Student consultations begin for SUB

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September 23, 2013

Last week, Build SFU consultations started, allowing students to give feedback on the proposed Student Union Building. Students were encouraged to give their opinions, via an online survey and in-person focus groups on what they want to see in the building in terms of programming and amenities, as well as the three proposed locations.

The three locations under consideration are “Main Street,” located above the central bus stop, “Crossroads,” which is between the Maggie Benston Centre and the AQ, and “Treehouse,” across University Dr. from West Mall Complex.

Students were asked which location or locations they liked, as well as why, in order to give the Build SFU team and the building’s architects, Perkins+Will, a better idea of what students wanted from the building’s location.

“The survey isn’t a voting survey,” Marc Fontaine, Build SFU general manager, stated. “It’s not to say, please select site one, two, or three. Instead it’s to get students to tell the architects why their experience at SFU isn’t as good as it could be, and what could be changed to make it better.”

Surprisingly, 40 per cent of responses so far have come from new students, many of whom were just hearing of the project for the first time. The focus group specifically for new students also had the best attendance. “New students will be paying for [the building] for a longer period of time than students who are further along in their university career,” Fontaine pointed out, “I think they see the benefit of it because they’re likely to see the building when it’s open.”

The number one thing the building needs to be, is student focused.”

– Jana Foit, Perkins+Will architect

“The number one thing the building needs to be, is student focused,” said Jana Foit, one of the architects from Perkins+Will involved in the project . Through the consultation process, Foit said that they found students were interested in a building that created a community outside the classroom, incorporated design, including study and lounge spaces, and connected them with nature.

One theme that has emerged already from student consultations is the complaint that many students don’t feel connected to nature on the Burnaby campus, despite the vast amounts of parkland and sprawling trails that meander across Burnaby Mountain.

“We’re wondering why that is the case,” said Fontaine; “we’re wondering if it’s because there’s a lot of dirty concrete, and you have to look up from your phone to see nature all around us. There is a lot of nature around SFU.”

“Students really value the location of the SFU Burnaby campus,” said Foit, “and I think with all the grey and concrete, there’s a sense that you’re not experiencing nature. We want to exploit the fact that we’re on a mountain.

The focus groups allowed students from various clubs, DSUs, and student groups, to voice their opinions as well, as many of them will be looking to acquire space in the new building once it is completed. “We are approaching all the campus groups to determine what types of spaces they need,” said Fontaine. “Do you need office spaces, or do you need a large meeting room, or do you need anything else?”

Concerns were also voiced that if the “Main Street” location is selected, SFU’s various rotunda groups that occupy that space currently will need to relocate during construction. The rotunda groups that have space above the Transportation Centre include Out on Campus, SFPIRG, FNSA, and the Women’s Centre.

Another challenge of the “Main Street” site is how it necessitates demolishing a pre-existing building, which would ultimately extend the deadline of the project.

Foit was on campus last week for two and half days for student consultations. “In general, I thought the feedback was quite positive,” she said, citing the large number of responses that have been received from the online survey.

There will be more focus groups in the coming weeks, in Burnaby as well as at the Surrey and Vancouver campuses. By the end of consultation, Foit hopes to have a full vision statement for the building to use as a “measuring stick,” when the project moves into the design phase.

The Charter of Values is an omnibus bill

By

Peak Web

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September 23, 2013

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Religious and ethnic diversity is something to be cherished in Canada. Unfortunately, there have been attempts lately to undermine this principle. In Québec, the Parti Québécois (PQ) under the leadership of Pauline Marois have recently unveiled a “Charter of Values” purportedly aimed at solidifying the secularization of Québec.

At first glance, the rationale surely seems reasonable. However, a further look uncovers its disturbing intentions. While advocates claim state secularism will be promoted, the proposal fails to meet the supposed goals of its proponents by ensuring loopholes in its provisions. Instead, it’s a furtive attempt to undermine religious diversity.

Therefore, contrary to the officially stated goals of the PQ, its provisions are actually the manifestation of hate-based politics. Perhaps more disturbing is the PQ’s adept strategy of creating an “us vs. them” mentality in an attempt to secure the bill’s passage.

