it is exactly the commercial commodity that has made art more relevant, as it raises attention and interest, even if that is just to get people to invest in art.

“We live in an era that revolves around business plans — maybe it’s more relevant in that sense. It’s an unfortunate turn, but I don’t see that it’s any less relevant.”

Commercialism’s effect on the art world can be witnessed first hand, both at art exhibitions and festivals which are often organised as a marketing tools for tourism or consumer opportunities.

Blockbuster exhibitions are popular as a way to receive funding and attract a larger audience group in order for art galleries and museums to survive in times of budget cuts, but then whether or not artworks are displayed in an innovative manner in their exhibitions can certainly be called into question.

O’Brian said that blockbuster exhibits could be considered relevant as they bring more people into a museum, but he questions to what end.

“If an audience is not really encouraged to think about some of the issues regarding the artworks, then the relevance is short-lived.” U

PHOTO COURTESY ALESSANDRA SECA

Happn markets itself as a possible competitor to Tinder, but it ultimately fails to deliver.

Happn is Pokemon Go crossed with Tinder Sebastian Mendo Contributor

Over the last couple weeks, Happn has caught the attention of The Ubyssey staff as something that could potentially surpass Tinder and become the official dating app of Vancouver — or at least it is marketed that way.

Now with over 400,000 members throughout the city, this product seems like a phenomenon ready to happen (pun intended).

Unfortunately, even with an interesting and creative concept, Happn fails to deliver at its core.

How does it work?

Happn is basically Pokemon Go meets Tinder. When you open the app, you get the option of using your Facebook or Instagram photos to set up your profile.

Choose a couple of pictures, write a nice description, edit your gender and age preferences and you’re ready to go — literally.

This app requires you to do some walking. I recommend that you open it in the morning and leave it running as you go through your day. After some time, you will begin to see profiles appearing on the main screen. These are the people who you have crossed paths with during the day. You then have the option to view their profile, read their descriptions, see things in common as well as the exact location where you two crossed paths. With that info, you can either press the heart — meaning you like this person — or the “X” — meaning you do not.

If both of you mutually like each other, it will open a chat bar on the right. If you are not getting any answers, you can always send a charm. A charm is basically like a romantic poke, telling the person that you are indeed interested in them. The first 10 charms are on the house, but the rest require credits (one credit = one charm,

starting at $2.79 for 10 of them).

I tried this app for two weeks, setting my profile to women and crossing paths with over 40 users, liking every profile purely for research sake. Everything seemed to move along very smoothly until I realized one glaring issue — I got zero matches.

At first, I thought this was simply because I might need to use my charms, so I did. I used up all of the 10 charms that I got for downloading the app and I still did not get a single match. This might be down to two critical issues: 1. I’m an ugly fuck.

2. Nobody is using this app.

Now, I don’t know about you, but probability would rule out the first option after going through 40 people. Ergo, I believe that people are not really using this app in any committed way.

But then why did I see so many profiles of people if they are not using the app? To hopefully confirm my theory, I decided to do a bit of an experiment — setting the app to match with both men and women.

The result was that I crossed paths with 18 more people (the 40 women plus 18 men), and still — even by liking every single profile — I did not get a single match.

This settles a lot of my doubts regarding Happn. I can only conclude the following — UBC students do not use it. They might download and play around with it for a few days, but the patterns shown so far demonstrate that a lot of these profiles are largely inactive, making the statistics about its usage somewhat superfluous.

Happn might have an interesting and appealing concept, but if its lack of popularity does not change, it will never be anything more than just a repackaged alternative for Tinder. U

OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY | culture | 9 MUSIC //

Pianist Denis Matsuev is coming to the Chan Centre Charlotte Beaulieu Staff Writer

Never heard of him? That’s alright — I hadn’t either. And yet, Denis Matsuev is often considered to be one of the greatest living pianists of our time. In 1998, he won the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition and he was also one of the national artists to perform at the closing ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

Luckily for us, this internationally praised Russian virtuoso is coming to the Chan Center for his second performance, following one in 2011.

“If someone has never been to a classical musical performance, this is the one they want to go to,” said Svetlana Dvoretsky, founder and executive producer of Show One Productions. The modern audience — especially younger concert-goers — are sometimes hard to reach out to when it comes to listening to classical music, but Dvoretsky says that no one should feel intimidated about coming and enjoying this “accessible” show.

The performance promises to be full of virtuosity, featuring diverse artistic figures such as Beethoven, Liszt and Tchaïkovsky in the program. Dvoretsky said that “every musician has its own style, its own signature,” and that the audience will not

Though his name is not instantly recognizable, Matsuev is widely considered to be amongst the greatest living pianists .

be disappointed by the musical identity of Matsuev. The public can expect a night full of the grand classical Russian tradition and the powerful energy of this young — already internationally acclaimed — pianist. Attendees can also expect Matsuev to bring a “very delicate and personal touch” to his performance, said Dvoretsky. “That’s what makes

masters … It’s beautiful.”

Let’s face it, though — classical music performances are not the cheapest to attend. There are student prices at the Chan Center, though it is strangely difficult to get an estimated price for these on their website. The best way to get this rate is probably to show up in person at concert hall’s desk.

If you are interested in delving a little deeper into the performing arts and spending a night listening to a piano performance that Dvoretsky describes as “grand” and “motivating,” Denis Matsuev should be a good pick. Dvorestsky even gives a small insight into the upcoming performance — Matsuev might have a surprise for his audience, “[but] you’ll have to stay

COURTESY MURRAY PATTERSON MARKETING GROUP

until the end!”

