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Optometry retailers have students seeing red

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EIC
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By Sheila Bissonnette

Students looking for cheap eyewear may find it more difficult and less safe than expected to fill their prescriptions online

When second-year SFU student Tony called Clearly Contacts to order prescription glasses online, he was told his prescription was incomplete. In order to buy his glasses online, he needed something called a “PD”. He returned to the optometrist retailer, where he had initially received his prescription, only to be told that the PD number will be provided if he pays a $50 fee.

“I had already paid for the exam, but they told me I had signed something that said I agreed to pay for the PD measurement. When I asked what she was talking about, she showed me a copy of the health questionnaire I had signed and at the bottom I had agreed to pay for the PD.”

Students may have recently noticed a number of advertisements featuring former NHL player Trevor Linden, drawing attention to the cost-saving benefits of purchasing prescription eyewear online. The Simon Fraser Student Society extended health plan lists Clearly Contacts, an online prescription eyewear provider, as a preferred member of its ‘professional network’. But students seeking to fill their eyeglasses prescriptions in cyberspace rather than from a local optometrist may find themselves caught in a crossfire between the Ministry of Health and optometrist retailers, leaving them seeing double when the bill arrives.

Online purchase of prescription eyewear generally requires a prescription from an optometrist, which outlines several different measurements including a PD measurement. The ‘interpupillary distance’, (PD) measurement determines the distance between pupils. In March 2010 (effective May 2010), the Liberal government of B.C., represented by Health Minister Kevin Falcon, issued a memorandum to B.C. optometrists outlining several regulatory changes.

The memorandum introduced “a series of changes . . . that will modernize the way in which British Columbians get their glasses and contact lenses.” One specific item on the memorandum regarded the provision of PD measurements at the time of eye examinations free of charge. Currently optometrist retailers are charging students up to $50, on top of the eye exam fee in order to provide the PD measurement. In March of this year, CBC News reported that against provincial regulations, this practice had become commonplace, implicating Iris and Lenscrafters as key culprits.

The Peak interviewed Dr. Robin Simpson, the registrar of the B.C. College of Optometrists, for a better understanding of the impact of the regulation. The B.C. College of Optometrists is the regulatory body which oversees professional conduct and policies relating to the practice of optometry.

Dr. Simpson stated, “The Optometrists Regulation was amended in 2010 to require those optometrists who are affiliated or associated with one who engages in the dispensing of corrective eyeglass lenses to measure a patient’s PD at the time of conducting an eye health examination and to include that PD measurement as part of the prescription for a corrective eyeglass lens.” The college set out policies to inform the members of the profession, alerting them to the change in their scope of practice. The college also interpreted the regulation to allow companies such as Iris Visual Group to charge a fee, as long as the patient agrees to the charge prior to the examinations.

The Peak met with Dr. Francis Jean, CEO of IRIS The Visual Group, at his Langley head office, where he provided documentation regarding policy changes and the rationale behind the $50 fee. “When the representatives of the B.C. College of Optometrists met with the Ministry of Health in May, 2010 the question of establishing an MSP code for PD measurements was rejected by the ministry,” said Jean.

According to Jean, the ministry told the college representatives that optometrists could charge a fee in order to allow them to be compensated for the added service of measuring PD. “Our other option was to increase the cost of an eye health examination, but I didn’t feel that would be fair to our other patients. Measuring the PD is not part of an eye exam; why would our professionals offer a free service so that patients can buy eyeglasses online?” Charging customers who wanted to buy their glasses online seemed fair and in line with the policy set out by the B.C. College of Optometrists.

He added that his company’s focus is on offering quality services and education to customers.
Cindy McDougal of the Ministry of Health stated, “The Ministry of Health expects optometrists to follow the optometrist regulations and provide a prescription to the patient upon completion of the eye health exam, free of charge. The prescription is required to contain the individual’s pupillary distance as measured at the time of the eye health exam with no separate fee being charged.”

