Clan tip off road trip with a loss

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February 20, 2014

After a successful sweep of their final home-stand of the season, the SFU women’s basketball team couldn’t keep their momentum going in Alaska. The Clan dropped an 87–71 decision to the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves in their first of three road games to close out the regular season.

Things got away from the Clan early. Just five minutes into the game, SFU was down 9–2 and had already turned the ball over eight times. After falling down 19–10 midway through the half, the Clan would rally to cut the lead to five, but that’s as close as they would get. The Seawolves pulled away and led 39–25 after the opening 20, aided by SFU’s 16 first-half turnovers.

It was a sloppy game through and through for SFU.

“We got outrebounded 43–30,” said head coach Bruce Langford after the contest. “We allowed them to have 27 offensive rebounds which was basically the story of the game, [as well as] 25 turnovers on our part.”

SFU never quit, though; the second half was a much better performance than the team’s effort in the first. The girls shot just 33 per cent in the first, but 58 per cent in the second. SFU made three straight three-pointers on three straight possessions, making the score 53–46 UAA midway through the second. Another 10–0 run later in the game would pull the Clan within eight, 70–62, with about eight minutes to play.

But every time the Clan inched back, messy play mired the comeback efforts and allowed the Seawolves to pull further away each time, and ultimately meant a loss by a disheartening 16 points. With just two games to play in the ultra-tight Great Northwest Athletic Conference, SFU will have to move on from the disappointing effort quickly.

The loss drops the team’s record to 11–5 within the conference, still comfortably in third place, but they’ll need to work out the kinks with playoffs just around the corner.

Power to the People

By

EIC

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February 20, 2014

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We’re coming to the end of Black History Month, an observance we celebrate every February in Canada and the United States. Given the recent death of Nelson Mandela, I felt I should write something about a few great black people throughout history with whom you may not be familiar. We already hear about visionary figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou and (one of my personal heroes) Nelson Mandela.

Instead, this article is dedicated to the unsung heroes of black history — men and women who have risked their lives for the betterment of their communities and countries. They may not have done deeds that received universal press coverage or given speeches that set nations’ imaginations aflame, but in their own way, they have done their part to shape the modern world. Here are three such people.

Rebecca Lee Crumpler, M.D.

Born in 1831, Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first African-American woman to obtain a medical degree in the United States; an impressive feat, given the time period that she lived in. But beyond this noble achievement, Dr. Crumpler also worked closely with fellow black doctors to tend to the needs of newly freed slaves and war veterans during and after the Civil War.

Her work was so extensive that she wrote the Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts, which is now recognized as a fundamental influence on modern public health policy and American literature.

“It was a significant achievement at the time because she was in the first generation of women of color to break into medical school, fight racism and sexism,” Manon Parry, curator at the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, told Time magazine. “It was a common theme that minority females went in to the profession to provide medical care for underserved communities.”

These “underserved communities” and the world in general, owe a great debt to Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, a woman who not only saved countless lives, but changed even more.

Philip Emeagwali

Emeagwali was born to a poor Nigerian family in 1954, but he eventually went on to earn a certificate from the University of London, as well as degrees from George Washington University and the University of Maryland.

As a math wizard and child of an oil-bearing nation, Emeagwali’s work revolves around the simulation of oil reservoir detection. I’m not saying that I understand the intricacies of this process, but I do grasp its importance. For those of you that do, he decided to forego the use of multiple supercomputers to detect the oil, choosing instead to use many microprocessors at once.

For his many achievements — including the invention of a Connection Machine, used to calculate the volume of oil reservoirs and other mathematical equations at a rate of 3.1 billion calculations per second — Emeagwali won the Gordon Bell Prize in 1989, one of the crowning achievements offered in the field of computer science. Not too shabby for a kid whose family once couldn’t afford to send him to school at all.

