SFU lacrosse back on the field

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February 17, 2013

SFU loses twice with season winding down

By Bryan Scott

The Simon Fraser men’s basketball team were in tough last week but played two beatable teams who both have losing records on the year. They battled hard in their first game losing a close game to the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders. The second game was a forgettable one against the Western Oregon Wolves, who chewed up the Clan.

SFU kept things close for most of the first half of the game versus NNU, but things slowly fell apart after the 13-minute mark of the half. The Clan led 24–23 when everything came unglued, NNU went on a 20–2 run to end the half, and trailed 43–26. Anto Olah chipped in nine points for SFU in the first.

Like they so often do, SFU waited until late in the game to mount a comeback. With time running out, Dillon Hamilton nailed a shot from beyond the arc to bring the Crusader lead to only two. That is as close as they would get, losing the game 81–75. Olah finished the game with 20 points and four rebounds to lead SFU.

After the disappointing loss, SFU returned home to start their final home stand of the season. Despite the fact they have no postseason hopes; finishing the season on a winning note is important for next years confidence.

The Clan will be chalking this one up in the experience column as they were absolutely owned by the WOU Wolves. This game wasn’t even close from the get-go as the Wolves dominated every aspect of the court. In the first half alone, WOU outscored SFU 18–4 in the paint, were 10–1 on second chance points, and 16–0 off the bench. This led to a 23 point lead for Western Oregon at halftime.

The second half was much of the same; SFU could not hold a candle to WOU. The Clan were outscored 43–31 in the second half, and lost the game 89–54. They had one last game to end on a winning note which took place last Saturday. Check the results at athletics.sfu.ca.

SFU has roller coaster week

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February 17, 2013

Clan women’s basketball team sinks Vikings, can’t cage Falcons

By Bryan Scott

The Simon Fraser women’s basketball team was in action twice over the reading break, playing the first place Western Washington University Vikings, and the Seattle Pacific University Falcons.

The game between the Clan and Vikings had been highly anticipated since both teams are at the top of the league. SFU has not beaten WWU in any conference games since 2010. The first half was tight as expected. Both teams had something to prove, especially the Clan.

Unfortunately, it was the Vikings who found their footing first and took a small lead to start the game. SFU battled back to tie the game at five, but then found themselves behind once again.

The Vikings went on a 12–6 run over the next five minutes to take the lead by six points just over halfway into the first half. The Clan were still trailing with 5:43 left in the first, when they decided to go on a run of their own, and closed out the half with a three point, 35–32 lead. SFU exploded out of the locker rooms determined to keep their lead. They did more than that — pushing their lead to 18 points by the 10 minute mark. Erin Chambers had 11 points in the half to help the Clan demolish, WWU 74–59. Katie Lowen led the Clan with 17 points and four rebounds, but there were four other SFU athletes in the double-digits for scoring.

For their efforts, the Clan became the top-rated team in the West Region moving up to number eight on the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll rankings. They are ranked one ahead of the Vikings who are in ninth. They were also named the GNAC team of the week for ending the
Vikings 11-game win streak. Next, the Clan traveled down to Seattle, Washington to face another conference rival, the SPU Falcons. Both teams worked hard in the paint, and knocked down key shots in the first half. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe was scored half of SFU’s points in the half, scoring 17 of their 34 in the first, but the game was tied at halftime.

Despite having an excellent second half against the Vikings, the Falcons were too much for the Clan. Raincock-Ekunwe was relatively silent in the remainder of the game but still finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds for yet another double-double on the season.

Head coach Bruce Langford credited SPU in the loss, “We faced a very determined team who competed very hard and shot the ball extremely well tonight,” he said in a press release. After that the Clan hit the road to Montana, to face the Yellowjackets of Montana Billings State.

SFU comes out on top

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February 17, 2013

Men’s hockey team wins once on the road, and once at home

By Andrew Jow
Photos by Vaikunthe Banerjee

For the second straight weekend, the Simon Fraser University men’s hockey team played back-to-back games. This weekend’s schedule pitted them against the Thompson River University Wolfpack and the Eastern Washington University Eagles.