Denis Matsuev’s piano performance at the Chan Center for the Performing Arts seems promising. He is an artist who has proven many times that his musical signature is worth the trip. U The performance is on Thursday, October 20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at chancentre.com

LITERATURE //

Six events to see at the Vancouver Writers Festival for some, but which is certainly familiar to all — coming of age. This year, Iain Reid, Zoe Witthall, C.C Humphreys, Lisa Charleyboy and Omari Newton will be telling their stories on growing up (or not). This Really Happened has taken place in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Banff with the previous participation of writers such as Lisa Moore and Charlie Demers.

This Really Happened is on October 19, Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. It will take place at the Revue Stage.

PHOTO COURTESY GLEN D’MELLO

It can be hard to decide where to go for the festival, so we narrowed it down to six which we think seem cool.

Elif Kayali Contributor

The Vancouver Writers Festival returns for the 29th time to bring readers and writers together to talk, think and explore the world of literature. The festival starts on October 17 and lasts for a week, closing on October 23. This year, there will be an excess of 100 authors appearing at more than 90 events, attended by a group of roughly 17,000 people. A festival like this big can seem a little bit daunting to the uninitiated, so we picked out six standout events for you to take a look at.

LIT UP: DAVID DENBY IN CONVERSATION WITH STEPHEN QUINN The published author of four books and a staff writer for The New

Yorker, David Denby spent a year with Grade 10 students in order to observe their English classes. He was trying to answer a contemporary question — in this era of social media, can students obsessed with their phones become serious readers? How can reading be turned into a lifelong habit? Lit Up tries to demonstrate that with the help of good teaching and inspiring books, students can be more creative and surprising than one might expect.

Lit Up will take place on October 18, Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., at the Revue Stage.

THIS REALLY HAPPENED: COMING OF AGE This Really Happened is a live storytelling series back this year to deal with a subject that can be a little bit scary and terribly uncomfortable

TOMBOY SURVIVAL GUIDE Tomboy Survival Guide is a show done by Ivan Coyote and his three fast friends. It takes apart the gender stories that we tell, using music, stories, photography and memories.

Ivan Coyote is a storyteller, an award-winning author, creator of four short films and he has released three albums in which he imbibes his music with the heavy influence of storytelling. Tomboy Survival Guide is also the name of his 11th book. With this performance, Coyote and his friends aim to tell their own stories in a very sincere, brave and delicate way.

Tomboy Survival Guide is on October 20, Thursday. The show starts at 1 p.m. and takes place at the Performance Works.

OUT OF PLACE Sometimes it is impossible to separate the story from its location.

It is almost like the location itself is taking part in the story not just as the setting, but also as a character — as though it has its own story to tell.

For Gail Anderson-Dargatz’s novels, the Thompson-Shuswap region where she grew up is a crucial inspiration. Anderson-Dargatz taught in UBC’s creative writing MFA program for more than a decade and now uses online forums to mentor writers around the globe.

Best-selling author of suspense novels Michael Koryta creates landscapes from Montana to Florida.

Award-winning author Olive Senior lives in Toronto, but she tells stories from Jamaica, where she’s from. Her writing is authentic because she writes of the history, the hopes and even the smell of her country.

Xue Yiwei is a Chinese-Canadian author and his first novel in English tells stories inspired by the city of Shenzhen — a market town located in the north of Hong Kong and that in 1980, acted as an experiment to introduce capitalism to Communist China.

This event will provide a globetrotting survey of setting and how it can influence the work of a writer, even when they are apart from it.

Out of Place will take place on October 21, Friday evening at the Revue Stage at 8:30 p.m.

A DISAPPEARENCE IN DAMASCUS: DEBORAH CAMPBELL IN CONVERSATION WITH ALISON BRODDLE Award-winning journalist Deborah Campbell spent the last ten years reporting from countries like Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, while immersing herself in those societies. She is currently teaching

narrative non-fiction here at UBC. The plot of her latest book,A Disappearance in Damascus, is about the time she went undercover to report the exodus of Iraqi refugees into Syria. When she realized that her employee Ahlam — a Syrian refugee she hired to help set up contacts — is kidnapped, Campbell spent months looking for her. All the while she was aware of the very real danger that she could end up in a Syrian prison cell herself. In her book, Campbell tells the story of her unbreakable friendship with Ahlam — two women from very different backgrounds, both surrounded by violence and conflict.

A Disappearance In Damascus will take place on October 22, Saturday at 8:00 p.m. on the Revue Stage.

SCREE: FRED WAH IN CONVERSATION WITH COLIN BROWNE In the 1960s — while he was a student at UBC — Fred Wah helped found the avant-garde poetry magazine Tish. Since then, he published 17 poetry books and won countless awards. This year, Talonbooks published Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962-1991, which compiles Wah’s changing poetry through the years into a single volume. Now 77 years old, Wah is still an active poet and you can join him while he talks about his evolution as an artist. U Scree: Fred Wah in Conversation with Colin Browne is on October 23, Sunday at 1:30 p.m. It takes place at the Revue Stage.

OPINIONS

OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITOR BAILEY RAMSAY

STUDY ABROAD //

10

SAFETY //

Positively Sex: What if UBC had a kink club?