While overt religious symbols from the kippah to the crucifix are no longer permitted to be worn by public employees, this falls short of actually ensuring a “secular” Québec; the bill contains a provision excluding religious symbols considered an integral part of the province’s history. As Québec has a decidedly Catholic past and continues to have a Catholic majority, this means Catholic names and symbols are here to stay.

Not only will thousands of geographic names not be renamed, but the crucifix in Québec’s National Assembly building will also not be removed. With this taken into account, the true intentions of the separatist PQ become much clearer. Rather than seeing a law which applies secularism fairly across Québec for all religious communities, the bill aims to solidify the Catholic nature of Québec, thus imposing a set of double standards throughout the entire province.

These inequities can also be seen in the proposal to remove tax exempt status of all houses of worship. While this applies equally to churches, mosques, synagogues, etc., the reality is that religious minorities — unlike the Catholic majority — would not benefit from the clause recognizing religious symbols that are deemed a part of Québec’s past.

Therefore, while increased financial burden will put pressure on smaller congregations of all religions (whereby diminishing their presence), Catholics will fare better in their ability to offset this effect.

This inequity is also made worse by its failure to officially recognize the past influences of other religions. Québec, for example, has had Jewish and Protestant communities — among others — for more than two centuries. Thus, such a discriminatory bill aims to marginalize religious minorities by seeking to minimize their public presence and recognition in mainstream society.

In an effort to implement a twisted vision of religious inequality under the guise of secularism, the PQ has turned to double standards formally enshrined in the bill. In fact, it has actually been fanning the flames for some time already; a dig of derogatory remarks made not long ago further underscore their true intentions.

In a 2012 Globe and Mail article, PQ politician André Simard (then the PQ’s Agriculture Critic) was quoted making disparaging comments toward the practice of slaughtering livestock in accordance to halal dietary codes, labelling it “inhumane” and incompatible with Québec values.

Such methods actually serve to minimize pain, meaning there is little evidence the comment was made out of sincere concern for the animals involved. Rather, it was a poorly disguised attempt at fostering bigotry and intolerance and — more importantly — stirring up tensions to win support for the PQ’s twisted proposals.

While we sometimes take the notions of diversity and tolerance for granted, the recent happenings in Québec serve as a reminder that we shouldn’t, in fact, do so. Rather, we should be proactive in our attempts to uphold such values in our society.

Discussion series examines brain diseases

By

EIC

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September 23, 2013

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Café Scientifique kicked off the first instalment of its discussion series last Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the Surrey City Centre Library, where Dr. Gordon Rintoul spoke on the relationship between mitochondrial deterioration and age-related brain diseases.

The series, sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, features leading Science experts from SFU on topics related to health and popular science. Meant to be a more informal than a lecture, the evenings include discussions with the audience, supporting SFU’s goal to be an engaged university.

Rintoul spoke on Wednesday about his work on mitochondrial dynamics. Mitochondria are tiny structures within the cells that have traditionally been known as the “powerhouses” of the cell. Their job is essentially to produce energy in a form that the cells can use to do all sorts of things.

Nevertheless, these organelles may be responsible for age-related brain diseases, such as stroke and Parkinson’s, if they are not fulfilling their proper functions. Rintoul compared their volatility to that of a power plant:

“If a nuclear power plant is functioning fine and producing energy that’s great, but things can go wrong with a nuclear power plant that can have really disastrous consequences,” explained Rintoul. “Nasty things can actually leak out of them, and that’s exactly what happens with mitochondria. They can release things that are very harmful to the cells.”

During a stroke, a blocked blood vessel results in a lack of energy delivered to cells in a small region of the brain. The mitochondria respond by malfunctioning, and producing things that are harmful to the cells.

Mitochondria are structures within cells that have traditionally been known as the “powerhouses” of the cell.

Rintoul’s lab is investigating mitochondrial dynamics: the basic mechanisms that are regulating mitochondrial trafficking and mitochondrial fission and fusion. Mitochondria are able to change their shapes through fission and fusion, and while the purpose of that change is not clear, fragmented mitochondria have been associated with a lot of different disease states, and potentially the aging process as well.