The first game against the Wolfpack was an absolute thriller. SFU raced out to a quick 3–0 lead.
Nick Sandor, Christopher Hoe, and Jono Ceci all netted a goal within the first nine minutes of the period.

TRU clawed its way back into the game when Duncan Schultz took advantage of a turnover in the
SFU zone and roofed it. The tally was a shorthanded goal, which was a running theme throughout the rest of the game. In the last minute of the first period, TRU brought the SFU’s lead to one as Joshua MacDonald tapped in the puck into the open net on a 2-on-0 opportunity.

SFU dominated the first 10 minutes of the second period by flying through the neutral zone and utilizing the dump and chase effectively. Their efforts paid off when Tony Oak’s sharp angle shot from the left boards left the mesh rippling. Thompson River scored their second short-handed goal minutes after Oak’s marker. Curtis Tolleno picked SFU defenseman Taylor Mah’s pocket, broke in all alone, and roofed it on Graham Gordon. Brenden Silvester restored SFU’s two-goal lead by battling through a mad scramble in front of the Wolfpack’s goal and poking the puck home.

As the third period got underway, TRU began its comeback by scoring yet another short-handed goal. This time it was Tyler Jackson who benefited from an SFU turnover, and he made no mistake. TRU began to apply further pressure, eventually tying the game at five, thanks to a Alessio Tomassetti’s rocket.

TRU was hardly finished celebrating Tomassetti’s equalizer when Sandor took the puck off the face-off and buried the go-ahead goal. Sandor’s effort was also short lived because 42 seconds later, TRU Tyler Jackson’s wrist shot from the point tied things up once again.

Three goals were scored in one minute of play, exemplifying the hectic nature of the whole game. When the buzzer sounded to mark the end of regulation the game was tied 6 –6, which meant the teams headed into sudden death overtime.

The five-minute period featured odd-man chances for both teams, but it solved nothing, so the game went into the shootout to decide the victor. Since each goalie had surrendered six goals in regulation, common sense would dictate the shootout would end quickly, but SFU’s Gordon and TRU’s Shane Mainprize shut their respective doors, keeping the skills contest scoreless after eight rounds. SFU’s Kale Wild brought this thriller of a game to an end, scoring the only goal in the shootout to give SFU the 7–6 victory.

After the frenetic game Friday night, SFU headed home to Bill Copeland Arena to face the Eastern Washington Eagles on Saturday. Having played their four previous games on the road, a home game for Simon Fraser was a welcome change.

SFU took the lead very early thanks to Trevor Milner. All he had to do was tap the puck into the wide-open cage after great puck movement by defensemen Hoe and Mah. The deficit did not deter the visitors one bit as they began to pepper Gordon with shots, but he was up to the task. With a minute left in the opening period, Milner buried his second goal by putting pressure on the EWU defense, which led to a turnover that he capitalized on. It was a spirited opening 20 minutes with great end-to-end action.

The quick pace continued in the second period. EWU had some good chances to cut into the SFU lead, but Gordon turned them all away. He made a sprawling pad save to stymie an Eagle’s 2-on-1 and turned away a late breakaway attempt. SFU’s special teams came up big in the second, not allowing EWU to reach the score sheet on two straight powerplay opportunities.
Taylor Piller extended SFU’s lead to 3–0 with 2:32 to go in the frame by burying a great pass from Colton Graf.

After the Eagles’ Zach Maxwell scored on an incredible coast-tocoast rush to start the third, SFU dominated the period. They were by far the faster team, and this speed was on display for their final two goals. Mah sniped a shot from the left sidewall after a quick retrieval of the puck in the offensive zone. Then, Graf roofed it top shelf after Ceci out hustled his man to feed him. The two goals gave SFU a 5–1 lead, ending the game and sending the fans home happy.