PHOTO COURTESY ZACH WEISS

Cape Town has nearly all the creature comforts I’m used to at home in Canada.

Their Campus: Feeling at home in Cape Town Zach Weiss Contributor

The most frequent reaction I got when I told friends and family that I was going to Cape Town was that of confusion — “Why would you want to go to Africa?”

It was as if they envisioned the entire continent as some desolate, underdeveloped wasteland that would shock me to my core. But upon arriving in Cape Town and starting school at the University of Cape Town, there was no big “shock” to my system.

Being a very well-developed and westernized city, Cape Town has nearly all the creature comforts I’m used to at home in Canada — other than a Tim Horton’s on every block, of course. Beyond that, however, it’s been the people I’ve met who have made this place feel so much like home to me.

One of the biggest worries I had leaving for this exchange was regarding the type of people I’d meet here. Besides one other UBC student whom I had only met once prior to leaving, I knew not a single soul living in Cape Town. Immediately upon arriving however, I became immersed in

what has been the largest group of thoughtful, experienced, humble and kind individuals I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Over the past two and a half months, I have made deeper friendships with more individuals than I ever have in my entire life.

And that, right there, is the most beautiful aspect of this entire experience. This time and this place are the ideal catalysts for meeting people, getting out of your comfort zone and having meaningful human connections — something that I have always desperately craved throughout my life.

At UBC — where nearly everyone has previous ties holding them back from meeting new people or trying new things — there are greater hurdles to making new friends. But on exchange here, nearly every single one of us came here alone and so, by necessity, we needed each other. Now halfway through my time here, I can’t imagine my life without these people. Despite knowing them for such a short time, I feel as though they are my family — and I wouldn’t change a thing. U

A UBC sponsored kink club would do a lot to foster inclusivity.

Katya Downey Contributor

Look, I’m not about to go out and say that UBC is lacking. I’m just saying we don’t have something Harvard, Stanford and Columbia all have. I know it’s been on your mind, so I’ll say what you’re already thinking — a kink club.

For those of you who haven’t suffered through the Fifty Shades phenomenon and aren’t familiar, “kink” refers to any unconventional sexual practices, concepts or fantasies. You’ll frequently hear it talked about in the same context as fetishes, but those are slightly different — a fetish is a strong need, desire or attraction to a non-sexual body part or object. The most common ones are feet, shoes and leather.

Meanwhile, BDSM stands for bondage, domination, sadism or masochism, and it’s more on the tying-people-up and/or inflictingpain side of things.

A fetish event might be a dance in the Nest where people wear a lot of leather, rubber, lace or masks. A BDSM event might capitalize on that dungeon-ey vibe in the Old SUB and create a space for people to be safely tied up or smacked around.

So what would a kink club even look like at UBC? Would it be — as CNN, Fox and the Huffington Post described Harvard’s group — a “kinky sex club”?

Probably not. First off, “sex club” usually refers to a setting devoted to sex — a place where you can go to get it on in front of people. If Harvard is any example, a club focused on kink is more likely to be community oriented, discussing and educating.

Good kink is safe, sane and consensual. Let’s say you’re doing a little bondage: Safety means putting measures in place that limit the chances of things going wrong or deals with them quickly if they do. In this case, you’re sure the rope isn’t too tight (nerve damage and circulation loss are real) and you have scissors on hand.

Sane means psychologically safe — nobody is getting triggered or panicking. Everyone feels secure, in control and cared for.

This is where safe words come in handy.

Consent is triple important because you’re dealing with stuff that has the potential to really hurt people. Everyone needs to be informed and on board at all times for anyone to have a good time.

PHOTO JOSH MEDICOFF/THE UBYSSEY

And of course, you’re prepared to stop at any time.

Aftercare is also pretty crucial.

That’s the part of the scene when you cool off and return to the real world. It’s hard for most people to go from submissive-plaything to in-control-adult-human without an intermediary period of cuddles, sugar and reminders that you’re cared for.

It’s hard to say how many people try a different flavour than vanilla, but it’s safe to say that there are a lot. A recent survey found that half of the 1,040 people polled were interested in “abnormal” sexual practices and a third had tried it. A quick search on Fetlife (the kinky equivalent of Facebook) reveals 138 upcoming events and 72,404 kinksters living in BC alone. At that point, can you even call it abnormal? I’m thinking no.

Until 2010, the DSM considered kinkiness to be a mental disorder. While some of the stigma has lifted, a UBC sponsored kink club would do a lot to foster inclusivity and challenge norms around sex.

Kink is here. It’s got its red stilettos on, it’s batting its eyelashes and it wants to chat. So why not have a club where you can have that conversation safely? U

SCIENCE

OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITOR KOBY MICHAELS

11

DRUGS //

Shrooms 101: a beginner’s guide to magic mushrooms Leah Fischer Contributor

Magic mushrooms, psychedelics, psilocybin mushrooms — call them what you want, we all want to talk about them. Buckle up class — it’s going to be a wild trip.

Psilocybin mushrooms — more commonly known as “shrooms” or magic mushrooms — are one of the more popular hallucinogenic (illicit) recreational drugs in Canada. As easy to get your hands on as weed, many people, university students included, often turn to this drug for the spiritual experience. In fact, shrooms have been used since 9000 BC, where in many cultures they are ingested to induce a trance in the hopes of producing visions and communicating with gods.

