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Universal University

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Peak Web
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the peak univesal university

The gaps between SFU and Senegal are surprisingly small

By Leah Bjornson
Photos by Eleanor Qu

If when you think of Africa, the first image that comes into your head is a rag-clad orphan from a World Vision commercial, think again.

Before my trip to Senegal in West Africa last summer, I definitely had certain misconceptions that were echoed by my friends and family: “Leah, are you going to live in a hut?” “Leah, are you sure you’ll be protected from lions?”; and “Leah, what about Kony?”

As you can probably guess, I was neither attacked by lions nor kidnapped by Kony during my stay in Senegal, a country far away from those dangers. More dangerous by far was the lack of conventional utilities, which is not a factor in Canada. Nevertheless, I lived in relative comfort, and was joined by 11 fellow Canadian students and 12 Senegalese students who were there to collaborate on Uniterra’s International Seminar.

Every summer, Uniterra (a collaborative of World University Service of Canada and the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation) offers 12 Canadian students the opportunity to participate in a field project in a developing country. The participants, in collaboration with students from the host country, conduct research on development issues that support the work of one of Uniterra’s twelve partner organizations in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. During this time, the students take part in a cultural exchange while developing their skills as field researchers.

While a great portion of our time was spent doing research on three key issues — food security, youth employability, and the social and solidarity economy — what most influenced myself and the other Canadian participants were our experiences with the Senegalese students.

After living together for six weeks, it became very clear that despite certain cultural differences, we shared many things in common: we laughed at the same jokes, played the same games, and loved to explore Dakar’s diverse nightlife. Ultimately, we were just a group of happy, engaged university students.

But what does it mean to go to university in Senegal? As a second-year student, I feel like I have a fairly solid grasp on the SFU university experience. But despite the complaints I hear about how the AQ looks like a prison, or how the radio tower is like Sauron’s Dark Tower, SFU has a certain charm in which we take pride and call our own. On the surface, university in Senegal may resemble Canadian higher education, but there’s a myriad of differences that distinguish the systems in the two countries from each other.

Senegal and Canada
The Republic of Senegal, located on the westernmost tip of Africa, covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres and has an estimated population of about 13 million. To put this into perspective, the country could fit into British Columbia 4.8 times, whereas its population is three times that of BC. For more than five million people in Senegal, Wolof is their primary language. However, once a French colony, Senegal’s official language is French, which is mainly taught in school.

Students in Senegal have a “School Life Expectancy” of eight years, meaning that in the span between primary school and university, most people in Senegal only receive eight years of education.
Compare this to Canada’s school life expectancy, which is 17 years. This results in about 25 per cent of Canadians over the age of 25 holding university degrees; in Senegal, on the other hand, only 0.5 per cent of the 13 million population graduates from university (with another 6,000 enrolled in polytechnic and professional schools; however, graduation
rates are missing).

University Experience
Of course, the daily routine of a Canadian student differs by program, but
in order to earn an undergraduate arts degree at SFU—without co-op or other additional programs — students can graduate within four years, assuming they take a full-course load for two semesters of the year (usually from September to December and January to April). Universities in Senegal take on a similar two-term system, which runs from November to February and March to June.

Divergent is Senegal’s higher education system, which is organized
into three cycles: the Licence, which takes three years, is equivalent to an undergraduate; the Maitrise or master’s degree takes an additional two years to complete; and the Doctorat is completed in 3 years, but only after students study for and receive a Diplome d’Etudes Approfondies (DEA), which takes about a year.

For most typical SFU arts students, the school day begins anytime between 8:30 a.m. and 5:20 p.m. After rolling out of bed and either walking, bussing, or driving up to campus, we settle into our lectures of anywhere between 50 to
250 students. The rest of the day might be spent in tutorials (of 15–20 people),
in Mackenzie Cafe, or in the line outside of Renaissance, engaging in sports and other activities, or at work for those of us with part time jobs. Overall, students spend on average anywhere between eight and 16 hours per week in class and study as much or as little as they like.

In Senegal, students get up at seven in the morning, have breakfast, and leave for class by 7:45. Because personal cars are rare, students either walk or take a taxi to school. I’ve ridden in enough Senegalese cabs to decide that walking might be the safer course. Imagine screaming though a tunnel at 85km/h watching the road fly by through the hole in the floor while your cabbie tries to re-close the backseat, right door. Just try.