MLA Mike Farnworth, The NDP critic for health, has his own reservations about the regulatory changes. “It is never an ideal situation where the government hands down an edict. I believe there are safety concerns about purchasing prescription eyeglasses online, which have not been addressed. I would like to see discussions with optometrists, opticians and the Ministry of Health to determine what is in the best interest of patients.”

The Peak asked vice president of Clearly Contacts (Coastal Contact Inc.) Terry Vanderkruyk for comments regarding concerns with safety issues. He commented “we are not optometrists nor do we claim to be. We sell glasses once we are provided with a prescription. The glasses can be returned within one year.”

So, what perceived safety issues are there for students who routinely buy their prescription contacts and glasses online? The main concern appears to be that students will substitute eye examinations done by optometrists for repeat purchases online. In an effort to save money, students like Tony may forgo eye examinations, which can detect rare but serious health issues.

All independent optometrists interviewed by The Peak had at least one anecdote wherein they had discovered seri ous health issues such as glaucoma or brain tumors during routine eye examinations. Buying prescription eyewear online will save money, but it is not a substitute for regular eye examinations done by a board-certified optometrist.

Do you purchase your prescription eyewear online or at a retailer? Take the survey at The Peak’s facebook page.

SFU researches water quality testing

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EIC
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By Graham Cook

The new science of metagenomics is being used to test water before it reaches the tap

Scientists from Simon Fraser University have been working on a project to better the testing of water quality. The aim of the initiative, Applied Metagenomics of the Watershed Microbiome, was described by microbiology professor Fiona Brinkman in an email to The Peak as “[changing] the way we monitor water quality.”

The team plans to accomplish this by running tests at the source instead of downstream at the tap, while utilizing the new science of metagenomics, the study of genetic material that is recovered directly from environmental samples. The hope is that this will allow water pollution to be identified earlier, at its source. Brinkman noted that the pollution they are dealing with involves factors such as agricultural run-off or septic tank leakage rather than chemical pollution.

In the same email, Brinkman outlined that the three-year project began in July of 2011, but that preparation had been previously ongoing. Her main research interest, she explained, involves the creation of new procedures for controlling infectious diseases. Following work with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, she became interested in “how we could much more effectively identify and control disease-causing microbes in our water supply,” which led directly to the creation of the project.

Along with Brinkman, who acts as the director of bioinformatics, those who have worked on the project include co-principle investigators Patrick Tang and Judith Isaac-Renton, faculty member Rob Holt, graduate student Mike Peabody, and staff member Matthew Laird. In addition, there are a growing number of people joining the team as the initiative increases in size.

Brinkman claimed that their future plans include completing an analysis of both clean and contaminated watersheds over the course of a year in order to develop a new water quality test. Despite being in the early stages of the project, she added that they have already been successful in beginning to outline the “needs and wants” in a new testing system.

According to an SFU PAMR press release, the study is receiving funding from an SFU Community Trust Endowment Fund research grant along with support from not-for-profit organizations Genome B.C. and Genome Canada.

A dating option for commitment-phobes

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EIC
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By Ms. X

I’ll be the first to agree that SFU is a diverse school with students from countries around the world and backgrounds of all sorts. This, however, does not mean we don’t share one thing in common: sex and relationships. Even if you’re not having it, or not in one, it is fair to say it is the one thing that everyone on this campus is thinking about, so let’s talk about it.

Let’s start with relationships. Defining a relationship insinuates that you are with someone with the intent of there being a future together. They become involved in every part of your life, meet your family, and learn your strengths and faults. But while for some students relationships are about finding “the one,” for others it is about finding “the one for right now”, so how can these two ideals co-exist for us?

The middle seems to be found in what I am going to call quasi-relationships (QR). This wannabe partnering allows everything you would gain from dating minus the commitment and titles, and they’re more common than one would expect. At the forefront of these quasi relationships is commitment phobia and it is seemingly rampant across us university students. Though some may debate that fear of commitment is a true phobia, many are willing to admit that they are not ready to make relationship plans for their futures. Just like the question we all face, “What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” the question of, “Who do you want to do for the rest of your life?” can be daunting. QRs, to some extent, answer this problem by offering the short term, easy way out.

