Home Blog Page 1408

It’s Tebow Time!

By
EIC
-
0

By Adam Ovenell-Carter and Clinton Hallahan

Tim Tebow is incredible. But is it for his story, or for his play? Those of us who know better would say the former, but some, as you’ll see, are sold on Tebow’s game.

Clinton Hallahan:

It’s odd that detractors will give breathless adulations to rare ‘clutch’ plays but ignore the clutch life of story-of-the-year, Tim Tebow. I get that most of his wins are the sporting equivalent of Indiana Jones snatching his hat from under the closing door, but style points are the mother’s milk of professional athletics, and to argue against it is to take a romantic view of what’s first and foremost an entertainment medium.

Too cynical? Look at the win column. The Broncos are an also-ran quickly going Cinderella on the bewildered behinds of the AFC West. With his win in the wildcard round, Tebow has arrived. By the time you read this he will either have slain the Patriots giant or lost to one of the best teams in the NFL for the past decade. So why is he not the football Crosby? Why the haterade?

The answer is paranoia of religion coalescing into a weird voyeurism. An outspoken evangelical Christian, Tebow exhibits an unabashed devotion to his faith on the field, making him an anomaly not in faith, but in his willingness to display it during game time. There is a bit of mockery revolving around Tebow that stems from this constant displays of religion, and his miraculous wins  only feed that novelty.

Both the positive and negative cults of Tebow feed off his uncanny characteristics, a muffled laughter I can’t imagine dissipating until he has a Super Bowl ring on his finger. What should be important is that milestone isn’t far off: He’s the real deal.

 

Adam Ovenell-Carter

If Tim Tebow quarterbacks the Broncos — or any NFL team, for that matter — to Super Bowl, I will be utterly amazed. I will also, very willingly, eat each and every word of mine.

There’s probably no nicer guy in professional sports; whatever your religious beliefs are, it’s hard not to root for the guy. He’s humble, he’s polite, he thanks God for everything he’s been given and most of all, he’s goddamn charming. Why? Likely because like almost everyone else, he’s surprised he is where he is right now.

Let’s be honest here. Tebow was arguably the greatest player in college football history, but these are the bigs we’re talking about now. In college, a terrible throwing motion and poor vision are excusable, especially when you know how to make the most out of what you have, which Tebow does. But those qualities do not equate to an NFL quarterback.

Tebow has a hard time reading defences and misses more throws than he makes. You can talk about his late game heroics, but you can also talk about his late game meltdowns (see weeks 15 through 17). He also has an outstanding defense to back up his errors, led by defensive rookie of the year candidate Von Miller and world-class cornerback Champ Bailey.

Tebow is one of the greatest stories of the last decade, but he’s been given a lot of credit where he perhaps doesn’t deserve it. But if he proves me wrong, by God I’ll be more than thrilled.

 

 

 

SFU suffers tough loss to Saint Martin’s

By
EIC
-
0

By Adam Ovenell-Carter

SFU had suffered a heartbreaking, one-point loss just two nights prior to their matchup with Saint Martin’s University. Despite the setback to Western Oregon, the team remained optimistic, all while being short two of their best players. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for that sentiment to change.

Playing with only three subs for the third straight game, as a few ineligible players make their way back to the court, the extra strain showed for the Clan for the first time. The Clan dropped a non-contest to SMU, 90–68, on home court last Saturday.

SFU actually opened the game strong, jumping out to an early lead. After outscoring the Saints 12–6 just six minutes in, things looked good for SFU. However, turnovers and early foul trouble nipped away at the lead and, alas, that would be about all she wrote for the Clan that evening.

The three ball, which was so effective the game before, was nowhere to be found in this one. It took 15 minutes before Jordan Sergent finally drained a three-point shot, but that was well after SMU had gone on a 14–2 run to build a 20–14 lead they would never surrender.

Saint Martin’s was having no difficulty hitting the long-distance shots, hitting five straight at one point late in the half. SFU’s John Bantock hit two of his own to keep the Clan in it at the half, but overall SMU was hitting all of their shots, and SFU wasn’t.