There are over 200 types of trippy shrooms. The friendlier half contain a chemical called psilocybin, while the other type, amanita — the standard-looking red and white spotted mushrooms — are much stronger and can cause euphoria as well as nausea and dizziness. The psilocybin mushroom is the most common form of shroom and is likely the

one you would take if you haven’t gone tripping already.

But how do shrooms affect your brain? How do they induce hallucinations and euphoria?

When you ingest psilocybin, it gets converted into the active ingredient psilocin in your body, which is chemically similar to serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger, thought to be linked to producing feelings of happiness.

Psilocin increases levels of serotonin because it binds to the same receptors in the brain. This is what leads to hallucinations.

Studies suggest that during your trip, the brain temporarily rearranges some of its connections, immediately creating new biologically stable ones. This amplifies intensity of thought and makes it harder to tell reality from fantasy. Some people begin connecting the number two to the colour green.

Areas of the brain linked with dreaming are stimulated, making hallucinations and visions much more frequent. Certain emotional regions of the brain are activated, leading to the feeling of expanding consciousness. This makes

thinking outside the box much more frequent and easy.

“You start seeing the smallest details, even the ones that aren’t really there,” said Monica, a UBC student. “Everything around you seems so grandiose, powerful and plain awesome.” A common shortterm affects of mushrooms are a distorted sense of reality, mixing up senses and an altered sense of time.

Tom, another anonymous UBC student, described his first shroom trip at night on a beach as one of the best days he had at UBC. “We saw so many stars, planets, satellites, and I’m pretty sure we saw the Milky Way.” But it’s not all sunshine and roses in the Milky Way. People experience plenty of bad trips too.

“The second time I had a really bad trip because I wasn’t in the right environment or mental state. I was really stressed from school,” said Tom. Shrooms can induce negative affects as well, such as nausea, dizziness, mood swings, anxiety, confusion and paranoia. Many experienced shroom users will often tell first-timers to make sure they are in a safe and comfortable environment. A trip can last

ILLUSTRATION JERRY YIN/THE UBYSSEY

Using shrooms isn’t new — they’ve been used for at least 11,000 years.

between about three to eight hours, depending on the dosage. Having a bad trip with an altered sense of time for that long can be really stressful.

However, in a study conducted at Johns Hopkins University, scientists found that 60 per cent of their volunteers described their trip as a “full mystical experience,” as measured by established psychological scales. A third went of them as far as saying it was the single most spiritual experience in their life.

But the effects of shrooms don’t stop there. Two months later, 79 per cent of subjects reported either a moderate or great increase in their well-being or life satisfaction compared to those given a placebo at the same test session.

“After taking shrooms for the first time, I realized how beautiful everything is,” said Tom. “The world around us is amazing and I was more inspired artistically. I’m striving to be happier everyday and do more with my life.” U

TECH //

The AMS app isn’t worth the 28 MB on your phone The AMS app does offer the option to create groups for specific courses, but this would require a much larger user base than the app has.

If you’re looking for a new way to organize your class schedule, are searching for new and interesting campus spots, and are willing to be patient and see if the user base

expands, the AMS app might be a useful addition to your home screen.

But if you’re already satisfied using iCal and posting in UBC Facebook groups, you won’t miss this app. U

The Walrus Talks returns to Vancouver Presents

PHOTO KOBY MICHAELS/THE UBYSSEY

The app warns about picking up rashes by hooking up in the Aquatic Centre.

Madeleine Link Contributor

The AMS app has a clean design and brings together a bunch of useful features. But if you’re short on phone space, the app isn’t worth it.

Overall, the AMS app has an easy-to-navigate design. The main screen display links to the AMS Twitter feed, campus services — most notably UBC Campus Security and Safewalk — an events page, groups, clubs and a campus map.

Other screens on the app allow students to modify their profile (using the app requires an account), check their schedule, post in the Campus Feed and message other users. Apart from a puzzlingly outdated article detailing 2015’s Vanier Cup, the AMS app makes it easy to find relevant information.

The app’s most unique feature is its Tours section, which features maps for things like “Best places to read a book on campus” and “Cheapest places to get beer on campus.” These maps are

fully interactive, so tapping on a location offers a photo and short blurb — Koerner’s Pub has great nachos or that hooking up in the Aquatic Centre puts you at risk of skin rashes (yikes). For returning students who already know their way around campus, this might not be necessary. For new students searching for the nearest place to get drinkable coffee, it could prove useful.

Apart from Tours, the AMS app doesn’t offer much novelty. The scheduling tab lets you program in your courses and sends you reminders to go to class, similar to common calendar apps.

The Campus Feed is divided into categories to allow students to buy or sell items, report lost student cards and other things likely already familiar to UBC students in campus Facebook groups. Given that posts in groups like UBC Class of 2019 and UBC Textbook 4 Sale are already annoying and time-consuming to sort through, it seems unlikely that students will want to put the effort into checking another app.

The Walrus Talks Africa’s Next Generation

Join eight great speakers for an evening of ideas and debate about African leaders, education access, youth, gender equality, social justice, and more Featuring

Pierre Kwenders

Kennedy Jawoko

Brian Mukeswe

Ivy Mwai

Musician

MasterCard Foundation scholar, UBC

Wisdom Tettey

Dean, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Science, UBC

Professor, Seneca College Program Manager, Education and Learning, The MasterCard Foundation

Sharon Shamuyarira

MasterCard Foundation scholar, UBC

Sina Yetbarek

Doug Ward

Tuesday, October 18, 7 p.m.

