KSA signs deal with impeached former directors

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February 27, 2012

KSA agrees to pay Dhaliwal and Sandhu’s court costs, signs confidentiality agreement

SURREY (CUP) — The interim board of the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) has reached an out-of-court settlement with impeached former director Balninna “Nina” Sandhu and student Gary Dhaliwal, and agreed to pay their court costs.

A mutual consent order was filed in B.C. Supreme Court February 16, upholding the November 30 special general meeting (SGM) and declaring the impeachments of 13 former directors as valid. In addition, the order upheld the new KSA bylaws adopted at that same meeting.

The consent order also overturned the placing in bad standing of 26 current and former students and staff members. Members in bad standing would not have been allowed to run for office in the KSA or vote in KSA elections.

Sandhu, the KSA’s former director of finance, and student Gary Singh Dhaliwal had filed a petition January 10 in B.C. Supreme Court claiming that the SGM was invalid and sought a court order to reinstate the impeached directors and to place 14 other current and former students and staff members back in good standing as KSA members.

According to a petition filed with the court in January, Gary Dhaliwal had intended to run for office in the next KSA election.

However, in a joint statement issued February 16 by the KSA and Sandhu and Dhaliwal, the 26 have “voluntarily agreed not to participate in the affairs of the KSA in any manner for the next three years, including seeking office as directors of the society.”

The KSA has also agreed that “the former directors, current directors, and other individuals named in the special resolutions at the SGM have agreed not to engage in further litigation regarding past events relating to the society.”

Both of those agreements are not included in the consent order filed with the court.

When asked by The Runner if there were other conditions or terms in that agreement that have not been made public, the current chairperson of the KSA executive board Christopher Girodat declined to answer.

“The student association has agreed not to discuss the settlement beyond what’s in the common statement,” said Girodat.

“The parties agreed to a desire to resolve all outstanding issues from the past,” he said, when asked if all cash advances had been repaid and if all KSA electronic equipment had been returned by the former directors.

According to the statement, “the parties and individuals involved in this matter have agreed to maintain confidentiality over the out-of-court resolution and discussions leading to the out-of-court resolution and, therefore, will not be making further statements regarding the out-of-court resolution or discussions that led up to the out-of-court resolution.”

Girodat was unable to say how much Sandhu and Dhaliwal’s legal fees will cost the KSA, but he assured students that the amount will be made public as soon as it is available.

Jonathan Tweedale, lawyer for Sandhu and Dhaliwal, also declined to comment about the settlement, citing the confidentiality agreement. Sandhu did not respond to an email request for an interview before deadline.

With the civil lawsuit ended, the KSA board is no longer prevented from bargaining with their staff’s union, from signing or changing contracts, or from calling an election.

Those restrictions had been agreed to by the KSA’s legal counsel David Borins, after Sandhu applied for a temporary injunction to stop the board from making any major decisions.

Current and former students posted their discontent with the news of the settlement on a Facebook group called Concerned Students of Kwantlen.

“People can dress it up all they want, however the bottom line is this whole saga goes to team Takhar, in the end,” wrote longtime former KSA board member Ken McIntyre in a lengthy post.

Former KSA executive member Steve Lee also expressed his disappointment on the Facebook group.

“It just means there is no justice here, no precedent set for people in the future,” wrote Lee. “It sends the message that it is okay to try this stuff cause in the end you will get away with it.”

According to Girodat, the decision to settle will allow the KSA to start the process of rebuilding, including hiring a general manager.

“Now that the dispute over the SGM has been put to rest, the Kwantlen Student Association can move on to hold elections . . . we can resume working toward a collective agreement with our staff, which has been ongoing for 10 months now,” said Girodat in a February 17 interview.

“We can now commit the KSA’s time and resources back to student services, advocacy, and student representation, under a more accountable set of bylaws designed to put the power back in the hands of students.”