“Our guiding hypothesis is that in some of these neurodegenerative diseases, we’re having malfunctions of mitochondrial dynamics, and that may be a contributing or may be a causative factor in these diseases,” said Rintoul.

In pursuit of this hypothesis, Rintoul and his lab are hoping to decipher how mitochondria are participating in the injury mechanisms that harm cells in Parkinson’s and stroke. Said Rintoul, “If we can find out the mechanisms that control these things and find out how they’re being affected in the diseases, that gives us targets for therapeutic intervention.”

This is Rintoul’s first time speaking at the Café Scientifique series, but he believes by reaching out to the community, scientists are fulfilling their duty to the public.

“I really feel it’s the responsibility of scientists to promote science,” said Rintoul. “We are a publicly funded institution, so I think its our duty to get across to the public what we’re doing with their money and show them that we’re using it to work toward worthwhile causes.”

Time lapse video of a cortical astrocyte with mitochondria illuminated with Yellow Fluorescent protein (shot in grey-scale) Total time: 10 Minutes.

Food Bank begins pilot phase

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EIC

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September 23, 2013

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As of October 1, SFU’s Food Bank will be launching a pilot program aimed at increasing awareness of the options available to undergraduate students who may need extra assistance in making ends meet.

After considering several logistical models including a voucher program and a food hamper system, the Food Bank working group has decided to offer food certificates for Nesters’ market, the grocery store on Burnaby campus, to students in need.

Students will be able to receive $25 gift certificates to Nesters’ three times per semester during the pilot phase. However, the gift certificates are not conventional; they can only be used for sundries — tobacco, lottery tickets, bus passes, and pharmaceuticals are restricted.

Chardaye Bueckert, SFSS External Relations Officer, expressed the SFSS’s desire to elicit feedback from the SFU population while providing a food service on campus during this transitional period.

The food certificate system was chose for its flexibility and anonymity.

The overhaul of SFU’s Food Bank began this July, when Student Services told the SFSS that they were withdrawing their food distribution services. Student Services cited issues of waste, inadequate cold storage, and a lack of knowledge of best practices when making this decision.

Bueckert explained that Student Services will still play a role in the SFSS Food Bank Program, but as an educator instead of a distributor. Their contributions will include producing educational materials with information about cooking on a budget and resources in the community, as well as creating outreach and volunteer coordination elements and a free food location on campus.

In addition to allowing students to purchase fresh produce and ingredients, the food certificate system was chosen for its flexibility and anonymity. The SFSS general office will now be handling a majority of the administrative work, which includes organizing the food certificates so that students can pick them up anonymously after filling out a simple web survey.

The SFSS will be continuing the Food Bank Program pilot phase for the duration of the fall 2013 semester, with intent to continue it in the Spring based on feedback from Food Bank users.

“We really hope that this [program] will ensure that the students in need are able to access it,” concluded Chardaye.

Breakfast with the Pres

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EIC

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September 23, 2013

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Last Friday, Sept. 20, marked the first Breakfast with the President of the new school year, where SFU President Andrew Petter offered faculty, staff and students, the opportunity to share perspectives about university issues over coffee and a muffin.

The first Breakfast with the President was held in October, 2011, with the intent “to hear first-hand from members of the university community about issues and ideas on their minds,” wrote Petter in Petter’s Perspective: Notes from the President.

This year’s breakfast was held at SFU’s Surrey Campus, attracting a mix of students and staff alike who were eager for the opportunity to connect with SFU’s higher administration and share ideas in an informal setting. The group of 20 discussed issues that included concerns over inter-disciplinary cooperation, how to better engage students, and a lack of resources for different programs and student initiatives.

I want to try to stay as connected as I can to [our] community while being out there representing it,”

Andrew Petter, SFU President

For chemistry graduate student Austin Lee, the session offered an otherwise unattainable opportunity to speak with Petter in an intimate environment. “I thought it was a really nice opportunity to actually meet the President and know what’s going on in the community in general,” said Lee. “Right now I’m a graduate student at SFU Surrey; it’s very isolated . . . I think I lack the chance of meeting people and knowing what’s going on.”

