October 27, 2014

OCTOBER 27, 2015 | VOLUME XCVII | ISSUE IX NOT BREAKING BREAKING THINGS SINCE 1918

U

THE UBYSSEY

FREE TO BE FAHMY Finally released from Egyptian prison, the Canadian journalist has arrived at UBC and says “the sky’s the limit” PAGE 2

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NEWS

CULTURE

OPINIONS

SPORTS

AMS and UBC in dispute over donation

Library events celebrate Harry Po!er

Outrage for the wrong reasons

Our expert panel of editors weighs in on sports

// PAGE 2

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE

EVENTS

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TUES 27 TUITION PROTEST 5:30 P.M. @ ROBERT H. LEE ALUMNI CENTRE

UBC is hosting the Alumni Awards night on Oct 27. Come out and make some noise, let your student voice be heard!

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Fahmy has accepted a term-long teaching position on campus at the School of Journalism.

PHOTO MACKENZIE WALKER/THE UBYSSEY

Free from prison, Fahmy ready to tell his story Moira Warburton News Editor

SAT 31 HAUNTED 9 P.M. @ THE NEST

Presented by The Calendar and AMS Events, the new SUB will morph into a multi-stage party complete with dungeons and beer.

PRICES VARY

ON THE COVER PHOTO BY Mackenzie Walker

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Email your event listings to printeditor@ubyssey.ca

U THE UBYSSEY

OCTOBER 27, 2015 | VOLUME XCVII| ISSUE IX

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“I have a lot to say,” said Mohamed Fahmy.

This is perhaps an understatement.

Although the Canadian journalist’s opportunities for speaking were severely limited during the 438 days he spent in Egyptian prison on politicallymotivated charges of inciting terrorism, he’s now making up for lost time.

Since the charges were dropped in late September, Fahmy has barely stopped talking. Even before he arrived at UBC for a term-long teaching position, he gave numerous interviews and held meetings with supporters to thank them for their assistance during his imprisonment.

Now that he’s here, it feels like a dream come true.

“The sky’s the limit right now,” he said of the move to Vancouver.

The days of hosting a mock radio show from his cell — or The Shoebox, as he and his fellow inmates called their three-by-four cage — featuring imagined guests like Mohamed Al-Zawahiri, ISIS fighters and the presidential team from the Muslim Brotherhood, are over.

Although he is “euphoric” to be free, the former Al Jazeera English producer’s face still lights up when he remembers this “lifelong exclusive” he had. The radio show was the only bright spot that he and his fellow journalists had during that time: “All you do all day [is] just play devil’s advocate, ask questions during that show [and] interview them. Unbelievable. Unbelievable!”

He still loves talking to people — it is the thing that keeps him grounded. In particular, he loves chatting with students, faculty and strangers on the street who approach him and his wife, Marwa, to wish them well.

“From the moment I got on the airplane, strangers, beautiful people [and] the police officers at customs were taking selfies with me. [Even] the passport control guys and the cab guys are always asking me to take a photo,” Fahmy recalled. “So much love and support and warmth.

We’re both shocked.”

Marwa, who sat next to him throughout the interview, revealed a slow, joyful smile. She had never been to Canada or seen snow and it is partially for this reason that they chose to start their new life in Vancouver: “She’s already wearing her gloves. Can you imagine her if we lived on the East Coast?” Fahmy, who previously lived in Montreal, exclaimed.

During the half hour interview, two people approached to congratulate Fahmy on his release.

He is almost intimidating in his poise, but is warm and genuine as he shakes hands, thanking the people for their congratulations. He told a law student that he’s looking forward to speaking at Allard Hall and volunteered his phone number to a PhD student who invited Fahmy to his radio show on CiTR. This is a big change from just a few months ago when Marwa was his voice and his lifeline to the outside world.

“During the family visits … there would be a cop watching us while we have a 45 minute visit and [we tried] to cram everything inside,” said Fahmy.

To keep Fahmy abreast of what was going on outside of the prison walls, Marwa had to smuggle him information by lining trays of fish and rice that she brought to him with newspaper articles, media statements and letters of support – one of which was from UBC. “I realized that UBC [had taken] a stand against what happened to me, they were speaking out in a very concrete manner and I was very excited about that,” said Fahmy.

When he was released on bail, he was contacted by Peter Klein, director of the International Reporting Program at UBC, to teach at the School of Journalism at UBC. Having visited and fallen in love with Vancouver when he was younger, it was an easy choice to make.

“The cosmopolitan atmosphere is just unbelievably healthy for the mind and the soul ... people get to live with each other without what happens in the Middle East where you are always judged,” Fahmy said. “This is the place I want to be in — where you can be yourself and everybody else can be themselves around you and you don’t have to worry about it.”

The value of being in control is something Fahmy learned from his brush with the Egyptian judicial system.

“No one understands your case and your situation better than yourself,” he said. “The most important thing is that you have to take charge.”

Fahmy admits has easily adapted to being on the other side of the interview table and is unfazed by the busy schedule of talks he has over the next few weeks to students, faculty and members of the government.

He says that talking to people is the best way to reflect on what happened to him and to share his experience.

The opportunity for reflection is something Fahmy particularly loves about being at UBC. The square in front of the Nest is his favourite place to be. During the interview, it was easy to see why.

Filled with sunlight, laughter and chatter from the people milling around, Fahmy shook his head.

“We feel like little kids ... we’re just joyful all the time,” he said of himself and Marwa. “I don’t know how long it’s going to last. It’s kind of surreal.” U

// NEWS

EDITORS EMMA PARTRIDGE + MOIRA WARBURTON

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

3

PHILANTHROPY //

Donation raises questions over AMS and UBC fundraising protocol

FILE PHOTO CHERIHAN HASSUN/THE UBYSSEY

Photo of Nest construction in early 2015, featuring the Lev Bukhman lounge.

Vassilena Sharlandjieva Staff Writer

A $125,000 donation towards the construction of the Nest that the AMS believes was intended for them has instead been credited to UBC Development.

The budget for the new Student Union Building was comprised of $81.8 million from students plus a $25 million contribution from UBC

– the part which the donation was used to offset.

Lev Bukhman, founder and CEO of Studentcare, first offered his gift directly to the AMS in 2006-2007 when he agreed to be a launch donor for the project.

Tanner Bokor, AMS president from 2014-15, started working with UBC Development to realize Bukhman’s commitment. The university can process donations

and issue tax receipts while the AMS cannot, according to Richard Fisher, communications officer for UBC Development. For the donor to receive a tax receipt, his gift must go through UBC. When the donation came through, UBC Development processed the money towards UBC’s $25 million grant. The AMS has contested this, believing that the donation should instead be

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transferred to the AMS so that it can be credited towards the students’ contribution to the building.

“We’re going to keep looking into this and pushing on it because I don’t think [the donor] was aware that was happening — that [the donation] was going to the university and not to the student society,” said Aaron Bailey, AMS president.