Defining a QR will most definitely differ for every partnering. These situations are often not created so that you can have your cake and eat it too; maintaining a bond with a certain someone and also taking home a different someone from the Highland on a nightly basis. QRs are in place for people who enjoy being with their partner but are not at a place to be in it for the long haul. Taking away ‘quasi’ and being left with ‘relationship’ implies there is more of a future involved. You play a larger role in their life, perhaps meeting family or moving in together. For some, right now is the time to have fun with someone you enjoy spending time with and having the flexibility to separate that from your future.

The point is: to each their own. Sure, there are situations where a QR does not work, but if boundaries are clear and both parties involved are aware of what they want, it can allow for two people to find temporary happiness. For those students who are still mapping out their futures and unsure of all that is out there for them, quasi-dating may be what is working for you, just ensure that your situation is fair, healthy, and makes you happy.

SFU business students turn umbrellas into backpacks

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EIC
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By Graham Cook

Opportunity Fest winners receive $1,000

Second Chance, a project started by fourth year business students Cindy Cheng, Celeste Jhala, and Melissa Maat, has taken a step forward following a win in the sustainable category of SFU Surrey’s Opportunity Fest. “Opportunity Fest gives SFU business undergrads the chance to showcase their class-produced ventures to judges from industry, academia and the wider business community,” according to an SFU press release. Inspired by the abundance of broken umbrellas and used rice bags in Vancouver, the team collects these items and turns them into backpacks.
Maat spoke with The Peak about their recent success and stated that the initiative began as a project for their new product development and design class during the Spring 2012 semester. It will be continued in Shawn Smith’s new ventures course this summer at the Beedie School of Business. She explained that each member of the team has a specialty, such as website design, which is used in the production process. Melissa Maat, who spends three hours hand-sewing each bag, claimed that they had been able to sell all 11 of the bags they have made this semester, mostly to SFU students. The backpacks, the majority of which are named after current or former partners and require one-and-a-half umbrellas and rice bags, are sold for $40 each and are created with the city of Vancouver’s 2020 Greenest City goals in mind. These goals include 10 targets consisting of green economy, buildings, and transportation, as well as climate leadership, zero waste, lighter footprints, access to nature, clean air, clean water, and local food.
Though the backpacks primarily use the broken umbrellas and rice bags, the project website advertises that they also accept donations of old belts, shoe laces, and zippers. The group’s Facebook page, which advertises their “aim to minimize the amount of solid waste going into landfills,” has generated just over 150 ‘likes’ as well as a collection of posts from supporters and those wishing to donate.
The group also received $1,000 in prize money from their victory. When asked what plans they had for this money, Maat replied that they have considered spending $600 on upgrading their sewing machine to increase productivity, or outsourcing the manufacturing entirely. She added that they would wait to receive input from Smith, a lecturer in innovation and entrepreneurship at the Beedie School, which Maat described as having extensive experience with start-up businesses.
Opportunity Fest also saw such innovations as a hot tub water care system and a wristband that monitors heart rates and sleep patterns.

Girl’s clubs just as bad as men’s centres

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EIC
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By Esther Tung

In the last issue of the spring semester, The Peak’s cover story was on the approval of $30,000 by the SFSS to create a men’s centre. The men’s centre has whipped up a maelstrom of outrage from the Rotunda groups, as well as the student body. There is little value to the structure and mandate of the proposed men’s centre, and it’s baffling that the working group of Jeff McCann, Keenan Midgely, and Danielle Hornstein got anybody else in on the idea, let alone funding. A Youtube video consolidates angry responses towards the men’s centre and reiterations of why the Women’s Centre, on the other hand, is necessary. Patriarchy and hegemony and stuff. But the men’s centre’s critics have not questioned the continued existence of the Women’s Centre, or its annual budget of about $80,000, mostly accepting at face value that women’s safe spaces are a tenet of feminism, unequivocally justifying its presence on a progressive, left-leaning university campus.

