SFU Pipe Band hired to play at parade celebrating SFU Pipe Band

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September 2, 2013

Starting this fall, the provincial government will start a major public consultation process as part of a province-wide liquor policy review. This will be the first time BC’s liquor laws have been reviewed since 1999, and the first review that includes a public consultation process.

Last month, the Ministry of Justice started reviewing what they called “BC’s outdated and inefficient liquor laws” by asking for feedback from major stakeholders, more than 10,000 liquor licensees, and liquor agency stories.

I know many British Columbians have a lot of opinions and our government is open to hearing them.”

– John Yap
Parliamentary Secretary
for Liquor Policy Reform

The government had noted several laws that it deemed to be “limitations to convenience and economic activity,” including prohibiting minors that are accompanied by a parent or guardian into pubs that serve food during daytime hours, not allowing wines and local liquor to be sold at farmers’ markets, not allowing establishments like spas to be eligible for licensing permits, and taking upwards of a year to obtain a licence for bars and pubs.

John Yap, the Parliamentary Secretary for Liquor Policy Reform, will be taking charge on the review, gathering feedback, and meeting with local populations and associations throughout September and October.

“I know many British Columbians have a lot of opinions and our government is open to hearing them as we move forward in this process,” said Yap, according to Business in Vancouver.

Yap is expected to submit a final report on the liquor policy review by Nov. 25 to attorney general Suzanne Anton, which will be made public.

“Right now, some of BC’s liquor laws go back many years,” said Anton in a public statement. “. . . we are looking to make practical and responsible changes which promote consumer convenience and economic growth in the province, with a strong eye to maintaining public safety and protecting the health of our citizens.

According to Dr. Rob Gordon, director of the school of criminology at SFU, BC’s liquor laws, which have been called Draconian, have been heavily policed by government policy for two main reasons: morality and revenue.

“They wanted to effectively control access to the labour force so that people would not be able to drink themselves into a stupor, and related to that was the access on the part of Aboriginal peoples,” said Gordon.

He continued, “And then of course there is the revenue issue. Currently, the provincial liquor stores yield significant revenue for government. Government also controls wholesales. It’s less a moral objection there, more a revenue issue.

“The question is, should that be privatized, and the major objection that comes back is well, no, because that’s a significant source of revenue for the government and we would have to make that up in some way.”

Liquor sales currently result in over $1 billion each year in revenue for the provincial government.

When asked whether a completely privatized model like that seen in Alberta would be feasible in BC, Gordon said, “Yes, absolutely. I think what we have is an absurd situation.”

He explained that the approach Europe and the United States have taken treats liquor no differently than any other commodity in a grocery store.

“Wine and beer and liquor are all available in supermarkets,” said Gordon. “You can go into a small corner store in a Parisian suburb for example and buy a bottle of wine, buy beer, buy whatever spirits you want to buy, along with tea and sugar and milk and apples.”

In her statement, Anton reiterated the desire for public feedback: “Once the public consultation process begins in September, British Columbians can let us know how they would like to see BC’s liquor laws reformed.”

Get caught in the Fringe

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September 2, 2013

The shows are literally drawn out of a hat. With a “theatre for everyone” mentality and a truly fair and open-minded approach to programming their line-up, the Vancouver Fringe Festival welcomes all kinds of theatre artists. This year’s festival features 91 shows, ranging from one-man dramas, to naked comedy, to a new Jane Austen musical “Promise and Promiscuity.”

From Sept. 5–15, 800 performances will happen at over eight venues on and around Granville Island, including the Waterfront Theatre, Performance Works, and the New Revue Stage. With 100 per cent of box office proceeds going directly to the artists, the Fringe is a great way to support independent theatre artists.

One artist with quite a bit of Fringe experience is Jackie Blackmore of Strapless, a five-women comedy show with a variety of smart, funny sketches. Having performed at the Vancouver Fringe for nine years in addition to a few appearances at the Victoria and Edmonton festivals, Blackmore said that these festivals are so important because they allow artists to create their own work.

“They don’t discriminate, and the work is welcome no matter how shocking or how avant garde it is. I love the classics of course, but I get fired up about seeing new works on stage, and I think it really expands and pushes theatre in many ways,” she says.