Andrea Abrams: athlete in action

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February 17, 2013

Abrams hurdles life’s obstacles through her faith and does well on the track

By Clay J. Gray
Photos by Mark Burnham

Andrea Abrams is a fifth-year senior at SFU. She’s from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and like many children she grew up playing soccer and eating orange slices. As Andrea got older the number of sports she played multiplied to just about everything her community had to offer. Unlike many athletes, Abrams didn’t find her event until she was well into high school.

In the 10th grade while Andrea was at a track meet, her coach approached her during her warm-up to tell her what her list of events would be for the day. Until then, Andrea had typically run the 100-meter, 200-meter, and long jump but on that fateful day her coach decided to also enter her into the 100-meter hurdles. Andrea said, “I had never practiced hurdling, I was scared. I had seen people fall before and I didn’t want that to be me.” To Andrea’s delight she didn’t hit a single hurdle during her first race.

When Andrea was deciding where to attend university her biggest decision was whether to stay in Canada or go to the United States; she wanted to compete in the larger American leagues, but to remain in Canada. When asked about how she made her way to SFU Andrea said, “SFU didn’t contact me. I called them and emailed them. I thought SFU was a perfect fit, it was a Canadian School with good academics and it competed in the States.”

Andrea’s progress ion through university placed a few obstacles in her path other than the hurdles on the track. Andrea considers the biggest challenges to her track success to be herself; as with a lot of athletes, she is a perfectionist. For Abrams the desire to obtain perfection comes with incredible pressure that sometimes manifests in excessive self-criticisms about relatively small details.

When faced with the difficulties that come with being a perfectionist, Andrea turns towards her faith. During Andrea’s first year at SFU she let it fall to the wayside; however, in her second year, Andrea found an organization that made her feel at home, Athletes-in-Action.
Athletes-in-Action is a Christian organization that connects fellow Christian athletes and provides an outlet for their faith. Abrams said, “Athletes-in-Action is a great organization for me because it allowed me to connect to likeminded individuals.”

Andrea also expresses her faith through her tattoo of a tree, half of it withering while the other half is in bloom. Andrea said, “My tattoo expresses how I have felt in my life while living with and without God.” After spending five years at SFU, Andrea had many stories about trips she had gone on, races she had won, and races she had lost. What she recalled as one of her most exciting experiences at SFU actually came from a class taught by Kate Tairyan.

When speaking about the classes she took with Dr. Tairyan, Andrea went into detail on a project regarding mental health. Abrams said, “We designed a course focusing on mental health that will be studied, and that Dr. Tairyan has made available for people to access all over the world.” Abrams has made strides on and off the track, and will look to continue on her path while finishing her athletic career and degree at SFU.

Terrifying thing happens in Russia as usual

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February 15, 2013

Meteor storm over Chelyabinsk sends citizens into a state of ennui, frantically go about their day.

By Gary Lim (Junior Cosmonaut)

CHELYABINSK — The incredible took place early morning today over the Ural mountains, when an unidentified flying object burned across the sky. The object, which left a smoldering scar hundreds of miles across before spectacularly exploding over the Chelyabinsk industrial district, was just one of multiple pieces of space debris that bombarded the region. The event lasted approximately 12 minutes and was witnessed by dozens of completely disinterested locals.

The Peak contacted administrative head of Chelyabinsk, Stalinslav Mosharo, to discuss the impacts of the devastating meteor shower, which include over 400 people injured. “Yes, there was meteors today. Yesterday was rain. What is it you want to be talking about?” He spent the remaining 45 minutes of the interview discussing the importance of work ethic.

Notable damage caused by the suborbital impact included damage to a local zinc factory, where all windows on the northern wall were blown out and 600 square meters of roofing had collapsed, much to the mild indifference of the workers inside at the time.

One of the factory workers Aleksei Furmanov, a zinc smelter, gave a statement to reporters, “What are you doing here, you are in my way, I am trying to smelt zinc.” First responders were also seen roaming the factory floor half-heartedly removing shrapnel and bandaging workers who were on their cigarette breaks.