Patrice Émery Lumumba

Last but certainly not least, Patrice Émery Lumumba (born Élias Okit’Asombo) was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was a champion of nationalism, Pan-Africanism and unity among the African people, in a time when North America still struggled to offer African-Americans equal rights.

In a nation that had been ravaged and torn apart for centuries by the colonial forces of Belgium and the United States due to its rich mineral deposits, Lumumba and his Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) finally won a hard-fought independence from Belgian forces in 1960.

Black History Month is, first and foremost, a time to learn about and reflect on the black story.

Less than a year later, Lumumba — a symbol of the power and potential of the African people — was captured and assassinated by an execution squad from the Congolese breakaway state of Katanga. For their part in the attack, the Belgian government offered a public apology in 2002, expressing their “profound and sincere regrets.”

“In Congo, Lumumba’s assassination is rightly considered the country’s original sin,” Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja argued in The Guardian. “It was a stumbling block to the ideals of national unity, economic independence and pan-African solidarity[…] as well as a shattering blow to the hopes of millions of Congolese for freedom and material prosperity.”

Since Lumumba’s death, Congo has seen much bloodshed. The Second Congo War, beginning in 1998 and ending in 2003, is sometimes referred to as the Great War of Africa, and at one time the conflict involved nine different African nations. The country is still plagued by colonial pressures and intermittent periods of violence and civil unrest, as well as poverty and disease.

Many of you may be wondering why I decided to add the icon of a war torn nation at the end of this article. The answer is this: there is still much work to be done.

Black History Month is not just a celebration of black history, or a time to recognize how far we’ve come as a people. It is, first and foremost, a time to learn about and reflect on the black story, to plan the next steps in this great story we are writing, and share the chapters that we’ve etched onto the world’s great journal with those around us.

Perfect Symmetry

By

Peak Web

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February 18, 2014

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With two world premieres, Grace Symmetry, Ballet BC’s audience favourite, will showcase the works of three diverse choreographers.

Vancouver’s Wen Wei Wang is remounting his work In Motion, which was performed by the company in 2011. “It’s nice; the first time it was very fast and the second time I’m able to make a few changes,” said Wang, “I feel much better. The dancers are more relaxed and they understand it better, can make it look better.”

The Turning Point Ensemble chamber orchestra will be partnering with Ballet BC on this show, as they did when Wang first presented the work. He took the opportunity to work closely with the musicians and have them on stage with the dancers. “It’s the only piece with musicians on stage,” he said. “Owen Underhill is conducting to the audience too instead of facing away,” explained Wang. “The conductor has to look over to the audience; he’s like a dancer too — I like to see the movement.”

Having the musicians on stage has an equalising effect, and they are just as much in the spotlight. “The music is a very important part of the piece. It’s a small orchestra; they become the set, a part of the work,” said Wang, “The audience can see something they normally don’t see.” This also makes the stage look fuller, and in some sections of the piece the musicians and dancers will interact, and they are integrated into the work.

The creative process for In Motion differed from how Wang normally works for his own company as he was limited to choosing music from the Turning Point Ensemble. “It was a different process for this; I had to work towards the music,” he said. But he doesn’t think one method is better than the other: “In another sense it’s great. I am just going for another kind of experience, there’s no right or wrong.”

“The music is a very important part of the piece. It’s a small orchestra; they become the set, a part of the work.”

Wen Wei Wang, choreographer

Wang also said that each piece he does is quite different; with his own company, the works are more personal. “In the beginning I don’t think about it for the audience,” he explained, “but what’s right for the moment, the music, and the dancers. Of course after a week or two you start thinking about the audience.” Regarding In Motion Wang said, “I want them to see the pure steps and emotions. Sometimes we think it’s deep, but the audience can’t get into it. It’s like music: you don’t have to understand it, but you can feel it.”

Similarly, Kevin O’Day wants the Ballet BC dancers to feel the movements and not rely on automatic cues. Back at Ballet BC after presenting Face to Face in 2010, he is creating a new work for the company that is about spontaneity and the relationship between time and space.