Creating a literal girl’s club in response to a men’s world made sense back in 1968, when women were rare as both students and faculty, and the space functioned as an opportunity for mutual support and recognition, as well as feminist activism. However, the SFU Women’s Centre’s mandate has become antiquated. It bills itself first and foremost as a safe space on campus, a relic of the ‘60s and ‘70s movement, a time when women were considered the appendixes of the student body. In the grander scheme of things, women are certainly marginalized to this day, and safe spaces are still relevant, but a modern university campus is a setting in which women are the furthest thing from marginalized. We make up a slight majority of students, earn three degrees for every two by men, are less likely to drop out, and as urbanite graduates, we will start off earning more than our male peers. We no longer need a space for women to be women, but for feminists to be feminists — and safe space and referrals should not be the main services of what was once a powerful feminist collective, then called the Women’s Caucus. The Abortion Caravan began at the Vancouver Women’s Caucus in 1970, which saw hundreds of women driving to Ottawa to participate in a peaceful protest for the legalization of abortion that would come to shut down the House of Commons for about half an hour. Now, the Women’s Centre takes on pet projects like campus childcare facilities, and offering yoga and self-defense classes. Again, there’s an $80,000 budget here. Maybe their next focus could be on making an active effort to disrupt the creation of a men’s centre.

It is a great thing that the women’s movement has evolved to a point where there are less of these things to be outraged about. Feminism succeeded, and we have raised an entire generation of North American women on feminist values, or at least they’ve learned by way of osmosis. Now we need to teach the boys.

We’ve come to a point in time where we can’t do much more damage to patriarchy by shutting out the very half of the population who is supposed to be the root of our problems. The Women’s Centre does exactly that by using language that is already beginning to become outdated, by segregating men and women into ‘feminists’ and ‘male feminists’ (or rather, as the Women’s Centre puts it, ‘male allies’), the latter of whom can look forward to volunteer duties that range from poster boy to pancake flipper.

Feminism is supposed to be the affirmation of women (versus privileging women), not the rejection of men. It’s gender parity, not role reversal or male tokenism. On that count, both the gender-based safe spaces that we have (or are about to have) failed us, if we are indeed as progressive as we want to believe we are.

University Briefs

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By Ariane Madden

Concordia permits use of transgender chosen names
Transgendered students at Concordia University in Montreal will now be permitted to use their chosen names — rather than birth names — on school identification cards and other university documents. This comes after a two-year campaign by the campus’s Centre for Gender Advocacy. Birth names will continue to be used on transcripts for legal purposes only.

Quebec students reject government concessions
Quebec students continued their strikes over proposed tuition hikes after rejecting a late April concession by the provincial government. The proposal, which would double the current tuition rates, would spread the hikes over seven years instead of five years and boost provincial bursary funding.

Trent announces Cayman Islands partnership
Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario announced a new partnership with the University College of the Cayman Islands last week. The partnership will expand student exchanges as well as research and international conference initiatives.

Lakehead student union to challenge board of directors in court
The student union at Lakehead University in Ontario has vowed to challenge the university’s board of directors in court following a new bylaw barring student representatives from discussions where they may be viewed as having a conflict of interest, such as in the case of tuition hikes. The school says that lawyers were consulted in the drafting of the bylaw, which applies to all members of the board.

Student project causes bomb scare at FNUC
The Regina police explosives unit was called to the First Nations University of Canada last week after a student project was mistaken to be a bomb. Students approached police to call off the detonation of the suspicious package, identifying it as a part of their GPS tracking project for a class.