Blackmore also described the atmosphere of the Fringe: “Actors and playwrights come outside their comfort zone, and up and coming directors show what they can do and there is a magical energy in that risk; there’s a creative magic because no one is doing it for money, but for love.”

The Fringe is also a great place for actors to create lasting contacts and build their careers, as well as honing their craft by just doing it and experimenting. “That’s how I cut my teeth . . . it was a huge help to my career,” Blackmore says.

Blackmore originally applied to write her own show and was number 97 on the waitlist, but then she was contacted by a few of the women from the Vancouver Film School Sketch Comedy Company who asked her to direct their show and perform with them. Blackmore has known them since she started teaching at VFS about four years ago, which makes preparation and rehearsals fun: “You know it’s going to be a great show when you can’t stop laughing in rehearsal.”

The title and promotional material of Strapless may make some think this show will appeal more to a female audience, but Blackmore says, “Absolutely not. We had a huge discussion at the beginning about ‘are we feminist or not’ . . . we’re not doing comedy just to give women a voice.”

There are some racier sketches, Blackmore says their show covers a whole range of topics and aims to be universally funny. “It’s a gift to make a room full of strangers laugh. Entertainment is first and foremost . . . I want people to forget their lives.”

From here, the Strapless comedy girls are going to try to find other venues to perform their work, and they have been busy applying to other fringes and sketch comedy festivals. Blackmore is also very excited to be a part of the Vancouver Sketch Comedy Festival that is returning this January after a seven-year hiatus: “There’s a resurgence of comedy in Vancouver and it’s very exciting.”

When asked which shows she is looking forward to at the Fringe, Blackmore recommended Assaulted Fish, a show by a local sketch comedy group, Scotch and Chocolate, a show by one of Blackmore’s ex-students, and Searching for Dick, an existentialist show by her good friend Tara Travis of Monster Theatre.

These suggestions might help get you started, but the performances are just the beginning of the Fringe. Each night there are also free concerts at the St. Ambroise Fringe Bar, including Dominique Fricot, and The River and the Road. If you are unsure about which shows to check out this year, perhaps the Fringe-For-All will help; the whirlwind preview evening allows artists to perform two-minute teasers from their shows. You can join host David C. Jones at Performance Works on Sept. 5 to see which shows catch your attention.

After the festival itself, the fun continues with the Public Market Pick of the Fringe, which takes place from Sept. 18–29 at Performance Works and the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Woodwards. The shows in this series are determined by audience votes and judges selecting a few of the most popular ones to hold over for more performances. Ballots are available at each Fringe show, and the winners are announced at the Awards Night at Performance Works on Sept. 15.

BC student debt highest in Canada

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September 2, 2013

A recent study released by the Bank of Montreal says that BC students can expect to graduate with more debt than those in any other province.

The federal government estimated the total cost of a post-secondary education in Canada at $14,500 a year. This means that with tuition, school supplies, housing and other expenses, students are paying nearly $60,000 in total for a four-year degree.

According to the 2013 BMO Student Survey, which was conducted by Pollara, BC students graduate university with an average of $34,886 in debt. Compare this number to the national average — $26,297 — and the gap becomes all the more chasmal.

Manoj Bhakthan, SFU director of Financial Aid and Awards, attributed this differentiation to the high cost of living in BC, and Vancouver especially.

“I think that part of it is the fact that Vancouver is considered one of the most expensive cities to live in and that an increase in expenses may be related to living costs such as rent, food . . . These would probably be more expensive in BC than in other parts of the country, so from that perspective I could see students perhaps taking on more associated expenses,” said Bhakthan. “For SFU, there has been a 2% increase in tuition fees for 2013/2014 for domestic students. Since 2005, government policy has limited it to this annually.”

On average, SFU students’ loan debt is a little bit over $24,000 when they graduate.

From 2000 to 2010, SFU tuition fees were raised from $2,310 to $4,815 for domestic undergraduate students and from $6,930 to $15,816 for international undergraduate students.

Although tuition costs are increasing, the percentage of Canadian students who receive money from their parents for school has dropped in the last year from 52 per cent to 44 per cent. To cope, 55 per cent of students are relying on loans, up 6 per cent from last year.