Lee continued, “As a Surrey resident I’d like to get the chance to meet with the President, who’s interested in talking about how SFU is trying to grow and what sort of programs they’re trying to [implement].”

Carlie Nishi, a 3rd-year communications student, echoed Lee’s sentiments. “This is kind of a rare opportunity for a student if you’re not employed at SFU or go to campus often, so I really wanted to leverage the fact that I am a student, a current athlete, and a very prominent club member as well as just a regular student wanting to know more.”

SFU President Andrew Petter feels that the breakfast sessions have servced to not only engage the SFU population, but assist in solving the issues presented.

“I want to try to stay as connected as I can to [our] community while being out there representing it,” said Petter. “This seemed to me one of the number of ways that I could both gain feedback from what’s on peoples minds, encourage some conversation amongst the students, faculty, and staff, which doesn’t always take place by itself, and also be able to answer people’s concerns and questions.”

“I must say, from my point of view, [the events have] been really really helpful,” concluded Petter.

Harper pushes pipeline in Kelowna

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EIC

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September 23, 2013

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VANCOUVER (CUP) — Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Kelowna, BC, the weekend of Sept. 14 for a national caucus meeting, as well as to meet with residents opposed to the proposed pipeline projects in the western-most province.

Although details of Harper’s agenda while in the province have not been disclosed, there is a broad consensus that the trip to Canada’s West Coast is to make a big push in support of building the Keystone and Northern Gateway pipelines, as well as expanding the existing Kinder Morgan Pipeline.

The Keystone Pipeline, which has been the focus of intense media attention and scrutiny over the last year, will take bitumen products from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries in Texas. While none of the components of the proposed Keystone Pipeline are to be built in BC, Aboriginal leaders across the country have been vocal in their opposition to it, citing negative environmental impacts.

The Northern Gateway Pipeline project proposes a 1,170km twin pipeline from the oil sands to the port of Kitimat, in northern BC Opposition to the Northern Gateway Pipeline is focused on the company Enbridge, which has a relatively poor record on pipeline safety and security. The proposed flow of oil makes pristine areas of the province potentially vulnerable to oil spills. The oil would be carried onto tankers destined for Asia.

Environmentalists and First Nations leaders opposed to the pipeline say that the government is meeting with them purely as a formality

The proposed expansion of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline, however, strikes at the heart of those living in the province’s Lower Mainland. The current pipeline, which was designed to transport crude oil but now carries refined product from the oil sands, ends at the Westridge marine terminal in Burnaby.

The expansion, which proposes to twin the pipeline, is meant to accommodate more than double the amount of oil, from 300,000 barrels to almost 900,000 barrels per day, to oil tankers in the Burrard Inlet. The oil is then exported to markets in Asia.

In the summer of 2007, the Kinder Morgan pipeline was ruptured accidentally by sewer contractors working for the City of Burnaby, causing an oil spill that forced evacuations and damaged homes and marine wildlife, as well as resulting in traffic disruptions for months after the spill was contained.

Environmentalists and First Nations leaders opposed to the pipeline say that the government is meeting with them purely as a formality, while the Harper government contends it is consulting with all interested parties.

The debate, especially with regards to the Northern Gateway pipeline, has also led to somewhat frosty relations between BC Premier Christy Clark and Alberta Premier Alison Redford — relations which have warmed significantly since their respective election victories.

The Prime Minister’s office has directed senior cabinet officials to travel to BC, starting on Sept. 23, to engage in a public opinion campaign which they hope will win them greater support for the building of the Keystone and Northern Gateway pipelines and the expansion of the existing Kinder Morgan Pipeline.

Thousands feared dead in plane crash by imaginative, pessimistic man

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EIC

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September 23, 2013

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PHOENIX, AZ — Although no casualties, injuries, or even plane crashes have been reported in the state of Arizona recently, according to the imagination of one incredibly frightful pessimist thousands could been dying right now.