The students’ first class is held in one of the large amphitheaters, where 1,000 or more students sit in whatever space is available, even if that means in
the aisles or near the back doors. Unfortunately for latecomers, this huge room
makes hearing the lecturer extremely difficult if you’re seated near the back.

Thankfully, tutorials and labs facilitate the learning process, where only 50—60
students are in attendance. After an hour and forty-five minutes of lecture, students have a quick break before their next class. At noon, most have lunch
and rest until their last two classes of the day, which go from 2 p.m. until 6
p.m. In total, students spend anywhere between 30 and 48 hours per week in class and around 16 hours per week studying at home.

No arts student at SFU would wish for a schedule like this, and despite problems finding open classes by their enrollment date, most can avoid a ridiculous
schedule. So, why would a Senegalese student create such a timetable? The answer is they don’t. Not only are Senegalese students not allowed to create their own schedules, but also their professors, classes, and timetable are chosen by the administration. When asked if he had input in his course schedule, Ousmane Kone, a student at Universite Cheikh Anta DIOP de Dakar laughed, “J’aimerais bien mais malheureusement je n’ai pas cet honneur la. . . .” Meaning, he would have liked to, but simply never had the honor.

Another interesting complication found in all universities in Senegal concerns
exams. At SFU, exam time is a period of late-night studying, multiple coffee breaks, and intense cramming to ensure success in courses. However, failure in one course is just that: one course. In Senegal, the exams in June cover all the material you’ve learned since the beginning of that school year in November. If you don’t pass this exam, you get one more shot in October. However, if you are again unsuccessful and the course is important to your degree, you may have to spend the entirety of the next year retaking that one course before progressing to the next year in your program. Talk about pressure.

I’m not sure whether I would prefer to be a student in Senegal or a student in Canada. It’s true that flexibility seems to be lacking in Senegal’s system of
higher education. But considering that 52 per cent of SFU students have an average debt of 21k, a lack of flexibility may be a price you’re willing to pay for government-funded education.

Employment Opportunities
The typical SFU student is at school for one main purpose: to eventually get a
good job. Even still, 61 per cent of SFU students are employed while in school, and 26 per cent of these are working more than 20 hours per week. In Senegal, it is extremely rare for students to have part-time jobs. “No one has the time,” says Aminata Ba, another student at Universite Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar. “But I do a lot of work around the house on the weekend, when I’m not doing schoolwork.”

In a country where the unemployment rate is upwards of 48 per cent, and youth unemployment — youth being defined as anyone between the ages of 18 and 35 — can reach an astounding rate of 65 per cent, it is little wonder that students hope their degrees will lead to job opportunities. Unfortunately, finding a job is not always easy.

The students we spoke with cited a recurring problem, namely a lack of connection between their education and the skills required to get a job. Sound familiar? Another issue concerned the saturation of students studying for certain careers. Imagine if a hundred students were studying to be doctors, but only one job opening existed for new doctors in all of Dakar. The only solution I envision would resemble something out of the Hunger Games. In the end, too many students are studying to be in professional careers (such as doctors, lawyers, and businessmen) and are ignoring the openings in many diverse and interesting fields.

Conclusion
The realities of university in Senegal and Canada raise valuable questions of life after graduation, some of which apply to students in both countries. If a university degree is meant to be universal and students at SFU and in Senegal are in the same place when they graduate, where do the differences lie?

Is it that employment opportunities are better in BC? While our unemployment rate is drastically lower than that of Senegal, hovering at around 7.4 per cent, I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told that an arts education only needs to teach its students how to say: “Do you want fries with that?”

That being said, even if there are more jobs available, are our universities preparing us to actually do them? Co-op and other work placement programs at SFU are trying to bridge the gap between training and application (a rift that exists in both Canadian and Senegalese higher education), but still have a hard road ahead. The commonality of such problems can be surprising, but lends hope to the idea that if a solution is found in one country, perhaps it can be applied to others.

It’s amazing what we can learn about each other by stepping outside of our
boundaries and immersing ourselves in a different world. Although we might think that we share nothing in common with youth in Africa, in reality we’re all in the same place as university students trying to find place in a struggling economy, and we’re all faced with the same pressures to succeed. The struggle now is to overcome any “World Vision” stereotypes and collaborate to make higher education work better for the students it serves.

LAST WORD: 2020 Vision – The International Olympic Committee's hazy recommendation to remove wrestling

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Peak Web
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WEB-womens wrestling-mark burnham

By Clay J. Gray
Photos by Mark Burnham

The morning of Feb. 12 greeted the world’s wrestling community with a firestorm of texts, tweets, posts, blogs, and press releases: the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had announced that they were to remove wrestling from the 2020 Olympic program.

