Web-crawling software targets child exploitation

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June 23, 2014

CMYK-robotic spider-KennethUzodinma — Image credit: Kenneth Uzodinma.

A new grant will enable SFU International Cybercrime Research Centre to further their development of a web-crawling software that targets child exploitation.

By combining computer science and criminology, researchers are developing a digital mapping software that will help guide police to sources of websites involved in internet crime related to the manipulation and/or coercion of minors into sexual activity.

Richard Frank, an assistant professor of criminology at SFU, became involved in the project when another researcher in the department pointed to the time consuming nature of manually tracking the social network of child exploitation. Frank saw the opportunity for a software that could do the work automatically.

The software he developed is a “web-crawler” that works by traveling through hyperlinks. To start the program, one manually enters a website involved in child exploitation. The program will then follow any suspicious hyperlinks found on the site that are not on safe domains.

Frank told Global News, “The problem is that it’s very, very easy to set up websites and webpages to take this content and put it on. If police or a service provider shuts it down, then [the offenders] create a new one and put it up again.”

Once on the site, the crawler looks for keywords and travels through image fingerprints to see if either exists in the police database. If the website is suspected of hosting content associated with child exploitation, the web-crawler will branch out again and continue traveling through the hyperlinks.

The team recently received a grant to continue their work from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). In an interview with The Peak, Byron Holland, CIRA president and CEO, said, “SFU’s International Cybercrime Research Centre, and the project they proposed, is a prime candidate as an initiative to help advance the safety and security of the Internet in Canada, and fill a social and legal need that will have a significant impact across the country.”

Using this grant, the team is attempting to develop a geolocator to work with the software. The current software can efficiently track content being displayed but it cannot see who else is visiting a website or who runs it. With a geolocator, the software would be able to track the website’s source location.

Once the source is found, the police can uncover important information that the software cannot, such as who accessed the site.

Internet crime is still a relatively new and growing field in the technology age, but Frank believes this software could eventually be used to track down other harmful social networks. For now, the web-crawler should provide a needed helping hand to police on the hunt for exploitative cybercrime.

It’s not enough: sexual assault and the university

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EIC

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June 23, 2014

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The amount of sexual violence faced by students at Canadian universities is staggering. Every semester, the average post-secondary institution in this country sees eight different cases of sexual assault in the first eight weeks of classes — that’s one instance every week, per school.

Canadian women aged 15 to 24 are by far the most likely victims of sexual assault in the country, and university students are no exception: the Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Area reports that 29 per cent of female university students have experienced some form of sexual assault.

That’s almost one third of students. Something is seriously wrong here.

University culture, one that usually promotes openness and exploration, has also historically been a silencing factor for many assault victims. Recently, however, activists have been more vocal than ever about universities upscaling their policies to prevent sexual assault and punish abusers.

Statistics would argue that sexual assault is becoming more prevalent: there’s been a 52 per cent increase in rape reports on American campuses from 2001 to 2011. More than anything, though, it’s a sign that assault victims and allies are making greater efforts to voice their experiences and change the way we think about assault on campus. And we’d do well to listen.

Most victims of assault in post-secondary settings seek justice within the school system.

We know that most sexual assaults go unreported, and that victims are encouraged by our culture to hide their experiences rather than discuss them openly. As an article in Time magazine noted, this statistic “doesn’t necessarily mean that more sexual assaults [have] occurred as much as it shows that colleges are getting better at acknowledging the ones that have always taken place.”

Whether or not the numbers have always been this high, it’s only now that we’re finally realizing the scope of the issue. This is — a little counterintuitively — actually a good thing. The number of complaints towards colleges in handling and accurately defining sexual assault cases has risen steadily over the last 10 years, showing that people are, now more than ever, feeling capable of speaking up.

Though these numbers are deeply disturbing, it is important that we realize just how dangerous and unsafe university campuses prove for many people. Since most victims of assault in post-secondary settings seek justice within the schools rather than through police or legal action, institutions have a serious responsibility to protect their students; the increasing outcry towards university policy on assault is a crucial step in the right direction.