Bukhman confirmed that he was not aware of how his donation would be processed. In his discussions with the AMS, he had understood that the gift would go to the student society.

“My understanding is that the university’s involvement was to facilitate that transaction as the entity that can receive the donation and process it,” said Bukhman. “But my understanding was that the funds would be going towards the students.”

The disagreement between the AMS and UBC Development arises from the formulation of Schedule “C” in the AMS Nest Lease Agreement, which outlines the procedures for fundraising and allocation of funds. The Fundraising Protocol, agreed upon in 2010 by the AMS and UBC, establishes that proceeds from UBC’s fundraising will offset the university’s $25 million commitment.

However, the AMS perceives an ambiguity in clause 10 of the agreement, which relates to funds raised by the AMS as a unit of UBC. The agreement reads: “Any gift over $25,000 receipted by UBC and secured by the AMS that was not taken through the prospect coordination process will be credited against UBC’s $25 million commitment.”

Bailey’s reading of the statement is that if a donation was secured by the AMS and the prospect coordination process was followed, the donation ought to be transferred to the AMS so

that it can be credited against the students’ contribution to the building.

Conversely, UBC Development’s interpretation of the same statement is that any gift, regardless of whether it follows the process, still offsets UBC’s $25 million.

“It’s a both/and, not an either/ or,” wrote Fisher in an email.

“This was perfectly clear to all involved at the time and this gift follows the protocol exactly with 100 per cent of the funds going to the Student Centre.” Although it may have been clear at the time, Bailey admitted that he came into his presidency with little information about the donation.

“It’s difficult when you sign agreements that last decades and your leadership switches over every single year,” Bailey acknowledged, contrasting the terms of AMS presidents with those of the UBC employees involved. “It’s pretty easy for [UBC] to say, ‘Actually I think when we signed that, this is what we meant.’”

Bokor said he did not know how the donor’s gift would be credited and did not discuss it with UBC Development. Instead, his conversations with UBC Development were focused on the amount of the donation and on naming protocols.

“We didn’t end up getting into a serious discussion about the location of the funding except for that meeting I was in where it was briefly mentioned,” he said, “But it was very open-ended at that time.”

Bokor believed that the location of the gift “wasn’t a done deal” and that it would be up to the next AMS executive to discuss it with UBC Development. UBC Development, on the other hand, was certain that the donation would not be going to the AMS as per their reading of the fundraising agreement.

The AMS has consulted UBC Legal and UBC Treasury and brought the issue forward at Oversight Committee meetings.

“Our argument was that the donor vetting process was not very clear and that it cannot be proven that we didn’t follow that process,” said Ava Nasiri, VP Administration and the AMS executive overseeing the Nest’s construction. She also believes the agreement indicates that the AMS should receive Bukhman’s donation.

“But there’s only so much fighting we can do … and it looks like we have been rather overpowered,” said Nasiri.

To Bailey, this situation could set a precedent for future donations. He will continue to contest UBC Development’s claim to Lev Bukhman’s donation.

Through seeking legal counsel, Bailey hopes to obtain a ruling in the favour of the AMS stating that this and future donations should be transferred to the society if the donor intends them to be.

“We want to be clear — if we’re going to go out and solicit donations or donations come to us, it doesn’t make sense for them not to support students if that’s the intention of the donor,” he said. U

4 | NEWS |

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

GOVERNANCE //

AMS debating whether to leave the Alliance of BC Students Bill Situ Staff Writer

In a recent council meeting, the AMS discussed the possibility of withdrawing from the Alliance of BC Students (ABCS).

Founded in 2011, the ABCS is an organization whose objective has been to collectively represent the interests of B.C. postsecondary students on education issues. The AMS and GSS are among the post-secondary student associations with current membership in the ABCS. According to Jude Crasta, AMS VP External, the ABCS recently witnessed the departure of various affiliated student associations and the resignation of all the organization’s chairpersons. According to Crasta, fragmentation of the organization may make it ineffective.

“A lot of people came with hopes that the ABCS would provide an unified student voice.

However, with so many people fractured from the ABCS [and] refusing to work with the ABCS, it’s not even asserting that mandate anymore,” said Crasta.

Crasta also said that membership in the ABCS at this point would be an impediment to the AMS in forming partnerships with student associations that are unaffiliated with the ABCS. Not all AMS councilors support departure from the ABCS at this point in time. Tobias

FILE PHOTO KOSTA PRODANOVIC/THE UBYSSEY

Due to fragmentation of the organization, the AMS is considering departing from the ABCS.

Friedel, GSS president, believes that the AMS has not conducted a thorough enough evaluation of the plan. He said that a wellinformed proposal should involve a committee that specifically examines the potential outcomes of such a decision.

“Should the AMS decide to leave, that decision should be based on a robust, well thought out process that I don’t see has happened at this point,” said Friedel.

Friedel also said that leaving the ABCS would likely affect AMS lobbying efforts in the same way that the AMS’ former decision to depart from the Canadian Alliance of Students’ Associations did.

“On the federal level, close to no lobbying has been done since the AMS decided to leave ... one of my fears, without a poll strategy in place for provincial lobbying, is that we’re going to repeat history,” said Friedel.

Robin Asgari, AMS arts councilor and Chairperson of the University and External Relations Committee (UNECORN), said that the ABCS actually receives very limited recognition from the provincial government in comparison to the AMS. Therefore, a departure wouldn’t necessarily affect lobbying efforts.

“When we’re advocating and lobbying the government, we’re advocating as the AMS and they

know who we are. They don’t really know who the ABCS is,” said Asgari.

The AMS’ plan to withdraw from the ABCS began in August of this year through a review by the VP External Office and UNECORN. It first came into council near the start of the school year. The AMS Council will again address the issue of withdrawal from the ABCS in their next meeting on Wednesday, October 28. U

TRUDEAU //

UBC on the new Liberal majority government Sophie Sutcliffe Staff Writer

FILE PHOTO CHERIHAN HASSUN/THE UBYSSEY

Voter turnout spiked and with that came a new Prime Minister.

Last Monday, Canada’s longest election since the 1800s finally came to a close with Canadians voting in a new Prime Minister: Justin Trudeau.

The election was historic not only due to its length and the change in government, but also considering how the results came to be. This election saw a significant leap in voter turnout — 3.6 million Canadians showed up during advanced polls alone and rough numbers estimate that on election day 17 million Canadians voted.

There also appeared to be more engagement with the student and youth demographic — a group that, in the last election, had a voter turnout that was half the national average.

“This [was] a very different election in relation to young voters

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Students themselves also seemed to be very enthusiastic about voting. When asked why he chose to vote in the election, Ophir Pick, a fourth-year integrated science student said, “Why not? I had the opportunity to ... so it was a kind of automatic thing to do.”

Other students, while having voted, remarked that there were limited options in who to vote for — possibly explaining the past hesitancy to vote. “[I voted] strategically, mainly.