I was still in utter disbelief, yet sure enough, the IOC’s official press release confirmed their recommendation that wrestling be removed from the list of core sports for the 2020 Games.

How could the IOC exclude wrestling, a sport that had been present in the ancient games? How could they oust a sport that has been in every modern Olympics since the third modern Olympic games in 1904? How could they cast aside a sport that was represented by 71 countries in the 2012 games?

Still, there is a glimmer of hope. Wrestling had been demoted to a shortlisted sport, a list also comprised of baseball/softball, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, wakeboarding and Wushu. All eight shortlisted sports will have the opportunity to make a presentation for their inclusion in the 2020 games. The catch: the presentation is to the IOC’s executive board, the same board that just recommended wrestling’s removal.

I do not intend to belittle the accomplishments of any athlete or the amount of work required to make it to the elite levels in any sport, but
much of my incredulity is targeted at those that remained on the list of core sports. Sports like equestrian, modern pentathlon, and sailing are elitist and exclusive to people of means, with each sport calling for expensive equipment and facilities; wrestling, according to the official Olympic website, requires only wrestling boots and a singlet.

The more I read of its history, the less I understood the IOC’s decision. Within the Olympic Games there is a project known as the “Olympic Spirit.” According to Juan Antonio Samaranch, a board member for the IOC, this project intends to “give more people a chance to experience the Olympic Games.” If the Olympic Spirit project is committed to friendship, honor, peace, fair play, and glory how could the IOC recommend removing a sport brings together over 180 nations? The internet was soon flooded with opinions as to why the IOC would have made such a recommendation.

Some people claimed it was political power play by western nations to alienate Middle Eastern nations; others pointed to a corrupt IOC, citing the blatant conflict of interest of Samaranch (also the first vice president of the Union International de Pentathlon Moderne) in voting to keep the modern pentathlon instead of wrestling.

According to reports from the IOC and The Associated Press, it was the corruption and sexism present in the Federation Internationale des Luttes Associees (FILA) — the international governing body for wrestling — that really motivated the IOC’s decision. The IOC pointed to the absence of athletes on FILA’s decision-making bodies, a nonexistent women’s commission, and a few other omissions from FILA’s policies and practices.

Although these issues are legitimate concerns and should be rectified to ensure wrestling moves forward in the spirit of inclusion and fair play, they simply do not justify the outright removal of wrestling from the Olympics. Furthermore, the IOC citing corruption and ineptitude in FILA’s board is nothing more than a fallacy of composition; it is implied that since the FILA executive board and its policies show signs of corruption and sexism, then the sport as a whole must also be corrupt and sexist.

Furthermore, the IOC listed low interest, low attendance, and low ratings as further justification for giving wrestling the boot. Yet wrestling is present in 180 countries and has millions of active athletes around the world. Wrestling also sold 113,851 of 116,854 available tickets in London and had an average of 23 million viewers. Meanwhile, the Modern Pentathlon remains a core sport while being present in only 108 countries, and had an average viewership of 12.5 million — which wrestling almost doubled.

Even though wrestling is for the majority an old boys club, women’s wrestling may prove to be its most crucial partner for success. Twenty years after the creation of the first committee for women’s wrestling, it had grown to an Olympic sport — though some people still see this as a work in progress, pointing to the unequal distribution of medals amongst the sexes, and bemoaning the fact that women only have four events to the 14 events for men. Olympic wrestling follows two styles: freestyle and Greco-Roman. For each style, male wrestlers are allotted seven weight classes ranging from 55 to 120 kilograms. Sadly, there is currently no female Greco- Roman wrestling to help balance this lopsided equation, giving FILA a small justification for the unequal medal count.

However, the decision by FILA to include only four women’s weight classes — instead of the customary seven — in their Olympic Program pins the organization flat on its back. The only way for FILA to combat these allegations of sexism is to include all seven-weight classes that exist at every other women’s wrestling tournament.

Inside of the first week after the IOC’s fateful press release the president of FILA, Mr. Raphael Martinetti, had tendered his resignation. Olympic preservation committees had been formed and the battle lines had been drawn: wrestling had one last chance to remain in the Olympics.

