Don’t board the ‘hate train’

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September 22, 2014

Fads occur when an item of popular culture, be it online or in real life, becomes inexplicably popular for a short period of time. For instance, I can still remember when everyone seemed to obsess over Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh, and Beyblade. Some more recent fads include Angry Birds, Duck Dynasty, and Game of Thrones.

Interestingly, some of these fads are still celebrated amongst small pockets of people, and I feel that if something brings you minor joy, entertainment, or amusement, then you have every right to it.

‘Hate fads,’ however, are an entirely different story.

I find that fads can also encompass the way some people go about ‘hating’ on things, rather than enjoying them, for short periods of time. If you haven’t noticed, the internet is full of people expressing their dislike for certain things, whether it be through chat boxes, videos, or other means. Oftentimes, it seems that people just enjoy coming together to hate stuff.

Normally, a little bit of collective dislike is fine and dandy; it can be fun to talk about the things that really grind your gears, especially with people who agree with you, or at least don’t rebuff your opinion.

However, the problem with a lot of these hate fads is that it seems as if many people hate certain things because everybody else hates them; in other words, they jump on the ‘hate bandwagon.’

It’s snobby to assume that people should listen to, watch, or even wear certain things.

One example would be the recent hate towards the band Nickelback. The issue here is not that people genuinely dislike the band, but more so the fact that they express their dislike because its the ‘cool’ thing to do.

Another example would be the hate I see toward Justin Bieber. While I don’t find any enjoyment in listening to his music, is he that extraordinarily bad that he needs to be singled out? I feel it has become a rite of passage for everyone to point fingers and agree on how much they seemingly dislike his music.

The main problem here is that we live in a culture in which we’re pressured to dislike certain things. In reality, everyone should be entitled to their own interests without feeling this pressure — it’s snobby to assume that people should listen to, watch, or even wear certain things.

Truthfully, though, whatever you get enjoyment out of should be good enough for both you and anyone else. It does not matter if it has been deemed by some internet society to be terrible. What I might call ‘cookie-cutter crap’ may deeply connect with someone else, or just plain sound good, and there’s nothing wrong with this notion.

With taste, there is no right or wrong, there is only the subjective. The only person’s taste that really matters is your own. So remember, if you’re going to hate, only hate what you actually hate, not what the group has decided that everyone should hate. Don’t board the hate-train, think for yourself.

Liam Neeson takes A Walk Among the Tombstones

By

EIC

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September 22, 2014

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Aim low; achieve average; feel awesome: this is Liam Neeson’s recent strategy for choosing roles. Your enjoyment of Scott Frank’s A Walk Among the Tombstones will depend heavily upon your expectations. What do you want out of a Liam Neeson thriller?

Neeson’s recent flicks never surprise me; they all have inherent b-movie fun that leaves me neither completely enthralled nor entirely bored. I have seen him kick butt so many times, in so many different places, in so many different ways, and in so many different movies (Non- Stop, Unknown, and Taken, to name a few) that I expect this trademark.

In this film, Neeson plays Matt Scudder, a cop who shoots three thugs as they’re holding up a bar. He is drunk during the entire ordeal and accidentally kills a seven year old girl. Skip ahead seven years and Matt is retired. He is sober and attending AA meetings. He is introduced to a drug trafficker whose wife has been kidnapped. Matt investigates this disappearance and finds that the abductors have done this more than once.

Prima facie, the film appears to have the same conventions, clichés, and genre tropes of Neeson’s other recent films, but this one managed to subvert nearly every one of those prejudices; the atmospheric settings and lead character’s heavy conscience kept me pinned to the edge of my seat. Tombstones is a character piece disguised as a crime mystery that, in its climactic shootout, ignores the action in favour of exploring the cryptic themes and ambiguity of the protagonist. Expect something more akin to David Fincher’s Seven or Zodiac, with an additional hint of self-awareness.

It’s surprising that the actor who showed remarkable dramatic chops in Schindler’s List is now a fierce 60-year old action star. Here he draws from both the nuanced and pulpy portions of his career to deliver a performance that is his best since 2011’s underrated The Grey.