– Ariane Madden

20-year aging study begins

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EIC
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 By Alison Roach

SFU Surrey-based project will evaluate the effects of age

Beginning in April, the SFU Surrey campus has become home to an extensive study focused on the process of aging. The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), the largest of its kind, has set up collection sites at SFU, UBC, and UVIC, and plans to survey 50,000 individuals across Canada in the span of the next 20 years. Twenty thousand participants from across Canada will be followed by phone interview, while the remaining 30,000 participants are to take part in the project’s comprehensive cohort, which will involve being interviewed and evaluated on site. Fifteen-hundred of these individuals live within 25 kilometers of SFU Surrey, and will be evaluated at the new 1,100 square foot lab there. These participants will undergo complete physiological workups, and have data collected on everything from their nutritional habits to their socio-economic status. The aim of the study is to look at how these aging and health factors interact with each other.
The CLSA has received funding from various sources, the majority of which comes from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The CIHR has provided $25–30 million to put towards the actual data collection, to be used in the first five years of the study. SFU itself has received over $3 million towards the project. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation has provided all the funding for the data management sites, the repositories, and the equipment. Besides these two foundations, each province has some provincial organizations providing additional funding, with B.C.’s coming from the B.C. Knowledge Development Association.
Dr. Heather Stewart, a research associate in the Gerontology Research Centre at SFU, is the regional manager for the CLSA. She explained: “We’re going to capture data on human aging more or less over the life course that will tell us about biological, physical, and social functioning. We can look to see how these forces interact with each other, for example how someone’s social support, family situation, or work situation may impact their physical function or their risk for getting disease.” Participants of the in-person portion of the study will be evaluated for a large array of variables, such as height, weight, balance, gait, vision, and hearing, in addition to their social and economic situations.
The scale of the survey, the large age range, and the wide time frame all contribute to produce a unique opportunity for insight into the process of aging. Dr. Andrew Wister, chair of SFU’s department of gerontology, is the leader of the study at SFU and said that to gather the kind of information they’re going to be looking for, “You have to have all the measures in one survey, and you have to follow people over time.” Wister was brought into the study for his tremendous expertise and knowledge in the field, and has worked on the development of the study since its inception 12 years ago. Wister cited the baby boomers as a particular personal research interest, and considered understanding the health trajectories of these people extremely important.
Wister also emphasized the interrelatedness of the study. “[The CLSA] is connecting lifestyles to all different aspect of social and emotional life. I think what can come out of this is not only understanding of the causes of health and illness . . . but to be able to articulate and elaborate the way in which these patterns will influence our healthcare system, so that we can make changes,” he said. This project builds on the understanding that all these factors work together in complicated ways to influence the development and trajectory of illness.
The hope is that the enormous amounts of information that will be gathered will yield some insight into possible improvements to our health care system.
“I hope we’ll uncover or discover new information that will have a significant impact on either delivery of health services or reduction of incidents of chronic disease, things that really take a toll on society and really inflate the cost of health care in our country,” said Stewart.

Halo webseries filmed on Burnaby campus?

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By David Dyck

 

Last week, overachieving students who were on campus a week early were confronted with Burnaby Mountain yet again being used as the set for a nerdy television show, this time likely a web series based on the adventures of Master Chief, a character from the popular videogame Halo.

The Peak was unable to get any interviews with workers on set, and have not confirmed that this is what is being filmed, but judging from the photos, videogame experts here at The Peak have confirmed that the Halo rifles both on the mural and the statue make Halo an obvious conclusion. The crew later covered parts of the mural in an attempt to avoid detection.

Online videogame news site Kotaku reported that the university’s official line on the campus restructuring is that, “The film is called ‘Sleeper’, the story of a young man in a futuristic military academy who struggles with his destiny as a soldier — and with an alien invasion.” There is no word on how long the props will be in place.

According to Variety, the entertainment news website, the Halo webseries will air in 15-minute weekly installments leading up to the release of “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” on November 6.

There seems to be something futuristic about concrete, as SFU has been the set for Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica, and more recently, Underworld 4.

First Nations studies granted departmental status

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By Graham Cook
Upgrade means greater financial autonomy and increased enrolment for First Nations studies

Following a recent SFU senate decision, the First Nations studies program has been given department status effective April 1, 2012, to be placed within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

According to its website, the department “offers courses in the study of traditional and contemporary issues involving the aboriginal peoples of North America and Canada in particular,” and is designed for both aboriginal and non-aboriginal students.