It’s not really like you have much of an option,” explained Jordan

Clarke, a first-year computer science student.

“The election itself seemed to be a referendum on the Harper government and on Harper in particular.... You saw over the course of months Canadians trying to figure out who it was that they wanted to replace [Harper],” said David Moscrop, a Ph.D. candidate in the department of political science.

After 10 years under the leadership of Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, Canada has made the shift to a Liberal government with a strong majority. While some students remained hesitant about the new leadership, across campus it seemed to be a welcomed change.

“I’m nervous to see what the future will hold,” said Adi Pick, a second-year arts student. “[Trudeau’s] pulling out of the coalition, he’s raising my taxes [but] he’s not Harper.” U

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| NEWS | 5

INFORMATION //

Gupta’s departure highlights understaffed FOI office David Nixon Contributor

In the wake of the departure of Arvind Gupta, a mountain of freedom of information requests are hitting UBC’s two Access and Privacy staff members hard. This severe shortage of staff makes the mountain that much bigger.

The small department receives an average of 20 requests for information each month, but in August there was a deluge of 47 — half of which were journalists and community members trying to find out why Gupta resigned.

“In the five years I have been at UBC, this is the largest number of requests I’ve received about the same issue in such a short period of time,” said Paul Hancock, Legal Counsel as well as Information and Privacy for the Office of University Counsel, in an email response to The Ubyssey’s questions.

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are how information is sought from a public body when the material is sensitive in nature or unsatisfactory responses are given when asked for directly.

When a spike in volume happens, file completion times slow down. FIPPA — the provincial act governing FOI requests — requires they be answered within the first 30 days. But at UBC, they’re rarely completed by then — files can drag on for months or even years.

Hancock says the university’s

Freedom of Information requests are handled within the office of the University Counsel.

average file completion time is 40 days. Half are routine personal records request from students, faculty and staff and they don’t take much time. Requests by the AMS and student media made in the public interest consistently take enormous amounts of time.

“The time for response at UBC is atrocious. They frequently respond with requests for extensions,” said Geoff Lister, former coordinating editor of The Ubyssey who’s filed about a dozen requests with UBC over the years — most of which have taken many

months to be completed.

“I think they are dealing with a large workload for the amount of staff,” said Neal Yonson, who has similarly filed around a dozen requests as founder of UBC Insiders. “It’s hard for me to say for sure they need more staff, but I’m certainly left with that impression from the outside.”

Jude Crasta, AMS VP External, puts the average completion time for the AMS’s FOI requests somewhere between a minimum of six or seven months with the longest taking 18 months. Cost-

PHOTO KOSTA PRODANOVIC / THE UBYSSEY

recovery fees are also assessed for any records exceeding three hours of work as well — recently, the AMS paid around $6,022 for 2,000 pages of documents related to the UBC Farm.

Hancock estimates FOI requests cost the university $220,000 per year, including the 20 per cent of time he devotes to FOI work and other overhead. That’s less than five per cent of the Office of University Counsel’s budget and 0.023 per cent of UBC’s total budget. Cost-recovery fees charged would also be subtracted from that.

That budget includes the second full-time staff member who was hired in response to seven straight months of more file requests being opened than the office was closing in 2014. The requests were being made at a far faster rate than they could keep ahead of and requests have been steadily increasing by 5-10 per cent per year.

Hancock attributes that to “rapid increases in the size and complexity of the university,” but also a growing public interest and demand for accountability, which he calls a good thing.

“While we can’t control how many requests we receive, we can try to respond as efficiently as we can,” said Hancock. He calls it a “lean but efficient” system and he’s confident they can begin reducing their average file time with the second staff member.

Despite the best efforts of the office’s staff, the delays, fees and redactions (blacking out sensitive parts of documents) used by UBC on requests lead many users of the system to believe it’s being abused.

“Filing for information requires patience and stamina that few students have simply because, when they get their requests back, they’re gone,” said Lister.

Gupta requests were grouped together to improve efficiency and will be unleashed on journalists and the community in one fell swoop early November — approximately four months after most of them were made. U

MONEY //

UBC continues lobbying provincial government to remove domestic tuition cap

ILLUSTRATION AIKEN LAO/ THE UBYSSEY

The provincial government has said that they will not remove the cap.

Moira Warburton News Editor

The university is lobbying the provincial government to remove the cap on domestic tuition that was implemented in 2005. The cap prohibits domestic tuition increases of more than two per cent a year.

The last time the cap was removed in 2002, domestic tuition almost doubled in three years until the cap was put back in place.

According to the UBC Operating Budget presentation to the Board of Governors in April of this year, the long-term sustainability of the university

requires flexibility from government on such things as domestic tuition and program fees.

Although the government reinstated its commitment this year to maintaining the cap for the foreseeable future, the issue of a lack of funding still remains for the university.

“The domestic tuition cap is a challenge for the sector,” said Interim Provost Anji Redish in an email statement. “It has limited our ability to raise the necessary revenue needed to continue delivering high quality university education. It is especially challenging in the face of increasing operating costs

and inflation, and a mandate from the province to maintain a balanced budget at all times.”

The issue is that, while the ability of the university to gain revenue from domestic tuition has been limited since 2005, funding from the provincial government has been dropping steadily.

A brief on post-secondary affordability and accessibility to the AMS from Pierre Cenerelli, then-university and government relations advisor, noted that public funding from the government has decreased significantly. In 1982, it made up 83 per cent of the university’s operating budget — by 2012, it made up less than 55 per cent.

Don Fisher, acting principal of Green College and professor emeritus in UBC’s Faculty of Education, sees this as a major hindrance to the accessibility of university education.

“If government funding decreases … then what’s happening structurally is that the responsibility is being moved from the collective to the individual,” said Fisher. “One of the things that we’re trying to achieve in British Columbia is equality of opportunity as much as possible ... If indeed the individual is made more responsible for their education, then what we see is differences in opportunity.”

The BC provincial Minister for Advanced Education, Alexander Wilkinson, told The Ubyssey that — although the provincial government is committed to keeping higher education

accessible — it’s a responsibility shared by everyone. “[The] government encourages families in B.C. to start planning and saving early for post-secondary education or training programs for their

children,” said Wilkinson through an email statement via spokesperson.

As it stands, the university will continue to lobby the provincial government for removal of the tuition cap. U

// CULTURE

EDITOR OLIVIA LAW

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

LIBRARY //

6

Halloween

ILLUSTRATION AVRIL HWANG/THE UBYSSEY

It’s not too late to find a sweet costume!

Avril Hwang Contributor

Having a good costume is scary.

Having no costume is way scarier. Between the new season of American Horror Story and midterms, it’s certainly no surprise that Halloween can creep up on you. But you can rest in peace because there are so many options that will spirit away your troubles, get rid of the problems that were haunting you and bury your fears — you get the idea.