The Clan only trailed 40–33 at the half — certainly a surmountable lead — but in the second frame, the Clan’s fatigue was evident.

On one end, SFU’s defence was struggling to contain the Saints, if at all, while at the other, the Clan just couldn’t hit their shots — not even free throws. A 12–5 run to open the half for SMU increased their lead to 52–38, but the Clan didn’t give up.

Tired as they looked, the Clan stuck around, with their attempts highlighted by a dunk from Sergent that cut the deficit to 10 points and got the crowd off their feet.

There was little left from the SFU side after that point, as the Saints kept pouring it on. Trailing 80–61 with just three minutes left, and the emotion gone from the court and the stands, the crowd began to file out. The last few minutes were merely a formality, as SFU had lost the game well before the time the final buzzer sounded on the 90–68 loss.

“They had that stretch where they hit five threes in a row and we just couldn’t come back,” admitted Bantock. Despite the blowout loss, the Clan know where they need to go from here.

“We basically have to put this one behind us, go into practice on Monday and work hard with a whole different attitude,” concluded Bantock.

The game against Western Oregon, although not a victory, was a step in the right direction. With a game like this, as Bantock said, it’s best to just move on. The Clan know they can compete with the best in the GNAC, and of course, it wouldn’t hurt to get some of that manpower back in the lineup.

Orlando’s Superman set to fly away

By
EIC
-
0

By Ronil Desai

Give Superman some kryptonite and suddenly he becomes quite the opposite. Despite sharing the same moniker as Clark Kent, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is seemingly much more immune to distractions and detractions. The six-foot-eleven centre is currently dealing with issues that will have a direct influence on the rest of his professional career, yet he’s still playing strong. But in the midst of trade rumors that are quickly going from swirling to hurricane force, the question remains: who’ll win the Dwight Howard sweepstakes?

With several teams in the mix, both Howard and Magic management have been patient and are clearly waiting for a transaction that would benefit both sides. While a trade seemed almost definite prior to opening night, Dwight Howard has gone as far as saying that he expects to be in Orlando for the remainder of the season.

Nevertheless, there are three front runners in the race for Howard but each of those — the Lakers, Mavericks, and Nets — face major challenges in creating a package lucrative enough for the Magic to part ways with the three-time defensive player of the year. While the Mavericks have no chance of acquiring the superstar until the offseason, the Lakers and the Nets present interesting trade scenarios.

With the Nets’ move to Brooklyn next season and arguably one of the best point guards in the game in Deron Williams, New Jersey presents a unique opportunity for Howard. The possibility of playing with Williams would likely be appealing for the centre, as he’s never played alongside a guard quite so talented.

The business opportunity for Howard is immeasurable but the Nets would likely have to acquire a few more assets to surround Howard if they have any aspirations of competing with the Bulls and the Heat at the top of the East.

Los Angeles’ basketball civil war is only growing with the Clippers acquiring Chris Paul, and the Lakers almost giving away Lamar Odom for nothing. There are pressures on Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak to make a splash, and acquiring Howard would be a big one. If they don’t, they could lose what they’ve had almost sole claim to: top spot in the West.

If the Lakers make a push, the package will likely have to include young centre Andrew Bynum. But, acquiring Howard would keep the Lakers as legitimate contenders, even if Kobe Bryant is in the latter half of his career. While the potential twin tower combination of Howard and Gasol would have Laker fans in a tizzy, the Magic would likely ask for both Gasol and Bynum, leaving Bryant stranded on the perimeter.

However, the longer Howard stays a member of the Magic, the more it benefits the Mavericks: should they clear up some cap space, would have the opportunity to acquire both Deron Williams and Howard as free agents in the off-season. Just what the reigning NBA champs needed.

Condolences to Magic fans; it’s only a matter of time before Superman jets off somewhere else. Howard is in his final season before free agency, so you can bet that he’ll be on the top of his game, whether or not he’s still with the team that drafted him first overall in 2004. But keep a close eye on the ticker: despite what Howard says, the inevitable is coming.

Win Free Canucks Tickets!

By
EIC
-
0

Peak Speak – If the SFSS happened upon $1 million, what should they spend it on?