Where in Neeson’s other films we don’t flinch at the sight of him shooting an evil dude’s brains out, here we are jarred and reflect on the sight because it so rarely occurs. It’s like a horror movie where the horrors aren’t dismissible supernaturalism, but rather the characters’ debilitating addictions, situations, and decisions. The slow pace will annoy many with false expectations, but those willing to surrender themselves over will probably find themselves shaken and immersed.

Scott Frank’s stylized direction keeps the film interesting even when the plot in the midsection becomes monotonous (we follow Matt from clue to clue over and over again). He often shoots with wide compositions which highlight the gloomy setting and transport us into the auras of the backwards New York City sights: a rooftop, a graveyard, and a rundown diner. All of it screams of a world losing its hope and morality. The film’s setting is reminiscent of the twisted worlds of classic pot boiling noirs.

My expectations were subverted and exceeded. Go in with an open mind and no false expectations and I think yours will be too.

Reimagining Terry

By

EIC

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September 22, 2014

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Those shoes look like they're in pretty good shape, all considered. — Terry Fox is as close as we have to a national hero — but deifying him only takes away from what he accomplished.

“Terry” Fox is the closest thing our country has to a national hero.

Think about that for a minute. Our folk hero isn’t a politician and reformer, like George Washington in the United States; nor the leader of a widespread social movement, like Mahatma Gandhi in India; nor a warrior or a prophet, like Joan of Arc in France. Where other nations idolize big people from big families occupying big places in world history, Canada has a suburban kid from Port Coquitlam whose heroism didn’t lie in organizing the people, or conquering the people, or even telling them what to do or how to think. And that’s what makes him great.

If you grew up in this province like I did, you’ll surely remember the countless hours of class time dedicated each and every September to discussing Terry’s legacy — his Marathon of Hope; his stubborn, unwavering dedication to the goal of raising money for cancer research in the face of his own declining health; his untimely death at the age of 22.

Imagining Terry as an icon and not a human being takes away from the real heroism of what he accomplished.

I don’t mean to make you relive this story. Terry’s tale has been firmly and repeatedly ingrained into the collective consciousness of British Columbia; we’ve all heard it over and over again.

What we often miss out on, though, is the portrait of Terry as he really was: not some heroic übermensch or irreproachable deity, but a regular kid with a commitment to making the world we live in a better and healthier place.

Think of Terry before he became the cultural icon he is today, before his statue, in mid-gait, stood in the Academic Quadrangle he once walked through as a regular undergrad. His mother convinced him to enrol in Simon Fraser University, where he chose to study kinesiology. He wanted to be a PE teacher — in another world, it’s easy to imagine him coaching ninth graders to run laps in the mud and rain.

By all accounts, Terry was a friendly, goofy kid with a passionate love for sports and competition. He would not have been unrecognizable as a university student to you or I. He earned a spot on the school’s basketball team during his junior year; after his cancer forced the amputation of his leg, he played on Canada’s wheelchair basketball team, and helped win them three titles between 1978–1980.

It was his experiences during this period of his life, before he received surgery for the osteosarcoma which had spread in his knee, that inspired him to run his Marathon of Hope. His time in chemotherapy treatment inspired his deep empathy for other cancer survivors; his resolve to change the way that we think about and research cancer originated from his human need to reduce the suffering of others. He promised himself that, if he survived treatment, he would do everything he could to make life better for cancer sufferers around the world.

This is something we all do in our daily lives. We see systems that are broken, and people in need; we feel for them, and we want to help them, even if we’re not sure how. It was Terry’s choice to do something about it, to find a way to make a lasting contribution to a cause he so believed in, that made him truly great.

Terry trained for 14 months before embarking on his now-legendary Marathon of Hope, and it must have a been a gruelling experience. He said that it took 20 minutes of running before the pain reached a threshold where he could ignore it; his prosthetic running leg gave him cuts, bruises, and blisters that took weeks to heal.