PHOTO KOSTA PRODANOVIC/THE UBYSSEY

The collections contain exhibits from Vancouver and all over the world.

Rare Books hosts Harry Po#er exhibition Olivia Law Culture Editor

Nobody can argue against the fact that Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon. Children read the books and watch the films, there are websites dedicated to fanfiction, artists create murals and paintings of the characters and we study the books in literature classes.

The UBC Rare Books and Special Collections library has an extensive collection of children’s

literature collected from around the world and, until December 11, they are exhibiting their Harry Potter collection at three locations connected through a magical map around campus.

The collection began at a New York City book fair. Rare Books library head Katherine Kalsbeek found a full set of signed editions of the first American run of Harry Potter and began the collection from there.

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Rare Books. “But they’ve already had such a significant impact and they will have, if they haven’t already, the impact that Alice has has. We had to start collecting Harry Potter to make sure we didn’t lose ground with the significance of our collection.”

Many students coming into UBC this year were born in 1997 – the year that Philosopher’s Stone was first published. Head of the David Lam Management Research Library Christina Sylka was the first to suggest a special exhibition as a collaboration between different libraries on campus.

“Harry Potter is this global phenomenon,” said Shriver.

“I started to realize that there are a lot of connections that Vancouver specifically has with this phenomenon.”

Kidsbooks, the largest children’s bookstore in North America, was the first store to stock Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Canada.

The Canadian publisher Raincoast Books is based in Vancouver. Known for their “legendary” launch parties for book releases, Kidsbooks were keen to be involved with the exhibition, putting the library in touch with Potter-significant Vancouverites.

The exhibition has three locations around campus that are connected by a Marauder’s Map developed by the library staff.

Cases can be found in the David Lam Library, Koerner and in the Ridington Room at IKB. The nine cases explore all aspects of the phenomenon, from business and education to pop culture and personal connections.

Elements of the collection include a to-scale Lego Quidditch pitch, annotated copies of the

books and photos from midnight book releases.

“We’re still actively pursuing first editions of all languages,” said Shriver. “We’re always on the lookout for special editions, one’s that are signed, ones that maybe were given as gifts [and] ones that have some other particular association like advanced copies.”

Not just satisfied with English language texts, the library is collecting editions in Spanish, Mandarin and Latin — to name just a few.

“Ideally, we would like to be as complete as possible,” said Shriver.

On October 29, Rare Books will be presenting a colloquium, “Brands of Magic,” with five panellists to discuss all areas of the phenomenon. Moderated

by Sauder’s Darren Dahl, Gisele Baxter will be speaking on fan art and fan fiction and their impact on Harry Potter culture. Kevin McNeilly will be speaking about the impact on literacy and how the books teach readers to read. Judy Saltman will speak on the Harry Potter family tree — the influences and traditions that lead to the creation of Harry Potter. Phyllis Simon from Kidsbooks and Jamie Broadhurst from Raincoast will also be speaking about the Potter phenomenon from a business angle.

Shriver was keen to emphasize the importance of Harry Potter in reading culture today. Not only has a generation of readers grown up with the books, but the texts themselves are literary-focused, based in school with characters devouring knowledge and scenes centering around libraries.

Rare Books are also hosting a Halloween party – Potter-themed – on October 30. Tickets are now available. The exhibition is open until December 11. U

THRIFT SHOP Take your pick of any movie/ book/tv show character and make a list of all the pieces that you need. Grab some friends and start a scavenger hunt at the nearest thrift store. Remember to share your list with your buddies to cover more ground.

DOLLAR STORE This is for all the Pinterest fans out there. Get creative with budget crafts and DIY projects by putting that infamous college student ingenuity to the test. Table tennis balls double as eyeballs, pipe cleaners are snakes and worms, yarns make a witchy wig and the list goes on and on.

COSTUME RENTALS If you are the type who is afraid of commitment, costume rental might be just the thing for you. They have a wide assortment of outfits to pick from, are relatively cheap, and — best of all — some of them ship right to your doorstep.

ONLINE SHOPPING Why bother stepping foot outside when you have the internet? Browse thousands of costumes online from the safety of your home, leaving you with more time to plan your spooky activities. Furthermore, with an Amazon student account, you get free two day shipping.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY The most budget friendly option and the most friendly friendly one as well. This is your chance to cash in on some of those brownie points and IOUs from doing chores or lending notes to your friends. Choose a well known character and then play a little mix-and-match game with the contents of your fellow acquaintance’s wardrobe.

MAKE-UP ARTISTS Ladies and gents, this is the moment you have been waiting for. Channel that inner make-up guru and unleash the most drop dead gore-geous look onto the unsuspecting world. With such a killer look, you do not have to worry about your outfit. Dress simply and let your terrifying creation do all the talking. U

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

THE INTERVIEWS //

Exploring relationships through genre and translation

BELONGING//

Writers tackle outcasting and othering

Charles Demers reflected on his familial experiences in Belonging.

PHOTO COURTESY VANCOUVER WRITERS FEST

Brian Bre! was one of the UBC professors involved in The Interviews session.

Lilian Odera Contributor

This year’s Vancouver Writers Festival saw the arrival of a number of accomplished authors from diverse genres and places sharing their creativity and passion for writing.

The Globe and Mail’s Marsha Lederman got a closer look at the authors and their relationship to their stories in a session called The Interviews.

Novelist, journalist, critic and poet Brian Brett shared his experiences of growing up androgynous along with his decade-long relationship with his African Grey Parrot, Tuco, in his latest novel of the same name. Irina Kovalyova, short story writer, biochemist and molecular biologist at Simon Fraser University, explored the scientific aspect of storytelling and Neil Smith, a young fiction writer from Quebec who has been nominated thrice for the Journey Prize, crafted his gifted work Boo that was successfully received internationally and has been translated into several languages including German and Mandarin.

“Every author brings a part of their life into their work,” said Kovalyova on her book Specimen — her first science fiction story that imbues her own experiences growing up in a Russian household, her scientific background from working as a forensic scientist in New York and as an intern with NASA. Kovalyova emphasised that the scientific and creative mind are two sides of the same coin that answer fundamental questions in life with only differing approaches. Although science-fiction is believed to be comprised of make-believe or wishful scientific fact, Kovalyova

disputed this by highlighting that some aspects of science fiction are rooted in accurate scientific knowledge, otherwise the genre would lose its appeal.

Brett, on the other hand, explored our relationships with the “other” by detailing his 25 year-relationship with his pet bird Tuco, who was the main inspiration for the book. His work examines what it means to be “othered” — to become something different from what people would associate as “normal” — and links this to his traumatic experience of being bullied for his androgyny. At the same time, he wanted to showcase human ignorance through the depiction of the intelligence of the “other,” in mockery of humans being the example of superior intelligence.

