University Briefs

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September 30, 2013

The president of UVic wants to chat

UVic’s new President, Jamie Cassels, plans on launching a campaign to create a two-sided dialogue between staff, students, community members, and the university. Cassel’s “Campus Conversations” will begin over the next few weeks, and will take place around campus as well as in the community to provide an opportunity to address some key issues.

The areas Cassel wishes to highlight are university priorities, strengths, and ways to improve the university. Although the locations of these conversations are unannounced, discussion has already begun on UVic’s website. As far as we know, there is no complimentary breakfast, so one point to Petter.

With files from The Martlet

U of C students help build solar house

As part of an Alberta-based team, the University of Calgary has designed and constructed an environmentally friendly solar house. Named Borealis, the house has twice the insulation value of a regular home and was built with 40 solar panels on its roof connected to the municipal grid.

In addition to powering the house, any extra unused power will be returned to the grid and go towards paying the power bill with its credits. Borealis will be entered in a competition put on by the U.S. Department of Energy that will take place in Irvine, California this October.

With files from The Gauntlet

UNB and St. Thomas initiate condom recall

The University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University officials are recalling free condoms given out during a welcome event, and advising students to throw them away. The Fredericton Sexual Assault Crisis Centre gave them out as a part of a plan to promote safe sex with messages attached promoting consent. These notes were attached with staples, potentially causing the condoms within the packages to be punctured.

Maggie Crain of the Crisis Centre stated, “Mistakenly, some of the staples pierced the air pocket that holds the condom.” Eighty of these compromised condoms were given out. The centre plans to try once more, but this time around, will use tape instead.

With files from CBC News

Women’s soccer earn best finish of the season

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EIC

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September 30, 2013

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Prior to the season kicking off, Shelley Howieson, head coach of SFU’s women’s soccer team, prophesied a worst-case scenario: starting a defender in goal.

It didn’t take long for it to come true. However, with freshman defender Teagan Rae Sorokan in net, the Clan earned their best finish of the season last week, a 0–0 double overtime draw against Northwest Nazarene.

After last year’s starting goalkeeper — and Great Northwest Athletic Conference saves leader — left the team late in the offseason, Howieson was stuck in a bind with two freshmen netminders left to compete for the starting spot. After one went down with a freak concussion in practice, the veteran head coach was left with one first-year goalie.

In case you haven’t guessed where this is going, that lone keeper, Simone Tessler, injured herself, forcing Howieson to turn to Sorokan to guard the net.

And against the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders last Saturday, in her second consecutive start (the first was a 2–0 loss to MSU-Billings), she earned her first career shutout — and the team’s first of the season — making five saves through the double overtime match.

“Teagan played really well,” said Howieson after the match. “So many of our players battled their hearts out in this game. The second leg of this road trip is tough so full credit to our team for coming away with a tie. The back-line really held strong and played through some injuries. We’re pleased with the effort. Now we need to get home after a long road trip and get prepared for Thursday evening.”

Thursday marked the team’s home opener, ending a grueling opening stretch of the season where the Clan played four straight on the road. The result, unfortunately, was another loss — a 2–0 setback against Saint Martin’s University — but Sorokan again held her own, allowing only one of the two goals scored, and making a couple of impressive saves.

Sorokan has been a bright spot for the Clan, otherwise going through a tough transitional year. Despite being a concern for any Clan fan, starting the back-line player hasn’t been the team’s biggest issue. The Clan have scored only one goal this season, and until they figure their offence out, it likely matters little who’s between the pipes.

But again, this is a transitional season for the team, so struggles are expected. As evidenced by the team’s best finish of the young season, the team’s defence has tightened up significantly since being thumped 6–0 in the season opener. There have also been signs of improvement on offence as well (junior midfielder Ali Trenter hit the post late against Saint Martin’s).

The breaks haven’t been going the Clan’s way, but they’ll come. Until then, the Clan will have to roll with the punches, and with Sorokan in net.

Notes from this month’s Board of Governors’ meeting

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EIC

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September 30, 2013

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Revision of residence fees

Based on recommendations from Grover Elliot & Co. Ltd., the Finance & Administration Committee suggested a rent rate increase of between 2 to 4 per cent for residence buildings. The changes would help the buildings to remain at current market levels for the 2014-2015 academic year.

According to the Committee, Hamilton Hall rents are approximately $13 per month above market rates, however to pay for increases in providing cable television and internet to residents, a $12 per month increase in fees is needed.