In an op-ed for The Los Angeles Times, Gabrielle Glaser writes, “The disciplinary systems of colleges [. . .] have proved utterly inadequate to deal with the more serious issue of sexual assault.” Accordingly, she says “Many women report feeling victimized a second time by their universities.” This is not an uncommon experience — many assault victims have shared stories of ill treatment from universities when reporting their experiences.

Consider Angie Epifano, an Amherst College student whose first person account of her rape, along with the story of how college officials brushed her off, went viral in 2012. Her story is the story of thousands of people whose assault has been treated with disinterest — sometimes even disdain — by the very people who should be helping and protecting them.

In order to end the crisis of sexual assault in North American universities, we need to look past the individuals who commit these crimes, and examine the institutions that allow these attacks to occur in the first place, and that don’t respond appropriately. Taking these institutions to task is crucial in promoting a safe campus environment for everyone, and making sure university students can focus on what’s important: their education.

Man upset after girlfriend shouts out wrong ethnic slur during sex

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June 22, 2014

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VANCOUVER – A local man is incensed after his girlfriend of over five months screamed out a racial slur in the middle of intercourse that wasn’t a term for his racial makeup.

Terence Smith, a black-Canadian, says he’s starting to have serious concerns that his girlfriend, Caitlin, is cheating on him after she aggressively called him a “filthy c****” during sex.

“Believe me, I love dirty talk, especially when it’s racially charged, but you’ve got to get the words right,” Smith explained, still reeling from the previous night’s events. “Don’t tell me that it was just a mistake, that word sounds nothing like the ones she normally yells at me!”

Smith said that this is the first time this has happened in their relationship, which has, up to this point, only been filled with love and n-words directed towards him during sex. Now he says he can’t help but feel as if she may not be being faithful to him.

“I know that mistakes happen, like when she yelled out my friend Tyrone’s name instead of mine a couple weeks ago,” Smith continued. “But I understood that, it was just because all black people look the same to her. This is totally different.”

While Caitlin has assured him that last night was an accident and that she just had a brief lapse in judgement in the heat of the moment, Terence has still decided to put the relationship on hold.

“He’s completely overreacting, I’m just a passionate person,” Caitlin told The Peak. “I swear to god that I meant to call him a ‘filthy c***,’ it was just a terrible, stupid slip-of-the-tongue.”

Caitlin has said that she is extremely embarrassed by the whole situation and hopes they can move forward from it soon.

“I love him and he should know that I would never, ever, ever have sex with a Chinese person,” Caitlin said in conclusion. “I just want to move past this . . . hopefully Tyrese will come around soon.”

15 Songs You Didn’t Know Were About Getting a Handjob in an Elevator

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June 22, 2014

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Who knew all these songs were written about that specific sex act in that very specific location? Well, it’s true! Pretty crazy, huh?

1. “Let it Be” by The Beatles

Yeah, that’s what it’s about.

2. “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones

They don’t talk about it much but it’s true, that’s what it’s about.

3. “Everyday” by Buddy Holly and the Crickets

That’s what Buddy is singing about.

4. “Symphony No. 9” by Ludwig van Beethoven

Who knew this was about that? Well, it is.

5. “Wonderwall” by Oasis

It’s surprising but it’s true!

6. “Pinball Wizard” by The Who

Yep, that’s what this song is about.

7. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by The Beatles

Hard to believe, but that’s what it’s about.

8. “Hey Jude” by The Beatles

That’s what this tune was talking about.

9. “Imagine” by John Lennon

Pretty shocking but, again, it’s true.

10. “Amish Paradise” by Weird Al Yankovic

This is really what this song is about.

11. “So What” by Miles Davis

That’s what this song was written about.

12. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2

Unexpected, but that’s what it’s about.

13. “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles

This song is about that, it’s true.

14. “Cocaine” by Eric Clapton

8 He wrote this about that.

15. “Handjob in an Elevator” by Matt Markley and the Sharkfighters

I’m actually not sure about this one, 14 just didn’t sound as good though.

Satellite Signals

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June 21, 2014

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Woodward’s

SFU presented an exciting evening of music, media arts, performance arts, and dance with Launch 2014, an event showcasing Vancouver’s professional emerging artists. Performers included Tegan Wahlgren, a vocalist and violinist, Munira Mohamud, a filmmaker from Somalia, Subscura, an all-female dance collective, and Animal Atlas, a Vancouver-based Indie/R&B band.