Buy tickets

Youth Reconciliation Leader, Canadian Roots

University of British Columbia Frederic Wood Theatre, 6354 Crescent Road, Vancouver

Chair, Farm Radio International

thewalrus.ca/events General: $15 Students: $10

MON 8PM

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Compete to find out who’s the smartest!

Prize for the top player or team.

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Legendary! Your degree is not complete without at least one Pit night story.

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Themed nights and bands! Follow us on Facebook for the weekly Thursday Showcase at The Pit.

Rising stars! Best up-and-coming DJs on the scene.

SPORTS+REC

OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY

EDITOR OLAMIDE OLANIYAN

RUGBY //

13

BASKETBALL //

T-Birds overpower Cascades 84-62

Women’s rugby finishes their season with a 1-3 record.

PHOTO MICKO BENRIMOH /THE UBYSSEY

’Birds beat Horns 45-34 Salomon Micko Benrimoh Staff Writer

UBC women’s rugby ended their season on a long awaited high note, securing their first victory of the season with a 45-34 win over the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

The weather was on nobody’s side as strong winds blew for the majority of the game, making kicks and general plays twice as hard.

The ’Birds came out roaring in the game and opened scoring, taking a 5-0 lead just before the fourth minute. UBC winger Ciara Malone scored a second try as UBC took a 10-0 lead before the 10-minute mark passed Two minutes later, Lethbridge would finally put themselves on the board after winning a scrum and successfully running the length of the field to score a try.

The Pronghorns were also good on the two-point conversion — unlike UBC — and brought the game to a close score of 10-7. The following 10 minutes were tight with the ball being exchanged between both teams and never leaving centre field.

UBC managed to fight its way to the goal at the 20th minute and fly-half Mackenzie Carson was able to score a try. Malone was finally able to score a two-point conversion and UBC climbed back to a more comfortable 17-7 lead.

Lethbridge answered with intense offence, but UBC’s defence proved to be too much to handle and they were held back. At one point, a Pronghorn player carrying the ball had her foot on the goal line, but was held back from scoring a try.

Play returned to the centre of the field as both teams tried to break away and score, but botched passes or interception on both ends kept the score the same. At the 37th minute, UBC’s Mackenzie Lee scored the first of her four tries of the game and Malone was once again good for the two-point conversion as UBC now held a commanding 24-7 lead.

UBC came out of the break on top as Lee scored try two and three, and with successful conversions

by Malone, UBC held a very comfortable 38-17 lead over the Pronghorns.

Lethbridge made two tries to take the score to 38-29, but Lee answered with her fourth try as the final minutes on the clock ticked away. Lethbridge scored one more try in extra time, but they also hit the post on the extra twopoint conversion again. The final score was a safe 45-34 win for the Thunderbirds.

It was a great show by the team, who finally got their first win after an overall disappointing season. The T-Birds will finish with a 1-3 record and second to last in the Canada West final game of the season. U

TUITION CONSULTATION We want to hear from you

consultations.students.ubc.ca

The ’Birds tightened up their performance on Friday.

Arjun Singla Contributor

On Friday, October 14 at the War Memorial Gym, women’s basketball beat the visiting University of Fraser Valley Cascades 84-62. With the victory, the ’Birds have now won back-to-back preseason games and are looking like a formidable team heading into the new season.

The ’Birds struggled in the first quarter. The Cascades opened up the scoring for the night and were leading by nine points heading into the third minute. They definitely looked like superior competition for the ’Birds, but UBC didn’t quit.

They fought back and narrowed the Cascades’ lead to just four points at 17-13.

The positive momentum continued in the second quarter as the T-Birds tied the game at 17 a piece while being extra tight on the defensive end. They saw their first lead of the game during the fourth minute. Right after this, UBC looked like a brand new team on the floor — buzzing with energy.

UBC guard Shilpa Khanna started heating up from downtown and was 5-7 from the three-point line during the night. Veteran forward Kara Spotton then made three consecutive baskets, widening UBC’s lead to seven

points. The ’Birds finished off the second quarter strong at 44-36. “[In the second quarter] we started executing better offensively,” said UBC head coach Deb Huband.

“We started to take advantage of our size and we rebounded the ball. If we didn’t score, we got the rebound for the put-back.”

“We also got our transition game going — it was much more up-tempo and lots of nice team plays.”

The rookies deserve a lot of credit as well. Ali Norris, Keylyn Filewich, Marcie Schlick and Samantha Baumgartne all looked like veterans rather than first-year players. They all showed a lot of chemistry with one another and the veterans, which Huband was thrilled to see.

“Keylyn Filewich had a really good outing tonight. It’s nice to see Marcie Schlick out there,” said Huband. “We need our youngsters to gain experience early in the season and be like veterans in December.”

Spotton put up an all-around performance as well. “[Kara Spotton] had a very efficient game today — her veteran status [showed]. She was composed, made really good decisions, was balanced on her finish, rebounded the ball really well and executed,” said Huband.

UBC shot the ball extremely well, especially from downtown at 45 per

FILE PHOTO GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

cent. The Cascades, on the other hand, shot a disappointing 26.3 per cent from the three. Furthermore, UBC had more points in the paint at 40, while the Cascades had 30, and also more second-chance points at 14, while the Cascades had four. The ’Birds also shot better from the free throw line at 64.7 per cent, while the Cascades shot at 38.5 per cent.

