On Wednesday, executives from the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) Board of Directors told Ryan Yewchin that he “was quite frankly the only student who had expressed any displeasure” with the stadium aspect of Build SFU being cancelled.

During Thursday’s SFSS board meeting, Yewchin and a horde of student athletes attended to show that wasn’t the case.

Yewchin, a former member of SFU’s wrestling team and a part of the the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), wanted the SFSS to know that their quick decision to scrap the stadium aspect of Build SFU didn’t go unnoticed.

“I think we showed that we made a clear, physical statement to board that there is a great deal of passion surrounding this project and that what they’ve done isn’t OK,” he said. “Their membership does not agree with their decision.”

Athletes from the football, wrestling, and women’s swimming teams, among others, were present in the crowd. Teams such as men’s and women’s soccer expressed their regrets, as they were unable to attend due to training camps.

“[…] what they’ve done isn’t OK. Their membership does not agree with their decision.”

– Ryan Yechin, former SFU wrestler

The athletes filed in at the start of the meeting, which prompted the board to add a discussion item to the agenda about the stadium cancellation. The discussion had been left off the meeting’s agenda following the decision to cancel the multi-million dollar project.

The spokesperson for the group was SFU football player Ante Milanovic-Litre. Milanovic-Litre read a letter on behalf of Olivia Aguiar, the president of SAAC, who was unable to attend the meeting.

In her letter, Aguiar accused the SFSS of “[using student athletes] as a fulcrum to pass the Build projects, to only take the stadium away.” Aguiar’s rationale was that, with the number of students composing the 546 who voted in the 2015 AGM, the student athletes who voted ‘yes’ were what pushed the vote to over 81 percent. The vote needed a 75 percent approval to pass.

Currently, the financials of the the project are not clear, with SFSS and SAAC presenting different information on how much money is or was available, as well as SFU’s role in the discussion. SAAC members wanted to know why the project is being cancelled, rather than renegotiated, as the newly projected $30-million cost is three times higher than the original estimate. This increase in cost reportedly led to the project’s cancellation.

The transparency and communication of the board came under fire repeatedly throughout the discussion. Many athletes in the room said they found out about the cancellation from Facebook, rather than through any direct communication from the SFSS.

Yesterday @SFSS1 told me I was the only dissent to stadium cancellation. Today @SFU_SAAC packs Board meeting. pic.twitter.com/VnRLBieN94

— Ryan Steven (@RSteven_Y) August 25, 2016

“For them to have this lack of transparency regarding issues surrounding the project leading up [to] their decision to cancel it — especially with not a full board, an interim president, it’s cancelled in the dead of summer when people are in August exams or away — it’s just a horrible time for us to try and engage with them,” said Yewchin.  

At one point during the meeting, Build SFU general manager Marc Fontaine was asked if a stadium could be built for the $10 million that was originally allotted. His response was “probably, but it would be a really bad stadium.”

For Milanovic-Litre though, the value is in having a place to play in front of the SFU community.

“We want our families to be at our home. This is where we study, this is where we play, this is who we play for,” said Milanovic-Litre. “When I go to BC Place, the seats aren’t that comfortable for me. When they are saying [that] we’ve got to build comfortable seating — no one is spending the night at the stadium.

“It doesn’t matter what the occasion is, a sporting event usually lasts about three hours. We’re not looking for leather seats.”

He also pointed to the press boxes and the roof as aspects that could be downsized in order for a stadium to be built on a budget.

The SAAC will likely have a presence at the next board meeting on September 1, since the board is aware that they will be attending and can prepare for further discussion.

The K’ómoks First Nations got more than they bargained for while holding a barbecue in the Comox Valley last year.
A midden containing ancient artefacts was discovered at the site, leading SFU archaeology professor Dr. Robert Muir to oversee a six-week field school excavating the area. During the excavation, Muir and his students discovered around 80 stone tablets, some as small as pebbles, estimated to be roughly 2,000 years old.
The field school, led by Muir, involved 21 third- and fourth-year students excavating a 100m by 120m exploration site on the K’ómoks First Nations’ traditional territory, and studying their findings. The excavation was conducted at the Puntledge RV Campground on Vancouver Island.
They have uncovered myriad artefacts: herring rakes; deer, dog, and elk bones; harpoon points; bone fishing needles; and, perhaps most excitingly, the flat stone tablets, each marked by symbols on one side.
According to an interview with Muir by the Comox Valley Record, the markings on the tablets could be seen as symbols for trees, feathers, or fertility. In the interview, he described the site as “very unusual,” referring to the tablets as “a little mystifying.”
The site was first discovered in 2015 when a group of the K’ómoks First Nations were digging a roasting pit for a celebratory barbecue.
During the celebration they uncovered an accumulation of shells, finding later that it was a midden containing numerous animal bones as well as other miscellaneous deposits.
According to Muir’s interview with the Record, “[the discoverers] thought, ‘Uh -oh, there’s a site here,’ and we figured out how large it really is.”
He claimed that in over 30 years as an archaeologist, he’s never studied a site like this.
He described the area as “well-preserved and pristine.” It’s one of only a few spots where these artefacts have been discovered in the Comox Valley.
The artefacts found in the excavation site are being taken to SFU to be photographed and studied. The students are currently helping with the analysis of these artefacts, after which Muir will take extra time to study them before returning them to the K’ómoks band.
The K’ómoks First Nations are an indigenous band from the eastern coast of Vancouver Island. They are currently comprised of around 330 individuals, including people of Puntledge, Ieeksun, Sathloot, Tat’poos, Cha’chae, and Sasitla ancestry.
Having suffered greatly because of European settlers, including the loss of over half their population due to a smallpox outbreak in 1862, the K’omoks people have worked hard to maintain their community. They are comprised of four reserves on the island, and regularly hold events and take part in business ventures and partnerships.