Having amassed such large quantities of debt, students can expect to pay off their debt within an average of 10 to 14.5 years after graduating — much longer than the 6.4 years they anticipate, says the study.

Still, Bhakthan has reason to hope that SFU students will not find themselves in such dire straits.

“As much as possible, what we’re trying to do is empower students by providing them knowledge about what’s available, and I think that’s one of the keys to ensuring the financial success of students.”said Bhakthan. “The more information the student has up front, the more proactive they can be about these opportunities.”

The Financial Aid and Awards Office’s services include bursaries, scholarships, awards, work study, and government student loans, in addition to one-on-one advising appointments with students and various workshops to provide students with information about Financial Aid and Award Office programs.

Bhakthan spoke to the importance of the work study program in particular: “This is a part-time on-campus opportunity for students to earn a supplemental income while gaining experience at SFU, so that could be anything from working with professors on research projects to supporting the CJSF radio station. This is a needs-based program, and those eligible can potentially earn an income to supplement their studies while adding something to their resume and hopefully putting them a step ahead in terms of their career path.”

On average, SFU students’ loan debt is a little bit over $24,000 when they graduate, according to a June 2012 survey. This is dramatically lower than the BC average of $34,886.

For students struggling with money woes, Bhakthan suggested some simple tips and tricks to ease the financial burden. These include living at home instead of renting, purchasing used textbooks or even electronic versions, and evaluating wants versus needs. If these aren’t enough for the overburdened, Financial Aid and Awards is always there to help.

“I’m hoping that students come in and see us if they have questions,” said Bhakthan. “Spend a little bit of time doing research using our financial aid and awards website, and if you have further questions, we’re here to support you.”

Paradise where?

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September 2, 2013

What is paradise? The Pacific Islands are often thought of as a permanently idyllic place full of white sand beaches, palm trees, and tourism. Curator of the Museum of Anthropology, Dr. Carol Mayer, explains, “The Pacific is thought of as one place that is slightly dangerous, but not really, and the point is actually that isn’t the Pacific. It is large and complicated with thousands of cultures and languages.” The contemporary artists featured in Paradise Lost? have taken on the idea of paradise and are challenging it to set the record straight: “We’re not what you think we are.”

Thirteen artists from Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu explore, through diverse media, themes of cultural heritage, the environment, migration and diaspora, and the confluence of their belief systems with western religions. Their culture is “expressed with just about every material, and each has its own method of speaking,” explains Mayer.

The title of the exhibition is multi-layered, with allusions to Milton’s Paradise Lost and the allegory of the evil snake as the impact of colonialism on the Pacific Islands. The exhibit also questions what paradise is, and asserts that perhaps everyone has their own interpretation. The “lost” refers to the reality of these places being overtaken by Hollywood and tourism, as well as growing environmental concerns.

We’re not what you think we are.”

– Paradise Lost? artists

The way that the exhibition is scattered throughout the museum requires a map, which gives visitors the experience of being lost or disoriented. Although it ended up that way as the result of another show occupying the gallery space, it has created a tangible, physical sense of being lost.

Along with the exhibition at the museum, two artists are also featured at the Satellite Gallery downtown. Mayer described Shigeyuki Kihara’s amazing video installation: “It’s an analogy between the tsunami in Samoa and colonialism showing that they both cause destruction.”

Coinciding with the Pacific Arts Association Symposium at MOA, this exhibition has a wide range of styles and shows the diversity of contemporary art from the Pacific Islands. One of the most memorable pieces is the giant styrofoam cube by Maori artist George Nuku in collaboration with Haida/Squamish artist Cory Douglas. With a mixture of Haida and Maori designs, the hollow cube has many intricate cut-outs that have been carved to mimic the traditional wooden pieces surrounding it in the MOA’s Great Hall.

Another large structure is the plexiglass sculpture by Nuku that fits right in against the glass wall of the museum amongst the wooden totem poles. There are also many paintings, including the colourful work of Pax Jakupa that is used on the promotional brochures. Some of the artists also used textiles or other materials in their work, notably Rosanna Raymond and her garments which were made in an on-site workshop, and Te Rongo Kirkwood’s ceremonial cloaks made of hundreds of fragments of coloured glass. Another impressive work is Cathy Kata’s Bilum, a woven sac made of recycled coffee sac fibre and decorated with candy wrappers, shells, and feathers.