In May of this year, the IOC executive board will reconvene in St. Petersburg, Russia to receive presentations from the eight shortlisted sports for the 2020 Olympic Games. The IOC will then review the presentation and deliver their final decision at their 125th session in Beuno Aires, Argentina on Sept. 10.

Wrestling is an ancient sport, an institution that unites men and women from 180 countries around the world. It doesn’t cost much to join so whether you grow up on a farm in Saskatchewan or in Khuzestan Province of Iran, you have a relatively fair chance to access a wrestling program.

If the IOC can’t see that wrestling belongs in the Olympics, then the executive board should all have their eyesight tested.

The great porn experiment

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Peak Web
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UBC lecturer contests the anti-pornography myth

By Justin Fleming

VANCOUVER (CUP) — For anyone who has seen Gary Wilson’s TEDx talk “The Great Porn Experiment” or his YouTube video series “Your Brain On Porn” — or even simply wandered the halls of the subreddit r/NoFap—masturbation may seem like a recipe for a libido-sapping descent into erectile dysfunction and mental illness.

The stigmas around masturbation are many, and pornography is obviously seen as a vehicle or gateway for masturbation. Gary Wilson claims in his videos that Internet pornography is a far more potent force than its predecessor, the pornographic magazine, and is having devastating effects on many areas of young people’s lives.

In his TEDx talk, Wilson stated that symptoms of a porn addiction “mimic” ADHD, social anxiety, depression, performance anxiety, OCD and a host of other
mental disorders. “Guys never realize they can overcome these symptoms simply
by changing their behaviour,” said Wilson.

He goes on to say that healthcare professionals should be screening for porn addictions first, rather than treating patients showing signs of mental disorders.

But Jason Winters, a sessional lecturer on human sexuality in the department of psychology at UBC, finds Wilson’s claims troubling and unethical.

“There is no research showing that Internet pornography causes mental disorders — none,” Winters wrote in his class blog. “Psychological problems
and mental disorders can lead to problematic porn use as a means to cope and self-medicate. “Wilson is simply presenting his ideology as fact,” wrote Winters, “and in this case, it’s dangerous.”

Wilson claims porn can cause desensitization through brain rewiring and can result in men being unable to achieve and maintain erections with a partner. Anyone who has ever been stricken with an unresponsive member in a time of need will tell you that this is can be a confusing, frustrating and emasculating experience.

But Winters offers a few alternate explanations: A) “The more orgasms you’re
having, or the longer you’re stimulated before one, the longer it will take you to fully sexually recharged. If you’re masturbating to porn for an hour and your partner wants to have sex hours later, you are not going to respond as strongly.”

B) “A man whose main sexual partner is always or mostly himself is likely to feel anxiety when with a real partner. Anxiety is a boner-kill.”

C) “Some men will grip themselves in a certain way when they masturbate. When they’re with a real partner, the sensation can be different or not as intense. This can lead to erectile dysfunction or delayed ejaculation.” Attempting to eradicate porn only drives it underground, Winters said.

“The best thing that can happen to porn is to make it mainstream,” said Winters. “Then we can criticize it, evaluate it, and it becomes more legitimate . . . far better than it hiding in the shadows. “They’re extrapolating on poorly done studies and kind of making shit up; it’s driving me crazy.”

Peak Week – Feb. 25, 2013

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Peak Web
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Eats

Sean Heather, owner of such Vancouver food establishments as Judas Goat, the Salty Tongue, and Bitter, has recently added Ranier Provisions to his list of successes. Newly opened, Ranier is located on the historic and highly-coveted corner of Carrall and Cordova. Ranier Provision’s main purpose is in gathering all the things that Heather’s other locations do best and putting them in a retail format. Pop in for some coffee from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, ice cream from Ernest Ice Cream, or locally raised sausages from Moccia Urbani.

Beats

Prepare yourself for the Squamish Valley Music Festival by attending the launch at the Commodore, featuring Yukon Blonde and Diamond Rings. On March 1, organizers will announce the upcoming festival’s performers with a concert and party. If you’re a festival junkie, this is a good chance to get an early taste of what’s to come this spring and summer season.

Theats

Spaghetti Unchained! Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci, and the Splendours of the Spaghetti Western is coming to The Cinematheque. Beginning on March 1 and running throughout the month, The Cinematheque will be offering a steaming platefull of Spaghetti Westerns, including A Fistful of Dollars, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and Django. If you’ve never laid eyes on a Spaghetti Western before, you should definitely take the opportunity to check one of these out. Expect revenge-plots and operatic dramatics.