Michelle Gagarin and her husband Robert, two Canadians visiting family in the region, were among to first the capture video footage of the meteor shower. She recounts the experience.
“It was indescribable. A falling star burning across the sky and not only could you see it, you could hear it. It was a high pitched scream that grew louder and louder, until you couldn’t stand it anymore. Windows were exploding, and — I kid you not — a piece the size of a tennis ball slammed into ground not 20 feet from where I was standing. It was like what I imagine a volcano going off must be like, something primal and all-powerful.”

In the hours following the event, a press release from sent out from the highest offices of the Russian government, to assuage the unfazed Russian people.

“We regret any damage to the Russian factories and people. All citizens of the Chelyabinsk region will work an extra day to offset the loss in productivity caused by meteor strike.” The speech was greeted well by crowds of Chelyabinskis nodding sternly in agreement.

As of press time, the sounding of air raid sirens has caused all outdoor Russians to look up at the sky, shrug and continue on with their day.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: SFU Student Elections

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February 5, 2013

Student Elections – Candidate Profiles
By Amara Janssens

Student elections take place Feb. 4-6 2013. Here is a snapshot of the candidates for the positions of Board of Governors (graduate and undergraduate), Senate (graduate and undergraduate), and SFU Community Trust.

Andrew Simard

Major: Masters of Business Administration
Year: 2nd year of graduate studies
Running for: Board of Governors (graduate)

“SFU transformed my life while doing my B.Sc and again now as an MBA. I’d like to give a little back by serving on the Board of Governors!”

Caleb Kwon

Major: Economic (Honours)
Year: 2nd
Running for: Board of Governors (undergraduate), Senate (undergraduate)

“I am a current senator with strong academic promise and social responsibility looking for re-election. I am actively involved with school affairs and possess high achievements in academic work.”

Catherine Shaffer

Major: Not stated
Year: Not stated
Running for: Senate (graduate)

Unavailable for comment.

Eshan Jozaghi

Major: Not stated
Year: Not stated
Running for: Senate (graduate)

Unavailable for comment.

Forrest Wakarchuk

Major: Political Science and French (French Cohort Programme)
Year: 1st
Running for: Board of Governors (undergraduate), Senate (undergraduate)

“I am a suitable candidate as I have debate experience on the regional, provincial, and federal level in French and English. I am also extremely involved in the SFU community as a volunteer, student, and employee.”

Fred Haiderzada

Major: Business
Year: Not stated
Running for: Board of Governors (undergraduate)

Unavailable for comment.

Harvy Jawanda

Major: Business
Year: not stated
Running for: Senate (undergraduate)

“I am a firm believer in giving back to my community and would like to take up this opportunity to get involved at SFU so I can offer my time and effort to work for the betterment of the school. I feel that I am a strong candidate for this position as I am outspoken and possess a dedicated work ethic which will enable me to successfully advocate on behalf of the students.”

Humza Kwan

Major:
Year:
Running for: Senate (undergraduate), SFU Community Trust

Unavailable for comment.

Japreet Lehal

Major: Health Sciences
Year: 2nd
Running for: Board of Governors (undergraduate), Senate (undergraduate), SFU Community Trust

“If elected, I would help contribute to making SFU even better for our students. I would especially like to see a greater focus on experiential education at the university.”

Kamaljeet Singh Aulakh

Major: Applied Sciences
Year: Not stated
Running for: Senate (undergraduate)

Unavailable for comment.

Karanvir Singh Thiara

Major: History
Year: 4th
Running for: Board of Governors (undergraduate), Senate (undergraduate), SFU Community Trust

“As a Board of Directors member on the SFSS this year, I gained a lot of experience with university policies. This, combined with my experience of being on a municipal level committee for the city of surrey and working with the federal government, makes me a candidate in this election who is experienced with policies and bylaws. I am also not afraid to speak out on topics that others often shy away from.”

Kyle Acierno

Major: International Studies
Year: 4th
Running for: Senate (undergraduate)

“Experienced, educated, and ready to go from day one.”