By
EIC
-
0

Settlement salvation

By
EIC
-
0

By Clinton Hallahan

Now that the bickering is done and the SFSS is really, really sorry they used their own referendum rules and not those of the Canadian Federation of Students, there is the prickly little issue of a giant lump of money just sitting in a bank account waiting to make our SFSS dreams come true.

A primer for those with lives: the Simon Fraser Student Society used to be part of the CFS, a student advocacy group that lobbies for student issues and offer services to members like Travel Cuts discount trips abroad and student price cards. Of the opinion that the CFS had become a bloated, corrupt money-sink, SFSS leaders of days gone by posed a referendum to defederate from the CFS in 2008. After weeks of lobbying that included a robust ‘Yes’ campaign led by former president Derrick Harder and an equally robust CFS ‘No’ side comprised largely from out-of-province advocates, students voted 67 per cent in favour of defederation. The CFS contended that the referendum was illegitimate by its own bylaws, and took the SFSS to court for back dues. The SFSS collected what fees would have gone to the CFS in case a trial decided against them. That case settled on December 23, 2011 after more than $450,000 in legal fees.

We don’t know how much we had to pay the CFS to settle due to a gag order attached to the agreement, but the fund totalled around $1.1 million as of the last SFSS annual general meeting. The pressing question is now how to spend the savings leftover from the proceedings, and the fees that created it in the first place. It is no less than the discussion of the next 10 years of the Simon Fraser Student Society.

I was poised to caution electors about the eventuality of the “lockout election”, an entire cycle dedicated to the rehashing of the labour dispute that split the campus in two, but suddenly, like it is won’t to do, money has changed everything. With projected solvency and sudden wealth comes new problems.
The original argument was that the services provided by the CFS could be better and more responsively provided by the SFSS. It’s put up or shut up time, and I’m sure battle lines will be drawn over whether or not to strike the fee from student’s liabilities or to use the money for better services. The former will sound better on paper, but the money in the bank and the fees to come should almost certainly be used to bring the SFSS into the future it so richly deserves.

There will be candidates in the next SFSS election who will equate fiscal responsibility with saving students the price of a lunch in fees, but they’re missing the point. Suddenly, the wildest dreams of properly funding SFSS services and expanding others is within reach. Imagine a health plan suddenly not struggling more with each passing semester. Departmental student unions with a budget enough not only to stimulate interest and participation, but to actually hold events of note. Making the Women’s Centre, Out on Campus, and other student spaces deservedly palatial. Heck, maybe we can even get to work on that student union building everyone thinks is a great idea but we never seem to get around to. The world is our burrito.

Overnight, what is possible for the SFSS was changed by the settlement witht he CFS. The next decade may prove to be the most integral since its inception. Whether we choose to make frivolous purchases and cuts, or make the SFSS a place where students can come together, solve problems, and make SFU a place people actually want to be will be the legacy of this board and boards to come. The CFS defederation gave us some of the most petty, divisive, and vicious years of politics in our university’s history. It’s time to set that all aside and make lemonade after years of lemons.

21st Century Democracy – The changing face of democracy

By
EIC
-
0

By Gustavo Destro

It started in Tunisia late in 2010, it spread to Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, soon it made its way west, into the streets of New York City and across the globe, and by the end of 2011 it had reached the frozen streets of Moscow.

2011 could be named the Year of the Protests. From the Arab Spring to the Occupy movement and the anti-Putin demonstrations in Russia, people took to the streets for what they believed in, call- ing for change, the end of dictatorships, and the end of corruption.

This year of protests fol- lowed a significant growth in the number of social media applications, such as Twitter and Facebook, which allowed for a large group of people to organize themselves and share their experiences with thousands of others. This is a significant development, not simply because it changes the way people communicate, it may change the way democ- racy itself works.

The concept of democ- racy is not a new one, having been fashioned by the an- cient Greeks 5,000 years ago. From then on it has evolved, at times slowly, and at times has been completely ignored. The Magna Carta, the Decla- ration of Independence, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man all influenced the cur- rent form of democracy we hold dear as it became the post World War II standard for liberal democracies.