When he began his run in April of 1980, he maintained that the public response should be focused solely on promoting cancer research; he shied away from media scrutiny, insisted that his corporate sponsors not make any profit off his marathon, and only attended events and promotions he felt would result in more donations to the cause. Until the spread of cancer to his lungs forced him to end his run short, he never took a day off — even on his 22nd birthday, which would be his last.

It’s easy to bristle at the story of a folk hero whose inspirational struggles seem cheesy and idealized, especially when schoolteachers and media outlets have been forcing you to revisit the story every year since childhood.

But there was plenty about Terry that was subversive and challenging. He ignored the calls of doctors and friends who told him he was endangering his own life. He refused to think of himself as ‘disabled,’ and maintained that his life had become more rewarding since his amputation. Despite the immense toll his 143-straight-day marathon took on his physical and mental wellness, Terry never sought out any personal attention or glory.

We should remember Terry now, 34 years later, for his willpower, his success in uniting people towards a common goal of curing one of the most destructive and tenacious diseases in human history, and for his courage and kindness, even in his final moments. Each year, we run — like he did — to raise money for those who still suffer through surgeries and chemotherapy.

Ultimately, imagining Terry as an icon and not a human being takes away from the real heroism of what he accomplished. It ignores the fact that Terry wasn’t born exceptional. He made a choice he felt was in the best interest of those he cared most about, and he didn’t waver once until his disease forced him to step aside. That’s an example we could all learn from.

Have a little faith

By

EIC

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September 22, 2014

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Why don't more people use prayer beads? It "beads" me! — For many university students, religion is an integral aspect of student life.

Religion. It’s a word that people tend to avoid using; one of those topics that often gets swept under the rug and doesn’t make its way into everyday conversation. I can talk to my best friend about TV shows, what I ate for dinner, and everything in between, but religion is never a part of our daily dialogue. This is because she is an atheist and I am a Christian, and it’s always awkward to discuss a topic on which we have such widely different — even opposing — views.

Still, I’ve often thought to myself, “Shouldn’t I be able to talk to her about my beliefs, since they are an essential part of who I am as a person?”

An ideal balance of faith on campus is one that is founded on open dialogue and respect across all belief systems.

The dictionary definition of religion is “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardour and faith.” For me, it’s much more; the way I see it and experience it in my daily life, religion is a feeling of passion and trust in something that is much bigger than myself.

Maybe this is because religion can be so diverse and complex that people have a hard time engaging with the topic in the first place. However, SFU has a variety of religiously affiliated clubs, along with many connections to off-campus religious groups. From Christian Outreach to the Muslim Student Association, religion is a key aspect of campus life for students from all walks.

The Interfaith Centre

The Interfaith Centre is a resource offered to students through SFU’s Student Services, the same organization that provides students with options on academic advising and opportunities to find work in the co-op program. But unlike those services, the Interfaith Centre is a resource that, for many students, seems to fly under the radar.

According to the statement posted on their website, the Centre is “a place on campus that supports the spiritual well-being of students, staff, and faculty through increasing understanding of several religious beliefs and practices.” Located in the heart of Burnaby campus, the Academic Quadrangle, the Centre provides a safe space for over 750 students, where they can participate in a variety of faith-based activities. Prayer mats and rooms are available for student use, and church services are conducted at the Centre as well.

After hearing that I worked as an SFU campus tour guide at Student Central, a priest in the Centre asked me to do him a favour: he asked if I would mention the Interfaith Centre to every tour group that I led, because he was tired of having 3rd- and 4th-year students saying that they wish they had known the space existed earlier on in their studies.

I kept my word. Now, every guest that I take on a tour will hear me point out the Interfaith Centre as a valuable and often under-appreciated resource on campus.

Religions on campus

Those who follow Christianity believe in having a relationship with Jesus Christ, as he was crucified and rose from the dead after three days in order to provide atonement for the sins of humankind. Most Christian groups desire to spread the love of Christ and the Gospel message of salvation. Several Christian clubs and organizations call the Interfaith Centre home.