This world premiere is titled Here On End, and O’Day said he was excited about the “beautiful opportunity of live music and the ability to explore contemporary classical music” with the Turning Point Ensemble. At his home company, Ballet Mannheim, O’Day uses live music for all of his shows.

“We’re never really comfortable in creation — there’s a conflict of creation always at hand.”

Kevin O’Day, choreographer

Even though he is away from Mannheim, he said being at Ballet BC has a similar feeling: “Emily Molnar has made a great creative environment.” He enjoys working with the company and described them as an “extremely open group,” saying “the work environment is one of willingness to explore new movement. It’s a very process oriented company.”

If the piece he’s creating doesn’t have a story or narrative, then it is collaborative and he works with the dancers to develop material together; they have to build the raw materials and develop the movements first before the piece can take shape. Although Ballet BC has a comfortable working environment, O’Day said, “We’re never really comfortable in creation — there’s a conflict of creation always at hand, but the environment and the willingness helps. There’s safety in a group that’s willing and able to trust.”

O’Day doesn’t try to pinpoint how an audience will react to his work. “It’s important to stay working on this idea that’s made to be presented,” he said, “attaching an artist with the work so they can feel the work and embody it so that the audience can come away feeling something.” There may be subtextual sentiments he’s trying to get across, but people are free to have their own interpretations. “I don’t want to be present as a choreographer on stage,” he said, “my goal is to remove myself.”

Here On End features the same composer and collaborators as 2010’s Face to Face, and the piece uses every company member and apprentice, but other than that it’s very unique.

O’Day described the concept of this work as music in connection to space and time, with open spaces in the music. John King’s time vectors/still points has minutes of open time which are never exactly the same, so there is an organic configuration of the music. “The dancers have to be aware of sound cues,” said O’Day. “It’s something that I’m interested in — organic configuration of space and time.”

Creating another world premiere for Ballet BC, Medhi Walerski is back after his popular Petite Cérémonie which was presented in 2011.

His new work features the whole company and is titled Prelude, using Russian composer Lera Auerbach’s Ten Preludes for Violin and Piano. As the title of the music suggests, there will only be a violinist and pianist from the Turning Point Ensemble accompanying the work.

“You choose the brushes and the colours, and then you begin to paint. There’s a whole creative process that happens before creating the piece.”

Medhi Walerski, choreographer

Walerski said he decided to work with the idea of time, specifically the idea of a prelude, something that happens before something else: “At first I thought maybe this work was a prelude to Petite Cérémonie, or that they would work well together,” but he said that they are very different. “Petite Cérémonie was lighter, more theatrical,” he said, “all my works are very different.”

Walerski’s creative process involves a lot of research: “I collect different information and try to create a music collection, images, photos, texts, and things that inspire me to create material. I like to have a lot of information,” he said. Post-research, he begins to create phrases of movement and work with the dancers, looking for raw material. He likes to work collaboratively with the dancers, allowing them to add something personal to the work.

“We played for a week, then had a bunch of ideas, and then in week two we began to build bit by bit,” said Walerski. “You then have all these ideas, but they don’t always fit — the hardest part is that you have to get rid of things and there are maybe one or two ideas that are really good.” He compared the process to painting: “You choose the brushes and the colours, and then you begin to paint. There’s a whole creative process that happens before creating the piece.”

The moment Walerski sees his piece on stage on opening night is when everything comes together. “A piece really finds it’s own identity at the end with the lighting and the audience,” he said. Opening night is not only stressful for the dancers, but for the choreographers sitting in the audience, watching their creations coming to life. “It’s exciting and frightening, but I guess that’s why I do it,” he laughed, “I’m sweating more than the dancers.”

Grace Symmetry will be presented by Ballet BC at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Feb. 20 to 22. For more information, visit balletbc.com.

Avocado or Egg?

By

Peak Web

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February 18, 2014

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I’m sure almost everyone has questioned the “egg/avocado” in the AQ courtyard. The Peak brings you some answers.

