Civic Election Special

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November 2, 2014

British Columbia’s 2014 civic elections are almost upon us, with candidates battling it out for your vote on November 15.

The Peak caught up with three different SFU students who are running in the upcoming elections in their municipalities. Candidates shared their motivations and visions for their respective positions, as well as how their actions would affect students, if elected.

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Moe Kopahi

Coquitlam — City Council

1. Why are you running for this position?

I am running because I bring fresh perspective to the table and want to serve my community (Coquitlam) now that I am almost done with SFU. I believe my background in engineering (familiarity with BC Building Code, BC Fire Code, and LEED) and experience in governance (SFSS four years, Senate four years and basically committee structured government) would be a great asset for Coquitlam council.

2. What changes would you like to see, should you be elected?

I want to increase community engagement by targeting youth and multicultural communities in Coquitlam. You can’t expect the same from the current background with all current councillors from the same background (Canadian) and same age range.

I also want to push for sustainable development and help council make decisions on new projects by educating them on engineering factors and economical influences on neighbourhoods, businesses and community groups.

Last but not least, I think we should push for a convention center in Coquitlam, as currently none exists within the Tri-Cities. Just like Build SFU!

3. What changes would you make that would affect students?

If elected, I will advocate for the following:

1) Increase in 143 buses (Coquitlam – SFU) during peak hours and possibly extending the hours into evenings on the weekdays and continuing the service in the weekends.

2) Extend the Coquitlam library hours during midterm and final exams which makes it more convenient for Douglas College and SFU students to stay local for their studies.

3) More co-op and internship opportunities within the City Hall for post-secondary students.

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Andy Shen

Coquitlam — City Council

1. Why are you running for this position?

I believe that Coquitlam is brimming with opportunity and has the potential to be a regional leader. We need to focus on job creation, public safety and respect for taxpayer dollars. There is a lot of work ahead. I know the issues, having ran in the last two municipal elections, and I have experience volunteering within the City of Coquitlam and having worked for the federal government for the past few years.

2. What changes would you like to see, should you be elected?

I would like to see the city focus on the three main aspects of my platform: (a) Jobs and the Economy; (b) Public Safety; and (c) Respect for Taxpayer Dollars. We need to do more with job creation — especially since we lost 500 jobs in the past year. People are speeding up and down our streets and we need to invest in public safety to crack down on dangerous behaviours. I want to see the city use our money effectively, efficiently and responsibly, so that we can lower our taxes.

3. What changes would you make that would affect students?

I am focusing on jobs and the economy because I know that students are looking for a place to start a career, and I would like Coquitlam graduates to be able to find a job within Coquitlam. We need to compete with other municipalities to draw businesses into Coquitlam and create good local jobs here at home. Also, Coquitlam needs to work on our transportation plan (i.e. 143 buses) to make it easier to get to and from class, especially during the peak hours and during exam periods when exams may be held on weekends.

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Alexander Swistak

Port Moody — School Trustee

1. Why are you running for this position?

I am running because I am concerned about the erosion of public education. I want to preserve for current and future students the educational opportunities that I enjoyed during my schooling in SD43. My commitment to quality public education, constituent outreach, and my respect for learning will inform my decisions as School Trustee. As a successful student of Political Science here at SFU, I have developed a firm grasp of setting, reading and evaluating public policy, and I am excited to put these skills to work for the betterment of our public education system.

2. What changes would you like to see, should you be elected?

I would like to facilitate the inclusion of young taxpayers and those who fund education, yet have no children, in discussions concerning our public education system. Their support for quality public education and student achievement will secure long-term adequate funding and the understanding that we all benefit from an educated and well-adjusted society. This will only be realized when we have a Trustee who understands the importance of their position and treats it as a full-time position, rather than an add-on to their busy schedule. We have settled too long with mediocrity, and our students have suffered because of it.

3. What changes would you make that would affect students?

I will lobby for increased funding, as our district receives less per student than the provincial average. I will engage constituents to raise awareness of the importance of public education. I will also work with other school boards to improve public education; by forming relationships with constituents, teachers, administrators, support staff and other school boards, I will contribute to building a united front to protect our system. I will help bring an end to the board balancing its budget by excessively laying off district personnel. I’m also committed to finding administrative and operational inefficiencies and directing more funds to students.