The evening also offered career advice to young artists from co-founder of the Vancouver Folk Festival, Gary Cristall, among others.

Surrey

International medical experts and researchers gathered at SFU Surrey from June 19 to 22 to attend the Canada India Networking Initiative (CINI) 2014 conference.

The event focussed on four key areas of health and civil society: nursing and allied health education, health-technology and the economy, chronic disease management, and the role of yoga, science, and modern medicine in wellness.

Vancouver

Students gathered at Harbour Centre on Monday for professor David Mitchell’s examination of the one-time X-rated 1969 film, Midnight Cowboy, which follows a male prostitute and his sickly friend who struggle to survive on the streets of New York City.

Mitchell discussed how the film represented the “alternative lived experience of queer/crip relations in late liberalism” and explored how the subjective experiences of the disabled can alter the collective consciousness.

Fall Kickoff concert is a go

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June 20, 2014

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The Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) has officially announced that they will be hosting a Fall Kickoff concert, set to take place on September 19 from 4:00 p.m. to midnight.

The event differs from previous SFSS concerts in that it will feature two live bands as well as two electronic dance music (EDM) acts.

Zied Masmoudi, VP student services and project lead for the concert, anticipates that offering different genres of music during the same event will be challenging. “Having bands, then DJs, they have different rearrangements, different needs, so in terms of production, in terms of technical details, it requires a lot of work,” he said.

There will also be a fifth act, but the identity of the performer(s) will remain a mystery until the night of the concert itself.

In the past, the SFSS has sponsored an online DJ competition, with the winner performing at the concert itself. This year, however, they will be hosting a separate live DJ contest at the Highland Pub on September 12, during which seven or eight DJs will compete for three concert spots. The three finalists will each play a 10 minute set at the concert; the most popular DJ will play the after party at the Highland.

The SFSS will begin selling presale tickets for the concert in the near future, despite not knowing the headliners. As such, these tickets will be sold at a discounted price. Masmoudi expects to be able to announce the headliners in mid-July.

University Briefs

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June 20, 2014

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Luminato Festival explores sex and sensuality

Lasting from June 6 to 15, this year’s annual Luminato Festival in Toronto focused on the steamy theme of “sex.” According to Luminato Festival artistic director, Jorn Wesibrodt, the erotic theme incorporated many boundary-pushing performances including one portraying strange, and even lethal, animal mating practices by actor Isabella Rossellini.

In addition to sex, the festival’s theme covered subjects such as as birth, love, pain, and passion. Love was explored as the second-most important theme, “as the sister phenomenon of sex.”

With files from The Varsity

Social media syphilis in Saskatoon

After a serious syphilis scare earlier this spring, Saskatoon may be in the clear. As of April 2014, there were nine confirmed cases, six more than were reported in all of 2013. The outbreak appears to have ended, however, with no new cases as of May.

Saskatoon Health Region’s deputy medical health officer, Johnmark Opondo, pointed to the increased use of social media sites and apps in searching for a sexual partner as a possible reason for the outbreak.

“It seems individuals are able to get to that point where they want to have intimate contact a lot faster,” he said. “[They] don’t always remember that sexually transmitted diseases can still be present and they still need to use caution.”

With files from The Sheaf

Teen angst affects future love life

Research from the U of A shows that depression in young adults may impact their future romantic relationships. Findings showed that those with high rates of depression and anger at age 18 struggled with intimate relationships 25 years down the road.

Assistant professor of human ecology and study author Matthew Johnson stressed the importance of providing aid for these issues in adolescence: “This speaks to the need for addressing those problems early, because they don’t just necessarily go away and even those early experiences will still affect you in the future.”

With files from The Gateway

UK universities score on sexual health

A national report ranked each of the UK’s most prominent universities based on sexual health. The report was in response to cuts to public services that have lead to increased rates of STIs across the country; this was clearly reflected in the results, with some schools not reaching a passable grade.