If the Cascades had capitalized on their terrific start, Friday night’s story would have been very different. They could have continued to play in the aggressive manner they originally set out with, driven to the basket more and to shoot from the three. They could have also rebounded the ball better, as UBC out-rebounded them 42 to 33.

UBC didn’t let any of this happen and instead tightened up their performance.

“I thought a lot of pieces are more refined than they were a couple of weeks ago, which is a nice sign.

We’ve been working hard at practice since that Ottawa game and we executed a lot better on both ends of the floor,” said Huband. U

The T-Birds will play against the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack in Kamloops, BC for their first game of the regular season on Friday, November 4 at 5 p.m.

14 | SPORTS+REC | TUESDAY OCTOBER 18, 2016 BACK TO BACK //

Women’s hockey sweeps Dinos 4-1 and 3-2 Bill Situ Staff Writer

After the split against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, the Thunderbirds women’s hockey team picked up two comeback wins on the home ice against the University of Calgary Dinos — winning 4-1 and 3-2.

In the first game on Friday, UBC got into a 1-0 deficit early in the game, but came out on top in the end after a four-goal flurry from Nicole Saxvik, Kathleen Cahoon, Mairead Bast and Logan Boyd in the final period.

After the win on Friday, the ’Birds picked up another victory on Saturday, this time on a comeback from a two-goal deficit.

“It’s a sign of really good team … a character team that can come back from adversity, challenges and things that happen within a game,” said Graham Thomas, UBC head coach.

The start of the second game saw a similar situation to the first, with an early goal from the Dinos. Only 19 seconds into game, the Dinos mounted strong offensive pressure in the attacking zone, which ended in a backhand shot by Sara Craven from the slot that beat T-Bird goalkeeper Tory Micklash.

With the 1-0 lead going into the second frame, Calgary doubled its lead midway in the period when Madison Turk rifled the puck from the right circle to put the biscuit in the basket. Less than a minute later,

PHOTO OLAMIDE OLANIYAN/THE UBYSSEY

Jack Hauen Coordinating Editor

The ‘Birds show once again that they are strong contenders for the Canada West.

the ’Birds cut the Dinos’ lead in half with a goal by Alexa Ranahan.

In the latter half of the second period, UBC had a total of five penalties, but their strong defence kept the Dinos from extending their lead.

With the 2-1 deficit, Mathea Fischer got the equalizer for the ’Birds midway in the third frame, firing the puck from the slot after receiving a drop pass from Haneet Parhar.

After Fischer’s goal, the Dinos picked up three penalties, the last being one for body checking

against Megan Grenon with 3:45 remaining. As the ’Birds went on power play, defenceman Bast lit the lamp for the second time of the weekend, picking up the game-winning goal for UBC. “It’s nice to see when you get some offensive from your backend,” said Thomas. “We’ve been preaching a lot about having our [defence] … being a secondary threat in the offensive zone.”

Thomas was also impressed by his team’s offensive firepower in the last period. Although the Dinos outshot the ’Birds 15-11 by

PHOTO BEN GEISBERG/THE UBYSSEY

the end of the second frame, shots on goal by the end of the game were 26-16 in favour of UBC. For rookie defenceman Bast, scoring the first two goals of her varsity career in one weekend was a special feeling.

“I’m trying not to think too much into it, but to make a difference already is pretty huge and I’m really honoured,” said Bast. U UBC will be back in action on Monday, October 17 to take on the Chinese National Team.

’Birds fall to Spartans 2-1 and Cascades 1-0

The two losses end the team’s three game winning streak.

Heading into Friday’s match with three consecutive wins, the Thunderbirds women’s soccer team had a lot of confidence builtup to face the Trinity Western University Spartans. Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, the winning streak was halted at three, as they fell to the Spartans 2-1.

“The game was there for the taking and as a team, I don’t think we made the choice to take it,” said UBC head coach Jesse Symons reflecting on the game. “We were the better team, we created more chances and we were on the front foot, but unfortunately, we didn’t do that last bit to create goals.

New gaming lounge opens

The lounge is open to every UBC student.

SOCCER //

Marcus Yun Contributor

ESPORTS //

“Overall, I’m pleased that we were the better team tonight, but the game can be cruel sometimes.”

The ’Birds maintained pressure against the Spartans in the early stages of the first half, with most of the action being held in the Spartan’s zone.

Momentum was with the home team, but a poor clearance attempt from the Thunderbirds’ goalkeeper in the 31st minute gave the Spartans an opportunity to take the lead.

Rachel Hutchinson of the Spartans capitalized on the mistake and UBC were behind 1-0.

The Thunderbirds were looking to come back strong, but it was clear that some focus was lost, as the momentum shifted to the Spartans for the rest of the first half.

Frustrated and eager to get the team

PHOTO JEREMY JOHNSON-SILVERS

on the scoreboard, T-Bird defender Aman Shergill ended up receiving the only booking of the match.

Being the top placed team in the division, it was no surprise that the Spartans had a very solid defence, making it difficult for the Thunderbirds to get by for much of the game. However, the Thunderbirds’ relentless attack seemed to tire out the Spartan’s defence in the later stages of the game.

The Spartans failed to continue the momentum they had at the end of the first half. The ’Birds looked dominant and dangerous starting at the 50th minute.