Please Stand By

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EIC

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November 2, 2014

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We’re having some technical difficulties. We apologize for the inconvenience.

In the meantime, please enjoy this beautiful live performance of Rob Cantor’s “Shia LaBeouf.”

Still not satisfied? If you have any immediate inquiries, please contact [email protected].

SFU Protests Kinder Morgan Pipeline

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EIC

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October 31, 2014

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The Peak’s News Editor Leah Bjornson interviews SFU English Professor Stephen Collis is protesting against the construction of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

Pipeline protesters repel Kinder Morgan crews on Burnaby Mountain

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EIC

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October 30, 2014

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A group of protesters prevented Kinder Morgan from entering testing sites in the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area on Wednesday morning, where they had planned to resume surveys for their proposed pipeline project.

Protesters linked arms around one of two borehole sites, and one teenager even pinned himself under a Kinder Morgan jeep, saying oil was destroying the earth and that he would stay under jeep for “as long it takes.”

This confrontation follows the National Energy Board’s (NEB) ruling on October 23, stating that the City of Burnaby cannot stand in the way of Kinder Morgan’s plan to test at sites on Burnaby Mountain. The energy company announced on October 24 that they would resume testing after 48 hours.

In response, protestors worked over the weekend to reinforce two blockades which have been present for the past month. Stephen Collis, an SFU professor of English and spokesperson for the protesters said on Monday, “We’re going to peacefully and non-violently stand in their way.”

On Wednesday morning, at 9:30 a.m., Kinder Morgan crews had yet to arrive at the site where a flood of protesters had begun to gather.

When asked why she thought crews had not yet arrived, SFU professor of molecular biology and biochemistry Lynne Quarmby replied, “They’d be smarter than to show up in the presence of all this media and all these people. [. . .] They would be foolish to show up.”

However, at around 10:00 a.m., protesters spotted Kinder Morgan crews advancing into the woods towards the first borehole. Protesters, journalists, and film crews rushed to the site where self-proclaimed caretakers were already blocking crews by linking arms around the site.

“There’s just a tremendous amount of support from the community.”

Lynne Quarmby, SFU professor of molecular biology and biochemistry

Some minutes later, the surveyors left the site. In an e-mail, Greg Toth, senior project director of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project said, “At some locations, our crews were obstructed and have left for the day.”

For Quarmby, this was a victory for the people. “We put out the call, we let people know that we were going to be here, and it’s just phenomenal the number of people that are still pouring in, so there’s just a tremendous amount of support from the community,” she said.

When asked what she thinks the next few days will bring, Quarmby replied, “We expect that they’re going to try to outwait us, but [. . .] I don’t think you can overestimate the commitment of this group of people. We will out-wait them.”

Marketa Irglova and friends perform at St. James Hall

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EIC

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October 30, 2014

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Marketa Irglova has one of the purest, most serene voices I’ve ever heard, and many of her songs have the ability to bring tears to my eyes no matter when I hear them. I was overjoyed when I found out about her stop in Vancouver, as she tours in support of her new solo album, Muna. She was joined by Iranian daf player and vocalist Aida Shahghasemi, and Rob Bochnik and Joe Doyle (who also played with Irglova in the band, The Swell Season), along with opening act, Rosi Golan.

You might know Irglova as half of the duo responsible for the film, and now musical, Once, and as a member of The Swell Season, along with former partner, Glen Hansard. Hansard is another passionate musician who I’m a huge fan of, and together they made wonderful music. The Once soundtrack is not only one of favourite soundtracks, but one of my favourite albums of all time. It is too bad that they parted ways, but I’m glad that they’ve each continued making music on their own.

Irglova focused most of her time on playing new material from Muna, but she threw in a few favourites such as “If You Want Me,” “I Have Loved You Wrong,” and her Academy Award winning song, “Falling Slowly.” If that song doesn’t make you feel something, I don’t know what will. I enjoyed hearing her new music, but it was wonderful to hear those familiar favourites. Shahghasemi did an impressive daf solo, and for one song she switched places with Irglova to play piano.

The beautiful venue of St. James Hall only added to the calming, soothing quality of Irglova’s music. Featuring 27 musicians, Muna has a beautiful choral, symphonic quality to it on songs like “Point of Creation” and “Time Immemorial.” Of her new music, I enjoyed “Without a Map” the most, with its introspective lyrics and immersive quality.