Jean-Luc Padley is the president of SFU’s chapter of Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO), a movement focused on spreading the Gospel message and the basics of Catholicism to others. “CCO’s primary mission,” Padley says, “is to evangelize university campuses in a simple way with an emphasis on developing leaders for the renewal of the world.”

The club hosts a series of faith-based studies that allow students to explore and discover the many elements of the Christian faith. Aside from this, they also host events such as their fall retreat and an ever-popular pancake breakfast.

University Christian Ministries (UCM) is a student-organized club supported by the Pentecostal chaplaincy. It is an interdenominational organization which fosters student growth in their relationships with God through activities such as worship, fellowship, and outreach.

Seth Greenham is the Pentecostal chaplain at the Interfaith Centre, and also provides pastoral oversight for UCM’s activities. “Faith and spirituality transcend many people’s lives, and it is important for them to have a space on campus where they can practice their faith,” he says. “People come to university to learn and grow in knowledge, and spirituality is part of that experience.”

Other Christian organizations on campus include Power to Change, The Point church, the Chinese Catholic Club, and the Korean Campus Mission.

“People come to university to learn and grow in knowledge, and spirituality is part of that experience.”

Islam is another widely practiced religion on campus. Those who practice the faith, known as Muslims, believe in the monotheistic existence of God, or Allah, in which He is the one creator of the universe. Their beliefs are founded in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and those found in their holy book, the Qur’an. The Interfaith Centre is the location for many of the activities practiced by Muslim groups on campus.

The Shia Muslim Society was founded in 2009 by a group of students who felt the need to establish a welcoming Muslim society on campus. Laya Behbahani was one of the original members who founded the society.

“The Interfaith Centre is a valuable resource for students, faculty and staff,” Behbahani says, “primarily because it provides a space for our five daily prayers, which is one of the most important, if not the most important, aspect of a Muslim’s life. It is also a place where we all come together and have the opportunity to learn about different faiths in a casual and comfortable environment.”

The Shia Muslim Society’s primary mission statement is grounded in providing information about the Muslim faith to the university community through the organization of religious and educational events in hopes of fostering a better understanding about the Islamic way of life.

Other organizations include the Muslim Student Association and the Ismaili Student Association, which are both run by volunteer Muslim students on campus. The Muslim Student Association provides prayer space for daily prayers in the Interfaith Centre as well. According to their website, they “aim to provide a platform for engaging Muslim and non-Muslim audiences at SFU and the greater community in meaningful dialogue and conversation, with aspirations of combatting constant misconceptions and corrupt perceptions of Muslims and Islam.”

Apart from Christian and Muslim groups, there’s also Hillel BC, a Jewish group spread across many campuses in the province — its SFU club meets at the Cornerstone Building in Univercity. According to their website, the group “promotes Jewish life on campus and beyond [. . .] We are committed to enhancing the lives of young Jewish adults by enabling them to explore their Jewish identity and relationship to Israel within a safe, pluralistic and inclusive community.”

Along with SFU’s Interfaith groups, there are also spaces on campus for those with no religious affiliation — atheists. When it comes to answering life’s big questions, the SFU Skeptics club takes a philosophical and humanist approach rather than a religious one. Skepticism values scientific evidence and reasoning when forming beliefs, while humanism takes into account the welfare of humans and uses scientific evidence and rationality to solve social and ethical problems.

The SFU Skeptics club exists in order to advocate for non-religious students on campus and to promote scientific thinking. “A skeptic answers inquiry with curiousness and critical thinking to make the most informed decision they can, and when presented with new information re-evaluates their position,” former vice president Gabrielle Jackson explains.

The club holds weekly meetings every Friday, during which members discuss a diverse range of topics, from philosophy to politics to pop culture.

“Speaking as a non-religious student, you don’t need this nebulous thing called ‘spirituality’ to be happy or to be good,” says current club executive Matthew Burgess.“But it’s an important part of some students’ identities, and it’s not going away. A university education exposes you to critical thinking and gives you tools. What you do with those is up to you.”

Why it all matters

Professor emeritus Donald Grayston taught religious studies at SFU before retiring in 2004. He is also a retired priest of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster. The Interfaith Centre was established after he had already left SFU, but he still expresses support for the structure.