John Kirkpatrick, a 54-year-old man with a lot of time on his hands, is apparently afraid that thousands of people could’ve died in a plane crash during most hours of the day. In the past Kirkpatrick has feared significant death tolls from imagined hurricanes, mass shootings and distinctly remembers waking up on September 11, 2001 with the chilling feeling that hundreds of people had died in a shark-related tragedy.

While Kirkpatrick’s fears are often misplaced, he is always in a constant state of fearing some sort of massive scale tragedy but, somewhat surprisingly, is not afraid of his own death in the slightest.

“When it happens, it happens, there’s no point in worrying or even thinking about it really” Kirkpatrick told The Peak before drifting off in terror thinking about dozens of people who could have died in a freak tobogganing accident somewhere in the world this week.

University Briefs

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EIC

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September 23, 2013

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New UBC frosh reports add fuel to fire

Last week, reports surfaced that new University of British Columbia students also shouted a chant mocking Aboriginal people during frosh activities. This story surfaced shortly after UBC frosh organizers were landed in hot water over a chant was reported that encouraged the rape of underaged girls.

Computer science graduate and orientation squad manager Benjamin Israel stated he witnessed a chant of “white man, steal our land” as part of a Commerce Undergraduate Students team called “Pocahontas.” These allegations also came just as the Truth and Reconciliation Committee opened hearings in Vancouver last week.

With files from The Observer

SMU grad returns degrees over sexist chant

A former student of Saint Mary’s University (SMU), who earned degrees in arts and commerce at the university 18 years ago, walked onto the school’s campus carrying his two degrees. He was met by SMU registrar Paul Dixon, where “the two exchanged few words before Dixon took the scrolls and walked away.”

“To me, those degrees are valueless,” Miller said. “I wanted to distance myself [from] the embarrassment and shame I felt from this sort of culture” — referring to the recent scandal caused by a chant sung at the university’s frosh week that glorified the rape of underage girls.

With files from Cape Breton Post

Gun club pops up at U of C

A gun club has been establish at the University of Calgary for the first time in recent history, and already has 20 members signed up.

“It’s not gonna be like an in-your-face American-style guns are great, et cetera, et cetera,” Henry Lung, the founder and president of the club said. “It’s gonna be guns can be safe in the right hands and they can be a lot of fun.”

The club plans on hosting social gatherings and trips to local shooting ranges for its members. So far, here have been no complaints against the organization.

With files from CBC News

Bonus American Brief: University takes down pendulum after students “go Miley”

Grand Valley State University in Michigan took down the Pendulum Statue, citing “health reasons,” after students were found using the statue to emulate Miley Cyrus’ new video for “Wrecking Ball.”

The students posted several vines mimicking the video, in which Miley sits atop a large wrecking ball completely naked. No decision has been made as to when the statue may be put back up. Last Tuesday night, dozens of students protested its removal at the site of the statue.

With files from Fox 17

Riddick returns to its Pitch Black roots

By

Peak Web

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September 23, 2013

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Bloodied, yet unbowed, Vin Diesel has resurrected another of his franchises that was once bound for extinction. After the abominable 2 Fast 2 Furious, the Fast and Furious franchise got a surge of attention when Diesel returned to the series, and by the fifth film everything that was rescuable, had been rescued.

Now, another series starring Vin Diesel has been revived — it began with Pitch Black and was followed by the critically panned The Chronicles of Riddick. Fittingly, the new movie Riddick, is one that has the titular character stranded on a desolate planet, attempting to rediscover himself, just as the director, David Twohy, and Diesel attempt to do with the film itself.

Picking up right after the events of The Chronicles of Riddick, Richard B. Riddick (Diesel) finds himself betrayed by the Necromongers who put him into power, leaving him for dead when he attempts to find his home planet, Furya. Left to his own devices, Riddick has no choice but to try and survive on a planet crawling with various alien predators.