But this standard may not stand for long. The changes we are currently experiencing may turn 21st century democracy into something different than what was in the past hundred years. This is not to say that the changes will be drastic,

that a sort of post-democracy system will emerge. In fact, most people may not even feel these events as they unfold so naturally. Evolution, after all, is not a sudden change, but a slow gradual process, natu- rally making its way until it be- comes the norm.

The reality is that the sys- tem we currently have in place is not self-sustainable in the long run, not with the society that we currently live in. An increasing number of people have more access to more in- formation than ever before, and that leads to a sense, and at times, a reality, of empower- ment. Like the events of the Arab Spring showed, once the reality is plain for all to see, it can no longer be contained.

For hundreds of years, rul- ers and politicians have had the assurance that, if they were careful enough, they could hide what they did not wish people to see. Not so in an age of 24/7 news, social media, and Wikileaks. People have understood that they have the power to hold those in charge accountable, and they are wil- ingandabletodoso.Aswe move forward, politics may be- come increasingly more trans- parent, with people making an impact not simply by voting, but also by fact-checking and calling out what they believe is wrong.

As stated before, this will not be a revolution as much as it will be an evolution. The younger generations are in- creasingly accustomed to a cer- tain degree of information and this will slowly make its way into our democratic system, creating greater transparency, accountability, and in the end, better representation

GAP display breached no agreement with SFU

By
EIC
-
0

By Mary Clare Turner

In a recent Peak article, Lila Saber condemned SFU Lifeline, the university pro-life club, for bringing the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) to the Burnaby campus. She also criticized the university administration and the SFSS for not shutting down or blocking the display.

According to her, GAP is too graphic and offensive to be shown unobstructed in public and she does not “understand why the university thinks that groups like [Lifeline] have a right to space at SFU and a right to violate the safety of others.”  She accuses Lifeline of contravening an agreement with the university administration regarding the arrangement of signs as well.

To clarify, there was no agreement with the university administration for the club to contravene. We submitted a set-up plan (which we followed) to the administration, which allowed a path through Convocation Mall behind the signs so that people could avoid them. This plan was rejected by the administration on the grounds that students could come upon the display inadvertently. They requested that we obscure the signs in some way, much like saying we could have our freedom of speech on the condition that we whispered. We declined to submit another plan because to comply with demands to obstruct our display would be to accept an infringement on our right to free speech.

We do have the right to free speech. That is why groups like ours have a right to space at SFU. Under the Constitution of Canada, everyone has the right to free speech and the right to freedom of assembly as long as those assembled do nothing illegal. There is no right, however, not to be offended.

The university administration was not wrong to allow us to continue our display. If they can be blamed for anything, it is for allowing other students to censor us, as this sends the message that the best way to win an argument is to silence one’s opponents rather than to prove them wrong with logical arguments. It is true; we do not have a right to threaten the safety of others. However, as we did not threaten anyone’s safety, that has no bearing on whether we should have been allowed space or not.

Ms. Saber is offended because she thinks that abortion and genocide are not comparable and that those who take part in GAP “are appropriating those experiences to serve their own agenda of demonizing women’s control of their own reproductive capacities.”

If the pre-born are not human and abortion does not kill them, then she has every right to be offended. However, the pre-born are not just blobs of tissue. They are also not part of their mothers’ bodies; they are distinct individuals with a separate genetic identity. Basic biology, and honest scientists, tells us that all members of a species that reproduces sexually begin their lives at the moment of fertilization. For example, Dr. Jerome LeJeune, a professor of genetics at the University of Descartes says, “After fertilization has taken place, a new human being has come into being.” There is no convincing evidence to the contrary.

Webster’s New World Encyclopedia of 1992 defines genocide as “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a national, racial, religious, political, cultural, ethnic, or other group defined by the exterminators as undesirable.”

Induced abortions, those which intentionally terminate pregnancies, are, by definition, deliberate. There is a system in place to facilitate them. In Canada they are legal throughout the nine months of pregnancy, tax-payer funded, and available on demand. Even teenagers can have abortions without the knowledge or consent of their parents.