The new department offers a major, minor, and joint major with archaeology and linguistics, as well as certificates in First Nations studies research, First Nations language proficiency, and cultural resource management. These programs use over 20 courses that are offered in addition to optional co-operative education.

The director of First Nations studies, associate professor Eldon Yellowhorn, spoke with The Peak about the recognition. He explained that the change from a program to a department meant a higher amount of recognition within the faculty, as the former is usually administrated through the office of the dean of arts and was hosted by the department of archaeology while the latter is more autonomous. As an example, he pointed out that they now direct their own operating budget.

Yellowhorn also outlined the “long, deliberate movement” that led to the achievement of departmental status. They began by offering classes in First Nations studies and then progressed to offering a minor, followed by the joint majors, and finally in 2009 began offering a major. In addition, many of their courses now come with a breadth distinction, which, according to Yellowhorn, has led to increased enrolment.

Along with Eldon Yellowhorn, there are four other core faculty members assisting with the administration of the new department. These four include associate professors Marianne Ignace, Annie Ross, Deanna Reder, and Rudy Reimer/Yumks. They also have ties to faculty in other departments such as sociology/anthropology, history, linguistics, mathematics, and resource and environmental management.

Yellowhorn also hinted that First Nation studies may create a graduate program in the near future. Currently their faculty engages in research but must ‘borrow’ graduate students from other areas. He also expressed hopes that they can continue to heighten the profile of their department within the faculty of arts and social sciences. This, he said, will allow them to further their vision for what the department could be.

Theatre review: Henry and Alice: Into the Wild

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By Ali Omelaniec

Out of their comfort zones and Into the Wild, Henry and Alice return for the sequel to 2004‘s Sexy Laundry

Into the Wild is a comedic take on the woes of unemployment, family conflict, and mid-life crises. The plot is one we’ve all heard before: a married couple is struggling with economic hardship, and are looking to rekindle the spark that was lost somewhere along the way. Despite this, the sincerity of the characters and lifelike descriptions of a marriage on the rocks make the play easy to relate to.

Susinn McFarlen and Andrew Wheeler play Alice and Henry, a couple looking to rekindle their marriage with a holiday in the woods. However, Alice’s image of a cottage retreat or RV trip are replaced by a few days spent in a tent, not an ideal situation for a wife used to a spending her days shopping for designer shoes and buying decor at Pottery Barn.

While the play kept the audience laughing throughout, there were just a few too many stereotypical ‘Men are from Mars, women are from Venus” jokes, from women being obsessed with shopping and designer brands to men and their refusal to ask for help, like when Henry, an obviously unseasoned camper, sets a tent up inside out.

The life of the party is Alice’s little sister: rebellious, leather-clad Diana, who shows up at the campground with her motorcycle to join the couple on their trip, much to Henry’s distaste. Complete with grotesque humour and an exuberant personality, Diana is reminiscent of Bridesmaids’ Megan. As the central source of comic relief and a tool for uprooting deeper family conflicts, she is an audience favourite.

While her spontaneous sister lives on the edge of uncertainty, Alice finds herself questioning her comparably stable marriage and what she wants from life. The humour is broken up by these moments of metaphorical discussion and heartfelt dialogue between the couple. Alice and Henry both deal with their own type of midlife crisis: Henry is stripped bare of his tough, no-funny-business exterior to reveal his inner weaknesses and vulnerability while Alice begins a process of self-discovery. Seeing the inner turmoils of these characters causes the audience to feel sympathetic and become involved in the challenges Henry and Alice are facing.

The saving grace of the piece is the witty banter between the characters, and the time Beverly Elliot spends onstage — occasionally topless. Besides the seen-it-before storyline, this play is overall quite charming and hilarious with a satisfying — albeit expected — conclusion.

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

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© The Peak Publications Society

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

For advertising inquiries: [email protected]
For promotional inquiries: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society