In the words of Neil Smith, “An author is a God.” His latest work, Boo focuses on a dead young boy living in Town — the heaven for 13-year-olds — and is on a quest to find out why and how he came to pass away. It has received accolades and praise from all over the world for its creativity and engaging nature as well the probing question it raises on mental illness and death. Smith acceded to the work drawing many parallels in his life in that his brother died of a heroin overdose and his sister attempted suicide.

These instances are those which compelled him to write the book.

This year’s Vancouver Writers Festival celebrated creative ideas and great publications worthy of attention, attracting the young and old to Granville Island. It was a great ending to a great five days of literary engagement between writers and the public — the outcome of which may produce future legendary poets, novelists and critics. U

| CULTURE | 7

Miguel Santa Maria Senior Staff Writer

Feelings of being outcast and “othered” are inevitable roadblocks in most of our lives.

Nevertheless, there are always some individuals that deal with this issue to a greater extent than others. For writers Charles Demers, Camilla Gibb, Michael V. Smith and Brian Brett, this is not only the case for them, but also a poignant inspiration for their writing.

In Belonging, a Q&A event part of the Vancouver Writers Fest, all four writers attested to experiencing being “othered” throughout their lives. Whether through excerpts from their memoirs or discussing feelings on the spot, they also focused on how personal turmoil translated into their literature.

Each writer shared their unique circumstances behind these works and the overall idea of belonging. In Brett’s latest memoir, Tuco, he details his painful upbringing as a boy whose sexual hormones did not develop naturally. Meanwhile Smith, a filmmaker and drag queen, talked about his internal conflict growing up gay in a rural town —a subject he explores thoroughly in his new memoir, My Body is Yours.

“The terrible thing about being other is that you internalize that,” said Smith. “When you’re taught to hate gay people, you also hate yourself … you fear exposing yourself.”

Problems of otherness caused by familial ties were also discussed.

In Gibb’s memoir, she laments her estranged, alcoholic father and the emptiness of a broken family as a result. Demers also tackles the subject of his own father through one of his essays. The man he had looked up to his entire life came out to be gay, shaking Demers’ perceptions of masculinity and heavy doubt on the love between his father and mother.

Despite the heavy tone and subject of the discussion, some lightheartedness and levity balanced out the gloom of each discussion. This was especially with Demers’ — a stand-up comic whose wit was evident in his excerpt.

“The sole familial responsibility of vaginal intercourse fell on my shoulders,” said Demers, reciting from his essay. His brother was gay as well. “Dad and my brother were swans, but I was just a duck …

I had to learn to live with my own kind, sinking into melancholy as I realized all the other ducks wanted to do was talk about Anaheim in the NHL.” Still, all writers emphasized the importance of their experiences

PHOTO COURTESY VANCOUVER WRITERS FEST

and how to properly convey it through writing. This emphasis is especially evident with how heavy emotions can make a writer overindulgent, ultimately alienating readers.

Simultaneously, all agreed in one way or another how much their feelings and work drastically change by the end of the process.

“There’s the book you intend to write and there’s the book you do write,” said Smith. “When you’re done your draft, you really have to look at [it] because it is not the thing you set out to do.

That’s because your subconscious is so much more talented and insightful than your conscious mind is.” U

// OPINIONS

EDITOR JACK HAUEN

COUNCIL //

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

TUITION //

8

ADVICE //

AMS Decoded: October 28

viet vu Column

Every few weeks, your student government spends a Wednesday night to talk about a bunch of things. In most cases, what we talk about won’t affect a students’ day to day activity, but there are always a few tidbits that might interest you.

Here’s what to watch out for in the upcoming AMS Council meeting on October 28, 2015.

International tuition increases If you haven’t heard, UBC announced that it is planning to increase both undergraduate and graduate international student tuition. There will be a presentation by the Social Justice Centre and then a discussion session amongst AMS Councillors on what to do. As of right now, I’m in favour of any motion that condemns the tuition increases.

Alliance of BC students The motion to leave ABCS, after some debate, was postponed until further review can be done. In this council meeting, the motion is coming back and we also have a presentation about ABCS by Alex McGowan, a director of the ABCS and an executive at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s student union.

Important Code Changes A few years back, the AMS Council created the Business Administration Governance Board (BAGB) to run our businesses so that people with business experience will be in charge of making money. Now, the Legislative Procedures Committee is recommending changes to BAGB — first to change its name to Advisory Board for Business Administration (ABBA) and then to put two AMS Councillors on the committee as voting members. We also have a presentation from BAGB reporting on our financial status.

TransLink changes TransLink recently started seeking public feedback about its proposed changes. On the whole, many of these changes won’t affect people who commute to UBC everyday and for the lines that do, they are positive changes. However, one of the proposed changes include discontinuing the 258 line which connects West Vancouver and UBC directly. Many students depend on this bus line to go to school everyday and there is a motion on this week’s agenda for the AMS to take a stance against this proposed service elimination. U Viet Vu is a fifth-year economics major and AMS Councillor. His views are his own and do not necessarily represent those of the Alma Mater Society or the Vancouver School of Economics Undergraduate Society.

FILE PHOTO GEOFF LISTER/THE UBYSSEY

You’re angry for the wrong reasons John Harvey Le!er

There are two good reasons to be mad about the proposed tuition increase for future international students and they probably aren’t the reasons you’re angry.

Increases to international tuition are never going to affect anyone who doesn’t opt into having it affect them. The increase is not retroactive — It only affects new students. If a prospective international student feels that UBC’s new international tuition rates are more than they’re willing or able to pay, they can go elsewhere. If UBC is too expensive, there are comparable institutions all over the world. Some of them are cheaper and probably objectively better places to get your degree. Contrast this to the previous 20 per cent hike to the price of eight-month residence. It affected people without a choice — current students. If you want to live on campus for eight months, you pay what UBC tells you to.

Prospective international students can carefully weigh the pros and cons of coming to UBC and make a decision.

The first good reason to be angry is that the Board of Governors — an institution mandated to be self-interested — can make these decisions with little to no input from UBC’s biggest stakeholders: current students.

But if you’re angry that the BoG is pretty crappy, getting mad about a decision that has already been made seems unlikely to be a good way to affect change. Talk to your dean, talk to local politicians, talk to the AMS, talk to your student senators and BoG reps — let them know that this is something you care about. Deal with the root cause, not a symptom.

The second reason to be angry is that you’re worried about what the increase will do to the diversity of the student body at UBC. UBC has said that they don’t know what increased international tuition will do to diversity, but it seems reasonable to assume that the average international student is going to come from a more affluent

background. But let’s say that your friend came up to you and told you that, because they’re worried about the diversity of the student body, they’re demanding that UBC keep tuition rates artificially low. You’d think they were crazy. Asking UBC to keep tuition low for everyone, when you’re concerned about the ability of a small subset of everyone to afford it, doesn’t make sense. Demanding that UBC offers more bursaries or variable rates of tuition depending on the student’s ability to pay makes sense.