Just outside the gift shop is a beautiful totem pole that was also created onsite: Clan Pole by Teddy Balangu was carved in the Great Hall out of a European Birch taken from the UBC grounds.

What makes this exhibition unique is the context of each piece. Placed amidst much older works of art, a dialogue is created, often with a very strong sense of belonging. With such diversity in styles and materials, Paradise Lost? provides a vision of the Pacific from the perspective of its contemporary artists, and it is clear from their work that there is no one true ‘paradise.’

Only SFU Students Know…

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September 2, 2013

Here’s a list of things that only us SFU students would understand. If you’re a first year student, don’t worry you’ll be in on these jokes soon enough!

-Early morning classes are less favorable to those in the afternoon at SFU

-Some professors aren’t enjoyed by everyone at SFU

-There are problems with public transportation at SFU

-Midterm exams are sometimes a pain if you have not studied sufficiently at SFU

-Staying up late working on assignments isn’t always enjoyable at SFU

-Men are different than women in many ways at SFU

-All problems with school and life are unique to SFU at SFU

-Homework sucks

The World’s End ties up trilogy

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September 2, 2013

Arriving as the third installment in the critical and cult “Cornetto trilogy” started by Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, The World’s End had a lot to live up to: its forebears served roles as genre parodies and social satires with equal aplomb. The series’s capstone is the least of the three in both those respects, it is every bit their equal, and a magnificent conclusion to what has proven the best trio of comedies since Jacques Tati’s Hulot cycle.

The World’s End tells of Gary King (co-writer Simon Pegg), who as a young ne’er-do-well took four friends down the Golden Mile, a crawl through 12 pubs and pints that they never finished. Two decades later Gary — now a middle-aged ne’er-do-well with the same fashion, same drunkard habits, and same tapes in his tape deck — wants to reunite his domesticated friends Oliver (Martin Freeman), Steven (Paddy Considine), Peter Page (Eddie Marsan), and former best friend Andy (Nick Frost), take them back to their hometown of Newton Haven, and finish the crawl once and for all.

This mostly plays as an aging-male dramedy. In fact, the zaniness that marked Shaun and Fuzz is largely gone from The World’s End, which calms down their hyper-active camerawork and editing. It’s a little surprising coming from director and co-writer Edgar Wright, whose Scott Pilgrim vs. the World seemed a logical apotheosis of his crackerjack style, but in very sudden twists, the town turns out to be infested with robot impostors, and The World’s End turns into the breakneck action movie we all expected.

Nobody has a better idea, so fuck it,” slurs Andy as he punches his way through a glass door.

Edgar Wright handles the action scenes with frantic, close-up camera movements, extending shots into loopy, delirious fistfights. Wright, in his second collaboration with Matrix cinematographer Bill Pope, puts every dollar of their $20 million budget on the screen in the way that Adam Sandler’s ugly-ass $100 mil comedies could only dream of.

And when the robots’ blue blood (“it’s more like ink,” observes the nebbish Peter), the cast — particularly Pegg’s inveterate wild child and Nick Frost’s embittered family man — breaks down from their dramedy manners into caricatures of themselves. They conclude that escape from the town is impossible and, true to Cornetto Trilogy form, conclude that they’re best off acting normal and doing what they were going to do anyway. “Nobody has a better idea, so fuck it,” slurs Andy as he punches his way through a glass door.

That satirical current has run through all three films — “You’re all zombies! You’re like an uppity cult! You’re a bunch of robots!” — and The World’s End brings it to its logical conclusion. Wright and Pegg’s script is literate, unconventional, and unrelentingly bleak, and yet somehow carries a light tone throughout. The whole trilogy is a sort of exercise in anti-character arcs, portraying a classist, complacent culture that is unmoved and unchanged by peril and tragedy, where nothing can change anyone’s daily habits. Not even an alien invasion.