Similar increases in rates would affect all residences, with prices at McTaggart-Cowan increasing by $16, Towers increasing by $17, Louis Riel increasing by $13 to $16, and Townhouses increasing by $18.

Professional and personal skills for graduate students

The Dean of Graduate Studies has developed a certificate program with the hope of enhancing graduate students’ and postdoctoral fellows’ academic experience through professional and personal development.

The 2013–14 pilot program will offer core programming that combines communication of strengths in professional contexts and understanding of career possibilities with electives that can be grouped into a series of themes: Management and Life Skills, Teaching and Leadership, and Research and Knowledge Translation.

SFU Surrey Expansion

During Other Business, the Board planned to discuss the expansion of the SFU Surrey campus, however moved into closed session before discussing the project. The description indicated that the goal would be to add 2,500 full-time equivalent students to the Surrey campus by 2020.

Starbucks

Board also discussed the possibility of a Starbucks on the Burnaby campus, which has been an issue because of Starbucks’ refusal to provide broad fair trade coffee options in North America. Being a Fair Trade Campus, SFU requires that the franchise provide a significant selection of fair trade coffee options.

The Report of the Vice President Finance and Administration stated that that since students expressed interest in the opening of a Starbucks 18 months ago, “Dining Services has made significant progress pressing Starbucks to begin offering fair trade coffee.” They are hoping that a “significant announcement will be made by Starbucks in the next few days that will have repercussions across the country.”

Watching the Watchmen

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EIC

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September 30, 2013

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There was once a time when the use of photography and video recording was exclusive to media outlets. This day has come and gone. We live in a society where virtually everyone has access to at least one recording device, some of which have the ability to post pictures and videos directly to the Internet, even as images are simultaneously being recorded.

This means every action can be made available immediately for public judgement and scrutiny, and one of the most controversial uses of this new technology is in regards to law enforcement.

Law enforcement professionals have always been under a great deal of public scrutiny. As the son of a now retired 23-year veteran of the Vancouver Police Department, I grew up hearing about how much officers were responsible to the citizens they served and protected — at least as far as my dad was concerned.

I have also spent the last six years working as a security officer at Rogers Arena, the home of our Vancouver Canucks. While I am not officially considered law enforcement, I am in charge of enforcing the rules of the building, so there are some relevant crossovers.

I have been videotaped and photographed numerous times at the arena during the course of my duties. We were taught to expect this, and trained to respond in an appropriate manner. Like the police, we have no legal authority to prevent recordings of incidents, and we did not attempt to do so. Instead, we were trained to shape the narrative being created in a way that would help the audience comprehend what was happening.

Video recordings can provide a valuable perspective when evaluating police conduct.

Unfortunately, one of the problems with the widespread use of video and photography by the public is that it very rarely paints the whole picture. In most cases, the cameras rarely capture the individual we are dealing with has throwing the first punch or making the threatening remark that requires us to intervene in the first place. The only way to measure if the level of police force is appropriate is to have all the information, which we do not get from many of these videos.

While I will not deny that police brutality does happen, in many instances the accusation stems from a lack of knowledge or understanding of the situation. Viewers do not get the full picture and, as a result, make assumptions that do not always reflect reality.

I feel that we need to have an understanding of why some officers react negatively to being videotaped while making an arrest or during other incidents. Imagine yourself at your own workplace. It is an average day when, out of nowhere, something goes horribly wrong. Now imagine yourself trying to deal with what is now a highly stressful situation, while 20 people you’ve never seen before show up and start recording you.

I’m guessing you would be pretty upset, and would probably ask them to turn their cameras off despite having no legal right or authority to do so. This is not an attempt to excuse the behaviour of officers who have threatened arrest for such things; but it is important to put yourself in their shoes and imagine what it must be like to have the most stressful and tiring portions of your work day filmed and posted online for public consumption.

Having said that, I do not believe that it is a bad thing for officers to be videotaped by the public. This practice can greatly improve the safety of our police force; after all, very few people are willing to commit a crime when they know they are on camera.

In many instances, accusations of police brutality stem from a lack of knowledge or understanding of the situation.

Ironically enough, controversy has risen in recent years over proposals that police officers should be allowed to carry pocket sized cameras to record interactions with the public and arrests from the officer’s point of view. Such video recordings can be extremely helpful in the prosecution of cases, and can provide a valuable perspective when evaluating police conduct.