“

If a prospective international student feels that UBC’s new international tuition rates are more than they’re willing or able to pay, they can go elsewhere.”

If you want to bring about some sort of change, first figure out what it is that you actually want to change. Knee-jerk reactions don’t help anyone and that’s been almost all of what I’ve seen from individual students to supposedly well-organized groups. No one has put forward viable alternatives and no one has asked for a study on how this will actually affect the diversity of campus. Or, if they have, they’ve been drowned out by incoherent cries of how unfair this is and how awful UBC is. This isn’t an instance of an evil corporation gleefully rubbing its hands together because they’ve discovered another way to squeeze money out of helpless customers. UBC needs money. Even if international tuition rates were kept low, UBC won’t be better-governed or more diverse.

Ask yourself what’s actually important to you and focus on that as opposed to jumping on the latest bandwagon because everyone else is outraged too. U John Harvey is a fifth-year engineering physics student.

ILLUSTRATION JULIAN YU/THE UBYSSEY

Ask Natalie: Breakup bonanza Natalie Morris Advice column

“Dear Natalie, I broke up with my girlfriend this weekend and I feel really bad now. I know it was the right choice, but I still feel down.

At the same time I feel like I don’t deserve to feel this way since I was the one who did the breaking up.”

Just because you were on this side of the breakup doesn’t mean it was any less of a breakup. You are still single now. You still have a blank space in your life now that was filled until a few days ago.

Don’t think that — just because you were the one who broke things off — you don’t have a right to feel whatever you feel. That’s the thing about feelings — no one should tell you which ones you can have.

Just because you were the one to pull the plug, doesn’t mean you weren’t in a relationship. You deserve the same love and hugs from your friends, the same ice cream and the same understanding when you need a cry. You’re a person too. I hope you feel better.

When things are tough, remember that it takes a huge amount of courage to end a relationship that needs to end. You will find love in a partner one day, even if it wasn’t today.

“Dear Natalie, My friend started dating my recent ex. She asked if I was okay with them hanging out and I thought I made it very clear that I was okay with them being friends, but not with anything more. She came up to me today and told me that they’re dating now and she hopes I can support them. As if.

What should I do?”

First off, what a crummy friend. Second, what a crummy ex.

If you told them as clearly as you did me that you were not okay with them getting together and they did it anyway, I would let them go. You don’t need those people in your life. As much as I think that “dibs” on a person is a lame concept, your so-called friend clearly doesn’t care about you or your feelings. You said no, she said, “Too bad, I was just pretending to care about what you thought.” That shows a lot more about her than anything else.

I would talk to your friend and lay it out on the line. Tell her that you cannot support them and that you thought you made that clear. Tell her that she is free to continue her relationship with your ex, but you won’t be around.

To quote Gretchen Wieners, “Ex-boyfriends are just off limits to friends. I mean that’s just, like, the rules of feminism.” U

Let’s hear it.

opinion@ubyssey.ca

// SPORTS+REC

EDITOR KOBY MICHAELS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

THE UBYSSEY PRESENTS

OUR ESTEEMED PANEL of SPORTING EXPERTS

v

OLIVIA LAW CULTURE EDITOR

MOIRA WARBURTON NEWS EDITOR

JACK HAUEN BLOG+OPINIONS EDITOR

AIKEN LAO DESIGN EDITOR

EMMA PARTRIDGE NEWS EDITOR

Swimming. Swimming is always good.

Women’s volleyball because my friend Laura is on it.

It’s not whether you win or lose, but whether you have the sickest flow.

Is football the right answer? Naw, League of Legends.

Football.

Swimming.

Women’s volleyball.

Because Laura.

Everyone on the eSports team is going to retire at 24.

It’s a tie between quidditch and the League of Legends eSports team.

Free tequila.

Free pizza and beer.

Mandatory bat flips.

Give everyone no class on Fridays or free foam fingers.

Play football.

IS QUIDDITCH A SPORT?

If you’re a wizard, it is.

As much as anything that invovles pu!ing wood between your legs is a sport.

Try ge!ing tackled by a 300 lbs chaser and saying it isn’t.

If underwater hockey is a sport, quidditch should be too.

Duh.

IS ESPORTS A SPORT?

Refer to our op-ed. NO.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BEST TEAM SO FAR? WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE THE BEST TEAM FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR? HOW CAN UBC INCREASE ATTENDANCE AT GAMES?

IF YOU COULD MAKE ONE SPORT A VARSITY SPORT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

It’s legitimate without If chess is a sport, eSports being called a sport or are sport. not called a sport. BAM.

Football

Yes. Don’t argue with me.

No.

eSports.

Football.

TEQUILA.

Champion chocolate eating. I just made that up on the spot.

WHAT IS A RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY ON CAMPUS?

Free tequila.

Construction dodging.

Swag.

It’s a three way tie between studying, sleeping and drinking.

Football.

WHO WOULD WIN A BOXING MATCH, TOOPE, PIPER OR GUPTA?

Piper, she’s fiesty.

Toope. He’s very wiry and quick.

Who wouldn’t?

Piper obviously.

Football.

Swag.

9

10 | SPORTS+REC |

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

DANCE //

Dancing with the Thunderbirds: salsa and swing Lucy Fox Staff Writer

UBC LATIN DANCE CLUB Ever wanted to dance with a little Latin flare? The Latin Dance Club can make that dream come true.

Established in 2005, the Latin Dance Club is UBC’s only dance club offering purely Latin dance classes and a love of salsa campus wide. As their website states, their mission is “to discover the booty-shaking hotsauce in everyone!”

Though there are Latin ballroom dances, the club puts more emphasis on the social dances like salsa, merengue, bachata and the Argentine tango. As club president Diana Perez explained, this means there’s less focus on choreography.

“Latin dance is much more loose and there’s a lot more improvisation,” Perez said. “It’s much more informal and there are less rules to follow. It’s ... about having fun with it.”

They are also hoping to offer two workshops per term, which will be free to club members. One of the two available this fall is Kizomba for those interested in trying something even further out of their comfort zone. “It’s similar to bachata — a more intimate partner dance and it’s a lot about hip movement. There are not as many spins as there are in salsa,” Perez said. “It’s not as flashy as that, but it’s a lot more about connection.”

According to Perez, the club reported its highest registration three years ago when over 200 people would attend their club parties. Those numbers have been diminishing little by little over the past two years, but so far this year is going well in large part due to a big push on social media and working

PHOTO NADYA RAHMAN/THE UBYSSEY

Partners learn to salsa with the Latin Dance club (le$) and learn the steps to different swing dances with the UBC Swing Kids.

more cohesively as a club.

“We want to make this much more of a community than it was before,” Perez said.

Some other changes being put in place this year are the addition of more social events organized through the club to encourage members to socialize as a group outside of classes. Perez said the socials offer those members who feel shy about trying social dancing outside of class a chance to smoothly transition into the Vancouver Latin dance community as a group.