After countless rushes on the Spartan’s net, UBC was finally rewarded with a goal in the 60th minute by second-year forward

Amelia Crawford. During a corner kick, the T-Birds swarmed the box and created chances deep in the Spartan’s zone. Crawford was then able to tuck in the loose ball near the goal to equalize.

“I was so excited — off the corner, I was just at the right place at the right time. I’m so happy it went in,” said Crawford regarding the goal.

The celebrations were cut short when the referee called for an apparent foul just seven minutes after the goal. The Spartans were awarded a free kick and the call proved to be devastating for UBC, as Spartan forward Isabella Di Trocchio curled the ball in from 30 yards.

This did not stop UBC from attacking, as they continued to push even into the late stages of the game.

However, the Thunderbirds were unable to capitalize on the opportunities made as they finished the match with a 2-1 loss. In addition to Friday’s loss, UBC’s game against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades on Saturday resulted in a close 1-0 loss as well.

“We’re at the point now where these games are going to be knockout games and hopefully this motivates us to understand that when it is a knockout game, we have to stay composed and stay organized regardless of how the game is rolling,” said Symons. U The T-Birds will play their last two games of their regular season on the road against the University of Manitoba Bisons on Saturday, October 22 and the the University of Winnipeg Wesmen on Sunday, October 23.

The eSports Association just opened a brand-spanking-new gaming lounge and it’s open to every UBC student.

Starting October 17, registered UBC students will be able to game to their heart’s desire from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday in room 2132 in the Nest.

“The plan with it was to promote eSports and promote gaming, because it’s a really good way for people to find friends and bond with people in their community,” said UBC eSports’s president Victor Ho. “I know a lot of these [PCs] can get expensive, so not everybody has a chance to play on something like this,” he said.

The games that will come pre-installed on the PCs include; League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Pokemon Trading Card Game, Dropzone, Overwatch, StarCraft II and Heroes of the Storm.

Ho noted that they were “probably going to install” Rocket League to play, but offered no promises on covering it as a club.

Outside the public hours, the eSports Association will use the room as an event space and training room for the competitive team.

All the PC components were provided by the club’s sponsors — Intel, ASUS Republic of Gamers, Corsair, NCIX and Wangyu Cyber Cafe — and they’re pretty decked out, running Intel Core i7 processors and GTX 1060 GPUs, not to mention Corsair keyboards, mice and headsets.

They even had solid-state drives (SSDs), but they opted to move those to their private server instead.

Ho wants to give a “really big shoutout to everybody who came together to make all of this work.”

The eSports Association approached the AMS this summer about getting a dedicated practice space for their competitive team, but figured that they “may as well go for something that would make a bigger impact on the community” while they were at it — something like a full-blown gaming lounge, open to any UBC student who wanted in.

Aside from some longer wait times and “bureaucracy,” Ho said the AMS was “incredibly supportive” during the process of allocating the space — the biggest challenge, he said, was simply fitting everything into the room. U

OCTOBER 18, 2016 TUESDAY | SPORTS+REC | 15 WAR //

The long and rivalrous eSports history between UBC and SFU Miguel Santa Maria Copy Editor

It’s not uncommon to think of UBC and Simon Fraser University (SFU) as rival schools in the Greater Vancouver area in many contexts.

When it comes to eSports teams, it’s certainly no exception.

Next month, Riot Games and Yahoo eSports are hosting a League of Legends exhibition series. This series will feature matches where various North American university teams will be pitted against their popular rivals. The featured matchups were planned via popularity vote, with UBC vs. SFU making the final cut.

When looking at their history, it’s easy to see why the rivalry between the schools exists.

According to Carman Lam, cofounder of UBC eSports, both teams always find themselves facing off against each other at the annual University League of Legends (uLoL) Championship northwestern conference finals. It was already a rocky relationship during their first encounters back in 2014.

“The very first year we competed in the North American Collegiate Championship [now the uLoL campus series], it was a pretty straining and stressful rivalry because we both didn’t know how strong [the] other was.

We just knew that we were both the top contenders for first place,” said Lam. To make matters more heated, SFU also cheated during one of their past matches by using a highly skilled player who wasn’t an enrolled student at the time. They were disqualified upon this discovery, but

FILE PHOTO VICTOR HOGREFE/THE UBYSSEY

Next month, UBC will be facing off against SFU in League of Legends exhibition series.

tensions were thickened regardless.

“The [UBC team] felt really betrayed because they were close to them and they thought it was really disrespectful. Beforehand, we considered that to be an action they would do,” said Lam. “I took it really personally. I was really mad after that happened,” said Jeremy Koberstein, a former player on the UBC team. “As far as I know, the players have changed since then, so I won’t hold it against the new players.”

Indeed, both of the team’s rosters are new this year and currently don’t share this specific history. However, Lam noted some consistent key differences between the two rivals throughout the years

playing with them — be it discipline or resources. “[SFU] seems to play really passionately and for fun. They won’t get as burnt out that way. UBC plays as if it’s their job,” said Lam. “We have better dedicated managers and analysts. I’m not sure if [SFU] recruited any for this year, but in the past they didn’t really have a dedicated manager.”

Lam noted this may not mean one team has a handicap — they are simply playing to their strengths.

Also, despite the controversy, the team still has respect for their rival.

With both teams playing each other in the finals every year, the team finds their SFU counterpart worthy opponents regardless.

“It’s been us and them in the finals in the last three years,” said Koberstein. “There’s a few other good schools, but it’s just us and SFU. Changes happen every year, but in the past [that’s how it’s been].”