Of the large body of evidence brought forth for the trials of the participants in the Stanley Cup riots of 2011, much was video and photographic evidence taken with smartphones and tablets. In my own experience, video footage of an incident that took place at Rogers Arena one night helped us defend against a legal suit for use of excessive force, as the video taken captured the entire interaction.

Furthermore, such videos — if used properly — can be highly effective training tools. I know during my training as a security officer, and also during my father’s time with the Vancouver Police Department, we would watch videos of different situations, both where things had gone right and things had gone wrong.

It is useful to be able to analyze situations secondhand and figure out how things could have been improved. Sometimes it can be helpful, especially for new recruits, to see what happens when things go wrong and how easily a dangerous situation can be avoided.

Easy access to recording devices is the reality of the world we live in. Since there is no legal recourse for officers, or anyone else for that matter, who are being recorded, it is important to respond appropriately. Telling people to stop filming or threatening to take cameras away will only make them want to film more.

New training is required for today’s officers. They need to be made aware of how to use these recordings to their advantage, and shape the story in such a way that the audience understands what is happening. And for all of you would-be documentarians out there, keep in mind that the people you are filming are doing a job that is difficult at the best of times. Take your recordings for the right reasons.

You Should Have Stayed Home: A G20 Romp

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Peak Web

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September 30, 2013

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For 36 hours, Mississauga native Tommy Taylor was part of the largest mass arrest in Canadian history at the G20 protest. Twenty-three of those hours were spent with almost 40 other men in a 10 by 20 foot cell, without sufficient food or water. Yet, Taylor was starkly reminded of his privilege as a straight white male: out of all the prisoners, he, by far, was not the worst off.

Young women were unlawfully strip-searched, and male officers would pointedly watch them use the doorless port-a-potty. Queer and “queer-looking” detainees were segregated. In Taylor’s own cell, two Aboriginal men were unfazed by the situation. “Welcome to our club,” one said.

And so, vested with the power of public approval, Taylor recounts this story to the audience in a 75-minute play. Do not go in expecting a play in the traditional sense; it’s more like a long monologue.

There is no artistic pretense, no dramatic silences, and no second-hand embarrassment from watching someone overact. It’s storytelling at its barest bones. Except for a 15-minute stint where volunteer extras storm the stage to recreate the crowded conditions of the cell, Taylor sits at a table, and tells you his story from the start as if you were a very patient, quiet reporter.

You Should Have Stayed At Home doesn’t warrant the “I should have stayed at home” jokes. Taylor is telling a significant story for our time, turning a personal account into a highly political presentation of the police force’s broken system of accountability — very few officers at the G20 protest were ever charged, despite external reviews stating that there had been a gross violation of the 1,100 people who were arrested.

Aboriginal men were unfazed by the situation. “Welcome to our club,” one said.

Though the monotony of listening to someone talk for an hour and 15 minutes never hits excruciating — he sure does a lot better than most of my profs — one man’s voice doesn’t have quite enough punch for someone with certain expectations of entertainment.

Much of the script is word-for-word recitation of the gone-viral 11,000-word Facebook note that Taylor wrote after returning home from the detention center. For someone who has already read it, watching the play is practically redundant. But if you’re a person who considers yourself politically aware, You Should Have Stayed At Home is worth a go.

As of the first run of this show in Toronto two years ago, many Canadians still had no idea about this version of events that had happened.

“It was my first time being on the other side,” Taylor says and recounts seeing a police officer lying through his teeth to a television reporter about the treatment of protestors at the rallies. Since then, he has been closely following the cases of the officers who had been at the G20 protests. Many retired before they could ever be charged, others went on paid leave, and others escaped unscathed by their actions.

Taylor began to realize that there was no way that he could forget about the events at G20, even if he wanted to. “The things I saw at G20 just keep repeating themselves, at Idle No More, at the Québec student protests, everywhere.”

Western society has increasingly demonized the protester, with help from the police, media depictions, and government, Taylor continues. During the Occupy protests, any addicts or mentally ill people that the police picked up were given a choice — to go to jail or be taken to Occupy. And so the camps were flooded with people who should have been in rehab or therapy.

“The very fact that so many forces are at work to devalue protests should show the value of protests. But you don’t fight that hard against something that doesn’t work.”

Nice Kickoff Concert, but where was the booze?