Some people try to justify abortion by saying that mothers’ circumstances can make having children undesirable. Abortion targets the unwanted unborn, whether inconvenient, handicapped, or female. These factors lead us to the conclusion that abortion fits the definition of genocide.

If we are wrong and the pre-born are not human, alive, and therefore valuable, then we offend people for nothing. If we are right, then our society is tolerating the mass killing of innocent, defenseless human beings. We would rather risk offending than tolerate such an injustice.

Our long, national nightmare is over

By
EIC
-
2

By J.J. McCullough

It all seems so distant now, but there was a time when no decision was made by the Simon Fraser Student Society — no piece of legislation tabled, no money spent, no program approved, no poster drawn — without first calculating how it would harm the Canadian Federation of Students. For anyone who served in student politics during those fanatic days, as I did, it was thus more than a little anti-climatic to hear that the long-running divorce proceedings between the SFSS and CFS had come to such an abrupt and amicable end last week.

Rather than the long, multi-week trial many had been anticipating — a trial that would have allowed everyone to vividly relive some of the most controversial years of SFU student politics — students were given a curt, four sentence press release.  “[I]t is agreed that the membership has ended,” said one of them. We have resolved “all outstanding issues,” said another. There will be “no further public statements regarding this matter.” So that’s that.

From 2007 to 2008 I served two terms as head of SFSS elections, during which I ran the now infamous ’08 separation referendum where SFU students voted 67 per cent in favor of leaving the CFS. To broadly summarize a complex situation, the vote I organized obviously violated a number of CFS laws, though my SFSS bosses at the time argued that holding a vote with imperfections was still preferable to holding no vote at all — the position the CFS seemed to be favouring.

Why SFU students hated the CFS so much in those days is hard to generalize, since the anti-CFS movement was a fairly broad coalition of students of varying political, personal, and petty motivations who had made common cause of a common enemy. The conventional narrative, however, was that Canadian Federation of Students was simply this lumbering, useless behemoth that wasted enormous amounts of student money on dumb projects and wasteful bureaucracy — and was appallingly secretive, undemocratic, and crooked to top it off.

It’s more than a little disappointing, therefore, that the SFSS’ out-of-court settlement with the embattled lobby group remains so mysterious and unaccountable, since leaving the CFS was supposed to help expunge this sort of stuff from SFU politics.

There’s an obvious cost-benefit analysis to be done here: for the last three years, the SFSS has spent untold thousands of dollars on legal fees in their vain efforts to get the courts to recognize the validity of my referendum, and now they’ve just unloaded many thousands more in some manner of huge CFS payout. When the final bill is tallied up, will we have spent more money leaving than we would have spent staying? Even if you hate the CFS with a fiery passion, that’s not an unreasonable question to ask.

In theory, I understand why the SFSS board agreed to keep things so hush-hush. I personally didn’t think the SFSS’ legal defense of my referendum was ever that strong. Unreasonable though they were, we did not follow CFS rules to the letter, and “close enough, Your Honour” is not a particularly robust argument. The possibility of losing an expensive multi-week trial, and being forced back into CFS membership after so many wasted years was a frighteningly real possibility.

It also appears the SFSS board may have played the CFS to some degree. SFSS financial documents are a matter of public record; there is therefore simply no way the SFSS can award the CFS a massive financial settlement without it someday appearing as a line item in some future budget. Coupled with the likelihood of leaks, a vow of perpetual secrecy surrounding the most high-profile student politics spat in modern B.C. history seems like the kind of empty promise only an organization arrogant as the CFS would ever believe possible in the first place.

Still, tempted as one is to declare SFU’s long national nightmare finally over (a nightmare many of today’s SFU students will have no memory of whatsoever) there are still a lot of questions to be asked.

The CFS may be gone, but the distasteful spirit of mystery and intrigue that so often surrounds student politics at this school remains.

