Campus Update: Jan 23rd

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January 23, 2012

By Benedict Reiners

Victoria conference interrupted by vomit and other unpleasant symptoms

Last weekend, a strain of norovirus interrupted the Canadian University Press (CUP) conference, which was being held in Victoria. The flu affected a total of seven members of The Peak, out of the 18 representatives in attendance. The last count by CUP suggested a total of approximately 60 infections between CUP staff and representatives from university newspapers across Canada, with sources indicating upwards of 130 based on more recent counts.
The norovirus, a highly contagious virus especially prominent in winter months, broght with it symptoms that Peak sports editor, Adam Ovenell-Carter, described as “Violent . . . It hurt more than anything.”
The virus first appeared late on Saturday. The initial soruce of the virus is not currently known, but authorities believe that it was brought in by someone already carrying the virus, likely not involved in the conference, who subsequently spread it from there.
“It doesn’t look like it originated in the hotel and it wasn’t likely food-related. [The Vancouver Island Health Authority] indicated it was most likely brought in by someone and then passed around pretty quickly from there,” said CUP national bureau chief Emma Godmere, making reference to the disproven initial suspicions of the illness being the result of food poisoning.
Although the initial source of the norovirus is not known, its effects quickly became evident, leading to the cancellation of the gala event being held Saturday night as part of the conference, in order to return those attending back to the hotel while the cause of the illness was investigated. By midnight, officials from CUP had contacted a doctor affiliated with B.C. Health who determined that the illness was norovirus.
As the students returned to the hotel, and the extent of the outbreak became evident, paramedics were brought to the hotel. Over the course of the night, multiple students were brought to hospital for treatment relating to dehydration, which proved to be the most severe effect of the virus.
In response to the number of the sick within the hotel, staff of both the CUP and the hotel brought Tylenol and Gatorade to those suffering from the virus, doing what they could to help them with their illness, and in maintaining hydration. In addition to that, hotel staff was charged with maintaining rooms. “I give them full credit, it doesn’t look good on them to have a norovirus outbreak in the hotel, and they did pretty well,” said Ovenell-Carter. However, this did lead to some of the hotel staff coming down with the virus as well, though at present this appears to be the closest the virus has come to spreading beyond the hotel walls. The hotel also allowed those who were ill to stay a day beyond their initial reservation in order to recover before leaving.
The efforts of CUP and the hotel proved effective in the situation, allowing for the norovirus to leave as quickly as it had come while limiting the damage it did. This was helped by the relatively brief timeframe that characterizes the virus itself, with the major symptoms lasting for only a day or two. This ensured that it didn’t manage to get more severe than the cases of dehydration, and as Ovenell-Carter characterized it: “It’s nothing really serious, it comes and goes in a couple days, it just sucks while you have it.”

Ghost town: SFU’s absent arts community

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January 23, 2012

By Daryn Wright
Photo by Jenny Waters

What can we blame this time for the student–campus disconnect?

I’m not the first to observe the state of SFU’s arts community — or put more broadly, culture community. There is a unique aspect to SFU: our main campus resides on a mountain. Sure, the view may be nice and the air may be fresh, but what does this cloudy isolation do for our sense of community? I ventured to several SFU campuses to get a feel for our arts community and how it functions within our body politic.

SFU Woodward’s was an obvious first choice, being the home for contemporary arts. I wandered in on a Tuesday afternoon, feeling varying degrees of intimidation as I went into the Audain Gallery to see the current exhibit, Mapping the Everyday: Neighborhood Claims for the Future. I found myself alone in the white room, black script covering the walls. Artifacts of various art forms made islands in the center of the room: old computer monitors, dried rainbow paintbrushes, rolls of canvas, and old VHS tapes were stacked haphazardly on several desks and bookshelves. I found the evidence of art, of things being created in and around SFU, but I couldn’t find a single soul to tell me about it. It was beautiful, but barren. An arts community does not exist solely in a gallery of course, but while there was art, there seemed to be no community.