This second solo album is a departure from her Swell Season days, but with its thoughtful lyrics, beautiful melodies, and deeply soothing, spiritual quality, I think it is a genuine representation of her identity and skill as a musician. Muna is the Icelandic verb “to remember,” and that is exactly what I will do with this concert.

Denise Clarke presents a new solo show

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EIC

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October 30, 2014

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Denise Clarke is an accomplished, respected contemporary dance artist who is a member of the Order of Canada. Over the course of her career she has been involved in all kinds of productions, but this show is personal.

Clarke entered from stage left wearing a large hooded parka and backpack, trudging along as if through a snowy field. That was in fact what she was doing. Through narration and commentary, Clarke told the story of her trek through an Edmonton park on her way to rehearsal two days before Christmas. She was on her way to rehearse this show, and began to wonder why she was bothering with a solo show that nobody would come to see.

Then she spotted a section of the park that was a pristine blanket of snow, you know, the kind that makes you think ‘wouldn’t it be great to mess up that perfection?’ So she did, and does in the show. She put down her bag and did a sequence of her choreography in the snow. That is, until a laberdoodle and its owner came upon her.

This love of dance, and the power of dance to lift our spirits, is a theme that runs through the show. She tells another story about being in an Ottawa park at 3:00 a.m., and having the urge to dance alone to the Paul Simon coming from her headphones. So she did.

This show is personal on another note, as well. While preparing the show, her brother and dad both passed away, and as she explains, her dad was the type of person who always said he didn’t want her to stop what she was doing “just because he kicked the bucket.”

Through all this pain, dance was a large part of her ‘cheer up program,’ and she brought a beautiful peachy pink ballgown to change into and waltz around the stage. She admitted that she’s always wanted to do that in a solo show. For this section, four girls came down from the audience, changed into their dresses, and joined her in a grand waltz.

Another part of this show that I loved were Clarke’s lists, which she translated into movement. She listed her favourite books, each with a corresponding movement, which she dances when she needs cheering up. Her ability to translate story into movement while incorporating witty, entertaining commentary is unlike anything I’ve seen.

Wag was presented October 21 to 25 at the Firehall Arts Centre. For more information, visit firehallartscentre.ca.

Sloan attracts young and old to Commodore

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EIC

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October 30, 2014

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For their new album, Commonwealth, each member of Sloan helms one side of the record representing the four suits of a deck of cards. The band has always collaborated on songwriting, and on this album each of them has a chance to be the front man. In this same spirit, their live show had the band members switching places and sharing the limelight.

They began playing the Spade side of the record, followed by the Shamrock, Diamond, and Heart sides, with older songs in between such as “It’s Plain to See” and “Unkind” from Double Cross. “Unkind” had the crowd clapping along to the beat and singing the infectious lyrics.

From Jay Ferguson’s Diamond side of Commonwealth, they played “You’ve Got a Lot on Your Mind” which fit right in with their older hits and had the crowd nodding along in approval. This moved right into the following song off the record that references the theme of the album directly with lyrics like “She played a diamond where a heart should land” and “The house will always win.” This is a very well written song, and sounds as though Sloan just crossed the pond from Britain.

Of course, the members of Sloan are not from Britain, but from Halifax, and are now based in Toronto. Their patriotic side comes out on “The Rest of My Life” as they sing “One thing I know about the rest of my life, I know that I’ll be living it in Canada.” Screaming that along with everyone brought me back to Canada Day a few years ago when Sloan performed in Surrey.

Chris Murphy’s Heart side has a different tone, but it suits the band nonetheless. Songs like “Carried Away” were very easy to sing along to. They brought out “Believe in Me” from 1988, and the older fans in the crowd were very pleased.

The range in audience ages was really nice to see at this show, as Sloan have managed to keep their fans from the ‘90s while also attracting some new fans along the way. Maybe not everyone could relate when they sang “I Hate My Generation,” but everyone enjoyed this 1994 hit.

After taking a break, the band came back for round two and got everyone pumped back up with their 2001 hit, “If It Feels Good Do It.” “Misty’s Beside Herself” from the Heart side of Commonwealth slowed the pace down, and then they switched gears once again to play one of my favourites, “Who Taught You To Live Like That?” and “Ill placed trust” from 2006’s Never Hear the End of It.