New Year’s resolutions (the ones you should have made)

By
EIC
-
0

By Kelly Thoreson

The new year is a time for contemplation, for reflecting on the year past and on what we desire for the future. It’s a time to make resolutions and become better, more fulfilled human beings. I like to think positively, though, and think of it as a time to become a more awesome person. Really, who wants to better themselves through proper nutrition, regular exercise, or spiritual enlightenment like all of those normie, fuddy-duddy resolutions? When I am an old fart, I don’t want to look back and say that I lived a balanced and healthy life — I want to say that I did everything I could and was a total badass about it. Duh.

So with those sentiments in mind, here is a list of resolutions that you should probably consider if you want to be a true success story in this book called life.

 

Be more sassy

Sure, there is something to be said for being ‘kind’ or ‘patient’, but it’s not really that memorable. Sassiness is what is going to make you those new friends in 2012, and even land you that job on the prime time drama Jersey Shore. Resolve to snap your fingers more, sway your hips, and bring your best sass-mouth to all of your social gatherings.

 

Drink more Jager 

Jager has a lot of good things going for it. First of all, it is more expensive than your regular ol’ Pabst Blue Ribbon, so the classiness metre is going to shoot through the roof when you’re stumbling through a party with a bottle of this fine alcohol under your arm. Second, you can make bombs — Jager Bombs! (You see what I did there?) Finally, when someone inevitably mispronounces it, you have a free pass to say you’re cool like Jagger and bust some sweet rooster moves. Win, win, win.

 

Create the new McGangbang 

If you even have to ask what a McGangbang is, you are a bit of a lost cause on this one. (Alternatively, you could look it up on Google and bring yourself up to speed; we’re not in the frackin’ Dark Ages, you know.) This build-it-yourself sandwich is still a mystery to even some McDonald’s employees, but it has frankly become boring and tame in the world of fast food connoisseurs. We want something new (and definitely something bigger), and I have a sneaky feeling that you should be the awesome human being to create it.

 

Learn to pick locks 

Don’t you play Skyrim? How totally cool would you be if you could actually pick locks? (The correct answer is really cool — like, way cool.) Really, it is the first step to fighting dragons. And you do want to fight dragons, don’t you?

 

Win a milk-chugging contest 

They say that it is impossible to drink four litres of milk without vomming — which is why you should get out some tarps and garbage bins (you know, for cleanliness’ sake) and make it your mission to prove this myth wrong. Once you have completed this goal, consider padding your resume with this accomplishment. Employers will appreciate your determination and lactose tolerance.

 

Be a couch potato

You know, being lazy can be hard work sometimes. Avoiding responsibilities, personal hygiene, and basic needs like hunger can be a real workout for the body and the mind — which is a good thing, right? Really try to flex those underused muscles this year. Begin with just a few hours on the couch each day, then build up to multi-day marathons of not getting off the couch. Pro-tip: think about investing in a mini fridge and a catheter if you really plan on taking this exercise seriously.

 

 Go on a Kraft Dinner diet 

You know, it has become really cliché for university kids to live off of instant noodles. I say break that stereotype by raising your standards to instant macaroni and cheese. Unlike instant noodles, it provides essential protein in its dehydrated cheese packet. Plus, when you’re trying to impress a fella or a lady, you can pretty honestly tell them that you know how to cook. (After all, you do have to mix multiple ingredients together).

 

Text more often

The holiday season usually reacquaints us with old pals, whom we (truthfully or otherwise) say we would like to keep in better touch with. What better way to do this than to fire a few texts their way every couple of hours? And why stop with just old friends? Tighten the bonds you share with your close friends, family, and — most important — Facebook friends by constantly working those thumbs on your baby cellphone keyboard. Texting should probably take precedent over lame activities like going to class, eating, and real-life interacting; it is the fruit of any healthy relationship.

 

Read less

There is nothing that you can learn from a book that Google can’t teach you faster. I repeat: nothing. So why bother reading at all? Newspapers, textbooks, novels, biographies, and encyclopedias — none of these compare to the speed of the inter-webs. In an effort to become more smart, knowledgeable, and even more intelligent, consider using all of that time you would spend reading Googling. And God forbid you ever read a poem again.

1...1,4071,4081,4091,410Page 1,408 of 1,410

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024