Word on the Street: First Week

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September 2, 2013

Point/Counterpoint: The Compass Card

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September 2, 2013

The new Compass Card will take some getting used to. It will be launched into our transit system in late fall of this year and is aimed to be fully implemented by summer 2014. System changes such the the Compass Card can be difficult to grasp for us university students, because our U-Passes remove us from the average user’s experience.

TransLink is doing away with the paper transfers in favour of all fares being paid through a single card. They have installed fare gates at all skytrain stations and Compass Card readers on its buses.

Point: Compass is good
By: Tara Nykyforiak

Users have long complained about Vancouver’s primitive transit system, citing the successful systems of London, New York, and Paris. The Compass Card program is a response to these complaints, an overhaul that is long overdue.

Other major cities have fare gates in effect, whether as electronic gates themselves or as worker-operated booths such as those in New York and Montreal. They ensure transit users remain honest riders and actually pay to get on the train. The Compass system brings with it fare gates that will finally prevent riders in our city from getting on for free — a huge frustration under our current system.

Moreover, the Compass Card will change Vancouver from a paper-driven system (bus transfers, monthly passes, faresaver booklets, etc.) to being a more electronic one. This places users in a more participatory role, because card holders will be able to register for previously unavailable options. On their website, TransLink explains that Compass Cards will come with a “Balance Protection” feature in the event that a card is lost or stolen, and an “AutoLoad” feature for pass renewals and card top-ups.

On their website, TransLink also explains how Compass will help remove current stressors for riders: “Figuring out the fare you need to pay involves checking the time you make your trip, how many zones your route covers, how long it will take . . . Compass will do all of that for you automatically!”

Because the new fare gates will not accept paper transfers issued on buses, criticism has arisen that riders will have to pay a second time at the station. While this is a valid concern — TransLink spokesperson Derek Zabel states that an estimated 6,000 riders pay with cash daily — I feel that it’s a concern rooted in the time-old fear of change.

Adaptation is possible, and these users need only get used to the system changes and take in the information provided regarding the program. San Diego introduced the Compass Card in May 2009, and successfully eliminated all paper tickets and passes. Vancouver will be able to do the same, and it will be a change to the betterment of our transit system.

Counterpoint: Compass is bad
By: Alysha Seriani

Just because Vancouverites will “get used” to the Compass Card does not excuse TransLink’s consistently behind-the-times approach to public transit.

At first glance, the Compass Card seems to be the logical approach to emulate the transit of other cities. However, unlike cities like London, we do not have more than three million riders daily on 11 train lines. TransLink’s SkyTrains see about 405,000 riders per day on only three lines. Instead of looking at Vancouver’s unique public transit needs, it seems we are implementing a system we can’t afford, without a shred of innovation.

In terms of finances, the Compass Card system is illogical. In 2005, TransLink itself predicted that a fare gate system would cost more than $30 million per year to install and operate to reduce fare evasion by less than $3 million. Fast-forward to now where TransLink is spending more than $170 million to reduce annual fare evasion by $7 million. This means the Compass Card will pay itself off right around the time of my midlife crisis.

Also under this new system, the paper fares that cash-paying TransLink customers receive will be useless as soon as they reach a fare gate (as found at any SkyTrain, SeaBus or West Coast Express Station). This means they will have to buy another fare to transfer.

Simply put, the Compass Card system seems to have been designed by those who have never taken public transit in Vancouver. Perhaps I’m lacking in imagination, but I can’t see how “tapping out” is going to enter into the sardine-like entering and exiting of the 99 B-Line. There are too many people nearly being shoved off the bus to worry about waiting for everyone to tap out.

This is all considering that those without a monthly pass already loaded onto their card haven’t considered how easy it is to “tap in” at Hastings and Granville to board the 160 bus, then “tap out” when it stops one block later and instead of exiting the bus, sitting back down and riding it for three zones to Coquitlam Centre. Those who want to avoid paying for transit will find a way.

Although I agree TransLink needs to collect data about how its system is used, I don’t think implementing the Compass Card to do the work for them is the right approach. Bus drivers will still let people on without paying, because a safe ride home shouldn’t be something you can’t afford.

Clan finish outdoor track season in Championship style

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September 2, 2013