“In Canada, where there is no official religion, everybody is free to express their beliefs however they wish to,” he says. “The university itself has no official position on God, so [having] a place like the Interfaith Centre is a great way for students of all religious faiths to have opportunities to meet and understand each other.”

One’s religion is an integral part of their life, and having a space to share that with other people is precious. “My beliefs touch every aspect of my life and guide the daily decisions I make,” Padley says. “They give me assurance that what I’m doing has meaning, whether good or bad, and give me a context for my action.”

“The Interfaith Centre is a great way for students of all [religions] to meet and understand each other.”

Behbahani echoes this sentiment. “My belief system shapes a hundred per cent of the way I live my life,” she shares. “It provides a moral framework, a set of values that place dignity and respect for human beings, animals, and the earth at the forefront, and finally, it provides the highest system of ethics.”

Even outside of the context of religion, connecting with those who share a common belief system remains a key value for Burgess and Jackson. “Coming out of a conservative religious tradition, I felt the need to spend some time with people who wouldn’t see my lack of belief as something to be fixed,” Burgess says. Jackson recalls her first meeting with the Skeptics club as she was “surrounded by intelligent and friendly people with similar ideals to [her] own.”

I personally believe that every-body has a form of spirituality, regardless of whether or not they are religious. I see it as the root of everything good in the human spirit. I know that there are people who believe in forces that are greater than those on earth — some call these forces God or gods, while others don’t. Spirituality comes from striving for a purpose in life and the desire to ultimately find peace — two things that I believe everyone is looking for, regardless of whether or not they believe in a God.

That being said, my love for God is my life. It is not something that I can pack away in a box and take out only on Sundays. Many people feel the same way about their beliefs: that they are an essential part of their entire being.

An ideal balance of faith on campus is one that is founded on open dialogue and respect across all belief systems. I am proud to be part of a university that has so many groups that are focused on doing just that.

Intelligences are limitless

By

EIC

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September 22, 2014

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We live in a society obsessed with the elite. Whether it’s athletes, musicians, or painters, we look upon them with awe, and wonder how it would feel to break the shackles of being average.

When it comes to intelligence, this obsession is ever the case, especially in university. We are thrown into an environment where it feels as if our intelligence is constantly being evaluated and compared. But is there any way that we can accurately measure intelligence? And even if there is, does it have any real worth?

Intelligence is not an abstract concept beyond the range of common understanding, but the definition remains vague. The Oxford English Dictionary defines intelligence as an individual’s “ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills,” but there are many ways this can be interpreted.

For example, an individual may be skilled in the traditional senses of intelligence — amazing at writing and analyzing texts, or at manipulating complex mathematical equations. But in a broader sense, intelligence can also describe skills, such as being an effective communicator, or having the bodily awareness necessary to be a dancer or rock climber.

We must look beyond the classic IQ test to determine intelligence. In all simplicity, the test only measures your ability to perform on that specific test; it doesn’t measure whether you will be the next Steve Jobs, Margaret Atwood, or Aristotle.

An IQ test doesn’t measure whether you’ll be the next Steve Jobs, Margaret Atwood, or Aristotle.

In high school, I had my IQ evaluated because I had had some academic difficulties. At first, it was sort of fun to have my skills categorized and quantified, but after a while the numbers began to weigh on my mind, making me more insecure than ever.

I soon became obsessed with my score, and found that my mind would wander off and calculate how many people in my graduating class were statistically more or less intelligent than me. I would aimlessly search the web to get an idea of what kinds of jobs people with my IQ usually had.

It became a toxic pursuit; and I felt limited in ways I hadn’t before. If I didn’t excel in a field I was told I was gifted in, I felt ashamed and angry. For this reason, I still do not discuss my test scores with friends, regardless of the fact that this all happened half a decade ago.

I failed to realize that other kinds of intelligence are just as important as the skills measured by an IQ score, and that no one skill can determine our future successes or failures. Emotional, intrapersonal, musical, and naturalist are just a few types of intelligence that aren’t commonly discussed, yet in combination they are what constitute a unique set of abilities that grow and shift as we navigate through life.