Moe Kopahi

Major: Mechatronic Systems Engineering
Year: 4th
Running for: Board of Governors (undergraduate), Senate (undergraduate), SFU Community Trust

“If you support me for these positions, I will put my main focus on getting more funding for our school from the federal government, transportation issues, road maintenance as well as better events within our school. I am very supportive of students and have been working very hard to improve the current and future student experience at SFU.”

Nimisha Parekh

Major: Business
Year: 3rd
Running for: Senate (undergraduate)

Unavailable for comment.

Sarah-Sophia Flodr

Major: Faculty of Arts
Year: 2nd
Running for: Senate (undergraduate)

“I would like to remain part of the Senate because I know that my devotion, dedication, as well as my positive attitude make me a perfect candidate and most importantly because it would be my honour to represent you in the decision making processes of the SFU Senate!”

Tessica Truong

Major: Environmental Science
Year: 1st
Running for: Senate (undergraduate)

“As part of the SFU Senate, I will create a greater sense of community through policy and governance.”

Yasmine Norouzi

Major: Masters of Science (Biology)
Year: Not stated
Running for: Board of Governors (graduate)

“I have been serving the SFU community since 2008 in student organizations. I will serve on the Senate of Graduate Studies Committee and I am a member of the Senate. I am passionate to present the students’ voice on the board to make sure that students’ concerns will be heard. Please see my blog for further information at http://yasamannoroozi.wordpress.com/”

Yoko Lu

Major: Environmental Science
Year: 5th
Running for: Senate (undergraduate)

“I want to be senate because I value education and students’ learning experience and I believe that by becoming a senate, it is important for the school to have a diversity of senates who have different background in order to achieve high level of education system function.”

Prospective architects present to students

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February 4, 2013

By Alison Roach
Photos by Vaikunthe Banerjee

Firms in the running to design the new SUB introduce themselves and their visions

Full video coverage of all 3 presentations is available at the bottom of the article.

Last Wednesday, Build SFU held architect presentations for the firms still in the running for designing project.

The three firms were given 30 minutes each to present to a crowded MBC food court their vision of the new student union building. Amanda Buchan, the MC for the evening, opened with an explanation for the event. “We want to make sure that the architect firm that we choose has the same vision as we do for where we want our building to go.”

Presentations emphasized maximizing student space, food services, integrating student life with recreation and athletics, and student involvement through consultation.

If you didn’t make it out, here are the finer points of the firms’ presentations.

Perkins+Will
A 75-person firm based downtown, Perkins+Will took a holistic approach to their vision of the building. Team leader Jana Foit opened by saying, “We look at this as a journey… the first step being the big idea, the second step being the process of how we get there, and the third being a new beginning for your campus, your new student building and stadium.”

They also presented the idea of keeping in mind what they called “the six dimensions of wellness:” emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, mental, and physical.

As far as design, Perkins+Will is interested in anature, sustainability, transparency, a new and welcoming front door, a sense of place, warmth, food, space to play, combining student life with recreation and athletics, and creating community. The firm has worked on over 250 higher education projects around the world, including UBC’s Earth Science buildings and our own Saywell and Blusson Hall.

HMCA / Endall Elliot
Emphasizing the importance of collaboration, this 50-person firm based in Vancouver and Victoria opened by presenting their numerous university projects, including UBC’s Pharmacy Building, the site of a UBC Lip-dub video.

They have worked in various design projects for SFu BUrnaby during the last eight years, including the 2010 Campus Plan Development Update, which included developing guidelines for all the remaining development sites on campus, guaranteeing that they are very familiar with Burnaby Mountain.

Their vision for the building revolved around authenticity, the experience of entering the building, transparency, unifying space, sunlight, warm materials, maximizing connection with the rest of the campus, and different uses of space. Imagine a lot of glass wall concepts, and large open spaces connected through transparency.

Dialog
A collaboration of three different firms, this presentation gave half the time to introducing the firm and their vision, and the other half to audience questions. Their opening message was the ethos “respect, regeneration, responsibility.”

One of their earliest designs was Granville Island, a project they presented as being embedded in their DNA. They were also the only firm to acknowledge cost outright, recognizing that this will be a building bought and paid for by students.