With such a large discography, the band has a lot of material to draw on, and they played a well-rounded and lengthy set. Before the encore, they played two more that everyone could sing along to: “The Other Man” and “Money City Maniacs.”

They thanked the crowd for allowing them to do an encore, and expressed that they still love that feeling of being called back on stage. The group is still humble, and clearly loves making great rock music. They ended the night with the first song off Commonwealth, “We’ve Come This Far,” “The Marquee and the Moon,” and “She Says What She Means.” It was a fitting way to end a night of visiting their extensive discography.

Quantum is dance inspired by particle physics

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EIC

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October 30, 2014

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Swiss choreographer Gilles Jobin’s Quantum represents a blending of art and science. Jobin participated in Collide@CERN, an artist residency initiative of The European Organization for Nuclear Research, where he was inspired by particle accelerators and physics.

Quantum is what came out of that residency, and it demonstrates an awareness of patterns, clusters, and the idea that we are all made of these particles that are constantly moving. The piece begins with six dancers shaking frenetically on the spot, as the lights above them sway back and forth.

The lights are a work of art in themselves, and are a lumino-kinetic installation by Julius von Bismark. This made the lighting extremely dynamic, as the three large bulbs swung in different patterns and at varying speeds throughout the performance.

The dancers’ movements seemed to be influencing the movements of the lights, and they added an extra element to the work as they too had to be choreographed. The way the circles of light moved as the lights swayed was an effective way of changing the mood and pacing of the work and, at times, added an extra pulsing, rhythmic element.

In tight jumpsuits with a detailed geometric pattern, the dancers moved around the stage in various clusters, with one dancer beginning a movement and the others following suit until the chain reaction of movements changed their formation. These sections were reminiscent of atoms moving in clusters and affecting each other in a chain reaction.

The soundscape of this work was not melodic at all, and contained a few sections of very piercing sounds that had a few audience members grimacing as they covered their ears. This only added to the scientific, clinical feeling of the work as the dancers moved around a bare, starkly lit stage.

With impressive contact work and inventive choreography, this is a fascinating work that blends the two fields of art and science into a unique creation.

For more information, visit thedancecentre.ca.

A day at the Art/Book fair

By

Peak Web

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October 29, 2014

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During the month of September, local artist-run culture gets into the full swing of things with an annual swarm of show openings throughout the Vancouver area. One centre, however, is creating a new tradition in the first week of October.

The Peak sat down with founder Tracy Steffanucci, as she prepares for the third annual Vancouver Art/Book Fair, which is produced by Project Space and takes place on October 4 and 5.

The Peak: Could you start by giving us a bit of background information on Project Space? How did it come about and who was involved?

Tracy Steffanucci: Project Space is a non-profit organization dedicated to publication as an artistic medium. Our main projects are the Vancouver Art/Book Fair, Project Space Press, OCW Magazine and projectspace.ca.

The organization evolved out of a magazine I co-founded in 2006. In 2011, under the leadership of Jaz Halloran and I, we opened a bookshop/gallery in Chinatown and began operating under the name Project Space. We closed the storefront in 2013, but we are still very active with our other projects.

Peak: Why the Vancouver Art/Book Fair as an event? This is the third installation of the fair — have you noticed anything changing in the Vancouver publication community now that the fair is a mainstay?

Steffanucci: VA/BF was founded in response to an absence of art book fairs in Canada and on the West Coast (though after we founded the fair we were pleased to see Printed Matter launch an LA Art Book Fair). Our city and country have active and vibrant artist publishing communities, and fairs are an ideal place to circulate books, generate discourse, engage new publics, and foster relationships between artists, publishers and the public. VA/BF acts as an invaluable piece of cultural infrastructure; it seemed absolutely necessary to launch one here.

In Vancouver in particular, we have a fairly sizable and active community that is producing art books — though we are still working on helping to make the various smaller communities that make up this broader community more visible and connected. I do see results and am excited for ongoing development in this regard.

For example, Nathan Jones and Michael Lachman’s Print Ready exhibitions at Dynamo Arts Association are fostering a community around artists’ zines. Or 221A’s recent collaboration with Brick Press for Dan Starling’s bookwork The Part of No Part is a good example of an artist-run centre collaborating with another art publisher. We’ve also been posting art publishing–related events to our blog at projectspace.ca, and are impressed by the number of groups hosting such events and how frequent they are.