Schools were graded on a scale from A to F in various categories, such as, “sexual health information services near or on campus,” “clinic drop-in availability,” “sexual assault service,” and “sexual health information on website.” This report card aimed to shed light on how universities can better serve their communities when it comes to sexual health.

With files from The Exeposé

Michael Franti brings his yoga and rock music tour, Soulshine, to Vancouver

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June 18, 2014

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Michael Franti has been practicing yoga for 13 years and making music for much longer; recently he figured out how to combine these two passions in a unique way. His Soulshine tour brings audiences together with an hour long yoga class accompanied by a relaxing acoustic set, followed by Michael Franti and Spearhead’s energetic reggae-infused folk rock along with performances by SOJA, Brett Dennen, Trevor Hall, and Sonna Rele.

Driving through the Ozark Mountains between tour stops, Franti took some time to chat with me about why yoga and music aren’t so different, his one-year experience living in Edmonton, and his Do It For the Love Foundation.

“I started doing yoga 13 years ago on tour as a way to take care of myself,” explained Franti. “I wasn’t getting enough sleep and eating bad food. I would go to different yoga schools in every city, and I met hundreds of yogis.”

Franti made it a habit to practice yoga before his shows and began inviting people to come early and join him. It was five to 10 people at first, but then he did a pre-show acoustic set and yoga class before his show in Red Rock, Colorado, and 2,000 people came out. “We thought why not do this across the country?” With some of the best yoga teachers and a few other great bands to play alongside Franti’s Spearhead, the show is the best of both worlds.

Once you put two seemingly different things together, it’s easier to see their similarities. Music and yoga do have some things in common, said Franti: “The main thing is they both open windows to the soul — you learn to breathe into [yoga], and music is the same through sounds, music, lyrics — they open your heart.”

Practicing yoga before a concert brings the crowd together and creates a different audience dynamic. “I really love the idea of one mind,” said Franti, explaining that the crowd is united at the end of the yoga session. “Everyone is jumping together and dancing together by the end of the yoga class. It’s great to see that take place in yoga — most of the time it’s an inward practice, but at the shows it always ends up with everyone dancing,” he said.

For Franti, yoga is a very personal experience. “There’s a real commitment to yoga and it brings up a lot of questions for me when I’m on the mat,” he said. “It brings you back to experiences, you live through it and you let go — transform and let go. When you’re doing that it’s different than just showing up and forgetting.”

Franti is looking forward to the first of two Canadian stops on this tour (the other being Toronto). “Vancouver was the first place I ever did a concert outside of America,” said Franti, so the city will always have special meaning for him.

Although he has lived in the US most of his life, Franti has a few Canadian connections. When his mother got a teaching job in Edmonton, Franti lived there for a year during grade nine and explained that it was a big city compared to his hometown in California. “The last thing you want to do is be ripped apart from friends, but it was one of the best experiences — to see America from the outside and experience a different culture. It really shaped who I am today.”

Franti’s other Canadian connection is his girlfriend, Sara Lua, who is an emergency room nurse from Saskatoon. Looking to combine their two careers of healthcare and music, they created a foundation called Do It For the Love, which provides concert tickets to people with life threatening illnesses.

The couple was inspired when they met one particular couple, Steve and his wife Hope. Franti said that when Steve found out that he was dying from ALS, he said to Hope “I would understand if you leave, but if you don’t, will you marry me?” Hope wrote to Franti and said that Steve’s last wish was to see his show. “We were so inspired by their love,” said Franti. There are many artists participating in their initiative including Kings of Leon, Train, Santana, and Third Eye Blind.

With all that love in the air, Soulshine is sure to make your heart smile. Vancouver-based yoga guru Ryan Leier will lead the yoga class in Vancouver, and Franti said that it doesn’t matter what age, size, or shape you are. “We want to bring music and yoga to all people.” He also emphasizes that “it will be incredible music. We want Soulshine to be a tour that is a kickass musical concert.”

Soulshine will be at the PNE Amphitheatre on June 26. For more information, visit soulshine.com.

Board Shorts

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June 18, 2014

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50th Anniversary Campaign

Representatives from the campaign planning and implementation committee for SFU’s 50th anniversary approached board last Tuesday, June 17, to discuss collaboration on events surrounding SFU’s 50th anniversary, which will occur on September 9, 2015.