UBC SWING KIDS If Latin dance isn’t quite your style, UBC also offers the unique chance to test out an American dancing tradition — swing dancing.

UBC Swing Kids gives students the chance to try out the Lindy hop, West Coast Swing and Blues — popular dance styles from the 1920s to 50s. These dances, Lindy Hop Coordinator

Sanjana Akella said, were inspired by swing, jazz and blues music of the time.

When explaining the difference in dance styles, Akella said the Lindy Hop is one of the older forms of swing dancing inspired by communities in New Orleans. As their club website states, Lindy Hop is traditionally danced to classic jazz and big band music, and is characterized by an active, energetic feel.

“They took elements of the Lindy hop dance, slowed it down and danced it more to the popular music of the time,” Raine Gmoser, the club’s treasurer, said.

“Nowadays, West Coast Swing is danced to top 40 music as well as some older music that was popular 10 or 20 years ago.”

As the club’s website states, West Coast Swing focuses more on a smooth dance style with an elastic feel.

“In partner dancing, people get really scared about it being too intimate or physical,” Akella

said. “With Lindy Hop and West Coast Swing ... there’s more space between partners,” Gmoser continued. “It’s not as invasive as other dance styles.”

This semester, Swing Kids is still adjusting from some changes and financial difficulties at the club from last year. They also have an almost completely new executive team for this school year, but they’ve had a great start to their classes so far. In particular, they’ve had a lot of interest in their beginner Lindy Hop class. They are also hoping that next semester they can start hosting monthly social dances for their club.

Akella said one of her fondest memories was the chance to host an introductory lesson to West Coast Swing with JumpStart for over 200 people.

“It was a lot of fun just watching people grasp this dance, the questions they’d ask about it ... they were just so pumped. Putting the seed of dance in their mind, it’s just so exciting,” Akella said.

PHOTO SAMANTHA MCCABE/THE UBYSSEY

“It’s not just about going into a class, learning the dance, going home and not seeing any people.

We are both part of the greater community of these dance styles and it’s a lot of where my friends are,” Gmoser said. “It’s also exciting to inspire other people to take up other dance styles and love it as much as we do.”

“The music is also really fun.

We have a lot of people who’ve done ballroom or salsa and come to us because our music is a lot more diverse and there’s also that historic aspect of it,” Akella said.

“You can also get dressed up, go buy pretty clothes and go dance!”

For the rest of the fall semester, experienced swing dancers interested in getting involved are welcome to drop into classes and speak to instructors about joining in. For newcomers to swing, Akella and Gmoser said they recommend coming to the first classes in January at the start of the second semester to make sure you get the full Swing experience! U

RUGBY //

Harry Jones, Sauder alumnus and Canadian rugby player the experience was unbelievable,” Jones said. “Especially being in England which is a huge rugby nation, ordinary people would come up to you in the street and say hey, be interested in where were from and how long we’ve played rugby for; you never really get that around here.”

Jones began his career with the Canadian rugby team while attending UBC for a degree in commerce. Throughout the degree, he played on and off with the sevens national team, while also playing for the ‘Birds varsity team.

“It was a few steps up from high school rugby, playing against bigger guys and figuring out what’s the best way to get around them. Tactically as well, it was obviously a little more serious,” PHOTO KOSTA PRODANOVIC/THE UBYSSEY Jones continued. “Coming into Jones played with the Canadian 15s team in the Rugby World Cup and is currently training for Rio. my first year, I don’t think I was Lucy Fox for his first ever match in the Rugby before — I thought that maybe with the varsity team straight Staff Writer World Cup. there was a chance of that.” away, but within a few games I “At the time it was kind of “I consider myself quite lucky as was able to get onto that team.

On September 26, a packed crowd hard to soak it all in because well because I’ve been playing sevens With the competition there as of 33,000 rugby fans at Elland you’re concentrating on going on all year ... Jumping into the 15s game, well and being a young guy, it Road Stadium in Leeds, England, the field and doing your job, but because they’re two completely kind of pushes you to train a watched as Canada made its final after the game it was pretty cool different games, it’s tough to adapt,” little bit harder ... I am really substitution of the match. With because the guys came up to me Jones continued. “To be able to make competitive and I wanted to keep just under ten minutes to go in the and said congratulations,” Jones it into the team and get some playing my spot.” game, and a tight scoreline at 20-18 said. “At the last World Cup there time in the World Cup was pretty Jones also had the opportunity in favour of their Italian opponents, were guys that didn’t get to play at exciting for me.” to play with his brothers Ben and Harry Jones ran onto the field all ... with me being the new guy “Obviously the rugby side of Charlie Jones, who are twins, sporting the red Canadian jersey to the World Cup — I’d never been things didn’t go our way ... but just during his time with the ‘Birds.

“They’re two years older than me, so I got to see what they were doing before I got serious in sport,” Jones said. “They were unbelievable players and would have easily been playing for the national team if they didn’t get so many injuries ... I just wanted to follow in their footsteps and do what they did, and I was lucky enough to keep my body in pretty good [shape], not get too many injuries, so I was able to keep going.”

After graduating in 2012, Jones joined the sevens full time in Victoria. Since then, he has been a part of both the national sevens and 15s team while also returning to post-secondary, earning his diploma in urban land economics and starting his bachelor of business in real estate at UBC. Today, Jones is back in Vancouver getting ready for next spring’s World Rugby Sevens Series at BC Place, as well as a potential medal run with the sevens team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Though they still have to qualify for Rio, Jones said he feels pretty strongly that Canada are medal contenders. “If everything goes to plan, we’ll qualify and go to the Olympics,” Jones said. “Once we get there and are on form, I think we can do some pretty special things.” U

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

VARSITY //

| SPORTS+REC | 11

BALLROOM //

Dancing with the ‘Birds: ballroom edition Men’s soccer finish season It also provides a good undefeated, prepare for playos foundation for ballroom Lucy Fox Staff Writer

PHOTO JEREMY JOHNSON-SILVERS / THE UBYSSEY

Kerman Pannu gets taken down by defenders on Saturday night.

Ma" Langmuir Sta Writer

The UBC men’s soccer team concluded their regular season at Thunderbird Stadium over the weekend, capping off what has been an outstanding campaign over the last two months. The team recorded a lopsided 4-0 victory against Trinity Western University on Friday before settling for a 1-1 draw against the University of the Fraser Valley on Saturday and finished their season with an undefeated 10-0-2 record. “I think we’ve just gotten better week after week as the players started to gel a little bit more,� said Head Coach Mike Mosher. “You can see that now we’ve started to score a lot more goals since those opening weeks.�

Having scored 26 goals in their first 10 matches coming in, the ‘Birds continued to flourish offensively on Friday against the Trinity Western Spartans. In a game where the Thunderbirds created a flurry of chances, Gagan Dosanjh was a difference maker scoring two remarkable first-half goals. “The first goal I think Titouan [Chopin] put a great cross in,� said Dosanjh when asked about his tallies. “All I had to do was put my foot on it and it was going to go in, so it was pretty much all on him.