Peak: They say the third time’s the charm. What can visitors expect, or be surprised by, at this year’s VA/BF?

Steffanucci: VA/BF takes over three floors of the Vancouver Art Gallery Annex to present works by hundreds of artists and publishers — from exhibitor tables to installations and other displays — as well as hourly talks and performances, an art and coffee lounge (with free organic, fair trade coffee from our official coffee sponsor Ethical Bean) and more.

This year, some highlights include Jordan Abel, award-winning Nisga’a poet and author of a new artist book we’ve published titled Un/inhabited; Hugh Frost of Landfill Editions, a Stockholm-based publisher that produces books as well as various other art objects.

Other highlights include Rachel Gontijo Araujo of A Bolha Editora, a Sao Paulo–based publisher that is committed to disseminating under-represented Brazilian works in other countries, Lauren Mackler, founder of Los Angeles’ Museum of Public Fiction, which produces an art journal that compiles print artist projects and texts in connection with thematic group exhibitions; and Helena Keeffe, a San Francisco–based artist whose project Standard Deviation discusses valuation of artistic labour.

The passion evident in the work on display at VA/BF is palpable. There is nothing quite like talking directly to an artist or publisher about the work they’ve created — hearing the back-story and the intention from someone who is incredibly passionate about it.

The range of work on display is outstanding, meaning there is something for all kinds of book lovers and also that it is almost impossible to not discover anything new and exciting.

Of course, there are also things like free tote bags given out at the door — which doesn’t hurt. Give yourself lots of time, as there are many rooms of books and artists’ projects to explore, as well as hourly talks and performances.

The Vancouver Art/Book Fair opens with a Members Preview October 3 and runs October 4 and 5 from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. For the real book aficionados, be sure to check out Artists’ Books Week, which is a series of events in parallel to VA/BF that runs September 29 to October 5. For more information, visit vancouverartbookfair.com.

Bad batch of candy corn could harm trick or treaters’ taste buds, warn police

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EIC

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October 27, 2014

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Candy Corn (Jonathan McIntosh) — There could be striped disappointment lurking in your child’s trick or treat bag.

Police are warning trick or treaters about a particularly uninspiring batch of candy corn that could pose a risk to children’s taste buds.

“No one is in immediate danger of being disappointed,” police announced to candy enthusiasts earlier this week, “but we are monitoring things closely. We’re taking a ‘better safe than bummed out’ approach to the situation. Anyone with any information about the subpar candy corn should contact us immediately.”

The candy has already disappointed Vancouver teens Trevor Smith and Todd Chan, and police are saying similar incidents could be on the horizon.

According to a police report, Smith and Chan purchased the alleged candy corn from a bulk aisle at Superstore. Instead of just being content with how average the candy was, the youth told police that they were unsatisfied with how bland it tasted.

“At first we thought it tasted like regular candy corn, which I guess tastes like sugar but not as good,” Smith recounted to The Peak. “After a couple of pieces, neither of us were really feeling it though. I still have most of the bag so I might just give the rest to my parents. I’d feel bad just throwing it away.”

A junk food belonging to the ‘sweet’ family, candy corn is a popular treat for this time of year — which police say makes it especially prone to disappointment.

“People get excited that they can buy candy corn in stores again and they immediately think back to eating it when they were kids. When people are nostalgic, they’re more susceptible to be underwhelmed by something. Just because a candy is seasonal doesn’t mean it can’t be mediocre.

“It’s Halloween, so of course people are going to be hopped up on Tootsie rolls, miniature chocolate bars, and anything else they can get their hands on. It’s important that people are aware of what kind of candy they’re ingesting so this doesn’t happen to them.”

The situation is similar to an incident in 2012, where police issued an advisory on all Sun-Maid Raisins, after reports flooded in about raisins that were drier and more stale-tasting than usual. Sun-Maid representatives responded by saying that that’s just how raisins are supposed to taste and the allegations were eventually dropped.

Until more is revealed about the dispiriting candy corn batch, police are advising trick or treaters to stick with candies that they already know will be disappointing, like Almond Joys or those little suckers with the shitty gum in the middle.