Created by Brandon Hillier and Alysha Seriani

Music by
Chad Crouch – http://www.chadcrouch.com/wp/
Circus Marcus – http://www.circusmarcus.net/

Thanks to Eleanor Qu for the illustration of the sculpture, and to Leah Bjornson for interviewing the students.

Board Shorts

By

EIC

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February 17, 2014

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New recreational facilities on the mountain

President Humza Khan brought to the board’s attention that SFU is planning for an off-campus organization to build a recreational facility on Burnaby campus which would include a pool, a gym, a racquetball court, “and other fun areas.”

“The plan is to get this third party organization to come and build these facilities. In order to pay for these facilities, SFU will be leasing out a certain portion of the land they have for up to 60 years to this organization,” said Khan.

An educational institution with the power to grant degrees would be built on this land. Community outreach on this initiative began last Monday, with a survey sent out to students for feedback.

Student Union Building Space Program approved

The board approved the Student Union Building (SUB) Space Program presented by Marc Fontaine, Build SFU general manager. The space program is expected to be approximately 90 per cent correct at this stage, with minor revisions possible in the future.

The plans include allotted space for eight student organizations, programs or unions, a coffee shop, and two games lounges which would include gaming pods and billiards tables.

Board members brought up concerns about the plans for a club workspace, as many previously thought that an industrial hackspace for large projects was in the works. However, the plans specify that there will be no industrial tools or equipment in the space.

“There have been lots and lots of suggestions, some of which I think are crazy and not realistic, and some that are realistic,” Fontaine said. “I’m satisfied that by making some kind of messy room or workshop that has a industrial floor, enough electricity, probably ventilation, and some sort of tables or workbenches, there will be time in the future to figure out how to operate it.”

Artists and date confirmed for spring concert

Business representative Brandon Chapman confirmed to the board last Monday that April 4 had been selected as the official date for the spring concert.

The events committee is pursuing a liquor license approval for the event, which Chapman is confident will be obtained.

Khan also informed the board that they had selected headliners for the concert, to be disclosed to The Peak on Friday before press time.

Welcome to The Peak dot ca 2014

By

Peak Web

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February 17, 2014

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Welcome to the newly redesigned The-Peak.ca. You may have noticed that we’ve got a new look and a fresh coat of paint.

There’s been plenty of change, but the gist of it is The Peak online is now more efficient on the inside, and a bit more attractive on the outside.

The largest and most noticeable change is our improved ability to shape shift, as the site is now optimized for your tablet and phone. Now you can read, comment, and obsess over content wherever you go!

Whether you read us online, offline, or both, thank you for being a loyal reader of The Peak and we hope you like what you see.

Let us know how we’re doing and feel free to leave feedback on our new look and feel by commenting below. Cheers.

The War on Kiev

By

EIC

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February 17, 2014

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“Do you hear the people sing, singing the songs of angry men? It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again.”

The refrain of this number from award-winning musical Les Misérables may call to mind the stages of Broadway or the shaky cameras of the 2012 Hollywood production, but since November 2013, the song has been given a shocking real-world analogue: in the streets of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, public protests and skirmishes between activists and law enforcement have proven that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

What started off as a small protest of 2,000 people on Nov. 21 has since exploded into mass riots across the country, primarily in Kiev and Western Ukraine. Thousands more join the demonstrations every week. Protesters and police forces have now met in several clashes, and government buildings have been seized by activist groups. Numbers of protesters have now been estimated between 400,000 and 800,000, and the movement has been given an unofficial title by those involved: the Euromaidan, or Eurosquare.

So what caused this all to happen? What launched Ukraine, a country whose daily happenings tend to fall under our radar, into international headlines? The short answer is this: the catalyst for this uprising was the announcement by President Viktor Yanukovych that the country was renouncing the European Union in favour of closer economic ties with Russia.