SFU researchers see security in holes

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February 27, 2012

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By Sam Reynolds

The colourful wings of the blue morpho butterfly inspire new anti-counterfeit technology

Taking inspiration from nature, a Surrey-based company led by two SFU researchers has developed a technology that has the potential to revolutionize security for documents and banknotes.

NanoTech Security’s product, called Nano-Optic Technology for Enhanced Security, or NOtES, can stamp a billion holes only atoms in width — no longer than a virus — onto an object, to reflect light with the brightness of an LED.

This would create a unique pattern for a document such as ID or a banknote that would be practically impossible to counterfeit.

“To build such small structures on large scales you need very specialized and expensive equipment which deters the counterfeiters,” explained Clint Landrock, an SFU PhD candidate who doubles as the chief technology officer of NanoTech Security. “We developed special algorithms and designs which make NOtES nearly impossible to replicate, and so far we have not been able to reverse.”

While confidentiality agreements prohibit Landrock from naming firms that are interested in NanoTech Security’s product, he did explain that a number of companies that have an interest in brand protection, such as manufacturers of jewelry or aircraft parts, are taking a look at this technology.

According to research done by the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, counterfeiting is more than a $600-billion industry.

The scientific principal behind NOtES is known as plasmonics, and takes place when light collects in the billion holes imprinted on a NOtES stamp. No dyes or pigments are used to create a pattern; the company explained that light “creates higher than expected optical outputs by creating an electromagnetic field, called surface plasmonic resonance.”

Simply put: a billion clear atom-sized holes create an optical illusion of a coloured pattern or design.

A phenomenon similar to plasmonics is found in the wings of the blue morpho butterfly, native to Mexico and Central America. The butterfly’s blue colour comes not from pigment in its skin, but from hundreds of millions of atom sized holes in its wings that reflect light in a particular way.

Though the exact manufacturing process is a protected trade secret, prototypes of a NOtES stamp were fabricated by using an electron microscope and an ion beam to etch the pattern on the material one atom at a time. After a master stamp was created, copies were made by growing the metal directly on top of the original.

NOtES is not the first attempt (though it is the first using nanotechnology) to mimic the effect found in the butterfly’s wings. Despite its microscopic size NOtES is far simpler than its competitors: other attempts have involved using arrays of small LEDs or complicated layers of material to bend light.

In an interview with the Financial Post, Landrock explained that in addition to being a revolutionary authentication technology NOtES will mark the first time that nanotechnology is used in a large-scale commercial project.

“Once our technology is commercialized, it will really mark one of the first true nanotechnologies to hit an industrial scale,” Landrock said.

University Briefs

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February 27, 2012

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By Ariane Madden

UVic student’s tattoo joke goes viral

A joke photo featuring the face of a University of Victoria student on his girlfriend’s arm resulted in hundreds of Facebook posts last week and was reposted to social news websites such as Reddit. The truth that the picture was photoshopped and the girlfriend was made up came out after news outlet OpenFile.ca investigated.

Arrest made in York shooting

Police in Toronto have arrested a suspect involved in a shooting last weekend at York University. Neighbours reportedly heard multiple gunshots coming from a university-managed apartment block. Although nobody was hurt, damage to the house was sustained.

Western University elections hacker faces charges

A former student of Western University will face criminal charges this week despite an apology he posted to online video site YouTube for changing questions on the student society elections on Valentine’s Day. Police and the student society have determined that costs stemming from the prank and rescheduled elections amounted to $10,000 and was worthy of criminal charges.

Arrests at Montreal CEGEP protests

Thirty-seven people were arrested at a Montreal CEGEP after they broke into the college and vandalized it last week. Thousands of Quebec students are protesting tuition fee increases, though prior protests have been mostly without incident.

Fight at UofC pub sends student to hospital

A fight between five students at the University of Calgary’s student pub “the Den” sent one student to hospital last week. Campus police were called to the pub around 1:00 a.m. to attend to the student. It is believed that alcohol was a contributing factor in the fight.