Dialog also emphasized the importance of synergy between student life and recreation, a blend of sport and leisure, something they see great potential in the Lorne Davies complex site. “A purpose of a student building is to improve the quality of student life,” said presenter Bruce Hayden, “to bring people together and allow them to express their passions to each other.”

The Q+A session went into less detail than other firms, but discussed ideas to bring all three SFU campuses together.

Although the location has not been finalized, the proposed site for the SUB is the Lorne Davies Complex, and the man for whom the building is named sat front and centre throughout the presentations, taking notes and asking questions. Afterwards, Davies said, “What a great idea to let the students hear from the architectural people. In the past… whatever it was that affected the students, generally they found out after the fact.”

He continued, “Students generate enthusiasm. That’s what I’ve always loved about students, that they’re keen and enthusiastic. They can contribute some very good ideas, and provide thoughts that sometimes professional people forget.”

Build SFU is now hosting an online survey for students to give feedback on the architect firms and what they think is important in the selection, which can be found at www.buildsfu.ca. Those who complete it score a free large coffee from the Higher Grounds Coffee Shop.

Perkins+Will

Q&A:

Presentation:

HCMA and Endall Elliot Associates

Q&A:

DIALOG

Q&A:

SFU students react to Bali poisoning reports

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February 4, 2013

By Leah Bjornson
Photos by TheProvince.com

Field school participants claim the article “grossly exaggerated”

On Jan. 25, The Province ran an article claiming that SFU students became ill in Bali on Jan. 18 after drinking methanol-laced spirits, causing some of those students on the South-East Asia field school to respond forcefully against the report.

On Jan. 23, SFU authorities were surprised to receive a call from Province news reporter Ian Austin, who was investigating a night of drinking in Bali which resulted in the students becoming “violently ill,” according to the published article. “This was the first time that my office had been aware that anything happened,” said Scott McLean, acting director of Public Affairs and Media Relations at SFU. After looking into the matter further, McLean said he feels that the connection between methanol-laced spirits and the students’ sickness might have been “only speculation on [The Province]’s part . . . We believe the cause to be over-consumption, due to the fact that there are no lingering health effects.”

Several students on the trip responded quite vehemently to the article, commenting on Facebook, Twitter, and The Province’s own website. Field school student Leonie Kuijvenhoven wrote in the comments on The Province‘s website, “This article is grossly exaggerated, and the author is clearly very misinformed.”

“The author has for some reason included us in a sensationalist article about a very real problem,” commented fellow student Nova Chamberlin, “but should perhaps think of checking his sources before publishing an article that will likely cause undue distress for the loved ones of students involved in this field school.”

Methanol-laced spirits in Bali, Lombok, and the Gili Islands have been responsible for recent blindings, illnesses, and even deaths of many tourists and Indonesians. The situation has become so serious that Australia has even issued a travel advisory for tourists bound for Indonesia.

This danger can be traced back to the rise of import taxes on alcohol in Indonesia in 2010. After the price of importing alcohol skyrocketed (reaching a 380% import tax), many turned to the black market and the bootlegging industry to purchase cheap liquor. Unfortunately, the ingredients used to make the alcohol are not only cheap, they are dangerous.

Despite these dangers, SFU students insist that they were well informed of the risks of drinking in Indonesia. “They are making a provincial news story out of a few adults getting sick after drinking too much,” said field school student Jamshed Colah in an interview with The Peak. “As a class we have no idea why anyone at [The Province] would have been spurred to write this.”

Colah continued, “We were briefed before leaving at SFU, and again while here in Bali by our tour guides, drivers and by Dr. [Michael] Howard, [the field school coordinator]. Drinking is actually minimal by the whole group.”

With concern as to the results of this inquiry, McLean commented, “We are now looking at policies surrounding the field school . . . the safety of our students is of utmost importance.”

The university is currently considering sending two representatives to meet the field school in Thailand to investigate the incident and provide counseling services for the students.

BC is headed towards a skills deficit

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February 3, 2013