By

Peak Web

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September 30, 2013

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September 2013 may have marked a shift in student life at SFU with its Fall Kickoff Concert, but our university still fails to come to terms with the prospect of alcohol consumption at pivotal on-campus events.

On the surface, it seemed as though SFU was the host of something vaguely resembling a typical university event — a concert with a huge turnout and a sound system overcompensating for lost times. I didn’t know about the concert until my friend phoned me up, and I was really excited for a moment, until learning it was a dry event. Why should a concert at a university be dry?

BC maintains that 19 is an appropriate age for individuals to consume alcohol responsibly and legally. The provincial government bans the consumption of alcohol in public places (e.g. in parks and on streets) unless there is an event such as a festival, whereby businesses with a liquor licence can serve alcohol.

Liquor laws stipulate that minors are not permitted to enter bars or clubs, and are not permitted to purchase alcohol from any institution — private or public. Therefore, with all this considered, alcohol could very well have been served at the concert.

Legislation at SFU dictates that liquor licences can be obtained as a “Special Occasion Licence.” Matt Zo and the welcoming of fall semester and to “da uNi lyfe” sound like one such special occasion. Based on this legislation, there is absolutely no reason that the consumption of alcohol by legal adults during the concert could not have been planned for.

By requiring a Special Occasion License for all events with alcohol, responsibility is ensured because the request needs to be processed by a liquor store first and by the RCMP thereafter. With all these steps clearly laid out, I do not understand why the concert was a dry event.

SFU’s approach to on-campus social activity is affecting how students carry themselves.

Even though minors were present at the event, measures could have been taken to accomodate all age groups if alcohol were to be served. Wristbands could have ensured minors weren’t served, so steps could have easily been taken to make a minor’s presence known to security. This is the case at any other concert involving alcohol, and can easily happen at SFU as well.

It’s exactly this absence of regular formative social activity in SFU’s campus life that creates such a lack of post-secondary social atmosphere. Moreover, it plays a large role in why many students never think of committing more time to the institution, joining clubs and unions, or even consider living on residence.

SFU’s “no fun” approach to on-campus social activity can also affect how students carry themselves. There will always be a feeling that they have not reached a higher level of responsibility by virtue of SFU’s strictly controlled social environment; perhaps they will ultimately resent the institution itself. Many of us already resent the strict policies — we bicker about it under our breath and shift uncomfortably when our UBC friends tell us about their pep rallies and beer garden BBQs.

Students would feel significantly more attached to the university if SFU catered to more than just academic obligations. Students would begin to develop a meaningful and more personal attachment to the institution if it allowed them the freedom to make their own choices, and the trust to make the right decisions.

Maybe this is too much to ask, but I can guarantee that when alcohol is placed before a mature, responsible student, like those found at SFU, no ill-effects would result. This includes large-scale concerts like the one we just had.

So the next time SFU plans to throw a concert, it better make sure to stock up its liquor cabinet, because I can assure you a thousand newly-legal students will make sure to plan accordingly if SFU doesn’t.

Hatman and Falcon: The Duel

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EIC

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September 30, 2013

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Cross country continues early season success

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EIC

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September 30, 2013

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Already off to a blazing start, the women’s cross country team picked up the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Team of the Week award following their performance at the Erik Anderson Invitational in Spokane, WA. The men’s and women’s sides had excellent weekends at the meet, racing top competition from three divisions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Led by captain Lindsey Butterworth, the Clan women finished first among all Division II competition, besting teams from the West Region and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) over the 5km course. They also finished second overall, beating Division I schools, Gonzaga and Washington State, and losing to only one other Division I program, Lipscomb University.

Butterworth was SFU’s top finisher with a fifth-place overall run, while fellow senior Kirsten Allen followed closely behind in seventh. They finished one-two in Division II competition, and Allen picked up GNAC Athlete of the Week honours. It was Allen’s second consecutive seventh-place finish. Butterworth won the same award the weekend before for her performance at the Sundodger Invitational, and will be looking to continue her dominant season at the top of the GNAC.

The women’s three other point scorers at the Erik Anderson were Kansas Mackenzie, a 2012 All-Regional racer, freshman Rebecca Bassett in her second-ever collegiate race, and track and field All-American Sarah Sawatzky. The competitors finished in 12th, 23rd and 24th respectively.

The Clan men’s team is continuing to improve in 2013 as well as they had another excellent showing at their second competition of the season finishing fourth out of all Division II competition.