Instead of making assumptions based on my outsider’s viewpoint, I decided to talk to a student who might have a bit more insight. Jessica Han recently graduated from SFU with a major in film and a minor in theatre production. She explains that the film program operates on a cohort system, meaning you go through four years with relatively the same people. Theatre is more mixed, but Han explains that what makes the community within the programs is the very nature of the program itself. “You have performance and production students working together on a school production. Theatre is a collaborative process in itself. When you’re collaborating, you develop relationships, and relationships make for a community. We go to each other’s project presentations to show our support,” she said.

This may be the case for the contemporary arts departments at SFU Woodward’s, but does this exist at the other campuses? “The community is fairly exclusive, especially now that we’ve moved downtown to SFU Woodward’s. But when we were on the Burnaby campus, other students didn’t even know [the FPA department] existed!” Han said.

The main vessel of the Burnaby campus, the AQ, holds the SFU Gallery, a tiny space nestled among science lecture halls. The current exhibit by Lawrence Weiner, A Selection from the Vancouver Art Gallery Archive of Lawrence Weiner Posters, highlights the relationship between art and words.

Bill Jeffries is the art director of the gallery and has been working with SFU for several years. “Things didn’t used to be this way,” Jeffries said as he recalled SFU in the ‘80s when staff and students alike would go to the theatre, then spend hours in the campus pub. Now that the arts departments have been moved to the Woodward’s campus, there seems to be a lack of cultural capital up on Burnaby Mountain. He makes the valid point that the notion of community is flexible, and yet there doesn’t seem to be much happening ‘culturally’ at SFU.

“There’s no easy way to reach the students,” he said, concerning the amount of information provided for events like gallery openings and theatre performances. In the same vein, he also noted that the old theatre in the convocation mall is being turned into a lecture hall.

Andrew Zuliani, an English major at SFU, puts the state of the arts community more bluntly. “There isn’t one,” he said. “SFU is mainly a commuter school. There is constant relocation. By the time something gets started up and you get settled down, you graduate.”

Zuliani finds one of the biggest issues to be the lack of information provided for students looking to get involved, as well as the quick turnover rate. For example, the English lounge is usually empty because not many students even know it exists.

“Wanting a community isn’t enough. Romanticizing the idea of a community isn’t enough. It’s like adding rice grain by grain to a pile.” Zuliani adds that it is paramount that professors and grad students get involved if we are to have a vivacious arts and culture community.

There is art at SFU, but the problem of ‘community’ seems to lie in the fragmentation between campuses, lack of information provided, and passive commuter mindset. There needs to be an equal amount of investment in the SFU arts community by both the staff and the students in order to mend the fracture.

Women’s basketball on a roll

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January 23, 2012

All things considered, it was a pretty good week for SFU’s women’s basketball team. The Clan took down both Alaska Fairbanks University and Alaska Anchorage University, the latter of which is ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II, and had Kristina Collins named GNAC Athlete of the Week. The week was soured a bit by a narrow 76–72 loss to Northwest Nazarene University on Thursday, and though it’s never easy to give up ground to a team lower in the standings as the NNU Crusaders are, the week’s positives far outweigh the negatives.

The Clan are the only basketball team in the GNAC — men’s or women’s — to remain undefeated on home court this season, and they kept that distinction alive and well with the two wins against Alaskan teams. A 77–69 score is not often something worth writing home about, but when it’s against one of the top teams in the entire Divison II, it’s another story.

“It’s the biggest game we’ve played this year,” said guard Marie-Line Petit at the time. “It feels great because we know they’re ranked eighth in the nation, and we’ve been struggling a bit lately,” said SFU guard Marie-Line Petit. The star of the show, however, was Collins, who led the way with 18 points, helped by her five three-point baskets.