Elites
The Vancouver Public Library will be hosting a selfpublishing fair on March 3. If you’ve always been interested in having one of your manuscripts published, but were always too nervous to send it in to a publisher, you should consider doing it yourself. The day will consist of panel discussions and presentations
on the business of book publishing, and will include workshops on editing skills, how to market yourself, and the business aspects of selfpublishing. There will also be printing, binding, cover design, software, and book production vendors on site.

Treats
If you’re one of those people that enjoy thrift shopping, you’ll be happy to know that Value Village is having a 50 per cent off sale on Feb. 25. This is a great chance to go and spend hours sorting through worn blouses and wool coats and find those one-of-a-kind gems that can only be found at second-hand stores. Running all day, the sale is the perfect opportunity to prepare for the coming of spring. Donate those things gathering dust in your closet, and trade them in for hand-painted flower pots or a straw sun hat.

Pidgin pleases taste buds

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Peak Web
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the peak pidgin

Newly opened on the DTES, Pidgin is worth the visit

By Ljudmila Petrovic
Photos by Patrick Lui / TTLui Photography

Pidgin just opened up on 350 Carrall St. amidst anti-gentrification protests. It is the latest in a string of trendier restaurants and bars that are opening up on the edges of the DTES; Pidgin is especially close to the heart of things, sitting directly across from the infamous Pigeon Park. Because I am a passionate activist for the DTES, I must first clear up that I am strongly opposed to the gentrification that is taking over the area. My moral conflict aside, I cannot rest until I say: go to Pidgin. Just do it.

Everything about Pidgin is done with both quality and simplicity; it is served impeccably without being pretentious. The design of the restaurant is fresh and classy, but the atmosphere is comfortable — perfect for after-work drinks and snacks. I highly recommend sitting at the bar, because all the bartenders and servers are extremely knowledgeable and I guarantee you will become fast friends (though I may be a little too social for my own good).

Their cocktail list is immaculate: the taste is the only thing that beats the aesthetics of the drink. My personal favorites were the Mary Ellen Smith (gin, carbonated sake, lime, and cucumber juice) and the Savage Butcher (tequila, falernum, and chili water). The latter appealed to me because you really feel the burn, but if you’re more inclined to a sweeter cocktail, go for the Earl of Granville (tequila, cardamom cachaca, and egg white) or the Deighton (scotch, raspberry cranberry pepper, port, and rosemary).

The drinks tend to be in the $11–13 range, with the priciest being the Van Horne (bourbon, honey ginger, and carbonated jasmine tea) — recommended by our bartender — at $13.50. A must-have is their soju — a distilled Korean rice liquor that resembles a sweet vodka — that’s brewed in Langley. It’s surprisingly refreshing and palate-cleansing.

In terms of the food, Chef Makoto Ono’s menu is perfect. We started with the creamy sea urchin topped with cauliflower mousse, ponzu jalapeno salsa,
and dashi ($11). I thought that was good, but then we were served the cured steelhead with Asian pear, ginger, and sesame ($19). If you like sashimi, the latter takes it to the next level. Do not miss the foie gras on rice, served with chestnuts, daikon, and an unagi glaze ($20).

It comes with a dab of horseradish on the side, is grown locally and made to order, and it will blow your mind if you’re a fan of horseradish. A heads-up: it’s super spicy, in the best way possible.

For vegetarians out there, there are still some delicious options. Skeptically, I only tried one (the mushrooms with sugar snap peas, egg, and soy yuzu brown butter), and I didn’t regret a single bite. The bartender told us to pay attention to the texture as we ate; he was absolutely spot-on.

The crowning moment for my taste buds was the beef tongue and cheek, topped with broccoli pistou and mustard ($22). If you’re going to get any dish, it’s this one. As my new best friend at the bar worded it: “If it had a bone, it would be falling off of it.” Again, he has yet to be mistaken.

The concept behind Pidgin is simple elegance, and a fusion between Asian tastes and French plating. You will not regret a visit here: the food, cocktails, and atmosphere all collide to make a pleasant outing.

Victoria's first-ever youth poet laureate

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Peak Web
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Law hopes to inspire youth through poetry

By Jennifer Boychuck

VICTORIA (CUP) — Whether or not she expected it, Aysia Law is Victoria’s first-ever youth poet laureate, as well as the first in Canada. “[It’s] terrifying, but it’s also a pretty big honour,” says Law, a second-year UVic Creative Writing student.