Captain James Young, coming off a red-shirt season in 2012, led the team over the 6km course finishing seventh out of the Division II competitors. It was his first finish atop the Clan leaderboard this season, with sophomore Cameron Proceviat following closely behind. Proceviat was the Clan’s top racer at the season opener, and rounded out the top-ten in Spokane.

Stuart MacDonald, Austin Trapp and Oliver Jorgenson rounded out SFU’s top-five finishers to nab the fourth place team spot, crossing the finish line in 17th, 19th and 20th in Division II competition respectively.

The Clan will be looking to continue their strong performances in the upcoming weekends starting with the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, CA and two more open meets before turning their attention to the championship season.

After the GNAC qualifying meet SFU will aim to return to Spokane where the West Region and NCAA Division II championships will be held in early November. The women are already ranked second in the West Region and sixth nationally and will be looking to improve on those rankings as the season progresses while the men will look to keep the speed coming when the Clan travel to California.

Word on the Street: Diversity

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EIC

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September 30, 2013

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SFU football storms out of gates

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September 30, 2013

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It was a start that no statistician predicted, but one that Dave Johnson believes has been four years in the making. The head coach of the Clan football squad has led his team to a dominant 2-0 start to their season, besting conference powerhouses Humboldt State and Central Washington University on the road to begin 2013.

“We have seniors now who played here in 2010 and had a difficult first season getting beat by those teams by huge margins,” explained Johnson. “It became a personal challenge and they have dedicated themselves to training and competing even harder than ever.”

The Week 3 game against CWU started strong for the Clan as they opened the scoring on the first drive with an 18-yard field goal by kicker Chad Heerspink but the home team struck back at the end of the first quarter with a 65-yard touchdown following an SFU pass-interference penalty.

The score remained at a stalemate for the majority of the second quarter before a CWU drive late in the period got the home side within striking distance of the Clan endzone, but a strong defensive line led by linebackers Casey Chin and Mitchell Barnett was able to turn the momentum around and back down the field.

The turn of direction fuelled the Clan offence to another drive similar to their first of the game, resulting in Heerspink recording his second field-goal of the game, this time from 26-yards.

The score was 7–6 for the Wildcats heading into the third quarter and, after trading punts with the home team, the Clan fell further behind following another long touchdown strike—this one of 46-yards—late in the period. But the game was far from over as the best plays of the game were still to come for the Clan.

In the fourth quarter, runningback Chris Tolbert, in his first season with the Clan, was able to convert the Clan’s first touchdown of the game, and would move the score to within two points, prompting Johnson to go for a two-point conversion play. SFU was able to capitalize as Bobby Pospischil caught the pass from quarterback Ryan Stanford, another player in his first season at SFU, to tie the game at 14 apiece.

With the clock counting down safety Chandler Gayton forced a Wildcat fumble on the three-yard line giving the visitors the chance they needed to end the game. Moving down the field, SFU put themselves into position for a trick-play, and the Clan executed flawlessly as a screen pass to back-up quarter-back Ryan Blum went uncontested resulting in pass to Tolbert for a 27-yard touchdown and the extra point to follow. At 21-14 the Clan recorded their first victory in the Ellensburg stadium over the Wildcats since 1980.

The strong start to the season has sparked increasing interest into the Clan’s program, and the team received their first ever vote in the American Football Coaches Association poll. The Clan also rank seventh nationally in passing average with 378 yards per game following their second victory of the season.

SFU also has two national category leaders on their roster as Chin is leading in interceptions, with two in his two games this season, and Barnett has two fumble recoveries in two games leading that category as well.

Chris Tolbert also received recognition following his team’s 2-0 start, winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week award. The junior transfer was key to the Clan’s second victory, catching four passes and rushing for 106-yards on the day, including two total touchdowns.

Moving forward the Clan will look to continue their 2013 success at home as they play at Terry Fox Field for the first time this year. The Clan host conference rivals Western Oregon, who they have yet to beat at home or on the road, at their 2013 home opener.

“They are easily the biggest team we will play this year, but we just need to take care of what we can take care of,” said Johnson of Western Oregon. When a team is unbeaten, scoring wins against the two top-ranked teams in its conference and still has much to improve on heading into its home opener, the only place to go is up. “It’s been nice to have such a great start,” said Johnson, “but . . . we need to execute on offence and fill gaps on defence and if we do what our system requires it will be successful.”