The dulcet tones of Diesel’s narration help pass the time as we spend a sizeable chunk of the film’s length merely watching Riddick become the strong warrior that he was in the first film. As interesting as that might sound, serving as a quasi-origin story for how Riddick became the ruthless convict that he was, the plot is non-existent for far too long in this film.

Riddick is very much a B-movie littered with all the bad dialogue and ridiculous action you would expect.

Even when other characters are finally introduced, such as the seemingly insane Santana (Jordi Molla), and the tough, female mercenary, Dahl (Katee Sackhoff), Riddick does not have enough personality to carry the movie into its third act. There is a lot of retreading of plot points from Pitch Black, but with a significant lack of tension that the original film was able to convey.

On the bright side, Riddick completely understands what kind of film Pitch Black was, and why The Chronicles of Riddick was such a failure. Characters like Santana highlight the fact that Riddick is very much a B-movie littered with all the bad dialogue and ridiculous action you would expect.

The final act of Riddick is when the film soars, and every action scene is illuminated in great detail. The CG aliens that Riddick has to face are sometimes laughable, but most of the time they add to the B-movie feel of the film.

Undeniably, Diesel’s charisma and action star status is what carries Riddick and makes it a satisfying popcorn flick, until the final scene, when Twohy and Diesel turn the movie into an exercise in brutality and violence.

The film ends with an open for a possible sequel, and while Riddick is entertaining enough to warrant a watch for fans of science fiction and the previous films in the series, this is a movie you watch once and forget about completely until it is revived again.

Clan earn first wins of the year

By

EIC

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September 23, 2013

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It didn’t take long for new head coach Gina Schmidt to make an impact with the SFU volleyball team. Just three games into their 2013 season, the Clan already have two wins under their belt.

Last season, in an overall of 26 games, the Clan had just four ‘W’s.

After dropping their season opener in five sets, the Clan got their first win of the 2013 season with a three sets to none victory over the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack last Saturday. Later that same day, they topped the Columbia Bible College (CBC) Bearcats with a three sets to one win.

“I thought we did a good job of coming back from a disappointing loss [in the opener] and just playing steady throughout the whole game,” said Schmidt of the victory, the first of her head coaching career. “[TRU was] able to adjust to whatever came at them today.”

“I think we can take things away from every match. I hope our team takes away the positives from this match and the things we have to learn from as well.”

Surrey native Kelsey Robinson led the way for the Clan in the opener, posting 15 kills and 12 digs, both team highs. She had support, however: junior Amanda Renkema followed with 10 kills and freshman Alison McKay recorded 10 digs in her first start at libero.

A 25–13 set was sandwiched between two 25–23 sets — a welcome sight, as the Clan too often found themselves on the wrong end of close games over the past years. But the straight-set victory set the Clan up to get above .500 for the first time since opening last season 2–0, and the team didn’t miss the opportunity.

The Clan came out flying against CBC, storming out of the gates with a 25–9 victory in the first set, and a 25–19 win in the second. But the Bearcats would edge the Clan in the third, taking the set 25–23, evoking memories of a few blown leads last year. But the Clan showed resolve that they hadn’t had in years past and took the fourth set 25–22, and the match three sets to one.

Renkema and Robinson again led the team in kills, with 12 and 10 respectively. McKay too had another impressive outing, racking up 13 digs in the match, second only to junior Alanna Chan’s 14.

“I love the way this team is coming together,” said Clan freshman McKay. “We have a great coaching staff and great players. I’ve just been working hard and am glad we got some results today.”

The success of this team will ultimately be measured by whether these types of results can continue. It’s early yet, but the team’s improvement — and optimism — is evident.

The number one thing the building needs to be, is student focused.”

– Jana Foit, Perkins+Will architect

Mitochondria are structures within cells that have traditionally been known as the “powerhouses” of the cell.

The food certificate system was chose for its flexibility and anonymity.

I want to try to stay as connected as I can to [our] community while being out there representing it,”

Andrew Petter, SFU President

Environmentalists and First Nations leaders opposed to the pipeline say that the government is meeting with them purely as a formality

Riddick is very much a B-movie littered with all the bad dialogue and ridiculous action you would expect.