Law, who is already an active member of Victoria’s spokenword community, was selected from 32 applicants to serve as an ambassador for Victoria’s youth. The criteria Law was judged on included leadership, experience, innovative project ideas and, of course, the quality of her poetry. Her task is to complete projects that will engage her peers through poetry. She will also perform at city council and City of Victoria Youth Council meetings. “I’m excited to actually start working on the ideas we have,”
says Law. “There are two big ideas that I’d really like see happen — I
can’t speak too much about the first, but for the second project, I’m really hoping we can work on a diversity slam.”

Poetry slams are competitions in which poets perform their original work. Law hopes to make the diversity slam a regular event. “I’m hoping it won’t be a onetime thing, but that it can be ongoing. I want to bring in lots of
different marginalized voices — and not just youth, but especially youth to come and speak about what they see and what they think our community needs,” says Law. Throughout her life, poetry has carried different meanings for Law.

“If you’d asked me five years ago, I would’ve told you that poetry was everything to me. Now, thanks to school, poetry is a bit more businesslike. I’m trying to rediscover it . . . through this position,” says Law. “In high school, it was pretty much what kept me alive.” Then, in 2009, her father passed away.

“I stopped writing, and I don’t really know why, because often writing is what helps people in emotional situations — but I just stopped,” says Law. “Then, when I was attending Douglas College in 2010, I decided to take an introduction to poetry class, and it got me writing again. It reinitiated
everything. So now I’m still trying to figure out what I can do with [poetry] and what my limits are within it.”

Law says she applied for the youth poet laureate position on a whim and didn’t expect to be chosen.

“I guess the part of me that applied was sort of half hoping that it would happen, but part of me was a lot more comfortable with thinking that I just wouldn’t get it,” she says. One of Law’s biggest challenges will be to address and reverse some of the stereotypes attached to poetry.

“I think, at least when I was in high school, to youth, poetry was this boring, stuffy thing that you did in English class — but you didn’t want to be there and it just wasn’t fun. I’m hoping that, by being able to involve youth in poetry and spoken word performance poetry, maybe I can change their minds about that — that maybe they’ll realize poetry is actually fun and urban and cool and hip — all of these things that they don’t think it is.”

In her own poetry, Law strives to entertain and “get a message out.” She has found it particularly rewarding to work with Carla Funk, a poet and sessional instructor in UVic’s Writing Department.

“[Funk] is an amazing poet and a really great professor. She makes poetry fun and interesting and everything that I want to make it for high school
students. You can tell she loves [poetry] so much that she just wants to share it with everyone, and so seeing that sort of re-inspired me,” says Law. Above all else, Law sees poetry as a vehicle for change.

“Youth are the next people in line, you know? And if we can open their minds now and teach them how to communicate with each other — and I think poetry is a really good way to do that — then we’ll have a generation of more open-minded and open-hearted people,” says Law. “If you have a message and an audience who is willing to listen to you, then you’re more likely to change people with your words.”

My Bloody Valentine returns

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Peak Web
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the peak my bloody valentine

Highly anticipated m b v suggested there’s more to come

By Max Hill

m b v, My Bloody Valentine’s first full-length release in 22 years, might never escape the gargantuan shadow cast by its enduring, influential predecessor, Loveless. Naturally, it’s impossible to review the former without mentioning the latter: countless die-hard shoegazers, PBR drinkers and record store junkies have spent decades waxing poetic over the seemingly distant possibility of Kevin Shields and company releasing an album that could match the effortless brilliance of the band’s 1991 magnum opus.

Finally, that day has come, and although m b v doesn’t quite live up to the spectacular heights of Loveless, it is a terrific record, one that pays its respects to the bare bones of the band’s previous catalogue
while pushing the boundaries of their sound into new, uncharted territory.

The album opens with “She Found Now”, a hazy makeout-mixtape ballad that coos softly from behind a curtain of waxy, nostalgic guitars. The band’s sound is immediately recognizable; Shields trusts that m b v already has its audience, and he doesn’t waste a second, immersing listeners in the dreamy soundscapes My Bloody Valentine are so known and loved for. “Only Tomorrow” and “Who Sees You” sound like Loveless tracks from the cutting room floor in the best possible sense, and the warm familiarity of co- vocalist Bilinda Butcher’s whispered alto should comfort fans weary that the band might have lost the ethereal quality which has kept their catalogue in constant rotation.

