By April Alayon and Gary Lim
Petter Watch: June 4th
Petter spotted in parking garage trying to teach himself how to ride a bike.
Measures should be taken to ensure more SFSS board members can attend meetings
Last week, SFSS at-large representative Karanvir Thiara sought standing regrets to be approved by the board for his upcoming absences from meetings. What’s more, he’s the third board member to do so, following health sciences representative Tracy Luong and university relations officer (URO) Jeff McCann, both of whom issued said regrets as a result of scheduling conflicts with their summer co-op terms. Each member will still be able to attend to their other duties and are expected to return to meetings in the fall semester. For some, this has proven little consolation, since students not only elected these officials, but also pay their salaries as part of their SFSS fees.
SFSS Treasurer Kevin Zhang is one such student. When McCann requested his standing regrets, Zhang cited that McCann’s role as part of the executive gives his attendance at meetings extra importance. Given that three elected members cannot attend meetings, it might be time for the SFSS to introduce measures to bind members to attend.
However, this brings forward a dilemma for the SFSS: someone who was even thinking of taking a co-op course during one of the semesters over which they would serve likely would not run. This would decrease the potential field of applicants, a field already small enough that it saw some members elected without contention. That may end up scaring off those actually most suited for any of the positions up for election.
The SFSS board members are here to learn, just like all other students here at SFU, and we cannot expect them to delay getting their degrees or to pass up important opportunities for their job. That’s why the SFSS should introduce measures to ensure that SFSS board members are able to attend to their full roll in at least two out of three semesters. This way, it is less likely to scare off the best person for the job, or to produce an official with no time for their position. It would also serve as something of a symbol, showing students the members’ commitment to serving the student community.
Additional measures might be needed to ensure that the program was not abused if implemented, and as such, it would be a good idea to add a clause that the member be able to prove sufficient reasoning for their absence, and perhaps also that such a rule only apply to the summer semester, before which students running for board positions might not know whether or not they have a position. Furthermore, this would ensure that, although members may be away for the board’s formative period, they would still be able to get their job done as well as possible, and continue to positively represent students.
Ideally, students would be able to make their availability known during the election for at least the summer semester, but as it stands that’s not typically feasible. However, anyone running for office should honour the commitment made in doing so. Although it’s important to make sure that the SFSS is comprised of the best members possible, those running for office must remember that if they really want students to take the SFSS seriously as an organization, the first step is figuring out how to get everyone to show up.
News Beat: June 4th
People who say “YOLO” will soon be put to death
A new bylaw proposed by conservative MP Shelly Parsons was passed in Parliament last Thursday. The bylaw evokes a three-strikes policy in which people caught using the term “YOLO” in either online parlance or in real life would be viciously bludgeoned to death by everyone in the immediate vicinity.
The law has a special clause indicating specifically that the acronym “YOLO” would result in capital punishment. Using the long form “You only live once” would garner a less severe punishment of chemical castration.
The bylaw is being applauded by both the liberal opposition and fringe parties alike, all of whom are sick of idiots appending #YOLO to anything and everything that happens to them over the course a day.
The bill’s creator added, “Yes, we get the irony.”
– David Davenport
New homeopathic street drug claims another life
The dangerous new homeopathic street drug, Johnny Wort, has claimed yet another life. A Burnaby teenager whose name cannot be published is the latest in a rash of deaths.
Close friends of the teen told reporters, “[name redacted] was always the ‘thrill-seeker’ in our group. I mean, he did it all. Echinea. Hibisus. Gin-seng. He lived on the edge, he’d dilute things down to half, a quarter, hell, even an eighth of their original concentration. But in the end it caught up with him.”
The coroner’s report confirmed this overdose to be the cause of death, showing “an almost zero per cent concentration of any medicinal ingredients in the teen’s bloodstream.” The report went on to add, “At levels that diluted, an overdose was inevitable.”
– Rich Richards
Neil deGrasse Tyson “sick of entire internet”
Perceptions were shattered last Friday as video of a drunken Neil deGrasse Tyson going off on an expletive-fueled tirade outside Blue Note Jazz Club surfaced online.
In the video, the inebriated astrophysicist was quoted as saying “Bunch of cat-watching, meme-making freaks. I used to be an astrophysicist, an astro [expletive]-ing physicist. But now look at me…,”
Pausing to briefly vomit into a trash receptacle, the medal of excellence winner continued, “I used to be something. I used to be a contender [laughs]. Before all this, I was picking apart the mysteries of the universe. But now people come up to me on the street. Do the ‘We got a badass here’ thing! Do the ‘We got a badass here’ thing! Like I’m a [expletive]ing Disneyland Goofy.”
– Wendy Wendleton
By Gary Lim
SFU Open House 2012
A short video highlighting the 2012 SFU open house. Feat. Drew-P
Created: Julian Giordano
Contact: [email protected]
Score: In my heart – Moby
UAV Journalism
The Peak’s News team went on location to an air strip in North Coquitlam, where we explore Team Guardian’s exciting Un-maned Air Vehicle.
Created: Julian Giordano
Contact: [email protected]
score: Click Click Boom – Saliva
Raising the bar: An inside look at the realities of the restaurant industry
ST. JOHN’S (CUP) — Glancing over her shoulder, Vanessa Stanley smiles back at the young waiter who just took her lunch order. As soon as the server’s out of earshot, Stanley leans across the table and quietly divulges an observation: “He’s new. He seems sweet . . . but he’s definitely new.”
Stanley’s spidey sense is impressive, but not surprising, considering her years of experience in the bar and restaurant industry.
“I’ve been bartending since Aug. 5, 2008,” Stanley says with pride. “I know the exact date I started.”