She recorded another 15 points against Alaska Fairbanks — this time all of them coming from beyond the arc — as the Clan steamrolled the Nanooks 91–66 last Saturday. Hitting 10 of 15 three-point shots en route to winning to straight games is not going to unnoticed, and Collins was justly named the GNAC’s athlete of the week for her efforts. Heading into Thursday’s contest against Northwest Nazarene, Collins found herself 16th in league scoring but, as much of a star as she was last week, she certainly had help. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe was her typically dominant self, recording a double-double — 11 points and 15 rebounds — against Alaska Anchorage, and followed it up with another, with a season-high 27 points alongside 11 boards. Three other players also recorded double-digit point totals against a stingy Alaska Anchorage team.

The wins gave the team confidence, and don’t expect that to dissipate after the four-point road loss to Northwest Nazarene. Head ocach Bruce Langford did say the team gave up too many first- and second-chances against the Crusaders, but when you lose to yourself, it’s always fixable. One loss is nothing worth panicking about, and you can bet Langford will fix what needs work.

Still, the team sits at 5–3 in conference play, 10–6 overall, and the team’s overall play of late has been as good as their record would indicate, and the team is going in the right direction — and has been all year long.

Track team starts strong

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January 23, 2012

Picking up where SFU’s cross country team left off at the end of the 2011 season, the Clan kicked off the new track and field season with quite a bang last week in Seattle. In the season’s opening event, six members of the Clan earned automatic berths into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship.

Lindsey Butterworth was a shining star for the Clan, finishing first not only amongst her teammates, but all racers in both the 800-metre and one-mile events. Her accomplishments leave her as the number-one ranked athlete in both events, but barely. Her teammate Sarah Sawatzky finished second in the 800-metre race by less than two-tenths of a second. The two will lead the women’s side into the GNAC championships as both automatically qualified, along with 3,000-metre star Kim Doerkson. Michaela Kane and Leah Regan, who finished second and third, respectively, to Butterworth in the one-mile race; both earned provisional byes into the Championships. Off the track, Mercedes Rhode and Charlotte Crombeen, two long jump hopefuls, also qualified provisionally, while Jade Richardson did the same in shot put.

Not to be outdone, the men also had a dominant showing. Matching his personal best result from last season, Ryan Brockerville led SFU to a first-place finish in the 3,000-metre event. And, showing no signs of inexperience, freshman Stuart Ellenwood ran his way to the top spot in the 400-metre race. The two will be joined in the championships by fellow track star Keir Forster, who finished fifth in the 3,000-metre race. However They could also be accompanied by Anton Hemeniuk and Yubai Liu, who both earned provisional qualifications in the 3,000-metre and long jump, respectively.

It’s as good a start to the season as one could hope for, and it all comes off the heels of the news that SFU’s Helen Crofts was named University Canada’s athlete of the year.

It’s early yet, but it’s shaping up to be quite a season for the Clan.

Undermanned Clan set to move forward

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January 23, 2012

The Clan are getting used to this whole playing shorthanded thing, and despite recording their first conference victory of the season last weekend, it’s not getting any easier. Javari Williams, who was the leading GNAC scorer, and Matt Ravio, the team’s top point guard, are lost for the season because of academic struggles. To compound their woes, the team’s top rebounder Ibrahim Appiah suffered a knee injury that’ll keep him out for at least three weeks. For those keeping track, that leaves the Clan with seven athletes who can play. Considering five take the floor at any given time, that quite literally leaves the team with little breathing room.

SFU fell 88–81 to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, but the score is relatively generous given how the Clan played. The team was down 17 points at the half, and did manage to claw their way back to respectability before the final buzzer blew. The team’s fatigue was easy to see throughout, even with the late game comeback. But, the Clan know that a shortened bench is no reason to pack it in, and they’ll know they’ll have to make do with what they have.

“We can’t make excuses,” said SFU head coach James Blake. “Even with seven guys we should’ve done a better job.

“We talked about coming out with energy and enthusiasm . . . we had a game plan that we didn’t really follow.”