“Is This and Yes” and “If I Am” display the band’s forays into new ground: the former being an atmospheric mood piece heavily inspired by ambient and electronica, and the latter groovy and full of misplaced longing and lust. “New You”, the closest thing on the album to a potential single, reminds us of Shields’ ability to weave an intoxicating melody through a patchwork of blurred synths.

The album’s standout track, “In Another Way,” is unlike anything My Bloody Valentine has ever done: rather than openended and sprawling, the track is heavy, energetic and contained. This sound is further explored in “Nothing Is,” which is more like a military march than a pop song.

“Wonder 2”, the album’s closer, collapses in on itself in a remarkably messy, self-destructive fashion, as Shield’s experimental tendencies lead to a darker and rawer sound than any track found on 1989’s Isn’t Anything.

m b v’s gradual musical slope from the warmly familiar to the breathtakingly new showcase a band remarkably unfazed by the unbelievable hype surrounding their often-promised but rarely-believed reunion. Shields manages to both satisfy old fans and court new ones, all while reminding the musically inclined why we fell for him in the first place. While m b v only occasionally reaches the heights at which 1991’s Loveless soars unabashedly, it still feels worth the wait, not only because it proves that My Bloody Valentine are still capable of making beautiful,
meaningful art, but also because it suggests that they’re likely to make even more, and in ways we have yet to see.

SFU splits road games

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Peak Web
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WEB-lacrosse-Rylee Spivak

SFU lacrosse bounces back with win, after close loss on the road

By Bryan Scott
Photos by Rylee Spivak

The 22nd-ranked Simon Fraser’s men’s lacrosse team hit the road last week to battle their Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League rivals, the seventh-ranked University of Oregon Ducks, and then traveled further south to face the 25th-ranked Chico State Wildcats.

SFU and Oregon have been bitter rivals for many years. In fact, in the 16 PNCLL championships that have happened since 1997, SFU has won eight and UO has won seven. Needless to say, this game was a barn-burner.

Despite a slow, nervous start for both teams, six goals were scored in the opening frame. Oregon struck first when attackman Matt Johnson buried the ball past SFU goaltender Darren Zwack. Luckily, SFU’s Andrew Branting scored to tie the game with an outside rip shortly after.

After Oregon scored to take the lead, 2–1, Johnson scored his second of the game to double the Duck’s lead. SFU attackman Colton Dow cut the lead to one when he dunked a pass from Sam Clare on the crease. But before the quarter had run out, Johnson completed his hat-trick, and the Clan trailed 4–2.

The second quarter pace was slower than the first. Zwack managed to keep all but two balls out of the net, but Clare was the only one to score for SFU, and they hit the locker rooms down by three. SFU flew out of the locker room with a purpose, they looked more together and had a calm approach to their task. Dow got them on the board early, only to have Oregon respond with one of their own, keeping the lead at three, 7–4.

They didn’t give up, and were rewarded with back-to-back goals. First, Branting scored his second of the game, and then Brendan Farell scored to cut the lead to just one, meaning that SFU trailed by only one heading into the final 15 minutes of the game.

Unfortunately, the Ducks found the back of the net first in the fourth quarter, restoring the two goal lead.

The hostility picked up when Ward Spencer took a pass from Eric Ransom, and made no mistake putting it past the Oregon goalie. The Ducks answered right back once again, but the Clan kept their heads up and refocused on the next draw. Oregon took an undisciplined flag, which allowed Ransom to take a feed from Spencer and launch a rocket through the goalie’s legs.

SFU won the next face-off and took over what would be the last possession of the game. However, the Duck’s defense was too stingy that night, and the Clan lost their first game of the season, 9–8. SFU needed to be more efficient with their shots, as they slung 48 shots towards the net, including a 31–12 advantage in the second half. Mark Hilker and Riley Wanzer held down the loose ball category for SFU picking up seven each. Next, the Clan headed to try and tame the Wildcats in front of their home fans. Once again, SFU allowed their opposition to score the first goal of the game. Dow tied the game before the end of the first quarter, and assisted on Ransom’s second quarter goal to give the Clan a 2–1 lead.

After Chico State tied the game at two, Dow made a great pass to Travis Hayes who buried it for another Clan lead. They held that lead until the buzzer sounded to end the first half.

The see-saw battle continued into the second half. The Wildcats tied the game at three, but SFU reclaimed the lead on Lyndon Knuttila’s first collegiate goal, which was assisted by Hayes. After Chico State tied the game for the third time, Clare took a pass from Branting and rifled a shot past the goaltender. His goal ended up being the winning one as the Clan defensive unit shut the door in the final quarter.