To some observers, this may seem inconsequential, but Ukraine has been divided between these two powers since gaining its independence just over two decades ago, and the country has played a careful balancing act ever since: as a former Soviet state, Ukraine’s recent history has been coloured by its negotiated relationship between the EU to the west, and Putin’s Russia to the east.

What started off as a small protest has since exploded into a series of mass riots across the country.

For example, Ukraine has some basic agreements with NATO, but also leases the port of Sevastopol to Russia for its Black Sea Fleet. The nation has made several steps towards integrating with the EU, but also maintains close economic ties with Moscow, its largest trading partner. The western regions of the country tend to be pro-Europe and the eastern and southern regions pro-Russia, to the point where it defines political parties.

This dichotomy has even lead to fist fights in the Ukrainian Parliament over a bill to adopt Russian as the country’s official language.

The Euromaidan protests have also united the opposition parties of Ukraine. One of the demands of the European Union was that President Yanukovych release his archrival Yulia Tymoshenko — the former Ukrainian prime minister and leader of the oppositional All-Ukrainian Union “Fatherland” party — from prison, where she is currently serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of power and embezzlement.

Many, including members of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, have expressed skepticism over Tymoshenko’s sentencing, seeing it as a form of revenge the president has taken against the woman who helped overturn his 2004 election amid allegations of vote-rigging.

Supporters of Fatherland include Vitali Klitschko, a former world heavyweight boxing champion and the head of the pro-EU Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms. Ukraine’s far-right nationalist party, Svoboda, has also joined in the protests, all of them calling for the resignation of the president and for new elections to take place.

For many in the pro-EU crowd, there is a fear of Ukraine once again being subjugated to Russia, a situation the nation finally escaped in 1991 with the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Apart from a brief period between the downfall of the Russian Empire and the establishment of Soviet rule, Russia has dominated Ukrainian culture, economic practice and political process since the Middle Ages.

Perhaps the most glaring reminder of Russian oppression in Ukraine is the Holodomor, or Extermination by Hunger, a man-made famine wherein seven to 11 million Ukrainians starved to death due to Stalin’s attempts to collectivize Soviet farming. It is easy to see why one would be resentful of Russian interference in Ukrainian life.

Ukraine is also in the unenviable state of living next to a powerful neighbour who wants access to its resources, and is not afraid to do whatever is necessary to get them. Russian President Vladimir Putin has his own reasons for pressuring the former Soviet Republic into rejecting the EU — not least of which is his proposal of a rival economic union known as the Eurasian Economic Union, or the EAU.

Putin has gone so far as to threaten economic sanctions on Ukraine. During the pro-Western government of Yulia Tymoshenko, Russia shut off natural gas exports to Ukraine twice, which did significant damage to the nation’s economy. Putin is also a shrewd politician — shortly after Yanukovych rejected the EU, Russia offered a $15 billion stimulus package and a 33 per cent price cut for natural gas, which will certainly help the Ukrainian economy in the future.

Historically, Ukraine has been the breadbasket of the Soviet Union as well as its predecessor, the Russian Empire. With its large coastline on the Black Sea, it has also been the site of some of Russia’s only all-weather ports, making the nation both economically and strategically important to the Russians. On a more cynical note, and perhaps in the thoughts of many in the pro-European camp, Ukraine has acted as a defensive buffer for Russia against invasions from the West — something Putin still fears, and perhaps with good reason.

If Putin can’t bring Ukraine back into the Russian fold, he will do everything in his power to keep it separated from the West.

Civil war in Ukraine has the potential to change the face of Europe, and possibly the whole world.

His unpopular decision to derail the deal with the EU and sign with Russia aside, President Yanukovych is not the most popular character. He was blocked from office in 2004 amid the aforementioned allegations of vote-rigging, and since returning to power in 2010, he has been accused of corruption and mismanagement of the nation’s economy.