Many of the team members from both sides have also befriended each other.

“I’m friends with [some of the SFU players], but it’s just going to be a lot more fun to play with them,” said Colton Popowich, another UBC eSports team member. “But it’s not gonna be ‘Oh, I feel bad for you. I’m just gonna let you win.’ It shouldn’t complicate things at all.”

“I’m just glad that [the cheating] didn’t really break any bonds — we just treated it as player-to-player and

not as friend-to-friend,” said Lam. She also mentioned that last year they invited SFU over to collaborate on an event filmed by Riot Games.

Now with the new batch of players on both sides, it’s all about starting from scratch and being cautious.

“I don’t know how good [SFU] should be now. It should be up to how hard they train — us too,” said Popowich. However, he also emphasized that the upcoming matchup should not hold as much pressure. “[The match] will be a showing of which team is good right now, [but] you don’t really want to make it super important. Just play as you would play — that’s all.” U

BIG PLANS //

The future looks bright for the UBC Wrestling Club

The team will compete in its first competitive league this year.

Matt Langmuir Staff Writer

There’s no doubt that wrestling remains one of the world’s most popular sports, contested at the Olympics every four years, with participants from all over the world.

At UBC, wrestling had its peak back in the 1970s. With a strong varsity program, the team was one of the best in Canada. Unfortunately in 1986, its varsity status was stripped due to lack of funding.

The sport did not see the light of day at UBC until the early 2000s,

when wrestling was established as an AMS club. Though far from varsity status, the club produced some quality wrestlers that participated in national championships. Last year, the club competed in the SFU invitational and the Canada Juvenile Championships. Additionally, they host the Vancouver International Wrestling Festival every year, turning downtown Vancouver’s Robson Square ice rink into a combat coliseum for wrestlers of all ages to compete. “[The festival] is one of our accomplishments,” said UBC

PHOTO COURTESY UBC WRESTLING CLUB

Wrestling Club President Kentaro Hayashi. “We do it every year as part of a campaign to save Olympic wrestling because [it] almost got kicked out of the Olympics a few years ago.”

On October 19, Hayashi’s club teamed up with fencing, boxing and taekwondo to host a similar event in the Nest. The event — called SUBmission — featured the four combat sports contested live in front of an audience in the Nest.

Clearly, the club has been working hard to help build the sport into what it once was.

In an attempt to give wrestling a bigger name on campus, the wrestling club — along with other sports such as quidditch and fencing — has gone a step further by joining the Thunderbirds Sports Club program. This new competitive option for student athletes — which launched last September and is one level below varsity — is housed within the department of athletics and recreation. The major difference between this program and varsity status is that students are in charge of the executive roles of finding coaches, organizing practices, travel and fundraising.

With the money that was allocated to them for hiring coaches, Hayashi’s club brought in two Iranian wrestlers — Ashkan Amirhasani and Maziar Barzegar.

Both coaches are experienced wrestlers — Amirhasani has three Iranian senior national championships to his name, while Barzegar has two Iranian junior national championships. “[Amirhasani and Barzegar] are here to try to get us to the competitive levels,” said Hayashi.

“Barzegar is the son of an Olympic silver medalist in Iran and he’s also a national champion himself. We’re excited to have him because he can directly pass on the techniques he got from his father.”

This year also marks the first year in which Hayashi’s club will participate in a competitive league.

“We didn’t compete in a league before, but this year we’re excited because now we have something really to aspire to,” said Hayashi.

“We’re joining a new league called the NCWA [National Collegiate Wrestling Association] and that’ll be exciting for us because we will be able to compete at a national level now.”

The team recruited a promising young wrestler out of high school named Joseph Huh. He won silver at the 2016 Canadian Juvenile Championships and is highlyregarded as one of Canada’s top high school wrestlers. Hayashi believes new talent will bring the club success in their NCWA endeavours.

“I think we’re going to do pretty well [in the NCWA],” said Hayashi. “[This is especially] because we’re hosting events like [SUBmission] that try to recruit more people.

There are wrestlers out there — it’s just that they don’t know that our club exists, so hopefully we can get the word out there and recruit some new members.”

With an all-star coaching staff, new recruits and fresh opportunities to compete, the future looks bright for the UBC Wrestling Club. U

16 | GAMES+COMICS | TUESDAY OCTOBER 18, 2016

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8- Off one’s feed; 9- Most proximate; 10- Facial hair; 11- Lucy’s landlady; 12- Stagnant; 13- Nymph chaser; 21- Actress Daly; 23- Be gaga over; 25- Pie nut; 26- Statistics, collection of facts; 27- Yale students; 28- Weed whackers; 29- For ___ sake!; 32- Lanterns; 33- Covering flap on a seed vessel; 34- Bar ___; 35- Mid-month times;

36- Dick Francis book “Dead ___”; 38- Blender brand; 42- Chowder cracker; 43- Bath powder; 47- Narrate; 48- Run of bird-song; 49- Actress Zellweger; 50- Siouan speakers; 51- Factory; 52- MetLife competitor; 54- Chamber; 55- Web locale; 56- Opposite of odd, especially when applied to numbers; 57- Bird feed; 60- Precious stone;

COMIC ANTHONY LABONTE/THE UBYSSEY

COMIC PATRICK MURRY AND MIKE PAROLINI/THE UBYSSEY

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