Intelligence is more complex than what is commonly assumed. It is not a simple, quantifiable value, and it is not something stagnant that cannot be developed and improved upon. Instead of focusing on the elite and the skills we lack, we should appreciate our own abilities, as well as others’, and what they can contribute to the world.

Night walk raises safety awareness for women

By

EIC

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September 22, 2014

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CMYK-Night walk-Stef Lewandowski-Flickr — Many women find themselves at risk of harassment when out walking after dark.

In order to address the anxiety many women feel when walking or taking transit alone at night, a group of self-identified women went on a walk of solidarity through downtown Vancouver after dark.

SFU Women’s Centre held its first Night Walk on Saturday, September 13, which invited self-identified women — including some who had experienced harassment when out at night — to take their safety into their own hands.

Participants met at SFU’s Burnaby campus, then took the bus to Production and continued on the skytrain to Downtown Vancouver to begin their walk. The group continued on foot through the downtown area, and then bused to East Hastings Street and Commercial Drive. The event lasted three hours.

The solidarity walk included not only SFU students, but women who take late night classes, work late shifts, or simply find the night a time to think clearly.

Women’s Centre coordinator Nadine Chambers said, “For me, [this event] was a way of focusing on the way that women walk through the world.”

Chambers talked about the issues regarding victim blaming and encouraged a different sort of dialogue: “Let’s talk about what we should do, rather than just about what we shouldn’t do.” She referred to how the onus can be placed on victims’ shoulders to avoid being assaulted at night — wearing conservative clothing or walking with a man for safety, for instance.

The timing of the Night Walk was a deliberate choice made by the Women’s Centre to reflect when most women are out at night. “What many people don’t realize,” Chambers explained, “is that at around midnight, many of the women [. . .] who clean the skyscrapers downtown stream out to catch one of the last Skytrains. So 12:30 at night is the time when there are many women are on the Skytrain, [rather than] when all the clubs let out people later on.

“There are so many different ways to make a network with people who go out at night — they don’t just consist of the people who go out to clubs.”

One of the highlights of the night was the Women’s Self Defence Wenlido class, hosted by Diane Jacobs and held in real-time as they traversed the city. During the walk, participants were invited to share situations that made them feel at risk, afraid, or simply uncomfortable, and what they did in response.

The group also collectively addressed concerns such as how to effectively form a protective group, how to holler for help, and what to do if a stranger approaches. Self-defence instructor Diane Jacobs’ methods did not include any specific rules. She explained, “There is no wrong way [to defend yourself,] as long as it works.”

Jacobs also offered tips on intervening physically when confronted at night, and facing aggressors verbally with assertiveness, as well as texting your cab number to a friend. She mentioned that kneecaps are surprisingly easy to dislocate.

“Being aware of their surroundings and mentally prepared to confront possible attackers enables women to escape a majority of dangerous situations unharmed,” said Jacobs.

Participants and staff continued to trade stories for the rest of the evening, touching on everything from awkward bus conversations to stiletto-turned-weapon encounters on the streets.

The return trip to SFU on the 135 was filled with laughter, anecdotes, and a heightened awareness of both the risks and rewards of being a woman out at night.

I would walk 30,000 km

By

EIC

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September 22, 2014

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That belt is just gonna get higher from here on out. — Andrew Rawicz, a professor at SFU, is committed to walking to and from work every day, rain or shine.

“I still have four more years to reach 40,080 kilometres,” says Rawicz, an engineering science professor at SFU. He doesn’t say this with any hint of exhaustion — in fact, he seems more energetic than ever.

For the past 12 years, Rawicz has made the trek up Burnaby Mountain every single day, hiking to work from his home in Burnaby. Officially, he has clocked roughly 30,000 kilometres to date, and according to him, he’s only four years away from having walked the entire circumference of the earth.

Rawicz is committed to living a green lifestyle, and considers this his “ultimate commute.”