Indeed, one might argue that it was the president’s decision to send in the riot police that caused a peaceful protest to escalate into the ongoing violent situation which has dominated news stories over the past months.

As the sun rose the morning after riot police violently broke up what was at that point a small, peaceful rally, the cries were no longer for integration with the European Union. They were for the resignation of the president, and a guarantee for human rights and democratic freedoms for all Ukrainians — something protesters continue to fight for to this day.

Government tactics have only become more oppressive and violent since that first day: the initial death of four protesters has led to many others, and uploaded YouTube videos of activists being beaten and abused have multiplied.

In late January, sources revealed that text messages had been sent to those suspected to have engaged in the Euromaidan protests by the Ukrainian police, warning them that they “are registered as a participant in a mass riot.”

On the other hand, supporters of the government have seen riot policemen set aflame by Molotov cocktails thrown from the crowds, the statue of Vladimir Lenin in Kiev’s Bessarabska Square toppled and replaced with a red and black insurgency flag, and several government buildings occupied by protesters. Barricades were torn down by police forces, but were promptly rebuilt.

Even more terrifying for the government — and also denied by them — are reports that some units of the military had refused orders to deploy to Kiev, renouncing the use of force against the protesters.

The situation further escalated again in the New Year, as the Ukrainian Parliament passed sweeping anti-protest laws that criminalized each and every method employed during the protests. This was done despite the fact that opposition members were not present, and the texts of the documents weren’t available to be read before going to a vote.

This led to an outcry both from opposition parties and the international community, with the US Department of State expressing that “the process and substance of the Rada’s (Ukrainian Parliament) actions today cast serious doubt on Ukraine’s commitment to democratic norms.”

The German Foreign Minister also commented that “the limitation of civil rights will lead Ukraine only further away from Europe,” which seems to be exactly what Yanukovych is going for.

Far from discouraging the protesters, this move was met with a gathering of 200,000 activists in central Kiev, who marched on Parliament in defiance of what they termed the “Dictatorship Laws.” They were met by police forces, and several were injured and killed during the clashes between the two groups.

Later in January, prominent Euromaidan activists Ihor Lutsenko and Yuriy Verbytsky were abducted from the Kiev hospital where they were receiving treatment. Lutsenko was found beaten in a forest the next day — Verbytsky’s dead body was recovered hours later.

These anti-protest laws, coupled with the increasing levels of brutality on the part of government forces, have begun to erode Yanukovych’s traditional support base. Most of the laws were rescinded shortly thereafter, while protest numbers continue to grow.

With the Olympics in Sochi currently occupying the world’s attention, it is unlikely that we will see any big moves over the next couple of weeks. Both sides will likely bide their time until they can once again gain the attention of the world.

At this point, there are really only three possibilities for the future of the Euromaidan protests.

Possibility number one is that the government manages to strike a deal with the opposition leaders, and muddles through for another year until the 2015 election. Given that 82 per cent of protesters, when interviewed in early February, maintained that they would continue protesting until their needs are met — namely, that Yanukovych resigns and elections are held — and that a third of Ukrainians have come out in favour of closer ties with Russia, this outcome seems highly unlikely.

Possibility number two is that Yanukovych does resign as president, fulfilling the wishes of most Euromaidan activists. Though the pressure on the Ukrainian president increases with each public protest, this too seems to be an unlikely outcome; the president has already focused a wealth of time and energy on securing ties with Russia and maintaining his control over the nation. It will take a lot to force him out of office.

The third possibility (and, unfortunately, the most likely) is that violence will continue to escalate, Yanukovych will panic and call in the military to disperse protesters — an act that would likely lead to the civil war many have already begun to predict. Given the staunch opposition between the two sides concerned, as well as the international debate it has sparked, this seems to become more and more of a foregone conclusion with each passing day.

If that happens, it is likely that Russia will step in to protect its interests as it has done countless times before, and we will be looking at a whole new situation, one that has the potential to change the face of Europe, and possibly the whole world. For now, we in the West can only watch and wait, hoping that a peaceful solution can still be reached.