Stanley remembers how she first got into the business: she was tired of her minimum-wage job as a grocery store cashier and was looking for something new. After dropping off her resume at a Mount Pearl pool hall, she was offered a position as a bartender.
“I got promoted after only two months,” beams Stanley. “I got bumped up to supervisor and then eventually got promoted to assistant manager.”
Stanley says that it wasn’t until later, when she began working at another bar, that she realized just how poorly the pool hall had been managed.
“Our boss just wasn’t involved at all. It was mostly me and another girl — she was 24 and I was 21 at the time — and we ran the place.”
Aside from manning the bar, she says she had to manage liquor orders, stock the refrigerators, and even step in as an occasional bouncer when things got out of hand. The environment was not an ideal one in terms of safety, either. “I had a few guys steal my liquor from behind the bar one night,” Stanley recalls. “They reached over the bar, grabbed three bottles of liquor, and barred themselves in the men’s washroom. We finally had to call the police.”
Stanley was often the only employee working during the night shift and had a hard time managing everything on her own.
“I had a guy overdose on the couch . . . right in front of me. I had to call an ambulance because we couldn’t get him up,” she says. “It was more drama than I’ve ever dealt with in my life.”
Drug use was an issue in the hall, but it wasn’t something Stanley concerned herself with at the time. “It was bad for drugs and that kind of stuff. But again, there was nothing that you could really do about it. It wasn’t until I’d go to clean the bathrooms at the end of the night that I’d find white powder on the counters.”
Danielle Collins, an education student at Memorial University, has worked in the restaurant business for almost four years. “Personally, I think a serving job is the ultimate job to have while in university.”
According to Collins, if you’re lucky enough to land the right job, part-time servers can often earn full-time wages thanks to the tips. That being said, Collins warns that the work itself is not easy. “It can be stressful and exhausting and you definitely work for your money,” she says.
“I also think you have to be a certain kind of person to work in a restaurant,” Collins says, citing a dedicated, hard-working personality as essential in making it as a server. She also warns that the business toughens you up quickly. “When I started serving, upset customers used to bother me, but over time you get a thicker skin.”
Collins says that working in a restaurant is more demanding than any other job she’s had, which includes working as a day-camp counselor, a cashier and a swimming coach.
“It can be stressful and physically draining at times,” she says, “but I’ve definitely acquired better people skills.” Working in the restaurant business keeps her on her toes and has also shown her the importance of teamwork.
Working in the restaurant industry has helped Collins gain a newfound appreciation for gratuities. “I definitely think it should be mandatory,” she says. “People in the service industry work hard. When people go out for a meal, they’re going out for more than just the food. They also pay to be tended on and entertained — and us servers work hard to ensure that.”
Collins says that, while she’s always been a generous tipper, she’s gained a greater respect for those who work in the service industry.
“I often tip a lot more than what’s expected,” she said. “The funny thing is, I think all servers would probably tell you the same thing. It’s usually easy to determine who the servers are because they tip so generously.”
Collins says that there’s an unspoken mutual respect for one another: “We all know how hard we each have to work.”
When asked how she feels about waitressing, Stanley has no qualms about articulating her distaste for the job. “I’ll never be a waitress. Never, ever, ever,” she asserts. “Waitresses have to be nice, and I’m not. I mean, you have to stand there and listen to people bitch about the stupidest things and put a smile on your face.” Stanley says that she just doesn’t have the personality to be an accommodating hostess. “I’m the kind of person that if you get in my face, I’m going to tell you to go fuck yourself — that’s just the way I am. And that’s perfect for behind the bar. That’s exactly what they want.
“I’ve found that for the most part, a good food waitress is not a good bartender. You definitely get some people who are able to go back and forth, but most waitresses have a more timid personality,” said Stanley.
While Stanley and Collins’s experiences in the restaurant business differ, both agree on the importance of splitting tips.
“I definitely think tips should be shared with the people you work with,” says Collins. “There are people who may work in other parts of the restaurant that don’t necessarily make tips. We all work together as a group, and they deserve it just as much as I do.”
Stanley now works at a popular bar and restaurant in downtown St. John’s, and says that her coworkers are fair when it comes to sharing the wealth. “Whatever tips we make in the run of a night, we kick back a percentage to someone else. For instance, a food service waitress will give 10 per cent of their tips to the bar — and I think that’s absolutely fair.”
Working in a bar is a team effort, says Stanley, explaining that it’s not uncommon for workers to switch up their roles when business gets busy. “If one of the girls is really busy on the floor and there’s no food runner, I’ll go get the food and bring it to the table for her,” said Stanley. “And if she notices that I’m busy behind the bar, then she’ll come help me out.” Stanley goes on to say that if you’re doing more work, you’ll generally get “kicked back” more money.
At the heart of it, both women are in the restaurant business because they love it — and because they can make a killing. Stanley doesn’t hold back when it comes to talking strategy, either.
“Bartending is a game, plain and simple. A lot of times, you’re playing a character,” she admits. “Me and another girl used to pretend that we were sisters. And to be honest, we made a bloody fortune doing it.”
Stanley divulges that she’s often fibbed to get a good tip. “You pull at people’s heartstrings,” she said. “You can be whatever you want to be. And it’s fun. It’s entertaining. I pretend that I love you and that I’m interested in what you’re saying, but then at the end of the night, I take your money and go home.”
While Collins has spent the last four years balancing part-time waitressing with university classes, Stanley has been working full time behind the bar — neither schedule is easy. Stanley says that she’s often thought about returning to school, but isn’t sure if that’s the right path for her. “It treats me so well that I sometimes think about going into management,” she says of her work.
In the end, both women agree that for the time being, there’s nothing else they’d rather do.
“You just have to have the right personality for it all. I’d never be able to work nine-to-five and sit behind a desk all day. That’s just not for me.”