“It’s nothing revolutionary,” Rawicz tells The Peak. He has always been an active individual — having been a weightlifter and a wrestler before teaching at SFU.

Rawicz told The Peak that his commtiment to running to work began back in 2002, and that the final decision was the culmination of a number of different factors. He mentioned developing a bit of friction with the parking administrations, and alluded to the need to lower our use of pollutants, especially those from cars and buses. Eventually all the pieces came together, and one day, he decided to act.

Rawicz is committed to living a green lifestyle, and considers this his “ultimate commute.” He finds hiking so enjoyable that he would “never go back to driving to work.” And why would he? Over the years, his commitment to walking to work has improved his health, reduced his carbon footprint, and saved him a ton of money that might otherwise have been spent on gas, insurance, bus fares, and — yes — parking fees.

Along the way he’s met other active folks and bonded with the local animals. “I met a [black] bear once, a mother bear with [her] two cubs,” Rawicz said.

Rawicz admits he had a difficult time during the first two weeks of his trek; it took him about 55 minutes to walk up the hill and left him sweating for over an hour. Eventually, he was able to reduce his time — and after so many years, he says he barely sweats at all anymore!

Before he began hiking, Rawicz mentions getting infrequent headaches, but has since been the picture of health. “I haven’t been sick in [over] 40 years,” he boasts.

All in all, the trek from his front door to his office is about five kilometres. Rawicz has calculated that on average, walking five days a week with only two weeks off, he travels about 2,500 kilometres each year.

For Rawicz, inhabitants of the Lower Mainland are extremely lucky to have such a beautiful climate for outdoor activity. He stresses that, for those who wish to hike, it’s important to dress appropriately and to be well prepared. He recommends doing supplementary weight training for the upper body, and doing push–ups or chin–ups to avoid back pain. But the key, he says, is in having proper hiking boots — particularly ones that are comfortable and have treads to prevent slippage.

Rawicz notes that exercising and doing physical activities are excellent ways to accelerate the body’s metabolic rate. The brain becomes better supplied with blood, which helps facilitate faster functions and responses. With memory improved and increased efficiency in thinking, the body is capable of doing much more in a shorter period.

“That is why,” Rawicz concludes, “for students, it’s a very good thing.”

In the future, Rawicz hopes to motivate SFU students into taking the initiative to get in shape and increase their physical activity. “There is no better thing than exercise, and particularly cardiovascular exercises [such as] these kinds of hikes,” he says.

As for himself, Rawicz has no plans to quit. Once he has reached his final goal of walking across the earth, he plans to double his distance by sailing across the ocean!

But whether he’s sailing across the world or getting there one step at a time, Rawicz says it’s ultimately about getting into a routine — once that’s set, the body starts adapting. “I think everybody,” he says, “especially when you start young, can adapt to anything.”

Marijuana should not be legalized

By

Peak Web

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September 22, 2014

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Talks regarding the decriminalization of marijuana have been around for many years, but only became mainstream in 2000 with the founding of the Marijuana Party of Canada. For the majority of that time, many believed that a change in the drug’s status was a mere pipe dream suited to a fringe group that would never hold any power, real or imagined, in this country.

That belief was shattered when Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced he plans to legalize marijuana if he becomes Prime Minister next year. With that in mind, the question has again arisen: Should marijuana be legalized?

The answer is unequivocally no. Though proponents of legalization point out that there is big money to be made through taxation of the drug similar to how taxes are levied on cigarettes and alcohol — this idea ignores some very basic facts. For starters, marijuana already has an established black market trade which will restrict the amount of tax the government can place on such a product. If store-bought marijuana becomes overtaxed, people will fall back on this already established underground market.

What’s more, since most street marijuana has other drugs mixed into it, one may not get the desired effects that they are used to when using the store-bought products, which may lead them back onto the street even if the pricing is more reasonable.

Teen pot use is linked to a likelihood of incomplete education, suicide attempts and brain damage.