SFU Bookstore sees decline in sales

By

EIC

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February 17, 2014

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Sales at the SFU Bookstore have dropped by between eight and ten per cent annually over the past two years from $13 million in 2012/13 to an estimated $10.6 million this academic year. Projections show further decline over the years to come.

The bookstore’s financial situation was under discussion at last month’s board of governor’s meeting. The board believes the decrease in profits is the result of a combination of things, including professors assigning less printed material and students finding alternative options to buying textbooks.

The numbers indicate that change is on the horizon for the SFU Bookstore. Pat Hibbits, vice-president of finance and administration, spoke to the idea of moving in the direction of more digital material, “You have to give more space to things other than textbooks [. . .] there isn’t an expanding need for [them].”

A survey of 450 SFU students last fall showed that more and more students are finding alternatives to shopping at the bookstore for course material which is having a direct impact on textbook sales.

Of the students surveyed, only 67 per cent bought a textbook, whether from the bookstore or some other source. The remaining 33 per cent used other means: some borrowed from a friend or a library, searched for the information online or in an unassigned book on the same topic, or even rented the book.

Those who buy textbooks are also finding other means of getting their books, with only 68 per cent of buyers going to the SFU Bookstore. The next most popular method of purchase is finding used books on social media like Books2go and Locazu.

Hibbits said, “We always thought that our big competition was Amazon, but in fact, that’s not that much of a competition. It’s actually students making other choices.”

Hibbits stressed the importance of the need for adaptability, “Some of the things we’re trying to do is to tap into the electronics market, whatever that looks like,” she said. Also, SFU Document Solutions is making efforts towards the BCcampus Open Textbook Project, which encourages institutions to pick up standardized texts that can be developed and made more accessible.

Despite the challenges faced by the bookstore, Hibbits assured that prices on textbooks will stay the same and that they are only trying to recover costs. A special task force of faculty and students is at work on the “textbook affordability conservation process” to make books more affordable for students. The gifts, clothing, and other books are where the margins are a little higher.

Although the VP believes that the sales drop will plateau at some point, she recognized that the market for textbooks is ever-shrinking and the traditional “old-way bookstore” is on its way out. She said, “Every bookstore in the country, I think, is facing the same kind of challenge.”

This challenge may give way to a different sort of store, “Perhaps, rather than thinking of it as the SFU Bookstore, you [should] think of it as the SFU store.”

Books belong to the imagination

By

EIC

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February 17, 2014

1

It’s been a disheartening start of the year for book-lovers. Developers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have recently invented a book system called Sensory Fiction that is designed to help readers feel a protagonist’s emotions by physically simulating the moods of a novel as one reads.

At first I was intrigued by this invention, but upon closer analysis I wonder whether these developers have ever read a book purely for enjoyment.

The device is comprised of a high-tech book and vest. That’s right, a vest that contains a heartbeat and shiver simulator, a body compression system, audio speakers and temperature controls. As the reader flips the page, the vest senses the part of the story and acts accordingly.

If the protagonist is stranded in a scorching desert, the vest will turn the heat up to allow readers a chance at heatstroke as well. If a character is trapped in a frozen lake with no way to break through the ice, the vest will not only chill your bones, but will compress your midsection with swelling airbags, sure to give claustrophobic people heart attacks.

So now, suffocation is accompanied with its own lighting system and soundtrack! What, can’t breathe? How about some daunting orchestral music?

With sensory fiction, authors would be confined to one-dimensional feelings. Happy or sad.

Of course, I exaggerate with my examples, but the real system is not too far off. A system that stimulates distress would undoubtedly cause readers discomfort and distraction from the story itself.

Apart from the hypothetical reader looking (and sounding) ridiculous, the developers’ ideological approaches are problematic, as well. They claim that the book will enhance readability, liken fiction to near-reality, and create new avenues for “sensory” authors to convey their stories.