SFU conference highlights sustainability

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February 27, 2012

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By Michael Brophy

Event speakers included Vancouver city councillor, poets, and comedians

The Western Canada Sustainable Campuses Conference, organized by students each year to raise awareness about issues of sustainability, took place at Simon Fraser University from February 16 to 20. The four day conference, which partnered with other similar youth oriented organizations such as Sierra Youth and Sustainable SFU, convened students from universities across western Canada to network, attend lectures by sustainability leaders, sit in on student presentations, tour forest trails, and participate in activist minded workshops.

The Saturday night keynote at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at SFU Woodward’s featured poets and community leaders. Slam poet Johnny McRae preceded with “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” and other poems.

Following, Ginger Gosnell-Myers, the event moderator, gave the floor to speaker Andrea Reimer, a councillor with City of Vancouver, who opened up about her journey from living on the Vancouver streets as a teenager to her current position. Ken Lyotier, founder of United We Can, addressed the youthful audience: “You have the knowledge and ability to raise the bar a little; not just for the people around you but for the planet. It needs to happen.” He insisted on the importance of youth activism. “There is a social issue, an environmental issue, and an economic issue. There are so many opportunities for young people to get involved.” Another keynote speaker, Heather O’Hara, executive director at Potluck Catering and Cafe in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, when asked if she would do a PhD, responded: “I’ve thought about this myself. I wouldn’t. I’d rather spend that 25,000 bucks getting my hands dirty on the ground.” She continued, “That experience, that wisdom, that knowledge. The power of experience from people who are not formally educated. I value that.”

Upon arriving at the conference, attendees were handed living lab manuals for the conference weekend, repurposing covers of old library text books. “The books outlined and set the tone for the weekend. They’re professional and creative and you were able to choose a booklet with a personal touch,” said James McNish, former board member of Sustainable SFU. He added, “I was really excited about the calibre of the people coming to speak. These are people who are doing really innovative and really imaginative projects.”

Richard Loat, an SFU communications student, former Facebook employee, and CEO of Five Hole For Food, encouraged participants at his organizational development workshop to take after the words of the late Mahatma Ghandi: “Be the change you want to see” when approaching the role of community leadership. Loat has taken these words and put them into action personally by founding a charitable organization that has raised funds and over 65,000 pounds of food donations for food banks across Canada by arranging street hockey games.

“The communication paradigm has shifted,” said Loat, relating modern techniques to engage people in traditional relationships to a cause. “We all know the feeling of going hungry. We can identify.”

During the Olympics in Vancouver, Loat put on a hockey game in the middle of Granville Street, which Gregor Robertson participated in. “It was the most childlike sense of happiness I’d ever seen,” recalled Loat of Robertson’s expression while playing street hockey for the charity event. What started as a one-man operation is now a 50-person team, the majority of which came on board through Twitter.

In a class on creative activism, Sean Devlin of Truthfool Communications, a comedian and climate organizer, gave a presentation revealing the history of techniques in creative activism. Participants were later encouraged to engage in brainstorming activities to help their own organizations gain strides in meeting their goals.

“Creative tactics can create millions in earned media,” said Devlin of the value of protests as essentially free public service announcements.

The presentation addressed the power of creating a simplified message for the masses: self immolation in Tunisia, the Filipino texting revolution, sex strikes that ended wars, and Dan Glass’s stunt of attempting to super-glue himself during a press photo handshake to Gordon Brown, the U.K. prime minister at the time, forcing him to address activists opposition to airport expansions.

“As an activist, you are a performer,” said Devlin, “[and] there is one common thread between all these stories: we succeed.”

Petter unveils new vision for SFU

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February 27, 2012

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By David Dyck

EnVision process seeks to “engage“ with the community and bring undergraduate teaching and research together

Last Monday, SFU officially launched a new strategic vision for the university, a result of year-long consultations with students, staff, and faculty, in which it will seek to be “the leading engaged research university defined by its dynamic integration of innovative education, cutting-edge research, and far-reaching community engagement.” The launch also facilitated the unveiling of SFU’s new tagline, “engaging the world”, which has now replaced the previous “thinking of the world”.