In addition, we are only beginning to discover some of the effects that continual use of marijuana can have on the body. While we may gain funds through taxation, most of that money may very well go right back into dealing with the myriad of health issues that smoking pot can cause. According to the American Lung Association, marijuana contains 33 chemicals that are known to cause cancer, and due to the lack of filters on joints, deposits four times as much tar into the lungs as an equal amount of tobacco.

There is also evidence to show that marijuana use can cause a host of other problems. Recent studies out of Australia and New Zealand analyzed data on close to 4,000 people, comparing those who had used pot with those who had not, and the results were staggering. Researchers found that frequent pot use by teens is linked to a greater likelihood of incomplete education, suicide attempts, and damage to brain development. In addition, they found that certain cognitive functions can suffer permanent damage as a result of frequent use.

This aligns with what other researchers have already discovered — there is a correlation between marijuana use and permanent brain damage, especially during adolescent use, when the brain is developing. Last year, Northwestern University scientists, led by Matthew Smith — an assistant research professor in psychiatry and behavioural sciences — discovered that parts of the brain related to short-term memory “seemed to collapse inward or shrink in people who had a history of daily marijuana use when compared to healthy participants.” So it actually does destroy your brain.

Finally, let’s keep in mind that the reason Mr. Trudeau gave for legalizing the drug was “to keep it out of the hands of our kids,” as if legalizing and regulating the drug will make a difference. As mentioned previously, the black market for pot will always exist, and when I was in high school, nobody seemed to have a problem getting ahold of cigarettes or alcohol, despite their regulation. The potential benefits certainly do not outweigh the risks.

Fires spark on Burnaby and Harbour Centre campuses

By

EIC

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September 22, 2014

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Authorities are investigating two separate fires that occurred at SFU’s Burnaby and Harbour Centre campuses on the same day last week.

Around noon on September 16, students and staff at Burnaby campus evacuated their classrooms and offices when a small fire erupted in the Convocation Mall parkade.

According to SFU Public Affairs and Media Relations, a campus security officer was the first to discover a vehicle on fire in the Convocation Mall parkade. A heat detector alarm simultaneously notified the Security Operations Centre of the incident.

The security officer deployed a fire extinguisher to contain the fire, while the Burnaby Fire Department responded in time to extinguish the fire before it could damage private property or university infrastructure. The parkade was able to re-open for regular operations approximately 30 minutes after the incident.

Later that same day, students flooded out of SFU’s Harbour Centre campus after a minor fire started on the southwest corner of the building’s roof.

Shortly after 6:00 p.m., students lined West Hastings and West Cordova as fire crews arrived at the scene. Roads were closed to accommodate fire services.

Although the cause of the fire is still unclear, Scott McLean, director of public relations at SFU Vancouver, told The Peak that the incident was dealt with swiftly and without complication.

“Thanks to the quick work of the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, along with the Vancouver Police Department, the fire was extinguished and the building reopened at 7:10 p.m., with classes and events resuming at that time,” McLean explained. “The cause of the fire is still being investigated, and there was some slight water damage to four offices on the seventh floor.”

SFU Safety & Risk Services released a statement to The Peak, expressing that while SFU has extensive fire safety response plans in place, it is up to the public to take their safety seriously: “As thorough as these plans are, the critical piece is the community’s reaction and compliance to fire safety guidelines and evacuation, because safety is a shared responsibility.”

Satellite Signals

By

Peak Web

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September 22, 2014

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Woodward’s

SFU Woodward’s held a free seminar in the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema last Wednesday on Vancouver’s reputation as one of the most liveable cities.

‘Healthy cities’ expert Gil Peñalosa led the lecture to inform and educate the public about how Vancouver can maintain its long-term credibility as an extremely liveable city by investing in transportation and preserving the current “quality of life.”

Harbour Centre

The City Conversations series was once again hosted at SFU’s Harbour Centre campus last Thursday — this time around, the dialogue focused on the idea of taxation as a solution to Translink underfunding.

Some argue that imposing a tax on real estate purchases for the purpose of flipping the purchased house could provide funds for Metro Vancouver’s transportation system. The public was invited to discuss the topic with local experts, including SFU’s own City Program director, Gordon Price.