It’s tough to maintain a game plan when the lineup is constantly shrinking, so one would expect a player or two to step up. Justin Brown has since taken over the team lead in scoring and has moved into ninth in league scoring. And while Blake says he doesn’t look to one particular player to pull through for the team, it’s clear Brown has done that himself. Blake calls him “a little pinball”, bouncing around all over the court, but his physicality almost cost him — and the team — as he hobbled off on a sore leg to end the first half against NNU.

Had he not returned the situation for the Clan would’ve been, in some twisted way, borderline comical. Fortunately, he did return, and brought the team back within seven points by the game’s end. It’s that kind of drive that’ll keep the team going.

And, with the depleted lineup, a few other members of the Clan are getting ample playing time when they normally wouldn’t. Nickolay Georgiev found the floor more often than he likely would’ve been expecting at this point and the season, and the increased playing time for Jordan Sergent is paying dividends.

A junior college transfer, Sergent has been on fire of late, and along with Brown, has been a main part of the Clan’s engine.

“I’ve found it takes [junior college tanfers] a while to adjust,” said Blake, “but you’ll see him excel the next 10 games, and he’ll be a force his senior year.”

Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. The Clan’s season, with all the injuries and academic ineligibilities, will not go as planned — that much is all but certain at this point. But the silver lining is that players who would’ve been off-the-bench guys are being given the opportunity to lead and star for their team. Win or lose, the team will be closer, and better off for all the adversity they’ve faced this year.

“We’ve had three ACL tears, an MCL tear, a cyst on the brain, ulcers . . . we’ve had everything,” said Blake. “That’s the way it is sometimes. You talk about being a good team with seven guys, imagine what we’d be with nine or 10.

“We’ve got to create a team game with whoever we’ve got, and we will.”

Watch your throne, Kobe

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January 23, 2012

Greatness is an interesting concept. It carries the implication that a particular person, when compared to others, is comprehensibly or perceivably better.

This is by no means limited to the sporting world — take hip-hop legends Jay-Z and Kanye West, for example. Jay-Z will go down as one of the greatest rappers of all time, but West could find his name in those books at some point too. Much of the same can be said for two hard court superstars as well: Kobe Bryant and Lebron James.

Bryant is nearing the end of his career and has achieved record-breaking recognition while the other is heading down a similar path and could ultimately, like Kanye West, rewrite the books.

Who’s better? Who’s better right now? Who would you want when the game is on the line? Will Kobe win his sixth title before Lebron wins his first? It’s all up for debate, and let’s face it, there is no right answer. The two men have an uncanny ability to put points up and are two marquee faces of the NBA, due in part to their pure talent. Lebron is the all around player who is arguably the most athletic specimen in the world of sports, while Kobe’s resume is well-documented and is often regarded as the one of the closest we’ll see to his airness, Michael Jordan.

The case for James:

James, for all his talent, will always be chastised until he does what other superstars have done: win a championship. But, if you’ll pardon the tautology, Lebron James is Lebron James. He will never be Jordan, and seemingly lacks the competitive edge Kobe splashes on the court, but there has never been a player like Lebron James. Between his skill-set, size, power, and persona, James is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. And finally, James, in his ninth season, is beginning to find his role on a star-studded lineup in Miami. The championship banners ought to rain down in the Heat’s American Airlines arena in the near future and Lebron will be a major reason why.

The case for Bryant:

Kobe Bryant can simply flash his five rings when anyone decides to critique his career. The Black Mamba can reference every NBA analyst as soon as someone decides to disregard the Jordan comparison. The man has ice in his veins and has done it all in his career. Yet, he is striving for more in the latter half of his career. Kobe was once a high-flying highlight reel and has since adapted to develop a strong post-game, similar to Jordan. Kobe’s mid-range jumper is nearly unguardable. If you think his drive might not be there after five championships and 16 seasons, lay those questions to rest unless you know another athlete who is currently taking cortisone shots to his wrist prior to each game.