The Peak spoke with President Petter before the launch to discuss the impetus for the new vision, and how it will change the university moving forward. Petter said that the purpose of the new vision is to create a sense of common purpose within SFU, and to “improve the way we educate students, the way we do research, and the way we engage communities.”

The vision is essentially about the long-term direction of the university, and the challenge for the administration will now be to realize the vision’s objectives, such as creating a more supportive campus environment and connecting educational and research goals.

“I think it would be a mistake to think that we could turn this campus into an ivy-coloured liberal arts college of the New England mold, because it isn’t. It’s going to be a commuter campus, principally for students. I think what we need to do then is say, ‘Okay, how can we make it the best campus of its kind?’” said Petter, who admitted that the sense of community was lacking on the Burnaby campus. To do this, Petter hinted at upcoming changes to residence and housing to increase capacity and improve quality.

Another campus community-related issue that came up as a result of the consultation process was the issue of food. Petter said that he was “influenced by the fact that we’d received a lot of feedback from the envision process about food as part of the campus environment. We probably would have done a consultation, but not of the depth or kind that we did end up doing.” He stated that with the Chartwells contract coming up for either renewal or termination provides the university with the opportunity to examine the quality of the food available on campus.

Petter mentioned an attempt to increase campus community academically as well with the upcoming, and according to Petter, the “somewhat corny title”, the “Presidents’ Dream Colloquium”. This will be an initiative to bring in speakers for an interdisciplinary program that students can enroll in for credits.

There are other academic angles to the new vision that capitalize on SFU’s strengths in research and undergraduate teaching. “What the vision says is: ‘Let’s do a better job of connecting those two.’ If we are going to say to undergraduate students that we’re going to give you a different and better learning experience than you would get elsewhere, the one thing we can do to really improve the learning experience that can’t be done by teaching universities is to expose them to the research side of the equation.

“We’re already taking our lead from parts of the vision and seeing if there are ways we can draw in new funding to actually better connect our research to the community, that will create opportunities for graduate students and for undergraduate coops and for interns, working in the community in collaborative research”

Petter also mentioned that Jon Driver, VP-academic, will be updating his academic plans to engage with the community.

Petter emphasized that although the vision has now been unveiled, it’s up to the university community — not just the administration — to realize its goals.

“It will be incremental, and what I hope is that students will say, ‘Okay, that’s great, we’ve got the vision, the administration isn’t doing enough to implement it.’ To the extent that students think that it’s got good things in it, I hope they’ll come forward and take the lead and prod and push and make the difference so that together we can all be trying to achieve the potential that this vision holds.” He added that the ideas that they’ve gathered have come from outside of the administration, primarily from students.

Burnaby mountain weather causes bus incident

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February 27, 2012

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By Graham Cook

Following heavy snowfall at SFU’s Burnaby campus, a TransLink bus ended up jackknifed by the West Mall bus loop. It apparently occurred because the bus could not get sufficient traction. The accident was fairly minor and was cleared out of the way in around 30 minutes. There are no reports of students being harmed in the incident. TransLink spokesperson Drew Snider told The Peak that the road crews were able to keep the road plowed and sanded. He added that he hopes the crews are able to achieve similiar results in any future bad weather situations.

This week in The Peak: 1983

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February 27, 2012

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By Ariane Madden

These events were recorded in The Peak during this week in 1983.

Sociologist debunks cure for homosexuality at UBC talk

Martin Weinberg, a research sociologist for Indiana University studying human sexuality and sexual behavior told an audience of students at UBC that the idea that homosexuality can be cured is “baffling.” The researcher talked about his studies for the root causes of homosexuality including what was then known as the “wastebasket theory” of lesbianism which stated that individuals, especially women, seek homosexual relationships because they are unattractive to members of the opposite sex. Weinberg asserted that such theories are “myths” and that homosexual feelings in children often predate later homosexual behaviors. The researcher has since published dozens of studies on sexuality and sexual behavior, some of which have won awards.