Second goal I kind of had pressure on me, didn’t really know what to do so I tried to get it on net and kind of chipped it on goal.�

Dosanjh and Chopin went right back to work after half time. In the 57th minute, Chopin found the back

of the net after a nice give-and-go play between the two forwards. A Nike Azuma goal off a corner in the 67 minute would seal the deal as the Thunderbirds cruised to a 4-0 win.

The ‘Birds were not able to capture three points the following night against the Fraser Valley Cascades. After Lucas Reis put UBC ahead in the 67th minute, Dylan McCrindle equalized for Fraser Valley in the 90th minute — just seconds before the referee would eventually blow for full time. Nevertheless, Mosher’s team finished first in the league and their defensive play has been the key to their success. Over 12 matches, the ‘Birds allowed just five goals against — the fewest in the league by far. “Back four and goalkeeper have been very good,� said Mosher. “No complaints there.

We talked about at the beginning of the season trying to be the stingiest team in the league. From a defensive perspective, we’ve been able to do that.�

With the playoffs looming, Mosher emphasized the importance for his team to get the job done in the coming weeks. “You’ve got to get it done at that point in time,� said Mosher. “There’s no point being number one in the middle of October or what have you. It’s going to come down to next week.� U The Thunderbirds will begin their postseason campaign on October 30 as they take on the Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West quarterfinals.

On weekday evenings, the UBC campus starts to empty as students disperse out of classes and head home for the night. Yet, in the SUB Ballroom, music is starting to play and couples are taking to the floor — class is starting for the UBC Dance Club.

Founded in 1949, the Dance Club has held firm the title of the leading ballroom club on campus for the last 66 years. Led this year by President Jake Larson, the club sits at close to 300 members and ranges from undergraduate students to community members as it gets set for another year of events and classes for the UBC community.

Although there has been a downtrend in ballroom dancing popularity over the last few years in Vancouver, Larson said Dance Club is filling a big gap on campus. “It fills a niche,� he said. “With other dances, like hip-hop, you aren’t necessarily dancing with another person. In other — more social — partner dance clubs, there’s not necessarily an opportunity to grow as a partnership. When you dance with someone in our classes, you get to know that person and you dance with them ... it helps you learn communication skills.�

Internal Vice President Elizabeth Leung said Dance Club also allows people to share something of themselves in a social environment. Their slogan, “Dance with me,� hopes to instill this combination of dance and socializing by allowing you to spend one-on-one time with another person.

newcomers and is tailored to provide lots of classes and availability for those who want to be good at the sport, Larson said. “To ballpark it, I would say 90 per cent of our incoming members have never danced before in their life,� Leung said. “They’re at university and they want to try something new. It’s a social outlet as well as a physical activity.�

For those looking to further their ballroom technique, there is also Dance Club’s sister club — Formation DanceSport. Started 10 years ago, Formation DanceSport grew out of the UBC Dance Club when it was at its highest registration. This year, Leung and her executive team brought it PHOTO COURTESY TIMOTHY TAN back to UBC after very successful UBC interns get practical experience out auditions earlier this term. of the classroom.

According to Larson, Formation DanceSport is a or two before everyone comes out performance team for people of their shell, just like on a soccer who are past the Dance Club team or a football team. The only level and are aiming to further difference is you’re dancing.� their technique. It is focused on As for where the team is going, teams rather than a catering to Leung said she’s not entirely sure a large community. Formation but is excited that the team is at DanceSport offers technique least headed somewhere again. classes that teach students how “Wherever they want to go, to move cleanly and have an edge I’m willing to lead the charge,� in competition rather than simply she said. teaching the steps to a dance.

As a member of both Dance For those looking for a Club and Formations DanceSport, competitive team atmosphere, Leung said the clubs are a huge Formation DanceSport also has part of her life today at UBC — its own Latin performance team particularly in her start at Dance made up of eight couples — Club. teamwork is an essential part of “My first year, I didn’t have a their club. lot of friends outside of classes. “For Formations, you have that So I joined for that. I can’t team mentality. You get to know imagine where I would be now in your team very well,� Leung said. my fourth year without the club,� “Our team is still brand new and she said. “Every class is a little bit awkward. It’ll take maybe a week special and new.� U

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# ! " # " PHOTO SAMARTH SHYAMANUR/ THE UBYSSEY

12 | COMICS + GAME |

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015

MANON UBC Opera presents JULES MASSENET’s opera

November 5, 6, 7 // 7:30 pm | November 8 // 2:00 pm Old Auditorium | UBC Campus Rosemary Thomson | Conductor Nancy Hermiston | Director TICKETS: 604.822.6725 | UBCopera.com

COURTESY BESTCROSSWORDS.COM

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1- Sensed; 5- Court org.; 9- Fa!y part of milk; 14- Suffix with buck; 15- Commoner; 16- Shout of exultation; 17- Hokkaido native; 18- Starchy staple; 19- Garlic sauce; 20- Kind of evidence; 23- Sugary suffix; 24- Open mesh fabric; 25- Dough; 29- Film spool;

31- Writer LeShan; 34- Cravat; 35- Equipment; 36- North Carolina university; 37- In spite of; 40- Elation; 41- Dampens; 42- Preminger et al.; 43- Are we there ___?; 44- Driving aids; 45- Refer; 46- You ___ here; 47- Turkish title; 48- Add lurid details to a story, e.g.; 56- Birdlike; 57- Type of machine found in Las

Vegas; 58- Orange cover; 60- Museum piece; 61- West Wing worker; 62- Ballerina Pavlova; 63- Grenoble’s river; 64- Some digits; 65- Swindle; DOWN 1- JFK watchdog; 2- Slang expert Partridge; 3- Actress Anderson; 4- Travel from place to place; 5- Abrupt increase; 6- Thin glutinous mud; 7- Gumshoes; 8- Assist, o$en in a criminal act;

9- French fashion designer; 10- Singer Bonnie; 11- “The Time Machine” people; 12- ___ breve; 13- Drudge; 21- Raccoon relative; 22- The end of ___; 25- Shabby; 26- ___ Mio; 27- Eight singers; 28- Actor Rob; 29- Reposes; 30- Breaks bread; 31- Select group; 32- Giver; 33- Emo anxiety; 35- Clarified bu!er;

36- 1999 Ron Howard film; 38- Chirp; 39- Knobby; 44- Daze; 45- Playing marbles; 46- Light ___; 47- Ba!ery pole; 48- Madras dress; 49- Nights before; 50- The world’s longest river; 51- The wolf ___ the door; 52- Potpourri; 53- Nest eggs, briefly; 54- Bluish white metallic element; 55- Sicilian resort; 59- Block;

OCTOBER 5 ANSWERS COMIC JULIAN YU/THE UBYSSEY

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