The verdict:

Can there be one? The basketball heavyweights will forever live in a world where their professional achievements will be compared to generations before and after; it’s a part of the business. Kobe’s competed with past and present stars and has rings to show for it but his MVP days are likely behind him. Lebron is in his prime and should check the same number of items off the list by the time his career is over. Bryant, like Jay-Z, is the older, more successful player in the game, still competing with the youngsters. James, like Kanye brings freshness to the game and aspires to achieve the same as his competitor.

Right now, Jay-Z is still rapping about Michael Jordan. For all Bryant’s greatness, the only one who can change that tune is James. And right now, Bryant has the upper hand on James. James has time on his side, however; Kobe best be watching his throne.

Canucks Tickets Video Contest Results

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January 17, 2012

After much deliberation over all of the entries that we received at The Peak, here are the top three that stood out above all of the rest in the Canucks Tickets Video Contest. Thank you very much to all who entered and congratulations to Shehbaaz Jhalli for taking first prize!

Third Place – Majid Refaei Khalghli Mogh

Second Place – Samantha Fung and Kirsten Allen

First Place – Shehbaaz Jhalli

CFS settlement gag order an insult to students

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January 16, 2012

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By David Proctor

I won’t bore you with a history of the legal dispute between the Simon Fraser Student Society and the Canadian Federation of Students; one of the foundational assumptions of this article is that you don’t care. I respect that. You have no reason to.

You don’t need a full understanding of the details of the case, however, to know that something is fishy when the SFSS and CFS agree to end a lawsuit and to refuse to explain the terms of the agreement to their memberships.

This decision, for which I can see no intended effect other than to let those in charge of the SFSS and CFS avoid accountability for their decisions, should surprise no one; it’s entirely typical of the sordid, corrupt culture of student politics.

Even something as fundamental as your membership fees are kept hidden from you: if you’re an SFU undergrad taking more than three credits’ worth of on-campus classes, you pay $32.99 for one semester’s membership in the SFSS, but you won’t find that as a line item in your Go SFU account. Instead, it’s grouped together with many other student group levies (admittedly including The Peak’s) and hidden behind an opaque $65.64 “student activity fee”.

Student politicians may argue that members can find a full breakdown of that fee in the university calendar or the society’s annual financial statements. Nobody’s looking there, though, and I have yet to hear a convincing reason why that full breakdown can’t fit on every student’s Go SFU statement.

In an SFU student election, any voter turnout figure over 10 per cent is considered a miraculous anomaly. The most recent SFSS election had a turnout of 23 per cent, which is better, but still far too low for a legitimate democratic mandate.

Student politicians like to foist the blame for such numbers on the membership. If only people would get involved, they say, things would be better. But what incentive do they have to do so? It’s hard to start a taxpayer revolt when so few citizens are even aware they’re being taxed.

Most of the functions fulfilled by a student society could be better performed by other types of organizations. Why can’t clubs and departmental student unions simply be formed by groups of like-minded people? Is the university not capable of providing study spaces or event supplies? I love the Highland Pub, but would an independent business have any trouble turning a profit selling beer to college kids?

Student societies are also an open invitation to corruption. Consider the Kwantlen Student Society, where 12 board members were impeached in November. Those who were cast out had dropped a lawsuit alleging that former directors and staff had ‘misused’ more than $2 million in society funds. Whatever actually happened — the lawsuit was dropped, so we’ll never know for sure — the thinking is easy to follow: nobody’s watching this organization, so we can take money from it without consequence. If we’re caught, we’ll just have our friends run in the next election and bail us out.

Clearly, the status quo isn’t working. Student unions shouldn’t be allowed to collect millions of dollars from memberships that are barely aware of their existence, and they shouldn’t be allowed to hide what they’re doing with it. I have a hard time convincing myself that we wouldn’t be better off if we did away with the whole concept.

The local dating scene is just fine

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January 16, 2012