But novels do not need to be enhanced. I am sure that any avid reader, such as myself, would agree that the entire premise of a novel is to internalize a story without the help of machines or equipment.

To read a book is to stretch the mind and allow for one’s imagination to cascade relentlessly. Reading a book should be a completely personal experience, unconstrained by airbags and temperature gauges. To truly enjoy a book, one should feel the protagonist’s emotions for oneself without them being spoon-fed by an artificial ambience.

Technology like this would not create new avenues for story conveyance; it would only restrict these avenues. Authors would not have the freedom to illustrate any complex emotions, but would be more confined to simple, one-dimensional feelings. Happy or sad. Red light or blue light.

The human mind is one that can experience multiple emotions at one time, and a novel, without wires or batteries, allows a reader to imagine exactly this, and even more.

MIT, I’m sorely disappointed with what your research has led to. Sensory Fiction is a step back, as it undermines the values of traditional books and assumes that readers are not intelligent enough to experience the moods of a novel on their own.

As one Guardian reader says online, these inventors are “sheltered, vociferously literal, deeply unimaginative nerds” and are “the last people in the world who ought to be mucking around with books.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Let’s leave a novel to it’s independent, imaginative reader, and save the electronic simulations for elsewhere.

Burnaby campus addresses alcohol demands

By

EIC

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February 17, 2014

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In light of BC’s new recommendations on liquor laws, as well as the SFSS’s upcoming spring concert, the question of alcohol availability on campus has once again been raised.

As demonstrated by the online buzz surrounding Rashed Aqrabawi’s September article “Nice Kickoff Concert, but where was the booze?”, alcohol on campus is a hot topic. And due to the government’s recent announcement of its intentions to overhaul the province’s liquor laws, including the sale of alcohol in grocery stores, students may eventually see changes on the Burnaby campus.

According to John Flipse, SFSS food and beverage services manager, the ability to purchase alcohol at Nesters or a liquor store on the mountain might potentially change things for the better. “Currently there is a beer and wine store at the Mountain Shadow which might probably notice a decline in business [. . .] [Liquor sales could] draw more people to Cornerstone and assist other businesses [. . .] on the hill,” Flipse said. He conceded, however, that “nothing will happen quickly.”

Eric Olson, manager of Nesters Market, says the most requested service by the Burnaby Mountain community is alcohol sales. Many Nesters customers leave the mountain searching for alcohol near where they purchase their groceries; therefore, the sale of alcohol in Nesters may not only serve the emerging community, but also the grocery store’s best interests.

Nevertheless, Olson said that there is still “too much uncertainty to provide concrete information on the recommendation,” and that he is unsure about the sale of alcohol at the grocery store. However, a liquor store is included in the plan for the new lot being developed by Cornerstone — who gets the rights to that store remains to be seen.

“We’re doing our best to make it happen.”

– Gordon Harris, president and CEO, SFU Community Trust

The Burnaby Mountain Business Association had been discussing alcohol sales on the mountain, especially since there is now a larger community as a result of UniverCity expansion.

One of the possibilities that SFU Community Trust (the commmittee responsible for community planing on the hill) is considering is that of a private liquor store which would attempt to meet the demands of communities on the mountain, including those residing in UniverCity.

Community Trust president and CEO, Gordon Harris, said, “With the minister’s announcement of them accepting all 73 recommendations [. . .] we’re very encouraged that it might mean that we’ll be able to continue [government liquor sales] discussions with the province sooner rather than later.”

“We’re committed to ensuring the provision of a liquor store for the residents of the university, and the mountain residents have identified different priorities from child care centers, elementary schools, pharmacy, grocery stores, and now a liquor store,” Harris continued. “We’re doing our best to make it happen. The problem is that the provincial government believes we’re still a small market.”

Olson hopes students have faith in the upcoming plans saying, “The development phase will change a lot of things at SFU, and we want students to know that Nesters is a part of this community and its future.”