SFU added three more goals in the fourth to take their third win in seven days, 8–4 over the Wildcats. Zwack made nine saves in the effort, and was clutch when he needed to be. Dow and Clare led the team with three points each. With only four goals against, it ties the all-time record against ranked opponents, which was set last year against Illinois.

SFU’s head coach Brent Hoskins was satisfied with the road win. “This trip built a lot of character for us early in our season,” commented Hoskins after the game, “so it was important to grind one out versus Chico State.” He was impressed by his team’s ability to stick with it until the final buzzer. “Ultimately this was a great learning experience, and we felt like we grew a lot as a team over the course of tonight’s game,” he finished.
The Clan are 3–1 on the year, but have yet to play any opponent from their PNCLL north division.

SFU topples two GNAC rivals

By
Peak Web
-
0

SFU maintains second place with two conference wins

By Bryan Scott

After an up-and-down week, SFU’s women’s basketball team was ready to get back to a bit of roll as the season heads down to the wire.

They had two important conference games. First on the road against the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets, then they headed home to face the Central Washington University Wildcats. MSUB was not ready for the Clan to start the game and allowed SFU to take a 17–9 lead over the first 10 minutes. The Yellowjackets responded over the remainder of the half, but SFU still had a six-point lead at halftime. Once again, SFU dominated the first minutes of the half.

They opened up an 18-point lead, with help from a 17–5 run. The Yellowjackets tried to get back in the game, but it was too much to overcome, SFU took the game 61–55.

Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe was a dominating force, she scored 21 points and snagged
21 rebounds. Her double-double total for the season is putting Tim Hortons to shame. Erin Chambers knocked down 21 points of her own in the win. SFU started out their game against the Wildcats impressively, not allowing them to score
a point for almost five minutes. After falling down by nine points, CWU picked up their game a bit, and managed to cut the lead to only five by halftime, 31–26. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, SFU never gave up the lead.

The Clan kept up with them, despite being outscored 28–24 in the paint and 17–4 off the bench in the second half. In the end, SFU enjoyed a seven-point victory, 67–60.

Raincock-Ekunwe fell three assists short of a triple-double but provided her usual doubledouble with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Kristina Collins chipped
in 16 points and six assists, and Chelsea Reist had 15 points. These two important wins give the Clan some breathing room in the standings, as they now have two more conference wins than third place Northwest Nazarene. The latest win was also head coach Bruce Langford’s 299th collegiate win, bringing him very close to reaching a great milestone in his career.

Clan drop two more

By
Peak Web
-
0

SFU continue to slump as season end fast approaches

By Bryan Scott

As basketball season is winding down, SFU’s men’s basketball team finished off their home schedule, and then shipped off to Alaska for a pair of games last week.

The first game of the week was also the final home game for the Clan. In honour of this, they celebrated senior players: Anto Olah, Matt Raivio and Tallon Milne before they took the court against the Saint Martin’s Saints. It took a few possessions from both teams to warm up and get the ball moving. After the Clan tied the game at a bucket apiece, SMU decided to go a bit of a run. They scored the next six points on their way to an eventual 10 point lead seven minutes into the game.

SFU was getting good opportunities around the rim but they had trouble finishing the play and getting the points. They were outscored 22–14 in the paint in the first half, and trailed 41–30 when the halftime buzzer sounded.

The Clan managed to cut the difference to eight over the first four minutes of the second half, but that is as close as they got. SFU was much better in the paint in the second half, and out-rebounded SMU, but it was the Saints who kept putting points on the board. The game ended 80–60 for SMU.

Olah did all he could in his final career home game scoring 19 points and contributed seven rebounds. Raivio was also solid, knocking down 10 points. Olah reflected on his time at school in a press release after the game, “I love it at SFU.”

The Clan headed north for their next battle, taking on the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves in Anchorage. They started the game with an 11–5 run, before the Seawolves eventually tied it at 13 a few minutes later.

AAU outplayed the Clan to finish the half with help from a 12–3 run to give them a 32–19 lead with just over five minutes to play in the first half. SFU could not gain enough traction and were behind 44–26 heading into the locker rooms, and left themselves a high mountain to climb in the second half if they wanted to get the win.

SFU worked hard in the second half but could only make up eight points on the Seawolves by the end of the game. At one point, they closed the gap to nine thanks to a 20–10 run, but it was not enough. Olah led the team once again with 20 points.

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024