The committee hopes to host a number of activities around the event, including a Worldwide Week of Welcome — including possible concerts and a Founder’s Ball — a “Show your Red (and White)” day, the release of SFU films and special anniversary mementos, the Shrum Bowl or a similar athletic event, and a Burnaby Festival of Learning, among others.

The committee representatives were particularly interested in collaborating with board on the Week of Welcome and possible concert, citing board’s previous experience hosting similar large-scale events.

VP student services and project lead for the 2014 kickoff concert, Zied Masmoudi, invited a representative from the committee to sit on the SFSS’ fall kickoff concert working group so that they might begin to discuss collaboration.

SFU Week of Welcome

SFU is looking to modify student orientation from its current structure — namely, a big “rah-rah” event with all the activities packed into one or two days — into a Week of Welcome from September 4 to 7 this fall.

Brian Fox, SFU student life coordinator, hoped to include the SFSS “as much as possible” in the week, proposing that the SFSS host a BBQ. While board was optimistic about a partnership, VP finance Adam Potvin raised concerns about blurring the lines between SFU services and services offered by the SFSS.

SFU will still be offering an orientation, called “Welcome days,” on August 27 at Surrey and August 28 at Burnaby, during which students will be able to tour the campus.

Furthermore, SFU is offering a free course available through Canvas for all new high school admits that will serve as a sort of SFU 101. The program has already connected with 1,500 students who will be attending SFU in the fall.

Food and Beverage Services Operating Costs

As part of his financial plan for the year, Potvin brought forward a proposal to shift the operating costs incurred by Food and Beverage Services from Building Operating Costs to the Food and Beverage Service Department (FBS).

Potvin explained that before 2010, the FBS had $90,000 for operating costs, but the previous board took this out in order to to lump the pub deficit in with the other operating costs to make the deficit more manageable.

Both Potvin and SFSS president Chardaye Bueckert upheld the importance of passing this decision in the interest of transparency. The motion was passed, with business representative Shadnam Khan and VP student life Zied Masmoudi opposed.

Fall kickoff concert working group

The university gave the SFSS’ 2014 fall kickoff concert the green light; board voted in favour of striking a working group in order for other board members to become involved with the project.

Project lead Masmoudi said, “I see great avenues of collaboration between the SFSS and the university and we’re already getting stuff done. We’re way ahead of schedule.”

Surrey shows its pride at annual festival

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June 17, 2014

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Not even moderate precipitation could rain on Surrey’s parade this weekend. The annual Surrey Fest Downtown took place this past Saturday at Surrey’s Central City Plaza.

The festival, formerly known as Whalley Community Festival, was first put on in 1999 to cultivate a sense of community pride as well as to showcase what the neighbourhood has to offer.

This year’s festival was dampened slightly by less than ideal weather conditions, but nonetheless, people gathered outside SFU’s Surrey campus to enjoy the provided live entertainment, food, and activities.

SFU co-op student Abby Wong worked to make the festival a success in her position as special events intern at the Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association (BIA). She was responsible for seeking sponsorships and donations, coordinating entertainment, and making sure the event ran smoothly.

Wong believes that events such as these are important in bringing the Surrey community together — as one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, this is no easy task. “We want to create the kind of community where people know each other when they walk down Surrey streets and know they have great neighbours,” said Wong.

The rain let up around 2:00 p.m., yielding a turnout of approximately 400people at the event’s peak. Tents lined the plaza parking lot and offered people the chance to check out local vendors and organizations in attendance.

Entertainment included various local talent such as a Tom Petty cover band and two junior talent winners selected by The Now. Also featured was children’s performer, Music with Marnie, who had the youngest raincoat-clad members in the crowd bopping along to songs like “H2O on the Go!” The children’s zone boasted a large inflatable play area and bouncy slide, a carnival ride, as well as face painting.

Wong felt that the event would have benefited from sunnier weather, but was an overall success. “My favourite part of the event was watching the crowd get into the performances — dancing or singing along. It showed they were really enjoying the day and the entertainment I helped organize.”

She concluded, “It was a proud moment since this was my first time organizing any sort of event.”