Fights break out for entry to SFU movie nights

Free weekly movie nights held at Images theatre were nearly ruined after some patrons turned to violence after being refused entry. Similar arguments would erupt as students entered the theatre to limited seating as the shows were nearly always sold out. The movie nights were ran by the SFSS and saw the society achieve $6,000 profits after having invested $26,000 only five months earlier.

Speculation about B.C. government funding cuts to universities

Fear abounded that the then-current Social Credit government of British Columbia would cut grants to universities, changing student funding from a mix of provincially-granted to having students rely on federal loans almost completely. The institution of rules for student loans based on academic standing also seemed to be a contentious issue for students. A North American recession also ensured that low employment coupled with eliminated student jobs programs would result in higher aid applications by students.
UofT engineering fights to institute anti-sexism code

The predominantly male engineering faculty at the University of Toronto called upon university administration to institute a code of conduct against sexual harassment and discrimination within the faculty. The faculty hoped that an independent third party would be able to be called upon for victims to turn to in instances of sexual harassment within the school. The call for policy creation was not spurred by specific incidents at the school but by the “possibility of there being a problem.”

Atomic bug created

Scientists at McGill University discovered compounds capable of removing radioactive material from water and nuclear waste. The scientists speculated that the compounds would be able to monitor for potential leakage from nuclear power facilities by testing lake and river water for contaminants.

Bomb scare evacuates abortion debate

A debate staged at the University of Manitoba saw 600 students evacuated for a bomb scare during the final moments of speech from controversial abortion doctor Henry Morgentaler. Students lined up to purchase pop and chips while waiting for the debate to resume 45 minutes later after the police made an electronic sweep of the auditorium. The threat was deemed a hoax and the rather explosive debate continued without further problems.

SFU reacts to UVic anti-abortion club’s loss of space privileges

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February 27, 2012

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By Graham Cook

SFU Lifeline and critics respond to the university’s decision

Following the University of Victoria’s recent decision to suspend the booking privileges of the university’s anti-abortion club, Youth Protecting Youth, for their “Choice Chain” demonstration, its SFU counterpart has reacted.

Mary Clare Turner of SFU Lifeline, who brought the controversial Genocide Awareness Project to Convocation Mall last semester, shared with The Peak that “even though the images they were using during ‘Choice Chain’ were upsetting, they are the truth” and she did not feel that people should be silenced or punished for telling the truth. The GAP displayed similar imagery, which Turner said she felt were necessary to get the point across. However, the University of Victoria Student Society’s director of student affairs, Jenn Bowie, told UVic’s student newspaper The Martlet, “When your freedom of speech violates the rights of others and you engage your freedom in a way that causes harassment on a non-consensual basis, then it’s no longer freedom of speech.”

The process by which a club gets permission to use such spaces at SFU as Convocation Mall is a fairly lengthy one. First, a form must be submitted to the SFSS for approval. The society then forwards the application to university administration. In the case of SFU Lifeline, the administration met with the pro-life club in order to discuss changes to the proposed set-up plan. It was at this meeting that Turner said the group had their “permission revoked because the university administration thought that people could come upon the display inadvertently.” Despite this ruling, she added that “we did go ahead with it because if we had not we would have been accepting censorship . . . the university administration didn’t shut us down which we appreciate.”

The controversy, which has surrounded both displays, has largely come from the fact that the visually graphic images were virtually unavoidable at both campuses and could have potentially offended people who happened to be walking through the area. In a recent email to The Peak, CJSF radio host Brendan Prost stated, “The University of Victoria’s Student Society should be commended for protecting the integrity of their university and the psychological safety of their students,” adding that, “if anti-choice groups like YPY were legitimately interested in being a part of a serious dialogue about a serious issue, then there are easy ways to be involved that do not involve traumatizing and demonizing the people they disagree with. “

Whether or not a public university’s campus is the appropriate platform for demonstrations such as these is up for debate. However, it seems as though future displays will be met with severe scrutiny.